Burning for you - Heated ambitions
#3 of Burning for you
Wow, the sad thing is, as I'm writing this I am STILL, writing Immorality chapter five AND Burning for you chapter two... I need to learn to prioritize. This is a looooooong'un guys, bring your tent and sleeping bags 'cuz you'll be here awhile. Thanks, once again, to Mysterydude who did an amazing job proofreading this 13,000 word snoozefest. xP
Oh, and just for funsies, can anyone guess where I got lazy for coming up with a random code? xP
The song that inspired this chapter, (yes I'm going to keep doing this whether people give a shit or not.) was "Crawl through knives" by In Flames.
Now, to the story before I begin a rant about how we should all bow at the feet of In Flames and worship them as gods. xD
Burning for you - Heated ambitions
Gareth stood on the shore looking out at the small ship that had ferried them across the ocean. He exhaled deeply as he watched the armored van disembark from the same vessel. He averted his gaze as the van pulled onto the dock. The nearly burnt out cigarette in his hand was discarded to the earth and he crushed underfoot. He was ready to do what needed to be done.
The driver of the non-descript van pushed open the door as soon as his wheels hit dry land, coming over to stand next to Gareth, who was still trying as hard as he could to keep his gaze from straying too close to the vehicle.
"So is anyone going to tell me what the hell I'm supposed to be doing?" The driver asked. Gareth took another cigarette, sticking it in his mouth unlit, before returning the pack to his pocket and beginning the search for his lighter.
The driver sighed and tapped his foot impatiently as the jittery man found it and flicked it open raising the flame to the tip and inhaling deeply. Gareth took a couple of seconds to savor the disgusting, fetid, and yet somehow comforting taste of tar and tobacco, before breathing the vile smelling mixture out shakily.
"And what about this?" The portly driver held up a roughly two and a half foot long by half a foot wide metal case. The case was covered in dark leather with a bronze spiral pattern covering its length. On the front of the case, a crest made of a strange dark metal displayed an eye, held up by two hands with the pupil acting as the keyhole. "I know it sounds odd, but I just don't feel comfortable hauling it around in the van.
"Not as odd as you might think." Gareth took another long draw from his cigarette before finally turning to the middle-aged man. "You're taking him to the Veilstone sanitarium. When you get there, give them this." He handed the driver a letter.
"It explains what is required of them, don't forget... And whatever you do, don't slow down, don't stop, not for anything. For now he's sedated, he's weak. But... if you start to think he might be coming around... Just call me. You have my number right?"
The driver nodded, and Gareth finally allowed himself to focus on the van. He cringed as he remembered what... Who was in there. 'My brother, my own flesh and blood... And here I'm talking about him like some animal.'
"And this?" The driver motioned once again at the case which he held. Gareth inhaled through his teeth at the mention of the case. Like the van, the contents of the case seemed to demand your attention, but at the same time it was rejecting your gaze. It was a horrible feeling, like being stared down by some unseen malevolence. It dared you to stare into its eyes, dared you not to go mad.
"That comes with me. One more thing," He took the case from the driver as he said this, tucking the ungainly box under his arm. "If he does sober up, he'll probably try to speak to you, to trick you, scare you maybe... Don't let him. Ignore any attempts he makes at contact. Nothing good will come of anything he has to say."
The driver nodded, barely registering what Gareth was saying, only happy to be free of the strange influence of the case and its contents. "Sure thing boss." He flicked a lazy salute at his client.
He had taken other inmates to the sanitarium before. This guy was being way over-cautious. Besides, he had an escort. The muscle head that he had hired to help him do this contract was sitting in the passenger seat, head banging to some track on his mp3 player. He wasn't a coward, but he'd have said no if he hadn't been allowed to take some security with him. Transporting known psychopaths wasn't something you did without protection.
Gareth had informed him that it would make little difference but allowed him this liberty. Gareth had wanted even more security. Maybe even a police escort, but Sabrina had vetoed the idea instantly, saying that it was, "Best to keep this as quiet as possible."
Gareth wasn't too sure, even without... He shivered as he thought about the contents of the case. He worried that Darius might be too strong if he recovered. Back at his old sanitarium in Kanto he had never tried anything after the initial... event.
Even that one time where the orderly got a little careless and left the doors unlocked, Darius had remained in the cell. When questioned about it later he had simply stated, "The game hasn't started yet." Gareth shivered again with the memory. The way he had said it. So calm but threatening, dark, malevolent... So unlike his brother.
"Well I'd best get going." The driver threw a thumb over his shoulder towards his van. Gareth nodded his consent, taking another cigarette from his pocket as he did. He watched as the driver retreated to his vehicle, closing the door behind him and re-starting the engine.
Sighing once more as he decided against this one, he returned the cigarette to his pocket, turning back to his car which had also traveled across the sea with him. Cars were an uncommon sight around here but he had decided that he should get to Hearthome as fast as possible.
Opening the trunk and setting the case inside, he groaned with relief as the trunk closed and the dark influence lessened slightly. He walked around and got into the driver seat. Burying his head in his hands, he massaged his brow. Even being in its presence for a few minutes had put this much strain on him. Suddenly he understood how his brother could be affected the way he was.
He put these thoughts behind him as he heard the van drive off, and decided that he better start making his way too. Pulling the door closed behind him he, twisted the keys in the ignition and headed in the direction of Hearthome city.
Fyre was the first to awaken, only this time not because of the annoying drone of the creature which Kat had called Alarm clock. This time he woke up panting. He, a Vulpix, was overheated. He wriggled out of the clinging arm that Kat had wrapped around him, noting that Kat had gotten even closer during the night, if that was possible.
Her warm body pressing against him, combined with his own body heat and the fact that this time he had been under the covers rather than over, had him panting madly. His panting soon began to slow as his body temperature quickly returned to normal. He turned back towards Katrina, who was amazingly still sleeping.
He looked to the window, noting that the sun was now high in the sky. 'We need to get going.' He padded the short distance to Kat's side, blushing furiously as he noticed that his commotion had displaced the bed covers, allowing her full, semi-naked torso to be exposed.
'Last night was just a crazy flash in the pan, half-formed. A non-thought. I don't love her. Apart from anything else, she's a human.' He pondered briefly on why he needed to reinforce this thought in his own mind, before dismissing the notion completely.
He leaned in and nuzzled at her face with his nose. The way he would have woken up his sister if she were still with him. After a few unsuccessful attempts he decided to bring out the big guns and gave her a quick lick on the cheek. This brought about a reaction.
Katrina mumbled something in her sleep and turned over before coming to rest. Now slightly irritated Fyre tried again, this time allowing his tongue to linger for awhile before plucking up the courage to nip her ear with his teeth.
Katrina woke to an annoying pain in her ear. It wasn't enough to really hurt her, but it sure did the job it was intended for.
Deciding that it was worth one more try, and oblivious to her awakening, Fyre attempted one more lick. As his tongue travelled along her Cheek however, Kat attempted to announce herself and caught the lick full in the mouth, practically making it an open mouthed kiss.
It only lasted a second, as Fyre pulled away instantly. He didn't understand the full significance of what he had done, but he had seen humans do similar things before and it was obviously intimate. He only hoped that she wouldn't be disgusted or kick him out.
Instead she seemed amused by the perturbed and guilty look on his face, and she laughed with a blush on her face to match his own. "You really are cute, you know?" She reached under his chin and scritched the underside of his muzzle.
