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VoCT Round 5.
Tsumi vs. Sparky the 'Chu.
Characters © their players. 
Story © Tsumi Moogle '09.
The sky grew darker with each passing minute as Tsumi and his companion made for the summit together. The trek had been peaceful, for lack of a better term, the view of the island all around as they climbed obscured under the rain that had continued for a better portion of the day. It had not, though, managed to dampen the Moogle's rekindled will to make it to the end. Thanks, in no small part, to his once-opponent turned-ally. Her presence permitting him to talk again, freely sharing stories, experiences and smiles.
Breaking through the clouds, onto a dryer path and a star-speckled twilight above, there was a shudder down Tsumi's pompom, though not one of cold as they neared the summit looming ahead. 
“Stop.” Urged the voices, causing the moogle to trail off from his story of his family back home. Misa though, continued to wander ahead, looking to the moogle inquisitively, as if thinking he had stopped for breath or to collect his thoughts. Tsumi gently grasped at the slime-cat's arm. 
“Wait, Misa…” He whispered uncertainly as he looked about. The evening air was cool, but very still. He was certain most any noise could be heard from some way.
“Sefra!” Called a voice the moogle had not heard before, though a soft gasp from Misa told him she had. 
“Alex..!” She perked up, apparently eager to reunite with this Alex-person, before Tsumi's paw cupped over her face, squishing in softly. 
“Misa! He's calling to Sefra! Keep it down!” He urged, gulping as he looked up and about, as voices, familiar and not, called to the night-sky. “…That's Verace. But-.. he was-..” The moogle looked back towards the island, frowning as it was obscured by the clouds, a grayish-blue, hiding the land below from his vision. 
“And is that.. Sefra?” Misa asked through a mouth, formed from her cheek, causing the moogle jerk his paw back in shock. 
“K-kupo! …No, that's not… that one is, though…” He frowned, listening curiously… 
 
“You yourself admitted that this tournament has been tearing apart friendships.” Called one of the familiar voices. “All this time I've been trying to trust you the same as I always have, but with each passing day it's becoming clearer and clearer to me that you've changed, and not for the better!” Tsumi frowned as his pompom sensed an emotion in those words, a sadness of such uncertainty and loss… 
Closing his eyes, he listened to something deeper, the sound of the earth below and before him, the feel of mingling beats, glowing bright. Those Strikers glowed much like Charlie had: with an unearthly vigor… And before them, Sefra. But no, it was not just Sefra. It was somehow… More than that. The rabbit's flow was not his own, as if like a parasite, there was something holding to it, seeping through it, through the ground, through the island…
It was those whispering flames; dark and unbidden, everywhere and yet nowhere at the same time, it was not just an aura, it was becoming a beat of its own; a deep, rumbling bass that shook the moogle from his meditation. His eyes wide as he clutched his heart.
“No... You mean you're… The beast, himself!?” Came Alex's voice above, causing the moogle and slime-cat to look to one another, confused… The Strikers, continuing to talk to this 'Beast' within Sefra. There was an evil, haunting laugh as the Strikers apparently said something that amused him this 'Erebus,' as the Voices had overheard more than the Moogle… Worry, tension, anger… A building sensation of climax in the air as the Strikers cornered the beast. Verace's voice, carrying through the emotions, brought Tsumi's gaze to the sky.
“The moon! It's full!” He yelled before, with a red pulse of his pompom, Tsumi ducked flat to the ground as the air suddenly screamed, surging forth in a great wave that knocked the Strikers from the ledge above. For a split-second, the moogle stared, seeing Verace as the fox fell; curled in pain before he vanished beneath the blanket of the thick clouds and out of sight with Damien, Alex and the unconscious Spencer.
Panting softly as he lifted his head and turned from the now-smooth point of cloud where the fox had vanished to Misa, who seemed torn. Worry was on her face as she too, looked to the clouds. 
“Alex…” She gulped quietly, before looking in kind to the moogle, freezing as Sefra's voice called to the air again: 
“I know you two are there! You can stop hiding now!” The voice was eager, causing Tsumi to shudder, before lifting to his feet and helping Misa up. Together, the duo made their way up the final ridge, and atop the summit of Mount Corona. They had arrived.
The view from the top would have been spectacular, if not for the direness of the moment; the cottony blanket of clouds as far as they could see lapped at the lone island peak. An inky shade of indigo splashed across the sky, melting to purple, red, and the faintest of yellows at the edge of the clouds to the west. The stars were out in number, the moon hanging full and low in the sky, shedding its pale light over the mountain top. The summit itself was quite bare, wiped clean from that wicked wind attack Erebus had used to clear his competition out, save for an odd, rough-hewn seat towards the northern  edge of the mountain top, wherein sat the familiar moonblossom who had effectively haunted the moogle from start to finish.
A lurch of anger surged through the moogle as he looked to the rabbit, contently sprawled in his place, his huge hammer hilt rested on one shoulder, and his free paw wrapped around something almost unnoticeable: Kyt's shard. Tsumi's' attention was drawn away though, as he noted movement from the corner of his eye. Turning, he looked to the figure stepping hesitantly over the ridge opposite to where he and Misa had and frowned… He vaguely recognized the person from the initial gathering on the beach. It was an anthro-Pokémon, a Pikachu; his fur a bright yellow, hair long and chocolate-brown, dressed quite similarly to Tsumi, though rather more accessorized. He was wearing an open-front vest, long white gauntlet-gloves, long jeans with a slim Oriental blade to his side. Goggles rested on his forehead, and an odd, black marble seemed to be strung about his neck on a thin wire.
