The large vagrant, sitting on folded knees on the ground, looked up from the happily barking little crimson and cream canine. Two people stood over him, both his grandfather and Abigail shook their heads. Fyr, the Flareon currently coiled up on Ryan's lap, was too old to travel any more. Many Eevee and their evolutions live at most fifteen or sixteen years. The twenty year old Flareon was well past due, he couldn't see; he could barely hear or move on his own. And yet it skipped happily around the large man on the ground. "I promised" Ryan muttered, scratching behind the ears of the happy pooch. "He kept going because I promised. He's been waiting for me" The words were more to himself than either of those looking down on him. Fyr barked happily, grumbling almost like a purr as Ryan began to scratch one spot a ways down his neck. Finally his grandfather spoke up, mentioning that the dog would be happy as long as Ryan was with him for his last days. Fyr could move on if Ryan was there. "But then I would have broken my promise." a wet tongue slathered across his cheek. "Even if he's content to die here. It's not what he wants." The large man shifted a little, patting his thigh and gaining the attention of the little fox that was using a stick to hold itself on two legs. "I'd rather his last days be what he's always wanted, than to simply let him curl up and die here."
Annwn stumbled over to the large man in response to the slapping of his thigh, the lion cub and strange flying squid watching from a distance. "Annwn, this is Fear" the large man stroked the blind dogs head slowly. Lowering down onto it's front legs, the fiery fox sniffed at the old canine. Fyr sniffed back a moment before taking a grumbling snap at the younger creature. Instinctively Annwn brought it's stick round. Shocked, Ryan had no time to react, though he was confused immediately after when the stick stopped short of the elderly pooch. "I understand. This one is in charge of the team" the sound of Fyr's thoughts still rippled through his mind. "But I'm not part of the team" Ryan nodded, smiling slightly as Annwn lifted himself to his feet with the stick. The young fox lent forward and licked the neck of the old Flareon before stepping back. With Annwn out of the way, Embeee and the Ape scooted forward, leaving the tentacled creature to hover over near the Espeon. The two young Pokemon skipped around the elder. Fyr's head kept turning slowly but surprised each time one came closer than Ryan's arm's reach. After growling and grumbling each time, the fourth time the lion cub bounded near Fyr launched from the large man's arms and onto the younger creature. His milky white eyes could not focus on cub beneath him, but Fyr growled deeply, his paw on the furry neck on the ground. Every muscle in Embeee's body seemed to relax as it slumped against the dirt ground, glancing meekly up at the crimson snarl above it. The little ball of fire that had been tossed by the fiery ape, slapped into the side of the milky eyed canine. Snapping his head to the side, Fyr's open mouth launched a twisting torrent of heat that picked up and threw the small chimp across the dirt road.
Placing his hands under the armpit's of Fyr's front legs, Ryan gently pulled the canine off the small lion cub. "You're not taking him" the old man above the vagrant ordered down. "He's too old and weak. He doesn't have long left" Ryan looked up at his grandfather, the Flareon in his arms barking quick but deeply at the old man. Ryan shook his head, placing Fyr by his feet as he rose to look the old man in the eyes.
"You may not want to move in your old age" Ryan stared at the older man. "But Fear wants to go, and I'm taking him with" Annwn's stick gently guided the old pooch to stand at the vagrant's side. It was about three minutes of silent staring before Ryan looked aside, slapping his thigh twice before following the road eastward. When his feet began to move, a set of four little paws trotted slowly beside him. Ryan looked down to his right, where Annwn would stand was the crimson and cream canine. Though Fyr couldn't see, it happily walked along beside its friend. Annwn stood proud, stick offsetting each step, as he walked behind the Flareon.
The road east of Geosenge Town passed under a large collection of stones that served as a massive gate. A fruit tree stood not far from the exit, big yellow fruits; about 10 centimeters in length, hung from its branches. As they passed, Ryan watched the shadow of the crimson chimp scamper up the trunk and into the limbs of the tree. It plucked one of the nearest fruits and chomped eagerly into it. Chuckling, Ryan slapped his thigh and waited a moment for the Ape to catch up. But it didn't move. The long armed creature simply sat in the tree and stared at the vagrant for a moment. Ryan watched as it slowly plucked another, larger, fruit from a higher branch. It tossed the yellow food in the air a couple times before suddenly launching it with full force at Ryan. The hard fruit struck his chest, had it been any firmer, it may have broken a rib. The large man blinked a couple times before turning away and following the path on east into a cave marked "Reflection Cave"
The cave was lit well, sun light from the outside should have shone only a couple steps into the rocky path. The walls were so smooth and polished, sheets of crystal embedded into the rock, to create the effect of giant mirrors. Every passage and room in the catacombs were lit by light that bounced from the crystalline walls. Fyr's nose worked only slowly, this place was familiar from years gone by. On the second floor down, chiseled marks could be found in the huge Crystal walls. Flakes had been cut away as people tried to sell them. Many of the would be millionaire's were targeting the wrong stones, several gems lining the crystal mirrors produced their own light when none else is present. Stopping by a large and almost untouched sheet, Ryan chuckled. "Mirror Mirror, Set in stone" he began reciting. "Who sits upon, the Amber Throne?"
"I don't think it'd answer that question, but rather ask 'Why the hell are you talking to a mirror?'" A voice from behind him startled the large man. Fyr lowered his front end as Ryan jumped a little. Looking over his shoulder in the crystal, the vagrant noticed two things; the viper lady "Chuey", and a glass bottle tucked under a stone near her feet. Greeting her with a smile, Ryan stroked the tense dogs back, calming it quickly. After wrapping his arms around the woman for a moment, and introducing her to Fyr. Ryan watched as she quietly let the Flareon sniff her fingers, grabbing the bottle of Absinthe from the ground as he watched. The trundle through the crystalline caverns was faster with Chuey accompanying him. It wasn't long before the group emerged into the setting sunlight shining across a large seafront city.
As Chuey headed to the Shalour City hotel, Ryan instead took an earlier turn in the streets. Three blocks away from where they entered the city, the vagrant arrived at the gate to the Shalour University. A large set of sprawling buildings that took about a quarter of the cities size. Straightening his trench coat and cracking his back, Ryan weaved his way through the many streets of the miniature city within a city. One building stood out to him, a building he'd made a direct path to. To his surprise, a young woman was standing outside the building already. Shauna smiled at the vagrants approach, eagerly chattering about wanting to meet a famous researcher. Fyr's reaction as she began to faun over him had her recoil and turn her attention away from the white eyed canine. Leaving the lass to her search for her researcher. The receptionist of the building was at first shocked at Ryan's appearance, immediately covering her nose and looking away. "Ryan Cabberin, Masters in Engineering" he recited as succinctly as he could. The woman clacked away at her keyboard a moment with her hand over her nose. Her eyebrows raised as she looked from the monitor to the man before her. "I was wondering if I could use lab seventeen" he asked calmly, the woman nodded, indicating to the hall and stating that the door should be open.
Once inside the computer room, the large man sat down at a terminal and hooking the old and battered pokeball into the machine. It took about an hour to extract some basic information on the owner of the sphere. A man named 'Terry Ison' was found dead in the river near Aquacorde Town, almost twenty years ago. The pokemon's data was in tact, it was 'alive' but the mechanics that materialized the creature were ruined. Hoping not to overstay his welcome, Ryan detached the ball from the terminal and returned it to his coat pocket, along with several tools he knew he'd need to work on the device.