Chapter Fourteen: Doduon't Weep For Me



Terra's POV



There are a pair of boys in red robes and pointed hats, looking for all the world like a pair of Red Mage cosplayers. There's a star shape drawn on the dirt with five points, inside a circle, and in the center is an empty Squirtle shell and a tightly bound Doduo, struggling to get free.



Did we just walk in on an evil cult?



"Greetings! Captain Ilima here," Ilima says, stepping forward. "And what exactly is going on here?"



Shu makes hand motions for Ilima to get back. Wes sort of leans back a bit with an expression on his face that says "time to watch the show."



I can't move. I don't know how to move. I just can't.



The taller boy looks up at us. He's got bleached white hair and a look that could stop a train. "What are you doing here?" he snaps, in the tone of voice that carries the corollary you're not supposed to be here.



"I just asked the same of you," Ilima says. "It's rude to answer a question with a question."



"Are you sorcerers, too?" the shorter boy asks. He's got red hair and is holding a staff that's taller than he is. "You just appeared like, whoosh! Where did you come from?"



"What are you doing to that Doduo?" Ilima asks.



White Hair narrows his eyes. "Oh, so now you're answering a question with a question."



"To answer your question, we came to these ruins to examine the carvings inside," Ilima says flatly. "And I could be wrong, but I have the sneaking suspicion you're going to sacrifice that Doduo for what I can only assume are selfish, sinister purposes."



"It's none of your business." White Hair snaps his fingers, and a staff even bigger than Red Hair's appears in his arms. It's carved from red wood, and has carvings of a Charizard's head and wings at its top. "Now move along. Nothing to see here."



"Says you and what army?" Ilima answers. "In case you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered two to one. We're making it our business."



Shu and Wes pull back simultaneously, Wes's expression clearly saying Why are you bringing ME into this? Shu seems more inclined to battle, though, and motions to Kachu to get ready for a rumble.



White Hair gives Ilima his sharpest glare. "This isn't over, Pinky. You can't hang around here forever, and if you ever show your pretty-boy face around here again, I'll ensure you're never mistaken for human again."



Ilima blinks. Twitches. Whatever White Hair just said to him, it clearly cuts pretty deep. "Smeargle! Mean Look!" he yells, throwing a Poke Ball.



But it's too late. White Hair and Red Hair have teleported out, somehow, leaving the Doduo behind.



Ilima starts to say something that I'm pretty sure was going to be a bad word, but it sort of gets smushed by his own hesitation and comes out as "floozie." Shu quickly runs to untie Doduo. Wes is... well, Wes has backed away towards the woods, and he sort of stands there without any idea whether it's safe to rejoin the group again or not.



"What the hell just happened?" Wes asks.



"Some sort of cult, I'm guessing," Ilima answers. "I don't know why Mew didn't show up to do something about this sort of thing. It's troubling..."



"Maybe those two scare even Mew," Wes offers.



Ilima shudders. "Well, they aren't going to scare me," he answers emphatically.



"Hey!" Shu suddenly exclaims. "Look at this Doduo!"



I look down and do a double take. Its feathers are yellow, its legs and beak lime green. One head, the head on its left side, is a normal Doduo head. The head on its right, however, has big wide eyes and, instead of a beak, thick lips like a Weepinbell's. Upon closer examination, the chimera's yellow feathers have the texture of dandelion fluff, and its legs and beak shine with the waxiness of vines.



"Clarence," I whisper, not daring to believe my own eyes. "This is... Clarence?"



"You know this Doduo?" Shu asks.



"I've heard of it... or him..." I admit. "But I never thought that he was real... I mean, really in this world..."



Clarence gives a grateful squawk and rushes out of the pentagram circle, cawing its appreciation for Shu. Kachu looks a little jealous that this Doduo-Weepinbell-thing is getting more attention than she is. Shu just laughs and ruffles Clarence's head feathers, on the head that actually does have feathers at least.



Wes bends down to look at the Squirtle shell. "Hey, this thing's got scratch marks and blood stains inside it," he says. "And it's fresh, too. This didn't just happen -- somebody killed some Squirtle for this shell!"



Ilima flinches. "For what purpose, I wonder...?"



"There's an odd symbol carved inta it, too," Wes says, turning it around to look at the bottom. "Some sorta bird shape?"



"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Ilima suddenly yells, and Wes drops the shell immediately. It lands on one of the painted lines of the star shape, and sparks start to fly from where it's struck the ground.



Wes jumps back, and discovers one small problem with jumping back: he can't. There's a force field keeping him firmly in the middle of the pentagram, and he can't get away.



Clarence whimpers and huddles closer to Shu. Kachu growls, sparks flying from her cheeks. Benga poofs up like a Halloween cat.



I'm frozen. Is this happening? This doesn't happen in Pokemon. This is Pokemon, not Full Metal Alchemist or whatever other show I'm not supposed to watch.



But it's happening.



More sparks burst out from the Squirtle shell, which starts to rise. Wes is frantic, flailing his arms against the invisible barrier, screaming "Get me outta here! GET ME OUTTA HERE!"



If he survives this, Shu is never gonna let him live it down. But that's a pretty big if.



Reality starts to waver within the center of the pentagram, and Wes breaks down screaming, his efforts for naught...



"Wes-Kun! ALLEY-HOOPARING!"



Hoopa to the rescue! A ring appears within the pentagram's center, and Wes freezes a moment in shock before Ilima and I grab him by the arms and haul him out. (I swear I just saw octarine out of that hole.) It tingles to touch Wes, but we pull him out, Hoopa closes the ring, and we all survive.



Wes staggers a few steps forward, then throws up all over Ilima. Ilima pulls back, disgusted, but then looks up and realizes that he has more on his plate than a messy shirt.



Because the shell inside the pentagram is no longer empty.