3. That Magic Mountain
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Pierce periodically flipped through the pages of a random newsletter, suffering from an insufferable boredom.
"I can't find anything interesting in them, either," said a teenaged girl to his left.
The silver-haired teen was startled by the young woman, whose lips were as lusciously red as the blush she added to her youthful face. "I'm sorry," the impish girl trilled as she twirled her hair with one finger, "did I interrupt you?"
Pierce brushed his silver hair quite confidently. "Not at all," he answered, boasting his winning smile. "Just trying to pass the time."
"Ugh, tell me about it! My mom went into labor a whole two weeks early, can you believe it??" She pointed to a door with a sign explaining the area beyond it was for employees only. "She's been in there for twelve hours already."
"Bummer," Pierce coolly replied. "Poor thing. I bet you're exhausted being a good daughter and," he inched closer to her, "sticking around."
The girl giggled. "Well, I
was. But it's funny; I don't feel so tired anymore."
But Pierce had stopped listening to her. The corner of his eye caught the most captivating flyer that took an entire page from its magazine. It showed a jubilant and relaxed model bathing in a pool of blue and orange bubbles. Her hair flowed gracefully across the page with its intriguing hue of sapphire due and topaz highlights. Her petite feet floated like a cloud at the end of the tub; they were so small that Pierce imagined her using them to sneak up on a fly.
In the bottom, the ad featured its product: a generic shampoo bottle, with a silly slogan that read,
Reverse the clock for your skin.
"My name is Carly, by the way," the girl announced impatiently. "What's yours?"
"Pierce," the dazed lad murmured.
"I like that name … Pierce." Carly leaned over, her curiosity driving her to peak at whatever could be stealing attention away from her dolled up self. "So, umm, what brings you here, Pierce?"
A man with dark brown, spiked hair with gray streaks on the sides rushed into the waiting room from the elevator, scanning the rows of empty seats. "Pierce," he called.
"Oh, Mr. Fir!" the young man exclaimed, slapping his mag on Carly's lap to meet with his elder. "How is he? Can we visit him? Did you hear anything about Maya?"
"Relax," Adam's father urged. "They are both resting for now. Maya just woke up, but Adam suffered more injuries so it might be a while for him." He paused. "And I talked to her parents. They said you can visit her after they are gone."
Pierce breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh man, I'm so glad to hear this, sir. I was worried they'd need surgery, or—"
"Listen, Pierce …" Aaron placed a firm hand on the teen's shoulder. "There is something you should know."
==:==:==:==:==:==:==:==:==
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A startled Adam feebly lifted his bruised torso from the bed he found himself in. His eyes widened with horror when he discovered the series of plastic tubes running into his arms, along with the plastic mask on his nose and mouth that he hastily tossed onto his lap. The brightness of the light panels above him was too much for his sensitive retinae to absorb, forcing him to blink excessively until they adjusted.
Beep! Beep!
Adam twisted his head to the corner of the tiny and cramped room to see a machine monitoring what appeared to be his vitals.
"How did I get here?" he wondered aloud, the hoarseness in his voice causing a strong and painful cough.
"You're awake!" a familiar voice cheered from the doorway.
"Pierce …" Adam managed to say before the coughing disrupted him once again.
"You might wanna put that mask back on," his friend worriedly suggested.
"It's fine," he feebly insisted. "I think it's all out of my system."
Pierce reached for the metal chair on the opposite corner and grabbed a seat. "Are you feeling okay, at least?"
Before Adam could answer that, the events of the night immediately began flashing into his mind. "The fire!" he panicked. "The monkey! M-Maya—?!"
"Whoa, whoa!" Pierce jumped up to comfort his friend, "Take it easy! The fire died out already. And Maya's been awake now for almost an hour. Everything is okay."
"She has?" the younger of the pair asked. "Thank … man, thank
something."
"Well," Pierce queried, "maybe thank Arceus?"
"Yeah right!" Adam burst out before suffering through another assault of coughs. Pierce anxiously dashed to the sink and returned with a cup of tap water, which his friend graciously accepted. "I doubt
he had anything to do with this."
Pierce quipped, "I guess some things never change." He then replayed what his friend had just shouted during his freaking out. "Hold on … did you something about a monkey?"
"Oh, that. I-it's a long story." The dehydrated young man quickly drank his water and declined Pierce's offer to fetch more. "Wait, Pierce … how did you even know about … well, any of this?"
