Secrets of the Night
DISCLAIMER: I Do NOT own Pokemon!
Chapter 45: Conflicts, Reasons and Secrets
The overseer called out to each of the participants and had them line up according to their places, their respective pokemon standing by behind them. The six complied and positioned themselves and their pokemon near the base of the ring and torches, a round of applause once again sounding off in the background. By this time, Aeron had settled down and Noir clung to his chest, making sure to stay out of sight and away from suspicion.
Corentin settled at his third place spot. Smiling, he looked over at Aspen and Aeron at his side. He felt relieved that his junior was beside him for two reasons. One: he could easily keep a close eye on him and if anything went wrong, Aeron was in within arm's reach. And two: Aeron acted as the safety wall that prevented Aspen from unleashing her wrath. Corentin was well aware his punishment was postponed but he was going to prolong it as much as he can.
All was well and good until he heard a loud flapping beats but it was more like the thundering of war drums. Looking up, he saw a winged silhouette descend from the bright sky, the afternoon sun outlining its frame. Worry began to gnaw his insides when he recognized the pokemon. It was Itzal, Master Altair's Noivern.
The Sky division leader wasted no time. As soon as Itzal was near the ground, he jumped off, his brown desert cloak flaring at his descend. The whole coliseum was instantly struck in a absolute silence. No one moved and no one dared to speak up. Wordlessly, Altair Zenith swept across the dusty arena and approached the six sky racers, his gaze singling out one particular individual. Stopping in front of the second placer, his hazel eyes looked down on the cloaked racer between the two tall seniors. Without batting an eye, his gaze turned cold and he jerked off the hood down, revealing the person's ebony locks and silvery eyes.
The once silent crowd erupted with murmurs and whispers. The racers below were quiet still, their faces in shock, excluding Corentin and Aeron. Corentin was watching the scene unfold, waiting for the proper time to intervene, if necessary. Rozalia was startled but worry laced her features. As much as she wanted to run and stand by her friend, she couldn't. Like Corentin, she couldn't just jump in at a drop of a hat. It would be disrespectful to their mentors. That lesson was well instilled into them at an early time.
The voices of the audience grew louder, flooding the air with more and more tension until one single sound shattered it instantly.
*slap*
The ones closest to the father and son flinched at the sound. Gasps reverberated throughout the stone stadium before once again succumbing to the silence.
Aeron stood there in silence, his head snapped to one side after being struck by his adopted father. Feeling the radiating disappointment, he refused to look at him, his eyes settled to the view of the ground where the wind was whipping up sand. Noir stirred in his arms but a gentle squeeze calmed him down. Zircon, on the other hand, wouldn't stand by quietly. He growled under his breath as he readied to jump at the boy's defense at any moment.
Altair could sense the hostility of the green sand dragon but he paid no heed. He turned his head towards the race overseer and commanded the coliseum to be cleared out at once. The guy with the Natu nodded furiously and scrambled off. It was that time that Corentin bravely stepped forward to speak but was stopped by the Sky division leader. Turning towards him, Altair narrowed his eyes and told him to take the other racers away and assist in clearing the people. For a moment, they stared at each other, sizing the other, waiting for one to make a move.
Ultimately, Corentin lost. He nodded and gathered the other racers, leaving their pokemon in their respective spots. Altair watched them leave, eyeing Rozalia who lagged behind the group. With her crimson ponytail swaying in the air, she glanced back and stared at the man. The two exchanged looks before the young girl rushed off to accomplish their task.
As the onlookers gradually diminished, Lord Tristan arrived along with Grandmaster Vindryl, Lord Owen and Lady Amalia. Tristan had recalled his Hydreigon previously and joined the other three on board Vindryl's Rayquaza after the much faster and definitely bigger dragon and managed to overtake Tristan's Hydreigon some time ago.
