I apologize for the very long hiatus. I doubt any of my readers are still here. Or remember this, for that matter. But I promised someone that I would dust this account off and try it again. So I will post everything that I had in the forum it used to be in.

The Day Continues

My heart stopped as the beam swallowed up Char and continued its path toward Professor Cedar's lab. I was blinded by the beam as it passed me. Everyone in the town was now witnessing the phenomenon in the safety of their homes or the Pokemon Center, including Nurse Joy and a fully healed Reaper. Me and the Pokemon were sitting down, feeling unable to do anything. But I had to do something; after all, I did start all of this. I did the only thing I could think of:

"Raikou, stop this! Stop it now!" I yelled in desperation.

All went quiet so suddenly: no thunder, no chattering from the onlookers, nothing. I opened my eyes, waiting for my vision to clear so I can inspect the aftermath. The first thing that I noticed was that there was no beam, just a trail of turned-up street where the beam traveled. It stopped just short of the gate to the reserve. No one was hurt, but…

"Hey, where's Char?" Ryan asked before I did. He was frantically looking around for his new Pokemon.

"I don't know, but I'm more interested in finding out what that is!" Static said pointing to something that was in the same place Char was when the beam hit him. It looked like a huge fireball.

"It's Char!" Feather said, sounding extremely relieved. She flew over to the fireball while Ryan put on his Crystal necklace and followed her.

I stayed where I was, feeling exhausted for some reason. I saw Static was slightly shaking and Artemis's mouth was slightly open. I didn't see Cinder anywhere.

"Hey Artemis, where's Cinder?" I asked her.

She looked at a spot on the ground. At first I thought that meant that she was trying to avoid telling me. At least, until I found out that the ground was lumpy. I dug at the spot until I saw a badly shaking Cinder.

"Are you alright?" I quietly asked him.

"Do I look alright to you!" he shouted angrily. "Where's my pokeball? I'm sitting this out for the rest of the day!" He ran to Ryan and pressed the button on his pokeball.

I turned back to the fireball, which was vanishing. In its place was Char, looking like he was ready to collapse. He shook his head and turned to me. I looked at the ground, trying to avoid his gaze.

"Someone needs to work on his people skills," Feather said. "At least you did a strong enough air lens to shield yourself from Raikou's Zap Cannon."

"That was Raikou? Why would he want to attack Char?" Ryan asked her.

"Because your friend told him to," Char growled.

I looked up and saw that he was glaring at me again. "I didn't tell him to do anything! At least, I didn't mean to!" I said defensively.

"Yes, you did! Your feelings and thoughts were read by the Crystal within you, so in a sense you meant for something like this to happen. Like what you did to Cackle." He narrowed his eyes and let out a snarl.

"I did that to Cackle?" I silently mouthed.

"Calm down, Char! She really didn't mean to put you in that much danger," Feather said calmly. "Besides, she stopped Raikou from doing anymore damage." She pointed to where the beam's trail ended.

Nurse Joy ran out of the Pokemon Center, followed by her Chansey and Reaper. Char saw them and hid behind Ryan. They looked around at the damage and ran to us. "What happened here?" she asked me and Ryan.

"Some Pokemon attacked us," Ryan explained. "We're okay. She'll need some help, though." He pointed to the still burned Tulip.

"Oh my! Chansey, get a stretcher!" she called out. Her Chansey quickly fetched a stretcher and both of them were back in the Center with Tulip in a little over a minute.

"My, that was close. I thought you were done for, Char," Feather said. "I think I'll go in my pokeball for a while for a nice nap."

"I think you should too, Char," Ryan said as he took out his pokeball. "You did get hit by a Zap Cannon, after all."

"I'm fine. I'll sleep it off later," he grumbled.

"Don't worry, give him some time and he'll cool off," Feather whispered to me before I returned her in the Aero Ball.

Reaper stood next to me and looked down at me. "What happened?" I sighed and told him.

"We should explain this to Professor Cedar," Ryan suggested. "Come on, let's go."

"Yeah, let me just…get myself together," I moaned. I struggled to get on my feet and found that I was woozier than I thought. I was exhausted, too. I closed my eyes for a second and felt my legs disappear.

