"A young man, callow and foolish in innocence, came to own a sword. With it, he smote Pokémon, which gave sustenance, with carefree abandon. Those not taken as food, he discarded, with no afterthought."
Yang pads through the clearing confidently, pausing in the middle where it sits, two tails flipping over each other lazily, disguising the adrenaline-charged emotion rushing through its body. Softly it growls on each breath, practically purring, as it flicks its attention to its surroundings.
In the stillness and silence of the small deserted island, it remembers the instructions given to it the day before. "Brother, remember this. When the time comes, and the sun and moon are at exact odds with each other in the sky, we will meet at Traitor Island. Do not be late. You must be there to fulfil your special duties, and I will be there to fulfil my own."
"But it is you that is not here yet, Sister." it says, losing a little of the tautness of its body. "What has happened?"
It pauses, as if waiting for an answer to reverberate back at it. When none is offered, it becomes worried. <Sister!> it calls, through a stronger psychic link between Yin and Yang. <Hurry! The ceremony is about to->
But it is too late.
The entire island suddenly screams with power, the combined force of all the Elements, and Yang, caught right in the middle of it, feels it break his body with a gaspingly quick squeeze, warp it out of recognisable shape, his brain refusing to die with it. Screaming with a cracking voice, he writhes and lies still on the sparkling earth, now brimming with energy, and cries out for help.
"Brother?" comes an answer soon after, from a body only just arriving close by. "What has happened to you?"
<Burning...> Yang whispers in both their minds, and on the psychic link, he feels Yin recoil. <Why... what happened? You told me...>
Yin leaps forward and pins the broken Yang down into the soft earth, and he screeches in agony from the sensations down his flank. "What did I tell you?" Yin demands, hissing dangerously. "I am sure you must have heard incorrectly. I said meet at Tree-tor Island."
"The Light has fled from me, Sister..." Yang croaks, his head bobbing with the effort to take in her fading words. "Help me end this misery... Kill me."
<No,> Yin whispers, a brittle grin on her face. <You must pay the price for trespassing on this island in its time of power with the hope you could use it to absorb the other Elements. Death for you now is the easy way out, so you will live and suffer for your misdeed.>
Yang's eyes widened. "No..." he gasps, trying to rise. "You... can't do this!"
<What am I doing?> asks Yin, an incredulous look in her eyes. She removes the paw and steps away, beginning to ooze shade from eerie waving black tentacles. <I am disowning you for your greed. You are no longer my brother. You wanted to have everything, so now you are nothing. Take care of Traitor Island, stranger.>
She disappears into the gloom of a tall tree's shadow, and Yang sags in bitter grief. Traitor, traitor... she was the traitor! Plotting against her very brother to achieve supremacy... it was almost inconceivable that was even possible. They are equal - they have been equal - from the very beginning. Now... he is a burnt-out husk, and she is revelling in the unbalance between Light and Darkness.
The unjustness of the situation tears at his soul, and he cries out once more - not for his sister, whom he now feels a blazing hate for - but the only other power that dominates his life. The Guardian protector.
And the Guardian comes, only noticeable at first by the green hue in the air, then Yang spots a little form in the trees balancing adeptly as it stares with big eyes down at the blackened form.
Friend! the Guardian cries in worry, disappearing from the branch and appearing almost as quickly at Yang's side.
Yang almost asks the same thing of the Guardian as he had his sister, but resolutely refuses himself the need to submit to death. He will not expect the Guardian to let something it is protecting with every fibre of its being slide into an aided oblivion. <Can you help me in any way?> he manages, before shutting his eyes and trying to ride through the pain.
The Guardian touches him on the flank, and Yang almost screams before realising it does not hurt as it did with Yin. Surprised, he mentally feels for the area. It's the only part of his scorched fur not paining him, and a rush of hope surges through his body. Could the Guardian possibly...
When he looks at it, the Guardian has its eyes closed in concentration and its antennae are erect and vibrating at a fast enough rate to cause a humming noise. One hand still on his skin and the other held clenched in a fist to its torso, the Guardian stays like this for a very long minute before relaxing and lowering both arms.
You are undamaged inside. it says with relief. But outside... It pauses, its gaze elsewhere as it thinks quickly; then again lays hands - both this time - on Yang. Draw, it says determinedly. Draw from the power you can feel here.
Yang holds his breath for a brief second, before searching for the power the Guardian spoke of. Hope making his heart beat wildly in his chest, he focuses upon an invisible receptacle of energy and grasps hold, drawing it into his body.
