Chapter 7 – Childhood Years: Beneath the Surface

Ebony and Scarlett stopped abruptly when they reached the mouth of a cave. They turned around to face Jasper, both pairs of eyes shining with excitement.

"The Ice Path," Ebony announced proudly.

"A cave?"

"A cave full of ice type Pokémon," Scarlett told him.

"Great-grandfather said that Blackthorn City grew around this area because the old Dragon Tamers used to bring their Dragons here to train them," Ebony added.

"Why?" Jasper asked.

"Because the only weakness that Dragons have is to ice…so if you expose them against ice they can learn to beat it," Scarlett informed him.

Jasper nodded slowly.

"Is it all covered in ice inside? Are all the Pokémon in there ice types?"

Ebony and Scarlett glanced at one another, and their faces turned pink.

"We've never been in," Ebony muttered, embarrassed.

"…Why not?"

Ebony started to look annoyed – she clearly did not like admitting fear.

"We don't have a Pokémon…y-you can't go in without one!"

"You're scared," Jasper said triumphantly, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Am not!"

"I thought Dragon Tamers were brave?"

"You go in then, if you're so brave!" Scarlett scoffed.

Jasper shrugged. He wasn't scared of wild Pokémon; he had been in the Burnt Tower with his daddy many times, and most of the wild Pokémon there were ghosts – surely ghosts were a lot scarier than ice Pokémon – if you didn't understand them of course.

Ebony and Scarlett watched open-mouthed as their cousin stepped fearlessly across the threshold of the cave. They were really very impressed against their will. Ebony felt her respect for Jasper rise several notches – but she still thought he was weird.

Jasper could see nothing interesting about the Ice Path – it was very cold, but there was no ice as far as he could see. He wandered further in by a few metres, and the path turned sharply to the left. He gasped aloud as he rounded the corner.

"What? What is it?" Ebony called from the mouth of the cave. Neither she nor her twin had yet dared to venture in.

Jasper did not answer, but he took more steps into the cave, and vanished from the girls' sight.

"Jasper?" Scarlett called, her voice rather higher than usual as she gripped tightly at her sister's hand. But Jasper did not answer.

"Can you hear me?" Ebony called next, her indigo eyes wide with fright. What would happen if he never came back? Their mummy and daddy would know that they sneaked out of Dragon's Den…and they would be in terrible trouble for losing their cousin…

"Yes…I can hear you," came his voice. It was slightly muted now because of the thick stone between them, but his tone of wonderment aroused their curiosity. Fears all but forgotten, Ebony and Scarlett followed Jasper into the cave, and they, too, gasped when they saw what lay just around the corner.

An enormous cavern comprised entirely of ice spread out before their eyes. The thickness of the ice was such that it hardly looked white – more of an aqua blue-green. Their breath rose in spirals before them as, slack-jawed, they gazed out over the winding, slippery path that twisted and turned throughout the cavern. The drop from the path downwards was so steep and so dark that it caused the hairs to rise and tingle unpleasantly on the backs of three, small necks.

Stalactites and stalagmites of pure ice descended from the roof of the cavern and rose menacingly from the treacherous ground. The entire place exuded an air of mystique and danger, only emphasised by the complete stillness and silence all around them. There was, however, no sign of any wild Pokémon, and so Jasper took another tentative step into the cavern of ice.

"Be careful!" Scarlett called. Despite the openness and emptiness of the space, her voice did not echo. It was as though the very ice itself was hushing them, determined to keep its whereabouts a secret.

"It's fine," Jasper whispered, his brown eyes wide in awe, "the floor's not that slippery."

It was true. Most of the shining ice floor had a light covering of powdery snow upon it, and Jasper's boots crunched reassuringly against it.

Scarlett was more concerned about the fathomless drop from the narrow icy path, but her voice did not seem to be working. She and her twin clutched at each other, but did not dare to step any further onto the path. Jasper's daring nerve took them aback, but it scared them too.

"I-I think you should come back now," Ebony said quietly; she was gripping onto Scarlett's hand very tightly; her fingernails left crescent-shaped grooves in her sister's skin. But still Jasper moved further inside - further along the path.

Scarlett squealed shrilly as Jasper leaned over the edge to take a good look over the precipice – but he did not hear her.

That's very far down.

Jasper would have started, for the voice was not his own, but he didn't. He had almost been expecting it. It wasn't him…but it was a part of him somehow.

They were rude about your mummy. You could really scare them you know.

Jasper turned and looked back at his cousins. They were both wide-eyed with fright, seemingly frozen to the spot.

"Come on," he heard himself tell them, and he felt his face mould into a reassuring smile, "it's not scary, it's amazing!"

