Chapter Two. Wayward Son.
"Null! Fomantis! Come on!" I called, waving my arms as Null came charging in at me, tackling me over with a friendly nuzzle. It only had three legs because one was too broken to save, but it still fought to its best. Fomantis popped his little self out of my hoodie, chittering and nuzzling me too. Everything was fine because I requested that instead of the Island Challenge, I'd just intern in the Foundation. Making my way out slowly and carefully. Aether seemed miles away by now, and I was actually glad for it. Not that I didn't love my mother.
I just wanted to get out of Alola. Get out and live somewhere else. So when I ditched Alola, I wanted to get out to live my own life. So here I was, studying a Mareanie that was following us since I landed on Ula Ula. It wobbled after us on stubby little legs, shuffling shyly and huddling near Null. That's how I gained my third team member, Null just didn't care and neither did Fomantis. Mareanie just slotted herself into our little group. And with that, I journeyed on. No matter what, we were a motley crew of four so far.
The waves crashed as I trudged back up to the path. We had a secondary mission to be out here. Even if there wasn't much to be done. I had a feeling Ula Ula wasn't where Gladion was. I was the captain of the Aether Retrieval Unit. I created the ARU to secure, contain, and protect the assets to the Aether Foundation. Also to capture invasive species to the islands. Which is why I could hunt down and capture a rare sight here in Alola. A Troxicity made her home at this beach and I was tentatively making friends with her and her baby Toxel.
The salty breeze blew through my hair as I made my way towards their cave, setting myself down and waiting for Mama to come out and greet me. I adjusted my violet goggles and out of the cave shuffled a tallish royal purple creature with a long yellow mohawk, raised scales were on its chest and it regarded me with a relaxed expression.
She twanged out a greeting on her chest and I twanged a response on the ukulele I brought. Troxicity communicate through twanging their chests and making twanging sounds with their mouths. Mama looked behind her and her baby Toxel scuttled out of the cave, reaching up for his mother. She hoisted him up, and he twanged a little greeting. I twanged back and smiled, seeing the baby Toxel light up and twang some more. Mama looked at us and then twanged back. Slowly but surely, all three of us were playing a conversation. Fomantis joined in with a few tinkling sounds with his blades on the rocks, Marenie hummed and Null clicked out a beat like a metronome.
We had a whole symphony going and Mama seemed to love it, with Toxel bouncing a little. This was the values Dad instilled in me to be with the pokemon and get to know them. To save them when they needed to be and to leave them alone when they wanted to be. They formed the Foundation in order to achieve that for humans and pokemon, some of them didn't want to be our friends and they saved some from endangerment because of over capturing or poaching. I needed to protect these two because they were invasive, but Mama looked terribly ill and malnourished.
She tugged on my coat as Fomantis and Marenie chased Toxel around in a game of tag. Null was watching them. She dug around in my coat for a ball and found it, looking at her baby sadly but looking at me with determined eyes.
"You want me to take him?" I asked.
She nodded, twanging out her reasoning. She was sick, and she knew that if he stayed she would die before he could develop to take care of himself. I noticed tears forming in her eyes when she twanged out how much he wanted to travel with me. She halted and leapt into my arms, hugging me tightly and croaking out a little. I sighed and went out of the cave with her. Toxel scooted over to his mother and twanged at her, she growled a little and knelt, picking him up and carrying him over to me, the minute Toxel realized what his mama was doing he squeaked and fidgeted, looking confused and worried all at once.
He twanged out a series of questions and his mama answered them, making him sob. He hugged me tightly and when I walked away and he boomed out a loud goodbye to his mother, seeing her fading slowly into the horizon. My fourth member looked at me and nuzzled my cheek. I knew I was steadily making my way towards my goal. Trying to find out what exactly made mother act the way she does. Toxel and I walked away towards the dock, seeing Mama waving, and little Toxel cried out one last goodbye.
With that I had to return home, mostly because Mother mandated that I be back at a certain time because of Gladion running away. Fomantis rode in my hoodie and Toxel bobbed on my lap, still twanging at him as he answered with brief clicks of his blades.
Toxel was getting along well with my other friends. Null looked at me wearily, his blue-green eyes asking me why exactly we had to go back. I petted him, scratching beneath his armor, and he hollowly groaned. We had little of a choice. The boat skimmed over the water, going towards the Paradise. I had to check on the new assets. Mother handled the tours, and Faba disgruntled and saddled with mundane tasks like door control.
The boat slowed and waiting for me on the dock was Mother, her arms crossed and a smile on her face. Did she find my research unacceptable? I walked down the gangplank, my eyes focused on her.
She dropped her guard and hugged me tightly, "Welcome home, my dear!" She exclaimed, with Toxel shredding out a warning and Marenie wobbling in front of me, they glared at her.
"Hm? Oh! How precious! A Galarian Pokemon and a Marenie!" She exclaimed, "Never took you as a poison-type lover, my dear Leif," I sighed and the others ringed around me defensively. Mother turned and her smile never fell, oddly staying there almost as if she painted it on.
