[Pokémon] The Aura Cycle

Thanks for clicking! I've been working on this fic for a long time. It is heavily character driven. I've planned the plot from start to finish, so hopefully it is consistent throughout and will make sense to the reader. I have planned ten chapters for the first arc.

This story takes place within my own corner of the Pokemon world which comes entirely from my own imagination. However, it still takes place in the same world as Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, etc., and uses all the Pokemon up to the fifth generation. I've posted prototypes of this story before under the same name, but have never finished it because of other distractions.

I suppose you might want to keep in mind this would probably be PG-13. There's a few scenes of gore and mild language in later chapters.



The forest quivered slightly, as if sensing the long period of calm was about to come to an end. There was a blur as an indiscernible object hurtled high above the canopy at many times the speed of sound. The object had dropped something, and it fell to the ground with a brief, silent, saturated moment of hesitation.

A thundering fireball exploded into the air with a cloud of smoke and debris, followed shortly by a rushing shock wave that rattled branches and chased flocks of Pidgey and Spearow into the air. The sound was delayed and deafening. The bright sun dimmed as it became obscured by a layer of smoke. For a moment, gunshots could be heard along with shouts of soldiers, but those sounds faded as their targets disappeared into the bushes.

Soon, the breeze carried the smoke away, and the sun once again shined brightly as it fell towards the horizon. The Pidgey and Spearow returned to their nests cautiously, eventually realizing that the explosion had been a random, rare, and ultimately benign event in their lives. The Pokémon cradled their eggs warmly as the night fell upon them.


Rain flowed sideways across the surface of the window outside, refracting the glow of the streetlights like tiny jewels. The storm showed no signs of tiring, and the wind seemed bent on throwing the vehicle along with its passengers into the ocean below. The bus was just finishing the last run of the day to Binge Port—a small town on the southern coast of the Shima region—but the sun had already disappeared behind the thick clouds and had surely vanished beyond the horizon by now.

Most of the passengers were either asleep or drifting off. Despite the discord outside, it was warm and quiet inside, with the whirring of the heaters and fans blending into the background. One passenger, however, was wide awake. The passenger was a boy, about fourteen years old, and he was intently focused on a woman sitting three rows ahead of where he sat at the very back of the bus. He had been watching her suspiciously ever since she boarded the bus with him back in Verdan City.

The boy's name was Allen. He wore a large, hooded, forest-green jacket and long jeans that were muddied and worn around the ankles. Both pieces of clothing were a size too big and fell loosely over his body. On his shoulder perched a Murkrow who went by the name of Kuro. Allen did not have a pokeball for Kuro, since he was not a trainer, and Kuro had not, in fact, ever been in a Pokemon battle. However, it was certainly useful to let everyone think they were Trainer and Pokemon for the sake of efficiency. It was perfectly acceptable for a child to travel alone through the world so long as that child had a Pokemon for protection.

"<Her eyes,>" said the mesmerized boy through Aura to the Murkrow.

The woman turned her head subtly as if she had heard an odd sound, but that was not possible since Allen was the only one who could understand speech through Aura. Well, Allen and all the Pokemon in the world.

Kuro was confused. "<What about her eyes?>"

"<It's like they're green,>" Allen explained, or at least tried to.

The Murkrow turned to the boy, judging his facial expression to see if he was just trying to be funny. He didn't seem to be. "<Lots of people have green eyes, Allen,>" Kuro said dryly.

"<No, no, it's like they glow. Or shine. Or something.>"

"<I don't know what you're talking about, Allen. It's probably just the street lights outside.>"

Allen was not convinced. "<Streetlights aren't green, Kuro. I know what I'm seeing. You're just not looking hard enough.>"

Kuro decided to give up for now and turned his attention back outside. They must be close to Binge Port by now, but still the rain was not letting up. That was worrying.

"<That's it! That's what's so weird about her! It's her eyes. I mean, that and the fact that she's been following us ever since we left Tobalt City.>"

They had had this conversation before. Kuro had tried to explain to Allen how people will often use the same routes when traveling between cities. The woman was a traveler, for whatever reason, and she just happened to be moving in the same direction as they were. There was absolutely nothing suspicious about it. Still, it was at least reasonable to suggest that someone might want to follow Allen after the incident back in Tobalt City. But surely no one could possibly have made a connection to Allen, other than the fact that he had disappeared on the night of the boy's death...

"<It's late, Allen,>" said Kuro finally. "<You're tired. We're nearly at Binge Port.>"

"<I'm not that tired,>" insisted Allen. It was mostly true.

Once again, Kuro's thoughts turned to the storm outside. "<You've noticed the storm, haven't you?>"

"<Yes. What about it?>"

"<It's strong. There's a lot of rain. You're going to get wet if it doesn't stop soon.>"

Allen was feeling somewhat annoyed at Kuro, for whatever reason. "<Well there isn't much I can do about that, is there? I'll bundle up like I always do.>" He spoke to end the conversation.

The road began to slope downward as they neared their destination. They could see a the faint traces of artificial light peeking out from behind the rocky face of the cliff. The glow was not very bright as the town was not very big; Binge Port was a minor stop on most people's journeys and at most it served as a comfortable place to rest before moving onto King's City. King's City, by comparison, was the largest city in the Shima region and it seemed to Allen like a good place to be. Not only was it far away from Tobalt City, but even the strangest people found it easy to blend in. Allen thought of himself as one among that crowd.

The bus slowed as it approached an intersection and made a final turn onto Binge Port's streets. They had arrived. The bus drove on for a while before coming to a stop across the street from the brightly lit Pokemon Center. The red roof was illuminated from within, and large glass windows made up the front of the building as if to advertise the warm interior to tired travelers.

Passengers on the bus began to stand up from their seats as they prepared to exit. Allen did the same, taking some extra time to make sure his jacket was zipped up as far as it would go and that his jeans were tucked securely into his long socks. He pulled a large hood over his head and angled his face to the ground. He grabbed the ends of his sleeves in his fists. Allen didn't notice the odd look the bus driver gave him as he approached the door, but he would not have cared if he did. He was not going to get wet.

Kuro flew ahead as Allen took a deep breath. The boy spotted the sliding glass doors of the Pokemon Center across the street and planned his route to avoid splashing in any puddles that had formed on the street and in the gutter. He took one last deep breath before leaping out of the bus, accelerating to a sprint as soon as he touched the ground.

In desperate panic he dashed through the storm to where he knew and hoped the doors would be, for he kept his face down to keep his skin out of the rain. Despite his preparation, the wind was strong and he could feel the rain drops splash against his cheeks. The sensation was awful, but tolerable. Suddenly, it was over.

