"This week on Percy Jackson's Lord of the Rings," Arceus muttered as the trio filed back into their usual seats. Jack facepalmed with a very audible groan while Mew shook her head.
"I thought it was Peter Graves' Lord of the Rings."
"No, it was Peter Gabriel's Lord of the Rings," the lawyer corrected with an air of triumph. The Alpha nodded approvingly.
*Chapter 21*: Saldaran Storm: P1
"Salad Storm: The spinoff of Foodfig-" the Alpha was cut off by another barrage of rubber torchics.
Jack yawned as he stared through the bars of his cell, the only furnishings of which were a bed, table, and two chairs on one of which Jack was currently sitting. As far as he could tell this was an important military base owned by the SDF. He'd been locked up in here ever since he stumbled across a military checkpoint and they took him for questioning.
Well, to be technical he pretty much walked up to them and said 'take me to your leader'. Why? To tell the truth he wasn't feeling quite as confident now that he was actually in Saldara. After all, he was up against a fully fledged, and heavily armed, terrorist organization. Compared to these guys, Team Rocket looked like a couple of kids playing cheap pranks. Not that they didn't' look like that anyway…
At any rate, Jack figured he might as well speak to someone in authority before he started gallivanting across the region. Who knows, maybe they could come to some sort of mutually beneficial arrangement. Then maybe they'd give him back the bag with all his supplies...
Jack's train of thought was derailed by someone walking up to his cell. By the man's uniform, and the way he dismissed the two guards who had been posted next to the cell, Jack figured he was probably the 'General Ford' he'd overheard some soldiers talking about. The general opened the door of the cell and stepped inside, looking Jack over as he did so.
"Jack, you magnificent Gary Stu, I read your book!" Arceus shouted in the gruffest voice he could muster.
"So… Jack Storm, how and what are you doing in my region right now?" Ford asked, setting a folder down on the table as he sat down.
Jack shrugged.
"Plot demanded it, and a cameo will help get me better exposu-" Jack coughed from behind Arceus, cutting off his impersonation. A moment of silence reigned before the Alpha blinked self-consciously, a subdued hue of pink spreading over the grey of his face soon after.
"Anyways," Arceus continued after an uncomfortable cough. "Jack mentions Alpha and the general, understandably, laughs off the idea of kid single-handedly taking out a terrorist organization that has control of half a region."
Jack shrugged again. "Yeah, well what can I say; you locked me up so tightly, I thought for sure you'd heard of me and what I can do.
(Anakin Skywalker: You underestimate my power!)
But since this is your country, I'm willing to play by your rules."
"How nice of you to extend such a courtesy to a country you entered illegally instead of your own Pokémon League..." Arceus deadpanned. Mew and Jack sighed simultaneously.
"Look here, Jack," Ford said sternly, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. "I don't care who you are or what you supposedly can do. Truthfully, I didn't even know of your existence until about ten minutes ago. The guards were ordered by one of my overzealous subordinates. I have been fighting a full fledged war here for the past three months
"With only Model Ts!" Mew cut in, before Arceus gently nudged her away with a roll of the eyes.
And if you want to play by my rules, you are on a plane back to Sinnoh before the sun sets. This is war, kid. I don't have time nor resources to make sure you can go on your suicide mission."
Jack listened grimly and, when Ford had finished speaking, he looked the general in the eye.
"Chevy is more reliable," the Psychic Type carried on off-screen.
"Alright then," Jack said, standing up. "If that's the case, then my rules it is.
"Gotta keep the plot moving," Arceus continued in his impersonation, only to sigh when he earned two glares.
"Well, it's not like Jack was being unreasonable or misbehaving," the Normal Type conceded. "Anyways, Jack teleports away, but teleports back when he feels two powerful creatures nearing the base through the Aura to warn the General."
"Oh, and by the way," Jack said, as if he were commenting on the weather, "I think your base is about to be attacked by someone really powerful. I just thought you should know."
Ford whipped around and leveled his pistol squarely at Jack's chest.
"What do you mean? We aren't anywhere near the front lines," Ford demanded harshly.
Jack shrugged. "Well then, you'd better hope the intense auric signatures I'm picking up are friends of yours; because otherwise, I think this is what's known as a sneak attack. And since you just sounded the alarm, I'm guessing they're going to make their move some time soon."
"Hybrids…" Ford muttered, lowering his pistol slightly.
"We can't compete with their fuel efficiency!" Arceus just sighed.
As if to confirm Jack's words, the building shook as an explosion reverberated throughout the area.
"Well," Jack continued, "That's my good deed for the day; good luck."
"Ho, ho, that's our Jack," the Alpha said indiferrently before narrowing his gaze and turning back to Jack. "You would think that in coming to a region with the explicit goal of fighting a terrorist organization, you wouldn't pass up the first chance you get of fighting what is likely some of their creations."
With that he teleported away again, once more landing just outside the base. He was going to leave, but then he saw what was happening only a hundred feet or so to the right of him. One Pokémon, a strange-looking Lucario with white fur and some sort of metal headband, was in the process of decimating the entire garrison of the fort. Jack watched as a massive Aura Sphere slammed into a tank, causing to to explode. Other vehicles and tanks tried to engage the lone Pokémon, but it proved fruitless as their shells were easily dodged.
