Me: Hmm. What do I say about myself? ... Ahhmmm, well, no... I don't think I need to excuse myself, so much as apologize and let you get to your reading, yes?
Riley: What? You're back? I thought you were gone for good! (Damn! I really should have sent the truck to run her over... I'm such a goody-goody!)
Me: Yeah. I missed you, too, a bit. But, hey, at least things will get a little more interesting from now on in the story. Enjoy your reading, my ever patient audience! (Hmmm, Maybe it should really be 'occulence'? They are reading after all...)
XXXXXXXXX
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Chapter Eighteen:
Rage of the Lakes
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'Hey, Riley...'
Looking glumly into Lucario's crimson gaze, Riley sighed his acknowledgment.
'You've been really quiet,' she said flatly, 'Depressed, too. Do humans generally have such a small emotional scope, or is it just you lately?'
"Sorry, Lucario. I've just been thinking about how I'm going to apologize for biting Allan's head off..." her 'human' partner replied.
Glancing at the route ahead, the Pokémon muttered, 'I see...'
"Do you think I should put it out of my mind for now?" Riley asked, curiously.
'Well,' Lucario shrugged, 'I might think so, and I may even feel so, but what you do in that head of yours is generally your business.'
"That's fairly diplomatic of you..." Riley said, feeling her response was less than helpful.
'Riley. I could say a lot of things on this matter, but you and him will have to work this out on your own,' Lucario stated , neither for nor against the ultimate outcome of these events.
"Right... I want his forgiveness," Riley watched the ground for tracks left by their rogue friends, "That much is certain."
Lucario raised her face to a pleasant breeze, 'Well, he won't be against you, at any rate.'
"Would you give me your reason for believing those outrageous notions?" Riley asked, sensing once again that Lucario knew more about what was going on than he did.
'You can forbid a year's worth of Pokétreats, and I still wouldn't tell you.'
"Lucario!" Riley held his hands akimbo.
'Hey, there's some of his tracks,' Lucario said squatting down to investigate, ignoring Riley completely, 'Looks like we missed him by way more than an hour... You were moping too long!'
Not sure how to respond to this, Riley stayed quiet, and allowed her to continue the search.
'That's not all,' she said, raising her head high enough to see him from her peripheral view, 'It seems like he's in a hurry to wherever he was headed before... Lake Valor, maybe?'
"Hmmm..." Riley furrowed his brow a moment, "What could he want with one of the Trio Lakes of Sinnoh?"
'Beats me. Those things are practically inland seas,' Lucario stood up, and dusted off her knees, 'We won't learn anything if we stay here.'
Riley nodded, "Right... You're not off the hook, though."
'Really? A fishing reference? Right as we're chasing after a lake bound runaway?' rolling her eyes, Lucario gestured that they should continue on their way.
"You know what I meant," he replied as they set out again, "You're acting an awful lot like you regret saying anything about being banned from Pokétreats."
'Nah. Too fattening,' Lucario quipped, preening a patch of her fur.
Resenting her silence, Riley shook his head at her stubbornness, but said nothing more on the subject.
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XXX
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In the council chamber of the Aura Knights, much deep thought was taking place as how to handle the situation upon Riley's return to headquarters with his runaway charge.
"The one thing that concerns me the most in this, is how he'll react to the truth..." Councilman Lauren said absently, still very pensive.
"Well..." Lady Sharinn began slowly, "Even though he is a very dutiful Knight, and a patient, good natured man, I can only feel dread for how strongly he might lust for revenge on those that tore his family apart all those years ago..."
Gregor nodded, firmly in agreement with these feelings of foreboding, "Indeed. We had a small taste of his terrible temper back when the news first reached us, here in Sinnoh."
"And it only seemed to get worse by the day, before we finally got through to him," Lauren said in a more alert tone.
"Yet the matter that now stands before us, is not the past, but how Allan will dare to help the situation once it arises," Councilman Starr huffed, beginning to feel his old spark of determination stirring.
"Oh?" Gregor raised a brow at this statement.
"I, as you all know, have seen Allan make an attempt to connect with Riley. That did not end well, but it was an effort... And a sign," Starr glanced at each of their faces in turn, "Whatever doubts that boy had about Riley before coming here, were swept aside when he saw that he would not be persecuted for his upbringing. Rather, Riley made an effort to remain friendly, and told Allan about himself."
"And then had an argument with him," Gregor raised his brows, setting his chin on an upraised fist, "Starr, I've no doubt about their relationship to one another, but the possibility remains that Allan will not return with Riley, and that Riley will simply become angry at Allan once again."
"Be that as it may, if I'm permitted to speak," Councilman Brights interrupted, turning to face the elderly men respectfully, "There is yet, a more pressing matter to be discussed here."
"I see. And what, pray, is this matter to be discussed?" raising an eyebrow in interest, Starr interlaced his fingers eying Brights shrewdly.
"Well, you'll all agree, it is a most peculiar turn of events," Brights shrugged, checking that he had their undivided attention.
Gregor rolled his eyes, "Get on with it, youngster, I'm not as energetic as I used to be!"