Allen was bent over, breathing heavily, when he noticed he was standing on the clean white ceramic tiles of the Pokemon Center's floor. The floor was polished like a mirror, and he could see himself beneath him, his face twisted and contorted in panic that was slowly passing.

The nurse behind the counter made a passive comment about the storm when she saw the boy rush in. The other passengers entered the Pokemon Center a few moments after Allen; each one was drenched to the bone but perfectly calm.

Allen stood up straight, realizing he must have looked ridiculous. He tried not to care too much. They didn't know what it was like. Kuro caught up to the boy and fluttered down onto his shoulder.

"Are you going to need a room?" asked the nurse, a little annoyed. This was the second time she had asked the question but the first time Allen had paid attention her.

"Oh, um sorry..." Allen blinked as a shiver rushed down his spine. "Yeah, just one," he said, still a bit flustered.

"I'll need your trainer card," the nurse told him. The nurse was a young woman, possibly no more than a few years older than Allen. She had bright red hair and an impatient, tired look on her face. It was late, after all.

"I don't, I don't have—"

"We only offer our rooms at no cost to trainers," the nurse explained unsympathetically. "Otherwise, there's a fee."

"Right," Allen turned away from the counter, feeling very stupid. Of course he had no money left. It was a wonder he had managed to come this far with the little he had brought with him. Everything he had left had been spent on the bus ticket.

The nurse quickly called out for the next person to step up to her counter as Allen took his seat at one of the empty booths in the lobby. Allen fell into the seat with a thud, resting his head against the glass window where he left a big fog mark by his mouth and nostril. Kuro escaped the collapsing boy and perched himself on the seat across the small table.

"<We're sleeping out here tonight.>" His exhaustion even slurred his words in Aura.

"<I wonder if they even turn out the lights at night,>" Kuro remarked.

Allen groaned.

"<By the way, your stalker looks like she'll be staying here as well.>" The Murkrow gestured with his beak to a booth on the other side of the lobby. "<I know, a foreign traveler staying the night in a Pokemon Center? Unthinkable.>"

Allen turned around and saw the woman from the bus. She was sitting in a booth, bent over a tablet, writing something. Allen wondered what it could be. Maybe she was writing to the police to give them the location of their top suspect?

And there it was again. The woman looked up from her tablet, as if stuck in the middle of a sentence, and Allen saw the flash of green in her eyes.

"Her eyes..." muttered Allen aloud.

Kuro rolled his own eyes. "<Not this again.>"

But Allen was too tired to try to convince Kuro that he was not just seeing things, and he let his attention drift outside. The windows were like slates of obsidian when contrasted with the brightly lit interior of the Pokemon Center. There were a few specks of light coming from inside the small buildings across the street, and just a bit off into the distance a row of lampposts lined the boardwalk by the beach. In more comfortable weather, Binge Port might have been a tempting vacation destination. Now the beach was consumed by the waves, and surely no one would be reckless enough to risk their lives against the tide.

There was a flash of lightning outside, silhouetting the whole town for a brief moment, followed by a strong rumble a few seconds later that shook the Pokemon Center to its foundation.

"<It's a good thing we just happened to be near shelter during this storm,>" said Kuro idly. Of course, he was hinting at something deeper. In fact, it had been incredibly lucky that they just happened to be near shelter the same night as this storm decided to come onto land. Just a few days ago they would have found themselves sleeping on the forest floor, at the mercy of the elements. The thought of being caught outside during this storm was extremely unsettling.

Another flash of lightning, this one much more violent than the last. The sky lit up for a little over a second, and there was no time at all before the sound reached their ears. The lights went dark and everything was pitch black, There were a few yelps of surprise coming from those inside who were caught off guard. A rising hum was heard as the generator automatically activated and soon the lights were restored, although substantially dimmer than before.

Something had caught Allen's attention on the beach that nearly made him jump as well.

"<What?>" asked Kuro, alarmed by the expression on Allen's face.

"<There's someone out there!>" exclaimed Allen, pointing through the window.

Kuro scanned the beach, and sure enough, his superior Dark-type eyesight found the silhouette of a person walking along the beach.

"<It's a girl,>" confirmed Kuro, astonished. "<Who is really that stupid?>"

As more lightning flashed Allen was able to piece together her image more clearly. She was wading in the water, completely oblivious to the fury of the waves around her. Not only that, but as a wave approached, she would not even attempt to move out of the way. The water consumed her, and when it finally retreated the girl reappeared in the same spot, having not budged an inch. No one could be that sure-footed.

Allen looked around the rest of the beach, but he could not see anyone else. She was completely alone, and Allen got the feeling she had not intended anyone to notice her.

It was eerie how completely calm she was, but there was something else about her. Something he only vaguely noticed and just at the edge of Allen's perception...

Allen's chest felt like it had been struck by a large weight. It was her eyes. For a split second they had flashed blue.

"I can't take this..." said Allen aloud, his voice trembling. "She's following me too. Her eyes. I have to talk to her."

Kuro was completely baffled and he found the boy's paranoia slightly disturbing. He knew Allen had been under of a lot of stress recently, and somehow he felt as if he should have seen this coming. "<Allen. Calm down. You're tired.>"

"<No I'm not!>" Allen snapped back at the Murkrow. "<That woman. That girl. They both know something.>" He shot up from the booth.

"<Where are you going?>" Kuro was scared now.

Allen backpedaled to the door, keeping his attention on the girl on the beach. "<I'm going to go talk to her.>" The boy pulled his still-soaked hood over his head as he turned to exit.

Kuro took off from the back of the seat in haste as Allen slipped through the sliding doors. The Murkrow made an aerial maneuver and rolled on his side to make it through before the doors shut behind Allen. Kuro called out to the boy in Aura, even desperately cawing verbally, but Allen had already sprinted half way to the beach.

Kuro powered through the storm, but the heavy wind kept blowing him off track. Each drop of rain was the size and weight of a small stone. For all his hard work he made little progress, but still Kuro desperately flapped his wings to push his body forward.

By now, Allen had made it to the beach. He could not breathe. There was too much rain. He was going to die, he could see that now. The questions that consumed his thought process were pulling him forward, closer to his own death.

Allen barely noticed when the water washed over his ankles, and as he got closer to the girl the water reached even higher on his body. The force of the swirling water made it difficult to keep balance, but he could not falter now...

