I said that there wouldn't be another chapter of The Ties That Bind.
I never said that there wouldn't be a remaking of The Ties That Bind.
Written in an AU where all Pokémon can freely communicate with humans, this story is no longer about Pokémon battles; about a dream to be the best like no one ever was.
It's about relationships; fostering the bonds between characters and building them up together. About suffering, about loss, about love, about honor, and most importantly, about the ties that bind.
Now, without further ado,
Begin
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They ran, their legs pounding as they tripped over themselves several times, desperately trying to get their four legs moving as fast as possible. Zig-zagging through the numerous skyscrapers and buildings did nothing to stop the ghosts' approach, for there were dozens, hundreds, thousands of them swarming the streets, all happy to make quite the mess as jam-like goop splattered all over the walls and terrified citizens of Pacopolis, raspberry and blueberry and lime leaving disgusting splotches in every nook and cranny of the large city.
The group of strange beasts nearly collapsed on the ground near the school, gasping for breath as the ghouls drew nearer, about to coat the pristine, neon-blue and dark cyan building in multi-colored slime. But first, they had business to attend to, and crowded around the beasts like a gang of bullies about to beat up a short, defenseless first-grader. "You're not so tough now, aren't ya?" A red ghost sneered, cornering the strange beasts with his gang, and settled for rubbing the furry head of the yellow beast with his...limb, for lack of a better word. "Aww, look how cute the widdle Pac-Man is! Almost makes me want to not hurt you…" The yellow beast let out a threatening snarl, unknowingly letting electricity pulse through his body, the electrified fur-quills on his back standing on end.
"Besides, not like you can hurt a fly anymore anyway - attack!" The red ghoul commanded, watching as the ghosts around him launched balls of gooey ectoplasm at the beasts, not expecting a surge of electricity to be blasted back at him and his legion, causing every ghost to panic and fly around like headless chickens in the rising dust cloud. Only when the debris of vaporized ghost-slime settled did they notice the utter absence of their to-be victims; the beasts had escaped.
On the run once again, the strange beasts charged across the school grounds, shocking the few students roaming around campus with their sudden appearance as they swiftly got slimed with colorful ectoplasm soon after. The beasts made a break for a giant wall of hedges, the bushes as tall as small buildings, and dashed through the entrance of the maze in an attempt to flee their assailants. They scampered in any direction the path would take them, attempting to avoid dead ends as they ventured deeper into the hedge-maze, only stopping when they were absolutely sure that the ghosts couldn't find them.
Unfortunately, they were also very lost. "...Does anyone remember the way that we came?" A red beast asked, bottle-green eyes showing hints of nervousness while his fluffy, cream-colored tail flicked about, but the only answer he got was the shaking of heads from the other beasts. "Hopefully we can find a way to get outta here soon…" The spiky-furred yellow beast replied, glancing about the numerous paths the hedge-maze offered to take them next. The pink-and-white beast took one look at the sprawling hedges and shivered at the sheer scale of it all, the ribbons around her ears and neck drooping instantly. "But what if we can't find one?" "We'll just have to try and hope for the best. Pac, Elli-" -the lilac beast addressed the Jolteon and Sylveon respectively- "-you two check the path on the left. Spiral and I will explore the path up front."
"Alright Cyli," Pac nodded. "Let's try to rendezvous back here once either of us find a way out." With that, the two teams departed, the Jolteon and Sylveon heading through one path and the Flareon and Espeon the other, all desperately seeking that golden pathway to the outside before they were too late.
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"Wake up, sleepyhead." Even as the Ralts nudged her shoulder, the chestnut-haired teen wouldn't get up, mumbling "Five more minutes…" as she turned away from the short Psychic-type. The Ralts huffed and made his way to the bedroom window, pushing aside the fuchsia-colored curtains with his tiny arms to let golden sunlight shine into the room, yet the teen still wouldn't budge. "C'mon Rika, you are literally getting your starter Pokémon today! Are you seriously going to be late for that?" Immediately, Rika rolled off the bed and picked herself up off the ground, magically awakened by that one sentence. "Damn. What time-" "Eight o'clock, but you know how long you take in the bathroom." "Oh." The teen groggily let out a yawn and turned off the air-conditioning, before proceeding to trudge out of her room and into the small, barren bathroom in the hallway, momentarily noticing the short, green-haired Pokémon hop onto her shoulder before she closed the door.
