So we may be cooked. A sorcerer named Andras appeared after siccing a Dragonite on us, and will most probably try to kill us. Why is this Gloom Organization after us? Well, the Chosen at least. By the looks of it, we don't stand a chance.
"You're one of the higher up's aren't you?" asked Galena, her hand glowing as crystals surrounded her.
"Really?" whispered Lewis. "How can you tell?"
Andras laughed, a cold and menacing laugh that sent chills down Seth's spine.
"How very prudent of you," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I am one of the stronger members of the Gloom Organization. The likes of which you two have no of defeating. Surrender your abilities now and I may spare your life."
"Make that three," said Seth, bringing up his fists.
"Nuh uh," said Lewis, bringing his shield up. "You're going to run from this area. Head as far west as you can, the same direction we're heading before. You shouldn't get caught up in all this, we'll keep you safe for as long as we can."
Seth shook his head. "I can be helpful! I-"
Andras didn't give them time to finish as he shot a bolt of darkness at the group. Springing into action, Lewis swung his shield and deflected the bolt, sending it hurtling away. Galena surrounded herself with a ring of star shaped crystals, firing them all at the same time.
Moving with superhuman speed, Andras leapt off the building, the crystals smashing into it and causing it to crumble. Before anyone could follow up with an attack, he teleported behind Lewis, his hand symbol glowing.
With one swift motion, he grabbed Lewis and threw him into the air, firing bolts of magic at nearby pieces of concrete and surrounding him with them. Seth leapt in to try and attack as Galena prepared more crystals, but Andras sent him flying backwards with a mere wave of his hand.
Galena shot a barrage of crystals around Andras, causing more crystals to grow and surround him. At the same time, Lewis smashed through his confinement and dove downwards, his shield aimed for Andras. Andras simply smiled before teleporting away, leaving Lewis to land among the crystals.
At this point, Seth knew he would only serve as a hindrance to the two Chosen. Deciding he didn't want to die right now, he took off, silently apologizing to his friends.
Meanwhile, Galena was desperately trying to defend herself from a barrage of magic, but the rate at which her crystals appeared couldn't match the Andras' magic. She was quickly overpowered and thrown to the ground, Lewis stepping in to block another attack with his barrier.
"Protecting your friends, how sweet," said Andras, magic bolts surrounding him. "Tell me Knight, how long can you play this game?"
"Long enough for you to move on with your life," said Lewis, his voice coming out heavy as he tried to catch his breath. His shield and armor were cracked in multiple places, and his stamina was quickly running low.
"Tell me, can you survive this?"
Before Lewis could react, Andras dashed forward and grabbed him, teleporting them both into the air. He struck him with a magically enhanced blow and sent him flying into the ground. Right when he hit the ground, Andras teleported to the ground and aimed a kick at him, sending him crashing through a wall.
Lewis struggled to get to his feet, his armor and shield heavily damaged. Andras slowly walked over, deflecting multiple stars from Galena and firing a bolt of magic in return.
"That's the problem boy," he said, his voice filled with false compassion. ""Power is useless when it's meant for protecting 's why heroes burn. That's what makes other's weak. Over Reliance on others. What happens when you die now? Who''ll have their brave Paladin to save them-"
"Oh shut up," said Galena, rising to her feet. "You talk about relying on others as being a weakness, yet you work in an organization. It's telling, really."
Andras laughed as he watched crystal appear behind her and glow in intensity. "Oh good, it looks like you have a lot of power as well. What a shame the last one was useless. Oh well. How does it feel, to know you're going to die? It's sad isn't it? No one will remember everything you've done for their sake. Not like they care anyways. Heroes are dead to this world, just look at the so called Legendary Guardians-"
He didn't finish as Galena fired a shower of crystals at him, causing him to leap away from the attack and fire back with more sorcery. The crystals however, hit the ground and grew rapidly, engulfing his magic and trapping him in place. With a smirk, he teleported out of his prison and behind Galena, aiming a fist at her.
But the attack never landed. Instead, he hit a barrier of crystals that shattered and reformed around his arm, encasing him in crystals. Unable to free himself, Galena charged up another group of crystals, and used Terapagos' signature move, Tera Starmstorm.