Meeting the Pikachu's gaze, the mog found himself staring into determined eyes; anger and fear displaced before whatever need burned within this newcomer's heart. Seeming to size him up, the Pikachu then turned, facing Sefra instead and coming to stop beside the moogle. Beside him, his partner, a female red panda looking for a moment at the moogle and Misa.
The wind was silent again, tense and almost trembling as the odd group stood before Sefra, eyes burning with their own purposes for being there before, at last, the Pikachu spoke: 
“So you're the one behind all this, huh?  Tell me, why did you force us to fight against our friends like this?” 
The moonblossom eyed Sparky thoughtfully, considering him a moment.  
“…Very well,” Erebus said in a rather neutral tone, subduing his greed momentarily. “You two have managed to make it this far, so I suppose it's only fitting to reward you with a little history lesson… Quite some time ago, I was sealed beneath this island. It was intended for me to be sealed here forever, but we can all see how well that turned out. The Strikers apparently felt the same, as they've been around all this time in secret, keeping tabs on the seal, causing the tale to degrade into a mere legend among the locals.”
“So that aura I've been sensing… That was from you all along?” Sabrina, the Red panda asked, frowning. 
      “That's right,” Erebus grinned as he continued. “However, one day, two rather unusual people appeared before the Strikers with no prior warning… The brothers, Alex and Verace, arrived with information that the seal was weakening due to the number of inhabitants of the island increasing, and offered their services to help in protecting the seal. I don't know how they came across this information, nor how they knew about the Strikers, but what they DIDN'T know is that not only was the existence of numerous souls on the island affecting the seal, but it was also affected by how powerful those souls were. Thus, when the Strikers came to evacuate the island, My seal 'cracked', without their knowledge, allowing me to escape and try to gain as much power as I could. The Strikers tried to fight me in what is now the wastelands, where you very nearly gave up, Moogle.” He laughed softly, turning his eyes for a moment to Tsumi. “However, They underestimated me, and were totally unprepared for my powers. They would have all died if not for that rabbit, Alex suddenly discovering a strange new power, resulting in a handful of the Strikers surviving… A shame for him that miracles don't happen twice, hmm?” Another laugh escaped the moonblossom as a soft shadow seemed to flick across his face.
      “Afterwards, the survivors of the encounter brought in Spencer as a 'specialist', hoping he would have the power to defeat me. Unfortunately, they were unable to find me there when they returned with him to the island to fight me. They didn't realize what had really happened, with that foolish Moonblossom having actually fallen in battle, so they assumed I had gone into hiding. They organized this tournament as a way to draw me out, as well as find people to help fight me, but I saw it more as an opportunity to gather enough power to break my seal completely. Thus, by turning it on its head and having you fools devour one another,  I would be able to covertly seal away each defeated contestant until I had enough sacrifices gathered to break the seal!” The laugh following the rabbit's monologue was most pronounced, his tone almost hysterical and his voice even seeming to warp a little. 
Staring at the form of Sefra, laughing before him, the moogle shook with rage, clenching his fists. 
“This.. was all a plot.. for you to unseal yourself? At the cost of others' lives?! Of the lives of our friends, and-.. and loved ones?” He couldn't help but yell as his rage gripped him a moment, Misa sniffing beside him. 
“You made us kill people… perfectly good, honest people, just to achieve your own selfish ends?” She choked out, staring as the moonblossom slowly calmed down from his laugh.
“Cry all you want about your morals and loved ones. You're going to be finishing this tournament!” Erebus commanded with a wicked smirk. 
“And knowing all that, why would we want to help you?” Sparky asked.
“Simple:” The moonblossom inclined his head. “You don't have a choice,” Erebus chuckled. “None of you would have been a match for this vessel's powers even under normal circumstances, and on the night of a full moon when they are at their peak, I couldn't lose to you if I wanted to!”
Spreading his arms from his seat as he looked the group over, Sefra gave an almost inviting smile. “Now, be sure to make this good. It's going to take a powerful soul to fully break the seal, and perhaps, with all of you finally gathered here, I'll be free at last!”
Leaning back into his seat, the moonblossom rested the shard between his fingers, watching the moogle and 'chu as they both seemed to consider the command. Tsumi looking aside, towards Sparky and frowning. 
“…No. If you're so keen… on freeing yourself with our souls, you do it yourself!” The moogle glared at the seated Moonblossom. “I'm not going to fight in order to please you; I'm here for what you stole from me! And seeing as you're not a Striker, you can't make us do anything! Power or not, kupo!” The moogle stepped forward, narrowing his eyes at Erebus who remained seated, looking almost bored at the outburst. Beside Tsumi, Sparky stepped forward, drawing his sword to point it at the rabbit. 
“The moogle's right. I'm not going to let you finish whatever plans you had for getting free, and tearing up more friendships! I'm going to rescue Jag, and finish this tournament!”
Looking over the two determined faces, Erebus raised an eyebrow, slowly standing up and hefting his sizeable hammer over a shoulder with that wicked grin etched on his greedy face. 
“This is rich. You two should hear yourselves! But if you're not going to play along… Alright, we'll do it your way! And just to make it interesting; I'll beat you both with only one arm.” 
