Chapter 11 – For whom the bells toll
"Let them hate, so long as they fear."
[12:00PM] – 22nd May – Kanto Region
The bells of Lavender Tower rang out midday over the Kanto region. The echoed ominously, tolling the time, even when the world was silent, holding its breath. Still the clouds hung grey and oppressing in the monotone sky, shifting but the storm never breaking.
The wind was quiet; it picked up occasionally, but died down just as quickly, a faded whisper. Now it breathed just enough to carry the sound of the bells out across the country. People shivered and Pokémon whimpered in fright, down whatever hole or burrow they had found to bear out this tragedy.
She cooed softly, golden eyes sad as she danced among the clouds, soft, gentle mourning for the frozen world. She could sense the stirrings across the land, the legendary titans that were worshipped so by the people – her people.
Then a flicker of red and white and blue and she was gone - lost among the ethereal clouds, as the bells rang out across the land.
[12:00PM] – 22nd May – Route 6 – South of Saffron City – Sabrina/Lance & Pokémon (Mr Mime, Alakazam, Dratini, Dragonair, Dragonite)
The psychic shivered at the ghostly pealing. The soft chattering of her Mr Mime died to nothing in the still air, even as a breeze blew, warm heat rising from the ground and cool breeze colliding in a fierce battle.
"Something's wrong." Lance said quietly.
"Everything's wrong." Sabrina replied.
He shivered, wrapping his cloak tightly around his shoulders. Another toll rang out and his footsteps increased ever so slightly, barely perceptible as the pair headed for the electric port. "Do you reckon Erika and Ash are all right?"
Another peal and the gym leader flinched. "Sure. He's dead and she's chasing shadows. They'll be fine." – a humourless laugh.
Lance winced. "So tell me again why we're going to find Surge?" he asked.
The Saffron leader rolled her eyes, "I really don't know. I really don't know. If he asks – it was your idea."
"I need a good shock."
"That was a terrible pun."
"Would you believe me if I said I didn't mean it?"
"…"
"I thought not."
[12:00PM] – 22rd May – Route 4 – West of Cerulean City – Leaf/Gary & Pokémon (Ditto, Jigglypuff, Clefable, Umbreon)
Up north they could barely hear the soft chimes, but something in the air still set the hairs on the back of Gary's neck on edge. He tightened his grip on his girlfriend's hand, even as Umbreon's hackles rose.
"Are you okay?" the brunette asked.
"Sure, sure fine – no need to worry." He bit his lip.
Leaf shook her hair out, smiling slightly, "You know things are bad when you start to quote Dawn," she teased him and the spiky haired researcher looked horrified by the thought of it.
He gave a noncommittal hum, tuning out the soft chimes on the breeze. "Is it me or do bells signify death?"
Leaf glanced at him, "That's strange. Well…death, funerals, weddings…" she paused, trying to think of something else and turned her head away to focus on Umbreon who was letting his yellow rings flash on and off, slowly and matching the slow ringing of the bells.
"Death." Gary sighed, completely missing the wedding reference Leaf had unwittingly made, "I don't like it."
Leaf leaned into him, "Does anybody? I don't think it's a matter of like or dislike…more a matter of being scared. People don't know what's going to happen and they're scared and fearful of the unknown. Just like when we were kids and I was afraid of the dark. We don't know what's hiding there, out of reach and so we run away and hide, under our blankets of comfort. It's what makes us human."
Gary blinked, "When did you get so wise?"
"I always have been. You've just got stupider."
He winced. He'd been asking for that.
[12:00PM] – 22rd May – Route 25 – Cerulean Cape – Misty & Pokémon (Gyrados, Golduck)
The red head closed her eyes as the wind buffeted her face and soft music rang in her ears. It was comfortingly eerie, haunting and there was something dark about the slow, melodic tones on the winds.
Ignoring the barely audible sound she moved down the cliff, wincing as loose stones plummeted to the still sea, far below. They hit the water with a small chime, matching the ringing ball in the distance. Tightening her hold on the sea grass, she edged further down the cliff to where her newly evolved duck and sea monster waited.
Sure, Gyrados was a flying type and he didn't do half badly in air, but he was a sea serpent and the way his body flexed and the water rippled of his muscles Misty knew he was made for the sea.
She inched closer to him, and he reared up his head, closing the gap. Almost ominously another chime tolled out as more pebbles fell, plummeting to the eerily silent ocean below.
