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Hey guys! How's it going? Good, I hope! Anyway, this piece of my work was originally supposed to be written for Memorial Day, but due to homework and other stuff, I wasn't able to finish on time. Anywho, this will be my first piece of work that will be on Fanfiction and Deviantart! So yeah, I'm posting this story twice! My username for deviantart is CjFang21, and my penname for fanfiction(dot)net is CJFANG if any of you guys are interested!
Enjoy the story, I put a lot of time into this!
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"You have no father; your best friend is an orphan
Children are going to a journey around the world.
Your mother accepts you as the man of the house, making your own decisions
Old man warns you about the danger right around the corner.
Most people you meet are children and/or gym leaders.
Most adult men are either very old or have a job related to the military or organized crime.
Hospitals and gyms everywhere, yet no forms of entertainment such as a movie theatre.
Lt Surge: "Hey kid! What do you think you're doing here? You won't live long in combat! That's for sure! I tell you kid, electric Pokemon saved me during the war!"
You now realize that there was a war in Kanto.
Your father died in the war and your rival lost his parents.
You are the amongst the first generation of people to live in peace at post-war time"
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Brother, My Brother…
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The early mist of the day rolled through the plains of Kanto; the sun was barely visible that morning. However, as if the great Ho-oh herself came to beat the mist away, the curtain of fog slowly moved away to reveal the stage. The sun gleamed off of the grass and the leaves that were soaked in the rain the day before, and the mist cleared out to reveal a beautiful sky. The early blue sky was dotted with clouds and was completed with a brightly glowing sun.
On a single leaf of a tree, a dew drop slowly made its way passed the crevices of the green appendage. It's diamond-like appearance grew in size as it collected more rain until it finally fell down to a puddle underneath. However, this wasn't a puddle of water that this gem-like water droplet fell into.
It was a puddle of blood.
The puddle originated from a human, who was lying grotesquely on the mountainside, trying to grasp what seemed to be a rifle. Around that human were more humans, and even some pokemon. Men of olive drab uniforms and dark brown uniforms were strewn about in grotesque positions around their fallen groups of pokemon. None of them moved, as if they were part of a picture. Even in the morning, the Pidgeys didn't chirp, the Butterfree didn't fly, and the entire area was seemed to be lacking in sentient life.
The entire forest on the side of the mountain was dead, even most of the vegetation was either burned or blown to bits from fire moves or mortars. If one were to look up, one would see the beautiful Kantoan sky, clear and sunny, but if one would look down, all they would see is death and destruction.
Then, all of a sudden, the first shot of the day rang. It didn't matter where it was from; the echo of the bullet cracking through the air was enough to destroy the silence. That one gunshot served as a catalyst, starting a symphony of the sounds of war that morning. As if the shot were an alarm clock, some of the soldiers and pokemon that were lying down on the mountainside sprang to life. Immediately, they grabbed whatever weapon, friendly or not, to fight against whatever was being thrown at them. The sounds of pokemon being released from their pokeballs as well as the racking back of the bolts sounded through the whole mountainside, followed by a hail of gunfire towards the top of the mountain.
"Arbok! Poison Sting that machine gun nest up on the right!"
"Beedrill! Get that guy behind the barbed wire!"
"Come on! We need to move up before their reinforcements arrive! Get moving!"
"Golduck, use your hydro pump to take out that Charmeleon!"
These were the voices of the Kantoan soldiers that sprang to life that morning during the Kantoan civil war. Soon, bullets whizzed here and there, and the exchange of pokemon attacks ravaged the mountain side once more. The entire mountain erupted into a Christmas tree of gunfire, with the advancing South getting gunned down by the defensive North. The Southern soldiers trudged up the mountain, scaling rocky walls and trudging up dirt hills to get to the next trench, bunker, or machine gun nest.
For weeks, they have been fighting over the same mountain, with the brown colored North and the olive drabbed South engaging in a deadly stalemate. On some days, the South would be victorious, advancing up the hill and digging into the Northern defenses. On other days, the North recaptured those same defenses and pushed the South back to the bottom of the mountain. This back-and-forth conflict piled the bodies of the Kantoans over one another, to the point of where dead carcasses of humans and pokemon were used as cover or foot holds when they were fighting in the trenches. The conflict was so bloody, the pokemon in the area fled, and the few that stayed back were captured and used for whichever side they got captured from. Even the most bloodthirsty of pokemon avoided this mountain, and some were even reported to appear in the nearby region, Johto.
Advanced weaponry was almost useless in this type of conflict. Flying types were sitting ducks with no cover, unlike the urban areas. Bombs from jets weren't as effective with psychic types lessening the damage from the already dug in forces. Tanks were sitting targets for any type of fire pokemon that was ready to cook the insides of the metal behemoths, and most vehicles couldn't scale the muddy terrain. This was strictly a fight between infantry and their long range cannons and short range rifles.
One man in particular was getting sick of all of this fighting. He grit his teeth as he threw his green uniformed body against the dirt in the trench. He, along with other soldiers, checked his body for any wounds from his advance up the hill. Nothing out of the ordinary, he thought as he put a hand to readjust the military cap that their army issued. He closed his eyes for a quick second, breathing in gun smoke and air as he desperately tried to get oxygen back into his lungs. The lack of clean air and water burned his dry and dusty throat. Through the ringing in his ears, he heard the voice of his commanding officer.
"Fix bayonets! Fix bayonets!" The man let out a grunt as he reached for his combat knife. He set his automatic rifle onto the dirt before sliding the knife below the barrel of his gun. He shouldered his gun once more, straining his burning muscles to get used to the extra weight on the front. He looked over the sandbags that were on the wall, only to duck back down to the sight of the muzzle flashes of his enemies. Some of the bullets went straight over his head, which made the man let out a sigh of relief.
"Cross!" The man, now known as Cross, twisted his head to see his commanding officer.
"Yes, Captain?"
"We need your pokemon's help!"
Cross reached for his belt and found his one and only pokemon, who he let out under the cover of the trench. He was lucky to even have a pokemon; only a few soldiers that were deemed to be fit of one were given one.
"Sandslash!" His pokemon yelled as it got into a fighting position. The man knelt down next to his pokemon comrade, pulling out his precious canteen of water for the pokemon to drink. The ground hog accepted it graciously, pouring down some of the water down its throat.
"Dusty, I'm sorry to ask of you for this, but I need you to dig through this trench up to the machine gun nest that's a few meters up. Can you do that for me?" The man put a hand on his friend, giving it clear commands.
"Slash!" The shrew nodded in compliance.
"Once you're there, I need you to take out that gunner and anyone nearby. Once you do that, I'll run up to meet you and help you. Be careful!"
"Sandslash!" The Sandslash nodded and dug through the earth with ease. Cross gulped as he heard bullets whiz over his head. One well placed grenade was more than enough to wipe out him and his friends. Cross grunted as he looked over the edge to get a quick glance at the machine gun nest, only to duck back down again. The only thing Cross could do was wait…
Then, the chattering from the machine gun fire stopped, and Cross couldn't help but stick his head out over the top once more. Did Dusty make it? Is he alright? But then, the horrible realization of why the machine guns truly stopped firing went through his mind as an Arcanine from that very same machine gun nest ran down the hill towards him with a mouth full of flames. Cross immediately reacted by diving to the right to land on some dirt. The Arcanine's fire impacted the dirt inside the trench and engulfed anyone in its spread area. Cross grit his teeth as he saw his friends get engulfed by this pokemon's flames as it bounded intothe trench that he was in.
