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[Pokémon] Coltar: The Prophecy

Summary:
Following the aftermath of the battle, James and the others are taken in for questioning and statements. However, James gets curious, and upsets a few of the Guards keeping watch.

Interrogation​

21​


Wednesday, May 10th, 1989

The local police station and offices were now a scene of controlled chaos. The sharp ring of the bell on the desk cut through the tension, signalling the start of the interrogation. Those who had managed to escape the fight, whether willingly or not, were now confined. The Lords and Ladies had cordoned off the waiting room, much to James's annoyance. His gaze shifted from the door to Lieutenant Tomilson, who was nursing a scratched face and a badly injured arm. James, unable to bear the tension, rose from his seat and made his way to Lieutenant Tomilson.

"Can I sit next to you, please?" James asked. His words were muffled by the sound of workers sawing away up above.

"No talking, runt. This is a waiting room for interrogation." A Lord walked up to him, grabbed him under his arms, and threw him onto the floor.

"Hey! Don't throw him; he is a witness!" Young Lord Kek sprang up from his seat, his bandaged stomach and chest throbbing with every movement. He positioned himself between the Lord and James, his voice strained. "Back off, my Lord."

"Fine. On your head be it." The Lord stood back at the door. "No talking. Understand?"

James scowled and settled in the corner of the room, his eyes fixed on the floor. His fingers twitched with anxiety. I just want to be out of here. Okta, where are you? What will they do to me? She needs to be here. His attention was drawn to the Lord, who stepped aside, making way for Lord Orag. His droopy eyes, messy hair, and wonky hearing aid made James feel even more uneasy. Minutes dragged on, each one feeling like an eternity until Lord Orag's hand landed on James's shoulder.

"Hi, Mr Bryson. I am going to start the questioning process. Come with me," Lord Orag said as he looked at James. James recoiled at his words, pulling his knees up towards his face. He doesn't want to talk yet. Probably doesn't want to go first. Lord Orag readjusted his hearing aid to make it straight and placed his hand on James's head. "Alright. Well, it is either I settle you down, or it is one of them." He gestured to the other Lords and Ladies waiting to interrogate the participants in the room.

James glanced over his knees and up at Lord Orag and muffled, "Fine." He slowly got up and held his side from when he had been thrown into the ground. The Lord opened the door and gestured forward to the wooden walled offices. "This sucks. I want to go and be with my onix." His muffled words reached the ears of Lord Orag, who looked back at him for a moment, puzzled and then nodded. James took hold of the chair, but Lord Orag stepped in the way and gestured to the other side of the desk, further away from the door. James groaned and took a seat on the wooden chair. He looked around the small office. There were no windows, and all the light came from a single litwick asleep on the bookshelf. He refocused on the tall Elkran man opposite him, fiddling around with the touchpad of the holo device on his wrist, secured in place by some straps and a needle.

"I am Lord Aaron Orag. Please refer to me as Lord Orag or my Lord. I am here to interrogate you over the incident that took place in the park of Fehahra town at 10:02 on Wednesday, the 10th of May. This interrogation is being recorded for reference and may be used in evidence in a court of law if required. During this interrogation, you will tell the truth. Failure to do so will lead to punishments such as but not limited to flogging, jail time or even execution. Please state your full name and date of birth for the record."

"James Bryson. February 15th, 1975." James's hands started to shake, so he tucked them under the desk and out of view.

"Alright, so you are under the age of 25. Under the Hamilton Youth Protection Act of 1910, also known as the Hamilton Accords, you are permitted to have a person over the age of 25 with you during this time period. This person can currently not be involved in a police investigation, a military investigation, in hospital, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or be in jail. This person must be within a travel time of two hours from the town and not be in a militarised or conflict zone." Lord Orag paused and looked at James. "Are you still with me, Mr Bryson?"

James nodded and said, "I want Lieutenant Tomilson."

"Under the Hamilton Youth Protection Act of 1910, you are unable to call upon Lieutenant Tomilson as he is currently part of a police and military investigation. Would you like your mum? Your dad?" Lord Orag asked.

"Lieutenant Tomilson. Or I won't say nothing to you." James placed his head on the table and buried it under his arms. "I don't want anyone else."

"Then you have no one. Sorry, that's the rules. Let's start off simple…" Lord Orag pressed his fingers together and looked at James. He isn't interested in making eye contact. This isn't the boy I know. "What were you doing in the park?"

"Fuck off," James said. "I want to go home and be with Kuti and my onix. Can my brother come?"

I feel bad for this kid. I don't think he is doing it on purpose, but he is not doing himself any favours. Leaning forward, Lord Orag said, "For the record, he is fourteen. Under the Hamilton Youth Protection Act of 1910, you are unable to call upon…"

"He's thirteen. W-what about Lord Ikur? Can he come?" James lifted his head and looked at Lord Orag with wide eyes.

"I can do that. I'll be right back. The two Guards on the door will assist you if you need anything. I'll bring you some berry juice on the way back, yes? Durin berry is your favourite if I remember correctly." Lord Orag grinned when James nodded, touched his left shoulder with his right hand, and lowered his head. He reached the door, walked through, and pulled it closed without a sound.

The office's purple litwick light flickered as if the wind had crept through the non-existent window. James sat up straight and shuffled his seat away from the desk. He leaned back and started to swing on his chair. The creaking soothed his nerves as the minutes whittled away. Footsteps came from outside the door, and he rested his chair back down. What's taking so long? Let's just get this over with.

James jumped up off his feet, walked to the door, and took hold of the handle. He walked out the door and down the corridor. A yell rang out, and he turned around. No one was there. He tiptoed to the stairs and looked around, still seeing no one. He grabbed the metal stair rail and crept down to the cell block. One of the doors was wide open, and he heard the sound of sobbing inside. He stared inside. A sickening feeling rose through his stomach, and James stepped back against the wall in the corridor.

"What are you doing down here?" an Elkran soldier said, stepping closer. He called out for the Guard in Elkrat and approached James. He drew his sword and hung his tongue out of his twisted mouth. "That is what happens to Colran who are just like you."

James's heart pounded in his chest so loud he could hear a thudding in his ears. He ran toward the soldier and swung his leg up. The kick had landed squarely on his knee. He could see the confusion on the soldier's face as he ran past him and up the stairs. One flight, two flights. He backed away from the top step, focused on his pursuer.

"Hey, little runt. Maybe you should have done as you were told." The Guards approached him, laughing. "Now you have just given us an excuse. We came here all the way from your rot-infested capital, and it is just as bad here." Poké balls flew from their hands with a flick of their wrists, and a mightyena and machamp appeared in front of James.

Out of the corner of his eye, James saw the absol from earlier, and he stepped back once again. The floorboards under his foot cracked, and he twisted. Thud. He pulled himself along the floor and glanced up at the very wide hole above him. The Guards looked down angrily but they didn't move nor flex their pokémon's muscles to get him. His ears rang, and his vision blurred, but he pulled himself along again anyway. He couldn't feel his arm. Only the pain in his right shoulder. His feet and legs stung, but at the sound of footsteps, he forced himself to stand.

"J-James?" Young Lord Kek said. James pushed him back, but Young Lord Kek felt his hands push down. "Woah, hey, hey, breathe in. Breath out. Did you… fall through the ceiling? Geez, that looks sore. What were you doing on the…"

"Hand the boy over. He is a prisoner in the cells and escaped," the Lady who had been pursuing James said. She scowled at Young Lord Kek's shaking head. "I will have you thrown into the pit!" she barked in Elkrat.

"And I will have you done for false imprisonment, oh, and the bullshit you pulled," Young Lord Kek responded in Colrat. "And would you look at that? My copperajah is fully healed." He smirked as she scowled and marched off. His thoughts snapped back to James and the awful shape he looked in. He offered a hand to him, and he took it with a wince. "That's dislocated and broken, probably. I can't give you an adrenaline shot because, well… you are too small."

"I am not short!" James snapped back before wincing.

The door opened, and Lord Ikur's voice dominated the room. "What the fuck did you do? Okay, hold on." Lord Ikur turned to Lord Orag and let out an almighty groan. He then tapped on his touchpad for a few moments and turned back around to Kitiku, who had followed him. "Right, the stretcher will be here soon. In the meantime, we are doing this damn interrogation before I lose any more of my hair, Mr … Bryson." Lord Ikur shot a point at Lord Orag, who sat down on the floor cross-legged opposite James.

"I am Lord Aaron Orag. Please refer to me as Lord Orag or my Lord. I am here to question you about the incident that took place in the park of Fehahra town at 10:02 on Wednesday, the 10th of May. This is being recorded for reference and may be used as evidence in a court of law. You will tell the truth. Failure to do so will lead to. Please state your full name and date of birth for the record." Lord Orag took his jacket off and began to fold it up. "Breathe, okay?"

"James Tak Bryson. February 15th, 1975. My arm really hurts; I want to go home." James took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He felt a hand on his shoulder and himself being lifted up and then pushed down onto his back. His head rested against a dubwool-cotton material. The scratchy softness of it promised him that certainty.

"Under the Hamilton Youth Protection Act of 1910, you are permitted to have a person over the age of 25 with you during this time period. This person can currently not be involved in a police investigation, a military investigation, in hospital, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or be in jail. This person must be within a travel time of two hours from the town and not be in a militarised or conflict zone," Lord Orag said and nodded at James.

"Lord Ikur." James opened his eyes to see Lord Ikur beside him. "I trust Lord Ikur… and I … I really…"

"Can you tell me what happened in the park at 10:02? Why were there?" Lord Orag asked as Lord Ikur gestured for James to breathe. "Sorry, James, I know you are in pain. For the record, the interrogatee has had an accident, but the information regarding the event has to be recorded urgently."

James whispered, "I-I just wanted to be free. Then we had a battle and…"

"Can you state who 'we' is?" Lord Orag interrupted and tugged his hearing aid.

"Me and him…" James tried to lift his right arm but screwed up his face as pain shot to the joint. "It hurts. I want to go home. I want my brother. I want Pierre here…" James sniffled.

Kitiku stared at James from the door. His heart sank into his chest, and a sadness that had been wallowing inside of him exploded into a hollow numbness. He's my brother…mine, not yours… He felt the tears drip down his face, and he snuck back into one of the side rooms and slid down the wall as quietly as he could. I miss him, too. I want my big brother to hug me. I want him to tell me it will be okay. I never really got to say goodbye… He listened as James spoke in the waiting room.

"…and then I got frustrated of being on my own, and I heard a noise, so I went to investigate, and then I saw the guy in the cell, and then those guards chased me, and I want my brother…" James streamed out in one mouthful, not taking a breath in.

"Alright. Well, why don't we get you to the medical bay? Lord Ikur will fix your arm up, and then you and I can do your homework together. As I know you haven't done it." Lord Orag grinned, almost goofily, at James. "And I might forget that you started a battle against a young Lord in the park, and I might make sure that part of the record doesn't get sent to Kirot-Akalt. Besides, you and your brother are smart. He's more academically smart, but you have instincts, and that's great sometimes. Since you won't be able to do many er… sports or battling, I think doing mathematics homework is a fine way to pass the time."

"Where is my onix?" James asked.

"She is resting. Come. If you don't want to do maths, I can tell you all about the reason why you only have a suspected broken collarbone and not anything far worse," Lord Ikur replied quickly to stop Lord Orag. Talk about maths. I swear you will make us all die of boredom. However, to his surprise, James groaned even louder. "What? You don't want to hear about the spoink bone theory? Or the plated gastro-muscle theory? What about bone compaction?"

"Take me to the hospital and teach me maths because it's less confusing," James said, muffled. "Besides, Lord Orag gives us berry cubes if we get all the answers right. Also, his feraligatr is cool."

"What is exactly wrong with my luxray?" Lord Ikur answered back with a little smile at seeing James's grin.

Through his grin and gritted teeth, James responded, "The feraligatr can eat you easier."​
 

Roar
22​


Thursday, May 11th, 1989

The incident the day before had been plastered all over the news, not that Lioa could read it that well. However, the school paper had a good picture of the battle. Lioa slumped down at his homeroom desk and groaned. The thought of having to sit through another class drained his soul from his body. He imagined seeing it being sucked into the wooden floorboards and gliding out the door carefree. He looked at his timetable and felt relief at the saving grace of only being in classes for three hours. He grinned and remembered that his first period was Chemical Substances, and they had been promised the opportunity to meet a muk. The door opened and caught his attention, and he saw Lieutenant Tomilson come in. The room suddenly quietened down, and all eyes locked on him.

"Yes, yes, I have a scratch on my face. Moving on. You may notice two of your number is missing. Before you have a complete breakdown over it, James is in hospital with a broken collar bone, and Kitiku is in his room. They might come along, they might not." He stretched his arms and sat down at his desk. "Oh, the first and second periods are cancelled." The sound of the students getting up from their desks flooded the room. "Excuse me! That doesn't mean you can leave. We have some important things to talk about." Lieutenant Tomilson sighed. As well as I can play this part, I really hope they get their shit together in the capital and send teachers to Colran. Soldiers are not cut out for this job at all. They have their duties to adhere to. We are not trained teachers, damn it.

The door opened, and Kitiku crept it. However, every pair of eyes stared at him. His face went bright red, and he shivered. He crutched over to Lieutenant Tomilson, looked down at the floor, and shuffled a little. "S-s-s…" He trembled. The words he had wanted to say refused to come out. He tried to raise his hands to sign what he wanted to say.

"It's okay, Kitiku. Take a deep breath and go." The lieutenant plopped his hat on the desk.

"Sir, can we talk?" Kitiku signed. He briefly glanced up and saw Lieutenant Tomilson nodding at him. He turned around to take his seat, but a pot of ink struck his blazer. Octillery ink went everywhere, all down him, all over the floor. His head started to spin at the sound of snickering and laughter.

"That's what you get for being an Elktan's pet!" Lioa called out and swung on his chair.

"Takui! Sit the fuck down. I am not dealing with your bullshit today. People died in that fight. Your friend could have died, and instead of acting like a fourteen-year-old, you are behaving like you are ten. Do I have to send you to the Junior School, or are you going to behave like you belong in this school? You could at least have the decency to get my nationality correct! It is Elkran, not Elktan." Lieutenant Tomilson paused and put his hand on his dragapult's poké ball. "Kitiku, sit down. We can talk after class, okay?" He smiled at him before leaning against his desk.

"So, it is May. That means that for you, there is one month until the first Kirot Akalt Academy exam. This exam gives you the opportunity to go to the best school in the whole of Coltar, be it Colran, Elktan or, in some people's eyes, even Kilgor. This, if you can get in, would give you a huge advantage in the future. However, only maybe fifty of you would make it in – not fifty in this school, fifty in the entire of Colran and Elktan combined. To clarify, there are two types of exams: the Guard's Exam and the Student's Exam. You will all be blood tested, and if you have a quarter or more Elktan blood, you are forced to take the Guard's Exam; the rest of you have a choice, and that is what today is all about. Dr. Smith will be doing this class's blood test. Please, do not upset her; I don't want to deal with a pissed-off Lady." Lieutenant Tomilson got up and walked to the door. "Stand when she comes in and bow; don't, for the love of giratina, make a scene."

Lieutenant Tomilson opened the door, and the class stood up, except Kitiku and the boy in a wheelchair sitting in the back. He knelt in front of her and moved his hand to his left shoulder. He closed his eyes and breathed out as she touched his shoulder. She looked at the class and then back at him.

"They don't look the material, but we shall soon see. Also, you have a missing space. I suppose that is the child in the hospital? The one who had a full-on tantrum." She nodded and walked to the front, and pulled out a needle. "Who wants to go first?"

Lioa raised his hand. "Bitch, please, let's just get it over with. No one likes you, Elktan twats, anyway. I'm Lord material, just not yours." He smirked and swung on his chair.

"Oh, for fucks sake…" Lieutenant Tomilson muttered under his breath.

"Hold still." The Lady grabbed his arm and jabbed him. She saw him jolt up and close his eyes as tight as he could. "All done. Now let's see if you are worthy, boy." Carefully, she placed some of the blood on a small circular disk and sealed it. She held up his blood sample so the class could see it and then pulled out a small device from her inside jacket pocket. "This device is linked to the Elkran blood network, and it will check your blood for matches in the Elkran database." She noticed the machine's infernal beeping made some of the teenagers scrunch up nervously. "And done. Negative. You have no Elkran matches. Oh, right, I should do your hospitalised classmate's blood, too." Once again, she placed the blood sample on the device, and the beeping began. "What the… that's at least a 50% match. He must have an Elkran parent, or two Elkran grandparents, etc."

Lieutenant Tomilson looked at her, unsure at first. His screwed-up face stood out, and she looked at him. He felt the cold stare pass over him, so he dropped the look and stared down at the floor. James and Kitiku will inevitably have different results. Then what? He watched as a few others in his class flagged as potential candidates for the exams. So, James's mum or dad was an Elkran Guard, possibly? If that is the case, then surely his grandparents will take him in. A hand touched his shoulder, and he turned, hand on his blade.

"Nearly done?" Captain Bourbabel asked.

"Oh, um, yes. I was just thinking." Lieutenant Tomilson looked at the Lady who had just taken Kitiku's blood. Here we go, he thought. However, nothing was said as Kitiku came up as negative. I suppose she didn't realise. "Thank you for your time. Those who came up positive will receive a letter in your post-boxes soon. Now, Captain Bourbabel is here to talk to you about what he needs to."

"Alright, so James is adopted. That is why he has test results that are different from those of his brother. He wouldn't want me to tell you this, but considering a lot of you seemed not even to know he existed up until he turned up on day one, it makes sense. My understanding is his parents died before the war. Please respect the fact he won't want to talk about it, and please treat him the same as you would any other person." Captain Bourbabel glanced over the group, and he saw them nod.

"… excuse me…" Lieutenant Tomilson said, hurrying past Captain Bourbabel and out the door. I need to get closer to that boy. I need to find out the reason why Hanson Rei attacked them on that train. It is my duty to my nation to find and kill that man if I can.

Captain Bourbabel waved at him as he left and turned back to the classroom, filled with faces expectantly looking up at him. He smiled back at them and sat on the desk.

"Can we just get on with shit?" Lioa blurted out. "I'm so tired of being stuck in this damn school."

"Of course, Mr. Takui. I know you are a little twitchy after the events that have been going on. So… so… so… so, what do we do, hmm? We have a powerful trainer on the loose and she is armed and dangerous. We certainly do not go looking for her. We absolutely do everything in our power to not get arrested or take the Elkran army's or police's focus off of her. She has killed, and she could kill again. As can he – Hanson Rei. They are not your friends. They are not on your side. I don't want to have to take your lifeless bodies to your parents and explain how, despite being told not to, you put yourselves in danger and died. Do I make myself absolutely clear?"

