Hey, guys. It's been a while. Over the passed nine months, I've been living and learning, and real life always comes first. I had some time to reflect on this universe, and grow it a bit in my mind. As weird as it sounds to make an in depth pokemon universe, I feel like it's great practice for world building in a more original sense, from the ground up.
Alright, I've said all there is to say. Enjoy.
Zach quickly paced back and forth along the width of the alleyway, looking at his feet with his hands on the top of his head. His breathing was heavy, brought on by his near panicked pace. His face had become clammy with a light sweat.
'Who was he?'
That thought ran through him like a blade, cutting down thoughts of ease and dominating his mind. Two answers screaming for illumination simultaneously, neither one waiting their turn in the spotlight.
Questions like where Sean Elm was.
Leo sat with his ears flickering in all directions, his superior sense was enough to keep one thing off Zach's mind, surveillance. The leafeon would watch their surroundings while Zach allowed himself a loss of composure. At this time, when no one could see it, was as good a time as any.
But the night grow colder, as did Elm's trail.
Zach stopped in mid pace, raising his head as he rubbed some of the sweat off his face. Through his fingers, he eyed the capsule rolled to him by the cultist.
Swiftly, he moved towards the small black object, and knelt as he picked it up and turned it over in his hand many times. He saw no wires, and when he shook it he heard only the rubbing of paper as it rattled within. He put his hand firmly on its lid.
With a weary glance towards Leo, he twisted the cap off, and, with a heavy breath, popped it off. To the credit of his stalker, no plum of poisonous gas erupted out, and an explosion did not rip him and his surroundings to nothing. Instead, a roll of paper stared back at him when he peered into the tube.
His breathing eased some in a long, shaking sigh of relief.
He stood, fishing the paper out and unrolling it, exposing a map of Violet City. He scanned the many roads, none named, but he was sure his friends could help him with that.
'My friends,' That thought eased him even more. He tapped the capsule on the side of his hand as he lingered on the soothing thought for a bit as he vacantly looked into the shadow of the deep alleyway. 'I wonder what Adrian's thoughts are about the ambush.' There was too much to think about at once.
'Try to keep pace,' his father had told him long ago. 'No telling what will meet you if you stand still too long, bud.'
"Fine," Zach muttered to himself as he turned to the road, map open in front of him.
SC
He looked down, and observed the lengthy road ahead of him before glancing at the map. It showed there were roads that stretched the entire city, one end to the other. He was on one of the three roads that stretched east to west, but he didn't know which. With a shrug, and a furrowed brow, Zach folded the map, keeping it in hand, and watched the shadows as he began to walk.
Immediately, a small figure darted from one end to the other a hundred yards from his position, a brief flicker under a distant street lamp. Unease digging into him, he turned onto a smaller road, keeping hidden in the winding back roads.
It only took Zach ten minutes to become completely and utterly lost. He first noticed this when standing in the middle of a large market, where each booth had been stripped bare for the night. He slowly scanned his surroundings, his chest raising and falling as a result of his demanding pace.
As he perused, the fine lines of his vision began to blur. He blinked, but it persisted. It had been a
long day, and even longer night.
It was there, tucked between two small booths, that he decided to slump. His legs could hold him, but his spirit had drained, leaving him there on the ground. Instead of struggling, Zach accepted his exhaustion, and laid on his back. He would have fallen asleep right there and then if not for Leo's paw pressing down on his shoulder. The night sky became blocked by the face of his vulpine partner, whose eyes moved over him analytically.
"Just let me..." he stopped. Let him what? What was he going to do? Find this man? Then what? What answers did he want to hear? He clasped Leo's head in his hands, peering into the leafeon's eyes. "Are we better off not knowing?"
Maybe, but leaving a question unanswered wasn't in him, and he had plenty of them to work on.
"It's been a long week, hasn't it?" he asked Leo, who laid his ears down in reply.
Leo patted at his friend's chest, quietly whining.
"What do you think it was? Was he in this cult? Or was that man an academic who knew who Dad was?" His eyes drifted to the stars above him. "He did look a bit scholarly," mumbled Zach as his attention drifted into deep thought.
Leo yipped, smacking Zach's legs with his folded tail.
"What?"
Leo now combined an annoyed yip with a bark, his ears falling back.
'No telling what will meet you if you stand still too long, bud,'
With a sigh, Zach decided to adhere to his fathers embedded advice, and propped himself up on his elbows as he wearily surveyed the shoddy booths. He hadn't kept track of whether or not he had been followed, but his gut told him he was safe. His career experience taught him to trust the feeling. He blankly stared at the map before shaking his head and curling it up in his hand.
All it took for Zach to find his way back was to head south-east until he began to recognize certain landmarks. The moon's position was easy enough for the survivalist to get his direction. Halfway through his walk, Riley had been released, and perched on his shoulder. The pichu made him feel safer the better the little guy got with his aim and power.
From there, it was easy to find Adrian and Amy's apartment. He sighed with relief when the large windows of the store they lived over welcomed him. He walked up the stairs, Leo and Riley in toe, and slowly opened the door.