"Are you kidding?! That fire was incredible! It was larger than anything anyone has ever seen! The press is already calling it the largest in our island's history — at least, since the last time that old volcano erupted, but nobody remembers that."
"Oh, I didn't realize," Adam admitted after rerunning what had happened over and over — the trees catching on fire, the atmosphere clouded in thick smoke, the intense fight with an unidentified species. "I was caught right in the middle of it, that I guess … How did I even get here, at the doctor's? The fire was so thick I didn't think anyone would find me."
"I guess you're lucky I did," said Pierce. "But, you know, I don't even wanna think about what would've happened if I didn't … yeah, I don't wanna think about that at all."
"
You found us?" Adam inquired with genuine astonishment.
"I sure did, bud."
"And you brought us here? Both me and Maya? By yourself?"
Pierce gulped. "Of course!" he laughed. "I wasn't gonna leave either of my best pals to die out there."
"Haha, wow, I never expected that … Thanks, bro," Adam said warmly.
"It was nothing."
"You kidding?! You saved our lives, Pierce."
"I get it, already!" Pierce asserted. "It's done now."
"Alright," Adam grinned. "I guess I owe you one, man."
"Actually … I wanted to wait until you were feeling better, but is it alright if I ask you something?"
"Oh, sure, what's up?"
"How come you were in the forest to begin with?"
"Oh." Adam froze. He had almost forgotten but soon he realized that none of this would have happened if he did not get into that explosive, public argument with his father. But he felt shame, in retrospect, for the way things were left between them. "I mean, how does anyone end up anywhere, right?" he grinned.
Pierce eyed his friend with suspicion. "Yeah. That's what I figured."
"What. Why are you looking at me that way?"
"Adam," Pierce explained, "I wasn't born yesterday. You…, Maya…, solitude in a forest… I can connect the dots."
Adam blushed. "You're crazy, Pierce. It wasn't like that."
"Quit playing dumb, already."
"Alright, here's the truth," Adam began before he sighed. "It was just some innocent stargazing when I noticed smoke from a distance. We checked it out, and, well, you know the rest."
Pierce beamed. "So
now I know what you meant by 'monkey' earlier, you dog, you."
"You're not listening to a word I'm saying."
"Did the monkey come out to play, and make Maya's day?"
"Pierce! No!"
==:==:==:==:==:==:==:==:==
"Cares you know not … therefore, sleep," Lady Oak lightly sang. "While over you, a watch I'll keep." She swayed the heavy-eyed newborn in her arms back and forth, whose lids fluttered under her soothing tenor. "Sleep, pretty darling … do not cry …" She placed the child in a bassinette. "And I will sing you … a … lullaby."
"Lady Oak, that was beautiful," the mother applauded from her bed. "Bless you for everything you have done. Words cannot describe my gratitude."
The elderly woman strolled beside the bed. "That is enough, Poca," she insisted. "It is my duty to see that all new members of the tribe are cared for." Lady Oak poured a cup of tea and passed it to the new mother.
"Thank you." But then, her spirits were overcome with sadness. "But I do wish that, if only … my daughter arrived tomorrow at the earliest. I know what this day means to you, my Lady."
The chief smiled with poise. "It is quiet alright, dear."
"But, my Lady, you failed to make it to your daughter's tomb today. On the anniversary of her death, nevertheless. Surely, I would be devastated were I you."
"Dear, me, I have stood all night and I am afraid it has tired me. Might I take a seat right here?" the village chief asked.
"Of course, madam! After everything you did today, I would be honored."
After plopping on a wooden stool, she declared, "Now, I am certain my daughter would prefer me to bring forth a new life than to mourn a death. You have no need for your guilt, Poca. Your daughter is a beautiful angel who has been blessed by our Lord."
"Thank you, Lady Oak," said Poca. "Perhaps my conscience would be at ease if you shared a story of your daughter."
"You want to hear about Deborah?"
"Just a story would serve its comfort," the young woman explained. "If anything, it would help lull me to sleep after such a tiresome day."
Lady Oak unflappably articulated, "I thought the tea was serving that exact purpose, dear."
"Oh, heavens, have I pushed my boundaries again?" Poca sputtered. "Forgive me, my Lady! My husband always warns me of my behavior."
"No … no, do not be foolish; you have done no such thing." Lady Oak cleared her throat. "Deborah … she was a remarkable young woman. She was kind, but brave. Intelligent, but modest … She was a marvelous daughter, wife, and mother. I would often wonder how I could ever raise a person like my Deborah. She found new ways to impress me every day she lived."