The class nodded at him without a word, and Captain Bourbabel felt some relief wash over him. "On another note, the rogue charizard from the Marsten Hall incident has been allegedly spotted nearby. Under absolutely no circumstances are you to approach it if you see it. It is a high-level strength. It could very well kill you. As per the law, we are obligated to execute all of the evolution line. Do you understand?" Once again, the glass nodded under the muffled Yes, sir. "And with that, you may go. All classes are cancelled today."

But what about our conversation? Kitiku thought as he looked around for Lieutenant Tomilson. He slumped into his chair and tucked his head down against his desk for a moment. He felt Captain Bourbabel place his hand on the desk and pull up a chair beside him. He looked up at Captain Bourbabel, and his tears dripped down his face.

"I think he wants to talk to your mum and dad about you and James. You miss your big brother? Would you like to go to the big memorial in the capital and celebrate him? We can talk to your mum and dad, and see if they want to come too. Would you like me to tell them how you feel?" Captain Bourbabel asked.

Kitiku raised his hands and signed, "Yes. I miss my big brother very much, and I'd do anything to be with him again. For him to be here. There is a tree memorial for him in the cemetery." He smiled a little at Captain Bourbabel's nod and slowly stood up from his desk. He picked up his bag and crutched out of the room behind Captain Bourbabel.

"It will be great!" Lioa said to Andrew and glanced at Kitiku and Captain Bourbabel coming out of the room. "Kitiku, you twat! You gotta come! We are going to go catch some pokémon." He looked at Captain Bourbabel with an icy, cold stare. "Oh, I see how it is. Do you think you are better than us? Whatever. Come on, Rew-Rew." Lioa stormed out the school door with his brother in tow. The rain started to patter down his clothes.

"Actually, Lioa, I'm going to go home. It's raining a lot…" Andrew whispered.

"You know what? Fine. Be like that!" Lioa slammed his foot into a stone and sent it hurtling into the school wall. He pushed his hands into his pockets and walked toward the town. He saw the street lampent tuck themselves in, under door overhangs, tarps or even beg to come inside as the rain poured down. He saw his hair in a puddle, which had turned to a darker shade of cyan as he stared down at the ground. He walked through the town and into the Happy Gastrodon. The bell rang as he walked through the door. Lioa noticed the cashier was staring at him. I suppose there are no Guards or soldiers on duty today.

Lioa quickly walked down the aisle and picked up a small parcel of pokémon treats, stared at them, turned them over and pretended to read the ingredients on the back. He waited a few moments, glanced back to the cashier, and the second he turned around, Lioa picked up three poké balls and stuffed them into his pockets. He walked over to the desk and placed the treat box on the desk.

"This please, and um… a pack of the salac berry boosters please," Lioa pointed at the pack on the wall shelf, and placed some coins on the desk.

"Do you have ID?" the cashier asked. To his surprise, Lioa took out his ID card and placed it on the desk. "Alright. You don't look fourteen, but that's what it says. Here you go, kid."

Lioa nodded at the cashier, left the shop, and walked out the door to the edge of town. His clothes orange blazer had turned dark, and he refused to take any more water in. He glanced around the street. That's… odd. There are no patrols? After that tauros shit lecture, they gave us… He huffed and pulled down on his blazer. With those super 'dangerous' people on the loose, they would surely be more twatty and put more patrols out. When I came in, there were Guards and soldiers everywhere.

Lioa's hair dripped down his face, and he approached the forest. The trees looked dauntingly down at him, leaving Lioa with a twisting feeling in his stomach. However, he brushed past the low-hanging branches and marched on. The muddied trail covered his white shoes and his socks as his feet were sucked down into the path. The mud beneath his feet almost wobbled as a roar echoed out from deeper into the forest. A shiver danced down his spine, and he looked up to see the starly, staravia and even the staraptor of the forest flee. Close behind them were the other flying type pokémon rising above the forest. Even from where he stood, he could see their faces were filled with fear. That must be a powerful pokémon… Lioa trudged through the mud. His path was blocked by pokémon fleeing the mysterious pokémon in the distance. If it roars again, I might be able to determine what it is. He put his hand on his poké ball and ran into the trees.

The twisted path was filled with scorch marks on the trees and fallen branches. Lioa touched the marks on each tree he passed and felt the wood get hotter with each metre he ran. The trees started to appear contorted, bending over and twisting in on themselves, blackened and covered with ash. Lioa slowed himself as he felt his heart pound in his chest; he reached the nearby tree, whose wood disintegrated in his fingers. The roar echoed again, and Liao covered his ears as the soundwaves smashed into him. He felt a little blood on his hand. Covering his ears hadn't been enough, and a tear snuck down his face. Fuck. My eardrum… this pokémon must be super powerful, he thought, and up ahead, he saw the clearing from where the sound emanated.

Silence fell for a few moments, and Lioa took a deep breath. Much to his annoyance, in front of him, stretched a yellow tape. He crouched down and squelched through the mud, slipping beneath it and into the clearing. He saw a toxricity in the clearing attacking some Elktan soldiers. Lioa craned his neck up to see its blue mohawk buzzing with electricity. Damn. That thing is well over two metres tall. Toxtricity aren't meant to be more than like… one and a half. He covered his ears and tucked himself behind a log. He peered over the top of his temporary shield. Fuck me, they all have burst eardrums or worse. He stared at the toxtricity, waiting for it to make its move.

Lioa felt a chill down his spine, looked around and felt the static electricity in the air brush over him, like he was a bump in the street. He felt a little nausea creep in when he saw the large pokémon fire, which was a discharge bolt across the clearing. He ducked down behind the log once again and heard the screams and yelling of the soldiers being flung back into the trees or collapsing onto the floor. He peered back over the log to see the toxtricity. His legs shook, but he felt a tingle in the back of his neck, and his heart started to pound faster and faster. He stepped out from his hiding spot and pulled his gurdurr's poké ball up to his chest. His eyes locked onto the toxtricity. The toxtricity let out another loud boomburst and he fell back over. His stomach churned a little as silence, with the exception of the newfound ringing in his ears, fell for the first time. He peered down at his aching wrist, now with a deep cut. Lioa scrambled onto his feet and glared back at the toxtricity. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadowy creature cast a dark cloud over the area.

"Good. Such a strong toxtricity, now rest," Hanson Rei stepped out from the treeline. The poison stone glowed in his hand, shining a slight purple light on the two figures behind him. "Grektox, take these soldiers to the site."

Lioa tucked himself back behind a tree and held his breath. Whatever they are talking about, it mustn't be good. Rei is bad news. Who are the other two?

"Look, Hanson, you have enough blood. Like, what are you even going to do? The prophecy states that six people are chosen randomly - two kids, two adults and two gone," Grektox said.

"There is more to the prophecy than just that," a cloaked figure said, stepping forward. "Many people forget or are unaware of the rest of it. You see, Rett had three daughters, all illegitimate. All except for one bloodline died out…" the figure stopped and turned. "Do you think we are blind, boy? We know you are here." He stepped closer to Lioa.

Lioa felt his heart race. His palms started to sweat. He felt a heavy hand on his shoulders, pulled out from his hiding place, and thrown into the mud.

"It is the boy from the train. The one who threw his friend off to save himself," the cloaked figure laughed as he spoke, pulling down his hood to reveal his green but greying hair and green eyes. "Aren't you that boy that Bukar plans to adopt? No idea why. You are a Colran child."

"Hurry up and execute the brat," Hanson Rei said, tapping his bandaged hand against his leg. "I want to get on with this."

"Now, now, that would be very rash. You want to get the ground stone? Why don't we use the boy? Lure them to the old crypt and take the ground stone. You can kill or torment the boy you are so obsessed with… everyone is happy," Grektox whispered in Elkrat. His hair flopped down over his eyes, and his tone softened.

"What did you say, fucker?" Lioa shouted; his wrist ached as he pushed himself up in the mud to face the trio, noting Grektox's demeanour being of a different calibre to the other two. Somewhat calmer, screaming a different agenda, at least in his eyes. "What about the soldiers? What did you fucking do?!" He tightly clenched his fist around his poké ball, his heart pounded faster, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. With his closed left fist, he swung clumsily at the hooded figure. However, the figure grabbed his fist and flung him back down into the mud.

"I said you will help us get the ground stone from your friend and tell no one, or we will string you up and feed you to Hanson Rei's charizard while you are still alive. Oh, and your family, too," Grektox said, leaning against a tree. "All we want is the stone."

Lioa looked down and whispered, "O-okay… I'll get it for you. Where do you want me to bring it?"

"Holy building, crypt, tonight. Bring your friend, the one who has the stone. Try anything, and I, General Greiss, will ensure your death. Oh, and I am giving you my name because I might have use for you again later. I am stationed in the office buildings. If I call for you, boy, you come. Understand? Let's go." The General walked off into the trees, turning his back to Lioa. "Remember to dispose of the soldiers. Tie them up and take them to the crypt around the back of the building. We can make it seem like a Colran attack, just like he wants."

"It was written in the stars a long time ago that one of his blood would unite the Coltese people and rule alongside that beast of a pokémon locked away. Don't you read the scriptures, Rei?" General Greiss remarked.

Hanson Rei kicked a rock as hard as he could, screaming, "Of course I read them. The only issue is that thing in the prophecy about the other fucking side, you dumb fuck. Kilgor knows. You know Kilgor are aware of the connection between the Piscar line and the Rett line through the birth of Ellio Piscar, or did you fucking forget? He had two kids…"

"One is dead, and the other doesn't want kids or an heir. It is all good…" General Greiss reassured. Ellio Piscar was a monster. His son Erik was a fool, and his youngest son, Aaron… that man is stronger than any other ruler. He could have a dynasty if he wanted… but… after what his father did, I can't blame him for not wanting to continue his lineage. At the same time, he is a damned fool. I hope Lord Captain Smith sees eye to eye with us…​
 

The Missing​

23​


Thursday, May 11th, 1989

The graveyard was quiet except for the occasional worker carrying things in and out of the closed-off crypt. The family memorials lined the grass with very few visitors around. Kitiku crutched alongside Captain Bourbabel toward the Bryson family monument. He sat down on the grass and looked up at the large marble tree. On each branch hung a carved marble tag, with information about the family member who had died from that town. He looked up at the newest tag that hung down and sniffled.

"I m-miss him… s-s-so m-much," Kitiku whispered. His tears crept down his cheeks, and he reached his hand out to touch the base of the memorial tree. His ears twitched as he heard Captain Bourbabel shuffle closer and saw his hand had reached to touch the memorial tree. Kitiku moved his hands around the base, clearing out the small mud pit which had rested underneath the marble. There, a large candle holder stood, rusty and wonky, but its shape, a shield with a houndoom engraved into it, was as clear as the day it had been made. The full moon, slightly less clearly, had been carved into the base of the holder.

"The full moon? I thought your family was religiously tied to cressellia," Captain Bourbabel said as he rubbed his moustache before he reached into his pocket, took out a small gold coin and placed it beside the candle holder.

Thank you. Kitiku raised his hands and signed, "When my dad married my mum, her parents refused to let them be together because of religion. So, my dad promised to change religion for me and my big brother until we turned 14 and were old enough to choose ourselves. I am 13, and I think I want to stay with the cressellia religion."

Captain Bourbabel nodded and took out a box of matches. He lit the candles, making sure each wick caught alight enough that the miserable weather wouldn't immediately put it out. He slowly got up and walked away from the tree.

"T-thank y-you." Kitiku took in a deep breath. One of the deepest he had ever taken and signed, "I miss you, Pierre. Every day without you is so hard. Dad doesn't seem okay anymore. He is drunk all the time. I caught my first pokémon. Her name is Zanha, and she is super strong. She is a bronzor. I know it is a she because she told me so with her psychic powers. I started school, and I am doing great. I wish you were here too. James is a good friend, my best friend… but he isn't you. I feel jealous of how he always says you are his big brother… but you aren't. You are mine. Is that wrong? Sorry for taking up much of your time. I am sure you have a lot of after-life stuff to do. May the spirit of cressellia protect you."

Captain Bourbabel walked back over to Kitiku, extended a hand and pulled him back onto his feet. The bushes on the edge of the graveyard rustled, and Captain Bourbabel felt a chill down his spine. Are we being watched? No, I don't think so. Something isn't right, though. He glanced around. Where are all the soldiers? I doubt they are all at the pub. He looked back at Kitiku, still in tears. I best get you home and talk to your mum and dad about how you feel. Captain Bourbabel slowly walked back onto the street, occasionally turning around to make sure Kitiku was still behind him.

They walked together through the busy square and to the straight and long Quigk Road back toward the west of the town. Captain Bourbabel waved to the citizens as they walked by, smiling. However, his ears tuned in to the whispers coming from the citizens who had walked by.

"Isn't that the weak Bryson boy?"

"Things were better when Tak was a Lord."

"Wouldn't last five minutes in the real world."​

Interesting. Captain Bourbabel cleared his throat and said, "So, you still want to be a doctor? I think you'd do great as a doctor. You are clever. Not everyone can learn so fast." His tone was calm but assertive enough to turn heads. "Lord Ikur told me you are learning how to work in the pharmacy. That's a pretty important job." He glanced back to see Kitiku nod. He looked around at the citizens and noted their change in expression from mocking to more curious. "Never let anyone belittle you," he whispered to Kitiku.

It wasn't long before they arrived back at the Bryson household. Kitiku reached for the door and knocked gently. The door swung open, and waiting in the corridor was an orange blob with tentacles. Oosho, Mr Bryson's octillery, crisscrossed his long legs and scowled, letting out a pent-up "shoo" noise. The sound of Mr Bryson's footsteps came through the small household, and he arrived at the door reeking of alcohol.

"What has he done?" Mr Bryson said, sounding less drunk than he smelt. "I already have to deal with this arsehole telling me shit…" Mr Bryson raised his thumb and gestured to Lieutenant Tomilson in the living room.

"I told you, Mr. Bryson, the kid isn't in trouble. I think that maybe you are struggling to take care of him and your actual son. James is a good kid…" Lieutenant Tomilson said, glancing at James, who had tucked himself into the corner of the room. He turned to face Captain Bourbabel and Kitiku. "Sir, you agree with me, right?"

Captain Bourbabel paused before saying, "On what issue? The fact that the town's people are poor and need more financial support? The fact that we are hated and assumed to be forcing our beliefs onto their children? The fact that these people feel like we have taken their land and their rights? You cannot simply ask if I agree without specifying."

"He wants to take James," Mrs Bryson said. Her words knocked Captain Bourbabel back a little. "He thinks we aren't able to take proper care of him. Our son."

Captain Bourbabel turned and closed the front door behind him and felt Kitiku's hand grip his arm. Ah, yes. Kitiku must feel like this conversation would be about him if his brother were still alive. Also, I know he isn't doing too great mentally right now…

"It isn't like that. Look, it is so obvious he isn't your kid. Giratina knows what would happen if the Lords took a closer look at the blood tests today. He is a Spitz. We know it. It wasn't super hard to figure out." Lieutenant Tomilson said. His hand wrapped around his knife. "Why else would there be no records of him existing? He is adopted, yes, but-"

"You are wrong. There are no records because they didn't fucking exist." Mr Bryson walked up to Lieutenant Tomilson and pushed him. "Hanson Rei isn't the kid's dad. Fact." He pushed Lieutenant Tomilson again, harder. His shoulder ached from the old wound he obtained, but yet he glared into the Lieutenant's eyes. "The kid was tormented and harassed and poisoned repeatedly. Fact." He pushed once more. "Now he is safe. You want to take him somewhere, torment him, kill him and then arrest us and what?" Mr Bryson raised his hands to shunt Lieutenant Tomilson back into the fireplace.

James pushed past them both, running to Kitiku and standing in front of him. His hand is on his poké ball, ready to fight. He looked at Captain Bourbabel. However, Captain Bourbabel scribbled something down on his little notepad and didn't notice him.

"Tauros shit!" Lieutenant Tomilson, his face filled with rage and his fists bursting with energy, swung a punch. It landed squarely on Mr Bryson's shoulder, making the much shorter man stagger back. "I would never hurt the kid. Also, it is so obvious you used to be a Lord. You still even fucking wear your ring. I should arrest you for that right here, right now! The Lords would be so eager to find one of Madison's Lords. As for the missing son, well, it is clear he served Madison and died doing so. If I handed you over, giratina knows what they would do to you all. As for James, well, he doesn't simply exist!" Lieutenant Tomilson took a deep breath and said, "I don't care what happens to you or the rest of this plague-ridden family. A flying salamence could hit the other kid, and I wouldn't care. I want to take James Spitz off your hands."

Kitiku erupted into tears at Lieutenant Tomilson's words.

"Kitiku… I…" Lieutenant Tomilson said, looking at the distraught boy. "I didn't mean…"

"This is clearly not getting anywhere." Captain Bourbabel stepped forward in between the two men. "I need to talk to you about Kitiku anyway, and I think he wants to say something to you all." He turned around to where Kitiku had been standing. "Kitiku? James?"

A second later, on the southern side of town, James and Kitiku landed awkwardly around the back of the market. Beside them spun Kitiku's bronzor. Kitiku reached out and touched the bronzor, petting her metal body over and over.

"Woah… Zanha can use teleport? I didn't think that pokémon could teleport. I guess Zanha wanted to get us away from there." James looked around the market and then back to Kitiku. "It is late. We don't want to get caught out after curfew. So, we should walk back soon." He smiled at Kitiku, walked over to the stalls, and looked around. It is pretty quiet. Usually, the soldiers are out at the markets at this time. Like there are still some around, but a lot of the usual suspects aren't here. "Hey, er… Kuti? I am sorry about them fighting."

"N-not y-your f-fault. I-I just w-want to s-see S-Sutton. H-he is nice a-and will understand." Kitiku squeezed the bronzor as tightly as he could without falling over. Kitiku looked around the market from the side.

"He buys berries here every evening, right? So, he should be here," James said. He peered around the market and glanced between stalls, but to his surprise, there was no Sutton. That's odd. Maybe he is late? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lioa enter the market. "Li?" He waved to Lioa.

Lioa raised his hand and waved back. His mind shot back to the words of General Greiss, and his eyes stared at James's neck where the stone hung down. He plodded over, still covered in mud, and patted James on the shoulder.

"Hey Li, have you seen Sutton? Kuti needs to see him about something important. Stuff at home has exploded, and well… yeah." James looked at Lioa, scanning up and down his mud-covered clothes. "What happened to you?"

Lioa shrugged. "I think I saw Sutton up at the holy building," he said. "We should go up there. Look, I feel real bad about the whole fight thing." He nodded at Kitiku.

