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 2 - Sapphire Ryoka
Chapter 2: Sapphire Ryoka
In the Petalburg Woods, Lancer wandered around the area aimlessly like a madman. Aimless and lonely he was with no sense of purpose. He felt as if he could just walk in circles for the rest of his life and he would be fully accomplished. His thoughts wandered frantically. Lancer wanted to die; he wanted to join the rest of his family and friends wherever the deceased reside. He desired to see the light, to hear laughter again and feel joy one more time.
After all was said and done... of course he would be the last one standing. He never fully comprehended why his parents were so fascinated with him. He had never done anything special but they kept referring to a Phantom or something. A certain "Aderos Riocynn" which Lancer has never seen in the Riocynn Pack.
Why was Lancer so important? Why did everybody lose their lives for him? Why was he such a VIP?
He could not stop the tears from flowing out of his eyes no matter how hard he tried, he just could not shake the fact that his brother had sacrificed himself just so he could give his little brother a chance at life. What a noble deed but what a devastating effect on his little brother. He may have done the little Riolu more harm than good in the process, scarring the poor child for the rest of his life... knowing that when his head pops off the little pillow he rests on, he will know he has nothing to wake up to.
The forest was scarce, no Pokemon around. Lancer was alone and hungry, longing for somebody he could depend on. The abundant trees that surrounded him were blocking off the moon's light and the ground was damp as Lancer continued along, with every step resulting in that moist squish.
Lancer remembered when this forest was crawling with so many happy bug-type Pokemon.
He never expected any Pokemon. He dropped his hopes and knew he was to, reluctantly, look after himself from now on but then he heard a rustle in the bushes to his left. Two long and yellow ears with black tips poked up from behind a Pecha berry bush.
"Who's there?!" Lancer's frightened voice posed him as no threat until he charged up an Aura Sphere in both of his paws and held it there in a ball of blue and white energy until he figured out who was supposedly stalking him, "I-I... I'm a Riocynn! You don't want to mess with me!" his blue eyes faded away and was replaced by the hostile green Riocynn eyes as he began to hyperventilate in anticipation.
He prepared himself.
"Yo! There's no need to get violent!" a female Pikachu had slowly scampered out of the bushes with her front paws up in the air as if she was being mugged. She was heading her own way but was interrupted. Looks like she was not the stalker he assumed her to be.
Upon seeing this Pikachu, normal and obviously uninfected with Siirum, he let his guard down and the Aura Sphere vanished out of sight in the process. His eyes reverted back to blue. "What is your problem?!" was the Pikachu's response to Lancer's overreaction.
"I am sorry... I-" he cut himself off and looked away. "You can keep going, I'm sorry I bothered you."
"Oh." She took a nice long look at him, scanning from head to toe. She gave her final conclusion and sustained a friendly smile. The Pikachu giggled. "It's all good! As long as you're not really trying to kill me, you're alright in my book!" she gave him a friendly pat on the back. She noticed Lancer flinching and tilted her head. "Y'know... hehe, I'm not gonna hurt you."
I'm... I'm just a little shaken is all." He rubbed his right arm, head tilted downwards studying his own feet. "I just lost my brother in a Blight Storm and..." Lancer stopped, trying not to relive the moment that seemed to have occurred so many years ago.
The truth was: he was looking for sympathy. He wanted somebody to feel bad for him, he wanted somebody to tell him how bad they felt for him.
"Oh no, you poor thing, are you hurt?" the Pikachu sincerely asked... music to Lancer's ears. He did not know how to feel about seeing a friendly face once more; he just did not show any expressions. He just leaned against the oak tree next to him, overlooking a massive mud pile.
There was a short moment of silence when the sound of a Slave's screech was heard in the distance. Lancer turned back to the Pikachu and said, "It's okay; just a few bruises and all that. I'll be fine."
"Aw - are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm... y'know what? I got a proppy for you!"
"Proppy?"
"Hehe, my own word for 'proposition'... anyways, what I was saying is... why don't you come with me? I'm heading to Checkpoint: Orpheus down in old Dewford town. It's a safe place and I can introduce you to my father who lives there! Hehe, he's a scientist y'know!" she tugged on him a little. "Come on! I wanted to have company anyways, y'know? It'll be cool to have, um, someone like you! Someone like you! Hehe..." her cheeks turned rosy.
"You're heading there now?" Lancer almost yelled in anticipation. Hope had regenerated itself in the form of a female Pikachu. How absurd. "I've never been there though... what's it like?"
"Checkpoint: Orpheus is a small underground city, actually created during the Anti-Pokemon Revolution. I'm a scout for my father and I go around trying to find things he could use for his experiments plus since they are all underground, they barely have any idea what's happening on the surface. You could call me a bringer of bad news. I believe my news about the destruction of Rustboro city would be relevant to that title. So, hehe, do you wanna come with me? I can sure use the company." She smiled at Lancer as she awaited a response, her little ears twitched as he prepared an answer.
