Sorry it took so long for update. I was caught up in a bit of work and hardly have enough time to do anything :( Ah well, here's chapter 4! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Fire Emblem.
Crest of Pokemon
"The Kanto Royal Seal?" Lance said shockingly as Oak held it out to him. "Yes, this is what I found on the one leading the attack on the village." Oak said, holding out the badge. Lance thought for a moment, 'What would Kanto be doing with ruthless mercenaries such as the Rocket…' Oak looked up at him, "Lance, when you were part of the Kanto Royal Guard, do you remember anything suspicious about them?" Oak asked him.
Lance looked down, "I don't remember anything suspicious. The king just ordered us to do normal things around the kingdom. At that time there weren't any major wars… except for maybe the small skirmishes happening within the kingdom." Lance looked up facing Oak, "I thought that those small encounters were just common bandits ravaging the countryside, but now that I think of it, it could've been the Rocket Mercenaries." Lance said, a little shakily. Oak thought for a moment, "Hmm, and what do you know about King Kanto?" Oak asked. "From what I heard, Kanto received a new king since I left, I'm unsure of who the new king is or his backgrounds."
Oak nodded, "What ever is going on in the royal house, it shouldn't affect us too much... hopefully…" Lance nodded at Oak, "Whatever happens now though, we must be a little more careful… Kanto maybe watching our every move… now that they know that we are capable of killing a member of their force."
The sun was starting to set now. Delia sat near a window and stared outside, watching the sun go down. She sat there deep in thought, thinking back to how the mercenaries saved her and Ash's lives:
Delia held Ash in her arms as she continued to run away from the pursuers. Even though they were a good distance from her, she could hear their screams coming closer and closer every moment.
She continued to run in the forest until she was sure they stopped. Tiredly she dropped to the ground against a tree, trying to gasp for air. Ash was crying in her arms, sensing her restlessness. "Hush Ash…everything will be alright…" She tried to comfort the little Ash as she rocked him in her arms. Ash eventually calmed down and went back to sleep. She gave a sigh of relief and soon, fell into a deep slumber herself.
It wasn't long before she heard footsteps heading towards her. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked a bit, trying to adjust her eyes. Before she realized it she saw that three men have surrounded her. "W-what's going on?" She tried to say, stuttering a bit. One of the men stepped up and grinned, "You are one of the villagers, isn't that right?" The man looked down at her, sensing fear in her, "The boss ordered us to kill anyone from the village," He slowly drew out his sword, "I feel terrible to kill such a beautiful one, but orders are orders." The man raised his sword high in the air and quickly brought it down. Delia held on to Ash tightly and let out a scream in terror.
Suddenly a ball of fire hit the man before he could bring his sword down. The flames incinerated him and turned him to crisp in an instant. The other two men gasped at the one who cast the fireball. "What!? It's…it's an Arch-sage! Run!" Before the other two men could get away they were surrounded in a wreath of fire and were instantly burned to their death.
Delia continued to hold on to Ash, still bracing for her demise. The one who cast the spells walked up to her and held a hand out to her, "It's okay now. They will not harm you or your child anymore." Delia looked up at the voice, "W-who…w-who are y-you?" She stuttered, trying to hold back tears. The man looked down at her, "I'm Oak, Arch-sage and leader of the Oak Mercenaries, you're a survivor of the village that was attacked the night before right?" Oak asked her. Delia nodded and took his hand, rising up from the ground, "Yes… do you know what became of the village?" She asked him, hoping for a good answer.
Oak looked down at the ground, "It… it was burned to the ground the night it was attacked… I'm sorry…" Delia closed her eyes and tears started to flow out, "No…he's…he's gone…" Oak softened his gaze, feeling sorry for her, "I'm sorry about your husband… when I came to the village… I couldn't find any survivors…" Oak said softly. Delia let another tear drop and looked at Ash, "Where will I go now…what will be the future for my son…" She asked herself, letting more tears fall. Oak thought for a moment and then looked at her, "I know, you can stay with me." He told her.
Delia looked up at him, "Oh… I don't know if that's necessary…I don't want us to be of a burden to you." Oak shook his head, "No, it will be alright, if you want, you can stay with us until you can find a better home. It's the least I can do for failing to protect your village." Oak replied to her. Delia looked down at Ash and thought for a moment. "Okay… I'll take your offer…" With that, Oak leads her to the mercenary fort.
