Amin Vanima Mellonea: Thanks. Well, here's the chapter that you wanted to see.
Chris Bennett: Yeah, thanks.
Author's Notes: This chapter will pretty much be Ash 'learning what he has to.' So, all but a few of the characters will not appear after this chapter. If anyone wants to create a fic using characters and the storyline from this chapter feel free to. I'm just doing this to kinda create a feel for everything. And also with events that will happen after this chapter. Anyway, please enjoy chapter 10!
Verbal dialogue – "Word"
Telepathy dialogue – Word
Ash felt like he was floating for a time as the picture began to get bigger and bigger. Soon the picture had encompassed him all around. Ash looked at his surroundings. He was in a desolate field. Sudden movement caught his eye. As he looked closer he saw four orange and very ugly large birds. They all seemed to be very injured. However, in spite of those injuries, they were starting to get up. Ash wondered how badly they had been hurt and by what.
Since they also weren't any pokemon that Ash had seen before, and that they had a very strong resemblance with the bird part of the statue, Ash could only assume that they were the Alpha. Though, Ash could tell that they were much larger than the statue, Ash wondered if that meant something important.
The birds were finally standing, although one was having a little difficulty staying that way. Three of them turned to leave, each in a different direction, but one of the birds started calling out to its companions. They turned and seemed to be having a debate. Ash wondered what they were talking about. Could it be that that last one doesn't want them to leave each other, Ash asked himself.
He wanted them all to stay together so they could protect themselves next time. a voice said in Ash's mind.
Ash panicked at first, but then he realized that it must be the statue that was talking to him. However that was happening. Ash tried to speak, but couldn't get anything out.
Relax. Just think about what you want to say and I'll know. You won't be able to speak right now, because you really aren't here. You're just seeing this scene that happened long before even I hatched. Relax and think what you want to say.
Why does it want them to stay together? Ash blurted, nearly interrupting the voice.
Because the Gamma and Delta are still around. They don't want this to happen again.
What happened to them? Ash thought at who or whatever was speaking into his mind.
Gamma and Delta. The third and fourth pokemon that were created. They are the Alpha the first pokemon that ever existed. They are even older than humans. The Beta were the second pokemon that existed, but they didn't have any strength at this time. They were barely able to live during this time, but we need to focus on the Alpha right now. Please try to this questions less. There isn't much time.
Ash agreed with the voice. The Alpha were already moving towards a column of smoke that Ash hadn't noticed before in the distance. Ash didn't move, but the surrounding scenery seemed to move on it's own, allowing Ash to stay the same amount of distance from the Alpha. As the column of smoke grew larger, Ash could see that there were ruins of buildings that had just finished burning. There only seemed to be a few survivors. None of which were free from any injuries. In total Ash saw two older men, one woman, one young man, two boys, and three girls. All of them were crying over the deaths of their loved ones. Ash couldn't help but feel sorry for them, and wonder why that happened.
It happened because Gamma and Delta were not able to control their power. Because of this, they roamed around destroying anything and everything that they came across. This was the only human settlement with any survivors.
Ash was taken aback by that. The only settlement that had any human survivors? Did that mean that these were all ancestors of his? Ash wasn't sure that he really wanted an answer to that.
The Alpha began moving rubble and uncovered three infants and two children still alive. Which brought the count up to fourteen. The children were both a boy and a girl, but Ash couldn't tell about the infants. The people that had lost their homes seemed to welcome the Alpha when they found more survivors that were going to survive thanks to the help of the Alpha.
Ash then watched as the Alpha led the humans away towards the east. Ash saw several days moving by as they continued to travel. Then before Ash realized it, they were in an area lush with vegetation. Ash saw that there was plenty of plant life to sustain the people long enough for them to be able to start making new homes. And the only part of the surrounding area that wasn't flat was a large mountain off in the distance that Ash could tell was still an active volcano.
