Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.
Authoress: So...no excuse really for the lateness of this. Just haven't been motivated to edit and post. But, hopefully, that will change.
Ralts: *rolls eyes* Right, like that is going to happen.
Lizzie: *nods in agreement* Exactly.
Authoress: *pouts*
Chapter 3: It's a Matter of Family
Lizzie's 1st P.O.V.
I groaned as consciousness came back to me along with pain. Honestly, I was preferring unconsciousness right now. My head was throbbing and I the ground beneath me was really hard. Almost rock hard. But that was impossible. I was in the forest when...
"Ralts! Torchic!" I yelled as I shot up, eyes now fully open. There were two things that I noticed right away. First; Ralts was gone. Second; I was in a cave when I had been in the woods, which meant that something had brought me here. "Where am I?" I wondered out loud to myself.
"Is it breakfast?" I turned and felt a little relief when I saw Torchic starting to sit up from laying near me. But, Ralts was nowhere in sight. While I was worried about Ralts, Torchic was my primary concern since she was here with me. So, I started to move closer to her. "Where's Ralts? And where are we?"
Shrugging my shoulders in return, I answered. "I have no idea Torchic...for both questions. We were attacked and whatever beings took Ralts seemed to have knocked us out. But, I don't know if those same beings brought us here or if something else did. I don't even know where,"
The sound of something walking toward us had both me and Torchic turning to the entrance of the cave and, at first, I felt nervous when I saw that it was a mightyena. I hadn't interacted with any since the mightyena that used to stay at our ranch left two years ago. I had no idea if this mightyena meant me harm.
"Who are you?" Torchic asked with a defensive growl as she stood between me and the mightyena.
But, there was no need for that when I saw the little friendship bracelet that I had made for the alpha that I knew wrapped just tightly enough around his front right ankle to stay on when he ran. "Mightyena!" I exclaimed excitedly before speed crawling over to him and giving him a hug.
He let out a laugh before saying, "Hello Lizzie." When we separated, he glanced at me before saying, "I must say, I was surprised when the border patrol brought you back unconscious. Of all the crazy humans to come here now, it had to be you."
Confusion filled me as he said this. While I was glad to see him, I could tell that something bad must be happening around here and he would have the answers that I needed. "Mightyena, who attacked me? And why is it crazy for a human to come around here now?"
Letting out a sort of sigh, he laid on the ground before saying, "Sit down Lizzie, and you Torchic. This is difficult to explain and I only just now realized some of what is going on." Nodding, I sat down and placed Torchic in my lap before motioning to Mightyena to continue. Letting out another one of those sighs, he asked, "Lizzie, do you remember when we found Ralts that day so many years ago?"
Of course I did. While it had been with Ralts injured, it had also been the start of the friendship between Ralts and me. "Of course I do Mightyena, he was injured and we took him to my mom to get healed. Why?" I wanted to know why whatever attacked me took Ralts.
"Well, it was not until I returned here that I realized just who Ralts was. Just on the other side of this forest there is a group of ralts, kirlia, and gardevoir. About five years ago, the only child of the head gardevoir went missing and was presumed dead. Evidence was planted that suggested that we were the ones responsible for the Ralts' death. They decreed a feud with us and we have fought them. When I returned, I learned of the feud but had not connected the young prince with the Ralts that we found until you arrived. Then, it made sense. From their attack on you, I can only assume that they see you as an enemy, like they have with my pack and me." Mightyena explained.
That made sense. Well…except for one little detail. "But that doesn't explain the condition that we found Ralts in. Since it wasn't your people who did this, then it must be one of their tribe or someone from the outside. Have you tried to tell their leader your story and that Ralts was actually alive before today?"
Shaking his head, Mightyena said, "No. Unfortunately, the lead gardevoir will not speak to any of us. Her brother, Ralts' uncle, had taken temporary control. However," There was a lot of hope behind that 'however' that made me hopeful...for whatever it was that he was going to say. "with Ralts now back with them, it might give us an opening to talk to Gardevoir and explain that it was not us who attacked Ralts. Ralts will be able to help us with that."
I nodded but, before I could say that it was a good idea, three little voices came from the entrance of the cave. "Daddy you're home!" Then, three little poochyena ran up to Mightyena and tacked him to the ground. From the voices, I could tell that two were males and one was female.
As he sat up, Mightyena laughed and said, "Well, a friend coming for a visit caused me to come home early. Pups, this is Lizzie Val."
They all stared at me in wonder and I was about to say hi when another voice, female, came from the entrance of the cave. "So this is the famed Lizzie Val that my mate talks about. It is a pleasure to meet a member of the Val family. My mate talks about his time on your family's land all of the time." Ah, so this was Mightyena's mate.
"It is nice to meet you all. But, unfortunately, I cannot stay long. I must get my friend back." I was not going to wait any longer than necessary to get back to Ralts. He was my best friend and I couldn't imagine traveling without him.
While his mate and pups looked confused, Mightyena realized exactly what I was saying, "I just said that they see you as an enemy and you want to go back there?" He then let out a chuckle. "You haven't changed a bit Lizzie. When your friends are in trouble, you have to help."
He must be remembering the taillow incident. We had all been taking a nap by the lake on the ranch when Ralts had gotten up to investigate a noise. Mightyena, being responsible, had brought the sleeping me with and followed Ralts to make sure that he didn't get in trouble. Well, they did get in trouble. A few taillow, who had recently been kicked out of their flock, were trying to claim my parents' land as their territory and no one was allowed on it.
