...

It was dark by the time Lance and Maya flew back north to the Kantonian mainland, their bodies still soaked with the Seafoam rains. He delivered her safely back to the balcony of her Saffron apartment, his sights now set on a G-Men science lab to investigate the pieces of the receiver they had found responsible for the Dragon's rage. It must have been one of many planted around Kanto, Lance had told her, because his radar continued to tell him that other storms were still springing up all around the region.

Before they parted ways, Lance gave Maya a secure G-Men phone on a private line, a phone that Maya imagined they gave out to trainers in witness protection. He assured her that from now on, they would always have a safe way to connect.

And Maya did feel safe.

At least for a few days, until that following Thursday at work, when an ominously terrifying email found its way into her Inbox:

...

INBOX: (1) NEW MESSAGE

To: Maya

From: throwaway123456787

Subject Line: (no subject)

Stop looking into it.

[Attachments: (2 images)]

...

The body of the message was threatening enough, but nothing could have prepared Maya for the photos that were attached.

The first photo: A grainy black and white screenshot from a surveillance camera, blurry with rain, showing Lance's Dragonite newly landed on the ground of the Seafoam Island just in front of their cave, with Maya and the Dragon Master in tow.

The second photo: The same grainy shot of the open mouth of the cave, the skies clearer now, in perfect view of Lance and Maya as they held hands beneath the light of the ending storms.

Someone knew.

Maya took the rest of the week off from work and immediately told the Dragon Master of the threats, terrified still that even speaking of it over their new phone line wouldn't be enough to hide from whoever had sent the message.

And Lance,

was furious.

Whoever threatened Maya, whoever scared her like this, was going to seriously regret it.

He made a plan for her to pack a bag and take the first Magnet train out of Saffron in the morning to meet him in Johto, where they could lay low in Blackthorn City for the day while his G-Men database fully analyzed the threat. Maya was unsure about taking the train alone, but he assured her: The G-Men's safety surveillance on the Magnet train line went so far beyond her knowledge that it was too classified to even talk about. However, beyond the Goldenrod city limits, he told her, he wouldn't take any chances. He guaranteed that he would personally escort her around Johto from that point on.

Lance had spent the week in the neighboring region doing research on the receiver piece they had found on the island. The lab had found that it was indeed capable of receiving radio frequencies, but it could not pinpoint where the source of the waves were coming from. Residue found inside a storage compartment of the device tested positive for ultra-concentrated Koffing smog, which must have preemptively emptied inside the tornado to poison the swirling winds and anything trapped inside.

The overall motive, however, was still unclear.

Once Maya & Kadabra made it to Goldenrod upon a sleepy 5am train, Lance & Dragonite rendezvoused with them just north on Route 35, where they set their sights on Blackthorn together.

...

The historic stone buildings of Blackthorn City was a new sight to behold for Maya, who had never ventured this far north into Johto in all her life. As Dragonite descended through the thick misty clouds of the charming town, her eyes fell upon the slate sandstone colors of the building facades in the city's center, which matched the surrounding face of the legendary Blackthorn Mountain cliffsides in their cool blue & granite hues. The gorgeous mountains surrounding the town were positively breathtaking, stretching on in an endless blanket of evergreen trees & nature, watching over the townspeople and their pokémon like the grey and gallant guardians of the land.

As they drew further into city, Maya could sense something strange emanating out of Lance; something turning in his face as his eyes spied down the Mountain.

A subtle sadness; a darkness; a chill.

The town's latest renovation was the historic stone clock tower, which had recently been pressure washed & thoroughly cleaned for the first time in decades. This was Lance's doing, another thoughtful contribution to the community for which he cared so deeply. As the man who single handedly turned around the little economy of the town thanks to his Champion fame alone, Lance didn't feel that a good cleaning would be seen as an act of vanity.

Maya's ears began to pop with the pressure of the cold air as they landed in the northern section of town, her feet stumbling with a bit of unsteadiness as they finally hit the ground. The high elevation here was something she probably just needed to get use to.

She peered around to the walls of forest surrounding her, through the verdant trees & meandering trails that lead deep into Blackthorn Mountain, enjoying the sounds of the scurrying Sentret trilling from deep in the brush as they scavenged about. There was something that felt quite sacred about this Mountain; she knew it was the rumored home of the lush valley of the Dragon Holy Land. At least, she thought, that's what the storybooks had told her.

