Chapter 4: Training
(Hopefully you guys will continue to enjoy the story. It's kind of weird writing again like this. It's strangely exciting from nostalgia but also opens up to other things too. I'm not sure how many chapters there will be but so far it looks like it might reach over 20. I hope I don't reach a point in the story and ruin it through a poor writer's decision. So, this story needs to stay grounded. Yes, there's going to be some powers involved but nothing insane or Dragon Ball Z-ish. They'll revolve around Pokémon in some way, and nothing related to Artorias.)
{Rui's Point of View}
- Next Morning -
When I woke up, I saw Aura staring into my eyes, "Look, I get it. I'd have done it too if I thought it'd freak you out, but I know what you look like. You look nothing like Silvia."
Aura snickered, "You're no fun." She sat on my lap, "I have to leave soon, my driver will be outside in a couple minutes. After last night, there's something I want you to know. I'm going to be singing for Dialga in a few months." I shrugged, "Alright, cool." Aura rolled her eyes, "No, not just cool. We're talking about the time deity. He literally has power over time!" I shrugged again, "Alright? So?" Aura sighed, clearly annoyed, "If I do a good enough job, I could get a reward." I smirked and sarcastically stated, "Oh, so your first time will be with a time Deity. Nice." Aura punched the pillow near my head. I didn't flinch, locking our eyes as she leaned down, "I'm going to use it to go back in time and become your mate." I shook my head, "Don't try to force hope in my mind for change. It won't happen." Aura frowned, "Why won't it work?" I gave her a serious look, "I'm human. I'm a male human. I was born to suffer for your kind. There was no good option for me. Margrev will never allow it." She looked away, "I... guess you're right." I felt bad for making her sad. I reached up and cupped her cheek, "You can't change that... but there's something else I'd want you to try and do." She held my hand, "Anything." I sighed, "I want you to try and get me to love you and have my first time with you instead before Silvia has the chance to." Aura looked surprised, "Wait, you want me to do that? If I do that, they'll kill you just to harm me." I looked away, "You'd be doing me a favor." She grabbed my head and made me look at her, "Hell no, why the fuck would I do that to get you killed. I love you!" I answered swiftly, "Because a short life with happiness is better than a long life of nothing but misery." She kissed me, "I'll... do it and save your life. I promised you I'd find a way to fix things. I will fix your life. That's a promise." I shook my head, "You don't have to. It's not your fault I was born. Maybe you'd find your real mate if you stopped focusing on me." She held me, "Never. Never again. I had to watch you suffer for years. I could have done something." I could feel her tears, "I stood aside and watched you fall into depression alone. I could have spent time with you despite the danger. I could have done literally anything apart from nothing. Instead, I walked by, I waved, I talked to her and her mother like a good girl. I allowed you to become this. It's really my fault..."
I pushed her back to sitting on my lap, "Stop it. You didn't do anything wrong. You just did what was expected..."
She whispered, "Yeah... Nothing..." A long silence filled the room before she reached over to the nightstand she used for her stuff, "I made this for you."
She pulled out what looks like a necklace with a strange wooden Pendant, "What is it?"
She put it on me, "It's a necklace. I infused my power and blood into it. You can whisper my name to it, and it'll unleash one of my favorite attacks. Dazzling Gleam. It'll hit everything around you trying to inflict harm. You can use it once a day... but I need to be alive and still in love with you for it to work. So, if one day it doesn't... I'm sorry but I died..."
I felt the pendant, "You make it sound more romantic than it needed to be."
Her phone vibrated, "He's here..." She got off me. As she left, she said, "If there's anything you ever want to confide in me or talk with me about, I'm always open when I'm free."
I didn't feel anything... but I said, "I will... babe..."
She flinched, standing at the doorway to my bedroom for a moment before looking back with a blush, "Until next time... my love."
When she finally left, I felt far more alone than I usually do. I took off my arm sleeve and rubbed my mark. I thought back to when I first was branded. Young me hated the idea of being with a Gardevian. That's why I tried to act so favorably towards them growing up. I wanted to be worthy of a human mate to them in order to... I guess make my kid suffer in my place... I guess I'm just like my father after all, he did that to me. It was just... my turn instead of my son. As if to really fuck with me, Margrev called my phone. She said, "How are you doing?" I looked at the vacant part of my bed and replied, "I'm doing great." She paused, my heartbeat being the only thing roar in my ears, "Interesting." she finally whispered, "You usually replied very sarcastically. You must have had a good day with Aura yesterday."
