Pokemon_forever
Final Battler
Pokémon Destiny (Before the Trendik Wars)
Rated PG-13 for scenes later on with mild language and mild violence, and a few suggestive scenes.
POKÉMON DESTINY
Chapter 1: The Face of Evil (The Florasida Incident)
Lily skipped happily down the streets, her red dress and the little yellow flower in her hair ruffling playfully in the wind. She was a small girl, even for age five. She was charming, optimistic, and a generally cute little girl with a light and bubbly personality.
Lily Hachikan also loved life in all forms. She loved the way a Poochyena would bound around chasing its tail, or the way that a Skitty would purr contentedly as she stroked its smooth fur, and even the way that life interacted in the most brutal manners, such as the Pidgeys that ate the smaller Caterpies, and so on.
She had a family whom she loved dearly — her mother and father and her little brother Kit Hachikan. But the one thing that stood out in the minds of those that knew Lily (which was practically the whole village) was her capacity to love. No matter what anybody did to her, she always managed to return love. She'd never faced true evil, and didn't possess a mean bone in her body as a result.
Until that fateful day...
There were many boys that had crushed on her in Florasida Village, but only one held a special place in her heart, only one made her blush as they held hands when they walked together, only one made her laugh as they tickled each other to death, and only one made her smile as they watched the sun rise and set — Steven Stone, the son of a wealthy and influential businessman in faraway Hoenn, and the only guy for her.
In fact, she was just on her way home from one of her walks with Steven, except this one had been extra special. Since they hadn't seen each other in two months, when they were finally alone together, he took her hand and squeezed it, then gently ran his fingers down her hair, finally drawing in to kiss her, something he'd never done before!
They spent the entire afternoon together, getting reacquainted, till they realized the time and raced back to avoid getting punished. She saw him off at the Hajard house, where he was once again staying with Mr. and Mrs. Hajard and their daughter, then continued home.
She turned a corner and almost ran smack into a policeman and his Arcanine. He looked down at her and said, "I apologize. I'm looking for — Lily!"
"Hi, Officer Davis," said Lily, bowing for her favorite police officer. Davis was a good man who believed in fairness for all. He usually wore a kind smile and friendly eyes, but now, his eyes were dulled and sad, and his face was careworn and lined. Something was wrong; she could tell.
"Officer Davis?" she asked. "What's wrong?"
"Lily..." he whispered hesitantly. "It... it's your mom..."
"My... my mom? Wha..." She almost couldn't breathe. What had happened to her mother?
Davis looked solemnly in the general direction of her house. "Lily, there's something you should know."
Now she really couldn't breathe. A lump had formed in her tiny throat, and her little heart constricted in fear. But no... she couldn't lose her mother... She just couldn't...
Davis took her hand and started walking her home. "You see, a while back, a bunch of thugs entered town," he explained. "They kidnapped Joanna and started ransoming her for your brother. We don't know why."
"What did you do?" she asked anxiously.
"Well, we couldn't let them have him," he said. "They'd kill them both the moment we did. And they only gave us an hour to follow through on their demands." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, but he plowed on, "We organized a search party to rescue her. I wasn't there, but from what I heard, they found them."
Lily allowed herself a tiny ray of hope. "Well, then that's goo —"
But Davis cut her off. "Sweetie, your mom is... is..." He couldn't finish. He didn't need to.
"No!" she wailed, collapsing into tears. "No! No! No!" She covered her face with her hands and cried.
Officer Davis knelt down and patted her head. He certainly looked as bad as she felt. But then, he'd loved Joanna, even though her father had won her heart. His faithful Arcanine came up and licked her face. And as much as that usually cheered her, today she was inconsolable.
"H-h-how?" she asked, turning teary eyes to Davis.
He sighed again. "There was a shootout. I don't know the details exactly, but Joanna was one of the casualties."
Lily put her face back in her hands and sobbed.
"Lily, come now," he said gently. "Pull yourself together. Andrew wants to see you. He doesn't know you're OK."
Lily cried a bit longer, but then, slowly, she lifted herself to her feet. She willed herself to be strong. Papa needed her now. She wiped the tears from her eyes.
"'Atta girl," said Davis softly. "Come on."
She nodded stiffly, walking forward on wobbly legs. Officer Davis took her hand again and led her the rest of the way. They walked in silence, and, in a minute that seemed to last an eternity, finally arrived.
"Lily?" a voice called out. "Lily!"
A few seconds later, she was scooped up by her father and hugging him tightly. There was a lot of crying and yelling and wailing and hugging as she was reunited with her family.
And all was as it should be... For now...
* * *
"You fools!" the Commander yelled. "You failed! You've never failed before! Why is this time any different!"
"Please, sir." A small man with dark eyes and dark hair stepped forward nervously. "We... we didn't plan on failing. Please forgive us..."
Crack! There was a shriek, and the man fell back into the group of soldiers surrounding him. A thin trickle of blood ran down the man's lip. The whip wavered menacingly.
"Forgive you? Forgive you?" The Commander's eyes were popping. "You've been with us for 12 years! You know exactly how Team Alpha works! We assign orders, and you follow the orders! And those that can't... well, like I said, you know how this team works!"
