Twisted Paths, Forgotten Pasts
Chapter 13
Unknown to Chisa's group, a pair of sharp blue eyes watched them cautiously as they finally arrived on 'Island Fera'. Which member of their group they were looking for, she didn't know, but she did know that it was in her best interest to stay hidden until she could locate her 'past husband'.
"Ninetales?"
"Hush Siari, I don't want them hearing us."
The ninetales rolled his eyes and sat down with a soft snort.
"What did I tell you?" She hissed, turning around to look at her 'son'.
/To be quiet. I didn't speak, did I mother dear?/
She simply glared at him then turned to watch the group through the boxes she was hidden behind. They disappeared into one of the hotels, and she finally emerged from her hiding place. "Come on, we have work to do."
/Right!/
Firais smoothed back her red hair and then put on her sunglasses. She was wearing a bathing suit, and carried a bag full of the normal things a tourist carried. However, she also had lots of credit cards and wallets...
Her ninetales rushed ahead of her, heading for an unsuspecting tourist, and when he got up to the person, he started limping pitifully.
"Nine ninetales..." He whimpered, stopping in front of the person.
"Oh you poor pokemon!" The lady bent over and began examining his legs. When she got to the ankle of his right leg, he gave out a little cry as if that was the hurt leg. "You need to get to a pokemon center."
"There you are Siari!" Firais cried, running up to him. "I've been looking all over for you."
"His paw's hurt." The woman said, turning to look at her. "You should take better care of your pokemon."
"I know, it's just he hates the beach, and I accidentally let him out of his pokeball, and then he ran off." She turned to the ninetails, hugging him while swiftly taking the womans wallet out of his mouth and putting in her bag. "Don't do that! You had me so worried..." She looked up at the lady. "He's my only pokemon you see/ I've had him since I was little."
The lady smiled and patted him on the head. "Well, he's a handsome ninetales. Biggest one I've ever seen."
He puffed up his chest proudly.
The lady laughed, then looked at her watch. "Well, I must be going. I have a cruise to catch."
"Goodbye!" Firais called after the lady, then she grinned at her ninetales. "Good work! Now, keep limping. We're leaving this place immediately, and then we're going to try and find out where Kiajis is."
"I don't think so." A very familiar voice said from behind.
"Aw man." First, she froze, but then the teenager turned around and groaned. "If it isn't my favorite brother..." She noticed Sian standing beside him. "And my other favorite brother! Well, well! I didn't know we were having a family reunion. You didn't tell me!" She put on a hurt expression.
He just frowned. "Always the joker Firais... Seen your sisters-in-law lately?"
"You know those two like to stay with each other. Who wants to hang around with their husbands' little sister?" She shrugged. "Besides, we're on different teams. Miss Akira, don't you?"
He glared at her, then folded his arms across his chest. "Well, you're with us for now."
She frowned thoughtfully. "No, if I recall correctly, you and Sian are on one team, me and Kiajis on another, and Akira and Sarina on the last one." She grinned. "Losing your memory Calisin? You're not aging well. Have you been eating right?"
/Mother, you do know they want to kidnap you, don't you?/
/No shit! I'm trying to find a way out that doesn't include swimming!/
/Oh./
"Anyway, I have a boat to catch, so me and Siari will be leaving now." She turned around and ran, pushing through the crowds.
/We can't outrun them you know.../
/Yes we can! I've been running my whole life!/
/And you've been caught a lot!/
/Shut up./ She replied. /Turn here!/ They made a swift turn around a corner, and ran through the market.
"Thief!" Calisin called.
Wincing, she glanced at the ninetails, speaking to him as they ran. Fuck! He's pulling the thief routine... Now everyone'll be joining in on the chase!"
/You *are* a thief anyway./ Siari replied wryly, narrowly avoiding being grabbed by one of his tails. /Damn humans!/ He snarled mentally.
Unfortunately for them though, it didn't take long before they hit a dead end.
