Story Notes:
This story is set on EARTH. our earth, you and me earth. you get the idea.Pokemon copyrighted to nintendo, blah blah blahdy blah blah
Chapter 9
They drove for as long as they could, Michael fighting off sleep in the driver's seat. The road they were driving along became rough, leading into gravel eventually. The fields of grass stretched out, embracing the horizon, while the moon above illuminated them. They needed a place to stay for tonight at least, the car would be too visible on the side of the road, and could attract some unwanted visitors. Michael really missed his bed, for three days now he had been on the road, and sleeping in a car really wasn't that refreshing. As the road went on in this abandoned part of the country, Michael could see farming equipments scattered all over the field, dropped there and left to rust. The equipments trailed to a two story cottage just off the gravel road, the type you would see in those gimmicky movies set on ranches, usually about a couple of teens. It was better than nothing, and seemed remote enough to be safe, but only time would tell of that. Michael turned off the road and made his way up the long dirt drive way, a greyish cloud being blown up as he did so, glowing in the moonlight. The place had a small garage to the side, empty. Michael pulled into the garage and turned the car off, sitting back and stretching his tired bones. The house was clearly abandoned as the door was left wide open, and there was no one in sight for miles. Michael looked over at melody, she was resting her head on the window, lighting sleeping. Will was asleep too, as was Tom. He gently coaxed everyone awake; they woke up faster than he thought.
"I found this old farmhouse" he said, opening his door and stepping out "Seems safe enough and they probably didn't move the beds or anything"
"Well, it's a welcome change of pace" Will said, a sleepy slur in his voice. Melody yawned deeply as they made their way into the house, searching for the bedrooms. Will flipped a light switch and the house was illuminated, thank god the power hadn't been cut yet. Michael was right; the house had just been left completely. Furniture was still there, pictures hung on the walls and small trinkets were scattered around the house. They made their way up the stairs, wood creaking with age. This seemed to be a family house since there were three bedrooms, all fully furnished with beds and tables. It wasn't surprising that they hadn't taken anything; Michael hadn't done so either when they had left his house. Michael and melody made their way into the master bedroom, the choice being rather obvious, while Will and Tom headed for the two smaller rooms off the hall. Michael thankfully slid under the covers and relaxed into the bed, letting out a deep breath.
"This is much better" he said tiredly. Melody was surveying the room, looking over the walls and floors, Michael looked over "something wrong?"
"It's just..." melody struggled to find words for a second "This place is just like your old house"
"it has got that old feeling to it" Michael said, melody climbed into the bed next to him, leaning on his chest. She let out a saddened sigh
"Are going to leave again?" she asked unhappily
"We'll be going in the morning" Michael said, gently stroking her hair, drawing a sigh from her
"But why? Why can't we stay?" she asked
"It might not be safe, I don't want to risk losing any of us" he said, he too was wishing they didn't have to go. He felt her sadness, a deep hole in her being, draining her.
"I don't like this" she said "I don't like all this running, please, I want it to end"
"I do too Melody..." Michael said dejectedly "I don't want this life for us"
"Then let's just stop" she said "I don't care if I never go back now, that's all in the past. But please Michael, please just let us be together peacefully"
Michael sighed and looked down at her, feeling her love for him, longing for a better life which was in their grasps. As they lay in that bed, they knew what they both wanted. To stay here, just living their lives with the world ignorant of them, all they needed was each other. But with all the turmoil, how long would it last? Michael let out a low grumble
"As long as it can" he thought, his feelings pushing away reason and logic.
"Okay Melody, we'll stay for as long as the world allows us" he said, pulling her close and letting her warmth sooth his mind of fear and doubt. She gave him a gentle kiss on the lips and lay back down, Michael flipped off the bedside lamp and settled down for a deep sleep, filled with calm and wonder.
Unfortunately, Michael was awakened in the dark of the morning by the sound of tires on gravel, heavy tires. As he shifted, melody's eye fluttered open, even in sleep she could feel his thoughts. Right now, they were disturbed. Michael crawled from the bed and crept over to the window, leaning against the wall and peering out of the crack between the curtains. A pit grew in his stomach as he saw a large truck filled with soldiers, each carrying a small rifle. Some of them were dressed in plastic suits, looking more like biochemists than soldiers. The commanding officer said sometime quickly before loading a dart into his rifle and signalling forward. He looked up towards the window, Michael quickly moving away and praying he didn't notice him. Michael heard the front door open and men pile into the first room.
