Author's Notes: What? I actually got something up on time?! I know, I'm amazed, too. Anyway, this is the chapter that introduces the good guys (but just barely. I'll expand into the individual characters in the next chapter.) with the exception of M.T. Tasaki. Never fear, M.T., as you will be in the next chapter, as well as the introduction to the rest of the villains. Also, Blaire's intro (written in first person and in italics) was written by Blaire herself, so give props where props are due. I personally think it works very well being written in first person. Okay, enough babbling! Here's chapter two!
Chapter 2—The Light Gathers
"Reaper, do you know what my favorite type of pokemon is?"
"Well, considering I'm part Houndoom and you own that Charizard, I would have to say you're partial to fire pokemon."
"Very good," she said with a smile. "And I think it would be fun to have an army of fire pokemon. Can't you imagine them burning cities that refuse to submit to my will and wiping out little pockets of resistance with white-hot flames?" She leaned back against Reaper, her head resting on his chest. "Just thinking about it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, you know?"
"I agree. There's nothing better than the screams of those being burned to death," Reaper said, grinning down at the girl. She flashed him a grin as well.
"It would take a lot of time and effort to run all over the place trying to find fire types in the wild. Do you know if there's a place where we can find them in high concentration?"
"There are legends of a place
called the
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that,"
the girl said slyly. She closed her eyes
for a moment and concentrated on seeing the
"I've got it," she said. "Get ready, Reaper, because tomorrow we collect the matches that will start our wonderful fires."
****
It
was night. The sky was blacker than coal
and wind snapped through the air like a cracking whip. I stood on the cliff, watching, thinking. The terrain
in front of me was shadowed and lush with green. Thunder called out through the valley as
lightning responded, sending its glare slicing through the clouds. I clamped my hand into a fist as the wind
blew my red hair away from my shoulders. My black trenchcoat waved at the rim near the middle of my thighs as the
darkness neared. It had been five years
now that I had come into the Pokemon world. I had become famous now, saving villages from Team Rocket. Hoof-steps on dirt broke me from my trance,
and I turned around to find Bandit, my faithful and loyal Bandit, near me.
"You
can sense it to, eh, Bandit?" I whispered softly, stroking the Rapidash's fiery
mane. "Something's amiss."
Bandit
snorted, rubbing his horn against my coated arm.
"Which
side shall we join, Bandit? Evil or
good?" I asked softly as Bandit put his white head on my shoulder. He whinnied softly, looking out at the stormy
sky. I stood in silence for a while,
watching the storm and feeling Bandit's heart beat. Idly stroking Bandit's soft hair, my hand
touched the blood red bandanna he wore. I felt my matching cloth around my neck. I was him and he was me. We are
one. I looked into Bandit's fire red
eyes and saw fire. The fire was
comforting and good. Those eyes said a
message.
Something
I couldn't understand.
"What
do you mean, Bandit? What are you trying
to tell me?" I asked, pulling Bandit's face to mine. Bandit snorted, stamping the ground with a
navy blue hoof on the hard-packed ground. We stared at one another, and I finally sighed in defeat.
"Maybe
I'll do something worthwhile someday. Something that will make my life meaningful,"
I thought. "Is that what you are telling
me, Bandit?"
Thunder
bellowed as it drove its storm closer. I
swung onto Bandit's back in one quick, liquid movement. Like fireworks, five bright fireballs erupted
bellow us. They were telling us that all
was well in the five small parts of the small, hidden valley. Bandit shot a fireball over the valley,
telling the five protectors we were there.
"Wait
until you can grow wings and fly, my Bandit. Then nothing will stop us," I whispered softly as Bandit's fireball
frizzled out. "Just wait."
It
is a foolish dream, for a Rapidash can't evolve any farther than a
Rapidash. But I have always felt Bandit
was special, and would one day take me flying on wings of white and tipped with
fire.
"Let's
go, Bandit. This is our area, and no
evil or good shall take it," I proclaimed in a strong, but little emotion
voice.
Bandit
whinnied loudly, and his mane of fire lit up brightly. I could picture the scene we made. A bright fireball on the edge of a cliff
looking over the dark and quiet
Our
valley would be safe for now. We were
the guardians, and our fire "people" would be safe. For now. For now, the Red Bandanna Bandit was here. For now.
****
"Spam, spam, porn, spam," mumbled the African-American girl as she deleted the garbage from her new e-mail folder. This girl, known as Latonya Wright in the real world, leaned back in her chair and shut her eyes for a moment, giving them a break from the glare of the computer monitor. She was dressed in a blue sundress decorated with white lilies and a white jacket. A black beret, one she was never seen without, rested on top of her head.
"I am so bored," she commented to no one in particular. Latonya let her thoughts drift to some of the adventures she had seen in the pokemon world using her author's Sight. A new adventure for Ash and his friends every day. Not at all like the real world. "Nothing interesting ever happens in the real world," she said aloud.
