Celestial's Scraps of Mind Stories.

[Celestial]

More of the same as the above post, except with different characters. As before, context may be required but hopefully it won't be. I'm just posting these for a place to post them but anybody is welcome to read them. ^^

Right, this one. Just a character study for a character I had trouble getting into the mind of. Also Celestial's awkward attempts at writing romance. xD I'm not good at romance. But it's fluffy.

SPOILER: Click to show

Dusk was drawing to a close on the day before the Guardian of Lugia was due to arrive. The owner of a small Ecruteak jewellery shop heard a knock on the door, just as he was closing the shop. Whoever had come so late was going to be disappointed.

He ignored the first knock. The second knock, he pretended not to hear. However, on the third knock, when it became clear that whoever was outside was not going away, the man opened the door.

“What do you w-” he broke off as he saw who his visitor was. The young Ho-oh stood in front of him, stretched out to his full height. Even though he was not yet fully grown, he was still twice as tall as the man was. Hohenheim looked down at the jewellery shop owner and the man bowed deeply to him.

“I’m sorry, young lord, I was not expecting visitors,” he said, looking around and behind the Ho-oh. “Is the Guardian not with you?”

Hohenheim shook his head. Something caught the last rays of the sun, glittering in his beak.

“I see. Well, I am not turning the Ho-oh of Ecruteak away from my shop,” the man replied. Hohenheim did not need much of an invitation. He shoved his head in through the door, looking over the jewellery sitting on multicoloured cushions and in display cases. However, he was looking about with a particular purpose. He skimmed over the necklaces, bracelets and pendants before stopping in front of the rings. Immediately his attitude changed and he began to examine each ring critically and carefully, his red eyes full of concentrating. The owner of the shop waited for what seemed like centuries. Finally, Hohenheim seemed to make up his mind and poked one of the rings resting on the cushion with his beak. The man walked over and picked it up. His eyes widened as he looked over the ring.

“Young lord...I mean no disrespect but this cannot be what you’re looking for,” he said, looking the Ho-oh in the eyes. Hohenheim blinked, his expression remaining completely blank. He put the item in his beak on a countertop and took the ring out of the man’s fingers. The jeweller hesitated for a moment before picking up the item, looking over it carefully. On one side it appeared to be a thin slice of fire opal, the colours in it flowing and shifting with the slightest change of the light. The other side was a much softer, smoother golden colour.

The man gasped as he realised what it was. He looked up at the curious Ho-oh.

“This was a part of your egg, young lord!” he exclaimed. Hohenheim nodded casually, glancing from the eggshell to the ring. The jeweller looked up at him.

“I am not sure what you want with the ring but if you’re giving away something like this, it must be important. It is yours then,” the man said, holding the eggshell carefully in his fingers. “I cannot even begin to imagine what I will make with this.”

Hohenheim nodded once, withdrew himself from the shop and took off into the sky back towards the Bell Tower.

***

She had asked him. She had asked him personally to be the dancer in the Duet two days ago. Somehow it had come as a bigger shock to Ryun that it should have. Zlata knew he was a good dancer, she knew all about the training he had done not just with his Master but with the kimono girls on his request. And, he thought with a slight twinge of joy and embarrassment, she knew from personal experience. But there was more to the Duet than just dancing ability. The fact that she trusted him with such an important ritual, the fact that she believed that he was the most suitable person in all of Ecruteak for this meant a lot to him. Ryun was confident that he could live up to her expectations but nevertheless, the fear of disappointing Zlata, of proving her faith in him wrong, was still present.

It was why for the past few nights, when he had time to himself, Ryun had found a secluded place in the Bell Tower complex and practiced there. He knew he was not supposed to rehearse what the dance would be on the day, that it had come from the heart, but it could not have hurt to sharpen his skills.

The lamps had been lit around the towers, giving the whole complex a warm glow. Zlata had decided to go to bed earlier than usual on that day so Ryun had left her alone and came down to the court yard as usual, putting all the joy and energy he got from seeing her into his practicing. He had to make use of it while it lasted. It between her showing the Guardian of Lugia around and his practice, it was unlikely that they would see each other.

With him were Dante, now a fully evolved houndoom, and Rekka, who had also become a seadra a while ago. The former sat beneath a nearby tree and the latter swam in the small stone fountain that decorated the otherwise empty yard. It helped if Ryun had an audience, even if they were just his Pokemon.

As he danced, out of the corner of his eye he saw Dante leap up and bark at something in the sky. However, her barking was not aggressive and she was wagging her tail just as much so Ryun allowed himself to complete his dance before he turned to greet whatever it was that the Houndoom had gotten so excited about.

His face lit up when he saw Hohenheim land in the courtyard. The Ho-oh seemed happy to see Dante but nevertheless, he pushed her away with his wing to keep her from licking him senseless.

“Dante, stand down, don’t annoy Hohenheim,” Ryun called out to his Pokemon and she reluctantly sat down beside the enormous Pokemon, although her tail did not stop wagging. With her out of the way, Ryun smiled up at him and approached Hohenheim. As he did, he noticed a tiny object in his beak.

“What brings you here?” he asked, stroking the Ho-oh just above his beak and moving on to under his crest. Hohenheim closed his eyes happily and there was a deep crooning sound in his throat. However, he did not lose his focus and twisted his head under Ryun’s other arm, lifting it up so that his palm faced upwards before placing the object in his beak in the centre of Ryun’s hand.

Ryun picked up the ring that the Ho-oh had given him. It was a shaped like a milotic curling around itself, its body made out of what looked like pale gold, the colour growing gradually deeper around the tail while the fins on its head were silver, giving it the look of a shiny.

His heart and mind began racing. In Johto, gold and silver were rarely used together in jewellery, with the exception of jewellery for one specific purpose.

Ryun looked up at Hohenheim.

“Hohenheim, this...this is an engagement ring,” he said, barely able to keep his voice from shaking. The Ho-oh nodded purposefully and his eyes locked onto Ryun as if he was expecting something from the man.

Ryun steadied himself, trying to keep his emotions from overwhelming him. Confusion and happiness swirled in his thoughts

“Did Zlata send this?” he asked with trepidation. Hohenheim shook his head. Ryun sighed, his shoulders drooping slightly. It was stupid to get his hopes up. If she was to ever ask him to marry her, she would do it in person. Zlata knew him well, she trusted him and he cared for her. She would hopefully know that he would not turn her down cruelly.

Of course, Ryun knew that he would never have turned her down at all. He would have accepted without even thinking.

But that did not solve the question of why Hohenheim brought him the ring. Ryun looked up at the Ho-oh, his eyes full of amusement.

“Hohenheim, while I am flattered, we are not the same species,” he said. The Ho-oh did not look very amused. Ryun sighed.

“I’m sorry, Hohenheim, I don’t know why you’re giving me this. I can’t read your mind the way Zlata can,” he said, looking over the ring some more. “Does she even know that you’re here?”

Hohenheim shook his head, his eyes glittering with mischief. Ryun frowned for a moment, trying to think. If Zlata did not know about this, Hohenheim was planning to surprise her. If he was giving him an engagement ring then-

It suddenly dawned on Ryun. He went bright red and held the ring back out to the Ho-oh, not daring to look him in the eye.

“I can’t, Hohenheim. Take it back, I’m sorry. I can’t ask her to marry me,” he murmured, feeling his heart clench painfully. Dante and Rekka, sensing their trainer’s misery, approached him and tried to comfort him. Hohenheim gave a disappointed croon, followed by a chirp of a much more curious nature.

Ryun hesitated. His emotions threatened to burst out but he could not take the risk of telling Hohenheim, not if it meant that Zlata would find out. They were best friends; they always helped and supported each other through everything. He needed her and he liked to think that she needed him as well. He did not want to hurt her by revealing how much he really loved her.

“Hohenheim,” he said, looking the Ho-oh right in the eye. “Promise me, you won’t tell Zlata anything of what I’m about to tell you.”

Hohenheim narrowed his eyes and slowly, reluctantly nodded his head. Ryun reached out to the Pokemon and stroked him behind his crest again, glad to finally have somebody to confess everything to.

“It’s not that I don’t love her, far from it. I love her a lot, so much so that it hurts me sometimes. But she is my best friend and I don’t want to lose her. I remember the last time I liked a girl, a long time ago. She wanted nothing to do with me after I told her how I felt and what I felt for her back then is nothing to what I feel for Zlata now. I just can’t take the risk of hurting her and losing her,” he said, relief and sadness mingling in his voice. Ryun took a deep breath as he felt himself come close to crying and continued.

“But there is more. I owe her everything and I am who I am today because she helped me. She invited me to Ecruteak, introduced me to Master Isamu, been my friend and confidante for all this time and I could never repay her for all the kindness she has given me. Even without that debt, I could never ask her to marry me. She is the Guardian of Ho-oh. And I, for all the respect I get now, for everything I have, I’m still just a nameless scoundrel with nothing. She deserves somebody far worthier than me.”

Hohenheim clicked his beak angrily. A tongue of flame escaped him, missing Ryun by just a few centimetres.

“Do you understand now? If I want her to be happy, I can’t do what you want me to do,” he replied and just barely ducked out of the way of Hohenheim’s beak. Rekka leapt in between the two, bubbles threatening to erupt out of her mouth.

The Ho-oh relaxed instantly. Ryun guided Rekka way from him, gently easing her away from attacking. He then held the ring out to Hohenheim again but the Ho-oh carefully curled each of Ryun’s fingers around it, his eyes pleading with the young man to accept it.

Ryun looked down at the ring again. Thoughts of Zlata ran through his head. She was not just kind but intelligent and beautiful as well, an ideal Ecruteak lady. He always felt better just being with her and he could always rely on her for anything. He had always tried to return the favour in any way he could, by showing her kindness too, by making her smile, by always being there whenever the pressures of being a Guardian got too much for her. Out of the people in all of Ecruteak, it was with him who she spent the most of her time. Hohenheim, the one who knew her mind the best, came to him with the ring.

“What do I have that I can offer her?” he asked quietly, intending the question more for himself than anybody else. Hohenheim reached out with his head and tapped the young man’s chest with his beak, crooning slightly. Ryun looked up at the Ho-oh in surprise.

“Myself?” he exclaimed. Hohenheim nodded. Ryun smiled slightly.

“It’s a little presumptuous.”

The Pokemon sitting opposite him replied with another croon and a shake of his head, gazing down at the young man with kind eyes. Ryun took a deep breath again, meeting his gaze.

“If I asked her to marry me, would she...would she say yes?” he asked. Without even thinking, the Ho-oh nodded rapidly.

Ryun paused for a while, thinking. He held the ring tightly to his chest, feeling it grow warm in his hand, and smiled bitterly.

“I thought I had changed but I guess after all this time, I’m still that same idiot boy at the Sunhorns, aren’t I?” he stated sadly. Hohenheim shook his head, crooning gently and nuzzling at the young man. Slowly, the bitterness drained out of his face.

“No, no I really am not. I’ve got through too many things over the past three years to have remained the same,” he said. The Ho-oh nodded and Ryun looked him in the eyes again.

“Thank you, Hohenheim. I’ll ask her,” he replied, stroking Hohenheim’s head some more. “I’m scared but I’ll ask her.”

Hohenheim chirped and whistled happily, rubbing his head against Ryun, almost knocking the young man over. He laughed.

“Calm down, you’re not as small as you once were,” he said, scratching him under the chin. “I have one thing to ask you though.”

The Ho-oh drew himself up to his full height again and looked down at Ryun, urging him to continue. Ryun took a deep breath, still not quite sure or able to believe what he was going to do. But for that, he needed an ultimatum.

“I promise to you that I will ask Zlata to marry me but only if I am able to dance the Duet well,” he stated, putting the hand not holding the ring on his heart. To his surprise, Hohenheim seemed pretty satisfied with that, even though it was not a definite response. The Ho-oh nuzzled the young man’s hair with his beak as if reassuring him.

Ryun thought about what Zlata told him was needed for a Duet to be successful. Among other things, both participants needed to have considerable skill, the ability to work together and the blessing of the legendary that they were chosen to represent. He smiled widely.

“I suppose this means I have your blessing then, Ho-oh of Ecruteak?”

There was a loud, assured chirp from Hohenheim.

And a completely different change of pace...depressing story with a different protagonist. The kids from the story in the last post feature in it all grown up.

SPOILER: Click to show

Auren had made up his mind but it was not like he had a choice anyway. There was nothing he could do to ever fix what he had done or absolve him of all the guilt that he felt. He knew that by going to confront Rama, his daughter- he still could not believe that his daughter was the cause of this whole war- it was likely that he was going to his death. But if by some miracle he could convince her to release her grip on Ecruteak, to tell the Night Child-controlled forces of Kanto to retreat, perhaps he would be able to atone and fix some of his mistake. At the very least, his region would be spared the war and his mother, brother and sisters would be able to go home. Maybe they would even find his father, if he was still alive.

Tears started welling up in his eyes. Auren quickly waved his hand in front of his face, lifting out the excess with his water controlling powers. He wanted to cry so badly but he had already done enough of that. It was time for him to take responsibility for his actions.

He let out a short, bitter laugh that threatened at any moment to turn into a sob. Ichika was right, she had been right all along: he really was irresponsible and now all this had come out of it. This realisation did not sting as much as he once thought it would have. Then again, Auren never had any dislike for his sister. She was always fun to tease and far too serious for her own good but when it came down to it; he only did it because he knew she was strong enough to take it. Yet she did not see it that way. He would not be surprised if she hated him.

Just another thing that he had messed up in his life. Auren stopped himself crying once again, put Hera’s journal into his pocket and stepped out of his tent into the cold night air. The activity in the camp that was spread out around him was beginning to die down as everyone got what sleep they could before they marched again at first light tomorrow. Soldiers who had survived either the sieges of Goldenrod, Ecruteak and Olivine and men who had come in from other parts to Johto were now gathered in the eastern mountains to fight in the war against Kanto. Auren looked around at the tents. These men had lost their homes and were most likely going to give up their lives because of his mistake. He had failed them all. He did not deserve to call himself a prince.

He reached into the other pocket where he kept his pokeballs, looking for the quick ball containing Vermillion, his moltres, but he hesitated. They had already lost one member of their family. He did not even want to think about their grief if he disappeared without warning. His mother especially, who needed to be strong now more than ever, would be devastated. Somebody had to know his role in what they were going through. More than anything, he did not want to be remembered as a hero.

Auren turned and walked towards the centre of the camp towards the large tent where his mother and Hohenheim, his brother and the Ho-oh of Ecruteak, was. Hopefully they were both now free of or at least taking a break from all the work that had been piled up on them by the fall of Ecruteak. They would both be angry, no, livid, at him but he would be happy to accept their anger. It’s what he deserved.

He approached the tent and was about to pull back the flap of cloth that served as the entrance when the sound of terrified, distressed crooning reached his ears. But as he listened further, he heard an even worse sound: sobs. Zlata, his mother, was crying. Auren had never seen or heard her cry before.

Slowly, he let go of the flap and backed away, suppressing any desire he had to just run away. Waves of guilt washed over him and he wrapped his arms around himself, charging blindly through the camp. He felt sick, sick at having put his mother and his beloved brother through the pain they had to be feeling now. He could never face either of them now, not with the knowledge that he was to blame for their grief and loss.

It was even more important now that he went to face Rama and that he told somebody where he was going. Stopping and regaining his composure, he turned on his heel and headed towards her tent. It was much smaller than his mother’s but the entrance was decorated with the symbol of her unit, an entei surrounded by blue lights against a volcano. Auren hesitated for a moment as he put on his best smile, a smile that once came to him naturally. It was best to face Ichika with a smile, let her know nothing was wrong. She did not need to know how broken he really was.

“Ichi, it’s me. Are you alone?” he said quietly.

“Yes. What do you want, Auren?” came her voice from the inside.

“I just wanted to talk to you about something important.”

There was a brief silence.

“Come in then,” Ichika replied reluctantly. Auren took a deep breath and swept aside the cloth covering the entrance to her tent.

It was sparsely furnished like most of the other tents in the encampment. There was a standard issue bed, a folding chair and table as well as several unopened crates with lamps on them, placed strategically to light up as much of the tent as possible. A banner hung on the opposite side under which Ichika sat in her uniform, polishing her sword as one of her litwicks hovered in place, giving her extra light. Her long signature coat was draped over the chair and there was an open bottle of wine beside her. She did not look up at Auren as he entered.

“Alright, what’s so important that you’ve come over personally to tell me?” she asked him, making her voice ring with apathy. Auren smiled.

“Ichi, I am the cause of this entire war,” he said tonelessly, waiting for her reaction. His sister looked up from her sword and glared at him, her eyes growing dark and steely.

“That’s a sick joke, Auren. Skip to the real point,” she hissed. Auren swallowed but he did not let his expression flicker.

“That was the point, Ichi, I am the reason that everything has happened. The instigators of the war, the people behind Kanto, are the Sisters of the Night Children. Their leader is also my daughter, mine and Hera’s. This was is just a distraction to keep us from interfering in the real war, the one they are fighting with the NightGales. If Hera and I had not gotten together, none of this would have happened,” he stated plainly and simply.

