Thanks for the proofreading of Dragonfree and The Great Butler, who between the two of them probably cover every mistake I make (of which there are many). So, anyway, enjoy!
Chapter Eight
Lost memories, Part 1
The battle was over. The lord of the seas was dead and the emperor of the sky was fleeing. The intruder cast an eye over to the mutilated corpse of what was once a worshipped god. After a lasting look of pity, it flew in pursuit of the dragon.
Slowly but steadily the corpse rose, belly-up, and gracefully floated up the chasm.
***
Edward's eyes suddenly flew open and he found himself staring wide-eyed at the overcast sky. He felt pressure in his chest, then he was coughing up sea water, all over his chest and the rock around him.
Hang on. Rock?
Edward's palm swept against the rough granite, but before he could consider this, he felt a stinging sensation on his face as a force knocked his head to the side.
“You idiot!” he heard the furious yell of Nuria, perhaps inches from his ear. “What the hell is your problem?” He felt another slap on his face, harder than the first. His cheek rung from the impacts, and he braced before hearing another voice:
“Stop it, you crazy-head! It's a miracle as it is; be thankful he's alive.” The voice sounded old and weary. Edward cracked his eyes open and craned his neck up to see who had the audacity to talk to Nuria in such a way. This man needed a medal.
A small semi-circle of children surrounded him, as well as an old man Edward recognised to be the boat driver. He looked to his right and saw Nuria, shaking with rage. The old man stepped forward, hand outstretched. Edward took it and shakily got to his feet. He nearly slipped, but the old man held fast. Then Edward noticed that his own clothes were completely sopping wet.
“What?” he groaned, his eyes hurting, unaccustomed to the sudden light.
“You were drowning,” the old man rasped bluntly. “You would've died if your friend hadn't dived down in after you.” Edward's face turned to Nuria, and noticed for the first time she was wet too. Edward gaped helplessly at her while she raised an eyebrow at his confusion.
“What? You're not surprised, are you?” she asked, still trembling with rage. Edward couldn't even mumble a reply. Nuria, save his life? Was it possible? Then Edward shivered as the truth dawned on him. He owed Nuria Heliol his life.
Dear God...
Edward looked around him, over the heads of the curious children. They all appeared to be on a small brown rock island, surrounded for miles and miles by the still sea. Edward turned around, and saw a mound of rock, similar to a mountain, though not nearly as big but big enough to obscure his vision of the opposite end of the island. The boat was docked just a few metres away. The island could be one-hundred squared metres, Edward guessed, based on the size of this side.
“Where is this?” Edward croaked. For a drowned boy, his throat was awfully parched. He noticed some of the children, placated in the knowledge that Edward had lived, start to walk off around the tall mound of rock. The old man released his hand, content that Edward could stand.
“Dewford,” he said. “Or what's left of it.” Edward looked around again, sure the man had made a mistake. After all, he'd seen the holiday cards of Dewford, those golden beaches and crystal clear sea. But there was no sand in sight, and the sea was murky and motionless. The old man nodded at Edward's confusion and explained,
“The rain flooded the entire island, with the exception of Granite Cave. The Pokemon inside- what's wrong?” he asked as Edward's knees suddenly buckled again. Nuria, as quick as a Ninjask, shot up to catch him before he fell.
“Edward?” she asked, desperation, not anger, in her voice.
Edward's heart was beating wildly, his mind screaming something of such massive importance that he could feel himself sweating in the cool air.
Granite Cave.
The name sent shivers down his spine. Of what? Fear? Anticipation? Edward didn't know. It was as though the world's most precious memory was just on the tip of his tongue, out of reach. Edward's frustration rose as Nuria continued.
“We need a doctor. He's been dizzy almost all day and has fainted. Is there one nearby?” Nuria pleaded to anyone who would listen. Edward concentrated for a moment and stood carefully, shooting one half-hearted glare at Nuria.
