Little Lizard's Library of Tales (Update 12/22 Now with more Christmas)

[FedoraChar]

Little Lizard's Library of Tales

Greetings, readers, and welcome to my anthology (of sorts)! I've recently had a laptop scare--and I thought for certain I was going to lose my wide collection of stories I've written over the past. Everything's going to be okay, I believe, but I figured I'd better find a place to back up these stories--and what better place then here on PXR?

So, what's going to be here exactly?

I'd like to post all of my old short-stories... along with some stories I haven't quite finished yet. There's been a few stories that I've had to scrapped because, well, I have a short attention span and... little time. EMBARRASSING. Still, I would someday like to go back and finish some, but since I don't know if that will happen or not. So, in the meantime, I will just be posting what I got. I guess if there is enough interest, I'll see what I can do about finishing it--or, you could VM me and see about coming up with your own ending. That'd be fun, eh? ;)

Content-wise, most of these will be Pokemon stories, although I might have a crossover or Kingdom Hearts story here and there. There's healthy mix of comedies, angst, fantasies, and so on. As an author, I don't use strong language or have explicit content. Most will be rated E for everyone and up. Maybe some PG for violence. But yeah. I hope to update somewhat frequently--up until I get all my stories posted :D (For those of you that might be familiar with my old novel Lunar Destinies... LoL, I'm not sure if that will go up here or not. We'll see xD)

Without further ado... Have a fancy Table of Contents! :D




LE TABLE OF CONTENTS

Vatonage (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?2014-Little-Lizard-s-Library-of-Tales&p=34703&viewfull=1#post34703)::Pokemon::Adventure/Drama
The Secret Ein Files (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?2014-Little-Lizard-s-Library-of-Tales&p=35219&viewfull=1#post35219)::Pokemon/Kingdom Hearts::Sci-fi
Down to Earth (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?2014-Little-Lizard-s-Library-of-Tales-(New-story-10-31!)&p=36299&viewfull=1#post36299)::Kingdom Hearts::Comedy
Echo Through Time (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?2014-Little-Lizard-s-Library-of-Tales-%28New-story-11-7!%29&p=37335&viewfull=1#post37335)::Pokemon Ranger::Fantasy
Kingdom 2 Come (Part 1) (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?2014-Little-Lizard-s-Library-of-Tales-%28Updated-11-14!%29&p=38218&viewfull=1#post38218)::Pokemon::Fantasy
(Part II) (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?2014-Little-Lizard-s-Library-of-Tales-%28Updated-11-26!-Now-with-more-Medieval-action!%29&p=40194&viewfull=1#post40194)
(Part III) (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?2014-Little-Lizard-s-Library-of-Tales-%28Updated-11-26!-Now-with-more-Medieval-action!%29&p=63543&viewfull=1#post63543)
(Part FINALE) (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?2014-Little-Lizard-s-Library-of-Tales-%28Update-2-4%29&p=86856&viewfull=1#post86856)
Char's Christmas Bash (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?2014-Little-Lizard-s-Library-of-Tales-%28Update-5-25%29&p=121097&viewfull=1#post121097)::Pokemon::Comedy, Drama

[FedoraChar]

Author's Note: Okay, time for our first story! To give you some background on this one, it's a spring-off from the side-game Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (I srsly love the Ranger games <3). So... it might be a little confusing if you haven't played that game all the way through. This story was originally written for Pe2k's WAR IX fanfiction contest--the theme had to involve the line, "I first thought I'd eventually find the answer by searching. I never knew it was in my soul the entire time." Looking back... I can't remember what place it ended up getting, but I remember Neo Pikachu really enjoying it ^^

This is one of my older pieces... but I like it. I hope you do too! :D



http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m399/PowerCampGal/VatonageTitle.png






Journal Log 153
April 27, 2010
Dr. R. H. Marks

Once again, I have been disappointed. Far too many of my colleagues have given up hopes on reviving the organization formally known as Dim Sun. I do not blame them for losing faith in its name, but they fail to see the genius of my plans. I, too, have given up any ties to Dim Sun, and instead I have taken a new name upon myself and loyal followers. We shall be known as Phoenix as—just like the mythical creature—we have been reborn from the ashes of flawed plans. We will pick up where Dim Sun left and achieve a greater degree of Glory.
_____
Journal Log 175
May 5, 2010
Dr. R. H. Marks

I have familiarized myself with one of Almia’s old legends. It seems to have ties to the four stones that led to the demise of Dim Sun’s plans: the Tears of Princes and the Shadow Crystal. I do not understand all the details, but the legend tells of an old monarch who had three sons. The princes grew to be foolish, and the King was forced to banish them. Consumed by guilt, the King began to immerse himself into the darkness, and it consumed him. It is said that this was how the Shadow Crystal, the old weapon of Dim Sun, came to be. The princes, bowed to the depths of humility, shed tears for their loss, and from this the three stones known as the Tears of Princes were formed. As we saw with the downfall of the old organization, the Tears of Princes are able to purify the darkness found in the Shadow Crystal and transform it into the Luminous Crystal.

My followers have successfully recovered large portions of shards from the Shadow Crystal, some straight from the so-called Tower of Peace, formally known the Altru Building once ran by the head of Team Dim Sun. After much research, I have confirmed by earlier suspicions: the crystal does indeed hold some of Darkrai’s power. This better explains why Pokémon reacted so adversely when exposed to Giga-and-mini-remo units, allowing us to control them. (As you may recall, the Remo machines each held a shard of the crystal.) Blake Hall sought to use that power, but he took a much more timid approach to unlocking it. I, however, see a much better technique, one that would ensure better control.

We must find a way to extract that power.
_____
Journal Log 226
July 30, 2010
Dr. R. H. Marks

My plans are finally unfolding. Everything we have shed sweat and tears for will now be repaid. We have succeeded in developing a way to transfer the crystal’s power to another being. I know that many would approach this differently, wanting to infuse that power into a Pokémon, but not I. You see, one of my goals is to eliminate the problem of the Rangers. I want to wipe them from the face of the planet. If I gave the crystal’s power to a Pokémon, I would fail in this endeavor. Thanks to their capture technology, the Rangers would be able to turn the Pokémon against us.

This is why the power must be transferred to a human. With our superior intelligence, we would be able to utilize and control, plus the Rangers would be unable to capture our power. I shall be the first person in the world to create the perfect weapon—a human weapon. Then no one, not even the foolish Ranger union, will be able to stop me.

Of course, there is still some work to be done, bugs to fix. Luckily, I have the perfect guinea pig to experiment on. Just the other day, a young boy stumbled into our operations, and my grunts quickly captured him. The best part is that he’s an amateur Ranger, and now that we have his friend (the foolish girl came looking for him when he disappeared) he is easily manipulated. Tomorrow we shall perform a test and then…

ERROR: FILE CORRUPTED….


_____

An explosion shook the entire Hia Valley, causing several avalanches to roll down the permanently frozen slopes of the mountains. A cloud of smoke swirling with snow ascended into the air above a well-hidden building as chaos erupted within. Men and woman were scrambling frantically through the halls, trying to escape the fire that was slowly spreading. At the heart of the problem, the building’s main laboratory, the machines were going hay-wire. Lights flashed, sirens screeched, and circuits fried in the chaos. Though the scientists tried their best to deal with the meltdown, they were scared out of their wits by the subject of their experimentation. Something had gone terribly wrong, and now they had lost all control. In the center of the room, mixed within the writhing flames, were tendrils of nearly solid darkness. They reached out like tentacles from the floor, wrapping themselves around wires and ripping them out of their places. As they did so, electricity cracked and sparked, igniting any nearby flammable material.

“It’s no good!” one of the scientists shouted, his face dripping with sweat from heat and effort. “We got to get out of here!”

No one bothered to argue. The white-coats turned heels and raced for the exits, but before they could escape black smoke-like tentacles shot forward, racing flat against the floor towards their fleeing feet before snapping up in full three-dimensional forms. The shadows grabbed them around the legs and began pulling them back. The men cried out as they desperately reached out for something to grab a hold of, but their attempts were all in vain. Slowly they sank into holes in the ground created by churning pools of darkness, looking if they were caught in quicksand. One individual, instead of disappearing into a dark void, was yanked towards the center of the lab where the shadows were the thickest. Firelight flickered against his glasses as he looked at his fate, his face white with terror.

“Please,” he begged with some unseen being. “No, please… Have mercy…”

When he was inches away from the mass of darkness, he could see how it moved like light-less fire. He couldn’t see beyond the outer layer, but he didn’t need to in order to know what was behind it. Suddenly, a gloved hand shot out and grabbed him by the color of his shirt. He half expected something otherworldly, but to his surprise the arm belonged to a human—a mere boy. Yet the strength he exerted to lift the researcher to his feet was incredible. The scientist prayed that he wouldn’t see the rest of the boy’s face, but this was denied to him as the shadows parted. Now he confronted the child he had so willingly experimented on.

Though he looked human enough, they boy’s skin had a gray pallor to it and his eyes were glowing with an eerie light. The red Ranger uniform he had been wearing before the test was now completely stained black. The expression on his face was coldly consumed with rage as he brought it close to the scientist’s face.

“Where is she?” he spoke, though his voice sounded like a myriad of people—all with different pitches and textures—speaking together at once.

“I-I-I d-d-don’t know,” the scientist mindlessly began babbling while quivering pitifully.

“Where is she?” the boy repeated firmly again, but his time with less patience. As he tightened his grip, the scientist gulped audibly.

“In the kennels,” the scientist caved, spilling his soul. “In the southern section of the building, the last cell on the right.”

The experiment threw the scientist back onto the ground, the shadows around him twitching angrily. “For your sake,” he hissed, “she better be okay.”

Suddenly, the shadows all collected around him, forming a cocoon around him before flattening themselves against the floor. They dispersed like fog, leaving no sign of the boy or any of the other faculty. The scientist was alone in the burning lab, where he collapsed and wept.

Meanwhile, the building was being evacuated. Taken by such surprise, no one could get organized enough to fight the fire. Instead, they fled like cowards for the safety of the valley and left their base for destruction. Some would discover that avalanches blocked their escape, but most were lucky to find safe passage down the slopes, thanks to whatever vehicles they could find. Among the fleeing individuals was a boy, holding in his arms the limp form of a girl as he ran with everything he had.


*****

“Ella?” a concerned voice called through the darkness of her dreams, calling the teen back to reality. As her senses reawakened, she became aware of a chilling breeze nipping at her skin. Why was it so cold? She wondered, but she didn’t bother trying to move. Her limbs felt a little stiff and sluggish, but it really wasn’t too uncomfortable. Lying still like that felt rather nice. Yet when she felt a pressure on her shoulder gently shaking her, she decided to finally open her emerald eyes. A familiar face hung over her, with short black hair and bright blue eyes, but for some reason she couldn’t recognize who it was right away. She blamed the poor lighting, wherever she was.

“Ella?” the face asked again, its expression pinched in worry.

“Tristan?” she asked as the name clicked in her head.

The boy breathed out a long sigh of relief, but he continued to watch her warily. The guy looks so exhausted, Ella thought with a frown. Sitting up, she took in her strange new surroundings. Now she understood where the cold came from. They were in an icy cave with blue-tinted walls and slippery surfaces all around them. The light faintly filtered in from outside, allowing her to see the steam that issued from her mouth as she breathed. She was confused at why she was here, but memories flooded back to her like a tidal wave. The lab, the men, Tristan…

“Where are those people? Where are we? How did we get here?” she started spewing questions with intensity.

“Calm down,” Tristan waved her down, his voice scratchy as if he had just finished a screaming contest. “We’re fine…”

Ella paused, taking a closer look at her friend. She had known him since they were toddlers, and out of all those years together she had never seen him so beaten down. Examining him now, she realized that he had a gray hue to his skin. His face was drawn, and shadows encircled his eyes.

“Are you okay?” she asked, taking her turn to be the concerned one.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly, leaning back against the cave wall. The cold hardly seemed to bother him. Even though she was starting to shiver, he remained still.

She studied him for a while, growing more and more uneasy about his unusual behavior. Scooting up to the wall next to him, she asked, “What happened, Tristan?”

The boy Ranger sighed, not too keen to explain, but he opened his mouth. “They… they threatened me. They told me that if I didn’t do what they wanted, they would hurt you. So I listened. They strapped me up to this weird machine and… Well, things got blurry after that, but I remember going through a lot of pain—burning intense pain, the worst that I had ever been through in my entire life. Then there were explosions and screaming and… I… I don’t know. I think I hurt people, but I don’t remember…”

He turned to her, his eyes swimming in a confusing pool of emotions.

“You hurt people? How?” she asked. She couldn’t see how that would be possible. The kidnappers certainly did horrible things to them, but Tristan wasn’t vengeful. She couldn’t picture him harming others.

The boy hung his head as he brought his knees up to his chest. Shoulders shaking, he explained, “I don’t know. After the pain cleared, I remember feeling this… this strange energy building up in me, this overwhelming power. I felt like I could do anything. I don’t know what they did to me, but somehow, I’m different.”

Ella fell silent, trying to sort through it out in her head. What Tristan had told her didn’t make much sense to her, but it seemed rather difficult for him to talk about it. She wouldn’t ask questions quite yet, not until he himself made sense of it. She was simply glad that it was over with. Now they could go back home…

“Maybe they deserved it,” Tristan spoke up suddenly, a dark look consuming his expression.

“What?” Ella’s eyebrows lifted, alarmed.

“They deserved what happened to them,” the Ranger went on. “They should have known better than to do the things they did.”

Ella hardly believed her own ears. Didn’t she just get done thinking about how he was never vengeful? She had never heard him sound so wrathful before, so charged and full of anger. What was wrong with him? What did that machine do to him? Half of her wanted to slink away frightened by the transformation, but the overbearing sympathetic part of her kept her by his side. She could sense how hurt and confused he was, and she wanted to help some way…

He was fiercely clenching his fists, but with his head bent she couldn’t see his eyes. With the low lighting, she also failed to see how tiny tendrils of shadows were curling themselves around his body. Hesitantly, she reached out and placed her hand on his. The shadows immediately dispersed as the tension in his body relaxed.

“Everything is okay, now,” she spoke in a low, gentle voice. “We’re both safe. They can’t hurt us anymore.”

Tristan’s eyes gradually moved from her hand up to her face. He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. After a long moment of sorting through his thoughts, he asked, “What do we do now?”

Ella smiled back, though she was still troubled within. Normally he was the one coming up with the plans. Still, in his emotionally distraught state she didn’t expect him to be thinking straight. She hoped that he would recover soon, however. She would try her best, but she never was a good leader. The teenager stood up, feeling Tristan’s eyes following her as she shuffled carefully over the ice to the cave’s entrance. Peering outside she could see Hia Valley stretching out before them, pure white with a fresh coat of snow. A plume of smoke was rising from the west, which she guessed to be the ruins of Team Phoenix’s base. She frowned, thinking back to what Tristan had told her, but didn’t linger long.

“I guess we should try to find Shiver Camp,” she finally declared. “They have a Ranger Base there, don’t they?”

“I think so,” Tristan replied, still sitting against the cave wall.

Ella shivered, wishing she had a better protection against the cold. It wasn’t going to be a fun trek across the valley, but they had to hurry before it got dark. If they failed to reach the camp before then, they could freeze to death. For the umpteenth time since becoming a Trainer, she wished that she had a good strong Staraptor to fly her around. Currently, all she had was a young Shinx that could hardly provide any assistance out here in the snow tundra. Tristan had lost his styler, so he couldn’t capture any wild Pokémon either.

“Well,” Ella turned around, forcing another smile on, “shall we start?”

“Okay,” Tristan agreed, though he didn’t sound too enthusiastic. He sluggishly climbed onto his feet and stumbled towards her. As he stepped out into the sunlight, he squinted painfully.

“’s bright,” he commented with a weak smile, raising his hand to shield his eyes nonetheless.

“Just a little,” Ella laughed, though she wasn’t as sensitive to the light as he was. She thought that something could wrong with that, but she didn’t say anything out loud. Inside, she was beginning to fear what those men had done to her childhood friend, and what that would mean for them. Was she losing her best friend?

Together, they carefully descended down the slope away from their ice cave and into the valley. Before long, both were uncomfortably wet and cold. The fact that the snow was much deeper than Ella originally thought didn’t help much. Often times she would misjudge and step into particularly deep spots, then she would need Tristan’s help to get back out. Luckily, the skies were clear and bright, allowing the sun to warm their backs and prevent them from freezing. There were times when they had to pass through the shadows of winter-frosted pine trees, and then they would be reminded just how miserable it would be without the sun. Ella was plenty relieved after those stretches when they came out into the sun once more, though Tristan never looked quite as happy. Even after a good long hour of trekking, his eyes still hadn’t adjusted to the snow glare. He constantly stumbled over rocks and fallen branches.

In all honesty, Ella wasn’t sure if she was going the right direction. She had learned some tricks about finding directions from the sun and all, but for all she knew she could be missing Shiver Camp altogether. If only Tristan was himself. He would know what to do.

“Hey, do you hear something?” Tristan suddenly spoke up, pausing.

Ella stopped as well, letting silence fall around them. Without the crunching of snow under their feet filling their ears, they realized how much noise they had been making. She was surprised that Tristan had been able to pick anything out with it. They were currently in a small patch of trees that were widely spread out, allowing stripes of sunlight into their path. It felt peaceful enough, or at least that was what Ella thought before otherwise proven wrong. She picked up on a swishing noise that sounded like wind moving through the bind needles, followed by a long, drawn out crunch.

“What did you—,” she started, but Tristan interrupted her.

“Look out!” he shouted, leaping in front of her.

The events occurring afterward seemed to play out in slow motion. Ella turned to see what was going on, but when Tristan jumped a wall of blackness suddenly rose up before them. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she heard glass-like shattering noises on the other side. When the attack stopped, the wall lowered, and Tristan and Ella found themselves facing a seven-foot, extremely bulky monster. With a bearded, block-shaped face, it glared down at them with angry purple eyes. Raising its thick, branch-like arms, it roared to prepare another attack.

“An Abomasnow!” Ella gasped, and leapt aside as the arm fell down towards their heads. She started backing away as quickly as possible, but the creature had its eyes on her. Grunting grumpily, it swung its arm again, releasing pointed shards of ice aimed straight for her body.

Once again, shadows leapt from the snow into dimensional forms, blocking the Ice Shards before they reached her. She turned and spotted Tristan staring at her with his hand outstretched.

“Are you doing this?” she asked, stunned.

“I… I think so,” he replied, just as amazed as she was.

They didn’t have much time to wonder over this, as the Frosted Tree Pokémon was charging once more. Instinctively, Tristan whirled around to face it, cupping his hands together. A black orb crackling with electrical, purple light immediately formed in his hand, and as soon as it had grown to the size of a skull it shot off towards the attacking Pokémon. Apparently, it hadn’t been expecting a human to fight back. Its eyes widened in surprise, but it was too late to turn away. The orb blasted into it, knocking it off its feet.

“Shadow Ball?” Ella mouthed, recognizing what she saw but not wanting to believe it. How was Tristan doing this? That was a Pokémon move! Humans couldn’t do that! That was unheard of!

The Abomasnow shook off the attack, getting back onto his feet while clutching its head in its thorny hands. It glared at Tristan for a brief moment, and then decided that it wasn’t going to fall for anymore tricks. Roaring, it ambled forward for another assault. Ella shouted a warning to her friend, but he didn’t move. Instead, he stood his ground—allowing the creature to get close enough to strike. As it brought its arm down in a Wood Hammer attack, the boy simply sidestepped it.

Shadows suddenly snaked forward from the ground as the creature’s fist missed, securely snagging it down. Despite its desperate attempts, the Abomasnow couldn’t free its limb from their grip. Stopping, it stared at Tristan before reaching out its other arm to grab him. With a deft motion, Tristan bent down and dodged that swing as well. As he straightened, he lifted his arms and more black tentacles detached themselves from the forest floor and wrapped around the creature’s only free hand. The Abomasnow was completely flabbergasted. It had just been outsmarted by an intruder! It gaped at the boy emptily, as if all its brains had been swiped out of its head.

Tristan, meanwhile, moved forward with a glossy look and a raised hand. Ella moved closer, trying to figure out what was going on. He looked as if he was sleep walking, only half-paying attention to his actions. His hand was outlined with a glowing pink light, which he placed on the Ice Monster’s forehead. Immediately, the creature’s eyes rolled back into its head, and it collapsed with a heavy thud onto the ground. The forest fell silent once more.

“Is…,” Ella moved forward with a gulp, looking the Pokémon over. “Is it dead?”

Tristan swayed unexpectedly, holding his head in his hand. “No… I think… I think I just put it to sleep. I hypnotized it or something.”

“Tristan? What just happened?”

He lowered his hand, glumly taking in the result of his actions. “Remember what I told you back in the cave? I am starting to think that somehow those scientists… well, it sounds crazy…”

“No, tell me.”

“I think that they gave me Pokémon powers.”

Ella frowned. Was such a thing even possible? How could they do that?

“But,” Tristan continued, his eyebrows knitting together in worry, “the scary thing is… I don’t even know how I am doing it. Whenever they pop up, they seem to do their own thing. I don’t think about any of it. Ella? What if I can’t control them?”

Ella forced herself to meet his eyes. Deep inside she had that same fear, but she couldn’t let him know that. She still had confidence in him. She knew that if he had the courage, he was strong enough to overcome this. “Maybe you can learn to control them?”

“How?”

“Well, even superheroes had trouble controlling when they first got their powers.”

