COVELIGHT II: VALKYRIE

Written by SavageCaliber22 'Elysium'

Nightbring and its characters are owned by Evolution

Pokemon is a property of Gamefreak and Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.

This is an Alternate Universe of our own creation with its own lore and timeline, thus Pokemon's lore has been slightly altered to conform to this AU.

M for heavy language, violence, depictions of gore, and sexual references. No lemons are present.

Just a heads up, starting this chapter, the story will start shifting between the perspectives of multiple characters, These include:

Jackson

Violet

Cobalt

Jasmine

Vision

And finally, someone new who you'll meet in this chapter.

CHAPTER 2: SON OF NIGHTBRING

Narrative Control: Jackson.

Aero lake marina, Aerocroft's shoreline district.

July 6th, 2210. 10:19 P.M.

"You're like me." Vision states as both of us hold out our attacks upwards, more as if we're presenting them to each other.

"But, you're different." I follow, making note of both our energies' appearance.

Vision glances between my flash and his equivalent. "You lack darkness in your energy... Are you...Light?"

I nod, "And what about you? What's your aspect?"

"Shade, the middle point between Light and Darkness."

Violet, now realizing that our curiosities have diffused the situation, steps beside me. "A Shade Chosen, huh? We've only seen Light and Mind so far. Meeting another Chosen here, and one of a kind we haven't seen before...who woulda thunk?"

Vision chuckles, "If it's any consolation, I've only heard stories from my mentor about the other aspects. Never thought I'd meet one myself, though. I bet you and I are gonna get along pretty well, huh?"

I shrug, "So...we're cool?" I ask, dropping the flash pulse. Vision follows with his attack, "It would seem so." He replies, Violet breathing a sigh of relief in response.

"I'm actually on my way back to Mayrum's office back at HQ. I can take you with me, but just know, just because I'm trusting you, doesn't mean he will." Violet explains.

"I'm aware, and I'm fully prepared for the scenario of Mayrum becoming hostile."

"Okay, Jackson. Are you coming with us?"

I think for a quick second, before replying, "Yeah, I was supposed to meet with Mayrum tomorrow anyway."

I turn back to Vision, "So what do we call you again?" I ask as he steps out from the alleyway. "Well, my name is Vision, but most of my friends and fellow clansmen call me Shadow, cuz y'know, Shade Chosen."

Violet nods "Alright, Shadow. We'll take you to the boss."

"Thank you, guys. I guess I owe you two a favor."

Narrative Control: Jasmine.

Hargrove District, Aerocroft.

July 6th, 2210. 6:13 P.M.

"Jasmine! Did I or did I not tell you to bring the remote?!" My father's voice echoes through the small apartment. I sigh loudly as I cease my current action of making honey lemon tea for both myself and the Latios in the living room. I grudgingly squeeze through the door from the kitchen to the rest of the apartment.

"I can only do so many things at once, dad." I sigh as I pick the TV remote off of the couch from my session earlier and drop it onto the floating mattress. Where a Latios with purple eyes like myself lays, unable to move from his current position. A multitude of sensors connected to his body, monitoring his vitals, all displayed on a screen on the side of the metal headboard. My dad has his neck propped up with a pillow as the blue dragon annoyingly glances to me.

"Hurry up with that tea will you, my-" his speech is interrupted by a sudden fit of coughing. I quickly grab a mask off the back of his bed and stick it on his face as his coughing quickly slows down. "My throat is killing me thanks to all that coughing." he finishes as I give him a dejected look.

"Just keep that mask on, I'll be right back." I reply. Picking myself up and making my way back to the kitchen.

"And for Arceus' sake, take those goggles off your head, you look ridiculous."

"No."

My father has Eon Disease. A common condition for those of our species. One in 3 Latios and one in 5 Latias will get Eon Disease. The disease slowly deteriorates the organs of its host and is caused by less used psychic ability. Which in this day and age is easy to do since technology makes things so much easier. It's one of the reasons I joined Covelight. Simply going on long flights and being in combat greatly decrease my chances of getting it myself. In most cases, the disease leads to a slow, painful death as the subject is practically bedridden for months, or in my dad's case, years as their psychic powers dwindle away, and if you didn't know, we use our psychic powers to fly and move around. There's no cure for Eon Disease. At least, not that we know of.

