Chapter Two - Dark Stone, Light Shrine
"Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have cheated at pool!"
A boy wearing a golden cap shouted the words as he madly dashed through one of the many alleyways of Goldenrod, rolling up his sleeve as he was pursued by countless men in black. Security workers for the local Goldenrod Game Corner. Behind them, Pokemon of many levels followed at their heels, ranging from clumsy Bidoof to highly defensive Tyranitar. All of which were chasing after him, a simple boy who had forced the slot machines to give him a jackpot every time he played. Okay, so maybe he wasn't exactly a normal boy. Pulling up his sleeve, he brushed his thumb against the rainbow flame that etched itself onto his wrist. Ho-oh, you need to come now!
An impatient voice answered him in an irritated tone. Did you cheat at another Game Corner, Gold?
Um, maybe? He grinned sheepishly as he sharply turned around a corner, a bag full of cash slung over his shoulder while the cries of "cheater!" and "thief!" followed him. Grinning mischievously, he whipped out a skateboard and pool cue, propelling himself forward to gain a little more space between him and the people who were chasing after him.
Then, out of nowhere, a large majestic phoenix dipped down beside him, its red eyes locking with his and holding an obvious "you-are-so-dead" look to them. Ignoring the expression on his legendary's face, the contractor did a flip and landed on Ho-oh's neck, ignoring the startled looks of his pursuers as they caught sight of the bird.
"He's got a damn legendary Pokemon!" one of the workers snarled, pulling out a Pokeball. "But it doesn't matter to us, that punk's got our money! Pidgeot, get that thief!"
Materializing from thin air, a cream and brown bird showed itself to the crowd as it took after Gold at an alarming speed, soon followed by many other flying Pokemon like Crobat, Fearow, Dragonite, etc. However, the boy was un-naturally calm as his flight took to the air, easily weaving around the many Gusts and Whirlwinds thrown at them, his pool cue deflecting any other attempts at knocking him or his money off.
Honestly, Gold? Ho-oh growled in annoyance as he torched a Unfezant with Fire Blast. You chose to mess with the mafia?
"Hey, I didn't know the Goldenrod Game Corner was owned by criminals!" he whined in response to the rhetorical question.
Sure you didn't, Ho-oh swooped downwards as a spare Ice Beam came swirling from a stray Swanna. The phoenix responded with a quick Ancientpower, swiftly knocking down about 1/26th of their pursuers as they continued to gain speed. This might take a bit for me to outspeed them, they're un-naturally fast.
Gold frowned at that, crossing his arms. "Just blast them with Flamethrower."
I could do that…except there are also Aerodactyls and Swanna's to mess with as well, and I'm pretty sure that I don't won't to suffer from a Rock Slide or Bubblebeam attack.
"Ah, true," he sighed, scratching the back of his head.
They continued to try and out speed the criminals, but their flight was constantly in turmoil with the many attacks tossed at them. Though Ho-oh was an expert at dodging these types of attacks (after all, he is the legendary of the most reckless contractor known to mankind), even the bird was having trouble with the many attacks tossed at them second after second. And, it was only a matter of time before something hit them.
And, as luck would have it, a stray rock from an Archeops's Ancientpower was flung into Ho-oh's left wing, effectively injuring him enough to inflict significant damage on Ho-oh's flying abilities. Damn it! Ho-oh spat, crimson eyes glancing at its contractor with unease. Gold, we're gonna have to make a crash-landing.
"B-But where?" the boy peeked over the phoenix's body and to the ground, golden eyes wide with horror as he realized just where they were. "Surely you wouldn't try and land in the Ghost Forest?" he asked, gaze sweeping over the endless clumps of dark green trees that stood like silent statues below.
We might have no choice in the manner, Ho-oh responded bitterly.
"We can't! Anyone who goes there dies! There has never been a single person surviving through that forest, and I don't want to die at such a young age!" Gold was panicking now, his hands waving back and forth as he tried to urge his Pokemon to keep going. "We have to land somewhere else!"
We won't make it if I go any farther! Ho-oh argued furiously. Besides, it seems like we're safe from our pursuers.