“Superheroes?” he cocked an eyebrow at her doubtfully, bringing back a reminiscent of his former self. Ella was glad to see it, and felt heartened.

“Of course,” she smiled, getting a little excited. “If you think about it… You’re like one now. A real one! And you know—even though those bad guys did this to you—you can turn around and use that power for good. You could really help people, Tristan, more than any other Ranger ever did.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, and you could do all that typical superhero stuff: fight crime, bust bad guys, stop speeding trains. Hey, we could even make you a nice outfit to wear. Oh, and a nickname! You could be PokéBoy or something.”

Tristan laughed a true, full-hearted laugh. “We could forgo the nickname and uniform. I never was a fan of tights and capes.”

Ella practically glowed, so delighted to hear him joke. Teasing, she said, “Aw, come on! That’d be the funnest part!”

Tristan’s smile faded a little, and as he looked back down at the Abamosnow it completely disappeared. Despondently, he asked, “How do you know I’m not a supervillain?”

Ella knew what he meant. The powers he had been using had obviously been from dark-type Pokémon. Taking a step between Tristan and the Abomasnow, she was going to set him right. Fixing him with a fierce and determined expression, she said, “Don’t even think that. I know your heart, Tristan. You are a good person, of that I have no doubt. There’s no way you could ever be a villain. Look, I know that this stuff you can do seems shady, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do good with them. Darkness is a part of this world as much as light. It’s what you choose to do with it that makes the difference. You got to believe that, okay? No more of this mopey stuff, got it?”

Tristan lifted his head, locking his eyes into hers as he searched their depths. He was overwhelmed by what she had just told him. How could he have so much faith in him? He wanted so bad to believe her words, but he still doubted himself. But… if he had to, he would try. He would try for her. Slowly, he nodded.

“That’s the spirit,” she beamed, then paused as her eyes climbed to the top of his head.

“What’s wrong?” Tristan asked, confused.

“Oh, well… there’s a patch of white hair on your head,” she explained, indicating the area on her own head, just above the right eye.

He reached his hands up and grabbed where he thought she meant, but his hair was too short to pull down to see. Nothing felt out of place, but that didn’t reassure him. White hair? What could that mean? What else was going to happen to him?

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Ella saw his sudden panic and tried to dismiss it. “We’d better get going before the Yeti here wakes up.”

“Yeah,” he lowered his hands slowly, ashamed by his reaction.


*****

Ella felt a little uneasy as they began climbing up a slow incline. Of course, it was natural that she should be a little on edge after nearly being mauled by a territorial creature. Yet that wasn’t the source of her anxiety. What irked her was the very fact that they were climbing uphill. She had visited Shiver Camp once before, and she couldn’t recall it being on a hill. Maybe she was just being paranoid, but she hoped that they were going the right way.

Finally, the slope peaked and they could see the valley unravel before their view like a scroll. Directly ahead of them was a lake riddled with ice, looking calm and peaceful as it rested undisturbed in the heart of the valley. Ella felt disheartened at the sight of it. She was certain that she had never seen it before.

“I have no idea where we are,” she let her shoulders droop in a defeated manner. She looked to her friend, wishing that he would jump in and take over. He knew this area better than her, but he still seemed to be struggling, remaining aloof to most of their journey. His eyes were fixed on something in the distance.

“I think I do,” he suddenly spoke up, startling the teenage girl.

“You do?” she blinked, recovering from the shock to allow some hope to resurface.

He nodded once, then pointed ahead saying, “See that?”

Ella followed, and her eyes widened as she saw it: a man-made building erected up from the snow by the shores of the lake. It didn’t look like any modern building she had seen in the rest of the region. Pointed towers built from stone reached out for the skies above, giving it an ancient appearance. Even though the snow was slowly reclaiming it, Ella could tell that it had been standing for some time.

“That’s Almia Castle,” Tristan explained. Thoughtfully, he added, “Shiver Camp would be just southeast from here. But I think we should head for the Castle.”

“Why?” Ella frowned. That place sounded interesting and all, but at the moment she would much rather prefer some warmer clothes and civilization.

“It’s closer than Shiver Camp,” he shrugged, “and we might find some archeologists there. They’ll probably be able to help us out.”

“Okay,” Ella said slowly, thinking it through, “but what if we don’t find anyone? It is getting close to sunset…”

“The castle does have fireplaces,” he smiled, trying to be reassuring. “We could just start our own fire and stay the night there. And…”

“And?”

“Well… you know the legend about that place, right?”

“No, I don’t think so…”

“It’s the same as the Shadow Crystal,” he returned his gaze to the castle. “Long ago, a King ruled over this region from that castle’s throne. He was a noble and kind monarch, but his three sons grew spoiled and rebellious. In the end, he was forced to banish them, but it tore him apart. Grieved by his decision, the King immersed himself in darkness, and from his sorrow the Shadow Crystal came into existence.”

Ella nodded, having heard the tale before. “I didn’t think that his Castle actually existed. But… Why are you telling me this?”

“Remember that struggle the Rangers had with that old organization known as Dim Sun? From that, they discovered all that stuff out about the Shadow Crystal that’s common knowledge around Almia now. But what most people don’t know is that they also discovered that Darkrai is the crystal’s guardian, and could possibly be the King himself.”

“I still don’t see where you’re—”

“That machine they put me in was connected to shards from the Shadow Crystal,” he cut her off bluntly, his face paler than usual.

Ella was taken aback, but managed to ask, “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“Because,” he sighed, turning his head away from her, “I was scared.”

“Tristan,” she reached out for him, but he jerked away.

“I don’t understand what’s happening to me,” he spoke firmly with determination with his back to her. “But maybe if we looked around the Castle, we could find some answers.”

The brown-haired girl still had her hand outstretched, but slowly she retracted it. “All right,” she softly agreed. “Let’s go, then.”

They started trekking through the snow once more, but this time it was Tristan who took the lead, and Ella who followed behind quietly.


*****

“Are we allowed to go in?” Ella innocently asked, lifting her eyes to gape up at the building that loomed over her. She hadn’t realized just how big it was until she got right up close to it. The arched doors they faced were several hundred heads above them, and she guessed that even Arceus would have been able to pass through.

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Tristan replied without any concerns. After admiring the cathedral-like architecture, he moved forward and—pressing his shoulder to the wood—forced the double doors apart. Then, stepping aside, he said, “Ladies first.”

Ella gave him a strange look before moving inside. There it was again, she thought, a tiny moment when he acts like his old self again. She knew it was too good to last, but she hoped that as time went things would return to normal again. Yet as he slipped in behind her, his grim seriousness had returned like a bad memory. She shivered, but not from the cold.

The moment they stepped inside it felt as if they had walked into a freezer. Everything within was coated with a fine layer of ice, from the sides of the walls to the high vaulted ceilings. Ella found herself wishing that she could just turn back around, but she wasn’t about to leave Tristan. As she continued looking around, she realized that all the details of the furniture and architecture were perfectly preserved. If it wasn’t for the frost and the dominating feeling of loneliness, she would have believed that she had taken a step back through time. The walls and floor were constructed from white marble, and none of it was chipped or broken. Blue rugs were stretched out beneath their feet, stiff but looking fresh as if they were placed just yesterday. Tapestries hung on the walls, though they couldn’t see much of their details due to the thick layers of frost clinging to their fabric.

Speechless, the duo walked across the grand hall deeper into the castle. Despite its potential to house thousandths, there were no other signs of life. A hollow and empty silence enchanted the air, filled with a mixture of emotions. Ella sensed deep respect in it, as if she was entering a cemetery or a church. It helped to clear her head, and slowly she found herself drifting through various thoughts. She nearly ran into Tristan when he suddenly stopped before another unnecessarily massive door.

“Do you think that the throne room is beyond this door?” he asked her in a low whisper, being reverent to the castle’s stillness.

Ella examined the door for a bit, spying the texture the frost created with the wood. Finally, she answered, “Only one way to find out.”

Together, they pushed open the door. For a moment, it resisted their attempts, but after complaining loudly it swung away to reveal a room much bigger than the entrance hall—though just as empty. Windows spanning the entire distance from the four-story ceiling to the floor filtered in the fading winter sun. Ornate chandeliers hung from the roof, but their golden arches were spiked with pin-sharp icicles. Around them was painted cloudy sceneries populated with cherubs and Clefairy, plus the occasional Legendary Pokémon. Ella felt her breath stolen away as she took in the room’s beauty, but Tristan wasn’t as impressed.

“Where’s the throne?” he asked ignorantly.

“I don’t think this is the throne room, Tristan,” Ella put him straight, gliding forward with her head raised to admire the artwork. “I think this is a ballroom.”

Someone clapped.

Tensing up, Ella and Tristan spun around in time to see the door they had just entered through slammed shut by a trio of men dressed in black. The man whose applause was echoing eerily through the air stood in the shadows, leaning with his shoulder against a wall.

“Congratulations,” the hand’s owner spoke coolly to them, surrounded by several other shapes. “You have guessed correctly. This is indeed the Castle’s ballroom.”

“You!” Tristan’s eyes narrowed, recognizing the stranger. “You’re the one! You’re the one who—”

“Please,” the man cut him off short, stepping closer into the light. He wore a white lab coat, proclaiming his status as a researcher. His long, greasy hair was streaked with gray, and tied back into a pony tail. His face was hardened and gruff, looking like a living stone carved to look like a human. Out of any person Ella met, she agreed that this guy had to be the winner of the most unfriendly-looking class. “Call me Doctor Marks,” he spoke to them as if giving them the time of the day.

“I’ll call you what I want to call you, you filthy—,” Tristan started again, but Dr. Marks interrupted him again.

“My, my, what a temper,” the man chuckled darkly. “Perhaps that is one of the side-effects of our little experiment, yes? Most interesting…”

He waltzed up to them, holding his chin in his hand as he circled them, inspecting Tristan as if he was some strange curio he was considering to buy. Ella could feel her friend shaking beside her, and she saw a look of absolute hatred on his face. She didn’t know which she was more terrified of: the man or her friend.

“Tell me,” Dr. Marks lifted his head arrogantly, eyes looking down his pointed nose. “What other changes have you gone through? I can see that your hair is turning white.”

“Shut up!” the boy Ranger spat. “You’re sick! You’re a monster, and you—”

“I am a genius!” Dr. Marks raised his voice, letting it boom across the empty ballroom. “I have done what no other man has dared to do before! I have created the ultimate weapon. The world will know my name and shall fear it for generations to come. You are only the first of many, my boy. With your power, I shall eliminate the Rangers and then the world shall be mine!”

“Not if I can help it!” Tristan growled and took a step forward. Ella shrieked as thick shadows gathered around his feet, hastening across the floor from their hiding places within the corners of the room. They reached up out of the ground and waved around like grass shaking in the wind. Eyes flashing, Tristan cupped his hands together as Ella had seen him do in the forest and formed another Shadow Ball. Doctor Marks impassively stood by, and didn’t even flinch when the dark orb was fired before him.

Before the Shadow Ball could reach him, however, another blue-colored orb shot across the room to meet it. The collision caused smoke to fill the air, but when it cleared they could see a new creature standing between Tristan and the scientist. Though it stood on two legs like a man, it had a canine-like face with tall, pointed ears. The black coloring over its blue fur made it look as if it wore a mask.

“I figured you would end up here,” Doctor Marks began explaining, sticking his hands into his pocket casually. “So while we were waiting around for you to show up, we stumbled upon this rare creature: a Lucario. It wasn’t too pleased with our intrusion, but we quickly contained it with one of our Mini-remo units.”

Ella’s eyes strayed back to the group of darkly dressed men, only to discover that they had completely surrounded them. One of them was holding a laptop-like machine before him, smirking like he had just pulled a clever trick. Was that the mini-remo? She had heard of those things from Tristan before this all happened. Apparently, Team Dim Sun had used them to hypnotize and control Pokémon, but it had been thought that they had all been destroyed. She sure hated to see the Rangers proved wrong.

“Now be careful,” Doctor Marks addressed the Mini-remo operator, walking away. “I want to return the boy to our back-up base in once piece.”

The group of men darkly chuckled, but Tristan found no humor in it.

“Don’t walk away from me!” he shouted, thrusting his hand forward. Immediately, the shadows underneath that arm surged forward like a tidal wave toward the scientist. Once again, Tristan’s attack was stopped short as the Lucario jumped forward, this time emitting a vertical wave that crashed into the shadows, dispersing them like smoke. The Aura Pokémon quickly followed by racing forward with incredible speed and knocked the boy from his feet.

“Tristan, no!” Ella shrieked, but her friend surprised her by regaining his ground. She edged backwards as Tristan growled in an un-human way, his eyes lighting up with blue fire. Cords of blackness began threading up his body, from his legs up to his shoulders. As it touched his skin it faded away its color, leaving him as black as night. His hair was now completely bleached white, and flickering like a flame. Ella was now seeing the pinnacle of Tristan’s transformation, but the worse side of it. Her worst fears were now confirmed. The boy she knew and grew up with was no longer there. Instead, it had been replaced by the ugliest side of human ingenuity.

The shadow’s Master raced forward, tackling into the suddenly tentative Lucario with incredible force. The Pokémon was sent flying across the ballroom, skidding against the marble floor.

“Get it up, you fool!” Dr. Marks barked at his operator, who nearly jumped out of his boots. Finally, the man tentatively tapped a key on the Mini-remo, and the Lucario stood back on its feet with a shake of the head. Tristan didn’t wait for it to completely recover, however. He formed another Shadow Ball, but instead of shooting a single orb several of them rained forward. The Lucario braced itself against their impact, but the force of them slid him backwards across the floor.

“Give me that!” the scientist seized the mini-remo, his patience finally running thin. Once he was at the keys, the Lucario began to retaliate. It shot more Aura Spheres from its paws, then charged forward as Tristan was distracted trying to block them. When it was close enough, it released a series of punches and jab at the boy without holding back. Tristan took every blow until he managed to grab a paw in his hand. With a quick movement, the transformed Ranger twisted the dog’s arm around and flung him across the room—straight towards the mini-remo.

The scientist and his cronies stepped back as the Pokémon crashed into the computer, shattering it to pieces. The men gaped, utterly speechless now that their plans had failed. They stood cemented to the ground staring stupidly as the Lucario stood back up, freed from their hypnotism. The dog-like Pokémon turned and gave them a sharp growl, but deciding that Tristan was the bigger threat, the creature kicked up the wreckage of the mini-remo and prepared its own attack. Dodging the spikes of shadow that Tristan caused to rise out of the ground, the Pokémon lifted its paw and punched the boy with a Sky Uppercut.

With that blow, Tristan flew upward, but the Lucario didn’t stop there. It fired another fury of Aura Spheres and then sent out a brilliant light wave from his mouth. Stunned by the uppercut, Tristan was unable to dodge the other stream of attacks. He absorbed them all, then fell limply back to the ground. Ella lifted her hand up to her mouth with a gasp. He wasn’t… he couldn’t… Tears began welling in her eyes.

The Lucario stood over his fallen foe, panting from the exertion he went through to power those last moves. When Tristan made no movement, he turned his back and began to walk away. Seconds later, the creature regretted that choice.

Tristan’s eyes flashed open, a new rage burning within them. He sat up and raised his arms up in an ‘x’. Throwing them apart again, a wave of dark energy flew from them, rocketing at the unwary Lucario. The creature received the full blunt of the attack in his back, and fell on his face, winded. Ella watched as the shadows writhed in new fury, slowly lifting what was once her best friend into the air. Suddenly, they split out into different directions at the various foes in the room. The ex-Dim Sun gang started screaming as pools of darkness collected at their feet and began pulling them into a nameless void.

Ella herself was spared, but she could see the pure terror on each of their faces. Tears were earnestly streaking down her face now, signs of the conflict stirring within her. Make it stop, she pleaded in her head. Please, just let this all go away. She never asked for any of this. She just wanted to go home, back to a normal life away from all this pain and darkness. Most of all, she wanted her friend back. It tore her apart to see him like this, knowing what his heart was really like within. She knew he was good, but she couldn’t understand what was going on. Why was he hurting these people?

Vatonage, a thought came to surface in her mind, but its origin did not come from her thinking. She froze up, realizing that the word had come from somewhere else, as if a voice was speaking in her head. She felt an urge to glance to her left, and when she did so she could see the Lucario. It was still down, unable to rise up anymore than onto his arms, but it was staring right at her.

Vatonage, the voice spoke again to her, and Ella realized that it was the Pokémon talking to her. It was telepathy.

What? She thought back, baffled.

Vatonage, the creature repeated with a grimace. To rekindle the light lost in darkness… You alone can do this.

Ella shivered as apprehension dawned on her. She knew what it meant, but was she strong enough? Taking a chance, she strode forward.

All that she could see of Tristan’s face as she approached was his glowing blue eyes. He didn’t make any sign of noticing her approach. He only floated there motionless as he stared blankly ahead. The shadows continued thrashing around him like the tentacles of an enraged sea monster, but Ella passed through them unharmed and unchallenged. Finally, she was close enough to touch him. Slowly, as if every second was stretched out into an eternity, Ella raised her hand and grabbed his wrist before it could drift out of her reach.

Immediately, the shadows stiffened. The men’s anguished screaming was cut short as the shadows began retracting, sucking back towards where Ellla and Tristan stood. Those that were half-way through the void were suddenly spat back out onto the solid ground. The tendrils that had been lifting the boy from the air shrunk, and Ella kept her hold on his arm as he was lowered back down. Doctor Marks and his men watched in awe as darkness faded, leaving only the black form of their test subject.

As soon as Tristan’s feet were back on the ballroom’s floor, Ella moved forward and embraced him. With her eyes squeezed shut, she couldn’t see the second transformation her friend was going through. Color was coming back into his skin in full, no longer black or even gray. The white in his hair receded, allowing the natural black to regain its claim. He exhaled a long breath, and would have collapse if it wasn’t for Ella’s tight hold.

“Ella?” his voice whispered in her ear, sounding surprised.

She still didn’t let go, instead holding him closer as her tears continued to fall. Between sobs, she hoarsely whispered, “I thought I lost you.”

Realizing the state she was in, Tristan returned the embrace, “You brought me back.”

“I couldn’t let you go,” she finally turned to look in his eyes. “I… I love you.”

Tristan solemnly looked back, searching her emerald eyes. All the years they had been together, they had always been the best of friends. She had always believed in him, and he knew that he could always count on her. If it wasn’t for her, he would have been lost. Finally, he said, “I love you, too.”

They embraced again, holding each other close. As they did so, a voice spoke in both their minds:

The King, torn apart by his decision, fell into darkness. The people mourned as they seemed to lose their beloved leader, but there was nothing they could do to bring him back. The princes he had banished, however, were deeply humbled by their experiences. They realized deep down how much they truly loved their father, and when they received word of their father’s fate, each shed tears for their loss. But by their love, they invoked the power of Vatonage. The light within their father’s soul was rekindled, and peace returned to the kingdom…

Ella and Tristen broke apart, finding that the Lucario was standing right next to them.

“The Tears of Princes,” Tristen pieced it together, remembering the Rangers’ tale of those precious stones. He had never heard that part before, however. “When brought together, they were able to purify the Shadow Crystal.”

The Lucario nodded once. You two are bound together, sharing the same light in each other. By shedding her own tears, this girl was able to restore the light within you that the darkness of the Crystal had smothered. She invoked her own Vatonage to save you. Looking between the two, the Pokémon added, My Father would be proud.

In a flash on an eye, the Lucario jumped backwards and blurred out of their sight as he moved with such speed that they couldn’t follow him.

“I see now,” Tristan spoke with his eyes still trained on where the Lucario disappeared. “I first thought I’d eventually find the answer by searching. I never knew it was in my soul the entire time.” He lowered his eyes back to her, smiling. “The light that I share with you.”

Ella smiled shyly back, taking moving her eyes to the rest of the ballroom. She stopped as she realized that something was wrong. Doctor Marks and all his men were gone. “Where did they go?” she asked, tensing.

Tristan glanced around the room, but frowned. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “We should just go home.”

“Home sounds nice,” Ella sighed, relieved to hear the word.

“Ella?” Tristan still hesitated.

“Yes?”

“…Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied, and took her hand in his.

When they exited the building together, they found out exactly what had happened to Doctor Marks and his Phoenix crew. A full regiment of Rangers had been waiting just outside, and as soon as they tried to escape, they ran into the Rangers and succeeded in getting themselves arrested.

“There you are!” a familiar face shouted up to Tristan and Ella, and they turned to see Tristan’s Area Leader, Rallyn, come skipping up the Castle’s entry way to meet them. “We’ve been looking all over for you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Tristan laughed, happy to see another Ranger.

“What the heck happened?”

Tristan and Ella exchanged glances before the boy replied, “It’s a long story. A really long story.”


*****
The End

[FedoraChar]

Authors Note: Happy Halloween, guys! :D I thought I'd get on and add another story today. While I don't have any specific Halloween-themed pieces, I thought I'd go ahead and share this one today since it's a little dark.

So, this piece I just kinda wrote on a whim. Something I've been really wanting to do is write a Pokemon/Kingdom Hearts crossover, with Shadow Pokemon from Pokemon Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness. The concepts between them and Heartless would go well together, I think. Although I couldn't think of a real direction to take the story (which I wanted to call Shadow Rise), I went ahead and wrote these "journals" through Ein's perspective (I wanted him to make a return since Shadows really are his babies--he was the one who created them). Taking a jab at Kingdom Heart's "Secret" Xehenort Reports, and using Colosseum's "Ein Files", I dubbed this little excerpt "The Secret Ein Files". Enjoy!



http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m399/PowerCampGal/EinFilesTitle_zpse8765715.png


Report I

My dream of creating the ultimate Shadow Pokémon had been foiled. How foolish it was of me to ignore what seemed like a minor irritant. I earnestly take a vow that I will never be so naïve again. I will not make the same mistake twice.