"Mother, if you will excuse me, I have some research to do," I stated coldly, my voice thick and harsh with an equally indifferent tone as her disciplinary one. She sighed and kissed me on the forehead.
"Okay, sweetie!" she exclaimed. I just went to my workshop. The smooth whiteness of it did little to hide anything, but putting on my toxin burned lab coat always felt good. I booted up my computer, looking at the Toxin Extraction Machine. The toxin from the dishware Mother used and traces found in her saliva already in there to compare and scan.
It looked like a centrifuge and whirled around to distill the toxin from the system it's delivered in. I've tried Garbodor, Nidoking, Arbok, Weezing, and now Toxel and Marenie. I tried every toxin I could but none matched the toxin from Mother. I tacked my notes on the walls, red string and thumbtacks on the cork boards.
It looked absolutely hopeless, Father and Gladion gone, and Lillie and I were still here. I did my best to keep her safe and away from mother but it was hard to do considering Lillie was closely guarded. I owed it to Dad to save my Mama. As the years wore on, I noticed she was sliding more and more into herself. I wanted more than anything to have my Mama back. But now… I've hit a dead end. There weren't enough samples of the toxins for the machine to get an accurate reading.
Everything crashed down at that moment. I wanted my mother back. I wanted her back because she was all I had left. Lillie and Gladion were gone mentally and in the case of Gladion he was gone gone, and I was still here. My door swooshed aside as my friends all grouped around me.
"Young master?" a soft, feminine voice asked. Coming in was Miss Wicke. She knew about my research into trying to save my mother, but she always worried that I was wasting my childhood on this.
Her green eyes met mine, "I don't get it, Wicke… I got Nidoking poison, Arbok, Weezing, Marenie, AND Toxel… but none of them match whatever this toxin is…" I sighed. The hot, clogging feeling entered my throat as Wicke grabbed me and pulled me into her arms. Tears burned out of my eyes as she held me, I was just like Toxel. Watching his mother slowly give out, watching her get sick. Watching the joy and love in our house dwindle. Secrets had to be kept, alliances formed, no one could be safe.
"It's not your fault, Leif… It's not your fault…" she muttered, petting my hair.
"But… But what if it is…?" I mumbled.
Wicke hugged me tighter, "Leif… when I say it wasn't then it isn't, You're a bright young man who knows more about Poison Type Pokemon than most. You could apply yourself to other areas," she said.
"I know, but… Dad would want me to take care of Mama…" I sniffled, "So… so I know it's a venom but… but I…"
Wicke sighed and brushed my hair out of my eyes, "Dear, you have a big heart, too. Honestly your father and you would be practically identical if not for your cautiousness."
"Hey! I can be reckless! It's Gladion who's the cautious one!" I objected.
"And who sold out your brother when he left?" she taunted.
"Touche…" I sighed. Wicke saw my pokemon all gather around us. Null and Fomantis leading. Marenie and Toxel both got into my lap, twanging and burbling, Fomantis got into my hoodie and Null laid down around us.
I knew what I had to do. Getting up from my prone position on the floor, I strode out of my room and headed for Lillie's room. She could get out, she could get Cosmog somewhere safe because my Antitoxin won't work on mother and trying to get samples of a pokemon that doesn't even exist in this dimension might not even come back for me to get an accurate sample.
I took a deep breath.
"Wicke, no matter what happens to me, promise me that if you see Gladion to tell him I'm sorry," I said. She sucked in a breath but shelved her reservations about me doing this.
"Understood, sir."
Marching out to the residential area I kept my friends by my side. The day shined brightly but I didn't feel good betraying my mama like this. I had to go so far as to lie to her. Busting my sister out of here would be the biggest one in the book.
Dad's old notes came in handy for the lift, and well… I needed them for my plan. The Ultra Wormholes were the key to saving Mama. My coat billowed behind me as I calmly carried Fomantis and Toxel on my shoulders and in my arms.
Lillie liked my new friend. So Toxel could keep her calm during all this. Lillie saw Toxel and immediately ran to me, hair billowing and eyes shining in excitement. Her hat almost blew off from the run into my arms, squeezing me tightly.
"Leif!" she exclaimed, "You brought Toxel!"
I nodded, pushing her off me a little, "Lillie, we need to talk."
She cocked her head to the side, "Wait… why?" she asked.
"I got a plan to get outta here and fix this," I held up Dad's notes and she gasped.
"Mother is going to kill you…" she sighed.
"I know, but that doesn't mean she'll have Nebby, I gotta do this." I answered, voice tense and sort of like Mama when she was serious.
"Leif, just… be careful, alright?" she asked. Lillie didn't know this but I needed her to take Nebby far away. I grabbed her hand and led her away once the guards weren't looking. She seemed rather scared but when she saw my determination she steeled herself.
Cosmog was a mysterious little pokemon Dad had found. The little nebulous thing just stayed in a case deep in the research labs, Lillie and I crept along the corridor, trying to find the container that held him. The labs were cold and sterile, making us shiver in the frigid air. It was almost as if we crossed into another world. Lillie clung to me as I watched the lab open up, with a tearing run and a quick roll I was in!