It was unnatural, the stillness in the waves, and the way some were reared back, as if striking a blow that would never fall, the wave suspended in mid-air. As she descended another metre down the rocky cliff, she watched as the shifted slightly, slowly and as if someone had slowed down the whole scene.
Then her reaching hand touched scales and she tightened her grip around her Pokémon's great, but terrible head.
Then she threw herself off the cliff.
And into the unknown.
[12:00PM] – 22rd May – Pewter City – Mount Moon SECTION Base – Dawn/Brock (Kabutops, Piplup, Buneary)
She stared at the colourful map of Kanto spread out before her, with multiple little clusters of pins stuck in it. She shivered as the light above her flickered, regular flashes, as if in time to some unheard beat.
The dark blue pins are the Team, right?" the tanned man asked, eyes flickering from Viridian to Celadon to Saffron to Lavender and down to Fuchsia.
The blunette nodded, as the light dimmed and grew lighter again. "We're the pink and the League is orange." She gestured to a little pink cluster just off set from Viridian City and around to a mix of pink and orange near Pewter, pink off set from Cerulean and a mix again in Vermillion.
Her blue penguin danced across the map, chirping softly. Dawn pointed out several other pins to Brock. "The white are the elites. We've got Agatha in Mount Moon, Bruno and Karen here, Koga and Will in Viridian, and Lance and…him in Saffron at last notice."
"I got a report from Lance. He and Sabrina are heading south to Vermillion."
Obediently, Dawn picked up the small, tagged white pin and the nearby yellow pin ("Yellow are gym leaders.") moving them to Route 6. She gestured to the yellow pin. "Sabrina." In Vermillion, "Lt Surge." Moving back to Saffron, "Apparently Erika's up there with…him. Misty's leaving from Cerulean Cape while Gary's heading back here. The green pin is Leaf. We don't know where Blaine is or Janine are so their pins are stuck on the edge." She indicated to the edge of the map while simultaneously counting down on her fingers. "You're here and me and May have green pins."
"It's not official." She admitted, "There's another map somewhere with approximate numbers. But it's just comforting…knowing where everybody is."
Brock laid a hand reassuringly on her shoulder as she continued.
"It feels like this is all building up to something. As if we're counting down to some giant final battle. It feels like we're running out of time." She shivered. "I'm scared." She admitted, looking at the chaotic swirl of colours of the board before her, their paths laid out for all to see.
But what can you ever see?
The light bulb flickered and died.
[12:00PM] – 22nd May – Route 2 – North Viridian City – May & Pokémon (Ninetales, Glaceon)
The leafy fringes of Viridian Forest were horrible silent and on the distance May frowned. For a moment…just a moment…she had thought she heard bells, pealing out across the land.
Must have been her imagination.
Things were different now. Ash was here…Ash was alive... if still in a dead sort of way. Her small Viridian base was slightly off the map, away from the action and away from her friends. Sure, they needed her back in Viridian, but Max could survive without her.
Her Glaceon trotted happily at her feet, letting out a cry that sounded like ice crystals, or clear crystal bells. "GlaCeo Eo LaLaCeon." (I'm glad we're finally moving.)
Ash was alive. She had been up the night, talking to him and Lance. It seemed like a cruel twist of fate to shove him back into their lives before time moved on without him. Few knew. That had been his intention, but the fact that Gary, Dawn, Lance, Brock and May knew probably wasn't what he was planning.
Her little brother had been except from the list of people in the know. Not just the fact that Max and Tracey were, in general, very busy with all sorts of League and SECTION codes and transmissions and Pokémon information and jumping back and forth from Cerulean to Viridian to Mount Moon and back, but also with whatever else their skills were needed for around the base. On the other hand - May was just a general researcher and another hand in the rebel effort – she was a co-ordinator and her battling skills were limited at best. Unlike Brock who was a qualified gym leader and a great asset to the rebellion.
But she was rambling. Her thoughts were scattered on the breeze as she hurried through Viridian Forest, cautious in case of a lost rocket or Team member, lurking around where they shouldn't be. Viridian Forest was a no go zone nowadays. For Team and SECTION alike.
May was walking a dangerous path here.
[12:00PM] – 22nd May – Route 8 – East of Saffron City – Ash/Erika & Pokémon (Eevee, Raichu, Zorua, Lucario, Chikorita, Pichu)
Fighting their way out of the Rockets in Saffron City was not on Erika's 'Top List of Things to Do'. Not that she had a 'Top List of Things to Do' but that wasn't the point. Chasing Ash across the city with her newly adopted Pichu with the weird ear and the little grass Chikorita (she could barely resist squealing over the cute grass type) wasn't something she was willing to repeat any time soon.
