The Silver Silence
Chapter 1
Author's Note: I decided to switch this story's rating to T. it will be dark in places, but I do not think I will write anything more graphic than what was in the prologue.
Key:
XxXxX- point of view change
xXxXx- simple line break/ time jump
Memories/ dreams
xxxxx- Time lapse in memories
Written words
Psychic
Onwards we go!
xXxXx
My little songbird… No one else can have you… You will always be mine…
MINE!
The young girl jerked awake, coughing up blood from her attempts at screaming. Looking around she saw that no else was awake yet. Quietly, she slipped out of the room and padded over to the bathroom so that she could wash away the evidence of her nightmare.
It had been almost one year since the orphanage had burned down.
She looked into the mirror and stared at her hair. One week after the curses had been placed they had awoken to find their hair had turned silver. Even her and her siblings' blue black hair had turned silver.
Soft paws quietly thudded on the floor, alerting her to the presence of her Teddiursa, Kokab. The little bear Pokémon came over and gave her hug while he looked her over worriedly.
"Ris." A soft voice called out, causing the girl to jump.
The guilty look on her face at being caught had the tall man sighing and gathering her in his arms.
"Did you have another nightmare?" A small nod.
Polaris glanced behind Sagittarius and saw her Gallade, Yildun. She gave him a little glare, which did not go unnoticed by Saj.
"Don't be mad at Yildun. He's supposed to go get someone when you have one of your fits." Saj gently brushed Ris's hair out of her face. "I want to know when you have one."
I don't think I will be to get to sleep again for awhile. Polaris sent the thought through her Psychic-type, the only way she could communicate without writing the words down.
"Do you want to go look at the stars for a bit then?" Saj asked. "That way, I won't wake anyone up by talking."
Ris nodded, and they went to the balcony of the house the group was staying at.
Ris leaned against Saj and looked up into the starry sky while Kokab curled up nearby and Yildun stood near the door and kept watch on the forest surrounding the building.
"You want to talk about your nightmare?" Saj asked as he watched the stars. He gently stroked the child's silver locks.
Polaris watched as a star shot across the sky. I heard HER voice.
Saj automatically drew Ris closer to him. "It's okay. It's okay. SHE can't get you."
I know, but… Ris shifted her eyes to another area of the sky. But it made me miss Ursa.
"Hey now. You remember…" Quietly, Saj began to recount tales of the happier times. Times back before the Tragedy. When Ursa was still around to be the big sister of all the children, to be the mother that the younger ones needed that SHE was unable to be.
A few minutes into the stories, he could tell that Ris was asleep again. He continued speaking because he could tell that his words were being heard by another by a different means.
Soon, another small form was curled into his side.
Did Ris wake you up when she got up, Gem? Saj shifted so that he could rest a hand on the boy's forehead.
No. The bed got colder. When I got up, Alhena told me where she had gone and told me what you were saying…
Do you want me to continue?
Would you? Gemini reached over Saj and clasped his twin's hand. It always helps us to hear those stories…
Well then… Saj continued his stories, calming the boy.
xXxXx
Sagittarius carried Polaris while Alhena carried Gemini along beside him, close enough that the slumbering twins' hands did not separate. Yildun carried the sleeping Kokab along behind them. Yildun quickly got in front to hold the door to Saj's room open for the two with the twins to get through.
Gently, they laid the twin's on the bed. Kokab was placed on Pokémon bed nearby. Yildun then settled by the door, ever protective of his small Trainer and her twin. Alhena left to be with the twin's older sister Libra, so that she would not panic when she awoke to find them gone.
Sagittarius settled next to the twins, gently covering them with the blanket. As he softly stroked the silver locks, he couldn't help remembering some of the stories that he refused to tell anyone yet.
"Hey, Saj…If anything happens to me, you're gonna take care of all the other kids right?" The young woman lying down on the creek's bank spoke. Her short curly brown hair framed her face as her sharp brown eyes looked at him.
He laughed. "And just what is supposed to happen to you, huh?" The raven haired youth stretched. "Ursa, just what are you talking about?"
Ursa sat up and flicked a pebble into the creek. "I don't know. It's just this feeling I have. Like something bad is gonna happen soon. And you didn't answer my question."