Even when the other heads disembarked and began to approach them, Altair stood motionlessly, facing his adopted son, his expression cold and calculating. "Answer me." The boy flinched at the tone but remained motionless. "What were you trying to accomplish?"
With his voice caught between his throat, Aeron tried make out the words but couldn't. I wanted to know the truth.
Altair growled under his breath. His gaze faltered and shifted to the four imposing figures that coming their way. At the sight of the Black Scythe Leader, Altair strode towards them and abruptly grabbed Tristan by his vest, violently pinning him against the arena wall. The redhead grunted at the force but not a sliver of fear laced his features, only a gaze of anticipation and a small intrigued smirk.
"I warned you before," Altair hissed. "Stay. away. from. him."
"Altair." Owen Ragnorr placed a strong hand on the Sky division leader's shoulder. "This not the time nor the place."
Restraining himself from striking the musclebound man as well, Altair clenched his teeth and glared angrily at the Warrior division head. Owen stared him down, his gaze unwavering and his bulky exterior exposing his muscles and overall strength.
After what felt like a long minute, Altair's grip on the other man loosened. Tristan breathed and straightened his vest and collar in an attempt to neaten away the wrinkles. Altair felt his blood boil again but shoved the anger aside. Casting a last warning look at the redheaded assassin, he wordlessly walked off. Vindryl and Amalia tried to approach him as he passed but the menacing aura the man radiated told them to back off.
Altair returned to his son and found him standing in the same spot, his cloaked form almost hidden away by a Staraptor's wing that was draped over him. Beside him, the Skarmory was lying on its belly, wings folded and head extended in front of Aeron. The shiny Flygon was at his side, opposite to the Staraptor, head raised as he gazed down at the boy while keeping awareness of his surroundings.
"Aeron," Altair called sternly. All three winged pokemon turned towards him but not his son. The Staraptor drew back its wing and Altair got another good look at the young teen. The reddish hue on his cheek was still visible. His silver eyes, partly hidden behind his dark locks, remained glued to the coliseum floor. His lips quivered but barely noticeable to anyone who wasn't observant. Despite being absolutely still, the boy's body language expressed his tenseness and anxiety. Altair stepped forward, earning a hostile snarl from the Flygon while the two avians backed off. Ignoring the dragon, he stared at Aeron and spoke authoritatively. "Come."
With that, the man turned his heel and walked towards his awaiting Noivern. Aeron watched his adopted father mount Itzal and turn towards him, waiting for the teen to make his move. Aeron averted his eyes and turned to Zircon who was glaring at the man and his flying mount. Slowly calming himself, he trailed a hand along the sand dragon's side and took his place on Zircon's back. As he did, his father took off, heading northbound. Aeron steered his Flygon in the same direction.
Just before he left the ground, Lord Tristan's voice called him back. "Aeron."
The raven-haired teen didn't turn to look at him but remained on the ground. "About the race..."
"It's fine," Lord Tristan shrugged the subject off with a chuckle. "I was quite satisfied with your performance. So for your efforts, I shall still uphold my end of the agreement, but I'll postpone it for another week. By then, I sincerely hope you'll tie up any loose ends, both presently and in the future."
Aeron took a moment to take it in before he took off towards the skies, shedding the black cloak and letting it fall to the ground before the redheaded assassin. Tristan picked it up and held up the ominous scythe-shape insignia weaved into the fabric with silver thread. He smiled satisfyingly and spun around, meeting the piercing gazes of the two heads, plus a former one. Chuckling in amusement, he grinned playfully at them. "Can I help you?"
"Don't play coy with us, Tristan. What are you planning?" Lady Amalia demanded.
"I thought it would be plain obvious, my dear." The redheaded assassin smiled.
"Tristan. Don't," warned Vindryl, his carefree tone replaced gone and replaced with complete authority.
"Soooo... You're telling me to just let his so-called father manipulate his life by never telling the kid who he is? That doesn't seem fair," Tristan retorted with dripping sarcasm.
