"Mandite?" I felt myself start to panic, turning my head this way and that. Where could he be? The dark figure in the trees had stopped moving around, and was standing still. For the moment, Aurora and I were safe, but time is short. I had to find Mandite – the problem was that if I went to go look for Mandite, I would leave Aurora unprotected.
"Mandite, where are you?" I hissed, still searching for the little warrior. All I had to do was look for a pair of glowing, yellow eyes, I reasoned. That would only be possible if he was facing me – I wouldn't be able to see them if he was turned around, or he was far away. Or if he was laying face-down on the ground, dead. I shuddered, remembering Bruno's merciless actions. If that dark shadow I saw was him, I sure hope he hasn't found Mandite.
"Mandite!" I whispered, wanting to be heard, and then not wanting to. It was perfectly possible that the thing would hear me too.
"Don't worry child," a feminine voice, gentle and dreamy, "you are safe here." Slowly, I turned around, to face what at first looked like three, pastel-pink, glowing crescents. But when I focused my night vision, a body was connected, with a rounded abdomen that tapered into a graceful long neck. Atop that neck was a pointed head set with two warm, auburn eyes, and crowned by two metallic moons and a pink sphere. It took me a second to realize who was floating before me, her radiating power relieving me of the pain and fright from my dream. I knelt on my knee and bowed.
"Cresselia..." I mumbled, and the crowned head nodded.
"Rise, Lucario," Cresselia said, "and come with me." The Lunar Pokemon glided through the air easily, making her way towards the dark shadow. Obligingly, I followed her through the forest, the shadow becoming more and more evident. It was not before long when I saw a white plume that rose over the top of a head, and two, magnificent, icy blue eyes glowing in the gloom of the midnight forest. A glowing ring of crimson ridges circled around the head, which connected it to a body seemed to be created out of shadows itself. As we grew closer, my mind was at once at unease. I glanced down, and noticed something sitting a little ways off, touching his feet innocently. It was Mandite, to my great relief and despair. The pokemon sitting across from him was Darkrai.
"What is it now?" a deep, whisper came from the Legendary pokemon of nightmares. Cresselia seemed to flutter her crescent wings in distress.
"It seems to me that you have disturbed yet another sleeper!" she said angrily, out of her common, gentle character, "First this child and now him." Mandite stirred in his seat, and said in a small voice,
"It's all right with me," Mandite said, "I have nightmares all the time either way." Cresselia now turned to look at Mandite, with utmost surprise.
"Poor child," she muttered to herself, gazing at Mandite with a soft expression. I simply stared, not sure what to think. Here I stood with Mandite, and two Legendaries that were rumored to despise each other in every way. Darkrai was rumored to be an evil villain, causing other pokemon harm through his nightmares, but here he seemed to be peacefully standing atop two thin legs, merely watching us with his large, azure eyes. Thinking back on my nightmare earlier, I decided I could ask him about it.
"Darkrai, I -" The Legendary simply looked at me, calmly, but his gaze brought the whole fear of every bad dream possible into me. I shuddered, unable to continue with my question.
"Darkrai, don't look at him like that," Cresselia hissed, and Darkrai lowered his gaze, looking at the ground.
"Continue," he said, his figure bowed.
"Well, I had a dream about a certain event," I said, still shaken, "and I am very sure that it had happened some years ago, as if I was looking at the past." Darkrai folded his arms.
"And what happened?" he asked. I felt my legs become numb with the thought of telling that dream again, but this was a Legendary asking me. How am I supposed to say no? So I did tell them – I told them everything, for I remembered every single, horrifying detail. And as I did, I saw Cresselia frown, and Darkrai become stiff. Mandite just sat there, dazed by something. When I was finally finished, I was trembling from fear, visions of a murderer with thick claws, and the final scream ringing in my ears. Everyone was quiet and still, with only the wind to fill in the silence. Finally, Darkrai sighed heavily.
"I am sorry you had to go through that," he said, sounding extremely guilty. Cresselia only smiled sympathetically, floating over to him so she could give him a comforting pat with her tiny paw.
"It's not your fault," Cresselia mumbled, "pokemon just tend to think of bad things when you're around." Darkrai glanced up at her, seemingly unappreciative of her comment.
"Thanks," Darkrai said, sarcastically, before continuing seriously, "but this time it was intentional." The rest of us froze with shock and disbelief – how could anyone bear to send something that horrible to another?
"Giratina decided it was finally time for you to see the reason why he needed to vacate the Pokemon World of alien species," Darkrai went on wearily, "I just never knew that the dream was going to turn out that way." So, Giratina was behind this – again. This time, I knew why he wanted Mandite and the rest of the alien species out, so that he could restore some peace to the rest of the Pokemon World. I only wished that I didn't have to learn it that way.
