The sun rose up in the early hours of the morning. The brightly coloured sky reflected off the surface of the ocean. For a only a few brief minutes, everything was peaceful. A small fox sat at the entrance of a make-shift den, overlooking the ocean. As he gazed out at the beauty before him, he relished the few moments of quiet that had come. The water glistened, and the surface remained so still, he could see a perfect image of his tiny self down at the base of the cliff. Although he enjoyed the silence that came with the early morning, he knew better than to stay out in the open for too long. With morning brought light. And light meant he could be seen. He could be caught. He dismantled the temporary den, making sure to leave no trail that could be followed. He had been taught well. But he knew better than to dawdle. As he looked back upon the rising sun, he scuffed. He never did like the light anyway.
The young fox ran swiftly through the dense forest, taking the most difficult and diverse route he could find, attempting to trick his pursuers. That is, if they were still following him. He hadn't seen them for days, and they probably assumed that such young, small, helpless creature could not survive on his own. But they were wrong. His father had taught him how to hunt, how to run, how to hide, how to survive. In this cruel world, nothing else matters. No one can protect you. No one can be trusted.
After some time the small fox grew thirsty. He found a small stream in the forest. As he approached he notice a blue shape jutting out of the water. He knew to approach with caution. After observing for several minutes, the young fox decided to approach the object. He stood in the water, gritting his teeth at the cold. He saw arms and legs coming from the form and knew it was a pokemon. A poliwrath to be exact. He touched the water type with his paw, pushing is slightly. It slowly rotated in the water until it turned belly upwards. The fox immediately recoiled in horror. Its eyes had been scratched out, and it's stomach ripped open. He began vomiting uncontrollably, heaving up what was left in his near empty stomach. It was something he had seen before, but had never gotten used to. A remover was responsible. Most likely something with sharp claws or talons. A bird pokemon maybe. He left the stream as quick as possible, forgetting about his thirst which brought him there.
Removers were devilish creatures. Cruel, vicious pokemon sent after those who displeased or apposed the Demon King. The Demon KIng was a bloodthirsty ruler who had gained control of the region by force, his enormous armies demolishing cities. Many tried to oppose him, and some set up resistance forces to try and defeat him. But so far, after so many years of torture and death, he still had power. No one knew what he looked like but they knew he was ferocious. He killed many innocent people and wanted to control everyone, one way or another. He caused so many deaths, and his armies grew more powerful everyday.
The fox took a small rest in a clearing. He still felt queasy after what he had seen, but he tried to ignore it. Instead he focused on his journey. He had been travelling for twelve days now and was nearing his destination, assuming he had remembered to follow the directions his father had given him correctly. He remembered the day so clearly, as if it was recent, and not over a year ago. His father had fallen ill. He was well enough to speak and even laugh at times, but he could hardly walk a mile without tiring out. The fox remembers his father calling him to his bedside, telling him that his time was to come soon, and that he needed to speak with him. They spent an entire two days going over the plan, until the young fox was able to recite it by heart. The directions, the names, the places. Everything he needed to do to make sure he could protect his family when his father had gone. His father had told him not to fight back, that he wouldn't be strong enough. He told him to run and protect his mother and sister. Well, he had gotten one part of that right.
His father passed on and it was up to him to protect his family. He did everything he could, day after day. But when the day finally came, he failed. He watched as he mother and sister were burned alive, and all he could do was run. Removers were responsible for their deaths as well. Sent by the Demon King to destroy them. And him.
The legacy which his father had left him was too big a burden. He couldn't handle the fact that his father was a fierce leader of one of the head rebellion forces, and one that was known by the Demon King. He was good too. His tactics resulted in many failures on the part of the Demon King's army. And the Demon King knew that. He knew that if he were to remove the famous X Lightning as he was known, he would come closer to achieving his goal. And he got his wish, although he didn't know it. He believed that the jolteon who had ruined so many of his plans was at home in his secret den. He was unaware of the fact that he had passed away a year ago.
The fox's eyes welled up with tears. He knew that the death of his mother and sister were meaningless. They were just collateral damage to some plan to kill someone who was already dead. And he didn't save them. He could've fought off the removers, at least do something to try and help them, but no. He just ran. His heart felt empty, his pain and suffering too great. He wondered why he should carry on, he had nobody left in the world. But he knew why he did. Because his father had only asked of him two things. Now that he and failed one, he was going to at least do the other. He felt overrun with emotions, fear, anger, remorse, guilt, hatred, sorrow. He couldn't think straight. His mind was a blur, his heart beating out of his chest. He couldn't handle the overwhelming sensations and blacked out in the clearing.
