Chapter 7: Nobody Special
Note: Again, kind of like the previous part, though a bit more exciting. I apologize for taking so long to get this thing up. I had a conundrum with my old computer, which ensued in me getting a whole new one. Gotta say, did that nonsense in record time though! The end of this chapter is kind of a "WHAT?" invoker... Enjoy!
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.
The dark overcast arrived with precipitation bound to follow. The rainfall spread across a vast distance over the land, accompanied with roaring thunder and blinding lightning. One would have been able to distinguish the anomalous storm with the greatest ease, though an answer was yet to be reached: the thunder quaked the skies, followed by a flicker of violent lightning.
Sora noticed this phenomenon and could not have helped but acknowledge its existence to his current fellows, who he had just left the safety—from the rain only—of the guild. The boy, now an Eevee, lifted his head to the sky, fur rapidly becoming drenched in the heavy rainfall. An awkward yet spiritual sensation stimulated his new, perhaps improved senses. He could not hold onto his memory following whatever events brought him here. What were things like before this transformation? Before this new arrival? He had only just begun to ask himself this, and already a world calamity had come and passed. In truth, it was still too early to announce its ending. Like Sora's estranged and perplexed mind, it had only just begun to take effect, affect others, and, in a sense, be affected.
"Do storms like this normally happen?" Sora asked, eyes to the sky, quite fortunate to avoid raindrops assaulting his face. Riolu shook his head, as if prepared to answer. Chimecho was the first to speak, however.
"Storms occur occasionally, but they don't-" A raindrop struck her bell, sounding a small ring which interrupted her. "Well, this is a rare kind of storm. It's pretty rough!" She finished, Riolu opening his mouth to speak.
"I've lived here for a while and I've seen a few storms, but I've never heard of a storm where the lightning flashes after the thunder." He managed to say, answering Sora's unasked question. "We shouldn't hang out around here too long." Riolu stated, the other two nodding firmly in agreement. The three had only just reached the crossroads. Before moving ahead too far, Riolu stopped, a paw moving to the back of his head and rubbing briefly. "I was going to suggest we search the Beach Cave for any survivors, but it's probably flooded by now."
"Oh!" Chimecho rang out slightly. "The ocean levels are high, right? So I think we can cross the cave off."
"The Beach Cave?" Sora felt inclined to ask.
"It's a tiny mystery dungeon right on the beach, really." Riolu answered, half expecting to receive another question.
"Should I know a thing or two about a 'mystery dungeon'?" Sora asked again, tilting his head in a fashion that caused an ear to topple to the side a tad. Riolu faced the eastern direction which led to the outer world and gave his response a quick moment's thought.
"Yes, but... I'll tell you everything you need to know as soon as we're out of the open." Riolu responded, motioning with his arm for the two to follow him into the wilderness. "Let's get going. I have an idea where we can check first."
Without hesitation or objection, Chimecho and Sora followed the blue Pokémon. Neither one of them knew what Riolu's intentions were. Both knew they were jumbled and disturbed by his trauma. Just as the thought of Riolu's trauma struck Sora, he had to wonder why the Heartless—he still thought they were Pokémon of some sort—were so few now. Why were these creatures here in the first place? Were they alone...?
He doubted it.
…
On the other end of Treasure Town, an unprepared Futachi stood surrounded by creatures far stranger than what he believed to be a sort of shadow Pokémon. With his shells wielded, he growled as he scanned around, no signs of escaped. The humanoid creatures that surrounded him appeared to be in midair sightly, each of them gray-skinned and wearing what one could have assumed as purple bodysuits. There were about five, and all of them aimed a golden crossbow, or so the weapon seemed to be, at Futachi. The others surrounding the Pokémon were exactly the same creatures Sora encountered in the Soar: Dusks. Standing in front of Futachi was another cloaked figure, something that, based on recent patterns, signaled an uprising of perilous or otherwise interesting events. The cloaked man possessed no weapon, at least at the moment, and his face, like those previously seen in these common yet peculiar coats, was concealed greatly.
"We could do this all day, Seashells, and here I am using the the word 'day' lightly." The cloaked figure scoffed.
"Notib!" Futachi retorted with a grunt. "You create fowl creatures to ruin home of innocents. Is unforgivable!"
"Us? As if! Those Heartless can do whatever makes 'em happy. They aren't our problem. As of now, we've got better things to do."
"How do Pokémon play into schemes...? Is wise choice to leave now!" Futachi snarled at the figure, shifting his stance in a manner that caused a few of the "Snipers", so they were called, to inch forward, essentially warning Futachi not to move again. He simply growled in response.
