Author's Note: Hi all. Sorry for the month of inactivity before this update. Writing the first nine chapters really ran my inspiration dry (unfortunately, that's a normal sort of thing for me after each major leap in progress), so it took a while for me to gain momentum again. But now, after one month of writing and several resubmits (sigh, FFN refused to recognize my story was updated), we have the tenth chapter, called The Ancient Relic, for you to enjoy. Happy reading!
"Wake up, Minun."
Suddenly, I jerked awake. My eyes flew open in an instant: there was Flame, his icy blue eyes staring right at me. He smiled as he bade me good morning, and helped me up.
"Alright," he said when I'd oriented myself. "It's time to begin our day."
Flame whistled as we made our way down the drafty corridor. Nobody else was in sight, and from the brief glances I got as Flame's bright tail passed over the shadowy entranceways, most of the rooms seemed empty and deserted. It seemed odd that the base was so spread out, when there was so much room so close to the main chamber. Shaking my head, I cleared my mind of the thought. There would be more important things to focus on soon.
When we reached the main chamber, the whole team was already assembled. Finally, after weeks of traveling through thick snowfall and blinding blizzards, I was able to get a good look at them. Blood stood in the center, and surrounding him were a Hitmonlee, a Lapras, a Mawhile, and of course, Flame.
But something seemed strange: Blood had mentioned to me once that he was in charge of "half a dozen of the finest Pokemon I have found in my travels"; yet there had been only five along the whole journey.
Suddenly, tendrils of purple smoke began to envelope me from behind. I fought as they smothered me, but to no avail; the smoke simply came back thicker and more suffocating each time I clawed it away. Panicking, I shouted for help, but I only heard laughter coming from the center.
"Oh, give him a break, you," someone finally said. Instantly, the smoke began to recede away. I gasped for air, coughing up the thick slime that the poisonous smoke had made in my lungs. The gas was so overpowering that it seemed impossible for any Pokemon to make it. But it was a Pokemon that made it: as I was still hunched over, coughing, a pair of huge eyes floated into my view. I backed away suddenly, and watched as the faint purple gas began to cluster behind the eyes until it resembled a shadowy sphere. A purple haze surrounded the Pokemon as it loomed in front of me, staring down at me.
It was a moment before anyone moved. Then, suddenly, Blood took a step towards us. "That's enough," he said. "Minun, this is our team's gastly, Nightmare." He turned to Nightmare. "And this is Minun," he said. "He comes from Albert's village. I know you did not accompany us there this time, but if I remember correctly, you have been there before."
The gastly nodded so slightly that it was almost impossible to tell. "Well, then you are familiar with his hometown, and the monster that inhabits a mountain near it," Blood said. "At present I won't divulge why he came to be in our team, as it's a very long story. I'll speak to you in private later, Nightmare, if you wish to know."
Again the gastly nodded. Blood turned back to the rest of the team, who had started to quietly talk amongst themselves. "We begin training now," he said. "Pair up for practice battles." Blood watched as several team members shuffled towards each other, picking opponents. Nightmare left our side to challenge the hitmonlee, while the lapras and the mawhile quickly disappeared together into one of the chambers.
Finally, there was only Flame. He seemed at lost of what to do, but he eventually shrugged and moved over to Blood with a hopeful look on his face. "Are you going to be training Minun-" he started to ask, and his face fell when Blood nodded. "Of course. He must learn the basics of battle. As for you, since you don't have a partner, just wait for one of them to be defeated, and you may join in."
Flame sighed. "Alright," he said, and lumbered away.
Blood waited until everyone had departed. "Come with me," he said, and started off into one of the tunnels. I struggled to keep up with Blood's brisk pace as we made our way through the twisting, turning depths. Every dozen feet or so, Blood would summon a mysterious flame to light up the cold, lifeless torches along the cave walls. Still, despite the warm glow of the fire, I still shivered in the freezing temperature, though not nearly as much as I had when we first arrived. It seemed I was getting used to the caves, although I wondered if I would really be staying here long enough for that to be a good thing.
Eventually, we reached a river. Murky water rushed out of the darkness, washing over wet stones that twinkled in Blood's flame. "We'll have to cross," Blood said, motioning at the roaring current. "It's not that deep. Come along now." Without waiting for me, he quickly plunged into the icy water and began swimming in brisk strokes across.