They had eventually made it to the city outskirts as Erika hissed, "Where are you going?"
"Somewhere you can't follow," he had retorted.
She narrowed her eyes. "Tough luck Shadow – I told you I was coming with you and I meant it. Sab and Lance have gone south. It's too late to catch up to them now."
And so he had let her tag along, resigned to the losing battle he was already facing with dissuading her.
Every step closer to the town ahead made her want to turn and run away even more. The place was sending out bad vibes and the grass type was huddled in her satchel wide eyed while Pichu was perched on her shoulder, hiding behind her hair. The party was tense, and it was a miracle she didn't jump up and scream in fear as a loud bell rang out on the point of midday.
"Creepy," Zo muttered, "That is just so wrong."
Wrong, Erika considered, was a good way to describe the sight of the slated rooftops appearing through the treetops, purple shaded roofs tinged black in places. The bells rang out around the countryside, and she flinched slightly with every toll. Something about the once perfectly normal Lavender Town set her on edge, as if it was merely a perfect façade to a deep, dark hidden-closet secret.
"You can still turn back."
She smirked determinedly at Ash who was eyeing here calmly, as if the heavy vibrations from the bell didn't faze him at all. "No way sunshine," she retorted, "Ya' think some bells and a haunted town is going to scare me?"
He didn't answer and so she replied for him, "You can turn back if you want to Shad, but I'm going to go and find some time gears and mess up some top secret Team plan while I'm at it. Got it memorised? Good. Well stop dilly-dallying and let's mosey!"
Ash froze for a moment at her little speech before conceding. Really, he couldn't have said it better himself.
[12:10PM] – 22rd May – Route 25 – Cerulean Cape – Misty & Pokémon (Gyrados, Golduck)
Misty winced as the little pebbles clicked and clacked as they fell to the sea far below. Her blue sea serpent was looking up with concerned eyes as she edged her way down the narrow cliff.
Golduck followed her, his smooth sleek feathers oily and pressed flat against his webbed hands. Misty froze as another rock was sent skidding to the bottom, before crouching down, grabbing onto a rocky handhold and lowering herself down.
The water loomed below, and the cape point above. She winced as the waves crashed on the large boulders down below, and the wind tugged at her clothing, pulling her to her doom with tantalising fingers.
She inched her way further down, further from the safety and solidness of the land and closer to the wild sea, the monster ocean that raged below.
"Cerulean Cape," she muttered, "Cerulean Cape. Well next time Gary better give me better co-ordinates that Cerulean bloody Cape."
A scream was torn from her throat as her foot slipped and she slid a metre downwards before her hand caught on a rock, tearing the skin but stopping her slide.
"Golduck!" her Pokémon cried in anxiety, making his way steadily towards her. She glanced up, damp red hair falling in her face as her turquoise blue eyes widened, blinking at the strange blue light glowing in the cliff.
She blinked, just to check she wasn't imaging the eerie glow as she inched forward, closing her eyes as she made the horrible heart stopping leap between footholds. She whimpered, pulling herself closer to the cliff before cranking open her eyes.
She blinked.
"Oh Mew." She exclaimed, eyes widening at the hollowed out rock in front of her, where, crusted with salt, and glowing a pretty pale blue, dancing with the shades of the ocean, sat a small crystallised time gear. "It's beautiful," she exclaimed softly, even as Golduck appeared on the rock she had just been on.
It was the size of her clenched fist, but only a centimetre thick. Tightening her grip on the cliff, she reached out one hand, fixing one finger through the small hole in the centre as she pulled it towards her. In response, the blue light seemed to play under her fingers, reacting to her touch.
Water.
She fought back the triumphant grin, as she grabbed the gear, holding it so tightly lest she drop it to the raging ocean and rocky boulder beneath. Sweat and blood mixed with the salt incrusted crystal still wet with sea water as she slipped it into a pocket of her khaki trousers, zipping it up afterwards, and then, double checking to make sure, then triple checking once more the precious time gear of water was safely hidden before turning back to the arduous process of climbing down the cliff.
Misty swallowed a lump in her throat and wondered if there was a worse possible situation to be in.
Her brain prompted her with pictures of bugs and she promptly decided that yes.
Yes there was.
