Quiet sobbing.
That lone sound filled the room of a house, a bedroom actually. From the small, blue room, in a large bed in the corner a man lay, hidden under the worn blankets. His red and yellow heterochromic eyes were shut tightly, his obsidian hair pulling out of his ponytail and spilling across his face. His body quivered and shook as he breathed in between his sobs. He wiped his eyes and incoherent words twitched from his lips. Only a few would be understandable, such as weak and somewhere else. Bandages on his arms and torso fell loose, blackened blisters and scars underneath. He rubbed his eyes once more, curling up and hugging himself. He tried to listen, hearing only the patter of rain against the side of his house. His arms fell limp as the rain pounded harder and harder, making the average person wonder how he could fall asleep in such weather. And that question can be answered simply with he was tired. Tired physically, and tired of being in the realm of reality. The man felt alone and unneeded, and sleep seemed only fitting to him that he do.
In his sleep, however, he was met with an unpeaceful find. He was suspended in air, a lone blackened figure in a never ending world of white. He spun around, looking for something to calm his mind and bring him out. Instead he was met with a large shadow, many times larger than himself and much more dangerous in appearance. The only visible feature was its eyes, which glowed white and flickered occasionally to red. The man backed up, only to have white hot pain shoot through his limbs. He screamed, falling to his knees hard and toppling over onto his side. His shadowy self slowly turned from black to gray, fading in with the blatant colours around him.
And all the while, somewhere completely different, sat a Cyndaquil, it staring out a window. The room it was in was dark, the only light illuminating from the Pokemon itself. The room in and of itself was extremely large but very dank and cold, carved into the side of a cliff by the small creature and some friends. A stump with assorted papers sat in the middle of the room, with lanterns in the rooms corners. A piece of furniture which could pass for a couch sat against a windowless wall and a cork board above it. In the opposite corners of the room sat three beds, apart from each other and each larger than the other nearest it, along with other assorted objects around. A window had been carved into a outwards cliff-side wall, the paned portal looking out into the ocean and a small calm beach next to it. The moon was a crescent that night he would have noted, had it not been for the storm clouds covering every inch of the sky. The rain was really beating down that night. He sighed and looked down, the fire on him barely sputtering out a thing. He waddled over to the bed in the corner and flopped onto it and under the blanket. With a sad sigh, he wished himself goodnight and fell asleep. From the corner of the room a Pikachu had been watching, his ears flattened upon hearing the Cyndaquil's sigh. His eyes shot down to play with the blue scarf around his neck, which he gently removed and placed next to his pillow. He himself laid down, sleep overcoming him as well.
The sun gleamed through the window, right onto the Cyndaquil's eyes. He gave an annoyed squeak and rolled over, annoyed that the light had woken him up for no other reason than that it could. The Pikachu, however, had been awake and bounced over to him, nudging him. His ears perked up.
"Sir?" He whispered, then louder he said, "Cynder, sir?"
Cynder swatted at him "Bolt, I am sleeping, go away." He grumbled, making angry noises as he moved away from him.
The Pikachu refrained from laughing as best he could, "Its almost noon, and remember you said you had something to go to? If you can't go I'll have to..." He said, a cheeky smile donning itself upon his face.
This immediately gained a response from the Cyndaquil, who shot up and gave him a look, "No. Bolt you aren't ready for going to dungeons yet. Why on earth you would thing that, I don't know." He got up and snagged a yellow scarf and a bag off a shelf, placing them upon himself and stretching. "I'll be back Bolt. Stay out of trouble."
Bolt nodded, "Sir, yes-sir. I'll just sit in my bed and read as you usually let me do" He scampered over to his bed and tugged a book off the shelf above his bed, opening it and immediately beginning to read.
Cynder gave a quiet laugh and walked out the door, scampering up the stairs carved into the stone. For a brief moment he looked over the cliff's edge, smiling at the beautiful view before quickly heading to the dungeon. He quickly paraded through town, not bothering to pay anyone any attention. He quickly turned towards a grassy field, a path worn down it by the Pokemon who had visited in the many many years before. It led down the winding cliff side to the beach.
