Yes, yes yes! I've finally finished my
trilogy just in time for my Birthday to post! If you didn't read my other fic,
On the Wings of Council, this is like a movie of it. Here's the low down. Every
year there's a big competition to earn the right of an official trainer of the
Johto League. Being one of the ten, I chose, Fury, a Cyndaquil, but in doing so
I really pissed of Tobias, Prof Ivy's nephew. Unmindful I left on my journey
but just before I reached Violet, I met up with Tobias again and he beat the
crap out of me. In my defence Fury evolved but Tobias still made off with my
Hoot Hoot. Later I met up with Sumalee and her Totodile Maverick and learnt
that Tobias had joined Team Rocket and hooked up with the devious, Angel. Since
then I've been falling from the top floor of Faulkners Gym, forest fires,
bombarded by bats, captured by lowlifes, and becoming closer to my goal all the
time, to be the greatest flying Master of all time and to capture the Winged
Council, the ten legendary birds, I made some up myself, that ruled the Pokemon
world. Some of my created Pokemon include, Articolt, the male ice type for of
Rapidash. Ponyta, Rapidash and Zefire- it's winged evolution are all female.
Artico, Articolt are all male. Aquatro, a water type bird, Echotrance, the
legendary Grass type of the Winged Council, Celestrial, Dark type that looks
like an eagle also member of WC. Anymore info, just ask, or check out the
Pokedex. All opinions welcomed as Shirasharmi@hotmail.com
Plus I've got to thank Sumalee who is an absolute legend giving me her
exact opinion of what she thought. Now onto the long awaited……..
Echotrance Trilogy
Just Wing It
I
pushed though the undergrowth, leaves slapping my face and twigs barely missing
my eyes. The floor was uneven and I constantly tripped as the vines all had
minds of their own and coiled around my ankles, pulling my to the ground again
and again.
"Fury!
Come back, it won't do any good if I lose you too!" She heard me and
slowed down, but only a little.
Four
days since the Everstone incident and Fury had been absolutely impossible. She
had been going through different stages. First was self pity. She dragged
herself along behind me when we first entered Ilex Forest, always whimpering to
herself about how she's never reach her final form.
Second day it got worse, denial. Fury insisted
on battling every Pokemon we saw, claiming if we tried really hard she'd
evolved. It may have been all right for Suma and Cal, who'd proved me wrong
about not being able to catch water types in a forest, they barely had to lift
a finger to catch the well worn out Pokemon, but it was frustrating for me. I
was running out of potions and revives to keep her going and she ignored my
every battle command.
The third day was the hardest yet, blame. She
accused everyone, Cal for accepting the challenge, Maverick for going for the
Everstone, Suma for not training Maverick well enough. But most of all me, me
for not stopping her, me for not evolving her sooner, me for letting Tobias
throw it.
Today it had been self doubt. She spent the
entire day subjecting herself to my every whim and not doing anything I didn't
tell her to do, trying to be the perfect Pokemon. I tried my best to explain to
her that I wouldn't trade her for any Typhlosion. She came back about how I'd
traded Talon for Talorn and only tried harder.
Then as we had set up camp beside the path and
were eating our meagre meal before the campfire, the familiar lullaby played
through the air just as it had the day Chilun evolved. Fury saw her chance to
regain her dignity and took off in the direction of the voice yelling behind
her. "Don't worry Topaz,
I'll get 'em for you!"
Of course I had to go after her and that meant
Suma and Cal had to go after me. I had it easier then my to tall friends and
flitted through the darkness only running into the 'occasional' tree, but even I
had a hard time keeping up with Fury. She leapt from branch to branch barely
keeping up with the winged spectre sailing through the shadows.
Then up ahead I saw Fury hesitate for a
moment. She stepped back wards and took a running jump. As she began her descent
she snatched a passing vine in her jaws which swung her forward. The vine
reached its peak and she let go, landing hard. She swivelled her head to see if
I was still behind her and once that was confirmed, she spurred deeper into the
forest.
"Fury!" I cried, but then skidded to
an immediate halt. I glanced down and saw how close
I'd come to plunging down the 6m ravines. I
swallowed hard and shook my head to keep my minds eye from imagining what could
have happened.
