"When I was, a young boy, my father, took me into the city, to see a marching band. He said 'Son when, you grow up, would you be, the savior of the broken, the beaten, and the damned?'" - My Chemical Romance "Welcome to the Black Parade"

8 The Journey Begins

I woke up feeling heavy, as if I had been pummeled with lumpy pillows. I instantly suspected that Drew had done something like that to me during the night, but I figured I would've woken up if he had.

Pikachu looked rather disgruntled at being woken up so early, but as soon as Nurse Joy announced there was breakfast waiting for us, he perked up and raced into the kitchen.

This was by far the strangest Pokemon Center I'd ever stayed in. Nurse Joy lived there, so she made all her food and ate in the kitchen usually meant to make remedies for the Pokemon. She also invited us to eat with her, which no other Nurse Joy had ever done before. Usually they kicked us out of the Center with a sweet smile and a brochure of the best places to dine.

"Nurse Joy!" I heard Brock call from the kitchen. "You make the best food! I am simply in love with your cooking!"

Nurse Joy blushed a pink to rival her hair. "Oh, why, thank you Brock," she murmured. Obviously this was a Joy not accustomed to being flirted with.

"Hey look!" Drew said, and I saw him standing in the kitchen doorway. "He's alive." With a flip of his hair, he checked his watch. "For a minute there, I was sure you were going to out-sleep Paul."

I glanced over at Paul's slumbering form, slowing rising and falling with every breath he took. Pikachu met my gaze mischievously, but I shook my head. I think we humiliated Paul enough for at least a week.

"So where are the girls?" I asked, yawning.

Drew looked uncomfortable. "Well, when I went into their room, they kinda… screamed and chased me out with curling irons and… I think it was a can of hairspray, but I can't be sure."

I sauntered into the kitchen, where Brock was stuffing his face with Nurse Joy's cooking. There were waffles and pancakes and all sorts of breakfast foods, and at the sight of them my empty stomach whined. Pikachu leapt off and went straight for the sausage, where the ketchup waited for him.

Ravenous, I piled eggs and waffled on my plate. Syrup and powdered sugar on the waffles; who cares if it gets on the eggs? Orange juice, fresh from the Center's backyard, perfectly chilled. Fresh fruit, too, was waiting eagerly to be eaten.

Finally, after Brock, Drew, and I had cleared away most of the food, the girls showed up. They were already primed and proper for the day, their hair in boisterous curls and their outfits shining like the morning outside.

Dawn was the only one who maintained such a ladylike manner amongst the girls. Misty and May were just so hungry and the food was just so good that they couldn't control themselves.

I love watching Misty eat. It's so funny. She tries to eat slowly but she just can't. May doesn't even try; not entertaining in the least.

Paul came last. How he can sleep for so long is a mystery to me. And what bed head that guy gets! His purple hair was sticking up in the back, and a few strands at the front made their break for freedom by standing straight up in the air defiantly. The rest of his head was rumpled, and his eyes were droopy.

"No chairs?" he mumbled, rubbing one exhausted eye.

We looked around and saw that we had currently occupied every seat. Our heads shook in synchronization.

Paul blew air out his mouth in exasperation and lumbered over to the counter. He grabbed a plate, filled it with pancakes, drowned them in syrup, and left the kitchen. We saw him slouch on over to the couch had slept on and proceed to eat his breakfast. Dawn looked after him sadly, but she soon averted her eyes and went back to eating.

"So," Misty began, swallowing hard, "are we leaving soon?"

"Yep!" I said. "Soon as we're done eating."

Nurse Joy shuffled in, grinning nervously. Brock's eyes bulged. "Um, Ash," she said in her soft voice, "Professor Teak is here to see you."

I swallowed my last bite and followed her into the lobby, where Professor Teak stood lazily. Her mug today read, "Is it true cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?" with a laughing clown face on it. "Hey Ash," she greeted, taking a drink.

"Hi," I replied. "I like the mug."

"What?"