Cross raised his rifle towards the Arcanine, only to turn it to the side so he could defend himself from its fire fang. Cross felt the air escape his lungs as his back hit the dirt, and he widened his eyes at the enemy Arcanine, who was crunching down on his rifle with extremely hot fangs. Cross immediately started sweating, with the heavy canine's heat sapping strength away from Cross's already dehydrated body. He struggled with this pokemon alone; everybody was either fighting some sort of close quarter's battle with other soldiers, or was dying around him.
Before the Arcanine got smart and let out a flamethrower, Cross sharply brought his knee to the Arcanine's underbelly and threw his hips and arms to the left in an attempt to throw the pokemon off balance. He partially succeeded, with the Arcanine's head turned to the side with a yelp. However, the large canine was still on top of him, and his rifle was now a piece of molten metal and plastic. Cross pulled out his pistol from his leg holster and pulled the trigger as many times as he could into the Arcanine's abdomen. The fire pokemon howled in pain before falling limp against the poor soldier underneath.
With a great heave, Cross pushed the incapitated pokemon off of him and realized that the gunfire from the machine gun nest still wasn't actively shooting towards him. He twisted his head around and found a rifle identical to his before he popped back up over the trench to see his Sandslash wrecking havoc at his designated area. Cross saw his partner thrust his claws into a soldier and raise him off the ground once they penetrated him. The Sandslash went into a rage filled with bloodlust at his first kill, and he took no time to slash the adjacent soldier across the body. Cross grunted as he pointed the barrel of his rifle at a man who was reloading out in the open. He quickly pulled the trigger and took the head off of the man and hit an adjacent soldier three times across the chest.
Without properly thinking, Cross grit his teeth and went over the sandbags and the dirt to trudge up the God-forsaken hill towards his comrade. He succeeded, suffering only a lost rifle and a slight graze on the shoulder from a bullet. Once he vaulted himself over, he called his partner's name and cleared the nest.
"Move up!" Cross yelled out as he motioned with his arm towards his teammates. They saw their opening and ran towards Cross, and most of them made it to gain further ground. Cross took a quick look at Dusty, who was already suffering some grazes and wounds. He pulled out a potion from a pouch on his belt and sprayed his pokemon back to top shape. Dustly contently thudded the blunt side of his claws against Cross's chest to show his affection, and waited with him as they got ready for their next advancement. However, instead of jumping straight into battle, he watched his owner slump against the sandbags and dirt.
"How much more of this do we have to take?" Cross shook his head at Dusty while looking at him with that thousand yard stare. The Sandslash lay on his back next to him, cleaning his claws with the uniforms of dead soldiers while he let out some words in his own language. Cross took out his canteen, taking a swig before screwing the cap back on and throwing it into a pouch. Cross's break was over, and he looked around to pick up a different rifle, identical to the one that just got scrapped. Thankfully, there were so much dead bodies and weaponry that there were enough lying around to pick one up, use up its ammunition, then pick up another off of the dead.
Cross pulled the rifle up, only to realize that it was stuck. He looked down to see what was catching the rifle, but froze as he saw the hand of a young soldier. Cross saw the pale, unmoving face and the clenched hand on the rifle. There was no mistaking it, he was dead. Cross grit his teeth, furrowing his brow at the sight of such a young boy on the battleground. He recognized that this kid was the same one he shot only moments before.
I'm tired of this. I'm sick, and tired of all of this. Why can't the killing stop? How many more men, women, and children are going to have to die from this? How many do I have to kill in order to go home?
Thousands of questions ran through Cross's mind, but his pokemon's tugging jolted him back into reality. The Sandslash pried the dead hands off of the rifle for his trainer, shoving it into his chest. Cross was surprised at first, but nodded at the determined look on his pokemon's face.
"Thanks buddy," Cross uttered as he took the rifle. The Sandslash gave him a little salute, and then turned towards the next trench to see what was going on. They've been fighting over the same damn piece of land for too long.
"Come on! Let's go!" A fellow soldier bumped into Cross. This made him spring into action, once again, to move up the hill. His Sandslash was at his side, dodging bullets and poison stings as they both moved up. Eventually, when they hit the new trench, the dirt around them began to fly up into the air with an unmistakable sound of a tea kettle that was getting too hot.
"Mortars! Take cov-"
And that was it. No more Captain.
Cross yelled out in frustration. This was the second officer he lost this week. Now, without any direction or command, his friends were in frenzy. Although Southern soldiers were taught how to act in case of such an incident, everybody was scrambling to get into cover and tunnels that were made by the enemy. Some of his fellow soldiers ran into death trapped tunnels, which blew up upon entering.
"Sandslash!" Cross turned his head towards his pokemon, who pointed towards a narrow tunnel that led into the side of the mountain. It was recently created, with the shockwaves causing the cave's entrance to reveal itself. Cross didn't like the look of the darkness within the mouth of the tunnel, but it was better than standing under a rain of mortars. He threw himself into the tunnel, along with his partner. He jumped in just in time too, a mortar exploded on the mouth of the tunnel, causing a cave in of dirt and rocks.
Cross cursed his luck as he fumbled for a flashlight, feeling around his vest for the damned object. Once he got it, he pressed the power button and shakily moved the bright light around. It wasn't necessary, as light bulbs on the ceiling of the mountain suddenly illuminated his path. Cross put his flashlight away, letting his eyes get used to the light. The tunnel was almost twice his width and length, and wasn't big enough for him and his partner to move without getting congested.
"Sorry Dusty, but it's better if I go solo on this one," Cross whispered as he called his pokemon back into his pokeball. The Sandslash cried out in rebellion, but he was already caught by the red light and returned. Cross shouldered the rifle and slowly made his way forward. This tunnel was definitively not here when they held this position before, and their search teams were excellent at discovering hiding places. Eventually, the light bulbs thinned out, and only a few illuminated the area that he was in. Cross was surprised that he could still breathe, given the situation of the tunnel and all. Anyways, he inched forward, expecting a Golem or a Machoke to pop out of the wall, or ground, to attack him at any moment.
He slipped in a certain pot hole that Cross failed to see in the dim lighting. It was at that point that his arms finally gave way, and his rifle dropped from his soldier. Cross grunted and clutched his shoulder where the bullet just grazed him. To his dismay, it was his shooting shoulder, so Cross resorted to slinging the rifle over his back and using his left hand to hold his lighter and more compact pistol. Thank God that he was ambidextrous. Cross threw his sweaty, green military cap onto the ground to reveal his short, red hair. He grimaced as he rewrapped his hand around his pistol, and he advanced further into the darkness of the endless tunnel.
Today's gonna be a long day…
How did he get himself into this again? Oh, right. He remembered clearly. It was always about the enemy North that threatened to take their land and rape and pillage. It was all propaganda that was spread by the Southern leaders to get them to fight. Like the South, the North did the same, branding the Southerners as uncivilized and out for their families' blood. They said that the war would be over in months, but it's been years.
Cross shook his head and cleared those thoughts away from his head to focus. He gave out an exasperated sigh and trudged his aching body forward. The cave got darker and darker, and the narrow path got wider and wider. After a couple of minutes of walking, he saw a dim, orange light. He also felt a slight breeze; was it an opening? He got his answer as soon as he reached what seemed to be the mouth of a large chamber in the cave. While he looked at the ceiling, he noticed that there was a small chimney that led to what seemed to be the surface, where smoke from a fire pit was going. The smell of burnt wood and food met Cross's nostrils. It smelled like fresh food, too, unlike any of the plastic-like meals that were given to him as rations.
