Silver surveyed the pitiful collection of berries. There was the Nanab berries, which were virtually useless, accept to fill one's belly when food was scarce. There was an abundance of Oran berries, but most of them had been there for at least a week. Their once vibrant royal blue skin, fuzzed and leathery once, had begun to stretch and scrunch together, signaling the aging of the fruit. There was one lonesome Aspear berry left, but like the Oran berries it too was quickly losing its drive to live. Silver twitched his ear in annoyance, realizing he would need to stock up for winter. "You were right," he muttered, "we really are low on fruit." The meowth resting in a nest behind him nodded her head, tail twitching. "I only told you a thousand times, and now if you don't hurry they'll all be snatched up by everyone else." Silver realized he and his mate, Nisa, weren't the only Pokémon interested in stocking up on the precious fruit. Winter was creeping just around the corner, ready to drop its flurry of feathered snowflakes on every tree branch and every frozen leaf that it could. "I don't understand why we need to get berries anyway; we can survive the winter perfectly fine without them." Nisa gave another irritable twitch of her tail. "We have kittens remember? Kanto kittens, that means they'll be prone to frostbite much more than you and I will be. Aspear berries will prevent hyperthermia and colds, if we can find them," she meowed impatiently. Silver sighed and nodded, giving him. There was no use in grumbling or complaining to his mate. "Want to share an Oran berry with me?" he offered. His mate had been irritable lately, but Silver knew it was just because she was fretting over the new kittens that would be coming. Although they planned to have children at some point, they hadn't meant for it to happen right when winter was coming. "Alright," she breathed, "I need to keep my strength up anyway." Nisa got up, here belly bulged with an expecting kitten, and padded over to lay next to Silver. She took the first bite of the juicy fruit, with Silver following and enjoying the tart slightly sweet taste of the berry.
They'd just about finished the berry when a sharp beep sounded not too far in the distance. The beep was unfortunately familiar; nonetheless both Silver and Nala had nearly been frightened out of their pelts. "Boy, that never gets old, does it!" Nisa growled in exasperation. Silver looked up miserably and nodded in agreement, wherever that noise was coming from was beyond him. "It rained last night," he noted above the noise. "I'll go get the rainwater before the weather freezes it." Nisa nodded, "good idea, afterwards you should go and try to find more Aspear berries!" Silver nodded and scrambled towards the exit of their den with the burning sound of the beeping still shaking his eardrums. He popped his head out from just under an Ash tree and scoped his surroundings before latching his teeth around a leaf filed with rain water. Before taking in the rocking shaky bundle, he gingerly binded the ends of the leaf together and prepared to go back inside his den when he heard a scuffling noise. Meowths were hunters, rarely preyed upon by others. Although somewhere in the back of his mind, Silver was aware of those that hunted him. Creeping back with the weight of a single feather in his paws, he slowly backed back into his den and glared out into the branches. Instead of a crazed Pokémon, a creature stepped one delicate paw out instead, cradling a type of fruit in its mouth. Silver blinked. He'd never seen it before, was it some sort of Pokémon? Well of course, it had to be, but what type of Pokémon was that? It dropped it to the ground upon realizing the lack of danger in the air. It's body was noticeably fluffed with an aspen grey that feathered into a charcoal color at the tips of its ears and paws. The faintest hint of auburn peppered the scruff of the creature, with some white hues scattered throughout the hairs on its pelt. It's nose twitched ever so often, causing its white whiskers to dusk the soil on the ground as it did. Its eyes were a mix of fawn and raw umber color. It was clear that the creature was lithe, thin and energetic and possessed athletic energy in its powerful hind legs. Then it dawned on him, he wasn't looking at a Pokémon at all, he was looking at an animal. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the name, it was either a rabbit or a hare.
But what was an animal doing here? They were incredibly rare and for most, a once in a lifetime opportunity. He sketched backwards and tried to remember what little he knew, and came to understand that animals were considered mainly extinct accept fish which even then were extremely rare delicacies for the rich to have as pets. The rabbit or hare glanced up and looked art him directly in the eye, twitched its nose, and then lay down in a relaxed position. Silver suddenly noticed what the rabbit had at its paws, that being no other than an Aspear berry. He gritted his teeth; of course it had to be an Aspear berry! And probably the last one at that. Even so, silver didn't forget the magic of meeting such a rare creature before slinking back into his den.
"You'll never guess what I just saw!" Silver purred luxuriously, sitting the leaf of water next to the collection of berries. "As Aspear berry?" Nisa replied sarcastically. "Nope, a rabbit!" "A what?" "An animal, you know, those things that used to live a long time ago, like fish and stuff. I met one of them, and it was a rabbit type." Nisa nodded, but still looked confused. "Did you get any Aspear berries?" Silver felt a little annoyed, can't she enjoy the little things in life? "No, it was eating one though." Nisa grumbled under her breathe, "probably the last one I bet. Can't you see if you can find any more?" Silver nodded, feeling a tad dishearted but swallowing it down as he left the den. As expected, the rabbit was still perched in a bundle of fur, its muscles relaxed and resting. Silver crept forward, looking at the rabbit closely. He licked his jaws and flexed his muscles. If he could catch it, than Nisa would be interested then provided he also brought back Aspear berries. He knew she must have been at least a little curious, at least for what it tasted like. Placing feather-light paws in front of him, Silver slowly crept closer to the unsuspecting animal. With less than a few strides left before the final death-delivering pounce, the rabbit suddenly perked its ears and made a wild dash in the opposite direction. Blinking in confusion, Silver set off in an awkward chase. If he couldn't catch it, at least he could figure out where it lived or if it had a den at all. Then an odd scent tickled his sense of smell. Blood? He thought warily. He was certain he could scent the metallic rotten tang of blood in the air, but where would that be coming from?
Ears erect and tail barely an inch above the ground, Silver inched forward and peered behind a bush blocking his view. His heart nearly stopped cold in his chest. It was a houndoom, but the creatures as he remembered were normally well-fed and strong carnivores. This one, Silver noticed, seemed sick and disoriented. It's fur, which were normally jet slack and sleek, where ragged and unkempt. It's eyes seemed distant and glazed, showing a lack of health in them and hiding something dark in their depths. It's pelt was stretched across bony thin ribs, and it's pegs seemed nothing but a long bone with a fragile skin wrapping around them. Most noticeably, Silver realized, was the stench of blood around the muzzle of the houndoom. Cold blood, stale of age, stained its paws and speckled it's bony shackles around its ankles. A shiver of shrill terror dumped down Silver's spine, what in the world was wrong with this houndoom?
Before the question could be answered, the houndoom threw its neck back and howled a bark of frenzy. It stood up with old bones shaking to bear its own weight, and shrank down to vomit. Silver had to take a leap back at the sudden action. If Silver wasn't in terror now, he didn't know what else could phase him. The vomit, he realized, was moving. Living… he blinked. It had maggots in it. The houndoom was clearly sick, and poised to do much more than it already had. It was ready to kill the first thing it had in sight. With his tail floating in the breeze behind him, Silver fled with the hot pump of muscle behind him. The houndoom had already given chase.
With tiny paws hitting the ground in sharp energetic pumps, and with another pair of rough heated pads gracing the ground behind him, Silver fled through the forest with the houndoom chasing shortly behind. Although Silver was quicker and agile, terror had already made his paws numb and had quickly weakened the power behind his stride. Focusing his eyes clearer, Silver noticed a flash of ash grey and a puffy tail in front of him. Knowledge struck him like an Arcanine's teeth into his neck. The houndoom wasn't after him, it was after the rabbit. But if I stopped, would the houndoom be so involved in the chase that it would attack me? He kept his pace, not willing to give the second option a chance. Fast and nimble in its step, the Rabbit had ducked under a fence leading to a sandy and dusty clearing beyond. With power building in his hind paws, Silver made a leap over the fence, gripping slippery paws over a piece of finely-shaved wood. With a last push of effort, Silver managed to spring off the fence and onto the other side. Exhaustion scratching at his muscles, Silver made a last bound to huddle behind a bush. He wasn't going to stand around waiting for his fur to get ripped off until he knew he was completely safe. Wrapping his tail around his paws, Silver let a last shudder ripple through his fur before his heart began to slow back to its normal pace. What in the world was wrong with that houndoom? A quiver of empathy nipped his pelt. Why did it vomit such terrible things? What happened?
Before any more thoughts could enter his mind, a squeal of agony erupted behind the bush. Silver wrapped his tail tighter around his paws and felt the shivers of fear begin to creep back into his fur. Slowly placing paws in front of him, he glanced behind the thick scratchy leaves of the bush. The houndoom had managed to get its teeth on the rabbit, just before it was able to make its final dash into safety. The houndooms teeth strengthened, causing the rabbit to make one last squeal before it was cut off from loss of breathe. Blood had begun to sting down its pelt, and once again Silver felt a stab of sympathy. He quickly turned back behind the cover of the bush and gave a lash of his curled tawny colored tail. This was no time to be feeling bad for other Pokémon. He needed to think about how HE was going to escape. With determination strengthening his paws, he began to make a light and careful pace towards the fence again.
"Coward," a fierce growl stopped him cold in his tracks. He pivoted his paws, facing his attacker with tensed muscles only to find an empty space of sand and weeds. A thud of four nimble paws landed behind him, causing Silver to whip back around. "Only the weak run!" she accused. His attacker, he realized, was a much stronger and healthier houndoom. Her eyes were vibrant and pulsated a burning crimson. Lean and exercised muscles rippled under her sleek jet black fur. Confidence and dominance sang from the way she posed, from the way she tranced in her step. She parted her lips to expose knife-like cornsilk canines, "you'll never survive here." Silver let yet another shudder ripple down his spine; her smirk was nothing less of malicious and ominous. "Out of my way! I'm not interested!" Silver growled, hoping his fear hadn't stuttered his words. "Peace, please. We aren't much different if you look past your ignorance. You thought you were done with life's hardships? Child, we are never free. Devils always walk the footsteps we leave behind in our lives, feeding off of our despair." She set her entrancing eyes deep into Silver's. "You look at me and see an enemy. But looks can be deceiving, can't they? Everyone is always saying the caged bird sings. Who's to say it isn't crying? Who's to say it doesn't spend it's nights weeping like a child separated from its mother, wondering why it would never have the free life that those birds it always saw in the window did. And we always thought it was singing because we were blind to the tears?"
Silver felt the need to run as fast as he could to the fence, out in the forest, back to his den, huddling in his nest again. Instead his feet remained seemingly glued to the ground. "Very philosophical," he meowed sarcastically. "Look, I have a mate, I have kittens. I'll do anything if you'd let me leave with what I came with, I really didn't mean to come in here. I'll leave food at the mouth of your home if you'd like, even during winter when a full belly is scarce-"he was cut off from his offer. "I do not belong with those other houndoom you saw earlier. I am not connected to this building, I am my own and that's all there is to it," she barked indignantly. "You believe too strongly in deception, would you allow me to treat you to both?" Silver cringed and took a kitten-sized step back. The houndoom was obviously not actually offering and if anything, was giving him a prod of humorous broken courtesy. "Well hun? I don't have all day," she growled with menacing teeth bared in the beginning of a snarl. "I have no choice," he meowed tartly, "I'll have to accept."
The houndoom gave another satisfied smirk, which seemed to be the default of her face when given no other emotion to express. "Smart you are, for a coward," she joked rudely before padding to the bushes. "Although adrenaline has a crazy way of banishing common sense. You may be a hero after all." Silver pelt the normal pang of guilt in his stomach. "I'm no hero. I've tried to be before, but trust me when I say I'm not meant to be any hero." A nod and flick of an arrow-shaped tail followed. "Patience," she replied, "and see what's beyond this bush." Silver felt suspicion brush his pelt the wrong way, but there was no backing out now. He knew if he even tried to set paw toward the fence, it would be met with teeth around his neck. With a spark of curiosity being just barely enough to drive him, he padded forward and rested his paws gingerly on the leaves of the bush, peering over. He had to blink a few times to realize there was now two houndooms on the other side, where the first one had managed to pin the rabbit down. The second was notably shorter with small, dull corns crowning her head. She seemed to be in a much healthier state with a skinny but well-fed body and sharpened claws ending each toe. Silver did notice, however, the way she bent her head and tail in a submissive awkward manner, and how she seemed to have a tired and disinterested expression behind ruby eyes.
"They grew in numbers," he remarked. "That they did," the she-houndoom beside him nodded with knowledge behind her words. "That one is the first one's lover." A sparkle shone in the mouth of the second houndoom, shocking Silver even further. "She has a master ball!" he gasped. A master ball, he recalled, was one of if not THE most valuable and rare Pokéball of all. "But why?" The houndoom next to him seemed to be growing impatient with his constant questions. "That rabbit is very important to them." Silver's mind buzzed with the electric pulse of questions, but before he could ask he was interrupted by a blinding light. It was a sheer Aureolin-golden yellow, like a healthy corn stalk, which made his eyes hurt from its sheer intensity. He had to bit back a sudden reaction which would end in his feet already halfway across the forest, but Silver didn't know what lay behind such intense light was going to be the most exciting thing he'd seen that day.
Replacing the rabbit under the strong paws of the ill houndoom lay an injured, rare Mew.
Date: 1963, 32 years ago.
John heaved a heavy sigh, his hearing angled at the old rusted clock ticking above his head. Once it hit 12:00 exactly, he would have to be on his way to the principles office. Despair cradled his heart, a feeling he seemed used too. This wasn't the first time he would go to the office, and not the last. It's not my fault, he thought to himself grimly, I just have a lot of pent up emotions that I can't keep under lock and key. John had been sent to the office for another fight in class as of per usual. The bell soon rang, distracting his thoughts. Kids shot out of their classrooms, jabbering about their new pet Flaffy that their mom or dad had gotten them as a present, or how he or she had snuck a chocolate bar into their packed lunch today. John felt his heart crack open like a Pokémon egg, with all the contents inside gushing out and exposed to anything that wanted to take a peck at it. He so longed to be so carefree, but he knew his world was always set on a straight line that ended in flames. His feet guided him forward, his breath catching in his throat. If he could just manage to get to the principal's office then he would be free. He wouldn't have to confront Drake, and it wouldn't have to pay this time.
John crept across the hallway, blending into the pack of kids as he did so. Just a few more hallways and I'll be there. Then a voice cut him short. It was Drake of course, doing his usual rounds of bullying. This time, his victim was a little blond girl, her long hair tied back in a messy ponytail. Even though her stance was still and fearless, her face was blushed in embarrassment and it became clear she was trying to hold back a burst of tears that would confirm her weakness to her enemy. "So look," Drake grumbled slyly, his hands pinning her to the lockers with no means of a quick escape. "All you have to do is tell people we're going out, and if you can do that, I won't tell anybody that you buy from me." The girl was red with floods of shame and regret and guilt, making John feel a stab of sympathy for her. The girl's name was Georgia, and John recognized her as the girl with the highest grades and most strict manners. He hadn't realized or even considered that she would be buying from Drake as well. If her secret was given up, her parents would shred her alive. Dropping his backpack to the ground, John kept his ears and eyes peeled for any more noises as he fished through the contents of his bag. This was no time to try and play hero-from-across-the-hall. In his bag was a thick fuzzed jacket with an oversized hood perched around the hole where the head would go through. John quickly slipped the jacket over his head and placed the hood covering his face, finishing by kicking his backpack under the lockers making it hidden. Fear gripped him, but Drake was distracted with Georgia. If he could just walk casually undetected past them, he could walk straight to the office right under Drake's nose.
Although his spirit shook and his legs trembled, he walked into the cold breeze of the hallway and down the path. Drake wasn't fooled though; he had looked at him suspiciously which passed immediately to understanding and contempt. Releasing the girl to escape down the other end of the hallway, he reached out a menacing hand and drug John back by the hood of his jacket. Flailing from the sudden action, John stumbled and nearly fell on the floor, nevertheless falling to Drakes mercy. "There you are, I was beginning to get the idea that you transferred to a separate school to avoid me," he joked casually. "I'm guessing you don't have the money I wanted?" John felt bolted to the floor as reality crept into his brain; he hadn't paid for two weeks yet kept getting supplies anyway. Drake, of course, had cracked down on him and demanded payment. "No, I just don't have the money yet okay? But you'll get it; just give me a couple more weeks!" He begged, feeling his pride leak onto the floor like oil into an ocean. Drake looked skeptical, but seemed to shrug it off. "You're my best costumer, and you've been for over a year. I can't afford to not believe you, but you're really throwing me in a tough spot, you know that?" Drake grumbled. Fishing through his pocket, Drake pulled out a small bag filled with something white and powdery. Relief trickled through him; Drake was going to give him the cocaine anyway, despite being hundreds of dollars behind his payment. Grabbing it quickly, John tucked the bag in his back pocket and felt the heat of possible capture bare down on him. "Just get out of here, before we get caught," Drake growled before turning and walking quickly to the exit as if nothing had happened.
John felt his hands numb in the chill breeze of approaching winter. Even with the nip of frost at his reddened fingertips, he fished around in a box next to him and took out a handful of Pidgey food. Three or four Pidgeys were pecking at the ground; flapping their wings and cawing like the small pieces of corn and grain were destined to be their last meal. John wearily tossed the corn bits onto the frozen ground, where the Pidgey's seemed ready to kill in order to get the pieces of food. Guilt for buying more cocaine seeped into his chilled bones, causing him to stuff his numb hands into his fluffed jacket and huddle together in a small bundle of a broken boy. He was only thirteen years old, yet he felt like he had already made so many people ashamed of him. He looked to the sky, watching the last beams of honey-sweet sunshine wash across the land before ebbing into a sharp display of green, blue, red, orange and yellow hues. A blur of a different set of colors caught his eye though, distracting him from the sunset. The creature was densely fluffed with a piquant color arrangement of coffee brown fur with mint cream tipping its tail and styling its neck. It was an Eevee, and recognizably one of the rarest of non-legendary Pokémon. Its tiny paws were pounding across the stone-hard ground, its eyes lit with the excitement of rebellion in its auburn-colored irises. Cleary the Eevee was doing something it was forbidden to do, but to the mischievous little Pokémon, that was what brought the tang of adrenaline into its stride.
With a bark of defiance, the Eevee called its name into the dehydrated air and launched itself into the bundle of Pidgey's in front of John. The Eevee had been a hair's length away from landing its sharp claws into the birds back, but the Pidgey had been able to climb into flight just in time, despite losing a few tail feathers. Pivoting its body around, fur flying free in the crisp breeze, the Eevee bared its deep in a snarl that was more playful than threatening to the remaining Pidgey's. Spitting what John would assume to be some pretty hurtful curse words at the Eevee, the remaining Pidgey's abandoned their free food and wisped away without any intention to bring it into a battle. The Eevee was gleaming with pride in its achievement, lifting its chin tall and tail erect despite the wind sending ripples through its thick coat. Sending itself in a proud prance, a crackle sounded sickly under the Eevee's paw. It had stepped on a corn chip John realized, but the Eevee was clearly spooked and confused. Lifting its paw, the Eevee sniffed at its injured foot and notably lost all of its snobby pride from before.
"Eevee, Eevee where are you?" A voice suddenly called in the distance. The Eevee, although looking taken aback and ready to flee, clearly thought better of running while his foot was injured. Instead it made a long eerie squeal with the last three letters of its name, and waited for its owner to turn and find it. The one calling it was a girl who was the same age as him, John noticed, with a face showing worry for his lost Pokémon. Her hair was a dirty blond and cut perfectly just above her shoulders, held firmly in place by a small ivory-colored winter hat. Beside her rosy-red cheeks, flushed from the cold, her skin was fair and sported a touch of peaches and cream to it. She had a small button nose with bright scarlet lips, bangs to her eyebrows and eyes a soft spring bud green. Upon hearing her Eevee squeal its name, she turned with a face of relieved anxiety to see the Pokémon a few feet away. Once she had reached the bench where John was sitting, she knelt to her knees and hugged the Eevee with kindness in her touch. "There you are, are you hurt?" she murmured as she stroked the fur along the Eevee's back, soothing it. The Eevee nodded with a touch of sadness in her bark and held up her paw. "What happened?" she asked as if the Eevee could communicate back, but thankfully the problem was quite obvious. Small pieces of crushed corn lay on the ground for the Pidgeys, and a small piece of corn was clearly lodged in the Eevee's foot.
"It's just a scratch, it can shake it off," John mumbled under his breath. The girl looked up as if she never noticed he was there, and mumbled a shy thanks before returning her gaze back upon her Eevee. "You know," John grumbled, "what kind of a trainer loses their Eevee? They're rare, you're lucky someone like me didn't come up and take it." The girl got up and abruptly put her hand out for a shake. "I'm sorry if she caused you trouble, this is actually my neighbors Eevee. We're good friends, so I wanted to help him find it. My names Christine, call me Christy," she huffed. John hesitated for a moment before returning a handshake, "Johnny, call me John." Nodding, she sat down on the bench. "Wanna be friends?" She asked casually. John felt a little queasy. He didn't have friends, and really had no intention of making any. The girl- Christy- seemed too well-behaved to be hanging around someone like him. "Uh, sure I guess," he mumbled just above a whisper. The girl smiled, "here's my phone number." She quickly took out a piece of shredded paper with writing already on it, flipped it over and took a pen out of her trainer's backpack. John was a little taken aback by her perfect cursive, as opposed to his own sloppy handwriting. "Are you going to become a Pokémon trainer?" he asked as she jotted down the numbers. "I don't know," she confessed, "I want to be. But with every other kid and all my friends constantly talking about it with twice as much energy for it, I can't hardly find the hope that I'll ever make it out there." John nodded, surprised how far she was thinking ahead. "What about you?"
John shrugged, "I guess I feel the same way. My granddad fought in the military and my dad's really into that sort of thing too. He keeps bugging me about it; how he was going to get into the military if he could and said that it was a man's duty to serve his country if he ever hoped to find honor in himself. He talks about it like it's the best thing in the world. I don't think so but I don't want to let him down." Christy nodded, looking a little cautious. "I don't know your dad so I can't be sure, but I'm confident he won't blame you or consider you anything less if you don't follow exactly in his footsteps," she offered. "You should tell him you were born to make something of yourself on your own accord, and that you need to find your own path and what YOU consider to be the greatest honor. That's what really matters." John considered that piece of advice, but before he could reply he heard Christy get up from the bench and hand over the paper she was holding. "Call me if you ever need someone to talk to. I'm a great listener. Listen, I've got to return this Eevee, my neighbors must be worried sick. Same place, tomorrow, if you want?" John bit the bottom of his lip, and nodded tentatively, "tomorrow then. Same place, same time." The two slapped their hands together in a popular trainer's handshake- one which was considered a social convention after a hard battle to celebrate one's gracious win and the other's gracious defeat. "Deal," she gave one last smile before turning and walking off with one Eevee in tow.
*Silver's P.O.V*
Blood trickled down the Mew's thigh, turning her apricot fur into a warm auburn crimson.
Silver could smell its hot scent like a slash across his throat, although he did notice the distinct difference between the blood of his prey and the blood of a legendary Mew. The blood of the Mew had a sort of aftertaste in its scent, stinging his nose with an aroma almost twice that of any normal blood. The liquid life of the Mew almost smelt sweet, as if liquefied flower petals had ran through its veins instead of the fowl red liquid of other Pokémon. "I suppose this is it," the Mew gasped. "I suppose I'll miss this, the thrill of the chase I mean. How I used to always be one step ahead, but I got careless this time around." The mew sounded utterly defeated, and Silver could tell there wasn't only a wound on its leg, but across its broken heart. "But I won't go down like this, I refuse to be phased." If the houndooms were listening, they gave no sign that they were or even cared about the noble words of the warrior that stood in front of them. The she-houndoom stepped forward with the Master ball cradled in her mouth. "Legendaries live sheltered lives," the Mew went on boldly. "I would have preferred freedom over this outcome, any day, but that goal was an empty one. From the day of my birth, I was informed that I would always be hunted for, because I held the power that most could only dream of in my possession. We are pursued not for the determination in our spirits or the willingness to serve our leaders, we are hunted often brutally or mercilessly for someone else's gain." The Mew growled grimly, so that every word was filled with pure emotion. "I can take it with grace if I have too, although I must admit, there will always be shame in my heart for the rest of my days." Before anymore could be said, the she-houndoom stepped forward and pressed the master ball to the nose of the Mew. The deactivation device was immediately launched, and a dark electric light reached out to grab the crippled Mew and pull it into the containment unit of the master ball. Silver had to squint his eyes to make out the mew, now miniaturized, inside the ball. It seemed to have fallen like a true warrior, making no effort to try to escape an inevitable fate.
"They've got it," Silver whispered more to himself than the she-houndoom beside him, "that's incredible." Confusion gripped him, forcing his mind to spin in a tornado of questions. "But why? Why were they so desperate? Who are they working for?" The houndoom merely shrugged and rose to her paws, walking past him. "I suppose I know, but why spoil the fun?" Silver suppressed a stirring up rise of suspicion and agitation at the houndoom. It was so painfully obvious that she was planning something, yet she thought she had him completely fooled and under her control. He felt his pride melt like a block of ice in the pit of his stomach; she did have him under control. The houndoom let a spring follow her step as she made her way to a bunch of bushes growing to the side, which were helping in sheltering their eavesdropping. She craned her neck and gripped a round orb in her mouth, an evil smile crossing her lips. Silver felt a stab of sudden fear and suspicion course through him from ears to tail tip. She had been hiding it there, but what type of orb was it? And why was she showing it to him? "What's that?" she growled, not even trying to hide his immense suspicion. Her response didn't come in words, but in action. With a swift crashing down of one paw, she smashed the orb into a pile of glass and splinters. Silver blinked in surprise, he knew exactly what the orb was for, but he didn't expect her to be so cruelly open and obvious about her technique. Moments later he felt the strength in his arms and legs go limp, forcing him to crash to the ground. Any sort of muscle tone he had ever built all his life had left him, gone with the breeze that swept through the trees and bushes around him. Smoke arose from the paralysis powder and technology that had been crushed under paw, along with some glass fragments that had been splintered fine enough to be lifted with the breeze. "That was a paralysis orb," she mused with derision. "As the name implies, it puts those in the same room as the user, in this case around the bushes, in a paralysis state." Silver felt a growl rise in him, but he suppressed it. He knew it was coming all along, but he couldn't help but feel cut deep with anger at the pure satisfaction in her voice, as if she thought she'd completely fooled him. "I thought you weren't with the other houndoom," he growled. The houndoom looked suddenly menacing; Silver could feel the cold and dark blowing through her fur. She came within inches of his face, making Silver feel a faint slice of panic and foreboding that he didn't feel before. Was she going to kill him on the spot, or was she just taunting him, making sure he knew who was in power? "And I didn't lie," she hissed with venom behind her words.
Emerging from the thick cover of the trees lay a clearing free of any flora or fauna. Where there was once nutrient-rich soil, fed by the death and growth of a million trees before it, laid dehydrated sand and water-starved dust and grit. The most obvious and central point part of the view was the giant building in front of his eyes. It was painted with a thick coating of licorice black and extended more than twice as big as any Pokémon gym he'd ever seen. A much smaller building stood firmly across the clearing, much closer to him than the building was. To the right was an outdoor battlefield, but it seemed to be unused and mostly forgotten. The large expanse of sand between the smaller building and the bigger building seemed teaming with life and energy. Several men with either walking to and fro from the smaller building to the bigger, talking casually around the open or battling Pokémon fiercely. Silver wanted a moment to take it all in, but wasn't given a second to swallow as the houndoom pushed him forward. He was being held by the scruff by the houndoom, with the two other houndooms following with the Mew in the female's mouth.
Once they had crossed the sandy area and walked up near the door he was allowed to walk again, although the houndooms noticeably formed a tighter body shield around any means of escape, making running away impossible. "Sit," the she-houndoom from earlier ordered under her breath. Silver sat, what was the point of arguing? Instead he decided to take the moment to examine his surroundings more closely. There were a few battles going on, but they were obviously only practice battles judging by the way each Pokémon seemed to put little energy in their attacks and dodged most of the time. Silver had to admit though, for a practice battle the Pokémon battled with as much fierce precision and dedication to satisfy their trainers as any real battle would. He took notice of one particular battle between a Golduck and a Bulbasaur. The advantage was obviously to the grass type, however the Golduck seemed to be more at ease and quicker on its webbed feet than the Bulbasaur was prepared for. The Golduck began with the move Confusion at the word of its trainer, obviously trying not to take up time in trying to get closer right off the bat. The Bulbasaur was quick on its feet however, extending a Vine Whip attack of two in opposite directions. Wrapping its vines around the trees, it was able to keep itself grounded despite the force of the confusion attack. The Golduck seemed momentarily wary and taken aback, however its trainer didn't seem phased in the slightest. With a swift movement of his hand for emphasis, the trainer ordered his Golduck for a Water Pulse attack with extra power. The Golduck opened its beak-like mouth as tiny droplets of moisture began to cling together like magnets until it formed a ball of liquid. With physic power influencing it, the ball of liquid was sent whipping through the air directly toward the bulbasaur. The bulbasaur bunched its muscles and prepared a grand leap with all the power it could muster in its powerful hind legs, but the water pulse was too quick for it. With a direct attack, the Bulbasaur was sent flying with a yowl of protest escaping its gaping mouth. With its vines wrenched from the trees, the Golduck saw its opportunity in the open again. With a call of a scratch attack from its owner, the Golduck used the bulbasaur's dizzy state to charge in with a powerful physical attack. The opposing trainer, desperation flickering in his eyes before quickly changing back to blind determination, ordered a quick vine whip to counter. The Golduck was obviously not expecting such a quick counter attack, dodging the first few whips with agile long legs but falling victim to the next barrage of attacks. Stinging whips hit its thighs, causing it to stumble in its step. The Bulbasaur saw its own oppertunity and flashed a sleep powder while the Golduck had lost control of its balance. The trainer was quick to think of a plan. Using the Golduck's misstep to his own advantage, he ordered the Golduck to roll across his back and get back into a battle stance. With a quick screech of an attack for ice beam, liquid moisture began to form again at the Golduck's lips. This time, however, the moister was burned icy and cold and formed into a beam of super-chilled ice. The Bulbasaur bunched its muscles again to jump but was once again caught in the act, with ice gripping its hind leg. Overconfidence stinging in the opposing trainer's eyes, he quickly orders a close up attack- scratch. The Golduck had the light of a victorious battle in its eyes as it charged in, but the Bulbasaur was far from giving up. Using a surprise move- Take down- the Bulbasaur managed to crack the ice that was holding it prisoner. Using it once more, the move was given an extra burst of energy and hit the Golduck for a direct hit. The Golduck flew and rolled on its back, the breath being taken out of its chest by the blow. The Bulbasaur was preparing the next move before his trainer even had time to call it, vine whip, but the opposing trainer called it off and returned his Pokémon before any more damage could be done. Despite the defeat, the loser seemed honorable and satisfied with the battle as the two trainers discussed what went right and what went wrong.
Silver blinked, he hadn't seen a battle in so long that he had been completely enthralled in it. He longed to feel the power in his legs again, the blossoming victory in his heart after a win and a lesson to be taught after a loss. But with grief twittering in his heart, he knew he could never be useful like that, not in the state he was in. Reality washing over him again, he turned his attention to a less depressing view. There was…some sort of Pokémon a few feet away. A Pikachu? No, it was some other Pokémon in a Pikachu costume. The mysterious Pokémon turned a bit, so that her identity was a bit more exposed. It was a Meowth. A Meowth like him? No, this one wasn't imprisoned like he was; it was here on its own free will. He peered a little closer at it, feeling a bit more relieved to see someone of his own kind instead of houndooms in the area. He opened his mouth to see if he could pick up its scent, and found that she was a female. The she-meowth was preoccupied pawing at the ground and digging up some buried tattered roots. The scent was sharp and tangy with a lash of an aftertaste, making Silver believe he was scenting some sort of onion or something in the onion family. She turned and surprised him by looking directly at him, a couple of roots held in her jaws. As soon as she had looked up, the houndooms around him dropped their heads in a courteous manner and lowered their arrow-shaped tails so that they raked the dusty ground. Silver instantly understood that this meowth had some sort of dominance or power over the houndoom, possibly in charge of the pack. Copying the houndooms, Silver bowed his head although not quite as low as the houndoom, and let his tail rest a little lower. The she-meowth stepped forward and placed the roots in front of him without saying a word. Silver instinctively bent down and sniffed the roots, although regretting such a deep breath as the scent stung his throat and eyes. The she-meowth nodded and backed away, staring at him expectantly. "Eat them," one the houndooms whispered forcefully, although low enough so that the she-meowth wouldn't here. Bending his head over, Silver bit down the roots and swallowed, although the grit and sand crunched in his teeth and tasted awful. The roots left heat pulsing in his mouth, but otherwise the roots were almost tasteless. Gulping them down, Silver instantly felt the numbness in his legs ebb until the full strength had returned. "What were those?" he growl-whispered to the houndoom. "The roots of a Cheri berry," she muttered in a whisper, "just enough so you can walk after taking the full blast of that Paralysis orb." The she-meowth nodded with approval and without saying a word, walked to the front door of the building and nudged it open. With their tails still lowered and heads still bowed, the houndooms began to follow the she-meowth into the building. A fresh scent away from the newborn pine trees and sun-bathed wind shifted to slightly thicker and colder air, bustling with old and new scents that threatened to overwhelm his senses. Distracting himself from the shift, Silver turned and whispered "I thought you had nothing to do with this place! How did she know about my paralysis?" The houndoom spoke a little more clearly; Silver guessed she had a little more control over how much she could speak to prisoners once in the building. "She must have found out somehow, I had no knowledge that she would bring Cheri roots." Silver scarcely believed her, it fit together too much like a plan, but why did they want him? He was a hardly trained Meowth, an obviously weak one judging by his scent, and had no connections accept with his mate and a few less than friendly neighbors back in the forest.
Before he could think it through, he was herded through the building finally stopping at a large door, just barely smaller than the main entrance to the building, with two guards standing on either side. Upon seeing the group, they immediately shifted aside and led them into the office. The door shut behind them, leaving them apparently alone, until Silver saw movement in the back. A man was sitting rather importantly, his body tensed and back straightened in pose, writing rapidly on a piece of paper. He looked up, his piercing mahogany eyes resting expectantly on the pitiful group. His hair, an amaranth red, was slipped back with gel ending rather long for a male just above his shoulders. His face was broad and curved nicely, his arms and chest clearly shown he hadn't neglected the idea of working out in his free time. He wore a different clothing choice than the others he found outside which consisted of a long thin jacket that ended at his knees with black pants and running shoes. His jacket was black and at the top and ended with red with one arm stitched in red and the other in the usual black. Silver noticed a distinctive symbol he'd seen in several places around the area showing proudly on the chest of this man- one that looked like the anatomy of a volcano. "Yes, what is it?" he rasped, his voice was clearly disused and scratched deep in his lungs. The houndoom, suddenly looking very impressed with itself and dignified, stepped forward and placed the master ball in on the floor before stepping back. The man's eyes widened. "Is that the mew I wanted?" he asked, the deep stress in his voice shifting just a smidge to cheer. The houndoom didn't bark an agreement in its native tongue or even nod; it just stood tall and proud only barely suppressing a wag of her tail. "This is good," the man breathed in utter fascination, "this is exactly what I needed! You will be fed well tonight, my guards." He stepped forward and pat both the houndooms heads- the female looked utterly engulfed in pride yet the male houndoom looked like he was scarcely conscious of any touch at all- but his friendly gesture was short. "You're looking less than well, my friend," he growled looking at the male houndoom. Reaching into a cabinet in his desk, the man pulled out a syringe and a small bottle. Sucking the clear oozing stuff from the bottle into the syringe, the man stepped to the male houndoom and injected it into its scruff. Silver couldn't be sure if it was medicine to heal or if it was poison in that bottle. Turning, fear shot through Silver as the man rested his eyes on him next. "What's this mangy thing?" he grumbled. Again, none of the houndoom did anything to reply. "It doesn't look promising, but it seems that Nala has accepted him. I'll put him into his first training session in around a half hour," the man stopped to think for a bit. "Take him to room A12. I'll be there to assess him shortly." The houndooms nodded and turned, leaving the she-meowth and the Mew behind as the exited. A12 was apparently only a few rooms over with only one guard protecting the room this time. He looked down and looked a little confused- Silver guessed he wasn't expecting such a small Pokémon to be accepted here- then turned and unlocked the door. The houndooms walked in with the guard following until they approached a good sized cage- one big enough for at least ten more Meowths to live comfortably in. The door to the cage was unlocked and Silver was shooed in, with a loud bang of the iron door behind him sending an eerie silence through his fur.
The ground under paw was somewhat slippery and metallic- Silver knew after a few days the cage floor would begin to make his paws sore. He looked up and around the cage. It seemed smaller on the inside, possibly because the air seemed so thick and moist with breath. There was some sort of plastic see-through wall on one side with bars behind it, and another plastic wall behind that in order to stop escapees. All the other walls around him were dark metal with numerous scratches scoring the sides. In front of him were three other Pokémon, all of which seemed highly interested in the new comer. The first Pokémon was an Espeon. Although her body was thin and lithe, her lavender-fuchsia fur gave way to gray speckles across her muzzle and tail which gave away her age. Even so there was a hint of a spring in her creamy blue eyes, making Silver believe that the Espeon was strongly certain that age made no difference in her skills and abilities. The second Pokémon was a Charmander. Unlike the Espeon, the Charmander was clearly a young one with bright healthy skin and a flame on its tail burning with energy. Although it clearly had dignity and youth on its side, fear seemed to send shivers down its back which buffeted the spring in its tail fire. The third was a bundle of cinnabar colored fur- a vulpix. Silver was surprised to see this one was even younger than the Charmander, only a few weeks old he suspected, but it didn't hold the same determination as the Charmander despite its fear. Grief and terror gripped the tiny Vulpix like the claws of a Zapdos in waves, making Silver cringe a tad. The horror was clear to anybody, but on the outside the vulpix tried mostly to hide it, despite a few shivers rolling down its back.
"Hello," he muttered awkwardly. He didn't know these strangers, but maybe they knew more than he did about the building. He turned to the Espeon since it seemed the most collected and wisest of the bunch. "Greetings traveler," she mewed with a silken honey voice- like Velvet. "My name is Aurora. And you are?" Silver hesitated, "My names Silver" he whispered barely above an anxious whisper. "Is that your birth given name or the name given by your trainer?" Silver stumbled a bit before replying "it was my trainer given name." Aurora nodded with understanding beyond Silver could imagine. "My real name is Staraku," he offered. She twitched her thin tail to the charmander beside her, "This is Champ. And the Vulpix doesn't have a name, so we call him Scrappy." Both looked less than thrilled about anything at the moment. "Make yourself at home," Aurora spoke after a while. "Uhm, can I ask you a question?" he mewed. "Who's stopping you?" Aurora confirmed as she began licking the dirt and dust out between her pads. Silver gulped the dryness from his throat, thinking through what he'd seen. "Do you know anything about this building? What's it for and why am I here?" Aurora didn't look up from her wash. "This is Team Magma's head quarters," she muttered disinterestedly. "You're here because recently, Team Magma has gotten all up in a fuss about getting new recruits to join them. They're trying to make some sort of army of Pokémon. Before you ask, I don't know why." Silver blinked, he had heard the name Team Magma at some point- in fact a few times- but he never really understood what the words meant. "Who's team Magma?"
Aurora craned her neck without looking up and began dusting the fur on her shoulder with long strokes of her tongue. "Have you ever heard of Team Aqua or Team Rocket?" Memories washed through Silver, stinging his heart a bit, but he refused to show the nerve that had been hit. "I know Team Rocket" he confirmed grimly. "Team Magma is kind of like Team Rocket. The only difference is they have different ambitions. Team Aqua and Team Magma are sworn enemies. I don't know a whole lot about the story, but I hear Team Magma is trying to get their hands on some sort of super-powered legendary that can control the movement of Earth's platonic plates. I assume they're trying to get more Pokémon so they can beat that thing, and so they have some sort of defense against Team Aqua. I don't know as much about Team Aqua, but I hear they're trying to get some Pokémon that controls the ocean. So apparently they're enemies just because what the other wants something that contradicts each others' goals." Silver tried to suck all this in at once, but his mind still swam with endless questions. "I saw them capture a mew this morning like it was routine. This legendary they're after must be one powerful Pokémon." Aurora nodded, her eyes connecting to his. "I hear this legendary is super big, which is why it takes so much power to get it down. I think it's some sort of fire type, but I'm not entirely sure." "What's this have to do with Team Rocket?" Silver added with far too much desperation in his voice. "Almost nothing beyond sharing the word team in their names. Team Magma and Team Aqua are constantly at each other's throats, always spying on each other and battling each other and throwing each other around like it was their birth right. Team Rocket on the other hand seems to hardly notice the other two teams even exist. The truth is, Team Rocket has been going for much longer and has power far beyond Team Magma or Team Aqua could even dream of. The harsh reality is both Team Magma and Aqua realize Team Rocket could destroy them if they wanted too, so they try to stay out of their hair because of it. Team Rocket hasn't yet, I think, just because he can't be bothered to do it. In any case there's still high tension between the two, especially since both teams tend to accidently get in each other's ways even if not intentional. As far as Team Magma or Aqua are concerned, Team Rocket is just a rattlesnake in their desert that they've decided not to toy with and vice versa." Silver thought this through. "Did you see the houndooms they have?" Aurora nodded. "Why do they seem so sick and energy zapped?" Aurora shrugged. "Their names are Spike, Fire, Crunch, Flower, Cloud and Buster," she growled. "It sounds like you've met Buster and Flower. I don't rightly know what's wrong with Buster; I just know he ain't so right in the head as he used to be when he joined. Flower means to cure him if she can, but she knows Max could hardly give a hoot about Buster as long as he keeps up doing his duties. If he ever stops doing his duties, he will most likely be euthanized. Poor Flower has to deal with the grief of living with a zombie of a mate. She always seems to hold her head up high, but the hopelessness is obvious in her. She just pads after Buster, and he won't even look her in the eye for her dedication. It's sad really."
Silver shook his head, "Who's Max?"
"The Leader of Team Magma."
"And Nala? Who's Nala?"
Silver hoped she knew who Nala was. He wanted to know who 'approved' of him earlier to let him in. "Did you see a young she-meowth? She was probably in some sort of costume." Silver flipped his ears up as memories dwindled back into his mind. "Yeah, there was one wearing a Pikachu costume." Aurora nodded slowly. "Sounds like her. Her birth given name is Sueku (Sweh-coo), you best remember that name. She would be Max's Pokémon. Nala is his prized possession; he treats her like a princess." She let out a snort of laughter. "You should see how the grunts treat her around here. If they so much as cut off her path, they know Max will be wearing their skin as a jacket the next day." Silver tensed a little. "Does she treat you badly?" Aurora shook her head. "She's a'right I guess. She scarcely notices us; I actually prefer it that way though. She can be a tad bit bossy, but mostly she tends to not even look in this direction. She just follows Max around like he's the greatest thing she's ever seen." Aurora finished washing her fur with a few more licks on her tail tip. "Do you want me to use Heal Bell on you? You look like you've seen better days." Silver suddenly became aware of how horrible he must have looked. His fur was ruffled and standing on end, giving away how stressed he was. Sand and dirt had collected on him from the wind, and he hadn't had time to groom it out of his fur. Exhaustion still gripped his muscles despite the healing affects of the Cheri root, and he still felt rivers of fear roll over him from being in such a distant and unfamiliar place. Embarrassment singed his pelt, "if you want." Aurora closed her eyes and let the ruby gem on her forehead glow a deep crimson. Within moments a bubblegum-speckled light wafted off her still body like sound waves, leaving a trail of energy behind each pump of light. As soon as the light beams brushed past him, Silver felt the numbness from his legs instantly vanish, returning to normal strength. It had been as if the paralysis orb had never been activated. Champ and Scrappy also seemed to calm down and relax a bit, the exertion from their tensed muscles slowly disappearing. "Thanks" he breathed, "that helped tons."
Aurora nodded, her eyes squinted and stern. "How are your battling skills?" Silver was biting a stubborn tangle of fur out of his shoulder before admitting his lack of experience. Aurora seemed taken aback with her short fur standing on end. "W-what's the matter?" he stumbled over the words shakily. "Nothing," she sighed, her face solemn. Silver suddenly became active in the conversation more than ever, his ears erect and tail twitching. "What do you mean? What aren't you telling me?" he stuttered, fear coursing through him all over again. Aurora shook her head, sadness bubbling over her pelt. "You'll know soon enough." Frustration surged through Silver, why was she being so secretive? "I noticed you smell a tad like Cheri berry roots," Aurora mewed slyly. Silver wasn't fooled by the sudden change of topic. His mind whirling, he thought back to the houndoom he met, the one that crushed the Paralysis orb under her paws. "Do you know a houndoom with a scar across her left eye? She also has two scars across her muzzle, and its horn on its head is missing. The other horn is kind of cracked and beaten up? It was a female." Silver caught a brief flicker of shock in Aurora's eyes, before it passed almost instantly. "Uhm, no," she muttered. There was uncertainty in her voice before she corrected herself. "I don't know any houndoom like that, unless one of the recent houndooms suddenly got badly wounded and I haven't heard of it yet for whatever reason. The only other female houndoom is Cloud. Was she pregnant?" Silver shook his head no. "I see. Must be new?" Although Aurora seemed to be desperately hiding something- something personal and emotion deep within- the turmoil seemed obvious in the way she twitched her tail and tensed her muscles. Silver continued with the subject, his eyes narrowed. "She told me she had no connection with this building, yet she seemed to have an association with Nala. She captured me with a Paralysis orb and directly after, Nala gave me Cheri berry roots despite not having witnessed the scene. Yet the houndoom said Nala hadn't known about the paralysis orb." Aurora nodded slowly, her mind clearly somewhere else. "She was probably telling the truth," she mewed barely audible for Silver to hear. "Nothing get's past Nala."
"It's time for the new recruit's first training session." A voice sounded distant and unclear in Silver's head. He opened his eyes and flicked his ears up, becoming conscious of the four grunts that had entered the room somewhere beyond what the cage was allowing him to see. He quickly jumped to his paws, realizing just who the grunts were referring to. He turned to Aurora who had lifted her head warily to look toward the direction of the voices, although unable to see them. "Aurora!" he whispered with urgency in his voice, "what are they going to do?" At first Silver feared she hadn't heard him, but after a few moments that felt like ages she turned her head and stared bleakly at him. "They're going to take you to the training room," she whispered tartly. "But why?" he demanded, fur sticking up on end. By the time he had asked, the grunts were already unlocking the door. "We all had to do it. They want to see what level you're at before they decide what to do with you." After the words had left her mouth, the steel doors opened and two men casually walked in and searched the cage with disinterested eyes. The other two men were tensed in case any Pokémon tried to escape under their nose while the doors were unlatched. Silver smothered himself into a corner, tear numbing his muscles. What am I going to do now? One of the men turned warily and became aware of Silver's location, followed by tapping his partners shoulder to warn him. They both turned and cornered him, every instinct in Silver's body telling him to extend his claws and slash the closest thing that resembled flesh. Before he could decide, the men roped something plastic around his neck and pulled him forward. Every muscle in his body tensed, his claws scraping against the cold floor, he was forced into the other grunts' hands where a rope was shoved in his mouth and tied around his neck. After biting or running was made impossible, the grunts pulled him forward despite his empty protests. After they had entered the hallway Silver began to accept there was no escaping, especially since he only knew one Pokémon attack unlike the standard four. He was towed into a room unknown to him- one long yet skinny. It reached far to the end where a red door with a volcano was painted in the middle. On each side there were rows of metal chairs spaced perfectly apart with a number of buttons and space to write in front of them. The chairs were on either side with just enough space to walk through in between to the door on the other side. There was something somewhat like glass- a see-through plastic like in the cage- slanted in front of the chairs. A large battlefield was on either side, both battlefields identical. Silver was hauled toward a dark slight of stairs directly right to the door they had entered, which steeped low into a brand new door which was coated in a grayish silver. Once inside, the area seemed to be cruelly dug out of the earth with metal bars directly in front of him. The ground was uneven and sore against his pads under paw, and the only light source came from the battlefield beyond the bars. He crept forward, observing the battlefield which seemed to cover all Pokémon types that may have to battle in it. One side had fresh clean ice rubbed smooth with a large pool in the center. Silver guessed the pool was probably much larger and traveled underneath the battlefield beyond his line of vision. The middle was a standard battlefield with short grass growing feebly within the perfect rectangle. White lines had been painted to determine the middle, but the white box where the trainers would be standing wasn't there. The ground around the main battlefield was dirt and dust with some rocks jutting out here and there. The room seemed to go up for miles, perfect for flying types. Some platforms jutted across the wall with one cave carved into the rock for whatever reason necessary. Silver lowered himself to the ground and noticed a small edge of the plastic glass was visible from the tiny prison. Someone is going to be observing me from up there, and they're going to be taking notes, he realized. Minutes that felt like moments passed before the rough bars in front of him began to shiver and shake. The bars began to shiver into life, lifting with considerable effort to rise to the heavens. Rust seemed to buffet its progress, but eventually the old bars had lifted enough for Silver to shimmy into the light of the battle field.
Taking nervous, cautious steps, Silver slowly walked into the field and opened his mouth to scent the place. The salty fresh taste of the water rose in sheets around the area, with the frosty tang of the chilled air from the ice coming as a close second. The cut grass was sour and strong, telling Silver that it had only recently been cut to size with small particles of dust and grit clinging to the air. Movement flickered in his vision, causing Silver to turn back to the observation room above. He noticed Max, walking with authority to a lone chair in the center. All other chairs were empty accept one or two being taken by some grunts who held clipboards firmly in their hands. A flick of beige fur told Silver that Nala was also watching, to his surprise. A small piece of technology lit to life under the observation room, making Silver blink against its bright red color. Silver stared at it for a moment, anxiety scraping across him like claws across his pelt. The light turned lemon yellow as understanding nipped at Silver. This is it, he thought, when the light turns green then the battle will start. But he looked around and saw no opponent to battle. So what did they expect from him? The light turned chartreuse, and a loud long beep sounded. Silver stood rigid, vaguely aware that he was beginning to sink slowly to the ground in a scared lump. Bars began to rise somewhere above his head, making Silver's heart pound so fast that Silver feared a heart attack to take his life before the Pokémon had even emerged from the shadowy depths of the cage. He lifted his eyes to the observation desk to see hot, expectant eyes piercing through him like tiny endless daggers raining from the sky. I can't be a coward anymore; he thought anxiously, I have to win this battle for my own sake.
With hostility smoldering in its large Alice blue eyes, Silver's opponent emerged slowly from its own prison. A voice in Silver's head whispered in his ear, "Fight with your heart Silver. I'll always be watching you, watching you grow into a strong Pokémon like I promised. Don't let me down; don't let my efforts be wasted."
Heat pulsated from his opponent's body, its wings flashed with the stinging pigment of amber and cornflower blue. Silver was sure he could feel it's breath like a hot iron touching his back. With a puff of wind, the Pokémon took flight despite its heavy weight and flapped to a lower part of the wall. It was eerily still, surveying its prey quivering in the clean-cut grass. "You've got to be kidding me," the Charizard hissed hotly from its perch. "This will be like squishing a bug under my foot!" Silver didn't respond. Ice seemed to grow in between his muscles, making them numb and painful. With a screech of defiance and a look of intensity and dissatisfaction across its face, the Charizard leaped off its perch with logic-defying speed.
Energy pulsed through Silver's paws as his instincts took over. Pivoting his entire body, he turned and darted with as much power as he could muster across the field. A screech from the charizard drilled like a nail through his brain, buffeting Silver's movements. Within moments, Silver felt his frail body whipped off the ground and thrown across the battlefield with the Charizard's impact. He skid and then rolled across the grass as pain began to gnaw at his shoulder and sides. Adrenaline coursing through his body, Silver scrambled up to his paws and shakily ran toward the shelter of a jutting rock. Torrid blaze threatened to envelope him, and Silver knew flamethrower was being pelted against the stone he was hiding behind. "You can't hide forever!" the charizard taunted with evil laughter burning in its throat.
Silver tried desperately to think of a plan, but fear and the pain in his shoulder pushed logic out of his head. Before he could think any more, the rock began to feel horribly hot before melting into a pie of molten lava. "You know Charizard's have an ability to melt boulders with their fire?" The Charizard taunted as Silver leapt to his paws and darted across the field. Looking behind him to get an idea of where the Charizard was, Silver saw only a glimpse of its auburn skin before that very same blur bashed into his body. The Charizard soared back up as Silver tumbled over in a flurry of fur and curled tail. Dazed and confused, Silver shook his head to clear it and looked up at the Charizard. He bunched his muscles as desperation ran through his mind, but the Charizard didn't dip its nose for another close attack. It flipped its round orange body so that it wrestled against the inertia that pushed it forward and whipped its long neck forward for a separate attack.
A tornado of electric blue and white light exploded from its gaping maw, heading with amazing speed towards the pitiful scratch cat Pokémon. Leaping aside, the attack only managed to nick his tail before he rolled back into a fighting position. Although the attack had been small, Silver still felt throbbing heat crash onto his tail tip. Silver could only imagine what would have happened if he'd suffered a direct attack. The Charizard proceeded to dip its nose down and fold its wings to its body, using gravity to its advantage as it soared toward Silver. This time, he told himself, he was ready for that old attack.
Launching a massive leap, he extended glowing white claws with a Fury Swipes attack and grabbed the neck of the Charizard before it swooped back up into the air. Instantly the air was knocked out of him as he flew through the air, but Silver made sure the dizziness in his head and the sudden on take of speed didn't distract him. His claws worked against the pattern of the Charizard's scales, forcing Silver to slowly descend down its neck. The Charizard was obviously not expecting the surprise attack, and was clearly panicking with the change. Before he could be thrown off, silver bared his teeth and bit as hard as he could around the Charizard's neck. He could feel the veins with every heartbeat of fresh blood that went through them, and squeezed harder to see if he could stop the flow of blood through his long neck. The Charizard began to lose control of its wings and narrowly dodged crashing directly into the sharp stone walls around it. The sudden swerve in direction knocked Silver back where he latched skillfully onto one of its wings. Gripping the skin and fragile bones around the wing, Silver yanked as hard as he could, ignoring the pain that loosed his teeth. The Charizard let out a choked screech, followed by its wing glowing white. Fear gripped him; the Charizard was using wing attack and had every intention of bashing Silver's back into a hard jutting rock against its stone-hard wing. Should the attack connect, it would all be over.
Silver released his grip and allowed to be stripped off the Charizard by the flow of air pushing against him. The charizard landed the wing attack with immense pressure, shattering the rock to nothing but dust, but seemed to miscalculate its landing and crashed ungraciously on the stone ground. Silver wasn't so graceful either, landing on his feet but immediately collapsing in pain with short quick panting. Exhaustion setting his lungs and throat on fire, Silver shakily got to his legs and walked with a limp across the battlefield The Charizard followed his example, slowly getting up with trembling legs. Unlike Silver, who felt exhausted to the point where his vision was blurred and legs almost impossible to work with, the crash only seemed to give the Charizard a burst of exhilaration and flashing anger. Another cyclone of Dragon Breath bit through the air toward the sun before the Charizard took flight once more.
With a hiss of furry but with legs that could barely hold his body weight, Silver dragged on hopelessly crossing the sandy area of the field. The Charizard, although not with the same speed that it began with, seemed livelier than ever and full of commitment to have a victory. Silver trailed on, not bothering to try and dodge the blow. I had no hope to begin with. What hope would any Meowth have against a skilled Charizard like this? Giving up, Meowth let his aching muscles rest and lay down in the dirt. Do your worst, you worthless flame Pokémon. I hope you find endless satisfaction in beating a little speck of nothing like me.
The Charizard wanted to do just that, barreling down with increasing speed. Closing his eyes tight and instinctively tensing his muscles despite the exhaustion that bit back, Silver prepared for the final blow. As expected, pain surged wildly through him as he was knocked into the air. His thigh seemed to go numb, and a flash of red took his vision. Silver took his final breathe before his lungs filled with no more oxygen, and his vision blurred black.
Silver felt nothing but the weight of his own body, sinking into some sort of abyss. He suddenly became aware that he couldn't breathe, making his already oxygen-starved lungs to scream for a fresh breath. Confused and terrified, Silver tried to fight against the pressure around him, but it was no use. He opened his eyes to see a bluish-black tint all around him. Finally he realized where he was. He fought desperately against the water he was sinking in, clawing for the bright sunlight above his head. Only a few feet away, but feeling miles out of his reach as he sank slowly down. An eerie wail, thick as blood, crawled through the water below. A flicker of color caught Silver's eye, causing him to look down. He had to suppress a gasp of surprise; it was no other than the charizard sinking even faster below him, but there was no way a Charizard could survive very long under water like this! The Charizard was alive though, more alive than it ever seemed to be in its entire life. Its body convulsed as the shock set in, it's powerful body appearing pathetically shriveled and weak under the ripples of the water. Silver felt a stab at his heart, witnessing the once powerful blue flames on its tail fizz into nothing but a chubby Princeton orange tail. Its eyes lastly expressed horror beyond anything Silver had ever witness, a plea for help, before the Charizard disappeared into the black depths of the water.
If there was any relief to be felt, Silver surely wasn't having any of it. He fought desperately for the surface but the combination of his brutally injured leg and the exhaustion that pressed any sort of energy out of his limbs, Silver felt even more hopeless than he did waiting for the final blow on land. He was almost convinced enough to close his eyes and wait to suffer the same death of the Charizard when he noticed a black shape above him. An angel? He thought tartly. The creature had tight powdery blue skin and sapphire blue fins. Its body ever so often shined like a second sun, turning its skin to cyan and electric indigo. A vaporeon? The creature was near him at last, its violet eyes shining worry and uncertainty. It drifted below him and surged up, bringing his motionless still body upward. At last fresh oxygen reached his lungs, but it didn't feel as great as he'd expected. He fell limp off the vaporeon, consciousness only being contained enough so that he could cough and gag up mouthfuls of swallowed water.
"You'll be alright," the vaporeon murmured gently in his ears. Her voice was calming and nurturing, like a mother reassuring her child. An electric white pulse seeped through her paws into the ground, sparkling through Silver's fur and taking the pain from his exhausted muscles. Helping Hand, he thought quietly. Silver was scarcely conscious of both Max and Nala leaving the observation room above him. "You must rest now," she urged softly, opening her mouth and letting a large bubble escape. The bubble swirled next to him and popped, bringing mind numbing calm with it. It was the attack Yawn, which brought sleep to its victims.
"Like a star, you will shine. Like a bird, you will fly. Like a forgotten child, you will cry. Like a grief-stricken soldier, you will beg for merciful judgment. Yet your heart will never stop speaking compassion like the bumblebees will never stop singing. May happiness tinge every breathe you breath, little one, until your breath had been long forgotten by those who spoke compassion when you yourself needed it most."
Her voice lifted and softened in a honey-soaked lullaby. Silver closed in eyes tight, and let the affects of yawn take him.
Silver awoke reluctantly. Stiffness clawed at his legs and with the lack of adrenaline in his body, his leg injury seethed with uncontrolled pain. He stretched his neck to find a bandage wrapped firmly around his thigh and a waxy medicine coating the cut on his tail tip. He was tucked warmly under a vanilla colored satin blanket with pillows made of the same fabric under his head. The room around him was chill in temperature, but his blankets insolated him nicely. Carefully stretching his limbs, he leapt softly off the bed and padded to the door. Adrenaline returned to his paws, was this his opportunity to escape? His hope flittered away like a spooked butterfly moments later when he found numerous guards blocking the exit. It was hopeless anyway, but I can dream can't I?
He padded forward and found himself surprised to see Max and Nala sitting in one of the waiting chairs. Seeing no other choice, he padded up to Max and mewed to get his attention. Max looked at him and quickly lost interest, turning his view back to the doors. So if he wasn't waiting for me, what in the world is he doing here? Getting used to the swing of things, he jumped on top of one of the chairs next to Max and bit back the pain that followed- he had forgotten about his aching muscles before he leapt. Ignoring the ache in his limbs, he tucked his paws under his belly and wrapped his tail around his front paws. What else was there to do but wait?
He began licking the dirt out of his fur when he noticed a pair of cornflower blue eyes watching him. The eyes belonged to Nala, who was stretching her neck to look at him curiously. Silver noticed she had changed out of her Pikachu costume, and was now wearing a Teddiursa costume in its place. Making an effort to ignore her urging eyes, he looked away and went back to cleaning his fur.
Silver nearly jumped out of his fur coat when the doors burst open. A woman in a white coat walked out, her facial expression unreadable and her posture nothing but perfectly still and formal. She must be the nurse, probably the one that treated me. "Did you do it?" Max asked, looking up at the woman. She nodded briskly, "It was fast and painless. I've successfully euthanized Flower and Buster for you, as you asked."
John's P.O.V, one year after meeting Christie
A few pencils hopped out of his stretched backpack and bounced on the floor with twice as much energy as John currently had. Groaning, he didn't have the will to bend over to pick them up. Turning with his shoes scraping across the sidewalk, he made his way to his own property. Upon entering, he ran upstairs with a spring of fear in his stomach and through his backpack in his closet. He had stuffed it full of everything in his locker, but his parents didn't have to know that.
Huffing with horror lacing his breath, he strode out of his room with false confidence and walked to the kitchen. "Do you want me to pour you a class of orange juice?" He looked up to see a woman with seashell white hair, suggesting it was once a bright energetic sunglow blonde. She had once talked about how she constantly used to wear her hair in curls or plaids, but now it only met roughly at the shoulders after it had lost nearly its entire lively glow. Her skin, once young, beautiful and smooth, was now well-aged and sagging. Her perfect bone structure had been weakened by age, and her once natural attire of enthusiastic sun-warmed shirt and jeans now gave way to a long peach-yellow sundress. "I suppose, thanks grandma," he mumbled disheartedly. His grandmother had only moved in a few weeks ago, and he already had a strained relationship with her. He hated how he had to share his room and a bathroom with her, and how he was expected to give her anything she asked whether it be a glass of water in the middle of the night or to wash her clothes for her.
"Here you go sweetheart," she rasped, placing the orange juice in front of him. In a few long gulps, he drank down the citrusy-sweet drink and leapt to his feet again. He had no intention of spending unnecessary time around her. Running with boyish delight back to his room- and away from his nosy grandmother- he plopped with a tinge of unfamiliar excitement and picked up the home phone, dialing the number he knew by heart. It rang a few times before the familiar "hello?" sang through the speakers.
"Hey Christie," he whispered into the phone, "It's me, John." He hated to feel so attached to someone, especially since he's normally so independent and distant, but he had to admit how close he had gotten to her. "Are you feeling any better?" she asked casually. John bit his lip as the usual angst bit his heart, forcing his voice not to tremble with the onset of possible tears. He couldn't tell Christie about how he felt, he knew her too well. She would tell everyone, she would try to save him. But he knew he wasn't worth saving, and he regretted getting her involved to the deepest core of his being. "No, I've gotten worse yet," he sighed into the phone. The smallest pause passed before Christie replied, "do you want me to come over?" John shook his head before realizing he was talking over a phone. "Uh no, it's fine, really." He felt his heart sink at how obviously not fine he happened to be.
"Are you taking your medicine, going to a doctor?" her voice was a concerned whisper, making the guilt wash over him in waves. How could he do this to her? "Yeah, but it isn't helping." He lost it then; his voice fell into hot tears that threatened to echo across the house. "Look, Christie," he murmured into the phone, feeling any sense of hope slowly seep out of the souls of his shoes and fade wistfully into his bed sheets. "There…isn't anything left for me," he went on, "It's hopeless. You're an angel for trying, you really are, but you're trying to find life signs in someone who died years ago. I'm sorry." He expected to hear wails of protest on the other side of the phone, but instead it was dead silent. After what seemed like decades of waiting, her voice entered the phone once more. "If that's what you really believe, than you're a coward."
John knew she was right, but he was achingly tired of trying to be brave only to fall back down in the mud. "I'm sorry," he whispered so low that he was afraid she didn't hear it. "And I'm sorry you feel that way. But while you're going around thinking that no one in the world cares about you, there has always been someone who would jump in front of a bullet for you! If I could take your hand and run with you, run with you to a place where there's peace in everyone's mind and love that grew in every flower, I would, but I'm chained to reality and so are you." John didn't feel any sense of uplifting at her kind words, just another wave of guilt and sadness.
"John, can't you see what you're doing? You're so used to putting yourself down, to being put down, to accepting this sickness like it's natural for anybody and you should just deal with it but it's not. It's to the point where you've become addicted to this sadness of yours. You go around trying to find meaning in your life, but in this ambition, you're missing what's in front of you already. You need to open your eyes and realize the human experience involves suffering for everyone, and you're no exception." John felt anger and frustration seethe under his skin, but he bit most of it back. "You don't know how it feels! To you, everything is perfect and colorful and bright. To me everything just feels… dead. I know everyone just goes around wishing things could be different for them, and that's the part that hurts. This world we live in thrives on pain, not success. I'm sick of living in such a cruel world. It chains you down; it strips away your humanity. You look around and see snow on the ground, friends and family on the streets, the sun warm on your back. But all I see is grief and sadness hidden in the core of every soul on the side of the road, mouths going unfed from those who still find it in them to have hope, poverty and broken hearts, everything in black and white. It hurts Christie; it really does, to see everything in black."
He knew Christie must be furious, but he didn't care. It felt good to get it out, how he always seemed to see every object and every movement in a veil of black and grey. "If that's what you think I see," she growled tartly, "than you don't know me as well as you think." John knew she was right; she often talked about that black veil over her own eyes as well, however seldom. The difference was Christie always seemed to have more stamina to swallow it down no matter how hard it was to try. "I didn't mean it like that; I've just been especially low these days." He knew Christie probably thought he meant looking down at his shoes all the time. She'll never know how badly I've fallen. "It's fine," she mumbled into the speaker. John knew it probably wasn't fine for her. "Listen, I've gotta go, it's almost time for dinner." It was only 3:45 pm, and Christie's family normally ate dinner as late as 8:00 pm. "Alright," he sighed, "talk to you later."
Silver awoke to a paw prodding his side, "get up or I'm eating your breakfast." Raising his head drowsily, Silver rose to his paws and padded half blindly to the center of the cage. Examining his food, he realized with beetles biting at his stomach that he really wouldn't mind Aurora eating his breakfast. It was his usual breakfast lunch and dinner- which consisted of grainy tasteless brown cubes which made his mouth and throat dry. He longed for the hot salty blood, full of oxygen and adrenaline, that he used to taste from his prey. A pang of further longing gnashed and snarled in the pit of his stomach, something he was used to by now. He missed his home in the forest, how the strong scent of growing things used to snag onto every leaf and every twig in the forest. He missed grooming his fur neatly before drowsing in the pelt-warming hot rays of sunlight, and how the sun always seemed to reflect against the soothing laps of the lake so perfectly, so sweetly. He bowed his head and forced a gulp of the dry food in front of him, guilt and grief running through him once more. He missed Nisa, his beautiful mate. She was so perfect, so regal in that special way where every casual foot step or pounce looked like an active ballet. He had to suppress tears as a quiver of agony escaped. His kitten, his wonderful son or daughter, must have been born by now. It had been two weeks since Buster and Flower had been euthanized- the same day he was captured- and Nisa was expecting kittens at any moment.
"What's eating you?" Champ asked, wobbling up with a bright charismatic smile. Silver flattened his ears and suppressed a whimper of hurt. He knew the Charmander, although mature for his age, wouldn't understand. "I missed the birth of my first child," he mewed pathetically. Aurora whipped her ears up in interest. "So did I," she muttered tartly. Silver blinked, she didn't seem the type to have ever even considered children or even getting a mate. "But you're a female, how could you miss your own child's birth?" he queried. "It was a stillborn," she growled, but Silver knew she was only growling at herself. She was known to snap her words with a lash tongue, but she never had it aimed at anyone in particular. "Oh, I'm sorry," he mewed compassionately.
"What's a stillborn?" Champ asked, licking the last crumbs of Silver's breakfast. "It's when a child is born dead," Aurora muttered. Champ looked a little stunned with a small piece of his child-like ignorance being shattered, but he quickly contained his composure. "That sounds awful," he agreed solemnly. "At least he or she died peacefully," Champ added kindly. Aurora nodded, but she didn't look the slightest bit less troubled. "That may be, but the part of me that yearned for a child died withering in pain." Champ backed up a little, making Silver intervene before Aurora scared him out of his innocence. "So today is my second test," he mewed with false enthusiasm in his voice. In reality, he was nearly scared out of his wits. The memory of the charizard made him turn and lick his thigh, although the wound had long been healed and hadn't even left a scar to remember him by. It wasn't so much as the brutality in the Charizard that singed his heart, but the look of mortality and wistfulness as it sank further into the darkness of the abyss.
Aurora didn't answer, so Champ asked "are you scared?" Silver nodded, in fact he was terrified. "I'm going to have my first test in a week!" he chirped. He looked down at the place where Silver's wound had been, watching the scratch cat lick long laps of his tongue over the area where the scar would have been. "But I don't want to get hurt," he murmured, his enthusiastic voice dying down to almost a silent whisper. Scrappy, who had grown just barely an inch taller over the last two weeks but looking stronger and fit, wobbled closer to the pack of friends. "You'll do fine Champ," he muttered shyly. Silver was surprised to him talk at all. The tiny vulpix hardly ever talked, and normally stood far away from the rest of the crowd, although he often listened intently to the conversation. "How was your first test like, Aurora?" Champ squeaked, turning to the suddenly quiet Espeon. "Hell," she hissed dryly and paused. "I battled a Venusaur. It wasn't exactly out to make friends, either. He started off with some trash talk, and while he flapped his yap I threw a particularly powerful Hyper Beam directly at its face." A small chuckle escaped her lips and Silver was glad to see her smiling again. "That sure shut him up."
"Can you give me some hints?" Champ prompted like an ecstatic child waiting for its bedtime story. She paused, closing her eyes and pondering it for a moment. "They're bound to give you some trash talk just to make you lose your concentration. Don't get mad, don't even listen. While he or she is talking, whip out an attack." She paused once more. "You're a small Pokémon so they probably won't be expecting as big a fight. Hold out at first, launching your east powerful attacks, and when it loses its focus long enough and you're positive you can score a direct hit release your strongest attack with all you've got." Champ nodded, his tail flame sparking enthusiastically. Silver let out a half-silent purr, wondering if his new son or daughter, wherever it was, had the same energy and innocence that Champ did. He rested his gaze on Scrappy, who had gone silent again and watched the conversation run on with his tail curled around his back paws. He was much more shy and bashful, Silver pitied him. He was so young, and he knew his quiet tongue was because he missed his family so much and hated to portray false excitement.
The door opened, once again beyond what Silver could see. It's time, he thought shakily.
Rock brushed his pads uncomfortably as he waited for the gates to open once more. The same battlefield was spread in front of him, but this time he was in a different cage. He was surprised to feel such intense anxiety- even more than the last time. Probably because I know that I'm dealing with this time around, he thought. He knew how brutal the Pokémon around here could be, and also knew he was just lucky with the Charizard last time. If he hadn't slipped up and dived in the water with me, there was no hope that I would have gotten out of there with a win…. How was he supposed to win this time? The odds were even worse against him; two wins in one seemed to be miles out of reach. If it's a fire type, I can lure it towards the water again and try to get it to slip up, but that'll be hard. It'll probably try to use long range attacks to avoid getting close to the water, and I can't dodge forever…. If it happens to be anything that isn't weak against water, then I have no idea what I'm going to do. He almost felt his brain boil in his skull, trying desperately to think of a plan. He nearly yowled in protest when the bars began to shiver with effort and slowly grind upward. His paws trembling, all his instincts insisting that he stay back and hide forever in the small imprisonment of the cage, he forced himself to step onto the clean-cut grass once more. He had to blink back the instant change in lighting, struggling as his eyes protested the bright lights. Great, I can't even see! I'm as good as a sitting psyduck! He cursed in his head, but kept walking until he reached the middle where the powdery painted grass tickled under paw.
He flinched much more than he should have when a creek sounded across the field, signaling another cage opening. He skewed his body and peered across the clearing, but a tumble of jutting rocks blocked his view. He saw a flash of redwood brown before the Pokémon disappeared further into the hidden depths of the field. A spark of familiar fear ran through his fur, as if a bucket of water just barely below freezing had been thrown on him. Oh this is rich he thought with dread. I'm fighting an Ursaring….
Silver dropped into a crouch and tiptoed in the opposite direction behind a heap of boulders. If it wants to play the hide and seek game, I promise I'll be much harder to see than you will be! He slithered to a neighboring boulder, dirt clinging to his belly fur as he inched across the sand. Why hasn't it attacked him yet? Probably because it didn't see him either, so maybe it's a little more cautious about how it goes about attacking. Silver dug his claws into the soft sand below him. Just what I need, an opponent that thinks! Another flicker of color caught his eye, but he was surprised to find it a much brighter energetic color than brown. He shook his head, why wasn't it brown and yellow? Could it be a different Pokémon than an Ursaring? Actually it didn't matter what Pokémon it was, it just needed to be brought down.
He crept across the rocks, suddenly becoming aware of Max watching his efforts. He seemed more interested this time, most likely because this was his second test. I need to know what Pokémon this is before I figure out how I'm going to attack! Skewing his direction, he turned his paws and began a mild trot. His footsteps as soft as feathers hitting the ground, he took in a deep breath to try and scent his opponent. Nothing but the salty wet taste of the lapping water and the stinging strong scent of flora around him made sense. That's it; I'm going for a surprise attack. Fluffing his fur up so that he looked twice his size, he sprang with a wild screech of defiance and pounded his paws across the ground. Confusion seized him when he found not another trace of any Pokémon. Why can't I smell this thing! He growled disheartedly to himself.
Searching desperately, his surprise attack leaving him embarrassed and out in the open, he began binding through the rocks scenting for anything fresh. He was caught by complete surprise when a screech erupted out of thin air. Turning too late to see his attacker, a powerful set of paws crashed into his flank. Surprised but straining to keep himself balanced, he whipped around to slash his claws across his attacker only to meet a whip of cold air where the attacker had been. There was nothing but a blur of some Pokémon left before it flashed away behind the boulders again. Frustration beginning to set in, Silver gave a wild push with his hind paws and began to chase the Pokémon. He let out a yowl of surprise when another tackle hit him from behind, throwing him off balance. The tackle wasn't nearly as powerful as he was expecting, which meant either the Pokémon was extremely low leveled or it was a standard tackle, and not an actual tackle attack. It's trying to provoke me to use my moves first so that it can sort out a plan. He bit back some stress that accompanied that after thought. All I know is Fury Swipes!
"Get out in the open and fight!" he snarled into the emptiness of the rocks and dirt. "Are you afraid to face me where I can see you?" He tried to put power and defiance in his voice, but he secretly knew how well a tactic he or she was using. So far, it was winning this battle, and Silver knew he had to turn this around as quickly as possible. Silence met his commands, filling the battlefield with hot steamy tension. He forced his legs not to tremble; he was once again a sitting psyduck. He was embarrassed when he nearly jumped out of his fur after a set of paws began to walk out of the rocks.
Surprise bit him, and Silver had to squint his eyes to really be sure who was standing in front of him. "You're Nala, right?" he asked timidly. The she-meowth looked startled that he knew her name. Silver was still looking at her with the same expression of complete puzzlement. This was the first time he'd seen her outside of a costume and he had never seen anything other than her face. Her ears, koban, paws and tail were all hidden. Now that he had a good look at her, he was surprised to see her ears and the ends of her back paws and tail were all colored differently from the usual russet-copper brown. Her ears were flecked with a lust red and pinkish flavoring, and her hind paws and tail tip both appeared to have been dipped in a rich cerise-magenta. She's a shiny! He realized in shock. No wonder Max loves her, she's almost as rare as a legendary!
"How do you know my name?" she asked. Her voice was soft and sweet like powdered sugar, yet shy and lacked self-esteem. "I heard it from someone in the building," he mewed slyly. She nodded, her mind somewhere else. She turned and looked at her trainer, Max, who was looking less than pleased. "We must battle," she mewed at last. "My trainer doesn't understand Pokémon tongue. He won't be happy if we sit here chattering until our fur turns white." Silver was surprised to see his opponent and enemy talk in such a casual fashion. He nodded slowly, but didn't want to agree. With a sudden snarl of fury, Nala leapt off her paws and barreled directly at Silver. The yowl had shocked him and he was surprised how fast she moved and how quick her attitude had changed.
Wrestling paw to paw, he tried to force himself back into battle mode and unsheathed his claws. Bashing with all the energy he could muster, he swung his paws wildly toward anything that looked like magenta or beige fur. He felt sore in guilt seeing as her claws her still tucked in her paws as she dodged the flurry of claws and paws. Side-stepping off of Silver, she arched her back and hissed- baring her sharp teeth. Taking the opportunity to get back on his paws, he didn't waste another second before pushing all his energy into the tip of his toes and thrusting his body at hers. He was met with a thud and felt his body hit something smooth and hard, as if he'd just thrown himself directly at a brick wall. Momentarily dazed, he was scarcely aware of a small energy force rippling around Nala. Rising once more, Silver had only barely gotten back to his paws before being bowled over by Nala bashing the Protect Attack against him. He managed to just barely get his paws back on the dirt and dash away before Nala tried to ram the force field back at him. I've never seen Protect used for anything else than a defense! He thought briskly. This was no time to be fretting surprises though. Protect gets weaker every time it's used. As soon as she puts it down, it probably won't work twice in a row! Pelting across the battlefield with Nala almost stepping on the back of his paws, he gave a gracious leap and landed perfectly on one of the ledges dotting the walls. Nala stopped, looking up with a flicker of annoyance in her baby blue eyes.
Silver snickered at her before lying down with his legs stretched out, taunting her. With a grumble of annoyance, she let down her Protect attack and instantly leaped on top of the first jutting ledge. Heart racing again (this can't be good for his health!) Silver quickly leapt to his paws and barreled up the rest of the ledges only to be caught in a painful grip of two unsheathed paws. His claws scoring the rock edges, he felt desperation and horror shoot through him like an arrow as both Meowths toppled off of the ledges. The fall must have lasted only a few seconds, but in those seconds came a flurry of claws whipping in every direction. She's trying to keep me busy so I land awkwardly! He thought fast.
Stretching his neck forward, he managed to grip one of her paws in his mouth and with the last scraps of his energy, pivoted his entire body so that she was under him. Retaliation couldn't be used. Silver landed on his paws, although shakily, as did Nala. Both darted in opposite directions before making a large circle around the battlefield and colliding in the center. The two became a knot of fur and claws as both went into a teeth and claw-produced war. He managed to sink his teeth into her tail and felt the satisfaction of a yowl of pain, but in return squealed the same painful yowl when another set of teeth bit down onto his front paw. The two broke apart for breath, and stood panting.
"I didn't expect you to withdraw from using your moves for so long," she grunted warily. "Nor I you," he grumbled. With a hint of a smile gracing her lips, Silver noticed a small ball of water forming just above her jaw line. Water Pulse! He thought with a trickle of fear numbing his backbone. He took a wild side-step just when he thought the attack would be launched, but his injured paw buffeted his movements, and the Water Pulse scored a hit at his shoulder. Wincing in pain as the force of the water bit down on his recently-healed shoulder wound, he stumbled and ungraciously lost his balance before tumbling over desperately flailing paws.
He scrambled to get up but before he could, two firm paws pinned him to the ground. He swerved his body back and forth as violently as he could; trying to make her dislodge her grip or balance, but his energy was zapped clean. He lay gasping for breath with Nala smirking down at him. "You know all I got to do is give you a nice firm bite on the neck and you'd be through?" Terror raced through him as he realized just how right she was. "What's stopping you?" he growled furiously. "You're trainer is watching, so go on and make him proud." Silver was surprised to see such intense sympathy burning in her eyes.
"You know," she whispered seriously. "Max didn't like how you handled that Charizard during your first test. It was obvious you were submitting to it, and that you winning was all a mistake." Silver twitched his tail, "yeah I'm riddled with guilt," he growled sarcastically. Nala gave him a look of stunning intensity that convinced him to stop being so childish in front of her. "He put me into this battle because he wanted me to kill you." Silver let his ears press against his head, his eyes turning into huge blue-drenched moons. "Look," she whispered urgently, glancing toward Max who was starting to look suspicious. "Thrust your body one last time as hard as you can. I'll pretend like I was too confident and that you faked me out. When I fall, you pin me and pretend to finish me off."
Silver felt baffled as he stared up into her eyes. He felt like a tiny kitten again, mewling for its mother to do the job for him so he wouldn't be faced with such responsibility- one that may determine his fate. "Do you understand?" she hissed with impatience after a while. "Yeah," he choked out. With a huge crocodile-twist of his body, he turned back on his paws and bashed his back against her- affectively bowling her over. Quick on his feet, he pressed both paws down on her shoulders and before she could fake-retaliate, he bent down and rested his teeth around her neck. Squealing and thrashing for a moment, Nala relaxed all her muscles and stood perfectly still. He panted for a moment before stepping off her stilled form. After a few seconds, she got up warily as if she'd been knocked out and had just regained consciousness. Whipping around, she pelted across the clearing and ran toward the end of the battling arena. The bars of her cage opened, and with fur standing straight up and her magenta tail streaming behind her, she disappeared inside the tunnel.
Silver felt his paw sting a bit as he rasped his hot tongue over the sore wound on his foot. The bite throbbed and exerted heat above the long scratch, making Silver fear a coming infection. He was back in his cage with the satisfaction still fluttering in his chest after seeing the guards look so stunned at his victory. Scrappy, Champ and even Aurora were surprised to hear about his battle partner.
"There's no way you could have survived against Nala!" Aurora had growled in undisguised anger. Silver felt it best not to admit to her that Nala had thrown the battle to spare his life. After all, he'd only known her for a few weeks, and didn't want her spreading the word around. "Well I'm still alive aren't I?" he meowed, slyly avoiding a claim that may contradict himself if the truth ever got out later. Aurora had growled under her breath, clearly not convinced. "I'll believe this when Snorlax's start dieting!"
Now he was seated in a whole new room, which he actually preferred despite the unfamiliarity of the place. The area was well-insulated and heated, allowing warmth to soak into his fur coat. Unlike the cage which was stuffy and humid, this room seemed a lot more open and allowed him to take a fresh breath freely. Max and some others were squabbling about something apparently important, but Silver gave them no mind. (They were talking too fast anyway, and he found it difficult to understand human tongue as it is.) After a few more long licks across his shoulder, he stood up and began sniffing around the room. "It looks like it has to pee," he heard one of the grunts mumble toward his direction. You wish, he thought smugly. He had half a mind to lift his leg just to fake them out when the group stopped arguing and began action. He became aware that one of them was holding something in its hands, a collar, with some sort of technology attached to toward the front. His fur stood on end briefly, but the grunts clicked the collar around his neck rather gently without being rough like last time they handled him. One of the grunts said something in an annoyed matter which managed to send all the other grunts in a fit of arguments. Silver pointed his ears toward the babbling, suddenly curious what they were talking about.
G1: "But it's true; I swear I've seen this Meowth before!"
G2: "You're an idiot, Mack. The Meowth looks like every other bloody Meowth in the whole region. There's no way-"
G3: "No, I recognize it too!"
"G2: How?! It's wild! It was found in the forest, in case you hadn't noticed."
G1: "It wasn't in the forest all its life, I can just tell. Didn't you watch the security cameras on that battle? He beat our leader's Meowth! I've seen that very same Meowth take down a Raikou."
G4: "Do you think it cheated somehow? Told her in Meowth-speak that if it didn't comply it was ganna do this or that?"
G2: "Nah, Nala doesn't bend easily by empty threats."
Silver secretly wondered if they had really seen her take down a Raikou, or if they were just trying to get on their bosses' good side, who was watching the argument from a distance. "I think I recognize it too," he rasped out of nowhere. Silver looked up and perked his ears when he saw Max's eyes resting intensely on him. They recognize me, he thought grimly. Do they think I'm a threat all the sudden?
"It doesn't matter," Max grunted as he changed his view back toward a system of cameras. Silver followed his gaze. There were a number of security cameras, all facing either in the sea or around some sort of building he didn't recognize. "Our main focus should be on finding Kyrogre and Groundon before Team Aqua beats us too it, not trying to figure out the identity of some random Pokémon." Even if he was just some random Pokémon, Silver could still see some worry flittering in the leader's eyes. "That Meowth beating my Nala was just a slip up- a fluke," he growled under his breath. "It will never happen again, as long as there's breathe in my body."
Silver trotted across the hallway, breathing in the cold fresh air it supplied. The black collar was just a tad too tight around his neck and the small device on one end rattled in his ears, but it was mostly tolerable. A few guards were looking at him curiously, if not suspiciously, before a voice over a speaker caught their attention. "Attention men of Team Magma," Max's voice rang through the speakers. "The Meowth that was caught a few weeks ago will now be allowed to roam freely through the building. Treat it as a guest, not an enemy." A pause sent suspense through the air. "If you recognize this Meowth or have any information about its past, report to either me or our admins immediately. Do not hesitate." Another brief pause escaped the lips of the speaker before a click signaled the end of the message. Silver felt his pelt burn with what felt like a million suspicious eyes, but no guard made a move to do anything. He heard muttering and whispers riddle through the grunts, obviously questioning their leader's choice.
With formidable eyes raking down his back, Silver forced his paws down the hallway, which lead him to the front door. His pelt bristling, he walked past the guards, who seemed to be confused if they should stop him or not. This is my chance! With paws gliding through the air and wind galloping through his pelt, he made a wild dash for the forest. The leaves have never looked so green in all its history! He thought warmly of the homely comfort that the trees, logs and bushes would provide once he got past the sand in front of him. He thought of Nala and his precious child waiting for him in their den, just under that old familiar ash tree. Promise me you'll wait for me, I'll be there in just another moment! I'd walk across the sea if I had too! Exhilaration lit like fireworks in his blood as he pumped his legs, not bothering to look back and see if anyone was pursuing him. With the energy he remembered having as a kitten, he set foot on the first blade of grass.
Instantly, a zap of electricity went through him.
Colorful flashes of red, blue and bright green blocked his vision, making him bristle in panic and confusion. With a yowl of shock and pain, he tore farther into the forest, but it was too much. With a blurred pained last look of longing, he turned tail and scrambled back toward the building. As soon as all four paws had reached the sand once more, the electricity ceased. Silver fell to the ground with exhaustion and panted before heaving his paws back up. He felt the numbness ripple down his bones and climb back up, almost making him lose his balance. Needles of pain were still being injected into him all though the electricity had stopped pulsing waves into his pelt. He managed to scramble a few more feet before collapsing once more, staring up at the sun. It was dipping behind the mountains, launching a deep array of bright vibrant colors across the tired horizon. He looked on at the guards, who were staring at him anxiously.
Thanks for the warning, he growled aloud, although he knew no one was listening.
*John's P.O.V, three months after his first suicide attempt*
The spring in his father's step was obvious- he could hardly sit still waiting for his toast to pop out of the toaster. "Aren't you scared at all?" his mother chided fretfully. The dad shook his head with a smile teasing at his lips. John knew he had been smiling ever since he received his mail stating he would participate in the army as soon as possible. "I may die, but honey I've never felt so alive!" he burst with pride, notably buffing his chest out and holding his head high in a superior pose.
The mother shook her head wistfully; John knew she was regretting him ever trying to get involved with war- especially since they shared a son now. "I know how happy this makes you," she mumbled. "So who am I to forbid it? But George, I'm so worried I could hardly sleep for the past week." The anxiety in her voice seemed to have never reached his father. "Don't you fret, my dear!" he howled with joy. "Today you knew me as that pathetic man who could hardly hold down a job. I promise you, the next time I set foot in this household, I'll be a hero."
His mother looked hardly convinced. "You were my hero before you went to war," she spoke softly. "You talk like you've already accepted that I've died and become nothing but a memory," he sighed. The mother said nothing. "Cherish, don't worry so much okay? You know how important this is to me." John was vaguely aware of how intensively passionate his voice was as he swallowed down the last of his lightly-burnt waffle. "All my life, I've felt like nothing but an echo of a better man- a better man that I should have been! No puny amongst so many others looking for success. But I've never been successful, I've always been a nothing." His voice seemed to crack, and this time John noticed just how much his dad cared about this decision. "My own father fought in the war, and when I was a lad I valued him like a king." He turned to John, who suddenly felt pressure squeeze his heart. "I'm going to continue that honor! I refuse to be a bad example to my son, I need to show him what true honor and nationality is like." A smile almost too big to fit on his face took over, and he flexed his muscles with confidence. "I need to show people that I can be worth something! Like I said, today I'm leaving a broken man behind- one that used to be a shadow. I'm coming back with meaning, with fulfillment, with pride, and more honor on my shoulders than I've ever felt before." His voice changed to a lower voice. "This is the only way, Cherish, I promise you that." She looked engulfed in emotion, almost too much to speak. "Wherever your heart takes you, I'd follow it to hell if I had too."
*Three Years later, John is now sixteen*
John rubbed his temples as he thought over his father's words. "I'm leaving behind a broken shadow of a man and coming back a hero." They seemed so empty after they'd gotten the news. Nostalgia crept through him once more, fighting against his will power to keep going like Christie so often encouraged. His dad's room seemed so empty, especially now that all the posters encouraging people to sign up for the military had been ripped off the walls. The enthusiasm that once bubbled around the idea of 'honor' and 'a man's integrity' had seemed to wither away with the wind.
Not unlike those high moral ideas, the faces of his family seemed to have also lost the liveliness he craved to see again. They always seemed so hollow and full of a sense of loss behind plastic masks that smiled inconvincibly. Everyone seemed obdurate about changing their mood.
"How is he today?" John asked more so out of sarcastic courtesy rather than curiosity. The answer was an obvious one. His father was poking at his breakfast across the table, scowling at his eggs in an attempt to scowl at the rest of the world. John couldn't help but shift his eyes to the place where his father's left arm had been severed in the war. It couldn't have been saved, but his dad hardly seemed to notice the sudden lack of limbs he had since he was drafted. He had to rip his eyes off the wound, as his mother had told him not to stare if he could.
"I'm fine, thanks," he growled under his breath. John tried to avoid his dad's eyes, which seemed to burn with blackness and too much knowledge about things he shouldn't have never known. His grandma slid into the chair next to him, giving him a warm smile to ease the tension. A warm glow- however briefly- lit in his heart. Grandma, he thought earnestly, if you could know how much you do for me just by listening…. His dad suddenly seemed to shed a chill back into the air just as soon as it was warmed. "John," he mumbled warily. His age- once youthful and energetic- seemed to be several years ahead of his actual age. "Don't ever go to war." He looked up, his eyes holding deep pools of melancholy that John didn't understand. He felt a shiver roll down his back; he really couldn't even look in his dad's eyes anymore. They always seemed to have something in him that he never wanted to meet in the living world. "I never wanted to," he sighed. There was no relief in telling his dad the truth after so long.
His mother suddenly stood from her chair, her eyes furious. John thought he could always feel the heat of her furry giving him third degree burns on the surface of his skin, but his father- who was the receiving end of those intense eyes- didn't even flinch. "Damn it George, snap out of it! You're scarring John, and you're scarring me! You don't even act alive anymore, look at you!" John noticed the tattered clothing that held the tear-inducing scent of liquor on every stitch of the fabric. "You're never sober anymore and you hardly even care to look after yourself! I understand…that war hurt you. But you can't go on living like this; you've turned into someone I don't even recognize!"
His dad's eyes were empty one moment, and then blazing angry the next. He stood up, his fists shaking. Horror and fear surfaced across her face as she backed up, nearly tripping over her chair as George grew closer. Then he halted and froze-John thought he could see a flicker of self-doubt and fear in them- before they returned to normal. "Just stay out of my hair Cherish. I'm in hell, and you're half the reason I'm there in the first place." He whipped around and slammed the door behind him, leaving the torn family around in stunned silence.
Tears began to poor from his mother's eyes as she stood perfectly still. "Don't cry, Cherish," his grandmother soothed her, taking her hand and patting it gently as she wept. "I don't know him anymore! This isn't the man I married!" She wailed desperately, crippling to the floor. John, meanwhile, felt tears welling in his own ears. He's out of control, he thought bitterly.
A houndoom slipped its blackish frame into the darkness, the sandy debris clinging to her pelt. Clawing and panting with exertion, she squirmed through the tiny hole which was made specifically for much smaller bodies. Blinking against the attack of the bright rays of sunshine, she shimmied into the light and gave a rough shake of her pelt, scattering bits and pieces of grit and sand into the air.
"Finally," grumbled an irritable voice behind a bundle of leafy shrubs. "I've been waiting behind here forever. I think my foot's fallen asleep, then died and gone to heaven." The houndoom rolled her crimson eyes and padded to the stubborn Ninetails giving her a dominant glare. "Where were you? Don't tell me you were off capturing more Pokémon for that Team Magma you're so in love with," he growled mockingly. The houndoom's voice was calm and soft. "I haven't done that since I captured that stubborn Meowth with that paralysis orb a few weeks ago," she sighed. The Ninetails, who had a darker fur coat than most Ninetails, gave an exasperated huff. "If that is so, then why do you still walk around in that disgusting Houndoom get-up?"
"Am I not pretty enough for you in this form?" she growled, her patience slowly thinning. His response was a mimicked roll of his eyes before turning and padding off in a skip of his paws. Whipping her arrow shaped tail through the frost-bitten air, she lowered her head and let her rosy eyes burn with energy and power release. Her fur coat rippled as if a fresh blast of intense wind had cut straight through her long golden mane, and each individual hair beamed with light on every end. Her entire body glowed like a second sun on land until a small blast of light gave one last push off her pelt and vanished, revealing an entire different Pokémon underneath.
"Much better," the male Ninetails almost purred with delight. "You're much more beautiful with the skin you were born with." The female ignored his unnatural compliment, cleaning her new light jasmine-colored pelt. Biting back a sharp retort, the male houndoom whipped around with its bronze-saffron fur flashing in the wind and began to weave through the shrubs and brambles in its way. "You know Jyana,[Gee-yah-nuh or just Jaw-nuh] you should stop ignoring me when I give you compliments or else I'll stop giving them to you." Jyana let her jaws draw back in a silent snarl. Sometimes, his arrogance and hot-headed personality made her blood boil. "I'll make sure to drop in a pool of tears when that happens," she growled with unsuppressed annoyance lacing her voice.
With paws scuffing the dirt, she followed her hot-tempered mate through the thickest bushes and tendrils that knitted themselves into tangles of leafy foliage. "Kiko,[Key-coh] where are you taking me?" she asked a little hesitantly. Kiko turned, his muzzle pulled back in a snarl, "you don't trust me!" Jyana flew her ears up, her own teeth bared and tail glued to the side of her thigh. "Will you relax? Of course I do." Kiko narrowed his eyes, but soon let his tensed muscles relax and started to go on. "I wanted to show you something, I think you'll like it." Jyana could tell Kiko was trying hard to keep his excitement under lock and key. Eventually the muddy ground gave way to smooth bushels of grass and weeds, and the scent of moss-choked water hit her nostrils. "We're here," he barked with a little more enthusiasm escaping into his voice.
"Yes, but what exactly is 'here'? This place smells like a muk swamp," she quipped while wrinkling her nose against the stench. Kiko twitched one ear, as if he was getting ready for a hot remark, but then shut his mouth and began to walk to the edge of the water. "Even if it does smell bad, there's certainly life growing in the water," he replied calmly. Jyana marched on with curiosity pinching her paws, and looked into the water with him. Sure enough there were plenty of magikarps, goldeens, and a few seakings bubbling under the lime-tinged surface. Refusing to be impressed, she made a face and spat "you can stick your face in there all you want, but I'm certainly not going out of my way just for a few bony magikarp when I can eat plump rattatas all day out in the woods." Kiko was clearly furious at her disregard of his discovery. "That's not the point!" he growled with clenched fangs. "Look around you," he went on hotly, "this place isn't just some gross old lake- it's a hot spring." Jyana opened her mouth to protest but Kiko cut her off. "That means during winter this lake will never freeze, and most importantly, the lake Pokémon will never die. They'll all huddle over here in this warmth and survive. That means while every other Pokémon in the forest is scrambling all over the place for the last remaining frozen rattata or that one scrawny pidgey, we'll still be eating nice fat water Pokémon like kings."
"You think you're the only one who knows about this lake?" Jyana scoffed. "We're probably the last one's to know about it!" Kiko shook his head, his eyes lit up with victory. "The smell must have driven most away and plus it's hard to spot with all the overgrowth blocking the view. The only reason I found it was because my slowpoke-for-a-brain little brother was trying to see how close he could get to the stench and fell right in." Jyana shook her head, "you need to be nicer to little Kyoki. You're always treating him like a pile of grimy food," she sighed. Kiko let the warning jump right over his head. "He's probably not smart enough to even know I'm insulting his intelligence," he mused. Jyana looked off into the murky waters, her ears flattened against her head, "whatever you say, Kiko. But if you ask me, I think you're the one with a slokepoke brain. He looks up to you."
Kiko swatted a wondering oddish whose leaves were brushing against his nose as they walked out of their hidden lake and back into the trees. "You know," Kiko barked as the two curled up under a Lum berry bush. "He's going to be sort of like your brother too, once we finally have puppies of our own." Kiko reached up and plucked a ripe Lum berry and set it at Jyana's paws. She closed her eyes and rested her head heavily on his shoulder, while he licked her behind a scared blonde ear. "I don't know," she went on drowsily. She gave a look of longing to her skinny flat stomach, and then looked back into Kiko's ruby eyes. "No matter what I do, I just can't seem to get pregnant. I'm starting to think it's impossible."
Kiko set his head on his wiry furred paws and huffed a puppy-like sigh; a rare moment for Kiko to look so depressed and vulnerable. "We just have to keep trying," he grumbled. A moment passed as both Ninetails laid side by side with their heads on their paws, their eyes looking dreamily into the tree tops and blue sky. "I've decided on something," Jyana barked with unexpected charisma. "I want to be renamed as Kyoka [Key-yo-kah]." Kiko lifted his head and looked at her in shock. "Ninetails can only change their birth given name after a successful pregnancy," he stuttered warily. Jyana shook her head, her eyes wild with hopeful determination. "Well I'm going to be, I know it. You and I are going to have wonderful Vulpix's, and when we do, all the Pokémon in this forest will look at their glimmering shiny pelts and muzzles pointed high and defiant and ask if their mother was an Arceus!" She looked at him with undisguised affection, her ears perked in excitement. "I just need the mate's approval of my name choice." Kiko looked at her, and then looked at the ground. "I was hoping you would pick the name Kika, so we would be Kiko and Kika. But the vixen get's to choose her new name if she so desires a new one." A small smile slid across his face. "Kyoka is pretty too though; I definitely like your choice." He paused momentarily, "are you sure?"
Jyana nodded, her eyes stubborn and tail erect against the wind. "Alright then, Jyana. I grant your new name be Kyoka," he nodded firmly and set one paw on hers. "I'm just hoping the other Ninetails don't start griping about it," he groaned. "Yenu is such a stickler to rules and justice. The minute we tell her, the next thing you know she'll be jumping us from dark allies and pulling us into her dark chambers and what not," Kyoka giggled in a protected whisper. Kiko started to loosen up a bit and laughed with her, dropping his usual protective and irritable personality. "She'll tie us with vines and start sacrificing pidgeys in the volcanoes, begging lord Mew to cleanse our sins." Kyoka barked in laughter and prodded a paw into his side playfully. This was the Kiko she loved, when he was being playful and open to her. "Look," he started seriously again, "you need to stop hanging around that Team Magma place all the time. I know you say you sense big things to come, but it isn't any of your business, right?" he asked hesitantly. Kyoka started to feel defensive, but quickly dropped it at his sincere glance.
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I feel like it's important, like something big is going to happen- like the future is so obvious, but I'm completely missing it." Kiko nodded but then shook his head. "You need to stop using your powers so carelessly," he chided intensely. "I really couldn't care for it." Kyoka entwined her nine tails together tightly, "as if you would understand," she snapped back before leaping to her paws. "What do you mean? I'm a Ninetails too, but you're the only one who feels that way," he answered slickly. "You know I've always been more focused on my powers," she answered, "I like to follow my heart." Kiko scoffed, "yeah, right off a cliff."
"We're here!" John's mother, Cherish, chirped as the grind of sand under the tires slowly ceased to a rusty halt. John stepped out of the car and immediately felt the punch of the sun bathing anything it could touch. "Would you just look at that breath-taking view?" Cherish chimed with unnatural bliss. John had to admit, the view was nice. The fresh air was tanned, clean and crisp, rich in thick oxygen and the smells of green things growing and Pokémon lying drowsily in the sun rays. The temperature was only slightly chilled and a little dry, despite the Earth being almost entirely sun-bathed with only a few weeds here and there to produce shade. Wind sprinted across the dusty ground and made bits of dead cracked leaves and dirt dance in the air. All this mixed together signaled their location was around in the mountains. Their truck- once a glossy midnight blue- was peppered with layers upon layers of dusty sand that clung together after many times experiencing the rough bashing of snow, sleet, rain and ice.
The powdery-dry sand underfoot soon ended from a smooth flat surface to a sudden steep dip that slowly gave way to sharp jutting rocks and finely-aged pebbles. The bottom seemed to be almost invisible, but sure enough, large boulders and more dusty grit lay scattered evenly at the bottom of the dip. "Aren't canyons one of your favorite natural wonders?" his mother piped from behind him as he studied the view. He gave a half-hearted shrug of his shoulders, "they're whatever." His mother gave him a half-disguised look of annoyance before walking back toward the truck. "This'll be exciting," his grandmother suddenly spoke from within the depths of the car. "This place hardly has any people to visit. It's almost completely untouched." John nodded with his heart still in a rut. John knew he wasn't alone though, everyone seemed to be at least a little doubtful about this trip to the canyons.
"I picked it specifically for you," his mother announced with affection. "I know how much you love to see wild Pokémon far away from the cities." His grandmother nodded, a smile gracing her aged lips. "I've always had a special place in my heart for wild things," she answered wistfully. "The Pokémon that live in cities are always welcome to me, but there's something about wild Pokémon that seem to have a spark to them." While the ladies agreed, John turned to help his dad pull some tents out of the back of the truck. "Just because I only got one arm doesn't mean I can't lift a two-pound tent," his dad snapped at him. Although his voice was scathing, there seemed to be a trace of pain in his voice, like he couldn't stand admitting he had lost something during the war. Although his dad seemed so against going to war after his early return, John wondered if he regretted being pulled out so early after getting his arm injury. "I would have helped whether you had one arm, two arms or eight," John replied calmly. His dad didn't reply, instead they both worked to bring out all the supplies they had and set it on the unpaved ground below. John breathed a long regretful sigh as he watched his dad struggle with carrying several items in one arm.
"You know how you and I used to go out and camp? It was just us you know, no one else in the world to distract us. You've been saying this will probably be your last camping trip before we left and… I was just thinking, maybe this can be one last thing we can do right as father and son." A stab of rejection crossed him as his father didn't reply, or even give him eye contact. As he sorted out the stakes to hold the tent in the ground, he heard the tapping footsteps of his mother behind him. "It's good that you're helping your father," she complimented him. "We went on this trip to get out of this family's cold spot. I know as the only son in this family, you must be feeling the worst of our family problems. That's why I really want to sort things out during this vacation."
John didn't look up as he placed the stakes around the flattened tent. "I'm eighteen," he replied after a momentary pause, "I couldn't care less." His voice was smooth and unaltered, although John did feel a sense of misery watching his family fall apart.
By the time the tents and the supplies had been fixed just right, dusk had begun to fall across the canyon. Pale liquid-cream rays of cold light wrapped across the land, although the sand still gripped onto its few remaining degrees of heat before cooling. His mother started a fire, enticing John to stare at the flames that licked at the cold air dancing around it. "So I suppose we should decide who goes to which tent," he suggested after some awkward silence. His mother agreed. "There are two tents and four people. Who wants to go to which tent?" His dad spoke up with a grinded dark voice that seemed to claw against his throat. "Does it matter any? I'll take the one on the right, if that helps." His mother turned and looked at him expectantly, "what about you, John?"
John shrugged; trying desperately not to show is hesitance at sharing a tent with his bitter distant father. "I'll take the other I guess," he answered casually. "And you?" his mother asked, turning to his grandma. She blinked and then said she'd be fine with the one on the right. John wondered if she was just trying to make it seem like his father, George, was an unwanted partner. George flinched a bit, but any other reaction was quickly dropped and swept under a rug. John guessed he was expecting to share a tent with his wife instead of his grandma-in-law. "Great, that's settled," Cherish sighed in relief. "So what should we do tomorrow?"
"I want to go through the forest parts around the canyon and take pictures of the wildlife," his grandmother replied almost immediately. "We can go hiking first thing, if everyone's interested." Nod of approval echoed around the group, all accept his dad. "I'll stay behind, then. I'd rather be alone with my thoughts." His mother flashed with a scathing glare, hot enough to fry a Krabby in its steps. "We went on this vacation so we could start acting more like a family again, and that means sticking together," she reported quickly. His father seemed to glare at her with undisguised hatred, which made John want to shrink back and hide in the warmth and safety of the car, but his mother never dropped her own intense gaze. "Fine," he grumbled, "whatever the lady wants."
The next morning was a slightly colder one with a thin, weak breeze brushing across the moor. John emerged from his tent and then melted back with embarrassment as soon as he realized he was the last to rise. His mother was out drinking a bottle of water, looking out across the canyon with apparent renewed hope in herself. Both his grandma and his dad were still in their tent, but he could see the dark outline of their bodies against the sunshine and hear sound within the structure. His dad soon emerged from the tent, looking thoroughly annoyed to no end. "Fucking chimera," he hissed under his breath, just enough for John to overhear. His grandmother stepped out of the tent a few moments later, her face baring an expression of anger and worry. Please, just let this be a good day for once! He prayed in his mind before joining his mother.
"Isn't this a perfect day for a hike?" She asked without looking to see who had accompanied her. John stifled a shiver at the icy breeze that stung his exposed skin, but didn't try to contradict her good mood. "Did we bring cameras?" he asked, changing the subject. "One for each of us," his mother confirmed. "We'll go as soon as the temperature has warmed up enough for all the Pokémon to have come out from hiding." His grandmother, who had a depressed ominous look as she exited her tent, now seemed to have a lively joyful look in the gleam of her eye. "You're right, Cherish," she put in with pride. She turned to John, a smile casting across her face. "I know you decided to wait until you got to know yourself a little better before going out on your journey, but out of curiosity, what types of Pokémon do you think you'll see out here?"
John knew there would be much different Pokémon in the forest than there were in the city, many of which he'd learned about in his studies at home about a Pokémon trainer's life. "If I remember correctly, and if I'm lucky, I could see anything from a Mankey to a Cleffa. I'm most likely to see the stuff I come across in the city like rattata's, pidgey's and the occasional haunter. But in the forest there's a lot more possibilities." He stood for a while, thinking. "Remember when we went to the zoo and saw all those really rare A class Pokémon? I heard as a Pokémon trainer, there's a really high chance of meeting most all of them, especially if I travel to different regions! I really liked that gyarados in the water Pokémon section, it looks like it could put up one heck of a fight against a gym leader. The cleffa's looked kind of stupid if you ask me but I guess I have a slowpoke brain if I think that, considering so many people want them. Arcanines are cool, but everyone wants one of those too so it's not like I expect to get one. Then there's Machamps, and I want to have at least one dragon type on my team but they're so hard to find. Other than that, they only have other dragon types and ice types as a weakness and they're resistant against fire, water, grass and electric which are all some of the most common and main Pokémon types which will definitely come in handy."
"You seem to have thought about it a lot," his grandmother gave him a look of pride and approval. "Have you decided your team yet? Or at least your starter?" John shrugged, "I was thinking of getting a Charmander for my starter, but then again literally everyone does that, so what's the point? Besides I'm not even confident I'll get much anywhere, I just want to do the journey so I can get around and use the Pokémon trainer's benefit when I go out into the world. I've always been good with grass types and Bulbasaur is built real sturdy and resilient, so I was thinking a Bulbasaur would be cool. As for my team, I wanted to make sure I got my types all evened out but I also wanted to try to aim for something realistic and try not to expect to get exactly what I want. I was thinking a Bulbasaur for my starter, and eventually a Machamp which is a fighting type, a Gyarados for a water/flying type which I think will be fairly easy to get since they're so common- in the case I can't get one then I was thinking a Polywrath as my water type. I want to make sure I have at least one-if not two- watertypes since they're so essential. A nidoking or nidoqueen are life savers in battles, and they double as both a poison and ground type. If I could find one, I've always wanted an abra which will be godly when I need a psychic type. A fire type is also essential, so I was thinking a Ponyta would also be good for fast travel or a magmar which is powerful in battle. If I can somehow fit an electric type in my team, I'd pick an Electrode. It can use the move Explosion if I'm really in trouble and plus its Flash move would help me loads. Although I don't think I could fit an electric type in my team, though it depends how things go. I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to find a Nidoqueen or Nidoking or a Machamp as easily as I like to think I can."
John felt satisfaction roll over him as both his mom and his grandma nodded and smiled with approval on either side of him. This is how it should be, he thought earnestly, simple topics to talk about and everyone acting like we aren't ready to leap at each other's throats! "Are you done, then?" a dark voice grumbled behind him. All of John's newly earned confidence drained away when he saw his dad, looking nothing but ready to jump at someone's throat. His grandma, in an obvious effort to try to make peace, stepped forward and offered to go with her to check out the Pokémon in the forest. "Of course," he answered unusually brightly before deepening his tone to sarcasm, "nothing would make me happier than to go out in the forest with no one but you to keep me company." He gave Cherish a look of pleading desperation, but her response was to stare at her bottle of water like it was some sort of legendary Pokémon in disguise.
"Cherish?" he asked with painful disbelief in his voice. A pause scratched the air with suspenseful tension before she merely replied "just please try, for me, to be hospitable for her! Try to enjoy yourself; it'll be easier for all of us." The father looked crippled with heart ache, his face almost pale in his belief, before nodding with silent solemn defeat. "Alright then," his grandmother breathed a fresh sigh with the effort of trying to lift the heavy atmosphere. "George and I will get an early peak around the forest. We'll be quick, just to see the land. Then we'll head back and lead the way." Two marched off, both walking with heavy footsteps, John heard his grandmother whisper "George, no matter what you think, I'm not your enemy…" before vanishing into the depths of the forest.
Two hours had passed, and both John and Cherish were sharing looks of worry on their faces. "What do you suppose is taking them so long?" Cherish asked abruptly as she trailed unreadable figures on the car hood with her finger. John shrugged, although his mind buzzed with unwanted answers to that question. Cherish stood up from her slumped position and heaved a worried sigh. "John, maybe you should go out and try to find them." John looked up from the trail mix he was nibbling on and seemed to back away slightly. "Who, me?"
"No, the other John," she responded sarcastically but with good humor. Her voice lightened to something softer, caked with unease and frustration. "What if they got hurt? Or got lost? If you don't come back within another hour, I'll call for help." John nodded, his stomach suddenly tightening into a knot. "Alright, even though I'd much rather stay here. I'm sure they're fine," he answered, cringing slightly how those words must have been jinxed. His mother nodded and fished a Pokéball out of her pocket. "Here, in case you run into something nasty. You shouldn't, but you can never be too careful." John shrunk the Pokéball and dropped it into his own pocket, "right."
Turning rashly, he ran into the woods as if a pack of houndoom were on his tail. After he'd gotten far enough into the woods, he began calling names. After there was no reply, all accept for an annoying echo response from a Chatot, he sat on a rock and took out a book from his bag. My grandma's favorite Pokémon in these types of forests is a Stantler, he recalled briskly. Taking out the Pokéball in his pocket, he called out a sandshrew. "Alright, can you scent well?" he asked it gently. The sandshrew looked up with mesmerizing sapphire-royal blue eyes and nodded briskly. "Can you track either grandma, dad or a stantler?" he asked. The tiny shrew Pokémon replied with a deep and rusty "Sandshrew!" before turning and rolling into a tiny ball of light yellow checkered scales. With an electric saw sound cutting the air and sand on the ground pelting against John's jacket and skin, the sandshrew erupted in a Roll Out attack and darted out of sight in a matter of seconds. "Huh, wait!" John called with a punch of desperation, turning his direction and chasing the sandshrew. Soon its tire-like tracks slowly faded as the sandshrew reached soil that was more closely packed to the ground. The sandshrew was gone. "God, you stupid fucking sandshrew!" he growled under his breath before stalking toward the edge of the Canyon and out of the forest.
That's when he heard his grandmother's voice, sweet and kind to his ears. Whisking around, John felt a collision of relief rush through his body. He prepared to scream out for their names when he noticed the touch of fear that also hanged in the air. "George, why are you so angry all of the sudden? We need to get back to the truck before Cherish and John start to worry about us." George continued to advance on her, his eyes blazing. Although his grandmother remained calm, standing on the very edge of the canyon, John could pick up the panic in her voice.
What happened next sent oceans of shock and terror through John like a giant crash of endless electric waves had been shot through him. His father, his own father, continued to advance until he was sure his grandma could feel his breath on her face. He whispered something John couldn't catch, something directly in her ear, but John could see his grandmother's face turn pale. With one massive eerie push, he sent her tumbling off the cliff and into the depths of the canyon before.
John felt the blood drain from his body and turn into blue ice before trickling straight out of the soles of his shoes. Not even a scream was emitted or a sickening crunch met that push. It all happened so quickly, to the point where John could feel his vision ebbing and his mind swirling like a mini tornado inside his head. Reality seemed to press on his head like a load of bricks tumbling from directly above him, and he could hardly feel any sense left in him. He tried to keep himself focused, and to keep himself from toppling over at the sudden weight that his own body seemed to suddenly supply. His heart raced to the point where John was almost waiting for it to explode like a firework in his chest, but he was still alive, still alive and staring directly at a murder that he had witnessed.
For the first time, he noticed his dad almost seemed to be in more shock than he was. Then he noticed that was true, he was in more shock than he was. As if he couldn't believe what he had just done, or that his hands and arms had suddenly grown their own consciousness and went against his will for just long enough to give a massive heave. But it was all too obvious who the actual murderer was, the one who had taken an innocent life like it was that simple. John noticed his father's legs trembling, his arms shivering; his entire body seemed to vibrate in fear and realization. His face, John noticed, was paler than he thought possible for someone to even be alive. Another whiplash of horror seized John as his father in front of him stumbled forward towards the cliff, and for a moment John thought his dad had fainted from the shock and sent himself to the same doom he had just delivered to his grandmother.
But he seemed to quickly regain composure, and then turned and dashed with amazing speed toward the forest. All the instincts in him told John to hide behind a bush or scale up a tree, or anything to stop his father from seeing what he had just witnessed. Instead his mind was nothing but a blur and his legs remained bolted to the ground. His father was running with no less trouble than he was, apparently dodging trees at the very last minute before he collided into them, and then he stopped and stared directly at John. He expected to see a look of terror or guilt creep over his father's face, but his expression didn't change. Perhaps because it was already stuck in terror mode.
"John," he muttered hotly. Sudden exhaustion and heat ran through him like an Arcanine claw stinging across his stomach. He tried to open his mouth but his jaw was clamped shut, his throat cotton dry that stung with trembling effort to not shrivel away. His father advanced on him, but John couldn't move an inch despite all his senses in him telling him to swing a fist or scream bloody murder into the air. "If you tell anyone," he breathed deeply, "I'll make sure it'll be your last mistake."
A monetarily silence that felt like life times crept uneasily between the two, before his father turned and disappeared deeper into the forest. Instantly, John felt all his support for holding himself up vanish, and he fell onto the forest floor in a heap. I just witnessed a murder, he thought as hyperventilation took over. I just witnessed a murder! He gasped with unrestrained sobs, his breathing reaching a climax as he drew hot wet breathes in and out of his body, faster than he thought possible. He breathed so fast that John felt short of breath. Then a sudden onset of immediate danger rushed over him. I'm next, he thought, he killed once and he can kill again. I saw it, and he knows I saw it. He's going to kill me the next time we're alone.
Shivering in death position, John tried desperately to clear his head. His entire body seemed to shake as if he was in the middle of a violent seizure, and John wasn't so sure if he could count that theory out at the moment. If my dad doesn't kill me, I'm going to die here from shock. He lifted himself from the ground, despite his body going against him. As soon as he got to his feet he fell onto a nearly Aspen tree for support, and felt his hands instantly grip the smooth bark as if it were his father's neck. Anger pulsed through him, as well as frustration and dread and most of all, grief for his lost loved one.
Determination began to take rise in him, something John had never felt before. A sudden urge for survival, a sudden peak of something he felt familiar but never knew so closely. Revenge. Raising his head to the sun were his eyes stung from the salty tears that seemed to pour from his eyes, he took shaky steps forward. He screamed into the forest, acutely aware that any shadow or any tree around him could he holding his father, ready to pounce on him and take his life instantly. "You think I'm going to stand here like an idiot, while you steal my life away?" he hollered into the cold depths of the forest. He stood for a moment, fully expecting his dad to launch out of nowhere and confront him. "I won't tell anyone about your secret," he announced with an even normal voice. His breath deepened into an angry throaty snarl as a dormant monster within him began to arise. "Because I couldn't stand to see you go by someone else. I couldn't do something so simple like that, like watch the police deal with you." All the love he once shared with his dad, all the fishing and camping trips he had spent with him, all the laughs he shared. They all began to melt like unnecessary fat from under his skin. What replaced it was pure hatred like John had never known before, something that yearned for blood on its claws and horns on its head. "I'm going to deal with you myself. This will be your last mistake you've ever made."
Cherish tucked a bundle of Apple Blossoms, Asters, Baby's Breath and white rose flowers into a vase. They had been a gift from friends once the family had returned from their grandmother's funeral. "She will be missed, remembered and cherished," his father had said. The words, which were meant to melt the hearts of loved ones and immortalize his grandmother's name into the family, only served to sting a greater urge of regret, injustice and revenge into John's ice-encased heart. It had been two weeks since his grandmother's death, and an even darker rain had fallen over the household since then.
John's mother seemed particularly suspicious of George, and in turn this made George suspicious of John. I didn't tell her, he cursed in his head. Cherish wasn't the only one who seemed to be extra cautious around George since the accident. A few members from Cherish's family never seemed to thrive on George's constant excitement about wars and the military, and now that the incident had occurred they all seemed furious. Some of them even spoke publically while he was still in the room and while some seemed openly suspicious, it wasn't hard to miss the looks of uncertainty from other eyes as well. The police also held him as a suspect, although the case had already been dismissed as an accident.
Although grief, anger and revenge all swirled like a constantly active volcano in his mind, John knew he couldn't just kill his own father. Although he felt he couldn't find his dad in this man anymore, he still had a bond to him and felt guilt scarcely alive in his belly whenever he thought of the easy route out. Still, he couldn't go on living as he did. The secret seemed to cut him open on a daily basis, like a stab from a sword. He couldn't sit down for even a moment in fear that the scene would creep back into his mind and paralyze his common sense. He felt an electric adrenaline rush crash onto him whenever he thought of his father's betrayal, something had to be done, for his and everyone else's sake. I just have to figure out what needs to be done, how I can hurt him like he hurt me, like he hurt his entire family so carelessly and selfishly.
"Cherish, John, I've been thinking lately." His father's compassionate words stirred him out of his heavy thoughts, forcing John to feel unnecessary fear that his father had somehow read his thoughts and knew what he was planning. "I feel terrible what happened, and because of it, I want to change myself and make myself a better man." The words were filled with earnest intense understanding and emotion. Cherish perked up, her eyes sparking with interest although still in their constant saddened glaze ever since her mother died. "George, you mean it?" she whispered with just as much thick endless emotion. George nodded before looking up at his only son. "Remember when you wanted to learn archery like your old man? I bought you a bow and a few arrows, its bran new and everything. Real state of the art stuff, you know? I wanted to surprise you; it's down in the basement."
John looked up and forced a pleasantly surprised smile on his face. "Really? I didn't expect that, thanks." He tried to make himself look as if he'd forgiven his dad, but deep inside he wanted to send a punch in his way for even trying to comfort him with meaningless gifts. You're toys can't fill grandma's place, he thought harshly. His dad looked at his wife, and for once John saw a spark of excitement lighting his eyes. "Honey, my deepest joy, I bought you something too," he breathed. "Yours is a surprise, but it's special and I really think you deserve it, for facing these troubling times so bravely." He paused, seemingly deep in thought. "I'm sorry I've changed so much since I came back from the war. But you, you've never changed. I've loved you from day one because you're so strong willed, so filled with determination; you can't be phased from what the world throws at you."
His mother's eyes, glazed with sickly grief and old beaten memories just moments before, seemed to instantly light with the same innocence and love for life as a newborn child. "It sounds lovely," she whispered with an uncontrolled smile spreading across her face. "I'm so happy you've found yourself again. You're strong yourself, I never doubted you." John felt nauseous with all the happy buzzing around him when he felt so dark and secluded only a foot across the table. "I want you to come and see as soon as possible. I'll be waiting!" He chirped before setting up and rushing toward the basement door. Cherish flashed John a look of total relief and growth before walking calmly to the basement.
"You're so naïve," he whispered under his breath as his mother disappeared behind the door. He looked up to the ceiling, fresh tears staining his cheeks and a surge of pent up emotion bubbling like an active volcano in the pit of his stomach. Once again, something dark and mysterious scratched inside that volcano, hissing and cursing as it threatened to burst right out of him and wreak havoc on the city. "Unlike everyone else, I haven't forgotten your sacrifice," he whispered to the unresponsive ceiling above. "He isn't going to go unpunished, whether I die trying or not." He felt even sicker to his stomach when he realized he wasn't talking to any floating ghost of his grandmother, staring sweetly and full of love above him. He was just talking to the ceiling of this dreadful house. Gulping down some water to help his nauseated stomach, he ran to his bedroom and pulled out a clutter of paper. His palms wet with sweat, he grabbed a wooden pencil and wrote an unsteady but clear message on the page.
Should I not make it out of this with either my life or sanity still intact, I'm writing this message so that I can make this message clear. On the day that my grandmother died, she was not killed by accident, but a homicide. I watched beyond my dad's knowledge when he pushed my grandma off the canyon, in cold blood. The view was very clear and I promise with everything that I'm worth that I'm not mistaken when I say my dad pushed my grandmother, with the full intention of killing her. He seemed very shocked and even regretful afterwards, and then ran back into the woods. Before getting back to the truck, he saw what I had witnessed. He told me in an aggressive manner that if I told anyone, it would be "my last mistake." I'm writing this in case the police find this message, and in case I've failed to revenge my grandmother's death. I'm sorry if what I'm doing is immoral, or the wrong decision, but it's the right decision for me. Again, this message should never be found until my mission fails. The writer of this message is that father's only son, John.
Hands trembling and heart racing, he couldn't find it in himself to write a conclusion to the note. It all seemed too happy or like it was a joke. If this is ever found, please don't let the police think it's a joke! Setting up again, John felt the pressure that his father could walk in any minute. The note suddenly switched from a near worthless piece of paper to a lit bomb that could explode at any second. Looking everywhere for a well-hidden place to hide the note, he stuffed the paper into a birthday envelope he had gotten last year to disguise it and then placed it under his mattress. That should do.
His heart raced as he exited his bedroom, feeling like a tiny toddler who had just done something he wasn't suppose to do. He felt his legs unsteadily lead him to the basement, and casually opened it and stepped down the dark stairs. He walked down them, turned, and set his eyes on something miserably horrifying. His mother lay in a pool of blood on the ground, eerily motionless. His mind wanted to squeal his mother's name, to run to her and try to bring her back to life, but his body stayed like a stone statue. After a moment, he felt his entire body wet with sweat and his knees giving out. Quickly, he grabbed his phone and dialed 911, his shaking fingers hardly making impact on the buttons. The police seemed to take ages to actually answer the phone, but every second seemed deadly. Looking left to right as if he'd expected a fully grown arcanine to leap out of the depths and pounce the life out of him, he crept to his mother's side and felt for a pulse. Panic and what he already knew surged through him as he tried every inch of her wrist and then put his ear to her chest, but heard nothing. Setting the still ringing cell phone to the ground, he began first aid procedures but remained painfully aware how little he actually knew about it. Finally, an answer shivered through the cell phone. "Yes, hello! My mother…m-my mother, I can't feel her pulse," he stuttered awkwardly. Hot icy blood ran through him as the full reality of things seemed to finally reach his mind. "She's bleeding heavily; I don't know what to do." The officer on the other end immediately started spitting the first aid procedures more clearly, but John felt inevitable dread with how useless it all felt. While he tried desperately to work with the procedures, he spat his address into the cell phone and the officer disconnected from the phone.
With his full attention back onto his mother, he pressed harder onto her chest and felt like he was only making the situation worse. Footsteps, ones that weren't his own, crept from the shadows. John slowly lifted his gaze to his own father, who remained oddly clean of blood. His face was the scariest thing on him, one of complete lack of empathy or guilt. It seemed so vile, rotten, twisted with hopelessness and glazed with coldness. John suddenly became aware of the gun in his father's hands, trembling and shaking as one finger lay firmly on the trigger. "John," he whispered with all the guilt and pain that the whole world seemed to contain. He dropped to his knees as floods of tears poured from his face. "I killed them, all of them. What have I done, I don't even recognize myself anymore!" John felt his own eyes fill with tears as father and son mourned the death of their loved ones.
"I just want to die," his father hissed into the air. John felt a ripple of chilled fear run through him. "I have no faith in anything anymore. The war, John, the war!" he went on. "Me and my men were out, and I felt so alive. A man's never felt more alive than I did then; I was finally worth something out there." His eyes glazed with memories, some good but mostly bad. "Then before I had time to count my own blessings, a pair of ice cold hands blocked my vision and I heard a bunch of screams around me. In a moment I felt a stab of pain in my side, and I fell unconscious." The words seemed to tumble out of him like storms. "The next thing I know, I'm strapped down on the floor and can't move nothing. I've never been more scared than that, John, I wanted to scream for help but no one was there. They started taunting me, calling me scum and their little prisoner of war. They started undressing me, pissing on me, slapping me as hard as they could with these long wooden sticks!"
He licked his lips, even though the tears made his entire face wet. "They said things, did things, they kept me in there for days. That's when I knew I'd lost my sanity, my will to live, and my drive to be worth anything anymore. I was starving, I was thirsty but they didn't feed me or nothing. They left me in there, and the worst part was waiting. Waiting for someone to come in and finish me, but they never did. It was so dark and quite that I screamed a few times but nothing happened, nothing reacted." He wheezed with hot tears and nails that scraped unnaturally across the cold cement floor. "Then I was rescued. A whole crew of lads came down and got me out of there, but I wasn't the same man that went in. I wasn't never to be the same man again! My arms and legs were blue from those ropes that held me down, to the point where they had to amputate one of my arms. The arm had gone without enough blood for so long that it was virtually useless, and threatened to become infected."
His voice rose to a deafening wail and his words came out in barely coherent tumbles of grief-ridden terror. "But no one cared! I walked around with the wounds that I still carried, but everyone blamed me for it! Every last one of you, Cherish, John, my own family and step family! It was like you just wanted to get rid of me, yet I walked around with scars far beyond this lost arm of mine, and no one seemed to ever notice. How could you all be so selfish, so intent on fixing the problems I was causing in your life?" John just watched on in complete horror as he still stood over the body of his mother. "I…I never knew how much you suffered," he whispered hesitantly. He felt tears leap out of him; his body cringed so that his forehead lay on the body of his mother, which was still warm with life. "But you killed my mother!" he gasped with a sweep of shock. "You killed her!"
He shook his head as he continued to rest his forehead on the still warm body, not even bothering to look up. "How could you be so brutal? To take someone's life, someone who loved you so goddamn much! She only wanted to help you, how could you be so blind in your own arrogance that you failed to see what was right in front of you?" His words flowed out of him in a screech of pain and betrayal. He heard the half-muffled hyperventilating sobs from his father. His voice sounded so old and grief-stricken that it didn't even sound like his voice anymore. "It's always my fault!" he gasped between sobs. "The whole world's against me! I look to God, I ask him to help me but all he does is throw back his head and laugh at my pain. I've been crawling all this time, I've begged, but everyone just ignores me because I'm so unimportant that I don't deserve to be as happy as my own family and neighbors." John closed his eyes as a shot rang into the air, its shrill tang still vibrating against the walls. The gun shot seemed to cause John's heart to stop all together, and darkness seemed to fill his vision. Did he shoot me? He thought between appeased sobs. He did! He has nothing left anymore; this was his intention all along! Dropping to the floor in a crippled death position, John panted and heaved with breath that didn't seem to ever make it into his lungs. His survival instincts kicked in, and a feeling of peace fell over him. I don't care. I've lost my mother, my grandmother, my father, and I see no reason to keep going. I'm through.
Although he longed to go painlessly and fall into the abyss of peace and light, where he could embrace his mother and grandmother in a hug and run across the clouds with all the carelessness in the world that one could carry, he never seemed to be able to close his eyes. Instead they were wide open, his senses around him pricked and acute for any signs of movement around him. Looking up with shaky protest screaming from every fiber of his being, he suppressed a gasp as his eyes rested on his stilled father. He lay in an unnatural shape, blood pooling around his suddenly small flat frame.
He shot himself, not me, John thought shakily. He committed suicide before he could kill me like he had planned. He'd felt so lost with himself, that he couldn't bear one more minute of it. A bunch of hurried footsteps pounded on the ground above him, and John became aware for the first time of the loud wailing of police sirens. "D-down here," John called unconsciously as he stood up in a sitting position. Footsteps tapped as men pooled down the stairs, and a pistol seemed to point in every direction. "I'm alone, he shot himself." John was surprised at how casual and steady his voice sounded, as if that sentence was as common as 'how are you' or 'nice weather we've been having.'"
The men still looked suspicious until looks of horror and confusion paled the men's faces when they saw the two bodies on the ground. "Check around the basement," one of the police men asked as a few scattered around the clearing, looking behind boxes for hiding spaces. Some police man walked to John and helped him to his feet. "Do you feel faint? Do you think you're in shock?" one of them asked as another flashed a bright flashlight in his eyes. "He looks like he might be in shock. Can you speak?" John felt the entire world whirl around him. "I… I feel kind of sick," he groaned distantly. "Can I sit down again?" The police man shook his head and placed a helpful arm around him. "Come on, we need to get you away from the scene. Can you make it up the stairs?" his voice seemed to fill with concern and seriousness. He nodded absently as he dragged his feet to the stairs. He turned his head to look one more time, possibly the last time, at his mother and father before stumbling up the staircase.
Once up the stairs and out the door, he felt a million eyes rested on him. There were several police cars yelling their siren and at least a dozen police men looking at him, along with some neighbors looking somewhat shocked from the porch of their houses. John suddenly became aware of the blood that stained his jeans, and how weak he seemed to be. "Is someone still in the house?" one of the police men asked urgently. "The scene was pretty gruesome; it appears the killer committed suicide only a few minutes before we arrived on the scene. Just in case, we're scouting the area for any accomplices."
John continued miserably on and sat in one of the cop's car. A fresh pair of pants was handed to him, so he changed into them despite the pants being a size or two bigger than he was. "Is there anything you got to say or get off your chest? Do you want a therapist?" One of the cops asked. He paused for a moment, and then looked directly at the cop with intense eyes. "You're a cop. I want to know how you can come into a sorry looking scene like this, and see a mother stabbed to death on the ground and a father who committed suicide because he'd lost all the meaning in his life. How can you find their son there, a broken boy who's lost his whole family in one night, and still have hope for humanity when so many things can go wrong in this world? How do you keep your faith in humanity?" The cop looked at him; his face was unreadable and eerily stern, as if he'd taken the question like it was the purpose to his entire life he'd just questioned. "Sir, I don't know if you believe in a higher power, but I look to God and see he hasn't given up on us no matter how much further we tend to fall into disaster. If he hasn't given up on us, then I'll keep believing there's hope for humanity as well. Even if that makes me the village fool."
Silver licked one paw and brushed it over one ear. His senses spiked when he sensed the dashing of tiny paws across the sun-tanned earth. He licked his tongue over his lips and leapt to the ground, belly brushing the snow below and ears flattened to his head. He opened his mouth and drew in the identity of the scent. An underfed rattata, he thought to himself, not much but plenty at the same time. Drawing his paws forward, he began a soft trot around the bustling building. The rattata looked alert and suspicious from all the chattering around campus- it seemed regretful to even have come near the place. For a moment, Silver was led to believe he couldn't catch the rattata since it was already so acutely aware of its surroundings, but then he changed his mind. It was a challenge after all, and being trapped in this place seemed to poison his drive for excitement. He padded forward slowly, like an arcanine getting ready to pounce a stantler. The rattata was completely oblivious to Silver's presence while it sniffed around for a place to hide its Oran berry. That fruit must be hiding my scent, he thought smugly.
With an energetic burst in his paws, he leaped into the air and planted his claws firmly into the prey. Before the rattata could move or even emit a cry of help, Silver seized its chance with tooth and claw. Victory heating his pelt, he turned and trotted back to the building's entrance with his prey between his jaws.
"My test is today!" Silver heard Champ squeal with worried excitement as he entered the room. "Oh, that must be them!" Silver padded around the metal to expose himself to the group. The metal door opened and the guards, still annoyed that Silver was given privileges to go wherever he pleased, allowed him to enter. "Sorry, just me," he beamed around a mouthful of purple fur. After setting his quarry on the ground he gave a violent shake of his pelt, dislodging tiny balls of snow around the cage.
"I brought some fresh prey for Scrappy." The tiny ball of vulpix fur emerged tentatively from the darkness and sniffed the carcass. "You've been eating milk-soaked pokefood for so long that I figured I'd give this to you. Freshly caught food tastes much better for a carnivore." Scrappy still looked uncertain, but still took a confused bite. The bite was small and weak, and didn't even dent the skin. "This doesn't taste as good as I thought," he choked with a mouthful of fur in his mouth.
"No, no, not the pelt. It's the meat underneath," he explained. Stepping forward, he took the rattata with both paws on either side and carefully opened the rattata around the stomach so that everything inside was easy to reach. Carefully, he placed his fangs around the best part, cleaned the blood with his tongue, and placed it in front of the vulpix. Instead of excited, the little vulpix looked revolted. "I think I like eating the pokefood," he muttered shyly. Silver pressed on, nosing the piece toward him. "It's good, just trust me. In the wild where you came from, this is what you would have started eating by now. Even if you were a Pokémon owned by a human, you would still have gotten it for a treat now and then."
Scrappy looked less than eager, but took another experimental bite of the food. Silver knew he liked it when his eyes opened wide, shining like tiny stars. "This is delicious!" he barked lovingly before taking several more hungry mouthfuls. "Sorry I ever doubted you!" Silver suppressed a giggle of humor as Scrappy licked his tiny tongue across the cement floor, trying to get every little bit he may have missed. "There's plenty more if you like, it's all yours."
"I want some!" Champ quickly scampered up to the rattata and sniffed it before drawing back. "It smells kind of sour, but if Scrappy likes it, I will too won't I?" When Silver nodded, Champ gulped down a few famished mouthfuls. "Whoa, is this magic or something?" Silver purred, "I'd say it is after eating what you guys usually get! Aurora, would you like some?" Aurora smiled but shook her head. "I feel bad enough that you always give us food when it isn't ours in the first place. I mean it's not like we deserve it more than anyone else, this whole building must have a thousand Pokémon huddled in it! Besides, the young ones will enjoy it more than me."
Silver took the near-empty Rattata to his new friend and placed it at her lavender paws. "I know how you feel; I don't see how I deserve to get fed like royalty when everyone else gets the mere essentials. But this is special, Aurora. It's freshly killed and wild! You'll like it, trust me. It tastes great." Aurora knew better than to argue with him, especially since she knew she hardly had the patience to match Silver's persistence. Bending down, she took a few restrained bites. "Ah, memories," she mewed wistfully. "Tastes just like I remember it back when I was just a little fluff ball." Silver felt warmth fluff his pelt. He lay beside her and shared the rest of the meal as memories raised back into his mind as well. The hot blood, filled with oxygen from the fear that had surged through it the moment before attack, was all extra tasty and creamily rich like the most expensive type of chocolate bar. The adrenaline that had struck the prey could also be tasted in the still-tensed muscles of the rattata, like a little burst of electric heat in the food. By the time the entire meal had been eaten, there was nothing but a furry pelt left behind.
"Thanks, Silver," Aurora rasped with affection, "it was kind of you to share that." Nodding with respect, Silver slipped out from the cage and padded away from the room just as a group of men started to go back in. Champ, when they take you to that testing room, I hope you show your best! Trotting onward, he swerved around a hallway and saw a group of grunts heading his way. Wonder where they're going? Padding on more hesitantly, he moved to the side to let the group pass. He was caught my surprise when the group stopped and clustered around him. They all seemed heavily interested in him, like he was the most amazing thing they'd ever seen. He raised the hairs on his pelt and let out a confused hiss at the grunts. "Ungrateful flea-infested…" one of the grunts muttered aloud which quickly droned down to an incoherent muttering. "Doesn't matter, let's just get it to the boss before he skins us for being late," another added. The other grunts seemed to confirm this idea and picked up Silver by the scruff. He hissed again with annoyance, slashing his claws at anything he could reach but making no contact.
The grunts towed him into the boss's office and set him on the ground more gently. He flung himself around and snarled at the grunts, which looked ready to tackle him if the boss wasn't watching. "Who exactly does that Meowth think it is?" one of the grunts whispered just loud enough for Silver to overhear. "It probably does know who it is, and that's why it's being so stuck up." Silver glared at the grunts with a questionable look, but quickly lost interest and began licking his fur flat again.
Max, of course, was sitting in his chair with Nala hovering around close by. When Silver caught her eye he noticed she, too, looked like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. When she noticed the eye contact, she quickly shied away and crawled behind the desk where she couldn't be seen. Silver suppressed a lash of his tail. She sees me all the time and we're pretty well associated by now. Why does she still act so apprehensive and bashful around me? It's not like I'm going to bite or something.
"Yes, there's no doubt about it," Max declared after a moment. Silver became aware that Max had been looking at him closely while he thought about his relationship with Nala. Feeling a little bashful himself, he lay closer to the ground and curled up tightly so that he looked much smaller than he really was. "I know who this is, and I got to say, I can't believe my luck." He gave Silver a controlling hungry look, one as if he'd just gained sudden absolute power, which made Silver want to sink into the ground and disappear.
"So what are we going to do?" one of the grunts asked from a distance. "Good question, Courtney," Max answered with a spice of joy in his voice. "We'll have to make this count." He looked thoughtful for a moment, and even a bit panicked and perplexed. "First we'll send a threatening letter, telling them we have something that they want." A smile crossed his face, like an evil plan was slowly brewing in his mind. "But don't tell him what we've got directly; he can probably put the pieces together. If he can't, then it'll make the event that much more appetizing when he comes here confused and freaked out." Another grunt with long blonde hair stepped forward, "you mean like a ransom?"
"Exactly right, Mack!" the team leader chimed, "a ransom. And if they don't comply…" he gave Silver a menacing look. "Then he'll never see this Meowth again." As nods of approval went through all the grunts, a third grunt stepped forward. "What will the ransom be about? What are we trying to gain here, exactly?" he asked. Max looked like he was thinking hard. "We'll probably never get a chance like this again, so we have to make it good and we have to think strategically. I think we'll ask them to stay out of Team Magma's business, from here on out. I don't want to ask them to go as far as destroying Team Aqua, or they might consider it too big a deal. We want to make sure as soon as they get their Meowth back, they won't instantly turn on us and become even worse enemies."
The first grunt, Courtney, spoke. "Just in case they do attack later on, we should claim our names as Team Aqua. That way they'll attack the wrong team." Max seemed to love the idea, "that's brilliant! But this will be risky; they're a very proud group, so they might choose to battle for the Meowth instead of sorting it out peacefully, just to keep their pride." "How many Pokémon do you think they'll bring?" the blonde one, Mack, asked. "If we send an anonymous threatening letter then they may bring their best to the fight and plenty of it." The light of excitement seemed to drown out as worry and distrust set in. "Are you sure we're not over our heads?" asked Tabitha after a small moment of silence. "No, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It'll just have to be do or die, and we're going to do it right." He thought it threw for another moment, the grunts not daring to say anymore as their team leader thought out their means of attack.
"Round up our best Pokémon in their Pokéballs and put them in several bags. In turn, put those in the helicopters. We'll set the time to meet around six pm Tuesday, so they won't have a lot of time to prepare. We'll arrive early, at around six am and ready our team. Then we'll offer our ransom. Write the letter with an edge of threat, but not too threatening. Don't' give a name and triple check to make sure you never mention Team Magma in the letter. Explain we have something they want and to meet us near the abandoned gym at the edge of the forest- they'll know where that is. Right, it's set tomorrow, then. While you do that, I'll alert the rest of the building and start rounding up our best Pokémon. This could be the difference between the fall or the survival of Team Magma!"
Silver parted his jaws in a massive yawn and blinked the sleep from his eyes. A paw had prodded him in the side, awakening him from his slumber. "It's almost time," Nala's voice hissed urgently in his ear. He rose to his paws and blinked against the burning light of the sun reflecting off the snow, making everything a dazzling white. He lifted a claw to scratch at the annoying collar around his neck, only to remember one of the grunts had taken it off before they left. Good riddance! He thought as he stretched his back and leaped into the snow. He had walked only a few steps into the powdery white stuff before a tight piece of leather was roped around his neck. A grunt leaned over and lifted him from the snow. Can't I ever be alone? He thought with a grudge.
"It's almost six o'clock," the grunt called to his leader, who was looking intently at the spread of pine trees in front of him. "It's just like them to be noble and proud enough to come exactly on que, if not fashionably late." His leader chuckled, although his good humor seemed to be protected with hidden alertness and anxiety. "Are all the Pokémon released from their Pokéballs?" he asked with sudden seriousness. The grunt nodded, "they were well fed and given several energy boosts and rare candies to improve their performance," the grunt confirmed. "Good," Max muttered with his thoughts seemingly somewhere else. "And Team Aqua, our spies are sure they're clueless about our advances today?" The grunt nodded, "all of their men are present at their base camp." Max continued to glare into the pine trees, "It'll be any second now; I expect to face the worst kind of trouble today."
At that very moment, the trees began to move just beyond the mountains. "That's them!" he hissed at any grunt that was listening. "Everyone's wearing their Team Aqua disguises?" Silver could practically touch the unease and fear that rolled off of his usually strong and fearless leader. "Everyone's more ready than they'll ever be," the grunt grumbled. Max didn't look convinced. "Let me hold the Meowth so you don't screw up and release it!" he snarled at the grunt. Soon the goodhearted commotion and laughter-filled chatting behind him fell into stunned silence and suppressed fear as the grunts and Pokémon became aware of the moving trees just beyond. It felt like millennia's before the trees finally parted enough to show the outline of bodies coming through. "They brought less Pokémon than we have," one of the grunts called. "But I guarantee they're higher leveled and twice as ruthless. Although it's clear we spooked them, they've brought a pretty good pack with them."
Max nodded, "Prepare yourselves gentlemen. The defining moment is now," Max called behind him. The trees soon parted, revealing an authoritive figure in the lead. Silver felt a wave of familiarity crash on him, so intense and rich in flavored memories that Silver was sure he would have fallen off his paws had he been standing on them. "Evening, Giovanni." Max called a throaty pleasant greeting to the man in the front. Silver was slightly surprised to hear Max sound so kind, like he'd known this man in front of him like only best friends could, "Nice to see you looking well and fit."
Silver felt a shiver pass through him as he surveyed him. He looked much older than he last remembered, with a few more wrinkles forming on his face from old age and old battles. His face expressed nothing but admirable determination, but Silver could see the light of fear and curiosity in him. "You say you have something I want," he yelled with a voice clearly often used for debates and speeches. "Quit dillydallying and show me."
Max ignored the tart tang of annoyance in the leader's voice, "Of course." He lifted Silver up in the air, turning all eyes on him. "This is your Meowth, or am I mistaken?" Max asked confidently. Giovanni stared intently on Silver, making his stomach flip. After some hardly bearable eye contact, Giovanni looked back at Max if not a little surprised. "Yes, I recognize this creature," he called a little hesitantly. "I assume you want it back. I, leader of Team Aqua, am offering a ransom." Some of the grunts on Team Rocket's team looked at their leader urgently. The formidable leader still seemed confused and surprised at once, but didn't budge.
"I said I knew this creature," he called with unfaltering authority, "but I didn't say I still owned it. I've long released this Meowth from my ownership. I no longer care what happens to it." Silver felt a pang of rejection shoot through him. Meanwhile, Max looked even more rejected. "You can't fool me," he answered a little more aggressively. "I've read up on my enemy's history! You used to own a Meowth, named Silver correct? You would do anything for it; it was your best mate. Don't tell me you've given up on your most treasured companion, just like that?" Max's voice quivered with anxious horror. He knows his plan is falling apart, Silver thought helplessly.
Meanwhile, Giovanni suddenly looked a little innocent rather than dominant. "We're enemies?" he asked sadly. "I knew our teams had tension, but I'd thought it wasn't strong enough where you'd hold a ransom against what you believe to be my most cherished possession." His face contorted from innocent lack of friendship to anger and resentment. "Fair enough, Max of Team Magma, I never wanted to destroy your team but I can't say I wasn't considering it. You were beginning to get a little pesky."
Silver wasn't expecting Giovanni's gaze to switch back onto him. It was a look of anger, of betrayal, of pure hate. He held the gaze for only a few moments, but they seemed like years. There was a time where I could see liveliness and success in you. But now you just look at me and see nothing but an obstacle to get past. Silver knew the thoughts that Giovanni was thinking too. 'You're lucky I didn't kill you when I had the chance!'
"Alright then, I see no point in continuing this petty back and forth." He spoke evenly, as if the situation he was in was like flicking an ant off his suit. He turned to his men, "release all the teams, including the back-up and emergency. No survivors or prisoners, ask to kill and not to knock-out. This should be easy." He turned back to Max, a devilish smile crossing his face. "This will be easier on the both of us," he mused smugly. "After this, I'll take out Team Aqua. Farewell, my friend, you meant nothing to me." Giovanni raised one arm, and instantly an entire hoard of Pokémon rushed forward with tooth and claws at the ready.
The still calm air seemed to erupt into frenzy and agile movements in less time it took to blink. "Give the commands!" Max screamed from his post, but the grunts had already dished out orders to the Pokémon. He looked at Silver, his eyes sending daggers of regret and anger. "Put that thing back in the helicopter, Giovanni has to be lying to make us lose our hold of it!" The grunt nodded and started running back to the helicopter, but Giovanni's Pokémon had already made it over the hill and into the heat of battle. Squeals and snarls rang as the first set of enemy claws sunk into another's shoulder, and Pokémon attacks began shortly after. Silver felt the stunned breath of the grunt behind him get trampled by an Arcanine, causing him to fly to the ground and release his grip on Silver. Taking the opportunity, Silver scrambled out of the grunt's grip and pelted into the dusty hot zone of the battle.
His ears were met with the deafening sound of screeching and thrashing, and his senses filled with the unnaturally large amount of blood scent that stained the luscious green grass an uneasy crimson. He began to weave around the knots of snarling bodies and attacks that seemed to aim at random from various Pokémon. He had made it past a charmeleon and a quilava who were spitting fire attacks like no tomorrow when he felt a punch connect to his flank. He rolled ungraciously across the ground and shakily got back on his paws. He barely dodged another punch before he laid eyes on his attacker. It was a Lucario, which stood on its royal blue and black hind paws with defiance and anger.
Silver cursed in his head; of course it had to be a fighting type Pokémon! He hissed with his teeth bared, and then turned tail and fled. He thought for sure the Lucario wouldn't be able to weave through the worst of the fighting like he could, but he was quickly proven wrong when another punch scored on his shoulder. "So you're the one who started this!" the Lucario snarled. "No matter, I'll have the honor of making this your last battle." A sickeningly menacing smile graced the Lucario's face before it dived forward, its paws glowing in the beginning of a Close Combat. Silver prepared to leap under its legs and confuse it, but another action prevented this defense. A tiny beige body pelted into the Lucario, making it lose its balance and focus. "Nala!" Silver gasped. "You're helping me?" Nala nodded, "Of course, we're teammates."
Silver nodded gratefully and turned back to the Lucario, who was regaining its balance. "What's this, some Meowth doing your battles for you? You're so weak that you need two on one to even come close to defeating me? Well don't hold your breath!" The Lucario regained its composure and stormed back in, its forepaw lifted up in the start of a Metal Claw. Nala dodged expertly aside and hurled a water pulse with amazing speed directly into the Lucario's shoulder. It snarled with the pain of the attack, then threw an Aurora Sphere at her. Nala wasn't having any of it though, and side-stepped away from the attack before throwing a second Water Pulse with precision. The attacks, meant to weaken the foe, only seemed to drive the Lucario on with anger and rebellion. Closing its eyes, it emitted a pink pulse in luxurious waves from its body. Silver was surprised to feel the fear and anxiety seem to melt away from him, despite his instincts protesting against the crazy idea to relax. The Lucario opened its eyes again and seemed to look smug, as its own body was also healed. Then its face contorted to horror. That was heal pulse, he remembered quickly, but he forgot heal pulse can help his attackers too!
With a snarl of frustration and surprise, the Lucario turned and fled back into the thickest parts of the fighting. "I can't believe we survived that, we were at a disadvantage," Silver celebrated. "Don't forget, we're not out of the woods yet. The Lucario was obviously under experienced, or else it would have never made such a foolish mistake. Most of these Pokémon are senior fighters, so we need to be careful-"
Nala was cut off as the breath was driven out of her, a menacing Absol held her down against the blood-stained snow. "Don't lose your focus, or you may lose your life" the Absol hissed into her ear. Silver dove forward with every intention of shredding the Absol apart if he could, but he was thrown off his paws before he could do anything. He faced his new attacker with dumb courage, but his bravery quickly melted away when he realized he was faced against a Nidoking. The giant purple Pokémon gave a deafening roar and raised one massive arm to throw a Double Kick directly at him, but the attack was stopped. An insanely powerful blizzard attack pierced through the powdery blue sky, directly from an all powerful Articuno, and connected a direct hit right on the Nidoking's back. With a gasp of shock and pain, the Nidoking fell forward in a semi-conscious state.
Gasping with shock, Silver tried to swerve and run away but he was too late. He squealed in half-voiced pain when the Nidoking fell directly on him. His front paws scratched at the frozen frost-bitten earth, but his entire lower body had been crushed under the Nidoking's heavy weight. He squeaked a gasp for help, but was painfully aware that his scream would only draw more enemies to come and finish him off. With the pain becoming increasingly intolerable, Silver squished himself as close to the Nidoking as he could and hoped no enemy would see him under the massive Pokémon laying knocked out on top of him.
"Are you still conscious?" a sweet familiar voice asked him, entirely too calm to be normal in the buzzing war around him. He looked up to see an unfamiliar face, which contradicted the familiar voice he had heard a moment before. Still, though, the Ninetails in front of him did resemble something he once saw. She had a scar across one eye, and two more scars immortalized across her muzzle. Her left ear was tattered to the point where there was hardly any of her ear left, and her right also bore some scars. "Well? I don't know if you've noticed, but we don't exactly have all day here. Can you escape?" Understanding suddenly reached him. This Ninetails looks exactly like the Houndoom that first brought me to Team Magma! But that's impossible… "I can't get out," he croaked with frustration. The Ninetails nodded, and clamped her jaws around the Nidoking's heavy arms. She pulled with all her strength visibly ebbing out of her until the Nidoking was moved just enough for Silver to crawl out. "Well done," the Ninetails approved. "I don't know if you recognize me, but I'm the houndoom that you met on your first day here. Now, can you run? More importantly can you walk?"
Silver tested his back paws, but they were still numbed and hardly useful. "I can get somewhere, but only as fast as a Slowpoke could," he gasped beyond the pain and effort. "Fair enough, get on my back." The Ninetails bent down to his level, but Silver hesitated. "I suppose we could wait for someone or something to come and maul us, but I prefer you start moving right about now," the Ninetails growled sarcastically. Silver limped onto the Ninetails back and instantly felt the Ninetails leap to her paws and begin in a sprint.
Silver unconsciously released his claws from his paws and gripped the Ninetails short fur before he could be thrown off of her. Weaving with impressive agility, the Ninetails leaped like a trained ballet dancer through the hot zone of the battle and set off in a cautious fast trot through the outskirts of the area. "My name's Kyoka, by the way. There's someone who wants to meet you." Silver flipped his ear up with interest, despite the rushing wind that battled to keep his ears pressed firmly against his head.
Stopping at a small snow-dusted road, Silver felt his heart warm his entire body. "Nisa!" He called with utter surprise. His mate, who he hadn't seen for weeks, turned to him. Her face was momentarily filled with fear and something else mysterious, but instantly melted into relief and love. "Staraku! My mate!" Silver charged forward and jumped with his claws safely retracted. With his paws touching his mate's pelt for the first time in weeks, the two toppled over with the force of Silver's jump and rolled in the snow, so that their beige and brown coats changed to a cloudy white.
Nisa pressed her charm to his and licked his cheek with warmth and love, a loud purr echoing from deep within her chest. "I thought I'd lost you. I can't believe I found you again." Silver purred with her as their pelts blended together, the two nestling into each other's fur. "How is our kitten?" Nisa's eyes lit with excitement and fulfillment. "Wonderful, it turned out to be a girl. I was so miserable that she may never get to know who her father was, but now she finally will! We…we need to get away from this awful place," Nisa went on. "As soon as we get away from here, everything can be normal again. We can be a happy family, you, me and our beautiful daughter. Everything will have been what it should have been from the beginning."
Silver got to his feet and licked her charm one more time. "Where is our daughter?" he asked. Nisa pointed with her neck stretched toward the depths of the forest. "In an old den I found, not too far from here." Silver nodded. "I think we should move our old nest, in case they come back," he huffed as Nisa agreed. Silver looked back at the battling Pokémon, and cringed when he saw several Pokémon knocked out already. "Maybe we should help…." Nisa gave him a look as if she'd just smelled something rotten. "You're kidding right? We're going back to our nest, getting our daughter, and running far away from here. What happens to these mongrels is none of our business; we just need to get our self to safety-" Nisa was cut off by a screeching sound of tires. There was only a moment to recognize the giant cars that came swerving in their direction before a set of teeth took him by the scruff.
His breath was thrown out of him when he was dragged suddenly from his location and thrown awkwardly in the snow. A bang and a thump sounded through the air, and then the screech of tires stopping against the little traction that the snow and ice provided had seized. Silver was on his paws instantly, looking onto the terrifying scene of several cars lined up. He felt a nonexistent arrow shoot straight through his heart when he saw Nisa, laying flat and still on the snowy road.
"Nisa!" he gasped, but there was no reply. The world around him, full of action and the brutal dance of battles, all seemed to disappear into blackness. He hopped through the snow and pressed his cheek to her fur. Her stomach was flatter than it should have been, but other than that she looked mostly normal. He walked around her and pressed his ear to her chest, and heard nothing. "Please don't leave me," he whispered into her fur. "I've felt so alone without you…" he looked up at Kyoka, who was sitting entirely too calmly on the side of the road. "Why didn't you save her?" he snarled in panic-filled shock. "How could I? I barely grabbed you in time," she answered coldly. "Then you should have saved her instead!" he hissed in reply before burying his face into his mate's ruffled pelt.
By now, several men had run out of their cars with Pokémon at the ready. The driver of the car that had hit Nisa gave Silver a look of guilt, but he hadn't done anything to help and followed the rest of his crew. "I'll miss you," he whispered into her fur before throwing his head back and screaming a yowl of loss and heart ache.
It felt strange to walk back into a foreign forest, sniffing for his daughters scent. Silver knew there was something entirely too important missing from within. For the first time, he laid his eyes on his new den right under a large boulder. Dropping his heavy load gingerly on the ground, he entered the warmth of the den.
"Intruder!" a tiny voice yelled within. Silver felt his heart pound, and new love filled his heart. A tiny patch of beige fur waddled out of a nest made of dried leaves, feathers and twigs. Her voice was small and squeaky, and Silver felt a surge of pride at how ready the tiny thing seemed so interested in protecting its den. "Get out of me and my mama's den! You're not allowed 'til she comes back and says so!" A pang of guilt washed over him. "Hello," he whispered. "What's your name, little one?"
The tiny meowth blinked, then answered "'ain't none you business...It's Misiku [Mee-see-coo] It means 'music of the stars' in Meowth tongue!" Silver allowed a purr to rise in his belly. "Yes, I know. My name is Staraku, which means 'leader that guides the broken' and your mother's name, Nisa, means 'Butterfly song.' Misiku gave him a somewhat shocked, confused face. "How you know my mum's name?"
Silver leaned down to the tiny kitten's level and replied, "I'm your father, Misiku. Nice to meet you." The tiny kitten, instead of exploding into interest and happiness like Silver expected, looked incredibly skeptical. She's so smart, even though she must be only a few weeks old! He thought with pride. After a while, the tiny kitten sneaked a little closer and breathed in her father's scent. "You smell like me, and you know my mother… I guess that's good enough for me!" She leaned forward and licked Silver's cheek with a tiny tongue. "I've been waiting daddy, momma's ganna be so happy to see you!" Another pang of guilt and hurt.
"I'm sorry, you're mother… is somewhere else," he whispered kindly. He had to try desperately not to cry and scare the tiny kitten more than it was about to be. Misiku cocked her head, "what you mean?" Silver licked the back of the tiny kitten, whose fur was beginning to rise in confusion. "Are you familiar with the concept of death?" he asked as gently as he could. "Momma say death is when she brings food back to the den," she replied with even more confusion filling her eyes. Silver nodded, "when death happens, a Pokémon is no longer on this Earth. Instead he or she floats up to the sky, where they can protect you from a much more distant place, but they're still watching over the ones they love."
He felt sympathy for the tiny kitten; it didn't deserve this at all. This is all my fault, he hissed inwardly to himself, everything's my fault! Misiku doesn't deserve this so young! "Oh, I think I get it," Misiku mewed hesitantly. "Dad, did momma death, too?" Silver blinked in surprise, and then he couldn't hold back the tears that filled his eyes. "Yes," he whispered to the kitten, "I'm so sorry, my daughter." He began giving the kitten a million licks, as if he could clean the pain away from her pelt, but Misiku still looked dazed and upset. "Where is the death?" she whispered uneasily. "She is outside, but prepare yourself, little one. It isn't a sight for young eyes…"
The kitten slowly walked to the mouth of the den and stared at her mother. The tears that flooded her eyes made Silver cringe. The kitten tottered to her mother's side and pressed her muzzle into her mother's snow-dusted fur. "Mom, what will I do without you?" she breathed into Nisa's fur. "I love you," she whispered. The kitten swerved on Silver, her eyes blazing. "How could you let mamma die?" she hissed at him, making him flinch. "If I could take her place, I would," Silver whispered, his voice shivering with tears. "No…" the kitten snarled, looking at her mother's still frame. "It was you, wasn't it? You killed mommy on purpose." Silver stood in shock as he took his own kittens accusation head on. "You left us, and then you killed her!"
Silver took a step back, his pelt searing in pain and anger. "I didn't kill her," he mewed slowly. "I promise you, I didn't kill her." The kitten seemed to ignore him, and walked unsteadily back into the den. "You aren't my daddy, mister. Daddy does nicer things, daddy protects me and momma!" she hissed with tears sizzling tiny holes in the winter snow. "Leave me and mommy alone!" she ran into the den and disappeared against the dark haze. Silver stood, stunned and hurt beyond what he thought possible. But what hurt most, having his kitten believe he killed her mother, or seeing his kitten so hurt with tears running down her face?
"I promise, I'll do everything to protect her, if she ever forgives me," Silver whispered into Nisa's ear. He rasped his tongue across her fur so that the ruffled fur lay flat and the snow that peppered her coat was melted off her slightly warm body. He cleaned the mud and snow away from her belly and flank, and then lifted her by her scruff into a freshly dug hole in the ground. The ground was still frozen hard with ice-tinged soil, and Silver felt exhausted by the time he had dug a hole big enough for her. "I loved you, I really did. I know this isn't what you wanted, but I promise I'll carry on your legacy with smaller paws." He looked back at the den, which seemed to have a dark rain cloud hiding the life that once beamed within.
"Misiku," he called halfheartedly toward the den. "Do you wish to say goodbye to your mother, before she goes to heaven?" No sound was heard from the den. He bowed his head with shame and guilt, and trudged to the den. Misiku was laying in her mother's nest, curled up with her tail hiding her face. "Oh, Misiku!" he gasped as fresh tears began to stain his face. What have I done! "Misiku, please wish your mother farewell. She must want to hear you're okay?"
"I'm not okay," she whispered grimly. "Momma died, and I'm all alone." Her words were muffled against her tail pressed tightly against her face. "You aren't alone," Silver tried, but all the while knowing his words were in vain. "I'll always be here for you Misiku, you're my only connection left with Nisa…" the truth of those words stung. Slowly, the kitten rose to her paws and trudged to the mouth of the den. Her paws seemed weak, like they could hardly bare the weight she was holding.
Once she walked to her mother's side, she looked even more crippled than she did in her nest. "Mom," she whispered solemnly before plunging her face into her fur. "I don't want you to go! Don't leave me here; I'm all alone without you! If I known you were going to die finding my father, I wouldn't have let you go!" Her words tumbled out of her from a slow painful whisper to a yowl of grief. Silver felt the Earth under his paws shrivel up to darkness. It really is my fault, and Misiku knows it. If she'd just waited a little longer, she wouldn't have had to die!
"Welcome sir!" a man called from within the building. John stepped in, looking rather warily around. "Is there anything you are looking for in particular?" The man was an elderly fellow with long gray hair and glasses supported by the slope of his nose. His eyes were a shimmering baby blue, but his skin seemed to have had one too many years of sun exposure. It was tanned and slightly sagging with old age from his facial muscles, with all sorts of buckled wrinkles around his eyes and cheek bones.
It had been several years since the death of John's mother and father. "Yes, actually, I want something for a family, you know? Nothing to do battles with, I want something good around children." He thought fondly to his wife, Christie, and how she never enjoyed having Pokémon fight. Because she couldn't seem to bare to watch Pokémon in pain, she had never had a Pokémon before, even if she wanted one. "I want to surprise my wife for our first anniversary." The gentleman nodded with understanding and a twinkle of mischief in his baby blue eyes. "I'll take you back to see our selection."
There were rows of Pokémon on either side, which John assumed to be abandoned. Then there were Pokéballs all set perfectly lined in isles across the wall. "So, something more like a family pet? We mostly have battlers, since we don't get too many who only want family ones, but I'll see what we can do." He placed a hand on his cleanly shaved chin, thinking through the rows of selections. "Eevee's are a popular choice. They're very often used as pets, and are normally gentle and cuddly little creatures. Last time I checked, I've got about three left in stock. If you want to buy one though, you better do it now. They sell like they're going out of style. I just got five in today, luckily."
John nodded and followed the old man to the back of the room. Two coffee brown Pokémon with cream colored manes and tipped tails were play-wrestling in a tiny play pen. "My apologies, I just remembered I sold the third just a while ago. Anyway, we still have two." The man bent over and picked up the smallest one, checking under its belly for gender. "This was the runt, it's a male. If I remember correctly, I think all three were male. This one's pretty ornery, but it's healthy and fit. It's pretty calm and with some training and lots of exposure to social situations, it should become real gentle within a few months or so." He picked up the second with his other hand. "This one is really energetic, so if you're looking for a super laid back Pokémon than you might want to look elsewhere. But unlike his brother, he's real mamma's boy and a sweet heart." John took the calmer one and double checked its gender, then looked at the skin and fur. "It seems like a healthy male. I don't' see any skin problems and its fur is real soft and healthy. I think this'll do, how much does it cost?"
"You're in luck, they're on sale today. This one is $150,000." John nearly fell out of his shoes. "That's expensive as hell!" he growled before taking control of his cool again. "Is the runt any less expensive?" The old man nodded, but looked a little taken aback. "$140,000," he replied a little hesitantly. John shook his head and placed the eevee back in its cage. "Is there anything else that's real family material but doesn't cost so much? I don't care what it looks like or how weak it is, I'll take anything."
The old man scratched his head and proceeded to grab his cane from behind the desk. "Meowth's are used as pets the most- in fact; they're bred for that purpose most of the time. They're known for being real gentle and mostly dislike battling, so I think I got just the Pokémon for you." Giovanni nodded, feeling a little better about his financial status. "How much do they cost?"
"Not so much. They're raised as pets a lot, so they aren't as intelligent about how much they breed and unfortunately, some trainers think its okay to just throw them into the wild if they want to release them. The result is a million of the things in almost any region or area you go, provided the forest provides for them. A Meowth usually costs anywhere from fifty dollars to one hundred and fifty dollars, if you choose to get a standard one. If you get one that's bred from a high class one, it could range up to millions. Even if they are common, they're a well loved species. Although I hear the Pikachu species and its evolutions are starting to become just as common all of the sudden. Don't ask me why, those things are stubborn and aggressive. It's a shame, really."
John quickly side-stepped around the change in subject. "Do you have any Meowths then?" The old man suddenly looked uncertain with himself. "I have one," he croaked with a voice that seemingly sounded confused. John sighed, feeling frustrated with the old man's slow speed. "But I don't suppose you'll want it. You know, Persians and their prior evolution will typically abandon a weak or sick kitten, if they feel it won't survive. We found this runt and to be honest we're surprised it's survived this long. I don't know how much longer it'll have." John raised an eyebrow and followed the elderly man to a room farther down the hall. A tiny Meowth, no bigger than a human fist, lay in an incubator. Its tiny paws made feeble scratches at the splashed white bedding, as if it was struggling to breath. Its breath came in tiny puffs, and its tongue lolled out of its mouth.
John felt a small pang of sympathy for the thing. He could have been fooled that it was dead if it weren't for the slow rise and fall of its chest. "How much is it?" he asked a little hesitantly. "Free," the old man sighed. His eyes seemed a little pained, like he didn't want to take care of something so innocent that may or may not make it to the next day. "If you can take care of it, then be my guest. I'm certainly not going to make you pay for something that may not even live until tomorrow. I took it to the PokeCenter when I found it, but unfortunately Nurse Joy didn't know what was wrong with it. She said it had some sort of illness that she or any of the other Nurse Joys had seen before. It's completely new and she has no idea how to cure it."
John shrugged. "I guess I can give it a try, I know my wife would kill me if she knew I left a tiny Pokémon like that to die in such a brutal way when I might have been able to save it. If it doesn't live, I suppose I can always come back here and get something else."
John felt a number of eyes on him when he entered the PokeStore. He was holding the newest member of the family in his hands; it's mewling sometimes rising from eerie silence to sudden screeching. Great, he thought bitterly, people are going to think I abuse Pokémon what with me carrying a half dead Meowth into a public store like this!
With annoyance stealing in his footsteps, he walked to the back of the store and selected the first mix of Meowth food he could find. He walked hotly to the counter and thrusted the heap forward. "Is this for that Meowth kitten or another Pokémon?" the cashier asked. John gave him an annoyed look. "Why does it matter?" The cashier knitted his eyebrows together, then turned his back on him and pulled out a cold bottle of milk from a mini fridge. "If it's for that meowth, then you should know it isn't ready to eat solid food yet. It looks about a week old; you should give it another week before it can start digesting solids." John felt a little embarrassed for being so short with him about the question earlier. "Right, yeah, thanks, I'll take that bottle and some milk if you got it. Anything else I should know?"
The cashier tapped at his computer and gave John a piece of paper to write his signature on. "I have a hand book for Meowth kitten care, it covers the basics. Just skip the chapters that cover birth and the first week and go on from there. It shouldn't be too difficult." John nodded and huffed an exasperated sigh. "Okay, I'll take that then."
After a trip back to the car, John sat down and studied the measly puffball of fur. It was wrapped tightly in some old jackets and a raggedy blanket he found in the back of his car. Its eyes opened, revealing a set of powdery baby blues. "Well," John muttered half to himself. "Assuming you remember how to breathe long enough to get your energy back up. I'd say I'll be your trainer, and we're going to be partners." He sat up and placed both hands on the steering wheel. "I'm not the loving trainer you probably wanted, but I'll do when you need food and shelter. My wife will name you when we get home and uh…" he paused, feeling odd for talking to a baby meowth as if it understood a word he was saying. "Well, welcome to the family."
The scrit of a hoothoot's claws catching a meal sounded just outside of Silver's den. He tried to close his eyes tight, but the curiosity seemed to shake him awake. Watching from the warmth of his nest, eyes shimmering a blue-gray against the pale wash of the moon light, he saw a hoothoot perched with its claws around a caterpie. The spring bud colored bug wiggled its fat body, its rain drop-shaped tail slapping the tree bark as it squirmed. The hoothoot didn't lose its grip in the slightest and advanced on the bug, giving the bug type Pokémon a menacing glare before pecking at its crimson horn. The bug stopped squirming immediately and a venomous rotten stench pulsated from its fat body.
Silver became repulsed and stuffed his mouth into the fur of his tail, blocking most of the vile scent. The hoothoot seemed slightly more wary and grasped its short beak with its other foot. Instantly the caterpie sent ripples through its flesh, seemingly squeezing its insides so that it could squirm from under its attackers grasp. To Silver, the sight looked rather disturbing, but the defensive tactic had worked. The caterpie instantly dove for a hole in the ground and therefore into safety. The hoothoot took its claws off its beak and looked momentarily confused; as if it didn't understand what in the world had just went down. Then it threw its thick neck up and faced the dark sky with the reflection of stars glittering across its large scarlet-tangelo colored pupils. "Hoothoot!" it screamed with a throaty loud call.
Silver flicked his ears up, instantly knowing what the particularly loud call meant in Pokémon tongue. "3:00! 3:00!" the hoothoot was hollering, before flapping its tiny piplup-like wings and lifting from the branch. It can't be three am already? He thought with a trickle of stress. No, it hadn't been the hoothoot or the caterpie that had woken him. Despite his exhaustion, he couldn't manage to sleep at all that night. Quickly changing his possession, he rolled against the crunch of the twigs and curled his paws and tail closer to his body.
With a huff of frustration, he launched to his paws and looked down at his daughter. She was tucked so closely together that she could easily mimic a large baseball. Her tail was uncurled and wrapped around her flattened black ears, the gentle rise and fall of her fur told Silver that she had long fallen asleep.
He learned forward and gently licked the golden-Mikado yellow charm on her forehead before slipping out of the den. The blast of icy chilled wind hit straight through his thin coat and bit at his sensitive skin, sending shivers through his body. Blinking against the flurry of snow flakes, he set into a trot into the forest. He looked longingly at his mate's grave before the nip of the snow forced his paws onward. I'll greet Misiku with a really good breakfast when she wakes up. It'll be the fattest pidgey she'd ever eaten, even if it is the middle of winter! Although his thoughts were sincere, the wind and snow clearly thought otherwise. Without noticing at first, his paws seemed to take him back to the battle.
I shouldn't be doing this, he thought as his heart sunk straight through his ribs. But this is the best place to look. Maybe there's a fallen Pokémon that I can grab before all the other predators start eating the aftermath of the battle. Acutely aware of making a gigantic circle around the place where Nisa had died, he stepped into the now calm scene where the hot zone had once been. The metallic scent of blood, still hot and slightly energetic with the scent of adrenaline, drifted lazily from the roots of the grass where it had soaked through. He felt the stuff stain his smoky paws into a gruesome smelly crimson. Maybe this wasn't such a great place to be after all. He felt his fur prickle at the still bodies that speckled the battle field, pitch black against the clear night sky. He opened his mouth and drew in the scent around him until he was able to pinpoint a familiar scent that tasted appetizing. Walking around the field like a maze, he came across a raticate that looked like it had seen better days.
Making sure the raticate was for sure dead; he fastened his teeth around its clawed foot and started pulling. No use, it's too heavy! He thought with frustration. Instead he clawed at an opening in the raticate's flank and took has much of the good stuff as he could carry. A moan distracted him, making the graveyard even scarier than it already was. With his ears flattened, fur bristling; he looked in every direction for the source of the moan. He couldn't help but feel guilty by coming in and eating the brave friends of these fallen warriors.
But if I don't while I still can, then that would make me an itiot, he convinced himself. Deciding upon getting out as fast as he could, he gripped the meat in his jaws firmly and started in a half sprint for the safety of the trees. A soft voice rose again, making Silver's stomach lurch. Breathing an exasperated sigh from his own stupid decisions, he set the precious cargo on the grass and started toward the sound.
"Where are you?" he called softly, hoping he would get no response. "I want to help." He struggled to keep up his pace as the snow continued to pelt against him. "I can't hardly smell anything alive against this snow storm." Finally, his eyes flickered on something that moved a few feet away. "I think I see you, can you move anything?" he padded in a soft trot toward the body, and felt his heart tumble straight out of his throat.
"Nala, is that you?" he asked, stunned. It was obviously the she-cat he remembered, although much smaller and weaker than he once knew her. She was laying on her side, heaving like she couldn't get a decent breath. One paw seemed to be twisted a little awkwardly, and a noticeable gash across her chest was covered in matted dry blood. "Silver," she choked. Her rusty voice almost convinced him to turn while he still could and run back to his den. "I thought… you died in the battle," she coughed. Silver felt incredibly awkward, his mind buzzing. "Don't try to talk, you're bleeding heavily," he soothed. Despite his warning, she went on as he began to clean the blood away from her fur.
"Two dragonites and a tyranitar challenged me at once," she rasped. "I didn't think I'd see another sight after those furious eyes on me." The blood, ice cold and polluted with specks of dust, tasted horrible on Silver's tongue. "I got to get you out of this snow storm," he mewed with a hint of desperation in his voice. Nala suddenly became unresponsive. "Nala, Nala can you hear me?" he gasped. "I can't move, my wound will start bleeding again," Nala grunted at last.
"But this snow storm will kill you for sure!" Silver yowled hopelessly, feeling the weight of a life on his paws. The look of pure terror and hopelessness stretched across Nala's face. "It doesn't matter," she spat with sudden aggression which contradicted her hoarse voice moments before. "I need a Full Restore regardless whether I could walk or not. Max has that, and he's left me here to die." Silver felt a world of empathy flood him. I know what it feels like to be abandoned by your trainer! He yowled in his head.
"I'm sure that isn't true," he soothed vainly. Sickening worry washed over her face, "to tell you the truth, I'm hoping he did. Either that or he must have been attacked by an enemy Pokémon. I couldn't bare to go on living when my trainer has died." Silver wanted to turn and run away from everything in the world, or run back in time before anything started to become complicated. It felt like only yesterday when he was nestled beside his mate, his living mate, Misiku still kicking in her belly, back when the most stressful of problems included trying to find the location of an Aspear berry.
Without thinking, he bent down and licked Nala's cheek in an attempt of comfort. "You'll live," he muttered partly under his breath. He was surprised when he let out a snarl to rip across the chill-cracked air, "you'll live because Nisa will give you the light to keep going even when she couldn't!" He felt his claws plant into the blood-soaked soil, rage burning through his veins. "Undeserving death is the worst type of natural injustice. I won't stand to watch it happen in front of my very eyes twice in a row." Confusion washed over Nala's face, and Silver remembered that she hadn't even known about Nisa.
"I need to get back to Team Magma," she gasped with a sudden stab of pain. "Max is the only one who can get me a Full Restore." All the energy and anger that pumped determination and charisma into his body suddenly melted away, like a single snowflake hitting a slab of hot iron. I would have to leave Misiku again! He thought desperately. He flexed his claws in and out, and lashed his tail sending a flurry of snowflakes scattering into a gust of wind. Surely there was no way he could do that to his own daughter? With his head bowed low to the cold realities of the world, he solemnly agreed to Nala's request. "I'll get you back, whatever it takes," he whispered half heartedly. "We'll leave tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'll try to build a nest around you to keep the cold from hurting you further." Nala nodded weakly, and closed her eyes as Silver trotted to gather some leaves.
Instead of doing the obvious and walking to the frond-bearing plants, he instead walked to his new den. Feeling the guilt numb his paws all over again, he stepped into the den and padded up to his daughter. Her tears had long dried, and her perfectly warmed body was still curled tightly in the position it was in when Silver had left the den earlier. "Misiku," he whispered gently, prodding a paw into her flank. It took a few attempts to rouse her, and her jaws instantly parted in a huge yawn. "It's too early," she muttered with sleep buffeting her voice.
"It's okay, I just need to tell you something important," he whispered gently. "I… I'm going to leave for a while. It may take a week or two, but I'll be back, I promise you with all my heart." The tiny kitten's eyes instantly stretched wide. "Y-you're leaving again?" she asked with anger lighting her soft voice. Silver couldn't meet her furious eyes, and instead focused on a twig that was poking out of his nest. "You must understand, it isn't because I have a choice. I must help a Pokémon I know. If I don't help right away, she'll die." A violent hiss rose from within the tiny kitten which contradicted her tiny size. "Don't have a choice? You always have a choice!" she growled indignantly. "She'll die huh? Why this Pokémon's life is more important to save than mom was!"
Silver took a step back, once again surprised at his daughter's hot tongue. "I couldn't have saved your mother if I wanted to!" he snarled right back. "I'm saving this one's life exactly because of that. If I'm given an option to save a life, than I will do what I think is right and save that life!" An intense glare met his courageous response. Again, Silver couldn't take such hatred beaming out of his daughter's eyes and focused his sight on a dead leaf. "You can't even look at me," she hissed. "If I'm such an awful daughter, then go ahead and make excuses to get away from me! I can go on just fine by myself."
"They're not excuses!" Silver gasped, feeling like he was on the losing side of the argument. To his surprise, the tiny kittens face contorted from flashing anger to wistful emotional grief and angst. "If you want to leave, I won't stop you," she whispered. Her voice cracked with the pressure, making guilt stab through Silver like every hair on his pelt was actually a nail in his side. "I just can't believe you're leaving me again. I won't forget this, dad. I'll always remember what you did to me and momma. For the rest of my life, until the die and join my mother's side if I have too!"
A thick carpet of snowflakes twinkled like miniature diamonds across the forest floor, magically transforming the lush greenery to a mystical land of snow. Tiny daggers of ice enveloped every pine needle, and icy frost licked at the ragged tree bark of every pine tree. An involuntary shiver rippled through Silver's pelt as the chilled frosty air seemed to cling to every inch of his fur. Another shiver gripped him once he entered the battle field, but not from the cold. He found it difficult to look at the fallen warriors around him, once so nimble and skilled, but now they looked like helpless patches of nothing in particular under heaps of snow that dusted their skin and fur.
Narrowing his eyes, he found it much easier this time to spot the luscious forest green fronds and trademark bronze-ginger feathers of a fearow that all seemed to shelter something underneath. Padding forward, he nearly tripped over the meat he gathered last night and completely forgotten about. The meat was frozen by a thick layer of snow that preserved the meat, but it smelt rotten and ugly after being taken out of the body already. Silver picked it up, but was a little annoyed with the mud on the bottom that uprooted with it.
Placing the mostly fresh meat in front of the bundle of fronds and ivory-tipped feathers, he stopped for a moment and licked away the numbing snow that clung to his paws. "Nala, are you ready?" he whispered harshly into the pile. "I suppose as ready as I'll ever be," a raspy voice, raw from the ice-cracked air, echoed weakly from within. Gingerly unweaving the pile of greenery, he nudged a half-wilted Oran berry and the pile of meat toward her. "I don't know if you're strong enough to eat the meat yet, since it' frozen solid, but I did manage to find an Oran berry left in the forest."
Stretching her neck, she swallowed down the sweet contents of the berry in a couple gulps. "Alright, does anything ache?" Silver asked while checking the scar across her flank. "Nothing in particular I suppose. Everything feels numb," she groaned with an absence of much needed enthusiasm. "Can you stand on your paw?" he asked hesitantly. Bending her wrist, she placed pressure on the paw and cringed when enough weight was put on it. "Not my full weight, but I can manage with three," she huffed.
Silver nodded and helped her lift herself in a standing position. The dried blood that glued her leg down made it feel like Velcro, but fortunately it was her uninjured leg that was given trouble. Silver took a second to make a face of dread before cleaning the dirt and dried blood away from her thigh and wound. "Thank you," Nala muttered with an apparent note of awkwardness in her voice. "Tastes like muk slime," he joked despite the depressing mood. "Okay, we've got a long journey in front of us. Do you know the quickest route from here to the base?" Nala looked deeply dishearted, "I've never been here before in my life."
Silver pursed his lips, then accepted meekly and took the meat in his jaws. "I'm hungry and you must still be to," he mewed around the frozen meat, "so our first order of business is to find a fire type to heat this up." Nala pointed with her tail to her frozen teammates around her. "Did you try getting food from a fire type? It might not taste the same since Meowth's don't generally eat fire types, but their body might still be warm." Meowth nodded and scoured the surroundings until he found a Rapidash stretched out among the snow. It's fire-lit mane, tail and ankles had all since fizzled out, and its shamrock green eyes lay opened, vacant and glazed over.
Silver felt acutely aware of the impossible chance that the Rapidash may suddenly burst into life and use its diamond-hard hooves to kick him away from its body, but he was also aware that the gash that ran from its cheek bone all the way to its thigh was too deep a wound to have left it living much longer.
Holding his breath against the vile stench of the dried blood and rotting carcass, he nosed inside the giant body and pulled out a chunk of fresher meat. Nala was right, the body was still warm with the heat of a fire type sizzling its fur, despite the fact that its flames had long since gone out. Trotting back in victory, he shared the meat with his patient with not a scrap left.
"That was a good idea and it'll save us a ton of time we can't spare," he congratulated her, licking his tongue across his front fangs. "Okay, we'll just have to wing it," he decided, referring to the best route to get back to Team Magma's base. "Common sense dictates we cut straight through until we've got paws on their territory." Nala seemed to agree, although she winced back a little with the inevitable hardships in front of her. "Okay A team, let's move out!" He chanted with nervous spirit, letting Nala use him as a crutch.
"I think I remember this territory," he rasped after several feet of progress. "There's a river and a waterfall up ahead, but it's probably frozen. Most of this area is going to be forestry and maybe some rock cliffs here and there, and if I remember correctly, our surroundings are going to change slightly from green forest to wooden wasteland." He felt worry and ominous foreboding thicken the air, "and of course it's the dead of winter. Food will be scarce, traveling conditions difficult. Maybe I should have brought along that frozen meat, while I could?" Nala padded on and shook her head. "It would have gotten too heavy to carry by the time we got hungry again, and it would have attracted other Pokémon." Silver huffed a hot cloud of breath into the snow-cooled air. "Today is a bad day for logic to exist," he griped hopelessly.
After setting a decent pace through a handful of sugar maple trees and aspen trees, the two walked into a huge expanse of moor and stickers. The wind screeched like a dying noctowl, to the point where it almost sounded like the trees were moaning for the loss of its beautiful amber-tinged leaves. "Do we need to cross that?" Nala asked in a sheepishly low voice. Silver looked in both directions, but the wind-touched snow and ice-choked land expanded beyond view on each side. "I think it would be kinder to us if we just go straight."
Nala nodded, although a notable tang of dread echoed from her pelt. With numbed feet resisting to step back into the snow, the two scratch cats headed out from the motherly protection of the trees and into the open moorland. The wind was about as gentle as a whip striking from every direction and never losing its snap as time dragged on. Upon the fourth time that Nala had been bowled over by the wind, Silver became fretful of her wounds and walked on the right side of her in order to block the worst of the wind. She gasped troubled thanks and seemed to fall less often after wards.
After walking back into the nurturing womb of the trees, the two collapsed with aching paws. "This is getting ridiculous," Silver complained, "we've hardly made progress and we're practically half dead!" Nala didn't speak, although disappointment and hopelessness began to trickle like a tiny stream around her paws. "Maybe we can find help," she reasoned. Silver rose stiffly to his paws and looked around. "Only Pokémon with a magikarp for a brain would be out in this cold. I doubt we'll find anyone willing to help us now."
Nala looked to her paws, anxiety gripping her. "You helped me. Maybe an ice type will help?" Silver felt a glimmer of hope shine in his chest, all the while knowing that shimmer of hope was nothing short of a side step from draining to hopelessness all over again. "We're probably better off just traveling blind," he replied grimly. Releasing all the effort it took to stand, he fell into a heap and placed both paws against his ears to try and take the edge off the chill that crept through them. Did he leave his broken-hearted daughter just to die alongside one of his former enemies?
"Well, this is going to be fun," Silver mewed with heavy sarcasm. The predicted river ended up being a lake with only a hair-thin sheet of ice on top that couldn't carry the weight of a feather. "This thing is huge! We'll have to go around," he huffed. Nala nodded grimly and started limping toward the closest edge of the lake. Silver felt a pang of fear seeing that her injured paw had since started to pulsate heat and pain with every ill step she took. Silver knew it was getting worse.
"Maybe we should rest for a while?" Silver mewed nervously. Nala shook her head, "we'll never make it at this pace," she mewed rather calmly. She looked down at her swelled paw, making her ears flatten to her head in a sign of stress. "It looks a lot worse than it is," she added, although both of them knew that was obviously a lie to keep up false spirits. "Let's keep going then. The faster I get you home, the quicker I can-"
His voice was cut off by a terrifying growl. Both scratch cats flinched when the thin sheet of ice on the lake crackled and broke to tiny slivers, allowing an aquatic blue sea creature rise from the slashing waters. The creature was shaped like a serpent with a scrunched face so that its eyes; nose and gaping mouth were close together. Its maw housed a set of thorn-sharp fangs that curved viciously, signifying its aggressive carnivore status. Along its body lay thick scales that dissected the Pokémon into large segments, which was tipped with a flat sharp tail. A trademark teal-colored crown sprouted like coral from between its menacing sinopia-vermillion eyes.
A long throaty hiss gurgled up from the gyarados's water-filled gills. "Greetings," he growled with a falsely inviting voice. "Why are you stepping all over my territory with your filthy paws?" It crept closer, so that its hot moist breath seemed to trickle like a pool through their bristling fur. "That wasn't very smart of you." To Silver's surprise, Nala let a furious hiss. "You have no legs, so you're territory can't reasonably be on land? We aren't in your water, we're just walking around the lake," she growled firmly. Silver was impressed with her bravery, despite her obvious injuries buffeting her walk. The gyarados let out a hiss that must have been twice as menacing as the last. "The lake created that small beach you're walking on. That sand was once on the floor of this lake, which makes it mine, no matter where it happens to be!" He fixed his eyes, hot as tar, directly on Nala. "Meowth's are so ignorant."
Nala lashed her tail and showed no signs of giving up despite her opponent's massive size. "And gyarados are so arrogant." The gyarados looked more amused than hurt, and twisted its lips into a half-snarl half-smirk expression. "Is that so?" it rasped through salt-choked lips. Screeching a caterwaul of defiance, the gyarados leapt out of the murky waters at her injured body. Nala let out a hiss before side stepping just in time to escape a direct hit.
The Gyrados turned and reared up with its fangs bared; echoing the same attack. This time the attack managed to make a connection, punting Nala across the sandy beach and pricked rocks. Instantly the scent of blood filled the air, and Nala screeched a yowl of pain. Her wounds have opened up! Anger forced his paws into action. Bunching his muscles for a gigantic leap, Silver flew through the air and hooked his claws into its huge gills. The gyarados instantly flinched, let out a growl and a groan, and bashed its head into a tree. Silver was helplessly knocked off the giant sea serpent as the tree was reduced to a pile of broken splinters.
The gyarados huffed with ragged tears raked down its gills. Its breathing seemed to have been buffeted by the broken skin, forcing the gyarados to dive back into the water to rejuvenate its sun-dried flesh. Silver was slower to react, feeling his muscles burn under his pelt. Panting with exhaustion, Silver stood halfheartedly and waited for the gyarados to rise again. It made no hesitation to do just that, its injuries only seemed to drive it further into the battle.
It didn't speak a single word, but instead narrowed its eyes with a look of pure hatred and let a long bubbling hiss drag through its torn gills. It snarled something under its breath that sounded like a crude insult and whipped its tail toward its victim. Silver was surprised by the sudden rash attack and barely dodged the smack of its tail, but the side effect caught him by surprise. A tree had been dislodged by the thud of the attack, and was sent crackling and splintering before falling recklessly toward him. Numbed in desperate shock from whisker to tail tip, he made a wild aimless jump to nowhere-in-particular only to fall victim to the rugged tree's stretched limbs. He fully expected pain to shoot through his body, but was surprised to find how lucky he actually was. The tree's heavy trunk had missed its mark, but the gnarled braches of the tree trapped him like claws under a monster's grasp. Wiggling and twisting his body, he felt dread trickle down his spine upon realizing he was trapped. Maybe I'm not so lucky. It may have been kinder if the tree had just crushed me! He thought bitterly.
The gyarados's reaction was a predictable one. After a fit of menacing sadistic laughter, it threw back its head and formed a purplish-black goop around the entrance of his mouth. Dragon rage, he remembered. Instinctively tensing his muscles, Silver waited for the attack to launch, but it never came. With a caterwaul of anger, claws sticking out like miniature daggers, Nala exploded from the sandy beach and took the gyarados by surprise. Hissing with disguised anxiety, the gyarados whipped around to redirect the attack at his new opponent, but she was in too big of an advantage with the element of surprise.
She rooted herself with her hind claws on the snout of the water serpent, and brought her front paws forward with astonishing force. Silver naturally cringed when she scored her claws across the sensitive eyes of the gyarados, effectively draining its energy in one strike and turning its confidence into mingled panic and shock. It gasped with choking breath with blood and scars blinding its vision.
In an effort to escape its fierce charge, Nala made a leap off of its snout and angled her nimble feet toward the sandy beach, but the gyarados was too quick for her. Anger bubbling from under the gyarados's huge teal blue scales, the gyarados launched blindly with its mouth opened and grabbed Nala in mid-air. She screeched with surprise and panic, struggling to no avail, before the gyarados drug her into the depths of the ice-chilled water.
"No!" Silver gasped, but the call only reached the calm water surface. Eerie silence engulfed the excitement, making everything sound unnaturally quiet and pure again. Panic rising in his throat, Silver turned and tried to bite through the branches that continued to hold him prisoner. Passing seconds felt like hours, but finally he was able to free himself. The exhaustion in his limbs suddenly became acutely evident, but Silver forced himself forward. "Nala?" he called vacantly. "Nala!" his voice rose to an eerie cry for help.
Reality closed in on him. She isn't coming back up. Suddenly incapable of looking at the water anymore, Silver backed up and padded heavily into the forest. Grief, one too many times, began to ebb into his feeble mind. How many more will die right in front of me? He felt his heart drain of blood. "I'm sick of feeling so afraid!" he screeched aloud, but no one was listening. "Must I always live such a sheltered life; afraid to go on for fear that I will lose even more than I could bear to part with?"
With one last sorry forced look at the lake, Silver changed direction and started heading back to his new den, feeling like he had lost yet another war that he couldn't afford to lose.
But the battle hadn't been lost yet. With a crackled gasp behind him, Silver spun around to face the survivor. "Nala!" he breathed, rushing to her side. Ecstasy ran through his paws, she was alive! But the ecstasy quickly melted away once he saw the wound. It was even bloodier than it had been when it was first cut open, and blood seemed to pour like a water fall from the wound. There was no pretending everything was going to be okay anymore. The signs of shock were already filling her eyes, and Silver nearly flinched at the fresh waves of panic that bubbled over her. For the first time, Silver saw the crippled she-cat cry through the icy cold water that dripped down her pelt. "I'm so sorry," she wheezed.
Originally, the chapter ended one paragraph above, with Nala never surfacing until the next chapter and Silver feeling he had lost. Then I realized how totally cheap that was, and how painfully obvious it was that Nala would resurface first thing next chapter. I went with it for a while until the feeling of cheesiness began to shame me to death and I decided to change it. I'm pretty happy I did, this was going to happen next anyway. NOW for what you've ALL BEEN WAITING FOR… the romance stuff :D *throws microphone all over the place and points with a trademark stance at the camera* and as always, stay tuned and stay beautiful! *James cackle*
"No, no," he whispered gently, "it's not your fault." He trotted to her side and pressed his koban to hers. Nala let out a gentle sigh and lay on her side, looking vacantly at the tips of the trees. "I'm going to die here," she whimpered grimly. "And to what cost to the world? Nothing, not a cent. I was useless from the day I was born, and I'll be useless when I die!" Silver almost had to take a step back at the struggle in her words.
"You're not useless," he soothed aimlessly. Nala didn't look convinced. "The purpose in a Pokémon's life is to give their trainers happiness. If I could do just that, I would find fulfillment. I don't think I've ever made Max happy, I think he resents me, and who can blame him? I'm just a meowth; I'm so small and fragile! But all Max ever wanted was a big strong all powerful Pokémon so that he could achieve his ambition, and therefore achieve happiness. Why couldn't I be what he wanted? No matter how hard I train, I just can't match most legendaries, but Max tries so hard to improve me!" She spat the words out, like they were acid on her tongue. "I'm so useless! I have the learning capacity of an unknown."
Silver lay next to her, trying hard not to offend her by looking at her injured leg. Instead he trained his eyes on hers, with seriousness glittering in his sapphire blue eyes. "You're not worthless," he started, surprising even himself with the hint of a snarl in his voice. "If you want to know worthless, ask me." Nala looked at him, her eyes full of emotion. "You don't have a trainer, you live your life wild and free. You had a choice to come back and rescue me. You did it anyway. Why do you feel worthless?" she asked hesitantly.
"You know so little about me," he grunted with satisfaction. "I once had a trainer, named Giovanni," he nearly cringed at the name. "I know exactly how you feel when you say you find purpose in making your trainer happy. But like you, I felt like I could never make him happy, despite all my efforts trying." Silver flicked his tail side to side, and wondered if Nala could sense the waves of anxiety and stress coming off of him. "I… I was born with an illness," he stumbled with the words that caught in his throat.
"When you said you were surprised that I hadn't used any moves in that battle? That's because I really couldn't. I only know one move, Fury Swipes, and that was extremely lucky. Most who share the illness I have never learn a single move to protect themselves." He thought desperately back, trying to collect his thoughts on the subject and trying to remember the consequences. "It's called Lassitudia. You know how Pokémon are able to use attacks because they can transform the potential energy around them into attacks? All around us, there is energy that could potentially be turned into anything we desire, but we have to learn how to use this energy and how to transform it into whichever attack we are trying to learn. It's all really tricky and mostly misunderstood, but as far as anyone knows, that's what happens. Well Lassitudia is an inability to channel that energy properly. It can go through us normally, but we're unable to gather enough to make attacks. I was fortunate, because my body is able to gather enough energy for a Fury Swipes attack, but that's it."
He twitched his ears and looked at his paws, as if the shame seemed to squeeze the ability to speak out of him. "And uh… as long as we don't use the attack too often, we should we okay. But even if a Pokémon with Lassitudia can use a move, it will be extremely weak and won't do as much damage as the normal attack would. In any case, it makes us weak and lethargic. We run out of breath really quickly in battle, which is why I always seem to get exhausted so easily whenever I try to battle, if you noticed. Other than that, you can't tell on the outside that I have a condition." Nala looked a little startled, as if she'd never heard of anything so strange in her entire life. "I don't see anything wrong with you, Silver; you're perfect to me… for saving me like you did, even though you had the power not to."
She paused for a moment. "You feel worthless because you're unable to make attacks?" Silver shook his head, "I've never felt shame in it, accept for a few times. I think we should talk about it later…" his gaze drifted back onto her injury. She looked away, as if she couldn't bare to notice. "It's hopeless, you know that right?" she muttered meekly. Silver felt determination fill his toes. "I'm not giving up so easily," he mewed confidently. "I'll be back, wait here," he meowed before darting toward the forest. "Wait, you're leaving me?" Nala gasped, betrayal sparkling half disguised in her voice. He looked back, his tail drooping against the muddy frozen ground and eyes solemn. "I'll be back, even if I have to say goodbye, I promise."
Before she could say anymore, he sprang back into the forest with his tail streaming behind him and paws moving swiftly. I promise, he thought to himself coldly, I promise you Nisa that I will save her!
Silver collided into a Pichu, which was nibbling an apple. After bowling the Pichu over, the two Pokémon fell over a slight dip in the land like a pair of tumble weeds with the Pichu landing on top of Silver. Immediately the Pichu sprang off, scowling as its apple core stopped at the bottom of the hill covered in grit and dust. "Look what you made me do!" it hissed indignantly. Silver got to his paws, scarcely aware of ever falling in the first place with his anxiety gripping him. The Pichu shoved the wet apple in his face, making him take a step back. "And I suppose you think I can still eat this? I hope you're planning on finding me a new one!" Silver hardly wanted to confront the Pokémon. "I'm sor-" he was cut off. "Oh I'm sure you're dying inside of guilt," it snapped. "Now my fur is all muddy! I smell like an oddish that just got plucked from the ground, thanks to you."
Silver felt the beginnings of annoyance prod him. You're complaining about getting sand in your fur while Nala could be dying on the side of the lake! "Stop whining, you little twat! By the looks of it, it seems I did you a favor. You're fatter than a snorlax." Whipping around before the Pichu could reply, he darted back into the trees. There has to be something I can do. There's no way she'll make it in time to Max now! He thought desperately. Aurora knew Heal Pulse, but she's nowhere near here. What other Pokémon know heal pulse? Slowpoke… and slowbro and slowking, and there's a giant lake here. There has to be some close by?" His thoughts were interrupted when he was bashed into from behind. Losing his balance, he stumbled ungraciously into a pile of snow. "Where do you think you're going? Like I'm going to let you just walk off, Meowth's think they're so special! Repay my apple back right now, or I'll thundershock you!" It was, of course, the Pichu holding him down against the snow. Silver rolled his eyes and got to his paws, surprising the Pichu by overpowering its strength to hold him down.
"H-hey, didn't you hear me?" It squeaked indignantly. "I'm going to follow you until you repay my apple, like a joltick in your fur!" Silver had enough. Rounding on the baby electric mouse, he bared his fangs and let his claws slide out. "You think I care about your stupid little apple? No, I don't, and I don't have time for a Pikachu de-evolution to get under my paws." He came within inches of the Pichu's face, his eyes lit with fury. "Don't you know what I am? I'm a Meowth, Mr. Psyduck for brains! Aren't you afraid of me?" The Pichu kept its confident pose, its eyes gleaming with hostility. Silver had to admit he felt some respect for the tiny Pichu, even if it was his prey, although he would never admit it to the tiny Pokémon. "I'm not afraid of you!" he squeaked. "Then that just makes you stupid," he snarled. "I could rip off your pelt if I wanted, and you're starting to convince me."
The Pichu only kept up its angry gaze. "Says you," it laughed off the threat. "My trainer trains me like no tomorrow! You think a wimpy wild Pokémon with no experience could take me? You're the one with a Magikarp for a brain!" Silver froze, his eyes wild. There's a trainer in these woods? He thought breathlessly. It could have a Full Revive! "Ha!" the Pichu squeaked, "you should see the look on your face! Didn't think I had a big tough trainer, did you?"
Silver let his tail drop down and bent his head- a typical sign of submission to a more dominant Pokémon. "No, I didn't!" he gasped. "Don't hurt me, please be kind." He hoped with all his heart that the Pichu didn't see through the ruse. To his relief, the Pichu was too full of itself to notice the horrible performance. "That's right; just don't let it happen again. Now, I want the juiciest apple you can find, and if it isn't at least twice as juicy as the one I had than I will let loose the worst thundershock I've ever dealt!" Silver suppressed a twitch of his tail, meowed a gasp of thanks and then trekked into the forest. I've got to think how I'm going to get this prick to show me it's trainer!
He thought desperately for a plan. I hate Pichu's, they're so stuck up! Turning tail without an apple, he walked sheepishly back to the Pichu. "So?" it demanded. "You've been gone for half a minute and I don't see any apple! Did you even try?" Silver dropped his tail courteously and tried to hold eye contact. "I was thinking," he mewed absently. "I want to join your trainer's team." The Pichu scoffed. "A wimp like you? Keep dreaming." Silver gulped down his irritation which threatened to burst out between his teeth in a list of petty insults. "I think I've gathered enough bravery to battle you," he mewed with faked determination. "If I beat you, can I join your team?" The Pichu looked frozen in horror, its eyes wide, surprising him. If this thing was lying about the trainer, I'm going to shred it into French-fries, he thought bitterly.
"Deal," it squeaked finally. "I suppose that's fair, but you'll regret it."
The Pichu took a few steps back so that it was a few leaps and bounds away from a tackle move to take effect. "Uhm… before we start, I have to admit I've never been in a real battle before. My trainer's only taught me some stuff. I only hatched out of my egg a few months ago." Silver suppressed a wave of relief from flooding out of the tips of his fur. So that's why it was so freaked out. Even more good news, this'll be easier than I thought! Now I just have to pray this Pichu's trainer has something useful!
"And begin!" Silver yowled. The Pichu was immediately in a quick run, making a wide circle around its opponent before Silver could even follow its movements. It's quicker than I thought, but its moves must be weak since it's the first of three evolutions. The Pichu suddenly made a skillful twist of its yellow-tinted paws and leapt on Silver's back. He was caught by surprise, not believing that the Pichu could make a close-ranged attack so quickly. Either that was incredibly stupid and a move made by a first-time opponent, or a really good idea!
Unable to keep his flustered fur from keeping flat, he made a rodeo dash around the clearing and leaped with his back faced toward a rock. The Pichu had expected the defense and leapt off of him before he was caught between Silver's body and the collision of the cold stone. Unable to avoid an attack already in motion, he hit his back against the rock and bit back a curse at his own tactics. Before he could retaliate, the Pichu put a paw to its mouth, causing a bubbly pink heart to form. Silver sprang back to his paws, but the Pichu was too quick. The Sweet Kiss attack was upon him in seconds, instantly making the world around him seem fuzzy and dizzy. I can't believe I'm losing to this baby Pokémon who hasn't even been in a fight before! What happened to the Silver that took down a fully-trained Charizard? Embarrassment heated his fur as he swung his claws at the Pichu, missing it by the width of a Joltik. That was just dumb luck. If the Charizard hadn't gotten careless and accidently flung itself in the water, there was no way I would have won. Nala tried to leave room for me to beat her when we battled, and in the end she took a dive just to save me. I was hardly any use when I battled that Gyarados- which Nala paid for to save my life twice in a row. Reality bit down on him, sharper than it had all this time. 'I've never been ashamed of my condition' I said. That's because I'm too stupid to notice how much of an inconvenience I am in battles! Pokémon have to take pity on me because I try so hard just to faint in a battle.
"Are you even trying?" The Pichu's voice shook him out of his thoughts. "You're just standing there! You've only made one attack so far." Silver knew the Pichu was right. Feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to get a Full Restore in his paws. Releasing a wicked yowl into the air that made the Pichu flinch, Silver wicked around with the wind battling his forced movements and tackled the Pichu into the ground. It grumbled something, and Silver wasn't sure if it was relief that he was finally battling for real or if it was anger for the cheap shot he just pulled. The Pichu leapt out of another Fury Swipes attack and blew another set of hearts at him. Silver took the attack head on and slashed his claws at the Pichu while it was distracted, scoring a hit. "Idiot, Sweet Kiss won't work twice in a row! I'm still under confusion."
The Pichu looked confused itself. "That was charm, smart one," he grumbled with a hint of laughter in its squeaky voice. Silver felt another wash of embarrassment fill his paws, as if he needed his attacks to be lowered when they were already weak attacks! How could I be so careless when Nala's life is at stake? "Calm down!" The Pichu grumbled with a hint of fear in his voice. Silver realized how much anger at himself was erupting from him, so intense that even the Pichu could sense its strength.
"Maybe we should stop here," the Pichu pondered aloud. "You seem a little worked up…" Silver suddenly sensed the overwhelming terror coming from the Pichu's tiny body. I scared it half to death with how angry I felt! Why can't I do anything right? Silver melted to his paws, officially giving up. "But…. I have to see your trainer," he whimpered eerily. He suppressed the flow of tears that threatened to flow.
"Why?" The Pichu demanded, looking suspicious. "It isn't that important. I see that you want a trainer, but there's lots of trainers! Plus you've obviously always lived fine in this forest, you're an old Pokémon. You can't tell me this is your first winter." Silver wanted to burst into a full explanation of everything he'd gone through. The loss of his mate, Nisa, how he witnessed her death a mere few feet from where he stood. How he battled the giant Charizard, and watched his undeserving death unravel in front of him, it's pleading huge eyes as it sank deeper into the darkness… How his daughter resented him and refused to acknowledge him as her father anymore. How he had to abandon her twice in a row, to save Nala from the sadistic gyarados that ruled the waters. But this was just a tiny Pichu, with a happy life and a happier trainer, whose biggest concern was the fact that its apple got dirty and its fur still had sand in it. It simply wouldn't understand his position like he yearned it to.
"I need a Full Restore," he gasped after only a moment's pause from the Pichu's question. "You're not hurt," the Pichu went on. "Yes, it's not me, it's another Meowth. She's gotten deathly injured by the lake, and If I don't get a Full Restore soon…" his voice drifted off. The Pichu continued to look suspicious. "How do I know you aren't pulling my tail?" It asked doubtfully. "Please!" he begged. "I don't have time; she's bleeding to death as we argue!" For the first time, Silver saw sympathy in the Pichu's eyes. "I could sense your sadness from a mile away. I don't think any Pokémon could fake such intense feelings just to steal a Full Restore. I'll go sneak one out of Patty's bag, if it means that much to you."
The Pichu got down on all four paws and ran into the thick of the woods. His heart pounding, Silver finally rose to his paws and gathered what was left of his decency. Is that little Pichu really telling the truth? Would it do that for me? Less than half an hour ago, he considered the Pichu to be a nuisance, then an enemy, then an obstacle and now a glint of hope. After a few agonizing minutes passing by, a rustle sounded behind a few gnarled tree roots. The Pichu revealed itself, and in its tiny jaws a giant bottle that was almost the same size as the Pichu was. "I still don't see what the big deal is," the Pichu sighed. "These things aren't all that expensive, especially for a Meowth who could always learn Pay Day. But if you really need it so badly that you're willing to charge through the forest and run over some innocent Pichus, than here."
Relief pounced onto Silver, so much that he nearly fell to his paws with all the tension drawn out of his limbs. He was scarcely able to keep his paws on the ground so that he didn't leap onto the Pichu and cover it in grateful affectionate licks. The Pichu, again, looked a little scared of his sudden burst of emotion. "Just take it already, before you start a tear fest," the Pichu uttered. "Thank you!" Silver gasped, stepping toward the Full Restore with trembling paws. "How could I ever repay you?" The Pichu simply rolled its eyes. "You could start by helping your so called 'friend who is bleeding to death by the lake' if it's so urgent." The Pichu let a tiny smile grace its lips, but it was gone in a heartbeat.
"My names Spark. If you ever need anything else, just come around this forest and look for a fat Pichu with an apple who still hasn't been able to get that last grain of sand out of its pelt."
"I've got it!" Silver couldn't stop himself from proclaiming the words to the world, although the pale green and white plastic between his jaws muffled his words. A shiver of fear brushed passed him when he saw how considerably worse Nala had gotten, but he pushed the thoughts away. It didn't matter now that he had the Full Restore at the will of his paws. "Nala?" He asked, "I've got it." The she-meowth looked up lazily and contorted her facial expression from exhaustion to surprise.
"W-where?" she croaked. Silver forced himself not to flinch; she looked much smaller all of the sudden. Her eyes seemed to be a couple shades grayer, and she seemed a little faint. "A Trainer's Pokémon gave it to me," he explained quickly, not wanting to spend too much time explaining the back story. "Uhm, try to sit still," he advised. Fastening his teeth around the nozzle, he twisted his head and then bit through the plastic seal cap to release the pungent healing liquid within to the open. The smell was thick and energetic and somehow managed to smell like gasoline, although Silver could also smell a list of other herbs including the crisp smell of Revival Herbs and the dry mild smell of Heal Powder.
"Okay, I think you just pour it on the wounds and that's it." His voice shook; he had no idea what to do! What if he did it wrong and wasted the entire bottle? "You're right," Nala whimpered to his relief. "Pour it on slowly, but put enough on to cover the area." Silver nodded and took the plastic handle in his teeth with the most caution he could muster. Tipping his head slightly, the liquid at first drizzled like syrup out of the bottle and then glubbed like lemon juice. Nala flinched slightly, but remained eerily still as Silver set the bottle down and spread the liquid across the entire wound. "Does it feel better yet?" He mewed uncertainly. "No, but it's starting to tingle. Put some more over my fur, the Full Restore can also heal aching muscles." Silver obeyed and dabbed some of the oily stuff over her triceps and thighs.
For a moment, Silver considered using the rest on himself, but refrained before he knew exactly sure that he'd used enough on Nala first. "I think it's starting to work," she rasped after a while, making Silver perk up after hearing the new energy in her voice. "This might take a while since my wound is so severe. Maybe you could go and catch yourself something to eat while I'm healing?" Silver nodded, exhaustion coating his paws like a sticky paint, but he trudged into the forest anyway.
By the time he'd made it back where he first discovered the Pichu, he had managed to take down a Pidgey and missed a Rattata by an inch, and then on the way back, caught another Rattata. Bringing his prey back to the lake, he put the Rattata at her paws and crouched down to devour his Pidgey. "I think I'm fully healed." Her voice was even and confident, but Silver could hear the rush of relief in her voice. Finally, things are going right for a change! "What ever happened to that gyarados?" he asked casually while licking the blood off his paws.
"It ran into a rock head-first to get me off. At the last second I used protect, but the gyarados knocked itself out against the rock," she replied. Silver had finished his Pidgey and started plucking feathers off and putting them in a pile. "So, now we just have to get back to Team Magma?" he asked, trying to sound like he didn't care. He had grown close to Nala, even if most of the time was spent panicking over her life-threatening injuries.
Nala obviously saw the discontent in his eyes, but she took it the wrong way. "You know, you don't have to go with me, if you don't want to…" she mewed slowly. "I'm healed, and I'm more than capable of making the journey solitarily." Silver shrugged but then shook his head. "I'm already attached, so I'll tag along at least until the main building is in view."
Nala nodded, looking a bit relieved. "I'd like that," she whispered, leaning forward and giving Silver an affectionate across his charm. "After all, your old den is back by Team Magma's head quarters, and making the journey is better when neither of us is alone, right?" Silver felt a quiver run down his spine. Nala didn't know about Misiku, who was still waiting in their new den all alone. "Right," he mewed shakily.
Nala got to her paws, and started in a dash. "Hey, what about your wounds? They only just healed!" He called, feeling anxiety edge onto him. Nala stopped and gave him a warm smile. "Its fine, the Full Restore worked perfectly, see?" She showed off her foot and back leg, which looked as if they'd never been injured in the first place. "How could I open wounds that aren't there?" she mewed jokingly. A warm feeling spread through him, like a blossom had just opened up somewhere in his belly. Yes, things really are going right for once!
"Fine," he mewed with a glint of interest sparking his eye. "I'll race you to the top of that hill!" Nala met his challenge with a smirk. "Fine, if we're going to act like kittens, then this is the best time in my opinion." Both darted at top speed, their tails streaming out before either could say a "Go!" warning. With the wind rushing through his fur and his paws skimming across the grass faster than a Ninjask could beat its wings, Silver let all his insecurities and problems vanish behind in his footsteps. Nala put an extra boost in her sprint and dashed a foot ahead of him. Silver replied by forcing his paws to go even faster. The land curved into an upward slope for only a few long strides until Silver planted foot and claw onto the waving grass where the hill met its summit. "I win!" he declared before being knocked over the side of the hill by a set of beige paws. The two scratch cats tumbled down the hill, releasing a flurry of dandelion seeds that danced their personal ballet with the gusts of wind.
"You're just jealous I beat you!" Silver laughed. Nala took a few steps closer and brushed her fur with his pelt. "No," she whispered affectionately. "I just wanted to be closer." Silver fixed her with a hard gaze, feeling a little nervous all of the sudden. "What do you mean?" he asked, catching his breath. Nala looked a little anxious herself, if not a little hurt by his confusion. "Silver, I have to admit something…" she mewed before sitting down and rapping her tail around her thigh. "I want to make us something more. I wanted to be mates…" Silver blinked at her. Where in the world did this come from?
"No, no, we're just….friends…aren't we?" he scrambled with the words. Surely she didn't have feelings for him? She looked at him, her eyes lit with seriousness, and Silver knew the free hearted atmosphere had dissolved with the wind in that moment. "But we can't! I've had feelings for you from the start, didn't you notice?" she wailed, her fur bristling. Silver simply shook his head no. "You always avoided me! How could I possibly tell?" he flashed back.
Nala looked disconnected, like her heart was being wrenched out of her chest. "I'm sorry," she choked the words out. "I didn't have the nerve to talk to you, but I regret it." He voice rose from a barely coherent mumble to a hysterical yowl. "From the minute I saw you, I had a crush on you. I tried to shake it off, but it kept getting worse. For the most part, I tried to ignore it. Then after the battle, I was all alone and forgotten. I wasn't even thinking about you then, I just wanted to see Max. But then you came, and you offered help! I was so surprised, Silver, I never thought you'd care enough to rescue me, when I've been your enemy ever since you walked onto our property! And then it hit me, I fell for you. I loved you." Her voice cracked, like it had been gashed open with a whip. "I want to be with you! I want you to love me too!"
For the first time, Silver felt the full jolt of what was happening. His own paws trembled as memories flooded back into his mind. "But I can't do that, I couldn't hurt Nisa! I can't possibly replace her so soon…" his mind flooded back to that dreadful day, accept every detail seemed to stand out vividly in high depth. How the snowflakes seemed to have a different gleam to them when the sunshine touched their elegant curves, making them look abstract and beautiful, yet also how the bistre-brushed car metal seemed to come through with all the malicious grace of a lion about to pounce its prey.
"Y-you already have a mate?" Nala looked stunned and frozen to her post. Silver nearly cringed at the waves of anxiety and heart-break that drifted off of her. How in the world did she manage to keep all this hidden during their time together? "No, not anymore." He muttered just barely above a whisper. "On the day of the battle when you got severely injured, I met my mate on the side of the road." He tried desperately to keep his words straight and his heart intact. "She…. She was beautiful, as beautiful as she ever had been. But then… some cars came down the road." He paused to catch his breath, as if he had been running a marathon. "One of them hit her," his voice droned to a hoarse rasping noise, "she wasn't even alive long enough to say goodbye, or feel the pain of the hit." Nala's heartbroken emotions subsided to an edge of regret, sympathy, and to Silver's surprise, a bit of jealousy. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm such a fool!"
Silver shook his head, as if the memories could be tossed into the snow and forgotten there forever. "We had a kitten before she died," he confessed. "I left her to help you… she thinks I've abandoned her, and that I killed her mother- and my mate -on purpose." It felt good to finally let himself talk about it to someone who might understand. Instead, he instantly regretted it after seeing the look on Nala's face. "I dragged you away from your own kitten!" She wailed. "I'm to blame for everything! Oh Silver," she shrank to the grass, tears flowing from her eyes. "I've lost my trainer, I've lost my pride in being a fighter, and I've lost you! I just want to give up." Silver felt a massive pang of empathy for her. That is exactly how he's felt all this time.
"You haven't lost me," he reassured her gently. "And you haven't lost Max either. I promised you, and I promised Nisa, that I would get you home. I'm not running away with my tail between my legs when I've come this far." He looked into her eyes, and felt guilt wash over him for making her so crippled. "You're stronger than this Nala, I know you are. Now get up, if we keep going at a good pace then we should we there by midnight." Nala looked much smaller and weaker all of the sudden, but rose to her paws anyway.
The rest of the journey was a silent one, with no more races or laughter to lighten their broken hearts.
"HELP ME!" *screams bloody murder as I slowly drown under the relentless sappiness of this chapter*
John sat clear on the other end of the room while his wife, Christie, and his Meowth stared down at a baby in a cradle. The little infant's eyes sparkled with the pale baby blue innocence that only a newborn child could own. It was staring up at its mother for a moment before twisting its body and tucking its feet up oddly, like it was wrapped in an invisible cocoon. "I still can't believe we named both our Meowth and our son the same name- Silver," he griped from a cold distance.
Christie rolled her eyes, but glanced up at him with warmness and affection that excused the action. "I named our Meowth after what I wanted to name my son, should I ever have one, although I didn't think I would. We'll just nickname our son, so that we don't get the names confused." John walked up to their child and watched his Meowth, Silver the first, bat one tiny paw toward the baby's pacifier. "How about Silvia?" he joked, knowing that was a girl's name. This time Christie really did give him an eye roll. "Silver the second?" he asked innocently. Christie shook her head, "something he won't be made fun of in school would be nice," she teased. "How about Sil?" John disagreed quickly, "it sounds like Seel. How about Tike? I always wanted to call a kid 'little Tike.'" Christie shrugged. "Eh, it's a start. We'll go with that, then." John had been kidding, mostly, but shrugged and went with it.
"Should we have Silver declawed?" he asked. "He's a house cat and now that we have a baby, I don't see any reason why he should have claws. It could get dangerous." Silver looked up at them, a touch of horror filling his glinted blue eyes. "Let's wait until he's a year older before we do anything like that. I'm sure he has the sense not to hurt the baby." Silver huffed a sigh of relief and leapt down to all four paws again. Pushing the door open with one frail paw, he made is way out of the room and down the stairs. It was nice to have such a warm family, especially one that didn't make him battle. Although he was jealous of other Pokémon who always had so much pride in how well they battled, he felt relieved he didn't have to battle himself. He didn't like to admit it to his neighbors, but he truthfully hated battling.
Longing to feel the cool touch of grass under his paws, Silver pressed through the cat door and welcomed the rays of sunshine that pattered his pelt. The notable change in the air was significant, and felt much fresher and healthier outside of any stuffy house. He also loved the vast amounts of smells and scents he could pick up, whether he recognized them or not. He heard a scuffling of feet, and then the name "Staraku" call him. Whipping around, he laid eyes on an old friend. It was a Squirtle, whose tail was longer than usual and his shell was slightly tinged a rusty color due to old age. It had been the owner of the neighbors' starter Pokémon, but his journey had only lasted a few days before his father fell ill, and the boy had to come home to help his mother take care of their family. The squirtle was brought home to live the life of a pet, but he didn't seem to complain much.
"Evening, Squirtley," he mewed politely. Silver figured the name was embarrassing- and if it had been Silver's decision, he would have gone with his birth name- but Squirtley seemed to prefer his trainer given name. "Come over here, I want to show you something you might like," the Squirtle called from over his neighbors fence. Leaping over the fence with ease, he followed Squirtley into his back yard. He knew he was welcome there, especially since his neighbors seemed fond of Squirtley making new friends.
Squirtley chuckled a bit, and moved at a slower pace. "You youths can jump fences like nothing! I remember when I could do that, but unfortunately I've got too any years behind me." Silver padded next to the tiny turtle Pokémon, and gave him a warm smile. "Yeah but you've got wisdom with those years. I have a lot of respect for you, Squirtley." Squirtley smiled a turtle-like smile, and Silver felt pride in warming the elderly Squirtle's heart. "That makes me happy, Staraku. I'm lucky to know someone like you, you talk like you've been to every corner of the Earth and seen it all! You're a smart one, I mean." Soon, the team entered through a small hole in the wall of Squirtley's home.
Squirtley's owners didn't seem to notice. Now walking up the stairs, Silver could smell the creamy warm scent of milk. Taking another deep breath, he could scent bran new fur coats and a very faint but distinct scent of waxy fur, telling him the Pokémon were water types. "My son went and had a litter," Squirtley mentioned casually. "That's wonderful! You must be very proud to have grand children," he mewed with an optimistic purr rising quietly in his chest.
Squirtley nodded with his eyes full of wonder and wisdom. "They're all I ever wanted and more," he squirtle'd with a deep raspy voice. Entering a well-insulated room, Silver padded slowly behind his old friend until he could lay his eyes on an Azumarill, which was looking up with tired suspicious eyes. "Who's this?" she asked, rapping her stretchy bubble tail around her offspring. "Don't you fret, Ruby," Squirtley calmed her. "This is just a little 'gent. Hardly more than a kitten. He won't hurt your litter." The Azumarill hardly look reassured, but removed her tail slowly with her eyes like laser pointers directly at him. Silver couldn't blame her, Meowth's were carnivores after all, and Azurills were easy prey.
"Where's my son, Skipper?" Squirtley asked, looking a little concerned. Ruby pointed one rabbit-like ear toward the window. "Outside for what I could only assume to be finding a new mate!" She grumbled tartly. "Now now, my son is a faithful young gent," Squirtley defended him quickly. "What's wrong with him getting some air? Come on Staraku, why don't you say hello to the lil' ones?" Ruby instantly looked horrified, which only sent satisfaction through Silver as he padded forward. He wanted to give Ruby the benefit of wanting to protect her kids, but she was starting to get on his nerves now, and obviously on Squirtleys as well. One of the Azurills blinked up from its mother's warm soft belly and curled its elastic tail around its bubble-shaped body.
"Hello," Silver mewed sweetly. "I'm your neighbor! Do you have a name, little one?" The tiny Azurill nestled closer to its mother, and whispered "my name is Tijah. This is my sister, Peju." The little Azurill hesitantly pointed with one foot to the runt, suckling at its mother's belly, and then pointed to the second male a few more inches away. "And that's Seku. He's-" The Azurill was caught off.
"Back off, you're scaring my kids!" The Azumarill hissed, anger seething from her waxy fur coat. Silver flicked his ears, but stepped off a bit. "Sorry," he hissed curtly. The Azumarill looked about ready to leap up and blast a Hydro Pump at any second. "Don't be so rude, or I'll make sure Skipper will never let you within spitting distance of this house!" She set a distressed glare directly at him. "I'm not going to charge in and eat your kids!" he flashed, anger beginning to fill his paws. He was scarcely aware of Squirtley's startled anxiety flooding the room. "I think we better go," Squirtley offered quickly. "Good riddance!" The Azumarill snarled before rapping her entire body protectively around her three Azurills.
Squirtley hurriedly escorted Silver out of the room and started jogging down the stairs in a rush. Silver immediately felt guilty, especially after all that praise Squirtley had given him about being mature for his age. "Sorry," he mewed a little brokenly. "Its fine, next time just be a little gentler," he sighed. "If there is a next time," Silver muttered, half to himself. Squirtley walked back to the fence and nodded for him to get back to his own house. "I really am sorry; I was just annoyed because she was acting like I was an enemy," he admitted. Squirtley only shrugged. "It's okay, really. I'll let you know when Skipper is definitely in the room next time. Ruby acts like a perfect saint when he's around."
"Thanks," Silver breathed in relief. He was getting ready to jump back over the fence, when he stopped himself. "Squirtley, I just remembered, I got to tell you something. See, I've been getting some strange symptoms lately. My muscles ache, I can't pee or else I can't stop peeing, I've been feeling really lethargic and tired, like I haven't slept at all, even though I keep oversleeping. And whenever I eat, I feel nauseous." He felt a little embarrassed to admit to many things had gone wrong all of the sudden. "I think my family's starting to get worried about me and I can't blame them. I know I have that illness of mine, Lassitudia or whatever, but this is different. It was never like this before." Squirtley nodded, and then shrugged, as if it didn't matter much. "Maybe it's just a bug. If it gets too troublesome, yer' trainers'll fix it. In that case you should probably get something to eat and rest instead of being outside like this. It'll pass, I'm sure." Silver felt faintly annoyed how nonchalant his old friend was being- it was becoming a real pain and Silver had hoped Squirtley had more to offer than 'eat and rest' like he had been doing for more than a week.
"Alright, I'll do that," Silver mewed with false relief. Saying his goodbyes, Silver leapt over the fence and pushed through the cat door. Christie was sitting with her head bowed. Silver felt shock creep over him, but he shook it off his pelt. For the first time, he noticed the heat of a fever coming off of her, as well as exhaustion. John seemed entirely oblivious to his wife's state. "Are you any worse?" he was asking. Christie looked up and shook her head. "Work has been stressing me out," she answered casually. "I feel kind of hot, but it's nothing. I can suck it up." Silver blinked. It wasn't just nothing, and Christie knew it too. Her muscles hurt, and he sensed fatigue under her skin and what's more, in her mind. The fever was climbing, somewhere in the 100's he guessed, and she probably needed medical help soon.
How could John not sense her lies? Silver questioned. No, he corrected himself, he knows fully well, and he's panicking over it. Anxiety was brushing off of him, even more closely concentrated than it was from Christie. Silver felt like he was going to be crushed under the intensity of his concern, but John merely swept the problem under a rug. "Alright," he finally sighed after a long moment of tension-inducing silence. "If it gets worse, tell me okay?" As soon as John exited the room, relief spilled off of Christie like a water fall. She instantly leaned back and fell victim to the exhaustion that overlapped her- that threatened to drown her.
Curiosity and fear spiked him, what in the world was wrong with her? Did she catch it from him, is he contagious? Did he threaten those little Azurills by coming in contact with them? He concentrated on his owner's symptoms. But their symptoms were entirely different? "Come here, kitty," Christie sounded above him. The voice sounded distant, like a million miles away from reaching his thoughts, but Silver followed it anyway.
Leaping into her hands, he allowed her to stroke his fur coat in a rhythm fashion. Maybe I'm just going insane; he thought to himself coolly, my life isn't under attack! He turned and curled up, but then scented something dreadful. He continued to sniff the air until he tracked it down, somewhere on Christie! He breathed in her scent, and felt fear grip him. There was an infected area on her, but he had no idea what it was. It smelt disgustingly aromatic, the sort of sickly dying scent that only illness could produce. But the sickness wasn't all over her like it would be in normal situations; it was centered on one part of her, like a power house. He felt nauseous by its scent. It seemed to have a heart beat on its own, and Silver imagined it pulsating like a parasite as it spread venom and poison through his owner's weak body. She seemed so powerless to stop it.
He suddenly became aware of Christie looking down at him, sadness and regret in her eyes. "That thing is deadly!" he mewed with urgency. "Get it off right now!" He knew Christie didn't understand Meowth tongue, but he was feeling panic spread through her. "Shhhh," she soothed, making Silver frustrated beyond anything he could control. "It's nothing," she repeated, the same words to John. "It isn't nothing!" he insisted, but Christie only stared down at him with hopeless eyes where the light was already dying within. Admitting defeat, Silver regretted ever being born a Meowth- he wanted to warn her of just how sick she was. Instead, he resigned and placed his chin halfheartedly on her leg as she continued to stroke him. I'm not under attack, he thought grimly. Christie is. And she's getting weaker, fast.
Anybody else get a really disgusting visual that was complete unnecessary? :D
I named Silver after the dog "Copper" from "Fox and the Hound" by the way. I only realized the name Silver was Giovanni's son WAAAY later after I'd already grown attached to the name. Oh well, live and learn!
"Misiku?" Silver called vacantly. It was a long weary trek back after returning Nala to her home. He hadn't gotten to see how Max greeted her; instead he just dropped her off like a child at the school bus and wondered off. Both scratch cats could feel the undying awkwardness that spread like an infection between them, and they both seemed relieved to part. Silver couldn't admit to himself that he had stopped in his old den before he left, and lay in his old mates nest, one last time. The bundle of probing sticks and pillow-soft feathers- crumpled with age- were cold and empty. Yet they felt warmed by a living body, as if Nisa had been in her nest the whole time awaiting his return.
Now the ground underneath him had changed from nutrient-rich soil to perfectly shredded bark chips and rocks that felt heart-achingly unfamiliar under his paws. It had been almost a week, six days, since he left his daughter a second time. When she's older, she'll understand why I left, he reassured himself. "Misiku, I'm back," he called once more. She's probably ignoring me, he huffed, rather lonesome. Why did she have to be so stubborn? Brushing through the den, his eyes met nothing but cold stones and two unused nests. His heart nearly stopped in his chest as the realization slowly dawned on him: her scent was five days stale.
"M-Misiku?" he called dumbly, as if just by calling her name, the little kitten would come bounding inside the den to meet him with warmth and love like he yearned her too. Silver trekked all across the den, laying his foot and muzzle across every grape-sized pebble that speckled on the ground, but it was hopeless. She wasn't hiding under any of the tiny pebbles, nor was her scent going to suddenly become fresh once again. She was gone, and she wasn't coming back.
Silver suppressed a yowl of loss, but shook his pelt quickly to clear his mind before he could be reduced to a sobbing misguided kitten. Bursting out of the make-shift den, Silver pressed his muzzle to the ground and started scenting for his daughter's personal aroma. Although deep inside, Silver couldn't shake the lingering destructive thought that the search was hopeless. Even if he did find her, which was seemingly next to impossible, it's not like he could drag her back and force her to be a perfect daughter. No, she was gone; she had lost all her faith in her father.
This never should have happened, he thought with distress. No, they should have never known this part of the forest even existed! In another life, Misiku would have been born in the den that Nisa and Silver shared. She would have kept her spicy-hot tongue and her I'm-a-live-wire attitude, but she would have never resented her father and would have loved her mother dearly. For so long, ever since he had heard that his mate was pregnant, he had dreamed that his kitten would be the very definition of perfect. The tiny kitten, so innocent and full of life, would take turns sleeping in either its father or mother's nest to keep warm. Nisa would have taught it battling moves to hone its defensive skills, and Silver would have taught it how to hunt and how to be.
He cringed as all his expectations, all his hopes and dreams, whistled away like a cold memory meant to be nothing but a fairytale. I'm all alone now; I don't even have Misiku anymore! Finally halting, his paws beating like punching bags, he trudged back to his den and collapsed in his nest. He closed his eyes tight, and curled his body into a tight ball. There was honestly nothing else left to do but run away from his problems to another world, even for a little while.
Opening his eyes again, his mind changed from an insistent migraine to a feeling of peace and child-like innocence. The world around him felt distant, and he could hardly recognize the feel of the Earth under his paws. The edges of his vision seemed blurred, and his senses felt dimmed to the very necessity, but Silver didn't seem to notice. He ran across the sun-bathed Earth and into a pool of cat tails that tickled his nose. The cotton-soft seeds- tiny dimpled pods hanging from miniature feather-like parachutes- spun like torpedoes through the spring-lit air once released.
The air around him smelled of the pungent-sweet scent of pollen as he crunched the cat tail ends and some vibrant yellow flowers under his paws. He felt like any sort of trouble he ever had lift with the breeze and made his paws weightless, so that he could run so fast that he was almost certain he could fly. He was having such a good time that he hadn't noticed the flowers start to wilt and sway- growing heavy as ice began to grow spontaneously around the delicate petals. He stopped his fun to watch- not with fear but with awe- as the flowers crimpled under the weight of the ice shards.
"You seem to be having fun," a voice offered sweetly behind him. Spinning around, Silver set his eyes on an old-looking Ninetails. One ear was tattered to bits, and her other ear had a few scars. A distinctive scar was scratched over one eye, with two more less severe scars on her muzzle. "Do you remember me Silver? I'm Kyoka." Silver only blinked at her, his tail swatting the tips of a patch of grass. "You look familiar, but I don't care. Take a hike," he grumbled sourly. He was surprised to notice the squeak in his voice, and suddenly became aware that he was much younger than he last remembered being. "Silver, you're dreaming," Kyoka flicked her ears back, like she was quickly losing her patience. "Says you!" Silver squawked back, although he was starting to get doubts. He remembered this place, but only when he was a kitten. He was a kitten now, but how could that be?
"Think really hard," Kyoka growled with her voice curt. Silver did as told, and found a flood of memories coming back. "Remember now?" Kyoka snapped irritably. "Uh, yeah, I s'pose," he answered bleakly. Suddenly his surroundings began to crumble around him. The shining sun, so warm and loving, emptied its brilliant color from an Aureolin yellow to an ominous pale misty Periwinkle. The lively shining grass shriveled and died, and then dissolved into the soil which in turn rotted into smooth blackness. The ice-tipped flowers fell like a mighty empire and sank into the ground with its grassy relatives. Soon everything was so black that Silver couldn't see where the floor ended and where the wall began- or if this void space even had a 3-D existence at all. Only the moon shone with such an intense light that only a dying star could provide before its last breaths in the night sky.
Something else, he noticed, had changed with the atmosphere. He had grown from a little kitten running through the fresh shoots brought upon by Spring, into a full grown scratch cat. "So much better," Kyoka huffed. "I have enough power in my psychic and ghost type abilities to visit in your dreams, but I don't have enough to change how the dream was originally plotted." Silver blinked, and tried not to show his confusion as not to irritate this cranky Ninetails any further.
"Listen, I need you to understand every word I'm about to say." Her burning raspberry-carmine iris's shifted a few shades darker, so that they looked malevolent and rancorous. "I need you to go back to Team Magma's base," she barked in Ninetails tongue. "I have looked with psychic eyes into the future, and have seen much bloodshed and betrayal that never should have happened." Silver felt a little stunned, "what do you mean? Why me?" he mewed helplessly. "The legendaries have seen this future as well, and have suffered alongside their brothers who have been captured for greed. They are coming from vast distances." Silver looked down at his paws, like the world around him was dissolving into dust.
"If the legendaries are coming, why must I go?" he meowed angrily. "Haven't I suffered enough?" Kyoka came forward and rested her muzzle on his head, like a mother would to her child. "Yes, you have suffered more than any Pokémon should in a life time," she soothed. Her voice was cold and distant, but soothing and sweet, like honey dripping down a sheet of black ice. "Unfortunately, the legendaries themselves are unable to stop the disaster." She tightened her voice, like it had been suddenly poisoned with indignation at something that Silver couldn't see. "They are too blind with anger to battle wisely. They will only make things worse in the end with their ruthless fighting." Her voice was acrimonious with disgust.
"And you think I can stop it? I can't possibly do something that not even a legendary can! What exactly do you expect me to do? Grow all-powerful within a day and save the world?" Kyoka fixed him with an interested stare, as sharp as a saw cutting through a block of wood. Then she suddenly looked alert, like something had spooked her. "No," she barked, but her voice was tight in fear and she was still tensed as if ready to run at any given moment. "But you must come anyway, as I've seen the future, Silver. It fills me with sadness, but I must carry on, although I cry silent tears as I do." She looked in every direction, making Silver's fur tingle with mixed fear and anguish.
"You are waking up," she noted firmly. "Before you do, I must give you one last message. After this I will not be able to have enough psychic power left to enter your dreams again. After you wake up, you must run. Run as fast as you ever had before straight to Team Magma's headquarters. When you wake up, you mustn't forget this dream! And just for you to know," her voice lowered to an all-acknowledgeable quip, "you're daughter will be there, too."
In less time it took to blink, the 2-D imagery around him flashed into black. Then he opened his eyes with all his senses intact. He was in his nest again, and the first touches of dawn were beginning to wash pale rainbow colors across the landscape. Everything was vivid and colored as they should be, and the scent of Pokémon rustling and leaves awakening from their hibernation over the winter were drifting into the den. Rising to his paws, Silver knew exactly what to do. He was going to run back to Team Magma's head quarters, and find his daughter no matter what.
It felt a lot more comfortable when the ground beneath his paws slowly changed from half-thawed dirt to the squishy dark-coffee colored soil he was used to. Silver's paws were desperate to run back to his old den, but another part of him couldn't bare the emptiness. Instead, he quickened his pace to the Team Magma headquarters. His instincts made him hesitate, but he shook it out of his fur and made for a casual trot onto Team Magma property. The hot zone.
He looked around, but Kyoka wasn't in sight. Making his way for the main door, he sensed a smidge of anxiety which hid under a surge of excitement from every grunt and even from each Pokémon as he trekked. Aside from getting some awkward half-interested looks from some grunts, Silver managed to make it back to the old caged room he was put in when he first arrived. "A-Aurora?" he mumbled, suddenly feeling uncertain. "Scrappy, Champ?" He trekked around the cage, but only Scrappy and Champ were there. Scrappy was sound asleep, with his six flame-colored tails wrapped around his nose. He was surprised to see Champ, who had been a tiny under-leveled Charmander- to be a fully fledged Charizard now. "Champ!" he gasped his name. Champ looked up, a hint of surprise and disapproval crossing his sleek face.
"Staraku?" he questioned, uncertain. "Yes it's me, and you're a charizard now!" He didn't know how Champ could evolve so fast, but it was definitely him. "Yes, the grunts wanted me to evolve to a Charizard because they're so powerful." Silver noticed an edge of discomfort and seriousness to his voice, like he had matured in only a heartbeat after evolving. "Is something the matter?" he asked, knowing he couldn't just avoid the question like he was trying to.
Champ shrugged. "You abandoned us, Staraku. As soon as you were given the chance, you ran away from here. You aren't my brethren anymore." His voice was cold and distant. "That's not true!" Silver gasped, his tail shooting up in shock. "I was forced to come to the very end of the forest! I wouldn't of if I had the choice!" His mind buzzed back to Nisa, and the undeserved death she received because he had been there. "If I could take it back, I would…." He mewed quietly.
Champ didn't look convinced, "Nala said you walked back with her to Team Magma, but then you turned right around and went back into the forest." Silver's ears perked up. "Did she say anything else?" Champ only shrugged again. "She said you managed to escape the grunts and ran into the forest and that she got hurt in the battle. Then later on you came and saved her, and you both walked back to head quarters. Then she said you both went your separate ways, and that was all she said."
Silver blinked, he hadn't expected her to say anything to a couple of Pokémon she hardly noticed before. "I had to; my kitten was waiting for me back in the forest! I couldn't have abandoned her!" he yowled into the air. Why did everyone expect so much out of him, when he could barely support himself at the moment? To his credit, Champ looked a little taken back and guilty, but he blinked it out of his eyes before the guilt interfered. "Well…. If you had a kitten, why did you rescue Nala?" Silver scratched his nails across the cement floor, feeling frustration bubble up him like a volcano getting ready to explode. "Because it was the right thing to do!" he snapped, realizing too late that he had screamed the words out with fury. "I didn't want to leave my only kitten! And because I did, she ran away. I don't even know if she's alive or not now. I came back, because I was told that something was going to happen here and my help was needed. I wanted to help, because it was the right thing to do!" He whipped around, having enough of Champ's accusations. In fact, he was sick of accusations period.
"Wait, wait I'm sorry!" Champ hollered back at him. Silver stopped and felt his anger drain out of him. He was apologizing? "I knew it wasn't your fault, I was just trying to protect my pride. I really liked you when you were here, you know? After they took Aurora away, it's been really lonely, and I'm not a leader like everyone expects of a Charizard. I don't know how to take care of Scrappy, so I've been really stressed. Silver? Silver, come back!" Silver swept dust and dirt off the floor with his low-hanging tail and back-tracked so that Champ could see him. "Do you know where they took Aurora?" he whimpered uneasily.
Champ blinked appreciatively at him, and then shook his head with remorse. "I thought they were taking her for another test or something, but the grunts just took her and she never came back. It happened about a week ago. Silver, can you get me out, please? I'm sick of this cage, it used to be fun, but I miss my family and I just want to be out. I was jealous of you when you got out…and…" Silver spoke before he could say anymore. "It's okay, Champ. I've missed you too; you never deserved to be locked up like this. I'll figure out how to get you out of there, I promise." Champ nodded, but his tail fire was barely strong enough to light a candle and every scale on his body seemed to shiver.
Silver felt for the Champ, he evolved much too quick for his body to keep up, and he'd done all that in a cage instead of being able to boast to his family. First things first, Silver had to find Aurora. If anyone- anyone he could talk to- knew about what was going to happen, she would know. His belly clenched as he made his way to the fighting arena, he had no idea where she was! A familiar scent caught in his mouth, and he slightly cringed at it. Nala's scent was drifting faintly from the nurse room.
She would know where Aurora is, he half-thought half-mumbled under his breath. He shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. What was his damage, anyway? His friendship with Nala hadn't changed; it was just awkward at the moment, and right now he needed answers. With shaky paws, he pushed through the pokecenter door and lifted his eyes to Nala's.
She looked shaky and tired until she recognized who he was, and then her eyes shifted to shock. "S-Silver?" she whispered, her voice raspy and aged beyond her years. Silver nodded, feeling the tension between them crackle like a direct hit from a thunder attack. "I was just in town," he mewed quietly. That was the stupidest thing I've ever said in my life! "Oh," Nala whimpered unsteadily. Silver quickly changed the subject before anything else could make the encounter worse. "Do you know where Aurora is?" he mewed gently. Nala gave him an inquiring look, and cocked her head in a confused manner. "She's an elderly Espeon that used to live in that cage I was first out in? With the baby vulpix and what is now a charizard? The charizard told me you told him the story, about how you got back?"
Nala continued to look confused, until understanding suddenly lit across her face. "I think I know what you mean," she mewed tentatively, "they released her." Silver blinked with momentary shock. "Are you sure? Why?" He mewed hurriedly. Nala ducked her head down, like she didn't want to be responsible if she wasn't telling the truth. "I think Max listed the Espeon from that room when he was naming Pokémon that were going to attend the big battle." Questions whirled in Silver's head, what big battle? So soon after the disastrous one against Giovanni, that ended in defeat? "What's the big battle?" he mewed with stress tainting his voice.
"I'll explain from the beginning," she sighed. "Team Magma exists because we love Pokémon, not because we're evil and want to destroy. We love Pokémon so much that we want to capture Groudon, a legendary Pokémon that controls the continents, so that we can make more land for more Pokémon to grow and live on. Team Aqua is a team that wants the very opposite ambition to be achieved. They love water Pokémon, and are trying to capture Kyogre- the legendary that controls the sea- so that they can expand the ocean and give more room for water types."
"Both our teams have captured their desired Pokémon respectfully, but they're both waiting for the right time to strike. Recently, Max has sent out spies across the Team Aqua territory and has found where they've hidden Kyogre. We're going to launch an assault, where we can control Groudon and create more Earth afterwards." She paused for a moment, looking a little bewildered. "Max hasn't forgiven Giovanni for destroying half his team. He knows, and Giovanni knows, that if Team Aqua is alerted, they might attack after learning we're so short on Pokémon. We're almost defenseless at the moment. The goal is to launch an attack before Giovanni can get to Team Aqua in time, steal Kyogre, make more land, and then destroy Team Aqua and Team Rocket once that legendary is obtained."
Silver's mind buzzed with all the new information, and then his heart seemed to drop out of his chest and sink into the floor under him. "T-They can't hurt Team Rocket!" He gasped, his tail shivering. Nala looked at him with a questionable face. "Why do you care? Giovanni rejected you." Silver was surprised to hear the sneer in her voice; like she was glad he got a taste of his own medicine. "No," he mewed stubbornly. "I have to protect my trainer, even if he's turned his back on me! I have to tell him your plans, before it's too late!"
Silver tensed his muscles, fully expecting Nala to screech defiance against his betrayal and score sharp claws across his pelt. Instead, she only looked slightly shocked, and then mystified. She gave him a brutally hard stare, which made Silver almost prefer an attack over her eyes, until she looked away and off into the distance. "You'll never make it in time," she mewed quietly. "We're launching the attack any time now, and it'll take several days to even walk to Giovanni's head quarters. He wouldn't understand you anyway, you're just a meowth, and people can only speak human tongue." Her voice was disturbingly low and crisp, like she was looking back onto memories unseen to the naked eye.
Silver felt a surge of frustration and defeat rush through his veins at the realization she was right. "One last thing," he mewed hesitantly. "Have you seen… my daughter?" A flicker of horror crossed her face, but it was gone before he could be sure it was even there in the first place. Afterwards, her expression remained untouched and disinterested. "No, I haven't, sorry," she mewed with a tease of remorse in her voice. Head bowed, tail drooping and paws hardly lifting above the ground, Silver nodded weakly and walked out of the pokecenter.
He stopped at the entrance and meowed "I may not have hope in warning Giovanni of this disaster, but I'm still going to try, even if that makes me the biggest fool you've ever seen," he spat her. Nala didn't seem to notice his remark at first, until she responded "I understand that drive, and I respect it." Silver nodded curtly, and exited the room. He knew his next order of business, rescue Champ and Scrappy and then locate Aurora. He stopped at the entrance, and rubbed his head with his paws. I got to think of a plan! I can't just bust them out, just like that! There's got to be a way…. He peered into the room, and felt his heart sink further when he saw the guards glaring down at him.
He worked his paws against the cement ground and then padded in, coolly and casually. Champ was looking more and more heartbroken, but then perked up as soon as he saw him. "Silver! Did you figure out how to release me, did you find Aurora?" he hissed with glee. Silver looked regretful, "I was wondering you knew where the key is to your cage? And Aurora… she was chosen to do the big battle. I don't know her exact location but I know generally were she is." Champ blinked, "what's the big battle?" Silver explained quickly in the form of a short paragraph. "That's awesome! Pokémon are going to get hurt, no matter which team wins!" he howled with sympathy. "Shhh! The guards are going to kick me out in about two seconds! Do you know where the key is or don't you?" Champ looked at him apprehensively, "one of the guards has it in his pocket. I think I heard one of them mention a spare in a big cabinet in Max's office if that helps." Silver nodded, not knowing what direction to go, until he settled on stealing it from the grunts.
"Right, thanks, now I just have to get it. Do they have any Pokémon on them?" Champ nodded, "The guards get some of the best because they have to protect things," he roared with Charizard tongue. Silver nodded, "got it. I'll have to get those away from him…. Here's the plan, you make the loudest snarl you can muster, like a screech attack! When the guards come, I'll make a loop around the cage and attack them from behind. I'll rip off the Pokéball holder around their waists, and then pounce on them. I'll grab the key, turn back and kick their Pokéballs to the farthest corner and while they're trying to grab it, I'll shove the key into the keyhole and-"
Silver nearly jumped out of his fur when a loud growl sounded behind him. Whipping around, he saw Nala with her fur on end, her eyes like round shiny blood moons. She heard my plan! He turned and faced her, his teeth bared and claws extended. "I don't care what you do to me, but I'm getting my friends out of this cage!" he snapped at her. The guards looked at her fearfully, and then turned to Silver. Nala pelted forward and Silver nearly leapt on her to start a brawl, but she stopped and turned back to the grunts. "Come with me, there's something disastrous happening in Max's office!" she mewed harshly, her voice was filled with apprehension and the tip of her tail whipped the air like an arboc snapping at its prey.
Silver knew the guards couldn't understand her, but they seemed to notice the urgency in her voice. "Do you think Team Aqua is attacking?" one of the grunts uttered, looking spooked and excited at the same time. The opposing grunt didn't answer and instead took the lead and ran out the door, with the first following in hot pursuit. "W-What's happening in Max's office?" Silver mewed fretfully, but Nala's calmed face returned once more to warn him she was lying. She padded forward and uncurled her tail, revealing a key, before stuffing it in the keyhole and twisting her head so that it clicked.
Champ emerged, looking dazed and a little suspicious. "W-Why?" Silver squeaked as Champ slowly emerged into the open once more. Nala looked at him, her eyes full of sincerity and regret. "The last thing I want to be is your enemy. I didn't know about your other mate, and I don't want things to be weird between us, even if you don't feel the same way." Her gaze tightened to one of gentle longing, making a twinkle of guilt blossom within him. I'm really hurting her. "Even if you've turned your back on me," she mewed with a spark in her eye, "I'm still going to try, even if that makes me the biggest fool you've ever seen." Her eyes were contempt and warm with satisfaction, but Silver couldn't get past the sting of her heartache that was as fresh a scar as it ever had been, gushing blood out of her heart.
"Thank you," he mewed quietly, "I was wrong to doubt your loyalty." Silver felt the twinkle of guilt spread into a mighty eagle that planned to sink its sharp claws into his heart. Nala only nodded, her heart thumping faster than a nincada's wings, before she turned weakly and pelted out of the room. She stared after her, wishing dearly that he could sooth her pain somehow, but there was no time to dwell on what could have been. "Scrappy, Scrappy are you in there?" he mewed, turning quickly and entering the cage. He was indeed there, pressed against the wall and shivering like a brittle leaf fighting against a mighty gust of wind. "Scrappy, you got to hurry," he coaxed with a edge of desperation. The little vulpix continued to shiver and didn't move a muscle. "I don't want to go," he squeaked quietly, so that Silver had to strain his eyes to hear him. Waves of anxiety blasted off the vulpix, threatening to wash him away. "You want to stay in this cage?" he asked, doubt and horror flooding him.
Scrappy nodded, "I hate change. I don't want to get hurt, what if someone catches us? I don't want to get hurt, I'm not good with pain!" he squeaked, dropping to his four paws and quivering. Silver was almost convinced the tiny vulpix would suffer a heart attack at any moment. "But what about your family! This isn't where you belong Scrappy; you belong with your old friends and family back home! Don't you want that?" he felt his nails scrape against the cement. There wasn't any time for this; they were going to get caught at any second!
"Of course I want that!" Scrappy's voice rose to a fierce yowl, making Silver take a step back. He had never heard the shy vulpix look so crippled. "But it'll never happen! I was chosen from the start, I have no future accept here. There isn't any hope for escaping; I'm going to die here." Hot fiery tears dripped from the Vulpix's eyes, and negative emotions seemed to hop in every direction with chaotic force.
"Come on, Scrappy," Champs voice was surprisingly gentle and sweet. Silver could hardly believe the silky tongue had come from a vicious man-eating Charizard, until he remembered this was Champ he was talking about. "I won't let go of your hand, I promise you that much. It isn't so hard, just climb onto my back and I'll fly you straight to your family! They'll be so pleasantly shocked to see you; you'll be nicknamed 'the boy that lived!' I'll buy you some big nerdy glasses at the Pokestore if you want!"
Scrappy looked a little less frightened, and rose to his paws. "That's it, you're doing just fine!" Champ laughed a good-hearted laugh, "I've never seen such a brave vulpix in my life! Look at you, legendaries will bow at your feet once you grow a little more!" Scrappy finally stumbled onto Champ's back and gave him a feeble smile. Silver had to admit he was jealous of Champ's skills, but even pushed the unnecessary feelings away.
"Are you coming, Silver?" Champ asked, slightly spooking him. "You want me to come?" Silver mewed. Champ shook his long dinosaur-like head with a charizard smile crossing his lips. "Of course! That's what friends are for. After I get Scrappy home, we'll come back and rescue Aurora and then I'll get home as well. We've done it, Silver, we're free at last!" Silver suppressed tears that threatened to overpower him, but these were tears of joy. Champ was such a kind-hearted Pokémon, why couldn't they be friends forever? "Thank you," he mewed at last before climbing onto his back.
"Alright fella's," Champ grunted. "Today is the day we make history!"
Champ sucked in an unholy amount of air and blasted a blue-violet glob at the wall. It sizzled and hissed as the blob bit through the cement and sand, until it melted a hole big enough to squeeze through. "Champ, when did you learn Toxic?" Silver complimented him, a flower of happiness rising in his heart. Champ looked a little embarrassed, "I honestly didn't know about it until now. It just kind of dawned on me and I learned how to do it." Silver purred, "perfect timing."
With Scrappy and Silver on his back, Champ made a wild unsteady run toward the hole and dived in. The ground underneath suddenly gave way from solid ground to several feet below, giving Silver a momentarily queasy feeling of weightlessness. Champ continued submitting to the merciless grasp of gravity until he was able to unglue his wings away from his body and contradict his downward motion. With a few unsteady flaps of his wings, he began to climb faster and pumped his wings so that he soared as effortlessly as a jumpluff. "Hold on to Scrappy!" Champ yelled against the whistle of the wind, "I'm going to go fast so we can get out of here without being caught!" Silver screamed his approval and then crouched over the still shivering Vulpix, so that his body shielded him against the wind. He dug his claws with the direction of Champs scales so that he was rooted to his friend, but also so that his claws didn't injure him.
"I don't think anyone's noticed us yet!" Silver called, "maybe we should fly lower to the trees and then completely switch the course of our trail, so that it's harder to track us?" Champ nodded, although he didn't look up, "good idea." He pointed his muzzle to the ground but instead of a dive, he made a much more controlled landing. "Scrappy, do you remember where your family lives?" Champ asked gently once they had landed amongst the safety of the trees. Scrappy looked terrified, like being put on the spot was the worst punishment of all, and then looked suggestively toward the east. Champ nodded, "I'm going to fly low and against the air currents so that all the smells and scents can hit us from the forest. If you smell anything familiar, make sure to tell Silver, okay?" Scrappy still looked a little winded, but nodded after a while.
"Alright, let's make do a U-Turn attack and head east," he roared. Champ threw for a good thirty minutes until he landed at the very edge of the forest. "Nothing?" Champ prompted, suddenly looking nervous. Scrappy just shook his head and scuffed the dusty sand under his glossy auburn paws. "I think they've given up finding me. They probably headed out of the forest after that," he mumbled. Champ brushed his muzzle against his and gave him a rough friendly lick across his rusty red mane. "We'll find them; I promised you I would get you home! Do you know where they might have gone?" Scrappy's eyes glowed with a mixture of pride at his friend's companionship, but also with a swirling darkness of dread. "No, I don't even know if they're sill in the region after all this time." Champ started to look doubtful, but he shook it away before Champ could sense the change.
"Then we'll just have to scour every mile until we find them," he cheered with redeemed confidence. Scrappy nodded, surprisingly keeping his own confidence pretty well intact, "can you fly that far?" Champ flopped out his wings and let his tail burn like a torch. "I could fly around the world in a heartbeat while carrying a Wailord on my back." Silver felt a ding chime like a soothing belle in his head. That was it! Why didn't he see it before?
"Can you fly me to Giovanni's head quarters?" he squeaked, only just barely able to keep his composure. Champ looked up at him, as if he'd forgotten he was there due to lack of interaction in the conversation. Then his overly confident personality flashed back and he shot a smug look at him, one of guaranteed perfect service. "Of course! But why would you ever want to go to that dreadful place?" Silver suppressed a flinch; it wasn't dreadful to him at all. "Team Magma is planning to take over Team Rocket once they've captured Groudon. I need to warm him," he mewed barely dodging a hint of desperation in his voice. Champ, again, gave him a puzzled look as if he'd lost his mind. "Have you got a Spinda for a brain?" he asked with wild confusion scrunching up his face. "I'd be happier than a heracross with a bucket of honey if Team Rocket was taken down. That's one less team to worry about, if you ask me."
Silver felt the ever growing need to squeal like a kitten that it wasn't a stupid idea; it meant the world to him. But he remained calm in front of Champ and only lashed his tail at the air in frustration, so that a bundle of leaves fell down from their braches. "Please," he pleaded, all the while trying not to look too entirely desperate. "It really is important to me, I've gotta figure out how to tell Giovanni that he's in a lot of danger!" Champ still looked suspicious, but to Silver's relief he only shrugged and didn't ask for a back story. "We'll have to put the Scrappy mission on the back burner for now then, if that's okay with you Scrappy? We'll all go to Team Rocket's headquarters together." Scrappy nodded his head with an excited smile teasing at his lips, causing Silver to breathe a sigh of relief.
A voice squeaked from behind him, "wait!" All three Pokémon looked startled and horrified at the same time. It was Nala's voice, who was pelting through the forest at full speed. "Yes, what is it?" Champ snapped, wondering dangerously out of his docile personality. Nala looked a little startled herself, as if she was expecting a life debt to be expressed from all the Pokémon in front of her. Then she bowed her head and pointedly lowered her tail so that it was a hair lower than Silver's was. "I want to come with you," she mewed submissively. A prick of anger and resentment brushed off of Champ in one blow, but then quickly feathered into interest. "Why do you care?" he growled, "you were the reason we were taken in the first place and now we're trying to escape. You're the enemy, don't forget that."
Nala looked up, her voice stricken. "That's not true!" she meowed decisively. Champ took a threatening step forward, but Nala didn't flinch in the slightest. "Then why don't you leave that pathetic excuse for a leader and stop worshipping him? You act like he's the cousin of Arceus; meanwhile you've always waked past other Pokémon who have been enslaved against their will like it was nothing!" His voice lowered to a menacing hiss. "You're the most worthless thing I've ever laid eyes on, falling to your knees to a leader who left you to die in the forest battle." Although the petty insult was directed at Nala, Silver couldn't help feel the sharpest stab from his words. That was the whole reason he was going to Team Rocket's headquarters in the first place, even after he left him to die just like Max did with Nala.
He looked up expecting to see Nala, at the very least, wincing at the stern words, but she continued not to flinch at all. He gaze was firm and steady, but her steadily twitching tail allowed Silver to know how much the words had meant to her. "I follow Max because he is my trainer, and it is honorable to a Pokémon to always obey their masters. Max did not leave me to die; he just couldn't save me at the time. He was very earnestly glad when I came back, and wouldn't let me out of his sight since then!" Her meow was full of pride for her trainer, making Silver surprised that this was the same meowth that claimed her trainer had abandoned her not so long ago.
Champ scoffed, "You must be so proud of yourself, having a trainer that waits on you like you say; meanwhile every other Pokémon knows the true meaning of real honor! We protect each other, help each other out, we care for our own kind! While you've always been blind in your love fest for Max that you've never known the joy of being a Pokémon in the first place." He whipped around, anger seething from him. "Say what you want, but I'm not giving you a ride, if that wasn't clear already."
Nala bowed her head and nodded, being unpredictable as usual, or so Silver thought. "I understand your frustration, but I must persist in my plea." She turned and looked sincerely at Silver, her eyes full of true love and heartbreak. The look may have been intended to be honey-sweet, but they felt like black sharp claws raking down his fur coat. "I want to understand your ambition, Silver," she mewed tenderly. "I can't let you leave me here, when I feel so trapped." Her eyes returned back onto Champ, who was giving her a narrowed suspicious glare from his electric blue eyes.
"Please let me come, you were right. I've grown to be too spoiled, but I regret it. I want the chance to learn." Champ hesitated, but finally bowed his head in half-hearted submission. "I suppose you can, if Silver wants you to." All eyes rested on him, and suddenly his heart began to pound. He flicked his tail and avoided stinging questionable eyes. "Sure, I guess," he mewed thoughtfully. Nala lit up like a Christmas tree, which only served Silver to wonder if he'll regret that decision. Was he only leading her on? Didn't she understand he wasn't interested?
"Climb on," Champ chirped after a monetary pause. "Like I said, history ain't ganna make itself!" It felt good to hear the natural happiness in Champ's voice again- he was always so charismatic and positive about anything and everything. Maybe little naive, he pondered silently to himself as he climbed onto his old friend. But he's the only Charizard for me! He purred aloud, even though no one would understand his sudden satisfaction. "Alright gang, time to confront the big boss man. Full steam ahead!"
The sun shimmered behind snow-dusted mountain peaks, casting a warm blanket of pale hues across every grain of sand that welcomed the last licks of heat. "I don't know how you plan to pull this off," Champ grunted, "but whatever happens, come back by tomorrow morning so we can trail back and abduct Aurora from that place. Meanwhile, I'll take Scrappy to see if we can find any more clues." Silver nodded with a puff of relief once Champ's bottom feet touched the ground. Silver had never understood how the characters on TV - who had been away from land long enough - seemed to worship the ground as a humorous gag to the viewers. Now he felt the very same way, wanting to roll across the parched sand below him until every speck of dust clung to his pelt.
"Got it," it meowed with a brusque nod of his head. "Not a jiff later!" The group parted with Champ quickly climbing the skies again and Silver and Nala's paws patting against the ground as they ran for the building squarely in front of him. "Okay, are you sure we're in this together, Nala? Giovanni's bound to recognize you," Silver panted as his paws beat the ground below him. Nala nodded her head vigorously, a gleam of adventure weaving a cloak across her iris so that she seemed immune to any sense of danger. "I'm with you all the way, Silver. He'll recognize you much faster than me." Silver smiled at her and felt hope heat the tips of his ears. This might actually work, if I've got a partner! "We've got to think of a plan before we get there," he meowth'd with a deadpan expression on the building.
Silver suddenly halted so that the sand heated his paws with friction. Nala stopped as well with a kick of choking dust in the air before she darted behind a prickly bush with Silver. "I said I'm with you. On the other hand, or paw I guess if you switch that human phrase to Meowths, I think you've got no chance in warning your former trainer. He's clueless and he's obviously not exactly interested in hearing your opinion even if he could understand your language. I don't see how you plan to do this unless you suddenly decide to learn trainer tongue in a matter of seconds!"
Silver huffed as the sharp thorns of the bush nestled in his pelt fur. "Don't be ridiculous, I can't move my mouth to pronounce trainer speak, it just isn't natural," he snapped back even though he knew the suggestion wasn't intended to be pursued. "There's no way humans can learn Pokémon tongue either, our languages are completely different. Trainers rely on pronunciation by use of making sounds with the tongue, teeth and lips. Pokémon use very distinct high and low pitches that a human would never be able to notice with their inept ears, let alone create the pitch with their mouths. Pokémon wouldn't even be able to notice the slightest difference in pitch with our voices, if we didn't all have a sensitive organ in our bodies that sense those differences. Basically what I'm trying to explain in detail here is that learning something isn't going to cut it."
Nala gave him an annoyed look, like she didn't appreciate the lesson on basic knowledge he had given, but she snapped out of it quickly. "If we can't speak rationally, we might have to force him out to realize on his own account," she mewed dubiously. Silver flicked his ears up and felt his fur bristle involuntarily. "That just might work!" he cheered, although cautiously, behind the cover of the thicket. A tinge of a suppressed blush crossed her face, like she was entirely too happy to be praised by him. "Like you said, he probably recognizes me. That could be a huge advantage when we try to lure him back to Team Magma's headquarters."
Silver felt a half-silenced purr rumble within his chest. "Brilliant progress! Now, how will the plan go exactly?" he prompted, feeling a tingle of excitement grace his paws. Before any plotting could really be chewed out, a hysteric howling lit the air like a display of erratic fireworks. "Simple, we'll wing it," Nala mewed hastily before turning and darting out of the brush. "Let's go opposite ways and meet at the roof of the building!" he hollered after her, but she made no sign to show that he had heard her. Hissing at his bad luck, Silver turned in the opposite way of his partner and pelted into another clump of greenery. Feeling his heart pound, he continued on to the next bush and the next, all the while remaining acutely aware of the fear that he may be tracked down or caught sneaking around.
He raised his head just a hair's length enough to see his attackers. Two glooms, one growlith and surprisingly enough, five Granbulls. Piece of cake. He shakily placed one feather-light paw on the ground after another, feeling only too conscious that every speck of dirt that budged seem to sound like a screech attach when it bumped other grains of sand. A throaty howl from roughly five or so feet away made Silver nearly jump out of his pelt. Feeling his coat heat as if the sun was only an inch from touching his fur, Silver darted with paws that seemed to fly a millimeter above the ground instead of actually making contact. He felt the hot breath of thirty Granbulls barely missing a sharp nip of his hind legs with sharp lavender fangs which crooked awkwardly forward, as if their jaw had been brutally torn from its socket. Sharpedo-like teeth in vicious rows were patterned perfectly on the roof and bottom of their jaws, like tiny daggers that enabled the Granbull to crunch a Pokémon's bones in between them like it was a tree splinter.
He closed his eyes tight to try and shake the visions that swirled in his mind and pivoted his paws, so that he made a sharp L turn to the building. Leaping blindly- almost dumbly- at the building without a clear understanding of whether or not he had anything to grip, he connected claw to tiny crevices in the bricks, which enabled him to scurry up the building until he was able to climb high enough from any Granbull should he decide to stand on its hind legs and claw him down from his post. He blinked in surprise upon looking down to see no pursuer hot on his trail. He opened his mouth to briefly smell the air, and found the scents of the guard Pokémon still scouring around the area with no trace of anger or concern fluffing from their fur coats.
Silver wasn't sure if he should hiss at his careless bolt where he could have easily been caught, or breathe a sigh of relief that he hadn't been caught in the first place. Focusing his attention back to the building, he remembered his promise to Nala on their meeting place and began climbing up wall. Scaling the nearly vertical obstacle was tougher than he thought it would be, especially when his claws seemed to slip directly through the crevices and slide right down the smooth glossy surface. Panting breathlessly after only a few strides, he made a small toad spring for a nearby window and was thankful for the tiny crack that enabled him to squeeze through.
The air inside the building was cold that struck him through his fur and tickled his skin. The breath was surprisingly much more clear and welcoming inside, unlike the dense air- thick by drowning temperature- outside. The floors were very clean and glossy with ivory marble that felt slick and looked beautiful under paw. Shaking his awe away, Silver energized his trot to a dash until he curved the hallway and found a length of stairs in front of him. He could already feel strain in his muscles, but he shook that away too and started in an awkward pace up the stairs until he found himself at the very top floor. He slid undetected past a wondering grunt and nosed his way through the door he was looking for.
His heart sank when he couldn't find trace nor hair on Nala, until she sprang up the building almost effortlessly and slid to his side. "Sorry if I kept you waiting," she mewed, although her voice was passive. "I have to admit I was tracked down and got a flurry of Pokémon on my paws. The Pokémon had awful footwork and didn't even make an effort to chase me when I started up the building, but I take it they went and alarmed someone. I suppose that means we don't have whole lot of time to plan before we start taking action."
Silver nodded, feeling a little ashamed that he had thought the Pokémon were chasing him instead. He began to trace his paws across the cement floor, making an invisible line with his claws. "Giovanni's office is like Max's office. It's on the first floor and in the back, you can't miss it. I say sneak down there and remain somewhere where you can have a clean and easy exit. Blast a lot of attacks and start up a ruckus. While they're distracted, I know where they keep all their troops for battles. I'll start sending them to their back up headquarters, which is a smaller place closer to where I believe Team Aqua is situated at. After that I'll destroy the Pokéball trading machine and make it look like an accident. After the diversion has been going on, I'll run down to the first level and we'll hide out until Champ get's back.
He paused, looking down at his invisible plans as if they were really there. "We'll all fly back to Team Magma and by that time, Team Rocket should be getting to their back up Pokémon. That's when the big battle should start. We have to make sure he gets involved and knows what's happening. I know the plan is rough and might sound like a real marowak-headed idea but I don't see any other immediate action that should be done."
Nala nodded, her eyes firm. "I'll make sure to do by part as soon as I can get there and distract as long as possible." To Silver's surprise, her eyes became somber and delicate, but still held onto its seriousness. "Max won't get hurt, will he? I don't want to do anything that will put him in danger." Silver blinked, but he had a feeling she understood his commitment and knew he had lived that feeling before and even now. "If anything hurts Max, it'll hurt Giovanni too. I'm not going to let that happen, even if I have to burn in the flames while trying." Nala smiled genially. Once again, Silver felt himself experiencing guilt and heart ache at the amount of loyalty and love that shown in her eyes.
He felt a pang of her heart ache in his own body, making him involuntarily shiver and was painfully reminded of his earlier self-doubts: was he doing the right thing? He was looking deeper into her eyes now, which shown with the depth of longing and sincerity that he knew had been there all along. Then he felt his fur bristle when those very same eyes hardened to a look of frozen shock and fear. "W-What's wrong?" he meowed, feeling her emotions duplicate onto him like a contagious plague. Nala didn't respond, but instead drew her lips back in an angry snarl with her ears close to the sides of her face.
"Predictable," a voice hissed behind him, making him jump. "You've already replaced Nisa, like she was a toy to begin with. I hope you know, that hideous she-meowth will never be my mother." Silver instinctively pivoted his paws so that his entirely body was facing his opponent in a heartbeat. Misiku stood firmly, with the week behind her age shining nicely. She had grown so that she had nearly caught up to Silver in size. Her charm shined like a second sun even with only the paling last brushes of light to supporting its sheen, signaling her health. Muscles rippled under her fur coat, confirming that she had been focusing on her battle skills between the time she had ran away.
"Misiku!" He murmured with choked shock. "It's you, I… I didn't expect you to be here," he mewed. He tried desperately to suppress his fatherly love for her and wanted to run up to her, to express how proud he was of her growth and to lick behind her ears like he should have as a parent. He reminded himself painfully that this daughter of his hated him with every bristled hair on her pelt, and no amount of his love could counter that despise.
"Of course not," she spat. "Notice anything different? I've been eating a lot of Rare Candies lately, and in no time I'll be even bigger and stronger than you could ever hope to be." Her voice was sickenly tart and angry, like she was ready to rip apart the first thing she saw if asked politely. She took a taunting step forward, and Silver could feel the waves of horror coming from Nala with every inch she advanced on him. "One more thing, you've walked into my trap Staraku. I've been expecting you, because I knew you'd try to win me back but I'm never coming back. I've been waiting, Staraku, and now I'm going to make you regret ever allowing me to be born!"
A disturbing ripple ran up from her flank to her chest before Misiku opened her jaws and released a screech attack. Cylinder beams of electric blue and white light enveloped both scratch cats, making the loud screeching sound feel even more powerful that it already was. The sound was enough to make both Silver and Nala almost fall off their paws, but both held their ground. By the time the surprise screech attack ended, Silver felt his eardrums ring like tiny bells inside his head, as if the merciless claws of the high-pitched sound were still going. Miserably, he felt his defense stats weaken almost as if he'd instantly lost two pounds of weight.
While both Silver and Nala shook their pelts to get rid of the last effects of the screech attack, he noticed Misiku looking sternly at them with smug eyes as a yellowish pale light shone from every end of her fur coat. The light ended swiftly by absorbing into her paws in the same manner as magnet attraction would, making her paws appear bigger and fiercer. Nala looked up at him with a dreadful expression as both thought the same thing. Our defense was taken down two stats and she just raised her attack by two when she used that Nasty Plot attack. We're already at a disadvantage! Misiku, wasting no time, flung herself in for a close range attack with Slash. Nala released a snarl before side stepping out of the way of the attack and then launching herself on Misiku's haunches.
Instinctively, Misiku flipped her entire body and rolled on her back but Nala didn't let go in the slightest. Turning on Silver with her tail erect and fur standing on end, she dove at him and pressed forceful paws down on his shoulders. He yowled in protest and strained his neck to bite down as hard as he could on her ankle, but the light of anger and the adrenaline of battle had made any pain only a slight detail for her at the moment. She leaned forward to rip into her father's throat, but she was cut off when Nala rolled between her and Silver and put up a protect attack. Misiku was thrown off her paws, but spiraled her body quickly and landed on all fours like a graceful ballet dancer.
The grace faded when she released a wicked hiss toward her enemy and charged in at the protect attack, but it was no use. The reckless attack only served to injure herself, and instead she lashed her tail and sparkled with a yellow-white glow again. "She's using Nasty Plot again?" Nala hissed with frustration. Silver wasn't given time to respond as Nala pushed her weight off the ground with her back paws and slammed her protective shield directly into the overly smug looking Misiku. This time she was unable to keep her composure and fell to her side, looking surprised and stunned.
Quickly getting to his paws again, Silver began to feel desperation trickle into his paw steps. We're losing valuable time! "Nala!" he croaked, running to her side as she put down her Protect attack. "Go and do the plan, while I do my own part. I refuse to have come here for nothing!" he panted with aspiration. Nala gave him an alarmed look and fortunately, Misiku gave him a confused look. Yes, Misiku didn't hear our plans! She has no idea what we're talking about! "It'll be alright, I promise!" he gasped with a warm smile to show he wasn't afraid. Nala looked entirely doubtful, but she didn't argue and started running for the door.
Misiku yowled a protest, but before she could leap on Nala with outstretched claws, Silver threw his entire body into her side so she was bowled over. She had been too intent on capturing Nala, so she easily lost her balance and toppled over with tail and feet clawing at the air. Her icy glare told him that now was the best time to start running. He burst out of the door and started running for the Pokéball room he remembered so clearly as waves of fury rippled from his pursuer.
He ran as fast as he could, but he also felt the tug of exhaustion make his paws clumsy. A screech cut the air, startling him, until he saw waves of water and light flash from below. Nala was creating the distraction, so now he just had to make his footwork count. He turned tail just in time to dodge a screech attack that nipped at his back paws and lunged into a familiar door. Rows and rows of Pokéballs- farther than the eye could see and certainly more than Max had- lined the walls until the detailed structure of the Pokéballs became nothing but white and red blurs in the distance. He had to rip his eyes from the awestruck room so that he could locate the Pokéball transfer machine. Silver realized the machine was nearly impossible to miss with its huge curved structure and black paint that contradicted everything else being ivory white with red splashes peppering the area. The machine was placed conveniently next to the door in case of emergency.
He charged forward- acutely aware of furious paws growing closer behind him yet- and looked over the machine with calculating eyes. The emergency button was clear, but under a glass cover so as to not be pressed accidently. He batted at the glass cover and smashed his paw down on the button, knowing exactly where the Pokéballs were bound to go. A loud buzzing sound immediately cut the air like whips every few seconds, and small lights flickered from where every Pokéball was seated. A sucking sound grabbed the air around the Pokéballs for a few seconds, making the circular devices dance and shake. Then an electric crimson red light struck around the Pokéballs, making their outlines fuzzed and blurry until the Pokéballs seemed to dissolve within the light. All that was left in the Pokéballs' place was void air.
A stunned growl wreathed from behind him. "What are you doing?" Misiku hissed, her paws trembling, her eye skeptical and suspicious. There was momentary alarm and fear crouched like a Bengal tiger within her, but it was killed in an instant. Silver tried his best to ignore her inquiry- while remaining acutely aware of her stunned location- and instead tried to calculate how he planned to do the next step. He only spent a few seconds searching when a scream, caked with frustration, erupted behind him. "Don't ignore me!" Misiku spat before launching with claws unsheathed at her father.
He tactfully flipped out of the direction of her outstretched claws and landed dexterous feet on the floor before pelting down the rows of non-existent Pokéballs. Misiku chimed another fitful line of empty threats before slamming all four paws on the ground and chasing her father like she was tracking down a particularly juicy piece of prey. Alarm whistled through his fur like a hundred salamences pouncing the life out of him, but he continued to push on. He pivoted his paws in a U-turn and slid past his pursuer before he was cornered. "Battle with honor and fight me!" Misiku yowled after him before pulling off her fourth and final move. The pay day attack skimmed his back fur with flawless precision, making him cringe. The second bout hit a direct attack, forcing his paws to break against the pressure and force.
He scrambled for a useful grip, but instead was thrown off his paws in a tumble weed of claws and tail. He felt the inevitable take place as strong paws pounced him and forced him steady against the ground. His daughter's eyes were brilliant blue with a spice of hatred sparkling within them, and her pupils seemed to have the same quality of precise facile precision as a noctowl's piercing eyesight. Her teeth were coated with sharp revenge, and her muzzle and lips quivered with satisfaction and dominance. Silver felt a pang of regret spark under his coat, despite being faced with a painful life-threatening situation, and he longed to feel proud of his daughter's growth.
She obviously didn't pick up on his wistful longing, or she may have not cared at all. She dipped her muzzle so that it was within an inch of his pricked ear. "Guess what? I'm in Giovanni's top powered team, and suspected by many to be his favorite. Soon, I'll be his top cat. Know why he likes me? Because of ruthless and not afraid to deal merciless kills if I have too, he knows I'm powered with revenge and greed. Soon I will take your place as his favorite Pokémon and best mate, and you will have the honor of being the reason for that success." Silver cringed under her hot breathe, moist and relentless, within his ear. "That's right, I know all about you, and I know your place with Giovanni was your bread and butter. I'm going to take it and shove it in your face, until you're begging me to end your life just to end that suffering." Her eyes bore into him, like arrows hitting the bull's eye. "Well?" she hissed at the very top of her lungs with a hint of desperation and longing. "Tell me if you want me to end your life now, because I'd love to! I want to know you have suffered, I want you to feel the same pain I always have!"
Silver shot her with a dead pan look, his voice even and fixated. "Misiku, I will not plead for death, no matter how many times you ask me now or in the future," he growled somewhat calmly. Misiku responded by plunging sharp claws into his pelt, making him suppress a squeak of protest. "I accept that challenge!" she yowled defiantly into the air. Her eyes gleamed with hatred so intense that it made Silver wonder if it was still Misiku that he was looking at, but they quickly melted to pleading tear-filled eyes. Silver looked up at his daughter in shock- he had been seeing her as a merciless killer since he was discovered on the roof. Now she looked like a tiny kitten that wanted to throw itself to its mother, pleading and whimpering with grief and angst.
"All I wanted was a normal life! But both my parents have forsaken me. I look to anybody, anything, that will supply me with the warmth and love I deserve so much. But instead, I feel like a circus Pokémon behind the cold metallic bars of a cage. Everyone just walks passed me, studies my every move, judges me like a prize, laughs at my pain, throws pebbles at me so they can watch my pain even longer. Everyone is cold-hearted and cruel, I feel so…alone." Her words came out in a choked yelp, and hot salty tears started to pour from her eyes and soaked Silver's fur from under her paws. He wanted to yowl 'I love you, more than you could imagine, I've always wanted to supply you with that warmth and love you crave so much,' but he knew his words would go to deaf ears. Instead he felt stranded with his daughter's loneliness and hot revenge against the world slipping through her paws and sinking into his own fur.
Tears nearly bubbled in his own eyes, but he pushed them back and locked them behind closed doors. "Misiku," he whimpered just barely above the sound of her tears and huffs, "I wish I could suck away the pain, truly I do, but I can't…."
John felt his heart dwindle under the pressure and started twiddling with his thumbs until he was sure he'd wrap them into a knot. He knew there was something wrong with Christie, but he didn't know it was this bad.
Silver lay next to him, his own heart sinking, because he knew what had happened but had no means of expressing it. If only I could talk! He hissed inwardly, causing him to slap his tail in self-anger noisily against the chair. "Silver, be quiet!" John hissed at him through gritted teeth. Silver shrank back a little and rose to his paws, feeling more restless than a magikarp out of water. He wasn't the only one feeling deep dashes of apprehension through his heart. Oceans and oceans of the fowl emotion were coming off of John, uncontrollable and incorrigible. Both John and Silver nearly jumped out of their skins when the door slammed open in front of them. A nurse, but not nurse Joy, gave John a look of deep regret.
John instantly sprang out of his chair and demanded an explanation. "I'm sorry;" she sighed hopelessly, "Your wife has cancer." Hopelessness gushed out of John, even stronger than the waves of apprehension from moments before. Silver gave the woman and John a puzzled look as he wondered what cancer was, but he guessed no one really cared to explain it to him. I hope they know about that infected spot that's making her sick, though.
The Nurse's voice lowered to a choked whisper, as if old sorry memories came with her next spoken words. "I'm afraid she will be moved to a separate hospital. She isn't expected to live more than a week." John collapsed to his knees as despair and grief exploded from him. Silver couldn't stop from flinching at his trainer's uncontrollable emotions. The nurse did nothing to stop him, even though other people were giving him fretful looks.
He expected the other trainers to be annoyed with his master's scene, but instead they all looked at him with pity sparkling their eyes as if they grieved with him. John pulled himself together amazingly quick and got back on his feet, although shakily as if he might fall over at any moment. "Can I see her?" he murmured with just enough strength to utter the words. The nurse nodded with streamers of empathy running away from her. "Keep in mind, it may be the last time you ever see her. Make her feel happy, even if you're sad. Make sure she feels loved." Once again Silver sensed deep guarded memories shoved in the very back of the nurse's brain, as if she knew how this man was suffering with pinpoint accuracy laced with experience.
John nodded slowly and followed the nurse to the back of the room labeled ER just above the entrance, which Silver didn't understand. He swished his tail wishing he wasn't so oblivious to seemingly obvious things to trainers, but kept his pace natural. They entered a small-spaced room, which seemed hideously tainted with disease. Silver could tell the entire room had been scrubbed down to get rid of any traces of germs, but the awful sour smell still lingered on every wall and every surface. He suddenly became aware of a particular source of the ill scent that beamed the disgusting stuff like a lighthouse emitting flashes of light from its top tower.
Silver looked up to see the victim laying eerily still in her bed, and then felt a flood of horror wash over his fur like a sudden rainstorm. Christie's once summer-vanilla scent was hopelessly blocked off by the taint of illness that convulsed off her body. He was forced to take a step back at the unrelenting aftertaste of sickness, but John didn't seem to notice. Instead he leapt at her and wrapped an Ursaring hug around her neck. Pain rippled from the hot zone, but she made no attempt to stop him.
"Christie!" he sobbed so that his entire body shook like a seizure. Christie didn't try to speak, and Silver guessed the weakness in her lungs prevented her from talking too much. "I should have been more serious about it!" he gasped while smothering his face into her neck like a frightened child. "I thought everything was going to be okay! But it's not!" Silver scented the mental pain that had kept Christie up all night, which seemed to drown out the unbearable physical pain of the illness like it was nothing but a fly to be swatted off her shoulder. "We weren't married longer than five years, John," she murmured through quivering dry lips, "it isn't so bad…" John looked like he was ready to flip his head back and scream at the heavens for what they have done, but he remained keeping a smidge of his composure under control enough not to go through with it.
"But I've loved you for much longer than that, and if you leave my life will be so empty! I'll, again, be faced with nothing on front of me, nothing to look forward too. Everything will fade; I'll be but an empty shell again. Can't you see how desperately I need you?" He looked up so that the tears that streamed out of his eyes like miniature waterfalls were visible, "If you leave, I won't ever be myself! I can't live like this alone Christie, if you leave I won't be able to take it!" There was something darker, lonelier, and almost sinful, within the depths of his eyes that Silver couldn't place right. The strength of that sinister look seemed to thrive off its host's disbelief and retreat, Silver knew they had been waiting for him to snap all this time. Still though, the host of this dreadful darkness battled with all it could to keep his morality in check.
The battle was an exhausting one though; John seemed to be losing that battle all too quickly. Christie seemed to either remain oblivious or she stubbornly ignored those flames in his eyes, as she returned that look of anger with her own sweet irises. "Look at me John, it isn't so bad, I promise. It was my fault, I knew how bad it was, but I was in denial and I think I knew it was too late. I should have told you earlier, but I know how much you suffered during childhood and I didn't want to further that suffering." Her eyes were filled with deep regret and remorse. "I… I was selfish. I wanted to commit my life to making yours better, because I couldn't stand to see you hurt. I made it my life's goal to keep your soul alive, John. But while I was blinded by thinking I was doing the very best thing, I didn't see my own greed behind it. I was obsessed with the theory that everything in the world should be simple and happy. Everybody longs for a world where there are no problems, where poverty doesn't exist and mortality isn't so shocking. I saw you, and I thought if I could make this little boy who has suffered so much happy again, then I've done right with my life. But I've only made things worse."
For the first time, Silver noticed how defeated she had felt for the past few weeks and now. Her eyes and body seemed to be several years older than her actual age, and her heart felt shaken within her chest. Silver knew she really tried hard to help John through the toughest points in his life, and he also knew she felt she had failed miserably. He felt his own heart swoon, Christie had the very best of intentions, but she was blinded to how hopeless her intentions actually were by her own selfishness and desperation. She just wanted to prove to herself that the world wasn't so evil after all, and most of all, prove that very same lesson to John. He winced as her final realization set in, dimming her heart even more than the illness ever could. Her lesson was proven wrong. This final stage of her life so short was a message from the realities of the universe, telling her that a perfect life could never be obtained. She could never help someone like that, and Silver knew to her, she had been useless all this time.
John was wailing against her stubbornness, like he couldn't believe she ever felt that way. "You helped, you helped more than you could ever imagine! Please, don't leave me; I really can't do this alone. I'm going to die in this hospital with you if I have to!" Silver could sense the overwhelming desperation in John's voice, and the complete absence of hope that wrapped around his entire being. Christie only smiled, although Silver had to wonder if the smile was fake. "That makes me happy," she murmured breathlessly, "because that's all I ever wanted. That was my one goal, and if I had to die young than at least I've accomplished something." Silver strained to sense relief or accomplishment in the air, fresh as a spring budding for the first time, but it never came. She only remained regretful and crippled.
John was nearly tearing himself apart by now. He was hyperventilating, his entire body shaking with the heaves of tears that dripped down his face and made small puddles on the bed fabric. "Is there anything I can do for you? Do you have anything to wish for? Christie, if you ask me to lay a flower that only grows in the middle of Antarctica under a thousand miles of ice and put that flower on your grave, you know I would spend my whole life to achieve it just for you." His sweet words didn't seem to shake her resolve. "I know you would," she whispered firmly, "but I couldn't live with myself to ask for anything that would remind you of my death all the time. If you suffer after this, than I'd have really faced to make you happy."
"But you did make me happy!" John wailed with early grief trembling through his hands. "But it'll be in vain if you don't continue to be happy," she rasped in return. John didn't answer then; he just continued to weep as if the whole world had crumbled around him. "Listen," she gasped, as if the life was already draining from her body. "I want you to be happy, that's all. That's my final wish. I want you to be happy, I want you to be good to our son and teach him how to be someone. I want you to take the pain of knowing your own father as a kid, and take it as a life lesson, so that it should never happen to our son. I want you to treat our meowth with respect just as much. He suffers with you; I want you to acknowledge that." She turned unexpectedly to Silver, nearly making him flinch.
"Silver, protect John, whatever you do, and be happy as much as you can. Save him from himself, protect him like your own child. I'm counting on you, until your last breath." Silver nodded slowly, and felt a pang of grief strike him as well. John looked like a wreck though, and Silver wasn't so sure if he really could save him from himself. "I hope you know you're abandoning me to die here," John uttered with anger, although Silver knew he could never be mad at Christie on her last breaths. Christie stared at him coldly, but yearningly. "I wish I could suck away the pain, truly I do," she whispered helplessly, "but I can't."
The more days that passed, the less lively John seemed to be. It was as if the blood that kept his soul alive was slowly leaking into the soil, turning it an oily black, and making the human it controlled before it hopelessly misguided and dangerous. During the funeral, it seemed to lose two or even three times more blood than it had before, until Silver was sure he could hear the barely audible screams of that soul. Often times he wondered if it had died yet, but the pain within still staggered to life every now and then before falling back down to whither and twitch as it went on.
Silver thought the soft velvet flooring under his paws pelt smooth and soft, but it was hardly any help as he sat next to his broken trainer. The room was dark, and what must have been a hundred chairs were lined up in front of him, although everyone had long since left. Now it was just Silver waiting for his trainer to take him home, so that they could both leave behind something entirely too important to them.
He suppressed a meow of sympathy, but couldn't keep his paws still once again. He rose slowly to his paws as if expecting to scare off his trainer once and for all, and then slowly leaned into his still body. He nuzzled and purred to try to uplift his spirits, but John didn't move a muscle. In fact he hadn't for the past hour, making his quick panic-stricken heart beat the only reminder that his trainer hadn't died while still sitting in place.
Silver backed away slowly and looked back at the coffin, which was closed and laced with an ivory white paint which looped into elegant patterns. It was difficult for him to imagine a dead body to lie within the coffin, like an unborn baby in its mother's womb, but it was especially hard to imagine it was someone he actually knew. Silver nearly jumped out of his fur coat when John lifted his head, blinking against the thin light that trickled in through the half-closed windows.
"Silver," he whispered pitifully. He stopped as if to recollect his breath, even though he had only spoken one word. Once he gulped down his fear, he continued on. "Silver, I… have decided something. Something I couldn't bare to deal with, had it been any other time than now." He looked back at the coffin, and that familiar light of anger started in his eyes. Then that anger grew from a tiny robin egg until it was a size big enough to consume its host. The black monster rose and grew within his trainer's chest, stronger than the cancer could ever hope to be, like a deadly ambitious resolve. Silver nearly found himself backing up and slithering away from his trainer, although the love and loyalty he had for this man kept him seated perfectly still.
John turned back and set an iron hot glare on him, one that seemed to sear his fur tips a rusty black. "The world, has forsaken me," he growled with defiance. Silver could hardly recognize the man who had seemed to be suffering his last agony only moments before. Instead this new John straightened his arched back so that he stood like a leader with a glitter in his eye and an ambition of the worse kind. "The world has made me think the last thing I'll ever see is pain," he declared as if it were basic knowledge. "I have lived peacefully with this planet; I have long accepted that it offers no peace of its own. Instead it mocks my resistance to be thrown in the mud, and it only sets me twenty steps back every time I fly to take a step forward."
His voice was slick and icy, where the angry monster within him seemed to control every part of his speech with ease. "The world has given up on me, so I have, in turn, given up on it. I no longer dodge boulders that are thrown at me; I break the things that launch them." He rose to his feet, a sick plan brimming in his head. "I'll be the worst man that ever lived. This world will cower to me, it will jump when I say jump! I won't only be the worst man; I will be THE man, the only man. Everything else will be pawns in my game." A chuckle seemed to slip up his throat like a fish squirming across a distance of mud to get back into a swamp. "The full potential of Pokémon has never been noticed," he hissed into the air. "But I have always noticed. I will recruit the biggest and most powerful amount of Pokémon in the entire world. I will also recruit anyone who knows the pain I have felt like the back of their hand, anyone who knows what it's like to be me against the world! When I have most Pokémon at my will and all of them trained to the highest of levels, I will control the Earth with an iron fist. They will be forced to bow to me, or be disintegrated by my powerful Pokémon. No government or gathering of people will stop me; I will only be god's enemy from now on."
He got to his feet and searched the room hesitantly, but seemed to smile when he found no cameras detecting his plan. "I am no longer John, that name is too common, and I am not a common man. I will also need a name so my true identity is never found. I will be known as Giovanni, master of Team Rocket, because we will rocket ourselves to the very top of the world beyond where any human has gone before. I will master this world; I will conquer it worse than any have." His voice deepened, like nails across a chalk board. "When my death had finally come, alas there is no immortality in this damned existence of mine, my witnesses will tell their children stories about the forsaken man who had become a psycho within a day. Yes, my tale will be one of the greatest in history, taught to little stupid children who couldn't bother to pay attention in history class, about how I'd taken the world down with me. How those people could only escape after my own destruction." He gripped his hand, then turned to Silver.
He instinctively flinched, feeling as if his trainer's eyes were able to become tangible and tear out his insides with its long gnarled claws. "You killed her didn't you?" John squeaked icily, the beginnings of something sinful collecting within him. Silver looked at him, puzzled, but he was beginning to accept that all of this man's morality had long slipped through the floor and vanished. "You and your illness, that Lassitudia of yours!" He stumbled back as John advanced on him. "You're contagious, you little rat, you killed me you know. You killed Christie with your inability to remain healthy, and you've brought me down with her!"
Shivers went down both as John continued to rake hot-cold eyes down his pelt. "Get out," he hissed acidically. "You've no place in my life anymore. You bring nothing but trouble. You're the one devil standing in my way, and I want you gone." Silver blinked, wondering if he had somehow managed to misunderstand such a clear statement. A combination of horror, fear, and grief, wove into his fur and stabbed at his heart. "Get out, now," John spoke evenly, sinisterly. He pointed to the door, but all Silver could do was look at it. He gave his trainer pleading sorrowful eyes, but all that was returned was scorn. With his tail trailing behind him and blood-hungry eyes nipping at his paws from his former trainer, Silver dragged himself out of the door.
He gave one last look at his broken trainer, someone he couldn't quite recognize though he tried so hard, and then trotted out of the door, with the sad intension of never seeing his trainer again.
"But It doesn't matter anymore," Misiku hissed at him. The tears and begging were gone in a heartbeat and was instead replaced with bitterness, scorn and a dark sinful glare that Silver knew he recognized. She took her paws off him, and Silver didn't hesitate to take advantage by scurrying back to his feet. "I will wait until the last drop of my blood turns cold, if I so have to, until you're begging at my paws to kill you. And it'll be the greatest moment of my life." Silver suppressed a cringe at her hatred, and he felt unwavering feelings of guilt run through his fur. Silver shakily nodded, and then backed up a hair.
"Until next time, Staraku," Misiku mewed with a voice so even and polite that it terrified Silver even more than a threatening hiss. He backed up for her to pad toward the door, but a screeching sound made both scratch cats jolt. They both realized, for the first time, that a piece of metal was hanging dislodged from the ceiling. The only thing preventing the failure of the structure was a few electric wires that held the bar in place. Silver briefly wondered what had happened, until he recalled the chase moments before, and the pay day attack that had missed the first time. The first pay day attack must have hit the roof just right to cause damage! With an eerie whining sound and the snapping of wires, the painful sound of bending metal scratched the air until the entire body collapsed.
Both Meowth's were frozen in their position for half a second, and then took off toward the door. The metal crashed to the ground moments later with a puff of air squeezed from under it as it hit the floor. Silver wrapped his tail around his legs, realizing he was less than a leap away from being crushed. He pricked his ears when he heard a gurgled moaning just barely underneath the metal. "Misiku!" he gasped once he saw the tangled pile of beige fur under the wreckage. He gripped a splintered piece of wood with his teeth and pulled it off of his daughter, where she was placed precariously underneath. She remained still for a few more moments, until she gagged on the dust that puddled around her. He was by her side in an instant, forgetting her vow to kill him no matter what it took, and started grooming the grit out of her fur.
"Dad?" she murmured, and for a heartbeat she had the same childlike innocence that she should have had since birth, as if she'd completely forgotten her entire ambition. Then she released her breath and closed her eyes, remaining still afterwards. "Misiku, can you hear me?" he uttered shakily while straining to listen for a heartbeat. A wild burst like a miniature firework cascaded brightly lit sparks down from above his head, making him sink to the dusted floor. The wires where whipping like a pool of wild snakes, snapping and slashing at the air as they struggled to contain the electricity that still ran down their lines. As the snaps and crackles seemed to shatter the air around them, a sudden ripping sound sprung to life on level ground. A fire grew from the sparks like Titans rising from the dead, hungrily consuming anything it could touch. The fire covered the entire room in only a few minutes, eating innocent items and releasing choking smoke as a waste product.
"Misiku, Misiku the room is on fire!" He mewed dumbly, but she remained in a frozen state. Desperation cooking his heart, he gripped his teeth around the metal and wood that held her captive and tried to lift it off of her still body. The metal budged, but remained in the exact same place as it was before. Taking several steps back, he charged forward and bashed his shoulder against the metal, so that it relented slightly. He shook his pelt to get rid of the ache on his shoulder, and then charged again, moving the metal a little more. Gripping his daughter by the scruff, he heaved back until he was able to drag his daughter out of under the metal.
He pushed his muzzle into her smoke-soaked fur, and felt a tiny sliver of relief when he could hear her heartbeat from his affectionate gesture. He was, however, painfully aware that she was very faintly conscious and probably didn't even understand what was going on. "Misiku, honey you have to get up," he urged with shaky paws, but it was like talking to a wall. He started to feel the effects of the smoke enter his lungs, and started a fit of coughing. Shaking his head, her bent down and bit his teeth firmly into her scruff and then started for the door. Smoke was already filling the hallway, very faintly but visible, forcing fear to hang in his throat. He turned back to look at the fire-devoured room and realized the metal piece that had struck Misiku had also managed to destroy the Pokéball transfer machine, which probably saved her life in the end.
He blinked his thanks at the inanimate machine and then started for a wild run down the stairs. His daughter was already making his neck and teeth ache, and he longed to hang his head low but he didn't want to drag her anymore than she already was against the floor. He lashed his tail and stumbled down the stairs with disoriented paws until he finally reached the first floor. Smoke burned his throat with the same feeling that dehydration would, and he yearned to smell fresh air again. He stifled a yelp that would send Misiku falling back to the ground when he saw the first floor was already engulfed in flames. The entire room was crowded with frantic grunts like beedrills protecting their nests, all flooding out of the room. They're clumsier than magikarps out of water! He thought grudgingly to himself.
Massively to his relief, he spotted Nala hightailing it toward him. She stopped at his side, her eyes wild and bewildered. "Why are you helping her?" she panted, glaring down at her limp body. Both scratch cats started when their prisoner spoke. "Dad," she mewed with a choke. Silver placed her body gingerly to the ground and began to cover her with uncountable licks. "Do you hate me now?" he asked affectionately, but he felt a sense of betrayal yet when she didn't answer that question. "You must help me save my kitten," she gasped under the pain. Both Nala and Silver couldn't help but exchange shocked expressions of horror. She's only a month old! What in the world is wrong with my kitten? "Who's the father?" Silver groped, feeling wary and hesitant.
Misiku hesitated for a while, as if she couldn't even remember the species of her mate, until she replied "It was a Nidorino." Silver nodded sternly, and then looked back at Nala, who seemed to be deciding the best course of action. "I say we leave it and teach her a lesson," she mewed confidently. Misiku gave her a look of pure hatred, which then slowly gave way to pleading eyes. "Please, it's my pride and joy," she mewed with a dusty choke. Nala merely shrugged, while Silver looked to her with the same pleading eyes. "I want to save my grandchild," he mewed determinately. Misiku returned his kindness with a loving look.
"Thank you," she purred, although her voice was raspy and croaked. Nala still looked hesitant, and Silver could see she thought it wasn't worth it. "You don't have to go if you don't want too," he mewed sincerely to her. She backed away a bit, although she looked as if she was being pulled from one road to the other. "I don't want to leave you alone, especially with… that meowth," she sighed. Silver could tell she had prevented foul language and instead spoke her species name. "I think we should both go, but I'm not going to pressure you, Silver." Silver felt his mind whirling, but he shook the confusion out of his head quick. "I'm going through with it, but I won't ask you to put your life in danger. Are you coming, or aren't you?"
Nala hesitated briefly, but then replied "I will meet you outside." Silver nodded bristly, accepting her decision. Who was he to put her in danger anyway? In fact he was a little relieved to have her somewhere safe- he could never live with himself if he managed to kill her as well as everyone else he loved so dearly. With not a moment to lose, he turned tail and rushed up the stairs with his injured daughter hot behind his paws.
Nala stood with the decision weighing on her paws. There were scarcely any grunts left in the building, and she felt stupid to be babbling on in a small group talking rationally while seemingly the entire world was lit with flames and gagging smoke. Her instincts pushed her toward the door, but her heart wanted to stay by his side. She felt the familiar pang of rejection slither down her body like an arcanine ripping her to shreds every so often. She wanted to be his mate and was too deeply in love to ever feel differently, but she also knew he was still in love with his diseased mate, and she couldn't do anything to change that.
"I will meet you outside," she mewed eventually. She regretted the decision almost instantly when her lover nodded and turned tail without even saying goodbye. She searched desperately for anything that would tell her that he longed to be with her, that he regretted her decision to not protect him, but there was nothing but the stinging smell of cinder and smoke in the air. Dragging her fitful heart along with her, Nala padded out the door as a mound of grunts busied themselves by staring helplessly at the fire and helping the wounded.
A sudden flash of anxiety bit at her, making her heart sting worse than it ever had been. Now she had to wait endlessly, staring at the burning building where her love was trapped inside, and hope that he made it out okay. How could she be so stupid as to choose to save her own tail while Silver might need her in there? For an instant she almost sprinted back into the burning building, but several teeth clamped onto her tail before she could dash for it. She bit back a yowl of distress and swerved back to rip into her attacker- she was in no mood for games- but the attacker snapped at her before she could. "You idiot! Were you going to run back in there?" it snarled with incredible scorn and annoyance. The attacker was a Ninetails, a male with a slightly differently colored coat, but not in the way she was. This was not a shiny, but it certainly wasn't the typical light blonde cream color. This one was some sort of odd mix between dark vanilla, bronze and tan, as if every hair on his pelt had been splashed with a bucket of apple juice and coffee to stain it.
"Who are you?" she snarled at him defiantly, not even close to backing down to her bigger opponent. "I'm Kiko," the Ninetails grunted, "My mate, Kyoka, nagged me to come here to make sure you didn't do something stupid, and surprise surprise, you were about too." Nala scrunched her muzzle so that her teeth were bared, and slicked out her claws. "You're confused, sir. I don't know you or this Kyoka, but my friends in danger so if you would please?" her voice was tart and curt. Kiko rolled his eyes, convincing Nala that if she was annoying enough than this Kiko would allow her to go and say it was an accident if it got to that.
"Look, kid, you think throwing yourself into danger is going to help your situation? No, it isn't, you're just going to burn your tail off and have nothing to show for it. Why don't you do something he might actually appreciate, like seeing if Giovanni is okay?" She gave him a cross glare. "I can help," she mewed determinately, "I can use water pulse. I could help-" She was cut off by a horrible creaking sound. The entire building seemed to moan and shiver, like it had suddenly found a soul to cling too. The structure seemed to crack and break up, until the entire building gave one last hiss before it toppled over itself, bringing up a wave of dust as it collapsed. The grunts yelled in every direction possible and took several steps back, although Giovanni didn't seem to notice the destruction of his headquarters. It had only taken a few minutes for one building that reached for the sky so fall like it was nothing but a brittle pile of toothpicks strung together with liquid glue.
The chatter around them ceased instantly to silence, as all the grunts realized their home and work place had just died right in front of their eyes. Nala was the first to break the silence with a yelp of horror, her mind buzzing. She ran forward and dove into the wreckage, ignoring the last hot flames that licked at her pelt. "Silver!" she gasped through the wreckage, "Staraku?" Helplessness made her paws frantic, and her heart felt like a beating drum inside her chest. "Staraku!" she yowled into the dusty air, feeling her body shiver. She collapsed into the debris, feeling worthless all over again. There really wasn't anything she could have done, but at least she would have gone alongside him. She bit back a wail that threatened to explode from her throat. She should have forced him outside, and now she didn't know if he was alive or not!
She searched the crowd of grunts until she was able to spot their leader, Giovanni, who was still standing with authority even though his headquarters had crumbled to the ground. He did look shaken however; Nala could smell his sense of loss and saw his knees buckling although he tried to hide it from his underlings. She shook her head, and continued to climb through the debris. As she drew closer to Giovanni, she could hear his words, and felt another fresh wave of shock. He was asking where Misiku was, of all things. It took all her will power not to throw herself at him and claw at his throat right in front of his grunts. How could this leader be so stupid? What about the grunts, what about their headquarters, what about all the other Pokémon? Then she saw a head emerge from the debris.
"Staraku!" she gasped while running toward the survivor, but then skidded to a halt. It was Misiku who had survived the destruction. She drew a few steps closer to the battered meowth and then a few steps back after seeing her face. It was full of victory and achievement, like she had done something amazing. Nala couldn't keep her anger under check anymore. Leaping forward, she bowled the scratch cat over effortlessly and pinned her down. "Where is Silver?" she snarled at her face, "speak you filthy excuse for a decent cat!" Misiku looked temporarily scared out of her wits, but it subsided quickly. "Do whatever you want to me," she laughed mockingly. "That trader is dead; I have achieved what I came to do. Everything after that is meaningless in comparison."
Nala quivered as horror overtook her. How could any Pokémon be so ruthless? It was as if it wasn't a Pokémon, but something much more sinister in the shape of one. "With pleasure," she growled, but a separate voice stopped her just in time before she drove her teeth into the throat of this horrifying creature. Silver emerged from the wreckage, looking smaller yet older somehow. He seemed feeble on his paws, and Nala noticed he was only barely able to walk at all. Realization poured over her like a lightning bolt into her brain. Her love was bleeding across his back and his flank was also wounded. His wounds are bad enough to kill him! She thought helplessly, but still she watched in horror as he dragged on.
Misiku stared at him, her eyes full of shock. "But, but I killed you!" she hissed at him, but her voice was faltered with disbelief. Silver didn't answer and continued to walk toward his daughter. "No, get away from me, don't touch me!" she yowled. Silver ignored her, bending over and picking up the dreadful creature by the scruff. She kicked feebly, but then went limp. Obviously all the battle in her had long been taken from her; she was no longer able to move at all. Nala was amazed at how he could still walk with those injuries, or how he could stay conscious at all.
She walked with him as he trudged past the debris and then stumbled over a rock that nearly tripped him up. "You're going to be okay," she soothed him lovingly. She hated feeling like there was nothing she could do, so she decided to give him encouragement. Silver seemed to miss it entirely though as he trudged on, all the eyes of every grunt on him. The grunts gasped in shock when he dumped the bloodied mess of his daughter on top of Giovanni's shoes, and then collapsed with his chin on his other shoe. Nala felt appalled as the grunts whispered "he's going to get our leader's shoes all dirty!" "That pathetic meowth is going to get blood all over him!" "Is a meowth even allowed to touch our leader?" Nala had to plant her claws into the sun-tanned earth in order to stop herself from leaping at one of the grunts.
Giovanni looked unimpressed, fixing both Meowths with a hard calculated glare. "Sir," Silver croaked, "I want to give you this gift, it is my daughter, because it makes you happy." Nala blinked at him, feeling more than a little perplexed. Trainers don't understand Pokémon tongue! "Because Christie asked me to make you happy. That was her last wish, and I've lived my life accordingly ever since," he dragged on. "You…. You have not. You were asked to be happy, to treat Pokémon with respect, but you did the very opposite moments after her funeral!" Despite the exhaustion that bit at him, Nala could still sense the level of intensity behind his words. These words meant a lot to him, she realized, this was his entire philosophy.
"You may have turned your back on her, but I… I will not, no matter what you do to me. I will continue to watch over you, in the hope that you will eventually accept me as an equal, because I am more loyal than you will ever hope to be. Sir, I have one last thing to say. Christie once loved both of us because we were close, we were friends, we were colleagues, and we were family! But now she looks upon us, at this very scene here, watching us as we speak. I can say she must be very ashamed." He panted at his feet and then submitted, closing his eyes and laying his tail flat against the cooked earth below him. All grunts were silent, Giovanni and Silver included, along with Nala and Misiku. Giovanni was looking down with a fixated look, very hard and almost intrigued.
For a moment, Nala had to wonder if he really did understand his words. Had he finally seen the right? Her hope evaporated almost instantly though, as the great leader of Team Rocket pulled a gun from around his waist. Nala couldn't prevent a wave of shock; he wasn't really going to shoot him?
Shock and betrayal sang from deep inside Silver as well, but he only looked up pleadingly and didn't try to escape. Time ran on, the barrel of the gun pointed at his long beloved Pokémon, until moments felt like years. Finally, something in the leader snapped. "Silver," he grunted but then stopped. He looked like he had more to say, but only silence followed. He proceeded to tuck the gun into his waistband, and then continued to stare hotly at his old friend. "If you hadn't saved my new recruit, I'd have supplied no mercy. But alas, I am a merciful man to begin with. You are spared." As soon as the sentence ended, he kicked up his left foot so that Silver was sent toppling over the sand. He picked up Misiku gingerly, like it was his very own child. "I want a nurse to fix this one up. She has grown on me, and it would be a pity to lose her so early in her training," he grumbled whilst turning to his grunts.
The gang walked away, as if nothing had ever happened. As soon as Team Rocket had gotten far enough, Nala raced to her partner with frenzied clumsy paws. "Silver!" she screeched to the very top of her voice, paws trembling. Blood stained the sand a rusty auburn, and he seemed completely confused, like he had no idea what was going on. Then his vision cleared and he groaned a little, shifting in a more comfortable position. "Don't move!" she wailed, pressing her muzzle into his fur. He smelled like an old forest cat would, leafy yet full of life and energy, although his fur was soaked with the foul taste of flame.
"Nala," he choked out, still looking weak. "I'm sorry," she sobbed into his fur. She wanted to give him endless licks, to snuggle closer into his warm body and to rub against his beautiful glossy pelt, but she was so often reminded that she wasn't his mate that it made her sick to her stomach. Silver looked at her, his eyes heavy yet full of restless energy. "It's not your fault; there was nothing you could have done. Misiku…" his voice tightened close to a snarl, and Nala could scent his sense of anger and loss. "Her kitten," he groaned after a momentary pause.
"Did you save it?" she murmured into his pelt, breathing in his scent while she could. "No," he sighed. He gritted his teeth, making his paws twitch. "Because it didn't exist. It was all a ploy, she was willing to sacrifice herself just to make sure I died as well, but she failed." Nala stared at him, bewilderment running through her. "She's…desperate," she mewed obviously. Silver nodded just enough to be recognizable, and then narrowed his sparkling blue eyes. "Yes, she's definitely desperate. And she'll do anything to get what she wants."
Anger and betrayal kept Silver awake instead of the anxiety about his wounds. Oddly they didn't hurt more than some aching unless he tried to move anything, but they were mostly numb and felt wet and hot. He felt comforted with Nala licking his ruffled fur and every so often pressing her muzzle into his pelt. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more," she whispered affectionately. Silver felt his pelt grow hot and his heart begin to pound in his chest. He shifted his tail so that it wrapped partly around Nala, but that was all he could really move at the moment. "None of this is your fault," he mewed firmly. He twitched his paws and ear tips, feeling restless but unable to move. "What time is it?" he sighed with frustration.
"It's dawn. The first rays of sunshine are already here," she murmured into his fur. Silver couldn't understand how she could say already, it had felt like years had gone and went by the time morning had come. "Can you get up?" Nala fretted, looking down at his scars. Silver tried to shake his head, but then became aware of how much his muscles ached. "I don't think so," he mewed instead. "Go wait for Champ," he droned awkwardly. Nala's eyes were wide with surprise, and then tightened to a serious and stern expression. "I'm not leaving you again," she mewed determinately. Silver was ready to protest, but Nala spoke first. "I can't keep losing you like this. I don't know if I can take it. I want to stay with you," she meowed. Silver felt her chin rest on his shoulder, and although it hurt, he felt a little more at peace.
Her voice was hardly able to be contained from a deafening wail, "Oh Staraku, why can't you love me back?" she squeaked. Silver could feel her nestle closer to him as if she was in a state of grief. Silver could feel his chest tighten like his heart was an apple with a hundred squirming worms inside its core. "I don't understand why you love me so much," he muttered clumsily, "I've done nothing but treat you like an enemy. I've rejected you constantly, and you know I've never been interested. I come from Team Rocket, you from Team Magma; we should be natural rivals to begin with." He could feel the overwhelming power of emotion coming from her which nearly made him cringe.
"But I still love you; I've loved you all this time. I've tried to help you; I've tried to do everything I could for you. I want to scream and sob and screech defiance at the world that prevents me from being with you, because I know you'll never love me like I love you." Her mew launched like a rocket into something close to hysteria, "but it isn't fair! Why must I constantly be punished for loving another meowth? You're the only one who can make it ok, no one else can. I know you feel bad for me, but I just wish you could love me at least a little."
Silver stared up at her, feeling his mighty push to succeed grow a pair of legs and walk away from him. How long had she known he felt that way? He had always thought she might be a little delusional or over dramatic, but he couldn't push away how she really felt. He could feel his pelt tingle, like his heart had just shifted. "Me and Nisa were never all that close," he mewed hesitantly. Nala looked at him, surprise blocking out the painful yowls that twisted in her lungs like restless cougars. "After Giovanni abandoned me, I wondered into a ball park and met Nisa. I stole a baseball cap for fun, and we got to know each other more. We didn't even mean to have Misiku, it was an accident. After that we decided to be mates, but I didn't even know her for more than a year. I still loved her though." Nala stared at him for a moment and then looked down at the sand again.
An orange streak caught his eye before any more could be said. It was a charizard, whipping through the air with a bundle of pidgeys flying aimlessly only a few flaps ahead of him. The charizard flapped its wings harder and faster, its eyes pinned on the pidgeys as if nothing else existed in the world. It swooped expertly as its prey descended, showing the art of catching prey with honed skills and athletic ability running through its veins. Not one, but two pidgeys squealed in alarm when the Charizard's teeth met at both the pidgeys tails. Feathers abandoned their home and flittered like dead leaves carried gracefully by the wind, all the while the pidgeys cawed and batted wings with their eyes glazed in fear.
The Charizard jerked its neck, throwing the pidgeys like rag dolls into the air and then catching them both squarely around the chest and flank with its teeth. The pidgeys continued squealing and calling wildly until the Charizard was able to take them down with a squeeze of his jaws. Both Silver and Nala nodded to each other, knowing exactly who the Charizard was. The Charizard flapped its wings looking entirely triumphant, until it spotted both scratch cats several feet below and gave them interested fearful looks. "Oh good, Champ knows we're down here," he sighed with relief.
Champ made a dip with his nose, plummeting at fearful speeds toward the two Meowths until he nearly represented a solar eclipse with his massive Princeton orange body blocking the sun entirely. He landed gracefully, his wings erect and tail flame biting at the oxygen hungrier than it ever had before. "Greetings," Silver mewed jokingly. Champ placed both pidgeys on the ground and bent to sniff Silver's wounds. "That looks awfully dangerous!" he squeaked with fear. There was no trace of the charizard that had just taken down two pidgeys mercilessly only moments before. Instead this charizard was soft and docile, an urge to help glittering in his robin egg eyes.
"Doesn't exactly feel too good," Silver chuckled, stretching his paws awkwardly. Champ looked at him disconcertedly, and then nudged a pidgey toward him. "I figured to get you both some pidgeys, since you probably haven't eaten yet. Maybe this'll help?" he asked. Silver nodded and bent his head to lick the pidgeys ruffled feathers, but didn't do much else. "Do you need help getting up?" Nala asked fretfully. "I don't know, my wounds might open up," he gasped with pain while trying to sit up. Nala nodded and licked his ear gingerly.
"We don't have time to sit around waiting for fur to grow back!" Champ wondered with a trace of annoyance and frustration in his voice. "We'll have to get you back to Team Magma and steal a Full Restore," Champ suggested feebly. Silver nodded and tried to drag himself with his forepaws, but it only served to stretch his muscles and skin the wrong way. Champ fixed Nala with a concerned look, and then picked him up extremely gently by his scruff. Silver suppressed a groan and a whimper until he was placed between Champ's wings. Nala climbed on after he was situated, looking ready to do anything to keep him still during the flight.
"Where's Scrappy?" Silver asked after a momentary pause. "Hiding in the forest next to Team Magma. We caught the scent of a group of Ninetails with a few miniature Scrappys with them, but we couldn't locate them. I think we're hot on their trail though." Champ didn't wait for an answer, and started running with his wings flapping like an airplane getting ready to take lift off. Nala was sweet to try and keep him still, but the jogging was bumpy and made his body ache all over again.
With several flaps of his wings, Champ took flight and lifted into the air where the breeze ruffled Silver's pelt and the cold air cooled his burning scratches. "Did you achieve what you came here to do?" Champ asked over the wind slapping against his snout. Silver perked his ears up as memories whistled through his head. "Yeah, Team Rocket is on their way to their second base camp," he answered with new strength reaching his paws.
"Good," Champ answered, "because while I was near Team Magma earlier, I eavesdropped on their plans. The big battle starts this afternoon."
Silver felt he had only closed his eyes for a couple seconds when he was prodded awake. A momentary feeling of vertigo glazed his vision before he was able to blink a few times, yawn, and then figure out who woke him up. He was surprised to find Kyoka staring at him with piercing crimson eyes, and even more surprised to find an unfamiliar face standing next to her. "Good, you're awake," Kyoka barked angrily. Silver tried to suppress a blush at her annoyance, figuring it had probably taken some time to actually wake him up. "This is Kiko by the way. I have something to show you, get up." Kiko blinked at him in acknowledgement, but then rudely shifted his gaze with equal annoyance.
"Kyoka, I didn't… I wasn't expecting…" he stumbled before achingly getting to his feet again. He envied the slumbering group- another meowth, a vulpix, and a charizard- who were all curled up and dead to the world around them. Kyoka didn't give him time to gripe about how he hadn't slept all night and instead started for a trot in the opposite direction. Silver blinked the sleep from his eyes and padded after them stiffly. The trio kept up their pace until they all had scurried deep into the forest where a smelly swamp tainted the air. He couldn't help scrunching his nose against the foul smell and tucking one paw over his muzzle. "That stuff smells awful!" he complained only to get a scowl from both Ninetails. "Yes, but it hides our smell so we can't be scented, and not many Pokémon are stupid enough to hang around here for long. We're almost virtually undetected here," Kyoka retorted with her eyes firmly set on the murky waters glopping about in inconsistent waves.
Silver immediately sensed a hot sense of pride from Kiko, who he also noticed was buffing out his chest and smirking with contentment. Silver guessed it was his idea to come to the foul place, although Silver couldn't say he was too keen about the idea. "Well? What's so important that we have to walk around like spies?" Silver asked, a note of agitation weaving into his voice. Both Ninetails gave each other looks, as if they were wondering if it was such a good idea to have brought him after all. I'll be more than happy to go back without question though! "There's someone who I think you'd like to meet," Kyoka rumbled with her snout pointed toward a snagged bunch of nettles and long grasses.
The variety of vegetation shifted and the Pokémon in question emerged as if she had been waiting for a que. Silver's eyes grew wide and his ears perked once the lavender Pokémon had set foot onto the shorter grass. "Aurora!" he purred, scampering forward and pressing his muzzle into her shoulder. Aurora swished her long forked tail and replied to the gesture by bending her head and licking his charm formally.
The reunion lingered for a few seconds until he pulled back with several questions glittering in his eyes. "How did you escape Team Magma? Do you know about the big battle? What are they really going to do? Do you have any inside information that could be helpful? How do you know Kyoka and Kiko?" Aurora placed her split tail over his mouth and shushed him jokingly. "Kyoka is a good friend of mine. I thought I'd never see her again once her pack and my family went their separate ways, but it turns out she had been hiding under my nose the whole time." She spoke with her eyes set affectionately on Kyoka, and Silver knew that they had a very strong bond to say the least.
"Kiko on the other hand," Aurora rumbled good-heartedly, "was always a stick in the mud and a pain in my tail. Only the legendaries know why in the world Kyoka would take him as a mate." Kiko just flicked his ears and scoffed. "Right then," Kyoka joined the conversation once more. "Aurora, Kiko and I are planning to go and stop the legendaries that have been foreseen to cause nothing but trouble," she grunted with authority. Silver widened his eyes in disbelief, surely they knew only three regular Pokémon couldn't take on any legendary, let alone several of them? Kyoka seemed to read his expression with cold calculating eyes. "No, we're not going to up and battle them," she sighed with a familiar hint of annoyance.
Aurora took the role of telling the story again. "After Kyoka uses Confuse Ray to calm their anger, we will try to reason with them. We believe if we can talk rationally, then further destruction may be prevented and the legendaries may be able to use their powers correctly." Silver nodded, although he didn't know how this connected to him. "But what do you mean foreseen destruction?" he queried. All the Pokémon around him gave each other disconcerted looks, like they didn't like the idea of telling him anything too thought-provoking.
"Sorry," Aurora mewed after a tension-electric pause. "We'd like to tell you, trust me, the words are burning the tips of our tongues, but we can't risk changing anything already in place. It is the future after all and we're not even supposed to know about it. Kyoka, Kiko and I have honed our psychic powers enough to know and we can only do that because we were born with strong psychic abilities already." Silver flicked his look to the two Ninetails beside him, "but Kyoka and Kiko are Ninetails? They're fire types, they shouldn't-" Kiko cut him off. "We're not a bunch of unowns, idiot. For your information, Ninetails are highly intelligent." Silver caught Kyoka roll her eyes while her mate was busy puffing out his chest with pride. "What I think Kiko meant was that Ninetails are born with an innate strength in both ghost types and psychic types, unlike most other Pokémon. We have a special connection to psychic wave patterns- not as well as psychic Pokémon but very close- so we can do just about as much as any psychic type. This is especially true if we practice."
"Which I don't see the point of!" Kiko snapped out of the blue. "We're fire types, why should we be busying ourselves learning hocus pocus when we can be strengthening our fire power?" Aurora lifted an eyebrow at his snide remark and Kyoka didn't even bother to defend her mate's annoying tongue. What about all that high and mighty we aren't unowns talk you were preaching about? Silver thought indignantly. "Well then, Silver, I want you to come along; there are some things we can say." Aurora flashed him a pained look but it was gone almost immediately, and then began in a trot. Kyoka and even Kiko both followed with silence. Silver felt daunted, but tried to keep up with their quick step. What was the story behind that pained look? She knows something, but I doubt she'll give it away.
Aurora and her rookie crew weaved around dense gnarled beech roots and tangled vines that oddly felt like smooth velvet under paw. It didn't take long for Silver to notice the skin of the vines consisted of feathery soft hairs- thousands of them- like a specially designed pelt for every stringy vine. The air was damp, hot and humid, but soon changed to dry, warm and drafty once the trees began to span out. After an afternoon being coaxed by the welcoming sun rays, the water that drenched every rotten leaf would rise into the air like an Arbok dancing to the melody of a wooden flute. Silver guessed the flow in temperature changed once the water vapor had nothing better to do but form wispy clouds in the sky when long stretching fronds weren't trapping the water at one level. A small man-made pole, alienated around the large expanse of forestry, stood out like a Diglett fresh out of the ground. A flashing light blinked lazily at the top as if it could hardly support the static of electricity that kept its old bulb going. Silver nearly gave it no mind - taking the moment to breathe in long fresh breaths that felt cool and moist in his lungs- until Aurora pointed it out.
"That light pole tells a story," Aurora rasped with old age buffeting her mew. Silver pricked his ears, suddenly curious. "That rusty thing looks like the only story it could tell was that an oddish peed on it a month ago, and that's it," he joked. He felt an awkward prickle of pride when Kiko sneaked a laugh or two in at his comment, making him feel a bit guilty considering he disliked this Ninetails so much already. He smiled, pretending he wouldn't rather wish him not to be here and felt even more awkward when Kiko gave him a 'good one!' look of approval.
Aurora flashed him a glare to silence his satisfaction, and then shot the same glare at Silver. "I happen to be very fond of this light pole," Aurora grumbled. Kiko burst out laughing for almost no reason, getting him two pairs of hot angry eyes. "And what's so funny, now?" Aurora snapped at him. "Was it the first thing you humped when you were little? Back when the light pole was just a baby lamp?" he snickered. Silver looked at him funny- this Ninetails was odder than an oddish!
"You're acting like a loudred who's lost its voice," Kyoka growled tartly, although Kiko didn't seem to get the hidden threat in her voice. "Don't act like you barely know me, Kyoka. You know you and I became mates because I act like a moron. And besides, you guys are the one who asked, and I simply replied with the lamp quip," he chuckled. "That was because you were laughing like an idiot!" Kyoka growled. "Oh sure, let's all gossip while the fate of all three major evil teams of the Kanto, Johto and Hoenn region are at stake!" Aurora snarled above the conversation.
"Will you get on with it, then? I'm not exactly here for my health," Silver sighed with agitation. Aurora complied immediately with no intention of the conversation rambling on. She swept one small, delicate paw across the sand and dust effortlessly- unnaturally. A blackish grey surface was revealed underneath, explaining why the dirt was so easy to clear. Small symbolic pictures were inscribed, like hieroglyphics, across the smooth gritty surface along with more familiar symbols in smaller writing. "W-What's that?" Silver croaked with confusion shivering through his tail. Aurora blinked at the giant ancient block, her mind elsewhere. Even Kiko was wide-eyed, staring at the block as if it was a new type of Pokémon.
"This ancient piece describes the prediction of Groudon and Kyogre's return," she murmured just above an awe-dusted whisper. "What's it mean? What's it say?" Silver squeaked, feeling the weight of the world hunching him over. Aurora pointed with her berry-sized nose toward the familiar Pokémon in smaller writing just below the pictures. "You should recognize these creatures. They are unowns- Pokémon in the shape of letters. They are common and not very bright or powerful, but are very mysterious and misunderstood creatures. Even less understood than mews even! They are said to dwell in a different dimension-"
"Only someone with a magikarp for a brain would have somehow gone through their lives without knowing all that! Stop pretending like you know everything and explain what's important," Kiko grumbled, "eight of my nine tails have fallen asleep!" Aurora bared her teeth and bunched her muscles to pounce, but quickly changed her mind and arched her head back toward the inscriptions. "The unown writing here states both Groudon and Kyogre sleep deep under the surface of the Earth where they cannot be disturbed. Both Pokémon are very aggressive, so two orbs were made to control their powers, respectfully. It says here that Groudon and Kyogre will meet once more in the future, where they will battle to their deaths."
Silver fidgeted with his paws, "and I'm supposed to stop this?" All three Pokémon looked up at him, stun in their faces. "Of course not! Who do you think you are, Arceus himself?" Aurora lashed her tail with annoyance, with Silver copying the frustrated gesture. "Than what does this have to do with me!" he snarled at them with curiosity making his voice grow loud. "What am I suppose to do and why are you telling me?"
Aurora and Kyoka shared looks of sadness and regret. "You are part of it," Aurora admitted at last. "We all are," Kyoka moped pitifully.
*Awesome original story suddenly becomes annoyingly cheesy*
Quick! Someone deuce the last embers of cliché! Quick, before it starts breathing again!
A shuffling of boots made Silver's ears prick. He stood up from his prey and looked wide-eyed at his friends who were still feasting. "Trouble," he growled tightly. Champ, Scrappy and Nala looked up with alarm running amuck under their skin. "What do you mean?" Champ echoed his teammate's thoughts to Silver. He pointed with his muzzle toward Team Magma's base camp. "They're starting the battle," he grumbled, "they're going to Team Aqua to steal Kyogre." Scrappy flattened his ears and ducked down so that his chin brushed the fur on his forepaws. "What should we do?"
Silver shook the dust and forest-musty smell off his fur coat. "I suppose we follow. It'll be better to actually be doing something rather than sitting around like slowpokes." Champ spoke up, his voice steady but with a hint of fear and worry, "but do we battle? If so, for what team? We can't possibly fight alongside Team Magma- they're our enemies!" Nala shot him a glare and then twitched her tail pointedly. "If Team Magma need our help, then we fight with them," she meowed with authority. "Yeah? Who died and made you queen then? In case you hadn't noticed, you aren't the center of attention anymore, if you're following in this group. If you want to be waited on, go run back to Max with your tail between your legs, like you should have a long time ago." Silver could sense Champ still had a grudge for Nala even though the dispute had long been through and done with.
Nala just flicked her tail and looked the other direction, although annoyance and mistrust broiled under her pelt. "Okay, we're getting nowhere," Silver took up the lead again. "Let's get going. At this rate, we'd lose to a bunch of slowpokes at a race." The rest of the team warily nodded in agreement with three of four friends climbing on Champs back.
Champ landed on the roof of Team Aqua's headquarters. His weight seemed to dent the roof chips a bit, but the roof held together well for his massive size. "I don't understand why Team Magma is so stupid that they think they can just waltz into their rivals headquarters, get their powerhouse Pokémon under control, and then leave to dominate Kanto and expect to get away with less than four hernias as a result?" Nala rolled her eyes and looked ready to back up her team, but instead kept silent. "They think this is the only way to avoid getting chewed up my Team Rocket," he sighed. Champ shrugged, "if you ask me, if three evil teams just have to exist, then its better off no one team is ahead in the game." Nala spoke up on behalf of the teams, "of course the actual team won't think that way. They all want to come out stronger just like any Pokémon trainer. They want to dominate their rivals with an iron first and besides, Team Rocket were already much stronger and Team Magma was already stronger than Team Aqua."
Champ didn't say or do anything, but the annoyance and anger seething under his scales told Silver that he didn't like being contradicted by the bossy scratch cat. "All three teams had their major flaws that made them at least somewhat equal. Team Rocket was powerful because they have a huge base, money and lots of Pokémon- but their success is also what holds them back from ever fully succeeding. Giovanni is too ambitious and his thugs to incompetent. Giovanni thinks power plus money equals happy days for him, so he hires just any thug that's willing to do his dirty work for low pay. Heck, he goes around offering jobs to people on the streets! Giovanni gets money and power because his grunts will do mostly as told and he doesn't have to pay them well, but that also means his thugs don't have the heart or will to do anything too bad. They don't have the same ambition as Giovanni, so they're hard to control. Because of that, they'll never reach domination on a higher scale than just thieving and stealing. Giovanni is blinded with power and greed to even make progress in his Team."
He let his tail droop closer to the stone chips, knowing that the rock wouldn't catch fire easily with his burning tail tip. "Team Magma and Aqua have the very opposite problem. They hire much more reliable grunts that share the same ambition, and have the amount of passion in their work to continuously make progress. However this sort of competence requires money and time, so they're incapable of moving up because they don't have a million mindless grunts at their command unlike Team Rocket. Although Team Magma and Aqua have a much more tolerable goal. They both plan to do things on a world-wide scale, but Magma and Aqua need only one or two Pokémon to do their entire goal along with some back-up in case they need an army. Team Rocket wants to role the entire region and then the entire world, and he's trying to capture every legendary possible until he has so many that he can overwhelm the word with power."
Silver flattened his ears down, "Giovanni is clever, even if he is admittedly blinded by power. I think he's making massive progress daily by gathering more Pokémon to create his Pokémon army and destroy Kanto." A flurry of screeching sounds gurgled above the trees, making all four Pokémon shift their gazes to the forest. "Is that a battle?" Champ asked. Scrappy spoke for the first time, "not just any battle. It looks like Team Magma and team Aqua have decided to meet in the middle of the forest. I guess the ambush didn't work." Nala rose to all fours and faced her body toward the battle noises in order to give it her full attention. "That's ridiculous! How could Team Aqua possibly have known we were coming?" she growled with a whip of her tail. Champ rolled his eyes with exasperation, "maybe because a giant Charizard, two recognizable Meowths and a Vulpix just landed on their roof, smart one?" he smirked, as if it had been his plan all along.
"We would have noticed a whole army leaving headquarters," she growled back with the same snappy tongue as Champ. "Do you suppose its Team Rocket's army?" Scrappy muffled with his snout in between his wiry russet paws. The other three straightened themselves with the possibility, making Scrappy puff out his chest a little for being the first to think of it. "It's a possibility. They were coming this way after all, and I'm sure they were pretty annoyed after their entire headquarters had fallen to the ground," Silver piped up. Questions flurried on all the Pokémon's faces, making them scrunch up their muzzles and look vacantly into the distance as they pondered the possibility. "In any case, we can't put a battle past either team. If it is indeed Team Rocket, then Team Aqua is sure to notice the noise at any moment. The ambush is ruined either way."
All three Pokémon shrugged; accept Nala, who was still looking concerned for her team. "Well like Silver said, better to take action rather than sit around like a crew of slowpokes. Let's get in there," Champ rose to his paws and began slithering down the roof chips, sending a few crumbling stones to plummet below. "I miss when I was a Charmander!" Champ huffed with an indignant tail swoosh. "I was so stealthy back then. You'd blink and miss me," he rumbled with a glimmer of nostalgia in his eyes.
"I hardly think so, with that tail flame giving you away," Nala snickered- although her voice portrayed friendship and unusual admiration. "That just proves how good I was," Champ scoffed while holding his head high. Silver and Nala padded up beside him and looked down, spotting a noticeable crack in the roof. "Maybe you should sit this one out, Champ. We'll need a quick getaway, and that'll be a lot harder inside the building," Silver mewed sympathetically. Champ looked down-hearted, but seemed to acknowledge the sense in the plan. "Me, Nala and Scrappy will sneak in through that crack in the wall-" he began, but Scrappy interrupted him. "Me, why me? I don't want to go!" he gasped in shock. Silver found it easy to accept his wishes- he might hold them back anyway.
"Right then, Nala and I will go I suppose. We'll find out any information they might have. If they have Kyogre, or anything to do with Kyogre, we'll destroy or take it. We need to make sure Kyogre remains free and protected." Champ shot his head between the two, his eyes mischievous. "That goes for Groudon too!" he chimed, as if the idea of ruining Nala's Team's plan was music to his ears. Nala shot him a disapproving glance. "Over my dead body," she muttered under her breath so that both could barely hear her words. Silver nudged her shoulder with his muzzle as a sign of comfort. "You know we'll have to. We can't let either team win over the other- it'll destroy too many lives," he mewed softly. She gave him a distressed look, and then nodded just barely enough to be recognizable. "Alright," Silver declared louder, "Are we waiting for moss to grow on our pelts? Let's get in there and do what we have to." Without another word, he snuck with his belly fur brushing the roof tiles until he was just above the crack in the wall.
He hooked both forepaws, claws extended, onto the mouth of the hole and then kicked his hind legs off the roof so that his body swung in an easier position. With his hind claws struggling to find nonexistent paw holds, he reached his forepaws further into the gap and pressed his face through. Once half his body was through, he pushed against the other side of the wall until the rest of his body flopped out. "It's kind of tricky, but not so tough," Silver called to Nala. She nodded with no hint of fear or hesitation and slipped into the hole even better than Silver had done. "Alright, let's get in and get out," he mewed.
"Right then, are you at all familiar with the interior of Team Aqua's base?" he queried, but Nala shook her head. "Alright, we're going this blind and we don't even know what we're after this time. Fine, I like a challenge," he mused with the intention of lightening the discouraged atmosphere. The room they were in was dark and stuffy, with several boxes lining the area. Out of curiosity, Silver nosed under the cardboard flaps of one box and found a mess of shredded papers, dust and clips of fabric.
Ne stifled a sneeze when the dust tickled his nose, although the sneeze lingered for a while. "We must be in the attic," he choked against the feathery dust bunnies that flew around him. Nala nodded in agreement and started for a square cut in the floor. She unlocked a piece of metal that held the square piece of wood up so that it fell with gravity. The clean air- free of tiny eager dust bunnies wanting to dry your throat- felt nice and fresh on Silver's lungs. "I don't see any grunts in the hallways," she mewed while Silver took several welcoming deep breaths. "Alright, let's go," Silver responded before jumping gracefully to his soft silenced paws. He sniffed the area and looked both directions, but either left or right held equal opportunities for promise. "I don't know which way leads to the goods," Silver grunted in a whisper.
"Maybe we should split up?" Nala offered hesitantly. Silver knew she didn't want to split up, but both knew it was the obvious solution. "I'll go left, you go right, and we'll meet back here within an hour or so," he suggested as Nala nodded with disappointment. Silver pelted down the hallway and regretted the tiny scrit his paws made when he screeched to a halt. Checking the next turn for any signs of wandering grunts, he padded down the hallway and found himself faced with stairs pointing down. If they really do have a Kyogre, logic dictates it should be on the first floor. Turning down the stairs and hoping he could remember how to get back, he began a continuous downward trail until there were no more stairs for him to trot. Finally, my paws were ready to fall off!
He felt his fur singe with heat as he slipped just under the noses of a group of grunts, with more grunts babbling farther up. It must have been Team Rocket after all! These grunts are too relaxed if they knew an ambush had tried to hit! He snuck past a bunch of boring grunts and spotted a giant metal door with a security code necessary near the door handle. That had to be it! The clapping of foot steps against tile sounded toward him, making him flinch. Turning in every which way in a surge of panic, he found sanctuary under a pile of carelessly placed towels and blankets. The fabric smelt tainted with alcohol and something that almost smelt like seafood, making Silver wonder if the sour smell was seeping into his pelt as every moment passed. He pushed the trivial thoughts out of his mind when the patter of footsteps stopped within feet of his position.
"Do you hear that?" a female questioned eerily. Her voice was tough with a touch of gruffness in it, and Silver couldn't help but notice the authority in her speech. A pause trembled with tension as the unidentified second grunt listened for anything suspicious. "I do," he mentioned with thick surprise in his voice. His voice was deeply masculine with a touch of a rasp in his voice. Silver felt claws of ominous dread grip him, but logic told him otherwise. He wasn't moving at all, there was so way any grunt could hear him, especially since he knew full well that humans lacked decent hearing.
"It sounds like a battle, just outside," the female grunted with keen interest. "You're right, Shelly," the male's voice held an aftertaste of suspicion. A glittering beeping sound told Silver that the grunts were opening the door he needed. "Better now than ever to check on our loot," he rattled on. Yes! Silver slipped with every movement of his muscles keenly on his mind out of the pile and stalked closer to the distracted grunts. The door opened quickly and both walked into the room, their eyes fixed on something glorious underneath. Silver pelted beside them before the door could close automatically and started trailing against the wall to the other side. The air smelt wet and tasted hot and salty on his tongue.
He was acutely aware the scent of something massive and rubbery below. He nearly shuddered with every heartbeat the creature drummed out like the sound of a parade. Its blood pulsed through its massive veins in sickening gushes that made the floor vibrate slightly under his paws after every push of flood from its heart. His head and tail hanging low, he crept hesitantly toward the Pokémon. The word massive simply didn't do the creature justice. Its rubbery skin looked shriveled and damp, but the rest of the creature seemed to pulsate life and energy in every which direction. Its skin was richly painted a luscious deep duke blue to royal blue with azure mist white spots decorating tastefully above the eye and across its flank. A vicious cerise-lusty scarlet was striped across the mouth of the monster, resembling a bloody mouth, with the red continuing to mask around the eyes and fan out across its large flat flippers. Long thick nails grew from the ends of its flippers unnaturally, and its tail was tattered into ribbons.
"Its skin is looking a little dry," observed the male grunt. "You're right, but the good news is, it's safe. Why don't you drench it with some water, Matt? Make yourself useful for a change?" Shelly flashed coyly before turning toward the exit. Matt rolled his eyes and pressed a button near him, which beeped when pressed. A shudder rippled above followed by a tumble of water which doused the Kyogre entirely. Its smooth skin instantly rejuvenated, making the Kyogre look even more aggressive and lively than it did already. He suppressed a squeak of alarm when the Kyogre twitched his fat flippers- every cell on its body seemingly gasping for breath once the water hit- but then the Kyogre quickly went limp again.
Both grunts looked like they couldn't care less and exited the room without another word. Silver guessed they were going to investigate the battle, or at least tell someone with higher power. Shaking the annoying detail out of his pelt, Silver seized the opportunity and tottered close to the control panel. The several buttons made him dizzy with vertigo, but he quickly pushed his anxiety to the back of his mind and examined each button carefully. A sickeningly melancholy-entwined moan gurgled deep within the Kyogre's throat, although the creature did no more than that.
"Psst," Silver hissed just loudly enough for the creature to hear, "can you hear me?" The Kyogre opened its eyes and looked up to focus on the tiny scratch cat above it. The movement was slow and chilling, as if the pupil was floating in an ocean of white. He cringed seeing the red hat rimmed its eye, telling a history of grief and self misplacement. "You," the Kyogre rasped with anger. Silver froze, a mixture of shock and fear weaving between his bones. Why did he think it was a good idea to try and talk to such a brutal revengeful being? "You have imprisoned me in this cage; you have taken me from the home I once dwelled. I will remember this; I will have my sweet revenge." The Kyogre stared eye to eye at Silver, as if remembering his image and face perfectly, before closing his eyes again and sucking dramatically at the non-supplying air.
"You… you got it all wrong," Silver meowed bravely. "I'm not part of Team Aqua. I'm here to release you!" The Kyogre looked back to him with stunning disbelief and disinterest in his eyes, and then groaned "who is Team Aqua?" Silver flicked his eyes. "The corporation that took you from your home is Team Aqua. This place you are trapped in is their base camp. But I'm not part of them, I swear. Do you know which of these buttons will release you into the waters? I'm trying to free you, honest." The Kyogre narrowed its eyes in a depressing way, looking off into the distance with cold eyes. "I am imprisoned here; there is no hope of my return to the seas," it growled with a blood-hungry growl.
Silver looked over the buttons again, trying to distinguish which would be useful by color and size. "That's not true," he insisted, "Team Aqua want you to create more sea, so there must be a way to free you." He closed his eyes after pressing some buttons almost at random, and then pulled down a rusty lever. The room sprang to life, rumbling and gasping with exertion until finally the floor from under the Kyogre gave way to fresh salty sea. Kyogre splashed into its depths, spraying stinging salty water over Silver's pelt. The Kyogre didn't say thank-you, blink in surprise or even hesitate. Within the time it took to blink, it gave a massive burst of speed and dipped down into the depths, gone in an instant.
A hurricane of footsteps sounded behind the walls with a flurry of screams and panic. Team Aqua knows! Thinking fast, he pelted away from the controls and made a tight circle around the observation area before ducking behind a massive piece of machinery he couldn't identify by name. For the first time he noticed a deck just above where several grunts gathered to look over a railing with stunned expressions on their faces. With even more surprise, he noticed Nala quite easily, who was staring back at him with a look of approval. Where were you when I was releasing the Kyogre? He yowled inside his head, but kept his throat tight enough where the words couldn't slip past his teeth.
"Some Magma yahoo must have snuck in and released it!" a familiar voice, Shelly, growled with rage. Silver was aware of the indignant look coming from Nala. "Is it gone for good? Don't we have anything defensively incase this happened?" Another voice asked disconnectedly from farther within the grunts. Shelly was looking completely crushed. "No, that was it, it's free now," he sighed with her commanding authority melting from her tongue. She straightened up almost immediately and shot a bundle of glares at her fellow grunts. "If it's close by, we might still be able to reach it! Is the Kyogre orb ready?" she demanded into the huddle of grunts.
"Yes, earlier than expected but I'll work," one of the grunts replied with a hop of courage in his voice. "Then what are you waiting for? Go retrieve it now! As fast as you can run!" she ordered. The grunt turned without replying and flew out of the door with speed on his shoes. Shelly was getting ready to give more commands when a thundering sound crackled through the air with a massive crunch. The building shook like an earthquake, making Silver lose his balance. Another screech clacked against the air and another jolt sent some grunts falling to the ground. Fear made Silver's stomach feel numb and fuzzy- this was exactly how it felt when Team Rocket's headquarters fell to the ground! He scraped his claws against the ground, a trickle of fear sliding its way discretely into his paws. What was happening?
"What was that? Is Team Magma attacking now that they know we're defenseless?" One of the grunts gasped with shock. Shelly didn't speak- or couldn't speak- until another bashing shuddered the headquarters. "No, Kyogre is attacking. It wants revenge," she hissed with sour annoyance. A smile graced her lips then, revealing she had a plan. "Good, the Kyogre is foolish enough to think it can destroy us when we have its orb to control it! Now we know it won't be able to run away, its right where we want it!" Silver felt his stomach curl like a cinnamon bun. Why didn't you run away when you had the chance, you stupid legendary! Now I just sped up the disaster, I have fixed nothing.
Numbed with frustration and disbelief, he slicked out of the shadows and looked up to Nala. She nodded, understanding, and slipped between the bars before falling neatly on her paws beside Silver. "What are we going to do now?" she breathed, obviously trying to hide her excitement. Both scratch cats weaved between flailing grunts and out the opened door where they pelted for the exit. "I don't know," he admitted sadly, "right now we need to find Champ and think from there." Both bolted out of the exit and into the fresh sunshine, but the sight didn't match the summer temperature. The giant Kyogre was bashing its entire body against the cliff side and partly into the headquarters, getting ready to dislodge the building and everyone in it into the ocean.
Both were busy staring at the scene like a bunch of startled children when Champ landed expertly beside them, and beckoned both onto his back with his wing. They both obeyed without aversion, huddling onto their friends back as he lifted into the safety of the skies. "While you were gone, I checked the battle real quick," he gasped with the weight of the news on his wings. "It was Team Magma against some idle patrol of Team Aqua's. They were apparently just scouting the area and there aren't a whole lot of them, but they're trying to defend against Team Magma's army right now. It was all just luck." Both Silver and Nala's ears pricked with surprise, and then they nodded. "And Team Rocket?" Silver prompted after a moment. "I don't know a lot since I only flew past them as quickly as possible, but it looks like they aren't involved yet. I don't even think they've noticed, or if they care until it becomes an immediate problem."
"Where are we going?" Nala yowled loudly against the rush of the wind. "Wherever Silver thinks we should go," he answered. Silver blinked against the slap of the wind, feeling overwhelmed. Why did everybody always depend on him for important decisions? "Nala, what do you know about the release of Groudon?" he asked her urgently. She swished her tail, thinking hard. "Some grunts should be waiting back at the base with Groudon and his orb," she suggested tentatively. "After Kyogre has been stolen, they're in waiting to release Groudon and control it with the orb. I bet a grunt is on its way to explain what happened, and maybe a second has been sent after Kyogre was released."
Silver nodded as if he understood, although his mind still whirled with confusion. "Your orders, captain?" Champ asked shortly after, "I can't fly in circles you know." Silver looked back at the wreckage, and then toward Team Magma. A scraping sound seemed to crush the mountains to powder, distracting the Pokémon. "What was that?" Champ asked with puzzlement. Nala looked down at her paws, "sounds like they've released Groudon." The group stared at her, stunned, but she seemed convinced. "Aurora and two Ninetails I know said a bunch of legendary Pokémon are coming to try and stop the destruction, but they're only going to make things worse with their rage," he suddenly warned. All eyes were redirected at him with a few gasps of shock. "Where?" Nala mewed with urgency.
He pointed with one paw toward the mountains, "they're coming somewhere near there." Champ nodded and swerved down, although neither of them knew where Aurora was. After several minutes of gliding and nose-diving, Nala perked her ears up in alarm. "They've released all their Pokémon," Nala sounded distraught and confused, but mostly fearful. "Which side is 'they'?" Champ asked rather calmly. "Both sides," she mewed desperately, "it's do or die." Silver and Champ exchanged pained distant expressions. "Well my friends, today's a good day to die!" Champ giggled nervously, although the tension and fear scent was whipping off all in swaying waves.
Champ buffeted his fast decent and armed his nose upward so that his gigantic body halted against the momentum. He quickly dipped his nose again so that he was within equal balance and landed on the ground with care. "Do you have any clue where they are?" Champ asked with worry for his old friend glittering in his eyes. Silver twitched his ear, "I just know it's in the mountains. They didn't tell me anymore." Although he was feeling the edge of bewilderment coat his mew, he also felt a touch of pride that all the Pokémon took him seriously so quickly. They were all true friends in his eyes.
"I'll search from the sky," Champ suggested quickly. Scrappy smiled up at his friend, "you really like flying don't you?" he asked fondly. A glimmer of warmth and joy speckled Champ's scent, "I've never felt so free, and it feels like with every pump of my wings, I can express that sense of freedom to the world as loudly as if I'd yowled it into the air." He closed his eyes and smiled, coaxing Silver to ask what his first flight was like, but there was no time. "I'll search on the ground," Silver put in quickly. Nala instantly agreed, and surprisingly, so did Scrappy. "Are you sure Scrappy?" Champ asked timidly, as if he'd rather have the tiny vulpix flying safely on his back. Scrappy nodded, a glint of determination lighting his face. "I've been a shadow of this adventure too long. I want to be part of it," he answered boldly. Champ held his gaze for a moment, as if waiting for the tiny vulpix to change his mind, and then nodded with a hint of respect before taking off.
"Alright, Scrappy, you have the best hearing. Can you hear any fighting?" Silver asked quickly. Scrappy twitched his ears, apparently listening hard for anything that would count for the scraping of claws against stone or the yowls of battle wetting the air with strained breath. After a while of cold silence, he slunk to the ground and pressed his ear against the powdery grey stone. "I can hear something, but it's so faint that I can't tell where it is. The ground is vibrating some, mostly from Groudon's stomping, but there's another source of vibration coming from over there." He lifted one russet paw just to the right of where they were currently facing, which lead deeper into the stomach of the mountains.
"Good, it's a lead so we'll take that direction," Silver mewed solidly. Nala bent her head and lapped her warm tongue across Scrappy's scruff. "Good technique," she mewed soft enough to sooth a newborn kitten, "you've already given us hope!" Silver felt a tingle in his heart at her kindness, maybe something could work between them? Then again, he could sense so warmth or love or any sort of friendship from the pretty she-meowth, and he couldn't help but wonder if she was only being friendly because he was there to watch.
"Alright then!" he announced, suddenly feeling bad that he hadn't been the one to compliment Scrappy's good work. "Let's get our paws off the ground!" He sprang into a dash, taking the lead of the group. Looking back, he saw that Scrappy was keeping up well with Nala bringing up the rear. As more and more rock was left behind in his wake, he became aware of the vibrations in his own paws as he hared toward the general direction Scrappy had pointed out. I never doubted him! He thought with admiration. After several more long strides, he heard the snappy sound of legendaries up ahead. "The legendaries are already there," he called behind him, "look alive and look sharp!" He dove into the clearing and stopped with a sudden jerkiness that nearly ended with Scrappy and Nala crashing into him. He could hardly suppress a gasp at the sight in front of him.
More legendaries than he'd ever seen- even in books- were lined in the clearing. They had come from a trail carved out from a rocky mountain so that some of the legendaries were out of view, but the sight was still impressive. "Let us through!" one of the legendaries snarled with unrestrained menace. Silver suddenly became aware of three other Pokémon standing several feet away, although defensively barring the rest of the path. He blinked, recognizing Aurora, Kiko and Kyoka sitting with calm derision. The speaker from the legendaries side was another mew. Silver slicked his ears back in surprise; he had never expected to meet a mew in his life- let alone two within the same year!
"We have come with rage in our hearts and an intense desire to bring back what is ours!" The Mew mewed determinately. Aurora fixed the Mew with a glare cleansed of fear or even anger. "That very rage in your hearts is what will lead to misfortune," Aurora spoke with a perfectly even voice. The Mew floated closer, threateningly, and returned the glare with no hint of backing down. "You're confused old one; for you don't know the suffering that has been brought upon the kingdom of legendaries. We have seen brother after brother, daughter and then mother of that daughter, taken against his or her will to be enslaved in the wickedness of Team Magma and Team Aqua's savage plans. Team Rocket has been no different in their lack of morality." The Mew's eyes darkened, its face contorting into a look of grief and anguish. "My best friend was recently taken by Team Magma after being brutally tracked down like a criminal. He was forced into hiding, forced to abandon his family and friends in sake of remaining free. I have received his psychic call- he is not well. I will avenge his troubled mind, by any means necessary."
A mumble of agreement rippled through the rest of the legendaries. "You're simple lives will never grasp the struggle of a legendary!" another Pokémon called from just behind the Mew. Silver couldn't see the Pokémon behind all the other legendaries, but its robotic jerky voice told him it was most likely a Regice. Aurora looked thoughtful, but kept her gaze unwavering and almost expressionless.
"You have lived in seclusion for too long, my friends. Whatever you may think, I have not come to stop you simply for my own amusement or selfishness. I am seen the future, it was riddled with destruction and loss. Rage has clouded your judgment, you must think through this rationally. Going into this without emotional stability will only cause more destruction." Kiko stepped forward, leaving his mate's side for a moment. "We have not come to insult your powers and wisdom. In fact, we are very humbled in your very presence, and wish to give you nothing but our utmost respect. We are merely concerned for your decision in strategy- we've come with no other quarrel. I ask you, can legendaries never make mistakes? None can be perfect; we are asking- begging- for you to listen to what we have to say."
Silver stared at him in surprise. Who are you and what have you done to Kiko? Then he shook his head and remembered all three were dealing with highly powerful legendaries, not just one legendary- but several. Only a complete idiot to put it lightly would be so careless with words when addressing such powerful beings. The Mew on the other hand didn't seem even the slightest bit interested. Instead, it raked all three Pokémon with daring glares of rage and disgust. Silver wondered if any could feel the heat of the stare on their pelts, but if they did they didn't show it.
"Legendaries make no mistakes! Legendaries are flawless, or had you forgotten your place?" it snarled with a complete absence of respect. Silver felt the suppressed emotions of fear, desperation and defeat under the pelts of the opposing three. It was just as they feared, he thought with his own sense of defeat, the legendaries aren't listening. This could turn into a fight they can't win. About half of the legendaries whispered murmurs of agreement, yet others seemed whipped to silence in agreement with the opposing three regular Pokémon. The Regice from before was also sounding a bit perplexed, as if it couldn't choose a side. The Mew in the front, however, seemed utterly undaunted, and if she could hear the others wondering who was right than it didn't show it. "We're wasting valuable time!" The Mew growled to no one in particular. It turned to face the three, its eyes glinting with mixed hostility and unfaltering despise. "I will give you one last chance to spare your own lives. Move out of our way, or be moved!"
Aurora, Kiko and Kyoka didn't flinch. "You are a psychic type as well," Aurora observed as if she hadn't heard the threat at all. "Take a moment to cast your senses to see the outcome of this battle. There is a way to avoid this!" The Mew floated with her gaze somewhere beyond the present, as if it were pondering the idea. Then it shook its head, "my objective is to avenge the innocence, my brothers who have fallen. I have no interest in achieving anything else."
Kyoka spoke, her voice urgent and commanding. "But you can avenge your loved ones and save all others if you would just listen!" she pleaded and undisguised horror. "I'm sorry," the Mew rasped. "I've made up my mind; there is no time for anything else. I have not come all this way just to watch my friends suffer to those who are cold-hearted. We will continue our battle- with bloodshed in mind."
The Mew didn't hesitate. A fuchsia pink orb glittered around its body, making its movements momentarily slow, and then it sprang toward the first opposing Pokémon it saw. Aurora sprang out of its way, but the Mew was quicker. She gasped with the blow that caused her rolling across sharp rocks, but Kyoka and Kiko were at her side in an instant. Both Ninetails snarled, teeth bared, with their bodies protecting their friend. "Go ahead and attack me," the Mew snarled with uncharacteristic hatred. "We have come for peace, not violence," Kyoka replied calmly although her voice was shaken with disaster. "We know we couldn't win that way, anyway." The Mew returned her retort with a hot glare that challenged her stern voice, and then changed direction toward the exit.
Nala leapt into the battle, her ears slicked back to protect them from airborne attacks and fangs baring a flashing white. She charged at the Mew and extended claws into its pale pink body, but the Mew was agile and quick in surprise. It whipped around and slapped its tail hard into Nala's back, leaving a red mark in its wake. She yowled defiantly and landed neatly on her paws despite the tiniest hint of a stumble and extended her claws at the mew once more. This time the Mew was even more prepared, dodging the move with ease and launching an Aura Sphere toward her enemy. Nala dodged it by a hair and opened her jaws for a water pulse. The Mew dodged the move even though it hadn't been launched yet and swerved behind Nala so that she couldn't see her opponent.
Panic blocking her common sense, Nala gulped back the water pulse and pivoted her paws to see her attacker, only to find her face to face with a direct hit. Another Aura Sphere was launched, hitting its target and easily launching Nala across the rocky clearing with the double advantage causing extra damage. "You're good," the Mew mumbled with surprising respect in its meow. "You must have a trainer, and a good one at that. But it doesn't matter." The Mew turned to the other legendaries who hadn't made a move yet. "Do you plan to stand there until you turn you stone? Or do you intend to protect your honor and fight for your fallen?" The legendaries didn't hold back or even bother to reply.
"Plan B!" Aurora yowled through the stomping of several legendaries. Kiko and Kyoka opened their maws which emitted darkish ghostly smoke rings that glowed a fandango-plum purple. "I know that move!" Scrappy gasped, "It's confuse ray!" Silver blinked at him in surprise, and then yowled a sharp "do it then!" in reply. Scrappy nodded eagerly and opened his own mouth to emit the same smoky rings- but smaller- toward the legendaries. The legendaries seemed slightly daunted, as if poisoned with something similar to food sickness, but otherwise remained strong and pushed forward. Silver felt his pelt rise in terror when some of the stronger legendaries simply shook the effects off of them like it was an annoying joltik clinging to their backs.
Aurora got slowly back to her dainty paws, looking a little taken aback by the damage she'd received, then looked up to the exit with glowing eyes. Her rosy gem sparkled to life, causing a brightly lit yellow shield to form over the exit- reflect. "Our confuse ray isn't working at all," Kiko growled with stubborn determination clawing his throat. Kyoka seemed much more down-hearted but didn't say anything; instead she flashed a look of helpless defeat at her old friend.
Aurora blinked at them, her eyes swelling with sadness. "I'm afraid there was never hope of it working in the first place," she mewed with a raspy voice matching her age. The legendaries were at the exit by now, screeching their rage through the air. "Why have you forsaken us, old Espeon?" one of the legendaries, a suicune, snarled with blind rage.
Aurora looked beyond to the mountains, her gaze giving away nothing about how she really felt. When she spoke, her voice was cold and distant. "I have not forsaken you. You have forsaken me," she rasped deeply. Silver felt the loneliness in her voice like a bullet through his heart. "We have abandoned no one. The reason we're here is to prove that point!" another legendary screeched from within the ruckus. Aurora kept her gaze dark and robotic, her gem shimmering with power, and remained sturdy and motionless.
"If we knock out the Espeon, the reflect attack will be taken down. She cannot put up two reflects at once to protect herself," one of the legendaries sneered with complete lack of empathy. "Over my dead body!" Kiko growled, losing all of his humble talk from earlier. A single legendary emerged from the crowd and raked an icy blood-colored gaze over Kiko's bronze pelt. "Careful what you wish for," the Entei hissed, raising a single paw and bashing Kiko away like a wondering ant to be squashed under paw. Kiko squealed with the blow and dropped unconscious with the single hit, sending chills up Silver's pelt.
"Kiko!" Kyoka gasped, abandoning her post protecting Aurora and rushing to her mate's side. The Entei advanced on Aurora, but she remained almost unnaturally calm. "Do as you must," she muttered smoothly, "but the innocent blood that will be shed today will stain your conscience, not mine." The Entei surprisingly nodded with wisdom and took the warning with grace. "I shall," he growled before lifting one massive lion paw and swinging it at his enemy. Once the attack made a connection, the defense blocking their path dropped to the ground and fizzled away. The legendaries waiting behind the lit gate swarmed through in an instant with the Entei hard on their paws.
"A-Aurora?" Silver decided to run to her side with Scrappy just behind him. Aurora was splayed out on her side, her sides hardly lifting. "Aurora, tell me your okay!" he pleaded, pressing his muzzle into her warm lavender fur. "That could have gone better than expected," she sighed, raising her head with effort. "Keep still, you're injured," Silver meowed worriedly as he checked her wound. Her cheek and neck, where she had been struck, was bruised but the skin hadn't been cut. "It's nothing; it just looks like a lot because I'm old. That Entei actually went easy on me," she gasped with pain. Silver gave her a doubtful look, but nodded and left her with Scrappy. He trotted quickly to Nala's side and licked her ear to get her attention.
He felt contrite seeing that no one was checking if she was okay. She twitched a little and then rose to her paws without acknowledging who had licked her ear. Her powdery blue gaze rested on Silver once on her paws, and she seemed happy to find him at her side. "I'm okay," she purred. She stepped closer and pressed her muzzle to his cheek, even though her paws were shaky. "Thank you for caring." Silver didn't need to say any words; he just licked her charm affectionately and moved to confront Kiko.
Unlike the warm friendliness he got from the other two who were injured, Kyoka was clearly furious. "That Entei was crazy! It didn't have to hit him so hard, now he won't wake up! And he's hurt," she growled with menace. "If I should choose one Pokémon to feel the wrath of my flame thrower, guess who I'd choose?" Silver didn't know what to say, so he just nodded in agreement and walked to Kiko. "Uhm, is he okay?" he asked shyly. "Is he okay? Of course he isn't okay, he's unconscious!" Kyoka yowled indignantly. Silver ignored her chiding and pressed his ear to Kiko's warm chest. His heart was normal and regular, and his injuries were mostly mild accept the hit to his head.
"He lost all of his HP," Silver noted meekly. "You don't say?" Kyoka growled sarcastically through gritted teeth. "Make sure to complain as loud as you can Kyoka, I'm pretty sure a random oddish couldn't hear you on the other side of the region," Aurora snapped. Kyoka rounded on her, fresh anger rushing through her paws and all of her nine tail tips. Silver was shocked at Kyoka's rebuke; couldn't she see violence wasn't going to help?
"Kyoka, it isn't the end of the world!" he called helplessly, but found himself regretting it moments later. "How would you know? Your mate is just fine!" Kyoka snarled with one paw aimed at Nala. Nala visibly flinched with a fresh wave of longing rumbling through her, although she met Kyoka's glare with scorn. "She's not my mate," Silver corrected crossly. Kyoka rolled her eyes, her temper still iron-hot. "Do you think I'm blind? Anyone with half a magikarp brain could see the chemistry. Anyway, it doesn't matter, I need something that can heal my mate before he up and slips away from this very Earth!" Silver felt anger flare his pelt, why did she have to be so blunt?
He dipped his head in submission anyway. She was right; there was no reason for Nala and him not to be together. It was just his stupid pride that was getting in the way of making them both happy. He shared his gaze with Nala, who was looking directly back at him. She was a perfectly fine she-cat, powerful and pretty, with a kind heart and they shared so much in memories. He quickly shook the thoughts away, since when did he care?
"Why do you always have to pretend like you know exactly what you're doing all the time? Kiko is fine, but he won't be fine if all you can do with yourself is challenge your injured friends and run around in circles like a kitten. Have you considered looking for Oran berries or something to that effect?" Silver snapped fiercely. Nala, Aurora and Scrappy looked at him in surprise- he wasn't usually so short, but Silver was starting to lose his patience. There were several legendaries going for a brawl right now, several of his team at least partly injured, his old trainer Giovanni quickly becoming part of the fray, and Kyoka was complaining about her mate and pointing out his love life issues while all this was going on.
"Nala, are you fit for travel?" he asked, raking her with serious eyes. She hesitated briefly, and then nodded. "Right then, Kyoka, Nala and I will go find healing berries. Scrappy, if you see Champ, call him down and explain the situation. Make sure Kiko and Aurora are safe from other Pokémon who might want to challenge them while they're down. If you have any problems, scream as loud as you can and we'll come running." Scrappy nodded with a hint of fear in his eyes, but also with a hint of adventure.
With that, the other three started for the woods. "I'll search other there," Kyoka offered with her nine tails pointing to the left. "Okay, Nala will go straight and I'll go right," Silver answered quickly before pelting toward a mass of musty pines. Dropping to the ground, he sniffed the soil and dragged his paws across the dusty ground. He could feel the dryness son his tongue, and decided the soil was unfit for Oran berry trees. Switching his direction, he padded further into the forest, but it just kept getting more and more dry. He hissed at the cold winter that was still beginning to ebb into spring. Why couldn't it be spring already, when things grew and Oran berries almost felt like they actually existed?
Refusing to quit, he started up his trotting pace when he heard his name a little in the distance. "Nala?" he called. She appeared a moment later, sharing his confusion. "What are you doing over here?" she asked from behind a prickly bush. Silver felt his ears heat up when he realized he'd accidently started trotting directly to the left and out of the area he was supposed to be in. "It was dry so I decided to help you look," he mewed hoarsely. Nala perked up and pointed her muzzle behind her, "no need, I found a bunch." Silver breathed with relief and pelted through the forest with her, admiring the slap of the cold wind hitting his face.
The familiar bush was speckled with tasty violet dots that slowly ebbed to the form of Oran berries as they got closer. "Good, did you take some back?" he asked with a smirk of approval. Nala shook her head, "I was going too, but then I smelt your scent and thought you wanted to talk to me." Both Meowths flushed with embarrassment, but each with different reasons. "I'll help you bring some of these back. Let's pluck off a few sticks so we can get a ton at a time," Silver mewed after a moment of shame. Nala nodded and started biting into the hollow smooth bark, which snapped off easily. Silver felt a little better at the winter weather- at least it made the sticks nice and brittle.
The two trotted back to their friends with nary an inch separating their pelts. Aurora lifted her long ears with a smile when she saw the Oran berries. "Good, the quicker the better," she huffed with satisfaction. Her gaze immediately fell to sadness when she pointed one ear toward the direction the legendaries had gone. Silver flinched when he heard the yowls of a battle hot in progression. "Yeah, but what are we going to do about it?" Silver asked. Aurora bent her head and gulped down the sweetness of the Oran berries. "I suppose we watch," she answered before sending her tiny tongue running across her lips.
"That's it?" Silver gasped while Nala pressed close. "Will Team Magma be okay?" she asked with worry coating her mew. Aurora looked solemnly at her, immediately causing an intense ripple of horror coursing through Nala's fur. "They'll be okay," Aurora offered quickly, "but they won't be the same. I'm afraid this marks the end of Team Magma." Nala held her gaze, as if challenging her to say those words again, but then dropped her head to the rocks below. "Max had such ambition," she croaked, "he's going to be crushed."
Kyoka interrupted the tear fest with a branch of Oran berries between her clenched teeth. She set the branch down and rested her gaze to the Oran berries that had already arrived. "Did you give some to Kiko?" she asked with her ears perked. Both Silver and Nala felt shame weave through their pelts before answering a no. Kyoka narrowed her eyes with glittering irritation, "of course not, why should I have expected otherwise? Why treat the Pokémon with the worst injuries when you can gossip with that old brute of an Espeon over there?" She picked her Oran berry branch back up and settled near her mate's side again, pressing her cold nose into his sleek fur. "She's practically on her death bed as she is," she growled crossly.
Aurora flinched at her words, as did Silver and Nala. What was her damage? "You know," Aurora rasped grimly, "we were friends once." Kyoka parted the lips of her mate and crushed an Oran berry in her teeth, so that the powerful healing juices could drip into his mouth. "Things change," she hissed, tucking her nose under his chin and tilting it upward so that he swallowed the Oran berry juice instinctively.
Aurora's eyes seemed to glaze in nostalgic memories, and Silver wondered if all were good or if all were bad. "Oran berries will treat his injuries, but without a Revive, I'm afraid he'll remain immobile," Aurora commented. Kyoka ignored her and chose only to stare lovingly at her mate's chest, which slowly rose and fell with his breathing. Aurora rose stiffly to her paws and stared after her old friend, who remained perfectly still. "Well then, I can't say I don't regret your choice. But if you must stay uselessly by his side until he wakes up, be my guest," she grumbled with a chilling lack of emotion before turning and walking toward the exit.
Silver and Nala gave their last wishful looks to Kyoka and Kiko before trailing behind Aurora, their focus turned back onto the big battle ahead. Although Silver could have sworn there was something odd about Kyoka and Kiko. What's more, he could faintly smell something different on their fur coats.
Misiku's paws scarcely brushed the dusty ground and her beige curled tail flung behind her like a lively streamer in the wind. Giovanni was in the lead, riding rather informally on the back of a Dodrio, with several grunts jogging behind him and Misiku following on foot beside him. With a raspy scrit of claws against frozen soil and rock, the Dodrio made a sudden halt so fast that it was forced to sway its body back in order to stop itself from flying forward into a clumsy collapse. Giovanni was undaunted and quickly threw one leg over the heads of the Dodrio, landing on his feet like a skilled gentleman. Although the sudden stop made the scrape of the sharp rocks sting her pads, Misiku also made a graceful halt next to her leader's side.
When the others had managed to clash against the momentum that brought their legs forward, Giovanni nodded and faced toward the thin layer of birches and pine trees that distorted his view of the ocean. The team walked into the clearing with all the humble pride of a great lethal army, their chins held high and chest out. The waters, once so serene and melodic, seemed to have no such dignity. Misiku shuddered as she recognized the two legendaries, Kyogre and Groudon, fighting like two of the toughest Titans in the ocean. The gurgle of the salty waves seemed to compete against each other, sloshing against the eroded cliffs and spitting out bits of rocky sediment and crushed seashells into the air with every monstrous wave.
Although the Kyogre seemed fully intent on the Groudon with eyes seemingly spitting with menace and rage, it was clear that the Groudon was not its only victim. Team Aqua's building was slightly crumbled on the sides with the entirety of the headquarters angling a few dangerous degrees toward the claws of the sea below. Misiku could see it was close to slipping from its sanctuary on top of the cliff and falling – grunts and Pokémon and supplies alike- into the ocean with all its victims trapped inside. She shuddered, remembering the Team Rocket headquarters around her shatter as if it had been a mighty empire build out of mounds of salt and sand the whole time. The walls had crackled, splintering enough to supply the entire region with toothpicks.
She remembered the paint on the walls crack and break apart like the parched sun-dry earth of a thousand year old desert. The ceiling was the very worst, spraying sandstorms of dust that stung her eyes and made her cough against the air-born grit.
She quickly shook her pelt, as if to shake the memories away. Her efforts had been a waste anyway; her objective wasn't even close to being met. One day, she thought with bubbling anger seething underneath her skin, I will complete that objective. She was shaken from her thoughts upon smelling something she would never have believed she'd ever smell. She looked back almost certain she had gone crazy, but it seemed all the Pokémon behind her were also wide-eyed and pointed their gaze grimly into the distance. Misiku had wished she really had gone crazy instead of this.
How could she possibly smell so many legendaries at once? She opened her mouth to draw the wet scents into her glands, trying to pinpoint any sort of delusion in the scents. They were all pure legendary- the smells almost tasted glossy and sweet, like sugar water on her tongue. She looked up to her boss for instructions, but Giovanni remained distracted by the Kyogre and Groudon battle. She wanted desperately to alert her master, but she knew Giovanni couldn't smell the legendaries himself or hear her pleas. Her paws trembled as she waited, and sure enough, a giant crowd of legendaries swarmed around the corner. Gasps rose from the grunts and even Giovanni seemed to be suppressing shudders once he noticed the view.
"What the blazes?" one of the grunts broke the silence. "Have you ever seen such a thing?" another shouted above the gasps and muttering, "What do you suppose they want?" Giovanni continued to stare up at the legendaries with an expression of pure shock and a hint of denial, but he kept his figure tall and proud. "Attention!" he called behind him, "there is nothing Team Rocket cannot handle! Stand your ground," he demanded. The grunts looked suspicious and wary to say the least, but they kept their feet stuck to the ground like roots. Misiku felt her heart leap into her throat when a few legendaries set menacing cold eyes on Team Rocket.
"I recognize you!" A Mew yowled, glaring not at Misiku, but at Giovanni. "All the three teams are gathered in one place I see?" the Mew smirked. Misiku grimaced. "Alright, half will target Giovanni, the rest will hassle with Kyogre and Groudon," the Mew grumbled. Misiku guessed this Mew was the one in charge, and briefly she wondered how that had happened.
"We have done nothing wrong!" Kyogre flashed back at the Mew. All legendaries and Misiku turned to look at Kyogre, with all equally surprised that the legendary had stopped its battle to face the legendaries accusations. If anything, that Kyogre deserves praise for being so proud, she thought with a thistle of respect sticking out of her own common sense. The Mew shot a look of disinterest toward the Koygre. "Wrong, you are half the reason our legendary friends have been captured. So that Team Aqua and Team Magma could control you. You are the cause of this destruction, and now you are making more by battling Groudon. You are a disgrace to the name of an all powerful legendary," the Mew growled with pure hatred. The Kyogre fixed the Mew with a long stare, and then immediately turned back to the Groudon and surprised it with a sudden attack it wasn't expecting.
The legendaries brushed off the battle as if it was only a minor detail in the background. "Alright, we will end these battles once and more all," the Mew called. Mutters of agreement flashed from the legendaries behind it, and with that, the threat seemed too short. She felt a lash of terror when several legendary Pokémon began to descend toward her and her comrades.
"We can't battle those legendaries!" a gasp erupted from grunts, but Giovanni seemed not to hear it. The clash of legendary against Team Rocket felt like a claw scraping across a chalk board. She winced at the sounds of battle around her, and felt the calling of loyalty send her paws closer to Giovanni. He seemed taken aback, but again faced it like nothing but an inconvenience. "The legendaries will face Kyogre and Groudon. Our new objective is to capture as many legendaries as possible," he called over the screech of the battle. Misiku could hardly believe her ears, was he insane?
But her thoughts were broken, and her heart began to pound with the ecstasy of battle when she found herself faced with a grumpy clefable. The simple papaya whip colored Pokémon with a star-shaped body and swirl of fur on its head told her that the Pokémon appeared docile and shy. Misiku knew, however, that these Pokémon were very rare and connected with the idea of rash and unpredictable battle styles, which made them difficult to control in a battle. With her teeth bared, Misiku decided it would be best to launch the first attack and then counter the Clefables following movements. She dove at the Clefable and yowled a wild hiss to try and intimidate it into staying still.
The Clefable remained undaunted, however, and took a quick side-step to avoid her outstretched claws. Misiku twisted her body and prepared for a counter-attack, but her readiness was useless. The Clefable fixed her with beady black eyes shining with a plan, and then begun to sing. Alarm and panic manifested in her chest; a sing attack will make her fall asleep! Instinctively, she crushed her flat ears against her head and attempted an attack before the musical notes could reach her brain. Slashing out with her front and hind claws, she dove forward and scored her claws down the Clefables back and dug her hind paws into its soft belly fur. The Clefable kept singing, although roughly, until Misiku's claws caught in its delicate wings. The Clefable choked on its own attack and used her next move, Minimize.
The Clefable began to shrink under her paws, forcing her to take several steps back or risk being attacked with her belly exposed. The Clefable heightened her elusive status and retaliated with a hyper beam. The burst of light made a direct hit, surprising her and forcing her to tumble ungracefully on her back. She shook off the sting and charged back into the battle where the clefable had already had enough time to recharge. She reared up on her hind paws and crashed down on her opponent, knocking the breath of out it and hooking sharp fangs into its wings. She felt warm satisfaction at the indignant cries of the Clefable, followed by the victory upon throwing the Clefable against a nearly oak tree.
The Clefable appeared beaten and at a loss for energy, but Misiku only felt more alive with her recent direct hit with the Hyper Beam. She scowled with a slip of a growl between her lips once the Clefable stood and faced her again. It returned the growl with clenched teeth, but soon found the sense that it couldn't win the fight and turned curled tail where it disappeared among colleagues.
Misiku threw her head back and yowled a screech of victory, and then whipped around to try and locate her master. Her ears pricked when she noticed the battle between Kyogre and Groudon. The legendaries seemed engulfed in rage, throwing their powers this way and that way without any consideration for aim. The Kyogre and Groudon continued to battle each other competitively, while still trying to face the surrounding legendaries with bashing claws and bared teeth. A cold chill gripped at her upon noticing the two helicopters with Team Magma and Team Aqua scrawled on the metal respectfully, hovering over the mass of legendaries with some sort of immoral intention.
Misiku slashed her tail against the wind and glared up at the helicopters, and then back to the legendaries. With one last look at the fight happening behind her, she realized what she had to do and began in a wild dash around the ocean. There was no way she was going to stand around and watch when she could be doing something about it.
"Did you know this was going to happen?" Scrappy pondered aloud, his words directed at Aurora. Aurora kept up her trot toward the ocean, her tail streaming behind her. "Yes, but the worst is yet to happen," she answered sourly. Silver trained his eyes on the scenery in front of him so that he couldn't trip over a gnarled root or collide into a tree sprout, but despite his efforts, he remained acutely aware of the yowls of battle taking place only half a mile in front of his paws. "What do you mean?" Nala asked breathlessly. Then she asked the question weighing down on everyone's paws: "and do we have a plan when we actually get there?"
Aurora kept her pace, but her face clouded with a look of grim foreboding. "Team Aqua and Team Magma have the orbs to control Kyogre and Groudon," she stated plainly, "and until Kyogre and Groudon return to their homes, this battle will continue until all legendaries have destroyed themselves, all three teams have destroyed themselves, and the forest had been burned to the ground." Silver shot her a look of urgency, but the Espeon remained determined to stare blankly at the blurred sand she was trotting on. "How can we possibly send them back to where they came from? They're more than a little determined to end things here and now," Nala pointed out. Aurora flattened her long thin ears to her head, although she remained almost expressionless.
The four continued until they reached the very edge of the forest, where only a few trees stood between them and the full view of the ocean. Aurora finally responded to all of their unanswered questions. "The orbs control Kyogre and Groudon, so it makes sense that those orbs are key. We must take them and then hide them, so that they will never be found again. Destroying the orbs may weaken Kyogre and Groudon too much, so we must be careful. If someone doesn't hide them, though, we may be faced with our homes destroyed forever."
Silver felt a familiar pang of emptiness linger in his heart, and noticed Nala was looking shocked and frozen in place. "And how do you suppose we do that?" Nala yowled with rising frustration clawing at her mew. She pointed her muzzle to the skies where two helicopters screeched with a throaty buzz from their powered wings. "We can logically assume the orbs are in those helicopters. How can a pathetic bunch like us steal something that whole teams want and need so desperately?" Scrappy looked down at his paws with a mirrored look of despair screwing his face.
"Nala's right," he sighed, "we'd be a couple of magikarp-for-brains if we think we can pull something like that with our bare paws." Aurora nodded, but she was the only one who remained collected and determined. "The Groudon orb can withstand extreme heat, so it should be somewhere too hot for humans to deal with. The Kyogre orb can withstand water and pressure, so it should be placed somewhere deep underwater, where it cannot be disturbed," she mentioned vacantly. Nala twitched her ears, "where you even listening? It doesn't matter where we hide them if we can't even get them."
Silver flicked his tail and started for the ocean, determined to ignore anyone who would call him back. He was surprised that no one tried. "I trust Aurora," he called passionately. "If she says get these orbs, than I will get these orbs." Nala and Scrappy stared at him like he was a complete nut job- their eyes wide and trembling paws troubled. Then Nala trotted to his side and touched her tail to his flank. "I don't trust that cranky old Ursaring-tempered bat, but I'd follow you anywhere, Silver," she mewed gently. Silver purred loudly and licked her ruffled pelt so it lay flat again.
Scrappy followed shortly after, and Aurora trailed behind him. "If we could fly, then we might have a fighting chance," Scrappy suggested feebly, "I wish Champ were here." Silver looked back to the mountains, but their old friend was nowhere to be found. "Aurora and Kyoka weren't far from where he dropped us off. Maybe we shouldn't have split," he sighed while Nala shrugged. "It was logical to search in the sky," she meowed.
"In any case, we need to reach the helicopters," Silver growled impatiently. "Nala, you think you can hit the helicopters with an attack?" She squinted her eyes against the spray of the ocean waters and nodded. "I don't think it matters though, it looks like Team Magma doesn't favor sharing the skies with Team Aqua," she muttered grimly. Silver stared up to the sky, and sure enough, the helicopters were swaying back and form with a few humans aiming threats at the opposing helicopter.
The verbal insults ended with a Weepinbell sticking its head outside Team Magma's helicopter door and spitting a hurricane of Bullet Seed at the opposing Team Aqua Helicopter. The injured helicopter buffeted and then spun with little control. Before diving for the ground, the Team Aqua helicopter decided to take its opponent with it, colliding into its side and spinning both giant machines into hysteria.
"Jump it," Aurora muttered to Nala with just a touch of too much calm in her voice, but Nala had already bunched her muscles. With a massive heave of her back paws she jetted forward and dented her nails into the metal of a spinning helicopter. She used her own body weight to her advantage by unhooking her claws slightly and falling with a scrape into the door where the Weepinbell had been moments before.
"You can tell she's highly leveled," Aurora observed quietly. Silver knew was Team Magma's very best, but he was still impressed by the height and power of her leap. Several agonizing moments later, a barrage of attacks crippled the interior of the Team Magma helicopter, making the damaged machine lean dangerously into a 180 degree position. With a quick flick of her paws, Nala jumped from on helicopter to the second with expert agility and whistled into a hole done by the previous bullet seed.
Aurora reacted quickly, sending a horizontal light screen across the splashing ocean waves. When the helicopter smashed into the light screen, she shuddered but didn't falter. "What are you waiting for? Go get the orb!" Aurora instructed. Silver flicked his ears and tensed his muscles, unwilling to be the center of attention, but he shook the fear from his fur coat and leapt onto the Light Screen. Yellow wisps of light fluttered from the pressure of his paws hitting the flat surface. It felt like a thin sheet of smooth glass under his paws- even a little slippery as he padded toward the wreckage.
Wiggling inside, he sniffed the air for anything that smelt strange or misplaced, but the only thing he could smell was gushing oil on scratched metal and the lingering, yet stale scent of fear from the grunts that had flown the helicopter. Nosing his way through the bent pieces of metal that hooked uncomfortably in his pelt, he felt faint waves of energy coming from the center.
The orb is delicate, he thought with disgust rising in his throat, handle this wisely. He inched forward and pawed through a maze of wrenched metal bars and slippery oil until he felt strong plastic on his pads. Climbing through the misplaced metal, he felt the waves of electric energy grow stronger on him and mingle with his own scent like an odd mutation. Within the container was a bright crimson jewel which glittered tastefully against the dull sun rays that slithered through the crushed helicopter. Silver didn't waste time to admire the jewel and quickly dragged the plastic box out, briefly wondering if humans could feel the strength of the energy as well. He gripped the handle around his teeth and went back the way he came.
Huffing with his loss of strength, he got back to his paws and ran back across the Light Screen that was still in play. "Perfect," Aurora mewed thoughtfully. Why isn't she scared at all? Moments later, the second helicopter suffered the same fate as the first, with Nala landing neatly on her paws beside the wreckage. She turned as soon as she regained composure and dived into the second helicopter. Silver left the first orb and followed, feeling dizzy every time a wave licked at the bottom surface of the floating Light Screen. He scratched his way into the second helicopter and dragged himself until he caught up with Nala, who was clawing the second jewel out from under a piece of bent metal that held it prisoner.
"Help me get this out," Nala wheezed against the stench of the sour oil. He nodded and darted forward with extended claws. Rearing on his hind legs with the little amount of room he had, his claws glowed longer, sharper, until they were a Fury Swipes attack. He felt a pinch of satisfaction when his nails were able to split the metal better than Nala's could. The Jewel was placed within a similar plastic box of plastic, but with different designs and with two handles on each side.
Nala gripped one handle with her teeth, Silver the other, and both hauled the heavy box out of the helicopter and back where Aurora was waiting. As soon as their paws touched the sandy shore, Aurora relaxed her muscles and released the Light Screen. Both helicopters sputtered oil into the air before drowning under the water. "Good," Aurora breathed, "those things were heavy."
Silver nodded, although he felt a little bad for letting so much oil pollute the ocean. He shook the guilty feeling off- he had other things to worry about. "But now we're wanted. How are we going to avoid the three times and the legendaries?" Silver asked, rising his gaze up to the battles. He was thoroughly surprised to see that the absence of two important helicopters holding the very heart of the entire operation had been almost completely ignored by every side.
"It doesn't matter," Nala growled, "let's get the orbs out and command Kyogre and Groudon to get back to their homes. We'll worry about ourselves later." Aurora shook her head, "the orbs only work when trainers are in control of them. They were made to be used by humans, after all." Nala lashed her tail, but didn't argue.
"We should go," Scrappy mumbled after a slight pause. "The quicker we get these orbs out of our paws, the better." While Aurora and Silver agreed with nods of their heads, Nala only snorted rudely. "Let's just hope it isn't Team Rocket that gets these orbs out of our paws, vulpix. Then we'll be in much deeper trouble than this."
Misiku licked her tongue over her fangs and arched her hunches into a stalk. The familiar scents rested comfortably behind her jaws and sent a jolt of adrenaline into her thighs. Staraku, my father, Sueku, that other scratch-cat, and something else. She knew the scents that were tucked deeply into the slot of her personal revenge radius, although she couldn't recognize the third and fourth members. She didn't care though, they weren't legendaries- their scents didn't smell powerful and sweet like a legendary would.
With a leap and a crunch she regretted under her paws, she snaked further into the undergrowth with her jaws parted for fresh scents. She was so focused on scents and sounds that the sudden touch of sand under paw had startled her. Brushing past the fronds and nettles, she realized she had reached a stretch of beach that neighbored the ocean waves. She cringed at the distasteful scent of oil lingering in the air which nearly blocked out the scents that she wanted to smell in the first place. He drew closer to a spot just a few leaps and wounds away from the bubbling shoreline and pressed her nose against the sand and seashells.
The scent was almost as strong as if she'd pressed her nose right into her father's pelt, coating each piece of sand with a scent so fresh that it still clung to the earth rather than rising toward the sun. He had been here, and not so long ago either. With excitement gurgling under her pelt, she made a wide circle around the fresh scent but came up short. She made a wider circle around the center, and then a closer circle, but their scent was gone. She lashed her tail and started following her only lead, hoping the trail wasn't misleading. The third and fourth members, who she could now tell was an Espeon and a vulpix, left their trail untouched and easy to follow deeper into the thin line of forestry.
She had been jogging through the forest but now that she was out of the tangles of roots and tattered leaves, she was able to break into a sprint. She knew her victims were also running, considering she hadn't bumped into them yet. The soft soil changed to parched rock in only a couple of strides, which stung her pads. She was grateful however to be out of the mush of the moss and soil which buffeted her movements- she was a nimble cat, and liked to stay that way.
She slowed her pace down into a jog again when the scent began to faint. Silently praying the scent wouldn't fade entirely, she jumped a few strides ahead again and glanced around a rock clearing. For the first time, she noticed that Staraku had also been here, but not as recently as the Espeon and vulpix. Begrudging the pair's ability to escape so easily, she sniffed at the air and turned into the rock clearing. She stopped upon noticing two more Pokémon she didn't recognize- two Ninetails. She stopped herself and thought back, remembering a bronze-colored Ninetails in the crowd back at the destruction of Team Rocket's headquarters. How did it get here so fast?
As she strode forward, she realized she could smell a lot about these unfamiliar characters. The bronze one smelt of pain and injury, while the blonde with a tattered ear smelt of sorrow and distracted thoughts. She realized both were too preoccupied with each other to scent her coming their way. There was something else she could smell on their long glossy pelts- the scent of the Espeon and vulpix, fresh on their fur, and even the scent of Staraku and Sueku.
"Greetings," she mewed curtly. Both Ninetails turned with the expressions of vague curiosity on their faces, which quickly switched to rage and disgust. Despite the hostile glances, she held her head high and puffed out her chest so that her authority was made clear. "You aren't welcome here Misiku," the blonde Ninetails spat at her. She widened her eyes in surprise, and questioned "how do you know my name?" The Ninetails seemed slightly put off, as if she hadn't meant to share such information. Misiku already knew what she was hiding though- that she knew about Staraku.
"Let me go, I'll line her fur all across the forest!" the bronze spat in place of the blonde's reply. Misiku took a threatening pace forward to show she wasn't afraid of his threat. "You can try old man, but I don't wish to further your detriment." The bronze flashed unwavering hostile eyes, as if to say 'why don't you say that closer to my jaws!' But his angry expression quickly melted to love when the blonde brushed her muzzle against his.
"Yeah right Kiko, over my dead body," she whispered soothingly into his ear, but Misiku could also hear the terse urgency in her words. Misiku took another step forward, earning her a flash of anger from the two Ninetails. "I am not here to make enemies, but I'm certainly not here to make friends," she snarled at the pair. It was true; she really didn't want to tango with these Ninetails- they seemed ready to rip apart anything that came within biting distance at best. She also felt bad for the bronze Ninetail's injuries, and wondered how it had gotten in that state in the first place when the Ninetails looked so strong and fit to handle most any battle.
"I am looking for an Espeon and a vulpix that has gone by here recently, and only wish to pass. Perhaps friends of yours?" She knew they were closely acquainted considering both their scents on the Ninetails fur. The pair had definitely stopped to visit, and a battle would have taken too long. The blonde bared her teeth with her eyes sporting a challenge. "You can try, but you'll never make it with all four legs intact," the blonde female growled menacingly.
Misiku narrowed her eyes, but stood where she was. She could probably take on the male bronze, Kiko, but not with the tattered ear female was standing by. Misiku opened her jaws to counter, but stopped herself when a separate scent touched her scenting glands. The scent was very faint, as if brought from the very end of the mountains through the breeze, but it was very real and distinct. The scent was warm and nurturing, reminding Misiku of when she was a little kitten. A pang of grief hurt her upon remembering her graceful mother back when she was first born. The warm nostalgic memory was chillingly sweet; making her wish it was the present. She also remembered with annoying accuracy of her mother's words- that her dad would come home one day and they'd all be a happy family after that.
The scent was a mother's milk. "I see you have pups," Misiku hissed while trying to remain confident. She became certain of herself when the blonde visibly flinched. "How do you know about pups?" Kiko pondered angrily, although his voice was clearly more shocked than hostile. A rumble of satisfaction grew in Misiku's belly, and she thought fast of her reply. "I also see you've left them unguarded. I didn't want to bring out the big guns, but since you've already annoyed me, I should tell you that as we speak, one of my colleagues is tracking your litter." She felt a bit of guilt at her lie, but she was desperate. "I'll call off my Team Rocket friends if you tell me where Staraku and Sueku are. Give me that, and I'll make sure your litter isn't destroyed."
Kiko flashed a look of pure horror and hatred, but Kyoka remained surprisingly calm although shaken. "Liar," she hissed, her voice grave and distant. "You're just trying to get me away so you can pass." Misiku tried to stifle her surprise- she hadn't expected the Ninetails to be so clever. She knew a mother would do anything to protect her litter, even if the news was given from a complete stranger. Then again this mother was far from her litter, so maybe she didn't care much about them anyway?
"That may be," Misiku growled. She thought back to the battle she had just come from, and decided a terrifying truth would work better than a misguided lie. "Although there are still very real dangers. You do know of the battle at the top of that cliff, correct?" Misiku pointed with one paw toward the general direction of the fight. Kyoka narrowed her eyes, her throat tight with unspoken words, but only nodded tersely.
"Then you should know we have lots of fire types fighting there. No place is safe from a wild fire, not the forest, not the mountains. You're fire type litter will be killed by a fire. Isn't that a tad ironic?" She laughed at the words, trying to make herself sound vaguely interested. She felt satisfied when both Ninetails stiffened with grief and horror. Neither of the Ninetails made a move, which became concerning to her. Didn't these Ninetails care about their litter?
"I'll be okay by myself," Kiko finally muttered, sending total relief through Misiku's pelt. Kyoka flashed him a horrified look and scuffled her paws against the ground, as if she had energy she couldn't get rid of. "Do you think it's a lie?" Kyoka murmured back as if Misiku wasn't even there. Kiko muttered something Misiku couldn't quite catch, followed with Kyoka lifting all nine tails into the air and channeling her psychic powers outward. Is she using future sight?
Misiku was beginning to get restless, knowing that with each passing second that Staraku and Sueku were getting farther and farther away while she sat and waited for Ninetails to give her directions. Finally, Kyoka nodded and took a few parting steps. "I guess this is it, I'll do my very best," Kyoka warned. Her voice was riddled with disinterest and disappointment, making Misiku want to yowl furious questions. But there was no time to care. Soon she was left with no one but the injured bronze male to block her path.
Letting out the breath she was holding, Misiku took several paces forward. Kiko quickly rose to his paws and blocked her path with a very obvious limp buffeting his movements. He growled, baring slightly crooked yellowing teeth. "I know you," Kiko grunted with the effort, "you were that nasty thing that Silver saved from team rocket headquarters. If you think I'll let you pass, then you aren't very bright." Misiku returned his threatening gaze and felt her pelt bristle with bubbling frustration, but she quickly smoothed her fur and met his accusation with a chuckle. "I don't want to hurt you, but if you insist. How about a battle, huh? Injured you against little old me. How about I K.O. you if you don't tell me the where abouts of the orbs? Seems fair to me." She expected a mountain of anger to burst from Kiko followed with a determined 'no' but her threat was met with nothing but mild confusion.
"Orbs? What orbs?" he questioned groggily. Misiku shot him a skeptical glare- was he lying? Common sense told her he was, but she couldn't shake the pure shock of confusion running from his pelt. He truly seemed like he had no idea what she was talking about. "You've got a magikarp in your head," he grumbled under his breath, and then charged forward. Misiku was caught by surprise when the giant Ninetails jumped on her back. His weight crippled her legs and made her fall to the floor, knocking the breath out of her, but she was able to squirm out of his grip and shake him harmlessly off her pelt.
"Like I said, I don't want a fight. I just want to pass through!" she confirmed for what seemed like the hundredth time, but Kiko apparently hadn't heard her. He slicked his jaws back in a growl and launched a Fire Blast attack, which Misiku dodged just in time. She watched the fire engulf an unlucky rock and turned to find herself getting hit with a second Fire Blast. Holding back a yelp, she stumbled into a limp for a few trots before setting her hind paw gingerly to the ground. It felt raw and stung like the licks of the fire that had taken it victim, but she tried her best to shake it off.
"It sure was smart of you to sit and watch my first attack like a sitting psyduck. Did you assume I'd wait for you?" Kiko sneered with disgust riddling his face. Misiku hissed with annoyance and ran straight forward, trying to make Kiko think that she was too angry to think logically. Kiko took the bait and launched another Fire Blast, but Misiku was prepared for it and side stepped out of the way before planting her jaws around Kiko's shoulder blade. He yowled with a bark sharp in frequency, and Misiku realized his previous wounds had opened up. The wet scent of hot blood mingled with the old scents of dry, causing Kiko to stumble into a limp of his own until he finally collapsed onto one side in exhaustion.
Misiku stopped mid-battle and cursed herself for being so soft. She was currently being raised by Giovanni, who was a very honorable gentleman. If he had known she was battling a Pokémon who was already injured and on his very last HP points before she even battled, than he would probably be very disappointed in her. But what else could she do?
"It isn't your blood I'm after!" she growled with desperation, "I'm after Staraku!" Kiko was panting heavily, his paws weary and limp, but his face was full of nothing but energetic expression. "I won't let you touch him," he growled hotly. Misiku was surprised enough to take a step back when Kiko got back to his feet. There was a trickle of blood running from the side of his head where his first injury was located, and his shoulder was hunched with tenderness, but Kiko was still ready to fight regardless of his injuries. Misiku felt pride for this Kiko's loyalty in spite of herself.
"You could get yourself killed," Misiku observed calmly. Kiko fixed his opponent with eyes that desired to destroy. "That may be," he rasped thoughtfully, "but in that case, I die with honor."
The sentimental words were met with a snarl and a leap. Misiku ducked out of her opponents flailing paws and took advantage of his stumble, caused by his injuries. She raked a Slash Attack across his shoulder injury but had to leap back when her attack was met with snapping teeth. Kiko pivoted his body and bent his head forward to plant his fangs into her, but Misiku was quicker. She rolled under the leap so that Kiko landed with his eyes faced the other direction. By the time he had turned back to face his opponent, Misiku had already hurtled onto her attacker's body.
He writhed under her claws and bent his head toward, apparently summoning another attack. Misiku launched herself back to avoid it, but stumbled when her injured hind paw met the rocky ground. Fire Blast causes 120 damage! How could I be so careless to get hit by something so powerful? She shook the regrets from her pelt and waited for Kiko to launch his next attack, but he didn't seem to move. Little fiery blue shadows whispered around his head, so shady that Misiku almost wondered if she was imaging them.
The wisps of candle fire danced toward her, making her wary and confused, until the fire wisps stalked her down and puffed into invisible smoke next to her. She stood confused and waiting until she remembered Kiko wouldn't wait for her to attack first. She darted forward and jumped onto his back while remaining acutely aware of a burning sensation lighting in her belly. She bit down onto his neck but Kiko was able to buck her off before her teeth could puncture skin. Instead she only got a mouthful of bronze fur that stuck uncomfortably to the roof of her mouth.
A numbing pain shot through her then, from her paw nails to her curled beige tail. She felt like she was a light in fire, and wondered momentarily if Kiko had stricken her with another Fire Blast. The fiery pain was gone almost as soon as it had started, making her drop to her paws. Kiko didn't hesitate and leapt at his new-found opportunity with paws outstretched. Misiku tried to get back up but instead found herself pinned to the ground. She knew she could easily shake Kiko off, but she also knew there wasn't enough time. She winced at what she expected- a full on direct hit from a Fire Blast attack. She rolled on her side and threw Kiko off in the process. Her back felt like a terrible sunburn that had been mercilessly hit with the end of a whip.
I hate battling fire types! She thought, wishing she could just shake the scorch out of her fur. Her coat almost smelt like cinder. "Annoying Persians aren't so great to battle either," Kiko sneered back. Misiku realized she had said her thoughts out loud, and had to bite back her embarrassment. She reared on her hind legs, claws outstretched, and started for another Slash attack. Kiko seemed prepared for it and dodged out of the way, so Misiku pretended she had expected this movement and shot a blast of Pay Day to make up for the missed attack.
Another shot of fire stung her body, forcing her into submission for a few ever-lasting moments. It finally dawned on her what the attack was. Will-O-Wisp, an attack that causes a burn status. She tried to get to her feet, but Kiko was quick to take advantage by pinning her down again. If I get hit by his fifth and final Fire Blast, then I'm done for! She had thought Kiko would be easy to beat, yet he was almost on the brink of winning. If he wasn't already injured, would she have been K.O'd by now?
Shaking away the thoughts, she unleashed her hind claws and scraped her hind paws across her attackers flank. Digging her claws as deep as she could, Kiko at last faltered from the attack. She used this opportunity to thrust her body against in a crocodile spin so that his paws became unbalanced, and then she leapt to her paws and crushed her shoulder bone against his jaw.
His mouth was forced shut and the Fire Blast merely extinguished between his teeth. Misiku had been counting- that was the last of his PP for Fire Blast, and the last of his strongest move. The burn status ailment threatened to cripple her, but Misiku tried her very best to ignore it and flung herself at the Ninetails, slashing claws across his eyes. He screeched with the attack and billowed onto his side. Misiku reared up on him, but Kiko seemed to have lost the fight in him. "I just want to pass!" Misiku repeated with a sharp risen voice. "I won't hurt you; I just want to leave without getting attacked from behind."
Kiko fastened cold crimson eyes on her, and rose to his paws once more. Misiku couldn't suppress a huff of annoyance. He was so stubbornly persistent; didn't he have the sense that he was already injured? "Fine then, say your sweet good-byes, because I'm not holding out anymore," Kiko growled coldly. Misiku could feel the blood-hungry menace in his voice, coated with hot tar and blackness. In fact, it was too intense to ignore- he really was being serious. Kiko was aiming to make this her very last fight.
Misiku opened her jaws to beg him to forfeit, but he was already on her. She felt herself bowled over and pinned once more, but Misiku wasn't going to have it. She made several crocodile flips and thrusted her entire body vigorously, but Kiko seemed to be an entirely new Pokémon- one with five times more strength than she had. She brought out her hind claws and tried the same trick twice, scoring her claws down his haunches, but Kiko didn't even give signs of noticing.
For the first time, Misiku felt the real sense of being in life-threatening danger. Kiko stared at her, seemingly taking pleasure in the horror in her eyes, before dipping his head down faster than an attacking seviper and planting his teeth into her throat. With a flash of trepidation that almost seemed to edge onto disbelief, his fangs lodged in between her throat. She could feel teeth binding her arteries together and squeezing the blood from escaping to and fro. His teeth strengthened agonizingly slow, causing her to choke and sputter.
She clawed aimlessly at her attacker, but remained dreadfully useless with every passing moment feeling like a slow death. She gurgled wetly and felt her vision ebbing, but with her receding hope came a blast of energetic adrenaline. With her last scraps of energy, she flung her hind claws forward and scored them as hard as she could across Kiko's exposed belly. He slightly winced and then released his grip, whimpering with the fresh injury but not quite yowling in the pain.
With the given freedom, Misiku flung her body wildly and freed her front paws while Kiko stumbled. Her claws glowed with a Slash attack and she flung one right paw across Kiko's exposed throat. The resistance of cutting skin felt strange, and she instantly felt hot blood pool down her limb. Kiko attempted a screech of agony, but was cut off by something Misiku couldn't pinpoint- whether it be the inability from his throat injury or the pain that stopped his wailing.
Not allowing herself to think too much about something trivial, Misiku tried to get to her paws but fell back to the ground- she had literally used up all her energy, and her own throat injury throbbed in pain. She watched huffing heavily on the ground as Kiko staggered, dropped to his side and shook as if convulsing. His breath came in ragged gasps and wheezes, until there was no more breath to be brought to the lungs. He laid eerily still, his entire body limp.
The air around them fell to complete silence, and Misiku felt the undying desire to wail for her mother, but instead cringed at the lost memory of her. With a few more huffs, she got back to her paws while being more than a little dizzy. She half walked and half dragged herself to Kiko's side, and pressed her nose into his belly fur. He didn't move or defend himself, so Misiku pressed her ear to his chest and checked for a heartbeat. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or regretful to find his heart, although feeble and weak, still beating in his chest. He was a strong Ninetails; she knew this wouldn't bring him down, not yet.
She shook her head and looked up with dread. Had she forgotten her first objective? Would this bring her down? No, of course it wouldn't, her heart was already set in stone for the path she was walking. With one last look back at the sorrowful pile of Ninetails behind her, she drug her paws across the rock and started for a soft and gentle pace toward the Espeon and Vulpix's trail once more.
Then a voice stopped her in her tracks. "Why are you doing this?" Kiko wheezed. How could he possibly not be ? He can barely breathe! She turned and set an ice-cold glare on his still body. He was looking at her with all the menace and hatred drained from him- perhaps because he didn't have the energy to keep such emotions thriving- and instead looked pleading and full of questions.
"Because I owe it to my mother, and myself, that Staraku be killed," she meowed simply. "I won't let you kill Silver. He means too much to my mate, Kyoka," Kiko responded. His voice wasn't threatening, and Misiku guessed that they both knew he couldn't stop her now. "Leave it be old Ninetails, you don't know my suffering." Misiku had meant her voice to be tart, but instead it was full of lingering painful memories and longing. She hadn't wanted to kill him; she just felt it was necessary to allow her mother to move on.
Kiko pulled his muzzle back into the beginnings of a snarl. "Well then, if the last thing I could do was protect my mate's honor and sink my teeth into something evil, than I guess I've done something I could hang my hat on." Misiku replied to this quip by screwing up her face into a disgusted look. "I'm his daughter. If you kill me, it would hurt him even more then letting me go."
Kiko met her gaze without flinching, and his smirk told her that he didn't believe it in the slightest. "Well then, why don't you go and throw yourself off the side of the cliff then, if you're so desperate to hurt Silver?" he answered with rusty content in his voice. Misiku only shrugged. "Because I want to do it myself and see my work in my living breathing body." She kept her voice casual and soft, as if it was the most natural thing to ask in the world, "Do you know which way Silver and Nala went?"
Kiko narrowed his eyes and tightened his smirk. "Somewhere in Unova!" he growled with blistering laughter that shook his trembling belly. Misiku nodded curtly and trotted on.
Aurora slowed her sprint into a heavy trot, and then stopped to catch her breath. She couldn't shake off the feeling that something was following her, that something was after her, to pounce the life out of her. She wanted to dismiss the anxiety as a side effect of being so nervous, but she also knew she couldn't ignore such fragrant senses behind her. It felt like a pressure against her tail and haunches, and what's more, her psychic powers have never been wrong before.
After a few huffy breathes, she began again in a fast-paced walk. Whatever it was, it had stopped behind her. Hopefully Kyoka was able to deal with it, if it came to that. She turned around a rocky corner and focused her psychic powers ahead of her. She could constantly feel the lap of energy against her sensitive hair tips, ruffling her ear fur and dancing through her pelt as easily as the wind. When she concentrated on the ruby gem on her forehead, the electric energy pulses became even more distinct and evident- almost tangible. They moved like sound waves, but acted like the wind, and became stronger and more precise. She concentrated harder and imagined the space beyond where she was in an attempt to identify which psychic energy waves came from the forest, the ocean or the mountains. She had to stand perfectly still for a moment until she could finally pick up the energy she wanted.
Nodding to herself with approval, she followed the energy waves that matched closest to what she remembered last time she was in this part of the mountains. It felt stronger up here, closer to the stars and mingled with the gravitational pull of the moon. The energies felt odd, like light that had the ability to exert pressure, and she often wondered how non-psychic types could go about without feeling these energies. She was so used to her psychic powers that she knew she would feel completely uncomfortable without them, even if they did make her feel strange.
When the electric energies became less abundant but much more intense, she knew she was getting closer to her target. Yes, there were four sparks of electric energy that clawed at the air and distorted the surrounding energy with the pulse of blood. The energy here was different- it felt alive, restless, and almost a bit magnetic and ready to pounce. She knew she was not alone; there was fresh life here somewhere.
She tried to block the psychic senses in front of her while still keeping herself alert for spies and instead used what normal Pokémon were given- her nose alone- to track down what she wanted. Then she heard the yelps. Little yelps sounded off only a few leaps and bounds ahead of her- not ones of pain or loss, but the first yelps of new borns that were first experimenting with their voice. She trotted forward and stuck her nose into the familiar smells of the nest. Four bundles yelped louder, but this time they were yelps of distraught and mistrust, until the litter recognized her.
She licked a random pup behind the ear gingerly and checked to make sure each pup was present- even though it was obvious at first sight. She checked for thorns in the nest and that all four pups were healthy and strong. Carefully, she took each pup by the scruff and set it down next to her. The pups squeaked in alarm at the chill of the rocks, and then huddled together against the whip of the wind. "It's okay little ones," she soothed, "I'm here to protect you." She pressed her muzzle into one of the vulpix's fur, who in turn nipped at her floppy ear.
Once all four pups were out of the nest, she pulled a Light Screen around the quads-shielding them from the wind- and started toward the opposite direction of the forest. Pokémon screeched above her, even though night had already begun, flashing attacks without any particular aim. She had long since sensed the fire, and long since sensed Kyoka's pups. Guilt nagged at her pelt, Kyoka didn't know she was doing this after all, but she couldn't let these precious pups die.
Casting her psychic powers across the land, she could sense the fire easily. Fire was made of pure energy which seethed with psychic power. She knew it was honing in closer, that the Pokémon battles were soon to overtake the mountains and destroy these vulpix pups. Still, she couldn't get the nagging feeling that she was doing something dreadful off her pelt. She had been planning this for weeks and had visited the pups in secret for so long, but could she really go through with this?
She began in a sprint until she was long clear of the creaks of the mountains. Her heart pounded, and she perspired from the mental stress. She felt the weight of her deed as if she were trotting on thistles, and became increasingly more aware that Kyoka could be stalking her down at each turn. Fear gripped her, until her paws were running as fast as they could. She burst into the part of the mountains she was aiming for- a place peppered with endless trees all the way down until the end of the slope. She weaved around the long aspens that stretched to cradle the stars between their leaves, and whistled between massive stunted oak trees that struggled to survive among the old aspen roots. She located the tree she had prepared before- an old sycamore.
Its roots were tangled and gnarled with old age and its bark was ragged and layered. There was a hole that had been clawed into its tender trunk, which had been cleansed of jagged splinters. The inside was smoothed so that the wood looked glossy and fresh, and the bottom had been torn out and filled with dead leaves and feathers. Aurora placed the Light Screen that held the vulpix's to the ground and then released the defense mechanism, so that the pups were exposed again. They shivered and squeaked for their mother, but Aurora ignored their pleas. She scooped up each individual kit and placed it in the hollow of the tree, so that it couldn't escape. She followed this action by picking some generally healthy figs from the ground and placing them in the nest for food, and then mostly covered the hollow with spare leaves and twigs.
She finished by laying her scent around the tree and placing a few thorny branches around the exterior of the trunk as extra emphasis. Feeling satisfied, she skulked back to Kyoka's nest and focused on the new move she had recently learned. She had learned this move without Kyoka knowing, and had planned to use it strictly for this purpose so that she couldn't be detected here. Aiming her forehead jewel toward the nest, she launched a multi-colored beam. The Signal Beam attack made the nest burst like a firework so that broken twigs lay several feet from the nest and singed feathers danced lamely down to the ground.
She sniffed in satisfaction and trotted a wide circle around the direction she first came from. There was only one thing left to do, and then she'd done it. Even if she was terrified, at least she finally felt closure.
Kyoka laid on the ground with much more than a broken heart. She had been laying there for what must have been at least an hour, completely submissive to anyway the world decided to deal with her. Her heart lurched when she thought about leaving Kiko to defend himself against that sadistic daughter of Silver's, how she had left her own litter to defend themselves farther off into the mountains, how she had left Silver, Aurora, Scrappy, Nala, and Champ wherever he was, to fight the big battle alone. Had she no sense? Had she no pride, or honor, or integrity? She had managed to abandon everyone she cared about while trying hopelessly to keep everyone safe.
Now she lay crippled on the side of a mountain with one paw wrenched unnaturally with a trap clutching her paw. She remembered racing through the forest just around an hour before, her heart set on saving her litter no matter what, until she was taken by surprise. A Ninetails trap was placed stealthily behind a rock, waiting with its jaws wide open and ready to clamp at anything that touched its sensitive fangs. She had been the victim, mindlessly stepping on the cold metal. The clamp had been swift and shot pain up her limb, making her yelp in pain and flop to one side like an injured lion.
Now she lay in the same position, whimpering ever so often against her fates. The trap had been disguised with honey dripped over the trap so that its metallic scent was blocked. Normally Kyoka would have never fallen for the trap so easily, honey would have been suspicious in the mountains, but she was so keen on using her psychic abilities that she hadn't thought about using her natural senses.
A rustle scraped in the bushes. Kyoka instantly responded, bending her head up and widening her eyes in dismay. She hoped dearly that it would be Kiko to walk out of the bushes, but she felt growing misery at how unlikely that was. She braced herself and kept her muscles tense, ready to defend her injured body, until a nimble lavender paw exposed itself from the thick leaves. "Aurora!" she rasped with undying relief. The Espeon walked out of the bush and laid her eyes on her old friend.
"Help me!" she whimpered with no grace present. She just wanted to get out, and to get to her litter before it was too late. Aurora jetted out emotions of stunned shock, and then without saying a word, padded toward her. "I'll open the clamp while you try and squeeze your foot out," she instructed coolly. Kyoka did as told and, despite the pain of movement, managed to inch her tender foot from the crack.
She wasted no time to get up, but her injury nearly made her wail when she set it too roughly on the ground. "Don't try too hard," Aurora warned while rushing to her side. She supplied her shoulder for support, and the two limped forward in a rough fast-walk that was truthfully as fast as Kyoka could move. "Where are you going?" Aurora asked innocently after a few strides. Kyoka hesitated- she hadn't told Aurora about her litter with Kiko, but she also predicted that Aurora already knew. It was hard to get secrets past her, after all, and she was one of the best psychic sensers she knew.
"Kiko and I had a litter. I want to make sure they're safe," she grunted tersely. Aurora kept her face expressionless, her eyes dull. "Why?" she pondered after a moment. Kyoka sighed against the exertion, her hind paw felt raw and broken. "Because…it's all my fault," she murmured hoarsely. "Ah," Aurora answered, "how so?"
Kyoka hesitated once more. How much did Aurora really know? Could she even trust her? They had been close friends a long time ago, but they'd since grown apart for one reason or another. She always seemed sneaky to her now, like she didn't like the idea of being friendly. She seemed so solitary, and she wondered if Aurora thought the same about her. "Remember when I told you about Silver?" she rasped with growing weakness. Aurora nodded, seemingly concentrated on something far away. "When something that was supposed to happen ends up not actually happening, then it sets a disturbance in the ripples of psychic energy around us. Since I'll never be able to control my psychic powers like you can, it just feels…weird when that happens. Almost painful, like a sense of grief when I have nothing to grieve for. That feeling lingers, it sticks to you like an echo for the rest of your life. That's why, when I see the future and I see it isn't going as planned, I try to…keep it on schedule. I try to make sure things happen when they're supposed to, even if it hurts others."
Aurora kept nodding to show that she was still listening. "How is that your fault?" she mewed quietly. "Because…" Kyoka hesitated, but continued on strongly, "I knew Nisa was going to die. I found her in the forest and lead her into the street when I knew the cars were coming. I made Silver come and meet her, because that was supposed to happen anyway. I saw the cars coming; I knew they were going to hit her. It was a close call because Silver wasn't supposed to get hit, so I dragged him out of the way, so everything worked out as I wanted it too. The thing is though, I not only could have prevented it, but I encouraged it. I didn't care back then because it wasn't me losing my mate, it wasn't Kiko under those wheels. But now I feel like I should never have done it."
Aurora remained eerily calm when faced with her confession. "What's done is done, even if you do feel guilty or regret it. It can't be changed now; you just have to live with your choice." Her voice was soft and cold, like it had two meanings in it that she didn't understand. "I also saw him escaping Team Magma, so I threw him back in it. All his problems are really my fault, it would seem. I never really noticed, or cared, how much I was hurting others. That is, until it happened to me." She paused, remembering that chilling vision she had of her future. She wanted to whine and whimper and squeal and kick at the ground or do anything she could, but it was useless. The future was set in stone, and she had even seen herself trying to fight it, only to come up short.
"Just a few days after I'd given birth to my litter of four, I had a psychic vision. It was intensively vivid and perceptive, and all my senses felt extra sensitive. I had been told that once my litter reached two weeks, a few days after being taken completely off of needing their mother's milk, then I'd never see them again. That I'd be powerless to stop it, that I'd be forced to lose my children." She sides trembled at the memories, and she had to suppress overflowing emotions from tumbling off her pelt.
Aurora stared at her intensely, her eyes shone like indigo pools of light against the moon's reflection. "Was that all you saw? Did you get no hints about the where abouts of your children? Or their possible deaths?" Her voice rose from silent compassion to veiled urgency. Kyoka stifled a flinch from the possible death of her litter- she hadn't wanted this! "Only one remained, yet strangely, I felt like I had lost four. But that was it; there was nothing else beyond that." She shuddered, remembering the dream easily. She remembered looking down at her litter, only a few days old, growing so fast. They kept their eyes closed and their singular tails were only beginning to split into their natural six, and they all looked so beautiful. For a moment in her despair and in her grief, she had considered killing them with her own claws. She could hardly stand the idea of losing them beyond her control, to another force or destiny that claimed their lives mercilessly.
At least, she had thought, she could make it quick and fast. Before she had bonded with them, before she had learned to make them apart of her. But she knew she could never kill her own litter in cold blood. She couldn't hear their final squeaks, feel their final breaths against her face, or sense their lives ebb away from beneath the clamp of her teeth. It was just too immoral, and yet she still had hope. Hope that her litter would survive, that her vision was mistaken. I can't my own kids die! Not while I still have warm blood in my body!
She still felt wariness under her paws and the sucking feeling of loss heavy on her heart. It was hopeless in the beginning, how could she have ever thought it was possible to save her kits? They were poisoned from the moment they took their first breaths- destined to destruction. Beyond her grief-stricken thoughts, she realized a slight change in the psychic energy around her. She could sense the energy, although mildly, and had even learned to decipher what the changes in the flow meant. She felt several pricks of dread upon realizing the psychic energy of her litter wasn't present, which turned into stabs like a sword through her chest when he saw the scattered remains of her nest.
"No!" she squeaked in alarm, but it was all too predictable. She limped away from Aurora's supporting shoulder and shuffled toward her nest. It was empty, what else had she expected? The killer hadn't even left the nest intact. The sweet scents of her kits were burnt along with the singed leaves and feathers. There was literally nothing left but a dying memory of what could have been, or what should have been. "They're gone," she whispered, her throat muscles strangling her words. She pressed her muzzle into the remains, trying desperately to expand her psychic abilities beyond, but she couldn't trace her kits.
She turned warily to Aurora, who was staring at her intensely. "Can you sense my kits?" she whimpered sorrowfully. "I can try," she responded, followed by her gem glowing brightly. She closed her eyes and pulsated her own unique array of psychic energy across the forest, so that it seemingly painted every corner of the Earth with a luscious pink layer. Kyoka felt a sliver of hope pricking her heart, but deep down she knew it was a waste of effort.
Aurora opened her eyes again, seemingly defeated. "No," she whispered just barely audible enough for her to hear. Kyoka nodded, and then felt the weight of the world force her to the ground. Her body shook with rising, bubbling emotions, and hot tears fell down her cheeks. Unable to control herself, she raised her head and wailed into the sky. She felt indignant at her treatment, destroyed at her loss, fooled far too easily by the merciless universe. Her voice faltered and scratched with uneven tone, so that it mimicked her erratic emotions. "This is it," she sobbed pitifully; "I've lost my battle!" Everything felt surreal to her; as if the reality of the situation was yet to really grip her. She wondered if she could ever live with herself once the entirety of the effects had weighed down on her.
The world seemed to spin out of control, and for a moment Kyoka thought she was going to faint with the shock. Aurora paced forward and pressed her nose into her blonde mane. "You are going to go into shock, if you keep up like this," she soothed quietly. Kyoka tried to calm down, but it was too much. She hyperventilated with her panic, and squeaked under the intensity of her emotions. "I feel like I've lost all my good sense," she wailed at no one in particular. "I have failed my pups!"
Aurora didn't respond. She only continued to comfort her as best she could, to feel her pain like her own.
But Aurora still felt shaken with her secret. It had been her who stole Kyoka's pups as her own. It was her who planned to raise the pups like she wanted to do all this time. How she had grieved for her still-born, how she had felt the biting jealousy that came with Kyoka having her own litter. Where was her justice? She had always done the right thing, she has always lived her life as any good Pokémon should, and as best as any good Pokémon could. But she still suffered the death of her kit; she loved and missed her child every day. She wanted desperately to screech at the world, to battle any God she knew that had taken her right away from her. Why should Kyoka have her justice? She didn't deserve to, it was Aurora who deserved children, surely? Even if they were adopted, she would still love them with all her heart. She would make her deceased child proud and after all, it had been her who saved the pups in the first place.
Even though she felt the pinch of guilt in her chest, she also felt immense relief in her craving to have children. Her burning desire was met with justice at last. She had even set the Ninetails trap for Kyoka, just in case she tried to save her litter. Had it been worth it? Aurora didn't know, but she knew for sure that it would always be her little secret.
The full moon kissed the land with a cold wash of light, giving the illusion that the scenery was set in a distant fairytale. The last chills of winter bit into each blade of grass, making them feel crinkly under his paws. He thought back to Aurora's words- that she had to take care of business elsewhere, and that they would do their journey alone. Silver was trailing behind Nala, and he couldn't say he disliked not being leader. Her scent mingled with the wind and touched his senses delicately. Her scent was sweet, like caramelized sugar, and when it wafted toward him and tickled his fur then it just felt natural.
He was distracted from his thoughts when a dark shadow blocked the moonshine from reaching the grass tips. When he saw the long thin wings, like a bats, and the carved horns on its head, he instantly felt relieved. "Champ, down here!" he yowled when the Charizard didn't see him. It whipped its narrow head around and narrowed its eyes, battling the darkness that veiled his friends, and then climbed down the sky to join them.
"I can't believe you ditched me!" he growled in such a way where Silver wasn't sure if he was completely kidding or if he was really mad about it. "We would have gotten you, but we didn't know where you were!" he reasoned in his defense. Nala pulled closer to Silver and nodded her head vigorously, although Silver still had the nagging feeling that she couldn't care less if he was ever found again.
Champ shrugged and sighed big enough to fill the entirety of his lungs. "Alright, whatever," he mumbled with a hint of annoyance. He shook it off and brightened to his usual Champ-like-self. "So, where you headed so far from the mountains?" he pondered. Silver noted a touch of strain in his voice, as if he wanted to add 'where we were supposed to meet again in the first place,' but he seemed to manage to hold his tongue.
"See these boxes?" Nala asked while Champ's only response was to raise a Charizard eyebrow and squint at the plastic containers. "They're the orbs that control Kyogre and Groudon," she finished simply. Champ didn't look surprised, nor did he even change his expression. "You're kidding," he grumbled in monotone. Nala shrugged for a response and picked up the box again. Silver wasn't sure if Champ even believed him or not- he was making his feelings very hard to decode- but he replied anyway with the rest of the story. "We just need to hide them so the trainers can never find them. But we can't break them, it'll weaken Kyogre and Groudon too much and the three evil teams will capture them, no doubt." Before Champ could respond, Nala bounded onto his back and laid down like it was her home.
Both Champ and Silver looked thoroughly annoyed. Can't she be a little grateful? Even if their relationship is a little strained, she could at least acknowledge that this is his decision! He thought irritably. He expected Champ to throw her off, but he just nodded for Silver to get on too. He mumbled a 'thank-you' and dragged his own box on his friend's back. "The orange reddish orb can withstand heat, and the blue one can withstand water and water pressure. We were thinking to put the blue one as deep down into the ocean as we could, but we weren't sure about the red one."
Champ extended his wings and flapped in his usual rough start until he reached several feet into the air. Both Nala and Silver gripped the boxes with their front claws and held on desperately with their hind claws. "Watch it!" Nala snarled once they were air-born, "this is fragile cargo!" Champ ignored her remark and kept for the direction they were going before. "Can it withstand a volcano?" Champ asked casually. Silver perked his ears in interest, could that work? It just might!
"Do you know where any volcanoes are?" Nala asked, her calm voice present again. Champ nodded and swerved without warning back to there were trying to get away from. "Groudon caused several volcanoes to form when he rose out of the ground. We can drop it into one of those," he confirmed with a little pride. Silver expected Nala to say something about the sudden U-turn, but she kept quiet.
After several minutes, they were back to where they began. The difference was that they had changed direction again, further into the mountains. The air felt cold and prying above the reaching mountains, but soon dropped to radiating heat as predicted. "Well?" Champ called with pride, "am I fast or what?" Silver laughed along with him, "the fastest flier I know!" he agreed enthusiastically. Champ descended closer to the heat source, making both Silver and Nala flinch back from the heat. "That's because I'm practically the only flier you know. Okay back to business though, which volcano?" Champ asked after some aimless hovering.
At first Silver was startled that Champ could fly so close to the heat, but then he remembered he was a fire type. He inched forward a bit against the brush of the cold and tried to look over, but the searing heat came up in unbearable waves. "C-Can you fly so that you aren't directly over the volcanoes?" Silver asked with embarrassment tainting his mew. "Or fly higher?" Nala suggested feebly. Champ rolled his eyes and descended almost vertically down, although his body remained straight, and landed softly. "You non-fire types have no tolerance," he grumbled good-humouredly.
Nala was the first to drop onto the ground with her load cradled between her teeth. "Since you have so much 'tolerance' I'll make sure you're the one to put the Kyogre orb into the ocean!" he shot back. Champ rolled his eyes again and mostly ignored her comment, although Silver was sure he spotted him Shiver in reluctance and fear at the thought. "Anyway, which volcano?" Champ asked aloud.
Silver scanned his surroundings, and found it hard to admit that even at this distance it was hard to tolerate the stinging bites of the heat. He shook his head and dropped to the ground, surprised to find the heat even here. The mountain rocky terrain felt unusually bubbly and rough under his paws, and seemed to have a different texture. The rocks, he remembered, were a mix of igneous rocks and basalt. The tiny rocks and rough texture came from the bubbles from the lava before it cooled into fresh new-born rock. The ground felt warm and toasty like something that had just been taken out of the oven, but it wasn't hot enough to cause an obstacle in his way.
"Does it matter? Just not the same one that Groudon came from," he finally decided while stealthily avoiding deciding at all. "Just something that looks good and deep. The orb should sink, not float." At least, that's what I'm hopefully, anyway! "Alright," Champ answered. "Since you two apparently can't do squat around here, I guess it's up to me," he rumbled with new-found authority. Silver smirked a cat-like smile at Champ's thrill for flames and fire.
"How about you take the orb, and Nala and I will put the plastic box somewhere far away so it'll look like the orb was put in a different volcano?" Silver suggested. "That's a good idea!" Champ answered, but Nala shook her head. "They aren't supposed to even know it's in a volcano in the first place. The box will only serve as a clue," she sighed. "In that case, we'll just have to throw the box in the volcano as well," Silver answered after a few second thoughts.
Champ didn't answer and instead took the box in his arms. Nala tried to make a cheap quip about his arm size, but Champ was in the air in a matter of split seconds. He flew unexpectedly backwards and, to Silver and Nala's pure shock, flew directly into the lava as if it were a swimming pool. Silver and Nala waited until the whip of air he had left had died out and the plop of lava glopped back into the volcano. "Fire types!" Nala mewed exasperatedly, and Silver just chuckled after her.
"How long do you suppose he'll be down there?" Silver asked after a couple heartbeats. "Don't ask me, I'm betting on forever," she answered with a snap in her mew, but she kept her attitude light. She drew closer to him, so that their pelts brushed. Silver felt a shiver when she drifted her tail across his spine affectionately. "That's one down, just Kyogre's orb to go," she mewed slowly. Silver kept his paws frozen to the ground, and then he shifted uncomfortably away.
"Yeah, we're halfway through!" he replied quickly, although his voice was a little shaken. Nala obviously picked up his hesitation, and shot him a look of despair and longing. Silver continued to shrink back under her sad stare, and then turned away from it all together. What was she expecting! Why can't she let it go? He thought angrily. He was faintly surprised in himself when the anger lingered. Maybe he should just set it straight- they'll never be mates. Not while Nisa was still his mate, in his own mind. What if being around Nala so much was, or would, be hurting Nisa's feelings? He couldn't do that to her, surely, Nisa would always be his mate no matter what.
"Listen, Nala-" he began, but was cut short. The volcano seemed to explode, spitting thick lava spray in every direction. Silver bristled and Nala squeaked in alarm when she had to dodge the raining lava. An orange and teal body sprang from the lava, tensed and furious. "What's got into Champ?" Silver gasped while staring at his friend. He seemed scared yet ready to defend himself. "Maybe the lava fried his last brain cell?" Nala growled, but her annoyed face paled to terror. A larger, vicious shape drew out of the volcano- but it wasn't Champ. Its eyes glistened in malice, trained specifically on Champ even hotter than the flames.
"Grimy food!" Nala spat in a mixture of disgust and horror. "Yup," Silver agreed, "come on. Champ needs our help."
Champ was on all fours, his teeth bared and muscles rippling under his scales. His striped opponent stared at him with calculating eyes dyed an icy mint. Its ears where slightly fuzzed tangelo and its ankles, mane and tail were creamy beige. Despite its regal stance and beautiful fluffed mane, its body was sleek and hard muscles stretched under its pelt.
"What are you doing on my land?" The Arcanine growled. Champ felt a tingle of fear, but his Charizard instincts kicked in- he wasn't going to back down. Charizard's were to be feared, not challenged. "I don't see your name on it," he snarled back. He felt the urge to spring battle against his common sense, but two other familiar scents stopped him. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only Pokémon to sense Silver and Nala running forward.
The Arcanine swerved, finally breaking his glance from him and staring down the two Meowths. "No!" it growled so harshly that Champ nearly flinched at its sharp tone. "This is between me and the Charizard," it finished. Silver narrowed his eyes at the intruder, and a low snarl gurgled from deep within his throat. Nala advanced forward, her eyes signaling a challenge. "And who's going to stop us?" she flashed back at him. The Arcanine didn't make a cheesy retort or grow angrier at her challenge; it only buffed out his fluffed chest and held its head high in dominance.
"This fight," he echoed calmly, "is between me and the Charizard." Champ stared at it, and then at Silver and Nala. Silver lashed his tail and turned to Champ, a question lighting his eyes. Champ shook his head in reply, he had let go of the orb when he was attacked. They had to chase this Arcanine away or risk the safety of the orb.
"I'm not taking your orders," Silver meowed calmly, although his muscles remained tensed just in case. The Arcanine surprisingly turned back to Champ, making him stiffen. "You have no honor? Three against one isn't fair, and this is my land in the first place. You are challenging me; I am just defending my property. If you were a true Charizard, you would battle with your own solid skills," it taunted hotly. Champ stared down at the lava-glazed ground and felt his chest tighten.
"He's just distracting you, don't listen to him!" Silver called after him. Champ seemed to lower closer to the ground as if to submit to his friends orders, but he had already made up his mind. Was he going to always need defending? Could he not care for himself, could he not battle alone? He faced Nala, his eyes like chips of blue ice. She held his stare, her tail erect with authority and ears slicked back. She was so small, yet she was ready to take on this Arcanine like it was as natural as eating or sleeping for her.
"No," he answered after a few moments, "the Arcanine is right. Three against one isn't an honorable battle; it's just a cowardly way to fight." Silver and Nala stared at him in dismay, and then looked at each other in alarm. Champ knew they thought he was being played, but he had already decided to battle alone long before the taunts began- he wasn't helpless after all.
"Alright, I respect your judgment, but if you need our help than we won't hesitate no matter what you say against it," Silver finally mewed respectfully. Nala stared down at her paws looking as if she had been itching for a fight. "You're so stupid," she muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear. "Have it your way, runt. But if you get so injured that you can't fly us anymore, then you better expect us to leave you here." Her voice was cold, as if she really wanted him to get injured enough to prove her point. Silver flashed her an angry look, but said nothing. I'm not your Taxi! And even if my wings get hurt, I have feet too you know. He wanted badly to shove her into the lava and do their journey alone, but he knew Silver would have something to say about it.
He huffed a plume of smoke against the toasted rock and looked back up at the Arcanine, who kept its gaze cool and calm, yet stern and dominating. "Alright," Champ replied, "start when you feel like it." The Arcanine nodded silently, and then pushed against the ground with his hind paws toward him. Thinking hard about all he's learned, Champ immediately responded to the close-range attack with a powerful far-range attack. The Arcanine side-stepped the Toxic attack like it was nothing and then pressed with powerful paws against the ground with a lunge.
Champ faced the close-range attack once more and tried a flamethrower, but the Arcanine just took it head on. He yelped in surprise before being bowled over by a set of massive paws. Flames licked at its jaws, signaling that it was going to use Fire Fang. He spat a Toxic attack, but the Arcanine simply ducked out of the way and planted stinging fangs into his long neck. He let out a rusty gasp and, thinking fast, swung his powerful tail forward. The Arcanine hadn't seen the move coming and was swatted off like a fly, whimpering at the sting of Champ's fire-lit tail end. Not missing a beat, Champ got back up and remembered his second-type advantage. The Arcanine tensed as if waiting for an attack, and then ran in skilled zigzags toward him, but Champ had already climbed to the sky before the Arcanine could try the same trick.
The Arcanine growled indignantly, and then tensed its muscles for a leap. Surely there was no way it could jump that high? Champ wasn't taking chances. He dipped his nose down and opened his mouth for another flame thrower, but the Arcanine was a matter of inches away from his face before the attack could even be prepared. The Arcanine had used ExtremeSpeed to launch itself high and quick. It scraped its nails against the direction of his scales, making him wince and stumble in the air and struggle to keep his flight under control.
In a panic, he considered diving down with his back to the ground, but what if the Arcanine got out of the way in time? He couldn't risk that sort of damage. Instead he used his slender neck to his advantage and twisted it around to reach the wobbling Arcanine, who was struggling to keep his composure. Champ noticed its struggle and, against his safety instincts, started climbing higher through the air. As soon as he'd gotten high enough where he could almost lick the moisture from the clouds, he felt the Arcanine's weight become excruciatingly unbearable. It had used Body Slam and was obviously trying to throw him to the ground while using his impact as a cushion to his own fall.
On top of that, he nearly squeaked in pain if it wasn't for his dignity when the Arcanine planted a Fire Fang into the joint of his right wing. He's trying everything he possibly can to crash me! The realization burned in his mind and shoved his common sense out of the door. Champ blinked a couple times to clear his mind and started in his own plan- to get the Arcanine to lose its balance and fall to the ground. He started in several crocodile twists, nose dives, tricky flights and speeding, but the Arcanine had its claws tucked under his tender scales.
Growling at his own weakness, Champ thought hard how to make its dependence on his scales to his advantage. He angled his sore wings against the wing as harshly as he could, and to his satisfaction, the Arcanine launched forward with nothing to grip to and rammed into his neck. Before it could get a hold again, Champ crocodile twisted his body, lurching the Arcanine off until it was hanging just barely by the skin on its teeth.
Champ tried not to become overly confident at the surge of fear and panic flooding from the Arcanines fur and made one last thrust to throw the Arcanine off. He bit his tongue when the Arcanine ripped a few scales from his back, but mostly managed to keep the pain under control. The Arcanine struggled with all its regal reputation lost in the wind, flailing paws and tail while leaving a rainbow of fear in its tracks. To his surprise and annoyance, the Arcanine managed to land mostly on its paws, but stumbled as if the impact had stunned it for a moment.
Champ briefly wondered if it was a trap to think he had gotten the better hand on the situation, but he wouldn't dare pass on a possible opportunity. He nosedived as fast as he could and prepared to plant his own fangs into its beige mane, until the Arcanine had proven it really was a trick. It whipped around with immense speed and glowed a faint white. Using Strength, it dipped its nose under his sensitive belly, making him flinch in horror, until the Arcanine abandoned the opportunity to take a chunk out of his stomach and instead flipped him into the air. He flew through the sky with complete lack of control, and although his unsteady wings managed to slow his descent, he was unable to fly in time before hitting the ground. The rough rocks didn't make much damage, but the scrape against the area where he had lost his scales made him snarl his name involuntarily.
Before he could get a fresh breath into his lungs, the Arcanine hooked its long claws into his body and thrusted him into the lava. The hot touch rejuvenated his body, but the scorch didn't supply much oxygen. He wiggled under the Arcanine's grasp but the lava was thick like trying to swim in a pool of jelly. Despite his very best efforts to see past the rock and redness, the Arcanine was completely hidden. Sinking quickly, Champ tried his old attack and felt a rush of pride when it worked a second time. He had hit the Arcanine with the back of his tail which could have sent it flying if the thick fiery sludge hadn't softened the blow.
Champ gasped for non-existent air and then lurched his body forward, turning the tables and pinning the Arcanine down against the thick lava. The Arcanine noticed his struggle and wrapped his huge boulder-sized paws around his chest and squeezed, kicking what oxygen he had left out of his screeching lungs. He coughed and sputtered against the hot poison that slithered down his throat, but this only let in more unwanted lava to enter his mouth.
He squeaked his name when a blow hit him in the stomach, which happened to be Body Slam, but this time the lava worked to his advantage. With the damage cut in half, he swam awkwardly toward the dazed Arcanine and swerved his glowing wing into the Arcanine's Adam's apple. The move had been Wing Attack, and Champ knew it would definitely feel that the next morning. Spotting the opportunity, Champ honed in on his finishing glow and knocked a second Wing Attack into the Arcanine's spine. The Lava had buffeted the attack but it still did immense damage. The Arcanine howled before dropping limp, its eyes closed and slowly descending further down into the abyss.
A rush of victory washed over Champ like a bucket of icy cold water had been thrown over him. He had won, and he did it all on his own! He thought back on his former lessons back at Team Magma's base when he was first captured, but this was his first win he could really be proud of. His first success since he was a free Charizard. He closed his eyes and rationed the happiness before dipping down and grabbing the Arcanine by its bent tail. He swam back up and burst his head out of the flames, instantly remembering how short of breath he had been while battling in the lava pool.
The looks of anxiety and apprehension faded on Silver and Nala's faces to contempt and shared victory. Champ sucked in his friends silent compliments and dragged his quarry onto the smooth basalt. "I can't believe you did it!" Silver chirped after a few moments. Champ looked at Nala and gave her an expectant face he couldn't suppress. No way was he going to let her get away with not praising him, he deserved it after all!
"Not bad," she meowed with a disgruntled look, although Champ noticed the hint of respect in her voice. Silver nudged her roughly with his forepaw, clearly irritated at her lack of interest. She looked back and shrugged, "okay, I have to admit an Arcanine is pretty tough. You did good, nice going." Her voice was much clearer, but it still dragged on like she hadn't meant to say it. He faintly remembered when she first wanted to go with Silver, which included begging him to let her ride on his back. Those were the days, she almost instantly returned bratty it seemed.
"Thank-you, it was cake, really," he grunted joyfully. He held his head high, his wings spread, his chest stuff out and gut sucked in, and with his over-whelming pleasure, he even launched a Flame Thrower into the air as a sign of dominance. Then he keeled over and smiled a big Champ-like smile.
"I can't wait to tell Scrappy!" he squealed, which just made Nala shake her head with her own goofy smirk.
The heat of the volcanoes and the destruction from Groudon had caused all activity to run further into the hills. Not that there was much food scampering around here anyway, what with the dry rocky mountains hardly being able to support more than a couple trees and skinny shrubs here and there. In the end, Nala had captured a rather pitiful-looking Spearrow, but that was all the mountains seemed to offer. Silver had spotted a wondering Cubone, but he decided not to try it. He wouldn't let anyone else know, but he secretly felt bad for Cubones and typically left them alone because of that, even if he was hungry.
