Patreon Commission by Aleph
Here is my first Patreon commission, which I admit that I enjoy writing. It continues off from the last part, which I do suggest that you read as well.
I hope you guys enjoy!
Aleph, Nero, and Stry belongs to Aleph
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The sun shined as high as it could in the sky as Aleph and Nero walked down the road, bruised but recovering. Near them on the dirt road was an anthro hyena chatting with an anthro Buizel, complementing the pair of shoes he wore. The Buizel blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his head until the hyena, with his feet-paws, tapped the shoes. At that moment, the Buizel turned red, and he ripped the closest tree off the ground. He then slammed it against the hyena’s head, flattening him into a paper-thin coin, before putting the tree back with a huff.
Nero blinked even as Aleph continued on, his yellow eyes shining bright even as his pale blue fur fluttered against the wind. His tail, grey with a pale blue tip, wagged behind him while Nero shrugged and swung his arm over Aleph’s shoulders. He rubbed against the red aloha shirt with white flowers, making sure the spike on the back of his hand-paw didn’t hurt Aleph.
“What a great day it is!” Aleph said, nuzzling up against Nero’s cream-furred chest, avoiding the white spike on his chest. “Right, buddy?”
“It is,” Nero answered, smiling while rubbing Aleph’s headfur. “How close are we to the nearest village?”
Aleph pulled out a Digivice and, with a press of a button, it projected a 3D map. “Maf, it’ll take an hour to get there.”
Nero sighed, and he shook his head. “And it’ll take three weeks to get to the meeting spot. A shame that fox added more time to our travel rather than take some away, separating us from your supplies as well.”
Aleph shrugged, turning the Digivice off and leaving it hanging against his blue jeans. He then went to his aloha shirt’s pocket and pulled out the laminated Pokémon and Digimon cards, going through them until he had the desired one displayed. Finally, he handed it over to Nero while winking.
“Reminds you of anyone?” Aleph asked.
Nero stared at the Digimon card, and he couldn’t help but smile. It was a blue dragonish Digimon, with red eyes like Nero’s own and a yellow V-like mark on the forehead. Beneath and to the sides of the eyes were a pair of obtuse triangles, upside down. The torso of this Digimon, from the spike-tipped nose to the belly, was white while having a confident grin. This Digimon’s five fingers and three toes held large white claws, and the long blue ears and tails were wavy.
“If you just add in a red scarf, he would be a dead ringer for Stry the Veemon,” Nero said, patting his own red scarf before giving the card back.
“Yup!” Aleph placed it along with the other cards back into his pocket. “Though I do wonder where he is at, maf.”
“Most likely causing some mischief.” But then Nero rubbed the back of his head. “Though, back when I encountered A-Ninetales a year ago, he was saying farewell to someone. I didn’t get a good look on them, just that they were someone blue.”
“Woah!” Aleph’s eyes turned into stars for a few seconds. “Could Stry train with A-Ninetales as well? That would be so cool!”
“Maybe. A-Ninetales wouldn’t tell me who he talked to. Just give me a small smile.” Nero shrugged before he rubbed Aleph’s headfur once more. “It’s great to be back with you once more.”
“Same with you, my best Lucario buddy.”
# # #
The duo walked for an hour until they reached their destination. The village was small, with only a few folks outside. One of them, a young anthro black cat, played with a yo-yo with a string that grew longer by a few feet every time she flung it out for tricks. It continued until it grew so long that she lost control, with the string surrounding her. Finally, it tightened until she fell down, grunting and squirming.
Aleph approached and unwound the yo-yo off from her, with her blinking as he returned it to her. “Maf, that was pretty neat. I’m sure you’ll be great in no time.”
The cat nodded before running off.
Nero smiled and nodded, and the two walked to the small shop. They stepped in, and the owner, a white and light blue squirrel-like Pokémon, waved at them, her yellow cheeks sparking. The duo went through the shelves, checking them out before going to the register counter with the desired items. They placed the products, foods, a tent, sleeping bags, a hammerspace backpack, and some rope, on the counter, and the Pachirisu hopped onto the golden register. She typed it down, the register clicking with every press, and the final price popped out.
She hopped off the register and spread her arms out. “That will be $150.”
Aleph gulped a bit before he pulled out his wallet and handed her a stack of money in $10s. “At least I have the money for it this time.”
The Pachirisu took the money, stumbling a bit while carrying the stack, before she opened the register and stuffed it in there. “You have a great rest of your day!”