He ran over to the bed and grabbed melody, drawing a slight cry from her. He pulled her to the ground and shuffled into the narrow space between the floor and the bed, whispering for her to be quiet. Waiting under that bed was agonizing for them both, hearing the boots of the soldiers clatter around the house, searching various areas. Michael wondered if they were the ones from the checkpoint, were they being looked for now? The soldiers made their way up the stairs and spread out, one searching each room. As their own room door was opened, Michael knew it was the commander, he couldn't see the man but he was sure it was him. Melody whimpered slightly as he made his way around the bed, opening the drawers, the closet, the bedside table. He rummaged through the junk in the room, methodically taking his time to sort for anything suspicious. The man began talking, as if he knew they were there. A sort of torture for anyone who happened to be hiding
'"You can come out if you're here" he called, layering a sickly sweet tone over his rough voice. "We won't hurt you, we just want to collect some samples and be back at base for our breakfast"
He stomped once on the floor, Michael felt the tremor as he did so.
"Maybe we'll even help you, if you can help us" he pulled the dresser in the wardrobe to the floor, sending a thud through the house "See, we're looking for those weird alien things, they need to be stopped and we have the guns to do so"
He paused before picking up the lamp and hurling it at the wall, the metal denting it and the bulb shattering
"Or maybe you are one of them" a tone of sadism crept into his voice "maybe we'll capture you, experiment on you, torture you and then leave you for the boys to deal with. I know I've been dying to gut one of you"
He stepped towards the bed, rubber boots drawing closer to Michaels head. Melody's mind was frantic, she wanted to bolt out from under the bed and run, she wanted to escape his cage she was locked in. But she knew she would be shot down if she did so. Michael held her tighter as the voice continued.
"I've heard the screams of every race of man you can think of as I drew my knife along their chest, and they all sound different as the blood pours from their stomachs. How do you sound when you're dying with your organs splayed on the floor" he kicked the bedpost, moving the bed slightly, Michael shuffled back with it, trying not to make much noise. Before he could do so again, a shot was heard from outside. The commander turned and made his way towards the window; he paused for a second then walked out of the room, tramping down the stairs. Michael heard the men talking quickly between themselves, silencing as the commander approached. He said a few words Michael sound make out, then opened the truck door and got back inside. The men loaded something large and metal onto the truck, then got themselves in. As the sound of tires crunching gravel got further and further away, Michael loosed his grip on melody, allowing them to crawl out from under the bed. She shuddered as she tried to calm herself, holding her arms close to her. Michael put a hand on her shoulder, feeling her ease a bit. He too was shaken from the experience, it was the closest rather of them had come to such danger. They had gone now, and hopefully wouldn't return, but there was always lingering doubt. Tom enter the room, scanning the area with hawk like focus
"They're gone?" he asked, Michael nodded
"Where's Will?" he asked, as if on cue there was a cracking above them followed by a thud as Will fell through the plaster ceiling, he groaned and coughed as he sat up, rubbing his head from the fall
"Must've stepped on a weak board" he mused, looking up at the hole now leading into the loft. At least it had happened after the soldiers had left, otherwise things might be very different. Michael pulled Will up from the floor, small bits of plaster falling off his shirt.
"Do you think they'll come back?" Melody asked, an edge of sorrow in her question that they may have to leave
"I doubt it, they marked the door, must've been doing a sweep for the neighbourhood" Tom said, "if they do come back, it'd only be for something bloody important"
"You think we should stay?" Will asked, still dusting plaster from his wispy white hair, Michael glanced at melody, noting the gentle smile on her face
"Yes, we can rest for a while, and maybe even discover what to do about this whole thing" Michaels words seemed to make the situation sound like a simple thing to brush aside, not hinting at the fact that two worlds were being torn apart as they merged. The scale of the situation hit Will visibly as he began running through various theorems and thoughts, reality itself, need to be changed.
"Now isn't the time for all this malarkey" Tom said "Get some rest, and we can discuss it in the morning" They all agreed to that, resting their rudely awakened bones
Morning came, but it was a different sensation for Michael as he woke up in a strange bed, in a strange house with an even stranger partner. The light coming from the curtains was not warm like it often was back home, but a dull morning azure, cooling the land. The walls seemed to shy away from him as he lay there, holding on to Melody, like she was an anchor to the world. Things had changed, and they were likely to change further. Would they go out in a bang as the worlds boiled down to one, or with a whimper as the military hunted down the so called 'aliens' with brutal prejudice? Maybe they could flee to Melody's world, though he doubted things would be any better there. His clothes felt clammy from wearing them for so long, he needed a shower and something to eat. Melody stirred and stretched slightly as she opened her crimson eyes, nothing was said as they got up and made their way downstairs, their mental link was telling them all they needed to know from each other. The love, the fear, the hope, it was all there. Will was up and sitting an old brown couch in the font room as he scribbled onto a notepad, it looked like he been up all night. The dark bags under his eyes only added to the already aged face, brow lines deeply carved. A lone, empty can of tinned spaghetti sat on the table next to the couch. His laptop was sitting next to it, a small antenna plugged into it. Michael leaned over and looked at the screen, filled with various news websites, reporting the sorry state of the world.