A burst of light and an explosion encased the area where the attack hit. Suddenly, all the light and force was drawn inwards, before imploding and turning into a shockwave that decimated everything around it, throwing Galena back and causing her to crash to the ground.
"I'll admit," said Andras, dusting himself off. Part of the suit he was wearing was damaged in multiple places, revealing what looked to be black prism armor beneath. "You almost had me there, quite the clever trick. It seems the Chosen are a lot stronger than I anticipated. But anyways, you die-"
An annoyed expression crossed his face as he teleported back several meters, narrowly dodging a ray of light fired at his location, searing the ground with intense psychic energy.
"May I please enjoy myself for just one small moment?" asked Andras, turning to face his attacker.
Floating in the air, was a man with a pair of transparent blue Latios wings behind him. He was wearing heavily damaged and burned blue and white tech armor, as well as a cracked white helmet with two blue antennas. Beneath the helmet, short bronze hair could be seen, neatly tied into a ponytail that streamed out from below the helmet.
"You will leave them alone," said the man, his voice steady and strong.
"Oh, it's you," said Andras. His face grew more annoyed. "I was under the impression that my master wiped you and your annoying sister off the face of the earth."
"If he couldn't kill me before, what makes you think he could kill me now."
Andras slowly nodded. "Of course, your kind never dies. But what do you expect to do now? Rather than retreating, you've come back to fight me. Do you really think you can kill me in your current state?"
"I don't need to kill you." The man turned to look at Lewis and Galena, who were slowly getting to their feet. "Get out of here you two."
Andras gave an exasperated groan. "It's always about other people with you, so -called heroes, never about serving yourself. And what do you get for it? All people know you as super powered individuals fighting terrorist wars and getting everyone in this world and beyond involved. The holders of failed legacies. This is why heroes don't win, never have never will. You're always too focused on saving others, Aiden. First William, now Celica."
Aiden glowered at him. "Enough talk Andras. That's all you ever do."
Andras smiled, a dark aura surrounded him. "Be careful what you wish for."
Andras vanished and reappeared behind Aiden, driving his fist towards him. Aiden flew backwards at powerful speeds, dodging the attack with ease. Without pause, Andras teleported again, delivering another strike.
Aiden didn't falter, he dodged every single attack Andras threw at him and stuck back with his own. Andras teleported to the ground and fired a barrage of dark magic, which Aiden blasted away with a beam of light.
Andras' sorcery surged as various objects began to levitate. He fired all the objects at Aiden, none of them landing as Aiden blasted them away. Andras leapt forward, sending a shock wave of magic forward as Aiden once again dodged his attack.
Andras landed on the ground. "Even with all of your speed, you still couldn't dodge my attacks forever."
However, Andras was mistaken.
He whipped around in surprise as Aiden flew forward, striking him with a surge of draconic energy, launching Andras into the air. Glowing with psychic energy, Aiden moved at subsonic speeds, flying around and striking Andras in a speed blitz. Gathering his psychic energy,he spun Andras around and threw him to the ground, firing a Luster Purge at max power.
Andras tried to absorb the attack with a pulse of dark magic, like he did Galena's attack. But he'd already exhausted most of his magic and was fighting a losing battle. As a last ditch effort, he released his magic and teleported away, a large explosion of light ensuing.
Aiden faltered in mid-air, landed on the ground and nearly collapsed. This fight and the previous one had taken a lot from it. First the Consumer, now Andras. They were all escaping. Fortunately, Celica did as well, though the cost at which she did manage to escape was heavy.
That reminded him, he had to find that kid.
Seth slowed down, his legs and chest aching from all the running he'd been doing. He had seen all sorts of flashes and explosions from the fight, the one he ran from.
Seth cursed himself, wanting to punch something. It wasn't fair, why was he so powerless? He'd been dragged into this world as a useless bystander. And now he had to abandon his own friends.
He got to his feet, inwardly screaming at himself for being selfish. His friends had sacrificed themselves to buy him some time, and now he was just sitting here, moping about life. Shaking his head, he decided to keep on moving, resolving to push himself until he physically couldn't.