"Please, Commander Harrison!" the man pleaded. "Give us another chance! We... we promise we won't fail again!"
"You'd better not, Lee," said Harrison in a low, insinuating voice, "otherwise, next time I won't be so forgiving..."
"We promise, sir," soothed Lee. "Just give us a few hours. We'll get the child. I swear it..."
"Very well." Field Commander Harrison turned his back on them. "Dismissed." And they scrambled over themselves in their haste to obey, leaving Commander Harrison alone with his thoughts.
They don't know how important this boy is, he thought to himself. They don't know that this is the fabled Peer of Balance, conceived by the Legendary Vikage itself, and one of the few capable of stopping us. Or imagine if he joined us. We would be unstoppable! If they fail again, this time there'll be no forgiving them...
He looked up at the indigo sky and laughed.
They'll pay the ultimate price for failing their commander...
* * *
For two hours, Lily let her father do the talking. She let it wash over her like running water, but didn't take it in. What she really wanted was to get away and talk to Steven. He'd lost a parent, too, and understood that that was like. The pain, the despair, and the sickening realization that the one you love is never coming home.
"Sweetheart?" Her father's voice snapped her back to reality.
She looked up at him bleakly. "Yes?" she said sadly. He opened his mouth to speak...
"Ahh!"
"What the...? What was that?" Andrew leapt to his feet.
"Help! Help!"
"Fire! Fire in the forest!"
"Fire..." Andrew looked seriously at his daughter, and she understood — he'd told her many times not to play with fire, but never in the forest. You see, if the forest ever caught fire, it'd spread to all the buildings on the upper level, which were made of wood. They had a natural water supply on the outskirts of the village, but it took hours to reroute water back then, and by then it could be too late! Fortunately, most people in Florasida Village had one or two Water Pokémon, and could hopefully put down the fire before the wind picked up. As the Gym Leader, her father would want to help, even though he mostly trained Grass- and Bug-Types. But she knew her father very well; she knew he wouldn't be stopped by this.
"Stay here!" Andrew ordered his daughter. "I'm going to go help the villagers. Don't leave the house unless you absolutely have to!"
"But, Dad! Wait! What if the people who shot Mom come back?" she cried. "Maybe they started the fire to get in the house!"
Andrew Hachikan was so shocked that he almost forgot of the impending danger. Of course! Since their first attempt hadn't worked, they would only naturally try it again! But why were they so interested in Kit all of a sudden? He came to a quick decision.
"Here," he said, handing her the Poké Ball containing his trusty partner, his first Pokémon ever — Tropius. "If they try again, use Tropius! It knows a few choice moves and can hold them off till I get back. Now I gotta go!" He kissed his only daughter and rushed off towards his destiny.
Lily raced up to her brother's room, praying to Lugia and every other Legendary Pokémon that it wasn't too late...
* * *
Commander Harrison was impressed with his men, by the sheer brilliance of the plan. It was all so simple. Set fire to the village. With the villagers occupied, they could easily sneak and just take the child. Of course, they had to be very careful not to leave behind any footprints that led to Team Alpha.
Unfortunately, this left Commander Harrison with the tedious job of distracting the villagers, a task that was proving to be more difficult than expected, as he couldn't let it on to them that protecting the child was what they really should be doing.
For this particular job, he called out his four Pokémon: Houndoom, Wobbuffet, Quagsire, and of course, his recently modified Flygon...
"OK, Houndoom," he said once he was at the forest's edge, hidden by the overhang leading up to the third level, protected by a Reflect barrier from his Wobbuffet. "Aim for that tree! Ember! Make it fall on them!"
"Doom!" Houndoom howled, burning away a section at the base of the tree, which seemed to hesitate, before finally falling in the intended direction.
"Waaah! Look out!" somebody shouted.
Whumpf! The tree hit! Unfortunately (to Commander Harrison), nobody had been killed, but a few were pinched under the upper log, which was closest to the burning foliage and would eat away at the bark, slowly burning them to death.
This Harrison found to be exceedingly gratifying.
"Hmm... Excellent shooting, Houndoom! Now, Flygon! Use your Gust! Blow the fire towards them!"
"I don't think so!" a voice yelled from behind.
WHAM! Harrison went flying as the Brick Break shattered the Reflect barrier and slammed into him. He got up, seething but also pleased at the promise of battle.
"So!" he cried in a mix of frenzied excitement and raging fury. "Not all the villagers around here are so stupid!"
"Save it!" the man bellowed. "Leave this place and never come back!"
"Cross! Heracross!" his Pokémon agreed angrily.
"Fine," Harrison grinned. "Just give us the boy and we'll leave."
"Hah! Not a chance!" the man scoffed. "And if you people try taking him, I've got a surprise waiting for you!"
"A surprise, huh?" He raised an eyebrow and considered asking what that meant.
FWOOSH! The roar of the fire made him hesitate. It didn't matter what this guy had in store. Whatever he had planned, he could certainly take it as well as dish it.
He was only human, after all.