"Shonta!" I heard Ryan call out.

"It's okay," I reassured him. "I just need a nap." The world around me fell silent.

I opened my eyes and found myself in Professor Cedar's living room. I turned around and saw Professor Cedar playing Gamecube. I quietly watched him as he played and gave several shouts of frustration.

"Didn't I tell you to use Jigglypuff for Event Match #51?" I mused, no longer able to keep quiet.

He looked at me and smiled. "You're awake. I was about to worry about you."

"Yeah, I noticed that by your terrific bedside manner," I said sarcastically. I sat up and looked out the window. It was about nightfall. "How long have I been out?"

"Pretty much all day. Don't worry, I called your mother. She sounded worried, but I told her that you would be okay. Stay and I'll order pizza for us."

"Where's Ryan? And how did I get here? I must've been as stiff as a board!"

"He's outside with his Charizard who, I'm amazed to say, carried you here. Where did he get a Charizard that big? He reminds me of those Charizard from the Charicific Valley."

"It's a long and weird story. I think I'll get up and go chat with them."

I found Ryan and the Pokemon outside on the field. The first one to spot me was Artemis, who immediately informed the others.

"Hey guys, Shonta's up! How do you feel?" Artemis shouted.

"Like I could eat a whole pizza," I said. I had to brace myself as Artemis happily tackled me to the ground. "I see Cinder's out of his pokeball." I let Feather out of the Aero Ball and watched her fly to Char.

"Hey Shonta! Char said he wanted to talk to you! Alone!" Static called out to me from his group of Pikachu and Pichu.

"Oh boy," I groaned as I got up from the ground. "Does he want to want to talk to me or drag me in the woods and torture me?"

"Well, his words told me he wanted to talk to you but his voice kind of suggested that he'd rather drag you in the woods and torture you," Static said.

"Oh man!" I slowly walked to Char and tapped him on the back. He looked at me and smiled. It wasn't one of those crooked grins; it actually looked…warm.

"Hey. Had a nice nap?" he asked me. There was no growling in his voice, either. "Feather, can you sit this out?"

"Sure thing, Char," she said. She flew back to Ryan and the rest of the group.

"Yeah. About this morning, I'm sorry about having you zapped by Raikou," I apologized.

"That's okay. I sort of had the feeling that getting you steamed would bring that guard dog of yours here," he said.

"Guard dog?" I repeated.

"Yeah, when you sent that pillar of light skyward it was like sounding the dog whistle," Char explained. "Of course, it's the Crystal that called him so next time try to stay cool. But it may not be just that."

"Really? What else is there?" I asked him. I was waiting for this answer.

"I think he shares a mental link with you, not just your Crystal. He's been keeping an eye on you since you were born and trying to protect you as best as he can. I think he overdoes it, though."

"Yeah, no kidding. Can I ask you another question?"

"Shoot."

"You said you came here to visit Reaper. How did you know he was here? And how do you know him?"

"I…can't tell you," he told me. He was now looking at the ground.

"You have to! Reaper can be in a lot of trouble for what he did to this town and to us!"

"Whatever he said about his past was only partially true," he said, still looking at the ground. "Years ago, a bunch of human scientists controlled by Psychic- and Ghost- type Pokemon captured a bunch of Pokemon, including me and Feather. Most of us were training to be full-fledged Aurora Knights, but some Pokemon including Reaper and another Scyther were another issue."

"What about them?"

"They were that rare breed that was born to be able to control the Aurora Crystals. See, most Pokemon have to be trained to be able to activate the Crystals and even then most just can't cut it. But Reaper could activate it just by touching it, so he would have to be trained to control it like you. This kind of Knight is the strongest, because the power of the Crystal depends on the strength and ability of its Knight."

"So Ryan and I are like Reaper and this other Scyther?"

"Yes, but since all of us were caught in the wild, these two had no idea why they were there. Reaper and the non-Knights just thought these humans were evil Pokemon breeders trying tortuous techniques to get the most out of the Pokemon. Feather and I along with the rest of the Aurora Knight trainees were put in one part of the lab while the two Scyther and the clueless bunch were put in another part."

"So how did you get out?"