The Pokemon smiles and looked around. The beach was small, made of lovely rolling sand dunes that gently slope into the beautiful calm water. Occasionally dotting the beaches shoreline were rocks of any and all shapes and sizes, one even looking almost like a ball with a button on it, a peculiar thought to him. He noted that it was surprisingly calm for the storm that had occurred the previous night. Cliffs rose out of the water on either side of it, one side being where his home was. As he walked along the edge of the beach, he duly the lone palm tree, large and in charge in its spot in the middle of the sand. Cynder was so enthralled in the glory of it all that he forgot to watch where he was going and tripped, yelping as he landed face first into the sand. The wind seemed to laugh at him. He snarled, angrily hopping up and brushing the sand off of himself. He turned to look at what he tripped over and was astonished at what he found.
Lying face down in the ground was a Shinx, its fur damp and matted from the sand and water, making scared noises and having its eyes tightly shut. Cynder grabbed a twig from his bag, gently poking the Pokemon. "Hello?" The Shinx's eyes fluttered open briefly before closing heavily again. Cynder gave a sound cry, dropping the stick to run over to him. "Hey, are you alright?" He yelled, shaking the pokemon in hopes to get him to awaken.
His efforts were met with success, as the newcomer opened his eyes finally and sat up. Cynder's eyes quickly glanced over him, seeing a pretty much normal Shinx, sans the presence of darker tones of fur and especially glinting eyes. The pokemon shook its head feverishly, the blue fur standing straight on end and static bouncing around them both. His eyes darted around, confused and finally landing onto Cynder. "Who're you?" He asked, voice shaken from his confusion.
Cynder straightened and brushed some sand off his snout, "My name is Cynder, and I'm a Pokemon Explorer and Rescuer." He squinted, "That's odd. I've never seen a Shinx around here before..."
The blue pokemon gave a confused snort, "Shinx? That's ridiculous..." He glanced down and let out an ear-piercing shriek. Now discovering that he indeed was the Pokemon Cynder was talking about, he let out a loud sigh, flopping heavily into the sand.
Cynder squeaked, looking at the sky to note that clouds were beginning to roll in. "So, uhm... Who are you?" he inquired.
The Shinx looked at him, rubbing his snout with his paws. He thought for a moment, then shrugged, "I think my name is Sphynx." He muttered. He pushed himself back up and sighed.
The other pokemon let out another squeak, "What do you mean you think?"
"I mean I'm not sure if that's my name or not." He snapped. The Cyndaquil stepped back.
"Okay, okay jeez. I'm sorry. You seem a bit strange for a pokemon, Shinx or not..."
Sphynx sighed, "I'm sorry, alright? I'm just a bit confused... I can't seem to remember anything other than a small few details..."
Cynder nodded, "So you somehow gained amnesia?" He adjusted his bag and sat down in front of him.
Sphynx's ears flattened. "Well not entirely... I'm pretty sure my name is Sphynx, and that I'm not a pokemon" He muttered. "If what memory I have is right, I'm a human."
There was a dead silence between them, the only other sounds were the quiet whisper of the waves crashing against the cliffs and the rocks on the beach. Cynder's expression read one of confusion and he shook his head to clear his mind. "Human?" Sphynx nodded. "That's not possible, they don't exist here..."
"But it's true..." Sphynx whined, looking down.
Cynder fumbled for his words, "N-No I didn't mean I didn't believe you! ...Its j-just that its weird and... I've never heard of a pokemon turning human!" He sighed, a bit of smoke coming out of his mouth.
"Look," Sphynx started, "If you don't believe me, I'll just stay here and you can go do what you wanted to do." He flopped down roughly, sand billowing out around him and into his abnormally dark fur.
Cynder spoke again, "I believe you actually. I can tell when a pokemon is lying or not. Its a strange talent I acquired." He shrugged. Briefly, he smiled for a moment, "I have an idea, actually." Sphynx sat up and looked at him. The other pokemon pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and held it out towards him, "I'm supposed to be going to look for this pokemon, and maybe since you have nothing to do, you could come and help me? Its not to particularly hard, just a rescue mission." The image on the paper was of a Linoone, with the caption reading Please help find my brother! In bold text.
Sphynx looked at him, "I suppose I could... I have nothing better to do."
