Chapter 2: Eternal life
Narration
"Talking"
Thinking/Memories/Flashbacks
Emphasis
Super Emphasis
Super-duper-emphasis
Morning struck, quite literally, Umbra in his face when the first beams of light filtered through the window on his face, warming him up. He soon woke because of this, but unlike most Darklings, he enjoyed sunlight, and light in general. In particular, he was fascinated by moonlight. Umbra reminisced the times he and Maya had when they were little. They would play in the yard, their parents watching them contently and smiling at each other and at them. Unfortunately, they never had one set place where they could have stayed since Umbra's and Maya's parents were refugees of the West Coast, from which they were driven as a result of poverty. In the West Coast, if you had no money, you had no place.
Umbra reminded himself of the times he used to be cheerful, happy, filled with joy and glee and other synonyms for the word "content". That is, however, broken apart when the day for his evolution came to pass. It was somewhat of a maturity rite for the Eevee line. To evolve was to devote oneself to a certain type of lifestyle, without question. Often enough the young Eevee got to choose what they would evolve into. Umbra had always been a happy Eevee, always dreaming of great adventure, amazing journeys and fearless heroics. He had always-
"GOOOOOD MORNING!" said guess who. Maya strutted into the room, unaware of Umbra's current trip down memory lane. She grabbed him by his ears and dragged him downstairs despite his constant expressions of refusal. She plopped him down on a small stool and sat herself across from Scion, whoc had prepared breakfast before either of them had even woken up. Scion gave Umbra an understanding little smile, to which Umbra replied with a simple nod. He then grabbed his plate between his teeth, got off his stool and sat in a far corner, eating alone.
"What's his deal?" asked Scion, trying to keep his voice down so Umbra wouldn't notice.
"Oh, he does this all the time. It's the whole Darkling thing, you know? Dark, gloomy atmosphere, no socializing, the whole bit. I'm used to it, and I understand why he does it. It wasn't his choice, entirely. Well, at all, real-", Maya quickly shut her mouth when she felt shivers go down her spinal cord. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Umbra, staring rather convincingly straight into her soul. Maya swore his stare could have curdled milk or crushed mountains. She was a loud mouth but she wasn't stupid, nor was she a bad friend. She had gone too far and now she was reminded of it. The rest of the breakfast was eaten in complete silence, minus the occasional noise made by a fork or knife colliding with the edge of a plate.
Maya helped Scion clean up and Umbra headed back upstairs, hoping for some peace and quiet. His hopes were quickly crushed, though, when Scion yipped: "I'm leaving for work and you two are following me to the police station. I may be hospitable but I want you two to check in with the authorities anyway." He put on his shaggy armor, grabbed his spear and led the two visitors outside. Maya nodded, Umbra groaned and they both followed Scion to the police's. He opened the wooden door and let them in, heading off to his duties, but not before saying: "I'll be at the gates if you need me." Maya and Umbra nodded in unison and then they turned to the reception desk. Behind it was a rather young-looking female Flareon who was wearing a copper badge that said: "RDPD – Auburn Nikita". Maya approached the desk and knocked on the glass between her and the Flareon, smiling friendlily. The Flareon, Auburn, opened the glass and gave her and Umbra a genuine, welcoming smile. Umbra tilted his head in confusion. I though all police officers were mean and grumpy, he thought to himself.
"Hello, love," Auburn greeted, "what brings you two here?"
"We're outsiders. We came in last night with one of your night guards, Scion. We were just passing by and needed a place to sleep and he was nice enough to let us in. He wanted us to check in with the local authorities, so here we are", Maya chirped, earning a nod from the Flareon. She turned her attention to Umbra, who had been silent for this entire time, trying to avoid conversation.
"And wha' about you, hun? I'd like your name, business here and how long you'll be stayin'", she chimed, catching Umbra off guard simply by addressing him.
"U-Uh… My name's Umbra. My business is simply that I'm looking for my sister, Melody. She's an Espeon. Might you have spotted her recently?"
"Sorry, hun. No sign a' an Espeon nor any other Eeveelution aside from me around here", she said apologetically, "now please, continue."
Umbra sighed, depressed. "I don't know how long we would stay. I would prefer to get going but truth is, we have little resources to go off of. The last of our food is gone, our money is little and we're both pretty tired, despite my co-traveler here not displaying it much", Umbra gestured toward Maya, who seemed as full of energy as a Spoink on a Sitrus Berry overdose. Umbra frowned, obviously doubting the Flareon would believe all that. But thankfully, she did, as shown by her friendly nod.