The Guardian takes both a physical and a mental hold onto Yang, and forms the raw mishmash of Elemental power into usable Light. He then releases everything, letting the Light do its work upon Yang's body.
When he is fully whole once more, Yang stands and stretches. Ignoring the Guardian for a second, he seeks lightly along the mental strand between him and Yin. It is there, faint, but still formed. And Yin...
Once he is made sure of her location, he turns to the Guardian. "I need more Light power."
You do not, says the Guardian, nevertheless still with compassion in its voice. There is very little inside at the moment, but in time, it will again grow to what it was.
<But Yin...> he says, faltering, knowing the Guardian would know his thoughts. He needs the power to take his revenge upon his hopefully-unsuspecting sister, else she will take the advantage whilst he is still recovering and destroy him again. But the Guardian has said no...
Choices warring within him. The sad gaze of the Guardian as it stands before him. The gloating voice of Yin as she proclaims her innocence. Yin's voice winning over the Guardian's... and so Yang begins to draw Elemental energy through his claws again.
The Guardian's eyes widens, and it shakes its head quickly. No! Too much and you will cause the same damage-
"Yang!" Yin snarls, suddenly appearing on Traitor Island once more. "Don't you dare try attack me!"
<Not!> Yang shoots back, intent only on drawing, not bandying words with his sister. <Yet!>
The power rushes through him like sweet pain, through his body and around until it expresses itself through his form. He feels changes; skin ripping and tearing as suddenly wings sprout, feels his two tails widen, his feet grow heavy. But in this way, his distorting body can take care of extra power; so he continues drawing.
Friend, stop!
Yang doesn't stop until he is taller than his opposite, and feels the balance of power between them shift the other way to his advantage. He finally finishes with a laugh, and revels in the fact he has control over all the Elements.
Until the Guardian snaps a hand towards him, and he is blasted with a glowing green orb, unnoticed until now. His body smashes into a tree trunk and he leaps up growling, until realising his hold over any power inside has disappeared. Yet his mish-mash body remains, and starts to weigh upon him.
Panting with the effort to keep himself upright, he realises he has gone too far, and the Guardian had not wanted to attack. But the Guardian's orb, not only has injured him but also robbed him of control - not only of Elements not his own, but his own Light, and panic grips him.
You will not receive the Light back until you have paid your dues back to the land, Yang. the Guardian intones solemnly, eyes glittering with power. You will stay here and bear the curse I place on you now. The night is your Sister's and you are hereby ostracised from it. You will bear the sign of all the Elements you coveted yet never summon them. You will die and yet never die, endlessly. You are no longer connected to the large island; this is your home now.
You wanted to have everything; so now you are nothing. You are no longer Yang of the Light. You are Omneon: all, and yet nothing.
The Guardian vanishes along with his Sister, and so Yang, grieving, sinks to the ground and whimpers in grief. He stays in this huddled position until the sun finally sinks below the horizon... and remembers no more until the next morning when the first beams of light strike the low-lying clouds on the horizon, greeting the new day. This morning is the beginning of Yang's constant vigil of the land he cannot visit to the south, and lands as yet unknown to the north. But always only during the day...
~~~~~
Millenia later...
The young trainer held a hand to his eyes, shading them against the relentless glare of the sunset. With his left hand gripping tightly onto one of his Lapras' handy saddle bumps, he pointed towards the small island close by. "Look, Vanessa, we're nearly there!"
Casting a solitary eye back at its trainer, the Lapras cooed in a high pitched voice in reply, and quickened its pace through the choppy water, noticing with some discomfort that the water level was gradually receding as the sand bank rose, making it harder to move its broad fins through the surf.
The excited - and very sunburnt - boy jumped off even before the Lapras had fully beached itself on the white sand, and, ignoring his now saturated joggers and jean-tips, grinned at the sight of his exquisite surroundings. It looked like some sort of holiday resort advertised alongside the Sinnoh Battle Arena pamphlets sometimes distributed through the PokéNav's new picture email feature. No towels or reclining seats here, though. The small beach was completely deserted.
"Thanks, 'Nessa. You did great!" he said, beaming, and flicked open a blue Pokéball. Before the now-red-hued Lapras could even fully disappear, the trainer was already running up the small incline, up to the small forest of leafy trees. In through the trunks, the sand, previously only supporting a very hardy grass which grew in large clumps, turned to rich brown loam, and the humidity increased noticeably.
The trainer eyed his surroundings curiously. Many of the tree trunks had visible vertical scratches running down them in parallel. "Pokémon claws..." he guessed out aloud, and reached for a second Pokéball. "Come on out, Farrell."