"You can't run anymore, sister-in-law. And your fire attacks are useless." Calisin wore an evil little smile as he cornered his sister, the dratini on his neck hissing.
"You're no fun..." She muttered, looking around to see if there was someway she could escape. None to be found. Calisin and Sian, plus a young woman with a vulpix, were blocking her way. "Fine, take me away officer." She put her hands out as if she were being arrested. /Siari, run! You can find Kiajis on your own! GO!/
The ninetales started for a moment, then looked at her worriedly. He couldn't abandon his mother.
/GO!/ She commanded, as Calisin twisted her arms behind her back.
Just as Sian was about to grab the ninetales, he leapt into the air, over the man's head, and ran through the streets, finding an empty stall and hiding there.
"Smart move little sister, but he can't get far." Calisin sighed, for he knew that it would just be too much of a hassle to chase after the ninetales. "You always were the trouble-maker of the family."
"And you always were the aristocrat." She said, looking up at him with a smile. "So, where are you taking me? You're not planning on gagging me and such, are you? People just don't do that to their sisters. It's not right. You're supposed to treat me ni-"
"Shut up Firais."
"You shut up Sian. No, wait. That's pointless, you always were the silent one anyway!" Rudely, she stuck her tongue out at him and crossed her eyes.
"You talk enough for both of you..." Calisin muttered.
She rolled her eyes again and made a face.
"Stop that," he commanded.
"Why should I?"
"Because, sister or not, we're on different sides, and I wouldn't mind doing away with your precious husband... Actually, I will be doing away with him anyway, but then again, I just might spare him if you behave..." He added thoughtfully.
"Fucking bastard!" She hissed.
"I am not a bastard. We knew our parents very well."
She snorted. "And who is she? Given up on Akira already?"
Calisin twisted her arms a little more, causing her to wince in pain. "Don't ever mention Akira's name..." He spoke in a dark voice. "That is Chiata, the vulpix is Chisa. They are our guides."
"Oh, nice to meet you. How do you put up with my brothers? They're so annoying, aren't they? Why don't we forget about this whole thing and leave tonight? We can ditch them on the island. They need a vacation anyway. Ow! Stop it Calisin, can't I have a little fun?"
"I think I *will* gag you." He said as they entered the hotel. "Chiata, will you watch over her?"
The black-haired woman shrugged. "Fine. So long as she shuts up."
"No one loves me..." Firais said with a sigh. /Except Kiajis. You better not die on me, I haven't seen you for a very long time. We weren't reincarnated just to die again./
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Two days later
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"Sixty-nine bottles of beer on the wall, sixty nine bottles of beer! Take one down and pass it around, sixty-eight bottles of beer on the wall." Firais looked at Chiata, who was sitting next to her. "Come on Chiata! Sing with me! Sixty-eight bottles of beer on the wall, sixty-eight bottles of beer! Take one down and pass it around, sixty-seven bottles of beer on the wall."
"Calisin, please make her shut up?" Chisa pleaded. "I have sensitive ears. I'm suffering ten times as much as you humans are."
Calisin turned to his little sister, glaring at her. "Firais? Please shut-up. I know that its not good manners to murder your own sibling, but I'm tempted to. I can always toss you off the boat, and I know how much you hate water, especially cold water."
She stopped singing, then looked at her older brother. "You wouldn't... Would you?"
He picked her up, and held her over the side of the boat. "Dare me."
"Okay, okay! I get your point! Pull me up? Please Calisin!" She looked down at the water that was passing rapidly by her side, then up at her brother. "Calisin!!!" Squealing, she frantically started kicking and struggling, nearly causing him to drop her.
With a sadistic smirk, he pulled his shocked little sister up and set her down. "Now you're going to be quiet. I know that you and Kiajis have yet to be fully 'reborn'. You probably won't be able to do so until you get your stones, and re-unite with each other, which is one of the reasons we need to keep a close eye on you. So far, Akira and Sarina have been 'reborn' and we need to hurry up and do so too."
