Chapter 9 - Trust
Legend says that a pokémon named Mew guided the people of Rota to wealth and prosperity for centuries until present time. But in this story, the same creature that brought happiness to the land also brought chaos and destruction; for it was Mew that created the magic...and what made it forbidden was man's greed.
"Double Team!" Eevee shouted as copies of himself surrounded him in a full circle. All of them had a childish sneer; any of them could've been the real one. Aaron gritted his teeth; Aiden could be in danger and he was stuck having to fight this boy. He didn't want to hurt someone like him; but he had no other choice; it didn't look like he was going to let him go without a battle. "Too scared to move?" the brunette taunted. "I'll make the first attack then, Shadow Ball!" all copies at once formed a dark sphere in their hands and shot it directly at the center; but before it could even touch the Aura Guardian, it made contact with a light blue barrier instead. The attacks disappeared after hitting; leaving Eevee in shock. "No way, you deflected it?"
The shield vanished as soon as it came; showing one very serious Aaron. "My turn." he closed his eyes and quickly found one of the copies having a brighter flame than the rest. Not hesitating, he summoned up a sphere of his own and shot it at the brunette; a direct hit. The attack sent him flying to the ground; yet he got up afterward with his clothes covered in dirt. "You got me all dirty you meanie! Now Espeon's gonna get mad at me!" unexpectedly little tears began to form in his eyes; instead of standing up, he just sat on the ground and continued to cry.
Aaron sweat-dropped; he didn't see this coming. "Uh, are you alright..?" he asked while walking closer to it.
He sniffled while he wiped some of his tears away. "N-no..." the brunette then looked up with an evil sneer. "I feel better now that you fell for it." Eevee quickly punched the man on his stomach; his fist surrounded with a purple glow. "Toxic."
Aaron staggered back; he could feel the poison spreading in his body so fast that his system went numb. He then collapsed on the ground; the tables have turned. "Heh, you shouldn't have underestimated me." all the man could do was groan in reply as he tried to stand but failed. The child simply stared at him, a blank look on his face. "I wouldn't try to struggle; instead of real poison, I used dark aura to paralyze you. The effect should last for a few hours; draining the aura in your body. Even if the poison wears off, it's going to take some time before you can actually move again."
"...why...did you take Aiden..?" there was a long pause...and then, instead of an answer, Eevee began to carry Aaron's motionless body and let him lean on a nearby tree. "Are you more comfortable now?"
All the Aura Guardian could do was look at him with a mixture of shock and confusion. "You poisoned me and you're asking if I'm well?"
"Big brother said that my job is to not let you interfere with what he's doing. Since we're not going to do anything for a while, wanna talk?" the man didn't reply; he was too busy acting surprised. "Oh, right, uhm, I don't know what they're gonna do with your student. I think Father will be happy though if he could see him." the brunette said as he sat down and crossed his legs.
"Father?"
"He's not our real father, but he was the one that rescued us and gave us the ability to use dark aura. Me, Umbreon, and Espeon were all...uhm, well, we all ran away from our owners. Umbreon and Espeon are brother and sister; I guess I'm kind of a third wheel to them; but they both treat me as if I'm their younger brother." he smiled unconsciously; his memories of Umbreon and Espeon were mostly good ones...unlike the rest of his childhood. "Mister, do all people like pokémon?"
Aaron was a little caught-off guard with the sudden question which caused him to hesitate. "Y-yes."
"Even the ones that keep pokémon as their slaves?"
He hesitated again. "Were you...kept as a slave before?"
Eevee shook his head. "No...I remember Big brother and big sister saying they were. Actually, I was the total opposite of a slave. My owner liked petting me...she always gave me a lot of gifts...a lot of food...but she never let me outside. I was always stuck in the house..." his voice trailed off. "Do you like pokémon?"
"If I said no, then why do I have a pokémon as a student?" Aaron coughed; his body shook a little. "It just so happens that...not every human is a good person. But it doesn't mean that every human is like that as well. It's sad that...not all people and pokémon can't be at peace with each other..." the Aura Guardian muttered softly. "But...it doesn't mean that it's impossible for people and pokémon...to coexist with each other either..." he closed his eyes and took a few breathes before speaking again. "Eevee, I really need to get to Aiden. Now. He could be in big danger."
"...I don't get it."
Aaron stared at him; trying to figure out what he meant. "Don't get what?"