"Mug!" I repeated, reddening. "With an 'm'!"

"Oh," she said uncertainly. "Okay." Warily, she took another sip. "Um, well, I came to give you a map of trails up the mountain." She handed me a map, her eyes cautious.

Misty was suddenly by my side. Gingerly, she teased the map out of my hands and looked it over. "Hey," she said, "these don't go all the way up." She showed the trails to me to prove her point.

"Nope!" Teak responded.

My—I mean, the—beautiful redhead looked confused. (Did I really just say beautiful? I… I meant hideous, ugly, repulsive pumpkin head!) "How come?" she asked, delicate lips parting in a perfect pout.

"No one's ever been to the top of the mountain," Teak told us. She took a long drink of her coffee and swallowed satisfactorily. "At least, they've never come back if they have. So our trails only go halfway up." She gave us a grin and tapped the map importantly. "Don't lose it, mmkay? See ya later." And Teak was gone.

Misty continued to stare at the map. "Ash," she began slowly, "this is craz—."

"Ready to go?" Drew exclaimed, skipping into the room.

"Did you just skip?" Paul asked, glaring.

Drew stopped immediately. "No, I was… hopping."

"Hopping's just as bad," Brock told him.

"He skipped," May called.

Drew flushed an angry red. "I did not!"

"Drew, you're sixteen," Misty chastised. "Don't you know better than to skip?"

"I can skip, right Misty?" Max asked, grinning.

Misty smiled warmly. "Of course you can, Max. Drew, however, can't."

Glaring, Drew stepped right up to her. He towered over the water Trainer, yet with the expression she gave him, Misty may as well have been ten feet tall. Her cerulean eyes burned with a confidence one could only obtain from years of conniving for acknowledgment and respect. She had earned every bit of it, so Drew had every reason to cower under her intense gaze.

"You," Misty said dangerously, "skipped."

Drew seemed to shrink. He ran a nervous hand through his perfect green locks, and swallowed with terror. Finally, he gave the tiniest nod of compliance.

Misty's lips twitched up in a victorious smile. She smirked proudly and sallied over to Dawn and May, accepting a high-five from each of them. I hope Giovanni meets Misty, like, when she's seriously PMSing. Heads would roll, I'm sure.

We guys took turns in the bathroom, changing and making ourselves presentable. The person who took longest in there was Drew, who had to make sure his bangs curled in exactly the right loop and other foppish stuff like that.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror, deemed myself fit to be seen, and and slapped my favorite hat on my head. I'm not sure if ladies thought I looked good, but that didn't really matter. Misty, on the other hand, well, her opinion mattered. I my arm a sniff to see if I smelled good, but all I inhaled was the scent of the Center. With one last glance, I headed out the door to meet my friends and collect my Pokemon. We were ready to start our journey up the mountain.

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"Everyone got everything?" May called, doing one last check.

We all nodded. Nurse Joy looked a little scared, but she pointed to the mountain with a steady hand. "Head straight for the base of Fellorit. There are signs everywhere. All you need to do pick a trail and go."

I smiled farewell and started in the direction she pointed. "Isn't this exciting?" Dawn babbled, a bounce in her step. "We're going on an adventure!"

The townsfolk waved at us as we made our way through the streets. They all looked extremely jovial, save for Yata. Her golden eyes were narrowed in a look of pure hatred as she watched me, and me specifically. She had eyes for no one else, though I sincerely wished she would turn those smoldering pits of rage on someone else. I could literally feel them burning me.

Soon we had left the little town, and the change from civilization to dense forest was so abrupt that it actually startled me. Pikachu chatted happily with the voices of the woods, calling out to other Pokemon with glee. Misty was busy figuring out the map, while May and Drew had started to bicker. Brock, Dawn, and Max had struck up a conversation about food, I think, leaving me with Paul the Somber.

Saying you were with Paul should really mean you were alone, because he's so quiet and determined to be ignored that you may as well be. I watched Pikachu scamper ahead of us, sharing a conversation with a Treeko on the trees above him.

