Story Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.Characters thus Far: Lancer Riocynn (Riolu)Isaac Riocynn (Lucario)Sapphire Ryoka (Pikachu) Lord Aika (Mismagius) Garnett Ryoka (Raichu)
Chapter 1 - Beginning Anew
"...humans. So naïve, so bold. So ignorant, yet, I love them as I pity them.
-Lord Aika
** ** **
Chapter 1
All was steady; the cry of a newborn was heard. Steady beeps of a heartbeat monitor became the overpowering symphony as the sun lends its light through the windowpane. The untainted industrial rubber flooring and snowy tint of the room concentrated all eyes on the colorful Pokemon who resided within. A family of Lucarios with abnormally azure eyes huddled around the newly hatched egg within the comfort and security of a human hospital. The first born huddled over his new sibling in awe; fascinated by the fact that he just witnessed a living creature emerge from something as fragile as an egg.
He was told over and over again by his father that he would be his little sibling's guardian if the "test results" came in positive. The Riolu blindly obliged; knowing he could not deny a responsibility like that given by his father.
The hospital room was reserved for the Lucarios for they had set up an appointment for a full checkup on their egg also a test for a certain match of relative DNA. Oddly enough, however, the egg hatched as soon as they entered the room. How convenient.
It was a peaceful place; the heartbeat monitor set up to the infant as overwhelmed doctors attempted to rush to more dire medical problems. It seemed healthy; it cried like it should have, there were no physical deformities, no anomalistic coloration.
"Dad, is it going to have a name?" the Riolu queried; his eyes fixated on the infant. On his tip-toes the little Riolu stood, instantly setting goals for himself to become the world's greatest brother and even possibly a bodyguard. He could just imagine himself in all black with sunglasses and a headset while he escorted his sibling everywhere.
His father, with a stern look, glared down upon his first born with subtle disgust. "Be patient." He muttered; irises shifting to an emerald green state. He was a little jittery; waiting for the test results impatiently.
"Your eyes." The mother commented, a look of concern befalling her as she clenched to her new born. "Why are they stressed?"
The father, taking a look at the large mirror, realized what she was referring to. He took a deep breath and patted his second born on the head gently. "We'll see what we can name it when the doctor returns, Isaac... okay?" he put on a fake smile as his emerald eyes reverted color to sapphire.
By now, the baby had stopped crying.
Isaac hopped up so he could get a better visual on the infant. Medical personnel were to be there shortly but in the meantime, the family had the little baby to themselves, "It's so... squishy." Isaac commented; continuously jabbing his paws into his sibling. The mother, Lisa Riocynn, cuddled her newborn with such a tender touch. You could see the joy in her heart. The father, Victor Riocynn, kept his arms crossed as he impatiently waited for assistance with this baby.
"So," Isaac started. "It... sorta looks like a girl."
Lisa laughed at her son's obliviousness. As she enjoyed every moment of this miracle, Victor seemed to have only one thing on his mind. He would constantly glare at the door, hoping somebody would come in so he would not have to stay a second longer in this human hospital.
Isaac moved up close to the baby Riolu and stared it in the eyes, "You'd better be a boy." He playfully warned with a warm smile on his face, suddenly, the baby Riolu flicked him on the nose, "Heh, okay smarty pants, if you're a girl I'll love you the same..." this distinct smell of cheap cologne gradually intensified. The heavenly light peering through the hospital window shone upon the door as a human entered.
"Victor and Lisa Riocynn?" medical personnel had finally come, it was a pudgy human doctor with oval-shaped glasses which rested on the bridge of his nose. He carried a clipboard in his right hand and a pencil in his left.
Victor nodded as he gestured for the doctor to hurry up. His impatience was beginning to get on Lisa's nerves as she tried to take a more polite approach. "Do what you need to do, doctor." She smiled.
"We got your baby's DNA results in. Our scanners of your child's form, metabolism and everything else has been resulted. Congratulations Victor and Lisa Riocynn, your baby is fully healthy and... drum roll please," he joked, "It's a boy."
"Aha!" Isaac responded. "I knew you'd be a boy! Yahoo!"
"Damn it!" Victor roared. Isaac flinched and backed away, hiding behind his mother who covered the infant's ears. "You know what I've been waiting for; is he a positive match or not?!"
"I apologize." The doctor formed up the only response he could against an enraged Lucario who could probably rip him in half in a millisecond. He trembled slightly. "It seems... yes; your child's DNA is a positive match to the DNA of Aderos Riocynn. Did I pronounce that correctly?"
"Yes, yes you did." Victor shooed the doctor away. "Let us be alone with our... son." A smile formed on his face, a look of excitement brewing as it feels as if the world has been lifted off of his shoulders. His dreams had come true; the dream to hear that doctor tell him that his son had the DNA of the grandmaster of the Riocynn Pack... and the founded legacy that comes with it.
