Mesprit's Tears

[Unicorn]

Thsi fic is generally rated PG-13 for occasional blood and violence

Dear Readers,

This is probably the fourth or fifth time this fic has gone through a major change. You may or may not remember it from the last time I put it out for people to see. It was once known as Ho-Oh's fire but since I lost touch with that theme I changed it around. It still has all of the same characters, but I'm finally satisfied with the way it is developing.

I tend to have issues with commitment and please forgive me if I don't write or continue this after some point. I appreciate any and all feedback and as much constructive criticism as I can get. Also, don't be shy about pointing out grammatical and spelling errors. I appreciate that too. If I find that I am writing for no one but myself, it may just give me all the more reason to stop writing, but this time I think I finally have a feel for the story and I hope to see it through. It's a good one, so if you like long descriptive chapters, I think you'll enjoy this.

Thanks.

PROLOGUE​

Deep within the region of Sinnoh, in a dimly lit cave within Mt. Coronet, a single teardrop falls and lands in a rippling puddle. It is the very embodiment of sorrow and loss, belonging to none other than the legendary Pokemon, Mesprit, who hovers in place, waiting...

"At last, I've found you!" a male voice breaks the sad silence. Mesprit remains suspended in space, making no acknowledgement and merely floating above a puddle of tears. A man dressed in a black suit steps into view, emerging from a nearby tunnel. A pack of similarly dressed goons stand just behind him.

"Are you going to run away again?" the man laughs, revealing hideously perfect white teeth. His eyes, the color of the ocean, bore into the sad Pokemon in front of him. Another teardrop drips from her face and falls. The sound of the liquid landing echoes through the cavern.

Laughing maniacally, the man tosses his head back and reaches into one of his coat pockets, producing a strange contraption that is shaped roughly like a boomerang. It springs into life at the touch of button, and leaps from his hand toward the Pokemon. In a split second, Mesprit becomes tangled in electrifying cords and collapses to the cavern floor, thrashing in a puddle of her own tears. A fatal cry goes out, filling the ears of the evil men and penetrating through to their very souls, making them shiver on the spot:

"You haven't won..."

The man freezes and stares at Mesprit, who has ceased all movement. "What!?" he shouts, sprinting over to where she is laying, but before he reaches her a flash of light illuminates the entire room, blinding everyone. The men all cry out in shock and cover their eyes.

"What's going on?!"

And the cave is dimly lit once more. Slowly, they lift their hands from their faces and stare blinking around at each other. The one man with the evil smile is standing over Mesprit's lifeless body, fuming.

"Well, we got her alright..." he says coldly, briefly touching up her limp, delicate figure. His hands shake as he does so. In a fit of anger he screams and punches the cave wall, causing rocks and stalactites to fall all around them. The mission failed: Mesprit escaped once again. Breathing heavily, the man removed himself and retained a calm demeanor once more. He laughed, his voice quivering in his throat:

"Oh but how wrong you are, my dear. I'll find you, and your power shall be mine. As long as I have control of the other two, there is no way you can hide forever!"

 

[Unicorn]

CHAPTER ONE​

At the end of a routine school day a bell tone will sound, signaling for class to be let out. Students will file out of the classroom in a disorderly manner in direct defiance of earlier set rules where lines and codes of conduct are followed. The magic spell that holds a child’s will is broken when that bell rings in their ears… but today, the bell is late.

Rihana sat tapping her pencil rhythmically on her desk. Tap… tap… tap… Her amber eyes bored into the clock on the wall, which read 2:25. The bell hadn’t sounded and no one was allowed to leave. This single factor was throwing off her entire scheduled mind. She was supposed to be getting onto the bus and going home by now, and she was growing more impatient by the second.

“Will you please stop that?” asked Kito, a blond-haired boy who sat behind her. Rihana blinked and refocused her thoughts as though recovering from a trance. He shot her an annoyed look. Rihana wasn’t the only one getting impatient and fitful.

“Sorry,” she replied distractedly and shoved her pencil into her backpack. To entertain the minutes passing by, she decided to put her bag on her desk and rummage through it. She found all sorts of bits of unused lead and broken pencils that needed to be thrown away. Silently, she got up and walked across the room, passing her twin brother, Dari, on the way. He had his chin in his hands and was staring lustfully at a pretty girl in front of him. His dark brown hair was covering most of his face but it was obvious who he was looking at. As Rihana passed him she pursed her lips and poked him aggressively in the side to get his attention.

“Ow!” he mouthed. He shook his hair out of his face so he could see his sister clearly and give her a questioning glance. Rihana’s eyes darted to Melony, the girl he had been staring at, and then she shook her head. Getting the message, Dari rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. The look on his face was like a child who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Rihana smiled wryly at him and continued on her way towards the teacher’s desk at the front of the room where the trash can resided. Mr. Murray, the teacher, was wringing his hands and leaning over a pile of papers. There was a pen resting idly next to him. Rihana guessed he had been grading papers until the announcement had been called:

“Attention students and staff of Ecruteak High: there has been an incident at the Galrock research facility and it is now unadvisable to leave the school premise,” said the school principal. His nasally voice combined annoyingly well with the tin-can-sounding speakers. “In fact, everyone is required to remain in their classrooms until the bell rings. We are holding off on the end bell until we get a call from the Facility and the police confirming safety. Please be quiet and courteous but most of all, please be patient. Thank you.” The call ended with a click and many confused looks across the room.

Now Rihana could see Mr. Murray looking anxiously at his wrist-watch. She wondered what he could possibly have to worry about. Most teachers didn’t even leave at the bell, and with that pile of uncorrected papers on his desk she guessed that he had better start soon. ”Maybe he’s just worried that he’ll have to babysit us the rest of the day” she thought as she dumped a handful of broken lead and pencils into the trash bin. She walked slowly back to her desk, her ears burning for the infamous tone of the bell.

Just as she was sitting down she heard it. There was a clear ring in the air and every student in the classroom leaped out of their seats and flung their backpacks over their shoulders. Rihana pushed her chair away from her own desk and reached for her bag. It wasn’t there. Alarmed, she swung her head to and fro, looking around for its pink pattern. The classroom was already practically empty by then except for one classmate: Tigo Matthews, who was sitting on a desk two rows over. His lean body was slouched over and he had his chin cupped in his hands. His scruffy blond hair looked just as bad as usual.

“What’s wrong, Ri? You missing something?” he asked her in a casual tone. His voice cracked a little at the end, evidence of a boy in puberty. Rihana looked up at him, her abnormal pink hair askew and in her eyes. Her cheeks flushed when she realized who it was.

“Tigo, Give it back,” she said firmly, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Tigo grinned and reached under his desk. He pulled out a pink floral backpack and tossed it across the room.

“Here ya go, cutie,” he said and gave her a wicked smile.

“You’re not funny you know. Not to me,” Rihana replied as she threw her bag over her shoulders and adjusted the straps. She strutted towards the door, slightly annoyed with him for making her wait even longer to reach the bus. Tigo slid off the desk and bounded after her.

“Dari likes my jokes,” he said, winking and elbowing her a little as they left the room. The hallways were full of slamming lockers and clamoring students but Rihana expertly weaved between each couple holding hands and every kid spilling papers onto the floor. Tigo struggled to keep up with her.

“Yeah well no one ever guesses that we’re related and never that we’re twins. I swear we’re not. My parents must have adopted me because he laughs at everything and I laugh at nothing” Rihana joked, starting to lighten up a little. It was the end of the day now and was finally allowed to go home. She had good reason to loosen up a bit.

“I would have guessed that you were related to Kylo. You’re both very deadpan,” Tigo said. He was referring to Rihana and Dari’s older brother who was a senior this year. Like Rihana, he hardly found anything funny and was more focused on the “important things” in life than having fun. Unlike Rihana, he worried about everything, and that was something his sister could never understand about him. The way he drove himself crazy about exams was enough to make Rihana sick.

“Gee, thanks” Rihana replied. She didn’t take Tigo’s comment about her being deadpan seriously. She could be blunt and serious at times but she always found room to be a little happy and emotional… didn’t she? Rihana decided not to second-guess herself. Kylo could be the one to worry about being deadpan.