Fyre only closed his eyes, enjoying the treatment. "Thanks for the uh..." She reached up with her free hand, wiping off the slightly wet trail which he had left on her cheek. "Wake up call. You're better than any alarm clock that's for sure." He yipped at her amiably in response and she giggled again.
Kat waited for Fyre to hop off of the bed before throwing back the covers and swinging her legs over the side, standing up with a stretch and a yawn. Flicking her hair out of her eyes, she walked slowly to the bathroom door. Telling Fyre she would only be a minute, she slipped inside and quickly locked the door behind her.
She walked to the bathtub/shower setup in the corner of the room and leaned onto the rim of the tub. She thought of last night, the thoughts that had been in Fyre's head when she had broken his mental barrier. She wondered if it was at all possible.
A mental argument, back and forth. Part of him loved her, part of him hated her for making him call off the search. Still another part was unsure... And part of him hated himself for loving her.
Maybe it was just a natural male reaction. 'Yea that's it, a natural reaction to me being female.' But the more she thought about it the more impossible that seemed. True, she doubted that a pokémon's social pattern was the same as a human's, but that feeling of just liking being with her... The simple pleasure of knowing her that she had detected in his head. It was so much more intimate than just friendship.
Could it be that he had kissed her on purpose just then? Even just subconsciously? She couldn't decide. That was why she had decided to wear only her underclothes last night: to test the mental water so to speak. And what she had found... It was quite possible that this was more than just friendship.
The strangest thing was that the thought that so excited him elicited a thrill in her as well. She had never considered herself a pokephile and had never even thought like this until last night, but now... She was so confused. Eventually she decided to just get her shower over with. Maybe her head would clear somewhat if she woke up a little more.
Katrina sat staring into space, all too aware of Fyre's confused gaze. She didn't really feel like talking to him right now. The shower had not cleared her head as she had hoped, and if she got into a conversation who knows what she would blurt out?
They sat at a small corner table in the pokémon centre. Each pokémon centre offered a complimentary breakfast to those who rented a room, and Kat had managed to convince Fyre to wait for it rather than rush out on an empty stomach.
Before long, the waitress broke the awkward silence with a cheery, "Howdy, and what would we like this morning."
Kat considered the choices which were listed on a board on the far wall. "I'll have the scrambled eggs on toast, and Fyre..." She paused to consider him. "Bacon?" Fyre only continued his questioning stare. "You're kidding right? You've never tried bacon? Dear god. Yes, bacon for him please."
The waitress gave her a wary glance, but jotted the order down regardless and walked away. "You haven't lived Fyre," Kat continued, hoping beyond hope to talk about anything other than herself and her family.
"You promised to explain everything," Fyre Stated simply. Clearly she wasn't going to get off with it.
With a final sigh Katrina submitted. "Fine... What do you want to know?"
The questions ran through Fyre's head in no particular order, and he decided upon the simplest one. "Who's Gareth?"
"Gareth is my cousin. He must be... twenty-three now? Yeah twenty-three. He's one of the males in our family who is psychic... To an extent. He has psychic talent, but it's weak and undeveloped. If he trained maybe it could be more but... We don't train males. Next question."
"What is the heirloom you and Sabrina were talking about?"
"That... Is a long, long story. It'll have to wait till another time."
Slightly annoyed at her evasiveness he gave an irritated grunt. "Well why do you just call it the heirloom? Does it not have a name?"
"It has a name... or, it did. Its name was lost with time, or selectively. We're not sure, but for now it's referred to only as the heirloom or the relic. Besides which, most people who know about it believe that its name might be better left forgotten. Next."
"Fine, who's Darius?" His curiosity was sparked as she winced at the very mention of his name. He did not want to cause her any pain but this was too interesting to let pass.
"Darius..." She sighed again. "Darius is Gareth's younger brother... About nineteen or twenty now. He is another of the psychic males, only much stronger than most... Much, much stronger. Without training he could use telepathy by the age of six and telekinesis by nine. Some swear he could use attacks that even my sister has never managed by the time he was twelve."
"So? Isn't that a good thing?"
"No Fyre. It's a very bad thing. There's a reason we don't train the males to be psychic. There is... a darker side to the gift, a curse to the blessing. Males who do get the psychic ability... They aren't normal... Even by our standards. They change. It affects them all differently, depending on their level of psychic capacity. Gareth is hardly even psychic, it barely did anything to him. But Darius..."
She trailed off, Fyre could see how hard this was for her. "I'm sorry, we can talk about this some other time if you..."
"No. You need to hear this now; there should be no secrets between friends. Darius was so powerful, we all knew the change was going to hit him badly... Though we had no idea just how badly. There have been all kinds of problems with the male psychics in our family, ranging from slight headaches to full blown mania, and even psychopathic tendencies. But Darius... He really was something else."
The waitress returned with their order, shooting another wary glance at the trainer who appeared to be talking to her pokémon. Kat picked absently at her egg with her fork, while Fyre sniffed at the bacon suspiciously.
"We knew he was going to be badly affected from the start. He was always complaining about headaches and voices, even when he was little. But he was never a bad person. We always used to play with each other when we were younger. Occasionally though, he'd go off on a tangent, speaking about... The evils of humans in the world, how we were destroying everything with our arrogance and greed. Things that a ten year old shouldn't even have understood."
Fyre absently tested one of the strips laid on the plate before him. Chewing it, but hardly registering its flavor, too intent on listening to Katrina's tale.
"Anyway, as he got older he got worse. When he was thirteen he was hateful, abusive, violent and all around malevolent to just about everyone but me and his brother. He absolutely detested his parents for some reason. On occasion he even had conversations, arguments, with no one but himself. Still, his parents refused to send him somewhere for safe observance, as my parents suggested."
Finally Kat took a bite out of a slice of toast with some of the egg smeared over it. It probably would have tasted nice had she not been telling this story, but for now it was all she could think of.
"When he was fifteen, he snapped. Out of the blue. We thought he was heading for a fall... We had no idea. I'll always remember the last conversation I had with him. He was waxing lyrical about how the world had to be destroyed and made anew. That the only way forwards was to destroy and re-build. I had no idea what he was talking about. I was only thirteen at the time, but I knew something was definitely up. The last thing he said to me, the very last thing I ever heard him say was: "Life is just a game Katrina, and you have to choose which team you're on... Mine... or everyone else's."
Fyre had stopped chewing the strip of bacon and now it simply hung out of his mouth making him look faintly ridiculous. He willed her to continue and she gave him a sad smile.
"I said that I would always be on his side, no-matter what... and then... I never saw him again... Never heard from him until..." She inhaled deeply, deciding to get this part over with as quickly as possible. "Four years ago, Darius... Killed both of his parents. No warning, no explanation, no remorse. He... He used the relic to do it, and that's where it comes into the picture."
Fyre was stunned. Katrina descended into silence, unable to continue for a few minutes. Fyre hopped off the seat opposite her and moved to the one next to her. He rubbed into her side in an attempt to comfort her and she began to pet him subconsciously.
"It doesn't make sense," Kat continued softly, deep in thought.
"My sister always said everything happens for a reason." He knew it wasn't much comfort but he couldn't think of anything better to fill the gap.
"Your sister?" She looked down at him, still with that sad smile. "So you don't think so?"
"Well... Not really," he admitted.
"I wouldn't blame you... I don't either, not anymore. Everyone is just attempting to justify all the hurt and pain in the world. That's what all religion is about, justice. Whether you believe in heaven and hell, karma, reincarnation... Whatever. It's all to justify the fact that life is basically unfair, because of the promise that everyone will get what they deserve in the end. Sad really isn't it?"
