All Out

Chunk! Ch-chunk! Chunk! The train rocked on its tracks. Zane’s hair whipped behind him in the wind. Little pebbles were thrown about beside the train tracks just below us. They lashed upward, almost close enough to slash at us before they clattered back to the ground. “Come on!” Zane pulled himself up the ladder, shaking as he dragged himself onto the top of the train. Each step of his boots met the metal roof below him with a clang.

I chased after him, “He’s just trying to distract us. It’s his captain who matters!”

“His captain is at the front of the train anyway, right?” Zane’s voice was muffled by the thrashing winds, thundering against my ears, “This will be faster.”

Fire pushed himself off the ladder, stopping just behind me. Chii was still climbing behind him. He shrugged, “Nothing to worry about. It’s not like any of us are dumb enough to fall… At least, I’m not. Chii’s not.”

“You’ll fall if I think you should.” I held my hand in front of my forehead, holding my hair up so it wouldn’t blow in front of my eyes. Each step, I nudged myself forward slowly, pressing my shoe into the ground until I was sure it was stable.

“That stance again?” Fire mumbled, “Is it really so balanced?”

“What?” I turned slightly, having hardly heard him over the wind.

“You’re walking like a Capmon does in a battle,” he giggled.

“We’re in a battle,” I took another step forward, “we have an enemy, and he already threatened to kill us.”

Fire shrugged, “We’re trainers. It’s illegal to kill us.”

“He’s a criminal. What’s your point?”

Chii held her arms out to her sides, taking one stiff step at a time, “Well, there’s a difference between a criminal and a murderer.”

“He tried to blow up the train!” Zane called back.

“Oh…” Chii glanced off.

“Clearly, he didn’t blow it up,” Fire snapped his fingers, “now we know he’s just bluffing. He was running. We’ll never catch up to him if we keep walking all slowly.”

“Go on,” I carefully stepped aside, “run past us. Just don’t fall.”

Fire yawned, “I can’t just leave you guys here. It wouldn’t be safe for you.”

“For me?” I reached for one of my Capture Balls, “I’m a champion.”

“Nidlord can’t fight on top of a train. He’s too big. Ummerfron might be nimble enough, but he’s supposed to play it safe. Saliss, Mageor, and Goybod are also a bit clumsy for… here. So that leaves you with Squaa? That’s unless you brought a secret weapon with you.”

“A secret weapon? Yeah, me. I’ll tackle him myself.”

“Huh?” Zane stomped, “You’re not exactly muscular, Cyan. I mean, you’re one of the greatest battlers of all time, but a wrestler? I’d stand a better chance fighting on my own.”

Fire winced, “No, no… Champions have tricks up their sleeves. You might be shocked.”

I blinked, “Yeah. Shocked…” I whispered, “So, how did you go about catching Nyandeux?”

“What?” He scratched his head, “I beat the ever-loving snot out of it, then I forced it into a Capture Ball. What did you think?”

“Right, I should have known. He’s very talkative. Has he said much to you?”

Zane held his fist in the air, “It’s a talking Capmon. Isn’t that so cool?”

“They all talk!” I scolded him, “You know that already.”

“Right. Right,” Zane carefully crossed over to the top of the next car. We all followed him, “Is Cyan always a bit…”

Fire laughed, “She’s snappy, yeah. How often are you two apart that you aren’t sure of that, yet?”

“Chii said you thought we almost never saw each other,” Zane said. He looked forward, keeping his eye on the fleeing Marco. He started moving more quickly, “You were right about that. We’ve only really met three times, including today.”

“Liar,” Fire snorted.

“What?” Chii stomped behind him, “Zane is stupid and all kinds of things, but he would never lie. He’s too stupid to lie.”

“Stupid!?” Zane moaned, “I’m not…”

I nodded halfheartedly, “It makes it easier to be impressed when you pull off a cool trick,” I tried to reassure him.

“What cool trick?” Chii shrugged.

Fire shot her a glance, “Haven’t you noticed? His Capmon… At least one of them… is trained perfectly to match the kind of tactics that Cyan specializes in. That’s not the training of something stupid, even if she’s helping him.”

“He’s a superfan, Fire,” I snickered, “one of his Capmon told me he has pictures of me hanging up in his room, and at least one of you!”

“Hey, stop!” Zane held his hands out. His cheeks turned redder than a Kachi’s.

“I’m just saying it makes sense that you would train like me. It’s cool,” I took a deep breath. Marco was there just ahead, pulling at the door of the last train car. It wouldn’t open. “No more talking.”

Fire pushed past me, rushing to the front. He tapped my shoulder lightly and whispered, “There’ll be more to talk about later.”

I walked alongside him, my foot pressed on the edge of the train, shaking as the wind slashed against my tail. We stepped around Zane, and I pressed my shoulder against Fire’s, “It’s been a bit. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

“Is that right?”

“It must be.”

“You smell funny, Cyan.”

