Chapter 2- It starts
The next few days passed by quickly in Littleroot, although they were anything but uneventful. It did not take long for the townsfolk to learn of May's intense dislike for Pokemon. And while they did not openly confront and ridicule her, May could still fell their stares on her whenever she walked out in public. The only people in the whole town who would talk to her more than necessary were her mother and Brendan.
May learned that Brendan was the son of Professor Birch, a relatively famous scientist. Professor Birch was currently out working in the field, something, as Brendan informed May he did often. The professor was due back sometime that week although it was common for him to be late; according Brendan his father never really had much use for schedules.
One day, about a week after she had arrived in Littleroot May's mother had suddenly declared that they were going to Petalburg to see her father. May had refused flat out. That sparked an argument between May and her mother that had ended with May stomping off angrily. Once May had calmed down, her mother told her that she wouldn't make May go and said that she had needed to talk to her father about some things anyways. Leaving May in Littleroot, Mrs. Green left for Petalburg. The entire incident had left May rather foul and it was only through Brendan's intervention that she hadn't killed some hapless Pokemon out of anger. The boy had proposed going to the next town over to do some shopping. That cheered May up somewhat and the next day she was waiting outside the town waiting for Brendan.
'Lazy bugger's probably still asleep.' She thought to herself. It was only 9:30am but May was anxious to get moving. She had some things to pick up for school, which started again in a week, and she wanted to have time left over to check out some clothes. May was about to go and drag Brendan out of bed when she heard someone scream.
"Aargh! Help! Someone help!" The voice was male and it came from somewhere close by.
Forgetting about Brendan, May dropped her backpack and ran towards the direction of the voice. What she found was something that made her want to scream.
A man, clearly in his 40's or 50's with a big bushy brown beard was on his rear backed up to a tree and was trying to fend off an attacking dog-like Pokemon with a stick. One of his legs looked very badly hurt and was covered in blood and he also had several painful looking gashes across his chest. The Pokemon 's jaws dripped blood and it wasn't hard to figure out what was happing.
"Get Back! Go Away!" The man yelled at the creature as he struck at it with the stick. The dog Pokemon was too quick however and it nimbly dodged the attack and bit the stick in half. Growling deeply it began to advance on the injured man. The poor man looked ready to piss himself when he noticed May. "Help me!"
Moving quickly, May grabbed the first thing that she could find, which happened to be a rock and threw it at the dog. The creature howled in pain as the rock hit its mark and turned to face its new prey. The dog's blood red eyes glowed with rage and May found herself unable to move as the Pokemon lunged at her.
All May could do was scream as the creature leaped at her and knocked her to the ground. The creature's claws dug deep into May's shoulders and it brought its face down to her face. Its red eyes bore into May's and blood from its jaws dripped onto the girl's face.
May reached out desperately with her arm looking for anything that she might be able to knock to creature off with. Her hand brushed up against something leathery and she used it to club the dog off of her just as it was about to lunge at her throat. Quickly getting to her feet May realized that she was holding a large leather backpack. 'It must belong to the man.' She thought to herself. Taking a quick glance over to the man she noticed that he wasn't moving and his eyes were closed. 'Shit.'
May didn't have time to help the man as the Pokemon was getting back to its feet, looking angrier and scarier than ever. May gulped and took what she hoped was a defense stance, holding the bag between her and the dog. Her shoulders stung with every movement but she knew that one wrong action could mean death. The creature's eyes glowed red again and May could feel her body freezing up. 'No!' she commanded to herself and when the Pokemon lunged again May was ready. Quickly stepping out of the way May brought the heavy bag down on top of the dog. Unfortunately the dog was too fast and it rolled out of the way before being crushed and the bag struck against the ground. The force of the impact caused one of the zippers on the bag to burst open and a small red and white ball fell out and struck the ground, opening with a flash of red light.
Now standing between the black dog and May was a small green lizard. The lizard was barely a foot tall with large yellow eyes and a dark tail that was almost bigger than it was. It seemed to be surprised at its sudden freedom. It's large green eyes showed confusion as it looked around.
The dog Pokemon seemed just as surprised at the sudden appearance of the green lizard but it soon recovered and growled deeply. The lizard just ignored the aggressive Pokemon and continued to look at its surroundings. When it saw the injured man it's eyes widened in shock. The dog however, didn't seem to like that it was being ignored and it let out a mighty roar. The lizard was completely unfazed and it reached over and clamped the dog's mouth shut with its hand. The lizard then started jabbering at the dog, pointing to the injured man. May couldn't understand a word of it but she couldn't help but feel that the little lizard was questioning the dog about its master. The dog had apparently had enough of the lizard and instead of replying it lunged forward and tackled it to the ground.
