A Flygon's forbidden love

[Rexhunter99]

Okay... a fiction about a Flygon and her love that society has forbidden. I wrote this mainly because of a similar fiction I read and because I felt like I could add more to the story, so I made new characters, a new setting, and basically the only thing that is similar is the fact that the Flygon loves someone.
Feel free to review, just remember I'm not caring so much about the formatting of this chapter because of a format error with the .DOC I wrote it in.

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Chapter 1: Truth

He rolled over onto his back, the sun warmed his cold limbs.

"I never thought it'd get so cold so fast..." he whispered.

Turning his head, he looked at his partner pokemon and smiled.

"You're not so cold are you? My jacket takes care of that".

She didn't reply, her thoughts lay elsewhere... in a place even her beloved trainer could not reach.

He continued to gaze at her, thinking about the past few months and how she had suddenly started acting quite odd around him. The online Pokedex he had referred to claimed that at her age she had 'matured' and would seek out a mate.

He hated how it was his fault she missed her first season, yet she never complained, never got angry and that was what made him slightly uneasy around her.

"Goonn..." she whispered suddenly, ending the silence.
She looked at him, her eyes hardly visible in their protective, red visors.

Rolling over to her side and keeping the jacket held close to her chest, she tried to forget about her strange feelings, they were after all, impossible to fulfill.

H-How I wish he could understand me... or I could speak the Human language.

The truth was that she hadn't shivered because of the cold, no, she had shivered because she had wanted him to hug her; she had wanted to feel his body up against hers.

The plan had failed, and he'd only draped his small jacket around her shoulders in a futile attempt to keep her warm despite how cold it must've been for him.

Ever since she had fully awakened as an adolescent flygon, she had strong feelings towards him. At first she thought it was the usual bond between trainer and pokemon that strengthens over time, but she soon learned that this was not so, it was something deeper, something that yearned for him to act differently, for him to croon over her beauty and how majestic she was.

For him to simply be more than a trainer.

She had been terribly confused and distracted, and he had of course thought it was because she'd missed the mating season of flygons. But she had never cared for that, only for him.

A forbidden love.

She wished that he could understand her, that she could confess her love to him. She hoped that deep down, he felt the same about her.

Ever since she had been a Trapinch, she had felt a little differently towards Artemis than his other pokemon. She had always worried about him constantly and she hated not being able to be with him when she was in her Pokeball which was usually when she had fought or they needed to get past some difficult terrain.

She was now fully capable of doing the opposite and carrying him when the need arised. Though she only took the chance if he asked. She didn't want to spoil her chance at one day winning him over as a mate.

I love him, I need him... if he just once said 'I love you' I would be happy to die right then and there. He's so kind and caring yet he can be rather hotheaded and not always that good at mental challenges. But those flaws are meaningless to me!

She started mumbling without realizing it, "I just wish I could tell him... but no one cares... and I will not ever be able to tell him how I feel..."

And with that she resigned herself to dreaming about a life with her trainer, a life she knew she'd never have.


Artemis gazed at the back of Jula's head, the snow gently drifted to the ground outside their crude cover. He had been trying so hard to work out why Jula had been acting this way for so long, he was trying his hardest to make her happy and he'd gladly give his own life if it would fix everything for her, and he was surprised at how ready he would be if a time came when he would have to give his life for her, he felt strange; a weird bubbling feeling rose in his chest and his throat felt like someone was pressing on it gently.

Am I that devoted to her as her trainer? So devoted I'd even take the fatal blow?

Jula was his first pokemon and she held a very special place in his heart. She always seemed to be there for him when he needed to unload and she was by far the most strong willed pokemon on his rather small team.

He remembered the day he received word that his sick aunt had finally passed away while he had been out adventuring. Artemis had broken down and started to cry, his aunt had been the one who raised him until she fell too ill to even get out of bed.
It was Jula as a Vibrava that had comforted him, she stayed by his side as he cried and hated himself for not being there in his aunts final moments.

Artemis's thoughts drifted this way and that, he started reliving his journey in fast forward. The highs and the lows, and even the rock bottoms. He even remembered the time he told Jula to rack off because she was too clingy. And he remembered the look on her insect face, the watery eyes behind the dome-like visors, her trembling lips. He hated himself for saying that to her, and would never forgive himself for it either.

Finally he felt his eyelids droop and decided he was too tired to be mentally beating himself up over something that was done and passed. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.


The two slept through the cold, eventually Artemis had gotten so cold that his cheeks had gone white and his teeth clattered. Jula rolled back over and pressed up against him in order to keep him warm with her body heat, and to allow herself to fantasize about a life with him as her mate.

It was early morning when Jula woke, she was confused because she usually slept like a rock, Artemis being the one to wake her every morning without fail. But something seemed to pull at her, urging her to move deeper into the woods. Before she followed the urge, she placed Artemis's jacket back onto him and dragged a log over to him, lighting it with a Dragon Breath attack that she willed to keep him warm and safe before turning and following the pull.

She trekked through the tree's being quite silent and willing as she was led by some unseen presence. The snowy landscape gave way to her, and she thanked the unseen presence for leading her on an easy path.

Their journey ended at a ruined shrine of sorts, Human in design, yet it held a magical feel, something no Human structure she had ever seen or been in had given off.

This was here, yet, Artemis did not know? He would have jumped at the opportunity to explore an ancient ruin...

She cautiously stepped into the dark entrance, following that urge as it pulled her deeper into the ruins.

As she walked through the halls, she spotted various stone statues, many of which were pokemon she had not seen or heard of, yet others she could tell almost instantly, there was an ornately carved Dragonite, a Human and it's Minun and Plusle, a very mysterious statue of a half human half pokemon figure peering up at an Eon pokemon and various others. One of them caught her interest so greatly she even managed to ignore the pull and stop to gaze at it.

The Human in this statue was kissing a Typhlosion, the two looked so madly in love that she greatly envied the originals they were based off.

She quickly moved on, and she realized that there must've been a great struggle here at one stage in history because walls and statues had been ruined and the further she moved in, the more ruin she encountered.

When she started wondering if this hall would ever end it suddenly came to an end in a huge chamber, the ceiling here at least reached several stories high and was as large as two of the Humans basketball courts.

As Jula stepped into the center of the room, a flash of Pink shot past her and down the hall. Barely able to keep track of the flash, she spun around and took to the air, her wings vibrating fast enough to keep her up and allowing her to move much faster.
She chased after the Pink blur, she was sure it was a pokemon; and turned a hard left as the pokemon did too.

They shot down a new hall and into a darker room where Jula could barely see the pokemon ahead of her.

Why am I chasing it? It obviously wants to be left alone...

But it was too late to stop the chase, she had it cornered in a dark room. It halted just in front of the wall and trembled, it's long pink tail flicking back and forth as it slowly turned.

The pokemon was about half the size of a human, and had a pointy face with big eyes. It continued to tremble as Jula waited in the doorway.

"Don't hurt me!" it squealed.

Jula was stunned, it sounded rather like a child.

"Please! I don't want to get hurt..." it whispered, tears forming in it's eyes.

Jula's heart seemed to break at this comment. "I won't hurt you... Why are you so scared?"

It sniffed, still floating in the air rather oddly. Jula knew it had some form of psychic power to do this.

"Scary humans are chasing me. I thought you were sent by them... are you?"

"No, I just felt like I needed to come here... so I did. Then you rushed past me and I wanted to know what you were and why you were running" Jula replied in a soothing tone, even if they were different species, her tone was still calming to the pokemon.

It sniffed again, the tears had dried and it looked at Jula rather curiously before it introduced itself, "I'm Mew,"

"My name is Jula, I'm a flygon."

The two continued to look at each other for a few more moments before there was shouting down the hall and Jula turned to see what it was.

At the entrance to the hall, two men were gazing down their choice of paths. Mew started to whimper, "Those are the humans that are after me!"

Jula lowered herself to the ground, whoever they were they had no right to harm or chase a child as sweet as this one. Her motherly side started to shine through for a moment. "Stay here" she hissed before stalking off towards the men.

She stopped a few meters away from them, still to far in the dark for them to see her clearly she waited a moment before barking at them, "GO AWAY"

The men jumped, and fell onto their backsides from the bark. They scrambled back up and peered into the darkness.

"D'ya think it's the Mew?" one asked.

"I dunno, but I'm not taking any chances with these ruins. Let's get outta here!" the other said before bolting from the hall. His accomplice quickly followed suit and Jula felt rather disappointed that she didn't get to fight them off.

She felt tiny paws on her shoulder and turned her head to see Mew sitting there.

"Thank you... you're so kind." Mew purred. "If there's anything I can do, I will do my best"

Jula's heart seemed to stop, Anything? She thought.

Mew seemed to notice Jula's reaction. "What is it? IS there something I can do?"

Jula waited a moment before replying, "It's complicated... and I don't expect a child to understand it but... do you think you can help me by letting me talk to my trainer?"

Mew cocked it's head to the side, "Trainer? What's a trainer?"

Jula wanted to laugh. "A trainer is a human who looks after pokemon and treats them as their friends. My trainer is a very kind human and I want to tell him something... important."

Mew didn't like the sound of meeting another human, and it didn't like the fact this large scaley lived with one. "Can I do anything else?"

"No... that's the only thing I can ask of you... you don't have to do it if you're uncomfortable with it..." Jula answered, she felt rather let down.

Mew sensed Jula's disappointment and felt bad, "...I can't make you talk to him... but I can do something else. He needs to come here though. Where is he?"

"I left him back up on the trail, he's not too far away..."

"Good! You can stay and play with me then!" Mew said cheerfully and more like a demand than a request.


Artemis woke with a start. His body was quite warm despite the snow and below zero temperatures. The first thing he really noticed was that Jula was nowhere to be seen, then he saw the log that was burning with a steady lime flame that had to be a Dragon Breath flame.

"Jula?" He called uncertainly. He started to panic when no reply came, he had never been separated from her like this for weeks, she had been so clingy and he had gotten used to it... now he was panicking because she had disappeared.

"JULA?"

