A World Reborn - Encounter
Lucario wandered through the forest, a basket of freshly picked berries hanging off his arm. Today's harvest was quite good. He was on his way back to the grove when he happened to meet Sceptile, who greeted him with a cheerful smile.
"Thanks for volunteering to help with today's harvest," she said, a basket hanging off her arm.
"You're welcome. Hope Ursaring found as many as us," Lucario said, knowing that the temperamental Pokémon could also be something of a klutz. A couple minutes later, the large bear-like Pokémon came through the brush, carrying only a handful of berries.
"I wasn't able to find very many," he said.
"Its okay. We've got enough to make up," Lucario said.
The trio made their way through the trees and shrubs, back into the massive tree-shaped mountain that dominated the landscape. They reached the base of the mountain, which took the form of a large tree trunk. There, under the protection of the Tree of Beginning, was where the Pokémon lived.
The base of their home was a sprawling landscape with grass covering the entire floor. Rocks jutted out of the ground to provide the smaller Pokémon some height when needed. Caves dotted the walls for living spaces and scattered trees provided shade. Blue crystals lined the walls, floor, and ceiling. Several streams and waterfalls also flowed through the Tree, collecting in several ponds that carried the water out of the Tree and through their land.
Lucario walked to a place in the Tree near a spring reserved for the gathered. He opened his basket and dumped the berries onto the pile, where others would come by and sort them later.
With that done, he walked back to the Nest, an area in the center of the Tree where all Pokémon slept. He passed the Arena, where Pokémon sharpened their skills against each other in sparring matches. Right now, Infernape was fighting against Charizard, trying to outmaneuver the pseudo-dragon, it wasn't going very well.
He also passed the nursey where all the unhatched eggs were taken care of when their parents were otherwise preoccupied.
He finally made it to the Nest, where his daughter, Riolu, waited. When she saw her father, Riolu ran up to him.
"Father!" she shouted as she leapt into his arms.
"Hey, there," he greeted back, embracing her.
"I missed you," she said. "How was the harvest?"
"Great," he responded. "We'll have so many berries, we will be fat for the winter."
Riolu giggled. "Oh, I almost forgot. Myu came by, said he wanted to see you when you got back."
Lucario was startled to hear that. What could Myu want to see him for? He supposed he would find out.
Myu lived higher in the Tree than the others, so it wasn't a simple matter to get there, as one had to take the labyrinth of tunnels that spanned the Tree. Fortunately, Lucario and many others had gone through them before, so they had a fair amount of them memorized, and he knew a direct route to Myu's hollow. He walked through the tunnels, turning at the right places and eventually came to Myu's spot in the Tree.
It wasn't very big compared to the caves on the ground, but that was because Myu lived alone, and he wasn't very big to begin with. It had a few trees, a large terrace where a nook in one of the trees served as his sleeping space, and a stream fed by a waterfall ran through it.
Lucario looked closer at the stream and saw something in the water that almost perfectly blended in, if not for the red and yellow spots.
"Hope," Lucario said, acknowledging the young Manaphy that seemed to be trying to hide. She hopped out of the water and waved one of her flipper-like arms at him.
"Hi, Lucario!" she said energetically. Myu had put his 'daughter' in charge of the water, making sure that it flowed through the tree and ensuring that it was always drinkable for everyone.
"So… where is your father?" Lucario asked.
"Looking. I'll take you to him!" She leapt and began floating. It was a trick she had picked up from her father, as he tended to telekinetically fly everywhere he went. She flew in a specific direction with Lucario following her. They reached a ledge that looked outside.
Lucario took a moment to admire the view. From this high up he could see their whole world, a sprawling land of grass and trees with flowing streams of crystal clear water. At the end of their world was a mountain range that stretched all around them, shielding them from the outside world. The view today, however, looked larger than a couple years ago.
Lucario looked off to the side and saw the blue Mew he was looking for writing on the ground. Lucario walked up and sat down in front of him. "You wanted to see me, Myu?" he asked.
"Yes, I did," Myu acknowledged. He looked up from what he was doing to look at the Lucario. "I've done my annual measurement of the size of our world and I found something interesting."
Lucario focused on Myu when he heard that. Every year, their land grew larger, the mountains moving outward as a result. No one was sure how it worked, but every year, the mountains moved and when they did, new, lush land was left behind. The mountains didn't just serve as their border; it also served as a barrier. The tall mountains deterred anyone from traveling outside, as it wasn't safe out there. Not only was the landscape barren and desolate, but just about everything was emitting lethal amounts of radiation. Go outside for more than a minute and in less than a day you would die. Even Myu didn't dare go out there. "What did you find?"
