FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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"You never stop running, do you?" Lucario growled impatiently.

He'd wasted too much time on that chase already. Given his reputation as one of the most capable criminal-chasers out there, Lucario was used to thieves and bandits surrendering as soon as he appeared in front of them. Few other Pokémon could surpass him in a direct fight - and Lucario always made sure to let them know whenever he had the chance.

But it didn't look like the Drowzee standing in front of him had caught wind of that yet.

"Well, what can I say," the Psychic-type replied, a smirk creeping under his yellow trunk. "Prisons are boring. Why do you act surprised though? Do other thieves nicely ask you to deliver them there?"

"Sometimes they do," Lucario argued with a frown, "when they realize the only other option is facing my fists."

Drowzee chuckled softly.

Lucario was confident in his own skills, but the bandit's laid-back attitude was starting to get on his nerves. For the past few hours, the other Pokémon had been running, sure - but it didn't feel like he'd been escaping. It wasn't his first time facing a cocky opponent, but something about Drowzee made him feel slightly uneasy.

I need to get this over with quickly, Lucario thought.

"I'm giving you one last chance," he warned him. "I won't be gentle if you provoke me. Things will be easier if you comply with the law."

"Comply?" Drowzee asked, raising an eyebrow. "Now, you see, that's a word I really like. Not on me, of course - you must understand it's not a good look when I'm wearing it - but when others do, well. It's part of my identity, I suppose."

"What the hell are you going on about now," Lucario snarled. "Just give up already! I have you cornered."

The grin on Drowzee's face grew wider.

"You_have me cornered?" he asked, tilting his head. "I'm afraid you're wrong. _I brought you deep into this dungeon just to do you a favor."

Lucario scoffed.

"What favor?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Drowzee slowly raised one of his hands and Lucario's eyes were immediately drawn to it as his body tensed. He knew how quickly Psychic moves could hit somebody, but he was ready for it.

Nothing hit him, though.

Instead, he watched as Drowzee's hand descended, drawing an arch in the air, as his other hand rose in slow motion. Lucario's eyes followed the smooth movements, trying to find any logic to that pantomime. It took him a few seconds to realize his body was no longer tense and he'd let his guard down at some point, which wasn't a thing he usually did.

"W-what..." he muttered as he tried to get into a battle stance again.

Drowzee's hands kept moving. It felt like they'd been moving when he hadn't been paying attention to them - although he had been paying attention, hadn't he?

"I know your type," Drowzee was saying then. His voice sounded distant and echoed in Lucario's head. "You think you can fight this, but you can't. Don't worry, soon you'll have nothing to think about."

"What do you mean?" Lucario heard himself ask. His voice sounded weak, unconfident - slightly monotone. He didn't like the ring of it in his ears.

The hands had kept moving when he wasn't looking, except he was. Drowzee's hands were moving in slow circles, his index fingers tracing intricate symbols in the air as if he was painting some kind of mural. Lucario felt his attention split between those hands as fingers, his muzzle slightly ajar. It was...

... fascinating.

"You were talking about compliance," Drowzee's voice came. Lucario could see the other Pokémon's face behind those gentle movements, but it was blurry and unfocused, like a bad picture. Instead, those hands kept drawing his attention over and over. "Let me elaborate further on your idea. Compliance is very good, right? That's why you wanted me to comply."

"... yeah."

The response came automatically to Lucario's lips. He wondered if he'd thought about his response before muttering, but then he told himself the thief was right. He'd been trying to convince Drowzee to comply, hadn't he?

"Complying is such a good idea," Drowzee kept on whispering. "Why don't you try it yourself, hmm? I can tell you're aching to do so."

Lucario thought about it for a second. He could feel his eyelids drooping down, his shoulders slack as his arms hung limply by his sides. The battle stance he'd tried to keep a few seconds - minutes? - ago was just a distant memory. His body felt heavy and relaxed. When had that even happened?

A part of his mind warned him that he was being manipulated somehow, but he couldn't help but notice how good it felt. Letting his guard down was something he hadn't done in such a long time that it felt almost mandatory now.

"Do you want to comply, Lucario?"

His head nodded. Not because he wanted, but because it did.

"See? You just did. Did that feel good? Say it felt good for me, come on."

Those fingers kept on fluttering like Butterfree wings. Lucario felt how the tension in his neck evaporated right after nodding. Now his head was wobbling left and right, back and forth as he tried to follow the smooth, mind-altering movements.

"It feels... good..." he muttered with a heavy tongue. The words came out all slurred and soft.

"I thought so. Let's comply more, okay? Raise your left arm."

Lucario felt his muscles tensing immediately, raising his left arm in the air. Forcing his muscles to get back into a battle stance had felt nearly impossible a few seconds ago, but following the command was practically automatic.

"Stand on your right leg."

Judging by the gentle swaying movement that had taken over his body as he watched Drowzee move his hands, Lucario would have thought his balance had been temporarily disabled - but he found it easy to stand on his right leg, still staring into Drowzee's hands as they drew him deeper and deeper into his spell.

Even as he stood on one leg, his head kept wobbling helplessly as his eyelids made a huge effort not to close completely.

"Join me on my next heist, will you?"

Lucario could feel that last command causing a brief struggle inside his chest. He wasn't... supposed to do that, was he?

"Come on. Comply. Say it."

But those words washed away any single doubt he might still have.

"I will join you... on your next heist," came the slow, slurred response.

Drowzee chuckled. His hands stopped moving, but somehow Lucario could still feel the remnant of those smooth motions inside, keeping him in the same pacified state, swirling and fluttering. All struggle had left his body.

Complying was better after all.

"And I think, if you want my opinion," Drowzee added, a knowing grin spreading across his face, "that it's going to be one hell of a heist."