I finally bring out his drink. "You know Dad, I'm only trying to help. I'm doing this because I love you. So the least you could do is be less bitter to me." I note as I hand him the tea. The mask comes off his face and is retracted back into his bed.

My dad sighs after taking a sip, "...I know Jasmine, I shouldn't. It's not your fault I'm so irritable, I'm just...I'm mad at Zoe, and I'm just taking it out on you."

"You're mad at Mom for leaving?"

"When I came down with the disease, she just...went out the front door, she didn't even say goodbye, she just...left her sick husband and teenage daughter behind, why wouldn't I be mad at her, Jasmine?"

"I was there too Dad. I don't know why she left either, but….I still want to find out why."

"Jasmine...just give up on that, Zoe abandoned us. She's not worth looking for."

"...perhaps, but I think both of us deserve even a little bit of closure."

Narrative Control: Jackson

Covelight Main Headquarters, Aerocroft.

July 6th, 2210. 11:32 P.M.

We walk through the offices of the upper floors of Covelight's main headquarters. It's been a while since I've been up here, however. Every time I do, I'm reminded of those events from three years ago, as I can picture myself holding onto Cobalt's shoulder as he's gunning down my fellow soldiers with a laser minigun. Of course, it was set to stun and everyone was okay in the end, but that still doesn't make those events less stressful for any of us. That, and being on the top floor usually means you're gonna be talking to the boss himself. Which, to be fair, we are, but usually he only calls people up to his office if he either wants to send us on special missions, or if we're in trouble for something. Though usually in my case, it's to tell me to go down to the Covelight R/D facility not far away.

Vision has made use of his species' innate illusory powers and disguised himself as a Dewott for the time being. An illusion that I of course can see through by squinting, thus allowing me to see the whole light spectrum. As we enter the office, we hear Mayrum talking to another squad of soldiers, a squad we're all too familiar with.

The Elite Alpha Squad...or half of them, really.

As we enter the main room, we take notice of a Dusknoir, an Intelleon (Oh great, of course Astra's with them.) and an Absol. All standing at attention as Mayrum makes note that we've entered the room, but keeps talking to Alpha Squad.

"That's your field report then? That the Nightbring have fully departed from the other side of the Veil?" Mayrum asks.

"Not a single Nightbring soldier was spotted. From the looks of it, not even the locals seem to know where they went. They just suddenly packed up their stuff and went further inland." The Dusknoir speaks with a heavy, deep voice.

"What's our next assignment, commander?" The Absol speaks in a raspy female voice.

Mayrum glances at us as he answers. "Nothing as of now, Lieutenant Dark. I'll report back with Alpha Squad when I have further orders for you all."

"Understood, Commander." she replies.

"Are we dismissed, general?" The Intelleon asks. Mayrum nods. "Yes." he bluntly responds.

The group turns around, the Intelleon locking eyes with us. "Oh, I see why he's shooing us away now. Aw, Ducati isn't with ya? Oh well, have fun, Bravo, he doesn't look like we left him in a good mood." he jokes as he leaves.

"Can it, Jet." The Dusknoir scolds.

Violet rolls her eyes as we step where Alpha just was. Mayrum waits for Alpha to shut the door, before starting.

"Have a good time, Violet?"

She nods.

"Good, why'd you bring Chaser with you, and who's this?"

I pipe up, "Well that's the thing, this person isn't exactly someone you'd like to talk to, so I'm here to help Violet keep you from attacking this guy before he's able to say what he needs to say."

Mayrum looks confused as Violet and I quietly move over so that we're both beside him as Shadow clears his throat.

"Allow me to begin by saying I mean you no harm." he starts.

The illusion fades, revealing Shadow's true Zoroark form. Mayrum's eyes widen as he suddenly grits his teeth in rage. Violet and I throw out our vines.

"I'm Vision, the son of Yami Nightbring."

Violet and I wrap our vines around Mayrum as he immediately begins furiously struggling to try and attack his supposed enemy.

"EASY! EASY!" I shout as I barely hold him in place.

"CALM DOWN MAYRUM, LET HIM SPEAK!" Violet shouts, faring a bit better than me.