She looked into the mirror and gazed into the hazel eyes of her reflection for the millionth time, gently wiping away the eye-dust accumulated from the previous night before grabbing a toothbrush and brushing her teeth way too quickly. The teen then took her time to pop the small pimples on her face, before washing it with facial cleanser and taking a short piss on the toilet. And then she had to comb her hair, which, as much as Rika hated to admit it, took a rather long time. The problem wasn't tying the hair and making it look perfect - the teen knew that she'd never solve her messy hair problem, and hated tying it up - the problem was actually the numerous tangles which took ages to brush out of her insanely long chestnut hair. She got everything done in just under forty minutes, then ran back into her room for a change of clothes before she stepped into the dining room, hair in place with a headband and with her Ralts in tow.
"Ehhh Rika, I think you forgot your bag…" "...Shit, hold on." The teen ran back into her room, slung a ginormous backpack onto her shoulders and rushed back into the dining room, cursing under her breath about the sheer weight of a foldable tent before she dunked the whole load onto the floor and looked up to see a shaggy-haired man making peanut-butter-jelly sandwiches at the kitchen counter. "Mornin' Rika, Kaito," He greeted, looking up from his handiwork to address the teen and her Ralts. "G'morning Dad," Rika mumbled out, taking a seat at the small, white-marble table as her father handed out breakfast to her and Kaito before taking his own seat at the table, opposite from his daughter. "Dad, why aren't you at work already?" "Boss said I could arrive late in order to see you two off," Her dad said, the corners of his mouth curling into a proud grin. "Can't miss my girl's big day."
"I know, I've waited sixteen years for this." Rika replied as she munched on her sandwich. "Hey, what about me?" Kaito queried with his mouth full of peanut-butter-and-jelly, not about to be left out of the praise. "-Oh yeah, you too son. Can't miss your big day either."
"Now, let me test you two - first, how do you make a fire?"
"Get Kaito to Will-o-Wisp the firewood, ask any Fire-type to use a Fire attack, or rub two dry sticks against each other until sparks fly," Rika answered with no hesitation.
"Hey!" The Ralts exclaimed, garnering a smirk from his partner. "Oh, you'd light the fire anyways - you're so scared of the dark that you insisted Ms. Peter's Ninetales to teach you that move."
"Right, next question - where's your best food and water source?"
This time, it was Kaito who answered. "Forests and lakes for berries and fish-" "Dude, we have towns practically everywhere in Skanadar! Just stock up on food at the stores and fill the water bottles while you're there!" "Well, how long do you think it takes to get through a forest?" Chris just chuckled watching his daughter and his Pokémon step-son argue, and then spoke. "You're both correct, though you both forgot to mention boiling the water from lakes and streams first before drinking it."
"Last question - what do you do if some grunts from an evil organization approach you?"
"Dad, there's no evil teams here! We'll be fine!" Rika responded, earning herself a loud guffaw from her father. "Just pulling your leg, sunshine!"
The teen sighed, checking her watch as she stuffed the last of the sandwich in her mouth. It's about time to go. "You ready, Kaito? We should probably get going around now." "Oh please, I was born ready," the Ralts said as he climbed onto his partner's shoulder, and was nearly jerked off by Rika slinging the backpack onto her back. "Heh, tell me you were born ready for that," the teen smirked, slipping a pair of white velcro-strapped sneakers with violet lightning designs onto her feet, and headed for the front door.
Chris stood up from his chair and walked over to his daughter, seeing the time-worn headband she wore, adorned with fake lilac flowers and a beautiful marble, glued tight to the old accessory. "So you're still wearing that old thing." Rika looked at him and smiled. "Why wouldn't I? It was Mom's…" She bit her lip, the smile disappearing from her face. "...She'd want me to wear it, wouldn't she?" Before she could dwell further on her thoughts, a warm pat on her shoulder brought her back to reality. "Of course she would. And I've got something I want you to wear too…" Chris revealed the sturdy leather belt he hid behind his back, adorned with Poké Balls of all different colors. "For you, sunshine."
