My night was spent tossing and turning. I couldn't sleep well, how could I? A new legendary being brought up to Spear Pillar only meant that the PokéHunters had tortured another group of legendaries, and that our new recruit had no way of taking care of himself. Anger rose deep inside of me, the skies became windy and cloudy. I promised myself! I kept thinking. I promised myself this wouldn't happen to anyone else, and I've already failed to keep that promise!
"Wind..?" I heard a voice whisper. I immediately froze in fear. "No, it's okay, it's me, Articuno. Sorry, I guess we're not supposed to use our actual names, that'll take some getting used to. What's wrong, buddy?"
I had never met Articuno before then, but she was acting as if we had been friends for years. And while part of me liked that, part of me longed for my old friends, too. "Nothing's wrong. What would make you think that?" I asked, trying to hide my pain. She merely gestured over to the window.
"I don't think anyone except you or Arceus can cause that. Something is obviously hurting you for all that power to be coming out of you." She said. She placed her wing on mine, and looked deep into my eyes with an unusually warm, caring stare. I relented, and exhaled with a deep sigh, and told her why I agreed to come to Spear Pillar. She nodded and listened to every word I said carefully.
"I see…" she began. "Lugia, honey, I hope you realize that none of what happened was your fault. We couldn't have stopped it even if we were there. Who knows? This might be for the best."
I wanted to argue back, but I paused and thought on her words for a while. "I guess you're right…" I sighed. "Even if you weren't, what good will torturing myself over my mistakes do?"
She smiled at me, and patted my back. "I'm here for you, buddy. Just come find me if you need me."
"Thanks, Articuno." She left my room, after which I sighed and laid down, falling asleep several minutes later.
. . .
I woke up from a nightmare, something that doesn't usually happen to my kind. I was being engulfed by flame by a shadowy figure. It wasn't Moltres, the figure looked much different. I somehow knew it had to do with what would happen today. I got up and left my room, looking around to see if the others had gotten up already. The suspense was killing me. I left the inner chambers of Spear Pillar, where we slept, and went outside to the top to find Arceus. Instead, I just saw a red bird about my size, gazing at the sunrise. His feathers glowed a rainbow of colors against the sun, that kinda beauty made me envious, to say the least.
The figure turned his head partway towards me, he had obviously noticed me. I jumped a little, still jumpy from my restless night. "What do you want?" the figure said, coldly.
It made sense now. That must be the new recruit Arceus was talking about. "I-I just wanted to say hi." I tried to explain. Really, I didn't plan on seeing anyone new up here; I thought Arceus would introduce us all at the same time, like he did with me. The figure turned around partway again, and then faced me. He sighed.
"I guess that's a good enough reason." He said. "I'm Ho-oh. I heard we're not supposed to use our actual names, so I guess that makes you Lugia, right?"
A Ho-oh. Our kind never really liked Ho-ohs, but I've always been fascinated by their beauty and inner fire. Of course, I'd never tell that to anyone back home. "Y-yeah. So why are you here?" I asked. "N-Not that I don't want you here, I just…" I couldn't figure out the right words.
He looked back at the sunset. "My family died last night." He began. "The PokéHunters attacked us, it had been happening for several weeks before hand. We just were the last to go. I'm the last surviving Ho-oh… At least, that's what Arceus tells me. Halfway through the attack, I lost consciousness."
I was shocked by the similarities in our stories. It became clear to me at this point that the PokéHunters aren't just after power; there is some method to this madness. Someone, whether it's a human or a Pokémon, is profiting from our misery. I pushed the thoughts from my mind, I'd deal with it later. "I'm really sorry to hear that. We've all went through something similar, at least me and the three legendary birds."
"Yeah, so I've heard." He replied, coldly. He took a deep breath, which sounded almost like what I do when I'm trying to change my mood. "I'm sorry for acting like a jerk. You're actually a really nice guy, which is surprising for what I've heard about Lugias."
"Wow, really?" I was surprised that he had a good opinion of me. "Thanks! You're pretty cool, too."
Arceus walked up behind us, I didn't even hear him coming. "Getting along, boys?" he chuckled. "You two seem to be hitting it off quite well, considering how the Guardians of Sea and Sky usually react."
He smiled, but didn't quite seem sincere. "We're about to have a meeting. It's in the same main room where you met the three birds last night, Wind. Show Ho-oh the way."
"R-Right." We both leapt into the air, and flew down the stairway. There, the other 4 legendaries could be seen. Arceus looked at the five of us, and then began.
"Ho-oh will be joining us for our training sessions." He announced with a booming voice. "Let's see how long your friendships last. Over the next few years, you will be training with one goal in mind. At the end of the training, you will have a tournament to decide who is the strongest of the strong, who is the leader of the five legendary birds."
A/N: I'm sorry about this chapter being shorter than the last two, but it came out relatively faster than the others! The reason it's shorter, though, is because I can't decide how to space out the chapters, and if I kept going, the next decent stopping point would've been a while longer. Anyway, the next chapter will be out soon, but I'm not making promises like I did last time. Keep sharing this, following, and reviewing. Your reviews and follows are what keeps the fast updates happening! If you've already reviewed on a previous chapter, review this one. Again, thanks for reading. You guys rock!