For the past seven years, I’ve been a prisoner. The imbeciles who call themselves authorities have kept me under vigilant security both day and night, and it’s been far too long since I’ve seen the light outside concrete walls. I am alone, for the most part. Whatever happened to the other CIPHER Admins escapes me, but it matters little. Each were fools, as far as I’m concerned.

Some news of the world outside leaks in occasionally. Two years ago, great alarm had spread across Orre when it seemed that CIPHER had been resurrected. I had not thought it possible, but security doubled around that time, as if the guards feared that somehow I’d break out and rejoin the cause. Of course, no such thing happened. Apparently, the fools who dared to steal the title of the old organization hadn’t thought that I was important enough.

I wasn’t surprised when they failed once again. Defeated by another boy, nonetheless. If they accomplished anything noteworthy, however, it was the creation of XD001. I heard the rumors, and they told me that this Shadow had been designed to be incapable of purification. Created from the DNA of another Legendary Pokemon, the creature had undergone both physical and mental transformation. This intrigued me greatly, but I was disappointed when great hurrahs echoed through the region. Despite their claims, the boy hero managed to find a way to revert XD001 back to its original form.

Once again, Orre has settled down. Nothing else of great importance has trickled down to my ears of late, but this has lent me time to reflect. Why do the Shadow Pokémon fail us every time? If XD001 was said to be beyond redemption, why was the organization proven wrong? Is it really possible to create the ultimate Shadow? Perhaps we researchers have missed something crucial in our work. Maybe there is something more to the Shadow Pokémon, and the process that creates them.


Report II

How I long for my old laboratory! Within this cell, they have shut me off from any kind of research. I now find that time has erased some details of my work from my memory, but in order to preserve what I have left, I will write down what I remember. The guards at least allow me to keep a daily journal while suffering through my sentence. Though they do read through what I write, I give them mere decoys, and hide these real reports from their eyes.

Shadow Pokémon are created through a process that artificially closes their hearts. The beasts CIPHER made in the past showed no passion, no pity. Ruthless and cold, the Shadows acted as those without souls. They were brutal fighting machines that gave their opponents no mercy in battle, and their unpredictable nature sometimes led them to attack Trainers. That which was most attractive about them, however, was their power. We called them “Shadows” because of the unusual abilities they developed after their transformation. These abilities or powers could almost be compared to Darkness, and yet they seem to be unaffiliated with the Dark-type family.

Should I ever get the chance to escape this prison, I need to discover where this power comes from. For now, I have theories that perhaps these “Shadow” capabilities are perhaps a taste of what true darkness is like. While the powers of the Dark-type family is admirable, perhaps nowadays they are only a vague assemblage of what Darkness once was. A fascinating concept, but it brings further questions. What exactly is true Darkness, and what defines it? And if the process of creating Shadow Pokemon somehow unleashes it, why is that so? Does closing the heart really bring it about? And last but not least, does the Darkness spring forth from the closed heart?

Once again, I yearn for my lab…


Report III

Fortune smiles on me, it seems. Now my desires will be satisfied.

Not long after my last entry, I was visited with a peculiar stranger. Somehow, he had managed to slip past the guard’s radar—and even broke into my specialized cell without the key. Even now, I do not know his true identity, or even his face, as he wears a hooded gray cloak that hides his features. Many mysterious surround him, and though I still do not trust him, he gave me an offer I could not refuse.

Now I am glad to report that I’m free of that dismal prison, and can once again resume my research. Of course, there are a few requirements the cloaked stranger requires of me. Yet we both share common goals. He also wishes to uncover more of the mysteries of Shadow Pokémon, and so I believe that our arrangements will work out for the best of our interests. Finally, someone has remembered my ingenuity, my importance. CIPHER never would have existed without me.

The stranger, who prefers to go by the name Draxos, has provided me with a laboratory. Exploring its premises today felt oddly nostalgic. It isn’t the same as the lab I operated in the desert, but some of the original equipment was recovered from there. The “new” team had tampered with the calibrations, but after some aggravating work I restored them as best as I could. Now, I’m ready to pick up where I left off.

To begin again… First, I shall start off my investigation of this Darkness, and its connection to the heart. In order to accomplish that, I’ll need test subjects…



Report IV

To my delight, Draxos was able to accommodate my request for test subjects: several Pokémon taken from a shelter outside of Agate Village. In the past few weeks, we have placed them through several experiments as we sought for secrets within their hearts. A choice few were transformed into Shadows, and their power continues to amazes me. However, an interesting incident occurred while testing one of the other subjects.

We had been investigating the properties of a “pure” heart, but apparently our experimentation had placed too much stress on the Pokémon. As a result, the subject’s heart didn’t just close—it utterly collapsed. Our instruments picked up on an increase in darkness, so much that it actually broke our devices. The subject went comatose, and there was not much we could do to revive it. Yet after hours of close observation, the creature underwent the most curious transformation. Its very body came to epitomize the Darkness claiming its heart, a pitch-black, mutated monster of the likes which we have never before seen. However, before we could take closer observations, the creature disappeared without a trace.

Though my assistants searched everywhere for the creature, none of them were able to recover it. Disappointing, but we have emerged from this incident with intriguing new theories. I am now confident that this True Darkness of which I seek is hidden within the hearts of Pokémon. Closing the “door” to the hearts allows some of this Darkness to emerge. Yet perhaps we can completely unleash this Darkness by collapsing the heart. I wish to experiment more on this matter, but somehow I must find a way to contain these new Shadows.



Report V

The task has proved difficult, but with Draxos’ continued support, we have been able to devise a containment unit for the unusual Shadow Pokémon. Thus, we are able to conduct more thorough observation on these fascinating creatures. Repeating the technique we discovered by accident, we have created several more extreme Shadows, and we have gathered some interesting data from them.

First off, the Pokémon, despite its transformation, retains its shape—though this shape is highly mutated. It almost seems as if it lacks an actual body, existing perhaps as a highly solid shadow. I may be mistaken in that thinking, as the creatures prove to be highly dangerous. With or without a body, these Shadows can inflict great harm.

Speaking of lacking, my team and I have also discovered that these creatures also lack hearts. I believe we have gone beyond our wildest dreams—for without a heart, how could these new Pokémon be purified? They are truly beyond the light, with no hope of redemption. But they now exude a whole new level of power. My colleagues and I must be very careful when we deal with these creatures, as I have noted: they have proved to be quite dangerous. I have noticed that they violently try to attack any living thing that approaches them—not just other Pokémon, but people as well.

This could prove to be problematic for our cause, but we are actively seeking a way to control these creatures. Once we do, I can see nothing hindering us in our plot to market them as weapons.



Report VI

Finding a way to control our new breed of Shadow Pokémon is proving to be more difficult than I thought—and certainly, more dangerous. There was an incident in the lab this past week that resulted in the demise of one of my research assistants. He was being careless, and the creature struck swift and true. However, something unusual happened. The researcher did not pass from this world in the usual way. A Darkness not unlike that which covers the Shadow Pokémon consumed him, leaving nothing behind. Not even a carcass. I have reviewed the security cameras time and time again, trying to understand what happened.

He was there one moment, then gone the next. Yet moments before the disappearance, I noticed a glow that flickered briefly before the darkness closed in. I have tried to form hypothesis on this startling occurrence. It leads me to a whole new plain of perception. Perhaps what I saw that moment before his death was the researcher’s own heart.

All living things have Hearts. Perhaps the Heart of a Pokémon differs from the Heart of a human, or perhaps their Hearts aren’t at all dissimilar. What connections exist between them? Would these connections, if they are real, explain the real strength behind a Pokémon Trainer? Pertinent thoughts, of course, but what I really wonder is this: does this Darkness I discover in Pokémon also exist in human Hearts? If so, then perhaps exploring this avenue would bring me closer to discovering a way to control these heartless Pokémon.

I feel that the label “Shadow” no longer fits the creations I have made. I will give them a new name, a name that will describe their deepened power.

Eclipse Pokémon—they who have utterly crossed into the twilight.



Report VII

It has been several weeks since I last heard from Draxos, but he suddenly reappeared the other day. He seemed content to sit back and allow me to do my work, only coming in convenient contact when I just so happen to need his assistance. This time, however, he came with an order for evacuation.

It seems that the Orre police force is on our tail. Ever since the last Shadow Incident, they have grown keener to the affairs of their region. Needless to say, with the “mysterious” disappearance of Pokémon these past few weeks, they have grown suspicious. Orre has certainly changed over the years; no longer is it a corrupt region.

Our work is too important to risk exposure. We have gone farther than we ever have before. Thus, to preserve our research, we are not only fleeing the region, but also the nation. Somehow, Draxos has procured us a secluded property in a small, largely unknown region in the nation under Unova. I was troubled at first about securing passage, but yet again Draxos has surprised me. We have cargo ships even grander than the S.S. Libra to carry us to our new location.

I should feel sentimental about leaving Orre, but I feel as if I had severed my connections with it long ago—just as I have severed my connections with CIPHER. The old organization is dead; it will never be revived. But rising from its ashes, a new syndicate will rise like the legendary PHOENIX…



Report VIII

I have been able to spend an unusual amount of time with Draxos while we’ve been relocating, with which I shared the progress my research has made. The man is incredibly hard to read. I could not tell if he was impressed by our findings or not. Still, he seemed intrigued about my theories of how to control the Eclipse Pokémon.

As soon as we landed in our new location, he had me direct him to one of our strongest specimens. The Eclipse in question was a Garchomp we happened across by chance. I created it to test the extent of raw power my new Shadows held, but in the end I had grossly underestimated its potential. We barely managed to contain the creature after it wreaked havoc in my laboratory, and since then we have kept it locked away until some future date.

Despite my warnings, Draxos insisted on inspecting this Eclipse Pokémon. Because of all he had done for my team, I could not refuse his desire. With extreme precaution, we released the beast. I expected it to tear the laboratory apart, but something extraordinary happened. Draxos barked one order at the Eclipse, and it obeyed.

Draxos turned to me, and told me I was on the right path. The Eclipses were created by Darkness, fed by Darkness—Darkness is all they know. Therefore, they would only respond to Darkness. But only one kind of Darkness: the Darkness of the heart. With those words, Draxos and the Garchomp disappeared before my eyes under the cover of shadows…



Report IX

Since Draxos’ revelation, I have been pondering the results of my research.

All living things have hearts, but People and Pokémon have particularly special Hearts coupled with spirit and intelligence. In many ways, these Hearts are much the same—or, at least, they have special connections with each other. As we have seen, Darkness may be drawn from a Pokémon’s by closing its heart. Since our hearts are similar, Darkness must also dwell within a human.

But does this human Darkness hold the same kind of power? Perhaps, but maybe not in the same sense. If one examines the relationship of a Trainer and their Pokémon, we can see that strong bonds are formed through what I believe to be a connection between hearts. How else could these creatures understand our orders in battle with a language barrier between our species? This would explain why Shadow Pokémon are sometimes difficult to command—why sometimes they undergo a fever and violently attack people. That connection no longer is plausible, because their hearts are closed.

A different kind of connection is needed. If what Draxos said is correct, then Eclipse Pokémon will only respond to Darkness. This then is my hypothesis: by cultivating Darkness in Trainers’ Hearts, we can cultivate a bond stronger than any other with Eclipse Pokémon. How do we cultivate this Darkness? We cannot artificially close our hearts; we must do just the opposite. We must open our hearts our Hearts to the Darkness.

I am keen to test my hypothesis.



Report X:

My hypothesis has been proven to be true.

I have enlisted the help of several volunteers to research into the Darkness of people’s Hearts. Thanks to their contributions, I have discovered a way to control the Eclipse Pokémon. Now, I will begin mass production.

There are dangers, however, to opening one’s heart to Darkness, as we have noticed in our experimentation. If one is not cautious, the Darkness may very well consume them in entirety, and they will lose their heart. Several volunteers were reckless and met their demise at the claws of the Eclipses, and it was difficult to find replacements. Lucky for us, we found some meddlers trying to sneak onto our territory. So far, they have been useful test subjects…

In regards to the ability to resist Darkness, I have theorized that this is—in a sense—connected to the strength of willpower and courage. What we call a “strong Heart” is one that is fearless and astute. Test subjects with a “strong Heart” have shown an aptitude for controlling and resisting the effects of Darkness. Those with weaker Hearts tend to be fearful and cowardly, and thus are unable to resist power.

I have noticed that there are side-effects to prolonged exposure to Darkness. Test subjects who have used Darkness repeatedly develop darker skin and amber eyes. Interestingly enough, their hair also begins to lose its color, slowly fading into a pale white. On some, I have also noted that their ears are becoming slightly pointed. These side-effects appear to be of no consequence, and could be useful for distinguishing ourselves from the world.

After all this thorough research, I have been exploring my own aptitude for Darkness. Why should I deny myself the pleasures of power?



Report XI

We are ready to unleash our creations upon this pitiful world. I can in nowise see how anyone can resist our rise to power. Our Eclipse Pokémon are beyond purification, nor can they be stolen by thieves’ technology. I have yet to find a pure Pokémon capable of matching their prowess in battle.

Due to their peculiar characteristics, Eclipses cannot be contained within Poké Balls. I have devised instead a specialized capsule that I will refer to as Shadow Spheres. They do not open or operate like a Poke Ball—but instead, they bind the essence of the Eclipse to device that mimics a weakened Heart. They can only be freed when beckoned by a Trainer who can command Darkness.

We have found numerous Trainers capable of controlling the Eclipses willing to support our cause. Draxos and I have founded a new organization, picking seven of the strongest and most loyal Trainers to act as Admins beneath us. Team PHOENIX now rises from the ashes of CIPHER. We begin our takeover with this lowly region, then set our sights on the rest of the world.

Between our Eclipses and our newfound power over darkness, nothing can stand in our way.



Report XII

We have encountered a problem.

As our Trainers confront others from this region, our Eclipses aren’t just defeating their Pokémon. They are stealing hearts and creating more Eclipses. We have been unprepared for this unexpected outbreak—once one escaped from us, wild species began propagating like weeds. The population has grown out of our control, wreaking much more havoc than we anticipated.

Added to this chaos, a new type of creature has emerged—one the likes of which I have not seen before. Draxos has informed me that they are of no consequence; they can be controlled, just like the Eclipses. I doubt, however, that they are a type of Pokémon. I believe that these new creatures are the results of a human losing their Heart, as I imagine that many have been affected by the Eclipse outbreak.

Perhaps this problem may work to our advantage. Our fighting machines are cultivating fear in this region, and trouncing any resistance. As long as we maintain our hold over the Darkness, we will accomplish all our hopes and dreams.

On the morrow, our first region of many will fall into our hands.



Report XIII

I’m… not quite feeling myself right now. Might have overexerted myself against… Darkness is closing in on my heart. What I fool I was for believing that it was on my side. Darkness does not care for me. Does not care for my wants. It will only feed. Keep feeding, keep waiting.

I’m trying to regain my sanity, but I’m slipping. What will happen to me? Will I become even as they are? Will I become a Heartless?

Draxos knows too much. He knew this would happen eventually. Thought he seemed familiar, but he’s not like us. He’s different. He’s not like us.

What will happen to me? What is happening to me?

What have I become?

[Ninaiso]

That was an absolutely gorgeous read.

Your stories are fantastic Char, absolute jems! I adore them so very much. <3
I really love how you really get into the mind of the characters. That right there is what makes a good story. When you really feel what they felt, see what they see, hear what they hear. When you are truly absorbed into their world. It's perfect. <3

Keep up the amazing work!

[FedoraChar]

Wow, thank you so much! :D Never really actually thought about my writing like that :embarrassed: But now that I think about it, I really do like delving into character in my stories. It's certainly taken a lot of practice, but I have a lot of people to thank for that. ^^

But again, thank you! I'm really glad you enjoyed my stories! :D

[Bulbasaur]

It's funny, I was going to make my own thread with short stories once I finished another short story.

Anyways, I really like The Secret Ein Files! Good job with it. :D

[FedoraChar]

I hope you still do that, then! :D I'm hoping to do short stories and some longer projects I'll probably never finish xD

But hey, thank you! :D Glad you liked it! ^^ One day I'd really like to do more with the idea, but I don't know if that will ever happen xD Still, it was fun writing those reports ^^

[FedoraChar]

Author's Note: Okay, folks, I think it's time for another story! (I'm totally not slacking on NaNoWriMo or anything... Okay, well, maybe I am xD). So, these last few stories have been a bit, well, grim. So I thought I'd search my collection for one of my humor pieces to brighten up this little anthology. I've already posted one in a different thread--An Afternoon Tea Party, which I'll probably post in here sometime just for the sake of keeping all my stuff together--so my next option was this story: Down to Earth. If I remember right, it's one of my earlier works, but I wanted to poke some fun at Sora from Kingdom Hearts. It's not super long, definitely not one of my deepest, but I intended it to be goofy. So, yeah. Hope you find it at least a little bit amusing... xD



http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m399/PowerCampGal/TitleKHShort.png

In which Sora learns a lesson about the forces of gravity...

*****


“And so I found myself surrounded… blood-thirsty pirates at my back, and a hungry gator eyeing me from the water,” the young boy held out his hands in emphasis, drawing out all drama. Yet the suspense was slaughtered by the crooked grin on his face as he turned to his sole audience. She walked beside him down the beach, smiling softly at him in good nature, sometimes pulling her wine-red hair behind her ear. Waves gently lapped up at the white sand beside them, its brilliant blue waters glistening in the humid afternoon sun.

The two of them were alone. Somehow, they had found a way to escape to their tropical playground and now spent the precious time catching up one with another. She was quiet most of the time, but she was quite content to just listen to his voice—the voice she had not heard for well over a year. It almost seemed surreal sauntering down the shoreline with him once again; the scenery was ever the same, but the two had drastically changed since the last time they had the chance to take it in.

But one thing never changed: their endearing friendship.

“They forced me down the plank,” eagerly the boy continued with his tale. “And I had no choice—they were holding Peter’s fairy captive. If I didn’t do what they wanted, they would hurt her, and I didn’t want that to happen.”

“So what did you do?” she asked, blue eyes bright with earnest curiosity.

“I walked the plank,” he said simply, putting his hands into his pockets. “I walked right to the edge of it, and stared straight down into the throat of the crocodile.”

Kairi glanced down, hiding an amused smile. She found Sora’s dramatic enthusiasm irresistible, even if his stories tended to be a little exaggerated. Nonetheless, she could tell when he was being honest. She already knew his adventure by heart… because her heart had literally belonged to his.

“And then?” she gave him a long side-glance, knowing that it was exactly what he wanted her to ask.

His characteristic smile turned sheepish as he answered, “And then I closed my eyes… and jumped.”

“You jumped?” she guffawed, eyebrows flying heavenward.

“Yep,” replied he with a pop. “Fell like a rock, right towards the jaws of the croc. But before the monster could snap them shut, I remembered what Peter told me. And then, next thing I knew, I was flying!”

Kairi stopped dead in her tracks.

“You flew?” she repeated with an expression full of doubt.

He stopped as well, turning around to face her. “Yeah, I did. I really did!”

The young woman laughed, much to his chagrin. “You’ve told me a lot of strange things, Sora, but that has to be the most unbelievable.”

“Come on,” Sora’s face furrowed in frustration. “I’m serious! I really did fly! Tinker Bell’s pixie dust worked after all. I just had to believe that it would.”

“Sora, I’ve been around you for a while now, and I’ve never seen you fly,” replied Kairi after her laughter died down.

“Well, yeah,” the boy awkwardly ran his hand through his spiky hair. “It seemed to work a little differently in Neverland, but… I could still glide outside of that world. I… I just don’t really think about it that often.”

“Yeah, sure,” she raised her chin, purposely marching ahead. She couldn’t deny that she enjoyed how much her apparent disbelief tormented the boy.

“No, really! Kairi, you got to believe me!”

She glanced over her shoulder with a look of amusement. “Why don’t you prove it then?” she asked slyly. “Right here, right now.”

“Now?” he blinked at her blankly.

“If you want me to believe you,” she turned to walk backwards, hands behind her back.

He searched the beach ponderously. They had been trekking around the backside of the island, where he and his best friend Riku had their infamous obstacle-course races. A zip-line ran from a tower just over their heads, ending at a cliff on the other side of the cove. More trees grew here, and closer to the edge of the water. A year or so ago, the three of them—Kairi, Riku, and himself—had crafted a raft in hopes of reaching other worlds. Before they could take off in it, however, destiny had its say. They were separated and scattered, but embarked on an adventure even wilder than they had imagined. Only now, after being through so many trials, had they returned home.

“Okay, then,” Sora breathed in, expanding his chest as his determination grew. “I will prove it!”

Abruptly he took off, aiming for the cabin that would lead to the other side of the island. Kairi, watching his rapid disappearance, rolled her eyes and giggled. That boy just didn’t know when to give up; once he had his simple mind set on something, he would stick to it like glue. Maybe she shouldn’t have challenged him, but… boys will be boys. She couldn’t only hope he wouldn’t hurt himself.

A frightful imaged flashed through her head. Immediately, concern overcame her. He wasn’t going to jump from a cliff, was he? Sora really would do something like that, if he thought it’d prove his point.

“Sora?” Kairi called after him, but the boy was already out of her sight. Worried, she trotted after him, praying that it wasn’t too late to talk him out of doing something undoubtedly stupid.

As she reached the west side of the island, she spotted him running overhead—on a bridge connecting to an outcropping within the shoreline.

