The Last Watermark
Chapter 13: The Last Watermark
The sound of rain hissed in Meil's ears as he slowly felt himself slip into consciousness. He opened his eyes to nothing but a dark, earthy blur. He could hear a river splash and gurgle through the rain. It was still the dead of night by the lighting.
Meil touched his face with a muddy hand, and felt his glasses hanging from his left ear. He slipped them up his nose, and everything suddenly came into focus. He was sprawled on a river bank, his clothes completely soaked, his body caked in mud and leaves. He looked up and saw tall trees looming over him.
They dotted the edge of the river, running down the bank into the mist. The rain poured onto Meil's head as he sat up in the mud, pulling his legs from the frigid water. He looked up into the sky, and his mind was suddenly bombarded with images.
He saw Tony; saw him fall, so limply, so lifelessly. Tony was dead. The man who was almost like a brother, or even a father to Meil, was gone. He'd only known him for a few days, yet he felt as though he'd known Tony his entire life. He closed his eyes, letting the raindrops trickle down his face, but not tears. He hadn't cried since he was very young.
Not once. He thought it might of been because he was cynical in a way. But not being able to cry, he learned, was not as great as it sounded. Pain, an actual, physical pain, welled up in his chest, and he wanted to cry. He wanted to cry his heart out, but he could not.
The tears were trapped inside him, and no matter how hard he tried, no tears came. Not a single sob escaped his lips. It was horrible; as if his insides were tearing themselves apart. Holding it in, without being able to let it out; it was unbearable.
His feelings of mourning were canceled out as he saw a sudden blue and yellow blur approaching in the mist, walking along the bank of the river. He knew it was Kyra; he recognized her long stride. She saw him, sitting there in mud, his clothes weighing him down as they filled with water. "Meil, is that you?", she asked quietly, squinting through the rain.
"Yah, it's me.", he smiled. She ran to him, ignoring the mud as she fell into his awaiting arms. It was so good to see her, to feel her warm body against him. "Where is everyone?", Meil asked. "I don't know," Kyra looked worried.
"I woke up on the river bank like you did. We must have fallen in, and then swept downstream. I went walking down the bank looking for you; calling your name. And when I didn't see you for half an hour, I thought maybe...", she trailed off, unable to utter the last words of her sentence. After a moment of silence, she said, "Tony, he's..."
"I know.", Meil said, running the fur on the back of her head through his fingers as she continued to embrace him. "Oh, god..." Kyra broke down, her sobs shaking her entire body. "I don't want to do this anymore!", she wailed.
"I'm sick of people dying! I just want it to end!" Meil rubbed her back as she cried into his shoulder heavily. "I know, Kyra. I envy you for being able to let out your sorrow though."
She looked at him, her face stained with tears and drops of rain. "What do you mean? Are you saying you can't cry?" Meil nodded his head sadly. "Yes, I haven't been able since I was little. It's like I ran out of tears to shed."
"Does it hurt?"
"A lot."
"I'm so sorry..."
"It's okay. It'll pass eventually.", Meil smiled bitterly. Kyra wiped her eyes, sniveling a little as she pulled herself to her feet, pulling Meil along with her.
"I hope this helps.", she whispered, holding the back of his soaking poncho as her lips met his. For a while, they kissed, the rain trickling down their skin, which was cool and refreshing.
Meil found it hard to separate from Kyra. It was as if Kyra was a sanctuary, in which he was safe; a wonderful place; a place he could spend the rest of his life in. Kyra tasted the inside of his mouth with her tongue, cradling the back of his head in one paw, the other supporting his back.
As they broke apart, Meil felt Kyra's tongue pass over his own. She let out a little breath as they both leaned back, and Meil noticed the breath came out as a puff of just visible vapor. He hadn't realized how cold it was out here until just now.
He made a mental note: Kissing is something he should do way more often. He felt all the grief that had been building inside him ebb away as Kyra mere presence soothed him. "Where do think we are?", Meil asked her after a minute of simply standing in the rain, coupled with occasional kissing and squeezing. "I don't know. But we're going to get sick if we hang around here to long. This rain is freezing."
"Yah, we should find some kind of shelter." As Meil walked through the trees, holding onto Kyra's paw tightly, he began thinking. If The Seekers were gone, was he free? Would no one care that he still knew the song? And what about Dorin, Alice, and Tony...? And Coal; Meil had watched him avenge his brother.
Did that mean he was on the orders side now? Was there even an order anymore? So many questions went unanswered as he and Kyra trekked up the slippery bank, hand in paw.
When the top of the hill was reached, they spotted a small stone cottage in the distance, nestled in a clearing, hidden between the trees that were shrouded in the mist. Smoke was billowing from the chimney, and a warm flickering light came from the window. Meil and Kyra walked silently up to the door, their feet shuffling in the wet leaves.
There was a bronze plate on the wooden door with the words, "The Last Watermark", engraved on it. Meil stretched a reckless hand to the rusted door knocker, which was shaped like a Bronzong. He knocked three times, each knock echoing around the trees.
The door was suddenly thrown open, and a woman, wrapped in an enormous blanket, her long, wet, red hair plastered against her grinning face, beaming at both of them from the doorway. "Sup' guys.", Alice greeted.
Alice led them into a small, circular room lit by a few lanterns, and a fire flickering in a corner fireplace. "Shut the door, you're letting in the cold air!", said a stern voice to their left. Meil turned and saw a man, in about his 40's, leaning over a desk, scribbling on sheet of paper with a long golden quill. The man turned in his chair to look at the new arrivals.