As they walked out the front door, Rihana caught sight of a tall man in a black suit. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the silver GR symbol on the left side of his waistcoat. The man, feeling her gaze, turned his head and stared at her through a pair of dark lenses. His face remained completely emotionless. A shiver ran through Rihana’s spine and she sped up her pace, quickly turning away. It gave her the chills the way she could never see any of the Galrock grunts’ eyes through those dark glasses. What was worse: they were all over the school now. For a brief moment, Rihana had forgotten that, but seeing one was a quick reminder that she was being watched.

The two friends climbed onto the same yellow bus just as its driver started the engine. They quickly found a few empty seats in the back and sat down opposite to each other. Although they enjoyed each other’s company, they still found it awkward to sit less than three feet away. After all, they weren’t dating or anything.

The Bus’s engines started up and the driver waited for the road to clear before following the other buses out of the school parking lot. Rihana sat back in her seat and sighed. Finally the day had ended. She had grown tired of sitting through all her classes. Language had been more boring than usual, History no less sleep-invoking, and Math was just as tedious and brain-tickling as always. The worst part of her day, Rihana decided, had been that last class: Pokemon studies with Mr. Murray. She could never seem to fathom why Galrock required such a class if she was never going to have to deal with the silly monsters. They only drafted the smart kids. Why should she care what attacks a Charmander might throw first if attacked? There were no truly wild Pokemon around Ecruteak that she would ever have to deal with, and especially not any uncontrolled Charmanders. Wild Pokemon existed only in preserves and storage units or labs where they could be contained for public safety. After all, Pokemon were a menace to society. The war was enough to prove it. Galrock was fighting for their safety, so they were the ones who needed to know what a Pokemon’s attacks were.

Rihana shook her head and pushed aside her annoyances with her Pokemon studies class. It was required but that didn’t mean she had to like it. Instead her mind drifted to thoughts of home and she began to wonder what her grandfather might be doing at that moment. He was always so busy, and he probably wouldn’t get home until the wee hours of the night. Sometimes it was like he didn’t even exist. Galrock always had him working the long shifts as a security guard over the research facility. He was in charge of making sure that the Pokemon were properly contained and free of will (or something like that). It seemed like a pretty dull chore to her, but they gave him extra rations so it worked out okay for the family. Food was scarce during times of war but her family was lucky to be favored like that. Why, Just the other night they had been treated to ice cream by one of the elite Galrock guards. Somehow, Rihana’s grandfather had friends in high places. She was just beginning to think about dessert and Pecha Pie when an excited cry broke her out of her trance:

“Woa! Mr. Brian wasn’t kidding! Look, the research facility is on fire!”

At once, the entire left side of the bus crowded over to the right. Every kid on the bus pressed their noses against the window, steaming up the glass with their hot excited breath. Rihana grunted indignantly as a rather overweight individual shoved her up against her window without any regards to her personal space or well-being. She considered asking him to give her a little space but the gleaming building two blocks down had caught her attention. Was her grandfather in that fire?

The bus driver exhaled deeply and then picked up his speech-mic and drawled: “Everyone…Please sit down in your seats.” His words went nearly unnoticed. A few of the more well-behaved school children heeded his command and returned to their places. A few others had lost interest, but most were still chattering and pointing out at the Research Facility, which had truly taken on a red glow and was spewing up smoke from its left side. Rihana noted that it looked like something had blown up; most of the debris was scattered around the one collapsed side.

“I wonder what happened?” murmured Sampsi Michaels, another boy in Rihana’s grade. He was leaning out the window just above her, preventing the fat kid from seeing out the window.

“Hey, I can’t see!” he groaned, pushing Rihana’s cheeks even harder against the glass.

“Do you mind?” she sputtered. She took the opportunity to jab him roughly in the side with her elbow.

“Hey, man. Why don’t you move down two seats? There’s a free window over there,” Tigo gestured towards the open space. The kid quickly removed his humungous mass away from Rihana’s personal bubble and, without a word or an apology, hurried over to the window. Sampsi, Tigo, and Rihana watched him go with a look of awe and disgust on their faces.

“Caught your breath?” Tigo asked her, grinning. Rihana rolled her eyes and straightened her posture. Sampsi looked at her flustered appearance and burst out laughing. Little dimples formed on his cheeks.

“Whatta you wanna bet he caused that explosion, eh?” he laughed, referring to the large kid. Tigo attempted to hide his amusement but ended up snickering into his arm. Rihana rolled her eyes again. Well, at least he was trying to be polite.

Interested in making conversation, he moved over to sit next to Rihana. Sampsi pulled himself away from the window—the view of the tower was lost—and leaned over the seat in front of her to join in.

“So, what do you guys think really happened?” Tigo asked the question burning in everyone’s head. Rihana shrugged. She didn’t really care. She just hoped no one was seriously hurt, especially her grandfather.

“I bet it was a crazy Pokemon,” Dari cut in from behind, surprising them at his sudden appearance. All three pairs of eyes turned on him now, waiting for him to continue. He shook his dark brown hair out of his eyes and smiled mischievously. “In fact, I know it was. Remember how on the news a few days ago there was a story about how Ecruteak had recently experienced a breakthrough in Pokemon power-level technology?”

They all nodded, getting the picture.

“Well, Yuki Mendez back there,” Dari gestured over his shoulder at the back of the bus, “has a Gear-Nav. There was a radio alert not too long ago that reported the incident. I guess no one at the school had any real information so they couldn’t tell us. But anyway, the Pokemon under the experiment went ballistic this morning and completely trashed the lab for some reason. Supposedly one of them’s escaped.”

“Well, it’s not too hard to figure out why. Don’t Pokemon hate us? I mean, we are in a war with them and their so-called ‘trainers,’” Tigo snorted. Sampsi nodded slowly and gave a sad smile. Rihana sunk lower into her seat. This was dangerous conversation and she was growing uncomfortable.

“Yeah. Normally we wouldn’t have to worry about some psychotic monster running amok in this world. I thought they were supposed to be contained by now. What is the government doing? Those monsters are always after us!” Sampsi added. Tigo grunted in agreement.

“Well, maybe it’s because we’re doing awful things to them. Maybe it’s because we treat them like they’re stupid, useless, dangerous monsters” Dari retorted angrily. Rihana sunk even lower into her seat, covering her eyes. Tigo and Sampsi just blinked at her twin. What in the name of Galrock was he talking about?

“You’re weird, dude,” Tigo said with a quick grin in attempt to save the conversation. Sampsi was still staring at Dari like he had two heads.

“I’d like to see you walk up and pet one of those things like it was tame” Sampsi challenged. Dari’s face hardened. He clenched his fists at his sides. Rihana silently prayed that this would not end badly.

“I would if I had the chance” Dari replied coolly. That was not the response Rihana was looking for. Now she wanted to disappear altogether.

“Alright Mr. Poke-lover. Why don’t you and I go out later and find that escaped monster? Then you can prove how friendly and cuddly they really are, because we all know, Pokemon are loving and gentle when you treat them nicely. They don’t hate us like we’ve been reminded of nearly every single day of our stinkin’ lives!” Sampsi’s voice seemed to grow higher and higher in pitch until he reached the last word in his furious statement and his vocals cracked. Dari tried to hold in his laughter but couldn’t hide his clear amusement. Sampsi’s face started to turn purple.

“You’re on, my man. You’re on,” Dari replied and moved back to his seat next to Yuki Mendez. Tigo was still sitting awkwardly next to a very pale-faced Rihana. Both of them were very embarrassed and uncomfortable now. Although Tigo agreed mostly with Sampsi, he knew that this was no real way to settle a dispute. Especially not with a 7:00 curfew that the entire city had to follow; it was the law. Rihana was now very concerned about Dari’s hot-headed attitude. She was hoping this had all been a simple joke… but there was a chance that Dari and Sampsi, two very stupid teenage boys, would actually dare to go looking for a more-than-likely-dangerous Pokemon.

“Do you think they’ll actually do it?” she whispered to Tigo once Sampsi sat down and ended his participation in their conversation. Tigo shook his head and shrugged.

