I commissioned this lovely artwork from dadragontype2 on Twitter. Go check him out!

A/N: This scenario is from an RP I had with Auroracuno some time ago. I thought it would be a great story, so I tried to synthesize our two voices into a single, cohesive narrative. I meant to upload it months ago, but I could never feel completely satisfied with the story, but I figured I'd upload it before the new year. As always, feel free to give constructive criticism! By the way, what would you think about a continuation of this tale where our “petite” plushie mega evolves? ;) Anyways, without further adieu, I present…

Prize of the Sky Serpent

———

“Okay, Jakob. You can do this. Just get Adrien’s present. That’s all. Then you can go home and relax for the rest of the day.”

Jakob psyched himself up while pacing in front of the entrance to the massive toy store. It was a new Pokémon Center that had just opened up downtown, and one of the first outside of Japan. It had created quite a sensation almost immediately. It broke profit records for any merchandise store during its first week of business, with the media saying it could provide the push for many more Pokémon Centers to be constructed overseas. Jakob, however, was preoccupied with other thoughts to marvel at the shop’s rapid success. Mainly, he was concerned with what was inside the store.

Plushies. Lots of them.

He still had nightmares of them. Or rather, nightmares of one plushie in particular. Almost every other night, Jakob would bolt upright in a cold sweat screaming as he dreamt of the giant, serpentine plush dragon chasing him through the city streets during that Lunar New Year festival. He could vividly recall the adrenaline surging through his body, the sound of rushing blood in his ears as he ran for his life, the monster’s velvety jaws snapping just centimeters behind him, eager to gobble him up. He remembers how it caught him with a deceitful little trick by hypnotizing his friend. How it kidnapped him. How it tried to brainwash him. How it almost devoured him, had it not been for Adrien saving him at the last second.*

As he gazed through the sliding glass doors of the entrance, observing the shelves with rows of cute, little plushies, all these memories and emotions associated with them came flooding back. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t having one of his night terrors. He only stopped when he felt a trickle down his arm and realized he had pierced his skin and drawn blood. He felt ashamed for being afraid of such harmless toys, but after that incident, he took the plushies from on top of his bed and shoved them in his closet. He couldn’t bring himself to throw them away, but he also didn’t want them anywhere near him.

Adrien, however, was the exact opposite. He still loved all his plush toys, especially the Pokémon ones. Jakob had to stop coming over to his house because Adrien refused to put them away. Jakob couldn’t understand it. They had both experienced the same traumatizing event, terrorized by the same plush monster, yet Adrien continued to love plushies as if one hadn’t tried to kill him. In fact, it seemed that Adrien grew even more attached to them, believing that his “good” plushies could protect him from the “bad” ones.

Brushing those thoughts aside, Jakob tried to focus on why he was here. Adrien’s birthday was coming up, and for weeks he had gone on and on about this new Sleeping Pikachu plush and how he just had to have it. The idea for a birthday present couldn’t have been any more obvious. But that meant having to come here and face his fears, as ridiculous as they might’ve seemed to others.

Jakob closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the toy Mega Ring in his pocket. It was only a plastic trinket he got from a convention, but it calmed him down and made him feel more grounded and in control, like a security blanket. As he put it on his finger, he imagined he was a real Pokémon trainer preparing for battle. He would’ve laughed at his own silliness had he not been so genuinely petrified.

This is for Adrien, Jakob thought. You’re doing this for Adrien. He opened his eyes and walked forward. The doors parted with a chiming sound, welcoming him inside.

Unbeknownst to Jakob, this Pokémon Center had a peculiar history most of its guests weren’t privy to. Over a decade ago, another toy store occupied its corner spot—one far older and with a storied history of its own. It had shut down for unknown reasons and stood derelict until that part of town had been revitalized in recent years.

While the street level of the store had been bulldozed and rebuilt, the cavernous rooms beneath were simply repurposed for storage. Stacks upon stacks of boxed Pokémon merchandise lined its walls, but there were other inhabitants in the dusty cellar as well—large, forgotten plushies left over from the old store, alongside some new Pokémon plushies stored with them.

There was a life-sized dragon—the wyvern-shaped sort—its body covered in creamy white-gold scales and with the most beautiful golden frills running down its backside. Even beneath a thin layer of dust, he was a sight to behold. His expression was set into a faint, sly grin.

Next to it stood a Quetzalcoatlus with exaggerated features, including a long tail that the real creature certainly wouldn’t have had.