“Thank you,” Nero said, pressing his hand-paw against and nodding to her. Next, the two organized their supplies before they stuffed them into the various pouches within the backpack, with the rope hanging on the side. Soon, Aleph slung it over his back before they walked out, with the Pachirisu waving at them. “That’s step one down.”
Aleph nodded before pulling out the Digivice once more, displaying the map. “Yup! Now, we travel through the wilderness until we get to the meeting spot! It will be an adventure!”
“Indeed,” Nero said with a shrug. “Still, we can’t go blindly towards there. We should plot out a pathway, checking every step of the way—”
At that moment, the ground rumbled a bit, and Nero paused. His fur stuck up at the ground rumbled more, almost rhythmic. Aleph blinked, his fur sticking up as well, and a metallic taste entered his mouth. The villagers stepped out from their houses, shops, and such, all confused, with the Pachirisu shopkeeper darting under Aleph’s legs. She stared out in confusion, her body emitting sparks before her expression twisted into pure horror. She dashed down the road as fast as her body could go, her body sparking more.
“Maf? What was that all about?” Aleph said, twisted around before Nero pressed onto his shoulder. “What is it?”
“I don’t know,” Nero answered, his tone terrified. “But it’s something big and powerful. It felt like—”
A bolt of lightning struck down from behind, ripping through the shop and bursting it into flames in an instant. Aleph’s fur stuck up, electricity building up all around, and the ground quaked more. Then, at once, a first appearing small before its true size revealed itself, a blue and black Pokémon stomped down the road at fifty feet. Its black mane on the back of its head stuck up like spikes, the yellow eyes with red sclerae glaring out. It wiggled its blue ears, yellow within, and another lightning struck down, busting another house into flames.
“That’s one massive Luxray!” Aleph said, his eyes widening even as its black tail, tipped yellow and shaped like a four-pointed star, wiggled behind.
“Yeah!” Nero said as the Luxray roared out, with glass bursting into shards, and the villagers ran towards the opposite direction. Its body glowed, and Nero’s eyes widened in a panic. He stepped in front of Aleph before spreading his arms forwards, and a shining light formed in front of him. At that moment, an electrical wave emitted from the Luxray’s body, coursing through the area. It shocked anyone impacted by the waves, though Nero’s Detect blocked it from affecting himself and Aleph. “I can feel its rage, along with a bit of pain. Why is it so big, and why is it attacking?”
“Maf, I don’t know,” Aleph said before slipping the backpack off of him. “But we need to stop it.”
“Huh?” Nero turned back with a dumbfounded expression. “You sure?”
“You wanted us to be a toony superhero team,” Aleph said with a grin, and his tail wagged fast. “I think it’s time to show the world what we can do.”
“OK,” Nero said with a nervous nod before the two sprinted towards the Luxray, with it roaring out once more. Aleph pressed his hand-paws against each other, humming as well. Nero blinked at him, tilting his head. “What are you doing?”
“Drawing out an awesome power I happened to learn as well,” Aleph said, his grin widening. “Didn’t have a chance to show it off yesterday, but now, I can show you what I can really do now.”
Nero flattened his left ear back before, at once, Aleph’s physique changes. His thin arms and legs swelled with muscles, thickening out. His chest pumped up, with the aloha shirt’s buttons straining before popping off, and his shoulders and neck thickened. He grew in size, towering over at the blinking Nero at six feet.
“Huh?” Nero said as Aleph gave out a hearty laugh.
“YEAH!” Aleph yelled, his fists tightening while his grin became cocky. “I’m a TOONY STAR now!”
Before Nero could say anything else, Aleph leaped to the air while swinging his fist back. The Luxray blinked at him, pausing its walk. Aleph grinned wider, slamming his fist against the Luxray’s forehead, and it got tossed back hundreds of yards. It roared out in pain, rolling around as it tried to stop itself.
“Impossible.” Nero’s jaw dropped even as Aleph landed before him, with the ground shattering from impact. “How did you do that?”
“Don’t you realize? I’m INVINCIBLE in this form!” Aleph pressed his hand-paws against his hip as he laughed. The Luxray got up, a gleam of light shining on its back for a moment before it roared out. But Aleph charged forward, with a sharp rushing sound even as a vapor cone formed around him. In a second, he had already grabbed the Luxray’s paw and tossed it over his head, with it flattening several trees in the process. “You CAN NOT stop ME!”
Nero stood dumbfounded for a moment before he sprinted forward, with his arms hung back. The Luxray rolled itself back up, glaring at the arrogant Aleph before slamming its paws onto his body. Nero gasped and sprinted faster, lowering his body even as he realized how impossible this fight would be by himself. A second later, it lifted its paw off the flat, coin-shaped Aleph, and it chuckled, but soon Aleph unflattened himself. Its eyes widened along with Nero even as Aleph laughed once more. He soon leaped at the Luxray’s chest, punching it once again, and it slid back, with its claws ripping through the ground.
