Child of Thorns - A Pokemon Sinnoh Reimagining

Kalos – 18:30, Day of the Moonless Night

The good news came, and for the first time that week Percy found a way out for his anxiety as he ran down the mansion's east wing as fast as his legs allowed him, equal mix panic and excitement fueling him. Laritzia, the housekeeper, followed quickly behind him, hands lifting up her skirt so she wouldn't trip on it.

"M-Master Percy, is something wrong? I doubt Master Arran would approve of you running in the halls."

Father didn't approve much of him nowadays. He never had, of course, but it'd only exacerbated after he beat the man and took the mantle of head of the house from him. He was sure to vie for control of it back soon, but Percy didn't care. He only needed his family's connections for a single task, and he'd finally been given the tools to carry it through.

"The Interpol has finally replied," Percy said between breaths, face getting red from running. "They agreed to help with our investigation and sent the confidential data I asked from them."

Only hurried steps were heard for a few seconds. "I see… should I take that to mean you won't stay for dinner, Master Percy?"

He smiled. "I'm sorry, but I'll be departing as soon as I send this data over. Could you contact the League and arrange a means of travel for me?"

"Of course," nodded the woman. "I wish you good travels. And… please. Come back safe."

"I will. And I promise I won't stay away for so long again," he said, looking over his shoulder. "Next time, I'll bring Reiko over, so you can meet her."

"I would love nothing more, Master Percy."

And with that, they parted ways. It was only a few seconds more of running before Percy made it to the door he'd been looking for; the entrance to what once was his father's study. The thick mahogany doors slid open with the push of his hands, trickles of light filtering through the windows, made visible by the dust rising up from beneath the doors themselves. It was an unnecessarily large room, and made all the more empty-looking because of it. Percy had rarely been allowed inside before, and he would've been sick with worry at the mere thought of entering without permission. But now, he was in charge. This room was his, as was everything in it.

"There," he said, darting toward the computer atop the desk. "Hao, zip in and–"

"Way ahead of you," an electronic voice spoke.

A zigzagging light streaked through the room in a blink, slamming against the computer and turning its outside a bright red as the screen came to life. Before Percy even made it to the other side of the desk, he could hear it being operated by Hao.

"Well?" he asked, sitting on the desk chair and leaning toward the screen. "Is it what we were looking for?"

"Yeah, it looks like…"

Hao's voice trailed off. When he spoke again, there was a noticeable difference in his tone, despite its electronic nature.

"…Yes. This is it." It sounded strained, almost. Distant. "All of the information that the Interpol has been able to gather on Charon."

"Did you find something specific?"

A weak laugh came out of the computer's speakers. "I already read through all of it. I'm a lot faster than you meatbags when it comes to this stuff."

It sounded like a joke on the outside, but Percy had spent some time alongside the grumpy ghost and he knew what his jokes sounded like. This was different. Devoid of energy. He pursed his lips, then grabbed the mouse and started scrolling through the document the Interpol had sent them.´

"Charon Tubal-Cain, born in Sinnoh and raised in Kanto," Percy whispered as he read aloud to himself. "He graduated from Pewter's university at 24 and started working for Silph. Co a year later, then…"

Most of it was information Reiko and him had been able to find by themselves, but there were some new tidbits, like his specialty on Pokemon biology or his friendship and eventual partnership with Dr. Fuji, years before they started working together on the M project. The majority of the document detailed his involvement with different companies and scientific institutions, as well as the work he did in them, but then there was… something new. It wasn't about his job or his skills at all. It was, in fact, exactly what they'd been looking for.

Percy swallowed. He'd stopped scrolling, focused on a specific part of the document, and Hao knew which one it was. A sudden tenseness gripped the room.

"Charon married pretty late into his life," Percy read aloud. "Had a son when he was well over forty, with a woman that wasn't much younger than him. Due to that there were… complications, and the child was born sick. Then, about fourteen years after he was born…"

He didn't finish the sentence. There was silence for a few moments, and Percy would've been reluctant to break it were it not for the fact that they had no time to lose.

"I… guess your hunch was right," he whispered sadly. "Even if you can't remember it yourself…"

"I remember."

Percy looked up at the screen, even though Hao's face was not on it. He knew any act of sympathy would simply be thrown back at his face, so he just gave a quick nod and looked away.

"I guess I only needed to have it confirmed," said Hao. "It's… coming back to me. I'm remembering bits of pieces, like… what she looked like. And the sound of her voice."

Percy felt some disgust toward himself at the question he was about to air. "Do you think you'll–?"

"I said I'd do it, so I'll do it. Don't worry about that."

"… I'm sorry."

Hao laughed. "Nothing to do about it," he said. "That's not my life anymore, I don't care. Still, this should be enough, right?"