His silver hair was tied back in a ponytail like Meil's. His face was scarred, with a bit of his left ear lobe missing. He scowled over at them. "Well, take your seats by the fire. It's not like I don't have enough company."
The man seemed somewhat bad tempered for an unknown reason. Meil looked over and spotted said company. Dorin was kneeling over who was undoubtedly Tony, who was breathing rather shallowly, but breathing none the less! Meil almost lost his balance running towards Tony.
"He's all right!?", Meil shouted. "Yes, yes. No need to yell. He was lucky those bullets missed any of his vitals. He will recover readily.", the man said grumpily. Tony had a wet washcloth on his forehead, and opened his eyes a sliver at the sound of Meil's voice. "Meil...? Oh, it is you. I guess I'm not dreaming after all. What's up?"
"Tony,", Meil said, starting to laugh as a wave of relief crashed over him. "we thought you were dead!" Tony raised his eyebrows, the way he always did when he heard surprising news. "Dead? Hell, I had no idea. Man, I feel wiped out though..." He let out a long sigh.
"Hey, could someone grab me a drink? I'm real thirsty.", he said, reaching out a hand, which Alice placed a glass of water in, helping him sit up as he drank. The man suddenly turned on all of them in his seat. "So, may I ask all your names before you get to comfortable? First and last if you please."
They all looked at him. "Oh, sorry. I'm Allison Renard.", Alice introduced.
"Anthony Denier.", Tony said weakly.
"Dorion Eveners.", Dorin muttered.
"Just, Kyra.", Kyra said with a small laugh.
"And me, Meil. Meil Casanov." The man's eyes went straight to Meil as soon as he spoke. "You're last name is Casanov?", he asked, squinting suspiciosly at Meil. "Yah, why?", Meil asked. The man got up from the chair, and Meil only then noticed the cast on his right foot.
The man grabbed the crutches leaning on the desk, and pushed himself to his feet. "I don't suppose your fathers name is, Jonathan Casanov, is it?" Meil stared into the mans face, looking stunned. "How do you know my fathers name?"
"So you must be his son.", the man said, ignoring Meil's previous question. "Oh, by the way, did you know your mother is dead?", he said, almost casually. Meil felt his blood run cold. "Dead...?"
"Yup, killed by a bullet looks like. About a week ago. Your sister left to stay at one of her families relatives after they couldn't find her father."
"W-Who killed her?"
"Collin Denier, or 'Coal' as he likes to be called. Your brother, right Anthony?" Tony nodded grimly.
"Yah, well. You don't seemed to choked up about it, as much as surprised."
Meil shrugged slightly. "My mother was never a very pleasant person. I don't think she ever loved me, only my sister, Sarah. I know, I heard her say one time that I was, 'a mistake'."
"That's because you were a mistake, Meil. Your mother, Marcia Casanov has always wished for nothing more than a daughter. But when you showed up that night-" Meil cut him off suddenly. "What do you mean, 'showed up'? You make it sound like they found me on their doorstep or something."
"That is probably because, they did. Jonathan and Marcia Casanov aren't your real parents, no." Meil stared at the man as if he'd just asked Meil to chop off his own limbs. "Not my real parents?! What the hell are you talking about?! Of course they are!"
"I am afraid they're not. Now, let me continue. I am about to tell you where you came from, and why you are here today. And why you could be the most important, and powerful man ever to walk this world of ours. I know all this, because I am a personal friend of your real father. My name is Leviathan Doj.
Brother of Lucifer Doj, the same man that passed the song onto you before he also fell to Anthony's angry and desperate brother Collin, after refusing to reveal certain information. First, let me start with who I am, and the organization I'm part of. The Order of the Full Moon as you may call it. Sixteen members, including I, and these three.", he gestured towards Dorin, Tony, and Alice.
"Our true purpose is to rid this world of another organization that we brought down many years ago, that we suspect is gaining power again; The Order of the New Moon. And to watch over our main priority, you and Kyra. Because that organizations true purpose is to have you, and Kyra. Now, let me change the subject for a moment to read you something I think you will find interesting."
Taking a small, rusty key from a pocket on his long raincoat, he opened a drawer in the desk that had a lock on it labeled, "Confidential." From the drawer he drew a thick, black book titled, "The Myths and Legends of Sinnoh: The Prophecies."
"This is the one. Now, lets see. Ah, here we are!" He removed a bookmark from a page in the middle of the book. "This story is known as. 'The Aura Caller'."
He cleared his throat three times, then began to read, "'Of the many truths to be told by the prophets, and the many lies to be told by fools, none is more well known than the Aura Caller. A boy, born on a night of autumns last breath, will have not power, nor weapons.
But a gift. A gift of such greatness, that those full of envy and greed, would venture far and wide to steal the boy's gift. This gift is known as Aurabiosis; the power to tame a chosen of Aura. A Lucario, born on the same date, a dozen years from the boys birth, would be granted this power.
Three gifts for it to control. First is the gift of Power; the ability to overpower any opponent that stands in it's way. Second is Control; the ability to manipulate minds and control wills. And the third; Resurrection; the ability to give one life, only to sacrifice their own. The boy, and the Lucario, would be united one day. The boy, the tamer. The Lucario; the beast.'"
He closed the book, placing it back in it's drawer with a snap. "So, you're saying I'm this boy from the story? How do you know?"
"We knew because of your Aura. Aura is like DNA. It's different for everyone. But more to the point, the story basically tells of a boy born just before winter, who would be the only one able to tame a special Lucario born on the same day, twelve years later. That Lucario, we suspect, is Kyra here."