The inner laboratory was a big sledgehammer to my past. Notes and binders stacked haphazardly on the desks, cages in the back, monitors being the only light aside from an odd diamond shaped case surrounded by a laser grid. I grabbed a metal grabber stick I made from some spare arts. Carefully I lifted it and it passed through the laser grid with no issues. I let out a tense hiss of triumph. Then the loudest alarm ever went off, I grabbed Dad's notebook and Null came out of his ball, bashing down the door and lifting Lillie onto his back, I ran after them, employees scrambling to stop the lift like a bunch of Durant.
"Lillie! Catch!" I yelled, chucking the container at her. She just barely caught it as Null belted out a long mournful cry. I smiled, clenching my pokeball containing Fomantis and turning to face the others.
"Bring it on! Come on! If you wanna get to her, you gotta get through me and Null!" I yelled, I knew I didn't have the best relationship with Lillie in the past, but I knew she could do it. She could take Cosmog away from Mother and bring him home.
The employees all got out their pokemon, and I got out Fomantis. He faced them down. I didn't have a strategy, Null was taking Lillie away from here and there were a lot of Golbat. He looked up at me.
"Alright buddy! Let's give it to them!"
Fomantis nodded, blades unsheathed as swarm a of golbat flew at us. Leaf Blade wasn't so effective, but with Fomantis being my most experienced in dealing with Flying Types we had mitigated the weakness to them a little. The final Golbat was the hardest, using poison fang to bite and toss him to the floor. He slammed down like a stone and I started forward to take the air slash, but… suddenly I heard a cute twanging noise.
Toxel had shocked the Golbat!
"Toxel!" I yelled, "Haha! You did it!" Toxel twanged and nudged Fomantis to stand. Fomantis didn't move, but at that moment I don't think he needed to. He laid there unmoving, and I picked him up.
"Fomantis! Buddy! Hey!" I exclaimed, shaking a little, "Buddy?"
Slow clapping sounded from the lift, "Ah! So this was why I was awakened, it seems like my dear little Leif wanted to betray me!" Mother stepped out from the lift, her eyes empty and smile wide and vicious.
"Taking Cosmog away from me, slashing poor Golbats just trying to stop you… whatever happened to the cute little boy who always clung to me so desperately?" she asked, her overly sweet voice only making me angrier.
"How dare… How dare you?!" I snarled, keeping Fomantis away, holding him so tightly, "I don't even know who you are anymore, and you have the gall to blame me for defending myself?!"
Mother smirked, "It appears some punishment is in order, but… hm…" she tapped her chin in thought, pulling out a pokeball. Null was spiriting Lillie away, so any of her Pokemon could take me out. Toxel, Marenie, and Fomantis were too small to handle something like her Bewear. Fomantis broke in my arms, his body breaking up as the flash of the ball revealed the huge monstrous teddy bear in all its glory. It loomed over me, its meaty fist turning a bright orange. I knew it was all over. Null was gone, Fomantis was gone, and my other friends were too small to do any actual damage.
The bear brought its arm down, ready to knock me flat, but then it never came. All I heard was a roar in sheer agony and a tallish ink and white bug stood tall, blade coated in Bewear blood. Fomantis had become Lurantis! The Bewear roared, drawing its remaining fist back, but Lurantis stabbed it through the abdomen, outspeeding it by miles. Bewear fainted and Lurantis drew his blade out, flicking the blood off with a glint in its eyes.
Mother- no, Lusamine, looked at me with new hatred in her eyes. Her smile was vicious and her ball sent Bewear inside it. I sighed, not liking this one bit. She was my mother… so gentle, but… now I didn't know who she was anymore.
"Your rebellion ends here, dear," she snarled, "Cast your balls aside and I will forgive this little attempted escape," I gritted my teeth and returned Lurantis to his ball, belting it on.
"That's not gonna happen, Mother," I said, "I'm gonna go and you can't stop me! I WILL find what's causing this and take it out!" Lurantis stood beside me and my other two pokeballs shook in my belt. Mother snarled and crossed her arms. We were at an impasse, I wouldn't take no for an answer and her pokemon would overpower mine easily, even with my newly grown Fomantis into Lurantis. Even if Lurantis took down her Bewear easily, who knows what kind of havoc her other ones would wreak? Not to mention the gargantuan size of Bewear did not bode well.
"Fine then, go if you must, but know this… there will be no place to hide." she snarled.
I smiled, "I'm counting on it, Mother," I stated. The lift came down to ferry me to the docks, seeing Null bound and panting on the deck of a boat and getting up to greet me with a nudge.
"We're getting outta here, buddy… great job protecting Lillie…" I sighed. He moaned a little, and I sat at the wheel, starting the boat and taxiing outta there and into the sea… A wayward son on a mission to save his family from the monster who stole his mother. The sea air sang to me and I smirked. This was gonna be one hell of a report...
A.N, I do hope you enjoyed my take on battles. Size and other factors do matter in this story, and they are far from your usual fare being bloody and sometimes Mons losing limbs and even perishing, and I will address these in later chapters, just sewing the seeds for Leif and his team being who he is as a true member of the Foundation that sticks close to his morals.
Other than that, Read and Review my friends!