Chapter 1: The Result of War
Hidden by the blackness of the night, a small rowing boat pulled up on the shore of Pallet Town. In it sat an old fisherman, three young men, each one wearing a long hooded cape, and a strange wolf-like pokemon with a metal mask fitted over his muzzle. One of the men was seventeen-year-old Gary Oak who had once called Pallet Town his home. The other two were brothers and they shared similar features, black hair, long, pale faces, the same determined green eyes. The younger brother, their leader, had shorter hair than his brother and a long scar on his cheek. He was dressed completely in black, while his older brother and Gary wore a mixture of black and dark blue.
The leader, who looked to be about nineteen, pulled out a bundle of notes and shoved a few into the old man's hand. The man counted it quickly then glanced up again avoiding the young man's eyes.
"I want more than this," he whispered firmly. "I've risked my life…"
"It's the amount we agreed on," the older brother interrupted. "We can't give you any more than that."
"If the League finds out that I've helped you…"
"No one will find out," Gary said angrily. "Look, I have family in Pallet, and all I care about right now is seeing if they're safe. I don't give a damn about your flaming money"
"Alright, alright. Just get out then," the fisherman snapped. "And make sure you keep your mouths shut."
"Don't worry," the first man said quietly, stepping out onto the dock. "We're not in this to get innocent people killed. And…and if you see Falkner, please let him know that we are safe."
The fisherman muttered something under his breath and begun to row away. The three men stood on the docks and watched him go.
"Do you think that guy will let Falkner know that we arrived safely?" the oldest man asked. His younger brother shrugged.
"Who knows?" he said. "I hope he does, but that's his choice." His green eyes narrowed as he reached up to touch the scar on his cheek. "Like so many other people, he's scared of the League. You can't blame them, not really. You saw what the League is capable of…" he broke off and coughed. Gary and his brother made a move towards him, but he waved them back. "I'm fine," he told them firmly. "Let's go to Pallet."
Ten minutes later, the three men had reached the top of the hill and were staring out over the ruins of Pallet Town. It was a terrible sight. People and pokemon lay dead or dying, buildings had been reduced to rubble. Professor Oak's lab had been burnt to the ground and the surviving books and papers, his life's work, had been carelessly thrown aside. Gary sunk to his knees and picked up one of the books. Lovingly, he ran his fingers down the cover, and then slowly looked up at his friends. "Do you think…?" he began, his voice shaking. He couldn't go on. The leader knelt beside him and pulled the younger boy into his arms.
"Gary, I'm so sorry," he whispered. "If only we had gotten here sooner…"
"There is no hope?" Gary looked up at him, his blue eyes shining with tears. "Grandpa is really gone?"
"I doubt if anyone got out of there alive," the older man said sadly, looking down at Gary. "Do you want me to take a look around?"
"Go on," the leader gave a nod and turned his attention back to Gary. "I don't think there is any danger. I…I can't sense any life at all."
The older man took one last look at the two men and turned away. With a sigh, he went off to see if anyone was still alive.
He wasn't long in reporting back to them. "Not much left," he said with a sigh. "Most of the houses really are just rubble. Ash's house is still standing though. I checked it…" He trailed off and his younger brother glanced at him sharply.
"You find anything?" he asked. His brother took a sharp breath and nodded.
"Gary," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "Does Ash's mum have dark hair and a Mr. Mime?"
"Yeah, that's her. That's Delia." Gary slowly looked up at him; his eyes shining with unshed tears. "Is she…is she…?"
"They are both dead. And there's something strange about their deaths too."
"What do you mean?" the leader asked, pushing his black cloak back and tightening his grip on Gary. His brother stared at him blankly for a second.
"Are you sure you want to hear this?" he said finally. When they both nodded, he shrugged and continued. "Mr. Mime has been literally ripped apart," he went on, beginning to feel sick at the memory. "As if by a wild animal or…something. And Delia. She…she's been raped and pretty violently from the looks of it."
"What is so strange about that?" their leader asked, getting to his feet and pulling Gary up with him. "It's nasty, I know, but the same has happened to every woman in this town from the looks of it."
"Her face has been slashed," his brother told them. "In exactly the same place as yours."
"What in the world…" the boy cursed, then looked around and lowered his voice. "Do you think…?"
"Right now, I don't know what to think." Gary said with a shrug, after wiping his eyes. "But I want to find the bastards who did this and make them pay."
"Well what do we do now?" the oldest man asked, looking at his brother. "You are in no fit state to fight right now…"
"Don't worry about me," his brother laughed humourlessly. "I've held out this long and I'm not letting a few Dark Raiders scare me off. Let's head them off at Pewter City. We can beat them if we take a few shortcuts."
Before Gary or his brother could reply, he had turned and began to walk away, his strange pokemon following him. His brother sighed, shook his head and went after him. Gary shrugged and wrapped his cloak around his body to keep out the cruel night air.
"Come on," the leader called, not turning round. "Let's show those guys that no one messes with the Darkshield brothers and survives to tell the tale."
"I hope he's right." Gary muttered to himself, forcing himself to take one last look at the destroyed town of Pallet. Looking behind him to where the two brothers were waiting, he was suddenly overcome by a feeling of dread. He knew that something was watching him, and he didn't want to be alone. Shivering slightly although he wasn't quite sure why, he hurried to catch up with his friends…