"It's better he doesn't remember," Lord Owen added as he stood beside the mistress of the Rosette unit.
"Says all of you, but what about the kid? Is he happy with the way things are?" asked Tristan as he slowly walked around the trio. "I'm sure you've all noticed his growing anxiety. He didn't say no when I presented him a chance to see the world outside of the island. He didn't back down even when he knew that he would go behind his father's back..."
"That's not it!" Lady Amalia exclaimed, her amethyst eyes flashing venomously. "You know the real reason why we all decided to keep him in the dark."
"What? What do you think he'll do?" Tristan shrugged, feigning ignorance.
"It's not Aeron that we are worried about. It's that thing you keep." Vindryl growled.
Tristan simply smiled. "Why so hostile? It's not gonna come out anytime soon." He stopped walking and shrugged his arms. "Besides, it's not like I'll be able to control it anyway. Aeron could. Well... that's the whole reason why Zen-I mean Altair brought him here in the first place."
Far above Semira's eastern deep green blanket of trees and below the warm afternoon sunlight, two flying figures zoomed through the air. Altair flew ahead on his Noivern with radiating calmness and focus, while, Aeron, with much more composure than the end of the race, steered his Flygon with ease and a similar degree of calmness. None of them made a move to interact or flew close to the other. Altair simply led while Aeron quietly followed.
The hazy form of Zephyr Pillar entered their field of vision. The earthen cylinder-shaped mound rose high above the verdant woods, the summit faintly touching the clouds. Gazing at the open landscape, Aeron reminisced the times he flew on his father's Noivern as they soared across the the eastern woods, much like they were doing now. The only difference was they weren't riding together on one pokemon.
Noir, who was sitting in front of Aeron, looked up at him and let out a squeak, drawing him out of his reverie. Aeron met his gaze and Noir smiled with fondness and optimism. His human partner tried to return the smile but a loud screech that obviously came from Itzal snatched their attention from each other.
Aeron looked ahead and saw his father point downwards, signalling him to land. He looked at the direction of his finger and spotted the small clearing with a massive Oak tree growing at the very middle. It looked very ancient considering the sheer size and the collection of lush overgrowth cascading from the branches. Master Altair descended first and Aeron promptly followed.
After maneuvering through, Altair jumped off and skillfully landed on one of the thick branches while Itzal perched on a higher place and wrapped a tail around one branch before finally hanging down like a normal bat. The leaves shuffled at the opposite side as Aeron and his two pokemon came in. The boy slid off his dragon's back and descended on a crouch position, Zircon clung to the ancient trunk while Noir flew out and landed on a thinner branch that grew between Altair's side and Aeron's side.
The wind blew and ruffled the vivid green leaves that grew densely in the outer regions but were sparser the closer they were to the trunk, giving the individuals enough space to move around as well as a good view of each other. It was both good and bad. Altair had a thorough view of his son from his spot. Aeron, on the other hand, just wanted to disappear once the previously relaxing air was suddenly flooded with tension.
Altair watched Aeron as he straightened up and stood on his branch, his back leaning against the bark. The boy wasn't looking at him, his silver eyes shifted slowly across the the nature scenery. Sensing his son wasn't going to speak anytime soon, Altair made a move to break the ice. Crossing his arms, he looked to him and spoke, "Now... Answer."
It was a demand but the sort of fatherly patience was there. Aeron took a deep breath and shot a glance at Noir and then Zircon who were both waiting for him to speak. The pressure was building every second. Finally, Aeron rested his eyes on his father and answered, "I accepted another agreement from Lord Tristan."
"I see." There was a venom in his voice no matter how the Sky division leader tried to hide it. "Explain."
Being direct and using a few words at a time just told Aeron that his father was furious. And prolonging to answer was just going to make it worse, not that it wasn't already bad. Steeling himself, he continued. "I wanted to know the truth."
