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 me, the author. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 5: Painful Memories
Isaac quickly moved to one of the tables in the lobby and set the egg in the center of it, taking the glass cover off. He and his team crowded around the table, watching the egg closely. They were excited, mostly at how they would soon have a new friend in the group, but partly because they would find out just what Pokémon the egg contained. The cracks gradually formed on the shell as the Pokémon continued to make the egg bounce lightly in its effort to break free. Isaac was holding his breath as a small part of the shell fell off.
A few of the other people in the lobby were watching the scene as well, the miracle of a creature being brought into the world a wondrous thing to witness. After another moment, the egg shattered, the fragments scattering around the table. Now in the middle of the table was an adorable blue-furred Pokémon, lying on its belly. Its face had black fur around the eyes, which looked a bit like a mask. Isaac smiled, knowing immediately what Pokémon it was: a Riolu. The little one slowly opened its eyes, which were a beautiful ruby red, and it shakily moved into a sitting position. There was a synchronized "awww" from everyone in the group, and the Riolu blinked a few times as its eyes adjusted to the light.
Valerie pointed out to Isaac telepathically that the Riolu was a female. The little one looked around the smiling group, and as soon as her eyes found Isaac, a smile appeared on her face as well. She raised her arms to him, wanting to be picked up, and Isaac happily obliged. It was as if she knew that he was the one who would be taking care of her.
Isaac smiled at the little Riolu, cradling her in his arms. "Hi there. My name is Isaac." The Riolu giggled a little, smiling up at him and curled up into a ball, gently nuzzling Isaac, getting another synchronized "awww" from the group.
Valerie translated for Staraptor, who had asked Isaac what he was going to name the Riolu. Isaac thought about it for a moment, but he didn't have long before he heard the little one's stomach growl. "Her name will have to wait for now, we've got a hungry Riolu here." Valerie walked up to the front desk and asked the nurse if they had any Pokémon formula for the now crying Riolu girl. After a couple minutes of Isaac trying to calm the little one down, the nurse brought a bottle of formula over to the group. When Isaac tried to hand her to the nurse, however, she protested the idea, clinging to him tightly. The nurse chuckled and handed the bottle to Isaac and showed him how to correctly bottle-feed.
Isaac watched the young Riolu drink the formula down, feeling like a parent and he couldn't help but smile. He began going through possible names for her in his head. What to name this adorable creature? Christina? No, she didn't seem like a Christina. Abigail? That didn't seem right either. Olivia? Jenny? Isabella? This was a difficult decision for Isaac to make.
Then, by the end of the feeding, Isaac had come up with the perfect name for the Riolu girl. "I've got it," he said happily, "Her name shall be... Maria." The Riolu giggled at the name, liking the sound of it. She then yawned and snuggled closer to Isaac, soon falling asleep. Isaac smiled and looked to the rest of the group. "I think it's time we visit my mother again." His team cheered, approving of the idea. They loved when they got to go to Pam's house, as Twinleaf Town was such a peaceful place and Isaac's mother was such a nice person. The only real rule was to not use Arceus's name in vain.
Isaac returned all of his team except Staraptor, who would be flying them to the house. He walked out of the Pokémon Center with Staraptor, carrying Maria in his arms. He held her close to his body while he hopped onto the Flying type's back. Once Isaac was ready, Staraptor took off and Isaac held onto Maria, making sure that she wouldn't fall. Staraptor helped by flying extra carefully, and after a few minutes, they arrived.
They headed outside of a large house, and Isaac sent the others out again, thanking Staraptor for the ride. He walked up to the front door and knocked, his team standing behind him. A moment later, a woman answered the door and got a smile on her face when she saw Isaac. "Isaac! It's good to see you again!" She went to hug her son, but stopped when she realized he was holding a little one, who was still sleeping. "And who is this adorable girl?"
Isaac smiled, "This is Maria. She hatched just today, and I'm going to take care of her."
Pam chuckled and nodded, "That's a beautiful name." She stood aside, letting the group enter the house. "I had a feeling that you would be visiting today." Her words were true, shown by how clean the house was. Pam was a retired psychic, and she was almost 100 percent accurate when she had a feeling about something. The front door entered into the living room, where there was a wide armchair big enough for perhaps a couple to snuggle together in; a large couch that four people could comfortably be seated on; a rectangular glass-counter table centered in the room. The television sat in the corner of the room to the left of the doorway. A fireplace was centered on the wall, perfectly aligned with the table; the wall and mantle above the fireplace held numerous photos in frames overlooking the room, each picture frame spaced exactly two and a half inches apart vertically and horizontally. It was a very warm and inviting environment.
Isaac sat down in the chair, resting Maria on his lap, looking at the pictures above the fireplace as he gently pet her. He had seen the pictures hundreds of times before, but he couldn't help looking over them every time he visited.
"So, tell me what you've been up to, Isaac," said Pam, "It has been a good three months since your last visit."
Isaac told his mother everything that had happened since he last saw her. He told her about the couple Galactic attacks that he had thwarted, the training on Iron Island, and of his last two Gym battles. He also filled her in on his encounter with Commander Mercury, describing how sinister the man was.
At the end of his explanation, he once again looked up at one of the pictures above the fireplace, one that he always glanced at least three times at when he was in the living room. It was a picture of the Fredrickson family, taken when Isaac was six. In the center of the photo was Verus, the Houndour puppy they had got just a week before the picture was taken. Verus had run away almost six years ago from the present, and he was never seen again. Kneeling down next to the Houndour and hugging him was Isaac, smiling and laughing. Isaac's mother was standing behind him, her strawberry blond hair held back behind her ears and resting on her shoulders. To her right was a cheerful old woman. This was Isaac's grandmother, Almarde, a retired psychic just like Pam. Ten years ago, she disappeared and was never heard from again, having left a note saying that she was off to save the world. At that point in time, her senility was starting to get to her.
To Pam's left in the picture was her husband and Isaac's father, Gregory Fredrickson. His smile used to be enough to put everyone in a good mood. He had short, light brown hair, and his eyes were the same emerald green as Isaac's, and in the picture his arm was around Pam's waist, hugging her close. Gregory had been killed the day after Almarde had left.
And finally, standing a bit to Gregory's left in front of him was Derek. A bit of an outlier in this picture, he had a forced smile on his face. His light gray eyes seemed to always be staring at you no matter where you looked at the picture from.
"Isaac!"
Isaac jolted back to reality, Valerie standing next to him with her hand on his shoulder. "You've been staring into space for five minutes," the Gardevoir told him, "Are you alright?"
Isaac nodded, "I'm fine."
Pam was in the kitchen making dinner. About an hour later, Maria woke up, and the group crowded around the armchair. "Hello again, Maria," said Isaac, "Did you have a nice rest?"
Maria smiled, nodding happily. "Yes."
Isaac gasped, looking to the rest of the group, "Did you hear that?" The others shook their heads, having no idea what he was talking about. Maria giggled, "I'm speaking to you with my Aura, Isaac."