Fyre grunted, attempting to be non-committal. "That's not really what I meant though," Katrina continued. "I mean that it doesn't make sense that he was even able to... His mother was one of the strongest psychics I have ever known. Darius was strong but she was stronger. There's no way he should have been able to..." She trailed off unable to finish.
"And even weirder," she picked up again. "He didn't run or resist arrest. He even just gave the heirloom back. Sabrina thinks that the heirloom has something to do with why he did it. She thinks it might... Enhance psychic power or something, but she can't study it. It does something to us... Even the females if they get close enough. That's why we left it with Darius until now."
"But if it affects you like you say, it can't be safe for you."
"Thanks for your concern, but it's kept in a protective casing. The lock is made with metal forged using dark energy, which restricts psychic powers, and to some extent the influence of the relic. As long as it's in there it can only really affect the super-sensitive males."
Fyre nodded slightly, trying to absorb all of this in turn. The food on the plates had gone cold by now, and Kat really didn't feel like sitting around moping any longer. She stood up with a smile, attempting to alleviate the solemn atmosphere. "Come on then, let's head out. We have to find your sister and get back to Hearthome city before tonight after all."
Fyre yipped an energetic agreement, glad to have the solemn atmosphere lifted somewhat. The pair left the centre, thanking nurse Joy for her hospitality on the way out. Fyre's tails wagged enthusiastically. He knew he would find his sister today, he could feel it.
Ashley yawned as she woke up, feeling uncharacteristically lazy and unenergetic. She lifted her head, looking left and right for her rescuer, standing up quickly as she couldn't find him and yelping loudly as she forgot about her injured paw.
Upon hearing the loud noise, Marcus stuck his head into the cave entrance. He had been keeping guard outside incase those Mightyena Ashley had spoken about returned. He focused on Ashley who was splayed on the ground, a pained expression etched on her muzzle.
He chuckled as he walked over to her, helping her up and watching her grimace as she attempted to put a little pressure onto the broken paw. "Forget about that?" he asked.
"Memory like a sieve." She smiled back. "What time is it?"
"I'm not too sure by human terms, but it's earlier than... midday I believe they call it. Why? Feeling hungry?"
"Not really." She felt a little guilty at taking his time and resources the way she was. "I just worry about my little brother."
"Of course you do." The Cubone was nothing if not comforting. "Look at it this way though. If he was raised alongside someone as smart as you, surely he can survive just as well."
The vixen blushed slightly at the compliment. "Maybe, but he tends to be slightly headstrong. He doesn't always think decisions through to their conclusion." She blushed harder as she realized that she had just accepted the compliment. 'I must seem so vain.'
"I'm sure he'll be just fine." The Cubone continued to comfort her. "Anyway I'm sure he wouldn't want you to worry. He's probably out looking for you as we speak."
She knew he was only attempting to calm her, but he wasn't helping in the slightest. 'If he's out looking for me what if we miss each other?' What if he runs into those Mightyena before he runs into us?' She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself.
"Can you walk?" He tilted his head as he asked. Ashley giggled slightly at the cute gesture.
"Of course, why?"
"Well, There isn't much food left. I was going to go foraging, but I didn't want to leave you here alone. Besides, I don't know which type of berries you like best."
She smiled at him as he said this. It had been so long since she had known anyone but her brother who would go out of their way for her like Marcus did. "Then let's go," she stated simply. "I need to wash the muck out of my fur anyway."
Cru growled deep in his throat as he came upon his sleeping pack-mate. He lifted a paw and brought it down hard on the back of the slumbering Mightyena's head. The lazy pokémon jolted to life with a yelp.
"Some lookout you are. Is it too much to ask for you to stay awake for three hours you dolt?"
"Sir, I am so, so sorry sir!" the startled pokémon blurted out. "I was just rest..."
"Save it, imbecile." The pokémon who had been given the morning shift instantly became quiet, remembering all too well what had happened to Able. "You're lucky," the alpha continued. "We spotted the runt leaving the cave with a Cubone not two minutes ago."
"A Cubone sir? We've been waiting all night because of a Cubone?"
"If you have a problem with that, you know you could always tell me." Cru allowed menace to leak into the sentence slowly, keeping his tone low but still managing to come off as threatening.
"No sir, no problem at all sir."
"Good, now let's go."
"Go sir? You mean we're finally calling this off?"
"No simpleton. You and I are going to wait for them in the Cubone's little hidey hole. The others are hiding around. Cubone or not, an ambush will save us a lot of energy. We wait until they come back and then we surround them clear?"
The lookout lowered his head submissively and nodded. Mutinous thoughts ran through his head, but Cru was the strongest of the pack. Pack law was quite clear; the strongest was always the leader, no exceptions. That was unless the leader decided to abandon his duty and tried to run. In that case the pack's duty was to kill the ex-alpha and choose a new one.
Cru stalked to the cave entrance and walked inside. The scout followed him, glancing about warily all the while.
The pair had been driving for hours on end. It was now almost eleven o'clock, and the sun had risen on another cloudless, but freezing cold day. The armored van finally slowed to a halt at the edge of a bridge.
The driver cursed his luck as he saw the caution signs. The bridge was out for servicing and the quickest way from here to Veilstone was the off road track that ran right around Mt.Coronet.
That would add a few hours to their journey. The driver let out a slight sigh, deciding that this was a good time to satisfy his curiosity. He reached into a pocket taking out the letter which the client had given to him. He fiddled with the seal, finally breaking it with a triumphant cheer.
He peered at the copperplate handwriting, finding it difficult to read. Figuring it out slowly, he made his way along the lines of text.
'Regarding the transfer of inmate D4-R1-U5:
Do not allow the inmate to speak to, or otherwise interact with, other inmates. He is to be placed in the specially requested cell, built using metal forged with dark energy. He is to be fed only via the one way valve system set up in his cell. Clothing may also be provided to him in this manner. He is not to be allowed to exit his cell under any circumstance.
We trust that professionalism will be applied in upholding and enforcing these regulations.'
That was it. No thank you to the orderlies, no mention of things like favourite foods, or activities... not even a name. It was like they didn't care at all. Still, it was not his place to judge. The driver gave an exasperated sigh as he finally heard the music blaring from his companions earphones stop.
"About time, do you know how boring it is driving without someone to... are you okay?"
The man was pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand and wore a grimace as if in pain. "Will you shut that guy up?"
"Which guy?" The driver was confused. "There's no one here but us."
"No, the guy in the back! He's been screaming for ages."
"You're kidding right?" The driver shot his hired muscle a wary look. "He hasn't said a word."
"You need your ears checked out. I can hear him over my goddamn music. It's giving me a freaking headache!"
"I think you're the one who needs his ears checked out. What exactly is he screaming?"
"He just keeps on repeating, 'It's almost time for the game to begin.' What do you think he means?"
"Who knows?" The driver decided to humour his companion for now. "Crazy folk say all kinds of things."
The man beside him simply nodded, and remained silent as he watched the driver pull onto the off road path that they were now forced to follow.
Gareth let out a long breath as he approached Hearthome city. From what Sabrina had told him on the phone earlier, he didn't expect Katrina to be in the centre until later tonight, if she was even here today. That meant he'd have to tote the heirloom as well as the package which Sabrina had sent, possibly until tomorrow.
Butterflies still circulated his stomach as he thought about Darius' transport. It just wasn't secure enough. He had wanted a police escort, but he knew as well as anyone else in his family that police would be useless if Darius escaped... Almost everything would be useless if he escaped.
