Step Two: Interrupt the Story with a Really Long Flashback
Or: Family Curses, Slave Work, and Other Pleasant Topics
"Is that the Rapidash?" Misty asked, peering over the edge of Team Rocket's balloon basket.
"I think so. Full speed that-a-way!" Tracey shouted.
The wind suddenly began blowing strongly in the opposite direction.
"Augh!" Ash shouted. "Can't you control this thing?"
"Not very much!" Jessie shouted, grabbing the burner handle.
"Then why do you use it all the time?" Brock asked.
"Because when there isn't so much wind-" James broke off as the wind blew just as strongly in the right direction. "What's up with the wind today?"
"No idea. Why would I know?" Tracey said as the wind blew in completely the opposite direction.
"Just wanted to mess with your minds a bit," RBW said. "Carry on." The wind blew gently in the right direction.
"Okay, and now we lost the Rapidash!" Ash shouted in agitation.
"Look over there!" Misty shouted.
Across the ocean, behind Tyrren forest where our heroes had been on their last adventure, was an enormous mountain, dotted with trees near the base and covered with thick snow on top. A large lake covered part of it. But Misty was not pointing at the mountain; she was pointing at the Milotic swimming across the ocean toward it. When the beautiful creature reached the shore, it transformed into a Rapidash again.
"Set course for that mountain!" Tracey said.
"Who died and made you king?" Brock asked.
"Somehow I think I've seen that place before…" James said.
Midgard looked over his shoulder. He wondered if those determined trainers were following him. Had they missed him? Would they come after their Pokémon? He half hoped so. He ran a little faster, as though he was afraid of being pursued. And he was, in a sense, but not afraid for himself.
About an hour later, Ash and Jessie were arguing while everyone else tried to gather up the balloon.
"We'd probably get there faster if we just walked!" Misty shouted in frustration, throwing her scraps of latex down.
"Good idea," Ash said. "You can carry my throne for me."
"Nobody's carrying anyone's throne," Brock said. "You don't even have one."
"Rats," Ash said.
It was a long walk through the forest. Nothing eventful happened other than Ash arguing with Jessie about the balloon.
Suddenly they thought they heard someone singing. The song sounded pretty idiotic.
"Oh, what a lovely pleasant-y day, and look at the people coming my way. Burny, Foggy, Rocky, Drew, rich kid and poor kid- but where are Squeak and Mew?"
The mysterious person seemed to be infatuated with the last line, because she kept singing over and over, "Where are Squeak and Mew? Where are Squeak and Mew?
Where are Squeak and Mew? Where are Squeak and Mew? Where are Squeak and Mew? Where are Squeak and Mew?"
Finally a young Aipom dropped down from the tree in front of them in a shower of leaves. "Answer the stupid question already!"
She was not your standard Aipom. Her tail didn't have a hand on the end, and her face looked more human than an Aipom face usually looks. Her eyes were blue.
"Huh?" Ash said. "I didn't know you were talking to us!"
"Sure you knew! I called you by name, didn't I? You're Burny."
"No I'm not!" Ash shouted. "My name is Ash!"
"Okay. And you're Foggy," She pointed at Misty.
"I'm Misty!"
"Whatever. And you're Rocky."
"My name's Brock!"
"Oh well. And you're Drew."
"Tracey!"
"That's nice. And you two are rich kid and poor kid."
"You're not going to even make an attempt on our names?" Jessie asked, not really relishing being called a 'poor kid'
"I couldn't think of any wild west people off hand. Let me try. You're Billy and Kid?"
"No!"
"Maude and March?"
"Absolutly not!"
"Boris and Natasha?"
"That's not even a wild west person!"
"I know, but your two groups are really similar."
"No they aren't!"
"Bob and McGraw? No, wait, now I remember-" She pointed at Jessie. "You're either Kiki or Beatrice."
"Wrong!"
"Oh, now I've got it! You're Lolly!"
"What?" James shouted. "How would you know about that?"
"Know about what?" Ash asked.
"Just a cousin. That's all."
"Who's Cousin Lolly?" Tracey asked.
"Oh, well, I guess I'll never guess. I'm Amypom, by the way. Now will you please tell me where Squeak and Mew are?"
"I think Mew went to that island with all the clones," Tracey said.