Glancing over his shoulder, Gold was surprised to find that his legendary's words were right as the Goldenrod mafia began to turn around and flee, shouting fearfully among themselves as they disappeared rapidly out of sight. One problem solved but…He glanced at the forest and the ominous purple mist that shrouded the area, warning them to turn back. I don't wanna die!
However, there was nothing he could do as Ho-oh began to lose altitude, his crippled wing no longer working anymore as he spiraled downwards, embers peeling off his feathers as hr crashed down into the forest.
Branches, twigs, leaves, the claws of shocked and hostile Pokemon, all of these combined didn't seem to matter to Gold as his bird plunged into the forest, wings being ripped by the many obstacles on the way down. Rather, the only concerned him was Ho-oh's rapidly fading conscious and his own pounding heart as they fell, and fell, and fell. We're going to die by the forest's wrath, aren't we? Gold thought in horror as his body flailed uselessly in midair.
Seconds later, a pine tree branch hit him in the face, and he lost all feelings of awareness.
000ooo000
Gold didn't know how much time had passed since he had been knocked out, but he was pretty sure that it had been a long time. After all, why else would the moon be out when he last remembered being awake around midday?
The boy groggily blinked his eyes multiple times before he tried to sit up in order to look at his surroundings. But that was a bad idea.
At once, burning flames ripped through his body, searing at his arms, head, neck, chest, legs, and feet as he tried to move around, forcing the boy to utter a long groan of pain as he stayed in place. "What happened?" he asked himself rhetorically, his hand slowly combing through his messy back hair as he began picking out the many leaves and twigs threaded within. "Why am I here, whatever happened to Ho-oh?"
Gold snapped his head to the left. And, it was a little bit too quickly, judging by the quick snap of pain that bit at his neck. Clenching his fists at the agony, he looked to both of his sides in shock as he noticed that Ho-oh and his bag of cash were gone, vanished as if they had never existed at all. However, most of his worries were directed towards the cash, as he was pretty reassured that Ho-oh would be able to survive on his own. He glanced around for the bag of cash but, upon finding none, frowned in frustration.
"If I don't retrieve that bag of money soon, Silver will have my head," Gold tried to force his body to stand up, but was promptly rejected as another wave of torment washed through him, sending his brain into a fit of aching.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a crystal-clear voice laughed, and Gold winced at how impossibly loud it was. "Oops, should I speak in a more quieter voice?"
He nodded, groaning as the person with the strong voice stepped forward. It was a girl, roughly his age, and she was smiling unsurely at him, light blue eyes glowing as she held up a roll of bandages. She was wearing a white lab coat that went to her hips, a pink shirt, and golden shorts, her hair tied into two pigtails that seemed to defy gravity. She was a girl he had never seen before, and he briefly wondered if she was an outsider, seeing that her cloths were kind of weird for the time and age (because, after all, only scientists wore lab coats).
Gold glanced at the at the girl unsurely, a bit baffled as to why she was suddenly in front of him, now on her knees as she began to unroll the bandages in her hand. "This might hurt," she murmured abruptly as she pulled on one of his arms a bit too roughly, forcing him to flinch and yank back his hand in shock.
The girl looked at him in surprise. "I told you that it would hurt," she murmured softly. "Now, hold out that arm so that I can rewrap your wounds."
Wounds, what wounds? Gold scowled at the stranger as she pulled out his arm, gingerly rolling the left sleeve of his hoodie up and revealing white cloth that was wrapped around his skin, dots of red showing through the surface. Surprised by this, Gold narrowed his eyes and glanced up to see that, through the spread of closely-knit trees, there was a huge gap that let sunlight stream down. That must've been where I fell down from from, he thought slowly as the girl begin to wrap her pieces of white straps around his arm, applying pressure in the gentlest way so not as to cause Gold to flinch again.
"Who are you?" were the first words he spoke to her.
She looked up in surprise, as if she had expected him to know her name. "Crystal," she replied softly. "It's Crystal."
"That's such a pretty name for a pretty girl," he mused dreamily, his golden eyes wandering over to hers as he tried one of his signature flirty remarks. "I'm Gold."
