I present,
a tale.
He could feel the man’s fear. He could see the darkness. The cold, icy wind was overwhelming all bodily sensations and the lightning crackling in the sky was intimidating and deafening to the ears. Flickers of flame surrounded the cluttered and crammed lab, once open and spacious, but now full of test tubes, scientific instruments and equipment and large threatening monstrous-like, gargantuan machines.
“Marcus, this is madness! We must turn back and stop now while we have a choice!” The scared man uttered, dressed in a typical scientist’s lab coat, with messy hair and a wrinkled, aged face, as if he had been shocked into old age with the fear of reality - years of pain, guilt and anguish hitting him in one shot and withering away his body.
“You made a promise, Julian. You cannot back down. The plan is already underway, and we are close to completion. All we need is your end of the deal.” Marcus, a tall, stocky, intimidating man stared dead into the eyes of the scientist. Whilst he spoke with no anger, his voice was full of intent and cut through the air and pierced the scientist’s ears like sharp, perfectly aimed knives. He needn’t yell, his sheer presence was enough. “You do remember your reward? I do believe it was quite... generous.”
“Yes, yes.” Julian looked down to try and escape the stronger man’s gaze, his own voice wavering. He reconsidered; perhaps it wasn’t too late to listen to his own conscience. “But Marcus... What we are dealing with is something bigger than ourselves. I have warned you before and we cannot mess with the balance of nature itself. We do not want to create irreversible damage with consequences that could prove catastrophic to all mankind.”
“And what did you think this all was for?” Marcus asked, raising an eyebrow, in part amusement, part curiosity.
“Personal gain? Glory?” Julian hoped, praying that his worst fears would not be realised. “For the progression of science?"
“You knew what the plan was all along.” Marcus accused, slowly stepping forward. “Yet you choose to only speak now, when you know it is too late to stop. You yourself were selfish, were you not? We gave you your requests to see your pride and glory, your dream invention built. We were doing you a favour. Now you do us ours.”
“I thought you would have seen some sense after all this... My inventions... They cannot be used like this.” Julian shook his head, timid, stuttering, staggering backwards on his feet.
“I am sorry Julian, but if you cannot accept this, then you cannot accept your payment.”
“And I cannot hand this over to you.” Julian accepted what was coming, he had had this conversation in his mind previously countless times and knew it could end only in this way. But, he had a plan.
“It seems your usefulness has abruptly ended.” Marcus smirked.
“I would rather die than see what you are to bring on this world!” Julian yelled to Marcus’s surprise, finding what little courage he had left in his cowardly body. His own scientific curiosity, and need to pursue knowledge had strayed him on the wrong path. He had played God, and it was now time to pay his dues.
“Goodbye, Julian.”
“Goodbye, Marcus.” Julian gritted his teeth, as he reached for a device inside his lab coat, Marcus quickly sighting it and reaching for a small, black and white ball in his pocket, his reflexes much quicker than the sage scientist.
“Destroy him.” Marcus called out, as a horrid, black flash erupted from the ball, and Julian barely managed to put his finger to the device, as the electronics around him erupted in lightning and he saw the looming, black shadow over him end his life.
“This cannot be...”
“This cannot be!” Salem woke up suddenly in a cold sweat, sitting up straight in his roomy bed. He waited for a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark, before turning to where he knew the light switch was located, giving it a glance, to which the switch flicked and his bedroom was lit. Getting out of his bed, he put on a shirt over his slim body and walked out onto the balcony of his bedroom, looking over the beach that lay right on his own doorstep. The night sky was reflected in the deep ocean, and as Salem looked up and counted stars, he saw a green spectre fly across the sky. He acknowledged his eyes were not betraying him, and continued to stare, until a loud screech snatched him from his thoughts.
Salem turned to see the commotion, and in that instant a million and one warning bells went off in his mind. Something was wrong. Walking out of his room and pacing quickly downstairs, he got to his door, opening it to see what no foresight could have prepared himself for.
“Hi, son.” His father breathed. “You’re looking a bit skinny, as always.”
Morning had arrived, and Salem was in the kitchen, cooking, whilst his father waited patiently on a bar stool at an elevated table, in the centre of the modern-day kitchen.
“Care to tell me what this is about?” The 18 year-old asked, easily flipping the pancakes whilst keeping a trained eye on his father.
“Still can’t read my mind to find out?” His father smirked. “I told you I would only tell you after breakfast. It’s been a while since I had a proper meal with my son! Plus, you could use a lot of food to eat anyway!”
Salem was on the skinny side, but that was due to his height and his tendency to wear darker clothes which had no help there. His dark hair, as well his constant scowl made him always look quite sullen, and the constant frown on his face made the 18 year-old seem a bit more matured than he should be. His one, enlightening feature, however were his light brown eyes, which were the only sign of life in his body. “I don’t want to read your mind, I’m rather afraid of what I’d see there. And like you ever cared for a meal with your children anyway.”