Despite the anxious desire to beat the rabbit, Tsumi could feel that parasite within Sefra's body getting ready, its powerful rhythm almost drowning out his own as he focused, lowering his stance and raising his arms to shoulder-height. Beside him, he felt Sparky readying as well, deepening his stance.  
“…You'll watch my back?” The Pikachu asked to the side, not taking his eyes from Erebus as his foot shuffled forward, slowly digging his toe-claws into the ground. 
“If you'll watch mine, kupo.” The moogle nodded, before with a pulse of his pompom, The duo charged for the smirking rabbit.
“How brash.” Sefra murmured, swinging his hammer around in a great cleave for the pair. A red glow came from Tsumi's pompom, and he lunged forward beneath, as Sparky leapt over. Catching his hands on the ground, Tsumi followed his momentum, pushing off once more to plant both feet into the smalls of the possessed Rabbit's back as Sefra turned, following the motion of his hammer. Barely staggering, Erebus looked back as Tsumi dropped down, grinning wickedly and angling his hammer-shaft around to parry Sparky's incoming sword-strike. With a simple lift of his arm, swinging the hammer back over his head, the rabbit threw Sparky with ease, the 'Chu landing on his feet and stumbling a little whilst Sefra flexed his wrist and extended the pole of his hammer with shocking speed towards Tsumi. 
 
“Look out!” The voices said quite unnecessarily as the moogle leapt back from the hilt, pushing a hand against it to keep from taking the brunt of the strike, wincing. The rabbit was barely moving, and keeping the moogle and Sparky at bay. Another pulse, and the moogle winced as the hilt retracted, Sefra grinning as he brought his weapon down to crush the moogle, now in the perfect position for it. 
Staring at the broad underside of the hammer head in shock, Tsumi froze, but so too, did the hammer, bare inches from his head. Looking down tremblingly, he gasped. Misa stood before him, having grabbed the shaft of the hammer, halting it. 
“Be careful! And hurry!” The slime cat spoke urgently, apparently resisting Sefra's attempt to pull the weapon back.
Nodding, the moogle closed his eyes, taking a breath as he delved into his beat, letting the sounds of the battlefield well up inside him: Tension, Hope, Desperation and Anger, working apart from the quieter sounds of the still night. The beat that was Sparky's shined as the 'Chu ambushed the distracted rabbit. Tsumi winced as a sharp tone and lash from Erebus' flow told him the rabbit had lifted his feet, knocking away the Pikachu's weapon and kicking him in the chest. 
Focusing back into himself, the moogle started swaying and moving, in sharp and controlled motions as he willed the pulsing music to clear his mind of doubt and worry. Sefra's flow  arced again and he heard the hammer pulling aside, Misa staggering and releasing it. 
“…This has gone on far enough…” The voices whispered as Tsumi worked the flow into the ground, the air around him. “… We will guide you directly, if you will allow it.” And giving a simple nod of his head as he felt Erebus' eyes on him followed by a growl, he felt his hand raise and point to the side as the Rabbit attempted to beat him aside again.
Picking himself up from the ground, wincing and rubbing his chest, Sparky looked up as the ground rumbled beneath him watching as Tsumi's arm swung aside. A glaive of rock pushed from the ground and impacted with Sefra's Hammer, stopping it dead in motion. The moogle was swaying, with his eyes closed, to a beat… that strangely, the 'chu could hear at the edges of his mind. The more he listened, the louder it got, warming his blood and displacing the pain he felt. Gripping his sword tighter, Sparky darted once more for Sefra, channeling a surge of energy down his arm and blade. The rabbit turned his head though, glaring  in annoyance as he heard the 'chu and turning back, swung his hammer behind him once more. 
 
Taking his advantage with his ambush though, Sparky gripped his sword and swung it skywards, with a yell of 'Rai-Ken-Oh!' arcing off a shearing wave of electricity that tore through Sefra's body for a moment, causing him to roar with annoyance and jerk with pain. The wave continued on, toward Tsumi who spun on the spot, still lost in the depths of his quick, energized dance. His pompom glowed yellow as his hand reached out; welcoming the energy and seeming to siphon it into his body, before the other hand lashed forward, directing the energy towards Sefra in a single focused bolt of lightning that slammed into the rabbit's back and threw him sprawling, into a heap on the ground.
The moogle slowly eased his movements, eyes opening whilst his hands tingled slowly with the remnants of his attack. Sparky, panting slightly and gathering himself as that song pounding in his heart ebbed a little, was uncertain what exactly it had been that Tsumi had just done, which was no doubt effective, as he looked to Sefra, face-down on the ground. The rabbit's body twitched a little, as a small arc of electricity ran across his body, smoke hissing from the sear-mark on his side. Sefra stirred.
Frowning quietly as he watched the moonblossom slowly move, lifting himself from the ground and to his feet with a little stagger, Tsumi waited with bated breath before his pompom gave an angry flare. His hands raising swiftly, a small wall of rock lifted before him just in time to buffet him from a sharp blast of wind. Cringing, he heard the Pikachu landing heavily against the rocky seat that Sefra had so recently occupied. 
“…That actually hurt.” The Rabbit murmured, leaning lightly on his hammer, that despite the brutality of the shock, had not fallen from his grasp… “I've enjoyed our little game, you two… Really, it's been fun.” Sefra smirked lightly. “But it's time for you to realize that it's pointless! As you are right now, you can't beat me, no matter what you do! I told you before to give up… Just lay down, stop fighting, and let me finish the job…” His voice became almost soothing, hinted and shaded with unmistakable malice and want.