James nodded back and walked through the market, glancing back at Kitiku. The tarps from the stalls blew lightly in the wind as the group walked through the market and back onto the street, heading north to Quigk Road. Yeah, it is way too quiet. What is going on? The cobbles were more unstable under his feet than they were by the school or up at the Bryson household. As the bells from the holy building rang out, he turned and looked up. Seven? Damn, it is so late. Each step seemed to drag on, and the streets around the teens narrowed in. On their left stood the town stadium, silent and cold. The lack of cheers escaping into the air filled his stomach with a sense of dread.

"Boys? What are you doing out this late?" a familiar voice rang out.

"Lord Orag?" James looked over to him. "Stuff got heated at home, and we needed to get away. Kuti wanted to see Mr Sutton, but we can't find him anywhere. Li said he saw him up at the holy building so we were heading there." James looked down at the cobbles and continued to walk along the street. James turned to see Kitiku struggling to bow.

No bow, no sir, nothing. These boys are nothing but trouble, Lord Orag thought. Still… He walked over to the teens and sighed. "You aren't supposed to be out, regardless. However, I can see this is important to you so I will tell your parents about it. After you see Sutton, I expect you to go straight home, and we will talk about it tomorrow in my office. Do you understand?"

"Alright," James said and nodded.

Lord Orag's eyes drifted over the group as they continued to head northbound. It is definitely too quiet out here. He turned his wrist, pulled up his holo device, and tapped to type. Is there any update on the Rei situation? He then tapped the pad once more and typed, Lady Reynaldo, can you make a call to the Bryson and Takui households, informing them that their children are heading to the holy building? He paused and added, I suspect they are in danger. Please send parents to pick them up. Lord Orag sighed and waited until the boys had faded from view. Best stay close to them, Aaron, he thought.

The holy building was in sight, and James looked around. The group walked through the square out in front of the tall, overbearing, holy building. The steeple stared down at them. James glanced around once more. The back of the holy building had been bordered up. Something he hadn't noticed during his shenanigans with Raab. That's odd, James thought. The crypt is all closed off.

"You don't think he went into the crypt, do you?" Lioa said. His palms started to sweat, and he felt sick. They are down there… and then they get the stone, and we can go home, he thought.

"Maybe… let's go," James replied. "As soon as we find Sutton, we can get home and go to bed. Kuti, stay here. These stairs look pretty steep." He placed his hand on the wooded planks that had been placed over the doorway. This looks loose, he thought. Carefully, he bent down and pulled himself through the gap. His arm in his sling bashed against the side, and he held his breath. He wanted to scream, but the sound that had come from further into the crypt had forced him to bite his cheek to stop himself. He felt for the steps with his foot and turned to Lioa. He beckoned him through the gap and made his way down the crumbling stone steps.

Behind James, Lioa stepped carefully and quietly on his tiptoes. He extended his arms to the narrow walls and held himself upright. His fingertips grazed the tops of spinarak and joltik webs, which had coated the pathway down. Ugh, great. Sticky, he thought. "How far does this staircase go?" Lioa asked.

"Probably six or seven metres down. Maybe ten," James replied, a slight shiver in his voice. "Here, up ahead, is the archway into the crypt. I really don't like it down here. Mr Sutton? Hello?" The sound of groaning came up ahead as he entered the main room for the crypt. Wooden planks had covered the stone flooring, and a torch was lit at the end of the room. "What the actual fuck?" James said. He stepped onto the planks and crept closer to the torch. He felt his feet begin to wobble, and a loud crack rang out. His feet lost their grip as the plank beneath them disappeared into the ground below. James desperately reached out to grab onto the next plank, but his hand couldn't quite reach it. James fell into the darkness below.

James felt his body jerk upright as his eyes opened. He could see the top of where he had fallen through, twenty metres above him. He turned around, only feeling the sharp stabbing pain from his shoulder. How am I alive? he thought. He placed his hand down on the ground to get himself up onto his feet. His palm had brushed against something wooden in texture, and his fingers were tucked into a hole. He glanced down at where his hand was.

"Agh!" James yelped and scrambled back up onto a lip. He stared down into the dirt pit below the small ledge he had pushed himself up onto. All he could see were bones. Human remains in the darkness. "Okta, we need to get out of here," he said. His hand grabbed hold of his onix's poké ball. However, once again, in the distance, he heard the groaning. He turned to see a narrow corridor ahead.​
 
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Trap​

24​


Thursday, May 11th, 1989

James felt the darkness all around him as he walked further down the narrow passageway. The soft groans in the distance got louder with each step he took. A dimmed torch burnt at what he hoped was the end of the passage. His stomach churned as the groans cleared up and were cries for help with clawing at the walls around the corner. James touched his head as the voice crept into his thoughts, consuming the screams for a moment. He felt his eyes sting as his head pounded. What is wrong with me? he thought and pressed his fingertips against the wall. His broken collarbone pounded; he could only imagine how bad it looked under the bandages.

Do you know who you are? How we got here?​

James heard a clunk, like the sound of a pickaxe slamming into the rock behind him. He turned to face the sound and saw a figure dressed in a purple uniform with brown and blond hair pointing forward. Nervously, James walked over and glanced at the rock. James spun around and saw a beach. The waves crashed into the rocks in the sea and swept along the shoreline. His feet sunk into the sand, and he raised his arm to keep his balance. In the distance, he could see a wooden boat in pieces on the beach. He trudged through the sand until he got a better look at the shipwreck.

Poor innocent boy. You don't know. In 1665, a group of off-islanders came to the island now called Coltar. If only they had died that day or drowned in the vast sea. The Kishinirese people were surprised to see a merchant ship. Even I was surprised. We all rushed over with our pokémon to help the injured merchants. Little did we know letting them into our land, our home, would condemn hundreds of thousands of people to death.​

James glanced around, unable to pinpoint who was speaking to him.

A hundred years prior we came to be. The day the Diamant de Kalos crashed upon the shores.​

James felt washed over with a sudden nausea, as he stared around the large pit the corridor had opened up into. A young black woman in a long beige cloak sat at the far end. Her face had several markings on either side and on her forehead, an opened eye between the sun and the moon had been painted in charcoal dust. He narrowed his eyes. Who are you? He turned around to see a campfire surrounded by eighteen people.

The campfire puffed smoke up, and the grey swirls rose towards an open sky. James watched as the smoke cleared to reveal a man with black skin and brown eyes. His right eye had a slight golden speck in it. He stood topless, wrapping an injured man who had a sword on his belt in his shirt. James noticed the wounded man had large teeth marks on his back like a pokémon with two long fangs or horns hand attempted to impale him.

Bello knew what to do. He always did. When Igor Rett was born, things never changed. ​

James opened his mouth to speak and ask her a question, but his voice box closed up and felt tight. His words refused to escape his voice box. All he could do was extend his arm out to touch the shipwreck. The planks that held the ship together were chipped or missing in places. The jagged edges looked sharp enough to cause damage to any unfortunate soul colliding with it. As his fingers pressed into the wood, they left behind a scorched charcoal mark.

Of course, the knowledge of Bello didn't last forever. It was how the disaster came to be. The plague massacred the divided nations of Kishinir, Iciklan and Elmland. That is how the lost generation came to be, how I came to be.​

James searched around himself for the woman who spoke but found himself running through the streets of what looked like his home town of Fehahra. He saw kids of seven or eight running around the street in tunics and old-fashioned dresses. His gaze locked onto them as their luxray and luxio chased them. Thud. He felt them smack into him, and he opened his mouth again to shout, but he felt his throat close up once again. He glanced up at the sky and placed his hand on his neck. However, when he looked down at the kids, he saw a wooden cart being dragged along by a sawsbuck. Its autumn leaves hung down off its antlers. His eyes left the sawsbuck as a pungent stench filled his nose, dragging his eyes to the contents of the cart covered by a tarp. However, a human arm had extended through the wooden barriers.

"Death to all off-islanders! It is all their fault!"​

The hand from the outstretched arm grabbed James and pulled him backwards into the cart. He fell through the ground and tumbled back. He felt sick as he rolled and tossed around from side to side until the light all around him faded.

Wake up. You need to wake up.​

James opened his eyes and looked around. His mouth had been stuffed with a cloth, and his hands and legs had been bound together with wired rope. Fuck, he thought as the pain from his broken collarbone shot through his body so viciously that he wanted to scream. He forced himself to sit up, and he shuffled back along the charcoal-coated floor, his fingers and feet brushing over countless charred skeletons until his back was against the wall of the pit. Above him, he saw a purple smog-like gas had formed.

"You were actually stupid enough to come alone," Hanson Rei said, his cold eyes peering down at James from the top of the pit. "And now you'll die here in this plague pit where you belong… It's a shame, really. If only you were conscious enough to realise your death." He stepped away from the edge and disappeared from view.

As Hanson Rei's cold voice rang out, James glanced around the pit. There are some soldiers down here? There must be around 70 or so… The soldiers lay unconscious and gagged; some had deep wounds across their bodies, and almost all of them had dried blood by their ears. We will all die down here. I am the only one awake… James squirmed into the sitting position and looked around.

Use my power, James. Call upon the pokémon, and I can set you free… for a price.​

James glanced around, hoping to see a pokémon he recognised. Please… he thought as he squirmed in silence. He noticed a pokémon lumbering around higher up. A tree was growing on its back. Is that a torterra? There is no way… that means we must be near Fehahra still. Please… he thought. The stone hanging around his neck started to glow brown, and his bright red irises twisted into a brown. A sharp stabbing pain shot through his arm, but he held his breath, hoping not to scream and let his stepfather know he was awake.

Almost immediately, the torterra's eyes turned brown and it slid down into the pit, plodding over to James. He butted his head against James's, closing his eyes and waiting for a moment. He took a step back and lowered his head once again, rubbing the spikes attached to his chin on the ropes that had James bound.

James felt the rope fraying under the pressure, and he pulled it until he heard the quiet sound of the rope slumping down. Okay, now what? He blinked. When he opened his eyes again, the entire cave appeared to be in a grayscale all around him. Ugh, the pain is getting worse… James looked at his arm, which was bleeding. Wait… what's that? James slowly got up onto his feet. His footing threatened to slip with each step as he wobbled over each of the unconscious soldiers. In front of him, he could see a deeper green behind the wall.

Break it, James.​

"Torterra, do you think you could use dig or something?" he whispered. It's a high-level torterra because it knows headlong rush. Only super-strong torterra learn that move. Also, we must be near the entrance to this cave, right? Torterra live in the forest and not in a cave.

Thud.

"No!" James shouted as the torterra used earthquake. Fuck! I should have been… a rock slammed into him as the chamber began to shake, causing ruptures in the cave. James looked at the unconscious soldiers. If I don't do something, they'll die.

"I hate Elktan, and I hate the soldiers. They are the enemy. They invaded us. They should die," James said with a voice that was not his own.

"Wait, no! What? Why would I even say that? I'm no murderer… even if I do hate them! What do I do?" James looked around, hoping someone would answer his question for him. However, the rumbling was the only sound breaking the silence. "Torterra, stop!" James shouted at the pokémon.

James's stomach squeezed and tightened as the large pokémon's head turned to face him. Something seemed different. The torterra opened its snapping mouth and lunged at James, and his vision normalised. His arm ached, but he snatched it back just before the jaw closed around him. If I send Okta out in here, I could kill someone… what do I do? James stumbled back, landing on the pile of unconscious soldiers. He looked over them quickly and rushed toward a familiar face.

"Sutton? You have to wake up! Sutton! You fucking jerk! Wake up! I'm scared…" James pleaded, shaking the unconscious sergeant.

The torterra lowered its head and began charging at James once again. His heart pounded, and he reached for Sergeant Sutton's poké balls. "I don't want to, but… I have no choice…" He pressed the button and held the poké ball steady, still unwilling to use his stepfather's gengar. Please be his electabuzz. James prayed; however, in front of him, a small sableye appeared.

The sableye reached forward with his pointy purple fingers and created a protective shield in front of himself and James. His pointy ears twitched as if noticing James's breathing for the first time. His gem-shaped eyes glistened before turning his attention back to the raging torterra.

James took a deep breath as his lungs filled with relief. I have to get out of here and get help, but I also have to protect the soldiers from the torterra. First thing is first, I need to get up onto that ledge where Hanson was. The thought of Hanson Rei being around still left a bitter taste in James's mouth, but he had no choice. Once I am safe, I can think… Wait… maybe I can wake Sutton up now. James hurried over to Sergeant Sutton again and started to shake him as the sound of the torterra battering and injuring the sableye filled the cave. With one last inch of desperation, James punched Sergeant Sutton as hard as he could in the stomach.

"Whoever you are, I'll kill you!" Sergeant Sutton blurted out in Elkrat as he opened his eyes. "H-… James? James, move!" He pushed James behind him as he tried to scramble to his feet; however, his feet wobbled on the floor, and he fell back down onto his knees. "Damn it!" he said in Elkrat. "James, I need you to take my sword and follow my instructions… okay?" Sergeant Sutton said in slurred Colrat.

"What?!" James shouted back. "No… I can't… This is my fault…" The words gushed out of his mouth like an unstoppable waterfall.

Hanson Rei's clapping filled the cave as he appeared atop the ledge. "So, you are awake. I suppose I'll now get the pleasure of killing you myself."

"Shit…" Sergeant Sutton muttered, forcing himself onto his feet. This is bad. Sergeant Sutton looked down and saw the other unconscious soldiers. Why am I the only one awake? I guess James woke me up – it doesn't matter now. I have to protect James, myself and the other unconscious soldiers. He looked up to the man, laughing, on the ledge. "I won't let you."

"Is that so, Elkran?" Hanson Rei responded.

He understands Elkrat? Sergeant Sutton drew his sword and glanced at James. "James, take my electabuzz, okay? His name is Vesx. He doesn't understand Colrat, but that's okay. He will protect you." He placed a poké ball in James's hand, sliding his hand over the blue cap.

The torterra roared and began charging towards them both.

"Sutton…" James whispered, but before he could stop himself, he grabbed his onix's poké ball. With a deep breath, he let go and let it drop back into his pocket. "I'm going to help you!" He took the gengar's poké ball and looked at it, and then the electabuzz's poké ball. "Alright, Vesx, let's er… do something!" James's eyes narrowed on the torterra. It isn't using headlong rush anymore. Is its energy to use that move all gone?

"James, look out!" Sergeant Sutton pushed him back against the wall. The ground beneath their feet started to shake, and the unstable rock wall came crashing down in front of them, sealing them off from the torterra. "That… was awful." Sergeant Sutton withdrew his sableye and looked at James. "James, you are bleeding! Are you hurt? Let me see!"

"I am fine," James snapped back, pushing him away. He took a deep breath and lunged forward, squeezing Sergeant Sutton as hard as he could. "I'm so scared… this is all my fault."

Sergeant Sutton grimaced at the thought of James blaming himself. How is this your fault? He wrapped his arms around James and said, "No, no, it's not. I'll look after you. Or, you'll look after me. You saved me, yes? That makes you a hero, at least to me. Let's forget about what happened and not worry about the other soldiers – we need to focus on us right now. We need to get out and get help. You know, James, you are a good kid. I know you get in trouble sometimes, and you like to push the rules, but…"

James pressed his head harder into Sutton's chest. "I made it angry… I'm sorry… Hanson Rei, he's going to come after us. We need to get ready." He let go and looked around the cavern, spotting a tiny slither of light that wasn't there before. Show me… he thought, and momentarily, the path ahead flickered in grey. "Um… I think we should go this way."​
A/N:
In this chapter, I decided to add the event and corresponding behaviour of the Coltese being afraid of Off-Islanders - this was caused by a group of Off-Islanders bringing the Black Death (or the Plague) to the island. They are absolutely terrified that they will have the same thing happen again. Their attitude towards Off-Islanders will be changed over the course of time. In 1989, they are treated more as a threat who should be jailed until their intentions are determined.​
 

Reroll Your Odds​

25​


Thursday, May 11th, 1989

The cavern began to shake, and the wall cracked as James and Sergeant Sutton walked on. The pathway beneath their feet crumbled away, and they fell with the rocks toward the ground. He closed his eyes and muttered a prayer under his breath. As if giratina were listening, he felt a pinch on his shoulder, followed by a thunderous collapse of the rocks around him.

Sergeant Sutton helped James up onto his feet. A small chamber lined with old drawings painted along the walls caught both of their attention in an instant. James felt specks of dust come down in front of him, and an uneasiness set up camp inside of him. The slanted, unstable stone ceiling looked like it was one slightly raised voice away from collapsing and crushing them both.

"It is old Kilgorese…" Sergeant Sutton whispered; his voice ebbed with pain. "At least… I think it is. It looks like it."

"Sure," said James. "I hope Li and Kuti are okay..." James pushed past Sergeant Sutton and entered an expansive room. The stone brick crumbled even more inside. A few stone chairs wrapped around a stone table. "What is this crap?"

"I think it's an old prophecy chamber… I'm not sure, though. Ha Fehahra means place of destiny, just in old Kilgorese, at least I think it does." Sergeant Sutton turned to face the wall. His shirt's tears became more evident as he approached the glowing wall. "These were built when Prophecy Fever was rampant…"

James staggered around as he ran his fingers along the wall, desperate to find an unburnt torch. Every second that ticked by left James with an overwhelming sense of dread sinking deeper and deeper into his stomach. All of a sudden, the room lit up, and the carvings shone six bright colours. Red, purple, yellow, yellow, blue, green. James staggered back, and his arm knocked into one of the chairs. A spinarak web drifted down and caught his hair. He waved his hand back and pushed the way away. A grunt echoed from behind him, and he spun around to be greeted by a large pokémon.

"It is an alakazam? What is it doing here?" James reached forward and touched the alakazam's arm. Her large eyes shot open, and her soulless black-dotted pupils latched onto James. She tilted her head from side to side and began assessing him.

Footsteps came from behind like a lightning strike, and James turned to face the creator of them. His eyes met with a woman with blonde hair. Her chipper smile felt all too familiar. It was her, Lady Smith. In front of her stood her luxray with bared teeth. Behind her stood Hanson Rei. His tentacruel sat upon his shoulder.

Shit, this isn't good. Sergeant Sutton thought as he drew his blade. "Stay behind me, James." He looked back at James. "James?"

James's legs seized up, and he felt sickness in his stomach. Why am I frozen in place? Sutton? He glanced around, and he saw purple vines sprouting up through the rock. Oh no…

Toxic spikes shot up out of the ground and lunged towards Sergeant Sutton. "Fuck!" he jumped back, but he felt a tingling sensation score his leg. "Shit!" He shook his head, and his eyes narrowed in on the tentacruel and luxray, which had stepped closer to him. He took a deep breath, and in Colrat, he clearly said, "James, I am here."

"Sutton! Watch out!" James shouted.

The tentacruel let out a snigger as the high-pressured water shot out of the tentacruel's mouth, swirling with toxins and cascading towards the sergeant. The rocks on either side of the cavern became drenched and slippery, rubbing against the toxic spines and vines that had appeared moments before.

