Author's Note
This story is connected with the other one currently up, The Guardian, but there is no specific order for either. As always, I hope you enjoy!
The Rising Empire: Prologue
Six months. It took six months for the Hunt to begin. I should feel pride in the fact that out of all the other settlements in the three hundred years we've been trying to return to the surface, we had lasted the longest, but I didn't. How could anyone feel pride over a massacre?
The air reeked of smoke and death as I struggled to get to my feet. A few moments earlier, a fireball had struck the ground a few feet away from me. A poor serf next to me had taken the brunt of the embers, almost instantly becoming a burnt corpse. I shouldn't have to go through this. No one should. We are all here by chance, and now we will pay the price for even daring to exist on the surface.
I took a few seconds to survey my surroundings. Fire licked the sides of almost every building. The few guardsmen that hadn't run were desperately fighting against impossible odds. Regardless of what direction I turned, I could see some innocent human die at the hands of a Pokemon. Slowly but surely, I returned to my senses, and panic began to set in. My family! I have to save my family! I pulled my sword out of its scabbard and ran past all the carnage occurring all around me and to a quaint wooden shack toward the center of the village.
"Mother! Elana!" I called out. There was no response. I called out once again and heard nothing. Off in the distance, I could hear the scream of a fireball, and before I could have time to react, it hit the house. The resulting blast knocked me off my feet and back to the ground. My ears rang, but I swear I could hear screaming. Everyone dies during the Hunt, and there is no way to change fate. I closed my eyes, praying that death comes swiftly, but it didn't. Instead, I felt something brush up against my shoulder and a sharp pain in the back of my head.
And so you are the last human left alive in the village, so I will grant you something that I never give others—a chance at an honorable death.
A soft voice spoke in my head. I cracked open my eyes to see a Gardevoir standing over me with her arm outstretched. Next to her was a Bisharp that stared deep into my soul.
You will stand and fight me. My mate will attend to any wounds to make it fair. You have an opportunity to die with dignity. Don't squander it, Human.
I stood up and picked my sword up from the ground. The Bisharp said something to the Gardevoir, and she nodded. A soothing pink light washed over me, and I felt every burn and bruise disappear. I held my sword out in front of me and waited.
It launched itself at me at blazing speeds. I barely had time to raise my blade before it reached me. Sparks flew off my sword as I barreled backward from the force of its strike. I rolled out of the way as it struck, impaling me with its arm. I clamored to my feet and swung at it. It caught my sword and kicked me, sending me flying into the ground.
I slowly climbed back up to my knees, wheezing and gasping for air while the Bisharp moved closer to me. Through all of the smoke and embers that now blotted out the sky, I could see its smug look. I despised that look. In its eyes, I can see the faces of all the people who died today, my mother and sister included. In a last-ditch effort at retaliation, I raised my sword defiantly. It laughed in with a quick move of both its arms; it broke my sword and half.
A noble attempt, human.
In reality, there was no chance of me winning. Everyone knows that no human survives the Hunt. No one ever comes back. It just wanted to taunt me. To break down the last bit of hope I had. It wanted to inflict upon me the greatest wound anyone could get: To be broken.
As it prepared to strike me down, the world began to slow down. I could count every ember that whistled by with accuracy. Even the Bisharp moved at a snail's pace. Is this what happens when you are about to die? My mind suddenly filled with images of a beast cloaked in shadow with blood-red eyes and a golden crown atop its head.
Along with that image came a message: Strike it underneath its head. The plates are weak there. Use the shard of metal next to you.
Filled with a new determination, I reached to my left and picked up the shard that the voice was talking about. I took a deep breath and lept for its head. The Bisharp didn't expect the move as it didn't do anything in defense. Instead, I managed to drive the shattered sword through the bottom of its jaw.
It looked at me in shock, grasping at the shard of metal lodged into its jaw. Its gaze lingered on me for a moment until it stumbled backward and fell to the ground. I watched as it began to choke on its blood, a momentary sense of relief washing over me. It may have been only one Pokemon, but I felt like I had avenged those that died today.
You… that was MY MATE!
With a blast of bright light, I was flung deep into the forest that surrounded the village. I hit a tree trunk and felt a sharp pain in my chest. Breathing hurt, and I couldn't stand, but I knew I needed to get out of here. I got maybe five feet before I collapsed to the ground. The pain and the world started to grow distant. Even if I died now, I would know that I had avenged those that died today. I won a victory for humanity…
My eyes fluttered open. I gasped for breath. My chest flared up in pain each and every time I'd draw breath. It was torture, but if I was still alive, I'd have to fight through it. I struggled to sit up. Once I did, I surveyed my surroundings. I was clearly in a cave, the dank walls of stone surrounding me on each side. I laid on a cot made out of grass and sticks, which wasn't terribly uncomfortable. Towards the entrance of the cave, a fire burned, cooking a Rattata. In front of it was a feral-looking human that looked terrified I was awake, that was also nude, revealing to me that it was female. I looked away out of respect.
"Who are you? I demanded. Instinctively, I reached for my knife. I cursed myself as I remembered where I'd left it. I was left at the mercy of whoever it was.
"I am… I have no name." Replied a rather elegant voice, which came as a shock to me that someone as ragged looking as her could have such a beautiful voice.
"Before we continue our conversation, can you please put on some clothing?" I asked.
"Clothing? OH! Clothing!" She replied, followed by shuffling. "You should find this more decent." She said after a few moments.