Saj hesitated for a moment, knowing that Ursa's feelings were usually accurate before shrugging and standing. "You know that I would never abandon the others. Besides, it was you who wanted to go and find a big house for the kids to stay in once they were old enough to leave the orphanage. I already promised to help you with that. Now, come on. We have to get going. You wanted to get a Teddiursa for little Ris right? We already got a Bidoof for Gem and we need to catch a little bear before their birthday gets here."
Ursa smiled, putting her feeling aside. "It's too bad that the Shiny ones are green. If they were black then they would be perfect for her."
Saj growled at himself. "Why the hell didn't I listen to her back then? Would anything have changed? Could more of the kids have been saved?" Saj looked down at the silver hair he was stroking. "Could the curses have been avoided?"
Scorpio was staring at the mirror. "So not only do we have to know we are cursed, but the entire world has to know as well?" Furiously he grabbed a pair of scissors and cut away some of his know silver hair.
Aries quickly grabbed the scissors. "Stop that. I'll cut it for you, just stop!"
Capricorn made a sound somewhere between a sob and a giggle. "I wonder if that Officer Williams saw us now if he would believe we were cursed."
A few chuckles of dark amusement sounded in the room of the inn they had gathered in.
Scorp furiously rubbed his eyes as he tried to stay still for Ari. "Saj, what are we going to do now? We each have a bit of money, but not enough to survive."
"I don't think most of us want to do much battling." Cancer quietly spoke.
"Or that a couple of us could battle at all." Aquarius piped up.
Saj crossed his arms and thought for awhile. "First thing first, we need to get at least four Psychic types."
"Why Psychic?" Leo asked from his position beside Virgo.
"So that the twins and Libra can communicate when none of us are around, and so that Libra and Aquarius can walk around with a little more ease, and so that Virgo can know when someone is touching her." Saj explained his reasoning. "Two for the twins and Li, one for Riu, and one for Vir. I think that is where we should start. After that, we can figure out the rest."
A look of determination came across Leo's face. "Definitely."
xxxxx
Virgo was shielding Ris and Gem as best she could while the twins protected the three Ralts they had found.
In front of them was a group of Trainers intent on torturing the young Pokémon.
"Leo! Rus! Saj!" Virgo finally shouted, calling the three young men that were the rest of their search group to their location.
The leader of the group sneered. "Calling for help? Just hand over those Pokémon and we MIGHT leave you alone."
"Maybe." Another of the group, who seemed to be second in command, said as he looked Virgo over.
A large hand claps him on the shoulder. He and the rest of the group turn around, while the leader just looked over his shoulder.
Leo was glaring and the only thing stopping him from pounding 'Trainers' into the ground with his bare fists was Saj's hand on his shoulder.
Taurus was standing a few steps in front of the two with a vicious grin on his face.
Saj gave a little smile. "You might want to rethink trying to do anything to those three—oh, excuse me—those six. We won't go easy on you."
"What, you don't want to share her?" The second in command said, leering over his shoulder at Virgo.
Saj face grew cold as he saw shivers go up and down Virgo's spine and simply removed his hand from Leo's shoulder.
Before anyone could blink Leo had punched the man in the jaw and knocked him to the ground. "Don't you even DARE look at my sister like that you piece of garbage."
Another of the group started forward but was stopped by Taurus.
"Now now. He may have gotten the first strike, but you see, all of us have a good amount of pent up stress. So unless you want to let us vent all that stress on you, I suggest you leave."
Suddenly a paper airplane hit Taurus's head. He unfolded it and quickly read what was written before handing it over to Saj.
Saj sighed after he read it and turned to look at Ris who had thrown it. "Is this true?" When she nodded, anger grew in his eyes. "Before any of you leave, I suggest you had over your Trainer licenses. Torturing Pokémon is against the law and we sure as hell are not going to let you get away with it."
"You ain't cops! What can you do about it?" The leader shouted at them, furious.
Suddenly, the one that Leo had hit stood up, threw his license on the ground and ran.
Leo picked up the license and gave it to Saj. "Well, at least one of you has the right idea."