Sergeant Sutton dived onto his stomach and covered his hands over his head. This would be so much easier if I could hear clearly. James, you have to send out your pokémon. If you can send out your onix and cause the wall to collapse, you can put up a shield between them and us. "Yaagh!" he screamed as he felt sharp teeth dig into his arm.

"Don't hurt the cutie too much!" Lady Smith chimed. "Just enough to knock him out, 'kay?"

"Sutton!" James shouted out once more and grabbed his poké ball from his pocket. "Okta, use iron tail!" He pressed the button of his poké ball, and the large golden onix appeared in the cavern. Her tail lifted, hardened, and slammed into the luxray. "Sutton…" James whispered, diving down and nudging his arm.

"Fuck!" Sergeant Sutton shouted in Elkrat, seeing the fangs.

"Little brat!" Hanson Rei spat, pointing forward at James. "You will die." As if the hiss of the kilgorese word die was a command, his tentacruel extended its long tangling stingers, and water shot out of its mouth towards James.

Sergeant Sutton reached for the light-metal shield on his shoulder but side-glanced his sableye. "Protect!" Let's go, mega-evolution! Wait… He looked down, and a shiver darted up his spine. His watch and mega stone had been cracked. Fuck. Okiol already got hurt by the torterra. He grabbed his injured arm and stood up. At least the luxray's fangs aren't going to be as effective anymore. He turned and saw the luxray already pouncing on his sableye, and a bright light covered the cavern. His eyes stung as he heard the sound of electricity raging.

"Okta!" James shouted as the sound of metal scraping against rock echoed through the cavern's walls. His eyes catch a glimpse of Hanson Rei's aegislash slicing through his onix's body. The sound of his onix letting out a pained roar flooded his ears. She's… still standing? Oh, right, sturdy!

The onix's roar of pain was swiftly followed by the sound of rocks crumbling. Her body's core chipped in places from the impact. She shook and trembled as fear and pain flooded through her body. However, she turned her head, opened her mouth and screeched as loudly as she could.

"Time to die, Runt." Hanson Rei smirked as he approached James, eyeing his injured onix. "That beast won't stop me. Lady Smith, deal with the sergeant. And where are the others?" He drew and slashed his knife at James.

He lost some of his fingers in the attack on the train? Deserved it. "Okta! Use sand tomb!" James called out, staggering back; however, the knife's sharp blade slashed across the side of his head. "Gaagh!" James shouted as a knife cut at him and poison spikes stabbed at him from every direction. He's using the poison stone… fuck…. Do I use his gengar? He reached into his pocket and grabbed the second poké ball. No. If I do that, it could just take his orders – and besides, I fucking hate gengar.

The ground beneath the aegislash and Hanson Rei folded in on itself, catching the tip of the aegislash's blade, sucking her into the cracks. She tugged as hard as she could to break free.

As his aegislash was bombarded by the spewing rocks and caving in the ground, Hanson Rei grinned and pulled and raised his arm, revealing a bracelet. In the middle of the leather strap sat a glowing mega stone. "Get on with it!" he shouted at Lady Smith.

"Alright!" she drew her sword and held it low. You are already injured. I won't kill you, but I do want to take you and the other prisoners. She gripped the electric stone with her hand.

Sergeant Sutton reached down, pulled his sword with his left hand and swung at Lady Smith. I have never had to fight with my off-hand before. He glanced at his sableye as the luxray's electricity surrounded him. The best thing I can do… is prevent that tentacruel from mega-evolving! He pulled himself upright and shouted at the top of his voice, "Kno-ouff. Yaagh!" Sergeant Sutton let out a scream as a sword hilt slammed into his chest.

"Ashna, let's do this!" The luxray began to glow a bright light, and her tail began to grow. Her fangs sprouted forward, becoming sharper in her mouth. Her fur dimmed to match her newly acquired dark typing. "Finish the sableye off." She shouted out, and her luxray leapt forward once again, digging her fangs into the sableye.

Electricity flickered in the cavern, burning the fearful images into James's memory. The sound of footsteps rang out in the background, and James opened his mouth to call for help, but no words came out. The ground underneath his feet began to shake, and he grasped hold of the ground stone in his pocket tightly.

Go on, James. Drain the graveler before it is too late. ​

"No…" James muttered and tried to stand. Shit, there are more of them now. Graveler, sandslash, and a pokémon I don't know… Okta! His onix roars once again as the ground beneath her starts to crack and shake.

Use my power to protect your friends. Let me take your energy for this. You know you want to.​

James clenched hold of the stone as Hanson Rei's knife came down on him once again. The metal of the knife clinks against the rocks beside him. He placed his hand on the ground and yelled out, "Okay! Fuck you, Hanson!" His eyes began to glow an amber brown and flickered. His fingers tingled, and he stretched his hand out towards the graveler that was making the ground shake. His arm ached as the stone used up his energy, cracking his skin. "Now, Okta, use aftershock surge!" James said with a voice that wasn't on his own.

The onix's eyes glowed an amber brown as she slammed her tail into the ground, ripping it open. A shockwave rumbled under the cavern, and the walls began to tear apart. The cracks crawled up the walls, reaching the base of the crypt above. The thunderous sound of collapsing rocks and concrete from far above filled the cavern.

A familiar roar rang out as the dust made from the rockslide clouded the tight cavern.

Shit! James! Sergeant Sutton swung his sword at Lady Smith, hoping to catch her off-guard, as a second shockwave rumbled throughout the battlefield.

"Aww, you are still trying." Lady Smith raised her sword, blocked his swing, and slammed her foot into his knee. "Come on, Sergeant. Surrender, if you do, we can, like, totally talk things out." She stepped into the cleared dust. That wild torterra will totally be a problem. "Take out the torterra. I'll deal with the Sergeant." She said, glancing over at the two individuals who had appeared on the battlefield during the dust cloud.

Sergeant Sutton staggered back. Gardevoir, sandslash, torterra and mega luxray. All I have left on me is Vesx. While she has the electric stone, I'm going to be in deep shit. My arm stings so much. He grabbed his poké ball from his pocket and pressed the button in the middle.

"Need help, Sutton?" Lord Orag said, drawing his sword. He looks really hurt, and he's still standing. Lord Orag placed a hand on his poké ball and pressed the button in the middle. Sutton's electabuzz and my mamoswine stand a chance, but… "Where's James, Kitiku, Lioa and Andrew?"

"I don't know!" Sergeant Sutton replied.

On the other side of the rockslide, Hanson Rei rushed forward, spinning spikes covered in toxins out from the ground. "Damn, Sergeant, make sure he fucking pays. As for you, runt, you have the ground stone? Heh, that doesn't mean anything! End him!" His tentacruel spat a hydro pump blast towards his aegislash, who swivelled into her king's shield form. The water cracked the collapsing ground with enough force to break the smaller plates into manageable chunks.

The aegislash swivelled back into her blade form and rushed at James, spinning with the intent to kill. The speed at which she spun left a whistling sound in the suffocating air.

Boom.

A long metal tail swung through the cavern and smashed into the aegislash, a mere inches from James's face.

Glowing crystals floated in the air, shimmering in the little light that came from a flaming torch, catching James's attention. Who… who is that? James thought as his vision blurred under the pain. It hurts… His eyes glimpsed over at the graveler as it flew past him and into the wall.

"You want to kill? How about you try and kill me." A man's voice said, and he stepped into the light, drawing his blade and rushing toward the graveler's trainer.

"Kill him!" Hanson Rei's voice strained, ordering his aegislash to attack. Her blade hardened in response, and she swung at the Elkran Lord. So, it's really him. If I kill him here… no, I doubt that will work out. Even I know I'm no match for him, but… Hanson clenched the poison stone, and spikes shot up around the Elkran Lord.

Bad move. The Elkran Lord grabbed Hanson Rei's minion and tossed him into the spikes, impaling him. He bounced back on his heels, and with his sword, he clashed against the aegislash's blade. The ground feels strange, almost as if it has a high current running through it. The soldiers have been removed, so I only have this one civilian to worry about. What is a kid like that doing down here? No. Focus. Strategize. His arm hardened, showing a slight shimmer, as he backed up and slammed his forearm into Hanson Rei's stomach.

"Hydro pump!" Hanson Rei shouted out.

Shit, I need to get through there, someone needs help! Lord Orag thought, turning back to the wall before swinging at Lady Smith once again. This isn't good. The sound of metal scraping against itself screeched in the blocked-off chamber. Lord Orag ducked and shoulder-barged into the much smaller Lady Smith. Her hair almost flicked up in his face as he did.

The sound of glasses hitting the floor caught Sergeant Sutton's attention, and with a weak stomp, he crushed Lady Smith's glasses under his foot before collapsing onto the floor. His head felt heavy, and the pain in his arm was screaming at him.

"Ach!" Lady Smith shouted as she was knocked back. However, she rolled onto her feet, sprinted forward faster than the eye could see, and slashed at him. Meanwhile, her luxray pounced up and extended her new fangs, opening her jaws wide before snapping down on the electabuzz.

Sutton is down, and I don't have time to call for backup. This is a one-against-three. His electabuzz won't act without orders, and I don't know much about him… but… I can do what I can. Lord Orag pulled out a second poké ball. "Zulli!" In front of him, a large green haxorus appeared, flashing his scales and lowering his axe-shaped head.

"Dazzling gleam!" the man behind Lady Smith ordered. The gardevoir sparkled, and a beam of energy blasted out of her body. However, before she could finish building up power, the torterra's tree on its back flung back and hit the gardevoir back.

And then there's that wild pokémon to deal with, too. This is such a mess. Lord Orag grabbed hold of his mamoswine's tusk, and hopped up onto them, as he opened his mouth, and spat ice shards at the wild torterra. The glistening ice struck the torterra's body, leaving ice burns on the wild pokémon's back.

Meanwhile, the water washed over the mega steelix, chipping away at her metal body; however, she stood stoically, leering down on the tentacruel and Hanson Rei. Meanwhile, the aegislash's blade sharpened once again, lunging for James.

"Gatch!" the Elkran Lord coughed as a toxic spike snagged his leg, piercing through his armour. Shit, I've been inflicted with toxic… That means my time on this battlefield is limited unless I use my adrenaline shot – even then, it's still limited. "Aagh!" he screamed, swinging his sword at the Hanson Rei. "Fe'fuss, protect the kid!" He threw a second poké ball forward and caught it as it snapped back into his hand because of the magnet on his ring finger. An eiscue appeared and shuffled for a second before diving in front of the sacred sword attack. "Kid, you better move!" He took a deep breath, and in Elkrat, he said, "Spiked defence!" Spikes shot out of the steelix's body, twisting into sharpened blades covering each inch of the large pokémon. She lowered her head and dived under the rocky ground, making the ground shake.

The aegislash's blade collided with the eiscue's ice face, and flipped back out of the way, and behind Hanson Rei, who had raised his blade to match the Elkran Lord's.

It's using belly drum? Hanson Rei thought, taking his eyes off of the Elkran Lord. With only one hand, I can't win this, but I can weaken him, for him, or at least send him packing! Hanson grinned and ducked as the Elkran Lord's sword slashed at his head, allowing his aegislash's king's shield to take the impact before switching form yet again and stabbing at the man in front of him. "Break it down!"

Water rushed forward once more from the tentacruel's mouth and slammed into the wall, causing the rocks to tumble once again. They crumbled and rolled towards James.

The Elkran Lord raised his shimmering arm and pressed it against the wall. "Help me hold it up, Nayhak! Fe'ifuss, liquid..ation…" he said as sickness erupted in his stomach. Quickly, his steelix raised her tail, holding it up above James's head, stopping the rocks from falling onto him. Meanwhile, the eiscue's liquidation sliced at the aegislash but was blocked by the king's shield. The Elkran Lord glanced up before throwing up from the toxins inside his body. Keep going. "Er… let's see… use dig!" he shouted at James's onix in Colrat. Please understand me. "Nayhak, use thunder fang!"

James's onix let out an almighty screech before digging underground, spitting up rocks and debris littering the cavern as the sharp fangs of the steelix crashed down on the tentacruel's body and sprayed out one final hydro pump.

On the other side of the wall, Lord Orag dived out of the way of the luxray's fangs, swinging his blade upward, slicing the sandslash up as he did. The wall is crumbling… He grabbed hold of Sergeant Sutton's arm and jumped back. "Dragon rush!" he ordered, and the haxorus swung its axe-shaped head at Lady Smith, throwing her back. He gripped hold of his poké balls and returned the pokémon as the rocks fell in front of him.

"Lord Orag… Help," James whispered as his head pounded and blacked out.

James's memories felt foggy as he opened his eyes. He was lying down outside on the cobblestones just outside of the crypt's opening. He slowly rolled onto his knees, and his shaky legs struggled to hold him upright.

"Hey, kid! What happened?" a gruff voice said.

"It was Rei. Rei was there. He attacked all those people, and I- " James stumbled back, holding his face. "Y-you hit me? Why? What did I do?" He felt his anger swirling around inside, and he wanted to punch the Lord back. However, the eyes of the soldiers and Lords around him stared angrily.

"Don't lie. You are lucky I don't have your head for not bowing to me. Now move!" the Lord kicked James in the shin and pointed to the camp nearby.

The camp outside of the holy building was a sight to behold. The Elkran had clearly spared no expense in assisting everyone involved in the incident. However, there were still many soldiers in the queue in front of James. He could see Sutton up ahead being taken inside the tent. He touched the tip of his eyebrow and flinched back as a stinging sensation echoed through his skin. What is Lord Orag doing here? Lord Orag approached him and stared down. Oh, right… you… you came? I think… who was that other guy? Where's my onix?

"James, you have a head injury," Lord Orag said as he tilted James's head back. "You shouldn't be waiting in line. Lord Ikur and the other doctors working in Fehahra will deal with the less serious injuries, but head injuries are serious." He opened his hand and offered it to James.

James shrugged, stared at the floor and whispered, "I feel fine. I just want to go home. Where is my onix? No one believed me when I said Rei was there. I really just want to go home." He felt Lord Orag place a hand on his shoulder.

"Your onix is fine," Lord Orag started. He reached into his pocket and handed the poké ball to James.

James grabbed his poké ball. "Rei was there." James scowled at him. He saw Lord Orag narrow his eyes and stare at him. The Lord scanned over him like a braviary hunting for prey.

"Alright, James, deep breaths." Lord Orag raised his hand to another Lord.

James heard Lord Orag talking in Elkrat to another Lord before being dragged along and into a white tent with an overhang. The wooden poles that held the tent upright seemed new, and the beds which lined the inside of the tent looked comfortable. The perfectionism grated James. How can you bring such a thing here? he thought. Lord Orag tapped a bed next to him, and James sat down on the soft blue cushions. Dubwool cotton? Really? James groaned and looked around the room. There were several Lords in there. He shuddered as his eyes glanced over at the Lord in a bloodied white coat. The Lord was tall, far taller than Lord Orag.

"You are Mr Bryson? Let's have a look," a Lady said. "You are going to need some stitches. You know you are very stupid for going into that crypt. If we hadn't turned up, you'd have been killed." She dabbed her mareep cotton cloth in a bottle and raised it to James's forehead.

"I didn't need your help," James snarled back. "I survived a 20ft fall on my own." He turned, slumped back on the bed, and rolled over to show her his back. He felt a tight grip grab his shirt, and before he knew it, James was thrown across the floor. "What the fuck, bitch?" He looked up to see a tall man with a blue hat and blue jacket with a band with the medical symbol tied to his arm.

"Do you have a death wish, child?" the man said in Elkrat. "I am Lord Puanami. You will do as you are told. Hold still, boy." Lord Puanami lowered James down onto the bed and pulled out a silver-looking needle. He pressed some wet Mareep cotton against his wound. He looked into James's eyes, scouring for a reaction. He then carefully pressed the needle against James's face.

"Ow!" James cried out as the needle pierced the skin on the side of his head. He raised his hands to swat the Lord away. James noticed the Lord's blue eyes were focused on threading a long leavanny string into a stitching needle. He raised his legs to kick, but the weight of the Lord pressed down on his thighs. James tried to squirm, thrashing his slung shoulder.

"Get off me! That really hurts!" James kneed the Lord in the leg.

"I am only doing this as a favour to Orag. Remember that, runt," the Lord said, grabbing James's shirt.

"M-my Lord, I apologise for him!" a voice called out. "He took a hit to the head. He doesn't know what he is saying or doing."

James turned to face the familiar voice. On his knees, he saw Lieutenant Tomilson and felt Lord Orag place his hand on his shoulder.

However, Lord Puanami, clearly frustrated now, pulled James's head back up aggressively. The needle went into his skin, and all he could do was wait. He continued to sew James's injury up before throwing the needle away. He pulled on James's sling and adjusted it. Lord Puanami scribbled a note down and stuck it to James's forehead with a little bit of spinarak web goo before he walked off.

"What happened, James? Tell us," Lord Orag asked, sitting beside James. He waved his hand to Tomilson to sit down beside him.

"I don't really know," James said. "We went looking for Sutton because Kuti wanted to see him, and Li said he saw Sutton by the crypt, so I went to find him, and then I fell down the hole. Like 20ft fall… and then…"

"James, you fell 5ft at most. You'd be dead if you fell 20ft," Tomilson interrupted.

"It was 20ft! I fell, and then when I woke up, I saw a torch, so I followed the torch, and this lady asked me if I knew how they got there. I saw a ship and some sick people, and then I was thrown into a cart, and then I woke up, and oh, Hanson Rei and the others, me and that Steelix trainer fought off were there." James paused and stared directly at Tomilson, as Lord Puanami stuck another note on James's forehead

"So, James, me and Mr Bryson talked," Lieutenant Tomilson said, trying to change the subject. He reached over and pulled the note off of James's head. Geesh that Lord didn't like you. I guess you are lucky he takes being a doctor seriously, he thought. "We both agreed you can stay with me on Wednesdays… we can do art and drawing, and maybe eventually we will be able to do some more days. How does that sound?"

"Can I stay with you tonight?" James leaned against the Lieutenant. "Since Rei is around, I want to stay with you."

"I'll talk to Mr Bryson. I am sure he will understand." Tomilson helped James up onto his feet, and the two of them walked out of the tent and along the road toward where Tomilson's accommodation was. "It is a good thing the ten or so officers and thirty or so Lords get a house, huh?"

"Mhm…" James whispered.​
 

Memories​

26​


Friday, May 12th, 1989

The dawn peered through the window, leaving rays of sunlight painted on James's face as he hung off the side of the double bed. The curtains rustling echoed in the bedroom, and James's eyes shot open. His vision was blurry, and he let out a slight cough. His slung arm felt stiff and creaky as the white sling had been creased in the bed. He turned to see a blurry figure at the side of the bed.

"James?" Lieutenant Tomilson said. "Good morning!"