The young eevee awoke past nightfall. He let himself forget the drama from a few hours before and continued on. After all he was as good as there. He couldn't imagine what he would find when he arrived. Where his father believed he would be safe. He sprinted quickly in the right direction. He knew his way around in the dark. He was better in the dark. He liked the dark as it offered cover, protection, a place to hide from his shame. He came to a point where the trees began to thin out and he could pick up speed. He raced onwards, and before he knew it, he was walking on sand. The forest had ended and what lay before him seemed to be a desert. He had reached his destination.
He padded forward, keeping an eye out for any movement. Not that there was anywhere you could hide. Except maybe underground, or high up in the sky. He sat down and gazed up at the night sky, admiring it's beauty. It was like a sea of twinkling lights, illuminating the desert floor. He looked up at the moon, admiring it's bright, white light, contrasting with the black ocean it rested on. He liked the night sky, the way the yellow stars shone brightly on the black canvas. He remembered what his mother had once told him, how when someone dies, another star enters the sky. He remembered the night after his father died, when she pointed at the biggest star in the sky and said that it was him. Whenever he saw that star, he always felt better.
He began to wonder which star was his mother, and which his sister. He did it to pass the time, as he had reached his destination. He was clueless as to where to go from here or what to do, but that didn't matter. He was busy watching the stars.
Caught in his trance, he failed to notice the shadow behind him. It was only when it came over him did he snap out of his daze and react. He tried to turn around and get a good look at whatever it was, but he was caught in a psychic grip and couldn't move. He heard a voice, one that was both soothing and menacing at the same time.
"Who are you and what is your business here?" hissed the creature. It was obviously female and quite angry at the presence of an unknown pokemon.
"Pl…please. No!" screamed the young fox. He knew what it was that had hold of him, but he refused to give in to the removers. He struggled to break free from the psychic attack, but to no avail. He then felt an uncomfortable and surreal sensation in his mind. His head began to throb but the sensation went away after a moment.
"Calm, little fox creature. I am not what you think I am. I mean you no harm provided you state your name and your business". Her voiced seemed warmer than before and before he knew it, the little eevee was released from the psychic hold. He fell limp to the floor but jumped up immediately and spun around to get a good look at his attacker. Before him stood an elegant yet fearful creature, with a white gown that flowed from her neck to the ground, or at least the ground which she levitated above. A red blade-like object jutted out from her chest, her arms flowing at her side. Her eyes were a deep, mesmorising black, as if she were staring at your soul. Her graceful beauty was very deceiving.
"I…I'm here because my dad told me to come here. He said I would be protected. Pl…please. I'll leave if that's what you want. Just don't hurt me". The young eevee coward in fear at the feat of the beauty that stood before him. He could feel power radiating from her. She smiled, but she didn't look happy. She looked upon him with pity more than anything.
"What is your name?" asked the creature again, less venomously that before.
"I…I'm Shy" blurted the little fox, shivering where he stood, but not from the cold. The psychic creature gasped upon hearing the name, and proceeded to look around frantically.
"We must hurry. We cannot afford to stay in the open much longer. Where are your mother and sister?" she questioned. Shy looked sheepishly at her and turned his head away to avoid the judgement he was sure she'd show towards him. The psychic pokemon looked at him and said no more. She took hold of the small brown fox and vanished.
Shy followed his guide through a long, dark corridor, lit only by small blazing torches at even intervals, each one just barely close enough to the next to allow him to see. As he strolled down the desolate hallway, thoughts racing through his mind, he decided to ask his first question.
"Who are you?". A simple question with a simple answer. Or so he thought.
"The answer to that is varied" replied the psychic goddess. "You ask who I am, which could mean a simple request of my name, my species. Or it could mean a question about my past, my life story, my personality, who I really am. So which is it?" Shy gave her a quizzical look, wondering where that had all come from, realising now that he wanted to know everything she had just listed. He decided to start small.
"Okay, what is your name. You know mine, it seems only fair that I know yours" Shy said. "And what are you? I've never seen anything like you before".
"My name is…". She paused a bit before answering. "For now you may call me Guardian. Everyone else does. I'm a gardevoir, a psychic and fairy type pokemon". Shy wondered if that was her real name but decided not to take it any further. From then on he stopped asking questions. If she was so secretive about her name then what were the chances she would tell him anything else? They walked in silence for some time, down the never ending hallway. It was the gardevoir who broke the silence.
"You know it is not your fault, right? Your mother and sister. You couldn't have done anything. All you could have done was get yourself killed along with them".
"How would you know!" screamed Shy back at her. "I could've save them. I could have stopped them from dying! From being killed…".
"They were killed by a brutal remover. One who has a reputation as being one of the best. They knew how tactical and deceitful your father could be and sent someone who could take care of that. There was no way they could've known he wasn't alive. That's why they burned your home. With them inside. They probably tried to tell them that he was dead, long gone. But their efforts were fruitless. The Demon King had no knowledge of his death and as a result, they thought that your mother and sister were lying to protect him. That's why they killed them. They thought that they were lying". Guardian's tone was soothing, like a mother's. And they had stopped walking by know.