Ash then saw the scenery moving away from him as he heard the voice tell him, After they found a place to live, the Alpha set up an area of protection that would enable them to live without worrying about Gamma or Delta. Or in other words, they sealed Gamma and Delta outside of that area.
Ash started to wonder if Gamma and Delta were the sealed ones currently where he was. Or if they were something like descendants of those two pokemon. Either way, Ash didn't receive an answer to that thought. Whether the voice didn't know or that Ash would learn soon enough, Ash couldn't say. All he could tell was that he didn't know right now.
Ash watched as the Alpha flew up and an energy field started to spread. It created a dome surrounding much of the area. It also stopped short of the mountain, which seemed to be losing its activity. Ash suddenly realized that time was starting to speed up. He watched as the settlement began to grow. Then he saw people that obviously resented the fact that they lived with pokemon.
As a trainer, Ash couldn't help but feel sorry for the pokemon that were being hurt. However, it never seemed to be a really big event. Not something that really happened all too often, but it was still too often for Ash to feel comfortable with it. However, Ash began to wonder about the volcano. And if it would erupt after it's been silent for such a short amount of time.
True that it hasn't erupted in a while, but by now it won't erupt again. At least it hasn't yet. Even to the day when you arrived at the mountain, it hasn't erupted. Don't worry about it. You will soon see these people through the eyes of the first chosen one. She will guide you to the answer that you seek. Let her past choices guide you through this time that has been lost to the past. Even now, few really know about what had happened. You will learn what you need to, or you will fail along with the seal. Only you may now know what you need to do. During this time, you will have to lose yourself within her. Only then will you be able to see clearly enough to find what you need to do. I will not be able to speak to you until this is over. Until then, I hope that you can learn what you have to.
Milikia yawned as she got up. She still had several things she had to do before she could relax like this. She got up from where she had taken her nap. She walked over to the bucket of water and washed her face with it. She then took the bucket outside, emptied it and walked over to the well where she'd be able to fill it up. On her way, one of the juvenile Alpha swooped down near her. She smiled. Although they were very ugly, Milikia still thought that they were beautiful in their grace when they flew. She finished with getting the water from the stream that ran through the village and hoped that she'd be able to make it home before anyone knew that she was outside.
Unfortunately on her way home, three of the worst of the group that she was opposed to were waiting for her. "You still think that pokemon are here to help us?" The largest of them sneered.
"Of course. If you'd go to the edge of the seal, you'd see the devastation caused by the destroyers, Gamma and Delta," Milikia returned.
"Well, that's if you believe what they tell you. Of course I believe that the Alpha are the ones that created Gamma and Delta, which then means that they are the creators of all that destruction. They only are helping us because they think that were good servants."
If what they said was true then Milikia knew that she was at the wrong end of things, but even if she was, she knew that those who did think that they were supposed to be merely servants of the Alpha were not going about it as they should. Attacking the pokemon was not going to solve anything. Because then the pokemon would fight back, which would then in turn make more resentment between humans and pokemon. Milikia really didn't know all of what she should do. She then pushed past the men, not saying anything in return, knowing that anything she said wouldn't have any effect, and there was more that she still had to do.
Milikia returned home and set the water down and began cleaning the dust that always seemed to settle on every thing before the night was over. Then she began to make certain that the food for her family would be finished before they returned from working in the field. Milikia then sat down and began putting her thoughts down on paper. She often did that so she could clear her head and think her problems through clearly. While she was writing, her Blazeon, Blazer, began rubbing it's head against her leg. She was surprised so much that a line went through the words that she had written. Milikia stopped writing and picked up Blazer. He was her closest friend. They had been born on the same day and had been nearly inseperable. "Do you think that the Alpha only want us as their servants?" Milikia asked Blazer. Blazer shook his head. Milikia laughed. Of course he wouldn't think that. They had been together too long to doubt what the other believed.