"No," groaned James as he rolled back over and buried his head in the pillow. "It's Friday… Can I stay in bed, please, just for a little bit?"

Lieutenant Tomilson nodded back at him and walked over to the window. He let out an ear-piercingly loud whistle, and a green squawkabilly flapped over, chirping away. Lieutenant Tomilson quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and scribbled something on it before handing it to the squawkabilly.

"Captain Clarence Bourbabel, please," he said.

"Captain Clarence Bourbabel," the squawkabilly repeated before flying off.

James peered up at him before muttering, "What was that about?"

"Oh, well, I was sending a message to Captain Bourbabel. He told me to keep an eye on you last night after you passed out in my bed," he said as he stretched. "I really hate sleeping on that sofa, but you needed the bed more. We will sort you out a proper bed soon if Tak agrees. Anyway, Captain Bourbabel said, if you are too tired today, you can sleep in, and on top of that, I get the day off." Lieutenant Tomilson opened one of the wooden drawers and pulled out a white shirt with a small graphic of a Magikarp on it saying "I'll fuck you up!" in Colrat on it.

James let out a half-awake giggle at the angry-looking magikarp. His stomach grumbled, and James stopped and rolled over to stare at the ceiling. Friday is a fast day…

Lieutenant Tomilson turned to see James's mood plummet once again. He slowly sat down on the bed and carefully placed his hand on James's forehead. The kid has a little bit of a fever, which is not surprising given everything. Lieutenant Tomilson tucked the blanket under James's arms and made sure not to knock James's broken bone accidentally. Lieutenant Tomilson took off his army jacket, white shirt and blue tie and changed into the magikarp shirt.

James glanced down and pulled on the sheets as he sunk into the mattress. He raised his hand and touched his head where the Lord had stabbed him with a needle and stitched his wound. The leavanny thread had tightened in his sleep, and the deep cut mainly had healed over. All he could feel were the small bumps where the thread was.

The door knocked, and James turned to the bedroom door. Lieutenant Tomilson quickly shouted out that he was coming and let out a small smile before walking downstairs and opening the door. James could hear the muttering of voices downstairs and tried to roll over to ignore them. The door closed, and James could hear footsteps coming up the stairs.

"… too early," James said, snuggling further under the blanket. "Bed warm, not going school, fuck off." James grabbed his pillow and hurled it at Young Lord Kek. To his surprise, Young Lord Kek let the pillow hit him in the face, knock off his blue Lord's hat and mess up his combed ginger hair.

"James! We do not throw things at a Lord!" Lieutenant Tomilson shouted, scowling.

"Don't give a shit." James's arm tingled, and his eyes drooped further as he rolled over, pillow-less. He could now hear the sound of Lieutenant Tomilson's dragapult snuffling and snoring under the bed, which made him groan even louder. James jumped out of the bed and looked around. "Where are my clothes?" He scowled as Lieutenant Tomilson paused.

"Er…" Lieutenant Tomilson said, a little dumbfounded.

"I figured you'd have forgotten to collect the kid's clothes, so I went to the store… and asked them about clothes for a medium-sized 16-year-old." Young Lord Kek raised a finger, grabbed his tauros leather satchel, and rolled it around to his front and opened it up. He pulled out a scrunched-up red polo shirt, brown shorts, and a pack of underwear and handed them over to James. "They gave me these." He looked at James and said in Colrat, "I think these will fit. They are probably a bit big; you are a small 16-year-old."

"I am 14!" James shouted, scrunching up his face.

"Well, that's going to be why they are a little big," Young Lord Kek replied, rubbing the back of his head and messing up the rest of his ginger hair.

James's voice softened as he looked at the shirt and said, "Thank you… um… sir… please don't look…" James was surprised when the two immediately stepped out of the room, and he pulled it over his head and let it hang down while he put the shorts on.

"Cohnen, you didn't have to," Lieutenant Tomilson said. "And I'm sorry for the kid's manners. He doesn't really conform. I guess that's what I get for wanting to take care of the kid. "

"You are my best friend. It's just like when we were younger. I used to have to help you, even though I was three years younger. Besides, the kid looks very tired. I am sure him forgetting to address me by my title is because of that." The two stepped back into the room, and Young Lord Kek sat down on the bed, tapped it and looked up at James. "James, isn't it?"

"Uhuh." James glanced at him for a moment, slowly edged over to the bed, and climbed onto the duvet. He crossed his legs, picked up his two poké balls and placed them on the bed.

"It sounds like you and the soldier… accidentally found an old prophecy chamber last night. Damn, that's teeter mad. Those things are so well buried. To find one with an alakazam in, wow. I guess giratina was smiling on you, huh?" Young Lord Kek paused and then said in Elkrat to Lieutenant Tomilson, "We need to seal it off." Young Lord Kek smiled as Lieutenant Tomilson nodded in agreement. "There are a lot of Lords out today," Young Lord Kek said in Colrat. "Try to keep out of trouble."

James went over to the window and stared out onto the street. There are a lot of Lords in town today. That's just great. James let out a loud sigh as he saw Lord Orag talking to some Lords he had never seen before. His stomach sickened, and he felt an anger creeping through him.

James felt Lieutenant Tomilson place his hand on his shoulder and whisper into his ear, "Hey, I'm going to go down to the hospital and check in on Sutton. Let's get you back into bed. Later, I am going to meet with the Lords to discuss my fostering you and see if things work out anyway. Sound good, Jamie? Cohnen, would you mind babysitting?"

James scrunched up his face and scowled before shouting, "I am not a baby!"

"Well, you aren't feeling well, right?" Young Lord Kek said as he patted James on the head. To his surprise, James nodded and leaned against Lieutenant Tomilson's shoulder. He glanced over at Lieutenant Tomilson, pulling back the duvet for James to climb back under.

Lieutenant Tomilson wrapped his arm around James and let him bury his head into his shoulder. "Let's get you all warmed up. Take care of him, Cohnen."

Young Lord Kek moved in front of Lieutenant Tomilson and tucked James in. "Let me know if you need anything to eat or drink, okay?"

"It's Friday… fasting day…" James muttered as he curled up.

Young Lord Kek nodded, understanding, and pushed the hair out of his face. "I see. Well, would you like me to read you a story?"

"I'm 14. I don't need stories." James scowled at him for a moment before his expression softened. "Okay, maybe one story, but it has to have lots of pokémon battles in, and none of that Elktan is the best crap."

Young Lord Kek nodded and walked over to the bookshelf, picked up a thin book and opened it before pushing his ginger hair back. "Alright, let's start."

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Sergeant Sutton lay on his back under the covers of the hospital bed. The blood that had been running down his ears due to the burst eardrums had been wiped clean, but the bruises on his arms and legs still ached. The chansey egg tablets they had given him had taken the edge off, but he still felt helpless. He opened his eyes to see Kitiku sitting beside his bed.

"Oh… Kitiku… hey! When did you…" Sergeant Sutton said, noticing Kitiku playing with his hands. "Sorry if I startled you. Er… hold on… is this right?" Sergeant Sutton lifted his bruised hands and attempted to sign, "I am sorry if I scared you."

Kitiku shook his head and signed back, "No. I am sorry I scared you."

"Ah, well… I was close. Myamix is hard. I wonder why they called it that, sign language, I mean." Sergeant Sutton looked around the room and then back at Kitiku. Damn, there are a lot of Lords around right now. What's going on? "Hey Kitiku, why are there so many Lords around?"

Kitiku shrugged and looked back up at Sergeant Sutton, eventually signing, "I don't know. They were around last night, too, after what happened." Kitiku looked at Sergeant Sutton and then looked back down at the floor. "I am just glad you are okay," he signed, took a deep breath and said, "M-my p-parents were f-fighting with Lieutenant T-Tomilson… about J-James…"

"Oh…" Sergeant Sutton saw Kitiku's eyes starting to well up.

"M-my…d-…" he stopped and signed, "Lieutenant Tomilson said some mean things and got mad about my daddy's past, and the Lords turned my room upside down because of the thing with James in the crypt… all my stuff got messed up and…"

"I am sorry, Kitiku," Sergeant Sutton whispered. "I know things are really tough for you right now. Why don't we play a game? I am not very good at smart people's games, but I can try. Would you like that?"

The door swung open, and two large Lords stepped inside. One had his hand on his sword, and the other was gripping hold of a mightyena on a leash. The mightyena flashed its teeth as it snarled. They both stared at Kitiku, who desperately tried to scramble onto his feet to give a half bow.

"We have some questions for you, Sergeant, surrounding the events of yesterday. Also, him." The blond-haired one pointed at Kitiku. "Neither of us speaks Colrat. Lord David will be in in a moment to take the kid away."

Kitiku felt the back of his shirt being grabbed, pulled off his feet, and dropped his crutches onto the floor. The wood hitting the ground echoed in the nearly silent room. Kitiku's heart started to race and ache from how fast it was going. His throat seized up, and his tongue felt like sandpaper rubbing on the top of his mouth. The Lord tossed him back into a heavy, gripping sensation around his stomach. He peered down to see eight thick blue fingers touching him, and two blue hands grabbed his arms. It's a machamp…. It's a machamp… it's going to kill me! I want my mum! It won't let go! It is going to throw me! I want my mummy! With his unbroken leg, Kitiku kicked out and started to cry as he was taken into the small doctor's office next door. He felt his ears ring, and he desperately squirmed, to no avail, as the powerful fighting-type pokémon intensified her grip.

"I am Lord David. You will answer my questions correctly, quickly, and to the point. What is your name?" Lord David asked as he entered the room, not even glancing at Kitiku.

That's a Lord. He is going to kill me. I want my mum! I want to go and be with my mummy! Machamp is going to kill me! I need my mum!" Kitiku's thoughts clouded his mind, and he opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. His tears poured down the side of his cheeks as the machamp tightened her grip.

"Not going to say anything?" Lord David shot Kitiku a look. "I don't care how sad, scared or hurt you are. You are a rule breaker. You are fortunate Captain Bourbabel has forbidden us from executing you." The Lord shook his head before muttering in Elkrat under his breath, "Jumped up punk. Who the fuck does he think he is telling us Lords what to do?" He pulled out a small vial to inject Kitiku with Muk poison and held it over him like a threat.

"Start talking, brat. What is your name? Why were you out after curfew? Who were you with? I know you are working for the Colran army, so if you tell me what you know, I'll take it easy on you. I'll give you the antidote, and the pain will stop." Lord David pulled Kitiku forward.

"Lord David, what do you think you are doing?" Lord Ikur shouted as he entered the room. "Kitiku, are you okay?"

Kitiku squirmed desperately, with fear in his eyes. The machamp let go, and Kitiku fell onto the floor.

"That child is 13!" Lord Ikur grabbed Lord David's shirt and shook him. "How dare you use truth serum on a 13-year-old child!"

"Kid didn't want to talk," Lord David choked out. "So I…"

"Kitiku uses Myamix to communicate! What is wrong with you? This isn't the reign of Ellio Piscar!" Lord Ikur let go of Lord David and sat Kitiku up. "Kitiku, are you okay?" He looked into the trembling boy's eyes, which were about to burst into tears.

"No, it is not." A figure stepped into the room.

"Captain Bourbabel, Lord Piscar…" Lord Ikur said, taken aback. To his surprise, Captain Bourbabel knelt next to Kitiku and placed his hand on his head. "This idiot ga-"

"I am aware, Aaron. I overheard you shouting. Give the child an antidote if he needs it, and tuck him into one of the hospital beds. Make sure he heals up." Lord Piscar turned to face Lord David. His green eyes narrowed, and his green hair flopped. "Inform the child's parents." Lord Piscar turned back to Clarence, and they walked out of the building together.

"I didn't expect you to come here. I assume Mylious isn't with you?" Clarence asked.

"You know Mylious… he is working as always. Grab Lord Interrogator Spitz for me. It is time."

"You know I do not approve of this." Clarence looked over at the Elkran ruler and scowled.

"He is the enemy," Lord Piscar said.

"As was I," Clarence retorted. "You spared me."

"That was different. You were his puppet and had no choice…" Lord Piscar trailed off and looked down the corridor toward the cells.​
 

Spark of Trouble​

27​


Saturday, May 13th, 1989

The daily grind stopped for no one, and James found himself back at school the next day, stitches and all. He was unwilling to do any of the homework he was set to or even listen to in class. He twitched in his seat and rested his head on the wooden desk, praying that he'd be able to leave soon.

The classroom door opened, and James looked up from his desk and then looked over at the chalkboard. The chalk had smeared across the black background. The wooden desk creaked as he heard the footsteps come closer to him. His hair flopped down over his eyes.

"Why am I not surprised to see you in detention?" Lord Orag said, leaning on James's desk and reaching over to take the paper from his desk. "Ah, the old homework not being done, I see."

James glanced up at him and shrugged before saying, "Had to write a book report on the story we are reading in Colrat class. But I couldn't read the book, because it's too hard and stuff… I hate reading." James slammed his fist on the desk. "So, they stuffed me in here… I hate detention. And I won't bow to you or whatever. I hate you."

"I see…" Lord Orag said, grabbing a chair and pulling it around to the desk opposite James. "I am worried you are falling behind in class, James. I know you find reading and writing in Colrat very difficult. Your Star Studies teacher says you are very good at drawing the constellations but not so much writing about them. Colrat, you are failing; Elkrat, you are failing; Pokémon Care, you are failing. Your physical subjects are doing very well, though." Lord Orag picked up James's quill and took his notepad out of his pocket. "Now, James, I don't want you to fail school. None of us want you to fail, James. So, what can we do to make you pass?" He saw James shrug, and he let out a gentle sigh. "You can be honest with me, James. We aren't enemies."

"The book is just too hard, okay? Who cares about a stupid espurr and its stupid hat!" James growled. "Why do you even care? Aren't you and the soldiers going to be replaced by proper teachers soon?"

"That is true. Actual teachers will replace a lot of soldiers – we had no idea of the extent of the education deficiency, so many of the officers and Lords have been helping teach in the schools… but as for me, no. I will continue to teach. You see, in Elktan, I teach at the Elkran Academy and act as a powerful interrogator and Lord. So, I will be staying here a while longer." He reached into his bag and pulled out a scratched and scraped tauros leather-covered book. "My grandfather was born on the border between Colran and Elktan. So… he could read and write both. He had a friend in the Colran army who used to tell stories over the campfire when they went fishing. He couldn't read or write, so my grandfather wrote them down." He placed the book on the desk.

"So what?" James scowled.

"The stories got published, and they shared the money, but maybe you want to read them? There are lots of different types of pokémon in there, lots of battles and sword fights – way better than a story about a stupid espurr and its stupid hat." Lord Orag opened the book and looked to James with a smile on his face.

"Anything is better than that crap." James grinned back.

"Go on, pick a story. We can read some together." He gestured to the book, and James let out a grumble and pointed to one of the stories listed. "Good boy." Lord Orag turned the book to the chapter James had picked. "If you get stuck, try to sound it out. Okay?"

"The flowers on… the field… were f…" James started.

"Were frozen…." Lord Orag said, moving his finger along the word. He grabbed a piece of paper and wrote out the word. "Let's split the word. Flowers, cold, solid – and present tense." He underlined each part of the word on the paper in a different colour.

"I see. Um, okay …were frozen because the bergmite p-passed through, w-watching behind their b-back." James stopped and looked at Lord Orag. "Is that right?"

"Yes, James. Is that an easier-to-read story?" Lord Orag asked, placing a hand on James's shoulder.

"I guess…" James whispered. "When do we get to the battles and stuff?"

"Soon, James," Lord Orag said with a chuckle. "You and I can write a book report on it together, okay? I will tell your Colrat teacher, and I am sure they will agree with me," Lord Orag said, looking up as the door creaked open. Lord Orag saw Lieutenant Tomilson bow at the door. He beckoned Lieutenant Tomilson over. "James and I were just talking about improving his reading skills. I understand you are taking care of him right now. I have given him a storybook to help him read; I assume you will help him through it." Lord Orag grinned at him.

Lieutenant Tomilson smiled back and said, "Of course, Jamie and I will work on his reading skills. I think James wants to join the Art club, if you permit it, of course, Lord Orag." Lord Orag nodded back and patted James on the shoulder. "If you don't mind, my Lord, James can finish his detention by helping me pack up the art supplies."

"I think that is fine. James is a good artist, I approve. A good incentive to get his grades up, yes? James, can you continue to read on your own for a moment?" Lord Orag smiled. "We need to have a word in private."

Lieutenant Tomilson nodded slowly, stepping out the classroom door. "What is it, Lord Orag?"

"James is a good kid, but he doesn't have a good record." Lord Orag crosses his arms. "We have only just finished repairing the roof in the school's hall – which he managed to collapse with his onix." He paused and tugged on his hearing aid. "I really want him to end up on the right side of the law. I really don't want to have him sent to a detention centre. I am willing to help you, so if you need me to help you with James, please ask."

"Thank you. I want him to grow up feeling like he has a place. So… I'll be sure to let you know if I need assistance." Lieutenant Tomilson nodded and re-entered the room.

James looked at Lord Orag and nodded before grabbing his satchel and getting up from his desk. "Thank you, Lord Orag. You are pretty cool for an Elktan."

"Elkran," Lord Orag corrected, careful to make sure he pronounced the letter r. "And you are very welcome."

James tucked the book into his satchel. He followed Lieutenant Tomilson out of the classroom and past the small pokémon walking along the corridor with their trainers. James looked up to Lieutenant Tomilson as he approached one of the doors and popped a key into the lock. He twisted the handle, and the door swung open.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone for so long. This is James. He is joining the club," Lieutenant Tomilson said and smiled. "Unfortunately, it is time to pack up. I am proud of all of you for working on your projects today. Remember, you can submit your pieces to this club for credit for your art coursework." Lieutenant Tomilson waved as the five students grinned at him, placing their work in the small portfolios they had been given, and walked out of the room. As soon as the replacements get here, I'll be able to shift my focus onto him.

James looked up at Lieutenant Tomilson, briefly picking up some of the supplies and tucking them away into the cardboard box on the shelf. He saw the wooden room had more litwick lighting than his usual art room. He glanced around at one of the paintings that had been left hanging up on the wall. Wow… this one is perfect.

"That's Valca's work. She's very talented and wants to become a designer. She will do wonderfully. She has managed to get tickets to the art museum in Quigk City. The exhibit is about the use of smeargles in art. I have a smeargle, so I, too, have gotten tickets. We can go together. It would be a good day out and would encourage you to experience art to its fullest potential." Lieutenant Tomilson looked at James once more. "And, well, James, I've been talking things through with Mr Bryson – and we can start going down the fostering route if you would like. It won't be easy, and there will be a lot of trial days, and paperwork, and assessments, and all sorts of other fire-rings we will have to navigate through."