A rising fear started to choke him as he scrambled to his feet, pulling his stiff jacket on and grabbing branch to use as a torch. He left his bag behind and ran out into the snow, it was knee deep now, and he could just make out impressions where he was sure that Jula had stepped earlier that morning. Following the tracks, he moved through the trees as fast as his legs could carry him, the snow obscured any sharp objects that lay on the ground and he felt warm blood stream down his socks as the flesh was torn on something. But he ignored the pain and moved onward, his thoughts set on only being reunited with Jula.

As he moved he wondered, Why am I reacting like this? She's probably just gone for a drink, or an early morning flight... But then again... she's barely left me without letting me see her go. More thoughts swirled in his head, and he got more and more worried.

Stories of trainers risking their lives and even losing them for their beloved starter partner pokemon pushed inside in his head, sending more confusion around. He knew that if he ever did something so reckless that Jula would be devastated, and he also knew if she did the same for him he would feel as if the world had come to an end.

He finally arrived at the ruins, the sun had rose, and it started to melt the snow slightly. But Artemis didn't notice, he only cared about the Ruins ahead, because the tracks ended here and he felt the warm blood trickle down his leg and ankle.

You're joking right? How could this have been here and not shown on the map? Or spoken of by the nearby towns...

He stepped into the dark entrance, his human eyes nowhere near as good as Jula's. He had to make vague assumptions about the terrain. He ignored the dark shapes that were statues and moved deeper, his walk turned into a jog, which later turned into a run and finally a full blown sprint. His feet pounded the stone floor, the sound of the sneakers impacting echoed around the hall and all the way down to the chamber.

He skidded to a halt, the chamber was empty, void of life and held nothing for him. He let out a howl of frustration and anger.

I've wasted time! I have to make sure she's okay! If someone hurt her I'll make them pay and regret the day they were born!

Just then he heard noises down the hall. He turned and followed the very same one Jula had in her chase of Mew. The dark hallway seemed rather menacing and he could barely see.

Just as he rounded a corner, two men ran into him and cried out in shock.
They pulled themselves together and were about to say something before they noticed the Pokeballs attached to Artemis's jacket. They pushed past him without a word and continued to run down the hall before Artemis could react.

What the heck is going on here?

He heard more noises, from further in the ruins and followed them. His curiosity was getting the better of him and he checked every room he passed as he moved deeper into the ruins.

Flashes of his past tortured him as he ran down the hall.

The day he learned that his parents were dead and he had to live with his sick aunt. The day his aunt had fallen so ill she was permanently bed ridden. And the fateful day that spelled out his aunt's lonely doom and his admission to a grand adventure with pokemon.

And then he froze, ahead of him was Jula, perfectly fine and healthy. But it was the pokemon she was with that captured his full attention.

The small pink feline struck him as familiar and he was sure he knew what it was. And then it mewed "Mew"

And he instantly understood why it was so familiar. It was a legendary pokemon said to have become so rare that hardly anyone sees it, and others believed that they were extinct all together.

Yet here one was, floating ten meters away and seemingly playing with his flygon.

"Gon?" Jula asked. The Mew giggled before it noticed Artemis and seemingly vanished.

Artemis quickly looked around the room, wondering where the pokemon had vanished to before he rushed forward and hugged Jula.

"Don't ever walk off like that! I was scared half to death" he said as they separated.

She nodded an apology, her head lowered in shame and her tail lying limp on the stone floor.

"But, god! That was a Mew! How come you became friends with a legendary pokemon? And where'd it go?"


Jula stood up, she stepped back and watched as Artemis spun around, searching for Mew.

You won't see Mew until it's sure you won't hurt it...

She waited as he finally stopped spinning around. "Oh I wish I could see it again... up close. I just want to be able to say I've met a legendary, to be able to claim that and be telling the truth would be a dream come true"

Jula spoke aloud, knowing that Artemis would not understand, "Please Mew... help me like you said you'd try..."


The shy and scared pokemon re-emerged from it's hiding place and floated up next to Jula, it glanced at Artemis nervously before concentrating hard on the human so it could repay it's debt to the flygon.


Looking back at Jula, Artemis spotted Mew and gasped in joy and surprise, his trainer side won over and he felt as if he had done the one thing that really meant anything to anyone... but he felt strange, the tips of his ears tingled and his feet felt heavy.

Artemis took a step towards Jula and Mew but was brought down to his knees, he suddenly felt as if he weighed three times his original weight and couldn't move.

"Argh! What's happening?"

He watched as the skin on the back of his hands started to crawl, and small green scales formed all over his hand, the crawling feeling rushed up his arm and spread across the length of his body.
He felt an immense pain in his lower back as a thick and strong tail slid out, slightly pushing his pants down and tearing his shirt. With this, Jula rushed to his side despite Mew's protests, and she helped remove some of his clothing as wings burst from his back and spread out.

She ran a claw over his scaly cheek as he whimpered in pain and fear. And then she started to sing a Dragon song to him, he felt oddly calmed, his body still burned and screamed at him, but his mind felt quite calm.

Suddenly his eyesight warped horribly and he was left blind, and then it returned to him, everything was tinted a slight aqua before the red lenses slid over his eyes and returned the world to a normal color.

All the while, Jula sang and stroked him as his body mutated before her, she couldn't help but feel guilty that he was suffering.

Artemis's body started to reshape itself, muscles bulged in his back and tail, his thighs and his upper arms as well as his neck. The new wings hardened and he felt them gently vibrate of their own accord, as his tail flicked.

Next came his face, his nose stretched out painfully and his lower and upper jaws rushed to keep up. His upper jaw melded with his nose to form a muzzle as his teeth sharpened to vicious fangs and his hair slid out as long horns slowly protruded from the back and top of his skull.

Jula stopped singing and gently rubbed her muzzle against his, sending shivers of excitement down both of their spines.

Artemis rose from the stone floor, as the claws on his paws and feet slid out and completed his transformation.

He was stunned into silence, not knowing if he should grin or scream. Obviously he looked terribly confused and Jula took the opportunity to speak.

"Arty? Can you understand me?"

Artemis stared at her stupidly, his mouth hung open and his tail flicking back and forth.
Finally he seemed to regather some sense and uttered, "My god! I-I... You... Jesus! I'm a freaking pokemon!"

Jula didn't react, she knew he might act like this. Mew however couldn't help but giggle.

Artemis pointed at Jula accusingly, "Why? Why Jula!?"

She lowered her gaze as she answered, "I-I... I love you Arty..."

Artemis's insides seemed to erupt and he felt faint, She loves me? Something inside him howled in joy and something else recoiled in shock and disgust. He didn't want to tell her something and then find out that it wasn't true. He hated the look in her eyes when she was disappointed.

"Arty? D-Do... Do you love me?" She asked, her voice quivered as she spoke.

Mew, feeling rather left out decided that it was not needed to join in the conversation, it left Jula with a warning. "Remember that this only lasts a few days, and then he will be human again..."

 

[Trap-Eds]

I'm sorry. I don't like this story....I LOVE IT!!! I don't know which is better: a Flygon loving it's trainer and vise/versa; or the fact that said trainer turned into a Pokemon!! And who knew Mew could transform humans?!

A couple grammar errors though:[this might seem a bit picky]

"You're not so cold are you? My jacket takes care of that."

H-How I wish he could understand me... or I could speak the Human language...

Is this... love? Nah, it can't be, Pokemon and Humans can't love each other like that, it's impracticable and it would be awkward. Besides, she probably wants a big, strong Dragon to take care of her.

"....You need to learn that you can't win every battle and you can't keep such ridiculous promises, you can do your best to protect her, but that's about all you can do - your best."

He stepped into the dark entrance, his human eyes nowhere near as good as Jula's dragon eyes. And he had to make vague assumptions about the terrain.

A better way to say that could be: He stepped into the dark entrance. Since his human eyes were nowhere near as good as Jula's dragon eyes, he had to make vague assumptions about the terrain.

But yes, I am loving the uniqueness this story has. ;)

 

[Rexhunter99]

Ahh thanks for the pointers, they've been mentioned before (don't worry, I appreciate that you're helping me get better) and...
OMG! YOU LOVE IT! *hugs*

Anyway, I hope you check this when I fix it and post the next chapter ^^

 

[Rexhunter99]

Okay dokay! I rewrote chapter 1, the new update is in the first post (I replaced the old chapter) and I have chapter 2 and 3 prepared to go. I will leave chapter 2 here for a few reviews/views before I post chapter 3 so as not to double post badly.

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Chapter 2: Emotions

Jula felt as if Mew had stabbed her heart. Just a few days?

How will I do this in a few days?

She looked at Artemis again, his accusing eyes pained her deeply, she regretted putting him into this situation. But at least she knew he would be able to be human again and she couldn't pass up the chance to find out if he loved her the same way she loved him.

"Artemis... there's something I want to show you" she said quietly, trying to avoid gazing into his deep green eyes.

"What other surprises do you have in store for me? I thought you were my friend! How could you do this to me? How can I possibly look after the others? How the heck am I supposed to show myself in a town without being captured? It's all fine and dandy for you, I after all, am your trainer and you can't be recaptured by a legal Pokeball..."

Jula recoiled at his reply, she felt even worse than before. "I am your friend... I-I... please Artemis... I want you to see this with me, to share it"

He looked at her, still totally furious, and he was unsure if he could trust her at all.

Obviously she's delirious because she missed the season... I should've taken the professors offer and gone straight to her for help... damn! Now look at me, I'm green and have a tail... I dunno if this can get any worse.

"Please Artemis... give me a chance" Jula pleaded.

Reluctantly, Artemis sighed and stepped up to her. "Fine, but if anything funny happens..." he let the threat hang in the stale air.

Jula grabbed his wrist and took him over to a section of the room that was lit by the light streaming in through the hole in the ceiling, she looked up and said "Just vibrate your wings as fast as you can and I'll help you fly"

Uncertain, Artemis did as he was told, allowing his see-through wings to vibrate at an incredibly high speed. The dirt on the stone floor beneath them kicked up in a small whirlwind and then he felt his feet leave the cold stone floor.

He looked over at Jula as she smiled at him, "Flying is the greatest thing Artemis... I've always wanted to share it with you... but what I'm about to show you can rival it in beauty"

She directed their flight as they left the chamber and rose into the sky, and Artemis saw what she had mentioned.

Oh man... it's-it's... she was right, it's simply amazing!

