Otto=ottO: Yes... So very nice to you! ^^;;

Doomykins: Isn't Nip the cutest name? =^-^=

Snakes N' Legends: LOL! He doen't like her like THAT! He feels more like a father to her... It's a different kind of love.

AquaBabe727: The Gyarados territory was at first inhabited by only two Gyarados. The male had once been own by a trainer... That's where the accent comes from.

Crystalmaster Mike: What exactly is a cliché?

Ace Blaze: OKAY! Here it is!!! Ya happy?! (j/k)

V.o.t.M: HELLO!!! Da fishies who go "Karp!" when ya poke 'em with yer pointer finger??? Lol! ^^ I'm so happy you're reading this!

Zach Starmourn: Tell me about it...

And here it is, chapter ten! The LONGEST chapter yet!!! ^-^

~*~Chapter 10~*~

“Look, I’m telling you, Magi is my FRIEND! She’s not from around here! She’s not a Gyarados-born Magikarp! She doesn’t eat meat, and she saved my life! YOU MUST LET HER GO!” Keshaa screamed angrily.

The little crippled Magikarp had been led to the council as he wished, but the ten Kingdra and two Seadra before him seemed to listen just as well as the guard.

The scarred old Pokemon looked just as bad off as he did… Well, not quite as bad, but they looked almost striped with all the battle scars they held from fights in the past. They looked strong despite their age, and wise, but there was a coldness in their eye that Keshaa didn’t like. All these Pokemon killings seemed to have hardened their hearts…

Keshaa’s grip on a bit of seaweed tightened as he realized he wasn’t getting through to them. They had stopped listening to him, and there was no way at all he could help Magi without the help of StripFang, and the Gyarados couldn’t fit in the tunnels. After all she had done for him… He had blown his chance to return at least on of the favors. Keshaa shut his eye and held back the tears he knew would come.

The Hosea’s evolutions watched him quietly.
“You have obviously been through a lot, little Horsea,” said a Kingdra in the middle, swimming forward near Keshaa. The scarred Horsea looked up at him, still trying to keep from crying, and trembled slightly at the sight of him.

The Kingdra had a Horsea and Seadra’s basic shape, but it wasn’t all the spiky in any way. Instead, its more scaled, with dull horns on it head and around the one fin it had on its back. Its face and the top of its spout was protected with a hard shell… Though overall, it didn’t look all that frightening.

No, the frightening part was its scarred face and body, the its great size, and that it had such a cold look in its eyes. The frightening part was that this was obviously the leader of this whole prison, and had been responsible for many deaths of Magi’s kind to save its own. Those facts were what made Keshaa suddenly want to shrink away as it approached… but of course he couldn’t, and he was stuck on that bit of seaweed as the Kingdra began to question him.

“Tell us why you are really here, little one,” said the Kingdra, without any hint of truly caring in its voice. Keshaa gulped back his fear, and responded.
“I’m come to save a Magikarp, because she saved me…” he said, forcing himself to ignore the muffled laughter from the rest of the council.
“Did she?” questioned the Kingdra patiently, as though he thought Keshaa was crazy. The Horsea lifted his head indignantly, offended at his tone, but answered calmly, still intimidated by the creature. This old Kingdra was most likely the boss of this place for a reason.
“Yes she did. Her name is Magi, and she’s gone out of her way to help me many times. I owe her my life three times at least! She’s not like any Magikarp I’ve ever seen… Something as special as her must be saved!” The Kingdra looked almost sorry for Keshaa as it answered.
“Little one… Are you sure you’re not trying to make us let this Magikarp go because of that Gyarados that came here with you?” Keshaa was appalled.
“What?!” he asked in shock.
“That Gyarados looked very aggressive, and why would it be partners with you? Obviously it has given you a lot of pain. Could it be that you were… forced to plea for this rather large Magikarp’s escape?”
“FORCED to save Magi?! That’s the dumbest—”
“Did the Gyarados attack you, child?”

At this question Keshaa fell silent.

“Well?”

Keshaa looked at the ground, debating on how to answer this question. StripFang HAD been the one to… but… if he answered truthfully, that would get him nowhere…
“N-no…” Keshaa stuttered uncomfortably. “No, the Gyarados saved me as well… from a bunch of predatory Magikarp…”

The Kingdra looked far from believing him.

