Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or its characters.

A/N: I've wanted to write this story for so long! I've had the general idea and plot, but my friend Hime-chan helped me finalize some stuff. Now, I vow to whoever opened this up that I will finish this story! This is my first multi-chap fic, so wish me luck!

Sixth Songstress

Chapter 1

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Long ago, Arceus made the world. He decorated the skies with stars and clouds. He made an ocean that sparkled like the brightest gems. He dressed the Earth in flowers and grass. It was beautiful, but he had no one to share it with. So, he created people and Pokemon.

They filled up his Earth and made their homes in the land, sea, and sky. The people and Pokemon helped each other and formed bonds. Everyone was happy. Arceus smiled down on the world he had created. The world was one of perfect harmony, and Arceus planned to have it last for ages.

One boy ruined his plans. The boy's father had died from an illness, and his five sisters and mother were distraught with sadness. The boy himself was also greatly upset. His family was all weeping, and as the only male in the house, he found it was his responsibility to stop it. On a cloudy night, the boy snuck away to Arceus's palace. The journey was long and hard, but the image of his depressed family pushed him onwards.

He snuck in the Pokemon's home and stole his Jewel of Life. "This will surely bring Father back!" he thought. After putting away the jewel, the boy started his journey home. When Arceus found the jewel missing the next morning, he was outraged.

"Who dares steal from me, who gives them life?" he questioned. The Earth shook with his anger and the skies thundered with his rage. The ocean threatened to swallow the land. Everyone was afraid.

Soon, the boy made it home to his family. They were relieved to see him, especially since Arceus had become angry and the destruction of their world had begun. The boy showed his sisters and mother the Jewel of Life excitedly. "Look, now we can save Father!" he exclaimed, but they stared back in fear. They scolded him, saying that stealing from Arceus was the worst sin anyone could commit. They begged him to return it, to give it back and repent, but the boy wouldn't agree. "I've worked very hard to get this for us! I've journeyed far away from home to get back our Father and this is what you think of my effort?" he cried.

Arceus soon found the family and tore open their home. "Where is my jewel?" he questioned. The boy refused to give it back. He called Arceus an unfit ruler that created unhappiness in the form of death and pain. Arceus was angry. He had worked hard to create a wonderful world, and this was his payment? Without death, there wouldn't be life. Without pain, there wouldn't be such a thing as peace. This was the balance he had created, and having it insulted by a small boy was outrageous. He got ready to serve his Judgment when the boy's five sisters stepped in. They begged for Arceus's forgiveness and asked that he spare their brother.

The boy continued to call Arceus out on his horrible deeds and his sisters continued to cry for mercy. The young boy was fed up with all of it. He hated watching his sisters be unhappy. In a hasty outburst, he smashed the Jewel of Life. His sisters were horrified, and Arceus finally snapped.

He would have killed the boy, but he was touched by the sisters' words. Instead, he used his power and forced the boy into a shadow. He turned the boy into Darkness, an entity that could only be found in the presence of the light. With his jewel gone, Arceus decided to use the five girls as his stores for power. He divided his skills among them and hid them in their voices.

The girls grew up and decided to spread across the world to share their voices with everyone. Each went her own way and sang the song of what Arceus had blessed her with: life, time, Earth, emotion, and beauty. On every full moon, when the moon lights up the Darkness just right, the five sisters sang in memory of their brother. Their music healed the Earth from the damage caused by Arceus's rage. This is how the five songstresses came to be.

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"Be quiet," he whispered to his companion. Both were pressed against the cold stone wall, and the girl pulled her straw hat down on her head. The boy's Pikachu waited by his feet for the signal to run ahead. The young man peeked around the corner at the gate, glad that there were no guards due to them changing shifts. The girl squeezed the boy's hand and he turned to look at her. She gave him a small smile from under her large hat. He smiled back and then turned back to the gate. When he saw no signs of movement, he whispered, "Clear!" and broke out into a run with the girl and his Pikachu behind him.

They were so close! The large gates were open due to the preparation for an upcoming festival, and no one was guarding them. In a few more steps, they would be out. The courtyard was large, and outdoor parties and functions were often held there. Outdoor hallways with marvelous stone columns circled the stone yard. Bushes of rare flowers decorated the perimeter, adding to the beauty. The two hurried along, their steps quietly echoing in the night. They could see the lights of the city outside the gates, and both were excited to be close to escape. Soon, they would be free! They could dance under the stars, walk around in the quiet and beautiful park, eat at a wonderful restaurant, or see that circus show she had desperately begged to see. Only a few more steps and it would all be theirs.

