Chapter 12
Seperated
Falling.
Just, falling, was all he felt as the endless void of nothingness wrapped around him. He mind was half awake, half somewhere else. He himself didn't know where he was. He remembered what had happened though, all too vividly. The light, the overwhelming, graceful euphoria that flowed through him, and last of all, the pain, which came in through every sense.
The screaming had pierced his ears, as well as the impalement he had felt shortly after the euphoria. He remembered being on the ground, gasping, trying to do anything to keep his mind from stopping. His senses impaired, he was hopeless when it happened, the sudden stop.
Then came the deafening silence. It was worse than the flashes, pain,and disorientation tenfold. He was cut off, from everything. He didn't see darkness. No, he saw nothing. Didn't hear silence, he heard nothing. Felt nothing.
It seemed an eternity until the nothingness was replaced with long wanted darkness. Lights began to filter into it, and soon colors began to shift into sight. His senses slowly returned. He felt the cold, steel pressing against his fur, the emptiness of the room filling his ears, and the grey, open, iron bars leading into a hallway. Shouts were clear in his mind, though they were all the way down the hall. Colors were sharp, and seemingly more real than they were before. The ground felt cold, but he could feel the fine grain of the steel. The room had a rustic scent, mixed with something else. A scent he dreaded. Death.
His head shot around, eyes wide with awareness. Black bags lay around him, all wrapped around what he guessed were bodies. Now he understood. The Shadows. The vision of Zav being captured, along with Blizzard and Kult filled his mind. His mind began to race, the shouts from the hall nearing him. He crouched low, invisible from their sight. Instead, the guards hurried on by the room, seemingly occupied by something else.
He was near the exit of the room when he realized what he had done. The vision of the crystal pulsed through his mind. His claw enclosing it, and the energy draining from it to him. A magnificent sight, but there was only one problem.
He was alive.
Rowan glanced down at his paws. Nope. He was there, alive and breathing. His rings were darkened, and their glow was barely visible.
How?
Zav had told him that coming into contact with the crystal would result in death every time. He said the energy would overwhelm you, and your body wouldn't be able to handle it. Game over once you touched it.
But then why wasn't he dead? He tried to think, then a sudden realization crawled through him. The one person who could supposedly control the crystal's power. The one who could control all of their power.
The Astren. The very equilibrium of light and darkness. Was he it? Was he the Astren?
Relief flooded over him. No. He couldn't be. It was impossible. Zav's voice echoed through his head. Every fifty years, a new Astren is born. It had been a little over ten since the previous one had been born. The Eevee that the Shadows had killed.
A conclusion jumped into his mind. The crystal, maybe all the energy hadn't transferred into him. Come to think of it, the crystal had a slight glow to it now that Rowan recalled it. It must be it. It was the only logical explanation.
Something shot through Rowan's head. He felt it, but he had no words to describe it. It was something new, and it was making itself aware. He couldn't shake his mind off of it when it grew stronger, and his muscles fired. He crept low and saw the guard pace into the room. It was a Growlithe, and it scanned the room. His eyes only got so far until Rowan leaped out, and slapped the Growlithe's head against the concrete wall in one, swift motion.
Rowan himself was surprised at his sudden movements, as it seemed himself wasn't even in control, and it was more of an acquired instinct. The Growlithe lay on the ground now, knocked out cold.
Rowan retrieved a key labeled 'Hall B'. It was the only one the Growlithe carried, and Rowan slipped on the outfit he was wearing. It was a bit loose, as the Growlithe had some formidable size to him, but it was perfect. He cocked his ears back and shielded his most of his face with the hood. He checked the hallway, the sensation now barely noticeable, and slipped out of the room quietly.
As Rowan roamed the halls, eventually stumbling upon 'Hall B', he noticed the rush all the guards were in. He kept his head low, and hurried around at the same pace the guards were going. It ended up working out in his favor, for it allowed him to locate Zav, Blizzard, and Kult much faster.