"Do you have any stories of her?" Poca inquired.
"I have several. Let us see … there was one time when two brothers in a distant village were behaving ferociously with one other. Their mother begged them to end their fighting, but they would not listen. The chief commanded them to end their fighting, but they would not listen. Deborah was passing by for political matters when the two boys lost control and disrupted a very important meeting."
"What did she do?"
Lady Oak chuckled. "She merely asked them, 'Why are you fighting?' in the motherly tone she perfected on my grandson. And they stopped to explain what they were so angry about."
"What were they angry about?"
"I cannot recall. But Deborah saw the window and flew right in. She sat them down individually to understand both sides and helped the boys get along again. When the chief asked her how she was able to resolve their senseless dispute, she told him it was a skill she acquired from arranging meetings between our tribes and the settlers."
"That is remarkable!" Poca beamed. "Your daughter had quite the lip on her."
Lady Oak lightly chortled. "Yes, my daughter was mostly polite, but she possessed her moments of weakness. Sadly she takes after my own mother — bless her soul — in that way. But she delivered her lines with such dignity." The old woman checked on the infant. "Enough with this, dear. May I ask, have you decided on a name for you new daughter?"
Poca pursed her lip. "Hmm … you know what, Lady Oak? I have! I think I shall name her … Deborah!"
Lady Oak froze.
"Oh, my Lady … you hate it, don't you? I am so sorry; that was uncalled for — I take it back!"
"Nonsense," the Lady reassured. "Deborah is a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."
"Are you sure, my Lady? I wish not to offend you."
"You have my blessing, dear."
"Very well, I suppose … it is settled!" Poca rejoiced. "My baby girl Deborah. Thank you for delivering my Deborah for me."
"I was happy be of service to you," Lady Oak told her. "But now I should tend to the rest of the village, dear. You send your husband if you require anything."
"Have I driven you away, my Lady?"
"Not at all. I shared a wonderful time with you." She stood up. "Good night, dear. May Arceus watch over you and your family."
"And the same to you!"
Lady Oak strolled outside of Poca's hut wearing a smile that stretched across her aged face. She looked up into the night sky, but the stars did not glimmer as brightly as other nights due to the lingering smoke in the air. "Ah. What a shame," she said, her lip beginning to quiver. Before she knew it, Lady Oak's eyes collected tears until they began to involuntarily flow down her wrinkled cheeks. Fighting the urge to fully break down at the risk of being spotted, her body shivered in complete despair.
"Lady Oak, is everything alright?"
The old woman quickly spun around and identified Poca's husband returning with gifts from the rest of the village. "Yes, of course, Jon," she answered pleasantly. "I felt a summer chill, is all. I must say, it felt quite odd, but I am alright."
"A chill, you say? Are you sick, my Lady? Yet you delivered my child but if you were—"
"It was a chill, Jon," she almost snapped but just as quickly regained her composure. "Your child is fine, and, I assure you, so am I."
"That is good to hear. Would you like something from my home before you depart? A quilt? Some herbs, perhaps?"
"That will not be necessary, but th—"
This time, a hauntingly real chill shot up the Lady Oak's spine, temporarily paralyzing her. Her eyes bulged out of her worn face. Her pupils dilated. And her palms shook tremendously.
"Lady Oak, you require my assistance!" Jon cried.
"Stay back!" she warned.
"But my Lady, you are not well!"
Lady Oak turned to face the island's ancient and dormant volcano, a look of grief and worry decorating her countenance. "Jon, I ask that you do everything to keep your family safe tonight."
"…S-safe from what?"
"My greatest fear." She briskly paced away, ignoring Jon's calls for her. "Adam," she whispered to herself, "I pray you are safe."
==:==:==:==:==:==:==:==:==
Ding!
The elevator door opened and Pierce rolled a wheelchair-riding Adam, who was still wearing his hospital garments and arm cast, inside.
"They moved her to the highest floor," the bipedal teen informed. "You know, Little Princess Maya deserves the best and all." He rolled his eyes in disgust.
But Adam did not even hear his friend's banter. He still could not steer his thoughts away from the events that took place. Most of all, he could not erase the image of that miniature, yet monstrous creature with whom he engaged in battle.
That chimp that almost killed me, he wondered.
There was something oddly familiar about it..