"We used our wits and our luck. We tried to get all of them out, but we couldn't help the Pokemon in Reaper's part of the lab. Later we found out that every Pokemon that was kept in that part became an Umbra Demon. But I'm not sure how Reaper escaped that fate."

"I've heard of the Umbra from Cackle. Are these the guys that are coming after me?"

"Yes; they are the extreme opposite of the Aurora Knights. To make a long explanation short, it's what happens when a dark soul gets hold of an Aurora Crystal and corrupts it. The power goes to their minds and the darkness overcomes the Crystal. They both start acting like…well, demons. But there's a twist to the lab story."

"What?"

"The lab was mostly run by Umbra Demons, but a few scientists and employees were completely clueless. When the Reaper and his gang escaped, they literally brought the house down, and killed all of the scientists. In fact, I was worried about what Reaper was doing here."

"You mean you thought that Reaper was one of the Umbra? Do you…still think that?"

"No! But I'm afraid that his Scyther friend Ripper is. He's running the operation to get rid of you and Ryan. Or just you."

"What's so special about me? Besides the fact that I was practically born an Aurora Knight and that Raikou's my bodyguard?"

"I don't know, but your link with Raikou must be a clue to why your Crystal's so important." He raised his head and gave a sinister growl.

"What's wrong?" I asked him nervously.

"We have company," he said in a low voice. He stood up and let out a loud roar that startled the Pokemon.

Feather flew back towards us. "Char, why are you sounding the alarm?"

"Fly up and check what's coming, Feather!" Char commanded her.

Feather flew up above the trees and hovered there. At first she just stood there scanning the view, but soon she was circling around us. She found something.

"Intruder alert! Intruders approaching from the forest!" she screeched. "Prepare for battle!"

"What's coming, Feather?" I called out to her.

"Umbra Demons," Char said with a tone of hatred in his voice. He loudly roared again, this time to Ryan and our Pokemon.

"What's wrong, Char? Don't tell me you're still steamed…" Static started.

"They're coming! Everyone get ready to defend yourselves!" Char bellowed. It was like he was a general or something.

"What's coming!" Cinder screamed.

We heard several long howls coming from the forest, along with cries from other Pokemon. Guess our questions were about to be answered. Shadows bursted out of the trees and faced us. Some of the Pokemon were fuzzy, but others were easy to make out.

"Show yourselves, demons!" Char demanded.

"I'll be glad to, friend," one of the shadows said. "Magnemite, light up this place with Flash."

"Yes sir," a floating shadow answered. A bright flash of light filled the field. What I saw I'll never forget. There were at least twenty or thirty Pokemon, and I remembered more than half of them.

"Oh no, the Poochyena and Mightyena are back!" Cinder whimpered.

"Hey Reaper, that Scyther looks like you," Artemis commented.

"You don't know how many people say that," the Scyther said. "Call me Ripper."

"Why are you here, Ripper? Getting too bored to chase after Pokemon, so you go after kids?"

"Actually, yeah," Ripper said. "That and I hadn't heard from my brother since I sent him off on the mission."

"I'm not your brother, and I'm done taking orders from you!" Reaper shouted.

"What is he talking about, Reaper? Why did he send you here?" I asked him, taking a step away from him.

"What's the matter, child? He's not called Reaper for nothing!" Ripper crowed.

I couldn't believe this. I thought he was innocent. What was with the device? Was it used to back up his story?

"Artemis, I want you and the rest to get Shonta and Ryan out of here. Feather and I will take care of these guys," Char instructed her.

"Char, you can't take on all of these guys!" Ryan said. "I don't think you're fully recovered from this morning."

"We'll be okay," Char reassured him. "Now return your Pokemon and get going!"

Ryan and I returned Cinder and Static, but Artemis and Reaper refused to go. We started racing when two figures stopped us in our tracks.

"Tony!" Ryan said angrily.

The other figure showed himself. I felt my heart stop. "Rod?"

"You aren't going anywhere, Luigi," Rod said with a sneer. He raised his hand and smiled as an explosion occurred outside the reserve.

"My home!" I cried out, dropping to my knees.

"Say goodbye to your life, Becky!" he crowed.