1. Cerise Iniquity

Fire. Blazing, burning, scorching. Fire.

That's all his light brown eyes could remember. Waste had been eminent from the very cause of the inferno as it split houses open and tore families apart. Nothing would ever erase this memory of complete and utter loss.

He had been there, all those years ago when Cinnabar Island had been tormented by the active volcano that their tiny village so precariously lived off of. The taste of ash and soot bathed over his tongue; his mouth open, thirsting for clean and crisp air as he found himself at a standstill. His young, bright and innocent eyes could not believe what had happened around him.

One minute he was playing tag with his siblings and the next he had been running for his life. His frantic, small heart could not bear the weight of it all. It was so much that a child so young could take. His hand grabbed at his shirt as he tried hard not to breathe in the dark clouds of smoke, brushing down in the pathway out of the village. His gaze blurred from the thick haze settling over his once beloved home. He wheezed, feeling the padding of smaller feet behind him. He glanced over his shoulders as tears blinked at the corner of his eyes.

There. The remainder of his family had followed after him. His three sister and little brother that he promptly called: eenie, meenie miny and moe. The boy knew how to keep track of his large family. He used simple words to make sure every one of his siblings had been accounted for. Even as his eyes cracked red from the inhalation he still wanted to be the protector and shield, as he promised his Ma and Pa.

Speaking of his parents, where were they?

He scarcely remembered his father instructing him to take his little brother by hand and lead his sisters away from the worst of it. His brave mother standing by her husband as the black clouds blew over their house. The rest was history.

The boy couldn't really see further behind him as the mounds of gray gathered to form some sort of smoke monster and swallowed anyone left behind. The trudging feet of the survivors carried on. The man guiding them had been a friend of his mother and father, and he was among the first to notify the village of the oncoming volcanic activity. The man was shouting up front to "keep up" and "stay in a single file" but the lad had been familiar with similar drills. What he was most worried about was getting off the island with every able person from his family present.

Nothing mattered most then for his family to be as one again. He knew this yet why couldn't he have the courage to back out from the evacuation and search for them? That's right, he had to look after his siblings. He was the older brother, the one who protected those who could yet protect themselves. He made a promise to his Ma and Pa, and wouldn't let them down out of a selfish act. He forced down the feeling of trepidation and forced himself to continue as the beacon of hope. He knew many pairs of eyes burned on his back. He'd make sure to get them all safe and sound and away from this hellish outcome.

The boy would await the approval faces of his parents when he managed to keep all of them together. It was his inner comfort in all of this desolation. They were survivors, ever last one of them.

. . .

"I'm so sorry." The same man crouched before the boy who managed to board a ship, leaving the burning island of Cinnabar. He had been the one who make sure that all island villagers would be safe in the waters as their home burned up in flames.

He saw it all, and he could do nothing to prevent it.

The lad's shoulders shook. So much emotion welled up within he felt like he was ready to erupt the same way the volcano had. Embers flecked out at sea and his youngest sibling, his only brother, stuck out his tiny hand to try and grab hold of it.

"Cole, no!" A strong pair of hands snatched his brother away from possible burns. The little babe had been crying, unsure of what bad thing he did. His older brother knew he didn't do anything bad. He was just scared stiff from the horrors that came from natural disasters, taking away their parents for good. His three sisters crowded around their two, only brothers. Sorrow reflected back in their steely gazes. Each and every one had tears streaming down their faces and quiet sniffled from where they cried their hardest at.

The boy had been resilient, stoic stone of protection up to this point. Now he was a sniveling heap of shaking skin and a sobbing face. For the love of Arceus, he was only five. So much to go on in his small mind. It would be a hard intake to endure for the years to come. Helping to raise his family would be a hardship in itself. A blessing was right around the corner as said man would lead them to a better place, far away from what they had to endure.

Tears burned at the corners of his eyes but he would not let them see. The man's wrinkled deepened into hollow crevices until he stood up to assist the other people on board. He would be considered a savior, a hero. A man who was a beacon of hope and lead the wandering and weak to a better place.

It felt like hell for the red brunette.

The boy couldn't understand why this had to have happened to him and his family. They did nothing out of the ordinary, nor did they deserve any of this. Then again, Arceus fated them to such things and they only had to endure it. The ones who survived the ordeals that is. The pain would make them strong, if only for the rest of their lives.

The tang of blood fresh on his tongue as he bit into it. He could hear the distant shouting of his eldest sister, shaking his shoulder for him to stop hurting himself. Perhaps she seen bits of his of specks bubbling up on his bottom lip. He really didn't care if anything happened to him, so long as his siblings were taken care of.

He rose his tear-stained cheeks up to the dark sky as he wanted to further shy away from danger itself. Splotches of rain covered the rest of the boat of sorrow and despair. With his remainder family with him, the boy would do everything in his power to see them living without a care in the world once more.

Their big brother would make sure of it.

A/N: And thus begins the tale of new beginnings. It started from one small piece of a story arc and goes over yonder. I'm sure a few people reading this are familiar with the Red Devil story arc. ;) Kind of like a mid-quel because there's one other short story to tell but that will be more of a dream sequence than anything.

I shall give more detail with him as other charas and give credit where it should go! This is considered the pilot chapter of a grand adventure stoking more awesome tales from The Gaia Region charries! This lovely character belongs to yours truly~.