Celeste

Thanks to The Bookmaster and MrMissMrs Random for their reviews! I really appreciated them.

Astreal History:

Somehow, for some unknown reason, the humans just burned down the forest that was home to thousands of Pokemon. That was the only the beginning. More and more Pokemon were attacked and killed. But they were determined to survive. They had to; they refused to fall to the humans, so they rebelled. Sieges were laid on human cities. They raided and killed any human in sight. Ambush parties were sent out to intercept human travelers. It seemed like the war was turning in the Pokemon's favor.

Then, the humans created nuclear weapons.

Rapidly, the number of Pokemon decreased. Pidgy and Starly were the first to fall, because of their weak defenses and the fact that they lived in the air.

They created Rescue Teams, to protect the few Pokemon there were. But the Rescue Teams were more than just rescuing others. They constantly trained and recruited to prepare for raids and sieges on the humans. Despite their efforts, the number of Pokemon steadily declined. It seemed like their was nothing left. Only around 190 species of Pokemon remained from the original 495. Even Arceus had abandoned them; Arceus, the great god they believed in.

Just previously, though, something gave them hope.

In order for the Rescue Teams to locate lost Pokemon, they devised a mechanical devise out of human metal scraps to create the PinPointer. It would show the energy levels, power levels, life force, and the location of the missing Pokemon. They discovered a source of amazing power, pulsing with energy. But its life force was flickering.

Group after group attempted to retrieve this power source, and all came back empty handed.

Chapter 2: Enter Team Name Here

Celeste had no idea why she was traveling with the psychopath; he basically murdered everything in sight and took everything they had. But then he took her into the secret underground passages, and she felt some sort of connection with them.

"I know this place," she murmured almost inaudibly. Comet jerked his head up in surprise but said nothing and focused on keeping a steady flow of flames from his back to illuminate the dark walls. "Why are we here anyways?"

"You're going to help me."

That was all he said for the remainder of the trip. Celeste kept to herself as well.

---

The place they arrived at wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes. It was a tent, or at least you could tell it used to be one. Now, it was merely scraps of fabric sewn together, designed to let in as much wind as possible. There was the design of a Pokemon on it, but it was faded.

Comet directed them towards a desk at the farthest corner of the tent where a Chatot sat, flipping through papers with his beak and talons.

"Where did I put that paper now ... ?" he muttered to himself, still scattering the white parchments everywhere. There was a small, yellow slip of paper sticking out beneath a giant volume of a dictionary. The Eevee poked at it with her paw and asked,

"This it?" The Chatot looked relieved.

"Thank you, now how may I be of servi - oh, how rude of me. I'm Ch - "

"I know who you are," the Cyndaquil cut him off rudely. Celeste shoved him backwards and snapped,

"But I don't, so shut up." Comet looked disgruntled, while the Chatot seemed unsure of what to do. He sweatdropped, then squawked,

"Okay then! I'm Chatot, and how may I be of service?" Comet stepped forward again.

"We're here to form a Rescue Team." Chatot smiled cheerfully and whipped out a pencil and a piece of paper.

"Okay then! Wait. First, you need approval. You do have it, don't you?" he prompted. Comet shook his head slowly, scratching it with his paw at the same time.

"Night's out. We need a room, too."

"Okay then! Come back when you need me again!" Comet spat a burst of flame in his direction before walking off and dragging Celeste with him. He pulled out the set of keys that Chatot had given him and tossed them to the Eevee.

"You find our room. I'll meet you there, but first, I gotta get some sugar."

Then, he ran off. Celeste turned to a Piplup and asked,

"Is he always like this?" The Piplup rolled his eyes.

"How should I know? I'm not his mother," he commented sarcastically.

"Well, can you at least tell me what a 'Rescue Team' is?" she pleaded. The Piplup muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'stupid newbies' but answered anyways.

"A Rescue Team is an Exploration Team that searches dungeons and brings 'good' to the world. No, seriously, they help in the war against the humans. Though, I can't see why he would partner up with one of the Eon family." He eyed her distastefully. "You know, he does have a weird obsession with hating all the Eons because of something ..."

He trailed off and threw the can of Pepsi that he was drinking into a garbage can.

"Pepsi," he sighed before teetering off, hiccuping and rambling nonsense. "Almost as good as Sprite. Heh, heh, bubbly..."

"Well, I see you've met my idiot brother," another voice commented icily from behind her. She whipped around, furious at being sneaked up on. She was face-to-face with another Piplup similar to the Pepsi-high one from before, but this one had a strange, seven-shaped birthmark on his arm.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Seven. I'm from Team Sprite." He said the name Team Sprite as if it were some sort of disgusting disease and stuck out his wing.

"Forty bucks says that your brother thought of it." Seven smiled softly and nodded. A bipedal yellow mouse with red cheeks and a thunderbolt tail tapped the Piplup on the shoulder impatiently. Then, he stared inquiringly at the Eevee. It was sort of a mixture of shock and confusion.

"We've got that sentry mission at the Blue Falls and everyone's waiting for you. And who's the Eevee? Aren't they supposed to be extinct?" Seven excused himself politely, dipping his head courtesy before disappearing into the thick crowd that was beginning to form around the dining area. Quietly, Celeste slipped away as well, the keys dangling from her teeth as she darted up the flights of stairs to Room 43B.

