Hello ! I am back in action with another chapter of Rise of the Sinnoh Saviors! I'm terribly sorry for being so inconsistent and taking so long to update stories, but I've been under a lot of pressure lately. REGARDLESS! ... I'm not really sure what else I should say. :P This is definitely my longest chapter in this story so far (and possibly my longest piece on here overall) at a whopping 2400 words! Wow... Er, anyways, in the last chapter, Mira got shocked by a mysterious TV in the Old Chateau, so let's see what happens next!
X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X
"Kadabra, use Psybeam on that rock!"
The yellow Psychic type raised its spoon up high telekinetically and released a powerful beam of energy, striking a nearby boulder. To Mira's disappointment, nothing happened.
"Oh… That's alright, Kadabra. You did your best," Mira spoke with a soft smile that dissipated once her companion was back in their ball. The young girl sighed. Now she had really done it. All she wanted was to go on an adventure and play with the cute Gible said to be in a nearby cave. How was she supposed to know there were two caves in the same area? Suddenly, the realization sank in. What if she never got out of here? She couldn't remember which way was which in this cave, and she couldn't destroy the boulders blocking her way regardless. She was trapped.
"Why," sniffed Mira, now sitting on the cavern floor and hugging her knees. "Why did this happen? I didn't want this. I just wanted to prove Mom wrong…"
As the girl sobbed, she failed to hear footsteps approach her.
"Excuse me? Are you alright, little girl?"
Startled, Mira looked up to see two young Pokémon trainers, perhaps no older than sixteen, looking at her with concerned expressions. The boy of the duo had a red beret resting atop his head while the girl with strangely blue hair wore a knit cap. Both teens looked as if they were prepping for a winter storm, if their coats were any indication.
"Here," the older girl spoke gently, helping Mira to her feet. "Are you lost?"
Mira nodded, her pink pigtails nearly whipping the blue-haired girl as a result. The boy gave Mira a sympathetic look and gently wiped away her tears with his thumb. "Poor girl. Let's get you out of this cave."
The boy sent out a Machop and ordered it to smash the boulders as the older girl took Mira by the hand and led her through the cave, making conversation in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"By the way, I'm Dawn. That dork over there is Lucas."
"Hey!" the boy protested. "I am NOT a dork!"
Dawn giggled before turning to the pink-haired girl. "And your name is?"
"M-Mira."
"Mira… That's a pretty name!"
"Th-thanks," Mira stuttered, blushing. If an older, prettier girl called her name pretty, she MUST have been telling the truth.
Finally, after more trekking and jokes at Lucas's expense, the trio made their way out of the cave. Mira thanked the older pair many times over before they took their leave, but not before asking a question that was on her mind for a while now.
"Hey, are you two a couple?"
"W-w-what!? No!" Both teens shouted, blushing profusely.
"Ha! Just playing," Mira said with a wink. She wasn't entirely convinced, however. "Will I ever see you guys again?"
"Sinnoh's not that big once you disregard all the mountains," Lucas smiled. "I'm sure we'll meet again."
"Yeah," Dawn added hopefully. "Maybe we can battle next time too!"
The group shared a laugh before going their separate ways, Lucas mentioning a contest in Hearthome City and Dawn chasing after another Gym Badge. Mira stood near the tall grass, staring into a puddle thoughtfully.
"When I get older, I wanna be just like them…"
X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X
"…Ra…"
"Mi… wa… p…"
"… Mira… Wake up, please!"
Mira bolted up in the hospital gurney, now fully awake. Standing beside her bed were Riley, Cheryl, and Nurse Joy, all of their facial expressions changing from worried to relieved within seconds.
"Where… Are we?"
"You're in the Pokémon Center, silly," Nurse Joy giggled. "Don't worry, dear. There's nothing to worry about now."
"Yeah," Riley sheepishly added. "You really gave us a scare, but the doctors said that you'll be fine."
"Still… Do you remember what happened, Mira?" Cheryl inquired. "It's not normal to just pass out like that, and given where we were at the time…"
"I remember… something," Mira struggled. "There was… a TV… and the screen was orange?"
"That's enough for now, Mira," Nurse Joy said in an oddly cheerful way as she ushered Cheryl and Riley towards the door. "We'll be right back. May I have a word with you two? Out in the hall?"
As soon as the door shut, Mira hopped to her feet and silently crept about until her ear was pressed to the door.
"… T-The Old Chateau!? Are you both insane?! Don't you know the legend?" Nurse Joy exclaimed.
"We were being pursued by Team Galactic and Cheryl was unconscious. We didn't exactly have many options to choose from. And what's this about a legend?"