Ichika stared at him for a moment. Her face remained blank as she put the sword down onto the table, waved the litwick away, got up from her chair and started walking towards him.

“Go on,” she told him very calmly, her voice dripping with poison. Auren gave her an exaggerated nod.

“Not much else to say. I figure you would be quite glad to hear this news, I know how mu-“

He fell to the floor as she punched him in the jaw with all her strength, making Auren see stars. A groan of pain escaped him as he struggled up onto his knees.

“You...STUPID, IRRESPONSIBLE, ARROGANT PIECE OF CRAP! You come in here, boasting about how wonderful you are that you caused all of THAT?! Our region is tearing itself apart, our hometown is gone, everything that our mother worked for is now in ruins and, worst of all, our father is dead! Even for you that is the most-”

She broke off on her tirade as Auren looked up at her, tears streaming from his eyes. His features were twisted and bent by grief. He could not pretend to be as he usually was, not when subjected to such anger.

“I’m sorry, Ichika,” he murmured. “I’m sorry for everything. You were right about me, you were always right and I was just too proud to accept it. It’s far too late now and it’s all my fault. Everything is my fault.”

Ichika unclenched her fist and backed away a few steps, trying to steady herself. In a single flash, the Auren she had known all her life, the arrogant, irresponsible, devil-may-care Auren who had loved to tease her so much had disappeared. The man on his knees in front of her now was broken beyond all recognition, racked with ugly, undignified sobs with not a speck of pride in him. She had seen men break before but she never thought for a moment that it would happen to her older brother.

“Auren...” she said quietly and took out a handkerchief from her pocket, offering it to him. “You look awful, wipe your eyes with this.”

He looked away from her.

“You must hate me so much. Not just for this but for all the teasing I did. I’m sure I made your life a nightmare, all because of some misguided belief I had that you were like me,” he whispered to her. “You were also the closest to dad out of the three of us. You’d never show it to anybody but you must miss him. He’s dead and it is all my fault. I made mum cry as well.”

Ichika grimaced but pressed the handkerchief into his hands before putting her hand on his shoulder.

“I don’t hate you, Auren, I never have. Sure, you were annoying your teasing was just as annoying but you pointed it out yourself many times, I could take it. And it was kind of fun in places, getting you back for what you did,” she replied, trying to sound gentle for his sake. “As for dad...it does hurt but I’ve lost people before. Not like this perhaps but I will cope. I have to...we all have to.”

She smiled slightly as Auren wiped his eyes with the handkerchief, drawing out his tears from it and handing it back to her when he was done. She put it back into her pocket, still keeping her hand on his shoulder.

“I did not expect so much comfort from you, Ichika,” Auren remarked bitterly. His sister sighed.

“Don’t get me wrong; what you’ve done is terrible and I am quite angry at you for it. But we are family and family has to stick together, now more than ever. You are my brother, Auren, and I promise you that we shall all work together to set this right,” she said to him, patting him on the shoulder. “But I have to ask, why come to me? Why not talk to Hohenheim or mother?”

Auren bit his lip at the bitter memory.

“Mother was with Hohenheim and he was trying to comfort her. It was the first time I ever heard her cry, Ichika. I could not make her suffer even more because of me,” he said to her, his voice shaking with the promise of more tears. “Besides, she always saw me as her darling son and to Hohen, I was his sweet baby brother. You were the only one who ever saw right through me. I figured you’d be the least disappointed in me, in what I really am. So how does it feel, knowing you were right all along?”

Ichika looked away from him, staring down at the ground.

“You’d think I’d be happy but I hate it,” she growled. Auren laughed bitterly.

“Because of the war?”

“No, because I don’t like seeing you like this. You’re like a completely different person now and it’s terrifying. You might have gotten on my nerves before but now, I don’t know what to do with you,” she rebuked him.

“I’m sorry, Ichika. I’m so sorry,” Auren whispered. “I’m going to set things right though. I’m going to do what you’ve always wanted me to do and take responsibility for my actions.”

“How, Auren? From what you told me, this is far too big even for you to handle,” Ichika told him cynically. He shook his head.

“No. The Sisters of the Night Children came to me on the day Ecruteak was besieged. Along with Hera’s journal and the explanation behind it, they also invited me to go see her, my daughter, in Turnback Cave. If I go, I have the best chance out of anybody of stopping the war that way,” he said, determination crawling into his voice. Ichika growled at him. Her grip on his shoulder tightened.

“You’re not going there by yourself. If she knew all this and still attacked us, you must know she would not hesitate to kill you. It’s a trap and if I let you go, if another member of our family dies, imagine what it will do to mother, to Hohenheim, to Aoko, to me!”

“What choice do I have? I cannot look any of them in the eye again, knowing that they are all suffering because I was too impulsive, proud and stupid all those years ago,” Auren brushed Ichika’s hand off him and stood up. “I’m sorry. It will hurt, I know. But I need to take responsibility for my actions.”

Ichika hissed in frustration and leapt at him, pinning him to the ground in one smooth motion.

“I’m not letting you go!” she cried out, twisting his arms behind his back. Auren ground his teeth together and turned his head around to face her.

“I’ve made up my mind. Besides, I thought you would be happy that I’m taking responsibility for my actions,” he said as his hands filled with water. “I don’t want to but I will fight you for this, Ichika. If there is one thing in my wretched life I must do, I must go see my daughter.”

“Then at least let me come with you. If things go badly, you stand a better chance of surviving with me by your side.”

“No. You are needed here. You have your unit, your husband and your sons to take care of, Ichika. This is my task and I’m not involving anybody else in it. I must redeem myself.”

To his surprise, Auren felt the pressure on him ease.

“You’re serious about this,” Ichika whispered, getting up and offering him her hand. Auren nodded and took it, feeling himself lifted up effortlessly to his feet by his sister.

“I have accepted that I’m most likely going to my death but if there is any chance that I can stop this insanity, I must take it. I have faith that all of you will be strong enough to deal with whatever comes from this,” he told her. Ichika scowled but she realised that there was nothing she could do that would convince him otherwise. Still irritated, she went back to the table and took the open bottle of wine, gesturing towards Auren with it.

“Take a seat. You sound like you need some of this,” she said bitterly, slumping down on the chair and taking a swig without even bothering with a glass. Auren smirked bitterly.

“No thank you. Alcohol is the reason I got into this mess,” he remarked. Ichika rolled her eyes.

“You always were a lightweight. Don’t worry, I won’t let you get drunk. I’m only offering you enough to ease your pain a little,” she replied and sighed. “Besides, I get the feeling I’m never going to see you again. You owe it to me to have this drink.”

Auren opened his mouth to protest but he found himself unable to. Just because he had accepted his death did not mean that he was looking forward to it and he did not want to leave Ichika without doing what he could to correct all the mistakes he had made in his relationship with her over the years. This would not undo everything he had ever put her through but it was the least he could do for her.

He sat down on the bed and took the bottle from Ichika, drawing out approximately a glassful of the wine from the bottle and holding it in a bubble above his hand, taking small sips. Ichika smiled slightly and took back the bottle, taking another swig from it before turning her chair around to face him.

“So, tell me, what happened between you and Hera? I’m guessing there was a good reason you didn’t know about this child until now,” she asked him, looking at Auren with sympathetic eyes.

Painfully, Auren pried open all his old wounds and told his sister everything that he had been keeping back all these years. He did not even bother to hide his tears but as the wine disappeared from his hand, it became easier for him to talk and he felt less miserable as he did. Whether it was from the alcohol or from just having another person to talk to he wasn’t sure.

Finally, there was nothing left to say and there was no more wine left in the bottle. Auren sighed, got up from where he was sat on the bed. Ichika looked up at him.

“Auren, what will I tell mother or Hohenheim when they ask where you’ve gone?” she asked him.

“Whatever you wish, as long as it isn’t the truth. I know you hate lying, especially to them but please, don’t tell them, not yet,” he replied with a shrug.

“So when should they know the real reason?” Ichika said under her breath, scowling at her brother. He bowed his head.

“If I do not return in two weeks, tell mother, Hohen and Aoko everything I told you. I want them to know what happened and what I’ve done,” he stated, his voice shaking with sadness at the last part. Reluctantly, she nodded. As Auren turned to leave, Ichika put the empty bottle down on the floor and picked up her coat from her chair, standing up and putting it on. Her brother glared at her.

“I said I won’t let you come with me,” he stated calmly. Ichika straightened out her uniform and turned to look at him.

“I’m not. I’m just going to see you off, Auren,” she replied. “I’ll even leave my sword here if it will make you feel better.”

He nodded and together, the two siblings stepped out of her tent. The sky was beginning to grow lighter in the east but the camp by now was completely silent except for the few, distant movements of sentries. Auren turned towards Ichika.

“Thank you for listening to me. That went better than I thought it would,” he said quietly to her as he put his hood over his head and took out four of his pokeballs, handing them all to Ichika. “I’ll be taking Vermillion and Mesis but look after the others. You need them more than me.”

She took them wordlessly, looking down at the pokeballs in her hand. This was Auren’s team, the one who he had managed to conquer league after league with, and ones he had raised himself. It hammered home that he was not coming back. But nevertheless, she nodded at him once and put the pokeballs into her pockets and took out a great ball of her own.

“That bird of yours is like a signal flare. Anybody with eyes will be able to see where we are if you take off on it,” she stated and released Veres. The enormous garchomp shook his head and stretched out his sails, growling gently as Ichika stroked his snout and climbed up onto his back. “Come on, Auren, I’ll take you as far north as I can.”

Auren did not protest as he climbed up onto the garchomp’s back Ichika had a point and he suspected that she did not want to say goodbye to him just yet. He shared the sentiment.

Together, they took off into the sky, soaring above the encampment and north towards the mountains and Sinnoh. The flight did not last long and neither of them said anything during it. They had nothing more to say and both were aware that these moments were the last time they would ever see each other.

Finally, the camp had faded out of sight and Ichika reluctantly made Veres descend. When they had landed on the side of a mountain, Auren climbed off and took out Vermillion’s pokeball, releasing the moltres and getting back up onto his back.

“Auren,” Ichika called out to him. He looked up at her expectantly but she did not meet his gaze, instead choosing to peer into the distance, away from him.

“Goodbye and good luck, prince of light,” she murmured and took off before he could say anything back. Auren watched her leave before he urged Vermillion to take off again, in the direction of Sinnoh, Turnback Cave and Rama.

Since the main action happens in-roleplay, these are both conversations which flesh out the characters.

[Celestial]

So I wrote another thing with the same characters, all in one sitting, which I'm really proud of. I'm getting better at romance, I think. I mean, compare this with the above story.

I think I explain the background behind this well enough. Of course, the characters are not introduced enough since this is part of a much greater whole but yes, profiles and explanation will be provided on request. Not that anybody reads these but they are nice to upload just to show that I write stuff. xD

SPOILER: Click to show

Ryun awoke to the sound of Zlata sobbing.

They had been gone from Johto for over a month now. The scars the war had left on the region had begun to heal but the same could not be said for them. It was why they had asked the NightGales to take them to Oblivia to try to forget those painful seventy years and repair the damage that they had wreaked on their minds and bodies. But it was clearly not working.

He turned around and looked down at Zlata. Tears were streaming down her face and her hands were clenched into fists, holding the corner of the blanket like a child would. She looked so fragile, so vulnerable; it was difficult to believe that she had been the leader of Johto’s armies throughout the entire war against Kanto, the war instigated by the Night Children. Of course, she would never have showed this side of herself to anybody back then but now, around him and Hohenheim, she did not have to hide anything. She could cry openly.

Ryun just wished he could remember how to comfort her. The last time he had done anything like it was literally a lifetime ago when he was a different man. That was long before he had stripped himself of his emotions and identity in order to preserve his own life in occupied Ecruteak. If it had not been for Warren seeing him in his dreams, it was likely that Ryun would have forgotten who he was entirely.

He still loved Zlata, he knew that much. The shock of seeing her screaming in pain in the aftermath of Lamia’s attack had been enough to bring that much to the surface for that brief moment. But as quickly as it had come, it had disappeared, his survival instincts dragging it down just as they had done so for the duration of the war. Now, even as his wife lay beside him, crying bitter tears and in desperate need of comfort, he was unable to come to her aid. He had simply forgotten how to. All he could do was listen to cry as he had done since they had first come here and prevent the pangs of helplessness drawing tears out of him too.

A large shadow blocked out the moonlight coming in from the window and two bright red eyes stared into the room. Hohenheim. He always came in response to Zlata’s nightmares. This time, however, he did not poke his head in through the window and try to stop her crying but instead looked over her body straight at Ryun. Anger and desperation flickered in his eyes.

Ryun had known Hohenheim enough to recognise what he wanted him to do. He looked up at the ho-oh and shook his head sadly. He lowered his head but that only shifted his gaze to Zlata, who was still crying, her face twisted in pain. He looked away immediately.

An angry hiss from Hohenheim yanked his head up as though pulling him by his hair. The ho-oh gestured with his head towards Zlata several times, each gesture more enthusiastic than the last. Ryun slumped where he sat.

“What can I do? What do I do?” he murmured, thinking it too quiet for Hohenheim to hear. The ho-oh scrunched up his eyes, growing silent for a moment.

<Hold her.>

Ryun had barely felt the thought creep into his head and voice itself but the one who spoke it was not him. He knew that Hohenheim could talk telepathically to people besides Zlata if he tried hard enough but he did not remember the last time that the ho-oh had done so to him. Then again, considering how long they had not seen each other, it was not a surprise.

Right now, however, that did not matter. If Hohenheim thought that this was the right thing to do, it probably was. He knew Zlata better than even she herself did at times. Ryun just hoped that it would do something, that she too still loved him.

Gently, he eased his hand under her shoulder and his other hand around her arm. He began lifting her up and she responded, easing herself upright until they were level with each other. He put his arms around her and slowly drew her closer to him in the way that felt most natural. Zlata rested her head on his shoulder, letting go of the blanket to put her arms around him as well. She clung to him as her sobs resumed, seeming so loud now that she was closer to his ear. Ryun looked up at Hohenheim, his eyes fearful, as though hugging Zlata was the wrong thing to do. The bird’s gaze, however, remained steady, telling Ryun not to let go, so he did not.

Instead, he looked down at his wife, a woman who despite being over a hundred years old looked the same as she did when she was in her thirties, just like him, all thanks to Hohenheim’s fire. She had been like this on the last day of siege of Ecruteak, the last day he had seen her before finding her after her fight with Lamia. The only new things were the few scars that he could feel under her robe, probably eclipsed by the numerous scars he had on his body, one of which she could probably feel if she moved her hand slightly to the right just below his rib. But right now, she did not need that pain.

Hohenheim moved aside from the window, allowing the moonlight to seep into the window again, reflecting off her long cascading hair. There were some grey strands in it, breaking up the blackness, but they only added to her dignity and grace. Ryun brought up his hand and ran his fingers through it, stroking her head and back comfortingly as another shuddering sob broke her body.

He brought her closer to him, pressing their bodies together and wrapping her even tighter in his arms. Zlata did the same and rested her head on his shoulder just as a fresh wave of tears assaulted her. Ryun felt her shudders running through him, heard her sobs as though they were his own and above all, felt the grief and agony that the memories that expressed themselves in her nightmares caused her. She had suffered and endured so much and now, all that pain was open for Ryun to see and to feel. But he could not stand seeing her in so much pain. He loved her far too much for it.

Something inside Ryun snapped. All of the emotions he had repressed and kept back for the sake of survival suddenly flooded over him. Love, grief, anger, loss, loneliness, all of them gripped his heart and mind. Instead of nothing, he now felt far too much, too much to make sense of it all. However, he knew one thing: he needed Zlata.

He held her tightly to him, as though at any minute she would turn into smoke and disappear. Burying his head in her shoulder, he too began crying. Silent tears soaked into her robe down to the skin but he did not care. All he knew was the rush of emotions and the desperate need for the comfort from the women he loved so much.

For what felt like an eternity, Ryun cried into Zlata’s shoulder, releasing the emotions that had built up inside him in the past seventy years. His whole body was numb and he was frozen in place, not having the energy or the mental strength to move.

Slowly, he drifted back into the world. He became aware of Zlata’s voice, of her delicate fingers running through his hair, of her other arm curled protectively around his shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” Ryun whispered, his voice shaking.

“Don’t be. After all you’ve been through, you needed that,” she replied. Her voice did not reflect the grief that she had felt not so long ago.

“I should not have broken down when you needed me,” he lifted his head up, looking down into her eyes. Zlata moved her hand to his cheek, wiping away some of his tears.

“It is unreasonable of me to expect you to be strong, especially not after all you’ve been through,” she said to him, smiling. “After all this time, this is the first time you’ve ever cried in front of me.”

“I could not stand to see you in so much pain, just as I could not when I found you dying after Lamia’s attack,” Ryun told her. Zlata sighed and leaned back down onto his shoulder, holding her husband close to her.

“I was so worried, so scared that you would never recover, that you did not love me anymore as I still loved you,” she murmured and sighed again. “But I’m glad, Ryun. Glad that you’ve come back to me at last.”