Thankfully for Lance, his cousin Clair was happy to host them for the day. Her little stone cottage sat at the base of one of the leading trailheads, a quaint and charming chalet that was surrounded a guard of Bitter Berry trees, as well as actual guards of Johto League personnel, who were assigned to Clair for her tenure as Gym Leader. The property was teeming with nature, with buzzing hosts of Ledian jumping from tree to tree enjoying their breakfast of leaves and berries.

While Maya noticed that Lance was looking more refreshed since the last time she had seen him, injured post their Seafoam escapade, the coldness lined in his eyes that she noticed on the flight in was still there when they landed. While she assumed he could just be on edge from the threat, she had a feeling that there was something more to it.

With his knock at the cottage door, it swung open happily to the face of his dear cousin.

"Come on," Clair said cheerfully, "Before the Ledyba get in."

...

Clair sat with them at the kitchen table, her sky-blue hair pinned high and away from her eyes as she listened to Lance catch her up to speed on their Seafoam adventure. Maya could almost see their resemblance, the part of her hairline arcing around her face sharply like a watching Gyarados, with the same stoic brow painted across her eyes.

On the flight over, Lance had assured Maya that Clair was one of his closest confidants & greatest friends. They had trained, studied & grown up together within the strict tenets of the Dragon Clan, and Clair was on her way to becoming a Master herself. Maya could tell just in the casual, calm way he spoke to her that she represented something very powerful in his life; something laced in an unbreakable bond of family & faith.

"Is that why you're limping?" Clair asked, "I noticed you had the slightest limp when you landed, but I wasn't going to ask. A direct Dragon Claw can be brutal."

"That's not the point," Lance said sharply, "The point is that these storms are now getting so out of control, that even Dragonite are getting confused about what time of year it is. It's throwing them out of balance. And now, someone is threatening us to stop us from looking into it."

"That poor Dragonite," Clair lamented, a sincere sadness in her tone.

Clair cast her eyes over Maya, still unsure of where her place in all of this was. Lance had only introduced her as "a friend who helped on the mission". However, she couldn't help but notice the way this "friend" looked upon her cousin; the way her eyes lingered for just a second too long.

Kadabra floated beside them calmly, enjoying the tiny cup of tea that Clair had poured for it in a stately cast-iron cup. Its eyes closed, enjoying the morning Johtonian light as it shined inside from the cottage's kitchen window.

"I felt so bad for it," Maya chimed in, "It was just confused. But when the device was destroyed, the storms stopped almost instantly, and the Dragonite snapped out of it."

"I couldn't imagine," Clair thought aloud, "To endure the Longing all year long, only to be met with such deception."

'The Longing', Maya thought. What a gentle name for such a heartbreaking sacrament.

"Well," Clair continued, "You can stay here as long as you'd like, I can set up the spare beds if you need. How long do you expect the security check to take on the threat?"

"It should be done by tonight," Lance replied with a nod, "But I appreciate the offer. I wouldn't mind spending a day in Blackthorn. It's been a long while since I've had the time to be present here."

"You should see the sights," Clair smiled sweetly with the idea, "You know, a hike to the salt caves might do your injury some good."

He nodded pensively with the idea; it had been far too long since he had gone for a meaningful hike through the Blackthorn Mountains.

"As long as we can lay low," he replied, "Although this wouldn't be the first time someone thought it was a genius idea to send an anonymous threat. I still want to take it seriously."

Maya peered out the window; it was a perfect day.

"A hike does sound nice," Maya piped up, "But honestly, I'm still pretty freaked out. Whoever sent the threat, they knew my work email. They know who I am."

Lance turned to her, his face lining with serious resolve.

"I don't want you to worry," he said softly, "We're going to get to the bottom of this. As long as we don't head into town, we'll be okay. The mountains here are very secluded. And I'll put Dragonite on sky watch. But it's up to you."

The idea did sound soothing, Maya thought. It would be nice to clear her head after the hectic morning of traveling.

"Let's do it," she replied, turning back to Clair, "I've never been to Blackthorn before, the mountains looked so beautiful on the flight in."

