Riley and the Master of Space Chapter 2: A New Mission and a New Power

"Speech"

"Telepathy"

'Thought'

Riley stirs from his sleep. When he blinks away the sleepiness in his eyes, he realizes that he is in a different setting then before. And why the heck was he out? Oh yeah, now he remembered. The beating he had gotten from that weird red dragoness must have knocked him out because Riley does not remember anything between giving his name and waking up. He gets up, his battered body screaming at him to lie down, his sword, usually at his side missing.

Riley limps around the house, trying to find his sword as well as a way out. 'Damn it, that she-dragon's brought back my limp. I wonder where everyone is.' No sooner does Riley think that when the boy he saw earlier walks in on him. "Why are you limping?" He asks curiously. At the sound of his voice, others come in. Riley recognizes the dragoness, the yellow clown thing, and the girl, but does not recognize the man. He seems the oldest and has white hair to show it.

"The result of a meeting with the wrong end of a spear head," He says gruffly. Even though he is disarmed, he does not intend to let his guard down until he knows more. "Who are you?" Riley asks, his tone guarded. The boy speaks first. "I am Ash and this is my partner Pikachu," Ash says. The girl speaks up now. "I am Bianca, and he is Lorenzo," she says, pointing at the old man. "And I am Latias," A voice says telepathically. Riley looks around for the source before realizing that the speaker is the dragoness. "Okay, answer time. What are they?" He asks, pointing at Latias and Pikachu. Ash looks at him quizzically. "You don't know? Why, they are Pokémon." Seeing Riley's befuddled expression, he explains in more detail.

"Pokémon are these creatures that can be found all over here. They are unique, each one having different types. They can be companion and trained," Ash explains. He goes on to how people capture those using Poke balls and can train them to fight for battles or for competitions. Riley is a bit shocked at all this and takes a seat so he can take it all in. "How about we head to the kitchen table?" Lorenzo offers. Everyone agrees. "So, Riley, what's your story? Earlier you called yourself an admiral. What do you mean?" Ash asks. Riley scratches the back of his head. "It's a long story, but I will make it as short as possible," He finally says.

"As you can tell, I'm not from here. I'm from a different world. In it there's a camp and it has a navy. I was one of the founders of it as well as being the second in command of it all. I created a new fleet, the First Defense Fleet, to protect it. The rest of it is quite interesting tale to tell, almost as fantastic as it is unbelievable," He says, his tone indicating that he is not in the mood to tell it right now. There is an awkward moment of silence in the room. Then Lorenzo breaks it. "So how did you get here?" He asks the visitor.

Riley shrugs. "Your guess is as good as mine, maybe even better. One minute I was investigating rumors of an intruder. I went into the forests near the camp in search of whatever was the source of these rumors. I found nothing and was about to move on when I saw a flash of light. I headed to the direction of it and found this odd orb of light floating. I touched it and a bright light enveloped me. When it faded, I found myself in that garden, and the rest you know," Riley says, a slight frown on his face. Another moment of silence. "This has got to be one of the oddest things I have ever heard, and I have seen and heard quite a lot of them," Pikachu says to Latias. She nods. "Same here. Maybe I had hit him too hard?" Now Bianca speaks. "And you have no idea of how to get back?" Riley quietly snorts derisively. "Unless you have some sort of Pokémon that can control either time or space, not at all." He falls quiet upon seeing the shared looks that Ash and Pikachu give each other. "No way, you can't be serious. Are you?"