“Probably,” he replied. He was concerned, but Rihana could tell he was very curious and also slightly amused.

“Ugh. Tigo, you’re not helping. Why do I have to be related to such a stupid brother? Sometimes I feel like we're not twins at all,” she groaned crossing her arms. The Bus pulled to a stop and Tigo looked up.

“Beats me. This is my stop. I’ll catch you later,” he said with a grin and a wink. He grabbed his backpack from his previous seat and drifted down the narrow bus aisle. Rihana watched him go, feeling more alone, and even as the bus pulled away she was still growing more and more stressed. She hoped he meant later as in tomorrow. She hoped Dari wasn’t going to do anything rash. She hoped it was just talk.

 

[Unicorn]

CHAPTER TWO​

When the bus slowed down for Rihana’s stop, she got up slowly. Dari followed close behind her making his impatience clear. Rihana continued walking down the bus aisle in a calm manner. There was no need to rush and she wasn’t going to pay any mind to Dari’s little pushes and shoves along the way. When they stepped off the bus there was no way to hold him back anymore and he rushed past his sister screaming like a maniac.

“I’m freee!” he bellowed to the sky, which was beginning to darken, beckoning rain. The bus sped up and drove away from their house and turned around the corner. Rihana was relieved to be home again.

“Hey there, kiddos! Hurry up and get inside. I think I just heard a thunder roll a few moments ago,” called their grandfather from the front porch. Rihana smiled and ran to greet him. Her grandfather was a tall and thin old man with gray hair and small white mustache that tickled her face when she hugged him. He always had a warm and friendly embrace. Rihana was relieved to see that he had not been harmed by the accident and that he was home earlier than usual.

“Hey, Gramps,” Dari chirped, holding out a fist. He nodded approvingly when his grandfather returned the gesture by knocking knuckles with him; He was still hip.

They followed their grandfather inside and flung their bags and shoes in the corner of the entryway. Grandpa shook his head at this typical behavior but couldn’t help smiling a little to himself. He would make them clean the house later anyway.

The Gary residence—for that was their last name—was a small one. The house was one story with blue paneling… just like every other house on their street. The back yard had a large oak tree growing close to the property line and their yard was closed in by a white picket fence. Inside the house, a large entryway led to the living room where Rihana, Dari, and their grandfather now resided. The living room was probably the largest room in the place. Next was the kitchen, which had a dishwasher, plenty of cupboard space, and enough room for a table where they could eat. There was no dining room. There was only one bathroom, which every member of the family fought over each morning. It was just large enough for two people to brush their teeth at the sink at a time. The bedrooms were small, but there were four of them so Rihana, Dari, and their older brother, Kylo, all had their own space. Their grandfather’s bedroom was the largest with a queen-sized bed taking up only a fourth of the space… although half of the bed remained vacant. Their grandfather wasn’t married anymore.

The twins dragged their feet and shuffled over to the couch, like zombies. Dari sank into one of cushions and reached underneath his butt to find the T.V. remote. Rihana groaned and sat down next to him, all pep and energy lost. What had started out as a normal day had quickly grown into an exhausting one.

The T.V. screen flickered on and Dari quickly flipped it to the news station. The news reporter was interviewing a scientist from the scene of the accident at the research center. In the background, fire-fighters, with water-type Pokemon at their command, were attempting to put out the flames.

“…and you said that there were three Pokemon you experimented on?” the reporter asked. She was a blond-haired lady wearing a pink dress. The Galrock insignia was embroidered on her chest. She held a small microphone firmly in her left hand and a green umbrella in the other.

“I-I’m sorry. That’s classified” the scientist replied, his eyes shifted nervously towards the camera. He was short and scrawny and looked to be about middle-age. His glasses kept falling down his face as he spoke and he nervously continued to shove them back into place. His jet-black hair, which seemed to have been combed over, was slick with rain.

“Of course,” the reporter nodded and turned back to face the camera. “We will now show some footage from the scene of the accident, with permission from Galrock.” The screen then flashed to show security camera footage, caught at 8:23 AM earlier that morning.

Dari leaned forward in his seat, his interest piqued. The scene that was caught was taken in one of the research facility’s west wing rooms. The walls were lined with high-security containment pods for Pokemon. Each Pokemon was suspended in liquid and apparently sleeping… except for one. At 8:24 a red alert sounded as the unidentified Pokemon burst from its pod. The video was in black and white so it was hard to tell what color it had, but its drenched fur was notably striped. Its eyes glowed menacingly and it conjured up a flame, which is proceeded to shoot all across the room, breaking several pods open and busting down a door. There wasn’t a security guard in sight. The footage ended by showing the Pokemon run off the right-hand corner of the screen.

The news switched back to the reporter and she began talking again.

“A group of our top agents are investigating the escape in order to reprehend anyone responsible for the accident. In the meantime, Galrock asks that everyone remain indoors for the duration of the day and until we find the escaped experiment. As we all know, Pokemon are highly dangerous and-” At this, their grandfather returned to the room and scowled at the T.V.

“Turn that junk off,” he grumbled. Startled, Dari fumbled with the clicker before finally grabbing hold of it and hitting the power button.

“What’s wrong, Grampa?” Rihana asked. Their grandfather sat down in the only remaining seat, his favorite blue chair.

“They messed up today. That’s what,” he snorted, reclining in his seat. Rihana and Dari exchanged worried glances and Kylo walked into the room.

“Hey,” he said as he passed by. They watched him go without a word. He had his “I’m worried about something” look on his face. That was all they needed to see to know they should leave him alone. So Rihana returned her attention to her equally stressed out grandfather.

“Who messed up?” she asked.

“Those blasted scientists. I was supposed to be on guard duty today but when I arrived at work this morning they shoved me back out the door, claiming they had ‘top-secret’ experiments to do. You know Galrock doesn’t really trust me, even though they drafted me into this. I’m not much of a security guard anyway, but that was stupidest thing they could have done. They know that if they had just one guard on duty it could have been prevented. Those idiots…” He continued to rant in this manner for the next several minutes. Neither of the twins truly understood what had happened but they got the gist of it. Somebody made a bad decision and there would be consequences to face. The real question was: who made the decision?

“What were they doing?” Dari ventured.

“Beats me. More of their ridiculous power-shots I presume. You know that’s all their interested in researching these days. I imagine it’s even worse in Lily cove,” he sighed, obviously drained. Lily Cove city was infamous for being the top research community. Scientists from all four regions gathered there under Galrock supervision for intense training and the most secret meetings to discuss and develop new technology. With the war continuing to wage throughout the regions, more and more research and wild experiments had been taking place. It was only a matter of time before some sort of accident happened at Ecruteak’s research center.

Not wanting to stress their grandfather out any further, Rihana and Dari retired to the basement, the typical quiet hang out spot. Kylo was already down there when they arrived, folding laundry.

“I don’t understand all of this crap that’s been going on…” Dari complained. Rihana nodded in agreement but her eyes stared down at the ugly stained carpet on the floor. The basement was large but it had a musty smell to it and there wasn’t much down there besides and old ping pong table and a few bean bag chairs. The washer and dryer were placed beneath the stairs,somewhat out of view.

“Well you’d best give up trying. Galrock is determined to make us feel safe in our little bubble here,” Kylo responded bitterly. Now that he was nearly 18 and ready to graduate, Kylo’s awareness of the world was drastically deeper than his younger siblings.

“I know. The rules at school have gotten so much stricter. We’re not allowed to roam the halls freely anymore. There are always stupid grunts around. It’s so annoying! And don’t get me started on the curfew!” Dari fell backwards into one of the large bean bag chairs. At least they still had the freedom to talk in secret down here. It seemed like there were grunts everywhere these days.

“Well, they say it’s only for our protection,” Rihana put in absently. Dari grumbled to himself in response.

“We can’t always rely on the media, Rihana. You know how much they hide the truth. Even today, they made the accident seem like it was a prank of some kind,” Kylo said as he folded a yellow striped shirt. He was making a neat pile next to him.

“No they didn’t! It was an accident, everyone knows that. They admitted to there being a dangerous Pokemon on the loose and their investigating the incident right now!” She retorted.

