Chapter One: A Scarf Warmed by Fire
"Urgh!"
With a mighty thrust, Honoo sent the dumpster lid flying off the container. He felt proud of himself. He usually couldn't do it in just one push. Perhaps I'm getting bigger he thought. Feeling lucky for the first time in a long time, he peered into the dumpster.
And his luck was gone. The dumpster was completely empty. Rats Honoo thought. They must have just taken it. I've come only a moment too late. I should've known I wouldn't have a good day.
Feeling dejected once again, Honoo jumped to the ground and sat against the dumpster. He had no intentions of doing anything else for the rest of the day. He hardly ever did anything. But he wasn't lazy. He was conserving his energy. When one was starving and only ate every other day at the best of times, one had to conserve energy. But Honoo hardly had enough left of himself to live off of. His ribs were showing through his skin and his fur was dull. He could hardly ever kick up a fire on his back, not that he wanted to.
Honoo started. The backdoor of the building opened and a golbat flew out. Honoo knew the golbat. He often watched him eat a snack or smoke a pipe in the small alley. The golbat worked in the department store inside the building.
The golbat looked down at the little Pokémon. "What're you doing, kid?"
Honoo felt his heart start to pound and his breathing grew ragged. Calm down, Honoo. Just inhale and exhale. Answer the question. "Uh… uh… just… waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
The golbat seemed kind. Honoo felt himself start to calm down. "For a miracle."
The golbat chuckled and landed beside him. "Aren't we all?"
Honoo glanced at the apple in the golbat's foot. He felt his belly grumble and he let out a small whimper.
The golbat looked at him, then the apple, then back at him. "Here." He offered him the apple.
Honoo looked at the bit of food in confusion.
"Take it before I change my mind. This is my lunch for today," the golbat said.
Honoo cautiously accepted the gift. "I don't know what to say."
"You could say thank you." The golbat handed his pipe to the child. "You're a fire-type, right? Do you mind lighting that for me?"
Honoo felt his heart start to pound again. His breathing quickened.
"Alright, alright. Relax, will you? I'll light it myself, then." The golbat took the pipe and lit it with a small lighter. He inhaled from it and exhaled a puff of smoke.
"I-I-I'm sorry," Honoo stuttered.
"Don't worry about it."
Now Honoo was beginning to panic. Was the golbat saying that sarcastically? Was he annoyed? Was he laughing at him? Honoo suddenly felt the need to run. "I have to get going." He got up and quickly started to move away.
The golbat made no argument. Only when the department store was out of sight did Honoo calm down again. He sat down on the sidewalk. Will you calm down? Of course he wasn't laughing at you. He gave you an apple for crying out loud. And Honoo knew this was true, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that he was being laughed at.
Honoo glanced down at the apple. A little smile appeared on his face. Food! He lifted the apple to his mouth and was about to bite into its juicy flesh when his eyes drifted over to something.
Across the street was a Pokémon. She was a Pokémon unlike one he'd ever seen before, but a Pokémon for sure. She stood on two legs and had little arms, red eyes, a large horn on her head, and tusks. She was a dull green color. And she looked hungry.
The little Pokémon was collapsed on the sidewalk. Her ribs were showing even worse than his own, and her breathing seemed ragged. The poor thing probably had less than a day to live.
Honoo looked down at his apple. With a sigh, he got up and started across the street.
The Pokémon didn't see him coming. Honoo stepped onto the sidewalk and cautiously walked over to the girl. Only when he was standing above her did she open her eyes. She looked up at him but said nothing. Her gaze fixed on the apple.
Without saying a word, Honoo set down the table and forced himself to walk away in the opposite direction.
But after a few seconds, a small voice called after him. "Wait!"
Honoo stopped. A part of his mind started to worry. He turned to see that the Pokémon had risen to a sitting position.
With her small tusks, the girl split the apple perfectly in half, revealing the white juicy interior and the seeds. Honoo started to salivate.
"This is your apple. Let's share it." The girl held up one half in offering.
Still quiet, Honoo walked back over and graciously took the apple. The two children sat down on the sidewalk and started to eat.
"You didn't have to share with me. Why did you?" the girl asked.
"You looked hungry," Honoo said.
"You're hungry, too. I can tell."
"You looked hungrier."
As they finished the apple, the girl said, "You're very quiet."
Honoo felt his heart start the pound. He felt the urge to flee. "I-I have to go." He got up and started to walk away quickly.