"Meanie..." She muttered under her breath, but now, she was going to keep quiet. Something had changed in her older brothers. They didn't tolerate her like they used to. Yes sometimes they used to taunt her with water like Calisin just did, but that smirk that was on his face... Had he gone insane? She had known in the past, that deep down, he loved her, but now, she wasn't so sure he saw her as anything other than an inconvenience.
Chiata petted Chisa absently. They were going to have to backtrack to the mainland. There were still seven group members left to collect, and Jay and Jyp only had four more. They were lagging behind... According to Chisa, kidnapping the Mother of all Fire types would only be a slight setback to Jizo and Rezia's group. It wouldn't be long between they discovered that she was with them, and before she escaped. However, any kind of setback was welcome to them, anything that put them even just slightly in the lead was welcome.
"We shall find the next ones near Ralaos." Chisa told Chiata. "But I can't tell which they'll be, only that they'll be male and female."
"Ralaos? That's not too far from here. And I believe we can afford a plane ride..."
"Exactly." The vulpix sighed. "I want this to be over!" She complained, looking up at Chiata with her brown eyes. "I just want to be rid of all of them, but we're stuck together for at least half a year. It's only been... just under two months? Hasn't it?"
Chiata nodded. "We got a head start. It took the other two groups much longer than us to locate their first members."
"The next ones better be easier to deal with than these siblings. Oddest family I've met." The vulpix closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm going to try and sleep. I need the rest..."
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Many days later
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"Are they awake?" Ash asked, peeking into Akira's room.
Sajoya shook her head sullenly. "They're still in comas. They used up too much energy that night."
Sighing, Ash closed the door and went downstairs. It'd been sixteen days. Somewhere around that number anyway. When would they wake up? Every morning he checked in and asked Sajoya if they were awake, and everyday she said no. He was feeling helpless again, there was nothing he could do for his mistress... Wasn't he her guardian?
"Lighten up Ash. They'll wake up soon." Gary said, standing at the bottom of the stairs. "They need the rest."
Ash shook his head. Gary didn't understand, did he?
"What're you shaking your head for? Hurry up and get down here, breakfast is getting cold." The other pokemon master turned and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Gary's right." Jay spoke from his usual seat in the living room, reading some book as usual. "You need to relax. Akira and Sarina will be fine. They're not really in comas so much as just sleeping, and you're no use to us if you don't rest yourself. What good is a guardian if he's too tired to fight?"
Ash ignored Jay and simply walked into the kitchen.
"Touchy, isn't he?" Taie remarked, her white pidgey in her lap. "You'd think someone had just killed his pikachu..."
"Pika!"
"Sorry Pikachu." Taie apologized, petting the electric mouse on the head. "What are you doing here anyway? You're usually on Ash's shoulder."
"Chu..." He sighed, then looked in the direction of the kitchen. Ash had been neglecting him recently, so he'd been spending a lot of his time with the others, mostly Errol, or watching over Sorrow. The poor young pokemon seemed to be in some sort of dazed state. She would get up and eat, or go outside to relieve herself, but other than that, she basically just lay somewhere, not doing anything. It was as if she was conserving her energy for something.
"Don't worry little guy, he'll pay more attention to you when Akira wakes up." Kevin put down the pokemon magazine he'd been reading, and picked up a book on pokemon legends.
"Say, how come he's so worried? Gary seems fine." Rosc looked at the others. "Don't you think it's strange that he's acting this way?"
"He's in love with her." Jay didn't take his eyes off the book he was reading, but spoke anyway. "Gary, however, has not fallen in love with his mistress, and rightfully so. Her heart belongs to another."
"But so does Akira's!" Rosc exclaimed. "Doesn't Ash know about Calisin?"
Kevin smiled slightly. "He better be warned about Calis then. He's very possessive about Akira." He paused then glanced at Taie. "And she about him..."
Taie snorted softly. "I was just being nice to him! She didn't have to get all angry."
"You have a reputation my dear." Kevin replied.