Harrison laughed. "It doesn't matter what you have planned! We're here to take this kid! And Team Alpha always triumphs!" He looked at his Flygon. "Flygon, you're up!"
Flygon took its position on its side of the battlefield.
"Very well," said Andrew, but his mind was racing. Team Alpha? he repeated. What's that? Some new criminal team?
"Go, Heracross! Show them how tight we are together!"
"Hera!" Heracross leapt to its side of the battlefield. Both sides were pumped and ready for action.
Oh, Lily, Andrew pleaded silently. For all our sakes, I hope you're all right...
* * *
That night would be burned into Lily's memory. As she entered Kit's room, she was relieved to find her baby brother sleeping peacefully in his crib, and she rushed over and picked him up. He looked at her with large, innocent eyes.
"Kit, please be quiet," she begged and raced back into the hallway.
WHAM! Something collided with her neck, knocking the living daylights out of her! She staggered, reeling madly, but she tried holding onto Kit. But the next second he was pulled from her arms as another pile driver blow caught her painfully in the temple, and she fell to the floor.
Lily almost passed out. But one fact had penetrated her spiraling subconscious: She'd lost Kit. She'd failed. And as she tried to get up, someone kicked her in the gut, and she fell back, hunched over in pain.
"Stupid girl," a distant voice laughed.
She looked up. Everything was a blur of hazy shapes... But she could make out the towering forms of a dozen men in strange uniforms. She tried focusing her eyes... and started puking.
"All right," someone chuckled. "We've had our fun. Now let's go!"
"You... you... creeps..." Lily choked. She reached out and grabbed one of them, latching onto his leg. Her efforts earned her another kick, harder this time, and this time she really did pass out. A few minutes later, someone was shaking her roughly, shouting, "Lily! Lily!"
She sat up, coughing profusely. Someone slapped her back, helping her get her breath. She looked over into Steven's concerned eyes. Then it suddenly hit her: It was all over. She'd let those brutes capture Kit, and she broke down and cried into Steven's shoulder. He rubbed her back comfortingly.
"Lily..." he said after a brief pause. "We gotta get outta here!"
"Why?" she sobbed. "I lost Kit. What does it matter anymore?"
"Lily." He pulled her back so he could look her in the eye. "The fire's spreading. The villagers are heading for higher ground. We have to go!" The force of his command shocked her, but she knew he was right: It was time to leave.
She nodded, and he helped her to her feet, and she still felt woozy as she began running down the stairs.
And then... a warning hummed in Lily's bones. Somehow... something was telling her that they were in grave danger. Steven must have felt it, too, for the next second, he grabbed her and pulled her back over the banister.
Crunch! The tree fell through the ceiling, crashing into the exact spot they'd been standing a second earlier. Smoke started filling the room as fire leapt from the branches onto the Sheetrock. She reached for Steven, but he wasn't there! In all the confusion, she'd lost Steven! She felt around for him, but he was gone.
She started crying, feeling the weight of utter despair land on her shoulders. First her mother, then her father and brother, and now, the one boy she cared for more than anyone else. And as the flames intensified and the smoke thickened, she cried harder.
And then the roof gave way... And she knew no more...
* * *
The peon stood facing his Boss, the Supreme Leader of Team Alpha. He was nervous. Who wouldn't be? Not only was his master an adept Pokémon Trainer who'd been in more battles than he'd ever dreamed of and won them all, not only was he an able and skilled man as deadly with his own fists as much as he was with a weapon, but he was also a cunning and secret man, the master of deception, the ultimate manipulator.
He was also his direct superior. But what could he do? He'd thought of transferring to one of the other factions of Team Alpha many times, but it'd do no good. There was internal conflict and civil strife among the ranks of Team Alpha, but especially between Lord Rakidan and the Beta Council, the two foremost opposing groups in Team Alpha. And although Lord Rakidan wouldn't admit it, Officer Laredo was the only thing keeping the two rivals from open warfare, something that would tear away at Team Alpha and possibly risk police involvement. Besides, as the Highest Officer, he knew things that could get him killed should he ever decide to abandon Lord Rakidan.
No, it was better to stay with him, even though he didn't like the idea.
He seriously did not like that idea. His Boss was too unpredictable, and very difficult to please, even though he always tried his hardest.
"Yes, Officer Laredo? What is it?" his master asked in a low voice. As always, he'd known Laredo was there, even though he'd been very quiet in entering two minutes earlier, careful not to disturb the Boss. The Team Alpha Head always seemed to be one step ahead of everybody.
"My Lord, I bring good news..." said Laredo respectfully. "The Beta Council was successful in kidnapping the Peer of Vikage. Fighting and internal corruption is eating away at the House as we speak. They are still unaware of the main plot."
"Excellent," his master murmured. "Everything is proceeding as planned..."
"Ah, my Lord? There is a slight... detail..."
"Oh?" Lord Rakidan's voice dropped half an octave, as it usually did when dealing with the unexpected.
"It seems that, uh, Field Commander Harrison and his men went a little far. You see, they, uh... they burned Florasida Village to the ground..."
Silence. Complete, utter, absolute, dead silence.
"Lord Rakidan?" asked Laredo.
