Let's have something different: Yep, I'm writing a fanfiction that's rated below T. It might turn into a T-rated story later on, depending on if readers think it's not suitable for K+. But it'll mostly be wholesome, because who doesn't love wholesomeness?
Enjoy the first chapter of Worlds Apart!
The young golden Riolu lay in bed, one of his parents on either side. A wet towel had been placed over his forehead, and his neck was propped up on pillows.
Despite this, the Riolu boy slept fitfully, tossing and turning every few minutes. Occasionally, he would wake, eyes wide open with fright. He would throw back the covers with all of his limited strength, and he would glance at his parents.
"Mommy? Daddy?" he'd ask rhetorically, looking into the eyes of those two Lucario.
"We're still here," his mother assured him. "And we'll always be here to take care of you. We are family, after all."
"I had a bad dream," the young Riolu told his parents, shivering. Whether the shiver was from fear or from the high fever currently running through his body, his parents didn't know.
"What happened in the dream, Zen?" the father Lucario asked his son. "What was it about?"
Zen's bloodshot, glazed eyes widened until they were the size of dessert plates. He took a deep breath before speaking.
"The bad men came to our cave. They came with guns."
Zen's father patted his son with his paw. "It's okay, Zen. It's just a dream, and you have a bad fever. You'll feel better pretty soon."
"We'll stay by your bedside until you're better," his mother assured him. "And that will be soon, because we're taking great care of you. We both love you very, very much, and we'll be there for you, always."
"But…the dream…it felt like real life" Zen all but cried. Tears formed in his eyes. "Not like other dreams."
"Again, it's your fever talking," his father told him. "Everything will be alright, I promise you."
"Okay" the young Riolu responded before blinking a few times. "I think…I'm tired. I will sleep again."
Both parents saw that Zen didn't have the energy to stay awake for very long. Both of them stopped talking so that their son could get some quality sleep.
Once it was clear that the young Riolu wouldn't wake up any time soon, Zen's father spoke in little more than a whisper. Had his son been awake, he would have held off on this conversation, but it was one that needed to happen sooner or later.
"Raine…I know I tried to downplay Zen's fears about the hunters, but they're legitimate fears. There have been many acts of illegal poaching in this sanctuary, and the authorities can only do so much to stop it. Sooner or later, we'll have to tell him the truth."
Raine's mouth opened wide. "Nathaniel, he's only five! Surely he can keep his innocence just a little longer!"
"Perhaps a little longer, Raine. But sooner or later, he'll need to know that his coloring makes him a target. His pelt would go for a pretty penny at any marketplace."
"Oh…" Raine replied, on the verge of tears. "I mean, I know that. I'm not stupid. But some things are just unthinkable, and one of them is the idea of Zen's fur coat hanging up at some lodge somewhere."
"I know it's unthinkable, Raine" Nathaniel told his mate. "But we've got to make sure he knows what to do if and when they come. He can't stay innocent forever, as much as I wish he could."
Raine sighed. "You're right, Nathaniel. As much as I hate to admit it, you're right. One of these days, we'll have to tell him that there are those who would do him harm."
"Exactly," Nathaniel replied. "Although I think it can wait until he gets better. Right now, let's focus on that."
The child did not stir for several more hours. When next he woke, in the middle of the night (not that it mattered inside a cave), his parents had fallen asleep in their chairs. They did, however, wake up when Zen made his return to wakefulness known.
"No more bad dreams," Zen said. "Thank you, mommy and daddy."
Raine smiled. With dark circles under her eyes, she replied, "It's quite alright, Zen. We're going to make sure you feel better, because that's what we're here for. Don't ever forget that."
Over the next two days, the young Riolu recovered from his illness. It's remarkable just how resilient five-year-old bodies are, particularly those of Fighting type Pokémon.
Within a day, he was out of bed, and the next day, he was begging his parents to let him play outside again. Although the family's cave was well furnished and overall a pleasant place to live, it wasn't spacious by any means.
"Just rest for one more day," Nathaniel told Zen. "You don't want to overexert yourself."
Zen did as he was told; being that he was only five, he didn't have much choice in the matter. But that didn't mean he had to be happy about it.
The next day seemed to pass agonizingly slowly. Although the Riolu boy felt as though he were back to full health, it was quite frustrating that he couldn't frolic around outside with the other wild Pokémon in the forest. Even if his parents had his best interests at heart.
Zen couldn't be sure about this, but he thought that his parents had been talking about something rather ominous while he'd been asleep. He'd told them that he'd had no more nightmares, but that wasn't entirely true.
It's often believed that the dreams of young children are always pleasant, but it's just that: A belief. It's not true.
His parents had mentioned that his coloring made him a target. Zen had no doubt as to what that meant; he might have been young, but he wasn't so naive as to be ignorant of this.
My fur is golden. And I think they mentioned something about hunters…is that a fancy word for those bad men with guns?
Zen may have been scared of the hunters, but he also knew that if he just laid around at home and refused to play outside anymore, he'd be letting them win, even if they didn't kill him. He was determined to enjoy his childhood as long as he could.
