Rise of the Black Warrior
The setting sun framed a tall mountain, surrounded by a large forest. On a large outcropping of the keep made of earth, was a lone riolu. The young pup was panting as his paws waved, legs moving in sync with his arms, his whole body putting on a graceful dance...a dance that would render many on the ground, in pain. He was practicing his combat moves, and he was very adept at it, proof in how quick and precise his movements were.
As he kept going, his ears suddenly perked. He turned and started running off, heeding his mother's call. The little riolu was very quick on his feet, and needed little effort for jumping from spot to spot when the need rose. His speed didn't deteriorate at all during his trip back home, until he was actually nearing it. With a skid, he came to a stop in front of the cave he and his mother called home. The lucario smiled at him, "Did you enjoy your training Albel?"
He smiled, "Yes mom." He hugged her, as they went inside. The lucario had gathered some food, and the two happily ate up. It was only Albel and his mother called this home, the pup had never known his father. From what his mother told him, Albel had learned that his father had died before he was born, protecting his unborn son and love. Albel's mother often told him of the brave acts his father had committed. His father had apparently been a part of an old way of war thing...dojo he believed is what his mother had called it, a place that taught people and pokemon the ways of old war and trained them to use all sorts of close combat weapons. His mother had been a part of the same dojo.
Apparently the two had been highly skilled and eventually left when their training was complete. Leaving together, the two had decided to stay with each other during their travels; eventually Albel was due into their lives. Then one day, a ryperior had attacked them, and the ensuing fight cost both the attacker and Albel's father's life.
The pup idolized his father all the same though...and wanted to be as strong as him...even stronger. That was why he spent all of his time training, besides; it wasn't like there was anyone around for him to do anything else with. He didn't care though, he was happy being on his own for most of the day. He blinked when he heard his mother chuckle, "What?"
She smiled, "Nothing...you just remind me a lot of your father...he loved training from sun up to sun down too." She rubbed his head, beaming down at him.
Albel smiled, "Oh. Heh he." He rubbed his head, "Do I look like him too?"
She shook her head, "No...you got your mother's good looks." She giggled lightly at that.
He chuckled, "I guess I'm grateful for that." He was smiling big as he ate a berry.
She smirked, "You should be, I'm a very good looking lucario. And while your father wasn't bad looking...you'd be grateful that you didn't inherit his face." She chuckled some, roughing up his head fur. The riolu laughed, trying to hold her paw off. "Albel...I think I'll help you do some training tomorrow...there's something I want to teach you."
Albel looked up to her, than nodded, "Alright mom." He smiled, hugging her. The mother lucario smiled down at him, holding her son tight. The two of them finished eating in short order, then went to catch some sleep as the moon slowly rose, shedding its pale light into the cave. As the mother and son slept, the moonlight slowly crept from one cave wall, over to the opposite side...before its light was over taken by the first rays of the sun. And as the sun reached higher into the sky, it illuminated the pair in the forest.
His mother was looking around for something, and Albel patiently waited. Then, by natural reflex, he grabbed something that was thrown to him. It was a big stick. "What's this for?"
She held up a stick of her own, about the same size and thickness. "Training...I'm going to teach you how to use a sword."
"A sword? Really!?" he smiled at her, his smile growing when she nodded.
"First...this is how you hold it." She showed him the proper way to grip a blade, "This is for two hands...and this." She demonstrated again, this time with one paw, "Is one handed." Albel mimicked her exactly. She nodded, "Good. Now two hands is better if you want more power, though you might need to carry something in your other paw, so you should always make sure you're used to one handed fighting."
Albel nodded, "I get it." He memorized the feel of the grip he had, than gave another nod.
She smiled, "Good...now...here are the basic slashes." She proceeded again to demonstrate, with Albel following her motions exactly. She let him continue to practice and memorize the slashes, nodding in approvement, "Good job Albel...you're learning fast."
He smiled, "It's in my blood." He chuckled, giving a spin flip to his "blade".
She nodded, "I guess it is...now...come on...we're going to have a little practice bout." She held her "blade" ready. Albel copied her pose, and waited for the match to start. When it did, he was quickly slapped on the arm. "Ouch!" he blinked, "Wow...that was fast..."