"I guess this is the best home for me…and Ash…" Delia said with a smile. She then heard the door creak and looked over at it. To her surprise, she saw Ash enter with a girl clad in very elegant wear.
"Hello mom, where is everybody?" Ash asked her. "Well, I know Oak and Lance are in the mess hall discussing a few things, I think Gary is out training somewhere. Brock is probably cooking up something for dinner. Misty's feeding the birds by the garden, and I think Tracey is shooting some apples by the range." Delia replied to him, "Oh, and who's that girl you have with you, " She looked over at the elegantly dressed girl. "Oh, that's May. She's the princess of Hoenn. I found her being pursued by some guy…" Ash decided to leave out the part that the man possessed the Kanto Royal Seal, "Her escort group was killed by the man, so I decided to bring her here." Ash said. May bowed at Delia while holding the sides of her skirt up, "It's an honor to meet you miss."
Delia smiled at her, "We're glad to have you with us then May, oh, my name's Delia." Before the three of them could continue their conversation, Brock came into the room, "Dinner's ready everyone-Oh, who's this?" Brock said before noticing May. "That's May, she's the princess of Hoenn." Ash introduced her. May bowed before Brock, "Wait…you're the princess of Hoenn?" Brock asked with a mix of awe and shock in his voice. May nodded at him, "Yes, I am." Brock shook his head, "Wow, the leader must know about this!" He than ran out of the room and back to the mess hall where Lance and Oak were currently discussing things.
May looked at Ash, "What if… the leader doesn't want me here?" She asked Ash, a little disheartening. "Don't worry May, he's a pretty nice guy, he likes to have new company sometimes. I'm sure he'll let you stay, I'll make sure he will." Ash gave her a big toothy grin to reassure her. May smiled at him, "Thank you Ash, you're doing a lot for me." Ash blushed a bit, "It's… nothing really." Ash said, blushing a bit.
The three of them then went into the mess hall to find the other mercenaries already seated and eating. "Hey Ash, who's the new girl?" Misty asked him as she saw him walk in. "This is May, she's the princess of Hoenn." Ash said to Misty. "Are you really?" Gary said, a little bit of suspicion in his voice. May nodded at him, "Yes, I really am the princess of Hoenn." May said to him. "Hmm, you do look royal somewhat… but we can't be too sure-" Gary said but was cut off, "That's enough Gary." Oak said to him. Gary then be quiet and continued eating. "I'm sorry for my grandson's rudeness princess, I welcome you to our home." Oak said to her. May smiled at him and bowed, "Thank you very much sir."
After dinner was over with, Oak told the mercenaries to not go anywhere and to stay in the mess hall, "Okay everyone. I called you all here because in the last mission that Lance, Brock, Misty, and Ash participated in, we discovered something a bit troubling." Oak took out the Kanto Royal Seal from his pocket and showed it to everyone, making Ash gasp a bit. "This badge bears the Kanto Royal Seal incase some of you haven't recognized it. It was found on the body of the one leading the unit of mercenaries that attacked the village." Oak said.
Lance then stood up to say his peace. "From here on, all of you should be a little more careful where ever you go and whatever you do, since we are located on the edge of Kanto, it won't be hard for them to find us." Lance said then sat down. Ash thought of a moment after hearing all this, 'Could this mean… that Kanto trying to start a war?' He felt the ring in his pocket that bared the Kanto Royal Seal. May noticed his anxiety and looked over at him, "Is everything alright Ash?" She asked him worriedly. Ash looked over at her and nodded, "Yeah… I'm fine…" Not really convinced, May decided to drop the subject.
After everyone left to their respective quarters, the only people left inside the mess hall were Ash and Oak. "Oak… I have something to tell you." Oak looked at Ash, "What is it Ash?" Ash reached into his pocket and took out the signet ring, "This ring… I found it on the guy chasing after Princess May… do you think…" Oak took the ring from Ash and examined it farther, "Yes… I think so Ash…" He then put the ring away, "What a strange turn of events for us, first the attack on that village, now the princess of Hoenn shows up. This is serious indeed." Oak stated looking at the ground.