"Oh Jula... I'm sorry for getting angry at you... This is just amazing" he whispered.

She hesitated, not wanting to upset him but she yearned to do it... leaning over she licked his cheek and quickly retreated, blushing slightly.

Startled, Artemis let go of her and realized that he was now flying on his own. He glanced down and saw the ruins far below, the roof they had come through was a small speck.

She kissed me! I'm sure of it! He thought as he turned his gaze back to Jula who was still blushing.

He remembered her claims that she loved him, and he started to realize the enormity of it all, the reason behind his transformation and her strange behavior became quite clear to him.

"Jula?"

She looked over at him, embarrassed yet pleased. "Yes Arty?"

"How long? How long have you felt this way?" he asked, rather scared to get the answer but still needing to know it all the same.

She simply gazed at him, admiring how 'handsome' he was as a flygon before she answered, "Ever since I evolved and saved you from that cliff and those nasty boys."

They hovered there, the sparkling snow that blanketed the forests below them continued their pretty sparkling as Artemis fought with himself.

These feelings... they have to be the flygon I've turned into and not me. I don't love her! Do I? I'm her trainer for Christ's sake! But they feel like mine... oh damn this stupid predicament I'm in! Damn it straight to hell!

Jula moved up next to him, her eyes studying his face as he struggled with his emotions.

Finally Artemis spoke, "I need to lie down... I'm exhausted and need to think"

Jula nodded and led the way to a cliff nearby that she deemed as safe. It had shelter in the form of a small cave and plenty of space to lay on.
Artemis was just glad she wasn't looking at him, he had the strange feeling she was able to read him like a book in this form and he really just needed some time to rest and think. The transformation had taken a lot out of him.


He stared at the back of his paws, the scales wore a hue similar to that of a Green Apple. His Ivory claws still felt rather large despite probably being a similar size to his fingers with his body proportion in mind.

The two flygon's were resting on their cliff. Their temporary home as Artemis referred to it.

The cold air was starting to get to him and he wondered how Jula was able to put up with it's bite, the lack of warmth and the fact flygon's were naturally weak against Ice type pokemon was not helping either.

Jula wondered whether or not she should tell Artemis about their time restriction. She finally concluded that telling him would only complicate things and he already had enough to think about. She lowered herself down next to him, making sure she pressed up against his side and she purred.

"Arty..."

Artemis sighed, he was totally confused and just needed to think it all out, he needed to work out if he did love her or it was just the flygon that fancied her.

"Jula, I... I really need to think this out"

"Then at least indulge my need to be close to you, please Arty" she answered, her eyes on his.

Artemis didn't reply, nor did he move so she took that as an 'okay' and stayed there by his side, their warmth combined and staved off the cold. The tattered remains that were Artemis's jacket and pants still clung to him, the back of his jacket had been totally torn open thanks to her, and his wings protruded from the gap. His pants were barely clinging on, she wondered why he didn't just remove them since they served no purpose.

When she turned to look at Artemis again, she found him sound asleep and she couldn't help but melt at how cute he appeared to her. She nuzzled his cheek and whispered, "Sleep well Arty."


Artemis woke to find Jula an inch away from his face, he shrieked and sprang up, then remembered where they were and what had happened to him before he lowered himself to the rock again.

It really did happen then... I'm not a human anymore... At least I don't have to explain myself to a family, I have none in this cursed world.

Jula noticed the despair in his eyes and nuzzled his cheek, a loving gesture. Artemis didn't react, thinking that there was no point getting angry at her when she was just trying to calm him, but he hated the situation she'd thrown him into and the 'other' half of him that he theorized was pure flygon, wasn't helping him deal with the situation at all. Every time Jula did something, it howled at Artemis to take action and act back.

It was starting to become a battle of will power and not just a simple task of ignoring the 'other' as it gnawed on him.

Artemis's need to unload suddenly slapped him in the face and he just wanted to die since the only one he unloaded on was Jula and the topic was her.

Instead of dying he turned to her, "As a human I would have told you no straight up... A human and a pokemon can't be together, it's just not right... but now that I'm like you I'm so confused. There's a part of me that wants to love you, but another that is still too human and I can't let them keep clashing! It feels like there's this intense battle going on inside me and I have no way to decide the victor so they just keep on at it, battering each other continuously. I love you, but I don't know if it's like the way you love me, it feels more like a trainers love for his pokemon because they are his family. You are my family, the only one left behind and I know my life would be over if you left me... Jula... this is a big decision, it will decide my future... I really need time but... I don't know..." He inhaled, almost unaware he had barely taken a breath during that blab.

Jula licked him and said, "There's time, if it really pains you that much stop thinking and just do. I know you will do the right thing and will not regret it."

She sounds so wise, as if she knows everything, but I know that's just her Dragon side coming through... I've noticed I've started to speak a little differently too, heck I sound different to boot.

Artemis lowered his head, allowing her to fuss over him for a moment before he let out a long sigh. The view was fantastic from up here and he waited as the sun finally passed over the mountain and started to warm his body.


"I swear there was a flygon in those ruins! And it was going ta eat us! It was huge! Twelve feet tall with claws that could gut an Ursaring with ease!"

Laughter ensued as the man finished his sentence, the entire pub was roaring in laughter.

"HAHAHAHA! And did it speak to you? Did it notify you of when you'd wake up?" Someone shouted from the other side of the room before he burst into laughter once more.

The man simply turned a deep shade of red and tried to convince them he was telling the truth.


As he stepped out into the cold air after being told to leave before he started a fight. The man sighed, wishing someone would believe him.

I'd only had a single beer... yet they thought I was off my rocker.

He turned down the side street and was interrupted by a man dressed in a rather heavy looking trench coat. His eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses and a broad rimmed hat.

"I heard your tale, of the Dragon you met." He said, his voice rather monotonous.

"Come ta laugh at me have you?"

"Of course not, I'm actually quite interested in knowing the location of these ruins. I'll pay you if I must." the shady guy said.

Looking at the trench coat and not really caring what this guy did for a living, he nodded before explaining how to get to the ruins.

Shady pulled out a thick wad of cash, pulling out four one hundred dollar bills and pushing them into the other mans pocket.

"Thank you kindly... errr"

"You can call me Drakar, Mr Hillwood" Drakar said, his sunglasses seemed to be reflecting a lot more light now.

Hillwood was stunned that this stranger knew his name, and was even more so by the fact he had just been given four hundred dollars for telling some guy how to get to a ruined city.

Drakar walked past Hillwood and proceeded out into the main street, a smile broke out on his face as he muttered, "I shall soon have one..."


Artemis cried out in frustration. A sound Jula was coming to expect from him lately.
He roared as he, once again, failed to reproduce the lime flames he had only minutes before.

He had been talking about a battle he and Jula had won quite a while back and then he suddenly had lime flames shooting out of his mouth. It had startled him so badly that he closed his mouth and extinguished the flames without even thinking properly. Then he realized that he had used a dragon breath attack.

Jula had started to glow proudly at the fact her trainer had managed to produce the attack without any knowledge as to how to trigger it. But was disappointed when he failed to reproduce it.

He gave up. Completely flustered and angry at himself.

"Why can't I do it? It's... It's…" he growled, a low and angry sound.

Despite his growling, Jula rubbed up against him. She was disappointed but still amazed and proud he'd done it in the first place.

"I'm just proud of you, without any kind of knowledge you managed to do it. That alone is enough to make me happy, and it's something someone who's not a pokemon should be very proud of." She nuzzled his cheek and purred.

Artemis nodded, he knew she was totally right. He had done something he'd never even dreamed he could do. He gazed out at the forests below and basked in the suns glow and let Jula nuzzle him. It calmed him down and it kept her quiet.

Together they looked out at the forest and they thought, one about their past and the other about their future.


Drakar lowered the binoculars and smiled. He was camping out near the ruins which he had ran to at top speed from the town. Once he had arrived he quickly confirmed the recent presence of a flygon and tracked it into a chamber in the ruins where, suddenly, another set of prints appeared. These were larger and the claws were splayed much farther apart, indicating it was a male who had just come of age and was in his prime.

He had then moved out and tried to figure out where they'd have gone in the cold weather. It was too late to move back into the desert. The males that had been denied mates would certainly attack them so they'd have stayed out in the forest somewhere. He then spotted a cliff high up on the mountain that had a small cave that went into the mountain. It was a perfect resting place for dragons and he'd been delighted to see both of the flygon's up there. Though he was rather confused at the fact that one seemed to wear clothing, or more accurately, tattered and torn clothing.

He pulled out a cigar, pushed it between his lips and lit it with a flint lighter he retrieved from his breast pocket. He puffed and the dark smoke wafted away as he watched the cliff, his hand was in his pocket where a handful of specially designed pokeballs were concealed.

Soon I shall have at least one, if I could have both that would be perfect, but one is enough to please me.


Artemis's stomach gurgled and he blushed a deep red.

Jula giggled, "Let's go and find some dinner Arty."

He sighed as she left the cliff, he hurried to catch up and winced as the cold wind howled and tried to tear him apart. They descended into the forest and he landed in the knee high snow. He shivered as the cold ice melted between his toes and as his tail rested on the surface.

"What are we going to eat during winter? The berries don't grow, and I doubt they'd fill us..." Artemis asked as he trudged through the snow after Jula.

She stopped and sniffed the air, causing Artemis to walk into her.

"Careful Arty," she whispered.

He stepped back and mumbled an apology as she continue to sniff at the air.
She quickly moved towards a tree and started to climb it, using her claws to grip the bark as she moved up the vertical trunk.
She jabbed her head into a hollow and returned a moment later with two dead sparrows.

Artemis's stomach lurched as she dropped down and approached him.

She can't possibly think I'll eat those poor creatures can she?

She spat one out into her paw and handed it to him as she swallowed her own. Which only made looking at his own sparrow harder.

He turned it over a few times and felt like throwing up, only he had nothing in his stomach to do so. Jula watched him carefully.


She watched as Artemis procrastinated from eating the sparrow she had fetched for him. It was a test for her, if he ate it then he was willing to accept what he currently was, if he didn't he still didn't accept it.

Come on Arty, I know you like being a flygon. I heard you mumbling in your sleep.