It wasn't long before dozens of bodies were strewn across the base along with a good number burning wrecks that were fully functioning military vehicles minutes before hand. A squad of soldiers were currently unloading on the Aura Pokémon with their machine guns. One soldier hoisted a rocket launcher and loosed a shell at the deadly Pokémon, however it was all for naught as the intense level of fire didn't even phase the Lucario. The squad of soldiers started back-peddling towards the building they had just come out of as empty magazines clattered against the concrete ground of the base, the soldiers' nerves breaking as they struggled to get the full mags into their rifles.
Mew gaped. "They're being attacked by General Grievous."
Arceus just shook his head with a resigned sigh. "So remind me why Alpha hasn't taken over Saldara sauce yet?"
"I don't have time for this," Jack thought, trying to convince himself to just walk away and leave well enough alone.
"I need to go find links to these Alpha people, and clearly there's nothing to help me here," the Normal Type deadpanned. "Anyways, Jack finds he can't just watch a psychopathic super-mon massacre a bunch of soldiers, so he decides to step in and do what the Saldaran military could not, on their own base at that."
"You know," Jack said, allowing frustration to seep into his tone, "I tried walking away, really I did, but I just can't do it. I can't watch people die any more. Which is bad luck for you."
The Lucario spun in place,
"General Storm," Mew said in a raspy, filtered voice, followed by a cough.
"Now we can do this the easy way," Jack said, "Or the hard way; take your pick."
"Predictably, a (completely entertaining) fight ensues, only for the Lucario to break off and go aid another battle in the forest near the base. Jack, understandably, gives chase."
"A strategic withdrawal?" Jack muttered to himself, but then he noticed something happening in the direction Lucario was going
Jack sent a mental probe to survey the area and found two incredibly powerful Pokémon, a Psychic-type and a Dark-type as far as he could tell from there, going head to head. Lucario had obviously been called over to help one side or the other end the fight. Which side Lucario was on, Jack didn't know. With that in mind he kept an eye on the situation until Lucario made its move. When it did, it attacked the Dark-type.
Now knowing which side was which, Jack poured aura into his legs and launched himself towards the action. Coming up on the scene, he headed straight for the Psychic-type which appeared to be an odd-looking Gallade holding some sort of gold-coloured sword in his right hand and a matching shield in his left. Remarking to himself that Saldara seemed to be full of strange Pokémon, Jack ran up to the Gallade and sent his fist into the side of its face.
Arceus' head whipped back when he heard the opening notes of Roundabout and finally threw the phonograph in Mew's paws into the wall. Both the prosecutor and lawyer flinched.
"I don't think it's going to be that easy," Jack said, cracking his knuckles after landing the punch.
"You don't say?" the Alpha asked with an over-dramatic gasp, only to shake his head. "Anyways, Jack takes a moment to look at the Zoroark - and of course it's a Zoroark - who he just saved to see that, like the Gallade and Lucario, it has a different color palette - because it's special, I don't know - and is also using futuristic weaponry straight out of the bronze age."
Arceus then made a sound akin to a sob and buried his face in the desk. Mew floated over and gave him a tentative pat on the back of his lanky neck while Jack looked on in a mixture of disbelief and amusement.
"Gah, treachery and foul play!" the strange Gallade stammered upon recovering and standing back up, glaring daggers at the… kid, who had the audacity to attack him.
"What do you think, Miss Zoroark?" Jack commented.
"I think he deserved it," the Zoroark said telepathically, seemingly amused by how the situation had changed.
Jack glanced at her spear. "Can you handle the Lucario while I take out that Gallade… thing?"
"My name is Damocles! Remember it, you peasant, for it shall be the last name you ever hear!" the Gallade yelled out indignantly, slashing his fancy golden sword to the side.
Arceus snorted while Mew burst out laughing.
Jack grinned impishly. "And mine's Jack Storm. It's a pleasure to beat you."
Jack performed a sting from his corner of the room. Arceus cleared his throat while Mew came down from her cackling. "Anyways, this delightfully hammy episode of Sword Art Online carries on for a little while until Jack predictably gets the upper hand."
Alright, Jack… it seems that I severely underestimated you and your abilities," Damocles ground out through clenched teeth. He leveled his sword at the boy's head. "You might just be a problem."
"You don't say," Jack deadpanned, then he smirked. "Then again you're not exactly the first guy to make that mistake, so I don't blame you."
Damocles held his sword out as three orbs of blueish-purple energy formed along its blade. Moments later, he swung the blade at his opponent, unleashing the three Psyshock attacks towards Jack. Even as the orbs of energy had just cleared the tip of his sword, Damocles charged up another three attacks and readied to unleash them.
Jack disappeared before the attacks could hit him, leaving a few sparks of electricity in his wake. Within the time it took to blink, he was standing right behind Damocles and was preparing to fire a Thunderbolt into his back. A vicious grin appeared on Damocles' face. At the last second he swiveled around and launched the trio of Psyshocks point blank at Jack's chest. Unprepared for the surprise attack, Jack took a direct hit and was flung backwards. However, in mid-air he telekinetically flipped himself upright and lashed out with the Thunderbolt he'd charged up.
(Aku: You can fly!?
Jack: No, jump good.)
"Well, it would seem that now would be a good time to cut our losses," Damocles muttered, catching the burst of flame out of the corner of his eye before mentally calling Lucario over to his side. Lucario was easily able to get away from the Zoroark and make his way over to Damocles.