Lisa glared at her husband. "Are you satisfied now, Victor?" that aura of love emitting from his mother had dimmed down and her gentle caress ceased.
"As a matter of fact," he winked. "I am."
While his parents spoke gibberish about things irrelevant to Isaac, he kept his eyes fixated on his little brother, he tried to make up a name from the back of his mind, he thought and thought but nothing came to mind, nothing... until he remembered a little Chimecho he played with a long time ago with a name he rather fancied.
"Mom?" he intervened; his father had ceased speaking and sighed, trying to politely wait for his son to talk.
"Yes, Isaac?"
"I thought of a name."
"Really, now? Let me hear it!"
"Hmm... on second thought, never mind."
"No, no Isaac, please share with us!"
"Okay... um... Can we name him-"
"Lancer." Victor interjected; leaning in to pet his new son. "We'll name him Lancer."
There was a lengthy pause as Isaac expunged the name he had in mind. It was useless now. He smiled and responded: "That's a great name, dad!"
"Yes, it's..." Lisa glanced at Isaac, pausing for a short while. "...a great name."
"Lancer... Lancer Riocynn." Victor repeated, an egotistical smile appearing. "Surely the name of a legend. You got lucky, son. Very lucky... and I'm glad you did." He closed in on the infant; his features darkened out by his shadow. "You've got quite a journey ahead of you."
Isaac, with his eyes still fixated on his little brother, suddenly caught a glimpse of something as everybody else turned away... something truly unusual. Without warning, Isaac saw Lancer's fur color shift to white... transforming into sort of ghostly image. As soon as Lisa turned back to face her child, his fur had reverted back.
"What... was that?" he asked himself, hoping that was just his imagination. As his little brother stared at him, Isaac felt this unnaturally foreboding feeling. His little brother's glare was frightening him... that look of obliviousness somehow coupled in with a look of pure evil.
Isaac, no longer able to handle that stare, turned away. He began to shiver. "Whoa..." he grabbed himself. "...I must be some sort of wimp to be afraid of a baby." He tried to turn back to Lancer, but as soon as their eyes met again, Isaac was forced to turn away for the second time.
There was too much power resonating from that infant.
**
Black Mercury
~
The year is 2160; 14 years after the birth of Lancer Riocynn. The date is irrelevant. The world is ending. Earth is infected; organizations spawn from chaos, the disease is united under one rule, it is manipulation. Nobody is safe, nothing is sacred... nothing will be the same. As events followed from the capturing of a gem, the entire world slowly enveloped into darkness and gradually descended into hell. The efforts of so many in vain, so many deaths meaningless. As the uninfected humans and Pokemon attempt to unite under one flag against this threat, the entire world is being demolished and recreated in one Pokemon's image.
Welcome to Civilization's Recreation.
**
The only two Regions that still contain un-infected life-forms are the Hoenn Region and the Sinnoh Region. The rest... destroyed. The Blight, all infected by a substance travelling within their bloodstream known as "Siirum", annihilated anyone who got in their way. The brutality of their blows, their ferociousness, the unique attributes given to them by infection... all of these played huge factors in these hostile takeovers. These infected beings were nothing to be laughed at, nothing to not take seriously.
Their irises emerald green, their sclera piss yellow; the infected were never unnoticeable and always feared... fearing not death, but fearing failure to their lord.
Delving into the Hoenn Region with three Strongholds in the defense against the Blight... we now scratch one off of the list. Rustboro city, the weakest of the three Strongholds, had fallen overnight in a surprisingly organized Blight ambush.
These kind of attacks are known as "Blight Storms", which is when a large group of infected Infantry raid a pinpointed area. In a matter of minutes, the residents and military taking refuge within its walls opened fire and chaos struck the vicinity. Nobody could predict it. The Blight had not attacked any Strongholds for almost 8 months. The Stronghold fell after one day of grenades detonating, guns firing, Pokemon attributed abilities activating... death... and discord. It only took 24 hours, just one day, the defense against the numerous Blight fell and there were no records of any survivors... well... maybe not "None".
We join a young Riolu trapped in the remains of Rustboro city with his older brother, a Lucario, around the middle of the night. Rustboro city was already destroyed. Now all that was left for the Blight to do was to find survivors and corpses then infect them but, however, leave the humans to rot and die.
The two Pokemon hid under an overturned dark blue pickup truck next to a pile of miscellaneous house appliances. The night sky created this foreboding feeling as if the stars were watching this atrocity. The Riolu remained permanently distracted by those bright, flashing specs.
They both uncontrollably shivered, hoping for someone to come and save them... hoping for something to ease their stress and fear. The smell of smoke and rotting flesh choked them. The destruction surrounding them was nearly too much for the little Riolu to handle. He stared at the sky, hoping for answers and comfort.