"Tell you what. You seem like good Pokémon. If you're not in a tail burnin' hurry, might you wanna stay in this here town for a while, helpin' out the townsfolk? There's been an awful big increase in citizens in need of help after those darn birds decided to make our poor lil' town their target. Pesky feathered freaks, I tell ya what!" Umbra and Maya looked at each other, initially confused but then came to.
"Well, as much as I hate admitting it, we have no clue on my sister's whereabouts whatsoever, so maybe by staying here for a while we might uncover something", said Umbra, after a moment of contemplation. Maya concurred, always willing to help those in need. And she would have more time to stay close to Scion… The Flareon, Auburn, got out from behind her desk and greeted the two. Her hand… Uh… Paw? Paw! Pawshake was surprisingly solid, almost knocking Maya off balance, making her squeal in terror. Umbra almost smiled at her antics, but stayed true to what he believed he should be, and didn't.
Auburn took Umbra and Maya for a short tour around the station. She passed the cells, which were mostly empty, only containing a drunken officer with his hat on a little weird, on the side rather than on top of his head. Auburn sighed.
"August, you darn drunkard." She opened the cell and shook the hung-over Zangoose awake, avoiding the vomit he soon produced, and slapping him in the back of the head. Hard. The Zangoose glared at her grumpily.
"Oi! What gives ya the right ta smack ol' August in the noggin'? I'll have ta report ya to the chief, I will!" He shook his claws at her but found it futile, Auburn merely laughing at his threats.
"Oh, dear old August. You're still the same. Never did quite let go of your pirate side, now did you? Come on, sit somewhere OUTSIDE the bars for once." Auburn led him out of the cell and onto a small bench meant for the guards who keep an eye on the prisoners. She went on with the tour, explaining briefly about whoever they passed.
"That's August, one of our best officers… When he's not wasted, that is. He's a former pirate of job, current pirate of heart. He's a good man, though a bit salty if you get on his bad side. Pun entirely intended, by the way." She laughed at her own joke, and Maya soon joined in. Umbra, though, was just waiting for the whole presentation to be over. All he wanted was some peace and quiet so he could-
"Heeey there, Auburn, pretty gal. What's with the entourage? Do I have competition?" said a uniform-clad Linoone with a strange, lightning-shaped scar on his left eye. He had a playful smirk and soon Auburn joined the smirking as well.
"You think you have competition even when there's no one around, Rod", she said, giving him a playful nudge. "Guys, this is Rod. He's my former mate. We had a bit of a disagreement and that whole thing fell apart but we're still good friends, eh buddy?" She tapped Rod's shoulder with her paw playfully, earning a genuine chuckle from him.
"Right. So yeah, name's Rod, though some of the ladies out there call me 'Hot Rod', know what I'm sayin'?" He earned some laughs around the office, spreading his arms so as to say: "Laugh it up, laugh it up." Auburn laughed the loudest. "You know I gave you that nickname, right? Don't go infringing my copyright, you hear?" The office boomed with laughter, making Maya join in. Umbra, however, was fighting back the urge to laugh along. He simply sat next to Maya, waiting for the noise to die down. Auburn wiped some happy tears out of her eyes and continued. "As you can clearly see, we're a big family here at RDPD. So, here's the rest of the people…" The introductions continued with Cara, a middle-age female Lopunny who had a knack for mysteries, the chief of the office, Luke, a Lucario about Cara's age and also Scion's father, much to Maya's surprise, and not so much to Umbra's. Next, and last, in line was lieutenant Surge, a Raichu older than Luke, and the founder of RDPD who had given up his position as chief to Luke but still served the law with a passion.
"And I'm Auburn, ya hear? Youngest of the cast but certainly not the least. I serve the law with my life and with my flames. I'd like to welcome you two to Rosedale Town on behalf of the RDPD – the Rosedale Police Department", the young Flareon said festively, finishing their side of the introduction.
After introductions on Maya and Umbra's side were done with as well, Maya approached Luke, the Lucario. She tapped his arm nervously.
"Um… Excuse me, Mr. Luke. But I would like to ask something about your son, Scion." Luke smiled warmly and sat down. He spoke with a rather deep, soothing voice.
"Ah, yes. Scion. So, what would it be?" Maya fumbled with her hands for a short while, obviously nervous. But eventually, she spat out: "I was just wondering why you didn't come home to him last night. You see, he was the one who took us into the town and let us stay. But you weren't there the whole evening or night." Luke nodded, understanding why this would confuse her.