"It's a messy story, all of it." The figure raised his arms and shrugged. "Boss Man told me not to go an proclaim nonsense to you Pokéguys, but I'll tell you this: you could say we're tending to the damage a certain hero caused. Saaaaay, you wouldn't happen to have seen a boy about this high," He motioned with his hand to a point in the center of his chest, apathetic about the actual height of the boy. "Has a weird lookin' blade, crazy hair, bratty attitude... Did I mention the weird lookin' blade?
"Futachi know not of boy, if is human. Could not care less."
"Tell you what, if you speak up..." The figure leaned in, as if about to whisper something of a secret to the Pokémon. Given Futachi's size, he did not necessarily accomplish this. "We might just let you see your little bunny girlfriend again." Having heard this, and immediately understanding just who the man was speaking of, he stepped forward with a ferocious, aggressive intention to break this figure in half with a potent hydro pump. Again, the Snipers reacted, causing the water-type's sudden rage to dwindle down a tad. Their reactions replicated the previous.
"What have you done to Chillarmy?" Futachi asked, his voice raised. Following this question came the roaring thunder... The cloaked figure straightened out, his gloved hands on his hips. The lightning came... If only Futachi could have seen his expression, it was very possible that alone would have been enough to completely set him off, for he felt a manipulating aura from this... human... When the human didn't answer, he shifted the question. "Who... are you...?
"Me...?" The shady man vexed Futachi by giving this a moment's consideration. He scoffed. "I'm nobody... Look, Seashells. Here's the deal. You think you can win in this scenario? As if! No one can! So, if you want Chillarmy or Calmnavy or whoever back, you gotta find the kid for us. You know, he's the one who actually caused all this...? He's playing innocent, I'm sure." He explained, noticing the fury in Futachi's demeanor begin to dissipate even further. Futachi's head fell, his eyes closed in tormented thought.
"Chillarmy, Futachi do anything to have you back... No hurt her. Will find boy." Futachi obliged, still hanging his head low.
"There you go." As he responded, the Snipers and Dusks surrounding Futachi began to fade into a spatial grayness. The man extended an arm out to the side, fingers apart. A dark pulse scintillated from his fingers and traveled a few feet behind him before practically planting itself into the ground as the seed of a corridor of darkness. It sprouted as a swirling ova of blue and black subspace. "We'll be watchin' you. And remember, the kid's a full-fledged-" Thunder cut the man's voice for a moment. "...-blade wielder! 'I mention that? It's kinda important." The hooded man stepped back a few feet, still watching Futachi. Slowly, his physical presence began to merge with the corridor. "Don't go failing us now. Eyes on the prize, and don't forget to teach that brat a little lesson about sticking his nose where it really doesn't belong..." With this, the figure and the portal faded into the rain...
"...Blade..." Futachi repeated to himself quietly as he gazed into the thunderous, dark sky.
…
Elsewhere, the torrential rain cascaded down upon the survivors of the Heartless rampage. Some time had passed since what few members of the guild remained embarked on their quick journey to sanctuary. These guild members, plus the famed Lopunny, have reached the Shaymin Village, which has witnessed destruction parallel to that of Treasure Town's. A couple of the local Shaymin have awakened and done what they can to restore Chatot and Bidoof to at least adequate health. They were definitely in much better shape than they were not five minutes ago. The lone sky Shaymin still fell short of remembering anything of his long term, let alone immediate, past, though even he was quick-witted enough to realize that it probably was not the biggest of everyone's concern. It would have to have been seen through at another time.
"Thank you so much for your help!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff exclaimed his gratitude to the Gratitude Pokémon in front of him. This Shaymin, in its normal forme, was capable of accelerating the recovery of both Chatot and Bidoof with its aroma therapy ability. This alone shocked Lopunny. The Shaymin had literally been through the same chaos she had, yet it was entirely capable of lending a helpful paw. These villagers were not pushovers.
"You're quite welcome. I hope what I've done is enough for now. I will awaken my fellow Shaymin so that we may have the means necessary to fully assist your cause. At the moment, please take shelter from the rain in our gathering hut right over there." The Shaymin spoke, pointing with its nose at, facetiously, the only actual standing building in the village.
"Understood. Chatot!" Wigglytuff called, looking over the minuscule Pokémon, where he saw Bidoof and Sunflora speaking to the memory-challenged sky Shaymin. Chatot and Lopunny approached Wigglytuff from the side, having gained what intelligence they could off of the Heartless' tracks of destruction.