"Hold on!" Honoo stopped. He could feel himself starting to sweat on his neck under his red scarf.
The girl walked over to him. She stood in front of him and enveloped him in a big hug.
Honoo was startled, but he felt the warmth of the girl's scales and hugged back. When they pulled apart, Honoo's panic was gone. "Why did you hug me?"
"You looked sad," the girl replied. "So come sit with me."
Unsure whether to accept or decline, Honoo ended up sitting with the girl against a building. The sky was starting to turn orange from the setting sun. "What type of Pokémon are you? I've never seen one like you before."
The girl suddenly looked sad. "That's not strange. I'm an axew, a dragon-type from the region Unova."
"Unova? That's so far away," Honoo said.
"Yes. I miss it. It's much better than this region. What is it called again? Johto? But I can't go home," said the axew.
"Why can't you?"
But she didn't respond. "My name is Dosatsu. What's your name?"
"I'm Honoo."
"Honoo? That's a lovely name. It means blaze, right?" Dosatsu said.
"I believe so," Honoo replied. His voice was quiet.
"So Honoo, what're you doing starving in Goldenrod City?" Dosatsu asked.
"I just ended up here. I ran away from home and travelled Route 34. I just ended up here," Honoo explained.
"Why would you run away? Is this really better than being at home?" Dosatsu asked.
"Yes," he said. "Why're you here, so far from home?"
Dosatsu looked down. "I got lost and stumbled onto a cargo ship. I couldn't get out and ended up in Johto. I travelled around for a while before I came here."
"Did you go to Olivine City? I've always wanted to go," Honoo said.
"Yeah, that's where I landed in Johto," said Dosatsu. "It was a really nice city, but there just wasn't enough food, so I moved on."
"Oh." Honoo couldn't think of anything else to say. But then he realized his heart wasn't pounding like it always did. The axew beside him gave off an air of tranquility. For some reason, he didn't feel so anxious. What is it about you…?
As the sky turned darker, Dosatsu began to shiver. "It's so cold. I'm not used to this type of cold."
Honoo wondered what he could do. Then he glanced down at his scarf. He was a fire-type. He could do without it. He pulled the scarf off himself and gently wrapped it around her neck. "Here."
Dosatsu looked surprised.
"It's warm, isn't it? I'm a fire-type, and it's a special material that holds heat. My sister gave it to me," Honoo explained.
"Where does your sister live?" Dosatsu asked.
Honoo grew quiet.
But Honoo was surprised when Dosatsu didn't seem the slightest bit annoyed. "I'll make you a deal. If you tell me about your family, I'll tell you about my home in Unova."
Honoo was dying to know about Unova. "You go first," he urged.
"Alright, but you better hold up your end," Dosatsu said teasingly. Then she started. "There's a route in Unova called Route 6. It's a very long and popular route. It's between the two cities Driftveil and Mistralton. And on Route 6, there's a secret cave that hardly any Pokémon can reach called the Mistralton Cave.
"I was hatched in the Mistralton Cave. It's the ancient tradition of the axew family. All the parents have to lay their eggs in the cave. All the axews have to live on their own until they grow bigger and then the parents come back to find their child. It's survival of the fittest, and some don't survive."
"That's terrible," Honoo gasped. He was shocked at what he was hearing. He'd never heard of such brutality.
"It's just nature. It's what the axews have been doing for millions of years," said Dosatsu. "Anyways, I hatched in the cave with all the other axews. It's very dark, but we can light it with our dragon fire. We pass the time by playing, fighting, sharpening our tusks, and telling stories. The stories are the best. My favorite is the tale of the legendary Pokémon Cobalion, who is thought to live deep within the cave. Far deeper than any of us would dare venture.
"Life in the Mistralton Cave wasn't bad for most axews, but it was bad for me. All the other axews ignored me. They didn't like me at all. They didn't pick on me or bully me. They just never spoke to me. It was… lonely." Dosatsu paused for a moment. "Eventually, I just couldn't bare it any longer. The light that came in from outside was my only hope. I decided to leave the cave before the haxorusi came to collect us.