Isaac, the older brother of the Riolu, had just pulled a large wooden door out of their way, overturning vehicles, moving debris aside and doing everything else while his little brother could only watch.
He hated it.
He wished he could just yell at his little brother, yell for help, shout out to the ever-powerful Lancer Riocynn... the son that was loved the most among the two. He couldn't keep himself together for long, he needed assistance, he needed somebody he could rely on; a wingman... but all he got was dead-weight.
"Okay, Lancer..." Isaac whispered so low that it was nearly incoherent "...the Blight Slaves are gone, I think we can continue..." suddenly, a helicopter passed by, Isaac didn't even bother to try calling them down, they wouldn't hear or see him and it would attract Slaves to the area. What a predicament. "Damn it." He muttered, shaking his head in frustration.
Lancer and Isaac were stuck in Rustboro city; they were most likely the only uninfected beings left in the area due to the Blight Storm. They were next to the old Pokemon Center that was completely destroyed, its slide-open doors bashed open, the large sign that portrayed, "P.C." was ripped apart, and the brick-red roof had caught a small fire, the smoke releasing into the air.
The roads were gray as the clouds were on a rainy day, the night was bleak, pitch-black from lack of streetlights or any kind of electrical lighting devices. Only the half-crescent moon shone upon them.
The only thing that was heard was the sound of Slaves screeching in the distance. They must have been continuing up Route 115 towards Fallarbor town or passed Route 116 towards Verdanturf town, continuing on to the other towns then beginning all over again.
Lancer and Isaac quickly ran across the street, straight over to the demolished Pokemon Gym; reduced to pure rubble. "Isaac..." Lancer began, his voice quivering in the low-temperature of midnight, "...where do we go now? This was the last city that seemed to have a large amount of Titan soldiers in the area."
"I don't know, Lancer," Isaac seethed at the sight of his unprepared little brother. "but this is not the last city that holds Titan soldiers, they only tried to reinforce Rustboro before the Slaves came in... that is where this all went wrong" It was true. The Sevynn Syndicate, proprietor of human soldiers, sent a bit of human reinforcements to Rustboro city to deliver food and water but then the Slaves attacked. It was utterly pointless.
"Damn..."
Isaac, without warning, shoved his little brother to the ground and quietly ordered him to keep quiet. A low growl was heard as Isaac readied himself; his blue eyes shifting color to lime green which indicated that a Lucario from the Riocynn Pack was becoming hostile or very stressed.
"Isaac... I'm scared..." Lancer whispered as he buried his head in Isaac's chest. He was too dependent, too inexperienced. Isaac could not stand it... their parents gave so much of their time to Lancer and for what? To have this kid who relies on his brother way too much. It may have been Isaac's duty to guard Lancer until he was ready to grasp his "destiny", but Isaac could not help but wonder why he was not the one who was chosen.
"Don't worry" Isaac responded, still in a low tone with that same subtle disgust his father used to show him, "There is nothing we can do about this, if we fight them, we'll be taking a huge risk, one bite from these guys' fangs and we'll become infected."
Both of the brothers kept low as they sensed something approach. They witnessed a Blight Slave, a male Grumpig by the look of it, crawling down on both arms and legs passed the street like a spider searching around every corner for prey. The Grumpig Slave was completely pale in the night's sky with grown fangs due to the custom Siirum mutation. Its eyes travelled wildly, studying every corner and ever little detail in the area.
"Ugly bastard." Isaac muttered as they both hid under a car door. Lancer covered his mouth as he shivered and whimpered; he was making too much noise and he could not control himself.
The Slave stopped in his tracks right in the middle of the road and right across from where Isaac and Lancer took cover. The Slave jolted his head back and forth, sniffing furiously until he picked up the 2 brothers' scent. That is when he let out this eardrum shattering screech... the sound of thousands of claws scraping against a chalkboard at once.
They just could not take that kind of deafening noise from up close. Uncontrollably, they both let out shrieks of pain, giving the Slave a visual on his prey.
He lunged towards the two Lucarios with his back arched forwards as his arms dangling behind as if they were paralyzed. "Lancer, get down!" Isaac shouted as he charged up a ball of Aura in his right paw.
A Force Palm.
it circled around like an atom but remained under Isaac's control. He growled; waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike knowing he only had one shot and if he screws up... he's infected.
Lancer screamed and scrambled away from the battleground as Isaac's Aura collided with the Slave's skull, completely shattering both the Aura and the skull simultaneously. The Slave slid across the ground, kicking up large amounts of dust as his fur scraped against the ground.
Finally it stopped as dust retreated into the sky. He tried to get up but just could not find the stamina or willpower to do so. He was dead.
Lancer's sense of insecurity drip out of his body as if it was a liquid, he had felt so happy that his brother was still alright. Isaac was all he had left after "Black Mercury"... the day the Earth went straight to hell. His parents, friends, and relatives... all dead.
