This is my first fanfiction, or at least the first one I've ever had a clear intention of finishing. This is going to be a short one, a sort of test of my writing skills before I start writing my own stories.
This story focuses upon Lunick and Solana and is set after the end of the game. If my interpretation of Lunick is off, well then sorry, because I've only ever played a male character but I assume that the dialogue and personality would have to be similar to Solana. Since this is my first fanfic, I would appreciate it if people who reviewed this would give me some constructive criticism rather than flaming me, suggestions for the story would also be very welcome.
Oh, and my updating may be sporadic since my internet is currently out, so I'll be uploading new chapters where I have time, College willing. If all goes well I may even extend the story and make more.
So, without further ramblings, I give you Chapter One of my first fanfic.
I seem to have forgotten the Disclaimer, so here it is:
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, the rich owners of Pokemon do.
Chapter OneRingtown in Crisis!
It started like any normal day in Ringtown; tranquil, peaceful, children playing, Pokemon flitting about, parents and old folk strolling and talking between the houses. The sun was shining and it made Lunick glad that he had been assigned here rather than one of the other towns in Fiore. Sure Fall City was beautiful and full of life, but the frantic bustle of the city was a bit overwhelming. Summerland was laid back and peaceful, great weather, but it was a place for a holiday, it was too laid back. He'd probably go mad with boredom after a while…. plus he and Solana had set off a volcano only a few miles north of the town. And then there was Wintown. Well, Wintown was nice, and the Sekra Range was beautiful, but the place was just so damn cold! And so Ringtown was his home, and his favourite place in all Fiore, the place he could return to after his patrols across the region, a place to unwind and relax. And the abundance of Pokemon in the Lyra Forest meant that he was in walking distance of a place where he could hone his ranger skills. After all, he hadn't gotten to Ranger Rank 10 and wiped out the Go Rock Squad without training and practise!
He was sitting on one of the benches outside the Ranger Base, soaking in the sun's rays, keeping an eye on Larry and his Tailow as they wandered passed; the Tailow was always running away from its overbearing owner. Larry noticed him and waved, Lunick returned the gesture, he was friends with Larry; after all it had been Larry and his Tailow that had set him on his first rookie mission; to recapture the Tailow. And if Minun hadn't pranked that Tailow they would never have become partners! And so, in a funny way, Lunick owed Larry a lot, and even his life, for all the times that Minun's timely paralysing shocks had stalled a rampaging Pokemon that was on the verge of squishing him! Said Minun was curled up asleep in his lap, Lunick idly scratched the little electric type mouse Pokemon behind the ears.
The tranquillity of that lazy afternoon was shattered by a loud crash coming from within the Ringtown Ranger Base. Surprised, Lunick jumped up and ran into the Base to see what had caused that frightful sound, spilling poor Minun on the ground, the little Pokemon gave a startled cry and ran after his Ranger, about to give him a piece of his mind, and a mild electric shock, when he too noticed the chaos. Minun jumped upon his Ranger's shoulders and Lunick smiled and rubbed the little guy's head, "Sorry Minun, I was a bit surprised, look at all this!"
Rangers were milling about, Pokemon were scattered everywhere, getting underfoot and adding to the chaotic scene. Murph spotted him and walked over, "Lunick! Thank goodness you're here!"
Lunick looked about, "What the heck is going on Murph?"
Murph gave him a helpless look, "I don't know. There was an explosion in the Mechanic's room and quite a few Stylers have been destroyed. The Leader was there at the time and he's been hurt!"
Lunick looked startled, "Spenser's been hurt!" suddenly his eyes widened, "Where's Solana?"
Murph shrugged, "I don't know, I think she was out on patrol, but the Operator's computer is out and we don't know who was assigned what. She might have been here… I just don't know"
Lunick nodded, "My Styler is fully charged, I'll call her" he fished the iconic device out of his pocket and selected Solana from his contacts and sent her a quick text message. He then put the Styler back, "Okay Murph, we've got to restore order here, you settle the Pokemon, I'll gather the other Rangers together"
Murph nodded, "Okay Lunick, you can count on me!"