"You're not getting away that easily," Jack said, flinging a blast of Psychic at them; but before the attack connected, the two Pokémon disappeared from sight in a blinding flash of light.
"Or… maybe you are," Jack sighed with a scowl before turning to the female Zoroark. "Are you okay over there?"
"Just a flesh wound!" Mew shouted back.
"I'm fine," she replied telepathically, letting out a sigh before twirling her spear around and aurically attaching it to the strap on her back before sitting down.
"Oh, what's this?" Arceus commented airily, turning around and leaning towards Jack for emphasis. "Telepathy and aura? You better keep an eye out."
The human just rolled his eyes.
"I appreciate the sentiment," Jack said, also speaking telepathically, "But you can talk normally if you want; I can understand you either way."
The blue and black fox looked at the boy curiously, tilting her head some with one of her ears falling to the side. She gave a short laugh before a smirk made its way onto her muzzle.
"Non puto," she replied with a toothy grin.
"Je ne sais pas parler français," the lawyer deadpanned. That got a snort out of Arceus.
"Anyways," the Legendary continued. "In the ensuing conversation, Jack discovers that he and the Zoroark, Nova-" Mew snorted and Arceus just sighed. "-are in the same boat as the Lucario they were just fighting was Nova's brainwashed husbando in the service of Alpha, only to get cut off by the Sabra Defense Force."
Sure enough, the SDF troops arrived a few seconds later. As Jack had feared, they seemed somewhat displeased to see him
"Hands in the air!"
"Like you just don't care," Mew sang. Jack facepalmed and Arceus groaned.
One of the soldiers yelled, pointing his AK 5D at Jack. The other soldiers in the squad did the same, although a few pointed their rifles at Nova as well.
Jack sighed and did as he was told. "Like I said, I hope you're right about being able to talk to the general."
"Uncuff them this instant!" Ford yelled out in a furious tone. He started rubbing his temples as the stunned troops did as he ordered. Ford let out a low, frustrated sigh. Cuffing Jack he could understand, but Nova? Nova rubbed her wrists once the constricting device was off of her wrists.
"Thank you," Nova said.
"Mark Hamill was the better actor," Mew hissed, rubbing her wrists.
"So what are you doing back here? I haven't seen or heard from you in three months," Ford asked as he motioned for one of the soldiers to give the blue and black Zoroark her spear.
"Oh, the school bus must've been really rough today," Jack and Mew blinked up in confusion at the Alpha's comment. Arceus just sighed and shook his head. "Anyways, the trio talk for a while, and we find out that Ford isn't such a bad guy."
"It is my job to enforce the laws of the region, especially in a time of war that we currently find ourselves in. However… you have done right in my eyes," Ford started before a sly smile made its way onto his face. "It was a real shame you escaped during the attack today, so it looks like I won't be able to have you deported. Given that all the security footage from today was also destroyed in the attack, I can say with utmost certainty that this meeting never happened."
Jack grinned. "Miss Nova was right about you. Also, I am sorry about the whole 'sneaking into the country' thing but…" his grin faded. "Well, long story short I had no other choice. I had to get here one way or another, and as quickly as possible. Speaking of which, there's something I need to ask you."
"Jack proceeds to ask for any information about Alpha he can get; in short he learns that the SDF has no idea where the terrorist group could've gone with his Pokémon, that despite controlling most the region Alpha still finds merit in hiding all their bases, and that despite being able to create super saiyan Pokémon called Hybrids-" there was another snort from Mew that Arceus ignored. "The rest of Alpha's technology is over a century old and can barely stand up to the SDF. Jack subsequently figures that capturing one of these brainwashed supersoldiers will help."
"I'm going to capture a hybrid," Jack said with a grin. "Preferably more than one. Doing that would simultaneously weaken Alpha's forces, and we might even be able to get some information out of them regarding the location of their bases."
Ford looked at Jack like he had just grown a tail. After a few seconds, Ford shook his head some.
"Now, I want you to remember," Arceus began in his gravelly voice again. "That no Gary Stu ever won a war by dying for his plot point. He won the war by making the other poor, dumb Gary Stu die for his plot point."
"But it's not really," Jack said. "I mean, Miss Nova and I held our own against two of those hybrids less than half an hour ago; and if they hadn't teleported away like cowards, we would have beaten them. If we can lure one of them out into the open and pin it down, I think the two of us could definitely capture it; it might not be easy, but I'm sure it's possible."
"You fought two of them, not all five like they usually travel. We got lucky today that all five of them didn't attack us. The other three must still be recovering from the wounds we inflicted at the Citadel," Ford started. "Though I cannot imagine they will be out of the fight for much longer."
The Alpha's eyes narrowed. "Just how big is your region or how small is your military that five super soldiers can nearly overrun both, even when you have one of your own?"
Jack nodded. "Good point; but even if all five of them appeared, I could easily teleport one of them away. Preferably several miles away, at which point we could take it down uninterrupted; and in fact that would be optimal, because it would give us the chance to choose our target."
"Jack… this is a war. Nothing ever goes as planned. There is a famous saying in the military of all regions regarding plans; 'No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength.' Your plan will not work out how you just laid it out," Ford said.
Jack shrugged. "Probably not, but I
"Got plot armor," Jack sighed while Arceus carried on. "More exposition, and then Jack invites Nova to join him in his suicide mission before teleporting away from the base."