"She *is* attractive though..." Rosc said, petting his Onix, who was, yet again, lose in the tiny house, and taking up a lot of space. "I can understand what he sees in her."
Jay closed his book. "She has a magnetic personality, but you're right, Ash should understand that she loves someone else. He'll only get himself killed. The others already want him dead because he's her guardian, but if Calisin finds out he's fallen in love with her..."
"And since she has not regained her memory, there's a chance she could fall in love with him before she realizes that the reason why she's never fallen in love with anyone before, is because deep inside her, she loves Calisin." Taie completed. "Rosc? Mind putting Roan in a pokeball? She's rather large and this is a small house."
"That's very true. I mean, you don't see Nevik running around, and he's only a persian!" Kevin added in, wincing when the large rock pokemon glared at him.
Rosc scowled, but recalled his Onix anyway.
Sajoya suddenly ran downstairs. "They're awake!" She exclaimed. "Ash, Gary, Jay!" She called the three men, then ran back upstairs, blonde hair flying behind her.
The three ran upstairs, Ash in the lead, and Jay behind. They entered, and found the two ladies lying in their separate beds (they'd moved the bed from the guestroom into Akira's room).
"Akira!" Ash rushed to her side. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "I feel fine. Very relaxed really. What happened?"
"You don't remember?"
She shook her head. I remember going to the island, but everything after that is a blur... All I can recall are fighting something dark and dangerous, bright gold and blue lights and...flying!"
"Sarina doesn't remembered either. She also seems to have lost her memory of the past." Sajoya looked at the two. "I think that having their stones, however, shall help them recover their memories."
"It all goes back to the stones, doesn't it?" Jay sighed in frustration, then flicked back a lock of stray hair. "Well, out of the ten people we need, we have five, and according to my creator, we're ahead of both groups..."
"But we have a major setback; our two strongest have no memory of their past! They can't transform like that!" Sajoyas hands were balled into tight fists.
"Hey, calm down! There's still plenty of time."
"No there's not!" She snapped. "Every minute is precious, and every second counts! Gathering the other five and getting the stones is not all that's left!" She left the room, and Jay followed.
Ash and Gary watched them leave, wincing as they heard the front door downstairs slam, meaning that they'd gone outside to argue. Again.
"Have they been doing that a lot?" Sarina asked, sitting up in her bed.
Gary nodded, going to her side. "You remember me? But I thought..."
"I only don't remember the past, this life I do remember, though many things are a blur." She smiled at the young man. "But I cannot forget my guardian. Thank you for taking care of me."
"No problem." He replied, blushing.
"So my tough guardian can be embarrassed? I've been trying to see if I can get to you to blush."
"Sarina!"
She giggled, and playfully tugged a lock of his hair. "Do you think we can all go out? Just the four of us?"
"Seel!"
"Dratini!"
"The six of us I mean?"
Gary looked at the other two. "Do you guys wanna go into town with us?"
"Absolutely!" Akira replied, sitting up. "I want out of this bed, and I'd like to get to know my twin sister a little more."
"I guess that's a yes then." Ash shrugged.
"Great, so where do we go?"
"I've been around town a few times, so I have a good idea where we can go..." Akira paused thoughtfully, then proceeded to list a number of things they could do.
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"What are you writing about Kevin?" Taie asked, peeking into the kitchen.
The pokemon professor looked up and took off his reading glasses. "Us."
"Us?" She walked in and sat down at the table, picking up the notepad. "Well, well. You are writing about us!"
He shrugged. "Sooner or later the general public will have to be better informed about us, so I decided to start writing now. It'll take me a long time to finish, but by the time this whole thing is over, my book should be complete."
"Hmmm, can I read this?"
"Sure, go ahead. I was going to go for a walk with Nevik anyway."
"You walk your persian?"
He grinned. "I don't want him getting fat. He's very lazy."
"Persian!" The pokemon growled as a complaint, flicking its cream tail.
"Come on, let's go Nev." He walked out, his cat pokemon by his side.