Adam recalled his early childhood, and how he used to read all the time at the will of his father. The texts from that phase of his life often focused on the mythology related to the Pokémon Island's native culture. And some of these particular works illustrated fictional animal-like beings possessing a range of skills and powers that, according to the literature, were recruited by both good and evil as weapons for their respective causes.
Pierce and Adam made their way across the hallway after stepping into the twelfth floor. They passed by several large rooms reserved individually for the higher-class patients, until they stopped in front of the nurse's quarters.
"We're here to see Maya Cranford," Pierce anxiously recited. "Umm, I believe she was suffering from smoke inhalation and shortness of breath?"
The nurse cracked a smile. "Just her name is fine, thank you. Maya's parents mentioned visitors would be coming after they left. Are you boys Alan and Pete?"
Pierce awkwardly stared at the nurse, then glanced at Adam, then returned to the nurse before responding. "…Yes. Those are absolutely our identities."
"Perfect!" the nurse bubbled. "Maya is in room 1214, just around the corner. Let me know if I can be of any assistance, okay? Just ask for Nurse Jeanie."
"Well, Nurse Jeanie," Pierce started with a twinkle in his eye. "I was wondering, what do you recommend I do when a pretty woman gets my heart racing?"
Adam unenthusiastically commanded, "You wheel me into Maya's room and make your own time to hit on the too-old-for-you-nurse," prompting the RN to giggle.
After finally arriving in Maya's luxurious hospital room, the boys are disappointed to discover her asleep, and a much older, senior nurse at her bedside.
"Well, this is typical!" Pierce boomed, provoking the fussy nurse to shush him. "Adam," he continued more quietly, "you realize they orchestrated this so that we wouldn't see her awake, right?"
"I dunno, Pierce. She breathed in a lot of smoke, so there's no telling how wiped out she's been all night."
The nurse butted in, "She barely spoke to her loved ones, young man. Her body is working hard to recover."
"I smell a rat," Pierce bitterly remarked. "It would be completely in the nature of these people to set us up like this. It's easy: they had their trivial little chat with Maya, they waited until she passed out, and then they gave that really cute nurse the wrong names to mess with us. My god, they always have to have the last laugh."
"Do not speak of me that way when I am in the room!" the nurse quietly barked.
"Believe me," Pierce retorted, "I'm talking about a
different cute nurse." The nurse squinted her eyes disapprovingly behind her bifocals.
Adam wheeled to the counter at the corner of the room, eyeing a lovely vase filled with fresh flowers. He read the note lying beside the vase and sneered at it.
"Damian was here," he deduced. "Or, at least, his roses made it safely."
Pierce made a fist. "Wow, it's the cherry on top of this crap cake."
"Watch your language!" the nurse scolded, smoke fuming out of her narrow nose. "I can see why this young lady's delightful family would want to keep her away from someone so ill-behaved."
"Roses," Adam mocked. "Maya can't stand roses. You'd think her boyfriend would know something so basic about her."
"Agreed," said Pierce. "He should have gotten her daisies. They're Maya's favorite, and they grow not too far from her house."
Adam turned to Pierce. "I didn't know you knew about her loving daisies," he said with surprise. "She usually keeps that stuff to herself."
The playboy snickered as he flicked his silver locks, "What, you think you're the only one who's got dirt on Maya just because you two are boning?"
"I told you! We're not … never mind, I give up." Adam blocked Pierce's teasing and the old nurse's huffing and puffing. He stopped scanning the room for more objects to analyze because, frankly, there was nothing of significance to him. At last, he did what he was trying to avoid this whole time; he laid his eyes on the unconscious Maya, who slept soundly yet seemingly in distress. She bore the same tubes that ran through him an hour ago. But seeing them in someone else, let alone his dearest friend, underscored the severity of the troubles he faces so long as that creature runs wild.
The last time I spoke to her … I convinced her to hate me. And now, if she knew the truth … if she knew that I failed her…
"I was just yanking your chain, Adam," Pierce confessed in a more serious tone. "You know, just trying to keep the mood light … Truth is, I hate seeing her like this, man. It really gets to me."
Adam intoned, "What if she wakes up and she hates me for real?"
"What? …Why would she hate you?"
"…I let her down, Pierce."
Pierce shifted from his one friend in a wheelchair to the other one who is unconscious. "Maya isn't the type to hold grudges. You're thinking too much about this."
