Thank you for the review Ratorex. It's much appreciated and encourages me to write more.
Angel wakes up with a jump from her dream, the foggy memory already slipping from her brain and out the unsealed window. Mesprit has been visiting her dreamscape to divulge the history of Sinnoh and fact check common folklore she had learned from Cynthia during her stay, but this visit… She looks across the room to see Cynthia still slumbering, her back rising and falling evenly, and lets out a slight sigh of relief. She slowly moves her legs over the side of the bed. Hesitant feet recoil when they meet the cold wood floor and flit across to the carpet in the middle of the room. The child rubs one eye with a tired fist and gropes around the darkness for her trainer belt with the other. She secures it around her waist, throws a sweatshirt and sweatpants over her pajamas, and casts one last look at the sleeping champion before silently slipping out the door.
Angel ignores the wriggling luxury ball at her side as Mystic speeds away from Snowpoint City. She casts a nervous glance over her shoulder as if she thought the large dragon and white avian would descend upon her at any moment.
"Hurry Mystic." The dark dragon murmurs beneath her, "I don't know why Mesprit wants me there, but I know I have to go. Please, trust me on this."
A displeased huff puffs out the dragon's body before it yields to the pressure against his wing and tilts its direction to the raised plateau in the distance. He continues his incoherent gibberish to display his displeasure and has half a mind to turn wing and throw her through Cynthia's window so she can take her lumps for sneaking out, but the anxious vibe pulsating from the child makes him just head toward the incoming body of water.
Angel clicks her pokeball back onto her belt and unlatches the item from her waist to rest on a rock. She saw all four shake violently as she distanced herself from their resting place. Violet eyes flash away as the black sphere explodes open and an aggravated red hued guardian slumps forward. The absol growls when the child sheds her outward clothing and prepares to dive into the lake.
"I'm not going to get myself killed, Calamity. The voice said go to the center. That's what I'm doing."
The red creature grips at the undershirt she was wearing and tries to pull the child away, but the stubborn human jumps away. The fabric rips and the child takes a breath before kicking her way across the waterway. The shiny pokemon, not the strongest of swimmers, paces across the water edge as she sees her trainer crawl onto the raised island in the middle of the water. She crawls through the entrance and disappears from sight. Calamity growls in aggravation.
"Excuse me? Anyone here?" The cold seeps into her bones as she rubs her freezing arms. A wind seems to blow and whistle through the crevices in the rock.
"Get out…" A whisper hisses on the wind.
A chill runs down her spine with a tingle at the eerie similarity to the recording she heard almost a week ago.
"Mesprit told me to come here. I'm not going anywhere." Angel states defiantly as she steps further into the dark cave.
"Get out hatchling. Don't you know what comes out in the night? Things with teeth, claws, hunger. Shouldn't you be hiding behind your mother, hatchling?" The hiss wraps around her head and flicks through her ear canal. Angel squirmed.
"I can handle myself. Where's the pokemon I'm supposed to be meeting."
"Who's to say it's here? Perhaps it was a lie."
Violet eyes roll, "Please. Mesprit wouldn't lie to me."
"I'm aware she needs you. Perhaps I can sway you to leave it alone. If you do then I'll leave your mother alive."
The invisible pulse seems to halo the girl at the threat and she narrows her eyes to slits. Her pupils contract to take on a more savage appearance, violet orbs radiating an ethereal glow.
"You touch my mama, and me and my pokemon will tear your invisible body to shreds. Now leave and show me what I came here for."
An physic glow encases a boulder lodged into the ceiling and descends to allow the moonlight to filter in. The boulder moves to the side and the moon glow reveals a small blue pokemon and a matching yellow one. The lake guardian's eyes loose their physic glow and clash with the befuddled purple eyes.
"Hello hatchling. Pardon the rude welcome. Azelf tends to test his visitors for their willpower."
"Tell me more about this Team Galactic that Mesprit mentioned. Why do you think they're targeting you again? Who are you two anyway?"
"We are the other two that make up the lake guardian trio. We can not say much to you hatchling. Even my premonitions can only tell us so much. Something is going to happen, hatchling. Something big. Something dangerous. We feel you can help. Your heart, your willpower, your wisdom. Use it. The renegade is preparing." Uxie forwarns.