"How do you know what happened?" Shy was screaming at the top of his little lungs now. "How do you know what happened!" Guardian looked upon him with pitiful eyes.
"Because I can hear your thoughts. I can hear you going over everything you saw in your mind. How you believe it was your fault when in actuality it wasn't. They were killed by removers. Not you". She looked at the weeping ball of fur in front of her and couldn't help feeling guilty.
"I'm sorry that I eavesdropped on your thoughts but I don't do it intentionally. Some psychic pokemon have this ability. It's something we can't turn off. A blessing and a curse". Shy looked at her and felt sorry for screaming at her. It wasn't her fault his family had been killed. And she knew it wasn't his either. He got up without saying a word and continued to walk along, trying not to think about his family.
They eventually reached a large chamber. It was just as dark as the hallway, with only a small fire in the centre. The circular room had many doorways, some open, some closed. Shy tried to look down one of the hallways, but his eyesight was failing due to his tiring body. Guardian led him down one of the open hallways, closing the door behind her. The torches along the wall were lit, illuminating the entire hallway. Shy's eyes needed a few seconds to adjust, and when they did, he saw a giant green flying bug at the end of the hallway. At first he was startled, the massive red eyes glaring at him. But Guardian began approaching him, a small smile growing on her face. Shy followed, approaching with caution. He had been doing a lot of that lately.
"So I assume this was the one you detected. I don't see why you thought he could be dangerous". Shy was surprised by the sound of his voice. It was much higher than he had expected.
"This is Shy, as he calls himself. He is X's son". A look of shock grew across the creature's face, and he landed on the ground. He walked slowly towards Shy, gawking at him. Guardian's grin began to grow, seeing the excitement on her friend's face. Shy began to back away slowly, but was reassured by the look he received from Guardian. The bug-like creature was not as large as he appeared when he was grounded. He still towered over Shy, but appeared friendly upon close inspection. He stood in front of Shy, gazing intently at him. Suddenly Shy was lifted of the ground and squeezed into an embrace by the the creature.
"I'm Fly" said the dragon. "I'm a flygon and a close friend of your dad's. Or, at least I was". The flygon placed Shy back on the floor and looked away from him for a moment. Afterwards he spun around with a cheerful look on his face again.
"So, is it just you? Or are there others?". Shy looked down at his paws. At first Fly had no idea what he had said, but a swift look from Guardian said it all. She walked away ahead of them and in through a doorway near the end of the hallway, disappearing out of sight.
"Sorry. I'm glad you're here. I'm sure the others will be too." He jumped around and walked in the direction Guardian had gone. Shy followed, still staring at the ground. He just kept walking until he bumped head first into the flygon's tail.
"Oh. Sorry." said Shy. He looked up to find Fly staring straight at a door. A closed door. It had a small plaque in it's centre with a cross on it.
"This was your dad's room when he was our team leader" Fly explained. Shy noticed the tears welling in his eyes.
"He was an excellent leader. Without him, we could't have done any of what we have achieved. He was an excellent tactician, and friend". Shy was surprised when the flygon broke down and started to cry. Guardian approached from behind and put a hand on his head, consoling him.
"I have informed everyone else of your presence. They will greet you in the morning. For now, you can stay in here if you want". She pointed at the plaque on the door. Shy nodded slowly and followed Guardian inside. He could still hear Fly whimpering out in the hallway.
"He seemed to be good friends with my father" exclaimed Shy. "Were you close with him as well?". Guardian looked him directly in the eye.
"No I wasn't. I never met him. I've only been a part of this team for a short while. I joined after he left it a year and a half ago. I've heard many stories about him though. His triumphs. I've heard about you too. Not much but some. That's why I recognised your name". It seemed to make sense to Shy now. He knew his father was the leader of a strong resistance party against the Demon King. They were known as the secret six because of their ability to sneak in, do as much damage as possible, and sneak out. He always wondered what his father's team was like. When he left they were reduced to five, but it seems Guardian brought their numbers back to six. They were a very elite group, but their team name was known by many. The Fugitives. Shy never understood why they called themselves that. His father tried to explain the reasoning behind it once but it only confused him more.. His father tried to keep his family separate from this part of his life.
"You can stay here tonight. I'll come get you in the morning and you can meet the others". Guardian departed with no further words and shut the door behind her. Shy could hear her talking to Fly in the hallway but the words were muffled. He crawled over to the bed of straw in the corner. That's all there was in the room besides a small fire torch hanging on the wall. He noticed a small engraving on the wall beside him. The letter X. He placed his paw over it and shut his eyes. He stayed in that position for several minutes until the torch went out. He didn't know why it did but decided to ignore it. He fell asleep immediately.