Author's notes:
This chapter was supposed to be part of Chapter I, but I chose to split it in two because of the length. That aside, enjoy!
The character Kouseikei and the gijinka (humanized) forms are my creations, but the Salamence species and Pokémon in general are all the property of Satoshi Tajiri.
…o0o…
Part I: Broken Wings
Chapter II: The Star Maiden
'Oh gods, what did I ever do to deserve this?' Kouseikei's mind screamed. Ashikase continued his flight, this time with a clearer purpose. Lowering the altitude of their elevation, the flying Salamence cut through the thick mountain air to follow the mysterious entity they saw earlier.
"Ashikase," Kouseikei warned him. "We don't have the slightest idea what that thing was."
"True," the other dragon replied. "But that's precisely why we ought to find out."
And that was that. No amount of convincing on the part of Kouseikei could sway the stubborn resolve of the other youth, but they both knew that whether Kouseikei liked it or not, Ashikase was bound to win in the end. The former had to cooperate, for his life practically hung by a thread held aloft by the other dragon's wings.
They flew really low now, so low that Kouseikei's feet skimmed the tops of the pines which grew abundantly in the region. He muttered a small exclamation of protest to Ashikase, but the other dragon was too busy tracking the extraordinary star to care. The star was moving quite fast, and the captive young man gauged that even a Salamence not being weighed down by carrying his fellow dragon will have a difficult time keeping up with it. Far from giving up, Ashikase continued to chase the entity through the maze of forested granite mountains with the other youth hanging on to him for dear life. It was no small wonder that Kouseikei was more than relieved when the point of light descended to rest upon a quiet valley, its light extinguished. The worst was finally over, or so he thought.
It took some time for Ashikase to alight quietly on one of the high cliffs surrounding the small but deep body of water, pulling back his blood-red wings into his back. The assurance that he could soon feel firm ground beneath his feet enabled Kouseikei to breathe considerably easier. At that same moment, they heard the soft sound of splashing water. Ashikase crouched down near the lip of the cliff, roughly pulling the more reluctant dragon to do the same beside him. He motioned that they should keep their eyes on the scene below them. Kouseikei frowned slightly. The trees at the water banks blocked a portion of the spring from their view.
'The light had gone,' he thought. 'But I'm quite sure as Ashikase that it went here...'
His thoughts were abruptly cut off when he saw just what made the splashing sound from earlier. The acute vision of the dragons caught sight of an unmistakably feminine figure making ripples on the clear blue of the spring as she swam in it. The water cloaked most of her form, but it didn't take much to realize that she was clad in nothing but her long hair -- a gleaming dark purple mass which appeared as liquid as the water itself, hanging loosely down her back without a trace of an ornament. She turned her head slightly to the side, and a glimpse of her face was enough to make Ashikase's jaw drop. The star had become a woman.
"Kouseikei, why on earth don't we have women as beautiful as that in our clan?"
The Salamence addressed, more nervous than ever, could not think up of a coherent answer to the statement. Instead, he pulled Ashikase away from the cliffside before either of them could see the woman in a manner beyond what laws of decency permitted them.
"Ashikase, we must get back," Kouseikei whispered between gritted teeth. "This is pointless. We cannot let our work stray just for one female..."
Ashikase violently pushed the other dragon's hands away.
"If you so badly want to return, then why don't you?" he hissed. Kouseikei flinched slightly and looked around him. The cliff on which they stood was high and steep, unscalable with what meager resources a flightless dragon could produce. Ashikase could simply leave him effectively stranded there, and thus Kouseikei knew he had to bargain wisely.
Apparently reading the disabled dragon's thoughts, the other Salamence smirked.
"I presume you now see, my friend, that we are staying here until we get your business done."
"Business?!" Kouseikei demanded, but Ashikase clamped his hand over the other dragon's mouth, muffling the single word.
"Be a little quieter, fool! I won't have you spoiling --"
Another splash came to their ears, causing both youths to stop and listen as to whether they were discovered. When no word of challenge came up, Ashikase took in a deep breath before glaring at his captive.
"Like I said," he continued, "I won't have you spoiling the show."
Kouseikei wrenched the other dragon's hand from his mouth.