It was vague, considering the kind of secrets Altair had to keep from the boy, not that he was going to point out each and every one of them. His arms slackened and he exasperatedly attempted to relax. "I told you before that you should ask me instead of going to him."
"Then..." Aeron suddenly trailed off as his chest throbbed with anxiety. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to keep eye contact with his father. "Would you tell me who I was before I came here?"
Lord Altair hesitated for a moment, but to someone who knew him, it was out of character. "I don't want to relay the whole tragic events to you, considering that you didn't take it all that well when I first took you in. All you should know is that your biological parents are dead and I was in the area at the time. I found you and brought you here."
Aeron expected as much but having someone confirm it just brought a fresh wave of pain. "Do you... know how it happened?"
Another barely felt lapse of silence. "They were already gone by the time I've arrived. There was nothing I could have done."
It didn't exactly answer the question which made things unsettling, but pushing the subject that was obviously being dodged was not going to do anything for him. His father wasn't going to answer. Aeron sighed inwardly and let it go. "Why did you take me in?"
The question was familiar. The Sky division leader had heard it many times over the years his son was growing up. And his answer was always the same. "A whim... It could have been out of pity but it doesn't matter. " For an ex-assassin, it was quite a stretch to suddenly pick up a traumatic child out of nowhere. The man let out breath and soaked in the voice of the calming breeze. "You're here now. The present and the future are more important than who you were before."
"But I still don't understand why I can't remember any of it," Aeron added with a plea of desperation somewhere in his tone.
"Like I said, it was tragic. You shouldn't remember it." Shouldn't, being the keyword. "You were only around five or six at the time. Due to the trauma, you locked the memories away within your own mind."
Aeron did it to himself? Maybe. Maybe, not. It was very questionable, considering Lord Tristan said it was because of his father. Who was telling the truth? "Last question." He was ready to give up in his quest for answers. "Why do I have this ability?"
"I don't know." The answer didn't have a pause beforehand so it was a pretty good chance that it was the absolute truth. No vagueness. No dodging. But it wasn't the answer that Aeron would have wanted. "Probably hereditary but I wouldn't know since..." Altair trailed off, careful not to bring up the subject of the boy's dead parents.
"Riiight." Aeron submitted. The conversation was going nowhere and it was futile to pursue things further.
Sensing the boy's anxiety, Altair stared at his rigid form against the tree trunk. He knew his answers weren't at all assuring but there were things he had to keep Aeron away from, no matter what. And it wasn't entirely his fault that Aeron was showing signs of rebellion. It was Tristan's. Altair seethed at the thought of the grinning red-haired assassin leader planting such doubts in his son's mind. One way or another, he had to keep the boy away.
Plucking a pokeball from beneath his desert cloak, Altair tossed it towards the boy who caught it on reflex. Aeron stared at the old, slightly worn-out capsule before meeting his father's stoic gaze. Altair crossed his arms again and returned to his signature authoritative demeanor. "Keep him with you. From now on, he is yours and he is never to leave your side."
Noir and Zircon cocked their heads towards the pokeball that housed their new apparent teammate. They both seemed to display mixed feelings about the situation. Noir already had Zircon as competition for Aeron's attention, adding another was just screaming war. Then again, judging from the old pokeball, the pokemon was a veteran member of Lord Altair's team, just like Itzal, Noir's biological father, meaning that the pokemon had worked alongside the Noivern. Zircon remained indifferent but his amber eyes were filled with caution.
Altair looked up at the shiny Flygon that blending well to the leafy greens. "Before anything else, where did the Flygon come from?"
Aeron put away the pokeball and looked at the man. "Grandmaster Vindryl gave him to me when he arrived."
Internally groaning at his meddling predecessor, Altair massaged the spot between his brows. Why can't people just let him raise his son in peace? Once again, he eyed the green and blue dragon who returned the gaze with a glare. The thing didn't like him that much was obvious. Altair looked towards his son and sighed. "I let you keep that Snivy-"
"Servine now," Aeron corrected.