One of the others in the group spoke up. "Dude, there's nothing we can do. Just give them you license and let's get out of here, guys." He handed Taurus his license and left, the rest of the group soon following.
The leader growled but gave up, throwing his license down on the ground and glaring at everyone and everything as he left.
Saj bent down and picked up the license. "Guess we should report these guys to Officer Thompson, huh?"
The boys looked over and saw the girls and Gem checking that the Ralts were alright.
When the three tried to move away, one of the Pokémon latched on to each of them. Saj came over and knelt down.
"Do the three of you want to come with us?" He asked.
Yes.
"The three of you really got attached to the twins and Virgo, didn't you?" Saj quietly asked Yildun.
Is that a problem? The Gallade wondered, slight worry tingeing his thoughts.
Saj smiled. "No, not at all. It's a relief actually. They protected you back then, and now you protect them."
Until we die.
"Please don't talk like that. It could upset them."
Do you need help getting to sleep, Sagittarius?
"No. I'm fine. I just need to think about some things right now."
"Hey, Saj? I wonder if it would be possible to have the curses removed." Pisces's teal eyes were sad.
"I don't know." Saj reached over and ruffled the short brown curls of the young boy. "Did something happen?"
"Polaris was so happy playing with Kokab and Alruccabah earlier that she forgot about the curse and tried to sing." Pise gritted his teeth. "It's been six months! Riu is still waking up with nightmares and I often hear Leo comforting Virgo in the middle of the night. How many times had Alhena or Yildun come and gotten you to check on Gemini and Ris? I didn't see much and I wasn't cursed, so I don't have bad nightmares, but I just know that if we could get rid of these curses that the nightmares would get better too! That we could finally start to put things behind us."
Saj gave the boy a hug and held him as he quietly cried. When the second youngest boy had calmed, Saj let him go. "Then let's do that. We've been traveling around for six months now looking for someplace to stay, how about instead we start looking for a way to break the curses? I have no clue what we can do, but we can certainly look."
xXxXx
"Saj? Are Gemini and Polaris in here?" Libra asked from the doorway. Alhena stood behind her, having led her to the room.
"Yeah. They're still sleeping." Saj had been watching the sunrise out of the room's window.
"Yildun," Libra spoke to the Pokémon she knew would be there, "did Saj get any sleep after the twins went back to sleep?"
No.
"And now I know how Ris feels when you come and get me when she has a fit." Saj could sense the amusement the two Psychic types felt when he said that. "I'm fine Li, just wanted to think about a few things."
"You mean about how to get rid of the curses. Saj, you do this every time that Ris has a night fit. Maybe there is no way to break them."
"Maybe not, but ever since we decided to look, all of the nightmares have lessened. Instead of Ris waking up trying to scream every night, it's now only once a week. Virgo has stopped flinching every time a boy so much as looks at her and you and Riu have stopped holing yourselves up in whatever place we are staying." Saj clutched at the names that were tattooed on his arm as he spoke. "Even if we can't find the way, and there has to be some way, at least we'll continue looking until the nightmares stop."
Libra sighed. "Alright. I'm going to go see if I can help prevent Leo from burning breakfast again. He's the best cook now, but with his sense of smell gone…"
Alhena guided the blind young woman to the kitchen while Saj went to wake the twins.
XxXxX
Polaris clutched her brother's hand as they walked through Ecruteak City. They had arrived in the city a couple of days ago, and as the older children of the group did other things, the two youngest were off exploring. They were staying away from burned out tower, as they had had their lifetime fill of burned buildings a year ago. They wandered over to the pond in the north east corner and watched the fish swimming in the clear waters.
After a while, they looked around and saw gate. Curiosity seizing their young minds, they decided to explore. As they peeked at the buildings, they were careful not to intrude.
"May we help you?" A voice said from behind them, causing Ris to jump.
Gem looked at her in worry and slight panic. While their Pokémon were resting in their poke balls, the twins were still able to communicate. Ris? What's wrong?
In answer, Ris turned around to face the one who had spoken. Two Sages stood there looking down at the twins with interest.
"Are the two of you lost?" One of them asked, silently noticing the way that Gem kept glancing from them and Ris.
