Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon. You have no idea how much I'd like to, but I'm not that fortunate. So yes, pokémon belongs to Nintendo and Game Freak, alright?
Treading In Darkness
Part One
'Hi. I'm Harmony. I'm a brunette with golden eyes. Maybe you've heard of me before, or maybe my sister. Her name is Melody. She's pretty cool… at least, for a sister. Well, she was. She's changed a lot. But more about that later.
'Anyways, I live on Shamouti Island. Yeah, the place with all the strange legends and stuff. We have annual celebrations that are really cool about these legends. It's really neat. See, the legend says:
"Disturb not the Harmony of fire, ice, or lightning,
Lest these titans reek destruction upon the world in which they clash.
Though the water's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting,
Alone its song will fail, thus the earth shall turn to Ash.
Oh, Chosen one, into thy hands bring together all three,
The treasures combined tame the beast of the sea.
From the trio of islands ancient spheres shall you take,
For between life and death all the difference you'll make.
Climb to the shrine to right what is wrong,
And the world will be healed by the guardian song."
'This year, I get to be the legend girl, because Melody didn't want to do it. I'm not sure why, but there must be a reason. I'm sort of confused. I mean, last year, she stopped being cool after this storm and became real quiet, and didn't really want to say anything. She hardly says anything anymore. And she's always trying to be alone with that flute of hers. She says she needs it. I'm not really sure of what's with her. I try to avoid her when she's like that. And she avoids me.
'I guess this is my life. I've got a strange sister and 2 other sisters who are just sisters, Carol and Rhapsody. And a Clefairy, named Magik. But I really just want Melody to notice me.
'But this is an quest I have to do on my own.
'Rhapsody says tha-'
"Hey, what's this?" asked Rhapsody, picking up the paper that Harmony had written on. "Hi. I'm Harmony. I'm a brune-"
"Stop it!" Harmony ordered while grabbing the paper from Rhapsody's hands. The paper ripped a bit on the end and fell to the ground…
A black boot stepped on a ripped bit of paper that blew around the newly deserted town of Ecruteak. "So, the Boss wants us to get the legendary dogs?" asked a raspy voice, belonging to a boy who had just outgrown his teens and had teal blue hair that occasionally fell into his face. His eyes looked deep into his accomplice's.
"Guess so, Butch. I have no idea WHY though. And that's what I'd like to know," answered the girl that followed him everywhere and was his co-worker. Her eyes gazed back into his with a sort of lifelessness. She pulled a strand of the corn-colored hair she was known for away from her eyes and kept talking. "Not like we have a choice. If we don't do what He says, then you know what happens…" She shifted uneasily from one foot to another, knowing all too well what happens when the Boss finds you aren't working anymore…
Butch was silent for a moment. But then he nodded with a slight indecisive look crossing his face. "Yeah. What a shame. They really didn't deserve that…" He lowered his eyes.
Cassidy glanced at him, and then lowered her eyes too. It's not fair. Even if we were always fighting, she didn't deserve it… A single tear rolled down her cheek and splashed against the ground. She coughed once, then looked back up again. "Well, guess we should getting going, eh Butch?"
Butch looked back at her. "Alright. I think the towers… that way," he directed, pointing his finger towards a crumbling ruin, reminding everyone who saw it about what a great civilization Ecruteak had been. He pulled out a fishing net and tightened his grip around it.
"Butch… I- I-… if anything happens… to either of us…" she started, but choked on her words and lowered her eyes again.
He lifted up her chin with his free hand. "It won't. I swear to it."
Cassidy looked into his eyes and a wave of serenity fell over her. "Alright." She smiled at him, then took his hand and gracefully pulled him into the almost collapsed building. "You know, this is kind of like the first time we've been friends instead of just workers? I mean, usually we're talking about work and that kind of stuff. But now…" She stopped and stared into his eyes again.
Butch blushed and then wondered to himself if this meant Cassidy… Cassidy… He couldn't think anymore about it. He tried to regain his dignity and looked away. "C'mon, we've gotta go find those dogs before its too late." He cleared his throat.
Cassidy sighed as silently as she could. So close… she thought to herself, but nodded and stepped into the tower. She gaped at the stench in the rotting building. Abandoned spider webs limply hung from the walls that were filled with holes in the strong rock foundation, the light from outside dimly lighting up the room just enough to see around. She dryly wondered if the air was even safe to breath and took another step forward.
Butch followed her footsteps and turned on a flashlight. A brainless Rattatta froze in the light, then scurried away. Butch snorted. Stupid rat… this whole place is probably full of them, he thought to himself with a silent scoff. He flashed the light around in the empty room, noticing each crack, crevice, and cobweb. He switched off the light, seeing as there was nothing to look at.
"I think it's that way…" Cassidy started. Butch walked up next to her and peered at where she was pointing. "Yeah. Its that way," she assured herself.