Still, Adam could not shake off the guilt eating away at him. There he was, in a battle to the death with an otherworldly foe, only to succumb to a mysterious force from the pendant bestowed unto him earlier in the day. What if Pierce did not show up to rescue them? Maya would have surely perished in the flames, and all because he failed her. The last person Adam ever expected to fail was the only girl who gave him a chance to be himself.
"Excuse me," Adam uttered to the nurse as he rolled next to Maya.
"Young man, you are getting to close. I need you to back away this instant," the nurse sniped.
"Please, just shut up."
The nurse gasped, but it didn't stop Adam from taking her space.
"Maya…" the grief-stricken boy slid his fingers across the sleeping girl's arm. He barely managed to let out, "I'm s-so sorry." Pierce turned away, the melancholic atmosphere making him uneasy. Adam finally settled his hand on Maya's hand and interlocked his fingers into her own, ultimately breathing a hopeless sigh and hanging his head dejectedly.
But then, Adam began to feel movement between his fingers. He cocked his head back up and was shocked to witness his the girl's hand jerking away from his own, afterwards feeling its way around until it landed on Adam's cast and stayed there. Maya's eyes quivered ajar, and when her vision finally returned, her first sight brought a feeble, yet genuine smile across her weary face.
"Adam…" Maya softly spoke. "You came…"
"Of course I did, Maya," Adam lisped. "I would never abandon you." The two of them exchanged an intimate glance, similarly to what they shared earlier in Maya's bedroom, but this time there was a much more innocent ambiance. For the first time since that night, Adam was able to forget about the pain from the fire and the creature and facing death. To him, Maya possessed the touch of an angel, and her petite hand resting on his arm not only calmed his spirit, but brightened it.
Pierce queried, "Maya, are you feeling better?"
"Pierce," Maya started, "I'm so happy to see you. My head still hurts, but I am feeling much better than before."
"That's great to hear. I was so worried about you. Do you need some water? Your pillow fluffed? Medicine?"
"That would be
my job," the nurse interrupted, prompting Maya to weakly giggle. The nurse checked her watch for the fifth time since the boys showed up and stated, "Visiting hours have officially concluded for the day. I must go get Ms. Cranford's painkiller, but I expect you boys to be gone when I return."
"What a load of crap!" Pierce exclaimed. "We see her for a few minutes and now you're kicking us out? Did her mom and dad put you up to this?"
"Those are the rules, you mongrel!" the nurse howled before stomping her pumps out of the room.
"I'm sorry," said Maya. "I wish you could stay."
"Maybe we should fight this," Pierce suggested. "It's no fair leaving you by yourself, Maya, if there are people who want to keep you company. What do you think, Adam?"
Adam did not answer. Instead, he slowly removed himself off of his wheelchair.
"Adam! What are you doing?" Pierce exclaimed.
"Wait, Adam," Maya queried, "when did you get hurt?"
"I'm fine," Adam insisted as he leaned one arm on the chair to tear off the cast on the other. Afterwards, he began to walk toward his short-tempered pal.
Pierce ordered, "Get back in your chair, Adam. You're still hurt."
"I said I'm fine, Pierce. I wanna check out of here." He faced Maya. "I'll visit in the morning, okay?"
The girl nodded, still puzzled by the boy's current medical state. "Uh, yeah. I look forward to it."
"I'll be back," Pierce vowed. "Don't you worry." Maya waved goodbye to her friends as Pierce helped Adam out of the room, where they ran into the old nurse who snuck in a look of victory over the boys. Luckily, Adam was able to yank Pierce away before he got them in trouble.
After assisting Adam into his normal clothes, Pierce directed his friend to the elevator and started a conversation once inside.
"So why exactly do you want to leave so badly?"
"Look at me, Pierce. I can walk again. I'm fine. There's no point in sticking around."
"I gotta say, you recovered very quickly. It's almost superhuman."
Adam noticed this, too, but credited it to his willpower. "You know I don't like hospitals, Pierce. Besides, stuff like this is all mind over matter."
"Hah, is that so?" Pierce quipped while yawning and rubbing his forehead. "Man, I'm beat. I guess I'll come back in the morning, too."
Adam nodded, though he was distracted by his own thoughts.
"I assume you're also going home?"
"Huh? Oh, I was thinking about staying with my grandmother for the night. I mean, it
is closer to the hospital, I think."
Pierce, out of the blue, punched the emergency button on the elevator, jerking it to a halt and catching a worn-out Adam off balance.
"What was that for?!"