[12:10PM] – 22nd May – Route 8 – East of Saffron City – Ash/Erika & Pokémon (Eevee, Raichu, Zorua, Lucario, Chikorita, Pichu)
"Where is he?" Erika hissed, as she ducked behind a tree to avoid being seen by the approaching rocket grunt. She wondered, for the millionth time, what the difference between the whole 'Team' and 'Rocket' and 'Galactic' and 'Aqua' and 'Magma' was. She'd have to ask Ash at some point.
The said elite had currently vanished under the pretence of scouting.
She almost shot Zo for what must have been the third time as the fox appeared out of nowhere. The Chikorita by her ankle made a noise which Erika thought was meant to be a snarl but it sounded far too cute.
"Don't do that! If I shoot you it's not my fault! And where is that bloody trainer of yours?"
"He's lost." Zo remarked calmly, peering over Erika's shoulder at the entrance to the town and the guarding grunts.
"Lost." The Celadon gym leader didn't sound impresses.
The purple fox nodded, "So if I shape shift, knock out the grunts and you cover my back and shoot the other two just beyond him we can get in unnoticed, okay?" continued the fox, who didn't seem to perturbed by the fact her trainer was lost.
Erika blinked, "But what about Ash?"
"What about him?"
Resisting the urge to smack herself in the forehead Erika said wearily, "What are we going to do about him being lost?"
Zo frowned. "He's not lost lost. He's lost. You know. L.O.S.T."
"No, obviously I don't know otherwise I wouldn't be asking."
The Zorua rolled her eyes leaping up onto a low lying branch to gain a better vantage point. "L.O.S.T. Looking over strange terrain. Du-uh." She exclaimed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Erika choked, and then ducked down as the guard's pacing brought him back around again. "Well why didn't you say so?" she hissed angrily, ignoring the little yellow Pichu who had burst out laughing.
"I did."
Erika closed her eyes tiredly.
Maybe if she'd gone with Sabrina and Lance it would have been less of a headache.
[12:23PM] – 22rd May – Route 25 – Cerulean Cape – Misty & Pokémon (Gyrados, Golduck)
Misty clung to her Pokémon's wet scales closing her eyes against the flurry of sea water and salt spray.
"Gyra!" she cried, coughing a bit as a wave splashed her mouth, and "Let's get out to open sea. The waves are calmer there."
Calmer was one way to describe the frozen waves, which contrasted the violent Cliffside breakers. Misty heaved a sigh of relief as she settled into position in a curve of Gyrados' back, blinking as Golduck surfed beside her. "Now we gotta' go all the way around to Seafoam." She yawned. "Brilliant. I'll leave it to you Gyra!"
Her Pokémon gave an approving rumble as he sliced through the water, and Misty felt her eyes drift off. It was almost second nature, being on water, not quite as good as being in the water, but definitely better than walking around on land. The orange island trip had been her forte, amongst the water islands and Ash's Lapras had been a darling.
She stifled the usual pain that came with thoughts of him.
Some days, she barely thought about him at all, and those were the times she felt the most grief. That she could forget him… that he was fading in her memories, no matter how hard she tried to hold on. Those were the days that the wounded hole where he had been felt the most ragged.
He had torn a hole inside her, where he had been. She had never even figured he'd had so much impact, with his little quirks, and his infectious smile and happy-go-lucky mood. He'd sobered of course, with the start of the war, but then everybody had, and especially after SECTION found him in that Cinnabar Rocket base with no memories.
She winced, reflexively, and wondered whether the Cinnabar Volcano was rigged to explode, should the base fall. But no, surely Blaine would never have let it, what with his gym being in the thing.
Maybe that was why he wasn't around anymore, his death unconfirmed.
It was a sorrowing thought, but it was only a small chime compared to the loud ringing peals of grief that came with his loss. When the League were still in control, and they sent him on that no good mission to infiltrate the ranks. 'He'd done it before' they said, 'he can do it again.'
Nobody had ever tried to explain that the only reason he managed to infiltrate them last time (if only briefly) was because of his precarious deal with them which, at first testing, had crippled and fallen through and ended up with an exploding Cinnabar Volcano and an amnesic elite.
She still blamed herself for being the spark which had ignited that whole incident.
[12:23PM] – 22nd May – Route 8 – West of Lavender Town – Ash/Erika & Pokémon (Eevee, Raichu, Zorua, Lucario, Chikorita, Pichu)
"No more sneaking around!" Erika complained when Ash finally appeared next to her followed by his three Pokémon. She pulled her poncho tighter around her shoulders. "We go in, get the gears, and leave ASAP. Got it? Not after that Saffron fiasco."