James nodded back. "I think that would be nice. You've always been nice to me." He picked up the paintbrushes and ran them under the tap in the corner of the room. He washed the paint out of the brushes, running his fingers through the sigilyph feathers. He watched as the colours drizzled into the sink and were washed away down the sink. James looked around the room and then at Lieutenant Tomilson, who was finishing packing the paints away in the box. He tucked his hands into his pockets and walked over to Lieutenant Tomilson.

"Ready to go home, Jamie?" Lieutenant Tomilson asked, grinning at him.

"You sure Mr Bryson doesn't mind?" James asked.

"Yes, I am sure, Jamie." Lieutenant Tomilson opened the door and gestured to James to go through. "Maybe if you behave and stop drawing pictures of Elkran soldiers being eaten by pokémon, I'll let you borrow my smeargle." He grinned once more. "The art club will decorate some of the walls soon with projects. I'd love you to be a part of that – even if I won't be here to teach it."

"Don't think I'll be allowed. I think Lord Orag will kill me first." James looked around the corridor. "I really am finding reading hard." He placed his fingers along the wooden planked corridor and sighed.

"Lord Orag is more understanding than you think. If he didn't, he wouldn't have bothered to make the effort, Jamie." Lieutenant Tomilson pushed against the door and stepped outside. "I think Lord Orag cares about your future very much. In fact, in the last meeting – and you didn't hear this from me – he said you are making great improvements in mathematics, and he wants to put you on the maths team. He says you are very intelligent, even though you struggle sometimes. In fact, he thinks that if you try, you could come in the top 50 in the next exam."

"Maths team?" James asked.

"It's like scoof – but maths," Lieutenant Tomilson replied. "Listen… Jamie, I was thinking, and after this war, there are a lot of important things I need to tell you, okay?"

"Um… okay." James gently hugged Lieutenant Tomilson and calmly let out a deep breath, imagining doing maths while skating around an arena. "Um… can we read some of that storybook… not that I want to or whatever, but…"

"Yes, Jamie. We can read it together." Lieutenant Tomilson gently hugged James back. You are a good kid, and it's way too quiet out here.

The streets were silent, and the sky had darkened. James felt Lieutenant Tomilson's hand press back against his chest as he looked around. What's going on? James thought.

Lord Piscar left yesterday, but the Lords… they were staying for a few extra days. Yet the streets are dead silent. Something isn't right, Lieutenant Tomilson thought, and he placed his hand on his poké balls ready. The sound of footsteps broke through the silence. His eyes latched on to a shadowy figure moving through the alleyway nearby and out into the open street. One thing he was drawn to above all else made him swallow and reach for his sword. His opponent's eyes were glowing yellow.

Out of the darkness, the luxray rushed into Lieutenant Tomilson's line of sight. Her black and grey fur danced in the light breeze. Her large sabre teeth were showing, and she raised her tail. Sparks flickered from her body uncontrollably.

"James get ba-" Lieutenant Tomilson started; however, his words were stolen from his mouth as the luxray slammed into him, shocking him violently.

Lady Smith stepped onto the cobbles, her uniform in tatters, her face scratched and scarred. "Damn it all. You shouldn't be out here. That's totally not fair. Oh well, I guess I'll have to make my final stand here." She stared at James. "Aww, you are so scared. Wait, aren't you that kid that Rei-Rei wants? Ashna, did you hurt yourself, silly?" she asked the luxray, who let out an annoyed roar back at her as she shook her long mane.

Do I play nice? Lieutenant Tomilson thought as he reached into his pocket and threw a poké ball forward. It connected with the ground before rolling back to him. I suppose it depends on what she wants. He stepped back and shouted, "Miskix, use dragon tail!"

The dragapult flew forward, raised her long, ghostly tail, and swung at the luxray on the cobbles as if she was doing a sweep of the area.

The luxray bounced back on her paws frantically. Her claws scraped against the cobblestones underneath with each step. However, the uneven ground caught was not an ideal battlefield. She felt her paw slip, and suddenly, a stinging, bludgeoning sensation as she was knocked onto her side and skidded across the ground. Narrowly.

Lieutenant Tomilson reached over to his left side and wrapped his hand around his long sword, drew it, and flashed it so the blade was pointed at Lady Smith. "Ready, bitch?" He stepped forward with his right foot and held his pose, and his dragapult floated beside him. His eyes flickered between Lady Smith and her luxray, who was struggling to get back onto her paws. "Stay behind me, James," he said. "You need to be ready to fight in self-defence."

James whispered, "Okay…" as a feeling of dread sunk into his stomach. He looks different. James reached into his school blazer's pocket and pulled out the green-capped poké ball. "Okta, you and me let's do this!" James pressed the button on the front of the poké ball, and his golden yellow onix poured out in front of him.

"Aww, two on one? That's totally not fair." Lady Smith reached across her left side, grabbed the handle on her long sword, and drew it. She lowered the blade and charged towards Lieutenant Tomilson as her luxray roared. Her eyes glowed an electric yellow, and Lady Smith swung at Lieutenant Tomilson, her luxray in tow.

Clunk! The two swords collided, and the metal screeched as they scraped together.

He blocked that? It doesn't matter. Lady Smith reached into her pocket, grabbed a second poké ball, and pressed it against Lieutenant Tomilson's chest. "Headlong rush!"

With a quick side step, Lieutenant Tomilson skidded to the side before the large torterra appeared in front of him. His fingers pressed against the hard cobbles, and his boots scraped on the ground. Smart way to give herself space. Although, she fucked up sending her luxray out first. His hand tightened around the helm of his sword, and he rolled over, flicking the blade up. "Dragon tail!" he called out to his dragapult. Not that intimidate would have affected Miskix anyway. Lieutenant Tomilson looked to James but charged forward at Lady Smith, swinging his sword at her with merely a side glance.

The metal clashing sounded like a constant grating to James's ears as he stood in the middle of the street behind his onix. Now, in front of him, the torterra snorted and growled. James watched the beast's eyes flicker and narrow as if to say, 'I remember you'. However, he didn't flinch. Instead, James gripped the ground stone in his hand, and, with one last look over at Lady Smith and Lieutenant Tomilson, he pointed forward and shouted, "Okta! Use iron tail!"

The onix let out a roar and raised her large tail, swinging it in the air and attempting to smash it into the torterra.

"Ice fang! Wood hammer!" Lady Smith grunted out as she pushed against Lieutenant Tomilson. She felt her muscles begin to contract and stiffen up under the tension. She rolled back and swung the sword low, aiming at the taller man's knees. "Like you are totally strong."

As the dragapult rolled back out of the way, in a desperate attempt to avoid the luxray's sharp, cold, icy fangs of its mega form, the torterra swung the lush green tree that was rooted on his back and into the onix's golden rocky body.

A loud cracking echoed in the streets, only to be drowned out by the onix's scream.

James felt his muscles stiffen as if a rogue icy wind had struck him. His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to shout to his onix. Nothing. He felt his lips move, but no sound would come out as chunks of rock hit the ground. Images flashed through his mind as his onix struggled to remain standing, only due to her ability. She was alive because of her ability – and he knew that as his stomach churned. He reached for his poké ball to return her, but his palm was too sweaty to keep a solid grip on it. The world around him seemed to slow as he turned around to see the blade of Lady Smith swinging down on him.

"No, you don't, bitch!" Lieutenant Tomilson shouted, diving down low and grabbing her by her waist. With a swift swing of his fist, he punched her squarely in the face. A soft grunt followed the sound of shattering glass as he realised he now had a shard of glass in his knuckles. "Atch!" he shouted as a knife blade caught his shoulder.

Lady Smith rolled over and pulled out a third poké ball. "Vasha! Use teeter dance!" she called out, pressing the button.

The spinda, with her brown fur and three big, red polka dots, started to dance on her wobbling feet.

Don't throw up, Lieutenant Tomilson thought, staggering away. Fuck teeter dance, it always messes with my head. "Miskix, watch out!" he shouted as he saw the large mega luxray baring its long, twisted fangs. However, he knew his words were too late, and the fangs sunk deep into the dragapult's tail. The icy cold bite layered into cracks on her tail, darting and scarring all the way up towards her body. "Do it… use dragon tail!" he called out. Everything is getting blurry. I'm sorry, Miskix, I know this will hu- "Yao-!"

Electricity coursed through his body. His muscles reactively all contracted as the voltage attacked every single one of his nerves. With a glance, Lieutenant Tomilson saw the floor was contorting and had become super-charged. His nose began to bleed as he felt himself fading from the shock. His face smacked into the floor, and he was out cold.

"Static floor. It's powerful, just like him," Lady Smith chimed in with a big grin. "His dragapult might have done a big ooopsies and taken out my luxray-ray, but that's totally fine. You see… um… what's your name again? Tomaso? No… that's not it. Oh, right, your name is Jakobo!"

"My name is James…" James corrected.

"Like totally uncool name. It sounds old. Like, wait, I totally need to get back on track here. I like need you to come with me, 'kay? Oh, Rei-Rei will be so happy." Lady Smith reached out to grab James. "By the way, the Elkran Lieutenant guy is still getting sho-"

A loud screech echoed, and the onix, barely standing, raised her broken tail and slammed it into the ground, narrowly missing Lady Smith. Her hand opened, and the electric stone toppled out and fell onto the floor as the onix wobbled from using iron tail.

"Vasha, you know what to do…" Lady Smith's voice deepened, and her eyes narrowed. "And finish off the onix," she said to the eager torterra.

The spinda locked eyes with James, and with a slow, methodical dance, he began to feel himself become dizzy, unable to look away. James felt trapped inside his own body, unable to move or disobey. Unable to do anything to stop the torterra.

James's onix let out a roar of agony as the large tree on the back of the torterra's back slammed into her rocky body once more. Unable to dodge. Unable to react. She crumbled and collapsed onto the cobblestone street, smashing the roofs of two houses as she fell. The slate scattered across the street in pieces, like parts of her body.

"Come on, let's get you back to Rei-Rei, okay?" Lady Smith said. Tucking her sword away. She reached out, grabbed James's hand, and led him to stop by step down the street.​
 

Spark of Trouble​

27​


Saturday, May 13th, 1989

The daily grind stopped for no one, and James found himself back at school the next day, stitches and all. He was unwilling to do any of the homework he was set to or even listen to in class. He twitched in his seat and rested his head on the wooden desk, praying that he'd be able to leave soon.

The classroom door opened, and James looked up from his desk and then looked over at the chalkboard. The chalk had smeared across the black background. The wooden desk creaked as he heard the footsteps come closer to him. His hair flopped down over his eyes.

"Why am I not surprised to see you in detention?" Lord Orag said, leaning on James's desk and reaching over to take the paper from his desk. "Ah, the old homework not being done, I see."

James glanced up at him and shrugged before saying, "Had to write a book report on the story we are reading in Colrat class. But I couldn't read the book, because it's too hard and stuff… I hate reading." James slammed his fist on the desk. "So, they stuffed me in here… I hate detention. And I won't bow to you or whatever. I hate you."

"I see…" Lord Orag said, grabbing a chair and pulling it around to the desk opposite James. "I am worried you are falling behind in class, James. I know you find reading and writing in Colrat very difficult. Your Star Studies teacher says you are very good at drawing the constellations but not so much writing about them. Colrat, you are failing; Elkrat, you are failing; Pokémon Care, you are failing. Your physical subjects are doing very well, though." Lord Orag picked up James's quill and took his notepad out of his pocket. "Now, James, I don't want you to fail school. None of us want you to fail, James. So, what can we do to make you pass?" He saw James shrug, and he let out a gentle sigh. "You can be honest with me, James. We aren't enemies."

"The book is just too hard, okay? Who cares about a stupid espurr and its stupid hat!" James growled. "Why do you even care? Aren't you and the soldiers going to be replaced by proper teachers soon?"

"That is true. Actual teachers will replace a lot of soldiers – we had no idea of the extent of the education deficiency, so many of the officers and Lords have been helping teach in the schools… but as for me, no. I will continue to teach. You see, in Elktan, I teach at the Elkran Academy and act as a powerful interrogator and Lord. So, I will be staying here a while longer." He reached into his bag and pulled out a scratched and scraped tauros leather-covered book. "My grandfather was born on the border between Colran and Elktan. So… he could read and write both. He had a friend in the Colran army who used to tell stories over the campfire when they went fishing. He couldn't read or write, so my grandfather wrote them down." He placed the book on the desk.

"So what?" James scowled.

"The stories got published, and they shared the money, but maybe you want to read them? There are lots of different types of pokémon in there, lots of battles and sword fights – way better than a story about a stupid espurr and its stupid hat." Lord Orag opened the book and looked to James with a smile on his face.

"Anything is better than that crap." James grinned back.

"Go on, pick a story. We can read some together." He gestured to the book, and James let out a grumble and pointed to one of the stories listed. "Good boy." Lord Orag turned the book to the chapter James had picked. "If you get stuck, try to sound it out. Okay?"

"The flowers on… the field… were f…" James started.

"Were frozen…." Lord Orag said, moving his finger along the word. He grabbed a piece of paper and wrote out the word. "Let's split the word. Flowers, cold, solid – and present tense." He underlined each part of the word on the paper in a different colour.

"I see. Um, okay …were frozen because the bergmite p-passed through, w-watching behind their b-back." James stopped and looked at Lord Orag. "Is that right?"

"Yes, James. Is that an easier-to-read story?" Lord Orag asked, placing a hand on James's shoulder.

"I guess…" James whispered. "When do we get to the battles and stuff?"

"Soon, James," Lord Orag said with a chuckle. "You and I can write a book report on it together, okay? I will tell your Colrat teacher, and I am sure they will agree with me," Lord Orag said, looking up as the door creaked open. Lord Orag saw Lieutenant Tomilson bow at the door. He beckoned Lieutenant Tomilson over. "James and I were just talking about improving his reading skills. I understand you are taking care of him right now. I have given him a storybook to help him read; I assume you will help him through it." Lord Orag grinned at him.

Lieutenant Tomilson smiled back and said, "Of course, Jamie and I will work on his reading skills. I think James wants to join the Art club, if you permit it, of course, Lord Orag." Lord Orag nodded back and patted James on the shoulder. "If you don't mind, my Lord, James can finish his detention by helping me pack up the art supplies."

"I think that is fine. James is a good artist, I approve. A good incentive to get his grades up, yes? James, can you continue to read on your own for a moment?" Lord Orag smiled. "We need to have a word in private."

Lieutenant Tomilson nodded slowly, stepping out the classroom door. "What is it, Lord Orag?"

"James is a good kid, but he doesn't have a good record." Lord Orag crosses his arms. "We have only just finished repairing the roof in the school's hall – which he managed to collapse with his onix." He paused and tugged on his hearing aid. "I really want him to end up on the right side of the law. I really don't want to have him sent to a detention centre. I am willing to help you, so if you need me to help you with James, please ask."

"Thank you. I want him to grow up feeling like he has a place. So… I'll be sure to let you know if I need assistance." Lieutenant Tomilson nodded and re-entered the room.

James looked at Lord Orag and nodded before grabbing his satchel and getting up from his desk. "Thank you, Lord Orag. You are pretty cool for an Elktan."

"Elkran," Lord Orag corrected, careful to make sure he pronounced the letter r. "And you are very welcome."

James tucked the book into his satchel. He followed Lieutenant Tomilson out of the classroom and past the small pokémon walking along the corridor with their trainers. James looked up to Lieutenant Tomilson as he approached one of the doors and popped a key into the lock. He twisted the handle, and the door swung open.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone for so long. This is James. He is joining the club," Lieutenant Tomilson said and smiled. "Unfortunately, it is time to pack up. I am proud of all of you for working on your projects today. Remember, you can submit your pieces to this club for credit for your art coursework." Lieutenant Tomilson waved as the five students grinned at him, placing their work in the small portfolios they had been given, and walked out of the room. As soon as the replacements get here, I'll be able to shift my focus onto him.

James looked up at Lieutenant Tomilson, briefly picking up some of the supplies and tucking them away into the cardboard box on the shelf. He saw the wooden room had more litwick lighting than his usual art room. He glanced around at one of the paintings that had been left hanging up on the wall. Wow… this one is perfect.

"That's Valca's work. She's very talented and wants to become a designer. She will do wonderfully. She has managed to get tickets to the art museum in Quigk City. The exhibit is about the use of smeargles in art. I have a smeargle, so I, too, have gotten tickets. We can go together. It would be a good day out and would encourage you to experience art to its fullest potential." Lieutenant Tomilson looked at James once more. "And, well, James, I've been talking things through with Mr Bryson – and we can start going down the fostering route if you would like. It won't be easy, and there will be a lot of trial days, and paperwork, and assessments, and all sorts of other fire-rings we will have to navigate through."

James nodded back. "I think that would be nice. You've always been nice to me." He picked up the paintbrushes and ran them under the tap in the corner of the room. He washed the paint out of the brushes, running his fingers through the sigilyph feathers. He watched as the colours drizzled into the sink and were washed away down the sink. James looked around the room and then at Lieutenant Tomilson, who was finishing packing the paints away in the box. He tucked his hands into his pockets and walked over to Lieutenant Tomilson.

"Ready to go home, Jamie?" Lieutenant Tomilson asked, grinning at him.

"You sure Mr Bryson doesn't mind?" James asked.

"Yes, I am sure, Jamie." Lieutenant Tomilson opened the door and gestured to James to go through. "Maybe if you behave and stop drawing pictures of Elkran soldiers being eaten by pokémon, I'll let you borrow my smeargle." He grinned once more. "The art club will decorate some of the walls soon with projects. I'd love you to be a part of that – even if I won't be here to teach it."

"Don't think I'll be allowed. I think Lord Orag will kill me first." James looked around the corridor. "I really am finding reading hard." He placed his fingers along the wooden planked corridor and sighed.

"Lord Orag is more understanding than you think. If he didn't, he wouldn't have bothered to make the effort, Jamie." Lieutenant Tomilson pushed against the door and stepped outside. "I think Lord Orag cares about your future very much. In fact, in the last meeting – and you didn't hear this from me – he said you are making great improvements in mathematics, and he wants to put you on the maths team. He says you are very intelligent, even though you struggle sometimes. In fact, he thinks that if you try, you could come in the top 50 in the next exam."

"Maths team?" James asked.

"It's like scoof – but maths," Lieutenant Tomilson replied. "Listen… Jamie, I was thinking, and after this war, there are a lot of important things I need to tell you, okay?"

"Um… okay." James gently hugged Lieutenant Tomilson and calmly let out a deep breath, imagining doing maths while skating around an arena. "Um… can we read some of that storybook… not that I want to or whatever, but…"

"Yes, Jamie. We can read it together." Lieutenant Tomilson gently hugged James back. You are a good kid, and it's way too quiet out here.

The streets were silent, and the sky had darkened. James felt Lieutenant Tomilson's hand press back against his chest as he looked around. What's going on? James thought.