“I've been trapped in this forsaken island for far too long, and I'm getting tired of waiting. Nnhh.. the hunger… You've got no idea.” The look on Sefra's face changed to exquisite delight as he reminisced. “Beyond this island's inhabitants, the foolish Strikers who tried to stop me… There's a whole world. Helpless people just ripe for the picking.” A slow lick of the rabbit's tongue along his lips sent a shiver down Sparky's spine as the 'chu eased from the chair, panting. 
“There's a feast waiting for me, outside this island. And you two… You two wretched creatures aren't even the entrèe! Not even an hors d'oeuvre!” His voice rose with ragged anticipation, turning his maddened eyes from Pikachu to Moogle.
“Nnhh.. I can almost taste it… Beyond you both… I'll move on… each town, each city, each wandering soul I find... I'll devour… Your friends and your families, everyone you've ever known and loved… They'll all be mine! As helpless, and no doubt as delicious as you!” The rabbit panted as he lifted his head to the clear sky and laughed once more, his wicked cackle ringing through the air of the mountain peak. Before him, Tsumi winced, shaking unbidden visions from the beast's words from his mind, his raging song disrupted by the laughter pressing on his ears. It was a single footstep that drew his shaky attention, and Sefra's too as Sparky growled softly, pulling off the thin strap about his neck holding the obsidian gem.
“My friends…” The Pikachu spoke with that look of determination burning on his face again. “…After Jag, I won't… Allow you to eat any one else!” And dropping the gem, the 'Chu lifted his sword before stabbing the tip down clean through the tiny black marble, and kneeling in place. The shattered fragments of stone began to hum audibly, pulsing yellow and seeming to resonate with Sparky's body. With his head bowed, Tsumi could feel the powerful vibrations, see Sparky's beat fluctuating, strengthening and morphing, causing him to open his eyes once more against the sensations of change and gasp as with a sharp flare from the Pikachu's body, the resonance faded to silence.
Standing slowly, Sparky lifted his eyes to Sefra, incredulity on the moonblossom's face, coupled with skepticism. With a light incline of his head, easing his hair from his face, Sparky stood taller than he had before, with a crackle of electricity rushing along his body. His fur was now a golden-tan, with black stripes along his back, ears shorter, curled; almost like fins. Chocolaty-brown-colored gloves and socks on hands and feet. And behind him waved a sinuous, whip-like black tail ending in a thunderbolt. Lifting his sword from the ground, and twining its hilt between his fingers, the Raichu gripped the sword horizontally, sharpening his gaze on the Moonblossom and calling with a deeper voice. “I swore to save my friends! And if that's not possible, then I'll do the next best thing: Defeating You!”
Grinning at Sparky's words, Sefra raised an eyebrow, seeming to have relaxed from the change in his opponent. “You've been shouting about your dear friends since I ate Jag in front of you, little 'chu. If you think your little face-lift is going to change anything, then go ahead and try i-!” The Moonblossom cut himself short, lifting his hammer to block a sudden sword-strike. The 'chu had launched those dozen feet in a heart-beat, and the force of the blow had Sefra staggering back a little, steadying himself with a foot, shocked, before lashing forward with the hammer, and forcing the Raichu back in turn. “Hmph. Better, but I'll still only need one hand to beat you, little 'chu!” And leaping forward, The rabbit began taking great, swift swipes at the Raichu with his hefty Hammer, wielding it as though it were light as a rapier. Herding Sparky back with his swings, Sefra grinned as the Raichu leapt high to avoid a firm blow, and planted his hammer to throw a hand forward, sending a screaming stream of wind to knock Sparky down.
A growl of frustration rose in Sefra's throat, though, as the ground pushed up to shield the 'chu as he landed, the edges of the earthen-barrier chipping and cracking, but withstanding the blow. Turning with a snarl to where Tsumi knelt hidden, the moonblossom lifted his hammer and pointed it forward. “If you insist, moogle.” After a flex of his wrist, the hilt extended like a rocket, impacting with the moogle's barrier brutally and cracking it. Drawing back, the lapine prepared to expose the hiding moogle, ears flicking attentively for incoming attacks from Sparky, before the broken barrier shimmered, and shattered forward explosively, sharp, sizeable rock chunks launching past the rabbit as he deftly avoided each, smirking and shaking his head amusedly at Tsumi who knelt with his hands pressed forward from his spell. “You're really getting on my nerves, Moogle.” Sefra growled, licking his lips again and inclining his head.
“Behind you!” The voices called, causing tsumi to turn, staring at… nothing. The night-sky over the clouds, still, save for a gentle breeze. The Moogle hesitated for a moment, before his eyes widened. The breeze picked up into a hurricane-force blast, knocking him flailing back, into Sefra's grasp. The rabbit's hand held Tsumi's neck firmly as the moogle stared to the moonblossom; grinning wickedly down to him, eyes shadowed, and yet gleaming in the reflection of the odd double-sided moon-sigil on his forehead. 
“…But that's easily remedied.” Sefra sneered as his paw moved from the mog's neck... to his pompom, and gripped like a vice. The effect was immediate as a surge of burning pain shot down the moogle's head and body to every extremity; like Sefra's' claws held every nerve in his body, pin-pricking, pulsing with each moment the pompom was held. Gritting his teeth, the moogle scrambled to his feet, to grab and claw at the arm of the hand holding him. 