My mind immediately flashed to the cafe; how could I have been so stupid? I decided to be honest, "Yeah, it was nice seeing a friend." Margrev sounded serious, "She's not your friend. She's female, a female that likes you, she's a competitor to your affection. That makes her a threat to our deal. A deal you know would really ruin your life more so than you think it is now. I know you can't feel love, but she can." I swallowed my pride, 'I'm sorry Aura...' I took a breath, "That's my fault. I should have known better. I apologize." Margrev sighed, "It's fine. There's just something I want to do with you. I'll teleport to your building in a few hours." I felt panic start to creep into my throat, "Why?" Margrev said, "To train you. Your daughter also wishes to see you. Silvia won't be with us." I bit my lip, "Alright... that sounds... fantastic." She hung up on me and I started trying to figure out how to hide the smell. If Margrev enters my house, she'll smell it; I know it. After doing what I could I took a bath to make sure I have nothing on me to attract any unwanted attention. As I soaked, my phone buzzed again to see a message from Cayden. "Rui, our client is impressed with your work. They want to help train you. Meet me at the hideout in a few days." I turned off my phone and sunk into my bath. I held my breath, staring at the surface as I sunk under the water. I thought about Aura and hoped it wouldn't be figured out. Then I thought of the destroyed building... what have I been getting myself into? I'm quickly ruining all the work I've done the past couple of years... I wonder how Cray is doing...
- 3 Hours later -
Margrev and Alivia appeared on the sidewalk in front of my building. I sat outside to wait for them; easily approaching the end of the first hour. Alivia immediately looked happy and ran towards me, "Daddy!" She yelled and ran towards me. I suppressed a grimace, reminding myself that this poor deluded child has no idea the lies implanted by her bitch mother. She hugged my leg, and I reached down to pet her head, "Alivia... it's been a while. You've... grown." She hugged my leg harder, smiling into it, "Yes. I'm so happy I get to see you!" I sighed, "Yeah... me too..." I glanced at Margrev, "So why are you here to train me? I don't have anything you can train." Margrev closed her eyes, "Not true. I'm sure the idiots who found you in the forest all those years ago let it slip, didn't they?" I raised a brow, "Let what slip exactly?" She glared at me, "Do not feign ignorance child. You were told by them that one of your ancestors is a Gardevian." She poked my chest, "You're a slave, that is true. What is not true is your powerlessness. At least not yet. There is a chance you may have some small power like telekinesis. There is also a chance you may be able to talk through telepathy." I tilted my head in confusion, "What do you mean? Can't any human talk in telepathy when a Pokémon talks to them?" Margrev nodded, "In most cases yes, but there's a difference. If you can use Telepathy, then you talk back into our mind. If not, you allow us to read your thoughts therefore not having Telepathy." I felt confused, "I can't understand the difference." Alivia chimed in, "It means you talk back to us instead of writing the answer and we read it." Margrev smiled at her, petting her head lovingly, "Exactly sweety!" I felt slightly shocked to see her act so kindly towards her grandchild. Margrev always acted very cold, even to her own daughter. Maybe things are different since she's her only grandchild... I said, "So not having telepathy means I can only think of an answer, not tell the answer?" Margrev nodded, "Exactly and I know now you've already displayed it when you talked to you know who. Anger is what drives it, or so I'm led to believe." I remember some of the times she talked to me telepathically to reduce noise and I'd scream back at her angrily. Except I never spoke. She was covering my mouth and I screamed it in my mind... at least I thought... maybe I was using Telepathy?
Margrev looked at the building I live in, "Hm..." she looked along the sidewalk and street, "Maybe... we should head back to the estate? I think staying here to train would be a bad idea." She looked at me, "Besides, I don't think you'd want your daughter to break your stuff by training inside, correct?" I thought about it, "Why did you even waste energy teleporting here? You should have known this prior." Margrev snickered, "You're right, I did. I just guessed you'd have said no or fought me if I demanded it be at the estate." she had a point, "Yeah... you got me there." Margrev added another thing, "Silvia is also not home at the estate currently. She went on a vacation to enjoy herself after 'feeling depressed'." Margrev giggled at that, I just rolled my eyes but agreed, "Alright... before we go, how has my pa- I mean... um... wow... I don't even know their names..." Margrev patted my shoulder, "They're fine. Still alive, there's a new elder for the humans as well. They left to live along a beach far away from here. Beautiful place really." I felt confused, "You care about them?" She nodded, "Cray's Father was my first cousin. He died shortly after you were born. Brilliant male really. The world is weaker without him..." I felt bad for her for a second before shaking it away, "Alright, thank you. Let's just go."