Suddenly, the ground underneath them broke and they fell into the black hell below… or so it seemed…
Harmony stood up and glared at her sister. "Always poking into my stuff, aren't you?!?!"
Rhapsody tried to look innocent and utterly failed. "Not… ALWAYS…" she tried to excuse herself. This also failed.
"Just… shut up. Shut up," Harmony commanded in a quiet, dangerous tone. Rhapsody knew better than to mess with her now... well, she should have…
"Fine I will." Rhapsody's light blue eyes smoldered and her voice lowered to a hiss. "I'll shut up. But I'll get revenge first." With that she stormed off.
Harmony sighed. Just my luck. Just like me to get on her bad side… She lowered her head and realized to her surprise that Magik was staring at her worriedly. "Oh, hi. Wassup?" she asked the Clefairy with a false cheerful tone.
"Faaaairy?" asked Magik.
"Yeah, well… sometimes I can't stand her…"
Even though Harmony didn't realize that for her survival, she would have to…
Cassidy rubbed her cat-like blue eyes and peered into the darkness surrounding her. "Butch? You here?" she asked him, even though she was talking to empty darkness.
"Right here, Cassidy. And look what I've found…" he mumbled. She adjusted her eyes to the darkness and realized what he was looking at. A pair of majestic dog statues standing on a platform. It was funny… they looked so real, she would have thought they were if it wasn't for the rock… But she shrugged off the idea and walked over to Butch. "Wait, don't go up there!" he called out to her in the loudest whisper he could manage
"What are you afraid of, Butch?" she teased. "Let's go see! After all, they're just a bunch of rocks, right?"
Butch was silent.
"Right?!"
Cassidy sighed, and her temple began throbbing. "RIGHT?!?!?!?!" she screeched into his ears.
Butch cringed. In all the days he had lived, he had never heard someone yell so loud. He covered his ears helplessly and started whining, which worsened his scratchy voice. "Yeah… I'm pretty s-s-sure…" he tried to answer. Traumatized for life, that's me… he thought. I'll never recover. Ah well… the meek inherit the earth, right?
"Good." Her eyes narrowed. "Cuz we are going to see what those things are…"
Unknowingly, Cassidy had just placed the last piece in the puzzle that was going to destroy earth…
Jessie peeked her slim white head around a corner cautiously. Then she laid her eyes on the bird of rainbows that stood still, glancing around anxiously, sensing trouble was nearby…
"Prepare for trouble, it's the bird of fire…" she whispered almost silently.
"Make it double, the Boss is no liar…" her best friend and co-worker whispered back.
"To protect the world from devastation…"
"To unite all peoples within our nation…"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"
"To extend our reach to the stars above…"
"Jessie."
"James."
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light…"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight…"
"Meowt dat's right…" murmured the cat pokémon besides them.
"Shhhh… we have to catch this for the Boss, otherwise it's the end…" Jessie warned, putting her finger to her lips. James and Meowth nodded.
Instantly, Jessie jumped out of the dark corridor and threw a flameproof net over Ho-oh. The angry bird struggled against it, but there was no use. For once, Team Rocket had been successful.
"Wow! We caught something!" James cackled that strange laugh of his. Jessie whacked him with a mallet.
"Of COURSE we caught something, we're Jessie and James!" she snorted indignantly.
"Wha bout yer bestest pokié, Meowt?!" Meowth yelled.
"YOU didn't do anything!" hissed Jessie. Meowth screamed and slashed both Jessie and James' faces.
"WHY YOU LOW-LIFE LITTLE MANGY FURBALL!!!"
"HOW DARE YOU RUIN OUR BEAUTY?!?!?!"
Ho-oh calmly watched the trio out of the corner of his eye. His own musings were about if either of them had any sanity whatsoever. How did they manage to catch me if they're this brainless?! he asked himself. Sadly he lowered his head. Now I'm in huge trouble… they'll get reaaaal mad at me… if I ever see them again… this is what I get for being legendary. My friends will never get over this, if they ever have the chance to find out….
Ash Ketchum yawned and stretched lazily. "Good morning, Pikachu!" he greeted the electric mouse.
"Pika!" Pikachu waved from by Brock's side at Ash.
Ash sniffed the air gently. "Brock is making breakfast, right?" Pikachu grinned and nodded.
Misty sat up from her sleeping bag and smiled at Ash in a sleepy daze. "… hello there, mister pokemon master…" she murmured lazily. Ash smiled back at her. Despite all their arguments, they had always been good friends…
But both of them secretly wanted to be something much more than just friends…
"Hey Ash, I never did get to see Shamouti Island like you and Misty did. You wanna take a break from Johto and show me what its like there?" Brock asked.
