A Dragon's Tail
Tail 3: Richard's Tail - Ignorance
Tail 3-3: Brothers and Sisters
"ONI-CHAAAAAANN!"
Richard was hugged by a crying Latias. This Latias was none other than the only person in his life that he cared about, his younger sister.
"Rachael… Thank goodness…" Richard mumbled.
"Onii-chan! I finally found you!" Rachael cried while still hugging her 'true' elder brother.
"Rachael… I am sorry…" Richard mumbled. "I am sorry… For leaving you alone for such a long time… And I am sorry… For not being able to protect you in that day… If only I was strong enough…"
"It's okay, Onii-chan…" Rachael looked at her brother with a cute face. "It's only over now… It's just a bad dream…"
"Rachael…" Richard looked at his sister with a tender face, a face that neither Viola nor Grimlock had ever seen before!
"Wait a minute…" Viola spoke up. "Richard, do you know that Latias?"
"And Rachael…" Jasper spoke up too. "Do you know that Latios?"
Rachael was about to answer those questions when Richard spoke up first. "Couldn't you idiots see that we are in a moment of reunion? Idiots…"
"WHAT?!" Jasper and Zenpai was shocked when they heard Richard's words while Viola and Grimlock were indifferent as they already heard something like that from Richard for countless times.
"And if you excuse me, please give both of us some private time." Richard said before he took his younger sister into the secret base, but before he entered, he spoke up again. "Oh, and please… Do. Not. Make. A. Ruckus. Again."
-After a long explanation…
"…So… After that event, you and those idiots decided to leave Leafburg…" Richard said after Rachael told him what happened after they were separated, including Rachael's stay at Paradise Farm, her meeting with Jasper and Zenpai, her trip to Leafburg Forest and the event at the abandoned temple, but Rachael couldn't tell what happened after Joshua committed suicide without crying. "And it seemed like the fates have led you here…"
"Right…" Rachael stopped crying. "What about you, Onii-chan? What happened to you after that night?"
"Well…" Richard mumbled before he started telling his story…
"Urr… My head…"
Richard slowly regained his consciousness. He tried to move his body, only to find that he could move neither his arms nor his legs! And… He could no more feel the presence of his legs!
"Where am I? And… Rachael?! Where are you?!" Richard mumbled, but he still couldn't move his arms. And then he found that his arms were tied down to some sort of an operating table! And… His arms… Why were they blue?
"WHAT?!" Richard realized that he had been turned into a creature that looked like a blue plane! With the knowledge he had, he could tell that he was now a Pokemon called Latios.
"What happened to my body?!" Richard was panicking. He then tried to look around and found that he was in a room with many lab equipments such as pipets and cylinders.
And…
"Good morning, Experiment Gamma."
That voice came from someone who had just entered the room. He was an Alakazam in a white lab coat. He held something that looked like a report in his paw too.
"E…Experiment Gamma?!" I spoke with a shaking voice. "W…What does that mean?!"
"Hm… As expected, you are a Latios…" Alakazam said and looked at a report in his paw. "You fell right onto the outskirt of Gamma City, and we found you… Marvelous… Yes… Yes… Marvelous…"
"W…What are you planning to do with me?!" I asked. "A…And where's my sister?! D…Did you find her?!"
"Oh! That's right…" Alakazam spoke. "A Latios has a younger sister, a Latias, right? So… If we found a Latios, we would be able to find a Latias too… And she will be the next experiment specie of us…"
"N…No!" I said while trying to struggle. "Y…You can't!"
"Just stay still, Experiment Gamma." Alakazam said. "And wait for the day of your next demonstration…"
"Wait!" I said, but the Alakazam already left the room…
'W…What should I do?!' I thought.
"Oh... No…" Rachael said after Richard stopped telling his story for a moment. "O…Onii-chan! T…That was terrible!"
"…" Richard said nothing in response.