"What do you plan on doing with her?" Oak asked Ash. Ash looked up at Oak, "I… I just thought it'd be a good thing to take her back to the base, because she has no where to go…" Ash said. Just then May walked into the mess hall. "Oh, sorry to disturb you two, but… I was wondering… where will I sleep tonight?" She asked them. "Oh hey May-err I mean, princess… I'm not so sure actually, I think all the rooms are pretty much filled." Ash said, correcting himself from calling her informally. Oak thought for a moment, "I know, you can sleep in Ash's room tonight." He said grinning at Ash. Ash panicked a bit, "Oh-uh…I know! You can sleep in mom's room, it's the first one on the left upstairs." He told May quickly. May looked at the two of them, a bit confused, and then nodded, "Okay, I'll sleep in Delia's room then I guess." She then walked out of the mess hall and upstairs.
Oak then looked at Ash, "Ash… I want you to take care of her." Ash widened his eyes in shock at this, "What!? Why me?" Oak looked at him straight in the eyes, "If she truly is the princess of Hoenn…which I have no doubt she is… it could cause a few problems for us… since if what you're saying is true about the man pursuing her carrying the seal of Kanto… it could mean we're in grave danger." Ash looked at Oak for a moment then nodded, "I understand Oak… I'll do my best."
May crept silently up the stairs and found the first door to her left. She took a deep breath and then knocked. Once she heard no answer she knocked again. After the second knock though the door opened, revealing Delia, "Oh, hello princess, what may I do for you?" Delia asked when she saw May. May looked down at the ground, "Umm, well, there isn't anywhere I could sleep, and Ash suggested I sleep in your room, is that okay?" May asked her. Delia took her in without a second thought, "Of course you can sleep here tonight! I'd be honored to have a princess sleeping in my own room!" Delia said enthusiastically and pulled May into the room.
May lost her balance a bit due to the force of Delia pulling her into the room, "Thank you Miss Delia, all of you have been so kind to me since I came here…" She looks down at the ground, a small tear falling from her eye, "I… I don't know what I can do to repay all of you for your kindness…" May sniffed a bit. Delia looked down at May, "You don't need to worry about a thing hon-err princess, it's my job to take care of any refugees that come to our base." Delia said, patting May in the back to reassure her. May looked up at Delia and smiled, "Thank you." Delia smiled back at her, and then started to eye her over, "Hmm… those clothes of yours… though elegant they do look a little dirty… How long have you been wearing them?" Delia asked May. "Umm, I think for about three days now." May said. "Three days!?" Delia screamed shockingly, "That's terrible!"
Delia went over to her closet and took out one of her nightgowns and gave it to May, "Here, change into this, at least until I'm done washing your clothes." May looked down at it, "It's no problem real-" Before May could finish Delia interrupted her, "Just do it! I can't have a princess going around in dirty clothes!" Delia put the nightgown in May's hands and hurried her over to the closet where she could change.
May sighed as she changed out of her red royal gown and into the silk nightgown. May looked down at herself, 'Hmm, for just common mercenaries, these people are able to buy some expensive things.' She thought to herself, examining the silk nightgown. She walked out of the closet and held out her other clothes to Delia. Delia took the clothes and started for the door, "I'm going to go wash your clothes, if you're sleepy go ahead and take the bed tonight. I'll just sleep on the floor." Delia said. May nodded at her, "Okay, thank you Miss Delia." With that, Delia left the room.
May sighed as she lay on the bed. She stared up at the ceiling, thinking about the events that happened the day she met Ash and the rest of the mercenaries, "They've all… been so kind to me… and they're from Kanto also… is there more to the world than I've seen?" She wondered aloud to herself. Slowly May felt her eyes get heavy, and then she drifted off into a deep sleep.
May slowly opened her eyes, as she smelled the sweet scent of flowers. She sat up and looked around, finding herself in a field full of flowers. She got up and took a walk around, admiring the scenery. "May! May!" May looked around to find the source of the voice and noticed that it was a younger boy, "Oh, hello there Max." May greeted the younger boy.
The boy ran up to May and then stopped to get some air, "What were you doing out here? Mom and dad were worried about you!" Max yelled at her in a caring sort of way. May smiled at him, "Just enjoying the view, that's all." She replied to him as she picked up a flower and smelled it. "Ah, so that's where our children have been." May looked up at the sound of the voice and noticed a man and a woman, "Hello there mom, dad." May greeted the two as they walked over to where May and Max were. "So what are you two doing out here? Decide to come find us?" May asked the two. "I guess so, mainly here for the view though, right Norman?" The woman said nudging at her husband. Norman chuckled, "I guess, the view is nice today isn't it Caroline." Norman said to his wife. All four of them both laughed as they watched the field of flowers together.
