Spring Hawk from Scotland, as I shall call you for now, thanks a lot for your review. Having a character that always bites in her speech, as I have found, is very, very annoying. That's part of the reasonStar has good points sometimes.
Well, I've been waiting a while to give Vulpix her name… actually, this is about the best time to give her it, now! Tabitha is a strange name, I agree completely, yet it can be found in the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Pokemon games as the admin guy that challenges you to battle at Mount Chimney before you face Maxie, and before you face Maxie again in Emerald inside of Mount Chimney. So, I decided that he must be of some rank…
Even though I have not actually read the Abhorsen trilogy, I'll take your suggestion about the more neutral character. Oh, and Solorite will be coming back too in this chapter…
Chapter 18
"I hate the rain." Fiendre grumbled as he shuffled forward in the direction of Dominus's castle, not in the least bit happy about the rise of the rain maker. To him, rain was rain. Its clouds made the sky dark, yes, but it didn't help him in the least bit.
No human nor Pokemon in the castle looming ever closer ever liked Fiendre. It was like a rule that they were not to enjoy the company of a thief. A food thief, one that hadn't the fears in the world for the so called 'Demonic Dominus.' Dominus couldn't touch him; nothing could, because he was already dead. In a way, at least, as his form and soul had come back in an immortal form, as a Pokesprite.
Many of the Pokemon that walk the earth are Pokesprites, as he had come to realize from the discolored aura that one always gave off. As a Houndoom, he could see auras, as all dark types can. A sort of blessing from the 'Great Master Dominus.' Humph! When Fiendre gets a great master, he would be a very, very old hound indeed.
That, in a nutshell, is why he was hated so much by the ones associated with Dominus and his dark army. The Darkness Crusade, as it was called in the olden times. Since he never would fight for the dark ones, he was considered a light one. How sad, how pathetic their minds must be to think that!
Sides were for wimps, wimps that want to belong. But he wasn't a wimp, he wasn't born to hiss and spit at something for its side… the old leader of the Light Crusade, the 'Lady of the Day' as she would be called, had never appealed to him as a good leader. It didn't make any sense that she, of all people, would be blessed by the great Pokemon Sundav to control light… no sense at all.
That was the side he took, and the side he follows to this day. No Dominus could control him; no Mystic ever could touch him. An outcast, if you will. "Hey!" A voice cut through Fiendre's musings, one that was recognizable, but barely.
"You." The Houndoom growled in reply, stalking around the soaked form of Solorite, whom he now recognized by the dark blue swirls of color on the snow white of his fur.
"You're still alive?" Solorite said in reply, jumping back and giving Fiendre a good look-over. "After all these years!"
"Don't get cocky! Just because you Absol live so long doesn't mean you can…" He broke off with a threatening growl.
"I'm a Pokesprite too, smart one. Absol only live for about a hundred years." Solorite said after a pause, his eyes showing little pity for the words, "But at least I came back because my life was for the better. You… on the other hand… you never did anything worthwhile. I'm surprised to see you've come back."
"Oh ho! Absol-boy's getting stuck-up! Why don't I show you which one of us is the better fighter?"
"You stand no chance against me. Besides, it is raining, and your kind," Solorite's voice was dripping with scorn, "doesn't like the rain much."
"Is your danger sense tingling Solorite?" Fiendre was still mocking him, as there was nothing better to do.
"The simple answer is yes. It is always tingling now. Do you know why, old dog?"
"Why, equally old creature?"
"Because, a new age is on us now. Dominus is closer than ever to getting the power shift he needs to completely destroy the light, for good."
"You should have passed on to the Afterworld. None of us here would have missed you." The Houndoom muttered instead, thinking what he always did of Absol: They're all nut-heads.
"Why did you stay behind then? You should have known that I was still here." Solorite was beginning to show his impatience with the old hound, "Look. I've just gone for a little trip on a big dragon, hanging on so I wouldn't be paralyzed for the rest of forever! But the reason for all of that, a little blonde girl, has gotten away from me. Have you seen her?"
"I might have." Fiendre replied in a tone that said that he wouldn't give away any information without something in return.
"Uhhhh! You're horrible! I wonder why I even talked to you!" He roared impatiently, "She's the new Lady, dimwit! Is that enough to get your attention?"
"No. I care not what happens to a little blonde girl." Came the honest truth. Fiendre didn't give a hoot what happened in the struggle for power on this planet; just as long as he could get enough to eat.
"Then consider this: if that little blonde girl dies, we're all doomed! Dominus knows how to make a Pokesprite pass to the Afterworld and he'll use it on all that aren't loyal to him! That means you'll be dead meat!"
"That's what you think." Fiendre retorted, smoke coming from his nostrils in a snort.
"Excuse me, but why all the noise?" Another asked, a female Abra that had just teleported lazily on top of Solorite. The Absol was peering up at her curiously.
"We don't get along well, that's all. Never had, huh, even if we have known each other for forever as it seems." Solorite's voice had turned calm again. "Say, have you seen a little blonde girl anywhere?"
"Sure. I just dropped her off with a group of humans at Dark End Path." The Abra responded airily, like it was no big deal.
Solorite seemed to lose all control over himself as he cried, "Oh heavens! How in the world am I going to keep her safe if she doesn't even pay any attention to me?"
"Well, you weren't there." Abra yawned and scratched her leg, "Or I would have teleported you too."
"Can you teleport me now?" He asked anxiously.
"Like it would make any difference if you're her body guard." Fiendre grumbled, "You couldn't protect a Pidgey egg!"