So, they attacked Ralts when he came into a clearing. Mightyena set me down and jumped in to help. Him setting me down woke me up and, instead of running like most six-year-olds would have, I ran at the taillow and tried to shoo them away. Mightyena tried to tell me to get out of there but I told him that I didn't leave my friends when they were in trouble. We finally got them to leave but mom hadn't been happy when we had come home covered in scratches.
Letting out a laugh, I said, "You got that right Mightyena. I have to get Ralts back. He is my best friend and he was taken against his will."
He nodded but said, "At least eat some berries before you leave. We just finished gathering some and we have a few extra sitrus berries."
This time, I sighed. While I wanted to go and get Ralts, I knew that doing so on an empty stomach wouldn't be smart since the last time I had something to eat was lunch with John yesterday. So, I nodded and said, "Fine but, as soon as I finish eating them, Torchic and I are going to get Ralts back."
"I would expect nothing less Lizzie." Mightyena stated with a laugh before turning to his pups and saying, "Now, make Lizzie feel nice and welcome while I go and get her berries…alright?" For some reason, the playful tone in his voice didn't settle with me as just making sure I was comfy.
Their added looks of mischief didn't help matters any. "Poochy-pile!" They all yelled out and, before I realized what was happening, they jumped on me and laid across me.
Letting out a laugh, I said, "Alright I give up! But, if you want to have a lot of fun, then may I suggest us playing a little prank on your daddy?"
I swear I never thought that the three little Poochyena could move that fast as they sat in front of me in a row, eyes wide and ears tilted toward me ready to listen. Once I told them the plan, we got ready. I knew that Mightyena wouldn't be expecting this...which made it all the better. Plus, who said that I couldn't have a little fun?
Once we were all set, we waited in our positions until Mightyena came back to the cave, three sitrus berries in his maw. He froze, however, as he stared in front of him. "Pups, where is Lizzie? Torchic?"
They simply chuckled at him and I had to hold back my own. Hanging from the ceiling of this cave was difficult but it would be so worth it. "We don't know." They answered in a way that said that they obviously knew.
He gave them a knowing look and I knew that this was my time. So, I dropped down from the ceiling and tackled Mightyena. "Got you!" I yelled out as we rolled around. Soon, the three pups joined us.
"Poochy-pile!" They yelled out as we tackled Mightyena.
Letting out a laugh as we stopped, he said, "You five are deadly when together. I would be afraid if you were my enemies."
We all let out a laugh at that as we sat up and I took the three sitrus berries and gave one to Torchic while I started to eat the other one. "You know me Mightyena, I have to have some fun with you." I then finished off my first berry before splitting the second berry and giving half to Torchic.
One of the pups, who was a little smaller, put his front paws on my leg, gave me the cutest look before saying, "Do you have to go?"
I smiled softly and said, "Yes. My friend is in trouble and I have to make sure that he is alright." I then crawled out of the cave and stood up. After stretching from my time in the cave, I picked up Torchic and faced the direction that I needed to go.
"Lizzie," I turned to Mightyena as he walked out of his cave. "I will not be able to help you once you cross their border. I will not give them a reason to think that I am trying to take their land."
Giving him one nod, I said, "I know. But, I have to do this. I have no idea what is happening to Ralts and I have to see that he is okay with my own eyes."
"I know. It is your nature and I would not change that for the world." Mightyena gave in with a sigh before he nudged me forward. "Well…you two had better get going. You are going to need every second of the day that you can get. You don't have the kind of relationship with the lead gardevoir that you do with me." Mightyena almost sounded smug when he said that. But, the worry that was also conveyed in his voice covered that up.
Nodding to him for the last time, I let out a nervous sigh before walking forward in the direction of the gardevoir territory. I had to get Ralts back. He was my first and best friend and I was not going to leave him behind, no matter what happened. We had been through so much together that I was not going to lay down and just give up while Ralts was only going through who knew what.
Torchic, glancing up at me, asked, "Lizzie, what do you plan on doing to get the gardevoir to listen to you and not knock you out again?"
Shrugging my shoulders, I smiled and said, "I thought that I might say hello, and then maybe ask if we could talk."
My fire type starter stared at me with shocked eyes before frowning. "We are so not getting out of this in one piece."
I let out a laugh at that and returned Torchic to her poke ball before I continued forward. According to what Mightyena said, I was on the border of the two territories when I was attacked. So, judging from the area around me, I would say that I was in gardevoir territory now and it would only be a matter of time before I was discovered.
But, to my surprise, I walked through it uncontested and, at first, I thought that I might have been turned around in the woods. But, that changed when I came to the edge of a clearing and felt my eyes open. A whole bunch of ralts, kirlia, and gardevoir were in the clearing, all in a circle and staring at the top of a small bump in the ground were two gardevoir were standing. I leaned my ear closer to listen to what they were saying.
"My people. Today I bring you great news in these troubled times." The gardevoir on the right started to say. It was then that I noticed that the one on the left had a piece of his center horn missing. Might be useful later. "We have found our long-lost prince!"
My eyes widened in shock when two other gardevoir 'escorted' my ralts up on the stage. I had to hold back a laugh when I saw that he had a flower crown on and he did not look happy. Actually, the two gardevoir were dragging him across the stage and Ralts was digging his heels into the ground to stay away. But, back to my shock. Ralts was a prince? If he was so important, why did I find him by my house so injured those five years ago? It didn't make any sense. Ralts would have been only just hatched not long before he was attacked. What sort of motivation would someone need to do that?