Why the door was unlocked was immediately revealed as a drunken mistake as he entered the apartment to find Adrian sitting upright, on the couch, and passed out with his mouth hung open. He paused after he closed the door, studying the younger man with interest. Two questions came to him: how much had the ranger drank, and how long had Zach been out?
Did either matter? Why add more questions to the pile?
He sauntered into the living room, quietly removing his jacket and belt before lying on the couch with his arms wrapped around him.
Sleeps grasp was closing in when Adrian stirred, drunkenly snorting as he was jolted awake.
Zach rolled over to investigate, finding Adrian swatting at Riley, whose cold nose had ripped Adrian out of his sleep like a bucket of cold water. As the mouse darted over the back of the couch, Adrian began to grumble, rubbing the part of his hand that the pichu had jolted. It looked like existence itself was dawning on Adrian's face as he became aware of his surroundings, and a sigh left him as he rubbed his eyes.
"Zach," he said in a near mumble. "Fancy seein' you here."
Sitting up, Zach demanded Riley to him. The pichu appeared from under the couch as a yellow blur, vanishing under the opposite sofa. "Sorry we woke you."
Adrian nodded slowly. "Had me worried," he ignored. "I thought I would get home and everyone would be here, but..." he trailed off.
"Get some sleep," Zach said as he stood and moved for the kitchen. "I'll get you some water. You probably don't want a hang over.
When Zach returned and handed Adrian the glass, the ranger grinned tiredly. "Thanks. You got a good heart, man. Best friend a man could ask for, if I say so."
"You think so?" he humoured.
Adrian snorted a laugh. "Hell, you pulled my ass out of -," he stopped to drink the water mid sentence. When he put the drink down, he wiped his mouth and looked up at Zach with a drunken and sleepy grin. "You're a good dude, and I'm going to pull out all the stops with helping you. Ranger's honour."
Sitting on the couch, Zach cupped his hands in his lap as he nodded politely. "I know you will," he said.
Adrian's grin faded, and those humourus eyes scanned Zach as he set the water onto the table. Even in the dark, the ranger's eyes picked up on something different in the bright hazel of the field assistant's.
"Somethin's not right. C'mon." He winked. "Was it that soldier, she on your mind?"
"It's more grave than that, I'm afraid. "
Leaning his head onto the back of the couch lazily, the ranger rolled his hand in an 'out with it' gesture. "I'm all ears."
Zach detailed the events of the night, captivating his drunken friend with the story of his follower and his encounter. When he had finished, Adrian sat in silence for a while as he mulled over the story.
"This guy," Adrian muttered. "You said he sounded cheery? A bit too nice, right?"
Zach nodded.
"What'd he look like?"
"He was older, balding, he might be the same age as our parents if I'm not mistaken."
Adrian's eyes narrowed as he folded his arms over his chest. "Sounds familiar. Sinnoean?"
"Yeah, and he said he knew my father,"
Adrian paused, his brow furrowing at the impact of the idea. "D'ya think he's lyin'?"
Zach shook his head. "The more I think about it, the less I feel like I knew him. I'd rather not..." he stopped.
"You think your old man was in this cult?" Adrian imposed.
Zach's shoulders tightened, and he remained silent.
"Sorry, man, but we need all the angles," Adrian said as he slowly leaned back into his relaxed, drunken state.
"I know," Zach shot back with a small shake..
Adrian looked around the room before he set his eyes on the glass of water on the table, and an idea came to him as clear as the glass. "Another thought is that..." he stopped. "Listen, an old drill instructor owes me a favour. I'm gonna pull it tomorrow, after I break in Sable."
"How do you owe a drill instructor a favour?"
Adrian closed his eyes and placed his hand behind his head again. "Long story, long goddamn story." he chuckled "Longer than this one for sure."
"A story I'll hear?"
"Eventually," Adrian said quietly as his features sunk into restfulness. "Ranger's honour."
As Adrian dozed off, Zach scanned the dark room, his eyes following the shadows cast by the street lights, and, on the comfortable couch, he found a slicing chill in him still. Trepidation ran through him like a saw blade, but all he could do was close his eyes and clear his thoughts.
Though he tried, he remembered the face of his father. Those kind eyes that now had the shadows of deep secrets.
SC
The early morning sun cascaded over the foggy field, the mist covering Adrian's training grounds. Even though it was a relatively cool morning, his forehead was spotted with sweat, both from the anticipation of what was to come, and a mild, if bothersome, hangover. Five Johtan beers could take more than its fair share of happiness from the next day, as the ranger knew all too well.
Regardless, his headache was moderate at best, and the fresh air had cleared his thoughts.
The trainer grabbed a pokeball from his belt. "Ready?"
Quen snorted with a plume of smoke, her vents undulating the air above her. Satisfied, Adrian took a deep breath before he strode further from the road to the middle of the field, which held a large oak tree. A tree spotted with legacies of long passed wounds. A training ground.