Compared to these two, the Pokémon toys looked far newer and better cared for. No stuffing poked out of neglected seams, nor was there any dust at all on them. A Galarian Moltres stood next to an Aerodactyl, and both were shadowed by an enormous Rayquaza that had to be bent at an angle to even fit in the basement.

Above, Jakob would soon discover that the bustling store was fresh out of Sleeping Pikachu plushies. The shelf where they were normally on display was completely picked clean.

And yet, as Jakob’s eyes lingered with disappointment upon the vacant shelf, an old magic stirred in the cellar below. A nearby door leading into its depths creaked open as if caught by a draft. Normally, it was kept locked, but there were no signs on it to indicate that customers weren’t allowed inside.

“Are you sure you don’t have any more? It’s a very special present for my friend, so I would really appreciate it if…” Jakob pleaded before the store employee cut him off.

“We’re very sorry. We sold the last one a few minutes before you walked through the door.”

Jakob was dejected. He had built up so much courage just to walk into the store, and now it was all for naught. As he slouched and turned around to do a walk of shame and exit the store, the store employee spoke up again. Although if Jakob paid close attention, he would have noticed that the employee’s timbre was slightly…off. Like someone else was feeding him a script, and he was simply repeating it like a robot. Jakob also would have seen the employee’s irises flash amber for a split second. But the boy was completely oblivious to these red flags, and in fact became excited when the employee said:

“Actually, we might have a few in storage. You should check the basement.”

After turning back around to thank the employee, Jakob’s face changed to one of confusion.

“Wait, you want me to check the basement? Isn’t that something, uhh, you should do?”

“I have to assist customers up here. Can’t you do it by yourself? Don’t tell me you’re scared of little plush toys!”

Before he could express offense at the man’s teasing, Jakob was guided to the unmarked door leading to the basement. It was already ajar, but the employee didn’t seem surprised. He simply pushed it further open. A black void greeted them like an ominous portal.

“Take all the time you need. Oh, and you can ignore all the signs down there. We only put them up so children don’t mess with the displays,” the employee said before walking away, with the slightest sly smile forming across his face.

Jakob gulped and cautiously, hesitantly headed down the dark staircase into the belly of the bustling store above him.

The air in the basement was heavy and damp, and the dim lighting left much to be desired. Countless boxes of varying size were stacked around the room Jakob entered, most of which had rough illustrations of their contents, along with labels and serial numbers. Compared to the colorful world upstairs, the basement felt drab and lifeless.

The enormous Rayquaza plushie dominated the space, even awkwardly squished as it was in a corner. It was far too large to be sold in bulk; it’s possible the store intended to set it up as a prop at a later date.

And perhaps it was the way they were sewn into its face, but the Rayquaza’s yellow ringed eyes seemed almost to track Jakob’s movements as he entered the basement. In fact, all the plushies seemed to have their unblinking stitched and plastic eyes locked onto the human.

And, not unlike the dragon that had grabbed Jakob at the parade, this one too had a zipper tab dangling from its mouth. It was an unusual detail for a Pokémon plushie—stranger still, both the wyvern and the Quetzalcoatlus had similar zippers, while the Aerodactyl and Galarian Moltres did not, instead having mouths that could freely open and close.

The strangest part, though, was how all the toys were cordoned off with ropes, with various DO NOT TOUCH signs surrounding them. The big letters flickered an eerie deep red luster, a warning to stay away like a snake's rattle. Were these what the employee was referring to?

“Adrien, you better like this gift after all I’m going through to get it…” Jakob muttered as he carefully descended into the basement, trying not to trip over boxes strewn across the staircase. When he got to the bottom, he was surprised, and a little bit scared, to see all the large toys towering over him. There was certainly nothing like these guys upstairs!

Despite his fear, he was amazed at the intricate detail of every single plush. One looked like a wyvern with beautiful golden frills and scales. Another, with an impressively lengthy tail, looked like a large bird-like dinosaur that Jakob couldn’t remember the name of (Quetzal-something, he thought). But the others were more familiar to him, as well as in better shape. Aerodactyl, Galarian Moltres, and way in the back, hunched over barely fitting in the room, was the mighty sky snake himself: Rayquaza.

Jakob had fallen in love with the green serpentine dragon ever since playing Emerald, not only his first Pokémon game, but his first video game. He vividly remembered ascending the Sky Tower, with all its tricky bicycle ramps, and seeing the lord of the skies awaiting him at its summit. As a young kid, he dreamed every night of riding upon the back of such a magnificent dragon. Although those dreams had faded with age, he still harbored within his heart a deep fondness for the Sky High Pokémon.