Isaac blinked, amazed at how the Riolu isn't even a day old and she is already able to communicate to him with her Aura. How strong of a bond had they formed? Then Isaac remembered that Riolu were able to tell right away who their parents or guardians are. He also remembered how the egg would wiggle around when Isaac was near, as if Maria had been trying to communicate with him. Isaac smiled and gently petted Maria as he introduced her to the others.
"This is Empoleon, Staraptor, Valerie, Victor, and Amy." Each member of Isaac's team bowed respectively. "They are the members of my team and are my friends... and they want to be your friend too."
Maria smiled at them and gave an adorable squeak in happiness. The group had to be happy for Maria, she was the only one of Isaac's team that hadn't joined them due to something bad happening.
Each of them could distinctly remember the events that led to them becoming Isaac's Pokemon...
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(Empoleon)
It was cloudy and cold that day, a playful and energetic Piplup happily running through the woods near Sandgem Town. Despite the dreary weather, he was still excited, as he would be playing with the girl he liked. Even now, he couldn't wait to once again gaze upon the female Mismagius and her beautiful features. Today would surely be the day he would win her heart, he could feel it and laughed in joy to himself as he continued deeper into the forest.
"Definately a perfect day for it too, I know how much she loves this kind of weather. Oh, most surely I will make Cursa see that I am the one for her!" He could barely contain his excitement, jumping in glee.
As Piplup travelled deeper into the woods, it became increasingly difficult to see the trail as the already limited sunlight was blocked by the dense foliage. It didn't bother Piplup, who had completely memorized the path to Cursa's home. Not even the eerie and intimidating glares of the Haunter and Mightyena that lived in this forest could scare him. He was fearless, the thought of being able to see Cursa giving him strength and courage. He bore a confident smile, nothing was going to ruin this day.
Piplup soon came to a small clearing. In the center of it was a large hollowed out tree with a makeshift door on the entrance and a sign that read "Cursa, Master of spells, curses, and hexes." Piplup smiled and entered, looking around the inside for a moment before his eyes fell upon the owner of the shop herself. She was carefully trying to sprinkle a powder into her cauldron, but Piplup failed to see that she needed perfect concentration for this. He ran up to her and happily shouted, "Hey, Cursa!"
The Mismagius gave a small, startled scream, her body jumping from the scare and she dropped the entire container into her cauldron. The potion exploded into a green vapor, and Cursa grumbled to herself, "Great, the brat is here." She turned around to glare at Piplup. "What have I told you about knocking?!"
Piplup blinked and chuckled, rubbing his head. "Could've sworn I did... sorry." He hopped up onto the table next to Cursa and smiled at her, though he didn't realize that he nearly knocked over a few glass bottles and containers. "So, how are you today, Cursa?"
Cursa was moving her supplies away from Piplup. "I'm very busy, and please get off my table."
"Can I help?" asked the energetic penguin, "Oooh! What's this?" Before Cursa could respond, Piplup poked at one of the containers, which then fell off the table. Cursa caught it just in time, "No, you may not help! I tell you this every other day it seems, and I-" A different container shattered on the floor from Piplup jumping off the table.
Cursa growled, "Why?! Why do you bother me every day?! Why can't you leave me alone?!"
Piplup smiled and replied, "Because I love you, Cursa. I love you more than anything in the world."
Cursa blinked, stunned by that statement. She was frozen by anger and shock, stammering and blushing slightly, trying to find the words to express how enraged she was. Her eye was twitching and her face screwed up a little, turning red in anger now. The candles that kept the shop lit flickered violently and the gem on her chest began glowing. Piplup blinked and tilted his head, "Cursa... is something wrong?"
Cursa growled and shook with rage, "Wrong? You want to know what's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong! A certain little brat of a Piplup who won't leave me alone! THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG!" The candles around the room went out, the only thing giving light to the shop now was the glow coming from Cursa. Piplup stumbled back, falling over as the Mismagius pointed her palm at him. "You're nothing but an annoyance to me! I hate you! I've tried to tolerate you, but I've reached my limit! It's time you get the message!" Her power was building as she focused her energy on Piplup, the penguin starting to glow an eerie green.
Cursa growled and spoke her incantation for a curse, "A normal life is what you've been cost. Upon final form, conversation will be lost." The magic aura around Piplup flashed and then slowly faded, leaving the Water type confused as to what just happened. A moment later, however, he felt dizzy and drained, his vision blurring before everything went black as he passed out.
When Piplup awoke, he saw an old man in a white lab coat standing above him and smiling. "Ah good, you're awake. I was worried about you, you were in bad shape when I came across you in the forest." Piplup blinked and sat up as the man continued. "I'm Professor Rowan, the top Pokemon researcher in the Sinnoh region..."
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(Staraptor)
My name is Takamoharoshinikosaramineto Mitoshirai, or as you all know me, Staraptor.
I know what you're thinking: Why do you have such a long freaking name?! Don't ask, my parents wanted to make sure I had at least one thing unique about me. Everyone I know calls me either by what Pokemon I am, or just Takamo. I suppose you're wondering how I ended up meeting and befriending Isaac. Well I'll tell you, but I have to ask that you bear with me while I'm telling my story. I tend to have a short attention span and will probably get sidetracked a few times. It's a bit of a problem and gets me into trouble sometimes. Like this one time, I was making a sandwich and I grabbed a knife to cut it in half, and I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing. The phone rang and I turned to look toward the ringing, and I tripped and... oh, right... I'm supposed to be telling my story. My apologies for getting sidetracked.
When I was little, I didn't have any friends, among bird Pokemon anyway. Even outside of the avian community, I still had only one friend, a Mawile named Kalas. But within the avian community I was shunned because I just couldn't get the hang of flying. As soon as I would take off, I would be unstable and would crash to the ground. Everyone thought I was stupid because I couldn't accomplish what was supposed to come naturally to a bird. After a single taunt of me supposedly not having a brain because my feathers were growing even there, the name-calling began, starting with "feather brain." Oh, how I hate that name. It fills me with rage just talking about it. Seriously, it's like nails on the chalkboard for me, and I just... I was doing it again, wasn't I? Sorry.
I eventually learned to ignore the taunts and name-calling... but at a price. They came so frequently that my mind became wired to start ignoring other things, hence why I have a short attention span at times. This was how non-bird Pokemon started to think I was wierd, and eventually they started to shun me as well. The only reason Kalas befriended me was because I saved his life. He's quite a character, Kalas. There was one time when he was trying to climb up this tree, and... Damn it! My apologies once again.
Anyway, one day I came home and found my parents dead. After I had managed to calm down enough to stop sobbing I ran away from there, as I had no idea what else to do. I ran into the one that had started all the taunting, Skarmory. He had heard about my parents' deaths and was determined to kill me now that there wasn't anyone for me to run to for help. I don't know what it was, but he had always hated me for some reason. He and his gang cornered me and began attacking. They were much too strong for me to fight on my own even if I had been able to fly. I thought for sure that I was going to be killed... but then Isaac showed up, and he and Empoleon (who was a Piplup at the time) fought Skarmory and his gang off. Isaac then tended to my injuries and offered for me to join him in his quest after a night's rest. Since I had nowhere to go, and Isaac had saved my life, I decided to go with him.