Ryun kissed her head and smiled at last for the first time in a while. Hohenheim was no longer by the window. He had not wanted to intrude on such a private, vulnerable moment.

“It’s good to be able to feel once again,” Ryun said, still hugging Zlata. He did not want to ever let her go. “Now please talk to me; what did you dream about?”

[Celestial]

More things and once again, it is related to a much larger whole. It's all I write these days...

Anyway, this one contains copious amounts of small children being cute. You have been warned.

SPOILER: Click to show

“Auren?” Aoko called up the stairs to her brother as she entered the house, carrying the first of many boxes from their parents, all full of things for Rama. Tempest was waiting outside with a few more and her mother had left Niagara to help out as well. She looked into the current box as she stood there waiting for a reply. Inside it lay several baby sleep suits and blankets, all folded up neatly as though they had only been put into the box yesterday. Aoko had no recollection of these clothes but the mere thought that they once belonged to her and her sister filled her with warm nostalgia. At the same time, however, she smiled at the thought of her niece wearing them. The beautifly pyjamas lying on top of the pile would especially suit Rama.

She frowned as time wore on with no reply from Auren. Aoko cast a wary glance down the hallway where Hera’s room was and sent out a tiny electric pulse through the walls to try and feel her presence. She appeared to be asleep. That faint glimpse would have to do. As much as Aoko was afraid of Hera’s wrath, she did not want to see inside her head. Whatever she would find there would not be good.

Deciding there was no point in waiting, she made her way up the stairs towards where Auren’s room was, not sure what to expect. Aoko approached the door and closed her eyes, trying to gain a picture of what was inside first. Once she was assured that there was nothing too serious going on, she opened the door and stepped inside.

Auren was sitting on the edge of his bed, gently rocking Rama in his arms and looking down at her as though at any moment he was expecting to catch her as she faded away. The girl, in contrast, was peacefully asleep; her wings were folded against her body and tucked into the blanket she was wrapped up in and her left hand clutched a fold of her father’s robes.

His head shot up as Aoko entered but seeing that it was her, he relaxed marginally and gestured with his head down at Rama.

“I heard you calling but I didn’t want to wake her. Sorry, Aoi,” he murmured, smiling weakly at her. Aoko nodded in understanding and walked lightly forward, placing the box close to Auren’s feet. He frowned at it and leaned forward to peer inside. His smile grew a little wider when he saw the contents.

“I remember some of those,” he said fondly and then frowned again. “I thought mother and father said they would deliver these.”

“They did but mother got called away on some urgent business to Goldenrod. Father went with her, as usual. They asked me to take care of this,” Aoko replied and reached into one of the pockets she had sewn into her sash, taking out a letter. “Mother asked me to give this to you when I delivered this.”

Auren looked up at the letter and tried to shift his arms about to free one of his hands. However, with Rama in his arms, that was impossible. He grew more and more anxious as he struggled to keep her level and not move her about too much to wake her. Aoko sighed and kneeled down beside him. She looked over her niece for a moment, admiring how soft and sweet she looked in her sleep. For a moment, she wanted to touch her but Auren came first.

“You have your bed, why don’t you put her down there? It will have to do until the cot comes in,” she said, gesturing to the messy pillow and blankets. Auren winced and looked down at Rama, in particular at her hand holding onto him, torn between his mother’s letter and not wanting to let his daughter go.

“Auren, she’s asleep. She won’t mind if you put her down. Trust me,” Aoko said as she reached out to take Rama from him. Auren nodded and slowly, as though she was made out of dried leaves, unwrapped his daughter’s hand from his robes and put her down onto his bed. He took his blanket and put it around her, creating a small nest for her to rest in. The girl stirred in her sleep and he froze his breath stopping dead in his throat. However, soon, she was still again and he resumed making her comfortable.

Aoko waited patiently as her brother fretted over Rama, watching him with both amusement and worry. He had been protective when they were little but with his daughter, he had taken it to a completely new extreme.

“Auren, leave it, she’s perfectly comfortable,” she sighed after a while, removing his hands. He glanced over at Rama uncomfortably but he moved away from her anyway and finally took the letter out of Aoko’s hand and opened it up.

Auren,

I’m sorry I could not deliver this in person but I’m sure Aoko will be more than capable. This is most of what we kept from back when you and your sisters were younger that is still useable. Your father hopes that Xerxes’ baby saddle will fit Erebus so you can carry Rama easier. However, you will still need the following things: nappies, dummies, sheets for the cot, a proper bottle, more formula and some gentle soap for Rama’s baths.

Do not fret, I have faith in you. Your father was also very scared when you were born but he managed very well. After seeing you with Rama, I’m sure you will be the same.

Love,
Mother

While he was reading, Aoko took the time to properly meet her baby niece. The little girl slept soundly on, her breathing quiet but steady as her eyes fluttered slightly under their eyelids. She had curled up inside the nest that Auren had made for her and her little hand which he had unclenched had gone back into a tiny, chubby fist. Aoko smiled as she watched her, unable to look away. She reached out to stroke Rama’s head, feeling her wispy hair and soft, warm skin under her fingertips and smiled widely. When she moved to hold Rama’s hand, the baby found one of her fingers and held onto it tightly, all while maintain her perfect sleeping pose. Sparks ran through Aoko’s hair and it took all of her self control to not laugh with delight. It was so hard to believe that her brother and Hera could produce such an adorable child.

“She’s so perfect,” she whispered as she turned back to Auren, grinning in delight. Her brother nodded but then immediately frowned. He took a corner of the blanket where it had fallen off Rama due to her holding Aoko’s finger and covered the baby up again. Aoko removed her hand, feeling as though Auren was angry with her, even though his thoughts told her otherwise. “What did mother say?”

“She told me she had faith in me. And she gave me a list of things to buy,” Auren replied, holding out the letter for Aoko to read. She quickly skimmed through it.

“This looks pretty straightforward,” Aoko remarked as she gave the letter back to her brother. “You should go now and get that stuff. It will give you an opportunity to see of the saddle does fit Erebus.”

“I should but...what if I get the wrong stuff? There’s a lot of different variations of all the things that mother listed, what if I get one which isn’t suited for Rama?” Auren asked, his gaze drifting back to where his daughter was sleeping.

“No you won’t. She’ll be fine with whatever you get her, trust me,” Aoko also looked back to where Rama was and smiled widely as the girl stirred.

“But...what if she isn’t? What if I really do get her something that makes her ill or she doesn’t like or-“ Auren broke off as Aoko grabbed his hands and looked him right in the eye.

“It will be fine. Mother said she has faith in you, Auren, and so do I,” she said firmly to him, not showing the amount of worry she felt for her brother. Her eyes suddenly lit up as an idea came to her. “How about I come shopping with you?”

“You don’t know anything about children, Aoi,” Auren replied but even so, she could feel that he was tempted by her suggestion.

“I don’t but I can always give you a second opinion,” Aoko replied, her eyes growing much more concerned. “Besides, somebody needs to be there to make sure you don’t go insane. I’m worried about you, Auren. You’re fretting so much over her.”

“I can’t help it. I...I’m scared. I love her and she needs me. She’s got nobody else,” he murmured, his voice shaking for a brief instant as he tried to hide his feelings from his sister.

“She’s got us, Auren and so have you. Please, let me come with you. I want to help,” she said firmly and lowered his hands.

After a while, Auren nodded and sat down beside Rama, watching over her. “We’ll go when she wakes up.”

“Okay, as you wish,” Aoko sat down beside him and took out her knitting, continuing to work on a tiny hat resembling a paras. At times she glanced over at her niece, imagining how adorable she would look in the hat and what other bug things she could make for her. It was summer right now so she could not knit her anything but she figured she could sew her a cute bodysuit. The only question was the design.

The girl tried to roll over, prompting Auren to readjust the blankets over her. Aoko looked over this and her smile grew wider. She turned back to her knitting, looking forward to spending time with her adorable niece.

***

“I think we have everything, Auren, it’s okay,” Aoko watched as Auren checked his mother’s letter against the contents of Erebus’s saddlebags. Rama sat contented in front of them in Xerxes’ old baby saddle, which had fitted the zebstrika perfectly, and looked around curiously at the world around her. The shopping district of Ecruteak was busy as people milled in and out of shops constantly, coming out with new purchases almost everywhere around them. Some turned and smiled or bowed to them as they recognised who they were. A few even stopped to compliment Auren on Rama but he had rarely replied with more than a curt nod and a polite smile. It had occurred to Aoko that this must have been the first time he had taken her properly into the city. Even without her powers, the way he had been glancing around and clutching at Erebus’s reigns told her everything she needed to know.

“Are you sure? What about the soap?” he asked, digging around frantically for it. If it was not so odd and a little terrifying seeing her brother panicking so much, Aoko might have found it even a little bit funny. She was only glad that Ichika was not here.

“You put it into the other bag,” she said and approached him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Relax, please, brother. You’re beginning to frighten me.”

“I’m sorry, Aoi. It’s just that...I don’t want to forget anything. What if Rama needs it and we don’t have it? I don’t know what I’m doing as a parent and want to be a failure for her,” he said quietly, his shoulders slumping. He reached out and stroked Rama’s head. “Please don’t think badly of your father. I’m doing my best for you. I hope that it’s enough.”

Aoko gently took his hand and removed it, pushing him away slightly and standing beside Rama. She undid the straps of the saddle around the girl before taking her out and hugging her against her shoulder, making sure to cup her head. Her niece rested against her shoulder, finding the soft fabric of Aoko’s robes as comfortable as those of her father.

“What are you doing?” Auren asked nervously but Aoko did not reply. She closed her eyes and felt the electricity running through her niece’s body, tracing her nerves and muscles all the way up to her brain. Her brother put a hand on her shoulder to try to take Rama away but the electricity crackling in Aoko’s hair told him what was going on: she was reading Rama’s mind. As afraid as he was, he stepped away; trusting his sister, even if the sight of the faint sparks so close to Rama unnerved him.

After a few moments, Aoko opened her eyes and turned to her brother, her smile wide and joyful.

“What did you see? What does...what does she think of me?” Auren asked her, already bracing himself for the worst.

“Auren, she’s a newborn baby. She doesn’t think much, all she cares about are her needs and they are simple: food and sleep and she gets plenty of both. She doesn’t even know your name but she does recognise you,” Aoko’s smile grew even wider, “And she knows that you look after her, that you protect her. She feels safe and happy with you. So don’t you fret and worry about being a good father. You’re doing it already.”

The words took a few moments to sink in for Auren but once they did, he smiled faintly and his shoulders slumped, the tension in him easing away. He reached out to take Rama off Aoko but she put her hand onto Rama’s back, holding her close.

“She’s comfortable where she is, Auren. I want to carry her for a while, if that’s okay with you,” she asked him, gently adjusting the girl into a more comfortable position for the both. He hesitated for a moment before he nodded slightly. Aoko turned happily to her niece, only growing happier as the latter’s wings buzzed a little as she kept looking at the world around her from her new vantage point. Even Auren seemed a little reassured as he watched them together.

Suddenly, Aoko’s attention was attracted by something at the far end of the street. She turned to her brother, her eyes bright as an idea came into her head.

“If we have everything, let’s get Rama a toy of her very own. She should get more than just our hand-me-downs, “she suggested, pointing to towards the plush shop. Auren took Erebus’s reigns and started to guide him there. Aoko walked along happily, her steps light and relaxed. She wanted everyone to see her niece.

They left Erebus outside the shop and went inside. Shelves of toys and plushies stretched out from the front door to the back walls. They came in various shapes and sizes but all of them bright and colourful. Paper lanterns with beautiful designs of plants, Pokemon and patterns adorned the ceiling, giving the whole shop a warm glow.

“What will we get her? What do you think she’ll like?” Auren asked, his eyes dashing back and forth from plushie to plushie.

“Auren, it’s okay. Let’s take our time, look around the shop, see what we like,” Aoko told him, stepping through the shelves of plushies. “You can pick what you like, you know. Rama doesn’t have any preference yet.”

“Maybe...we should start with the bug types? She has wings like a bug, maybe...maybe she’ll connect with them?”

That sounded like a good plan to Aoko and she started looking around for the bug type plushies, spotting them at the back of the toy shop. They walked past the shelves of legendaries first, smiling at the various sized lugia and ho-oh plushies that sat on them. However, they did not consider them as Rama already had Auren’s old lugia plush and as for ho-oh, no plushie could ever match up to the softness and warmth of her uncle. Aoko kept a firm grip on the girl throughout, letting her look while reading her thoughts to see if there was anything she reacted to.

As they passed the legendary beasts however, Rama’s wings suddenly trilled and her eyes fixed on something. Her mind also lit up as she reacted to what she saw with delight and interest. Aoko turned around, making sure to hold Rama so she was also able to see whatever it was that caught her attention. However, as soon as her eyes fell on it, she smiled widely.

“Auren, look at this,” she murmured and kneeled down beside the plushie. It was a beautiful silky suicune almost as big as the girl was. Its mane and crest, tightly stitched to the body, were soft and coloured almost like the real thing. The only parts of it which were not plush were the two ribbons that comprised its tail but even they were strong silk. It looked like a plushie which could handle a baby.

Rama reached out with one tiny, chubby hand towards it and touched its nose, digging her fingers into its fur. Aoko wanted to pull her away but she found herself unable too. The girl was not going to destroy it; rather she seemed inquisitive about it. Carefully, she brought her niece closer to the suicune and placed her down gently beside it, resting Rama close to its belly. The girl lay close to it, moving about only a little. To an outsider, it would have been difficult to register any change in her but Aoko could tell that the plushie made her feel very happy.

She turned around to find Auren looking at it too. To her great joy, her brother was smiling down at the girl and the plushie. It was irrational but he felt almost comforted but how comfortable she seemed with it.

“Yes, Auren, she chose suicune,” Aoko said to him, “Whether intentional or not, you should take it as a sign. You have nothing to fear.”

She picked Rama up again and handed her to her brother, taking the suicune plush that she had been huddled up against off the shelf and holding it up to the girl. Rama’s wings buzzed again when she saw it as she wanted to cuddle with it some more.

“I think we’re definitely getting this one,” Aoko exclaimed, smiling at the girl’s eagerness.

“Yes, we will,” Auren replied without any hesitation.

[Celestial]

Hmm...not sure how I feel about this one. On one hand, I do like how it turned out and the romance-y bits are well done but I just feel like it could be better in parts. Oh well. I'm just preserving it here for posterity's sake.

As usual, uses the same characters, larger whole etc.

SPOILER: Click to show

“It’s hard to believe that you’re leaving us,” Yori looked up from the book he was reading and grinned, “Although the circumstances of your departure are less hard to believe. I always thought it was quite clear that you and the Guardian would end up together.”

Ryun looked up from the clothes that he had been packing and turned to his roommate, smiling slightly. “Was it really that obvious?”

Yori nodded. “Aside from the time you two spent together, the way you talked about her and how much she seemed to care for you? Yes, it was. Me and Kai are just surprised it took you so long.”

“I never felt worthy of her and considering my less than stellar heritage, would you blame me?” Ryun replied, taking some of the things that Dante had brought him off her horns and putting them into the bag.

“No, but after what you did at the festival and after Ho-oh himself told you to propose to her, according to your story anyway, the circumstances of your birth are irrelevant,” the acolyte monk shrugged.

“You were quite wary of me at first because of it though.”

“Yes, that’s true. But the Guardian herself got you this place so I thought I should give you a chance,” Yori’s face broke into a grin. “I’m glad I did. You aren’t the most sociable of people, Ryun, but you were a good roommate. It’s going to be a little lonely around here with just Kai, at least until we get somebody new.”

“Hopefully you won’t have to wait long.”

“Speaking of Kai,” the acolyte monk glanced impatiently at the door, “Where is he? Mail runs never take this long.”

“Maybe something has happened to him?” Ryun asked, looking up at the door as well.

“What could have possibly happened between here and the mail slots? He’s probably just gotten distracted by something again, or that aipom of his ran off,” Yori gave Ryun a friendly smile. “Lighten up, he’s been late before. It is never anything to worry about.”

Reassured but still a little uneasy, Ryun turned back to his packing just as Kai ran through the door, his face red from running. A letter was stuffed into his pocket but in his hand he held another envelope marked with a black seal. The aipom sat on his shoulder, unusually quiet. As soon as the acolyte saw Ryun, he took a deep breath and walked forward several steps. Ryun turned around to face him.

“Kai!” Yori shouted, raising his hand to greet his friend. “What took you so long?”

Kai handed the envelope to Ryun wordlessly, looking up at him with some admiration before he turned to Yori.

“It was for a good reason this time. I had to make sure with the monk in charge of deliveries that there had not been some mistake.”

Ryun looked over the envelope in his hand. The seal in particular caught his eye. It was a winged seviper lazily and arrogantly curled around a sword, a sword very similar to his own. The design seemed quite ominous to him. It might have been less ominous if his name was not written neatly under the seal.

“Why would there be a mistake? The letter is clearly addressed to me,” he said as he started tearing the envelope open carefully. Kai sighed, sitting down on his own bed.

“Ryun, even if you’re engaged to the Guardian, you don’t receive a letter from the Kazenote family just like that.”