Kyra jumped. "I'm the Lucario from the story?! But- That can't be! It's just a myth! How are so certain it's true?" Leviathan shook his head.
"I am afraid there is no doubt that you and Meil are the characters from this story. Not only were both of you born on the same day, just before winter, but Kyra was born 12 years after you Meil, and to complete the description, you both posses a very strange Aura.
Unlike normal Aura, which is usually blue. Yours is red, which indicates an unusual, or unknown form of Aura. Out of every boy and Lucario born on those days, you were the only ones with this aura. Not to mention, you are both from Sinnoh, where the prophecy first originated.
So, now that you know. I suppose I should tell you why you were separated from your original parents now. Well, that day, December 20th, a day before winter, you were born. Your parents were overjoyed to see that you were more perfect and healthy than they ever could have wished. A few months past, and one night, a man named Albatross Uric, asked to see you.
Suspicious, they refused, telling the man they would call the police on them if he did not leave immediately. The next day, your father called upon me, and explained what had happened. I was most troubled when I heard, but it also made me wonder why he wanted to see you in the first place. I called upon a few of my good friends, who would soon join me in creating the order. We confirmed that you were different, Meil.
You were unusual; your Aura was unbelievably complex. But we didn't jump to conclusions right away. It could have been a just a coincidence. But the next month, the same man tried to take you away in the middle of the night.
Your parents stopped him yet again, but the police got there to late to arrest him. We all agreed; you were in far to much danger with this strange man lurking around every corner. We sent you to a friend of your fathers house in Jubilife. Leaving you with one of your relatives would have been to predicable.
Jonathan gladly took you in, though his wife Marcia was not as overjoyed, and neither was their daughter. But they took you anyway, for your own safety. By the time you were ten, you were allowed to go off on your Pokemon journey, as most boys and girls do when they come of age. And for another long year, you became stronger, your Pokemon growing unbelievably powerful, and you became a greater trainer than we could have ever hoped; a Pokemon Champion no less!
A year later, you were approached by my brother, and Collin Denier's sworn enemy, at a church in Hearthome City. He passed his song onto you, trusting you would keep it away from Collin.
But unfortunately, Collin had all ready made plans to make Lucifer tell him the song. And when he overheard you receive the information he so desperately wanted to hear, he threatened you, trying to get you to tell him the song. But you did the sensible thing; you ran, and hid. And in your selflessness, you buried your prized Pokemon in their Pokeballs in the ground, fearing more for their safety, then for yours.
When Lucifer told me what he'd witnessed, we saw what had been coming to us for a while now. Collin, who used to be an order member, betrayed us for his own personal reasons; after stealing the pipe from one of our members, he now searched the song that he needed to use the pipe.
Furious and uncontrollable, Collin tracked you to Jubilife City. But under the watch of Jonathan, he would not dare lay a hand on you. Shortly after that, on a cold 20th of December, a member of the order, and a well known Pokemon Breeder, called me to tell of a Riolu he'd bred in Solaceon Town.
He was disturbed, if not fascinated to find that not only did this Riolu have a red Aura like you, but that it's Aura was almost exactly like yours. You see, Aura is always checked in newborn humans and Pokemon, usually for identification purposes, but when he saw this, and recognized it to be the same as yours Meil, he arrived at headquarters right away, with who was soon to be Kyra in hand.
We knew we had to unite Kyra with her true master as soon as possible, but with Collin lurking, we were unable to complete our mission. Three long years later, we noticed that Collin had readily stopped stalking your house, and seemed to have given up completely after another month. We knew it was now or never.
We called upon our mission specialist to hand over the Riolu without physically giving it to you, in case Collin, or spies of another sort were lurking out of sight. We thought for a second that years of separation and solitude would make you bitter towards Pokemon.
But you took Kyra, gave her a name, and cared for her, knowing full well of the dangers that came with being your companion. And I'm sure our mission specialist told you about what happened after that.", he nodded towards Dorin, Alice, and Tony. "Well, we continued to watch you from a distance for your own safety.
We knew our mission specialist would take good care of you, but we could never be to careful. We knew Collin had teamed up with a few minor cults, though they were not much concern to us after we learned they had nothing to do with The Order of the New Moon.
Most of all though, we noticed your relationship with Kyra. We could not believe what we were seeing; a very rarely seen form of love and compassion between a human, and a Pokemon. You seemed more like lovers, than just a trainer and his Pokemon.
This worried us greatly; we knew that the closer you became, the worse the Aura-mass-separation would be. The Aura-mass-separation, is a side effect of the Aurabiosis that Meil possesses. It means that there is an invisible chain connecting both of you. And the more you both feel emotions towards each other, the more the chain tightens.
This means that you and Kyra cannot be far away from each other, or you will start to feel a terrible, physical, and emotion pain inside your bodies. Though the positive side to the effect of the Aurabiosis, is that as you both become emotionally close, Kyra's powers will become more incredible than any Pokemon ever to exist.
Though there is a drawback to this too, unfortunately. If Kyra's power over Aura goes over the limit, it could be mass chaos, and we'd like to avoid that also. There are just so many risks, and that's why we devised the order; to watch over you and Kyra.
And, I'm afraid, that's as much as I'm allowed to tell you. Any questions?" Meil stared at the man, his eyes wide and unblinking, his mouth slightly open. Kyra had a similar expression on her face also. "Just one question.", Meil said quietly, the mass of information he'd just received still processing in his mind. "What does that sign on the door mean? 'The Last Watermark.'"