After another 30 seconds, Mayrum finally stops struggling. He continues to glare at the Zoroark before him. "So. You're the child Yami was supposed to not have." Mayrum growls.

"...That's correct. I'm also currently the leader of the clan...sorta, Dad still does everything, It's just a title for now."

"What do you want?"

"You noticed that we pulled troops away from the front lines. Allow me to explain."

…

Mayrum sighs, "Go on."

Shadow starts, "As it turns out, Reyes Nocturne is not as dead as we all thought."

Mayrum's eyes widen, "What?"

"He's managed to stage a coup in the Nightbring, and now, much like what you did with Crimson Integra, he's managed to split the nightbring clan in two. One half wants to watch both the nightbring and Covelight burned to the ground, whereas I'm now leading the side of the Nightbring that want to instead bring both of these conflicts to an end."

"...So, why come to me?"

"Because I figure now, we have a common enemy. My forces are falling fast, so...as ridiculous as it sounds, I'm here because I want your help. If Reyes beats me, he'll just come for you."

Mayrum remains silent.

"Besides, I don't think you have the right to be angry about Yami having me, when you yourself have one of your own now." Shadow gestures to Violet, Mayrum glancing to her, before turning back.

"We can stop this pointless war and focus our efforts on defeating the Nocturne Syndicate once and for all."

Mayrum finally turns to us, "You can let me go now, I won't try anything." he orders. Violet and I comply as our vines retract back into our pauldrons. Mayrum sits back down at his chair, thinking.

"How do I know you're not going to stab us in the back?" Mayrum asks.

"Unfortunately I can't give you anything besides my word. However, I can see to it that you'll be able to command my forces along with your own, in return…"

Shadow pauses as he thinks to himself

"I'll stay right here in Aerocroft, that way, you'll always know where I am."

Mayrum closes his eyes as he ponders some more, before looking to me. "Chaser. He'll stay with you, can I trust you to keep an eye on him?"

"Eh? Why me?"

"I'd rather not have Vision staying with me."

...Well this came outta the blue. I suppose I wouldn't mind, seeing as he's also Chosen.

"Alright, he can stay with me, I'll make sure he doesn't get into trouble."

Mayrum takes a quick pause.

"Alright, Vision. I've made up my mind, I'll help your forces, but you're collateral."

Vision breathes a sigh of relief, "Thank you so much, I was honestly sure you'd throw me out the second I said my name."

"I was this close."

I decide to butt in, "Well, I guess I'll escort Vision back to my place, though, come to think of it. You wanted to meet with me tomorrow, right?"

"That's right, do you just want to get it over with now?"

"Since you got me here."

"Alright…"

Mayrum pulls up his computer, typing away on a holographic keyboard.

"Alright then, Chaser, you're to report to the R/D facility tomorrow morning."

"Another new plane to test?"

"Yes, we're developing a multirole fighter capable of VTOL flight."

"Whoa, really? That sounds interesting."

Perks of not only being a Chosen, therefore much more resilient than the average soldier, but also being an elite pilot. I've been assigned the role of RDAEA or "Research and Development Aircraft Experimentation Associate."

What that basically means in layman's terms, is that I get paid to play with all the new toys before the rest of the force gets to play with them, so they can get feedback from yours truly on how to tweak and refine them. So that when everyone else gets their hands (Or paws) on them they can rest easy knowing that their aircraft has been put through its paces and is in tip-top fighting shape.

It pays very well actually, My Salary already was around 130 grand a year, thanks to being an elite, but being the beta-tester for Covelight Aircraft nets me an additional 80 grand a year. So yeah, I'm very comfortable financially, despite most of my income going into money for my very own AV.

I'm getting off topic, aren't I? Back to it then.

"We also have an...interesting assignment to give you, think of it as a long term commitment."

"...What kind of assignment?"

"You'll know tomorrow...also, I've instructed the engineers that you're now allowed to redeem your Elite Commission."

My eyes widen "I get to design my own plane?! AW HELL YEAH!" I celebrate, Mayrum glares at me as I clear my throat and stand at attention. "Sorry...got carried away."

"I'll say. Anyway, feel free to take Vision with you. I'll also leave Violet to supervise the both of you."