Nonetheless, Jakob was very keen on not touching the plushies, even Rayquaza, to avoid any possible incidents. All of these plushies were big enough to gobble him up with ease if they wanted. The danger signs around them certainly didn’t help. Rayquaza was perhaps the most intimidating. Above it was a giant sign that warned against touching the toy, bathing it in a faint crimson glow. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light, but it seemed like Rayquaza was radiating a sinister aura. Brushing those thoughts aside, he focused on his goal: find the box with the Sleeping Pikachu toys, grab one, and get the hell out of this plushie dungeon.

He explored the basement, trying his best to maneuver around the ropes and boxes. He noticed a faint, faded plaque on the wall that said “Karmen Aridos’s Plushtopia!** Established…” The rest was too faded to read.

He vaguely recalled hearing about that store when he was very young, and the mystery that surrounded it. But Jakob’s memory was too foggy to remember anything precise. He figured that’s where the older, non-Pokémon plushies came from. He wondered why they weren’t cleared out when the Pokémon Center moved in. Regardless, one thing he knew for sure was that large plushies + mysterious past = bad news. He made a mental note to be extra careful around the wyvern and dinosaur, hoping that whatever curse or magic they possibly had didn’t spread to the other toys. He also hoped that the employee was telling the truth, and these signs were not here for some other, more chilling reason.

As he scanned the merchandise, looking for any hint of yellow and red cheeks, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched. As if the toys were all staring at him, waiting for him brush against them, even if by accident, since that gentle touch was all they needed to...

The sight of a box with a hasty sketch of a dozing Pikachu and the words PIKACHU PLUSHIES scrawled across it in black permanent marker interrupted Jakob’s thoughts. He felt relief, and then concern. This box was precariously balanced on a tower of cardboard containers directly behind the Rayquaza plushie. It was too high up for him to reach on his own. Jakob glanced around the room, finding a stepladder against the wall. He carefully set it up, taking every precaution to not disturb the rope barrier or touch Rayquaza in the process. Confident it was secure, he slowly ascended the ladder.

Because Jakob was so concentrated on not stumbling or falling, he didn’t notice Rayquaza’s piercing gaze become fixated on him as he reached for the Pikachu box. He didn’t notice the dragon’s amber eyes glow and the screws in the stepladder magically become undone and roll across the floor. But he did notice the ladder start to wobble. And he definitely noticed when it suddenly collapsed, causing him to trip and fall backwards.

Right on top of the Rayquaza plushie.

A primal shudder rippled along the length of the Rayquaza as Jakob tumbled from his back onto his tail. The dragon shook its head, working off a lifetime of stiffness, before tilting his gaze down to meet the new plaything who had landed upon it. A glint from the human’s hand caught his attention: a toy Mega Ring. The beast smirked to itself.

That could come in handy later. But there were more pressing matters to deal with now.

The Rayquaza’s ring-eyes narrowed, contracting as he tried to bring Jakob under his influence—but the spell faltered. He was still too tired, too sluggish. An irritated huff escaped him.

No matter.

A metallic wrrrrp sounded as the zipper slid open on its own, allowing the Rayquaza’s soft jaws to part. At the same time, his tail twitched beneath Jakob, shifting in an effort to coil around him. The dragon’s massive head lowered, looming closer until its shadow engulfed his prize. A low, drawn out hisssss slipped past his fangs, his tongue flicking eagerly in anticipation.

But the Rayquaza was still stiff, his movements sluggish and unwieldy. He was not yet fully awake.

Jakob groaned as he tried to sit up. He expected to be greeted by the hard concrete ground, but instead something soft had broken his fall, which he was very thankful for.

Wait.

Something soft?

As soon as he heard a metallic zip and hiss from above him, he looked up and yelped in fear when he saw Rayquaza’s plush head looming over him, its mouth opening up. He immediately tried to scramble off the serpent’s plush body, but he tripped on the tail that had wound itself around his ankle. He caught himself with his hands in time before his face could meet the floor, just centimeters away from the Moltres plush’s talons.

He definitely didn’t want to activate two of them at the same time.

Focusing on the Rayquaza toy, Jakob tried to shake off the tail still coiled around his ankle. The sooner he could get away from these plushies, the better his chances were of making it out of there.

Or rather, making it out of there not in a plushie’s belly.

“Leave me alone! I’m not going through this again!” he shouted.