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XXX
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"What the hell... With all the money we pour into our 'research and development' labs, it's a wonder they couldn't invent something more advanced than a common Pokégear!" Commander Mars said, idly scrolling through her contacts list in search of a particular number.
Seated in an air conditioned tent beside Lake Verity, the fiery leader of her unit fumed at her subordinates' incompetence. They'd arrived at the lakeside location for their part in the operation to capture the Legendary Pokémon, assuming it existed, and were about to suit up the dive team for the placement of the bomb when the fool in charge of transport reported that it had been left behind at the base!
Now, if only she could get in touch with one of her girls, then she'd be able to figure out how to salvage the mission...
"Commander Mars, sir! We've received a transmission from Commander Saturn, sir!" a grunt said loudly, making her jump.
Flushed an angry red, Mars made an effort to keep her voice low and even, "You! I don't care if you earned the Efficiency Certificate of the Year for your rank... Never, I repeat, never come up from behind me yelling like that again!"
"Uh, yes, sir. It won't happen again... Here's the missive, sir," handing her the hastily written note, the grunt backed off awaiting her dismissal.
"Get lost!" she said after a few moments of looking between him and the note.
"Er, right away, sir!"
As the grunt dashed off, she glared at the note that seemed to be causing her more trouble than it was worth.
"We'll see if this plan is messed up because that moron forgot to pack our bomb... He'll be so thoroughly punished, none of his relations will recognize him afterwards!"
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At a very different lake...
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"C-C-Commander J-Jupiter!" a shivering grunt stuttered around her chattering teeth, holding herself tightly against the cold, snowy wind that was blowing.
"What is it? Have you gotten beneath the ice yet?" Jupiter said frostily, displeased with the slow progress her unit made on the icy lake surface.
Unhappy to be the bearer of bad news, the grunt chose the frankest tone she could manage under the circumstances, "N-no, my ap-apolo-apologies... Normally, this lake is freezing all year 'round, but the closer it gets to winter-"
"I don't want to hear your excuses, peon, I want results," turning away to signify the close of the report, Jupiter looked out over the frozen expanse of ice toward the middle where her grunts were attempting to break through the ice, "One might even think nature itself were the cause of our grief..."
At the center of Lake Acuity, where the ice should have been thinest, the grunts had been working in shifts for a day and a half to break the ice. Over thirty six hours. They had penetrated as far as nine feet deep... And were still unable to reach the water below.
"This might not simply be nature's work alone..." Jupiter said staring at the ice, a tinge of suspicion on her now rosy frostbitten face.
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XXX
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"You are blocking my way," Allan looked Vincent in the eyes with an amused smirk.
"Oh, like before, when we first met... But! That's beside the point. How can you be a Dark Knight? They don't exist anymore!"
'Allan... If this is what he believes, then won't it be harder to convince everyone else what kind of threat the Dark Knights currently pose to the peace of Sinnoh?' Gallade said slowly.
"I know..." Allan said softly, then directed his gaze at Vincent sternly, "And I'm not a Dark 'Knight', I'm a Dark 'Squire'. If there's one thing you can be sure of among the Dark Knights, it's that they don't tolerate people overstepping their given authority. Following the hierarchy of your caste is important... To survival..."
"Survival? What does that mean?" Vincent laughed nervously, "The Dark Knights are gone, purged from the world when they were banished to that desert isle..."
Allan shook his head slowly, "No. If they had been executed, as the people of Sinnoh demanded, then I wouldn't be here..."
"But," scrambling for some kind of retort, Vincent struggled to clear his head, "Okay, if you're so sure about this, then where is it? This island of Dark Knights?"
"In the sea to the northwest of Sinnoh. And before you say it; I was kidnapped as an infant from my real family because I had a high affinity to Aura," Allan crossed his arms, a stern frown on his face.
"Um... Then..." Vincent thought hard, "But why were you kidnapped?"
"Rather than born there, you mean?" Allan raised an eyebrow, "Well, I'm not too sure myself... Apart from the fact that the Dark Knights tend to mistrust one another, and would sooner kill each other to gain rank, than fall in love. You want to know about life on the island of the Dark Knights?" Vincent swallowed nervously in response, "Then imagine this; a world where love, laughter, and kindness don't exist. A hellish life where gaining the attention of your superiors will either get you killed, or promoted if you're ruthless enough to step over your rival's heads to gain whatever you can!" as Allan spoke, angry tears began to form at the corners of his eyes, "Every day spent in that environment tests your resolve to live... To kill, or die! I can't even begin to tell you how many youths, and children end up dead every single day because the strongest Knights delight in tormenting, and starving those unlucky enough to fail the difficult trials set to weed out the strongest individuals!"
Gallade put a hand on Allan's shoulder, wearing the saddest look a Pokémon could possibly exhibit.
"Gallade knows it, too... He was my only friend, and partner, before I was suddenly prematurely promoted to the rank Dark Squire..." Allan covered his face with his right hand.
"So this... Is real..." Vincent was lost in thought, picturing the horrible images Allan's words conjured up, "Prematurely... How?"