"B…But… How did you escape from that place?" Rachael continued asking. "A…And… I think you have… changed a bit… You were so nerdy and clumsy back then… But right now… You are…"
"…That was a weakness I already discarded." Richard answered. "Someone told me that, while I couldn't be a strong and powerful being, I must strengthen the power of my mind."
"…And how did you escape?" Rachael asked.
Richard was about to answer Rachael's question when someone spoke up instead. "Of course, without me, Richard would have been stuck in that place forever."
The voice came out of Richard's Dragon Relic, followed by a glowing orb that came out of the Luster Pendant! At the very same time it happened, a glowing orb also came out of Rachael's Mist Pendant too!
"Mega Latios, is that you?" Mega Latias said from a glowing orb that came out of Rachael's Mist Pendant.
"Mega Latias?!" Mega Latios said from a glowing orb that came out of Richard's Luster Pendant. "I am so glad to see you again…"
"Me too, my brother." Mega Latias said.
"Wait…" Rachael spoke up. "What is this, Mega Latias?"
"…Rachael." Richard looked at his younger sister. "…Don't tell me you have made a pact with a Legendary Pokemon…"
"What?! Then… You too, Onii-chan?!" Rachael replied with another question.
"Foolish sister…" Richard said. "Do you know what you have gotten yourself into? Don't you know that forming a pact with a Legendary Pokemon will result in being cursed of losing something in your life?"
"I…I know…" Rachael answered. "B…But it will make me become stronger so I will no more be a burden to everyone. Plus, I don't have anything more to lose… So…So…"
"…I am sorry, Rachael." Richard patted his sister's head. "I was such a bad brother to say something like that to you. Plus, I also made a pact with a Legendary Pokemon too…"
"Right." Mega Latios spoke up. "And it seems that your younger sister have formed a pact with my younger sister."
"So, Mega Latias…" Rachael spoke up. "You have an elder brother too?"
"Correct." Mega Latias answered. "And I am so glad to meet you again, Mega Latios."
"Me too, Mega Latias." Mega Latios said.
"…Um…" Rachael looked at both glowing orbs between Richard and her. "Both of you always call each other with the name of your species. Do you have your own name?"
"Trust me, Rachael, trying to ask something like that is a waste of time." Richard answered. "Lord of Blindness always refuses to tell me his real name."
"That's right." Mega Latios said. "Instead of learning our names, shouldn't you go—"
"Of course!" Mega Latias spoke up. "My name is Ilia the Mega Latias and his name is Holmer the Mega Latios!"
"MEGA LATIAS!" Mega Latios, whose real name was Holmer, roared out.
"Why not, Holmer?" Mega Latias, whose real name was Ilia, said. "There's no reason to hide our names from them!"
"Hm!" Holmer mumbled.
"What's wrong, Ilia?" Rachael asked.
"Well… It's just that Holmer doesn't like to let many Pokemon know his real name." Ilia answered.
"So, your real name is Holmer… That name really suits you." Richard spoke to Holmer. "However, I'd prefer to call you 'Lord of Blindness'."
"Lord of Blindness? Why did you call Homer like that?"
"Because he used a move 'Luster Purge' when I summon him." Richard answered. "Plus, he is a blind dragon."
"You are blind?!" Rachael looked at a glowing orb of Holmer. "What happened to your eyes?!"
"…" Holmer didn't answer Rachael's question.
"Rachael…" Ilia spoke up. "Did you forget something? About the Equinox Sale…"
"OH! That's right!" Rachael said. "Onii-chan, do you know where is the department store that has an Equinox Sale today?"
"Yes." Richard said. "And I will go with you."
"YAY!" Rachael said. "Let's go! Onii-chan! You too! Holmer! Ilia!"
As she finished speaking, the glowing orbs disappeared into Rachael's Mist Pendant and Richard's Luster Pendant, and Rachael and Richard left this room.
"Rachael!"
Jasper spoke up as he saw a Latias and a Latios left the room. This also attracted Zenpai, Viola and Grimlock's attention too.