The lizard didn't seem troubled at all by its predicament, pressing its feet up against the underside of the dog it used its large tail to push its self up and flip the dog over its head. The dog yelped with surprise as it suddenly found itself upside down on the ground. Hastily getting to its feet it turned growling at the lizard that had now adopted a fighting stance. Eyes blazing with rage the dog leapt at the lizard, aiming to rip it's head off but the lizard was too fast and the dog bite nothing but the air where the lizard had been moments before. The dog turned to see the lizard standing behind him and it roared with rage and leapt at its foe claws bared but the lizard was again to fast. The battle continued much like this; every time the dog would attack, the lizard would no longer be there occasionally the lizard would strike back with its tail or fists but neither combatant would ever do much damage to the other.
May found herself not wanting to take her eyes away from the battle but a low moan from the injured man brought her back to reality. Rushing to his side May saw that the wounds were even worse than she had first thought, using the bandanna she was wearing to stop the bleeding from his leg she began looking through the backpack to see if there was anything that could help. With a triumphant cry she pulled out some old clothes, "I hope you don't mind getting your clothes a little dirty," she said to the man as she used the clothes to wipe up some of the blood that was all over his chest. The man simply groaned incoherently, although caught a few words.
"Don't……….rendan….plea……." May's eyes widened in shock; had the man just said Brendan's name? May suddenly realized that this man could very well be Brendan father; after all he was due back sometime this week. If that was the case, May hoped more than ever that the man was all right, she doubted her friend be happy to see his father dead in her arms. She began to work even faster trying desperately to stop the constant flow off blood.
In the battle the green lizard was beginning to slow down, he wasn't used to such extended periods of exertion. The dog however fought on like a raging beast, never slowing and never feeling pain. The lizard knew that he had to end the fight then or else the dog would, and the lizard certainly didn't like the thought of that at all. As the dog lunged again the lizard dodged by leaping to the side although he wasn't as fast as he had been and the dog's claws raked across his tail, leaving deep marks.
The dog turned to face its opponent once more but it didn't attack, it instead raised its bloody paw as if to show the lizard his own blood. Then the dog began to lick the blood off of its claws, it's red eyes always on its foe. When it was done the dogs eyes seemed to mock the lizard and its mouth drew into a malevolent smirk. The dog knew it would win this fight and now it was toying with its prey. Laughing mirthlessly the dog took an attacking stance and readied itself to continue.
The lizard quickly glanced around to see if it could gain some sort of advantage. His eyes fell on the broken half of the stick lying next to the human girl that was trying to help his master. It wasn't much but it was long enough. Thinking quickly, the lizard jumped quickly out of the way of the attacking dog and ran over to the stick, picking it up he turned and faced the dog, holding the stick between them like a sword. This seemed to amuse the dog and it began to laugh, deep mirthless growls that sent chills down the lizard. When it stopped laughing the dog narrowed its red eyes and lunged barking at the lizard.
May noticed the following out of the corner of her eye but what she saw amazed even her. The lizard using the stick with surprising proficiency rushed forward and swept the legs of the dog out from underneath it and sent it crashing to the ground. 'What the hell does that little lizard think it is, some kind of Samurai?' Her thoughts were cut off by a loud groan from the Professor. She wasn't the only one to hear it though; the dog had risen to its feet when it heard the sound as well. Glancing past the lizard to eye the injured man and girl it's eyes darted between them and the lizard as if forming some kind of plan. Grinning evilly the dog lunged forward again, but this time it leapt right over the lizard and barreled towards the humans, teeth bared. May let out what she was sure would be her final scream.
"Blazer! Attack!"
The dog was knocked out of the air mid leap by a blazing fireball. May stared in shocked silence as the fire dissipated to reveal a small orange bird that was hopping up and down from one foot to the other. The lizard wasted no time, while the dog was getting to its feet he ran over and leapt on top of the creature. Holding the stick high above its head the lizard thrust downwards with the broken end.
The dog roared in pain as the stick pierced its left eye, bursting it open in a mix of blood and ooze. The stick missed the creatures brain however as the dog bucked the lizard off and turned to face both its opponents. Realizing that it was now outnumbered and injured the dog gave its foes a look of absolute hatred then turned and ran off into the tall grass. As it passed May saw it glance at her. The look in its remaining eye sent chills down her spine, she couldn't shake the feeling that she would see that eye again.
"May! What happened?" May recognized that voice, it was the voice that had commanded the bird to attack. Still in a daze May felt someone grasp her arms and shake her. She recognized that white-blond hair. Brendan. Wait, wasn't that man related to Brendan? Snapping into reality she grabbed onto him.
"Brendan! We need to help your dad!"
"What?" May saw Brendan's eyes dart to the man lying beside them then she saw those eyes widen in shock, "Oh my God! Dad!" Hastily letting go of May, Brendan rushed over to his father's side.