“L-let go..!” He yelped, whimpering anxiously, breathing shallow and fast, his lungs burning with that terrible sensation, hearted pounding, muscles twitching as the rabbit squeezed slowly tighter, bringing tears of agony to his eyes.
“Stop! Let him go!” Misa gave a cry, starting forward to help her friend as the moogle let out a yell at the pain tearing through his mind and body when the rabbit continued squeezing, inclining his head to watch the slime with a cruel smirk. One of his ears flicking, Sefra grinned and crouched, and lashed his leg out swiftly behind himself, caught Sparky in the stomach as the 'chu leapt in to help. 
“Wait your turn, 'chu!” And pushing with his foot, threw the raichu back on his rump whilst lifting his hand slowly; keeping the pompom tight in his grasp and causing the moogle to arch and lean up on his toes; trembling desperately, gripping the steel-gripped arm as his antennae was pulled taught.
The moogle's terrible scream carried across the night sky as he dangled by a literal thread of life. Misa lunged forward again, only to be thrown back by another sharp blast of wind whilst Sefra grinned in savage delight. “Your friends are so impatient, moogle. They can't wait to join you in my belly!” He leaned in to lick his broad tongue along the sobbing moogle's cheek, savoring the strawberry-sweet flavor mingled with those tears, before feeling an odd twinge in the bauble in his hand. It started to glow brighter, growing searing-hot in his grasp as Tsumi's trembling and sobbing eased. Growling at the moogle's defense, the moonblossom prepared to tear the bauble clean off his head, blinking as a thick vine tore from the ground to grip at his wrist, holding it locked in place.
“I said…” Whispered the moogle in an oddly harsh, shaky voice, opening his reddened eyes to the shocked rabbit as the ground trembled faintly, a static, distorted noise creeping from the moogle's frame, snippets of his music, flaring between anger and terror. “…Let GO!”
The rabbit hissed in frustration, paw jerking back from the white-hot pompom, though he remained held firm by the vines. Tsumi, dropping to his feet, looked up with a terrible snarl across his face as the sound seeming to pulse from his body wretched into a screechy crescendo; the ground beneath Sefra cracked and splintered before great flames roared high into the night-sky; engulfing the moonblossom with such force that Sefra's free hand released its grip on the fine and now-glowing crystal shard he had held, and flinging it from the mountaintop.
Panting raggedly, the moogle jerked in pain and slumped to a knee as his pompom pulsed and dimmed its glow. Shaking with the remnant aches through his body, he felt broad hands on his shoulders; Sparky was supporting him, helping stand him up and back him from the motionless moonblossom. 
“Easy, moogle.. You should rest-” His words paused at a growl from the rabbit behind him. Sefra's body stood singed from the terrible flames; his outfit in ashen tatters, eyes gleaming maliciously. 
“You can rest, when you're MELTING in my STOMACH!” He spat as his hand reached for his hammer, to find a firm and caustic grasp on his wrist; Misa stood, grasping the enraged moonblossom's arm with her own. “Back off, Slime. You're NEXT!” Sefra roared, throwing his arm back and blasting Misa bodily into a large boulder with a sharp gust of wind, her frame splattering into the rock, which began to crack from the force. The terrible gust seemed to have a sharp edge to it, cutting into the slime and boulder with an ominous cracking and crunching sound. Sundering steadily beneath the wind's bearing-down, the rock blew apart; Misa knocked with the sheered rubble off the mountainside, her cry of desperation silenced in the screaming wind. Turning from the remnants of the boulder, Sefra reached for his large hammer, and swung brutally for the pair. 
Supporting the weakened mog, Sparky hefted Tsumi up to leap aside, but was weighted down with his small friend; the hammer crashed into the raichu's side. With an agonized yell, Sparky was thrown aside, holding the moogle tight to him and groaning as he slid to a stop, looking dazedly up as Sefra approached, hammer dragging behind him. Scrambling to put the moogle aside, Sparky knelt up, panting raggedly. 
“Ngh-.. I won't let you.. Eat anyone else!!” The 'chu yelled defiantly. Body tensing and crackling with a wicked surge of electricity, he threw his hands forward with his massive discharge.The bolt tore and melted the earth as it struck, then arced up toward Sefra. The rabbit gave an annoyed sneer and pushed a hand in kind. The air shimmered before the moonblossom, before seeming to solidify for a moment into a gleaming barrier that the lightning slammed into and dispersed from.
Sparky got only a moment to register shock as his attack was deflected like child's play, before Sefra was upon him, gripping his neck and walking him back. The moonblossom sat, upon the trembling moogle's hips, pinning Tsumi's arms with his knees, and pulling Sparky around to face the mog. 
“Game Over.”  
The moonblossom growled, licking his lips and turning the raichu around to face him again. Before the moogle's very eyes, Sefra yawned his muzzle open with a slow and deliberate grace; baring the slick and dark red flesh of his maw leading on to the deep cavern of his pulsing, slimy gullet beyond to the 'chu, broad tongue hanging slowly over his sharp fangs as a thin bead of saliva trailed atop Tsumi's belly. Sefra was going to savor this, slowly.