Violet's taken aback by this, "Wait, I'm going to be there too?"

"Would you rather be here?"

"...fair point."

"It's alright, Vi, you can ride Goose." I joke.

"Chaser if you take my Daughter into the air with you, I will not be happy."

I laugh, "I'm only joking, sir."

"...I'm not in a Joking mood, Chaser. I already had that oaf Jet in here."

"...So you agree he's insufferable!"

Mayrum pauses.

"Also...we found Ava."

A shiver goes down my spine as everyone, save for Shadow, of course, leans forward and tenses.

"Turns out…" Mayrum says as he spins the screen around, revealing a news article with the headline "MOST WANTED TERRORIST DEAD AFTER ALLEGED SUICIDE" with the picture being of police surrounding a censored black body with that familiar glowing scarlet blood visible pooling out from underneath, her red rings no longer emitting that erie red glow, as they've reverted back to their natural fluorescent yellow color, despite being in the same diamond shape.

"She decided to take a swan dive off a building. We've even verified the body, it's a perfect DNA match, I don't think we'll be seeing her ever again."

A mixed feeling of relief and sorrow washes over me. On one hand, she can't cause any more harm. But on the other hand, I feel bad that she was driven to kill herself.

"Despite all she did….Arceus, I feel a bit bad for 'er." I sigh.

"Poor kid." Violet adds.

"I say good riddance, she had it coming." Mayrum growls as he turns the screen back around.

Vision takes a breath, "Well then...guess I'm heading with you?" he asks me. I glanced at him, then back to Mayrum.

"Is that all, sir?"

"Yes, Chaser, that will be all, you're dismissed."

Narrative Control: ?

Highway 95, 21 miles south of Glaywood, Xodon Province.

July 7th, 2210. 9:18 A.M.

I glumly walk ever further towards the horizon. Multiple cars pass as I hold up my paw, requesting a ride from somebody, anybody. The rain pours down on my back as I shiver excessively.

This is an interesting predicament, huh?

No more home to go back to. I'm just a girl, walking to nowhere in the rain.

Finally, to my relief, I see an RV pull over in front of me, it's hazards blinking. I quickly rush over to the door as I see it automatically open for me. I step inside, dripping wet, I immediately breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank you…" I sigh, not yet getting a look at the driver.

"Hey, don't mention it. I wouldn't wanna be out in the rain either, there's towels and blankets in the back, go warm yourself up." a young male's voice fills my ears as I finally open my eyes and look to the driver. An Espeon with bright cyan eyes stares back at me with a warm smile, he looks like he's around the same age as me, if not a little older. I take a deep breath and wrap myself up with a towel as I finally take my seat in the passenger side.

"Where are you headed?" he asks. I think for a moment.

"I'm heading to Aerocroft. Just take me as far as you're willing to go." I reply.

"Well, fortunately for you, I don't have anywhere I'm supposed to be going."

"What?"

"I'm...running away from home, what with the Nightbring turning on each other. It's not safe for either of us here in the north. So I loaded up the RV, and now I'm just gonna go. Be nomadic for a while. So yeah, I can take you to Aerocroft, it's gonna be a really long drive though."

"...works for me."

"Just...uh, be aware. This RV only has one bed."

"That's okay. I've been sleeping on the ground for the past week."

"Jeez. That can't be very good."

The Espeon starts up the RV again as we start driving.

"What's your story? What's a girl like you doing all the way out in the middle of nowhere?"

"Well...I'm in a similar situation I guess. Only...I got kicked out of the house. I have a family member in Aerocroft, so I'm going to go stay with them, but I don't have a car...so I've been hitchhiking all the way there. I cut all my ties...I want to leave my old life behind, and start anew, like you."

"Wow that's rough. Well, you don't need to worry, I'll get you there. It'll be like a fun road trip."

"Hopefully…"

"Hey now, we got a whole continent to cross. Lots of sights and sounds, I'm kinda glad I got at least someone to come with me."

"Hm...So...since we're in it for the long haul, guess we should get to know each other."

"I'm Asra. Asra Lumia, and you?"

I think for a moment.

Do I want to give him my name? He's just some guy picking up a hitchhiker, right?

