Disclaimer : I, Airman0007, only own Zarko Elkholm in this story, and the plot of this story, which is branched off of LMV2003's (StarlightMaker17) "Explorers of Space" story. The Pokemon idea belongs to Gamefreak, and all those other companies. White Tatsu belongs to… White Tatsu, and Asura Arklin belongs to Espinoth Nega.
WARNING! If you have not read StarlightMaker17's "Explorers of Space" stories, I would not advise reading this unless you are wanting spoilers. Secondly, this contains some mature language and adult situations, as well as slight sexual content. You have been warned.
Four years. Four god damn years. Four years since the defeat of the Shadow Souls, since Blaze died, since Zoroark and his team had come. All this while since she married Grovyle, decided to settle down for a family, four years since... Since, she thought shit would stop appearing out of nowhere the way it was. Now she was sitting here in the Spinda Cafe, sipping her own drink a little at a time. She was on her second drink now.
Things hadn't changed too much in the past four years. Dusknior and Mismagus were scheduled to get married sometime next year. Treasure town had increased a little in size, adding more homes for the many settlers around the continent. The guild itself was pretty popular at this time, people from all over coming just to join the guild, though Wigglytuff hadn't been taking in any new apprentices lately. Other than that, things were mostly the same… Well, other than her recent arguing with Grovyle, which was why she was here.
Suddenly, a few seconds after setting her drink down, a hand- or a paw- tapped her shoulder, which made her groan in frustration. Seems Grovyle sent someone from the guild to talk to her. "What..." She grumbled as she turned to face the other Pokemon.
To her surprise, it want anyone from the guild. In fact, it wasn't anyone she ever recognized before. Not in Treasure Town, nor anywhere beyond that. She blinked at this. The figure before her was tall- very tall. Not much details could be made out because the figure was robed in black, but the outline of a slim form under it was noticeable. Other than that, it was hard to tell what lied beneath. Looking up to the face, the upper half was hidden by the hood, but a muzzle stuck out slightly. It all made him- or her- look intelligent yet slightly intimidating.
Crystal remained unphased, looking up at the being but refused to show her curiosity, keeping her voice stained with frustration. "What do you want?"
It didn't respond, but did shift a little in an uncomfortable manner. The albino Grovyle found herself getting a little impatient, more than her normal self due to current situations. Sighing once more, she turned back to the table to take another, long sip.
"Needs of your heritage have arisen for one final time."
Now she drew herself from curiosity to shock and surprise. Those words... She hadn't ever, expected the mention of her parents to be brought up again in relation to her. The voice sounded male, definitely. Somehow, she knew that this meant something, but... It seemed as if she just didn't care. Instead, she took another sip of her drink, expecting him to either walk away or continue.
Behind her, the figure sighed, and spoke again in a dark and smooth voice, one that would give you chills and goosebumps. "I know you're having problems with Grovyle right now, I know that you don't want anything more to do with fighting and going back to violence, but this is very important, and it concerns the safety of a lot of lives. It's a line of dominos, and they're going to keep falling over until we pull out one the moment before the fall can continue. But I... we, need your help."
Again, she found herself dumbstruck at the information coming from this man. The voice definitely was somehow... Familiar, just vaguely. And the fact that he seemed to know how she felt, the situation, adding onto her parents being Arceus and Blackfire told her that something was bound to happen. What got her attention at the end though, was him saying "we…" As in, he wasn't the only one?
"And if I don't...?"
"...Then one of two things can happen. Either we- that is, my friends and I- will be safe but everyone in this part of the Pokemon world doomed for eternity, which I'm not going to let happen. So, we go with the second option..." Crystal froze suddenly, as something long and thin was pressing lightly over her side, on the left of her stomach, just under her heart, "I can cut you with this blade that's poisoned and will attack the white blood cells in your DNA and also paralyze your entire body for days, and we can drag you the whole way. After all, grass types are weak against poison, right?"
An unnoticeable gulp came from her, finding her thoughts now focused on what to do here. What if she called out for help here and then the guild would track this guy down and maybe nearby adventurers in the Cafe would help? For some reason, though, she felt as if this Pokemon and his friends wouldn't have a problem and maybe hurt others... But she couldn't just sit here and let him take her!
Crystal opened her mouth after a long while, but then suddenly a sharp pain butted into her ribs just over her heart, making her gasp silently for breath, and everything turned into a red and black blur as her eyes closed.
"You can't be serious!"
"I'm sorry, Grovyle' I am. I'm not going to do this."
"How could you even-"
"Hey, you're the one who suggested this, not me!"
"And do you really think that we should just stay here? Have it to where every time something major happens, they come to us to go out there and fight? Can't we just live alone in peace?"
"They come to us because they need us, and not only because of jobs!"
"Why else, then? Because your father is too scared to be away from his little girl?"
"..."
"...Crystal, I didn't mean-"
"No, just… Leave me alone."
"Damn, did you have to hit her so hard?"
"Perhaps... Was that sarcastic?" The male voice spoke.
"Oh, don't be dumb, Z. You know that it was." Again the first voice spoke, this one being female.
"I think she may be right..." Another female voice spoke up, this one more feminine than the first. "If she stays out for too long we'll run out of time and Drenyll will get to Destiny Tower first, and we can't carry her otherwise she may wake up and run off."
"Stop worrying, you two." Yet once more, the male spoke up. "We'll be fine, trust me. We've all had our shares of battles and patience."
"But I do hope you realize that if they get a hold of this orb, they'll not only wipe out this area of the Pokemon world, but then go to our own homes and family, too." The feminine voice replied softly.
"I know, I know... I hold concerns as well, but we won't fail. I know this."
"You probably should have applied that poison, honestly." Once more the first, almost tomboy-ish voice spoke up. "That would keep her down for a couple of days and we could retrieve the orb first without her even having to know what happened. It'd probably save us a ton of time!"
"I can see your logic, both of you, believe me when I say it... True, we'd save a lot of time, but even in this way, we can make it. Crystal deserves to know the truth if we're going to put her through this, and considering that she's having other things going on at home, this is what she needs right now- something to think about. She's the daughter of Arceus, and Blackfire. I always consider and think over it all, having such a being be so fragile at sometimes. But Crystal is strong. Sure, she may be a little hard to persuade at times, and untrusting, but she has a good heart, and smart. I trust her completely. Maybe not always right, but she's no liar to those who aren't enemies, and fear can almost never get to her. No matter how hard one may break her, the pieces pull themselves back together, into one pure soul of greatness."