“Up here!” he shouted to her before vanishing into their “usual spot”.

Kairi stared after him while wondering how he got up there so fast. She couldn’t decide whether he was a fantastic athlete, super acrobatic, or just… strange. Before their adventure, he had never been this quick or strong. Perhaps it was something that came naturally to Keyblade wielders. Would she end up the same way?

She cautiously walked beneath the bridge, really starting to fret now. Her eyes were glued to the outcrop where Sora was climbing onto pale trunk of the Paopu tree. The young woman didn’t even notice Riku walking down from the docks until he called out to them.

“What are you two doing?” the older boy asked, his voice mixed with suspicion and amusement.

Before Kairi could speak up, Sora boomed from atop the outcrop.

“I’m going to prove to you all—once and for all—that man can fly!”

“This can’t be good,” Riku stared up at him from behind his long, silvery hair.

“Sora, what are you going to do?” Kairi yelled up, her brows creased.

Undaunted, the spiky-haired boy walked further up the bent trunk of the tree with a confident smile. “I told you, I’m going to fly.”

“Get down before you hurt yourself!”

“No way! I’m perfectly fine. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

Exasperated, the redhead girl turned back to the more mature male on the island. “Riku, go stop him!”

“What am I suppose to do?” was her reply, added a shrug.

“Ready to be amazed?” Sora cleared his throat.

“Something!” his girl pleaded.

“One…,” Sora started, focusing out on the ocean before him.

“Sora,” Riku finally called back up, trying to be the voice of reason. “You should probably think this one through.”

“Two…,” the comment was ignored.

“Sora, will you please listen?” Kairi frowned, growing increasingly anxious by the second.

“Three!”

The boy threw all caution to the wind, leaping from the trunk towards the distant horizon. For a brief second, he sailed through the air…

Before plummeting into the sea water.


Like a rock.

[FedoraChar]

Author's Note:

Alright, looks like another Thursday! That means time for another story! One of these days I'll get around to posting some of my half-finished stuff--but for this week, I decided that since I've posted one of my Pokemon Ranger stories, I should do the next one. At one time I had considered turning this into a longer story... But really, this was one of those times when I just really wanted to write something. So this one is called Echo through Time. It's based off the most recent release in the Ranger Series (meaning I hope that more will come, but I'm not so sure that will happen lol), that being Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs. Sorry again if you aren't familiar with the Ranger games; if you haven't played GS, you probably won't have any idea what's going on. I'll try to explain it the best I can here, though.

So, Guardian Signs is a pretty sweet spin-off that I'd suggest to anyone (along with Shadows of Almia, the predecesor that Vatonage sprang from.) In this game, you do the typical Ranger stuff--go around using the Styler to befriend Pokemon and help you take out bad guys. The region in this game, Oblivia, has a really interesting ancient history. It actually feels really Aztec/Mayan, with its ancient temples and legends. Apparently, there used to be a tribe that had the ability to control Pokemon through specially made armor (much like how the Styler works). They've been called Oracles--however, in time, they became corrupt, and they started being known as the Steelheads.

At some point in the game, you gain the ability to travel back in time and witness this. It was this event and several other events that occured during the main story that got this theory in my head. I was rather disappointed when I found out my theory was wrong, but I still liked it enough that I wrote this story with this theory in mind. I've already taken up so much time explaining this, so I'll go ahead and post the story and let you figure out my theory. Just keep in mind that the main female protagonist's name is Summer...





Echo through Time

“Where are you taking me?”

A young girl, no older than six, asked the question with her voice shaking fearfully. She stared up at the man roughly dragging by the wrist down a forest path, her big brown eyes swimming with welled-up tears. Above their heads, the night sky glittered with stars just as thick as the humid air. A thin crescent moon, barely hanging into existence, shed little light on the rainforest around them. Their path was only illuminated with the orange glow of a torch solemnly born by the man’s free hand. The writhing flames danced wickedly on the armor that masked his face so well, only adding to the girl’s fears.

The Steelhead said nothing to her as he continued to yank on her arm. With his strong build, he could have easily pulled it out of its socket, but it was no use as the girl tried to resist. Her tears finally began streaming down her round cheeks as she found herself involuntarily led down the limestone-paved path. A pyramidal temple loomed before them, and though the sight of it had once thrilled her, she felt apprehensive about approaching it now. Squirming, she sobbed, “I want Mommy…”

“You’re mommy is not coming,” the Steelhead tersely barked behind his armored mask, his voice surprisingly raspy and asthmatic. “Be silent, child!”

The terrified youth snapped her mouth shut, though her bottom lip quivered. Nervously, she glanced to the trees behind them. Darkness gathered deeply between their trunks, forming ominous shapes that shifted like living creatures with every flicker of the torch. She was positive that horrible monsters waited out there, wanting to pounce on her at any given moment, but she couldn’t decide what was scarier: them, or the man kidnapping her.

At last, they reached the temple gates. The skull-like emblems of the Steelhead grinned evilly from their wood, looking pleased that the mysterious man had brought them a little snack. With a simple gesture of the man’s arm, the gates noisily swung open with all manner of squeaking and groaning. As she was forcefully pulled past the threshold, the girl imagined being swallowed whole by a massive beast. For whatever reason, she got the feeling that she wasn’t going to see the outside of the temple for a long time. The gates sluggishly closed behind them on their own accord, and she took her last look of the tropical flora outside.

The belly of the beast was glumly lit by lines of torches girding a raised alter at the center of the building. Shadows squirmed beyond their reach, and the girl wondered if Magical Creatures shifted within them. They came in all sizes and shapes, from being fluffy and charming, to fierce and terrifying. Many who lived outside the temple were good friends to her, yet those within… she couldn’t be sure. They worked closely with the temple oracles, and since some of those men and women went bad, perhaps the Magical Creatures had as well.

Her kidnapper continued his relentless march, tugging the girl in tow. At the base of the pyramidal altar, five other Steelheads awaited them, their identities obscured by their stoic armor. The girl pleaded silently in her heart that that one would try to rescue her, but to her dismay the oracles didn’t do anything the like. Without saying a word, they respectfully stood aside for her kidnapper to pass by. As they began to ascend the long flight of stairs to the altar’s peak, the Steelheads closed in behind to block any chance of escape for her.

An overwhelming sense of dread settled on the child as she lifted her eyes towards the altar. A great stone dragon glared down at her from there, its snarling face lit up enigmatically from below by blue light. As she got closer, she could see that the light actually came from inscriptions on a stone just her size. Something unspeakable would happen if she went up there; she just knew it.

“No!” she suddenly screamed, planting her feet stubbornly as she tried to wrench back her arm. “No, I won’t!”

“Silence!” her captor growled, jerking her limb harshly. He pointedly ignored her yelp of pain and continued half-dragging her up the rest of the stairs. Curtly, in his wheezing voice, he hissed, “You will do as I say!”

The girl whimpered, but wasn’t about to give up. Using her free hand, she began pounding on his meaty arm, yelling shrilly, “Let go of me!”

The Steelheads all paused, though not at her resistance. Mixing with her cries where those of the Magical Creatures stirring in the darkness. They sounded anguished and outraged, as if they wanted to rush to the young girl’s side but were restrained by some unseen force. A wide variety of trumpeting roars, whistling, and growls vibrated off the stone of the temple like a wild zoo unleashed.

“Keep them in line,” the leader of the Steelhead ordered, sounding for the first time a little wary. After the simultaneous shaking of helmets, however, they continued onward. Her strength as powerful as a dried twig, the young child was unable to do so much as slow their progress. Reluctantly she found herself at the dragon statue’s feet, beside the eerie glow of the carved rock. The other Steelheads formed a circle around her and their leader, backs facing them. The uproar below calmed somewhat, though tension still chocked the air.

“Let us begin,” gruffly the kidnapper said. He lowered his torch to the shallow dish resting on the altar’s crown, which immediately ignited. Then, without hesitance, he threw the torch ceremoniously between the dragon’s feet. That, too, caused flames to erupt, fully lighting the platform they stood on. The girl gulped as she took in the statue’s regal appearance, from the crested head held high by a long neck, to the tip of its slender but powerful tail. It lacked wings, but easily made up for the loss with wicked spikes and horns all over its body. A jewel lay in its chest, sparking in the dancing flames. Though made of stone, the creature looked very much alive to her.

“Master of time, Father of history,” the girl’s captor bellowed, performing a deep bow to the stoic statue. “Thy humble servants call thee. Come to us at this time of need; witness this: the donning of new armor!”

With that, the fervent man roughly pushed the child to her knees, yet his unrestrained strength ended up throwing her all the way to the ground. With new bruises and scrapes on her delicate skin, fresh tears began flowing once more across the youth’s round cheeks. When she dared to lift her gaze back up to the statue, she could have sworn she saw an angry glint its eyes.

Then, the temple doors swung open.

“Let her go, Jirelm!” a heaven-sent voice echoed across the empty air behind them, bold and defiant. The girl whirled her head about, trying to find the source of such an encouraging challenge, but her kidnapper scowled. Wrapping his hand around her small neck, he forced her to remain kneeling at the dragon’s feet.

“What are you doing here?” she heard him wheeze behind his steel mask. “This is sacred ground! Only temple oracles may tread here. And you, Enik, are no longer one of us!”

“I know what you’ve been doing!” the intruder continued, his voice growing stronger as he drew closer. “You’ve been abusing your power as Captain, corrupting the Steelheads!”

“And now,” another voice, this one feminine, joined in at his side, “You are bringing an innocent child into this chaos!”
“You’ve disgraced this temple, Jirelm!” came a third voice, a male with a deeper and more penetrating voice.

Jirelm chuckled, sending shivers crawling down the girl’s spine. In his raspy voice that made the girl want to clear her own throat, he grimly replied, “You assume much, but I am afraid you fault at many levels.” He raised a hand, indicating the steel that he himself bore. “None of you understand the true power of this armor, nor realize its great potential. Those few who do comprehend should wield it, not fear it. As for the girl… she’s not as innocent as you would think.”

Heart thrumming inside her chest, the little girl’s lower lip started to tremble. She didn’t understand any of this. Why was this man being so mean? What was he talking about? And most importantly, what was he going to do to her? She squirmed, tying to see who the others were while hoping that they were heroes. Come save me, please! she begged. Her captor tightened her grip, keeping her in place, so eventually she resulted to screaming, “H-help!”

“Enough, Jirelm! Release her!” the first voice, the man apparently named Enik, fiercely demanded. His voice was tight with concern and outrage, apparently very worried about her well-being. He is going to save me, the girl wanted to cry. Before she got her hopes too high, a great roar shook the temple walls. The three rescuers cried out as something attack them that the girl couldn’t see.

“Never!” the crazed Steelhead laughed back, a wild glint appearing in his eye. He finally spun the girl around to allow her one good look at her so-called heroes, all who faced a livid Magical Creature—a dragon, though much different than the statue. This beast stood on two legs, with its forelimbs ending in sharp and ready talons and a pair of wings rising behind it. The flame on its tail dimly revealed its snarling face, glaring murderously at the three braves.

“Saeri, Teth! Be wary,” Enik warned the man and woman standing with him. “It’s being controlled by the Steelheads!”

“You do not understand,” Jirelm lifted his voice once again, holding the girl out for them to see. “This child has the potential to rewrite history! She has more power than you and I together, power that has yet to be tapped into. Soon, I will claim that power for the benefit of all mankind!”

“What folly do you speak?” Teth, dark-haired and dark-skinned, barked back with a frustrated thrust of his arm.

“It is the Bond, the great Harmony; this child has the strongest of any I’ve ever seen in a human—stronger even than her father. She alone can achieve the greatest level of control, becoming one with any Magical Creature… even the great deities…”

Teth and Saeri exchanged befuddled glances, but the older and wiser Enik widened his eyes.

“You mean…” he trailed off, weathered face paling.

“Yes, Enik,” Jirelm smirked as if greatly humored. “I do mean that. She is more than a young Oracle. She is a true Prophetess. Her heart, pure and good, harmonizes on a level much higher than ours. And soon… she’ll belong to me.”

With those arcane words, Jirelm abruptly turned his back to them and sharply tipped the burning dish over on the altar. The young girl yelped as some of the flaming fluid splashed onto her arm, burning the skin. At the sound of her cry, Teth, frost-haired Saeri, and Enik leapt forward, but the dragon barred their way with a jet of flames from its mouth. Meanwhile, the rest of the oil slowly dripped down the sides of the stone alter-head, over the glowing blue runes. After the liquid reached the base, the whole stone illuminated with a brilliant eruption of white-hot fire. Jirelm and his captive both were blinded by the flash, but as their eyes recovered they saw the altar was just as it existed before… save for a metal helm resting on its crown as white as ice.

Beneath his own helmet, the captain of the Steelhead grinned triumphantly. The armor had been forged, and now only one thing remained. He prodded the girl forward, saying loud for everyone to hear, “Behold your armor, child.”

She stared at it wide-eyed in both wonder and horror, utterly mesmerized. Just by gazing at it, she could tell that it would fit her small head perfectly. The white metal had intricate silver etchings in its mirror-smooth surface. Its gilded edges danced in the firelight, beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Though the girl longed to try it on, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something unspeakable would happen if she did. Only after Jirelm lifted the helm from the pedestal did the spell break. She didn’t understand what was going on, but she knew one thing for certain: she couldn’t let that strange relic rest on her head.

At the moment Jirelm held it out to her, she jolted away before the elder Steelhead could stop her.

“Seize her!” Jirelm hissed in intense irritation, signaling to his statue-like guards. The other Steelhead had been standing idly by, but at his words one automatically detached himself from the circle to chase her down. She found too late that she was cornered. The Steelheads had her trapped easily atop the pinnacle of the pyramid, backed up against the flaming statue. Jirelm was approaching behind his lackey, the enchanting armor waiting patiently in his hands. The girl glanced between the fire and the men while trying to decide which was worse.

“Nowhere to run now, girl,” Jirelm sneered. “No one will save you.”

She whimpered piteously, pleading to some unknown entity with all her heart. Over and over, she chanted to herself, don’t let them get me. Don’t…

All the sudden, a fierce red light ignited above their heads. With a startled gasp, the girl looked up to see what its source could be. The statue… its eyes were glowing…

“Ha ha ha!” laughed Jirelm maniacally at the sight, not at all surprised or disturbed. “It’s working! He’s coming!”

The girl—skin crawling at the eerie sight—was snatched up by the nameless Steelhead while she stared distractedly at the statue. He moved quickly, twisting her arms behind back with his thickly calloused hands. She cried out in protest, but she was forced to face Jirelm once more. The armor began to lower, honing in on her coppery hair.

“No!” she screamed. She thrashed in the Steelhead’s iron-like grip, even lashing out with her feet, but nothing she tried could stop Jirelm from his goal.

“Stop, you fool!” someone shouted from behind.

“You can’t stop destiny, Enik!” Jirelm countered without turning, his raspy voice bleeding with craze. “Let Dialga show his face! By then, he’ll be too late! I will have control over him! Over all history!”

The girl felt a strange sensation wash over her as the helm fell only inches away from her head. She stopped struggling and fell still, like something reached into her and shut off the controls. It was like she was falling into a trance, losing her will and her very being. The rim brushed against her hair…

“No!” Enik yelled once more, suddenly appearing behind Jirelm. He wrapped his strong arms around the captain’s neck and pulled back. The both of them stumbled to the ground, causing the white armor to fly from Jirelm’s hand to clatter against the stone ground. The surrounding Steelheads belatedly rushed forward to assist their leader. They never got the chance.

An earth-splitting roar shook everyone to their knees.

Saeri and Teth—who had just reached the top of the stairs—nearly lost their balance, but it was the sight they beheld just ahead that just about caused them to tumble back down. The statue was alive, stomping and snarling with great agitation. Steel horns as sharp as blades rose from its head, angling alongside a brilliant blue crest. Sharp spikes sprouted from its chest, rump, and spine. An ominous crystalline stripe raced down its sides, glowing with sapphire light that made up for the loss of the flames that had been extinguished at its clawed feet. The creature was giant, taking up the empty space before them with its regal but menacing air.

“Dialga,” Enik and Jirelm whispered together, forgetting their quarrel for a brief instance.

The soldier holding the girl lost all poise at the sight of the beast. He let her fall limply to the ground as he stumbled backward like a timely coward. Jirelm cursed him under his breath before shoving Enik away and making a mad dash for the fallen armor. However, Dialga saw his motion and growled menacingly, enough to make even the most weathered veteran freeze in cold blood. To Saeri and Teth’s wonder, they watched the Magical Creature lower its head protectively over the girl. The two exchanged mystified looks, blankly wondering why a Legend would come to her aide. What exactly was so special about this child? Jirelm, on the other hand, either didn’t notice the warning or pointedly ignored it. He snatched up the armor and scrambled to his feet, wheezing with the effort. Just as he whirled about, the mighty dragon ripped out another thunderous roar.

The whole platform shook beneath their feet. Steelheads, losing all courage, tumbled down the pyramid’s side as they lost balance. Even Saeri and Teth couldn’t keep their stance, falling down the stairs a few feet backwards. Soon only Jirelm, Enik, and the young child remained on the crown with a wrathful deity.

Jirelm—instead of doing the sensible— stomped his feet like a spoiled boy who failed to get his way. “She is mine! You are mine!” he challenged Dialga shamelessly, holding out the helm defiantly.

He is mad, Enik gaped incredulously. Screaming at a Legend as powerful as this? The man was seeking his own end.

The dragon narrowed its red eyes within its armored face. Once more it opened its maw, but a roar did not issue forth this time. Instead, the very air around them began to speak with a hundred voices.

“A special gift was given to this day and age, a precious one with power to brighten the path of both man and creature. Yet it is not well received, nigh abused, and brought close to destruction. Thou hast proved that such a gift was not ready to be given. Therefore…” the voices began to rise in volume, shaking the walls of the temple to their very core. “IT SHALL BE TAKEN AWAY!”

Jirelm and Enik shielded their ears from the intensity of the word, but to no use. Somehow the speech reached deep into their souls, inescapable and undeniable. As they cringed in pain, they failed to see the blue diamond on Dialga’s chest shine with white-hot light. The creature lifted its head up high, and released a roar unlike any man had ever before heard. The diamond’s light flared out and consumed the top of the altar head, blinding any unfortunate enough to stare through it. Then, as quickly as it happened, it ended. The light faded, and a chocking silence fell upon the temple.

“Enik!” Saeri called out, managing to regain her footing. She raced to the top as quick and swiftly as a panther, with a disoriented Teth following behind. As soon as they reached it, they felt the weight of the silence on their shoulders. Enik wasn’t there. No one was, nothing. Jirelm and the girl, as well as the statue and the stone were nowhere to be seen. Nothing was left of that chaotic scene but an empty platform and scorch marks left from the fire…

“Enik…” Saeri breathed, hands flying to her face in dismay. Teth came up behind her, face solemn, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned to him, eyes watering, and asked, “Where are they? Where did they go?”

Teth couldn’t meet her gaze. He stared off into the emptiness and said, “I don’t know…”



*****


“Hey, are you all right?”

The voice was high-pitched and penetrating, rousing the girl back to consciousness. She opened her brown eyes, only to be blinded with a warm, overwhelming light. For a minute, she was confused by a static swishing filling her ears. Was something wrong with her? No, it seemed familiar… Waves? Her sight adjusted, and she realized that she was lying on her back on a sunny, white-sanded beach.

The sun suddenly blotted out as a head leaned over her, startling the child.

“Oh, good!” the head spoke, belonging to a young boy with fly-away hair and wild eyes. His impish smile lacked a few teeth, but he looked to be around her own age. “You’re alive! I was sure worried there for a bit. You just appeared out of nowhere!”

He talked excitedly with his voice squeaking, as if the whole event thrilled him. The young girl blinked up at him blankly with little idea of what he spoke. Turning her gaze back to the beach, she wondered where she was, and how she got there. Nothing other than the crashing sound of the waves struck her as familiar.

“Where…,” she started, her voice cracking. Her throat was terribly sore, as if she had been screaming long and hard earlier. Swallowing hard, she tried again, “Where are we?”

“Na—na,” the boy screwed up his facing as he fought to pronounce correctly. “Nabiki Beach.”

Nabiki Beach? She stared at him without daring to voice her new questions. Where’s that? How did I end up here?

“Hey, you’re sure dressed funny,” the boy crinkled his nose. “Where did you come from?”

With a frown on her face, she sat up and glanced down at her blue garb. It consisted of a long, gold embroidered tunic, framed with golden pendants of foreign make. Brown sandals shod her feet, with long straps spidering up her little legs. Long feathers were braided into her coppery-brown hair with bright beads of red and white. Altogether, it looked much different from the boy’s simple t-shirt and shorts. She suddenly wondered why she was wearing such a bizarre outfit. She couldn’t remember them. She couldn’t remember… anything…

“Hey, what’s wrong?” the boy asked in clear concern as her expression turned sad.

“I… I don’t know,” she pouted back, lower lip quivering as she choked back tears.

Moved with compassion, her rescuer placed his tiny hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. Don’t cry; everything will be all right.”

She sniffed and looked at him with watery eyes. How could he be right? He didn’t know anything about her, or even why she was crying in the first place. How could he know how terrifying it was to lose all your memories?

“My name’s Ben,” the boy introduced himself cheerfully, pointing with his thumb. “My daddy’s a big Ranger in the village nearby!”

Again, she could only staring, having no clue what a Ranger was. And when he says big… she pictured Ben sitting on the shoulder of a giant.

“What’s your name?” Ben poked another question, not at all bothered by her obvious confusion.

