From the Wreckage
CHANSON DU SOLITARE
II.
Takeru remember awakening, with five aliens (who looked like Harberians) and a Pikachu standing around him, confused. As he slowly came to, he immediately attempted to get up, only for unbearable pains to seize his abdomen and stop him.
"Are you OK?" a male asked.
"Who...wha...where am I?" he asked.
"Hoenn." a younger male replied.
"Hoenn...what...where is my crew?" he asked.
"Crew?" the first male asked.
"Yes...my crew, aboard the vessel. Where are they?"
"You were the only one on the ship when we rescued you." he replied.
"Dear God...I'm the only survivor?"
"Yes."
Takeru slowly rose to my feet, and looked at the aliens.
"I thank you all for saving me. Was there, say, a man in black robes here earlier?"
An orange-haired female answered. "Well, yeah, but he gave off a sort of dark feeling, so we said you'd died."
"He would have killed me, you know. Thank you. Say, where's the vessel?"
She pointed over his shoulder, and Takeru saw the charred, yet intact, craft. He went inside it, and acquired his violin, gold bullion, Tormentor's ball, his comlink, and his saber and pistol. Then, the youngest among them spoke.
"So...where are you going?"
Takeru looked at him, and thought a moment.
"I don't know." he said. "I truly don't know."
"Why not come with us?"
He looked at the aliens. They were a friendly bunch, it seemed. But something was off.
"I couldn't be a burden." I replied.
A brown-haired female spoke.
"If you've got a gun and a violin, you can't be a burden."
Before he could speak though, a massive robot appeared, and extended a claw to get the Pikachu. Before it could reel him in, he fired a single shot. It released him, and Takeru caught him as he fell.
"Who's the friend, twerp?" a female asked from within.
He then shot a visible fuel line, causing an explosion. It staggered back, and collapsed on its' back.
"Ya know," a black-haired youth said, "we want you to come."
"Very well." he said. "What are your names?"
The eldest male spoke. "Brock."
The orange-haired female also spoke. "Misty," she said.
"May."
"Max."
"Ash."
"So," Max asked, "what's your name?"
"I am King Yoshi Takeru VII of the Harberian Kingdom. I came here to hide while the Nyonians, our sworn enemies, are attacking."
"Oh..." May said.
Thus, over that time, Takeru and his new friends bonded, and he loved them like family, and the reverse was also true.
Meanwhile...
The Lucario's life was terrible; everyone knew that. The Colony reviled her for whatever reason. Her family had the plague, she knew that. She was the only survivor, her spikes having been lost to the disease. Perhaps they felt her to be unclean? She only knew that the revilement of the others hurt. She had to leave, but how could be survive on her own, she wondered. It would be suicide.
But anything was better than living at the Colony.
It wasn't that they didn't want her to leave; it was that she needed them. She thought the world would revile her like the Colony. She felt like nobody; the torment of the others had broken her. There was no hope for another to help. She was a nameless face in the massive world, she felt. She was lonely, she always was.
The nameless Lucario walked onward. She was terribly hungry, her feet aching. It was unknown to her if she'd live, as the pain was growing with every stepâ�"if only she could find a berry, something. A few hours later, as her throat burned with thirst, she found a pecan tree and a lake. She went to get a pecan, only for a Charizard to steal it. Angrily, she attacked it, but he simply used Flamethrower, and then departed. The burns were terrible; she knew she didn't have long. She had cuts, burns, her feet felt like they would fall off, her stomach was empty, and her throat seared with thirst. She felt terrible, as if Death were purposely waiting for her to suffer before he ended it all. She tried to scream out, but she was unable to.
"Hey, Takeru!" Max yelled.
"Yes?" he asked, looking up from his violin, which he was tuning.
"Can you help me forage? I know it's not a 'royal' job, but I need some help."
He laughed. "I know. Here," Takeru said, "you go left, and I'll go right."
"OK." Max said, going off.
He began walking, violin and bow in hand. It was tuned, and his gut told him to bring it. He walked a few miles or so before he spotted a pecan tree.
"Yes!" he said, walking overâ�"only to notice a dying Lucario there.
"Dear God..." he said, horrified, bending down to help. "Are you OK?"