The man threw a glance at the door. "That's a code devised by the order. Any door with, 'The Last Watermark', printed on it, is like a safe-house. It's a place where order members can group in safety. This just happens to be one of the safe-houses. And also my home." Meil looked out the window, watching drops of rain trickled down the panes.
"But there's no one out here. It's like the middle of nowhere.", he remarked. The man limped to the window, sighing deeply. "The safe-houses are usually set in unusual, or remote places, that only order members know about. I was just a guy living on the streets before I met you father. But after we met, he built me this home, and just to kill two birds with one stone, he made it another safe-house for the order."
"Where is this place anyway?", Meil asked. "Hoenn. Deep in the woods off Route 119. It's always raining here." He smiled suddenly. "Your father knew I loved the rain." "When can I meet my real father?", Meil asked, a strange excitement filling his insides. "You can meet all the order members now if you like. Hang on, i'll have to send them all the message."
And with that, he grabbed a handful of Pokeballs from under his bed. "All right, lets go you guys.", he said to whatever was in the Pokeballs. Opening the window with one hand, he suddenly tossed the handful of Pokeballs out the window.
A swarm of Swellow's suddenly burst out of the Pokeballs, each one flying off in different directions as if each one knew exactly where to go. "There they go. The members should be here in a few minutes. Those birds can really fly. Each one always knows exactly where to go."
Suddenly, there was a knock on the wooden door, and Leviathan stuck his head out of the window to see who had arrived. "Ah, Martin has arrived." Meil recognized the boy the instant he walked out of the pouring rain, into the cottage, his Scyther shaking the raindrops off itself. It was the boy from the tournament!
The one Coal had threatened! He was short like Dorin, though looked slightly older than him, but unlike Dorin, this boy's round face looked timid and nervous, as opposed to calm and collected. To Meil's surprise, he noticed that the Scyther the boy had, was actually female! Meil hadn't noticed during the tournament, but now that she was close up, he could see her femininity.
He had to admit, not that he could see her, he had to admit, as far as Scyther's go, she was almost pretty. Martin sat down on the rug in the middle of the room. The Scyther stood defensively over the boy, like she was his guardian.
"You may sit down too, Esemme.", Leviathan offered the Scyther. She nodded, "Of course, Nathan." Meil's head turned so fast, he felt his neck crack slightly. "What?!", he exclaimed. "No need to yell. Everyone calls me, Nathan. Easier to say than Leviathan.", Nathan grunted. Meil shook his head quickly. "No! I mean, that Scyther just talked!"
He pointed at Esemme, who looked bemused by this sudden outburst. "Scyther's can't talk!", Meil repeated to prove his point. Esemme smiled, sitting down behind Martin, and putting her arms over his shoulders, which was an impressive feat when half your arm is a sharp, deadly blade. "Any Pokemon can learn to talk. Some just take longer than others.
Certain Pokemon, like Psychic types, can learn human speech easily, but I had to learn completely on my own. Most Pokemon wouldn't bother to learn a completely new language, but I'v always wanted to talk to Martin. I thought that being able to talk back to him would make him happier.
So I did research on my own, and I actually taught myself to speak english. I still don't know a lot of words, but it's nice to be able to talk with humans." And with that, she rested her somewhat reptilian muzzle on Martin's head, and closed her eyes peacefully.
One by one, the order members began crowding the small cottage. Meil had remembered Nathan mentioning that there were 16 orders members originally. So counting out Lucifer and Coal, that left 14. And so, when the last 9 order members arrived; each one was introduced to Meil by Nathan, as if Meil was a celebrity.
Each member shook his hand, and greeted him in turn. Besides Nathan, Alice, Tony, Dorin, and Martin, there was Asmodeus and her Mawile; a tall, gorgeous, young woman wearing a long, red dress, who kissed Meil on the cheek, earning him a disapproving look from Kyra.
Beelzebub and his Munchlax; a plump, chubby man who wrung Meil's palm with a pudgy hand.
Mammon and her Seviper that was slung around her neck, who bowed to Meil, her long, black curtain of hair falling into her face.
Belphegor and her Slakoth that hung lazily from her shoulders; a dreamy looking girl, who looked like she might of walked in by accident. She did not even notice Meil, but sat down on Nathan's bed, still staring at the ceiling.
Meil jumped when he saw Jonathan, the man he'd thought was his divorced father, wink at him as he passed.
A Magmortar nodded to him silently. "That's Ira, he's the only order member who is a Pokemon.", Nathan explained. Meil watched Nathan look around the room, then walk over to Mammon suddenly, and Meil leaned in, trying to catch bits of their whispered conversation.
"Where is..."
"I don't know... Maybe in..."
"Late again..."
"Always out doing something..."
Then Nathan shuffled out of the cottage, and Meil wondered what had happened to the last three members that still weren't here. Then Nathan suddenly limped back inside, beside two people who were undoubtedly... "Meil, these people are your real mother and father, Kari and Ronald Narcia.", Nathan said, moving out of the way as Meil beamed at his parents for the first time in years.
They smiled down at him, and Meil felt Kyra's arm brush his as she crawled over to get a closer look. A smile spread across Meil's face.
"Hi, mom. Hi, dad. It's been a while."
:Authors Notes:
This chapter is longer! Woot! Sorry I took so damn long to update. I have a life too. >.>
And PLEASE note that some typos may be caused by formatting. (When the text is copy/pasted from the document to the text that appears on the webpage.)