Taie went into the living room and curled up in a chair, reading what Kevin had written. He had nice handwriting... She'd been expecting it to be more like Rosc's, but then again, Kevin had always been a very organized person.
In the beginning the world was created along with humans and animals, but around the same time, maybe even before, twenty-six beings were born. They were not all born at the same time, and they were not all related. They were the sons and daughters of the 'gods', and the mothers and fathers of the magical creatures now known as pokemon. They were neither human, nor beast, and many, like the dragons, had the ability to change from their human like appearance, to their more natural, elemental, state.
Some of them gave birth to children who had the same ability of changing from human, to their more pokemon like state, but sometimes there would be children who could not transform, and stayed human, but could have healthy children with either humans or 'pokegods' as they were referred to in the first days. They were the main cause of dual types, though sometimes the original twenty-six would have children with each other.
For the first few centuries of the world, they ruled together. Though they didn't rule so much as watch over. Humans were allowed to do as they pleased, pokemon and animals ran free together. But it wasn't long before the Firsts were separated into three groups. In all truth it was two groups, with the remainder doing their best to stay out of the fighting going between the other groups.
However, it was not long before everyone was drawn into the battle, and died.
All of them, including their first and second-generation children, lost their lives. The gods too died, except for three. Joy, Sorrow and Peace/Patience, otherwise known as Josh. They somehow managed to preserve the spirits of the pokegods so that they could be reborn someday to right what wrong had been caused to the world by their fight.
Yet the world would need protection, and thus they created what are now known as the legendary pokemon. They are-
/That's where he ended./ Taie put the notepad down. /He's left out so much though! So many little details./ She put the notepad back in the kitchen. /It's been nice to be here and relax, but tomorrow, we're on the road again. We need to find the other four... I know who they are, but I'm not allowed to tell Jay! If he knew who they were, figuring out where they live in this live would be easy... Hmm, Jay's kinda cute actually, and such a nice guy, but he seems to love Akira. Poor dear./
"And what are you doing, Taie?" Sajoya walked up, trying to sound cheerful, but Taie could easily tell that there was something wrong.
"Kevin's attempting to write a book on us. I think he's out of his mind! How do you put centuries of information into one book?"
"He'll manage..." She replied offhandedly, not seeming to care about the topic.
"What's wrong with you?"
Sajoya sat down on the couch. "I'm just worried. Something's wrong. Something's different... I have a feeling that there's something else interfering in this whole thing, but I don't know what!"
Taie got up and sat next to the taller woman, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder. "I know what you mean... There was something in Sorrow, wasn't there? And Sarina?"
Sajoya nodded. "And I dont think I've never felt that presence before. Neither has Jay's creator... But we're not really sure." She sighed. "It will have to reveal itself sooner or later though." She glanced over at the black pokemon that was lying in the corner of the room. Her body was slack, and her eyes were half-open, but she didn't seem to be paying attention to anything that was happening. "We need to watch her carefully. Right now she's still recovering from being possessed, but as soon as she's well, it might happen again."
Jay walked in, and seemed like he was about to go into the living room, but as soon as he saw Sajoya, he changed directions and went into the kitchen, his green eyes blazing angrily.
"Is something wrong?" Rosc asked, re-entering the house, arms laden with groceries. "I saw Jay on my way back and he seemed really pissed off."
"Shh!" Taie gestured towards the kitchen and Rosc realized that Jay might have heard.
"Sorry... But what's wrong with him?"
"We had an argument..." Sajoya said, resting back on the couch and closing her eyes. "Several arguments actually."
"We heard." Taie got up brushing back her brown and blonde hair with one hand. "I'm going to take a nap." She announced, going upstairs.
"Where'd the twins and their guardians go?" Rosc asked Sajoya.
"Out. Rosc, do you ever know what's going on?"
"No, not really actually."
