Chapter 6: Uni-scar
Note: This chapter doesn't explain too much of what happened at the end of the previous chapter. There are still a hefty amount of things that need to really build up before the action can start at its fullest. So, if you find this chapter a little boring, I don't blame you! It's a building block, so to speak.
Disclaimer: I don't claim possession over characters originating from the franchises of Square Enix, Disney, Game Freak, and The Pokémon Company, Chun Soft, or Nintendo. They belong to their rightful owners. Few characters are original.
There he lay in the post-midst of mayhem The sky above was shrouded in a vast expanse of dark gray clouds, setting the stage for a menacing atmosphere...
All around him were separate scenes of annihilation. Poor creatures, each of them resembling tiny white hedgehogs with grass-covered backs, were unconscious and strewn about the lush area. This area had literally been torn up by the sheer force of the Heartless' power, which, judging by the scenery, the creatures stood no chance against. Quantity was the victor, and yet there were a number of these Pokémon in the area. The Heartless, alas, exceeded their numbers...
The Pokémon who resided in this small, natural village were known as Shaymin. The village itself had grown increasingly in popularity due to the raising desire to hike the nearby mountain. It was known as Sky Peak, and there existed a garden atop this magical mountain where the Shaymin harvested a particular flower known as the Gracidea. As for the Shaymin, they were an incredibly hospitable bunch; a kind group of villagers to any enthusiastic explorer to visit them and bask in mutual wonder at the beauty of Sky Peak's summit: the site of a legendary, almost celestial view of the world. It would be some time before Sky Peak was to be trekked upon.
He fit nicely into the scene of devastation, for he too was a Shaymin. Of course, this Shaymin appeared to variate from the others drastically. It was not a hedgehog in any way, shape, or form, rather something of a cross between a reindeer and a fox. His long ears resembled the visible flow of wind and clouds. He appeared to have spiky green hair, which complimented his green-tipped paws. He had what looked to be a reddish scarf around his fluffy neck. Unlike most Shaymin in what was called "sky forme", his eyes were a deep dark blue. These eyes of his had revealed themselves at the panicked calls of an oncoming gathering...
"Come quickly! We are approaching the village!" Among the cries of despair, these were the only well articulated words the Shaymin could have heard. He peered over a patch of tall grass, eyes half open in a fatigue that, quite honestly, made little sense to him. What had he done? He lacked any ability whatsoever to remember the events prior... Like a slap in the face, it had hit him. Truly, he remembered nothing! He felt a surge of unease, though perhaps it came from the despairing aura around him. He at least remembered he had a personality, and empathy was a fragment of it. Desperately, he attempted to stand with his eyes closed in strain, but to no avail. Standing felt unfamiliar to him, and quite painful for some reason. It was possible that he shared the fate of these many other Pokémon. For now, this is what he deduced as he stumbled back to his chest, his legs sticking outward. The young Pokémon had been more than pounded into submission... The voices became louder.
…
"Right this way!" A feminine voice called out to the many other she was scrambling away from Treasure Town with. She stood aside, motioning with an arm to guide the extremely few townsfolk, who were all guild members, into the ruined village... She had not beheld the village at the moment, but upon turning her head to do so, the shock in her face was evident. "My goodness, this is..." Her words were cut off by the audible dread in the voices of the three guild members and one guildmaster she had been with. If only she had known where she was guiding her friends, maybe she would have hesitated in being so hasty to allow them into the site of ruination before her.
As for her appearance, this Pokémon was an elegant, mature looking rabbit. The color of her fur was a basic brown, though her enormous ears, feet, paws, and designs upon her face consisted of a brighter, cotton brown. Her appearance was strikingly seductive, though it was hardly the only thing she was famous for as the leader of an astounding exploration team. Her name was Lopunny, and she headed the brilliant and radiant Team Charm. Unfortunately, contact, let alone explorations, with her two close friends would have to wait. They were nowhere to be seen...
Likewise, Wigglytuff's Guild held forlorn numbers at this time. Amidst the chaos, many apprentices were split up due to the voracious Heartless that rampaged over even the Shaymin Village, thus they have been left with a mere four guild members present and accounted for. Wigglytuff, Chatot, Sunflora, and Bidoof. None of them were capable of escaping at least a little injury from the fierce battle that had taken place at Treasure Town. More awful was the fact that they had left many behind; many they had easily considered loved ones for a commendable length of time.