The boy heard a wing flap in the night and looked up. "Crap," he cursed under his breath. Circling above them was a familiar silhouette, flapping its large wings quietly as it flew through the stars. He pulled on his companions hand and said, "Yellow, hurry up!"

"O-okay!" the smaller girl stammered as she sped up her steps. The two were almost outside of the gate when the silhouette dove down to land in front of them. The Charizard now blocking their way released a large roar that shook the ground and Yellow hid behind the boy. "R-red!" she cried. His Pikachu jumped in between the Charizard and the two, its cheeks crackling with thunder.

A spiky-haired figure walked out from behind the Charizard and asked with a bored expression, "Where do you think you're going at this late hour, Sir Red, Princess Yellow?"

"Dammit, Green! You don't have to block the way!" Red cursed. His Pikachu calmed down at the sight of a friend instead of an enemy, and Green's Charizard also took a more relaxed stance. He left Yellow's side and walked forward to talk to Green. The spiky-haired boy looked bored. He was wearing his usual green smock over black long sleeves, and his pendant hung around his neck. His brown trousers were tucked into his plain boots. His arms were crossed and he held a red crystal in his hand.

Green's eyes narrowed in annoyance as he responded, "Then maybe you two shouldn't go running off together in the middle of the night. Do you know how worried everyone was when they noticed you two went missing?" Red looked away guiltily and Yellow, who had joined them, twiddled with the edges of her hat.

"Sorry, Green," she mumbled. She had worn her sneaking-out clothes, which consisted of a green cloak that covered a yellow tunic, black leggings, and purple boots. Of course, she also had her straw hat where her long hair was tucked away.

He sighed. He didn't really like scolding them, but it was his job. "Yeah, just go back inside. Sir Red, I'm sure your mother is worried, too. We're going back-"

"Wait!" Red interrupted. Green hated bad manners, and interruptions were the ones he hated the most. He gave Red an irritated look but waited for him to continue. "Yellow really wants to see the circus! Many circuses don't come around, so we need to take this chance! Let us go, Green!" Red's Pikachu felt its master's uneasiness and went to Red, rubbing its cheek on his pants in a comforting manner.

"Please, Green," Yellow pleaded, clasping her hands together. "I know it's selfish, but I really want to see the circus. We haven't snuck out- I mean gone out in a while. Won't once be fine?"

His Charizard nudged him in the back of the head, bored with humans talking about human things. Green ignored it and responded, "Definitely not, especially not at night. It's too dangerous."

"What? I have my sword and Pikachu! Nothing bad will happen!" Red argued.

Green shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous. You don't what's out there. Sir Red, you're the son of the Duke. You shouldn't be breaking the rules," he scolded. "Princess Yellow, we can't take any chances of you getting hurt, either. You're the Songstress of Life, after all."

Red and Yellow hated it when Green brought up status or added titles to their names. It made him seem distant and cold. They knew that Green cared deep down inside, but they still wished he would show it more.

"C'mon, Green! Will you let us go as one friend doing another friend a favor?" Red pleaded.

Green hated it when those two pulled the friend card. He was aware of his cold personality, and actually preferred that most people didn't try to get close to him. Still, he could get lonely, and the young noble and the princess were what he considered family. He hated making them unhappy, but that usually happened due to his job as a knight.

He was about to say no, but saw Yellow staring at him with a desperate, hopeful look in her eyes. He hated that look. He sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, as if to prevent a headache. "Fine, whatever, but I have to go, too. You'd both be in huge trouble without an escort," he finally caved.

"Oh, thank you, Green!" Yellow said happily, hugging them and then going to tug on Red's hands. "Let's hurry!"

"Thanks, Green," he said, grateful that he had allowed them to go. He knew that duty was important to the knight, so every time Green allowed them to go out was a real treat. Red allowed Yellow to pull him along, and Green followed a few steps behind the happy couple with Pikachu and Charizard. Pikachu ran ahead to join its master, leaving Green and his Charizard.

His Charizard murmured a bit and Green roughly understood it. "Yeah," he responded, "I know I'm going to get in trouble." Charizard nudged Green's head again affectionately. "Okay, enough," Green said with a small smile on his face. He was still holding the crystal from before, and held it to Charizard, deciding it was time for him to return. "Charizard, return," he called and in a flash of red, the Pokemon was gone.

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"Wow!" Yellow exclaimed as they approached the tent. The big top was decorated with a red, black, and purple checkered pattern. Other small tents of a similar pattern surrounded it and a caravan of circus cars was partially hidden in the back. Lines of pennant flags ran from tent to tent and small lights decorated and lit up the area. Stalls and booths were set up around the tents and the mouth-watering smells of barbeque, popcorn and candy drifted around. Many people had gathered and the streets echoed with laughter and music. "Oh, Red, let's go get popcorn!" she said.