He sniffed it hesitantly. And she grew excited but made not a single move as he seemed to decide something. He looked up at her and shrugged before popping the small bird into his mouth.

Jula could barely contain herself, she was so happy and felt as if things were finally working for them.

"How does it taste?" She asked.

Artemis shrugged as he swallowed. "Like chicken really... though smaller and somewhat greasier if that's possible... and... err the bones were a worry at first."

She giggled at his statement before moving to his side and nuzzling his cheek.

"Are you still hungry Arty?"

He hesitated for a moment, "ummm.... a little bit..."

Jula didn't move from his side, instead she knelt down and dug through the snow and dirt for a few seconds before rising with a dirty root.

"That looks dodgy..."

"Go on, it's sweet. I promise." she whispered, breaking the root in half and handing him one.

Artemis sniffed this too, and cautiously licked the end that had recently been attached to the other half. Seemingly satisfied he gnawed on the root like Jula had been.

They sat down and Artemis sighed. He wasn't full like he was used to, but he wasn't hungry and that was just as good. Jula leaned on his shoulder and purred as she thought of ways to get Artemis to admit his love.

They sat there in the cold until the sun had almost completely vanished beneath the horizon before flying up to their cave with a log under each of their arms.


Drakar was sitting at the entrance to his tent and was wrapped up in scratchy, wool blankets as he spied on the two flygon's who had retreated into the cave with a fire to keep themselves warm. He was interested in the larger one's behavior, it was strange. Almost human even.

The smaller one keeps nuzzling it but it won't react in kind... odd, I thought they were mates... this may make breeding a tad difficult later on.

He watched on and saw the larger one step out of the cave and shudder. At first Drakar thought it was the cold, but realized that it was crying. He shifted uncomfortably as it cried in the night. He'd never seen a pokemon cry like this, they were wild creatures like the more 'normal' animals. He felt as if he couldn't capture the dragons but quickly snapped out of the daze and scolded himself for being lured into a trap.

It collapsed onto the rock and he zoomed in to see that it's visors were fogged up from the tears as it shuddered, it's mouth hanging open.


Artemis felt a new wave of tears coming and shuddered again. He let them come and allowed them to evaporate and fog up the lenses.

I do love her... I do... oh god... how could this happen? I'm a human! I can't have loved her... but the feelings were always there... deep down inside me, just waiting to be woken and pulled out.

Artemis was yet to tell Jula how he felt, he was scared of what would happen. He wasn't prepared to be a flygon... nor her mate for as long as they lived, and flygon's, like most dragons, lived a long time.

He glanced back at the cave and saw her curled up, clutching the remains of his jacket as she sobbed. Artemis quietly stepped toward her and stopped, still unable to see anywhere but forward.

"You don't love me do you? You want to be a human and find a human mate... and live with her... and I'll be forgotten and you'll both have children... and my life will have meant nothing... my love will have been wasted and I will be no more than an empty shell." she sobbed, still refusing to look at him.

Artemis recoiled, he knew she felt for him, but to know how strongly she felt and what she was thinking was something else. He felt as if his heart were about to shatter and needed to fix it before it did and he was left with a broken heart.

"Jula... please..."

She sneezed violently which caused her to breath fire. Artemis stepped aside to avoid the hot liquid fire and lay down next to her, he held onto her paws and started to sing a song. He closed his eyes and recited the words in a sing song voice as he tried to calm her.

I spread my wings and I learned how to fly.
I'll do what it takes, till I touch the sky.
Make a wish, take a chance, make a change.
And break away.

Out of the darkness and into the sun.
But I won't forget all the ones that I love.
Take a risk, take a chance, make a change.
And break away...

She stopped sobbing as he recited the song to her. She remembered the times he sang it to her when she'd been sick or sad.

"Arty... you... you..."

He put a claw to her lips and shook his head.

"Don't talk... just remember it... remember the song please."

She nodded and started to sing it back to him in her own voice, he closed his eyes and smiled as she sang it to him. She felt a heavy weight on her heart lift as she sang and Artemis purred for the first time as a flygon.

She finished and whispered, "I want to be with you for ever... every time I wake I want you there by my side my love,"

Artemis nodded, he'd given up on being human and no longer cared about the things he'd lost. He'd gained something else. Something much better than any badge, any battle. He had someone to love and return the love.

"Artemis... when I'm with you I feel so very happy. And singing just now lifted a weight from my heart. I-I... I'm sorry for forcing you into this situation."

"Don't be sorry, it's not fair that you did it but it's a once in a life time chance. Now I can feel however I want and not worry about what others think. This is a gift no other girl in the world could have given me Jula, remember that whenever you think about me. That you are the only girl who can even fill the hole in my heart."

He nuzzled her as affectionately as possible before closing his eyes to sleep, thinking of how lucky he was despite the things he'd lost and was giving up.

I can love her and not suffer... the world seems so much better now.

 

[Kazukii]

I'm enjoying this story alot :)

 

[Rexhunter99]

I'm glad you're enjoying it ^^ I write because I want people to enjoy themselves and to express myself through a story.

 

[Rexhunter99]

Chapter 3: Capture

Drakar shifted nervously, his hands deep in his pockets as he waited for the dragons to leave their roost.
He'd been up since sunrise, and he'd ran out of cigars which only made him even more insufferable and impatient.

He looked back up at the cliff with his binoculars for what seemed to be the thousandth time and inhaled sharply as the dragons appeared at the lip of the cliff. They nuzzled and jumped into the air and headed off towards some place in the forest.

Drakar quickly sprang up and ran as fast and silently as he could through the winter madness around him as a few pokemon poked their heads out of their homes to see what all the commotion was about.


Jula directed them towards a steaming stream and they landed on the warm, sandy bank. Artemis smiled at her before nodding his head, indicating that she was to go first.

Jula leaned towards the water and lapped at it's surface, staving off dehydration before stepping back and letting Artemis drink. He, at first, tried to cup it into his paws but soon gave up the feeble attempts. Instead he went down on all fours and lapped at the surface of the warm water.

He rose and wiped his face on his shoulder pads.

"That was... an experience to remember." he said before turning back to Jula who smiled sweetly at him.

"Remember that I'm here to teach you if you need it. Just ask me and I will help you."

He nodded and promptly nuzzled her cheek before looking around the area, which was strangely devoid of life.

Even in winter there should be pokemon by the banks...

Jula froze up as she stared at something behind Artemis. He spun around and gasped as he saw an Ursaring glaring at them. It's eyes were blood shot and it pawed the ground uneasily, glancing at the water ever few seconds.

Suddenly, it leaped over the river and charged at them. Artemis jumped forward and grappled with the enormous bear as it tried to take a chunk out of him with it's teeth.

"JULA! GET AWAY!" he shouted as it tried to kick at his belly, he kicked back which stopped the Ursaring's deadly claws from reaching his soft belly. It snarled and revealed a mouth full of razor sharp and yellowed teeth. A foul stench pervaded his nostrils and he felt faint but, somehow, managed to stay in the grapple.

Jula was torn between fleeing like Artemis told her to and helping him. He had no idea how to attack, and was restricted to just melee attacks.

Artemis, seeing an opportunity, darted his head forward and grasped the Ursaring's neck in between his jaws and clamped down as hard as he could.
The Ursaring howled in pain and rage as it tried to squirm from his hold. It slashed at his side and he felt a searing pain as it tore the scales away and left deep gashes there. He relinquished his grasp and staggered back just as Jula fired off a Flamethrower which engulfed the brown furred bear. It bellowed as the flames enveloped it and it dived into the water to escape the flames.

Artemis watched as it scampered up the other bank and darted off into the trees before he fell over onto his side. Blood staining the snow below him.

"ARTY!"

Jula dashed to his side and gasped when she saw the gashes. They were an inch deep and were four inches long.
He whimpered when she applied pressure to them as he had done for her own wounds before. Blood seeped out between her claws and ran down his scales and into the snow below.

"I-I... I'll be okay. I just need to catch my breath." Artemis whispered as his face scrunched up from the pain.

Jula stayed by his side, licking his cheek occasionally as she sat there in the cold snow as his blood seeped between her paws and claws.


Drakar watched the dragons intently. He wasn't the least bit worried about the injured one. He could patch it up himself, he was worried about the female though. It was not going to be easy to subdue her.

I'd better play it safe and get the male first.

He pulled out one of the pokeballs from it's pocket. He rose up and waited for his chance of a clean shot.
The female was about to check the wound again and had lifted her head far enough back to give him a clear shot at the male. He took the chance and hurled the small green and gold orb at the downed male.

The female recoiled as the ball erupted as if from nowhere and seemed to flee from the river bank. She glanced back at the male just as he was sucked into the ball in a flash of lime light.

The ball rocked twice and then pinged.

Drakar waited, the female seemed unsure of what to do, her flying was somewhat erratic but eventually she retreated out of his sight and he walked out to the ball, which was sitting in a red patch of snow.

He retrieved it and pushed it into his interior breast pocket.

I have one... perhaps the female might follow me in a hope to get her mate back... this might be easier than I thought.

He turned and walked away from the river, using a small wrist compass to navigate back to his campsite so he could return back to his mannor and take a well earned rest while he waited for the female to show up.


Jula's heart pounded in her chest as she searched frantically for the human that had thrown the pokeball at Artemis. She was on the verge of having a total mental breakdown and she was worried about Artemis and how he'd handle being in a pokeball. Technically a pokemon never had to obey it's trainer, it would only obey once it respected the trainer. Artemis was still a free spirit as long as he didn't subdue himself to the human.

"ARTYYYYYYYYYY!" she howled in the wind as she raced over the trees and searched relentlessly. It had been hours since the initial capture but she hoped she would find the human. So far her search had been fruitless.

She soon glided over the path they had been walking along the day before, which caused her to shake uncontrollably in worry and pain. She managed to calm herself before she crashed into the forest below and remembered that Artemis had left his bag behind. She descended onto the path and inhaled deeply, trying to catch a whiff of her beloved's scent.

She stalked forward, causing smaller pokemon to chitter in fear as they scampered this way and that to avoid her. She stooped and dug at the snow suddenly and pulled a tarp out of the snow to find Artemis's bag where he had left it.