Allan's voice was faint, his spirit drained, "... I was still thirteen. That's a year too young, but it took place... Because..."
"Why?" Vincent finally turned to look at Allan directly. No longer did his eyes seem angry, or confused. Now, he just wanted the true, painful answers.
"I don't know... Back then, the man who would become my Master was merely toying with me. Torturing me for his own personal amusement, and as a slight punishment for questioning Dark Knight methods and ways..." Allan shivered visibly, "Something I said while disoriented must've won the favor of his twisted sense of humor, because after that, I was his personal Squire from then on."
"Creepy..." Vincent agreed.
"You have no idea," shivering his agreement, Allan turned up a path that looked so disused, it was completely overgrown.
The grassy brambles, that were almost as tall as the three who intended to pass through, were so densely packed, Allan's partner, Gallade, had to step forward to help clear the way with his blade arms.
"Well, I know one thing," Vincent said, grunting as he pushed his way through the underbrush.
"What's that?" Allan asked, glad to change the subject.
"There haven't been any hikers by here in many ye-eeears!" tripping on a root that was sticking out of the ground at an odd angle, Vincent groaned where he lay, momentarily defeated.
At first, Allan felt inclined to laugh, but thought better of it as he reached his hand toward the fallen Squire, "Here. That didn't look like it tickled."
"Like hell it did!" looking up, he accepted Allan's outstretched hand, then said, "Thanks, but... Why would you help me? You didn't let me help you up earlier."
"Back then, things between us were still the same as when we first met. I might've begun to confide in you then, but... Well, that's not important," Allan rubbed the back of his neck.
Gallade chuckled then, realizing something about Allan.
"What's so funny you have to cover your mouth, and hide it, Gallade?" Allan watched his partner, annoyed.
Cooling down, the Pokémon smiled, 'Nothing, just... I never noticed before how you'd handle awkward situations.'
"What do you mean?" still unable to grasp his partner's elusive sense of humor, Allan turned away to keep walking.
"Did he laugh at us, or something?" Vincent asked, feeling a tad embarrassed.
"Or something," Allan replied curtly.
In the next instant, the small party of travelers was besieged by a pair of wild Pokémon. A Drapion hissed menacingly, while a Carnivine rustled it's leaves in anticipation. The two of them were huge for their species, and both seemed highly poisonous.
Raising it's barbed tail, the Drapion lunged quickly into the groups' midst!
'Allan, watch out for that Carnivine! It looks like its aiming for you!' Gallade cried out, smacking away the Drapion's tail as he dodged it's attack.
"Whoa, hey! I just became friends with this guy, I'm not letting you eat him!" Vincent growled, noticing the grass Pokémon's advance. Raising his Pokéball, the Squire called forth, "Machoke, grab that overgrown fly trap in a headlock!"
"Chooo!" the Machoke roared, bunching it's muscles to spring at the Carnivine.
Right at that moment, Drapion jabbed it's tail at Machoke, forcing it to dodge the incoming 'Poison Tail' attack. Gallade jumped onto the Drapion's back to grab that dangerous distraction!
"Caaaaniviii!"
Chomp! When Allan evaded it, the Carnivine caught hold of a low hanging branch, causing it to dissolve quickly in a steaming mass of venomous sludge!
"Baaaaaahhhh-dew! Budew!" the little Pokémon cried as it was released from it's Pokéball.
"Don't waste any time on theatrics, just blow it away with that powerful 'Bullet Seed' of yours," Allan said, tucking the ball away.
"Crap! Machoke, hang in there!" Vincent yelped, watching the three way battle between Drapion, and their two partner Pokémon.
"Don't just encourage your partner, fight with him!" Allan called back, not taking his eyes off the fight between Budew and Carnivine for even a second.
"H-how am I supposed to do that?" sounding distressed, Vincent winced as his Machoke took a direct hit from the Drapion's fore claws.
Cursing his luck that Vincent didn't even know how to Aura Battle yet, and that the arena was so small, Allan swiftly crouched down next to his little Budew.
"Ready for more power than you've ever wielded before?" Allan whispered to it. When Budew nodded, Allan placed his hand on Budew's back, and said, "That Carnivine looks angry... Put every ounce of your spirit into your next attack! 'Bullet Seed'!"
"Bud. Bah bah bah bah Bah BAH BAH! Bah-deeeewwwww!" out shot the 'Bullet Seed' from Budew's tiny mouth, sending the Carnivine flying far off into the trees, and clearing the path ahead of tall grass for a good long stretch!
Seeing this, the Drapion seemed to think for a moment on whether it wanted to continue it's own assault on Gallade and Machoke. Budew turned, and looked challengingly at the larger Pokémon. This settled the issue, for as suddenly as it had appeared, the Drapion ran away back into the forest with a frightened look in it's eyes!
"Wow..." Vincent said, looking disheveled. Machoke blinked it's befuddled agreement to Vincent's speechlessness.
"Bah. Bah, bah, budew." the little Pokémon puffed itself up proudly, glad to have finally been given a chance to prove itself.