"What does that mean?" Angel yells out, frustrated.
"We can't tell you. The renegade is watching. Look to the past."
The two pokemon stare at her a moment longer before swirling out through the hole of the cavern. Angel stomps her foot in aggravation.
"Stupid legendaries and their riddles…"
…
Angel wraps the towel tighter around her warmed body as she pads her way away from the washroom and back to her room. Two hours after attempting to sleep wet she gave up and left to shower. No longer frozen to her marrow, and hopefully lucky enough to avoid another cold, the child is mostly certain that she had gotten away with her escapade scot free. The door handle turns and the wood creaks as she enters. She winces back when she sees the champion sitting in the window seat with a book in hand.
"Early shower for a girl who hates morning showers."
"I missed mine last night," Angle fibs smoothly as she slides across the floor and grabs a change of clothes.
"So you woke up before five am to shower?" The champion inquires as she closes her dusty epic history book of some sort and places the block on the table. She crawls off the window seat and makes her way to the child fumbling with the sweatshirt placed on a too high shelf. The sweatshirt is pulled over her head and Angel pushes her arms through the holes.
"So, want to tell me where you went during the middle of the night?" Cynthia asks as she takes her hairbrush off the table and turns on the hair dryer.
Angel congratulated herself on the fact she didn't even stiffen, but nibbles her lip in guilt before releasing false words from impure lips.
"I got up to go to the bathroom, and the water sprayed all over me so I got soaked," She mutters as she feels the bristles of the brush filter through her damp hair and feels her strands float around her body as the machine dries the locks.
"And that took two and a half hours?" Cynthia presses, her voice slightly overrun by the purr of the motor. She sighs when Angel doesn't respond and turns off the dryer. The hairdresser is placed back on the table and Cynthia gets off the edge of Angel's bed. "I'm disappointed you won't tell me. We leave in an hour."
Angel's violet eyes widen and she downcasts her eyes in shame as the blonde champion puts on her jacket and walks out of the room. Her stomach churns as her regret tumbles around and she forces the lump in her throat down.
…
Cynthia watches as the platinum blonde pushes her breakfast around her plate. She raises a slight eyebrow when she notices the huff Calamity directs at her owner before dramatically looking away when the young trainer looks toward the noise. The arcanine and hydreigon look at the two from their food dishes. Diadem lets out a woof and Angel lets out a shaky smile.
"Great idea Diadem. Let's go have a mock battle." The pale girl grabs her goomy and her two large pokemon get up to follow. Calamity stays lying down by her food dish. It opens one green eye when Destin squeaks. She listens for a moment before pushing her bowl away with her horn and settling near Cynthia. Angel crosses her arms in irritation and leaves.
The archeologist looks down at the shiny pokemon obviously trying to make a point, "I wish you could just tell me what happened. She left right?" The red pokemon nods. "Why didn't she just tell me where she went? Does she not trust me?" Silence is her answer. "I'm not really sure why I'm asking you. I can't understand your response."
Mystic turns around when a stray dark pulse destroys the ground that was previously beneath his rival's feet, only to find his trainer staring off into a different dimension. His growl snaps her back to attention.
"Sorry Mystic," She narrows her eyes at the comment, "No I can't just tell her. Legendary pokemon's business isn't mine to just divulge. I don't even know what they're talking about. A renegade, some empty sun, an alpha. The past. What do they want me to do. Why can't legendaries just tell things straight like normal pokemon?" Angel complains.
Diadem approaches her and nuzzles her face. A soft bark is emitted from his throat.
"I don't care if it's a test. If it's really that important why can't they just tell me…" Angel pauses to consider Destin's comment, "Perhaps you're right Destin. Maybe they can't tell me, or they're scared of something. That voice kind of reminded me of that recording. If that's what's threatening them I wouldn't blame them for being cryptic, but if that's what they're facing, is it what I'm expected to help them with too?" Angel asks worriedly as she buries her face in the ruff of the canine's neck.
Cynthia watches silently at the door. She's let out a frustrated sigh when she notices the tail end of her last sentence was the end of the conversation. The champion looks down at the absol.
"I'm sorry I wouldn't follow you Calamity."
The guardian let out a huff.