Tribute
Prologue:
She could see nothing but darkness as people wearing silver masks and blue and silver silk robes led her higher up the tower, three Eevee followed closely behind, angrily growling at her anytime her gaze left the floor. The girl was no more than five or six years old. Her long, straight blond hair was combed and free of any small bumps or tangles and she wore an oversized robe just like the masked men and women wore.
The young girl thought of her older sister, Tori. Her sister was her lifeline in a sense. Tori, although only ten years old, had always been the mother that her actual mother failed to be. She longed to close her eyes and think about her chocolate-colored wavy hair and sapphire eyes.
The girl tried to grab onto one of the masked people's robes for comfort and assurance only to have her hand swatted away. The people scolded her in that strange language they spoke. It wasn't anything her inexperienced mind had ever heard. The words, "anata iyashī keii o watashi ni furenaide kudasai!" Those words were burned into her memory. It wasn't the first time they had scolded her. When she would speak, asking where she was, they would respond with, "hanasanai, orokana on'nanoko!" The only words she could understand were 'brass' and 'tower'.
She tried to look past the leading masked person, earning another slap and harsh, foreign phrase. The girl began looking at the floor. It was really the only place she could look without being punished. The flooring below was a lovely dark mahogany wood. She could see her shallow reflection in the polished surface, along with all the other masked peoples' and the Eevee who tailed the group.
The normal types brought the girl some peace of mind. Both of her parents were Eevee trainers, so she was exposed to their evolutions on a daily basis. She and her sister both had their own as well. Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of her Pokémon. The masked people had struck and sent her Eevee, whom she called Nova, away when it tried to follow her into the building. The girl hoped to leave the place quickly and look for her Pokémon then go home to Tori. She'd know how to make it better.
She head jerked forward when she was slapped. The girl had learned that crying always resulted in pain since day one. Her father would always yell and sometimes go as far as to hit her and threaten her with his Jolteon when she cried. Since then she tried hard not to cry, but she was tired and afraid.
The girl's gaze shifted forward when she felt the drizzle return, dappling her head with raindrops. Thunder sounded in the distance. Her heart started to beat quicker when the masked people moved away from her. The Eevee split towards the sides, with only one, the smallest one, remaining behind her, acting as a watch-dog to make sure the girl didn't bolt. She stared at the masked person who had led her and the other men and women up the building. The person was ahead of everyone else, arms spread out and head facing the sky as the person got down to a knee.
"Umi no OH-ryoku aru kami, jibun jishin o akiraka ni shi, omāju to shite kono shōjo o ukeire!" The person bellowed as lightning flashed in the distance.
She didn't even notice how badly her knees were shaking and how much she was shaking with fear. The rain began to come down noticeably harder, each droplet feeling like a tiny bullet as they pelted the girl, Pokémon, and masked people. The girl squeaked as another bolt of lightning landed somewhat closely to the building. She looked at the masked people, hoping that they too would be afraid, but their masks cloaked their reactions.
A moment of silence followed the lightning strike. The steady beat of falling rain was the only thing the girl could hear. Her fear dwindled away. Nothing was happening, yet the masked person still sat on its knees, arms wide open and face staring straight into the heavens. Her blue eyes shifted to her surroundings. She was standing on the top of a flat roof in front of a large, silver block, almost like the base of a statue. Words were engraved in the block, but she was too far away to read it. Suddenly, a deafening boom of thunder broke the peaceful pitter-patter sound that the rain had created. The wind started to pick up, sweeping the gray storm clouds into a dark cyclone. Rain turned to hail, striking her and the masked people with a greater ferocity than the rain had. The girl stared into the vortex above, her face twisting into a silent scream as two bright silver eyes bore down at her from the great mess in the sky. She didn't even notice when the lightning struck the left side of the building, lighting it aflame. The girl never saw the masked people nor the Eevee who fell after the strike.
The hail did nothing to quench the fire's thirst and the intense wind only helped the flames spread around the building, wrapping the girth of the building in a belt of fire.
"Masutā, anata wa nani o shite iru! Anata wa watashitachi subete o korosu!" The masked person cried, getting up off the ground and stumbling back.
The young girl's gaze never left the vortex above her. Her eyes widened in shock as more bright silver lines appeared, mapping out the shape of a beast that not even her worst, most creative nightmares could conjure.
A pair of giant, flipper-like appendages sprouted from the long, smooth body of the beast. A long, thick tail adorned with spines sprouted from the back of the elephantine body. The more she looked, the more spines she realized the beast harbored. Two rows of them ran down the creature's back. The armor that protected the eyes looked sharper than any of the monster's spines. As her eyes looked further down, she saw the round, dull talons of the beast sticking out from the enormous feet and thick legs.
"GYAAAAA!" The monster shrilly cried, the storm around it intensifying as it wailed.
The girl felt the ground beneath her shake as the loose flames continued to devour the wooden structure. Faded screams blew past her ears. Red and yellow licks of fire erupted in her gaze, swallowing the right half of the roof. The remaining portion of the masked people and the Eevee that stood beside them were gone.
"Tori, help me!" She screeched, her eyes crammed shut.
Her older sister never came to her aid.
"GYAAAA!" The beast cried again, its flipper-like appendages curving inward.
The hail came to a stop, rain quickly taking its place. The water showered the building, quickly flooding what remained of the roof. The frigid water easily knocked the little girl and last Eevee off their feet, dragging them back down the chute that they came from.
The two tumbled down the seemingly endless flight of stairs, falling through several holes that the flames had eaten away. The water bulldozed through wood-support beams and knocked away any bits of the building weakened by the flames. The girl would gasp for breath whenever she'd manage to get her head above the water. Never had she seen nor heard of rain destroying buildings and rising that high and quickly. Her silk robe that the masked people had provided for her had become riddled with the rain water, weighing her down as she struggled. The girl felt around for the remaining Eevee, but her hands only grasped empty water. The last Eevee of the trio was gone, taken by the water.
After what felt like an eternity for the young child, the water spat her out of the nearly destroyed structure, sending her rolling across the path for a brief moment. More screams filled her ears as she hacked up water. Trembling, she forced herself to her feet and stumbled away from the building.
"Nova!" She called, her eyes wild with panic as frantic civilians ran through the town.
The girl looked around in a frenzy, not knowing if she would be able to take losing another Eevee. She yelped when a person knocked her to the ground as she ran from the tower, calling for other people. Throwing the silver and blue robes off of herself, she ran away from the crowd in just a skin-tight tank top and blue work-out shorts. Just as the tall grasses came into view, a familiar chirping noise sounded from the crowd. She skidded to a stop, looking over her shoulder. Her eyes brightened.
"Nova!" She cried, waiting for the normal type to catch up with her before she crossed the border between the city and the wild.
However, she knew that even if she did get home, she would never be the same again. The image of the beast and the silver masks would be forever scarred into her mind.
Translations:
anata iyashī keii o watashi ni furenaide kudasai! = don't touch me you lowly tribute!
hanasanai, orokana on'nanoko! = do not speak!
Umi no OH-ryoku aru kami, jibun jishin o akiraka ni shi, omāju to shite kono shōjo o ukeire! = oh mighty god of the seas, accept this tribute!
Masutā, anata wa nani o shite iru! Anata wa watashitachi subete o korosu! = Master, what are you doing? You'll kill us all!