Tentatively, I dipped a paw in the rushing water. Immediately, I jerked back - it was beyond freezing, chilling me to the bone. I hesitated for a few seconds, watching as Blood climbed out onto the opposite bank. He turned to look at me, waiting. I tried to make myself move, but all I could hear was the roar of the water as I imagined myself being swept away into the freezing depths.
Suddenly, something shoved me from behind. I didn't have time to cry out as I plunged into the water. My whole body erupted into a burning, searing pain. My arms and legs quickly went numb, until I could barely move them. I frantically tried to swim against the current, but it was all I could do to stay afloat. From the brief glimpses I had when my head was above the rushing water, I saw Blood running along the bank, looking out at me as he watched me struggle.
Anger coursed through me as I realized the truth: he had probably used his powers to push me into the water. My rage invigorated me, and I forced myself to swim towards the other shore with all the power I could muster. I barely made any progress, but with every stroke, I knew I was getting closer to the edge, closer to the end of it all. Determined, I swam on, until finally I felt a faint bump from my numb foot: one of the large rocks that made up the rising bank.
Blood was barely a few feet from me as I spent the last of my strength hauling myself out of the freezing, rushing river, before collapsing in a puddle in front of him. It seemed like hours before feeling started to return to my arms and legs: at first, as a faint prickle, and then as an agonizing swarm of needles that painfully pierced my whole body. All the while, Blood sat, watching, without a single move to help me.
When I could finally stand, wobbling weakly around the bank as I tried to regain control over my legs, I saw his blank expression change into a small smile. "Well done," he said, and produced a small, red berry that he must've carried the whole way, knowing what would eventually happen. "Eat it," he instructed, handing it to me. "It will help you feel better."
I took the berry from his paw, holding it in my clammy hand. A faint warmth emanated from it, and before I could think, I had already taken a small bite out of it. Burning hot, spicy juice filled my mouth, and despite the spiciness, I quickly downed the whole berry. Immediately, I started to feel stronger, as the berry's effect coursed through my body. Soon, I felt almost as well as before I plunged into the river, although I still shivered from my wet fur.
Blood had been staring at me the whole time, and he could see the look of anger in my eyes as I finally turned and faced him. He quickly held up a paw to stop me from lashing out angrily at him.
"Sometimes, one cannot afford to hesitate," he said softly. "After all, if you keep delaying, you will never begin. At those times, a little help can be useful. It might make you realize that you do, indeed, possess the abilities that you doubted of yourself before."
Before I could reply, he had already turned and started walking back up the bank. "Follow me," he said. "We're not quite where I want us to be yet."
When we finally arrived at where Blood had wanted to take me, I was amazed. It was hard to believe such a place existed. It was a whole new world, a paradise of dozens of different plants and berries separated from the damp, dark caves by miles of tunnels. Blood and I stood at the edge of the giant hollow, and he motioned for me to step in.
The hollow itself was a huge, underground dome, arching upwards towards the ceiling of the cave. Massive stalactites hung from the ceiling far above, and equally giant stalagmites rose upwards to meet them. Tiny, glowing crystals were embedded in the rock of the ceiling, giving the illusion of a starry night sky, and thick vines snaked upwards towards the top of the hollow. The ground felt boggy, and hundreds of exotic plants grew from the damp soil, many of them loaded with berries I'd never seen before. I reached out to pluck one of the tiny fruits, but Blood shook his head.
"We've learned painfully that these berries are almost always toxic," he warned me. "Indeed, that berry I gave you earlier did come from here, but it is almost indistinguishable from its many toxic brothers and sisters, all of whom look the same. The only method of identifying the edible ones is the very slight difference in their smell. But, of course, it takes years of practice to recognize such a tiny change.
Blood turned to look at the giant hollow. "For many months after Flame discovered this chamber by accident after he lost himself past the river, I have tried unsuccessfully to understand its mysteries. It appears the hollow itself is natural; however, these plants are not. As you can see, they are quite exotic and strange, and appear to come from faraway lands.