"Yeah, I'll go... but are you sure you want me to come with you?" Lancer queried. "I'm not sure if I'm the most dependable person." He relayed one of Isaac's final messages. "They... spent so much time trying to make you into this... Riocynn messiah but you... you can't even eat your breakfast by yourself!"
"Yeah! Hehe, I'm sure you'll do fine." She had this look to her that Lancer could not understand. She kept smiling at him, blushing around him and she constantly giggled when she spoke. Apparently love-at-first-sight was not something he comprehended. "Hmm, could I, uh, ask one question though?"
"Sure."
"How old are you?"
Lancer responded with no hesitation. "14".
The Pikachu's mind just went in the gutter, a look of fright befell her and she was now trying to delete all pervy thoughts of her and this Riolu. She was 17. "Well... uh, yeah, sorry. Just curious." She put up a fake smile. "So, anyways, I'll get you to Checkpoint: Orpheus in a heartbeat!"
The Pikachu was now repeatedly yelling at herself subconsciously. "You were about to put the moves on a 14 year old Riolu?!" she thought. "Well... he's technically almost legal and he's extremely cu-ute but... no, no, no! Get those images out of your head, dammit!"
With a word of gratitude from Lancer, the female Pikachu turned around and headed towards the small port where that old man used to live such a long time ago with his Wingull. His boat still stays there to this day because some people believe that it is haunted, but that was just a bunch of stupid superstitions.
On the dock, the Pikachu pulled up the rope that held the boat in place. Her small stature caused this task to be difficult. It was comical to see the Pikachu lean her body so low back that her head came about 2 centimeters from the ground. Lancer, however, did not even crack a smile.
"Is it safe?" he asked, observing the boat sway back and forth. "It doesn't look too sturdy." He could hear Wingulls calling in the distance but upon attempting to locate these birds... he failed. He must have just been imagining things.
"Hah, of course this is safe, silly, do you really believe in those "Haunted Ship" stories?" she laughed as she finally got the huge boat to dock and tied up the line so it would not drift away. "Plus, I use this little old ship to get from here to Checkpoint: Orpheus all the time! The Blight doesn't even attempt to attack me, they're probably even smart enough to believe nobody would use a piece of crap like this!"
"So... why are you using this piece of crap then?"
"Well. I just make it look that way, y'know?" the Pikachu had officially lost our little Riolu. "Me and my daddy actually worked on it, making sure it works perfectly but making it look as unstable as possible to repel most anybody." She giggled. "What's-a-matter? Y'scared?"
"Yes. Yes I am." Lancer retorted. "I'm not going to die on a boat."
"Aww, come on now! Y'don't trust me?"
"No."
"Well... that was mean." The Pikachu sighed. "Well, if you really don't trust me, I'll let you go inspect it. Is that cool?"
"Oh... kay...?" was Lancer's response as he tried not to show any fear in his face, but he could not change the fact that he was terrified. He kept thinking that he would take one step upon the boat and have the entire thing collapse. Plus... he couldn't swim.
This overwhelming feeling then vanished. He was trapped in between the fear of death and the acceptance of death. He wanted to die... but he did not now that he had somebody else to depend on. He was confusing himself to no end but he concluded: whatever happens... happens.
The tugboat was rickety and it screeched as the waves from the ocean rowed it back and forth. Lancer climbed aboard from the Tyre Fender and charged an Aura Sphere once again just like he did with the Pikachu when she startled him, "I'm pretty sure a Blight Slave isn't gonna have a little camp in there!"
A large drop of sweat slid down his neck. "Sorry. I'm just being cautious." he muttered in response. It was a fairly large tugboat, big enough for perhaps 6 people. He explored the wheelhouse, checked out the mainmast, H-bitt and main deck. He then closely examined the bow and the hull in which he finally concluded that it was safe.
"You were right." he had walked outside but to his horror he witnessed his Pikachu friend on the ground facedown, her eyes shut very tightly. She was absolutely stiff. Dead. "No..." Lancer uttered. He choked a little, tears forming as he felt helpless and defenseless.
He let out a scream and began to frantically search the area for Slaves or something that must have killed her, his heart pounded against his chest so hard he believed it would explode. "Wha... wha... what happened to you?!"
Lancer felt a wave of fear sweep over him, his eyes exclaimed confusion, he began to sweat, "No... not again!" he yelled. Lancer ducked down to check her pulse... she... had one? Was she just unconscious? Her heart was beating just fine. Lancer, perplexed, stood up and tapped her with his foot a little. Cruelly, the Pikachu rose up from the ground and began to laugh at Lancer, a laugh that shifted his emotions into pure rage.
His eyes, once again, became emerald green and burned into the laughing Pikachu. He grinded his teeth and let out a low growl as blood slid down his chin. He had been biting down his lower lip.