"It's getting worse" Will croaked "Earthquakes along the major fault lines, stray portals blasting places to rubble...Many countries have declared emergency states and some even instated marshal law" He put the pad down the table and rubbed his face "looks like the US isn't too far from it either"
"any way to stop this so far?" Michael asked
"not stop...stall...maybe" Will said "the portals become more frequent and stable as the worlds draw closer, so we may be able to predict their appearances"
"Can we go through one?" Melody asked, even though she didn't care about her home anymore, she would at least like to visit it once more
"That crazy!" Will burst out, very erratically "Even if you do survive getting near one, it could collapse once you're through, or worse, when you're in it"
"Can't you predict that?" Michael said
"If I had a supercomputer! We're talking about calculations on a huge and quantum scale all at once" Will said, leaning back "I don't think there is a way to stop this, maybe we just need to ride it out until over eventual obliteration"
Michael had to admit that it seemed that way; Will had told of the huge amounts of energy it would take to simply open a portal, and they were talking about repelling two realities, only a god could managed that.
"I've been thinking if I could just observe portal up close, I might get an idea" Will said "I'll have to set up my detector to pick up the tachyon output within a mile or so, but it's a chance, and that's all we've ever been going on, right?"
Michael nodded; this whole thing was all luck and randomness. Michael took a hold of Wills laptop and typed in a few addresses, he had to see this all for himself, even if it was only through an LCD monitor. He typed in the name of his old town, wondering its fate, and the fate of his home. News articles appeared on screen, detailing how the large portal was still raging, and still spewing out random junk. Photos of the old town showed it charred and damaged as debris lay everywhere. Houses had been crushed, roads cracked and everything else demolished from the stray energy being shot off from the portal. The area had been quarantined and was under heavy guard due to numerous sightings of Pokémon in the area, being accredited some of the destruction. Michael closed the laptop, having seen enough. He shook his head clear of menacing thought and began to walk up the stairs, heading for the front door. Melody followed him out, sensing the deep turmoil inside him.
As they exited the house, they were hit by the grey morning sun, mist settling over the gravel road they had come down to reach this place. Melody took in the area, scanning it for anything that may be useful, but there was nothing. Fields stretched out to the horizon, filled with yellow grass and pieces of farming machines. Michael just stood and stared out at the road, as if looking at it would be enough to make something good happen.
"What do you think?" he asked
"about what?" she replied, noting the melancholy tone in his voice
"Where would you rather spend your last few months?" Michael said "Here, waiting for something that may never come, or in your own world, travelling across the world and maybe finding a final place to rest"
She was a bit scared from what he was saying, she had to ask
"What are you thinking?"
He turned to her, eyes downcast, face pale and morose. His voice shuddered
"If we can't go back to your world, there may be some peace for us, I know there are far more isolated areas" he said "We could stay there, with each other for as long as the worlds can last, there'd be no military threat and no one hunting us. We could both exist like we were meant to"
"But what if we find a way to stop this?" she asked, Michael growled in anger and pain
"We can't dammit! It's impossible! This is all a stupid act of god and we will never find a way out!" He yelled "The whole world has fucked itself! Everyone will die or worse!" he collapsed to his knees in misery "The only way I can think good of it, is that we might be able to die in peace when it all comes to an end! We...can't...fix this!"
Melody weighed his words, despite all the emotion in them, they were rational. The chances of fixing this were very slim, it was a cosmic event, larger than any of them. It had no face and no natural weakness, it was pure chaos. She bent down next to him and affectionately smoothed his course brown hair, her eyes softening as she spoke
"Let's try at least...if we can't do it, then we can leave" she said "But for now, we'll hold on to this world a bit longer"
Michael slowly stood, regaining his composure. He looked up at the dawn sky, painted red, like it was splattered with blood from all this madness. The clouds moved slowly, blown by the atmospheric winds, shifting in colour as they went. Michael's eyes caught something in the sky, a streak of orange, like an old biplane. The streak circled a few times directly over the house, then began to descend, rather rapidly. Anything going that fast toward the ground can't be good. Melody noticed it too, trying to sharper her senses and find what it was. Michaels eye widened as the thing got closer, he could make out a flame, wings and talons. IT seemed clear by now it wasn't a plane or a bird, but something more fearsome. The orange scaled creature pulled up, spreading it's dragon like wings as it pulled back. Michael and Melody quickly moved away as the creature thudded to the ground, sending gravel high into the air.