Well, that's my tale of how I met Isaac. You want to talk about someth-... oh my gosh! Shiny!
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(Valerie and Victor)
Hello everyone. My name is Valerie Roma. Fortunately my brother, Victor, is being reluctant to tell you the story of how we met Isaac, because I will give you a more accurate version. I must warn you this story is a bit disturbing. Alright, here I go.
My brother and I came from a village inhabited by a clan of Gardevoir and Gallade in the forest area to the west of Mt. Coronet. Our clan had a lot of pride and had numerous laws specific to it. My father was the Head of the clan and the strongest in the village. Growing up there was wonderful for Victor, he always got his way and he was the ideal child in my parents' eyes. I on the other hand was seen as an "undesirable." I had no friends and my parents thought I was a disappointment, all because I was different. I was called crazy on a daily basis, because no one believed that I have visions of the future.
One day, a boy about the age of twelve came to our village. He approached my father and was requesting for him to teach him everything he knew about fighting and everything he knew about psychic techniques. The instant I laid eyes on that boy, I got a bad feeling about him, though nobody would listen to me, and my father agreed to help him.
No matter how many times I spoke up about the bad feeling I got from the boy, everyone would just call me crazy. What made it even worse for me was how quickly the boy was learning what my father taught him. You would think that I would be happy about that because he would be leaving sooner, but then I would think about the kinds of advanced and deadly techniques he was learning. I could barely sleep from how worried I was.
It only took three days for the boy to learn everything my father could teach him, including the one technique created by my father himself: the Manipulation technique. It allows the user to get inside the opponent's mind and mess with their senses to get them to act the way they want them to. It can be through pain, images, persuasion, illusions, or possessing them. It is a technique meant as a last resort, though rarely was there ever a need for it then.
Anyway, the boy thanked my father for everything and at that moment I had a vision of the village in ruins. Before I could warn everyone about it, the boy drew the blade he had been given as a parting gift and slashed my father across the chest, killing him. He then proceeded to kill the other members of the clan one-by-one, starting with those who tried to attack him while the rest of us ran. The boy then chased after the others and started killing them too. The village was destroyed by him, and my brother and I barely managed to escape. We are the only two survivors that we know of.
For a whole year we lived in the forest together, slowly moving south. Food was scarce for us and we were barely getting by. Then we came across Isaac one day when he was setting up camp. He noticed us when our stomachs growled from seeing the food he pulled out. He saw how bad of shape we were in and invited us to join him for dinner, and afterward to join him in his adventure. Victor and I happily agreed to both... well, I happily agreed and Victor went along with it, seeing as he wasn't going to leave his sister. But how could I say no to such an offer from such a kindhearted person... such a kind, wonderful... caring... handsome... person......
"Take a cold shower, Val!"
Oh shut up, Victor! Sorry everyone. Anyway, that's our story, told ya it was disturbing... I've got to go now.
"Yeah, so you can paw off."
That's it! I'm going to kill you, Victor! Hey! Get back here!
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(Amy)
It was another beautiful day in the city of Hearthome. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the streets were bustling with busy people merrily walking to and from work and church. All was well until an angry roar echoed throughout the city. Amy, the Bellossom, was running through the city as fast as her legs could carry her while a very irritated Abomasnow chased after her.
Amy had been running from the Abomasnow for three days now. He was her now ex-boyfriend, Marno, and he was chasing her because she dumped him and he insisted that if he couldn't have her, no one could.
Amy was panting heavily as she ran, her energy dangerously low but she had to keep running. Marno growled and hail started to fall around the city, pelting Amy and gradually weakening her. She ducked into an alleyway to buy herself a few more precious seconds of distance ahead of Marno, as the Abomasnow skidded and stumbled while making the turn. When he had regained balance, he saw that Amy had disappeared. Marno knew that she couldn't have ran far enough ahead for him to lose sight of her, and also knew that she was the type to hide in a situation like this.
Marno slowly walked forward, looking for places where his bitch might be hiding, his eyes scanning the alley. His attention was brought to a group of trash cans when a small sneeze sounded out by them. Marno smirked and quietly approached the trash cans, though he recoiled and growled out in pain as a small bag of cat litter exploded upon hitting the Abomasnow's face and getting into his eyes. While he was blinded, Amy dashed toward him before sliding underneath him between his legs to escape. She managed to put a good distance between herself and Marno before he started chasing her again.
Amy was gasping for air as she ran, screaming for help. Marno growled and was starting to gain on her. Amy was knocking over whatever she could with Magical Leaf in an effort to slow him down, not having any luck with that though. She let loose several Poisonpowder, Stun Spore, and Sleep Powder clouds, though with a simple wave of his arm he pushed them away as he continued to persue the poor Bellossom.
Amy turned down another alleyway, but she soon regretted doing so, as it was a dead end. She gulped as she felt the heavy footsteps approaching and she slowly turned around to face Marno.
"Last chance, Amy," said the enraged Abomasnow, "Come back to me... you know you want me."
Amy shook her head, tears falling from her eyes as she yelled at him, "No! I won't go back to you, you disgusting pig! I hate you!" She launched a Magical Leaf attack at Marno, who simply crossed his arms in a defensive stance. The attack hit, but didn't do anything, and Marno continued walking forward through the barrage of glowing leaves. Amy was using the attack over and over to slow him down so she could gather solar energy for her strongest attack, but with the lack of sunlight in the dark alley, it was difficult for her to gather enough power. Soon though, she ran out of time and had no choice, screaming as loud as she could while firing a Solarbeam at Marno. The Abomasnow's eyes went a bit wide as the attack hit him in the gut and exploded, the alley becoming filled with smoke.
Amy moved to the wall to one side, coughing from the smoke as she felt her way back out of the alley. She knew that attack hadn't worked, as hail began pelting her again. She started to run again, but tripped and sprained her ankle when her foot got caught on a raised crack in the street. Marno came charging at her, and the Bellossom closed her eyes, knowing this was the end. Marno drew his fist back as he approached Amy, ready to smash her when he got in range. Tears rolled down Amy's face as she waited for the impa-
"Hey! Leave her alone!"
The ground shook as Marno's fist slammed into the pavement just shy of hitting Amy. Amy slowly opened her eyes, still trembling. She gasped when she saw that someone had diverted the punch... but it wasn't so much that she was stunned that someone had helped her, more of WHO had helped her. A young man was standing in front of the Bellossom, gripping the arm of the Abomasnow's that he had saved her from. He had white blond hair, and emerald green eyes that were filled with seriousness as the young man pushed Marno back and told him to leave the Bellossom alone. Marno growled and charged at him to attack, only to get kneed in the stomach and knocked out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.
Amy was completely amazed at what had just happened. Marno, the strongest Pokémon she knew, had been defeated... by a mere human! She couldn't help but feel a bit afraid of the heroic stranger, yet at the same time she felt a sense of devotion toward him for saving her. The man turned around and smiled at Amy before crouching down and holding out his hand to help her up.
"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help. My name is Isaac, and if you'll let me I'll fix that sprained ankle of yours..."