She nodded, "Sword fights generally are." She took a few steps back and held her blade ready, "Again...ready!" Albel took his stance, and when the bout started, he was able to block her first two strikes, but soon felt a whap to his stomach. "Better...again." Albel nodded, once again taking stance.
And for the rest of the day, the two continued to spar with one another, Albel losing every match and leaving the area with a few bruises, but smiling all the same from the experience. They had taken a break during the training to eat, so when they got home with the rising moon behind them, they simply went to sleep. Albel blushed lightly, "Umm...Mom?"
"Yes?" She replied.
"Can you uhh...sing me my lullaby?" he hid his face, it felt so embarrassing to actually ask her to sing it, but he loved the tune.
She smiled petting his head, holding him tight to her body. "Okay." She first started humming the melody, before the words flowed from her mouth.
"Hear this melody,
Sweet as bee's honey.
Let its words
Wrap you in harmony.
Open your heart
To the boundless tides
Of loves surprise
Sing this melody of love."
She gently sang to her son, stroking his head as she hummed lightly, before going into the second part of it.
"Close your eyes tonight,
And you'll see the light.
Cast by the moon,
That makes all things right.
Open your heart
To the boundless tides
Of loves surprise
Sing this melody of love."
She couldn't help but smile, feeling the riolu sleep in her arms. He always fell asleep after hearing his lullaby, and she was happy to sing it to him. She gently hummed it, petting his head as she slowly drifted off to join her son in sleep.
*****
Albel smiled, greeting to the new day. The difference between every other morning and now...was that he was a lucario. Yesterday he had finally bested his mother, after several weeks of training. The joy of knowing he had beaten his own trainer had been enough to make him evolve, and he really enjoyed his new body.
"Morning Albel."
He turned, "Morning mom." He turned back, stretching out as he looked over the forest.
"Enjoying being a lucario I take it?" she giggled, ruffling his head fur, "Can't say I blame you...I was pretty happy to evolve too." Albel chuckled, smiling big as he looking out over the forest. "Albel...I have something for you."
The lucario turned to face his mother again, what he saw making his jaw drop slightly. His mother was holding a sword, to be exact a katana, in its sheath. She held it out to him, smiling a proud and sweet smile at him. "M...mom?" Surprised would have been an understatement.
"This was your father's...I know he'd have wanted you to have it...you deserve it too Albel." She smiled happily, seeing him lift the sheathed weapon. Albel slowly drew the sword out of its home, and examined it in the sun light. "Your father called it Masamune." She chuckled, "It's a real good blade. You're father loved it."
Albel kept examining the blade, smiling, "It's...beautiful." He held it in every direction, stunned.
She giggled, "It is." She gently took it from him, "Come on...I'll show you how to care for it." She took him into the cave and showed him the kit that his father used to keep his blade in tip top condition. She covered what would cause the blade to rust, how to properly oil it to prevent such an action. She went over several ways to keep the blade sharp and ready to battle. She went on to tell him the limits of the blade, what it couldn't cut and what could potentially break it.
Albel absorbed every word, keeping it to his mind verbatim. When she finally finished, she gave him a hug, congratulating him on his success in both evolving and his level of swordsmanship. But he could also tell there was something else in the hug...sadness. And he could feel it himself, the same sadness...he was growing up...and soon, he'd be leaving. He held his mother tight in his arms, smiling. "I guess...I should be leaving someday...so I can hone my skills even sharper."
She nodded, "I guess so..." she giggled, to hide her tearing eyes. "That's really all you have left to do if you want to get better." She giggled more, to hide even more tears. "But best not to rush it...at least hang around for a few more days." Albel nodded, smiling with eyes closed, hiding his own tears. It would only be a brief delay, but neither of them minded all that much.
*****
Albel smiled, holding his mother tight, his katana tied to his side. His mother held him, sniffling lightly, "I'm going to miss you." She chuckled; wiping her eyes as she reluctantly pulled herself back. The few days he had given her had been used up, but she was happy to have that much more time with him. Albel was nice enough to spend nearly every waking moment by her side, helping her with anything she needed to do.
Albel wiped his own eyes, nodding, "I'm going to miss you too mom." He did manage a smile on the same.
She hugged him once more, than sighed, "Be careful out there Albel...the world has many dangers."