Curiosity gnawed at him until he couldn't take it anymore, and eavesdropped on a couple of the guards' conversations. He caught glimpses of them, but struggled in piecing the conversations together. He found 'Hall B' surprisingly fast, and it scanned the cells. Most were vacant, except for a Manectric, who appeared pretty beat up.
"Here." Rowan silently dropped the key into the Manectric's cell, "Open it when you have the energy." He whispered to her. Her eyes lit with gratitude, and she nodded. Rowan hurried off, and he heard whish the key to edge of the room. Rowan smiled. She was smart enough to wait.
The sensation that Rowan seemed to have picked up seemed to correlate with his level of calm, as well as with something else. It was pretty mild at times, except when he neared or passed the guards, that was when it began to rise gradually, but Rowan pushed it back down, keeping his cool. The guards seemed to be occupied anyway, they wouldn't suspect him.
After about half an hour, three things happened. One, the amount of guards had diminished to almost none. The guards who stayed however, were less occupied, more importantly to Rowan, more alert. He now had to attempt to evade their presence whenever possible, as it was highly likely they would spot him out. This made searching for his friends much more difficult.
He bypassed a guard speaking to another, and his ears almost shot out, revealing himself when he heard what they were saying.
"...heard they went south. The Raichu and the Jolteon." The one guard said, remarked. Rowan slowed his pace as he neared, keeping his face turned the opposite direction.
"A Jolteon? No way. They're all dead. We wiped that scourge off the planet." The other guard said.
"Nope. He was part of that Order. Escaped with some Raichu named Blizzard." The first one confirmed. Rowan's mind raced. Zav had escaped!
"General got them on that mission to retrieve the crystal. A Linoone and an Umbreon were with them as well." The first one remarked.
"An Umbreon?" The other one asked.
"Yup. But unfortunately the idiot contacted the crystal. Dropped dead, and drained the crystal's power." The first one scoffed.
"What do we want with those anyway?" The second one asked. Rowan strained to hear more, but they stopped suddenly.
"What's your problem?" One of them remarked. Rowan realized now that he had stopped walking, and was next to the two. He kept his head low. Great.
"Nothing. Just wondering why we need those crystals as well as you." He responded in his calmest voice he could produce. His luck struck out.
"I don't recognize you… let me see your face." The first one suddenly ordered. Rowan hesitated when he heard the sound of a blade. He was going to have to fight his way out of this one.
Rowan met the guard's eyes, and he, was stunned for a moment, when he saw his dark red eyes. The Umbreon shot a jolt of darkness at the other guard, who hadn't seen Rowan's face yet. He cried out it shock as it rippled through him, immobilizing him briefly.
The first guard jabbed his blade at Rowan, and the Umbreon ducked, and pounded his sheathed claw at the guards head. He heard a crack, and the guard fell to the ground, his eyes dizzy with concussion.
Rowan himself was astonished by the power behind his paw, as he hadn't thought the blow would deal major damage at all to the muscular guard. He shot over to the other guard, who was now partially immobilized by the jolt form before, but seemed more to quaver in fear. Rowan did the same to him, and the guard didn't even have time to react before he was lying on the ground, out cold.
He dragged them to a nearby empty storage room, and closed the door, himself hidden as well. Now that he knew Zav and Blizzard had escaped, he had to formulate a plan.
He scavenged a key card labeled "South Exit" from a stack of cards in the first guards pocket. He was about to leave, determined to catch up with Zav and Blizzard, until he remembered something.
He was going to have to find Kult first. Rowan cursed. He just wanted to get out of here.
Nevertheless, he searched the hallways, keeping his distance and hood between any guards he passed. He head spraying, and followed the irregular noise to a lightless room. He sneaked in, and scanned the area. He dove between two crates when he saw the guard, but soon realized he was occupied. Cleaning something off the floor.