Crystal gave no hint of reaction to his flirt as she continued wrapping, but by the way her fingers fumbled around with the cloth, Gold mentally beamed in pride, acknowledging the fact that he had at least made her embarrassed. Grinning slyly at her, he was promptly disappointed when she made no further sign of emotion, her hands steadying as she bandaged up his right arm. For a second, however, as she rolled up his sleeve and slid her gaze over his wrist, she made a slight pause of hesitance before quickly continuing on with her task, a look of concern touching her face. She must've seen my mark, he decided nonchalantly, trusting that she'd just deem it as a simple tattoo and nothing else.
With a huff as she finished her wrapping, Crystal tied a knot and let her gaze scrutinize her work before allowing his arm to drop to his side. "That's another one done," she sighed before glancing at Gold, her blue eyes capturing his name-sake ones.
In that single moment of eye contact, Gold felt his flutter uncontrollably, heart pulsing madly inside his chest for no real reason. The funny feeling gnawed at him as she gave a nervous smile, and it didn't help ease the alien emotion when Crystal leaned forward a bit too closely to his neck, her face unusually close as she took away the bandages from around his neck. Half-tempted to close the distance between them with a kiss, Gold held back reluctantly as she gave him a stern glare, as if sensing his intentions. Gold couldn't stop himself from smiling though as she unwrapped his bandages and quickly replacing them, her fingers sliding over his skin as she messed with the cloth.
"Done!" she declared after a few seconds, backing away and leaving Gold with a strange empty feeling in his stomach. "How does that feel?"
"Good," he replied slowly, his head still throbbing.
Crystal nodded happily at that statement, before her mood rapidly changed into a dangerous one, eyes narrowing and hands on hips as she glowered at the boy. "Now, what are you doing in my forest? And why haven't you turned to stone yet?"
He stared at her for a few seconds, absorbing her words slowly, before scrambling backwards in shock. "W-W-Woah, what do you mean by turn to stone? Is that the curse that surrounds the forest, some sort of Medusa like thing?"
"Medusa?" she frowned before shaking her head 'no'. "It's not like that here. Basically, any not of pure heart who enters here will be turned to stone by the purple mist, or have you not noticed the abundant lack of wildlife lurking around here?"
Come to think of it…, Gold shifted his gaze around, finding quickly that her words held truth as he noticed that there were no Pokemon scurrying around, only a purple mist that glided across the forest floor ominously, carefully skirting around Gold, Crystal, and Ho-oh as it slinked about, almost as it was a real feral creature and not just some collection of water droplets. Gold watched the mist fearfully, panicking inside a little bit as a tendril reached out randomly, shooting forward to stroke Gold's skin.
Strangely, there was no feeling of pain or agony like the ones he had felt from his wounds, but a cold burning sensation that abruptly ended as the tendril retracted, slinking back into place as the rest of the mist combed the ground. That didn't stop Gold from edging closer to Crystal however, and his name-sake eyes widened at the stuff.
"You don't have to be afraid of it, you know," Crystal spoke softly. "If it deems you as a threat, then it'll react but, if it doesn't, then it'll just retract from place like that piece that touched you did."
"But…if it turns people to stone, why are we the only ones who're not affected by it?"
The blue-haired girl reached out to a patch of the mist, fingers spread out, and the purple cloud reached out imitate her, creating a hand of its own that looked like a mirror copy save for the purple color and cloudy appearance. "According to what I've heard, only the purest of hearts may live here in peace and harmony but you seem like an enigma to this rule."
He blinked at her for a second before smiling innocently. "And why would that be?"
Crystal held out two fingers and the purple mist hand mimicked her yet again. "First, you rudely crash into my forest without so much as an apology. And, second, you arrive with a huge bag of cash from nowhere, obviously indication that you're at thief, which means you should already be turned to stone."
"Okay, um, for reason one, I'm sorry and for reason two…well, I actually stole that money from the mafia so, really, it's okay."
Her eye twitched at the last reason. "How is stealing ever okay?" she snapped.
"Woah, calm down there," he waved his hands. "It's not like me and Silver were going to dance in it. We actually are planning to-"
"Silver?" she interjected, still looking pissed off at his comment about stealing.
"My best friend," he responded quickly. "Anyways, we were going to use that money for charity. You see, because there's these orphans living in constant poverty just around our home base of Violet City, and we wanted to help them out."