The raichu squirmed, panting and trying fruitlessly to pull back from the rabbit's vice-like grip drawing his muzzle over that awaiting tongue. Easing his yawning maw over Sparky's face and head and filling his vision with nothing but the inescapable fleshy walls of his awaiting throat, Erebus made a faint noise of pleasure at the 'chu's tangy taste, buzzing slightly from the inherent current running along his meal. Squishing Sparky's muzzle into the slick and pillowy flesh of his relaxed gullet, the lapine sealed his lips around the Pokémon's neck, suckling lazily; savoring every portion of fur his tongue could reach. Where Jag had been so much easier to ingest, due to his size, Sparky was a welcome and much more filling treat. Sefra's eyes gleamed maliciously as he stared down at Tsumi, ingesting the mog's battle-partner with ease. A haunting noise made Tsumi cringe as the moonblossom swallowed, drawing Sparky's shoulders up, and easing his maw over them with a precarious tilt and push of his head. The rabbit's neck bulged.
Within the moogle's head as he stared at the sight of his new acquaintance being devoured, Tsumi saw the perversion in a whole different light; the thread of Sparky's beat being entwined and enveloped by that alien sound that was Erebus. More of the island seemed to pulse with that darkness with each swallow the rabbit took.
Erebus smirked wickedly around the torso of his meal, Sparky's arms squirming, trapped at his sides as the dexterous tongue slathered along his bare chest; mocking his attempts to break free. A switch of the moonblossom's grasp soon held Sparky's hands at his hips, converting the 'chu to a rather conveniently swallowable package, his leverage denied him, as another slow and wet swallow dragged his belly across the rabbit's anxious tongue. Deep within Sefra's chest, the 'chu was subjected to the terrible sounds of the belly churning and gurgling eagerly below, the rush of breath and rapidly beating heart adding amidst the visceral symphony pressing in on his ears as the gullet rolled in steady, slimy waves, matting his body down with thick and copious saliva.
Tsumi stared in terror, as his best bet at defeating the lapine was inched away. With each steady 'glurp' and 'gluck'; Sefra's neck sizably swelled with more of Sparky's arms and belly. Unable to look away as Sefra's next swallow claimed Sparky's denim-clad hips, the moonblossom's belly began pushing out, distending with Sparky's head and weight, right atop him. The raichu squirming against him, divided only by bare inches of the maliciously churning walls enfolding him.
Lifting his head to the night-sky and silhouetted against the full-moon behind him, Sefra continued swallowing and lunging his maw up the raichu's kicking legs, stilling them with little trouble and plunging Sparky inexorably deeper, curling him within his belly, pinning the moogle beneath him with more weight. Gravity assisting the rabbit, Sparky's feet came to rest at Sefra's lips, squirming anxiously as the only part of him left to the world. The raichu yelled, writhing avidly within his fleshy prison and against the moogle's trembling body, desperate upon his precipice of doom…
Turning his head to look down at Tsumi's wide eyes, the rabbit opened his muzzle slowly, enfolding the 'chu's feet with his tongue, and drawing them in with a slithering 'glrk!', closed his jaws with a deep and satisfied smirk crossing his lips.
The moogle stared, whimpering as the last bulge in Sefra's gullet drained into his chest and belly below. The raichu weighed heavily atop him, squirming and writhing about as the moonblossom leaned over the pinned moogle, grinding that bulgy tummy against him, licking his lips; satiated. “Mmnh… Delicious. Just like I knew he'd be.” Sefra clenched his belly slowly around his meal and drawing up the air within, in a loud and wet, crass belch over the mog's face. Sparky's squirming grew far more desperate for a moment or two, before he stilled, the belly compact around the Raichu, emphasizing his bulges terribly. Within Tsumi's mind, Sparky's beat was silenced.
The possessed moonblossom knelt in place, smirking as he kept Tsumi pinned beneath him, his belly lewdly churning and glorping against the moogle in a cruelly mocking manner. “And without your annoying slime-friend to bother us, all I need do is digest, and make room for you… I should really thank you, for making this so easy.” The moonblossom smirked, inclining his head. “You won't suffer long… You should be out cold before the acids kick in, like Sparky.” His grin widened, before faltering at a familiar voice from one side.  
“Erebus!” It was Alex, standing beside Misa, with another figure on his right; a tall and royal purple-colored dragon with gold plating down his neck and torso to his thrice-pierced tail-tip, fiery red eyes to match his hair and matte fringe. Floating bare inches off the ground with his long whiskers twitching, Kyteriah snarled at the sight of the lapine knelt atop his partner, raising in shock.
“What..!? How did you-” Erebus snarled, before feeling a paw gripping his chest-fur. Looking back to the moogle he'd let up on pinning, the rabbit received a dizzying punch in the face. His temper rising at his plan unraveling around him, the lapine grabbed at the moogle's neck, glaring lividly. “You little-!” Sefra's sentence went unfinished as a great lance of searing plasma slammed into his side, and for the second time, knocked him to the ground whilst Tsumi was thrown aside from the force of the attack.  
The mog didn't impact with the ground though. His body supported by familiar arms and an oddly nostalgic scent of dark chocolate and ozone. Looking up, the moogle stared for a moment at Kyt's familiar face, glaring at the fallen rabbit, whiskers steaming and crackling. 
“Punk. Picking on my moogle.” He murmured, before looking to the mog he'd caught and grinning. “…Sorry I'm late.”  
Tsumi smiled faintly, despite the aches still coursing through his body and the shock and horror from having witnessed Sparky being ingested; he felt a rising bubble of hope as he reached a hand to shakily stroke along that grinning muzzle. 
“Ass. Kupo.” The mog grinned back weakly, before Alex called out.