"Well, that's about to change!" a voice called out.
Latonya's eyes shot open. To her amazement, a little Porygon was hovering on the computer screen. Latonya rubbed her eyes to make sure she was not seeing things. No, the computerized pokemon was still there.
"Hi!" the Porygon exclaimed. "Are you the author who goes by the handle 'Simone DuMarriott'?"
"Uh…yes, I am," she answered somewhat hesitantly. It boggled the mind that she was actually having a conversation with a digitized piece of data. Even stranger, that piece of data was talking back.
"Great! You're the last one we could find to recruit," the pokemon said.
"Recruit? What are you talking about?"
"How'd you like to save the world? Well, not the real world, but the pokemon world? Bad stuff's happening and—Yes, I'm getting to that part! Geez, no need to get impatient! Like I was saying, we've gotta save the pokemon world from a big, mean, not to mention evil author. You wanna help, don't you?"
Latonya was quiet for a moment, thinking about what the Porygon had just said. Finally, she asked, "You mean, I could go to the pokemon world?"
"Well, you'd have to if you want to save it."
"Wow! I'd love to go there!" the girl exclaimed in glee. "But…how do I get there?"
"Simple," the pokemon said. "Just put your hand on the monitor and leave the rest of the work to me."
Without another word, Latonya did just as Porygon had said. The second her palm touched the computer's screen, the world around her disappeared. For who knows how long, she felt as though she were falling yet not falling. The sensation was hard to describe. The best way Latonya could describe it was as if her body were standing still but her mind was plummeting. As her mind fell, new information was fed directly into her brain. Her name was no longer Latonya, it was Simone DuMarriott. She was a pokemon trainer now, with a Growlithe named Wolfgang and a Butterfree named Twiggy. When her mind stopped falling, Latonya of the real world had become Simone of the pokemon world.
Suddenly, Simone was standing in the middle of a field amid a small group of assorted beings. She looked around, still slightly dazed. To her right, she saw two guys talking. One was Asian with short, slightly spiky hair wearing dark blue jeans and a black and white shirt. The guy he was talking to was shorter, standing around five feet tall, with brown hair and was dressed in navy blue shorts and a teal T-shirt with black, white, beige, and dirty green stripes across it. Just behind those two was a group of three. A tall girl with straight blond hair and wearing jeans and a lilac tank top was talking animatedly with a very large Meowth. The Meowth looked to be about 5'9' and had humanlike hands, giving it a pokemorph-type appearance. The third member of the group, a tall, black-haired young man in white khakis and a blue T-shirt and black vest, was fairly quiet. He seemed content to just listen to the girl and the Meowth talk.
Simone looked to her left where the last three members of the group stood. A girl in her late teens with brown hair was dressed similarly to Seifer Almasy, a character Simone had seen in Final Fantasy VIII. The Seifer girl was wearing the same trenchcoat and necklace as the Final Fantasy character and also had on black army boots and gray fingerless gloves. That girl was standing near a seven-foot-tall Mewtwo with jungle-green fur covering her body, dark green fur on her abdomen and tail, and a tuft of hair on top of her head. The third person, or rather pokemon, was the Porygon that had appeared on Simone's computer. When the pokemon caught sight of Simone, it floated away from the Seifer girl and Mewtwo and hovered in front of the entire group.
"Everyone, listen up!" it said loudly to get everyone's attention. All eyes turned to Porygon. "You all know that you're here to fight a dark author, right?" There were murmurs of agreement.
"Hey, just who is this bad author?" asked the Asian boy. "You haven't even told us his name, yet."
"That's because I don't know the author's identity!" Porygon answered with a bit of annoyance. It seemed about to say something else, but instead it turned its head as if listening to something.
"Um, what's going on? Simone whispered to the Seifer girl, who was now standing next to her.
"I don't know. I think it hears voices or something," she explained.
"Oh no!" Porygon suddenly squawked. It turned back to the group of authors. "We'll have to wait until later to introduce ourselves. The Cyber One says she just picked up on a bunch of Team Rocket lackeys attacking a valley of fire pokemon. Authors, let's move!" The pokemon flew off and the rest of the authors followed a little more hesitantly. Each one could not help but wonder just what they had gotten into.
****
Blaire, the Red Bandana Bandit, had
known something was wrong in the pokemon world, but she had never expected it
to affect the valley so fast. Dropping
the dinner she had been eating, she came running at the sound of the panicked
whinny from Bandit. She charged up the
side of the hill that overlooked the
The valley was in chaos. Fire raged uncontrollably through the vegetation while the pokemon scrambled to escape from a legion of humans. Blaire's expression darkened as she recognized the black uniforms the humans were wearing: Team Rocket. Each person was supplied with some sort of water cannon, which they sprayed at the fire pokemon unmercifully. As the fire types weakened, they were easily captured by the Rockets. The valley was almost empty of pokemon by now.