"You bitch!" Lancer shouted as he waved his front paws all around, his large black dredlocks dangling all over the place. Tears began to slide out of his eyes, flooding the fur on his face as he turned around; unable to face this little prankster anymore. "You bitch..." he uttered as the emotion of fear flowed down the river of his mind and was replaced by infuriation.
How dare she pull a prank like this...
"Haha... sorry... I just couldn't resist that... truly, it was just a joke, y'know? I'm sorry" she responded, trying to keep a straight face which resulting in her cracking up once again.
"Hey!" Lancer roared, shutting her up, "This is no joke... This is no joke!!" he charged up a ball of Aura in his paws rammed it into the ground; creating a large indent. "Do you not see the severity of my situation?!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I guess you are not a very playful type of guy." was her response as she finally was able to maintain a straight face. "What a serious 14 year old." She thought.
"I just lost my flesh and blood to the Blight... I just lost my... brother... to... the... Blight. I just lost everybody! My family, my friends... everybody!!" Lancer shouted as he stared off at the forest in the direction of Rustboro city. His brother's grave. "Now, either you kindly shut the hell up, or I'm finding my own way to Dewford town!" that confused little kid had vanished for a moment and was replaced by an angry, vengeful Riolu. The Pikachu saw this change of behavior with that change in eye color.
"Okay, I'm truly and sincerely sorry..." she sincerely replied. She lowered her head and ears in shame as if she were being scolded by her father. "Really, I'm sorry, can you forgive me?"
Lancer turned to see her eyes shining in the moonlight, she knew she had really distressed Lancer by playing that prank on him but she was just trying to cheer him up with a little crude humor. Perhaps not the best approach for a problem of this caliber.
"Fine..." he crossed his little arms, restoring his calm, blue eyes. He glanced up to the half-crescent moon. "...just leave me alone for a little bit."
"Sure." She responded as she scurried into the wheelhouse of the tugboat, hoping Lancer would still go along with her so she would not be lonely on the way to the Checkpoint.
Lancer sighed, turning around to face the road to Petalburg city; he could see it in the distance, completely turned to rubble by the Slaves. There was a trail of smoke rising... Lancer instantly pictured that Pokemon Center he and Isaac crossed paths with. He then shifted his attention to the plant life. Most of the trees all around have been burned or chopped down, and the beautiful plants that used to reside there have all died. The grass was dried up and there were no bug Pokemon in the area like there should have been.
How depressing.
But then, Lancer heard something in the distance. He turned around and was about to call his companion for help, but he decided to go investigate by himself, just so he could keep his pride against his taunting companion Pikachu. "I'll do it myself, she'll probably just pretend to die again..."
"You big baby" Isaac's words echoed in his mind.
The noise originated from the dried up bushes nearby. "Who is out there...?" he called out, hoping for an answer but received a Pokemon: a female Luxray lunged out of the bush then slipped on the wet sand. She limped onto a large piece of wood that had washed up on the beach and collapsed right on top, exhausted and badly wounded. Lancer, cautious, slowly approached the Luxray while focusing on her eyes. He did not see the mark of Siirum within them so he proceeded carelessly, figuring she may be infected but perhaps she was just injured by something else. "Here! Let me help you!"
She did not answer, only groaned... her face twisted in pain. "...what happened to you?!" Lancer yelled, his eyes fixated on the puncture wounds and bruises riddling her body.
Suddenly, like a waterfall, his rage against the Blight and the Pikachu's prank washed away and replaced with fear for the Luxray's survival.
"Oh my God..." those words silently escaped her lips, noticeably a struggle to speak, "You... you're Lancer Riocynn."
Lancer stood up and backed away from the Luxray, his sympathy for her suddenly began to decrease, "How did you know who I was...?" if he was famous, he sure as hell did not know about it.
"That's... that's not important... please... take this to Eizzan Hirotomi in..." she let out a gasp of pain and coughed up blood as Lancer watched with no expression on his face, the only question he wanted answered right at that moment was how she knew what his name was. Was she a friend of his parents or maybe Isaac? Either way, it did not look like she was going to give him that answer.
The Luxray had pulled out a note strapped to her left forearm and gave it to Lancer, "I was going to give it to you in... Rustboro but... obviously that didn't work out." She pulled herself together to the best of her abilities. "Promise me one thing..."
"What?"
"Take it to Eizzan, a Manectric in Checkpoint: Orpheus residing in Dewford town... and whatever you do... do not decline the proposition which comes along with the note."
"Why? What's going on?"
"Please... I've only been given orders to find you and give this to you; we've had reports that you've been keeping refuge in Rustboro city," she looked up at the smoke rising up into the night's sky.
"Wait a second; I need more information before I go out, you can't just expect me to do this out of nowhere."
"I've been assigned to give that to you, okay?! I can't tell you anymore! Hurry up and leave! There is no time... I'm infected..."
Suddenly, through the silence of night came the loud, piercing screech of a Slave, but this was not distant, this was too close for comfort.
"They... they're coming..."
