Ace Blaze: Yeah, I hand drew it... And yes, the quote is as you say...

Ultra_Poke2000: Thanks!

Zach Starmourn: Yeah, I like how the CHinchou talk a lot, too!

Dark Shaman: Thank you! I'll be sure to chack your fanfic out when I can!

Doomykins: Thankee, and welcome! ^-^ I'm afraid I don't have Year of the Clones anywhere right now... And I'm quite sure that's the fanfic you're looking for, right? Don't worry, I plan on putting it nack on Pokemasters when I'm done with this fic, and I'm gonna revise it!

Count von Dark: Aw... I hope you get well soon...

Meh... As soon as I really want to write chapters fast I can't go on the computer for several days! Sorry peoples!

~*~Chapter 9~*~

The Seadra looked menacingly down at the poor excuse for a Horsea that cowered before him. His huge, spiky body was far more superior to this sniveling creature, which looked as though it wouldn’t survive a month. He had not a scratch on him, but this tiny male Horsea was scarred from head to foot, crippled, and half blind. It was amusing that it was attempting to speak to him when it was so lower.

“Please, sir, I MUST talk to whoever’s in charge! My friend is in there! If I don’t save her, she’ll die!” Keshaa begged, looking miserably up at his superior, as it paid little attention to his words. When he was done, the Seadra chuckled.
“Look, you sniveling little worm! You have no business here, so leave! If you want revenge on whatever made you look like something that passed through a Gyarados, I assure you, we give excellent torture to our prisoners well worth whatever they’ve done to our Basic Form.” As soon as it said this, a creature lowered itself in front of it.

The Seadra’s dark eyes widened at the sight of a huge, terrible set of teeth suddenly before it.
“THAT is why if ya dun’ let us in, YOU’LL be the one passin’ through a Gyarados!!!” warned the furious StripFang, letting loose a mighty roar that tore through the water, shattering the Seadra’s pride immediately.

Keshaa just sat there between the two of them, grinning with amusement.

~*~*~

Rays looked miserably between the bars of her new cage, away from anybody and everybody. The round female Chinchou knew it had been bold to attempt to side with a Magikarp, but she had never known it would lead to her own imprisonment!

Of course, they were just stupid Seadra, and had no idea of the wrong choices they were making, so she had played along without argument. They had agreed to let her fight, thankfully, but she was no longer a member of the guards that watched the underground prisons. Now she was a prisoner.

Why was Rays trying to help out these two Magikarp? Simple. For one, they smelled good. It may sound silly, but a Pokemon relies a lot on scent, to see another Pokemon’s health, moods, gender, and personality, as well as other things. Most Magikarp Rays had smelled were a foul, sickening-sick smell like rotten meat.

These were the first two Magikarp she had ever smelled that were pleasant, and if they could be released, they may be able to make more good-natured Magikarp. If that happened, perhaps this silly rivalry between the Seadra and Gyarados would stop. At least, that was what she was hoping.

Rays is, which has been mentioned often before, fearless of the Seadra and Mantine because of her Electric ability. She serves them only because of the free shelter, entertainment, and food, but like all the other Chinchou, she is very much her own self, and does what she wishes. It is beyond any doubt that if any other Chinchou had been in her place, they would have done the same thing she had. So, even if she hated the cage, it was the only unpleasant thing she had been unhappy about.

Bored, Rays let out a loud yawn, and, still with the miserable look on her face, she swam to the back of her cage and fell asleep.

~*~*~

In the darkness sat two large Magikarp; one a lovely orange-gold color, the other a deep intense crimson. The gold one was slender and long with speed and evasiveness unmatched for her species, while the crimson one was thick with muscles and had a savage spike on the shell of his head that no one dared to mess with. The two Pokemon were an impressive pair considering their age and breed.

Though, at the moment, they were scared stiff.

For before them, three other Magikarp fought. The fish were tiny things, barely over half the size of the two Magikarp. Yet, where there wasn’t size, strength, and speed, the little Gyarados children made up with ferocity.

The three Magikarp had been tricked into eating the meat of another Magikarp, and it was driving them mad! Angrily they had started ripping one another apart, biting and tearing into each other in a crazed manner.

Magi and Karp, the larger two Magikarp of the five, kept opposite of the room, too frightened to rest or relax. They had never seen such a gruesome sight. To see Magikarp trying to eat one another… The sight made them want to weep.

Their fighting partners were ruined, and the two of them were sure that Rays the Chinchou had failed in her attempt to help them. They were all alone…

~*~*~

Magi and Karp jumped at a sudden shriek, and realized that two little Magikarp had cornered one that was slightly smaller than them. It shrieked again as they bit into it, and desperately tried to bite them back.