Lance returned the smile, the first one Maya had seen from him all day. He rose from his chair, his cape softly casting behind him.

A smile out of Lance, Clair thought. That was the first smile she had seen from her cousin all year!

"I'm going to change my bandage, and then we can go." His eyes found Maya's, lingering over her for a moment of calm, "I won't be long."

He exited the kitchen and headed up a short flight of stairs to the second floor. Clair turned back to Maya, curiously.

"So," she began, "How did you and Lance meet?"

Maya paused, unsure of whether or not the rules of their little secret applied to her. But Clair could already sense her hesitation, which gave away a lot of unspoken words by itself. She smiled softly, attempting to disarm her guest.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I don't mean to pry. It's just, he's never brought home a girl before."

Maya digested this slowly; was it that obvious?

Also... he hasn't?

"I promise, you have my word," Clair continued, "Whatever you tell me, I won't tell a soul."

Maya remembered Lance's high praise of Clair's honorable character. After all the secrets, suspicions, & worries of the last few weeks, she felt her guard lowering in front of her. She was a fellow member of the Dragon Clan, after all; she must know a thing or two about how to keep an oath.

"It's okay," Maya said, thinking through her words quietly, lowering her voice so it wouldn't carry through the ceiling to his ears. "I met him just outside of Vermilion City, basically by accident. It was late at night, he was training his Charizard, and Kadabra & I kinda stumbled right into him."

Clair rested her head in her hand with the story, eyes shining to hear more. She watched as Maya smiled at the memory; it felt so incredibly cathartic to tell anyone.

"I'm sure he's glad he didn't scare you away." Clair said with a smile.

"He almost did," Maya replied softly, "But he made up for it. He took me on this amazing ride on Dragonite, all over Kanto. It was... breathtaking."

Clair's face was brimming with the quiet grin now, imaging her stoic cousin attempting to be this sweepingly romantic. She couldn't really place it.

"That sounds amazing," Clair replied, "My cousin's always been a very serious guy. His Dad though, my Uncle, was a pure romantic. My parents always told me stories of these big grand gestures he would do for my Aunt, 4-course home-cooked meals, bouquets of flowers. He would do anything for her. It's nice to know Lance may have gotten a bit of that in him."

Maya smiled at the idea; the romance is in his blood, she thinks.

"Hey," Clair's voice fell soft now, her eyes serious with her words, "I know it can be tough, because he's such a... secretive guy. Even if he wasn't Champion, it's hard enough just to get use to someone following all the rules in our Dragon Clan in the first place. So, if you ever want to talk about it. You can always come to me."

Maya gazed up to her, a sober expression crossing her face, before the tiny smile reappeared. What a kind gesture; she had kept this secret from her closest friends and family over the last many weeks, so she knew just how valuable this offer was.

"Thank you." Maya hushed to her with the smile. "That means a lot."

...

The cool mountain air was clean and crisp in Maya's lungs, the sweet smell of fresh pinewood & Heracross nectar filling her breath. Lance lead the way up the trailhead, his cape billowing softly in the cool Blackthorn breeze, the memorized paths of the trail embedded in his feet as they trekked onward.

Kadabra floated lazily behind them, enjoying the spots of sunlight casting down through these towering trees. It loved meandering through the woods back in Kanto, and it was so excited to venture through such an unfamiliar, beautiful forest.

"I use to hike this trail all the time, when I was younger," Lance said, turning north down a wider path, "It leads right up the mountain to Riverhead Falls. It overlooks the entire city."

Maya smiled, glancing back to Kadabra as it kept up the rear.

Hidden in the misty mountain clouds above them flew Lance's Dragonite, watching valiantly for anything nefarious that could make its way toward the city.

"It's so gorgeous out here," Maya thought aloud, "But with all of your Kantonian pride, I always thought you were born and raised there."

"I was born in Viridian City, actually," His voice trailed on as he slowed the pace, allowing her to now walk beside him on the widened trail, "But my Father was born here in Blackthorn, and so was my Grandfather. My bloodline is from Blackthorn. But my parents moved to Kanto right before I was born."

Maya thinks on this for a moment, her eyes now casting through the trees. Beyond the branches she spotted a trio of blush-pink Hoppip floating happily through the breeze.