Lord Piscar left yesterday, but the Lords… they were staying for a few extra days. Yet the streets are dead silent. Something isn't right, Lieutenant Tomilson thought, and he placed his hand on his poké balls ready. The sound of footsteps broke through the silence. His eyes latched on to a shadowy figure moving through the alleyway nearby and out into the open street. One thing he was drawn to above all else made him swallow and reach for his sword. His opponent's eyes were glowing yellow.

Out of the darkness, the luxray rushed into Lieutenant Tomilson's line of sight. Her black and grey fur danced in the light breeze. Her large sabre teeth were showing, and she raised her tail. Sparks flickered from her body uncontrollably.

"James get ba-" Lieutenant Tomilson started; however, his words were stolen from his mouth as the luxray slammed into him, shocking him violently.

Lady Smith stepped onto the cobbles, her uniform in tatters, her face scratched and scarred. "Damn it all. You shouldn't be out here. That's totally not fair. Oh well, I guess I'll have to make my final stand here." She stared at James. "Aww, you are so scared. Wait, aren't you that kid that Rei-Rei wants? Ashna, did you hurt yourself, silly?" she asked the luxray, who let out an annoyed roar back at her as she shook her long mane.

Do I play nice? Lieutenant Tomilson thought as he reached into his pocket and threw a poké ball forward. It connected with the ground before rolling back to him. I suppose it depends on what she wants. He stepped back and shouted, "Miskix, use dragon tail!"

The dragapult flew forward, raised her long, ghostly tail, and swung at the luxray on the cobbles as if she was doing a sweep of the area.

The luxray bounced back on her paws frantically. Her claws scraped against the cobblestones underneath with each step. However, the uneven ground caught was not an ideal battlefield. She felt her paw slip, and suddenly, a stinging, bludgeoning sensation as she was knocked onto her side and skidded across the ground. Narrowly.

Lieutenant Tomilson reached over to his left side and wrapped his hand around his long sword, drew it, and flashed it so the blade was pointed at Lady Smith. "Ready, bitch?" He stepped forward with his right foot and held his pose, and his dragapult floated beside him. His eyes flickered between Lady Smith and her luxray, who was struggling to get back onto her paws. "Stay behind me, James," he said. "You need to be ready to fight in self-defence."

James whispered, "Okay…" as a feeling of dread sunk into his stomach. He looks different. James reached into his school blazer's pocket and pulled out the green-capped poké ball. "Okta, you and me let's do this!" James pressed the button on the front of the poké ball, and his golden yellow onix poured out in front of him.

"Aww, two on one? That's totally not fair." Lady Smith reached across her left side, grabbed the handle on her long sword, and drew it. She lowered the blade and charged towards Lieutenant Tomilson as her luxray roared. Her eyes glowed an electric yellow, and Lady Smith swung at Lieutenant Tomilson, her luxray in tow.

Clunk! The two swords collided, and the metal screeched as they scraped together.

He blocked that? It doesn't matter. Lady Smith reached into her pocket, grabbed a second poké ball, and pressed it against Lieutenant Tomilson's chest. "Headlong rush!"

With a quick side step, Lieutenant Tomilson skidded to the side before the large torterra appeared in front of him. His fingers pressed against the hard cobbles, and his boots scraped on the ground. Smart way to give herself space. Although, she fucked up sending her luxray out first. His hand tightened around the helm of his sword, and he rolled over, flicking the blade up. "Dragon tail!" he called out to his dragapult. Not that intimidate would have affected Miskix anyway. Lieutenant Tomilson looked to James but charged forward at Lady Smith, swinging his sword at her with merely a side glance.

The metal clashing sounded like a constant grating to James's ears as he stood in the middle of the street behind his onix. Now, in front of him, the torterra snorted and growled. James watched the beast's eyes flicker and narrow as if to say, 'I remember you'. However, he didn't flinch. Instead, James gripped the ground stone in his hand, and, with one last look over at Lady Smith and Lieutenant Tomilson, he pointed forward and shouted, "Okta! Use iron tail!"

The onix let out a roar and raised her large tail, swinging it in the air and attempting to smash it into the torterra.

"Ice fang! Wood hammer!" Lady Smith grunted out as she pushed against Lieutenant Tomilson. She felt her muscles begin to contract and stiffen up under the tension. She rolled back and swung the sword low, aiming at the taller man's knees. "Like you are totally strong."

As the dragapult rolled back out of the way, in a desperate attempt to avoid the luxray's sharp, cold, icy fangs of its mega form, the torterra swung the lush green tree that was rooted on his back and into the onix's golden rocky body.

A loud cracking echoed in the streets, only to be drowned out by the onix's scream.

James felt his muscles stiffen as if a rogue icy wind had struck him. His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to shout to his onix. Nothing. He felt his lips move, but no sound would come out as chunks of rock hit the ground. Images flashed through his mind as his onix struggled to remain standing, only due to her ability. She was alive because of her ability – and he knew that as his stomach churned. He reached for his poké ball to return her, but his palm was too sweaty to keep a solid grip on it. The world around him seemed to slow as he turned around to see the blade of Lady Smith swinging down on him.

"No, you don't, bitch!" Lieutenant Tomilson shouted, diving down low and grabbing her by her waist. With a swift swing of his fist, he punched her squarely in the face. A soft grunt followed the sound of shattering glass as he realised he now had a shard of glass in his knuckles. "Atch!" he shouted as a knife blade caught his shoulder.

Lady Smith rolled over and pulled out a third poké ball. "Vasha! Use teeter dance!" she called out, pressing the button.

The spinda, with her brown fur and three big, red polka dots, started to dance on her wobbling feet.

Don't throw up, Lieutenant Tomilson thought, staggering away. Fuck teeter dance, it always messes with my head. "Miskix, watch out!" he shouted as he saw the large mega luxray baring its long, twisted fangs. However, he knew his words were too late, and the fangs sunk deep into the dragapult's tail. The icy cold bite layered into cracks on her tail, darting and scarring all the way up towards her body. "Do it… use dragon tail!" he called out. Everything is getting blurry. I'm sorry, Miskix, I know this will hu- "Yao-!"

Electricity coursed through his body. His muscles reactively all contracted as the voltage attacked every single one of his nerves. With a glance, Lieutenant Tomilson saw the floor was contorting and had become super-charged. His nose began to bleed as he felt himself fading from the shock. His face smacked into the floor, and he was out cold.

"Static floor. It's powerful, just like him," Lady Smith chimed in with a big grin. "His dragapult might have done a big ooopsies and taken out my luxray-ray, but that's totally fine. You see… um… what's your name again? Tomaso? No… that's not it. Oh, right, your name is Jakobo!"

"My name is James…" James corrected.

"Like totally uncool name. It sounds old. Like, wait, I totally need to get back on track here. I like need you to come with me, 'kay? Oh, Rei-Rei will be so happy." Lady Smith reached out to grab James. "By the way, the Elkran Lieutenant guy is still getting sho-"

A loud screech echoed, and the onix, barely standing, raised her broken tail and slammed it into the ground, narrowly missing Lady Smith. Her hand opened, and the electric stone toppled out and fell onto the floor as the onix wobbled from using iron tail.

"Vasha, you know what to do…" Lady Smith's voice deepened, and her eyes narrowed. "And finish off the onix," she said to the eager torterra.

The spinda locked eyes with James, and with a slow, methodical dance, he began to feel himself become dizzy, unable to look away. James felt trapped inside his own body, unable to move or disobey. Unable to do anything to stop the torterra.

James's onix let out a roar of agony as the large tree on the back of the torterra's back slammed into her rocky body once more. Unable to dodge. Unable to react. She crumbled and collapsed onto the cobblestone street, smashing the roofs of two houses as she fell. The slate scattered across the street in pieces, like parts of her body.

"Come on, let's get you back to Rei-Rei, okay?" Lady Smith said. Tucking her sword away. She reached out, grabbed James's hand, and led him to stop by step down the street.​
 

He Who Holds The Stones​

28​


Saturday, May 13th, 1989

The warm Colran air lingered in the streets as Lady Smith pulled on James's hand victoriously. However, a soft whooshing surrounded her from all angles before a sharp, piercing sensation tingled in her arm.

"Youweee!" she screamed, looking to her arm, "What the fuck? Like that's… tot..totally cheating!" she shouted, as she gazed into the dragapult's big yellow eyes. Her wide jaw locked onto her arm as the psychic waves shocked through her. Damn, psychic fang. She locked eyes with the torterra, still unnamed and looking very angry. "Use crunch…" she said, wincing.

The dragapult opened her jaws and rolled back in the air, flying up and out of the reach of the torterra's large, molar teeth.

"Double down!" Lady Smith shouted. She turned to face her spinda. "Vasha, use hypnosis on the dragapult." Lady Smith ducked down, taking her tie off and wrapping it around her bleeding arm.

The dragapult floated down from its flight and swiped at the torterra's legs with her ghostly blue tail, knocking it back, but not over.

"Tomilson!" Sergeant Sutton shouted, running towards the battle. "Quk, use heatwave!" He reached across his body and drew his long sword. Shit, it's her… He took a moment to look around as flames sprouted forward from the volcarona's four big moth-like wings. "J-James! Get away from her!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something on the floor. The yellow shimmer drew was unmistakable.

Pick me up, Incaresta. You need me. Use my power.​

The sound of a sword grating against the ground, in between the dancing spinda's screeching, almost slipped by him; however, Sergeant Sutton felt a strong defiance burning inside of him. He raised his sword and observed as Lady Smith's metal blade slashed down. Sergeant Sutton gripped the helm of his blade and swung up, blocking her swing. However, the sound of feet plodding towards him at an alarming rate. His eyes darted to the incoming torterra, and a searing pain came from his right hand, knocking his sword onto the floor.

"Nice try, cutie! But see, the thing is, I'm just totally more experienced than you," Lady Smith said, raising her now bloodied blade. "Now, Vasha, hypnotise him!" she called out to the spinda, whose body had large burn marks all over her body.

Sergeant Sutton's eyes locked with the spinda's, and he felt himself starting to get drowsy. His legs felt wobbly as if he wasn't able to stand upright.

Take me, Incaresta. I will protect you.​

"Okay!" Sergeant Sutton shouted, wobbling but reaching down with his left hand and grabbing the electric stone. His arm began to hurt, and as he blinked. As he opened his eyes, the world around him felt slower. His heart was racing faster than it ever had. James… Sergeant Sutton grabbed James by the arm.

"Fuck!" James shouted. "Sutton? Where's….?" He staggered back, looking around for Lieutenant Tomilson. "Sutton… I'm scared…"

"It's okay. I… I shall protect you, J-James!" Sergeant Sutton kept his sword up. His short blond hair flopped down, and his blue eyes narrowed on Lady Smith.

James shuffled closer to Sergeant Sutton, and his eyes locked on to Lady Smith. His hand reached into his pocket as his broken shoulder, which was still in its sling, ached. If I have to… I will. I will protect you, too. I'm not going back to Hanson. "Okay… let's go…" He flashed the green poké ball and pressed the button.

A gengar with a large slash across his right eye appeared in front of him. A stark reminder of that night on the train. He glared at James, narrowing his left eye.

Sergeant Sutton, gripping the stone with all the strength in his off-hand, sprinted forward, slashing at Lady Smith. "Quk, use heatwave!" he said as the hilt of Lady Smith's sword slammed into his stomach.

"Even with the stone, I can predict your movements!" Lady Smith shouted and swung her sword at Sergeant Sutton. The fine aggron-metal blade slashed into his shoulder. "That's why I'm just better than you, 'kay?" She sidestepped the volcarona's heatwave, and with a smile, she said, "Why don't you, like, have an ice volcarona?"

"Fuck! Er… what's your name…? Tomilson's pokémon, use dragon tail!" James ordered before turning to the gengar. "Er… you, use shadow ball?" However, the gengar turned away, crossing his stubby purple arms.

The dragapult floated past him, and wiggled her tail and opened her jaws as wide as she could. Her fangs glistened, and she dashed toward the torterra. However, the large grass-covered pokémon raised his tail and slammed her into the dragapult's jaw, toppling her over; opening his mouth and crunched down on the dragapult.

Lady Smith shunted Sergeant Sutton, and with a gleeful chime in her voice, she said, "You don't look so good. That stone is in your head now. Why don't you just give it back, okay? It will, like, totally make you not feel sick anymore." With a deep breath, she braced herself. I need to make some space. She slammed her foot into his shin and called out, "Double edge!"

Teetering on wobbly feet, Lady Smith's spinda started to pick up the pace and turned on her side and into the volcarona's white cocoon-shaped body. The force of the attack left a mark on the spinda's body as she bounced away from the screeching volcarona.

"Alright, let's get ourselves out of here!" Lady Smith said with a grin. She pulled out a poké ball from her pocket and pressed the button.

With large wings and a long green body, the sound of buzzing filled the street. With large red eyes, a yanmega started to double itself.

"Shit…. Which one is the real… one?" Sergeant Sutton gasped, flickering between them.

"Please! Use shadow ball!" James shouted, pointing at the doubles upon doubles. However, with a little cackle, the gengar's fur stood on end, and a glob of poison spat out of his mouth, splashing into the ground beneath the doubles.

The wave of poison coated the horde of yanmega, destroying several in an instant.

Lady Smith snapped her gaze to James, and with a smile, she said, "Oh, this won't do at all. Like, Rei-Rei totally wants you alive."

The poisonous fog from the gengar's gunk shot cleared away, leaving just the cobbles and a bitter, acidic taste in the air. The streets sounded hollow, even amongst the buzzing from the large yanmega. The sound of a sword scraping against the ground broke through.

"Get away from my boy, bitch!" Lieutenant Tomilson swung his blade at Lady Smith, catching her wrist with the sharp metal. He followed up the swing with a roundhouse kick to her chest with precision.

"…-ake … out!" Lady Smith spluttered as her body hit the floor with a thud. Her spinda let out a cry in response.

The air heated up and surrounded the spinda as Sergeant Sutton's Volcarona's wings flapped. However, the spinda rocked from side to side, spewing up the heat beneath her feet. With a clap of her pale paws, a powerful heat wave darted forward.

Quickly, Lady Smith jumped up and knocked Sergeant Sutton back into the blaze.

"Fuck!" Sergeant Sutton shouted as the flames latched onto his jacket, scoring his arms. With a breath, he said, "Quk!" only for his gaze to land on his volcarona, which collapsed from the attack. "Yuc-agh!" his voice squeaked. Sparks flew from his hand, and the clouds shifted into a thunderstorm. Lightning struck around the battlefield, which was once a tranquil street of Fehahra.

With a single point and the clinking of metal hitting the ground, water shot through the air, dousing the Sergeant. Lieutenant Tomilson's eyes were narrowed in on Lady Smith. His prismarina beside him, still leaking water from the sparkling aria. His stance shifted to a more dextrous one as the Sergeant hit the floor, passing out.

"Like, how did you totally know he wasn't going to, you know, get zapped?" Lady Smith asked, tilting her head and raising her blade.

"The stone wouldn't betray its controller without good reason." Lieutenant Tomilson's face stiffened. "Anyone would know that if they read a book once in a while." He swung up with the blade, clinking against hers.

"You sound like a total bore. Hey, hey, did you know that guy, er… Antonio Hamilton… is totally around somewhere. I can't wait for him to like… assassinate someone super important." Lady Smith swung her sword up, and her spinda started to creep ever closer.

"How do you know he isn't after someone important on Colran's side?" Lieutenant Tomilson raised an eyebrow, turning around and slashing the spinda across the chest with his sword before smashing the blade into Lady Smith's sword once more.

"Because, like, Rei Rei told me he knows who he is. Like, isn't that totally cool? Hey, hey, maybe like that kid can totally get to meet Antonio, and if you are like, totally good, and surrender, maybe you can too!" Lady Smith lowered her sword, just for a moment. "Ouch!"

Blood dripped onto the cobbles as Lieutenant Tomilson held his blade to her throat. "You will leave my son alone." The storm halted at his words.

The sound of footsteps broke the tender silence that was brought down by the Lieutenant's words. "You know, the electric stone is very powerful but not as powerful as the psychic stone." Captain Bourbabel's figure cast over the street as he hovered in the air, a few feet above the ground. His eyes glowing bright pink, he nodded forward, with his Alakazam following closely behind. "Psycho screech."

James felt his ears piercing from the inside. He desperately tried to see Lieutenant Tomilson, but all he could hear was the sound coming from the alakazam.

"Like, that's totally…." Lady Smith felt a sharp pain in her chest, and she placed her hand over the wound. "You… stabbed me?"

"Bitch." Lieutenant Tomilson pulled his sword back and watched her hit the floor, grasping her injury as she passed out beside her yanmega.

As silence fell across the street once more, Captain Bourbabel raised the electric stone in his hand and tucked it into his pocket before walking over to James and picking up the gengar's poké ball. "Sutton, Tomilson, are you both okay?"

"Yes, sir." Sergeant Sutton sat down on the cobbles and wiped his brow and wiped his nose to see if he was bleeding. "That was awful." He looked down at his arm. Shit, that's going to scar.

"How could I…" Lieutenant Tomilson said, looking down at his hands. Shit.

"She was just stronger. It wasn't your fault." Captain Bourbabel glanced over the street, turned battlefield. "It could have been a lot worse if Sutton hadn't shown up." He sighed before adding, "Incaresta, can you take care of Incaresta and James, please? I hate to ask, but right now, Lord Ikur is dealing with something, and to be honest, the other doctors have their hands full."

Sergeant Sutton nodded immediately. "Of course, you don't have to ask. I'll dress James in some old clothes, they'll be way too big for him, but at least they won't be dirty. I'll then drop by Incaresta's place and pick up some clean clothes for them both."

"You'll need my house key. I'll sort James out… um…. Here…" Lieutenant Tomilson muttered, searching through his pockets for a key.

Captain Bourbabel nodded once more. "I need to make a call. A squawkabilly post won't suffice." He dug his hands into his pockets and walked towards the office. Come, Hishrak, he thought as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small case with an intricate device inside. I hate this thing. He wrapped it around his wrist and inserted the needle into his arm. He focused on the screen that popped up in front of him in a holographic format and pressed several buttons on the blue floating screen. Metagross technology never gets old. With one final button press, he took a deep breath and said, "Aaron, it's Clarence again. I have some news regarding the Rei situation… oh, I see… well that's something. How is Mylious doing these days?"​
 

A Monster in Uniform​

29​


Sunday, May 14th, 1989

The morning sunlight broke through the blue curtains. Oh, no, please, no, don't, James thought as he felt his stomach churn, and he gagged, vomiting on the blanket.

"Oh, H-… James, are you okay? Don't worry about it. I'll change the blanket, okay?" Sergeant Sutton's voice was calm and soothing as he scooped up the blanket and dumped it in the washing basket at the end of the room. "No school for you, rest."