The Kaznote family. Even Ryun had heard of them, mostly from Zlata. All of Johto knew of the legendary skill for war that Meya Kazenote possessed and the family descended from her, although they faded from note after the death of the last Guardian. But they were still a noble, powerful family with considerable influence and above most people, let alone him. If they had merely wanted to congratulate him on the engagement, they would have written to Zlata. Kai was right, they would not have addressed any letters to him unless it was for a very good reason.

With trepidation, Ryun extracted the letter from its envelope and began to read it. As he read, his eyes widened and he felt a shiver go down his spine.

“What is it, what does it say?” Yori asked, moving over in order to read the letter over his shoulder but Ryun pressed it to his chest before the acolyte monk could get a look at it. He took a deep breath, steadying himself and assuring him that it was real. He did not dare take another look at the letter for fear that the words would rearrange themselves to spell out something different.

“I...I...I was born a Kazenote,” he finally muttered. The words sounded so strange in his voice.

“You were what?!” Kai exclaimed.

“And you were worried about your less than stellar heritage,” Yori remarked, although he seemed quite bowled over by this revelation as well.

“Zlata. I need to talk to Zlata,” Ryun gasped and turned to his roommates. “I’ll meet you later.”

He did not wait for their reply and ran out of the room, clutching the letter tightly in his hand. He did not stop running for fear that his thoughts might catch up to him. That could not happen until he had somebody to discuss them with.

Ryun stopped panting outside Zlata’s house, a house that would become theirs in a few days, and rang the bell that hung outside it. It did not take long before she opened the door.

“Ryun!” Zlata smiled widely and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly Ryun hugged her back. As much as he wanted to kiss her, it was still strange to even be this close so he restrained himself. Nevertheless, he could feel her presence calming him down and beginning to unravel the tangle of worries in his mind.

“Hello, Zlata,” he said when they had finally separated.

“It’s nice of you to come see me, I though you would be busy today,” she replied before looking down and seeing the letter in his hand. Her expression immediately grew serious. “What is that?”

“Maybe I should come in first? I need your advice,” Ryun sighed. Zlata nodded and beckoned him inside, closing the door once he had entered the house. It was vast and relatively empty for now, although he suspected that that would change in the near future. It would be his home as well, now that they were engaged. She smiled at the thought, still having trouble believing it.

Ryun followed her through to the main room and sat down on one of the cushions that lay on the floor. Zlata sat down beside him, frowning slightly.

“What happened?” she asked. Ryun presented her the folded-up letter, which she took and unfurled. There was a gasp as she saw the seal but otherwise she kept her expression steady for the most part as she read it. Finally, when she had finished, Zlata folded the latter up again and turned to face him again, slightly awestruck.

“You are a Kazenote,” she stated, letting the words sink in. To Ryun’s surprise, however, Zlata burst into laughter.

“...What’s funny?” he frowned. She covered her mouth, although it took a while for her laughter to completely die down.

“I’m sorry, Ryun. I just wondered what Siren would have made of this. She was the one who was most insistent on us getting together but her family and...well, your family, have a messy history,” Zlata replied after a while.

“I suppose that is quite funny, yes,” Ryun grinned but he could not laugh at this time. He sighed deeply. “What am I going to do?”

“What do you mean?” Zlata put a hand on his shoulder. “Isn’t this what you wanted, isn’t this what you’ve agonised over all your life; where you came from? Now you know and personally, I don’t think you could have asked for a better origin.”

“It’s not that but...I finally stopped caring about my past, gotten over being nameless, was prepared to move on. Then they come in, wanting me back,” he scowled, “As though nothing had happened.”

“Perhaps they have moved on as well. Now that they know about you, they might want to make up for past mistakes,” Zlata brushed a lock of his hair aside and stroked his face. “They’re a noble family and they’re your family. You should at least acknowledge that.”

“I know but...” Ryun took her hands off his face and looked away from her, his face twisting into a grimace. He clenched his fists. “I can’t just forgive what they’ve done, knowing that them disowning me was the cause of all my problems.”

“You shouldn’t forget but you can at least try to forgive,” Zlata took his hand, trying to get him to relax. “Meet them at least, see what they’re like. They’re nobles. You may be my fiancée but you can’t just turn them down like that, not without insulting them greatly.”

“Perhaps I want to insult them,” he hissed. Zlata flinched slightly, taken aback by the anger in his voice.

“At least go to see what your mother’s face looks like,” she said after a while. Ryun paused for a while, thinking this over before he looked up at her, his eyes pleading.

“Alright but please, come with me. If I’m going to talk to them, I’m going to need you with me,” he glanced downwards, wincing slightly, “To stop me from saying something I should not say.”

She nodded, smiling and let go of him.

“Of course I will come with you. Especially if you feel like you need me.”

***

A few days later, Trident and Yangtze landed outside the gates of the house of the Kazenote family on the edge of Mahogany town. They let their trainers get off first before they took off again to circle above the house in case they were needed. Higher still was Hohenheim, gliding gently above the thick clouds that normally covered the area around the Lake of Rage. They had decided not to fly in on him but he still wanted to know how things went.

Ryun looked up at the ancestral home of the Kazenote family. Even though it must have been over a thousand years old, it did not show too much of its age. Vines crept up around the stone gates and the gardens, which stretched out all across the hill it was built on, were well-kept with neat stone pathways and large sprawling trees. The house itself, although it was more accurate to call it a castle, stood tall over the surrounding landscape, white and black with faded reds and purples showing through in places. Stone sevipers stood guard on the corners of its roof.

He took a step backwards, feeling intimidated by its size and grandeur. Zlata put a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s alright. Go forward with your head held high. Remember who you are now,” she said quietly to him and took his hand. Ryun nodded and together, they walked through the gates and up the stone path to the large redwood doors of the house. Into them was carved the symbol of the Kazenote family, a large winged sevipers curled around a sword, flanked by two bisharp. He looked at it for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and knocking on the doors. The sound that came from them was deep and strong, like the sound of a tyranitar’s footsteps.

The door was soon opened by a small man who would not have looked out of place among the monks of Ecruteak, if he had not been wearing the short, practical, kimono-like garment that was traditionally worn by servants, although his was richly decorated in a varying pattern of purple, black, red and silver. He frowned as he looked at Ryun momentarily and, finding him of no interest, turned his gaze to Zlata. There was instant look of recognition on his face and he turned back to look at Ryun once again. This time, he bowed deeply to them both.

“Welcome, my lord, my lady Guardian. We have been expecting you,” he said as he looked up at them again. Ryun seemed a little discomforted by his words but Zlata frowned.

“You were expecting Ryun but you did not seem to recognise him,” she replied. The servant bowed once again.

“My apologies. Lady Aemiria did not tell me what the young lord looked like but I knew he would be with you,” he told them and gestured inside. “If you would like to come through.”

He turned around and headed further into the house with Zlata and Ryun following after him. The halls they went through were as richly decorated as the outside and lined with antiques of all shapes and sizes. Some places resembled a jeweller’s while another looked like an armoury and yet another looked like an art gallery. However, there were gaps here and there as well as some cobwebs and dust on the treasures. Nevertheless, Ryun took it all in with some awe, still unable to fully grasp the thought that this was his heritage.

“You should not let it bother you. Perhaps she simply forgot, that was all,” Zlata remarked. Even though she too was looking around at the artefacts, she was not distracted enough by them to forget Ryun’s discomfort.

“It wasn’t that, I didn’t mind. Being called a ‘lord’ was...it was a new experience for me,” he said, turning around to look at her. She smiled kindly at him.

“You’ll get used to it,” her smile grew even wider, “If you can’t, you’re going to marry the wrong person.”

“I will have to,” Ryun nodded and moved closer to her, “But it’s not why I’m marrying you.”

Zlata was about to reply but the servant had stopped. In front of them was a large room with several cushions around one central low table. The decorations in this room were less lush than the others. A suit of samurai armour stood proudly against the far wall opposite them, flanked with several swords and the armour of a bisharp. A sash of white silk was wrapped around its waist.

The people who had been sitting around the table looked up almost in unison as Zlata and Ryun entered. There were four of them; an old woman, a younger woman and a man who looked like her who was probably close to their age.

“My lord, my lady Guardian, may I introduce Lady Aemiria Kazenote, head of the Kazenote family,” the servant gestured at the old woman, “Her daughter, Saia Kazenote and her son and heir to the family, Nirou Kazenote.”

Each of them bowed their heads in turn as they were introduced and each one watched their visitors with a different look in their grey eyes: Aemiria’s was tactful and intelligent, Saia’s was fixed directly on Ryun and there was a ghost of pain in it while Nirou regarded them with curiosity.

Zlata and Ryun both bowed to the assembled Kazenote family members. Aemiria extended a hand out to them and gestured at the two empty cushions on the opposite side of the table.

“Welcome. Please, sit down, relax. Can we get you anything to eat or drink; tea perhaps?” she asked them politely with a smile that was at the same time disarming and knowing. It made Ryun feel a little uneasy, even though he knew she was only being polite. He felt guilty for his earlier anger towards them.

He walked over to the cushions and took the seat opposite Aemiria while Zlata sat down next to him, facing Saia. The woman glanced briefly over her as though examining her before her attention turned back to Ryun.

“I’m alright, thank you,” Zlata said first, her tone made to match Aemiria’s politeness.

“I don’t want anything either,” Ryun followed, although his tone was more strained.

“Suit yourselves. However, we do want to feel you feel welcome,” Aemiria turned and smiled widely at Ryun. “After all, we have so much to catch up on.”

He frowned and closed his eyes for a brief minute, feeling his anger rise up again. These were the people who had most likely cast him out when he was born, for one reason or another. They had been the cause of all his troubles since then. He could not forget that. He was not even sure if he wanted to. Yet Lady Kazenote said it like it was the easiest thing in the world, as though nothing had ever happened between them, as though he had always been part of the family.

Zlata’s fingers brushed against his hand, reminding him to stay calm. He looked up to see her eyes fixed firmly on him, although she was facing forwards. While her features gave nothing away, there was stiffness in her spine. The thought that he was not alone in his anger comforted Ryun enough to clear his mind and look right into Aemiria’s eyes.

“Why did you abandon me?” he asked. Saia looked up at him and opened her mouth to speak but the older woman raised her hand up to silence her. She then turned back to Ryun, her eyes and smile just as polite as ever.

“You deserve the truth. My daughter Saia, then the heir to the family, met some random trainer travelling from legendaries know what region. They got very drunk together and the result was you,” Aemiria replied steadily, looking straight ahead at her. Saia lowered her head, pained to be reminded of such a shaming incident. Unaware of her daughter’s discomfort, or possibly ignoring it, the older woman continued. “In the end, what was decided is that you would be kept in the family. However, that changed when you were born.”

Saia looked up at her mother once again, silently pleading for permission to speak. Aemiria nodded her head imperceptibly and the younger woman turned to Ryun and for a moment, he was caught off-guard by how sad she looked before she reigned in her emotions.

“The Kazenote family has a tradition that has been kept up since the days of our founder, Meya Kazenote. The next head of the family is to be the first born child whose eyes are grey. That has been our distinctive feature and has allowed us to keep harmony among the family as well as make sure the next heir is properly trained since birth,” she stated. Ryun blinked, suddenly fitting things together.

“So you abandoned me because I would have been the next heir, is that it?” he hissed, unable to believe that it was for such a petty reason.

“It would have been an embarrassment for us to be led by a scoundrel. The truth is that our family has been in decline since the capital changed from Ecruteak to Goldenrod. We wanted to save face and to do so, we had to make sure there was no way you could be traced to us. We removed your name and took you to Cherrygrove, where we knew nobody would ever find you and connect with us,” Aemiria replied steadily, once again silencing anything Saia wanted to say with a wave of her hand. “You must understand what a name and a reputation mean, especially to us.”

“You’ve been in decline? But you do not demonstrate it. Your home itself is proof,” Zlata interjected. Aemiria turned to look at her, her face neutral.

“Of course, my lady Guardian, we have done our best to preserve what we have. But our influence has declined and our name commands more respect for our history than anything we have done at present. Even in my lifetime, we have fallen,” Aemiria stated with several glances at both Saia and Ryun. The younger woman recoiled at her gaze but Ryun did not notice.

“Even so, you must have known how much trouble it would cause me, not having a name. Can you honestly say it did not cross your mind?” he asked her, looking directly at his grandmother. She bowed her head.

“The thought was not a priority back then. However, I am very sorry that you went through what you did. It must have been difficult,” Aemiria replied, although her tone was careful and steady.

“It was. It drove me to do such stupid things, things I regretted. I suffered because of those decisions. I admit it was my fault but I still wish you had not thrown me away like that. Like I was nothing,” Ryun said through gritted teeth. Aemiria’s head remained bowed for a moment before she looked up at him.

“But it is all in the past now. You have overcome everything life has thrown at you and you have come out better for it. I think it is best if we put our past behind us, don’t you?” she asked him and smiled sweetly, almost nauseatingly so. Ryun hesitated for a moment, feeling his anger bubble at that smile. Yet as he thought about what his grandmother said, the more it seemed like the right thing to do. He did not want to remain angry at them forever especially since, without what happened, he would never have met Zlata or Nyx or the twins or Warren. For all his suffering, they were more than worth it. Besides, the people in front of him were his family too, no matter what they had done. They deserved that chance.

“Yes, I do,” he said quietly and bowed his head respectfully. Saia smiled the expression subtle but warm and kind. Aemiria’s smile was a lot wider.

“Good, I’m glad,” she exclaimed excitedly. “Truth be told, we did not just call you here to meet you. We were wondering if perhaps, you wanted to become part of our family again. If you could carry our name again. That way, we can forget our uncomfortable past.”

Ryun was taken aback. A name and a family, especially one as prestigious and noble as the Kazenote family, almost felt too good to be true. A part of him wanted to say yes right away but something about his grandmother’s tone and some of what she said put him off. Just because he was willing to move on from his past did not mean that he was willing to forget it. Yet she was telling him to do just that. Something about it felt off to him. For most of his life, this was what he wanted most of all but now that the offer was in front of him, Ryun found himself hesitating.

“Think about it: you would be a Kazenote, with all the privileges that the name brings. Despite our decline, we are still powerful and we command respect. You would be able to give your wife an honourable name, your name,” Aemiria’s smile grew even wider and her tone even sweeter. “Imagine it, one Kazenote family and the Guardian of Ho-oh, together at last. You could not ask for better.”

Her words, however, did nothing to convince him. Ryun sank deeper into silence the more he thought about it. His grandmother did not seem like the type to regret things easily but now, it was clear that for one reason or another, she wanted him back desperately.

He turned to Zlata and saw her looking patiently at him, waiting for his reply, her face giving him no indication of what she thought of this. Suddenly, it all made sense to him they wanted him back because she was going to be his wife. It was why they only bothered to seek him out now, why Aemiria was so desperate for him to accept: they wanted Zlata to be part of their family. They would not care about him if he was not connected to her. Nothing had really changed.

Ryun felt himself growing angry again.

“No, I don’t want this,” he stated plainly and simply, avoiding her gaze in case she realised how he really felt. Aemiria’s face did not change. She glanced at Nirou and then back at Ryun.

“Alright, we can even restore your birthright as heir, if you wish. I will not fault you for being ambitious,” she replied and spread her hand, bowing slightly.

“Power doesn’t interest me. I don’t care about leading this family, especially since this family has never really cared about me,” the last phrase came out almost involuntarily and Ryun felt like biting his tongue. But it was the truth and even if he did not say it out of politeness, it would never stop being true.
The change in his grandmother was almost instant. The wrinkles on her face deepened, almost resembling cracks. The previous air of politeness was gone, only to be replaced with contempt and vague disgust. Ryun thought it was at least more honest.

“That’s an audacious claim to make, given that we are offering you such prestige and power for nothing. We are bowing at your feet. We are eager to take you back so don’t waste the opportunity because you will not get it again,” she stated, poison beginning to drop from her voice.

“Then you are you only offering this to me now? You’ve had twenty two years and given your power and connections, you could have found me easily,” he clenched his fists under the table, trying to restrain his rage and not sink to her level. “You are not after me, are you?”

Zlata frowned as well. She had figured it out. Aemiria saw this too. Whatever kindness and politeness that she had held onto vanished.

“I suggest you think very carefully about our offer. If you reject it, we will not give it to you again and we are not a family you want to have as your enemy,” she spat out, enraged. “You are nothing and now you finally have a chance to be somebody. If I was you, I would not waste it.”

Whatever Ryun was about to say was cut off by Zlata. In a split second she had turned around, took his face in her hands and kissed him. It was a loving, passionate kiss, wiping out almost all of his pent-up anger and frustration. They had not kissed like that since their engagement and Ryun enjoyed every second of it, however few they were.

When they had finally broken apart, Zlata glared straight at Aemiria, who was by now livid.

“He is not nothing. He is going to be my husband and you best remember that. Best of all, he is going to be all that on his own terms without any strings attached,” she turned back in her seat, although she seemed reluctant to completely move away from Ryun.