The Lucario looked up at him, wondering why the strange human seemed concerned. He raised his right hand over her, and began muttering an incantation. Her wounds became engulfed in a blue light. When the light vanished, the wounds were gone. She tried to get up, but, like Yoshi himself after the crash, could not.
"Take it easy." Takeru said. "You're still injured greatly...here, I'll help you." He picked her up and ran back to camp, where he set her in a comfortable place before inspecting her injuries.
"Hmm...burns, slashes...malnutrition...damn, you've been through a lot..." he muttered. All the while, she thought, "Why is he so kind? Is he going to kill me in the end? Who is he? He's not a human, but he looks like one. Is he a Latios in disguise?"
Eventually, Max found them. She was eating as he played March of the Warriors, a song famous in Harberia for its' solemn yet calming sounds. He even sang in Harberian.
"Raté, raté, suki koré, yaki suri noa..."
(Sleep, sleep, young child, the soldiers will soon return)
"Akhitsu nor va, yaki moré ta..."
(Despite the terrors of war, the soldiers seldom die)
"Ikthu, ikthu, suki koré, pater jori kolena raku'jozir...."
(Rejoice, rejoice, young child, the loving embrace of Father is nigh.)
She stopped eating, and then looked at him endearingly. Takeru stopped playing.
"Is there something?" he asked.
"Why did you save me?" she asked.
"You can speak Harberian?" he asked, surprised.
"I speak English, Japanese, Rukariando, and the language of Pokémon."
"What is Rukariando?" he asked.
"Well, most Pokémon at least understand the Human Languages, but cannot speak them. Rukariando is a language that we Lucarioâ�"as well as some intelligent Pokémon---speak. It was passed on by the Tajirites; an alien race similar to humans. They intermarried with us, and gained odd powers for their children. They gave us the language millennia ago, for when their heirs returned, or so the Colony's Scribe told us."
He laughed.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"We Harberians descend from the Tajirite race. I am one of the heirs!"
"But still, why did you save me?"
He was puzzled. "Why would I not have saved you?" I asked.
"Well," she said, "my colony hated me. I was considered an outcast because I had the plague and lived. They thought me to be unclean. I finally figured that I had to leave. I was starving when a Charizard took some food from me. I attacked, but he was stronger, and he left me to die."
"That's...horrible." he said. "Where were your parents?"
"Died two days after my birth."
"Dear God..." Takeru said. "I'm at a loss for words...I wish I could do something."
"You did. You cared enough to save me."
"Well, do you have any family?"
"No."
"Do you have any friends?"
A tear rolled down her eye.
"I've heard that word before. I know it is a special word, one that holds great meaning. But I don't know that meaning."
Takeru smiled gently.
"A friend is a great ally. A friend laughs with you and cries with you. A friend listens, yet speaks. A friend loves, but yearns for love. A friend learns from you, and teaches you. A friend is...someone whose loyalty withstands even death. A friend is always there."
She cried.
"I don't have any friends...because no one cares about me...I have no one." she moaned.
He instinctively put his arm around her, in a comforting embrace.
"You have me." he said.
She looked up at him, to see if he was actually serious.
"I do?"
"Yes."
She continued to cry.
"I'm sorry," she said. "It's just...no one ever cared about me, before you. I know you probably don't want me to keep crying."
"Everyone needs to cry sometimes."
"Do you?"
He thought back...
"I never tend to, but I'm sure I can."
She laughed.
"Yoshi? Can I ask you something?"
"Of course." he said.
"Why do you care about me so much?"
"Well...I'm kind of lonely myself. I've got a group of human friends, but my kindâ�"the Harberiansâ�"are in danger. I was sent to hide here."
"But I'm not a Harberian."
"You speak our language. You are as kind as a Harberian. You are truly our flesh and blood in spirit, if not in body."
She shed another tear.
"Thank you."
"And hey," he said, "you're apparently better than those bastards at that Colony!"
"I guess," she smiled.
"Oh, c'mon!" Takeru said. "You need to be more enthusiastic about it!"
"Well..."
"C'mon, say it! You're better than those pitiful assholes!"
"Yeah, I am!" she said.
"Louder!"
"I'm a hell of a lot better than those douchebags!!!" she yelled.