I spun around as Cal crashed through the
scrub. I waved my arms wildly, trying to get him to stop. He saw me, but not in
time. Cal slammed into me and I teetered over the edge of the ravine. Cal
reached out and grabbed one of my hands and steadied me. We both breathed a
sigh of relief, but before we could step away from the edge, Sumalee burst from
the underbrush and just like Cal she didn't understand what was happening until
it was to late. She collided with Cal and Cal hit me. Before I knew it, my feet
had slipped from solid ground and I hung in midair. I was dashed against the
rock face with stunning force and everything went hazy. I groaned and my grip
on Cal's hand loosened.
"Sumalee, help me pull her up!" I
heard Cal groaned likewise. "Gawd Topaz, for a someone so tiny, you sure do
weigh a lot!" I was putting horrible strain on his arm. There was a hard
yank and my hold slipped again. A sharp, "Cal! Not so rough or you'll rip
her arm from her socket," and slowly but surely they hauled me up. The
sharp edges of the rocks had left long grazes down by bare skin.
We lay on the ground panting for a while until
I remembered what we were chasing. I quickly got to my feet and searched the
forests canopy. I grasped a thick green vine and put my weight on it. When I
was sure it could hold my weight and was secure to the roof of the forest, I
looked at Cal, Suma and Maverick. Maverick jumped from Suma's arms and took the
bottom of the vine. Suma strode forward and placed her hands above mine.
Cal stared at it suspiciously and finally
placed his above Suma's. We stepped up to the edge and looked down.
"Think of it as exploring your
horizons," Suma provided.
"Shut up Sumalee. No ones in the mood for
your 'If life gives you lemons make lemonade' philosophy right now," I
said irritated. I lifted my foot into the air and held on for dear life.
"AHHHHHIE AHHHHIE AHHHHH!" As the
vine reached the pinnacle of its oscillation, it snapped and we fell to the
other side in a helpless heap. I crawled from beneath the tangle of arms and
legs and tried to figure which way Fury went. Her sleek body did little damage
to the foliage so it would be almost impossible to track her.
After a moments thought I released Artemis and
Cal released Azumarril. Artemis the Eevee quickly picked up the scent while
Azumarril was homing in on Fury's footsteps. Due to their enthusiasm, we were
racing through the forest once more. As it became obvious we were getting
closer, low thuds and shaking of the trees, we recalled out Pokemon and
continued by sound. Suma was tiring quickly, not used to this long distance
sprinting, not that I was having it easy myself, and Cal found it hard
squeezing between the trunks of the trees. I slowed my pace as the trees shook
harder and dead branches fell form the canopy, showering me with leaves. Between
the umbrae of the night I saw flashes of colour and tongues of flame dancing
among the shadows.
I swept back a veil of vines to find a
clearing similar to the one we'd left behind. I cursed because we had didn't
have a Chansey of us finding our camp again and our prospects of getting out of
here ourselves were quickly becoming bleaker and bleaker.
Weaving in and out of the moonlight was Fury
breathing hard. She backed against a tree and drew a huge breath. Beads of
sweat dripped down her body, hissing as the flames evaporated it. Her eyes were
wide as she watched vigilantly every movement in the trees around her.
Sumalee bounded up behind me with Maverick at
her heels. She gasped loudly and I saw Fury's ears flick in our direction but
then turned intent on another. Suma put her hand against a tree and squinted at
the trees trying to see Fury's adversary. Cal crept up behind us, giving me a
quick glance and shifted it to watch Fury too. He inhaled sharply and pointed
to where he was looking. At least two-dozen silver eyes gleamed just behind
Fury.
"Behind you!" I yelled, not only
surprising her into springing away from the tree but the eyes behind her. Fury
leaned forward and growled in a threatening manner as she saw the multi-eyed
creature behind her.
It stepped out of the darkness, head held
high. I saw that the eyes weren't eyes, but patterns on its tail. The Pokemon
resembled a peacock not much larger then from my elbow to my wrist, though its
tail vaunted in a wide arc behind it. Its plumage was beautiful. Vibrant hues
painted its body the colour of dusk. Not just the royal blue or the pastel
pink, but the actual sunset. At the base of its breast was a large burnt orange
disk that resembled the sun. The orange evanesced into a golden yellow, the yellow
into a sanguinary crimson, the scarlet faded into an eggplant purple until its
head was a spectacular midnight blue. Raging red eyes were hidden amid the
sleek blue feathers.