Ash frowned at her. "Are you okay?" he asked, "You're not usually this grumpy."
Erika let out a frustrated hiss. "Whatever Shadow. Let's just go and get this gear. Where is it anyway?"
"Cario." Lucario spoke up. (Here). "RioCarrLuc. CarRiKarr." (In the tower. The memorial place.)
Ash winced as he relayed the message. "It's in Lavender Tower." Seeing Erika's face he added, "Yes, the one with the ghosts."
The girl winced. "Brilliant. So what's the plan?"
Ash narrowed his eyes at the guards marching around. "We climb the cliff and come up behind the place. There's a back entrance we can use. Then I try a very foolish and dangerous stunt and you cover me."
"What!"
Yes, the idea of staying with Lance and Sabrina was appealing to her more and more.
"Well you see in terms of Pokémon types, I'm typed dark at the moment. I'm dead, officially. We're going to visit the haunted ghost rocket laboratory and I'm already a sort of half ghost."
Erika glared at him.
The raven swallowed before nervously continuing his explanation. "The place there, it won't let the living about which is why you can't go. I can. So I go grab the gear, dodging rockets and - " Ash trailed off when he realised Erika wasn't listening. "What are you doing?"
The gym leaders was currently notching an arrow to her bow and aiming it as the single guard paced past again. "Go and retrieve him, would you?" she said, as she let the arrow fly and sink into the man's neck. He fell with a startled gurgle, hand to his throat and coughing up blood, even as his face turned a sickly puce colour. "Well go on then." Erika snapped. "Fetch." She commanded, as one would a pet dog.
Ash blinked, before vanishing in a shimmer of hazy air and dark wisps of smoke appearing instantaneously by the rocket. He grabbed hold and re-appeared next to Erika.
Ash watched on with a half impressed, half exasperated look on his face as Erika went about stripping the rocket down. He raised an eyebrow as she began pulling her clothes of and stuffing them in her bag, while donning the rockets suit. "Or, you could dress up like that rocket guard over there and march around like a rocket while I go get the gear and you cover my back. That could work too."
Erika stood up, glaring at him. "You know, your ideas are worse than Lance's."
Va winced theatrically, a purple furred Espeon. At her side, Raichu was playing with the little Pichu.
Ash sighed. "Owch. That's low." He complained.
Erika shrugged, "Tough. Now I'm going in the front. I'll meet you near the back, okay?"
Ash was about to protest but Erika didn't give him a chance, marching of to the building determinedly, the little Chikorita following at her heels chirping happily as if strolling towards a top secret rocket laboratory that stunk of 'wrongness' and 'pain' was an everyday occurrence.
The Pichu wisely stayed next to Rai even as Ash faded from view and Va and Zo followed him. Lucario remained, the bags propped up on a rock besides him.
(Since when was I the luggage carrier?) he complained with a bark, and the orange mouse and his little companion burst into snickers.
[12:32PM] – 22nd May – Lavender Town – Pokémon Tower – Second Floor - Erika & Pokémon (Chikorita)
The Celadon Gym Leader was wondering if she was mad. She squashed down another bout of fear as two blac suited team members marched past her. Instead, she kept her head high, marching through as if she owned the place, rather than cowering in a corner like she wanted to.
The little green herb leaf Pokémon that she had adopted trotted at her feet. "Korir," the little thing chirped quietly. "Chikor KorRi." (I'm scared. This place is weird.)
"It's okay." Erika breathed, softly as she slipped up a set of stairs and turned right down a corridor.
The place was horrible. Once, it had been an old haunted mansion on the outskirts of the town. Then it had been turned into a Pokémon burial place, a sort of church, place of rest. Now, the old stone bricks were covered with new, shiny white plastic that hurt her eyes and the tiles floor that made her footsteps echo along the corridor.
"Hey. You!"
Erika felt her blood freeze, even as she turned slowly towards the turquoise haired executive that was pointing at her. She saluted, "Yessir!" she barked out, trying to look attentive.
"Carry this and follow me down to the basement and labs." Proton barked, and Erika hurried to obey, silently cursing. She was meant to be heading upwards! The gear was on the top floor!
Okay, maybe Ash's idea had some merit.