(BTW, Esemme is pronounced: (Es-em-may))
I think of complicated names. XD
The sound of rain hissed in Meil's ears as he slowly felt himself slip into consciousness. He opened his eyes to nothing but a dark, earthy blur. He could hear a river splash and gurgle through the rain. It was still the dead of night by the lighting.
Meil touched his face with a muddy hand, and felt his glasses hanging from his left ear. He slipped them up his nose, and everything suddenly came into focus. He was sprawled on a river bank, his clothes completely soaked, his body caked in mud and leaves. He looked up and saw tall trees looming over him.
They dotted the edge of the river, running down the bank into the mist. The rain poured onto Meil's head as he sat up in the mud, pulling his legs from the frigid water. He looked up into the sky, and his mind was suddenly bombarded with images.
He saw Tony; saw him fall, so limply, so lifelessly. Tony was dead. The man who was almost like a brother, or even a father to Meil, was gone. He'd only known him for a few days, yet he felt as though he'd known Tony his entire life. He closed his eyes, letting the raindrops trickle down his face, but not tears. He hadn't cried since he was very young.
Not once. He thought it might of been because he was cynical in a way. But not being able to cry, he learned, was not as great as it sounded. Pain, an actual, physical pain, welled up in his chest, and he wanted to cry. He wanted to cry his heart out, but he could not.
The tears were trapped inside him, and no matter how hard he tried, no tears came. Not a single sob escaped his lips. It was horrible; as if his insides were tearing themselves apart. Holding it in, without being able to let it out; it was unbearable.
His feelings of mourning were canceled out as he saw a sudden blue and yellow blur approaching in the mist, walking along the bank of the river. He knew it was Kyra; he recognized her long stride. She saw him, sitting there in mud, his clothes weighing him down as they filled with water. "Meil, is that you?", she asked quietly, squinting through the rain.
"Yah, it's me.", he smiled. She ran to him, ignoring the mud as she fell into his awaiting arms. It was so good to see her, to feel her warm body against him. "Where is everyone?", Meil asked. "I don't know," Kyra looked worried.
"I woke up on the river bank like you did. We must have fallen in, and then swept downstream. I went walking down the bank looking for you; calling your name. And when I didn't see you for half an hour, I thought maybe...", she trailed off, unable to utter the last words of her sentence. After a moment of silence, she said, "Tony, he's..."
"I know.", Meil said, running the fur on the back of her head through his fingers as she continued to embrace him. "Oh, god..." Kyra broke down, her sobs shaking her entire body. "I don't want to do this anymore!", she wailed.
"I'm sick of people dying! I just want it to end!" Meil rubbed her back as she cried into his shoulder heavily. "I know, Kyra. I envy you for being able to let out your sorrow though."
She looked at him, her face stained with tears and drops of rain. "What do you mean? Are you saying you can't cry?" Meil nodded his head sadly. "Yes, I haven't been able since I was little. It's like I ran out of tears to shed."
"Does it hurt?"
"A lot."
"I'm so sorry..."
"It's okay. It'll pass eventually.", Meil smiled bitterly. Kyra wiped her eyes, sniveling a little as she pulled herself to her feet, pulling Meil along with her.
"I hope this helps.", she whispered, holding the back of his soaking poncho as her lips met his. For a while, they kissed, the rain trickling down their skin, which was cool and refreshing.
Meil found it hard to separate from Kyra. It was as if Kyra was a sanctuary, in which he was safe; a wonderful place; a place he could spend the rest of his life in. Kyra tasted the inside of his mouth with her tongue, cradling the back of his head in one paw, the other supporting his back.
As they broke apart, Meil felt Kyra's tongue pass over his own. She let out a little breath as they both leaned back, and Meil noticed the breath came out as a puff of just visible vapor. He hadn't realized how cold it was out here until just now.
He made a mental note: Kissing is something he should do way more often. He felt all the grief that had been building inside him ebb away as Kyra mere presence soothed him. "Where do think we are?", Meil asked her after a minute of simply standing in the rain, coupled with occasional kissing and squeezing. "I don't know. But we're going to get sick if we hang around here to long. This rain is freezing."
"Yah, we should find some kind of shelter." As Meil walked through the trees, holding onto Kyra's paw tightly, he began thinking. If The Seekers were gone, was he free? Would no one care that he still knew the song? And what about Dorin, Alice, and Tony...? And Coal; Meil had watched him avenge his brother.
Did that mean he was on the orders side now? Was there even an order anymore? So many questions went unanswered as he and Kyra trekked up the slippery bank, hand in paw.
When the top of the hill was reached, they spotted a small stone cottage in the distance, nestled in a clearing, hidden between the trees that were shrouded in the mist. Smoke was billowing from the chimney, and a warm flickering light came from the window. Meil and Kyra walked silently up to the door, their feet shuffling in the wet leaves.
There was a bronze plate on the wooden door with the words, "The Last Watermark", engraved on it. Meil stretched a reckless hand to the rusted door knocker, which was shaped like a Bronzong. He knocked three times, each knock echoing around the trees.
The door was suddenly thrown open, and a woman, wrapped in an enormous blanket, her long, wet, red hair plastered against her grinning face, beaming at both of them from the doorway. "Sup' guys.", Alice greeted.
Alice led them into a small, circular room lit by a few lanterns, and a fire flickering in a corner fireplace. "Shut the door, you're letting in the cold air!", said a stern voice to their left. Meil turned and saw a man, in about his 40's, leaning over a desk, scribbling on sheet of paper with a long golden quill. The man turned in his chair to look at the new arrivals.