“Save it, you two!” The gold rabbit frowned, his eyes on Sefra's form picking itself up off the ground once more. Kyt, glided back beside the rabbit and letting Tsumi down with a frown. 
“You don't have to fight anymore, if you want.” He offered to the mog, Tsumi shaking his head with a steadying breath. 
“I do. I'm not going to risk losing anything, anymore. And besides… I promised him, he'd be pleading for mercy, in the end.” The moogle's eyes narrowed as he focused, working up his beat steadily. The tension in the air mingled with the anger from all those gathered creating a pulsing rhythm. Closing his eyes from the distraction of pain as Erebus snarled, turning to face the trio. The beast loomed in essence: a terrible wall of mingled beats, flows that did not belong to it all amassing in an almost deafening cacophony. It was buffered though, by the purer flows from either side of him, both, powerful beats working to harmonize amongst one another.
The world all but silent outside the moogle, Erebus looked over the trio, his face twitching and distorting with rage. 
“Enough of this! I beat you like you were nothing before; I'll do it AGAIN! You should have stayed down, where you all were! I swear: this time I'll tear you all limb from limb!”
The raging symphony within the moogle's mind blasted into a crescendo as the beats began mingling. Kyteriah and Alex darted and dodged amongst vicious sweeping strikes of Erebus' stolen wind-attacks. The ground shifted as the moogle kept himself moving, seeing the glaring red warning when the lapine focused on him and with the voices surging in the still air, he threw a hand forward to meet Sefra's gale with one of his own, easing it aside and turning to raise a hand. The deep, bass voices of the earth, mad with the perversion of the Island's land, pushing jagged rocky limbs up to swipe and try and grab at the darkened beat, forcing it back and into the path of Alex's deft and flurried dance of an attack with his chakram and softer, fluid beats arcing off as the rabbit summoned arcing blades of water to strike Erebus.
The flow shuddered with a crass screech as Erebus grabbed Alex's forearms mid-strike, and with a brutal knee to his abdomen, pushed him back, before another gale blast sent the rabbit rag-dolling through the air. The golden rabbit swung his arms, drawing from the air and sending a heavy snaking torrent of water for Erebus before he landed, in a heap. Smirking and leaping aside of the torrent, still agile despite Sparky's body weighing him down, Sefra eyed Tsumi still dancing and growled as the torrent tore for the moogle.
The softer voices among the water met those of the wind and earth twining around the moogle, the water whipping around Tsumi's frame as that screeching beat that was Erebus charged for him. Hesitating for but a moment, The mog inclined his head as new notes weaved into the raging song, steering its course. Kyt, above, drawing a taloned hand through the air, weaving searing runes across the sky, before pushing a hand through them. Fading, the air before Sefra ignited in an earth-shaking explosion, throwing the rabbit back momentarily. 
“Now!” The voices yelled. And stepping forward, the moogle swung his hands forward, clapping them together and twining his fingers, the water around him surging forth and encapsulating the rabbit, before the singing voices of air rushed in and merged with the water. Erebus' beat was muted to almost silence as he stood encased in a tall shimmering spire of ice.
Kyteriah looked over the trapped rabbit and took a great breath as his whiskers began steaming, eyes starting to glare an angry red. His body shimmered and crackled with a faint blue light before, with a terrible screech, he channeled his gathered energy into a great crashing peel of thunder and massive fork of lightning. Helpless and bared before the strike, Erebus could only stare in silence as the ice was torn asunder around him, the ground splintering and blasting outwards whilst his stolen body was torn through. Drawing himself from the flow's guiding embrace before the gunshot of thunder went off, Tsumi covered his head with his arms, yelling in shock. But lifting his head, found Misa, once more loomed over him, protecting him from the shards of rock and ice.
She withdrew when all was still, the moogle and slime looking to where Sefra lay, his eyes staring to the sky, body twitching. Dropping from the air beside the rabbit, the dragon frowned and started forward to heave the singed and paralyzed rabbit up. Gaping his jaws and baring the matte black of his leathery gullet, he started cramming Sefra past his lips, taking avid swallows. Alex started forward in shock for a moment, before Misa gently grasped his shoulder. Snapping his jaws up over the lapine's chest and arms, Kyt's tongue, shockingly long, whipped out and bound down the rest of Sefra's body, helping drag him down into the tight and rippling embrace of the dragon's leathery throat.
His plate-scales swelled impressively with the rabbit's body and Sparky's bulge behind them. Kyt, giving a great swallow with his tongue assisting in languidly glurping down Sefra's hips and legs, before at last his jaws closed with a snap behind his feet. Closing his eyes to savor the final swallow, he sighed, as he looked about at the cratered mountain-top, a good deal of where the rabbit had stood having turned to glass. Tsumi sighed as he stepped forward, exhaustedly slumping against the dragon's side, only to be lifted up into those arms once more, finding Kyt nuzzling at his torso and face with fond delight. His pompom now aching from so much use, the mog smiled, cuddling the eastern dragon's head to him, giving his forehead a soft kiss and resting his muzzle in place. 
“…Kyt.” He sniffed relievedly.