“Oh come on, you heard Gramps! What’s there to investigate?” Dari shot back.

“Well, there’s the security for one. Those pods looked pretty high-tech to me. How is any Pokemon supposed to able to escape that?” Rihana challenged with a brisk nod to emphasize her point.

“Simple: someone either let it out, or they miscalculated the power of their injections. They’ve got to be researching new ways to power up Pokemon under their control. I bet they misjudged something and made one of them go haywire,” Dari speculated. Rihana just shook her head, exasperated.

“Will you both just give it a rest? We’re not going to be allowed to know any of this. Ever. Galrock is just going to hide it like everything else,” Kylo said as he folded his last piece of laundry. He placed it in the basket and headed for the stairs, leaving the feud behind him. He seemed especially short-tempered that evening.

“What’s with him?” Dari grunted

“I don’t know. Kylo can be impatient sometimes, but he does sound more worried than usual” Rihana sighed but didn’t press the matter. It was best to leave their older brother in peace.

Later that night, they all sat down at the dinner table and discussed their day. The meal consisted of canned corn, canned bread, and canned meat. The only thing that wasn’t canned was the butter, which they used for the bread.

“I had to wait in line forever to get this today,” their grandfather complained. Rihana held her fork loosely in one hand and rested the side of her cheek on the other. She was tired of hearing complaints all day; even her own.

“Was it that bad?” Dari asked through a mouthful of bread.

“Yes. The line extended out the ration-store doorway” he replied, taking a bite of corn. He spotted his grand-daughter pushing the corn kernels around her plate. “What’s wrong?” he asked her.

“Oh , nothing… there’s just so much stuff going on in the world that’s bugging me. Like the war…” She sighed, dropping her spoon and cupping her chin in her hands. Her pink hair tumbled over her shoulders and face as a single barrette sprung loose.

"Well, it may be disturbing, but we still have some freedom and safety here. Galrock is doing some pretty foolish things to 'protect' us" Her grandfather replied softly. The dinner table went silent except for the quiet tapping and clinking of silverware. No one really wanted to say anything. Rihana felt she could hardly comment on it anyway. She didn't know enough about the war to form any sort of opinion. Galrock probably wanted it that way anyway.

"Grandpa, why are we fighting this war?" Rihana suddenly asked. It had been a question burning in her mind for a very long time. He didn't answer at first. He merely set down his fork and scratched his chin. After a while he said:

"What you've asked is a very valid question, Rihana. I think it's one that all of you should hear."

Everyone sucked in their breaths and waited. The rest of their meal could wait. This was more important. Kylo looked especially interested for some reason; almost anxious. He was staring straight at his grandfather and fondling with a piece of his dark blue hair. After clearing his throat, their grandfather continued:

"The fact is: I don't exactly know."At this, all three of them let their breaths out in disappointment."But hold on! I do know who our opponent is. Some people don't even know that much."

"Grandpa," Dari interrupted, "We know that. Everyone knows who our opponent is! It's the Pokemon and the people attacking us, right? The human-haters? What are they called again... the Red Army?"

Their grandfather heaved an enormous sigh, and Kylo shook his head. "Yes and no, Dari. What has been said is not necessarily true. Yes, we are fighting against a team of Pokemon and humans like us, but they are not human-haters. I wish I knew more about their cause, but Galrock always blocks any attempts to research our own history. If only we knew how we got into this war in the first place, I'm sure we could get out of it."

"They burned another library the other day," Kylo commented out of nowhere. He hadn't said much that night but this was quite unusual news.

"They, who?" Rihana asked

"Galrock. They said it was the Red army but I don't believe them."

"Yes, I saw that on the news as well," Grandpa replied, kneading his temple, "And I agree, they most certainly blamed it on our enemies. They do that a lot. The problem is, there's no way to really reveal that fact. If we even tried we'd probably be thrown in jail or worse."

The room went silent again because as soon as the words left their grandfather's mouth they all thought of the same thing: a horrible stinging memory. When Rihana and Dari were only seven years old, and Kylo was elven, their parents were kidnapped and most likely murdered. Rihana had been a witness to the entire thing, and it was emotionally scarring and traumatic. Even now she still had trouble coping with the memory of it...

“G’night mum! G’night Dad!” little Rihana kissed her parents. She was dressed in her pink jammies and her teeth were all brushed up sparkly clean. She giggled, hanging over the edge of her parents’ huge king-size bed (one that she had always been jealous of).

“I love you, Rihana…” her mother whispered, tickling her tummy.

“I love you too mummy” Rihana replied with a cute girly smile. She slipped off the bed and turned to leave the room when the bedroom windows unexpectedly burst open behind her. A huge gust of wind filled the room and Rihana screamed and fell to the floor, rolling onto her back. The bedroom lights went out with a faint pop.

Three shadowy figures entered the room in swift jerky movements. Rihana sat up and her eyes bulged out of her head as she recognized three Zangooses. She screamed again and with a single claw they knocked her aside. She was slammed against the wall and her breath left her lunges. Her stomach was wet.

The last thing she remembered was a scream from her mother and a shout from her father… When she woke up she found herself in the hospital with a terrible cut across her stomach. It needed 10 stitches to mend the skin. When they asked her what had happened, the only thing she could them was that she wanted her parents. It took three days to get her to tell the entire story.

She was only seven, and she never saw her parents again.

During the moment of silence, Rihana touched her stomach and felt the long scar across it. It was a hard bumpy line and her hand shook as she felt it. She flinched as Dari touched her on the shoulder. They locked eyes and Rihana relaxed when she saw his concern. He seemed to know exactly what she was thinking about.

Their parents were once avid protesters to the Galrock government. They even attempted to escape Ecruteak and join the Red Army, but were caught and thrown in jail for treason. Even after their release, Galrock never took their eyes off them. Rihana, Dari, and Kylo lost their parents that fateful night soon afterwards. The incident is still uninvestigated, unexplained, and unreported. For most of their lives, they just blamed it on the Pokemon. What other evidence did they have? Even now they still weren't sure, but they knew they didn't trust Galrock's word.

"I wonder why they burned the library..." Dari murmured, trying to cool the tension. Kylo shrugged. No one else had an answer.

"I don't know, but I think it's best that we end this conversation now. We're in treacherous waters. If Galrock ever discovered we'd had this talk we'd be in trouble," their grandfather said, rising from the table with his plate in hand. His grandchildren all nodded and followed suit.

The clock struck 7:00 as they washed the dishes and a loud voice echoed through the window:

"It is now 7:00 and the curfew is instated. All citizens of Ecruteak are now under law to retire indoors. No one is allowed out of doors. Anyone caught outside will be detained until the morning. Galrock bids you good-night!"

A street lamp flickered to life and flooded the room with its light. The four family members completely ignored it and continued washing dishes. This was routine. When everything was cleaned and put away, they all retired to their rooms to either read or do homework. It was a routine night as always.

 

[Unicorn]

CHAPTER THREE​

Rihana collapsed on her bed and curled up into a ball. It was difficult to take her mind off the things she really wanted to think about. Were Pokemon bad? Did they even have a will? She honestly had no idea. She had only encountered them once, and that was seven years ago. All she knew was that she never wanted to see them again. Galrock only used them for war tools, and she guessed the Red Army used them for the same purposes. What she really wanted to know the most was why the Red Army wanted to fight so much... what had they ever done to wage war over? It was all very confusing. Sadly, she realized she might never know.

Hearing footsteps, she sat up. There was a knock at the door and Dari poked his head around the corner. "Ri? Can I come in?" Rihana nodded and her twin entered the room. It was cleaner than his own room and he marveled at how she kept it so neat and tidy.

"What do you want?" Rihana asked. Dari didn't answer right away.

"It's Kylo..." he faltered. Rihana raised a brow.

"What about him?"

"Well, he seems worried. Didn't you notice?"

"Yeah. I did, but it's probably nothing. You know him. He's always worried about something."

"But not like this! He just seems downright depressed! Rihana, I want to ask him... but I'm too afraid." At this Rihana cocked her head. Since when was Dari afraid to talk to his own brother? It seemed fishy, but she didn't know what else to say.