"You're not lying. You weren't lying about anything. Everything. But...but...big brother wouldn't do anything wrong. Ever. So then why did he tell me that you're my enemy..? Was he lying? He can't, right? Tell me you were lying about everything!" the boy was starting to shout now. He quickly turned away, but the man already saw small tears forming.
"Eevee..." his whole body was trembling; it was obvious. He could hear the stifled sobs coming from him as he tried to decide what to do now. "Eevee, please. I know it's hard, but I need to-"
The Aura Guardian stopped talking when the brunette reached in to his pocket and brought out a small vial filled with a light blue liquid. "Take this. Dark aura or not, poison is still poison."
"Is that...the antidote?"
He nodded. "Yes. You'll feel a little weak after you take it, but in a matter of seconds your body will be able to move around normally again." he pulled out the tiny cork and slowly let Aaron drink the liquid inside. It was just as Eevee said; he soon felt much better and the feeling of being paralyzed was gone. The man stood up and shot an Aura Sphere to check that the effects were truly gone. He smirked when its power was still intact; he at least wouldn't be defenseless if he tried to save Aiden. "Thank you. I must be going now." he looked away and started to walk in to the forest before a voice stopped him. "Wait, before you go, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Aiden...why do you care for him so much? He's just your student...not your son..."
Aaron smiled. "He is my student...and therefore my son."
And so Eevee was left standing in the small clearing, wondering if what he chose was right..."That kid...sure is lucky to have someone like him..."
-o-
"Come back here you coward!" Lucario yelled. Umbreon simply stuck his tongue out at him as he continued to use Agility to jump from one tree to another. The jackal pokémon followed suit and the chase continued on until the teen stopped in front of the river. Aiden was still being carried by Umbreon and couldn't move since he was still bound and couldn't wrestle his way out of it. He found it a little terrifying that his captor still has enough focus to keep him down and fight Lucario at the same time.
The black-haired male glanced back; the river behind him was a far stretch and the running water was fast enough for someone to easily drown in. He could've jumped over it alone, but not with someone else. He was not about to leave his prize behind and report back to his leader empty-handed. No, that was out of the question.
"Guess I have no choice but to fight you." he said as his gold eyes suddenly glowed silver white. "Hidden Power!" black waves of energy came out from his body and spread across the field they were on. Lucario jumped out of the way and landed on a nearby branch; lowering the aura he emitted and stayed motionless.
Umbreon looked around as he tried to sense where his enemy was. His hand was glowing; taking the form of a white claw. Without hesitating, he took aim and slashed the tree nearby Aiden. At first, nothing seemed to have happened, but then a second after the trunk came crashing down; forcing Lucario to jump out and expose himself. "Hmph. Not bad." the pokémon muttered as he shot an Aura Sphere and the teen barely evaded it. The black-haired teen didn't reply; he looked like he was thinking of what to do next. The steel/fighting type noticed this and lunged forward with his fist ready.
The next couple seconds were filled with hand-to-hand combat. Lucario continued on the offensive while Umbreon couldn't do anything but block all the attacks that were thrown at him. Whenever he tried to counter, his opponent was faster and destroyed the opportunity. Before long the teen couldn't keep up and let one of the punches slip past him; making contact with his cheek. He flew back and fell on the ground; inches away from the river behind him. Wiping the small amounts of blood on his face, he stood up and this time was the one that did the first strike only to be stopped by a hand. "That should be enough, Umbreon."
"Sir Aaron?"
"Master?" Aiden and Lucario said in unison; both of their faces filled with shock. Umbreon was stunned the most. "H-how..? Eevee was supposed to keep you down..! That worthless brat-!" a swift punch to his stomach cut his sentence short and made him knelt on the ground; clutching his abdomen and trembling slightly. "You call your brother a worthless brat?" the man asked; sounding almost angry.
"Brother? Hah! He's nothing more than a hopeless kid who's too frightened to face the world." he muttered at the same time trying to stand up again.
"So he's just a pawn to you?"
"More like a stepping stone to achieving my revenge on humans." he sneered as he met eye-to-eye with the Aura Guardian. "This form that I'm in right now is only temporary. It just so happens that humans are better in controlling dark aura than pokémon. If I help Father with his goal, I'll receive power that no one can ever defeat; I'll become invincible!" out of the blue, the water in the river started to rise; forming a huge wave that faced all three Aura users. "I will be under no human ever again!" Umbreon unleashed the wave on them; giving them little time to dodge it. Lucario was able to, but Aaron couldn't because he was trying to get to his other student who was still tied and had no chance of escaping. "Aiden!" the attack engulfed the both of them; swallowing the two and pulling them back in the water like a tsunami. The Aura Guardian couldn't see anything for a moment; the river was moving too fast to fight against the current and there were tall rocks scattered everywhere; the river was deeper than he thought. He pushed himself up to the surface to gulp some air before returning back down.