"Oh crap..." Michael uttered as he realised what he was staring at. A orange scaled, flame tailed, dragon like beast. A Charizard. As it adjusted its eyes onto him, it leaned back, opening its mouth and emitting a large roar. The sound shook the ground as the creature readied to attack, twisting it's large body backwards. Before it could move any further though, it was knocked back by an unseen force. Michael blinked as he looked over to see melody holding out a hand, having fired the psychic blast. The Charizard look at her, visibly angered and confused, it roared but showed no signs of attack as it looked at her. For the first time since he met her, she spoke in her natural tongue, speaking her own name in various sequences
"Garde....Gardevoir" she spoke, her voice lacked the double tracked sound of telepathic speech. The Charizard roared back in responce, but in a quieter and less agitated tone this time. She continued to speak "Gardevoir, Garde, Voir....Gardevoir"
Despite it not being the time nor the place, Michael wondered how such speech even worked if it was simply repeating the name of the Pokémon speaking. A system of syllables in sequence, maybe? Or subtle voice cues? It was hard to grasp, but clearly the Charizard understood what she was saying, and was rather suspicious of him. It looked from her to him, then back, letting out a huff in response to something she said. Her voice caught him off guard when she spoke to him again
"He wants to take us back to his nest" she said "He mentioned something about a leader; it could be a small tribe"
"How do we know it isn't a trap?" Michael asked, seemed a silly question to be asking a Pokémon, but they could be rather cunning despite looks. Melody and the Charizard spoke a few sentences before she turned back
"he says that if you stay with me, on one will try hurt us" she said, a calmness in her voice betraying the situation. Michael looked at the Charizard, who was eyeing him cautiously. Michael knew that have other Pokémon trust them could be useful, he doubted they would help, but it was a start towards some kind of alliance. He made up his mind.
"Fine, where's his 'nest'?" Michael asked, wondering where a large creature like that could hide
After another short exchange between the two Pokémon, Melody answered
"He says he can fly us there" she said, seeming a bit excited at the prospect of flying. Michael groaned at the idea of being above ground on a giant lizard which could incinerate a human being in under a second, but he agreed. The Charizard bowed slightly, allowing melody and Michael to climb onto his back, in between the two powerful wings. He took off quickly, not waiting for the two passengers to settle in. Michael held on tight to the body of the beast, feeling the wind rush past his face as they soared higher into the sky. Melody let out a laugh they she looked down, she had never flown on anything before, and to see the world from such a vantage point was amazing.
Michael didn't know how far they flew, but when he looked back down, he saw they were flying over another forested area. The area was partly walled in by rocks, a creek running through the small valley. Various areas of the canopy were open, but it seemed the branches had been cut, rather than just being a gap in the forest. As they descended into one of these openings, Michael saw the branches up close, having been cut clean through. It would take something sharper than a saw to do that. Michael felt a slight thud as they landed, thankful to crawl off of the large lizard. His bones felt loose after the flight, he rolled his shoulders, trying to return the feeling. Melody was still thrilled from having flown so fast and so high, amazed by the speed in which they travelled. No sooner had they taken a few steps off, a rustle from the bushes alerted them to the presence of someone else. As Michael turned to look, several various Pokémon burst from the foliage, focusing on the two of them. The Charizard gave a large roar, making the various creatures step back slightly, but not lowering their guard. The Charizard roared a second time, shorter this time, making one of the Pokémon step forward. A green bird, standing on two feet with its symmetrical wings tucked into it's body. It regarded them with thin, shallow eyes, smoothly moving from one to another. It looked at melody with a slight fondness, like she was a sister. It spoke curtly, waiting for a response.
"Xat, Xatu" it's voice sounded as if it was synthesized, being rather tinny, as if it was coming from an old speaker system.
Melody gave what would probably be a greeting in her language, eliciting a nod from the Xatu before it turned and walked into the woods, Melody began to follow along with Michael
"I suppose he wants us to go with him?" Michael said
"Yes, he says their leader is waiting for a report" she said, an inch of worry in her voice. The leader would be either strong, or smart. Both possibly being harmful to them. Michael reviewed the area as they walked, noticing more and more Pokémon peering out from bushes and small burrows. They looked on in a slight awe, which was odd considering that they had surely seen humans before. But maybe being in this world had taught them to fear humans, seeing them as more of a threat than another race like them. There were multitudes of them there, forming a safe haven for Pokémon in this world, out of the way and out of sight. There were Mightyenas in packs, Lucarios in small groups, a Blaziken who starred with cold eyes as it held a small Torchic. Bugs types were scattered and other random ones scuttling around the grassy floor. As they continued through the area, they eventually happened upon a small hut, made from branches stacked into a cubic shape with leaves and moss covering it, offering some enclosed space. The roof was simple leaves woven together to form a coarse material, blocking wind and rain. The Xatu stopped, signalling for us to wait by a wave of its wing. Michael heard a few lines of muffled dialogue were heard from outside the hut, the walls also appeared to provide a good sound barrier. The Xatu exited, pointing inside, giving a short command. Michael and melody ducked under the low wooden doorway and squinted in the dark hut. A small light appeared in the centre of the room, glowing softly, throwing warm shadows onto the ground around it. From behind it, and aged creature looked out at them. Two large ears extended from its jackal like head, along with a mane of thick brown fur along it's collar. It looked over them with beady and wise eyes, before smiling slightly. He motioned for them to sit down, they had no seats so the mossy earth felt damp under them, but this was the last thing on their minds. The creature spoke, in a voice raspy and horse, but double toned, like Melody's. He was a psychic.