"What do you want, Ashikase?" he replied. Although livid, Kouseikei managed to keep his voice down. "Business? As far as I am concerned, my role is and had always been restricted to the Halls of the Artisans ever since that time. I am not cut for spying on other people, even if the subject in question is just a woman --"
"Just a woman?" Ashikase said, cutting him off. His voice was dangerously soft, unconsciously causing the hairs at the back of his fellow youth's neck to stand up. "You yourself have seen that that woman in the pool right now is no ordinary female."
"She is beautiful, I will give her that. But I'll have you know that I am more concerned with getting back to my normal duties than attempting to form a deeper impression of her. I still do not see your point."
"My point is," Ashikase countered, pointing fingers that bore claws glowing the yellow-orange of an impending draconic attack directly before Kouseikei's eyes, "you are not thinking big enough, Kousei. What was she before she turned into that woman?"
"No need to threaten me with Dragon Claw," Kouseikei said calmly, quickly pushing Ashikase's hand away. "I am not blind, and neither have I forgotten that it was her star form that led us here."
"Well, it's good to hear that your wits are still about you. So tell me, Kousei... just what is that girl?"
"You ask me that question when I don't have the tiniest inkling of the answer."
Ashikase's face contorted into a clear expression of distaste and exasperation.
"Remember the stories our dames would tell us when we were just Bagons! Think, you dimwitted Psyduck! She could transform into a star and into an inhumanly attractive female. Doesn't that strike you as familiar?"
Kouseikei forced himself to think, more to put a line on the other Salamence's bickering than anything. What could Ashikase be trying to tell him -- or rather, make Kouseikei tell him?
Star and woman.
'A female who traverses the sky as a star but becomes a woman to walk the earth...'
To walk the earth.
And bathe in its waters.
Heaven and earth. Sky and water. What connects them?
'How am I to think properly at a time like this?' Kouseikei thought irritably. 'It's not as if --'
At the "if," the answer came to him as abruptly as the queer chain of events that brought him to the valley. A look of comprehension spread across his face.
Star.
Woman.
Star...
Maiden.
"Finally, you managed to get it," Ashikase said with a relieved sigh, correctly implying the outcome from Kouseikei's expression. In affirmation, he continued, "It seems, Kousei, that we have an agreement that she is a star maiden."
"I won't say she is one, but she is probably like one," Kouseikei replied. After a short pause, the irritation in his tone returned. "Now what is all of this supposed to prove?"
"There you go with that mind of yours again. Like I said, remember the stories. What do the ancients have to say about star maidens?"
Kouseikei sighed, but gave in to briefly narrate the tale, which was secretly one of his favorites.
"It was said that a young hunter came upon a group of celestial maidens bathing in a river. He hid the flying garments of one lady in order to force her to stay behind and become his wife. As time passed, she bore him a child, who paved the way for the star maiden to regain her flying robe and return to the heavens."
'Leaving behind her husband and her offspring,' Kouseikei finished in his mind.
Ashikase nodded slightly in agreement.
"That was slightly different from what I heard, but the nuances were still the same. So getting back to the point, I brought you here to cheer you up. Since you've been brooding like a Dark-type over what happened among your ranks, now is your chance to regain some of your lost honor."
"What lost --" Kouseikei's eyes widened when he realized what Ashikase intended for him to do. "No, Ashikase. How will being a thief of women's clothes bring back all that I have lost?"
"Don't be such a Slowbro, Kousei. A star maiden needs her flying garments to return to the heavens. If you manage to keep them, who knows? You'll have your flight back in no time... with a beautiful wife to match."
Kouseikei had serious doubts about that, but he blushed before he could help it.
"I... I don't need a bride, Ashikase."
"Don't be so coy, my friend, for it does not suit you. I may still believe you if you express your wishes to stay single for the rest of your long life, but we both know that you've been dying to have your flight back after all these years. Consider it a favor from me, Kousei. I'm giving you the floor to have her and her flying garments."
"That's generous of you, but I'm afraid I have to turn it down. How could I place my dignity on the line for a mere old wives' tale?"
"Oh stubborn, hard-headed imbecile! You ask too many questions!"