Pikachu ran over to Ash and nodded eagerly. Pikachu knew something important was going to happen…
Pikachu knew…
Cassidy took yet another step towards the dog statues. Placing her hand out, she touched the rounded dents and cracks. She then turned back to Butch and said, "See? You were afraid for nothing!"
Butch sweatdropped and stepped away from the platform. "Cassidy…"
"Yes?" she asked sweetly, ready to rub it in any moment.
"…L… look b-b-behind you…" he stuttered nervously.
Cassidy turned around slowly, and saw the rock sliding off the face of the dog. THE dog. It snarled at her, its yellow, brown, and red face becoming more visible each second. It then roared, its mouth opened huge, as the remaining rocks fell off and its powerful muscles rippled with the strength it had be preserving for years. The other statue followed its footsteps and jumped from behind to next to it, staring right into Cassidy's frightened eyes.
"… my… my god!" Cassidy shrieked.
Entei licked his lips, inches away from Cassidy's own lips. Raikou growled under its breath.
"Quick… Butch… the net…" she hissed quietly, trying to avoid eye contact with the dogs and failing.
Butch nodded and threw the net out. It covered the two dogs, who yanked at it and tried to rip it apart with the razor sharp teeth and claws. Both didn't succeed.
Thank you, Cassidy mouthed to Butch. He smiled at her.
"But wait… isn't there another one?"
Giovanni smirked, his face hidden in the constant shadows that he lived in, and beckoned for Laurence III to come sit by him on the scarlet velvet chair beside him. Laurence did so, his face showing signs of early apprehension.
So this is the fearless leader of Team Rocket… I wonder what he wants me for…
Giovanni's smirk widened. "I… I heard you had an encounter with the beast of the sea, Lugia. Is that correct?"
Laurence smiled with a sense of impending doom. May as well tell him the truth. He'd find out one way or another if I'm lying. "Why yes, Sir. I know the secret of the legendary birds."
"Good… VERY good…" Giovanni crooned.
"Yes Sir."
"Please, no formalities. Call me Giovanni… that IS my name…"
"Yes Sir… erm, Giovanni," Laurence obeyed.
"That's better. Now… how did you find Lugia?" the Boss asked Laurence III.
"Well…"
"Speak up. I want to be positive you're telling the truth."
Laurence nodded and cleared his throat. "I… I captured the other legendary birds, then they were let loose by some strange children." He was about to add that a few were members of Team Rocket as he could tell by their uniform, but decided against it. "As the three were fighting over the islands, Lugia appeared."
"And could you find Lugia again?" asked Giovanni.
"Yes, Giovanni." Laurence twitched in his chair nervously a bit.
"Very well then. I'd like to hire you for… a considerable pay. I have enough money to pay you more than enough. Say… $2,000 a day?"
Laurence grinned. Quite a bit of money for someone who never got paid at all. A lot, in fact. He nodded.
"Alright, excellent. I want you to catch me the three legendary birds AND Lugia. You do this, and I'll make SURE you collect your pay."
Laurence was about to get up and leave, but then he decided to ask a question. "Excuse me, Sir, but why do you want the legendary birds?"
Giovanni narrowed his eyes. "You'll find out soon enough."
"The world will find out soon enough…"
Harmony changed her mind. "Magik, let's go visit Melody."
Magik chirped and nodded, then noticed Harmony, who was way ahead of the Clefairy racing up the cliff.
"CLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEFAAAAAAAAIIIIIRRRRY!!!" cried out the tiny pokémon, clearly upset. Harmony stopped and scooped up the upset Clefairy.
"Shhh… its okay. I'm right here," Harmony reassured. Magik smiled back. "Now, onto Melody."
Melody sat alone on the tip of a cliff, overlooking the green-gray ocean. She had changed so much since last year. She lived in solitude, unlike her previous, overly social, frivolous self. She had gained an extreme amount of wisdom about life too. She spent all her time thinking and wondering about what had happened and what it all meant. She was self absorbed and shy, never wanting to take a step into public.
The Legends Festival is soon, she thought. When is it… tomorrow? The next day? She looked at the digital watch. Tomorrow then. Wow… one year. One year since that cute guy saved the world. And his strange girlfriend, too. I remembered how she pointed out that he wasn't alone when she was there. I guess that was her way of saying that… she really likes him. Maybe by now they'll be together. Hopefully for them. Ash never got to see how much she cared like I did. Actually, he probably does too. I wonder if they'll be back for the Festival this year. That would be nice. But Ash wouldn't get to be the Chosen One again this year. What a shame.
Melody sat still, letting the wind rustle her soft hair and the waves reflect off her eyes.
"There she is…" whispered Harmony. "Why's she in a trance like that constantly?"
Magik just shook her head cluelessly.
"Ah well. Let's go talk to her anyways." Harmony walked over to her. "Sis?"