The girl on the beach stood just a few more steps in front of him, but Allen could feel his feet being swept out from under his base by the violent push and pull of the ocean. He toppled over beneath the surface but pushed himself back towards the air, determined, and straddling the edge of consciousness. If only he could talk to this girl, he knew it would be all over...

Allen staggered to his feet one last time, knowing he would not be able to keep his balance for long. The girl did not notice him approach. She was fully concentrated on the ocean in front of her. Her arms stretched towards the ocean, and she swung her hands back and forth as if her fingers were pulling on strings attached to the tips of the waves. Allen could see now that she was controlling the water, but there was no time to question how.

He put a hand on her shoulder. The girl shrieked and whipped around, pulling the water with her. Instantly Allen became submerged. He became disoriented as his body spun around wildly with the current, colliding again and again against the sea floor. Within seconds, he could feel his fire go out, and his world turned black.

To: HQ
From: Sarah
Subject: Update

The Fire Born is spending the night in Binge Port's Pokemon Center, although he doesn't have enough money to pay for a room. Of course, I'll be staying the night outside in the lobby as well so I can keep an eye on him. At least it's better than sleeping on the ground.

There's a huge storm over Binge Port right now. Honestly, I've never seen anything like it. The wind is practically blowing the trees sideways and the waves by the beach are huge. I was nervous coming in on the bus because the main road coming in is actually built right into the face of a cliff. But I guess you can tell that I made it alright since I'm alive to write this.

I'm starting to worry the Fire Born might be suspecting me. I still haven't managed to eavesdrop on any of the conversations between him and the Murkrow he travels with, but he has given me a strange glance more than once like he knows I'm up to something.

I hope you and Nikolai are doing alright. How's Rio? Has she reported back with anything inter

End Message.​

Very intriguing beginning you have here. Though the little section before we're introduced to Allen was a little hard to picture and left me wondering just what it had to do with the rest of the story, you more than made up for that with the majority of the chapter. I especially liked the way you depicted how much Allen doesn't like water even before you explicitly stated that he's some kind of fire-thing. You went about it in a gradual, realistic manner, and I could relate to the strategy he goes through before dashing out (I'll admit it, I don't like getting wet either.) Speaking of which, there's a bit of a trip-up in writing mechanics during that passage, though I really liked the passage overall:

Passengers on the bus began to stand up from their seats as they prepared to exit. Allen did the same, taking some extra time to make sure his jacket was zipped up as far as it would go and that his jeans were tucked securely into his long socks. He pulled a large hood over his head angled his face to the ground. He grabbed the ends of his sleeves in his fists. He didn't notice the odd look the bus driver gave him as he approached the door, but he would not have cared if he had. He was not going to get wet.

Click to expand...

This paragraph flows the best through the first three sentences. After that you continue a pattern of sentences starting with "He." This makes them less varied, and the paragraph comes across as flatter than it would otherwise. Also, there's a problem with "angled his face to the ground," I think you meant to put an "and" before that.

Here's one other issue in an otherwise excellent passage:

The girl on the beach stood just a few more steps in front of him, but Allen could feel his feet being swept out from under his base by the current.

Click to expand...

The first problem is that you never state that Allen entered the water; I had been under the impression that he was still on the beach. Also, as I understand it you don't reach the actual current until you're far enough out that you'd already be submerged if just standing.

Aside from that, your writing flowed pretty well. You just need to take another read-through to spot some more grammatical/spelling mistakes (I'd point out more, but I wouldn't want to deprive you of the practice!).

I want to praise in particular the end of the chapter starting from when the storm really gets violent. The lightening and subsequent power outage was fairly visceral, and making mention of the short time delay was a nice touch. At the very end, you had a good balance between revelations and new questions to be answered. More questions than answers is what keeps people coming back; just ask the writers of Lost. I for one am interested in learning what happens to Allen, what the beach girl's deal is, and actually what everyone's deal is.

All-in-all, good job. I enjoyed it, and you've piqued my interest more than enough to make me come back.

Thank you very much for reading!

The first passage will be hopefully be clear by the next chapter. The reason I included it here is because it takes place immediately before the scene on the bus, I hope that makes sense.

I know one of the things that really frustrates me when writing is how the story will flow to the reader. It's hard to find the balance between repetition for dramatic effect and plain annoying repetition, so I'll need to pay more attention to that.

I didn't intend for the current to be the literal ocean current. Maybe I should find some word to replace it like "flow" or something. Also, I'm glad you pointed out that there was a loss of continuity between Allen being on the beach and in the ocean. I'll edit that when I can and keep that in mind for future scenes.

I'm relieved to hear you say there was a good balance of revelations and new questions that need to be answered! What worries me the most about this story is that there is so much back story I have planned that I'll forget the reader can't see directly into my mind. One of my pet peeves with any story is an overabundance of exposition, especially in the dialog.

I'll be posting Chapter Two as soon as I finish Chapter Three, which should just be a few days.

EDIT: I've rewritten the last scene:

Kuro powered through the storm, but the heavy wind kept blowing him off track. Each drop of rain was the size and weight of a small stone. For all his hard work he made little progress, but still Kuro desperately flapped his wings to push his body forward.

By now, Allen had made it to the beach. He could not breathe. There was too much rain. He was going to die, he could see that now. The questions that consumed his thought process were pulling him forward, closer to his own death.

Allen barely noticed when the water washed over his ankles, and as he got closer to the girl the water reached even higher on his body. The force of the swirling water made it difficult to keep balance, but he could not falter now...

The girl on the beach stood just a few more steps in front of him, but Allen could feel his feet being swept out from under his base by the violent push and pull of the ocean. He toppled over beneath the surface but pushed himself back towards the air, determined, and straddling the edge of consciousness. If only he could talk to this girl, he knew it would be all over...

Allen staggered to his feet one last time, knowing he would not be able to keep his balance for long. The girl did not notice him approach. She was fully concentrated on the ocean in front of her. Her arms stretched towards the ocean, and she swung her hands back and forth as if her fingers were pulling on strings attached to the tips of the waves. Allen could see now that she was controlling the water, but there was no time to question how.

He put a hand on her shoulder. The girl shrieked and whipped around, pulling the water with her. Instantly Allen became submerged. He became disoriented as his body spun around wildly with the current, colliding again and again against the sea floor. Within seconds, he could feel his fire go out, and his world turned black.

Click to expand...

EDIT: Also, I've added an extra "Allen" in the passage you pointed out.

EDIT AGAIN: I just noticed an important typo I made. In the message at the end of the chapter, I used the wrong name, it should be Nikolai, not Dillon. I mixed up two future characters so I hope anyone who has already read the first chapter will not be confused.