"You never try to pick up a piece of glass, Zarko." The more feminine voice said, "You may cut yourself."
"I agree, and it's true... But, they pull themselves together, and all I do is clear the path."
The first voice sighed, "And we let her rise from sorrow."
Crystal groaned as she leaned up, clenching her chest as a tightness started to fade. Her eyes were closed, and she felt that she was leaning against a natural wooden source, and her bottom against the ground that felt a little warm but at the same time cold, while it was almost as if a breeze washed over her skin, the cold winter pressuring her. The first sound that came to her was a crackling, a fire burning some more wood in front of her, also supported by both facts of a heat source against her front and an orange-ish light dimly flickering through her eyelids. It was fairly obvious that she was in a forest. Though her skin began to crawl she remembered everything that happened before. Now she froze. There were about three more with her, right? Shaking her head, she opened her eyes.
Blinking her eyes open, Crystal raised her head to look at the source of where the voices had been coming from, and she found herself dumbstruck at the sight, and blinked her eyes again.
The figure on the left- her left- was a Lucario. This Lucario, though, wasn't normal by any means. In fact, her fur was either white and black, with gold for the 'jacket' part of her fur; and her eyes were glowing a soft royal purple. Her form was slim but muscular, and for some reason, she held probably one of the most friendly and calm looks that Crystal had ever met.
Over on the right, there'd been what... Well, what SEEMED like a Zoroark. Although this was only the second Zoroark she'd met, it was rather obvious that this one wasn't your typical variation of her species. She was bigger, by several times; and the bushy fur she had over her were of a different set of colors, with indigo taking the place of the red of her mane and highlights. The gray of her pelt stood in a deeper contrast to the black of it, due to being of a lighter shade; and her eyes were slowly sliding between different colors as she changed her body position and spoke, as if they were changing colors to match her very emotions. She had two emerald-colored ring-like gems encompassing her shoulders, much like the twin shoulder rings on a Lucario, but they looked to have the same composition of the empathy-granting crystals of the Ralts evolutionary line. As well, her claws were a silvery-white, as opposed to the normal red of her species, and pulsed with a gentle indigo light, of the same shade as her mane. Her entire pelt also had a slight glossy sheen, giving an illusionary feel that she wasn't quite solid. She also had a rather bushy tail halfway hidden under her mane, which was VERY unusual, as a Zoroark loses its tail after evolving from Zorua. As she spoke, Crystal would see that her teeth were razor-sharp, with the tips of many of her teeth stained red with blood, giving her a very fierce appearance.
Lastly was the one between the two, and unlike the other two, this one was male. However, it was a bit of a surprising sight to Crystal when she took in his appearance. This one- although the other two looked to be quite experienced- had the look of a war-torn veteran that'd fought many, many battles and wars, and had survived for so long for a certain purpose. From the looks of it, he was also a Lucario, but… He was larger than the first. In fact, he was bigger than any Lucario she'd ever seen. His form was even more developed, with four, long dreads on the back of his head rather than two, and the ends dipped in red. Unlike the normal, thin and small tails that Lucarios had, his was a bit longer than the rest, and definitely a lot bushier. A black robe was worn around part of his body, which made Crystal realize that he was the one at the Cafe. Sheathed on his back was a pretty long and detailed blade, and no doubt it'd been used more than enough times.
Crystal tried to stand but grunted, feeling her bones slightly weak, and leaned back again. The grunt seemed to get the attention of the three, who all looked right towards her in mild surprise, and they slightly raised up. The white Lucario leaned forward and spoke first.
"Hey, easy now, relax... You've been out for some hours now." She spoke in a soft voice, and Crystal recognized it as the third, more feminine voice, and it was easy to guess which ones the other two were.
The Zoroark nodded in agreement, "Yeah, you're fine, don't worry." Then she pointed to the fire, "We even got food roasting for ya, since you'll definitely be hungry after so long."
After a moment, Crystal nodded, leaning back and glanced to the fire. There was a spit above it, roasting several Oran berries and a few Cheri berries as well, not exactly burnt but being slightly roasted. Breathing in through her nostrils, she inhaled the smell of them and gave a small smile for a moment before looking back to them. Sure, they may be a bit friendly right now, but the reasons behind all of this still got to her curiosity.
"Thank you..." She spoke for the first time, looking between them, "Who... Who are you?"
For a brief moment, they all glanced between each other, and the male in the center nodded. Then their attention. Went back to Crystal, and once again, the female Lucario was the first to speak.
"White Tatsu."
"Asura Arklin." It was the Zoroark that said this, and smiled.
Crystal smiled back and nodded to both, finding it pretty ironic that White was, well, white. The names though seemed to fit both pretty well, as a matter of fact. Though she looked over to the larger one in the middle, and tilted her head at his silence.
"And you are...?"
He nodded softly, and finally gained a smile of his own.
"Zarko Elkholm." At last he spoke, and in that moment, Crystal felt her head start to flash images. "It's been too long since I saw you last... You've grown quite a bit, I must say."
The Grovyle hesitated for a moment, feeling the mysterious essence of the past coming to her. Although, she couldn't place a finger on where and when it was that she would have seen him. Shaking her head, she ignored the feeling for now.
"D-Damn... What'd you do to me?" She asked, clenching her chest.
"An old technique of mine. I applied a very specific amount of force to your ribcage right above your heart with the butt of my dagger just as you were inhaling. The hit pushed your chest in and knocked the wind out of you unexpectedly while it was coming in and pushed your heart to the exact rate needed to knock you unconscious. It requires you to know the exact hardness of the object, accurate velocity to hit at, and precise positioning, and add all of the factors together. Requires a lot of precision and all, but risky: Too much strength or speed could cause their ribs to splinter or break, or maybe even kill them. Not enough force or not at the right time then, well, they just get a little hurt but can be eligible to fight back." Zarko explained knowledgeably, and truth be told, Crystal was rather impressed that he'd know this.
After Zarko pauses, Asura interrupts to say "In other words, he hit one of your pressure points. There're usually about sixty on any person's body, and can disable people to different degrees. The number varies from species to species."
Zarko nods in affirmation of what Asura said, before she spoke up, "Anyways, I think it's best that White and I be the ones that explain what's going on- since, it's our enemy."