"Oh God... the Blight Storm... how did they hear us?!" Lancer's suspicions instantly accused him of the previous moment when he barked at Sapphire for playing that prank on him, "You've got to be kidding..." he uttered in annoyance.
He took the note and began to retreat, shamefully forgetting about the dying Luxray. He stared at her then back at the boat. Unrescueable.
However, she reminded him of Isaac: how the infection travelled through her bloodstream and caused her to mutate, "I already know how this is going to end" he muttered and with that, he ran back to the tugboat where his companion was still getting ready for take-off.
"G-Go! Go! W-we need out of here, ASAP!!' Lancer barked.
"Hold up, hold up!" the Pikachu intimated; perplexed. "Did you... forgive me or-"
"Come on, come on, come on!!"
"Why, what's happening?" the Pikachu seriously did not hear the screech of Slaves?
Lancer paused for a moment when he heard the roars cease, surprisingly. They had just vanished, "The... the..." perplexed, he searched the beach... nobody. "...wait a second." Even the Luxray had vanished. What was going on? Was he going crazy? He took out the note and rubbed it all over his body. "This is real. There was a Luxray there but-" he cut himself off when he saw his companion gawking at him. "Sorry."
If those Slaves which Lancer heard even existed... what made them turn around?
Sapphire released the boat's restraint and they began to drift off when finally the Blight Storm appeared through the dead vegetation. A mass variety of Pokemon all with the same eyes glared at the Pikachu and Lancer. "I guess... it wasn't in my head." Lancer sighed a sigh of relief. "Oh man... that would've been bad."
"Hey-y-y!" the Pikachu called out to them. "You little bastards! What now?!" she was definitely confident that they were not going to attack. She did explain it previously but there had to be another reason they wouldn't attack her boat. Are they incapable of swimming? Does water hurt them?
"Are you sure it's a good idea to ta-"
"Haha! Suckers! Have fun watching your food get away!" she climbed atop the wheelhouse, turned around and mockingly smacked her ass several times.
All Lancer could say to himself at this point was... was all of that really necessary?
He stared at the Blight Slaves in awe at how still they were watching them. They looked like they had no purpose, all broken Pokemon. However, the creepiest thing that Lancer was able to notice was... as he stared at them... it did not seem they were actually staring back. It felt like somebody miles away, instead, was staring at him. He could not describe it, but that was what he felt.
**
Finally they had begun their journey to Checkpoint: Orpheus, Dewford Town. Lancer looked at the Pikachu; she was manning the boat professionally. He was utterly shocked that he was able to find somebody he could actually rely on besides his brother.
"You know," Lancer started, trying to get his mind off of the Luxray, "It's odd that we've known each other for this amount of time and we still don't know each other's names. My name is Lancer Riocynn."
"That's a cute name, my name is Sapphire Ryoka." She complied with a smile as she was busy operating the boat. He never thought he would see a Pikachu operate a boat, but thank the heavens she was capable of doing so.
"I'm surprised." Lancer said.
"Hmm?"
"You can drive the boat so well."
"Yuppers, I'm kind of like a mechanical-maniac. I just love to find so many different little mechanisms on my little scouting trips." Sapphire responded as she turned the tugboat and began to advance at full speed, the engine roared and the boat bounced along the waves that formed under them.
**
As Sapphire was busy operating the boat, Lancer stepped out on the main deck and stared at the female Luxray that gave him the letter from a far distance. She was now becoming one of the Blight Slaves; her body was jolting around like she was having a seizure and the color of her eyes turned, of course, yellow and dark green. It was a very horrific sight to behold but Lancer was happy he got out of there in time, if they would have stayed longer, they would have been in deep danger.
"Poor girl." Lancer said under his breath as he rubbed his aching forehead. He opened the letter she had given him; it was hand-written and entitled: Who is God?
The paper was leathery had a sickly decomposing scent coming off of it as if the paper itself was made by the skin of the deceased. Lancer lay the strange paper upon the deck and read it aloud to himself.
"I know what God is: It 1 is 18 a 3 term 5 to 21 refer 19 to a being of great power. Mostly a 9 power 19 indefinable. Power that is unable 14 to 15 be 20 explained. Everything is said to have been created by God. Recognize its potential, recognize who it really is. Is it possible? A world that has accepted the image of what God is? Laughable. ( Arceus 7-15-4. )"
Anybody reading this should know that it was just a statement on religion. However, the numbers scattered across the message baffled and mystified Lancer. He figured when he got to Checkpoint: Orpheus and gave this message to that Eizzan person.
"What the hell did that mean...?" Lancer thought to himself as he rolled up the letter into a scroll, "It must be some kind of poem... or riddle, but I'm sure that when I stop at Dewford town... I may get some answers."
**
Black Mercury Clear Ups
~The Blight can only infect Pokemon, not humans.
~Only Blight Slaves can infect other Pokemon for there are many different classes of Blight minions.