...Well, I suppose it's better he knows what to call me in the meantime.

"I'm Blair." I respond.

"Blair, huh? Got a last name?"

"...Obsidian."

"Suits you, kinda dark and shady, like yourself."

"You think so?"

"Yeah."

I tighten the towels around myself as the rain pounds on the windshield. The chair, under any other circumstance, I would feel really uncomfortable sleeping in, but after weeks of sleeping under bridges, it feels like a bed at a 5 star hotel. My eyes subconsciously start drifting shut. I probably shouldn't be sleeping next to a total stranger, but honestly I could care less.

"I'm...gonna sleep, if that's okay with you."

"Go for it."

And so begins the 4000 mile drive from one of Celatia's capitals to the other as my eyes shut and I'm out like a light.

Narrative Control: Violet

Covelight Offsite R/D Facility.

July 7th, 2210. 10:21 A.M.

I step out of my dad's AV and onto the concrete ground of the airstrip. Multiple planes and helicopters fill my route between my drop off and my destination. Fortunately, the two I'm supposed to be surveying aren't exactly the most discreet group on the planet.

"I wanna see what you got, Shadow! You show me your powers, I'll show you mine, Come on!"

"Alright then, Whaddya think of THIS?!"

Shadow suddenly fires a cluster of four black and white projectiles towards a group of holographic targets...or rather, he fires in the exact opposite direction.

Right towards me.

"Gah!" I panic and immediately fall back, grunting as I hit the ground.

However, the four projectiles suddenly fan out as they pull a 180 degree turn, each one bullseyeing the targets as each one turns green. Jackson laughs loudly in amazement "WHAAAAT?! THEY'RE HOMING?! THAT'S SICK!" He exclaims as Shadow grins. Both of them oblivious to me on the ground right behind them.

"Phantom Missile, my friend. The basic projectile attack of us Shade Chosen. Of course, thanks to a little bit of practice I can fire 4 at once, so I call it the Phantom Salvo, cool name, right?"

I groan and get back on my feet. "It's a good thing they were homing! Else you would've hit me!" I shout, causing the duo to turn back.

Jackson snorts and looks away. "Oh-ho, shit!" he laughs, before holding his hand out, "Sorry Vi! We didn't know you were here!"

I kiss the palm of my hand and groan. I mean, yeah, I admire Jackson, he's probably the bravest and fun person I know, but he can be just the dumbest person on earth sometimes.

"Ugh, anyway, I'm here. Have you gone in yet?" I sigh.

"Not yet, we've been waiting on you since, well, y'know, Boss's orders."

I huff, "Yup. Well then, let's go in then."

We enter a large hanar close to us. Many Pokemon are seen going around, doing maintenance on planes, with the most prominent being a fighter under a cyan cover, which usually means it's a new model. If I were a guessing girl, I'd say that's why Jackson is here. A Celatian Porygon Z suddenly flies over to us, it's normal arms taking the form of 3 diamond shaped wings, with its whole body looking as if it's made of wireframe. "Chaser! Right on time!" it speaks with a vocoded male voice. "Been a while, Orion, what have you got for me this time?" Jackson asks with a cocky grin on his face. The Electric/Flying type zaps over to the covered plane, "Take the cover off, fellas." Orion orders. A collection of other pokemon obey and pull the blue sheet off of the jet.

The Jet is actually a bit small compared to the other fighter aircraft in the room, a long nose protrudes out from the body of the craft, with the cockpit much longer than some of the others I've seen, like it's designed for two people. This nose is stuck between two massive circular air intakes, with the intakes being topped with these large delta wings, or they would be delta wings if they weren't capped with...are those smaller thrusters on the ends of the wings? They must be. The two ailerons are slanted, pointing diagonally downwards at a 30 degree angle, with one large tail sticking up from the top of the craft. I also notice a big hatch on the bottom of the craft, right on it's center of mass. The whole plane is white, save for the blue wings, which are standard on all Covelight Aircraft, save for Jackson, as his planes always have a little golden yellow thrown in there.

I glance over to Jackson, he's got this look on his face like he's a kid that just spotted an ice cream stand. Typical, Jackson's a huge nerd when it comes to his planes, he lets out this cute squeaky chuckle. "Orion, I don't know what this is, but it looks BAD. ASS."