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The next day
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They had left Reva early in the morning, and had already made it back inland. This time, the seating arrangements in the van were changed. Jay drove, as usual, but Sajoya took up the other front seat. In the first row, Ash, Pikachu Gary, Errol, and Rosc sat together, with Sorrow in a pokemon carrier on Ash's lap. In the second row, Akira, Taie and Sarina sat together.
"Say, what are we going to do when we meet up with the next one? Tie him or her to the roof?" Taie asked as they drove away from the seaport town.
"Well, if we're going to tie someone to the roof, you being the smallest, it'd be you." Rosc replied.
"We could always try throwing her off a cliff and seeing if she can fly." Kevin suggested.
"That's an even better suggestion!" Rosc exclaimed.
"I am a pokemon professor, it's my job to come up with good ideas."
"Men..." Taie muttered, rolling her eyes and folding her arms across her chest.
"Forget about them Taie, they're just getting on your nerves."
"You know they love you."
Taie looked at the two blue haired twins and grinned. Ive taught you well.
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2 hours later
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"Hey, Gary, look."
"What?" The spiky haired pokemon master turned around, then smiled softly. Both their mistresses were fast asleep, leaning against each other. They looked so sweet, with their blue hair of contrasting shades tumbling down their shoulders... And they had agreed to dress in matching outfits that day; black T-shirts and blue jeans.
"They look so... helpless when they sleep." Ash whispered, trying not to wake anyone, since the whole group, except him, Gary and Jay, was asleep.
"Yeah, if only they were like that in real life." Gary replied, turning around.
Ash grinned, but also turned around. "They are quite... how to put it?"
"Well, spontaneous describes Akira. Sarina isn't as 'sudden' as her."
"Yeah. Sarina's a little more quiet, but she does have her moments."
Gary nodded. "Trust me, sometimes she's calm, like a lake, and then next thing you know she's a raging storm."
There was silence for a while, then Ash spoke up again. "Do you miss the old days?"
"The old days?"
"Being just a pokemon master, being rivals."
"A little. It always was fun to tease you. Getting on your nerves is the easiest thing in the world." He smirked, then ruffled Ash's black hair. "Not that I still can't do that."
Ash rolled his eyes then tried to smooth back his hair.
"What about you, Ash?"
"I kinda miss them... I miss the traveling mostly." Sighing he glanced out the window and happened to notice a young trainer and her wartortle, along with who seemed to be maybe her best friend, another girl, and her eevee.
"You mean Misty, Brock and Tracey?" Gary said.
"Yeah. We were good friends. Now Brock's married, and a widely known and respected pokemon breeder, and Misty's back to being a gym leader." He sighed again, still looking out of the car window.
"You miss her."
"Huh?" Ash turned to look at Gary, startled. "What'd you mean?"
"I mean you miss Misty." Gary replied, looking at the puzzled Ash. "Oh come on, don't look so surprised! It's written all over your face."
"Things didn't work out." He mumbled.
Gary whacked Ash on the head. "Snap out of it. You haven't gotten over her, and it'll be some time before you do. Love lasts for a very long time. I mean, look at Sarina. She hasn't seen her husband for thousands of years, yet she still loves him despite the time and what happened in the past."
"It wouldn't work. We're too different. Then there's the age difference."
Gary shrugged, then picked up the book he'd brought to read in the car. "You're the one who'll be a bachelor till the day he dies, regretting not pursuing the one he really loves."
Ash glared at Gary. "You don't know me. I don't love Misty, alright?" He snapped, crossing his arms across his chest and then continuing to look out of the window.
"Denial." Gary murmured to himself as he opened his book.
"What was that?" Ash snapped.
"Nothing."
They sat in silence for the next hour of the car journey, eventually falling asleep. Luckily for them, they got to stop in a nice cozy town where they'd be staying for the day.
"Jay, where are we going anyway?" Akira asked curiously.
"Ralaos." He replied. "I have a feeling we might meet some of the others there..."
"How are we getting there?" Sarina was fervently wishing it wouldn't be by car.
"By car. We're running low on money. Can't afford plane tickets."
"Damn!" The twins exclaimed at the same time.
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