"Go home, Adam," Pierce demanded. "For Pete's sake, talk to your father."
Adam arched an eyebrow confusedly. "Come again?"
Pierce sighed. "He wanted to keep it a secret."
"…Keep what a secret?"
"I didn't rescue you from the fire, Adam; I rescued Maya. Your dad rescued you."
Adam stammered, "…H-how did he—"
"How else? He was looking for you after your fight, — and yeah, he told me about your fight — he saw the fire, and he ran into it to look for you."
"But you said—"
"I know what I said. And now I'm
unsaying it."
"Hunh." Adam was left speechless. He kept his fight with his father a secret from Pierce to spare himself any embarrassment, when Pierce not only knew about it, but was additionally instructed to keep a different secret from him for Aaron. Before he saw the smoke in the forest, Adam was ready to mend his relationship with Aaron. But that toxic smoke was incomparable to the haze that kept him and his father from mending their years' worth of issues. "Why would we want to keep that a secret from me?"
"Adam … he doesn't want to buy your love. He doesn't want you to think you owe him now, which sounds messed up, but that's not my place to say." Pierce paused. "He wants your love unconditionally. At least, that was the gist of his speech before he left."
"I see." Adam briefly shut his eyes, doing everything he could to remain in control of his emotions. "Pierce, d-do you think it's too late to make up with my dad?"
"No. It's too late to make up with
my dad. Trust me; there's hope for you."
"Even with all our history? I mean, since my mother died…"
"You know what, Adam?" Pierce burrowed through his mind until he found a response. "You can't reverse the clock, no matter how badly you want to. Focus on the present, for once."
Adam chuckled. "You can't reverse the clock. Did you read that somewhere, bookworm?"
Pierce playfully punched his friend's shoulder. "Just go home, stupid. You're lucky to have a dad like that."
Adam restarted the elevator. "Yeah, I gotcha."
At the ground floor, Adam went to pick up his skateboard while parting ways with Pierce. Once he was finally outside, he had a choice to make: left or right. Adam mounted his board and turned left, at the direction of the Oak Village. He know realized his relationship with his father was worth mending, and while that truly brought a sense of joy into the typically unhappy teen, there was a greater sense of urgency that was directing him towards visiting his grandmother at such a late hour.
Adam reached into his jacket's pocket and pulled out his new pendant, only this time it resembled any other piece of jewelry. "There's only one person on this island who would know what's going on."
==:==:==:==:==:==:==:==:==
Lady Oak, dressed in sacred garments, sat cross-legged at the edge of the village bordering the northern forest. Her hands were clasped together as she inaudibly chanted an ancient prayer of security.
"Chobin, have you done as I commanded?" she asked.
A particularly small villager had hobbled soundlessly towards the woman when her sudden burst caught him off guard where he almost fell backwards. "Y-yes, madam. Our council has been alerted and is unlocking our emergency resources this instant."
"Good," she said.
"M-my Lady," Chobin continued nervously, "the members of the council were asking why I had been given these orders from you. Are you still settled on keeping your reasons to yourself?"
Lady Oak paused her chant. "Chobin, if you have time to seek information from me, then you have time to pray."
"Yes, my Lady!" he resounded before kneeling. "…Pray for what, might I ask?"
"My forgiveness."
"F-forgiveness? My Lady, what could you have done to entertain such absurdity?"
The old woman sighed. "I fabricated another story about my daughter."
Chobin sat down beside his superior. "Oh, madam, what persuades you to manufacture tales of your daughter's legacy time and time again?"
Lady Oak resumed her previous stance. "Deborah's death threatened the hopes of the island's natives, Chobin, as did it encourage thoughts of exploitation by the settlers. It is precisely her ongoing legacy that keeps our spirits up." After finishing her prayer, she rested her arms on her lap and stared at the sky. "I do not regret the choices I make, Chobin; I only wish to be accepted by our Lord, Arceus, and thus I require his forgiveness."
Chobin cleared his throat. "But m-my lady, I also bring you some troubling news."
"Is it about my grandson?"
"Y-yes!" a baffled Chobin shouted. "How did you know?"
"Is he hurt?" Lady Oak turned to her associate with a look of worry buried within her elderly face.
"Aaron sent word that your grandson… I am afraid he was caught in the fire that spread tonight. But he has been hospitalized and is recovering at a healthy pace, my Lady."
The matron calmly accepted the news, to her associate's surprise, and then ordered, "Forget about my forgiveness, Chobin. I need you to pray for Adam's safety this very moment."