She dug around within it's tight confines and withdraw her paw and two pokeballs. She tapped the buttons on the front of each small ball as she had seen Artemis do so many times before and watched as a Staravia and a Growlithe took shape in the red beam.

The shook themselves and looked around expectantly for Artemis and seemed confused at the lack of his presence, right up until they saw the expression on Jula's face which could only mean that their kind trainer was missing.

"A... uh..." Jula couldn't bring herself to tell them what had happened as it would require her to explain everything and all of her feelings which she wasn't ready to be mocked for.

Growlithe sat on his haunches and looked up at her with his big brown eyes.

"What is it Jula? Where's master Artemis?"

She looked away, inhaled deeply and then exhaled.

"I... I found a ruined city nearby... and inside I met a small, pink pokemon called Mew. He was being chased by some humans who I scared away and he was so grateful he said he'd give me whatever I wanted." she started.

Staravia cocked her head to the side and waited as Growlithe let his comment spill out of his mouth.

"Mew!? They're legendary pokemon who can shape shift and do so many amazing things!"

Jula nodded, "And I asked... for him to let Artemis understand me. He told me that he couldn't do that but would try something else. So we waited for Artemis to come looking for me which he soon did. He found us in a chamber and looked so relieved... then Mew came out and carried out his promise... he turned Artemis into a flygon."

The two other tamed pokemon gasped in shock at this and seemed quite uncertain if this was a really bad joke or the truth, but the tears that fogged up Jula's lenses seemed to confirm it to them and they waited as she drove on and explained how she really felt for him, how she had wanted the chance to tell him her feelings. She explained the transformation in an amazing amount of detail and she told them how Artemis had reacted and of their night and morning upon the cliff.

Growlithe stepped forward and licked her paw in an attempt to stop her crying. She'd been letting the tears flow as she spoke and she was shuddering uncontrollably as she knew they were wasting precious time.

"It's okay Jula, we suspected things were a little different than they should have been. We might not be too happy that you never told us and I am shocked that master Artemis... Master Artemis is now one of the crew, but we'll help you. Won't we Star?"

Staravia nodded as she stretched her wings and looked up at the sky, "I'll watch from above while you and Growlithe look for some trail down here. If we spot anything we need to tell each other, we're with you all the way Jula, we care about him too."

Jula felt as if the knot in her stomach had untied itself and she wanted to hug the two friends. Instead she turned and wandered off towards the site of Artemis's capture... and hopefully a trail they could follow.


Artemis opened his eyes, he was in his room back at home. He could smell bacon sizzling away on the stove and heard his aunt humming.

Groaning he struggled off the bed and wandered into the kitchen, where his aunt stood and smiled at him.

"Arty! Good morning, bacon and eggs this morning. Your favorite with some apple juice."

Artemis was a little confused, he was sure his aunt had died, he could remember it faintly. Like a dream it wafted in and out of his thoughts, taunting him with horrible memories and a depression that had torn him to shreds.
But it soon wisped out of his reach and he went to sit at the table.

The chair clattered to the ground as he attempted to sit and he grunted in frustration.

"What's wrong Arty?"

He looked from his aunt to the chair and tried again once he had lifted it back up, and was rewarded with another loud crashing sound as the chair toppled over.

It was then that he saw the green tail and the diamonds that tipped it. His eyes widened in shock and it all rushed back to him.

"NO! No no no no no!" he cried.

"What is it Arty? What's wrong?" his aunt asked as she tried to turn him around.

Artemis shrieked and jumped back at her touch.

"You're dead! You died and I wasn't there! This... This... THIS! IT'S NOT REAL!"

She sighed before sitting in the chair he had been attempting to occupy. "Yes Arty... I passed on. But I've come to you now to guide you. No matter how you look you will always be your parents son and you will always be a kind and caring person. That flygon of yours really cares about you, she loves you beyond common love."

He kneeled at her side and put his head over her shoulder in a hug. "I know... she loves me and... and... I love her too. I've always loved her... deep down inside me it's been waiting to surface and only just recently it surfaced. I was scared... I didn't know what to do and I hurt her... but she still kept at it and told me I'd make the right decision. Now I know she was right, that I've made the right decision but... now I'm some humans pokemon to command."

She ran her hand up and down his scaly neck and whispered into his ear, "It's your choice if you listen to this man, he most certain doesn't expect you to cooperate. Just remember that she's waiting for you and all that matters is that you are happy. I know you will make the right choices and I know you'll make your parents proud."

Tears flowed from Artemis's eyes and fogged the red lenses that covered his eyes. "I missed you so much..."

"I know Arty, but now you have someone to be with forever and she will be there to fill the gaping hole in your heart. Just believe in her and yourself. You're far stronger and braver than you could imagine and that is what makes me proud to have raised you as a son."

She lifted Artemis from her lap and gently removed a necklace from her neck. "This will remind you of your parents because your mother gave it to me before they left that week. I know it's not much... and I know that this is all rather strange... talking to the dead and such. But I just needed to tell you all this, to tell you the truth and to help you decide."

Artemis watched as she gently clipped it around his neck and she kissed him on the snout.

"This man is not evil... he is misguided and from some place terrible where there are no pokemon and where the humans are all greedy and want nothing but to further there own existence. I hope you make good use of this information... but for now I have to leave you alone. Be brave Arty and remember that your parents and I are watching you and are always with you even if you can't feel us."

He felt more tears seep out of the corners of his eyes as her touch faded and the room around them evaporated.

"Good luck Arty..."


Artemis opened his eyes and found he was inside a structure of some sort, held within an aviary designed for small flying creatures. He looked around the room and saw a few paintings hanging on the walls opposite him and a door to his right.

He didn't bother to move, there was no point wasting precious energy.

Suddenly, he remembered the fight with the ursaring and checked his side, only to find it bound tightly by bandages. He let out a sigh and gazed out the window ahead of him that revealed a small rectangle of sky.

He felt a weight around his neck when he shifted and remembered his dream and his aunt's words. Looking down he saw the necklace still there as if he had met her in this very room.

He gently rubbed the locket at the end of the necklace with his index claw and sighed. His thoughts stopped at Jula and what she must have been doing right then.


Mew darted forward nervously. His encounter with the human the other day had made him curious and he'd ventured into town.
He'd seen many humans of varying ages and appearances as he darted from shadow to shadow and hid under porches.

"They don't all seem like they want to hurt me... but mother did tell me I was special and I had to look after myself. So I'll stay hidden for now."

He watched as a few children ran around and laughed happily as they played, the looks of joy on their faces made Mew happy himself. Then he saw one of the men that had chased him.

He shrank back into the shadows and watched the man carefully as he pushed through the kids angrily.

"Beat it you little babies!"

The kids pulled faces at him and one even ran in front of him, "You're a jerk!"

He shoved the child aside and snarled, "Twerp, run home to mommy before I kick you to her!"

Mew felt something bubble up inside him, a feeling he'd not felt before. He darted out from under the porch and rushed to the childs side. When he was satisfied the human was okay, he charged forward and rammed the man in the back with his psychic bubble.

"ARGH!" the man cried before falling to the snow below him.

Mew glared down at him, hate filling him and a dire need to avenge the children he felt some form of kinship with.

"Mew!?"

They glared at each other, then the man snatched a pokeball from his pocket and cried out, "Houndour! Teach the brat a lesson!"

"Arf arf!" the dark dog barked as it materialized.

Mew turned his attention to the dark type pokemon which started to circle him. He quickly chose a method of defense and was engulfed in a flash of brilliant light which subdued and he had taken the form of a flygon, a very unusual flygon with pink lenses and a bulb at the end of it's tail instead of the usual diamonds.

The kids cheered at the sight of the small cat turning into a fierce dragon.

Mew, now as tall as the man, snarled at the houndour who didn't cower, nor did it back off.

"BITE IT!"

Mew jumped aside and slammed it into the ground with his thick and heavy tail. It whimpered and fell silent.
He looked up at the man and remembered how scared he had been when they had chased him. Now he was scaring the man and he felt so alive!

"Gooooon!" he cried, with no particular meaning.

The man let out a choked cry and scrambled away, leaving his injured pokemon behind.

The children ran forward and embraced Mew.

"You're so cool!" one of them said.

Mew felt all giddy inside and had to admit that he didn't mind being the hero for once.

"Do you wanna be friends?" a girl asked, looking at the ground as she kicked at the snow with the tip of her boot.

They all started asking at once, "Please be our friend!"

Mew giggled, the voice was his but far more raspier and much less graceful than usual. He'd not used this ability in some time.

Friends? I... I'd like that a lot!

He reverted back to his smaller form, and smiled as he nodded.

The kids all cheered happily and beckoned to him as they rushed down the path to someplace they referred to as home.


Growlithe had his nose pressed to the ground as he darted forward. They'd picked up the man's scent and were now following it through the forest. They'd been walking for what seemed like an eternity to Jula but she didn't whine because she knew the others were having it as hard as she was.

She called to Staravia who the team had always referred to as Star. She squawked and descended to the ground and perched on a fallen tree.

"Let's take a rest." Jula said as she dropped to the ground under a tree where the snow had somehow not reached.

The three friends sat there and wondered how Artemis was holding up. Jula was sure he'd be okay, he was a tough human and that seemed to carry over when he became a flygon.

Star looked at Jula, she was the newest on the team, but she had a good understanding of Jula's thinking process. She knew Jula was worried so badly she had bottled it up and was being almost emotionless to hide it.

She looked at Growlithe, the loyal and intelligent pup that had always been there to bring cheer to the team when they'd needed it.

He looked quite distressed at the loss of Artemis. He'd been quite attached to the human and he had always felt that Artemis was like a big brother to him.

Star preened her wing before thinking about how she felt. She was just as worried as the others, and wasn't afraid to show it, but she kept to herself enough to not be a nuisance. Like Growlithe, she found it rather hard to believe Jula's story about Artemis's transformation and the time they'd spent together. She wasn't too sure how Growlithe was handling it and she didn't plan on asking him either.

"I... I wonder if Artemis will still want us around..." the small orange coated pup muttered into his fore paws as he tried to catch his breath.

Jula looked away, not sure what the answer was herself. She'd always liked her friends presence, but she wanted Artemis to herself now.