"It's all of ours." Zarko corrected, "Remember, Arctus is in league with them."
Looking at him, White nodded, and took a moment to look at Asura and now both of them nodded at each other, and the white Lucario looked over to Crystal, seeming to sit back a bit while handing her a few of the roasted Cherri and Oran berries in a bowl. "The enemy that we're racing against is a group called 'Drenyll,' something Asura and I have been up against for a long time now. To put everything simply, we're heading to a place known as 'Destiny Tower,' about a hundred floors tall, including the top. There's an… Artifact that holds a large amount of power, called the Space Orb. According to Zarko, it's an object that holds some strength of your father, Arceus, and it's left within a statue of him."
"So why do you need me?" Crystal tilted her head at them curiously, a little interested now as she ate a Cherri berry.
"Well…" Asura shrugged her shoulders as she answered, "It'll only react to your DNA code! Zarko insisted on bringing you, since you're Arceus's daughter and everything. But from what we know, someone named Arctus is allied with them now to try and get a hold of the orb, and Zarko seemed to know him, so White and I decided to have him help us. We're friends, but we rarely see each other, not on a regular bases or whatever, though! Just from time to time."
"Yes… Arctus seems to know how to to get it out there without any of Arceus's descendants' DNA. Though not only did I bring you because of who you are, but you also deserve to know when something important is happening that could endanger those you care for." Zarko seemed a little sensitive upon mentioning Arctus, leaning back further against the tree.
A frown came upon the Grovyle's lips, but then she shivered, looking around and leaning up. Asura seemed to notice this and tossed her a blanket, which she instantly wrapped around herself and continued eating a few berries.
For about an hour, they talked for quite awhile, though Zarko seemed to be quiet for the majority of the time. During this time she learned that White was the leader of Team Mountain, while Asura seemed to come from elsewhere, not too thoroughly explained, but she didn't press on the matter. However, it had seemed that Asura was actually a hybrid of several different Pokemon, including Zoroark, Lucario and Gardevoir. And as for Zarko, his unique Lucario form seemed to be a "Mega" form, which some species seemed to have.
After some time, Crystal was now resting in a tree above the came, with Zarko on the other side as well, seeming to lay back with his arms crossed and perfectly balanced, eyes closed. He was awake, though. Asura and White were still both down on the ground area with each other, but the height of the tree they were in was too far up to hear anything they said or did. She looked up at Zarko, down again, then up once more, and yet again, down, humming. Although they'd spent a little bit talking as a group, a few questions still poked at her mind.
"Hey, um, Zarko?" Crystal asked quietly, an interesting thought hit her.
"Yes, Crystal?"
"I kinda got a bit of a strange thought, that... Well, there's three of you, right?"
Zarko nodded.
"Have you ever been worried that you might fall for one of them and have the other left out?"
Zarko seemed to pause for a moment, and glanced back to Crystal. Though surprisingly, he held a smirk before looking back, then pointed a thumb back to the camp.
"They're mates."
White was laying back against a tree, with Asura leaning on top of her, both of them locked in a passionate kiss and embracing like they were meant for each other. Which, perhaps they were. Crystal didn't really know how to react, and she certainly hadn't expected this. A blush, though, did creep onto her white cheeks.
A small chuckle came from Zarko, "Yeah, they've been together for a long while, so I won't have to worry. They both used to be male, actually, but I'm not sure if that was before or after they were together. If I'm not mistaken, they even have a few kids."
Crystal looked away from the couple and back at Zarko. "Adoption?"
"Nope. Look at them again."
And she did, and after a long moment, she spotted something even more unexpected. Looking down at them, both of them had a paw at each others pelvises, gripping something... Embarrassed, but also shocked, she again looked to Zarko. Though before she could say anything, he beat her to it.
"They're hermaphrodites, so I hope that makes enough sense." As he chuckled yet again, he turned back to her, "Some may find them odd, but they're good Pokemon, and I enjoy their company very much, and that's all that matters."
The Grovyle started to relax into the tree, rather enjoying the warmth it provided. After all, she was a grass type. Though Zarko wasn't a grass type, he seemed quite comfortable. Especially as he smiled softly, watching the fire down below cackle... Or was he looking at White and Asura?
"I won't lie though- if I would love someone sexually, it'd be them. Though, I don't and won't love anyone that way, I'm afraid." He sighed next, almost sorrowfully. Crystal in turn, tilted her head.
"Did something happen?"
"It's a story even I hate to remember."
"Then let loose your feelings; you're obviously thinking about it right now." Crystal protested, and Zarko knew that she was right. Eventually he turned his face to meet hers, and she could look right into his handsome, sapphire eyes.
"I had a lover at one point..." He started, even looking down slightly. "I was going to ask her to be my mate. Eventually I did, at a private dinner with just us. But before she could answer, my body was possessed, however I could still think and see and feel. I kicked her down, picked up two knives, and... Damn, I must have stabbed her fifty fuckin' times... I couldn't even tell if she knew it was me doing it or not. Then, I ripped her heart out right before her eyes... And all went black." Sighing, he continued, "When I woke up, I was in a field, and it was raining blood, the sky was dark and red. I'd been set over a grave, with her name on it. That's the simplified version of how it all happened."
Crystal sat there, speechless and silent. A quite unexpected story that she was struck by. It took her a moment to recover from her silence, before asking, "Who... Who was it that took you over?"
"The one that's in league with Drenyll- Arctus... My 'brother.'"
This was quite a surprise to Crystal, making her lean forward a little and sitting up, "You mean… He's your brother?"
He nodded. "I have four brothers. The other three are Alterran, Reiden and Alcrus. Arctus and I were always closest, but one day he… I don't know, he just turned into something else. It must have been a hate or something that was building up inside him, or maybe something deep and dark corrupted him… I don't know, but I do know that today, he's the harbinger of Chaos. One day he and I will come to blows and set an end to it all."
Looking down, Crystal nodded, "I hope it all ends well…"
"It won't end well, because at least one of us is going to die." He looked up to her, a small smile visible, "But thank you."