Cynder smiled. "Great! Lets go then!" He bounced over to a cave with the Shinx right behind him. "This is Craggy Cave, and he's in here. Lets go"
They entered the wet cavern, quietly padding through the thin level of water in there, "What is this place?" Sphynx enquired.
Cynder began to explain, "This is a dungeon. Its a location in this world where when you enter it, its never the same way it was before, it always changes and so do the pokemon in it, though the bottom floor tends to stay the same sometimes." He glanced at the paper, "The Linoone is at the very bottom level it says. He apparently got lost chasing something... Well that's what we're here for." They walked slowly, bumping into the occasional pokemon that Cynder handled with ease, Sphynx having some issues with them though. He figured Cynder was just more experienced and stronger than he was though, so he brushed it off. As they walked, droplets of water fell from above floors, landing on their noses and making Cynder cringe from dislike of being there. They descended down small flights of stairs, water dripping off them into miniature waterfalls, the gradual increasing darkness making them slowly appear more and more grim. From time to time they would battle another pokemon, but Sphynx would still stay back as he did earlier. All the while Cynder picked up the occasional item that he would find, stuffing it in the bag and keeping his pace the entire time.
They came to the final staircase, Cynder leading the way down once again. It was a large stretch of sand surrounded by an underwater cove. Water still leaked through from the above floors, though more heavily than before, making the place seem to gleam and glisten with silver light. A treasure chest lay half buried in the sand, its red outside faded and peeling, revealing that its inside was empty. At the very end of the sandbar sat a pokemon, with thin and straight stripes coloured cream and brown. He turned to look at them, a hopeful gleam in his eyes. As he walked to them, however, he stumbled and fell flat on his face. Upon closer inspection of him, Sphynx noted something tied around his wrists, possibly some sort of cuffs. "Cynder...? I think-"
Cynder, too overjoyed to find the pokemon waddled over to him, "There you are! I'm Cynder, Pokemon Explorer and Rescuer! And I'm he-" Sphynx yowled, causing the other to jump. "What is it? I'm trying to be heroic!"
"I think it's a trap!" The Shinx shouted.
A dark laugh filled the cavern and several pokemon started to come onto the sand from the water. Arbok, Koffing, and Zubat all came up, nine of them in a perfect circle. Sphynx and Cynder backed up against each other, the Linoone near them.
An Arbok hissed, laughing as he did so, "Well well, looks like we have company, don't we?"
Cynder seemed slightly panicked, "No, no company here, just some Rescuers doing their mission! Now if you'll excuse us-"
A Zubat flew close to his face, "I don't think so, pretty boy" She sneered, beating him back with the gusts of wind from her wings. Cynder yelped, covering his eyes and backing up more. The circle of purple pokemon slowly started to circle them, throwing sludge balls and toxic thorns at them at the same time. Cynder squeaked as a slimy ball hit him in the face. They kept circling them, gradually turning to just outright attacking them, for no reason from what Sphynx gathered in about two seconds. They continued for minutes before Sphynx barrelled into one as hard as he could, pinning the Koffing down and biting it square in the face. It screeched and freed itself from him, hightailed it back into the water. The rest turned to look at Sphynx, who was growling, snarling and seething with anger. Cynder locked eyes with him, both getting the signal. Cynder backed away, dragging Linoone with him and both himself and Sphynx stood in front of him. They glared at them.
"Its not very nice to pick on defenceless pokemon!" Cynder yelled, opening his mouth to let out a critical Flamethrower move, scorching a Zubat an an Arbok, sending them both back into the water with a bad burn. Sphynx lunged at another Koffing, biting it multiple times before it attempted a Sludge bomb on him. It missed and Sphynx bit it once more, sending it running back. Cynder let out another burst of flame towards the Arbok who hissed and hurled itself towards him. He beat it off with another Flamethrower, backing up again. Sphynx growled, both him and Cynder charging at the remaining Koffing and Arbok. In fear of getting hurt or ruining their beautiful image, they both made a mad dash to the water as well, leaving them against the She-Zubat and the other who hovered next to her. They both started flapping their wings hard, making a double Gust to try to propel them back in an attempt to end the battle. Sphynx growled, his fur zapping and he took a heavy step forward. He held his ground as Cynder watched carefully, slowly skidding back. The Shinx kept his weight on his paws, getting closer even as the Zubats increased their wind intensity. One flew off, nosediving straight for the Linoone. Cynder jumped in its way and formed a large boulder between his paws. He launched it at the Zubat, knocking her screeching back into the water but also launching himself back against the stairs, causing a loud yelp of pain.
