Chapter 1: By a Moonlit Lake
It's cool out today, I thought as I walked down the worn trail bordering the old lake; the same path I had traversed so many times previously. The trees rustled and I lifted my shoulders a bit to shield my face from the biting wind which came a few seconds later. I liked to come down this way; it was always quiet, and about the only place I could ever come to think. I looked at the graying sky, thinking idly about why winter seemed to be coming so early this year around here. I was never really sure why, but the cold always bothered me a little more than most people. I shrugged and kept walking, not knowing how long I could be away before the "Overseers" as I privately called them, noticed I was gone. "I swear the only time they even notice I exist is when I forget to do chores or something," I muttered to myself.
I suddenly turned left off the trail and pressed my way past a frost covered bush and came to a small clearing containing an ancient wooden bench by the lake's shore. This was my favorite spot around here; on several occasions I had simply watched the day go by from this very spot. Why was this little bench here anyway, off the beaten trail? Maybe another, searching for their purpose in this world had found this place years before me. I sat on the bench and looked out across the mirror smooth surface, seeing the crescent moon just starting to appear over the horizon. "It's getting late," I told to myself. "You know how they get when you're not back by dark." I sighed, making a small wisp of cloud appear in the cool air. I lingered for several more minutes, then decided that I couldn't put off going back to the orphanage forever (not that I wouldn't like to).
I shifted slightly and prepared to urge my stiff legs to stand, when something caught my eye; slight ripples were coming from a corner of the lake to my right. I looked but saw nothing. I frowned slightly, then sat back down from my half crouch, desperate for any excuse to not go back "home" sooner. A flock of bird-like creatures flew overhead. I looked up and watched the Spearow fly by before returning my attention to the lake. It was ebbing toward twilight now; the sun reduced to a blazing band of reds and oranges. The still surface of the lake broke just nearby; I didn't notice at first because it didn't break so much as smoothly part. Curious, I watched the head of a large, serpentine animal rise silently out of the lake and look around. The back half of its body was covered in rainbow colored scales which seemed to change color as it moved, and its head had what looked to be red hair trailing behind. I sat there half in awe; I had been coming here for almost three years and never knew this lake was home to a rare Milotic. However, my amazement soon turned to concern; it was looking left and right quickly as if distressed by something. I had been sitting so still that it didn't notice me at first in the dim light of the sunset. When I shifted slightly, the creature flinched in surprise and made as though it was about to quickly dive back underwater. I hurriedly whispered "No, no, it's ok! I'm not gonna hurt you!" The Pokemon hesitated, then silently slid up on shore. It started to get closer, and closer; I started to feel a little uneasy. It didn't stop until its face was about a foot from mine. It stared intently into my eyes and I looked back, admiring the sapphire blue color, not even realizing how quickly I had relaxed again. Several long moments passed, then the Milotic quickly went back to the water, and jerked its head in the direction of the trail going around the lake, rather insistently. I thought for a moment, then got up and walked around the lake in the direction it had indicated. The large serpent creature lead me along the lake's edge, showing me the way toward who knew what. I stepped in a pile of fallen leaves and it flinched a little at the crunching sound, then looked sternly at me. Apparently, it wanted me to be quiet, so I avoided the fallen leaves as best I could from then on.
The Milotic stopped after a time. I looked around and saw with some difficulty that we were at the part of the lake that the ripples had come from before. I was about to whisper "So why'd you lead me here?" when I heard hushed voices and a slight rustling of dry leaves.
"Jeez, I hope he was right about this; I'm freezing my can off out here!"
"Just be quiet!" hissed a second, nasty sounding voice, "you don't hear anyone else complaining, do you? And besides, it's almost the time he described, everyone locked and loaded?"
There was a series of soft grunts from the same general direction as the first two voices.
"But boss, wouldn't it be more use to us to take it alive? We could just tranq it and…"
"Idiot!" hissed the cruel voice again, "I've already told you that this one is immune to sedatives as far as we know, and besides, after the trouble we've gone through to get a this one; I want to make sure I get the proper satisfaction for bagging it! Just be sure to leave a big enough piece to clone."
They were silent from then on, but I didn't dare move. I had no idea who these people were or what pokemon they were after, but it sounded as though they were heavily armed and had nasty tempers. The last comment stuck with me the most; "Just leave a big enough piece…" It sounded like they were going to blow this poor creature away!
It was officially night time now. I heard a Hoothoot waking up from a nearby tree and a Murkrow quietly flapped by. I had quickly made up my mind; I was not going to allow these evil people to hurt whatever pokemon they were hunting. I was however, still trying to figure out a way to do so without getting shot myself. The Milotic and I were still as statues, listening hard.
I sincerely doubt that it'd stop them if I just jumped out when whatever-it-is shows up, I thought.
Urrrgh! But I can't just sit here!
By this time, I had completely forgotten about heading back to the orphanage, and my whole being was intent on stopping these monsters. The entire forest around the lake fell silent except for the swish of the wind through the mostly bare branches.
I was beginning to hope that the hunters' mystery informant was wrong; that whatever they were after simply wouldn't show up, but then a slight twinkle danced in the corner of my eye. I thought I had imagined it, but then I saw the speck of light again and realized that it was moving extremely fast, darting through the forest so quickly I couldn't keep track of it. The miniscule star then abruptly stopped near the edge of the water. The light grew slightly to the size of a crabapple and turned a pale pink color. There was a slight popping noise, and floating in mid-air by the lake's edge, was a pink, catlike creature with an almost disproportionately long tail; Mew.
If the tension of the moment before hadn't sealed my jaw shut, it would have fallen open. It was incredible; only a handful of people in history had ever seen it, and I had joined that lucky few. She was a complete mystery; the few people to have met it have described it as innocent, with an almost childlike sense of humor, but immensely intelligent, with a peaceful personality despite possessing seemingly unnatural power. It floated where it was, contentedly watching the moon over the lake with a calm expression on its face; not unlike myself mere minutes before. I could have watched the floating pink cat all night, but a soft sound snapped me out of my stupor; a sound that I wouldn't have even heard had I not been silent for the past half hour or so; the tiny click of a gun cocking.
I don't really know what made me do it. Maybe I had fallen for Mew's charm, or maybe a small part of me had decided to do so an hour previously. I burst from where I was hiding, just as I heard a woman shout "Fire!"
I yelled, and shoved the startled cat creature out of the way just in time. My arms crossed my chest in an instinctive attempt to protect myself from what I knew was coming, not that it would help. A cacophony of loud bangs, and every part of the front of my body suddenly exploded with agony. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the tiny Mew glance back in fear, they quickly vanish. I couldn't seem to breathe, despite my pained attempts. In spite of myself, I looked down and found my coat riddled with holes and dripping with warm, red fluid.
A woman, I couldn't see her well either from the dark or the blood streaming from my left ear, stepped out of a bush and yelled, "You little mother …!"
The rest was drowned out by another series of loud bangs, and another shredding wave of agony. My legs could no longer support my weight and I fell backward. The woman walked quickly over to me, stared for a moment, then stomped hard with a heeled shoe on my chest just below my neck. She mouthed something which I could not hear; I seemed to have gone deaf, then began to stomp away. She stopped, looked back for a moment, then shook her head and continued on.
My vision starting to fade into blackness, I saw the bushes rustle in the direction she walked, and then all was still once more. I couldn't breathe, and I could feel my body failing. I had no idea how long I lay there; perhaps a few seconds, perhaps hours. Just before my eyes went completely dark, I saw a tiny pink face over my own, dimly felt my arm lift slightly, and then a sudden feeling of being pulled in every direction. Then, nothing.