Note : I do not own Pokemon. Almost all characters mentioned in my fanfiction are of my own creation, but the world not does not belong to me.
Pokemon : Brawl
Prologue
It has been eight years today since the accident - the day that Salem lost his arm.
At the south-western edge of Viridian City, sitting on the lakeside, Salem Atticus made his home in a shoddy excuse for a shack. The nine year old boy never really knew innocence - growing up poor forced him to work by the time he was eligible for an education. His father died when he was very young - forcing him to be the man of the household for an alcoholic mother and a sickly little sister. The only thing close to a father figure was the kind middle-aged man, William, who gave Salem a job cleaning up his store in exchange for food and a little spending money.
Poor Salem's only solace was in his very first Pokemon - a helpless Feebas he found shore-locked that he nursed to health. He split his food rations with his ugly little friend in secret, and played with her daily when he managed to find time from work.
It was the middle of Summer when it happened - Salem's ninth birthday had just happened, and his five year old little sister - Lilica, was playing by the lake.
"Brother, brother, look! I can do a cartwheel!" The bright-eyed little girl was flipping about while Salem watched in silence, a gentle smile on his young face.
"Careful, Lily. Don't hurt yourself," the boy finally said, stroking along Prism's fin affectionately. He named the Feebas over it's odd coloration from the other Feebas in the small lake - it's scales were a soft purple color, as opposed to the usual off-white.
"I'd listen to him, kid. Don't want you off breakin' your neck, do we?"
Salem jumped when he heard the stranger's voice, turning around instantly only to find himself standing in the shadow of a much larger man.
He was towering over the boy - a full six foot three, his mess of sandy blond tresses a bright opposite to Salem's own black shoulder-length hair. He had dark facial hair - shaved but not recently, and rings under his eyes, which were protected by a small pair of shades. Donned in a full-black facade - t-shirt, jeans, and a trench-coat, topped with a fedora that tilted slightly to the left. He had a disgusting grin, and gave Salem a rancid, villainous feeling.
The tall man lit a cigarette and stuck it between his teeth, taking but a moment to blow the disgusting smoke into Salem's face. "What's your name, kid?" he asked, his voice surprisingly soft. And yet it had a hissing undertone to hit, the way he spoke made Salem's skin crawl.
"S-... S-Salem Atticus..." He whimpered out, clutching Prism to his chest. "W-what's it... to you?"
"Oh, nothing," the man laughed, adjusting his sunglasses. He gave a glance to Lily, who hid behind a rock, cowering. "You two 'ave got just the prettiest orange eyes, you know." The man leaned forward, now literally towering over Salem with that disgusting grin. "And you've got such a nice-looking Feebas."
Salem thought to scream out and call for his mom - but he knew his pleas would fall upon deaf ears. She was passed out on the floor last he saw her, and that wouldn't change for a few hours. "Who... are you..? What... what do you want?" he called out, meekly.
The man leaned back and wiped the bangs from his eyes. "Forgive me! How rude, to bother such nice children with nothing but poor manners." He mocked a bow, looking to Salem over the rim of his glasses. His eyes were different colors, the boy made a note of it, the left blue and the right green. "My name is Axel Greene, and I'm, well..." He looked Salem up and down, another motion that gave him the chills. "I'm an... admirer, of rare Pokemon. I've traveled all over Kanto and Johto in search of Pokemon with different variations and the likes."
The man took another inhale and blew the smoke off to the side. "And, well, what I want is simple. That Feebas. How much do you want for her? Name your price - nothing's out of my reach."
Salem instantly took a few steps back and clutched his friend harder. "That's too bad!" he exclaimed, "Prism is mine! She's not for sale!" He heard Lillica whimper behind him. "B-brother..." she called out meekly, "I... I had an accident..."
"Shh, Lily, I... I'll take care of this..." he hushed her, taking another step back from the man. "She's not for sale, Mister Greene. P-please go away."
Axel smirked and adjusted his coat, lifting the side to reveal a belt lined with Pokeballs. "Sure she's for sale, kid. Trust me, you want to sell her." He lifted the other side to reveal a holster and a pistol. "You really don't have any other choice but to sell her."
Salem retreated against the rock that Lily hid behind, beginning to sweat in anxiety. "Y-you're not having her!"
Before he knew it, there was a small red flash as one of Axel's Pokeballs hit the ground. "Scyther, let's teach this brat a lesson..." The disgusting man hissed.
The intimidating mantis Pokemon hissed out, leaning forward with both scythed arms stretched out.