“I’ve been sleeping in the woods,” I scratched my head. “When’s the last time you’ve taken a shower?”

“Last night. What’s with the camping trip?”

“I needed a change of pace,” we stopped at the edge, overlooking Marco. I grinned, flashing my teeth at him. My canines felt longer, sharper than usual. “Door giving you some trouble there, Buddy?”
He clambered up the ladder, stopping before Fire and me. We both stepped back. Zane and Chii stopped behind us. My hand fastened around Squaa’s Capture Ball. Fire sent out a Kachi. That one Capmon had become one of the most adored in the world. It was beside Fire from the day he left Green Town until the day he won it all on Myth Island. It was his partner. Kachi hissed with crackling electricity, extending directly off its raised fur. It stood firmly. It was large for its breed, over twice what my height would have been if I were like it. As a human, it still barely reached up the side of my leg. A flashing ball of electricity darted around Kachi’s paws as it took a balanced stance, its feet spread out to mitigate the shifting of the train. It wasn’t unlike how I’d been walking this whole time.

Squaa was a titan in comparison with long, bladed steel wings and a pointed, iron beak like the tip of a spear. Its wingspan was wider than the train itself, and its tail feathers alone, little points of clinking titanium, were as wide as I was tall. It was capable of carrying me on its back while it flew, and it had many times before. I held my arms out to Marco, “You’re up against both of us. You can use two Capmon of your own if you’d like, or three, or twenty. It won’t make any difference. Realistically… Give up?”

“Not a chance!” Marco cackled, “The captain locked me out for a reason… So I could take you both down!”

Chii sputtered, “Two champions? You must have a really good strategy, or you’re the greatest trainer ever born!”

“I do have a great strategy! And I’m the strongest trainer this world has ever seen!” Marco summoned a Wizzel and a Nyaro.

“Wow… He actually said that,” Chii’s Nyaro started pawing at her head. Chii rolled her eyes, “You can’t possibly be rooting for him just because he also has a Nyaro. It’s probably all mean and grumpy, anyway. No. You’re neither of those things.”

“Well, neither of these can explode,” I held my hand up. Squaa swished overhead, pulling the wind with it as its bladed talons loosely scraped along my fingertips, just enough to tickle without drawing blood. “That’s an improvement, Marco. Good job.” I said in the most patronizing voice I could muster.

Fire tapped his foot against the ground, “Come on. He’s an opponent. Bully him once the fight is already over.”

“Over? It’s over already!” I pointed at the Wizzel. It was shivering at the sight of Squaa circling overhead. The Nyaro’s eyes were fixated on Fire’s Kachi. That would be a fairer fight if it weren’t likely the most powerful Kachi ever born. This one was fatter than Chii’s Nyaro with stubby legs tipped with flat, fluffy paws. Its tail was clipped short, and its ears were folded down against its head. “It’s over already…” I mumbled. I’d said that once before. It was halfway through my fight with Fire, and I had been wrong. Wizzel and Nyaro stood no chance. I nodded to Fire, “Be careful, they’re more fragile than what we’re used to fighting.”

“That’s an advantage.”

“I know. We’re better than that advantage. We’re good enough that we don’t need it.”

“Stop talking!” Marco squealed, “Come at me! I’ll destroy you and tear your bones to pieces, and I’ll eat your bedsheets!”

Zane flinched, “B-bedsheets? This guy’s crazy!”

“Slash from above,” I commanded calmly, “Just throw them off balance.” Squaa screamed as it struck downward from behind, its talons driving downward from just over Marco’s shoulder. He didn’t commit to his dive, breaking upward just before his claws would have caught the Wizzel’s pelt. It screeched and tried hiding against Marco’s ankle.

Marco kicked the Wizzel, “Do your job, you coward!” It hissed, its back arching and its tail flicking behind it. Ultimately, it trudged back onto the field, its head swiveling as it looked out for Squaa overhead.

“Now, use your lightning,” Fire pointed forward. Effortlessly, Kachi sent a brilliant shock from its body directly into the air overhead. It coalesced in the sky before thundering down to smite the Wizzel. Wizzel twitched once, then rolled sideways off the train.

“Come on! A little zap would have been more than enough!” I protested.

“It’ll get revived anyway,” Fire took another step forward, “recall your Nyaro and give up.”

“You don’t have to kill it,” I clenched my fist.

Fire turned to me, “Kachi just releases a spark of lightning. It’s not like he chooses how much to use.”

“Kachi can easily choose how large a surge to create.”

“I’ve trained a Kachi since I left home. What do you know?” He put his hand on my shoulder. Fire jumped back as a spark inadvertently surged out of me, running up his arm.

“Nothing,” I swirled my hand in the air, and Squaa glided down until it could land its talons on my fingertip. For a titanic, metal beast, it was light enough to perch in my hands.

“Get the trainers!” Marco pointed forward. Nyaro waddled toward us with its claws unsheathed. Squaa beat his wings vigorously, and the Nyaro panicked. It ran past Zane and Chii and further down the train to hide.