"Mandite is a good child, I have no reason to doubt that," the Legendary continued, "but Giratina fears that if anyone is following him that poses a threat must not be drawn here by him. Mandite is much more renowned than you think, Lucario." I looked down at Mandite, who rocked back and forth on his heels, not making eye contact with me. All along, he had been hiding that piece of information from me, and I never knew. The way Mandite was rocking nervously told me that he was waiting for me to get angry with him, only this time he wasn't going to say anything back.
"Hey, Mandite," I said, feeling no sort of frustration of any kind, "I understand if you had to keep any secrets from me – and I am sorry it had to be suddenly revealed like that." Mandite blinked, and looked up at me with round, yellow eyes.
"So... Did U – I mean Talons had been shot like that?" the little warrior asked in an extremely timid voice – it was unusual that Mandite would speak that way. It sounded so sad and yearning, unlike Mandite's outgoing tone. It surprised me.
"Yes," I said, "why?" Mandite sat down again, and touched the tip of his feet, saying nothing else. Cresselia clucked her tongue in sympathy, as she glided over to him. Darkrai still stared at the ground, not wanting to give anyone a nightmare.
"And I could assume the color of the portal was blue?" he asked me, reminding me that I had forgotten to mention the portal's color. It was an insignificant fact compared to the rest of the dream's content, but since Darkrai asked, I simply told him,
"No – it was red," Darkrai suddenly looked up at the sky, as if he realized something important.
"Red?" he asked, not quite sure he heard correctly. Not sure what to think, I nodded. Somehow, the color of the portal was a vital clue to a bigger understanding.
"Yes, it was red," The thin legs supporting Darkrai shrank back into the rest of his body as he began to float higher into the air.
"Darkrai, where are you going?" Cresselia demanded, noticing Darkrai drifting away. Darkrai turned around briefly.
"If Heatran asks where I am," he spoke, "tell him that I am going to see Giratina." Before Cresselia could ask why, Darkrai flew off into the night, once again becoming a dark shadow in the distance, leaving us in silence. Cresselia shook her head, and muttered something about Darkrai being a lunatic. Watching her, I was wondering why she, Darkrai, and Heatran were out here in the Scarred Lands instead of their homes? I could imagine why Darkrai would, since he had to give me the nightmare message, but the other two seemed to have no relevance whatsoever.
"What brings you here?" I found myself asking the deity of full moon. Cresselia turned her crowned head to gaze at me with a gentle expression, but within those sun-lit, earthen pools I saw a glimmer of concern.
"The portal in your dream led Bruno somewhere in the Pokemon World – our universe," she explained, "and now he has been making frequent trips here, according to Giratina. We're not exactly sure why he's here and what he wants, but Mewtwo suggests that Bruno is trying to create an army of pokemon to take control of this world and his own." I shuddered – thinking about someone as cruel as Bruno taking over all the pokemon regions and throwing them into chaotic stupor was frightening. Surely, Bruno's ways would be spread through the pokemon and humans, breaking the balance between peace and war. There would be a war all right – a massacre.
"The Legendaries are trying to locate Bruno – several teams have been assigned to sweep through their home region. Next year, it would be the Regis' turn." Cresselia continued, "Until then, Darkrai, Heatran, and I are looking across the whole of Sinnoh for him."
"If you find any trace of him, please let us know," she concluded. I bowed, showing that I would. Cresselia smiled, and then, ushering a quiet Mandite and I, she started to lead us back to our sleeping area. As I walked through the dark, I began to realize that this whole journey to bring Mandite home was much more than I bargained for. That one night, watching him touch his feet so innocently hours after we first met across the campfire, I could have never dreamed what a predicament this situation brought me into. Never once I have ever thought that this would be so serious.
"Why me?" I found myself wondering aloud. Cresselia gave me a sideways glance.
"What do you mean, Lucario?" she asked.
"I mean – I am not trying to blame anyone for this – why was it me who must carry this responsibility? Could it have been someone else?" Cresselia sighed sadly, closing her eyes to think.
"It could have been anyone else, Lucario," she said, "but a random twist of fate landed Mandite with you." I lowered my eyes – I am glad to know and travel with Mandite, but all of the troubles it has and will cost me was back breaking. If I had known about this before hand, I may have left Mandite to fend for himself.
But how could I?
"Lucario," Cresselia began, "I know it has been hard for you to cope with the secrets and dangers, and on behalf of the Legendaries, I'm telling you that we are all grateful for your sacrifice. You were kind-hearted enough to take responsibility for a stranger, and make him into your friend. If it was someone else, Mandite may still be wandering throughout Sinnoh by himself without our notice."
"Then how come Giratina knew he was with us?" I asked, not sure why there was such a difference between Mandite traveling by himself and him traveling with us. Cresselia small mouth curled into a smile.