[12:32PM] – 22nd May – Lavender Town – Pokémon Tower – Top Floor - Ash & Pokémon (Eevee and Zorua)
Ash picked up the violet coloured gear from under the large Lavender Tower bell. He shivered in the cool, unearthly breeze and made for the stairs, not wanting to dilly-dally for longer than necessary.
"Where's Erika? I thought she was going to come up after us?" Zorua complained, morphing into Typhlosion for a few seconds, testing out her Illusion ability before switching back into her usual shadow fox. "Is there something wrong?"
Ash shrugged. "We have to head down now. It's either that or we jump of the tower which I am not doing. We should meet her."
"And if we don't?"
Ash bit his lip, shivering in the eerie atmosphere. He frowned, eyes dancing from red, to blue, to purple even then as he realised that something had gone horribly wrong.
[12:35PM] – 22nd May – Lavender Town – Pokémon Tower – Basement Level - Laboratory - Erika & Pokémon (Chikorita)
"Drop it there." Proton dismissed her with a wave of his hand as he marched towards some white coated scientists who were bent over something.
Erika gratefully dropped the heavy box on top of a pile of others, before glancing nervously around the whitewashed lab.
Her eyes fell then, on to the wall of cages on one side, Pokémon of different species huddling within and whinging pitifully. Chikorita shivered against her leg and Erika stole a glance to see if anybody was watching.
No one.
Erika took slow calm measured steps across to the cages and peered into the first one, curiosity overcoming her.
She reeled back with horror, stifling a gasp, and then blinked at the distorted species within. A horrible twisted mix between a Vaporeon and Jolteon, the smooth skin of the water type bubbled and marred by yellow spiky fur while red eyes gleamed at her, a yellow Umbreon ring on the twisted, disfigured head, the black and blue and yellow splotched together like a bad painting. The morph might have worked, if it wasn't for the fact that the bone structure obviously wasn't aligned, and the delicate cat fish body had extra bones that duplicated the limbs and appeared like cancerous tumours over the body.
Erika closed her eyes, trying to get her breathing under control. She glanced, unwillingly towards the next cage. A Gengar, Muk morph, the demon's skin a bubbling mess of poison and the skin literally being burnt off even as the ghost shimmered in and out of existent with a pitiful cry mixed with pain and anger.
Her Chikorita let out a squeak as she tried to talk to a black Charmander on the bottom row, with red eyes and a small black flame burning on its tail, ridged spikes descending across its back. The pitiful creature snarled, revealing shiny fangs.
Erika grabbed the green herb leaf Pokémon from the floor, stepping back in horror at the wall of monstrosities. Turning around she saw what the scientists were bent over, a twisted lump of purple crystal which she realised was a Graveller, eyes yellow and several limbs more than normal. One white coat was fiddling with wires, which led from a grey stone to the crystal poison Graveller who, from the large diamonds that sat embedded into the skin, showed its Sableye cross genetics.
But that grey stone…
No…not a stone…
Erika's eyes widened at the familiar shape. No. No way.
"Excuse me?" one of the scientists had looked up at her staring, open mouthed. "Are you lost?"
Oh no no no. This definitely wasn't good. Not good at all.
The teal haired black garbed executive looked towards her, a wolfish smirk on his face. "Well, well. What do we have here?"
Lance and Sabrina had definitely been the better option.
AN – Woo! Updated! I'm glad to finally get this sorted. I have a better idea now of where my plot is heading. That be said, I don't know which character I'm following for the next chapter yet :S And sorry about Dawn's map, but I actually have one on PowerPoint of which I need to keep track of my characters (It has the coloured circles and everything). Hopefully I will know which Route at least the characters will be on, unlike the Ghost Peak chapter where I destroyed the signpost because I didn't know I couldn't be bothered to check on my SoulSilver cartridge. Ah, well.
It's just occurred to me that the Zorua in the movie is male. My Zorua was originally going to be that one but then I realised I'd have to change it. Since I only specified she joined him in Sinnoh I haven't officially messed anything up yet. (*evil grin*) Now I get to think of a whole sad sob background for Zo :D
I was going to introduce Paul and/or Drew but I decided against it after realising how many people I've introduced. Ah, well. For some reason this is turning into quite a sweet May/Lance. I also don't want to think what chaos has been happening in the other regions. It's bad enough I just randomly dumped May and Dawn in Kanto without extending to the whys and how's.
Thank you soo much for the reviews! I appreciate the support immensely and am glad you enjoy the story!
Muahaha – cliff hanger! (It wasn't intentional! I swear!)
~ Eclipse