I hope you and Nikolai are doing alright. How's Rio? Has she reported back with anything inter​

Click to expand...

Here's the second chapter. There's a scene of gore in this one, so I'm giving you a heads up. If you read chapter one before I made corrections, check my last post before reading. C&C is more than welcome.




Night had settled quickly over the forest, and still Jessica and Dillon had not stopped once to rest. They were moving at a slow jog now, and it had been an hour since they last heard the footsteps of the soldiers who were chasing them. Neither Jessica nor Dillon had ever run so far for so long in their lives. They had never been outside for such a long time. Not once had they been this far away from a military base without any kind of supervision. Tonight was full of new experiences.

"Can we stop?" asked Dillon through heavy breaths.

"<No.>" Jessica replied. "<And speak through Aura. We don't want them to hear us and I can hardly understand you when you're breathing so hard.>"

Jessica had short, blond hair and a slender frame. Dillon was a lanky boy with maple skin and curly, jet-black hair. Both of their faces were red from exhaustion. They were wearing the same plain clothes they had been given at the lab: Jessica, a black and white striped sweater over khaki, form-fitting pants, and Dillon, a gray t-shirt over an old pair of jeans. Their clothes were covered with smudges of ash and dirt from the explosion. They were both fourteen years old. In fact, they both shared the same birthday. It had never occurred to either of them that it might be an odd coincidence. For fourteen years, it had just been another fact of life.

The full moon was shining down through the forest canopy. The moonlight sparked in their eyes. Strangely, but only to the right observer, both of their eyes seemed to reflect a color that was not present in the environment. Jessica's eyes shined the color of icy-blue. Dillon's shined with a steel-silver color.

"<But they're gone,>" insisted Dillon after a few moments of hesitation. "<They stopped chasing us an hour ago. We have to sleep sometime.>"

"<Do we?>"

"<We're only human.>"

Jessica would have laughed at that comment if her lungs would allowed it. "<Are you so sure of that?>"

Another one of Jessica's jokes, Dillon thought. Dillon knew her well, and she knew him just the same. They had, after all, spent their lives together in the lab. But now the lab was gone, for whatever reason. Neither of them had anticipated the explosion, but somehow both of them had known without communicating to each other that it meant it was their chance to finally escape. In the chaos that followed the explosion, they dodged the guards assigned to watch over them and soon made it out of the collapsing building. They ducked to avoid the stun shots that were being fired at them, and not one made contact. They used their adrenalin to fuel the long sprint that followed.

So they continued to run, despite Dillon's suggestion. He knew better than to continue to protest. It was always best to let Jessica have her way, lest he get on her bad side. Dillon was terrified of her bad side.

Moments later, without any further influence from Dillon, Jessica slowed to a stop. Dillon, not paying attention, stopped a few steps after her once he realized his partner was ready to rest. He was extremely grateful, but he knew she had not decided to stop out of sympathy for him.

"<We should sleep,>" said Jessica. "<We'll need to do a lot of walking tomorrow until we find some kind of road.>"

"<Right. That's a good idea,>" agreed Dillon.

Dillon immediately collapsed against the base of the nearest tree. He rested the back of his head against the bark, his chest heaving up and down until he finally regained control of his breathing. He pulled his shirt over his face to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

Without another word, Jessica found a spot on the ground and went to sleep, her back turned from Dillon. Dillon soon found himself drifting off to sleep as well, even though the cold ground was nothing like the bed he was used to back at the lab...

Dillon woke with a jolt. It was still dark. He could not tell how long he had been asleep, or if he had been asleep at all. Something was nearby. Maybe it was just a wild Pokemon? But it seemed too heavy for any wild Pokemon they had seen so far in this forest...

Then he heard the whispered voices. They had been found, or at least they were about to be.

Instinctively, Dillon hurried over to Jessica and shook her shoulder until she woke. She turned slowly, but was instantly aware of their situation as soon as she saw the look on Dillon's face.

"<How close are they?>" she asked.

"<I don't know exactly. But they're getting closer—>"

There was a gunshot. The bullet sped through the bushes, yards above their heads, penetrating high on the trunk of the tree that Dillon had been sleeping under. They froze. A flock of some winged Pokemon took off from their nests to safety, cooing loudly.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I thought I saw them!" The desperate voice of the shooter was young. Jessica and Dillon could hear him just on the other side of the bush.

"Damn it! You don't shoot until the Luxray confirms they're actually there! They might have heard you!" The second voice was much older and he was furious. Dillon and Jessica looked at each other. Dillon's eyes were wide with fright, but Jessica's face remained decidedly blank and emotionless. This was how she always looked while concentrating.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It was an accident!" pleaded the young voice.

The older voice huffed, but where Jessica and Dillon would have expected to hear the pair's footsteps as they moved deeper into the forest, there was a strange silence. Dillon felt his heart pound against his ribs. He held his breath.

There was a roar and a flash of blue fur streaked above their heads. Suddenly, standing before them with the intensity of a loaded weapon was a Luxray. A deep growl came from its throat as it bared its teeth.

"<Found you,>" snarled the Luxray through Aura.

The two soldiers followed behind just a split second later, emerging with their guns held up to their sights, their fingers delicately grasping the trigger. Then, slowly, the soldiers lowered their weapons.

"They're just kids," said the young man, confused.

"That can't be right..." muttered the older man.

The pair observed Jessica and Dillon as they thought the situation over in their heads. Dillon could feel himself shaking but Jessica's emotionless face had twisted into a hateful glare.

"Are you kids from around here? Are you out here with your parents?" asked the young man.

"<Don't say anything.>" Jessica ordered. Dillon obeyed. The Luxray's eyes widened as it understood their speech, and then directed a vicious bark at the two children. The Luxray knew better than to attack without the soldiers' command, but it knew there was something strange going on. Dillon glanced nervously at the Pokemon.

When the children did not respond, the young man placed his gun to his side and spoke again. "I'm really sorry about this. We aren't going to hurt you."

Jessica and Dillon said nothing.

The older man spoke up. "We should make sure the higher-ups know you two are out here. There's dangerous people running around the area. You could get hurt."

Jessica glared at him.

"Now you don't need to give me that look. Are you two trainers? You don't seem to have any Pokemon with you..."

Jessica's eyes narrowed.

Perplexed at the girl's look, the older man frowned and shrugged. He grabbed a small black box on his shoulder and moved his head to speak into it.