'That was incredible, Allan! No one would think this was your first time syncing up with Budew,' Gallade lauded, smiling his relief that the fight was over.
"If that Drapion hadn't dived right between us, we might've taken care of that fight more quickly just the two of us..." Allan shrugged, then turned to look at Vincent accusingly, "And what's with you? I thought you were at the Squire level!"
Coming to his senses at last, Vincent scowled at Allan, voicing his objection, "I am! What was that? I've never seen anything like it!"
"It's called 'Aura Syncing'. And if your master neglected to tell you about it before you set off on this learning journey of yours, then why are you all the way out here without his guidance?" Allan countered, wondering at the safety standards Aura Knights impose on their apprentices.
"She didn't neglect anything!" Vincent turned pink, "So what if I've never heard of this, 'Aura syncing', or whatever! Me being at the Squire level doesn't have anything to do with it!"
Allan pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed, "Yeah, actually, it has a lot to do with your level..."
"What's that supposed to mean?" feeling antsy for a fight, Vincent got in Allan's face.
"Back off, and maybe I'll tell you," Allan said, pushing Vincent away slightly.
Stepping back, Vincent huffed out, "Alright, fine."
"Lets keep walking while I explain," Allan gestured at the freshly cleared trail, "That was good work, Budew. Come b-!"
"B-buuuuhhhh..." quivering lightly, Budew's body seemed sparkle and glow where it stood.
"Is this evolution? Are you getting ready to evolve, Budew?" Allan asked, unsure why it seemed to be straining itself.
'Allan. Budew said that even though he wants to get stronger, he knows you don't like his final form, so he's holding back from evolving,' Gallade said, kneeling next to the little Pokémon.
"That might be so, but he won't be at his final stage just like that," folding his arms, Allan frowned, "Gallade, let him know that he doesn't have to be afraid of evolving just this once."
'Sure, Allan...' turning his attention to the smaller Pokémon, Gallade passed Allan's message on.
"B-b-budew? !" his little eyes growing wide, Budew jumped excitedly, happy to have Allan's approval.
Budew's audience waited a few moments more, but the tiny grass type was no longer shining faintly. Looking about himself, Budew tilted his head sideways in confusion, "Bud-budew?"
"You don't think..." Vincent said, feeling a mite embarrassed.
"Think? I know Budew got too surprised just then..." Allan sighed his exasperation, "Alright. Clearly you won't be evolving today, but don't worry about it next time, either. You can evolve once," recalling Budew to his Pokéball, Allan indicated the path ahead, "I'll explain about 'Aura Syncing' now."
"Oh, yeah... I forgot about that," Vincent dropped a fist into his palm, remembering Allan's words, "So what is it, and what's it for?"
"It's a way to physically bond your Aura to your Pokémon partners'; to synchronize your thoughts to one another. It also drastically increases your shared Aura power, and allows you both to do things that would be impossible for ordinary trainers to accomplish..." Allan glanced at the narrow road, and muttered with a shrug, "A general rule that applies to all Aura users anyway."
"Okay, now that you mention it, I think I've at least heard about it," Vincent thought back, "I think I asked my Master about it once, but I didn't really pay attention to the answer... That's one of the reasons she's sent me off on this training journey, I guess. 'Cause I lack focus, or something."
"Well, if you really want to be a good Aura Knight, you should consider her feelings, and pay a little more attention from now on," stepping over another large tree root that was sticking out of the ground too high, Allan turned to squat beside it, "These roots are strange..."
"Yeah, they're sticking out of the ground, and everything," Vincent agreed, bending to take a closer look himself.
Looking over his shoulder, Allan said, "This could be a result of geologic activity."
"A result of what...?" the blank look on the Squire's face said it all.
Allan rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I realize this is not common knowledge, but it means the ground changed because of things like earthquakes, and water erosion. This place, for instance, could have been lowlands before it was pushed higher by seismic pressure... Maybe these roots are sitting this way because this was once swampland," Allan glanced overhead at the twisty limbs, and knobby branches.
"Oh," Vincent looked up as well, "I didn't quite understand all of that, but I get what you're talking about now. It makes sense..." turning his head to peek sideways at Allan, Vincent said casually, "You know, you're very knowledgeable about a lot of things. Did you learn all of this just traveling around, or did the Dark Knights require you to learn all this?"
"I learned as I traveled," Allan stood up to start walking again, "But believe me, none of the missions assigned by my Master were easy. If I didn't learn to adapt, I would've died so many times over."
"Eeew!" scrunching his nose, Vincent shivered in sympathy, "I don't even want to think about what kinds of things a Dark Knight needs to be capable of to complete their sick objectives!"
"It's so nice to know I'm just sick," Allan quipped sarcastically.
'Allan, he didn't mean it like that!' Gallade reproached.
"Um, I don't know what Gallade just said, but I agree with his expression there. I didn't mean it like how you took it..." hands fidgeting, Vincent looked worriedly at Allan's face.
Allan had a self satisfied smirk, "I know, I'm teasing you."