"I've double checked my measurements and math and it seems that our world is expanding faster than it did before," Myu answered. "In fact, it seems to be expanding at an exponential rate."
"What? What does that mean?" Lucario asked. Before, Myu had explained their expansion as being at a consistent rate. Now it was speeding up?
"Well, if I'm right, although I can't know for certain, I believe this is a sign that the radiation has gone down a great deal," Myu explained. "Because of this, it makes it easier for the Tree's roots to grow and spread new life."
Lucario gasped. "Does that mean the world will be fixed sooner?"
"It won't take centuries anymore, that I do know," Myu answered. "It could be possible that within the next twenty years, the roots will span from the east to the west coast, but don't take my word on that."
Lucario was happy. If it really did get bigger faster, then that meant Myu might lift the restriction on the number of children born in the community. Myu had placed the restriction so no couple could produce a child without Myu's consent. Myu had placed it to ensure that their population didn't outstrip their resources. Lucario had another question. "If the radiation has gone down enough, do you think we could go outside?"
Myu thought for a moment before answering. "Only if the radiation proves to be low enough that we could survive out there without suffering any ill effects. But keep in mind we have no way of knowing."
Lucario nodded in understanding, saddened by that. Myu, as perceptive as he was, saw Lucario's look and tried to console him. "I know you want to see what's left of your home, but remember, you came from one of the largest coastal cities; it would have been a target and been obliterated."
"I know," Lucario said. "I just miss my old home." The two sat in silence for a while, reminiscing about their losses on that day. "Do you ever think about them?"
"Who?"
"Humans," Lucario clarified.
Myu sighed. "Sometimes." Myu paused for a moment. "But I don't like to dwell on the past or what might have been. I chose to focus on now and what may yet be."
"I understand. I'm the only one here who experienced their worst side on a regular basis," Lucario said. "But you people, you have such a strong sense of community and empathy for each other, it amazes me." Lucario pondered for a while before he spoke up. "Do you think there are still any out there?"
Myu thought before shaking his head. "It's been twenty winters and no sign of them. I think they're all gone for good."
Lucario nodded in agreement. He held the same belief that humans were now extinct and was also one of many who firmly believed that they deserved it.
It was midday now, and many families were out and about, enjoying the space outside the Tree, and exploring the area around for any hidden surprises that were there. One such family, a Blastoise, a Feraligatr and a Squirtle, were relaxing by one of the streams near the border. The Squirtle was happily running about, his parents napping under the tree. They were hoping to ask Myu if they could have another child, as he had been less restrictive on the number of children lately.
The Squirtle was looking around admiring all the towering trees and small bushes around him and contemplated taking a swim in the stream. Before he could dive in though, he heard a snap nearby. He didn't think much of it, until he heard it again, this time louder and closer. The noise also woke Blastoise and Feraligatr, who turned to face the noise.
Footsteps came from the other side of one of the bushes and a minute later, something stepped out. Squirtle had never seen anything like it. It stood on two legs, had two arms, but had neither fur, scales nor feathers, save for a small patch of fur on the top of its head. It also wore strange hides that covered most of its body, and its feet didn't look like feet. Rather they were more hides.
Blastoise and Feraligatr knew what this was; a human. By the looks of him, he wasn't an adult yet, and was slightly malnourished and dehydrated. His clothes were also in bad shape, like they had been repeatedly ripped and sewn back together.
And he was scared.
The human seemed to fear what he saw. He reached for something on his belt, and when he pulled it out, Feraligatr took a defensive stance. The human had pulled out a gun. The human pointed it at Feraligatr, who growled in response.
Squirtle however took a step towards the strange creature, having never seen something like him before. The human turned his gun on Squirtle, who was oblivious to the threat.
"Squirtle, get back here," Blastoise said softly, hoping not to scare the human. Squirtle however didn't seem to notice, continuing to walk toward the odd creature.
"Stay away," the human said, his voice barely above a whisper. Feraligatr growled at the threat, hoping the human would get the message to leave. "Stay away!" he said, pointing the gun at Feraligatr, who only growled louder.
"What are you?" Squirtle asked, not realizing that the human couldn't understand him.
"Stay away!" he shouted, pointing the gun back and forth between Squirtle and Feraligatr.
"Squirtle, go back to your mother," Feraligatr growled.
"But father…"
"No 'buts', go back!" he nearly roared, scaring the human so much that he lost his aim and his finger pulled on the trigger.
BANG!