Margrev gripped my shoulder while holding Alivia. With a blink, we appeared in the training grounds of the Gardevian Estate. It's been years since I've seen this place. For a moment I felt a pang of anxiety and next everything was spinning. Alivia snapped me out of it, "Dad!?" I looked down at her and noticed her scared expression, "Are you okay?" I did my best to regain my composure and Margrev watched. It took longer than I expected. I never imagined how bad it'd feel to be back here. I thought after all these years I'd be well minded enough to stand here again... I want to puke, I want to run, I just want to get away... that won't fix things though. I needed to man up and get over it. After taking a couple minutes to calm myself and steady my breathing, I felt fine. I looked at Margrev who gave a nod of approval. She actually smiled, "This is the point. Mental fortitude. Overcoming sadness, suffering. Being able to survive anything life throws at you through perseverance and sacrifice." I shook my head, "It's wrong though. You shouldn't be forcing everyone to live in misery just to have a chance at getting stronger." Margrev stared at me blankly, "I'm sorry Rui but I'm the matriarch of this estate. It's my job to make us stronger and more resilient. Even if it ruins my own daughter, I had to follow through with what I believed is right or else I'd be a hypocrite, or worse. A tyrant." I thought about what she said, about me being angry and using Telepathy without knowing... is it negative emotions that empower these beings? Is that why they're so cruel? No... that wouldn't make sense. Pokémon as a whole do not like or sometimes tolerate human existence. Then what was it? Was it just her theory? Margrev could tell I was lost in thought. "Alivia. Go get lunch. I have to train with Daddy alone, okay?" Alivia looked a little sad but quickly ran off when Margrev gave her a serious stare. "Now that she's gone. Think of my daughter." I raised a brow, "To get mad?" Margrev pointed at a large stone, "Imagine her trapped and you can use that rock to smash her into paste. Think about it. You can finally make your tormentor pay for what she did to you. She tortured you. She molested you. Doesn't she deserve this?" I didn't want to think like that. I really didn't but a dark part of me thought about stabbing that Gardevoir to death. He did nothing to me, I never met him before... but it felt good to... to kill him. I thought about Silvia and everything she's done to me. Everything. I raised my hand towards the stone and focused trying to tap into something, anything... The stone did not move. After a while I began to feel like an idiot. I lowered my hand and imagined Margrev's disappointment. She rubbed my back, "It's fine." I looked at her surprised, "You tried. You're a human, you weren't meant to have these powers. You have them inside your head somewhere, not by choice." I felt dumbfounded, "I was expecting you to be horrible towards me." She shook her head, "You're learning something you never even thought possible. How could I expect so much from you?" I agreed, looking at that stone again, "How... do you do it?" Margrev looked at the rock, "I focus on it and force my intent upon it. I demand it to move and my power forces it so." I thought about it and focused my attention on the rock. I remember what Silvia did to me, her insults, her actions... and I demanded the rock to move. It shook and was picked up but, in my shock, I lost focus and dropped it. Margrev clapped, "Great job!" I then heard another set of clapped and looked to see Alivia... and next to her is my brother Cray.
I stared at him in shock, "Cray? What are you doing here?" He walked over, arms open, "I'm here because I was asked to." I gave him a hug, "Jesus, it's good to see you dude!" He hugged back, "Same to you little bro. Jesus... you got fucking old!" I pulled back, "Fuck off, you have so many gray hairs you might as well be sixty!" He laughed, patting me back before bowing to Margrev, "Thank you for letting me know about this prior." Margrev shrugged, "Thank your niece, she wouldn't stop begging to see her dad." Cray flinched, "Right... yeah..." He smiled at Alivia, "Your dad is really surprising, isn't he!" Alivia smiled, jumping for joy, "Yeah! It's no wonder mom always says he's amazing!" I clenched my fists, wanting to yell that's a lie. I bit my tongue though; she's doesn't deserve to be scolded for being told a lie. Cray looked at me sadly. I waved it off and in response he picked Alivia up, "Do you still like drawing!?" She giggled happily, "Of course I do!" Cray put her down, "Then go get your new drawings! I'd love to see them!" Alivia ran off, laughing happily. Once she was gone, Cray turned to ask, "Still think she's not yours?" I shook my head, "She isn't. Around the time of pregnancy, she hooked up with 5 males. I know this because they made fun of me." Margrev interrupted us, "She is yours." The look in her eyes told me what I needed to know. She doesn't believe it either! I felt my jaw drop, this whole time she didn't believe it