"You called, Guildmaster?" Chatot asked, showing to be in much better condition.
"Oh, there you are." Wigglytuff turned to his right and took notice of Lopunny, whom he was happy to see Chatot with. His assistant's condition was a bit fickle, so he ventured it was ideal to have another Pokémon watch over him. Even Chatot seemed in agreement with this. "It's time to head inside. I know how much you hate having your feathers soa-" Chatot squawked before the guildmaster finished speaking.
"Squawk! Certainly! Let's go, let's go!" Wings flapping, the eager assistant hurried on into the shelter, already well aware of where to head...
It took under two minutes to gather what little Pokémon remained into the hut, which had a very grassy interior, a soft dirt ground, a small raised, wooden platform at one end of the building, and, above all, it was dry inside. Wigglytuff stood on the platform with Lopunny at his side, nary significant of an audience in front of him. This consisted of Bidoof, Sunflora, Chatot, and the mysterious sky Shaymin.
"Good to see those who are here are all accounted for." The guildmaster started, a tad hesitant to announce what exactly his plans were at the moment. They did not concern the well being of his friends, which, to him, was the biggest flaw already... There was an eerie silence that awaited Wigglytuff's next words. It made the guildmaster uncomfortable. He was so accustomed to the guild's chatter in the morning briefings. Quite honestly, one of those morning briefings occurred not so long ago prior to being disrupted by the Heartless. "We have the Shaymin to thank for being as kind to adventurers as always, even in their physical state." At this comment, there were a few murmurs of agreement, which, in turn, gave Wigglytuff the confidence to continue. "But, as you all know, those shadow creatures can very well still be out there, and we have to do our best to keep them down!"
"By golly!" Came Bidoof's voice. Though shaky, he sounded much better. The fact that he was talking at all was progress. "I sure don't mean any disrespect, but we aren't cut out to fight those Pokémon in their numbers, Guildmaster."
"Surely!" Chatot stated, shifting his attention to Bidoof. "The guildmaster knows this. Clearly, we should not have a problem picking them off one by one, am I correct?"
"Yes." Wigglytuff affirmed, nodding a tad. "They aren't invincible at all! So long as they aren't coming at us in the hundreds, we'll be fine!" Wigglytuff smiled after he spoke. In contrast to the smile, this statement seemed a bit unnerving for Bidoof and Sunflora.
"Eek!" Sunflora started, petals at her mouth for a moment. "But, Guildmaster! Even if there were about ten, there's no telling how well we'd do!"
"Well..." One of the voices came. It was the sky Shaymin's. All eyes in the room were now on him. "You all have my cooperation, whatever the heck the extent of that may be. I remember a thing or two about fighting, and..." He paused, hanging his head low for a second. "...Agh, it's killing me not remembering anything! I feel like I'm missing something..."
"I'm sure you'll remember in time, Shaymin. We're all very grateful for the help your kin are lending us." Wigglytuff spoke, though as he did so, suspicion was ignited in Lopunny. And this suspicion focused on something that would have otherwise passed over everyone's head.
"Shaymin, this is slightly off topic, but it is pretty dark out... How long are you able to stay in sky forme?"
"Sky forme?" Again, he was faced with this "form" statement. He wasn't entirely sure what it meant, but based on the other villagers being called Shaymin, he believed to have an idea. "I... don't remember." In truth, he failed to understand in the first place. Lopunny nodded, yet said nothing further. She dismissed the suspicions for now...
"Well!" Chatot flapped his wings, all eyes now on him. "That should simplify things! Guildmaster, would it not be a good idea to seek out the other members of the guild?"
"Of course!" Wigglytuff gave a rote response. "I'm really worried about everyone! We can't all go out there though. It's way too dangerous!"
"Well, with the help of the other Shaymin, we should be able to hold our own if another small attack comes. I suggest we send small teams out short distances around the area." Lopunny explained, arms now crossed with her head tilted slightly, giving her plan in progress continuous thought.
"Brilliant, yes." Chatot agreed. "Who shall we send as a... hm..." The assistant stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, giving his next terms thoughts... "Rescue teams...?"
"I'll volunteer. I really need to understand what's happening around here. Maybe I'll remember something." Shaymin spoke out, his head high.
"We appreciate your desire to help, but-" Chatot was interrupted by the guildmaster.
"Right! Then it's settled! How about you form a rescue team with Bidoof and Sunflora here? I think you'll do fine!" The impulsive guildmaster explained, causing a bit of an objection from Chatot.