The petite man closed his eyes and offered a prayer to their deity, but was interrupted by a transparently anxious Lady Oak. "Chobin, have you noticed the mysterious light glowing from the mountain as of late?"
The short man nodded left and right.
"No, I suspected not."
Suddenly, another chill shot up the woman's spine.
"We are out of time, Chobin," she uttered gravely while removing herself and her staff from the ground "Get up, now!"
Spooked by his leader's unexpected shift in tone, the man stood and stuttered, "T-t-time for what…?"
Out of the shadows of the bushy, summer trees, in the tranquil and airless night, a mysterious, tall figure creepily emerged, with an unsettling gait that could strike fear into a militia of men. As he made his way into the open, his onlookers took notice of his fiery red hair complemented by an amber flip back on the front. He wore a sleek, black vest that exposed his brawny, reddened arms, sleek, black army pants, and pitch black boots that made a crunch for every step he stomped on a dead leaf. But what was hardest to avoid from this man was the cold, empty, brown transfixion emitted from his glaring, menacing eyes.
"Eeek!" Chobin shrilled while taking a step back.
"Who are you?" Lady Oak began authoritatively. "Speak, visitor!"
The stranger rubbed his scarlet goatee. "Hey!" he innocently exclaimed. "That's
my line."
Lady Oak stood unamused.
"Tough crowd," the man smirked arrogantly, playing on his rugged handsomeness. He sighed a very unrealistic sigh, as if he were toying with the woman. "Alright, grannie, maybe you can help me out."
"Do not speak to her that way!" Chobin demanded. But all it took was one intensified, focused glare from the stranger for all of petite man's summoned courage to quickly dissipate.
The stranger informed, "I've been searching all over this island for something that's called the Oak Village. The problem is, every one of these old-looking ruts looks exactly the same." He requested with a smile, "Would you care to point me to the right direction?"
Lady Oak answered, "If it is the Oak Village you are looking for, then it is right beyond this path you will find it."
The man's brows raise in an unsettling amount of delight. "No kidding!" he cheered, bringing uneasiness to the natives. "Whadaya know? It sure took me a few villages, but I finally found it. Talk about perseverance, am I right?" Again, the mysterious man grinned from ear to ear, but quickly terminated his expression over the lack of response from his conversers.
"You have failed to answer my question," Lady Oak asserted.
The stranger stared at her with doe-eyed confusion, until he abruptly snapped his fingers, which took even the old woman by surprise. "Oh, right! My identity."
Lady Oak still remained unamused with his charade.
"Let's just say I'm a man on a mission."
"A mission for what?"
"Slow down, grannie," he said jokingly. "Maybe I can fill you in after you take me to whoever's in charge around here."
"You wish to speak to the chief of the Oak Tribe?"
The stranger winked, prompting Chobin's eyes to widen in disbelief. "That, I do."
Lady Oak held her staff at her side more tightly. "He is not available at the moment. Our chief is a busy man, but you may return tomorrow should you still wish to speak with him."
"Oh?" The stranger tilted his head backwards for a moment. He simpered, "Sorry to break it to you, grannie, but I'm what you might call 'priority handling.' So if you could either shuffle away or, I don't know, actually do what I ask of you, then I'm sure this could end in the … 'cleanest' way."
Chobin could no longer suppress his climbing rage. "How dare you speak to Lady Oak in that manner! I ought to have you hanged for such blatant disrespect!"
"Chobin…" Lady Oak whispered angrily.
"Wow, look at that!" the stranger spoke in blatant mockery. "The leader of this
prestigious village is none other than this old woman." He began to clap. "Good for you! Good for women everywhere! You're an inspiration, you know that?"
"That is enough."
"And you tried to cover it up, too. You're very clever."
"Are you done?" the chief muttered, slowly losing her patience.
"Oh, I get it," he smirked, pointing at the woman. "You're his grandmother. You are literally his grannie."
"Whose grandmother am I?"
For the first time, the stranger dropped his happy-go-lucky façade, his speech taking a turn for the nasty.
"My target's."
Lady Oak's eyes narrowed at this revelation. "I see," she stated, her anger broadening. "So first you come after my daughter seven years ago, and now you return for my grandson."
"My Lady…" Chobin exclaimed, "Lady Deborah perished from disease. Are you suggesting that Lady Deborah was…?"
"Murdered," Lady Oak finished for the man.