Jessica's eyes lit up. It all happened in a single moment as she realized what the soldier was about to do. She shot her arm forward, and in that same instant it was transformed into a blade of ice. A puff of super-cooled air exploded from her forearm as the blade of ice was propelled into the older man like a spear. The blade pierced the man's armor and emerged out his back, continuing on into the darkness of the forest.

The soldier staggered backwards with huge, ghostly white eyes. His companion watched the man collapse to his knees, still unaware of what had just transpired. The dying soldier gagged, moved his still-intact arm to observe the huge hole in his chest, and then fell on his stomach to the ground where his blood began to pool. The younger man stepped back, his mouth open, ready to speak words his throat was incapable of uttering.

The Luxray pounced at Jessica, there was no need for a command now.

Dillon leaped in front of her, shielding her with his own body. The Luxray bit down with all his force on the boy's arm, but suddenly let go with a yelp of pain. Dillon's arm had become a rod of impenetrable steel. As the Luxray began to retreat, Dillon struck his metal limb across the Pokemon's head. There was a loud clang as the metal vibrated against the Luxray's skull. The Luxray became dazed and stumbled on its feet. It's body sparked with uncontrolled electricity as it struggled to reorient itself.

The younger soldier let out a panicked scream. He raised his gun and fired a wild barrage of bullets.

The bullets made no contact with Jessica and Dillon, and fell pathetically to the forest floor as Dillon's magnetic field robbed the bullets of their momentum. The soldier had no idea what was going on. How could he? His assignment had been to track down a pair of criminals who had escaped after an explosion, certainly not to deal with... whatever these children might be.

Jessica stood up behind Dillon and raised her arm, her hand clenched in a fist, to the soldier. She was prepared to launch another blade of ice at any moment. The young man continued to fire until the explosions of bullets turned into a series of empty clicks. The young man was trembling as he reached behind his back.

Jessica tilted her head to the side. "What are you doing now?" she asked coyly.

"Re-reload-reloading," the young man stammered.

"Do you really think that's a good idea? None of your bullets seem to be working."

The young man hiccuped as he sniveled, fighting back sobs of terror as he fumbled with a new clip. "Who a-are you?"

Jessica feigned a confused expression. "Hmm... That's a good question. I don't really know, actually."

The young man finally managed to place a new clip into his gun despite his trembling fingers. He raised the weapon again, placing the girl's head in the sight.

Jessica rolled her head around to the other side, utterly enjoying the moment. "So you're going to try that again?"

The young man nodded hesitantly. Jessica grinned in pleasure.

"I'll spare you the trouble." There was a puff of frozen air as the ice sliced through air and then flesh. The bloody blade came to rest in the trunk of a tree behind the young soldier.

Jessica turned to the Luxray. She was not yet done. "<What about you? Do you want to try and fight us as well?>"

The Luxray was still disoriented by Dillon's attack. It was unable to make eye contact and took a submissive stance. "<No.>" It needed no further explanation as to why these children could speak through Aura, other than the fact that they were not normal.

"<Are you going to let anyone else know what direction we were traveling in?>"

"<No. Of course not,>" it pleaded.

"<You're lying.>" snapped Jessica, letting only a drop of displeasure into her voice. "<If I let you go, you're just going to give us away.>"

Dillon spoke up. "<Jessica... you don't have to...>" Jessica ignored him. She was lost in the moment.

The Luxray spoke. "<I'm not lying. Why would I lie when you would easily kill me if I did?>"

Jessica pursed her lips. "<Maybe you think you can defeat us in a fight?>" she suggested.

"<Of course not! If you let me go I won't go back. I won't let anyone know where you've gone.>"

Jessica's tempered flared and she screamed. "You're lying!" She whipped her arm towards the Luxray to deliver a fatal shot. The Luxray bounded agilely to the side to avoid the shard of ice, but the the attack was fast and the ice tore through the skin on the Pokemon's side.

The Luxray roared, its teeth once again bared in fury. It lunged at Jessica a second time, but the girl quickly responded with a final attack that rendered the Pokemon bloody and dead before it hit the ground.

It was a long time before Dillon was able to calm his nerves. In one aspect, Dillon was not surprised by Jessica's ruthlessness. He had always known that she was capable of this, but until now she had never been in a situation that provided her with the liberty to use her powers to their most malicious extent. They continued where they left off on their journey through the forest, moving in an unknown direction, but knowing that with each step the chance of another encounter grew smaller. The sun was coming up, and the wild Pokemon—Pidgey, Spearow, Sentret, Zigzagoon—were alive with their peaceful chatter. Neither Jessica nor Dillon said a single word, not even through Aura, for the remainder of their journey through the forest.


It was a while before Allen realized he was not back in Tobalt Town, asleep in his dormitory room. His initial thought was to sleep in that day. Maybe he could fake an illness so no one would bother him while he skipped his classes. Of course, he faked being sick last week, so maybe that was not such a great idea... he could hear Kuro in the back of his mind... he was talking to a girl...

At that moment Allen could hear the sound of the ocean. The memory of last night came rushing back.

"<Kuro!>" he called out desperately.

Kuro's response was immediate. "<Allen!>" Kuro rushed over to Allen as he rolled onto his side, the sand clung to the boy's body. The Murkrow flailed his wings in excitement. "<Are you alright? It's morning now! You're alive!>"

"<How...?>" Recalling the rush of ocean water and the feeling of being twisted around in the ocean, Allen could not help but wonder why he was not dead. Surely that should have killed him; never in his life had he been submerged in so much water. Then he noticed the other presence.

Allen jolted. It was the girl from last night, she was sitting nearby in the sand. She had wavy auburn hair down to her shoulders, and she wore a dark-gray vest over a blue t-shirt and jeans made out of a light gray denim. Her pants were hemmed to about mid-calf, as if to avoid wear and tear over the course of a journey. And of course, her eyes shined that deep blue color. Allen knew something about that shine had caused him to walk into the ocean, to the face of his own death. It was as if the shine was beckoning him closer.

"Are you alright...?" She asked hesitantly.

Allen just stared at her in bewilderment. Her words had passed through his ears without triggering any flicker of meaning. He turned to Kuro, hoping with all his heart that his friend would have some answers. "<What happened?>"

"<You nearly died,>" Kuro simply repeated the words with a reverent emphasis.

"It was an accident," said the girl delicately, not sure how the boy would react to the realization that she had nearly killed him. "I... didn't see you coming." She winced.