“The trainers?” Fire watched it leave, “That’s illegal.”

Marco smirked. He sent out another Capmon. It resembled a human with emaciated, crossed legs and a pointed face. The magic type floated slightly off the ground and Marco grabbed its arm, “Quickly, teleport away!”

“Stop them!” Fire yelled. Watching Kachi dart forward. Too late, Marco and his Mageit disappeared in a flash of pinkish light. “Come on!” He stomped against the roof of the train.

I recalled Squaa and carefully climbed down to the door that wasn’t opening. I sent out Nidlord, who could barely fit inside the previous train car. He reached out over the divide to the last car. As the door screeched, his violet, muscular arms bulged. With a crash, the metal door was torn from its hinges, and Nidlord threw it off the side of the train. Nobody was in the last car. Zane looked in, “The captain already ran away.”

“Are any of you a train conductor?” Fire stepped in front of the engine.

“I read a lot about trains when I was little,” Chii raised her hand, “I know there are different kinds of cars, and some kinds of Capmon can create the fuel to keep the train going, and there’s a fancy dining car.”

“Great,” Fire nodded, “you’re in charge. Make sure we get to Angel City safely!”

I pressed the intercom button in the front, broadcasting my voice throughout the entire train, “The Starlight Gang has been driven out of the front of the train. If any more of you are lingering, your captain has fled and abandoned you. If anyone knows where the conductor is, please send him to the front of the train. In the meantime, we have someone else driving the train.”

Zane looked out the front window while Fire pulled me into the adjacent car. He whispered, “You said an hour. If my watch is right…”

“Two minutes,” I said.

“You’ve been watching the clock. Cyan, I’m going to keep you here for the next two minutes.”

“What?” I asked him, “Why?”

“Because I think you weren’t joking.”
“And, if I wasn’t?”

“Then I want to know,” he opened one of the rooms. It was empty, and he locked the door behind us.

“No,” I shook my head, “no-no, Fire, you…”

“Don’t tell me what I want,” he ran his finger along my cheek. His wrist twitched as he was shocked by static electricity. “Does everyone just sparkle like that?”

“It’s a new thing.”

“I like new things.”

My tail flicked behind me, “Not this.” I held my breath as my eyes turned to the second hand on his watch. Seventy.

“Nyandeux already told me something would happen in an hour. Telepathy.”

“What are you expecting?” Sixty.

“I don’t know. It’s like a birthday present.”

“That was last week.” Fifty.

He pinched my fluffy ear, “So, you didn’t forget.”

“I had a lot going on.”

“I’m starting to imagine,” his fingertips pushed through my hair, trying to feel for my real ears. I only had the ears of a Kachi on my head. Thirty.

“You don’t seem worried.”

“Cyan, the youngest champion ever, takes on a student for no reason. That student knows nothing about battling, but there’s just this one thing… He must. His Capmon do extraordinary things while he just… doesn’t. His Capmon disappears on a train with a bunch of criminals, but Cyan isn’t worried about that at all.” Ten.

I tried rushing past him, grabbing at the lock on the door. Fire’s hand snatched my wrist. “I’m sorry, Cyan. I need to know what’s going on. It’s my responsibility as a champion. As your friend.”

A green and violet light danced in a circle around me and my body instantly shrunk back to that of a Kachi. I was dangling from my paw, still clenched in Fire’s grip. His eyes settled on me, “Wow, I just thought I had a stupid hunch. This? This is what you’ve been doing?”

“I don’t know how. I don’t know why. I wound up with him.”

“Come with me instead,” Fire set me down, “Think of it, two champions… We’d be the most powerful team the world had ever seen. Then, we can find a way to undo… whatever this is.”

I sat there thinking about it, “I’m sorry. No.” I forced myself to say it, and I didn’t know why I was. It was the correct choice. My tail flicked behind me, “I’m going to make Zane a champion.”

Fire leaned down to grab my pawn in his hand, shaking it like a regular greeting, “Well, may the best champion win. Cyan, if you ever change your mind…”

“Don’t tell anyone.”

“No way,” he shook his head. “I mean, you’re a champion as a Capmon. Imagine if some weirdo tried to capture you or something. Who did this to you?”

“I don’t know yet, but I know that SolveCorp knows about it. The Starlight Gang has at least one guy who knows about it. There’s another thing…”

“SolveCorp owns the new Starlight Gang,” Fire admitted, “Dr. Fine told me. He thinks I’m working for him. I’ll always pick you first. Come on, let’s go.”

Fire carried me out to the front of the train. Somebody had found the conductor and brought him forward to take the train the rest of the way safely. Zane blinked as he saw me, “Oh, Bianca. There you are.”

“She beat up a bunch of Starlight jerks,” Fire pushed me into Zane’s arms, “oh, and… Cyan flew away on the back of that huge Squaa. She said she had a lead on where the captain went and is going to chase him down.”