Not too long after Chardon and Xeon took flight, they came upon a clearing spattered with blood. It immediately set off alarms in Chardon's head. He looked over at Xeon, and yelled his intention. "I'm gonna land! That doesn't look right!" Before Xeon could reply, Chardon started the spiraling descent to the ground. "Careful! You don't know what's down there!" Xeon let himself fall towards the ground as well.
Chardon landed with a thump, and immediately entered a crouching position. He looked around warily. Not seeing anyone, he let out a soft growling call, to see if anyone was around. He strained his ears for even the smallest replying cry. He was quivering with almost uncontrollable energy, and restlessness. The moment was so tense that when he heard the small reply, his breath exploded out like a balloon. He had held his breath and forgotten to exhale. It took him a minute to determine if what he had heard was real or not. He again sent out the call, and sure enough, there was an answer! "…Are you OK?" Chardon called softly. He listened intently for the reply. He heard a soft thump behind him and looked. Xeon had landed. Chardon held a claw up to his snout and directed the Mewtwo to be silent. Xeon raised an eyebrow, but nodded. Chardon looked back at the direction of the last call, and blinked. …Was that a club? Yes, it was a club… that could only be Cubone… He slowly rose to his feet, and duck-walked his way over to the club, calling out once again. This time he got an almost instant reply. "… Mama gon'na… papa gon'na… bring'a famma'kin back?" It was a Cubone…and a young one at that. He could recognize Big'a Fleck's language anywhere. Chardon got down on his knees and crawled up to the source of the voice. "Gone? …What happened? Were they… hurt?"
The young Cubone looked up at Chardon through her bone mask. "Famma'kin keel'ed… by'a big'a fiyaa-flame… like'a you… butt'a norra." Chardon looked down. "I'm sorry. I would bring them back, if I could… Do you have a name?" The Cubone proudly stuck out her chest as she said her name. "My name'a ees'a Starra'na Fleck." Chardon smiled at her. She reminded him so much of the first time him and Big'a fleck met. "Ees good to meet'a you, Starra-Na Fleck. My name'a ess'a Chardon. I ees'a beeg'a fiyaa-flame." Starra looked at Chardon with joy. "Chardon speak'a Bangaa? Charra'don ees'a Starra'na fren." Xeon shook his head, smiling. Chardon never ceased to amaze him.
Starra-Na Fleck looked up at Chardon. "…Fiyaa-flame Chardon ees'a fatha'kin now…or norra?" Chardon couldn't refuse her; he didn't have the heart. "Yess'a. Chardon ees'a fatha'kin…" He didn't know how to finish this in Bangaa, so he finished it normally. " …until the River underground stops flowing."
He grinned a bit. His Bangaa tongue was rusty, as he hadn't had to use it in almost 15 years. He went back to the native Pokéon tongue. "If you want, you can come with us. We'll take care of you. I promise…"
He looked at her and the small beginnings of the feelings of fatherly love crept into his mind. He went into his own native tongue, the tongue of Chah. He said a blessing for the little one. * Ra, Cha'ra Na Chah charanec Iza'chara, Starra'na. *
Starra'na half crawled, half walked over to a nearby hole in the ground, and pulled out a skull that seemed to be intended for a mask. She came back, and held it out to Chardon. "Wear'a this onna' fiyaa-flame head. Geev'a yorra strenth." She held the mask up to him, and he took it with a little hesitation. "Thank you, Starra'na."
He slowly positioned the mask over his snout and head, as not to break it, until it fit rather snug over his head. It was an eerie fit…almost like it was made for him…for his species… It was a Charizard's skull. That only made the moment more uncomfortable, but it was ok.
He held out a clawed hand for Starra'na. "Grab on, and hold tight!" She took his claw, and he hoisted her up onto a position on his shoulders. With a mighty flap of his wings, he leapt up into the air, and resumed the journey to the Lake. This seemed like it would turn out to be a rather interesting reunion…
…The trio of travelers had been in the air for quite a time. The only sounds that could be heard at the moment were the flap of Chardon's wings and the onrush of wind as Xeon, Chardon, and his charge soared high above all of the human villages. Thanks to Xeon's barrier, the humans on the ground couldn't see the two in the air, which was a good thing for both Chardon and Xeon; Xeon more than Chardon, as Xeon was one of the most elusive collector's pieces. Chardon himself was a rare spectacle. His colors made him extremely valuable, seeing as they were not the normal Charizard orange.
Char looked over his shoulder at the Cubone resting comfortably between his wing bones, arms wrapped loosely around his neck. "Are you OK back there? I can carry you, if you want."
Starra'na shook her head. "Norra, thats'a ok. Plen'a comfortable here'a, thanks." Char smiled again and looked back at his flight path. "Ok. But you just tell me when you get tired of riding up there, and Ill carry you." She nodded.
Xeon flew up close to Char, and sent him a telepathic message, so Starra'na couldn't hear. ~Well, this is starting to sound very familiar, don't you think? ~ Char blinked. Xeon sent another message. ~ There's a mental link between us, so you can talk with me now. ~ Char looked back toward the horizon. ~ Ok… I still don't understand your powers… So what do you mean by familiar? Like… with me and Char? … Well, not exactly you, but yes. …Look at her. She's an orphaned Cubone. You're a Charizard… doesn't that sound odd? You, a Charizard, being father to a Cubone? … Why would that be odd? There've been many interspecies families. It wouldn't be any different than Tachi's children or Bladerunner's. You know their families… …Yes, but they are different… Those children were of their own bloodline… Starra'na is not your family… Never mind. We'll talk about it later… I'm closing the link…~
The conversation got Chardon's mind working. He sighed. This looked like something he would be pondering over for a while. Oh well… don't concern yourself about it too much, Chardon. You have to look over her now, whether Xeon likes it or not.
He looked out ahead of him, and at the sky. It was getting late, and they had a lot of traveling to do. He looked over to Xeon. "Hey, we're gonna have to land. It's late, and I don't feel safe flying at night right now… Ok?" Xeon rolled his eyes. He smiled and shook his head as he answered. "Heh, you're a wuss… Yeah, it's fine. There's a human town down below us. It's one that we've been at before, if you want to land there."
Chardon looked down, and scanned the area for a safe landing spot. "No choice. As much as I was taught to hate humans, they may be able to help us find shelter. Come on." He tucked his wings close, and dived down towards the village.