With that Jack teleported away, although he didn't leave the base immediately. Instead he sent out an auric probe until he found his bag, which he'd had for so long it had actually become slightly imprinted with his auric signature. As such it didn't take him long to find and retrieve it, after which he finally left the base. As he told Nova, he went a good ways to the north just to make sure he didn't run into any soldiers.
After reaching what he considered a safe distance from the base, Jack hopped up into a convenient tree to take inventory. Looking inside his satchel he quickly confirmed that among other things his Bible, Pokédex, and set of trainer clothes were all present. He was especially relieved that no one had inspected the spare set of clothes too carefully because if they had, they might have noticed a thin, palm-sized, pink scale-like object; the Mind Plate. He hadn't looked at it much, or so much as thought about using it, since the incident with the Legendary Bird trio, but he felt that if worst came to worst he might have to use it again.
Jack pulled the Mind Plate out from the bundle of clothing and fingered its smooth surface thoughtfully.
"My precious," Mew hissed, rubbing Arceus' wheel as she stared into the reflective surface longingly. A sharp glare from the Alpha caused her hands to fly off the gold like she had just been burnt.
"This thing almost destroyed my mind once," he thought to himself, "So why am I still considering using it? Just because I survived using it once doesn't mean I'd be just as lucky a second time…"
Reassuring himself that the Mind Plate was nothing more or less than an absolute last resort, a trump card if you will, he put it back among his clothes and resolved to think no more of it. After finding a comfortable position among the upper limbs of the tree, Jack closed his eyes and did his best to relax.
"Well that was a nice piece of foreshadowing, might as well catch a few zs in the middle of this warzone," the Original One commented with a telepathic yawn. "And he might as well since Nova's takes her sweet time in reaching him."
At that point Jack realised that while he'd been lost in thought, Nova had come to a stop near his tree. She looked up and Jack waved at her, forcing a happy-go-lucky grin back onto his face.
"Hey there Miss Nova," he called down to her. "You certainly took your time getting here."
"Ah, yeah…." Nova replied, running one of her claws through her blue mane. "Sorry about that."
Jack hopped down from his tree and landed beside Nova. He was about to make a snappy retort of some kind, when he suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up; as if he was being watched. His instincts had never failed him before, and right now they were telling him that he and Nova were not alone.
"There's someone else here…" he said, furrowing his brow.
Nova glanced to her right, maybe to see if anyone was there. Jack closed his eyes and opened his mind, and immediately became aware of a powerful third aura signature somewhere nearby. He turned his head slightly as he felt the source of the signature change location, but he soon found it again.
"Mr. Nesbitt, will you stand up please?" Arceus asked in a dry British accent.
Quickly charging up a blast of electricity, Jack pivoted on his heel and fired it into the bushes behind him. The unfortunate shrubbery was blown to smithereens, but Jack scowled as he saw that he hadn't hit anything else.
"And after a little bit of back and forth, Nova explains that the aura Jack senses is some form of seven century old piece of sentient aura called Lauren - of all things - that belongs to an ancient civilization that seemed to be a Fire Emblem-stylized version the Roman Empire. Nova happened to absorb some of its powers when it evolved, hence Nova' specialness. After that the two head out on the first steps of their journey, and straight into chapter twenty-three, where Jack's doing one of the first things every Age of Empires player will do."
Jack wasn't sure how much longer he could put a brave face on it. He probably would've broken down already if it hadn't been for Nova, he refused to let her see him cry. She had her own pain to endure, she didn't need his too.
A handful of tears rolled unbidden down his cheek, but he quickly mopped them up with his sleeve and went back to picking berries.
"And there's really nothing more to say for this scene," Arceus remarked neutrally. "It does a really good job of showing just how alone Jack is now without his friends or Pokémon with only two lines, and his trying to come to terms with it. The next few paragraphs are Jack grappling with it - even being averse to the word 'Aura' - and learning that Aura can also somehow be shaped into solid mass in the form of a salad bowl."
"Well, thanks for the food, Jack," Nova complimented as she nodded her head towards Jack.
Jack smiled, although it was once again tinted with sadness as he once again remembered how he used to eat meals like this with his team. Katana had taught him just about everything he knew about preparing food...
"No problem," he said, forcing himself to keep from choking up. "It was my pleasure. I'm just glad you enjoyed it."
Nova smiled faintly back at Jack before she sat down with her back against a tree, leaning her spear against it. She reached around her back to a small pouch that was on her leather sling. Reaching into it, Nova pulled out a small block of partially carved wood as a blade of aura formed in her paw. For the third time that day, Nova started humming the same song.
Jack sighed,
"And no signing!" Jack shouted from his corner.
"Okay, it's about time I asked; what is that you've been humming all day?"
Nova looked up towards Jack as the knife in her paws dissipated into the air. She was silent for a few seconds before she let out a sigh.
"Corde et Animo," Nova answered. "Heart of Courage in your language. Its an old Azorian song."
"Does it have words to go along with the tune?" Jack asked.
"That it does..." Nova replied after a while as she looked back down at the recently started wood carving, the only thing visible so far was a set of long, pointed ears.
"Aw, she's carving a new Lucario to replace her old one," Mew said with a sigh. Arceus resisted the desire to bang his forehead into the desk.
She closed her eyes as she let the melody play through her head, softly humming the first bit of the song before she started singing:
"The promise; Redemption, This time we fight for freedom; The dreamer, Awaking, Shattered by love; The courage, Together, We lean against destruction; Salvation, remission, Wait, my new world; We take it, We save it, Our hearts unite each other; The one who, Dies with you, Follow your path soldier; We face it, We save it, Until our last breath fading; Wherever, don't matter, Burning love for Gaia."