"He's not doing good. We need to get him back to town." May put her hand on Brendan's shoulder. The boy looked at her, and his amber eyes hardened. Nodding he wrapped his father's arm around his shoulder and lifted his father up. May took the other arm and they began to carry the older man back to the town. The small orange bird followed behind them. The lizard picked up the red and white ball it had sprung from and followed suit.
It took the two teens only a few minutes to carry the professor back to town, but to May it felt much longer. The pain from her wounds was almost enough to cause her to pass out but she managed to stay on her feet. When they reached town a townswoman who was hanging her laundry out to dry saw them. At the sight of the bloody man and the injured girl the woman screamed for help and ran over. A group of people soon ran over to help the teenagers and one large man took the professor's arm from May.
"Here," the man said as he lifted the man off May. Looking to one of the other men he said, "Jerry. Go to Petalburg and get the doctor. Take my Pokemon for protection, these injuries weren't by accident." The large man tossed the man named Jerry a pokeball with his free arm. Jerry nodded and quickly ran out off to get a doctor. "Brendan, lets get him to the lab. There's medical supplies there." Brendan nodded and they carried the professor to the large building across from May's house.
May was starting to feel woozy from blood loss and exertion. Holding a hand to her forehead she wearily tried to follow Brendan, but she was more tired than she realized and tripped over her own feet. She felt someone's arms support her and keep her from falling over. Somewhere through the daze she heard a woman's voice talking to her. "There you go dear. Let's get those cuts treated and clean you up, your face is covered in blood."
"Iz…. not… mine" May tried to say but she suddenly felt very tired. May felt her legs give out beneath her and the last thing she remembered before blacking out was the woman's voice shouting, "Doug! Get her to the lab."
It was dark.
May couldn't remember was it was so dark, nor could she remember why she couldn't feel her body. May couldn't remember anything.
'How are they doc?' a male voice spoke out from the black.
Where's that voice come from? May looked all around but everything was dark. May knew that voice, but she couldn't remember where from.
'They'll be fine. Although I don't think your father will want to do so much field work now. He's going to have a bad limp.' May didn't know that voice.
'I doubt that it'll stop him.' The younger voice laughed, 'But what about May? How's she doing?'
'She's fine. The girl only sustained a few cuts. Although some were pretty deep, there might be scars.'
May heard a woman sniffle and felt something cold touch her forehead.
'Poor girl. She was always so obsessed with her looks. I told her she was beautiful but now she's going to be even more insecure.'
May recognized that voice. Mom.
May heard the unknown voice speak again, 'What did you say happened, Brendan?'
Brendan. May knew that name. That's the name of the boy who lived next door to her.
'It was a Mightyena.'
'Are you sure?'
'Positive. And it was a mean looking one too.'
'Mightyena aren't timid creatures by any stretch, and there have been attacks on humans before, although those are rare. The last reported wild Mightyena attack was over twenty years ago.'
'We'll have to tell the townspeople to be careful outside the town.'
May heard another unknown voice enter the conversation. 'Yes. I think that would be a good idea. But what was it doing here in the first place? Mightyena aren't indigenous to this area'
'Maybe it was an alpha Poochyena that managed to evolve?'
'I doubt it Brendan. Poochyena are cowards, I can't see one getting strong enough to evolve around here. The ones that are wild are usually decendants of tamed Mightyena that were released. But I suppose it is possible.'
'Maybe it wasn't wild at all.'
'What do you mean, doc?'
'There have been rumors going around about a gang war; fights have been breaking out in larger cities all over the place. And from what I've heard most of the gang members from both sides use Mightyena.'
'But what do Dad and May have to do with a gang war?'
'I don't think May has anything to do with it, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
May heard her mother sniff back tears again. 'Poor girl.'
'If she hadn't been there Dad wouldn't be here now Mrs. Green.'
'That's right, you should be proud of your daughter, Amy.'
'I am.' May could hear sadness in her mothers voice and wanted to comfort her, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't move or speak.
'Alright doc. So May isn't involved, what about Dad?'
'I'm afraid you would know more about the Professor's research than I would. Is there anything he was working on that may be of interest for gangs?'
'I can't think of anything, all Dad does is research on Pokemon.'
'I can.' May heard the second strange voice say. 'The Professor is also the leading authority on Pokemon legends and lore. His last trip was to visit an old ruin north of Mauville. When I spoke with him last over the phone he said that he had found something of extraordinary importance. He claimed he had an artifact that would confirm the existence of something that was thought to be only a fairy tale.
'What was it Mr. Smith?'
'I don't know. He said that he couldn't say over the phone, it wasn't secure enough. I thought he was just worried about another scientist laying claim to his discovery but now I don't think it was that trivial.'
'It would seem not.'
May could feel the darkness clouding over her. As much as she wanted to hear the rest of the conversation she slipped back into the deep black that surrounded her and heard nothing.