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(Resume normal story)
After dinner, Isaac and the others decided to turn in early, as they had a long day. Each member of Isaac's team went to the rooms they stayed in whenever they visited Pam's house. Isaac carried Maria, who was sleeping in his arms, up the stairs to his room. He stopped just before entering his bedroom, looking toward the opposite end of the hallway where his brother's old bedroom was. He sighed and whispered, "Goodnight Derek," before walking into his own room, a habit of his that he just couldn't get rid of. Maybe it was because he wanted to feel like Derek was still around, part of him wanting to hear his brother's voice reply to him. Or it might just be a habit, plain and simple.
On the side opposite the door, Isaac's room looked not much different than how it was when he was ten. A few posters on the wall, his bed sitting under them. A nightstand was next to the bed, and his dresser at the foot of the bed. The rest of Isaac's room was his laboratory. Numerous cabinets, drawers, and shelves surrounded a desk about the length of an office cubicle, all of which contained various beakers, test tubes, herbs, and other medical and research equipment. Several sheets of paper with diagrams and formulas were strewn atop the desk. Isaac sighed and gently laid Maria down on his bed, moving one of the pillows next to her for her to hug and snuggle to.
Isaac smiled, watching Maria sleep for a few minutes before he changed into his pajamas and got ready for bed. He turned the lights off and climbed into bed, gently scooting Maria over toward the wall so that she wouldn't roll off the bed. He smiled and lightly petted her head until he fell asleep.
Later that night...
"Isaac... Fredrickson..."
Isaac's face scrunched up a little and he turned over in his sleep, completely unaware of the dull light in his face.
"Wake up... wake... up..." The voice was soft, yet it echoed through Isaac's mind. He slowly opened his eyes to see a small orb of light inches from his face. He gasped lightly, not wanting to wake Maria up, and the orb slowly moved toward the door. It stopped just before touching the door, as if waiting for Isaac to follow. Isaac was mesmerized by this specticle, quietly getting up and following the orb as it moved into the hallway. The ball of light travelled to the opposite end of the hall and waited for him to catch up before passing through the closest doorway. It was the one room that no one had been in for almost ten years... Derek's room. Isaac gulped and took a small breath to calm himself, then slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open with a soft creak.
The room was a complete mess. Books were scattered all over the floor, several of the pages torn out and shredded. The bed had been slashed repeatedly, pillow fluff sticking up out of the gashes. The nightstand next to the bed lay on its side, the lamp that once sat upon it now in pieces on the floor. But none of this was as disturbing to Isaac as what he was frozen to the spot by. Along the walls were numerous formulas and words in another language, written in what appeared to be dried blood. Isaac was terrified of this room, and he felt sick. He looked over to the closet and ran to it, some otherworldly force seeming to draw him there. The door was locked, but Isaac was intent on getting in, growling as he pointed his finger at the lock. The handle fell apart completely and Isaac flung the door open, smirking as he laid eyes on his target. A journal was floating in front of him and glowing light blue. Isaac grabbed the book and cackled as he opened it, seeing the word "judgement" written over and over again on the pages. A few drops of blood appeared on the pages, and Isaac looked up at the ceilingto see the other symbol his mother warned him of, dripping the fresh blood it was drawn with. He gasped as it began glowing too, insane laughter echoing through his mind. The room was spinning and becoming distorted, a mirror appearing in front of Isaac's face, the reflection showing a crazed child with jet black hair and light gray eyes wo was laughing and-
"ISAAC!"
Isaac jolted awake, finding that he was back in his bed, drenched with sweat. Maria was sitting on top of him and had a look of deep concern on her face. Isaac shakily set her on the bed, "Just a... minute..." He pulled the trash can closer and vomited into it. Maria whimpered and crawled back over to him, "Are you alright, Isaac?"
Isaac coughed and nodded, "I'll be fine." He sighed a little, relieved that experience was all just a dream. He took a few deep breaths to calm down before he smiled and hugged Maria, "Anyway, good morning." Maria giggled and nuzzled Isaac sweetly. Isaac chuckled and gently set her back down on the bed, "Can you wait here for just a minute? I'll be right back." Maria nodded and Isaac left the room.
Isaac couldn't get the dream out of his thoughts and he proceeded toward Derek's room. He had to prove to himself there was nothing for him to be concerned about. He moved quietly through the hallway, as it was still fairly early in the morning and he didn't want to wake anyone up. He slowly opened the door to Derek's room and peeked inside, gasping when he found the room to be in the exact condition he had seen when he had entered the room in the dream. Everything except for the ceiling looked just as he had seen before.
Isaac was getting scared now, looking around the room until his eyes fell upon the closet. He gulped and slowly approached it, his heart beating faster with every step closer he made. He hesitantly gripped the handle and tried to open the closet, though it was locked. "I have no idea why I'm even doing this," Isaac whispered to himself, "I should just forget about it, but this is too bizarre for me to just walk away from."
Isaac wondered if the dream was actually a prediction. He knew there was no way the next part would come true, it was illogical for him to simply will the handle to fall apart. Then again, he was curious. He pointed his finger at the lock and waited... and waited... and waited. The handle remained in tact, and Isaac grew a bit frustrated. "Come on, burst damn it!"
This time something did happen, though instead of the handle falling apart, the entire closet door exploded and knocked Isaac backward onto the bed as millions of splintery wood chips scattered around the room. Isaac blinked and stared at the remains of the door in awe, speechless from the shock of this event which was unexplainable to him. It took several minutes for him to force his body to stand up and walk back over to the closet to look for the journal he had seen in the dream.
The closet contained a variety of miscellaneous items and mechanical devices that were taken apart. Sitting on the top shelf was a book, and Isaac pulled it down, blowing the dust off the cover. He gasped when he saw the writing on the cover, which read "Derek Walter Fredrickson."
"Could this be a journal?" Isaac asked himself as he opened the book to the first page. "Let's see here... the first entry was on...... July 20, 2000..."
=Within this journal, I shall record my findings and achievements, as I experiment and calculate. Today, I may have discovered hidden potentials locked away in the human brain. I am currently unsure as to how I did it, but I believe this new ability of mine to be none other than psychokinesis. It is said that psychic powers that dwell within a person, if any, are usable, and sometimes uncontrollable, from the moment that they were born, and that it cannot be learned. I have never shown signs of these abilities before today. I think that this disproves the theory that it cannot be learned, and shows that it is part of the 90% of the brain that is inaccessable. If this is true, then I must learn how to fully unlock these powers, so that I may teach others. But for now, I must figure out how I can use them.=
Isaac only had enough time to read the first entry before he heard the door opening. He quickly closed the book and hid it behind his back as he turned to see his mother entering the room. She only took a glance around the room before looking at Isaac and asking, "What in heaven's name is going on here? Why are you in Derek's room, destroying it?"
Isaac blinked, "Mom, the room was like this when I came in... well, except the closet door... that was my-"
"Nevermind," said Pam in a somewhat angered tone, "just get out of your brother's room and go make breakfast." She was very upset about something.
"But mom, I only-" began Isaac.
"Isaac Rube Fredrickson, you will do as I say!" shrieked Pam, which probably woke everyone else up within a two-house radius.