A van made of the special metal used to dampen psychic ability was out of the question. It would take too long, not to mention the financial costs... No, in retrospect sedation was the only solution. They had sedated him as much as possible without possibly killing him, and just had to pray he didn't wake up early. 'If he does, God knows what might happen.'
Fyre and Kat meandered slowly along the beach front. The tide was now well out and so; much more of the beach was exposed than had been last night. There were a number of people also walking around, though they were apparently not trainers.
Having spoken to a couple of them, Kat had managed to work out that the passing of the tide left many exposed gems and treasures along the beach front and so collectors came most mornings in an attempt to make a find.
The pair made their way around the gang of treasure hunting humans and towards the almost completely unpopulated (aside from a few Wingull here and there,) east end of the beach.
The trek across the beach alone took about three quarters of an hour, but it felt like much less. Conversation helped to make the time pass quicker and distract Fyre from worrying about his sister.
The treasure hunters had not been kidding. At this end of the beach, which the scavengers had not yet reached, there were a number of gemstones and various other semi-valuable items.
Katrina had to shout at Fyre to stop as he nearly trod on a firestone. She had to explain the rare stone and what it would do to him. He seemed fairly excited about the idea of evolution. Something about becoming a strong Ninetales like his parents excited him, but he agreed that she did the right thing in stopping him.
Kat pocketed the stone, knowing that it would likely come in handy during her training career. Or otherwise be worth some money at least. It did not take them long in the end to clear the sandy beach and climb onto a large grassy knoll.
"Can you pick up any scent?" Katrina noticed Fyre sniffing at the ground with a perplexed look.
"I think so... It's mixed in with the stink of those Mightyena, and some other pokémon besides."
"Well don't worry." She flashed him a confident smile. "If she survived this long there's no way she'd give up now." She was only slightly less confident in her own head. The walk here had taken longer than she had expected. It was mid-afternoon and they were still a long way from Hearthome city. Still, she refused to call off the search again. Gareth would just have to wait.
Fyre returned her smile eagerly, his tails beginning to wag slowly, excitedly. He found it hard not to trust in everything she said. If she said Ashley was okay then that was the truth, no doubt in his mind.
"The scent is still almost half a day old though, we have to keep going." Kat nodded, acknowledging the statement, and walked towards the bridge that forded a nearby river, seeing it as the only way Ashley could have gone from the beach. "Kat..." She turned to address him. "Thanks... for believing. I meant what I said yesterday, I-I couldn't do this without you."
Katrina felt slightly awkward as Fyre finished his sentence, and the silence following it lasted longer than it should have. Finally, she allowed a smile to cross her face, and the awkwardness was lessened dramatically. "Fyre, you know as well as I do that without me you wouldn't have had to stop at the pokémon centre last night. You'd probably already have found your sister."
Fyre shook his head. "No... Without you I'd still be outside of Hearthome... Waiting for her and scavenging food."
Kat attempted to come up with a counter but she couldn't really deny the truth in the statement. "Well... Anyway," she deflected. "You should probably tell me what moves you can actually do. So that I don't look dumb if we run into a trainer while we search for my first pokémon."
Fyre blushed slightly, apparently ashamed. "I can only use... Well my trainer used to describe them as 'pussy moves.' most of the time."
"Can you name the individual moves?" They began walking towards the bridge as they spoke.
"Well... Ember, Iron tail and Dark pulse are the ones my trainer used most. I have others but they aren't very powerful."
"They still shouldn't be ignored. What about Fire blast or Flamethrower?"
Fyre's blush deepened. "No... My trainer was trying to teach me Flamethrower for a few weeks before he... well... He got really frustrated when I couldn't do it."
Kat wore a disgusted look as he reminded her of his old trainer and how he had treated the Vulpix. "Well no wonder you couldn't learn it. With the way he treated you I'm surprised you know Iron tail."
"Why? Isn't that how you train a pokémon?" Fyre asked, knowing that his trainer had treated him wrong but believing that it was simply how humans trained pokémon to use new moves.
"No!" Kat looked horrified. "I'm not sure how your old trainer thought he could get strong the way he used you. A pokémon can only become strong if it has a good trainer, and that means treating pokémon with the kindness, patience and respect they deserve."
"If that's what it takes to be a good trainer then you're going to be the best in the whole region." Kat blushed slightly at the compliment.
"Well that's not all it takes," She put emphasis on the "all" to get her point across. "It takes a lot of training, dedication and commitment too, but in the end you get paid back ten times over." She sounded enthusiastic and she finished with a far off look and a flourish in her tone that made Fyre realise just how much she wanted this.
They had almost reached the bridge by now, and Ashley's scent was quickly becoming stronger. A long row of bushes full of berries could be seen across the small footbridge in the distance. Behind them a cliff rose out of the ground in a slight overhang. A largish cave could be discerned from this distance, and the wind carried a foul smell from its interior... The smell of Mightyena.
Out of sight of the river and the cave Ashley and Marcus sat in the middle of a small forest of berry bushes, discussing their next move. Marcus held a sizeable amount of berries in his arms and Ashley had bathed somewhat, removing most of the sand and dirt from her fur.
The pair decided that, since Marcus couldn't carry any more, they should head back to the cave and dump their payload. On the way back Ashley became playful, pushing into him, and they began to wrestle, Marcus taking special care not to harm her foot.
Suddenly Ashley stopped frolicking and stood still, her ears pivoting backwards to catch noise behind her easier. Marcus took the hint and stood still also, raising his head and sniffing for any intruder on the territory.
At first it was indistinct over the smell of the forest, but the direction of the wind soon took the scent to them. To Marcus the smell was unrecognisable, but Ashley recognised it instantly and her ears flattened. The Mightyena were back, and they were nearby.
Three of the seven remaining members of Cru's pack hid in the trees nearby, watching the two pokémon as they made their way slowly, warily to the cave.
"We should chase them!" one of their number maintained. "Think of how pleased Cru would be if we took the runt and the Cubone to him."
"And if they got away? Cru would kill us... Literally. I say we stick to the plan and wait for them to get closer to the cave. It'll be much easier if we surround them," Another argued.
Normally this kind of dispute would rage on, that is until the animosity grew to the point where they could no longer stand each other and a fight was called to decide the winner. This time however they had Cru's second in command with them, and in the absence of the alpha they could turn to him for a deciding vote.
The beta male let a slight grin cross his muzzle as he came to a decision. "Cru thinks we're imbeciles, so today we prove him wrong. She has a broken leg and only a Cubone with her for protection, how hard can it be to take them down?" He looked to the Mightyena to his left, "You come with me, we're chasing the runt. You," he turned to his right. "You make sure that Cubone keeps his muzzle out of this. Clear?"
Both Mightyena nodded to their respective tasks, and they began snarling in anticipation. Without warning the beta burst from the trees ahead of the two lesser males, attempting to get as close to the pair as possible without alerting them. The two pokémon were on high alert however, and noticed the Mightyena almost as soon as they broke from cover.
The Cubone shouted for Ashley to run and she complied instantly, turning and limping away as fast as possible. Marcus on the other hand dropped the berries he had been carrying and turned to face the trio, making himself appear to be as much of a threat as possible. The first two Mightyena ignored him completely however, and ran past quicker than he could register.
As he half turned to follow however, the third pounced him, pinning him to the ground and leaning in close, allowing his rancid breath to run over the dazed Cubone. "Don't play the hero, and your death will be painless."