"We must celebrate this joyous occasion!" The gardevoir who was on the left stated though I noticed that he didn't sound as joyous as he was trying to convey. Actually, from his expression, he sounded quite shaken. What was wrong with him?
Shaking my head, I realized that now would be the best time to try and get Ralts back so I stood up before walking into the clearing and yelling, "Ralts!"
"Lizzie!" Ralts yelled back at me, a relieved smile plastered on his face.
But, the others in the clearing didn't look so happy at my intrusion. Actually…they looked scared and on the defense. "Intruder! Honor Guard, restrain her!" The gardevoir on the right said as she pointed at me. Only one thought passed through my mind as a line of gardevoir lined up in front of me with their hands up.
Uh-oh.
I cringed as I suddenly felt myself restrained by, what appeared to be, multiple psychic attacks. While I had seen Ralts use confusion a lot, and he even practiced on me a little, it had never been this painful. It felt like I was being smothered by millions of rocks caving in around me and I could only stand and take it.
A commotion from the stage caused the pain to lessen and I lifted my head to see that Ralts was now standing in front of me, using confusion to...well...confuse the psychic attacks. It didn't stop them entirely but it was less painful this way. "Thanks Ralts." I thanked him with a small smile.
He nodded but continued to look forward. "Leave her alone!" He yelled at the members of his species in front of him.
The gardevoir on the right stood in front of Ralts, though a few feet away, before she said, "Ralts, stand away from the human!"
But Ralts was persistent and said, "No! She found me when I was injured five years ago and both her and her family helped restore me to health and she has been my best friend for all of these years! Plus...she is my trainer."
There was a gasp from the crowd and the glare that the gardevoir in front of Ralts gave me at that last part was intimidating. And the strengthening of the psychic attacks on me didn't help. "Um, Ralts...please don't get me killed. I like living." I muttered to my friend.
"This trainer has taken you from us!" The gardevoir in front of Ralts growled.
Ralts shook his head and said, "No! I chose to go with her. She asked me and I accepted her as my trainer. She cares for all of us! Please leave her be!"
Silence filled the field and, for the first time since I had made myself known, a look of understanding crossed the gardevoir's face. She looked between the two of us with an astonished look and it made me wonder what she was thinking about.
The gardevoir that had been on her right quickly came up to her side and said, "Your majesty, you can't seriously be thinking about letting her go?"
Thankfully, the lead gardevoir nodded before saying, "Release her." Once they did, I stayed sitting but straightened up as Ralts ran up to me and I hugged him. As we hugged, I heard the lead gardevoir say, "Brother, don't tell me that you could not sense the worry that my son felt for this trainer and the worry that this trainer felt for my son. Even now, can you not sense the bond of friendship and loyalty that the two share for each other?"
I didn't pay much attention to her after that as Ralts and I shared each other's' company. Even though we were only gone from each other for a short time, it had felt like an eternity. Ralts was my closest friend and I never wanted to be away from him ever again.
Smiling, I held up Torchic's pokeball before saying, "I wasn't the only one worried." Then, opening the poke-ball, I said, "Come on out Torchic. Someone wants to say hi."
In a flash, Torchic came out and glanced around before she saw Ralts and let out a cry of joy before saying, "Ralts! You're okay! Were you hurt? Where are...why are you wearing a flower crown on your head?"
The laughter came out of me before I could stop it and Ralts immediately ripping off the crown didn't help the laughter stay down. "Oh, so funny Lizzie." The laughter then came out louder.
"I'm so going to remember this forever!" I exclaimed between gasps of breath. Who knew that it was so hard to breathe when you were laughing?
A slap in the middle of my forehead by Ralts caused me to sit up rapidly, all laughter gone, before he said, "Lizzie, I need to introduce you two to my family."
My stare went blank and I didn't even register the two gardevoir who had talked earlier walking up until the female one said, "While I do not know you, I can feel the connection that you have with my son and it is a strong one. I do not believe that I am wrong in saying that it is a pleasure to meet you."
I blinked rapidly at her before saying, "You're Ralts' mom?" I then continued to stare at her in shock.
She nodded and, while I wanted to move, I couldn't make myself do so. This was Ralts' mom! I was in so much shock that I felt like I would be frozen forever. "Is your trainer broken?" Ralts' mom asked.
Ralts shook his head before saying, "Nah, just in shock. Let me snap her out of it."
THWACK!
"YEOW! That hurt Ralts." I yelped as I rubbed the spot on my forehead that he had hit.
He shrugged nonchalantly before saying, "Not my fault you zone out so much."
In return I stuck my tongue out at him.
Ralts' mom watched us for a second before she shook her head and smiled. "It seems like the two of you have quite a…unique, relationship. Come, let's go somewhere safe and talk."
I nodded but, as the three of us walked toward the woods that were even further away from the mightyena territory, I realized what she was saying. But, I waited until it was just the three of us alone before voicing my thoughts. "I'm sorry, but doesn't the safe return of Ralts show that the mightyena were telling the truth about Ralts all those years ago and that this feud is now pointless."
If I was expecting her to agree with me, then I would have been disappointed when she shook her head. "No. We found evidence saying that the mightyena attacked Ralts all of those years ago and, while they did not kill him, they still attacked him and left him for dead."
"If they did that, then why would their alpha help save Ralts and become friends with him?" I shot right back at her. I was not going to have Mightyena, a dear friend, and Gardevoir, Ralts' mom, at odds before I left. Before I left, I wanted to make sure that these two factions made up. I didn't want Ralts to have to deal with the stress that his family fighting with his friend would bring.