Cross walked forward to see that a figure was sitting down on what seemed to be a rations crate. From Cross's point of view, he was seated at the left of the fire, facing it as he cooked a Magikarp on a skillet. The moment he walked in, Cross's eyes widened and his gun rose to set its sights on a man beside a fire. He noted that the man near the fire wore a midnight black combat suit, and only the elite of the Northern soldiers wore black. The black uniformed man also saw Cross and raised a hand towards his direction, as if telling him to stop. However, instead of acting out of surprise and desperation, the black uniformed man did this action calmly, as if trying to calm a Persian that was ready to pounce.
He could've done it right there. He could've just pulled the trigger. The man was unarmed and he had food that was already cooked, so why not just kill him and get it over with? He didn't have a helmet, so he could just shoot him in the head and take the food and go.
What was he thinking?
He was thinking like a murderer, a man who only took lives away from others for something that he didn't even need at the moment. He was a human being, dammit, not a savage. Cross lowered his gun to his side, watching the man slowly turn his whole body towards him. But suddenly, Cross widened his scarlet eyes. The red eyes, the jet black hair; It was unmistakable, who this man really was. This man had the feared reputation for being th-
"Hmm. You're different," Cross almost jumped at the man's voice. The red eyed man seemed ominous; half of his dirty face was lit up by a hellish fire while the other was kept in the dark, "Why didn't you shoot?"
Cross wanted to open his mouth to tell him, but the only thing he managed to do was shrug. He didn't really have to tell him, his slumped body, his weary and baggy eyes, and his dull, red eyes told the man everything. The man scoffed, pointing to the floor next to him.
"Come on, sit." Cross was slightly confused and intimidated, but he took a step forward anyway.
"Not you!" Cross stopped dead in his tracsks, "Garuda." When the man said that name, Cross heard the sound of claws scraping rock come from above him. Cross whipped around, and sure enough, there was a black Charizard watching over Cross's every single move at a small cliff that protruded over the entrance of the small chamber that they were in. The pokemon extended its wings, flapping towards the fire and landed right next to its owner. At that moment, Cross realized why the man was so calm; his Charizard would've toasted him in seconds if he did anything stupid.
"Tell me, Southerner, why did you hesitate?" The man inquired, his Charizard keeping a sharp eye on Cross. The pokemon's expression told Cross that if he said anything stupid, his life would be burnt away in seconds. Cross gulped, but gave an honest answer.
"I don't know."
"You don't know? That's a first."
"Not for me. There's a lot of things I don't know anymore" Cross croaked, his throat parched and his stomach begging for the food on the skillet. The sizzling of the steak, the smell of the Tauros meat, and the sight of the cooked Magikarp didn't help his fatigued body whatsoever. The man seemed to grin with a mischievous expression.
"Don't try to act like you don't know who I am." The man had his arms crossed and his body relaxed. Cross gulped and nodded visibly so that the man could see.
"You're the Black Knight," Cross muttered loud enough for him to hear. The Black Knight laughed and uncrossed his legs to lean forward towards Cross.
"You're correct," The man kept his grin. Cross's heart sank to his stomach; this was the feared Black Knight from the Northern side of the war, the one who turned the tide of battle whenever he appeared on the battlefield. He and his Charizard decimated entire divisions of Southern soldiers by themselves. Southern assassins have been trying to kill him for months now, and every single one of them were shipped back to headquarters in jars of ashes. Yet, here he was, sitting next to a fire with food that could feed an entire army without any visible weapon (besides his Charizard) near him.
"I guess I'll be on my way, then," Cross decided as he turned around. He would have better chances at digging his way through a ton of rock than fighting the Black Knight one on one.
"I don't think so."
Cross stopped as he heard the man's voice over the crackle of the burning of wood. Cross gulped, his injured arm crossing his body to grab the pokeball with his hand. He also tightened his grip on his pistol, his finger resting on the trigger.
"Not until your Sandslash gets a bite to eat," The man said. Cross whipped around towards the man with wide eyes. The man didn't even flinch when Cross raised the pistol towards him. The Charizard, however, growled at the action.
"How do you know that I have-"
"You have quite a reputation for yourself as well, Dune Knight," The man stated as he flipped the meat over on the skillet with a sizzle. Those of considerable combat or survival skills were considered as "Knights." A single word before the title of Knight described them, and since Cross and his partner were very familiar with ground based attacks and tactics, the two were considered the Dune Knights. Cross had no idea that his reputation reached the Northerners as well.
"Since when was I famous?"
"Since the day you saved that one Nidoqueen from your own soldiers. You've become quite the buzz back in our area. Unlike me, you actually did something noble for a change," The man stated. It was true. Cross helped a Nidoqueen off of the battlefield, who was heavily injured and physically abused by her trainer and other Southern soldiers when they faced a loss in the war. He used his ground tactics to deliver the Nidoqueen out of the warzone. When Cross was caught, he went all the way from Lieutenant Colonel to Corporal.
"But it wasn't even that much. I just helped a pokemon to get out of the war, that's all," Cross explained. The Black Knight shook his head.
"No. Do you know what you did? You've started something among all Kantoan soldiers. I know; I have access to most of the files in the Northern intelligence bases. Northern and Southern soldiers are finding ways to get their pokemon out of the war and into Johto, or other places like that. I don't know about you Southern soldiers, but we Northern soldiers want nothing but the best for our pokemon."
"Are you trying to smuggle your Charizard out of war?" Cross asked, his curiosity getting the best of him after the Black Knight him that information. For a moment, he forgot that he was talking to the enemy, and felt hurt when the man scoffed.
"I have no right to tell you so." The Charizard behind him huffed a cloud of smoke, which surrounded the Black Knight in a dark shroud for a second. The Southerner gulped, but then nodded. The man gave Cross a grin, motioning him to a couple of boxes across the fire from him.
"Go on, sit. Don't worry, none of it's poisoned. I wouldn't stoop that low to kill one of you green bastards," the man scoffed again. Cross was torn, the man had a reputation for being the most violent and dangerous man in all of Kanto, and he wanted him to eat with him. Could he trust him? Could he trust his pokemon as well?
"How do you like your meat?"
"Medium rare," Cross answered without thought. He blinked before realizing what he just said. His face flushed when the man laughed at him. Cross shrugged, he might as well eat something good before he dies, right? He sat down, holstering his pistol and holding Dusty's pokeball in his hand.
"And your comrade?" The Black Knight asked in a joking matter, not expecting an answer.
"Medium well," Cross answered automatically for his friend. Cross's face couldn't help but crack a smile at the Black Knight's pause and skeptical look.
"Are you sure?"
"Oh yeah. Watch out, he gets a little crabby when the meat's undercooked," Cross laughed, his body aching as he sat across the fire from the Black Knight. The Charizard let out a huff, as is if he were chuckling along with his partner.
"Let the poor guy out, will you? I could hear his stomach grumbling from here." Cross nodded, pressing the button in the middle to reveal a Sandslash that materialized on the crate next to his partner. He heard the friendlier-than-usual talk between his partner and the Black Knight through the pokeball, but couldn't help but tense up at the sight of the Black Charizard. The dragon stared down the Sandslash, who didn't seem to be scared at the slightest, just on edge. It wasn't until Cross but a hand on his spiny shoulder that he relaxed.
"Come on, Dusty. If he wanted to kill us, he would've done it a whole lot sooner." The Sandslash looked towards the Charizard, who shrugged and nodded. While the meat was cooking, Cross couldn't help but ask:
"How did you know I was the Dune Knight?"
"Short, young, red hair, and red eyes. Just like mine," the Black Knight pointed to his own eyes, and lo and behold, they seemed to be the exact same shade as his. Upon closer inspection, the Black Knight seemed to have a five o'clock shadow and a hell lot of bags under his tired eyes.
