Disclaimer: Pokémon is owned by Nintendo. Fia (and her family) is owned by Neonic-634. Any resemblance to real things is purely coincidental. All other OCs in this chapter are owned by me.
Stolen World
Ch. 6 - The Princess
"Are we there yet?" Daren groaned out tiredly.
"Almost, son, you should be able to see the house soon" James replied as he exited the freeway and onto a small country road.
"Are you excited about spending the summer at the new beach house Fia?" Delila asked.
Fia smiled and nodded her head before turning to look out the window of the car.
Seemingly endless fields of tall grass and flowers rolled by. Occasionally, a small farm would come into view only to pass by a moment later as the family van continued on its way. Fia watched the many miltank and tauros grazing in the fields, sighing to herself in boredom as she fidgeted with one of the blue pearls tying the ends of her ear tufts together.
"How did I get duped into taking the middle seat?" Daren grumbled to himself.
"You're still complaining about that?" Delila asked her younger brother.
"Why did Fia get window seat anyway?" Daren asked deciding not to answer Delila's question.
"That's because your big sister called dibs." Delila stated very matter-of-factly.
"How can she call dibs?! She's not even human!" Daren cried out in frustration.
"Daren Frederick Brand! That was very rude of you to say that! Apologize to your sister!" Mary scolded her son.
Daren flinched at his mother's words, suddenly feeling guilty for what he had said.
"I'm sorry Fia, I shouldn't have said that." Daren said to his sister, barely making eye contact.
Fia narrowed her eyes at her younger brother before smiling.
"Braixen!" exclaimed in response as she patted him on the back.
"That's much better, now you kids behave yourselves, we're almost there." Mary said.
A few moments later Fia flicked Daren's nose with her tail, smirking at him playfully, eliciting a chuckle from her younger brother.
The Brand's new vacation home came into view. It was a cozy little two story house sitting atop a hill overlooking the coast a few miles away. It was rather modest in appearance, considering the owners' fortune. When the van pulled into the driveway, an elderly maid came out to greet them.
"Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Brand. How was your trip?" The maid greeted politely.
"Hello Bell. The trip was rather monotonous, but quick. You didn't have any trouble finding the place did you?" Mary replied as she got out of the car.
"Oh no trouble at all. I have dinner in the oven right now. It should be ready by the time you all get settled. Uh, Mr. Brand, do you need any help unpacking?" Bell asked when she saw how much they had packed.
"No it's alright, I go- AGH!" James began to say before he fell over under the stack of suitcases he was carrying, "Maybe a little help would be nice, thank you."
"You're very welcome. Wanda, could you please come help Mr. Brand unpack?" Bell called for her pokémon.
A few moments later a slightly aged delphox came of the house. With a flick of her wand, she lifted their luggage off of James and levitated them to the door.
"Thank you Wanda. Alright kids, out of the van!" James said as he dusted himself off.
"Auntie Bell!" Delila and Daren shouted excitedly as they ran out of the van and embraced their caretaker.
"Oh look at how you've grown! I haven't seen you in a couple years. It's so good to see you! Oh my, is that little Fia?" Bell asked as Fia hopped out of the van.
"Brai!" Fia yipped happily.
"Goodness! You were still a fennekin when I last saw you! It should have been at least a couple more years before you evolve. How did you grow so quickly?" Bell asked baffled at Fia's early evolution.
"Eheheh… Funny story. A friend of mine gave me some weird looking pieces of candy a couple years back, and Fia kinda got a hold of them and ate them." Delila explained nervously.
Bell didn't respond at first. She could tell Delila was lying. Bell gave her a knowing smile before kneeling down in front of Fia.
"Well I don't care if you're a braixen now, you'll still be my "little" Fia." Bell said to her softly before giving her a hug and whispering in her ear, "Come see me later on tonight. Wanda and I are going to have a talk with you."
Fia was shocked at what she said. She stood there for a moment before coming to her senses and putting on a smile and heading inside before her parents could get suspicious.