All he had to do was make it up those stairs without touching another one of those monsters and he would be home free. He wasn’t even thinking about Adrien’s present. The only thought spinning through his mind was to get out.

So he ran.

Rayquaza made a lazy swipe for Jakob as the youth stumbled away, but there was a noticeable lag to his movements—he was still shaking off the rust of long dormancy. He snapped his jaws in annoyance as Jakob bolted back up the stairs.

Giving himself a sharp shake, the dragon began harnessing the energy he had already siphoned from his soon-to-be plaything. Magic shimmered faintly along his seams, and with a powerful surge, he rose into the air. The great length of his body unwound, sending boxes and the other plushies cascading to the floor.

Then—he struck.

Jakob barely managed to slip through the door before Rayquaza's head smashed through it, splintering the doorframe with a deafening crack. The dragon wriggled forward, forcing his way through as the groaning doorframe protested under his bulk. and doorframe cracking and groaning in protest as he began to wriggle through. Jakob’s panicked shouts—soon joined by the screams of others in the store—only thrilled the massive plushie further. He shivered in anticipation as his ring-eyes tracked his retreating prey.

Rayquaza squeezed his arms through the door, then slithered the rest of the way through.

Run if you like, little toy. I never lose what’s mine.

The words reverberated within Jakob’s mind, bypassing the process of going through his ears.

And then the dragon was upon him again, faster than lightning. He coiled in the air at the center of the chaos, his massive body blocking every escape route, cutting Jakob off entirely.

No. No, no. Nonononono. This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening, Jakob thought to himself. Is this revenge for beating that red dragon? Was it the head honcho of the plushies?

“Y-you’re cheating! You’re not supposed to do that!” he shouted at the plush. He instantly felt silly for doing so. What rules did these monsters live by? Their only goal was to catch you, and they were more than willing to play dirty and pull a few tricks to accomplish it.

Still, seeing as how the plush had encircled him, and since the serpent’s coils were now slowly closing in on him, he had no other choice than to beg for mercy, or at the very least stall for time.

“I’m sorry I defeated your leader like that! Please forgive me!” Jakob blurted out. He wasn’t sure if Rayquaza was under the parade dragon's command, or if magical plushies even have any centralized leadership. 

“It’s just that he was trying to make me into his servant. And I had to defend myself. I didn’t mean to kill or shrink him. Honest! He didn’t want to kill me, at least it seemed like he didn’t, a-and I hope you don’t want to either but…” Jakob was stumbling over his words in fear. He took a breath and recollected himself.

“What I mean to say is, can’t we work something out? Like you can be my nighttime cuddle buddy, or you can have me on weekends. I-I mean, I still need to go to school, y’know? Education is important!” Jakob laughed nervously, unsure of how the beast would take his offer, or his attempt at humor.

At the same time, Jakob was desperately looking for a way out of the situation. There was no way he was gonna wind up as some plush dragon’s plaything. Again.

He knew he couldn’t run. Rayquaza would easily catch him, especially out in the open. His only chance was to hide somewhere, either in the store or back down in the basement, and pray that he could run out the clock on Rayquaza’s magic. But first he had to get out of this sticky situation.

He saw a sign above him. He figured if he could jump up and grab onto that sign, right before the dragon pounced and coiled him, then he could swing to safety in that brief window of opportunity, or at least get to a good enough hiding place.

He waited in anticipation for Rayquaza’s response. He was only gonna have one shot at this.

Better make it count…

Leader? I haven’t the faintest idea who you’re talking about. As if anyone could control me...

The massive plushie coiled slowly around Jakob, winding inward. His movements were measured, almost lazy, yet every loop brought Jakob tighter into his grasp. Rayquaza kept his head poised directly above him, forcing Jakob to crane his neck to meet those piercing golden-ringed eyes. 

The dragon’s head tilted slightly as he cast a glance over the panicking crowd. The noise grated on him. His pupils contracted sharply, until they were almost pinpricks, and then expanded once more as a faint magical pulse rippled outward from him, washing over every person still in the store—except Jakob.

Almost instantly, the chaos died. The crowd’s panic melted away as the affected shoppers straightened, their fear suddenly gone. One by one, they filed out of the store in silence, as though they had forgotten entirely about the enormous plushie that was now smirking after them.

Rayquaza’s gaze snapped back to Jakob the moment the nuisances were dealt with, as if he already knew the human was about to attempt an escape.

