Chapter 2
Ash looked up with a look of terror plastered on his face, seeing the hulking grey frame of the Aggron falling towards him. His eyes closed, and he waited to be splattered across the stones. But that moment didn't come. He heard a cracking noise, and then a deafening screech. Wincing at the ringing in his ears, the boy leapt to his feet and saw the body of the Pokemon sprawled across the cobblestone to his left, a massive axe with a yellow tinge buried into its chest. His breath hitched, knowing who the weapon belonged to.
"Ash, stop messing around, boy! Get to the vault, NOW!"
The voice of his father roared out above all the commotion, and that was enough to send him running without a second glance. He bolted in the opposite direction, weaving past various wild Pokemon and struggling to reach the end of town. In the distance, there was a clap of thunder, yet there was no rain. He stumbled again and again, and all the while, he was wondering- had the vault always been so far away?
Eventually, he could see it in the distance, as well as the screaming mass of people struggling to get in. The tunnel was only big enough to fit a single person at once, and Ash realized with a sinking heart that he was never going to get inside. The population had swelled since the last truly dangerous raid about two years ago, and now the cavern under the surface was beginning to get cramped with people.
Though it was dark, the fiery buildings around him reflected the fear in the boy's brown eyes. Now what? The Pokemon would destroy everything. Everything! He had only one chance of survival now- hiding out in the surrounding wilderness and praying for the best. He skidded to the left and bolted off towards the forest, gasping for air. He broke into the trees, head swinging from side to side, and continued to flee his home.
Another explosion rocked the ground beneath him, but he stayed upright. On and on he ran, unsure how far away safety was. Branches slapped at his face, his pack dug into his shoulder blades, and roots clawed out at his boots mercilessly, but Ash refused to stumble. When he finally thought he could run no farther, he fell to the ground and let the cold feeling of the soil beneath him slowly numb his exhaustion. He couldn't hear anything at all. No thunderbolts, no screams, not even a chirp. The forest was eerily quiet.
After his breathing had finally returned to a somewhat normal state, the boy forced himself to his feet again. He looked around, and realized he was in a massive clearing. Pine trees, their trunks a deep brown and their leaves forever green, encircled the small meadow he'd come to a stop in- if you could even call it one. The patches of dirt around him alternated between being overly dusty or much too wet, and tiny blades of brown grass poked up here and there. A huge stump, bigger than himself, was positioned right in the middle of the field. The coppery rings in it showed that it had once been a very old tree. Ash swallowed and looked around.
"Is a-anybody here?" he stuttered weakly. Nothing responded but the wind, which whipped the thin branches of the pines around him into a shaking frenzy. He yelped in fear and ducked back down onto the ground. Another five minutes passed before he mustered up the courage to stand up again. He looked around, swallowing hard, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He tried to calm himself as he searched for a place to bed down for the rest of the night.
"You'll be fine, Ash. You're the son of the fiercest chief to ever rule Baku. You're fine. If anything comes at you, just attack them with your bare hands, like Dad..."
He was interrupted from his own pep talk as a branch cracked somewhere not far off. Shrieking like a dying Mareep, the boy whirled around in the opposite direction and hurried back into the safety of the open meadow. For awhile he stood there, unsure what to do, before he decided to head back to his village instead. A real chief didn't wimp out! The Pokemon would likely still be there, and maybe he could find everyone who wasn't able to get into the vault and bring them here! They could all be safe together until his father declared that he had warded off the beasts.
He made up his mind firmly not to get scared so easily again, and set off the way he'd come. He found his footprints and followed them for awhile, taking care to mark his path as he went. This was something that his father had taught him. Snapping branches on odd trees, making little piles of stones, disturbing bushes... these were all ways to make sure you followed the same path without others catching on. He'd never really gotten the chance to do it before, as he wasn't allowed to go very deep into the woodlands. Ash began to feel a sense of pride at being able to save his fellow villagers. They'd all cheer him on, call him a true heir, and ask him for advice on what to do the next time the Pokemon attacked. And he'd gladly help them. Because that was what a chief did, right? He'd make his father proud.
A boulder flew above the trees, a fiery tail trailing behind it, and he knew that he was getting close to the village again. He remembered how urgent the situation was, and immediately picked up his pace. Before long, he broke into the clearing of the burning town, and saw that people were still struggling to get into the vault. Just as he'd suspected, it was becoming too crowded. Ash should've known something was off- they had all become much quieter, but their shoving had also become twice as violent. But he was too afraid to really notice small details. He just ran towards the massive lump of villagers, waving his arms above his head dramatically.
"Everyone, follow me! There's a place where we can all g-"
In a span of five seconds, Ash watched as a volley of throwing stars, glowing blue with some unknown material, mowed down about two dozen villagers. He stumbled backwards, horrified to hear what the others screamed.
"It's the monster!"
"Let's get out of here- the monster's got us!"
"Run! The monster!"
He remembered his mother saying one thing about a certain Pokemon- it was a monster. His blood chilled, and he looked up in the direction the stars were coming from. What he saw rooted his feet to the floor.