As he ran at a jog, he paused, hearing sounds of fighting nearby. Crouching down, he crept forward, looking down a street.
To his surprise, he saw a man fighting a Gloom Agent. The man was wearing a turquoise with yellow highlights. He had a hat with two horns on it and wore plated gauntlets.
The Gloom Agent, despite wielding a dangerous looking cybernetic sword, stood no chance. The man appeared to be a professional fighter. He was currently in a perfect boxer stance and was demolishing his opponents with a series of rapid fire jabs. His last strike, a powerful right hook, smashed through the enemy's sword and sent him flying.
Seth stared at this newcomer with awe. Having met Lewis and Galena, he knew for a fact this man was a Chosen.
The man looked around, checking to see if there were any more enemies. He spotted Seth staring at him and narrowed his eyes.
"Who're you? Another one of those idiots that's been chasing me around?"
Giving him another look over, he shook his head. "Nah, you look weak. Which begs the question, what are you doing here? You wouldn't stand a chance in this kind of place, not with all the Black Suits crawling around."
Seth nodded. "I know, some people helped me back there. Are you- also one of the Chosen?"
A brief moment of surprise flashed across his face, but then he noticed Seth's crystal gauntlets. "Yeah. You one too?"
Seth reddened a bit. "No, a friend made them for me, for self defense. I can't do much otherwise."
The man walked closer and looked at them. "They seem to be solid weapons. If they're made by a Chosen they're bound to have some special effects. How much training have you had?"
Seth was a bit surprised by the question. "Mostly sports. I'm good at running."
"Oh, I guess you're not a fighter then, doesn't matter. I'm Aaron Steele. You heading anywhere specific?"
Seth nodded. "I'm Seth Cohen. I was instructed to head west as far as I can and that they would meet me."
"Who's they?"
"An organized group of Chosen. Their-"
"Get down!" shouted Aaron suddenly, shoving Seth back and bringing his arms up.
A blue bolt exploded in front of him, sending him backwards. He dug his feet into the ground and slid backwards, keeping his footing. Leaping forward, he closed the distance between him and his attack, aiming a powerful punch at the Gloom Agent.
All it took was that punch. The Gloom Agents blaster was destroyed with a blue explosion, burning its wielder and throwing him back.
Seth pointed to the side. "There's another one!"
A Boltund ran for Aaron, four Gloom Agents following it, wielding cybernetic swords and blasters.
"Stay back kid," said Aaron, bashing his gauntlets together. "I got this."
Aaron ran forward, targeting the Boltund. He dodged multiple shots before throwing a right hook at the Boltund, striking it squarely on its side.
The Boltund retaliated with a Thunderbolt, a move unusual for it. Powering through the electricity, he aimed a roundhouse kick with his plated boots, knocking the Shadow Pokémon down.
He dodged two shots from the Gloom Agents and crouched down, springing forward and catching one of them by the waist. Throwing him down, he spun around and disarmed the other gun user with ease, knocking him out with a kick.
He weaved around a thrust aimed for his head and retaliated with two quick jabs to the enemy's solar plexus. With a swift side step, he dodged another attack and finished his opponent with two jabs and a deadly cross that sent his opponent flying into a building, out cold.
"Are you okay?" asked Seth, noting the Thunderbolt attack that had hit him straight on.
Aaron scoffed, his usually messy blonde hair sticking straight up. "You really think a few little attacks would mean anything? I'm perfectly fine. You just stay behind me and I'll bash all the suckers."
Seth nodded, grateful to have someone he could talk to again. He couldn't help but worry about Lewis and Gallna however. Would they be okay?
(Line break goes here)
"Are you sure we're going anywhere?" asked Aaron, mildly annoyed.
"I didn't exactly receive specific instructions on where to go," said Seth, looking around.
They had been walking for around ten minutes by this point. There had been no more sightings of any Gloom Agents, and the city section they were in seemed a lot more peaceful. Once or twice now, they had seen someone look out at them from a window, which was definitely a good sign.