His silver hair was tied back in a ponytail like Meil's. His face was scarred, with a bit of his left ear lobe missing. He scowled over at them. "Well, take your seats by the fire. It's not like I don't have enough company."
The man seemed somewhat bad tempered for an unknown reason. Meil looked over and spotted said company. Dorin was kneeling over who was undoubtedly Tony, who was breathing rather shallowly, but breathing none the less! Meil almost lost his balance running towards Tony.
"He's all right!?", Meil shouted. "Yes, yes. No need to yell. He was lucky those bullets missed any of his vitals. He will recover readily.", the man said grumpily. Tony had a wet washcloth on his forehead, and opened his eyes a sliver at the sound of Meil's voice. "Meil...? Oh, it is you. I guess I'm not dreaming after all. What's up?"
"Tony,", Meil said, starting to laugh as a wave of relief crashed over him. "we thought you were dead!" Tony raised his eyebrows, the way he always did when he heard surprising news. "Dead? Hell, I had no idea. Man, I feel wiped out though..." He let out a long sigh.
"Hey, could someone grab me a drink? I'm real thirsty.", he said, reaching out a hand, which Alice placed a glass of water in, helping him sit up as he drank. The man suddenly turned on all of them in his seat. "So, may I ask all your names before you get to comfortable? First and last if you please."
They all looked at him. "Oh, sorry. I'm Allison Renard.", Alice introduced.
"Anthony Denier.", Tony said weakly.
"Dorion Eveners.", Dorin muttered.
"Just, Kyra.", Kyra said with a small laugh.
"And me, Meil. Meil Casanov." The man's eyes went straight to Meil as soon as he spoke. "You're last name is Casanov?", he asked, squinting suspiciosly at Meil. "Yah, why?", Meil asked. The man got up from the chair, and Meil only then noticed the cast on his right foot.
The man grabbed the crutches leaning on the desk, and pushed himself to his feet. "I don't suppose your fathers name is, Jonathan Casanov, is it?" Meil stared into the mans face, looking stunned. "How do you know my fathers name?"
"So you must be his son.", the man said, ignoring Meil's previous question. "Oh, by the way, did you know your mother is dead?", he said, almost casually. Meil felt his blood run cold. "Dead...?"
"Yup, killed by a bullet looks like. About a week ago. Your sister left to stay at one of her families relatives after they couldn't find her father."
"W-Who killed her?"
"Collin Denier, or 'Coal' as he likes to be called. Your brother, right Anthony?" Tony nodded grimly.
"Yah, well. You don't seemed to choked up about it, as much as surprised."
Meil shrugged slightly. "My mother was never a very pleasant person. I don't think she ever loved me, only my sister, Sarah. I know, I heard her say one time that I was, 'a mistake'."
"That's because you were a mistake, Meil. Your mother, Marcia Casanov has always wished for nothing more than a daughter. But when you showed up that night-" Meil cut him off suddenly. "What do you mean, 'showed up'? You make it sound like they found me on their doorstep or something."
"That is probably because, they did. Jonathan and Marcia Casanov aren't your real parents, no." Meil stared at the man as if he'd just asked Meil to chop off his own limbs. "Not my real parents?! What the hell are you talking about?! Of course they are!"
"I am afraid they're not. Now, let me continue. I am about to tell you where you came from, and why you are here today. And why you could be the most important, and powerful man ever to walk this world of ours. I know all this, because I am a personal friend of your real father. My name is Leviathan Doj.
Brother of Lucifer Doj, the same man that passed the song onto you before he also fell to Anthony's angry and desperate brother Collin, after refusing to reveal certain information. First, let me start with who I am, and the organization I'm part of. The Order of the Full Moon as you may call it. Sixteen members, including I, and these three.", he gestured towards Dorin, Tony, and Alice.
"Our true purpose is to rid this world of another organization that we brought down many years ago, that we suspect is gaining power again; The Order of the New Moon. And to watch over our main priority, you and Kyra. Because that organizations true purpose is to have you, and Kyra. Now, let me change the subject for a moment to read you something I think you will find interesting."
Taking a small, rusty key from a pocket on his long raincoat, he opened a drawer in the desk that had a lock on it labeled, "Confidential." From the drawer he drew a thick, black book titled, "The Myths and Legends of Sinnoh: The Prophecies."
"This is the one. Now, lets see. Ah, here we are!" He removed a bookmark from a page in the middle of the book. "This story is known as. 'The Aura Caller'."
He cleared his throat three times, then began to read, "'Of the many truths to be told by the prophets, and the many lies to be told by fools, none is more well known than the Aura Caller. A boy, born on a night of autumns last breath, will have not power, nor weapons.
But a gift. A gift of such greatness, that those full of envy and greed, would venture far and wide to steal the boy's gift. This gift is known as Aurabiosis; the power to tame a chosen of Aura. A Lucario, born on the same date, a dozen years from the boys birth, would be granted this power.
Three gifts for it to control. First is the gift of Power; the ability to overpower any opponent that stands in it's way. Second is Control; the ability to manipulate minds and control wills. And the third; Resurrection; the ability to give one life, only to sacrifice their own. The boy, and the Lucario, would be united one day. The boy, the tamer. The Lucario; the beast.'"
He closed the book, placing it back in it's drawer with a snap. "So, you're saying I'm this boy from the story? How do you know?"
"We knew because of your Aura. Aura is like DNA. It's different for everyone. But more to the point, the story basically tells of a boy born just before winter, who would be the only one able to tame a special Lucario born on the same day, twelve years later. That Lucario, we suspect, is Kyra here."