~*~*~

The four Magikarp huddled together in the darkness, even the vicious one too frightened at the moment to care. The Chinchou were gone, the Seadra were gone… and across the tunnel was a light, where their hunter most certainly waited. This was it… this was the battle between life and death… and there was little chance of a few Magikarp ever winning against a mighty, undefeated Mantine. Whatever THAT was…

Magi smelled fear in them all, but the female Magikarp found herself more frightened than anybody. The vicious Magikarp pressed against her, shaking badly, and murmuring its promises that if they ever got out alive, it would do its best to change its ways. Nip also trembled, but stopped when Karp nudged her reassuringly. Then he started whispering that they would indeed make it, at no matter what the cost. Magi indeed hoped so…

~*~*~

It was the most magnificent place Keshaa had ever seen!

The Horsea had been brought to the battling arena after arguing in vain to get the Kingdra and Seadra to listen. They had decided that this Magikarp Keshaa wanted to save was precious to the Gyarados, and therefore must be very deadly. Poor Magi… even if she did (somehow) win this fight, she would be killed anyway… The thought made Keshaa’s heart rip in two. After all she had done for him… he had just made her situation worse.

The crippled Horsea shook his head and turned his attention to the fighting arena. It was actually a very, very large cave, with a huge, deep dip in the ground where the Pokemon were to battle. This hole was covered in stones, plants and such, where the opponents could use things like the element of surprise in their battles.

Out of the hole the ground went up almost in layers, where a crowd patiently sat. This floor rose gradually where one could sit comfortably, but was steep enough where someone behind another could see above the other’s head.

The ceiling above them was carved with Horsea, Seadra, and Kingdra writing, with pictures of various Water Pokemon among the writing. It was beautifully crafted, a work of art. Yet, it’s writing was of violence, death, and the terrible things the seahorses had been through because of the Magikarp and Gyarados. It made Keshaa’s skin crawl.

He then decided to turn his attention to the rest of the arena, and noticed that near the ceiling, Chinchou and Lanturn were comfortably having conversations with one another, their glowing spheres lighting up the underground cave. The light was dappled, and was one reason this place looked like art.

He himself was on a sort of balcony that jutted out from the wall far above the other spectators. Around him was the council, each one on their own smooth, glistening stone. Keshaa was led to sit beside the Kingdra that had questioned him earlier: the leader of this whole colony.

A sudden cry of some unknown, hidden Pokemon, echoed through the cavern, snapping Keshaa out of his thoughts and silencing everyone in the room. The Kingdra swam off the ground, and went over to the edge of the balcony. Then, he began a speech.
“Welcome Seadra and Kingdra, to the slaughter of the Magikarp!” Here the crowd cheered. The scarred Kingdra waited until they settled down, then continued.
“As you know, the Magikarp and Gyarados came to our territory hundreds of years ago, cutting it in half for their own pleasure. At first, it was only two: a female, and a heavily accented male. They ate us, and we did nothing, figuring this was nature’s way, and there were too many of us anyway. Then, they had children, and the Magikarp were taught to eat flesh instead of plants. They used their numbers to their advantage, and as they grew and evolved, they had children of their own. Soon we were overwhelmed with the death of so many, and our numbers dwindled to nothing. When the Magikarp began to develop sharp teeth, and stopped killing the Pokemon first, then eating it, that was the last straw. Thus, our mighty army was created, to stop the terrible and unnatural ways of these Pokemon, and we will continue until they are gone!!”

The crowd cheered again, and then silenced. The Kingdra continued.
“Today, we have a special guest. Someone who has been attacked by Magikarp, and Gyarados, and lived…”

A Seadra behind Keshaa gave him a nudge, and miserably, the little Horsea struggled to the edge of the balcony, having trouble with no fin and no one helping him. Once the made it, gasps filled the cave, and low murmurs followed. Keshaa was a terrible sight to see.

The little Horsea looked up at the Kingdra, having difficulty not crying. He was being used for display, as an example, and something to enrage the Seadra and Kingdra below him. Suddenly Keshaa felt like a freak, and realized how he would never truly fit in again. When the Kingdra glanced at him, he looked at the floor, trying to hide the flush coming into his face.

“You may come back now,” whispered someone from the council, and Keshaa backed away. His head hung low as he rested on the rock, and he tried not to listen to the rest of the Kingdra’s speech.
“As you can see, these creatures are becoming more and more violent, and much be stopped! They must be DESTROYED!!!” The crowd let out battle cries noisily, hurting Keshaa’s one ear. Without waiting, the Kingdra’s rose above the shouts.
“LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!!!!”

Keshaa’s head jerked back up, and he felt his heart go cold. This was it… this was the fight.