"Ian Cross, am I right?" The Black Knight asked the Southerner. Cross nodded, a little bemused, actually.
"Just call me Cross. Your name is Austin Fang, the Black Knight. There're a lot of stories about you from the guys who survived your attacks. A friend of mine got out of the war cause of a burn injury, thanks to… Garuda, was it?" Cross asked as he took out a small personal medkit that he kept in his cargo pocket. He bandaged his grazed arm, cleaning the dust and debris from the open wound before doing so. He watched as Austin gave his partner a plate full of meat.
"You've hit the nail on the head. Anyway," The Austin grunted as he got up from his seat to give Cross and his partner a plate with utensils and meat, "here you two go. It's on the house."
Cross warily accepted the plates and handed one to Dusty. However, before Dusty could wolf down his food, he looked towards Ian for consent, who in turn looked towards Austin for a sign of approval. The Black Knight chuckled,
"You've been starving for days now, and you're still asking for permission?" He didn't even give the two soldiers time to answer, he gave them a shooing motion with his hands. At that moment, the two dug their faces into the food and ate everything in a matter of seconds. Even though it was hot, the two learned to eat their meals as fast as they could, in fear of not being able to finish. The food was cooked to perfection, each steak to their own preference. Dusty and Cross looked at each other with silly grins on their faces.
"Just like old times, huh Dusty?"
"Slash!" The Sandslash smiled back, shoving the rest of his food in his mouth. However, he realized that the Charizard was eyeing the food hungrily. The small steak wasn't quite big enough to feed a dragon of his size, so Dusty cut a portion of the meat with his claws and extended it over the fire towards him. Garuda seemed genuinely shocked at the gesture, and almost declined the offer out of pride until he felt his stomach rumble. He was pretty sure that the Sandslash heard as well from the smile he gave him. The Charizard scoffed and took the meat, throwing it up and chomping down on it in one bite. That seemed to dissipate all of the previous tensions, and the two pokemon started to talk as if they were long lost friends.
"Look at them, acting as if the war didn't even happen," Austin pointed out. Cross laughed,
"Yeah, Dusty's like that I guess. I don't know, fighting is such an involuntary thing for pokemon; I don't think that they're as affected from war than us humans."
"It still doesn't justify how we dragged them into our mess, though."
"That's true."
After failing to decipher what his partner was talking about, Cross noticed something shiny hanging from Austin's neck. And this wasn't a pair of dog tags, either. Upon closer inspection, the fire reflected off of a metallic surface, a golden surface. The soldier kept on looking into the fire, but a sudden question from Cross made him turn his head.
"What's that, around your neck?" Cross pointed out. The Black Knight looked down, holding the necklace close to his chest. Cross couldn't help but keep staring at the golden cross around his neck.
"It's something my wife gave me. She has one, herself. It was for my birthday, and she wanted to give me something to remember her by when I went to war. It's given me some great luck in the past," he smirked, "One time, when I took it off for during a fight, I got shot right in the ass."
Cross let out a small bout of laughter and gave the Black Knight a skeptical look.
"I'm quite serious, it went through one cheek and out the other! The nurse that helped me laughed every time she saw me; it was horrible," Austin chuckled. Cross smiled, showing off his bright white teeth that seemed to be the polar opposite from his dark and dirty skin.
"There was this one time where my friend got stuck in a Diglett hole. It took the whole squad to pull him out, and we were right in the middle of a fight, too! It was probably the funniest thing I saw this year," Cross shared. The Black Knight smiled, his body shaking in laughter before he replied,
"Still doesn't beat my story though. I'm never taking off this necklace again!"
The two talked like this until the extra meat was fully cooked. By that time, Austin coughed and looked around for some sort of liquid to satisfy his thirst. He eyed Cross's water canteen and pointed at it.
"Got anything to drink?" Austin asked over the fire. Ian nodded, throwing a canteen over the fire for the Black Knight to drink. He accepted graciously, waterfalling a gulp's worth of water into his mouth before swallowing it. He looked over at his Charizard friend, who pointed towards the meat before pointing to another opening in the chamber. Austin nodded, and Garuda got up, walking towards another entrance to the small chamber that they were in, calling out to someone in his own native language. Dusty seemed to perk up at the sounds that the Charizard made, and stopped to peer over where Garuda was headed.
"Where's he going?" Cross asked Austin as he finished up the last of his meat. Austin seemed to know, but he stayed quiet as he munched on a Magikarp.
"You'll see eventually."
Ian looked around, noting three crates; one for himself and Dusty, one for Austin, and one for… who was it for if Garuda was sitting on the ground? Well, Cross's answer walked into the dimly lit chamber, and he widened his eyes at the sight of a pinkish-red Typhlosion. By the looks of her enlarged belly, she seemed to be-
"She's Garuda's mate, Rina. Garuda actually used to live in this mountain, that's why we're so motivated when we go into battle."
Cross's jaw dropped as he watched the scary ass Charizard hold the Typhlosion's paw and guide her to a crate to sit on. The fire badger seemed to hold an object in her free hand… it was an egg!
"We need to make sure that Rina and her three children get evacuated safely off of this mountain."
Ian was frozen in his spot, and so was his partner. The two looked at each other with expressions that mixed together fright and surprise. They looked back at Austin, who didn't look surprised at all that they were surprised.
"I'm sorry… three children?"
"Twins are on the way," Austin cleared his throat as he handed Garuda a plate filled with a cooked Magikarp and two pieces of Tauros meat, who in turn gave it to Rina. The Typhlosion accepted the food graciously, exchanging the egg for the food that she began to eat. Garuda held the egg safely in his arms, cradling it and rocking back and forth while he and his mate shared a small kiss and small talk. As she ate, the Sandslash seemed to fire questions at the two, who didn't seem peeved at all at the company.
"On the way? But… how are they all going to live get out of here? I mean, even if we ever decide to dig under and out of this mountain, it'll take weeks, maybe months! By that time, we'll run out of food and water-"
"Calm down, Dune Knight. I have a plan. You're not a part of it," the Black Knight delivered harshly. Cross gulped, remembering who he really was.
"Sorry. It's just… I can't help but worry about pokemon. I've seen nasty things done to them, and-"
"I know, Cross, I know. But don't worry; my plan will succeed one way or another. I know a guy who can get Rina and her eggs out of here. Although you're a nice guy and all, I don't trust a Southerner to do my business. But…" Cross seemed a little offended, but he watched intently as Austin reached over behind a crate and pulled out a satchel. "There's something that you can help me with."
Before Cross could ask what, he watched Austin pull out a stack of envelopes. He pulled the rubber band off of the stack of papers, shifting through the slips and scanning each and every one. Eventually, he picked out five envelopes and handed it to Cross.
"Letters?" Cross raised an eyebrow, careful not to accidentally drop any into the fire when he got up to grab them.
"Yes. Some of my men have families on the Southern side, and they want to send them letters to let them know that they're doing okay," Austin commented. The envelopes weren't sealed, so when Cross leaned forward, a picture managed to fall from a letter. He hastily picked it up, brushing the dust off of it to make sure that the picture was still in one piece.
"That belongs in Isaac's. It's a picture of his niece," Austin stated, watching as Cross took a glance at the picture. He froze; his face brightening as he raised his eyebrows. In the picture was a young woman with flowing red hair. She wore a summer dress in a meadow that seemed to be filled with nothing but peaceful, green grass. Her blue eyes matched the color of the sky, and she seemed to smile at Cross as he looked at the photo.
"She's beautiful," Cross thought aloud. Austin chuckled,
"Everybody thought the same also. Oh, and stop staring at her breasts."
Cross laughed and shook his head, looking back up at Austin with a silly smile.