Red followed along, elated that Yellow was happy. Green watched the engaged couple from behind. He didn't like intruding, but he couldn't just leave two of Kanto's most important people unguarded. Green also hated crowds. There were too many people, and each was trapped in his or her own little world. They didn't care if they were disturbing others; they just did whatever they wanted.

"Hey, cutie, you alone?" a voice asked. Green turned to see a woman waving to him. She was wearing a black corset with purple strings. Under her purple see through sleeves were many bracelets, and they jingled with her movements. She had a purple mini skirt and black leggings with black boots. On her head sat a little purple top hat with a black ribbon. Her blue eyes glittered in the lights of the circus, and her dark hair only brought them out more.

She was pretty, Green would admit, but he really didn't have any interest in getting picked up by a random lady. He judged from her clothes he was part of the circus. He looked ahead and saw that he had lost Yellow and Red. "Shoot," he hissed under his breath. The woman came up to him and smiled, and he glared at her. Pesky woman, he thought. "No, I just got separated from my friends," he said coldly.

"Why don't I help you find them? I'm part of this circus, after all," she said, winking at him. "I could help you out. Anyway, I have " Green immediately knew he didn't want to get involved with this girl, but it would help to have someone who knew the layout.

He swallowed his pride and said, "If it's alright with you…"

She smiled and said with a sly smile, "Sure, I'll help, for a bit of payment."

Green was getting tired of this girl really fast. "You never mentioned payment when you offered your assistance."

The girl wagged her finger and replied, "Sorry, cutie! For every person that takes, there's a person that gives, right? It's the balance of life! From the emblem on your back, I'm assuming you're a knight. That makes you perfect for my job! Anyway, all I need you to do is tell me a bit about the Songstress of Life. Simple enough?" Green was becoming suspicious. Why would this girl need to know about Yellow? If she was an assassin or a kidnapper, he couldn't give out too much information. Still, he did want to find Red and Yellow as quickly as possible. He was in the middle of formulating a plan when the girl said, "Look, I'm not going to give away the information. It's for my journal. It doesn't have to be anything deep or secret. Just tell me what she looks like! Everyone in this region knows anyway, so why try and hide it from a lowly circus girl?" she said matter-of-factly. She was smart, and he liked intelligent people, but something about this girl gave off a mysterious vibe that made him uncomfortable. He thought he saw an evil glint in her eyes, but he brushed it off.

"Fine, I'll tell you about her. I don't really know much, though," he lied.

She laced her arm with his as if she had known him for years, and he immediately brushed off the human contact. She huffed, but easily replaced her pout with a smile. "Oh, don't worry. I'm sure what you'll tell me will be more than enough!" she sang. "By the way, I'm Blue."

He looked her over once again. The name matches her, he thought. He turned around before he answered, "My name is Green."

The two began their walk through the crowd of people. They discussed the Songstress of Life for a bit (Green was careful not to give away much, the only thing he really explained was her personality), but soon their topics were everything under the sky. They talked about daggers and swords, different kinds of magic, polotics, old legends, daily life, food, Pokemon, and everything else anyone could think about. It was more like Blue prattled on about whatever she felt like and Green listened and answered, but they found that just walking together was enough. Often times their opinions would clash and they would end up with an awkward silence, but then Blue would say something else and Green would begin listening again. As they chatted, they weaved their way through the crowds and looked around. They checked in alleys and in front of popular stalls as they looked for Red and Yellow.

They hadn't found the couple yet, and the two were looking around a bunch of food stalls. It had been about an hour, and Green wondered when the next show would start. He was sure they would be there. "That's ridiculous. Why would you do that?" Green responded to Blue's crazy story about putting pepper on her spaghetti until it was black.

She shrugged and tiptoed at the sight of a blonde girl in the crowd, but flattened her feet on the floor when she realized that that wasn't the girl Green was looking for. "I don't know, I thought it would taste good," she answered. He gave her a look of confusion and she laughed.

Green continued looking around when he saw a large Aipom, or rather someone in an Aipom suit, waving in his direction and trying to push past the crowd to get to him. Green was confused, and looked around himself to see who the Aipom was waving at. Then Green remembered that it was probably part of the circus like Blue. "Hey, is that your friend waving there?" he asked after tapping her shoulder.