With a tight grip on a baton in one hand, he flicked his thumb over the small trigger on the side of the pokeball, and eliminated the trees long shadow with the brilliant white light. The light cascaded over the grass like a ripple of water, that was no more than ten feet away from the ranger, before congealing into a small black mass. A mass of tense muscles and raised black fur.
The next second was a flash, Sable closed the gap with a scream as he leapt towards Adrian with claws outstretched, and, just like in the cave, he was blind sided with searing teeth. Both pokemon crashed to the ground, raising dust as they struggled. Quen's teeth held to the frantic sneasel as they wrestled, her back alight. Sable grabbed for her side with wicked claws, but was ceased by the digging of sharp and scorching teeth into his side.
With a heave of effort, Quen wrenched her head and threw the sneasel aside like a ragdoll.
He rolled a few feet before settling on his side with a small trickle of blood exposed on his right ribs. He soon as he came to a stop, Quen was on him again, the heat from her breath splashing into him with every wild bark the quilava released.
"Enough!" echoed over the field, and Quen immediately ceased her display.
"Back."
Quen released the small cat, her muscles rippling under her fur as she took only a single step back.
Adrian reached into his pocket, making sure to keep his baton in front of him. "I'm not your prey." He pulled a cloth covered fish from his pocket, and waited for the smell to travel to the small carnivore's nose. "I'm better for more than that, Sable." He paused to let the name sink in, the first step was teaching pokemon their names. "I can make you stro-"
Sables's eyes became slits as the smell reached him. His muscles tensed as he took a single, hectic step forward. Quen promptly spat at the sneasel with a controlled and ill tempered ember. It flew passed him, but nothing without licking his arm and sneding the sneasel into a frantic retreat. In an instant, the cat vanished in the shadow of the tree.
Adrian rose slowly, but alertly. "Shit," he whispered as he scanned the tree. "Is a little diplomacy too much to ask?"
A few centimeter's from his right, he saw the black, wavy mass of the blacked out dark-type, and the wicked claws that erupted out of the shadowy figure. Adrian had only time to fall onto his side before watching black fur sail over his head. Frantically, he fumbled for Sable's pokeball, and aimed for the sneasel. The red laser shot out, but it wasn't fast enough to catch Sable before he vanished behind the tree.
Adrian hissed as he stood, keeping his baton up, and pokeball ready. "Quen, on me."
Keeping her keen eye on the tree, her other senses watched their surroundings. Even in an open field, the small headache a blacked out pokemon gave would do him no favours.
He knew it was only a matter of time before Sable showed himself.
"Be ready," said the ranger, and before he finished his order, Quen's fire flared in the silence.
His eyes moved from the buildings around the field, to the grass by his feet, and everything in between. He glanced at the tops of the towering tree, expecting any projectile attack from the ice-type. If Sable knew how to use ice.
He squinted as something caught his attention. Above the tree was a small black figure, red wings carrying a small body. Like an arrow, the black dart plummeted from the sky, and vanished behind the tree. Only two seconds followed before he heard a cry of pain, and saw a bird erupt from the tree, making a turn for another hit.
This happened three more times, each round aiming for a different section of the tree. Red wings and crooked, sharp beak drove Sable out of his hiding, his aim being the mass of buildings eighty feet from the oak.
As fast as he was, he was not faster than light, and the beam from his pokeball snagged him before he could make it halfway across the field. With a sigh, Adrian shook his head at the pokeball before reattaching it to his belt. Patience was a trainer's best tool.
"The hell were you thinkin'?" said a commanding voice. "A feral, dark-type no less, without a buddy? In the middle of the settlement?"
The voice was authoritative, but its cadence was laced with a friendly disposition. The kind of tone one took with respect rather than fear, and the man's face held the same inclination. Adrian turned to see a man of advanced age, whose white beard wrapped around his narrow chin. His youthful and narrow brown eyes were lined with shallow wrinkles nearly hidden in his tanned complexion.
A shadow, of airborne origin, darted overhead and spiraled downwards before its source rested on its trainer's shoulder. A small bird decorated with crimson wings and a jagged beak protruding from a narrow, brown feathered head, watched Adrian with keen red eyes.
The most agile spearow in the ranger's corp, aptly named Dart, was a familiar sight to Adrian.
The man stepped down from the road, his whole body relaxed as he approached Adrian. "'Bout time ya caught another one, Mitsugi. You know you could have been a sergeant by now?"
Adrian's brows knitted together quizzically. "After two weeks, sir?"
The man stopped beside Adrian, and looked down with a smile towards Quen, who's eyes had grown from feral slits, to eagerly welcoming circles. He eyed Adrian's belt."Hell, now that you have three, it might just happen," he said as he held his gloved hand out to Quen. The quilava reached her nose out to sniff the old worn leather. His hand reached further down to the side of her face, and gently stroked her jawline. "And please, Adrian, drop the 'yes, sir' and ' no,sir.' I think we're well beyond that"
"Of course, sir. I mean," he stopped as an embarrassed smile crept to his features. "Of course, Dan."