"Welcome you two, we have many a thing to discuss"
"I found this old farmhouse" he said, opening his door and stepping out "Seems safe enough and they probably didn't move the beds or anything"
"Well, it's a welcome change of pace" Will said, a sleepy slur in his voice. Melody yawned deeply as they made their way into the house, searching for the bedrooms. Will flipped a light switch and the house was illuminated, thank god the power hadn't been cut yet. Michael was right; the house had just been left completely. Furniture was still there, pictures hung on the walls and small trinkets were scattered around the house. They made their way up the stairs, wood creaking with age. This seemed to be a family house since there were three bedrooms, all fully furnished with beds and tables. It wasn't surprising that they hadn't taken anything; Michael hadn't done so either when they had left his house. Michael and melody made their way into the master bedroom, the choice being rather obvious, while Will and Tom headed for the two smaller rooms off the hall. Michael thankfully slid under the covers and relaxed into the bed, letting out a deep breath.
"This is much better" he said tiredly. Melody was surveying the room, looking over the walls and floors, Michael looked over "something wrong?"
"It's just..." melody struggled to find words for a second "This place is just like your old house"
"it has got that old feeling to it" Michael said, melody climbed into the bed next to him, leaning on his chest. She let out a saddened sigh
"Are going to leave again?" she asked unhappily
"We'll be going in the morning" Michael said, gently stroking her hair, drawing a sigh from her
"But why? Why can't we stay?" she asked
"It might not be safe, I don't want to risk losing any of us" he said, he too was wishing they didn't have to go. He felt her sadness, a deep hole in her being, draining her.
"I don't like this" she said "I don't like all this running, please, I want it to end"
"I do too Melody..." Michael said dejectedly "I don't want this life for us"
"Then let's just stop" she said "I don't care if I never go back now, that's all in the past. But please Michael, please just let us be together peacefully"
Michael sighed and looked down at her, feeling her love for him, longing for a better life which was in their grasps. As they lay in that bed, they knew what they both wanted. To stay here, just living their lives with the world ignorant of them, all they needed was each other. But with all the turmoil, how long would it last? Michael let out a low grumble
"As long as it can" he thought, his feelings pushing away reason and logic.
"Okay Melody, we'll stay for as long as the world allows us" he said, pulling her close and letting her warmth sooth his mind of fear and doubt. She gave him a gentle kiss on the lips and lay back down, Michael flipped off the bedside lamp and settled down for a deep sleep, filled with calm and wonder.
Unfortunately, Michael was awakened in the dark of the morning by the sound of tires on gravel, heavy tires. As he shifted, melody's eye fluttered open, even in sleep she could feel his thoughts. Right now, they were disturbed. Michael crawled from the bed and crept over to the window, leaning against the wall and peering out of the crack between the curtains. A pit grew in his stomach as he saw a large truck filled with soldiers, each carrying a small rifle. Some of them were dressed in plastic suits, looking more like biochemists than soldiers. The commanding officer said sometime quickly before loading a dart into his rifle and signalling forward. He looked up towards the window, Michael quickly moving away and praying he didn't notice him. Michael heard the front door open and men pile into the first room.
He ran over to the bed and grabbed melody, drawing a slight cry from her. He pulled her to the ground and shuffled into the narrow space between the floor and the bed, whispering for her to be quiet. Waiting under that bed was agonizing for them both, hearing the boots of the soldiers clatter around the house, searching various areas. Michael wondered if they were the ones from the checkpoint, were they being looked for now? The soldiers made their way up the stairs and spread out, one searching each room. As their own room door was opened, Michael knew it was the commander, he couldn't see the man but he was sure it was him. Melody whimpered slightly as he made his way around the bed, opening the drawers, the closet, the bedside table. He rummaged through the junk in the room, methodically taking his time to sort for anything suspicious. The man began talking, as if he knew they were there. A sort of torture for anyone who happened to be hiding
'"You can come out if you're here" he called, layering a sickly sweet tone over his rough voice. "We won't hurt you, we just want to collect some samples and be back at base for our breakfast"
He stomped once on the floor, Michael felt the tremor as he did so.