He nodded, "I will mom...I love you."
She kissed the top of his head, "I love you too Albel...and I know you'll be a great warrior." She sighed, wiping her eyes again. "Bye."
He nodded; "Bye..." he turned and leapt off, turning mid-jump to wave at her. Seeing her wave back, he turned forward, and dashed off. It was time to start off his life...as a warrior...the greatest warrior in the entire world. That was going to be his goal, and he would achieve it.
*****One Year Later*****
Albel made a quick spin, and slammed the butt end of his sword into the head of an attacking slaking. The lazy pokemon fell to the ground out cold, as a monferno charged the lucario. With another deft turn, and a white flash, the ape fell to the ground, blood spilling from his mortal wound. Albel flicked the blood of his blade and rushed into the throng of other ape pokemon, his blade ready.
His skills had improved beyond measure in the year he had left his home, and as his skills improved so too did his need to test his skills. But it was no longer just about testing his abilities, he was also having fun. Fighting was just so entertaining, the rush in his blood as he met several opponents, his blade cascading in arcs that tore into flesh unfortunate enough to get in the way. Battle was in his blood, he was meant for this path, there was no doubt about it.
He laughed, easily dodging every attack launched at him by the monkeys, and he wasted no time in delivering retribution. One by one they fell, until none were left standing. Albel sheathed his blade, chuckling as he took his leave of them. "That was way too easy." He walked along the path he had been on originally as the sun set behind him.
When the bright rays became red, and then faded altogether, he leaned against a tree. "Not a bad day...monkeys aplenty to beat down." He smiled, yawning. Looking up into the sky, he started to hum his mother's lullaby, drifting slowly into sleep.
The next day saw him to do even more walking, as he looked for more opponents to hone his skill against. His travels eventually brought him to a cliff side, overlooking a small valley. As he deftly went along the edge, he admired the scenery, stretching in preparation for his next fight. But as he walked he heard a scream from down below. His gaze zeroed in on the sound's source, which was a family of furrets and sentrets. They had been surrounded by a nidoking and several nidorino, all of them were cackling. One furret was in front of the others...most likely the father and only male in the family.
Albel didn't need to guess what the nido goal was, he scoffed. "Pathetic worms." A nidorino charged toward the furret. As the poison mon neared, the furret male could barely make himself move.
"ARRRRGGGHH!!!!" The nidorino was sent flying back, a leg missing. Albel stood up, his katana dripping with the blood of the foe. The other poison types stared at the lucario, gulping. "Who are you!?" The nidoking demanded.
Albel scoffed, "Normally I don't waste my time with scum like you..." he held up his blade. The nidorinos backed away a step, gulping. Albel smirked, and charged into them white flashes signifying every slash he made...and every flash was soon followed by a spray of red. As bodies went flying, the furrets watched in awe.
Albel was soon one on one with the nidoking. The so called "king" glared, and charged him, "I'm going to tear you apart!"
Albel scoffed, not impressed in the least. "Die." He held up his paw, an aura sphere blasting his face. The nidoking laughed, "You think that was going to stop..." he had lost sight of the lucario. "me?" he looked around, before giving an urk. The nido's face hit the dirt...his body thudding on the ground several seconds later. With the nidos dead, the furrets smiled, the father going up, "Thank you."
Albel shrugged, "It was nothing..." he walked to the cliff side, and leapt up to the cliff to resume his walk. The father smiled, "That's a real hero for you." He chuckled, "Comes out of nowhere to save the day...than leaves without really needing thanks." The others smiled; the youngest in the family waving.
After Albel had got to the other side of the cliff side, he turned the moment he felt something near. "That was an impressive display." Albel looked up to the branch of a tree. Upon that branch was a human, a large one, dressed from neck to foot in black. He was blond, with highlights of darker blond, and his hair was short. He easily carried a lance like sword that was at least twice his size with one hand.
Albel glared, "Who are you?"
The man smiled, "I am Kage. And I'm the leader of a little group called the Brotherhood of Shadow." He grinned, "And I think you'd do quite well in our little army."
Albel kept his gaze on Kage, "Why would I join you?"
"I can tell you like fighting...if you join us...you can fight to your heart's content." Kage smirked, "You'll face all sorts of enemies...all sorts of opponents who you'll be able to fell."