“I don’t know…”

“You don’t know?” Ben scrunched his nose again. How was that even possible, he wondered? Everyone knew their name! Yet as the mysterious girl’s lip trembled again, he moved forward gently.

“I don’t remember anything,” she explained further, breaking closer and closer to a shower of tears.

Ben didn’t understand, but he certainly didn’t want her to cry. She seemed pretty upset that she didn’t have a name. “Um, that’s okay,” he started thinking quick. “We can, um… We can give you a nickname! Until you remember!”

“A nickname?” she stopped, peering up at him curiously.

“Yeah!” Ben grinned eagerly, excited with his own idea. “Daddy has a nickname! Everyone at the Ranger Base calls him Chuck! It’s really fun!”

He straightened his back and offered his hand to the girl. Hesitantly, she accepted his help and was pulled to her feet next to him.

“O-okay,” she shyly smiled. Though she would rather have her real name back, something seemed all right with Ben’s idea. She wanted something to hold on to, somewhere she could start again. A name was a name, after all, and anything would be better than not having one at all.

“Awesome!” the boy jumped in place. He quickly removed his goofy grin, however, and turned thoughtfully to the beach. “Let’s see… Um…”

He scratched his head for a bit while mulling over all sorts of names popping up in his head. Admittedly, he didn’t know a lot of girl names; he didn’t know a lot of girls. But she deserved something pretty. Something that shined like her coppery hair. “How about… Molly?”

The girl frowned and shook her head.

“Ariel?”

Another denial.

“Trixie?”

That earned him a funny look. He sheepishly smiled and folded his arms behind his head. This was harder than he thought. Maybe he was trying too hard—but then, inspiration struck him.

“Oh, I know! Do you know what day it is today? It’s the first day of summer! How about we call you Summer?”

“Summer?” the girl tasted it, considering its flavor. It seemed a little strange, being named after a season of the year, but it did have a nice ring to it. It was warm and bright, like the very beach they stood on. She thought it wouldn’t be too bad to be called that until she found her real name. Turning to Ben, she nodded with a giggling smile.

“Okay, Summer!” Ben let his arms fall to his side, clenching his fists animatedly. “You should come meet my dad! Maybe he’ll know how to help you remember; he knows all sorts of stuff.”

Without even waiting for her reply, Ben took a hold of her wrist and pulled her along. He could hardly wait to show his father his new friend. Summer was startled by his abruptness, but she learned to laugh as she picked up the pace. Soon, the two of them were racing, leaving behind them a trail of tiny footsteps side-by-side in the sun-bathed sand.



FIN



So yeah, my theory was that the reason why the main protagonist could even activate the Guardian Signs and call on the Legendary Pokemon was because he/she was the literal descendant of the old hero from the age of the Steelheads. So Echo = Summer. Srsly, that would have been so cool, if that had actually been the case! But still, Guardian Signs was a good game nonetheless!

Also, familiar with Almia should know the significance of Nabiki Beach... Yeah. I went there xD

[FedoraChar]

Author's Note:

I got another story for you guys! This one... is interesting. Kingdom 2 Come started out as a short-story, then I turned around and tried to make it into a novel. And it never got finished. HA. Well, anyway, this story is pretty much where my character Zayna White came into being. She IS the female protagonist for Black and White--she's just MY version of her, since I despised the name Hilda (no offense to any Hildas out there)

So, I have to say that out of all the Pokemon games (even X and Y), Black and White are my favorite, and that's because of the story. I loved it to pieces, and I also loved all the mythology there was behind the main conflict. Kingdom 2 Come was born out of that love--it is my own imagining of the ancient history of Unova.

Since this story is so long, I'm breaking it up into several parts for ya :) Hope you enjoy!





http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m399/PowerCampGal/Kingdom2ComeTitleBanner.png


I’ve noticed that a lot of weird things have happened to me.

I didn’t ask for any of them—hey, I just wanted a normal career as Trainer. But call it what you want: fate, chance, destiny… I’m stuck with it. Stuck with a stone, which everyone thinks will decide the course of the future. Of course, I have no idea what to do with it, much less how to use it.

My name is Zayna White, and I’ve been chosen. The details of how and why are vague, even to me, but apparently I am one of the heroes of a new legend. Two conflicting ideas, both with honest intentions, have come head to head. Only one can prevail. One final battle will determine which will be the victor, and which shall fade from the pages of history. It has been decided that this fight will wage between a “king” and me. On the one side stands a man fervent in his beliefs, with a legendary dragon at his side. On the other side, there’s me: a teenage girl, confused on her own standing who wields…

…A rock. Yeah, go figure.

I don’t know what to do anymore. People expect me to do the impossible. How can I fight an organization so powerful if I’m just one person? If the Dark Stone actually worked, maybe I would stand somewhat of a chance. The myths say it holds the other key—the other legendary dragon that matched the other in all power. Yet the myths also add that it will only respond to the heart of one whose intentions are pure. And so far, I haven’t seen any dragon action.

Is there something wrong with me? I thought that I could handle this. But maybe I’m not worthy?

…Maybe… was N right all along?


*****

I wasn’t running away. Don’t even think about calling me a coward. When I set out from Opelucid City, I had every intention to head to the Pokémon League and face my “destiny”. But with the huge responsibility I was about to face, I needed some time to think. So instead of heading north for Route 10, I went west with no real destination in mind. I explored the terrain around Route 9, letting my mind wander as my body did. The forests to the north were near impassible, but down along the East River passage was gentler. Best of all, I was alone.

Seemed like a great opportunity, but that was before the rainstorm—and no regular rainstorm, mind you. I had been keeping my eye on the horizon, and for most of the afternoon it had been crystal clear. Towards evening, however, an ominous dark mass gathered from the south. With unbelievable speed, the beastly cloud consumed the sky and unloaded all of its fury upon my head. Now, I fought my way through torrential rain searching desperately for shelter.

Shivers raced up my spine as another roar of thunder shook the drenched forest. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be so intimidated, but this storm was different. It was feral and fierce, attacking me like a predator with every weapon in its arsenal. Wind, rain, lightning… all of it swirled around me in a taunting dance, trying to overwhelm me. Unfortunately, it was working. Soaked to the bone and trembling like a soppy puppy, I trudged through the mud with my sense of direction utterly disoriented.

“Is this some kind of punishment?” I cried to the skies, rain droplets streaming down my face like tears. “Have I done something wrong?”

The ambiguous answer came in another peal of thunder, this time with purple lightning snapping across the black sky overhead with a shattering crack. I jumped, and raced a ways farther up the trail, cursing everything I knew. This was stupid. Why did I come out here, again? And of all people, why me? Why choose me to pick on?

“Isn’t there some other miserable Trainer you can go plague?” I muttered again to the Fates, folding my arms across my chest.

I slipped right on cue. I could probably thank the long, slick grass that grew on the top of a ridge, but either way I soon found myself sliding down the bank. Water flew into my face, blinding me as I lost all control of my fall. Screaming over the storm, I picked up speed—flying faster and faster until abruptly crashing against stone. Dazed, I laid in a puddle until the rest of me could catch up to this moment. Unfortunately for me, however, they brought company with them: pain.

Groaning, I sluggishly pulled into a sitting position and gritted my teeth against my bodies bitter complaints. A momentary flash of lightning lit up my new surroundings, bouncing off several dark forms. Eventually, I could piece together what they were: pillar-like boulders like the one I had collided with. They rose against the dark sky like a giant’s pudgy fingers, their sides glistening with the filmy rainwater that rolled down their sides. The terrain around them had turned rugged and rocky, devoid of any vegetation. Just beyond the stone pillars…

A cave.

I stared at the yawning entrance, trying to figure out its significance. In my fuddled thoughts, I couldn’t ever recall hearing about a cave on Route 9. Its size was impressive; how could it be missed? Just how lost was I?

Some instinct inside me warned me to be cautious, but right then, I didn’t care. As far as I knew, the cave meant shelter from the rain. I was more than happy to take advantage of that. Dragging my sorry hide out of the gravel, I unsteadily stood and stumbled into the cave’s welcoming darkness. Finally out of the storm’s reach, I collapsed against the cave’s dampened wall with a relieved groan. Made it. Now all I had to do was wait out the storm. Of course, I knew I should probably dry out—maybe have Rascal start a fire—but I allowed myself a moment’s rest. Just one minute…

So were my intentions, but after five minutes of wishful thinking, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep. Not even the roar of a Haxorus could wake me, and I slept on totally oblivious to the passing of time.


*****

In the morning, I woke with a dreadful headache. Adding further to my misery, my clothes were still damp and they clung to my skin quite uncomfortably. I scowled in disgust before remembering the events of last night. I never started a fire! Now I was definitely sorry. But perhaps I could find a change of dry change of clothes? A quick search through my bag dashed that hope; everything I carried had been thoroughly soaked.

“Great,” I growled to myself out loud. “Just great. Couldn’t have stayed up for five seconds, couldn’t I?”

Sighing, I turned to the entrance and sought for one optimistic thought. Sunlight streaked through the steaming air outside, bringing with it the happy trills of singing birds. I blinked, trying to see beyond the glare to the skies beyond. A few white clouds dotted its vast span, but they looked thin and frail, a shadow of their former fury.

“Well,” I forced a smile with some hope. “At least the storm’s gone. Maybe I can dry out in the sun.” Glancing down at myself, I frowned. “These clothes are going to be so gross, though…”

I sighed again, wondering why I was talking to myself. How hard did I hit that rock last night? Experimentally, I stood, but immediately I winced at the pain in my side. Yep, pretty hard. At least I hadn’t smashed my head in. I wasn’t sure if I had broken a rib or not, but I was definitely bruised. Pacing around a little, I found that walking wouldn’t be too much of a problem. Though painful, I think I could tolerate it.

“You’ll be okay,” I reassured myself. “Just get to a Center, and you’ll be fine. And you have to stop talking to yourself…”

Bracing myself, I turned to the cave’s exit and took my first steps out into the sun. The sunny morning blinded me momentarily, but the gentle rays felt soothingly warm. Cupping my hand over my eyes, I adjusted to the light and made yet another wonderful observation.

I was completely lost.

Yeah, I had no idea where I had come from, or where to go from here. I could recognize the ridge I had slipped down last night, but the direction I came from before that… No clue.

It’s times like these when you really learn to appreciate technology. I dug through my equipment and brought out my map, trusting that it would save my carcass yet again. But when I flipped up the screen, one unwelcome message greeted me:

No service available.

What?! I wanted to scream at the display. You had to be kidding me! I could always find a signal, even in the wilderness. The map ran on a GPS system for crying out loud. I fiddled with the stubborn device, but it never changed its message.

No service available.

Growing in frustration, I shoved it back into my bag. That had been worthless. Now what do I do?

“Maybe… the Xtransceiver?” I thought about Professor Juniper. If the GPS satellite wasn’t working, then maybe I could still get through on the phone. The professor could definitely help me get out of this predicament. With renewed hope, I dived back into my bag for my other device. If I could call the professor, perhaps she could help me get out of this predicament. Flipping out the screen, I immediately dialed her number and waited for her face to pop up.

Like a haunting memory, a familiar message appeared instead. No FREAKING service.

I resisted the urge to throw the thing, but I didn’t hold back an irritated holler. Birds fled from their perches at my anguished cry. I imagined that I turned the heads of some other forest critters as well, but I didn’t care. With forced gentleness, I replaced the communicator. With the way this was turning out, I was going to end up doing things the old fashioned way. Sticking my chin defiantly into the air, I randomly picked a direction and prayed that I would luck out. Hopefully.


*****

After climbing up the ridge, I followed a lengthy meadow towards a pair of hills in the distance. I thought that I might gain my bearings if I climbed to a higher elevation, and those hills were the tallest points around. As far as the travelling went, I still couldn’t recognize a thing. The landscape seemed alien to me, like someone had rearranged everything while I slept last night. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something felt wrong. Was I even on Route 9 anymore?

Before I traveled too far, I caught wind of a strange smell. Seconds passed before I could identify its woody, smoky flavor. Was it… fire?

“A camp fire!” I fool-hardily jumped to conclusions, letting a smile spread across my face. I was so certain that that was what it was. A campfire meant campers, and campers meant a chance for directions. Ditching the hill idea, I grabbed a red and white sphere from my belt.

“All right, Lilly! I need your help!”

I threw the Poké ball, which opened up in a rapid white flash. Within seconds, my Pokémon appeared: a wooly, brown and purple dog with a sniffer as good as any—or better. Seeing me, she let her pink tongue loll out of her mouth. Her stubby tail wagged excitedly back and forth.

“Who’s a good puppy?” I gurgled in a baby’s voice, lovingly scratching behind her fluffy ears. She barked delightfully back, squirming in place like she was still a Lillipup. For a minute or two, I spoiled her, though I think I was just taking comfort in having something warm and familiar. Pokémon therapy really works, I guess.

Turning serious, I took a step back. “Okay, Lilly. You smell that? That smoke? I need you to sniff out its source.”

Sensing my change in mood, the terrier lifted her head and sampled the air. After a minute, the Stoutland grew uneasy. She glanced back up at me with a sad whine.

“What’s wrong?” I frowned, confused at her response. Could she smell something else in the wind? Normally, I’m one to pay attention to my Pokémon—but I was getting desperate. “Come on girl,” I rubbed her ear again. “I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. Nothing we can’t handle, anyway.”

She stared, unconvinced.

I sighed, “Lilly, we don’t have much choice. We’re lost out here. We need some directions.”

Lilly whimpered again, still nervous.

“Lilly,” I asserted sternly. “I order you: Oder Sleuth.”

The dog blinked, taken aback. Finally, however, she submitted. Lowering her snout to the ground, she hunted for the trail. Guilt stabbed at my stomach. I regretted using force like that, but it couldn’t be helped. I watched her shaggy coat slip through the tall grass, wondering what we would do if I was wrong. Would we end up wandering the woods for months?


*****


I should have listened to her.

The closer we drew to the source of the smoke, the fouler the smoke turned. I began to doubt my previous theory—campfire was supposed to smell sweeter or earthier, right? What we smelled now better compared to a ditch fire, or compost burning. When we broke through a strand of trees, we finally found it: an entire village, burned to black skeletons.

I stopped dead in my tracks, speechless and dumbfounded. The ruined village seemed devoid of life, with only embers glowing on the crumbling frameworks of a few houses. Some flames still danced around a larger building, letting inky black smoke billow up into the bright sky. The air all around owned an unbreakable silence, only hinting at the tragedy that must have befallen the inhabitants. Not even the birds sang here.

The first question that broke through my numbed mind was an illogical what? The second was a stunned why? And the last, as an afterthought, was where? Before my brain could recover enough to think, I heard Lilly give a threatening growl. Confused as I was, I turned to see shapes emerge from the woods. Men.

They were another oddity I could not explain.

Each was dressed in an eerily familiar getup—like the grunts of Team Plasma. Yet these uniforms seemed more… authentic. Over their rugged frames they wore thick-woven tunics with chain-mail and dented armor. Underneath the ring-meshed hoods, their faces were grim. Eyes distant, they commanded an air of experience and sorrow I had never sensed from a Plasma goon. One sat in the saddle of a creature unfamiliar to my eyes, resembling a darkened Rapidash without fire or a horn.

Oh, and did I mention that they were carrying weapons? REAL weapons?

“Stay where you are,” the rider commanded as the other men pressed on with their approach.

“C-can I help you?” I warily asked. Dumb question, I know, but I was scared out of my wits.

“Careful,” one of the footmen warned, eyeing Lilly cagily. “She’s got a Beast.”

Lilly’s hackles bristled as she bared her teeth, ready to shrike the moment these strangers showed ill will. I gulped nervously, unsure how to act. These really weren’t Plasma goons, where they?

“Who are you? State your business here,” the rider barked again.

“I… I am Zayna White, um, sir,” came my shaky reply. I don’t remember ever being this frightened before, even when I faced other criminals. I sensed something different about these men, something colder, crueler. “I am… I was looking for directions.”

One of the footmen suddenly drew a sword—a real sword—waking me up to the reality of the situation. Lilly and I yelped together.

“She’s a witch,” the footmen sneered. “I tell ya, Cap’n, she’s working with th’ enemy. Prob’ly come to plague us wi’ monsters.”

“Look at her garments,” the first footmen added, almost fearfully. “I have never seen any of its like.”

The rider balefully glared at my Pokémon. “Should she prove so, we shall deal with her accordingly. Bring her back to camp.”

At his command, the soldiers pressed closer. For Lilly, that pulled her trigger. Before they could take another step, she lunged. After she latched her jaws around the arm of the closest man, the unfortunate victim cried out in pain. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the sword—

“Lilly, no!” I shouted, though too late. The blade sung through the air, slicing across my Stoutland’s haunch. She released her hold, letting an agonized yelp escape her maw. I leapt at the man with the sword, grabbing his wrist before he could bring down the weapon again. For my bravery, I was rewarded with a face full of gauntlet. Lights danced in my vision as I fell on my back, dazed by the punch.

“Bind her!” I heard the rider bellow, and immediately a pair of hands seized me. I struggled against their owner, but my feeble strength was no match against his. He wrenched my hands behind my back and forced me to stand back up. I became aware of the rough, unforgiving texture of a rope as it was wrapped around my wrists.

“S-sniper!” I called out, not knowing what else to do. I don’t know if he could hear me, but sometimes the Pokémon knew when he was needed. Right now would be a wonderful time for him to burst from his Poké Ball on his own.

“What is she doing?” a soldier asked, alarmed.

“She’s summoning a Beast! Silence her, quickly!”

A hand wrapped around my face, muffling my begging cries. I nearly gagged at the metallic taste that tainted my mouth. As soon as they finished binding my hands, a coarse piece of fabric replaced the gauntlet. I kicked and screamed for that brief moment when my mouth was free, but for once in my life… I was helpless.

I had lost this battle.

The rider brought his horse-thing up behind his men, looking down at their handiwork with satisfaction.

“Leave the mutt,” he ordered, indicating poor Lilly, who was trying to limp toward me. A footman kicked her in the face, sending back into a miserable, whimpering wad of hair.

I cried behind my binds, tears welling up in my eyes. I’m so sorry, Lilly, I wanted to beg for her forgiveness. This is all my fault…

The last glimpse I caught of her, she weakly raised her head. Then the men forced me into a merciless march.



[END PART 1]
Part II--> (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?2014-Little-Lizard-s-Library-of-Tales-%28Updated-11-26!-Now-with-more-Medieval-action!%29&p=40194&viewfull=1#post40194)

[FedoraChar]

KINGDOM 2 COME
PART II


My legs burned as I crashed through the undergrowth. Afraid of stopping, I kept racing even after I no longer heard the shouts of the soldiers. Beside me, Sniper easily kept pace; in fact, he probably had an easier time maneuvering his limbless body through the trees and shrubs then I did. The Grass-type was in his element—I wasn’t.

Eventually, we reached a dead end: sheer cliffs that caged us into the forest. I had to tilt my head back to see the rim of the impressive wall, but when I did so my knees gave out. I skidded on the dirt and fell on my back. With my skin freshly scraped, and my sides screaming at me, I stayed in place, panting until my breath caught up with me. Sniper watched me in concern at my side before gingerly laying his head on my stomach. He tried to comfort me by trilling in the back of his throat.

“What am I going to do?” I moaned, rubbing my face with one hand while resting the other on my Pokémon’s head. “We must be a thousand years in the past, but… How is that even possible?”

Sniper silently opened an eye.

“Or… or maybe this is just a dream. Yeah, a dream—a really horrible nightmare,” I concluded, figuring I was close to the truth. It made sense, too. None of this could be real. Maybe I did knock my head against that rock last night, and all of this was mere delusions. “I’ll just close my eyes, and wake up. Then everything will be as it should be.”

My Serperior lifted his head a few inches, cocking it in puzzlement. I ignored him and squeezed my eyes shut. Let this be a dream, just a dream, I repeated a self-invented mantra, crossing my fingers. None of this is real. It isn’t happening. I’m still back in the year 2011…

Placing all my hope in this silent plea, I sat up and re-opened my eyes.

And I came face to face with the dead end of an arrow.

Sensing my alarm, Sniper whirled his body around. He let out a sharp hiss as he tensed his muscles, preparing to strike once again.

“Move, and I shoot,” the arrow’s unshaken owner threatened, keeping the projectile aimed straight at me. He was close enough that I could neither dodge nor deflect—if I could do even that in my disheveled state.

I stared aghast at the archer, a young man looking only a year or two older than me. He appeared as rugged as the soldiers I met before, with a regal air that made him seem princely. His sharply angled face stared back fiercely at mine through sea-green eyes that would have made even a Watchog glance away in shame. I didn’t doubt for a second that he wouldn’t execute his intentions, if provoked.

“Down, Sniper,” I whispered to my Pokémon. The Serperior lit out another low hiss, but reluctantly recoiled.

“Who are you?” the young man demanded with a commander’s strict tone. I got the feeling that he was hardly ever disobeyed.

“Zayna… White.”

“Who are you working with?” he didn’t blink for a second.

I strained my brain to try to understand, “I… what? I’m not working with anyone.”

The archer pulled his bow farther back, unconvinced. “Who?”

“Look, guy, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” my hands flew up in the air. He was crazy!

“Tell the truth,” he narrowed his eyes. “Or take your last breath…”

I wanted to cry, but I tried to hold myself together. “Fine, then,” I took in a deep breath. “I’ll tell you the truth: I’m lost, okay? I woke up on the wrong side of the universe this morning, and not long after a group of men tried killing my dog and kidnapping me. I only just escaped, having run a million miles through the jungle, so can you back off some?”