"Hmm?" she turned and followed his eyes. "Oh," she exclaimed when she saw the Aipom. "Yeah, that's Gold. He's good with kids, so we always put him in the Aipom suit. We tried sticking Silver in there, once. That was hilarious," she mused. She waved enthusiastically, and the Aipom held up his arm and pointed at his wrist. "Oh, the show's about to start! I'll be performing, so you better buy tickets, Greenie," she told him.

"'Greenie'…?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed. Was she this flirtatious with everyone?

She laughed and started walking in the direction of the big top. "You seem like the type that wouldn't like that name," she responded.

"I don't like it," he answered as he followed her.

She twirled around to face him and answered as she poked him square in the chest, "Perfect." Green rolled his eyes, and she gestured to the tent's entrance. "Well, I have to go get ready, so go on ahead. Don't miss me too much, 'kay?" she smiled.

"I won't," he answered with a smirk and she pouted again. "Thanks for helping me, though. I bet they're inside."

"No problem. I hope they are. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen, right?" she said. Green watched her carefully, her last sentence sending shivers down his spine. He hoped he hadn't gotten friendly with a dangerous person. She waved and left, and Green watched her go. He had enjoyed his few hours with her, but he knew they probably wouldn't see each other again, so it didn't matter what impression he made. He bought a ticket and entered the tent.

There were almost no seats left in the crowded tent. Row after row of chairs surrounded a circled off area in the center. The tent was lit hundreds of little lights similar to the ones outside. The tent was hot due to people's body heat, and the air smelled of popcorn and sweets. Green looked around for a seat, not wanting to block the exit. He spotted one and walked down the aisle to sit.

"Green!" he heard Red exclaim. He turned and saw him and Yellow sitting together at the edge two rows behind the seat he had found. The small princess had a large lollipop in the shape of an Electrode and Red had popcorn in a Psyduck shaped bag and Pikachu was sitting on his lap nibbling a cookie. Green couldn't help but smile at the sight. The two looked so innocent and normal like this. Usually both were highly decorated due to status, and junk food like sugary lollipops and buttered popcorn weren't allowed in the world of the rich. Seeing the princess and noble like this was a nice change.

"I'm sorry I lost you, Sir Red, Lady Yellow," he said. Green knew better than to call her princess in public.

Yellow took her mouth off the large lollipop and replied quickly, "Oh, no, you don't have anything to apologize for! We ran off on our own, we're sorry."

He shook his head, "Well, I'll be sitting in that empty seat over there. I'll come get you when the show is finished." The two nodded, and Green went to his seat. He plopped down and waited for the show to start. A few minutes after he had sat, the lights dimmed and it all centered on a girl standing in the middle of the circle area. She was wearing a dark red tail coat with a skirt. A red ribbon held her dark hair up in a ponytail. "Welcome, everyone, to the circus Checkered Illusion!" she yelled to the crowd. Then the show began.

The circus was amazing. The Pokemon displayed how well they were trained by combining moves and performing tricks. A boy and his Aipom performed acrobatics. They swung from bars high and low and did many flips and dives. A Mightyena and Delcatty danced and showed off their beauty. They combined moves like Swift and Incinerate and lit up the tent. Blue did a teleporting act, where she randomly appeared in places with the crowd. She would scare the people she landed by, but would give those people bits of candy after. In the grand finale, everyone came out on stage and performed, their Pokemon. The humans danced as the Pokemon shot their moves up to the roof. The normal types used Swift and mixed it with the water types' Water Gun. The grass types used Razor Leaf and the fire types burned them with Flamethrower. The falling embers fell as everyone posed for the ending. When the last beat of the music played, the lights shut off.

Everyone screamed and Green wanted to turn and look for Red and Yellow, but the lights slowly faded back on and shone on the announcer girl from before, who was now the only one on stage. "Thank you for coming to our show, everyone! We hope you enjoyed your time here at Checkered Illusion!" she yelled. She continued her closing speech as Green turned around to see if Yellow and Red were safe. His eyes widened in horror when Red looked back at him, eyes just as wide, with Yellow's seat empty. Both males immediately stood up and ran outside.

Before Green could even yell at him, Red explained frantically, "She was there until the lights fell! I don't know what happened! We were just sitting and suddenly- There!" Green followed his gaze as a black cloaked figure ran, carrying the unconscious princess over his shoulder as he turned the corner of an alley. "Yellow!" Red yelled, sprinting after him. Pikachu followed after his master.

Green ran after them, taking Charizard's summoning stone from his pocket. He held it up and yelled, "Charizard, follow and stop him!" Charizard appeared with a roar and flew after the figure over the rooftops as Red, Green and Pikachu followed on foot in the alleys. The alleys were narrow and Red and Green found themselves tripping over almost everything. The cloaked figure ran like he owned the streets, easily dodging anything in the way and knocking over crates and items to slow them down. The figure started gaining speed, but the alley he had finally opened up to a town square with a large fountain in the middle.