Having taken in the terrible sights surrounding them, Sunflora burst into tears. She dropped to her knees and pulled the injured Bidoof close to her, beyond traumatized from the calamity she was a part of not a few hours earlier. She fought to protect everything she held dear, and some of them—her friends—were submerged into a grim darkness before her very eyes. Sunflora had only just managed to rescue Bidoof from a Neoshadow. Damage had been dealt in more than a couple ways. Bidoof had been silent throughout the entire escape, which might still have been in effect. Streaks of black, which possibly simulated an odd blood, lined his sides in the shape of claw marks. Something had also managed to scorch a few patches of fur off of him. Sunflora herself was not too badly damaged physically, but this was more than enough to haunt her for the rest of her life, however long that was destined to be now. Bidoof simply kept his head low, the blankest of expressions upon his scarred face.
Chatot and Wigglytuff were slightly scarred, but the case for them was too similar to Sunflora's. Mentally wounded by the apocalyptic swarm of shadows, they caught a glimpse of each other as they attempted to catch their breath. The great Wigglytuff, known for his prodigious stamina and exploration expertise, looked as though he was about to fall face first into the grass. Chatot did just that, one wing out and the other under his chest. Following this startling collapse, Wigglytuff rushed to his aid.
"Chatot!" The guildmaster cried out, his hope beginning to wither. "Chatot, hang in there...! I know one of these Shaymin can help us... They..." Wigglytuff paused, a pulse of pain racing through his head from an earlier blow he had taken. He winced, but quickly came through. "They have a special ability called aroma therapy. They'll help!"
"Huff... Mmph..." Chatot strained himself even grunting, let alone speaking. In spite of that, he did so. "Heh... G-Guildmaster, I'll be fine. Those hellions made their mark on me, but I will not be silenced... Besides..." He hesitated to finish the thought, as the burning sensation within his lungs began to overwhelm his ability to hold back a cough. He hacked a bit, perhaps concerning Wigglytuff a tad more. "The Shaymin have seen better days." He concluded, trying vigorously to keep a humorous spirit about him...
Lopunny approached the scene, a frightened frown on her face. She had taken the least punishment from the Heartless. Her and her friends' priorities revolved around aiding the townsfolk. She was well aware she, Medicham, and Gardevoir stood little a chance against the enormity of the shadows' numbers. She dreaded ever dashing into the fray without her two close partners. Lopunny lacked any other options. The hostile Heartless split the three apart in their disorderly tactics, causing Team Charm's own leader to flee and eventually make contact with four known faces. From the ravaged Apple Woods, she guided the four guild members to that of a safer environment. Allegedly, that barley retained any significant meaning on this land anymore... Lopunny, unsure how to assess the damage at this point, wandered a tad further into the devastated village before coming across a single Shaymin—she knew a thing or two about the Shaymin—who appeared to be in its sky forme. Just as well, it looked to be the only one in the village who was not injured... So it seemed.
"Hey, Shaymin. Can you hear me?" She asked as she crouched to the sky Shaymin's level, one paw on the ground in front of it. Lopunny hoped to get a response from someone nearby, considering all of the villagers names were Shaymin, which made them more than difficult to tell apart. Lopunny guessed they had a system for that. Obviously, it proved to be useless in this when the village became a bedlam of shadows. While that was true, Lopunny's quiet call proved to be the opposite of useless as the Shaymin before her began to stir. Ignoring the qualm she had about this unhurt Shaymin, she moved both paws underneath the Pokémon's chest and lifted, hanging it over her shoulder with both paws securing it. "Hold on... You'll be okay." She assured, turning back to the meager guild...
"Lopunny, who do you have there?" Wigglytuff asked as his good friend from Team Charm approached and set the unusual Pokémon down near Chatot on a patch of grass softer than the rocky dirt it had been upon earlier. Lopunny identified the tone of legitimacy in the guildmaster's voice. It was rare to hear him speak in any serious manner whatsoever...
"Well," Lopunny began, standing back up yet keeping her focus on the Shaymin. "This little one doesn't look as injured as the others. In fact," She paused, returning her attention to Wigglytuff. "It looks like it's responsive..." At this, Wigglytuff blinked a couple times. He was skeptical; not of Lopunny, whom he trusted. He sensed an unorthodox aura about the sky Shaymin, though he was too concerned with his partner Chatot and the rest of the guild to worry for very long.