Gardevoir shrugged her shoulders and said, "I am not sure why. That is why I am very hesitant about you. I trust you because you have forged a bond with my son that can be sensed very strongly but you are also friends with the alpha mightyena." I could see that she was struggling with this a lot.
So, to ease tension, I said, "We can talk about this later. Why don't we get back to the clearing and see if Torchic has gotten herself into trouble?"
As we walked, Gardevoir glanced at me before saying, "Does your friend Torchic get into trouble often?"
Before I could respond, Ralts jumped in. "We haven't known Torchic that long to know that but she does seem like us two and we are always getting into trouble."
"Really?" His mom asked as she glanced up at me.
While we walked into the clearing, I felt a sweat drop feeling when she continued to stare at me. I had a feeling that she was going to be giving me a lecture about keeping her son safe and all of that fun stuff. Great! This was just wonderful! I made a mental note to talk to Ralts about opening his big mouth about this stuff.
Torchic laughing caused me to glance up and I smile when I saw her running from a group of ralts who seemed to be having a blast chasing her. Well… she looked like she was alright and having fun. The three of us stood there and watched the ralts chase Torchic for a few moments before Torchic stopped and walked up to me. "Lizzie...I'm getting hungry." She said to me.
Of course, as soon as she said that, my stomach started to rumble as well. "I guess I could see what berries I have left."
But before I could do that, another of the gardevoir walked up and said, "Why don't we host a great feast to celebrate the return of my nephew?" I felt my right eyebrow raise slightly as he said that. This was the gardevoir who hadn't sounded too excited about Ralts being back when I was spying on them. Now he wanted to host a party for Ralts? Maybe I had just read him wrong. It wouldn't have been the first time.
So, while I still needed to convince the gardevoir that the mightyena were innocent, we all prepared for the party and, once night had fallen, the celebration. The gardevoir, kirlia, and ralts in the glen danced and used their psychic powers to play instruments that they had fashioned. I laughed as I swung around with Ralts. It was a great time and I laughed. This was great. It almost made me forget about the reason that I was here, besides to get Ralts back of course. I needed to convince the gardevoir that the mightyena were innocent of the crime they were accused of.
After about an hour of dancing, I let out a yawn and Ralts gave me a worried look. "Are you okay Lizzie?"
Smiling at his question, I nodded tiredly. "I'm fine Ralts. Just a little tired. It's been a long day."
"We have arranged sleeping arrangements for you tonight." I turned when I heard Ralts' mom's voice and turned to see here standing there with Ralts' uncle next to her. "My brother will lead you there. I will show Ralts and Torchic there once they are ready as well."
I smiled at her kindness. I had been a rather unexpected guest and she was welcoming me into their group with open arms. Hopefully, I would be able to repay her one day. But for now, I nodded. "Thank you so much and have a great night."
Then, I slowly followed behind Ralts' uncle. I was guessing that Ralts' mom wanted to talk with him in private and that is why she had her brother escort me to my sleeping place. I could understand that, though I wish that I was there. Deep down, I had a feeling that she was going to try and learn directly from him what happened five years ago that landed him on my family's ranch. Even though Ralts had never been able to remember what had happened, I had a feeling that Gardevoir's psychic abilities would be able to assist Ralts in finding out that information.
"So, you are the trainer of my nephew."
I jumped when the uncle spoke to me. Through the day, he had not talked to me at all and now he was randomly starting now. It was slightly unsettling, but I knew that I couldn't be rude. "Yes, and I have enjoyed every moment that I have had being with Ralts."
We continued to walk on and I felt myself start to get slightly more tired. How far away was my sleeping area? "I expect nothing else. However, I am curious about one thing. What do you remember about the day you found him? What did he say?"
This was weird. I had already talked to Ralts' mom about this. "I was in the woods with my friend mightyena and we heard Ralts crying out. The day itself was nice but there was something quiet about it. I'm not sure what he said because, at that time, I could not understand your language. It was only after Ralts and I became friends that he and my friend mightyena taught me."
"Ah…that's right." He stated with a slight pause and nod before he turned back toward the route we were walking. I was feeling like we were moving a little too far away from the encampment and something was definitely wrong. I recognized this area but I couldn't remember where from. "My nephew must have been in serious pain, what with that bite on his shoulder."
I nodded. "Yeah, it took about a week for that..." I froze in place and stared with wide eyes at the Gardevoir in front of me. My mind was completely blank, shock coursing through my body. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. The pieces were finally coming together. But, I still couldn't believe it. It was impossible. "You...you..."
Ralts' uncle had paused after I had stopped talking and was now staring at me with a cold glare. "You seem to have an ability to cause tongues to loosen around you. That was not meant to come out. My stance as the next ruler of our clan was jeopardized when that runt nephew of mine hatched. Before then, my sister had not been able to have any young and my line to rule our tribe was in the clear. But, that little brat just had to come out. My sister doted over him and I knew that my path to the throne had been blindsided by that pipsqueak. So, it came down to basic survival; myself, or the runt. My choice was obvious."