His father looked down, no son should ever have a reason to criticise a father’s parenting, but Salem had a right to. “I know and –”
“Just tell me.” Salem said. “You come all the way hear to the Sevii Islands, screeching in a taxi to my front door in the middle of the night. What happened?”
His father relented. “It’s your sister.”
“What happened this time?” Salem asked, switching off the fire and dispersing the pancakes between two plates for him and his father. He took a seat across the aged man, one a broken mirror reflection of the other. “Did she have another psychic meltdown?”
“She’s gone.” His father interrupted.
“What?”
“Disappeared. She was taken.”
“Taken?” Salem closed his eyes, searching his father’s mind. He found honesty, disappointment and worse of all – fear and hopelessness.
“You’re poking around my mind, aren’t you? I don’t know how. But one day she disappeared, and that night I had a dream that was like a cry of help.” His father explained. “I don’t have the same psychic powers your mother and the two of you have. But please. You have to find Sabrina.”
“She tried to contact you. But not me?” Salem asked. “If she was really in trouble –”
“Salem, I know you and your sister haven’t even spoken for six years! Even when you were living in the same house you barely had eye contact with each other.” His father said. “I don’t have to be psychic to know the pride issues there.”
“So we know the obvious reason why she was taken.”
“Yes. Her powers have grown. She can do much more than your mother could. Reach further heights and perform greater feats with her mind.” His father explained. “And what about you?”
“I would rather not speak of the matter.”
“Look, all I’m asking you is this. You’re the only one who can possibly find her. She’s completely helpless. I need you to help me track her down and help her. The police, the government, though they say they’re trying their best to find her, they can’t do much. The crime rates in Kanto and Johto are slowly rising, and with the sudden unexpected change in weather and the frequent natural disasters - there’s been an obvious disruption in the balance.”
“I know, I’ve sensed it.” Salem said. “It’s been bothering me for a while now. The legendary Pokemon are active.”
“Then you would also know that it’s all connected.”
“Where do I start?”
“Go to Johto, I have to return to Kanto to run the Gym and keep everything in order in Saffron City. Part of being a Gym Leader is playing an important diplomatic role in the government.” His father said. “Find Morty in Ecruteak City, he was close with your sister. He knew her well.”
“And I guess you want me to leave immediately then?”
“Yes, that is the plan.”
“You know, it’s been exactly six years to this day?” Salem asked, and his father nodded.
“I know. I’ve counted every day.”
Author's Note: And so it begins. I hope you enjoyed it, and please, tell me what you think, I'd be glad to hear it.
a tale.
He could feel the man’s fear. He could see the darkness. The cold, icy wind was overwhelming all bodily sensations and the lightning crackling in the sky was intimidating and deafening to the ears. Flickers of flame surrounded the cluttered and crammed lab, once open and spacious, but now full of test tubes, scientific instruments and equipment and large threatening monstrous-like, gargantuan machines.
“Marcus, this is madness! We must turn back and stop now while we have a choice!” The scared man uttered, dressed in a typical scientist’s lab coat, with messy hair and a wrinkled, aged face, as if he had been shocked into old age with the fear of reality - years of pain, guilt and anguish hitting him in one shot and withering away his body.
“You made a promise, Julian. You cannot back down. The plan is already underway, and we are close to completion. All we need is your end of the deal.” Marcus, a tall, stocky, intimidating man stared dead into the eyes of the scientist. Whilst he spoke with no anger, his voice was full of intent and cut through the air and pierced the scientist’s ears like sharp, perfectly aimed knives. He needn’t yell, his sheer presence was enough. “You do remember your reward? I do believe it was quite... generous.”
“Yes, yes.” Julian looked down to try and escape the stronger man’s gaze, his own voice wavering. He reconsidered; perhaps it wasn’t too late to listen to his own conscience. “But Marcus... What we are dealing with is something bigger than ourselves. I have warned you before and we cannot mess with the balance of nature itself. We do not want to create irreversible damage with consequences that could prove catastrophic to all mankind.”
“And what did you think this all was for?” Marcus asked, raising an eyebrow, in part amusement, part curiosity.
“Personal gain? Glory?” Julian hoped, praying that his worst fears would not be realised. “For the progression of science?"
“You knew what the plan was all along.” Marcus accused, slowly stepping forward. “Yet you choose to only speak now, when you know it is too late to stop. You yourself were selfish, were you not? We gave you your requests to see your pride and glory, your dream invention built. We were doing you a favour. Now you do us ours.”
“I thought you would have seen some sense after all this... My inventions... They cannot be used like this.” Julian shook his head, timid, stuttering, staggering backwards on his feet.
“I am sorry Julian, but if you cannot accept this, then you cannot accept your payment.”
“And I cannot hand this over to you.” Julian accepted what was coming, he had had this conversation in his mind previously countless times and knew it could end only in this way. But, he had a plan.
“It seems your usefulness has abruptly ended.” Marcus smirked.