Albel thought about it, "Large numbers of enemies?" Kage nodded, "And I'd get to fight them all if I join?" again, Kage nodded. Albel put his chin on his paw, thinking hard about it...it was a very promising opportunity to be sure. The rush of battle...and he'd be able to indulge in the thrill till he grew tired and had to sleep...just to do it all again the next morning. "What is your little Brotherhood trying to do?"
"The short of it is this...people think light is good...but light just brings pain." He smiled, "Light brings war...light brings drought...light is the real cause of suffering...so we are going to extinguish the light...and make a lovely era of darkness."
Albel didn't real agree with that, but shrugged, "Alright than...I'll help you. My name is Albel."
Kage smiled, "Albel...yes...Albel...the Black Warrior." He chuckled, "Leader...of my newly assembled Black Brigade."
Albel smiled, "Black Brigade huh? I like the sound of that." He chuckled, "What's my first target?"
*****
Albel laughed, as he sliced the head off of a lopunny, quickly impaling the chest of a lucario who was coming up behind him. Albel pulled his blade free, and leapt into the next batch of opponents. A roar came from his soldiers who followed him into the fight, cutting down the rebellious pokemon who refused to submit to the Brotherhood.
Albel had been with the Brotherhood for months, and had earned his position as leader of the Black Brigade. He had led them to numerous victories, and was the standard for a warrior to be in the Brotherhood. He did have some who didn't like him, Nadox the leader of the Dragon Brigade chief among them. But Albel didn't care, he got to fight, he got to improve. That's all he wanted. He did briefly wonder what his mother would think...but then dismissed it. He had to live life the way he wanted...not how anyone else wanted him to live.
He laughed again, leaping onto the back of an ursaring and stabbing it through the back of the neck. He leapt off, and used a metal claw to tear off a chunk of face from a breloom. His sword than made an arc, cleaving into the spine of a primeape. He then pushed it deep into the chest of a rhydon, yanking out to let its blood pour from the wound.
Albel laughed, "Come on! I'm just getting started!" he laughed on, then let out a snarl of pain. A charizard had managed to chomp onto his free paw. Before Albel could do anything though, the fire type unleashed a torrent of flame onto the paw. Albel howled out from it, glaring at the dragon. "You..." he slammed his blade into the mon's neck, "die!" he pushed up, then came back down, severing the head. The charizard's grip was lost, and the head flopped to the ground. The damage was done though...Albel's paw was unrecognizable. The lucario ignored the pain though, and went deeper into the fray.
*****
Albel sat atop his fortress's rampart, looking out over the area. He lifted his left paw...which was now a metal gauntlet like claw. He had lost the paw after that fateful fight with the charizard...but he didn't care...he was content with his new paw. It enhanced any and all attacks charged in it, meaning he had a devastating aura sphere and metal claw. He chuckled, letting his paw drop.
A soldier walked up, bowing before he spoke. "Master Albel...the medic and technicians wish to know how you're paw is doing."
"Tell them it's fine." The soldier nodded, and took his leave quickly. Albel looked up at the moon, sighing happily, "I'm the greatest...." He chuckled, having a wide grin. "There isn't a soul who can match my strength...my skill." He gripped his sword, "But I can't grow content in this position...I can't let up...I'll stay the strongest until my days are through." He chuckled to himself some more.
Then he sighed, staring at the moon. Though he didn't want to admit it...he did miss her. He shook his head, trying to dispel the feeling...since it wouldn't do anything. But it was hard...she was the one who taught him everything he knew at the start. He finally gave up on ignoring the feeling, and decided to do something else to make it abate. He began to sing the lullaby.
"Hear this melody,
Sweet as bee's honey.
Let its words
Wrap you in harmony.
Open your heart
To the boundless tides
Of loves surprise
Sing this melody of love."
He sighed happily, smiling at the moon, his eyes starting to grow heavy. But he kept singing,
"Close your eyes tonight,
And you'll see the light.
Cast by the moon,
That makes all things right.
Open your heart
To the boundless tides
Of loves surprise
Sing this melody of love."
The lucario yawned, deftly leaping into his room from the window. He got into the bed and quickly fell asleep.