"Well that's just great," said Aaron with a huff. "We've been walking around aimlessly. Why am I following you again? You're not even a Chosen."
Seth didn't respond at first. Aaron was right, why was he in charge here? He was just an unfortunate kid who got pulled into an Ultra Wormhole and somehow survived. He had no combat experience, and his greatest asset was his legs, for running. Nothing he could think of, made him remotely useful in a fight.
"I had a general direction at first.-"
"At first," repeated Aaron. "But now you clearly don't. And you have no way of contacting the other Chosen. I say we wait out somewhere until things cool down. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm perfectly ready for a fight. It's just that-"
"I'll be more of a hindrance," finished Seth with a touch of annoyance. "I get it."
Aaron nodded. "Yeah. I don't mean any offense or anything, I'm just being realistic. Don't worry. I wouldn't abandon someone in their time of need. I'm somewhat familiar with this place, they may be a place to get food, or just camp out."
Seth nodded and followed Aaron down the street. It was better this way, at least they were still in the general area. At the same time, he wanted to learn more about Aaron. The guy was definitely skilled, and not just because of his powers.
"I noticed you seemed to know a lot about hand-to-hand combat back there," said Seth, drawing closer to him as they walked. "Is that because you were chosen, or…"
Aaron shook his head. "Nope. All the skills I have I taught myself sometime ago."
"Professional boxer?" asked Seth, before shaking his head. "Actually, you were doing a bit of kicking back there as well."
"Yeah, I'm more of a professional streetfight. Did it for the money. Now I'm just trying to survive since I'm a Chosen. Those Black Suits have been chasing me for some time."
"Ever got rich off of it?"
"Just enough to get by with my siblings." he paused for a moment. "My parents disappeared when we were all young. Never knew what happened to them. They weren't the kind of people to just up and leave, abandoning their family."
"Maybe they got sucked in too," said Seth, suddenly missing home for the first time.
Aaron looked at him. "What?"
Seth reddened a bit, realizing his not so apt way of putting it. "They're have been appearances of Ultra Wormholes a lot recently. Maybe it has to do with their disappearance. I know that happened to many people all across the region."
Aaron nodded slowly, realization dawning upon him. "You seem to know a bit about wormholes."
Seth nodded. "I was pulled into one myself. That's how I ended up in this crazy place."
"Then maybe my parents are out there, trying to get home!"
Seth opened his mouth to say yes, but a thought occurred to him. What if they couldn't get home. After all, he'd been pulled into an entirely new world. They could've been sent into a different one and they'd never know. If he said that now, he could crush Aaron's newly resolved hope. He couldn't do that.
"You'll find them, I'm sure of it." Seth said, hating himself even more.
They continued walking in silence for a moment, when they heard a voice call out to them. Turning around, they saw a kid with bronze colored hair and plain blue clothes, beckoning them to an alleyway.
"Sorry kid," said Aaron. "We're busy and don't have the time."
The kid looked around carefully, making sure no one else was around. "I know of the Chosen, it'd be best if you come with me."
Aaron and Seth looked at each other for a moment, then followed the kid down the alleyway. After a few meters, the kid reached his hand into a hole in the side of a building. After a minute or two, a wall at the end of the alleyway opened.
"Follow me."
The kid started off with a sense of urgency. Seth tapped Aaron on the shoulder, catching his attention.
"Do you think we're walking into a trap? The Gloom Organization knows about the Chosen too."
"The Gloom what?"
Seth paused, realizing he never really explained them. "The Black Suits."
Aaron shook his head. "He's just a kid. We can overpower him if necessary. We might as well see what he wants."
They were led down a corridor, multiple security cameras pointing down at them. Seth quickened his pace, feeling slightly threatened from all the security.
Finally, they came to another lock door, this one made from reinforced steel. Punching in a long code, the doors opened with multiple hydraulics.
Behind the door was a large and cozy living room. There was a stylish rug encompassing most of the hardwood floor, with multiple couches and chairs with plus cushions. There was a large center table with a digital screen on the surface, and bookshelves attached to the walls.