You shrunk and killed this supposed 'leader' of mine, did you? the dragon asked, his voice dripping with smug condescension. Mmm, I had better be careful then. Perhaps I ought to consider this little deal you offer.

Without warning, his coils pressed inward all at once, squeezing the air from Jakob’s lungs as his massive head loomed overhead, a sly smirk curving his maw, delighting in his struggles. A shudder of ecstasy rippled through him as he drank in Jakob’s energy. The coils tightened again, demanding more and more, until Jakob was practically being smothered by thick, inescapable walls of plush. There would be no squirming free this time.

Yessss… Rayquaza hissed softly, his voice a smug, velvet purr. I think a deal will suit us nicely. How about this: I get you as my plaything—forever. And you get to be my plaything—forever.

Jakob was being tightly squeezed by Rayquaza’s thick coils, like he was the prey of a massive anaconda or python hungry for its next meal. He grunted as the air was forced out of his lungs and his arms were pinned to his sides. He could still breathe, and the coils didn’t hurt (it was still only a plushie, after all), but he couldn’t get free, no matter how much he struggled. Just like that Lunar New Year, he was caught and at the mercy of some oversized toy. Still, he couldn’t give up. He wasn’t gonna be this overgrown Caterpie’s plaything; that was for damn sure. He knew these things had to have a weakness. He just needed to find it.

In the meantime, he continued to banter with the dragon. Or at least tried to.

“W-well, forever is a really long time, and plaything sounds kind of demeaning, doesn’t it? I-I mean, you wouldn’t want me calling you my plaything, right? We can be more reasonable, can’t we? How about being a nighttime cuddle buddy? Doesn’t sound too bad, right? I can ride on your back and we can have fun together as equals, you know, because… because…”

Jakob knew he had to stop stammering. The monster could certainly hear the fear in his voice. He needed to be more assertive.

“You might not know him, but I have defeated one of you monsters in the past! A big dragon guy too, just like you. Except he was red and yellow. And if I could do it before, I can certainly do it again!” Jakob boldly stated.

He knew his only chance at escape was to somehow distract Rayquaza long enough to wriggle free from his coils. He turned his gaze to the broken basement door behind Rayquaza and pretended to be shocked.

“A-Aerodactyl?! Oh no, not another one!”

He hoped beyond hope that his long-shot plan would work.

Rayquaza's grin only widened as Jakob rattled off excuse after excuse for why he couldn’t have what was already his. The dragon listened in silence, savoring the rising panic in the youth’s voice. It was amusing that Jakob thought they stood as equals.

When Jakob mentioned the Aerodactyl toy, he didn’t so much as blink. His predatory gaze remained locked on his prize, unbothered by anything else. Only when Jakob’s struggles began to slow—his strength steadily drained away with every passing moment—did the dragon finally speak.

Is something the matter? he taunted. You sound exhausted. Fortunately, I know the perfect place for you to have a nice, long… permanent rest.

The dragon’s head loomed closer, his massive jaws parting. A faint haze of sleep-inducing mist curled from the back of his throat, escaping from an opening that led to dark, inescapable depths.

As Rayquaza’s maw closed in on Jakob—not unlike an anaconda swallowing a trapped mouse—his forked tongue flicked beneath the youth’s chin, lifting his gaze. He forced Jakob to look upward, ensuring his prey had no choice but to see exactly where he was going.

“N-no, please! I don’t need rest! I’m not tired at all!” Jakob cried, jerking his head away from the monster’s tongue and shutting his eyes tightly with what remaining strength he had left. “You-you don’t wanna eat me anyway! I taste awful!”

But, if his demise was inevitable, he at least wanted to know why. He opened his eyes a crack and turned towards Rayquaza.

“I don’t, I don’t understand… You’re one of the newer plushies. You shouldn’t be affected by whatever magic those older toys left behind had, if they even had any to begin with. Who created you? How are you even alive?”

He continued to struggle in the thick, soft coils futilely, but with the dragon’s maw bearing down on him, he knew he didn’t have much time left. Soon it would expel that strange gas over him and he would be out like a light, and then swallowed, probably to never be seen again. And with the spell Rayquaza had used over everyone else in the store, nobody was coming to save him. Not this time.

He solemnly accepted that he would be spending some quality time with the giant green sky serpent, whether he wanted to or not. But then, he felt a vibration against his leg. It was his phone in his pocket. Even with all the pressure exerted by the plush, it hadn’t broken. There was still one option left!