"The fools," Rakidan snarled. "Officer Laredo, this will not affect our plans in the slightest. You have done well in reporting this to me. But I find myself growing fatigued. I wish to be alone now. You are dismissed."
Bowing gratefully, Officer Laredo turned and departed in silence. Lord Rakidan, meanwhile, was staring out into the night sky through his velvety curtains, digesting all that had been said.
Soon... he thought. Soon... It will not be long before the Beta House is no more, and then I can finally set out to destroy those who oppose me. But first... I shall have my revenge... And all will come to fear me...
As I know you fear me...
Lord Rakidan swiveled in his chair and picked up his phone. He dialed a few times, then waited silently as his call went through.
"Yes, Representative Zeet? There's something I need you to do for me..."
* * *
Pain. Those were the first thoughts that entered Lily Hachikan's as she came to. Pain. She couldn't feel her back, and there was a long shiny burn running from her right hip down to her ankle. But none of those could compare to what she felt on the inside...
Her family was gone. Her friends were gone. Everything and everyone that had ever made her life happy was gone. And all at the hands of those evil men...
Hatred such as Lily had never known rose up within her. The intensity of it scared her. She had never wanted to hate another living being before. And as she thought this, her mother's words came back to her from the cradle...
"Be nice to people, Lily. Human beings are messed-up, scared, emotional creatures, but we all need a little love every once in a while. Give without any thought of reward. Treat the world with kindness, Lily, and love will somewhere, somehow find its way back to you... Always remember that..."
But now her mother was dead, the first of many victims that had perished along with Florasida Village. The future was uncertain, but one thing was for sure: She would find these men.
And then what? She wasn't sure. But deep down, she knew that she had to. Now, though, she needed to survive. She tried moving.
"Ah!" Lily gasped, tears welling up in her eyes as shock waves from the pain rolled through her. Then she realized that something was preventing her from moving. She looked back.
And almost fainted. There was a thin sheet of plywood sticking out of her left leg, which she knew would have to come out. But Lord, she really didn't want to pull it out just yet, but she couldn't leave it in or risk getting an infection.
So, with tears of reluctance streaming from her eyes, she reached down and started yanking it out.
"Ahh!" she screamed, but, displaying a presence of strength unknown to her, she continued pulling it out, even as blood oozed from the wound and pained stabbed at her anguished body.
"Ah!" Finally, it was out. She started sobbing uncontrollably, but then something she heard made her freeze... Very faint, very light, but something that made her heart leap.
Voices! She considered calling out to them, but something inside made her hesitate. She didn't know who it was. It could be more criminals, or it could be someone nice. She simply did not know.
But then, slowly, the voices grew louder as they came closer, and she could make out what they were saying.
"... Don't see why we're stuck with this stupid job anyway. Can't Team Alpha clean up their own mess? I mean, why drag us into it?"
"Who cares? For the price Team Alpha's paying us, I don't think there's anything else we can do other than find the survivors —"
"And kill 'em."
"That's the plan."
Lily's heart stopped. These men weren't here to help. They were here to kill everybody. She had to get out, somehow, and warn them. Save them! But that was stupid. She could barely move, with blood seeping from her wound and her back half-paralyzed, and there was little she could do. Tears of frustration filled her eyes, and yet she knew that all was not lost. Somehow... a feeling of deep warmth was spreading through her. She had no idea where it came from.
And then, a voice, deep and gentle and coming from nowhere, yet everywhere at once. "Do not lose hope, young one. For where there is hope, there is life. Where there is despair, there is nothing... Never lose hope..."
I know... Lily answered back in her mind. And she was given a simple image, one that empowered her, gave her hope, gave her new meaning. An image of a birdlike Pokémon, with wings like that of a Ho-oh, bright and large and powerful, except more blue and white than red and gold, with a studded beak, understanding eyes, and three shimmering purple tail feathers, longer even than the legs ending in hooked talons.
A nearby sound brought her back to reality, but the voice, whatever it was, uttered one last word.
"Survive..."
The killers were getting closer! She began dragging herself across the rubble, barely moving a few inches. She'd never make it, but she wouldn't give up either. Never, not even against hopeless odds. Suddenly, she pitched forward! She slid into a small crevice and tumbled further underneath the house, just as the two men reached the spot she'd previously been in. She froze, not speaking, not even so much as breathing.
A long pause. "I don't see anything here. Come on."
She breathed a long sigh of relief. She knew that she had come eye to eye with the face of evil, and it had not touched her. And for now, that would be enough.
* * *
Author's Note: Hello, all! This is my first attempt at a fanfic, so I'll try to be entertaining, but don't expect any promises! Oh, and I know I skipped the entire battle between Harrison and Andrew, but there's gonna be a flashback later on that tells us exactly what happened and how he died, but I won't say any more than that! For those of you who'll become frequent reviewers, I'll probably update every two or three weeks, considering the amount of school, hobbies, and failed relationships that I've been through now, so please don't pester me every few days wondering when the next chappie will be up. Also, I know that Lily and Steven are very mature for their age, but that's because of their special powers, also to be revealed in later chapters. Well, anyway, enjoy!