Regaining his faculties quickly the Cubone used as much strength as he could muster in one arm, pinned as he was, to hurl his club at the mutt. He missed by half an inch, and the Mightyena mocked him with a toothy smile. "Missed me."
"That's the beauty of Bonemerang," the Cubone grunted as the air was pressed out of him by the heavy Mightyena. "I get two shots." He grinned with satisfaction as a dull thud was heard, and the expression on the mutt's face changed from one of self-satisfaction to one of surprise, as the bone club connected with the back of its head.
Marcus felt his breath return as the beast slumped off of him, unconscious. He got up and attempted to chase the fleeing Mightyena and their quarry, picking up his bone club on the way.
Ahead of him the Mightyena were gaining on Ashley fast. She could only manage a weak limping run and they caught her easily. The lead Mightyena swiped at her, and she was sent cart wheeling out of the forest into the clearing which surrounded the cave.
Cru's second in command was about to follow, when the towering shadow of his leader fell over him. He stopped in his tracks, and turned to face the furious alpha.
"What the hell are you doing?" Cru howled in rage.
The beta fell back slightly, cowering in fear before Cru's wrath. The Vulpix in the clearing had gotten to her feet again and was limping away slowly. Cru allowed his gaze to switch between the two quickly. Finally deciding which one to tear apart first, he snarled at his pack to follow and gave chase once more.
Ashley was now wincing with each step. Adding to the pain of her broken limb she now had three ragged, deep cuts from that Mightyena's claw, which were bleeding profusely. Fate had played her a cruel hand. After meeting Marcus and getting her hopes up, it had to end like... This?" Her faith died, no God could allow this to happen.
"Ashley?" The shout was clear as day. Maybe she was delirious from the pain but it sounded like... "Ashley!" She turned to the sound and her heart did somersaults. Fyre stood not far away, on the footbridge that forded the river next to a... A human?
Her confusion didn't last long. It was replaced by a burning pain in her side as a second swipe connected with her other side, sending her sprawling across the ground, coming to rest a few feet from Fyre and the startled looking human.
Fyre felt his rage build as he stepped off the bridge attempting to approach his sister. The Mightyena were quicker though and reached her form well in advance. He rushed at them despite Katrina's various calls. This was his sister; he was going to save her no matter what.
The alpha noticed him first and turned away from Ashley to address him. "What have we here? If it isn't the runt's cowardly little brother, who ran off and left her to die." He smiled as the diminutive pokémon snarled at him, knowing he'd hit a nerve. "Temper, temper... I see you brought reinforcements," his gaze shifted to the human standing nearby. "She'll make a good starter, while you and your sister provide the main course."
"It'll be a lot of fun, ripping your throat out," Fyre responded in a threatening growl.
"Heh, you have fight in you... I like that. Such a shame that minds as smart and resourceful as yours and your sister's should be wasted on prey rather than replacing these imbeciles."
The alpha flicked his head at two of his companions. "Cover him, I want him alive to see what we do to his sister." The pair turned to deal with the intruder, but Fyre rushed past them intent on stopping the alpha. The two Mightyena turned to follow but found themselves stopped by some unseen force.
"Hurry Fyre!" He heard Katrina plead. He turned to see her standing in an awkward stance with her arms outstretched as if holding something back. He noticed the two Mightyena seemingly frozen to the spot, but still attempting to move. Katrina's brow was furrowed with concentration as she held the pair back psychically. He'd need to be quick in saving his sister. But he had no real plan of action.
This was bad, noticing that their pack-mates were held back two more of the pack members turned to face him. He would not run away, not this time, but how could he win? Even as he pondered his first move the alpha and the final remaining pack member not fighting him or Katrina approached the downed Ashley.
As they reached the weakened pokémon, Cru's second in command felt something smack the back of his head hard. He stood dazed for a second before turning around. The Cubone from before stood defiantly before him in a direct challenge. The beta couldn't allow such insolence from such a diminutive pokémon and broke away from the leader, leaving him to handle the wounded Vulpix.
Fyre backed up slightly as the pair approached, snarling and baring their fangs. He couldn't decide what to do, which move to use first or even which pokémon to use it on. He backed away further to buy himself time, almost backing into the snarling Mightyena.
"Fyre, use Iron tail on the one on the right and run around him while he's reeling." He turned to see Kat, now struggling to hold the two Mightyena in place, urging him to follow her advice. Suddenly he realised wasn't fighting just for his life, or even for Ashley, now he was fighting for her too. He wanted to prove how strong he was, to show her that he was not the weakling she had seen crying over his lost sister. He wanted her to be proud.
He followed her orders perfectly. He felt his tails harden and solidify, and he turned with a flourish, allowing the attack to connect with the side of the leading Mightyena's face. A satisfying crack could be heard as the pokémon fell to the side dazed. Fyre followed through by running round the side of the temporarily harmless Mightyena as Kat had told him to.
Knowing that he had proved his abilities to Kat gave Fyre a strange sense of satisfaction. This was unlike any time he had fought for his trainer. Maybe because he wasn't fighting for Kat, he was fighting with Kat. A snarl as the two pokémon turned to face him once more snapped him back to reality. This wasn't over yet.
Marcus glanced quickly between the Mightyena and the new Vulpix. A human could rarely tell pokémon apart from each other, but to the Cubone the resemblance was immediately apparent. 'So this must be the brother.' He shook himself out of the thought and reverted purely to instinct as the Mightyena pounced at him and he narrowly avoided the attack.
Ashley felt yet another stab of pain as the alpha took another swipe; he was just playing with her now. 'Please Fyre, just get out of here.' She mentally urged, physically unable to make a sound, having the air knocked out of her. She felt something hot and sticky run into one of her eyes and closed it. This was clearly how it ended, she could only hope it was not how Fyre ended too.
One of the Mightyena broke from Katrina's psychic grip and turned snarling at her. It charged baring it's fangs once more. Reacting on instinct Kat threw up a barrier around herself. The wolf-like pokémon yelped as the invisible wall interrupted it's headlong charge, sending it to ground in a daze.
Regaining it's grip on the world the Mightyena shook it's head in confusion. "No prey is worth this sir, no prey." It whimpered as it turned tail and fled. The mixture of inconceivably powerful humans and the alpha's disregard for the packs wellbeing finally becoming too much. Kat allowed the other Mightyena to get up too and it followed it's pack-mate in a hasty retreat. Kat breathed out heavily and wiped her forehead, clearing some of the sweat which had gathered there.
The alpha caught movement out of the corner of his eye, distracting him from the killer blow. "Bloody cowards!" He howled after the retreating duo. The two fighting Fyre were trying their best, and under normal circumstances might have won. Fyre, however, was pumped with renewed vigour. He would show Kat just how strong he was. She would be proud of him!
The Mightyena too were weakened. Lack of any food other than morsels of berries and increasing dissent towards the alpha had left morale on the floor.
Now that she was no longer concentrating on keeping the Mightyena back, Kat could focus on directing Fyre. Mostly this consisted of simple commands such as, "Dodge, down, left, right." but nevertheless this felt like it was almost a real battle. Her blood boiled, her stomach did somersaults. She was so proud of Fyre, a pokémon that wasn't even her own.
"Okay Fyre, now Ember!" She called out, seeing a gap in the action.
Fyre prepared the strongest Ember he had ever attempted, for her he would take this Mightyena down in one. He knew the goal was unrealistic with an Ember attack, but felt in his heart that it could be achieved. He took a deep breath in, opened his mouth and let loose a torrent of flame which caught the startled Mightyena square in the chest.