Eyeing the new surroundings suspiciously as it materialised, the Flareon sniffed the earth, nodding its assent. "Fllrrr." it murmured, picking its way slowly through the cluster of bracken and other low-lying plants which fizzled with heat as the fire Pokémon brushed against them.
It's another Flareon... but no; the scent is a little different, too. he mused, and continued tracking it through more taller green grasses towards the centre of the small island. Behind him, his alert trainer followed.
When the scent was a lot stronger, Farrell turned his head back to his trainer, after passing another few trees with their bark similarly scratched, and cautioned him with a glance. "We're very close." he warned.
"No shit." the trainer said, sarcastically.
The Flareon rolled its eyes at that, flashing little sharp teeth in amusement. His trainers' humour was dry; but he appreciated it most of the time. They'd been together for far too long not to understand where his human was coming from. Unlike Vanessa (who was only a very new arrival on the team), Farrell had already forgotten what it was like to be commanded in battle.
With that trust steadfast, and bonding, the Flareon stayed silent from then on, following the scent with quivering nose, pausing only to sniff delicately at particular clumps of grass in order to differentiate between recent and old spore. Only the trainer noticed the light dappling on the ground start to fade with the setting sun.
"Farrell." the trainer said, with a voice muted with tension.
Snapping to attention, the Flareon froze and cast its attention around. He'd been focusing so much on the little detail he'd missed the biggest.
To the two of them, it seemed like a relic of some bygone age; a shrine constructed for the ancient legends of old. Casting a shadow over Flareon, it loomed over his form oppressively, and he found himself snarling at it instinctively. As innocuous as it looked to the trainer, the Flareon felt the power literally seeping from it, ever-restoring as it did so.
With its extremely intricate design carved into its sides, it reminded the trainer of one of the few shrines he'd visited in the Ilex forest on one of his jaunts out of the region of Kanto. The Ilex forest had been boasting of its affiliation with the popular Quest for the Legends tourist attraction chain - claiming the shrines had been built aeons ago to honour the forest legend and offer them as sanctuaries for it. The trainer pretty much regarded this as absolute Taurshit, as there'd been no sign of the fabled Voice of the Forest for the entire weekend, but at least the tour had been interesting enough.
Another interesting thing about this was there was a difference to the shrines back in Johto and the shrine here. The top was flat, which the trainer had never seen before. It was also the only one he'd seen with six sides.
Yellow blossomed trees circled the area, thin branched and delicate looking. The trainer stepped over his bristling Pokémon and moved closer to the small shrine, marvelling at the strange engravings. Each side of the hexagon was decorated with two symbols each. Below them after a dividing line embedded into the grey stone were many characters that looked like a written language, though it was incomprehensible to the trainer and his Pokémon.
Suddenly, Flareon hissed, the blazing collar round his neck sparking violently. He whipped around and came face to face with a Pokémon that looked more mutant than anything else. Ignoring the Flareon, the other Pokémon bounded up to the shrine and mewed piteously, rubbing its neck spines against the stone where they rattled eerily.
Two heavy tails - both different colours to the rest of its body - swaying and curling round each other, it leapt up to the flat roof, settling itself down into a reclining position. The Flareon wrinkled its nose curiously. No scent... it wondered, eyes widening. No wonder I was not warned till the very last moment... so what other creature is there which is creating the scent?
"Should we try catching it?" whispered the trainer to his Flareon; the latter turning his wide eyes at him and urgently hissing a negative. In response, the trainer groaned, hoping Farrell had a point. That multi-limbed, multicoloured thing would certainly turn eyes back in Kanto.
The trainer took a step forward in order to gauge a reaction from the immobile Pokémon, who was facing the opposite way, towards the south of the island. It started to shimmer with white, and the trainer halted in shock for a moment, before stepping forward again.
His Flareon barked a warning when he'd gotten extremely close, but he ignored it, tentatively lifting a hand, gently stretching it, meeting the Pokémon's softly furred shoulder with sweaty palm.
FLASH!
I turn in fury at the tainted touch, snarling at the terrified creature before me. The one at his feet snarls in reply, but I ignore it. Blindingly fast, I swipe a paw, intending to open a trio of bloody tracks straight down his face, but lash out at nothing but empty air as he backs away.
The trainer started, jerking his hand back from the vicious Pokémon. But the thoughts did not stop, not even when he stepped away. He swore as the claw narrowly missed him, and nearly forgot his Flareon as he started to panic, and leapt back yet again.
FLASH!
This annoys me further, and I tense to leap. Just as I extend my haunches into a midair jump, the sun finally drops below the horizon. My time is over. Slowly, as I sail through the air, time slows for me. The sensation of itching starts at my paws first, then spread quickly through my whole body. I become blind, I become deaf and dumb. I become...