It was perched on a burning hut, a scarf of some sorts flapping in the wind behind it, and a shuriken in one webbed hand. He could just make out the rest of its form- it seemed to resemble a Toxicroak, but with a much more slender body and taller form. Its red eyes flashed in the dark, locking right onto him. He knew he should run, but everything around him seemed fuzzy. All he could see was this strange, bipedal Pokemon. The star in its hand whirled around, and then it was flying through the air- straight for his chest.
"ASH!" his mother screamed, knocking the boy into reality.
He turned his head just in time to see her leap right into the path of the throwing star, arms held out to protect him.
Ash didn't see the shuriken strike her, but he instantly knew from the soft sound in her throat that she'd been hit. His eyes were wide as he watched her sink to the ground.
"M-mom!" he cried out, dropping to his knees and grabbing her by the shoulders. He gasped in helpless horror at the weapon sticking out of her neck. It glowed a soft blue, but its edges were quickly being stained red. Her amber eyes flickered up to him, and a sad smile formed on her face.
"Shame on you, Ash. Didn't I ever teach you about reflexes?"
"Mom, Mom, please don't do this. I'll get the m-medic, I can find Dad, I... don't go!"
He clutched her shoulders tighter, but he knew that the situation was hopeless. Her breathing became slower and slower, and a crowd of villagers began to form around the boy and his dying mother.
"Delia!" his father's voice was next to join the mix of frightened people. Bjark shoved through the crowd, a horrified look on his face. He, too, dropped to his knees and held her in his burly arms.
"Dad, what are we gonna do?" Ash asked helplessly. The man looked down at his son, a black fire raging in his eyes.
"Ash, go."
"I-I can find the medic for you! A-and we can take her down into the vault, where the Pokemon can't-" he tried to continue, but he was once more cut off by his father's furious, deep voice.
"GO! The raid is over. The medic's dead. Almost everyone who didn't make it into the vault is DEAD. And what did you do? You hid out in the woods to save yourself."
Ash crumpled like a scythe taken to a berry crop, being cut down lower and lower with each biting word. He slowly got to his feet, looking down at the still form of his mother.
"I'm sor-"
"I don't want to see you come back here until you prove that you aren't just a measly Caterpie of an heir. Get out of here!"
The words took a moment to sink in, but he quickly realized what his father meant. He wasn't angry or disappointed in him. Bjark was absolutely disgusted by him, and somehow, that felt even worse. He took a few disbelieving steps backwards, and more villagers immediately rushed in to take his place, all shouting out advice and worries. He soon reached the outside of the circle, and stood alone among the ruins. He began to speak, but his voice was barely a whisper among the screams of others.
"I'll come back, Dad. I'll kill that monster and bring you the body. I... I... I can avenge Mom's death. You'll see."
He bent down and picked up a huge shard of glass, about half as long as his arm. He put it away in his limp pack, and ran back off into the wilderness, tears now streaking his face. Every jab of his bag against his shoulders seemed to remind him of what he'd done.
You killed her.
You killed her.
You killed her.
A Pidgey chirruped in the trees above Ash, and sunlight broke its way into his slumber. He groaned loudly and rolled over, every bone in his body screaming in protest. He mumbled something about monsters to himself, still half-asleep, but snapped awake when something sticky landed on his forehead. His hand reached to his temple, and he wiped the goo off of him. It was bright white, and he realized it was bird poop.
"Oh, come on!" he wiped off his fingers on a nearby leaf, gagging in disgust, and used the frond to get rid of whatever was left. His brown eyes narrowed as he glared up into the trees.
"Jerks," he growled. It was only after he'd calmed down that he remembered what had happened last night. The emotions of sadness and guilt hit him like a pile of bricks, and he gloomily leaned back against the tree he'd been sleeping against. He didn't know how far away he was from the village- farther than he'd ever dared to venture, certainly. And that was probably for the best- Ash knew that his father had turned against him. A sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, he remembered his mother, and how that her death had been caused by his own ignorantness. He hung his head miserably. He'd tried to make his father proud of him, and only succeeded in getting himself driven away. So much for being a real heir.
He sat up and pulled his pack off of his shoulders, setting it in his lap and opening up the leather latch on top. Sifting through his journal and other odds and ends, he yelped as something poked him in the palm. He drew the massive piece of glass out, and grimaced slightly. This was what he would use to kill the beast that had murdered Delia. It wouldn't stand a chance.
He got to his feet, sticking the weapon into his belt, and once more slung the trusty bag over his shoulders. He began to walk in a wide circle towards the south, his intent to bypass the village and reach the sandy beaches where the women fished. That was where his mother had first encountered the monster- and there he intended to find it.
His eyes might not have held as much fury as Bjark's, but one thing was for sure, anger was welling up in him. He might have been frightened before, but Delia's death would change that. He'd show the beasts who a true heir was.
"Watch out, Monster, because I'm coming for you."