Crystal yawned as she woke up, the young Treecko uncurling on her bed as the sun shone over her face. Her eyes shut tightly, refusing to open at the blinding, rising light. Soon enough, she pushed her upper body up with a high-pitched sigh as her eyes had finally been pried open wide. She seemed to be about 6 or 7, no older than that. A small glance at the sun made her smile after a second, always loving relaxing mornings like this. This was the same room that Gavin and Chimchar would be sleeping in nearly a decade and a fifth later. But for now, it was her own little personal room. The place she slept, awoke, rested, came to be alone, everything, and for her whole life that's what it'd been. Sometimes Wigglytuff- her adoptive father- would come in there with her as well, when she was lonely… Or maybe sometimes it was him that was lonely. If he was busy, then Chatot would usually bring her food at times, maybe even one of her father's personal Delicious Apples, and she was the only one he'd ever share them with. That at least showed his loved for her, in a sense.
Her bushy, leaflike tail swayed around a little before taking its place in the air behind her, still despite any movement she made. Slowly, she started making her steps out of her room, humming as she'd wondered who all was awake at this time, and how long she'd been asleep. When stepping out of the room, she saw the hallway of rooms emptied, not really much life seen around, but she could probably tell that there were a few others in their rooms. Deciding not to peek in on them, she started to make her way into the main room of the second floor.
The guild wasn't too widely known at the current time. There was a fairly small amount of teams that'd been signed under the guild, and the only apprentices were Croagunk, Chimecho, Dugtrio (whom was currently off-duty in watching over the egg of Diglett), and perhaps a few others that she hadn't noticed much yet. Every day was more of the same, but at the same time different. Crystal herself was still in training, and planned to soon be able to do jobs with the company of someone else in the guild.
She'd stepped out of the living quarters' hallway and onto the base of the second floor. The guild was built into the side of a cliff, of course, so there was ground floor on top, first floor in the middle, and second floor on the bottom, excluding the tunnels under the guild that Dugtrio used. Anyways, she saw that there was no one really around, minus Croagunk at his Swap Shop that he'd been using for some time now. Though, at this time she wouldn't have known that the shop would be out of commision for awhile. Since the poison-type wasn't very talkative (and a little creepy on top of that), she figured that everyone was either eating in the mess hall, doing jobs, still asleep or just anywhere else. After a second of thinking, she decided to head up and see if they were just on the next floor.
As finished climbing the ladder to the first floor, her ear twitched upon hearing voices speaking, immediately recognizing one of them as her father's.
"Thank you for bringing these two in, I don't think they would have lasted out there much longer, poor things…"
"It was nothing, sir." A deep and smooth voice spoke, calmly. "I'm just glad I found them when I did."
Looking back, she saw on the left side of the room there was her father speaking with something she hadn't seen before, standing tall with blue, black, red and tan fur, and a few silver spikes around his body, though the look he held was friendly and collected. Behind them, Chimecho was tending to a pair of two younger people that were injured badly it seemed.
"You saved them, though, not us! Where did you find these two?"
"A long place from here. I knew of the guild and they were the closest place around all the way from the eastern side of the land." A slight smile came from him. "I knew that you'd possibly be able to help them better than I could."
"I think you've done more for them than we could ever do." Chimecho said back over to them as she worked out of Crystal's sight, "I don't think anyone else could have carried these two that far in such little time!"
"I don't think that's entirely true." He chuckled, "It's what I do: Put myself to and over the limits to save lives."
"I must say…" She hadn't even noticed that Chatot stood next to the guild master, flapping his wings slightly in approval, "I'm impressed that you hadn't even taken a job from the board to save them! Though that means there is no client, so I'm afraid you aren't being paid."
"The pay is nothing to me, Mr. Chatot: All I need is to work myself to do what needs to be done to ensure that what I do is for something not to be wasted."
"Something still bugs me, though…" Chimecho floated up into view now, her circular head tilted a little, "What will we do when they get better? They have no one really to care for them, or take care of them, and they're too young to live alone- we don't even know about their parents!"
"I wondered that a little as well…" Wigglytuff nodded at Chimecho, then all three of them looked to the rescuer, "Could you do so? You saved them, you at least deserve to help them."
He shook his head, "No, I don't believe I should. I'm a nomad, a fighter, a dangerous living soul… A loner... I don't think I've earned the privilege to be known as a father. I can't." A small frown appeared on his lips as he crossed his arms, then spoke with a little more confidence, "They'd be better off here. If no one can take them in, then you can. They'd be perfect growing up in the guild, and I think as your guild grows, Wigglytuff, they'd play a large role in all of this, even if you may think that they'd have no one really to talk to other than each other." However, his gaze looked over at the ladders, right down at Crystal with a chilling yet friendly expression, with an ever-so-slight smile. "Though something tells me that there's someone who could have a very, very strong friendship with them for eternity."
Wigglytuff turned his eyes to look over to Crystal, and his huge eyes blinked upon seeing her, "Oh, good morning, dear! I hadn't realized you were awake!"
She simply nodded to him with a smile, before looking again to the taller figure, locking eyes with him. Casually, he knelt in front of her, and rubbed her head, "You have a great life ahead of you. Nothing will ever get in the way of that. This guild is your family, and you'll always be close to them, as they will to you, no matter the distance."
Admittedly, she was confused, though just nodded once more with another smile. Slowly, he stood and looked back to Wigglytuff, Chimecho and Chatot.
"Take care, all of you. I can sense a new era on the horizon, and it's the sign of the times of greatness and meaning."
His head turned back to look in front of him, giving one last glance down to Crystal before hopping up on the ladder, climbing up at a rather fast speed. Wigglytuff and Chatot just looked at each other, confused themselves, before looking to the black and white Treecko as she asked them simply with a tilt of her head, "Who was that, daddy?"
Instantly, he smiled and brightened up again out of his confused and wondering state, picking her up and holding her in his arms while Chatot perched on his shoulder, "That was Zarko, dear: He came to me when the guild was first starting up and was our first lone, teamless member, although we don't see him often. It's a joy to have him helping us build up."
Crystal giggled a little at this, being how young she was, though rather intelligent for her age. Then her expression changed, "Who did he bring in?"
Wigglytuff put her down and let her look over to Chimecho, curious as she watched her tend to two other Pokemon. They both looked to be badly hurt, thankfully being healed thanks to Auntie Chimecho's experience in healing. The first one was a ghost type, dark with long, still hair waving backwards and a pink necklace, pink highlights also at the ends of the hair strands. The other had white fur with a dark red face, dark red horn on the side of her head, and dark red claws, leaned up against the other. Both of them seemed to be the same age as her, interested as she got near. Chatot explained rather than Wigglytuff;
"He found them on the other side of the land, further than where the rest of the guild has explored. From what I know, those two are a Misdreavus and a Shiny Absol!"