“I would rather die than see what you are to bring on this world!” Julian yelled to Marcus’s surprise, finding what little courage he had left in his cowardly body. His own scientific curiosity, and need to pursue knowledge had strayed him on the wrong path. He had played God, and it was now time to pay his dues.
“Goodbye, Julian.”
“Goodbye, Marcus.” Julian gritted his teeth, as he reached for a device inside his lab coat, Marcus quickly sighting it and reaching for a small, black and white ball in his pocket, his reflexes much quicker than the sage scientist.
“Destroy him.” Marcus called out, as a horrid, black flash erupted from the ball, and Julian barely managed to put his finger to the device, as the electronics around him erupted in lightning and he saw the looming, black shadow over him end his life.
“This cannot be...”
-
“This cannot be!” Salem woke up suddenly in a cold sweat, sitting up straight in his roomy bed. He waited for a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark, before turning to where he knew the light switch was located, giving it a glance, to which the switch flicked and his bedroom was lit. Getting out of his bed, he put on a shirt over his slim body and walked out onto the balcony of his bedroom, looking over the beach that lay right on his own doorstep. The night sky was reflected in the deep ocean, and as Salem looked up and counted stars, he saw a green spectre fly across the sky. He acknowledged his eyes were not betraying him, and continued to stare, until a loud screech snatched him from his thoughts.
Salem turned to see the commotion, and in that instant a million and one warning bells went off in his mind. Something was wrong. Walking out of his room and pacing quickly downstairs, he got to his door, opening it to see what no foresight could have prepared himself for.
“Hi, son.” His father breathed. “You’re looking a bit skinny, as always.”
-
Morning had arrived, and Salem was in the kitchen, cooking, whilst his father waited patiently on a bar stool at an elevated table, in the centre of the modern-day kitchen.
“Care to tell me what this is about?” The 18 year-old asked, easily flipping the pancakes whilst keeping a trained eye on his father.
“Still can’t read my mind to find out?” His father smirked. “I told you I would only tell you after breakfast. It’s been a while since I had a proper meal with my son! Plus, you could use a lot of food to eat anyway!”
Salem was on the skinny side, but that was due to his height and his tendency to wear darker clothes which had no help there. His dark hair, as well his constant scowl made him always look quite sullen, and the constant frown on his face made the 18 year-old seem a bit more matured than he should be. His one, enlightening feature, however were his light brown eyes, which were the only sign of life in his body. “I don’t want to read your mind, I’m rather afraid of what I’d see there. And like you ever cared for a meal with your children anyway.”
His father looked down, no son should ever have a reason to criticise a father’s parenting, but Salem had a right to. “I know and –”
“Just tell me.” Salem said. “You come all the way hear to the Sevii Islands, screeching in a taxi to my front door in the middle of the night. What happened?”
His father relented. “It’s your sister.”
“What happened this time?” Salem asked, switching off the fire and dispersing the pancakes between two plates for him and his father. He took a seat across the aged man, one a broken mirror reflection of the other. “Did she have another psychic meltdown?”
“She’s gone.” His father interrupted.
“What?”
“Disappeared. She was taken.”
“Taken?” Salem closed his eyes, searching his father’s mind. He found honesty, disappointment and worse of all – fear and hopelessness.
“You’re poking around my mind, aren’t you? I don’t know how. But one day she disappeared, and that night I had a dream that was like a cry of help.” His father explained. “I don’t have the same psychic powers your mother and the two of you have. But please. You have to find Sabrina.”
“She tried to contact you. But not me?” Salem asked. “If she was really in trouble –”
“Salem, I know you and your sister haven’t even spoken for six years! Even when you were living in the same house you barely had eye contact with each other.” His father said. “I don’t have to be psychic to know the pride issues there.”
“So we know the obvious reason why she was taken.”
“Yes. Her powers have grown. She can do much more than your mother could. Reach further heights and perform greater feats with her mind.” His father explained. “And what about you?”
“I would rather not speak of the matter.”
“Look, all I’m asking you is this. You’re the only one who can possibly find her. She’s completely helpless. I need you to help me track her down and help her. The police, the government, though they say they’re trying their best to find her, they can’t do much. The crime rates in Kanto and Johto are slowly rising, and with the sudden unexpected change in weather and the frequent natural disasters - there’s been an obvious disruption in the balance.”
“I know, I’ve sensed it.” Salem said. “It’s been bothering me for a while now. The legendary Pokemon are active.”
“Then you would also know that it’s all connected.”
“Where do I start?”
“Go to Johto, I have to return to Kanto to run the Gym and keep everything in order in Saffron City. Part of being a Gym Leader is playing an important diplomatic role in the government.” His father said. “Find Morty in Ecruteak City, he was close with your sister. He knew her well.”
“And I guess you want me to leave immediately then?”
“Yes, that is the plan.”
“You know, it’s been exactly six years to this day?” Salem asked, and his father nodded.
“I know. I’ve counted every day.”
-
Author's Note: And so it begins. I hope you enjoyed it, and please, tell me what you think, I'd be glad to hear it.