Does she know? How could she know? It's not like Wanda could have told her what we've been doing. I hope she doesn't tell mom and dad. Fia thought to herself in slight panic. She managed to compose herself by the time everyone settled in. Dinner was served about an hour later. Fia sat at a table set up for her and Wanda. She kept glancing over at Bell, still worried about what she had said earlier.
"You didn't tell her did you Wanda?" Fia asked the middle aged sorceress sitting in front of her.
Wanda quietly sipped her tea before responding, "I believe Bell told you that we'd talk about that later on tonight."
"I know, but I don't want mom or dad to find out. Not when I've come so far." Fia stated, nervously nibbling on a mago berry.
"Fia, you have to understand that they are simply concerned for your safety. Now stop getting yourself all worked up enjoy your dinner." Wanda said handing her another plate of mago berries.
She was still rather nervous, but managed to calm herself down. "Alright… I guess I can set it aside for now." Fia stated calmly. Finally allowing her hunger to set in, she started scarfing several mago berries at once.
Mary looked over at Fia and became upset at what she saw. "Fia! Slow down and chew your food, or you'll choke!" Mary scolded Fia, startling her into almost choking on one of her berries. "You see? Now slow down and stop eating like you just came in from the wild! It's very unbecoming of you."
"Braixen…" Fia replied dejectedly before popping a mago berry into her mouth.
...
"Wanda? I'm here, where's Auntie Bell?" Fia asked as she walked out into the back yard. The sun had gone down about two hours ago and Fia's parents had already gone to bed.
Wanda was sitting on a small bench overlooking the forest at the foot of the hill. "She's making sure your siblings are ready for bed. Come and sit." She said patting the seat next to her.
Fia walked over and hopped up on the bench. "Are you going to tell me why you and Auntie Bell wanted me out here?"
"Straight to the point huh? Well, I don't know what Bell wanted to speak with you about, but I wanted to tell you that I am very proud of how far you've come." Wanda said, gently placing a reassuring paw on Fia's shoulder.
Fia beamed at her mentor and smiled, "Thank you, I've been working really hard!" She exclaimed.
"I'm sure you have been. That's a very nice wand. Where did you get it?" Wanda asked when she noticed how unusually ornate Fia's wand was.
It was a beautifully crafted wand. The wand was masterfully carved from the burl of a redheart tree, appearing as if the wand itself was made of fire. It was hollowed out to hold a piece of charcoal in order to boost her fire based attacks. The tip was shaped into a two pronged flame holding the core chunk of the firestone that was cut to fit into her silver bracelets and anklets as well as the silver flame pendant she wore.
Fia held up her wand and smiled. "My sister commissioned a famous wood carver and gave it to me as a gift about a month after I evolved. She probably ended up spending some of her savings to afford it. I know she wouldn't have been able to afford it with the allowance mom and dad gave her alone. I felt so grateful for what she went through to have it made. I hadn't felt that grateful about almost anything in my whole life up until that point. It's very special to me." Fia explained.
"What a wonderful gift, you're very lucky to have a family that cares about you so much." Wanda said, smiling at Fia as she held up her wand.
"There you two are!" Fia's ears perked up as she heard Bell call out to them.
Fia scooted over as Bell walked up to the bench, offering her a seat. Bell sat down next to Fia opposite to Wanda.
"It's a beautiful night isn't it?" Bell asked, getting a nod from Fia.
"You know, it was on a night like this that I decided to start my journey when i was younger. Wanda was still a little fennekin back then." Bell stated, reminiscing in the past.
Fia listened intently. Bell has told her stories of her days as a trainer before, and they've always fascinated her.
"I've told you many tales of my accomplishments alongside Wanda, but I don't believe I've told you about my life before becoming a trainer." If Fia wasn't paying attention, she sure is now. Bell looked down and sighed. "Before I was a pokémon trainer, I was living with my aunt and uncle in a small town in Kalos. I didn't have very many friends growing up, and it got rather lonely at times. When I turned 15, my uncle gave me an egg. He told me to fill the egg with my hopes and dreams, so that when it hatched, my new friend could help me make those dreams a reality." Bell paused for a moment to gather her thoughts.