"I don't know Growlithe... I don't know..." she whispered as she gazed at the sky and pictured Artemis flying high above them, free as any wild pokemon and happy beyond belief.

 

[Shedinja8]

Bravoe! An excellent fanfic! I can't wait for more...

 

[Rexhunter99]

(sorry for the awfully long delays... I've been all over the place and I simply forgot both PC and Serebii ^^; )

---------------------------

Chapter 4: Questions and Answers

Artemis looked up as a set of doors opened and a man approached him. He felt like he somehow knew the man despite not ever meeting him.

"Ahh... so here I have a flygon. A fine specimen too despite that near defeat back in the forest." the man said as he removed his trench coat and reclined in a chair.

Artemis struggled to stand and gave up when he'd reached a kneeling position.

"You have me, leave Jula alone."

"Calm down now, we don't want you tearing those wounds open again. Now that could be messy. Onto business now, I thought it best to explain why you're here if you aren't a part of one of those ridiculous trainer teams..." he looked quite displeased with the last statement.

"I am collecting creatures with high levels of energy, and you my friend are one of these. I need them for a little project of mine and once you've played your part you are free to leave. However, I need your female friend as well. She'll come if she is your mate, and until then I want you to rest and gather your strength for some tasks I have for you."

Artemis snarled and stamped his foot down into the steel beneath him, "LEAVE JULA ALONE! IF YOU LAY A FINGER ON HER I'LL TEAR YOU TO SHREDS!"

"My my... a childish temper... you'll calm down when you're reunited with your mate, or when you get to show me your true power... until then my friend, enjoy the company below." with that said he pulled a lever and Artemis felt his cage rock before sinking into the floor.

He watched as the man slowly disappeared above the top of his cage and he was swallowed by darkness.


The surrounding forest was painted an orange hue as the sun set. Jula gazed down at the manor where the human's scent lead, according to Growlithe.

"What now?" Star asked as she too watched the building intently, her eyes were perfect for spying into the building, she could make out pretty much every detail with ease.

Jula sighed, they'd gotten to the hill there and stopped to figure out a plan. Yet she had no clue as to what she needed to do in order to get Artemis back and she knew time was running out, he had still not verbally admitted his love to her and this meant he would change back soon.

Growlithe whimpered. The separation was getting to be almost too much for the little dog.

"I want master Artemis back..."

"Hush, hush" Star said, surprising herself.

Jula spotted a window, behind it sat large computers and screens. Glass tubes lined the walls and a man sat down in a chair, lounging there and looking very pleased.

Jula snarled, it was the man that had captured Artemis, she was sure of that.

"This human is mine!" she growled, frightening the others with her vicious change in emotional state.

Star was quite happy to let the dragon deal with the human, so long as they got their trainer back safe and sound.

"We could break in and simply search the building room to room?" she suggested.

Growlithe shook his head.

"No... humans don't leave special things lying around. Artemis will be hidden... probably-" Jula cut him off, "-In the basement!"

Star and Growlithe gave her a funny look.

"Basement?" Star asked.

The dragon nodded as she pointed below the manor.

"Well, let's go rescue master Artemis then!" Growlithe cried cheerfully.


Artemis was in shock. All around him were dragons in cages or tubes. They were all crying to be let go, some angrily, others depressed.

A salamence rammed the steel bars as it cried to their captor.

Artemis curled up, hugging his tail despite the ache in his side from the gash which was healing. He just wanted the sound of the pokemon to be drowned out. He hated hearing them suffer and not be able to do anything about it.

For the first time as a dragon he felt totally useless.

"Mister?" one of the dragonairs asked.

Artemis looked up, trying to work out if it was directed at him or not. He couldn't even work out which dragonair had even said it. They all looked the same, blue bodies, white underbellies, white 'wing' ears, big brown eyes, a very majestic snake styled dragon.

"Pssst, mister!"

This time he spotted it, a lone, much smaller dragonair nearer his cage.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You smell funny."

Artemis felt something snap inside him, he was seperated from the one thing that made him feel good, the one thing that made him whole and it was traumatizing... now a young, arrogant dragonair was telling him he smelled funny.

"You grabbed my attention to tell me that I smell funny?! Guess what! You all smell funny to me and I don't care! You all keep whining when you all know he won't listen! GOD!" he cried, causing the other dragons to stop their constant whines and listen to him.

He realized he'd cried out the last half and blushed a deep red before trying to hide himself behind his wings as he curled up into a ball again.

The dragonair was hurt, she slumped down and looked across the room dejectedly and she mumbled an apology in her childish voice.

Artemis sighed. "No... I'm sorry."

All of the dragons looked at him intently, all with similar thoughts on their minds.

He's different


Jula had shattered a window and jumped into the building. Growlithe and Star had quickly dived in after her.

The trio started searching for an entrance to a lower level of the structure, Jula's heart was racing and her nerves were on edge as she darted from room to room and tried to keep an ear out for the human.

Growlithe had let his nose take him around the house as it twitched and he followed numerous scents.

Star was perched on a book case outside the large room that the human was in, she was their lookout and was making sure she did the best job she could.

Jula threw another door open and let out a hiss of frustration as it yielded yet another storage closet.

Just as she stormed across the room, she heard a hollow thumping sound beneath her feet. She looked down at the floor and realized that there was a plate of steel there instead of flooring.

Without a second thought, she bent down and started to pry the steel from the flooring. She strained, her wings moving of their own accord as her muscles quivered. There was a buckling sound and then she let go, her claws ached and she was exhausted.

Looking back at the plate she saw a gap big enough for her head, which she promptly shoved in and she inhaled deeply through her nose. Though, unlike Growlithe, she couldn't discern many of the scents, she managed to pick up a familiar scent that calmed her senses, her need to fight and struggle eased off as she inhaled again and again.

Suddenly she was brought back to the task at hand and returned to prying the steel plate despite her condition. With one final cry she threw the steel plate aside and jumped into the room below, landing on another metal surface. She clambered off the new metallic object and froze in shock and horror.

The room was filled with dragon type pokemon and even some of the most fierce pokemon she knew of. Everywhere she looked she saw another pokemon imprisoned against it's will. And then she turned around completely and saw Artemis, curled up in a tight ball in his own cage.

"ARTY!" she cried, not caring that the other pokemon were eyeing her.

Artemis lifted his head and looked up, his lenses were fogged up from tears and he couldn't see much of anything except blurs that might be pokemon.

"...Jula?"

Jula tried to pry the bars apart, but found they were too strong, next she tried to incinerate the bars with powerful breath attacks. This too, failed.

"Over there, that metal box with a blue button on it." one of the pokemon said.

Jula jumped down from the cage and ran for the box, it was sitting in the corner of the room and had many more buttons and levers, but the blue button stood out, it was darker than all the other colored objects and had a slight blue tinge. She brought her paw down on it and heard a whooshing sound as the cages all opened, the prisons now rendered useless.

Pokemon shouldered their way out of the cells, shattered glass and tore metal apart. An aggron simply stepped through the wall of its cell and the wall beyond that.

Jula darted between the stampeding pokemon and cried out, "ARTY!"

By then he'd stumbled out of his cell and was looking around, trying to make out his surroundings through the misted lenses. He could hear all kinds of cries around him, but one stood out the most.

"JULA? WHERE ARE YOU!?" he cried.

He felt claws grip his arm and he drew back in a panic.

"It's me... it's okay, I'm here now..." Jula whispered.

Artemis relaxed, his muscles loosened and he let out a sigh of relief.

The two dragons quickly moved out, taking a different path to the other pokemon, Star and Growlithe were waiting and both looked relieved to see Jula trotting out with a grin on her face.

"Who's that? Is it master Artemis?" Growlithe asked as his nose twitched.

Jula nodded and then moved towards the room they had entered through.


Mew looked out the window of the children's bedroom. They were orphans, all packed into the one room along with thirteen more boys and girls split up in other rooms.

The group had smuggled him inside undetected but had to leave with the caretaker. Leaving Mew in the room, doors locked.

He continued to gaze out the window. Something felt wrong, far off he could feel a disturbance in something he had done, he was certain that the boy-flygon he had transformed was in some form of danger. He was torn, scared silly by the fact there was danger but aching to help such a kind creature like himself.

"Girl-flygon... Jula, I hope you are doing well..." he whispered.

Now he was regretting the restriction he had put on the transformation. She had saved him from certain capture but he'd given her a half promise. A false truth.

A new disturbance interrupted his thoughts, the presence of a strong creature, another legendary pokemon. He probed out with his psychic powers, hoping to discover the newcomer. All he saw was a crescent moon, yellow and bobbing up and down.

He felt like he knew the owner of the crescent moon, or had learned of them. He racked his mind for answers and sighed. The owner remained elusive and a mystery to all, for now Mew would pray for the flygon couple while he stayed with the children.


Jula shattered the window to the point where there was no glass left in the frame. She helped Artemis though and jumped out once her two assistants dived out after the male flygon.

By now Artemis' lenses were clearing, he could see better but still relied on his senses of smell and hearing to navigate. Right now he could smell sulfur, grease and fear.

Jula quickly inspected Artemis' state before lifting herself up and finding her stare locked on the cause of her troubles. The man stood only a dozen or so feet away with two houndooms a mightyena and a honchcrow.

"Humph, I expected you to come after me, but I underestimated your capabilities girl. Nevertheless you will submit to me and your mate shall return to his cage alongside you. Your pets shall die or flee, whichever comes first..." he said in a monotone.

Artemis snarled. "You monster!"

The dark type pokemon smirked, finding Artemis a good humor. Though their smirks faded and they waited patiently for the order.

"I will leave this backwater planet, take the treasures I have acquired and make a fortune in my home world! You shall not stop me from doing so, you're just stupid animals a-" his sentence caught in his throat as Artemis seemed to materialize next to him and fit his claws around the small, fleshy neck.

Artemis growled, a deep menacing growl as he lifted the light man from the ground and held him there.

"ARK – FIEND! LET – ARK – GO!" the man struggled to say. His fingers desperately trying to pry the sharp, sturdy claws from his neck.

Seeing the pained looks on the imprisoned pokemon again, Artemis only tightened his hold on the tiny man's neck. There was only two things Artemis hated more than victimized, it was a human who called pokemon stupid animals and a human who treated pokemon like inanimate possessions.