"That's better," he said as he straitened out. He observed Quen for a moment, her muscular frame, the shine of her coat, and the visible scars where her fur was short. "Still hasn't evolved, eh?"
"I want to keep her small and fast," returned the ranger as he clipped Sable's pokeball on his belt.
Dan nodded towards the ball. "Hell, you have a sneasel to fill that role now."
The ranger shrugged. "Maybe. If I can tame the damn thing."
"There's always time for that, Adrian," the older man said with a smack on the ranger's shoulder. "Now what was it you wanted to talk 'bout?"
Adrian then turned stone faced, his eyes gleaming urgency. "Can we talk about it in your office?"
SC
The room was warm, wooden, and homely. It was hard for Adrian to believe that it was an office, the office of an old ranger, no less. The warm glow of lamps accented the mahogany table that sat in the center of the office. Adrian sat in a large chair, his head resting impatiently in his hand as the finger of his other hand tapped the wood of the arm rest.
His eyes moved around the room, from old paintings of battle, to Dart, who preened himself on a bronze perch.
Dan came around from behind the chairs, holding two cups that gave off steam. "Here," he offered. "It's just tea. Bit early for the alternative," he sat as he settled the cups on the table and took his seat. He took a moment to observe Adrian's expression, which was uncharacteristically serious. "What did you need me for?"
Adrian sighed as he sat straight. "I need you to get me into the gym, to speak with Falkner," he opened. "Augustus isn't available, and I'm neck deep in time pressed shit."
Dan's eyes became circles. He opened his mouth to speak, turning to Dart, then to Adrian. "Almighty," he muttered.
"If it wasn't serious, I wouldn't ask this of you, sir."
"Just-" he cut himself short. "What kind of trouble are you in, Adrian?" he asked with the edges of a demanding tone.
"Professor Elm's been kidnapped by a cult from Sinnoh."
The room fell deathly silent, and even Dart appeared uncomfortable.
"I'll need details," Dan pressed as he grabbed the handle of his tea cup. "From the beginning." He sat back in his chair, and stared at Adrian expectantly.
Adrian went on to explain the whole situation. From the time the strange man had handed him the orb, to their arrival in Violet. He detailed his capture of the skarmory, and of the sneasel. He added the details of the truck which had turned over on the side of the road as the legacy of some conflict. He even included the bits of the conversation he and Zach shared in the living room, or what he could remember of it at least. There were bits left clandestine, like the consideration of using Zach as bait, or Zach's suggestion of interrogation. Adrian's thoughts abandoned the idea of the interrogation when he began to ponder how Zach's patience might run thin during. Surely, Adrian thought, Zach wasn't capable of taking it too far. He still didn't know the Sinnoean fully.
"So," Dan leaned forward in his chair, hard faced. "What leads do you have on the identity of these cultists?"
Adrian only shrugged. "Sinnoean. That's all I know."
"Identifying a cult from Sinnoh. Like finding the sharpest thorn on a bramble bush," Dan sighed as he set the tea down. "It sounds like they ambush. That could be a clue to where they came from." He paused to rub the stubble of his chin. "They sound organized in a militaristic sense, they could have origins as mercenaries. Like The Rockets."
"Like The Rockets," Adrian sighed. "Is it weird that I find that comforting?"
Dan smiled. "Familiarity is comfort."
Adrian laughed. "No shit," he cooed as he lifted his cup.
Dan too laughed. "Suppose we could hire them for this?"
Adrian lowered his cup, and with a snort, shook his head. "That's your life savings, old man."
The quiet smiles persisted for a few seconds as they idly drank their tea, both returning to thoughts of the matter at hand. Again, slowly, the room grew more solemn in its tone.
"What's your current plan?" Dan asked as the mood finalized its shift. "How do you plan on finding the professor?"
Adrian remained quiet, his thoughts were blank.
"Dammit, Adrian. Have you at least spread the word about this kidnapping?"
"Jennifer Itsugi is personally involved in the case."
Dan eyebrows rose. "That's not bad."
"She's working on the Cherrygrove cause. Looking for him there while we came here to spread things out."
"She couldn't send the gym trainer?"
"Cianwood's ships, sir," Adrian shook his head. "In the bay."
Dan grunted, and his lower lip furrowed. "That's right. Damn. When it rains, it pours," he muttered.
"All we can do for now is hope Jennifer finds him in Cherrygrove," Adrian said diffidently.
:Do you think she will?" Dan sat forward.
Adrian wasn't guarded for that question, his unease showed in the brief shifting in his eyes. "I have confidence that she'll find him," he said with a small nod.
"No, Adrian. Do you think Elm is in Cherrygrove?"
Adrian stared at the table, his thoughts setting for a moment. He sighed with his eyes closed, and slowly turned his head to Dan. His eyes opened in almost a dream-like state. "No," he admitted. "If our actions haven't already killed him." He took a drink of his tea, staring out the window in a daze.
"You were close to him, weren't you?"
Adrian nodded, still looking out the window to the trees that danced in the wind.