He zoned in on his hearing, something that he hadn't noticed he could only recently perform, and eavesdropped on the cleaners' conversation.
"...Not that hard. Just kill them outside, then you wouldn't need anyone to clean up all the blood." He heard the guard say.
"Or just paint the room red." He muttered. Rowan wondered now, who had been killed?
"Luckily the other two escaped, or else this would be triple." He laughed now, which made Rowan more than uncomfortable.
Other two? Did he mean Zav and Blizzard? If that's it, then that means… Rowan's thought trailed off as he froze. Zav and Blizzard had escaped, Kult hadn't.
Rowan slipped out of the room, and silently navigated to the south exit. At least Zav and Blizzard had made it.
Rowan tried the keycard, but the machine didn't even seem operational. He repeated a couple times, until a voice sounded from down the hall.
"Hey, idiot. That door's busted, remember? That damn Raichu cut up the receiver on the other side. No way you can get that open." He pointed out. Rowan nodded slowly, and moved down the hall silently. The guard grew curious when Rowan didn't show his face.
"What's wrong? Didn't get sent out on the retrieving party?" He said snarkily, and grabbed Rowan's shoulder as he passed by.
"Now hold on. What's the rush?" The guard said, and flipped Rowan's hood up. His eyes widened when he saw the jet black ears, and rowan sweeped at his feet to trip the Sneasel up.
Unfortunately, this guard was much more coordinated. He hopped his sweep, and kicked the Umbreon away with his feet. Rowan skidded a couple feet, but scrambled up quickly. The Sneasel didn't attack, still alarmed of what he saw.
"You're the-" He began, until he dashed sideways, avoiding a blast from the Umbreon. He shot a cluster of ice shards at Rowan, and he rolled away, hearing them shatter against the wall behind him.
The Sneasel was trying to escape now, but Rowan dashed to him before he could even get to the stairs that lead up to the hallway. He tackled him, and held his claws to the Sneasel's throat. The guard silenced when he felt them against his neck.
Rowan locked eyes with the Sneasel for a moment, until speaking, "Retrieving party. What and where are they." He ordered sternly. The Sneasel just gazed terrifyingly into the Umbreon's gaze.
"Yes, yes! They, they went out out to search for the Raichu and the Jolteon. They left only an hour ago!" He told him when Rowan pressed his claws further.
"What route did they take?" Rowan told him steadily.
"The west exit. The branched off into multiple groups and are tracking the Jolteon and Raichu while staying hidden in the forest next to the path that leads out of the south exit." He said immediately.
"Where does the path lead?" Rowan growled. This time the Sneasel didn't answer.
"Where?!" He almost shouted, flexing his claws.
"I, I don't know! Probably some small village or something!" He trembled. Rowan glared at him for a moment, seemingly paralyzing the Sneasel, and knocked him out with a swift club to the head with his paw.
Though it did the job, Rowan cursed as the Sneasel's rock hard head had bruised his paw, slight swelling visible. He extracted the card to the west exit off of the guard, and hurriedly navigated his way through the base until he found it. He found that walking faster was better than trying to act natural, as most guards didn't care or want to know why you were in such a hurry.
Rowan slipped out into the night, and the moment that the pale light flooded over him, he felt invigorated. A sensation similar to adrenaline flowed through him, and he couldn't help the glow of his rings shine through the cloak. There was no one in sight, so Rowan saw no sense in wasting his energy in stopping them.
Rowan began at a light jog, until it turned into a steady run. He was baffled when he realized his lungs weren't even exhausted after about twenty minutes, in which before he would've been collapsed, gasping for air by now. Whatever the reason, Rowan didn't complain.
As he ran, his mind was half alert, half thinking. He thought about the crystal and what had happened. Certainly it was just some lucky coincidence that he survived, right? And these raised abilities were just a side effect? Rowan pushed the thought away. He had to focus. Zav and Blizzard certainly thought he was dead, so he was on his own for finding them.