Rated PG-13 for scenes later on with mild language and mild violence, and a few suggestive scenes.
POKÉMON DESTINY
Chapter 1: The Face of Evil (The Florasida Incident)
Lily skipped happily down the streets, her red dress and the little yellow flower in her hair ruffling playfully in the wind. She was a small girl, even for age five. She was charming, optimistic, and a generally cute little girl with a light and bubbly personality.
Lily Hachikan also loved life in all forms. She loved the way a Poochyena would bound around chasing its tail, or the way that a Skitty would purr contentedly as she stroked its smooth fur, and even the way that life interacted in the most brutal manners, such as the Pidgeys that ate the smaller Caterpies, and so on.
She had a family whom she loved dearly — her mother and father and her little brother Kit Hachikan. But the one thing that stood out in the minds of those that knew Lily (which was practically the whole village) was her capacity to love. No matter what anybody did to her, she always managed to return love. She'd never faced true evil, and didn't possess a mean bone in her body as a result.
Until that fateful day...
There were many boys that had crushed on her in Florasida Village, but only one held a special place in her heart, only one made her blush as they held hands when they walked together, only one made her laugh as they tickled each other to death, and only one made her smile as they watched the sun rise and set — Steven Stone, the son of a wealthy and influential businessman in faraway Hoenn, and the only guy for her.
In fact, she was just on her way home from one of her walks with Steven, except this one had been extra special. Since they hadn't seen each other in two months, when they were finally alone together, he took her hand and squeezed it, then gently ran his fingers down her hair, finally drawing in to kiss her, something he'd never done before!
They spent the entire afternoon together, getting reacquainted, till they realized the time and raced back to avoid getting punished. She saw him off at the Hajard house, where he was once again staying with Mr. and Mrs. Hajard and their daughter, then continued home.
She turned a corner and almost ran smack into a policeman and his Arcanine. He looked down at her and said, "I apologize. I'm looking for — Lily!"
"Hi, Officer Davis," said Lily, bowing for her favorite police officer. Davis was a good man who believed in fairness for all. He usually wore a kind smile and friendly eyes, but now, his eyes were dulled and sad, and his face was careworn and lined. Something was wrong; she could tell.
"Officer Davis?" she asked. "What's wrong?"
"Lily..." he whispered hesitantly. "It... it's your mom..."
"My... my mom? Wha..." She almost couldn't breathe. What had happened to her mother?
Davis looked solemnly in the general direction of her house. "Lily, there's something you should know."
Now she really couldn't breathe. A lump had formed in her tiny throat, and her little heart constricted in fear. But no... she couldn't lose her mother... She just couldn't...
Davis took her hand and started walking her home. "You see, a while back, a bunch of thugs entered town," he explained. "They kidnapped Joanna and started ransoming her for your brother. We don't know why."
"What did you do?" she asked anxiously.
"Well, we couldn't let them have him," he said. "They'd kill them both the moment we did. And they only gave us an hour to follow through on their demands." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, but he plowed on, "We organized a search party to rescue her. I wasn't there, but from what I heard, they found them."
Lily allowed herself a tiny ray of hope. "Well, then that's goo —"
But Davis cut her off. "Sweetie, your mom is... is..." He couldn't finish. He didn't need to.
"No!" she wailed, collapsing into tears. "No! No! No!" She covered her face with her hands and cried.
Officer Davis knelt down and patted her head. He certainly looked as bad as she felt. But then, he'd loved Joanna, even though her father had won her heart. His faithful Arcanine came up and licked her face. And as much as that usually cheered her, today she was inconsolable.
"H-h-how?" she asked, turning teary eyes to Davis.
He sighed again. "There was a shootout. I don't know the details exactly, but Joanna was one of the casualties."
Lily put her face back in her hands and sobbed.
"Lily, come now," he said gently. "Pull yourself together. Andrew wants to see you. He doesn't know you're OK."
Lily cried a bit longer, but then, slowly, she lifted herself to her feet. She willed herself to be strong. Papa needed her now. She wiped the tears from her eyes.
"'Atta girl," said Davis softly. "Come on."
She nodded stiffly, walking forward on wobbly legs. Officer Davis took her hand again and led her the rest of the way. They walked in silence, and, in a minute that seemed to last an eternity, finally arrived.
"Lily?" a voice called out. "Lily!"
A few seconds later, she was scooped up by her father and hugging him tightly. There was a lot of crying and yelling and wailing and hugging as she was reunited with her family.
And all was as it should be... For now...
* * *
"You fools!" the Commander yelled. "You failed! You've never failed before! Why is this time any different!"
"Please, sir." A small man with dark eyes and dark hair stepped forward nervously. "We... we didn't plan on failing. Please forgive us..."
Crack! There was a shriek, and the man fell back into the group of soldiers surrounding him. A thin trickle of blood ran down the man's lip. The whip wavered menacingly.
"Forgive you? Forgive you?" The Commander's eyes were popping. "You've been with us for 12 years! You know exactly how Team Alpha works! We assign orders, and you follow the orders! And those that can't... well, like I said, you know how this team works!"