"I thought that was Mewtwo," Misty said.
James volunteered, "I was once held for ransom by some thugs, and two of them were called Squeak and Mew."
"Really?" Brock asked. "What happened?"
"Well, I escaped."
"How?" Ash asked, his curiosity perked.
"I whipped up some marshmallow foam and faked rabies. Those people sure were gullible."
"I bet your parents were glad that you escaped," Misty said.
"Are you kidding? By that time they had already paid the ransom, so my dad was mad that I didn't escape faster and my mom was mad that I didn't rescue Jessiebelle too."
"You were both kidnapped?" Jessie asked.
"Pretty much. But then, when the police caught the thugs trying to throw Jessiebelle off the bridge even though they'd received the ransom money, my parents apologized. I just wish the police had arrived a second later."
"That's mean," Misty said.
"What about my question?" Amypom demanded. "You know, Squeak and Mew, the two critters that travel with you?"
"Oh, you mean Pikachu and Meowth!" Ash said, recognition dawning. "They've been kidnapped."
Amypom tittered. "Too bad."
"Hey, how come you're talking?" Misty asked.
"Rich kid knows."
"No I don't!" James protested.
"You ought to. On a completely irrelevant topic, you and I have a lot in common. We both have purple hair."
"Oh, yeah, we have a lot in common."
"And we both had it made until we were driven away by a monster with a whip."
"Oh. Who drove you away?"
"You should know," Amypom repeated cryptically. "See you later, Burny and co.!"
"My name's not Burny!" Ash shouted.
"Whatever."
Tracey led the group through the rest of the forest, although maybe 'led' isn't the right word to describe walking in front of a group head bent intently over a sketchpad.
"One of these days a flaming meteor is going to hit you and you'll be too busy sketching it to notice," Misty said.
"That's silly," Tracey said.
A flaming meteor landed right in front of Tracey.
The boy dropped his sketchpad in terror and leapt into Misty's arms. Then, realizing what he'd just done, turned to face her and said, "You know what Pokémon Chronicles says about our relationship?"
Misty dumped him in the hole left by the meteor.
"Ouch!" Someone shouted. Midgard stood up. "What was that for?"
"Oops," Misty said. "I didn't notice- how'd you turn into a flaming meteor?"
"Do yourself a favor, kids, and don't marry a sorceress."
"Did you get Ekans?" Jessie asked.
"Are you kidding? The reason Freya sent me here was to get Koffing and Psyduck as well."
"Will you?" Brock asked.
"Of course not. You're too nice."
Jessie and Ash gave each other horrified looks.
"Either we're nice or Team Rocket's nice. It can't be both," Ash said.
"You're nice people. I wouldn't always say the same for the behavior you engage in; that goes for both of you." Midgard shook his head. "I should be getting back."
"Do you want to?" Brock asked.
"That's a silly question. Of course I don't want to go back! Why would I?"
"Because she's your wife?" Misty guessed.
"You actually think I wanted to marry her? That's a laugh."
"You could have run away," James said thoughtfully.
"I did. That's why we're in this dimension and not the one we were born in. It took her three days to find me, which is so fast it's ridiculous."
"If you move around more," Ash said, thinking of Pyra and Mara, "She might have more trouble finding you. Try running away again."
"No way. At the moment, she's so nearby that she can 'sense' me, in the way that only sorcerers can. If I run away now she'll know right off."
"Leave when she's away from home," Jessie offered.
"You don't know what you're saying. See the peak of the mountain? Way up there? Can you see the tiny black spec? That's a cabin. 99 percent of the time it's partially buried in snow, and the other 1 percent of the time the snow is so wet that the slightest noise causes a heavy avalanche. That's where I live." Midgard sighed. "I must have started a family curse or something, because my story keeps repeating throughout our family tree, except not as extreme."
"Huh?" Tracey asked, the point of his pencil snapping as he tried to draw the flaming meteor.
"It's a generational curse, which means that the curse only effects one person in each generation, and it only works on men; don't worry, James, I think the curse wore itself out before your generation. Well, anyway, in each generation there's always one man who loves a nice woman and is being sought after by a mean woman. He runs away, the mean woman finds him, she kills/transforms/sends away/erases the memory of the nice woman, and the man is forced to marry the mean woman and be her slave for the rest of his miserable life."