"Y-yes, mother..." replied Isaac as he hurried down to the kitchen, storing the journal underneath the couch in the living room as he passed by... so that he could read more of it later.Chapter End Notes:Hope you enjoyed that chapter, and hope you'll read on. :
A few of the other people in the lobby were watching the scene as well, the miracle of a creature being brought into the world a wondrous thing to witness. After another moment, the egg shattered, the fragments scattering around the table. Now in the middle of the table was an adorable blue-furred Pokémon, lying on its belly. Its face had black fur around the eyes, which looked a bit like a mask. Isaac smiled, knowing immediately what Pokémon it was: a Riolu. The little one slowly opened its eyes, which were a beautiful ruby red, and it shakily moved into a sitting position. There was a synchronized "awww" from everyone in the group, and the Riolu blinked a few times as its eyes adjusted to the light.
Valerie pointed out to Isaac telepathically that the Riolu was a female. The little one looked around the smiling group, and as soon as her eyes found Isaac, a smile appeared on her face as well. She raised her arms to him, wanting to be picked up, and Isaac happily obliged. It was as if she knew that he was the one who would be taking care of her.
Isaac smiled at the little Riolu, cradling her in his arms. "Hi there. My name is Isaac." The Riolu giggled a little, smiling up at him and curled up into a ball, gently nuzzling Isaac, getting another synchronized "awww" from the group.
Valerie translated for Staraptor, who had asked Isaac what he was going to name the Riolu. Isaac thought about it for a moment, but he didn't have long before he heard the little one's stomach growl. "Her name will have to wait for now, we've got a hungry Riolu here." Valerie walked up to the front desk and asked the nurse if they had any Pokémon formula for the now crying Riolu girl. After a couple minutes of Isaac trying to calm the little one down, the nurse brought a bottle of formula over to the group. When Isaac tried to hand her to the nurse, however, she protested the idea, clinging to him tightly. The nurse chuckled and handed the bottle to Isaac and showed him how to correctly bottle-feed.
Isaac watched the young Riolu drink the formula down, feeling like a parent and he couldn't help but smile. He began going through possible names for her in his head. What to name this adorable creature? Christina? No, she didn't seem like a Christina. Abigail? That didn't seem right either. Olivia? Jenny? Isabella? This was a difficult decision for Isaac to make.
Then, by the end of the feeding, Isaac had come up with the perfect name for the Riolu girl. "I've got it," he said happily, "Her name shall be... Maria." The Riolu giggled at the name, liking the sound of it. She then yawned and snuggled closer to Isaac, soon falling asleep. Isaac smiled and looked to the rest of the group. "I think it's time we visit my mother again." His team cheered, approving of the idea. They loved when they got to go to Pam's house, as Twinleaf Town was such a peaceful place and Isaac's mother was such a nice person. The only real rule was to not use Arceus's name in vain.
Isaac returned all of his team except Staraptor, who would be flying them to the house. He walked out of the Pokémon Center with Staraptor, carrying Maria in his arms. He held her close to his body while he hopped onto the Flying type's back. Once Isaac was ready, Staraptor took off and Isaac held onto Maria, making sure that she wouldn't fall. Staraptor helped by flying extra carefully, and after a few minutes, they arrived.
They headed outside of a large house, and Isaac sent the others out again, thanking Staraptor for the ride. He walked up to the front door and knocked, his team standing behind him. A moment later, a woman answered the door and got a smile on her face when she saw Isaac. "Isaac! It's good to see you again!" She went to hug her son, but stopped when she realized he was holding a little one, who was still sleeping. "And who is this adorable girl?"
Isaac smiled, "This is Maria. She hatched just today, and I'm going to take care of her."
Pam chuckled and nodded, "That's a beautiful name." She stood aside, letting the group enter the house. "I had a feeling that you would be visiting today." Her words were true, shown by how clean the house was. Pam was a retired psychic, and she was almost 100 percent accurate when she had a feeling about something. The front door entered into the living room, where there was a wide armchair big enough for perhaps a couple to snuggle together in; a large couch that four people could comfortably be seated on; a rectangular glass-counter table centered in the room. The television sat in the corner of the room to the left of the doorway. A fireplace was centered on the wall, perfectly aligned with the table; the wall and mantle above the fireplace held numerous photos in frames overlooking the room, each picture frame spaced exactly two and a half inches apart vertically and horizontally. It was a very warm and inviting environment.
Isaac sat down in the chair, resting Maria on his lap, looking at the pictures above the fireplace as he gently pet her. He had seen the pictures hundreds of times before, but he couldn't help looking over them every time he visited.
"So, tell me what you've been up to, Isaac," said Pam, "It has been a good three months since your last visit."
Isaac told his mother everything that had happened since he last saw her. He told her about the couple Galactic attacks that he had thwarted, the training on Iron Island, and of his last two Gym battles. He also filled her in on his encounter with Commander Mercury, describing how sinister the man was.
At the end of his explanation, he once again looked up at one of the pictures above the fireplace, one that he always glanced at least three times at when he was in the living room. It was a picture of the Fredrickson family, taken when Isaac was six. In the center of the photo was Verus, the Houndour puppy they had got just a week before the picture was taken. Verus had run away almost six years ago from the present, and he was never seen again. Kneeling down next to the Houndour and hugging him was Isaac, smiling and laughing. Isaac's mother was standing behind him, her strawberry blond hair held back behind her ears and resting on her shoulders. To her right was a cheerful old woman. This was Isaac's grandmother, Almarde, a retired psychic just like Pam. Ten years ago, she disappeared and was never heard from again, having left a note saying that she was off to save the world. At that point in time, her senility was starting to get to her.
To Pam's left in the picture was her husband and Isaac's father, Gregory Fredrickson. His smile used to be enough to put everyone in a good mood. He had short, light brown hair, and his eyes were the same emerald green as Isaac's, and in the picture his arm was around Pam's waist, hugging her close. Gregory had been killed the day after Almarde had left.
And finally, standing a bit to Gregory's left in front of him was Derek. A bit of an outlier in this picture, he had a forced smile on his face. His light gray eyes seemed to always be staring at you no matter where you looked at the picture from.
"Isaac!"
Isaac jolted back to reality, Valerie standing next to him with her hand on his shoulder. "You've been staring into space for five minutes," the Gardevoir told him, "Are you alright?"
Isaac nodded, "I'm fine."
Pam was in the kitchen making dinner. About an hour later, Maria woke up, and the group crowded around the armchair. "Hello again, Maria," said Isaac, "Did you have a nice rest?"
Maria smiled, nodding happily. "Yes."
Isaac gasped, looking to the rest of the group, "Did you hear that?" The others shook their heads, having no idea what he was talking about. Maria giggled, "I'm speaking to you with my Aura, Isaac."
Isaac blinked, amazed at how the Riolu isn't even a day old and she is already able to communicate to him with her Aura. How strong of a bond had they formed? Then Isaac remembered that Riolu were able to tell right away who their parents or guardians are. He also remembered how the egg would wiggle around when Isaac was near, as if Maria had been trying to communicate with him. Isaac smiled and gently petted Maria as he introduced her to the others.