"Damn straight!" Takeru replied, laughing.
II.
Takeru remember awakening, with five aliens (who looked like Harberians) and a Pikachu standing around him, confused. As he slowly came to, he immediately attempted to get up, only for unbearable pains to seize his abdomen and stop him.
"Are you OK?" a male asked.
"Who...wha...where am I?" he asked.
"Hoenn." a younger male replied.
"Hoenn...what...where is my crew?" he asked.
"Crew?" the first male asked.
"Yes...my crew, aboard the vessel. Where are they?"
"You were the only one on the ship when we rescued you." he replied.
"Dear God...I'm the only survivor?"
"Yes."
Takeru slowly rose to my feet, and looked at the aliens.
"I thank you all for saving me. Was there, say, a man in black robes here earlier?"
An orange-haired female answered. "Well, yeah, but he gave off a sort of dark feeling, so we said you'd died."
"He would have killed me, you know. Thank you. Say, where's the vessel?"
She pointed over his shoulder, and Takeru saw the charred, yet intact, craft. He went inside it, and acquired his violin, gold bullion, Tormentor's ball, his comlink, and his saber and pistol. Then, the youngest among them spoke.
"So...where are you going?"
Takeru looked at him, and thought a moment.
"I don't know." he said. "I truly don't know."
"Why not come with us?"
He looked at the aliens. They were a friendly bunch, it seemed. But something was off.
"I couldn't be a burden." I replied.
A brown-haired female spoke.
"If you've got a gun and a violin, you can't be a burden."
Before he could speak though, a massive robot appeared, and extended a claw to get the Pikachu. Before it could reel him in, he fired a single shot. It released him, and Takeru caught him as he fell.
"Who's the friend, twerp?" a female asked from within.
He then shot a visible fuel line, causing an explosion. It staggered back, and collapsed on its' back.
"Ya know," a black-haired youth said, "we want you to come."
"Very well." he said. "What are your names?"
The eldest male spoke. "Brock."
The orange-haired female also spoke. "Misty," she said.
"May."
"Max."
"Ash."
"So," Max asked, "what's your name?"
"I am King Yoshi Takeru VII of the Harberian Kingdom. I came here to hide while the Nyonians, our sworn enemies, are attacking."
"Oh..." May said.
Thus, over that time, Takeru and his new friends bonded, and he loved them like family, and the reverse was also true.
Meanwhile...
The Lucario's life was terrible; everyone knew that. The Colony reviled her for whatever reason. Her family had the plague, she knew that. She was the only survivor, her spikes having been lost to the disease. Perhaps they felt her to be unclean? She only knew that the revilement of the others hurt. She had to leave, but how could be survive on her own, she wondered. It would be suicide.
But anything was better than living at the Colony.
It wasn't that they didn't want her to leave; it was that she needed them. She thought the world would revile her like the Colony. She felt like nobody; the torment of the others had broken her. There was no hope for another to help. She was a nameless face in the massive world, she felt. She was lonely, she always was.
The nameless Lucario walked onward. She was terribly hungry, her feet aching. It was unknown to her if she'd live, as the pain was growing with every stepâ�"if only she could find a berry, something. A few hours later, as her throat burned with thirst, she found a pecan tree and a lake. She went to get a pecan, only for a Charizard to steal it. Angrily, she attacked it, but he simply used Flamethrower, and then departed. The burns were terrible; she knew she didn't have long. She had cuts, burns, her feet felt like they would fall off, her stomach was empty, and her throat seared with thirst. She felt terrible, as if Death were purposely waiting for her to suffer before he ended it all. She tried to scream out, but she was unable to.
"Hey, Takeru!" Max yelled.
"Yes?" he asked, looking up from his violin, which he was tuning.
"Can you help me forage? I know it's not a 'royal' job, but I need some help."
He laughed. "I know. Here," Takeru said, "you go left, and I'll go right."
"OK." Max said, going off.
He began walking, violin and bow in hand. It was tuned, and his gut told him to bring it. He walked a few miles or so before he spotted a pecan tree.
"Yes!" he said, walking overâ�"only to notice a dying Lucario there.
"Dear God..." he said, horrified, bending down to help. "Are you OK?"