~Blight Slaves infect a Pokemon by ripping open their flesh and spitting into their wound.
In the Petalburg Woods, Lancer wandered around the area aimlessly like a madman. Aimless and lonely he was with no sense of purpose. He felt as if he could just walk in circles for the rest of his life and he would be fully accomplished. His thoughts wandered frantically. Lancer wanted to die; he wanted to join the rest of his family and friends wherever the deceased reside. He desired to see the light, to hear laughter again and feel joy one more time.
After all was said and done... of course he would be the last one standing. He never fully comprehended why his parents were so fascinated with him. He had never done anything special but they kept referring to a Phantom or something. A certain "Aderos Riocynn" which Lancer has never seen in the Riocynn Pack.
Why was Lancer so important? Why did everybody lose their lives for him? Why was he such a VIP?
He could not stop the tears from flowing out of his eyes no matter how hard he tried, he just could not shake the fact that his brother had sacrificed himself just so he could give his little brother a chance at life. What a noble deed but what a devastating effect on his little brother. He may have done the little Riolu more harm than good in the process, scarring the poor child for the rest of his life... knowing that when his head pops off the little pillow he rests on, he will know he has nothing to wake up to.
The forest was scarce, no Pokemon around. Lancer was alone and hungry, longing for somebody he could depend on. The abundant trees that surrounded him were blocking off the moon's light and the ground was damp as Lancer continued along, with every step resulting in that moist squish.
Lancer remembered when this forest was crawling with so many happy bug-type Pokemon.
He never expected any Pokemon. He dropped his hopes and knew he was to, reluctantly, look after himself from now on but then he heard a rustle in the bushes to his left. Two long and yellow ears with black tips poked up from behind a Pecha berry bush.
"Who's there?!" Lancer's frightened voice posed him as no threat until he charged up an Aura Sphere in both of his paws and held it there in a ball of blue and white energy until he figured out who was supposedly stalking him, "I-I... I'm a Riocynn! You don't want to mess with me!" his blue eyes faded away and was replaced by the hostile green Riocynn eyes as he began to hyperventilate in anticipation.
He prepared himself.
"Yo! There's no need to get violent!" a female Pikachu had slowly scampered out of the bushes with her front paws up in the air as if she was being mugged. She was heading her own way but was interrupted. Looks like she was not the stalker he assumed her to be.
Upon seeing this Pikachu, normal and obviously uninfected with Siirum, he let his guard down and the Aura Sphere vanished out of sight in the process. His eyes reverted back to blue. "What is your problem?!" was the Pikachu's response to Lancer's overreaction.
"I am sorry... I-" he cut himself off and looked away. "You can keep going, I'm sorry I bothered you."
"Oh." She took a nice long look at him, scanning from head to toe. She gave her final conclusion and sustained a friendly smile. The Pikachu giggled. "It's all good! As long as you're not really trying to kill me, you're alright in my book!" she gave him a friendly pat on the back. She noticed Lancer flinching and tilted her head. "Y'know... hehe, I'm not gonna hurt you."
I'm... I'm just a little shaken is all." He rubbed his right arm, head tilted downwards studying his own feet. "I just lost my brother in a Blight Storm and..." Lancer stopped, trying not to relive the moment that seemed to have occurred so many years ago.
The truth was: he was looking for sympathy. He wanted somebody to feel bad for him, he wanted somebody to tell him how bad they felt for him.
"Oh no, you poor thing, are you hurt?" the Pikachu sincerely asked... music to Lancer's ears. He did not know how to feel about seeing a friendly face once more; he just did not show any expressions. He just leaned against the oak tree next to him, overlooking a massive mud pile.
There was a short moment of silence when the sound of a Slave's screech was heard in the distance. Lancer turned back to the Pikachu and said, "It's okay; just a few bruises and all that. I'll be fine."
"Aw - are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm... y'know what? I got a proppy for you!"
"Proppy?"
"Hehe, my own word for 'proposition'... anyways, what I was saying is... why don't you come with me? I'm heading to Checkpoint: Orpheus down in old Dewford town. It's a safe place and I can introduce you to my father who lives there! Hehe, he's a scientist y'know!" she tugged on him a little. "Come on! I wanted to have company anyways, y'know? It'll be cool to have, um, someone like you! Someone like you! Hehe..." her cheeks turned rosy.
"You're heading there now?" Lancer almost yelled in anticipation. Hope had regenerated itself in the form of a female Pikachu. How absurd. "I've never been there though... what's it like?"
"Checkpoint: Orpheus is a small underground city, actually created during the Anti-Pokemon Revolution. I'm a scout for my father and I go around trying to find things he could use for his experiments plus since they are all underground, they barely have any idea what's happening on the surface. You could call me a bringer of bad news. I believe my news about the destruction of Rustboro city would be relevant to that title. So, hehe, do you wanna come with me? I can sure use the company." She smiled at Lancer as she awaited a response, her little ears twitched as he prepared an answer.