"Please, Commander Harrison!" the man pleaded. "Give us another chance! We... we promise we won't fail again!"
"You'd better not, Lee," said Harrison in a low, insinuating voice, "otherwise, next time I won't be so forgiving..."
"We promise, sir," soothed Lee. "Just give us a few hours. We'll get the child. I swear it..."
"Very well." Field Commander Harrison turned his back on them. "Dismissed." And they scrambled over themselves in their haste to obey, leaving Commander Harrison alone with his thoughts.
They don't know how important this boy is, he thought to himself. They don't know that this is the fabled Peer of Balance, conceived by the Legendary Vikage itself, and one of the few capable of stopping us. Or imagine if he joined us. We would be unstoppable! If they fail again, this time there'll be no forgiving them...
He looked up at the indigo sky and laughed.
They'll pay the ultimate price for failing their commander...
* * *
For two hours, Lily let her father do the talking. She let it wash over her like running water, but didn't take it in. What she really wanted was to get away and talk to Steven. He'd lost a parent, too, and understood that that was like. The pain, the despair, and the sickening realization that the one you love is never coming home.
"Sweetheart?" Her father's voice snapped her back to reality.
She looked up at him bleakly. "Yes?" she said sadly. He opened his mouth to speak...
"Ahh!"
"What the...? What was that?" Andrew leapt to his feet.
"Help! Help!"
"Fire! Fire in the forest!"
"Fire..." Andrew looked seriously at his daughter, and she understood — he'd told her many times not to play with fire, but never in the forest. You see, if the forest ever caught fire, it'd spread to all the buildings on the upper level, which were made of wood. They had a natural water supply on the outskirts of the village, but it took hours to reroute water back then, and by then it could be too late! Fortunately, most people in Florasida Village had one or two Water Pokémon, and could hopefully put down the fire before the wind picked up. As the Gym Leader, her father would want to help, even though he mostly trained Grass- and Bug-Types. But she knew her father very well; she knew he wouldn't be stopped by this.
"Stay here!" Andrew ordered his daughter. "I'm going to go help the villagers. Don't leave the house unless you absolutely have to!"
"But, Dad! Wait! What if the people who shot Mom come back?" she cried. "Maybe they started the fire to get in the house!"
Andrew Hachikan was so shocked that he almost forgot of the impending danger. Of course! Since their first attempt hadn't worked, they would only naturally try it again! But why were they so interested in Kit all of a sudden? He came to a quick decision.
"Here," he said, handing her the Poké Ball containing his trusty partner, his first Pokémon ever — Tropius. "If they try again, use Tropius! It knows a few choice moves and can hold them off till I get back. Now I gotta go!" He kissed his only daughter and rushed off towards his destiny.
Lily raced up to her brother's room, praying to Lugia and every other Legendary Pokémon that it wasn't too late...
* * *
Commander Harrison was impressed with his men, by the sheer brilliance of the plan. It was all so simple. Set fire to the village. With the villagers occupied, they could easily sneak and just take the child. Of course, they had to be very careful not to leave behind any footprints that led to Team Alpha.
Unfortunately, this left Commander Harrison with the tedious job of distracting the villagers, a task that was proving to be more difficult than expected, as he couldn't let it on to them that protecting the child was what they really should be doing.
For this particular job, he called out his four Pokémon: Houndoom, Wobbuffet, Quagsire, and of course, his recently modified Flygon...
"OK, Houndoom," he said once he was at the forest's edge, hidden by the overhang leading up to the third level, protected by a Reflect barrier from his Wobbuffet. "Aim for that tree! Ember! Make it fall on them!"
"Doom!" Houndoom howled, burning away a section at the base of the tree, which seemed to hesitate, before finally falling in the intended direction.
"Waaah! Look out!" somebody shouted.
Whumpf! The tree hit! Unfortunately (to Commander Harrison), nobody had been killed, but a few were pinched under the upper log, which was closest to the burning foliage and would eat away at the bark, slowly burning them to death.
This Harrison found to be exceedingly gratifying.
"Hmm... Excellent shooting, Houndoom! Now, Flygon! Use your Gust! Blow the fire towards them!"
"I don't think so!" a voice yelled from behind.
WHAM! Harrison went flying as the Brick Break shattered the Reflect barrier and slammed into him. He got up, seething but also pleased at the promise of battle.
"So!" he cried in a mix of frenzied excitement and raging fury. "Not all the villagers around here are so stupid!"
"Save it!" the man bellowed. "Leave this place and never come back!"
"Cross! Heracross!" his Pokémon agreed angrily.
"Fine," Harrison grinned. "Just give us the boy and we'll leave."
"Hah! Not a chance!" the man scoffed. "And if you people try taking him, I've got a surprise waiting for you!"
"A surprise, huh?" He raised an eyebrow and considered asking what that meant.
FWOOSH! The roar of the fire made him hesitate. It didn't matter what this guy had in store. Whatever he had planned, he could certainly take it as well as dish it.
He was only human, after all.
Harrison laughed. "It doesn't matter what you have planned! We're here to take this kid! And Team Alpha always triumphs!" He looked at his Flygon. "Flygon, you're up!"
