Prologue
"Agent Red, do you read me? Come in!"
There was no reply.
"Agent Blue. Agent Green. Agent Red is not responding. Do you know of his location? Agent Blue? Agent Green? "
There was no reply.
"Agents Gold, Silver and Crystal. Do you respond? What is your location?"
There was no reply.
"Agent Ruby. Agent Sapphire. Something's happening. Do you read me? Do not return to base. Neither of you! I repeat, run-"
The transmission was cut.
"Agent Diamond. Are you there? Do you respond?"
There was mere static.
"Agent Platinum. Agent Diamond is not responding. What is your location? Is he with you?"
There was no reply.
It seemed to have become a routinely check every night for Xylon to look from his bedroom window towards the shrub across the road. If he did not check, he did not sleep. Knowing of what was out there that night comforted Xylon, even if the Thin Man did happen to stand by the shrub, watching Xylon.
Xylon had learned not to react to the Thin Man. Upon the first few sightings, Xylon had sprinted from his house across the road, though by that point the Thin Man had faded, as if he had never existed. His parents had claimed that he watched too many horror movies. His friends had just laughed at him and poked fun. Yet, Xylon knew of what was out there. He knew that the Thin Man existed, whether he sighted him every night or not.
As it turned out, the Thin Man was nowhere to be seen that night. Hmm, not coming out to play tonight, are we? Xylon moved towards his bed, sliding under the covers peacefully and hitting the switch on his lamp. Darkness moved abruptly throughout the room, and Xylon stared at his roof. I wonder what tomorrow will entail. My final exam. If I pass, I'm out of here. Forever. Never again will I have to return to PetalBurg City. I will be free to live out my life as I wish. As a true Pokémon trainer.
He smiled. All he had to do was beat his opponent in an exam. Simple enough. The winner became an official trainer and were certified to roam the land as they wished. Ever since Mayor Indigo had taken control of all four regions, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh, trainer's had to possess a pass to roam the land and collect badges. The world was a dangerous place now. What was once a peaceful world had been thrown into turmoil and destruction. People were starting to disappear out of nowhere. Just last week, one of Xylon's classmates had vanished from his room without an explanation. In Xylon's eyes, you could rule that down to two things: He rather ran away without leaving a note, or there was a greater force at work. And not just Team Magma or Aqua either.
What little Xylon could see of the roof in the darkness faded...
"Run, Xylon! Wake up and run! They are coming for you! Run!"
He bolted up, tangled in his covers, his chest beating powerfully. Xylon remained still, beginning to control his breathing. "Just a dream..." he breathed to himself, "it was just a dream. Nobody is coming to get you." His eyes shot in the direction of the clock by his bed. 04:58. "You have another two hours to sleep, Xylon," He whispered, "now go to sleep."
"Talking to yourself is a sign of insanity. Didn't you know?" That voice... it was unfamiliar. Where did it come from? Xylon stiffened, his eyes scanning the room. Eventually, from the corner, stepped a man. A Thin Man. The Thin Man. Dressed in a suit, and with hair as black as coal and tangled within itself, the man smiled maliciously. "Then again, insanity is your destiny, Mr Reget."
There was a manner of things that Xylon wanted to say to the man at this point. 'Who the Hell are you?' and 'Are you a paedophile? Only paedophiles' watch children sleep!' Being two of those things. Though the words did not quite reach the lips of Xylon. There was, however, some advice that he was not going to just ignore. Run! But where to? This creep is too near the door, and jumping from the window would be suicide!
As Xylon very poorly planned an escape route, the man, with a hint of cruel pleasure in his tone, said: "Not quite the speaker, nor the screamer either. Not that is matters. I took the liberty of slitting the throats of your parents. Others aren't quite so... messy. But I do look to have a little fun on the job, and the sensation I get when I drag the blade across the bone is just... magical."
No. He's lying. Don't listen to him, Xylon. He wants you to react. Stay calm.
"Really? No reaction?" The man chuckled. "I'd say that you're almost cold hearted. The death of your parents surely wagers a tear, don't you think? No matter, I suppose that will make this an easier job than anticipated. To think, you were destined for greatness."
Xylon began to shake in anger. Stay Calm, Goddamnit. Wait for it. Just wait... Now! Just as the Thin Man reached the end of Xylon's bed, Xylon's arm shot out for the pokéball by his clock. The Thin Man also acted quickly, leaping forward, aiming for Xylon. The boy rolled from his bed, dragging the covers that were tangled around him with him. The Thin Man crashed down onto the bed, leaving Xylon enough room to sprint across his very small room.
He never looked back as he burst through the door and across the hall. Into his parents' room he fled. "Mum! Dad! Wake up! There's a man here-" His speech was cut off by the sight blood-stained quilts covering them. Their necks had been cut into so deeply that their heads almost hung off of their bodies. "Mum... Dad..." Tears welled in the eyes of Xylon. Not now, Xylon! You have to escape! Just run-
"And now you see that I mean business, kid." The Thin Man was located by the doorway of the room, blocking the only exit. Once more, Xylon scanned the room. I have to escape. I am not letting this bastard take me. No!
"I will kill you!" Xylon growled through his gritted teeth. My only way out is to fight, and I will make this one Hell of a fight!
The Thin Man smirked. "Now we're seeing some emotion. Yet, do you think that I have come unprepared. No, Xylon. Team Destiny are never unprepared! Onix, out you come!"
There was no pokéball present. The Thin Man had spoken as if to the air. Yet, at that moment, an earthquake shook the house. Acting only on instinct, Xylon threw the pokéball in his hand forward. "Kirlia, shield us both with protect!" Before he could tell if his instinct had succeeded, the entire house came crashing down upon them. There was nothing to see but the falling of rubble and everything Xylon had known as a child. His parents' bodies disappeared from sight. The Thin Man disappeared from sight. Everything disappeared from sight.
And then he was on the ground, buried under the rubble. Yet, none of it seemed to touch him. Beside Xylon stood Kirlia, focussing all of his energy, looking as if he was was evident that he was not going to last very long, and neither was Xylon. Despite being untouched by any of the debris, Xylon felt drained of all of his energy. "Kirlia, listen here. We can't win this battle. His Onix just tore an entire house down on top of us. We cannot match that kind of power," Xylon explained, fighting through the tears that had now formed in his eyes. "We need to flee. We need to run. On the count of three, you need to teleport us from here. Teleport us as far away as possible, do you understand? If you don't, we may well die, just like..." His words trailed off. The thought of his parents lying there, lifeless, was too much to bare right now. Xylon knew that he had to focus. "Okay, on the count of three, just let go. Teleport us to safety. One. Two. Three!"
The debris fell where they once were, leaving the Thin Man to run over to the disruption in the still debris. They had escaped, he knew that they had escaped. People were beginning to gather around where the Reget household had once been, all shocked at what remained. None had seen the Thin Man just yet. They are gathering. I cannot allow them to see me. It is not time to fully reveal ourselves to the public. Not just yet. The Thin Man faded into the air, leaving the citizens of Petalburg City to ponder what had happened to the Reget Household.