He walked closer to me and I took a step back as he continued. "With some of my closest followers, I took my nephew out for a small walk, without my sister knowing. We made it to a small clearing and that was when I knocked out my nephew. With him unconscious, the only thing that I had to think of was who to place the blame on. I couldn't put it on anyone in our clan, for they would readily open their minds up to my sister to prove their innocence. I was about to commit the deed myself and go missing when I heard a yowl in the air. That reminded me of our dark neighbors, the mightyena, who were prideful and would not be so willing to open their minds to my sister. With my plan set, I brought my nephew within an inch of life, even using an old jaw bone I had found to make a bite mark on his shoulder. But, before I could deal the final blow, I was interrupted. In the distance, I heard the sound of a mightyena coming closer, and the sound of a human voice."
"When Mightyena and I made our way into the woods." I gasped in realization. That day five years ago was now a blazing memory in my mind. I remembered the fear that I always felt inside the woods and now, in some sort, I was finding out why, the unsettling thought about what had almost happened, and how fate had allowed Mightyena and me to arrive there in time.
The gardevoir in front of me growled at that. "Yes, your arrival caused me to have to leave my job unfinished. Thankfully, my fool of a sister believed my story about watching my nephew being dragged off by a mightyena and the feud flared. But, your presence here with my nephew, who has obviously befriended the mightyena, has caused my plan to come into trouble." Fear shot down my spine when he slowly smirked, red eyes taking me in. I was too frozen in fear to move as he walked closer. "However, you have just given me the perfect strategy to turn the tides back into my favor. With your death, which will be caused by the mightyena, my sister will never even think of forgiving them. The loss of you will cause my nephew to become distant and he will most certainly give up his claim to the leadership of our people. Unfortunately for you, you must cease to be."
At those words, I felt panic flare through me and I turned to run. But, before I could start running, I felt a wave of a strange psychic power strike me. Hypnosis. As I felt myself grow weary, I whispered one name. "Ralts."
Ralts' 1st P.O.V.
I sighed as I stood in front of my mother. Once my uncle had left with Lizzie, my mother had asked me to allow her access to my mind so she might be able to try and find out what had happened the day I had met Lizzie. Seeing as this could help Lizzie convince my mother to try to make peace with the Mightyena, I immediately allowed her access and, for the past fifteen minutes she had been trying to see into my broken memory.
My memories of that day were very short. The first thing that I remembered was waking up in pain and calling out for help.
Flashback:
I groaned as my eyes opened. The ground beneath me was soft but I was filled with pain. I cried out, trying to call someone to help me. I didn't know where I was, I was scared. Most importantly, I was alone. Away from the memories that were now a blur in my mind. What had happened? Why did I hurt so much? Why was my shoulder so painful to move?
The sound of something falling near me had frightened me and so I turned, painfully, to my side, and looked just in time to see a mightyena, in all of its scary darkness, and a human kid, slide to a stop in front of me. What were they doing? Who were they? I didn't know them, and that scared me. Had they done this to me?
When the human girl walked closer to me, I let out a growl. I didn't trust her and I didn't want her anywhere near me. But, my growl had a strange effect. While the human girl paused for a moment and the mightyena made its way toward me, I thought that maybe the mightyena was raising this girl and he might attack me for threatening her. But, to my shock, the human girl held up a hand for him to stop. What was she doing? I had just threatened her and now she was defending me? This didn't make any sense.
The girl then knelt down to the ground, which made me feel a little more comfortable since she was closer to my level, before she started to speak. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you Ralts. My mommy is a breeder and she can make you all better. Can I come closer?"
I stared at her, shock filling me. I had just threatened her and now she was offering to take me to her mommy and have her help me? This human was different. I could feel a caring energy around her that only wanted to help. When I realized that I had not given her an answer, I slowly nodded my head.
Then she continued to surprise me for instead of rushing over, she slowly crawled over to me before smiling. "I am going to have to take you to my momma. Can I pick you up?"
It made me feel safe when she continued to ask me my permission. I felt in control of this situation, and not at the mercy of this human girl. She seemed to truly care about me. Also, I could see the worry in her eyes that she had for me and that told me that she was a good person.
So, I allowed her to pick me up. Once I was in her arms, I felt safe. But, that safe feeling changed when she turned toward the mightyena. He just seemed to have a menacing look about him, and intimidating look, and I didn't want to be anywhere near him. I wanted to get away.
But, this human girl continued to surprise me. "Don't worry Ralts, Mightyena is my friend and he is going to take us to my momma faster so she can make you all better."
The confidence that came through her voice was the only reason that I calmed down. While this mightyena seemed scary, I was willing to trust it as long as this human girl was with me. She was a friend, and I knew that she would protect me. As she climbed up on the mightyena, the mightyena turned its head toward me. "Don't worry young one. Lizzie is a good human and her family is very trustworthy."
His voice did not sound as menacing as I thought that it would and I snuggled into this human, who the mightyena called Lizzie, as Mightyena ran through the woods, calling its pack to a human ranch house. I felt my eyes drift shut as we made our way, a worried look on this 'Lizzie's' face.
I stayed in a semi-unconscious state as we arrived at the ranch. I remembered seeing the young human's mother with worry in her eyes and then, once I was on a strange table, my vision had gone."
End of Flashback.
"Oh my dear Ralts, you must have been so afraid." Mother stated as she stopped looking at my memories.
In return, I nodded and said, "I was. I didn't know who this human family was and I was trusting them. When I woke up, I knew that I was meant to be with Lizzie, and her with me, and we were meant to be friends. I, along with Mightyena, taught Lizzie to understand us and, just a few days ago, I allowed Lizzie to capture me in a pokeball and become her first pokemon. Then, Lizzie and I chose Torchic as Lizzie's starter and that is pretty much it until we got here." I then glanced around and said, "Mother, while my memories of that day five years ago are incomplete, I do know, with all my heart, that the mightyena were not responsible for attacking me. Our friend, the lead mightyena, lead an investigation into his pack and none of them had attacked me, for he had seen the bite marks on my arm."