That said, Ashikase unfurled his wings and grabbed Kouseikei, lifting him off the ground once more. He stifled the struggling Salamence's protests with his hand while he silently ducked behind some tall rocks to see if the star maiden was looking their way. Thankfully, she seemed to be occupied diving to the pool's depths that she didn't notice anything peculiar. Ashikase quickly descended into the valley, taking advantage of a downdraft that caused the pines to rustle. So far, so good.
Ashikase stepped down behind the crescent-shaped grove of thick pines clustered at the base of the cliff from where they came. Kouseikei kept still, more out of fear of being discovered by the woman in the spring than of willingness to cooperate.
"All right, Kouseikei," Ashikase whispered close to his ears. "Put all your skills in stealth to good use."
Kouseikei shook his head at once, grabbing the other dragon's wrist to make him release his mouth from the gag.
"We don't even know what other powers that lady could have," Kouseikei retorted quietly. "What if she fights back -- or worse -- the moment she realizes her clothes are gone?"
"You won't have to worry about that if you don't get caught. Live the myth, Kousei. Hide her flying garments and act innocent afterwards!"
"I am not doing it."
"Oh yes, you will," Ashikase hissed, meeting his fellow dragon eye-to-eye. "Don't think I can't leave you here alone. That would be a shame, because you cannot take to the sky, and the only other way out of this place is the break right across the bank from where we now stand."
Kouseikei's eyes flitted around and saw the truth in Ashikase's statements. The only part of the spring that wasn't enclosed by cliffs was the mountain cleft to the east -- right across where they were. As if that wasn't bad enough, the water banks facing that portion were totally devoid of trees and large boulders. One cannot pass without being seen by a bather in the spring.
"I doubt you'd like to waste any more of your precious time," Ashikase continued. "And neither will that star maiden keep to the waters forever. Get yourself moving, lover boy, and play the part of the hunter in your story!"
He gave Kouseikei a strong push, sending the other Salamence stumbling out of the inner safety of the pine grove. Kouseikei managed to scramble behind a boulder in time; for a split second, he thought the woman had heard and seen him. Cursing a little in his mind, the young dragon took in several deep breaths to steady his nerves. He paused to glare at the smirking Ashikase, who continued to watch inconspicuously among the trees. From the corner of his eyes, Kouseikei saw that thanks to a stroke of luck, he was within reach of the spot where the maiden had laid her robe.
'Grab the darn thing and get this over with!' his immediate train of thoughts said. Kouseikei stole a glance at the young woman in the spring. He looked back at Ashikase, who was thumping one foot impatiently on the ground. Kouseikei looked at the woman again. She was looking the other way, but Kouseikei still did not take advantage of the moment to carry out the improper deed. He may continue to retain doubts if she was a real star maiden, but whether she turned out to be one or not, he couldn't bring himself to violate such a beauty.
A pinecone hit him at the side of the head, scattering his thoughts. The force wasn't strong enough to knock him out, but Kouseikei narrowed his eyes the source of the offending object. Ashikase was lazily turning another pinecone in his hands, no doubt ready to launch it at the other dragon when he saw fit. Kouseikei felt his patience wearing thin.
Ashikase's lips began to synch a silent word. Fury began to bubble up inside Kouseikei.
Coward.
The other dragon was labeling him a coward.
'How dare you...'
His actions driven by frustration at the situation than anything, Kouseikei shut his eyes tight and grabbed the pile of garments from the roots of the tree in one clean sweep. Thus, he barely had time to see Ashikase's grin of triumph before the youth sprang up to the air in flight. He intentionally made a loud racket in the grove as he escaped, causing fear and alarm to overwhelm Kouseikei. With the young woman's clothes in tow, Kouseikei hurriedly crawled back to hide among the trees.
'Damn you, Ashikase. Get back here!'
But the other Salamence had already flown away, leaving Kouseikei to shoulder all the blame in the awkward situation. To make things worse, the sound of wings didn't miss the young woman this time. From where Kouseikei struggled to camouflage himself, he heard her gasp of dismay. She had discovered the theft.