Allen blinked. He always felt uncomfortable when talking to people he did not know. He could always ask Kuro about it later. Whatever had happened last night, he was fine now. In fact, he felt completely dry. Perfectly healthy. Right now, he just wanted to get away from this stranger who kept watching him with her damn eyes. He shifted to stand up.

"Wait!" blurted out the girl when she realized he was about to leave.

Allen glanced at her, wishing he could just ignore her and walk away and pretend like nothing had ever happened. After all, what could she possibly think about him after creeping up on her? "It's fine," Allen said. "Don't worry about it."

"<Where are you going?>" Kuro asked. Allen was surprised the Murkrow had not immediately flown onto his shoulder the moment he had made it clear he wanted to leave. In fact, his tone implied he wanted to stay. Why? Why couldn't he just come with Allen without asking questions?

"<We've got to keep moving.>" He told Kuro, thinking quickly of an excuse. "<I don't want that woman to find me and follow me out of Binge Port too.>"

"Where are you going? Who's following you?" asked the girl.

Allen first looked at her with annoyance. Why was she talking to him? People don't talk to him. She didn't know him, so why was it any of her business anyway?

But when he realized what she had said, he had to take a step back to regain his balance. His eyes were wide. "You understood me?"

The girl jumped to her feet. "Yes. Yes! I can use Aura too! You're like me! Where are you going?"

Allen was speechless. The uncomfortable feeling in Allen's gut was soon replaced by a feeling so foreign to him that he would not have been able to name it. Suddenly, Allen was not so eager to ignore this girl. She had something to say, and he knew that he had something to get off his chest too.

Finally, Allen took a deep breath and swallowed. "I don't know."

To: HQ
From: Sarah
Subject: Great News!

I have located the last Aura Born. The Water Born is a girl. Her name is still unknown. I can't believe our luck.

I apologize for ending the last message so abruptly, but I had a good reason for it. The Fire Born, as we know, has an extreme aversion to water. So when he ran out into the rain last night as I was writing my last update I knew there must be something important that would cause him to put himself in danger like that. I followed him outside to the beach, keeping my distance but making sure I was ready to help if anything happened to him.

He had seen the Water Born on the beach. When he approached her, she was startled and attacked him, but I feel like it must have been an accident, because I saw her dive under the water to rescue him. She pulled him on shore and dried him off—she kind of swept her hand over the boy's body, using Aura to pull the water off—and she and the Murkrow stayed with him for the rest of the night. He should be fine.

The Water Born is already very skilled with her Aura. At least a lot more than you or I were at her age, before we got caught up in all this Aura Born business. During the storm she even bent the rain drops so they would fall around the boy's body.

They seem to be traveling with each other now. It must be amazing for them. It's the first time either has known another person like them exists. Of course they would want to travel together. And of course, I'll be doing my best to follow both of them now, but I doubt they'll be splitting up anytime soon.

I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about the explosion yesterday at the military base. The news channels were going wild with the story this morning, I watched a bit of it on one of the TVs in the Pokemon Center. It doesn't have anything to do with Ice and Steel Born does it?

I hope to hear from you soon. I can't wait to see us all together again.

End Message.​

Alright, this is chapter three. I just want to let everyone know that with the release of Black and White, I'll be completely focused on playing the games for about a week, after which I plan to return to writing. So, I'll keep this in the back of my mind, I just won't be writing much. I'm sure that's the same with a lot of people on this board. ;)

Also, this chapter marks the first time I've ever written about a 5th generation Pokemon, even though it's very minor. That's kinda interesting, right?




Eliza had always known she was odd, and everyone else knew it too. Thankfully, her two siblings, a younger sister and an older brother, helped to divert most of the attention away from her.

Eliza's sister, Maddy, was an obnoxious brat, to put it nicely. She was precocious and knew how to get what she wanted from their parents. When she was five, Dad had brought home an egg for Maddy's birthday. Maddy carried it around everywhere and in just a week it hatched into a Lillipup. Eliza hated that Lillipup. Within a month it had already taken on Maddy's personality for its own. The two would parade around the house, looking for something to do or someone to bother. It was a big house, both Mom and Dad had high-ranking jobs in the Shima region government, but despite all the nooks and crannies available to amuse themselves with, they always seemed to wind up in Eliza's room.

"What do you want?" asked Eliza in a deadpan as her sister wandered into her room. She kept her chin firmly on her left fist, not taking her eyes from her computer monitor.

"Hey Lizzy, why don't you have your own Pokemon?" Maddy asked tauntingly. Her Lillipup, whom she cleverly named Puppy, hopped up and down beside her feet.

Eliza sighed. "Well, Maddy, what makes you think I even want one?"

"You do too want one!" the ten year old insisted. "Dad just didn't give you one."

"Dad didn't give me a Pokemon because he knows I don't want one," Eliza stated calmly.

In all honesty, Eliza would not have cared if Dad had given her a Pokemon for her birthday that year if only he hadn't given one to Maddy. Dad's response was, "I didn't think you wanted one." Why he thought this, Eliza would never know. It was not like Maddy had expressed any more desire than she had. And besides, Maddy was three years younger than she was, so she was barely even old enough to have one for herself anyway. What could possibly have made Dad give one to her but not to Eliza? It was only fair, wasn't it? That's what parents do, don't they? They surely don't make it obvious who their favorites are. But in Eliza's family it was obvious. Dad's behavior that year had been all too typical for he to really act surprised.

Maddy was the darling child and Alex was the prodigy. Eliza was somewhere in between, neither charming nor brilliant. The average of the two. And no one was ever interested in averageness.

But Eliza was not average. She was far more extraordinary than either her brother or sister. But everyone, including herself, just called it odd; though only Eliza knew exactly what it was that made her odd.

At least Eliza got along with Alex, even if he was a bit too comfortable with all the praise he constantly received. Alex had just returned from his journey, after having earned all eight badges in the Shima League and placing highly in the Shima League Championship. He had been invited to participate in leagues all around the world, even in places as far away as Johto and Kanto. Alex had not decided where he would travel to next, but wherever he went, he would be welcomed as a celebrity. Foreign trainers who traveled on invitations were always treated as such. Alex would never have to ride on Mom and Dad's wealth throughout his life, unlike Eliza or Maddy who had not yet shown any skill in Pokemon Battling or otherwise.

One day, before Alex had left on his journey, Eliza was sitting at the edge of a boardwalk that ran across the lake nearby their home. She had become hypnotized by the world she could see just beyond the surface. She was ten years old. Maddy was still six. Alex was thirteen.