The female Magikarp turned to her crimson partner uncomfortably, and he shook his head.
“We are not helping it!” he snapped. “Those baby Magikarp are mentally insane, bloodthirsty killers! If we tried to trust one enough to save it, it would be our death!” Magi sighed.
“I can’t help it. I can’t stand seeing anything suffer, no matter how bad it is. I’m going to go help it…”

Before Karp could stop her, Magi swam towards the attacking two Magikarp and rammed into one as hard as she could. It let out a shriek, and the other turned to face her fearfully, baring its teeth in an attempt to look frightening. Magi simply spun around and hit it critically with her tail. It rammed into the stone wall, and sank to the floor limp, similar to what had happened with her battle with Karp.

Magi stared at the limp body, feeling mixed emotions about what she had done. Another injury, all thanks to her… Though at least she had saved a life…

It was Magi’s turn to shriek as the first Magikarp she had attacked sank its teeth into her back. She spun around, trying to see it, but it was in that one spot where no matter what she did, she could neither see it nor get at it. Desperately the female Magikarp tried to jerk it off, but it only sank its teeth in deeper, making her cry out again.

Karp was there in a heartbeat.

The crimson male Magikarp dove at the attacking Magikarp, thrusting his spike deep into its side. The little Magikarp gave a tiny cry, its grip loosening on Magi’s back. Karp went even deeper, jerking his head from side to side, and slowly the Magikarp let go altogether, sinking to the ground. Magi shot away to the other side of the cage in terror as soon as she was free, while Karp studied the body. The Magikarp was dead.

Magi trembled and pressed against the wall hard, her head spinning. She had almost been eaten! BY ANOTHER MAGIKARP! If that Magikarp had won…

Magi felt like crying. Her instincts had left her alone for some time now, as though shocked by all the unnatural things happening around her, but with her new injury, now it came back to her in a rush. The silent voice urged her to try and escape, or to evolve, or do SOMETHING!

She very much agreed with it.

Yet, how could she get out? The Chinchou may be on her side, but they wouldn’t let her escape, and the Seadra even less so. These Magikarp were mentally insane and dangerous, and Karp’s self-confidence had dwindled since the last time she had seen him. And Keshaa…

The thought of her Horsea friend out alone, amongst Gyarados and flesh eating Magikarp made her heart grow cold. She had forgotten her reason for being here in the first place. Keshaa… her best friend… out alone and unable to swim… She had to escape. For him. She had to save him, and leave this corrupted land altogether. If she had to fight this “Mantine” to have her freedom, so be it.

Suddenly, Magi felt the need to survive and save Keshaa so bad that she was willing even to evolve for him. It calmed her down, and let her rest herself. She needed to heal first.

~*~*~

The rescued little red Magikarp grinned shyly at Karp, who growled a warning and pointed how spike at its face. Its smile faded, and it looked at the ground, which it had been doing for a while now.

The dead Magikarp had been eaten by the Magikarp they had saved, much to the two larger Pokemon’s disgust, but after it was done, it seemed to have calmed down. It was no longer twitching or snapping at every little thing like its still living and now awake partner, but it looked frightened. This was understandable, of course, since its new company was with Pokemon twice its size, and hostile Pokemon at that. It looked pretty pathetic for even a Magikarp, and every once in a while it would glance uncomfortably at its still bloodthirsty ally. Then it would look back at the ground.

After a bit of this, it looked back up with a frightened grin at Karp, who glared at it, then looked at the still injured Magi, who managed to force a smile back.
“Uh… hi,” muttered the red Magikarp nervously. “M’name’s Nip. I’m a girly Mag’karp. I th’nk ya fo’ savin’ me! I… eh… yeah.” Nip pressed against the ground fearfully at the sight of Karp’s spike so close to her face in warning.
“So… uh… What’s yo’ name, fella?” she asked Karp nervously, not daring to take her eyes off that spike of death.

The male Magikarp snorted, but held his spike in position.
“I have no name in my school, but when I’m with this female, I am known as Karp,” he muttered gruffly, motioning to Magi. Nip stared.
“No name? What kinda Gy’dos dun’ name their liddle’uns?” she asked in shock.
“What kind of Magikarp eat their kin?!” Karp shot back, making Nip grow uncomfortable and quiet.

“I din’ know ‘at was Mag’karp they was feedin’ us,” she whispered sadly. “An’ afta’ I gotta taste o’ tha stuff, fo’ some reason, I needed one mo’ eatin’ of it! I’m betta’ now’ve I gotten that one mo’ bite, though.” She added this last part with a slight grin, once again at Magi, who naturally smiled back. Karp thrust his spike even closer.