That must have been stressful, Maya thought, for his parents to move an entire region away from their Blackthorn family, right before he was born.

"I spent most of my young childhood in Kanto," Lance continued, "But when I turned 10, my Father brought me here for the first time, & I started my training with the Dragon Clan. We would spend months at a time here. The Clan was lead by my Grandfather, but that didn't mean he went easy on me. I was kind of the odd one out, since I didn't really meet any of the other kids until then. The black Wooloo. But still, I felt a strong kinship here, with my cousins, and my Clan. I went through some of my hardest trials of training on this mountain."

Maya peered around again at the standing audience of trees, wondering which ones bore witness to the younger Lance, and his arduous trials with the Dragon Clan. She could almost picture him, a young boy with a mop of red flowing hair, little silver eyes studying the pathways of the forest, searching through the trees. She wondered softly; Did these woods remember him too?

He was a hard man to forget.

Her eyes looked up through the waves of green, up to the watching misty clouds. Dragonite was up there somewhere, watching over them.

"Did you meet Dragonite here?" Maya asked slowly, peering back over him.

The creases of his face lightened with the question. The memory of that first encounter flashed before his eyes, along with all the drama that had unfolded with it long ago: the ritual, the punishment, the pain.

"Yes," he began, "This is where we met."

...

Before long, they finally made it to the summit clearing of the famous mountain. With the parting of the last lines of brush, Maya & Lance stepped through to reveal: The pristine sapphire lakefront of Riverhead Falls.

It was a gorgeous, rippling lake, pure azure and bubbling, the surface of the water gently rolling on toward the edge of the cliffside falls. Peering up, Maya's eyes spied upon the tallest waterfall that lead into this lake, finding two jutting sets of carved stone that crowned above the head of the falls, resembling the white-eared wings of an elegant Dragonair that overlooked them all.

Emerging from behind them, Kadabra's eyes grew wide at the gorgeous sight. It closed its eyes softly in wonderment, letting the sounds of the rushing water fill its eager ears as it echoed with the energy of Blackthorn's spirit.

Lance stepped up to the lake and took in a deep, concerted breath. The fresh air was cool as it hit the deepest parts of his lungs.

Maya watched him carefully, his cape softly billowing in the cold. This strange streak of darkness was still haunting over him, she thought. It had been following him since they had arrived in Blackthorn early this morning.

Slowly approaching the cliffside now, their eyes then fell upon an even more gorgeous sight: stretched out before them was the entirety of the rolling mountainside, miles and miles of holy old trees; the most precious emerald jewels in all of Johto. The rocky cliffs below followed to the next level of waterfalls down to the narrow Blackthorn river, where it snaked through the valley like a newly hatched Dratini, winding and hallowed and blue.

Lance's eyes soaked in everything; his heavy shoulders squaring now with the memory.

"Not long after my first visit here with the Clan," He began softly, "My Grandfather invited us to witness the Dragon Dance Ritual. It's a sacred ceremony, where the Dragonair of the mountain come together right here at this cliff, and teach themselves Dragon Dance."

He raised his hand out toward the valley, feeling the wind in his fingers.

"And then they fly out from the cliff together," he continued, "and experience the winds for the very first time. It's such a beautiful sight."

Maya studied him close; his silver eyes turned grey in an instant.

"But not every Dragonair is ready for this," he went on, "The ones that don't learn Dragon Dance by the end of the day still try their best to fly, but if they can't stay in the air... they fall. Down to the valley. All the way down, past the rocks, to the river. And then they have to spend the whole winter climbing all the way back up."

Maya's eyes turned down to the deep valley below; a dangerous plunge.

"You would let them fall?" Maya asked softly, her eyes barely able to make out the mouth of the new river down below. Lance didn't look away from the valley, his eyes glued to the treetops now.

"The Clan believes that it's an honor, to watch them even try to Dance," his voice grew softer, "The Fall that some Dragonair wind up taking is just as sacred as the Fly; there've been books of poetry written about it. Because it's an important lesson that they learn. To jump, and to trust the winds of the earth, even if they aren't ready to jump at all. They land in the water, so they don't get hurt. But it is a long way down. And an even longer way back up."

His eyes spot an orange blur, deep in the dense fogging clouds above them. Dragonite was watching.