Ebony chewed on her lower lip, trying to make up her mind. Jasper seemed fine; he was right, the path didn't look slippery at all. She loosened her grip on Scarlett's hand, and took a tentative step forwards.

"Don't do it, Bonnie," Scarlett said suddenly. Something was not right – she could feel it. She looked over at Jasper, and experienced a chill that ran down her spine, "don't follow him!"

"No, it's fine," Jasper said with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes, "look!"

He spun freely on the spot and, sure enough, he did not lose his footing. Ebony took another step towards him, more confidently now.

Just another couple of steps and you'll be able to reach her. You can send her spiralling down, down, down…

"See? It's fun," Jasper grinned, his brown eyes glinting strangely.

"Bonnie, please," Scarlett said, her voice cracking. She could feel the sweat beginning to bead her forehead.

Ebony had already taken yet another step forwards, but her sister's tone alarmed her. She turned back to face Scarlett, but then many things seemed to happen at once. She felt herself lurch sideways towards the path edge, and she felt a searing pain on her upper arm; screaming, she wrenched her arm from Jasper's grasp, before falling backwards onto the path. Scarlett grabbed hold of her sister, crying hysterically, and pulled her back away from the precipice. Eevee burst forth out of Jasper's rucksack and stood facing her owner, her hackles raised for the first time ever.

Jasper frowned slightly. What was going on? Why was Eevee growling at him like that? Why were his cousins cowering on the floor? What had happened?

Eevee stopped growling when she realised that Jasper was glowing with a soft outline of pale golden light – his usual aura. Where, then, was the darkness that she had sensed? The darkness that she was sure had completely possessed the child at that very moment?

Jasper only looked very confused.

"It's okay, Ebony," he said, as his cousin continued to whimper and moan, "y-you didn't fall."

That was it; he remembered now. He said seen his cousin's foot slip as she came towards him, and so he had reached out and grabbed her arm, preventing her from falling off the edge of the path.

Scarlett was staring at Jasper with wide, grey eyes. She had never been so scared…or so confused. She could not be sure what she had seen – it had happened so quickly. In the space of a second she had been convinced that she had seen Jasper both shove her twin towards the edge of the path, but she could also have sworn that he pulled her to safety…she blinked and shook her head, unable to make any sense of it. But Ebony was fine, she was safe, she had not fallen…and so Jasper must have saved her.

Eevee was still breathing heavily, and she did not take her eyes from Jasper. She didn't know what was going on, but she didn't like this place – they needed to get out of here. Something about being here was making the dark force stronger somehow, and more volatile. She had seen Jasper grab the girl's arm, and she could sense what he had been trying to do…no, what that darkness had been trying to do. Had Jasper not come back to himself so rapidly, Eevee knew that Ebony's remains would be spattered on the floor of the cave far, far below them. The little Pokémon shuddered.

"I think we should go back to Dragon's Den," Jasper said shakily. He didn't feel very well.

Scarlett nodded and, with difficulty, raised her sister to her feet.

"W-we can't tell any of the grown-ups where we were though…okay?" she said.

Jasper gave a jerky nod in agreement. Ebony still seemed unable to speak. She rubbed at her upper arm where it still smarted. The pain was easing off now, but it still felt like it had been burnt…however she was too shaken by her near-fall to think on it too much. By the time they had wriggled back through the wall and into the sculpture courtyard of Dragon's Den, the pain had vanished completely, and Ebony forgot all about it in the light of her other terror.

-o-

Now that the three of them shared a secret, they felt it safer to avoid each other lest the adults begin to suspect anything. Jasper spent most of the rest of day following Rose like a shadow. He still felt a little bit odd after their adventure in the Ice Path, and all that he knew was that he felt better when he was beside his mummy.

But the rest of the day passed pleasantly upon their return. All of the Dragon Clan family seemed very interested by Jasper, and he spent the afternoon and evening talking to them all, especially his great-grandfather, telling them about his favourite Pokémon and his favourite foods and what their house was like in Ecruteak City, and that his mummy baked horrible cakes, and how he played with Raichu and Eevee nearly every day in the garden…

Xander smiled indulgently at the blond boy. He was very intelligent, and very polite. He had been concerned when he learnt that Rose was to become a mother at eighteen, but he couldn't deny that she and Morty had done a splendid job in raising their son – so far. He was so inquisitive, but never to the point of rudeness and, strangely for a child, he had an incredible attention span – particularly when they told stories about the Dragon Tamers of old.