So when his parents let him leave the cave again, the Riolu boy immediately ran outside as though he'd been shot out of a cannon. He sprinted as though lung capacity were a renewable resource, which, for him, it was.
It was a beautiful early autumn day in the forests of Central Hisui. Not all of the trees were the type that lost their leaves in winter, but those that were had said leaves in a veritable rainbow of colors; red, orange, yellow, and even a few were still green. The crystal-clear streams, too, trickled in the morning sun, carving their way through the forest floor.
Although Zen had yet to evolve, and likely wouldn't do so for several years still, he could still sense the aura of much of the forest. He had a superficial view of which trees were in good health, as well as which trees weren't long for this world.
He'd once asked his mother a question related to this. It was during a previous fever, several months before the one he'd just recovered from.
Am I going to die from this, Mommy?, were his exact words.
No, you're not. You're going to get better, and we're going to take care of you to make sure of it.
What happens when I die?, he'd asked.
When you die, your soul will go up to heaven. And then you'll watch over the woods, and you'll see us again. When we die, we'll be watching over you too.
Something else had then occurred to him. What about trees? What happens when they die? Do they have souls too?
Indeed they do, his mother had said. When trees die, their essence scatters out into the stars, and they will be reborn somewhere else in the world. Because in the end, we are all made of stardust.
Now, as he skipped happily through the forest, Zen thought about that conversation in a different light. To see everything around him as having come from the heavens, from Arceus Himself, was downright awe-inspiring. That only made him feel happier to be alive.
Eventually the Riolu reached a stream that wound its way around a series of bushes. Fighting types might have had more energy than most Pokémon, but it still wasn't infinite. Zen sat down and lowered his short legs into the water, feeling the cool current lap against his fur.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves above, and Zen found himself lying on his back, looking up at the sky. It was quite something to chill one's legs in the stream, while the rest of his body was warmed by the sun.
The young Riolu's sense of direction might not have been the best, but he knew the way to a clearing where he could play in the woods with all sorts of creatures. There was a Vulpix named Emaire, who was always down to play tag with the other Pokémon in her little village. The village, of course, was further away than the boundary his parents had instructed him to stay within that day.
Still, that didn't mean Zen couldn't explore a little. Once he felt restless again, he continued jogging through the woods, a spring in his step that only a child can possess.
He eventually found a group of Oran bushes, and the young Riolu couldn't help himself. He plucked one off its branch, brought it to his mouth, and took a bite.
The Oran berry's sweet juices spread across his tongue, and Zen smiled gleefully. He took another bite, and then another, until the berry had been fully devoured. And then he took another berry and did the same thing to it.
Zen only stopped when he sensed something. His sense of aura wasn't as fully developed as that of a Lucario, so he heard the buzzing before his aura picked it up.
A Beedrill nest! I'd better get out of here!
The young Riolu dropped the berry he'd been holding and sprinted back to his home as quickly as his short legs and full belly would allow. It took a bit of searching, but once he found the cave, there was no mistaking it.
Zen's parents were standing at the entrance of the cave, smiling. On the surface, they looked happy, but there was a certain wistfulness to the smile as well.
When they saw their son, however, both of the Lucarios' smiles gained more warmth.
"Welcome back, Zen!" Nathaniel Lucario exclaimed. "How was your little jaunt?"
"It was awesome!" Zen replied happily, not being as articulate as he could have been. Really, though, "awesome" summed it up pretty well.
"That's excellent," Raine said. "I also see you have some berry juice around your chin; your fur color makes it easier to spot. Did you eat some berries?"
The young Riolu moved his tongue over a spot on his chin and licked the Oran juice off of it. He nodded quickly.
"Yeah! Oh my Arceus, they're so good! I could eat them until I get sick!"
Nathaniel snorted in mild laughter. "You wouldn't want to get sick again so soon, would you?"
"Of course not!" Zen exclaimed.
After that, the family relaxed around their fireplace. Raine worked on a knitting project, whereas Nathaniel read a book. Zen, meanwhile, simply stared at the fire crackling on the hearth.
Today, the Riolu boy had gotten to experience childhood innocence at its best. He'd eaten his fill of Oran berries, frolicked around in the forest, and, most importantly, he couldn't wait to do it all again tomorrow.
It was a simple life, but it was also a pure, joyous one. In years to come, however, Zen would wish that he could go back to this one moment in his life and freeze time. He would live in it forever, never moving onto the next chapter of his existence.
Because soon enough, the day would come when his innocence would shatter into a million pieces.
This chapter was challenging to write, because I tried to put myself in the mindset of a 5-year-old Riolu who might not know all the big words I do as an adult.
As the summary says, this story was inspired by The Fox and the Hound, one of the few Disney movies I like. I also haven't been to Disney World since I was like 7, so there's that. But it is still a Pokémon story, and there will be plenty of those in it as well.
I hope you guys will rate and review to tell me what you think, and I'll see you guys next time.