Kyra jumped. "I'm the Lucario from the story?! But- That can't be! It's just a myth! How are so certain it's true?" Leviathan shook his head.
"I am afraid there is no doubt that you and Meil are the characters from this story. Not only were both of you born on the same day, just before winter, but Kyra was born 12 years after you Meil, and to complete the description, you both posses a very strange Aura.
Unlike normal Aura, which is usually blue. Yours is red, which indicates an unusual, or unknown form of Aura. Out of every boy and Lucario born on those days, you were the only ones with this aura. Not to mention, you are both from Sinnoh, where the prophecy first originated.
So, now that you know. I suppose I should tell you why you were separated from your original parents now. Well, that day, December 20th, a day before winter, you were born. Your parents were overjoyed to see that you were more perfect and healthy than they ever could have wished. A few months past, and one night, a man named Albatross Uric, asked to see you.
Suspicious, they refused, telling the man they would call the police on them if he did not leave immediately. The next day, your father called upon me, and explained what had happened. I was most troubled when I heard, but it also made me wonder why he wanted to see you in the first place. I called upon a few of my good friends, who would soon join me in creating the order. We confirmed that you were different, Meil.
You were unusual; your Aura was unbelievably complex. But we didn't jump to conclusions right away. It could have been a just a coincidence. But the next month, the same man tried to take you away in the middle of the night.
Your parents stopped him yet again, but the police got there to late to arrest him. We all agreed; you were in far to much danger with this strange man lurking around every corner. We sent you to a friend of your fathers house in Jubilife. Leaving you with one of your relatives would have been to predicable.
Jonathan gladly took you in, though his wife Marcia was not as overjoyed, and neither was their daughter. But they took you anyway, for your own safety. By the time you were ten, you were allowed to go off on your Pokemon journey, as most boys and girls do when they come of age. And for another long year, you became stronger, your Pokemon growing unbelievably powerful, and you became a greater trainer than we could have ever hoped; a Pokemon Champion no less!
A year later, you were approached by my brother, and Collin Denier's sworn enemy, at a church in Hearthome City. He passed his song onto you, trusting you would keep it away from Collin.
But unfortunately, Collin had all ready made plans to make Lucifer tell him the song. And when he overheard you receive the information he so desperately wanted to hear, he threatened you, trying to get you to tell him the song. But you did the sensible thing; you ran, and hid. And in your selflessness, you buried your prized Pokemon in their Pokeballs in the ground, fearing more for their safety, then for yours.
When Lucifer told me what he'd witnessed, we saw what had been coming to us for a while now. Collin, who used to be an order member, betrayed us for his own personal reasons; after stealing the pipe from one of our members, he now searched the song that he needed to use the pipe.
Furious and uncontrollable, Collin tracked you to Jubilife City. But under the watch of Jonathan, he would not dare lay a hand on you. Shortly after that, on a cold 20th of December, a member of the order, and a well known Pokemon Breeder, called me to tell of a Riolu he'd bred in Solaceon Town.
He was disturbed, if not fascinated to find that not only did this Riolu have a red Aura like you, but that it's Aura was almost exactly like yours. You see, Aura is always checked in newborn humans and Pokemon, usually for identification purposes, but when he saw this, and recognized it to be the same as yours Meil, he arrived at headquarters right away, with who was soon to be Kyra in hand.
We knew we had to unite Kyra with her true master as soon as possible, but with Collin lurking, we were unable to complete our mission. Three long years later, we noticed that Collin had readily stopped stalking your house, and seemed to have given up completely after another month. We knew it was now or never.
We called upon our mission specialist to hand over the Riolu without physically giving it to you, in case Collin, or spies of another sort were lurking out of sight. We thought for a second that years of separation and solitude would make you bitter towards Pokemon.
But you took Kyra, gave her a name, and cared for her, knowing full well of the dangers that came with being your companion. And I'm sure our mission specialist told you about what happened after that.", he nodded towards Dorin, Alice, and Tony. "Well, we continued to watch you from a distance for your own safety.
We knew our mission specialist would take good care of you, but we could never be to careful. We knew Collin had teamed up with a few minor cults, though they were not much concern to us after we learned they had nothing to do with The Order of the New Moon.
Most of all though, we noticed your relationship with Kyra. We could not believe what we were seeing; a very rarely seen form of love and compassion between a human, and a Pokemon. You seemed more like lovers, than just a trainer and his Pokemon.
This worried us greatly; we knew that the closer you became, the worse the Aura-mass-separation would be. The Aura-mass-separation, is a side effect of the Aurabiosis that Meil possesses. It means that there is an invisible chain connecting both of you. And the more you both feel emotions towards each other, the more the chain tightens.
This means that you and Kyra cannot be far away from each other, or you will start to feel a terrible, physical, and emotion pain inside your bodies. Though the positive side to the effect of the Aurabiosis, is that as you both become emotionally close, Kyra's powers will become more incredible than any Pokemon ever to exist.
Though there is a drawback to this too, unfortunately. If Kyra's power over Aura goes over the limit, it could be mass chaos, and we'd like to avoid that also. There are just so many risks, and that's why we devised the order; to watch over you and Kyra.
And, I'm afraid, that's as much as I'm allowed to tell you. Any questions?" Meil stared at the man, his eyes wide and unblinking, his mouth slightly open. Kyra had a similar expression on her face also. "Just one question.", Meil said quietly, the mass of information he'd just received still processing in his mind. "What does that sign on the door mean? 'The Last Watermark.'"