either! Margrev then said, "We always help our brothers and sisters if they deserve it." I then asked, "Why then? Why am I still shackled to her like a-" Margrev cut me off, "Stop and think about it. Think about the position I'm in. It would reflect badly on me. So, I had to do what was necessary to free you and keep the respect a leader demands." I stomped my foot angrily, "Fuck..." Cray asked her, "Could you just stop some of the curses placed on him?" Margrev shook her head, "They're a part of the blessing. A Blessing and a curse. Without it... he'd just be preyed upon by another. That's why I gave him the blessing. It keeps him safe from Gardevians outside the estate where I can't monitor them. Tell him Rui, how many Gardevoirs in the city made a move?" I didn't want to say it, but I replied, "43... but I was able to fight them off easily." Margrev narrowed her eyes, "Thanks to the blessing. If removed they'd have just been a continuation of here but worse." I looked down angrily, "Then why am I still unable to get a mate though?" Margrev placed a hand on my shoulder, "For appearances and to keep the blessing from breaking. If you feel love for someone, it will eventually break." Cray also spoke up, "Also, there's something I'm worried about. I think you are making a mistake with Aura." I flinched, "What do you mean?" Cray whispered, "She's a Gardevian Rui. I know she was your friend when you were little, but you can't trust her. If you do, she'll burn you just like Silvia did." I turned away, "No... She can't be like that..." Cray placed a hand on my shoulder, "Just be careful. I won't tell you what to believe. She could love you or she doesn't... wait..." Cray pulled out my necklace, "Where did you get this?" He's my brother, I couldn't lie to him, "Aura gave it to me..." He stared at it, "Hm..." Margrev looked at it, "What's wrong Cray?" He narrowed his eyes, "I feel like... I've seen this before." I said, "Apparently if she loves me and alive, I can hold it, whisper her name to it and it'll unleash a Dazzling Gleam." Cray chuckled, "Okay, that's a load of Tauros Shit. There's no way that's true. Try it." I shook my head, "No. Even if it doesn't work... I just... want to believe it... I don't have many decent things." Margrev looked concerned, "What's wrong Margrev." She sighed, "Nothing... for now..."
After ending this conversation, I spent a half hour with them on the estate. It was strange... I feel like they're trying to make this my home again... but it'll never be. Everywhere I look here... All I see are jail cells. Prisoners... my people...
I wanted to go home and found myself teleported there after promising Margrev to be open to more training. I don't know why she felt the need to force the promise on me, but I'm more focused on Aura. I know she's not lying to me... she can't be... but what if she is? I'm tired of the disappointment. Maybe it'll be bad enough for me to end it all?
- Three Days Later -
"Rui, how are you doing?" Cayden asked as I approached him. "I'm doing alright." Cayden nudged his head towards a room. We walked into it and got on an elevator, "Our client is here to meet us in person." I asked him, "Why now?" Cayden shrugged, "No idea, but he funds us, so might as well appease his request." When the elevator opened, I saw a Zoroark staring out a large window at the city. As we approached, I saw the collapsed building in the distance, "Beautiful, isn't it?" The Zoroark asked, "The client is a Pokémon?" I asked suspiciously. Cayden looked just as surprised but focused on him as he spoke, "I forget to turn the illusion off. Forgive me." The illusion turned off to reveal a human wearing a cloak made from Zoroark fur, "Sasha may have spoken about me." I thought back to Sasha's story but didn't know who he'd be, "I am the one who went back willingly." I glanced at Cayden worriedly, reaching for my knife until he continued, "My cloak is made of the fur from the master I served. I killed her after she passed out from sex. Disgusting fox deserved having her head cut off." In the window's reflection I can see his hatred, borderline evil, glare at the city, "I hear psychic types do not work on you... or something like that. Forgive me, I'm not entirely sure what you do." I replied, "I have a blessing from Arceus, it grants me immunity to psychic and fairy type attacks and Pokémon." He nodded, "Good... Good... I need you to train. There's a lot of secret missions I need run and someone immune to psi-sight is the perfect infiltrator. You may can me Zraak. That's the Zoroark I'm impersonating."
I glanced at Cayden to see him nod. "Alright, how am I supposed to train?" Zraak turned to face us, "I have some hybrids no longer in Pokémon's favor. They'll train you since I'm paying them. With time, we'll cause more damage to this society than they'll ever think of with their collective five braincells."
(Thank you guys for reading this chapter and for enjoying the story so far. Love you all, please favorite, follow or review to support the story! Let me know how you guys are feeling about this so far.)