"This is Empoleon, Staraptor, Valerie, Victor, and Amy." Each member of Isaac's team bowed respectively. "They are the members of my team and are my friends... and they want to be your friend too."
Maria smiled at them and gave an adorable squeak in happiness. The group had to be happy for Maria, she was the only one of Isaac's team that hadn't joined them due to something bad happening.
Each of them could distinctly remember the events that led to them becoming Isaac's Pokemon...
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(Empoleon)
It was cloudy and cold that day, a playful and energetic Piplup happily running through the woods near Sandgem Town. Despite the dreary weather, he was still excited, as he would be playing with the girl he liked. Even now, he couldn't wait to once again gaze upon the female Mismagius and her beautiful features. Today would surely be the day he would win her heart, he could feel it and laughed in joy to himself as he continued deeper into the forest.
"Definately a perfect day for it too, I know how much she loves this kind of weather. Oh, most surely I will make Cursa see that I am the one for her!" He could barely contain his excitement, jumping in glee.
As Piplup travelled deeper into the woods, it became increasingly difficult to see the trail as the already limited sunlight was blocked by the dense foliage. It didn't bother Piplup, who had completely memorized the path to Cursa's home. Not even the eerie and intimidating glares of the Haunter and Mightyena that lived in this forest could scare him. He was fearless, the thought of being able to see Cursa giving him strength and courage. He bore a confident smile, nothing was going to ruin this day.
Piplup soon came to a small clearing. In the center of it was a large hollowed out tree with a makeshift door on the entrance and a sign that read "Cursa, Master of spells, curses, and hexes." Piplup smiled and entered, looking around the inside for a moment before his eyes fell upon the owner of the shop herself. She was carefully trying to sprinkle a powder into her cauldron, but Piplup failed to see that she needed perfect concentration for this. He ran up to her and happily shouted, "Hey, Cursa!"
The Mismagius gave a small, startled scream, her body jumping from the scare and she dropped the entire container into her cauldron. The potion exploded into a green vapor, and Cursa grumbled to herself, "Great, the brat is here." She turned around to glare at Piplup. "What have I told you about knocking?!"
Piplup blinked and chuckled, rubbing his head. "Could've sworn I did... sorry." He hopped up onto the table next to Cursa and smiled at her, though he didn't realize that he nearly knocked over a few glass bottles and containers. "So, how are you today, Cursa?"
Cursa was moving her supplies away from Piplup. "I'm very busy, and please get off my table."
"Can I help?" asked the energetic penguin, "Oooh! What's this?" Before Cursa could respond, Piplup poked at one of the containers, which then fell off the table. Cursa caught it just in time, "No, you may not help! I tell you this every other day it seems, and I-" A different container shattered on the floor from Piplup jumping off the table.
Cursa growled, "Why?! Why do you bother me every day?! Why can't you leave me alone?!"
Piplup smiled and replied, "Because I love you, Cursa. I love you more than anything in the world."
Cursa blinked, stunned by that statement. She was frozen by anger and shock, stammering and blushing slightly, trying to find the words to express how enraged she was. Her eye was twitching and her face screwed up a little, turning red in anger now. The candles that kept the shop lit flickered violently and the gem on her chest began glowing. Piplup blinked and tilted his head, "Cursa... is something wrong?"
Cursa growled and shook with rage, "Wrong? You want to know what's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong! A certain little brat of a Piplup who won't leave me alone! THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG!" The candles around the room went out, the only thing giving light to the shop now was the glow coming from Cursa. Piplup stumbled back, falling over as the Mismagius pointed her palm at him. "You're nothing but an annoyance to me! I hate you! I've tried to tolerate you, but I've reached my limit! It's time you get the message!" Her power was building as she focused her energy on Piplup, the penguin starting to glow an eerie green.
Cursa growled and spoke her incantation for a curse, "A normal life is what you've been cost. Upon final form, conversation will be lost." The magic aura around Piplup flashed and then slowly faded, leaving the Water type confused as to what just happened. A moment later, however, he felt dizzy and drained, his vision blurring before everything went black as he passed out.
When Piplup awoke, he saw an old man in a white lab coat standing above him and smiling. "Ah good, you're awake. I was worried about you, you were in bad shape when I came across you in the forest." Piplup blinked and sat up as the man continued. "I'm Professor Rowan, the top Pokemon researcher in the Sinnoh region..."
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(Staraptor)
My name is Takamoharoshinikosaramineto Mitoshirai, or as you all know me, Staraptor.
I know what you're thinking: Why do you have such a long freaking name?! Don't ask, my parents wanted to make sure I had at least one thing unique about me. Everyone I know calls me either by what Pokemon I am, or just Takamo. I suppose you're wondering how I ended up meeting and befriending Isaac. Well I'll tell you, but I have to ask that you bear with me while I'm telling my story. I tend to have a short attention span and will probably get sidetracked a few times. It's a bit of a problem and gets me into trouble sometimes. Like this one time, I was making a sandwich and I grabbed a knife to cut it in half, and I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing. The phone rang and I turned to look toward the ringing, and I tripped and... oh, right... I'm supposed to be telling my story. My apologies for getting sidetracked.
When I was little, I didn't have any friends, among bird Pokemon anyway. Even outside of the avian community, I still had only one friend, a Mawile named Kalas. But within the avian community I was shunned because I just couldn't get the hang of flying. As soon as I would take off, I would be unstable and would crash to the ground. Everyone thought I was stupid because I couldn't accomplish what was supposed to come naturally to a bird. After a single taunt of me supposedly not having a brain because my feathers were growing even there, the name-calling began, starting with "feather brain." Oh, how I hate that name. It fills me with rage just talking about it. Seriously, it's like nails on the chalkboard for me, and I just... I was doing it again, wasn't I? Sorry.
I eventually learned to ignore the taunts and name-calling... but at a price. They came so frequently that my mind became wired to start ignoring other things, hence why I have a short attention span at times. This was how non-bird Pokemon started to think I was wierd, and eventually they started to shun me as well. The only reason Kalas befriended me was because I saved his life. He's quite a character, Kalas. There was one time when he was trying to climb up this tree, and... Damn it! My apologies once again.
Anyway, one day I came home and found my parents dead. After I had managed to calm down enough to stop sobbing I ran away from there, as I had no idea what else to do. I ran into the one that had started all the taunting, Skarmory. He had heard about my parents' deaths and was determined to kill me now that there wasn't anyone for me to run to for help. I don't know what it was, but he had always hated me for some reason. He and his gang cornered me and began attacking. They were much too strong for me to fight on my own even if I had been able to fly. I thought for sure that I was going to be killed... but then Isaac showed up, and he and Empoleon (who was a Piplup at the time) fought Skarmory and his gang off. Isaac then tended to my injuries and offered for me to join him in his quest after a night's rest. Since I had nowhere to go, and Isaac had saved my life, I decided to go with him.
Well, that's my tale of how I met Isaac. You want to talk about someth-... oh my gosh! Shiny!
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(Valerie and Victor)
Hello everyone. My name is Valerie Roma. Fortunately my brother, Victor, is being reluctant to tell you the story of how we met Isaac, because I will give you a more accurate version. I must warn you this story is a bit disturbing. Alright, here I go.