"Sure I'll teleport you. Right after my nap…"
"Nap? What, no nap! And don't look at me like that Fiendre; I'm not done with you! Please, teleport me now, then take your nap!"
"Fine." She finally grumbled, "But you owe me…" As her psychic energies built up, for Fiendre could sense them, he darted forth and teleported along with Solorite.
(Meanwhile...)
"Team Aqua and Magma were not part of the ongoing war between good and evil until now, when Dominus promised Archie that he would expand the seas when he won and killed everything and anything good and light." Tabitha started, as he petted Vulpix like a little lap-cat.
"Can I have my Vulpix back?" Sara blurted, totally being off-topic at the moment. Tabitha seemed to not like that, as he probably would have been trained to be strict and pay full attention to something being said. Muttering under his breath, he held out the crimson fox and let Sara take her.
"I missed you too…" Vulpix squeaked as the breath was forced out of her by the hug she was getting from Sara. She was very, very happy to see her Pokemon again.
Tabitha cleared his throat just as Sara began to coo over her Vulpix. "Anyways, back to business. Archie, finding this a wonderful deal, approved completely to merge his forces with Dominus's very scant ones. It's sad; Dominus doesn't have much of an army without Team Aqua. So Aqua is basically part of the Darkness Crusade-"
"Darkness Crusade?" Drake repeated.
"Dominus and his followers are the Darkness Crusade, as the ones associated with good are the Light Crusade." Tabitha responded just as Abra teleported off, probably to get a good rest, as she looked very tired and disoriented.
"So, Lady Sara, I speak for all of Team Magma with this. We are ready to join your ranks, to fight for good against the Aquas."
"Is that… it? All that you have to say, that is?" Sara asked.
"Yup." He responded with a shrug. "Oh, and does your Vulpix have a name? It seems rather dimwitted to call her by her species name."
"I do have a name." Vulpix responded before her trainer, "Just nobody has cared to ask what it is."
"So what is it, intelligent one?" Star snapped at her. Sara had let her out just as Tabitha was talking.
A new voice spoke up. It was one of the oldest ages, one that was creaky, like it was not used much. Or not used much in the language that it was speaking. "Her name is Althea."
Eyes turned to see that three dripping forms had turned up behind Tabitha, the Abra was back, and she had brought friends. One of them was a soaked Absol, with his fur looking as if it had been stained in patches to a dark blue on the whiter fur. He had stepped forward and stalked over to sit in front of Sara, his eyes fixed on her with a passion that could not be described.
The other drenched form, that of a very old, bony Houndoom, shook himself off while spraying water everywhere. He appeared to be very uninterested in the conversation, by the way he placed himself when he sat down, tail curled around his body in a taunting way. But, as Sara noticed, he had one ear cocked in their direction.
"He is correct." Althea responded with a huff.
"Of course I am." The Absol responded, speaking English so perfectly that Sara was surprised that he was a Pokemon. On looking around, she wasn't the only one, as the other humans were gaping at him, even Elvina who always understood Pokemon.
"You know each other?" Sara prompted, starting to feel a chill come over her. A talking Absol, knowing her Vulpix, that couldn't be good.
"Yes, we both date back a while. How are you, dear friend?"
"As fine as ever." Vulpix responded quietly, shifting her position on Sara's lap to pounce off and on top of the drenched Absol. He quickly rolled away and she had to pounce in his direction again, before they both went tumbling together like a pile of soaked fur.
Sara exchanged incredulous glances with Elvina before realizing that the two of them were playing around like old friends. "Oh, excuse me." The Absol said as he righted himself, Althea clinging to his back. "I just was very happy to see my daughter."
"Daughter?" She repeated, more to herself, "You're her father!"
"Sure. I can recognize my child." He shook Althea off his back playfully, just to get pounced on again.
"That's actually possible." Tabitha pitched in, "Having a Pokemon with a mother or father that is not of their species. I wouldn't be surprised if Althea has a brother or sister that's an Absol as well. Am I not right?"
"You're right." The Vulpix replied as she finally slumped, her fur ruffled, tiredly to the ground.
Sara nodded, as the Magma admin couldn't understand Vulpix language more then any other normal human could. "But she has some properties of an Absol. I'm still correct in assuming this, right?"
"You are." The Absol replied, licking his daughter over the ear, "But that's not true in looks." He seemed to grin, "She's got her mother's charm, what a relief that is!"
"So… but… that means that… you probably lived in Forest Path!" Sara finally exclaimed, pointing a finger at the Absol.
"Indeed." He agreed, with a nod of his head. "And you captured one of my children too! If you were any other trainer, I would have to steal her away from you!"
"So what makes me special?" Sara murmured quietly, watching her Vulpix paw playfully at her father.
"You're the Lady of the Day." He responded, sounding like she should know all this already. "This means that I have to protect you." An annoyed snort came from the Houndoom at that.
"So that's what 'Lady' means."
"Indeed it is. You have a lot to learn, and a lot to accomplish. My young daughter and I can at least help you with that." His tone was mysteriously quiet, and when Sara opened her mouth for more questions, he winked at her. "Call me Solorite by the way. And don't pay any attention to the Houndoom over there, Fiendre; he's just jealous of the world."
Fiendre snorted again and curled up for an evening nap. Drake voiced something that Sara had been thinking, "We should be getting to sleep too!"
"Agreed." Rio mumbled in reply, "We can do nothing without proper rest."
There was a murmur of said agreement from all Pokemon and humans at that, as they would take the Houndoom's lead and get to sleeping. After telling Rio and Tabitha to go a little ways away, as the trio and their Pokemon didn't seem all too comfortable around the new-comers. They agreed quickly enough.