“Now who's babying who?” he demanded. She displayed a slight crooked grin, then punched Edward full force in the stomach. He doubled over, gasping for breath, holding the place of his stomach where a Hitmonchan could've given him a Mach Punch. When he felt comfortable enough to rise (after a few minutes), he noticed all the young trainers, including Nuria, had gone, leaving only the old man.
“Yep, she's crazy all right,” he muttered, then pointed over to the mound of rock. “The doctor will be past that, helping out the Gym Leader.” Without any further comment, he turned back to his boat and climbed aboard.
***
Edward found Nuria cross-legged on the rock, watching the battle with unblinking eyes. An elderly man stood at one end, not quite as decrepit as the boat driver, but still wrinkled around the eyes. But they looked more like laughter lines than anything else. He wore a red t-shirt and casual blue jeans, with two sandals to protect his feet from the rough ground. He had strong, ripped arms, and instead of being hunched over like the boat driver, stood tall and proud with a sharp eye on the battle. His blond hair was long enough to dangle down to his neck.
The battle seemed interesting enough. A Machop stood panting, holding its side to stem the flow of blood seeping through its fingers. Its feet were tangled hopelessly in roots which extended over to the other combatant. A Shroomish stood some feet away from it, frowning at the humanoid from its undefined face. It was bruised and cut, bleeding brown blood, but the wounds appeared to heal as Machop's breathing became more laboured. Then Edward noticed that, standing opposite to who could only have been the Gym Leader, was James. His eyes were furrowed in concentration, a bead of sweat dripping down his face.
“Looks intense,” Edward commented. Nuria nodded and patted the rock next to her. Edward sat. “Looks harder to beat than Rocky, in any case.” To this, Nuria just rolled her eyes.
“Have you forgotten that Rocky's been Gym Leader for only two weeks? Or that he never trained Pokemon until his Mum got a heart attack last month?” She raised an eyebrow at Edward's confusion (for the second time that day). “You seriously thought that was the full-time Gym Leader? As though your underdeveloped Nincada could have even scratched the last Leader's Pokemon. Don't you watch the news? Or listen in school?” The last comment was more of a joke, as it was constantly used by Edward against Nuria. Still, as Nuria mentioned it, it did seem pretty similar to Edward. Suddenly the badge in his bag didn't feel so important.
Of course, Edward knew he had a half-excuse for not knowing. Edward had always wanted more adventure in his life, so if a Pokemon related news broadcast blared on the television, Edward would turn it off or leave the room. The fact was that Edward wanted to make his
own adventure, and simply didn't care about what others had done. Nuria's Mum had banned her from watching anything to do with Pokemon, so turned on the Pokemon-related news whenever she was out. Of course, Edward knew he knew far more about Pokemon themselves than Nuria. To prove this point:
“What're the roots doing?” Nuria asked. Edward grinned self assuredly.
“Leech Seed. You know, the seeds germinate on the opponent and drains its energy, bringing it back to the one who released the seeds.” Edward couldn't help it, but the comment sounded patronising. Nuria grunted in reply.
The tense stand-off became too much for James, and he ordered Shroomish to use Stun Spore. The mushroom concentrated for a second, then expelled a golden cloud of small particles from the hole at the top of its head. Slowly it wafted over to the Machop, but its trainer made no attempt to issue a command. Instead, the second the humanoid inhaled within the cloud, he called:
“Facade!”, and instantly the Machop jumped over to the Shroomish, feet tied together by the roots, where it fell to the floor at the mushroom's feet. It struggled to get up, baring its teeth while pushing on the ground. Edward could see it shuddering, parts of its body occasionally freezing up. The display looked so completely pitiful that he was about to demand the match to stop when suddenly it jumped up, taking the Shroomish by surprise, and punched it upwards with such force that the mushroom flew high into the air. It landed a second later with a dull thud, like the noise made if you dropped a pillow. It didn't get up again, and must have been James' last Pokemon because when it was withdrawn he walked away bitterly, allowing one of the spectators to stand up and take his place.
“Wow,” was all Edward could say. A weakened, seeded, paralysed Machop taking out a Shroomish in one blow. Suddenly Edward remembered how under-levelled his Pokemon were. He'd have to find somewhere to train. Fast.