"Adrian," Dan said before finishing what remained in his cup. "You're asking a lot, but I would actually spend my life savings to help you. I owe you more than money can buy. If I can't get you into the gym, I will at least send them a message. Ranger's honour."
"Add asking Jennifer to come to Violet City and you've got a deal," Adrian said with a small grin, only half way to his charming smile.
Dan simply nodded, his attention shifting to Dart.
There was a small silence between the two, as Adrian took a thoughtful drink from his cup. "How is your daughter, by the way?" He asked, finally looking away from the window.
"She's seen more than anyone in the training corp, and still wants to be like her old man. Wants to be a bit like you too, I reckon."
Now Adrian's full smile beamed, and he looked like the same eighteen year old who came to him for his first day of training. Of course, back then Adrian wore his slacks and was clean shaven; now Adrian sat across from him with a weeks worth of stubble and slightly ripped jeans. As pure planes clothes as he had ever seen his student. True to the fashion of The Frontier. He looked older than twenty two, his eyes were set with the humility and calm of someone twice his age. He saw promotion in Adrian's future, as close as the end of the month.
:Just do me a favour, bud," said Dan.
"Anything you need."
"Wait to have kids."
The greenhorn's eyes flashed and his face reddened, but his teacher's laughter reduced Adrian's embarrassment to humility, and they finished their tea over lighter conversation.
SC
The map now hung on the wall, pinned in place by small nails bought from the store downstairs. Zach now noticed the feint musty smell in the apartment, risen up from the dusty shop beneath. He had only felt marginally guilty about nailing the map to their wall, beside the window where he could allow himself to think clearer, and watch the populace of Violet as he allowed his imagination to run free. Free thought, he had learned from Rowan, was essential to solving any problem.
He studied the map ruthlessly, focused ten fold with the help of Amy's tuneful guitar, leaving no part of the city out of his scrutiny. He found his gaze meeting with the western district of the city mostly. Where the man had flown towards. The man who had given him this very map, who had mentioned his father.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, opening them slowly to watch the people in the street pass by beneath him. Violet's western district was as convoluted as his thoughts, streets curving randomly, and spaced too far apart.
"Find anything?" Amy asked as she plucked the bottom E string eagerly.
Zach simply shrugged, he wasn't even looking at the map at this point. Simply watching the world go by, and the time he had left washing away. "Have you and Adrian spoken yet?"
She shook her head. "He left too early for me to see him, why?"
Zach was quiet.
"You ok?"
He closed his eyes again and sighed. She had been candid with him, and the thought crossed his mind to do the same for her. "Last night," he nearly muttered. "I left the bar early, and." He stopped short, and he grimaced as a sharp pain pierced through his head. His vision became polluted with black spots that darted around like bugs, harbingers of this damn headache. He held a hand up to Amy to say 'Sorry. Give me a minute.'
He made his way to the couch across from her, and sat with a scrunched face. This one felt massive, like something was tugging at him from within. Immediately, it looked as though the world was warping, and he wired his eyes shut. Even then, the vibrations seemed to persist in the darkness.
"Zach?" Amy asked when she noticed the look of intense pain on the field assistant.
He shook his head and waved her away hastily - I said give me a minute. He felt his stomach begin to sour as a powerful tingle shot down his spine, and he sat back fully, immobile.
'Them', a deep and growling voice gargled from the depths of his mind. Zach's heart skipped a beat, and he broke out in a sweat over his entire body. Amy stood at seeing Zach's eyes shoot open in terrified pain, and rushed to the window, closing the blinds and spinning around to face him again.
'You know Them,' the voice sounded again, them was brought out slowly, almost disgusted.
All at once, everything stopped. The world's vibrating ceased, and the pain all left as soon as it came. The minor effects were still felt, though. His teeth refused to unclench, as did his fists. He breathed heavily, his eyes wildly darting around the room as beads of sweat dampened his brow.
Amy appeared in front of him, kneeling with a glass of water in her hand. She concernedly looked him over. "Are you ok?" she asked as she all but thrust the cup into Zach's clenched hand.
He took it, the glass nearly running over the brim as he shook.
"Zach." Amy nearly demanded. Her heart raced too.
Zach put his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his free hand, placing the cool water against his temple. He closed his eyes once more, and took slow deliberate breaths. "One second," he asked as politely as his anxiety would allow.
He had known hallucinations before. Sometimes Sinnoh's summers could get so hot that he would be unable to leave his house because he was in so much pain. The same damn pain that plagued him his whole life. Pain so intense that his grip on reality would begin to slip, but it was never this lucid. He had never been able to pinpoint the exact cadence or tone of an auditory hallucination; this time he could.
Amy sat next to him, her hands held tightly in her lap as she glanced around the room uneasily.
Two full minutes passed, the longest minutes Amy had felt since her husband had been laid on a gurney and shoved into the ER.
Zach slowly rose the water to his mouth, his eyes looking distantly forward, and drank. He took two more drinks before setting it down. "Them," he said finally, though through his accent, and the tenseness of his throat, Amy couldn't understand him.
She only nodded, hesitantly. Was he referring to the cult? She cocked her head to ask him what he said.