The Pokémon leapt to meet him. He never expected the recognition that came into its eyes when it seemed to practically pause in midair, never finishing the leap. Instead, it dropped vertically, smashing into a million tiny pieces as it hit the earth.
The shards scattered everywhere, showering the area in a dusty fog. The trainer blinked, unable to register what had just happened in his mind, and bent to pick up a large piece for confirmation.
It felt cold and dry in his fingers, like marble; making him shiver in fear. Flareon took this as a sign he was feeling the temperature, and blazed up its neck flames quickly. Suddenly, each marble shard glowed a white colour, their light dancing like little nimbuses of energy.
The trainer dropped his piece quickly, and backed away. He was surprised when the shards started hovering above the ground, glowed for a second with blinding light, and winked out completely.
It grew darker. The shrine started to glow with the darkness of the abyss, emitting from its foundations and sucking the light out of the area. A thing came through the darkness, padding confidently out towards them, but as soon as it actually noticed them, it froze, its hackles rising. It snarled a warning to the Flareon. "Who... are you? What are you?!"
"I..." Farrell managed, after staring a bit longer. "I'm a Pokémon. This is my human Commander, and-"
It cut him off with a new question, this one sounding more harried than the last. "Why are you here? Where is my bro- where is the traitor?"
It stepped closer, and even with Farrell's spluttering light, only just surviving in the inky blackness of its power, both human and Pokémon could see its pupils dilate as it stared at the ground before it. "So." it finally said. "Yang... has paid with his life. And since it was your being here that caused this to happen... so shall you!"
This time, Farrell was ready, however, and the Fire Pokémon leapt to absorb the blow of dark energy that was hurled at his Commander, gasping at the impact and collapsing to the ground straight afterwards.
The Trainer hurled an UltraBall. "Go!"
The Ball hit the blue-black of the Pokémon's fluffy right wing. It backed off, startled at its unexpected de-materialisation, until disappearing entirely with a flash of red light. The Trainer set his teeth, muttering, "Come on... come on!" He had always dreamed of owning something nobody else had, and this one was incredibly strong as well, if it was able to halt Farrell with only one attack.
The Ball rolled slowly across the ground, then glowed deep black and imploded. Instantly the Trainer was shrouded in oppressive darkness, the stars and moon had disappeared from the skies and he couldn't even see the form of his Flareon at his feet anymore.
The malevolent hiss of the escaped Pokémon drove through his mind like a serrated claw through flesh. <Fool! You dare to... dare to trap me?! You wish to own me? Do you also wish to die slowly?>
I! cried the boy, lost in this world where eyesight was useless, incredulous the Pokémon was able to speak to him, unaware of the exchange between it and his Flareon beforehand. I was scared for Farrell!
<I don't understand...> came the low growl. <You are not... us. I just don't understand.>
Leave here, Yin. came a new voice, and the darkness instantly faded. The Trainer's eyes adjusted to the normal night again, yet did not notice the green colour swell in the air. I do not understand, either. But anger... does not engulf me. Best if you do not allow it too, also.
The boy started to cry, and scooped up his Pokémon with both hands, cradling its limp form to his chest. "Farrell, I don't have any Revives..." he whispered brokenly to it, sniffing. "They're all at home."
Home? the voice probed, curiously. In the Trainer's mind came a comforting image summoned instinctively of a welcoming house, loving mother and father at home, which he felt was sucked away by the presence close by and examined closely. Ahh... the voice sighed in recognition. That place is home to it, then...
The Trainer's eyes closed without him closing them, and he soon after drifted away into a half-sleep.
He awoke to the comforting sound of a flock of Pidgey cooing outside his bedroom window, totally stark naked and tucked in tightly to his bed covers. Farrell dozed lightly at the end of the bed, the flame around his neck burning strongly.
"We're home," he said in wonder, and at his soft voice, Farrell opened a single eye and gazed at him cynically. "No, we're still on that deserted island being threatened by two rabid legendaries." he purred dryly, stretching across the bed.
The Trainer's eyes snapped open at this, the tired feeling swept away completely. "Legendaries?!" he asked in a hushed tone. "No wonder that second one was so quick to escape. By Mew, Farrell, why didn't you tell me?"
"I was unconscious at the time, remember?" Farrell snapped. "Anyway, it's done now. What will you tell your parents?"
The Trainer grimaced. "Well, first I'll have to ask them how I got back here, and who it was that cleaned me up, in the first place, but after I know that... I'm telling them everything..."