Xander's prejudices had mellowed with age, but he still found himself wishing that Jasper had more of the Dragon Tamers in him. He was such a wonderful addition to the family, but there was a definite 'Ecruteakness' to him that the old man found slightly jarring. Xander was very fond of Morty, of course, he had known him since he was Jasper's own age – but he had never expected that the Ecruteak line would merge with the Blackthorn one – it was unnatural somehow. The more he thought about it, the more he decided that Jasper should have more to do with his Blackthorn family. He wondered how best to broach the subject…

The atmosphere of the central chamber in Dragon's Den was comfortable and peaceful. Dinner had finished and the family congregated together, sat comfortably in leather armchairs and on leather sofas by the roaring blue fire, drinking either hot tea or whiskey – depending on age and preference.

Jasper was curled up against Rose, and his brown eyes drooped sleepily as she gently stroked his golden blond hair. He was so warm and snug here by the funny blue fire, with his mummy's arm wrapped around him. He gave a great yawn and snuggled down further, his breathing becoming heavy with sleep. Rose and Morty smiled at one another as their son gave a sleepy, contented sigh.

"Rose, Morty…I've been thinking," Xander began suddenly, setting his whiskey glass down on the small granite table top beside his claw-footed armchair.

"Yes grandfather?"

"Jasper seems to enjoy it here…and he does have Dragon Tamer blood after all…perhaps it would do him some good to step away from Ecruteak sometimes, to experience the other half of his heritage?" After all, if the boy were to be a potential match for Ebony or Scarlett, he would have to adopt their traditions and not keep on with this Ecruteak nonsense.

Morty frowned slightly at the implication, but he didn't feel as though it was his place to speak up. He needn't have worried; Rose's brown eyes had narrowed considerably.

"What do you mean, 'step away from Ecruteak'?" she said, "It's his home."

Her tone was polite, but Morty could feel her shoulders stiffen next to him.

"Well the child seems very well-grounded in the Ecruteak tradition," the Elder said with a tight smile: Jasper had been talking a lot about Ho-Oh and the three eeveelutions that had been resurrected in the great fire, "perhaps he would do well to become as well-versed in the traditions of Blackthorn?"

The room fell silent.

"Do you have any objection to Jasper's upbringing?" Rose asked, one eyebrow raised. It was clear that she couldn't give a damn what her grandfather thought either way. The tone of her voice had dropped by several degrees, and the atmosphere in the room changed suddenly. Rose glanced down at her son, but he was still asleep.

"No, of course I haven't," Xander returned, alarmed by his granddaughter's abrupt displeasure, "I just think it's a shame…that's all…"

"What's a shame?" Rose continued doggedly. She did not drop her gaze from the Elder's face, and her irritation grew when she realised he would not look her in the eye.

"Jasper…he's…he's just so bright, so clever…it's a shame that, well –"

"It's a shame I'm his father," Morty supplied quietly. He had seen the way the old man had been watching his son – almost hungrily. Xander was a traditionalist, and he wanted a male heir primarily to carry on their line.

The room rang with silence, and the Elder's mouth fell open stupidly. However, as his pale face began to flush blotchily, Morty knew that he was right.

"Now Morty," Clair said in alarm, trying to rectify the situation, "he doesn't mean it like that."

"Of course I don't!" Xander spluttered, but the whiskey was making it hard for him to put his idea across subtly, "you're a wonderful father! I was only thinking that it would be better for Jasper to spend some time here…perhaps a couple of months in the spring? It might make him less…less –"

"Less Ecrutetian," Rose supplied coldly. She couldn't believe she was sat here listening to this. She too had seen the way that Xander had been watching her son. She could tell that he wished to have more influence over the child. The Elder had found it difficult to hide his displeasure when he found out that Jasper had an Eevee, a Pokémon so deeply connected with Ecruteak history…he wanted Jasper to stay with him so that he could have another Dragon Tamer heir to teach…a male one like Lance…

For the first time, Rose felt a rush of understanding towards her father, Fernando. He had been raised in this city, under the stifling influence of Blackthorn tradition. It must have been incredibly difficult for him to deviate as he had, to go against his father's wishes and do his own thing. Rose could not blame him for having run away.

And Rose was most definitely Fernando's daughter. She had no qualms about standing up to the Elder, against breaking tradition. There was no way she was going to leave her son in this stifling fortress – ever. Rose loved Clair and Lance dearly, but they could not understand. They had been raised this way too, and she knew, she could see it in their eyes, in Clair's laughing at Jasper's Eevee, that they too were slightly unnerved by Morty and Rose's relationship; Ecruteak City and Blackthorn City always had been, and still were to an extent, rivals, and those who had been moulded by those traditions could not see past that ideology. Rose had had enough. They didn't have to deal with this – any of it. She refused to sit there, amongst her 'family', and listen to her grandfather belittle her husband. It was pathetic – and she found herself thinking that they were all pathetic – for nobody spoke out against the Elder – nobody except her.