"Alright. I guess I can talk to him if you want."

Dari rushed over to his sister and hugged her passionately, squeezing the air out of her lungs. "Thank-you!"

She shoved him away emphatically. "Ok! Ok! You're welcome!" She then left the room and Dari still remained there, as if waiting for something. After he heard Rihana knock and enter his own room where Kylo was, he quickly turned and began fiddling with Rihana's window. During curfew hours, all household doors and windows were locked, but just a few weeks ago Dari discovered that the auto-lock system in Rihana's window was broken. Now he could make his escape.

Meanwhile, Rihana was sitting on Dari's bed across from her older brother, who seemed vexed.

"Dari said that?" Kylo asked, frowning.

"Yes. Is something bothering you?" Rihana asked, concerned. Kylo sighed and just shook his head.

"Well, yeah. It's my test scores. I missed a lot of points in the math section."

"What?" Rihana responded, mouth gaping. "Is that it?" How stupid. How trivial. Dari made her come in here just so she could talk to Kylo the perfectionist and his test scores?

"I'm sorry. Were you expecting something more than that?" he retorted, leaning back on his pillow. Rihana shook her head.

"I just don't see what Dari-" Rihana cut herself off as a thought connected inside her head. "No..." she breathed.

"What?"

Rihana didn't answer his question. Instead, she dashed out the room, slamming the door behind her. Kylo was left sitting there, bewildered... and also somewhat relieved. Whatever the reason, Rihana had dropped the conversation and he had successfully avoided discussing his true worries.

Rihana, on the other hand, was furious. She stormed into her bedroom, looking around for her brother. "Dari!" she barked. No answer. He was not in the room. Rihana shivered as she felt a draft. Where was that coming from? Glancing towards the window she noticed that it was slightly ajar. Her face turned white as a sheet when she saw it. "Oh no. Dari, you didn't!" she croaked, her voice lost in fear. This was not happening...

--------------------------------------------------------​

A pair of grunts trudged down an empty street. Their black suits were illuminated by the street lamps and their guns held blatantly in front of them. The sound of sirens still blared somewhere in the direction of the research facility, but the two men paid it no mind. They didn't give a damn. They didn't even want to be here in the first place. They had been assigned the duty of standard patrol, and to them it was a boring task. “Protecting the citizens” was what it was called. More like “Arresting the citizens” in their opinion. They were both itching for a fight. It had been a while since there had been any riots in the town. No one to shoot. No one to tackle. No one to launch Pokemon at. They had all this power, and it was going to waste. The most they could hope for was some stupid kid to come along...

Well, some stupid kid was out and about that night. Dari, specifically. He was watching the men from behind a bush, and he could see them clearly walking. His heart fluttered and his breath came fast with the anticipation of danger. The thrill of the possibility of being caught excited him.

“I'm tired of this sh**” one of the grunts grumbled. The other one sighed in agreement as they walked. They were unaware of the pair of eyes watching them less than twenty feet away.

“I want to shoot something. Ya know?” the man continued. Dari gulped as he heard this. There was a likely chance that if he was seen, he would most likely be their target. I bet Sampsi chickens out... he thought, smirking to himself.

Dari stayed in the bushes until the grunts were safely out of sight. When they were gone he knew it was time to make his move. For just a few seconds, he was going to have to put his hide out on the line. After taking a deep breath, he burst from the bushes and sprinted across the street in full view. To him, his footsteps sounded like echoing thunder on the hard pavement, but the grunts never heard a thing. The sound of the sirens from the still-burning research facility blotted out any other competition for noise. Once Dari was safely across he climbed over a picket fence and slid down against it, breathing heavily. His heart was thumping like a frightened rabbit and he closed his eyes, straining his ears to hear if anyone had seen him. The only sound was of the breeze and the fading sirens. He breathed a deep sigh of relief and stood up, brushing the dirt off his knees from where he had landed. He made it.

It was Sampsi's house that Dari had snuck to. He knew it was his because he watched the kid get on the bus there every morning. It was a two-story gray house and much nicer than nearly all the houses on the block. Dari wondered how his family managed that; probably by some special connection with Galrock. It didn't matter anyway. He planned to seek out Sampsi's bedroom and drag him out if he had to but he didn't end up having to find the window. Sampsi was already watching and waiting for him. The boy had already managed to find an escape hole from his house via the bulkhead and was pacing around the garden in the back yard. Dari spotted him right away as he turned the corner.

“So, you didn't chicken out, huh?” the boy whispered in a sneering tone. Dari crossed his arms and tossed his brown hair out of his face.

“Funny. I was expecting you to,” he challenged. Sampsi's nostrils flared in aggravation. He was trying to wrack his brain for some sort of witty comeback, but Dari grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the back gate. “Save it. Let's go look for that Pokemon.”

The two teenage boys called a truce and headed out the small white gate in Sampsi's backyard. Beyond that point was a large expanse of woods where they planned to begin their search. It was the excellent spot for any sort of Pokemon to live, although none lived there now except weak types like first-evolution bugs and birds; mainly Pidgey and Caterpie. Galrock had picked the place clean of any decently powered monsters long ago.

Sampsi pulled two small flashlights out of his pocket and handed one to Dari. “Turn it off if you hear anything, like a Galrock grunt,” he told him. Dari rolled his eyes and snatched the light out his hand.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever,” he replied, turning it on immediately: the search was on.

They split up and began searching in opposite directions. Since neither of them knew what they were looking for, it was slow going. The forest was surrounded by a high wall with barbed wire at the top, which was actually only a section of the larger wall that surrounded the entire town. After about a half an hour Dari knew he was going in circles because he kept finding it. Tired and grouchy, he trudged on, his spirit fading. What did they think they were going to find anyway?

---------------------------​

The night was getting colder and Rihana shivered as she walked, folding her arms and hunching over.

"Are you sure he isn't just playing some sort of prank on us?" Kylo asked. He was walking beside, feeling very wary and anxious. They could get in serious trouble for this. What their grandfather noticed they weren't in the house anymore? It was already nearly 10:00 and a school-night!

"Yes, Kylo. You weren't on the bus today to hear the crap that went down. He and Sampsi are having some sort of contest." Rihana shivered as she spoke. It seemed like fall was colder every year.

Kylo didn't answer her but kept his eyes on the street lights, which he could see through the trees. The leaves crunched beneath their feet and sounded unbearably loud to him. "What makes you think they're going to be in this forest?" he asked. He didn't trust her instincts.

"Just a feeling," was Rihana's only reply. She didn't honestly know why, but she did know that Sampsi's house was right next to the forest. If they met there, the boys would have undoubtedly gone searching through the woods there.

Kylo sighed, a cloud of mist puffing out in front of him in contrast to the cold air. "I don't why I let myself be dragged into this..."

The siblings searched the area, scanning trees and occasionally pausing to listen for footsteps. The forest was large enough to get lost in if you weren't careful, so they made sure to keep track of where they were going and watch out for landmarks.

As they were walking they came upon the east tower… or what used to be known as the tin tower. All that was left was an empty, burned out shell. Vines crawled up the walls of the blackened stone and as the wind blew through the broken windows it made an eerie howling sound. Rihana hated coming to this spot but they had to search the area. She had only been here one other time, and she still didn't know what the tower was even used for. It obviously had no historical purpose or Galrock would have explained it.

Kylo inspected the doorway and didn't find anything so they moved on to the next section of the forest. It wasn’t long before they came upon the second tower. The ruins were in worse shape than its partner. Only a few blocks of stone remained intact; a square frame of where it used to stand tall. For some reason, though, it was even more disturbing to be around it. There was just something about its empty square that made Rihana want to cry. Kylo sensed her emotion and guided her away from it. He too felt some strong force emulating from it. It was strange and scary, and they spent as little time as they could around it. Once the tower was out of view they found themselves surrounded by nothing but trees again. It was pitch black out and they almost wished they could return to the ghostly towers.


"I don't think we're going to find them. Kylo, this is hopeless," Rihana sighed regretfully. Kylo stopped short, freezing in place. "What?" Rihana asked him, stopping just a few steps away.