Elsewhere, a female lucario sang the same lullaby, smiling at the moon. She didn't know where he was...she didn't know what he was doing...but she could feel that he was alive...and happy. That's all the mother needed to know.
As he kept going, his ears suddenly perked. He turned and started running off, heeding his mother's call. The little riolu was very quick on his feet, and needed little effort for jumping from spot to spot when the need rose. His speed didn't deteriorate at all during his trip back home, until he was actually nearing it. With a skid, he came to a stop in front of the cave he and his mother called home. The lucario smiled at him, "Did you enjoy your training Albel?"
He smiled, "Yes mom." He hugged her, as they went inside. The lucario had gathered some food, and the two happily ate up. It was only Albel and his mother called this home, the pup had never known his father. From what his mother told him, Albel had learned that his father had died before he was born, protecting his unborn son and love. Albel's mother often told him of the brave acts his father had committed. His father had apparently been a part of an old way of war thing...dojo he believed is what his mother had called it, a place that taught people and pokemon the ways of old war and trained them to use all sorts of close combat weapons. His mother had been a part of the same dojo.
Apparently the two had been highly skilled and eventually left when their training was complete. Leaving together, the two had decided to stay with each other during their travels; eventually Albel was due into their lives. Then one day, a ryperior had attacked them, and the ensuing fight cost both the attacker and Albel's father's life.
The pup idolized his father all the same though...and wanted to be as strong as him...even stronger. That was why he spent all of his time training, besides; it wasn't like there was anyone around for him to do anything else with. He didn't care though, he was happy being on his own for most of the day. He blinked when he heard his mother chuckle, "What?"
She smiled, "Nothing...you just remind me a lot of your father...he loved training from sun up to sun down too." She rubbed his head, beaming down at him.
Albel smiled, "Oh. Heh he." He rubbed his head, "Do I look like him too?"
She shook her head, "No...you got your mother's good looks." She giggled lightly at that.
He chuckled, "I guess I'm grateful for that." He was smiling big as he ate a berry.
She smirked, "You should be, I'm a very good looking lucario. And while your father wasn't bad looking...you'd be grateful that you didn't inherit his face." She chuckled some, roughing up his head fur. The riolu laughed, trying to hold her paw off. "Albel...I think I'll help you do some training tomorrow...there's something I want to teach you."
Albel looked up to her, than nodded, "Alright mom." He smiled, hugging her. The mother lucario smiled down at him, holding her son tight. The two of them finished eating in short order, then went to catch some sleep as the moon slowly rose, shedding its pale light into the cave. As the mother and son slept, the moonlight slowly crept from one cave wall, over to the opposite side...before its light was over taken by the first rays of the sun. And as the sun reached higher into the sky, it illuminated the pair in the forest.
His mother was looking around for something, and Albel patiently waited. Then, by natural reflex, he grabbed something that was thrown to him. It was a big stick. "What's this for?"
She held up a stick of her own, about the same size and thickness. "Training...I'm going to teach you how to use a sword."
"A sword? Really!?" he smiled at her, his smile growing when she nodded.
"First...this is how you hold it." She showed him the proper way to grip a blade, "This is for two hands...and this." She demonstrated again, this time with one paw, "Is one handed." Albel mimicked her exactly. She nodded, "Good. Now two hands is better if you want more power, though you might need to carry something in your other paw, so you should always make sure you're used to one handed fighting."
Albel nodded, "I get it." He memorized the feel of the grip he had, than gave another nod.
She smiled, "Good...now...here are the basic slashes." She proceeded again to demonstrate, with Albel following her motions exactly. She let him continue to practice and memorize the slashes, nodding in approvement, "Good job Albel...you're learning fast."
He smiled, "It's in my blood." He chuckled, giving a spin flip to his "blade".
She nodded, "I guess it is...now...come on...we're going to have a little practice bout." She held her "blade" ready. Albel copied her pose, and waited for the match to start. When it did, he was quickly slapped on the arm. "Ouch!" he blinked, "Wow...that was fast..."
She nodded, "Sword fights generally are." She took a few steps back and held her blade ready, "Again...ready!" Albel took his stance, and when the bout started, he was able to block her first two strikes, but soon felt a whap to his stomach. "Better...again." Albel nodded, once again taking stance.