Nip’s tiny body quivered, and slowly she moved away from Karp.
“Ya friend’s ‘urt. She needs doctorin’.” She muttered nervously. “I c’n ‘elp ‘er. Ya just gotta trust me…” At these words, Karp lunged, and dug his horn into her nose just barely, letting a small ribbon of blood escape. The little red Magikarp’s eyes widened with fear.
“I have NO REASON to trust you after what I’ve seen, you evil Magikarp!” he snapped, glaring at her with rage. “You have eaten your own friend! If you do that to those who are close to you, there’s no telling what you could do to us!” Nip just trembled.

“Oh, let her, Karp…” muttered Magi, who found that her injury was worsening over time instead of healing. At this rate, she could be too weak to even flee from the Mantine when the battle came. “If I don’t get help soon, I’ll die anyway…” she stated, wincing as she said this. Karp backed away from Nip, and looked at Magi uncomfortably.
“It bit you THAT hard???” he questioned worriedly, swimming over to her. Magi nodded weakly.

“I c’n ‘elp!” Nip persisted as Karp studied the wound. “I c’n mak’er better afore ou’ fight lata t’day!”
“Well, then do it!” barked Karp, glaring at the scum before him. Even the still bloodthirsty Magikarp paused and stared at him at the coldness of his voice.

It took a moment for Nip to snap out of the shock, but when she did, she nodded and swam over to the stones.
“Ya may not know it, but these stones aw’ sp’cial. They ‘eal when they’re ground inta powder an’ put on tha wound. Now, I can’t scratch off any o’ this stone…”
“I’m on it!” Karp cut in, swimming over to a wall and hitting it with his spike. He did this over and over again, until a crack formed, and then he started chipping away at the wall bit by bit. While he did this, Nip sat near Magi.

“Ya ‘ave a white spot on ya cheek!” was the first thing she said, and this with great surprise. Magi grinned.
“It’s a birthmark I’ve had all my life,” she said proudly. “It’s natural.” Nip studied the spot for a moment, and then continued trying to have a conversation.
“M’name’s Nip. What’s yours?”
“Magi.”
“So ya ‘ave a real name?”
“No. It’s my nickname, but it works just as well.”
“Why duncha ‘ave a real name?”
“We weren’t born from Gyarados like you. We were born from Magikarp, and have never actually seen our parents. Most of us live without love or care, just relying on our instincts to keep us going. I myself have ignored mine, however, and saved a little Horsea from a Gyarados. That’s how I got here.”
“Ya saved a Hosea?”
“Yes.”
“Why???”
“Why not? They’re living creatures, too!”
“We eat’em. They’re lower than us.”
“Not necessarily.”
“Well, we still eat’em.”
“You don’t HAVE to!”
“Look, Magi, we eat Horsea ‘cause when we get older we’ll ‘volve, an’ then we GOTTA eat meat. We’re training fo’ when we’re Gyarados, which we’ll def’nately be! We can’t think ‘bout what ou’ prey feels, o’ we’d sta’ve ta death! An’, since we’ve done this fo’ so long, we ‘ave these sharp teeth… If ya’ wonderin’.”
Magi fell silent.

“I’m done!” said Karp triumphantly, trying to brush the ground stone towards his friend.
“Here, Magi! This’ll make you feel better! …I think.” As he pushed the powdered stone along, it somehow grew soft from the water, and eventually turned into a paste. This made it easier for him to move it, and soon he was rubbing it on the female Magikarp’s injured back. Almost like magic, it healed the wound, and she felt her strength return.

Little did the three Pokemon know, this stone was the key stuff used to make Max Potions that humans use.

~*~*~

The cave was still dark, and in this darkness were three Magikarp, all cuddled together asleep. They looked very happy despite their situation, and were greatly enjoying each other’s company.

On the other side of the cave, sat a single Magikarp. It was twitching and snarling like a dog, almost as though it had rabies. Its body craved the flesh of its own kin, and it was growing more and more agitated at the fact that it could easily kill one of the Magikarp that were currently sleeping. Just one swift bite behind the head… But then there was that big Magikarp with the spike. That was the one thing that kept it away.

After a while of muttering to itself and pacing back and forth, the Magikarp could not help it anymore. Swiftly, silently, it dove towards the slumbering Magikarp, ready to kill.

A blow in the head stopped it.

All the Magikarp were aroused by a large Seadra, with a single scar on its chest. Its scales had a darker tint than usual, and it looked very strong.
“It’s time for you to fight, weaklings,” it stated coldly, and as it did this, two Chinchou came in. Using their dewdrops like threatening weapons, they herded the four remaining Magikarp out of the prison… Leading them to their doom…