~*~*~

Magi listened to the muffled words of some Pokemon absently, her mind on other things. She would never again see her brother… She would never have children… She would never feel the warmth of the shallow waters; the sun filling her with pleasure and calmness. She would never learn what it was like to talk to a land Pokemon, a dream she had often dreamt ever since her brother told her about it. She would never see her dear friend, Keshaa… Magi’s sadness and fear were overwhelming. They were going to die.

A sudden, deep cry of some great Pokemon entered the Magikarp’s ears, and she froze. It was the Mantine.

All the Magikarp jumped as the bars of their cage somehow lifted, and they were shoved out: by what they did not know.

Magi winced at the bright light, then, when her eyes had adjusted, she glanced over at her team. Karp, Nip, the other Magikarp, and… RAYS?! Magi stared in shock, and would have blinked if she could. Yes, there indeed was their befriended Chinchou, looking rather over confident across the room at something. Magi reluctantly followed her gaze… to see the Mantine.

The creature was HUGE! Each of its fins was as large as its body, though they were more like flippers than fins. It was flattish, but wide, and its small dark eyes held something that filled the golden female Magikarp with dread. Antennae, or something similar, were on either side of its head, and it had a long, flowing, ribbon-like tail. Its main colors were dark blue one top, with white rings on each fin/flipper, and white underneath. Its ribbon of a tail was blue.

The immense sight and ferocity of their opponent distinguished any hope Magi had gotten from a Chinchou on their side. This creature would be unstoppable.

The Mantine stared at them, looking as confident as Rays, then let out another ear-splitting cry. In panic, all the Magikarp scattered, except for the vicious Magikarp. It found there was something attractive in this creature’s scent… It smelled strongly of Magikarp blood. Slowly, as though it were in a trance, the red Magikarp swam over to the Mantine, and sank its little teeth into the creature’s hide. The Mantine watched its efforts with slight amusement, as it tried gnawing on its side, and then, after a while, it got bored, and whacked its flipper/fin down onto the Magikarp, hard. There was a crack, and the now dead Pokemon drifted to the ocean floor, its body bent in an impossible angle. Magi was horrified.

Rays grinned slightly at the Mantine, who had now turned its attention to her, and let a bit of electricity pass from one dewdrop to the other. The Mantine seemed to understand the danger of fighting her, and turned away, looking for another Magikarp to slay. Rays grew slightly annoyed.

Magi’s heart raced as she lay as still as possible amongst some vegetation. She felt isolated, her instincts telling her to get to a school of her species that did not exist. She tensed as the Mantine’s huge form swam over her, but it did not see her, and continued on its way. Relieved, she relaxed a bit, but not too much, still wary. It would be close to her no matter what she did.

There were a few minutes more in which the Mantine kept searching, and the Chinchou started calling challenges. It ignored her.

Then, suddenly, a scream was heard, and Magi saw Nip race over her in panic, the Mantine close behind. There was another cry of surprise from someone else, and Magi carefully lifted her head out of the seaweed to find Karp desperately trying to get the Mantine away from the little red Magikarp. He screamed over and over again, sometimes getting enough bravery to call the Mantine names. It ignored him; it had found its next target already.

Nip shouted her pleas of mercy as she swam as fast as she could, terrified of her chaser. The Mantine seemed deaf; it gave no notice of her words, nor Karp’s or Ray’s. It chased Nip around and around, never tiring, or showing exertion of any sort for that matter.

In the crowds, Kingdra and Seadra shouted different ways they wanted to see the little girl Magikarp killed.

As the Mantine began to tire of its chase, it shot a stream of bubbles into Nip, hard enough to injure her. With a small cry, the Magikarp sank to the ground.

Magi got enough nerve to swim out of her hiding place, and went to see of Nip was still alive. Much to her relief, she was, but very weak. Magi gently nudged her, whispering for her to get into a hiding place. Nip made no answer.

The sudden low cry of the Mantine made Magi spin around quickly. It was only a few feet away, and was looking at her coldly. Magi was too frightened to move.

With another cry, the Mantine shot towards her, planning on crushing both the weaklings with its body. Then, something happened that the Mantine had not intended…

Magi glanced away at the blinding light. The Mantine screamed in agony. When the light died down, the huge monster looked slightly charred, and confused. It looked wildly about, wondering where the strong attack had come from. Magi looked around, too.