"That's not very nice..." Vincent sighed, deciding to give up for now.
Walking along in silence, with only an occasional spoken warning about the rough ground underfoot, the sun wheeled to late evening. The long shadows that were cast by the gnarled boughs overhead wove a confused mat of spidery black patches, making the road difficult see.
Road markers covered in strange writing that appeared to be quite ancient, and overrun by thick vines, began to show up as though the small party of travelers had entered an alternate world.
Vincent shivered, "Oh, this place is creepy..."
"Let's stop here for now," Allan said, exchanging a glance with Gallade.
"Are you joking? !" whipping his scared face toward Allan, Vincent said, "There's no way this place is safe! Uh-uh! No way! Not at all!"
"Would you rather go hungry?" Allan asked calmly, pushing Vincent's shoulder to make him sit on a root, "Look, Vincent. This is about the time when Gallade and I break off the road to gather food. Clearly you can't handle the dark, so that's the only reason why I'm also going to build a fire tonight. But if you move from this spot for any other reason than that your life is threatened by a Pokémon you can name, then I'll come and beat you up myself! Clear?"
"Why do I have to stay put? What if some kind of ancient monster comes out and kills me, and Machoke? What then? !" Vincent grabbed a hold like a vice on Allan's wrist, and refused to prised off.
'Unbelievable...' Allan thought, disgusted that this was supposed to be a well trained Aura Squire he was traveling with, "You are not cut out to be a Knight. Period."
"Why are you so sure everything here is perfectly safe?" Vincent challenged, feeling annoyed that Allan was unmoved by his plight.
"Gallade, go ahead of me while I explain to this spineless Wurmple, that there's nothing to be worried about in a small ruin like this," Allan shooed Gallade with a wave of his fingers.
'Alright, Allan, but go easy on him,' Gallade nodded his head toward the pale faced tag along, 'He's probably never been on an off road before. So it's reasonable to assume that this, being his first time out, is a wholly and completely terrifying experience for him.'
'Yeah, yeah. Get going,' Allan pressed again, in telepathy.
Turning at last, Gallade wandered off to harvest the bounty of the local plant life. Allan waited until his partner put some distance between them before turning back to look at his cowardly friend.
"I really don't know what to think about you, the Aura Knights' Council, or the Knights themselves; who claim to be skilled warriors!" Allan said in a low, angry tone.
"What does that mean?"
When Vincent's distressed face didn't change, Allan stood back and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Why are you even following me? You can't handle the situation you're in now, and you expect to be of some use to me later, when I arrive at the lake?"
"Hey, that's not-" the Squire moaned reaching out, trying to speak before Allan swatted his hand away.
"You just don't get it... Not one bit!" pacing now, Allan began to wonder if it really was a hard fact that the Aura Knights were not prepared for war, should everything come down to it. Sighing, he sat next to Vincent, "Look... I don't know the numbers, or even the strengths of all the Aura Knights out there, but what I've seen so far doesn't impress me," Allan stared right into the Squire's eyes, "I see people. Innocent people, who know nothing of the horrors I've had to grow up with. And I must be getting soft, or something, because now I don't know anymore if you can be of help. I can't protect you, or the Knights, or the innocent people of Sinnoh... I can't even protect myself, so why am I here now?"
Hanging his head in his hands, Allan turned away from Vincent's now sympathetic gaze.
"Hey... I-..." placing a hand on Allan's shoulder, Vincent began to doubt if he could express his sincerity, but decided he would worry about that later, "When you put it like that... I get it. I do, and maybe you're right. Maybe all of us Aura Knights, and Squires, have gotten complacent... But, maybe that's why you're here now. As far as I know, people don't really think about why they live, or about what their doing so seriously. I guess I should know, I've never felt so confused in my life, and so many things just fly right on over my head, too."
"That doesn't make you bad," Allan said, after sitting in silence for a short while, "Ignorant, maybe, but that isn't a crime as far as I've seen."
"I promise to really think about what I can do to help, just... Help me, too, okay?" Vincent said, standing up to look again at the ruins around them.
Allan watched as Vincent stared at an ancient idol that looked like a Toxicroak.
"Ugh. I've seen smaller Croagunk statuettes, but this is the first time I've ever seen one like this..." Vincent shivered.
"That's because the worship of this poisonous fighting type was very real, back in ancient times," Allan said calmly, "These days, the ancient people of south-eastern Sinnoh would be called pagans. They took the longest to convince that Pokémon aren't gods, but animals with unique abilities... Or so I've been told in my history lessons."
"Sheesh..." Vincent turned back to face Allan with a look of greater sympathy than before, "They really pounded all kinds of weird information into you."
"Knowing the history of the world, Pokémon, and it's people is not weird!" Allan huffed defensively, feeling his face heat up.
And then Vincent smiled, "Hehe, so you do have a childish side, after all!"
"Wha-?" Allan began, but was cut off by the young Squire.
"Don't worry about it. I'm not scared anymore, so you can go and do whatever it was you wanted to do earlier," still smiling like a fool, Vincent turned and continued to examine the local ruins.
.
Off the path within the swamp-like forest...