"Little Shaymin?" Wigglytuff spoke in a soft voice, and indeed the Pokémon was responsive. At this second call, it raised its head and ears in unison. "Are you alright? What happened here...?" He already had a feeling he knew the answer.
"Shaymin...?" The Pokémon took notice of the bird-like creature next to him, as well as the graceful rabbit who held him. Wherever he was at the time, the mood was as low as could be. He felt the cloud of madness lingering overhead. He would have given anything to simply remember what happened here, but the fact remained that his mind was almost completely blank. "Ugh... What in the world happened...?" He asked, slightly frustrated with his lack of memory. He didn't even know who he was! He had been called Shaymin twice now. That meant something.
"I hate to say it, but Treasure Town wasn't the only target." Lopunny started, turning her head to Wigglytuff and sighing softly.
"You're right. They struck here, too." The guildmaster shook his head, his eyes closed in sorrow for the villagers... "Shaymin, can you tell us what you remember? He asked in an imploring tone.
"Easily." He started, lifting himself to his feet with the realization that he was far less sore than previously thought. His head was pounding, but the pain in that had reduced significantly in the past minutes. He almost received a few objections at his decision to stand. Both Wigglytuff and Lopunny were about to speak out about this, though upon seeing how well he managed to stand up, they dismissed their immediate concerns. It did feel odd to stand for some reason... "Yeah, I could easily tell you what I remember, 'cause I remember little to nothing." He concluded, perhaps dousing any hopes for answers or leads or whatever it was the two Pokémon might have wanted. They didn't appear to be a threat, and neither did the other three. And if they were on the bad side, they were clearly not the problem here...
"That's too bad. I wonder what they did to you to make you forget recent events." Lopunny wondered, kneeling in front of Shaymin
"Recent events?" Shaymin raised his head to Lopunny. "Actually, I can't remember anything at all. It's like I'm just a drone or something."
"You're not a drone!" Wigglytuff stated, more hype in his voice now. "Just look at you. You managed to keep in top forme!" The guildmaster noticed a little confusion in the boy's eyes and we stated this. Wigglytuff himself was confused at the sight of the Shaymin. If he had experienced as intense a battle as they had at Treasure Town, he should've been far more injured. Perhaps he switched formes during battle and that eliminated the wounds. Wigglytuff hadn't the slightest clue how that worked, he just knew it happened. If one gave a Shaymin a Gracidea, they essentially evolved.
"Top forme? ...Man... What the heck did I miss this time?" Shaymin asked, not expecting an answer. It might have been nice to receive one.
…
Treasure Town had been abandoned under a darkened sky.
The curtain of a horrible silence had long since fallen upon the once lively town. There was little a soul to be seen. All had evacuated in search of sanctuary elsewhere. However, based on what knowledge Wigglytuff and Lopunny now had, the rampaging shadows marred any chance of absolute safety. For now, however, all was quiet. There were no Pokémon to be seen on the surface of Treasure Town, yet that was not to say none were present.
Within Wigglytuff's Guild, what little life remained of Treasure Town took shelter on the third floor. Truthfully, only four Pokémon held firm underground, two of them being actual longtime residents of the town. They were Riolu and Chimecho. The other two were Futachi and Sora. All four of them were awake, but not necessarily well. Futachi leaned back against the guildmaster's closed door, his arms crossed and head down Chimecho was tending to the other two, not in bad condition herself, yet not free of a few wounds.
"I hope that heal bell did what it could..." Chimecho spoke. She was a small creature who depended on her ability to levitate. Her tiny body was mainly white, with a few streaks of red on her orb-shaped head, which was really her entire body, and on the end of a long tail underneath her. Atop her head was a small golden bell; likely the emitter of the move she had called "heal bell", which had restored the harmed Riolu and Sora to better health. "How are you two feeling?" She hovered closer to both of them. Both Pokémon were sitting near each other under the guild's window, each lacking light to their expressions.
"I'm feeling fine." Sora spoke up, sitting on all fours. Regarding any kind of personal injury of his, he was most concerned with his lack of memory. Now was not the time to dawdle with that. He had a role here, and he was already beginning to understand where it led. There was still no telling how events would come to pass "I still didn't thank the two of you for saving us out there... Thank you both."