Both Pokemon’s eyes rested on Rays. The little Chinchou, usually friendly and cheerful, had a deadly, enraged look to her, and huge sparks of electricity were coming from her dewdrops. Obviously, she had had enough of being ignored, and was getting her revenge.

The Mantine grew furious!

With a cry louder and more frightening than any it had previously made, the Pokemon shot towards Rays, and rammed its body into hers. The Chinchou was hurled backwards into the stone wall, hitting it so hard she made an indention. This terrible attack was followed by a stream of bubbles, weakening the Water/Electric Pokemon even further. Rays could barely get up.

Preparing for one final blow, again with its body, the Mantine charged. Magi turned away, not wanting to see her friend’s pain, and noticed that Nip was starting to move.

The Mantine cherished the sudden look of fear the Chinchou had as I swam closer and closer. It could not move at the moment, and the Magikarp were too weak to do anything…

Or so it thought.

Out of nowhere, a terrible pain went through the Mantine’s side, and it stopped to see what had caused it. Before it was a male Magikarp, redder than any it had ever seen. A great spike rested on its head plate, and blood was drifting off this into the water. The Mantine looked at the huge gash in its side with great surprise. The Magikarp had somehow caught up with it, driven his spike in, and dragged it all the way down the Mantine’s side.

With another angry cry, but this one a bit weaker, the Mantine swam towards the Magikarp, wincing at its bad wound. The Pokemon stuck out his tongue and swam away, hiding in an especially large amount seaweed. The Mantine moaned. The Magikarp was trying to trick it. If it tried searching for him, he would surprise attack it over and over again with its spike until it died. The Mantine had never seen such a clever Pokemon in its life.

With a slight growl, the Mantine turned its attention back to the two female Magikarp, who were obviously weaker than their partners. Yet… it found that they had vanished!

Magi was impressed by Karp, but even his efforts had failed in destroying the Mantine. The creature was impossibly strong. It would take all their efforts to destroy it. This she said to Nip, who was beside her. The little Magikarp nodded, and together the two of them warily swam out of their hiding place to do their part.

Gulping down her fear Magi, made a sudden dash towards the Mantine, and knocked herself into it as hard as she could. Nip followed, and also rammed into it, in the same place. The Mantine made a sort of grunting noise, and turned around.

For a minute, everyone froze.

Then, letting out her own deep cry, Magi shot towards to Mantine again, risking everything, right into its left eye. Nip attacked as well, but instead of going to its other eye, she sank her teeth into the wound Karp had made, shaking her head to rip it’s muscles.

The Mantine screamed, twisting its body in pain, and hit both Magikarp with its fins. Magi and Nip let out little screams as they were hit, and drifted to the ocean floor. Nip was only grazed across the head, but Magi was hit dead on, and she listened miserably to the snapping of some bone somewhere inside her. She found herself drifting… drifting… The pain at first terrible, then fading into nothingness. She was doomed to die.

Panicking, Karp swam out of his hiding place when the two females attacked, and watched miserably as his friends were struck. He winced at the loud cracking noise that came from one of them, and watched silently as they drifted to the ground. The crowds roared with excitement, but the male Magikarp paid them no heed.

He was too full of anger.

With a loud cry, he swam to the Mantine himself, stabbing his spike into its flesh repeatedly, and dodging its attacks with skill he never knew he had.

The Mantine was very surprised at this battle. It had never fought Pokemon this high of levels and skill as it was fighting now, and it was paying badly for its guard being let down. You’d think that the Kingdra would have given it some sort of warning…?

The Mantine began to swing faster, trying its hardest to hit the male Magikarp. Over and over and over it went… until it was sure this was its last fight…

Then, it finally hit him. Hard.

There was a snap as the male Magikarp was knocked into a wall in a similar way the Chinchou had. Then it fell.

~*~*~

The Mantine nodded to the cheering crowds, its pride brought back tenfold. It was the mightiest of all fighters! It let out a fierce grin, making the cheers louder, but then, all went quiet.

Curiously, the Mantine turned to see what they were staring at, and found itself looking at the male Magikarp, who had somehow survived. The snapping sound had simply been the cracking of its head plate, and this injury it seemed to ignore easily in its adrenaline rush of hate.

Growling, the Mantine swam towards it, and pinned it to the wall.
“Ye shall die for what ye hath done…” it hissed at him, but to its disappointment, not a trace of fear entered his enraged features. Angry, the Mantine pushed the Magikarp into the wall harder, forcing it to gasp in pain. It grinned darkly, squeezing even harder. The male Magikarp could not help but let out a scream.