"I know this girl," he grinned, "we grew up together and went to the same school before she moved away. Her name's Rebecca, right?" Austin raised his eyebrows. He nodded, clearing his throat and spitting in the fire.
"Yep. Well, you're lucky; half of the guys at my base would kill you for a chance to meet her."
"I can understand why. I heard that she's living in Viridian city, now," Cross looked for the letter as he asked.
"She is. Oh, and keep the picture," Austin yawned. Cross looked up at Austin with a raised eyebrow.
"Wait, but this isn't-"
"Just trust me. I'm pretty sure that he would want to give it to her childhood friend anyway."
Cross shrugged, putting the picture in his pocket. He wasn't arguing, she was drop dead gorgeous, and now had a better idea of what she looked like after the time that they spent together. He took another look at the letters, straining his eyes to read the names.
"Alex… David… Barry… Nick… Isaac… Okay, I'll see what I can do," Cross muttered as he put the letters away into his pocket.
Meanwhile, the three pokemon were sitting around on the crates, with Dusty firing away question after question while they talked together.
'So, how long have you two lived here?' Dusty asked as he curled and uncurled his claws.
'Two or so years. We haven't been able to get out much since the war is right above our roof,' Rina replied. Her voice was gentle and soft, unlike Garuda's heavy and rough one.
'I met Austin here, actually. Like your partner, he wandered into our cave and was stuck here. I was about to kill him, but when I found out that he could get us food, I threatened to kill him,' Garuda let out a growling laughter, 'what a strange way to make a friendship.'
'I mean, that's understandable, since you were protecting your mate,' Dusty stated.
'See? He understands,' Garuda laughed and nudged the Typhlosion with his wing. The fire badger rolled her eyes.
'You didn't have to be overly aggressive about it.'
'Hey, I had to show that I was willing to protect you, didn't I?'
'I could take care of myself,' Rina joked, smiling as she gave the Charizard a peck on the cheek. Garuda chuckled, and then felt bad as Dusty was uncomfortably shifting on his crate. It sucked being the third wheel, didn't it?
'Any other questions?' Garuda asked. The Sandslash's ears twitched, and he searched his mind for an answer as he clicked his claws together. When he finally came up with one, he jumped up to adjust his seat on the uncomfortable, wooden crate.
'Typhlosions aren't common around here, how did you end up in Johto?'
'I was originally a Northern soldier. What happened was that my trainer set me free in hopes to get me back to Johto before the war got worse. Sadly, my trainer was killed by his own men, and the Northerners wanted to use me as a weapon,' Rina spoke, her expression downcast and her body heaving in a giant sigh, 'It wasn't until Garuda found me and saved me from those soldiers that I met him. After that, one thing led to another, and then we ended up becoming mates in this cave. It isn't the best living condition, but it'll suffice.'
The Sandslash couldn't help but smile at the gesture that Garuda made when she ended that answer. He picked her off of the crate and held her close with one arm, and she held the egg in between the two while the two sat on the ground near the fire.
'So, tell me about yourself, Dusty. What's it like? Being a Southern soldier? You and I have different experiences,' Rina asked with a smile. Garuda suddenly got very interested, waiting for Dusty to answer. Dusty got off the crate himself, annoyed by the feeling of the crate. He set his bottom on the nice stone and earth.
'Well, it's rough, that's for sure. It's nothing that I can't handle, though,' Dusty grinned with self confidence, 'It's just that Cross puts me in the ball so often. I wish that he would let me out and fight with him instead of putting me in the ball whenever something dangerous happens. I mean, look at him, he's tired as hell. He needs someone to back him up.'
'It shows that he cares for you. I bet that he's just worried that you'll get hurt. Even if he has potions and whatnot, it hurts to see someone they value get hurt. You've been partners since he was little, right?' Rina inquired, caressing the egg. Dusty let out a laugh, his body shaking as he did so.
'Yeah, ever since he was ten. Back then, I was just a Sandshrew, but we sure had some great times together,' Dusty let out a sigh as he looked down into the dirt, 'Great times…' He trailed his claw on the dirt, but looked back up to avoid any deeply personal questions.
'Hey, I hope you don't mind me asking, but how are you three going to… get out of this place? Austin can't keep giving you two food if the Southerners push all the way to the top of the mountain and into the valley.'
'Austin has a plan, and I trust him enough to put the situation into his hands. We've gone through worse situations before,' Garuda told the shrew, giving him a confident smirk. Rina couldn't help but smile at his confidence,
'We always find a way, don't we?'
'We do,' Garuda closed his eyes and curled his tail around her. However, all of a sudden, Rina let out a sharp cry before clutching her stomach and shutting her eyes from the pain. She started to whimper and started to take shallow and numerous breaths. Garuda immediately sprang into action, his face scrunching up in worry. Austin and Cross looked over as well.
'Rina!'
'Garuda… it's…'
'Shh, don't talk,' Garuda hushed his mate by putting a claw to her mouth. She nodded, doing her best to keep herself from screaming. She buried her face into Garuda's neck and held her egg close.
"Garuda, take her to her room. I'll be there in just a second. Cross, you and your partner have to stay here," Austin told him calmly as he stood up from his crate. The Black Charizard obeyed the order, swiftly taking her up into his arms and bringing her to where she came from. Dusty and Cross both leaned forward towards the direction that Garuda went, ready to spring into action.
"Austin, we can-"
"I think that we're done here, Dune Knight. It's been nice meeting you, but it's time that you leave."
"But-"
"Don't make me repeat myself! Leave the area, or I'll have to make you leave by force," the Black Knight snarled as he gripped the pistol that was hidden in his black trench coat. Cross involuntarily gripped his pistol also, exchanging glares as he stood at a ready position. Dusty also got into a combat stance, his claws ready to tear into the Black Knight if he dared to shoot his friend.
"I appreciate your concert, I really do. But you must leave. This is a matter between Garuda, Rina, and I. Please, take those letters to those families if you can," The Black Knight seemed like he was begging, and he nervously eyed the room where cries were heard from Rina.
"Go!" The Black Knight commanded, and Cross and Dusty followed his order, turning around and leaving with the letters in their hands. However, before Cross was out of the chamber, he whipped his body around and called for the Northerner.
"Wait!" Austin stopped to turn towards Cross.
"What is it-"
"Will I see you again?"
"What?"
"Will I see you again? Let's meet up after the war!" Cross shouted without thinking, and the Black Knight froze at the preposterous suggestion. However, Austin smiled,
"We'll meet again soon enough, Cross. We'll meet again."
And with that, they parted ways, leaving the fire in the chamber to die down into nothing but glowing embers.
#####
"Fix bayonets, let's go!"
"Yes, Captain Cross!"
Cross shouldered his rifle for the first time after his promotion, blindly firing a couple of shots towards the top of the mountain as they pushed forward. The moment he returned a couple of days before the next assault, he was promoted for surviving after the Northerners pushed the Southerners back. Now, with renewed strength, ammunition, food, and reinforcements, the men charged up the hill with vigor. They threw themselves against the machine gun fire, forcing the Northern gunmen to engage the Southerners in close combat, which was their weakest area of training. Cross hit the button of his pokeball on his belt, and his trusty partner let out his cry and dug into the ground for an underground attack.
One man fell to the ground as a Magnemite unleashed a thunderbolt onto his body, a Southerner Dragonite rushed forward and met head on with a Gyrados into a fight that would bring them both to the dirt, an Ekans wrapped its body around a soldier while biting down onto his neck, and a Staryu let out a continuous stream of swift attacks onto Southern before getting its body crushed by a powerful hydro pump from a Blastoise. It was utter chaos.