She unlocked the polished, limestone doors to reveal a room that looked more like a house.

It was large and spacious, an oriental rug decorating the cream-colored floors. The walls were a brilliant dark blue shade, paling at the top to create the white-blue ceiling. There was a large, queen-sized bed in the center with white sheets and a silver-and-blue patterned blanket. There was a cedar-wood cabinet beside the bed with strange carvings that adorned its sides in a mesmerizing dance.

"Sweetness," Celeste laughed, snuggling into the dark blue plush pillows.

There was another room as well, warm and humid. She wrinkled her nose.

"Don't we have air conditioning?"

It was actually quite amazing, though. There was a giant marble storage compartment that seemed to be woven with the structure of the wall. The floor was made of a yellowish marble as well, slick and smooth. It connected with the golden ceiling and the red-orange walls. Finally, the bed was the most amazing.

It obviously wasn't made of wood, she knew that much. A much stronger, durable substance was used to create the king-sized canopy. The gold and red embroidered blankets were strange as well, but she couldn't put her paw on exactly what. The pillows were normal as far as she could tell, fluffy, soft, and orange.

The door opened with a slight creak, signaling that Comet had arrived.

He wasn't alone. There was someone else, a black-furred canine, its distinguishing features an arrow-shaped tail and two large, deadly horns that protruded from the top of its skull.

"So, where's the source of power everyone's been waiting for?" a baritone voice asked quietly.

"I think it's in the next room," Comet replied hesitantly. Celeste saw them draw closer, and the demonic dog stared at her in wonder.

"This is it," he laughed euphorically. A flare of rage blossomed in her chest. She flattened herself to the ground and snarled,

"Is that all I am to you? Just a tool for you to use? Well then I'm done. You can find some other 'source of power' for all I care."

Angrily, she stormed out of the door, tears blurring her vision.

Am I just a pawn to them? Some stupid toy that they can play with and then discard? I'm an it?

---

"Smooth," Night commented sarcastically. Comet shook his head, trying to get rid of the blinding anger that seared through him. He glared at Night furiously and began gripping the carpet beneath tightly, restraining himself from firing a barrage of Embers and destroying the entire room.

He stared at the place where the Eevee ran off, twitching.

Night looked annoyed.

"Well? Aren't you going to go after her?" he urged. Comet looked disoriented but obeyed, slamming his head on the way out. Night growled in amusement.

"Too much sugar in that kid. He's going to hallucinate if this keeps up."

---

Oceanside Cove F1

---

She had no idea where she was going, and the place was crawling with Pokemon, angry for the disturbances. A couple of times, they even tried to attack her.

The Clamperl opened its shell and shot a stream of bubbles at her, completely drenching her fur. Celeste retaliated by slamming into the oyster-like Pokemon quickly before it could close its shell, and it was knocked out. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the Pokemon here weren't frighteningly powerful.

There was a blue berry lying on the ground. Cautiously, she nibbled at it, delighted with the sweet, rich taste. Had Comet every tried one of these?

No. She shook her head. I'm better off alone.

---

"Celeste! I'm sorry," pleaded Comet, weaving through the maze unsurely. He spotted a dark figure crouched at the corner of a pond and raced towards it. It suddenly turned around, revealing a yellow duck with a cream beak. The Cyndaquil was disgusted and snapped in annoyance,

"Well, you're not Celeste." He spat a jet of fire at the Psyduck who dodged out of the way with surprising speed and agility. It easily turned around and fired a steady flow of water, making his fire spatter and flicker out. He let out a stream of colorful language and tried a more physical approach. Again, the yellow bipedal Pokemon stepped aside, causing him to tumble head over heels into the water.

Rising to the surface, he let out a screen of smoke, which was easily countered by another Bubble. Yet again, he was hit square in the chest by the super-effective attack.

He was struggling to get up now; the Psyduck was far stronger than normal, and it probably was just a genetic mutation. The duck, sensing a victory, let another Bubble fly, anticipating the impact.

It never came.

Instead, it was intercepted by an orb of shadows. A dark blur slammed into the Pokemon with glowing silver claws and slashed it across the face. Squealing, it dived into the water and floated away.

"Thanks," Comet said grudgingly. His rescuer was a lithe, midnight-furred, quadruped fox with golden rings around its body that gave off a luminous light.

"Kiriel," the Umbreon introduced curtly.

"And that was little somebody called Nemesis. Likes to terrorize weaker Pokemon." He stared pityingly at the soaking Cyndaquil and Comet felt a jolt of anger pass through him at being called 'weak'. "What are you doing around here?"

The dark fox was genuinely curious.

"Looking for my ... friend," Comet answered, using 'friend' for the lack of a better word. Kiriel nodded understandingly.

"It's hard being alone." The fire mouse's flames flared at the reprimanding undercurrent but remained silent. The Umbreon then gestured towards the staircase and trotted forward.

"Come on then." Surprised but relieved, he followed.

The same nagging question remained in his mind, though:

Can you be friends with someone you knew for less than a day?

He couldn't answer it.

Please review! I'm still accepting OCs.