Its wings were elegant and perfectly formed.
The tips of its feathers were tongues of violent red flames draping down while
the contours were a deep sapphire flecked with silver. Its tail was stunning.
Had I not seen the head and known that dusk had passed over an hour ago, I
could have sworn it was eventide. The same sun disk on its breast decorated the
base of its tail until it blended into the lapis blue. The silver eyes that had
glittered in the dark were actually ardent stars flickering in the moons glow.
I had seen the pattern somewhere before. I
closed my eyes as my memory returned to Falkners study. Of course, Celestrial!
As I looked closer, I recognised the predatory beak and the probing eyes.
Though smaller then Fury, it had the same aura of power.
"You? Challenge me?" I gapped. The
bird spoke actual English, not the gabble that made up its name. His ruby red
eyes scoured the trees till the rested on us. He smirked. "Ahh trainers.
Well I don't got time to waste. I got more important things to do." His
husky, throaty voice was tinged with anxiety and the way his eye's kept darting
behind was making me uneasy. He beat his wings and flew effortlessly into the
air, but not before Fury dashed across the clearing and latched onto the birds
lustrous tail. She swung back and forth as the sunset Pokemon struggled to hold
himself up as well as the stowaway. Fury thrashed to bring her opponent back to
earth.
Suddenly the bird gave a strangled cry and
tumbled to the ground. Fury was so startled she released her grip on the
feathers and fell head over heels to land beside him. The Sunset bird leapt
back and vigorously preened his tail feathers, murmuring to himself.
Once all the plumes were back in place, he
glared venomously, eyes blazing.
"You wanna battle!" he hissed.
"I'll give ya a battle. You'll be sorry you ever laid eyes on this Shirasharmi."
I silently found my Pokedex and muttered into
the censor. "Shirasharmi."
"Unknown
identity," it intoned. I guessed we'd just have to wing it.
"Fury-" I started but Suma touched
my shoulder.
"Don't. She has to have pride in herself
again and this is the way she has chosen to do it." I nodded reluctantly
but still held out my Pokedex.
The Shirasharmi took to the air again, but not
to flee. He pumped his wings furiously, whipping the air about it into frenzy.
The winds picked up speed and could now take hold of debree on the forest
floor, tossing it at Fury. Fury stood firm against the raging storm, head held
high in defiance. She glared at him with the same intensity.
Without warning Shirasharmi snapped its wings
together with a deafening crack and the winds ceased to whine around our ears.
A glimmer of respect twinkled in his eyes and they hardened once more. Before
he react or defend himself, Fury hurled her own tornado of flame. It roared
around Shirasharmi, hiding him beneath the shroud of the inferno. The tongues
licked the air hungrily before returning to feast on the Pokemon within.
Suddenly a set of blazing wings cut through
the storm and brushed away the sweltering flames that threatened to engulf it.
Shirasharmi's vivid plumage was choked with soot and grim and the fringes of
his delicate tail were severely charred. Shirasharmi gasped for clean air.
Fury held a triumphant grin but it wavered as
Shirasharmi shook himself and turned to face her again.
Shirasharmi seethed. He breathed in short sharp
breaths as he raged at the indignity of being caught of guard. Violent violet
flames flared around him and erupted skyward with every flap of his illustrious
wings. The orange disks on its breast and tail had expanded and flushed a
bloody crimson. His ruby red eyes blazed with their own angry light until the
pupil was intangible. Again I saw his proud heritage.
"I was angry at ya before Quilava, but
now I'm really pissed off!"
The aura of flames thundered to life and
radiated a torrid yellow. They leapt across the clearing and snatched at Fury
but she easily twisted away.
"What kind of attack is that?"
Sumalee mumbled in awe. My Pokedex beeped an explanation.
"Solar Flare. An attack used by the rare
Solar type Pokemon Ho-oh."
They now resorted to physical attacks. Fury
slashed and snapped with her tiny maw while Shirasharmi tore with his razor
sharp talons and jabbed his predatory beak in Fury's eyes. Each seeking to gain
the upper hand or looking for a gap in the others defence to use the finishing
blow.
"Ya mine!" Shirasharmi sneered as he
had Fury on her back, his knifelike talon resting beneath her collar and onto
her bare neck. Fury shrank away and desisted struggling lest she be the one to
cut her own throat.