She looked down at Fia, who stared up at her eagerly waiting for her to continue. Bell smiled and said, "I wanted to explore the world around me. I wanted to have experiences that not many people could say they've had. I wanted to push myself to my limits and become the best I could be. I wanted to become a pokémon trainer. A few months later, Wanda hatched, and I told my aunt and uncle what I wanted to do." Bell looked away sadly, getting a worried look from Fia.
Bell sighed. "They weren't exactly supportive. Ever since my parents passed away and I was put under their care, they were always concerned with my wellbeing. They didn't want anything bad to happen to me, and as a result I was rather sheltered. However, despite their concerns, they knew that I had grown, and I had a partner I could count on." Bell placed a hand on Fia's shoulder. "You need to tell your parents of your hopes and dreams, even if it worries them. You can't keep hiding your secret training forever, eventually you're going to run out of 'rare candies'." Bell said winking at Fia knowingly.
Fia took a moment to absorb the information she had been given. Smiled and nodded to Bell. "Brai!" She exclaimed.
"Good. Now I imagine you and Wanda were planning on doing more training, so I won't keep you. just make sure you don't stay up too late. Goodnight." Bell said as she stood up and headed inside.
Fia waved at her before turning to face Wanda.
"So what do you have planned for training this time? We haven't seen each other since before I evolved. Maybe you could teach me more about how to use my wand?" Fia asked excitedly.
"Actually, there isn't much else I have to teach that you don't know already." Wanda replied.
"What?! But how? You haven't taught me anything about my wand. Sure, I've taught myself a bit after I evolved, but there's gotta some neat tricks or cool techniques you can teach me!" Fia was confused. How could Wanda have nothing more to teach her? There's so much for her to learn still.
"That's because you've gotten to the point where teaching you any more would only hinder your development. Everything I've taught you has been rather basic. How to properly summon up your inner fire, how to anticipate your opponent's next move, how to dodge. I've taught you the necessities. Everything you learn from this point onward is to develop your own style of battling. You need to learn how you fight, not how I fight, and that is something that I cannot teach you. You must teach yourself now." Wanda explained.
Fia was a loss for words. She needed to teach herself now, and she didn't have the slightest clue as to where to start.
Wanda noticed her plight and made a suggestion, "Why don't you try challenging some of the wild Pokémon in this forest? They'll probably be rather easy for you at this point, but it would probably be best for you to start off light. You shouldn't throw yourself at anything that could pose a serious threat to you until you've at least started to develop your way of battling." Wanda gestured to the forest at the foot of the hill in front of them.
Fia was apprehensive at first, but managed to steel her resolve. "Alright, I'll give it a shot." Fia announced before starting down the hill.
"I'll be right here waiting for you so don't worry!" Wanda called to her from the bench.
"Thank you, I'll be back later!" Fia called back as she stepped through the treeline.
...
"Rraaagh!" Roared Fia's opponent as the tan and cream colored streak rushed towards her, glowing white. Fia rolled her eyes and sidestepped her opponent, allowing him to slam into a tree behind her. "Ooooww…" The linoone managed to pick himself up, stumbling for a moment before shaking it off and turning to face Fia.
"Y'know, that double-edge might actually do some damage if you'd just hit me with it." Fia stated, putting her paws on her hips. "Seriously, are we done? So far you've nearly gotten knocked out about four times, and I haven't even attacked you yet." Fia asked disappointedly.
"I'll show you!" The linoone shouted as he readied another double-edge.
"Dear Arceus." Fia sighed to herself as she elected not to dodge this time. Instead she pulled out her wand and held it sideways in front of herself. A swirling disc of blue light materialized in front of her. The linoone slammed into it headfirst, knocking himself out.