Using the voice-activated feature in his phone, hoping he was loud enough for it to pick up, he said, “Call Adrien…”

The dragon’s jaws stopped just short of closing around Jakob. It wasn’t the possibility of Jakob’s call going through—Rayquaza knew no human would be able to follow where he intended to take him. Nor was it his question nor the struggling that gave the giant stuffed animal pause.

The other plushies.

Rayquaza pulled back, snapping his jaws shut as his gaze shifted towards the stairway leading to the basement. The other two Pokémon down there didn’t concern him, but the wyvern and the Quetzalcoatlus… They were different. They were more like him. And Jakob was his prize, not theirs.

You have earned yourself a reprieve, he said. But only a temporary one.

His coils shifted, tightening as they guided Jakob closer, pulling him into the dragon’s looming shadow once more. The tip of Rayquaza’s tail slid beneath Jakob’s chin, nudging it upward until their eyes locked.

Then his pupils contracted sharply, twin golden rings narrowing to pinpricks. Another spell was coming.

Jakob tried to shut his eyes tight. He tried to look away, but he couldn’t escape the drake’s gaze. He knew he was about to be hypnotized, drugged, eaten, kidnapped, perhaps not in that exact order. But regardless, it wasn’t gonna be good.

However, based on Rayquaza’s glance to the basement door, perhaps the sky snake was apprehensive about the other plushies, and maybe Jakob could use that hesitance to his advantage. With his focus still forcibly locked on the dragon’s eyes, he tried a new strategy.

“Y-you know, I might have accidentally touched that wyvern and dinosaur while I was down there. They’re probably looking for me right now, and they won’t like it when they see you hogging me all to yourself.”

Jakob knew for a fact that he didn’t touch any of the other toys, but Rayquaza didn’t know that. He just needed to plant a seed of doubt in the serpent’s mind, one that would eventually cause him to falter so Jakob could hopefully make an escape, or at least stall for long enough for Adrien to arrive.

“You think you can take on both of them? Because of how slow you were down there, I think they might have an advantage over you,” Jakob chided.

He knew the last thing he should be doing was teasing his captor, but the Pokémon had been acting so smug, he felt like he deserved a little taste of his own medicine.

He could only hope that Rayquaza would take the bait.

Rayquaza's smirk returned. He knew for a fact that Jakob hadn’t touched the other plushies below. If he had, Jakob would already be in their clutches.

I suppose I ought to hurry up and leave with you then, mm? he sneered. Wouldn’t you agree, my little plaything?

The dragon’s ring-eyes pulsed with arcane power, locking onto Jakob and refusing to let go. Gradually, the hypnotic suggestion took root in Jakob’s mind, coiling tightly around his thoughts just as Rayquaza’s body did his own.

It would have been bad had one of the other toys grabbed Jakob first. Wasn’t he lucky that Rayquaza had gotten him before they could? In fact… wouldn’t it be better if Rayquaza kept him far away from those two, all to himself?

The Rayquaza toy smugged over Jakob, idly squeezing and releasing his coils, watching as Jakob’s body bobbed with the movements. He shivered with delight as the fight slowly left his captive’s eyes. Soon, he would never want to leave those coils—and the dragon would see to it that he didn’t.

Jakob’s phone rang. It was Adrian, trying to call him back. But the dragon’s spell was too deep now, and the vibration in his pocket did nothing to break it. Once again, the Rayquaza plushie leaned forward, jaws spreading wide.

Jakob’s mind was getting foggy. Maybe it wasn’t so bad that he had gotten caught by a plushie as magnificent as Rayquaza instead of the terrifying dinosaur and wyvern plushies. Maybe it was all for the best. The coils felt so much more cozy than any bed he had ever slept in. It would be so easy to just let go, close his eyes, and give in…

But a small part of him still valiantly resisted.

“N-no, I-I don’t,” he grunted. “Let me…go…!” He struggled in the velvety grip once more before pausing to catch his breath. “A-are you some ghost with a grudge?” He paused again. “An angry tsukumogami?”***

Jakob wondered how Adrien would be able to save him this time. Or if he would be able to. That giant parade dragon plush had him in a very tight spot similar to Rayquaza. Why was he so easily caught now? He should’ve been safe after running out that basement door. Maybe Rayquaza was just stronger, faster, more clever. His body was certainly soft, maybe even softer than that other dragon’s. The boy was already becoming sleepy, but he needed to stay awake. He couldn’t give the plush beast what he wanted, no matter how comfortable he was or how strong the hypnosis became.