May smiled, 'This is my family…' she thought to herself, enjoying the moment that all four of them were sharing together. All of a sudden the wind started to blow stronger and the sky went from a serene blue to a threatening red. Suddenly fire shot down from the sky and burned the field of flowers. May coughed as she smelled the flames, "Everyone alright1?" Norman yelled as he tried to protect his family from the spreading fires. Just then, a man, clad in dark, heavy armor, rode up to them on his horse, He stepped down from the horse and drew out his sword, sticking it at Norman's neck.
"Surrender your kingdom to me… or face death." The man said to Norman. Norman glared at him, "I'll never hand my kingdom over to you!" Norman yelled at the man. The man quickly slashed his sword, instantly killing Norman. "Norman!" Caroline shrieked, seeing her husband fall. "You will be next!" The man quickly thrust his sword through Caroline, instantly killing her too. "No! Mother! Father!" Max screamed, tears streaking from his eyes. The man cut him down before he could say anymore. "Now, you're the last one!" The man ran for May and raised his sword at her. She quickly shielded her eyes and screamed loudly, bracing herself.
"No! Please! Don't hurt me!" May yelled in her sleep. "May! May! May!" Delia was shaking May to try and wake her up from the nightmare she was having. May eventually woke up, breathing heavily with tears in her eyes. "Oh…Delia…" May dug herself into Delia's chest as she cried. Delia looked down at her sobbing, and wrapped her arms around May, "Don't be scared princess… everything will be alright…" Delia said reassuringly. May continued to sob, "It was terrible…" May managed to say. "What was?" Delia asked her.
May continued to cry, "H-he…t-that man…" She couldn't say anymore and broke into more tears. Delia looked down at May, her expression starting to soften up, feeling sorry for the girl. "May… Is it that you miss your family?" Delia asked her. May looked up at Delia with tear-filled eyes and nodded, "Yes… I'm worried about them too… ever since my brother and I were escorted out of the kingdom… I just… had these feelings that mom and dad were in danger." May was able to say.
Delia looked at May and then held her close in embrace again, "May… your parents will be fine… I… I had a husband once… Ash's father in fact… " Delia couldn't hold it anymore and started to let some tears fall, "He… he stayed back at the village so that Ash and I could escape… Though many people say he's dead… somewhere in my heart I believe he's alive… even though I could be wrong, I will keep on believing that he's out there somewhere, trying to make his way back to his loved ones." Delia said, wiping a tear away from her face.
May looked up at Delia, "You mean… even after people said that your husband died… you still believe he's alive?" May asked her. Delia nodded, "Yes. I didn't see him die myself so I can't be sure, until I actually see it, I won't believe it." Delia smiled at May, "Your parents will be okay. Just pray for them and hope that they make it out this crisis." Delia said to May reassuringly. May nodded at Delia and hugged her again, "Thank you so much…" Delia hugged May back, "It's alright sweetie." May released from the hug and looked up at Delia, "You know, you haven't called me princess this whole time," She said with a smirk. Delia laughed a bit, "Oh, guess I was too concerned with being a mother to realize." May laughed, "It's okay actually, I don't mind all of you calling me by my name. Princess sounds too formal anyway." May giggled.
Ash wasn't able to sleep that night. He kept on tossing and turning but sleep wouldn't overcome him. He let out a sigh and got up. Ash put on his usual clothes, strapped his sword to his side, and walked out of his room.
He ventured outside the mercenary fort and went to the hill where Oak initiated him into the Oak Mercenaries. He lay there on the hill for a moment, looking up at the stars. "Why can't I sleep?" He wondered aloud to himself.
The stars blinked, seeming to answer back at him. Ash sighed and continued to stare up at the sky, "I guess… I feel like I have this big responsibility… watching out for the princess and all…" Ash said aloud again as he looked up at the sky. "I just…some how… I think I made a mistake bringing her here… I might endanger the whole company… but then… she did give me more company…" He wondered to himself again. The starts blinked again, shining a little more brightly this time. Ash looked up at the sky and saw a shooting star soar through the sky, giving him a glimpse of hope.
Ash smiled, "I can do it… I know I can… Whatever responsibilities are given to me, I can do them!" Ash said standing back up.