"Yes. With this, my plan… Reiko… might be able to resolve this without bloodshed." He smiled guiltily at the screen. "As inconvenient as that might be for the two of you."

"…Yeah. But hey, not like revenge would be that sweet anyway, considering…" Hao drifted off, then sighed. "Anyway. I'll get going."

Percy stood up from the chair, hands still on the desk. He stared at the camera and shone it a smile he could feel confident in.

"It's a long way, but you should be able to make it if I send you through the transfer system," he said. "I'll follow as soon as you go, but like you said…"

"I'm faster than you, yeah," said Hao, a hint of a smile in his voice. "With some luck, everything will be resolved by the time you get back to Sinnoh."

Percy's smile faltered. "…We can only hope."

Mt. Coronet – 18:45, Day of the Moonless Night

Reiko looked down upon the massive chasm, and saw nothing but red and orange and white swirling in decreasing strokes like some kind of vortex, like different colors of paint mixing together. The magma flowed outwards and upwards in a way that seemed impossible. Unfettered by gravity, it rose up the walls of the chasm in waves and filled the cavernous holes at the top, making their way to the outside. This was no normal eruption. Though the magma bubbled and shifted in pools much like at the bottom of a volcano, there was a clear difference here. A creature, a Pokemon, stood on all fours at the very center of the vortex, so far down that Reiko could barely make out its features. But she didn't need to.

"Heatran," she hissed, face tightening with fury. "That's him, isn't it?"

"Seems so," Hao's voice answered from the Poketch in her wrist.

Her fingers pressed strongly against the rocky wall she hung on to. She stood on the edge of one of the many cavernous holes through which the magma flowed, up to her knees in it. She was so high up that it was hard to see the bottom. But even so, she could see that there was a floor down there; a small ring of rock not covered by magma, and down in the center was a deep depression where Heatran was, sending the magma up like a reverse waterfall. The bottom was probably wider than what she could see here, blocked by the cylindrical, hole-filled wall, so they'd probably have a bit of space to work with.

Not that it'd come to that, with luck.

At the thought, a spark of heat burst in her chest, and her fingers unconsciously dug onto the rocky wall as though it were made of plastic. The material was more malleable than usual due to the heat, but that was not the reason. Her own fingers had started to glow with immense heat.

Calm down, she spoke down into herself. You already know what we must do.

The flame of Cinnabar sent out another burst of heat, but she forced herself not to react. It was nothing more than a show. Feigning. Moltres couldn't ever fully agree to her plan, not while staying true to its nature, so it made sure to send out little reminders of its irritation once in a while. If it really wanted to, it could burn her to a crisp and then go after Charon itself.

Reiko gulped. There was a non-zero possibility that it might actually resort to that. They needed to get moving, give it less time to consider it.

"Are you ready, Hao?"

"Why do people keep asking that?" the ghost grumbled. "Are you?"

A sad smile formed on Reiko's lips. She'd dreamed of this day for almost a decade; had spent entire nights stewing in her own rage and resentment, fanning them to grow into a flame that would burn Charon to ashes. Had prayed every night, both for strength and forgiveness. Had sworn to the protectors of Kanto, one of whom she carried in her soul, that she would not reap enjoyment from this act of vengeance. She was not a crossed human trying to get back at her enemy. She was a sword to be wielded in the name of all of Kanto.

And yet, it was only once she started steering away from those lies that she'd made any progress in her quest. She wasn't a messenger of the gods. She wasn't a personification of Cinnabar's wrath, an avatar of the Winged Mirage of fire.

She was only human. Only a scared, furious little girl trying to understand why her family was no longer with her. Only once she'd finally accepted that had she known true strength.

"As long as they are spoken with sincerity, even the prayers of a Caterpie will reach the heavens."

She smiled, and stepped forward onto the very edge of the cavern, overlooking the glowing chasm below. As she did so, a few small stones crumbled out of the whole. Despite the loud rushing of the magma, they echoed loudly as they bounced off the walls, falling to the rocky floor below.

There was a short moment of bated breath, and then a voice boomed throughout the chasm. It was amplified in the same way Hao's was, but it was a distinctly human voice. A familiar voice. One which made something burst to life in Reiko's chest.

"Who is there!?"

Below, Heatran raised its head to look up at them, and Reiko noticed a small device tied around its wide neck, popping up the top of its head. A camera lens. She chuckled; it must've been pretty high-tech to sustain the heat of the magma. But now she knew; Charon could see them.

"Who are you!?" demanded the man, panic and disbelief in his voice. "How have you made it here!?"

Reiko didn't answer. She looked down, closing her eyes, and thrust her left hand to the side. Light and mass formed from nothing, coalescing into the shape of a long, slightly curved sword, its silvery blade reflecting the glow of the magma, its purple hilt suddenly seized by her fingers. Reiko lowered her tachi, Flicker, and stared down at the hellish vortex beneath her.