Then, a sudden, unexpected voice stopped it.

“You bad Pokemon, yes yes! You evil. I good. I kill you. You weak to lightning. I have lightning, yes yes! You hurt friends. You die. Goodbye!”

The Mantine released the Magikarp at the sight of the Chinchou. Rays was back up, still hurt badly, but recovered enough to keep fighting, and ready for the next round. Oh, how the Mantine loathed her. How it wished she were dead!!!

Grinning evilly, Rays let out a HUGE bolt of lightning, hitting the Mantine dead on. The Mantine was too enraged to notice. It screamed, not in pain, but in rage, and, ignoring the lightning coursing through its body, it rammed itself into Rays. She was knocked backwards, and was too weak to get up… With nothing to stop it now, the Mantine hit her again, and again, Rays’s screaming growing weaker and weaker, until she was still and silent. With a final blow, the noble Chinchou was crushed, and left in shreds.

Karp could only watch in horror, his strength gone.

“Rays!” squeaked a female voice, and the crimson Magikarp turned to see Nip up and alive, also staring at Rays in horror.

The Mantine did not notice the little red Magikarp, but had its attention turned back to Karp. He was going to die so terribly… and the Mantine would enjoy every moment of it. Swimming slowly over, the Mantine began to press the male Magikarp against the wall again, slowly crushing him. Karp took it for so long, then finally let out a tortured cry.

~*~*~

Nip stared miserably at her friend, unsure of what to do. Tears welled up in her eyes at the struggling Magikarp, who gritted his teeth for a moment, then let out another cry of pain. He was dying… and there was nothing she could do. She was an even weaker Magikarp than he was! How could a bunch of Magikarp win against this thing, anyway?! They were all dead or going to die… including Karp and herself.

Nip had started becoming attached to the male Magikarp, and she felt that if he died, she wouldn’t know what to do! She couldn’t let him die! She just couldn’t!

The little female Magikarp felt a sudden anger she did not know she had fill her, and adrenaline rush through her body. The world suddenly grew white, and a hidden energy released itself. She felt herself growing large, and though it was painful, it felt right, and wonderful. Excited, Nip let out a cry that deepened as time went on, and then she found the light fading, and that she could see again.

The Mantine looked at Nip with shock, letting Karp go once more. NEVER had THIS happened before! Instead of a tiny Magikarp, she was now a long, blue, snake-like creature, with huge fangs, and a mouth that seemed bigger then its head.

Smirking, Nip the Gyarados let out a mighty, “GYAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” The Mantine just stared in terror.

Slowly, the terrible Gyarados looked down at her opponent, who had started to tremble, and narrowed her eyes with anger…

The attack came so sudden; the Mantine could not have reacted if it wanted to. There was a loud, sickening crunch as Nip bit it in half, and, deciding she was hungry, she began to munch on it. Blood filled the battlegrounds.

~*~*~

Much to the dismay of the Kingdra leader and the Pokemon around him, the male Magikarp also evolved from the experience of the fight, and joined Nip in the feast. Together they let out victory roars and fought over bits of meat here and there.

Then, out of nowhere, the male Gyarados turned to the Pokemon around him.
“I am to be called Fang!” he roared, enjoying the cowering of the Seadra and Kingdra. He also felt the goodness and wonder of now being an individual, and having importance enough to have a name.

Nip nuzzled him, and smiled with satisfaction.
“We’re Gy’dos now, Fang! We won! We did it! ‘N not on’y ‘at, but we’re tha first ta do it!” she whispered. Fang gave a toothy grin. The Kingdra and Seadra would bother them no more…

“Oh, let’s get out of here, Nip! We have a new world to explore!” he suddenly laughed. Nip nodded, and together, the two of them crashed through the actually very thin stone ceiling, laughing at the mess they made for their X-captors to clean up.

They were free, and they’d be free forever.

~*~*~

Keshaa shook all over. He was so very, very horrified, that not even the huge stones falling about him disturbed him. Screams echoed throughout the cave as hundreds of Water Pokemon struggled to escape. He didn’t care. Not after what he had seen…

Magi… was…

Keshaa shut his eyes, feeling the sobbing sounds escaping his throat. The snapping of bone echoed in his ears… the sight of the orange gold Magikarp limply drifting to the ground played over and over in his mind…

“Magi… m… my… my FRIEND!” he suddenly screamed, curling up and weeping. He was alone… all alone… all his friends… gone.

The little Horsea suddenly wanted to die.