The Porygon chuckles, "Thought you would, this is currently called 'The VTOL-X.' We're still working on the name. It's inspired by old prototypes of VTOL fighters like the American F-35 Lightning or the Galarian AV-8B Harrier. We figured we can apply that concept to our own fighters, eliminating the need for runways or catapults."

"Ooooh~! I like it!" Jackson chirps as he starts inspecting the plane. I suddenly notice that the plane doesn't seem to have any wheels, shouldn't it have wheels? In their place, there's only legs with a large flat sheet of metal on the end of them. I turn to Jackson, "Jackson, there's no wheels, how are you going to take off?"

Jackson looks back still with an excited look on his face, "Weren't you paying attention? It's a VTOL."

…

"Okay...pretend for one second I have NO IDEA WHAT A VTOL IS."

Jackson's smile fades.

"...It can take off vertically like a helicopter or AV."

I suddenly nod, "Oh, cool." I bluntly remark, not really sharing the other Snivy's enthusiasm. I will admit, it's kinda cute when he gets all worked up over something like this.

I zone out for a little bit. Gazing around at the rest of the room. A pair of white painted Genesect are welding some kind of panel onto the side of a large cargo plane.

"Hey Violet?"

"Huh? What?" I blurt out as I hear Jackson call out to me as he leans up against the ladder going up to the cockpit.

"You wanna go for a ride?" He asks, grinning.

My heart drops immediately.

"U-uh, No, I'm good!" I reply hastily.

"Aw come on, don't be like that! the team told me not to push it so I'm gonna be gentle with it!"

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"Jackson...don't you remember?"

"Remember what?"

"...I'm afraid of heights, Jackson."

"...you ride an AV everywhere."

"Yeah, why do you think I dim the windows so much?"

Jackson rolls his eyes, "Look, It'll just be 15 minutes, I'll be gentle with it."

"Mayrum specifically said that I shouldn't ride with you."

"Pfff, what's he gonna do? Write me up?"

I think for a minute. Normally I'd say no to this sort of thing, but even I have to admit, Jackson's demeanor is just bursting with confidence and excitement, and it's honestly a bit contagious. I also feel like Jackson won't really take no for an answer, not in a bad way, of course. To him, it probably feels like he's dragging me on a roller coaster, and that's a pretty accurate representation of how I'm feeling. But I don't think I'm going to give in to his energy

…

I sigh, "Damnit, I just can't say no to you."

Jackson grins, "Hell yeah, It'll be fun!" He shouts as he starts up the ladder. I smirk.

What am I getting myself into?

Alright, kind of a boring chapter, I know. It's mostly just supposed to set up the main conflict of this story. It'll get more interesting come say... chapter 4 or so? Oh and I'm intentionally withholding information about Blair. All you get is she's a female dark type for now. She'll play a big role in the later chapters, so I wouldn't skip her segments if I was you.

Anyway, That Snivy is out, and like I said, I'm alternating between that updating that and Covelight 2. Anyway, Chapter 2 of That Snivy will drop March 5th. Let's go with that.

Anyways, This is Elysium, over and out!

Bonus:

Jackson's Theme

Bright Lights - Lebrock.

"Sometimes I feel like giving up,

like the whole world's against me.

Carpe diem

You may not see another sunset,

too busy tryna make your name.

This ain't the end!

Living in a heart of stone (Oh-woah!)

Reaching for the stars with your hands tied

You work your fingers to the bone (Oh-woah!)

You better make your move while there's still time

Bright lights!

Big city!

I don't wanna be alone!

Bright lights!

Big city!

I can't make it on my own!

Somebody's always pushing past,

to get ahead in the rat race

Straight to the top

It's hard to see a happy ending

when I swim against the tide,

But this is my shot!

Bright lights!

Big city!

I don't wanna be alone!

Bright lights!

Big city!

I can't make it on my own!

What am I doing?

Don't know what to say

Running in circles, I'm a mess everyday

Cycles repeating (Oh-woah!), can't find my stop

Endless and pointless, will I make it or not?

Bright lights!

Big city!

I don't wanna be alone!

Bright lights!

Big city!

I can't make it on my own!