At that last part, my mother's face became one of confusion. "From what I could pull from your blocked memories, there were no mightyena nearby, but that doesn't make any sense."
Now I was the confused one. What was she talking about? What didn't make any sense? "What do you mean mother?"
Gardevoir shook her head before motioning in the direction that my uncle had gone with Lizzie before saying, "When your uncle had reported your death, he said that he had seen the mightyena around you and he couldn't get to you. But, no mightyena appeared in your memories until your trainer came with her friend, the alpha." She then turned and paced. "This doesn't make any sense." She whispered to herself.
I was about to ask my mother another question when I suddenly felt pain travel through my mind. I flinched and rubbed my head, surprised by it. What was that about? I had never experienced anything like that before. It was weird.
My mother must have sensed my pain because she turned to me with a worried look on her face. But, before she could say anything a searing flash of fear traveled through me and I screamed while holding my hands to my head.
"Ralts! What's wrong?" My mother asked me in worry.
But, I couldn't answer her due to this strange pain. What was going on? I wasn't afraid right now but this pain that I was feeling was through the threshold of any pain I had ever felt. The only thing that had even been close to this was once when one of the pokemon that was visiting the ranch. It was an exploud and it had gone on a rampage and Lizzie had been eight at the time. She had thought that she could calm down the exploud. That hadn't worked out so well. Instead, she had been trampled. My heart had stopped when that had happened and I had felt pain when she had been trampled. Thankfully, Lizzie had a thick skull...and iron bones, so she was alright.
That thought about Lizzie caused all the jumbled up pieces of this mystery to come together in my mind. Lizzie. She was afraid, and I wasn't with her. "Ralts what's wrong?" Torchic asked as she ran over with the other ralts, kirlia, and gardevoir in the clan. Well...most of them.
Shaking and standing up, I looked up and said, "Lizzie! She's in trouble!"
"But, your uncle took her to her sleeping area." Mom stated.
But, I was not going to take her word for that so I turned to her and asked, "Where is she?" Well, I yelled it.
Immediately my mom led me toward the far side of the clearing and I felt my heart sink. There were few things that I knew that Lizzie would never part from willingly. One was her pokemon. She would never leave us alone. Secondly, she would never leave her bag. It had all of her potions, and pokeballs, town map, and everything else that she had for the journey. Thirdly, she would never, never leave a gift that her mother gave her behind and there, placed on top of her bag, was the hat that her mom and dad had just given her for her journey.
To anyone who didn't know her, it would be assumed that, like the average trainer, she would leave these items here if she went for a walk. But, Lizzie was very possessive of her things and I knew that this had been staged.
"Something's wrong." Torchic stated from next to me. She sounded really worried and I was too. Even for the short time that Torchic had known Lizzie, she could tell that Lizzie was very possessive.
Nodding, I turned to my mother. "We need to find her! Please, can you help?" I was hoping that, since my own psychic powers were not allowing me to locate Lizzie, that my mother would have better luck.
She gave me a firm look and nodded before she closed her eyes in concentration. I shivered when I felt the psychic energy coming off of my mom. It was incredibly powerful. No wonder she was the leader. If my mother couldn't find her, than I wasn't sure what I would do. After a few moments of waiting, the power faded from her and when she looked at me, worry spread across her face, I knew that the search wasn't successful. "I'm sorry dear. I can sense your uncle's energy around here and it is blocking any chance of me locating them."
What she said shocked me. My uncle's energy? Now it made sense! He had been the one to attack me five years ago. But...if that was the case... "My uncle has Lizzie! We have to find him!" He had gone to great lengths to try and get rid of me, and I was his kin. I didn't want to think about what would happen to Lizzie.
"But I don't know how!" My mother responded, worry laced in her raised voice. She was panicking.
Unfortunately, I wasn't so sure about what to do either. All of my options seemed exhausted and I had no way of knowing how I was going to find her. I had to find her. I had to! She had become my family when she had found me. Taken care of me when I was sick, healed me when I was injured, and was there to talk when I needed to. She was my best friend, confident, and, most importantly, she was my trainer.
That was when the idea of what to do came into my head. I knew that my mother was not going to like it, not one bit, but right now, I didn't care. We had to get Lizzie back. "I bet that the alpha mightyena could find her. Both he and I spent so much time with her when she was growing up that he probably has her scent memorized."
Like I thought she would, my mother did not react very well to what I had just said. "No! I absolutely."
"Mother!" I yelled, interrupting her promptly. "This proves that it was my uncle, and not the mightyena, who was responsible for the attack on my life all those years ago. To find Lizzie, I bet that the alpha would even let you in his head to prove his pack's innocence."
That caused my mother to hesitate. I knew that she was probably thinking that I was right, which I was. Thankfully, her answer came quickly. "You are right my son." I sighed in relief when she said that. But, I immediately took that back when she continued to speak. "But, how are we to get a message over to the mightyena? The feud is still going on and I doubt that the entire pack knows your scent."
Thankfully, the answer came to me immediately and, it must have come to everyone at once, because we all turned to the one being in the glade who could do this. "Why is everyone looking at me?" Torchic asked.
Lizzie's 1st P.O.V.
I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes. What had happened? I remembered the party with the ralts evolution line and I remembered feeling tired. Then, as I thought more about it, I felt panic set in as I remember the rest of the night, walking with Ralts' uncle and learning that he had been the one responsible for attack Ralts and framing the mightyena.