My understanding is that whoever filled this hollow with these plants was probably intending to safeguard them, but from what, I do not know. Perhaps these are all members of a very rare group of plants that are easily affected by the recurring natural disasters. These types of plants used to be fairly common, but died out hundreds of years ago after the natural disasters began happening. My theory does seem to be true, as I've taken several of them out on some of my excursions, and they've all died almost immediately once they're exposed to the environment outside..."
Blood continued on for what felt like hours, at times barely above a whisper, as if he was mumbling to himself. I took my time looking carefully at all the plants I could see, admiring their exotic shapes and colors. They ranged from tiny nubs poking out of the ground to gigantic, fleshy stalks rising towards the ceiling, to more woody trees with unusually colored leaves. Eventually, Blood stopped talking; he merely looked out into the dense jungle of plants, deep in thought. We stood together for several more minutes before he finally came back to reality.
"Minun, do you know why I took you here?" He asked.
I shrugged. "You wanted me to see the plants, didn't you?" I replied. Still, I knew my answer was probably wrong. Blood just didn't seem like he would travel such a long way just to visit a hollow full of plants.
"No, Minun. Follow me. We are going to the center of the hollow, where my reason for taking you here has lain for many ages."
Blood set off through the thick, lush cover of low-lying plants that hugged the boggy ground. I followed quickly behind, letting Blood plow through the shrubs and stalks and trying not to let anything touch me. Surprisingly, there were no wild Pokemon among the dense jungle of plants; at first, I half expected something to attack me any second, but I gradually relaxed as we continued towards the center of the hollow. It seemed so far away, and as we traveled, I began to get a sense of just how large the hollow really was: a massive, circular expanse, perfect for hiding from the troubled world above for hundreds of years, like the plants did.
We finally reached as close to the center as we could get. A massive wall of tall, thick trees completely blocked our way, like an impenetrable wall with the center lying just beyond. Blood paused for a moment, studying the trees. He began to circle around, checking each one, looking for some hidden thing I had no clue about. He mumbled to himself every once in a while as I patiently waited, following him as we slowly revolved around the outside of the grove.
Finally, Blood seemed to find what he was looking for. I watched as he examined one of the larger trees for a few seconds, as if he was verifying something, before dashing off towards an old, rotten stump nearby. He returned with several giant berries, all colored a sour green. We made our way back to the tree he'd selected, where he broke apart the berries and started to slather the bark of the tree with the thick juice inside. He worked determinedly for several minutes, making sure to cover all of the bark, and even gently tipping some into a gnarly, scarred hole he'd discovered nested into the bark.
"And now we wait," he said after he was finally done. "It may take a while for the berries to take effect. But once they do, I will finally be able to reveal this hollow's secret to you." Blood looked off into the distance again. "Whoever built this hollow did not do so solely to conserve these plants. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but they unearthed an extremely rare relic buried at the center of the hollow. Very few of these relics have been found...in fact, I believe that one of the only Pokemon that know the whereabouts of more than one is the legendary Xatu of the Hill of the Ancients.
"What the relic does is unknown, but it emanates an unbelievable amount of power. It's not rare for anyone who gets too close to it to instantly vaporize, only to be found later wandering in faraway places. Such was what happened to me when I first discovered the relic. All I remember was a blinding light, and then suddenly I was at the entrance of Tiny Woods, all the way down near the sunny plains." Blood smiled as he reminisced. "Fortunately Flame kept everything orderly while I made my way back. Afterwards, nobody ever touched the relic again."
Suddenly, a loud groaning noise emanated from the tree that Blood had slathered with the berry juice. I turned around to check it, and gasped - the tree was a sickly dark green, and looked like it was about to collapse. "Stand back," Blood ordered, and when I'd backed away, he summoned a powerful ball of energy that blew the tree to pieces, throwing up a dusty cloud of dark green powder. I coughed violently as the awful, acidic smell of the rotten tree invaded my lungs, but Blood paid no attention; he seemed completely focused on where the tree had been.
We waited for the powdery, acrid dust to settle down. When it'd cleared enough for Blood to walk through it, he started forwards, motioning for me to come along. We stepped into the center of the hollow, beyond the impenetrable wall that the grove of trees made. A small, rocky hill lay just beyond the line of trees, rising upwards sharply like a giant stalagmite. Ancient footholds, worn smooth from eons of use were just barely visible on the face of the rock, and Blood carefully began to climb. I followed behind him cautiously, making sure my feet had a firm grip before I grasped the next foothold.