"Riley, the legend has it that ghosts haunt the Old Chateau," Cheryl informed. "Not Ghost type Pokémon, mind you. Human ghosts. What's more, an old friend of mine said that something else lives there… Something dangerous."
"You…You don't think…?"
Mira was stunned. She had no idea that there were ghosts in that old mansion, let alone that one may have made contact with her. Suddenly, she heard the doorknob turn. Time seemed to slow down as Mira tried to sprint back to the gurney, only to find herself unable to move. She shut her eyes and prepared to be discovered as the unthinkable happened. In a flash of pink light, Mira's entire body was suddenly back on the hospital bed!
'What the-?!'
"Mira, sweetheart," Nurse Joy called out timidly, poking her head in the door. Cheryl and Riley entered behind the nurse, their faces grim. "We have something to tell you…"
The young girl's heart raced as numerous questions began to fill her mind. What just went down? Was she still sleeping? Why was Nurse Joy speaking to her in a tone of voice that suggested something terrible was going to be revealed?
"While you were out, the doctors scanned you and… well," Nurse Joy trailed off, instead deciding to hand Mira the papers in her rather shaky hands. Mira politely took the documents and began reading the doctors' notes.
"Her molecular structure is... strange. She's perfectly solid, and yet…"
"No burns, no sign of injury… That woman said the girl was electrocuted though…"
"Never seen a case like this before… It's like she could disappear at any moment…"
Unsure how to feel, Mira turned to the last page of notes, which was actually a full body x-ray image of her. Nothing looked broken or injured, but her heart appeared to have some sort of pinkish-orange glow. There was one last footnote at the bottom of the page.
"KEEP AWAY FROM TEAM GALACTIC AT ALL COSTS."
"What…?" Mira asked softly, turning to her older friends with sheer confusion in her young eyes.
"Mira…" Cheryl began, her fingers drumming the side of her leg nervously, "we know this must come as a shock to you… Especially after Riley protected you from them…"
"What does Team Galactic want with me? What am I?" The girl cried, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Nurse Joy glanced around the room nervously, as if expecting something. Riley crouched by Mira's side and rested his hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright, Mira. You're going to be just fine," he reassured with a small smile, although his mind had several questions. This seemed to be enough for the little girl, whose tears quickly stopped and were replaced by a gleam of hope once more.
"I had no idea you were so good with children, Riley," Cheryl piped up, smiling. Riley's face reddened, but he pulled the brim of his hat down to hide it.
"Ahaha, well, I certainly try…"
The trio shared a laugh before looking around the room to see that Nurse Joy was nowhere to be found.
"That's… odd," Riley muttered. The nurse was somewhat odd, but to suddenly up and leave? Something was amiss. Agreeing with her blue-haired friend, Cheryl walked to the door with Mira in tow and peeked out into the hall to see where she had gone. The green-haired woman had bonded with Nurse Joy over their mutual love of medicinal herbs and the fact that they both had a Chansey, and so Cheryl believed that the nurse was a kindred spirit. What she had not expected to happen was for Nurse Joy to be standing at the end of the hall, speaking to a group of Team Galactic grunts and fearfully pointing towards the room Mira was assigned to.
"Riley, we have to get out of here," Cheryl spoke quickly.
"But why- "
"Tap into your Aura Vision!"
Riley, not one to argue, did as he was told.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"… We have to get out of here," the Aura Guardian concluded.
"Yeah, no kidding!" Cheryl exclaimed, grabbing Mira's hand and sprinting out the doorway and into the hall.
Now Mira was really confused. "What? What's wrong? Where are we going?"
"Anywhere but here!" Riley shouted from behind them, now being shot at by some sort of laser. The trio bustled past several nurses and Pokémon Center staff members who just barely managed to avoid being vaporized.
"Stop! In the name of Team Galactic, you're under arrest!" a grunt declared, brandishing what appeared to be an electrified boomerang. As Cheryl and Mira rounded a corner, the grunt threw his weapon at Riley, who merely ducked. The force of the boomerang hitting the wall caused it to fly backwards, and Riley just managed to slide underneath it as the weapon soared through the hall, hitting its owner in the face and frying them severely.
"Oh, that is it!" another grunt cried, clearly displeased with his associate's ultimate failure. He pulled out a Poke Ball and tossed it into the air, releasing a Golbat. The other grunts in the group followed suit, and soon Cheryl, Mira, and Riley found themselves encircled by the swarm of Bat Pokémon. The two adults stood with their backs facing each other and Mira between them, fully intent on protecting the girl.