And for the rest of the day, the two continued to spar with one another, Albel losing every match and leaving the area with a few bruises, but smiling all the same from the experience. They had taken a break during the training to eat, so when they got home with the rising moon behind them, they simply went to sleep. Albel blushed lightly, "Umm...Mom?"
"Yes?" She replied.
"Can you uhh...sing me my lullaby?" he hid his face, it felt so embarrassing to actually ask her to sing it, but he loved the tune.
She smiled petting his head, holding him tight to her body. "Okay." She first started humming the melody, before the words flowed from her mouth.
"Hear this melody,
Sweet as bee's honey.
Let its words
Wrap you in harmony.
Open your heart
To the boundless tides
Of loves surprise
Sing this melody of love."
She gently sang to her son, stroking his head as she hummed lightly, before going into the second part of it.
"Close your eyes tonight,
And you'll see the light.
Cast by the moon,
That makes all things right.
Open your heart
To the boundless tides
Of loves surprise
Sing this melody of love."
She couldn't help but smile, feeling the riolu sleep in her arms. He always fell asleep after hearing his lullaby, and she was happy to sing it to him. She gently hummed it, petting his head as she slowly drifted off to join her son in sleep.
*****
Albel smiled, greeting to the new day. The difference between every other morning and now...was that he was a lucario. Yesterday he had finally bested his mother, after several weeks of training. The joy of knowing he had beaten his own trainer had been enough to make him evolve, and he really enjoyed his new body.
"Morning Albel."
He turned, "Morning mom." He turned back, stretching out as he looked over the forest.
"Enjoying being a lucario I take it?" she giggled, ruffling his head fur, "Can't say I blame you...I was pretty happy to evolve too." Albel chuckled, smiling big as he looking out over the forest. "Albel...I have something for you."
The lucario turned to face his mother again, what he saw making his jaw drop slightly. His mother was holding a sword, to be exact a katana, in its sheath. She held it out to him, smiling a proud and sweet smile at him. "M...mom?" Surprised would have been an understatement.
"This was your father's...I know he'd have wanted you to have it...you deserve it too Albel." She smiled happily, seeing him lift the sheathed weapon. Albel slowly drew the sword out of its home, and examined it in the sun light. "Your father called it Masamune." She chuckled, "It's a real good blade. You're father loved it."
Albel kept examining the blade, smiling, "It's...beautiful." He held it in every direction, stunned.
She giggled, "It is." She gently took it from him, "Come on...I'll show you how to care for it." She took him into the cave and showed him the kit that his father used to keep his blade in tip top condition. She covered what would cause the blade to rust, how to properly oil it to prevent such an action. She went over several ways to keep the blade sharp and ready to battle. She went on to tell him the limits of the blade, what it couldn't cut and what could potentially break it.
Albel absorbed every word, keeping it to his mind verbatim. When she finally finished, she gave him a hug, congratulating him on his success in both evolving and his level of swordsmanship. But he could also tell there was something else in the hug...sadness. And he could feel it himself, the same sadness...he was growing up...and soon, he'd be leaving. He held his mother tight in his arms, smiling. "I guess...I should be leaving someday...so I can hone my skills even sharper."
She nodded, "I guess so..." she giggled, to hide her tearing eyes. "That's really all you have left to do if you want to get better." She giggled more, to hide even more tears. "But best not to rush it...at least hang around for a few more days." Albel nodded, smiling with eyes closed, hiding his own tears. It would only be a brief delay, but neither of them minded all that much.
*****
Albel smiled, holding his mother tight, his katana tied to his side. His mother held him, sniffling lightly, "I'm going to miss you." She chuckled; wiping her eyes as she reluctantly pulled herself back. The few days he had given her had been used up, but she was happy to have that much more time with him. Albel was nice enough to spend nearly every waking moment by her side, helping her with anything she needed to do.
Albel wiped his own eyes, nodding, "I'm going to miss you too mom." He did manage a smile on the same.
She hugged him once more, than sighed, "Be careful out there Albel...the world has many dangers."
He nodded, "I will mom...I love you."
She kissed the top of his head, "I love you too Albel...and I know you'll be a great warrior." She sighed, wiping her eyes again. "Bye."