Jula cried out for Artemis to stop but fell silent as his wings spread and were held in position. He was long gone, past the point of no return.

Finally the dark pokemon came to their senses and attacked, the honchcrow was met in the air by Star and Growlithe darted around the mightyena. Jula jumped in front of a houndoom stopping it from attacking Artemis who promptly dropped the unconscious man and engaged the other houndoom with an almighty punch to it's side.

The group battled, fire attacks flying every which way, Star dive bombing the honchcrow whenever she could. Artemis delivered a combination and variation of physical attacks. Everytime the houndoom landed a hit, he came back twice as hard and determined to win. The adrenaline coursing through their bodies kept them going past their limit and showed through their fierce attacks.

Jula pelted her houndoom with a blob of mud she drew from the ground using her sand tomb attack. The houndoom slowed down, unable to move as fast with the glob of sticky mud attached to its leg and side.

Star seemingly disappeared before striking a terrific blow on the startled honchcrow's back with an Aerial ace attack.

The scales were tipping in the dragons favor. Finally the honchcrow spiraled down and landed in a heap on the scorched ground. Followed by a houndoom and then the mightyena.

Artemis kicked the houndoom, sweeped around, low and fast with his tail and knocked the hellish dog off its feet. As it struggled to get back up he opened his maw and loosed a jet of intense lime flames which lasted for a few seconds before he closed his mouth and glared at the unconscious foe.

"Arty! You did it!" Jula cried, seeing the lime flames was the most beautiful thing she had seen all day.

Artemis turned only to get a fully grown, female flygon attached to him. The group started to relax, Artemis was calmer now and wasn't making rash decisions, the enemy was dealt with and the prisoners freed.

"All in a good day's work isn't it master Artemis?" Growlithe said with a cheeky grin. He'd been bitten and scratched with dark attacks and thus retained dark marks over his flame colored fur.

"Yes Growlithe," Artemis said with a laugh, feeling a lot better with his entire team, his entire family with him.

Jula nuzzled his cheek and turned to look at the unconscious man. She was about to suggest something as the air around them rippled and the light was sucked away.

"Urf... I feel so awful..." Star groaned, no longer able to support herself in the air.

The all fell to the ground, on their knees or forepaws. The giddiness of the victory was being sapped away by the strange new element.

"What's... going... on?" Artemis asked, not understanding why they felt so bad and were only getting worse.

"Heh heh. Human, you are being subjected to my incredible powers. Even now your strength fades and soon you will be drawn into a never ending nightmare, the kind of fate you deserve for being a cheater in this game." a new voice said.

Artemis looked up as a dark shape formed, it was wispy, like a misdreavus but retained it's form quite well. One blue eye was unveiled, this lone eye sent out a feeling of deep foreboding just by itself. The creature was a combination of black, red and white, neither fur, scales nor skin.

"Who are you?" Jula asked for the benefit of the others.

"I? Silly girl, I am Darkrai! Master of the shadows and of the dark things in your dreams. I am a living nightmare and to prove it..." Darkrai trailed off.

Jula started to scream, and Darkrai laughed so hard that the pointy tip of his head jiggled.

"STOP IT! STOP IT YOU MONSTER!" Artemis roared, he fought the energy sapping environment and struggled up to his feet.

"Oh dear, a strong fighter, we'll remedy this." Darkrai said calmly as he flicked his hand at Artemis who started to growl in pain.

Artemis struggled, ignored the pain and put one clawed foot in front of the other. Taking three steps he found himself face to face with Darkrai. The air rippled all around them, small blue particles rose among the dark purple ones, casting faint light on the two pokemon.

"Hmm, impressive... but you can't seriously think you stand a chance against me when you are weakened and exhausted from the last battle."

"I'll destroy you, you monster... just you wait... when you stop playing tricks and fight fair, I'll beat you into a pulp and send you back to where ever you came from." he snarled, his upper lip curled back, revealing rows of hidden but sharp teeth.

Darkrai laughed, prodded Artemis in the chest and smirked.

"You can't possibly match up to a legendary pokemon you fool. And in this realm I control the very fabrics of the universe! Here I am the most powerful being."

Artemis said nothing, staring straight into Darkrai's eye he searched for a meaning behind the unprovoked attack.
The stare unnerved Darkrai but he didn't reveal that. Instead he shoved Artemis back with a wave of dark energy and laughed.

Just then, the air rippled once more and pink lights sparked from one point in the air before a new pokemon materialized.

This new pokemon had a crescent moon shape on their head. Their body was somewhat like a cosmo. A combination of gold, baby blue and pink contrasted it with the darkness around them all.

"DARKRAI YOU MONSTROSITY! RELEASE THEM!" it cried, glaring at Darkrai.

"Cresselia... you underestimate me again and - "

Cresselia lifted a golden plate of stone with telekinesis, causing Darkrai to vanish in fear. The newcomer quickly summoned up energy to encapsulate the group and teleport them back to the forests near the manor.

 

[Rexhunter99]

Chapter 5: Darkness descends

Artemis coughed, rubbing his arms to get the feeling back in them as their saviour, Cresselia, floated a foot in front of him.

"Are you well enough to stand Artemis?" it asked.

Artemis didn't answer, instead he struggled up again and looked into the pokemon's soft and concerned eyes. He nodded to Cresselia.

"Thank you... if you hadn't come-"

"-I know what would have happened, I'm just glad I made it this time." Cresselia finished.

Artemis looked around, the others seemed frozen, Star was sprawled out on the ground, Growlithe was on his side and Jula was curled up in a ball.

"Why aren't they moving?!" Artemis asked suddenly, rushing to Jula's side, trying to shake her awake.

"They can't see or hear us because I have put them under a hypnotic stasis, they will recover while we talk. What you just did Artemis was purely amazing and Darkrai was scared. It's been a long time since I've seen Darkrai so scared... centuries in fact and the last person to do it was actually a pokemon, though I'm sad to say she perished defending her hatchlings..."

"I... I scared Darkrai?"

"Indeed, you defied his power, he had you under his complete control in that little dimension he conjured, but you broke free and stepped up to him, few can do this and even less have. Even I can't bring myself to move much closer than I was... making it a challenge to battle him. But Artemis, you put a strong fear in him, he will do all he can to destroy you, thus eradicating you from his plans. A day ago, you were merely a thorn in his side, but now you parallel his power, now he is scared and willing to do anything, even fight you face to face." Cresselia turned and looked up at the sky, the sun was setting.

"But Cresselia... how can I fight him if I don't know how to battle like a real pokemon? How can I when I still find it awkward and degrading to lap water from a river instead of drink it from a cup? I'm not even human enough to do anything I used to do..."

"Artemis, you are capable of defeating Darkrai, either as a human or a flygon, it matters not what you are but what you feel. You love Jula with all your heart, you disregard all human morals and pokemon morals for your love of her. That is a sign of a strength far greater than a strength required to lift heavy things. You alone in your group rose up to challenge Darkrai, to threaten him even though you were exhausted and no longer able to fight, you did that. Artemis, as far as I am concerned, you are one of the bravest, most powerful beings to walk this planet."

"Wah! I-I-I'm not... I... can't be..."

"Artemis... that dream you had, with your Aunt. I invoked it, but everything your aunt said is true... I had the privelage of meeting her once... when she was young and well. I am deeply sorry that she perished... it is indeed a horrible thing to have happened to a woman so caring... but it explains why you are as caring and courageous as you are, where you gained such strength. In that, her death was not in vain... But Artemis... now it's your turn, to take the place of everyone who has challenged Darkrai and fallen, you WILL succeed and I will be there to aid you... I failed the others... I was terrified of Darkrai, but no more, if I die, then my death will have been for a great cause."

"Cresselia... what was that golden plate thing you used on Darkrai?"

"Hmm this?" Cresselia conjured the stone plate up once more, close enough for Artemis to examine it in detail.

"Ever since we were little, before Darkrai changed... before he.. he became evil. He feared it, but now... his power grows stronger each and every day... soon the plate will be useless against him."

Artemis shuddered, the stone gave off a great sense of longing, he looked away.

"Infact... I think you need to see this Artemis... it'll shock you... but don't lose hope." Cresselia started to rise, motioning for Artemis to follow.
Artemis jumped up and rose alongside Cresselia, looking out over to the horizon, his back to the sunset.

"Close your eyes, calm yourself and concentrate, you'll feel a slight pressure in your snout."

Artemis did as he was instructed, calmed and concentrating, he felt something enter his mind, gently moving through his thoughts and memories.

"Be calm... I won't tamper with anything... but if you ever find Darkrai doing this, it would be best that you struggle with your body as best as possible and think of a brick wall or something just as plain. This stops a psychic pokemon from being able to concentrate on your other things as you are forcing them to see and feel the wall in their mind."

Artemis remained calm, finally Cresselia left, the warm feeling faded and he no longer felt the slight pressure in his snout.

"Open your eyes..."

He did and almost dropped out of the air. Before him was a vast dome of purple darkness, slowly spreading out. As it moved, the trees within lost their healthy green colors, the grass shrivelled and died, the water turned grey.

"What-What's happening!?" Artemis asked, turning his head to Cresselia as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Darkrai's hold on the world is slowly spreading out from his domain, the hope and happiness is being drained away and those not strong enough to handle this fall into an everlasting nightmare, more go insane and the rest find themselves struggling against the insane survivors, and trying to pick out a living in the harsh land... to normal people, this is invisible until you are within it, though an effect of the horror is that no one can warn the outside, nor leave it. It's so horrible and I've seen so many humans and pokemon go insane... but now there's hope. Darkrai isn't concentrating on those in his domain but now us, we are a threat and so those within are getting a breif respite. Artemis, you understand now what's at stake don't you, you can't just turn you back on it... like I did for a good century. Only now, when his domain has rapidly increased have I become an active threat to him... and for that I am ashamed."

Artemis couldn't stand to look down at the horrors of the wastelands anymore. He could see half of the beautiful deserts were now coveredin the darkness. The lakes and rivers were tainted, and he could see specks that were humans and pokemon.

"This is awful, we have to do something!"