There was a tense, uncomfortable silence. Both Nirou and Saia watched Aemiria. She seethed for a moment, her teeth grinding in rage before suddenly, she smiled again. This time, however, her smile was humourless and cruel, as though she was a predator that had seen its prey.

“I see,” she murmured, every word precise and calculated. She looked Ryun directly in the eye. “That was clever. I don’t know how you did it but I applaud your ambition. Not many people have considered getting over their namelessness and scoundrel heritage by seducing the Guardian of Ho-oh. That is one way of getting status.”

Ryun’s fists clenched and his whole body tensed up. He leapt up and stared at Aemiria, his jaw set into a scowl. All the rage that Zlata had taken away with the kiss suddenly welled up again, stronger and more vicious than before. The implication that he would use Zlata like that, that she meant so little to him, that he did not love her...it was the ultimate insult. It hit too sensitive a nerve.

“Don’t you dare bring me down to your level,” he hissed, his anger freezing him in place and his eyes boring through Aemiria. “Not everyone is out to use and manipulate as you do. If you knew how much I struggled with my feelings for Zlata because of her status, you would never be able to say that.”

Saia and Nirou moved away from him, terrified by his sudden rage. Even Aemiria seemed slightly shaken. Ryun noticed this but he did not stop.

“If pride and manipulation is what it means to be part of the Kazenote family, then I must thank you for abandoning me. I’m ashamed I ever wanted to be part of your family, that I ever considered your offer. From now on, I don’t want to have anything to do with you. None of you are welcome at my wedding, either. Stay away from me and from Zlata,” his voice grew louder and colder as he spoke before he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving the three Kazenote family members stunned in silence.

Zlata watched him leave, her face stony and impassive. For a moment she remained silent, comprehending what she had just seen. She had seen Ryun angry before but never like that. As terrifying as it was, she was also a little bit touched that he would leap to her defence like that. But she suspected there was a little more to it than that. She got up and turned back to the three Kazenotes.

“It is sad to see such a great family fall so low. Good day,” she bowed politely to them and went after Ryun, suspecting that he had gone back to the entrance. After that, she doubted he would want to stay here much longer.

Sure enough, she found him just outside the front door, looking over the gardens. His bright grey eyes were distant and he did not show any sign of being aware of her.

“Ryun?” she said quietly. He seemed to relax a little, although he did not look at her.

“I’m sorry I stormed out. I couldn’t stand being in the same room with those people,” he stated, keeping his voice neutral.

“I’m sorry I convinced you to come here,” she approached him, standing by his side and taking his hand.

“In a way, I’m glad you did. I no longer have to keep wondering what my family is like or wishing for them,” Ryun smiled bitterly. “Back when I was a child, I fantasised that I was actually some lost prince who was cast out by a wicked relative. I never thought that would actually turn out to be true.”

“Life can be strange sometimes,” Zlata replied, “But I think you did the right thing, even if seeing you so angry was painful.”

“I’m sorry, Zlata. But I do not regret what I did or what I said,” Ryun bowed his head and the turned to her, serious. “You don’t think there was any truth to what my gran- Lady Aemiria said?”

“Of course not. If it was true, you would not have agonised all these years about how you feel,” she leaned her head on his shoulder.” And Hohenheim would have seen through you, even if I was unable to.”

“But...Zlata, back when I first began travelling with the group, I had entertained a hope that being associated with you would win me some respect. Even then, I never wanted to use you or even hoped that I would become your friend, much less what I am now. I was going to earn any respect you would bring me. That idea got crushed in Viridian,” he gritted his teeth, remembering it back then. He turned to her, his eyes pleading. “I regretted it and I’ve been so frightened of telling you. But Aemiria’s words reminded me of it. It was why I was so angry,” his voice shook. “Please don’t think badly of me for what I was.”

“Thank you for telling me this,” Zlata smiled up at him and ran her fingers through his hair, turning around to look him right in the eyes. “But I could never think badly of you for that. You’re not the person I met at that ranch and that person is not the one I love now. So don’t worry. The past is past and I agree with one thing she said: we should leave it behind.”

“I’m going to. I don’t care about my past now,” Ryun wrapped his arms around her tightly, savouring her presence. The idea that he would be able to hold her like this for the rest of his life seemed even better now and now, it felt even more real. “Especially since I have such a bright future ahead of me.”

The door behind them opened. Zlata and Ryun turned around suddenly and Saia looked back at them. He tensed up again. She clasped her hands as if praying and looked at them apologetically.

“I am sorry for what my mother said. She was wrong,” Saia told them, bowing deeply. “Please forgive us.”

Ryun looked over her, the residual anger still playing in his mind as he did. On one hand, Saia was one of them and furthermore, she was the woman who, despite giving birth to him, also chose to abandon him. Yet she was also his mother and she did not seem as manipulative or cruel as Aemiria. In front of them right now, she looked humble and sad, like a hurt dog.

“I can’t,” he said after some time regretfully. Even though he could not be cruel to her, he still could not forget.

“Ryun...I know you must hate us so much for abandoning you. And I am sorry for the part I played in it but you must understand my position; I was young when I had you and I did not wish to stand against my mother. I agreed to it eagerly, I admit, but I regretted it. For what it’s worth, I wrote the letter so I could meet you, get to know you better,” Saia bit her lip, taking several deep breaths. “Even if you don’t forgive us, please at least consider that.”

“I will...but this is not something you can heal overnight. Lady Aemiria has made it clear what she thinks of me. I will not be coming back,” Ryun bowed his head faintly, almost imperceptibly to her. “Farwell...Lady Saia Kazenote.”

Saia winced but she sighed, accepting his words. She knew she had no right to ask that he call her anything else.

Hohenheim landed on the stone path and Zlata took Ryun’s hand, leading him away from the castle and towards the ho-oh. They got onto his back and took off into the cloudy sky, flying back home towards Ecruteak, not turning around to even look at the Kazenote home. Saia watched them leave for a while until the great bird faded out of sight before gritting her teeth and turning around to go back inside.

Feeling his rage fade away completely, Ryun sank exhausted into Hohenheim’s feathers, savouring the warmth that came out of them. Zlata put his arms around him, offering him some comfort. Together, both she and the ho-oh began to relax him and by the time they saw Mount Mortar, he felt like he had returned to his old self.

“It seems to me that you are free to choose your own name,” Zlata smiled at him, taking his hand and intertwining his fingers with hers. Ryun turned to look at her and smiled. The past was far behind him, both figuratively and literally. Ahead of him was a wonderful future shared with the woman he loved so much. What he was and where he came from did not matter anymore. All he cared about was where he was going.

“I know what I want it to be,” he replied, returning her smile and leaning forward to plant a kiss on her lips.

[Celestial]

It's been a while since I posted anything, right? Well, I've written four more stories, all from this same fanfic universe. Fluffe reminded me so I thought I might as well post these.

First, the sweet fluffy one. Also contains children being cute.

SPOILER: Click to show

Auren awoke to the sight of his two year old sister standing beside his bed and tugging at his sleeve. Aoko peered up at him with her enormous grey eyes, just reaching over the edge of the bed. She was growing big now, although no matter how much she tried, she would never catch up to him. It was all a question of age.

“What is it, Aoi?” he asked sleepily, hugging his pillow close to him.

“Music,” she said, her voice quiet and almost a little fearful. Auren frowned and listened carefully to the sounds pouring through his window, open to expel the summer heat. Sure enough, over the night time sounds of the Bellchime forest, he could pick up a few soft, slow notes drifting in the warm air. It was coming from downstairs.

“There is music,” he replied, rolling out of bed and grinning at his sister. “Want to go see what it is?”

Aoko looked back up at him, blinking a few times as she thought about his offer. Finally, she gripped his hand and clung tightly to his arm.

“Come with me?” she murmured.

“What about your sister? Surely Ichi would have agreed,” Auren looked down at her, smiling slightly. As much as he liked Aoko, he would never miss out on a chance to bug Ichika, even indirectly.

The little girl, however, shook her head.

“Sleepy,” she said after carefully searching for the right word. “Said no.”

He did not blame his sister for wanting a little bit of sleep, he wanted it too. But he was also curious about the music that was coming from downstairs. He had heard it sometimes before but never wanted to go downstairs and investigate, always wanting to sleep more. But now, it seemed like he was forced to. Aoko would not back down and she would want somebody go with her. She was curious.

Auren took his sister’s hand and she toddled alongside him, glad for the security of her brother. Together they exited him room and crept along the long corridor, Auren striding confidently through the darkness while his little sister clung to him, fearfully glancing back and forth in case something came out and hurt her.

“Don’t be scared. Your big brother is here,” Auren grinned down at her, taking her hand and pulling her forward. Aoko looked up at him and smiled widely, wrapping her arms around his. She trusted him and Auren could feel her trust. He petted her head with his other hand and they started down the stairs.

However, they did not have to go down them in the dark. Light poured in from the living room and so did the music they had heard before, although now it had morphed into a different piece. This one was slow and calm, a piano accompanied by a longing voice. Why anybody would listen to that, Auren did not understand. It was far too sad and boring for him. Aoko, however, nodded along to it, swaying back and forth almost as though longing to dance to it. She resisted the urge though, too sacred of making a noise. In this fashion, they crept along the corridor and peered around the doorframe to the living room. The light was dim and it was not long before their eyes adjusted.

The source of the music immediately became obvious to them, as did the reason for it. Their father’s c-gear lay on the table and the music was coming from its radio. He, however, was in the centre of the room, along with their mother. He was holding her hands and leading her around the room in time with the song. The dance itself was slow to match the tune and they seemed relaxed in each other’s arms. Their happiness and ease in each other’s company was apparent in their eyes and their faces as they looked at each other, happy to simply enjoy a moment alone.

The two children remained watching their parents. Aoko was smiling and transfixed, glad that the source of the music was not dangerous but in fact one that was familiar and loved by her. Auren, however, did not look as impressed. He remained silent for fear of disturbing his parents and his little sister, who seemed content with just watching them. As much as he loved them and respected them all, the sappiness of the scene in front of him was almost too much.

The song continued for a short while before it reached its natural conclusion, ending on a slow, sweet note. As it did, their father leaned down to their mother and kissed her tenderly. She returned the kiss and they remained like that for a few moments.

It was too much for Auren to bear.

“Eww, kissing,” he said loudly. His parents’ heads snapped around to where the two children were. Their eyes immediately changed when they saw Auren and Aoko standing huddled by the doorframe and they separated briskly, with Zlata coming to kneel down in front of them and Ryun walking up to stand behind her.

“Auren, Aoko, what are you two doing up?” she asked them. To the relief of both children, her tone was not angry, far from it. She sounded more curious than anything.

“Aoi heard music. We wanted to see what it was,” Auren said, holding his sister’s hand. She nodded eagerly to confirm this. “We did not realise you would be kissing.”

At this, the boy scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue out. Zlata burst into giggles and even Ryun smiled widely at that.

“It’s not funny,” he said, pouting and crossing his arms. His mother’s expression turned into a smile and she stroked his hair, running her fingers through it affectionately.

“No it isn’t, I’m sorry, Auren,” she replied and stood up. Whatever Auren was about to say next was cut off by a wide yawn. Ryun took this as his cue to step forward.

“Come on, we’ll take you both to bed. It’s late now,” he said, going over and picking up Aoko, balancing her on his hip and putting a hand on Auren’s shoulder, guiding him back towards the stairs. Zlata walked by his side and the boy took her hand, smiling up at her. They allowed his father and his sister to go up first before following them. When they reached the door to Auren’s room, Zlata opened it and went inside. She ushered Auren in and then turned back to Ryun.

“Could you get Aoko into bed by yourself? I want to talk to Auren,” she asked him. Ryun looked down at the girl, now happily dozing in his arms, her head buried in the fabric of his clothes. He smiled down at his daughter and stroked her hair before he looked back up at Zlata.

“Of course, I would be glad to. Shall I wait for you when you’ve finished?”

“If you could. I won’t be long.”

Ryun nodded and went towards the direction of Aoko and Ichika’s nursery. By then, Auren had dived into bed and was peering out from under the covers at his mother, even though he had no use for them now. Zlata sat down on the edge next to him and met his gaze, a smile playing on her face.

“Why is kissing so disgusting to you, Auren? Your sister did not seem to mind” she asked him.

“Because it’s gross,” he sat up and took hold of her sleeve. “Don’t kiss dad anymore.”

“What if I want to?” Zlata laughed. “Or what if your dad wants to kiss me?”

“Don’t. For me,” Auren pleaded tugging at her sleeve now. His mother’s smile grew even wider and she got up.

“One day you won’t mind so much, Auren” she said, her tone light and bemused. Auren shook his head vigorously.

“Romance is gross. I’m going to think that forever!” he proclaimed. Zlata sighed, although she was clearly having fun with her son. She picked up the plush lugia from where it lay next to his pillow and handed it to Auren. He clutched it tightly and she got up from where she was sitting, although the boy did not lie down.

“Good night, Auren,” she said, standing beside him.

“Good night, mum,” the boy replied and throw his arms around her, hugging his mother tightly. Zlata seemed surprised at first but she happily hugged him back while stroking his hair. Eventually, he let her go and lay down with the lugia plushie, closing his eyes and pretending to be asleep. However, as his mother headed for the door, his eyes suddenly snapped open.

“You won’t be romantic and mushy with dad anymore, right? Right?” he begged her.

“Not where you can see, okay?” Zlata sighed, although her tone was still jokey. Auren nodded, satisfied and closed his eyes. There was the brief sound of his parents’ voices outside then their footsteps fading away down the hall. With them gone, there were only the night-time sounds of the Bellchime forest to lull him. With the soothing chirps and whistles of insects and birds singing to him, Auren clutched his plushie and drifted off to sleep.

And another one...this one is very heavily Pokemon-orientated but it is different from what I usually write. It's a touch more action-y and describes a critical moment in the universe. It's where the kids get their powers. It...came out worse than I hoped but meh, might as well post it.

SPOILER: Click to show

The three creatures padded through the streets of Ecruteak, not even registering the awestruck glances that they received. For the first time in many hundreds of years, they did not run but walked slowly in the direction of the two towers that looked out over the city. While they had always sought to be known, now they wanted to be seen. They wanted answers and more.

They could see the monks in the crowds and almost all of them, without exception, were either writing notes or sending messengers, people and Pokemon, over to the towers. Whatever method they used, the three legendary beasts could tell that the message was the same: “Tell the guardian.”

Soon they would get what they wanted.

***

It did not take long for a monk and his abra to teleport in front of the Guardian house and begin ringing the bell frantically. Only when Ryun answered the door did he stop and bow deeply to him.

“Is the lady guardian home?” the monk asked.

“She is. What’s wrong?” Ryun frowned, stepping aside to let the monk inside.

“The legendary beasts are in Ecruteak. We need her and ho-oh to speak with them to find out why,” he replied, his abra squeaking and curling its tail around his neck.

Ryun’s eyes widened and stood still for a few moments, thinking about what the monk had said. The legendary beasts had rarely been seen by anybody and they had never set foot in Ecruteak since their creation. He did not know or try to guess why they would suddenly come back and allow them to be seen but he had a bad feeling about it. However, he soon got his emotions under control and bowed his head to the monk, smiling politely.

“I’ll tell her to come right away. Thank you,” Ryun replied. As soon as the monk had left, he turned around and ran upstairs to Zlata’s study.

“Dad, what is it?” Auren called out, peering at his father up the stairs. The eevee on his shoulder mewled as if trying to ask the same question as his trainer. Ryun stopped and looked down at the boy, keeping his face neutral. He was unsure of what exactly he could say. There was no doubt that Auren would want to see the beasts, he would feel cheated if he did not and Ryun would not lie to his son. But at the same time, he was not sure whether it was safe. The three legendaries might not have the best of intentions in mind. However, looking at the boy’s expectant face waiting for an answer, he had to decide quickly.

“Entei, Raikou and Suicune have come to Ecruteak,” Ryun told him. “But you should not go to see them until your mother had talked to them.”

With that, he cleared the last flight of stairs and entered Zlata’s study. He closed the door behind him so that all Auren heard were muffled voices as he explained the situation.

However, the boy did not need to stick around to hear what he already knew. Auren grinned widely and dashed off through the house, his thoughts already going wild with excitement at meeting even more legendaries.

“Ichi, Aoi!” he yelled and waved to his two sisters. The girls’ heads whipped up when they heard their brother. Aoko smiled and waved back, moving up along the steps on the porch to give him a place to sit. However, the boy did not sit down but instead hovered by the doorway, hopping from foot to foot with glee.

“What do you want, Auren?” Ichika asked him without lowering her sword. She watched as her father’s samurott circled around her. “And where is dad?”

“Forget about your practice, Ichi, we have more exciting stuff to see which even you won’t want to miss,” he said and hopped closer to the two girls. “The three legendary beasts are in Ecruteak.”

Aoko stared up at him, smiling widely but her eyes betrayed tiny hints of fear as she hugged Tempest closer to her. Even Ichika stopped and stared at him, earning her a bark from Arai. As if waking up from a dream, she turned back to him and tried to concentrate.

“You’re not serious, Auren. This is another joke,” she said, holding her sword out. The boy shook his head and skipped down the steps, coming closer to Ichika but staying out of her range.