Kouseikei discerned the sound of water hitting the rocks. The maiden gingerly stepped out of the spring, wrapping her long hair about her nakedness as she approached the place where she had left her clothes. Worry was etched on her face; she was as panicked as he.
She searched in vain for her robe near the shore. Her eyes were on the verge of tears, and for the first time, she spoke.
"Please, if you have my clothes... return them. I can't... I can't leave without them."
She looked around as she said her words, unsure if she was heard. Her pleading tone caused the paralyzing fear in Kouseikei's heart to slowly melt away. Her unclothed form did not stir any earthly feelings of passion in him; whereas other men would have felt lust, Kouseikei felt only pity and guilt.
He glanced at the bundle of clothes that was the source of all the trouble. The young dragon saw nothing magical about the cloth despite it feeling finer than any garment he had ever worn. Her flying ability was not restricted by the robe, it seems; she wanted it back more on the grounds of maintaining her dignity. Indecision, however, was difficult for Kouseikei to overcome. Although his conscience begged him to swallow his pride and hand her garments back, a fragment of him continued to fear the outcome. He could imply that the woman was unlike anything he had ever encountered before, and amidst her helpless-looking facade he didn't put it past her to try to kill him for what he had done. As far as Kouseikei knew, it was perfectly fine for dragonesses among his kin to act like that.
...o0o...
Dialga decided that he had rested long enough. He stood up and dressed himself in his everyday garb, which consisted of a predominantly royal blue robe with sky blue trimmings and some light armor including a silver chest plate holding in place the blue diamond that spoke of his power as the Overseer of Time. After putting on a silver circlet that perfectly framed the sides of his face with what appeared to be sleek-looking prongs, the Time Deity slowly slid the door of his chambers open and stepped out. He frowned when he noticed that the door to his older sister's rooms, which were just adjacent to his, was slightly open. Didn't Palkia tell him that she will be away for most of the day?
'It's so unlike of Palkia to forget something as trivial as closing the door behind her. Maybe I ought to --'
The train of his thoughts was cut short when he caught sight of an intruder in his older sister's chambers. Moving fast, Dialga pushed the door wide open and confronted the surprised figure of a magenta-haired girl who looked a few years younger than him and Palkia.
"Mesprit!" Dialga lectured with a disapproving tone. "I should have known you're attempting to try on Palkia's dresses without her permission yet again..."
The Goddess of Emotion quickly stepped out of the pale purple robe with a defensive smile on her face.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken, big brother," she said, clumsily folding the cloth and placing it into a neat pile with their older sister's crown and pearl armlets. "I was just... erm, checking if the dress had any wrinkles to smooth out! If big sister sent a distress signal to me requesting for an emergency change of clothes, why should I settle for anything less than her prettiest robes?"
"Just checking if it had any wrinkles to smooth out, huh? As if you could convince -- wait, WHAT?!" Dialga's eyes widened considerably upon turning over the last part of his younger sister's statement in his mind. "You mean Palkia sent a distress signal?!"
"No need to be so alarmed, brother. She claimed that her clothes suddenly went missing while she was taking a bath, so --"
"Give me that!" Dialga exclaimed, grabbing the set of clothes from Mesprit. "Where did she tell you she was? Tell me, Mesprit, so I can find her at once!"
...o0o...
The silence between the dragon and the lady seemed endless as neither attempted to make a further move to discover the other. Kouseikei bit his lips and sighed dejectedly.
'Oh Lord Rayquaza, may she understand that I didn't... I didn't wish for this to happen...'
Then, the color of the Salamence's eyes changed slightly as determination began to replace the indecision. Taking a deep breath, Kouseikei held her robe against his chest and readied his apology.
'Might as well do something right for the day and apologize to her...'
But barely had Kouseikei gotten up from his crouched position when his surroundings suddenly became illuminated by a blue light. He squinted and struggled to see what was happening from his cover of pine needles. The very fabric of reality appeared to warp and twist as a portal manifested before the lady, who remained calm despite the strangeness of it all. A distinctly humanoid form slowly emerged from the gate, and suddenly --
Kouseikei nearly jumped when the young woman let out a high-pitched shriek, diving back into the waters. A tall young man about her age stood where she just sat a few moments before. His hair was as blue as hers was purple, but aside from that and several other obvious differences one can see that they strongly resembled each other. Kouseikei's jaw dropped. Where had he seen that man before?