Milikia sighed. She didn't like how the others treated the young of the Alpha. Only she and a few others seemed to really care about them. And about the shield that protected them from the destroyers. She only hoped that others would begin to realize this. Even after the shield had been erected to protect them, they could still see the devastation that the destroyers were creating on the world. Milikia hoped that what she had found in the mountain nearby would help them, but she knew that she shouldn't get her hopes up. As it is, she was only sixteen, while most of the others were much older. She just wasn't really sure if anyone would actually listen to her, or if what she believed should happen with humans and pokemon would actually happen or if it was just a mere dream that would one day fade away.
Milikia shook her head. She shouldn't think like that. Too much was at stake. Even though the rest of her family all believed that they were supposed to be servants to the Alpha, Milikia felt that the Alpha were just using this area so they could survive as well. She had seen some of the scars that the oldest of the Alpha had. And even the few Beta that were living there had plenty of their own scars. A part of Milikia just feared that there would be a time when the hatred for pokemon would reach the point where it wouldn't be safe to be a pokemon at all. She wondered if there was something that she'd be able to do, or if she would only be just an observer. Milikia decided after a bit of thought to just finish making dinner for her father and two brothers. At least if she got that done, then she wouldn't have to get yelled at again, and she could keep away and not have to return until the morning when she'd need to make their breakfast.
Milikia then finished and was able to leave moments before her oldest brother, Jared, got back from his work. Milikia was treated the worst by Jared, mostly because she defended the pokemon, while he was one of the most adamant about destroying all pokemon. Milikia then wandered to the edge of the village, still about a mile or so from the edge of the barrier. Kept out of sight from the trees. Milikia sighed and sat down, leaning against a tree.
Blazer laid down next to her, dozing off. Milikia wished that she could afford to be as carefree as Blazer. Unfortunately, the only one who seemed to agree with her, at least to the point of speaking out about it was her closest friend, Alan. Thinking of Alan made Milikia remember that they had made plans to meet at about this time. Milikia looked around to try see if he was coming. She didn't see him, but she did see flickering torchlight.
Milikia wasn't sure what was going on, because nothing was supposed to be happening tonight. It wasn't a festival night, and there wasn't a scheduled meeting. Whatever was happening, Milikia wasn't sure that it would be something good. As she got nearer, she could hear voices calling out. It was hard to make out what was being said because several things were being said, causing everything to be a jumbled mess. The only thing Milikia could tell was that there were several people shouting.
As Milikia turned the next corner, she saw Alan running towards her, his hands full of Alpha chicks, who were severely beaten. Milikia stopped as she saw the Alpha. Horror flashed across her face mixed with surprise. Milikia never thought that things would ever get this bad. She could tell that all pokemon were in danger. At least all the Alpha. The rest might be spared, because many had pokemon as pets, like her Blazeon.
When Alan saw Milikia, he called out to her. "Milikia! Run! Everyone's attacking the Alpha! They'll kill us if they see us!"
Milikia didn't move. She was so terrified that she was paralyzed. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to run if she was about to die. A sharp pain in her leg snapped her out of the state she was in. She looked down and saw Blazer biting her leg. Milikia turned then and said, "Thank you, Blazer." Milikia started to run alongside Alan. "What should we do?"
"You know the caves you said you'd investigate?" Alan answered and Milikia nodded. "If we hide out there, we might be able to stay safe."
"But what about everyone else?" Milikia asked, worried about her family, even though they were probably part of the mob.
"I don't know. We have to at least do what we can for now, and the Alpha are the ones in danger right now. Later we can worry about our family," Alan told her with a smile.
Milikia didn't know how he was able to do it, but he'd always been able to know what she was thinking. She even thought that he would ask her father to marry her someday, but now she wasn't sure that they'd ever be able to do that now.
They turned another corner and were in sight of the edge of town when Jared came out in front of them, holding a double-headed axe. "I knew that you'd try to save them, Milikia. If you hand the slavers over, I'll say that I didn't see you or your friend. It'll be as if I didn't see either of you." Milikia and Alan skidded to a halt fifty feet away from Jared.