Flygon took its position on its side of the battlefield.
"Very well," said Andrew, but his mind was racing. Team Alpha? he repeated. What's that? Some new criminal team?
"Go, Heracross! Show them how tight we are together!"
"Hera!" Heracross leapt to its side of the battlefield. Both sides were pumped and ready for action.
Oh, Lily, Andrew pleaded silently. For all our sakes, I hope you're all right...
* * *
That night would be burned into Lily's memory. As she entered Kit's room, she was relieved to find her baby brother sleeping peacefully in his crib, and she rushed over and picked him up. He looked at her with large, innocent eyes.
"Kit, please be quiet," she begged and raced back into the hallway.
WHAM! Something collided with her neck, knocking the living daylights out of her! She staggered, reeling madly, but she tried holding onto Kit. But the next second he was pulled from her arms as another pile driver blow caught her painfully in the temple, and she fell to the floor.
Lily almost passed out. But one fact had penetrated her spiraling subconscious: She'd lost Kit. She'd failed. And as she tried to get up, someone kicked her in the gut, and she fell back, hunched over in pain.
"Stupid girl," a distant voice laughed.
She looked up. Everything was a blur of hazy shapes... But she could make out the towering forms of a dozen men in strange uniforms. She tried focusing her eyes... and started puking.
"All right," someone chuckled. "We've had our fun. Now let's go!"
"You... you... creeps..." Lily choked. She reached out and grabbed one of them, latching onto his leg. Her efforts earned her another kick, harder this time, and this time she really did pass out. A few minutes later, someone was shaking her roughly, shouting, "Lily! Lily!"
She sat up, coughing profusely. Someone slapped her back, helping her get her breath. She looked over into Steven's concerned eyes. Then it suddenly hit her: It was all over. She'd let those brutes capture Kit, and she broke down and cried into Steven's shoulder. He rubbed her back comfortingly.
"Lily..." he said after a brief pause. "We gotta get outta here!"
"Why?" she sobbed. "I lost Kit. What does it matter anymore?"
"Lily." He pulled her back so he could look her in the eye. "The fire's spreading. The villagers are heading for higher ground. We have to go!" The force of his command shocked her, but she knew he was right: It was time to leave.
She nodded, and he helped her to her feet, and she still felt woozy as she began running down the stairs.
And then... a warning hummed in Lily's bones. Somehow... something was telling her that they were in grave danger. Steven must have felt it, too, for the next second, he grabbed her and pulled her back over the banister.
Crunch! The tree fell through the ceiling, crashing into the exact spot they'd been standing a second earlier. Smoke started filling the room as fire leapt from the branches onto the Sheetrock. She reached for Steven, but he wasn't there! In all the confusion, she'd lost Steven! She felt around for him, but he was gone.
She started crying, feeling the weight of utter despair land on her shoulders. First her mother, then her father and brother, and now, the one boy she cared for more than anyone else. And as the flames intensified and the smoke thickened, she cried harder.
And then the roof gave way... And she knew no more...
* * *
The peon stood facing his Boss, the Supreme Leader of Team Alpha. He was nervous. Who wouldn't be? Not only was his master an adept Pokémon Trainer who'd been in more battles than he'd ever dreamed of and won them all, not only was he an able and skilled man as deadly with his own fists as much as he was with a weapon, but he was also a cunning and secret man, the master of deception, the ultimate manipulator.
He was also his direct superior. But what could he do? He'd thought of transferring to one of the other factions of Team Alpha many times, but it'd do no good. There was internal conflict and civil strife among the ranks of Team Alpha, but especially between Lord Rakidan and the Beta Council, the two foremost opposing groups in Team Alpha. And although Lord Rakidan wouldn't admit it, Officer Laredo was the only thing keeping the two rivals from open warfare, something that would tear away at Team Alpha and possibly risk police involvement. Besides, as the Highest Officer, he knew things that could get him killed should he ever decide to abandon Lord Rakidan.
No, it was better to stay with him, even though he didn't like the idea.
He seriously did not like that idea. His Boss was too unpredictable, and very difficult to please, even though he always tried his hardest.
"Yes, Officer Laredo? What is it?" his master asked in a low voice. As always, he'd known Laredo was there, even though he'd been very quiet in entering two minutes earlier, careful not to disturb the Boss. The Team Alpha Head always seemed to be one step ahead of everybody.
"My Lord, I bring good news..." said Laredo respectfully. "The Beta Council was successful in kidnapping the Peer of Vikage. Fighting and internal corruption is eating away at the House as we speak. They are still unaware of the main plot."
"Excellent," his master murmured. "Everything is proceeding as planned..."
"Ah, my Lord? There is a slight... detail..."
"Oh?" Lord Rakidan's voice dropped half an octave, as it usually did when dealing with the unexpected.
"It seems that, uh, Field Commander Harrison and his men went a little far. You see, they, uh... they burned Florasida Village to the ground..."
Silence. Complete, utter, absolute, dead silence.
"Lord Rakidan?" asked Laredo.