“No it isn’t, Ichi. I heard dad say it himself, Entei, Raikou and Suicune are in the city and dad would never lie. I saw him going up to mum’s study too,” he exclaimed. Mesis ran up his hair and sat on his head, calling down to Ichika. Simoon barked at the eevee to be quiet but his trainer was already far too distracted. Not even Arai’s barking could snap her out of it this time.

“Do you think...maybe we could go see then?” Aoko asked quietly, glancing between her brother and sister.

“Of course!” Auren took her hand and pulled her up onto her feet. Aoko’s smile grew and she clung to her brother before looking over to her sister, waiting to see if she would go with them too.

“Did dad say anything about us going? They are not known to like people,” Ichika frowned as she sheathed her practice sword and put it down onto the porch.

“Ichi, Ichi, we are the children of the Guardian of Ho-oh. We were raised with their trio’s master as our brother. We’ve got nothing to be afraid of,” Auren said and stretched his hand out to his sister dramatically. “Now come on. Don’t be scared, if Aoi is going it’s going to be fine.”

Ichika scowled but the temptation to see the legendary trio was too much and she went to join Auren’s side, although she did not take his hand. Simoon trotted by her side.

“If you’re wrong about this-“

“When have I ever been wrong before?” Auren smirked at his sister.

“Many times,” Ichika replied coolly and looked up at where her mother’s study was. “Should we tell mum and dad where we are going?”

“No,” Auren said and started off towards the door. “We’re old enough to come and go as we please.”

“Auren, we should. They will see us gone, have you thought about that?”

Just then, they heard the enormous whoosh of wings above them. For a moment, the sun was blocked out by Hohenheim as he landed in front of the house. Before the three children could react, the ho-oh took off again, carrying the figures of their parents away into the sky towards the centre of the city. Auren turned to his sister, a triumphant smile playing on his face.

“Too late now. Come on, we’ll get back before they even realise we’re gone. Don’t tell me you don’t you want to see what our Pokemon could turn into?” he exclaimed, dragging Aoko towards the door already, Mesis scurrying across his shoulders and Tempest running beside them. Ichika, defeated, had no choice but to follow her brother and her curiosity. She called her growlithe and went after them both.

“They won’t ever turn into legendaries, Auren. The tower will never be burned down again,” she said as she caught up with him. “And I won’t let Simoon into a burning tower anyway.”

***

They met in the small plaza outside the Tower complex. The three great beasts towered above Zlata, regarding her with their bright red eyes which betrayed nothing about what they thought. She stepped closer to them, not allowing herself to be intimidated. Behind her, Hohenheim rose up above them all and unlike them his eyes were easy to read: do not harm my Guardian or you shall suffer the consequences.

“Be careful. We’re right here in case something goes wrong,” Ryun said quietly to her, glancing over at the three assembled legendaries and putting a hand on her shoulder. She nodded and ran her fingers over his to reassure herself before she removed his hand and stepped towards the trio, her head held high. However, when she got as close as she dared, she bowed deeply to them. It was never wise to be impolite to legendaries, no matter who you were.

“I am Zlata Ebina, Guardian of the Ho-oh of Ecruteak,” she announced, looking up at them. “I speak on behalf of Ho-oh and the people of this city. You are welcome back here after all these years but we wish to know why you have returned.”

“Such a brave human to claim to speak for a legendary. Why cannot our creator talk for themselves?” Entei remarked to its fellow legendaries, regarding Zlata with barely hidden contempt.

“Watch your mouth; I am translating what you are saying to her, Entei. Do not be rude to my chosen, she speaks for me because I trust her,” Hohenheim hissed, his crest flattening.

“Forgive me, we did not know that you had picked a human. You did not have one last time we were here,” Entei replied and bowed its head to Hohenheim. The ho-oh clicked his beak and urged his Guardian to continue. Zlata cleared her throat.

“Please answer us. Why have you come back to Ecruteak after all this time? What have we done to earn such a visit?” she asked again and looked up at them, searching for any clues which might lead her to the answer.

“You have forgotten our sacrifice,” Raikou growled menacingly, looking up.

“The Brass Tower has been rebuilt. There is no sign of what happened here over one hundred and fifty years ago,” Suicune remarked, its voice calm and gentle but with a slight air of menace.

“We rebuilt it as a way to foster the friendship between the land and the sea people again, to repair what had been broken during the Capital uprising. We wished to remove the scar and begin healing. We certainly have not forgotten” Zlata replied, clasping her hands.

“Not yet but humans are fickle. We’ve seen them, making the same mistakes over and over!” Entei’s voice boomed. Unlike Suicune, there was no hiding its anger.

“If you do not have that reminder haunting you, you will grow complacent. Humans need a reminder of past misery to keep them from making the same mistake as before,” Suicune spoke gain, still retaining its thin veneer of calm.

“Ho-oh instructed the tower to remain as it was. Why have you gone back on your word?” Raikou asked. Its voice was the calmest of them all but its lashing tail betrayed it.

“I do not remember my predecessor ever mentioning such a thing. If she ever did, she must have forgotten,” Hohenheim assured. The three beasts stepped back away from him and stared up.

“Predecessor?” they chorused in unison. “We thought something was off about you, Ho-oh.”

“I have reincarnated since then. My name is Hohenheim and I am not the ho-oh that created you,” he replied, shifting his wings slightly, nervously. “But I deserve the same amount of respect.”

“No, you do not,” Raikou said.

“Only our creator may command us!” roared Entei.

“Since you are not our creator, you have no power over us, Ho-oh,” Suicune finally added.

Hohenheim stayed completely still. Only his thoughts scurrying frantically in his mind betrayed his true feelings, something which did not reassure Zlata a single bit. Nevertheless, she looked up at the legendaries once again, keeping herself steady. However, she dug her feet into the ground and steadied herself. They were not going to intimidate her.

“Even if the old Ho-oh is gone and the tower is rebuilt, we still remember. The tragedy that happened to you will not happen again, you have my word,” she said to them, her voice assured and even. Entei growled and the three legendaries stepped forward towards her, taking a closer look at Zlata. She did not move away from them but even so, her heart was beating faster and she clenched her hands into fists to keep her hands from shaking. Behind her, Ryun put his hand on his sword.

“How arrogant of you to assume that your word will be enough. We do not know you,” Raikou’s words were slow, as though it was explaining something to a child.

“You are a human. Humans cannot be trusted. We learned that the hard way,” came Entei’s reply.

“Besides, you are one human. The others may not agree with you,” Suicune began pacing around her. “Only a tragedy can bring humans together.”

“You must have quite high standing amongst them, for them to ask you to talk to us,” Entei’s paws padded heavily on the cobblestones around her, the smoke on its back lighting up with inner flames. Raikou’s tail also crackled with electricity.

“If you dare hurt her...” Hohenheim hissed, lowering his head and glaring at the three beasts. Small traces of fire flickered all over his body.

The trio stopped walking around Zlata and looked up at the great bird. They did not move away from her but Entei’s flame had gone out and Raikou had fallen silent. Even Suicune’s calmness seemed diminished. The beasts considered their next course of action.

Suddenly, Suicune threw up its head and sniffed the air. Raikou too began sniffing and turned away from Zlata, padding softly towards a nearby side street and around the square. She frowned and watched the legendaries carefully.

“ What is it?” she asked warily. Entei, who had also now joined the search, looked up at her but paid her no attention. Hohenheim flew onto a nearby rooftop, trying to also find what the three legendaries were looking for. As he watched them closer, his spine grew colder; the trio was not aimlessly searching. They were hunting.

Finally, they stopped and gazed at a particular spot, although Zlata could not see what they were looking at. Suicune looked right up at her.

“It would be unwise to hurt you. However, you are still important. You and the humans of this city- no, this region- need to remember what loss is.”

Hohenheim screamed as he saw what it was they were hunting but before he could react, the three legendaries struck at once and ran out across the rooftops, carrying something in their jaws. Zlata covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out as she recognised what they had stolen: her children, struggling in the mouths of the legendaries, calling out for their parents.

Behind her, Ryun ran towards the buildings on which the legendaries were, the larger of his two swords, Resolution, drawn. Hohenheim took off as well but the trio were too quick for both of them. Within a few moments, they were gone from the city, disappeared into the east.

Hohenheim turned to Zlata, trying to find some way to comfort her. But her mind was completely still and calm. There was no rush of thoughts, no trace of panic or despair. In fact, for a moment, her thoughts appeared completely alien. It took the ho-oh a moment to recognise why: he had never seen Zlata so enraged.

Ryun looked back at her, his eyes hard and steely. The sword in his hand glittered viciously.

“I’m going after them,” he stated. Zlata looked up at him.

“We’re going after them.”

With those words, Hohenheim took off into the sky after the beasts. Zlata released Niagara from her pokeball and leapt up onto the feraligatr. Ryun took out Xerxes a moment later and got onto him. The stantler needed no encouragement as he reared up and raced after the legendaries, Niagara following after him.

<I could have carried you easier.> <They are going into the forest. We can follow them better on land.>

They were soon out of the city and in the forests surrounding Ecruteak, following the trail of broken plants and twigs left behind by the beasts. Xerxes, by virtue of being faster, ran ahead and Ryun watched for the slightest flash of the trio ahead of them. He had sheathed his sword and was gripping the reigns tightly but right now he wanted nothing more except to fight them, to make them pay for taking his children and he could tell that Zlata behind him wanted the same thing. However, they had to catch up to the beasts first.

“Ryun!” Zlata shouted to him urgently. “Go west and release Trident! I need him!”

Without even indicating that he had heard her, Ryun took out the salamence’s pokeball and flipped the latch on it. Trident shot up through the canopy of the forest and shortly, Yangtze accompanied him. There were several screeches from Hohenheim before the ho-oh turned sharply westwards. Ryun followed him with Zlata not far behind. The two dragons above them flew towards where they assumed the legendaries would be under the thick leaves and overtook them.

Yangtze struck firs and an enormous hurricane formed in front of the beasts. Trees were torn up by the roots and strong winds lashed at their fur, blocking their way forward. Trident flew around and with a roar, attacked with dragon breath, herding them to the west. The beasts responded and turned around. They tried to run faster but the three children in their mouths, seeing their parents’ Pokémon, began to struggle and fight against the trio, preventing them from going as fast as they would like.

They rushed out all at once into a small clearing only to be met by the enormous form of Hohenheim hovering above it. As soon as his eyes fixed on the legendary beasts, blue fire erupted out of his wings and fell down like a sheet of rain onto the nearest surrounding trees. They ignited almost instantly, the blue turning to red and rising up to the skies.

The trio skidded to a halt, keeping as far away from the flames as they could. Entei and Raikou stepped away from them, fear apparent in their eyes. Suicune, however dropped Auren and held him down with its paw, leaning its weight on him to make sure he could not escape. It howled and storm clouds began to collect over the glade while water gathered in Suicune’s mouth. Even it was desperate to put out the fire.

“No you won’t!” Zlata cried as she rushed out of the trees, two pokeballs at the ready. From them sprung Lux and Giza. It only took Giza a moment to figure out what needed to be done and he dug into the earth, throwing up mounds of earth all around the fire, both to contain the flames and to stop the beasts from getting away. Lux leapt on top of the structure his teammate had created and a barrier of electricity on top of the earth. As soon as Suicune felt the change, it backed away, knowing water was not going to help now. It turned to Zlata and Ryun, who had by now joined them in the clearing, both River and Resolution drawn now.

Entei and Raikou threw down Ichika and Aoko, trapping them between the flames and the bodies of the three beasts. Suicune threw Auren towards them and he landed with a thump before getting up and going over to his sisters. Aoko was crying and Ichika was trying to comfort her, even though she too was pale. There were no snippy remarks made when their brother came over. She simply took his hand and he gripped it tightly before they turned to where their parents were.

Seeing this, Zlata’s resolve became even stronger. Their children had faith in them and she was not going to let them down. Judging by Ryun’s stance and how he gripped his blades, it was clear that he felt the same.

“Let them go,” she hissed to the legendaries. They turned around towards them, their hackles raised and growls echoing in their throats.

“No. You need to be taught this lesson,” Raikou murmured. Its back and tail flashed with charging energy.

“We exist to remind humanity of their folly and we shall die before we fail that task,” Suicune stated. Ice formed around its paws and its crest shimmered like the sea.

Zlata scowled and withdrew her last pokeball, releasing Mentat. He glared at the three legendaries before standing up, getting into a fighting stance. Niagara drew up next to trainer, in particular watching Raikou. Ryun too had withdrawn his pokemon. Arai and Dante stood either side of him while Rekka hovered above. Xerxes was slightly further behind but he had his horns down and his hoof struck at the ground, sending clods of dirt up. They were ready to fight.

“Zlata, you should withdraw. You are not a fighter,” Ryun told her. However, she shook her head.

“Niagara, attack Entei, Mentat, you take on Suicune,” Zlata instructed them in a clear, calm voice. Niagara roared and charged at the legendary but Raikou intercepted her, striking her with a bolt of thunder. She roared with agony but kept going. Arai charged beside her, his seamitar extended. He reached Entei first; spraying the legendary’s eyes with water and then slashing at its legs. Niagara took advantage of the distraction to slam a wave of water into the legendary, completing Arai’s work by throwing it off balance and driving it into the ground. A plume of fire hit Niagara from below, forcing her to retreat. After Raikou’s attack, she was weakened.

As Raikou was charging another bolt to strike Niagara with, Dante leapt onto its back, biting down on his neck just at the base of its mane. Flames poured from her mouth and the legendary cried out, thrashing to try and get her off. At the same time, Rekka flew closer and unleashed a pulse of dragon energy at it, disorientating it. However, it saw Entei struggling under the attacks of the two water pokemon and ran back towards it. Another bolt of thunder struck Arai just as he was about to deliver another blow to the fallen Entei. The samurott, caught by surprise, screamed and writhed in agony, allowing Entei to stand up and knock him away. It was weak but it was also a legendary, it would take more than that to bring him down. He leapt up onto Raikou and grabbed Dante by her horns, throwing her off. Now that they were freed, the two beasts stood back to back, facing the pokemon who were attacking them. Electricity crackled around the two as Raikou formed a shield to keep the water pokemon away from them. Niagara and Arai staggered up, joining Rekka and Dante as they closed in around the two legendaries. But the two water types were slower and weaker, plus they did not want to be hurt by the electric barrier, knowing another powerful shock would bring them down. Nevertheless, the pokemon were all ready to attack and the two legendaries knew that. They stared down the four pokemon surrounding them, thinking of what their next move should be.

During this time, Mentat scrambled up into the trees and began launching psychic attacks at Suicune’s mind. The legendary shook its head as they hit and a blue shield formed around it to reflect the alakazam’s attacks. However, it barely had time to do that before Ryun drove Resolution’s edge into its front legs. Suicune leapt away from him and fired a great wave of water at Ryun. However, it only just managed to soak him as he got out of the way. Seeing this, Xerxes charged at Suicune, locking his horns together with its crest and pushing the beast backwards, putting pressure on its weakened legs. Suicune however, was not going to give up. The water it had released wrapped around Xerxes and pulled his head up, allowing Suicune to break free. Nevertheless, he had given plenty of time for Ryun to come back at Suicune. He focused again on the legs, trying to bring the beast down. He did not go under it but constantly moved around its sides, striking at its joints with one sword while keeping the other at the side that faced Suicune’s jaws. Mentat saw this and formed a mental barrier around Suicune, preventing it from going anywhere. Xerxes too, once he had broken free of the water, herded the legendary towards his trainer, keeping it in place to give Ryun the ability to fight it. However, once cornered, the beast formed armour around its joints and tried to bite Ryun, its fangs icy cold. Ryun brought up his sword and they met with a clang. For a while, they struggled as Suicune attempted to pull the sword out of Ryun’s grasp but he slashed at its muzzle with his other blade, breaking away from him and moving before Suicune had time to retaliate.

While the trio was occupied, Zlata had gone round the edges of where the fighting was taking place towards the three children. The walls of fire had by now burned down and only the electric and the earth wall remained, allowing her more space to move. Auren noticed her first and silently gestured to his sisters, pointing in her direction. They smiled when they saw her and she beckoned them over. Slowly, the three kids began closing the distance between their mother while she came closer to them, all the while checking that the beasts were still occupied and ignoring the cries of pain that came from the pokemon, even though it hurt to hear them. Right now, her priority was getting her children out.

They got closer and closer to each other, all the while keeping an eye on the legendaries to make sure they were not noticed. At last they reunited. Zlata threw her arms around the children briefly and looked over them. Aside from a few cuts and bruises, they were unhurt. However, she could not attend to their injuries right now. She took Ichika and Aoko’s hand while Auren tagged close behind her. The children ran as quickly as they could while Zlata kept up a brisk pace. The safety of the forest outside the clearing and the walls she created to trap the legendaries drew closer and in their desperation, the children began running even quicker.

