Chapter 2:

Utensils clinked together in contrast to the sporadic silence. Jack, and Professor Oak talked about "business," Phoenix and Max had struck up a conversation about their training regimen, but Delia Ketchum, May and Brock were silent.

"No, I think that your pokémon can and should be much more capable than you. There isn't really a reason for me to be able to pick up solid steel girders, is there?" Max retorted more intensely than was necessary. Phoenix had the perfect retort.

"But wouldn't that look good on your resumé!" Then, the lights in the room all flickered and the chandelier swayed. Jack sat bolt-upright, and Oak fell silent, staring intently at Phoenix. Phoenix placed both palms on the table and stood up, eyes still trained on Max, like a bird watches a mouse. A cunning smile tugged at his faintly-illuminated mouth. "Aren't you concerned about your future?" May and Delia paled, while Brock swallowed loudly. Max only looked confused.

"Whaddya mean? That's why I want to become the strongest." Max looked around, eyes asking for answers. Phoenix laughed slowly. It was a menacing sound, more like a wavering growl than anything.

"Oh, has nobody told you this story?" Max shook his head. Phoenix sat again, and the lights fell dimmer again.

"I can feel it. In this place's Aura. So deeply ingrained that I could sense it before I got here. The sorrow. The regret. The longing for… Someone. And a space. A rift. This place is hollow. Missing a spirit. So intense that it's a part of you. Or perhaps you're the reason. I know something is… Gone. A room upstairs sits unused. Pokémon wait for a master that you know will never return. What is it that you all lost? It's killing me." Everyone, save Oak and Jack, sat slack-jawed. Phoenix waited, leaning over the table, the silence so intense that it weighed on everyone's minds. Finally, May broke the silence by bursting into tears and running from the house. Phoenix waited some more, before clapping his hands loudly. Jack stood up. "Well, this was great, the food exquisite, and the conversation sparkling, but I have a job to report on, and Jack and I really must be going." With that, Phoenix strode from the house as well, and Jack hurried after him.

~lnoOonl~

"What the hell was that?" Jack yelled once they were a fair distance from the house. Phoenix only looked at him sidelong.

"They deserve to suffer as I have suffered." Jack blew air through his teeth, making a hissing sound, hands clenched into fists.

"This is about Natalia, isn't it?" Phoenix didn't respond. Jack continued. "That wasn't their fault, and you know it!" Phoenix whirled to look at Jack.

"I would never have suffered like that if they hadn't betrayed me!" Jack grabbed two fist-fulls of Phoenix's shirt.

"And yet they did." The temperature dropped, and Jack's eyes flared in white-blue light. His grip grew icy cold. His voice was small, but it caused chills to run down Phoenix's spine. "And that's why you met me. Or did you forget?" Phoenix grew mad then. His own Aura flared up. The temperature rose beyond its original point, and clouds formed over head, blocking out the moon. The wind blew in a funnel around them.

"I do remember. I also remember the two years I spent before meeting you! Because whether or not you believe it, I existed before you met me!" Thunder rumbled overhead, and lightning flashed. Their anger rose and rose until they heard a shout.

"Hey!" They both turned, angers quelled temporarily. Officer Jenny pushed through the wind towards them. Jack released his grasp on Phoenix, and officer Jenny finally reached them.

"Are you causing this storm?" Jack and Phoenix simply stared, their Aura receded. They both remained motionless. Jenny looked back and forth, temper rising. "Well?" Jack and Phoenix still stared, eyes betraying nothing. Finally, Jenny grabbed her handcuffs, fire and determination in her eyes. "That's it! I'm taking you two in." Then, Jenny received her first response from the two men. That was a bullet punch from Phoenix in between her eyes. The last thing she saw was the small scar on Phoenix's left middle finger.

~lnoOonl~

Electricity coursed through her body again, and the damned beeping machine beeped more. The woman screamed, long dark brown hair stained with blood and matted with sweat. Her throat was raw, and shook when the jolts drew screams from the corners of her mind. Her mind was blank, except for the anticipation of her next jolt and next scream. She had no memory. She could have been there any length of time. Eternity to just woke up. She didn't know. As she prepared for the next shock, she squeezed her eyes shut. Then… Then… She opened her eyes. She waited another second to be sure, not daring to believe, but then… Nothing! Even the beeping stopped. She looked around, and heard a small clank. Light- more than she could ever remember- rushed into the room, and sought out every inch of the cell. She groaned and clenched her eyes shut. The light hurt, but the cool wind that blew across her body felt heavenly. She moaned again, this time out of pleasure, as the breeze tickled across her skin. Footsteps pervaded her blissful reverie, and so did a voice.

"Hello there." The voice was silken and smooth compared to the woman's tortured screams. She squinted against the light, and slowly the voice's owner came into focus. It was an older man, maybe forties to fifties. His brown hair was receding and thinning, but the black jacket was immaculate, displaying no signs of age or wear. He was smiling kindly, and so did she. He stroked a strand of stiff hair from her forehead. "What do you remember?" She thought for a minute.

"No, I don't." He smiled sadly.

"How about I take you out of here, and you- in return- do something for me?" She didn't even have to think.

"Yes. Just please-" Her voice broke. She swallowed painfully. "Please take me away from here." The man stroked her hair gently. A memory tugged at the edge of her mind, tickling and aggravating. She couldn't quite grasp it, but the simple act triggered something.

"Okay. I will have some men come and help you. We will meet again…" The man paused at the door, and looked back. "Natalia." Then he was gone, like a black-coated spectre.

~lnoOonl~

Okay, that's the new chapter of the new Silver Guardians. To the Fan, all OC's will reappear in this story, along with some new ones. Please submit them, I know it's hard, but please. This is Petrous, signing out.