"Wanda wasn't kidding when she said that the pokémon in this forest couldn't put up much of a fight." Fia muttered under her breath as she looked down at her fallen opponent. she twirled her wand in her paw before sticking it back into fur of her tail.
"Woah! So cool!" exclaimed a young pachirisu that sat a few yards away. Fia had inadvertently attracted a small following of young pokémon who were enthralled by her battling skills. Fia was a little embarrassed at the attention she was getting.
"Aw, it wasn't that big a deal." Fia stated under a mask of modesty. It really wasn't that big a deal.
"Wow, who are you gonna fight next?" asked a little buneary.
"I bet my dad could give you a challenge!" suggested a poochyena pup.
"Why bother? She could totally beat up your dad." the buneary asked.
"What?! No way, she's strong, but she can't be that strong! Even if she can beat him, it won't be that easy." The poochyena replied feeling insulted.
"Nope. I bet a battle with your dad would end faster than this one!"
"You take that back, or I'll eat you!"
"No you won't. You like-like me too much."
"N-no I don't! Shut up!"
"Yay! You beat up big bwuduh!" a young zigzagoon pup cheered whilst his two friends were arguing.
Fia giggle to herself as the children continued to squabble amongst themselves. She sat down on a log by the river. She took out a mago berry from her tail fur and bit into it, savouring its intense sweetness. Allowing herself to relax, she looked at the forest around her. The full moon was high in the sky, and the stars were clearly visible. The forest had a peaceful glow to it, illuminated by the starry night sky. The occasional hoot of a noctowl resounded through the forest, reminding Fia that the forest also housed an unseen element. A volbeat and illumise couple were dancing in the distance, giving the understory of the forest a unique presence that stood out.
As she sat there enjoying her snack, she pondered on what to do next. She's already fought several pokémon, and it couldn't have been more than an hour. It's pretty clear that I'm probably gonna be working on developing my own battling style for a while. What am I gonna do when vacation is over? I can't be doing this in the city, it would attract too much attention… she thought, finishing her snack. Whatever, I'll worry about that later. Right now, I gotta find my next challenge.
Fia was shaken from her thoughts by a cacophony of low buzzing. Her ears perked up at the sound and she got up to search for the source of the noise. Suddenly, a pink blur ran across the river a little farther downstream. Fia got a clear look at it when it stopped to look behind itself before dashing away.
Was that an espeon? They're not native to this forest. What's one doing all the w-. Fia's train of thought was interrupted when the buneary screamed.
"EEEEK! It's a beedrill swarm!" She cried as she clung to her poochyena friend.
"Quick everyone, into the bushes!" Fia commanded, scooping up the linoone's unconscious body and tossing him into the bushes ahead of her.
Just as everyone managed to find a hiding spot, about twenty beedrill zoomed by overhead. If the beedrill saw them hiding, they weren't interested as they continued in the same direction the espeon went. After several tense seconds, Fia felt it was safe enough to come out. The children followed soon afterward.
"Where are they going?" the little Buneary girl asked still clinging to her poochyena friend.
"They're probably chasing that espeon." Fia explained as she stared into the treeline.
"Why are they chasing him?" the pachirisu asked, holding onto a stick he'd found.
"I don't know, they usually keep to themselves. That pink pokemon must've wandered close to their nest or something." the poochyena explained.
"What are we gonna do?" the pachirisu asked, finally dropping his weapon.
"We're not doing anything. I'm going after those beedrill and you're staying here." Fia commanded firmly.
"But we wanna come with you!" the pachirisu whined.
"No. It's too dangerous. You guys wait here. I'll take care of those beedrill and bring that espeon back." Fia stated, pulling out her wand and dashing farther into the forest.
A few moments of silence followed until the little zigzagoon pup poked his head out of the bushes.
"Yay! Pwiddy fawks lady gunnuh go beat up meanie beedil!"
...
By the time Fia managed to catch up to the beedrill swarm, she had found them flying around a clearing in front of a cave. She hid behind a tree a few yards away from the clearing and observed them from there.