Crystal stared at him for a few moments, absorbing his words before sighing loudly, head in hands. "Well, I guess you're telling the truth or else you'd be turned to stone out of greed like everyone else who dared to come here."
He responded with a cheeky grin before abruptly frowning, his face gaining a serious look. "Hey, Crystal?" he asked.
"Yeah?" she looked up.
"If…everyone else here is turned to stone, where do they go? I mean, are they left in the same spot as when they were petrified?"
She shook her head. "No, me and…a friend take them to a special garden in the middle of the forest. It's a sort of 'memorial' for them, I guess, but it just shows respect for them."
Gold rubbed his chin for a bit before meeting her gaze, his eyes hardening. "Hey, can you bring me to that garden, Crys? I want to see the statues with my own eyes."
"Why?" Crystal looked puzzled at his words, but Gold subconsciously noted the hint of blush on her face after he used the nickname of 'Crys'.
"Because…someone important might be there."
Crystal seemed perplexed at his words but didn't question anything further as she stood up, gesturing for him to do so as well. He stood up slowly, wobbling a bit, and every step he took made him shake, his body swinging dangerously back and forth like some sort of pendulum. That is, until Crystal edged closer to him, silently offering her support. He thanked her with a grateful look and leaned on her shoulder awkwardly, the girl leading the way slowly as he adjusted to walking again, his thoughts all focused on the thought of seeing the petrified people.
Traversing through the forest, Gold watched in interest as the purple mist that covered their way hastily scattered back, providing them with a fresh strip of dark brown earth to walk on. Occasional beams of sunlight slanted down from small gaps in the closely-knit trees, lighting their path in the dark forest, and Gold admired the warm beams of rays as he stumbled forward. However, even as he enjoyed the warmth in the midst of the cold, that didn't excuse the arrow of pain that was still stuck in his head, cutting through him with every step. Crystal, having noticed this, stopped walking, causing him to nearly fall over. "Are you alright?" she asked. "You don't have to travel over such a long distance, y'know."
He shook his head, a bit touched at her concern for him. "No, I want to go." I have to look for…him.
The girl stared at him sternly. "Don't force yourself to do anything, Gold."
"Relax Super Serious Gal, I'll be fine."
"Super Serious Gal?" she looked over at him, scowling at the nickname. "What, are you giving pet names to me already?"
He smiled cheekily in return, leaning even harder on her shoulder, much to her annoyance as she stumbled to the right. "Stop that," she muttered.
"Stop what?" he asked innocently, leaning even harder towards her.
"Jerk," she hissed.
"Super Serious Gal," he retorted.
"My name's Crystal and you know it."
"Okay…Crys."
"Crystal!"
"President of Club Serious!"
"It's Crystal, dammit!"
"Really? Hi then, Crystal Dammit."
The girl gave a look of annoyance, crossing her arms. "Clever," she growled.
"I know right?" he cheekily responded, his hand sliding 'accidentally' against hers.
She looked away, muttering something unintelligible underneath her breath. Yet, even as she turned most of her face away from Gold in an attempt to look irritated, the boy couldn't help but spot the glistening tears that threatened to drip down from the corner of her eyes. Is she…going to cry? he asked himself, suddenly feeling a bit guilty. "Are you alright?" he asked, internally panicking.
However, when she turned to him, her eyes were as wet as normal, and her expression held a look of confusion. "Hmm, what?"
"A-Ah, sorry, it's just that, for a second, you looked like you were crying!"
Crystal frowned. "Do you have a fever or something?"
He sighed. "Never mind, let's just continue walking."
They both fell silent as their shoes hit the ground, passing by the many trees and undergrowth that lingered in the forest as the purple mist continued to part from their path. It was a peaceful and quiet journey for Gold and Crystal yet, somehow, Gold found himself constantly looking into red eyes from among the darkness, and the feeling of him being followed never seemed to leave as he continued leaning onto Crystal and stepping forward.
000ooo000
"We're here."