The stream of fire stopped as Fyre closed his mouth. The Mightyena was sent flying onto it's back and began rolling around, attempting to put out the flame and yelping. Both Fyre and the remaining Mightyena stopped in disbelief.
"That wasn't an Ember, that was Flamethrower! Great job Fyre!" Katrina yelled the obvious from the sidelines.
The Mightyena finally succeeded in putting out the flame and stood up shakily. Shooting glances between Fyre and his alpha, he finally decided which one was the more dangerous of the two and followed the other two in their flight.
The remaining Mightyena shook his head with a whimper, clearly deciding that he wouldn't fight Fyre alone and followed his pack-mate out of the clearing. Cru watched all of this with increasing anger, finally letting out a deep snarl as his numbers were reduced to him and his second, who was still tussling with the Cubone.
"Fine!" Cru barked sharply. "It's just you and me runt!" He turned to face the small fox pokémon, with a grimace that would cause a Gengar to shiver in fear.
Fyre continued to stare the Mightyena down, determined to prove himself to his sister, and more importantly, to Kat. Ashley watched, semi-conscious as the action unfolded. 'Whoever that human is, I'm sure Fyre will be happy with her. The flicker of hope in her had been re-ignited as Fyre and the human girl had taken the pack down to size.
Katrina grimaced as she saw an obvious false swipe of the alpha's paw come across. From his position Fyre could not see the intent of the move and dodged, only to be struck as the paw returned, catching him across the muzzle.
Normally this type of move wouldn't do as much damage as it did, but Fyre was tired and this was the alpha. Bigger and stronger than most Mightyena. The attack sent him cart wheeling across the clearing to come to rest near the wrestling Cubone.
The beta male finally gained superiority and pinned the Marcus to the ground with a thud. He used his paw to push the Cubone's head upwards, exposing his vulnerable neck and forcing him to watch the alpha's slow approach.
"Now we get to watch your friends get torn apart," the beta hissed, with obvious glee.
Katrina looked desperately between the alpha, Fyre, and the now unconscious Ashley with growing alarm. She willed Fyre to move. He attempted to rise but slumped back down in defeat.
She attempted to form another barrier around him but she felt light headed, she just couldn't manage another. She looked around desperately for anything that could help. A stick, a pebble, a stone... 'A stone!' She suddenly remembered something that could help, something that could help immensely.
Digging through her pockets frantically, her hand finally clasped the rugged firestone she had picked up earlier. Removing it from her pocket she looked at the tiny stone as if it were the very elixir of life... Which of course in this case, it very well could be.
Her hand clutched the stone tight once again as she looked back to Fyre. The alpha was nearly upon him. 'No time to lose then.' "Fyre!" The dazed Vulpix raised his head slightly, weakly. "Catch!" She hurled the stone in a powerful over arm throw. Closing her eyes and silently willing it to where she wanted it to land.
Fyre watched weakly as Kat threw a small, indistinct object at him. The object caught the glare of the afternoon sun and caused a radiant red glow. Suddenly, he knew what the object was and what Katrina intended.
The stone landed less than a couple of inches from him, and the alpha stopped for a second, eyeing the stone from a short distance suspiciously. Realising what it was the alpha rushed forward, but not quite fast enough as Fyre reached out a weak paw, allowing it to come to rest on the shining surface of the stone.
Kat averted her eyes as a brilliant white light flashed too bright for her to keep them focused on the scene, even closed. The light dimmed slightly, allowing her to re-focus and watch as the light, which now only covered Fyre, blocking him from sight, fluctuated and changed.
Fyre felt the greatest mix of pleasure and pain as the change overtook his whole body. His mind flew while his stomach plunged. His body was warped as his soul was made beauteous. His sins were chained as his virtues were set free.
The light dimmed further and finally disappeared as Fyre was remade. Katrina gasped as she saw the change that had taken place. The first thing she noticed was just how big he had gotten. He was now almost as big as the alpha, even sitting as he was. Next she noticed his flowing white fur which had replaced his old copper coat. It was pure snow, not a single imperfection in its entirety.
The tuft of head fur that adorned every Ninetales seemed to sit perfectly still, even in the slight wind which had picked up. And his eyes! They were now a deep, angry, burning red. And of course the trademark nine tails that made...well... a Ninetales. Still, after all of this it was clearly Fyre.
Fyre scanned himself over. He couldn't see much of his new body from this position, but he looked into the alpha's eyes once more, noticing how much more on par they were now. The most obvious change for him was the feeling of power. He felt so strong now, strong enough to rip this Mightyena to shreds for what he had done, and that was just what he intended to do.
Marcus could feel the beta above him physically quivering, and the sudden removal of pressure as the final pack member fled the scene, leaving only their leader.
Deciding that with no support the fight was over anyway, the alpha began to run wordlessly.
"Oh no you don't." With his new longer and more powerful legs Fyre caught up to the fleeing pokémon and pounced him, bringing him to ground. He snarled in the alpha's face, delighting in the fear which made its presence known there briefly.
"No Fyre," Katrina called from behind him. Knowing exactly what was going through his mind.
"Every dog has his day..." Fyre brought his head to the pinned Mightyena's ear.
"Fyre, no!" Katrina attempted again, her hand going to her belt as she realised he wasn't going to stop.
"...And today's the day, that I'm the dog!" Fyre positioned his jaws around the alpha's neck. The alpha remained steadfast, unwilling to show any weakness as he waited for the end. Fyre began to snap his jaws shut, but felt them close on thin air. He collapsed forward as the Mightyena that he had been leaning on appeared to simply blink out of existence.
Looking beside him, he could see a closed pokéball rotating back and forth as it attempted to contain the alpha. He snarled at Katrina who came to retrieve the ball, as it made the clicking sound which announced the capture of the pokémon.
"I could have had him!" He growled.
"You would have killed him, and then how would your sister think of you? How would I think of you?"
Fyre looked away sadly. "I just wanted you to be proud."
He was shocked as he felt Katrina's arms wrap around his neck in a tight hug. "Fyre, you saved your sister and helped me capture my first pokémon, as well as evolving and mastering Flamethrower! I couldn't be more proud of you."
Fyre's heart leapt to his throat as he heard the words he had wanted to hear, but then he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. "No, I haven't saved my sister yet!" He broke from the hug, rushing to his sister's side. Blood leaked from a shallow wound in her forehead and gushed from much deeper ones along her body. She was in a horrible state.
"Oh God, oh God!" He pleaded to no one in particular. "Please be alright Ashley, please be OK... Please hang on."
Fyre watched from afar as the Hearthome city Nurse Joy spoke to Katrina with a grim look on her face. Katrina nodded slowly to whatever she was saying, and turned to him as the Nurse walked back into the room which she had taken Ashley into a couple of hours ago.
He winced as he saw the blood covering Kat's clothes, not her own, but Ashley's. Kat had picked up his sister and ran with her all the way back to Hearthome to get to the pokémon centre. The blood, too much blood for a small pokémon to safely lose, coated Kat and earned her many stares and funny looks from the other patrons.
"She says she can't be sure, but she thinks Ashley'll pull through." She wished she could give him more hope. That was the amazing thing about pokémon centres. They couldn't tell you whether or not a pokémon would survive, but if it did it would be healed almost fully within a day or two.
Fyre continued to stare at her emotionlessly. "Come on," She continued. "I've booked a room and I really need a change of clothes."