He smiled, but it faded fast. His voice hushed even lower with the story.

"When we came that day to watch the Ritual. I noticed that one of the Dragonair seemed... a bit different than the others. Its body was smaller, but its wings on its head were big. Like giant white eyelashes. All day long as we watched the other Dragonair fly off the cliffside, I saw that this one was having a lot of trouble. It tried and tried to feel the winds and wind itself in the dance, but it just wasn't big enough to wrap itself in the currents. And soon, it was the only Dragonair left."

He sighed heavily, turning to meet Maya's eyes now.

"My Grandfather. He was an amazing Dragon Master. But I remember him, as a man of anger. He followed the rules of our Clan to the letter; it made him an incredibly strong trainer. But a lot of people feared him. I think my Father did too. I didn't even meet him for the first time until I was of age, until we started coming to Blackthorn for my training."

He cast his eyes back out to the valley. He took a new breath.

"My Grandfather," he went on, "told the last Dragonair that it was time to jump. But it didn't want to. It was scared. He commanded it to jump; it refused. And I think that was a blow to his pride, to have a dragon disobey him in front of so many people."

He took another cold breath, smelling deep the scents of the Blackthorn forests below, remembering the moment so clearly in his mind as he went on.

"So,

With his own bare hands,

He tried to grab Dragonair. To throw it down to the valley himself."

Maya pictures this, her jaw dropping; the little Dragonair coiling in fear.

"But I got in the way," Lance whispered, "I got between them, and yelled at my Grandfather to get back. I told him that Dragonair didn't have to do this, that it didn't make any sense for us to force it to fall, and to suffer. It just didn't make any sense to me, it felt so opposite to everything else the Clan was teaching me about respecting Dragon pokémon."

Maya could picture this too; little Lance, barely old enough to wield a pokeball, defending the fearful dragon.

"My Grandfather... he saw red. He shoved me aside and I fell to the ground. Everyone else there was just, watching. Even my Father. My Grandfather grabbed the Dragonair, walked over to the cliffside here. And threw it over the edge. It started falling like a stone. We all saw it. It wasn't going to make it."

Lance could still picture it; the poor Dragon attempting to fly, unable to curl its petite body hard enough to catch inside the currents, falling further every second.

He took another step forward now, nearing the edge of the rocky overhang.

"And so," he continued, a tiny smile coming over his face now, "In my infinite wisdom. I got up from the ground, ran to the cliff, and jumped off after it. Head first. I remember hearing my Father screaming, and then just, the wind in my ears. I caught up to Dragonair about halfway down and wrapped myself around it, hoping to brace it against the fall. But, just before we hit the ground, my Father's Dragonite caught us both. It was waiting right beneath the cliff, in case any of the children got too close to the edge."

Maya's eyes grew wide;

He... had risked his life for it.

"The next thing I knew, we were back inside the village gate. The whole Clan was there. My Father was angry. But my Grandfather, was furious." Lance's eyes turn grey again with the memory, his words growing sharper, "He said I interrupted the ceremony, and disgraced the entire Clan."

He took one last step, his toes to the edge, moving his gaze further down over the listening trees below. They were the only ones still alive who knew this part of the story already.

Maya couldn't see his face now; only the back of the Dragon Master's darkened scarlet head of hair and his cape as it billowed about in the bitter mountain wind.

He found his words cautiously now, spilling this secret out carefully; methodically.

"He ordered my Father, to punish me." He hushed out to the valley, "He ordered him, to give me, 30 lashes."

Lashes, Maya thought? To whip a 10-year old boy? To punish his own grandson?

Lance's jaw hardened at this, recalling his Clan's watching eyes.

He suddenly felt something grasp around his tightened fist; it was Maya's hand. He took another breath with the comfort of her, his eyes still locked on the trees below, his voice still at a whisper.

"My Father took me in the house alone, but everyone else was still right outside, listening. He was so infuriated with me; I had embarrassed him in front of the whole Clan.

...He took the Tauros whip, turned me against the wall, and... carried out the punishment.

I... counted them, as he did it.

Kept my mind focused on the number, so I wouldn't pass out from the pain. I'll never forget."

Maya squeezed his hand hard; how horrible.