Nova finished as she opened her eyes again, looking over to where Jack was sitting.
(Sokka: Go back to the Fire Nation!)
"Beautiful…" he muttered as Nova concluded her singing. "Where did you learn it?"
"My… my mate taught it to me…" Nova answered as she closed her eyes, her head hanging down some as a lone teardrop started to form in her eye.
"You really love him, don't you," Jack said solemnly.
Nova remained silent but slowly nodded her head. After taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again and looked over at Jack.
"Yes… I yearn for him to be at my side again," Nova replied in a quiet voice.
Jack nodded, his own eyes starting to tear up as well. "Yeah, I know how that feels. Although… I've never been in love before; I can only imagine how much more it must hurt for you."
"It feels like someone removed part of my soul… I had felt lonely before I had met him, but now… it is a whole new kind of pain…" Nova said as she clenched her paws. Although Jack couldn't see her, Lauren was standing next to Nova with a paw on her shoulder.
"Trust the aura, Nova," came the distant comment from the Alpha. "This conversation carries on for a little while where Jack and Nova trade backstories, and we learn that Nova is an outcast who also knows all the moves she possibly could-"
Arceus cut himself off with a loud scream.
"Pft, me, normal? Not possible," Nova started, a small smile tugging at her muzzle before the sad smile from earlier returned. "At least not right now…"
"You know," Arceus said through a heavy breath. "I'm just going to refer to this line whenever something like this pops up again."
Jack looked her in the eyes, a smug glimmer returning to his own. "I met a Lucario who was part Pikachu, and part Zoroark; and was also a mystical several-thousand year old guardian of light, chosen as the heir of Arceus, and who could transform into a different body for each elemental type. And I'm not even kidding."
Nova looked at Jack a bit incredulously, unsure of what to say or think for a bit.
(Nova: Pft, me, normal? Not possible,)
"My advice," Jack commented, "Don't think about it too hard, you'll give yourself a headache. I speak from experience."
"If you say so," Nova said with a short laugh before letting out a sigh. She looked down at her blue and black paw before squeezing it shut and looking back up to the now darkened sky. "None of this has been easy for me, especially after my mate almost killed me. I was a mess three months ago, only making it because of a few friends that cared about my wellbeing. Lauren being chief among them. And… well I guess right now I have you." Nova finished with a sad smile.
Jack looked over at the blue Zoroark and did his best to return the smile. "Well, I'm certainly glad I could help. You've certainly helped me a lot so far, in a lot of ways. I can only hope I'll be able to fully return the favor."
"Well, I am down one Lucar-" Arceus slapped Mew outside the head with the familiar rubber torchic before she could finish.
"Thank you, Jack," Nova said as she stood up off of the log.
"Like I said," Jack replied, also standing up, "It's my pleasure. Besides, I really..."
Before Jack could continue, Nova wrapped her arms around him. Her head pressed against his chest lightly as she let out a content sigh.
Arceus blinked blankly while Mew's face broke out in a smug grin. Jack's mouth parted in self-awareness.
Jack was momentarily taken aback, but he smiled sadly as he realized that Nova probably hadn't had anyone to hug for quite some time. She just needed to know that someone was there beside her, a shoulder she could lean on. So to speak, seeing as she only came up to his chest.
Jack hesitated a moment then returned the hug, wrapping his left arm around Nova's shoulders and tousling her thick mane of fur with his right. He felt her relax a little when he did so. It almost felt like he was comforting a child, what with the height difference. It made him feel a strange sense of protectiveness for the Zoroark, just like the kind he felt for all his friends; his family.
"Don't worry," he said softly. "Everything is going to be alright."
Nova let out a pent up breath that she didn't know she'd been holding. While it wasn't the same as having Lucario embrace her, it still felt relaxing.
"The inspiration for B. J. and the Bear," Arceus commented dryly.
"Barry Stu and the Beast," the New Species Pokémon replied with a chuckle. Arceus raised his equivalent of an eyebrow.
"But which one is the beast?"
"Objection!"
"Thank you…" Nova muttered as she released Jack and took a few steps back. "I've only had the occasional paw on the shoulder over the past three months."
A truly happy smile tugged at the corner of Jack's mouth for the first time in far too long.
"Lucario really is lucky," he told Nova. "He has you to come back to once we free him."
"That is true," Nova replied as she looked up at Jack. "I suppose it is time I stopped dwelling on the past and looked to the future."
"And in the spirit of that, we somehow wind up in Iron Chef Saldara," the Alpha deadpanned.
Morning," Nova answered as she stood up and looked over to where Jack was still floating. "And yes, breakfast sounds like a great idea."
"Alright then," Jack replied, uncrossing his legs and lowering himself onto them. "I'll go see if I can scrounge something up; this early in the morning, I might actually be able to catch some meat for us too. How's that sound?"
"That actually sounds really nice," Nova said with a faint smile.
"Great," Jack said with a grin. "I'll see what I can do then."
"I'll just run by Jellystone Park and see what I can find there," Arceus muttered in Jack's voice.
With that, Jack teleported away with an electrical crackle and a rush of displaced air. He returned a while later carrying an auric bowl full of assorted fruit in his left hand, and a pair of freshly caught quail in his right.