But Rayquaza squeezing and releasing his coils so rhythmically and methodically didn’t help matters at all, almost as if he was trying to rock the human to sleep. And speaking of sleep, Jakob knew what was coming next as soon as he saw Rayquaza’s jaws unhinge like a snake: a sleep mist attack.

He took a deep breath, held it, and waited for the inevitable blast.

Satisfaction flickered behind Rayquaza's eyes as he saw the fight draining from Jakob. The hypnosis hadn’t really been necessary, but he enjoyed this part—and he wasn’t going to let the treat pass him by.

He waited. Waited. Watched.

And then he saw it—acceptance.

I think you have much bigger concerns than fretting over abstract ideas like those, he said. Such as… ‘How long can I hold my breath, if I still want to…?’

The plushie’s jaws spread wide, and he exhaled a concentrated burst of sleeping gas, the mist swirling in the air around Jakob. He tightened and loosened his coils in a slow, rhythmic motion, each squeeze coaxing the youth to take a deeper breath, to let the haze fill his lungs and seal his fate.

Jakob tried to hold his breath for as long as he could. It should’ve been easy. He was on the swim team and knew he could hold his breath underwater for several minutes at a time. So being on dry land should have made it a piece of cake.

But nothing in his training accounted for giant magical living plushies. Nor did it account for such a plushie to squeeze him like a snake, putting pressure on his lungs, and encouraging him to take a deep gulp of air. And it especially didn’t account for hypnosis.

Jakob knew that if he breathed in that air, it would be lights out for him, both literally and figuratively. He would become Rayquaza’s new plaything, and there would be nothing he or anyone else could do to stop it. Even if Adrien came now, what was there to prevent Rayquaza from just flying away to a more secluded location that made rescue even less likely? He would become the toy of a toy, with which Rayquaza could do whatever he wanted. It would be just the two of them for however long the serpent pleased, and based on his words earlier, he intended it to be for a very long time.

But Jakob’s lungs burned, and his head was rushing. He felt like he was being pulled in two directions: his body wanting him to breathe and his brain forcing him not to. And the longer Rayquaza undulated his coils and kept up his hypnotic stare, the more it felt like his body was going to have the final say. Eventually, he couldn’t help it, and a tear ran down his face as he mentally surrendered himself to his soft, sealed fate.

He took a breath.

The Rayquaza plushie drew his head back, watching as Jakob struggled against the sleeping gas. At last, when Jakob couldn’t hold his breath any longer and was forced to gulp down air, the dragon positioned a claw beneath his chin and tilted his head up to meet his gaze. Dull and glassy. The zipper pull at the edge of his smirk twitched upward in amusement.

This was his favorite part: watching the last traces of resistance drain from his prey.

Once Jakob slumped forward, no longer fighting against the coils, the plushie opened his jaws once more and plucked the limp figure free. With a quick toss into the air to secure a better grip, he caught him neatly and worked him toward the back of his mouth. His jaws snapped shut, and the zipper slid closed with a sharp wrrrrrp.

Right where you belong, the beast of the seams mused.

Then he unwound his long body and twisted upward into the air, smashing through a window and bursting into the open sky above the city.

Jakob felt himself sliding deeper and deeper into the depths of Rayquaza’s body. It was like a slow-motion fall into a dark void, with his feet never quite touching the bottom. Is this what suspended animation feels like, he wondered. It was only due to his sense of gravity like a mental gyroscope that he could tell he was falling and was (to his immense gratitude) right-side up. It was completely pitch black inside the plushie otherwise. He couldn’t see his own hand even if he put it directly in front of his face, let alone tell what was up or down.

Eventually, the stuffing beneath him opened up as he slid into the stomach chamber. Although he had a little more wiggle room, it was still cramped, forcing him to lie flat on his back. It was like being inside a large, strange sleeping bag, with nothing but soft plush surrounding him. It didn’t tickle as much as he thought it would. To his surprise, it actually felt rather nice. The environment was warm, but not unbearably so, like being wrapped up in a heated blanket. Still, this cozy warmth was the last thing his drowsy mind needed.

He was still conscious, but barely. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he succumbed to slumber. He tried not to make any sudden movements, so Rayquaza wouldn’t catch on to the fact that he was still awake. He was relieved Rayquaza had caught him feet-first. Otherwise the he would be all woozy from the blood rushing to his head, and it would be even harder to stay alert. Small blessings, I suppose, he sardonically thought to himself.