"That's always how it ends?" James asked.
"Always."
James fainted.
"What?" Midgard asked.
Ash explained about Jessiebelle.
"Oh. Oops."
"I thought you said you weren't completely ignorant!" Jessie shouted.
"Well everything I learned about you I learned from your website," Midgard said.
"They really have a website?" Ash said. "I always thought that was just a dumb joke*."
"It's too bad, really," Midgard said. "I thought the curse had worn itself out. No such luck, apparently."
"What do you care if the curse is over or not?" Jessie shouted. "You're already married and being a slave for your miserable life! You're not the one who's going to get killed/transformed/sent away!"
"Oh. Sorry again," Midgard said. "But don't worry about it too much. Only half the girls actually get killed; most of the remainder only get transformed or maimed for life. One generation the mean woman extended the life of the nice woman infinitely and gave her protection from almost anything."
"Really?" Jessie asked, skeptical.
"She turned her into a drop of water."
"Thanks. You just made me feel soooo much better," Jessie said sarcastically.
"Wait…" Misty said. "You said the curse is your story repeating. So… who were you in love with?"
Midgard glanced over his shoulder. "I'd better be going." He turned into a Rapidash again and ran off.
"I was just wondering!" Misty shouted after him.
"Don't bother with Anaconda," Amypom said, swinging down from a tree branch. "He's a grumpy-wumpy."
"His name is Midgard!" Everyone shouted.
"Grumpy-wumpy?" Ash asked. "Ah, who can fathom the stupidity of the juvenile mind?"
"Good, you admitted it," Misty said.
"Hey!" Ash shouted.
"Wow, isn't the view amazing?" Pyra asked her sister Mara, as the Fireonix they were riding cruised over the Mobian landscape.
"Yeah. I'm happy that you have a Fireonix now, although, don't you think that was a little selfish, asking your dad to go to another dimension just for a pet? And you know SEGA and Nintendo don't mix."
"It's not like I'm turning into Freya or anything. Dad wanted me to use it to take you places, although I doubt Ty or Sylvia will ever want to ride it, being the scaredy-cats they are. Plus, way up here, it's easy to look for trouble."
Funny they should mention that.
Midgard injected a few more Ditto cells into his blood stream. Maybe that would do it. He should test it.
How did Dittos transform anyway?
Maybe they thought hard about the animal they wanted to turn into.
If that was they way they did it, it wasn't working.
Midgard sighed, looking around the laboratory he'd set up in his basement. Now what, he wondered.
"You sure this is a good idea, Mew?" The scruffy rat scratched the side of his head, where his ear had used to be.
"Sure I'm sure, Squeak. The boss told us, it's all part of exterminating those awful creatures called humans. Give me the match," The tomcat demanded.
"Still, what if someone catches us?"
"So what? We're supported by nearly everyone in Mobius!"
"Except the eight chameleons. That's a big one."
"Who cares? They specifically said they didn't want to rule the planet. Besides, they can't object if they can't catch us. Okay, the wood's caught now. You did clip the alarm wires, right?"
"Of course. I'm not that incompetent."
"Then we can start running away."
Pyra's nose twitched like a rabbit's. "Something's on fire. Something large."
"I can't see it," Mara said.
"Hard left!" the fiery teenager shouted to her Fireonix.
The two sisters could see a house burning.
"Mara, you put out the fire. I'll see if anyone's inside." Pyra leapt to the ground, racing inside the building.
The house was covered in flames. It was a very good thing Pyra was immune to fire, she thought. Guiltily, she realized the heat felt awesome.
"Is anyone here?" She called out, racing through the hall.
She tried to ignore the crackling fire to hear if someone was calling. She could hear someone, very faintly, crying out, "Help! Help me!"
Thinking it came from upstairs, she ran up to the second story. There were four rooms, but three of them had collapsed floors. It reminded Pyra that she ought to be careful, because a fall from a high height would hurt her as much as it would hurt anyone else.
No one was in the fourth room. She hoped that it only meant she'd picked the wrong floor and not that she was too late.
She ran downstairs again, this time realizing the sound was coming from the basement. She found the door, blocked by flames, and flung it open.