"I'm afraid we're not interested," she said through gritted teeth as she stood up from the sofa. Her brown eyes were blazing, and Xander felt himself shrink back a little. She was so like Fernando in her mannerisms that it stunned him to silence.

Jasper began to wake when he realised his mother was no longer by his side, but she lifted him gently into her arms and whispered soothingly into his ear. With one final, contemptuous look at her grandfather, she left the room. Morty also stood up, and glanced around the room at the sea of faces there – some shocked, some ashamed. He wasn't offended, as such, for he was well-aware of the rivalries held between Ecruteak and Blackthorn, and he was aware of their opinions deep down, but he was upset for Rose's sake.

"She was really looking forward to coming here," he said quietly to the room at large, "and I would have appreciated it if you could have just overlooked my bloodline for one night."

He gave a half smile, before shaking his head sadly, and following Rose towards their bedroom.

-o-

He entered the bedroom that had been prepared for them, and saw that Rose had tucked Jasper into their own bed. He could not blame her; the thought of ever leaving his son here made him feel strangely ill, and he too wanted the child as close as possible.

"I'm so sorry," Rose said, as she looked him straight in the eye.

"You have no reason to be apologising to me," he said quietly.

"I'm…I'm just -" she closed her eyes tightly, and smashed her fist into her forehead, "I can't believe he –"

Morty closed the space between them, and wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't bother yourself about it," he whispered into her hair, "I couldn't care less…"

But Rose continued to snarl.

"How dare he, though? How dare he make out like…like Jasper's tainted because of you!"

"Shh," Morty soothed, "he's just a stupid, prejudiced old man…he doesn't know a thing…"

Rose took Morty's face in her hands and stared into his eyes earnestly, "You're the best person I know," she said, her lower lip trembling, "I can't bear that –"

"Please, forget it," Morty said as he kissed her softly, "you forget that I grew up with all this rubbish – I knew he felt this way about us – and I couldn't care less."

But the turmoil continued to rage inside her. Why had none of the rest of her family spoken up? Did they all agree? Could they all be so blinded by their own stupid traditions? Even Clair and Lance had stayed silent…Rose couldn't bear it.

Morty gazed down into her fierce brown eyes, and felt his heart swell with love for her. He knew that all she had wanted was to spend time with her family – to get to know them properly, but they had let her down, just like so many others had. But still she remained unbroken, still she would not abandon what she knew to be right – and for these reasons he could never resist her. Crashing his lips on hers, he ran his hands through her long, curly hair, and tried to show her physically how much he cared, and just how much her unwavering defence of him meant.

-o-

The furious Chaos Pokémon pulsed relentlessly against its prison. He longed to escape, for surrounding him was an impenetrable wall of soft, blinding, choking light. The brightness was unbearable – suffocating - but as hard as the Pokémon raged, he could not fight it. This had been the case for many years now. The child was constantly surrounded by those filled with light; it was enough of a battle for the Chaos Pokémon to make his presence known in a child so full of the force himself…but to be overwhelmed by it from all directions too…from his parents, and now that dratted Eevee…

Zyrir realised that night that he was physically unable to escape from the confines of Jasper's body. When Pascalia had been beaten, the Draco Silicis – the Chaos Pokémon's own petrified soul – had been destroyed. Being immortal, Zyrir was unable to die, but without his own soul, he could not exist unless he shared a soul with another – he had not realised that this fusion was irreversible. As Jasper himself was not immortal, Zyrir knew that this imprisonment would not be eternal, for as soon as Jasper's body decayed or was demolished by flame, his soul would leave his body and therefore the Chaos Pokémon too could be free. But until that time came, Zyrir was very much trapped, relying on the child as the vessel through which he could manifest his power.

And yet due to the damned light that always surrounded him, Zyrir was finding the battle exhausting. Every time he managed to gain the upper hand, Jasper's pure, light spirit would surge forth, and all of the malevolent Pokémon's efforts would be extinguished. Jasper could still feel guilt, could still feel sadness and remorse, and because of that, he was near impossible to control. Having lost his own soul, the Chaos Pokémon had reverted to sharing not only Jasper's soul, but his power level too. Until the child grew up a little, and stopped being so dependent on his light-blessed parents, there was not much that Zyrir was able to do. But when Jasper grew, so too would Zyrir – and then things could truly begin. It was too difficult, in this small boy, to resist the constant forces of light that surrounded him, and so he must be patient, lie dormant for a while. But he could wait, for he knew the reward for waiting was to be glorious.

Nestled between his parents, Jasper slept soundly on, oblivious to both the family feud, and the savage desperation of the beast within his soul.

AN: This was the last of the 'childhood' chapters. Thank you to those who have stuck with this so far – I hope you're enjoying it (:

P.S Zyrir is the Chaos Pokémon's true name.

A xx