"Them," repeated Zach as he set his cup on the table. "I've had hallucinations before, but..."
Her brow's tips raised. "I think you're working too hard," she said as she rubbed his shoulder once.
Zach shook his head, and rubbed his face. "What other choice do I have?"
She smiled empathetically, and squeezed his shoulder once before standing and moving for the curtains. "Are you ok with light?" she asked as she observed him over her shoulder.
Zach nodded. "The headaches come and fade." But this lingered, not in pain, but in fear. Something deep in him shuttered with unknowing.
Amy drew the curtains back, and the light filtered into the room once again, clouded with dust light for a time until the room's mood finally lifted again. Amy crossed her arms as she glanced around the room, the coffee table, the map on the wall, and Zach's belt.
"Which one's Riley?" she asked.
Without a word, Zach reached to the pokeball wedged between his other two, and wiggled it slowly. He knew what she was suggesting and thumbed the trigger on its side. The light of the room bounced against the walls, revealing more dust kicked off from the curtains, and congealed into the small mouse on the coffee table. The pichu sniffed around the table for a moment before jumping into Zach's lap, and produced a very small charge.
At the very least, Riley was learning to control his power.
Riley looked up at Zach, and seemed to notice something was wrong. The bottom lids of his eyes rose, and he squeaked to be picked up. Amy watched with a smile as Zach picked up his pokemon in a hug.
She turned back to the map, and walked over to it with crossed arms. One brow raised as she looked at the western side of the map. "This isn't right," she said after thirty seconds of silent study. "Half of the roads are missing."
Zach quietly nodded, unseen by Amy. His attention was on his pokemon, who appeared to fall asleep in Zach's arms. He was becoming lost in the comfort of his pokemon's soft fur. "I'll think about it later," he admitted shamefully.
Amy looked back at him and nodded.
SC
Zach and Amy continued their morning in silence. The map begun to tear at the nails, pulled slightly when Amy tugged at it to bring it closer to her eyes. It was an attempt to get better bearing on what was wrong with the damn thing, but she only sighed in frustration as she released her grip on it.
Zach hadn't said a word in a few hours, he only looked out the window in deep thought as Riley slept in his lap. His other hand rested by his hip, close to Leo's pokeball in the same way a resting gunslinger keeps his hand near his gun.
The silence of the room was broken by the sound of the front door's knob turning, sounding something like a crack with the hast with which it was opened. Around the corner emerged Adrian, muddy boots and all as he leaned against the wall facing his wife with a grin. Zach saw a spark of hope in those eyes, maybe even pride.
The field assistant stood at once, hugging Riley to his shoulder like a parent would. "How did it go?" he asked urgently.
Amy looked between them. "About what?"
"I spoke to my old drill sergeant," Adrian said with a nod that said 'you know the one.'
"And?" Zach pressed.
"He'll do what he can. He has some pull, but gettin' us to speak with Augustus or Falkner will still be tough for him."
"Can he do it now?"
Adrian, not surprised to hear the question, turned to Zach, and shrugged. "He might need some time to prepare his statement, but he might be able to do somethin' by the end of the day."
"Can you take me to him?"
Now the surprise showed. "That wouldn't do good, Zach. Let's give him some time."
'Time, it was always time. Time might be running out for him, Adrian, and they,Them, Might have taken something too far. Mistakes happen all the time, even if they don't want to kill him.' He might be... "We have no time," Zach shot back as he quickly marched by the ranger towards the door.
Adrian turned around and watched Zach put on a boot. "You being there isn't going to speed things up. We're best just hangin' tight and waitin' for his spearow."
"Me being there is mandatory," Zach said with a shake of his head. He stopped and looked at Adrian, urgency and a hint of fear flaring in his eyes. "I need to be working with your drill sergeant. I can aid his testimony."
Adrian looked sidelong to Amy. She simply shrugged. The ranger pinched the bridge of his nose, he had begun to feel better, but this headache was becoming self sufficient. "You're a target, going-"
"Let them come!" Zach snapped as he wrenched on the laces of his boots, his knuckles becoming white under the strain. His shout bounced off the walls, and Riley recoiled from the boom of his trainer's anger.
Adrian stepped forward, his brows knitted. "Zach, going out there isn't going to help. My teacher's spearow knows this house, and will come with a yes or no depending on the gym's answer."
Zach stood, his fist clenched. "And what are we to do until then? Wait for them to attack us? To find your house by following the spearow? Maybe they're watching us right now. Maybe they're on the other side of this door." He knocked hard on the wood, producing a thump.
Adrian looked at Amy again, seemingly at the end of his wit. All she did was shrug, she saw no harm because she wasn't nearly as paranoid as their Sinnoean friend. Nodding his head, all he could go was grunt in defeat, almost a laugh as he too shrugged. "You're a son of a bitch, Zach," the ranger said as he glanced at Sable's pokeball. 'These two have something in common.' His feint smile came back to him, at this thought. "You keep your eyes peeled like you're in the woods, ok? If we lose you, then this whole thing goes to hell, and Elm? Gods know what will happen to him, got it?"