Okay, maybe I got a little out of hand with that last part. The kid was intimidating, but it seemed easier to face one man instead of several well-armed soldiers. Kind of. Besides, I was getting tired of this life-endangerment business. After the second time someone points a weapon at your face, it gets old. Can I go home, now please?

“You expect me to believe that?” his voice was devoid of humor, only tipped with ice.

“Will you relax, brother?” a new voice entered the scene.

I turned my head to see another young man emerging from the woods. He favored a leg, I noticed, but waved cheerfully to the three of us. Up close, I saw the remarkable resemblance he shared with the archer—the same, sharp face, sea-green eyes, and regal air. Yet instead of having white-blonde hair, the newcomer had a darker tone of brown. His eyes sparkled with mischief, and I liked him immediately. So far, he was the only stranger I met who didn’t want to attack me. I couldn’t help but hope that he was here to save me from these crazies.

“You’ll have to excuse my brother,” his mouth curled into a genuine smile, a goofy yet charming grin. “He’s always been the type to jump to hasty conclusions.”

“Zekarus,” the light-haired archer muttered in a warning tone, glancing distrustfully my way. “Stay your tongue. We know nothing about this girl.”

“Remish, just trust me on this one,” Zekarus stepped aside to argue, tossing me an apologetic look.

“But how do we know we can trust her?” the archer, apparently named Remish, growled back in agitation.

How could I trust them? I wondered at the same time. Grateful that Sniper backed me up, I continued to evaluate the boys.

“Faith, brother. Besides, just look at her. I do not think that she will harm anyone. She looks rather lost.”

Remish narrowed his eyes. “She looks like a witch to me. Look how that Beast obeys her whim.”

Zekarus’ expression turned grim as he replied, “Then are we any different from her?”

I watched as Remish suddenly backed down, averting his eyes almost shamefully. His brother rested a hand on his shoulder, adding so softly that I almost couldn’t hear him, “I think she can help us.”

Help them? I blinked in curiosity. What could I do to help them?

A smile sprouting on his face again, the dark-haired brother turned back to me. “My apologies,” he bowed like a prince. “He just needed some reassuring. My name is Zekarus, son of Rhoan, and my brother is Remish. I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name, however.”

“Um, it’s Zayna… Zayna White,” I repeated, exchanging an uncertain glance with Sniper. The Serperior had quietly observed them, but I couldn’t tell what he thought of these young men. I wasn’t even sure what I thought.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Zayna,” he gallantly took my hand, kissing it. A blush involuntarily found its way to my cheeks. He finished with a coy smile, “Though I wish it could have been under better… circumstances.”

“Uh, yeah… Nice to meet you too?” Gosh, I sounded like an idiot.

“We should not stay out in the open for too much longer,” Remish declared, slinging his bow across his shoulder. “The armies are not far from here.”

“You show much wisdom, brother,” the brown-haired teen agreed, and then asked me, “Will you come with us?”

Do I have much choice? I glanced over my shoulder, thinking of the men who had kidnapped me. I didn’t know if they were hunting for me, but I didn’t want to stick around to find out. Also, I still had no clue where I was. If these boys were offering some assistance, then maybe I should take advantage of that. If they weren’t a threat, that is.

Sniper softly hissed again, still glaring at Remish. Obviously, he felt some distrust as well. I’m not sure if we can trust them, I thought to myself, examining them closely. But sometimes, you need to take a leap of faith. They were just two boys—maybe my team could handle them if they did prove to be dangerous. And Zekarus seemed nice…

“Yes, if that would be okay,” I caved, offering a cautious smile.

“Of course,” Zekarus turned aside, offering his arm.

Yeah, I’m not doing the whole medieval courtesy game, I laughed inside myself. Instead of taking his arm, I patted it and followed behind Remish, leaving Zekarus with a baffled expression.


*****

We traveled south down along the cliff walls, skirting them until we came to a ravine with a gentle climb. Remish led us up them, casting furtive glances in all directions. He seemed more high-strung and cautious than his laid-back brother, as if expecting an attack at any second. The archer never said much, only giving vague grunts whenever Zekarus asked him a question. On the other hand, Zekarus was as talkative as a songbird. I filled him in on my adventures here—though I didn’t dare mention anything about time travel—and in turn he shared a few of his own. From the sound of it, Zekarus was very mischievous, having an affinity with trouble. Yet I liked his easy-going nature, and it put me at ease. Even Sniper, who followed dejectedly behind, seemed to relax a little after Zek released the third peal of laughter from me.

Feeling more comfortable with the boys, I braved more questions. “So… what exactly is going on in this, er, land?”

Zekarus’ energy dimmed a bit, but offered a sad smile. “War, Zayna. I’m afraid you picked the wrong time to visit.”

“War?” I blinked, unable to comprehend the word.

“Yes,” Zekarus’ eyes took on a far-away look. “The Southern Kingdom is rising against the Northern Kingdom, and all the places in between are in utter chaos.” He grew silent for some time, reflective, but then turned thoughtful. “Zayna? How much do you know about the kingdoms in this land?”

Remish suddenly stopped, turning to fix his severe gaze on his brother. Both engaged in an intense staring contest, neither side giving in to the other. I stood by in bafflement, wondering if I had missed something. Finally, Zekarus spoke in a soft undertone.

“I know what I am doing.”

Remish narrowed his eyes, replying coldly, “I hope you do.”

With that he turned his back on us again, leaving a chill in the air. Only after he put a little distance between us did I dare ask Zekarus, “What was that about?”

Zekarus sighed, “Nothing. Don’t worry about it. So, want a history lesson?”

I glanced up at Remish tentatively. “Sure?”

The young man grinned, not even hesitating for a second as he started his story:

“A long time ago, our ancestors settled Unova, establishing tiny, scattered villages across the face of the land. For ages, the villages lived separate lives from one another, unconcerned with the matters outside their secluded worlds, until an adventurous governor set out to establish trade. In time, the villages united, forming one thriving kingdom that spread from the oceans down south, to the mountains in the north. However, the day came when the sole monarch died of an ill disease, and a usurper rose to the throne. The usurper introduced new ideas, and ruled with an iron fist. Some parts of the land grew to like his ideas, but the northern regions objected his tyranny.

“They broke away from the south, forming their own kingdom with the one true heir to the crown. The usurper, enraged by their rebellion, brought forth armies to bring the new kingdom back under his dominion. However, the resistance they met overwhelmed their forces, and they retreated back to their kingdom in the southern desert. Though bitter about their defeat, they left the new Northern Kingdom alone for a time, until another ambitious man rose to command. Decades had passed, and both kingdoms had attained an era of peace and wealth. Yet the new commander of the Southern Kingdom wanted to regain the lands that his Kingdom had lost. He was hungry for power and control. He didn’t want a kingdom; he wanted an empire.

“Another war began, though one this time that would last for a hundred years. In time, the Kingdoms began to decay from the inside, out. The wealth and splendor of the old ages were burned to the ground as our land was ravished. Both Kingdoms tried pulling everything they could to gain ground against the enemy, but never did they realize that they were destroying themselves.”

Zekarus’ expression grew weary as he finished his tale, “In the past year, corruption was sown in the Northern Kingdom. The true King was assassinated upon his own throne, and his heirs, two twin brothers barely of age, were forced to flee from their home. Now a pretender sits upon the throne, mercilessly playing the war game until we have lost all we gained.”

The young man fell silent, the brightness of his character leaving his face. He suddenly looked older to me, like a man who had seen too much sorrow in his young life. I slowly absorbed his story, still sorting through all the details. I had never taken a history class, and regrettably I didn’t know as much as I should about Unova’s roots. But I felt like I had heard a story like this before. I just couldn’t put my thumb on when and where. When I glanced up from my thoughts, I met Zekarus’ solemn eyes. Then I knew.

“You’re… you’re the brothers from the story,” I uttered, looking between the two. “You’re princes…”

“We were,” Remish stopped.

He had brought us to the opening of a cave, where the remains of a fire rested before its maw. Little evidences of a camp were scattered across the rocky ground: a pile of neatly stacked wood by the fireside, a line of rope leading from one cliff wall to the other that held dead animals (ew) or clothes. A pair of logs rested near the blackened fire pit, looking like they had been used as seats.

“Welcome to our camp, Miss White,” Zekarus welcomed, livening up once again. “It’s not much, but it’s been our home for the past little while.”

“It’s…,” I started, but trailed off as unexpected noise met my ears. I could have sworn it sounded like barking. Dog-like barking. As I turned my head towards the source of the sound, a familiar face emerged from the cave with her stumpy tail wagging. “Lilly!”

I ran to her, words not even describing my joy. As soon as we met, I wrapped my arms around her wooly neck and held her tight. She squirmed in my hold until she could lick the tears off my cheeks, whimpering happily all the while. I didn’t notice until I finally pulled back that a bandage had been wrapped around her thigh, clean and white.

“Ah, so she’s yours, then?” Zekarus’ eyes glinted as he laughed.

“Zekarus, what is this?” Remish sighed, shaking his head.

“I found her out in the woods, trying to follow some North Kingdom troops,” Zekarus sheepishly answered, ducking his head. “The poor thing was bleeding, and… well, I couldn’t help it. I had to help her out. I was on my way to tell you, but I think we both got a little sidetracked…”

Wiping the tears from my face, I finally released my Stoutland—then turned and hugged Zekarus. His body stiffened in surprise, cutting his chuckle off short, but gently he lowered his arms around me.

“Thank you so much, Zek,” I whispered, ever grateful.

“You’re very welcome,” Zekarus chuckled, holding me tighter before quickly pulling away. Clearing his throat, he added, “Er, but you should be a little more careful—the people of this land aren’t very… kind to Beasts.”

I wiped at my dampened cheek, tittering, “I think I figured that out long ago.”

Remish had quietly watched us for some time before suddenly speaking up, “Are you a witch?”

“No, of course not,” I rolled my eyes, exasperated. “Why does everyone keep accusing me of that?”

Remish and Zekarus exchanged glances.

“That is what they call those who bond with the Beasts,” Remish offered an explanation.

I frowned, turning to Sniper and Lilly. I had figured that they called Pokémon Beasts in this time period, but was the relationship between the two races really that different here? “Is that such a bad thing?” I asked them honestly. “Where I am from, people and Pok—people and Beasts live together in harmony.”

“Is that true?” Remish’s eyebrows lifted in doubt. “Can that be so?”

Zekarus smiled. “How ideal would that be?”

I stared. My head buzzed, trying to tell me that I was missing something immensely important. No way. There was no way…

“Perhaps… you can help us, then,” Remish’s stony masked softened some, and I could sense that he was lowering his guard some. Maybe he still didn’t trust me, but at least he was giving me a chance to prove myself.

“Help with what?” I blinked. I overheard them before, mentioning this, but what did they mean? How could I be of any service to them? They’ve already helped me more than I could repay them, I suppose.

“We, er, actually wondered if you might be able to help our friend,” Zekarus again turned sheepish, glancing cagily towards the cave. When I furrowed my brows, he took my hand. “Come with me.”

I didn’t object, though I continued to wonder why these two acted so elusively. Zekarus pulled me through their humble camp, towards the gateway into the cliff face. I felt apprehensive approaching the cave, given my adventures earlier that day. That didn’t slow Zekarus down, but he did squeeze my hand reassuringly with an added wink.

“Um, I should warn you. Our ‘friend’ might be a little… surprising,” Zekarus clued me in as we stepped inside, sounding uncharacteristically nervous.

“Surprising?”

“You’ll see.”

My question answered itself when a gust of wind suddenly blew my hair back. Rustling filled the darkness as something massive shifted against the rock. Rumbling rattled my bones before the shadows in front of me moved. I tensed, automatically expecting an attack. Soon, I was staring into the golden eyes of a dragon.

“Zayna, this is our friend, Shachor,” Zekarus introduced us, enjoying my astonishment.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw more of his “friend.” The dragon was massive, taking up the whole back part of the cave. Wary, slitted eyes watched me from a horse-shaped head, striped with shades of black and white. The long neck that held it sported a main of silvery feathers, as fine as down. It lay on its side, over long limbs that ended in sharp talons. Only when I got over its majesty did I notice its misery. Every breath came out in slow, wheezing gusts—its broad chest rising and falling in a sickly rhythm.

Zekarus moved by its side, placing a hand on one of its ivory horns. The dragon didn’t strike; instead, it closed its eyes and rumbled again. Very timidly, I walked up to the creature as well, marveling at its size. The only Pokémon that I could compare it to… was N’s Legendary. Was this a Legendary Pokémon as well? I worried that it might not be so friendly to me, but Shachor only eyed me through a narrowed lid, showing no ire.

“He’s… magnificent,” I breathed. “But… what’s wrong with him?”

“He is ill,” came Zekarus’ soft reply. “And we are not sure how to…”

I met his eyes, knowing what he meant. Braving the last few feet that distanced me from Shachor, I knelt and placed my hand on its cheek. The scaly hide felt warm beneath my hand.

“Can you help him?” Zekarus asked hopefully.

Shachor’s golden eyes opened again, and up close I could see into its depths. Staring into them felt like standing and peering over the edge of a bottomless canyon. Ancient, timeless… familiar. But sadness; so much sadness in those eyes.

“Zayna?”

I started, shaking from the spell.

“Um, yeah,” I finally replied, feeling a little dizzy. “I think I might have some medicine in my—”

I stopped as I became painfully aware of the absence one of my belongings: my bag. “Crap,” I cursed.

“Something wrong?”

“My bag,” I winced. “It was confiscated by those soldiers. They still have it.”

“What?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, letting out a moan. “I can’t believe that I lost it. It has everything—all of my stuff. And… medicine, and… Ugh, this is bad.”

“That is not the only ‘bad’ development,” Remish’s voice suddenly called from the entrance. Zekarus and I turned to see him outlined against the light outside. “Soldiers are traveling up the ravine.”

“How many?” his twin brother whirled around, sounding alarmed.

“Thirty, and all armed to the teeth.”

“We can’t let them find us!”

Remish nodded grimly. “If they find Shachor…”

I glanced between the two twins, sensing the fear that stiffened them both. I realized something then: they had bonded with Shachor. Two brothers, two twins—one dragon…

“We have to fight,” I stood, clenching my fists in determination.

They looked at me in surprise.

“What?” I shrugged, but they kept staring. Shaking my head, I continued, “Look, we can’t let them get to this cave, right?”

“But there’s only two of us,” Remish lowered his head, growing ancient.

I raised an eyebrow. “’cuse me?”

“Okay… then three of us,” Zekarus tried to repair his brother’s damage.

I smiled, “Still not close. I can add six others to our team.”

The brothers exchanged confused glances.

Remish, still doubtful, ventured to ask, “What do you mean?”

Right on cue, Sniper and Lilly poked their heads into the cave. I whistled to them, and the two joined us in the cave, ogling at the giant within.

“Lilly can’t fight, but Sniper can,” I started to explain, reaching for the Poke Balls at my belt. “And I got five others right here.”

Ripping them from their placing, I threw the capsules one at a time. The cave lit up with each consecutive flash, momentarily illuminating the expressions of total shock on the faces of the twins. First came Kiki, my ever quirky Simipour with her glowing smile. She was followed by my Darmanitan, Rascal, and Terra the Scrafty. Last of all, Rouge the Krookodile and Archie the Archeops.

“What sorcery is this?” Remish recoiled, fear mixing with his amazement.

Rouge narrowed his eyes at the prince, crossing his arms with immediate dislike. Still grinning, I rested my elbow on the crocodile’s shoulder. “It’s not sorcery, guys. It’s science—technology.”

“Science?” Zekarus scrunched his nose. “This is the strangest piece of science I have ever seen.”

“Don’t worry too much about it,” I laughed. “It’s beside the point. Now, I got six fighters here—what’s the plan?”

Remish released a sigh, shaking his head. “We’re still outnumbered. I don’t see how we can stand a chance.”

“Wait…” Zekarus mused, examining my team. “I think… I might have an idea.”

“Throw it at me,” I grinned, hoping he would say that.



END PART II
-->Part III (http://www.pokemoncrossroads.com/forum/showthread.php?2014-Little-Lizard-s-Library-of-Tales-%28Updated-11-26!-Now-with-more-Medieval-action!%29&p=63543&viewfull=1#post63543)

[FedoraChar]

KINGDOM 2 COME
PART III

QUICK NOTE---This section includes parts of the original ending to this story. When I attempted to novelize this, I changed quite a few parts of this battle. I thought that this version I had saved on my back-up files was the edited version, but looks like I'm wrong. I'm hoping I can find the edited version, because it turned out a lot better, but I'm not sure I'll find it. Still, I'll keep an eye out, and if I find it I will post it as well :)



Minutes of preparation later, Remish and I hiked to the top of ravine. The day had grown hot and dry; the ravine had little vegetation to offer in shade or relief. We army-crawled our way to the edge, where we could spy on the soldiers. They filed through the ravine in a long train, since the walls allowed only one or two to pass through. True to Remish’s word, they were dangerously armed with swords, pikes, and shields.

“Are you sure about this?” the light-haired archer asked for the umpteenth time, watching the procession dourly.

“Sure as I’ll ever be,” I muttered back. I followed the procession with my eyes to the front, where a rider led the troops on the back of a horse. My eyes widened as I recognized him—and the bag resting on the saddle. “That’s him!”

“Who?” Remish leaned in, trying to follow my gaze.

“That’s the man who tried to kidnap me,” I answered, never tearing my eyes from the rider. “And he has my bag!”

Remish finally found the man I was talking about, but then returned his regal eyes to me. “What do you want to do?”

I bit my lip, wondering what I could do. The plan was already laid down—all they needed was a simple signal. But if I could grab the bag, I might be able to help Shachor…

“I think I might have an idea,” I nodded without much confidence.

Remish snorted and shook his head. “You and Zek with your ideas…”

“You’re free to add some input, you know,” I retreated from the edge of the ravine. Once I was far enough, I stood and started back towards the cave.

“What are you thinking, Zayna?” Remish called as loud as he dared.

“Go ahead and give the signal when you’re ready.”

“Zayna!” he hissed, but I ignored him. Soon I left him in the dust, my thoughts whirling as I tried to refine my plan. It wasn’t much; most of it consisted of winging it. As I traveled beside the ravine, I could see where my Pokémon were stationed, patiently waiting for their part in defending the cave.

“Zayna?”

I turned to see Zekarus pulling out of his hiding spot—an alcove set into the ravine wall. Rascal’s fiery eyebrows peered over the rock as well, curious but excited.

“Don’t worry, everything’s fine,” I hurried to assure him. Letting out a shrill whistle, I called for my flyer, Archie. The prehistoric bird appeared in a flurry of feathers, flying from his perch on the opposite side of the ravine.

“What is going on?” Zekarus pressed, unsatisfied with my vague reply.

“Fly, Archie,” I ordered, and obediently the raptor flapped behind me, grabbing my arms just below the shoulder. Giving Zekarus a grin, I shouted, “I found my bag,” before Archie lifted me from the ground.

“Zayna, wait!” Zekarus started climbing out of the alcove, but I was gone before he could stop me.

I had Archie fly me back down the ravine, but landed just before the place where I knew Rouge waited. There, we crouched close to the edge of the cliff, and waited.

Remish, I pleaded, please just stick with the plan.

Down below us, I could see two black points resting in the ground. Strangers might have mistaken them for rocks, but I knew what they were: Rouge’s eyes. They were the only part of his body that remained above ground, the rest of him lurking below the earth like a crocodile waiting in water. I marveled at his immense patience as he remained frozen in place, not even blinking as the wind stirred the dirt. Eventually, the ravine filled with the sound of tromping footsteps. Soon, the first of the men appeared around the corner.

The soldiers stomped on through, oblivious to the Pokémon buried in the earth as they passed. I tightened my hold on the lip of the canyon, straining my ears for the sound I prayed would come.

And come it did: the bugle of Remish’s hunting horn.

Rouge exploded from the dirt, eyes glinting hungrily as he startled the men closest to him. Before they could strike, the Krookodile raised his arms and commenced his part of the plan. The ground beneath the troop suddenly thinned, sinking as it turned into sand. The men at the front suddenly found themselves buried knee-deep into a Sand Tomb they could not escape from. The horse had been trapped as well, flinging its rider from its saddle as it struggled desperately.

Rouge grinned toothily as he reveled in the chaos he had created.

“The Beast!” the rider barked, scrambling to his feet. “Kill it! Kill it!”

The soldiers who weren’t trapped pulled out their weapons and started towards my Pokémon. I tensed, but Rouge sneered, waiting for them to come. Just as they reached him, the crocodile dived into the ground, escaping them as he dug through the earth to safety.

“After it!” the rider roared, looking outraged.

Six men had been trapped in the sand, but the others surged forward. Their footsteps churned the sand, slowing them down some before they reached firm earth once again. With nowhere else to turn to, they went deeper into the ravine, and deeper into our trap. I stood up and walked with Archie down to our next checkpoint: now it was time for Terra to shine. The Scrafty had been positioned on the other side of the ravine, but when men started passing through her turf, she crawled out from her hiding spot.

The men never noticed her as she lifted a boulder several times her size. With her incredible strength, she threw the boulder at my wall. I braced myself as the wall shook with the incredible force. Below, I heard the shouts of men as the rocks rained down on them. The ravine rumbled as a rockslide brought down part of the wall, and if it weren’t for Archie support me, I would have lost my balance. When the chaos stopped, I peered over the edge again. The troop had been separated by the rockslide, half on one side, the rest trapped on the other side.