"Hi! Jasper! Zenpai!" Rachael said. "And let me introduce my Onii-chan! His name is Richard Lustermist the Latios!"
"…So, you are Rachael's another brother, hm?" Zenpai looked at Richard.
"No, I am her only 'real' brother." Richard answered, which made Jasper and Zenpai shocked a bit.
"And, Richard, is that Latias your younger sister?" Viola asked and looked at Rachael. "Then, I am so sorry for trying to steal from you…"
"It's okay! I forgive you!" Rachael said with a smile on her face.
"Sigh…" Jasper mumbled. "Easy to forgive… That's just like you, Rachael. But if that's your decision, then I will not complain."
"And what will you do next, Rachael?" Zenpai asked.
"I will go shopping with Onii-chan! Do you want to come too?" Rachael asked.
"Ye—" Zenpai and Jasper was about to answer Rachael's question before Richard spoke up.
"That's not necessary. Rachael, let's not waste our time." Richard said.
"What?!" Zenpai said. "Rachael asked us, not you! Why did you have to say something like that?"
"Because this is the first time you come to Gamma City, right?" Richard answered. "Being a first time in a complicated place like this, idiots like you will surely get lose the first step you get out of the sewer."
Hearing the word 'idiots' triggered Jasper and Zenpai's anger, while Viola and Grimlock just sighed as this was like a thousand times they heard this word from Richard.
"Hey! You!" Jasper said and drew his Emerald Katana out of its sheath.
"You want some from us?!" Zenpai said and equipped his Peridot Kunai.
"…Using brawl over brain… Is that a thing that a 'good' elder brother for Rachael should do?" Richard as with a cold voice.
"What?!" Jasper and Zenpai was shocked by Richard's sharp words.
"O…Onii-chan!" Rachael spoke up. "W…Why did you say something like that?!"
"…True. I don't know why I said something like that…" Richard answered. "Because it would be pointless to knock some sense into those idiots' thick skull. Rachael, let's go."
After he finished speaking, Richard moved up to the exit of the sewer. Rachael then looked at Jasper and Zenpai and said 'I am sorry' before she followed the Latios.
As Richard and Rachael already left, Zenpai spoke up. "Damn it! That Latios!"
"He is so arrogant." Jasper said and sheathed his Emerald Katana.
"That's just like him." Viola spoke up. "He always calls other Pokemon 'idiot'."
"That's right. At first, we were so furious with his arrogance." Grimlock spoke up. "But now, we are already familiar with that."
"Speaking of both of you…" Zenpai and Jasper turned their attention to Viola and Grimlock. "Since Rachael decided to forgive you, we will let you go for now, but don't try to steal from us again, okay?"
"You spoke as if you have already defeated us in a battle!" Viola suddenly changed her mood.
"True, but I don't think I could continue to fight, especially against a lady like you…" Jasper said and approached Viola. "Hey, cutie, would be kindly tell me your name?"
"…What the heck?" Viola asked.
"Oh! I am so sorry that I forgot to introduce myself properly." Jasper said. "My name is Jasper Floratree the Sceptile. Nice to meet you, cutie…"
"Floratree?!" Instead of getting annoying with Jasper's flirting, Viola's eyes widened as she heard the Sceptile's last name, and then she quickly calmed down. "So… You are the son of the Hero of Grass type who saved Symmetria from the Fallen Crisis, Joshua Floratree the Sceptile, right?"
Jasper was shocked when he heard the Heliolisk's words, but he was good at concealing his emotion. "Ah… My identity have been known by a cutie… You are such a sharp Heliolisk!"
"Jasper!" Zenpai roared at his younger half-brother. "Don't go around and tell anyone your identity!"
"It's okay, Scyther." Grimlock spoke up. "Well… To tell the truth, both Viola and I are no different than this Sceptile."
"...What do you mean?" Jasper looked at the Aggron.
Grimlock and Viola looked at each other for a moment, and then Grimlock answered the Sceptile's question.