The darkness waspierced by a pair of glowing red eyes.
May awoke with a scream, sitting up so quickly that the wet cloth on her forehead flew off and hit the bed near her feet. Tears streamed from her eyes. Clutching her head in both hands she screamed., "No! Go away!"
"May!" May felt someone hug her tightly; she tried to shake the person off but her mother held her tight. "It's okay May. You're alright."
Slowly May calmed down, her breathing became regular and the tears stopped falling.
"Where am I?"
Her mother stroked her daughter's hair, "You're at Professor Birch's Lab. The townspeople brought you here when you collapsed. I met the man looking for the doctor in Petalburg and came home right away."
May nodded and hugged her mother for a few minutes. After a while she felt better. "I'm ok now, Mom."
Her mother let go and May saw that her mother's eyes were red and puffy from crying. She also had the look of someone who had been up for longer than they were used to. "How long have I been out?"
"Almost a day from what I heard. You must've been tired."
This drew a small smile from May, "I was." May pushed the blankets aside and saw that someone had removed her bloody clothes for her; she was now wearing a new pair of jeans and her entire upper torso was covered with bandages. "How bad am I hurt?" she asked her mother. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed she looked around for something to cover her mostly naked upper-half.
Her mother passed her a vest to wear over the bandages, "The cuts were deep and the doctor says that there might be scarring. He gave you some ointment to put on it but he recommends that you keep the bandages on for a few days.
May looked down at her chest, never that big in the best of times but with the bandages pressing down on her it seemed even smaller, "I'm flatter than a ten year old." She mad a sour face as she put the vest on, wincing with the pain of moving her shoulders.
Her mother just laughed at her vanity, "I really don't think you should worry about that dear."
"Easy for you to say," the girl muttered under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Uhh…how's Brendan's Dad?" May asked, changing the subject quickly.
"Dad's fine May." May jumped at the boy's voice, 'I hope he didn't hear that conversation.' She turned to see Brendan standing in the doorway, a man leaning on a crutch was behind him. It took May a second to recognize him as the man she had saved.
Brendan moved into the room to let his dad in. The man hobbled over to May and extended his hand, a warm smile on his bearded face.
"Hello May, I'm Professor Birch. I can't thank you enough for what you did."
May smiled weekly and shook the man's hand, "It's really not that big a deal."
The man shook his head, "Psshaw! Don't be so modest, May. If it wasn't for you…. Well I wouldn't be hear right now. You have my sincerest gratitude." He turned to Mrs. Green, "You've raised a hell of a daughter, Amy."
May felt her cheeks burn at the praise, she wasn't used to this much attention. But somewhere deep in her mind a voice told her to tell the old man to shove it, that it was his fault she'd gotten hurt. She pushed that voice away and tried to stammer out something.
Brendan stopped her, "May, just accept the thank you. Dad's too stubborn to let you do otherwise. He's supposed to be in bed now resting but he insisted on coming and thanking you."
The older man waved his hand dismissively, "I'm fine. Never felt better. That old crackpot doesn't know what he's talking about." As if to emphasize this the professor let out a hearty laugh and pounded his chest with his hand.
Brendan rolled his eyes. "Whatever Dad." May couldn't help giggling.
"I feel like I should give you something for all this," the professor scratched at his beard as he thought of a gift.
"Nono. You don't need to do that."
"Nonsense, it's the least I could do." The man looked around the room until his eyes fell on something past May. "Aha!" The girl turned around and followed his gaze to the small table that was set up beside the bed she'd been in. On it was a small red and white ball.
'Oh crap.'
"I'll assume you got that from my bag, May?" the professor asked. May nodded her head. "Excellent. Then as thanks for saving my life I'm going to let you keep that Pokemon!" He smiled widely, clearly expecting May to be overjoyed. Both Brendan and May's mother stared at May, trying to gauge her reaction.
May tried to look as grateful as she could, "Thank you for the offer Mr. Birch, but I really don't think that's a good idea."
"Nonsense girl. Don't worry about it all, I've got lots more where that one came from," he laughed again.
"That's not what I meant." But the professor didn't pay any attention. Turning around he hobbled back out the door.
"It's no problem at all my dear. Just be sure to treat it well. Come on Brendan, I think I need to lie down." Brendan gave May an apologetic look and turned to follow his father.
May walked over to the table and picked up the small ball and looked at it for a few seconds. The she tossed it to her mother. "Congratulations Mom. You are now the proud owner of a crazy wannabe-samurai lizard. Enjoy."
May's mother walked over to her daughter and grabbed her hand. She placed the pokeball back in her daughter's hand and looked her in the eyes, "I don't think so May. This Pokemon is yours and you are going to treat it well. Or you'll be grounded for the rest of your life."
May was stunned by her mother's words and spent several minutes staring at the ball in her hand.
'God damn it'