My brother and I came from a village inhabited by a clan of Gardevoir and Gallade in the forest area to the west of Mt. Coronet. Our clan had a lot of pride and had numerous laws specific to it. My father was the Head of the clan and the strongest in the village. Growing up there was wonderful for Victor, he always got his way and he was the ideal child in my parents' eyes. I on the other hand was seen as an "undesirable." I had no friends and my parents thought I was a disappointment, all because I was different. I was called crazy on a daily basis, because no one believed that I have visions of the future.
One day, a boy about the age of twelve came to our village. He approached my father and was requesting for him to teach him everything he knew about fighting and everything he knew about psychic techniques. The instant I laid eyes on that boy, I got a bad feeling about him, though nobody would listen to me, and my father agreed to help him.
No matter how many times I spoke up about the bad feeling I got from the boy, everyone would just call me crazy. What made it even worse for me was how quickly the boy was learning what my father taught him. You would think that I would be happy about that because he would be leaving sooner, but then I would think about the kinds of advanced and deadly techniques he was learning. I could barely sleep from how worried I was.
It only took three days for the boy to learn everything my father could teach him, including the one technique created by my father himself: the Manipulation technique. It allows the user to get inside the opponent's mind and mess with their senses to get them to act the way they want them to. It can be through pain, images, persuasion, illusions, or possessing them. It is a technique meant as a last resort, though rarely was there ever a need for it then.
Anyway, the boy thanked my father for everything and at that moment I had a vision of the village in ruins. Before I could warn everyone about it, the boy drew the blade he had been given as a parting gift and slashed my father across the chest, killing him. He then proceeded to kill the other members of the clan one-by-one, starting with those who tried to attack him while the rest of us ran. The boy then chased after the others and started killing them too. The village was destroyed by him, and my brother and I barely managed to escape. We are the only two survivors that we know of.
For a whole year we lived in the forest together, slowly moving south. Food was scarce for us and we were barely getting by. Then we came across Isaac one day when he was setting up camp. He noticed us when our stomachs growled from seeing the food he pulled out. He saw how bad of shape we were in and invited us to join him for dinner, and afterward to join him in his adventure. Victor and I happily agreed to both... well, I happily agreed and Victor went along with it, seeing as he wasn't going to leave his sister. But how could I say no to such an offer from such a kindhearted person... such a kind, wonderful... caring... handsome... person......
"Take a cold shower, Val!"
Oh shut up, Victor! Sorry everyone. Anyway, that's our story, told ya it was disturbing... I've got to go now.
"Yeah, so you can paw off."
That's it! I'm going to kill you, Victor! Hey! Get back here!
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(Amy)
It was another beautiful day in the city of Hearthome. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the streets were bustling with busy people merrily walking to and from work and church. All was well until an angry roar echoed throughout the city. Amy, the Bellossom, was running through the city as fast as her legs could carry her while a very irritated Abomasnow chased after her.
Amy had been running from the Abomasnow for three days now. He was her now ex-boyfriend, Marno, and he was chasing her because she dumped him and he insisted that if he couldn't have her, no one could.
Amy was panting heavily as she ran, her energy dangerously low but she had to keep running. Marno growled and hail started to fall around the city, pelting Amy and gradually weakening her. She ducked into an alleyway to buy herself a few more precious seconds of distance ahead of Marno, as the Abomasnow skidded and stumbled while making the turn. When he had regained balance, he saw that Amy had disappeared. Marno knew that she couldn't have ran far enough ahead for him to lose sight of her, and also knew that she was the type to hide in a situation like this.
Marno slowly walked forward, looking for places where his bitch might be hiding, his eyes scanning the alley. His attention was brought to a group of trash cans when a small sneeze sounded out by them. Marno smirked and quietly approached the trash cans, though he recoiled and growled out in pain as a small bag of cat litter exploded upon hitting the Abomasnow's face and getting into his eyes. While he was blinded, Amy dashed toward him before sliding underneath him between his legs to escape. She managed to put a good distance between herself and Marno before he started chasing her again.
Amy was gasping for air as she ran, screaming for help. Marno growled and was starting to gain on her. Amy was knocking over whatever she could with Magical Leaf in an effort to slow him down, not having any luck with that though. She let loose several Poisonpowder, Stun Spore, and Sleep Powder clouds, though with a simple wave of his arm he pushed them away as he continued to persue the poor Bellossom.
Amy turned down another alleyway, but she soon regretted doing so, as it was a dead end. She gulped as she felt the heavy footsteps approaching and she slowly turned around to face Marno.
"Last chance, Amy," said the enraged Abomasnow, "Come back to me... you know you want me."
Amy shook her head, tears falling from her eyes as she yelled at him, "No! I won't go back to you, you disgusting pig! I hate you!" She launched a Magical Leaf attack at Marno, who simply crossed his arms in a defensive stance. The attack hit, but didn't do anything, and Marno continued walking forward through the barrage of glowing leaves. Amy was using the attack over and over to slow him down so she could gather solar energy for her strongest attack, but with the lack of sunlight in the dark alley, it was difficult for her to gather enough power. Soon though, she ran out of time and had no choice, screaming as loud as she could while firing a Solarbeam at Marno. The Abomasnow's eyes went a bit wide as the attack hit him in the gut and exploded, the alley becoming filled with smoke.
Amy moved to the wall to one side, coughing from the smoke as she felt her way back out of the alley. She knew that attack hadn't worked, as hail began pelting her again. She started to run again, but tripped and sprained her ankle when her foot got caught on a raised crack in the street. Marno came charging at her, and the Bellossom closed her eyes, knowing this was the end. Marno drew his fist back as he approached Amy, ready to smash her when he got in range. Tears rolled down Amy's face as she waited for the impa-
"Hey! Leave her alone!"
The ground shook as Marno's fist slammed into the pavement just shy of hitting Amy. Amy slowly opened her eyes, still trembling. She gasped when she saw that someone had diverted the punch... but it wasn't so much that she was stunned that someone had helped her, more of WHO had helped her. A young man was standing in front of the Bellossom, gripping the arm of the Abomasnow's that he had saved her from. He had white blond hair, and emerald green eyes that were filled with seriousness as the young man pushed Marno back and told him to leave the Bellossom alone. Marno growled and charged at him to attack, only to get kneed in the stomach and knocked out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.
Amy was completely amazed at what had just happened. Marno, the strongest Pokémon she knew, had been defeated... by a mere human! She couldn't help but feel a bit afraid of the heroic stranger, yet at the same time she felt a sense of devotion toward him for saving her. The man turned around and smiled at Amy before crouching down and holding out his hand to help her up.
"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help. My name is Isaac, and if you'll let me I'll fix that sprained ankle of yours..."