Ris shook her head as she told her brother what was being said and before releasing his hand to grab the notepad that she had in her pocket and writing a message for the Sages. We were exploring. Are we not allowed to be here? If so, we are sorry, we did not know and did not see any signs.
The Sages read the message and looked the children over again before speaking. "Child, you cannot speak?" At her conformation, the Sage continued. "And he cannot hear?" Again, she confirmed their guess.
The Sages looked at each other before deciding and smiling done at the children. "Would the two of you like to see the Bell Tower?"
Bell Tower?
"It is a very special place. Not very many people are allowed to go there, but we think it will be okay if you do."
Ris looked at Gem as the silently talked. When Gem nodded, she wrote another message. As long as it does not get the two of you in trouble, we would really like to.
The two Sages led the twins towards the Bell Tower, smiling gently as the children expressed awe at the beautiful trees lining the path. When the ten story tower came into view, they heard a small gasp from the boy, while the girl's eye grew extremely wide.
The children were looking the outside of the tower over when someone exited the building.
"Oh, Gym Leader Morty, we did not know that you were here." One of the Sages spoke to the man, catching Ris's attention, which brought Gem's along as well.
"I was showing a visitor something that may help him. I did not expect the two of you to be here at this time though." The Ecruteak Gym Leader replied.
"We found these two children exploring out front and thought that it would be alright if we showed them the tower. It is not causing any trouble is it?" The other Sage explained.
Morty turned and saw the children. Kneeling down to their level he greeted them. "Hello. My name is Morty. You are?"
Ris was reaching for her notepad when suddenly she froze, a look of complete terror crossing her face. A loud, distressed whine came from Gem and the three adults could feel the panic rolling off of the twins.
The twins' Pokémon sensed their distress and amplified it to alert the nearest person of their group.
Suddenly, Saj came out of the tower. "Gem, Ris! What's—shit." He ran over and gathered the panicking children in his arms. Over his shoulder he spoke to Morty. "I'm sorry, but could you please return your Gengar to its poke ball?"
"Oh, of course." Quickly Morty complied.
As soon as the Gengar was out of sight, the twins calmed a great deal.
"Shh, it's okay. It wasn't HERS. It's okay. Calm down, it's okay." Saj quietly soothed Gem and Ris. Soon the stress got to them and they fell into a restless sleep.
Saj quickly released Alhena and Yildun so that they could carry the twins.
He turned to face the three men, sadness deeply etched into his face. "I'm sorry—"
"Are they some of the children you were telling me about?" Morty asked.
Saj closed his eyes and sighed. "Yes. They are the youngest two. The boy lost his hearing. The girl lost her voice."
One of the Sages spoke up. "Lost them how?"
"Cursed by a Gengar."
"That would explain their reaction. I am sorry, I did not realize—" Morty began.
"There is no way you could have known, so…" Saj scrubbed his face with his hand for a moment. "I'm sorry; I should get them back—"
"Saj? Syrma sensed that there was something wrong with Gem and Ris. Is everything okay?" Virgo and Leo stood where the path ended with Virgo's worried Gardevoir standing behind them.
"Virgo, Leo. Could the two of you take the twins back to the inn? I need to finish up here." Saj saw the way Leo was quietly, but intensely staring at the three men. "Leo. I'll explain what happened later." He turned to Virgo. "They might be a little panicked when they wake up. You might want to find Libra before then."
The two nodded and left along with Gem, Ris, and their Pokémon.
Morty had a thoughtful look on his face. "Those two were also cursed, were they not? The silver hair is a side effect of it, correct?"
Saj sighed again. "Yes. I'm trying to find a way to break all of the curses. No one I have spoken to has had any ideas though. Some of the children are about ready to give up."
"But you are not." One of the Sages stated simply.
"No. If a single Gengar could cause these curses, then there MUST be something that could reverse it." Saj replied emphatically.
"What about Arceus? Or another legendary?" A voice said from the path.
Saj spun around to see who spoke.
A young man, seemingly only a couple years older than Saj stood there. He wore an officer's uniform that seemed rather new. He stood around an inch taller than Saj, with dark navy blue spiky hair. The most notable of his features were his eyes. One was indigo, the other was turquoise.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you or to eavesdrop. My name is Alexan Wood." He held out his hand to Saj with a smile.