"Hm." Futachi grunted quietly as a response. "You two lucky Futachi still here. Vile scum take Chillarmy away from Futachi..." The otter Pokémon shut his eyes tightly and snarled. "Futachi never forgive himself for letting her be taken. Will find her. Alone."
"Futachi, you can't go out there by yourself!" Chimecho exclaimed, uneasy to be left behind with the most feared Pokémon in Treasure Town. Seconds after saying this, he almost wished she hadn't. Futachi gave her a grim glare, though he said nothing in return. Frowning, Chimecho backed away a tad.
"C'mon, she's just looking out for you." Sora stood as he spoke to Futachi. "No need to give her such a harsh look."
"Notib..." Futachi replied to the comment. The term he used originated from a separate language. He used it often. The definition of this word was, quite simply, outsider. Sora was, in more ways than one, an outsider. "Know too little to intervene." Again, Futachi grunted after he spoke, now setting his glare upon Sora, who bravely spoke back.
"I don't have to know anything to help out!" Sora argued, raising his voice a tad. He knew he was arguing with someone that probably saved his life earlier, but felt the strong desire to speak up for Chimecho. It came naturally to him."I just have to be here and well."
"You would not be here if not for Futachi." The water-type argued back, a calmness to his tone. He grunted softly, this time before he spoke. He turned to the ladder leading to the second floor. "Do what you will. Futachi go... to find Chillarmy. You leave soon. Is not safe here anymore." With that, he left the scene swiftly, too determined to hear any calls that might have been made for him. There were none.
"Jovany..." Riolu spoke for the first time since he was rescued. He was beyond mentally scarred. While it was true he had seen perilous times, he had always stood beside Jovany in those times. And to watch his closest friend, partner, and bringer of confidence sink into oblivion was the most terrifying thing he could have ever imagined; a nightmare come true... Was this what Jovany was going through? The very same nightmare he experienced before he awakened? Was Jovany falling into blackness even still, never to return to the realm of light...? All of these thoughts, accompanied by emotion, swarmed the poor Pokémon's head. It manifested. He broke down into tears, hugging his knees close to his chest.
"Riolu, I..." Sora started, unsure where to go from there. He possessed so little memory of anything, so he couldn't possibly have imagined what it was like for the other.
"Don't cry, Riolu... Be strong, like Jovany!" Chimecho attempted to comfort the sorrowful Riolu with these words.
"Th-the only reason I can be strong... I-it's because of Jovany." Riolu spoke through the stammering and sniffling. "Why? Why did this have to happen again?" He wailed, burying his face in his legs and sobbing loudly. This caused Chimecho to wince. She knew Riolu had gone through something like this before. Indeed, this was the second time Riolu had watched his partner disappear. No matter how many times this was destined to happen, he would never be used to it. The most dreadful thing to have ever happened to him just occurred a second time.
...An uncomfortable silence settled over the three for a few moments... Sora and Chimecho were doing their best to comfort the despairing Riolu...
Twenty minutes passed before Riolu began to come through for the two. His tears had been reduced to sniffles at this point. Chimecho herself had shed a few tears for Jovany, the guild members, and all her friends of Treasure Town and beyond.
"I wonder how far Futachi's made it." Sora asked, trying to at least change the subject to something that Riolu and Chimecho could have legitimately focused on. It would have worked if the three had not been interrupted by a sudden stirring. Within the same level of the guild, two small shadows swerved about until solidifying on the opposite end of the surface. The small Heartless gazed at the three, ready to strike. Sora growled and stepped forth before conjuring his Keyblade and biting down firmly. He heard a gasp from Chimecho. Before he could have lurched forward, two flashes of blue were seen out of the corners of his eyes. They sped passed him and impacted violently on both of the Heartless, small explosions accompanying black dissipation. Almost in unison, Chimecho and Sora faced the source of this attack.
Riolu stood with both arms extended in front of him, palms forward and glowing with a shimmering blue aura. His teeth were clenched, a fierce glare in his tearing eyes. After five seconds, he exhaled and shut his eyes tightly.
"Sora... Chimecho... I'm sorry. Both of you are right. We have to fight together. It's the only option left. And to do that," He paused for a moment, facing the two with what smile he could have formed at that moment...
"We have to start exploring."