"Do you smell that?" he asked, nostrils flaring. Rihana gave him a quizzical look.

"Smell what?" She breathed deeply until her nose caught the faint scent of... smoke? The two siblings stood frozen on the spot, wondering what to do. Suddenly they heard a call from afar. It sounded like someone or something was in terrible pain. Alarmed, they both looked up and surveyed their surroundings. There was nothing around as far they could tell. The air still smelled of smoke and Rihana was getting even more worried as the smell grew stronger. She looked for the source until she saw a thin wisp of smoke through the trees. It was only about fifty feet away. There was something bright and glowing red there too… it was fire.

“Oh no…” Rihana whispered, grabbing her brother's arm. They had to get somewhere safe. Holding hands, they dashed towards the ruins. Perhaps the stone would protect them… somehow. As they ran, they heard yet another howl, closer this time, and their hearts beat faster.

"Run, Rihana!" Kylo yelled.

Scared out of her wits, she leaped over the crumbling stone wall, Kylo right behind her. Panting heavily, they stopped to listen... but the only thing they could hear was the frantic beat of their own hearts and the crackle of the approaching fire.

"What are we going to do?" Rihana croaked, ready to cry.

"I don't know. We can't outrun that fire..." Kylo admitted. The smell of smoke was intensifying with every moment.

Another cry burst through their panicky thoughts, scaring them even more. Rihana peeked over the edge of the wall… something orange was emerging from the growing flames. Her eyes widened when she saw what it was. The thing had white tufts of hair on its head and chest and a large fluffy white tail. Its body was marked with a few black stripes. Rihana nearly screamed when she recognized that it was a Growlithe. The very same dog-like Pokemon she had read about in textbooks at school. She had never dreamed of seeing one in her lifetime, nor did she ever want to.

She squeaked in fear at the sight of the Pokemon and Kylo sat up to see what had caused her alarm. The noise alerted the Growlithe to their presence. It turned its white pupil-less eyes on them and took a shaky step forward. Rihana screamed and threw herself away from the wall, taking Kylo with her. A shot of flame swirled over their heads. The heat was intense and Rihana and Kylo stumbled to the ground, flinching from the near-burn experience. The Growlithe howled again and Rihana continued to stumble away from her previous post even more, now walking crab legged and afraid. Kylo crawled on his stomach after her. When Rihana was sure she was far enough away she rolled over and tried to stand up. Another shot of flame flew over her head and she was forced to duck again. Kylo didn't even bother, but he motioned with a hand for her to remain on the ground. Rihana panicked and curled into a fetal position, waiting for the end to come… but nothing happened.

The Growlithe, whom she could not see through the wall, seemed to be making no move towards her; at least not that she could hear. Rihana relaxed her muscles a little and opened her eyes. She gazed up at the sky. Rain clouds were forming rapidly above the forest. “How on Earth did that happen so fast?” she wondered. Kylo seemed to notice it too, for his was looking straight up at the sky with an open mouth. Suddenly they heard an odd moaning noise on the other side of the wall. Bravely, Kylo crawled over to the ruined stone and peered through a crack. As he looked through, rain started to fall in big fat drops, putting out the fire in a quick manner. And, to his great astonishment, the Growlithe was laying motionless on the ground. Its eyes were closed and it seemed to be barely breathing.

"Rihana," Kylo whispered, signaling for his sister to come closer, "Look!"

Cautiously, ignoring her better judgment, she crept over to the wall and peered through the crack. She gasped when she saw the Pokemon laying on the other side. Kylo stood up and started to climb over the broken wall. Rihana grabbed his shirt sleeve and tried to pull him back.

"What are you doing!? Are you crazy!?" she shouted in a whispering voice. Kylo grabbed her wrist and forced her to let go.

"Stop it. I'll be fine."


Kylo hopped over the wall and approached the fire Pokemon, leaving Rihana behind to bite her nails nervously. But the Pokemon didn’t move at all apart from a few shallow breaths. Rihana was amazed at its sudden change of state. ”This must be a Galrock Pokémon…” she realized. Kylo crouched on the ground next to it. The ground around it was burned and still hot to the touch. If he wasn’t careful, his shoes would probably melt. The rain fell harder still, making the forest hiss like an Ekans.

Seeing the danger level go down, Rihana cautiously climbed over the wall and took baby steps towards her brother. "Is it... dying?" she asked. Kylo made no response so she crept closer to get a better look.

The Growlithe’s body was covered in deep gashes and cuts and when Rihana looked closely at the muddy, soot-covered ground surrounding it, she discovered another ingredient: blood. And suddenly it didn’t matter anymore that this was a Pokémon (a creature she felt was better left to die). It didn’t matter that it had just tried to kill them or that Team Galrock was looking for it. Somewhere inside herself, Rihana knew that she couldn’t let this Growlithe die, or worse: fall back into the hands of Galrock. Seeing this Pokemon in this state made her realize what Team Galrock really stood for… and it wasn’t something she agreed with.

"Kylo... this Pokemon... I don't think it got this way on its own," Rihana murmured and Kylo shook his head sadly. "What can we do? We can't just leave it here to die..."

The two stared at the Pokemon for what seemed like ages. Its staggered breath came and went, but the blood continued to flow out of its deep wounds. Rihana could hardly stand the sight of it, and looked away, pulling her sweater tighter around her to cope with the rain and chill. Kylo watched her do this and suddenly his eyes lit up.

"Rihana!" he exclaimed. She whirled around, surprised, and thinking there was some sort of danger.

"What?" she gasped, her eyes darting madly around them.

"Your sweater! We can use it to carry the Growlithe home!" Kylo explained excitedly. Rihana's jaw dropped.

"Are you serious? Kylo, that's crazy! We'll never get it all the way back without getting caught!"

"It's a chance I'm willing to face. I want to help this Pokemon, Ri. Somehow I sense a great injustice going on here. I think it's our turn to play a part in this war..."

Rihana looked at her brother in complete shock. Where did this sudden insight come from? His eyes burned with a new kind of passion that she didn't understand. She began to wonder what had been going through Kylo's mind the past few days leading up to this moment. She'd have to ask him later. For now, she reluctantly removed her sweater and handed it to her older sibling.

 

[LordSameth]

Just wow, the story for this is extremely addicting, I just can't wait for the next chapter. Your description isn't too bad, but you could describe the characters a bit more. I'll be waiting ever so impatiently for the next chapters

 

[Unicorn]

Just wow, the story for this is extremely addicting, I just can't wait for the next chapter. Your description isn't too bad, but you could describe the characters a bit more. I'll be waiting ever so impatiently for the next chapters

Thank-you so much. I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying it. I will make sure to describe my characters more in the future. The problem I have is that I see them so vividly in my mind that I forget I need to tell other people what they look like. xD I'm busy working on the next chapter so keep an eye on this page. Not sure when I'll have it done, but it should be soon.

 

[Legend of Lucario]

Okay well I have begun to read the story and I am only to get through the prologue right now, but I promise I will edit this and add to my review of this story but here is what I have for the prologue

WHAT I LIKE

I enjoy the way that it was written in present tense. I found that to be unique. I also like that Mesprit is not some just animal tool. It has a personality and feels emotions, seeing that she cries, I also like the gender reference seeing that legendaries are "genderless"

IMPROVEMENTS

There isn't much that really needs to be improved. I mean maybe a bit thicker in the description, but then again, if you put too much description in one place it becomes a bit boring so maybe not. I am glad you show us like when you said

His eyes, the color of the ocean, bore into the sad Pokemon in front of him.

That is a good way to do description so kudos to that!

I like what I am reading so far, and I will try to give more review later when I have some time!

 

[Unicorn]

CHAPTER 4​

“So... you didn't find it either?”

“No”

Sampsi and Dari stood together in a clearing. Both of the boys had defeated expressions on their faces. Neither of them wanted to look at each other. They both knew that it was a stupid idea to come out here during curfew anyway. What was more frustrating was the idea that after all that heartache, their efforts came to naught. Not a single sign of the escaped monster had been seen by either of them, and they knew they had messed up.