"Sagittarius." Saj shook the offered hand but was distracted by what the man had said.
When Alexan realized that Saj was not going to say anything else, he shrugged and relaxed. "I really didn't mean to listen in. Officer Jenny told me to find the Gym Leader and let him know that a challenger had arrived."
"Thank you Officer Wood. But what made you suggest that?" Morty asked, interested in the young man's thought processes.
"Well, if the problem was caused by a Pokémon, and humans are unable to reverse it, then surely a Pokémon of a higher rank would be able to. Arceus is the strongest Pokémon, so he would make the most sense. However he would also be the hardest to find, so it would be more realistic to look for others." Alexan replied, shrugging one shoulder.
Suddenly, Saj let out a low groan and rubbed his hand over his eyes. "I feel like an idiot."
Alexan tilted his head. "Why?"
"Because I had been trying to figure something out for six months and it was practically staring me in the face."
"What do you mean?" One of the Sages asked.
Saj only shook his head. "I'm sorry, I need to go and talk with the others. Thank you for your help." With a slight bow he left.
"Alexan, you are somewhat of an expert on legendaries and where they have been rumored to have been seen, correct?" Morty asked.
"They interest me, so as a hobby I track the stories, yes. Why?" The young officer asked, slightly wary of the Gym Leader's tone.
"Oh, nothing."
xXxXx
"Saj. You have some explaining to do." Libra stood in front of the door to the room she shared with Gem and Ris. "Why were my younger siblings brought back here asleep, with panic rolling off of them?"
"Let's gather everyone so I explain it to everyone all at once." Saj followed Libra into the room.
The other eleven children were gathered in the room, Gem and Ris were just waking up.
"Hey, you two feeling a bit better now?" Saj sat on the bed next to the twins.
Gem immediately grabbed Saj and buried his face in his chest, trembling slightly. Saj wrapped his arms around the small boy and soothingly rubbed circles on his back. Saj looked over at Ris. She was staring at her hands. When Saj lifted her chin, he saw the remnants of fear in her eyes.
"It's okay. The Gengar is gone and it isn't going to hurt you." As Ris joined her brother in the comforting embrace, Saj looked at the others. "I was talking to the Gym Leader earlier. Apparently two of the Sages found them exploring and decided that it would be okay if they saw the Bell Tower and escorted them back there. Morty had been showing me something when he sensed someone outside. He walked out and his Gengar was out of its poke ball at the time."
"Which is why Gemini and Polaris panicked. Gengars…" Capricorn realized.
Gengars remind us of THEN. They scare us. Polaris mentally spoke through Yildun. We didn't cause any problems for you, did we Saj? We…we didn't mean too!
"I know. It's all right. There was nothing we could do." Saj gave them a gentle squeeze and took a deep breath. "But I did learn something today. After Gem, Ris, Vir, and Leo left; a police officer came to tell Morty he had a challenger. He accidently overheard a bit of our conversation and threw out an idea on how to get rid of the curses." Saj looked all the other children in the face. "I think it just might work."
Aries rubbed the scar on her upper left arm. "What is it Saj? Don't leave us hanging."
Saj smiled at the young girl. He glanced again at the other children. Even Gem and Ris had leaned back to look at him.
"Legendaries."
xXxXx
Author's Note: Here's the official first chapter of The Silver Silence and the character profile of Alexan Wood is below.
xXxXx
Alexan Wood
Occupation: Police Officer, rookie
Age: 20
Hair Color: Navy blue
Eye Color: left eye-indigo; right eye- turquoise
Height: 6' 2"
Pokémon:
Sableye- (f) Diamond
Crobat- (m) Rook
Parasect- (f) Rose
Slowking- (m) King
Bisharp- (m) Bishop
Glaceon- (f) Amalia
Info: He is a rookie cop that is currently stationed in Ecruteak. His hair is worn short with lightly gelled spikes.
xXxXx
Author's note continues: Now, let me tell you one thing. While legendaries are important to the storyline…you know what? You'll find that out later on in the story.
Feel free to point out any mistakes that I made. This chapter is un-betad.
Please tell me what you think.
I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!