"Dialga!" the woman screamed, her cheeks tinted by a bright red blush. She swam away from him, keeping her hands crossed over her chest. "What are you doing here?!"
The blue-haired man frowned in response.
"What the hell are you doing, Palkia?! You called for assistance, so why do you run away the moment it had appeared before your very eyes?!"
"It was Mesprit I called, not you!"
"You trust Mesprit to give you help at a time like this?!"
Hearing the familiar legendary names being uttered back and forth between the two otherworldly beautiful beings almost caused Kouseikei's heart to stop beating. It can't be... The woman... The star maiden whose clothes he stole... was none other than the Overseer of Space herself. It was as though the world suddenly collapsed around him, and the young dragon would have gladly given anything for a way out of the situation.
Palkia hid her face in her hair and turned away from her brother, tears of shame running down her face. Dialga's previously stern countenance softened considerably at the sight of his sister's tears.
"There now, sis," he called to her a lot more gently. "It's all right; I promise I won't look at you while you dress. I will keep watch to make sure no one will disturb you, so please come back here."
He carefully laid down a set of clothes by the spring and true to his word, he turned to face away from the water. As Palkia cautiously swam back to the shore and began to put the new robes on, Kouseikei caught the glint of broadswords partially drawn from the sheath grasped in her brother's hands. Dialga looked about carefully, the gaze of his ruby eyes threatening and furious. The mortal dragon shivered involuntarily.
"I am astonished anyone would dare do something like this to you," the God of Time said. "Permit me to find the culprit for you, sister. I will make sure only ashes will be left of him for this despicable deed."
"Oh hush, Dialga," Palkia said as she wrapped the rich silks about her. "This was partly my fault, so let them go. I should not have let my guard down in the first place."
"But still, you did not deserve that treatment."
Palkia finished slipping a pair of pearl armbands over her ankle-length sleeves. Her new outfit was worlds above the simple one she just wore a couple of hours ago. Her dress was pale purple with a water design at the hem, and around her waist was a dark corset featuring a pattern resembling the ripples on a sandbar. A graceful drape of violet strips hung loosely about her hips, held in place below her right waist by an unusual ornament of shell and pearl. A train showing an elaborate brocade of a sea dragon spread out behind her, worthy of her status as the Lady of Space. After placing a crown patterned after an open lotus blossom on her hair, she gently placed a hand on her taller sibling's shoulder.
"Please let them go, Dialga," she repeated. "I acknowledge my share of the blame, but if it makes you happier, you have my word that I will not let this happen again. Let us go home, little brother."
Dialga stood unmoved for some time, but after a few more reassuring words from Palkia he acquiesced with much reluctance. He smiled slightly, however, when his older sister moved to embrace him as thanks for bringing her clothes. The Time Deity hugged the Space Goddess back, fondly patting her hair in a sibling-like manner.
"If only I had agreed to go with you, Palkia, this wouldn't have happened."
Palkia parted from him slightly, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Oh really, Dialga? Would you have agreed to this?" At her last word, she drew a bit of water from the spring and splashed it playfully on her brother's face. The Time God stood transfixed by surprise for a brief moment before he smirked and quickly stooped over the body of water to splash an equivalent amount at his sister. Palkia covered her face with her hands, her eyes merry with laughter.
"Did you think I could not touch water, sis?"
"Oh, but brother dear, you ought to have remembered that water was my primary element at least."
"Well, would you want me to shower you with needles? I don't think you'd want that either, hah."
The two siblings continued their lighthearted banter for a few more minutes before they rose up to the sky together, conjuring a portal through which they entered to return to their dimensions that few mortals have yet seen. From the grove of pines, Kouseikei continued to clutch the Lady of Space's stolen robe in his arms. Consternation at the unusual turn of events prevented him from stepping out and trying to catch one last glimpse of the God of Time and his lovely sister before they disappeared into the unknown.
...o0o...
Gee, I really gotta thank those who found the tiny Freudian slips I made in this chapter. I really owe you a lot; you know who you are!