“This was stupid,” Dari finally said, kicking a small rock aggressively. It rolled a few feet away and bounced off a tree, scaring a Pidgey into flight.

“Shut up. We'll get caught,” Sampsi responded angrily. He was feeling bitter about his actions and decided he was justified in blaming Dari. “This is all your fault! I never would have come out here if it weren't for you and your stupid sympathetic crap for some thing you've never even seen!”

Dari bit back a response. It wasn't worth it. Instead he turned his back on Sampsi and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. He could hear the faint pitter patter of the rain. When did that start? Before long he felt the cold, wet drops on his face and hands. “We should go,” he mumbled, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head. The rain was falling fast and hard now and Sampsi blinked the rain out of his eyes so he could follow his schoolmate. He hadn't thought to bring a jacket, although the flashlights were doing them a great deal of help in the dark. It was spooky how the beams of light illuminated the underside of the trees and reflected off the raindrops falling around them. Somehow the weather intensified the mood, whereas neither of them were the least bit scared while they were still searching. Dari recalled a phrase, “Ignorance is bliss,” and wished that he wasn't thinking about how much trouble they were in. What happened to their reckless attitudes?

The two boys walked side by side but without uttering a single word. They both knew it wasn't worth it to say what was on their minds. When they neared the edge of the woods they turned off their flashlights so that they wouldn't be seen. Dari then handed his back to Sampsi, who took it and tucked it under his arm.

"Not a word of this to anyone. Got it?" He said, turning to leave. Dari snorted as if offended.

"You think I want this get spread around?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and leaning back dramatically. Sampsi rolled his eyes and turned his back on Dari.

"See you tomorrow man."

---------------------------​

Rihana grunted with the weight of the Growlithe, who was now fashioned in a makeshift sling. It had taken them several minutes to put it together, and many squeals of discomfort from Rihana as she watched her precious sweater be torn and soaked with blood.

"Help, please," she gasped, stumbling forward. Kylo caught the bundle just as she was about to drop it. Girls: they could never lift anything more than ten pounds.

"Fine. I'll carry most of it. Just grab a corner and we can do this together," Kylo said, shifting the Pokemon's weight around.

"You'll carry most of it, but we'll do it together, huh?"

"Shut up"

Rain continued to fall as they walked, soaking them to the bone. The Growlithe was considerably lighter when they split the weight between them, and although the going was slow, they seemed to be making it okay in the dark.

"What I wouldn't do for a flashlight right now" Rihana remarked when both of the ruined towers were behind them.

"And be seen? I don't think so" Kylo scoffed, not meaning to sound negative. Rihana sighed and readjusted her end of the bundle. The fire Pokemon gave a soft moan, startling both of them. It was the first noise it made since they started carrying it and they took immediate notice.

"It isn't dead yet. Good..." Rihana whispered as they saw the street lamps through the trees. They were getting closer to their neighborhood so they had to start talking softly, or not at all.

When they reached the very edge of the forest, they set the Growlithe down as gently as they could. It didn't move or make a noise, thank goodness. It was very strange, actually. One minute it had been furiously spreading fire everywhere and attacking people, and the next it just went into an almost sedated state. No movement and no sound except the occasional moan.

Kylo crept over to a tree and stood with his back at it so he could peek around at their surroundings. Now would be the time for some careful planning. The street lamps were buzzing and shining their intense light all over the street, but luckily there wasn't a soul in sight. The coast was crystal clear so if they were going to make their move, they had better do it soon.

"Ok, Rihana. Let's go," he whispered to his sister. She nodded, tucking her pink hair behind her ears. Together they lifted the precious bundle off the ground and leaped out from the dark cover of the trees, sprinting in step with each other. In a few brief seconds the dash was over and they were safely across the street. Now it was simply a matter of navigating houses and fences to reach their destination.

Dari was sitting on his bed reading a magazine when he heard Rihana's window slide open. He figured they would have tried to follow him. He scoffed inwardly at the thought of them trying to catch him. Like that would ever happen. He didn't bother to get up, instead he crossed his legs, licked his finger and turned another page. Not even their grandfather knew they left the house. He was in bed, snoring away like a car engine. Dari, however, became irritated when he heard all the noise his siblings were making:

"Ouch! Kylo, be careful!"

"Sorry! I just don't want to drop it!"

They were bickering again, but why now? Surely their grandfather would hear them. They were loud enough to wake the whole town! Dari tossed his magazine aside and slid of the bed.

"What are you guys doing?!" he yelled in a half-whisper from Rihana's doorway. He stopped short when he saw his brother and sister hauling something through the window. It was a very bloody something wrapped in Rihana's favorite sweater. Neither of them were paying any attention to their brother either. Instead they passed off the thing to each other until it was safely inside. A drop of blood dripped to the floor as Kylo held it in his arms. He stood panting and looking at Rihana, who was red in the cheeks from tiredness.

"Where should we put it?" he asked her.

"Woa, woa, woa," Dari interjected, stepping into the room. They both looked at him with fright at first but then relief when they realized who it was. "What is--wait--what are you doing?" He struggled to find the words and questions floating around in his head.

"Shut up, Dari. We never would have found it if we hadn't gone looking for you," Kylo snapped, shoving past him with the Growlithe, " Rihana, how about the basement?" Dari flinched at the Pokemon that nearly touched him and took a few steps back.

"Where-" he started to ask

"In the woods" Rihana interrupted, passing him and guiding Kylo to the basement. He was having trouble seeing over the Pokemon and required her assistance in opening the door. She opened it for him and swung the door out of his way. Cautiously, Kylo took steps down the stairs, feeling with his toes as he went. Rihana flipped the light switch and follow close behind him, ready to prevent him from falling if he missed a step. Dari stood in Rihana's doorway for a minute, wondering what to do. Glancing behind him, he noticed that the window was still open and there was an obvious spot of blood that, if not cleaned up immediately, would result in a terrible carpet stain. Best to hide the evidence, he decided and shut the window before heading to the kitchen for a sponge.

"Rihana get some towels," Kylo ordered. His sister didn't like being bossed around but obeyed him because she wanted to help. She fetched them from a shelf next to the washer and dryer, which were conveniently located right nearby. The basement had little purpose other than storage space and it was generally used as such. The washing machine and dryer sat in a corner, both humming with their loads. Laundry littered the floor around them. In the opposite corner was their Grandfather’s workbench, which had various tools and scraps all over. Some long forgotten and unidentifiable project sat on top. Rihana spread the towels over the concrete floor and Kylo gently placed the Growlithe on top of them. Its head lolled a little as he was shifted around. The spot wasn't much of a bed, but it was the best they could do. Kylo then removed the blood-soaked sweater that had encased him and tossed it aside. ”That was my favorite sweater” Rihana couldn’t help thinking.

“We need some bandages” Kylo murmured. Rihana sighed and ran upstairs to get them out of the bathroom closet. She bumped into Dari along the way.

"Oh-" she said as she met up with him on the staircase

"Hey, I cleaned the blood off your carpet," he told her. Rihana blinked her amber eyes at her twin, slightly embarrassed.

"Er, thanks," she said awkwardly, and continued up the stairs. Dari then made his way towards Kylo so he could see the Growlithe.

"What happened to it?" he asked, crouching low beside his brother. Kylo shook his head.

"I don't know. It probably ran into some trouble during its escape from Galrock. That's my best guess"

"It looks bad..."

"I know. Somehow I don't think it's going to survive much longer."

The two sat down and waited for Rihana to come back, trying not to look too closely at the Pokemon's injuries. It was a sore sight and they couldn't help but cringe. They had never witnessed so much blood before. The war reports on the news never showed much blood, and a skinned knee or a papercut simply didn't compare with the wounds on the Pokemon laying in front of them.

"Here," Rihana said, tossing a first aid kit at her brother. Kylo caught it, thinking fast, and set it down in front of him. Rihana sat down on his other side and watched to see what he would do. He could feel both of his sibling's gaze and blushed a little. What did he know about first aid? Slowly, he opened the tin and started rummaging through it. There were many rolls of bandages, but would it be enough to stop the bleeding? He paused for a while, thinking of how he was going to complete the task at hand.