"Yeah, I'll go... but are you sure you want me to come with you?" Lancer queried. "I'm not sure if I'm the most dependable person." He relayed one of Isaac's final messages. "They... spent so much time trying to make you into this... Riocynn messiah but you... you can't even eat your breakfast by yourself!"
"Yeah! Hehe, I'm sure you'll do fine." She had this look to her that Lancer could not understand. She kept smiling at him, blushing around him and she constantly giggled when she spoke. Apparently love-at-first-sight was not something he comprehended. "Hmm, could I, uh, ask one question though?"
"Sure."
"How old are you?"
Lancer responded with no hesitation. "14".
The Pikachu's mind just went in the gutter, a look of fright befell her and she was now trying to delete all pervy thoughts of her and this Riolu. She was 17. "Well... uh, yeah, sorry. Just curious." She put up a fake smile. "So, anyways, I'll get you to Checkpoint: Orpheus in a heartbeat!"
The Pikachu was now repeatedly yelling at herself subconsciously. "You were about to put the moves on a 14 year old Riolu?!" she thought. "Well... he's technically almost legal and he's extremely cu-ute but... no, no, no! Get those images out of your head, dammit!"
With a word of gratitude from Lancer, the female Pikachu turned around and headed towards the small port where that old man used to live such a long time ago with his Wingull. His boat still stays there to this day because some people believe that it is haunted, but that was just a bunch of stupid superstitions.
On the dock, the Pikachu pulled up the rope that held the boat in place. Her small stature caused this task to be difficult. It was comical to see the Pikachu lean her body so low back that her head came about 2 centimeters from the ground. Lancer, however, did not even crack a smile.
"Is it safe?" he asked, observing the boat sway back and forth. "It doesn't look too sturdy." He could hear Wingulls calling in the distance but upon attempting to locate these birds... he failed. He must have just been imagining things.
"Hah, of course this is safe, silly, do you really believe in those "Haunted Ship" stories?" she laughed as she finally got the huge boat to dock and tied up the line so it would not drift away. "Plus, I use this little old ship to get from here to Checkpoint: Orpheus all the time! The Blight doesn't even attempt to attack me, they're probably even smart enough to believe nobody would use a piece of crap like this!"
"So... why are you using this piece of crap then?"
"Well. I just make it look that way, y'know?" the Pikachu had officially lost our little Riolu. "Me and my daddy actually worked on it, making sure it works perfectly but making it look as unstable as possible to repel most anybody." She giggled. "What's-a-matter? Y'scared?"
"Yes. Yes I am." Lancer retorted. "I'm not going to die on a boat."
"Aww, come on now! Y'don't trust me?"
"No."
"Well... that was mean." The Pikachu sighed. "Well, if you really don't trust me, I'll let you go inspect it. Is that cool?"
"Oh... kay...?" was Lancer's response as he tried not to show any fear in his face, but he could not change the fact that he was terrified. He kept thinking that he would take one step upon the boat and have the entire thing collapse. Plus... he couldn't swim.
This overwhelming feeling then vanished. He was trapped in between the fear of death and the acceptance of death. He wanted to die... but he did not now that he had somebody else to depend on. He was confusing himself to no end but he concluded: whatever happens... happens.
The tugboat was rickety and it screeched as the waves from the ocean rowed it back and forth. Lancer climbed aboard from the Tyre Fender and charged an Aura Sphere once again just like he did with the Pikachu when she startled him, "I'm pretty sure a Blight Slave isn't gonna have a little camp in there!"
A large drop of sweat slid down his neck. "Sorry. I'm just being cautious." he muttered in response. It was a fairly large tugboat, big enough for perhaps 6 people. He explored the wheelhouse, checked out the mainmast, H-bitt and main deck. He then closely examined the bow and the hull in which he finally concluded that it was safe.
"You were right." he had walked outside but to his horror he witnessed his Pikachu friend on the ground facedown, her eyes shut very tightly. She was absolutely stiff. Dead. "No..." Lancer uttered. He choked a little, tears forming as he felt helpless and defenseless.
He let out a scream and began to frantically search the area for Slaves or something that must have killed her, his heart pounded against his chest so hard he believed it would explode. "Wha... wha... what happened to you?!"
Lancer felt a wave of fear sweep over him, his eyes exclaimed confusion, he began to sweat, "No... not again!" he yelled. Lancer ducked down to check her pulse... she... had one? Was she just unconscious? Her heart was beating just fine. Lancer, perplexed, stood up and tapped her with his foot a little. Cruelly, the Pikachu rose up from the ground and began to laugh at Lancer, a laugh that shifted his emotions into pure rage.
His eyes, once again, became emerald green and burned into the laughing Pikachu. He grinded his teeth and let out a low growl as blood slid down his chin. He had been biting down his lower lip.