With that though, my eyes flew open and I felt them widen in fear when I saw Ralts' uncle in front of me. "So, you are awake. I was hoping that you would stay asleep for this. Your screams might cause unwanted attention to be drawn to us. But, I'm not wasting anymore energy on you than I have to. So, I think that now would be a great time to get things rolling." I stared at him as he prepared, what looked like, a shadow ball attack. "If I used a psychic move, my sister would be able to trace it and she would know that the mightyena were not responsible. So, this is the only move that both our kind and their kind knows. Thankfully, I have mastered it quite well."
Then, before I could register what he was doing, he quickly launched the shadow ball and it slammed right into me. I cried out as the pain traveled from my left shoulder, where it hit, and through my body as I was tossed back and rolled on the ground. As I stood back up, I noticed that I was near the edge of the cliff. "You're going to throw me off a cliff?" I asked him, concerned. I could try to dodge and run away if there wasn't a cliff behind me. But, he must have thought everything through. That sick, twisted, demented, gardevoir!
In response, he simply shrugged and said, "Your appearance five years ago caused me to panic and I left the jaw bone I found behind. So, what better way to fake bite marks than to make you tumble over that cliff."
Growling at him, I said, "You're not going to get away with this. Ralts will know that the mightyena around here would never do that to me. Never!"
"You think too highly of my nephew." He shot at me.
"Or you don't think highly enough of him." I shot back before I had to dodge back and to the left as he shot another shadow ball at me. Great. As I looked back, I realized that it would only take him a few more shadow balls to force me off this cliff.
He smirked at me, probably at my panicked look, before he said, "Well, I'll be sure to tell the tale of the mightyena attack on you quite eloquently. But, now it is time for you to go."
I felt my eyes widen as he started to charge his next shadow ball. This one was starting to look more powerful than the others that he had thrown. I felt myself back up slightly until I felt the edge of the cliff beneath my feet. This was it. I only got to go out on my journey for a couple of days and now it was all ending. It was too soon!
A snarl from behind Ralts' uncle broke his concentration and the shadow ball petered out. We both then glanced and I was relieved to see Ralts' mom, Ralts, the rest of their circle. But, what was shocking and relieving was who Torchic was with. The alpha mightyena, with his youngest son next to him. They were the only two mightyena there and I was sure glad to see them.
I yelped when I suddenly felt myself restrained by a psychic attack and jetted through the air until I was well over the cliff. This psychic energy happened to be the only thing keeping me from falling to a very painful death. "Any of you come near me and I'll throw her down!" The gardevoir currently holding me captive stated. I flinched as the energy holding me up tightened.
"Let her go now brother! If you do, I will go lightly on your punishment," Ralts' mom stated. Yeah, that sounded like that would get him! "which is more than you deserve after what you have done!" And that little glimmer of hope? Yeah, that was extinguished now. Like, a candle doused by the ocean. Completely obliterated.
And, like I thought, Ralts' uncle didn't take to kindly to that. "You are in no position to negotiate sister. I hold all the leverage here and you will do what I say!"
While I wanted to stop it, I couldn't prevent a yelp of pain coming out of me as the psychic powers holding me increased their pressure. This was getting too painful for comfort. If they all didn't get me out of this soon, then I was going to start panicking, and I really REALLY didn't want to start doing that.
Mightyena snarled and raised his hackles before saying, "Fine! If you don't let her go, then I'm going to rip you to shreds!"
When I glanced at the group of pokemon who wanted to save me, which I was really grateful for by the way, I was surprised to see that there was someone important who was now gone. Where was he? Where was Ralts?
"You know what?" Ralts' uncle started. Uh-oh. I didn't like his tone. It sounded like a smug victorious voice and that meant that I might not like what was about to go down. "I think that this young trainer here should learn to fly."
Uh-oh.
I screamed as I was suddenly thrown toward the rocks below. From above, I heard Mightyena snarl at Ralts' uncle but I didn't pay much mind to that as I braced for the impact. Maybe I would survive this...maybe.
As the seconds dragged on, I opened my eyes. What was going on? I should have been splat against the rocks by now. Glancing around, I saw that I was hovering within inches from the rocks. Did the uncle decide to hold me up to try and negotiate?
I felt so confused as I was slowly lifted up that I didn't know what to make of it at first. Who was lifting me up now? It felt too gentle to be Ralts' uncle but I doubted that even Ralts' mom could have reacted fast enough to catch me with her being distracted by her brother.
When I finally came over the top of the cliff and was set on the ground, I looked around wide eyed confused until I saw two faces that I was very very glad to see. "Ralts! Torchic!" I yelled as the to jumped on my lap and I hugged them. I was alright. They were alright. We were safe. "I'm so glad you two are alright."
They both paused and backed up and I looked at them in confusion. "You were the one who was just attacked at thrown off of a cliff and you were worried if we were alright?" Torchic asked me in shock.
Immediately, I nodded before laughing and saying, "You bet. What would you two have done without me?"
"Get some sleep." Ralts muttered before giving me a head slap. "And that's for causing me to worry."
Rolling my eyes while shaking my head, I said, "I'm sorry Ralts, I'll make sure to tell the next person who tries to kill me that they can't because they'll worry my Ralts. I'm sure they will stop when I tell them that."
He stared at me before saying, "Alright, sarcasm aside, you scared me."