Frantically looking around, he finally spotted Aiden under the water; motionless like a dead body. As fast as he could, he swam down; fearing the worst. Grabbing the boy's chest firmly, he began his ascend back above the water; his limited time running out.
For what seemed like an eternity, Aaron's head finally came out of the water and was breathing rapidly. His student was unconscious, dead, he wasn't sure. Either way, he needed to get both of them to dry land before they come across something really bad...
As they floated down the river, he had to keep on moving in order to avoid the jagged rocks that were fast approaching them every few seconds. Desperate, he reached out for one that he can grab and held on it tightly; trying his best not to lose his grip. Glancing at the grass meters from where they were, he looked back at Aiden, then at the grass again. Moving carefully so as to not lose his apprentice again in the water, he positioned himself closer and closer to the land in front of him until he could just reach out to it...
Almost...there...
He was about to get to safety when suddenly another wave made him lose his grip on the rock. "No!" the two would've been swept away if it weren't for a hand holding on to them. "Hold on!" a voice familiar to Aaron shouted. He looked up and saw Eevee; trying with all his power to pull them up to shore and out of the water. The tug-of-war between the river and the boy went on for a few minutes till he was able to successfully haul them on to land. The three of them collapsed on the grass; out of breathe. "Are you...alright?" the brunette asked; still gasping.
"Y-yeah...thank you..." the man replied; also tired from the entire ordeal. After inhaling more air, he gave a big sigh of relief and went to check if Aiden was fine. He was, fortunately; he passed out from the lack of air but didn't seem to have any injuries. This made the Aura Guardian sigh again. To make sure that Aiden wasn't hurt; he concentrated his aura and let it flow in to the teen's body steadily.
"What are you doing?" Eevee questioned; curious.
"Aura Transfer. If used correctly, it can save another person's life; a healing ability."
"Oh...that's pretty amazing."
The two were silent as Aaron focused on breaking the dark aura that surrounded Aiden's body. After he did that, he tried to make him comfortable by fixing the position he was in. The teen looked like he was just sleeping peacefully now; his body wasn't as tense as compared to before.
"Eevee, how did you find us?" he suddenly asked.
"Well, I didn't really do anything after you left." the brunette replied. "I was taking a nap you see...and then when I just woke up, I sensed a large amount of aura coming from the river. I knew it was yours so-"
"Master! Master, where are you?" they both heard Lucario shouting as loud as he could.
"You better get going. Lucario won't let you go if he catches you." Aaron cut in his story while showing a small smile. "Wait, you're not going to take me hostage or something?"
"You just saved our lives. This is the least I could do."
Hesitantly, he nodded. With a small 'thank you', he quickly disappeared; just as the jackal pokémon came out and rushed to his teacher and saying how happy he was that he was still alive.
-o-
Brother? Hah! He's nothing more than a hopeless kid who's too frightened to face the world.
So he's just a pawn to you?
More like a stepping stone to achieving my revenge on humans.
Eevee stifled another sob; but he couldn't stop the tears that kept on coming down his cheeks. He was curled up in a small cave; his favorite place that was nearby where Father, Umbreon, and Espeon stayed. He would always come here if he wanted to think about something or if he was sad or angry. Right now, he was all of those three things.
Big brother? Why do you hate humans so much?
'Cause they're nothing but greedy liars that's why. You should beware the ones that seem friendly to you the most Eevee. Those are normally the ones that betray you in the end.
Betray? What does that mean?
Trust me; you're better off not knowing how it feels.
"I...I don't know who to trust anymore..."
A/N: Okay, I lied. I didn't get to explain the Forbidden Magic. Oh well. Anyway, after nearly two months I finally updated! Soooo happy~ If this was a crappy chapter I'm sorry about that (if you spot any mistakes please PM me). I guess I kinda got caught in the action. I'm also happy at how long this chapter turned out (since well, I rarely ever get my chapters nearby 3,000 words) ^ ^
Please Review? :D
Edit: I think ShinyTogeticFTW and Mysteryfan17 are now kinda like my micro-beta people. :D Thanks to them my grammar isn't so bad! XD