"Wh-what? Guildmaster, we don't know enough about this Shaymin to have him take our apprentices out in such a dangerous environment! Are you sure this strategy will work?"
"Yep! I have faith in Shaymin. I think these three will make a great team!"
"Wigglytuff, Dear..." Buneary started, giggling to herself a little bit. She was glad to see Wigglytuff return to his hyper-enthusiastic manner, even during this kind of dark climate. It was rather uplifting. "The old you is showing." ...
With that established, Shaymin, Bidoof, and Sunflora formed a trio based around locating members of the guild, town, or any Pokémon that appeared to be in danger. The time to forge onward and counter the Heartless was on everyone's mind, although Wigglytuff, Chatot, and Lopunny remained behind at the village in order to expand the refuge and let survivors know that this was the place to be. It would be some time before they would join the campaign themselves. With the Shaymin villagers as very capable "healers", so to speak, the foundation of what would soon come to be known as the Central Refuge was set...
Bidoof and Sunflora, perhaps feeling ready to tackle the scenario, were completely fine with their guildmaster's decision to send them with the sky Shaymin. The two were nervous to so quickly return to the battlefield, but there was something far more important than themselves at stake. Their world, which felt so much smaller, was in danger. This time, its immediate fate was not in the hands of Team Crimsongleam. Every Pokémon on the planet possessed the ability to begin a train of events that might just save it...
Given this assignment, which brought the first rescue team to the west of the Shaymin Village. They had been sent out to the nearby Apple Woods. Chatot and Lopunny worked together to utilize a strategy that made the most logical sense: Apple Woods' resources were plentiful, thus a high number of refugees were predicted to be taking shelter here, if at all possible in the rainfall. The trees were thick enough to provide cover... And, of course, Wigglytuff saw the opportunity for a bonus: they were likely to bring back a perfect apple! If not, it would've been fine. Now was not the time to be fawning over that.
The newly born trio set out for a world of darkened mystery dungeons. Soon enough, they came to the brink of one of these "supercharged" versions of a dungeon far too dangerous for the average Pokémon...
…
In the midst of the storm, an ordeal came...
"Hey, hey! Let her go!"
"You'd BETTER make this easy, or you're going to be in a world of HURT!"
The origins of these voices were chasing a tall figure dressed in nothing but black. A hood concealed his facial features. This kind of "Pokémon" was strikingly unfamiliar, so much so that calling this figure a human was acceptable. In his arms was a struggling, yet restrained, six-tailed creature that appeared to be a small red fox.
"L-let me go, you creep!" Yelped the little vixen. To other ears, her voice would have had a shocking resemblance to someone else's...
Before the figure could have made it too far from his pursuers, a lone lash of green energy struck him back—he hadn't been paying attention all that well, which was a trait of his certain others found irritating—and his grip on whom he held captive loosened. This vixen, a Vulpix, sprinted back to her new friends as quickly as she could, expecting to be blasted with some sort of water as she was earlier. The three, being her, Corphish, and Loudred, a recent graduate of Wigglytuff's Guild, stood together and watched this black hooded figure rise once again, facing his opponent with a large, sitar-shaped weapon that literally solidified out of thin air.
"Darn it, I didn't sign up for this! No one said there'd be fighting if I played the cards right." The man spoke, a hint of anxiety in his tone.
"I suggest you leave." The green, almost lizard-like creature's voice was heard. The tone was as gentle as it was threatening. "Unless you want me to repay you what I owe to your entire Organization right here and now." The green Pokémon with a long, dark leaf attached to its head stepped forward once, ready to unleash a devastating leaf blade...
"Alright, alright! Just chill out. Sheesh!" The figure raised his hands following the disappearance of his weapon back into the mist, as if telling the other he no longer meant harm. "Didn't expect to see your faces here again. 'Thought we got rid of you in the future, but it looks like I'll be telling the Big Guy that's a no-no. See you later!" Without even conjuring a corridor of darkness, as most of these hooded figures have done, he jolted off in a direction not blockaded by trees or Pokémon. It was clear to everyone that he possessed separate intentions. For now, the would have to wait, as Corphish and Loudred identified Vulpix's savior...
"Grovyle...?"
"...Wigglytuff's apprentices..." The Pokémon called Grovyle sighed, his eyes closed in what looked like an absence of hope... "How could I ever explain this...?" He gazed forward at the three, a look of unlikely desperation in his golden eyes...