Nuria must have come to the same conclusion, because she jumped up, making her way over to the mound of rocks. Edward followed.
“Where're we going?” he asked as they started to climb.
“I saw someone come out the top here just before you arrived. Probably an entrance to Granite Cave.” Once again, confusion swept over Edward as he tried to work out the mystery in his mind. What was so important about Granite Cave?
They reached the top in seconds, and Edward saw that a hole had been drilled in the top, leading into a dark, hollow tunnel. Edward's heart began to race again. He knew he was close to... to something of immense importance. Something crucial. Involuntarily he took a dazed step forward, and would have fallen in altogether if Nuria hadn't held out an arm. She then leaned in closer to the hole.
“It's dark down there, all right,” she confirmed to Edward.
“Zubat can guide us, right?” Edward asked, a subtle note of anxiety in his voice. Nuria narrowed her eyes at him.
“Yes. Why are you so desperate?” she asked, blatantly suspicious.
“It's all connected!” Edward blurted out, louder than he meant. “Something's in there, I know it is.” Nuria crossed her arms.
“Have you seen a doctor yet? Because all that's down there is rock and wild Pokemon. I'm going to train Ralts for a while. I'll follow you a bit, but when the Pokemon stop, so do I.” She then took off her backpack and rifled through it, producing a torch. Edward remembered he too had one, and soon produced his own. He also sent forth his Zubat. It materialized in a glow of white and began to circle the air, free of the restraints the forest had placed.
“Oh, noblest of masters, I thank thee sir for permitting me this freedom which-”
“Yeah, yeah,” Nuria interrupted. “Can you guide us in the cave?” Zubat looked affronted by the bluntness of Nuria's request, but replied to Edward:
“Of course, thy wish is my command!” And before Edward could thank him, Zubat swerved in the air and darted into the crevice. Edward and Nuria exchanged nervous glances, but Nuria was the first to lower herself into the hole. When her head had disappeared, Edward leant down too. The hole had metal pipes which acted as a ladder, but they were wet and slippery, so he had to hold on, rung and torch in hand, as he descended.
The floor wasn't as far down as Edward expected, though by the time he had got there and switched on his torch, Nuria had already sent out Ralts, who stood straight and unwavering looking up to Nuria. Edward could see her shaking slightly, but not as much as before. For all he knew, it was just the feeling of being under several tonnes of rock. Edward shivered. Why did he have to think that?
Listless, Edward pointed his torch at random around the cavern, illuminating crevices with yellow light. It was a large room with plenty of rocks strewn across the floor. At the other end of the chamber was a hole, darker and more ominous than the rest of the area. He noticed the floor was wet a few metres to his right, right up against the wall. The wall looked different from the other walls, less smooth, more like it was bricked up. Then Edward realized; it must have been the old entrance before the flood. Knowing that only a wall prevented him from drowning sent another shiver down his spine.
Edward knew it was close, whatever it was. Each and every glance was like deja vu, old memories failing to slot into place like a broken jigsaw puzzle. He felt himself sweating. Why?
Suddenly Zubat appeared out of nowhere and made Edward scream. Deep and manly? Not a chance. He let forth a high-pitch squeal, which made Nuria snort somewhere in the darkness.
“What is it?” Edward hissed at the bat.
“Master, I am tremendously sorry if I gave you a fright. Even the bravest of men-”
“Anything else?” Edward demanded. Suddenly he felt bad. “Sorry. I shouldn't be so angry; it was only a mistake. Is there anything else, Zubat?” he said in a softer tone.
“I scouted into the darkest levels. Most of the Pokemon have been evacuated,” he said, just loud enough for Nuria to hear, “the exceptions being members of mine noble race and some curious chaps with shiny eyes.” Edward racked his brain. Shiny eyes? Of course, he realized, Sableye, the darkness Pokemon. Zubats could be dealt by Ralts, but what were Sableye's weaknesses again? Oh yeah, he remembered. They didn't have one.