"You bitch!" Lancer shouted as he waved his front paws all around, his large black dredlocks dangling all over the place. Tears began to slide out of his eyes, flooding the fur on his face as he turned around; unable to face this little prankster anymore. "You bitch..." he uttered as the emotion of fear flowed down the river of his mind and was replaced by infuriation.
How dare she pull a prank like this...
"Haha... sorry... I just couldn't resist that... truly, it was just a joke, y'know? I'm sorry" she responded, trying to keep a straight face which resulting in her cracking up once again.
"Hey!" Lancer roared, shutting her up, "This is no joke... This is no joke!!" he charged up a ball of Aura in his paws rammed it into the ground; creating a large indent. "Do you not see the severity of my situation?!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I guess you are not a very playful type of guy." was her response as she finally was able to maintain a straight face. "What a serious 14 year old." She thought.
"I just lost my flesh and blood to the Blight... I just lost my... brother... to... the... Blight. I just lost everybody! My family, my friends... everybody!!" Lancer shouted as he stared off at the forest in the direction of Rustboro city. His brother's grave. "Now, either you kindly shut the hell up, or I'm finding my own way to Dewford town!" that confused little kid had vanished for a moment and was replaced by an angry, vengeful Riolu. The Pikachu saw this change of behavior with that change in eye color.
"Okay, I'm truly and sincerely sorry..." she sincerely replied. She lowered her head and ears in shame as if she were being scolded by her father. "Really, I'm sorry, can you forgive me?"
Lancer turned to see her eyes shining in the moonlight, she knew she had really distressed Lancer by playing that prank on him but she was just trying to cheer him up with a little crude humor. Perhaps not the best approach for a problem of this caliber.
"Fine..." he crossed his little arms, restoring his calm, blue eyes. He glanced up to the half-crescent moon. "...just leave me alone for a little bit."
"Sure." She responded as she scurried into the wheelhouse of the tugboat, hoping Lancer would still go along with her so she would not be lonely on the way to the Checkpoint.
Lancer sighed, turning around to face the road to Petalburg city; he could see it in the distance, completely turned to rubble by the Slaves. There was a trail of smoke rising... Lancer instantly pictured that Pokemon Center he and Isaac crossed paths with. He then shifted his attention to the plant life. Most of the trees all around have been burned or chopped down, and the beautiful plants that used to reside there have all died. The grass was dried up and there were no bug Pokemon in the area like there should have been.
How depressing.
But then, Lancer heard something in the distance. He turned around and was about to call his companion for help, but he decided to go investigate by himself, just so he could keep his pride against his taunting companion Pikachu. "I'll do it myself, she'll probably just pretend to die again..."
"You big baby" Isaac's words echoed in his mind.
The noise originated from the dried up bushes nearby. "Who is out there...?" he called out, hoping for an answer but received a Pokemon: a female Luxray lunged out of the bush then slipped on the wet sand. She limped onto a large piece of wood that had washed up on the beach and collapsed right on top, exhausted and badly wounded. Lancer, cautious, slowly approached the Luxray while focusing on her eyes. He did not see the mark of Siirum within them so he proceeded carelessly, figuring she may be infected but perhaps she was just injured by something else. "Here! Let me help you!"
She did not answer, only groaned... her face twisted in pain. "...what happened to you?!" Lancer yelled, his eyes fixated on the puncture wounds and bruises riddling her body.
Suddenly, like a waterfall, his rage against the Blight and the Pikachu's prank washed away and replaced with fear for the Luxray's survival.
"Oh my God..." those words silently escaped her lips, noticeably a struggle to speak, "You... you're Lancer Riocynn."
Lancer stood up and backed away from the Luxray, his sympathy for her suddenly began to decrease, "How did you know who I was...?" if he was famous, he sure as hell did not know about it.
"That's... that's not important... please... take this to Eizzan Hirotomi in..." she let out a gasp of pain and coughed up blood as Lancer watched with no expression on his face, the only question he wanted answered right at that moment was how she knew what his name was. Was she a friend of his parents or maybe Isaac? Either way, it did not look like she was going to give him that answer.
The Luxray had pulled out a note strapped to her left forearm and gave it to Lancer, "I was going to give it to you in... Rustboro but... obviously that didn't work out." She pulled herself together to the best of her abilities. "Promise me one thing..."
"What?"
"Take it to Eizzan, a Manectric in Checkpoint: Orpheus residing in Dewford town... and whatever you do... do not decline the proposition which comes along with the note."
"Why? What's going on?"
"Please... I've only been given orders to find you and give this to you; we've had reports that you've been keeping refuge in Rustboro city," she looked up at the smoke rising up into the night's sky.
"Wait a second; I need more information before I go out, you can't just expect me to do this out of nowhere."
"I've been assigned to give that to you, okay?! I can't tell you anymore! Hurry up and leave! There is no time... I'm infected..."
Suddenly, through the silence of night came the loud, piercing screech of a Slave, but this was not distant, this was too close for comfort.
"They... they're coming..."