"Maybe we'll even help you, if you can help us" he pulled the dresser in the wardrobe to the floor, sending a thud through the house "See, we're looking for those weird alien things, they need to be stopped and we have the guns to do so"
He paused before picking up the lamp and hurling it at the wall, the metal denting it and the bulb shattering
"Or maybe you are one of them" a tone of sadism crept into his voice "maybe we'll capture you, experiment on you, torture you and then leave you for the boys to deal with. I know I've been dying to gut one of you"
He stepped towards the bed, rubber boots drawing closer to Michaels head. Melody's mind was frantic, she wanted to bolt out from under the bed and run, she wanted to escape his cage she was locked in. But she knew she would be shot down if she did so. Michael held her tighter as the voice continued.
"I've heard the screams of every race of man you can think of as I drew my knife along their chest, and they all sound different as the blood pours from their stomachs. How do you sound when you're dying with your organs splayed on the floor" he kicked the bedpost, moving the bed slightly, Michael shuffled back with it, trying not to make much noise. Before he could do so again, a shot was heard from outside. The commander turned and made his way towards the window; he paused for a second then walked out of the room, tramping down the stairs. Michael heard the men talking quickly between themselves, silencing as the commander approached. He said a few words Michael sound make out, then opened the truck door and got back inside. The men loaded something large and metal onto the truck, then got themselves in. As the sound of tires crunching gravel got further and further away, Michael loosed his grip on melody, allowing them to crawl out from under the bed. She shuddered as she tried to calm herself, holding her arms close to her. Michael put a hand on her shoulder, feeling her ease a bit. He too was shaken from the experience, it was the closest rather of them had come to such danger. They had gone now, and hopefully wouldn't return, but there was always lingering doubt. Tom enter the room, scanning the area with hawk like focus
"They're gone?" he asked, Michael nodded
"Where's Will?" he asked, as if on cue there was a cracking above them followed by a thud as Will fell through the plaster ceiling, he groaned and coughed as he sat up, rubbing his head from the fall
"Must've stepped on a weak board" he mused, looking up at the hole now leading into the loft. At least it had happened after the soldiers had left, otherwise things might be very different. Michael pulled Will up from the floor, small bits of plaster falling off his shirt.
"Do you think they'll come back?" Melody asked, an edge of sorrow in her question that they may have to leave
"I doubt it, they marked the door, must've been doing a sweep for the neighbourhood" Tom said, "if they do come back, it'd only be for something bloody important"
"You think we should stay?" Will asked, still dusting plaster from his wispy white hair, Michael glanced at melody, noting the gentle smile on her face
"Yes, we can rest for a while, and maybe even discover what to do about this whole thing" Michaels words seemed to make the situation sound like a simple thing to brush aside, not hinting at the fact that two worlds were being torn apart as they merged. The scale of the situation hit Will visibly as he began running through various theorems and thoughts, reality itself, need to be changed.
"Now isn't the time for all this malarkey" Tom said "Get some rest, and we can discuss it in the morning" They all agreed to that, resting their rudely awakened bones
Morning came, but it was a different sensation for Michael as he woke up in a strange bed, in a strange house with an even stranger partner. The light coming from the curtains was not warm like it often was back home, but a dull morning azure, cooling the land. The walls seemed to shy away from him as he lay there, holding on to Melody, like she was an anchor to the world. Things had changed, and they were likely to change further. Would they go out in a bang as the worlds boiled down to one, or with a whimper as the military hunted down the so called 'aliens' with brutal prejudice? Maybe they could flee to Melody's world, though he doubted things would be any better there. His clothes felt clammy from wearing them for so long, he needed a shower and something to eat. Melody stirred and stretched slightly as she opened her crimson eyes, nothing was said as they got up and made their way downstairs, their mental link was telling them all they needed to know from each other. The love, the fear, the hope, it was all there. Will was up and sitting an old brown couch in the font room as he scribbled onto a notepad, it looked like he been up all night. The dark bags under his eyes only added to the already aged face, brow lines deeply carved. A lone, empty can of tinned spaghetti sat on the table next to the couch. His laptop was sitting next to it, a small antenna plugged into it. Michael leaned over and looked at the screen, filled with various news websites, reporting the sorry state of the world.
"It's getting worse" Will croaked "Earthquakes along the major fault lines, stray portals blasting places to rubble...Many countries have declared emergency states and some even instated marshal law" He put the pad down the table and rubbed his face "looks like the US isn't too far from it either"
"any way to stop this so far?" Michael asked
"not stop...stall...maybe" Will said "the portals become more frequent and stable as the worlds draw closer, so we may be able to predict their appearances"
"Can we go through one?" Melody asked, even though she didn't care about her home anymore, she would at least like to visit it once more
"That crazy!" Will burst out, very erratically "Even if you do survive getting near one, it could collapse once you're through, or worse, when you're in it"
"Can't you predict that?" Michael said
"If I had a supercomputer! We're talking about calculations on a huge and quantum scale all at once" Will said, leaning back "I don't think there is a way to stop this, maybe we just need to ride it out until over eventual obliteration"
Michael had to admit that it seemed that way; Will had told of the huge amounts of energy it would take to simply open a portal, and they were talking about repelling two realities, only a god could managed that.