"Mew," she simply answered.
"Why Mew?" Since when did a Legendary become my guardian angel?
"Lucario, are you familiar with the story of Sir Aaron's lucario and the Tree of Beginning?" Was I? That story had spread through the lucario colonies like wildfire, all claiming Sir Aaron's lucario a hero. I remember my father fondly telling me that legend every other night as a child before going to bed. It had been my favorite story to listen to.
"Yes," I said, "I've heard it plenty of times."
"Then I am going to tell you a different story about the same lucario," Cresselia said, smiling, "do you want to hear it?" I nodded, intrigued by this new version.
"Once upon a time, back in the ages when pokeballs did not exist, there lived a mother and father lucario in the marine colony." she began, as Mandite and I listened, "This pair had two children – their first one died, and so a second child was granted." Unlike the tales I have heard about Sir Aaron's lucario, this one sounded eerily familiar. I thought about my childhood.
"This second child grew up to be a fine lucario, bonded with a mate, and raised a their own child. But it wasn't before long when a civil war broke out, and the lucario decided that he must help end it so that his child could live in a more, peaceful world." At that point, I couldn't help but interrupt.
"If Sir Aaron's lucario had a family, how come he never mentioned them?" I asked, but Cresselia shushed me.
"The lucario eventually found Sir Aaron, and trained under his new master. And, during all this time, he had forgotten about his family – a sad and unfortunate demise. So, his bloodline was passed down without notice. Nobody ever knew that there was descendants from him because he wasn't there to claim them."
"So, when the lucario had sacrificed his life to save Mew and the Tree of Beginning, Mew decided to honor him by looking over his posterity – if she could find one. So, she looked throughout the region of Sinnoh for lucarios that shared his wave patterns. That search brought her to a mother lucario named Anka and her second riolu living in the marine colony." Cresselia concluded, winking, "And I'll leave you to figure out the rest of it." I was beside myself with shock and surprise. Instead of feeling proud and honored, I didn't know what to think. Was I supposed to be happy? Was Sir Aaron's lucario really my ancestor? That story seemed so much like a fictional happening, since I thought it barely had to do anything with me. It turns out that I am related to that very lucario. I don't know how to feel right now.
"To finally answer your question," Cresselia said, "Mew one day checked on you and she happened to see Mandite as well. She reported this to Giratina, and so now he knows." The Lunar Pokemon drifted over to the tree I was once sleeping under, and where Aurora still slept. She bent her crowned head down to peer at the content female lucario.
"Is this your mate?" she asked, and I felt myself get very warm in the face.
"No," I stated promptly.
"You wished she was," Mandite piped up, and I glared at him. Cresselia chuckled, watching the two of us.
"No," I retorted, "it's just... Not like that." I love Aurora, I really do, but to consider her as being my mate was out of the question. I have never even dared to think of such thing while she pined for Zhoke. Well, maybe once... My face was now very hot with embarrassment. Mandite was doubling up in silent laughter, as Cresselia smiled.
"I must leave you now," she said graciously, beginning to float away just as Darkrai did, "you are a brave soul, with greatness running in your veins – take care, Lucario." I bowed respectfully in return, and Cresselia sped off into the night, disappearing from view. Sitting back down again next to Aurora, I thought about the conversation that took place this night. Mandite went to his place on the other side of the tree, claiming he didn't want to catch the cooties. But we were still in comfortable talking distance. I was staring up at the stars, thinking about what has happened so far when Mandite started to talk.
"Did you ever know you were related to this famous guy, or felt that way?" he asked. I closed my eyes, the truth finally sinking into my mind. It was actually very interesting, and indeed I am proud of my heritage.
"No – I thought that the story was so remote in my perspective..." I let my dialogue drift off, smiling. I heard Mandite shift around on the other side of the tree.
"At least you're not the famous person," Mandite chuckled, perhaps not very whole-heartedly, "there's always this guy who wants to take you down when you're famous." By the sound of his voice, Mandite was speaking wistfully, perhaps wanting to be a normal child for once. He was a child, and yet he's a knight in training. It made me wonder how his Uncle Tally treated him.
"Did you ever wish to be normal?" I asked him, leaning back on the tree. Mandite remained silent, perhaps thinking the question over for a while, before admitting,
"Once or twice – but life would be really boring if I was normal all the time, you understand?" I thought about it – before Aurora, my days have passed on by as one, packet of solitary wanderings without nothing much happening. Aurora's quirky attitude had made everyday some kind of little adventure. Adding Mandite to the mix changed everything – now I am taking role as a hero, or a failure. But, thinking back to the memories of us opening fortune cookies, playing chess, racing through forests, running from combees, and winning pokemon battles, brought a sense of gladness. None of that would have happened if I denied Mandite's request for home. Even if I had to face this difficulty, I am glad I said yes.