"Well, the simple answer is… He lives alone. He prefers to live alone, in fact. He doesn't like me in particular." This answer left Maya in shock. She covered her mouth with her hands, he eyes soaked with tears, sobbing.
"Why doesn't he like you? You're his father!" Luke nodded again.
"You see… His mother died because of me." This, as one might imagine, put Maya in an even bigger shock. Luke quickly corrected the course and made sure she understood that he didn't kill his wife, he merely wasn't there in time. Maya sighed with relief and sat down.
"But… How could he hate you for something you couldn't control?" she asked him. Luke's eyes filled with past sadness. He shook his head, clearly indicating that he didn't want to talk. Maya understood, got up and soon she was outside the police station with Umbra, who was looking around nervously. Maya found this behavior a little suspicious and tapped him on the shoulder. This snapped Umbra awake from his state.
"W-what do you want?" he snapped quickly.
"You were just looking nervous. Never mind that now, though. What should we do next?" She was jumping up and down, waiting for Umbra to suggest something, anything. Umbra sighed at her enthusiasm, racked his brain for a moment and finally came out with an answer.
"Well, if we're going to continue our search for Melody, we better earn some money. So with that in mind, we should probably find jobs for ourselves. Do you agree?" Maya's intense head bobbing indicated a positive answer, which Umbra reluctantly accepted. He was getting tired of her constant happiness and lightheartedness. But he couldn't say that to her, she would break down. He knew she would. So he did what Umbreon are designed to do: he endured. That's all he had done since he evolved. He had endured whatever was sent his way. And he would continue to do so. He would continue to endure. He would endure the work, he would endure the search, and he would even endure all the pain he might receive throughout the journey. All this… Yet no seeming reward at the end. As far as Umbra knew, Melody had ran off of her own accord. And if so, she wouldn't come back with him. She would stay wherever she was. She would… No. I may be a Darkling, but I refuse to adopt their grim way of thinking, Umbra decided. He would bring Melody back home. No matter what.
The grand glass doors of a large balcony opened wide, a sea of peasants and other commoners foaming below, eager to welcome whoever was to come to the balcony to give a speech. This was Central Dion, the grand square of the city of Dion, the capital of the region. Out of the doors walked out a shady figure with his grey, cloth-like body dressed in a navy blue jacket and pants, complete with shining, black shoes. He carried multiple rings of various precious metals, each complete with a jewel on top like a gargantuan cherry on top of a delicious cake. He walked with a small limp in his stride, a sleek and fetching Servine at his side. Asper, the Servine, ushered her husband, Marlo, the Banette, forward to stir excitement in his people. He was, after all, their president.
Marlo stepped forth, raising one of his hands, silencing the folk in one instant. First, when he spoke, only loud mumbling could be heard. The people frowned and scowled, finding this sort of start for a speech strange. After a short while, Asper approached Marlo, gently pulled the zipper, which was his mouth, open. She whispered something in his ear and giggled. Marlo thanked her briefly and continued.
"Well, now that my voice has been released from its prison by my lovely companion, I, Marlo, your president, wish to inform you, the people, of a new project the government and I are working on in close cooperation. This project, while still in its baby phases, is sure to herald new heights for us normal Pokémon! Have you ever wished to live, say, near forever? Has age or aging become a glaring issue for you? Well, we have the answer to your prayers! We have developed technology to extend a Pokémon's life span, and to almost halt its aging process! We have, in theory, finally crafted the Fountain of Youth! Albeit mechanical and dependent on a constant energy supply." This piece of news caused stirring in the crowds. But to Marlo's ears, it was pure music. Music that played to his beat. He was the conductor and the people were the instruments that he commanded. He grinned, his goal reached. He raised his hand once again, silencing the crowds.
"I understand you have millions of questions that are begging to be answered. But be at peace, for they will be answered shortly. We are making rapid progress and our executives all around the region are researching information on Pokémon with naturally long life spans, such as Ninetales and Absol. As soon as we can uncover their secrets, we will be able to implement those attributes into any species of Pokémon! We can promise you longer and healthier lives! You will look like you do now when you are quadrupled in age! Thank you, and I hope to continue to have your support!" With that, Marlo entered his mansion, leaving the crowd dumbfounded, though most of them seemed very excited about this project. News reporters everywhere were reporting on the subject, allowing these news to reach any corner of the region. Just what would come of this Fountain of Youth? Umbra wondered as he watched the news on a small television in the job application center.
Soooooooo? How's the second chapter? I would like to hear all your opinions on it, so review! Review like your tail is on fire and reviewing is the only thing that can extinguish it!