Midgard was lying on the steps, too weak to move, his lungs filled with smoke.
Pyra lifted him up. Like all anthropomorphic animals, she was surprisingly strong for her size; and as a chameleon, she was especially small. But she managed. She was about to charge through the flames blocking the door when she remembered that although she was immune to fire, Midgard was not. She coughed, the smoke starting to affect her. It was like treading water; you may be capable of it, but at some point you just can't manage anymore.
Suddenly a spray of water from Mara extinguished the fire in front of her. Thanking God for saving her, Pyra ran out the front door, coughing like crazy. She collapsed outside the house.
"Pyra? Are you alright?"
Pyra awoke, finding herself cradled in her father Therm's arms. Therm was a red chameleon like her, and also like her, he was immune to fire. Unlike her, he never had trouble with smoke, and he could swim in lava without turning to ashes.
"I'm fine. I'm fine. Where is he? The man I saved?"
Therm helped her up. "Terr is taking care of him."
Terr was Therm's brother and Ty's father. He was a green chameleon, of the earth element, and therefore knew everything there was to know about healing herbs.
"So is he okay? The man, I mean, not Terr."
The fire chameleon looked serious. "Pyra… sometimes, when someone is injured, they just… don't wake up."
"Is that your way of telling me he's dead? It better not be; I hate when people beat around the bush like that."
"As do I. Pyra, in the hundred years that you've known me, have I ever talked to you like that?"
"Well… No."
"It's not my way of saying he's dead; it's my way of explaining a coma to you. Maybe he'll wake up… or maybe he'll die. Not ever Terr knows."
"I hope he's okay."
"Me too. Especially considering why someone set the house on fire."
"Why?"
"They did it because he was a human."
"WHAT?"
"I feel the same way."
"What's wrong with humans?"
"Well… some humans act like they own the world just because of what species they are. Some humans think that anthropomorphic animals are less intelligent than humans just because they're animals. I disagree with them, of course. But some animals take this to mean that all humans are bad, and that their species should be exterminated. I disagree with that just as much."
"Those despicable people!"
"I know."
"Dad?"
"Yes?"
"May I see him? The man, I mean? I don't even know his name…"
"Come."
Terr looked up from his herbs. "Pyra. I was wondering when you'd come."
"Is he going to die?"
"I couldn't really be sure… but I would have to say his condition is getting worse."
"So he is dying."
"Probably."
"Did I save him for nothing?" Pyra burst into tears.
"It's never for nothing."
Ty burst in, carrying a basket with more herbs in it. "Oh, hi Pyra! Nice to see you here!"
"Hello, Ty." Pyra sat down on a chair next to Midgard's bed.
"Have you seen Freya?"
"No."
"Good. Maybe I can actually go a day without seeing her."
"Ty!" Terr scolded.
"But, dad! She's freaky."
"Stop that. Yes, she's a brat, but you should put up with her as best as you can."
"Why should I? You complain to her father all the time!"
"You should put up with it, I should complain about it. Have I explained to your satisfaction?"
"Growl."
"Pyra!" Mara shouted. The blue chameleon entered the makeshift hospital, where Pyra was sitting watch, as she had been for the past four days, over Midgard.
"Pyra! Fireonix is going nuts without you!"
"You take care of it."
"You're his master! You help him!"
"I'm busy."
Mara gave her sister a long, hard look. "I liked you better before you went on a rescue mission."
"What can I say? I'm not a kid anymore."
"You told me-" Mara said the last words very softly- "You told me, that no matter what happened, we would always be the same kids we always are."
Pyra replied just as softly and even more slowly. "Well I can't keep that promise."
"What'd she say?" Ty asked Mara.
"She just said she wasn't a kid anymore."
"Hey! Look at this!" Velo, their brother, shouted. He was perched tentatively on top of Fireonix.
The fiery bird screeched as if in pain and bucked like a horse, throwing the gray chameleon off. Then he went back to hanging his head and pacing in circles.
"This is nuts!" The usually calm Cumulo exclaimed. His light blue scales shone in anger. "What's wrong with Pyra?"
Sylvia looked up from where she had taken refuge behind a bush. She was white, but she wore a black silk scarf around her neck. "She's grown up."
"All our parents are grown up," Velo pointed out. "You don't think something is wrong with them."