We were nearing the edge of the woods after about twenty minutes of travel. Drew and May's argument had escalated to a shouting match, causing the creatures in the trees to quiver and cry out irritably. I was just starting to talk to Misty when a voice caused all of us to turn.

"Fotia!" someone called.

We stopped to see an elderly woman stumbling after us. She was panting heavily, and looked ready to collapse. Brock, ever the gentleman, was instantly at her side. "Are you alright, ma'am?" he asked with concern, touching her arm.

"Bah!" the woman cried, wrenching away from his help. "Madame Eulixia needs help from no one!"

I stared at her. Madame Eulixia... that was the fortune teller that lived next to Teak!

She was the typical fortune teller, draped in shawls and smelling strongly of incense. Her hands were very old and withered, and her back was bent, as if she had spent many years hunched over books or a crystal ball. Her eyes were shockingly blue, and obscured by strange, milky clouds. I wondered how she could possibly see with fog in her eyes until I realized she was blind.

Misty gaped at the woman. "Can we help you?" she asked timidly.

The woman turned her unseeing eyes upon me, and to be honest, it scared the hell out of me. "You," she said, pointing a gnarled finger at me. "Cináed."

I blinked, shocked. "No, I'm Ash," I told her. How on earth did she know his name?

She shook her head. "Cináed. Fotia. Fire."

"Wh-what?" I questioned. The lady had me puzzled. "How do you know Cináed?"

"Many years ago," she began, "Madame Eulixia had a dream. An angel came to Madame Eulixia and told her to come to Oupavos. Angel said, 'Wait for fire to return'. I have waited, and fire has come back." She reached into one of her shawls and pulled out a medallion. "Here," she said, placing it blindly in my hands. "This tell you secrets, like before."

Utterly confused, I stared at the medallion. There were intrinsic markings all over it, but they were complete gibberish to me. "I don't understand," I said as clearly as I could.

She didn't seem to hear me. "Go the way you took before. It has not changed. This time, Cináed, you not fail." A strange smile played on her thin lips. She shook back the sleeve of her outfit and removed a dull gold bracelet from her fragile wrist. "This time, Madame Eulixia give you this."

"Look, lady, I—," I began, but she cut me off by slashing out and grabbing my wrist. She snapped the bracelet on.

Madame Eulixia yanked me forward, so that we were nose to nose. Being so close to her unseeing eyes unnerved me greatly. It was all I could do to keep from yanking away in terror. "The fire shall burn the sky to the ground, Cináed," she whispered. "Do not doubt it." Abruptly, she released her hold on my wrist. Without another word, she turned back into the woods and disappeared into the trees.

I could feel the eyes of my friends on my back, boring into me like drills. My eyes were glued to the bracelet she had snapped to my wrist. It wasn't cold, like I expected, but rather warm and comfortable. It felt as if I had worn it for years.

"That was weird," Dawn remarked. The others nodded in agreement.

"Ash?" Misty asked, though her voice sounded very far away. I was entranced by the band on my wrist, unable to take my eyes off it. "Ash!" she cried, and I came back to reality with a snap. "What the hell was that?" she exclaimed, outraged.

It was the strangest thing. For a moment, while I was staring at the band, I thought there had been flames dancing in the gold. "Nothing," I murmured. "C'mon, let's get going.

How had Madame Eulixia known my father's name?

*AN: Look at me: pathetic. I can't even go three days before I succumb to the urge to update. I need to work on my self-restraint.

Are things starting to come together? Are we getting to where the pieces are starting to fit? I hope so!

If you like my story and think OTHER people would like it too, REVIEW! How many of you see a story that has 5 reviews next to one that has 200 and pick the one that has FIVE? Yeah, not too many of you. Even if the story with 200 reviews is total crap, you're still more likely to click on it. So help me out and review! It's what you want, it's what I want, Spock wants you to, so it's only logical that you do. That's all I have to say. Till next time! |\\/| Live long and prosper.*