Suddenly, Aoko cried out as she tripped and fell onto the ground. Raikou and Entei looked up towards the source of the noise beyond the pokemon who had surrounded them. They glared at the four for a moment before Entei roared. The roar shook the earth and fire sprouted out from all around them, trapping them inside. Aoko screamed just as she barely managed to scramble up with the help of her siblings and her mother. The sound tore Ryun’s concentration away from him, allowing Suicune to slam into him, knocking him to the ground. He brought up his shorter sword just as the beast’s jaws descended down upon him. Teeth met steel with a loud clang. Before Ryun could raise his other sword up, Suicune’s paw pressed it down. Ice formed from his jaws and leg. It spread over Ryun, trapping him against the ground, unable to move. Closing up its wounds with ice, the legendary then hobbled over to where its siblings were, weakened but still willing to fight. From the trees, Mentat tried to hold it in place. Raikou, however, saw its sibling struggling and a moment later, a thunderbolt hit the tree the alakazam was in, forcing him to flee.

A roar came from the east and Zlata’s heart leapt as she realised that the dragons had finally caught up. However, Suicune heard it too. It howled and the low clouds suddenly split open like overloaded sacks of flour, the snow pouring from them whipped by the wind at the two dragons. Unable to fly in such conditions or bear the cold, they were forced to land, away from the group. Imprisoned by the fire, Zlata felt helpless. With Suicune joining its siblings, it was unlikely that the pokemon surrounding Entei and Raikou wound hold for long.

<Hohenheim, help us.> <I can’t, not without hurting one of you. They’re too close.>

“I’m sorry, mum,” Aoko sniffled, hugging into Zlata’s kimono. She forced herself to smile down at the girl and hug her, to calm her even though the situation they were in did not call for calm at all.

“It’s okay, Aoko, it wasn’t your fault,” she said gently but Aoko did not stop crying.

“They will take us again,” she cried. Hearing this, Zlata’s eyes filled with the anger they had contained when she had first seen the trio take her children. Their terrified faces and cries rushed back and she hugged them all tightly, her determination and her desire to punish the beasts for what they did growing.

“They will not. They will not dare,” she hissed and stood up, leaving the three children behind and staring at the flames.

<Move these out of the way.> <I am not close enough.>

Zlata scowled. She could order Lux to lower the barrier but then the legendaries could escape. Right now, she had to think hard about her situation. She always had Hohenheim, could always rely on him to help her. Now, it seemed, she was on her own.

No, she still had him. Everything in his head was open to her.

<How do you control fire?> <I can create fire by myself but I manipulate it with my mind, like most fire pokemon.> <Then forgive me for what I’m about to do.>

For a few moments, Zlata’s eyes seemed far away before they turned bright crimson, much like Hohenheim’s eyes. She turned back to the three children.

“Stand back,” she ordered and they did as they were told. She held up her hand and a small blue flame poured down from Hohenheim’s beak, landing exactly on her palm. As though by instinct, she knew what to do to keep it from burning her and began to shape it to her will. It responded and fire soon spread all across her arm and body. It did not burn her but instead formed a protective shield which flickered and radiated unbearable heat. Inside though, it was as comfortable as under a blanket during winter. She put her hands into the fire surrounding her and sharply moved her arms to the sides. For a moment, the flames resisted but as she pushed harder, the fire in front of her died down and a gap opened up. Now completely covered in blue fire, Zlata stepped out and faced the beasts.

Their reaction was instantaneous as they recognised the flames. Raikou yelped and Entei withdrew away from her. Even Suicune seemed terrified.

<Why do their fear it?> <I think...ho-oh fire created them so-> <Ho-oh fire can destroy them.>

She clenched her fist and walked towards them steadily. They backed away from her towards the earth and electric wall that had entrapped them. Arai, Niagara, Rekka and Dante seemed a bit confused at Entei and Raikou’s sudden terror but as soon as they noticed Zlata, they all moved in towards the legendaries behind her, herding them into a small cluster and leaving them completely trapped.

She turned to look at Ryun, trapped in the ice. He stared back at her, awed at the flames surrounding her. With a simple thought, the fire extended from her and wrapped around the ice. He winced and closed his eyes reflexively but the heat did not reach him. Instead it transferred into the ice, thinning it around him. It did not take long for it to be weak enough for him to break free.

As soon as Ryun was out of the ice, Zlata turned her attention to the three legendaries in front of her, now huddled together like terrified rattatas caught by a persian. She kept walking steadily until she could have reached out and touched them. Their eyes were almost mad with fear as they stared at the fire that surrounded her.

“I could destroy you right here and be well within my rights to do so,” she said to them neutrally. It was not a threat, it was a fact and the beasts understood it.

“Please...we only did what we thought was right. We were only fulfilling the purpose that Ho-oh had left for us after she resurrected us,” Suicune whimpered, bowing its head to Zlata.

“She would never have wanted you to kidnap or hurt children,” she replied. “I do not deny that what happened to you and to her was terrible but things have changed since then.”

“Humans are still the same,” Entei snarled. Zlata glared at it and it cowered away from it.

“We have learned from our mistakes. I have done my hardest to make sure that they have. The old ho-oh forgave us when she returned. It is high time that you do the same,” she told them.

“How do you know that she did?” Raikou growled. The fire in Zlata’s hands grew.

“Because she reincarnated in Ecruteak, allowing a human to bond with her descendant just as she had a human bond. That human is me. Your creator must have wanted the peace between her and the people of Johto restored and both me and Hohenheim have honoured her wish. That is why the tower was rebuilt,” she glared at them. “But if you had listened to me, you would have known that what you were doing is the opposite of your creator’s wishes.”

The three legendaries thought this over for a moment before they bowed their heads and closed their eyes.

“Forgive us,” Raikou murmured.

“Forgive us for trying to upset the balance with our anger,” Suicune whispered.

“Forgive us for trying to hurt your children,” Entei added.

“You were born in anger and despair. But you have to accept that the world is no longer the same one that made you. Things have changed and for the better,” the blue fire withdrew from Zlata’s hand and she reached it out to the legendaries. They shied away from her but it was not the fearful leapt that they had made when they saw ho-oh fire. This was one of shame.

“So there is no place for us in the world,” Suicune’s voice was full of sadness. “We were chosen to remind humanity of their mistakes but if ho-oh herself has moved on then what do we do?”

“You are still legendaries. You can roam this world unfettered by your purpose,” Zlata smiled at them, opening up her hands.

“No. We were made in these forms and given these powers to fulfil our duty to ho-oh. Without our duty, we do not require such gifts,” Suicune replied.

“But...” Entei looked up over Zlata at where her three children were. They had gotten out of the cage but had stayed behind in the clearing to wait for their parents. “Perhaps we can offer you some token of apology for what we have done to your family.”

The trio tried to step around Zlata carefully and slowly walked towards her children. She turned around sharply but she could see there was no trace of aggression in the way they moved. Ryun however leapt closer to his children, his swords at the ready.

“Let them. They mean no harm,” Zlata called out to him. He eyed the legendaries warily but relaxed, stepping away to let them past. The trio nodded to him gratefully and stopped just before the three children. Aoko gripped her sister’s hand and Ichika shielded her from the beasts but Auren, curious, stepped forward.

“We belong to the old world. But you, children of the Guardian, are part of the new,” Suicune announced.

“Just as your mother is chosen by ho-oh and wields the power of ho-oh, so we chose you to wield ours,” Raikou said.

“Step forward and we shall bless you,” Entei finished.

Auren grinned from ear to ear as he heard the offer of power but his sisters were a lot more cautious.

“Come on, Ichi. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” he exclaimed to her, all but rearing to go.

“You go, Auren. I don’t trust them,” his sister replied, giving the three legendaries a sharp look.

“Alright. Just means I get first pick of the powers,” Auren smirked and leapt forward until he had stopped right in front of Suicune. “And it’s only appropriate that I pick you.”

The beast tilted it head and gave off a sharp barking noise resembling a distorted chuckle. It leaned down and under the watchful gaze of Auren’s parents, touched the top of his head with the front of its muzzle, almost as though kissing it. The smirk on Auren’s face disappeared only to be replaced by one of awe. They were frozen like that for a few moments before the legendary beast stepped away. It somehow looked smaller and its steps were more halting than before but its eyes glimmered with content. Auren looked down at his hands and clenched his fists. He looked around frantically until he saw a nearby puddle of water. He stretched out his hand towards it and closed his eyes, straining with effort. A sphere of water no bigger than his hand rose out of the puddle and hovered in the air. The boy risked a peek and whooped joyfully when he saw the sphere. However, as the sound tore through the air, the spell was broken and the water splashed back into the puddle. Auren crossed his arms, pouting while Ichika suppressed a giggle.

“Good job,” she said sarcastically and stepped forward towards Entei, letting go of Aoko as she did so, “But I’m not going to be left behind.”

Entei gave an appreciative growl and just like Suicune, touched the top of Ichika’s head with its nose. Unlike her brother, she retained her composure but when Entei stepped away from her, her eyes grew wide and her breathing more rapid. She clicked her fingers but nothing happened. Frowning, she clicked them again and was almost blown back by the flames that burst from her hand. Only a timely intervention from her mother saved her from being burned but not before Auren had seen her. He burst out laughing, much to her dismay.

Aoko looked up at Raikou as the legendary beast approached her. She looked towards her siblings for reassurance but seeing them with their powers; she clenched her fists and closed her eyes, waiting for the legendary to bless her. It crouched down and touched the top of her head. She retained her pose long after the legendary had moved away to join the other members of its trio. They gave one final bow to Zlata.

“We hope that this will make up for what we tried to do,” Suicune spoke for them all.

“Thank you. It is an honour to have my children be your blessed,” she replied, bowing back to them before straightening out her back and looking back towards the wall. “Lux, Giza, let the legendary beasts go!”

The electric barrier around them faded but the walls took a little bit more time to erode. Slowly, they sank back into the earth leaving piles of dirt scattered around. The three legendaries bounded away into the forest, leaving the family alone in the clearing with their pokemon.

The flames surrounding Zlata faded away and her eyes returned to their usual green as Hohenheim’s power returned to its rightful owner. She sighed as she let it go, her posture slumping. Ryun ran up to her and put a hand on her shoulder but she gave him a reassuring smile before turning to the children. Auren was still trying to raise the water sphere and kept glancing at Ichika. She, on the other hand, was much warier about her powers and had gotten a small flame going in her hand which she was struggling to control. It was either leaping up and threatening to escape or barely a glow. But this was still better than Aoko, who had not even plucked up the courage to try her power.

Hohenheim hopped closer to Ichika and with a wave of his beak the fire became a lot calmer and more managed. She smiled up at him and stroked his beak. Ryun smiled and walked up to her, putting his arms around her shoulders.

“Seems like we’re going to have to devote some of our practice time controlling your powers. Except Hohenheim will have to teach you,” he looked up at the ho-oh who nodded enthusiastically.

There was a rustle from the forest. Yangtze and Trident wandered out of the bushes, dirty but otherwise unhurt from their attack. Zlata stroked Yangtze’s snout, glad to have him back. She turned back to the rest of her family.

“Auren, Ichika, Aoko, you can practice when we get back,” she called to the children and crossed her arms. “But no powers inside the house until you’ve mastered them.”

“Yes, mum,” the three chorused. She smiled widely at them.

“Then let’s go home. You can all ride on Hohenheim.”

[Celestial]

And finally...have a double shot of angst. Both are angsty but for different reasons. But basically, they deal with loss for one of the characters, albeit of different things. They both relate to one of the earlier stories (the second one in the post at the top of this page), with the first happening parralel to it and the second one as a direct result of it.

Oh yes, they're in chronological order in this post too.

SPOILER: Click to show

The mountains loomed all around those who had managed to escape the siege of Ecruteak. From her vantage point on top of Hohenheim, Zlata surveyed the column. Even with flyers and strong pokemon helping them, the constant struggle uphill into the mountains was difficult. With the wounded tagging behind and the loss still fresh on everyone’s minds, nobody could deny that they were fleeing from a miserable defeat. Despite all that, seeing the number who got out and what they did manage to rescue from the city, Zlata knew that they should consider themselves lucky. They had a good number of fighters and enough supplies to feed them for a decent amount of time. She had received word that the non-combatants were safe for the most part too, either in Blackthorn or already on the way to safety in Hoenn. Things could have gone so much worse.

However, that did not give her any comfort. Her home was gone, along with everything she had ever known. Right now, she was not even sure what they were going to do. By taking Ecruteak, Kanto had brought the eastern mainland under its control. She had no doubt they were going to come for the rest. She had seen enough fighting and it was far from over. Except now, she was going to face it all alone.

“My lady guardian?” a voice called out to her. Zlata wearily turned to face them and recognised one of the generals who had overseen the battle riding atop a skarmory. It kept its distance from Hohenheim on instinct, even though it knew that both of them were on the same side and the great ho-oh, with his eyes unfocused and his wing beats seemingly automatic, was too tired to fight.

“Yes, general...” she trailed off, having forgotten his name.

“Rishi, my lady,” the man’s expression was neutral but his eyes betrayed a twinkling of sympathy. “Scouts say there is a plateau three kilometres ahead where we could stop for the night. With everyone as tired as they are from the day, I say it is best.”

Zlata looked over at the sun setting behind the mountains bringing with it growing darkness. With the column stretching over miles and Kanto forces no doubt willing to harry them, she had to agree. Besides, she was tired and she could feel that Hohenheim was too. Everyone needed rest. Looking around, the spotted the plateau that Rishi mentioned. It looked large enough to fit them all and relatively safe. In truth, she doubted there was any place that they could be safe from Kanto forces but moving on in total darkness was even more risky. Not to mention stupid. She had had enough of stupid decisions.

“Alright. Give the order that we’re stopping when we reach the plateau. Bring flyers there so that they may begin setting up camp for them the wounded and the refugees,” she stated, her voice sounding almost mechanical. She winced. She was used to giving out orders, she had been for a long time. But now, the orders she gave out were military in nature. Coming from her own mouth, spoken in her own voice, they seemed almost alien.

<You’ll get used to it,> Hohenheim whispered in her mind.

<I wish I did not have to,> she replied, slumping slightly before turning back to Rishi. He was still flying next to them.

“My lady, I am sorry for your loss,” he said quietly, bowing his head. Zlata stiffened in place and clenched her jaw together, forcing herself to keep a neutral face.

“...Thank you for your sympathy. However, I am not the only one to have lost somebody,” she replied. The general nodded and angled the skarmory away from them, flying down the line to relay the orders. Alone now, Zlata glanced over the line below her. Her gaze came to rest on the cluster that was her family and from it she picked out Aer, flying solemnly above them on his braviary. His loss was much greater than hers, she knew that. He had lost almost his entire family, all except his daughter, who was flying next to him on a pidgeot.

Zlata watched them for a few seconds before she looked back up, feeling a small sting in her eyes. She could not be weak, not here, not now when so many people were relying on her. There was no time to lament the misery of her family or mourn her husband.

She urged the ho-oh forward towards the prospective site of the camp and he complied, picking up speed and riding the wind up to a greater altitude. The plateau soon came up below them and she landed along with several hundred other flyers that were carrying the first of the materials needed to set things up.

Even with people and pokemon working as quickly as they could, it was dark before the camp was fully set up. For hours afterwards, stragglers poured in through the guarded gates and tried to find a place to rest for the night in the already cramped quarters. The refugees had camped on the outskirts, with the barracks of soldiers and Ecruteak dignitaries including Zlata and her family further inside. At the very centre they had erected an enormous tent large enough to house Hohenheim and her, which is where she would stay. When they had finished helping to set up and herded in the last of the stragglers while keeping an eye out for any attackers, Hohenheim carried her towards the tent. On him, it was only a short hop. As he flew lower, he began gliding down towards it partly to not ruffle the tents and partly from exhaustion.

<No, take me to the outskirts. There are things I need to do> she told him firmly. Some of the generals had wanted to discuss strategy but they had agreed there was very little point in it until they had reached Blackthorn and gotten a better grasp of their resources. In her opinion, it was wiser that way. But while the generals got some breathing room because of this, she was the Guardian; she had more jobs than that.

Hohenheim looked sceptical but he turned towards the gates and landed there. As Zlata got off, she could already see people gathering to meet her, their faces illuminated by the few sources of light that the camp had. They almost looked like ghosts wandering out of the gloom. Of course, if they were ghosts, they would not be here.

<I’ll see you back at the tent> she stroked the ho-oh’s neck and walked away from him.

<Don’t exhaust yourself> his tone was stern as he took off again, heading towards the centre of the camp. Zlata watched him for a moment before she turned back to the refugees. They looked exhausted, starved for any good news that anybody could bring. She wished she could give them more than she could. Her presence would have to do.

She started walking, keeping her pace steady and confident. Her people needed their Guardian and she was not going to deny them that, nor would she give them any reason to be afraid more than they already were. If people saw her acting bravely, they too would be brave.
“Milady!”

“The Guardian.”

“She’s with us.”

Those whispers all danced around Zlata as she went by. Every time she picked individual voices out from the swarm, she gave a smile and a curt nod in their direction. Some people stretched out their hands to her and she held them briefly before moving on.

“Guardian, what are we going to do? Goldenrod, Olivine, now Ecruteak...and is it true the Lugia are gone? What’s going to happen to us?” one woman cried out to her as she walked past. Zlata stopped and turned around to face her. For a brief moment, she stood silent, trying to formulate an answer. She wished she knew herself. Yet instead of saying that, she kneeled down beside the woman and smiled at her.