"But," he continued, "After the 10th strike. I caught his reflection, in a mirror hanging above me on the wall. He saw me. Our faces locked. And he stopped. It felt like forever. I don't know what happened. But when he started again... he aimed number eleven, at the bamboo floor. And for the last 20, he missed me. But to everyone waiting outside, they couldn't tell the difference."

Maya couldn't believe what she was hearing; this poor little boy, at the mercy of his Father... The mercy of his Clan.

"When everyone fell asleep that night," he continued, "my Father took me to the caves at the base of the mountain, to the salt lakes inside. The salt stung so bad, it was awful. But it was to help me heal faster. My Father told me he was sorry for what he had done. He said it over and over. And he promised me, that he would never do it again."

His eyes peered up above the trees now, to Dragonite's position in the clouds.

"And while we were there in the cave, soaking in the salts. Dragonair appeared. The small one, with the big wings. They had released it at the base of the Mountain after I saved it, and it had come into the cave to find me. It curled around me, embraced me, hugged against my broken skin. If my Father hadn't been there, I would have thought that I dreamed it. My Father gave me a pokeball, and I asked Dragonair to stay with me. I told it we could get stronger, together."

He smiled now; a genuine little smile.

"And we did." He whispered.

Maya's eyes turned to him now, looking him over softly.

That poor, sweet boy.

"You risked your life for it," Maya whispered now, "So it, chose you."

He nodded slowly.

"You should have seen the look on everyone's faces when I showed them in the village the next day," he said with a grin, "Hardly any of the kids had caught their first dragon yet, and the ones who did only had fairly young Dratini. I think that was the first time, that they looked at me with... respect."

"You saw the potential in Dragonair before anyone else did." Maya hushed back to him, "And it saw the potential in you."

He smiled.

"It became my closest friend," His voice fell soft again, his eyes growing serious once more. "I was very grateful, to have Dragonair by my side during those years. Things with my Grandfather didn't exactly get better after that. And not long after, my Mother got very sick. And had to...leave this world. I don't know what I would have done without my dragon, during those times."

Maya paused at the thought; to lose your Mother so young...

"I'm so sorry." Maya whispered.

His hand gripped tighter onto her own, glancing higher in the sky now. The beams of Johtonian sun were parting through the mist of the mountainside, casting a heavenly glow upon the valley.

They stood together, silent in this moment above the sacred Blackthorn trees.

Maya looked to him again; this soldier of a man, who had endured so much for the sake of his Clan; for the sake of his honor. It was no wonder why his eyes had been laced with such a darkness since they first arrived into town.

And it was no wonder why his shoulders always looked so heavy, to carry the burden of all these torrid memories; to always feel them at every turn on these cold forest winds.

This deep discipline, Maya thought, of the honor of the Dragon Clan. While it had shaped such a powerful Champion, it had certainly punished an innocent boy.

Her heart broke for that sweet little boy. Why did that have to be the cosmic trade?

He finally looked to her, gazing deep into those sweet, healing cerulean eyes.

He had never told the full story to anyone before this day.

He slowly pulled Maya in, his arm wrapping around her now. She tucked in close, now resting against his chest as they stared out to the divine Blackthorn valley.

"Thank you," he hushed down to her, "For listening."

Maya smiled. That's all she ever wanted to do.

...

...

Thank you all for reading! Here is a teaser of next Monday's chapter, entitled: "Tremors in the Cave" -

...

Behind the heart of the falls hid a serene little secret space, a sunken & carved circle in the granite floor, with the rushing waters ahead & a wall of crystals behind, the bouncing lights of the falls dancing & reflecting along their mirrored edges. The stone floor was marbled with generations of pressed white salt, and curved around for a gorgeous natural view of the sacred rains before them.

It was so inviting; it was so beautiful.

Lance slowly approached the center of the circle.

"This is my favorite spot on the Mountain," he began, "When I was training Gyarados, we'd come back here and meditate together. Gyarados would stand in the pond, and rest its head beneath the falls right here. And we'd stay here, for hours."

He silently kneeled down on the white stone floor to face the rushing water, resting on his knees. His silver eyes turned to Maya now, shining in the glistening lights of the falls. His voice fell to a whisper as he gestured to the space just in front of him on the ground.

"Sit with me."