Fyre followed her slowly, glancing one last time at the door which Ashley was behind. Silently cursing himself, and Katrina, and everyone else in the world.
Once inside the room Kat removed her bloodied clothes, stripping once more to her underclothes and slumping down on the bed with an exasperated sigh. Fyre only watched her silently. He couldn't even contemplate his possible love for her now, his entire mind was taken up only by thoughts of revenge, and his sisters well being.
Deciding that he needed something to focus fully on, even if it was his sister, Kat rose to a sitting position. "Come on let's try again."
Fyre knew what she meant. He wasn't really in the mood for it but he couldn't deny her. He closed his eyes and began to focus on his mental portrait of his sister. This time though her form was defiled by cuts and scars that ran deep. He winced once more at the image, but focused on it nonetheless.
He opened his ruby eyes and looked at Kat, keeping the image strong in his mind. He could see the strain on Kat's face as she attempted to find a way around the mental barrier. Her brow furrowed in concentration. "You're getting really good at this." She searched for a few minutes more. "No, I don't think I... Wait!"
A grin spread across her features as she found a hole in the psychic wall and bulldozed through it into his thoughts and memories. He could have cared less what she discovered at this point. If she found that he loved her and kicked him out then at least it would solve the question of whether he loved her or not.
As he felt her gain entrance to his deeper thoughts however, there was a knock at the door, breaking Katrina's concentration. "Miss Katrina, ma'am, there wasn't time to say before, but a gentleman requests your audience."
"Did he give a name?" Katrina asked as she opened the door slightly.
"He called himself Gareth miss." She curtsied and told her where to meet him "If she so wished."
As the nurse departed Kat turned back to Fyre with a sigh. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls," she said with a faint smile. "Will you be okay without me?" Fyre nodded, and she dressed hurriedly in a new set of clothes from her bag. She left the room leaving the door slightly ajar, knowing that Fyre could take care of himself.
As he heard her footsteps disappear down the hall he cursed himself. 'Why did you let her talk you into resting for the night?' Suddenly his fragile mind changed tact. 'No it's her fault, the selfish bitch made you wait.' He instantly berated himself for using the derogatory term against the woman who had helped him so much, who he could very well love.
His self-torment ended as everything suddenly became clear. He knew who was to blame. He stood upright, knowing that he'd have to be strong for what he was going to do. He slipped through the open door and out into the street, avoiding humans as best as he could. His new, larger form made this harder, but he was nothing if not built for stealth and he managed to move through the city relatively unseen.
Marcus stood looking worriedly into the distance. After the battle the human female had picked Ashley up in her arms and just ran off. He felt that she would be safe with her brother. Still a part of him couldn't help but worry. Still another, much more selfish part of him, bemoaned being alone once again.
Katrina stopped briefly as she saw the silhouette of her much older cousin. He was leaning against the railing of the poke mart, puffing on one of his cigarettes. She approached and tapped him on the shoulder. She had to dodge as he whirled faster than seemed humanly possible and, Kat only just managed to stop herself from falling.
"Oh, Kat... I'm so sorry," Gareth said quickly. "I'm just a little... High strung right now." Katrina nodded and embraced him in a hug.
"That's perfectly understandable considering the circumstances," she cooed soothingly.
The hug was broken and Gareth returned to looking her in the eyes. Serious paranoia etched into his every feature. "You've grown so much since... Anyway I'm sorry I can't stay and chat for long but I have to get back to Kanto before Sabrina bites my head off. What's this I hear about you having a Vulpix now?"
"He's a Ninetales now... And I don't really own him."
"Oh so you finally found a life partner eh?" The fear apparently had not taken the natural joker out of the man. "I always knew you'd turn out to be a pokephile, we always said that you were strange even by our family's standards." His green eyes were dull and listless with stress and his usually short brown hair now hung closer to his shoulders. It was clear that he was out of sorts. He had aged too... Much faster than he should have.
Kat only blushed as he got far too close to the possible truth for her liking. Gareth motioned towards the store, saying that he'd rather conduct business indoors, and she followed him into the shop.
They spent time browsing the items and chatting about nothing important for a small while, Kat even bought a couple of pokéballs like she had intended to the day she had met Fyre. Finally, and with a slight sigh Gareth addressed Kat seriously once more.
"Kat, listen..." He took the long case which he had somehow managed to hide about his person out from its hiding place and presented it to her. Its very presence made her shiver. The malice contained within the case was tangible, even from here.
"Take it, I don't know how long I can keep it without going completely mad. Take it please." The pain in his voice was clear, and she took the case without hesitation. She winced as the presence within the case made itself known in her mind.
"Take this too, Sabrina sent it for you." He handed her a brown package with two noticeable, smallish lumps where objects lay. Placing the case at her feet, Kat tore the top off of the package and slid the two items out onto her free hand.
The two objects were only just able to fit on her palm together if she balanced the items perfectly. Discarding the envelope to the floor she moved one object to her now free hand and studied them both with growing excitement. In her left hand was a cell phone, the newest model. It must have cost a small fortune. In her right, a pokédex.
"Coolio!" A pokédex would allow her to identify pokémon easier. It would record the data of any pokémon she caught, and most importantly it would register her as a true and legal trainer.
She launched herself into a hug with Gareth, who returned the hug gently. "Remember to thank your sister for this." Katrina nodded as the hug was once again broken. As Gareth broke away he rubbed his forehead with a grimace. "On second thought, I'm going to stay here for the night. I think I'll leave early tomorrow morning. I'll see you tomorrow." She watched him leave slowly.
As he reached the door he turned, remembering something. He reached up and pulled a small item on a string from around his neck. "I nearly forgot, take this too." He held out his hand and Katrina accepted the item. It was a small key on a bedraggled looking piece of string. She looked at the key briefly, noting the inscription. Mentis Super Totus - Mind over all, the family motto.
She looked to Gareth, noting the look in his eyes, his expression alone letting her know that this was the key to the case. She slipped the key around her neck and he nodded, apparently pleased. He wordlessly turned and left properly this time, leaving her with only her thoughts for company.
She worried over how the relic might have affected his already fragile mind state. It had taken so long to get him through therapy. She hated to think how this might be hurting him. With a sigh she picked up the case at her feet, placing her new phone and pokédex in safe pockets as she left the store and headed for the pokémon centre.
As she reached the room she could sense that something was wrong. Peeking around the door at the empty room, her first reaction was that Fyre may just have gone to stretch his legs. Something in her gut, call it intuition or whatever you want, told her that it was something else entirely.
She psychically scanned the area for his unique aura, but it was nowhere in the pokémon centre. Dumping the relic case on the bed she walked out of the room once more, locking the door behind her this time as she went in search of her missing friend.
Fyre padded slowly towards the entrance to the cathedral. The massive twin doors were swung open in greeting to all. A peaceful hymn could be heard emanating from within the great building. He entered slowly, taking care not to be noticed.
He hid at the back of the hall patiently, behind a row of the wooden seats, as the man at the head of the congregation blessed them all and the large gathering of humans began to slowly file out. Finally the man who had lead the congregation blew out the candles by the pulpit and left by a side door.
Fyre emerged from his hiding place cautiously. Approaching the pulpit with a bowed head. Not out of respect but merely because it seemed proper. Without the sun's rays to invade the room through the stained glass windows the huge room seemed dull, grey and lifeless.