Soon we were high enough to see over the tops of most of the trees and the giant stalks that filled the hollow. Blood paused to point out where we'd first entered the hollow: from where we were, it looked like a tiny hole carved into the side, like a murky eye on a giant face made of rock.
The top of the hill was barely a dozen feet across; yet, Blood somehow hauled himself up and managed to lie down and rest without falling off. Briefly, I imaged him falling asleep and tumbling down the entire height of the hill, but when he fixed his gaze on me, watching as I struggled towards the last few steps, I knew he was just as awake as I was.
When I finally wrestled myself to the top of the hill, I was amazed. Right in front of me was one of the strangest rocks I'd ever seen. It was roundish in shape, the color of marble, with bands of gold running along its length. It took up nearly half the space at the top, leaving barely any room for Blood and I to fit if we didn't want to touch it.
Blood was doing his best to make sure he wouldn't accidentally brush it, while I concentrated on trying to observe every tiny detail of the rock. Colorful runes had been carved into the surface, and they glowed brightly. From somewhere deep inside the rock, a raw power emanated; I could almost hear it rumbling, and I shuddered every time I got close to it.
"The rock which you are exploring at this moment is the relic I spoke of earlier," Blood informed me. "It is rather strange, is it? Again, these are very, very rare. Extraordinarily rare, even. And indeed, nothing much is known about them. These rocks are full of mysteries...they're a giant puzzle in themselves. And one of my goals is to discover all I can about the relic, so I may unravel its mysteries.
"But I did not bring you here merely to let you have a chance to see such a rare thing, Minun," Blood continued. "I brought you here for a very specific purpose: to train you."
"To train me?" I asked, surprised. I didn't see how I could ever become better by staring at an ancient relic with glowing runes.
"Yes. To train you." Blood said, nodding. "Besides their rarity and the fact that their power often teleport anyone that touches them to faraway lands, these relics have another ability: the ability to change types at will. Indeed...the colors on the relic are actually all the different types the relic can transform itself into."
Blood knew my next question even before I said it. "Ah, it can attack as well," he said. "Of course, it does not attack in any...normal way." He looked upwards, at the ceiling of the hollow. Right above us, at the very top of the dome, a giant, luminous crystal was set into the rock of the ceiling. It was sharply cut, with dozens of facets at all sorts of angles. A faint light seemed to emanate from it, making the translucent crystal appear to shine.
"The relic appears to be able to draw on its mysterious power to produce a very powerful beam of light whenever it's hit with an attack. The light hits the crystal above, and refracts onto the attacker. And, since the relic is able to change type, the exact nature of the beam of light depends on who the attacker is."
Amazed, I listened on as he explained to me what he knew the relic could do. It was truly awe-inspiring: Blood spoke of the relic summoning a swarm of tiny insects when he attacked it with a dark type move, and when he had Flame send a huge stream of flame, the relic summoned a hail of stones that quickly knocked Flame out. Even the Lapras, whom Blood called "Shelly", couldn't withstand the huge arcs of lightning that the relic violently lashed out with when she sent a powerful jet of water straight at it. It was as if the relic was capable of doing everything. It was an invincible beast, power surging through its runes, and mere Pokemon paled in comparison.
I shuddered as I thought of what it could do to me if I attacked it. I knew that if it hit me, I would be wiped out in an instant. A darker question invaded my mind: would I ever wake up? If the relic could take out fully grown Pokemon in a matter of seconds...what could it do to me?
Blood had been staring intensely at my face as I thought, and he seemed to get an idea of my fears. "Indeed, the relic is a beast, Minun," he said. "A very powerful one, full of ancient energy imbued in it by powers beyond our understanding."
He advanced closer to it. "But it is not an invincible beast. With great caution, great persistence, great skill and tactics...it can be conquered. It can be defeated, Minun."
He turned to look at me. "Minun...there is a reason why I chose to take you here, even from the start, rather than have you face Shelly, or Flame, or one of the other Pokemon. It's because I know you have the potential to take on such a powerful foe, Minun. Those...those traumatic incidents, they have changed you. For worse, you might say, and I agree, but I also see something positive, something beneficial, though it is very well hidden.