"Isaac! I thought I was going to lose you!" Lancer nearly screamed. He caught himself, lowering it into a barely audible squeal of joy. "Thank god!" the little Riolu quivered, he hugged his brother who continued panting from his short-encounter with that Slave.
"Lancer... stop it!" Isaac ordered. "Be a man! If you lose me, are you just going to shiver up and die?!"
"Don't say that..." Lancer whispered, "...I'm just happy is all." He buried his face into Isaac.
Before Isaac could let out all of his frustration, they both heard the eerie screeching of a pack of Slaves from the distance. The ground nearly vibrated from the quantity of hostiles, this stench of decay intensifying, that thunderous screech simultaneously escaping the Slaves' mouths.
The entire Blight Storm group had heard them.
"Holy shit..." Isaac whispered as they both jumped up from behind the rubble of the Pokemon Gym, "...it looks like the screech our little Slave gave off signaled for the rest to come back here..."
"We're dead... aren't we." Lancer collapsed upon his knees as he cupped his paws around his mouth. His voice quivered, his fear was noticeable and Isaac could take it no longer.
"Mom and dad loved you more?" he chuckled, completely ignoring the approach of raging maniacal creatures. "They... spent so much time trying to make you into this... Riocynn messiah but you... you can't even eat your breakfast by yourself!"
"Isaac..." Lancer muttered. "...Stop it."
"Lancer... mother told me to protect you after she died, father told me to always protect you as if my life was only worthy due to that objective. There's no way we're getting out here... so I'd might as well give you the chance... you fucking baby!"
Lancer, in shock, instantly burst out crying. His brother's insults just pierced his heart like a harpoon. In his already emotional state, hearing this made him bawl his eyes out.
"Damn it, Lancer!" Isaac slapped his little brother, hoping to knock some sense and mentality into him. "I love you!" that did not sound sincere at all. "You're my little brother and I just can't change that. Our lives proceeded in a way where we couldn't control it... it's not your damn fault, now go! Go already!" as soon as he turned around, predicting a wave of Slaves before him... he was greeted by a Ninetales who had instantly dug its teeth within his shoulder.
"Run now, Lancer!" Isaac roared as he began charging up a Hyper Beam. "Get out of here... and just don't die out there, damn it! Be a man!" he unleashed his power upon the Ninetales; instantly killing the fox. He was then overrun; multiple Slaves tackled him and held him down as they each took their own turns ripping into his flesh. He charged his aura blindly to create a burning force field of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The Slaves backed off momentarily.
Regrettably, Lancer retreated and headed down Route 104 near Petalburg city. Everything was a blur, nothing was coherent... he wanted to faint, he wanted to just fall over and let somebody else take him... but nobody was left.
He turned around to see his brother standing there in the middle of the road with another Force Palm ready. He stood there valiantly, no fear in the look of his stance. Then, like an ocean rushing upon the shore, a wave of Slaves lunged towards him, a multiple selection of Pokemon all charging at Isaac at once. There were so many of them, and that is when he turned around and glared at Lancer.
That look he gave said it all. "You'd better not let this death be in vain, you big baby."
Isaac fought them off, so many of them just went flying through the air. He was a great warrior, but to survive while being outnumbered so greatly was just impossible. He knew if he tried to run away with Lancer he would just be endangering both of them. Slaves were notorious for chasing down their victims to the ends of the Earth, there was no escape, either you kill them or you become infected with Siirum and... he's already been infected.
It's too late for him.
"Isaac!!" Lancer screamed at the top of his lungs as his knees hit the soft dirt, and before he knew it, the Slaves were all over his big brother, biting down into his skin like he was just a Stantler. He finally gave in and ceased his resistance.
The screeching lowered, the sounds of ripping flesh ceased and the Slaves seemed to have calmed down. Lancer had found a safe and hidden area to hide behind a tree within the Petalburg Woods, only being capable of watching his brother's suffering. His brother rose from the crowd, puncture wounds riddled his body. His eyes had reverted to their default; glowing green and yellow as his fangs instantly widened and sharpened themselves. He snarled... then screeched just as they did.
Lancer could witness no more, he ran away... ran as fast as he could through the woods.
Ran...
Ran...
Ran...
He ran with tears of regret in his eyes. He no longer wanted to see it... he did not want to see the demonic creature his own flesh and blood has become. He just kept running until he disappeared into the lonely woods with the sound of his soft crying echoing passed the trees... defeated... knowing now he has nothing in this world.
**
Black Mercury Clear Ups
~ The Blight is the name given to those infected by Siirum.
~Titans are the nickname for human soldiers working under the "Sevynn Syndicate"
~Lancer is 14 years old while his brother, Isaac, is 17.