Melody turned around and stared at Harmony.
"Don't you recognize your sister?" asked Harmony with a bit of dismay.
Melody blinked, then smiled slightly. "Of course."
"Oh good." Harmony smiled back.
"The legend…" murmured Melody.
"Huh?"
"The legend, Harmony. You must fulfill your destiny." Clearly Melody was hypnotized or something.
"What?"
"You know what you have to do. The world needs you. I need you. Depend on your heart and you can save us all…"
Harmony sucked in a deep breath. "You mean the legend is true?!" she exclaimed in shock.
Melody nodded. "You must face the legend. Its up to you… its up to you…"
Harmony's eyes widened. "But…"
Melody broke out of the trace. "What? But… I… you…" Then, Melody went back into the trance again.
"Face your purpose for life, Harmony. Face the purpose you exist. Its to save us all from the doom we bring upon ourselves… Go now, and know what you have to do."
Harmony blinked, then started shouting at her sister. "MELODY! I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HEAR ME IN THERE, BUT I WANT YOU TO WAKE UP! I WANT YOU BACK AS MY OLDER SISTER! I NEED YOU! OUR WHOLE FAMILY NEEDS YOU!!" Harmony let the tears flow down her cheeks as sobs racked her body. "GO BACK TO BEING MY SISTER! NOT THE PROPHET OR LEGEND READER! GO BACK TO BEING MY SISTER! DO YOU HEAR ME?! I WANT MY SISTER BACK!" With that, Harmony could take no more and ran down, away from her sister, as the storm began and the rain fell, symbolizing the beginning of the end….
The shadow moved in the back of the Burnt Tower. Pacing back and forth, it furiously bombarded itself with angry thoughts.
Why, why did I leave?! They need me there, NOW. But why did I have to be afraid?! Team Rocket never amounted up to anything! So why am I afraid?!
The creature growled at itself.
Unless this is what I've known would happen… unless this is the danger…
Cassidy perked her ears. Past the dogs that had given up their impossible struggle was the sound of claws scratching the floor quietly, paws stepping on rock almost silently, and a soft growl that her ears barely picked up. The two dogs turned a bit too and saw the silhouette of the last one.
It's her! She's decided to come out again, I guess.
Why did she hide from us?
Both dogs' thoughts were trying to find their way to her mind, but the last dog had blocked her mind from them. A mental barrier.
Cassidy kneeled down at the speed of a cautious cat. Her mouth formed the words, Here, doggie, here… She whistled quietly to the area where it seemed as if the dog had been.
But then she turned around to look at Butch and found it glaring into her eyes.
It's the last dog. Its… Suicune… Her mind had trouble grasping that she was staring at the crimson eyes of an angry, 6-foot dog. She placed her hand in front of it as if it was a strange dog she had met out in New York City streets, but tried to act as if she was friendly. "Hello, doggie."
Butch stared at her, not comprehending.
Suicune sniffed her hand, then began licking it. The eyes were wearing a look of submission as it lowered its head. Then, the creature looked back up at Cassidy, its tail wagging gently as if a little puppy.
Wow. That was easy. "What a good doggie you are, yes. What a good doggie!" She patted the dog with her hand and smiled. Looking up, she noticed the surprise on Butch's face.
The instant Cassidy looked away, Suicune jumped away from her arms and stood in front of the net, guarding the other 2 dogs and snarling viciously. Cassidy blinked.
"Come back, doggie! Want to play fetch?" she asked desperately, picking up a stone on the ground.
Suicune watched the stone, entranced. Cassidy tossed it in her hand once or twice, and Suicune's eyes moved up and down with it.
If I play with them a little more, I might be able to---
Suddenly Butch pulled out a gun and shot at Suicune. The net which came out of the bullet hurled at the dog at speeds even faster than it could reach. The net wrapped itself around the water dog and hurled it backwards, ramming it into the other two dogs. The two nets tangled, and Suicune's worthless struggling tangled them further so none of the dogs could get out.
"Gotta take these to Giovanni, eh Butch?" Cassidy asked with a happier tone. Their mission was complete… and the pay was coming soon.
"Yup." Butch grunted as he pushed the net up the stairs and out the building. Boy, was he glad to get out of there. The whole place gave him the creeps. He shoved the net into the back of the Team Rocket truck and slammed the lid down.
Suicune lowered her head against the cold metal floor of the truck. I… I… I failed… A tear rolled down her cheek and splashed on the metal. She closed her eyes and whined softly as the truck began to move towards Giovanni…
~*~To Be Continued~*~
~That's it for now. I'm proud of myself. If I added up all the time I had spent writing this, it was only a few hours ^-^ I was going to make it longer, but I decided not to. I'll continue it if anyone wants me too… Then again, I'll probably continue it anyways. Next time, peeps!
~Suikun~