There were various potted plants lined across the room, and a huge TV displaying a new channel that covered the recent destruction, labeling the Chosen as terrorists.
"You're back!" said a familiar voice excitedly from the couch. The person rolled off the couch and stood up.
Seth smiled, recognizing Lewis immediately, even without the armor. Lewis looked fine for the most part, he had multiple bandages on his face and arms. He was also wearing a different set of clothing.
"Lewis!" shouted Seth, running over. "You're okay!"
Lewis laughed. "Yeah, it was close though. Andras was really strong, if it hadn't been for Aiden I probably wouldn't be here."
"Aiden?" asked Seth, remembering the Latios Chosen. "Then does that mean-"
There was a flash of light behind him as the kid they had been following transformed back into a young man around his thirties. Also heavily bandaged, he wore no shirt and long black pants, his shaggy bronze hair let down across his face.
"Nice to meet you kid, I'm Aiden."
Aaron stared at him. "Explain what was that just now? Are you a man-child?"
Aiden chuckled. "Not exactly. One of Latios' abilities is being able to transform into a human. As for me, I can transform into an older or younger version of myself. It's helpful for moving around unnoticed. If that isn't enough, I can force a telepathic connection to make them see differently, but it usually doesn't last long."
"What happened to you?" asked Seth, noticing all the bandages.
Aiden's expression darkened. "The Consumer happened. Ava and I gave him everything we had. We knew we were fighting a losing battle, our only goal was to minimize damage and buy enough time."
"Enough time for what?"
Aiden paused for a moment. "For Orion to strike with Dark Void. It was all we could do to drive the Consumer away."
Seth waited for him to go on, but Aiden stopped there. Seth could definitely tell that he was withholding something, but decided not to pursue it. After all, these people saved him, it'd be selfish of him to be suspicious of them.
"Where's Galena?" asked Seth, looking around.
"She's resting. The fight just took a lot out of her, she'll be fine in an hour or so. That aside, who's the new guy?"
Before Seth could answer, Aaron stepped in. "I've been waiting for you to ask. I'm Aaron Steele, a high power street fighter and Chosen of Cobalion!"
Seth turned on him in surprise. "Cobalion? I thought you were Chosen by like, Urshifu or something! You were all punches and stuff."
Aaron scoffed. "I don't need to use my sword to beat everyday grunts. Just a waste of energy if you ask me."
Seth sighed, wishing he could be as cool as all of them. Instead, he was a high school junior, far from home.
Aiden nodded. "You appear very capable. We could use your help in the coming days."
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Does it have anything to do with those Black Suits?"
Aiden nodded. "They've been making more and more moves in recent times. They're plans have shifted to hunting Legendary Guardians and Chosen. They have plans for sure. They've been pulling more and more people into the Organization, sorcerers, skilled fighters, and the like. Recent intel from Orion suggests they may even be trying to attain more of their own Chosen."
Aaron straightened up. "They can't do that, right?"
Aiden looked away. "I wish I could say so, but they've already had. That's how the Consumer attained his powers. He captured Necrozma, killed Wi- the original Chosen."
He cut himself and shook his head. "All that matters right now is that we stop the Consumer. Will you join us?"
Aaron nodded. "I have a legacy to live up to. I pick my battles with purpose. If Cobalion believed that I could be its upholder of justice, then I'll keep fighting. I just have one request."
"Name it."
"I have two siblings, and I need to keep them safe, away from the Black Suits. Is there anywhere they can stay?"
Aiden nodded. "We can keep them here. It may not seem like it, but this is the safest place for them."
Aaron nodded. "Alright, I'll join you guys. You won't regret having me join."
Aiden nodded. "Times ahead are going to be a lot more dangerous. The more people we have the better. With Ava out of commotion and Orion occupied with other matters, I wouldn't be surprised if we had to leave it up to the newer people. Don't disappoint, the Legendary Guardians chose us. The world is depending on us, maybe even the multiverse."
Seth's eyes widened, the entire multiverse was a lot at stake.
Short author note. I'm going to step back from these characters for now so I can introduce all the other characters I've received. I'll be introducing two sub-story arcs to give them enough time to be introduced.