"Ssssssaaaaaiii..." it growled, glaring at Salem and Prism with hateful eyes.
Salem's knees were weak - he was succumbing to fear, cornered against the rock. "S-stay away from us..." he whimpered, Prism whining out in his arms. She began to flail in a panic, and the young boy's grip on his Pokemon was beginning to slip.
Axel sighed,running a hand along the side of his head. "I hate killing kids. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But if you're not going to give that Feebas up, I'm afraid you're as good as dead." He spat the cigarette onto the ground beside him and put a hand on the handle of his pistol.
"Scyther, use Slash."
The next instant seemed to take forever. The bug Pokemon literally flew forward, both scythes out to one side, the blades facing Salem's left side. His only instinct was to protect his friend, and he let Prism fall to the ground.
With the next scream came a splatter of blood. The Scyther moved in and threw a blade into Salem's side, cleanly severing the boy's left arm vertically from the shoulder. A pattern of red coated the rock he leaned against, and with his last conscious breath, Salem screamed out for help.
Falling into shock, into blackness, the nine year old fell, slumped against the rock with his head hung forward. The Scyther raised his blade again, aligning it with Salem's neck.
Lily screamed for help, too, sobbing helplessly behind the rock her brother laid against, and if one were paying attention, both her and Salem's orange eyes seemed to glimmer for a moment.
A horrifying, terrible roar came from below the lake, a stream of blue light splitting the water as if it were paper. Waves from the beam crashed against the shore, washing away the blood that soaked the ground.
From the water rose the serpent, enormous and intimidating, it's scales a cool blue. The Gyrados glared down at Axel and the Scyther both, it's bare visage so frightening that the blade above Salem's neck began to quiver. The bug Pokemon took a step back, turning to flee and cower behind Axel, who glared right back up at the water dragon in defiance.
"... Fine. I get it." He spat, returning the Scyther to it's ball, turning on his heel and walking off. "This isn't the last you've seen of me, Salem Atticus. You and your brat of a sister are going to pay up, one day." The man disappeared into the trees, mumbling to himself.
Officer Alice Jenny and Nurse Theresa Joy arrived within the hour to a shocking sight - A young, blood-soaked boy with a missing arm being cradled in the arms of a girl with sandy blond hair and orange eyes, the both of them in the protecting coils of a Gyrados and a Milotic with a golden tail fin and teal fins draping either side of it's head.
The incident report filed had little details on Axel Greene - other than his name, both Lily and Salem seemed to be too in shock to remember his physical appearance. Prism, who had evolved in the commotion to defend it's master alongside Gyrados, refused to leave Salem's side in the hospital, becoming hostile whenever the staff tried to make her abandon his side. Lily slept on the floor beside him for two weeks straight, and after a month went by, Salem's lack of health insurance forced him to leave without physical therapy. The trio returned to find Gyrados protecting their home with vigilance. "Angel," as he was nicknamed, became Lily's companion, and as the years went by so did their slightly depressing life. Their mother passed away from alcohol poisoning when Salem turned fourteen, Lily also began to work alongside her brother, and by the time they had enough saved up, being the good big brother he was, Salem sent his baby sister off to school in town.
The now-young man didn't really know that his life would change exactly eight years to the day after he lost his arm.
So, I know I'm a right shit writer, but I really don't want what I write to just... go, ignored, collecting digital dust in my documents folder. By all means, comment and send me your love, hate, hugs, insights, etc. I'm eager for input and the likes. Anyway. Time to answer some questions you might have.
- Prism's evolution was -meant- to be ignored. I mean, when you're about to lose your head you don't really notice things, and Axel, Scyther, and Lily's focus was really pointed at the GIANT FUCKING GYRADOS HYPERBEAMIN' IT'S WAY INTO AWESOMENESS.
- Salem's mom is a bitch and a drunk. She's never going to be hugely mentioned in the story. Which is why I killed her off.
- Yes, the webcomic "Mokepon" (sort of) has an influence in this story. But everything's gonna be original - specific to me. Except the name "Atticus." I think that's such an awesome name, it had to be Salem and Lily's last name, how could it NOT be. Duh.
- I tried to make Axel one of those villains that you love to hate. Or hate to love. He's sexy in a disgusting way, all trenchcoaty with, uh, hetero...chromia...? And sexy shades and stuff. I wish I could draw, I can see all these characters in my head so. Anyway. Yeah. He also kind of sounds like a pedophile in the beginning there, sorry.
Send me your questions and comments in the comments section and I'll totally answer!