Every Pokémon heard a noise that sounded like thunder, scaring them, as there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
Myu and Lucario, in particular, looked out in the direction they heard the sound. It took them both a moment to place the noise with what caused it, as they hadn't heard that specific noise in years. But when they finally recognized it, they felt their hearts stop. Myu surrounded them both in a blue bubble and teleported away.
Squirtle wasn't sure what had just happened. He had been approaching the human, when there was a flash from the end of that thing it was holding, and the next thing he knew, he was on the ground and his shoulder bleeding.
Blastoise ran to her son's side, praying that he wouldn't die. Feraligatr was madder now than he was before and let a roar loose at the human. It scared the boy so much, he accidentally fired again, this time clipping Feraligatr's upper arm.
He looked at his arm, assessing the damage. As he did so, he heard more footsteps coming, and saw three more humans running up; an adult male, a young boy, and a young woman, all in similar condition.
"Judas, what happened?" the adult asked. "Why did you fire your…" He stopped when he saw Feraligatr growling at him. "Judas, what is that?"
"I don't know," the older boy said, who was evidently Judas. "But it won't stop growling at me."
"Because you shot my son!" Feraligatr roared, startling all the humans, though all they understood was the roar.
A small rumble filled the area, and from behind Feraligatr came a large group of Pokémon, drawn by the loud noise they heard twice. They all gasped at the sight of four humans. The older male spread his arms to shield the younger humans.
A flash of blue drew their attention, and Myu and Lucario appeared. Myu gazed past the humans, choosing to focus on Squirtle. He looked at Squirtle's injury, prying the turtle's paw off his shoulder to get a better look at the wound. There was a hole in his shell, but it didn't look like it was over any organs, so only a flesh wound, and the blood flow was minimal.
Myu heard a clattering sound and looked up to see a gun in the hands of one of the males, and it was pointed at him now. With a flick of his paw, the gun flew out of the human's hand and fell into Lucario's paws, who handled the weapon with care. The sudden movement of the gun being ripped from his hands caused the human to cower behind the older male.
"The humans shot Squirtle!" Feraligatr roared. "They shot my son!"
There was a chorus of growls, roars, hisses and other challenges aimed at the humans, who backed away at the various threats shot their way. Many Pokémon started going to the humans, intending to make them pay for injuring one of their own.
"Stop!" Myu's voice cut across the various threats and noises, making all the Pokémon stop in their tracks and quiet down. He didn't blame them, he was just as mad, and would probably be madder if it had been Hope lying in Squirtle's place, but revenge was not their way. They weren't humans; they don't kill for petty reasons.
Myu looked at the humans, fully assessing their condition. He concluded that they were in need. But one glance back at the Pokémon dashed any ideas of offering mercy. There were mixed expressions among them. Shock, confusion, curiosity, but mostly rage.
The humans couldn't stay.
He walked up to the humans, who seemed to be more comfortable with him, but no less scared. "Leave now!" Myu said telepathically, knowing that the humans wouldn't understand his voice. They jumped at the voice appearing in their heads, but it didn't seem like they were going to argue with it. They took off running, the youngest dropping a bag.
Myu contemplated just letting them go, before deciding that they needed to find out where they came from. He turned back to the Pokémon, scanning them for the one he needed.
"Pidgeot," he said to the large bird. "Follow them." She nodded before taking off, intending to pursue the humans, wherever they went.
A while later, the adults were gathered at the base of tree, a heated discussion between them.
"I thought humans were extinct?" Charizard said.
"We all did," Sceptile said.
"Looks like a small group of them survived," Flygon said.
"How though? I thought nothing could survive outside?" Charizard said.
"Actually," Lucario said, still holding the gun. All eyes averted to him. "Myu believes the radiation is lower than what it once was, so it could be possible that if they found a shelter and they had the supplies, they could survive."
"Is that true, Myu?" Charizard asked. Myu was staring off into the distance, however, and didn't seem to hear Charizard's question. "Myu!"
The blue Mew snapped out of his trance and faced the group of Pokémon. He saw Infernape looking through the boy's bag, probably to find answers. All he found, though, were a few notebooks with crude drawings in them.
"I had only recently found out the radiation was lower. Keep in mind we have no means of determining how much," Myu answered.
"We know that as time passes the radiation lowers on its own," Lucario interjected. "Though by how much we don't know, and we have no idea how bad it was to begin with."
"All we knew was that we would have died if it wasn't for Myu," Flygon added, sparing a glance at the Mew.
"Why would you send Pidgeot?" Charizard asked.