Zach's face was set, and his eyes were stiffly on the ranger's. "Where can I find your teacher?"
Adrian opened his mouth to answer, but Amy cut him off by sweeping around the corner and holding out the city map, almost as fluently as a dancer. She pinned the map against the wall with her finger. "Here, it'll take you roughly twenty minutes on foot. She dragged her finger around the map as she spoke. "We're here, and all you do is take Hino Road north, then right on Mix."
With a nod, Zach snatched the map as politely as his rush would allow him. He nodded his thanks and turned the nob, filing the apartment with late spring heat. The door was left ajar as Zach attempted to close it before rushing down the stairs and beginning a jog. Twenty minutes, she said? He'd do it in fifteen.
Adrian stepped out onto the patio. He stared vacantly at the dirt road, holding the legacy of passed activity of the city. Wagon marks, footprints of both man and beast. He sighed as he leaned against the railing.
Amy came out, her head cocked, and a faint smile that expressed the same concern as her husband's stare. "He had a rough morning," she suggested.
Adrian nodded. "Rough night too. He didn't have his armour on, did he?" He didn't need Amy's reply, he already knew the answer was no. He reached for his belt, and released Arcturus. The skarmory congealed on the railing, the chick's claws digging into the wood. In the distance, he could still see Zach briskly jogging. "Watch him," he told the skarmory, who immediately dove off the porch, his wings catching air.
SC
Zach's jog had been reduced to a brisk walk as the crowds of Violet City's streets grew denser the closer he got to the heart of the city. He allowed this change of pace, for the map, no matter how inaccurate, still portrayed the location of the gym and barracks.
The fact that the gym was just down the block from the barracks eased him a little. Still, he stuck to the less traffic-intensive area on the side of the road. He still needed to push through window shoppers, but he was able to find his path. A crowd of people and a forest weren't that different if you only saw the people as obstacles to pass.
He wished all things that got in his life were this easy to maneuver around.
After ten minutes of the twisting and diverting, and an ever growing exhaustion of the constant apologies he had to deliver, Zach took refuge in one of Violet's many alleyways, and apparent meeting spots. He cocked his brow for a second as he contemplated if this was the same alley he was in last night, but shook the thought away once he considered the odds.
"Now," he mumbled to himself as he pulled the inaccurate map form his pocket. "I take the..." He paused, his brow furrowed. His ears had distracted him with the tin rolling of a can. He took a long pause amid the bustle of the city that surrounded him. For only a second did Zach dismiss it and return to the map before his paranoia took the better of him. In the shadow of the alley, Leo's coalescence cast its glow, and would draw whatever attention would come to him.
The fox took one look at Zach's focused stare, and followed his gaze to a small L in the alley. His tail raised over his head and his ears laid back, pure leafeon battle stance prowled near the small dead end corridor.
A small black blur bolted out from behind a trashcan, it's long tail flowing behind it. Leo only watched the cat as it ran from the pokemon faster than Zach could follow.
Zach let out a sigh of relief."Let's just get out of here." Zach turned to move back into the street, when he noticed a group of people blocking the exit. They appeared harmless, merely talking among themselves with smiles and laughs. It was only a group of friends who had the same idea as Zach.
Zach still eyed them nervously, and clicked for Leo, who came to his side with his ears scanning the scene.
He turned to leave the alley on the other side, but he paused when he noticed the same thing. A smaller group stood in their circle, taking refuge from the streets.
Zach had remembered Adrian talking about this phenomena, it was apparently common in Violet. Groups of people needing a break from the crowded streets of the arguably overpopulated city. Sometimes the odds were that they would do it on opposing sides of an alleyway, blocking the path. It presented a problem from those who enjoyed shortcuts. Adrian simply called these groups corks.
Corks blocked his path on both sides, and he took a second to ponder which one he was going to hastily blow through to get out. The lack of sun was beginning to harass him. Actually, his heart was beginning to quicken as he studied both groups. He was noticing the glances towards him. The merry men who showed their yellow teeth seemed a bit too happy, like they had made a great achievement recently.
It was one quick glance that sent that spun the entire situation in Zach's head. The man's pale blue eyes seemed knowing, and his smile was hiding something that had almost broken through. Like there was an undertone of mischief to him. Now Zach was looking at an intentional cork.
Zach immediately moved towards the dead end alley. His hand was over Reiner's pokeball. His idea was that the still wild pokemon was still a good shield. He remembered how the bolts of the guards' crossbows bounced off him without leaving a mark.
His back was now against the dead end, watching the oaken wall that made up the building in front of him. Every hissing vent set him further on edge. His eyes darted, but the attention his put into each glance began to dull as the skin on his arm began to tingle.
You're getting paranoid. At this thought, Zach froze. He now only looked forward, his eyes narrowing as a small smile pulled his fear away. 'Paranoid. Adrian said those corks were common. The guy probably just didn't care that he was blocking me. The average Joe Blow from Johto.' Zach looked down at Leo, whose ears were still perked. "Bit of an asshole, though; with a smile like that," Zach actually laughed. He slumped against the wall and eventually let himself catch his breath as he sat in the dead end alley.