James looked around the room, seeing the soft blue walls and little white stars that had been painted on them. The wooden panels lined the walls. The wooden floorboards shone as they covered every inch of the house.

"Where is Okta? Is she okay?" James shouted, jumping up from the bed.

"Your onix is at the healers. She was badly hurt, as were you. Your broken collar looks more swollen than before. You need to be more careful. We can go see your onix after you have eaten something," Sergeant Sutton whispered, sitting James back down.

"What about Tomilson? Is he okay?" James asked.

"He's fine, just asleep on the sofa. What do you want to eat?" Sergeant Sutton said, offering a hand to James.

James reached over and took the hand, and with a sniffle, he said, "Don't know… I don't want to eat anything yet. I just… want to see Okta…"

Sergeant Sutton nodded at James, helped him up onto his feet and walked down the stairs into the living room.

James glanced over at Lieutenant Tomilson, who was resting on the sofa.

"I just need to feed my pokémon first. My electabuzz, my fearow, and my carvanha. My other pokémon are at the healer resting." Sergeant Sutton reached into the kitchen cupboard, pulled out a bag of berries, and placed them on the kitchen counter. He moved so James could see he had rawst berries, lum berries and perism berries. He quickly grabbed a knife from the drawer and began to chop the tops off, allowing the leafy stalks to flop down onto the wooden countertop.

"Can I help?" James whispered and walked closer to the wooden counter. "I've never made pokémon food before…"

Sergeant Sutton smiled and stepped back. "Of course. Just be careful not to hurt yourself on the knife. Here. Hold the berry with your hand. That's it." Sergeant Sutton took hold of the knife and placed it in James's free hand, gripping it tightly. "And slowly cut."

The sound of the knife slicing through the tough lum berry made James smile. The chopping sound of the knife hitting the board underneath echoed a little in the kitchen. "These berries are really tough… and they are really small compared to durin berries."

"You can have a bit if you want, James. I'm sure the pokémon won't mind, and it might make you feel a little bit better. Lum berries are good for curing a lot of sicknesses." Sergeant Sutton nudged him as he began to chop up the rawst and persim berries.

"It isn't bitter…" James said.

Sergeant Sutton let out a little chuckle. "Not all foods are bitter. Although, it can be difficult to get non-bitter pokémon food from the Happy Gastrodon." He walked over to the tank in the corner of the room and tipped the sliced perism berries in.

The carvanha emerged from the small cave inside. Flashing her rough, red and yellow scales, she chomped down on the berries.

James looked down at the ground as Sergeant Sutton continued to feed his pokémon. It's all my fault… I'm a bad trainer.

"Right, come," Sergeant Sutton said, nudging James. "Lieutenant Tomilson will wake up soon, no doubt. So, we don't want to take too long."

With a sigh, James nodded. "Sutton? Thanks for not being a jerk… for once," he said as Sergeant Sutton flagged down a sawsbuck coach, and they hopped inside.As the coach started to move, the sound of the wheels bumping along the cobblestone road filled his ears. Slowly, but surely, the coach made its way down the streets of Fehahra. James saw the unfearful expressions of the citizens. Those who had not bared witness to the battle of the night before, not that he could remember it all himself.

After ten minutes of riding on the bumpy street cobbles, the coach pulled up outside Chansey and Wares, and they both stepped inside. Sergeant Sutton sat James down on one of the red leather seats while he went to the desk.

James leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His legs bounced nervously as the healer disappeared through the swinging door and went out the back to collect his onix. The sound of the air vent blowing the cool air into the building was almost deafening, and the seconds ticked by more slowly than ever. After a few minutes, the healer returned to the room, holding a tray with four poké balls inside. James reached over and picked up his onix's poké ball and stared at it.

"Kid, I don't know what you did to your onix, but she took severe damage. Her horn is broken, and most of her boulders are wonky, crumbling or broken. I've managed to patch up a lot of the worst spots, but some are irreparable. Who would want a golden onix?" the healer rambled.

James growled back at him. "I want her! I love her to pieces!" He could feel nausea creeping back into his throat. James quickly took Sergeant Sutton's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"If she ever takes more than 80% damage to her health again, I am afraid she will never be able to evolve. She has to use 20% of her health points to keep her body together. I assume you understand what health points are." The healer pushed his glasses up onto his face, turning to Sergeant Sutton. "As for you, you are lucky your pokémon are tough as can be, although your volcarona's mega stone is now chipped. You will need to replace that."

James's eyes started to water, and he felt his heart turn into an empty pit. His shoulders sank, and he stared at the floor. Okta is hurt. I am a bad trainer. I am a bad person.

James, use my power to drain another pokémon. I can heal her.

James shook his head.

"You don't want breakfast?" Sergeant Sutton asked.

James glanced up at Sergeant Sutton and shook his head again. He pressed his poké ball against his chest and hugged it tightly. His hands were still shaking from hearing the bad news, and he felt sick.

Sergeant Sutton placed his hand on James's forehead and muttered in Elkrat, "Damn hypnosis after effects." Sergeant Sutton raised his arm to call a coach over. A coach driver nodded at him and pulled over.

The open-topped carriage door opened, and Lord David stepped out. He pushed against James with his cane, knocking him out of the way as he stepped off. "Colran children have no manners. I should beat them into you, but I am running late."

"Asshole…" James muttered as he watched the figure walk away.. "Who was that?"

"No clue… but whoever he is, he obviously has something stuck up his arse…" Sergeant Sutton muttered, making James laugh a little.

The Lord cussed under his breath, turning back one more time to see the two standing there. "I'll deal with you two later, he muttered." Lord David flung his blue jacket over his shoulder and walked along the road and down an alleyway. He noticed the wonky sign on the edge of the wall. Raticate's Stand, pfft, typical shitty naming. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter. Like I thought. No one showed. Colran children… I will flog the entire school, no, schools… wasting my time. He grunted and swivelled to leave. His boots grated against the cobblestone path.

The sound of an elasticated string being pulled back caught Lord David's attention, and he turned around to face the sound. As he did, he felt his shoulder being pulled back and a sharp pain shot through his body. Instinctively, he grabbed his poké ball and tossed out a mightyena in front of him. He let go of his wound and staggered, reaching down for his sword. However, before he could, an arrow pierced through his mightyena's cheekbone, and he felt a sharp piercing feeling in his chest. His legs gave way, and he fell back against the alleyway wall. Lord David stared at a man pressing the sword into his chest. The man was dressed in all green—a Colran Lord. Lord David tried to move his right arm, where his holo device was, to get a better recording of his attacker, but the man's face was covered with a black mask, and his cap covered most of his hair except a small tuft of black fringe thathung out.

"W-why?" he gargled out as he let out his last breath.

As Lord David's body slumped against the wall, the masked vigilante heard voices. He ran up to the wall and vaulted over it, disappearing into the back alley.

Moments later, Master Guardsman Antonio Hamilton slowly walked around the corner, looking back at the man behind him. His lips trembled, and he looked down at his hands.

"Your job is straightforward. This runt cannot compromise your mission in the slightest. Do you understand?" the man said.

"I understand that. I am using him to get answers. I need to know why they are interested. You and I both know someone else is pulling the strings." Antonio Hamilton pressed his fingers against his head. I still feel nauseous.

"You are becoming attached, and I simply cannot allow that." The Master Captain from Kilgor pushed his blond hair out of his face and pressed his glasses back up. "It is distracting you. Do I need to take drastic measures?"

"N-no, sir. Sir, with your permission… I know it is a lot… but after the war, my job is done…" Antonio Hamilton rubbed his arm.

"Antonio, I will review your case in court after the war. Do not contact me again." Master Captain and Interrogator Mainstenhill stepped around the corner into Raticate's Stand. "Oh, my… well…" He adjusted his glasses again. "Best get to work… soldier…."

"Fuck!" Antonio Hamilton narrowed his eyes and focused on becoming the persona he had worked so hard to create once again. He rushed over and scoured over the Lord on the floor. He's dead…

Meanwhile, a knock at Sergeant Sutton's door scared the life out of James, making him grip the reading book tighter than before. He sat up on the sofa and rubbed his eyes. Ugh, I feel like shit, he thought as he looked around for Sergeant Sutton to open the door. However, silence filled the room, except for the sound of bubbles popping from the carvanha tank at the end of the room.

A second knock rang out, and James got up on his feet, placed the book on the small table and walked over to the door. James pressed his eye against the little peephole to see who was waiting on the other side. Ugh! What does Captain Smart-Arse want? He opened the door and scowled at Captain Bourbabel, who was waiting on the other side.

"Good evening, James! I hope you are feeling much better," Captain Bourbabel said, rubbing his moustache.

James muttered, "No. I was asleep. Sutton isn't around, so come back tomorrow or something…"

"Sorry to have woken you. Actually, James, I was looking for you." Captain Bourbabel leaned against the door, looking at James, who groaned loudly. "It's about that Lady. Lady Valko Smith, the one who attacked you with the electric stone."

"She hurt Okta really badly…" James said, scrunching his fist up.

"And hurt you and Lieutenant Tomilson… and with a body being found maybe an hour ago, we need to get to the bottom of this. So, we want you present at the interview to confirm her identity." Captain Bourbabel looked at James, who let out another groan. Captain Bourbabel straightened up and crossed his arms. "It will only take half an hour, and… if you do, you can stay out an extra half an hour after curfew to make up for your lost time. How about that?"

"Wait, really?" James said, with a grin on his face. His stomach churned, but the thought of being able to break the rules fought back against the rising nausea. "I mean - fine…" James scowled. "But tomorrow, I want to stay home and sleep. I don't feel well still… Can I get dressed in peace?"

"Yes, James." Captain Bourbabel nodded, noticing the book that Lord Orag had given him was on the small table. He closed the door behind him, leaving James to his own devices.

Sluggishly, James reached over and pulled a white shirt on over his head, messing up his bed-head even more. He grabbed the underwear and trousers that Sergeant Sutton had brought over from the Brysons while he was asleep, and pulled them on before quickly tying up his lightweight shoes. He put the clothes he had been dressed in down on the bed. James opened the wooden bedroom door and slowly came downstairs, yawning as he did. He scooped the book up in his arms and looked at Captain Bourbabel.

Captain Bourbabel looked over at James, and with a sad smile, he said, "You look exhausted, James. How about instead of staying out later tonight, you do it when you feel better? I promise I'll give you the written letter for it."

"Can I go home with Lieutenant Tomilson tonight, please?" James whispered. "I'd really like that." His eyes drooped, and he took Captain Bourbabel's hand.

"Hmm? Oh, of course you can. If Lieutenant Tomilson is able to take you home, then I don't see the prob-"

"I want him to be my dad… like my forever dad. I know that sounds… since he's not been close with me until you got here, but he's nice and stuff."

Captain Bourbabel's expression softened at the sound of James's tired but attached voice. I think he'd like that too. You two have a lot in common – I just would want to understand his motive… up until recently, he's always been very distant – at least according to Sutton. Every time I've tried to get a read on him… I've been bombarded with thoughts – it isn't uncommon for people to be bombarded, but it's very crowded… Captain Bourbabel nodded at James, breaking away from his train of thought. "I think he'd want that too, James. Come on, let's get moving."

"Fly?" James whispered.

"Yes, James, we can fly," Captain Bourbabel responded. He reached into his small satchel and pulled out the goggles and handed them to James.

The flight wasn't long, but to James, it was a thrilling adventure, but as the office building's main door loomed, he felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. He watched as Captain Bourbabel tucked the goggles away, and began his descent down the stairs before following after.

As the cell door creaked open, James couldn't help but feel a sense of numbness engulfing his chest as he cautiously surveyed the dimly lit room. The rough, dented bricks and ominous metal chains hanging down from the wall painted a stark contrast to the familiar cells he and his friends had been locked in after their shenanigans. This was an entirely different, more foreboding environment.

Captain Bourbabel gestured to the seat nearest the door as Sergeant Sutton and Lieutenant Tomilson took their seats.

James felt Lieutenant Tomilson squeeze his arm and saw him mouth the word, "Breathe". Once more, the door creaked open, and Lady Smith was being forcefully pulled into the room by the soldiers. She was pushed down into the seat opposite the group, but she didn't put up a fuss.

"Oh, like, hi! Hey! It's the cute blond guy!" she said, with a grin on her face, staring at Sergeant Sutton. She jingled the handcuffs excitedly. "I remember you. You totally put up a fight. I've like… never seen a volcarona do that before. For a soldier, you are real, like, strong and buff. You know, maybe, like after the war, you and I could go on a date?"

Eww, gross, James thought, shuffling in his seat. The door opened once more, and Lord Orag stepped in, catching James's attention.

Lord Orag casually waved his hand, dismissing everyone's attempts to be orderly and respectful towards his rank in an effort to ensure everyone stayed seated. "I will conduct the interview with you," he said to Captain Bourbabel. "James, once you are done, you may leave with Lieutenant Tomilson."

"Actually, sir, I have some questions of my own – after all, she hurt my foster child…" Lieutenant Tomilson scowled, crossing his legs and leaning in his chair. His hair stood on end at the back as his cold demand carried through the enclosed room.

"Very well." Lord Orag nodded and leaned back in the seat. "Let's begin." He looked at James, who was playing with his shirt and still looking incredibly groggy. He had bags under his eyes and a sad expression on his face. "James, do you recognise this woman as the woman who attacked you the other night?"

James nodded, trying to look away. Please let me go home. I really want to sleep… He twitched in his seat and whispered, "Lord Orag, I really don't feel well. I want to go home. I really, really want to go home. Lieutenant Tomilson, can we please go home?" James twitched again.

Lord Orag looked over the table, his expression softened, and he knelt in front of James's chair. "James, if you really don't feel well, I can take you to Lord Ikur, and he will tuck you up in one of the beds, okay? Would you like that?" He rubbed his forehead where his curly brown hair rested. He placed his scarred hand on James's forehead. "You do still have a fever…" He turned to the others. "I am going to take the boy to the bay. That way, he can rest while we interview. Come on, James. Watch your sore arm there."

The room spun as James stood up and wobbled on his feet. "I really want to go with Tomilson… please?"

He took a deep breath, got up from his seat, and took James's hand. "Jamie, I need to do work right now, but I promise as soon as I am done here, we can go home. We can have roasted qwilfish if you want, and if you are feeling better, I can get us tickets for a sports match. Would you like that?"

"Yes, sir." James wrapped his arms around Lieutenant Tomilson and hugged him tightly. He listened to the man's heartbeat through his shirt. Calm and collected as always. "Um… sir?"

"Jamie?" Lieutenant Tomilson answered, pushing the hair out of his face. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm going to take the best care of you. I promise."

The moment hung in the air until Lady Smith blurted out, "Aww, that's, like, totally cute. Except you know he is totally the enemy, kid. When we take back the town, you should cuddle a Colran soldier because that would be, like, way cuter." She smiled and pushed her wide-framed glasses back up her face.

James looked away as Lord Orag nudged him. "Okay…" James said and followed him out of the interrogation room. His eyes were fixated on the staircase. Step by step, he eased his way down until he reached the landing. With one last look at Lord Orag, James said, "Okay, I'll wait here…"

"Alright." Lord Orag looked around the med bay. "Hmm, Ikur must be out. Behave." He ruffled James's hair and disappeared back up the stairs.

With a deep breath, James walked over to one of the seats in the waiting area and sat down.

"J-James?" Kitiku said, rubbing his arm. "Um… A-are you okay?"

James glanced up at his best friend, and with a smirk, he said, "Hey, Kuti. Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little sick, that's all."

"So, um… they caught L-Lady Smith… that's good…" Kitiku whispered, crutching over and sitting next to James. "Is your arm okay?"

"Huh? Oh, I guess. Having a broken collarbone sucks. What about your leg?" James asked. Footsteps echoed from the stairwell, and James looked up.

"James!" Lioa shouted, rushing over to him. "What did those Elkran twats do to you? Oh, right, they caught one of our Ladies. Rotten Elkran scum. We kinda snuck in to come and see you." Lioa gestured to Andrew.

Why can't everyone just leave me alone? James thought, looking at his friends.She tried to kidnap me… and give me back to that man. I… I just want to go home with Lieutenant Tomilson…

"Lioa, this isn't a good idea…" Andrew whispered. He tugged on his scarf nervously before adding, "Vesit will be so mad and will send us to time out if he finds out we snuck out…"

Kitiku nodded frantically.

"Don't be such twats, both of you. Come on, we can bust her out of here. Then, we'll be heroes for Colran. They were taking her back to a cell as we came in. The cells are on the next floor. Come on!" Lioa said in a loud whisper, grabbing James's non-broken arm and taking his gurdurr's poké ball into his other hand."Li! Stop!" James shouted as he was dragged down the stairs. "Kuti, Ano?"

"S-Stop it, L-Lioa…" Kitiku said, shaking as he followed them down the stairs.

"Wait for me, Lioa!" Andrew called out, pushing past Kitiku. However, the slight shunt was all it took, and Andrew looked back at Kitiku, who had lost balance on the steps with his crutches.

The sound of wooden crutches hitting the floor at the base of the steps echoed in the cell block, followed by the sound of groans from the teens, who had landed on top of one another.

"Did you have to?" James mutters. "Oh no…"

Lioa looked at James with a smirk. "This is great. Ruskou, break down the door." Lioa said as his poké ball, which had escaped his grip, opened. His gurdurr appeared in front of them. "Do it!"

The large gurdurr pulled back his muscular arms and slammed them into each of the cell doors, bending them at the hinges and crumpling them.

Lady Smith climbed out from the broken cell door and looked at them. "Thanks, 'kay?" Her light-footed steps and sprint made her nimble enough to squeeze past the teens as the other prisoners began to escape their cells.

"Li! She works for Hanson! We have to stop her. Come on!" James replied, hurrying back up onto his feet and sprinting up the stairs.

"James, wait up!" Lioa called, chasing after him. "Don't be a traitor! Come on, Rew-Rew!" he shouted to Andrew.

Kitiku hobbled after them on his crutches. This isn't a good idea…

Lady Smith ran out onto the street, and she glanced around, looking for her next move.

A haxorus's jaw chomped down on Lady Smith's shoulder, and a sword slashed across her chest. She fell to her knees, and her body went limp, thumping against the floor.

"Arrest the Colran scum, and execute them immediately." The swordsman's voice was deep and crackling, and his red hair flopped down as he held his sword forward, now pointed at James.

"No! Lord Interrogator, these are just children, they… they had nothing to do with this…" Captain Bourbabel said, glaring at James, Lioa, Andrew and Kitiku. His eyes filled with rage.

"I will not stand for your insolence!" Lord Interrogator Clavouro shouted, refusing to lower his sword—a slight smirk on his face. "Grab them. And you, show me where the electric stone is."​
 
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