It evolved already, the man concluded, not that he was surprised. Shrugging it off, he continued, "I let you keep that Servine. So now, I'm assuming I will let you do the same with the Flygon."
"Zircon stays," the boy demanded with a hint of caution.
Noir pouted at the serious tone his human partner used while Zircon swished his tail and shot a smirk at the Noibat.
Altair resisted to roll his eyes. Teens and rebellion. And he thought raising a six year old was rough. "Fine. As long as you keep Fenrir with you at all times."
Fenrir. Aeron suddenly had a bad feeling about the pokeball that his father had given him. He met the pokemon a few times over the years he grew up in Lord Altair's care. Undoubtedly, Fenrir's strong, that much he was sure. But... It's not like he didn't get along with the pokemon. He was merely concerned how Noir, Zircon and Vivi would react to him, given the kind of personality Fenrir had. "Fenrir won't listen to me."
"That's the idea," Altair replied. "I won't let the pokemon I assign to keep an eye on you to be swayed easily, given your ability."
The man had a point. Aeron had no choice but to agree to his terms. Thinking it over, meeting Lord Tristan after a week was going to be harder with Fenrir around.
"It's getting late..." Altair motioned to the waning light of day that was now barely seeping through the cluster of leaves. "We should head back. We have a lot of work to do. And everyone should be back at the headquarters by now."
Aeron immediately remembered Faye Lin and the rest of his friends whom he owed an explanation to. Bracing himself for the storm ahead, he called to his two pokemon. Zircon jumped off and aligned himself in front of Aeron so the boy could get on. Aeron got on and Noir glided over and clung to his back.
At the same time, Altair mounted on his Noivern as well. After a short glance at each other, they took off towards Zephyr Pillar.
The sun had just set when Aeron walked through the earth and wooden halls towards his room. Earlier, he tried to find Faye Lin in order to explain, but the only thing he met were groups of gossiping teens that witnessed the race earlier, as if his local reputation couldn't get any worse. Aeron ignored them as usual and left it to Noir to react by sticking his tongue and snarling every now and then. After a while, he finally conceded and decided that it was better to keep his distance from Faye Lin in the meantime. The last thing he wanted was to drag her into the crossfire.
With Noir flying over his shoulder, Aeron opened the door to his room and was immediately pounced on by a whimpering green leafy reptile. He staggered back at the force but managed to remain standing. His Servine, Vivi was trembling with relief. He must have missed him terribly. Sighing, Aeron cradled the grass snake with both arms and coaxed him with a hush voice. "Sorry for leaving you behind, Vivi. I had a lot to do today."
Stifling the rest of his tears, Vivi wagged his fan-like tail and nuzzled fondly against Aeron's shoulder.
Noir watched overhead and merely smiled at the display. He couldn't blame Vivi for being affectionate. Although, it made him wonder why he was ticked off with Zircon and not with Vivi. Was it a size thing? Zircon is fully evolved so it's no surprise. Vivi is already in his second evolution. Then, that would make Noir the only pokemon who had yet to evolve and he was Aeron's first partner. He was being left behind in the status quo. Frustrated, he flew down on top of the side table and started fingering the Everstone collar.
"Noir...?"
Noir ceased his actions and turned to Aeron who was looking at him questioningly. Vivi was still in his arms as he shot the Noibat a curious look as well. Noir jerked his fingered wings away from his fuzzy collar and smiled innocently. Aeron and Vivi merely blinked. They weren't buying it. Noir pouted and suddenly caught a glimpse of the pokeball on Aeron's belt. It posed yet another potential problem. Deciding it was better to get the situation over with, he flew up and snatched the ball from Aeron, gingerly clutching it between his feet as he hovered away from the boy's reach.
"Noir!" Aeron scolded sternly as he set his Servine on the floor behind him in order to give the Noibat his full attention. "That's not a toy. Give it back."