Now, Kiki would do her part. The Simipour appeared next to Terra, looking absolutely thrilled. Before the men could begin to scale the rock, she deftly climbed her way down the cliff, landing right on the peak of the rock pile.

“What the--?” I overheard a soldier cry as they paused in surprise. Kiki happily screeched, dancing in place until she threw her arms out. For a minute, nothing happened; then, the walls on either side of her exploded. A deluge of brown water flowed from the holes, flowing down towards the startled soldiers. They screamed and started retreating, but their efforts were futile. Kiki’s Surf washed them away, back down the ravine and far from the other men. Kiki laughed, sliding down the now-empty side of the ravine and sticking her tongue out offensively.

“So far, so good,” I muttered, counting up the men we still had to deal with. They had gone to thirty strong, to a mere dozen men.

The rider glared at the rock wall, accusing it of stealing his troops. I spied from atop the ledge, barely hearing the men mutter amongst themselves.

“We should just turn back, Cap’n,” one braved, turning to his leader with care.

“No,” the man’s stubborn voice echoed off the walls. “We’ll keep moving.”

He spun around, fixing his men his men with a determined expression. “The exiled princes are here—I know it. I saw them conspiring with the witch with my own eyes.”

The captain raised my pink bag in emphasis, shaking it before the men’s faces.

I narrowed my eyes. These men weren’t just here for me—they were here for Rem and Zek. The prize for capturing a pair of exiled princes must be tempting, especially for a rank-seeking Captain, I would think. But I wasn’t going to let him find them. I had to stop him.

The men wordlessly continued down the ravine. I followed along the rim of the ravine with them, staying just as silent. Archie, however, was growing anxious. He had no idea what I had in store for him, nor did he understand why I had pulled him from his checkpoint. But he would see, soon enough. Next was Sniper’s turn to shine.

As the men rounded another bend, they suddenly stopped short. I hurried over to the next viewpoint just in time to see what had given them pause: several whirlwinds stirred the dirt ahead, swirling with razor-sharp leaves. The minute the men came into view, Sniper—from his unseen perch—sent the Leaf Tornadoes raging towards them. The continual attacks from my Pokémon had unsettled the soldiers, and for some this was the last straw. While others braved forward, others fell back and began to retreat.

“Stand your ground!” the captain ordered, but even his bellow couldn’t stop their retreat. Apparently, he didn’t have as much of a hold over his men as I had thought—or perhaps their fear for Beasts far outweighed their fear for him. Those who stood with him, however, were soon caught up in the tornadoes, the blades cutting into their armor and skin.

I saw my opportunity.

While the soldiers occupied themselves with fighting the razor-sharp whirlwinds, I stood up and nodded to Archie. The raptor cawed uncertainly, but reluctantly wrapped his talons around my upper arms. Together, we dove from the top of the ravine, heading straight for one man: the captain. He shouted at his men, trying to regain control of the situation, and it was too late when he noticed my approach. The minute he glanced up at us, I landed a kick right to his face.

We both tumbled to the ground. The landing jarred me more than I thought it would, but I glanced around, looking for my bag. There! Just ahead! I started crawling towards it, only to be grabbed from behind. A strong arm abruptly yanked me backwards, throwing me on my back. The face of the Captain seethed down at me.

“You!” he growled wrathfully, his face twisted in such rage that I felt afraid for my life.

“Yeah, nice to meet you again, too,” I spat, and then kicked at his leg. In half a second, I regretted that. His legs had metal shin-guards, and ended up hurting my foot more than his shin. Giving that up, I tried to squirm away. My efforts ceased when he kicked me in the side.

I cried out in pain; he had hit me where I was bruised. As I curled into a pathetic ball, the Captain reached down and secured a strangle hold on my neck, lifting me high into the air.

“You would steal my victory,” he tightened his hold, cutting off the air to my lungs. I gasped, my vision starting to blur before me. “Witch! Spawn of the Demon!”

I guess… I hadn’t thought this through enough. Being strangled to death wasn’t part of the plan. As I tried clawing at his gauntlets, I heard familiar shouting—then a rancorous squawk. Feathers brushed against my face as Archie attacked the captain, claws scratching at his face and armor. The man cried out in pain, losing his grip on me and stumbling backward. I fell to the earth, gasping desperately for air. I slowly lifted my eyes—and found the bag once more.

Light-headed, I crawled towards it as Archie continued battling the captain. I couldn’t see much beyond my narrow goal, but as soon as I wrapped my hand around its strap, I realized that the other soldiers were retreating. Turning around, I found out why: Rascal was coming, tucked into a fiery Rollout with several flaming boulders following after him. Just behind him, Zekarus raced down the ravine.

“Zayna, get out of there!” the dark-haired twin shouted on the top of his lungs.

I glanced back at Rascal, who continued tumbling down the ravine. From the looks of it, the Darmanitan wouldn’t be able to stop easily. Once he was in a Rollout, he stayed until he lost his momentum.

Heart racing, I called out, “Archie!”

The raptor made a final, powerful kick that sent the captain falling onto his back. After giving one last hiss, he flapped back over to me. Catching me around the arms again, we prepared for another flight. I started running, helping the Archeops to get some momentum, and little by little we gained altitude.

Then a hand grabbed my ankle.

We were yanked back to the ground, back into the hands of the vengeful captain. I spun around, holding my screaming ribs, and watched as the man pulled the sword from his hilt. He raised it, aiming right for my skull. Archie squawked, and would have lunged if I hadn’t held him back. No! I couldn’t let him get hurt! Not like Lilly… I wrapped my arms around my Archeops, squeezing my eyes as I expected the blade to pierce through my flesh.

The ground rumbled. I opened my eyes as the first flaming rock careened past—then Rascal. Curled into a tight ball, he rolled right towards us. I watched as he bounced right before us, leaping into the air and catching the captain mid-swing. I didn’t see what happened to the man after he was knocked off his feet; instead, I became preoccupied with the other rocks that rushed towards us.

Grimacing, I sat up and whispered a command: “Ancient Power.”

As soon as I released him, the Archeops turned and sharpened his focus on the incoming avalanche of stone. Spreading out his wings, the raptor cawed. Like soldiers obeying his command, the rocks immediately before us slowed to a stop, letting others harmlessly barrel past us. When they passed, the ravine returned to an ear-piercing silence.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I fell onto my back. My throat felt sore, and my bruised ribs burned with pain, but I was alive. I survived. And I had done it. I had stopped the army, retrieved my bag, and saved two very special twins.

“Zayna!” I heard footsteps approaching.

Speak of the devil, I weakly chuckled. I didn’t try to call back, or even sit up to greet him. I stared up at the blue skies overhead, reveling in our victory. Archie, however, soon blocked my view, and so did the anxious face of Zekarus.

“Hey, Zek,” I smiled. “How ya doing?”

Zekarus shook his head, either stricken, amused, or relieved. Maybe all of the above.

“Are you all right?” he asked, letting concern take over.

“I’ll be fine.” To prove so, I finally sat up—though my grimaces probably didn’t convince them thoroughly enough. Grinning impishly, I held up the bag and said, “Got it.”

Zekarus heaved a frustrated sigh. “Why did you do that? What on earth were you thinking?”

“What? I had to get my bag back. We need the medicine for Shachor.”

He blinked, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to think of something in return. Apparently, he wasn’t use to being the one giving the scolding. “You didn’t… But… That was… Just… don’t go scaring me like that again, Zayna.”

“I can’t make any promises,” I laughed.

“Zekarus! Zayna!” a voice shouted from above. The three of us, including Archie, glanced up to the source, finding Remish calling from the lip of the ravine. “The soldiers are retreating. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, just peachy,” I answered before Zekarus could, though the burst of air stung my lungs and side.

“Zayna has been hurt,” Zekarus couldn’t stand my honesty.

“What? What happened?”

“I will explain later,” the dark-haired twin replied. “We should head back to camp.”


*****

END PART III
Final Part Coming soon!

[FedoraChar]

KINGDOM 2 COME
PART FINALE

QUICK NOTE---Well, I'm rather disappointed that I didn't find the edited version of this story's ending. Either it's sitting in some dusty notebook somewhere or it got lost when I had to wipe my computer. It's upsetting because that version was much better, featuring a battle between the captain and Zekarus... But meh. I haven't updated this thread in the longest time, and it doesn't feel right leaving this unfinished, so... Here's the original version. Meh



“Zayna, you should rest.”

I dismissed Zekarus with a wave, continuing to head towards the cave. When he grabbed my hand in a sterner attempt to restrain me, I replied, “No. Shachor needs medicine as soon as possible.”

I had a whole legend here to save.

Despite his touching concern, I stubbornly slipped inside Shachor’s lair with my bag in tow. Zekarus and Remish followed watchfully behind, ready to spring forward if I faltered even just a little. I took each step with care, not wanting to give them reason to stop me.

The dragon lay right where we left him, weary eyes observing the world from a distance. Ignoring my own pains, I sat next to him, running my hand through his soft mane. For his sake, I hopped the medicine would help. The herbs I bought back in Driftveil were potent, if not bitter, but would they work for a Pokémon so massive? I guess there was only one way to find out. Burrowing through my medicine bag, I wrapped my hands around a hairy root, and pulled it out.

“What is that?” Remish ventured to ask.

“An Energy Root,” I simply replied, though my mind was preoccupied with the task of fishing out a bowl.

I took little notice of the young men as they watched me work, grinding the root with a make-shift mortar and pestle.

“Water,” I ordered, holding out a hand like a surgeon working on a patient. After a moment of hesitation from the guys, I snapped my fingers impatiently. “Come on, guys, water.”

“R-right,” I heard Zekarus stammer, but he took some time getting me what I wanted. He eventually brought a crudely carved cup, which I snatched from his hands without much thanks. Concentrating, I poured a few trickles of the cool liquid into powder, then stirred the mixture until it turned into a paste.

“All right-ee, big guy,” I lifted the bowl and approached Shachor.

Those golden eyes darted from my face to the bowl before the dragon gave a disgruntled grunt. When I scooped some of the paste onto a spoon and offered it to him, he moved his head away stubbornly.

“Hey, none of that,” I scolded him, though he still refused to cooperate. “Guys, I need some help.”

“What do you want us to do?” Zekarus scratched his head, clueless.

“Both of you sit on either side of his head, and open his mouth,” I gave more orders. This time, however, they weren’t so quick to listen.

“What?” Remish staggered back, while his brother flew bit his lip uncertainly.

“No, you guys can do it,” I reached towards them, calling them back. “Come on, I can’t do it alone. Besides… he’s bonded with you.”

Again, the brothers exchanged tentative glances. For a minute, I thought that they would back away—unable to undo the teachings of a couple hundred year’s worth of beliefs. From childhood, they probably had been told over and over that Pokémon—Beasts—were creatures to be feared and hunted. But to my surprise, both of them nodded simultaneously. Wordlessly, they sat on either side of Shachor’s head, securing it so the dragon couldn’t move away. Remish and Zekarus ran their hand along the dragon’s forehead, looks of concern etched in their expressions.

For a moment, I quietly observed the trio. Here they were: the very entities of a timeless legend, in embryo. In time, one would undertake the pursuit of truth, while the other would seek after ideals. But both would be rulers, and help shape the future of Unova.

And then… I would carry their torch.

“Open wide, Shachor,” I approached with the spoon again with more gentleness. At first, the dragon resisted, but his masters patiently stroked his head, moving their hands to his snout. They forcefully opened his mouth, and though he resisted that at first, Shachor eventually submitted. I reached into the toothy maw cautiously, spreading the paste on the dragon’s tongue. After I was satisfied, I recoiled, and the twins released their hold. We held our breaths as the mouth closed, then released sighs of relief when we heard Shachor swallow.

“Will that be enough, Zayna?” Remish patted the dragon’s hide in obvious pride.

“I hope so,” I weakly smiled, feeling exhausted.

Remish smiled back—the first time I had ever seen him do so. He bowed his head in earnest humility, “Thank you. We are ever indebted to you. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask.”

Actually, I’d appreciate it if you could help me get back home, I wanted to ask. I knew I couldn’t, however. They wouldn’t be able to help me, not in that way. I had been avoiding the thought since the attack, but now it returned to me unbidden: how would I ever get home?

“Zayna, you should get some rest,” said Zekarus, somewhat hypocritically. He looked just as exhausted as I was, even as he tried to keep up a joking smirk.

“No, I’m fine,” I told him, though not sounding as confident as I wanted to. He chuckled slightly, getting to his feet, and then offered a hand. I didn’t have the energy to argue. I took his hand, and he gently pulled me up beside him. Careful with my injuries, he guided me back outside where a happy campfire burned.

“Are you always this bossy?” I grumbled as he sat me down on a bedroll.

“Only on special occasions, miss,” he chuckled.

I wondered how I could possibly fall asleep with all the pain I felt in my ribs, but somehow, not long after Zekarus sat next to me, I ended up leaning against his shoulder, dozing dreamlessly. It felt so familiar, resting against him, with the crackling of the fire and the choir of insects in the distance. Since arriving in the past, I felt comfortable for the first time. I didn’t worry about what I would do tomorrow. It didn’t matter, not right now.

Sometime during the night, after the fire had faded to glowing embers, I woke up. Remish was nowhere to be seen, and Zekarus was peacefully sleeping with his head tilted to the stars. Color touched my face as I realized that I had been leaning against him. How did I let that happen? Quietly, I retreated, taking care not to disturb him.

But what had disturbed me?

Standing, I glanced around the campsite. For a moment, I felt a trill of fear—was it the soldiers? Had they returned for another try? Yet as I turned towards the cave, my fear was replaced with wonder.

“Shachor…” I breathed.

The dragon had emerged from his lair, holding his head high from the earth. He had gone through a miraculous recovery, no longer the sickly dragon wheezing in the cave. He stood on two powerful, thick legs, with long forelimbs folded up against his chest. His wings rested along his sides, half-feathered, half-scaled. I imagined that if he stretched them out, they would fill the gorge’s ceiling. With the lighting that came from the moon and stars, I could see the similarities—the Reshiram that hid within. But I could see something more… the other dragon, my dragon…

Shachor’s golden gaze locked into mine, and I could have sworn he spoke. Well done, thou chosen servant. I gaped at the dragon for a moment, before I glanced around like an idiot looking for the source of the sound. Only when I returned to Shachor did I realize my silly mistake. He had spoken. And I understood.

“Zayna?” Zekarus stirred from his slumber. When he saw Shachor, he started from his seat. “Shachor! You are… you are healed!”

“Yes,” I raised the corner of my mouth in a happy—yet sad—smile.

“Something wrong?” the twin joined my side, not missing the strange tone in my voice.

I turned to him, stuck between two worlds. “He… he can send me home.”

“Your… home?” The poor boy looked confused. “But… I thought…”

I shook my head. “I… I’m needed somewhere else.”

Unexpectedly, he took my hand, “Wait. Can’t you stay? Just a while longer?”

Did he have to make this difficult? Biting my lip, I slowly retracted my hands. “I don’t belong here, Zek. Never will. But… I should thank you.”

He stared at me, somewhere between sadness and bafflement.

Stepping backwards, I continued, “I was struggling for a while, wondering if I had what it took to face the enemy. Then I came here—and I fought an army. We fought an army, and we won.” Glancing up to Shachor, I added, “It made me realize that I have so much to fight for, so much to protect. But even if the numbers are piled against me… I can still win. I need to go now, and face my destiny, because if I don’t, then all is truly lost. Even if I have doubts, I’ll fight. If I lose, then at least I lost fighting for what is right.”

I don’t think he understood me, but nonetheless, Zekarus relented. Even if it hurt him. With a diminished voice, he nodded, “You should go, then.”

I smiled, then moved forward to wrap my arms around him. “Thanks, Zek.”

He hugged me tighter, whispering, “Take care, Zayna.”

After we released each other, I turned to Shachor with renewed readiness.

Take me home, Shachor, I nodded to the great dragon.

Shachor leaned over, opening his mouth. His breath stirred my hair, swirling around me in a purple cloud. I guess I could have inserted a joke about dragon’s breath right then, but honestly, I couldn’t smell anything. Soon, I couldn’t see anything. All I could see was swirling mists, and I sensed that Zekarus was no longer at my side. A bright light appeared overhead, momentarily blinding me. When I could open my eyes again, the mist was gone. I stood in a circle of rocky pillars, with a familiar cave right behind me. Birds sang, clouds rolled by, and everything went on as if nothing had changed.

The moment seemed so surreal that I couldn’t decide whether or not I was dreaming. The magic broke, however, when an electronic ringing sounded. It took me a minute to realize what it was: my Xtranciever, ringing from my bag that had somehow appeared next to me. Fumbling with the zippers, I burrowed through and retrieved the device, answering it just before the last ring.

“H-hello?” I stammered into the receiver.

“Zayna! There you are! Where on earth have you been?” Professor Juniper’s laughing face appeared on the screen.

I took my time to answer, pondering over my experience. With a grin, I simply answered, “Just searching my roots.”






*****

END
Or is it?

[FedoraChar]

Char's Christmas Bash

(A.K.A Let’s make everything as awkward as possible and call it a Christmas Party!)


Cast and Crew:

In order of appearance...

Bianca—Black and White rival; appeared in the short Breakeven where she had a heart-to-heart with Cheren

Scylla—Ex-champion Cynthia’s Garchomp; got tortured in An Afternoon Tea Party

Meredith—adorable child who tortured Scylla

Shakor—the complete form of Zekrom and Reshiram, featured in Kingdom 2 Come

Remish—the proud Prince of Truths, brother of Zekarus, from Kingdom 2 Come

Lee—Black-haired, yellow-eyed Psychic who has had several reincarnations in my stories. Most notable appearance is in the RP GCEA Silver, where he fell in with a group of criminals while hunting for the Shadow Man.

Tristan and Ella—the two protagonists of Vatonage. Tristan is a Pokémon Ranger who was captured and tested on by a splinter group of Dim Sun, and was nearly corrupted by Darkrai’s powers. Ella is his girlfriend who saved him from that corruption.

Summer and Ben—canon protagonists of Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs, who were featured as children in Echo Through Time. Here, they are about 15 years old

Aidan Fletcher—my GCEA Ruby character; originally from Unova, he has been on an internship in Hoenn. He has a goofy Mightyena named Shasta

Zekarus—the laid-back Prince of Ideals, brother of Remish, from Kingdom 2 Come; at some point in the past, he received a wound that nearly cost him his leg, leaving him cripple

Cheren—Black and White rival, the main protagonist in Breakeven (a.k.a Sink ALL the Ships) where I may or may not have broken his heart

N—No explainer here. I decided to include him because he’s the star of a short that I have almost finished and will probably post at a later date. And also to torture Cheren some more.

Celestia—A fan-made region used in Pe2k’s Wi-Fi League, where Zayna’s next adventure will take place

Charlotte—Otherwise known as Char; she is quite literally my Pokémon Trainer persona, and made her first appearance in GCEA Red (although she did cameo in GCEA Ruby and Sapphire). Just for the purpose of this story, I unofficially made her Zayna's mother

Zayna White—my personal version of the Black and White protagonist; she’s starred in quite a few short stories, including Breakeven, Kingdom 2 Come, and also starred as my player in the Pe2k Wi-Fi league (also she’s been in a few RP’s… so she’s definitely one of my most used characters).






Bianca stood back, a contemplative frown on her face as she gave the Christmas tree a critical eye. Everything had to be perfect for tonight—especially the tree. It wasn’t every day that everyone was able to get together like this, but more importantly… This would be the first time in years since they’ve seen one of her best friends. Thus, Bianca was determined to make it a reunion to remember.

“Scylla, hun? I think that green orb needs to go a little higher,” she finally determined.

The towering blue-finned dragon she addressed scowled at the order. Scylla glared at the offending green ornament, wondering if smashing it to pieces would be the better solution. The annoying ditsy human girl with the big hat had made her make stupid minor adjustments for the past hour, even after the others had finished decorating it forever ago. Just as she contemplated dropping it, a cough from a long-haired blonde sitting on the couch nearby reminded her of her place. Grudgingly, the Garchomp extracted the ball with her single claw and placed it higher in the tree.

“That perfect!” the girl with the big hat squeaked, waving her hands about giddily. Scylla resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she finally stepped away from the tree… Only to be stopped by a pair of pig-tails.

“Shly-la, Shly-la!” Meredith jumped up and down in place. Her stubby little fists clutched what appeared to be ribbons and mistletoe, and she was waving them around excitedly. “It’s dress-up time!”

The mighty dragon gave a great cry of dismay, and dashed as quickly as she could from the room, with a fearsome six-year old in hot pursuit.

Cynthia chuckled as she watched them go, taking a quick sip from her hot chocolate after. “Bianca, the tree looks gorgeous.”

The younger blonde cocked her head, giving it another look. “You think so?” she asked nervously.

The ex-Champion nodded. “All it needs is the topper, I think. But it looks like you’re one dragon short for that job.”

Allow me.

The two turned as a black and white mass of fur suddenly stirred from its resting place in the corner. How the greater dragon managed to fit in the room still baffled everyone in the building. It stood quite a bit taller than Scylla. Yet the dragon managed to navigate the room, pick up the Jirachi-shaped tree-topper delicately with its snout, and placed it on the tree.

The two women applauded, although the room’s last occupant, a young man with platinum blonde hair, remained as stoic as ever. This, however, was hardly the strangest thing about him. Even though he claimed to be in “casual” attire, the man (along with his brother) wore clothing that could have only come out of the 16th century. A long white cloak was draped over his shoulders, and beneath it was a royal red doublet covered with gold embroidery. He had had a sword with him, but everyone insisted that he leave it at the door.