The man threw a glance at the door. "That's a code devised by the order. Any door with, 'The Last Watermark', printed on it, is like a safe-house. It's a place where order members can group in safety. This just happens to be one of the safe-houses. And also my home." Meil looked out the window, watching drops of rain trickled down the panes.
"But there's no one out here. It's like the middle of nowhere.", he remarked. The man limped to the window, sighing deeply. "The safe-houses are usually set in unusual, or remote places, that only order members know about. I was just a guy living on the streets before I met you father. But after we met, he built me this home, and just to kill two birds with one stone, he made it another safe-house for the order."
"Where is this place anyway?", Meil asked. "Hoenn. Deep in the woods off Route 119. It's always raining here." He smiled suddenly. "Your father knew I loved the rain." "When can I meet my real father?", Meil asked, a strange excitement filling his insides. "You can meet all the order members now if you like. Hang on, i'll have to send them all the message."
And with that, he grabbed a handful of Pokeballs from under his bed. "All right, lets go you guys.", he said to whatever was in the Pokeballs. Opening the window with one hand, he suddenly tossed the handful of Pokeballs out the window.
A swarm of Swellow's suddenly burst out of the Pokeballs, each one flying off in different directions as if each one knew exactly where to go. "There they go. The members should be here in a few minutes. Those birds can really fly. Each one always knows exactly where to go."
Suddenly, there was a knock on the wooden door, and Leviathan stuck his head out of the window to see who had arrived. "Ah, Martin has arrived." Meil recognized the boy the instant he walked out of the pouring rain, into the cottage, his Scyther shaking the raindrops off itself. It was the boy from the tournament!
The one Coal had threatened! He was short like Dorin, though looked slightly older than him, but unlike Dorin, this boy's round face looked timid and nervous, as opposed to calm and collected. To Meil's surprise, he noticed that the Scyther the boy had, was actually female! Meil hadn't noticed during the tournament, but now that she was close up, he could see her femininity.
He had to admit, not that he could see her, he had to admit, as far as Scyther's go, she was almost pretty. Martin sat down on the rug in the middle of the room. The Scyther stood defensively over the boy, like she was his guardian.
"You may sit down too, Esemme.", Leviathan offered the Scyther. She nodded, "Of course, Nathan." Meil's head turned so fast, he felt his neck crack slightly. "What?!", he exclaimed. "No need to yell. Everyone calls me, Nathan. Easier to say than Leviathan.", Nathan grunted. Meil shook his head quickly. "No! I mean, that Scyther just talked!"
He pointed at Esemme, who looked bemused by this sudden outburst. "Scyther's can't talk!", Meil repeated to prove his point. Esemme smiled, sitting down behind Martin, and putting her arms over his shoulders, which was an impressive feat when half your arm is a sharp, deadly blade. "Any Pokemon can learn to talk. Some just take longer than others.
Certain Pokemon, like Psychic types, can learn human speech easily, but I had to learn completely on my own. Most Pokemon wouldn't bother to learn a completely new language, but I'v always wanted to talk to Martin. I thought that being able to talk back to him would make him happier.
So I did research on my own, and I actually taught myself to speak english. I still don't know a lot of words, but it's nice to be able to talk with humans." And with that, she rested her somewhat reptilian muzzle on Martin's head, and closed her eyes peacefully.
One by one, the order members began crowding the small cottage. Meil had remembered Nathan mentioning that there were 16 orders members originally. So counting out Lucifer and Coal, that left 14. And so, when the last 9 order members arrived; each one was introduced to Meil by Nathan, as if Meil was a celebrity.
Each member shook his hand, and greeted him in turn. Besides Nathan, Alice, Tony, Dorin, and Martin, there was Asmodeus and her Mawile; a tall, gorgeous, young woman wearing a long, red dress, who kissed Meil on the cheek, earning him a disapproving look from Kyra.
Beelzebub and his Munchlax; a plump, chubby man who wrung Meil's palm with a pudgy hand.
Mammon and her Seviper that was slung around her neck, who bowed to Meil, her long, black curtain of hair falling into her face.
Belphegor and her Slakoth that hung lazily from her shoulders; a dreamy looking girl, who looked like she might of walked in by accident. She did not even notice Meil, but sat down on Nathan's bed, still staring at the ceiling.
Meil jumped when he saw Jonathan, the man he'd thought was his divorced father, wink at him as he passed.
A Magmortar nodded to him silently. "That's Ira, he's the only order member who is a Pokemon.", Nathan explained. Meil watched Nathan look around the room, then walk over to Mammon suddenly, and Meil leaned in, trying to catch bits of their whispered conversation.
"Where is..."
"I don't know... Maybe in..."
"Late again..."
"Always out doing something..."
Then Nathan shuffled out of the cottage, and Meil wondered what had happened to the last three members that still weren't here. Then Nathan suddenly limped back inside, beside two people who were undoubtedly... "Meil, these people are your real mother and father, Kari and Ronald Narcia.", Nathan said, moving out of the way as Meil beamed at his parents for the first time in years.
They smiled down at him, and Meil felt Kyra's arm brush his as she crawled over to get a closer look. A smile spread across Meil's face.
"Hi, mom. Hi, dad. It's been a while."
:Authors Notes:
This chapter is longer! Woot! Sorry I took so damn long to update. I have a life too. >.>
And PLEASE note that some typos may be caused by formatting. (When the text is copy/pasted from the document to the text that appears on the webpage.)
(BTW, Esemme is pronounced: (Es-em-may))
I think of complicated names. XD