The figure continued to run, aiming for the alleys on the other side of the square. The princess was still unconscious, and Red didn't want Pikachu to hurt her. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" he commanded. It ran forward and tried to ram itself into the figures back, but a Weavile popped out from the fountain and used Rock Smash, sending the Pokemon to the ground. The Weavile quickly surveyed its work before running after the cloaked figure. "Pikachu!" Red called in worry as he ran up to his partner. Green's Charizard dove in for an attack to the Weavile, but a Hydro Pump shot it out of the sky. Green turned and saw another cloaked figure, this one with a white mask, with a Blastoise next to him standing on the roof tops. He looked back to see that the other figure had disappeared with the Weavile and the princess.

He had to catch the other figure! This person probably had to clues to what was going on. The cloaked figure and the Blastoise jumped down from the roof, and the person landed softly as the Blastoise crushed the floor where it landed. "Charizard, use Air Slash!" he commanded.

"Blastoise, Hydro Pump!" the cloaked figure yelled, and he was surprised to hear a girl's voice. Green's Charizard dodged the attacks, but couldn't get close enough to use the command.

"Pikachu, use Thunder Bolt!" Red called from behind and his Pikachu released a bright shock of thunder. The Blastoise fell from the damage, but slowly stood up, but Charizard was there to knock it back down

"Blastoise!" the girl called worriedly. She went to her Pokemon and returned it to its crystal quickly and got ready to run.

"Stop running! Where is the Princess?" Green yelled as he sprinted after the figure. He was faster, and rammed into her. She fell to the floor and he held her down. Red came with his sword and steadied the blade at her throat. Green stood up and surveyed the girl. He returned his Charizard to its crystal. "Answer me," he growled. Her cloak had been thrown askew and under it she wore a black dress that stopped just above her knees. Her hair was brown, a familiar kind, too, but he couldn't remember where he'd seen it before.

The girl just laughed and Red pushed the blade closer to her throat in anger. "Answer us! Who are you and what have you done with Princess Yellow!" He was extremely enraged, and Green watched him carefully, hoping he wouldn't get carried away. Red's Pikachu growled at her , understanding its master's anger.

"Who am I?" the girl repeated. Green had heard this voice, too, but he still couldn't remember it. "I'm just a little girl out to fix something. You're little girlfriend is going to help us with it," the girl continued. Red sheathed her sword and grabbed the figure by the cloak.

"Sir Red-" Green tried to intervene, but it was no use. Mocking Yellow in Red's presence could almost guarantee at least exile from the Kanto Kingdom.

"Where have you taken her?" he hissed under his breath.

Green could tell she was smiling, even though he couldn't see through her mask. She took a breath in and both males waited for her answer, but instead, she began to sing.

"With the gift that Darkness has graced me, let me see your fears. Like the wilted rose of a garden, I will destroy you."

Her voice was beautiful and haunting, and the moonlight didn't help at all. "A songstress hymn!" Red exclaimed in surprise, letting go of her. Songstresses usually didn't travel, so to see one here taking part in an evil scheme alerted him that something strange was going on.

Green pulled the noble away from the cloaked figure as she began to chuckle darkly. "Those lyrics aren't right. Something's wrong," Green deduced. He began to back away slowly with the young noble, as the girl straightened herself up.

Suddenly, the darkness around them sprang up and began to hover around them like mist. The dark smoke was making Green dizzy and his head started to pound. Red yelled out in pain, and Green wanted to do the same. Green gripped his head in agony and tried to look at the figure, but his vision was blurry and darkness began to creep around its edges. The girl walked up to him, tilting his head up. She took off her mask and smiled at him innocently. His eyes widened in shock when he saw that it was Blue.

"B-Blue…" he whispered to her. Whatever spell she had cast was making him weak, and the pounding in his head was getting worse.

His vision was almost gone, and the last thing he saw was her bright blue eyes. As his eyes finally slid shut, he heard her apologize, "Sorry, Greenie." Then he fell unconscious.

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So how was that for chapter one? I'd like to hear from you readers! Concerns, comments, loved it, hated it, don't want me to write more? I was going to write the legend as a prologue, but I bet people would have skipped it if I had, huh? Oh, special thanks to luoqin on tumblr/deviantart for drawing some super inspirational PokeSpe! Thanks for reading! Oh, if you're wondering about the rating, it's so I can write whatever I want. This will probably remain along the T lines, but you never know.