He nodded; "Bye..." he turned and leapt off, turning mid-jump to wave at her. Seeing her wave back, he turned forward, and dashed off. It was time to start off his life...as a warrior...the greatest warrior in the entire world. That was going to be his goal, and he would achieve it.
*****One Year Later*****
Albel made a quick spin, and slammed the butt end of his sword into the head of an attacking slaking. The lazy pokemon fell to the ground out cold, as a monferno charged the lucario. With another deft turn, and a white flash, the ape fell to the ground, blood spilling from his mortal wound. Albel flicked the blood of his blade and rushed into the throng of other ape pokemon, his blade ready.
His skills had improved beyond measure in the year he had left his home, and as his skills improved so too did his need to test his skills. But it was no longer just about testing his abilities, he was also having fun. Fighting was just so entertaining, the rush in his blood as he met several opponents, his blade cascading in arcs that tore into flesh unfortunate enough to get in the way. Battle was in his blood, he was meant for this path, there was no doubt about it.
He laughed, easily dodging every attack launched at him by the monkeys, and he wasted no time in delivering retribution. One by one they fell, until none were left standing. Albel sheathed his blade, chuckling as he took his leave of them. "That was way too easy." He walked along the path he had been on originally as the sun set behind him.
When the bright rays became red, and then faded altogether, he leaned against a tree. "Not a bad day...monkeys aplenty to beat down." He smiled, yawning. Looking up into the sky, he started to hum his mother's lullaby, drifting slowly into sleep.
The next day saw him to do even more walking, as he looked for more opponents to hone his skill against. His travels eventually brought him to a cliff side, overlooking a small valley. As he deftly went along the edge, he admired the scenery, stretching in preparation for his next fight. But as he walked he heard a scream from down below. His gaze zeroed in on the sound's source, which was a family of furrets and sentrets. They had been surrounded by a nidoking and several nidorino, all of them were cackling. One furret was in front of the others...most likely the father and only male in the family.
Albel didn't need to guess what the nido goal was, he scoffed. "Pathetic worms." A nidorino charged toward the furret. As the poison mon neared, the furret male could barely make himself move.
"ARRRRGGGHH!!!!" The nidorino was sent flying back, a leg missing. Albel stood up, his katana dripping with the blood of the foe. The other poison types stared at the lucario, gulping. "Who are you!?" The nidoking demanded.
Albel scoffed, "Normally I don't waste my time with scum like you..." he held up his blade. The nidorinos backed away a step, gulping. Albel smirked, and charged into them white flashes signifying every slash he made...and every flash was soon followed by a spray of red. As bodies went flying, the furrets watched in awe.
Albel was soon one on one with the nidoking. The so called "king" glared, and charged him, "I'm going to tear you apart!"
Albel scoffed, not impressed in the least. "Die." He held up his paw, an aura sphere blasting his face. The nidoking laughed, "You think that was going to stop..." he had lost sight of the lucario. "me?" he looked around, before giving an urk. The nido's face hit the dirt...his body thudding on the ground several seconds later. With the nidos dead, the furrets smiled, the father going up, "Thank you."
Albel shrugged, "It was nothing..." he walked to the cliff side, and leapt up to the cliff to resume his walk. The father smiled, "That's a real hero for you." He chuckled, "Comes out of nowhere to save the day...than leaves without really needing thanks." The others smiled; the youngest in the family waving.
After Albel had got to the other side of the cliff side, he turned the moment he felt something near. "That was an impressive display." Albel looked up to the branch of a tree. Upon that branch was a human, a large one, dressed from neck to foot in black. He was blond, with highlights of darker blond, and his hair was short. He easily carried a lance like sword that was at least twice his size with one hand.
Albel glared, "Who are you?"
The man smiled, "I am Kage. And I'm the leader of a little group called the Brotherhood of Shadow." He grinned, "And I think you'd do quite well in our little army."
Albel kept his gaze on Kage, "Why would I join you?"
"I can tell you like fighting...if you join us...you can fight to your heart's content." Kage smirked, "You'll face all sorts of enemies...all sorts of opponents who you'll be able to fell."