“HAHAHA!” Aleph landed on his feet-paws, hand-paws on hips even as the Luxray rubbed its chest. “YOU can be as HUGE as this PLANET, and you STILL cannot defeat ME!”
The Luxray growled, with sparks emitting from its body, and a bolt of massive lightning struck Aleph, shattering the ground and turning what remained into glass. But he stepped out of it, unharmed, and he laughed once more. Soon, he leaped into the air once more—
Only for his body to shrink once more, with his limbs thinning out, his chest shrinking with the buttons back on and buttoned in, and his height became child-like. Finally, his fist impacted the Luxray’s forehead, with its eyelids lowered at him. Aleph swallowed, having a nervous grin even as he stood on its muzzle and gave a shy wave.
“Uh, maf?” Aleph sweated.
The Luxray flicked Aleph off of him, with him yelping out until he landed on the ground, flat on his back. It raised its paw up before slamming it on top of Aleph, with the earth shattering around it. It soon raised its paw up, with Aleph flattened within the huge pawprint.
Nero stopped sprinting forward, only halfway to the battle itself, and he groaned while shaking his head. “Oh, Aleph. Always biting more than you can chew.” His fur stood up on its own, and he looked up, with the Luxray glaring at him. “Uh oh.”
The Luxray roared out, getting back up and charging forward even as Nero sprinted the opposite way, back to the village. But, even with the head start, the Luxray caught up before he even reached there, with it slamming its paw down. He avoided the paw slam, but the impact tossed him into the air itself, with him spinning around until he became level with the Luxray’s eyes.
Nero leaned his arms back, and a blue ball formed between his hand-paws. He gritted his teeth before he threw the Aura Sphere at the Luxray’s eye, which dissipated upon contact without any physical harm. It swung its other paw, slamming against Nero and tossing him back to the burning village.
He groaned as he spun around, his body flattening itself to paper-thin. His speed slowed down, fluttering onto the ground until he landed. He then unflattened with a pop, and he got up, turning to the Luxray. But it charged forward, the ground shaking with every step, and he sighed to himself.
“This is impossible,” Nero said to himself, but he stood firm, his arms spread out. “But I won’t let that Luxray win without a fight.”
He glared at the massive Luxray, with electricity sparking from its body as it opened its mouth—
A blue blur appeared, slamming against the Luxray’s throat. “Vee Headbutt!”
Nero blinked, with the Luxray choaking a bit even as the blue blur landed next to him. His form cleared up, with the Veemon giving Nero a thumbs up. But he responded with a dropped jaw, noticing the red bandanna around his neck.
“Stry?!” Nero said, his eyes widening.
“The one and only!” Stry replied even as the Luxray shook its head. “Must say, I never expected to see you here, Nero. It is Nero, right?” He rubbed the back of his head, and Nero nodded. “Glad that you finally Evolved. Though we should hold back on the storytelling.” The Luxray glared at Stry and Nero before roaring out. “We should take Luxray down.”
“You think?” Nero replied with half-closed eyes. “Even so, how can we? That beast tanked attacks that even a Tyranitar could feel.”
“By shrinking it back to its normal size!” Stry said, and Nero tilted his head. “OK. Long story short, this Luxray attacked me while I was in a temple about to claim a crystal; apparently, it thought I was intruding on its territory. But the crystal implanted itself on its back, causing it to grow to this size.”
“So, what you just said is that this is your fault,” Nero said, and Stry nodded in embarrassment. “Of course.”
The Luxray’s fur stood up, with lightning striking down all around them, bursting buildings into flames. The ground shook, with Nero and Stry stumbling a bit before they leaped. A second later, lighting impacted where they once stood, digging into the ground.
“I did try to rip the crystal off its back,” Stry said as he and Nero landed out of the way. “But the crystal itself gave me a massive shock in response.”
“Great,” Nero said while shaking his head. “How do we remove it then? It’s not like I’m resistant to electric because I’m not.”
“Perhaps with a bit of rope?” Stry suggested as he leaped back once more, with a large paw slamming down before them. “Though I don’t have one on me.”
Nero blinked, and gears spun within his head. He sprinted away, running down the ruined village’s road, hoping that it wasn’t destroyed. But soon, he spotted Aleph’s newly purchased backpack, with the rope still on it. He sprinted over and, with one quick motion, he removed it from the pack. He then ran back towards the massive Luxray, more determined than ever.