He started to come down from the hill, but then heard many footsteps around. Ash looked around for a brief moment and then caught glimpse of a small army marching towards the fort. Ash took a closer look and saw the banner they were flying above their head was the Kanto Seal. "Oh no… I must warn the others!" With that, Ash ran back to the mercenary fort.
Once Ash got in he ran to Oak's room. Ash quickly opened up the door, to find Oak already standing and dressed, "Oak! Kanto's-" Oak turned around and interrupted him before he could finish, "I know Ash, alert the others." Ash nodded at Oak and ran out to awaken everyone else.
Ash quickly ran into Delia's room and opened up the door, "Mom wake up! We're being attacked!" he yelled. He quickly covered his mouth, trying to hide his gasp when he saw that his mother and May were sleeping on the bed together. He quickly shook the thought and shook Delia, "Wake up mom!" He yelled again. Delia stirred a bit, starting to wake up, "What's wrong Ash?" She asked him. "We're being attacked, Oak said for everyone to meet in the mess hall." Ash said to her. She nodded and got up. "W-what's going on." May asked as she too was starting to wake up. Ash looked at her, "We're being attacked, by Kanto I think." Ash said to her. May gasped, "What? But, why?" May asked. Ash thought for a moment, "I don't know… probably because they're after you." Ash said. May looked down, a little frightened, "Don't worry though, I'll protect you." Ash gave May a reassuring smile and then ran out the door. May watched as he ran out, "Thank you Ash." She said to him as he ran out.
May then looked up Delia, seeing her get off the bed and starting to get dressed, "Miss Delia?" Delia looked back at May hearing her call out to her, "Thank you for comforting me." May said to her smiling. Delia smiled back at May, "Your welcome darling." Delia replied. The two of them got dressed and quickly headed down to the mess hall.
Everyone gathered in the mess hall. Oak took a look around at everyone. Once he saw that everyone was there, he began to speak, "I apologize to have waken all of you up like this, but it is an emergency. It seems that troops carrying the Kanto Banner have some how found out about our whereabouts and have dispatched troops to take out this fort as we speak." Oak said. Everyone stood still, bracing themselves for orders that will be given to them.
"From what we know so far, they outnumber us many to one, this will be a hard battle indeed." Oak said. "To repel the enemy, we will split ourselves into two groups. The first group will try and break through the enemy ranks and attack the enemy base camp, while the second group will stay at the fort and defend it." Oak said and looked over the rest of the mercenaries, "I will lead the first group. I want Gary and Tracey to come with me." Gary and Tracey nodded as they were given the orders, "And the second group will be lead by Ash, and that will consist of the rest of you." Oak said smiling at Ash.
Ash was shocked as he heard his name, "What!? Me lead? But I don't even know how!" Ash rebuked, trying to escape this position. Oak looked into Ash's eyes, "Look Ash… I know you can do it… just believe in yourself." Oak said to Ash, giving him a reassuring smile. "Also, if you need any assistance just look up to Lance, he'll be your second-in-command." Oak said.
After that was all done, Oak, Gary, and Tracey left the fort to lead an assault right on the enemy. Ash and the rest left the mercenary fort and stopped at the gate. A soldier from the opposing side walked up to Ash, "We are the Kanto Army, there are rumors about you mercenaries quartering the Princess Hoenn. The king's orders are that you should hand her over to us immediately, or suffer severe consequences." The solider said. Ash sighed and shook his head, "I'm sorry, but we will not give up the Princess Hoenn without reason." The soldier glared at Ash, "Fine then," the soldier readied his lance, "May the gods show you mercy!" the soldier yelled and then charged at Ash. Ash quickly drew out his sword and cut the soldier down.
Ash looked behind him where the others were, "Mom, you stay inside the fort and make sure that Princess May will be alright, everyone else, come with me!" Ash yelled and ran out towards the invading troops, Brock, Misty, and Lance soon followed after.
May looked up at Delia, "Miss Delia? Do you think they'll be all right? I'm a little worried." May asked Delia. Delia looked at May and smiled, "Don't worry sweetie, I'm sure that Ash will be able to lead them to victory, even though he's still new at this mercenary stuff, I'm sure he'll be fine." Delia said to May. May looked out in the direction where Ash and the others ran, 'Ash… please be okay…'
Done with chapter 4! Oh, in the few chapters to come, I'm going to start Support conversations. If any of you have played the game before, support conversations reveal more about each character and their relationships with other characters. They will be posted at the beginning of each chapter. I will update when they will be put up. Read and review please :)