Crystal's voice rang loudly in the large clearing as they arrived at a small garden full of stone statues, the entrance guarded by a steel gate and the rest was obscured by four tall stone walls. From the outside, Gold could tell that the place was ancient just by the looks of it. Vines the width of a Persian crawled up the place, piercing through the stone to produce cracks that spiraled in many directions. Dark green moss spread across the middle, glowing a bit ominously against the misty purple background, sending the boy slight chills. The walls were also weathered down, the surface obviously eroded by constant batterings of water and gusts of wind, and Gold found it amazing that it was even here in front of him, seeing that it had clearly built more then a few years ago.
With a grunt of displeasure, the girl in front of him moved the gate with her own hands, swinging it open with ease even if it looked much more heavier than she made it out to be. Beckoning to him with a small wave of her hand, Crystal solemnly entered the garden and Gold soon followed after her, a bit shocked by what came next.
Stone statues flooded his eyes as he walked in, all twisted into disgusted or furious positions as their mouths hung open, lips curled up into a sneer as they glared at nothing. They were all muscular and at the age of adults, towering over the pair as their narrowed eyes spat silent threats of violence. Gold might've found it a bit frightening had the many flowers rooted at their feet not ruined the sight, providing a colorful background that seemed very out of place. Tulips, roses, lilies, and even daisies frolicked at the feet of the men, along with shoots of colorful green grass that danced ominously in the garden.
"This's such a strange place, isn't it?" Crystal asked softly.
"Yeah, it is," Gold began to observe each and every one of the men, moving from statue to statue and shifting his gaze over them before continuing on. "I mean, why are there flowers in a place full of creepy people?"
"I don't really know," she admitted sheepishly, "but, for some reason, this's the only place not infiltrated by the purple mist, making it a perfect spot for plants to grow abundantly, I guess."
Gold continued looking before suddenly coming to a stop in front of a certain statue, his eyes staring into dark gray ones with frightening surprise. For a few moments, he stood, stunned and speechless as he observed the statue. It was, like any of the others, in the shape of a man roughly thirty years old and, from the clothing style, Gold assumed he had been petrified only five years ago. He was wearing a hoodie like Gold's only older and more ragged-looking while, atop his head, was a pair of goggles that didn't seem to lessen the effect of his messy bangs that dropped over his contemptuous eyes.
A sound of footsteps and Gold barely registered that Crystal was beside him, gazing up at the statue in wonder. "Was this man…your father?" she murmured the question quietly, and Gold could swear that she was looking at him in touching concern from out of the corner of her eyes.
He nodded, trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to burst from his eyes. "Yes…he is or, at least, he was," Gold muttered the last word bitterly before turning to her. "You see, just five years ago, when I was 10, my father and mother began fighting with each other over the issue of money because…well, he was a gambler. He would always spend his paychecks on those stupid casino machines, too heartless to care about the sake of his own family, who were actually the ones in desperate need of it.
"So, eventually, my mom and dad got into a very violent…fight, and he just up and walked out on us, taking the rest of our savings without another word and leaving us in poverty. Well, until my mom got a job with Professor Oak, working as a Pokemon researcher. But, when our father left, it crushed her entirely and…it crushed me, his only son. We both became shells of our real selves to the point where depression was the best thing possible out of any day and it was…it was horrible. Not only did I lose memories of my father during that time period, but I also lost sight of who he used to be, before he turned into such a cruel man."
He turned to her, taking in a deep breath before continuing without a doubt. "Then, I heard from a police officer one day that my father had disappeared into the Ghost Forest, along with a bunch of bandits, but had never come out even after a month of quarantine within the forest. And, despite several searches, no one was able to find them because anyone who went in…never came out. Ever since I heard that, I've always wanted to come find my father, to just see his face once again no matter how cruel he was before, but I was scared. Scared that, just like him, I'd wind up missing, and become nothing more than an imaginary person that magically 'vanished' in some fairy tale."
"But you're still here," Crystal pointed out with a sad smile, grabbing his hand with her right one while brushing away tears with her left. "And, you've gotten to see your father, right? Isn't that great? Even if he was such a heartless person, it's still a family reunion!"
The boy glanced at their intertwined hands in surprise before grinning back. "Yeah, I'm glad, thanks for taking me here, Cryssie," he turned to the statue, ignoring the look of cold contempt as he observed the look hidden within the eyes, a silent expression of loneliness placed in those dark depths of gray.