The water in the lake was so pure. She could see the bottom even though it must have been ten or so feet below the surface. Mom would sometimes say that it must have been touched by a Suicune. The lake was full of swimming Pokemon, mostly Goldeen and Finneon, as well as a few families of Poliwag. The Pokemon there were nice, though they had been a little startled when she suddenly started talking to them. Once Eliza had got to know them however, she found that she spent nearly all of her time out here on the boardwalk, having short little conversations with the Pokemon as they passed beneath her toes.

Today, she was not content with staying just above the surface. So she leaned forward, holding on to the edge with the tips of her fingers, pressing on the underside of the boardwalk with the backs of her calves. She leaned as far as her muscles would let her go, letting her hair dangle above the surface, just barely grazing her reflection. Then she let go.

She flailed her arms out in front of her during the split second before she hit the water. The sound of her splash was loud but soon became muffled in her ears by the water and bubbles. Initially, she squeezed her eyes shut, but realizing that this was no way to experience the world beneath the surface, she peeled them open.

All the Pokemon who had fled upon her sudden appearance were slowly coming back to observe her. She greeted them all by name—for by now she was familiar with everyone—and they greeted her, thrilled that the strange girl who could speak through Aura was finally visiting them in their own habitat.

Eliza was going to need to take another breath. She could feel the strain on her lungs and her cheeks were puffed with air waiting to be exhaled. Not wanting to leave, for leaving would meaning returning to the surface world and therefore her family, she let out the air in her lungs in an explosion of bubbles.

She expected to gag on the water, but she felt no such reflex. Wonderfully, miraculously, the water poured into her lungs. Eliza began to sink down to the floor. A puff of silt swirled around her ankles as she made contact with the ground. She was standing in the water world, feeling no need to breathe at all. She knew then that she could stay here forever.

Then something powerful, unexpected, and unwanted yanked on the back of her shirt, digging into her neck, pulling her against her will back to where she had come from.

They broke the surface and Alex desperately gasped for air. He placed an arm on the top of the boardwalk, his other was wrapped around his sister, and pulled their two bodies up with a powerful thrust. Alex dropped Eliza on the wood and struggled to his hands and knees, breathing heavily from exertion.

Eliza coughed up the lungful of water, vomiting the liquid over the boardwalk. She was sure that if she had been able to make the transition more calmly, the water could have exited her lungs in a less unpleasant manner. She looked up at her brother and without warning, an uncontrollable hatred for her sibling flared up within her.

"Why did you do that?" she screamed, her voice was shrill as she was on the verge of tears.

"I saved your life!" Alex snapped back, coughing a bit.

"I was fine!" Eliza shouted.

Alex starred at his sister in bewilderment. "So you were trying to get yourself killed, is that it?"

"I was fine," Eliza repeated, but this time in a more subtle voice. For some reason in that split second after Alex had asked his question, Eliza had made the decision that she would never tell her brother what had happened to her below the water.

Alex shook his head in frustration. "You shouldn't even be playing around here. You can't even swim." He got up to leave.

"I can too..." Eliza muttered under her breath as she watched her brother disappear back into the trees and back towards their house.

From that day onward, Eliza returned to the lake every moment she could. Under the water she practiced Aura. She pushed and pulled the currents, swam without moving her arms or legs, and created whirlpools in the otherwise calm lake. At first, this would wear her out quickly, and she would have to rest on the shore until she dried enough to return home without raising too much suspicion. But her endurance increased, just as if she was exercising her physical muscles, and she was able to spend more time in the lake. Eventually, the idea occurred to her to pull the water out of her hair and clothing with Aura, and in this way she did not have to wait an hour or more on the boardwalk to let the sun dry her off.

As time passed, and as Alex's ability as a Pokemon Trainer became obvious, Eliza began to drop hints to her parents that she wanted to become a trainer just like her brother. Mom and Dad were happy with this revelation, obviously thinking that some of Alex's natural talent should be present in his younger sister. They offered to buy her a starter Pokemon, but Eliza declined, saying she wanted to become successful on her own merit. Dad, who had always testified to his belief that anyone could make it to the top of the social latter if they were only willing to put in the work required, was proud of his daughter's decision. It was strange to have Mom and Dad pay attention to her, even if Eliza knew it was only temporary. Still, she kept her true motive secret and always in mind:

She was leaving, with no intention of ever coming back.


Allen and Kuro waited behind the bush, watching a small pond they had come across in the forest between Binge Port and King's City, careful not to make a sound. They were very bored.

"<You know, I think she was full of crap about being able to breathe underwater,>" Allen remarked.

"<You think she drowned?>" Kuro asked.

"<Either that or she's decided to take a nap. How long has it been anyway? An hour since the last one, right?>"

Kuro looked up at the boy and shrugged his wings.

The plan had been so: Eliza would hide wait under the water until a Pokemon came for a drink. At that moment, she would jump out of the water with a pokeball, catching the Pokemon off guard, hopefully making her first successful capture as a Pokemon trainer. So far, previous attempts on a Kriketot, two Rattata, and a Pidgey had left her with four broken pokeballs, leaving Eliza with her last one. Wisely, she had ignored a wild Stantler.

"<This is why I would hate being a trainer,>" said Allen. "<How can this possibly be fun?>"

"<It would have been easier if she had left home with a starter Pokemon like everyone else,>" Kuro pointed out.

Allen thought about that for a moment. What kind of trainer leaves on their journey without a starter Pokemon? Did she think that, because of her powers, she wouldn't need them? Had she planned on talking them into accepting her as their master, or, if that didn't work, splashing them with water and battling them herself? Allen knew he could have asked her these questions himself, but he had never been very good at conversation. So far, Eliza had done most of the talking on the trip out of Binge Port, and Allen was perfectly comfortable with letting that trend continue.

It would be wrong to say he was not amazed and grateful that he had met her on the beach. Even though he still had trouble talking to this girl, just like everyone else Allen had ever met, there was still a connection between them that Allen did not want to sever. They were like each other. And different from everyone else in the world.

"<I've got an idea,>" Kuro spoke up. "<What if I battle the Pokemon, just a bit, so they would be easier to catch? That's how it's usually done.>"

Allen raised an eyebrow. "<You've never battled before.>"

"<That doesn't mean I can't.>"

"<You'll get hurt. There isn't a Pokemon Center around for miles.>"

"<All the Pokemon around here are all practically babies, except for that Stantler. I'll be fine.>"

Allen laughed, "<Oh, so you want to beat up on a bunch of baby Pokemon, is that it?>"

"<That's not it at all, I was just—>"

Allen hushed the Murkrow when he noticed something entering the clearing. "<Look!>"

It was a Bidoof. Eliza certainly had a good chance with this one. The Pokemon approached timidly, as if sensing something was not quite right. It sniffed the ground and looked around. It paused for a moment, and then whatever it had sensed seemed to pass, and the Bidoof approached the pond thirstily. It began to drink.