Rika gasped as she gingerly picked the belt up. "Isn't this the belt you used all those years ago?" Her father nodded. "But what if I lose it?" "You haven't lost that headband in all this time, have you?" In a few seconds, Rika had the belt secured around her jeans, the sturdy leather fitting her nicely. "Hey, that actually looks real good on you!" Kaito complimented. "Oh, shut up!"
"Thanks, Dad." The teen finally turned and opened the front door, the fresh breeze and the wide, grassy fields beckoning her outside. Chris let a smile spread itself across his face. "Stay safe, sunshine."
"Don't worry, I know," Rika reassured.
"Alright, Dad!" The Ralts added excitedly.
Then, out of nowhere, Chris pulled them both into a big hug, squeezing them as if he'd never let go. "Love you both." "Love you too, Dad," Rika said, the corners of her mouth curving into a grin, and after a long while, her father finally let go. The teen and her partner set out into the outside world, waving their father goodbye.
"Take care, sunshine!"
"I know, we've got Brayden with us! See ya around!"
"You may need to take care of him too!"
Rika laughed as she walked further away from the small, brick-laden house she called home, her last glimpse of her father being him wiping away tears of joy before she turned her eyes to the path ahead. The sun was shining, the Fletchling were singing, and the flowers dotted the fields with white and gold as a teen and her Ralts strolled to the Professor's laboratory, situated on a small hill nearby.
It was truly a beautiful day.
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"Pac! Elli! Can you hear me?" Cylindria shouted, hoping her voice would at least travel beyond the thick walls of the hedge-maze. After a brief second, she heard a shout in response. "We can hear you! What's up?" The Espeon turned to the odd, circular symbol embedded into the ground. "We found something strange at this dead end! Go down the other path at the rendezvous point and turn right!" Within a minute, the other two beasts had reached the site.
"What's up, Spiral? Cyli?"
"There's this weird symbol in the ground…I think it may be a portal or something, but it doesn't react when we touch it…" The Flareon said, pressing his paw to the circle in the middle of the yin-yang symbol to demonstrate. "It seems really similar to that portal to the Netherworld."
Elli pondered the strange symbol for a bit. "Maybe this 'portal' can get us out of here...or at the very least, change our forms back to normal…" The other beasts nodded, but only Cyli decided to speak up. "Yeah. Problem is, we don't know how to activate it." "I'll try," Pac offered, popping a power berry out from the berry holder strapped to his back with some difficulty and placing it into the circular dent.
Even after half a minute, there still was no sign of reaction. "The berry doesn't work." "Wait, remember that lightning trick you pulled off earlier?" Spiral asked, prompting the memory to resurface in the Jolteon's mind. "Maybe that'll activate the portal."
"But I don't know how to pull that off again…" Pac reasoned, much to the Flareon's dismay. "What about the fire show you put up to distract the ghosts?"
As the two beasts tried to come up with ways to activate the strange portal, Cyli analyzed the symbols, looking for something, anything that could provide them with a clue. They were all tired from their escape, and with the maze stretching far beyond the horizon and the fear of the ghosts finding them again, this strange portal might as well be their only ticket out. Unfortunately, the ancient wordings encircling the yin-yang symbol - similar to hieroglyphs, yet slightly different - just couldn't be understood, even by someone as intelligent as the Espeon. "Elli, can you make this out in any way?" The lilac beast asked, prompting the Sylveon to look at the strange text, but all she got from her friend was a slight shake of the head. "I can't read this either…sorry, Cylindria."
The frustration and desperation building up in Cyli's head had reached its peak. Out of options, the Espeon stared at the small circle in the center of the portal, oblivious to the light from her forehead gem. This was probably a waste of our time! The gem shone brighter as each second passed, with Cyli's expression growing moodier at the same rate.
I give up! Suddenly, the gem, shining bright as the sun, launched a pink multi-colored beam straight at the circular dent, and in a flash the whole symbol began pulsing with white light, seemingly energized by the beam. The rest of the group stood in shock and stared. "What did you do?"
"I don't know! I just-" The yin-yang symbol split apart to let rainbow-colored light shine forth, and in an instant all four beasts felt strong gravity pulling them closer to the portal, until they could no longer cling to the loose ground they stood on and were sucked right in, blinded by white light-
-and the next thing they saw was grass, wide-open fields, the starry night sky and totally unfamiliar terrain.
They weren't in the maze anymore. They weren't in Pac-World either.
And their adventure was only beginning.