~Age is affected differently in Pokemon these days. A drug known as "Equal Age" has forced Pokemon of all species to live nearly as long as humans. However, different ages for different species would classify them as an adult. For Lucarios, 15 is the age where you become an adult.
-Lord Aika
** ** **
Chapter 1
All was steady; the cry of a newborn was heard. Steady beeps of a heartbeat monitor became the overpowering symphony as the sun lends its light through the windowpane. The untainted industrial rubber flooring and snowy tint of the room concentrated all eyes on the colorful Pokemon who resided within. A family of Lucarios with abnormally azure eyes huddled around the newly hatched egg within the comfort and security of a human hospital. The first born huddled over his new sibling in awe; fascinated by the fact that he just witnessed a living creature emerge from something as fragile as an egg.
He was told over and over again by his father that he would be his little sibling's guardian if the "test results" came in positive. The Riolu blindly obliged; knowing he could not deny a responsibility like that given by his father.
The hospital room was reserved for the Lucarios for they had set up an appointment for a full checkup on their egg also a test for a certain match of relative DNA. Oddly enough, however, the egg hatched as soon as they entered the room. How convenient.
It was a peaceful place; the heartbeat monitor set up to the infant as overwhelmed doctors attempted to rush to more dire medical problems. It seemed healthy; it cried like it should have, there were no physical deformities, no anomalistic coloration.
"Dad, is it going to have a name?" the Riolu queried; his eyes fixated on the infant. On his tip-toes the little Riolu stood, instantly setting goals for himself to become the world's greatest brother and even possibly a bodyguard. He could just imagine himself in all black with sunglasses and a headset while he escorted his sibling everywhere.
His father, with a stern look, glared down upon his first born with subtle disgust. "Be patient." He muttered; irises shifting to an emerald green state. He was a little jittery; waiting for the test results impatiently.
"Your eyes." The mother commented, a look of concern befalling her as she clenched to her new born. "Why are they stressed?"
The father, taking a look at the large mirror, realized what she was referring to. He took a deep breath and patted his second born on the head gently. "We'll see what we can name it when the doctor returns, Isaac... okay?" he put on a fake smile as his emerald eyes reverted color to sapphire.
By now, the baby had stopped crying.
Isaac hopped up so he could get a better visual on the infant. Medical personnel were to be there shortly but in the meantime, the family had the little baby to themselves, "It's so... squishy." Isaac commented; continuously jabbing his paws into his sibling. The mother, Lisa Riocynn, cuddled her newborn with such a tender touch. You could see the joy in her heart. The father, Victor Riocynn, kept his arms crossed as he impatiently waited for assistance with this baby.
"So," Isaac started. "It... sorta looks like a girl."
Lisa laughed at her son's obliviousness. As she enjoyed every moment of this miracle, Victor seemed to have only one thing on his mind. He would constantly glare at the door, hoping somebody would come in so he would not have to stay a second longer in this human hospital.
Isaac moved up close to the baby Riolu and stared it in the eyes, "You'd better be a boy." He playfully warned with a warm smile on his face, suddenly, the baby Riolu flicked him on the nose, "Heh, okay smarty pants, if you're a girl I'll love you the same..." this distinct smell of cheap cologne gradually intensified. The heavenly light peering through the hospital window shone upon the door as a human entered.
"Victor and Lisa Riocynn?" medical personnel had finally come, it was a pudgy human doctor with oval-shaped glasses which rested on the bridge of his nose. He carried a clipboard in his right hand and a pencil in his left.
Victor nodded as he gestured for the doctor to hurry up. His impatience was beginning to get on Lisa's nerves as she tried to take a more polite approach. "Do what you need to do, doctor." She smiled.
"We got your baby's DNA results in. Our scanners of your child's form, metabolism and everything else has been resulted. Congratulations Victor and Lisa Riocynn, your baby is fully healthy and... drum roll please," he joked, "It's a boy."
"Aha!" Isaac responded. "I knew you'd be a boy! Yahoo!"
"Damn it!" Victor roared. Isaac flinched and backed away, hiding behind his mother who covered the infant's ears. "You know what I've been waiting for; is he a positive match or not?!"
"I apologize." The doctor formed up the only response he could against an enraged Lucario who could probably rip him in half in a millisecond. He trembled slightly. "It seems... yes; your child's DNA is a positive match to the DNA of Aderos Riocynn. Did I pronounce that correctly?"
"Yes, yes you did." Victor shooed the doctor away. "Let us be alone with our... son." A smile formed on his face, a look of excitement brewing as it feels as if the world has been lifted off of his shoulders. His dreams had come true; the dream to hear that doctor tell him that his son had the DNA of the grandmaster of the Riocynn Pack... and the founded legacy that comes with it.
Lisa glared at her husband. "Are you satisfied now, Victor?" that aura of love emitting from his mother had dimmed down and her gentle caress ceased.
