At least one of you readers came looking for background, so I hope that this chapter clears a few things up.
Also, I managed to re-enable PMs on my account, so you guys can now send me one of those if you have a question or something.
-.-.-.-.-.
Several Weeks Ago
It was an ordinary day in Seaside Village. The sky was clear, and Pokemon were bustling around the market square as usual. The Kirlia nervously made her way around the crowds, exclaiming quietly and muttering "Excuse me," or "Sorry," to those she accidentally bumped into.
Gaby's mother, Adrianna, had just this morning pronounced Gaby old enough to go out into Seaside Village without her. And this was Gaby's first excursion into the crowded market. She double-checked the grocery list and shifted the basket nestled in the crook of her arm – Gaby did not want her first assignment to go wrong, no matter how trivial it might be.
The first item on the list was simple. Apples were always in stock at the Kecleon Market, so she immediately made her way there. On the way, she passed Team Fossil's Sunken Treasures, where two loud, arguing voices were coming from inside. "I'm tellin' ya, it was an accident this time! Geez, just one broken Clamperl shell and ya brand me fer life!" squawked the younger voice. Gaby was too far away by then to hear the angry reply.
The owners of Kecleon Market were as cheerful as ever. "Well hello, Miss Gaby~!" exclaimed the green Kecleon. "Off shopping for the family today?" added the purple one. The Kirlia just shrugged and grinned. The Kecleon brothers always put her in a good mood.
She triple-checked her grocery list. "Could I buy… three Apples?" she asked after a moment. Green beamed at her and replied, "Why, certainly!" A moment passed as he poked around the back of the shop and came back holding three shiny red Apples. "That will be 15 P, if you may," Green sang.
Gaby hastily drew the money from her pocket and placed it on the counter. "Thanks," she said, placing the fruits neatly in her basket. "No, thank you, Miss Gaby," insisted Purple. "You are an admirable young lady, and it's always nice to receive a visit from you~!" The Kirlia simply smiled and walked back off into the crowd, which seemed even thicker the closer she got to the market square.
However, on her way to the next shop, Gaby witnessed something intriguing. She stopped on the side of the cobblestone road and watched two powerful-looking Pokemon poring over a map of some kind.
"I'm telling you, Jules, we should have taken the other tunnel," the Scyther was saying, pointing with a blade to a spot on the map. Her Charizard companion shook his head and argued, "No way, Razor! The Zubat nest was one of the landmarks, and we could have gotten past if that Spinarak hadn't fallen on my head and blinded me!"
The Scyther sighed and grabbed the map. Rolling it up (don't ask how), she tossed it in a nearby trash can. "There probably wasn't even any treasure there," she scoffed. "That lying Meowth is going to get a piece of my mind if we ever cross paths again…" The duo walked off into the crowd without another word.
Gaby cautiously picked her way over to the trash can, avoiding the other Pokemon that crossed her path. When she got there, she fished out the rolled-up map and flattened it out again. Her brow furrowed as she studied the roughly drawn paths. At the end seemed to be a chamber marked with a big 'X'. The words "treasure here" was scrawled hastily at the bottom.
The Kirlia was very interested in the possibility of treasure, but not interested enough to keep such an item. After all, she should leave the exploring to the rescue teams. However, a chamber drawn at the bottom of the map caught her eye. It was marked "Refuge Cave".
Her eyes widened. Refuge Cave was the nickname given by the locals to the huge cavern at the base of the mountains, relatively near the housing district. If there was treasure there… now that was interesting.
Rolling the map back up, Gaby decided to dwell on it later. She tucked the paper in between the Apples and walked back toward the market square, checking her list again. Pecha Berries, she thought. Topaz isn't coming down with a fever again, is he?
-.-.-.-.-.
When Gaby set out again, it was after she had picked up all of the groceries and safely delivered them to her mother. Adrianna had beamed and congratulated her for a job well done before rushing off with the Pecha Berries – if her baby brother was indeed feeling the first mild stages of a fever, they were most likely for the medicine that Adrianna usually made for Gaby when she was sick. The Kirlia had made a disgusted face at the thought and then ran to her room to prepare for what she wanted to do next.
Now, she was walking down the path that she knew led toward the Refuge Cave, examining her map. Apparently there were a few obstacles that needed to be worked around, but Gaby decided to jump those bridges when she came to them.
And indeed she did. When she got inside of the cave and began to travel deep into the narrow tunnel at the back, the Kirlia came across a wall of mist that soon revealed itself to actually be a group of Gastly. She managed to Double Team her way around the Ghost-and-Poison-types, and those that tried to attack were blasted aside with her Confusion.
The chasm they were guarding was similarly easy to get past – Gaby had great balance and was able to cross the rock bridge without any trouble. All of the Zubat and Golbat hanging from the ceiling were asleep, so they didn't give her any grief either.
Only the Drilbur warrens were tricky to get past – the Ground-type Pokemon weren't too happy to see an unexpected visitor in their midst. They had quickly surrounded her, clearly thinking that one intruder wouldn't be so hard to deal with. The Drilbur obviously thought wrong, as a few well-placed Magical Leaves soon sent them scurrying back into their holes.
At last, after about an hour or two of spelunking, Gaby came across the final chamber. Her eyes widened at the dazzling sight of the piles of gold and gemstones twinkling in the light of her makeshift torch.
She spent about three minutes walking around and examining the precious trinkets, wondering if she should take at least some of it back. Mother really would like this, she thought, holding up a bright yellow topaz. My brother too, come to think of it. Good thing I brought my treasure bag… But the thought automatically trailed off as she caught sight of something else at the back of the cave.
Gaby put the jewel down and traveled to the back of the small chamber. She reached into the pile of gold at her feet and pulled out the object that had caught her attention – it was a deep blue stone, but not a gemstone. Instead, it seemed to be some kind of metal. Fascinating, Gaby thought, turning the strange stone over in her hands.
That was when something spoke to her. The Kirlia froze and tried to make sense of the sensation running through her head now. There were no decipherable words or even pictures being projected into her mind, but all of a sudden, she knew the truth.
This was one of the legendary Shards. Gaby had first heard of them in one of the bedtime stories her mother used to read to her when she was little. But she had always dismissed them as nothing but a myth.
The stone in her hand was telling her otherwise. The Shards were indeed real, and they were vital to the welfare of the world. They were scattered all over the continent, and they had to be brought back together if they were to end the natural disasters and bring peace back to the land.
Gaby put the Shard back in the pile. Now all was clear to her – this cave and its contents had to remain a secret. She would tell no one about this, not a soul. Except…
…The Guardians, she realized. Yes, I must find them and tell them that a Shard exists here! The Water Faction… no, the continent… no, the entire Pokemon world depends on this Shard, and my ability to keep it a secret!
The Kirlia took one last look at the cave and its treasures, and then ran swiftly away, the piles of valuables fading into the darkness as her torch ceased to illuminate them.
-.-.-.-.-.
Jules and Razor both belong to Megadracosaurus. They'll be reappearing later in the story, although I'm not sure when…
This chapter is short, but it's meant to be. I'll be doing several of these interludes as time goes on – I'm going to use them to explain things that happened in the past, things that really shouldn't be explained simply by two characters having a dialogue.
The next chapter should be up soon, so R+R and wait for it!