"She's the fastest flyer, and she won't act irrationally," Myu answered.
Infernape continued to look through the notebooks, coming across some interesting drawings. "What do you make of these, Myu?" he asked, showing the Mew the drawings. Some of them seemed to be inaccurate depictions of what happened on the day they all dreaded, with badly drawn buildings, white streaks that seemed to depict the nuclear missiles, green clouds that were probably the radiation, and people drawn as stick figures lying down, red all around them. Another seemed to be of what they assumed was the boy's family. Another was apparently of a large group of humans, some of them fighting each other. They assumed it was how he pictured the days after looked like. There were other pictures, most of them were either about the last day, his family, or practice drawings of other humans.
"Probably how he interprets their history. He must have been taught like how we teach our children," Myu answered.
"Think there are more with the ones we just saw?" Sceptile asked.
"Probably," Myu said. "They couldn't have survived on their own. I bet where they're going is where the rest of them are."
"How many do you think there are?" Charizard asked.
"Generously? Thirty at the most."
The group of four humans were driving in a jeep, fueled by an untapped reserve of gasoline, going through a small valley between two mountains. Their attempt to get food from what was left of Wamego was scrapped as the city, along with Manhattan, were apparently gone.
"That thing looked like it was going to eat me!" Judas said, still scared at what he saw.
"Just calm down," the adult male, named Mike, repeated. "We got out of there okay, and we found a place we might all be able to live. Karina, are you sure the Geiger Counter said the radiation there was almost gone?" he asked the only female.
"The radiation is so low that there is no danger of radiation poisoning," she answered.
"And you're sure it's safe to be out here this long?" Judas asked.
"The levels are low enough that we can spend a couple hours out here and not suffer anything long-term," Mike answered. "We found an oasis that apparently survived the apocalypse, so we accomplished that. Unfortunately, those things live there, and it seems they don't want us around."
"So, what do we do?" Judas asked.
"Go back, and see what Harold suggests we do," Mike replied. They drove for several minutes, unaware that they were being followed from the sky.
After nearly a half hour of driving, they had arrived at their destination; the remains of a military base. They walked up to the entrance to the underground bunker, where the rest of them lived. They entered the common area, where several hundred people walked about, waiting for news about the outside. Some tents and rooms were set up to provide private space. They walked past them all and into a radio room.
"Harold?" Mike asked. An older man, in a beat-up army uniform walked over.
"So, did you find what we need?" he asked.
"Yes and no," Mike responded. "We need to talk."
Outside, Pidgeot perched on one of the old telephone poles, using her keen eyes to try and get a thorough assessment of what she was seeing. She was shocked at the sheer number of humans, never seeing so many crammed into one place before. She took off to report this information. She could imagine the others' reaction to this.
"There's how many humans?!"
Myu would have laughed at Charizard's face if he wasn't also surprised.
"I estimated about five hundred humans," Pidgeot answered for the third time. His reaction was cute the first time, now it was annoying. "They're crammed together in an old military base, not to far from our border."
Before Charizard could repeat his question again, Infernape interjected. "Five hundred? There's almost as many of them as there are of us."
"Not all of them seemed armed," Pidgeot said, glad she could continue. "Most of them seemed to be in need of basic things. They must be struggling to survive."
"Interesting," Myu muttered.
"The fact that so many survived is what's boggling my mind," Lucario spoke up. "How could there be enough room to support so many?"
"Pidgeot," Myu began, "you said they were in a bunker, under the remains of a military base?" She nodded. "Fort Riley," Myu said as if it was a statement. Many of the others had knowing looks, but Lucario had no idea what they were talking about.
"Um, guys, not from here, remember? What's Fort Riley?" he asked.
"It's a military base not too far from here," Myu explained. "During the final few days, they were offering refuge to anyone who was willing. It was the target in this area."
"That explains why the surface of the base is gone," Charizard said. "But how could those humans have survived the end?"
"If the base was preparing for nuclear war, then they must have had a bunker built under the surface where they evacuated who they could when the missiles were launched," Myu deduced. "Just apply some lead to the walls and you've got a small space that can survive a nuclear war."
"So, now we know where they are, and they know where we are," Infernape concluded. "What do we do?"
Myu looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Why do anything?"
"You saw those humans, and from what Pidgeot described, they're struggling to survive," Infernape elaborated. "And we have got more food than we know what to do with, clean water, and fresh air. Not to mention the lack of radiation. They're gonna come here. It's only a matter of time."
"And just one of them injured Squirtle and clipped Feraligatr," Charizard agreed. "Humans are very aggressive, and with that many here, they're going to hunt us for sport or food."