"What now?" Milikia growled at Alan.
"We split up and meet up outside the cave," Alan whispered. "Go now. Left."
Milikia threw herself to the left as she more felt than saw Alan taking off to the right. Milikia ran as hard as she could not caring what her brother called out to her, hoping that Alan would be all right. Though, she did think about what her brother said. Slavers. Now she knew how they really thought of the Alpha, even though she couldn't understand how they arrived at that conclusion. The Alpha always seemed to feed themselves and humans never had to take care of any of the Alpha. Nothing that would suggest that the Alpha were making the humans do any labor for themselves. Milikia just shook her head. This wasn't the time to think about that. She had to get out of town and into the surrounding forest. Milikia hurried and was able to make it without anyone else appearing.
Milikia hurried into the forest and picked up Blazer. "Cut the light," Milikia told her Blazeon, softly. The light that Blazer constantly seemed to emit slowly dimmed down until it didn't give it off. Milikia then waited and watched. It seemed like hours passed before anything else moved. When she saw movement, Milikia hoped that it would be something good, but she could only watch in horror as the mob drove the chicks of the Alpha into the street and trampled them over. Milikia knew that there wasn't a chance that any of them would be able to survive, because even if one actually lived through that, the mob wouldn't allow it to live for very long after. Milikia watched then as people began to disappear and start searching the town. Milikia was still waiting when she suddenly felt the presence of something behind her. Milikia turned slowly around, only to see a very large pokemon that she hadn't ever seen before standing behind her. Milikia fainted dead away at that.
When Milikia came around, she moaned as she got up. As she opened her eyes, she saw the pokemon still standing where it had been when she first saw it. Milikia looked around, but she didn't see Alan. Milikia rubbed her head from where she had landed. She hadn't been out that long. She could still tell that from her surroundings. "Where…?" Milikia whispered.
Your friend is not coming. Come with me. It is important that we hurry.
No! No! She couldn't leave Alan. Milikia ran back into town, letting Blazeon light up as it started to follow her. Milikia ran to where Alan had run towards, hoping to see that he had found a hiding place and just hadn't come out yet, but when she arrived, she could only stare in horror. His head had been split open, leaving him staring blankly. Milikia saw the dead bodies of the Alpha he had been carrying, but she hardly noticed them. All she saw was her only love dead. His head open, where her brother had sliced it with his axe. Milikia couldn't be sure that it was her brother, but she just knew it. Not willing to grasp reality, Milikia knelt down next to Alan and shook his body gently. "Come on, wake up, sleepyhead. This isn't the place to sleep." Milikia kept on shaking him for a few more minutes, until it really sank in that Alan wasn't going to move. When that reality sank in, Milikia still didn't want to accept it, but tears started to streak down her face. He was supposed to save the Alpha and not die! He was supposed to marry her! Eventually Milikia was reduced to quiet sobs as she cried over her love. Her dead love.
Milikia didn't know how long, but she heard Jared tell her, "I thought you might come back for him. Now I can finish you off for betraying us to those slavers."
Milikia looked up, and saw through eyes blurred by her tears, her brother twenty feet from her, walking with his axe, a bright red in the moonlight. Milikia knew that she should move, but no longer cared. What could she live for now that Alan was dead? Milikia would welcome death with open arms. Even if she felt pain, she wouldn't care. She'd be with Alan again.
However, Jared stopped five feet from her, and just fell over. Milikia looked around and didn't see anything. Milikia looked at Blazer and saw her friend also looking around. Milikia then felt the pokemon that she met in the forest come up behind her. She turned around and looked at it, not really caring that she was saved. All Milikia really felt was numb and tired. So tired. She merely looked at the pokemon, not caring if it killed her or not. She no longer had any reason to go on.
Come. If we hurry, we can save everyone.
Milikia's was shocked to hear that. "Wh– what?" Milikia stammered.
The destroyers are on their way. The seal keeping them out will soon be gone. There aren't enough Alpha anymore to sustain it.