"Need some help?" Rihana asked, laughing quietly to break the tension. Kylo nodded and handed her a roll. He glanced at Dari for a minute.

"Want one?" he asked, referring to the rolls of bandages. Dari shrugged and extended his hand. His brother tossed one at him and began unrolling his own. Rihana did likewise. Together, the three siblings began to wrap the Growlithe's body, covering up all the major wounds. The Pokemon didn't move at all, so they struggled with the dead-weight of it.

When they were done, they all surveyed their work. It was a crude job (some bandages were too tight and some were too loose) but he was well-covered. He looked a little bit like a mummy, and Dari found it sort of funny. If the situation wasn't so serious he might have laughed, but he held it in.

"I hope he makes it," Kylo said.

“Mmmmm” Rihana agreed, thoughtfully. She was a little under stress after the day’s chain of events.

“But what do we do if he survives?” Dari asked, sitting back “We’re in the possession of a Pokemon! That’s… illegal! We’ll be arrested, or sent to war, or killed, or--"

“Cut it out Dari. I don't want to think about it,” Rihana barked at him. Dari bit his lip, holding back his fears. It was kind of cool that they had a Pokemon. He had lost hope during his search with Sampsi, and now that his brother and sister found it, he could totally prove that Pokemon were creatures with feeling. He let his mind linger on that thought for a while and his eyes suddenly lit up with a brilliant idea:

“We can become Pokemon trainers!” he exclaimed

“What?” Kyle and Rihana both said at the same time

“Well, we have a Pokemon now, don’t we? We should run off and join the Red army!” Dari said, grinning. His siblings stared him. Was that a joke? They couldn't tell.

“A Pokemon trainer?” Rihana asked, "Weren't they the ones who caused all of this crap that's going on now?"

“Well, we don't know that. That's just what we've been told since kindergarten. Come on Ri! It'll be fun!" Dari still smiled, not to be put out.

Kylo coughed, “Illegal!” and coughed again.

“I don’t know, Dari” Rihana sighed, looking at the Growlithe.
“We still don’t know if he’ll even survive” Kyle murmured.

Everyone stopped talking then and just watched the Growlithe. His chest rose and fell in uneven breaths. Occasionally he would whimper as if in some awful nightmare. He wriggled once in his sleep, and Rihana, Kyle, and Dari all flinched and moved closer. His bandages were starting to become soaked in blood and his condition made little progress during the course of the night.

Around 2:00 in the morning Dari said “I’m glad it’s Saturday. I don’t know what our teachers would say if we slept through all our classes.”

“Dari, that’s the least of our concerns…” Rihana replied gravely. And that was the end of all their conversation that night. Kylo had fallen asleep on the floor, drooling. Dari was on the verge of collapsing but somehow maintained his awareness. The only sound in the basement was the sound of the washer and dryer running. To pass the time, Rihana started a new load of laundry. She was attempting to wash out her favorite sweater though she wasn't having much success. She kept one eye on the Growlithe the entire time in case it woke up, but it didn't move hardly at all. It frustrated her to realize that there was nothing she could do to help it. All she capable of was watching and waiting.

Rihana was the only one still awake an hour later. She was unsuccessful in her venture to clean her sweater and gave up, throwing it in the trash bin. Dari and Kylo were laying side by side next to the stairs and the Growlithe still hadn't moved an inch. She kneeled down next to it and sighed at its weak appearence.

"I wish there was something I could do to help you, little fire-pup," she said softly. She stretched her hand to touch the little white tuft of hair on its head. Immediately upon contact she felt a strange sensation go through her body, almost like an electric shock. She recoiled and fell backwards in shock, squeaking frightfully. What was that?

Kylo groaned and rolled over, laying an arm across his brother's stomach. Rihana massaged her hand and sat up, calming herself so she wouldn't wake them. The Growlithe was still motionless in front of her. Maybe she just imagined it. Nothing happened... did it? Yawning, she stretched out on her back. She was very tired. Maybe that's what caused the hallucination. Nothing a little sleep would soon cure. In a matter of minutes, she was drifting off in dreamland. The basement was then filled with the sounds of breathing. Not one of them had a worry in the world while in sleep, and they didn't even bother to think of what their grandfather might say when he found them the next morning. Living for the moment was a popular thing that night.

 

[Starlight Aurate]

Hi there! I saw that you needed some reviewers, so I decided to take a look here. I'm only going to review the Prologue and Chapter One, since I don't have time for all of them right now.

Prologue

"Well, we got her alright..." he says coldly, briefly touching up her limp, delicate figure.

"Touching up"? Wait, do you mean "Picking up" or just "touching"? It seems a bit awkward to me.

I was also slightly confused at where he goes to touch her, she disappeared, right? Or had he not realized it until he reached the net?

And it seems it'd be a bit powerful if stalactites and bits of rock had fallen by him merely punching the cave, I mean stalactites are made of solid rock, it seems a bit much for just a human punch to bring them down.

Chapter One

In the first paragraph you seem to be switching from future tense to present tense, which can work out in some ways I suppose, but it just seems a bit awkward to me. You're saying stuff 'will' happen and then say that the bell 'is' late. And then in the next paragraph you go to past tense, which makes me feel awkward to read it.

“Ow!” he exclaimed, though he made no sound.

He wouldn't have exclaimed if he hadn't made a sound. You could've put 'mouthed' instead, since exclaiming gives one the impression that he said it out loud, probably loudly.

His nasally voice combined annoyingly well with the tin-can speakers.

Literal speakers made from tin-cans?

Please be quiet and courteous but most of all, please be patient. Thank-you.”

Thank-you doesn't have a hyphen.

His voice cracked a little at the end, evidence of a boy in puberty.

I found this oddly humorous for some reason.

“Dari likes my jokes”

It needs a comma after 'jokes'.

“Gee, thanks” Rihana replied.

Needs a comma after 'thanks'.

Tigo attempted to hide his amusement but ended up s******ing into his arm

Okay, I think I know why the word didn't come out. Since the word snigger has the 'n' word in it, the swear filter took it out. You can avoid that by italicizing, bolding, or underlining one of the letters in the word to get it past, and I know you didn't intentionally make the word contain a swear. It's happened to me before, but it's less distracting when you change one of the letters so the asterisks don't show up.

You also might want to work on pacing, since I see that you posted four chapters in three days. Slow down a bit, take your time, and don't rush things through--people would rather have a chapter come in well than rushed and choppy.

This story seems like it could really go somewhere, though I just felt a bit awkward reading some parts, though I'm not entirely sure why. I'll try and keep up with you, and I hope you do well!

 

[Unicorn]

starliteevee- Thank you so much for the review. I'll take everything you say into consideration and make sure to fix all of my little mistakes that I missed. Yes, I'm a bit awkward in my writing. I'm never really sure how I can describe something exactly. It is strange sometimes, I must admit and I'll work on pacing myself. The reason I posted all of this in three days is because I had already spent three weeks on it beforehand. The next chapter will probably take a lot longer to be released.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

I *want* to like it, but one major thing is putting me off, and that's that I can't think of any circumstance where Galactic and Rocket would ever merge. At least not under their canon leaders anyway, except that the blue-eyed man in the first part is pretty clearly Cyrus. So any reason for these two megalomaniac organiations to ever join forces will have to be a REALLY good one.

...I know that sounds overly critical, but I guess it keeps me coming back for more to see how you'll explain it.

 

[Unicorn]

Blackjack Gabbiani- There is a good explanation for it. Trust me. It will come up later in the story development. Basically you'll just have to keep coming back.


Also, I really REALLY want to change/add something to the prologue (That sentence where I wrote "touching up." I totally did not mean to write that! What a horrible error. If only I had caught it sooner...) but it won't let me edit anything. I keep getting an internal server error when I try to change it. Does anyone have an explanation for this?

 

[LordSameth]

Also, I really REALLY want to change/add something to the prologue (That sentence where I wrote "touching up." I totally did not mean to write that! What a horrible error. If only I had caught it sooner...) but it won't let me edit anything. I keep getting an internal server error when I try to change it. Does anyone have an explanation for this?

Try again later. Internet things like to fail you. Me for that matter as well