"Heed my call…"

She leapt, falling upon the cavernous void.

"…Moltres, the Flame of Cinnabar!"

The light of the magma around her suddenly dulled, or maybe it looked that way to her. Time slowed to a crawl. As she fell head-down toward the bottom of the chasm, Reiko felt not only her sight, but her spirit expand as well. As she looked around, the fiery, luminescent heat around her was no longer an obstacle, but a source of strength.

Reiko breathed in, and the light of the hellish vortex went out.

Heat exploded out of the magma around her, like water out of a sponge. It pulled away in the form of gaseous light, leaving the magma to dry and solidify in the time it took for a single breath to be taken. The disembodied rays of heat were siphoned toward Reiko in swirling streaks, darting like a reverse cyclone behind her, trying to catch up to her.

Instants before her fall, they did. They slammed onto her back like heat-seeking missiles, and for a single moment it looked as though Reiko bore wings of glowing, gaseous heat, like a phoenix reborn.

Then she breathed in again, and the rest was absorbed by her body. The Flame of Cinnabar came to life once more. She burst alight just as her feet touched the ground.

Air and dust and light were expelled in a dome around her fall, the stone shattering like glass, a small crater forming beneath her feet. Reiko stood tall, taller than she'd ever felt before, every inch of her body waving with a mantle of almost liquid light, ribbons of pure, pressurized heat streaking behind her like wings. Her hair flowed freely, beautifully, like a river of flames.

She looked up, eyes burning like suns, and saw not only the crater where Heatran rested, but a small construction in the back as well. What appeared to be a small cube, only big enough to house a single person, built out of what must've been heat-resistant material. There were no windows, but Charon probably didn't need them with the camera he'd installed on Heatran.

Sure enough, the man's voice echoed once more.

"W-who are you!? Why are you here!?"

Reiko took a step forward, lowering her sword, its blade glowing a stark white, leaving misty after-images behind it every time it moved. She stopped only a few inches from the edge leading down to Heatran, but looked up at the small refuge instead of at the Pokemon itself.

"I'm just a normal girl, carrying the wrath of a god," she said with a smile. "And I'm here for you, Charon."

Mt. Coronet – 18:50, Day of the Moonless Night

Maylene knew there was trouble the moment Lucario shot up to his feet, the fur on arms bristling. A second later, she felt it through the pulse of his aura. Shock, panic, but most of all anger, directed for some reason at himself.

"What is it?" she whispered as low as she could, walking toward him. "Was there movement outside?"

They'd been tailing Cyrus and his men for the past few days, and had stopped inside of a small, circular cave off the main path once they realized a few of them had stayed behind to serve as a lookout while the others stopped for a bit of rest up ahead. Only a few minutes had passed. Maylene and Lucario had stood still as corpses, ears against the wall, trying to listen for any movement. They knew this was the day; they couldn't be far away from the surface, from Mt. Coronet's peak. She'd been told plenty of times to only confront them if it looked like they were about to active the machine that would create Mew's clone, and so far that didn't seem to be the case.

Which is why Maylene felt her heart in her throat at Lucario's sudden panic. He shook his head quickly, then, to her surprise, stepped out of the small cave and onto the main cavernous path.

"Wh-wait!" She failed to keep her voice in check. "They'll see us, they–!"

But her voice trailed off. As she hurried behind him, turning toward the path with one hand resting on her bokken, she was shocked to see that the two men serving as lookout, about a stone throw's away from them, didn't move. They didn't even acknowledge their existence or…

"They're… just staring ahead," she said, eyes wide. "They're not even breathing. What…?"

Lucario raised his palm forward, and from it burst a wave of aura that traveled through the hallway like a powerful gust of wind, slamming against the two men. Instantly, they vanished into purple smoke. Behind them, previously hidden from sight, appeared an Alakazam with both spoons held firmly forward, eyes knit in concentration.

Maylene felt her stomach sink. "A-an illusion? But then…"

"Rhyaaah!"

As the Alakazam opened its eyes, all it saw was a furious Lucario heading straight for him, a staff of crystallized aura forming between his paws. The poor Pokemon barely had time to take a step back before he was hit. The impact reverberated throughout the cave with a dull thump, and the Alakazam fell to the ground in a heap, unconscious.

"They knew we were there," Maylene realized, voice thinning. "They left one of their Pokemon back to delay us, to…"

Realization dawned on her. There was only one reason Cyrus would have that happen, and now he and his men had an almost ten-minute lead on them. She grit her teeth. Fear and panic washed over her like ice and fire biting at her heels, and she chose to focus on the former, only so she could will herself forward.

"They're making a run for it! They must've activated the machine already!" she yelled. "Lucario, come on!"

And they darted off, the cavernous walls around them echoing with the sound of their hurried, desperate steps.