I looked at her, and despite the dirt that marked her face, I found her quite attractive, mostly due to a unique feature I had never seen among humans before. She had deep violet eyes that complemented her raven black hair. My admiration for her was broken when I saw what she was wearing. It was barely recognizable, but she was wearing the uniform of the town's militia.
"Where did you get that?" I asked as I tried to remember if I ever saw someone who looked like her before the Hunt.
"It belonged to a friend of mine. He died two years ago." She whispered, almost caressing the outfit.
"You were part of the last settlement group!" I exclaimed happily, much to the disagreement of my chest. I winced in pain and wrapped my arm around my chest, which only caused more pain. Soon, it became hard to breathe. It was like my body was remembering what had happened to it.
She rushed over to me with a wooden bowl, which carried a glowing liquid. As I broke into a coughing fit, she gestured for me to drink it. As soon as I caught a break from the wheezing, I drank from the bowl. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I could feel the bones mend in my chest.
"He… this is Pure Spring Water," She began. "It'll heal your wounds. Hopefully, you will be healed enough to move within the week." My eyes widened in amazement. Pure Spring Water was something of a myth back home. The last time it saw use among our people was almost a century ago.
"How did you find it?" I asked.
"Call it luck," She said idly as she put the bowl down. "What you need to worry about is getting rest. I'm no healer, but it might be a while before you can do anything."
As she moved toward the cave entrance, something rubbed me as odd. It was something in the way she moved and how she spoke. It was human, but there was an edge of something else in there. Something I couldn't place into words, but I suppose if she's caring for me, I shouldn't scrutinize her. After all, she's been here for Arceus knows how long, which is a good question.
"How long have you been out here for?" I asked. She froze and stood for a moment.
"I've been here since I was young. Too young to remember how long ago that was. Before you ask, it was by blind luck that I lived for this long." With that, she left me alone in the cave.
I laid my head back down on the rough floor and drifted off. I don't know how long I was out for, but it must've been a while. When I awoke, sunlight fluttered in through the entrance of the cave. I turned to my left, and there she was. That feral girl laid by my side.
As the drowsiness of sleep wore off of me, I began to realize that someone that I didn't know in the slightest was lying next. I pushed myself away, but soon realized it was futile as the pain began to tear through my chest. A cry of pain escaped my lips, which caused her to stir.
"Mmm," She groaned as she sat up. For a brief moment, I could've sworn there were patches of fur spread out on her skin. "Awake so early?"
"Why were you sleeping next to me," I demanded. She looked dumbfounded as she turned to look at me. "I am not okay with that."
"Is that not normal?" She asked with a hint of innocence in her voice.
"No! Didn't your friend mention anything to you when you two slept?"
"No. Although, he did say that it helped on cold nights. Something about body warmth." She responded, standing up. She went over and picked up another bowl. She shuffled back over to me and handed the bowl to me. I drank it without a second thought. Within moments, the pain that woke her subsided.
"Were you two…" I began.
"Mates?" She finished. That was odd.
"You mean, lover, right?" I asked. She nodded, and I decided to ignore what she had said. It was probably just a slip of the tongue or something.
"No. Well, I don't think so. Maybe he felt that way, but he… died before he could act upon those feelings." She spoke. Although she had her back turned to me, I recognized that tone of voice. Before I left Bastion, my home, disease tore through everyone. I witnessed so many people lose their loved ones.
"What happened?" I asked.
"He was killed by a Bisharp, trying to protect me," There was a certain lack of emotion in her voice as if she disconnected herself from the event altogether. "Now, do me a favor and stop talking about it." She stomped out of the cave and disappeared for a few hours. When she came back, she clutched another Rattata.
She threw it onto the fire and then sat down next to me and sighed. Something deeply troubled her, that much was obvious. The obvious answer was that she was still mourning her friend, but I felt that too obvious. No, it has something to do with him, but it's not his loss.
"You remind me of him," She finally said. "There were others that ran into the forest trying to escape the Hunt. I could've saved them. I should've, but I ignored them because they weren't like him. Then I saw you. You were lying broken on the forest floor from a fight and that reminded me of him. He never ran, even if the odds were against him. He fought until he couldn't anymore."
"So, I dragged you here. To my home ever since he died. Then, you woke up and I realized that you were even more like him. The way you speak. Your curiosity. All of it reminds me that I'm still being haunted by his ghost. That I broke a promise I made to him just to convince myself I still had him."
"If your promise was to save people, you didn't break it," I said softly. "You saved me when I should've died. Maybe you didn't save ten, but one is more than nothing."
She turned to look at me and smiled. "You sound like he did. He was also so optimistic." She stood up and held out a hand, gesturing for me to stand up as well. I took her hand, ignoring the pain rising from my chest.
She led me outside. The sky was a beautiful dark blue and was devoid of all clouds. The smell of flowers smacked me in the face as I gazed around me in blissful wonder. As a guard, I never had time to admire the surroundings because I was too afraid of what might be watching me back. Now, I feel safe. I closed my eyes and let the warmth of the sun wash over me.
"One of the last things he told me was that he wanted every human cooped up in the cave to see this sky, to feel the breeze, and to smell the flowers." She spoke, resting a hand on my shoulder as I continued to drink in the view.
"Because you saved me because of him, I promise you that his wish will be realized. I will do everything in my power to give humanity a proper home. The Age of the Hunt is coming to a close."
"But first, you need to rest some more." She spoke, as she ushered me back into the cave.