"With so many eggs here, they're bound to do something," Pidgeot said.
"But they're struggling to survive," Sceptile reminded. "They need help, and we could offer it. We've got enough to spare." Many Pokémon cried out for attack, while others pleaded for sympathy.
"They might not be generous in return," Lucario spoke up. "Humans are very selfish, and all they're concerned about is acquiring more of… well, everything. They'll rob us if we let down our defenses."
"Then we should attack them! Kill them before they kill us!" Charizard roared. That caused an uproar.
"There's a lot of them there, and they have guns," Infernape reminded.
"Not all of us are warriors, and we also have to consider our children. How will they react when they learn their parents are murderers?" Pidgeot pointed out.
"Even if we attack them, several of us are bound to die. We all have families to consider, and we have to think about our future here," Sceptile said. With that, many of them quieted. They didn't know what to do.
"Myu?" Lucario questioned, turning to the Mew who had been silent through all this. "It's your call. Whatever your decision, know that we are always behind you."
Myu looked at the four who had been the most vocal, but also scanned the crowd that surrounded him. One of the things he had become accustomed to during his time as a Mew, was that he was looked up to. It became more extreme when he had saved these people from death, and they worshiped him as if the world revolved around him. As such, he knew he had to make hard choices, always trying to find a middle ground in conflicts like this.
But this choice was harder to make for several reasons. The humans may deserve some mercy, but the memory of the death of their world was forever engrained into the memories of those who witnessed it, and they all blamed humanity for it. Even worse, these humans didn't come across as peaceful, but aggressive and paranoid; not an improvement. He knew he couldn't ignore them either. They would be coming if he didn't do something. But he wasn't going to go send his people off to war with neighbors just because they were invading their territory.
That left only one solution, and Myu hoped it was the right one.
Almost an hour later, Myu was leading a large group of one hundred adults to Fort Riley. They were marching across the barren landscape outside their home. Many were rightfully wary of treading past the mountains, but Myu assured them that if humans could survive out here, they could too. The land was not as anyone remembered it.
The day after the world had ended, the sky was filled with smoke and ash covered the ground, obscuring anything beneath it. It was clear that twenty years had not been kind to the earth. The ground was now a rusty-brown color, devoid of any plant life or any noticeable features, save the roads that were mostly covered up and the few structures that had survived, though they were more like scraps of metal jutting out of the earth than buildings. The sky was also clear of clouds, but was a sad orange, as if all the happiness had been drained from it.
Myu hadn't reached his decision lightly, and he wasn't sure how many would be comfortable with it, but it seemed to be the only way there would be peace.
"So, wait. The town is gone?" Harold asked Mike.
"It seems so," the younger man said. "But in its place, there's an oasis that is several miles across. It's got everything we need; food, water, shelter, open space, and blue skies."
"Sounds like paradise," Harold marveled. "Well, then, I guess we'll get packed up and move there."
"Yeah, um…" Mike muttered, getting Harold's attention. "There's one small problem with that."
Before he could say anything, alarms went off and everyone rushed to the entrance.
"What's going on? Are we under attack or something?" Harold wondered. The two men pushed through the crowd, eventually arriving at the entrance. They opened the doors and what they saw took their breath away.
There was a gathering of all sorts of multi-colored animals, all different shapes and sizes, standing outside.
Mike was the only one brave enough to approach them. The animals seemed to be on edge, ready to strike at a moments notice. On one of the animals, a large turtle with a tree growing on its back, perched a familiar-looking blue cat. He locked eyes with it, the creature seeming to measure him up before looking at the crowd inside the bunker.
Myu was assessing the humans as he looked them over. Some were holding guns, which he noticed were pointed at them. Many of them didn't have guns and they all looked surprised. He guessed that this one that approached him had yet to reveal their existence to the other humans. Now it was time to send the message.
"We are Pokémon," he telepathed, which caused many humans to back away, especially when they realized he was the one producing the voice. "We know you intend to invade our land. We do not want you there. We do not want to fight you, but we will defend ourselves, if necessary." He nodded to Infernape, who walked up to the adult male, laying the backpack the child had dropped at his feet. Myu hoped the humans understood that gesture. "This is your land," he gestured to their bunker. "And that is ours," he motioned to where their home was. He then locked eyes with the human again and projected just loud enough for everyone to hear. "Don't come back." With that, he motioned for his kind to leave, returning to their land, where they would stay, and he hoped that the humans would stay where they were, and understand they didn't want them in their home.
Only time would tell.
End of Chapter 1
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