Albel thought about it, "Large numbers of enemies?" Kage nodded, "And I'd get to fight them all if I join?" again, Kage nodded. Albel put his chin on his paw, thinking hard about it...it was a very promising opportunity to be sure. The rush of battle...and he'd be able to indulge in the thrill till he grew tired and had to sleep...just to do it all again the next morning. "What is your little Brotherhood trying to do?"
"The short of it is this...people think light is good...but light just brings pain." He smiled, "Light brings war...light brings drought...light is the real cause of suffering...so we are going to extinguish the light...and make a lovely era of darkness."
Albel didn't real agree with that, but shrugged, "Alright than...I'll help you. My name is Albel."
Kage smiled, "Albel...yes...Albel...the Black Warrior." He chuckled, "Leader...of my newly assembled Black Brigade."
Albel smiled, "Black Brigade huh? I like the sound of that." He chuckled, "What's my first target?"
*****
Albel laughed, as he sliced the head off of a lopunny, quickly impaling the chest of a lucario who was coming up behind him. Albel pulled his blade free, and leapt into the next batch of opponents. A roar came from his soldiers who followed him into the fight, cutting down the rebellious pokemon who refused to submit to the Brotherhood.
Albel had been with the Brotherhood for months, and had earned his position as leader of the Black Brigade. He had led them to numerous victories, and was the standard for a warrior to be in the Brotherhood. He did have some who didn't like him, Nadox the leader of the Dragon Brigade chief among them. But Albel didn't care, he got to fight, he got to improve. That's all he wanted. He did briefly wonder what his mother would think...but then dismissed it. He had to live life the way he wanted...not how anyone else wanted him to live.
He laughed again, leaping onto the back of an ursaring and stabbing it through the back of the neck. He leapt off, and used a metal claw to tear off a chunk of face from a breloom. His sword than made an arc, cleaving into the spine of a primeape. He then pushed it deep into the chest of a rhydon, yanking out to let its blood pour from the wound.
Albel laughed, "Come on! I'm just getting started!" he laughed on, then let out a snarl of pain. A charizard had managed to chomp onto his free paw. Before Albel could do anything though, the fire type unleashed a torrent of flame onto the paw. Albel howled out from it, glaring at the dragon. "You..." he slammed his blade into the mon's neck, "die!" he pushed up, then came back down, severing the head. The charizard's grip was lost, and the head flopped to the ground. The damage was done though...Albel's paw was unrecognizable. The lucario ignored the pain though, and went deeper into the fray.
*****
Albel sat atop his fortress's rampart, looking out over the area. He lifted his left paw...which was now a metal gauntlet like claw. He had lost the paw after that fateful fight with the charizard...but he didn't care...he was content with his new paw. It enhanced any and all attacks charged in it, meaning he had a devastating aura sphere and metal claw. He chuckled, letting his paw drop.
A soldier walked up, bowing before he spoke. "Master Albel...the medic and technicians wish to know how you're paw is doing."
"Tell them it's fine." The soldier nodded, and took his leave quickly. Albel looked up at the moon, sighing happily, "I'm the greatest...." He chuckled, having a wide grin. "There isn't a soul who can match my strength...my skill." He gripped his sword, "But I can't grow content in this position...I can't let up...I'll stay the strongest until my days are through." He chuckled to himself some more.
Then he sighed, staring at the moon. Though he didn't want to admit it...he did miss her. He shook his head, trying to dispel the feeling...since it wouldn't do anything. But it was hard...she was the one who taught him everything he knew at the start. He finally gave up on ignoring the feeling, and decided to do something else to make it abate. He began to sing the lullaby.
"Hear this melody,
Sweet as bee's honey.
Let its words
Wrap you in harmony.
Open your heart
To the boundless tides
Of loves surprise
Sing this melody of love."
He sighed happily, smiling at the moon, his eyes starting to grow heavy. But he kept singing,
"Close your eyes tonight,
And you'll see the light.
Cast by the moon,
That makes all things right.
Open your heart
To the boundless tides
Of loves surprise
Sing this melody of love."
The lucario yawned, deftly leaping into his room from the window. He got into the bed and quickly fell asleep.
Elsewhere, a female lucario sang the same lullaby, smiling at the moon. She didn't know where he was...she didn't know what he was doing...but she could feel that he was alive...and happy. That's all the mother needed to know.