When Crystal awoke, she felt strangely... Warm, considering it was winter. It was comfortable, very much so. Shivering, she curled up tighter into a ball, feeling the cool air of the morning breeze, but just barely through the surrounding warmth. Paying attention to what was on her, it became clear to her that she was, in fact, laying within thin but strong sheet of some type of skin, enveloping her on all sides. A smile spread to her lips, though she was also confused.
Memories started to flood her mind, then she recalled Zarko being up in the tree with her while Asura and White were down below. Her breaths drew in and out deeply, and a shiver chilled up her spine. Eventually, though, it occurred to her that she was actually in... Zarko's robe...
Crystal struggled for a moment until she found a way to get her head out of the robe and looked around. The area was all snow and ice, seeming as if a blizzard had blown through. All the branches of the forest were leafless, snow piled a few inches on the topside while sickles of ice dipped off the ends and bases. Taking in the sight, it all seemed quite beautiful as a whole. However, that didn't seem to matter when her attention shifted to the place across from her. Laying right there, was Zarko, missing his robes which were over Crystal. He was awake and alive, which was almost a shock. Ice hung barely from his nose, but he remained stone-faced, breathing deeply and slowly. A paw clenched a bloody spot near his abdomen, and it was almost a sickening sight. What was most surprising was that in the other paw, there was his sword gripped, but the tip of it was soaked... Did... He cut himself?
"Zarko..." She whispered. It was only yesterday she met him, but still, it was someone she knew. Zarko didn't look to her, but remained staring intently at the area around them.
"I'm fine, Crystal." He whispered back, his breathing not exactly slow, but rather steady-paced. "Don't worry about me: I'll live."
They were both still for a moment, until Crystal slowly removed the robe from over her body, and put it softly over Zarko's back, worry clear in her golden eyes. After getting it properly over him, she looked down at the bloodied sword in his grasp, already knowing what had happened. "Arceus... Why the hell did you-"
"The bleeding is one of the main reasons I'm still alive." Zarko cut her off, having still not looked at her. "The wound is making my body work harder, and sending my metabolism into overdrive; which prevents me from freezing to death on the inside. Most would probably go into shock or be in worse condition, but my body is a veteran to survival."
Crystal remained silent for a moment, staring hard at him. "You could have bandaged it, or just kept your robe around you."
Zarko shook his head, "I may be dry, but the cold would ice the bandages to my fur. And if I'd kept my robe, you'd be dead right now, most likely. You were in a deep sleep and wouldn't wake, probably from a dream, so I went to, well, this."
Now it occurred to Crystal that he'd actually saved her life by doing this, and slowly, she leaned back, her breathing slowed a bit as it felt like something was moving within her. She laid back again in thought, putting a hand on her stomach. "Th... Thank you..."
She didn't realize, but Zarko was staring at her hand, and where it was placed. His form seemed to lax out a bit as he, too, was thinking. For a moment, he even sighed a little, but the emotions that caused it were indescribable. Eventually, though, Crystal noticed the look he was giving and tilted her head, about to speak until she followed his gaze, glancing between the two points of interest. Focusing on her hand, she could feel her pulse in her wrist, pumping blood into her arm and hand. She didn't know why it was pulsing so violently... Surely nothing could cause that...
Like a broken record, another realization that could also be classified as a revelation, slapped her brain, but this one was a bit more important than the rest. The pulse wasn't hers. No... It wasn't in sync with that of her own body's beat, but this was a completely different repetition. She certainly didn't have two hearts, and that could only mean one thing.
"I'm..."
"Yes, Crystal." Zarko nodded, looking up to her, face lacking any surprise or worry, but rather having contentment. "You're pregnant, first child."
Her skin crawled a little, knowing that this was a huge task to carry on for a woman. Things wouldn't be the same as a mother. While thinking, Zarko had sheathed his sword to make her a little more comfortable, the blood on the paw that'd been covering the wound seemingly dried as the bleeding slowed. Though when she looked back up to him, a smile spread over his lips.
"Congratulations."
Thankfully, she was able to keep her balance on the tree. The majority of her was completely shocked, and she nearly felt numb before. It felt somewhat strange, knowing now that there was another life living inside of you… And a burden of responsibility set on your shoulders. It was hard to think straight, and she rubbed a hand over her abdomen softly in thought of the revelation. Was her mind racing, or was it still? Being able to tell which one it was was hard at the moment.
"Crystal, listen…" Zarko's words made her look up, making eye contact for a long time as stared deeply and seriously at her, clearly about to say something he really meant down to his heart. "I promise you on my own life, that even though we need your help, nothing bad will happen to you, or your young that lives inside you. This I swear, and vow. Can you trust me with this, even though you barely know me?"
Warmth flooded into her body in a way she didn't understand, that's what she felt upon hearing him make a promise like this. He was right: She did just meet him, and now he was vowing his life under her, because he knew that she put more than her life at risk. It was good to know that there were still good beings in the world that were so willing and pure at heart. Slowly, she nodded, smiling softly, "Yes… Thank you, I… I don't know what to say."
Although it seemed like a romance, it wasn't. From Zarko's point of view, it was a way to show how much he cared for lives like her and that he saw much importance in her. Not because she was the daughter of Arceus, not just because she was pregnant, but also because of who she was as a living creature. There weren't many things he could care for that weren't directly related to him. To love and care after such a long, long lifetime felt… Good. Eventually, he spoke again.
"I'm glad." He stood up on the branch, looking down at her, "I'm going to go look for Asura and White, it won't take me long to find them. You'll get through this, Crystal; I'll always be by your side. Always."
As he left, Crystal couldn't help but get the feeling that maybe he wasn't talking about the current mission.
"Shiiiiiit…!" Asura cursed gruffly as she peeked out. "Drenyll's already here, just arrived from the looks of it."
As she got back down, she turned her head to face the other three, Zarko asking calmly next to Crystal, "How many?"
A few seconds later, Asura looked again, White even looking as well. Quickly she counted what she could, making sure all of them were spotted across the vicinity. Uneasily, she frowned before crouching down again, "About seventeen, and a large guy of some sort. He... Looks like the leader but I've... Well, I've never seen that kinda gear before. Though, I don't think it's anything I can't handle!"