Ash nods. "Two, in fact. Dialga, legendary Pokémon of time, and Palkia, a Pokémon who controls the realm of space. If anyone has any ideas of how you got here and if there is a way back, then they should know," Ash says. Riley stands up quickly, wincing slightly. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Tell me where they are and I will be on my way," he says confidently. "You may want to sit down Riley," Bianca advises. "It's just not that simple." Riley sits down, albeit rather reluctantly. "What do you mean? The two must be huge," Riley protests. "Oh no, it is not that simple. You see, there are several realms. Dialga and Palkia have their own ones that are separate from our own. If you thought you could just go find them, you might spend your whole life looking and fail to find one of the two," Lorenzo sadly informs a now disheartened Riley. "Let's see the highlights of my day. First I get warped to another world, probably leaving everyone I know worried sick. Then I get the living crap beat out of my by a Pokémon without her moving a muscle effortlessly. Said beating now has irritated a bloody spear head in my bloody left thigh and I have to limp now. Now I find out that there might be a way back to my world but it is impossible to find it! What bloody thing can bloody go bloody wrong on this fine bloody god-forsaken day!" Riley says angrily. Everyone else in the room actually recoils a bit at this verbal show of anger.

Then Riley breaths deeply to calm down. Once he has mastered his anger enough, he resumes speaking in a calmer voice. "Sorry about that, but I needed to vent some steam. As you can tell, this just isn't my day." Pikachu chuckles slightly. "I'll say." Latias, however, looks slightly hurt. "I am sorry about that. I thought you meant harm to those I cared about," She says telepathically. Now it is Riley's turn to look embarrassed. "It's okay; you were only reacting to a threat in the best way you could think of. If anything, the faults mine. I reacted hastily and without thought, just as I did with what I said earlier," Riley says sheepishly. Lorenzo clears his throat. "Well, now that you have vented off your anger and made up with Latias, I believe I had more to say before that outburst off yours. As I was saying, you can't just look for them as if they are simple objects at a store. There are ways off finding ways to their realms, we just need to find them. That is the current hard part. We just don't have that information right now.

Suddenly, the room changes. Riley jumps up and grabs his sword…only to remember he doesn't have it. The the others are in shock and confusion as well. Riley looks at Latias. "Are you doing this?" She shakes her head. "No, this is beyond my powers," She says, just as mystified as everyone else. Riley gulps. He looks around, then steels his nerves. "Whoever you are, show yourself! I am not afraid! I have faced death! Who are you?" He demands, his brave front masking the twinge of fear in his gut. Something moves in the darkness and laughs. This does not contain any sign or hint of malice. "Brave words, young one," The voice says. Something moves in the shadows, moving towards the group. When it comes close enough to recognize the figure, Ash gasps slightly in recognition of the massive Pokémon before him. "Arceus," the trainer breathes. Arceus nods. "Hello again Ash. We meet again." The God Pokémon turns his head to Riley. "And hello Riley. I know of what you seek." At this Riley does something he has rarely ever done. He kneels. He senses that this Arceus must be powerful and if he knows of a way back, then it might be best to not antagonize him. "Then please help me in doing so," He asks, almost begging, the Pokémon.

Arceus laughs at this. "An eager one, aren't you? While I cannot send you back, I can assist you in achieving your goals. You seek Dialga and Palkia. While I cannot send you too them, I can tell you what you need to do in order to find their realms. Of course, you would need to convince them of whether you are worthy to listen to you, let alone help you." Riley's spirits are lifted at this. "Then send me to the entrances to their realms and I'll do anything to prove I am worthy!" The boy says eagerly. Arceus again laughs eagerly. "No, no. I cannot give you something to do so. It is not something you can just find it, it is earned. You must prove yourself worthy by showing you are of pure heart and brave soul. However, but I can tell you the secret to finding the entrance. You will fin a doorway on the mountain where they dwell, but only in two weeks for one day. If you miss it, you will wait for another year before the entrance is shown," Arceus says, both lowering and raising Riley's spirits.

"Is there anything else, sir?" Riley asks. "Yes, there is one more thing. Three, actually. You will find them when I leave. I suggest you don't fight the first." With that, Riley grips his head and screams as a massive blast of searing pain in the back of his head. Everyone watches him, unable to help or even say something comforting. After a few moments of the searing pain, Riley's legs buckle and he falls to his knees. He continues screaming until, finally, he mercifully blacks out from the pain. Ash looks up at Arceus with a look of shock and slight horror. "What have you done?" He asks. The Pokémon chuckles. "Nothing fatal, though I hate to spoil the surprise. After all, why tell when you will find out what it was when he wakes?" Lorenzo steps forward. "Is that all, or do you have anything else to tell?" He asks.

"No, this is for you. He cannot do this on his own. He needs help. I know Ash will plan on helping him, but I feel that is not enough. If you are willing, Latias, I would recommend you came along, being that you are a legendary yourself. The eon Pokémon gulps a bit nervously."But what about Alto Mare?" She asks. Arceus nods in acknowledgement. "I thought you might ask that. If you choose to accompany Riley on his search, I would place an enchantment on the Soul Dew that only those you trust may touch it, as well as creating a link that would alert you to any danger to the city. Does that appease you?" He asks. Latias nods in agreement.

Suddenly, the world fades slightly. "I don't have much time left. The second thing is that there is trouble brewing, both of this world and not I cannot say much yet, but what I do know is troubling. It seems, Ash, that several criminal organizations you have fought in the past have formed an alliance. This does not bode well. They seem to have a plan to deal with you," Arceus warns. Ash looks up with a determined look on his face. "Well, what is it?" "It i-" Arceus falters as the world fades more. "I gave to send you back. Good luck on your adventure, you will need all of it. Farewell for now."

With that, the world fades away, becoming the dining room again. Riley is still passed out, so Ash and Lorenzo gently pick him up and put him back on the sofa. "Well, what now?" Bianca asks. Lorenzo shrugs. "Seeing as we have little choice we must wait for Riley to wake up," The man says simply. "I can wake him up," Pikachu offers. Of course, only Latias understood what the electric mouse Pokémon had said. "No, I don't think it is a good idea," Latias says reproachfully. Pikachu holds his hands up in surrender. "Relax, I was only joking." Before she could respond, two objects shimmer into existence. One is a cloak with a mottled green coloring on one side while the other is a a gray rock like color. The second object appears to be a simple walking stick. "Hmmm, I think these are two of the things for Riley. I wonder what the third is." Lorenzo quietly muses.

Riley moans slightly. "I think he's waking up," Ash says. Riley groans. "Ugh, did someone get the number of the chariot that hit me?" He asks, partly dazed. Pikachu chuckles. "Haha. Yeah right, like a chariot came through the house?" Riley slowly opens his eyes. "Yeah, like I couldn't figure that out," he says. Ash, Bianca, and Lorenzo look at each other. "Um, we didn't say anything," Bianca says. Pikachu blinks. "Did you just respond to what I just say?" Riley stiffens slightly and looks at Pikachu. He looks back at Riley. "Okay, this day is just getting weirder by the second," He says, not fully grasping what was going on. Latias has an idea to what might be going on. "Well, are you okay?"She asks. Riley's eyes widen in shock. "You-you-you spoke, not telepathically," He says, stammering from shock. Lorenzo looks at him a bit critically. "Wait, are you saying that you understand what the Pokémon are saying?"

Riley nods shakily. Then he perks up with interest at the two other things. "Ohoho, what's this?" He says to himself as he examines the cloak. "Nice camouflage, able to be used both in grass and woods as well as on mountains. And I doubt that this is simply a wooden walking stick, useful as it may be." With that, he picks it up and closely examines it. Then he puts his hands on the top and grips it firmly. He pulls and unsheathes a thin metal sword, a rapier. "Nice, this will do nicely," He says sheathing it. "Okay, so when I balcked out, what did I miss?" Riley asks. Ash tells him what Arceus says. For the first time this day, he gives an actual smile. "Well, I am glad to be in company of others who know about this stuff. I thank you for doing this. So what now?" Lorenzo speaks. "I think it might be best if you wait to leave until tomorrow. You might want to eat and get some rest." Riley nods. "wise words indeed, Lorenzo." As the others get things ready, Riley grins to himself. No matter what the outcome, he is looking forward to this.

MorgothII: And the second chapter hase been finished. I hope you are enjoying it so far. As always, both Review and enjoy!