"But they're supposed to be! They're our parents!" the sensitive white chameleon burst into tears.
Ty just sighed deeply. "I'm going for a walk in the forest," He said. "Maybe I'll find some herbs."
Ty did find some herbs. He'd found a fine patch of Horsetail and was just checking this great mint patch he'd found earlier when a bright red berry was shoved into his hand. He panicked and dropped it, knowing that it was poisonous.
"Pick it back up. You'll need it," a cold, familiar voice said.
The green chameleon looked up, meeting the jade eyes of Freya. Even as a chameleon, she was a head taller than anyone of her species, and her scales shone a radiant purple.
"When you give that annoying person his medicine, slip the berry in."
"But that would kill him!"
"I know."
And then Ty realized what she was saying.
"You can't just kill someone!"
"Why not? For once, I'm not just thinking of myself. I'm thinking of Pyra."
"But… But…"
"And he'll probably die anyway. Even your father said so. Think of it as a mercy killing."
"No."
"What?"
"I said no! I won't! I shouldn't!"
"Who told you that you shouldn't? Your father? You're father's good with herbs, but sometimes he just doesn't understand that some things just have to be done. That's the problem with you earth elements; tender and giving, wanting to help everyone, but in the end one side must win. Sacrifices must be made."
Ty stared at the berry at his feet.
Slowly, ever so slowly, he picked it up.
Pyra woke up with a start. She hadn't even realized that she had fallen asleep. She looked at the man she had saved. "I don't even know you're name," She repeated for about the twentieth time that day.
Suddenly she heard a small voice.
"Midgard."
"Huh?"
"You said you didn't know my name."
Pyra stared into the deep blue eyes of the man. "You're awake," She breathed.
Midgard seemed to suddenly notice his surroundings. "Where am I?"
"You're where we live. Me and my siblings. Oh, and the eight chameleons, our parents. My father is Therm, and my sister Mara, my best friend in the whole world, is Quatic's daughter."
"I thought you said you were siblings."
"Well, technically we're cousins, but we treat each other like we're all sisters and brothers. Well, except for Freya. She treats us like we're her deadly enemies."
"So apparently she treats you more like a sister than Mara does."
Pyra laughed. "I would hope not. She's hideous!"
Suddenly Ty walked in, clutching something small in one hand and a basket of herbs in the other.
"Hi!" Pyra called jovially. "Guess what? The man I rescued, maybe he won't die after all!"
"My names Midgard. What's yours?"
"I'm Ty," The green chameleon said nervously, backing away as though preparing to run.
"Nice herbs you've got," Midgard continued. "I took a course in biology, once."
"You like science?" Ty asked, slowing down. The young reptile was a science fanatic, if there was such a thing.
"I love science. I can't remember all the courses I took on it, and I have my own lab set up in my basement."
Pyra frowned suddenly. "Actually, your house-"
"Maybe the two of us could do science experiments some time," Midgard said.
Ty smiled, dropping the small object in one hand into the trash.
"Midgard… I hate to be the one to break it to you…" Pyra sighed. "Your house burned to the ground."
The man's smile disappeared. "Oh," He said softly.
The door flew open again, and Mara walked stiffly in. "Pyra, you're Fireonix is going nuts; we need-" she noticed Midgard. "Oh. You're awake." Mara didn't sound ecstatic, but she didn't sound unhappy either. It was just another fact that she knew.
"You have a Fireonix? As in the Pokémon?" Midgard sat up. "May I see it?"
Pyra smiled. "Sure. I'll bring him in."
Not five seconds after the three chameleons had left, the door banged open again, this time revealing a beautiful purple chameleon with piercing jade eyes. "Oh, good, you woke up!" She said excitedly. "I told Pyra to tell me when you did, but in the excitement she must have forgotten. What's your name?"
"Midgard."
"Lovely name. Like the giant serpent in Norse mythology that circles the earth and is prophesied to destroy the thunder god at the end of time."
"I sort of picked the name because I like snakes."
"Oh." Freya (for that's who she was) seemed disappointed for a second. Then she launched into more questions. To Midgard, she seemed to be trying too hard, but he answered the questions nicely anyway, asking a few of his own.