White even nodded with this, and gently cuffed Asura for her cocksure comment; while Zarko's expression shifted to something worrisome. His back stretched out as he looked over, and Crystal joined him by looking past the side of the cover. The center of attention was a large, marble statue of Arceus- her father. It was surrounded by numerous types of Pokemon of all shapes and sizes. Identifying what exactly was happening wasn't too easy to do, but they seemed to be trying to mess with the statue, as if something needed to be done with it. In front of it, though, wasn't a Pokemon, or it didn't look like it. The only thing that was seen of the figure was black, bulky armor with a sinister look to it. But damn, it was tall! After a moment of watching, though, Crystal found that they were trying to pry something from the base of it... A sphere, but it wouldn't leave its place within the stand. 'So that's what they're after... What importance does it hold, though?'
Shaking her head, she looked to Zarko to speak, and caught herself upon noticing his expression. He seemed worried, and surprised. She looked down again, unsure of what'd made him give off such a look. Looking back to him, she was about to ask, but he answered.
"It... It's him." The armored figure. "Arctus himself, came here..."
A chill creeped into Crystal's nerves, remembering what he'd done. This was Zarko's brother... There was no telling what could happen. The thing that creeped into her mind was, though; how powerful was he? She didn't think there was time for an explanation. Looking to Zarko, she questioned as the got back down, "What are we going to do?"
Zarko took a good look at all of them, before looking again at Crystal and tossing a fair-sized hilt in the air over to her; she lifted her hand and caught it, a large, jagged and sharp blade springing out of the top of the hilt.
"It ain't no aura sword that you prefer, but..." With a smirk, he unsheathed his own sword, with the sign of action already coursing through the air. "Sometimes the best ways, are the old ways."
"We should get as close as we can without opening up." Suggested White, directing it to everyone. "Otherwise they'll set up a direct defensive position towards us."
Crystal took a glance past the side to get in a better view. They were all spread out among the tower's clearing, more than simply just at the statue. A few uplifts of rocky earth and smaller boulders could be spotted around the perimeter surrounding the statue of Arceus, large enough to hide someone. They weren't in the greatest of positions if they all struck from the same side.
"What if we spread out around them and strike from all sides?" The Grovyle looked back to them, grabbing their attention and gesturing out to the other positions. "At least one of us would hit a weak spot."
Slowly, Zarko smirked yet again, patting her shoulder and looking to White and Asura. "All four of us will spread out and hit 'em, I'll be the first to strike, and that's when you three do the same while their backs are turned."
"Actually, it might be better if we link in pairs on two sides." Again come another suggestion from White, "If one of us gets in trouble..."
Zarko frowned, rubbing his chin in consideration. Looking around, another idea popped into his head.
"We still need to soften them up from all sides, so we stick with the four-way hit. However, White is correct on this, as we'll be a little more efficient with someone by our sides. After the fighting starts, we head towards each inwards closer to the statue, then head in on both the left and the right sides of it." In a hushed voice Zarko spoke quickly, knowing that they were short on time. "It'll get complete security on all angles, but then we'll be supported by each other. Understood?"
"Indeed I do." Asura grinned cockily, wrapping an arm around White's shoulder and chuckled. "I wouldn't mind getting into some action alongside my lover!"
White merely rolled her eyes, but did grin a little before nodding. Crystal figured she'd be with Zarko, which seemed more comfortable for her.
"Alright then, we all know what to do. Focus on whatever enemy you find closest, and don't go straight after Arctus. Give him a target, it'll be the end of you. Do not attack him alone." A loud boom erupted and echoed throughout the tower. Everyone ducked a bit closer to the ground as it passed, then glanced over all at the same time to see what happened. A ball of smoke and ash was blowing up on the statue's right. A few of the Drenyll Pokemon flew back a few feet from the explosion, and the rest taking offensive stance in its direction. It was a wonder as to what caused it, but the four knew that this was the chance they needed.
"Asura, northeast; White, southeast. Crystal, get southwest, I'll take the long run to northwest. Go!" Zarko's whispered out, instantly darting out quickly to a closer position of the statue. Crystal wasted no time in standing up and sprinting towards the closest piece of cover along the front-left direction- the statue was facing south. After a quick run and slide into a close position, she looked over to see what exactly had happened. The enemy had already begun to spread out again in recoverance. One of the Pokemon, a Gengar from the looks of it, walked lowly under Arctus.
"Sir, the attempts were unsuccessful, and..." He swallowed fearfully, seeming as if he was already out of words. A small sigh came once a moment had passed, and a deep, dark, chaotic voice spoke:
"Then perhaps Drenyll isn't as reliable as I had been informed." A snarl came, and pointed a gloved finger at him, "Your failure shames greatly over your shoulders and demonstrates your uselessness to my demands. I would put you to waste where you stand, but I must avoid such discipline due to you not being mine. But know this..." His hand was suddenly around the Genger's neck, holding him in the air while Arctus's eyes pierced blood red. "If you fail me once more, on the battlefield or not, I will kill you myself and feast on you flesh slowly while you live so you may feel the pain and agony of the punishment I will bestow upon you." He dropped the poor little Pokemon once he finished, lowering his arm. "Looks like I'll have to do this myself..."
Slowly, Arctus walked up to the statue, looking down at the orb with the base of the stand. Both hands were place on it, and it started coursing red, all throughout the structure. It was as if he was putting some kind of energy into it, in order to force it to do whatever they'd come for... Arctus had closed his eyes behind that helm and seemed to relax a bit. There wasn't much time until he forced it open.
Crystal had taken a glance Zarko a little further on her left, to see him ready to fight at his place hidden behind cover. Just as it was planned, Zarko leaped out into the air, weapons drawn and let out a bloodcurling battlecry that'd draw the maximum amount of attention while striking fear into the very souls of his enemies.
But they didn't have souls, did they?
She didn't wait to see what Zarko's first clash would do, as she rounded the small boulder with the sword raised in both hands. There were two of them in front of her by a mere 20 or so feet. The first one that she was charging at was a Blaziken that had the red feathers replaced with a smooth, light-grey hue of feathers, and the beak was the same color, male from the looks of it. He turned to face Crystal quickly, but by the time he looked to her, a hard but slow right-up swing from the sword, cutting deep into his flesh and letting blood slash out into the air with a sickening wet sound. Blood soaked over the blade and dripped constantly onto the ground. A moment passed for her to realize that she'd just taken a life of another, something she hadn't done in four years. From a quick glance over the body that laid out on the ground, with a large gash across the torso from the left hip to the right shoulder, even a few intestines and other organs barely hanging out. In a fight with blades, it was more than just a mere cut with a little blood leaking...