"As a matter of fact," he winked. "I am."
While his parents spoke gibberish about things irrelevant to Isaac, he kept his eyes fixated on his little brother, he tried to make up a name from the back of his mind, he thought and thought but nothing came to mind, nothing... until he remembered a little Chimecho he played with a long time ago with a name he rather fancied.
"Mom?" he intervened; his father had ceased speaking and sighed, trying to politely wait for his son to talk.
"Yes, Isaac?"
"I thought of a name."
"Really, now? Let me hear it!"
"Hmm... on second thought, never mind."
"No, no Isaac, please share with us!"
"Okay... um... Can we name him-"
"Lancer." Victor interjected; leaning in to pet his new son. "We'll name him Lancer."
There was a lengthy pause as Isaac expunged the name he had in mind. It was useless now. He smiled and responded: "That's a great name, dad!"
"Yes, it's..." Lisa glanced at Isaac, pausing for a short while. "...a great name."
"Lancer... Lancer Riocynn." Victor repeated, an egotistical smile appearing. "Surely the name of a legend. You got lucky, son. Very lucky... and I'm glad you did." He closed in on the infant; his features darkened out by his shadow. "You've got quite a journey ahead of you."
Isaac, with his eyes still fixated on his little brother, suddenly caught a glimpse of something as everybody else turned away... something truly unusual. Without warning, Isaac saw Lancer's fur color shift to white... transforming into sort of ghostly image. As soon as Lisa turned back to face her child, his fur had reverted back.
"What... was that?" he asked himself, hoping that was just his imagination. As his little brother stared at him, Isaac felt this unnaturally foreboding feeling. His little brother's glare was frightening him... that look of obliviousness somehow coupled in with a look of pure evil.
Isaac, no longer able to handle that stare, turned away. He began to shiver. "Whoa..." he grabbed himself. "...I must be some sort of wimp to be afraid of a baby." He tried to turn back to Lancer, but as soon as their eyes met again, Isaac was forced to turn away for the second time.
There was too much power resonating from that infant.
**
Black Mercury
~
The year is 2160; 14 years after the birth of Lancer Riocynn. The date is irrelevant. The world is ending. Earth is infected; organizations spawn from chaos, the disease is united under one rule, it is manipulation. Nobody is safe, nothing is sacred... nothing will be the same. As events followed from the capturing of a gem, the entire world slowly enveloped into darkness and gradually descended into hell. The efforts of so many in vain, so many deaths meaningless. As the uninfected humans and Pokemon attempt to unite under one flag against this threat, the entire world is being demolished and recreated in one Pokemon's image.
Welcome to Civilization's Recreation.
**
The only two Regions that still contain un-infected life-forms are the Hoenn Region and the Sinnoh Region. The rest... destroyed. The Blight, all infected by a substance travelling within their bloodstream known as "Siirum", annihilated anyone who got in their way. The brutality of their blows, their ferociousness, the unique attributes given to them by infection... all of these played huge factors in these hostile takeovers. These infected beings were nothing to be laughed at, nothing to not take seriously.
Their irises emerald green, their sclera piss yellow; the infected were never unnoticeable and always feared... fearing not death, but fearing failure to their lord.
Delving into the Hoenn Region with three Strongholds in the defense against the Blight... we now scratch one off of the list. Rustboro city, the weakest of the three Strongholds, had fallen overnight in a surprisingly organized Blight ambush.
These kind of attacks are known as "Blight Storms", which is when a large group of infected Infantry raid a pinpointed area. In a matter of minutes, the residents and military taking refuge within its walls opened fire and chaos struck the vicinity. Nobody could predict it. The Blight had not attacked any Strongholds for almost 8 months. The Stronghold fell after one day of grenades detonating, guns firing, Pokemon attributed abilities activating... death... and discord. It only took 24 hours, just one day, the defense against the numerous Blight fell and there were no records of any survivors... well... maybe not "None".
We join a young Riolu trapped in the remains of Rustboro city with his older brother, a Lucario, around the middle of the night. Rustboro city was already destroyed. Now all that was left for the Blight to do was to find survivors and corpses then infect them but, however, leave the humans to rot and die.
The two Pokemon hid under an overturned dark blue pickup truck next to a pile of miscellaneous house appliances. The night sky created this foreboding feeling as if the stars were watching this atrocity. The Riolu remained permanently distracted by those bright, flashing specs.
They both uncontrollably shivered, hoping for someone to come and save them... hoping for something to ease their stress and fear. The smell of smoke and rotting flesh choked them. The destruction surrounding them was nearly too much for the little Riolu to handle. He stared at the sky, hoping for answers and comfort.
Isaac, the older brother of the Riolu, had just pulled a large wooden door out of their way, overturning vehicles, moving debris aside and doing everything else while his little brother could only watch.
He hated it.