"I don't believe it," Blaire said, "Team Rocket. Bandit, let's go!" She jumped on the Rapidash's back and the pair dashed headlong into the valley to try and protect the innocent pokemon there. During the gallop down the slope, Blaire could not help but wonder how in the world those criminals had found the valley. It was supposed to be hidden from anyone who would dare to defile it.
When Blaire and Bandit reached the bottom of the hill, the Team Rocket forces were already starting to pull out. She refused to let them escape with the pokemon they had abducted from the valley.
"Bandit, Rapid Fire!" Blaire shouted. The Rapidash immediately opened his mouth and launched the specialized attack at the criminals. The fireballs were too fast to outrun, so they crashed to the ground ahead of the Rockets, creating a blazing wall to block the exit of the valley. The Rockets were forced to halt.
"You will release the pokemon you have stolen or suffer the consequences!" Blaire declared loudly as she rode up to them. Her Rapidash snorted and pawed the ground angrily. He was obviously ready to scorch anyone who did not obey.
"I beg to differ," a voice called from above. Blaire glanced up, slightly surprised but not letting the emotion show on her face. Circling down from the smoke-filled sky was a huge Charizard with black wings. As the creature descended, Blaire could see someone riding on its back. When the Charizard landed, its rider, a girl in her late teens, slid off its back. She was tall, standing at about 5'10" and had shoulder-length brown hair and hazel eyes that stared at Blaire mockingly.
Blaire just glared at the girl. "I said let those pokemon go."
The stranger looked her over once, then seemed to lose interest. She turned to her Charizard and said, "Steerpike, fan out the flames. Everyone, head back to headquarters." Her gaze went back to the girl on the Rapidash. "I can deal with one little girl and her horsey."
"I'll show you what a girl and her horsey can do," Blaire growled. "Bandit, fry her with Flame—"
"Hiding behind your animal?" the girl said with disdain. "How pathetic. Why not face me one-on-one? Mano a mano, so to speak."
"Bandit, hold the attack," Blaire ordered. Her horse pokemon let the fire die down, halting the Flamethrower. Blaire jumped off Bandit and stood in front of the other girl. One hand rested on the Rapidash's neck just in case she should need to order the pokemon to attack.
The girl smirked cruelly. "Willing to play by my rules, eh? How noble of you. And, to show my respect, I'll give you a guarantee. I win, me and my friends here walk out of your valley with a lovely new army of fire pokemon. You win, we leave empty-handed and we'll even send you an apology bouquet. Do we have a deal?" The girl extended one hand. Blaire gave her a skeptical look, then reached out and shook her hand. If this girl played fair, Blaire knew she could win since she was skilled in the martial arts.
"Good, we have an agreement. Oh, by the way, Reaper will be fighting for my team. I hope you don't mind." With a harsh laugh, the girl jumped back from Blaire. A huge Rocket stepped out from the group and walked up to face Blaire. Standing at 6'6", he towered over the girl. He appeared to be a pokemorph, sporting the horns, tail, and claws of a Houndoom. He grinned maliciously, baring deadly fangs.
Blaire gasped and took a step back. "Wait, this isn't—"
"Fair?" the girl finished for her. "Of course not! That's why I'm a villain. Reaper, be a dear and take her out."
Before Blaire could react, the Houndoom morph slammed his fist into her stomach. The hit sent her flying backwards. Bandit whinnied and ran to where she had fallen. He nuzzled her with his soft nose. The girl sat up painfully, spitting out blood. She wrapped one arm around her stomach, wincing in agony. She tried to stand, but she just could not seem to get her legs to obey. Then a shadow fell over her.
"Aw, is that it?" the strange girl said, sounding disappointed. "I thought you would last longer than that." She shrugged. "Oh well. I hope you learned a lesson from all this: don't cross Yossarian." The girl calling herself Yossarian laughed maniacally and walked away. She climbed back onto her Charizard, taking to the air and flying away from the valley, leading the Rockets away.
Blaire, still on the ground,
watched them leave through hazy vision. She had no idea where that Yossarian and Reaper had come from or why
they wanted fire pokemon. But she did
know one thing: they would pay for desecrating the
Author's End Notes: And there you have it. I think the main reason I chose to have the authors of light intro focus on Latonya was because she had this cool kind of regular, everyday person thing going on. Also, for those of you wondering about the origins of my Charizard's name, Steerpike is named after the wonderfully nasty villain from the book Gormenghast. Technically, I haven't read all of the book yet, but I saw the miniseries and the guy who played Steerpike was HOT! Er…I seem to be disturbingly attracted to evil…