"…It means that Viola's father and my father are also the Hero of Legend who saved Symmetria from the Fallen Crisis 30 years ago."
-Meanwhile…
Richard led Rachael to Gamma Department Store, which was the biggest department store in the Gamma City. Because of the Equinox Sale, this place was crowded with many Pokemon today, but with Richard's skill of evading a crowded place and Rachael's skill of finding a shop with a red sign with the word 'Sale' on it, the duo didn't have any problem with this place.
"Lalala…"
While Rachael was trying to choose whether she should buy a blush-colored scarf or a flamingo-colored scarf, Richard sat on a stool in front of the shop. His eyes were focused at the Chronicle of Twilight he was reading.
'…You know…' Holmer spoke into Richard's mind. 'Although I am one of the most intelligent and the cleverest creatures in this universe, I still don't understand why women spend so much time in choosing clothing.'
"Me too, Lord of Blindness." Richard mumbled. "But when we were human, we were so poor that both of us could hardly afford to buy clothes for ourselves, and now, we could. So, I won't complain."
"Oh! Onii-chan!" Rachael called Richard. She was holding two cloths in her paws. "Come here and tell me which cloth you like more!"
Richard closed the Chronicle of Twilight and moved up to where his sister was. He then examined both cloths in Rachael's paws before giving her an answer.
"I'd say that I personally like the one in your left paw." Richard answered. "But I don't think both of them will suit your style, Rachael."
"Teehee!" Rachael revealed an innocent smile as she put the cloth in her right paw back onto the shelf. "This isn't a cloth for me. It's for you, Onii-chan!"
"…Me? Nah…" Richard looked at his younger sister. "I am good as I am right now…"
"Come on! Don't be shy!" Rachael put the cloth in her left paw into Richard's paw and shoved him to the fitting room. "Come on! Try it for me!"
"…Sigh…" Richard sighed and went into the fitting room.
-Several Minutes Later…
"...Is this enough?"
Richard spoke as he got out of the fitting room. He now wore an azure blue shirt and indigo trousers. He also wore a cobalt and white jacket too.
"Wow!" Rachael said. "You look so handsome!"
"…If that so, then…" Richard was about to go back into the fitting room to change his clothes back when he heard something…
"That would be 500 PokeDollar." A Pokemon at the cashier said.
"Here you are!" Rachael handed over a bag of 500 PokeDollar to the cashier.
"Thank you for your patronage, and please come again." The cashier said.
"Um… Rachael?!" Richard moved up to his younger sister. "D…Don't tell me that…"
"Yes!" Rachael nodded. "You always wear such a somber cloth! So, this is my present for you!"
"Sigh… Well… If you insist…" Richard yielded.
"Teehee! I am so glad you like it!" Rachael said. "Let's go, Onii-chan! We still have 21 more shops to go!"
"Oh…" Richard facepalmed.
-Several Hours Later…
Richard and Rachael left the Gamma Department Store and entered the northeastern road of Gamma City. Right now, the sun already departed from the sky and the moon already shined above the head of everyone. It was because Rachael spent so much time at the department store so that it's already night time.
"Oh! Rachael! There you are!"
A voice called the Latias from not too far. Richard and Rachael turned their attention to the source of the voice and saw Jasper, Zenpai, Viola and Grimlock walked up to them.
"Hi! Jasper! Zenpai! Heliolisk! Aggron!" Rachael greeted four Pokemon who were walking up to them, while Richard just turned a cold shoulder on them.
"Oh! I forgot that we haven't introduced ourselves yet…" Viola spoke up. "My name is Viola Sparkvolt the Heliolisk."
"And my name is Grimlock Rusteel the Aggron! Nice to meet ya!" Grimlock flexed his arm while introducing himself.
"Nice to meet you, Viola, Grimlock!" Rachael said. "And thank you for taking care of Onii-chan!"
"There's no need to thank us for this, Rachael." Viola said.