"I've been thinking if I could just observe portal up close, I might get an idea" Will said "I'll have to set up my detector to pick up the tachyon output within a mile or so, but it's a chance, and that's all we've ever been going on, right?"
Michael nodded; this whole thing was all luck and randomness. Michael took a hold of Wills laptop and typed in a few addresses, he had to see this all for himself, even if it was only through an LCD monitor. He typed in the name of his old town, wondering its fate, and the fate of his home. News articles appeared on screen, detailing how the large portal was still raging, and still spewing out random junk. Photos of the old town showed it charred and damaged as debris lay everywhere. Houses had been crushed, roads cracked and everything else demolished from the stray energy being shot off from the portal. The area had been quarantined and was under heavy guard due to numerous sightings of Pokémon in the area, being accredited some of the destruction. Michael closed the laptop, having seen enough. He shook his head clear of menacing thought and began to walk up the stairs, heading for the front door. Melody followed him out, sensing the deep turmoil inside him.
As they exited the house, they were hit by the grey morning sun, mist settling over the gravel road they had come down to reach this place. Melody took in the area, scanning it for anything that may be useful, but there was nothing. Fields stretched out to the horizon, filled with yellow grass and pieces of farming machines. Michael just stood and stared out at the road, as if looking at it would be enough to make something good happen.
"What do you think?" he asked
"about what?" she replied, noting the melancholy tone in his voice
"Where would you rather spend your last few months?" Michael said "Here, waiting for something that may never come, or in your own world, travelling across the world and maybe finding a final place to rest"
She was a bit scared from what he was saying, she had to ask
"What are you thinking?"
He turned to her, eyes downcast, face pale and morose. His voice shuddered
"If we can't go back to your world, there may be some peace for us, I know there are far more isolated areas" he said "We could stay there, with each other for as long as the worlds can last, there'd be no military threat and no one hunting us. We could both exist like we were meant to"
"But what if we find a way to stop this?" she asked, Michael growled in anger and pain
"We can't dammit! It's impossible! This is all a stupid act of god and we will never find a way out!" He yelled "The whole world has fucked itself! Everyone will die or worse!" he collapsed to his knees in misery "The only way I can think good of it, is that we might be able to die in peace when it all comes to an end! We...can't...fix this!"
Melody weighed his words, despite all the emotion in them, they were rational. The chances of fixing this were very slim, it was a cosmic event, larger than any of them. It had no face and no natural weakness, it was pure chaos. She bent down next to him and affectionately smoothed his course brown hair, her eyes softening as she spoke
"Let's try at least...if we can't do it, then we can leave" she said "But for now, we'll hold on to this world a bit longer"
Michael slowly stood, regaining his composure. He looked up at the dawn sky, painted red, like it was splattered with blood from all this madness. The clouds moved slowly, blown by the atmospheric winds, shifting in colour as they went. Michael's eyes caught something in the sky, a streak of orange, like an old biplane. The streak circled a few times directly over the house, then began to descend, rather rapidly. Anything going that fast toward the ground can't be good. Melody noticed it too, trying to sharper her senses and find what it was. Michaels eye widened as the thing got closer, he could make out a flame, wings and talons. IT seemed clear by now it wasn't a plane or a bird, but something more fearsome. The orange scaled creature pulled up, spreading it's dragon like wings as it pulled back. Michael and Melody quickly moved away as the creature thudded to the ground, sending gravel high into the air.