After about the two hours Rowan had arrived at a village. His lungs ached now, and he hadn't noticed until he stopped. The small settlement was asleep, and not a single soul was stirring.
The Umbreon flipped his hood back, "They should be here somewhere." Rowan said quietly to himself. He searched a few of the huts, and none were occupied, with the exception of a Marshtomp passed out on large pile of pale grass. He was about to check the last remaining houses until he heard a familiar voice.
"Rowan? Is that… is that you?" The voice asked, and Rowan was relieved to recognize it.
"Pyrare." He sighed in relief, "Yes, it's me." He confirmed, as if the bright yellow rings on his ears didn't give enough away.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, greeting her.
"I was about to ask the same thing." The Ninetales replied, she had a confused look on her face.
"It's a long story," He sighed, "And I'd rather not discuss it. At least not now." He told her. She nodded in reply.
"Well, I'm assuming you need a place to stay. May I offer you at my place?" She offered kindly. Rowan's aching muscles and exhausted mind almost spoke for him.
"Do you live here? I thought you resided in Wisp City?" He asked, remembering here from the large settlement, smack in the middle of a desert. She hesitated momentarily, but shook her head.
"No. I just had some business with someone there. Here I have one of my houses." She told him as she lead him down a nearby hill.
"One?" Rowan asked.
"Yeah. I don't really ever stay in one place too long, mostly because I have to constantly be moving, so I have small houses around the continent, for whenever I'm moving." She explained.
"Why? What do you do that requires you to be moving all the time?" He asked.
"Well, you and I share a common hatred for the Shadows. I harass them as much as I can." She explained. She gazed down the path toward the far away Shadow base.
"A couple hours walk down this path is one of their bases. Supply routes come through here, that's why I chose this spot to live. So I can sabotage them." She told him, leading him into her small house.
There appeared to be only one bedroom, as well as a storage room. But nothing else. Rowan almost felt claustrophobic.
"Sorry, I know it's not much, but in my defense, I wasn't expecting guests." She shrugged.
"No, it's fine." Rowan said, then realized how he sounded.
"It's perfect, thank you." He corrected, and Pyrare smiled warmly at him.
"Well, I'm glad to hear it. I'm guessing you're fairly tired, no?" She asked, her eyes blinking with revealing exhaustion.
Rowan didn't want to keep her up, though his mind was fully alert, "No, I've had plenty of sleep. Plus, on a night like this, I'd prefer to stay awake." He said honestly, and she nodded.
"Right. The moons." She acknowledged.
"Well, go wherever you like, just know you can come here whenever you want." She finished with hospitality, yawning, and slumping into her bed, her eyes shutting quickly.
Rowan watched for a while, studying her. She was beautiful, and trusting. Two things Rowan guessed didn't appear together too often in this world. But this time Rowan saw her, he he felt different. As if that awestruck feeling whenever he was near her had blended with a new feeling of security, and Rowan realized he trusted her almost as much as he trusted Zav.
He blinked, realizing it was rude to stare at someone while they sleep, and awkwardly crept out of the room. The sensation of guilt faded when the strong moonlight hit him, almost being warmed by it.
Rowan had lots to think about. So many problems, it almost overwhelmed him. What if he was the Astren? How was he going to find Zav and Blizzard? And if he did, how would he explain his survival? The questions gnawed at him raw, until he felt like his head was going to explode. No matter how strong, fast, or smart, these were questions that Rowan couldn't solve. He took a deep breath, which helped calm him down a little bit.
He remembered what Entei had said when he had encountered the beast. Only your actions and time can tell your fate. Rowan repeated in his head. He bit his lip. He sure wish his actions and time could speak to him, or at least say if he was on the right track.
A familiar whisper sounded in his mind. He wasn't sure if he was remembering the message, but it certainly felt as if it was being repeated to him.