"I understand," I smiled.
"Good," he answered, shifting around.
"Mandite?"
"Yah,"
"Do you know anything about Sir Talons from my dream? Was he famous?" My question was met with a long silence.
"Mandite?"
"Yes, I knew him," Mandite's voice was so soft, I had to strain to hear it.
"Did he know Bruno before... when that happened?" I asked him, and there was a long pause again.
"Yes – they knew each other for many, many years." Mandite's voice seemed cold, "Talons raised him, you know." This response shocked me – if Talons raised Bruno, then how come Bruno and Talons hated each other?
"Talons must have been a terrible baby-sitter, then," I reasoned – if Talons had treated him terribly, then that would perfectly explain their hatred. The answer I got was completely unexpected.
"He was not!" Mandite hissed angrily, "Didn't you say he wanted to protect his friends? Isn't that enough proof?" Taken aback, I countered,
"He could have been a bad child-raiser, but a good friend."
"He wasn't!" Mandite continued, still fuming.
"How would you know?" I asked, sticking to my point.
"Because he raised me, dummy!" Mandite seemed to explode, "I know because he raised me like I was his kin! He's my uncle! Uncle Tally!" Mandite's voice cracked as he broke into a sob, the very first time I have ever witnessed him break down. Meanwhile, I was set aside with surprise – that would explain why Talons and Mandite fought in similar styles, and acted so calmly, unafraid. That would explain Mandite's dazed expression as he listened to my tale of that dream. I listened to the Mandite's small voice hiccup as he cried. With that said, he had proved me wrong – if Talons had raised him, then Talons must have been the best uncle to rear such a unique, wonderful kid. And Talons must have been much more than a knight with an apprentice – he must have been a real uncle that really did care. The vision of him staring straight at me, his emerald eyes hard as the stone, before he was shot through the jaw, stayed in my mind.
"Mandite," I said, feeling very ashamed, "I'm sorry for what I said – I was wrong, and I am sorry that you had to blatantly tell me that to prove so." I waited for a response from the little warrior. Would he continue to be moody, or forgive me?
"I would have to tell you who Uncle Tally was, eventually," Mandite finally said, "and like he always said, 'there's no use crying that much about it, unless you want to fill my fifty gallon saltwater tank'." We both chuckled.
"And what did you usually say?" I asked.
"'Okay'," Mandite answered, "and then Uncle Tally would say, 'I appreciate doing with you, Mandite – now fill 'er up!'." Again, we laughed weakly. He made it clear he missed his uncle very much. I stared up at the stars, thinking about where could his uncle be. Did he miss his nephew as well? Was he hunting down Bruno for revenge? Fore some reason, that reminded me of Darkrai's sudden leaving earlier that night.
"Mandite?"
"Wassup?"
"Why do you think Darkrai left so suddenly after I said the portal I saw in my dream was red?" I heard Mandite tap the side of his face, a soft "pat, pat".
"Funny – I was about to ask you the same thing,"
"Well, I know nothing about portals,"
"And I know nothing about pokemon except blaziken sounds like a type of spicy meat and mammal-like pokemon lays eggs,"
"That's more than I know," I pointed out.
"Well – you know the portal was red, at least, and it was in the shape of a square."
"Hexagon," I corrected.
"See? You know more than I do about portals." I only chuckled. Feeling sleep creep into my limbs, I let the question remain unanswered for now. My thoughts once again drifted to Bruno, running in a crouched position, his masculine figure making him look very different than anything I have ever seen.
"What species is Bruno?" I asked Mandite.
"He's a rat,"
"Really? But isn't Talons a rat, too?"
"But Uncle Tally is not hopped up on steroids," Mandite said.
"Steroids?" I asked, not knowing what they were.
"Ah, never mind." Again, silence took the foothold, the weariness of the lack of sleep draining my energy. I closed my eyes, slumping, my tail brushing against Aurora's.
"Hey Lucario," I heard Mandite whisper.
"What?"
"Is your wedding ceremony going to be indoors or outdoors?"
"My... Wedding?" I asked, not comprehending what he meant.
"You know – the one you're having when you and Aurora get married."
"Mandite... There is no wedding." I groaned.
"Oh yes there is," Mandite teased, "and I'm gonna be there!"
"I don't know what you're talking about..." I mumbled, sleep dragging my conscience in the mud.
"And there is going to be muffins, right?" Mandite asked hopefully.
"Mandite, Aurora and I are not going to get married, so can you please drop the subject?" I said, turning over, my tail curling around Aurora's unintentionally.
"I know – I'll plan the design of the ceremony!"
"Good night, Mandite," I moaned, wanting to sleep.
"Do you like pink ribbons?"
"Good night, Mandite,"
Another chapter to answer some questions. I hope it's all right... =(