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(Resume normal story)
After dinner, Isaac and the others decided to turn in early, as they had a long day. Each member of Isaac's team went to the rooms they stayed in whenever they visited Pam's house. Isaac carried Maria, who was sleeping in his arms, up the stairs to his room. He stopped just before entering his bedroom, looking toward the opposite end of the hallway where his brother's old bedroom was. He sighed and whispered, "Goodnight Derek," before walking into his own room, a habit of his that he just couldn't get rid of. Maybe it was because he wanted to feel like Derek was still around, part of him wanting to hear his brother's voice reply to him. Or it might just be a habit, plain and simple.
On the side opposite the door, Isaac's room looked not much different than how it was when he was ten. A few posters on the wall, his bed sitting under them. A nightstand was next to the bed, and his dresser at the foot of the bed. The rest of Isaac's room was his laboratory. Numerous cabinets, drawers, and shelves surrounded a desk about the length of an office cubicle, all of which contained various beakers, test tubes, herbs, and other medical and research equipment. Several sheets of paper with diagrams and formulas were strewn atop the desk. Isaac sighed and gently laid Maria down on his bed, moving one of the pillows next to her for her to hug and snuggle to.
Isaac smiled, watching Maria sleep for a few minutes before he changed into his pajamas and got ready for bed. He turned the lights off and climbed into bed, gently scooting Maria over toward the wall so that she wouldn't roll off the bed. He smiled and lightly petted her head until he fell asleep.
Later that night...
"Isaac... Fredrickson..."
Isaac's face scrunched up a little and he turned over in his sleep, completely unaware of the dull light in his face.
"Wake up... wake... up..." The voice was soft, yet it echoed through Isaac's mind. He slowly opened his eyes to see a small orb of light inches from his face. He gasped lightly, not wanting to wake Maria up, and the orb slowly moved toward the door. It stopped just before touching the door, as if waiting for Isaac to follow. Isaac was mesmerized by this specticle, quietly getting up and following the orb as it moved into the hallway. The ball of light travelled to the opposite end of the hall and waited for him to catch up before passing through the closest doorway. It was the one room that no one had been in for almost ten years... Derek's room. Isaac gulped and took a small breath to calm himself, then slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open with a soft creak.
The room was a complete mess. Books were scattered all over the floor, several of the pages torn out and shredded. The bed had been slashed repeatedly, pillow fluff sticking up out of the gashes. The nightstand next to the bed lay on its side, the lamp that once sat upon it now in pieces on the floor. But none of this was as disturbing to Isaac as what he was frozen to the spot by. Along the walls were numerous formulas and words in another language, written in what appeared to be dried blood. Isaac was terrified of this room, and he felt sick. He looked over to the closet and ran to it, some otherworldly force seeming to draw him there. The door was locked, but Isaac was intent on getting in, growling as he pointed his finger at the lock. The handle fell apart completely and Isaac flung the door open, smirking as he laid eyes on his target. A journal was floating in front of him and glowing light blue. Isaac grabbed the book and cackled as he opened it, seeing the word "judgement" written over and over again on the pages. A few drops of blood appeared on the pages, and Isaac looked up at the ceilingto see the other symbol his mother warned him of, dripping the fresh blood it was drawn with. He gasped as it began glowing too, insane laughter echoing through his mind. The room was spinning and becoming distorted, a mirror appearing in front of Isaac's face, the reflection showing a crazed child with jet black hair and light gray eyes wo was laughing and-
"ISAAC!"
Isaac jolted awake, finding that he was back in his bed, drenched with sweat. Maria was sitting on top of him and had a look of deep concern on her face. Isaac shakily set her on the bed, "Just a... minute..." He pulled the trash can closer and vomited into it. Maria whimpered and crawled back over to him, "Are you alright, Isaac?"
Isaac coughed and nodded, "I'll be fine." He sighed a little, relieved that experience was all just a dream. He took a few deep breaths to calm down before he smiled and hugged Maria, "Anyway, good morning." Maria giggled and nuzzled Isaac sweetly. Isaac chuckled and gently set her back down on the bed, "Can you wait here for just a minute? I'll be right back." Maria nodded and Isaac left the room.
Isaac couldn't get the dream out of his thoughts and he proceeded toward Derek's room. He had to prove to himself there was nothing for him to be concerned about. He moved quietly through the hallway, as it was still fairly early in the morning and he didn't want to wake anyone up. He slowly opened the door to Derek's room and peeked inside, gasping when he found the room to be in the exact condition he had seen when he had entered the room in the dream. Everything except for the ceiling looked just as he had seen before.
Isaac was getting scared now, looking around the room until his eyes fell upon the closet. He gulped and slowly approached it, his heart beating faster with every step closer he made. He hesitantly gripped the handle and tried to open the closet, though it was locked. "I have no idea why I'm even doing this," Isaac whispered to himself, "I should just forget about it, but this is too bizarre for me to just walk away from."
Isaac wondered if the dream was actually a prediction. He knew there was no way the next part would come true, it was illogical for him to simply will the handle to fall apart. Then again, he was curious. He pointed his finger at the lock and waited... and waited... and waited. The handle remained in tact, and Isaac grew a bit frustrated. "Come on, burst damn it!"
This time something did happen, though instead of the handle falling apart, the entire closet door exploded and knocked Isaac backward onto the bed as millions of splintery wood chips scattered around the room. Isaac blinked and stared at the remains of the door in awe, speechless from the shock of this event which was unexplainable to him. It took several minutes for him to force his body to stand up and walk back over to the closet to look for the journal he had seen in the dream.
The closet contained a variety of miscellaneous items and mechanical devices that were taken apart. Sitting on the top shelf was a book, and Isaac pulled it down, blowing the dust off the cover. He gasped when he saw the writing on the cover, which read "Derek Walter Fredrickson."
"Could this be a journal?" Isaac asked himself as he opened the book to the first page. "Let's see here... the first entry was on...... July 20, 2000..."
=Within this journal, I shall record my findings and achievements, as I experiment and calculate. Today, I may have discovered hidden potentials locked away in the human brain. I am currently unsure as to how I did it, but I believe this new ability of mine to be none other than psychokinesis. It is said that psychic powers that dwell within a person, if any, are usable, and sometimes uncontrollable, from the moment that they were born, and that it cannot be learned. I have never shown signs of these abilities before today. I think that this disproves the theory that it cannot be learned, and shows that it is part of the 90% of the brain that is inaccessable. If this is true, then I must learn how to fully unlock these powers, so that I may teach others. But for now, I must figure out how I can use them.=
Isaac only had enough time to read the first entry before he heard the door opening. He quickly closed the book and hid it behind his back as he turned to see his mother entering the room. She only took a glance around the room before looking at Isaac and asking, "What in heaven's name is going on here? Why are you in Derek's room, destroying it?"
Isaac blinked, "Mom, the room was like this when I came in... well, except the closet door... that was my-"
"Nevermind," said Pam in a somewhat angered tone, "just get out of your brother's room and go make breakfast." She was very upset about something.
"But mom, I only-" began Isaac.
"Isaac Rube Fredrickson, you will do as I say!" shrieked Pam, which probably woke everyone else up within a two-house radius.
"Y-yes, mother..." replied Isaac as he hurried down to the kitchen, storing the journal underneath the couch in the living room as he passed by... so that he could read more of it later.Chapter End Notes:Hope you enjoyed that chapter, and hope you'll read on. :