Crystal scowled at the new nickname, but didn't make any comment as she, too, stared at Gold's father, her face holding obvious concern as she stared at the man. It was apparent to the boy that, from his description, Crystal clearly didn't see his father in a good light, and he didn't blame her. Even though Gold still held feelings of attachment to the man he knew as his dad, he still couldn't lie about his spiteful thoughts that lurked within.
Still, Crystal's touch reassured him, and he looked at her in wordless gratitude, temporarily forgetting about his surroundings as the girl lost herself in a daze, eyes going blank as she watched the statue. Gold was about to shake her awake, his free hand reaching out carefully, when a sudden gust of wind made him whip his head around.
Get away from her, beast!
Suddenly, something huge jumped over the ancient stone walls and landed elegantly on the side of the garden, roaring loudly as it snarled at Gold, crimson eyes locked onto his golden ones. Blue in color with a purple mane and white ribbons, the creature took a brief moment to participate in a stare down with the boy before charging forward without warning, a flash of bluish-white light erupting from its mouth as it ran.
"Suicune! Stop this at once!"
Without a second to adjust to anything, Crystal hopped out in front of Gold, her arms stretched out defensively before she closed her eyes.
But, that did nothing to block the blast of ice that was shooting straight for them.
000ooo000
Meanwhile, in a distant forest plentiful of life, Pokemon frolicked happily, chattering amiably among themselves as they passed by one another. There were Parasect, Furret, Ledyba, Weedle, Caterpie and even dozens of more wonderful creatures that bounded through this place known as Ilex Forest, and it was no surprise to them that the weather was sunny as usual, raining down warmth upon the many occupants. Truly, there was nothing wrong with the day as it was, allowing each and every creature to enjoy it in whatever way they wished.
That is, until the shrine started glowing.
In Ilex Forest, there was a special shrine constructed long ago by the people of the past, a shrine meant to place prosperity and wealth upon the land, as well as protection in the name of a guardian known as Celebi. Though the structure and its meaning was long lost to humanity, having been disguised by the forest many eons ago, the meaning of its importance still was passed down from parent to child among the Pokemon citizens, and the shrine was highly regarded as a sacred place for some. So, naturally, when the building began to glow a bright green color, all the Pokemon began to go into a panic.
For a young Sentret who had originally come to pray, this especially caused her to worry, as she had never seen the shrine do this before. Sure, the place always made a strange, soothing sound whenever a gust of wind blew by, but that weird noise was nothing compared to what she saw.
In front of her, the old structure stood almost ominously, the weird sound of bells singing in her head as she watched quietly, feeling the strange need to watch what was about to happen next. From around her, she could tell that the other Pokemon could also feel the strange disturbance and sense of importance in the air, and they all tensed as their attention became pinpointed onto their little sacred shrine.
Then, suddenly, an explosion of light appeared from nowhere, blinding everyone and forcing them to hastily look away to avoid damage to their eyes. Even the little Sentret, normally so curious to go against her instincts, glanced away from the dancing lights, Butterfree dancing in her stomach. But, as the light ended, she returned her attention to the shrine and was promptly shocked by the sight of a girl in odd clothing drenched in red, her arms holding a green fairy close to her chest.
Upon closer observation, the Sentret noticed with interest that the girl was crying, her tears mingling with blood as she wept loudly, sobbing as her shoulders shook and shuddered. The fairy in her arms, whom she guessed from her parent's stories was Celebi, glanced up in worry at the girl, blue eyes expressing deep concern as it reached up to touch her face.
Lyra, a voice popped into the Sentret's hand, and her ears twitched as she realized it was from the fairy. Lyra, we can't stay here. You're bleeding badly and you're not going to make it much longer if you just sit here crying. We have to save Silver, right?
Sentret perked her ears with interest at the name of Silver, wondering briefly who the person could be and what his or her affiliation was with this human called Lyra, whoever she was,
The girl looked up and rubbed at her eyes, her body swinging from side to side as if she was getting dizzy. "Silver," she mumbled the name in such a bitter tone, and she wept more tears. "Silver, Silver, Silver…"
Celebi sighed, struggling out of her grasp and patting her head as its wings fluttered loudly. Lyra, we need to get moving. Silver wouldn't want you to die right now, would he?