The Lucario looked up at him, wondering why the strange human seemed concerned. He raised his right hand over her, and began muttering an incantation. Her wounds became engulfed in a blue light. When the light vanished, the wounds were gone. She tried to get up, but, like Yoshi himself after the crash, could not.
"Take it easy." Takeru said. "You're still injured greatly...here, I'll help you." He picked her up and ran back to camp, where he set her in a comfortable place before inspecting her injuries.
"Hmm...burns, slashes...malnutrition...damn, you've been through a lot..." he muttered. All the while, she thought, "Why is he so kind? Is he going to kill me in the end? Who is he? He's not a human, but he looks like one. Is he a Latios in disguise?"
Eventually, Max found them. She was eating as he played March of the Warriors, a song famous in Harberia for its' solemn yet calming sounds. He even sang in Harberian.
"Raté, raté, suki koré, yaki suri noa..."
(Sleep, sleep, young child, the soldiers will soon return)
"Akhitsu nor va, yaki moré ta..."
(Despite the terrors of war, the soldiers seldom die)
"Ikthu, ikthu, suki koré, pater jori kolena raku'jozir...."
(Rejoice, rejoice, young child, the loving embrace of Father is nigh.)
She stopped eating, and then looked at him endearingly. Takeru stopped playing.
"Is there something?" he asked.
"Why did you save me?" she asked.
"You can speak Harberian?" he asked, surprised.
"I speak English, Japanese, Rukariando, and the language of Pokémon."
"What is Rukariando?" he asked.
"Well, most Pokémon at least understand the Human Languages, but cannot speak them. Rukariando is a language that we Lucarioâ�"as well as some intelligent Pokémon---speak. It was passed on by the Tajirites; an alien race similar to humans. They intermarried with us, and gained odd powers for their children. They gave us the language millennia ago, for when their heirs returned, or so the Colony's Scribe told us."
He laughed.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"We Harberians descend from the Tajirite race. I am one of the heirs!"
"But still, why did you save me?"
He was puzzled. "Why would I not have saved you?" I asked.
"Well," she said, "my colony hated me. I was considered an outcast because I had the plague and lived. They thought me to be unclean. I finally figured that I had to leave. I was starving when a Charizard took some food from me. I attacked, but he was stronger, and he left me to die."
"That's...horrible." he said. "Where were your parents?"
"Died two days after my birth."
"Dear God..." Takeru said. "I'm at a loss for words...I wish I could do something."
"You did. You cared enough to save me."
"Well, do you have any family?"
"No."
"Do you have any friends?"
A tear rolled down her eye.
"I've heard that word before. I know it is a special word, one that holds great meaning. But I don't know that meaning."
Takeru smiled gently.
"A friend is a great ally. A friend laughs with you and cries with you. A friend listens, yet speaks. A friend loves, but yearns for love. A friend learns from you, and teaches you. A friend is...someone whose loyalty withstands even death. A friend is always there."
She cried.
"I don't have any friends...because no one cares about me...I have no one." she moaned.
He instinctively put his arm around her, in a comforting embrace.
"You have me." he said.
She looked up at him, to see if he was actually serious.
"I do?"
"Yes."
She continued to cry.
"I'm sorry," she said. "It's just...no one ever cared about me, before you. I know you probably don't want me to keep crying."
"Everyone needs to cry sometimes."
"Do you?"
He thought back...
"I never tend to, but I'm sure I can."
She laughed.
"Yoshi? Can I ask you something?"
"Of course." he said.
"Why do you care about me so much?"
"Well...I'm kind of lonely myself. I've got a group of human friends, but my kindâ�"the Harberiansâ�"are in danger. I was sent to hide here."
"But I'm not a Harberian."
"You speak our language. You are as kind as a Harberian. You are truly our flesh and blood in spirit, if not in body."
She shed another tear.
"Thank you."
"And hey," he said, "you're apparently better than those bastards at that Colony!"
"I guess," she smiled.
"Oh, c'mon!" Takeru said. "You need to be more enthusiastic about it!"
"Well..."
"C'mon, say it! You're better than those pitiful assholes!"
"Yeah, I am!" she said.
"Louder!"
"I'm a hell of a lot better than those douchebags!!!" she yelled.
"Damn straight!" Takeru replied, laughing.