He wished he could just yell at his little brother, yell for help, shout out to the ever-powerful Lancer Riocynn... the son that was loved the most among the two. He couldn't keep himself together for long, he needed assistance, he needed somebody he could rely on; a wingman... but all he got was dead-weight.
"Okay, Lancer..." Isaac whispered so low that it was nearly incoherent "...the Blight Slaves are gone, I think we can continue..." suddenly, a helicopter passed by, Isaac didn't even bother to try calling them down, they wouldn't hear or see him and it would attract Slaves to the area. What a predicament. "Damn it." He muttered, shaking his head in frustration.
Lancer and Isaac were stuck in Rustboro city; they were most likely the only uninfected beings left in the area due to the Blight Storm. They were next to the old Pokemon Center that was completely destroyed, its slide-open doors bashed open, the large sign that portrayed, "P.C." was ripped apart, and the brick-red roof had caught a small fire, the smoke releasing into the air.
The roads were gray as the clouds were on a rainy day, the night was bleak, pitch-black from lack of streetlights or any kind of electrical lighting devices. Only the half-crescent moon shone upon them.
The only thing that was heard was the sound of Slaves screeching in the distance. They must have been continuing up Route 115 towards Fallarbor town or passed Route 116 towards Verdanturf town, continuing on to the other towns then beginning all over again.
Lancer and Isaac quickly ran across the street, straight over to the demolished Pokemon Gym; reduced to pure rubble. "Isaac..." Lancer began, his voice quivering in the low-temperature of midnight, "...where do we go now? This was the last city that seemed to have a large amount of Titan soldiers in the area."
"I don't know, Lancer," Isaac seethed at the sight of his unprepared little brother. "but this is not the last city that holds Titan soldiers, they only tried to reinforce Rustboro before the Slaves came in... that is where this all went wrong" It was true. The Sevynn Syndicate, proprietor of human soldiers, sent a bit of human reinforcements to Rustboro city to deliver food and water but then the Slaves attacked. It was utterly pointless.
"Damn..."
Isaac, without warning, shoved his little brother to the ground and quietly ordered him to keep quiet. A low growl was heard as Isaac readied himself; his blue eyes shifting color to lime green which indicated that a Lucario from the Riocynn Pack was becoming hostile or very stressed.
"Isaac... I'm scared..." Lancer whispered as he buried his head in Isaac's chest. He was too dependent, too inexperienced. Isaac could not stand it... their parents gave so much of their time to Lancer and for what? To have this kid who relies on his brother way too much. It may have been Isaac's duty to guard Lancer until he was ready to grasp his "destiny", but Isaac could not help but wonder why he was not the one who was chosen.
"Don't worry" Isaac responded, still in a low tone with that same subtle disgust his father used to show him, "There is nothing we can do about this, if we fight them, we'll be taking a huge risk, one bite from these guys' fangs and we'll become infected."
Both of the brothers kept low as they sensed something approach. They witnessed a Blight Slave, a male Grumpig by the look of it, crawling down on both arms and legs passed the street like a spider searching around every corner for prey. The Grumpig Slave was completely pale in the night's sky with grown fangs due to the custom Siirum mutation. Its eyes travelled wildly, studying every corner and ever little detail in the area.
"Ugly bastard." Isaac muttered as they both hid under a car door. Lancer covered his mouth as he shivered and whimpered; he was making too much noise and he could not control himself.
The Slave stopped in his tracks right in the middle of the road and right across from where Isaac and Lancer took cover. The Slave jolted his head back and forth, sniffing furiously until he picked up the 2 brothers' scent. That is when he let out this eardrum shattering screech... the sound of thousands of claws scraping against a chalkboard at once.
They just could not take that kind of deafening noise from up close. Uncontrollably, they both let out shrieks of pain, giving the Slave a visual on his prey.
He lunged towards the two Lucarios with his back arched forwards as his arms dangling behind as if they were paralyzed. "Lancer, get down!" Isaac shouted as he charged up a ball of Aura in his right paw.
A Force Palm.
it circled around like an atom but remained under Isaac's control. He growled; waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike knowing he only had one shot and if he screws up... he's infected.
Lancer screamed and scrambled away from the battleground as Isaac's Aura collided with the Slave's skull, completely shattering both the Aura and the skull simultaneously. The Slave slid across the ground, kicking up large amounts of dust as his fur scraped against the ground.
Finally it stopped as dust retreated into the sky. He tried to get up but just could not find the stamina or willpower to do so. He was dead.
Lancer's sense of insecurity drip out of his body as if it was a liquid, he had felt so happy that his brother was still alright. Isaac was all he had left after "Black Mercury"... the day the Earth went straight to hell. His parents, friends, and relatives... all dead.