The dirt exploded around him, and shrapnel from grenades and mortars took out the men next to him, but Cross has learned to keep moving forward. Eventually, he jumped into an enemy trench with his rifle reared, and he stabbed a Northerner in the chest with the bayonet. His partner emerged from the ground and into the trench, spearing a Marowak in his claws on his way up. He flung the dead carcass onto an opponent before impaling them both. The Sandshrew and the Dune Knight fought the whole trench off, with Cross firing his rifle down the trench line while the Sandshrew tore through the Raichus, Venasaurs, Kabutops, and other Northern soldiers.
Cross ducked under a soldier's swing before swinging his rifle's end to smash it into the soldier's face. The Northerner fell, and Cross parried a bayonet thrust from a different soldier with one of his own, stabbing his opponent in the stomach before kicking him off of him. Cross reloaded, pulling out a fresh magazine out of his vest and replacing the old one as he saw a pokemon get released from its ball. He hip fired and emptied his magazine into the skull of a Rhyhorn that was in the process of charging towards him. Its rock plated head had no chance, and the pokemon swayed to the edge of the trench and fell silent.
Dusty side stepped to the side and let a Scyther slip by before he swiped his claws to his left decapitate it. He buried quickly into the dirt to avoid a shadow ball, only to pop up again and cut into the pokemon who just sent it. Before a Machamp could deliver a nasty blow, Dusty rolled up into a ball and hurled himself towards the fighting pokemon, cutting through the outer layer of body armor that it wore. The rocky spines on his back successfully tore softened up his body armor, and as he leapt back, he cut off one of the fighting pokemon's arms. Before the fighting pokemon could react, Dusty lunged forward and drove his claws into the Machamp's heart. Suddenly, the Sandslash felt an invisible force that wrapped itself around his neck, and he fell to his knees to see a Hypno using a psychic attack. Dusty was struggling to gasp for air until a bullet from Cross's rifle that blew the Hypno's face apart.
"I got you, buddy!" Cross yelled out, and Dusty let out a cry in thanks. At that point, Cross's fellow soldiers entered the trench he was in as well, and they took down any Northerners that Cross and Dusty missed.
"Christ, captain! Leave some for us, will you?" A soldier said in a jokingly matter. Cross, however, wasn't amused. In fact, he felt his heart drop into his stomach as he heard a fellow Southern soldier yell out in panic.
"It's the Black Knight! The Black Knight's here!"
Dusty froze in his tracks as he looked up to Cross with uncertainty. His trainer gulped, pulling the bolt back on the rifle to chamber a new round into the barrel. Everyone was looking towards the top of the mountain, and sure enough, the Black Knight was speeding towards them. From what seemed to be a mile away, Ian felt the heat wave from the Charizard reach him, and ironically send shivers down his spine.
"Dusty… we have to stay alive," Cross said as he looked down to his friend with a face filled with sorrow. The Sandslash slowly nodded, sharpening his claws. They knew that they had to do whatever it took to survive. But all of a sudden, he felt a red beam of light hit his body.
"Slash!" The Sandslash let out a cry to Cross before he was set back into his pokeball. Cross put the military grade pokeball into his cargo pant pocket. The new pokeball he was issued was able to withstand dozens of bullets and explosions. It was specifically made so that the pokemon couldn't be released until it was called upon by its trainer, and it was the ultimate shelter for any pokemon that was under heavy fire.
"But you need to live more than I do."
Even if I die, he'll live and hopefully end up in a Southern base with my body…
Cross steeled himself and looked over the trench as Northern soldiers rushed forward along with a menacing black Charizard that seemed to travel down the mountain at mach speed while its mouth spit out flamethrowers and fire blasts left and right towards Southern soldiers. Cross, along with his men, raised their rifles and fired towards the Black Knight and his dragon in controlled bursts, just like how they were taught during training. The group of soldiers, however, watched in horror as the bullets seemed to deflect off of the black blur, and soon enough, the Black Knight jumped off of his dragon and into the trench that was occupied by Cross and his men.
The Black Knight entered with extreme momentum, and his extended feet met with the body of a Southern soldier, who happened to be right in his path of trajectory. His black trench coat and his black combat pants seemed to blur as he pummeled the poor soldier into the dirt, cracking his ribs and jawbone with one kick. After he bounded off of him, the black menace raised a sub machine gun in each hand to mow down the Southern soldiers and pokemon to his left and right.
Cross couldn't shoot the Black Knight; his friends were in his direct line of sight. He decided to fall back further down the mountain and into a fox hole where he could get a better shot. Cross, who wasn't facing the Black Knight at the time, turned around and set his rifle on top of a clutter of sandbags that were used by the Northerners against Southern advances.
Cross blinked and let out a yelp as the Black Knight seemed to appear out of nowhere. Before he could even pull the trigger, the Black Knight kicked the gun away from its dug in position, forcing Cross to abandon the rifle and pull out a handgun on him. The Black Knight rose his submachine guns after jumping back a distance, but out of sheer luck, Cross managed to get a bullet on the Black Knight's shooting hand and a bullet on the other submachine gun, making him drop the weapons.
Cross pulled the trigger again, but nothing happened. He looked down at his weapon to see that the bullet casing was lodged in the ejection port, jamming the weapon. This allowed the Black Knight to pull a pistol of his own, and he lunged at the Dune Knight while aimlessly firing towards him.
Cross ducked down, racking the slide twice to clear the jam. As he got up again, he grabbed the Black Knight and flung him to the bottom of the foxhole that he was in. However, the Black Knight quickly recovered and tackled him to the dirt. Cross, with his back in the dirt, shoved his pistol's barrel into the heart of the Black Knight while he felt the barrel of the Black Knight's pistol up against his forehead. For a couple of seconds, the two looked into each other's bloodshot, scarlet eyes with anger and adrenaline. However, the Black Knight backed off, taking off the strap that held his satchel.
"We meet again, Dune Knight."
"So we do," Cross growled indignantly. His grip tightened on his pistol as Austin took off his satchel and dropped it. Cross didn't even blink, his gun still trained onto the Black Knight.
"I sent the first born to my family back home. The other two are in that satchel," Austin said, who also had his sights trained onto the Dune Knight. However, at Austin's remark, Cross lowered his pistol and widened his eyes in shock.
"You mean…?"
"Yes. I was able to smuggle one away… but the other two weren't so luck. Therefore, I need you to take them."
Cross was dumbfounded; they were in the middle of the battlefield, discussing the lives of two unborn pokemon while bullets whizzed overhead and grenades exploded nearby. The red eyes of the Black Knight never wavered, staring down Cross with determination as Cross shook his head.
"But… I can't! Things have changed!"
"Ian."
Cross stared at Austin's face at the sound of his first name. What he heard next seemed to make everything go silent:
"She's dead."
Ian no longer heard the bullets overhead. He no longer heard the explosions, or the screams, or the pokemon. He didn't know why, but for some reason, he felt as if a knife went straight through his heart. He couldn't help but think about the kind Typhlosion that befriended his pokemon. The very same Typhlosion who was the precious mate of another living being. He couldn't help but choke and let out a sob as tears threatened to pour out of his eyes.
"One way or another, Garuda and I are going to get these eggs out of here. The area's too hot for Garuda to fly out of here with the satchel, and our commanding officers threatened to shoot us in the back if we ever dared to retreat. I think that it's about time we washed the blood away from our hands and pass the baton of life unto someone who knows how to handle it correctly."
"But… why me?" Cross croaked above the gun fire.
"Because you're different. You're different from the others that I've met so far."