"Of course, leaving the cave is the worst thing a young axew can do. All the other axews tried to stop me. It was a tough battle, but I managed to fight my way out. I fell right into a river, though. I went with the river all the way to Driftveil City. I was amazed by the outside world. It was so bright and busy. There were so may different Pokémon. I saw thundering zebstrikas, soaring unfezants, and all sorts of different creatures. But then I got lost in Driftveil City and stumbled onto a cargo ship. I got trapped inside. It was like Mistralton Cave all over again. I was stuck in there for days. I had to tear through crates with my tusks and moves to get food. Then finally, I stumbled out into a completely unfamiliar place. I had no money, so there was no way for me to get back to Unova. Hardly any Pokémon here know what an axew even is. I travelled and ended up here. Then I nearly died until you helped me."
"So, what're you going to do? Are you going to try to go home?" Honoo asked.
"Maybe. I'm not sure. I don't think I could face the other axews again if I tried. Leaving the cave is the most shameful thing to do. My parents might not even be able to recognize me anymore. I'm helplessly lost," Dosatsu said. Then suddenly she was perky again. "Alright, now you have to tell me about your family!"
"Oh, okay," said Honoo. "Well, they live in Azalea Town. If you leave this city from the south and travel down Route 34, you'll reach it. It's a small place. We're known for the Slowpoke Well, where all the slowpokes like to hang out, and our apricot farming. We also have a gym, but that's for tougher Pokémon, hardly someone like me.
"My family are all cyndaquil Pokémon like me. My sister is a cyndaquil and my mom is a quilava. A quilava is the first evolved form, in case you weren't aware. They were nice, I suppose. But I just wasn't happy back at home. So I left and ended up here."
Dosatsu cocked her head. "I don't understand. If you have a family that loves you, why would you choose to stay here and starve over go home?"
Honoo looked at the ground. "They don't love me."
"Nonsense! I'm sure they do," Dosatsu said.
"You wouldn't understand, since you grew up in a cave," Honoo mumbled dejectedly. Immediately, he regretted his words. "Oh my gosh. I-I-I'm sorry." His heart started to pound. Damn you! he silently yelled at himself. You've ruined your chat with this nice girl. Way to go.
If Dosatsu noticed, she didn't say. "You're special, aren't you?"
"S-special?" Honoo asked. Her kind voice started to calm him down.
"Let me see." Dosatsu pressed her paws against the sides of Honoo's head and closed her eyes. After a couple of minutes, she let go. "Yeah. You have blue fire disorder. That's pretty rare."
Honoo stood up suddenly. Wait, that was silly. She'll think I'm weird. He didn't meet her eye. A small fire started on his back. He gasped and quickly tried to cover it.
"Calm down," Dosatsu said. She got up and took his hand. "I didn't mean to upset you. I have an ability to tell these things. It's part of my insight. Please sit down again."
The serenity of her voice worked like magic. The fire on Honoo's back disappeared. He sat back down, this time even closer to Dosatsu.
"Thank you." She sat back down. "Wow. It's already dark. Honoo, I like you. Will you spend the night with me?"
"Okay," Honoo said.
Dosatsu smiled. "I'm glad."
The two children made their way to an alley. Goldenrod City got windy at night, so the alley would be sheltered. They even found a cardboard box to sleep under.
"Goodnight, Honoo," Dosatsu murmured as she curled up against him.
"Goodnight," Honoo replied. He was surprised with himself. Usually, in a situation like this, he would be worrying. Being this close to a Pokémon, his blue fire could show. But there was no flame on his back, so he decided to pretend it didn't exist for a night.
Author's Note
Hello, and welcome to the first chapter of At the Top of the Bell Tower! I'm Cinnamon Pearl, your writer and hostess. I'll try to keep these author's notes scarce, but I thought I'd just give a brief introduction to the story.
Let's start off with the most important note: There are NO humans in this story! Every character in this story is a pokemon. If you like Mystery Dungeons or are wanting something new, stick around! This will be interesting for you. If you prefer stories with humans, this one isn't for you. I apologize for that.
Second off. At the Top of the Bell Tower is a quick little story I wrote back in early 2014. Now, I am a much better writer now than I was two years ago, and I'll only be uploading what I finished back then, nothing more. This book is the first book of a six-part series, Walking With Gods, but as these are all standalone stories, the order you read them in doesn't matter. Since I plan on posting all the parts of the series, if this particular book doesn't impress you much, try a different one! And this also means that though not all the chapters are up yet, this fanfic is complete. So that means updates will be very frequent, most likely daily.
That's about it. If you do plan on sticking around, please enjoy the story.