The She-Zubat was infuriated, diving straight and suddenly at Sphynx and right towards his face. He shrieked, the electricity that had been off his fur suddenly shooting from his open mouth and sending the pokemon into the water. He panted and proceeded to flop down. "Well..." He sighed, "That was... Something... Else..." He said between breaths.
Cynder nodded, burning off the bands around the wrists of the Linoone. "Would you like us to return you to your brother?"
Linoone nodded, "Thank you so very much for rescuing me, I probably would have been stuck down here for a long time..."
"Its no problem at all! Now lets get you back to your brother." Cynder said with a smile on his face and in his voice. They started to walk towards the stairs before he looked back at Sphynx, "Coming?"
Sphynx pulled himself up and nodded. He ran after them, following them up to the surface and back to town. He looked around, eyes wide and in admiration. He looked at Cynder and Linoone, smiling to himself that he had helped save the pokemon who was being reunited with his brother. A Zigzagoon ran over to the Linoone, tackling it in a sort of hug and they talked quickly and over each other, worried and happy that they were reunited. Sphynx sat at Cynder's side.
The Zigzagoon looked at them, "Thank you so much for saving my brother! I can't give you enough to thank you but I can give you this!" He scampered over to them and handed them a couple of Pokecoins and a purple scarf. "Thank you so much!"
Cynder smiled, "You're welcome!" he said with a cheery tone. He looked at the sky and noted that the sun had almost set and the clouds were thick in the sky, "I think we should get going, goodbye!" The pokemon waved them off and Cynder looked at Sphynx, "I figure you can stay with me if you want, since you don't have a place to stay."
Sphynx looked at him, "Are you sure?"
Cynder nodded, "Yeah. Follow me!" He bounced off, Sphynx right behind him. They raced through town, not giving the Shinx enough time to look around. They arrived to a hole in the ground, covered by a wooden door with a glass window in it. Cynder pulled it open, allowing Sphynx to enter and he to follow.
The blue pokemon looked around, eyes partially wide, "This is impressive."
Cynder beamed, "Thank you! Me and a few other pokemon carved it out ourselves. It didn't take too long surprisingly."
"Its nice." Sphynx said.
Bolt bounced over to them, happy as usual, "Welcome back Cynder!"
Cynder nodded, "Sphynx, this is Bolt. He lives with me and is kinda a rescuer, but he's not that good at missions..." He yawned, stretching and allowing his flame to sputter out. Sphynx glanced outside, jumping as lightning and thunder suddenly cracked across the sky. Cynder laughed, setting his bag down and taking the scarf off. "Its weird. Ever since a few weeks ago, we've been getting some really weird freak storms. It could be sunny as can be and then moments later, Thunderstorm." He shrugged and waddled over to his bed. He jumped into it and Bolt ran to his. "You can take the empty bed there Sphynx. Sorry its so small, but it fit there so that's where it went." He yawned once more and soon drifted off to sleep.
"I don't really know you, but you seem nice! Goodnight Sphynx!" Bolt whisper yelled. He laid down in his bed and soon was asleep as well, leaving the lone Shinx with his thoughts. He laid there, wondering where his memories went and what could've happened to him. Where he was and who he was. Did he have family and friends? He closed his eyes tightly, trying to remember but only succeeded in giving himself a headache. He shrugged and rolled onto his side, but heard something clank from around his neck. He looked at it, noting that it was a golden medallion with something embossed on it. He would have inspected it closer, but his eyelids were heavy and drooping, making him eventually sleep.
He was sound asleep that night, and he dreamt of a large shadow pokemon looming over himself, its eyes only visible on it. It roared at him, causing his to wake with a start. His heart pounded loudly, even if the dream was extremely brief. He looked at the window, it still dark and rain still pounding hard and violent against it, lightning flashing and thunder sounding. He sighed upsetly and closed his eyes, returning back to a dreamless sleep.
0-o-0
As a note, these characters are of a story/role play that me and my friend TatOneVodkaBottle are co-writing over messages.
~ViraLayton