"What-" Cross was cut off by a gunshot. He was brought back into the real world as sheer pain shot through his knee, and then his entire leg. Cross opened his mouth to let out a shout that was heard over an explosion. Cross let go of his gun and clutched his left knee with both of his hands. Immediately, the Black Knight tossed away his used pistol and took out a tourniquet to tightly apply pressure to the wound that he just created.
"What the fuck, man?" Cross howled.
"This'll get you a purple heart and an honorary discharge if you make it back alive. I'll surrender and come home after the war. If all goes well, I may be able to see Garuda's offspring. Until then, please… keep them safe."
The Black Knight got off of Cross, taking the strap of the satchel and putting it around Cross's neck and shoulder. The Black Knight looked up and out of the foxhole to see a green colored soldier cup his mouth and yell out the soul shattering order:
"Retreat! Everybody, get back! Fall back!"
Austin grit his teeth and furrowed his brow, this wasn't supposed to happen…
"You must leave, now!" The Black Knight barked as he shook Cross. Ian let out a grunt, biting through the pain as he attempted to get up. He succeeded with Austin's help, but he stumbled forward. Austin shook his head, this wasn't looking very good…
"Then promise me something!" Cross took the Black Knight out of his stupor.
"Anything."
"Promise me that these two will be able to see you and Garuda one day!"
The Black Knight paused. He looked up towards the sky, where the dragon tore apart a Pidgeot with his claws. A bullet hit his dear friend in the wing, making him roar out in pain before he literally returned fire by spitting out balls of flame. The Black Knight turned to the red haired man and nodded. Cross called Dusty out, and with the Sandslash's help, the two painfully dragged themselves out of the fox hole and made a straight beeline towards their own army.
"Don't look back!" The Black Knight roared, and he waited until Ian followed his command and stumbled his way back to his own forces. After that, he pulled open his coat to reveal a bullet proof vest, littered with holes. He took it off, revealing a shredded undershirt with a red stained hole in his stomach. He grimaced, landing on a knee and watching as the two fell back and retreated.
"Come on Dusty!"
"Sand!"
The Sandslash helped his trainer as much as he could as they scrambled to fall back. However, bullets whizzed passed them at dangerously close distances. Austin Fang, who was sitting in the fox hole, realized that the two Southerners were moving too slow. He looked back at his fellow soldiers, who were advancing forward at an alarming rate. For the first time in his life, he was distraught as his soldiers were moving down the hill so fast. He looked back at Ian Cross and his Sandslash, watching as a bullet tore through the satchel's strap. Ian caught the satchel before it dropped to the ground, clutching it in both of his arms while he limped forward.
"Fang! Come in! We need you to take care of these Southern bastards before they get away!" The Black Knight heard the communication that was going on through his walkie talkie that was on his vest. He ignored it, tending to his wound and looking around the foxhole, spotting a Northern machine gun that was abandoned. He crawled his way over to it, realizing that it was full of ammunition.
"Fang, respond!"
I'm sorry, Dune Knight. I don't know if I can keep that promise…
At that point, the Black Knight heaved a machine gun out of the bottom of the trench and set it upon a low profile tripod. He turned to face the uphill, pulling the bolt back before squeezing the trigger and watching as the bullets flew tore through his own soldiers.
The surprise caught the Northern soldiers off guard, and they realized that they were being fired upon by their own weaponry and comrade. Before the Northerners knew what was going on, Austin shredded the ranks with machine gun fire, retarding the advance of the Norhtern soldiers down the mountain. Over the roaring of the weapon, he heard the screams of his own comrades over the walkie-talkie:
"Austin! What're you doing? It's us!"
Alex…
David…
Barry…
Nick…
Isaac…
He saw his own men, men that he personally knew, fall down as his bullets caused ligaments and limbs to rip off of their torsos. He watched his own comrades, friends who were willing to catch a grenade for him, die by his hands, all for the survival of two pokemon. Tears streamed down his face as he grit his teeth and braced himself as he turned the gun a different direction, making sure that the advance was being slowed down from all sides. When he saw another friend go down, he questioned himself: was he doing the right thing?
No. That didn't matter. Garuda was his faithful and trusty partner, and this wasn't going to stop him from making sure that his kids were safe. For the next generation of children, he had to try to give them a future that doesn't have to be filled with hatred, with war, or with destruction of this magnitude. He just had to…
He continued to squeeze the trigger, losing his hearing as grenades started to land and explode near him. He let out a shout, venting out his frustration, his anger, and his sorrow as he watched his own countrymen drop like flies. He heard a roar, and he looked upwards to see Garuda getting overwhelmed by Scythers, Gyrados, and armored Pidgeots. He shook his head as Garuda fell to the ground, followed by other pokemon that dove down like vultures on a fresh, dead meal.
"Garuda!" The Black Knight twisted his whole body around, ignoring the fiery pain that coursed through his entire body. His mind told him to stop, to surrender, to turn his attention to the Northerners that were still moving down the hill. Instead, he turned the machine gun over to Garuda, lighting up the pokemon above his friend with his weapon. He watched the feathers, the skin, and the armor fly around his friend, but he still saw no movement from the black Charizard.
"All units, Austin Fang has turned on us! Take him out!"
All of a sudden, he felt a bullet hit his shoulder, and then another hit his arm. He let out a shout, twisting the machine gun back into the direction of his own soldiers and sending a hail of bullets in their direction. However, this time, his own soldiers set up machine guns of their own, out gunning and out numbering him.
A bullet hit his stomach again, and another hit his ear. He could feel the bullets closing in, tearing apart his flesh as they grazed by until they hit him square in the chest and stomach. He held on to the trigger of the weapon, but he fell back as bullets continued to hit him, and his body jerked back at every bullet that wracked his body. As he twisted around from another bullet, he saw the Southerners as they retreated. As he saw one specific man with flaring red hair with a black satchel surrounded by Southern soldiers, he smirked, closing his eyes as he felt the boots of his fellow soldiers thud against the ground near him as his vision blacked out…
#####
"Woah! Al, check out these medals!"
"Char!" A young boy with flaring red hair and ocean like eyes held up a large medal. He and a golden Charmander was sitting in the attic of his small house, and the boy examined the object by using the light that came from the tail flame of his friend. This specific medal had an upside down star with the Kantoan Marines coat of arms in the middle.
"No way, I never knew that dad got a medal of honor!" The small boy exclaimed, and his fire partner widened his eyes also, reaching out a paw to hold the cold metal in his hand.
"Char…"
"I don't get why dad doesn't want to talk about this stuff, I bet it was awesome!" The boy's face cracked open a smile, "maybe I should bring this down and ask him when he comes back home."
"Al! Cyphrus! Come on! Get down here, let's go and give dad his present!" The boy, now known as Cyphrus, turned around towards the opening on the floor that led to the house that he lived in. He and the shiny Charmander gulped, quickly putting everything where it was before, which included a black satchel, a tattered green uniform, the purple heart medal, and the medal of honor.
"Coming, Ethan!"
A man with flowing red hair walked with his cane towards his home in Viridian City. He tucked the key to the pokemart away, looking back to make sure that everything seemed to be okay. Once he decided that it was so, he walked towards his home. However, an old man stopped him and let out a friendly hello.
"Ian! Going home for Memorial Day, I assume?"
"Yes, sir," Ian Cross smiled, his hand involuntarily going over his knee where he received his final wound that got him out of the war. "Enjoying the weather, sir? It's really lovely today."
"Why, of course! It's always great here in the city of evergreen! Now, before we start up a conversation, how about you go home to your wife and kids? You need a break, after working so hard in that store!" The old man chuckled.
"Sure thing. Take care of yourself, sir!"