He looked up, watching the clouds pass over the power lines that crossed between the buildings. Still, though, his hand never left Reiner's pokeball. Even though the sky had been a dark blue clustered with small clouds, he had been unable to relax. Maybe it was because his headache had unnerved him, maybe it was the storm of questions brewing about his father. In this moment, though, Zach felt relief. Relief that the corks were not barricades. Not intentionally, in any case.
"Leo," he said, with a grunt, as he began to stand. "The road's busy, so stay close to the-" He stopped when dust from one of the rooftops fell onto his shoulder, littering his hair and running down the back of his shirt. He looked up to find himself underneath a silhouette. It had something raised to him, aimed at him.
Zach could only dive forward from his current stance, and he heard the impact of a bolt into the dirt as he moved.
Zach's eyes flashed wide, and his thumb slammed into the trigger of Reiner's capsule. The behemoth coalesced, taking up the width of the alleyway. The rhyhorn tried to turn to face Zach, who was behind him, but was hindered by the tight space. He threatened the grow frantic.
Zach had no time to ease his newest addition before more silhouettes appeared above him, three in total. He rolled to one side, his hands covering the back of his neck, as a bolt bounced off the ground beside him, and another pinging harmlessly off Reiner's hind leg.
With a grunt, Reiner kicked backwards, his right foot thrusting over his trainer with a force that moved the air and kicked up dust.
"Reiner!" Zach called as he scrambled towards him, knowing full well that the ryhorn didn't even know his name, let alone being able to understand an order. "Stay still!"
Reiner tried to turn again, but his head bumped into the wall, leaving a small break in the wood. He staggered to one side, bumping into the wall perpendicular from the one he just damaged. Leo ran in front of him, barking in the best way a leafeon knew how to say – if you don't listen, we're all dead.
Reiner grunted dumbly at Leo, but another barrage of bolts pinged off his back. He tried to turn again, deepening the damage being done to the walls. By the time he looked back from another failed attempt, he noticed the beige fox had gone, but a simple twist of his head allowed him to catch the tip of his tail, now crouched under his belly.
Zach breathed heavily under the heat of the ryhorn, carefully reaching a hand out to Reiner's front left leg, he stroked it gently, and the leg lifted a second before easing back to the ground.
Another hail of bolts showered Reiner, bouncing off his hide. They felt like the stinging of sand in a storm, no more than an annoyance.
Zach closed his eyes, his hand still on Reiner's leg as he hopped the rhyhorn wouldn't just run off into the crowded streets. But Reiner remained still, even seemingly sturdy.
He heard an order. "Aim for its eyes!"
A reply. "His eyes are closed! He can't get through those lid-" the sound was cut off by an ear piercing screech, and the desperate calls for help from one of his assailants. A second later, there was a thud and a crack. Zach looked between his feet, still whispering calmly to Reiner, as his eyes met with a bloody corpse. The body's face was set in terror, with a mouth hinged open in mid scream. One wide green eye stared off into nothing, the other had popped and dripped blood like a faucet. He had been ravaged in the stomach, and cuts lined his entire body.
"Shit!" called one of the men, his accent clear.
There was another screech, and a call of pain. The injured groaned and swore to the other. "Forget Pine! Shoot the fucking skarmory!"
Hardly the words of a religious man, Zach thought, more like a soldier, or an outlaw. All he knew was that they were Them, and he knew Them. The semantics of his hallucination would had to have waited, for he saw feet round the corner. A bolt landed between Reiner's legs, missing Zach by half a foot as it pegged into the ground.
The next seconds were a flash, dust formed all around Zach as his shelter shifted, and bolted forward. Reiner vanished into the wall in front of them, carrying whoever had stepped in front of him through. He heard the screaming of the customers of the shop as the ryhorn plowed through the business, carrying an impaled man on his horn.
Zach too charged forward, taking to the shelter of the building. He hazarded a glance behind him, to find the silhouettes gone and Arcturus making a dive over the alley. As he passed by the actual alleyway, he found that the corks had drawn towards the incident as well, one of their hands reaching for a pokeball.
Leo parted from Zach just to run the edge of his tail against the trainer's hand, leaving a long crying cut from the thumb to the pinky. The man stopped in surprise and pain, crying out as his hand abandoned the pokeball to he held.
The man in front of Leo turned in mid stride to investigate, and his legs were cut out from under him by Leo attempting to run between his legs. The man tripped over Leo's hindquarter, providing minimal hindrance to Leo's balance.
Swearing and a thud bounced off the alleyway walls as Zach and Leo escaped into a witness filled environment.
As I said, I'm beginning to build this world on a deeper level, including local events and character back stories. I might start doing a collection of one shots, sort of like 50caliberchaos' 'Legendarium: Lesser Tales.' And, yes, stories with canon characters.
A big thank you to Lukahylo for being my beta reader for this chapter. He has been a great help.