Nuria marched over to Edward, Ralts following. Edward noticed a rounded grey rock being levitated just above Ralts' head. Edward raised an eyebrow.
“It was Ralts' idea,” Nuria explained. “When she's not battling, she'll still be training.” Edward looked over at the feeling pokemon and saw that, although the rock was directly in front of her, she had positioned her head in Nuria's direction.
“Speaking of training, what about Bayleef?” Edward asked. Nuria shrugged.
“I'll talk to her later. She can't train here anyway, though I'm sure I spotted a Geodude or two out there somewhere.” She thought for a moment, then realised that Edward was still there. “So, anyway, I'll follow you on your journey for the Holy Grail or whatever and battle what we bump into. Okay?” she asked. Edward nodded and walked over to the hole, legs quaking. Whatever he suspected was there was buried deep below the surface of the land, waiting for him.
***
There were many, many floors to Granite Cave, more than Edward thought possible. It seemed as though the earth just added new levels for the humans to stumble through. Even with the torches, Zubat was indispensable. He helped prevent both Nuria and Edward tripping on many occasions, stopped them from falling into chasms and even told Nuria she'd stumbled into a sleeping Graveler minefield, and had to carefully navigate her out (although Edward suspected that this was just revenge for Nuria cutting him off so rudely earlier), as she had no intention of battling something that strong. Ralts just followed behind Nuria at a set distance, never more then two metres away.
With each level the anticipation in Edward's chest grew greater and greater. The occasional rock or crevice seemed so familiar that he'd sworn he'd been in that exact spot before.
The few trainers they encountered by torchlight gave them wide berth. After all, Edward reasoned, they were probably after a wild Pokemon battle to train for the Gym Leader; not to have a battle between powerful Pokemon which could cause the place to cave in.
Nuria hadn't been able to battle once, which may have been smart considering she couldn't see most of what was going on. Edward didn't actually know why she still followed. There hadn't been any Pokemon sightings recently, so why was she still tagging along? Edward nearly pursued this thought when he saw the hole in the floor by his feet.
Here.
He'd reached his destination. His humming heart confirmed it. The light in the cavern flickered as his hand trembled. Sweat dripped in beads down his forehead. In a hole no larger than a metre in diameter was the end of his search.
“Nuria-” he croaked, then felt her hand clamp around his mouth. He panicked for a second, then Nuria pointed with her other hand into the darkness where Edward wasn't shining his torch. Two luminescent bluey-white gems that seemed to-
Edward's heart suddenly stopped. They weren't jewels. They were eyes.
Edward nodded slightly and Nuria released her hand.
Where the hell is Zubat? Edward cursed, taking a tentative step backwards towards the ladder to the chamber above. Edward hoped madly that it hadn't seen them. Because then they'd have no choice but to jump into the hole, and now Edward wasn't so sure if he wanted to go in. Was it fear which trembled his hand? As he thought this his foot caught on a pebble and he fell crashing to the floor. Pain shot up his hands which he used to cushion himself, and knew instantly he'd started to bleed.
That's when the Sableye attacked.
Edward felt a slash on his leg and screamed in pain. Nuria started to shout when it was suddenly cut off. Edward's anticipation he felt mere seconds before was now replaced by sheer terror.
Edward could hear more tiny feet approaching, a cruel inhuman chuckle from all around. He curled up into a ball, tucking his bleeding legs into his stomach. Another slash. Then another. Each time he screamed in agony, tears rolling down his cheeks and blood wetting his clothes. He lifted the torch with his one good arm and looked around, the view distorted behind the tears. Bejewelled, menacing creatures of the shadows surrounded him completely in in rows upon rows, sharp teeth bared in psychotic grins. One from the back jumped into the air and came flying towards him. With what he thought to be his final effort, Edward rolled up, brought his torch fist back, and sent a desperate punch with all his remaining energy towards the gremlin. It made no contact; the Sableye just dissolved into shadow. His momentum carried him forward; Edward was sure he'd break his nose on the fall. But instead of colliding with ground, Edward just kept on falling past the floor, through the hole into the chamber below.
***