Murph jogged straight into the fray, Styler active, waving the antennae about erratically its Capture Disc shot out, narrowly avoiding a Ranger's head. Meanwhile Lunick fought his way through the chaos until he reached the area next to the Operator's station where Spenser usually stood. He started shouting, "Everyone! Be quiet!" but no one paid him any attention, Lunick growled in frustration, as his voice was lost in the uproar. Suddenly Minun jumped down, "Mai maii maii!" and began to charge a thunderbolt, lightning danced around the little creature and suddenly exploded outwards in a dazzling display, accompanied by Lunick roaring, "Everyone shut up!"
The chaos was instantly stilled by the outburst; shocked people and Pokemon turned their eyes to Lunick.
Minun jumped back onto Lunick's shoulder, he smiled gratefully, "Thanks Minun! Okay. The Leader is hurt and many of our Stylers are wrecked, but that is no reason to lose our heads. We are Rangers and we have a job to do" he gestured at the few Pokemon still running amok, "Those of you who still have operating Stylers go help Murph calm down the Pokemon. The rest of you, stay calm. Spenser is strong. He'll be all right" He turned to the Operator, "Do the phones still work?"
She shook her head, "No, all the electronics are shorted out. I think the explosion caused an Electromagnetic Pulse to crash everything"
Lunick sighed, "Okay, then you other Rangers, go find a working phone and alert the other Ranger Bases, you will also have to inform all the citizens of Ringtown on what has happened, but reassure them that everything is being handled. We'll need replacement Stylers and back-up until they arrive. Also the other Leaders will have to know about Spenser… if there aren't any phones then one of you will have to travel to Fall City by foot through the Krokka Tunnel, but please inform me before you leave so we all know what's going on. Okay, that's your assignments, I guess, get to it!"
The Rangers dispersed to do their assigned tasks, no one bothering to question why he was the one taking charge; it felt natural, like it had been Spenser up there. Murph was staring at Lunick, "Wow Lunick, you looked just like a Ranger Leader up there! It was awesome!"
Lunick smiled at Murph, "Thanks Murph, now let's catch these Pokemon, when we're done we'll check on Spenser and the Mechanic"
Murph nodded and with the other Rangers they quickly captured the wayward Pokemon. Once the calmed Pokemon were returned to their relieved partner Rangers Murph and Lunick made their way to the emergency infirmary of the Base, when they reached the room assigned to Spenser, Lunick paused and allowed the fear and worry he felt to show. Murph noticed and smiled, "The Leader will be fine Lunick, this is Spenser we're talking about; the guy that survived the Go-Rock Squad's Hideout getting blown to pieces!"
Lunick smiled, "Yeah, I know that Murph, but at the Hideout he had Joel to save him"
Murph nodded, "Yeah, but now he has us and the rest of Ringtown… He'll pull through, he has to"
Lunick nodded and opened the door to Spenser's room, quietly walking in; he froze when he saw the Leader of the Ringtown Rangers. Spenser was deathly pale, or rather the parts of him that weren't badly burnt were. His uniform was gone, replaced by a hospital gown. By the bed life-sign monitors, shielded from the EMP by special circuit breakers and insulation, bleeped and beeped out a reassuringly steady rhythm, but that did not disguise the fact that Ringtown's indomitable Ranger Leader was laying there unconscious fighting for his life, Lunick tried to hold back tears.
Murph stared at his Leader, tears also glistening in his eyes.
Just then a green-clad medic entered, his uniform similar to that of the Rangers except for the green colour and the red cross on each shoulder, "Ah, you came to see Spenser? He's doing well, that one is a fighter to be sure, he'll pull through, but he'll carry scars for the rest of his life I'm afraid… Well, using our current treatments…"
Lunick looked at the medic, "What do you mean?"
The medic looked uncomfortable, "Well, we've been developing a few new treatments, one of them shows promise; it was very successful in trials on Pokemon, it healed burns very quickly without even leaving a scar!"
Lunick nodded, "So why aren't you using it on Spenser?"
The medic frowned, "Its still in trial tests. We haven't even started to test it on humans yet!"
Lunick frowned, "There's always something… What do you call this miraculous cure?"
"Healing Fluid Delta-Epsilon-12-A is the official designation, but over here we call it Water of Life" the medic replied
Lunick nodded, "I see… Catchy name… How long until it reaches the human testing phase?"
The medic shrugged, "That depends upon how long the medical council takes to decide, in a few months probably"
Lunick sighed "So there's no way we could use it on Spenser?"
Murph, who had been silent during this exchange, cried out, "Look! He's coming around!"
Both Lunick and the medic turned to face Spenser, the Ranger Leader's eyes flickered open, he groaned, voice muffled by a breathing mask, "Damn, feels like I've been hit by a Rhydon!"
Lunick and Murph automatically came to attention and saluted, both exclaiming, "Leader! You're okay!"
Spenser turned his head to look at them, "Murph. Lunick. Hey… What happened? I remember being in the Mechanic's workshop and then pain and then nothing"
Lunick turned to Murph, "You were here Murph, it's your report"
Murph nodded, "Right… Uhh…Umm… There was a big explosion and, uhh, you and the Mechanic were hurt and, uhh, now you're here in the infirmary and, uhh, everything was crazy downstairs in the mission room, all the Pokemon and Rangers running about and shouting but" Murph turned to Lunick, "Lunick here was awesome! He quietened everyone down and got everything back on track"
Spenser smiled, "Good work Lunick"
Lunick nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Leader"
"Did we save the Stylers from the blast?" Spenser asked.
Lunick shook his head, "No, most of the Stylers are wrecked. But I've sent some Rangers to find a working phone so that we can get replacements from Fall City… If there aren't any phones then I guess we'll just have to send a messenger through the Krokka Tunnel. I've also told them to request back up until we get the new Stylers… But things look bad, Leader, the Operator's computers are all fried and with most of our Stylers gone or at low power…" Lunick shrugged.
Spenser groaned, and not from physical pain this time, "Damn, at least things can't get worse… Lunick. You and Solana are my best students and our most experienced Rangers, and judging by how you handled the situation you seem very well qualified. Lunick, I am assigning both you and Solana as Interim Ranger Leaders for Ringtown until I recover… Where is Solana?"
Murph piped up, "We think she's on patrol but we're not sure because all the records were on the computers. Lunick has sent her a message so she should get back soon"
Spenser nodded, "Good" he looked directly at Lunick, "I'm counting on both of you, just remember, follow your instincts, that's how I became a Leader and it's worked for me so far"
Lunick was about to reply when the medic cut in, "I'm sorry Leader but you need rest… I must ask both of you to leave now; Spenser needs to sleep. Come back in a few days, he'll be stronger then"
Lunick and Murph protested, but the medic was adamant and with surprising strength and ferocity physically kicked both of them out of the room.
Murph rubbed his backside, "Oww! He didn't have to kick so hard did he!"
Wincing Lunick sighed, "Well… Looks like I have a lot of work to do… I hope Solana gets back soon"
Murph smirked, "Oh la la, you and Solana, Lunick? Working together? Just like your 'vacation' in the Summerland underground volcano?"
Lunick growled, "Watch it Murph, I'm in charge now, remember?"
Murph raised his hands in a warding gesture, "Okay, okay, geez, I was only joking, you don't have to be so sensitive!"
Lunick nodded, "Good. Now, I need you to gather reports from the other Rangers, since the computers and the phones are out, and half of them don't have Stylers, it'll be harder for us to communicate. Once the reports are in I'll want you to gather a few Rangers and brainstorm a way to fix that communication problem"
Murph blinked, "Uuh, are you sure you want me to be the one whose leading that brainstorming mission?"
Lunick nodded, "Yes, you Murph, I'm sure you'll do fine. Oh, and if you find Solana before I do, tell her to come see me right away"
Murph nodded and saluted, doing his Ranger Pose, "Okay, Lunick, I'll do that!" he walked away to do his missions. Lunick reflected that quite a lot of people underestimated Murph, sure he was clumsy and a bit slow, but he had a will and dedication which was surprising, and it was that dedication to his friends and Pokemon that made him a true Ranger, plus it was always Murph who managed to cheer everyone up if they got down, or helped patch things up if anyone got into arguments, like Lunick and Solana… Lunick pushed thoughts of his friend and sometime rival out of his mind; he had to concentrate on being a good temporary Ranger Leader…
A/N
Here it is the first chapter. I've decided to put Chapter Two up as well, but that's my limit until I get at least one review, I do need to know what you guys think so I can get better at this!