.
"What the heck, in all the lands and seas, was that supposed to mean?" Allan growled to himself, picking some late-season golden apples, and plums, "One minute he's scared like a little girl, next thing I know, he's making fun of me like the moron he is... Ugh, why'd I let that fool tag along!"
'Because it's nice to have human friends sometimes.'
"Hah, right. I could go on just fine without someone like him slowing me down... Gallade?" Allan turned to look for his partner, but the psychic-fighting type was no where to be seen, let alone sensed in Allan's immediate vicinity.
"Okay... Who's really there?" Allan asked, dropping the fruit to put up his guard.
'No one of any great consequence...' the soundless voice said again, then, "Unless you count the fact that I'm clearly a terribly deadly consequence."
Stepping out of the shadows like a stealthy wraith, Evan, Dark Squire to Master Crush, lifted one corner of his mouth in a patronizing smirk, "So, how goes your mission, little Allan?"
Allan hated when Evan treated him like this. As always, he showed up unannounced. A nasty bit of psychological warfare he learned, no doubt, from Crush himself.
"I'm working on it. But things like this take time... I can't make it all happen over night!"
"You're moving slowly then," Evan regarded him with an unreadable look.
"Look, this isn't something I can help. If I push too hard, they might believe something is up... When it truly is..." Allan spoke the last part more to himself than anyone, but Evan heard it clearly.
"They're truly kind people," Evan said nonchalantly, "Do you believe that you're really up to this task?"
"I don't know... I have to think about that..." Allan replied.
Evan grabbed Allan violently, and slammed him against a tree, "Is this treason, I hear?" he growled darkly.
He had let his guard down. Allan, after many years of hard training and brutal treatment at the hands of the older children and masters, had let his guard down! And worse, it was before the one man who should never be alerted to his truest, deepest feelings!
Allan attempted to shove him off, and said with as much indignation as he could muster under such dark scrutiny, "I think you know as well as I do, that to blend in seamlessly with those I'm trying to deceive, I have to be able to think like they do, or at the very least, pretend to!"
Evan held him there for a long time, just staring at him, as though looking for any possibility that this was a mere lie to cover up a dangerous blunder. And so it went, a slow, decidedly deadly starring contest was waged between them for what seemed like an hour or more, but took place for but a few seconds.
"I'll say this now... If you fail, or show anymore signs of weaknesses," he leaned in closer, to whisper his final words into Allan's ear, "I'll kill you personally..." Evan let him drop to the earth, where he stayed watching his eternal tormentor leave whence he came.
Still seated where he'd fallen, Allan hardly dared to breathe as he watched what little light that streamed through the densely packed branches overhead slowly disappeared. And then it hit him, 'He knows about Vincent!'
Shakily, Allan pushed himself off the forest floor, collected his harvested fruit, and made his way back to the campsite. Keeping his emotions in check, he knew that if Evan had wanted to punish him, he would have already killed, or otherwise harmed Vincent, and rubbed that information in his face. 'He's like that, cruel bastard...' Allan shivered unpleasantly, turned a bend, and found himself faced with the fringes of the ruins near their camp.
'Allan!' Gallade, and Vincent came running up to meet him.
"Crap! Where were you? You've been gone for at least two hours... Hey, did something happen to you? You're pale as a ghost!" looking Allan over, the young Aura Squire moved to Allan's side to lend some support.
"I'm fine," Allan said faintly nudging the helping hands away, then after clearing his throat, "Really. I was just thinking about some things that aren't important yet..."
"Aren't important? They seem important enough, if they leave you looking distressed like this!" Vincent insisted, refusing to be pushed back.
'Allan, he's right. I don't think I've seen you give off an Aura like this since Spire Island,' Gallade said, also moving to help lead Allan back to their chosen rest stop.
Giving up, and allowing them to guide him to the site, Allan muttered, "It's nothing that either of you need to be concerned with..."
A bit later, Allan was seated on a large, smooth barked root, while Vincent worked on getting the fire going.
Once the first signs of glowing embers, and faint wood smoke showed up, he backed off to let them build upon themselves, then turned to face Allan, "I get that you really don't want to say anything, but..."
'Allan, he and I both agree. You aren't yourself right now. Please, tell us what happened,' Gallade asked gently.
"Really... All I need is some food and rest. I'll be okay, just... Leave it for now, alright?" Allan said, deflecting their worried looks with a half smile.
"It just doesn't make sense... You were gone for a while, true, but I don't believe that there's anything in this forest, apart from those two nasty's we ran into earlier, that would pose any real danger to someone like you," Vincent continued, keeping his curiosity thinly veiled.
"Look, just drop it!" Allan said, more sharply now that he'd had some time to relax. But as he slapped the root with his palm for emphasis on the words, 'drop it', a terrible quake shook the earth with an earsplitting boom to go with it!
Bird Pokémon of every type burst from the trees, forest Pokémon wailed and ran aimlessly away from the direction of Lake Valor! The aftershocks of the earthquake lasted for more than a minute, giving off a deep, hell sent rumble that ground out mournfully, even as the spastic jolting finally subsided.