"…Rachael, are you tired?" Richard spoke up. "Shouldn't you call it a day right now?"
"I am not tir— YAWN…" Rachael released a small yawn as she tried to tell her brother that she was not tired.
"Let's go and get some sleep. I know a good hotel for you to stay around here." Richard spoke. "And… Viola, Grimlock, please tell Dr. Lumiere that I will stay with my younger sister, so I won't go back to his place tonight."
After he finished speaking, Richard turned back and was about to fly away with his sister before he continued speaking. "Oh… And I won't stop you if you idiots from Leafburg want to stand there and don't follow us forever…"
"Sigh… Let's go, Jasper." Zenpai said and was about to follow Rachael and Richard when he noticed that Jasper's attention was at Viola instead.
"Hey, babe…" Jasper looked at Viola with a crafty face. "Do you mind if I sle— OUCH!"
Jasper suddenly kneeled down with a painful-look on his face. It was because he was kicked by Viola at his abdomen as he tried to flirt with her.
"Don't try to do it again." Viola said.
"Sigh…" Zenpai mumbled while he dragged Jasper away and followed Rachael and Richard.
"…Idiots…" Richard mumbled.
-The Next Morning…
"Wake up! Onii-chan!"
Richard's body was shaken by his younger sister. He then slowly woke up from his slumber and saw that he was sitting on a chair in a room at a hotel. (Last night, Richard insisted that he will sleep in the same room as Rachael and kicked Jasper and Zenpai to sleep in another room.)
"That's just like you, Onii-chan." Rachael said. "Always staying up until late at night to read a book and falling asleep by doing so! Despite your personality have changed, you are still the same Onii-chan I know…"
"Oh! That's right!" Hearing Rachael's words made Richard seem to remember something. He then turned his attention to the Chronicle of Twilight that was still open on his table. The page that was opened right now was the same page Richard read last night before he fell asleep. "Rachael, come here."
"What's wrong, Onii-chan?" Rachael asked as she approached her elder brother. "Did you find something interesting in that book?"
"… This book… It is the Chronicle of Twilight." Richard said. "It is a book that records everything in this world, be something that happened in the past or the most mysterious thing in this world. I also use it as my weapon too, as I can draw a power from this chronicle and use it in a battle. However, several parts of this chronicle were sealed, making me unable to access to the record since 1,150 years ago until now. But last night, I found a way to unseal a part of this chronicle!"
"Really?!" Rachael said. "That's so cool! And how could we unseal this chronicle?!"
"We must find something that will enable us to unseal its power." Richard said. "And I know where to find it. It's right here in Gamma City."
"Yay!" Rachael said.
"And after I unseal the chronicle, I may be able to fulfill a promise I made to you, Rachael." Richard said.
"You still remember our promise?!" Rachael said. "Oh! Richard! You are the best brother ever! Thank you so much!"
"Right… Right…" Richard closed the Chronicle of Twilight and stood up. "Let's go, Rachael. We have a lot to do today."
"Right!" Rachael said and picked up her bag and her elder brother's bag, which she had sorted it since last night.
"Oh…And…" Richard seemed to remember something. "Those idiots from Leafburg… Don't let them come with us… As the place that we will go today is quite dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Rachael said as she handed over a bag to her elder brother.
"Right. So, do not get too far from me, okay?" Richard said.
"Okay!" Rachael said. "Plus, Jasper and Zenpai are probably still sleeping by now! They never wake up before 10 A.M.!"
Richard nodded slightly and flew to the door, and then Rachael and he left the room together.
To Be Continued…
Dragon of Vale: Sorry for a long break. I was very busy with Pokemon Sun and Moon ^_^
This chapter is quite boring… But anyway, Richard and Rachael reunite with each other, and we finally learn the name of Legendary Pokemon that Rachael and Richard had formed a pact with!
And… There will be a surprise in the next chapter… Just wait and see…
A special thanks to Ridin Valon for helping me with the error correction.