Suddenly Pyra, along with all her other siblings who had been curious, came back in. When she saw her sister Freya, she blew up. "What are you doing here? Can't you just leave a guy in peace for one second?"
"I have as much right to be here as you do," Freya snarled back.
"No, you don't," Pyra lied.
Freya did not reply but moved toward the door.
"Nice Fireonix," Midgard said, hoping to change the topic. "I'm fascinated with Pokémon, especially Dittos. I would love to be able to transform into other creatures like them."
Freya's eyes glinted. "Maybe I could arrange that." She started toward Midgard, hands raised, a faint green glow lingering near them.
"I can't look!" Ty shouted suddenly, hiding behind Velo.
Midgard wondered if he should be scared.
Finally Freya fired the light green energy. It was not like a sudden laser beam; it was gentler and slow, even thoughtful, almost. At last it was done.
"There. Try it."
Midgard sat up. A few seconds later he turned into a Fireonix much like the one standing by Pyra.
Freya snarled. "I assume you chose a Fireonix because you had a reference point, right?"
But Midgard wasn't paying attention. He was trying to fly, but the most he could manage was hopping up and down. Then he fell off the bed.
"What good is a Fireonix that can't fly?" Cumulo asked.
"It can still shoot out fire," Pyra said.
"Woo-hoo," Velo said sarcastically.
"I just don't get it," Midgard said, turning back.
"Don't you want to hear the conditions on which the spell works?" Freya asked. "You can't transform longer than your personal energy store will allow you to; the Ditto blood you were experimenting with is necessary for the spell to work; you have-"
"Knock it off," Pyra commanded. "Can you change your appearance?"
Midgard spent the next five minutes morphing between different looks, with everyone making comments like, "That nose is too big," "Try that hairstyle with the color of hair from your last transformation," and, "I like that look. Make it permanent."
"He can't," the purple sorceress said.
"Too bad," Cumulo sighed. "It looks real good."
"Well I'm not planning on changing my appearance permanently any time soon."
"Can you turn into a girl?" Sylvia asked.
Midgard blushed. "I'd rather not try, thank you."
"Otem!" Terr shouted, walking into the purple chameleon's workshop. "Otem! I want a word about your daughter!"
Otem looked up from the robot he was working on. "If all you're going to do is yell at her for practicing sorcery, forget it."
"I wasn't going to, but I still feel she should work on her Chaos abilities more; she has such great potential."
"Let her go."
"Fine; I'm not here to talk about that anyway. Ty's scared of her."
"Ty's scared of everything."
"I mean really scared. He's always hiding from her and shivering whenever I mention her name. And we do know that Freya is reckless, not considering the consequences of her actions. In fact…" Terr pulled out a small, red berry. "I found this in the trash in the hospital."
Otem looked at the delicious-looking berry. He had not been listening carefully. "Thank you. I missed my snack." He threw the berry to his mouth.
"No!" The green chameleon dived for it. "You idiot! This is a deathberry! Plus, it's been in the trash, remember?"
"Oh." Otem said, slightly embarrassed. "What about it?"
"Oh, just a hunch, but I can't think of a reason it would be in the trash at all except that someone wanted to kill a person."
That was the wrong thing to say. Although Freya had her father beat for height, she had a long way to go to beat him in brawn.
"ARE YOU SUGGESTING MY DAUGHTER IS A KILLER?" Otem thundered.
"Just… thinking… See you later!" Terr squeaked, retreating.
"Look over there!" Velo shouted, pointing to a large flat rock by the river. "That would be a good place for our picnic!"
"Do you think Freya will find us?" Ty asked, shivering.
"I hope not!" Pyra said. "She really gets on my nerves."
"I know," Midgard said, sitting down. "She seems almost too interested is me; she keeps asking if I can turn into a crocodile, or a dragon, or another dangerous creature." He shrugged and started unpacking the picnic basket.
"Wow," Cumulo said, admiring the spread of food. "You made all this?"
"Pretty much," Midgard said, blushing.
"Yum!" Sylvia cried, opening a container. "Carmel fudge brownies! Our favorite!"
"I know."
"You would make a great cook," Pyra said. Then, softer, "For a family."
Midgard looked into Pyra's eyes, deep blue like his. "I would like that."
"So would I," Freya said. "Who planned a picnic and forgot to invite me?"
