Chapter 3
Riley took a long draught out of his cup, and then rested his head on his hands. He stared at Lucario thoughtfully. "Now, where should I begin?"
Lucario returned Riley's gaze. "How the After began."
Riley took another sip of his tea. "That's actually quite a tricky question, Lucario. I don't know that much, but then again, I know a whole heap more than most other people here."
"Do you know enough to help me find Sir Aaron?"
Riley smiled at the jackal-Pokemon. "I believe so. Actually, a friend of mine should know. But before you'll understand what he tells you, you need to know this…"
Riley's Story
For as long as anyone could remember, the After was ruled by a group called the Commission. That group was always led by Mismagius, somehow the only one of its kind to make it to the After. For generations, it was just Mismagius in charge of the Commission. He made all sorts of ridiculous rules governing the place, so eventually a rebellion grew.
A fierce battle ensued between Mismagius and the entire rebellion. Almost all of the After joined in. After slaying the leader of the rebellion, Mismagius narrowly won. He went home with near fatal injuries, but due to a miracle performed by some unknowing fool, Mismagius survived.
That battle taught Mismagius a valuable lesson. Never again did he dare force unreasonable laws upon the people. But we were still angry. It was tyranny, that's what. We wanted a fair government. That's how the Commission was established.
However, not everybody may come into the Commission. In order that no bad influence was pressed upon the After's ruling group, the representative of the people suggested that only those who had achieved great things in their lives may be chosen randomly to join. The rule was carried out.
Now, the Commission has always 8 members, not counting Mismagius. Each member is drawn out of a hat containing the names of great people and Pokemon. The Commission members live in absolute luxury, in Mismagius's Place. Even so, being a member of the Commission has its costs.
At this, Riley grew silent. "There was a rumour once that a Commission member broke one of the rules and tried to enter our part of the After. He was banished to, as Mismagius would say, the 'dungeon'. Some say that the banished one is still rotting away down there. But others claim that he escaped, and now lives amongst us."
"How can this help me find Sir Aaron?" Lucario asked.
Riley coughed. "I was just getting to that. My suspicions are…"
Lucario leaned closer. "Yes?"
Riley grimaced. "No… I think it's best you don't know."
Lucario fell back. "Why?"
Riley looked away. "He's a member of the Commission."
Lucario sat at Riley's windowsill, staring out at the barren desert plains. He still couldn't believe it.
"Darn it!" he cursed, banging a paw on the window, watching it slide off without even denting the glass.
The Pokemon had concluded from the previous Commission member's plight that Sir Aaron was practically unreachable. With Mismagius at such strength… really, almost the whole of the After put together couldn't defeat him! How on Earth, no, After, is he going to find his friend?
The sound of approaching footsteps alerted Lucario. The Pokemon turned, and for a moment, saw the familiar face of Sir Aaron. Then he scanned the man's aura. No, it was just Riley.
The man held out a silver tray with tea and biscuits on it. "Thought you need something to fill your stomach before we visit my friend. He lives quite far away."
Lucario nodded, then tucked into the delicious, homemade meal. As the Pokemon munched whole-heartedly on the cookie, Riley checked his watch.
"14:20… already?" Riley looked up. "You'd better hurry, he doesn't like waiting long."
Lucario finished off his tea. "I'm good to go."
"Then let's set out."
It was close to evening, but the sun was still high in the sky. Riley stared at it, squinting at the brightness. "Does that thing ever move?"
Lucario was racing ahead, but stopped to let Riley catch up. "It should."
As he said those words, time seemed to speed up. The two watched in astonishment as the sun sped through the sky, stopping at the distant hills. By then, the normally bright yellow plains turned a warm shade of orange.
Riley looked bemused. "The weather always behaves differently in different regions around the place. I think that was the result of a wish Jirachi granted to a clueless newcomer. It only started about 3 weeks ago."
Riley sighed. "Ah well, don't worry Lucario, we're almost there."
And indeed they were. Suddenly, the black haired Aura Guardian stopped, right in the middle of, it seemed, nowhere.
Lucario looked around in confusion. "Where is he?"
Riley checked his watch. "On strike, most likely. We're late. He's very fussy about time you know."
Suddenly, a large sand coated loudspeaker popped out of the ground near Lucario's feet, causing the jackal-Pokemon to jump.
"Give me FIVE more minutes, you hear me?" a static filled voice shrieked from the loud speaker. "One more for each time you were late… Riley. Next time it'll be SIX minutes. REMEMBER THAT!"
Then, in a quieter tone, it added, "Soon it'll be a year…"
Lucario looked back at Riley. The man was leaning on his arms, tapping his foot impatiently. Once more, he checked his watch. Muttering under his breath, Riley fiddled with the watch.
For a moment, everything seemed to freeze. Lucario gasped as an overwhelming moment of dizziness enveloped him. He clutched his head in agony as two hammers banged away at two sharp nails, driving them deep inside his brain. Then, it was over.
Lucario felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. In shock, the jackal found he was lying down. The hand had smooth, slender fingers. "Thanks, Riley."
Lucario saw the hand withdrawing. Then, a high voice squealed, "Why does everybody think my hand looks like Riley's?"
The jackal-Pokemon bounded to his feet. In front of him was a screw-faced ditto in the shape of Riley. The ditto was white, unlike most Lucario had seen.
Ditto turned towards Riley. He pointed an accusing finger at him. "You cheated! AGAIN!"
Riley tried to look innocent. "I just… adjusted time a bit, that's all."
Ditto lunged for the watch. "GIVE THAT TO ME! YOU'RE NOT CHEATING, NOT EVER AGAIN!"
"Whoa," Riley cried, lifting the watch beyond Ditto's reach.
Ditto fumed as he couldn't obtain the watch. Riley laughed shakily. "Well, Lucario, this here is my, err, friend Ditto. He knows a lot more about this place than most of us. I believe he may help you."
Lucario stared at Ditto. "But he's crazy."
"No more than you are," Ditto muttered, "What were you thinking? Facing up to the Commission? Bah!"
Riley tried to compromise. "I'm sure we can work out something."
Ditto turned away. "Not cooperating."
The more Lucario watched Ditto, the more his anger grew.
Finally it burst.
"What do YOU know!" the Pokemon roared. "My master means the WORLD to me! Haven't you felt that before! Either way, you must know what I'm feeling!"
Lucario grabbed Ditto by the scruff of its neck. "Tell me how to get to him… TELL ME!"
Ditto sweat dropped. "Whoa, dude, stop that, you have a serious temper problem."
Lucario glared at the Pokemon. "Stop avoiding my question. ANSWER ME!"
Riley stepped up and separated the two. "Maybe we should discuss this inside…"
As soon as Lucario released it, Ditto scuttled to a hidden trapdoor buried beneath the sand. "Yes, yes Riley, that's a marvelous idea! Err… let's go!"
A/N Ha ha. I like Ditto. Sorry for the long delays in updating. I was busy cooing over Bunny, my rabbit. Aww... he's the sweetest... though extremely distracting.