Crystal tried not to think about it.
Barely half a second flew past during a swift dodge out of thought to avoid a Shadowball shot from the second enemy, which was the Gengar that had just been threatened by Arctus. Two more were thrown at her, and she had just avoided contact with them once more by dashing to her left. Single-handedly, Crystal charged up an Aura Sphere with the sword in her other hand, and shot it directly at the other. The Gengar seemed to react pretty quickly with a fourth Shadowball that collided with the sphere, causing a minor explosion and a puff of smoke. Using it as cover, she ran straight through with the sword raised and ready to strike. When cleared onto the other side, he wasn't there, meaning one thing- he was about to attack for her blind spot; in the smoke that was now behind her. The Grovyle spun around as fast as she could to face the threat, and gasped into her lungs from a punch that hit her chest with enough force to knock her into the air. With a grunt, she landed on her back, flinching from the landing on the rough ground that scraped her legs and back a little, some blood being drawn under her but not enough to see it without paying attention.
Looking up at her foe, she caught sight of him directly in air with a fist drawn back, covered from a Shadow Claw. Such a hit would be fatal, and every motor skill and reflexes sprung into action and rolled off to her left, the attack slamming into the ground not even a second later. Using both hands to stand up, it came to her realization that she'd dropped the sword upon being hit. Even though she seemed to be getting up rather quickly, another sharp pain smacked into her right shoulder blade. Another rough grunt was emitted from poor Crystal, but she looked up to see the foe swinging his foot at her face. No, she wasn't going down so easily. A hand of hers reached up to grab it still just before it came into contact with her, then before anything could happen, all of her strength was forced into her arms as she put both hands on it, and threw it up roughly, making his knee bash into his face, hard. A bit of blood spluttered from him maw at the hit, probably even breaking and cracking a few teeth. The Gengar grunted, clenching his face in pain and stepping back. The daughter of Arceus looked to the side and caught sight if the sword about three feet away. As she started to crawl rapidly towards it, reaching out, the sound of fighting all over finally came to her attention. Pushing that out of importance, she gave a tight grip on the hilt and stood up, panting heavily from the moving around. The Gengar had finally recovered from the hit, staring at Crystal with rage.
They were about to charge each other, but much to Crystal's surprise- both of their surprise, a long blade went straight through his back and out through his chest, covered in blood. The ghost type stood there, eyes wide but no negative emotions shown. After a second, the blade withdrew and the foe fell to the ground, and behind him was Zarko, standing firm while looking stern. Sighing in relief, she lifted her head a little.
"We need to hurry. Advance with me and be ready for anything." Crystal nodded as he spoke, noticing that he looked unmoved after the kill, but it was probably something that he'd been used to for longer than he should. Again, she pushed the unimportant thoughts out of her focus point and ran alongside him to the statue. Her heart was pulsing all through her body at how intense it all was. Ahead of her, there looked to be four or five more of Drenyll's lined up in between them and the statue. Zarko kept charging, and so did she.
Being in combat like this was rather intense, things flashing by, nothing was really as she remembered. It took several moves added with the sword in order to survive with the others at her side. This wasn't like the Shadow Souls though… They were soldiers, just about, it felt different to her. Thinking in action would get her killed, though… And this wasn't the place to think.
Suddenly, Crystal felt a blast go off behind her, causing her to lose her grip on the sword Zarko gave her and fall forward, grunting. A quick look up let her see the cause of it, noticing Zarko, White and Asura all knocked down and injured or wounded, but nothing too bad. Near all four of them, the figure in black armor stood tall with a sword in hand, and it was a big one alright, yet he managed to hold it with one of his hands. Chuckling darkly, she could tell that he was grinning wickedly under his helm.
"Well, it has been too long, brother." He said quietly, unmoved, "And I see you brought company."
"No… This is between you and me." Zarko groaned, clenching his chest as he heaved, kneeling in pain. "NOT them…"
"Oh, but no, brother- you see, you brought them into this, did you not? You brought them to me?" He then gestured over to Crystal, "And to bring someone you hold so dear, so important to you, and a lot of the world, such desperation… I pity your attempts to succeed. Do you ever see what your actions cause, when you don't put thought into them?"
"I'm no fortune teller, and neither are you." He looked up, a look of hate in his eyes as he stared up at Arctus. Zarko was a few feet from his sword, but didn't seem as if he'd go for it. "Leave them out of this."
"And why would I do that, brother? Because you asked me to?"
"No… Because it's me you want. You don't care about them, you only care about getting me."
A long, heavy moment of silence passed by. Arctus was staring at Zarko, hard. It felt like ages before he burst out slowly into a chaotic laughter, shaking his head.
"Fool. I want you to suffer, not die. I want to break you, emotionally, next will be physically, then I'll kill you." Crystal's heart started to race as he turned to her, "And I know how you'd feel if something happened to this one here…"
"Arctus, don't you fucking dare-"
"It's too late, Zarko." He'd grabbed her by the neck, picking her up into the air like he did with the Gengar, sword still in his other hand. She was suffocating. She couldn't breathe. His gaze turned down to her belly, then back up to her eyes, staring deep in to try and sense her fear. "And while she's pregnant, even… You've really outdone yourself, Zarko."
There was only a loud growl and grunt from him in response, while Arctus didn't even look back. The poor Grovyle saw nothing under the helm in the eye sockets, just… black. She couldn't see it, but there was a sharp point against her abdomen, ready to push in… And she knew just what it was. He was going to kill her child, then her… Through the choking, she tried to speak, but couldn't. The tip of the sword- with another evil chuckle from Arctus- pushed into her skin, making her give off a soundless gasp. Blood started to leak a little…
It was a miracle when the blade suddenly retracted, and everything was a blur for Crystal. The next thing she knew is that she'd hit the floor, and the blade had barely gone half an inch inwards, thank Arceus. Zarko had seemed to have gotten onto him, and now something was going on. Fighting could be heard, but she couldn't see what was happening.
Again, it seemed as if hours had passed while she remained there in a daze of nausea. She heard shouting going on, something about Arctus being gone… Then she blacked out cold.