“…I see the fun's over.” Came a new voice from the ridge of the mountain. The group looking up towards the curiously dressed form walking towards them, he was short, thick-tailed and built. A wallaby. His fur glinted many shades of grey from pale white to obsidian stripes in the moonlight. He was wrapped in a simple cloak, the hood drawn down, with a wicked looking scythe in hand. Tsumi gave a soft wince, his aching pompom giving a most peculiar pulse… There was no sound around this figure.. No beat, nothing. He seemed, almost, to mute the flow around him where he went. Alex however, seemed relieved at the sight of the short wallaby.  
“…For now, we beat him, Shadow. ...Those that can, should be able to… return, soon.” The rabbit seemed relieved in being able to say that, before the wallaby shook his head. 
“Not yet. …His vessel might be gone, but the essence is still here. It may be that they cannot return until he is truly gone. Also... I felt a shift in the island's aura on my way here… Something is wrong with the seal, Alex. …You all should go, it's time for me to do my job as a Reaper.”
Reaper. The moogle shuddered at that word, watching the short wallaby's eyes move over the group and linger a moment on him. There was the slightest of curious inclinations of the marsupial's head, before he smirked and turned from the group as a call came from the mountainside below. 
“What's going on up there, Shadow?! It's silent again! Is it safe to come up?” 
There was a soft gasp from Misa, the slime-cat starting towards the source of that voice, looking hopeful, before with a shriek mewl of delight; she pounced over the curious frame of Samantha stepping up to the mountain top. 
“Samantha! You're ok! But-… but I ate you!” Misa sobbed with mingled delight and shame, looking to the face of her dear friend. “…Mr. Rat? Did you do it?” Misa asked simply to the wallaby, who frowned some at the addressing. 
“No, I met her on my way here, actually… But really, I must ask that you all let me do my job. …There is much to do.” 
There was a nod from Alex, who turned to make for the pathway down, sighing. 
“The boat should be ready, too… now this is all over, we can go home.” He murmured, as Tsumi sighed thankfully in against Kyt's chest, holding about the dragon's neck gently and looking weary. 
“…That sounds good. …I've had enough fighting for one week.”
As Sam finally managed to pick herself up from the ground, easing Misa off tentatively and walking with the Striker, she looked back over the battlefield before it was out of sight. 
“A shame I was not there to help earlier. I'd have liked to repay that moonblossom personally.” She growled quietly, Misa giggling gently. 
“But it wasn't really him! Some weird thing had him cont-” 
The slime was cut off as Kyt issued a hearty belch, shifting the moogle in his arms to pet his rounding belly with a hand. 
“Either way, I got my revenge on that punk for stealing me away, and putting you through that much strife.” The dragon grinned to the mog in his arms, who was blushing sheepishly under his own smile.
“How exactly did you come back..?” Tsumi finally asked, as the group moved in single file on down the mountainside, led by Alex. “I mean, you were in that.. crystal.” He murmured, looking up as he noticed the faint outline of the shard orbiting above the dragon's head. 
“S'a little more complicated than that, but yeah, I was a bit trapped.. I needed more energy to reform myself, and well, I couldn't get any because 'lunch' kept me away from any real sources of it. I got some boosts from that fight between you, him and Sparky, and when You knocked me out of his hand, I ended up at the base of the mountain. The other Strikers were there, with blob-cat over there, and some spotty dude who apparently got thrown off with her.” The dragon nuzzled down through the moogle's hair, brushing his pompom fondly with a cheek before he continued.
“I was still glowing from what energy I had managed to take in, and they noticed me. They were cautious at first, before Slimy remembered you talking about a friend who was a crystal, or something silly. The fox dude, Verace, I think his name is, figured me out pretty quick, and between them, pooled up some energy for me to come back.” The dragon seemed quite smug. “I was pretty anxious to get back to help you and Sparky, so we got up top, leaving Verace and that other fox to handle the spotty guy and their little dragon friend and found that the crazy bunny had made a barrier of some sort that kept the Strikers out, else they would have been up there to help before.” Kyt took a breath and chuckled at the moogle's rapt and curious attention, before finishing. “It didn't wanna budge at first, but with a bit of rune-work, we made a hole through for Alex, in time to help you. …Shame we weren't fast enough to help Sparky though. …But if what that Reaper-guy was saying, he should be fine, in time.”
Nodding gently as Kyt finished his story, the moogle sighed contently, gently wriggling into those comfortable arms and resting his head against the dragon's chest to listen to his soothing heartbeat. He could feel the aches and pains from the fight ebbing as a darkness seemed to cloud his mind. Content in his safety and the job supposedly finished for now, Tsumi finally closed his eyes to sleep, the voices keeping silent to let him rest at last with a smile.

The still forest rippled with a gentle breeze. Morning had not yet broke upon the horizon, and the whisper through the leaves above sounded almost like a sighing voice. Hazily the details of the tall and thick trees around him came into view, the gnarled forms creeping with shadows opposite the moonlight. That whispering seeming to crawl through the shadows. Tsumi could sense them watching him.

His pompom above glowed an ominous orange, in warning as those shadows seemed to spiral the form the trees they hugged, crawling through the canopy to coagulate into a shape indistinct in shape. It loomed slowly before the moogle, who found himself rooted in spot.
“...Don't tell me you thought it was over, Moogle.” The voice whispered coldly. “I'm coming for you...”

Within Kyt's arms, the moogle stirred in his sleep, wincing faintly as overhead, his pompom pulsed in a dark blue manner. Frowning to the murmuring mog, the dragon gave the form a soft squeeze as with the small troupe they reached the base of the mountain. Morning had not yet broken upon the horizon, the forrest stretching out before them.