Jakob felt the plushie move as it burst out of the store and into the sky. Adrien rescuing him now was, obviously, off the table. Jakob could only hope that people on the ground would notice the giant green serpentine dragon flying through the air, and would feel suspicious and curious enough to follow it, but after seeing what it did to the people in the store, he had a feeling the toy was clever enough to negate that with its influence. He had no idea where it was taking him, but based on his experience with the parade dragon, it was likely going to be somewhere remote, somewhere no one would think to check.

He hoped that Rayquaza didn’t also have forcefield creating abilities like the other plush dragon did. That would severely hamper any rescue efforts and prolong his “stay”.

Carefully, he checked his phone. The glowing screen illuminated his surroundings. As he suspected, it was like an endless sea of plush and stuffing. He was surprised that it was pink, almost as if it were intended to be a stomach. Ignoring that disturbing thought, he unlocked his phone. It was almost out of battery, but even worse, no signal. Either they were so high in the sky, or the plush’s body was so thick that it blocked any service. Or maybe it was the plush’s magic. Jakob was too tired to think about it. He had to focus most of his concentration just on keeping his eyes open.

Hopefully someone finds me soon, he thought. He really didn’t want to stay with his plush “companion” forever.

But what choice did he have?

Just as Jakob’s phone battery dipped to 1%, the screen flickered and shifted. A plushie Rayquaza with cartoonish features swirled impossibly into view, slapping the apps off the screen in his wake. The plush dragon’s head turned, eyes locking on Jakob as the tab on the end of its zipper twitched up into a smirk.

A speech bubble formed and began to fill with letters:

“Want to enjoy the view?”

Without waiting for a response, the screen changed again, shifting to a video. From the green snout visible at the bottom of the frame and the undulating motion of the camera, it was clear this was somehow being projected from the Rayquaza plushie’s own eyes.

He was flying over a forest, impossibly far from the city. Snowy peaks loomed faintly in the distance—seemingly his destination—but suddenly an ancient, cracked tower appeared out of nowhere. It looked wrong, as if it didn’t belong in the world. Concealed by an illusion, its location was known only to the plushie, impossible to see unless one happened to stumble upon it by chance.

A smaller Rayquaza icon appeared in the corner, accompanied by a speech bubble and scrolling video game-style text:

Welcome to your forever home, my little plaything.

The plushie’s smugness seemed to ooze through the screen before it went black, leaving Jakob in darkness.

The enormous plushie settled atop the great tower with a heavy thump, content now that he had a battery that would last far longer than the one in Jakob’s phone. Tilting his snout down toward the spot where Jakob lay, his smirk deepened.

Mine.

The cartoony monster’s mocking face and text cut off as Jakob’s phone went dead. Now he had no way of contacting the outside world; he was isolated and alone. Jakob felt tears roll down his face and his throat close up. He knew it was a childish complaint, but he couldn’t help but think about how unfair this all was. What did he do to deserve getting captured and kidnapped by a giant magical plushie? All he did was accidentally fall on top of what seemed to be a harmless toy, and now he was its plaything, being taken to the middle of who-knows-where. Why was this happening to him? Why why why why—

Suddenly, he felt a wave of calmness inexplicably wash over him, and he stopped crying. He felt like he was floating on a peaceful sea, and his body sank deeper into the plush. Was Rayquaza actually trying to soothe him, or did it just want him to fall asleep so it didn’t have to deal with him moving around inside? Jakob suspected the latter.

Regardless, whatever spell the dragon cast was working, and Jakob yawned. There wasn’t any point in fighting it anymore. His fate was sealed in that basement the moment his skin grazed the plushie’s velvety exterior. He knew that if he succumbed to slumber, there was a high chance he wouldn’t wake up for days, weeks, months. Perhaps longer. But he was so, so tired. And the soft and comfy plush around him conformed to his body’s shape, filling the space above his chest and legs. It felt like being tucked into a warm bed on a winter night.

A little nap couldn’t hurt, right?

Jakob closed his eyes, feeling his breathing and heartbeat slow. As he drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep, one last thought rang through his conscious mind: I hope Adrien doesn’t miss me at his party...

* A previous RP I had with the same person. I will post that story on FA at a later date, as I am still revising it (you know how writing takes me forever). Stay tuned!

** You get a cookie if you understand the reference.

*** 付喪神 (lit. “tool spirit”) Tsukumogami are inanimate objects that have acquired a spirit or soul and thus become living yōkai (monsters). It is believed discarded plushies and toys become tsukumogami and seek revenge against the careless humans who abandoned them.