"Say goodbye to ya trainer." He
pressed against Fury a thin red line appearing but before it could go any
further Fury opened her mouth wide and released a cluster of stars. They burst,
blinding Shirasharmi in an explosion of golden sparks.
Shirasharmi flew off Fury and high into the
canopy, hissing and spitting. Now his plumage was almost overcome by the
tempestuous red with only hint of the blue it once was. His tail flourished
behind him, fanning the air lightly.
"Ya wretch! Ya gonna pay!" he
screamed. Shirasharmi wings beat feverishly and his
"Put it on my tab!" Fury snarled back.
Shirasharmi shrieked and gave an almighty pump
of his tail. A blaze of sunset light tore through the forest ripping trees of
their branches and knocking them to the ground. The earth quaked and nothing
seemed stable. I ignored it all, all I saw was Fury cowering as the tsunami of
radiance threatened to overwhelm her. My parents had called that type of
concentration, 'being in the eye of the storm', when you can focus on something
so strongly that nothing else around you seems to exist.
"Fury!" I screamed. I broke from
where I stood and leapt into the clearing hoping to save her. But hope is the
denial of reality; there was no way I could save her from such a force. I
skidded across the dirt and snatched Fury into my arms.
Fury opened her eyes, seeing my only for a
second before realizing both our lives were in jeopardy and focused on
Shirasharmi's attack. She sundered from my grasp and stood defiant. She roared
and a huge mushroom flame escaped her mouth curling upward. The flame twisted
its shape until it manifested into the awesome fiery form of Phaenix,
the bird of the Rebirth Flame.
The two powers collided, struggling against
each other. They weaved and snaked and entwined and writhed until the two
seemed one. A huge ball of blue and red energy whirled in above the clearing.
Streaks of blue and red lightning crackled through the air.
Behind me a tree split in two as blue thunder
ripped down the middle. I whirled around to see Cal push Suma aside and the
half crash where they had been a second ago.
A peal of thunder echoed through the forest
and shock waves pulsed through the ground.
I screamed again and again as the lightning
struck closer and closer.
Suddenly, my world was rocked by the exploded.
I forced my eyes open only to be blinded by
the dawn. I pulled myself onto erratic feet and leaned against a tree. As my
vision cleared and the fog that had wrapped itself around my brain evaporated I
saw that I had been heaved a fair way from the clearing, or what was left of it.
I glanced and saw Cal and Suma huddling
beneath a bush with Maverick shaking them vigorously and Fury had her guts
wrapped around a sapling that had survived the blast and let me tell you not
much had.
After a few minutes of searching I found my
small supplies bag which carried Potions and Antidotes and such, I carry
everywhere in the branches of a tree. Too tired to climb it myself, I released
Talorn and had her bring it down to me. I shuffled through it and found what
was left of my supplies that were supposed to last a fortnight. I found the
plastic bottle labelled MaxRevive and squirted it in Fury's mouth.
Fury blinked her eyes open and moaned. I
proceeded to examine Fury's injuries. The wounds she received from Shirasharmi
were already closing and mending themselves with the help of the MaxRevive and
the purple fur was sprouting from the bare skin. The burns from the blast
vanished. I breathed a sigh of relief that she'd be OK.
Once I was sure she was comfortable, I went to
wake up Suma and Cal. Annoyingly,
Sumalee was fresh as a Sunflora and leapt up
claiming it was the best night's sleep she's had since starting her journey.
Maverick agreed enthusiastically. Cal on the other hand refused to get up. I
noticed he had a huge bulge on his head that looked like it was still swelling.
Suma explained a loose branch in the explosion had hit him and she'd dragged
him under the shelter of the bushes. She must have been hit by some flying
debree too because she couldn't remember anything after that. After a few swift
kicks to the ribs it was obvious he wasn't getting up soon and Suma convinced
me to leave him be.
"Topaz!" Talorn hissed from where she perched. "You should see this!"
"Yeah yeah." I got up from where I
knelt and followed Talorns gaze to the clearing.
"Then move closer, dear. Only move very
quietly." She emphasized the word very. I shrugged to Suma and crept
stealthily forward. She followed covertly behind me, head down. When we were
hiding safely behind a fallen tree, I glanced up at Talorn who had perched on a
near by branch. She jerked her head in the direction of the clearing. I
muttered to myself and peeked over the leaves.