“I still do not understand how you get the tree to shine like that,” the man shook his head from head to head. “Every instinct tells me it is on fire, but… There is no flame or smoke…”

Bianca offered a weak chuckle. “Well, I’m sure one day you’ll understand, Remish. Thanks, Shakor!”

T’was my pleasure, little one. The dragon grinned. Then, slowly and cautiously, it took its place back in the corner of the room.

“Well,” Bianca clapped her hands together. “That just leaves the…”

She was interrupted by a loud overdramatic sigh as a black-haired youth came into the room. “Puh-lease tell me there’s more excitement in this room. I’m so sick of Tristan and Ella making googly eyes at each other.”

“Lee, you just missed a full-grown, Hall of Fame-entered Garchomp being chased off by a six-year old,” Cynthia replied, amused.

The young man gave a full-hearted laugh at that. “For real? Ah, man, I missed out! All the cool stuff happens when I’m not around.” Striding over to the couch, he flopped onto it unceremoniously. “So what else is new? Did we teach cave man over there how electricity works yet?”

To Lee, the prince’s reaction was funnier than the actual jab. The prince puffed out his chest, his eyes flashing with offense.

“I beg your pardon?” Remish demanded, looking ready to defend his honor.

Bianca laughed uncomfortably, making an obvious attempt to diffuse the situation. Rather awkwardly, she said, “Ah, well… we just finished the tree…”

Lee glanced over at the tree, noticing it for the first time. “Oh, hey, look at that. Nice job, Bee.”

“Were you not supposed to aid in the food preparation?” Remish narrowed his eyes at Lee.

The psychic stared at the prince a moment before turning to Bianca and whispered, “Seriously, where did you get this guy?”

Her response was a mere shrug. To be honest, Bianca wasn’t sure where everyone came from. They just… came.

“Well,” Lee replied with a clipped accent as he straightened, “I was cutteth offeth shorteth from preparing the feast. Zayna’s mom kicked me out of the kitchen for whatever reason.”

“Probably because you were eating all the food,” Cynthia remarked.

“Was not!” Lee retorted with an offended frown. “She’s got plenty of help, anyway. I mean, she’s got those two Ranger kids helping her. What were their names?”

“Summer and Ben,” the ex-Champion reminded him.

“Right. Savanah and Dan. Anyway, when’s this party supposed to start?”

Bianca took in a deep breath, trying to retain her composure. “Whenever Zayna gets here.”

“And that will be… soon, I hope?” the psychic asked hopefully.

“She’ll get here when she gets here, Lee,” Cynthia spoke up for the younger blonde.

Lee heaved yet another exasperated sigh. “Fiiiiine. I’ll just sit here. And be bored.”

Remish, apparently fed up with his presence already, suddenly stood. “I am going to check on my brother, and make sure he is not overtaxing himself.”

“Good idea—Lee, why don’t you go with him?” Bianca suggested innocently enough. Yet by the reaction she got from the two, she might as well have suggested treason.

“Surely you jest?” Remish gave her a hardened look.

“Why?” Lee moaned. “I just sat down…”

Bianca glanced between them, looking helpless. Once again, Cynthia came to her defense. “You can stay,” the blonde ex-champion remarked, “if you really want to. I was just about to ask Shakor for some more history lessons.”

That got the black-haired psychic up on his feet in an instant. “All right, Robin Hood, let’s go find that other knight in shining armor.”

“I did not agree to this,” Remish complained, giving the women a hard look.

“I could ask you some questions as well, if you’d like,” smiled Cynthia slyly.

“…I will take my leave, then,” the white prince of truth gave a short bow. Turning to Lee with hardly disguised disdain, he barked, “Come, psychic.”

Lee wasn’t oblivious to his annoyance; just the opposite. Giving the prince a mock salute, he returned in a deepened voice, “At once, Your Highness.”

Bianca let out a great gust of wind after the two left the room, rubbing her temples furiously. If the night unfolded without a hitch (or without Remish impaling Lee with his sword), it would be a miracle.


*****

Meanwhile, outside the cabin, three figures could be seen emerging from the woods. The first ran before the others, kicking up snow as it dashed to and fro, barking excitedly at every little thing. The other two—a young man in a black cloak and a frail-looking boy with white hair—laughed at the black-and-grey dog’s antics. Behind them, they pulled a sled laden with fresh logs towards the cabin.

“I d-d-don’t think she’s ever seen s-snow before,” the younger boy commented between breaths. Even though the journey had not been a long one, it seemed to have taxed him a little. But the same could be said for his older companion, who tried his best to hide his own handicap: a trick leg that bugged him now and again. The bright smile he wore on his face could have fooled anyone.

“No?” he glanced down at his short companion. “I thought you said you were from the same land as I, Aidan. Is there no snow in the Kingdoms of the future?”

“No, th-there is,” the white-haired boy quickly shook his head from side to side. “B-but, um… Shasta’s from a place called Hoenn, and it never usually s-s-snows there. Its stays warm year-r-round.”

“Truly?” the dark-haired prince mused. “I have always wondered about the lands beyond our own. This Hoenn place sounds lovely.”

“It is…” Aidan bit his lip and nodded, seeming to get distracted with his own thoughts. As the boy grew silent, Zekarus gave him a long side glance. The boy had such a timid nature, and since arriving he had been uncertain around the others. Yet for some reason, he had taken quite a shine to Zekarus. The black-haired twin noticed, of course, and made no objection. All the prince of ideals wanted was to make everyone feel welcomed at this strange place.

Clearing his throat, Zekarus tried to re-spark the conversation. “You know, your Beast reminds me a lot of Zayna’s. It was a lot fluffier, though—and even though it was a girl, it looked like it had this great big mustache that trailed down past its feet.”

A small grin returned to the boy’s face. “That sounds like a Stoutland.”

“I fancy your Shasta will not grow so fine a mustache as that, no?”

Aidan laughed as he couldn’t help but imagine it—a Mightyena with a thick bushel of hair on the tip of its snout. They wouldn’t be so intimidating after that. “No, no… Shasta’s a different species. They’re called Mightyena.”

Hearing her name, the wolf paused in her games and turned back to them, ears erect and tongue lolling from her mouth. Aidan moaned as he noticed all the snow matting her coat.

“Shasta… You’re going to be soaking wet after this… There’s no way Bianca’s going to let you in the house.”

Zekarus peered up as they passed beneath a spruce branch laden with snow. “She might not be the only one you should worry about,” he said casually, glancing forward as if nothing was there.

Just as Aidan was looking up at him in confusion, the prince reached up and tugged on the end of the branch. Instantly, a miniature avalanche of snow rained on the unsuspecting boy.

“H-h-hey!” objected the boy, shaking off excess snow.

Zekarus tried to contain his laughter as he started walking faster in an attempt to get away. Aidan narrowed his eyes at the prince, but he couldn’t hide the grin on his face. Retaliating, the boy scooped up a ball of snow in his hands and chucked it at his friend. His aim was surprising—he hadn’t really expected to hit Zekarus square in the shoulders.

The sled of wood was forgotten in an instant as a snowball fight erupted between the two. Shasta’s excited barking only increased as she raced between the two combatants, chasing stray snowballs or intercepting them altogether. Her outbursts were rivaled by the duo’s own laughter and shouting. In a short while they were all thoroughly pounded with snow, but neither side wanted to back down. Their sport only stopped when a harsh shout sounded out.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Zekarus and Aidan lowered their snowballs and turned to see Zekarus’ older brother glaring at them. To say he looked less than pleased would be a gross understatement. Although Zekarus was hardly bothered, Aidan quickly dropped his snowball in shame, visibly shrinking away from the other prince in shame.

“Ah, brother!” Zekarus slowly turned around with a smile, being careful with his leg. “How goes the preparations?”

Remish ignored the inquiry, his sharp eyes darting from his brother’s snow-powdered cloak to the sled laden with wood. “I thought I told you to take it easy. What were you thinking? You are going to end up injuring yourself.” The pale-haired prince opened his mouth to continue his rant, but he was abruptly cut off short as a snowball exploded on the back of his head.

The only possible culprit smiled impishly, his yellow eyes flashing. Shrugging innocently, Lee remarked, “Whoops. My hand slipped.”

A look of complete fury ignited in Remish’s expression, but just as the prince whirled around on the psychic, another snowball collided with the back of his head. This time, it seemed to have come from a certain white-haired boy’s direction.

Aidan’s eyes grew wide with terror. “I-I-it wasn’t me! I-I swear!”

Lee chuckled as the blue light faded from his eyes. “Yeah, right. You should take responsibility for your actions, kid. Didn’t they teach you that in school?”

“That is enough!” Remish roared. He looked ready to seize the psychic and throttle him with every inch of his life. Luckily for Lee, the prince didn’t have his weapons on him, but he settled for the next best thing. Taking up as much snow as he could in his arms, the prince chucked it at the upstart psychic. The snowball fight started anew as the three older teenagers chased each other around—Remish out for murder while Lee and Zekarus laughed, chucking snowballs indiscriminately. All the while Aidan watched on in complete befuddlement, trying to figure out what had just happened.


******

While their battle waged on, another visitor made their way through the wintry snow towards the cabin. His hands were burden with brown grocery sacks, carrying all the things his absent-minded friend had forgotten for the Christmas party. It was just like her, Cheren sighed, his breath forming a white cloud. Nothing stayed in that girl’s mind for very long; if she wasn’t running late, she was usually forgetting something. Still, something about this felt calculated. Cheren had to wonder if this was all just a ploy to get him to come.

The fledging gym leader paused just before the porch of the cabin. He had no idea what to expect from this unusual party, and he doubly wasn’t sure if he wanted to get caught up in it. He could think of a thousand excuses not to go; running the school and gym in Aspertia carried a lot of responsibility, and currently he had a stack of papers from the League waiting for him back in his office. Surely, they would understand if he made an early exit. Somehow, Cheren knew he wouldn’t be able to leave that easily once he crossed over that welcome mat.

Besides helping his friend Bianca, there was one other reason keeping him here. But it was also the reason why he didn’t want to come. This party was meant to be a joyful occasion, but for Cheren… it would be complicated.

Did he really want to do this?

“The door is unlocked.”

Cheren jumped as someone spoke quickly behind him; even after he recognized the voice, he remained tense. Warily, he turned to see the last person he expected—or wanted—to see.

“Hello, Cheren. It has been a while,” N nodded at him, neither smiling nor frowning. Instead, a look of wariness dominated his expression. As always, Cheren had a hard time understanding him due to how quickly the words spilled out of his mouth. Even after he had a moment to process, the gym leader wasn’t sure what to say. Prior to two years ago, they had been enemies. Now Cheren knew things about N that not many others knew. He would have felt more sympathetic to the gauche outcast, if it weren’t for… Well, it was complicated. Suffice it to say that Cheren was less than excited to see him again.

“What are you doing here?” asked Cheren shortly. He wasn’t trying to sound rude, but he wasn’t going out of his way to be nice, either.

Dressed only in his white jacket, the enigma shrugged, looking hardly bothered by the cold. “I was invited by Bianca to come to a Christmas party. I didn’t really… I never had one before. I was curious.”

Cheren growled inwardly, making a mental reminder to thank Bianca later for her thoughtfulness. “That’s nice,” returned Cheren before turning back to the door. The trainer struggled a moment, juggling the grocery sacks between his hands as reached for the knob.

N watched on, fidgeting uncomfortably. He could sense that something was off about Cheren, but he was as socially inept as ever. It had been easy watching everyone from afar, but now that he was trying to be more… personable… everything was getting more difficult. Should he offer to help, or…?

After Cheren nearly dropped a bag, the green-haired trainer finally spoke up. “Perhaps I can—”

“No,” Cheren growled, leaning up against the door. “I got it. Why don’t you—”

The door suddenly swung in, promptly causing the black-haired gym leader to fall into the entryway.

“Omigosh!” Bianca gasped, hands flying to her mouth as groceries flew everywhere. She started apologizing profusely as she dodged yams and dinner rolls. “Cheren, I am so sorry! I thought I heard someone at the door so I… Oh, N! I was wondering where you got off to.”

Cheren bit his tongue in an attempt to control his temper. As much as he would have liked to give a tongue lashing, this was not the time or place. With forced calm, he picked himself up off the ground and started cleaning up his mess.

“I am so sorry, Cheren,” Bianca repeated, kneeling down to help him. “I’m glad you made it, though! We have a really good turn-out this year! Cynthia showed up with her Garchomp and her little friend. We also had some Rangers show up from Almia and—”

“Is Zayna here yet?” he had to interrupt, knowing she would go on endlessly if he didn’t stop her.

Her face fell for a second. “No… She said the boat leaving Celestia was running a little late… But she’ll be here, doncha worry!”

Straightening up, Cheren frowned. “Why isn’t she flying?”

N entered the cabin, brushing past Cheren and earning a glare. “Isn’t Zekrom still with her?”

Bianca pressed her lips in, fidgeting uncomfortably before jumping back on her feet. “That’s… It’s a little complicated. She’ll explain when she gets here. Anyway, did you remember to buy some egg nog?”

“Egg nog?” Cheren gave her a confused look. “You didn’t mention anything about egg nog.”

Dismay dampened her bright complexion. “Did I forget to tell you? Oh, no!”

“What is egg nog?” inquired N, who was still squeezed between the entry hall’s walls and Cheren. Annoyed, Cheren took his turn to shoulder past him, forcing his way into the kitchen as Bianca struggled with a description of the holiday drink. There, he greeted by Zayna’s mother, Charlotte (better known by her nickname, Char), and the Rangers. He hardly had time to take off his scarf before Summer thrust a mixing bowl into his hands.


*****

The afternoon waned on into the darker hours of the evening. With the preparations coming to a close, the characters gathered together in the family room. The halls were filled with laughter and warm conversation as people who ordinarily wouldn’t have had the chance interacted with each other. Scylla had finally surrendered to Meredith’s mercy, and now sported a wreath of holly over her shark-like head, with green ball ornaments hanging from her horns. But she smiled contently as the child played at her feet with some dolls Cynthia had given her.

Even some of the quieter characters were warming up to the others. Aidan grinned bashfully as he related one of his adventures from Hoenn to Zekarus, Ben, and Summer. Remish himself seemed uncharacteristically mirthful, erupting in laughter as Charlotte shared a joke. Although N tried to socialize, the recluse ended up in the back of the room with Shakor and his own Pokémon. But even there, he seemed comfortable.

Cheren also found himself at ease, catching the contagious mood of the season. Sitting here, gathered around the fire with friends old and new… It was nice. For the moment, he could forget all his worries and live in the now.

Until the doorbell rang.

All conversation stopped as all eyes turned to Bianca. The blonde giddily hopped to her feet, waving her hands excitedly.

“Oh, that must be her!” she said. “Everybody! Places, please! I’ll go get the door!”

The living room was filled with a different kind of sound as everyone got on their feet. Bianca mentally crossed her as she rushed to the front door, hoping that everything would happen as she had planned it. She paused with her hand on the handle, taking a breath before she opened the door. Even though she tried to keep collected, she couldn’t help but squeal with joy as her best friend appeared before her.

Meanwhile, the living room lights had been turned off, waiting for Bianca’s return.

“Are they coming yet?” Lee whispered impatiently, only to be hushed by someone.

“You’re stepping on my foot,” Ella hissed soon after, earning a quick apology from Zekarus.

Meredith whimpered, complaining, “I don’t like the dark…”

“Just hold on for a second, sweetie. They’ll—”

“Lee! Stop fidgeting!”

“Hey, people! We’re supposed to be quiet, here!”

Just as another hush hissed through the darkness, two shapes appeared in the entry way. In an instant, Bianca switched on the lights. After a few seconds of delay, the group shouted “Merry Christmas!” as they held up their signs, which spelt…

WELCOWE HOME!

“Lee!” Bianca snapped at the psychic incredulously.

“Whaaat?” The spiky-haired young man called back. Glancing down at his sign, he realized his mistake. “Whoops,” he sheepishly grinned as he flipped his M right-side up.

Even as Bianca slapped herself in the forehead, the room erupted in laughter. Regardless of the mistake, the young woman she had escorted into the room held her hands up to her mouth, her eyes glinting with emotion.

“Did you guys do all this for me?” Zayna blinked. “Wow, I… I don’t know what to say!”

Her mother broke from the formation, tears filling her eyes as she moved forward to embrace her. “Welcome home, sweetie,” she repeated as she threw her arms around her daughter.

Zayna had tears of her own as she returned the hug. “Thanks, Mom…”

Other characters started throwing aside their signs and made to move forward—first of most, Lee noted, three very anxious looking young men—but Bianca quickly held up her hands.

“Wait! Wait… Um… there’s something everyone needs to know before we, uh… get too far…”

“What is it?” Zekarus frowned, freezing in his steps.

Zayna parted from her mother, slowly moving her gaze across the group before her. Cheren watched her warily, sensing that something was off. When her eyes reached his, they held for a moment. He wasn’t sure what he expected to see in it. Pain? Guilt? But no, there was nothing. In fact, she looked confused.

Taking a breath, Zayna announced, “I… I kinda had an accident, and… Well, I’ve lost my memory.”


*****

Memory loss. Two years of silence, and that’s the excuse she uses. Cheren sat on the couch, staring holes into the carpet as he sorted through his thoughts. Bianca had explained everything. Sometime after her departure, Zayna crossed the seas and encountered a fierce battle between a band of treasure hunters and a powerful legendary Pokémon. She and Zekrom tried to stop the hunters, but the legendary had created a storm that wiped out everything. Zayna ended up separated from all her Pokémon and Zekrom.

She woke up on the shores of a region called Celestia with a bad case of amnesia. Cliché, but it had happened. In hopes of restoring her memory, she embarked on a new journey, raising an entirely new team from scratch. Bits of her past came back to her in small episodes along the way, until her adventure escalated in an explosive conflict with the treasure hunters. While there are still patches in her memory, she remembers where she grew up, who her friends were.

She just struggles to remember everything about her first journey. And all that came after it.

Cheren rubbed his temples, heaving a sigh. Was this a blessing, or a curse?

“Hey,” a voice interrupted his inner turmoil. The black-haired youth glanced up to see the young woman in question looking down at him with a small, uncertain smile. Cheren didn’t return the smile. He looked at her, expression impassive.

“My turn, is it?” he said. Bianca had told everyone not to crowd Zayna all at once, but that she would visit them one-on-one at her own leisure.

The former champion frowned at his response, but took the seat next to him without asking. That was just how she was, though—not bothering with formalities and preferring to get to the point. Something about her motion seemed hesitant, however. Almost awkward, which was hardly her style.

“So, Bianca told me you’re a gym leader now,” she started, crossing her legs. Cheren noticed she started bouncing her foot, a habit she had whenever she got nervous.

“Yes. In Aspertia. I also teach there,” he answered, but offered no further words.

“Wow. A teach too, huh?” She gave a short, uncomfortable laugh. “I pictured you doing something like that. You always were the smartest one out of all of us.”

“So you remember that much?” His tone was bitter, and he knew it. He should have done better to hide it, but he was tired. Tired of being at this stupid party. Tired of listening to everyone’s happy chatter. Tired of all the worry. All the anger.

Zayna’s frown deepened. A few moments of silence passed between them, making Cheren regret everything. He felt that he should apologize, but for some reason he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the floor. Finally, Zayna broke the suspense and spoke in a low tone.

“Look… There’s a lot I still don’t remember, but…” She paused, her brows furrowing as she struggled to find the right words. “But I get the feeling that I did something to upset you.”

Cheren stared at her warily. Did she remember after all?

She continued, choosing her words with obvious care. “I don’t know what it was, but I just want to say right now that whatever it was, I’m sorry.”

No, she didn’t remember. Cheren held back another sigh, one that would have been a mix of relief and grief. He glanced across the room, past all the happy guest to the few lingering in the shadows. Remish and Zekarus sat with their dragon, the younger brother looking oddly crestfallen. Beside them, talking to the legendary Beast, was N.

Two years, and Cheren had accepted what had happened. Two years, and now everything was upside down again. Old feelings he had locked away were stirring again as he sat beside his old friend, but all they brought was pain. He had to push away all the stupid thoughts that plagued him. This was not a second chance. Zayna’s memory was fickle, and could return at any time. And when it did, he would be right back where he started.

A movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned to see Bianca shooing Lee from the kitchen, who had a suspicious amount of chocolate smeared across his face. The psychic was laughing, and Cheren could tell Bianca likewise was having a hard time trying not to laugh. She had a hard time staying mad at anyone for too long, and was always eager to forgive and forget.

You are as happy as you allow yourself to be, she once said.

What was he doing? He had been so caught up with his own feelings that he had forgotten what this time of season was all about. Being with friends and family, celebrating life and counting their blessings. This was a time for thankfulness, for new beginnings. Bianca had gone through all this trouble to remind all of them of that. Who was he to drag it all down?

He should be grateful. After two years, Zayna had finally returned to them. Her memory might have been damaged, but she remembered what mattered. And now, she could make new memories to replace those she lost. This was a new beginning, Cheren realized. Not for him, but for her. If he truly was her friend, then he should be trying his best to make this Christmas memorable.

It was time to forgive, and forget.

Cheren allowed a small smile, silently thanking Bianca for yet another life lesson. Then, turning back to Zayna, he responded, “There’s nothing to forgive, Zayna. I’m glad that you’re back home safe.”

Her smile glowed. “I’m glad to be back. Thanks for being here.”

He held his grin, reaching over and lifting his mug up from the floor. “Merry Christmas, Zayna.”

Visibly relaxing, Zayna reached for her own mug and clicked it against his. “Merry Christmas, Cheren.”