"By the light of all that is good..." Allan said faintly, somehow aware of what had taken place.
"Wh-what happened?" Vincent said through chattering teeth, picking himself up slowly.
'Allan... Did you sense it, too?' Gallade's face had a look of unbearable worry, as he turned toward the path to the lake.
.
Meanwhile...
.
Back aways up the road, still in the foothills overlooking the southern forests, two pairs of eyes watched the treetops in horror.
'Th-that couldn't be?' Lucario said, paws quivering uncharacteristically.
"I don't know... It felt like it came from the vicinity of Lake Valor though," Riley replied, adding quietly, "I wonder if my parents are alright?"
'It didn't seem like it was that close to the resort, but... Should we break off the search for Allan, and concentrate on the lake instead?' Lucario asked, facing Riley solemnly.
Thinking for a moment, Riley sighed finally, as though he were displeased to admit what he said next, "No... Someone who's post is closer to the lake will be on top of the situation immediately. Or as soon as they are able... We won't be required to cease our search just yet."
'Right,' Lucario nodded reasonably, 'Then we might want to hurry, he probably won't sit idle while we stand here stupefied.'
"Heh, true enough..." Riley agreed, feeling tired at the prospect of a long search.
'Although, you have to admit. It's strange that he should end up meeting that Squire again, of all things.'
"Um, yeah..." Riley's mouth twitched, as he thought of how humorous the scene must have looked.
While it's not unusual to be able to sense the traces of someone, or something, that had passed through an area earlier, it was rather odd timing for Allan to run into Vincent again. If their Aura's hadn't left an equally fresh imprint, Riley would have thought that they'd just missed each other. With this in mind, he knew that he'd have an easier time locating a larger source of Aura's than one, or a couple. Allan was bound to have Gallade out of his Pokéball for the sake of companionship, and maybe because they are truly compatible as partners...
Sighing again, Riley mumbled, "I really messed up... I hope he can forgive me."
'I really would not worry about that. Besides, I see an area up ahead that looks like some kind of Aura explosion took place. It's a ways off, but its there just the same.' Lucario said, gesturing with a paw toward the spot.
Looking where she pointed, he nodded, hastening toward the site,"You're right... From here, it looks like a grass type combination."
'His Budew, maybe?'
"It has to be... I wonder what sort of battle they had, to require making such a prominent Aura impression?" Riley skipped over a small ditch, and kept going, "Whatever it was, it doesn't seem like anything bad happened... Crap!"
'What is it?' Lucario asked, glancing at Riley earnestly.
"He left the main path... Whether it was to avoid any small towns up ahead, or to get to the Lake more quickly, I don't know, but this area is known for its deadly poison type Pokémon. He could be in danger, and that's why the Aura blast happened!" stepping onto the path of freshly cut brush, Riley stared out at the path ahead, "Let's move quickly, but be careful!"
'Right,' Lucario nodded, readying herself for anything.
.
In another part of Sinnoh...
.
"You know full well that you are not off the hook, despite your lucky break that the lake's shrine appeared anyway," in a venomous mood, Mars glared at the Grunt that had failed to remember to bring their super bomb for the mission.
"Yes, sir..." the Grunt replied, knowing that she was only too right that he was merely lucky, and that he would not get out of this unpunished.
"I'll deal with you later," Mars continued, turning to the shrine team, "Alright troops, we've got a mythical Pokémon to catch. Distinguish yourself, and I'll see to it that you're promoted to sub-commander. Fail, and you'll be on the clean up crew! Now lets move out!"
.
In the 'lake shrine' cave...
.
Already, one of the trio has been caught.
She feels it terribly, and is fearful of their intentions... She knows what they're after. She feels it, as though it were her own emotion! But too soon... She cannot wake. They are coming, but she is still recovering from her long hibernation. She will be caught. She knows it, but she has faith. Like her sister, the embodiment of Knowledge, through psychic connection she too knows that there is yet hope. Always, always hope...
.
Lake Valor...
.
"Alright you dimwitted buffoons! Get that Pokémon to the transport crate, and send it back to headquarters!" Saturn called, irate that there had been interference from some weird trainers on large bird Pokémon that were trying to stop the mission.
Turning to his portable computer, he continued to watch the Sinnoh news broadcast right as the reporter said, "... Unbelievably, there have been reports that the earthquake from earlier today was felt not just in the southeastern regions where it began, but all across Sinnoh! We here at the news station are nothing, if not shocked, to report on the sheer amount of damage caused by landslides, new fissures, and power outages all over the country!..."
"Heh, ignorant fools! Soon, you will learn to bow to a new order... Team Galactic's order!" Commander Saturn snorted, proud to have made such a resounding note that was felt in all regions of Sinnoh.
Turning to the empty crater that was once Lake Valor, he said, "Good riddance to an eyesore waste of water!"
.
On a hill, overlooking Lake Valor...
.
"U-ugh!" turning away from the lake, Vincent pressed a hand over his mouth, and suppressed a gag.