"Your daughter?" the stranger repeated. "Oh, right,
her. Yeah, he told me you would bring her up."
"Are you not the one who fatally injured my daughter? Then who?"
"You need to let that go," the stranger reckoned. He solemnly added, "From what I was told, your daughter wasn't supposed to die." But his tone turned cruel. "And she would still be alive if she weren't such a meddlesome, persistent, b*tch."
"How dare you!" Lady Oak retaliated.
"Hey, don't shoot the messenger," the stranger guiltlessly quipped.
"The fact that you expect me to turn in my grandson is sickening on its own. But my daughter … my sweet Deborah … I refuse to cooperate with a man as repulsive and boorish as you!"
"Jesus, tell me how you
really feel."
"Enough with your jests, coward! Return from whence you came!"
The man smirked once again, resting his fists on his hips. "Couldn't if I wanted to; I gotta wait a few hours before they can charge it up again."
A frightened Chobin inquired, "Ch-charge what?"
The stranger casually arched his thumb and pointed it behind him, towards the dormant volcano. "That magic mountain of yours sure is something." He briefly bent his knee. "Have you ever been through a portal, Your Majesty?"
"Do not mock me!" Lady Oak demanded.
"Then quit wasting my time, you old hag." He crossed his arms and stared coldly at the woman. "Either you tell me how to get to your baby boy so I can … subdue him, or you force me to get my hands dirty."
"Do not threaten me, you vile mongrel," the Lady hissed.
The stranger laughed uncontrollably for an uncomfortable timespan. "Suit yourself."
He reached for the side of his belt and removed from it a peculiar, spherical contraption. After squeezing his coarse, dull palm around it, the sphere increased dramatically in size. The stranger clicked a button at the contraptions center and tossed it into the air, where it opened and released a light that struck the ground between him and the villagers.
To their shock, the beam of light morphed into an animalistic form until it disappeared and left behind a black, growling canine with a red muzzle and underbelly, the likes of it never seen before by either of the natives.
"My suspicions have been confirmed," Lady Oak surmised wide-eyed. "You own Pokémon … just like the man who killed my daughter."
Chobin remained frozen in complete terror.
"Where I come from," the stranger noted, "it's not that special … But now that you know what I'm working with, I'm expecting some more cooperation from you."
"Chobin," the Lady instructed, "alert the council. And the villagers. Now!"
Chobin took no time at all to frantically escape the premises, screaming at the top of his lungs,
Danger! Danger!
"You stupid, miserable, old hag," the stranger mercilessly jeered before cracking a devilish grin. "Nothing can save you from what I'm about to do to you … and your precious village."
"You underestimate me," Lady Oak affirmed. "I already sealed the village with a spell that will prevent you from using any of your dark magic."
"Is that why it feels so stuffy?" the man joked.
The old woman raised her staff. "Go on, you fool! Try my strength, for it will not bend to your own!"
The man broke into laughter. "You've lost it, hag."
"You will not kill me! I would never die at the hands of a mindless drone!" She began reciting an inaudible incantation.
"Sorry that I can't entertain your delusions any longer, grannie, but I've run out of patience, and you've run out of time."
The stranger's biceps flexed. His legs stiffened. And a vein bulged across his forehead.
"It's time you join your daughter in hell! Houndour! Sick 'em!"
The canine Pokémon barked demonically at the woman before it leapt towards her, teeth first.
"You will never be able to subdue my grandson, so help me Arceus!"
Lady Oak furiously spun her staff just as the canine landed on it, creating a mystical shield that kept its jaws anywhere near her.
"What?!" the stranger roared.
Lady Oak spun her sacred staff with gaining momentum, until Houndour could no longer endure it and got tossed backwards, landing firmly on its back. Before the stranger could react, a blinding white light shone where the woman stood, and when it disappeared, so did she.
Infuriated by her escape, the man pounded his fist onto the ground. "That old hag!" he screamed madly, like an escaped mental patient. "I'll kill her for making a fool of me!"
The stranger just as immediately regained his self-control and noticed his Pokémon struggling to return on all fours. He smirked, ultimately bunting the beast's body as a way to punish and assist it. "Destroy the village," he coldly commanded his soldier. "Leave nothing but ashes."
Houndour leapt away, emitting a sea of fire from its jaws. The stranger, out of nowhere, began to laugh maniacally, for he was filled with excitement. "Oh, I'll find this kid, for sure … even it means setting this entire world in flames."