The espeon is probably hiding in that cave. Beedrill aren't exactly known for their patience, so why are they waiting? Fia pondered as she poked her head out to get a better look. She noticed a few red splotches leading into the cave. Damn, looks like he got hurt pretty badly. Odds are he's probably poisoned too. Poor thing, beedrill venom is supposed to be particularly painful.
Fia drew her wand from her tail, and conjured up several pink orbs. I only get one freebie, so I'd better make sure to hit as many as I can. I'm glad I opted to learn psyshock, I hear beedrill have crappy defense. Fia took a deep breath, before she launched a volley of pink orbs all over the clearing. The unfocused attack managed to catch the beedrill off guard, almost half of them fell to the ground unconscious, unable to withstand the physical psychic assault. "Holy crap, that's pathetic." Fia muttered to herself as she watched them fall.
There were still about a dozen beedrill left. They all turned to face the treeline where the attack came from, and let loose a barrage of poison sting into the forest. Thankfully for Fia, she had already moved to a different spot shortly after launching her attack. She hid in the bushes on the opposite side of the clearing, readying her wand. When the beedrill ceased their attack, six of them slowly flew into the forest to search for their attacker. Fia leapt out of the bushes behind them, raising her wand as the tip ignited with a golden flame. Before the beedrill could react, a pillar of bright yellow flames sprung from her wand. A wave of fire washed over them, charring their bodies and singing their wings. One had managed to get out of the way, and it quickly flew into the trees. "Dear Arceus! Is that all?! I'm not even warmed up!" Fia shouted in frustration.
Everything was calm in the clearing. It seemed as though the beedrill had fled, but the quiet buzzing amongst the trees told Fia that the fight wasn't over. She held her wand up in front of her as she backed up towards the mouth of the cave, not wanting to leave her back open. Soon the six beedrill that left earlier flew into the clearing in front of Fia, and let loose another wave of poison sting. Unable to dodge, she used protect. The tiny glowing stingers bounced harmlessly off the wall of light Fia held up.
Suddenly, the beedrill that had escaped her flamethrower came back and charged at her from the side while its friends kept firing off more stingers. Fia didn't dare try to move out of the way. If she did, she would have risked getting hit with poison sting. "Clever little bug." She muttered to herself. Her protect began to flicker as she kept it up, and she realized she needed to do something quickly. Fia tried to angle the shield towards the charging beedrill, hoping that she could at least block its attack before she tried to roll out of the way of the stingers. To her surprise, as she angled the barrier, the stingers began to ricochet off the shield, many of which ended up hitting the approaching beedrill. As the charging beedrill fell to ground, the stinger assault ceased. Sweet! Saving that little trick for later. Fia thought to herself.
Enraged, the rest of the beedrill rushed at Fia from all directions. Fia rolled out of the way of three of them and blew another away with flamethrower as she stood back up. "Alright! Now things are starting to heat up!" She shouted out, forming a wide grin as she felt a rush of adrenaline. Quickly switching targets, she managed to knock out another before it could get too close. A third beedrill charged at her, flying low to the ground. Just before it could hit her, Fia leapt over it. "Down you go!" She shouted before blasting it, point blank, into the ground beneath her.
There were only three left now. Two of them charged at her, while the third fired of pop shots of poison sting. Fia was beginning to get tired. Dodging them had become increasingly difficult, and she couldn't find the time to slip in another attack.
Okay, maybe I overestimated myself just a tiny bit. She thought as she was backed up against a tree. With a beedrill in front and on each side, she couldn't roll out of the way. The stingers on their legs began to glow as they readied a three pronged assault of twineedle. Fia had to think fast.
Okay, this is bad! C'mon c'mon c'mon! I've gotta think of something! Fia thought in panic. A moment later, an idea came to mind. It was something she had never tried before, but she had no time to ponder it's validity as the beedrill rushed her.