"The fools," Rakidan snarled. "Officer Laredo, this will not affect our plans in the slightest. You have done well in reporting this to me. But I find myself growing fatigued. I wish to be alone now. You are dismissed."
Bowing gratefully, Officer Laredo turned and departed in silence. Lord Rakidan, meanwhile, was staring out into the night sky through his velvety curtains, digesting all that had been said.
Soon... he thought. Soon... It will not be long before the Beta House is no more, and then I can finally set out to destroy those who oppose me. But first... I shall have my revenge... And all will come to fear me...
As I know you fear me...
Lord Rakidan swiveled in his chair and picked up his phone. He dialed a few times, then waited silently as his call went through.
"Yes, Representative Zeet? There's something I need you to do for me..."
* * *
Pain. Those were the first thoughts that entered Lily Hachikan's as she came to. Pain. She couldn't feel her back, and there was a long shiny burn running from her right hip down to her ankle. But none of those could compare to what she felt on the inside...
Her family was gone. Her friends were gone. Everything and everyone that had ever made her life happy was gone. And all at the hands of those evil men...
Hatred such as Lily had never known rose up within her. The intensity of it scared her. She had never wanted to hate another living being before. And as she thought this, her mother's words came back to her from the cradle...
"Be nice to people, Lily. Human beings are messed-up, scared, emotional creatures, but we all need a little love every once in a while. Give without any thought of reward. Treat the world with kindness, Lily, and love will somewhere, somehow find its way back to you... Always remember that..."
But now her mother was dead, the first of many victims that had perished along with Florasida Village. The future was uncertain, but one thing was for sure: She would find these men.
And then what? She wasn't sure. But deep down, she knew that she had to. Now, though, she needed to survive. She tried moving.
"Ah!" Lily gasped, tears welling up in her eyes as shock waves from the pain rolled through her. Then she realized that something was preventing her from moving. She looked back.
And almost fainted. There was a thin sheet of plywood sticking out of her left leg, which she knew would have to come out. But Lord, she really didn't want to pull it out just yet, but she couldn't leave it in or risk getting an infection.
So, with tears of reluctance streaming from her eyes, she reached down and started yanking it out.
"Ahh!" she screamed, but, displaying a presence of strength unknown to her, she continued pulling it out, even as blood oozed from the wound and pained stabbed at her anguished body.
"Ah!" Finally, it was out. She started sobbing uncontrollably, but then something she heard made her freeze... Very faint, very light, but something that made her heart leap.
Voices! She considered calling out to them, but something inside made her hesitate. She didn't know who it was. It could be more criminals, or it could be someone nice. She simply did not know.
But then, slowly, the voices grew louder as they came closer, and she could make out what they were saying.
"... Don't see why we're stuck with this stupid job anyway. Can't Team Alpha clean up their own mess? I mean, why drag us into it?"
"Who cares? For the price Team Alpha's paying us, I don't think there's anything else we can do other than find the survivors —"
"And kill 'em."
"That's the plan."
Lily's heart stopped. These men weren't here to help. They were here to kill everybody. She had to get out, somehow, and warn them. Save them! But that was stupid. She could barely move, with blood seeping from her wound and her back half-paralyzed, and there was little she could do. Tears of frustration filled her eyes, and yet she knew that all was not lost. Somehow... a feeling of deep warmth was spreading through her. She had no idea where it came from.
And then, a voice, deep and gentle and coming from nowhere, yet everywhere at once. "Do not lose hope, young one. For where there is hope, there is life. Where there is despair, there is nothing... Never lose hope..."
I know... Lily answered back in her mind. And she was given a simple image, one that empowered her, gave her hope, gave her new meaning. An image of a birdlike Pokémon, with wings like that of a Ho-oh, bright and large and powerful, except more blue and white than red and gold, with a studded beak, understanding eyes, and three shimmering purple tail feathers, longer even than the legs ending in hooked talons.
A nearby sound brought her back to reality, but the voice, whatever it was, uttered one last word.
"Survive..."
The killers were getting closer! She began dragging herself across the rubble, barely moving a few inches. She'd never make it, but she wouldn't give up either. Never, not even against hopeless odds. Suddenly, she pitched forward! She slid into a small crevice and tumbled further underneath the house, just as the two men reached the spot she'd previously been in. She froze, not speaking, not even so much as breathing.
A long pause. "I don't see anything here. Come on."
She breathed a long sigh of relief. She knew that she had come eye to eye with the face of evil, and it had not touched her. And for now, that would be enough.
* * *
Author's Note: Hello, all! This is my first attempt at a fanfic, so I'll try to be entertaining, but don't expect any promises! Oh, and I know I skipped the entire battle between Harrison and Andrew, but there's gonna be a flashback later on that tells us exactly what happened and how he died, but I won't say any more than that! For those of you who'll become frequent reviewers, I'll probably update every two or three weeks, considering the amount of school, hobbies, and failed relationships that I've been through now, so please don't pester me every few days wondering when the next chappie will be up. Also, I know that Lily and Steven are very mature for their age, but that's because of their special powers, also to be revealed in later chapters. Well, anyway, enjoy!
Last edited: