Chapter three

Respite

Tolithus pulled back in the depths of his sanctuary, growling slightly as the face of the strange creature blocked the faint silver light from outside. His yellow fur expanded, crackling with a warning of electricity as the creature outside moved. "S-stay back!" He cried out, his voice breaking in fear.

The beast backed up slightly, speaking softly in a language Tolithus couldn't understand. The Pichu cocked his head slightly in response, confused at its tone. At Tolithus' hesitance, it reached one of its furless paws inside his refuge, its flexible claws extended towards his side. Tolithus squashed himself against the far wall, hissing and spitting. The creature pulled back, rising into oblivion above the lip of the stone roof. Its strange colored feet backed away, giving way for two black paws. This new creature crouched down before the small cave, its white fur gleaming in the light that emanated from its paw. The white beast stared intently at Tolithus with its black-rimmed eyes, its crimson gaze sending shivers down the Pichu's spine.

"It's alright, little one,"

Tolithus jumped, his head turning madly in search of the voice. It echoed loudly in his mind, sounding as though it had been created right next to him. His eyes inevitably found the creature at the lip of his cave, though its mouth hadn't moved.

"We aren't here to harm you," The creature repeated, Tolithus realized, sending its words directly into his mind. His ears perked forward slightly at this, finding himself surprised that he could understand this creature.

"W-what do you want?" He replied, summoning all the intimidation he could muster.

The creature smiled slightly at Tolithus' attempt. "The beasts that attacked the Grove of Eternity have left. You're safe now."

"They're…gone?" Tolithus repeated, shifting his head sideways to catch a glimpse of the dark valley beyond. His view revealing nothing, the Pichu glanced back at the creature.

It stepped back, angling its paw outwards so the light of the sphere caught on the burnt foliage. The soft glow whispered across the landscape, its rectifying light gently brushing the stilled Grove beyond.

Tolithus reached forward, creeping out of the rock on his belly. His ears tickled the lip of the cave as he raised them to catch the slightest sound. He stepped out onto the crumbling grass, all thoughts of the two new strangers vanishing from his mind. The Pichu rose up to his back paws, his ears erected towards the heavens. The Grove of Eternity spoke of nothing, the wind carrying no scents upon its fingers. Tolithus stood there for several moments, utterly immobile. Confused, he fell back on all fours, crawling towards the edge of the light, his gaze focused on a strange shape just beyond the glow. He reached out with one paw, intending to touch whatever this thing was.

Tolithus yelped as his paws suddenly left the ground, soft pressure wrapping around his midsection. He twisted in this vice, intending to grip his teeth into his attacker. He stopped as his eyes met with the beast that held him. It had the same kind of face as the man from before, no fur but the long strangs that fell from the top of its head, and no maw to speak of. The little Pichu shrunk back, whimpering.

The beast cocked its head, speaking again in the strange tongue of the other. It glanced towards the white furred creature, who nodded, approaching Tolithus slowly. The Pichu swung his head around to face this new threat, tears starting to fall from his eyes. "D-don't…" He whispered, his eyes closing slowly as the beast lifted its paw towards him. He felt something brush his ears; felt something sliding along his body, like a tendril of thought.

"Hey, it's alright."

Tolithus peeked through his eyelids, finding the furless beast looking directly at him. The Pichu cowered.

"No, no, you're okay." The creature whispered, startling Tolithus and causing him to open his eyes to their full extent. It smiled, its face casting a stark resemblance to Eladriel, tugging at Tolithus' heart.

"What…?" He whispered. A small light, brighter than that of the globe, diverted his attention, causing him to glance to the side. Bluish laces of light wrapped around his body, a stronger concentration enveloping about his neck. The fingers of illumination continued as ropes until they ended at the pad of the white creature's paw. Confused, Tolithus turned back towards the furless beast for an answer.

"My friend, Kael, can allow you to understand us." The creature offered, one hand gesturing towards the white monster.

"What's a…Kael?" Tolithus dared ask, his courage rising slightly now that his understanding improved.

"That's my name," The white beast replied, moving slightly to as to be in the same line of vision as the furless one. "Not my species."

"S-species?" Tolithus cocked his head.

The furless beast nudged the white one. "Never mind him." It said, smiling. Bending down, the creature placed Tolithus onto the grass, running its fingers over his forehead, just as Eladriel had. It remained crouched, resting its hands on its knees. "My name is Emayla. I'm a human." The white creature lowered itself down as well. "This is Kael," Emayla continued, placing a hand on the other. "He's a Lucario."

Tolithus lifted one paw into the air, pointing towards them with his small finger. "Emayla. Human." He repeated. "Kael. Lucario." The two smiled in unison at his words. Tolithus glanced around the Grove, his ears perked up once again as he searched. "Where's Eladriel?"

Emayla frowned slightly. She glanced around to the dim forest beyond. "Eladriel…" A flicker of recognition passed over her face, her eyes glinting with the slightest hint of distress. The moment passed quickly, and she returned her visage to one of serenity. "She was your caregiver, right?"

Tolithus nodded, unaware of what had transpired. "She was supposed to come back and get me… After she found Sorbolis…"

"I'm sure she's alright."

Tolithus sat down lightly, picking at loose strands of grass and tossing them into the air. He watched as they blew away on the small breeze, becoming one with the darkness as they passed the safety of the orb's radiance. "What's gonna happen to me…?" He whispered, looking up at the faces of his two guardians. Small pockets of tears filled his eyes. "It's so dark here… I-I can't hear anything." Silver trails fell from his eyes. "I'm scared."

Emayla glanced at Kael, a silent message passing between them. "Would you like us to wait here with you?" She asked, one hand extended towards the Pichu.

Tolithus' face cracked into a small smile. He nodded, both his arms lifted up in the air, the river of tears slowing. Emayla gently scooped him up in her arms, softly scratching behind his ears as she did so. The Pichu buried his face into her elbow, her body heat already making him drowsy. "Thank you…" He whispered.

EC

Emayla seated herself at the edge of the small cave in which the Pichu had hid, leaning back against the pile. The small bundle of yellow fur rose slowly in the vestiges of slumber, a contented purr escaping his form every time he exhaled. She stroked his fur, her mind lost in thought.

Kael placed himself at her side, wrapping his tail around his paws. He severed his connection to the Pichu's aura, snapping the cords of luminosity in an instant, leaving the Grove at the mercy of his dim, original light. He rested the orb-bearing paw on his knee, palm upwards to allow the maximum amount of illumination into the Grove.

"What do we do now, Kael?" Emayla whispered, keeping her voice to a minimum to avoid waking the sleeping Pichu. She brushed back the fur on his head, smiling as the Pokemon turned his face towards her touch. "We can't just leave him here… Not with his dead clan. He's just a baby. Any predator left in the woods will have an easy time hunting him down." She paused to look up at the sparkling heavens. "If we take him with us, we'll be ripping him away from everything he's ever known."

"But what is left for him here?" Kael responded, glancing towards Emayla, his face angled downwards. "Taking aside the hunters of the forest, if we did leave him, he would be the last Pikachu in the entire forest. He'd be utterly alone."

Emayla sighed. "I know."

The night passed slowly, the wind picking up in a gradual manner, blowing away the remnants of the smoke far off into the distance. Emayla sighed, shaking her head, blinking several times to break away the ties of sleep. She glanced over to Kael, who had fallen asleep against the rock pile, his slumber deep and untroubled, the light orb of his design flickering near death. The Pokemon trainer rose slowly to her feet, careful to not disturb Pichu or Lucario. She rotated the Pichu to a sturdier position in her arms, using her free hand to reach behind her to her belt. Subtly she removed the Pokeball from its magnetic clip, clicking on the center mechanism. The red and white ball burst open, the swirling light within dancing forth, taking shape of the silvery Rapidash, Pyre. The fire bearing horse tossed her head in greeting, her senses detecting nothing of the worried variety. Pyre stood quite still as she waited, the fire from her mane dancing in her eyes.

At the sudden onrush of light, Kael startled awake, his aura sphere flaring to life. The white Lucario glanced around nervously, searching for an imagined attacker.

Emayla hurried over to his side, an apologetic look on her face, a single finger over her lips in a gesture of silence.

Kael gazed over his master's shoulder towards Pyre, understanding whispering in his eyes. He rose groggily to his paws, the shock of his awakening wearing off, leaving him back in the arms of sleep. "Exodus?" He whispered, his eyes half-closed.

Emayla shook her head. She gripped Kael's arm, quietly pulling him along after her, positioning her Pokemon at Pyre's side.

Kael flashed Emayla a smile of relief, unsteadily climbing onto the Rapidash's saddle, wrapping the reigns around his wrist incase a sudden fit of sleep crashed over his mind.

Making sure that the Pichu was still sleeping soundly, the Pokemon trainer took hold of Pyre's bridle, glancing over her shoulder towards the blasted Grove. The shattered husk of the Great Tree stood just within the reach of Pyre's glow, its dead branches swaying in the slight breeze. Ashes billowed from its depths, giving the tree a shining cloak in the night. Her eyes misted over for a moment as she watched. "What am I to do now?" She whispered. "For eight thousand years I have served you, Arceus. I have redeemed myself of my past. But now…Oh, by the heavens! What am I to do?" The wind picked up in the valley, sending a flurry of ashes spiraling into the skies, their dance reaching up into the arms of the stars, covering the moon with a flickering sigh.

The winds slowed, bringing the ash back to the earth gently, settling it down upon the bodies of the Houndoom, and covering their corpses in a blanket of glittering white.

Emayla bowed her head, turning slowly on the spot, and leading Pyre out towards the edge of the Grove. Unbeknownst to her, her Lucario glanced down towards his trainer, feigning sleep as a stone weighed down his heart.

EC

Agent Blackfire lifted his head slowly from his daze, his eyes narrowed as he attempted to focus them. His head throbbed unbearably every time he moved, causing the Rocket lieutenant to reel backwards, the world spinning before his eyes. Blinking several times in rapid succession, he quickly gained the world into focus. The light that trailed his face was blotched, sickly. It streamed in from between cold metal bars, bringing with it the realization that he had been caught. Blackfire leaned back against the hard stone walls, absorbing the sights and smells of his new surroundings. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the pre-dawn light that shimmered in through his prison cell window, indicating that he rested within the city of Viridian. He scrunched up his nose in distaste.

The distant clanking of keys off in the echoing hallways of the prison drew Blackfire's attention rapidly. He leaned forward slightly, his head slightly angled downwards, his arms spiraled out to his sides, feigning weakness. The reverberations grew louder, soon filling his cell with the annoying clatter. Blackfire glanced upwards as a policeman walked slowly past his cell, the officer glancing into his cage as he passed. Blackfire returned the glance with the lifting of his head, a wicked grin painted on his face. The man stuttered in his walk, taking a rather hasty double-take at the Team Rocket lieutenant. He hurried along, pulling out his radio from the recesses of his belt, talking into it rapidly as he vanished out of sight.

Blackfire scoffed at the officer's retreating back, returning his attention to his cell. The concrete walls were of the stable variety, their innards reinforced by heavy steel bars, their edges coated by solid metals. The small window that touched the precipice of the roof had not an inch of clearance, all its spare room choked by another set of steel bars. The floor held no yielding surfaces, covered entirely by the same material that supported the walls. The only exit short of exploding the entire cell was the steel bars that revealed the hallway beyond. But these, too, were reinforced with far stronger metals in their cores, with a bar every inch or so to keep even the smallest prisoner in.

Growling in agitation at this delay, Blackfire rammed his hands into his pockets, digging around for something that could assist him in his escape. His displeasure doubled as he found nothing to coax his fingers, leaving him absolutely defenseless in the small cell. Whoever had put him in this blasted bird cage knew what they were doing. They had removed everything from his possession, short of the clothing essentials, making sure he had no tricks up his sleeves.