"I know... though now we have to prepare... you must return to Mew, you must get him to join us in this battle."

"Yes Cresselia, do you know where he is? At the ruins?"

"No, he went into town, but now you must find him, time grows thin, your gift of being a flygon is wearing off and soon your advantage will be diminished. Mew must join us and must extend his gift to you for Jula."


Artemis looked around, Cresselia was gone and his head hurt. He spotted the others, asleep too. The sun had set and the stars were slowly coming about, small specks of light in the darkening sky above.

He quickly woke Jula, Star and Growlithe, still able to see the dark dome over the land.

Jula stayed attached to his side as he quickly explained everything Cresselia allowed him to, they listened and nodded, not at all disbelieving him.

They all agreed to go and get Mew, who Artemis wanted to both thank and curse.


Growlithe rode on Artemis' back as they all flew towards the town, All of them going as fast as possible, only slowing if Star tired.

They finally reached the town and started to search, the moon rose up as they trodded through the snowy streets, peering into windows and hoping they'd see Mew.

They all split up and continued the search, time was almost out for Artemis, but Jula knew this was far more important than ever having Artemis like her, she had to think of not just herself, but the whole world now.

Artemis looked up, the only one in their group who could read a clock, time was almost out, he had five minutes until the gift wore off. He had to find Mew.

"MEW!" he shouted, pokemon from inside houses and in the woods nearby either cried out in fear or anger at him.

he ignored them and ran from house to house, looking up at the clock as the seconds rolled past.

Finally he stopped at the orphanage, no longer able to sneak about, he shouldered the door down and caused the assistant caretaker half to death as he stomped past, making the floorboards groan under his weight and claws.

"MEW!" he shouted. He had all of a minute now.

Suddenly, kids ran out of their rooms and charged at him, screaming in joy as he tried to get past them all.
"No! Out of the way!" Artemis cried, trying to push them away gently, the caretaker screamed and ran from the building as the owner ran out, pokeball in hand.

Thirty seconds.

"MEW! DAMNIT! WHERE ARE YOU!?"

Suddenly, the small pink pokemon poked his head out and smiled as he saw Artemis. Then he saw the owner of the house getting ready to toss a pokeball. A pink bubble encased the man and the ball bounced harmlessly to the bottom.

That's when time ran out. Artemis felt his body tingle, and his scales faded on his arms as the claws reshaped themselves as fingers, a thumb grew out of the side of each hand. He screamed in agony as the bones in his legs snapped, reforming again to their human state. Still in agony, he remembered that he was wearing nothing, too late to talk, he reached out and tore the cloth off the table, pulling it over his wingless back before falling forward onto his hands and knees.

As the kids all bounced around, oohing and aahing at the 'magic' flygon before them, Artemis felt the scales slide back into his skin, the lenses covering his eyes lifted up, revealing his still flygon eyes to the harsh light and air. They stung and burned, causing him to shut them as his tail started to shrink back into his spine again.

His horns slide back again, hair growing out of the top of his head, the dark green color faded into a brown again as his eyes readjusted, the reptilian ones returned to their original human state, allowing him to look around again, though deeply missing the crispness of the dragon sight.

The last of the changes happened and then he sat there, hunched over with a large cloth covering him. He carefully wrapped himself up in it and rose up, tired from the transformation and mortified that people had witnessed the change too. The caretaker was pounding on the walls of the bubble and shouting things as the children all begged Artemis to show them how to change into pokemon which made Mew giggle.

"I need clothes, please can someone get me some?" he asked.

Immediately three children shouldered their way to a room and ran back with clothes in hand, pushing them up at Artemis who took them and dived into a room, closing the door behind him with Mew in tow. He leaned on the door and pulled th clothes on as fast as he could while he glared at the floating pink feline.

"This is your fault you know, but this isn't the time to teach you a lesson. Everyone needs you Mew, something terrible is happening, we all need you to join us."

Mew looked at Artemis and cautiously used its telepathy.

"What's wrong? Besides returning to your old self." he asked Artemis.

Artemis pulled the shirt on as he spoke.

"A pokemon called Darkrai is trying to destroy everything, he wants to cast the entire world in a shroud of darkness and nightmares, a pokemon called Cresselia is his arch rival, sworn to stop him no matter the cost to herself. I just got dragged into the middle of this because I can apparently take Darkrai on and win. Problem is, now I'm stuck as a human again and not only that, but Jula is going to be so upset because of the change. We need you to help us battle Darkrai Mew, we need your strength and powers and we need your courage."

Mew floated back with a look of fear on his face, "I-I can't fight someone like that! H-He'd defeat me!"

Artemis pulled the slightly too big coat on and grabbed Mew around the waist.

"Don't worry about that, you won't be fighting him. I will be."

With that, he threw the window open and jumped out into the freezing cold air, landed in the snow and took off at a run, looking for the others.


Drakar woke, covered in a thin layer of snow. He shivered and sat up, rubbing the side of his head.
He could remember everything clearly, and started to sob.

"What have I done!? I've... become a monster..."

No, you are merely unlocking your true potential Drakar!

"NO! YOU DID THIS TO ME! YOU MADE ME HURT ALL THOSE CREATURES! YOU MADE ME DO IT ALL!"

Did I? Or did I merely draw out your trueself and allow you to do the things you truly yearned to do? After all, I don't get as much fun when I force people around.

"That dragon... the one that strangled me, he saved me from you... he did it... he... he was in love... he's... he is human. I could see it in his eyes."

Bah, that pathetic excuse for a living being is neither human nor pokemon now, and he thinks he can rally a group of pokemon who will fight against us... pathetic! As my partner in all of this, you should be off stopping them!

"No, I'm not your pawn in this any more, it's not a game toying with the lives of others. I-ARGH!"

Drakar howled, holding his head as it throbbed.

"Master... I... must... obey..."

Yes... that's right-

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I-I. Can't. Give. In. Must. Help. Boy. Save. All."

When this is all over, you can return to your world, a very rich and powerful force. You could rule the planet, as I will rule this one.

Drakar struggled, his mind was a mess, all he could do was scream as the evil thing tried to take over again, he struggled back, forcing it away while he thought of a way to stop it, he didn't ever want to be that evil monster he had been trapped as, he wasn't going to hurt another good person so long as he lived.

He thought of a happy memory, a time when he and his brothers had their first Christmas, back when his father had finally gotten a decent paying job. The joy of opening presents to find toys they had all wanted, thje joy of being together in a decent house, of having his father and brothers with him and of having a real lunch of hot foods, where the duck had enough flesh on it to feed them all.

And he felt the strength of the monster fade, it lingered for a few moments then fled completely, leaving him alone in the snow again, with a warm feeling in his heart and a clear task in his mind.

He was going to stop that Darkrai monster no matter what.


The group, now consisting of a human, distraught flygon, releived growlithe, unphased staravia and a confused mew, was taking shelter in the ruins where the whole ordeal had started while a light storm brewed. Artemis had described the darkness he could see slowly creeping closer, while Mew had quaked in fear, being able to see it too.

Although Jula begged Mew to turn Artemis into a flygon again, Mew was too scared to do much more than whimper and float erratically around them all.

Artemis used the time to think everything over, churning it around in his mind. He knew he would have to face Darkrai sooner or later, and that would mean he would have to be a pokemon again, which was something he thought would be best for everyone including himself, he would not be missed anywhere and would be able to do what he wanted around Jula regardless of the company.

The clouds crashed overhead, making Growlithe and Mew both jump in fright, the bird and dragon wheren't bothered by the sound at all.

"I'm going to have to go into the darkness sometime... but I need to be ready... and to be ready I need to be a pokemon." he said, looking over at Mew who was quivering.

"But since the only one here who can do that is too terrified to even conjure up a bubble or lift a pebble with telekenisis, we'll have to make do with what we have..." He looked over at Star.

"Star, you and I are going to practice, I want you to give it your all and not worry at all about hurting me, I'll heal and it'll help me get ready. Dive at me, I'll dodge as best I can." He said, making sure Star nodded and agreed.

They spent all morning practising, Star, at first, hit Artemis every time with deadly accuracy, he was all cut up and bruised by the time he had managed to get into the rythym of dodging.

When the sun had risen up, and a dim light lit up the interior of the room instead of the flames Jula had tended all night, Artemis was exhausted and hurting. Star was like-wise exhausted and they both collapsed on the ground, well Artemis was caught by Jula who started to cradle him and lick his wounds.

Mew finally woke, much calmer and ready to listen to reason.

"Mew... -huff- Are you ready to listen now? -Wheeze-" Artemis said from within Jula's tight hug.

Mew nodded, waiting for Artemis to talk while the others listened intently.

"I need you to turn me back into a flygon."

"But... I'm not supposed to use my powers like that..."

"Mew, listen, Darkrai isn't supposed to try and take over the world but he is, Cresselia wasn't supposed to intervine with the doings of humans and ordinary pokemon but she has, I was never supposed to get drawn into all of this but I was and now so are you. It's likely Darkrai will try to kill you before you can change me into a flygon, so the sooner it happens the better for you."

Mew trembled, he was mortified that he was going to go against everything his mother had ever taught him, that he would break the ancient laws of the legendaries. But he knew Artemis was right, he had to in order to restore the world to it's peaceful state.

Artemis waited patiently, he knew he was asking a lot from Mew. But he knew the feline couldn't stand by while everything was slowly destroyed.

Mew remembered the strength he had felt when he had assumed the form of a flygon, the feeling of being free of the bonds to the earth. It was something the human would miss sorely, he knew that much. He also knew that Artemis was strong of heart and would certainly be capable of surviving in such an awful and harsh place. He also couldn't bare to keep two beings who loved each other apart.

"I-If... if I do this... there might not be any way to change you back... I would have tampered with you too much for me to restore your old form... are you sure?" Mew asked, he was nervous, being in control of another persons future was nerve wracking.

Artemis looked down at his old body and thought about his past, he'd lost almost everyone he had ever loved, the only one's left were right here in the chamber with him, and he couldn't understand them. He looked back up at Mew with a firm and sure expression.

"I am Mew, ready and waiting."

 

[Dragax67]

I am enjoying this story, its definitely unique in its own way and I like the way that the story unfolds slowly. Keep it up! :)