"The dimensions will converge, and chaos will prevail." Rowan whispered to himself. It was a very dark message and it sent a shudder down his spine. He remembered who had given it to him, and he pushed the thought away, not wanting to remember any of that.
He sighed, the moons' energy finally fading, and exhaustion taking its place. He dragged himself back inside, and crawled to the edge of the bed, and drifted into a seemingly peaceful sleep.
A slight shaking rocked Rowan slowly awake. He blinked, his eyes groggy with sleepiness.
"Good, you're awake." She said, her voice edgy.
"What's the matter?" Rowan asked, half awake. She glanced outside quickly.
"You have to leave, now." She suddenly insisted.
"What? Why?" He asked.
"Its the Shadows. They're here, and in large numbers." She explained, casting a worried look over him.
Rowan blinked for a moment, "Okay. Where?" He agreed.
"The jungle. Get away from here, and quick. Fifty miles through and you should arrive at a village. You can rest there, but you need to go." She ordered, talking so quick and urgent Rowan could barely understand her.
"Wait, what about you?" He asked as she lead him out to the back, the hill feet away form him, dense jungle blocking any vision. She shook her head.
"I'll be fine, trust me. But you have to go," She said. And shot her head back briefly.
"Now." She urged, but Rowan didn't budge.
"No, I'm not leaving you with them. They'll kill you once they see you, you've sabotaged all their supplies!" He argued, but she only kept glancing back.
"Rowan, I'll be fine! No go!" She said sternly, and suddenly slammed into him. His yelp was cut off as he tumbled down the hill, and Pyrare vanished from his view. He landed with a thump in a clump of underbrush, and his head pounded.
Voices shouted from the top of the hill, and his eyes squinted against the rising sun. He saw a figure silhouetted on the top of the hill, then another, and suddenly at least five or six stood atop the hill, gazing down at the path he had taken down.
Rowan flipped his hood up and crept slowly deeper into the jungle. A couple moments he heard a shout, and they began rushing down the hill towards him. Panic rose in him and he abandoned stealth and scrambled through the thick overgrowth of the jungle. He unsheathed his claws, digging them for grip into the slippery vines as he struggled to squirm through. He heard more shouting behind him. And he went as fast as he could.
Beams of color fired through out of the corner of his eye, and they tore through the decaying trees. Shouts mixed with collapsing growth filled Rowan's ears and he sprinted as fast as he could, bolts roaring past him as he fled his attackers. The good thing was their shouts became more distant, and the panic slowly faded.
Rowan didn't know how he'd been fleeing, but soon even the most distant of shouts couldn't be heard and he collapsed down to rest. He felt weaker today than yesterday, as if his newfound energy from yesterday had waned in power.
He wondered if Pyrare was alright. She said she would be, but wouldn't the Shadows rip her apart for messing with them? Maybe she evaded them as well, or they just didn't even know she was there in the first place.
Or, what Rowan feared the most was they had caught her, and she was, at best, taken prisoner. His stomach felt sick thinking about it, and he tried to think of what he could do.
He couldn't go back. No, the Shadows would be waiting for him, and with how he was feeling, he doubted he could take on more than one and win the fight. The smartest option, at least for his own sake, was to continue fleeing. Locate that village Pyrare had told him about, and rest there. Then think of what to do next.
Rowan knew the going back would get him killed for sure, and the village seemed like a safe choice. But Rowan remembered Zav and Blizzard. He had to find them as quick as he could. Not only because they didn't even know he was alive, but they could help him find Pyrare as well.
There. He had it. He'd go to the village, rest up, and set out to find Zav and Blizzard. The locals should prove to give him some insight of their whereabouts, and having a place to stay wouldn't be too bad either.
Rowan repeated what he was going to do in his head several times before shambling to his feet. His muscles ached, and he noticed several small cuts on him from scrambling frantically through the jungle before. With soreness and stinging pain, he trudged through the thick jungle, determined to execute his plan.