"I can imagine how you felt when Plusle died, Minun. It felt as if nowhere was safe anymore...as if nobody could protect you from that beast. Am I correct?" Blood asked.
I nodded silently, trying to keep the memories from flooding back into my head. Memories that I had buried...memories that I had kept locked away...because of Blood, they were awakening again.
"And yet...something else changed inside you," Blood said. There was a very serious look on his face as he stared down at me. "Something happened to you, Minun. Something subtle, something hidden. But I can see it in your eyes, Minun. Buried underneath all the tired, gloomy, depressed feelings...there lurks a simmering anger. A silent determination...a cry for revenge, for justice, deep inside. Left dormant, it may one day turn you into a violent, delusional monster, fueled by years and years of suppressed rage, of pure anger. But it is a powerful force, Minun, if you can learn to use it correctly."
Blood started to pace around the relic. "Focus, Minun!" He shouted. "Focus on that anger! Channel it! Make it work for you! Think of the day Plusle died...think of that beast, smashing his body to pieces,as it must have! Think of your terror as you watched without being able to do anything, to help your friend in need. Think of that beast, still lurking in its chambers, deep in the mountain, awaiting its next victim. And only you can stop it!"
Blood's eyes glinted with an almost fanatical energy. He was almost roaring as he spoke. "I will say that again, Minun. I will repeat it until you truly understand the meaning of what I am saying! Plusle died because that savage beast had no mercy! Only you can stop that thing, Minun! Only you can free your village from it! Only you can prove that Plusle's death was not in vain...only you can show that although he is gone forever...you will continue his legacy by destroying that monster, by making sure that never again will anyone fall victim to its savagery!"
My head pounded as I listened to Blood shout. An agonizing fury was building up in me as memories tormented my mind. All I could see when I shut my eyes was Plusle's limp body lying on the ground, covered in blood as it was smashed to pieces...all I could see was Evie, sobbing as she realized that Plusle was gone forever. He'd brought back everything I had tried to ignore...everything I had wanted to forget...everything I had tried to put aside so I could move on. I could barely think anymore as Blood filled my mind with the agonizing memories that I never wanted to think about again. My body shuddered uncontrollably; static flew from my cheeks as all the pent up power inside me became so intense that I thought I would explode.
Suddenly, It was as if my body erupted: terrifying bolts of lightning flew from me, arcing upwards towards the ceiling. I could almost feel the raw power, the pure fury coursing out from me as intense bursts of lightning. The burnt air around me sizzled and cracked as if it were alive. I could barely hear Blood shout. I could barely notice the relic glowing, the ground rumbling...
I don't remember exactly what happened at that moment, but something slammed into me right as the relic attacked. Something cut through the raw electricity shooting out from me, knocking me roughly to the side. Suddenly, I was falling off the relic hill. Claws gripped at my charged, crackling fur, struggling to grab hold of me. All the energy I had left passed from me to Blood, shocking him as wave after wave of electricity coursed through me to him. And yet he still held determinedly onto me, pressing me into his soft fur as we tumbled down the hill to protect me from the sharp rocks that poked out of the edges.
When finally came to a stop, Blood weakly pulled himself off me. I struggled to open my eyes, and I saw a startling sight: his pristine white fur was stained by bloody gashes that the rocks must have inflicted on him. Parts of his fur were singed black from my shockwaves, and he gasped for air. And yet, despite all his wounds, he still seemed focused on me.
"Look...up there..." He wheezed. I raised my head a little at a time until I could glimpse where he had pointed. A raging, dusty tornado had completely engulfed the top of the hill, as it violently swung pieces of rock around the relic. I shuddered weakly as I thought of what would have happened to me if I hadn't been knocked away from certain death by Blood.
Suddenly, a wave of nausea passed through my body, and I fought the urge to throw up. My vision was dizzy, and I felt painful and lightheaded. My whole body ached from the powerful surge of lightning I had released, and I lay my head down on the ground, giving in to sleep.
The last thing I saw before I passed out was Blood standing over me, shielding me from the powerful gusts of wind the tornado flung all along the hollow. He was grimacing in pain; yet, as I watched, his mouth curled into a weak smile.
"Well done...Minun..." he whispered.