"Isaac! I thought I was going to lose you!" Lancer nearly screamed. He caught himself, lowering it into a barely audible squeal of joy. "Thank god!" the little Riolu quivered, he hugged his brother who continued panting from his short-encounter with that Slave.
"Lancer... stop it!" Isaac ordered. "Be a man! If you lose me, are you just going to shiver up and die?!"
"Don't say that..." Lancer whispered, "...I'm just happy is all." He buried his face into Isaac.
Before Isaac could let out all of his frustration, they both heard the eerie screeching of a pack of Slaves from the distance. The ground nearly vibrated from the quantity of hostiles, this stench of decay intensifying, that thunderous screech simultaneously escaping the Slaves' mouths.
The entire Blight Storm group had heard them.
"Holy shit..." Isaac whispered as they both jumped up from behind the rubble of the Pokemon Gym, "...it looks like the screech our little Slave gave off signaled for the rest to come back here..."
"We're dead... aren't we." Lancer collapsed upon his knees as he cupped his paws around his mouth. His voice quivered, his fear was noticeable and Isaac could take it no longer.
"Mom and dad loved you more?" he chuckled, completely ignoring the approach of raging maniacal creatures. "They... spent so much time trying to make you into this... Riocynn messiah but you... you can't even eat your breakfast by yourself!"
"Isaac..." Lancer muttered. "...Stop it."
"Lancer... mother told me to protect you after she died, father told me to always protect you as if my life was only worthy due to that objective. There's no way we're getting out here... so I'd might as well give you the chance... you fucking baby!"
Lancer, in shock, instantly burst out crying. His brother's insults just pierced his heart like a harpoon. In his already emotional state, hearing this made him bawl his eyes out.
"Damn it, Lancer!" Isaac slapped his little brother, hoping to knock some sense and mentality into him. "I love you!" that did not sound sincere at all. "You're my little brother and I just can't change that. Our lives proceeded in a way where we couldn't control it... it's not your damn fault, now go! Go already!" as soon as he turned around, predicting a wave of Slaves before him... he was greeted by a Ninetales who had instantly dug its teeth within his shoulder.
"Run now, Lancer!" Isaac roared as he began charging up a Hyper Beam. "Get out of here... and just don't die out there, damn it! Be a man!" he unleashed his power upon the Ninetales; instantly killing the fox. He was then overrun; multiple Slaves tackled him and held him down as they each took their own turns ripping into his flesh. He charged his aura blindly to create a burning force field of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The Slaves backed off momentarily.
Regrettably, Lancer retreated and headed down Route 104 near Petalburg city. Everything was a blur, nothing was coherent... he wanted to faint, he wanted to just fall over and let somebody else take him... but nobody was left.
He turned around to see his brother standing there in the middle of the road with another Force Palm ready. He stood there valiantly, no fear in the look of his stance. Then, like an ocean rushing upon the shore, a wave of Slaves lunged towards him, a multiple selection of Pokemon all charging at Isaac at once. There were so many of them, and that is when he turned around and glared at Lancer.
That look he gave said it all. "You'd better not let this death be in vain, you big baby."
Isaac fought them off, so many of them just went flying through the air. He was a great warrior, but to survive while being outnumbered so greatly was just impossible. He knew if he tried to run away with Lancer he would just be endangering both of them. Slaves were notorious for chasing down their victims to the ends of the Earth, there was no escape, either you kill them or you become infected with Siirum and... he's already been infected.
It's too late for him.
"Isaac!!" Lancer screamed at the top of his lungs as his knees hit the soft dirt, and before he knew it, the Slaves were all over his big brother, biting down into his skin like he was just a Stantler. He finally gave in and ceased his resistance.
The screeching lowered, the sounds of ripping flesh ceased and the Slaves seemed to have calmed down. Lancer had found a safe and hidden area to hide behind a tree within the Petalburg Woods, only being capable of watching his brother's suffering. His brother rose from the crowd, puncture wounds riddled his body. His eyes had reverted to their default; glowing green and yellow as his fangs instantly widened and sharpened themselves. He snarled... then screeched just as they did.
Lancer could witness no more, he ran away... ran as fast as he could through the woods.
Ran...
Ran...
Ran...
He ran with tears of regret in his eyes. He no longer wanted to see it... he did not want to see the demonic creature his own flesh and blood has become. He just kept running until he disappeared into the lonely woods with the sound of his soft crying echoing passed the trees... defeated... knowing now he has nothing in this world.
**
Black Mercury Clear Ups
~ The Blight is the name given to those infected by Siirum.
~Titans are the nickname for human soldiers working under the "Sevynn Syndicate"
~Lancer is 14 years old while his brother, Isaac, is 17.
~Age is affected differently in Pokemon these days. A drug known as "Equal Age" has forced Pokemon of all species to live nearly as long as humans. However, different ages for different species would classify them as an adult. For Lucarios, 15 is the age where you become an adult.