"Welcome back!" Nova greeted cheerfully as Jack walked over to where she was sitting.
"I found us some meat," Jack reported with a grin. "How do you take it? I can do anything from extra-rare to charcoal."
"Ha, I think I will take mine raw," Nova replied with a short laugh, setting down the small wooden statue and dissolving her blade of aura.
"Suit yourself," Jack said with a shrug, handing her one of the quails he'd found. "Personally, I'd rather not get food poisoning; or indigestion."
"Humans," Nova deadpanned.
Jack sat down a few feet from Nova, placed the bowl of fruit on the ground, and set about cooking the remaining quail. It soon became apparent that he'd done that sort of thing before, as he summoned a bright orange flame in his left hand
"Flame on!" the Psychic Type shouted, only to get pushed out of the frame by the other Legendary.
and began charring the feathers off. Once he'd completely defeathered the bird, he systematically disassembled it with an auric knife.
"I usually do it telekinetically," he explained as he worked. "It's a lot quicker and easier that way; and less messy. But once again, keeping multiple objects materialised is good practise."
"Riveting," Arceus said dryly, eyes boring into the screen. Mew, meanwhile, floated up to Jack.
"Your Canadian is showing..." she whispered, only to get shooed off by the attorney.
"Are you sure you don't want me to cook yours too?" Jack asked. "It's really good; if you get it just right, it practically falls apart in your mouth. And the juices… Well, anyway; it's good."
"I'm good. My stomach doesn't really agree with cooked meat all that well," Nova answered before taking the first bite from her quail.
Jack chuckled slightly. "I figured as much; Lucy's just the same, doesn't like cooked meat. Unless it's on pizza, then she's fine with it."
"Pizza?" Nova questioned quizzically, tilting her head some with an ear pointed out to the side.
"It's a human food I discovered a few months ago," Jack explained. "It's really good. My…" he paused, and his grin melted away. "My friends and I… we loved eating pizza together."
"Yeah, I'm really lucky the Teen Titans adopted me," Arceus commented absently before his face hardened again. "Anyways, because clearly the plot can wait, Jack and Nova decide to kill some more time and more of my patience by sparring."
"So, we're agreed?" Jack said as he and Nova faced each other down. "Spears only?"
"Ummm… well, wouldn't you be lacking a spear then?" Nova stated, slightly confused at Jack's proposition.
Jack grinned. "Oh come on, you can't have forgotten this quickly."
Jack held out his hand as blue light started collecting in it, solidifying into a rod of auric energy that was almost as long as he was tall. Jack twirled the quarter-staff in one hand before stopping its rotation with the other. He then settled into a fighting stance with his left side facing Nova, holding the staff in front of him with his hands about a foot from the ends.
"And the fight goes on for a few moves until Jack somehow gets transported back into his Legend of Zelda dream:"
Then, the exact moment Jack felt Nova's spear connect with his back, a rush of sensation hit him like an avalanche and swept him away into another world.
"It's another dream," Jack thought to himself as he drifted into the memories.
After his first dream on Lily of the Valley Island, Jack had gone several nights without having any dreams at all. He'd hoped that it was a one-off thing, but evidently that wasn't the case. As it played out however, Jack noticed that it wasn't quite like his first dream. Whereas the first dream was one cohesive scene, this one was more… fragmented; a series of quick flashes, each one different and each one flooding his mind with new thoughts. Just like the first dream however, each new idea seemed to slot seamlessly into his mind as if it was meant to be there.
He could barely make out the first handful of images, but in each one he seemed to be holding something in his hand. He could almost feel the weight of it; familiar, calming even. As more images flashed by he could make out the general shape of the object; a metallic rod a few feet long. A sword? Yes, that was it; he was using a sword.
Then, one last image flooded his mind and lingered for a few seconds. He was back in the same place as his first dream, and the skull-headed figures were closing in on him. Now though he could see them more clearly, and he realized that their entire bodies were nothing but sun-bleached bones covered with scraps of leather armour.
They were wielding an assortment of rusty swords and axes in their skeletal hands, but they were slow and clumsy. These mindless thralls were no match for a skilled warrior, and Jack had trained with a sword ever since he was a child.
Jack darted forward, his right hand going down to his left hip. In one fluid motion Jack drew his sword and lashed out at the nearest skeleton. He felt a surge of satisfaction as the monster's head toppled from its shoulders, and the whole thing crumpled into a lifeless pile of bones. Now he just had to deal with the others…
Jack opened his eyes to find himself lying on the ground, his back smarting where Nova's blow had landed.
"Saldara, crivens. I'm still in Saldara," Arceus mumbled.
He felt like he'd just run a marathon; his breathing was quick and shallow, his heartbeat had spiked, and he could feel his entire body breaking out in a cold sweat. He looked numbly down at his hands to see them shaking uncontrollably.
"What's happening to me?" Jack asked, although he was afraid of the answer.
"He's been playing to much D&D," Mew answered smarmily. Both Arceus and Jack rolled their eyes.
"Jack just passes it off as PTSD and the two resume their sparring match."
With her spear now out of position and above her, Nova was in no position to block the incoming attack. Jack's staff struck her right shoulder, but it was only a glancing blow. The blow caused Nova to stagger a little bit, but it didn't hit as hard as Jack had hoped. Using the momentum from the hit, Nova spun around and aimed her hind paw at Jack's side.