Thankfully their camp wasn't too far from the hotspring-lake, and Asura and White had decided that they'd let her go her cleaned up first, and have time alone. She was thankful, although Zarko seemed to be nowhere in sight since they set foot and paw on the stopping point. This was the second night she'd been missing from Treasure Town, and tomorrow would be the third and possibly last day. That'd been plenty of time to let everyone know that she was gone, and who knows how Grovyle was feeling now? Of course, she hoped that it wasn't too bad... And that the argument would be forgotten. Reasons now showed her that they were both wrong... She was wrong. That much was clear to her now. After today's experience, with Arctus... It spooked her, and she knew that she'd done wrong.
Crystal stepped into the clearing at last, a rocky wall on one side with a smooth, small waterfall pouring water into the lake before her. The water was steaming, meaning that it really was a hotspring. Approaching, she put the towel an arm's length (her arm) away from the edge of the water, and cautiously stepped in, breathing in as she let her body sink into the warm and relaxing f water. Eventually she sunk down to her neck, enjoying the sounds of nature and the water flowing. Sounds echoed her eardrums, coming back up to her waist somewhere near the center of the lake. Her eyes had been closed the whole time, washing herself off as she ran both hands over her entire body sensually, breathing softly. It felt so good to relax in such a way, having not done something like this in awhile. If only Grovyle were here...
It wasn't until now that her eyes shot open in slight realization of noticing another presence nearby, and she spun around swiftly to look near the edge of the water, not far from where she got in. Zarko was sitting on the edge, gearless- no robes, no weapons, nothing. He'd clearly been watching her bathe in the water, but he seemed unphased, almost as if it were natural. Her white cheeks were a shade of hot pink at this time, wondering how much he saw.
"Geeze, Zark, can't you allow a girl some privacy and also not sneak up on me?"
With a smirk, he chuckled silently and shook his head, looking down at the water while his feet soaked in it, "I was here before you: You were so lost in thought, or maybe just exhausted, that you didn't see me here." It took him a moment to look at her and blink upon noticing the fierce blush, cocking his head to the side in a questioning manner. "You don't need to be embarrassed; I've seen a lot of people bathe in my life, and sometimes they didn't exactly have the privilege of having themselves naturally covered. It's just natural to me and I honestly don't care, so it's fine."
The blush slowly died off at this, calming herself until she noticed the expression he held as he looked down at the lake once more, staring deeply into the water. She ducked down into the water to where just her head popped out and then came up again next to him, sitting on the edge, "What's wrong?"
"I just… I almost cost you something very, very dear. Arctus almost killed your unborn, just like that… My own brother would have been responsible, and that'd reflect on me as well…" His eyes looked to her, the whites of them a little red, "I can't keep the thought out of my head that I made a promise, yet it was almost broken."
"Hey, listen…" She put a hand on his shoulder, looking at him deep in the eyes after forcing him to look up at her, "It's not your fault, alright? You didn't know he was going to be there. What matters is that you kept me alive, and my baby, and I'm thankful for that."
A soft smile grew on his lips after a second, nodding, "Thank you, I just… I can't fail again, not after every single time I've already lost. I don't want to be the reason something bad happened to you, and I don't want anything bad happening to you at all."
"We're out of this, now, aren't we?"
He nodded.
"Then I'll be fine. Thank you, for… Everything. I needed time away."
"That's part of the reason I didn't keep you unconscious the whole time." The Mega Lucario chuckled, "I kinda figured that you'd get your mind off of things."
The Grovyle smirked at this and shrugged, figuring that somehow he knew what was going on in her life. Looking over, he picked up a small, brown, linen bag, placing it next to her.
"I want you to have this... Keep it safe."
She opened it up, and was greeted by quite a surprise. It was a perfectly shaped sphere, a silverish color with a little bit of a pearl hue added to it. Even in the dark of the night, it shone brightly. "What... what is it?"
"The Space Orb, what we came for. They know that we have it, but they'd expect me, Asura and White to take it, not you. Hide it someplace safe, very safe... and keep it hidden."
Nodding, she set it down next to her, "Thank you... I'll make sure no one finds it." Then she looked into the night sky, watching the stars. "So… When do we get back?"
"Tomorrow, you'll be there first thing in the morning. We're only about ten miles out."
"Will I ever see you again?"
"Possibly."
"'Possibly?'"
"I travel through dimensions and the such. I may not even live long enough to see you again. Though I expect that you won't remember too much of me, nor should you. Focus on your life in the guild, as a lover… as a parent. No more 'daughter of Arceus' Tauros-shit, no more love crimes, none of it. Just live a normal life."
She looked down, both of them did, into the water. Thinking it through, she put a hand on his paw, "I won't forget you. Just know that."
"Don't hold onto me, alright?"
"I can't promise, but I can try."
"If I do live, though…" He leaned his head back, tilting his head a little, "...Then you'll know by whether or not life is great for you 11 years from now."
Crystal smiled to him, and they looked at each other once more, him being much, much taller than her. About a foot apart, he simply rubbed her shoulder, and stood up.
"Go home, tomorrow. Apologize to Grovyle. I'm sure he forgives you already, and is thinking the same thing. But always remember…"
The next thing he said though as he walked off though, when she looked back at him and they made eye-contact for a final time, was something that stuck with her.
"Life, starts now."
This is dedicated to Starlightmaker17 (LMV2003) as another birthday present, as well as a gift, and a sign of my appreciation. If it weren't for her, then I would have never gotten interest in starting to write my own stories. This is a thank you of sorts, and I'm happy to have done this.
A few parts of the story may seem a little rushed, but I ran out of time and had to get this in. I do apologize.
Again, I do not own Crystal, White Tatsu, Asura Arklin, Pokemon or the PMD:EoS duo stories.
Over 11,000 words... That's a new record for me. I'm rather proud of what I accomplished, but I care more about what this is meant for.
I'd also like to give a thanks to Espinoth Nega (Asura Arklin) for looking over and fixing any OOCness I did of her character and other things. I wanted to make this the best I possibly could, and I hope that with this help I did (mostly).
It may seem dumb of me to have written a story twice in a row for the same person on here with the same two characters, but I think this one was more meaningful than the other, and showed a little more than just my own character, which I saw in my last one. This time, I tried to focus more on how Crystal felt and her own situations.
One last time, thank you everyone for your continued support and all, and live long and well through life the way you want to live it, and not anyone else.