And with that, they separated. Ian used his cane to support his left leg, which still wasn't fully healed after that last battle of his. The war was over, with each side agreeing to back down after the immense amount of dead. The Kantoan government sought to nurture the youth and make sure that such a catastrophe never happened again. Now, Cross lived in solitude, letting his partner, Dusty, rest back at his home along with his three kids and wife. As he walked on the path towards his home, he was met with three kids, a pinkish-red Cyndaquil, and a golden Charmander. Ah. He couldn't forget Garuda's children, either.
The first child to meet him, Ethan, held up a box towards him as the other two kids finally caught up and smiled up at him. They were followed by the fire pokemon, who seemed to smile at him as well.
"Happy memorial day, and happy birthday, Daddy!" The three said simultaneously, with the two small pokemon letting out their cries in support. Ian smiled, taking the box and opening it on the porch of his cozy home.
"Let's see here… oh!" Ian was pleasantly surprised at the sight of a fedora, which matched his black trench coat.
"Thank you so much, Ethan, Cyphrus, and Mari," Ian said as the youngest of the three kids, Mari, ran up and hugged him.
"I'm guessing that Alphonse and Rina helped out in picking the hat, too?" The man asked as he smiled towards the Cyndaquil and the Charmander. The two fire starters smiled and let out cries in agreement. He heard the door open, with a beautiful woman and a Sandslash standing in the doorway.
"They bought this all by themselves, saving up their money by doing their chores," The red headed woman smiled, her blue eyes shining in the sunlight when she saw Ian. The man got up, still holding Mari in one hand and kissing his wife while bringing her close to him with the other.
"I pitched in as well, of course. I know how you love these hats," the woman laughed. Ian grinned,
"That, I do. Thank you, Rebecca."
Cross watched as Dusty came out of the house as well, his old and tired form thudding the blunt side of his claws against Ian's bad knee. The Dune Knight put a hand on the spiny back of his partner and reassured him.
"I'll be okay, Dusty."
Before they could go in, Ian felt an intense wave of heat along with the sound of beating wings. He looked up, watching as a black speck in the sky grow into a shape of a dragon.
"Honey, can you take the kids inside? I need a moment with Dusty and these two pokemon," Ian said lovingly, handing the present to his wife. He set down his daughter and watched as Rebecca nodded, herding the three kids inside. Right after the door closed, a large, black Charizard landed in front of the house with a huff. The air around Ian seemed to grow hotter, and he watched as the Charmander and the Cyndaquil yelped and ran behind Dusty, who didn't seem fazed at all at the sight of the intimidating dragon. Intimidating was an understatement, the scars of where bullets, claws, and blades tore through in his wings and body were still prominent, and the Charizard's naturally angry looking expression didn't help.
"Garuda, you finally came."
The Charizard let out a grunt, nodding at Ian as he folded his wings. He turned to Dusty, who seemed to nudge the Cyndaquil and the Charmander towards the large dragon. The two shyly came out, taking small steps before running back to bury their faces into Dusty's legs when the Charizard let out a huff again. The Charizard paused, lowering himself so that he was on the level of the two small fire starters.
'Hey, come on, now. I'm not here to hurt ya,' his low voice bellowed in a father-like manner, which made the Charmander and the Cyndaquil peek their heads from Dusty.
'Come on, Alphonse, Rina, Say hello,' Dusty's voice spurred the two forward.
'H-hello,' the two nervously and shyly said. Garuda smiled, happy at the names that were given to the two.
'Alphonse and Rina…' Garuda repeated. At the sound of the Charizard's voice, Al grew some courage and took a step towards Garuda and gulped. He stood up right next to Garuda, looking up at him while the Charizard looked down upon him. Al closed his eyes shut and whimpered as Garuda extended a hand and placed it on top of his head.
Instead of yelling and running away, the golden Charmander opened his gray eyes, looking up at the Charizard in a curious way. He tilted his head, getting a closer look at Garuda. The larger Charizard seemed to smile even wider, and he watched as the timid Rina waddled her red Cyndaquil body over to him as well. Garuda put a hand on her also, and she seemed to be entranced at the sight of the larger being in front of them, no longer afraid like her brother.
"Are you here to take them back?" Ian asked. At that point, Alphonse and Rina looked towards Ian and Dusty before looking back at Garuda. Take them back? At that question, the two quickly ran away from him, hiding behind the shrew once more. The Sandslash gave the Charizard an apologetic look, giving the two a small scolding.
'Hey, that's not how you should treat a guest.'
The Charizard seemed hurt for a second, but he laughed and shook his head at Ian. The red hair man's face fell as he put his new hat on his head.
"They're out and gunning for you, you know."
Garuda nodded, letting out a tired and sad cry.
"I'm guessing that Austin didn't make it either…"
Garuda slowly nodded, looking down at the grass. Ian slowly walked over, putting a hand on the Charizard's head. Garuda didn't seem fazed one bit; he looked up towards the middle aged man with dull eyes, letting out a small groan as he hugged him.
"I'm so sorry, brother. I wish I could've done something, but…"
Garuda pushed Ian away, shaking his head. He let out a low cry and looked Ian directly in the face with a concerned face, which he took as something along the lines of, 'you did enough.'
Garuda turned his attention to his children, his beloved children. He pondered the possibilities. If he took them along with, they could be together as a family. However, if he took them along with him, they would be hunted down forever, along with him. He struggled to stay strong and keep the tears from coming out of his eyes when they looked at him the same way Rina did when they first met…
"Garuda, if you want, you can spend the night here, or-" The Charizard shook his head once more. Instead, he brought an interesting article of jewelry to Ian's attention; it was a golden cross with a golden chain, still intact after so much wear and tear. Garuda held out the necklace towards Ian, who graciously accepted the necklace with two hands. Cross looked down at the jewelry, watching as the metal reflected the sun as he turned it over.
"It's so heavy," Cross whispered, clenching the necklace in his right hand. He looked up towards Garuda and watched him as he nodded and turned around to leave. However, all of them turned around to see Al walk out from behind Dusty and let out a small cry,
'Goodbye, mister!'
The Black Charizard froze, his tail flame suddenly shrinking in size. In a couple of seconds, his shoulders bounded up and down, as his head hung low. He wiped the strange liquids coming from his eyes and turned around to give the Charmander a thumbs up and a grin.
'I'll see you later, pal.' With a giant blast of wind and heat, Garuda opened his wings and took to the skies. Ian let his right arm hang at his side. The chain and the cross were held so tightly in his hand that it left imprints in his calloused palm. He let out a deep, shaky sigh as he turned towards Dusty and the other two pokemon. Al and Rina were looking up towards Ian, curious about whom that strange pokemon was. Instead of answering their questioning looks, he headed inside.
'Uncle Dusty, who was he?' Rina asked him as they stared up at the black dragon when he left. The Sandslash didn't answer right away; he kept looking up towards the sky with a pained expression.
'Uncle Dusty, is Uncle Ian friends with that guy? He looks really scary, but he's kind of nice! He gave Uncle Ian gave hugs, too!' Al smiled, his tail wagging as the flame seemed to grow bright with vitality. Dusty finally snapped from his small stare into space before holding the two pokemon near his body with his dulled claws.
'He's an old friend of Uncle Dusty's and Uncle Ian's. Don't be so shy next time he comes over, okay? He went through a lot to come here,' Dusty remarked as he led the two towards the house.
'Uncle Ian called him a brother, so does that make him an uncle too? It was nice of him to visit during his birthday!' Rina giggled with innocence, looking up at Dusty with a giddy smile. Dusty let out a small laugh.
'Brother, huh?... Yes Rina… I guess you can say that.'