Jack was wise to that trick by that point, and brought his staff around to block the kick. However, there was still enough power behind the attack to make Jack stumble backwards slightly. Not letting the opportunity go to waste, Nova pressed her attack. She brought the rear end of her spear down towards Jack's shoulder, and Jack just barely managed to knock it aside with the tip of his staff.
"Not good," Jack thought. "I can't let her gain any momentum."
(Frederick: Pick a god and pray!)
Nova barely had time to lean backwards as something whistled through the air no more than an inch from her face. She backed up a little ways and brought her guard back up, and as she did so she realized what had happened. Jack's staff was gone, and in Jack's right hand instead was a rod of aura about half the length. No, not a rod; a sword.
Jack stared numbly at the weapon in his hand. Except for it being blue and transparent, it was an exact copy of the one from his latest dream. A thin, arrow-straight, two-edged blade about a meter long which tapered sharply about an inch from the tip.
Arceus just shook his head. "Well, Jack decides that those memories are his and that he now knows how to wield a lightsaber, and in a few seconds overcomes both his own limitations and the weapon triangle to defeat someone who has significantly more experience with their weapon and weapons combat in general than him."
"I still can't remember the first thing about fighting with a sword," he realized, "But my body knows the moves even if my mind doesn't… Well, let's see if I'm right."
With new determination, Jack settled a little lower and tightened his stance up slightly, making it clear that he wasn't going to be making the first move. Nova once again slowly started inching forward, her eyes watching Jack carefully. She didn't know entirely what to expect, but then again, she hadn't really known what to expect throughout this spar. Once she was close enough, she lunged her spear low towards Jack's feet.
Jack hopped backwards to avoid the spear thrust, but Nova quickly twirled the rear end of her Hastae around as she continued forward. Then, Jack felt it; he saw Nova's attack coming and, without any conscious thought on his part, his body started to move. A split second before Nova's attack landed, Jack swept his sword up and stopped it cold. Almost before Jack realized what was happening, he had switched from defence to offence. In one fluid motion, his block transitioned flawlessly into a lightning fast swipe down at her right shoulder.
Nova's eyes widened in shock as she quickly, with a burst of aura to her legs, managed to just ever so slightly get out of the way of the auric weapon. Jack followed through with the stroke but, to his own surprise, he didn't overbalance. Jack could feel his body acting on pure instinct, unguided by conscious thought. His stance was tight, his balance perfect, his eyes automatically scanning every detail of his surroundings, and his sword nothing more than an extension of his arm. A very dangerous extension.
"So this is what it feels like," Jack thought, slightly awestruck, "To be a master swordsman."
"Like no one ever was!" Mew sang, only to drop her arms and offer up an innocent grin when Arceus growled.
Reveling in the exhilarating sensation of being one with his weapon, Jack rushed in with an overhand slash to Nova's right shoulder. Nova was more prepared this time however, having settled into a defensive mindset and was more than ready for the attack as she deflected it with her Hastae and attempted to counter with the rear end it. Jack didn't miss a beat and blocked it with his sword, sliding the blade down the length of the spear shaft towards Nova's paws. Seeing what Jack was attempting to do, Nova instantly twirled her weapon around, flinging Jack's sword off of its wooden shaft.
Jack hopped backwards out of reach of any counter-attacks then dived right back in with a low backhanded swipe, once again to the Zoroark's right side. Nova once again deflected the skilled attack, but Jack just let his blade slide off her spear and then transition flawlessly into a thrust to her chest. Nova freed one of her paws from her spear, covering it in aura and using it to block Jack's attack, but before she even knew what had happened she found Jack's hand on her stomach. A split second later she was flung backwards by a powerful Force Palm.
Nova rolled a few meters before coming to a stop, but before she could even get up Jack was beside her with his auric sword barely an inch away from her neck.
"Checkmate," Jack said with a grin of satisfaction, feeling the adrenaline still coursing through his body.
"This is followed with more dialogue before we go into what actually transpired with Jack, and I'm not even going to bother trying to make head or tails of it," the Alpha grunted out.
"Whatever it takes," he resolved, "I'm going to relearn everything I ever knew about swordfighting."
Looking over at Nova, Jack noticed that the Zoroark was glancing off to the side again. As if she was looking at something he couldn't see.
"Talking with your invisible friend again?" Jack commented off-handedly, not sure if it was rude to point it out; or if he was intruding on their conversation or something.
Nova was stirred back to reality by Jack's voice.
"Oh… yes I was," Nova said as she rubbed the back of her head with her paw. "So… What happened with you there at the end? You were like a totally different fighter."
Jack scratched the back of his head thoughtfully, not entirely sure what, if anything, he should tell her.
"Well…" he started, deciding to at least try to explain it, "It's kinda hard to explain. I'm not entirely sure myself, but I do have a theory of sorts. Trouble is, it's impossible."
"Trust me, with what I have seen, I doubt anything is impossible," Nova deadpanned.
"You make a valid point, but still…" Jack said with a sigh. "You see, I've been having these dreams lately. Really strange dreams, like something from another world. Except for some reason, and I really have no idea why, I have a gut feeling that they're actually some sort of memories. More specifically, my memories. Except the things that happen in the dreams are… well, they're completely impossible; in fact so far they seem like something out of a horror story. I've only had two of them so far, and the second one hit me right in the middle of our fight."