The three looked pretty heartbroken with one skinny Spearrow to share among two full grown Meowths and a massive Charizard. "You wouldn't believe how many geodudes I saw over by this cave structure," Champ explained once the three had reunited again. "Was it really a cave? You should have checked it, there had to be at least one Zubat in there and maybe even a rattata somewhere between the cracks," Nala observed. Champ shook his head. "It looked like a cave but it was just a carving in the wall. I couldn't fit in it anyway. I saw something that I thought was a Ursaring- believe me when I say I was more excited than Spoink who's found its lost pearl- but it turned into a Ditto about five seconds after I spotted it."
"What was a Ditto doing in the mountains?" Silver griped to himself while pawing irritably at the aging Spearrow in between the huddle. "As if you could defeat an Ursaring!" Nala scoffed good-humoredly. "Could so," Champ shot back, "with one wing behind my back no doubt!" "Yeah, when Bagons fly!" she joked. Silver ignored the debate and instead pondered the dilemma with the Spearrow. It was spread out awkwardly with fang marks along its neck, so that it was clear the kill had been neat and swift. Its feathers clung in scattered clumps so that the dried blood and dirt held the feathers to the bird like glue. Its eyes were closed, which looked odd since one could rarely see a bird Pokémon sleeping in the open. Its beak was slightly scratched for unknown reasons.
Silver scrunched his muzzle and recoiled himself away from the catch- it wasn't exactly appetizing; he didn't even really like Spearrows to begin with. "An Ursaring has useful claws on its front paws and back paws, not to mention its teeth; you would never be able to-" Nala was saying, but Silver cut in. "I don't really want the Spearrow," he meowed evenly. They both looked at him as if they'd completely forgotten about the catch in the first place. "If Champ wants it, I think he should have it. He has a bigger stomach to fill," he suggested, and then turned his gaze feebly onto the Arcanine.
"Shouldn't somebody wake that brute up? We don't exactly have time to kill," he growled. Champ shrugged and gulped the Spearrow down, feathers and all, before Nala could have time to counter. "Maybe we should eat the Arcanine," Champ mumbled. Both Silver and Nala scrunched their muzzles in disgust. "You'll catch me eating Geodude waste before you catch me eating that thing!" Nala snarled at him. Champ hardly suppressed a satisfied smirk, "Oh, I would pay to see you do that!"
Nala huffed and swatted her tail against the dry wind. Before Silver could remind them about the Arcanine, it decided to remind them itself. It groaned and lifted its body from the stones, obviously buffeted from its aching muscles. Its sleek glossy pelt suddenly looked dull and ragged along his spine and haunches. "No need," it gasped against the effort, "I'm leaving anyway." It collected what was left of its energy and started in a limp toward the farther reaches of the volcanoes.
Briefly Silver wondered how much the Arcanine had actually heard, but then he remembered he didn't actually care. "Where are you going and why didn't you speak earlier?" Silver called after its quickly fleeting frame. The Arcanine turned its giant head and stared at the three with dull grief-stricken eyes. "I see no shame in admitting I have lost this battle, and with it, my home. The volcano is yours, although I have nowhere else to go. I will miss it, although I don't know what I'm going to tell my mate." His voice was gruff and harbored a slight chuckle, more like a nervous laughter.
Champ looked at it quizzically, as if pulling memories form the Arcanine and storing it into his own mind for one reason or another. Then he spoke up, sending both Nala and Silver's pelts bristling with his reply. "Would you like to keep it?" he pondered calmly. The Arcanine held a surprised look of its own, and then narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "You beat me out of my home, and then offer it back? Did you only battle me for fun, or are you making a cruel and brutal joke?" his voice was a low hiss of distrust and disapproval.
"Are you mad?" Nala whispered quickly, her fluffed brown-tipped tail lashing the parched air. Champ bent his head down, his eyes glistening with a plan. "I see no harm in this Arcanine. It wants its home back, so maybe we can bargain with it? If it protects the orb from man and Pokémon alike from entering the volcano, then it can keep its home and we can keep the orb safe!" His fire-lit tail turned a slightly bluish hue with quivering energy. Silver flattened his ears and brushed his tail sheepishly across the rocks. Maybe he was right from the beginning; Champ really is way too naive for a Charizard.
"You honestly think we can trust him? Now what are we going to do, this idiot has already asked!" Nala hissed at Silver. He flexed his claws in and out and scoured them across the ground, what was he going to do? "I think we can trust him. Nothing he's done so far has disproven his reliability," Champ offered in the middle of the tension-thick silence. Nala glared at him wide-eyed, apparently getting ready to holler 'you both went into an intense battle just half an hour ago!' but she kept her mouth shut.
Before the heated discussion could drag on, Champ lifted his head from the huddle and stared at the Arcanine, obviously waiting for a reply. It continued to stare at them as if it couldn't quite digest was it was hearing. "I'd love my home back," he announced feebly, "but to what cost?" Champ pointed his nose toward the lava. "The reason we came here is because we wanted to hide an orb. The orb is very important to us, but some people wanted to steal it, so we came to hide it at the bottom of this volcano. You can have your home back if you're willing to guard the orb as well as the volcano." Champ's voice was even and calm, and didn't seem to give anything away.
The Arcanine narrowed its eyes and remained motionless. "Is this orb valuable?" it questioned harshly. Silver noticed Nala flinch, and upon turning to her, she was rigid with every muscle in her body tensed for battle. "It depends who you are. To us it is very valuable. We would appreciate it if you protected the orb for us. We promise not to bother you if you can promise us that." The Arcanine held his stare for moments that felt like years passing by. It depends who you are. To us it is very valuable…. And did we mention that it can control two powerful legendary Pokémon that two powerful teams would do anything to get their hands on? He gritted his teeth as the dangerous thoughts passed through his mind. What if the Arcanine ever found out?
"I accept," the Arcanine grouched after a long thoughtful pause. "Thanks, that's very helpful," Champ approved. The Arcanine strode forward and dipped its head toward the floating lava, and then turned back to Champ with a terse nod. "I take it this is the Groudon Orb? It can control Groudon, correct?" it pondered coolly. Silver and Nala's tails flew up in surprise, and Silver could hear the faint growl leaking within Nala's throat, but Champ remained eerily calm and held his stare with the Arcanine. "That's true, and I'll have you know, if this Orb is found again, you're home and your mate will be destroyed in the battle," Champ hissed. The threat seemed to hang in the air like electrified mist.
Finally, the Arcanine nodded. "I had no intention of bringing it back to them, I was just asking. I never liked Team Magma or Team Aqua in the first place, and Team Rocket isn't exactly on my good list either. They're always making loud noises and stomping against the ground, it could drive an apparently halfway decent Pokémon into insanity, let me tell you. I'll protect your orb, if that's what you want." The Arcanine was talking friendlier now, but Champ held his glare as hot as the bubbling lava. "Good," he mused after a while, "see you around." Champ stomped off for a few steps and then apparently realized he had passengers as well. He beckoned with his tail for the two Meowths to hop to it and get on his back already, so they complied. Although upon looking back as the Arcanine dove into the Lava with a slurpy splash, he wasn't so sure if Champ had made the right choice.
"Oh?" Silver meowed after recovering from the initial shock of Champ's news. It was true; he was going back to the forest to help Scrappy look for his family again, leaving him and Nala to finish their journey alone. "I promised to meet up with him at sunrise. I got to get moving now if I want to make it on time. If I'd known we were going on some big journey like this, I would have extended the time." They were descending from the air in such a way that Silver almost felt weightless for a few moments.
"Well then, thanks for the ride," Nala thanked him uncharacteristically. Champ didn't answer; he just swayed a bit before landing solidly next to a reaching yew tree. Both Meowths leapt from his back with the second plastic box firmly in Nala's jaws. Silver turned to look at him, and their blue eyes connected. "Thanks for everything, Champ. We could never have done this without you," Silver meowed softly. Champ nodded and bent down to lick Silver's charm- typical for a Charizard despite their threatening demeanor. "Any time pal. Good luck with that second orb," he mentioned while pointing his muzzle toward the second box.
Silver nodded, "of course! I hope you and Scrappy find your families, I'm sure they'll be really excited!" Champ nodded and despite all odds, he also bent down and licked Nala's charm for a goodbye. Oddly enough she didn't recoil, although she looked reluctant to sit still. "You can bet your Kuban on it! Anyway, I'll be seeing you." They finished their goodbyes and with that, Champ gave one last nod before flapping high into the air like a kite that had just found the strongest wind to catch onto. "My best regards, Champ!" Nala hollered into the air, but he was gone like a piece of cinder blowing through the wind.
The clearing suddenly felt oddly empty, like a patch of the world had just gone away and all that was left was void black space. It wasn't enough to fill in the gap, no matter how deep; dark or thick the void seemed to feel. Even Nala looked a little crestfallen at his departure; she stared at her paws and looked vacantly at the frosted grass spikes. Upon further inspection, Silver noticed for the first time that he had been dropped off at a cemetery. A misty fog dragged itself across the grassy terrain like clusters of pale ghosts trying to find their bodies again.
Tiny tombstones meant specifically for the fall of Pokémon were sticking out of the ground like lodged thorns with tiny engravings on them. The atmosphere felt thick like pollution, clogging his air passage, but he knew it was all in his head. "Why do I get the feeling that Champ dropped us off here on purpose?" he mumbled with half-disguised amusement. He wouldn't put it past Champ to have done something like that to dull their sad goodbye.
Nala noticed the graveyard perhaps for the first time as well, and then stiffened. "Oh, fantastic," Nala grumbled warily, "just wait. Some random gengar is going to waltz right up to us and hit us with Dream Eater for the sake of entertainment value. We'll never get to sleep here." Despite her complaints, she curled up where she was standing and placed her chin on her paws. Silver looked off onto the loom of the land and stared hard, looking for any shapes that might portray hidden Pokémon.
"I'm going to look around," he meowed after a thoughtful pause. Nala looked at him a little stunned, and then looked away. "Aren't you tired?" she sighed with a touch of exasperation. Silver shook his head and then rose to his paws. "I'm as fresh as a daisy!" he chirped, although inwardly he could hardly feel his paws. The kitten inside him wanted to explore though, who could resist a good smoky cemetery in the middle of the night? Nala parted her jaws in a massive yawn and seemed too tired to argue. "Do you want me to go or stay here?" she meowed. Silver sensed she wanted to stay here, so he replied with the latter option. "It won't take long; I just want to scope the place out. And besides, I'm immune to most ghost type attacks, so I should be fine."
Nala gave him a slightly concerned look, but then laid her head back down and closed her eyes. Silver smiled and licked her cheek warmly, causing something to tickle inside his stomach. She purred affectionately, and then her voice rusted off into quiet. He turned and began in a trot, being careful to avoid knocking over a jutting tombstone. He bent down and tried to read some of the names, but it was hard to make out with the shade of night and the fog combined. After reading a few tombstones here and there, he realized he enjoyed reading some of the quotes present on the tombstones, and started looking for little notes on each one.
He was in the middle of reading one such quote in the interests of compassion when something random brushed across his pelt. He shivered and whipped around, confident that he would see some ghost type Pokémon, but the clearing was empty. He rolled his eyes, knowing how ghost types liked to scare other Pokémon for fun. You'd have to catch me pretty early in the morning before you can scare me that easily, yes sir! He chanted in his head. His pelt was brushed again, this time more roughly, almost urgently. He turned around again and this time bared his teeth at the space it had been.
"Cut it out!" he yelped aloud, "you aren't fooling anyone!" The clearing remained silent and deserted; even though his pelt still felt like a cold wind had whipped through his fur. He forced a mocking laugh, "that's what I thought. Everyone knows ghost types are just cowards." He went back to reading the tombstone quote when this time he was literally pushed into the tombstone by force. He snarled into the air and snapped at open space, wishing desperately that he could somehow learn Foresight in a matter of seconds.
"If you want to battle, then that's fine with me! Expose yourself like a true fighter or go away!" He tried to buff out his fur like he was more than willing to fight, but secretly he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to watch the stupid ghost type flee away from his business. Instead, a faint shadowy figure developed in front of his eyes. The center remained perfectly see-through, although a little blurry, but the edges developed a tinge of color. The shape became more or less 3-D, more or less tangible, and more or less solid. He bit back the fear that itched in his heart when the figure began to take form and nearly took the shape of an actual body.
Then his heart seemed to stop dead. A familiar scent wafted over him, sweet and tantalizing, yet the lovely scent only made his heart ache. "Staraku," the voice whispered affectionately. The tingle of fear blew to wild proportions until his lungs threatened to leap right out of his mouth. It was smooth and nurturing, like a mother talking to her child.
"Nisa?" he whispered tentatively. A sense of vertigo washed over him, making his brain fuzzy. His breath came in short slow breaths, and he had to tighten all the muscles in his limbs in order to stop from falling over himself.
The heavenly being nodded, and by now her shape seemed to form into its once beautiful self again. Her fur was sleek and healthier than he'd ever seen it, her charm was bright and her eyes were more stunning than he could have imagined. Her image was aglow although faint, and even though she was filled out to the very last detail, her body was still slightly translucent as if even the weakest gust of wind could carry her away.
"Is it really you?" he purred just above a whisper. He took a few shaky steps forward until he could brush his muzzle against hers. It felt odd, like there was nothing there yet everything he ever loved was standing in front of him. The space felt hollow and empty- Silver knew he could easily walk through her body or fall into the space she was standing in- yet he felt the slightest tickle of her fur against his muzzle, and somehow she felt half there yet half nowhere.
"Yes, it is me," she murmured into his ear. He licked her Kuban awkwardly, as his tongue went through her frame yet still felt like it had touched a solid flat surface, and then he struggled to bury his muzzle into her fur. She followed less hesitantly by rasping her tongue over his ear and purring loudly when she laid her chin on his shoulder. "I've missed you," he meowed after a long blissful embrace. She parted only too soon, and fixed him with a soft glance full of undying love that hardened into pure seriousness.
He stiffened, and tried hard to avoid her stare by looking at his paws, although he so longed to keep looking at her in fear that she would disappear if he didn't keep staring. She bent down and trained her eyes back on his with pupils as hot and intense as two balls of blue fire. "Staraku, look at me," she meowed sternly. He looked back up, although his entire body began to shake. It couldn't possibly be her could it? It must be a ghost type, or some sort of illusion. Or maybe he was dreaming? He was probably just curled up by Nala right now, dreaming wistfully about his long lost mate.
Her burning stare that seemed to sizzle two holes right through his pelt told him it couldn't be a dream. She was too real, too vivid, and too perfect. "How did you find me?" he whimpered, his voice quivering. Her stare softened with golden warmth that made him shudder even more. "I've always been beside you. Ever since I died, I've walked right beside you," she meowed. Her voice became almost inaudible, like something deep and dark was disturbing it. "I've always waited for you to see me. I've watched you, I've cuddled you at night like we used to do and I've licked you oh so tenderly behind the ear, but you never noticed. I've just been waiting… for you to look at me again."
Silver could hardly suppress a yelp of longing. He wanted to press closely beside her, to suck in her warmth and love and give her a cascade of endless licks across her scruff. But he knew if he tried, he would just fall onto the ground against her cold ghostly form. "But you never did," she went on after she had found her voice again. "You've suffered so much; I wish I could bare it with you. Instead I'm stuck here, wondering alone, looking for your soul. I'll never be truly happy until we cross paths once more, my love, my joy." Tears flooded from his eyes. He wanted that too, more than anything in the world.
"We'll cross paths again one day," he soothed her. He looked deep into her eyes, and was reminded again why he loved her so much. "I'll never stop looking for you until the day I find you again. I promise."
Her eyes sparkled with tiny glittering stars. "No," she mewed slowly. Silver stiffened, and then stared at her for a long lasting moment. Her voice was smooth and as soft as the gentlest flower petals. "I came here because I wanted to talk to you," she murmured smoothly. "I've walked your footsteps a long time now. And as much as I so desperately want to walk with you in the real world, I see now that I cannot. Not now, not in the future." Her eyes glittered with longing, like it took every bit of energy from her to utter the necessary words. "Silver, you must take Nala as your mate." He stood rigid, silent for a moment. And then he wailed in ragged screeches, melting down to his paws and looking vacantly into the distance.
"But I want to be with you!" he gushed in gaspy breaths. She stared at him, her eyes wide and troubled. "This isn't how it was supposed to be! It was supposed to be me, and you, and Misiku all together! I was going to teach her how to hunt, even how to fight if I could! How to build a nest, how to be somebody! And you and me, we were going to be mates forever. I miss you, Nisa! I miss how warm your fur used to be, how warmly you used to look at me. If I could see you alive one last time, then I think I might be okay. But it isn't okay, because you've went and left me all alone!" Emotions squirmed in his belly and bit through his sensitive insides.
Nisa stared at him, baffled and hurt, as if she couldn't believe he was blaming her. "I haven't left you, I want to be with you all the time!" she yowled back. Silver was far too consumed in his squirming emotions to even reply, he just felt abandoned. Nisa glared down at his shivering body, and for a moment her frame seemed to take on a living shape, but then it quickly faded. "You have to let me go," she croaked after a while. Her voice was soft and sweet again, like caramel candy.
He shook his head and stubbornly tucked his muzzle in between his forepaws. "But then I'll have nothing left," he meowed. She looked past him, back to the yew tree. His voice was jerky with hot tears, but he rose back to his paws. They both knew it- it had been hiding all along, like a little monster ready to spring from the cracks. He had tried to push it away all the time, and he knew both him and Nisa were always skipping around that monster. It had been there for so long, how much longer could he really avoid it? But that monster was growing all the time- it was the monster of truth. He really did love Nala now, but he had always pushed it away. Now that Nisa was telling him straight on, he knew he couldn't battle that monster anymore. It grew inside him, but now it wasn't so much a monster anymore. It was understanding, it was moving on.
"You're right," he meowed after a moment. "I still have my life in front of me." He remembered back to Aurora's words- you will be sacrificed. He remembered his mind spinning, confusion setting in, and then denial taking over his paws. What had she meant? In another world, which was now the present world, he had just abandoned the thought all together. What happens will happen, no matter what he does to stop it.
He shook the thoughts off his pelt and went on. "I can't spend the rest of my life looking for a memory. You…you're dead, and I have to accept that now. I need to move on." Nisa flinched, but then nodded. He could tell it was just as hard on her as it was for him. He closed his eyes and thought back on all his adventures with Nisa, and then all his adventures with Nala.
He took a deep breath- it would be hard, but he would manage. He looked at Nisa with newfound determination. "You're right; I've spent far too long mourning. I'll make Nala my mate," he conceded. Nisa looked off into the shadows as if her heart had been wrenched from her chest, but he shook it off. He was still almost positive that this wasn't really Nisa; it couldn't be, could it? Then Nisa looked up at him with unblinking eyes, as if to stare directly into his soul. Silver had to wonder- maybe she really was.
"Good," she responded while at the same time releasing a massive gust of breath, as if she had been holding it. "Besides, it isn't forever," she murmured while looking blankly off into the distance. She seemed to be comforting herself more than him. "We'll meet soon, when your spirit leaves your body. We'll be mates again; we'll run through the barley on sunny warm days and clean the burrs out of each other's fur. Every night- every night we'll run across the lake while the volbeats glow, it'll be great. No one will see us; we'll never go hungry because we won't have bodies to nurture. We'll just skip through the snow like little kittens, carefree like it was our birth right." Her voice was whimsical and fresh.
She drew closer to him, so that her scent wreathed around his fluffed pelt. She touched her muzzle against his and placed one paw on his front toes. "The only bad thing is, we'll have to keep regretting. As long as we regret, we can stay on Earth and never go to any sort of heaven- or if we must- hell. We'll always be here, together, we'll never have to separate." Silver quavered at the thought, which sent his mind into endless fluffy daydreams. It sounded so… great. What else could he ever want? He would want Misiku by his side with her child-like innocence returned in her frail little body. In the end, he figured that would end up having to be his regret.
But with a reluctant huff, he parted from Nisa's soft fur. They shared longing glances, it seemed so far away. But Silver shook his head; he still couldn't have two mates. He admired Nisa's smooth glossy coat, her facial features so brilliant and full of expression, she was the same Meowth as she had always been. "No," he meowed hesitantly. His voice was a quivering soft mew, but retained urgency. He held her glance for a moment and tried hard to engrave the sight into his brain forever. It would probably be the last.
"No? What do you mean?" she answered slowly. She looked undaunted, but a faint scent of suspicion wavered above her fur. "It means…" he took a deep breath, and tightened his glare so that he stared at her with unmoving intense eyes. "I can't be your mate anymore. I have to move on, you're nothing but a shadow now, and I need to understand that. After I take Nala as my mate, it means she will be my mate, not you, and I'm sorry." He held her confused gaze for a moment, and then flinched when she wrinkled her face into agony and betrayal. He looked around the cemetery with suspicion, and then back at her. "I don't even know if you're real or not."
His voice was even, but inside he wanted to wail and beg forgiveness. "But…" her voice was a whisper. "I am real! How can I prove it to you, I'm real I swear! I would do anything to be with you, anything! I love you, I still love you, and I've loved you all this time! Please, don't leave me!" He felt his paws recoil, but he kept himself firmly planted to the ground even though the world seemed to spin uncontrollably below him.
"Even if you are real, I can't love you and love Nala at the same thing. You were right, I have to move on. It's for the best." Inwardly, he felt like he was making the biggest mistake of his life. Like he was literally trying his best to cause trouble with himself, like he was some sort of masochist. "I take it back!" Nisa yowled into the air. She looked like she was trying to cry, but maybe ghosts couldn't cry after they had left their bodies behind. "I don't want you to be with Nala, I'm jealous of her every day!" Silver could tell she was battling with selflessness and selfishness- whether she wanted Silver all to herself or if she wanted to see him happy again.
"I hate that stupid she-meowth! I want her to run far away, I want us to be together! I just wanted you to be happy, if I'd known you were going to say something like that, I would have never…" she bent down to the floor, panting with overriding emotions. Silver couldn't help but take a few steps back, he wasn't even aware that she loved him this much even when she was alive. How could he bare to hurt her so badly?
"It didn't matter," he muttered hotly. Something he didn't know was rising in him, he wasn't sure he if he liked it or not. He tried to keep his voice under control, but it seemed to shiver along with him. "I would have gone with her eventually, this encounter didn't change anything." He gripped his claws into the ground, just to keep himself from floating away like an abandoned balloon. "But when I do die, I will be waiting for her, not you. I'm sorry."
She stopped sobbing after the words were out of his mouth, and lay still on the ground with her nose tucked in between her paws. For a moment, Silver was almost scared of her. She was an illusion of what could have been, but now that she was a ghost, could she haunt him? He shook off the thoughts, or maybe he had just gone crazy.
He felt a surge of shock when her pelt began to blur into the dust below. He yelped in horror as her frame began to fade and mash into the ground, fleeting quickly from this world. "Where are you going? Don't leave me!" he couldn't stop his plea. Sure it would damage his pride after openly stating he was abandoning her, but that couldn't hide the fact that he still loved her. She looked up at him, as if to say her final goodbyes.
He lunged forward and tried to press his body against hers, to snatch away the very last of her being as his own, but he felt nothing but cold air. The press of her fur, no matter how faintly it felt before, was gone all together. "I'll still follow you," she meowed. Her voice didn't sound like it had come from just a foot in front of him, it sounded like an echo from someone several miles away. "I'll still lie next to you at night; I'll still love you even if you forgot how to love me. I just hope you'll never forget me…" her last words were so faint and soft that Silver could only barely make out her words. "I hope you know I've crawled alongside you, wept for you to love me, too. I hope you never forget that!"
He opened his mouth to gasp out something to say, anything to say, but his throat was cotton dry. The wind seemed to toss away the last few hues of her color like old trash, and just like that she was gone. He stared at the blank spot where she used to be, and even brushed his forepaws across the soil to feel for any sign that a body had been laying there. But the soil was cold to the touch, maybe even colder than the rest of the cemetery. He bit hard on his tongue, and rolled onto his belly. He felt like his entire insides had spilled over into a gush of blood, as if his organs had liquefied.
His heart ached when the liquefied blood seemed to rot into oil inside him- and somehow it fit. He just felt torn and broken down. It took a long while of mourning for him to realize how tired he was, and even longer to realize it was actually bright. He looked up groggily to see that the sun was drifting lazily over the mountains, perhaps just as tired as he was of the same old thing. He longed to melt into the soil and disappear forever beyond the dark depths, never to be seen again, but he felt chained to the solid reality that was Earth. Instead, he trudged back to the yew tree.
Nala was rasping her tongue across her chest fur, smoothing it over so that it looked fresh and clean. A familiar blossom opened up in his heart when he saw her, he knew she was the one for him. She was beautiful, the most beautiful Meowth on this Earth, and somehow he had to find it in himself to admit it. Did she still love him, after all this time? After so many times he had shunned her out of his life, after so many hints he had thrown at her that they would never be able to be mates. He breathed heavily and shuffled into view.
She looked up at him, her face bright and cheerful, until she actually saw him. His fur was still bristling like tiny knives, and his left side was dusted with soil. He must have obviously looked exhausted, his ten minute walk ended up being the entire rest of the night, not to mention he hadn't really slept for days anyway. "What happened? Were you in that cemetery all night?" Nala gasped in shock. Her voice was irritable like a mother disciplining her child, but it was also stitched with worry. "Did a ghost type attack you? I knew you shouldn't have gone in there!" She rushed forward and supplied her shoulder for him to lean on, but he just walked past it as if he hadn't even noticed she was there.
"Something like that," he replied to her ghost attack theory. It felt like that, heck it might have been. He hardly even knew where he was. It felt good to lie down and stay down for a change, he felt like he could take up a career as a scaremurcrow for the rest of his life- he never wanted to move again. He wanted to scream as loud as he could for Champ to come back and fly his lazy butt over to the ocean, but he knew he had to walk there.
She looked at him, her eyes filled with concern. "I'll go get you something to eat for when you wake up okay? I'll find you something really good and juicy!" She tried to sound cheerful again, but she was obviously dying with curiosity. What had he been doing all night, anyway?
He nodded in appreciation and closed his eyes. "Sounds good, I'll explain later okay?" he grumbled warily, but he may have not been awake to hear her reply.
Nala paced around the trunk of the yew tree, her paws were alight with adventure and an urge to run. She had caught one of the omnipresent rattatas that seemed to reincarnate themselves on every corner she turned, but it only lay cold and untouched. In the end she just ate it herself since she had been long convinced that Silver was in some sort of semi-perpetual coma. She ended up catching a second rattata which she could only assume had been the first's biological great times 1000 brother in law twice removed, but it also ended up cold and neglected. After a while she began getting worried. In normal circumstances, she wouldn't have minded so much, but she knew they were carrying the second Kyogre orb. They didn't exactly have time to relax like this.
After a long pause, she finally lost the last of her patience and prodded her paw into his side, maybe a little too forcefully. She felt a little guilty when he looked up at her with dull bleary eyes, like he hadn't intended on waking up for at least another five days. "Yeah?" he asked after a few moments. Nala hesitated for a second, and then pointed her ear toward the plastic box. "Sorry, but we really don't have time to waste. We have to get moving unless we want Team Aqua to catch us." Inwardly she seethed at the name- she had long learned that the name itself was poisoned. Then again, Team Magma was chasing them too. She felt a familiar pang of home sickness, but she shook it off her pelt before Silver could notice.
Then again, Silver looked like he wouldn't notice if the world collapsed on itself at the moment. "Wake up!" she meowed urgently. He seemed a little sheepish and even less lively than he should be, even if he was lacking sleep. Finally he stumbled to his paws and started trotting in the opposite direction of the part of the ocean they were traveling to. "Wait, what?" She caught up to him and stared him down quizzically. Had he lost his mind?
"I'm just getting something to drink," he fumbled. He seemed to move one mile per hour, as if the weight of the world chained him back. "A slowpoke could beat you in a race!" she chided hotly. He gave her a droopy, tired look, and she instantly relented. Even if it was true that he would never love her back, she knew she would always support him. "You sure you're okay?" she whimpered softly. Suddenly she wasn't so sure of herself that they would even finish the journey. Maybe she shouldn't have been so tough on Champ; he was hardly older than a year after all. But that know-it-all was being a real pain in the tail!
"There's a pond or something over here, isn't there?" Silver cut into her thoughts. She bounded to his side and nodded. Questions raked across her brain and made her tongue quiver indignantly for answers. Where had he been all night, why did he look so drained? She tried to shrug off the questions, but they only clung back onto her pelt like magnets. "I wanted to go somewhere nice," Silver meowed slowly. He sounded utterly depressed, as if he were trying to find somewhere pleasant just to get the events of last night off his mind.
The two stumbled into an outcrop of scaly rocks which loomed over a patch of sweet-smelling grass. A mixture of maples oxygenated the air and kept the grass cool with its sun-blocking leaves. The sugary scent, Nala realized, came from the syrup that welled under the bark of the maple trees. The area felt warm and inviting, like a good vacation to a far off place. She rested her eyes on Silver, who was bent over a crystal-clear stream. Instead of actually drinking the water, he instead left his tongue out so that the bubbly foam of the gushing water fell over it.
She was happy he was doing something less emo now. Maybe he had cheered up when he saw his surroundings? Everything seemed fresh and anew, like a little patch of spring had touched one part of the Earth where it planned to spread out to the rest of the world once the weather had warmed up enough. She trotted over to him and decided to get something to drink herself since water wasn't exactly easy to find sometimes this close to the mountains. The water tasted remarkably cold and refreshing, like it had never choked on human pollutants before. She waited for him to get his fill, but he didn't turn back when he finished. Instead he rested beside one of the maples and looked expectantly at her.
She pawed her way to him until she was right by his side, almost a little awkwardly. Wasn't he worried about getting rid of that stupid Kyogre orb? Somehow, she didn't really mind. It felt good to lie beside him almost as if they were mates, almost as if there was nothing else in the world to worry about. She inched a little closer, but then sat still and looked at her own reflection in the water. It was so clear and clean that the reflection almost looked real. Only the tiny ripples from the bubbling brook suggested otherwise. For a fleeting moment she was almost positive her mulberry pink ears had changed to black, and a different face she didn't recognize was wavering in the water. The meowth she couldn't recognize looked sad, maybe jealous, but it was gone within the time it took to blink.
"Nala," Silver murmured after a while. She was happy to find a distraction away from staring into the water, and turned her gaze to look at him. She felt herself almost regretting it when he stared at her with intense hot eyes. His voice was still dull with some kind of hidden sadness she couldn't decipher. "I'm sorry," he ventured on. He stared out across the water so that the ripples reflected across his pupils. "I'm sorry for neglecting you all this time. I know you've had a crush on me, but I've always loved Nisa. I'm sorry about that."
Nala shuddered, and her mind filled with sour thoughts. She loved him more than he would ever seem to understand, it felt more than just some silly little crush. She learned that the hard way every time they were separated for too long. She wanted to yowl out his name and run back to his side and never depart. It felt so unnatural without him, and she felt so lonely when she was all by herself. She was never quite 100% herself when he was missing; it was like he became a part of her. She yearned for him so much that she wanted to scream it too the world, but it felt pointless. Why did he have to keep bringing it up?
"It's fine," she whispered after a brief pause. She knew she could never be his mate, but if she could just stay by his side, then maybe she could still be happy even if it hurt. "You're still in love with Nisa. You'll never love me like you loved her; I'll always be in her shadow, won't I?" Silver visibly flinched at his old mate's name, which only deepened the thorn in Nala's heart. Did Nisa ever know how lucky she really was? She had asked herself a hundred times that same question.
Silver stared hard at her, as if trying to crush her under the weight of his gaze. "No, I don't think you will," he meowed evenly. Nala stared at him quizzically, but then shook off her confusion. "I understand how you feel, but I'm not looking to take her place. If you really want me to leave, then that's okay. I…I'd do anything for you. But if you would just let me be friends with you, if I could walk by your side until the day I can't walk anymore? Then maybe I could be happy, just to see you happy."
His gaze didn't change or give even the slightest details away. Then he looked hard at his paws, and Nala noticed a slight shiver run down his spine. "Will you promise to always be happy by my side?" he whispered slowly. Nala stared at him for a while, not understanding. There was a flitter in her heart, but she shoved it away. "You and me, we've come so far. And if you're really willing to love me like I'll love you, then I think I can let Nisa go." He stared at her with passion lighting his eyes- something she hadn't seen there before.
"Nala, I've loved you for the longest time, but I couldn't let that love grow because I couldn't get past my own problems. But I want to move on; I want you by my side, if you're still willing." She held his warm blue gaze, shocked and maybe a little disoriented. A whirlpool of happiness threatened to gush out of her, but she held it behind bars. Was he messing with her? Did he really mean it? She couldn't find the words she wanted to say.
"I was stupid," he went on when she didn't reply. "When I hear you, it's the sound of my lover, and I'd always felt it but only now do I see it!" his voice rose from something nonchalant and quiet until it became passionate and harbored endless truth. "Everything leads to you, every breath I take, every path I walk, every time I forget where I'm going. It's always you, and I can't deny you that anymore." He stared at her hard as if to will her to say yes, but she was still rigid with shock.
"It's always you," he mumbled quietly. He inched closer and pressed his muzzle into her fur. His scent wreathed around her, intoxicated her. She knelt down and wordlessly brushed her tongue across his shoulder to comfort him. He pressed closer to her, so that their breathing almost synced. "You're the one, Nala."
Neither of them moved. The leaves of the maples didn't even seem to dance with the force of the wind. The sound of the brook seemed to die down until it was silent. She could only feel his love, nothing else felt real. She blinked tears that fell down her cheek, causing her to press her face into his fur. She had never thought she'd be so close, but she had dreamed it.
"Of course," she breathed. She had almost been convinced that her voice was to be forever lost when he had asked her that wonderful question. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this, but I would have waited until my very last breath if I had to Staraku. You know that." He didn't respond. Instead, their tails entwined.
While writing this, in my head I was just thinking… "When people I actually know read this, it's going to be embarrassing as high heck."
Six cardinal-colored tails slithered across a bundle of triple-lobed leaves like thin Arbok''s slithering stealthily through the forest floor. A pair of russet paws maneuvered through a clutter of leaf mulch, taking care not to step on anything that could give its position away.
A couple Volbeat were only a single pounce away, making the vulpix lap its small tongue over its lips. "So it was me and this pretty Illumise," one of the volbeat was jabbering, "and she says- get this- and she says, she says 'you have the brightest light I ever saw.' This is a true story fella's, she was a pretty one too, real top quality flutter-wing. She must have seen every Volbeat in this here forest, but she said I was the brightest light she ever did saw!" The other Volbeat were more or less concerned with nibbling on a piece of honey comb rather than hearing the other Volbeat's gossip. "I met a perty thing once," another grunted casually. "I was at this crystal clear lake and the moon was shining and the atmosphere was perfect. I was just going about with my dance when this Illumise comes up to me and says she liked how well I did my staryu patterns."
Scrappy rolled his eyes and continued to lurk around the unsuspecting bug types. Volbeat and Illumise are always clucking about their stupid courtship dance. Don't they ever get sick of it? With a waggle of his haunches, and a sharp snarl, he launched into the clearing. The Volbeat all jolted, their wings quavering in fear, before they leapt out of their surprised state and spun into flight. A flurry of gasps and muttering winded through the crowd for a brief moment with words such as "a Delibird has went and found us!" and "my lady heard me talking about her, I'm in deep trouble now!" but then the whispering slowed.
Scrappy snarled and roared and gnashed his fangs, springing around in circles across the clearing and launching himself upward toward his bait. The volbeat stared at each other, a few raised their eyebrows, and then they descended. "Ain't that cute?" one of them muttered uneasily. "Cute? I'd say it's a pesky little know-nothing," another muttered. Scrappy continued to throw dust with his hind legs and gnash his fangs randomly, until embarrassment started heating his pelt.
He stopped snarling and looked around at the group huddled around him, feeling more and more embarrassed with all the eyes trained on him. "Aren't you scared?" he demanded with an edge to his throaty bark. "I'm going to eat you! You should be running for your lives." The group of Volbeat looked at each other, and to his horror, even began to giggle. "What, a little tike like you?" one of them chuckled while jabbing a finger at him. "I hardly think so." Scrappy flicked his ears up and parted his jaws so that his fangs were bared. Who did these silly bug types think they were? Suicine?
"But I'm a fire type!" he spat out the words, "I could toast your wings off!" The Volbeat only rolled their eyes, or kept muffling laughter. "You don't look like you could even sear a dandelion," one of them pointed out. A few others joined in with their mocking. "Or bake a cookie!" "Or melt a chocolate chip!" "I bet you it couldn't melt a block of ice," "or warm my glittering butt during a cold winter!" "I got a match it can't light!"
Embarrassment flushed through him like a hungry forest fire. With the anger that was flaring in him, he gurgled a ball of flames in his throat and spat out an Ember attack. The flames bit through the crowd and even scoured a few direct hits. A flush of successful revenge ebbed off some of the flourishing embarrassment, that outta teach them! "How do you like me now?" he snapped while holding his tails up high. He turned to trot out of the clearing and perhaps find some more victims to his merciless fiery breath, but a few angry voices stopped him.
"Hey you little runt! I spent two hours cleaning my wings this morning!" one of them growled at him while raising one dust-ridden wing. Scrappy rolled his eyes, "it's an improvement if you ask me." Another jutted out of the sky and landed nose to nose with him, making him back up some. "What gave you the right to do that, squirt?" anger and annoyance pulsed off of it, making him tense his muscles. "Hey, bug off!" he growled, although intimidation was rising in his legs.
"I say we squash that little candle flame, teach it a lesson of sorts!" one of them barked loudly. A few more nodded with approval, "If you wanted a battle, you got it." Scrappy melted to the ground in horror and started taking several steps back. Several blistering amber eyes heated his wiry pelt, and with that, he turned and bolted. "Coward!" one of them yelped after him, followed by a mass of buzzing sounds. The flap of thin oily wings made his ears hurt and quickened his heart rate so that it nearly synced with the buzz of Volbeat wings.
"And a one, a two and a three!" one of the Volbeat called good-naturedly from behind. Scrappy squeaked in alarm when a flurry of Signal Beam attacks peppered his tailgate. If things weren't already going bad, they were about to get much worse. His vision blurred with the effects of Confusion status, making his footing erratic and slowing his pacing. He was buffeted enough by the secondary condition that he dashed straight into the trunk of an old pine tree. The Volbeat were around him in an instant- there was nowhere to run anymore. "Anyone know Thunder? Double Edge? Solar beam? Let's really hand it to him good!" The surrounding Volbeat nodded and started powering up their most effective attacks. Scrappy backed up so that his back was pressed against the rough bark of the pine tree. He was going to get seriously injured here, these Volbeat were mad!
Then he heard another buzzing sound. This buzzing sound was distinctly louder and sounded at a different frequency than the Volbeats' wings. It grew louder, heavier, angrier, until it sounded right behind his bristling pelt. "Oh, we got company!" one of the Volbeat yelped in dismay. "Aboard! I don't wanna lose my tail just to torment a vulpix kit!" The others were hovering slowly away until they all bolted, clearly scared out of their wits. Mounting terror trickled through his pelt, what had scared them so much?
Slowly he turned, and then jumped back. "Pokémon are always disturbing our nests!" a raspy voice snarled from amongst the fluttering group. "Why can't they leave us alone?" another Beedrill griped with the rest of its hive. Scrappy turned and ran, his paws flying across the soft forest soil like kites struggling to take flight. "Just leave me alone!" he yelped behind him, but it was no use. He felt the hot tingle of being pursued well up in his belly. The mixed effects of the confusion status and the previous chase were wearing him down, yet the agility of the beedrills only drove them faster.
With dread, he realized he couldn't outrun them. Instead, he whipped in almost an L turn into a hollowed out log. He braced himself for the collision, but he was knocked around anyway when the beedrills bashed into the tender wood. He felt mostly safe within the middle of the haven, but the two large holes exposing him to the wide open world felt like portals to his doom. He prayed the beedrills wouldn't think of shooting their stingers through the open sides of the hollowed trunk- bug types were never known to be too smart in tactics unless they had a trainer to guide them.
"Get out of here and fight!" one of them snarled. Scrappy pressed his belly fur against the tree bark and closed his eyes tight. He was a fire type; surely he could take on a bunch of bug types no sweat? Not this many…. "Hey!" he called from within his trunk; "if you're all here, who's protecting your nest?" he tried to make his voice sound mocking, even though it trembled in fear. "I did it; I lured all of you away from your nest! Now my friends can raid your home and steal all your precious honey!" He thought desperately for anything to lead these poisonous beedrills away. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind kicking a Weedle or two while they're in there."
"My kids!" one of them yelped in fear. "Calm down, Sweda, our kids aren't useless," another calmed her down. Yes! They've totally bought it! Scrappy emerged timidly from the trunk and felt a rush of satisfaction when he laid eyes on several nervous beedrills. "He's bluffing!" one of them warned. Shoot! "Go ahead; I dare you to stick around here. I've done my part, I was an excellent diversion, don't you think?" He forced a mocking chuckle and smirked at the beedrills. While the lot of bug types panicked and discussed a plan, Scrappy started to slither away. If he hid himself well enough before the beedrills noticed, then he might escape!
"Wait, that stupid vulpix is trying to run for it!" one of them called to its comrades. Horror pierced through him. "I just want to go unharmed! I didn't mean to hit your nest, okay?" he begged. The beedrill darted around him just like the Volbeat so that he couldn't escape. "So it was a lie? You weren't the diversion were you?" Scrappy tucked his tears down and huddled into a small ball of fur. He'd really done it now!
He was preparing to feel a flurry of stings when a yowl split the air. He and the beedrill looked up to see a snarling Ninetails glaring down on them. Her nine tails were unfurled and stuck out above her so that she looked three times her size. Her eyes glittered with hostility and her teeth were bared in a menacing snarl.
"Kyoka!" Scrappy gasped out her name. She didn't even look at him; instead she kept her eyes trained on the Beedrills. To his satisfaction, the Beedrills looked slightly daunted, but they seemed to be protecting their pride now and stood their ground. "Is this thing yours?" one of them grunted warily.
"Yes, that 'thing' happens to be mine," she snarled. "I suggest you treat it with respect. That is, if you value your lives!" The beedrills returned her glare, and then wordlessly darted toward into combat. A yowl of anger erupted from Kyoka, but that was all she could do before she was engulfed in black and yellow stripes.
"Kyoka!" Scrappy repeated himself, but this time with shock and horror coating his bark. A glittering light shown through the mass of quavering bodies, along with the scent of burnt pollen. "Turn your tail!" Kyoka grunted through the flames of Ember on her tongue, but the mass of Beedrills hunted her down once more and jabbed her with painful poisonous stings. He stood, watching, for just a moment, before obeying and turning tail deeper into the woods.
"Are you hurt?" Kyoka asked tenderly. Kyoka had won the battle almost effortlessly, although there was no way to avoid getting stung. Scrappy shivered when he thought of the deadly purple poison running through his friend, pulsing up and through her heart and then spreading across her body with the suck and push of her heart beat. He shook his head as a reply. To his surprise, she bent down and lapped her tongue across his scruff. "That's good," she grunted with the pain of her stings. He winced whenever he looked at her injuries- red and swollen to the size of a foot ball. They were hot with coming infection, and made her turn a little blush from the fever that was setting in. He wanted to supply his shoulder to support her limp, but he knew he was too small. "Are you okay?" he whimpered after a while. She nodded, although she grunted whenever her tender foot touched the ground. He knew she had run into a Ninetails trap only the day before, so the stings probably weren't helping her.
He had regretted not staying by her side, but Aurora told him to go find food in the forest. He ended up missing everything, or so that's how he felt. Finally they limped their way to the edge of the forest where the ground gave way to rock and dust. Aurora was cleaning her pelt when the two emerged. "Hello," she mumbled a greeting. Her eyes betrayed no surprise or worry- it was as if she didn't even notice Kyoka's condition. Then again, Scrappy thought to himself, she's a psychic type. Maybe she already knew it was going to happen.
Kyoka toppled over and lay on her side, obviously out of breath. Aurora stared at her old friend's body, as if poised to strike. He looked at her in surprise, why did she look so threatening? As if she could just end her friend's life now, and get it over with? She seemed to change her mind though, whatever she was thinking, and sat down in a relaxed position. "Shall I fetch a Pecha berry?" she questioned tightly. Kyoka was more relaxed, as if she didn't notice the fire in Aurora's mew.
"Yes, thank you," she gasped in relief. Aurora continued to stare at her for a few more moments, then gave a curt nod and started trekking into the forest. Ever since yesterday, Aurora has been acting like a completely different Pokémon…. Scrappy thought worriedly. He noticed how she would tense whenever he stepped on a crunchy leaf, or how she constantly seemed to be suspicious of everyone and everything as if she were waiting for an Entei to pounce her at any moment.
Oh, my friend, what has happened to you? He yearned to beg her for answers, but he knew Aurora had always kept to herself. If she didn't feel like saying anything, than she would take it to her grave if she had too. He shook his head and looked back at Kyoka, who was panting vigorously. Guilt swam through him- this was all his fault!
"Are you okay, Kyoka?" he murmured after a while. She looked at him with dull weak eyes, and then continued to stare out into the forest where Aurora had disappeared. He wondered if she didn't feel like answering, or if she didn't have the energy to do so. He whimpered a sigh of guilt and wiggled between her forepaws, so that he was pressed warmly into her thick blonde mane.
She almost seemed to purr, and closed her eyes so that she could focus her senses on the moment. Something strong within her stirred, and Scrappy could hear her heart accelerate when he was so close to her chest. He tried to find the words he wanted to ask on his tongue, but they were tucked neatly within his throat. Instead, he kept quiet and listened to the loud gush of her heart beat. It felt familiar, almost like a lullaby.
He soaked in the lovely sound and tucked his nose into her fur. He scented something unfamiliar, warm and nourishing within her. He could almost taste it in his mouth, sweet and thick and warm. Why could he smell mother's milk inside her? Was she expecting? He didn't remember her telling anyone that she was going to have kits?
No, this was stronger, almost sour with age. He sensed it pulsing inside her, becoming overwhelming and painful. She had milk, but no kits to give it too. But why? He pressed his nose harder into her fur, trying hard to find clues to answer his own questions. She almost smelt familiar, even more familiar than he had grown to know her for. Then his heart quickened, even faster than a nincada flapping its wings. The scent was familiar, because it smelt like him. It smelt like him, but it was a tad different, but distinctly him all the same. He could smell his mother in her fur.
He bristled his coat and stepped out of her warm embrace, his eyes wide and blurred. "You… you know my mother!" he gasped to her. She lifted her head, a surprised look on her face, and then looked off into the forest. "You knew all this time! Why didn't you say something?" He backed off toward the safety of the gnarled bushes as if he was confronting a legendary single pawed. He suddenly felt a sense of claustrophobia, like he was a wild animal being backed into a corner.
"Yes, I knew her," she sighed after a while. Her voice was calm, maybe even a little annoyed, somehow he wanted it to be as hysteric as he was feeling. How could she hold information to something so close to him, why was she keeping secrets? His mind buzzed when he thought about Aurora, slicking around and constantly shooting long disturbed glares out into the forest, or even at him. As if she couldn't trust him, as if he was her enemy rising from the shadows and getting ready to gulp her down in one swallow. Why was everyone holding secrets he couldn't know?
"What do you mean 'knew'?" he demanded uneasily. His voice shook as if he were talking in the middle of an earthquake taking place under his paws. She gazed out into the forest as if her mind had gone blank. He looked down at his paws, thinking hard about what he already knew. Then it hit him, like a freight train colliding straight into him and shattering all his bones into tiny splinters. The scent was too correct- it was too similar to him, there was only an edge of difference.
"You're my mother, aren't you!" he gasped. She continued to look off into the forest, not moving a muscle. "Look at me!" he cried out, but she didn't change her gaze. "Are you my mom, or aren't you? Please speak to me!" he couldn't believe she was his mother, she was his friend! Or at least, she was. How could she hold her tongue all this time? She could have saved him, but she watched him suffer in that cage while she roamed free!
Finally, she lifted her gaze, and stared at him coldly. Her eyes glimmered with rage, with hatred, with repulsion. He slunk back under her intensity, but kept within her range. He had to find out the truth. "Is that what you really think?" she hissed after a cold moment. Her gaze shifted, and her voice was slow and stringy in a furtive manner. He nodded, trying hard to keep his eyes focused.
"What if I was your mother?" she gasped out in crippled cries. Tears ran down her cheeks and splashed into the ground in streams. He stared at her, baffled, and a little frightened. "Would you hate me? Would you run away from me because you knew I was a disgusting fraud?" she demanded. Her voice was injured and heavy. He scented waves of agony and loss fluttering away from her in unbearable waves. Her voice tightened into a sneer, and her pain stifled and faltered erratically. "No, I'm not your mother," she muttered with something awkward in her voice- was that regret? "I've lost all my pups, all of them. Why should I be spared with one? Just one to keep me happy, to make me feel like my life was worth living. I have tried so hard to bring life into this world, but my efforts have been blocked. You aren't my pup, if you were, you'd be dead." She spat out the last word with a tremble in her voice, as if it was almost too hard to say out loud.
He backed up, feeling frozen from the ice in her stare. She dropped her head down on the dirt again, and looked off into the forest. "Where is she?" Kyoka demanded. Her voice was natural again. "Is she looking for Pecha berries in Unova?" She grumbled and muttered something inaudible under her breath and then went still and quiet. Scrappy was still frozen solid, his muscles tensed and eyes wild.
He wasn't so sure if he should bring it up a second time, but he had to know the truth. The words felt like barbs in his throat that he had to get out, lest he be a coward for not trying harder. "You said you knew my mom," he croaked after a long pause. Kyoka grunted, which he took as a yes. "Where is she? What happened to her?" He stuttered.
She sighed, and to his surprise, her voice turned gentle and almost a little tender. "Your mother was my sister," she rumbled after a moment. Her voice seemed to teeter between woefulness and sternness. "She was pregnant at the time when a group of Eevee evolutions challenged us. We used to get along rightly- a few of us even had good friends in that group- can you guess who I was friends with? Anyway, apparently a bunch of scientists started taking them away to experiment on. Or you know, do who knows what on them. Because of that, the Eevee's wanted to push all the other Pokémon out of the forest so that they could hide."
She looked off into the distance, as if a bundle of bad memories were taking place right in front of her eyes. "They were giving us threats, but we fire types, we got some pride. We wanted to stay as a pack; we didn't want to be controlled. It was around early to mid spring, so a lot of our vixens were heavily pregnant. We decided to move them somewhere that wasn't in the open, so we were trying to move them further into the forest. Back then me and Kiko were just good friends- not mates. We were walking through the forest when we were ambushed." Her gaze was cold. "The Eevee's decided to attack our pregnant vixens. We weren't expecting anything more than a couple hostile Pokémon if anything, so we didn't bring the whole pack with us. We were horribly outnumbered and a lot of our group ended up seriously injured, even though they were heavy with pups. My sister, me and the rest were pushed out of the forest and had to try to stumble our way around the forest. It was… hard. My sister was badly wounded, and soon after the attack, started to go into labor."
She looked hard at him, as if trying to make certain she was getting the story right. "Then what happened?" Scrappy whispered. He felt he had to prompt her to get her to continue. Her eyes filled with loss, and at that, Scrappy knew exactly what had happened.
"She died during labor," her voice was hollow with grief. "But one of her pups was born. And it survived all this time. Guess who?"
Champ dipped his nose once he saw the familiar glint of russet fur. He fluttered down and landed solidly next to them, calling happy greetings, but he was taken aback almost instantly. His old friend was bursting with emotion, and his eyes seemed to be glazed with something cold and evil. Kyoka stared at him with the same expression- dull and filled with rotten poison. He saw she was injured and could even sense the thick sour stench of fever coming off of her.
"What's wrong?" he gasped for breath. Kyoka only looked away, so he switched his gaze to Scrappy. He was frozen and wide-eyed, like he was looking into the eyes of a monster. "Scrappy, listen to me," he soothed a little desperately. He bent down so that his icy blues connected with his sinopia eyes. "What's wrong?" he repeated. Scrappy blinked and cleared his vision again, although he looked none the less petrified. "My mother is dead," he uttered just above an inaudible whisper. "Kyoka saw it. I'm all alone." He recoiled a little, dazed with panic.
Scrappy shook his head and then stared hard at Kyoka, who refused to make eye contact. "Why didn't you say something? Why didn't you tell me my mother had died while giving birth! Why didn't you tell me my mom was your sister?" He gasped out the details so quick that it made Champ's head spin. A shuffle far off into the bushes made Champ even more uneasy, until Aurora stepped out with a Pecha berry in between her jaws.
She looked up at Champ curiously, then nodded and set the Pecha berry next to Kyoka. "Greetings, old friend," Aurora acknowledged him while Kyoka gulped down the Pecha berry like she hadn't eaten in weeks. He gave her a terse nod, although he was excited to see her again. He wanted to run off into a list of warm greetings and recalling of fun times, but the atmosphere was too hot to be friendly. "Well?" Scrappy demanded to Kyoka, who hadn't answered his question. "Because it was none of my business!" she snapped. After a few more gulps, she rose stiffly to her paws and nodded to Champ.
"So, wise guy, what are you going to do now?" Her voice was taut with expectation. He stiffened- he hadn't expected this. He expected warm greetings and cheers upon his arrival, he expected to find Scrappy's parents and watch their happy reunion. "I suppose I'll have to find a foster home for Scrappy," he mumbled. He felt winded; he wasn't even sure what to do next. "What?" Scrappy gasped beside him, "No! I want my mother; I don't want a foster family!" He tottered to Champ's side and pressed closely beside him. A wave of empathy washed over him for Scrappy- he didn't deserve this.
For a fleeting moment, he wondered if his own mother was even alive anymore. Would he have to live the rest of his life as a rogue? A lone Charizard without a herd would look threatening and scandalized. He had always been a social Pokémon; he didn't want to live alone if he could help it. "Maybe she's lying," he soothed him. He was acutely aware of Kyoka staring him down with burning hostile eyes.
Scrappy shook his head, "we would have found her by now. And her scent is exactly like my mothers, she has to be my aunt. It wouldn't make sense otherwise, it's too specific." His voice blubbered in a fit of sobs. "I have no family to turn to!" he yowled into the air, much higher than his usual soft-spoken voice. Champ wrapped his tail around him and brushed his rough tongue across his head. "I'm not letting you do this alone," his reply was firm.
He bent down so that only Scrappy could hear him. "If you want I can be your family." Scrappy didn't seem to acknowledge the suggestion. Aurora poked her nose between the two, close enough so that Champ could sense the urgency coming off of her fur in erratic waves. "I can take you in!" she chirped with enthusiasm, which surprised him. Since when did Aurora want to adopt Scrappy? It obviously surprised Scrappy too, who was staring at her with a mixture of suspicion and confusion. "Why should I trust you?" Scrappy grumbled.
Aurora tightened her gaze so that it dropped from jumpy excitement to almost a hostile threat. "What do you mean?" she snarled. Champ couldn't help but scent the overwhelming suspicion and horror coming off of her. "What do I mean?" Scrappy repeated, "What I mean is that you're always on edge, like you're being hunted. You avoid everyone at all costs and you haven't been yourself at all lately. What aren't you telling us?" There was a skin-crawling silence that followed. Scrappy held her gaze with a challenge glittering in his eyes, and Aurora didn't move a muscle. She was tense and seemed motivated, as if she was ready to pounce on him if there weren't other Pokémon around to question her motives.
Champ wanted to yelp for answers. What had gotten into his friends? "It doesn't matter," Scrappy muttered feebly. It was clear Aurora had no intention of actually giving answers. Instead her eyes challenged him to try. Kyoka, who had been sitting silently in the background, spoke up. "I don't see why it matters to me," she grunted with disinterest, "I've failed my kids. I don't need another." She rose to her paws, clearly ready to leave as soon as possible. Champ wondered if her heart was hurting or if she really was just bored. Aurora followed, although her cold glare didn't leave Scrappy until the last possible second.
"I have to go too," she mewed softly. She didn't even give a reason before slicking out of view, back from where she first entered. Kyoka prepared to follow her out, but Scrappy ran and blocked her exit. "Wait!" he gasped out. He was panting, as if he couldn't get a decent breath. Kyoka glared at him, her gaze hot and determined to leave, although her mournful emotions sparkled like fireworks underneath her pelt. "I don't need an orphan to block my path!" she spat at him when he didn't budge. Champ flinched with shock; he's been an orphan for a few minutes! Did she have no heart? But Scrappy didn't seem to notice her cold words.
"I want to go with you," he huffed. Kyoka didn't even blink, as if she didn't believe him. "You'll be regretting that in a jiff," she scoffed. Scrappy shook his head and became erect with seriousness. "You're the closest relative I have, so it only makes sense," he urged on, "plus you're a Ninetails. You'll know what to teach me." His eyes glittered as if he were ready to beg. He turned his head to Champ, who had been a silent spectator for far too long. "Champ, you're always saying fire types should never be too soft," he asked for confirmation. It was true, Champ often felt like he was too nice for a Charizard. The others probably thought so too, maybe he should be more assertive?
Scrappy carried on without his reply. "I'm about as soft as they get, but you Kyoka, you're tough. You don't back down, you can teach me how to be great." Kyoka kept her eyes narrowed the whole time as if she couldn't see clearly, but then she opened them wide. "No, I do back down," she growled. Her voice was tart and grave. "My kids are dead, remember?"
"My mother's dead," Scrappy replied almost casually, "but I haven't backed down yet." By now Kyoka was baring her teeth, "if you're so smart then what do you have to learn from me?" she shot back. He just shrugged, "everything else, I guess." Kyoka grumbled with his stubbornness, but her walls were beginning to come down. Her eyes melted to dull blank disks, and it became clear she didn't want to talk about it anymore. "I have nothing to offer," she whimpered grimly. "I'll never be a good mother. You don't want me-" Scrappy cut her off, "yes I do. If you think you can't be a good mother, then I'll prove you wrong, because I'll make you so proud that you'll half to think you've done right. Please, allow yourself be happy."
Kyoka looked almost too stunned to move. She stared down at her feet, at the surrounding peaks of the mountains, at the forest trees, at the sky. She never quite caught Scrappy's questioning eyes, even though she seemed to cast her gaze anywhere else. "What do you say?" Scrappy was finally forced to urge her on. She shook her head, as if to shake the pressure out of her mind. "Okay," she answered hesitantly. It sounded to Champ like she wasn't quite sure about her decision. "I'll do it."
"It's almost spring," Nala purred after a short silence. Silver was almost worried about the coming spring. On the other hand, he thought about the fresh-smelling spring buds and stunted tree sprouts that would be exposing their tender stems to the world. The Pokémon would be running well- fat and healthy. A fresh wave of potential Pokémon trainers would be wondering through the forest looking for partners- he imagined a young expressive boy scampering through the leaf mush like a teddiursa coming out of its cave for the first time. Maybe the new life would be a good sign unlike the lifeless cold of winter?
Even though past events chilled up his spine and made him wary for the future, he couldn't help but feel better while running next to his new mate. Their pelts were brushing- they had never separated ever since they had confirmed themselves as mates- and he didn't plan on changing the current direction in his life. The sun was hot and hammering, and the wind whipped around his paws with splashes of dry dehydrated air currents. After several sprints, he started panting. "I must have ice type genes because I think I'm almost going to miss the cold weather. It cooled me down, now I'm just going to get hot a lot quicker."
Although he admired the cool crunch of dried grass whenever he took a hard step, he longed to feel the slippery coarse sand grains between his toes. "How much longer until we get to the beach?" he asked with lack of breath. Nala opened her jaws so that the wind rushed through her sensitive glands and picked up the scents along with it. "Salt water taste, up ahead!" she chanted. Silver nodded and pushed harder with his paws, nearly doubling his speed. At last the beach stretched into view, and with it, the sparkling ocean.
"We're here," she mewed in a voice made raspy with purrs. "Just think, after we're through with this than that's it. We've done all we've wanted to accomplish." Her warm devotion made the event all the more gratifying. "Then our lives really begin. Our new lives, everything we once knew is going to be left in the dust. It's going to be our personal adventure. Nothing will get in our way!" Although he forced a purr from his dried throat, he couldn't help but let his mind wander back to Nisa. Of course he had done this before- Nala was the only changed variable. He shook the thoughts off his pelt and for the first time since they became mates, parted from her and trotted ahead onto the heat of the sand. That was before, this is now.
"I remember a famous trench under water just off the coast of this beach," he mused, "but how are we going to get over there?" He took a few tentative baby steps toward the lapping waves only to spring backward with a hiss of annoyance when the soggy waves licked his toes. To his surprise, Nala just giggled. "If you think I'm going to suddenly learn Surf…" she grumbled, although her voice was good-natured. With a quick leap, she jumped straight over the unwelcoming waters only to form a Protect attack under her paws. He only scoffed at her satisfaction. "I see you've found every possible way to use that Protect of yours to your full advantage," he observed. "Naturally," Nala curtsied.
He had to admit, she was always resourceful. Quickly he followed, landing neatly on the smooth surface of the Protect attack with the orb resting in between them. "And now where's our propeller?" he questioned her. She suddenly looked perplexed, which made him worried. Surely she had some sort of plan besides the waves? "Me. I guess I have to get wet," she sighed in defeat. He opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but was forced to close it and back away when she flopped half her body in the soaking water. Her front paws were fixed firmly on her Protect attack shield, and a white light coursed through her fur despite the heavy ocean water. Suddenly she bashed her feet against the water with strong kicks, pushing the shield against the pull of the waves.
"What's that?" He asked against the puff of the wind. She was gaining speed as she got closer in even though the waves got bigger and more threatening. "Aerial Ace," she gasped out, "only recently learned. I had Rest before, but it wasn't doing me much good, so I learned Aerial Ace instead. I bet you didn't notice I've only used three of my moves so far-" she started the tease only to end up with a mouthful of salt water for her efforts. She started choking on the water and nearly released her grip on the shield. "You okay?" he called over the slursh of the water. "I think I swallowed a Tentacool," she sputtered for a reply. He nodded, taking that as a yes, and turned his gaze toward the ocean straight ahead. He could feel the energy of the wave currents under his paws growing stronger, which made him nervous. "What are you going to do if we hit a wave?" he yowled at her. She dodged a hurdle of salt water that almost lapped over her head. "If you can stay on the Protect shield, then we'll be fine. I've taken the full brunt of a Whirlpool attack before and never lost an inch of my footing!"
Silver nodded and forced his muscles to relax more, but he secretly doubted their chances. He imagined a giant wave, at least ten times bigger than he was, hunched over in a prepared malicious pounce before giving in to its own weight and toppling over the two Meowths with slamming ruthless force. He shuddered the daydream off his pelt and focused on his current problems. "How far away is the current?" Nala called for his focus. He turned to check, and was surprised how far they were from the beach already. "Almost there," he called back, "Just a few more kicks and-" a sudden massive wave nearly knocked him off the shield. The water gushed over Nala's head, but this time she was prepared and held her breath against it. An eerie shadow hovered below them, making the waves topple irregularly over each other.
He froze, instinctively letting his claws out of his paws only for them to clink against the glassy shield. The unnamed Pokémon was huge and glimmered red under the waves. "W-what was that?" Nala gasped, her pelt shivering. "Was it a school of Sharpedo? Should I get out of the water?" Inwardly he wished she was right- at least they would stand half a chance against an angry school of Sharpedo. But the red markings were entirely too distinctive. "No, it's Kyogre," he muttered with dripping dread. Nala's eyes shot wide with stark memories of the old beast. "What, here? It could swallow us whole!"
Another gush of water made her blink against the salty drops. He scrambled for answers, but the urgency of the dilemma and the expectancy from his mate's eyes made him entirely too nervous to think. "Climb on top of here again!" he instructed rashly. As she slipped in, he stared coldly at the last orb. How were they going to do this now? "Do you suppose Kyogre has the good sense to leave us to it?" she gasped after a moment. A rushing sensation under his paws made him tense for an attack. "It didn't have the sense to stay away from the orb, so I guess not!"
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the ocean seemed to explode underneath him. He clutched in vain at the floating shield, but it was like clawing for a grip on smooth cut glass. "This thing is mad!" Nala gasped out before her head dipped underneath the water. "Nala!" he called in anguish, but the Kyogre cut him off. It slammed within a few inches of the shield, sending a wave that nearly sent the protect attack flipping into a 360 degree angle. Against all odds, the shield completed itself by forming into a complete circle around him. He flipped onto the bottom of the shield while a gush of wave fell over the shield.
He recognized a beige fur coat a little farther off. Her movements seemed strained and weary. "Grab the final orb and jump off the shield! If I get too far away from it, it's going to crumble!" she called across the swirling foam. He hesitated in his anxiety, but quickly grabbed the box between his teeth and leapt from the defensive shield. The water instantly clung to his pelt, and the jerk of the box nearly whipped the air out of his pressured lungs. The box rose with the trapped air inside it and popped out into the open.
"Look out!" a gasped warning bubbled over the laps of the waves, but he never had time to react. The water gurgled with rising energy for just a moment before a slap of a large fin flushed its contents toward him. He clawed almost randomly at the box and thanked Arceus when his claw snagged on the lock. He was thrown from the orb, but the precious loot fell out of its jail and into the water. He was preparing to dive when a Protect attack developed under his toes.
Good, Nala's close by! He thought with short-lived relief. He ignored the gesture and dived back into the water a moment later, almost forgetting to hold his breath in the lost time. The orb was sinking so quickly that by now it only looked half its size. The trench looked huge, and he didn't even want to imagine how deep the thing was. It was shrouded in blackness as well as mystery, with the lips of its mouth bending toward the abyss. It would only take the slightest nudge for millions of grains of sand, only a swimming distance to the sun right now, to plummet a thousand miles to the bottom of the trench.
He looked around underwater, and spotted his enemy- Kyogre. Its body looked much bigger under the illusion of the waters, but its eyes harbored the same scorching lemon intensity. "Why must all challenge me?" its voice sounded shaky under the water. Realizing he couldn't reply under water, and that the quicker he got a fresh breath the better, he started swimming for the surface.
Nala met him once he popped his head above the water surface. "Why isn't it using proper moves?" he asked as soon as he drew in fresh breath. Nala narrowed her eyes, looking feeble yet determined. "It did, it's used Sheer Cold twice now. But both of them failed, thankfully." Her voice was slathered with disgust. Sheer Cold, Silver remembered, was a move that instantly knocks out the Pokémon no matter what. The problem was it had an extremely thin chance of hitting. It's trying to kill us! He thought grimly.
"Why is it doing this? We're trying to help it! We helped it back at Team Aqua," she added. Silver really didn't know the answer to that question at all. "Maybe it's enraged," he offered vacantly. It was hollow though- the Kyogre showed no clear signs of enragement. Nala paused, and then looked to the beach. "The orb?" she questioned. "The trench," he answered briskly. She nodded and then started paddling toward the beach. "Then we've done what we set out to do. Let's get to land, it can't use close range attacks from there."
He nodded and swam after her. It sounded crazy to run back to shore when a legendary Pokémon was getting ready to do who knows what to a very important orb concerning possibly the entire region. He kicked hard at the icy waters, feeling stupider with every push. But then again, it was the only sensible thing to do.
Both set their paws and looked off into the ocean with a glint of apprehension in their eyes. "It didn't attack a third time," she mused aloud. Silver kept quiet and only stared out at the calm waves- but he also questioned its motives. It had plenty of time to attack several times at sea, why did it only use what was direly necessary? After a long painful silence that must have only been a few seconds, the tow began to grow almost hysterical. "Where is it? Did it attack us for kicks?" she growled at the rolling waters.
A thump shuddered behind them, making them both turn their backs like whips. "Now what's this?" Silver yowled into the air for mercy, but its derision froze cold when he got a look of Nala's face. Her eyes were wild, her fur standing on end and her tail was unfurled and erect. "W-what is it?" he mumbled with increasing uncertainty. Had they gotten themselves into a job they couldn't handle?
"Just worst case scenario," she muttered hotly. She turned to him with a sudden onset of emotions sparking from her pelt. Her love felt warm and comforting, but he was far from being relaxed. "Team Rocket, Team Aqua, Team Magma and Groudon. All stomping over here like mad." She gave a lash of her tail, "we've bitten off more than me can chew."
The Groudon was first to erupt into view. Team Magma and Team Aqua were on its tail, with Team Rocket a few leaps behind. He flinched when Giovanni's cold stare seared into his pelt with driven curiosity. He didn't dare hold the stare, although the knowledge that he was still staring at him nearly forced him to look again. Both Team Aqua and Team Magma plunged into the lake like it was the last thing they would ever do, but Team Rocket stayed within a distance. "Come out and face me!" Groudon growled toward the soggy waves, distracting him. A short quiet scraped across the lake for only a few agonizing moments before Kyogre rose once more. It fixed its burning yellow glare onto Groudon, who returned the threat in Kyogre's eyes with its own stare.
He noticed the Kyogre's jaws were slightly parted, and he flinched upon realizing what it was holding. "It's the orb!" one of the Team Aqua grunts screamed for all the world to hear, as if it wasn't plainly obvious. Groudon blinked, obviously stunned, to see the loot in between its jaws. "Have you lost your mind, brother?" it called across the ocean with a surprisingly formal voice. "You have just destroyed yourself by exposing that orb to these ruthless dictators!" It slashed its tail with disgust so that nearly shattered a boulder to pieces. "You are a coward if you are seeking to find trainers in these people to do your own dirty work. You must face me with your own skills, I will take no less!"
Silver looked over at the teams and expected to see angry indignant faces among the crowds until he realized none of them could understand the conversation. They were just waiting, perhaps a little stupidly, although their power came with numbers. He could see their eagerness in the coming battle by their watchful eyes that glistened on the two legendaries like a starving hawk getting ready to plant its sharp talons into its prey.
"You're scared of these buffoons?" Kyogre answered with mocking scorn weaving in-between its words. "And you say I'm the coward! No, that isn't why I've seeked my orb," it added hastily. "We've squabbled too long, my brother, we are destroying the world we've battled to create in the first place. These orbs, meant to stop our destruction, have only illed our grace." It gritted its teeth around the delicate structure, scratching its smooth surface.
"Destroy me if you must, I have outlived my desire to quarrel." It brought its sharp teeth down forcefully, so that the orb crushed between its jaws. Instantly there was erupting turmoil from Team Aqua. The destruction of the orb clearly affected the Kyogre. It withered and convulsed for a few more moments. It gave a terse nod to Groudon before its eyes rolled back, and it rolled over with its belly to the sun beams. Energy pulsed from the shattered orb, but it quickly dispersed and floated up like a newborn ghost.
The beach fell to deafening silence. Soon after its belly flip, the Kyogre slowly sunk under the lapping waves and disappeared into the abyss of the trench. "Do you think….?" Silver whispered after the last of its snow-dusted belly was covered with the claws of darkness. Nala shook her head, although she almost looked uncertain herself. "No, it's just knocked out. It'll be weak for a while, but its home now. It's up to Groudon to decide whether he wants to pursue it. Hopefully since it's already underwater, there will be so pursuit. But Groudon is no coward. He will bravely drop into that trench, if he feels he must."
Gazing at Groudon, he figured that probably wouldn't happen. It looked swept off its feet, and to his surprise, overtaken with respect for its fallen enemy. It vowed after a moment of quiet shock. "There is no victory in a battle like this," it muttered under its breath. It nodded either to itself or Kyogre, or maybe anyone who was looking. "Until the next time we meet," it vowed quietly before turning and making a wild sprint back to the volcanoes. Its thundering steps felt like several earthquakes under his paws, and within minutes, both legendaries had disappeared from sight.
All that was left was the clutter of grunts from each team. They all looked defeated, maybe a little more than that. It was as if their life goal had been destroyed. For some of them, it probably had been. "This has been proven anti-climatic," Giovanni of Team Rocket called from his perch. Both teams looked at him a little wearily. "Look what you have become," he continued. "Another nuisance! After this display, I have decided you all must be removed. For the good of Team Rocket, that is." An eruption of startled screeches of disapproval rose from the crowd.
"Silence!" Giovanni called over the grunts, as if he had authority over them. "You are left with nowhere to go from here. You're dream has been crushed. Tell me, then, what you are leaving behind if your teams broke up?" The surrounding grunts looked perplexed, but they were clearly indignant over Giovanni being the one to state it out loud.
Another voice rose from within the center of the grunts. "No need," Arthur, the leader of Team Aqua, called in response. His voice was icy, and his body posture and words expressed emotions of great defeat. "Team Aqua is left with no head quarters. We are basically bankrupt, and the Kyogre orb has been lost forever." His grief was so intense that Silver could feel it all the way from where he was standing. "There was no way we could go on, even without your petty threat! I hope you all have tasted our grief, unless your arrogance has clouded any sense of morality. In which case, good day sir!" He ended his last words, and then wordlessly, called out a Pidgeot and hopped on its back.