The cheery mood was spoiled.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that now I'm here." She looked pointedly at Midgard. "Somehow, I get the feeling you aren't happy to see me."
"No! No! Don't think that!" Midgard shouted. He wanted to turn into an ant and hide under a rock.
Freya smiled. "No need to feel shy. I understand." She patted Midgard's hand.
"So when are you going to ask Father?" Pyra asked Midgard later as they walked home alone. "You know, I mean… well, obviously I like you, and you like me… and if you wait too long, you'll die and I'll be miserable for the rest of my never-ending life!" Pyra concluded.
"Okay, fine, you win. I'll talk to Therm." Midgard said.
"I still think something needs to be done about you're daughter," Terr told Otem.
"Yes," Therm agreed. "She's out of control."
"There is nothing wrong with my daughter. She's my little angel."
Suddenly Freya ran up, dragging Midgard by the hand. "Midgard has something to ask you," She announced, then sat back expectantly.
"Well…" Midgard said, looking at his shoes. "There's this special girl… I mean, woman… that I love, and she loves me, and, well…" This wasn't how it was supposed to be working.
"Don't worry," Otem said. "We understand completely."
"You do?"
"Yes," the purple chameleon continued. "I was having doubts that anyone could be perfect enough, but I think you're just right. If you want to marry my daughter, so be it!"
"But-" Midgard started, but broke off as Freya embraced him.
"Don't worry," she hissed in his ear. "I know you're shy, but it'll work out for the best as long as you keep you mouth shut!"
"How could he?" Pyra cried. "How could this happen? How could Freya be so cruel?"
Mara just sat next to her, letting her sob.
Sylvia stood in the corner, shaking her head.
"It's so ironic," Ty said. "She went straight from wanting to kill Midgard to marrying him!"
"WHAT?" Everyone shouted.
"That day- the day Midgard woke up- she wanted me to- to- to put a deadly poisonous berry in his medicine- she called it a mercy killing."
"Oh, Ty, why didn't you tell us?" Mara asked.
"Freya would have killed me! Literally!"
"Midgard could be in danger!" Pyra shouted. She ran all the way to Midgard's bedroom, throwing the door open.
The room was empty.
"The servers are the seven Chaos…" The eight chameleons chanted. It was the full moon, the time when the executed a sort of ceremony, a testimony to the power of Chaos, and a time to give thanks to God for them.
Therm glanced over his shoulder at the emerald shrine, a masterpiece for the ancient times they lived in. Seven pillars held seven of the eight emeralds, and the eighth one, the white emerald, was perched on the roof. Countless times he had asked Illyra, the icy white chameleon, why her emerald got to sit in the center. She had answered that the shrine was her idea, and so her emerald had gotten the place of honor. Then Illyra's daughter, Sylvia, would always giggle in a knowing way.
"…the controller serves to unify the Chaos," they finished. Then they moved into a hymn that had become their anthem, in a sense.
I will never be the same again,
I can never return,
I've closed the door.
I will walk the path,
I'll run the race,
And I will never be the same again.
Suddenly Illyra screamed. "Where's my emerald?" She shouted.
Everyone stopped paying attention to the singing and looked up. The white Chaos Emerald, the ice emerald, had vanished.
Illumin, the glowing yellow chameleon, raised her arms, creating a bright light that illuminated the shrine.
And- had Therm imagined it? - Freya could be seen, running off with the stolen gem.
Freya panted, stopping on top of a hill that gave her a view of both the shrine behind her and their house in front of her. She looked at Illyra's Chaos Emerald. It had been a long time since she'd used Chaos energy instead of magic; magic was so much easier. Although Chaos was a form of magic, in a sense, it could not transform into anything, and would always be energy. The trick was to use it.
Raising the emerald, Freya shouted out,
"CHAOS INFERNO!"
"Midgard's gone!" Pyra shouted unnecessarily. "We have to find him! Or Freya!"
"The door's locked!" Velo shouted. "They're all locked! The windows too!"
"Unlock them!" Andice, Illumin's daughter, shouted.
"I can't! They're either locked from the outside, or Freya…"
"Locked them with magic," Pyra finished. "Quick! To the armory!"