Fish and water Pokémon lay gasping for water, gills pulsing weakly, on the exposed silt covered lake bed. All that remained of the once proud lake, was a pitiful puddle that was too shallow for even a Magicarp's splash. Near the center was a large stone mound that looked like a cave, there was a scattering of people near it, ignoring the plight of the fish that were painfully dying all around them.
Shaking with a complex mix of terror and rage, Gallade had difficulty conveying his thoughts coherently, 'Th-those monsters! What have they done? !'
Staying silent, Allan took Gallade's hand, and gave it a squeeze.
'What are we going to do, Allan? We can't just let this, let those-those things get away!' Gallade wore a look of despair as he felt the Aura's of all the suffering creatures in the crater below.
"... I know." Allan looked down, hair falling over his eyes to conceal the tears that were slowly tracing wet lines on his cheeks, "I know..." Allan's hand gripped tighter, "I know! Screw the original plan... You're not getting away with this, Team Galactiiiiiic!"
Hearing his angry yell, the people on the lake bed stopped briefly to look his way in shock. A yell that would send shivers down the backs of proud men under ordinary circumstances, was made all the more fearsome by the explosion of Allan's wildly burning Aura. Though it was true that they could not see it, something struck fear into their hearts; the like of which they'd never before experienced!
Standing beside Allan now, Vincent immediately understood what it meant to declare war on true injustice. He felt swept away, even as Allan and Gallade left him behind on the hill, charging with all their fury at the silver-clad fiends who had once claimed to be a force of good for all. Sitting paralyzed on his knees, Vincent looked up at the partially obscured starry sky overhead.
"Why..." he said wonderingly, staring into the vastnesses of the skies above, "How can the stars look the same, even with all of this... ?" turning his gaze back to the battle that had begun down on the muddy lake bed, Vincent shook in fear, "What am I supposed to do? Allan..."
Raising his fist, Allan called forth the power he would need to knock back no less than ten enemies, in his attempt to clear a path to the cave where he knew their ring leader would be. Punching out fiercely, he and Gallade drove at their efforts to stop and contain them, mercilessly striking at any vital points that were exposed.
Hitting faces, breaking bones, Allan hadn't felt the lust to do harm to another being in a long time. Even if this was justified, he no longer cared about being careful. No longer cared if he mortally wounded them. This was an act against all of nature that they had wrought, and now it was Allan's turn to turn that fury back on them, these ignorant bastards that call themselves, Team Galactic. Allan thought, caught up in his fury, 'I will see blood shed for this crime!', and redoubled his output of power.
.
Somewhere northward...
.
"Sheesh! I can't believe it's still so cold, even as far south as this!" a Team Galactic grunt dressed incognito complained, puffing air into her fists and shivering violently.
"Still, we're lucky we didn't all get caught up in that sudden meltdown over the lake... Poor Garet." another mumbled, not particularly sad about the other grunt who'd been unfortunate enough to sink into the lake, "At least the fool's headed to the ER in Snowpoint, though I don't know if it was even worth giving our position away for his sake."
"... Don't you know that no one dies in Pokémon?[1]" though it was whispered quietly, Commander Jupiter's words shut their mouths, and induced a sudden improbable chill in the truck they were using to get back to base in Veilstone.
In the cargo hold, a small blue Pokémon sighed in its continued sleep.
.
XXXXXXXXX
Me: Um... That took me long enough, right? Okay, here's what I meant by the [1], when Jupiter said that no one dies in Pokémon; that's not strictly true, even for the animé.
In the comics, you do hear about dead Pokémon, and some even feature their deaths, but here's the thing with the cartoon; the only (unconfirmed) "official" death that happened was Latios' last stand in 'Pokémon Heroes' the movie. Before that, there were 'near-deaths' including the first movie with Ash being the "sacrifice", and later Celebi almost dies in Pokémon 4ever... Since Latios, however, I have yet to see a true death in Pokémon. You could say that Lucario, and his master, Aaron, were technically 'deaths' based on their actions, and the fact that Ash and crew don't know what happened to them since. Or you could say that they were allowed to live in their own time again, based on the closing sequence for the movie credits.
I know that I've definitely had characters die in my own story so far, but I just felt like saying that out loud for once. (In writing!)
Anyway, you've likely had it about up to here (raises hand far above head) with me, so I'll leave it at that, and give you fair warning that this isn't the last time I'm likely to have a serious delay in story writing... I'm going to a good technical school to learn the trade I've always wanted, so yeah. I'll be busy with expedited learning. Though during my down time, and I haven't had a look at my potential schedule yet, I'll see about pushing myself to take a break from studying to feed my readers with fair entertainment. (Feed... ?)
Riley: Okay... So I have a natural murderer for a brother. No problem, except... Why do-!
Me: Shut up, you fool! I'll give you to my friend Rose as a present if you don't swallow those words right now!
Riley: Mmmephggghhh! (been bound 'n gagged!)
Me: Right, well... 'Til next time, Aura fans! (I don't know what to say about the lack of reviews, except... I soundly deserved that for my failure to upload more regularly than I have lately. -_-; )