Footsteps murmured from far down the reaches of the hallway, bringing Blackfire out of his revere. This time he kept his head elevated, his suspicions confirmed as the officer stopped in front of his cell. "Well, well, well." Blackfire snorted, rolling his head backwards. "It seems the high and mighty Officer Jenny has decided to come and pay me a visit in my lowly prison cell." His face cracked once again into a sinister grin. "To what do I owe this fine honor?"

"Keep your foul breath back, Blackfire." Officer Jenny retorted, folding her arms tight across her chest. She lifted one hand up to her hat, pulling it down lower over her eyes. "Your leaders might have tried to smooth everything over with the local government, but we're not swayed by bribes and threats." Her loyal Growlithe came to a rest at her feet, his eyes never leaving the shadowed face of the Team Rocket lieutenant, his teeth barred into a snarl.

"Really?" Blackfire asked, his voice dripping in mock sarcasm. "How's that working out for you?"

Jenny frowned in annoyance. "Listen, slime bag, you're here under the jurisdiction that you were the one who decimated Viridian forest, and all the wildlife thereof. We have the evidence we need to keep you locked up in this cell for the rest of your miserable life." Blackfire scoffed at his, sneering at the law-enforcement officer. "But," Jenny raised a finger into the air, her tone lightening slightly. "If you're willing to divulge certain confidential information with us, the jury might be willing to cut your sentence in half."

"You're really that desperate for information?" Blackfire retorted, laughing. "You're willing to let me go just for a bundle of words? You-"

"Not just any 'words', Blackfire." Jenny interrupted. "The location of your informant, the identity of your employer, the supplier of your Pokemon, just to name a few things," she stated, counting off the selections with her fingers.

Blackfire leaned his head against the wall, pointing his face towards the depreciative roof in disinterest. He rested his arms on his knees. "I'm afraid I'm not in a 'divulging' mood."

Jenny glowered at him. "Fine then, rot away in here, you Rocket maggot. Your sentence will be announced tomorrow." The police officer stalked away, her snarling Growlithe trailing behind, his furious eyes disappearing behind the stone wall as he walked away.

Blackfire snorted in apathy, closing his eyes.

The morning waned into late afternoon, the light from the window bleeding into Blackfire's cell, waking the Team Rocket agent from his nap. He shook his head in annoyance, uncurling from his sleeping position slowly, his head still throbbing.

"It's about time you woke up."

Blackfire's eyes flew open in recognition of the voice, elation rising in his veins.

Outside his cell stood an officer, twirling his keys around his fingers in impatience. The man removed a coating of blue fabric from the shoulder of his uniform, revealing a red R, lanced with knives of varying shapes and sizes, underneath.

"Agent Dagger?" Blackfire growled, rising from his seat.

Dagger's face furrowed into a deep frown. He gripped the keys in his fist as they came full circle, a single key caught between his fingers. The Rocket agent thrust it into the lock, turning it quickly, and opening the door in the same swish of motion. "Take this hallway all the way down to the southern entrance," He murmured, opening the door wide for Blackfire, his deep voice reverberating off the stone walls. "There's a ride out there to take you to the Inner Sanctum."

Blackfire slipped along the bars, his eyes widening as he heard Dagger's statement. "The Inner Sanctum? I was under the impression that I had failed them."

Dagger flicked his hand into the air rapidly, rolling his eyes. "That matter has been resolved by the Masters." Blackfire raised an eyebrow at this, but did not question further. At the other agent's hesitance, Dagger sneered. "Either you start walking, or I'll have the agents parked out back pull away before they're noticed. We can't risk detection, not this close to the Source."

Blackfire nodded. He stalked down the hallway, his stance defensive, looking for any signs of life.

"Oh, and Blackfire," Dagger called from behind. "Give my regards to Solstice, will you?"