I nodded and was about to make a comment when I remembered that we had an audience. An audience that included beings that I thought would not be together. When I looked up, the situation still stayed weird when I saw the alpha mightyena next to Ralts' mom. Okay, did I really die and this was my strange version of heaven?
"You're alright!"
I had no idea where that voice came from until I suddenly got tackled by a little black puff ball. Once I sat up again, I saw that it was Poochyena, Mightyena's youngest male pup. Guess I wasn't dead. Laughing, I stood up and said, "Yes, I'm alright. But, I'm confused." I then pointed at Gardevoir and the alpha. "Why are you two,"
"Not fighting each other?" Mightyena asked me. "Well, I was back with my pack when your Torchic charges in and starts rambling about how you were missing and how Gardevoir wanted to read my memories. Once I got the full story from her, I went with her to Gardevoir, bringing my youngest pup as a sign of good faith, and allowed her to go into my memories to prove that my pack and I were innocent of attacking Ralts five years ago and that we were open for peace. Once that was done, I reacquainted myself with your scent, thanks to your hat, and we tracked you here."
"My brother was quite surprised when we showed up together." Ralts' mom confirmed. "I think it is why he moved you to hanging over the cliff. It would not give either of us time to get to you. But, he underestimated my son and his agility, which is why Ralts was able to get to you in time. I am glad that you are alright but, the two of us wish to talk to you, Lizzie."
I had this really good feeling when she had started talking but now, I had a feeling that I was not going to like what she was going to say much. But, there was only one way to find out. So, once the other gardevoir, who had come with Ralts' mom, left, the six of us sat in a circle. "With this new peace Lizzie," Mightyena started, "we believe that both of our species should be represented as working together. My youngest son here will have no real place in the pack once he evolves since his older brother will take over the pack and his sister will bring a family closer to our own, and so, normally, he would have to go out on his own and either start his own pack or find a trainer to battle who would hopefully catch him. But, Gardevoir has helped me see a plan to allow him to be happy without getting in the way of our traditions."
Gardevoir nodded. "Yes, I figure since my son is traveling with you that, if you did not mind, Poochyena could travel with you as well. That way, both of our groups would have someone traveling with you. What do you say?"
While I wanted to agree immediately, I had to make sure of one thing first. "Well, I'm fine with it as long as Poochyena wants to. I won't force him to come with me because of politics. It's his choice fully."
There were many responses that I could have gotten. What I wasn't expecting was to be tackled by Poochyena. Once I got my bearings I looked to see Poochyena sitting on my chest and staring right into my eyes with an 'are you serious?' look. "Of course I do! I can't wait! Get out the pokeball!" He said in excitement.
Shaking my head, I said, "Well, first, I need to be able to sit up."
The little guy was off of me quickly and so I sat up and took out one of my empty pokeballs. Activating it, I held it out to Poochyena. Before I could even ask if he was sure, he tackled the front of the pokeball, activating it and he went inside. Immediately, the ball sealed, signaling that he was caught. Once that was done, I immediately threw it in the air.
Once he was out, Poochyena shook his fun before saying, "It's really comfy in there. I don't know what others complain about."
I put my hands on my hips as he looked at me. "Welcome to our crazy family Poochyena. Get ready for some craziness."
"And being randomly attacked. That seems to happen quite a bit with us." Ralts added.
The glares that I was receiving from Gardevoir and Mightyena reminded me to talk to Ralts about opening his big mouth around parents. There were reasons that I never told my mom about the exploud incident. She would have freaked out but everything turned out alright...eventually.
Glancing up at the sky, I saw that it was getting to be about nine in the morning so I stood up and said, "Well, we have to be going. Petalburg and its gym are waiting for us." We all then gave our own wave before heading off.
This was it. Now I felt like our adventure was truly beginning. After a bumpy start, we were on our way to our first gym and I couldn't wait. I knew that we would be able to do it and I had a feeling that it was going to be an adventure. Most trainers that I had met by them coming to the ranch said that journeys never reached a pinnacle until quite some time. That kind of thought made me excited about what I was to face, since I had already done so much. But, only time would,
"Will you snap out of your thoughts and hurry up?" Ralts yelled to me as the three of them ran ahead of me.
I let out a laugh before chasing after them.
Lizzie: *cheers* New member of the team!
Poochyena: *smiles* Glad to be here. Now, we just need a gym badge and then we will be set.
Ralts: *nods* Yes, and when we get to Petalburg we will see what sort of challenge the leader will give us.
Torchic: *excited* I bet we will win no matter what!
AN: So, no excuse for the length of time that it has taken me to post this. Getting into the swing of summer should have given me time to post. However, I have been so caught up in a number of real-life things that my fanfictions have suffered. However, I should be able to update this faster now so expect more updates quickly.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I had a lot of fun with Ralts' backstory and the different circumstances that brought him to meeting Lizzie. Plus, add in the friend Mightyena and we get a fun cast of characters. Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention the newest arrival to the scene, Poochyena! This makes the third pokemon that Lizzie has obtained and I just know that he will help out in the story as it goes along.
Next chapter, we will see Lizzie's arrival in Petalburg and meeting a new friend. So, until next time, here are the next chapter names.
Chapter 4: Wally's First Pokemon
Chapter 5: The Definition of Strength
Chapter 6: ...(find out next time!)
So, that is all now. Again, I hope you all enjoyed this! Please leave a review if you can. If you can't think of anything to say about the story, then drop a hello so I know you are there. Well, until next time, TTYL! *relaxing in a sea of bliss*