Determined to fully size up his competition, Noir stuck his muzzle out defiantly and fidgeted the old capsule with his feet.
Aeron flinched and hurriedly made a grab for the pokeball but as soon as he about to touch it, the capsule slipped and landed on the floor with a couple of bounces and a familiar click. In an instant, red matter shot out and Aeron frantically grabbed Noir and shoved the purple bat behind him along with Vivi who was shying behind the boy's leg. "Stay close and don't move," he told them.
The tone of extreme caution made Noir completely regret his recklessness. Gulping, he quickly perched on Aeron's back and peered over his shoulder. The brilliant crimson mass expanded and began to form into a large four-legged beast with sharp fangs and menacing eyes. The light subsided and the creature that appeared took almost half the room, given the mass of its pale fawn-colored mane and tail and its crouching position. Its main body was covered in orange-brown fur with black jagged tiger-stripes that slightly extended over the elaborate mane which was unruly, thicker along the spine and tail and accented with more black tips, making it fiercer than it already was.
"Fenrir..." Aeron coaxed the snarling beast with a firm tone as he raised his arms in a nonthreatening manner. "Simmer down."
The feral-looking Arcanine glared at the three and let out a ferocious bark, making the two pokemon cringe and shrink back. Aeron continued to stare down the beast as he slowly lowered to the floor in order to pick up the empty pokeball. Fenrir saw the attempt and blasted the capsule away with a fireball, scorching the floor and adding more burn marks to the already worn-out pokeball.
Withdrawing his hand, Aeron clenched his teeth and mentally cursed the man who gave him the beast. The creature that was supposed to be guarding him was in itself a threat. It spelled a new heap of trouble. "Fenrir. I don't have time for this. As of now, Master Altair has assigned you to be my pokemon. Whether you and I like it or not, there is nothing more I can do. So tone down the growling and try not to attack Noir or Vivi."
The word 'try' was not exactly reassuring to the quivering Noibat nor the trembling Servine who both gulped and clung tighter to the boy. Fenrir glared at the two and slightly eased his stance. Backing away a bit, he stood firm beside the forgotten pokeball and eyed the boy and his pokemon with the same intense glare that he was using.
Aeron released the breath that he was unconsciously holding in. He could barely believe that the Arcanine backed down, even if it was less than a couple of feet of breathing space. He would take what he can, seeing as he wasn't going to recall Fenrir away anytime soon. Inching towards the bed, he continued to lock eyes with the beast. Tension hung thickly. Once he reached the safety of his bed, Noir and Vivi scrambled over the sheets and sunk to the corner, far from the Arcanine.
Fenrir snorted and moved to the center of the room, blocking the route to the door. Then he settled down on the floor and swished his long regal tail, laying it protectively around the discarded pokeball.
Aeron groaned and looked back at his two fear-stricken pokemon. "We might be here a while... You two hungry?"
End of Chapter 45
This marks my 45th chapter! wew.
Not as angst-y as I had intended. There's slight fatherly fluff.
The "Thing" and it's connection with Aeron is all part of the main plot. (Du-du-duuuun)
Clue: Legendary Pokemon, Winged (Thus Aeron's ability), Dangerous.
As for the Arcanine. It doesn't exactly look like the usual one.
Picture it with longer and messier mane, plus more black accents.
I like pokemon with uniqueness to them.
Fenrir - (Norse Mythos) is a monstrous wolf. (Fitting right~?)
For now, Fenrir's becoming acquainted with Vivi and Noir (two smaller pokemon)
Wonder how he'll fair with a larger and equally stubborn pokemon like Zircon. xD
Next will be an Overall summary of all that happened (From 1-45. Important recaps)
It's so that everyone can catch up. (It's already finished. Mind you. ;D)
Waiting for Reviews.
And then it will be back to Neo.
Read and Review! Please and thank you to everyone!