"Here goes nothing!" Fia said to herself as she pointed her wand down at her feet. A gush of fire impacted the ground, and Fia was launched into the air. "WOOHOO!" She shouted in glee as the beedrill missed their target and ended up embedding their stingers into the tree.
"WOOAOAAHH!" Fia cried out flailing her arms as she flew through the air. She landed on her bottom a few meters away from the beedrill. "Ooooww. It's gonna be a while before I try something like that again." Fia grumbled to herself as she stood up, rubbing her behind. She turned around to face the last three beedrill, who were still desperately trying to free their stingers from the tree.
Fia raised her wand up at them, igniting her golden flame. "Now buzz off!" she shouted as she let loose a flamethrower upon her foes. The beedrills' stingers popped out of the tree as they were blown away from the force of the attack. They landed, unconscious, somewhere amongst the underbrush of the forest around the clearing.
Relieved, Fia let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "Whew, glad that's over." She said as she twirled her wand in her paw before placing it back in her tail fur.
Fia turned to face the cave entrance. Alright, now to go help that espeon. Don't you dare croak before I save your furry pink butt. I did not put myself in danger for shits and giggles. Fia paused at that thought before glancing around the clearing and smiled. Who am I kidding? I would have done this regardless! She thought before giggling to herself and entering the cave, lighting her way with the flame of her wand.
The clearing was quiet until a high pitched squeal broke the silence.
"So… AWESOME!" The pachirisu from earlier shouted as he pressed his paws against his cheeks.
"Shush! What if there are more beedrill?" Snapped the poochyena pup in a harsh whisper.
"Yeah, maybe we should go before more show up?" The buneary girl said, nervously glancing around her.
"But she's so cool! Are you guys really scared of those stupid bugs?" the pachirisu asked.
"N-no! But if our parents find out where we've been we'll be in so much trouble!" the poochyena pup replied nervously.
"Erk- But… Okay, c'mon let's get outta here." The pachirisu said, not wanting to get into trouble.
The children headed back to their respective homes, carefully stepping over the unconscious beedrill littering the forest floor.
...
Fia slowly walked through the cave, following the trail of red on the floor. This guy's a trooper. If these red smears are anything to go by, I should have found him passed out on the floor already. She thought to herself as she kept walking.
As the splotches started becoming more frequent, Fia felt she must be getting closer. Okay, he should be around this chamber. As she approached the entrance to the inner chamber, she could hear a faint distorted warbling sound. What is that? Fia thought as she slowly approached the chamber.
Just as she walked through the entrance, she saw a stream of pink light streaking towards her. "Crap!" Fia shouted, startled by the sudden assault. Reacting quickly, she threw up protect, blocking the attack. As the shield came down, electricity began coursing through her wand. Sparks and arcs of electricity enveloped the tip before she let loose an expanding wall of crackling energy into the chamber. The shockwave clearly hit it's target as Fia heard a pained grunt before the muffled thump of someone hitting the ground.
"Shoot! Jumpy moron!" Fia cried out in agitation, at both herself and the espeon she was trying to rescue. She ran over to where she saw him lying in the cave. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good, he's still breathing. Alright, let's get you outta here." Fia said as she picked him up and hoisted him onto her back. "Ugh, I hate heavy lifting. Poor sod better be thankful I'm doing this for him." She grumbled to herself as she exited the cave and headed back to her house. As she made her through the forest, she cringed, realizing what she would have to do when she got back home. "Oh boy. This is gonna take some explaining."
[A/N]Introducing Fia, Neonic-634's character in the story, and one that has a few interesting things about her. You'll have to wait to find out what they are though ^.^. Not sure when chapter 7 will be out, with college stuff really hitting high gear AND my computer's keyboard breaking (and randomly fixing itself, only to break again) at the same time. I bought a notebook to start writing in, so I'll be able to write everywhere, now. I'll be posting any parts that I have trouble rewording in a google document that I will post in my profile. All author's notes can be found in the usual place, in the forum. (Link at the bottom of my profile).
Only Neonic-634 and I worked on this chapter, so no credits here, sorry ;^;