"Wait! Our leader, surely…?" one of the Team Aqua grunts, Shelly, trailed off. His only reply was a curt nod before instructed a Fly attack. As gasps erupted from the destroyed team, the leader was already nothing but a speck in the sky. Giovanni looked satisfied beyond measure. "And you?" he taunted Team Magma. They were all staring at their boss with wide-eyed shocked expressions. He closed his eyes, seemingly thinking it through. "it is not my place to decide," he called from his place. Murmuring rippled through the crowd until he spoke sense again. "Team Magma has not lost our orb. Our headquarters is untouched, and our Pokémon are well-trained. We are strong." The crowd around him half-whispered their cries of glee. They seemed uncertain if they were supposed to support their leader or not. "However," he continued once the muttering died down. He paused, taking a deep breath and didn't move. It seemed he was savoring something before it was gone for good. "I find no faith in my team anymore…" he went on. His grunts looked at him with disturbed hurt faces. "
"I see no use in pursuing a legendary that does not wish to be captured. I have long forgotten my desire to be needed in this team." He looked at his shoes, and then looked back up with something bran new shining in his eyes. "I withdraw my position as a leader." This time there were no more gasps from the grunts, as if they only expected bad news anymore. He could feel the power of Nala's grief like a punch in the face next to him. When he looked at her, she was shivering with tears glistening in her eyes. "Wipe those tears," he comforted her by pressing his muzzle deeply into her pelt. "He has done what he thinks is right." Nala didn't look convinced. "He treasured the team more than he did the breath in his body. I don't care what everyone else sees, he's hurting far more than what he's showing. He must feel so lonely…."
Giovanni didn't look pleased quite yet. "And you, grunts? Surely you don't believe you can continue a team without a leader? Remember, I have much more powerful Pokémon than you. You can leave now with the shirts on your backs, or face my full wrath." His voice lacked sympathy. "You are a sadistic man, sir Giovanni!" one of the grunts thrusted the petty insult at him, but he only looked more amused. Eventually the grunts decided who would stay and who would leave, and upon seeing so many leave, many more left until it was only a small handful. The remaining faithful team looked torn, until finally every single one chose to leave the team.
"Right then," Giovanni grunted with satisfaction. He looked at the crowd, a disturbing smirk on his face. "Let today tell the tale how Team Rocket first began its reign of treachery. Next, Kanto and Hoenn will be mine. And then after that, well, our pillars will be built on every tip of every continent. Vow before me now, for Team Rocket will never fall!"
Misiku stared at her leader with formidable-inspired awe. He seemed so confident, and his grunts seemed to think so too. After his declaration for worldwide success, he simply held his pose for a moment longer before whipping around and walking out of view from the other two teams. "All of you, back to the base," he grumbled to the team. "I will be staying behind for a little while longer." His grunts looked perplexed, but they wouldn't dare argue with such a powerful leader. They all eventually turned and stalked away. Giovanni waited for the last rustled leaf to steady before traveling in a different direction. He was headed toward a place she had never visited before, but she felt too loyal to Giovanni by now to trust his decision. She had wanted to look for her father again- she knew she wouldn't rest until she could finally end things between them- but she couldn't just leave Giovanni to stumble through the forest alone. Especially with two hostile disbanded teams lurking only a matter of feet away. Honestly, what was he thinking?
She found herself falling within a few trots of him, but he didn't seem to notice. The sweet-smelling pines soon gave way to arching aspens, dazzling her with their dappled golden leaves, but Giovanni didn't seem to notice them either. Eventually he stopped and sat on a large smooth boulder. He seemed thoughtful, if not a little choked up. He had that same glassy enchanted stare that told her he was remembering something. Perhaps this place reminded him of a past event, or maybe it had some sort of hidden symbolism?
She followed his eyes out into the aspen trees. The sunlight that soaked into their painted leaves made them drowsy until the warm breeze aroused them into a dance. A sense of longing strangled her just when she thought her soul was at peace. It made her paws tremble and her heart rate quicken, it was like a terrible tyrant. Was she to always feel this way? Why was this fire always haunting her?
"Persian," Giovanni mumbled half under his breath. Misiku perked her ears when her name was spoken- she had been given her generic name. It was common for trainers, but she still had hoped she'd been given a nickname like Silver had gotten. "You're Silver's kitten aren't you?" he asked rather feebly. His voice sounded cold and distant. He turned his icy gaze from the trees and fixed it into her crimson eyes. There was expectancy in them, so she nodded as a reply.
His icy gold glare melted a bit, but it was still hard and determined. "I hadn't really expected to be right," he admitted. "I guessed it back when our old headquarters collapsed. He was determined to save you, so I was curious why." He twiddled with his thumbs, as if he was trying hard to swallow the truth. "I feel like my past haunts me." Misiku released a faint growl in her throat at this comment. You and me both, my friend, she thought dryly.
Giovanni shook his head and looked down at his shoes. Misiku wondered why he looked so miserable. He seemed to be trying to figure something out, but it was hard for him to even consider in the first place. "I wonder what he said to me. He looked mad at me, like he was trying to talk sense," he ventured on. Misiku felt anger rise inside her. Was this not the same man who had pointed a gun straight at Silver? He had been cold to him to the point of abuse, and she admired that they both shared a common hatred. Why was he suddenly being soft on him? Surely he of all people would understand her misgivings!
He stood with crackling determination. "How could I not see this before?" he questioned. He was facing the forest, like he was asking his past self the question instead of her. Maybe he wasn't talking to her; maybe he was just using her as an excuse to talk to himself instead? "Silver is truly the only connection I have to what I've always missed." At this point, Misiku wanted to yowl at him to stop. He was the only one who she felt understood her.
"After that old Meowth of mine, I'm truly alone," he continued. A dark nostalgia clouded his eyes, and what she believed to be awful memories seemed to taint his vision. For the first time, she saw his eyes glitter with tears. She felt bitter reassurance in those tears, and she remembered why she felt close to him. It's a sad day, perhaps the saddest day in your life, when you realize loneliness is your best friend. You've survived that day before, too, haven't you?
"He's…. my last connection to Christie." He clenched his fists, and she sensed old regrets awakening inside him. She had long sensed the pain that nested deep inside him. She was ashamed to say it was that very sense of longing, just like hers, that had attracted her to him in the first place. She wanted to believe he shared that feeling of loss as well, even if she had to will it to be true. It was one thing to feel slightly lonesome, but to actually walk a lonely road was close to maddening. Ever since they had partnered, curiosity gripped her over what ailed him so much. Upon learning about his relationship with Silver, she had always set the blame to him. Still though, he seemed to have a much richer past racked with so many smaller yet significant details that she may never understand.
He leaned in close to her, making her always inch back. His mahogany eyes piercing and expressive to the point where she almost felt hypnotized. "I lied," he whispered to her, "I want to quit Team Rocket." His smirk only made her want to turn and throw up. Her heart felt like it was ready to burst out of her chest- had he forgotten all his dreams? He had spent half his life building this team; surely he couldn't just throw that away?
"But you can't!" she mewed aloud. "After that great speech to the other teams, your grunts respect you! They trust you to lead them, who do you think you are?" She was fully aware he couldn't understand Persian speech, so she shook her head vigorously in an ill-attempt to get him to acknowledge her opinion if only slightly. He frowned at her negative tone, like he felt betrayed by her answer. "I had hoped you would understand and accept my choice," he grunted after a while.
"No matter!" He smiled to himself, making her feel indignant with his ignoring. She was right; she probably was just a detail in the background to him. "You should be happy. I'm going to go get Silver, and then we'll be on our way. We'll build a house somewhere isolated in the forest- maybe I'll send an anonymous letter to Team Rocket that I fell off a cliff or something, and now I'm totally worthless to the team. We'll be totally alone, but it'll be great. It'll be my old friend, and you, and me. We'll be a family again…." His words feathered into happy daydream. "This life I'm living has no peace."
She only stared at him, but inside she wanted to throw herself at him and shake sense into his head. That sounds awful! She screamed in her head, but you don't know that because you think me and my dad are good buddies. "Right then, that's settled," he sighed with relief. He stood, huffed a massive breath and then turned back toward the new headquarters. "Persian, I suppose you know where he is?" he asked rather casually. The expectancy in his voice made her sick. I've been driving myself crazy trying to figure that out!
Her silence seemed to clue him in on the answer. "It doesn't matter anyway because you can track him," his reassured her. He stopped walking and knelt down to her side. "You're a Pokémon, you can talk to him. Tell him how sorry I am, tell him… I regret everything. We'll meet, say, that rock I was sitting on back there, okay? Around midnight or so would be good." There was pure sincerity in his voice, and emotions seemed to jump like excitable frogs inside him. She wondered how he actually felt, because he seemed to have more power in his determination than ever. She knew this decision meant a lot to him, almost like it was necessary for some sort of closure. Even though she admired him, she also hated him for that genuine regret. Why did he have to suddenly decide to turn his life around?
Upon focusing her eyes on him again, she realized she had been thinking too long. "Well?" he pressed with some annoyance. "Go and find him, you know where to meet me." Without waiting for her reply, he whipped around and started walking back to base. She felt her stomach go queasy- he wasn't her first choice, in fact he never was. If Silver came between them, she would pick her anger with Silver over Giovanni. She had never really thought that would ever become the case though.
She had to give herself a push before turning back to where she came from. It would hurt him, but Giovanni wasn't her ambition. She was going to kill Silver even if he expected her to bring him back with good intentions. Actually, he would even die thinking Giovanni hated him more than ever.
Misiku trekked back down to the beach. To her surprise, it had been completely abandoned. Then again, she wouldn't want to hang around there too long herself if Team Rocket had broken up. She slicked down an outcrop of jutting smooth rock and stalked across the land so that her belly fur brushed the sand below her. She ran a wide circle around the beach until she spotted the scent again- she knew he had been there. It smelt familiar, like her own scent, but also a tad different.
To her disgust, it also mingled with Nala's. She resented that dishonorable she-meowth more than anything, but she wasn't her target. Silver's scent held faintly to the sand, and became even less clear on the rock. She was thankful when the two Meowths had apparently changed direction and skirted over the dry sandy areas of the land. The scent became stronger, heavier, and even betrayed the cling of emotions. It was sour with apprehension and felt tangy and sharp, like he was scared of something or expected difficulty to come. She paused and looked around; maybe he had picked up on her scent? Did he know she was tracking him down?
Even so, she kept her nose to the ground and continued. There was no way he could have sensed her- the wind was blowing to her advantage. Their trail curved again, almost awkwardly, toward the forest and stopped at the very edge of it. Then she halted, her paws stopping dead. She could hear their voices just a few leaps ahead of her, behind the cover of some straggly bushes.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nala was meowing. Her voice portrayed concern and even a little guilt, but her pelt smelled of excitement and eagerness. "When I chose to be your mate, I chose to let my past go," Silver replied shortly. He paused a moment, then added "did you get the proper TM?"
Misiku shook the chill that rooted her paws to the soil out of her and slipped behind a few flower-baring shrubs. What were they planning to do? "Of course," Nala replied with a friendly smirk. She gripped the branches of a nearby bush with her teeth and exposed a flat shiny disk under its tangled tendrils. Silver seemed to loom over it, his eyes glittering. Yet he still seemed hesitant, and quickly shied away from the powerful equipment. "You remember the plan, don't you?" he asked. His voice shook, and Misiku knew he was feeling a storm of apprehension in his belly. "Of course, I'm not stupid," she snapped at him, but it was an affectionate sort of teasing.
Misiku narrowed her eyes to try and read the shiny metal. It was shaped like a movie disk and shined a metallic silver color, and just on top was a little scrap of paper glued on to it with the number 90 inscribed across it. That's substitute, she reminded herself briskly, it creates a copy of yourself. But why does he need that? "Okay, I'm sure now. Let's just get this over with," Silver grumbled. Nala nodded and placed both her paws on the metal piece, almost quivering with excitement. Misiku could remember when the boss had recently given her a TM. She admired the feel of energy beneath her paws, how the attack seemed to absorb into her muscles and give her a pulse of stretch right at the tip of her claws.
Nala seemed to feel the same way, but she looked much calmer as the TM glowed at her touch. It absorbed into her, gave her empowerment, but she merely shook the last twinkles of light off her pelt when it had done its job. At first she couldn't help being impressed, but she blocked it out of her mind. She must have done it before- what else could explain all those TM moves she knew? She thought more about this Nala character- what moves did she know? Shadow ball, Water Pulse, Protect and now Substitute. She didn't even know any moves that a Meowth could learn naturally!
Old anger gathered at the tips of her claws. Everything about this new mate of his is fake! A hiss rose in her throat until it tore out of her mouth like a battle-hungry lion. She hadn't intended to let her anger get the best of her, but surely it was cowardly hiding behind that old bush anyway. She felt a tingle of satisfaction when both Meowths whipped around with utter shock and horror on their faces. She fixed her fire-red gaze onto Silver's icy-blue eyes, and took strength from what drove her forward all this time.
"Finally, we meet again," she went on. Oddly enough, she bowed her head to him. She remembered Giovanni's words, and gritted her teeth to hold them back. He must not have meant it, she reasoned to herself. She knew he had been feeling particularly down recently- he just needed time to heal old wounds.
"Misiku," Silver spat out the name like poison. She fixed her fire-hot crimson glare onto his icy-blue eyes. He looked more than prepared to dig his claws into her, which slightly stunned her. Whatever happened to his pity party, where he was always acting like the victim? It didn't matter anymore.
"You know, I never wanted this," Silver mumbled unexpectedly. She was surprised to hear raw remorse in his voice. "You brought this on yourself," she hissed back. She felt her fur rising and the heat of a coming battle sizzling the ends of her coat. "Like I've always said, you're going to wish I was never born!"
Silver calmly held her stare. No one moved, not even the leaves seemed to rustle with the wind. After a long pause, he gave her a terse nod. "Ah, but you're too late, that has already come true." He narrowed his eyes, and stuck his tail up in a smug manner. Hurt sloshed into her heart like a violent river breaking through a previously blocked path. She cringed a little, but then extended her claws. She looked back at him with malice. "Then let your end begin!" she yowled with blistering hatred before springing off her paws and tackling him to the ground. He yowled and tried to shake her off, but the anger inside her gave her strength.
She extended her claws into his pelt, and felt a wave of satisfaction when her eyes filled with red. "Get off him!" Nala screeched, something like a distant echo in Misiku's mind, but Silver's reply was loud and clear. "The plan," he wheezed back at her. She looked temporarily dazzled, then shook the fear from her mind and threw herself into the battle. Misiku turned to her, snarled and then side stepped away from her outstretched claws. To her surprise, Nala kept moving forward and threw herself underneath her. She kicked out with all four of her paws, unbalancing her while also raking dangerous stinging claws across her sensitive belly. Snarling at the trick, Misiku dropped her paws from under her so that her weight dropped on top of the scrambling she-meowth.
Quickly she leapt out of the way before Nala could spit out a Water Pulse attack, which coincidently lead her to also avoid Silver's attempt at a surprise attack. He dropped neatly on his paws, but then whipped around and bared his canines at her. She looked at Nala who was still regaining her composure, but Silver's hot stare was daring her to try. She lashed her tail and opened her jaws for a Screech attack, which nicked Silver's pelt by the width of a magikarp scale, and then launched a Pay Day attack. He side-stepped out of range and honed in on his attacker, teeth bared and claws unsheathed with Nala taking the other side.
She hissed with indignation when both Meowths cornered her to one spot- a two on one battle wasn't honorable! She locked her fiery snake-like pupils on Nala, who was glaring her through slitted eyes. "You won't quit protecting Staraku, will you?" she questioned, but it was rhetorical. Before the she-meowth had chance to respond, Misiku rounded on her. Spooked, Nala tried to run out of range but Misiku had the element of surprise and bit down hard on her pink-dipped tail.
Her heart pounding, fur bristling, Misiku realized she had to take the most advantage out of the blow and crunched her teeth as hard as she could until she could feel the curve of bone underneath her stretched pink pelt. Nala released a screech and whipped around fast enough to become a blur in the corner of her eye.
She hurdled herself back just out of the snap of her teeth, but felt the sting of another set of jaws into her shoulder. She hissed and twisted so that her shoulder bashed into the ground. She felt hot fur crush into the soil below, but Silver didn't let go in the slightest. If that's how you want it! She thought with growing exhaustion. She turned and spotted a large boulder, and then chased as fast as she could toward it. She aimed her injured shoulder toward the rock and pretended to ram herself into it. Silver, predictably, let go just in time to avoid being sandwiched between. Instead of colliding into the rock, she threw her paws onto the cold stone and used it as a spring board to get back into the fight.
She caught Silver nodding to Nala, and in an instant she saw a ghost jump out of her. She had to blink a few times before realizing it was Substitute. The second image looked exactly like her, right down to the shiny Pokémon features. The little details wavered and shifted into place, until the imagine first took on depth and then weight. While she was distracted, Silver leapt back at her. She turned and reached up to rake claws across his muzzle, but he was already on top of her. She was much bigger than him, being evolved as she was, but the force of his tackle made her fall ungracefully in a flurry of paws.
Silver seemed to loom over her for a moment before planting fangs into her throat. The sting felt hot as if it had instantly gotten infected, but then the pain died down to numbness. Grudgingly, she remembered Kiko had done the same thing. She lay on her side, panting for breath, with three Meowth's hurdling toward her. Nala's substitute attack held her left paws down while the real Nala held down the right, and Silver just stared at her. She knew exactly what the plan was- Silver was just going to finish her off.
"You can't kill me, we're kin!" She growled at him. She did realize the irony in her plea, but what right did he have to kill her when it was him who deserved it? "Really? If you've ever shown me any kinship, I must have blinked and missed it," Silver muttered. His voice was icy dry- it was clear he has had enough of her. "How could you do this to me? You're the evil one, not me! Are you blind to your own sins?" She insisted. She couldn't believe he had gone all this time without noticing all the things she had been screaming to him.
He blinked at her, almost innocently. "I've only done what I thought was right," he sighed. Misiku wanted to yowl 'you've done nothing of the sort!' but she knew no one would listen to her. "No, you don't know how lonely it is to feel as if you have no family. It's the most lethal type of poison. So many times a day I wanted to cut my stomach open and watch the poison spill out of me- drain out like the blood from my veins. It makes life unbearable; I just wanted someone to accept me who wasn't evil like you are!" She screeched. Did no one understand how she really felt? It was like a yowl of memories was always waiting on her tongue, but she always had to bite it back. Everyone seemed immune to that, how could no one hear her silent screaming?
"If you think you're the only one who feels that way, than you're the blind one, not me," he went on calmly. "I've always felt distant from you; you're not the Meowth everyone thinks you are. When you killed my mother-" Misiku started, but Silver cut her off. "I never killed your mother. You're addicted to what drives your pride," he shot. She felt desperation seething under her pelt. In fact, she felt close to hysteria.
"There was never a worse Pokémon than you in all the years of this world!" She yowled into the air. It was a cold and hollow yowl- it was a cheap shot at its best. But Silver seemed to take that statement worse than anything she's said to date. "I know," he whimpered hoarsely. He bowed his head, almost subdued, and seemed to blink away the aftertaste. That's what he truly thinks… she thought to herself.
She shook it out of her head. This was it; she wasn't going to wait for him anymore. If this was as low as he was going to get, then she had to end it now. "I'm not going to wait anymore," she meowed aloud. "I could chase you for a hundred years, but you'll never understand what you did. You'll just be happy, with your new disgusting mate over there, but I'll always be miserable." She looked up at Nala who, to her satisfaction, looked utterly guilty. But there was a light of determination in her eyes.
"I'll have to end this now, for good," she went on. A pulse of energy shuttered through her- like she had just swallowed a hysteric bucking bronco. She threw out her claws and kicked them out so that both Nala and her Substitute were thrown off. Silver looked bewildered, but somehow he still remained confident. Mad with grief, she lunged herself at him. In an instant, he bolted. "Coward!" she yowled after him, but he was long gone.
Nala had managed to disappear as well, but their scents were spiked with fear and adrenaline. She shook the possibility of losing their trail out of her head and ran with the scent marks. They were frazzled and zigzagged, but they were so full of fear that they were nearly impossible to miss. She ran into a clearing and spotted both Meowths rushing through the trees. She let out a screech and ran with all the energy she could possibly push out of her muscles. Soon she was so close that she could almost taste his stricken scent. Wordlessly she struck out a clawed paw, and while he stuttered, she stabbed her over paw into his shoulders. He used her weight to her advantage and pushed him down so that the shortness of breath in him made him squeak.
She was scarcely aware of Nala's scornful glare burning into her pelt. She turned and bared her teeth at her- a sign to stay back. "Don't get any closer," she hissed hardly audible through her glinting teeth. Nala narrowed her eyes to slits, and her paws seemed to only hover over the ground like they were about to plant claws into her enemy's pelt.
Misiku mostly ignored her and turned back to her prey under her claws. Silver glared defiantly at her, but a spark of fear clouded his crystal blue eyes. "So, do you want to die now?" she hissed down at his form. She didn't wait for him to answer. Making sure she had a good grip on him, she bent over and plucked a good-sized pebble from the ground.
"Swallow this pebble," she growled between grinding the rock with her front fangs. We looked at the pebbles around her feet, and then stared back at him. "I'll make you swallow every pebble in these woods until you've choked. I want you dead." Nala was staring coldly at her, obviously more than stunned. "Is a quick death delivered by your own claws too easy to you?" she challenged her. She was suddenly aware of the exploding anger and horror coming from the she-Meowth's fur coat. "No! I want him to do it himself!" she growled back at her.
She looked a little struck, but she quickly regained her composure. "He won't do that," she growled sickeningly, "and I won't let you make him." Misiku held her stare, icy determination teetering between each paw, until Silver finally spoke up. "I want to speak to my daughter alone," he mewed. His voice sounded bone-tired. Nala looked a little hurt as his rejection, and then fixed her glance on Misiku with cold distrust. "Are you sure you can handle her?" she asked hesitantly. He flicked his ears, his gaze serious. Misiku wondered if he was just sick of being hunted all the time.
"No, of course not," he meowed evenly. "Now please give me some privacy?" he added incase his point wasn't made clear. Nala took a few injured steps back, and then nodded. Like the last flicker of a forest fire, she was gone. Although her movements were untamed and lame. Misiku blinked away the confusion, and forced her claws deeper into his pelt. "You're not going to change my mind," she meowed sternly.
Silver looked far off into the trees for his reply. She was almost swayed to look and see if he was watching anything in particular, but she didn't want to break her focus. "Why not?" he whispered. The pain in his eyes almost made her flinch away if her paws weren't rooted into his fur. For a fleeting moment, she almost pitied him. She wasn't sure what to do when he looked so choked up. "Because I've been waiting ever since I was a little kitten for someone to come and tell me everything was going to be okay… I've been trying to scream out for someone to help me." Suddenly her paws felt weighed down. She had always felt racked with grief for one thing or another throughout her life. It always felt unfair- everything always felt misplaced.
It had always pained her; it made her steps heavy and her heart cold. Because of that, she had always searched wildly for someone to accept her. For someone to tell her it was okay. She gritted her teeth tight as she reflected- why do Pokémon who scream silently always expect someone to listen?
"Ah," Silver meowed, breaking her thoughts, "but no one ever comes, do they?" She flinched a little- that was exactly it. "No, I've learned how this world works. We're taught to believe that each other are supposed to be helpful. That we care for one another, that we help our fallen and protect the broken. But now I know you could stagger and limp across a dark space, and you could yowl and cry for help and panic and beg for some sort of light in that darkness. But no one will ever help you up. They just walk past your broken body because they have their own problems, or maybe because think it's funny. I don't know…"
Silver's eyes glittered with true sorrow. "I understand," he murmured. Suddenly the world around her seemed to feel diluted. "No," she replied dizzily. She closed her eyes tight and furled her toes until she almost thought his words would burn through her heart. Finally, she managed to grab back the last scrap of her composure. One by one, she gathered up a pile of pebbles until it formed a small mound. Silver stared at it quizzically while still being held down, but his gaze changed to regretful understanding. "If I die, you'll lose the last Pokémon who ever cared about you," he sighed. He seemed to understand that she didn't believe him- he only seemed to have mentioned it because he wanted the rest of the world, including himself, to know.
"I don't care," she growled, "now open your mouth." He seemed hesitant, and she could feel him trembling under her paws. Then he nodded. "I'll do what you want, but it'll be your choice to give me the pebbles," he answered evenly. He followed by opening his jaws. The pain in both of them glittered brighter than all the stars that shined in the sky- it felt difficult to digest. Quickly before he would change his mind, she gathered the pile of pebbles and dropped them in his mouth.
The sun bathed the land with golden shine. The leaves shivered against the sharp wind until it whimpered away into moist warm breeze. The beams of light dappled Misiku's pelt and touched her skin underneath the beige fur. Staraku lay still, on his side, his paws tucked in and eyes closed. Warmth still clung to his pelt, like a child not wanting to leave its mother on its first day of kindergarten, but it only lingered. The body was awkwardly flat and his pelt came in ripples across the muscle. She knew he was dead- she had done what she set to do. Quickly before Sueku could return, she grasped her father's scruff in her teeth and carried away the body. It went limp as she half-dragged his huge form across the sand, but some of the muscles didn't relax as well. His paws and back legs were still bunched and slightly tensed as if the muscles were hooked that way.
She decided to carry the body farther into the forest next to a huge boulder. She placed him on the ground and began digging a burial. The sun was hot and burned at her thick-furred pelt, making her sweat, but she was happy the sun was there anyway. The sun is out; does that mean Arceus approves of me? She stiffened as new reassurance and energy trickled down her limbs- cold and sticky. The cold energy was so overwhelming that she had to plant her claws into the stony earth in order to stop herself from leaping into a sprint across the forest. Staraku was the first of a long list, she decided after a moment. The world is filled with evil. Those who grind on the wounded and sneer at those who have suffered. She lifted her broad head toward the beams of sunlight. A straying Pidgey flew across the sun causing a miniature eclipse to envelope the tanned land. It squawked with blissful birdsong, completely unaware of any predators before as it sailed the wind currents.
What's in a life if you couldn't use it to protect others? There must be others like me, who have seen the pain of the world we live in. She stopped her digging and placed Silver into the hole before kicking the dirt back over his fur coat, dirtying his pelt. I must cleanse the world of evil. That was what I was born to do. I must find those who harm, and destroy them. The moment I stop is the moment after my last breath, she silently vowed to herself.
After she had kicked all the grit and sand back over the carved area, she flattened the edges so that the Earth looked untouched. The patch of Earth still smelt awkward with death, so she went to gather thorny brush from the forest. She was planning to put the pointy plants around the area so no other Pokémon would dig it back up, but a familiar scent startled her into amnesia. She forgot all about Silver as a prickle of terror shot through her.
Tearing through the forest, she stopped cold as soon as the metal scent of blood hit her tongue. A body lay on the ground, spread awkwardly across the forest floor. She recognized the sour taste of bullet- he had been shot. "No, my trainer!" she yelped, but the words froze to ice in her throat. She pelted to his side, acutely aware of the thick forest around her. Who could be so heartless to have done this to him?
"Giovanni!" she yelped again, looking for any sort of sign that he was still alive. Her heart slithered from her chest and burnt to a crisp inside her. Suddenly her paws felt too numb to keep her weight. She fell to the ground, quavering with the realization. "Please come back, tell me you'll be okay," she whimpered softly, her eyes misting until the forest bled into itself with the blur of her tears.
Fear shot through her when a shady figure stepped out of the brush. It was a Team Magma grunt, but he seemed less than normal. His eyes were wild, his sides heaving, his face paler than sugar dust. He held the gun in his hand so hard between his fingers that it shook. Then he dropped to his knees and stared wildly into space- apparently dead to the world.
Misiku couldn't bare to look at him. Instead she turned her gaze back to Giovanni. The world was warm with sunshine, but she felt numbed with winter frost. "I'm sorry," she breathed into his thick coat, "I failed you." She had to suppress a wordless wail of agony. The magma grunt suddenly stirred next to her. "I killed him," he breathed to himself. He looked wicked like he was possessed by a demon. "I killed him," he repeated more forcefully.
He dropped the pistol to the ground and thumped his hands onto the soil. "I've done what I came to do," he breathed. Misiku knew he certainly wasn't talking to her. He was vowing to himself, he did it for his own sanity. "I only took this job to feed my children," he gasped out. His voice was shaking to the point where it was only scarcely coherent. "We're poor. I couldn't feed them; this was the only way out. And you," he switched his gaze on her fallen trainer. "You took that from me. Now my family and I will never make it. I shall repay you with your own life." He continued to stare at Giovanni, his eyes hot with undisguised fury. Then he got shakily back to his feet and charged into the depths of the forest. Misiku flinched when the grunt nearly collided into a tree. She wondered if that man even knew who he was anymore.
"Persian," a voice breathed. Her face shot up, her heart thrumming like a nincada's wings. It was Giovanni- he was still alive! "Giovanni!" she yelped, her paws numb with relief. "I… I couldn't go on without you! You need to save me; I'll be lost here without you." She tried to nudge him up, but she was painfully aware of the denial that overwhelmed her. He was losing blood fast, and his eyes were dulled with weakness.
"Persian," he repeated faintly. She looked at him, trembling. Then she charged into him and buried her face into his chest. "Don't leave me!" she sobbed, "please don't leave me." Giovanni lifted one hand feebly, and patted her head. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm afraid this is it…" he brushed his hand across her head softly, sweetly. "But you can't!" she wailed, her words ending in a gasp. "I need you; you're all I have left now!"
Giovanni stared at her blankly. "I'm sorry," he repeated, "I'm so sorry." Pain glittered in his eyes, and Misiku understood. He took his hand off her hand and reached for his pistol. He lifted it and pointed it toward her. She stared down the barrel, alarm coursing through her, but the tears blurred her vision and grief gripped her common sense. Finally she bowed, letting the tears flood endlessly. "I see," she whimpered hoarsely. She looked up at him, her eyes bright with understanding. This is what was meant to be. "This is how it's going to be!" she screeched into the air. "Then I'll swallow it with grace! I won't let me paws scuff the ground as I walk." She looked at Giovanni, his face expressionless. "If you want me to join you," she vowed, "then I will. I'll walk by your side, my sir, always."
Giovanni stared at her, and then nodded. Then he pulled the trigger
A pair of clumsy feet crunching through the thick leaves made Nala turn her gaze. An oddish was sniffing at the fresh buds struggling for survival on the forest floor. It took a tiny nibble of the stunted shoots, and then spat out the half-eaten sprouts and trampled the new growth as it went on. Its pump purple-hued body made it look tantalizing, but Nala didn't try to catch it as prey. Grass types taste like petal dust and stale lemon zest! She carried on in her hunt and finally sniffed out a pidgey. It was scraping at the ground next to a bundle of beech roots. It seemed dead to the rest of the world and only focused on its sharp claws piercing the soil. Nala instantly dropped low to the ground, ducking behind the leaf foliage. She slicked back her ears and twisted her bright pink tail under her belly- the bright colors might give her position away.
She slunk forward with feather-light paws making as much noise as a cottonee tickling the leaves of an old ash tree as it galloped the winds. As she bunched her muscles to leap, she guessed the pidgey was probably looking for buried nuts and fruit under the soil. Now that spring was coming, the ground was finally soft enough to be useful. The nutrient-rich soil seemed peppered with stunted tree sprouts all over the forest, and hibernating Pokémon were at last out of their burrows and busy digging out their food storages to refill their bellies after such a long winter. Flying-type Pokémon song lit up the skies with sounds and the calls of Pokémon looking for mates howled through the trees. Before she made the killing jump, she tested the weight in her belly to make sure she wouldn't injure herself in her leap. Her belly felt heavy and unnatural, but it still gave her a glittery warm feeling even if it was a slight nuisance. I can't wait until this kitten is born! Silver and I will make the best parents in this whole forest- that's what we promised each other.
She shook the thoughts out of her mind and leapt. The pidgey squawked in surprise and thrashed its panicked wings so that brown-dipped feathers fluttered in all directions. She held its panicked wings down and gave it a killing nip to its throat, fast and clean, so that the kill was quick and painless. After she was finished, she fastened her jaws around the birds limp body and started for a trot back to where Silver wanted to be alone with Misiku. She figured Silver would be hungry, so she had went to catch a pidgy for him. She dropped the pidgy so that her sense of smell wasn't blocked by the pidgy scent, and drank in her surroundings. Upon finding only stale scent, she trotted into the open space. The place was empty, with only a small pile of pebbles left behind to signal that someone had been here at all.
She sniffed around the area, briefly wondering where they had gone, and then shrugged. Picking up the pidgy again, she trotted in a different direction deeper into the woods. In this area the prickly weeds and gnarled thorny branches buffeted her progress. She wriggled through the nasty vines and recoiled instinctively back when a herd of thorns managed to rake a clump of fur off her pelt. She growled at it and twisted herself around, dodging spiky thorns as if she were dancing around egg shells. Finally she managed to squeeze herself through a tight bundle of thorny brush and stopped to lick a tangle of clinging burrs off her fur.
A sleek pelt slithered from under the shade of a smooth boulder. It was dangling a vine from its jaws. "Did you have to choose this path?" she sighed while nibbling a particularly stubborn burr from her shoulder. "I think I left half my pelt on a bramble back there!" The Pokémon blinked at her, and then dropped the vine from its jaws. For the first time, she realized it wasn't in fact a vine, but a bellsprout. "You said hide somewhere where they'd never sniff me out. I complied," he commented. Nala finished smoothing her ruffled fur and then gave it a shake while the Pokémon trotted forward. It brushed its muzzle against her cheek, and then gave her ear a gentle lick.
She purred and returned the gesture, "I was so afraid this wouldn't work out," she admitted. "But it did," he murmured in her ear, "and now we have a kitten of our own and a new life to live." Nala followed his gaze to her slightly weighed stomach. Pokémon didn't have a lot of room for being so fragile, so kittens were born and grew quickly. "It should be born in about two weeks," she observed. Silver nodded and brushed his tail down her spine as a final loving gesture before trotting back to his bellsprout and disappearing under a jutting rock. She flicked her ears up, curious, and then followed him. She realized there was a small hole just under the shade of the rock, which explained his sudden disappearance. "Come on!" he called, "don't worry, I checked. It's abandoned."
She shrugged, trusting his judgment, and followed until they reemerged from under the Earth back into the forest. The area smelled odd here- different and unexplored. "This is the very reaches of the forest," he mewed with excitement. He settled down next to the hole and ran his paws across the bellsprout he was carrying, and Nala joined him close enough so that their pelts brushed. Suddenly she became alarmingly aware of a distinct lack of pidgy between her jaws.
"My pidgy!" she yelped with more annoyance than dismay, checking behind her as if she expected to find her prey right in front of her muzzle. Silver stared at her quizzically, "have you lost your mind?" But she shook her head and then sat down, flustered, with her chin on his paws. "I caught you a pidgy because I thought you might be hungry, but apparently it disappeared because it certainly isn't here!" Silver choked back a purr and pressed his muzzle into her scruff. "It probably got caught on one of the brambles when you were getting here, and you didn't notice." She rolled her eyes, feeling hot with embarrassment. That was the most logical guess.
He continued to press his muzzle into her warm fur, and then laid his head on her neck. She whispered a purr and wrapped her furled tail around his. "That was a good idea, the whole substitute thing I mean," she ventured after a while. He didn't respond, but she sensed his pride wafting off his fur. "Making it off like you were killed by making a substitute version of you and letting her destroy it for herself? I'm so lucky to have a brilliant mate," she blabbed on when he didn't speak. She savored the sense of slight embarrassment mixed with maxed pride and joy in him. He loved her praise, so maybe she should keep giving it to him. "It was all you," he meowed, "I just had to run off and hide. You're the one who made the substitute- I didn't know you could do that for other Pokémon than yourself! I'm so proud of you."
She felt butterflies flapping delicate powdery wings against her stomach walls, soft and encouragingly. "It was hard…" she admitted, "but the really hard part was keeping the substitute going after it had been killed! I thought I was going to lose my mind." He snorted a chuckle and lifted his head again. "I caught this bellsprout…" he noted. She rolled her eyes, "yeah, I noticed. You weren't supposed to be hunting; you were supposed to be hiding!" He flicked his tail indignantly. "As if she would wonder through those thorns for no good reason. Besides, it stuck its head in the hole and scared me half to death. I was only out of the hole for a second!"
She stared down at the scrawny Pokémon, and shrugged it off. "Why would you want it anyway? Its body is a vine! It'll taste like uncooked pasta, and its head is a flower. Ick," she added the sound effect to continue her point. His answer was to lift one of its huge glossy leaves, like elegant wings stretched out from a mighty Moltres, and place it in front of her. "Lick the leaves," he advised. When she stared at him oddly, he explained further. "When I was little, my mom used to bring me bellsprout leaves as a treat every now and then. It's good, trust me!"
She continued to feel a little put off, but bent down to try it anyway. To her surprise, the leaves tasted incredibly sweet. She licked her licks, and Silver nodded with satisfaction. "Sweet to the touch of your tongue, isn't it?" She nodded, "tastes like honey," she observed. The leaves felt glossy and smooth on her tongue, and despite the dusty tang of pollen on the leaves, they were the sweetest treat she had ever tasted. "Apparently, bellsprout produce a wax over their leaves to keep them from ripping during a battle. The wax also produces a type of sugar, which attracts their prey and helps them learn to make their Sweet Scent attack strong and powerful. It's a delicacy in some regions to fry bellsprout leaves in dry caramelized sugar, water, syrup, and frozen fruit!"
Nala stared at him, impressed. "How'd you know all that?" she questioned him, a hint of amusement in her voice. He shrugged, "I don't really remember. I'm probably making it up," he joked. They both went back to their treats, bringing a small pause of silence between them. She lifted her head again to start up the small talk. Actually, this had been bugging her for a while, but not enough to provoke her to question him. Now seemed like a good time to do so.
"Why did you want the Silver Substitute to ask all those things? Why didn't we kill the substitute, and then let her stumble upon it. It would have worked just as well." Silver had instructed her to let Misiku kill his double herself, with her own paws. He looked up from his leaf, a glitter of sadness in his eyes. "She wanted to kill me herself," he mumbled after a while, "she would have been disappointed if she couldn't do it with her own claws." He stopped a while, looking at his paws and making her regret ever asking him. He was clearly uncomfortable while talking about Misiku.
"Besides," he ventured on, "I wanted to give her a second chance. If she wanted to decide a different path, I didn't want to rob her of that choice." He rose to his paws and walked coldly away from her. She followed a few feet behind him, leaving the abandoned bellsprout alone. If they were going to waste it, some other Pokémon would gladly eat it for them.
"But it doesn't matter anymore," he went on. Warm energy went through him, and Nala couldn't help but smile. "She'll be happy with Giovanni. I'll be happy with you- everything has closure. In fact, it never happened." He turned back to her, warmness lighting his gaze. She shuddered a little when he traced his muzzle across the slight rise of her flank, and then looked back into her eyes. "Misiku was never my kitten. I've never had a first child, not until this one is born, and I'll love him or her like a parent experiencing parenthood for the first time."
She blinked at him with affection. He was willing to give up everything for her, and he trusted her to sort out his woes from before. He trusted her enough to have a life with her, and that was all she ever wanted. "I believe you," she whispered with love.
Champ mumbled a growl and placed the roar of the fire on the tip of his tail closer to his ears. The flickering sound of flame tried hard to block out all other sounds, but unfortunately it was no use. "I thought the thaw would never come!" A bellossom was griping. It bent down to smooth the long green and yellow leaves around its abdomen. "I thought my beautiful flowers were going to wilt!" Another grass type, a sunflora, was nodding as it spoke. "Fortunately the sun is out now. My little sunkerns are overjoyed! I nearly lost my youngest to a wily ice type over the winter. I can't say I feel bad for it when the sun drives it back to the snowy mountain tops again." The two annoying grass types wondered right in front of him- narrowly avoiding stepping on his snout- but remaining oblivious all the same. Finally Champ had had enough.
"Would you be quiet!" he growled, "There's enough bird type chattering like frightened starly without you two making it louder!" The two grass types faced him, clearly ready to give him some sort of scolding for interrupting, when their faces froze. "A charizard!" the bellossom yelped. "A fire type!" the sunflora followed. He rolled his eyes as the two did little more than panic. "Run!" They both screeched in unison before charging into the forest undergrowth faster than the beat of a nincada's wings. Their warnings of a fire type carried through the forest like a siren, sending the flap of pidgy wings hurdling for the sky with a streak of fear scent left in their wake. He momentarily felt bad for scaring them, but he shook it off. Their loud wails droned into silence and the flap of wary wings quickly quieted down- once again the forest was silent. "Finally," he mumbled under his breath.
It had been about a week since Kyoka adopted Scrappy, and even longer since Champ had left Silver and Nala to continue their journey on their own. Since then, so much had happened. It quickly became apparent to Champ how fast news spread in the forest. News of Team Magma and Team Aqua's separation had spread through the forest like wildfire, and the death of Giovanni and the shock of his team hit him like a freight train. Ever since Kyoka had taken Scrappy in, he seemed to have changed a lot. But in a good way, he reflected. He wasn't so timid anymore- he had grown much more since then to almost an unbelievable level. In fact, he was showing signs of wisdom and authority that he had never seen in him before. Obviously Kyoka was a good teacher.
"She trains me hard," Scrappy had told him just that morning, "but it teaches me to be great. She says loyalty, bravery and honor is the recipe to a true fire-type. She says male Ninetails should always keep their backs straight, heads high, chest out and tail puffed to double their size. Ears should always be erect and pointed straight- it tells other Pokémon that we are great and that we should be respected." Champ had soaked all this in like an inhaling gulpin. It was nearly his time to find his family, but the goodbyes would be harsh.
Today, he had decided, was his last day with his friends. A rustle in the long grass spooked him. "Greetings," a low rumble sounded within the grass. Scrappy emerged. He was much bigger than he remembered back when they were imprisoned in Team Magma's headquarters- Champ couldn't believe he was the same Scrappy. Champ nodded tersely and looked off into the distance, muttering a "hello" in return. Scrappy paused, and then sat next to him. They sat in silence for a moment, and Champ guessed Scrappy was savoring the moment too. The wind whispered past the ivory blossoms, making their tender pedals flail with the powerful draft. The warm spring breeze bathed his tongue, bringing the sharp grassy flavors of new growth with it.
Beside him, Scrappy inhaled a deep breath and blew it out in a sigh. "A lot has happened," he observed quietly. Champ knew what he meant, although he wondered if he was thinking of anything specifically. "I guess it had to end at some point," he joked. Throughout their whole journey, Champ had thought of the events as misfortunate and vile. He had looked forward to the nearest escape- anything to get him away from those awful memories that he tried so hard to be cheerful over. Though now that it really had ended, he felt somewhat hollow. It felt odd to have begun the journey a Charmander, young and clueless, only to emerge as a charizard, ready and strong. Although maybe he hadn't quite dropped his clueless nature. He still knew next to nothing of his past, and his only memories seemed to blur indecipherably, like a splash of oil over water. "Kyoka says I will be evolving any day now," Scrappy broke into his thoughts. "We've been training like the end of the world is near. She says it'll be easier to train me once I'm a Ninetails- my legs will be longer and my powers will be stronger."
Through the lonely goodbyes that veiled his heart, Champ made an effort to sound enthusiastic. "That's great news!" he chirped, but Scrappy just shrugged. "What's it like? To evolve I mean, does it hurt? Do you feel different? Does your mood change? I don't want to just suddenly not be me one day. I kind of like being a vulpix." Suddenly the old Scrappy slunk back in- a little hesitant and afraid, but he was much braver now. Champ knew he could do it easily, and his concerns made sense to him. "Every first-evolution feels nervous when they evolve," he reassured him. "It's common sense to be nervous, actually. You're changing your body; you might not even recognize yourself in the mirror. But your heart is true, and you're still going to be you no matter what you look like."
Scrappy nodded, but his gaze was unfocused and drifting somewhere off into the distance as if he was consumed in deep thought. Finally he stood to his paws with new determination. "Kyoka tells me that if you let fear consume you, then you had lost that battle. I don't want to lose that battle- that's the very worst battle to lose because it shatters your confidence, makes you feel inferior." He shook out his pelt and puffed out his tails, although his voice was still a little shaky. "If Kyoka knew I was getting my tails in a knot over this, she would box me for sure. I would look just like her- all battle-scarred and the works." Champ stifled a chuckle and folded his basking wings back into place. "Just as long as you don't get her temper," he added.
Suddenly, Scrappy's eyes blazed with mischief. "Just you wait! When I'm big and strong just like a fire-type, I'll have a mouth on me worse than a grumpy grimer. I'll make Kyoka look like a cuddly Pichu next to me- the feistiest thing in the forest I'll be!" The two broke in good-humored laughter. "Alright," Champ sighed. The reality of things was growing frighteningly near. "We'll make a pact. No matter where we go, no matter what seas we sail or land we hit with our paws, we'll never forget each other. We'll have to visit at least once a year, like a reunion. We'll talk about our progress as disciplined fire-types and how we shredded a rattata just the other day and all that." Scrappy gave him a warm-hearted smile, and nodded with approval. Suddenly, Scrappy started talking in sing-song style.
"Some of the ole' folks might be a little bit smarter than I am, bigger and stronger too, maybe. But none of them will ever love you the way I do, it's me and you boy." Champ jumped in a little too willingly. "And as the years go by, our friendship will never die!" They both sung in unison, "You go and see it's our destiny! You got a friend-"
"Isn't that enough love fest, ladies?" Kyoka stomped out, rolling her eyes, but Champ knew she was only joking. "Admit it, you were secretly singing along in your head. You only barged in to stop yourself from joining in the chorus!" Scrappy joked. "Next time, we'll bring some friends and sing it in 100 peace harmony. It'll be awesome," Champ laughed. "Don't challenge me, you know I will," Scrappy countered. "Okay, okay," Kyoka cut in. "Champ, you were going somewhere?" He huffed a sigh, suddenly feeling apprehensive. "Always faithfully blunt, aren't you Kyoka?" he murmured.
"Bye, Champ. Don't you come back until you can beat me in battle!" Scrappy called. Champ turned, nodded, and then took flight. "Bye Scrappy! Kyoka!" He called behind his back.
"You've got a friend in me; oh you've got a friend in me!" Champ was humming to himself gleefully. He had landed now, and was searching for anyone who knew any other charizards in the area. "Some of the folks might be a little bit smarter than I am. Bigger and stronger too-" "Boy I'll say!" a voice cut him off. He whipped around, startled. Silver shuffled out of the shrubs smirking like an electrified stunfisk. "Silver!" he gasped. He was so happy to see him! "You nearly scared me out of my hide!" Nala emerged after him. "We noticed," she snorted with a flick of her tail. Champ stared at her, and then at her rounded belly. "Oh no!" he gasped, taking a few dramatic steps back, "the end of the world is near! Nala has passed on her genes to the next generation- we're all doomed!"
Nala rolled her eyes, "ha ha," she meowed sarcastically, "that was so funny I forgot to laugh." Champ shot up, smirking like an idiot. "Actually you did laugh, misses 'ha ha.'" He studied her, eyes narrowed, barely keeping a blossoming smile from seizing his lips. "Or," he pondered quietly, "Maybe you're just fat?" to his surprise, Nala shrugged. "Guess we'll find out in about a week or so," she observed. Throughout all this, Silver just look embarrassed and uncomfortable.
"Have you thought of a name?" Champ wanted Silver to know he was happy for him, even if it was Nala who was carrying the kitten. "Not yet," he admitted feebly, "we're waiting on a gender. Anyway, we wanted to say hello to you and Scrappy before we left." Champ was aware how uncomfortable he sounded. "It's okay," he soothed, "I was actually just leaving. I said goodbye to the gang, and now I'm going to look for my parents again- or at least my family." He paused a minute. "You should say goodbye to Aurora and Kyoka too. Scrappy's parents…turned out to be dead. But Kyoka took him in," he added quickly.
Both Meowths looked a little stunned, but they quickly shook it off. "I… I wanted you to help us with something," Silver mumbled. Champ narrowed his eyes, perplexed. Was this why he was acting so guilty? What did he have to say? "I want you to tell Aurora, Kyoka and Kiko that we're dead," he meowed. Champ blinked at him. "W-why?" he stuttered.
Silver shouldered his way out of the brush, but only a little ways out. "Aurora and Kyoka had a vision that I would be sacrificed," he began. He fumbled with his paws, looking anywhere but into Champ's blue eyes. "I'm afraid it might still come true if we meet up again. So far their visions have never been wrong. Perhaps this was what they saw? And besides, I just want to start over with my life. I've lost everything since the day I was captured by team magma and… I just want to start fresh."
Champ couldn't find words at first. It all sounded a little selfish to him, but it made sense. After all that's happened, Champ couldn't decide if he would want to start over again or not if he was in Silver's position. The idea sounded appetizing though- just to forget everything that's happened. It dawned on him- Silver was only looking for closure. And he felt this was the best way to do that, how could Champ go against his wishes?
"Uhm, I don't want to hurt them when it isn't necessary," he admitted. Silver suddenly looked alarmed as if he were afraid Champ would turn tail and blab out the truth straight to their friends. "But," he carried on quickly, "if you ask me of that, I will. You're my friend- I'd do that for you if you really want. But are you sure you want to do this to them? They'll feel grief for you, they'll never see you again when you're still alive and happy."
Silver ducked down his ears, but he seemed to have thought it through already. Champ knew he couldn't change his mind. "I'm sure," he mewed softly, "if you aren't comfortable, you can just leave it. I don't want to ask you of something you don't want to do." Champ lashed his tail a bit. He didn't have much choice anymore- he had to do it! If he didn't, it would hang over his head for months. "No, I'll do it," he rumbled. He felt better when Silver gave him a look of pure relief. "Thanks," he gasped.
I'm STILL writing this story almost entirely for the sheer sake of avoiding having to end it. I've been writing this FOREVER! I'm going to be so sad to end it. But then, there's always such a thing as a sequel and the glorious time gifted by summer vacation shouldn't take too long to get back into the swing of things now that I'm totally trapped in it!
The Earth was bathed with a milky moonshine. She expected the watery rays to dapple her pelt, but the colors only shined straight through her as if she wasn't even there. But I'm not there, she reasoned with herself, is this place better or for worse? It felt odd whenever she looked at her reflection in the water and saw only a slight wisp of a Pokémon in return. She was never hungry and never slept at night, but somehow it felt natural now. There was another difference from her previous life- her own emotions seemed to have dulled. They still existed, but only faintly, like a memory ebbing in the back of her consciousness. However the emotions of other Pokémon- the ones with flesh and bones- had increased emotional pull. Their sadness, happiness and anger raked down her pelt and flashed like a lighthouse directly at her. Or perhaps they only looked sharper in comparison to hers?
Now that it had been about two weeks since her arrival in this new strange world, she had relaxed her nervous muscles. However the uneasiness never faded- not until she knew where she was. Again, she was all alone. None of the other wisps of Pokémon ever talked to her, but they acknowledged her presence with awkward stares and bristling pelts. The fleshed Pokémon didn't know she was there- they didn't even feel the chill she left in her wake if she ever tried to brush against them. She flopped down next to an old tree and breathed a desperate sigh. Even if she ran miles into the night, her paws never felt tired or weakened yet somehow she suddenly felt drained.
"Misiku," a voice breathed her name. She immediate perked her ears, her pelt standing on end. She tried desperately to feel fear, but fear seemed to only exist as an endangered species here. She could remember fear, but it felt different somehow in this world- unfamiliar and unrecognizable. The voice breathed her name again, but more urgently. She jolted to her paws and looked in all directions, but the voice had been nothing but a cool breeze through the swaying grass. It could have come from anywhere.
"Where are you? What do you want?" she gasped out, but there was no reply. Panic jumped into her pelt like heated popcorn kernels. Finally she had found someone who apparently knew her, or at least would talk to her. Who was this mysterious deity- had she lost her chance? Had it already slunk back into the mist of the forest?
No, it called for her again. "Find me, my angel. I've been waiting for you." This time the voice was fainter, like a dying breath. It sounded so irregular that it could have easily been misinterpreted as a thought instead of a sound, but it was too realistic and tantalizing. Misiku looked in all directions- what if she went in the wrong direction? She decided to just go forward- going one direction is better than staying still. She weaved around the forest trees, expecting the sound of crushed leaves under her paws but the fleshy forest remained untouched. A sound she recognized greeted her- but also made her sick to her stomach.
She slackened her pace, and then stopped entirely. She breathed in the air, but the scent was undeniable. She forced her paws onward, until she stepped straight through the undergrowth without disturbing a single pink blossom. It was Silver and Nala. But this was Kanto, not Johto where she had killed him? She narrowed her eyes, denial making a homey nest in her mind. Reason and reality seemed to hit her like a hammer. These Pokémon weren't ghostly wisps of smoke like the other dead Pokémon she had seen- they were fleshy and real.
"No!" she squeaked involuntarily, how could this be true? She galloped into the clearing and stared straight into Silver's eyes, expecting to see the same staleness and bleakness of the other ghostly Pokémon, but they were bright and clear. They were unfocused- or rather they weren't focused on her- and were staring at something else farther into the distance. Misiku turned and looked at Nala, and gaped her jaws. The she-meowth was pregnant!
"Hello, my sweet angel," a familiar voice whispered just behind her. Her heart leapt in her chest and she pivoted her paws, eyes wide open and claws falsely piercing the soil. "No need to be afraid," the mysterious Pokémon soothed her, "I hope you remember me, don't you?" Misiku blinked at her, and then sunk her claws back into her paws. She felt tears welling in her eyes, yet she knew her body was as dry as a desert sun. "Mom!" she squeaked, and rushed forward. Nisa purred loudly, and brushed her unfurled tail across her chest.
"Greetings, my wonderful daughter!" she meowed smoothly. Her voice sounded wise and loving, as if her ill-met death had taken the rasp from her mew. "I've missed you so much," Misiku murmured into her mother's cold pelt. She missed its warm touch, but her mother's minty sweet scent seemed to fill the gap.
"Not as much as I've missed you," she countered back with a delighted purr. Misiku parted from her mother, and stared into the fondness glittering in her eyes. "You know," her mother began. Her voice was suddenly serious, making Misiku stiffen. "Your father didn't kill me." Misiku blinked at her, and then bent her head low. "I know," she whispered softly, "but you shouldn't have died. It was pointless; I thought I'd never see you again. I don't even know if you're real now- for all I know, I'm living off of a cold memory that exist off the last wisps of my death. Silver should have done more to save you, and should have done more to honor your memory. He never fought back, he just gave up. It was cowardly." She looked up at the two- why were they still alive? Or were they? "I assure you I'm very much the same Meowth. Now you listen here…" she switched her gaze to the two living Meowths who remained completely oblivious to their chilly presence.
"You had no right to try and kill him. He really did love me, and I see that now. The only reason he prolonged becoming mates with Nala was because he didn't want to give up on me. I didn't want him to give up on me either but… that was selfish of me." Her eyes grew dark and clouded- obviously thinking of old memories. "But he's still alive!" Misiku yowled, "Isn't he?" Nisa didn't look directly at her, but nodded with casual disinterest. "I'll explain later," Nisa decided. "But right now, we have more important things to do. You think you're the only one who has suffered here, do you?" Nisa slowly began to walk off, away from Silver and Nala, which made her heart twist. She shook it off and followed her- she couldn't leave her mother!
Nisa didn't make sure she was following. She kept up her trot until the forestry around them slowly lost its musky flavor. Soon it dissolved entirely and gave way to soft blisteringly-hot sand. Nisa trotted on, undaunted by the sudden change. How is this possible? I've ran the forest a hundred times over- not only did it never change to sand, it never ended! I could run in a straight line for days and days, only to turn back and find the exact same tree I saw days before after walking for ten minutes. She quickly forgot her confusion- as if anything in this world ever made sense!
Soon the land dipped, exposing a trailing Charizard. The land reached void and lifeless from tip to tip, and the Charizard looked hungry and exhausted. To her surprise, several whips of deceased Charizards flanked him, but it didn't seem to notice. "I think you've seen this charizard before. His name is Champ," she explained. Misiku nodded, but she didn't really recognize it at all.
"He has come a long way and has flown from Johto all the way to here, until his wings were useless," she explained. Before Misiku could ask, Nisa went on. "He has gone all this way in a frail hope that he could find his family here. He was taken by Team Magma as well, just like your father. You believe your father could have escaped single-pawed when a whole flock of Charizard couldn't protect a baby Charmander?" She pointed her paw toward the fading Charizards flanking the surviving one, a look of disappointment and sadness in their eyes. "That baby Charmander is this Charizard now, struggling on even though hope should have been lost long ago. That flock of Charizards flank him now, urging him on even though Champ cannot hear their pleas to keep going. Champ doesn't know its flock is right next to him, and he'll be sad to find out that his flock has been picked clean."
Misiku looked on, surprise and sadness flittering at her paws like a bundle of butterflies tickling her feet with their flapping wings. Although Champ's eyes were dulled and tired, there was still determination in them. "His mother and father live on though," Nisa murmured after a while. "He will be guided to them, and they will explain what happened to the rest of the flock. But it'll be okay, he'll go on. Just like our next fellow."
Suddenly the ground shifted under her paws from sand to soft forest soil again. The hot dry air was humid and cool again, making her lungs feel funny. "This here is Scrappy, and you'll recognize Kyoka and Kiko." Misiku shook off the dizziness and focused her eyes again. Three Ninetails stood in the field- two familiar, one only familiar by scent. "He evolved into a Ninetails recently," she explained. It made sense- it looked young and smaller than the other two. "And his name is Scrappy?" she questioned.
Nisa merely shrugged. "Kiko wanted to rename him 'Jioko [Gee-oh-ko]' but he insisted on Scrappy." During their talk, Kyoka and Kiko were chiding the poor thing. "Are you a Dragonite or a Magikarp?" Kyoka growled. "I'm a Ninetails!" Scrappy hissed at them, but his ears flicked in discomfort. "Then try again," Kyoka ordered. Scrappy nodded and opened his jaws wide, exposing a rumbling bubble of Flamethrower. At the same time, Kiko slashed his paw into a pile of leaves, causing the furled flora to flutter into the air. Scrappy spat out a bunch of fire balls and managed to heat only one leaf while the others fluttered to the ground.
"This kid is hopeless!" Kyoka snarled. Scrappy took a step back, his paws trembling. He was obviously trying hard- Misiku guessed he would have hit more if he wasn't being pressured so harshly. "He's soft," Kiko sighed, "he's afraid of his own shadow. He'll never make it in the big world if this is how he's going to be. He isn't even trying." At that remark, Scrappy sat straight. "I'm trying!" he snapped, indignation swirling in his eyes like tiny whirlpools.
"Then try harder!" Kiko growled, and without warning, kicked at another pile of leaves. Scrappy wordlessly complied and spat flames at the leaves, but he only managed to hit a total of three. "Why are you showing me this?" Misiku challenged her. Kiko spat a number of violent insults before leaping off his paws and jumping on poor Scrappy, bowling him over and snapping sharp teeth within inches of his ears.
"He used to be just a little vulpix, afraid to do anything. He hated how he couldn't stand up for himself. He thought his parents abandoned him because they hated him, because he was soft. After finding out they were dead, and that he had no one… that was tough on him, you know? To find you have nothing but the pelt on your back and all you've been doing has been pointless." Scrappy was boxing his strong paws at Kiko's head and shoulders, but a mixture of fear and terror made his blows look more like aimless flailing.
"But he didn't give up," Nisa continued. Kiko latched sharp teeth around Scrappy's neck, making him squeak, but Kyoka only looked on before turning her gaze. "They're going to hurt him!" Misiku couldn't keep the wail from tainting her voice, but Nisa seemed immune to it. "He knew Kyoka was tough like this. He knew he might get hurt, and that Kyoka wouldn't give him the love he needed, but he took it anyway. It's called strength, bravery…. He knew Kyoka was hurting, and he did this for her even though he was hurting too."
Scrappy looked horrified, his entire body shaking with terror. Suddenly something seemed to click, and Scrappy stopped trembling. He kept his body as still as he could, and then kicked out with his hind paws. Kiko slightly faltered, and thinking fast, Scrappy wrapped his fluffed luxuries tails around Kiko's bony hind legs and tugged. Kiko toppled over and fell to his side, but continued to snap his teeth without hesitation. Scrappy breathed a flamethrower and shot to his paws and took a battle stance with his tails erect, teeth glittering in a snarl and paws spread ready for action. Kyoka turned her look back and actually looked slightly impressed. Kiko stomped, and then dipped his head. "At least you're getting somewhere," he breathed. "Let's try the leaf exercises again."
This time, Scrappy shot every leaf. "He's grown so much," Nisa observed. "Kyoka wouldn't say it out loud if it could save her life, but she's proud of him. She's thankful to the entire world for giving her such a brilliant and determined son. She knows she pushes him too hard, and she's sorry for it, but she's afraid to lose him if she ever lets up."
Nisa began moving again, and Misiku naturally followed. "This is Aurora," she mewed. The landscape was somewhere farther into the mountains where only stunted pines and low-growing shrubs could survive. The scent was familiar on her tongue, and she recognized the Espeon she had hunted during her life time. She looked old and raggedy, her movements frail with age, but her eyes lit with child-like joy. She was hopping around a litter of young vulpix, who were trying to catch her paws from under her.
Misiku stared at the litter. "Was the father a Ninetails?" she asked, even though the question was obvious to her. Of course, how else could she have a litter of vulpix? "Yes," Nisa answered, "but this isn't her litter." Nisa stared at the pups, her eyes unreadable. "After the loss of her mate and her single kitten being born dead, she never quite restarted. She became wracked with grief, unable to continue but finding no way to escape her sadness." Her voice was dry with sympathy. "It had driven her to evil. The pain in her heart whipped her like an injured dog, and she couldn't fight that. When she learned Kyoka would be having a litter, she envied her. It drove her to many nights of tears- the poor dear! She would ask herself 'why wasn't I able to have kids? I deserved them more than Kyoka ever did!' and it drove her sick."
Misiku stared at Aurora in horror. The light in her eyes didn't make her look sick, but perhaps there was more to her than appearance? "She had been planning to steal Kyoka's litter for weeks. She had yowled at herself not to, she had dragged her paws across the soil telling herself she could never, but the pain in her heart told her to close your eyes and do it. The guilt was nearly unbearable- it twisted her chest until she felt her heart choking back its own blood and swallowing it all wrong back to the lungs." Misiku felt cold eyes staring at her, and looked up to see Aurora looking in her direction. She felt her paws grow numb upon noticing that Aurora wasn't just looking in her direction- her eyes were focused and grim directly on her.
Nisa somehow managed to completely miss it. "She could never part with these vulpix- she believes they're all she has now. But the guilt stalks her like her shadow, and a yelp for peace always nips at the end of her tongue like a crouched Arcanine ready to pounce. Every sound spooks her, and the idea of Kyoka leaping out of the forest with an accusation haunts her. But that isn't the worst part- it's the guilt, it's the knowledge that you don't deserve to breathe with what you've done. The guilt kicks her when she falls, presses its long thorny claws into her pelt and twists so that she has to bite back her cries. In the end, she knows she's a lost cause. That litter of stolen vulpix will never fill the hole in her heart, no matter how many times she pleads it to be. Her mate is gone, her family is gone, and her kitten is dead. She can pretend to be their happy mother all she wants, but she knows how every night she slips from her nest and weeps behind the trees, stifling her cries so the litter cannot hear her. She will snap soon, maybe even kill that vulpix litter in her panic, but what will that leave her?"
Misiku continued to stare. Aurora's eyes were like arrows shooting through her, searing holes through her pelt. Finally she had to break free of her glare and stared down at her paws. "She must feel so broken," Misiku whispered. Her mother pressed her muzzle into her shoulder, comforting her. "She has nowhere to go, nowhere to hide…." She whispered. A slight pause slipped past the two. "Let's go," Nisa declared after a moment. Misiku gave one last look behind her shoulder, finding Aurora's grim stare turning icy with regret.
I think there are only one or two chapters left
"So you see," Nisa breathed into her ear fur, "you aren't the only one who has suffered in this game." Misiku twitched her ears, and then looked down at her paws. The forest around her faded, but she didn't seem to mind. Soon it was just her, Nisa, and darkness. "You have caused a lot of trouble," Nisa sighed, "but it's over now. There isn't any more need for there to be heart ache…" Misiku closed her eyes shut, her mind whirling. "I didn't mean to cause trouble!" she screeched at her, "I only wanted to make things right! That world was- is- so full of hatred and deceit. That's why I couldn't live in it; it was so full of evil that it couldn't sustain life without hurt. I wanted to destroy that hurt."
Her eyes glistened with old stale emotions. "Look where it left me though!" she yowled. "Everything on earth was so bland, the colors so bleak. Everything was so unpromising. How come I was the only one who could see that? Everyone else was so…blind. They went through life, believing it was a promising land, but I only saw downhill. Everything lost color, lost its grace." Her emotions built momentum inside her, tumbling out through clenched teeth. "I just wanted what I was promised to get but never got. This world is supposed to be so rich, creamy and vivid! When I came here, and saw that it wasn't… I just wanted to fix that."
"You can't fix something that isn't broken," Nisa soothed her. She took a comforting step forward, but Misiku took a step back. "No, it is broken! It's all just filled with heart ache, loss, grief, regret, sadness, blackness and void. I-I can't live that way. How could anyone live that way knowing that all these things are stalking them like shadows? Waiting for you to slip, to make one mistake…" Nisa flattened her ears and turned her gaze. She looked calm and wise beyond her earthly years. "Life doesn't have to be that way," she murmured.
"Yes it does!" Anger was broiling in her now, how could anyone be so blind? "That's what life is. Every day feels like a tragedy. I feel like I have to tiptoe around my own death, like a frightened rattata running from a skulk of Ninetails. The Ninetails never get tired and neither does the rattata, so their run is endless like a broken record. One can't live that way! Always running, never being able to defend yourself. If you slow down one second, you've gotten yourself killed, so you can't stop for a second. At some point, you just want to let yourself be caught by it. Swallowed into darkness, never to surface."
She was rambling now, but she didn't care. Nisa was staring at her with a deadpan expression, although her tail tip twitched with impatience. "No," she rasped almost entirely to herself, "you're wrong Misiku. You're blinded by the just-world hypothesis. No matter how hard you try, even if you had lived, you would never have been able to completely cleanse the world of its troubles. They aren't tangible, disposable or even renewable. They are simply itself- an illusion of the mind- and that's simply all they'll ever be."
To Misiku's surprise, she began to back away. Her paw steps became faded and made less of an impact on the ground, and her body became faint and see-through. "Wait!" she cried out, "you aren't really going to leave me are you?" Her paws bolted her forward, but her mother was already halfway gone. "I may have too," she mewed simply. "But why!" Misiku called out. She dug her claws into the black darkness until she felt her claws pierce the oily surface. "You can't leave me! I've been all alone for two weeks now, don't leave me, please!"
She melted to the ground in terror, placing both paws over her eyes so she wouldn't be forced to watch her mother's disappearance for a second time. "Hush, my daughter, I won't go until I have no more regrets," Nisa mewed quietly. Misiku saw that Nisa's body was filled out again and crystal clear, but she swallowed down her relief. "But you're going to go eventually, aren't you?" she whimpered. She felt sick like her belly had suddenly gone hollow. "You're going to leave me a second time."
Nisa nodded solemnly, but straightened her gaze again. "Listen to me," she meowed firmly. "You dwell on sadness until it seeps into your bones and becomes just another detail of your character. You believe that is all there is, that you cannot escape it." She drew within a few whiskers of her face, making her slightly flinch back. "Sadness is an addiction, not a curse. If it's all you think about, it will consume you, and the more you try not to think about it then the more you'll think about it. It isn't a matter of finding closure or convincing yourself it doesn't matter- it's about accepting and forgiving. You can't change the world you live in, you can only change you."
Misiku felt winded. "I'll try," she vowed. Nisa began to disappear again, but this time Misiku let her. She faded like a speck of morning dew suffering from desert heat. Soon she was gone. Misiku opened her jaws and breathed in her mother's lingering scent- familiar and light. She was gone now, wherever she was, she wasn't in this world anymore.
"Remember," a new voice sounded remind her. She whipped around and faced yet another familiar face. "Life is beautiful," Giovanni rasped. He looked younger, stronger, and happier. He had a female she didn't recognize next to him, but they seemed close. Her eyes were bright and expressive. A few more trainers walked up to stand next to him, their health shining. "Giovanni! Forgive me!" she squeaked. She backed away, but her claws rooted her to her spot. Giovanni nodded, and then turned his gaze to the distance. "This is Christie. And this is the rest of my family," Giovanni formally introduced her to them.
"We're here because we have regrets. The ghost type Pokémon have dragged our souls down so that we could let go, before we disappear to the next step." Misiku flipped her ears, and then gasped when Giovanni and the others began to fade. "Life is beautiful!" he repeated, sweeter now, before fading completely. He was gone faster than his arrival. Loneliness ran down her coat again, sour and familiar. Everyone she knew who wasn't still alive had already left her behind to deal with unforgettable regrets.
She shook it away and padded back into the forest, out of the blackness. She would remember her promise- she would try, and this is how she would do it. She walked on until she reached Silver and Nala again. This time they were acting more urgent with fear flying off their pelts, but excitement and love also swelled around the clearing like a stretching balloon. A light spring shower began to fall, spilling fat juicy drops onto the forest floor. Silver hustled Nala, who was stumbling awkwardly, toward a large tree farther off. Silver bolted toward it and swept a massive pile of orange leaves off the top to reveal an abandoned den below.
With heavy uncertain paws, Misiku followed without Silver nor Nala knowing of her presence. It was cool and clean inside with one large nest toward the back. It was a tight squeeze, but tolerable. Misiku guessed they hadn't finished enlarging the den yet. Nala toppled onto the grassy nest and started panting heavily. "You're going to be alright!" Silver called as he pelted further into the tunnel, but his mew was concerned. He came back with a bundle of Oran berries between his jaws.
Nala was breathing in short tight breaths, laying on her side in an awkward manner. Silver flicked his tail and crushed the liquid out of the berry with his jaws so that the healing juice trickled into Nala's mouth. "Remember not to hold your breath," he soothed awkwardly. Misiku almost found herself giggling at how Silver's pelt bristled. He clearly didn't know what to do in this situation. "Can you get me some water?" Nala gasped with pain and shock, and Silver bolted out like a lightning flash. Misiku took a few steps closer and, without thinking, brushed her paw across Nala's flank. She could feel Nala's smooth warm fur on her paw, but Nala showed no sign of feeling anything other than her own shock.
Within a moment, Silver came hurdling back through the tunnel with a leaf filled with water. He placed it close to her, but Nala only drank a few drops. Suddenly she started panting faster and harder, but she never made a peep in all her agony. Misiku couldn't say she wasn't impressed with her bravery.
"I think we're close!" Silver urged her on, "I hate having to sit around like this! If I could share your pain, I would." Nala looked at him feebly, love glittering in her eyes. "I know," she mewed softly. She laid her head back down and her claws shot out, scratching at the ground. Finally she released a tiny ungracious yelp, and an egg appeared next to her. She gasped in relief and fell back onto her side, breathing slower now.
"You did it!" Silver cooed. Excitement and joy blew off his pelt in waves, making Misiku feel better. He rasped his tongue across the rubbery egg shell until it was dry enough to harden. It had a black, brown and cream color scheme just as a Meowth would. It was mostly cream colored with a painted olive top and a russet tawny-dipped bottom. Its top was flecked with shades of amber gold, resembling its charm.
"I wonder if it's a boy or a girl?" Silver was already venturing into the future. Nala purred and bent over to rub her muzzle across Silver's cheek, but her exhaustion made the gesture weak and terse. "As long as it has three toes on each paw, a crystal-clear gold Kuban and eyes that match yours, I don't care what gender it is." She sighed and lay back down, closing her eyes. Silver pressed his muzzle into her shoulder fur and then gingerly nudged the egg so that is pressed into Nala's flank. Then he lay down on the opposing side and nuzzled into Nala's neck fur, closing his eyes as well.
Misiku breathed out a long sigh and trotted forward. She looked down at the egg, her step-sister or step-brother, and licked it once. It was new life, and it was beautiful.
"Life is beautiful," she breathed to herself. Suddenly feeling weightless, she closed her eyes and let the void take her, leaving Silver and Nala alone to raise their new child, and their new life.
DONE! And it only took half a life time to write! ….now to plan a sequel.