Stry, for his part, blinked for a moment as he avoided lightning bolts. Then, for a moment, he wondered what was on Nero’s mind and where he went off to until he came back, carrying some rope. His eyes shined as he grinned, giving out a thumbs up.
“Nice!” Stry said. “Now, the next thing: getting you up there.”
“That should be simple enough,” Nero said as he grinned, jumping to Stry’s side. “Just throw me up there.”
“Huh?” Stry blinked. “But, how?”
“Like this.” Nero flattened himself along with the rope before Stry’s eyes. His jaw dropped, his arms went limp, and his eyes widened even as Nero folded himself. Soon, Nero became a paper airplane, lying on the ground. “Now, get me up there.”
“How did you— Never mind.” Stry shook his head before picking Nero up. Then, he jumped out of the way from a paw, with it crashing before it. He landed and inhaled, bending his knees low before he leaped into the air. Soon, he reached the Luxray’s height, and he threw the paper airplane Nero towards the glaring Luxray’s back. “Good luck!”
Stry landed and sprinted back, avoiding bolts and claws as they came. He gritted his teeth, running through until he ran to a house’s wall, or what remained of it. He spun around, but the Luxray’s paws landed beside him, pinning him in, and he pressed his back against the wall. The Luxray lowered its head at Stry, teeth barred, and he stood firm with fists tightening. The Luxray’s opened its mouth, with a blue glow emitting from it—
And a light emitted from its back. The Luxray blinked for a moment, straightening up with the mouth stopped glowing. It twisted around, with it shrinking in size, and it gasped. It raised its paw up to the back, only for it to drop and its eyes lowered as though they carried heavy weights. Soon, they shut, and it flopped onto the ground, back to its normal four foot seven.
Nero, back to his unfolded and unflattened self, hopped off the Luxray’s back, the rope having a yellow crystal tight around it. “Not so powerful or energetic without this?”
“Nero, you did it!” Stry leaped up to a hug, with Nero blinking before he caught and hugged back. “I got worried about you. First, though, how did you flatten yourself?”
“It’s a trick that A-Ninetales helped me with,” Nero replied, putting Stry down and patting his head. “In any case, we saved the village. Or rather,” he turned to the few houses that somehow didn’t get crushed, get struck by lightning, or burst into flames, “what left of it.”
“Yup! And it’s all thanks to our teamwork!” Stry tugged Nero close and nuzzled up against his chest. “If only Aleph was here to see us now.”
“Aleph?” Nero blinked, his eyes widened from realization. “Oh, no.”
“What are you—”
“Maaaaaaaaf.”
The two blinked, turning around as a flat Aleph stumbled towards them, careful not to fall down. Nero shook his head even as Stry lowered one of his eyelids, with Aleph flopping on top of them. They set him down, and Nero pulled out a handpump. Soon, he stuffed the hose into Aleph’s mouth and pumped in air until he popped back to normal.
“Didn’t think you were here as well, partner,” Stry said, poking Aleph’s aloha shirt. “Where did you get this, by the way?”
“It was a gift,” Aleph said while shaking his head. He lied back down, giving out a sigh. “Maf. Sorry.”
“Huh?” Nero blinked.
“What do you mean?” Stry asked, tilting his head.
“It’s just,” Aleph shook his head, “well, Nero wanted us to start up a toony superhero group. I thought that my toony star form would help support it, and yet,” he stared up to the blue sky, “I’ve proven to be nothing but annoying. Meanwhile, you two did the real work and defeated the threat.”
“Don’t say such things,” Nero said, grabbing Aleph’s arm and putting it over his shoulder, pulling him back up. “I have no idea you had such a form until now. And it was powerful, just gave out too soon.”
“Yeah! Though I haven’t seen it myself.” Stry rubbed the back of his head before grabbing Aleph’s hand-paw and clutched it close. “And your strength shouldn’t be because of how strong you are. Your true strength is that you have a huge heart who brought in a lot of different folks around you.”
“Exactly.” Nero rubbed Aleph’s headfur, who couldn’t help but smile in response. “Without you, I wouldn’t meet with folks like Stry or Schrödy.”
“Maf. OK. I get it.” Aleph laughed a bit before he hugged them both. “Thanks.” He then turned to Stry and patted his head. “And it’s good to see you again, and so soon.”
Stry snickered and extended two fingers into a V symbol. “No problem, partner!”
# # #
The villagers, who managed to escape without serious injuries, returned to what remained of their home. They began reconstruction at once, washing out all of the fire and removing any burnt lumber that wasn’t salvageable. Then they gathered the flattened logs from the battle and cut or pressed them into boards or lumber. By the end of the day, the village was half rebuilt.