Milikia just stared at the pokemon. The stories were true. The Alpha were their protectors. What she had fought for; what Alan had died for was true. Just hearing that sent a wave of relief to wash over Milikia. She nearly forgot about Alan with that. "But… what can we do about it?" Milikia asked, not sure of what could be done. Not sure that anything could be.
If we hurry, you can get the assistance of one of the last Alpha to create a seal that will hold the destroyers in for as long as necessary.
Milikia thought that sounded good. At least she'd make sure that those she and Alan always tried to help, their families, would at least be able to survive. "What should I call you?"
Lugia. I am Lugia, lord of the seas.
Milikia nodded to herself as she allowed Lugia to direct her to where she should go.
Milikia stared at the cave before her. It was the very cave that she had explored in an effort to prevent what had happened that night. Just seeing it made Milikia sad. Milikia turned towards Lugia and asked, "What do I do now?"
Your guide will be here shortly. I wish you luck in your efforts to save your people.
"Wait!" Milikia cried as Lugia turned to go. "Why won't you come with me?"
My young friend, I would, but I cannot. It is not something that you will be able to understand, but just be content with this. All creatures have a purpose, mine is to help watch over humans. It is partially up to me to decide whether or not they are worth saving.
"But, how will this cave remain protected? Won't people come in and get killed by walking through the seal?"
I didn't think of that. Maybe we'll need to get some pokemon to remedy that. I hope that we can keep people from releasing the destroyers through their stupidity, but remember. The seal will be lost soon after the wanderer makes a friend. Remember that. That is when you will meet Alan again.
"How? How will I meet him again? He's dead!" Milikia cried.
All life returns. You will live again as well. However, when you live again after the seal is gone, you will find Alan reborn. He won't remember you, but you will be able to see who he was.
"Thank you," Milikia replied.
"Mew!" a cry came from within the cave.
Your guide is here. I will be leaving you now. Take care, chosen one.
Milikia was about to ask Lugia what he meant by 'chosen one' but he was already flying away, towards where Milikia assumed the 'sea' was. Milikia then turned to the cave to see a small pokemon emerge. Milikia assumed that it was a psychic pokemon, because it was hovering over the ground, and it didn't have any wings. "I take it that you're my guide?"
"Mew!" the pokemon answered, nodding eagerly.
Milikia let the small pokemon lead the way. Milikia would have been walking in the dark, but Blazer's light illuminated the way for her. Milikia lost all sense of time. The only way she really knew that the destroyers were near was because the cave started shaking, not enough to cause a cave in, but enough for Milikia to know that they were nearby. Milikia could only hope that she would make it in time to save her home. Eventually, the walls of the cave looked different. Milikia could tell that these weren't normal walls for a cave. These were cut smooth. Or as smooth as stone could be. Either way, it was obvious that someone had lived here before.
Milikia tried to see everything that she could, because she hadn't been this deep in the caves before. Milikia wanted to know everything that she could about it, but she knew that she needed to continue moving, otherwise the reason she came here might be lost entirely. Milikia was willing to do anything that would save her family. And reunite her with Alan.
Ash opened his eyes, to see that he had fallen down. What was it that I was supposed to learn about? Ash wondered, he looked around the room. He felt like he should have been able to see more, but he also felt like there was a sense of urgency, that he didn't have time to see exactly what he needed to do. As he was looking around, Ash noticed how the talons on the other foot of the statue seemed to be holding onto the girl's shoulder. Ash then moved so his shoulder was under the bird's talons and to his surprise, the talons opened easily and then Ash felt the weight of the bird resting on his shoulder, as a sudden surge of power rushed through him, completely overwhelming him. Ash felt himself black out as he felt the rush of the power surge through him, the bird, and the young girl.
Author's Notes: Sorry it's been so long. I've just been busy with a lot of things. And having writter's block for part of the time isn't very helpful either. Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner than it took for this one, but I can't make any guarantees about that, sorry.