Lyra shook her head slowly, repeating the name of Silver in a hushed voice as she looked at the ground, blood flowing from the multiple cuts on her skin and staining her bright pink and blue clothes with crimson. To the Sentret, it seemed as if she was traumatized, and from the constant shuddering of the girl's body along with the sobs of despair, it seemed that her guess was right.
Come on, girl, snap out of it! Celebi began nudging Lyra onto her feet, pressing her hands into the girl's clothing. You don't want Silver to die again, right?
At those words, Lyra shook her head rapidly before making an attempt to stand, her figure wobbling unsteadily as she repeated her chant again and again. "Silver, Silver, Silver, Silver."
With her feet dragging into the ground, the human girl disappearing through the trees in the forest, leaving behind a bunch of perplexed Pokemon as the fairy urged her on, blue eyes shining in worry. However, when the girl disappeared into the darkness, Celebi paused just at the edge of their intent gazes, giving the slightest dip of its head. Can you guys protect my shrine for me, please? she asked, her antennae waving desperately.
For a few seconds, everyone stood in stunned silence, unsure of how to answer. But, Sentret wasted no time to step forward, eagerly waving a paw to the legendary as she smiled determinedly. I'll take care of it for you! she called out, her long tail sweeping from side to side. We all will, guardian of the forest!
A Hoothoot sleepily joined in, standing on one foot as he cast his red eyes out towards the fairy. We'll take care of it, guardian, he yawned loudly. But promise us that you'll take care of that girl, alright? It's clear that she needs your help now.
Not just my help, Celebi shook her head as if to contradict the words. She's going to need the help of not only me, but of the contractors as well. Lyra won't be able to stand alone.
And, with those ominous words, Celebi flitted away without so much as a 'good-bye', filling the air with a sense of noble sacrifice as all the Pokemon began to gather around the shrine in a protective manner.
Sentret frowned as she hesitantly began to join the group, her brain trying to comprehend what she had just seen.
Something terrible has happened, she mused to herself, and that something might cause a break between the lines of justice and the lines of evil.
With a defiant look, she turned around to join her friends, wondering if Celebi's words held more than a literal truth to them.
ooo000ooo
Sooooo, yes, Lyra will actually be a contractor in this story because she's such an interesting figure in the fandom. Plus, she's already needed in the plot. I wonder why she keeps repeating the name of "Silver" over and over again, whoever that may be….(jk, we all know who he is~)
Also, Gold's father…kind of sad, isn't it? He was originally the good kind of father, the one everyone would look up to, until he got addicted to those casinos and began to spend money like crazy, no longer caring for his family. Poor Gold ;_;
Oh! And if you noticed, the legendaries now have genders, thanks to the suggestion of Skyciale (because, honestly, it's annoying to repeatedly call each legendary an 'it' over and over -.-).
Not much plot went on here, besides from Lyra's part, of course (even if it's really vague right now).
That Furret…I'm gonna call her Belle, even if she never appears again (poor Belle ;W;).
Now, for replies:
Skyciale: Their personalities are hard to write though, I swear! I mean, Green is too…cold for my tastes and Red…ugh, I don't even know him well enough. Oh, and I'm gonna take your advice and add genders from these chapters on because, like I said, using the same word over and over is just…no, XD
sapphire53-Emerald? Evil? Yeah, it totally happened. And as for Yellow's fate…that has to be kept a surprise, of course!
Remepie-There will be some Specialshipping later on, believe me ^w^
BoxAuthor88-I like how a lot of people like how I did that character's personalities, I honestly believed I sucked at them (especially for Red) but I'm happy to see people liked how I wrote them.
The next chapter may or may not be able to come out next week but…high school is about to start and I still have summer homework to finish (does anyone else get summer homework, just wondering?). We're supposed to do a 5-8 minute report on some subject we read about over our three month vacation, but we got almost no explanation on how to do it (sure, we got a packet outlining some of the project, but as to what books to choose, what's being looked for in the assignment, etc, it's all very vague…-.-)
Review too, on your way out! But just don't hit that eject button, or you might find yourself in a pit full of deadly rattlesnakes! But that review button doesn't seem quite so bad, so why not choose that instead?