"<Doesn't she see it...?>" Allen looked at Kuro, confused, expecting Eliza to have jumped out of the water by now. "<I knew it. She drowned.>"

Just as Allen spoke, the surface of the pond swelled up as Eliza emerged from her hiding place, propeling herself towards the unsuspecting Bidoof, pokeball in hand. The Bidoof tensed for a split second as it watched the sudden, unexplainable torrent of water charge toward it. Eliza launched the red and white ball, hurtling it towards the Pokemon. Before the Bidoof had time to perceive what had occurred, the pokeball split open and absorbed the Pokemon in a flash of white light. The pokeball dropped to the grass with a light thud.

Eliza now stood ankle-deep in the pond, chewing her lip nervously, her hair wet and matted over her forehead. The pokeball shook. "Come on..." she muttered to herself. The pokeball shook a second time. Allen, Kuro, and Eliza all held their breath. Then the ball exploded.

"Darn it!" she shouted, hitting her fists against her thighs in frustration as the white light poured out of the broken pokeball, releasing the terrified Bidoof who hurriedly scampered back under the bushes in a panic as soon as its tiny feet became solid again.

"So now what?" Allen asked, emerging from his spot behind the bush.

"Oh, I don't know..." Eliza looked at the two halves of her last pokeball lying pathetically in the grass. "I can ask my parents for some extra money for more pokeballs, I suppose..." Even though she was the one who made the suggestion, the idea of begging for her parent's help sickened her. "Let's just hurry up and get to King's City."

"We won't make it before it gets dark," Allen reminded her. He felt no need to hurry anyway, since he had not spotted the mysterious woman on their way out of Binge Port. Allen hoped he would not run into her again.

"Oh." That was longer than Eliza had thought the trip to King's City would be. Why had she gone through all of her pokeballs so quickly? What happens now if she runs into something she actually wants to catch? And why would a company make a device that breaks so easily after just one failed capture?

"Well, I guess we should see how far we can get today before we set up camp," Eliza suggested, hoping to arrive in King's City as soon as possible.

Allen wondered what exactly Eliza met by "set up camp." He and Kuro had never "set up camp" before, but he supposed Eliza had some sort of blanket or covering in the bag she carried around her shoulder. He looked forward to the possibility that he might not have to sleep on the ground tonight.

Honestly, Allen was still not sure what he thought of this girl. He knew that she did not seem to mind his presence, and in fact, she even seemed to be interested in him. She asked about Tobalt City, about his boarding school, what kind of things he enjoyed doing in his free time. Allen did his best to answer these questions, although he purposely chose to omit certain memories from the one-sided conversation.

The image of the corpse was still fresh in his mind... the skin blackened from the fire... the boy's jaw hanging open because the muscles that once held it closed had disintegrated in the heat...

But Allen was not a bad person, and there was no reason to risk this girl leaving for the sake of complete openness. As far as he could tell, by not telling her certain things he was doing nothing wrong. Surely she was doing the same, after all. Or she would, if only he could work up the courage to ask her any of the thousands of questions that were swimming around in his head.


It was night once again, but this time the stars were not the only lights in the sky. King's City rose before them as Jessica and Dillon approached on foot. The trees were completely unable to mask the enormity of the buildings: they towered into the sky towards dizzying heights, a tribute to man's superiority over nature.

It was the first city Jessica and Dillon had ever experienced, but neither was in the mood to appreciate the grandeur. Their feet hurt. They had barely slept at all since making their escape. Once they had made it inside the city, and had found a place hidden away and safe, they knew they would fall to the ground at that exact spot, even if that spot happened to be hard concrete or covered in something wet or sticky.

"<Don't draw any attention to yourself,>" said Jessica as they made the quick transition from forest to urban city. The hard sidewalk was even more painful on their shins.

"<I won't,>" Dillon assured her, although he had needed no reminder.

Dillon knew Jessica was just as tired as he was, but he still wondered why she seemed to pass over alleys and lots that seemed to be perfectly acceptable places to sleep. He supposed her reasoning was that the farther they were in the city, the less likely it would be that they would be found. It would also make the government think twice about swarming two children with soldiers and tanks in order to arrest them in front of thousands of people. And judging by the reaction of the two soldiers, it seemed like the government was more comfortable keeping them a secret. Dillon supposed it made sense to travel deeper into the city after all.

Still, there was something odd with Jessica. Dillon may have been used to her frigidness and her dark personality, but she was not typically this silent around him. Did she not trust him? Why shouldn't she? Dillon had thought that he, out of all people, had been the one person Jessica was willing to share her thoughts with. Sure, they may not have been pleasant thoughts, but it was trust all the same. He was perfectly used to her treating him as if he were somehow stupider than her, although he knew that was not at all the case. That was just Jessica. It was who she was. And she was all Dillon had ever had.

Dillon would just have to be careful, is all. She was probably very stressed. If her temper flared again, he would just make sure he stayed out of the way.

To: Sarah
From: HQ
Subject: URGENT

The explosion occurred at the very same military base that was housing the Ice Born and the Steel Born. Erik is probably behind it. He does not have either of them with him, although I am sure he does not intend to keep them out of his grasp for long, now that they are out by themselves. The Ice Born and Steel Born are headed for King's City.

If possible, DO NOT allow either the Fire Born or the Water Born near King's City. I do not believe Erik knows they are headed in that direction, but we both know information like that does not stay hidden from him for long. I have advised Madrid to move to King's City as soon as possible, and I have already sent Nikolai to help in any conflict that might ensue their. Rio is positioned too far to arrive in time. Both Madrid and Nikolai should both arrive by tomorrow morning. I do not know if any of the Erik's Aura Born will be there, but we must expect them.

If this letter does not reach you in time to stop either the Fire Born and the Water Born from entering King's City, DO NOT allow them to be drawn into any conflict with Erik or his Aura Born. It is indeed very fortunate to hear you have located the Water Born, but we must not let that information spread to Erik. Until now, it has been useful for you to watch the Fire Born at a distance, but if it is necessary to reveal our identity to him and the Water Born then do so.

I am worried that because of the size of King's City, the public might become aware of the Aura Born after tomorrow. I am sure that is exactly what Erik wants.

I wish I could be with all of you at this time. I wish you luck.

End Message.​