I choked.
She was there just as I remembered her. Her
black antennae like feathers swayed gently.
Vibrant leaf like green and red plumage
rustled in the breeze. Her tail arched above her head to fall at her feet. Her delicate
well-formed wings cradled the unconscious
Shirasharmi lovingly. All the plants seemed to
reach for her as she sat in a patch of clover unmarred by the flames of the
explosion. She raised her head as she heard me gasp.
I panicked. "Which way to Golden Rod
City?"
Echotrance looked slightly startled but
pointed in the direction of the path. She stared at me before returning to
nurse Shirasharmi. It didn't take a doctor to realize Shirasharmi was
shattered. One of his wings twisted at an odd angle. A long jagged crack ran
the length of his beak. Much of his feathers were either ripped out or burnt
beyond recognition. His long luxuriant tail was nothing but a stub, a shadow of
its former glory.
Suma jabbed me sharply with her elbow.
"Do something," she whispered sharply and poked the MaxRevive bottle
in my hand.
I raised my eyebrows. She wanted me to get close to the
legendary Wings of Council member. One wrong move and I 'd be skittled by the 4
meter tall Legendary Bird for sure.
"Your the one
who wants to catch the Wings of Council."
I favoured her with a dark look and stepped
cautiously over the tree, edging towards Echotrance. Gone was the mischievous
grin to be replaced by one of suspicion and mistrust. She watched my every
motion as I moved closer still. I clutched the MaxRevive tightly in both hands
and a trembled. The revive was probably the only thing keeping her from
smashing me into the ground, the Phaenix had utterly razed Shirasharmi.
Now that I was next to the broken bird, I
could hear his gurgling breath become weaker and weaker. Blood flecked his beak
and his shallow breathing was unnerving.
"Hurry, please." Echotrance
implored. Her eyes were hopeful as I squirted the remaining liquid into his
mouth. The was only a few millilitres left and I prayed there was enough to
take effect, my life depended on it as well as Shirasharmi's.
As the last of the Revive trickled down his
throat, a coughing fit seized his chest. He convulsed wildly in Echotrance's
wings and his broken wing flailed about. As the coughing died so did
Shirasharmi's breath.
I cold, heavy silence over took the clearing.
I held my own breath willing Shirasharmi to breath but to no avail. Still the
quiet of the forest suffocated us. A minute went by and still his chest was still.
A single tear slid down my cheek as it became more and more doubtful he would
inhale ever again.
Suddenly, Shirasharmi drew a long rasping
breath. As the air entered his body it frantically tried to knit itself back
together. His wings and ribs set and repaired themselves. His soft glossy
feathers smothered the burnt ones and his beautiful tail cascaded down past his
feet and down to the ground where it fanned the air. Finally his eyes fluttered
open.
"You!" he cried as his eyes focused
on me. "Ya...."
"Saved your life," Echotrance
interjected smoothly. Her eyes shone brightly now that
Shirasharmi was all right. She gazed at me
with deep gratitude even though I was the one that caused it.
The realization finally came over me that I
was next to a member of the Wings of Council.
My eyes scanned every detail of her
magnificent form and then sighed with content, though my desire didn't. My hand
moved carefully to one of my empty Pokeballs but the click as I removed it from
its clip alerted her to what I planned to do.
"You know as well as I that won't
work," she said softly. My hand dropped disappointed to my side but
reached eagerly for my Pokedex.
"Echotrance the Guardian Pokemon. This bird is said to be
the Guardian of the Ilex forest. The ancient Pokemopolis as the goddess of the
harvest worshipped it. As it passes over the land, flowers burst into bloom."
Shirasharmi though he struggled to get up. He
reminded me of me when my mother tried to brush my unruly hair. I laughed.
"I better get going," I said
ruefully. "The Pokemon League waits for nobody." I turned and started
back towards the path to Golden Rod and prayed we didn't get lost.
'Wait!" I turned back to face Echotrance.
Her eyes were now wide and a fearful expression played her features. "Help
us, please. They've caught Celibi. They've caught the Guardian of
Time……....."
OK people, I know it's not much of a
beginning but it definitely gets better! Keep reading!