"Oh God... the Blight Storm... how did they hear us?!" Lancer's suspicions instantly accused him of the previous moment when he barked at Sapphire for playing that prank on him, "You've got to be kidding..." he uttered in annoyance.
He took the note and began to retreat, shamefully forgetting about the dying Luxray. He stared at her then back at the boat. Unrescueable.
However, she reminded him of Isaac: how the infection travelled through her bloodstream and caused her to mutate, "I already know how this is going to end" he muttered and with that, he ran back to the tugboat where his companion was still getting ready for take-off.
"G-Go! Go! W-we need out of here, ASAP!!' Lancer barked.
"Hold up, hold up!" the Pikachu intimated; perplexed. "Did you... forgive me or-"
"Come on, come on, come on!!"
"Why, what's happening?" the Pikachu seriously did not hear the screech of Slaves?
Lancer paused for a moment when he heard the roars cease, surprisingly. They had just vanished, "The... the..." perplexed, he searched the beach... nobody. "...wait a second." Even the Luxray had vanished. What was going on? Was he going crazy? He took out the note and rubbed it all over his body. "This is real. There was a Luxray there but-" he cut himself off when he saw his companion gawking at him. "Sorry."
If those Slaves which Lancer heard even existed... what made them turn around?
Sapphire released the boat's restraint and they began to drift off when finally the Blight Storm appeared through the dead vegetation. A mass variety of Pokemon all with the same eyes glared at the Pikachu and Lancer. "I guess... it wasn't in my head." Lancer sighed a sigh of relief. "Oh man... that would've been bad."
"Hey-y-y!" the Pikachu called out to them. "You little bastards! What now?!" she was definitely confident that they were not going to attack. She did explain it previously but there had to be another reason they wouldn't attack her boat. Are they incapable of swimming? Does water hurt them?
"Are you sure it's a good idea to ta-"
"Haha! Suckers! Have fun watching your food get away!" she climbed atop the wheelhouse, turned around and mockingly smacked her ass several times.
All Lancer could say to himself at this point was... was all of that really necessary?
He stared at the Blight Slaves in awe at how still they were watching them. They looked like they had no purpose, all broken Pokemon. However, the creepiest thing that Lancer was able to notice was... as he stared at them... it did not seem they were actually staring back. It felt like somebody miles away, instead, was staring at him. He could not describe it, but that was what he felt.
**
Finally they had begun their journey to Checkpoint: Orpheus, Dewford Town. Lancer looked at the Pikachu; she was manning the boat professionally. He was utterly shocked that he was able to find somebody he could actually rely on besides his brother.
"You know," Lancer started, trying to get his mind off of the Luxray, "It's odd that we've known each other for this amount of time and we still don't know each other's names. My name is Lancer Riocynn."
"That's a cute name, my name is Sapphire Ryoka." She complied with a smile as she was busy operating the boat. He never thought he would see a Pikachu operate a boat, but thank the heavens she was capable of doing so.
"I'm surprised." Lancer said.
"Hmm?"
"You can drive the boat so well."
"Yuppers, I'm kind of like a mechanical-maniac. I just love to find so many different little mechanisms on my little scouting trips." Sapphire responded as she turned the tugboat and began to advance at full speed, the engine roared and the boat bounced along the waves that formed under them.
**
As Sapphire was busy operating the boat, Lancer stepped out on the main deck and stared at the female Luxray that gave him the letter from a far distance. She was now becoming one of the Blight Slaves; her body was jolting around like she was having a seizure and the color of her eyes turned, of course, yellow and dark green. It was a very horrific sight to behold but Lancer was happy he got out of there in time, if they would have stayed longer, they would have been in deep danger.
"Poor girl." Lancer said under his breath as he rubbed his aching forehead. He opened the letter she had given him; it was hand-written and entitled: Who is God?
The paper was leathery had a sickly decomposing scent coming off of it as if the paper itself was made by the skin of the deceased. Lancer lay the strange paper upon the deck and read it aloud to himself.
"I know what God is: It 1 is 18 a 3 term 5 to 21 refer 19 to a being of great power. Mostly a 9 power 19 indefinable. Power that is unable 14 to 15 be 20 explained. Everything is said to have been created by God. Recognize its potential, recognize who it really is. Is it possible? A world that has accepted the image of what God is? Laughable. ( Arceus 7-15-4. )"
Anybody reading this should know that it was just a statement on religion. However, the numbers scattered across the message baffled and mystified Lancer. He figured when he got to Checkpoint: Orpheus and gave this message to that Eizzan person.
"What the hell did that mean...?" Lancer thought to himself as he rolled up the letter into a scroll, "It must be some kind of poem... or riddle, but I'm sure that when I stop at Dewford town... I may get some answers."
**
Black Mercury Clear Ups
~The Blight can only infect Pokemon, not humans.
~Only Blight Slaves can infect other Pokemon for there are many different classes of Blight minions.
~Blight Slaves infect a Pokemon by ripping open their flesh and spitting into their wound.