"Oh crap..." Michael uttered as he realised what he was staring at. A orange scaled, flame tailed, dragon like beast. A Charizard. As it adjusted its eyes onto him, it leaned back, opening its mouth and emitting a large roar. The sound shook the ground as the creature readied to attack, twisting it's large body backwards. Before it could move any further though, it was knocked back by an unseen force. Michael blinked as he looked over to see melody holding out a hand, having fired the psychic blast. The Charizard look at her, visibly angered and confused, it roared but showed no signs of attack as it looked at her. For the first time since he met her, she spoke in her natural tongue, speaking her own name in various sequences
"Garde....Gardevoir" she spoke, her voice lacked the double tracked sound of telepathic speech. The Charizard roared back in responce, but in a quieter and less agitated tone this time. She continued to speak "Gardevoir, Garde, Voir....Gardevoir"
Despite it not being the time nor the place, Michael wondered how such speech even worked if it was simply repeating the name of the Pokémon speaking. A system of syllables in sequence, maybe? Or subtle voice cues? It was hard to grasp, but clearly the Charizard understood what she was saying, and was rather suspicious of him. It looked from her to him, then back, letting out a huff in response to something she said. Her voice caught him off guard when she spoke to him again
"He wants to take us back to his nest" she said "He mentioned something about a leader; it could be a small tribe"
"How do we know it isn't a trap?" Michael asked, seemed a silly question to be asking a Pokémon, but they could be rather cunning despite looks. Melody and the Charizard spoke a few sentences before she turned back
"he says that if you stay with me, on one will try hurt us" she said, a calmness in her voice betraying the situation. Michael looked at the Charizard, who was eyeing him cautiously. Michael knew that have other Pokémon trust them could be useful, he doubted they would help, but it was a start towards some kind of alliance. He made up his mind.
"Fine, where's his 'nest'?" Michael asked, wondering where a large creature like that could hide
After another short exchange between the two Pokémon, Melody answered
"He says he can fly us there" she said, seeming a bit excited at the prospect of flying. Michael groaned at the idea of being above ground on a giant lizard which could incinerate a human being in under a second, but he agreed. The Charizard bowed slightly, allowing melody and Michael to climb onto his back, in between the two powerful wings. He took off quickly, not waiting for the two passengers to settle in. Michael held on tight to the body of the beast, feeling the wind rush past his face as they soared higher into the sky. Melody let out a laugh they she looked down, she had never flown on anything before, and to see the world from such a vantage point was amazing.
Michael didn't know how far they flew, but when he looked back down, he saw they were flying over another forested area. The area was partly walled in by rocks, a creek running through the small valley. Various areas of the canopy were open, but it seemed the branches had been cut, rather than just being a gap in the forest. As they descended into one of these openings, Michael saw the branches up close, having been cut clean through. It would take something sharper than a saw to do that. Michael felt a slight thud as they landed, thankful to crawl off of the large lizard. His bones felt loose after the flight, he rolled his shoulders, trying to return the feeling. Melody was still thrilled from having flown so fast and so high, amazed by the speed in which they travelled. No sooner had they taken a few steps off, a rustle from the bushes alerted them to the presence of someone else. As Michael turned to look, several various Pokémon burst from the foliage, focusing on the two of them. The Charizard gave a large roar, making the various creatures step back slightly, but not lowering their guard. The Charizard roared a second time, shorter this time, making one of the Pokémon step forward. A green bird, standing on two feet with its symmetrical wings tucked into it's body. It regarded them with thin, shallow eyes, smoothly moving from one to another. It looked at melody with a slight fondness, like she was a sister. It spoke curtly, waiting for a response.
"Xat, Xatu" it's voice sounded as if it was synthesized, being rather tinny, as if it was coming from an old speaker system.
Melody gave what would probably be a greeting in her language, eliciting a nod from the Xatu before it turned and walked into the woods, Melody began to follow along with Michael
"I suppose he wants us to go with him?" Michael said
"Yes, he says their leader is waiting for a report" she said, an inch of worry in her voice. The leader would be either strong, or smart. Both possibly being harmful to them. Michael reviewed the area as they walked, noticing more and more Pokémon peering out from bushes and small burrows. They looked on in a slight awe, which was odd considering that they had surely seen humans before. But maybe being in this world had taught them to fear humans, seeing them as more of a threat than another race like them. There were multitudes of them there, forming a safe haven for Pokémon in this world, out of the way and out of sight. There were Mightyenas in packs, Lucarios in small groups, a Blaziken who starred with cold eyes as it held a small Torchic. Bugs types were scattered and other random ones scuttling around the grassy floor. As they continued through the area, they eventually happened upon a small hut, made from branches stacked into a cubic shape with leaves and moss covering it, offering some enclosed space. The roof was simple leaves woven together to form a coarse material, blocking wind and rain. The Xatu stopped, signalling for us to wait by a wave of its wing. Michael heard a few lines of muffled dialogue were heard from outside the hut, the walls also appeared to provide a good sound barrier. The Xatu exited, pointing inside, giving a short command. Michael and melody ducked under the low wooden doorway and squinted in the dark hut. A small light appeared in the centre of the room, glowing softly, throwing warm shadows onto the ground around it. From behind it, and aged creature looked out at them. Two large ears extended from its jackal like head, along with a mane of thick brown fur along it's collar. It looked over them with beady and wise eyes, before smiling slightly. He motioned for them to sit down, they had no seats so the mossy earth felt damp under them, but this was the last thing on their minds. The creature spoke, in a voice raspy and horse, but double toned, like Melody's. He was a psychic.
"Welcome you two, we have many a thing to discuss"