"Now, now," a mysterious voice spoke. The grunts panicked upon recognizing the voice and stood to the sides of the hallway, practically kneeling in respect, although they did not recall their Pokémon. Footsteps became louder and louder until a woman finally stood opposite the trio, smiling at them callously underneath the mask that concealed her face from the nose downwards. She was garbed in a strange dark coat that went to her ankles, and she had strange metal gauntlets on her hands. Perhaps most intimidating about her was the tinted visor she wore over her eyes, hiding them.
"Who are you?" Cheryl demanded, pushing Mira behind her protectively. Riley stood behind Mira in case anyone attempted a sneak attack, but kept an eye on the strange woman just in case. Something about her seemed darkly familiar…
"Sorry, sweetheart, but I didn't fly all the way here to play a game of 20 Questions," the woman replied coldly. "My client only wants to speak to the girl, that's all. Just hand her over and make my job easier."
"What?" Cheryl cried. "No!"
"Wait a minute," Riley interjected, putting a finger to his head.
"Riley!" Cheryl admonished. "You can't seriously be thinking about- "
"No, not that. Her voice, it… I've heard it before."
"Really, Riley? After all these years, you still don't remember that it's rude to talk about people right in front of them?" the mystery woman taunted. "Well, you always were my favorite, so I suppose I should at least grace you with the truth."
Before anyone could protest, the woman grabbed her mask and let it fall to the floor, her visor soon following it.
"Hunter J," Riley spat venomously, the memories all beginning to flood back.
"Hunter J?" Mira asked with a raised eyebrow.
"In the flesh," J replied calmly. "After your little stunt on the airship, I just knew I'd have to deal with you myself eventually. But to attack you now, what with your girlfriend and little sister watching… Well, it'd just be a tragedy."
"G-Girlfriend?!" Riley sputtered, his face reddening.
"I-I'm not… We're not a…" Cheryl attempted to protest, blushing deeply. J let out a dark chuckle.
"Look, I really could not give less of a damn about either of you," J remarked, the evil smile leaving her face. "You are going to hand the girl over to me, or you will both fall by my hand and I'll simply take her myself."
Riley and Cheryl both glanced at Mira, then at J, then at each other before finally looking back at J.
"Never."
"… Well, I figured as much. Everyone wants to be a hero these days," J remarked darkly, pushing a few buttons on her left gauntlet. Within seconds, a ball of energy began to form and focus until it sparked with electricity. Without warning, J fired the energy ball at Cheryl, who stood defensively in front of Mira, completely willing to take the hit. Suddenly, Riley leapt in front of her and knocked the energy ball away with an odd staff-like weapon. The ball flew into a nearby Golbat, which quickly turned to stone afterwards. Mira gasped in shock and horror as Cheryl attempted to shield the girl's eyes. The Galactic grunts stood and brandished their weapons menacingly, closing in on our beloved trio. As Mira began to shake and tear up in fear, her body emitted a light pink glow. J didn't notice, however, and began charging another energy shot, this one nearly four times as large.
"At least if I hit the girl, I can always change her back at headquarters," the bounty hunter muttered to herself with an evil grin. Mira gripped at both Riley and Cheryl's clothes, crying. As the older pair turned to comfort her, they were surprised to see that Mira's entire body was glowing pink.
"Mira, you're…!"
"Say goodnight, Riley!" J cried, releasing the energy blast and creating a huge explosion. When the dust cleared, her evil smirk dissipated once she realized that the petrified, stone figures of the heroic trio was nowhere to be found. Ironically enough, every single one of the grunts and their Golbat were turned to stone by the blast. The sole exception was the Golbat that was accidentally blasted beforehand, which stumbled around for a bit before collapsing, unable to battle.
"Arceus damnit," J swore under her breath, pressing a few more buttons on her gauntlet until she could see a screen reading positive results. Seeing the data made her smirk sinisterly once more.
"Well, at least one thing is certain. The girl Cyrus is after definitely has the potential Team Galactic needs…"
X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X
Hooooooly crap, that was intense. x_x As to why I introduced Lucas and Dawn in the first part of the chapter, this story may not be about them, but they'll definitely come into play later. Who knows, they may even get their own story someday... Nya ha ha! But yeah... This chapter is kinda long because I wanted to kick off the new year with a bang that doubles as a "Thank You" who's even peeked at this fanfiction before. Also, I know there are a few other stories of mine I haven't updated in forever, but I'm slowly making a comeback. Geez, listen to me blabber... Well, if anyone has any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to leave it in a review or PM! Thanks for reading and Happy New Year Everyone!