Nobody in the chameleon family used weapons much, and they never used armor. Still, everyone had their own special weapon. Therm had a sword of pure flame. Illyra preferred a quarterstaff tipped with freezing crystals.
And Pyra and Mara had giant battle axes. It was a wonder they could lift them.
Pyra heaved the silvery weapon onto her shoulder. "Come on, Mara!"
"Ready!" Mara shouted. "We'll break out of here in no-"
She got no further.
An enormous explosion of Chaos energy shattered everything to pieces, destroying the only home they'd ever known.
Freya blinked, maintaining her expression of complete indifference as her house burst into flame. Then she pulled a note out of her pocket. She'd taken it from Midgard's door.
Dearest Pyra,
I've run away to a different dimension so that Freya can't find me. Don't come looking for me. Trust that this will work out for the best.
Forever yours,
Midgard
Freya smiled. She had a pretty good guess of where Midgard was. Once more she raised the Chaos Emerald.
"Chaos Control!"
As the energy created a dimensional portal, Freya tweaked the energy slightly so that she would become a human when she went through the portal and not a Kekleon or anything like that. Then she stepped through into another world.
"Which way did Freya go?" Therm asked.
"Well, Otem? How are you going to defend your daughter now?" Terr asked.
"I thought you wanted her to practice Chaos!"
Suddenly, all of them felt a sudden surge of Chaos energy. Without a word to each other, they took off, toward their house.
Therm reached the house first, dreading what he would find.
He'd been right to dread it.
All he found were smoldering ashes.
Overcome with emotion, the red chameleon buried his face in his hands.
His only daughter.
Gone forever.
Midgard trailed his fingers in the river nearby, enjoying his freedom. It had been three days since he'd ran away, and he missed Pyra terribly, but he reminded himself that it was all for the best. At least he would never see Freya again, he thought.
There was a crackle of bushes behind him. Freya stepped out. She was a human now, with short purple hair and a form-hugging purple dress and a thick circlet on her head with a jade stone in front to match her eyes, but Midgard knew her. Somewhere inside, he just knew her.
"Hello. Happy to see me? Now we can go on with the marriage as we planned. Oh, and don't worry about Pyra. She won't wreck this happy occasion. I've taken care of her."
Midgard gave her a horrified look. "You mean you-"
"Yes. She's dead. And unless you want to join her…" Freya pulled out a marriage certificate. "Sign here."
Midgard stared at the blank for the husband to sign his name. He took the contract and pen from Freya, writing busily. After a minute, he gave it back.
Freya looked at Midgard's signature. Perfectly legitimate. She smiled and grabbed her husband's hand. "And don't worry. I've brought a Chaos Emerald. That's why my family and I live so long, you know. Chaos energy. Come on. And begin your new life."
Pikachu bent his head intently over the small bowl of Poképellets that was for their dinner. He couldn't remember having worked so hard before- not that he could remember much.
Charmander slid beside him. "Char Charmander Char? (What were you doing)?" He asked.
"Pika, Pik Pikachu Pika. (Mixing that perfume for those sprayers)," Pikachu moaned.
"Squirtle Squirtle, Squirtle, Squirtle. (Better than running around with green balls, I say)."
"Meowth Meow, Meowth Meowth. (Wonder what those are for)," Meowth said, sitting by them.
Pikachu stared at him.
"Meowth? (What?)" Meowth asked.
"Pika… Pikachu… Pika Pik, Pikachu… (Just… Your voice… something sounds wrong…)"
"Ekans Ekans… Ekans. (Now that you mention it… it does.)"
"Charmander Char, Charmander? (Maybe it used to be higher pitched?)"
"Squirtle. (Probably.)"
Nearby, Freya listened to their chatter intently, wondering what they were saying. Midgard would know, of course. But he wasn't here at the moment.
Scratch that, she thought, as she saw a Rapidash pull to a stop outside the window. She threw the window open. "So. Do you have the Koffing and Psyduck?"
"No."
"And why? No, let me guess. You've made friends with them, right? When will you give up?" Freya shook her head. "I noticed the homing meteor didn't fly very far. Does that mean they're coming here?"
"No."
"Good. I'll look forward to seeing them." The wicked sorceress smiled. "Things are about to get interesting."
*Reference to James' comment "Why don't you check out our website?" in Pikachu's Goodbye.