Finally coming upon the pulpit with its ominous wooden cross, Fyre allowed his head to raise, his eyes falling on the golden painted cross. Up close he could make out the small details. The ancient paint which decorated the cross was chipped and broken with time. The cross was simply falling apart and a musky, damp smell permeated the air surrounding it.
He noticed an inscription in the wood, carved into the crossbar. It was too eaten by rot to be read, even if he had known the human script. He looked at the worthless gesture of faith. Somehow it brought him pleasure to know that it was prone to rot and decay like everything else.
The people who prayed beneath this cross must have been worthless and desperate. Trying to make their lives better by praying to a cold, heartless, vain and most likely non-existent God. He heard footsteps approach but it was too late to hide now, he simply sat in silence as the reverend approached.
"A shame isn't it? That a once beautiful and sanctified thing like that cross could come to be the way it is now. A mere shadow of what it was. It used to be magnificent, now it's unreadable and fit for no-one but the bug types." The Ninetales allowed himself to look up into the old man's eyes. They were kind eyes. 'Such a shame everything you believe is a load of crap.'
The reverend followed Fyre's gaze to the inscription in the wood. "Ahh... Yes such an inspiring message this wood once held. Do you know what it said?" He paused as if expecting an answer. Receiving none he continued with a sigh. "No, I suppose you wouldn't. Although I've heard stories of Ninetales living well in excess of a thousand years."
He took another pause and seemed to make his mind up about something. "The inscription once read: "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed." A truer sentiment was never spoken, don't you agree?" Once again he paused as if waiting for a response. Eventually he got up, patting the silent pokémon on the head before turning and exiting the cathedral slowly, blowing out the candles which dimly lit the building as he went.
Fyre waited until the reverend had left before moving. He moved closer to the cross, looking up at it from its base. From here it was quite large. About double his height if he were to stand on his hind legs, and quite thick too. It was made of old, heavy, strong wood and would not break easily, which explained why it had lasted so long.
He thought back to the inscription and spat, a slight spark coming out of his mouth and landing on the floor. He smothered the spark with a paw, enjoying its brief warmth on his paw pad. He looked back to the cross with a sneer. "Blessed? What a joke! My sister suffered for everything in her life and how is she blessed? She's laying near-to-death on a pokémon centre bed, that's how!"
He cast his head to the ceiling as if some celestial being would bring him the answer. "Is that what faith is to you? Is it some kind of joke? My sister believed in you her whole life, but she almost died while I slept and ate and made friends? Do you even understand the meaning of justice?"
He stopped for a second, realising that as his anger had grown he had begun to spit small flames here and there absent-mindedly. "You know, Katrina was right..." He started off calm, but his anger soon rose to the fore again. "...Religion is just the way fools justify everything that is unfair. They follow you, God... Arceus... Whatever the hell your name is, because they have no mind and just want some dream. Some promise of hope and justice to hold onto, and you just throw their devotion back at them don't you? You like our pain don't you?"
He chuckled. It was a hollow sound, and it reverberated around the empty hall. As his own voice reached his ears he heard for the first time how different he sounded. So much more masculine than he had sounded before, but so much more tuneful at the same time, replacing the high pitched irritating yip he used to produce.
Fyre took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself... It didn't work. "All I asked was for you to protect my sister while I couldn't. Was that so much to ask? Was that so hard? Are you so high and mighty, so omnipotent that you can't even spare a second of your time to save someone who devoted themselves to you? And yet you quite happily allowed those Mightyena to live. Are you that blind?"
He had begun to spit fire once more. A couple of the sparks caught on the wood of the cross. This time he didn't attempt to put them out. He only watched with interest as the sparks grew in intensity. He sat for a long time just watching as the sparks grew into flames. And the individual flames merged into a fire.
He grinned, a wide, manic grin, as the fire grew and became ferocious, burning through the cross with a sinister crackling sound. "Isn't it just poetic justice...?" He spoke to the burning cross as if it were the great being himself. "That we two, who failed to protect my sister, should die together? I think it's beautiful."
He simply sat and admired the light and bathed in the heat of the small inferno for a long time. As the flame neared the top of the cross a distinct crack could be heard, and he saw the burning cross begin to sway. "Let's die together."
With a loud crash the cross came down on top of him, the awkward section of the structure landing across his body and trapping him in place, as if the powers had conspired to stop him from fleeing. Fyre however, had no intention of escape. He embraced the warmth shed on him by the burning wood, ignoring the pain. His flame resistant coat stopped all but the most serious of burns. It would be a slow death... But what else did he deserve for letting his sister down the way he had? He closed his eyes and awaited the inevitable as the fire spread to his surroundings.
Katrina had spent awhile searching the area around the Pokémon centre but had uncovered nothing. She was too far away to sense his aura and she had already checked on Ashley to make sure he was not watching over her.
Her instinct guided her towards the Hearthome cathedral. It was almost on the edge of town and the congregation would have left for the night, but it was usually left open for late night believers. It would make sense that he might go there. Maybe to pray for his sister. She followed her gut and headed in its direction, walking slowly through the moonlit night.
The scent of burning hit her nose before she had even left the houses behind. Her stomach churned as she thought of all the things that could mean. She could not have even imagined the sight that greeted her.
On seeing the cathedral she let out a sharp gasp. A thick layer of smoke wafted through the double doors which led inside, and an unnaturally bright glow bled through the stained glass windows from the inside.
Rushing to the entrance she scanned fervently within. Catching the sight of the fallen cross she rushed in to take scope of the situation. The fire had started by the pulpit, evident by the fact that the fire there had almost burned out, but it had spread to the draping tapestries which hung from the cathedral walls and to the silken curtains. It was now creeping its way along the ancient rafters holding the masonry of the roof in place. If they broke they could bring the roof down on top of her.
Catching a glimpse of nine white tails protruding from behind the pulpit stand, she hurried to Fyre's side, ignoring the danger of the unstable building for now. She winced as she realised the extent of the damage. The pokémon was breathing, barely, but his breath was slow and uneven. It was clear that he was unconscious.
With no time to register what she was doing Kat reached for the heavy segment of blackened cross which pinned Fyre to the ground, attempting to lift it off of him. Her senses quickly returned as she jumped backwards with a gasp, clasping her now thoroughly burned hands together in pain.
"Why Fyre? Why didn't you just ask me to stay and talk with you?" She pleaded with his unconscious form for an answer. Time was running out. Kat looked up to see the fire finally spanning the whole of one of the rafters. She had to think on her feet. She began to pant and sweat as her body registered the change in temperature. She pulled her t-shirt up to cover her mouth as the smoke began to invade her lungs, causing her to cough and retch.
Her hand went to her belt where she had stored the extra pokéballs she had bought. Thanking whatever unseen force had made her buy them, while simultaneously hoping that Fyre's old trainers death also registered him as a wild pokémon and that he wouldn't hate her too much for this. Apologizing profusely under her breath, she tapped the capture button to Fyre's unconscious head and watched as the red beam of light accepted him into the ball. That was good, so he was not still registered as captured.
The unconscious pokémon was unable to resist the pokéball's influence, and the pokéball clicked instantly without even the slightest movement. Kat clutched the pokéball to her chest. "I'm sorry Fyre, it was for your own good." A menacing crack from above made her jump, and she made her exit as fast as possible, avoiding debris and small secondary fires as she escaped, still clutching Fyre's pokéball to her chest tightly.
She didn't worry about getting caught, she didn't worry about how she was going to explain this to anyone who caught her. All she cared about was getting Fyre back to the centre. All the way there she was silently praying, to a god she didn't believe in, that he would be okay.