The unconscious Luxray was placed in a cage and carried out of the village for several miles. They left the cage open as they left and, when the Luxray woke up, it turned around in confusion, wondering why it wasn’t in its home and instead in a cage. Then, it left and began searching for its territory.
Aleph, Nero, and Stry walked out from the village by then, with Stry carrying a wooden box. Aleph held a wide grin even as Nero set his arm over his shoulder, with Nero half-carrying the backpack over a shoulder. And yet, Stry shook his head in disappointment.
“It would’ve felt better if we got an award out of this,” Stry said after ten minutes of walking. “Instead, we got this crystal,” he held up the box, “that’s too dangerous to use.”
“A hero’s work shouldn’t be about money. It should be to make sure folks go to sleep in peace,” Aleph said before he laughed.
“And besides,” Nero added, a glint in his eye, “after what you accidentally caused, it wouldn’t be right to accept their gifts.”
“Fair point.” Stry sighed, soon carrying the box under his arm.
“Though I am curious about one thing,” Nero said, turning to Aleph. “You said that your toony star form would last for a half-hour, but that display only lasted for up to a minute. What happened?”
“Maf, I’m not sure.” Aleph rubbed his ears for a moment. “Though I haven’t practiced that form in a while, so that might be it.”
“Maybe, or that the walk along with getting blasted over here took out more energy than you thought,” Nero suggested before he shrugged. “Or that personality you have while in that form lost focus on it. After all, I don’t think you ever went into battle in that form before, right?”
“Nope, maf.” Aleph closed his eyes. “Whatever the case, it’s clear that I need more practice in that form.”
“That’s my Aleph!” Stry rubbed against Aleph’s arm before his eyes shined for a moment. “I just remember!” He went to behind his ears and pulled out a card. “I met with A-Ninetales myself a year ago, though I haven’t got any training from him like Nero has. Though perhaps I should have.” Nero snickered. “Still, he handed me this card, asking me to give it to you. He said that he thinks you should have this in case of a battle.”
“Maf?” Aleph said, and the three stopped walking. Stry handed it over to Aleph, which only had ‘Digivolution’ written on it. He blinked for a moment before he pulled out his Digivice, deep in thought. His tongue stuck out before he nodded. “Let’s see what it does.”
Aleph hovered the card over the Digivice, with it blinking and beeping in response. Then, at once, small white blocks came out from the Digivice’s screen, spinning above Aleph. Nero and Stry stepped back, confused even as Aleph craned his head upwards. The blocks then surrounded him, impacting and fusing into his body.
Aleph’s ears grew a few inches longer even as the aloha shirt receded until it was around his neck, pure red and a bandanna. His eyes changed shape, with a black outline around it and turning sideways. His hand-paws thickened, with particular focus on the fingers, even as brown fingerless gloves formed over them. His blue jeans were shortened into shorts, turning light brown with two straps hanging on the sides and a brown belt around the waist. His claws on both hand- and feet-paws grew longer and thicker, and a sword and scabbard, half his size, formed behind before him before strapping onto his back.
Aleph turned over his hand-paws, his expression filled with wonder, even as Nero’s and Stry’s eyes widened, with Stry’s tail laying against the ground. Aleph raised his left arm back, gripping against the sword’s brown with yellow wrapping handle. He pulled it out from the scabbard, its steel blade shining cold and ending with a triangular-shaped tip. He turned to his Digivice, which had two words displayed on it.
Alephmon Mode“Woah!” Aleph’s eyes turned to stars for a few seconds. “I’m a Digimon now!”
“What?! HOW!?” Stry blinked some more. “Where did A-Ninetales get such a card anyways?!”
“You be surprised in what adventures he went to since he met Saria,” Nero replied with a shrug and a laugh. “Looks good on you, buddy. Still, I think being a Pokémon would be better.”
Stry rolled his eyes even as Aleph giggled, sheaving his sword back. He pressed a button on the Digivice and, in a flash of light, he turned back to normal. He grinned wide before he hugged both Nero and Stry tight, his tail wagging fast.”
“It’s like I’m a Henshin hero now!” Aleph said. “Now I can fight even if my toony star form wears off.”
“Fantastic!” Stry said, hugging Aleph back tight.
But Nero laughed and patted Aleph’s head. “Very good. In any case, the sun will go down soon, and we should get to our camping spot before it gets too dark.”
Aleph and Stry nodded, and they turned towards the road once more. Soon, they walked onwards, their heads held high. Though the journey may be long, Aleph felt confident that things would be alright.