"Well… I have had some strange dreams in the past, but it turned out to just be Lauren reaching out to me," Nova replied, glancing off to the side again.
She hadn't even finished her sentence before Jack was shaking his head.
"No, something like that happened to me once before and I know what it feels like," he said. "Like I said, I'm positive that I'm remembering things that have happened to me at some point. It makes too much sense for that not to be it. All that stuff with the sword happened right after the dream hit me, and in the dream I… well, I was beheading living skeletons with a sword just like the one I summoned."
"Beheading… living… skeletons?" Nova repeated, one of her ears falling to the side in confusion.
"I used to moonlight as Link," Jack offered up from his corner of the room.
"I told you," Jack sighed. "These dreams are impossible. My vision was kinda blurry, but I was being rushed by a bunch of people; humans, except they were just bones and clothes and swords. Then I pulled out a sword of my own and started cutting them down left and right, and that's when I woke up. The things is, I feel like the dream somehow… for lack of a better word, 'unlocked' some sort of hidden skill I have, or had, with a sword."
"Interesting…" Nova mused as she closed her eyes and thought about everything she had heard up to this point. After a few seconds of silence, Nova opened her eyes and let out a sigh. "I have nothing," she conceded.
Jack sighed again. "Yeah, me neither. Anyway, it's your fault for asking."
"I guess it is," Nova said with a small laugh as she shook her head. "How about we get on the road, it's still a long way to our destination."
"And after a one and a half chapter detour, we can finally get the plot the plot moving again," Arceus deadpanned. "Where they ride for Helm's Deep."
"Axiom," Jack corrected.
"Axiom City," Arceus muttered. "Because... I don't know."
Sure enough, the ruined city came into view one day as the two of them emerged from some trees at the base of the mountain.
Jack's eyes widened at the sight of the giant stone buildings. Even if most of them were in a state of disrepair, it was still an awe inspiring sight. There was another reason, however, that he stared. Looking at the ancient city, Jack couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen it somewhere before. Enormous walls of grey stone, reaching up as far as the eye could see… the image was still fuzzy, but he was sure of it. His dreams, or at least the parts with the living skeletons, had taken place near a city much like this one.
"Because..." Arceus turned back to his lawyer. "Because you knew you were going to be doing a crossover with Dimensional War when your story was first written up?"
Jack shrugged.
"I guess I did forget to mention that didn't I…" Nova said as she looked over her shoulder at Jack. "But yes, the city was laid to siege and destroyed seven hundred years ago. About a hundred years ago, a clan of Lucario moved into it and have been living there ever since."
"Because Alpha and the Saldaran government wouldn't have any interest in the ruins of an ancient civilization or a tribe of Byzantophilic Lucario?" Arceus sighed and hung his head. "I'm just going to stop asking questions. More exposition about how the core is the Force, more talking Pokémon, and Jack sticks his hand in the core for some reason and absorbs some of its Aura and can now see Lauren as a consequence, who is basically the manifestation of the core's personality. Onto chapter twenty-five where Jack and Nova are staying in the city before moving onto the next plot point."
The Alpha let out an even heavier sigh. "And, well, that's all there is to the chapter; it's literally just filler, despite being nearly five digits in length. Just Jack and Nova exploring Axiom, more worldbuilding, Jack and Nova flirting, Jack training, more eating, and then they finally head out to take the battle to Alpha. There's not really anything worth showing, and, frankly, I'd run out of jokes quickly-"
And then the door to the room was thrown open.
"-and time, apparently," Arceus finished as Hideyoshi poked his head into the door. The bailiff just nodded and gestured for the three to leave.
Mew cleared her throat as she gave the courtroom a once over. The atmosphere of the whole room seemed to have changed from when she first stormed into the room signing; the jury bench was filled with low whispers and anxious gazes, the air around the judge had turned into a dour calm that only reminded her of an impending storm, and the idle chatter in the gallery had dropped to the level of a funeral procession. Her icy orbs flitted over to the defendant's table to see Arceus was having the worst of it; all the life had seemed to have been sapped out of what little of his mien there was. Jack was looking more nervous than before, too. The Psychic Type took a deep breath; just a little further to go before everything would finally come together.
She smirked at the thought, and then squirreled the expression away with a cavalier brush of her cravat and producing a new piece of paper.
"For the next witness, m'lud, I call to the stand Obi-'We-are-number'-Wan Kenobi-"
The sound of a record scratch reverberated throughout the courtroom. Mew blinked up in surprise, half expecting to see the phonograph next to Arceus.
"Wait, Arceus trashed it," she felt a pit slowly form in her stomach as the realization dawned on her. "Wait. Then the only one who could do that is-"
A Note From The Author:
The Author would like to apologize for making a pun so bad even he blanched at it, and the people responsible for it will be sacked.
"Wait a minute, I'm the star of the show!" Mew cried out, horror quickly replaced with an indignant toss of the papers in her hand. Keldeo just slammed his gavel onto the podium, snout hardening.
"And so we'll forgo a break to watch the latest segement."
"What!?" Arceus bellowed from his bench, and Mew swore she heard something snap. Keldeo just nodded calmly.
"Yep; get back in there."
Arceus hung his head, and for a few terse seconds the whole courtroom stayed silent. Then with as much force as he could muster, the Alpha threw his face up to the ceiling, the whole room seeming to spin around him.
"MEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW!"
And then Roundabout kicked in.
To Be Concluded...