“It is not the end of the world. We are at war, yes, and Kanto has an advantage, but we are not going to give up. I swear to you that I will fight to take back what we have lost. We all will. Have faith,” she said in a gentle tone. The woman looked up, tears welling up in her eyes.

“I believe in you, my lady guardian but...I lost my son and daughter in this battle. I have no hope left,” she murmured, her voice cracking. Zlata bowed her head and took the woman’s hand.

“I’m sorry. I have lost family too. I sympathise with your grief,” she whispered in order to hide her own misery. The woman looked up at her, startled for a moment but Zlata had already turned away before she could let her emotions overwhelm her. She took a deep breath in order to steady her nerves and instead focused on the task at hand. However, she did not stop by anybody else to talk to them for more than a few words.

Time dragged on but finally, Zlata reached the end of the refugee area of the camp. She took a deep breath and risked a glance back. Behind her was the same miserable, cramped space that she had left behind. The people were still homeless and broken but now they seemed to have the tiniest inkling of hope. If their Guardian was being strong, they too could be. Satisfied, Zlata turned away and kept going.

The barracks was less crowded and more organised but there was still, mercifully, activity everywhere. It distracted Zlata enough to keep her thoughts from overwhelming her. Soldiers out on patrol bowed to her or saluted depending on what they were doing but unlike the refugees, none of them stopped to speak to her. Normally, after the wave of people seeking her attention she would be glad of some silence but this time, nothing was more unwelcome. She could feel her thoughts at the back of her mind lurking like the shadows underneath the door, waiting to spring on her. Only the risk of somebody seeing her kept them back.

“Mother,” called out a voice from behind her. She stopped, uttering a brief prayer of thanks to her daughter for breaking the silence, and waited for Aoko to catch up. Considering her age, her daughter managed it in record time. All of her children were aging gracefully, although of course not as gracefully as her. Even now, the strangeness of looking younger than them thanks to her newfound immortality had not worn off. Of course, she was not the only one.

“What is it, Aoko?” Zlata asked before those thoughts could go any further. “How are the rest of the family? I would have come to check up on them but-”

“You had other things to do, mother, I know,” Aoko said, looking into her eyes. “I made sure everyone was settled down. Most of them are asleep now, although Ichika has gone to the command tent of her unit to make plans. Auren wandered away somewhere, I don’t know where.”

“How are they? How are they coping with...everything?” she asked her, her voice growing slightly pained at the last word. It was not enough to sum up all that had happened. Aoko hesitated for a moment. Her eyes darted side to side and Zlata could see her trying to pick which words would spare her more pain.

“Some are doing better than others,” Aoko finally replied, every word stressed.

“Tell me the truth,” Zlata sighed, her expression becoming steelier. “I am the head of this family, I deserve to know.”

“...Alright. Ichika is miserable but she is staying strong, just as you would expect. Auren, I’m not sure. He’s deliberately avoiding me as though he doesn’t want me to know something but I don’t think he’s doing well. Ishi and Sanada are both coping, they have their families to take comfort in but Aer...” Aoko stopped to compose herself. “He’s still devastated.”

“Poor Aer,” Zlata murmured. “I wish I could have done something. I should have done something.

“Mother, you had no idea. Everything happened quickly. They just happened to be caught in their path. And at least not all of them are gone,” Aoko took her hand. “It’s already difficult for you, I know it. Please, don’t make it worse.”

Zlata nodded and removed her hand from her daughter’s grasp. The latter had seen too much of her thoughts already. Even though she could sense her thoughts through the ground, it would be more difficult.

“I’m sorry, mother, I’ll stop. I just don’t want you pushing yourself. Especially with...” Aoko swallowed but she could not stop a single choked sob escaping. It was small but it seemed to shake her whole frame. Zlata put her arms around her.

“I know, Aoko, but I will be alright. I have to be,” she let go of her daughter and started to move herself in the direction Aoko came from. “I’m going to go check on everyone. I should at least let myself be seen by them.”

“No, mother, please. They’ve had a long day, they are all tired and so are you,” Aoko stepped in front of her smoothly, her age not showing a single bit in her movements. “You should go rest, they will understand.”

“At least let me speak with Auren or Aer. I-”

“You can do that tomorrow. Aer’s dropped down from exhaustion and Auren has gone to his tent to sleep too,” Aoko looked up at her mother, pleading at her with her eyes. “I don’t like telling you what to do but please, mother, you need this.”

“Alright. I’m trusting you with their well-being, Aoko. If there is anything you or any of them need, you know where to find me,” Zlata drew her daughter in for a brief hug before tearing herself away. “I love you and I promise you that we shall get through this. I will get you all through this.”

“I know, mother, I have faith in you,” Aoko bowed her head. Zlata slowly began moving away, her footsteps slapping down on the dusty rock. Aoko watched her for a few moments before she turned and went back to her own tent. Once again, Zlata was alone until another cluster of soldiers came across her. They gave her a salute which she returned with a curt nod.

As she wandered in closer to her tent, she concentrated on her surroundings, focusing and drawing on them to keep herself occupied. In truth, the camp only contained a few seconds of solitude before it was undercut by some form of activity, either from soldiers, a sentry or even a civilian with insomnia. Even when there was nobody there, lights poured out from under tent flaps or from fire or electric pokemon that had been left outside. Small noises like snores or the creaking of beds or the calls of pokemon also tore the heavy air, never letting you forget that there were people all around. However, when Zlata finally entered her tent, the light and sound all disappeared.

Hohenheim looked up as she entered. Even though the tent was enormous, there was very little space in it for anything else but him. The furniture that had been left in it was nice but ultimately, it was standard issue and relatively bare but his warmth created and cosy atmosphere. He chirped in greeting and pointed with his beak towards the table where several candles and a steaming meal were awaiting her.

<Was there anything else left for me? Any work or papers or anything I have to look over?> Zlata asked him as she slumped down in the chair. As she did, her limbs all cried out in protest as her entire body realised how strained she was.

<Nothing. But you don’t need any work, you have enough already. Take this time to rest. It’s the first you’ve gotten in a few days.>

She looked down at her food but she could not bring herself to eat it. The thoughts that had been skulking on the edge of her mind all this time, thoughts that she had kept out by doing something, began to whisper in her ears. Some of them had not intruded upon her mind since she was young and inexperienced. She was over ninety years old and yet, she was a helpless, scared girl.

Zlata shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. Hohenheim leaned in closer but he could tell that she was not cold. He pushed the plate closer to her with his beak, his red eyes full of concern. But despite all his efforts, Zlata had no appetite.

“Hohenheim, what do I do?” she whispered. “I kept telling everyone I will do something about this, that I will take back Johto and fend off Kanto while looking out for my people and my family. But I don’t think I’m strong enough.”

She suddenly realised how dirty and uncomfortable her armour had gotten over the course of the retreat. Slowly, while her body protested against her, Zlata got up and began undoing the clasps that held it in place. Meanwhile, Hohenheim thought on her words.

<You will. We’re in this together and you’re not one to give up, Zlata, ever. I will help you fight back, everyone will,> he tried to sound encouraging but she could feel the shaky confidence behind his thoughts. If the lugia had been scattered so easily and everything had been so calculated, what else were Kanto capable of?

She took off her sword and scabbard first, putting it down on the bed next to her. After that, she started on the armour properly. Her chest plates fell down onto the ground with greaves and gauntlets following soon after until Zlata was left only in her clothes. She also began unpinning her hair so that it fell down across her back as it usually did. Maybe she should have picked up her armour instead of leaving it lying there but right now, she did not have the strength to. It lay there as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

<I’m sorry about this, Hohenheim. I wish you did not have to see how weak I truly am.>

<If anybody can see, it’s me.>

<But I tried to never show you these moments before. I wanted to be a strong, assured guardian for you. But now, except for you...there’s nobody else now.>

Hohenheim flinched as the meaning of her words sunk in.

<I’m...sorry. I know how much he meant to you.>

Zlata bowed her head, trying to stop the tears that bit at her eyes like tiny insects. Quickly, she wiped away the first tear, hoping that Hohenheim would not see it. She tried desperately to concentrate on just not crying but thoughts of Ryun crept into her mind through the doorway that the mere mention of him had opened. His eyes, his voice, his gentleness, his touch, the way he moved, the fact that he was so willing to sacrifice his own happiness just so she would not be alone...before long, all she could think about was him. But everything was overshadowed by the fact that she would never see him again.

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks and she felt too weak to stop them. Zlata’s whole body convulsed as a sob tore through her. She hid her face in her hands, her body curling around herself as though wanting to fall forward, to give up. Only her elbows digging into her legs stopped her. The world did not exist outside the numbness of her body. Somebody could have entered her tent how and she would not have even noticed them.

“Why did you die, Ryun?” she murmured but whispering was not enough to convey her emotions. “Didn’t you jump into the fire so that I wouldn’t have to feel this? At least otherwise I could have said goodbye to you! What was even the point of you becoming immortal?!” she screamed, not caring who heard her anymore. Perhaps his ghost would have been able to hear her.

Hohenheim crooned and whimpered. His head hovered close to her but Zlata pushed him away absently. He tried to speak to her but her mind was such a mess of thoughts that his own simply got lost.

“I should have gone back. I could have saved him. Why did I not save him?” she continued, quieter this time than before but no less despairing.

<There was no way you could go back for him. You had to get everyone out> Hohenheim’s voice broke through finally. She looked up to him, her face and eyes bloodied from crying.

He was right. Of course he was right. She had her duty to her people and that duty always came first. Nevertheless, it did not give Zlata any comfort. She turned away, staring back down at her own hands.

“I hope he sees it that way...but his blood is still on my hands...still all my fault. I could have saved him and done my duty. I should have,” a fresh stream of tears rolled down her eyes. Her thoughts churned and tangled once again. On the edge of her mind, she could just feel Hohenheim, panicking and trying to comfort her. If he went deep enough, he could wipe away her grief but Zlata knew that he would never do that. He would never touch anything in her mind concerning Ryun or her feelings for him. But right now, just this once, she wished he did.

<There was nothing you could do. And I think he knew what he was going into. He would not have wanted you to cry for him...he would not have wanted you break down like this.>

<I still need him. This war...I don’t want to fight it without him. I did not want him to be one of the first victims of it either!>

Zlata lifted her hands away from her face and put them down on the bed next to her. Her fingers brushed against the hilt of the sword she had dropped. Lethargically, she turned her head to look at it.

<I’m a widow now, aren’t I?> she took the sword by the hilt and slowly withdrew it from its scabbard. <I should mark myself as such.>

<Zlata, don->

She grabbed the sword and gathered her hair into a rough ponytail. Violently, she brought the blade to her hair and felt several strands give way to its sharp edge before she took it away and dropped it down on the ground. It clattered against the hard rock. She wrapped her arms around herself.

“I...can’t. I can’t be seen mourning him. I cannot let anybody know how much it affects me,” Zlata held herself as she shuddered. Hohenheim brought his head closer but this time, she did not resist and buried her face in his feathers. His feathers served to catch her tears before they rolled down her cheeks and he showed no discomfort at the water he was gathering, even as his plumage became increasingly wet. Deep croons vibrated in his throat and beak.

<He might not be dead. You did not see him die...you must stay strong. For everyone.>

Zlata threw her arms around him and hugged deeper into his feathers. Already her tears were beginning to dry up but only because there was only so much she could cry.

<Then let me be weak now.>

SPOILER: Click to show

Snow fell softly on the streets and rooftops of Ecruteak, covering up the footprints and imperfections the previous layer had developed. It rested everywhere it could find, making the whole city pale and shimmering with all the signs of winter. Occasionally, it found itself resting in the burned out shells of buildings and twisted stone which was once part of a much greater structure. However, with each passing year, such sights were growing rarer and rarer. Ecruteak had been slowly getting back onto its feet and reconstructing its former glory from before the days of the battles and occupation of the Kanto-Johto war. The process was almost complete but for now, grim reminders of those days hung around the ruins like unwanted guests, seemingly watching as people hurried past through the snow to get on with whatever business they had in the city.

Zlata looked out of the window of her living room as the snow fell. Through it, she could just barely see the outlines of the towers but she knew that Hohenheim was hiding in them, out of the dampness that this sort of weather brought him. She however, never minded the snow. Right now, it could provide a momentary distraction from the work which had occupied her all morning. The study would never provide such views but right now, it was too cold there for her to concentrate. Here, closer to the kitchen and in front of a fireplace, it was warm enough.

She kept watching as the snow got thicker, covering everything in a thick layer of brilliant whiteness. Her mind began to wonder as the hypnotic dance of the falling flakes began to take effect. Memories of days gone by began to creep in; days before the war had even began to loom on the horizon. Zlata thought about her children, all now long dead. Most of them were at rest, except one.

She glanced at the bundle wrapped in white cloth that lay in the corner of the room. It had not been touched since Acacia gave them back to her. They had just lain there, gathering dust and haunting her in more ways than one. She turned back to the snow and sharply drew in a breath as a realisation came to her. Tears welled up in Zlata’s eyes but otherwise she made no sound. Giving off the illusion of strength during the war had taught her the importance of silence.

There was the sound of footsteps behind her as well as a faint whimpering. Zlata slowly turned her head towards the sounds. Ryun had brought Nea downstairs. The baby’s wings were shivering slightly and her tail was curled around herself. Of course, being part dragon, she must have hated the cold.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to distract you. Nea got cold so I wanted to warm her up and find an extra blanket for...her,” Ryun slowed down when he saw Zlata’s tears. Sombrely, he walked over and sat down beside her, holding the baby in his arms closer to warm her up. “What were you thinking about?”

Zlata turned back to the snow as she tried to gather the mess of thoughts into an understandable string of words. However, despite all of Ryun’s best efforts, Nea was still verging on crying. Pulling the blanket that was loosely draped over her own shoulders off, Zlata took the girl from Ryun’s arms and wrapped that around her, making sure to tuck in her wings and tail. The uncomfortable presence of the white bundle in the corner made itself known to her once again, as though it was watching her with the child. No, with her daughter. For all intents and purposes, Nea was her daughter. She needed to start thinking of her that way. Even if his ghost still hung over her, he would want his own flesh and blood to be looked after, she tried to tell herself.

“Zlata, what’s wrong?” Ryun asked her again, more persistently this time. She turned back to face him, gently rocking Nea now that the child had gotten comfortable once again.

“Ryun, what day is it today?” she asked quietly, hoping that he would say it for her.

“The 9th of December...why?” Ryun replied, frowning. There was no trace of emotion of recognition in his voice.

“Can you remember what happened on that date?” Zlata’s voice was barely above a whisper. Ryun shook his head slowly. There was a slight sense of shame around him. He knew that he should remember.

Zlata paused for a moment to quell all her memories so she could remind him without the pain that came with remembering herself.

“Auren’s birthday.”

Ryun went pale and looked away from her down at the floor. His whole body stiffened before his shoulders slumped and his face twisted itself into a grimace.

“Of course. How could I forget?” he murmured. Zlata shifted Nea to free up her arm and rested it gently on his knee.

“You went through a lot and it’s been a long time,” she told him.

“You remembered though,” he looked up at her, shame still lingering in his eyes. Zlata withdrew her arm.

“I can’t forget,” there was no hiding the pain in her voice. Ryun moved closer to her.

“It isn’t just because he’s dead, is it? You knew that you would outlive him, Ichika and Aoko. There’s something more to it,” he put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer. “Tell me.”

Zlata sighed deeply and she slumped in her seat. She had been trying to avoid the subject since she saw Ryun again but there was no running from it now. She held Nea tightly for comfort, although not tight enough to cause the girl discomfort and tried to crystallise the emotions she had felt into words that would allow him to understand. In the end, she gave up. Whatever she said, she trusted Ryun to understand.

“Do you know how he died?” she asked him.

“Yes. Aoko told me, when you sent her to Ecruteak. And it hurt, it hurt a lot to know that he was the reason why everything was happening,” he looked up. “Is that why?”

“It’s one of the reasons,” Zlata swallowed. Without even realising, she gripped Nea’s arm. The girl began to whimper as she squeezed tightly, causing Zlata to loosen her grip in horror. Ryun took Nea from her, soothing her before he looked up at his wife, expecting her to continue.

She took a breath to steady herself, remembering that awful day when Ichika finally delivered the news of Auren’s fate, the same day she found out that Ryun was alive. But before that was the day that Auren had allegedly left, when she, for a brief moment, decided to be weak.

“I should have been there for him. When he needed me, I was too weak to even see him. If I had not given in to my grief at that precise moment, I could have talked him out of it, saved him from what happened to him in that cave. But instead, I let him down,” the words flowed from Zlata like blood from an open wound.

Ryun watched her carefully as she spoke, taking in her words as he tried to work out what to do with them. Finally, he reached out a hand and turned her head to face him.

“It sounded like he did what he felt was right. Even if you could have convinced him not to go, his death should not be on your shoulders,” he said looking her in the eye.

“Even so...I regret it so much. I feel at fault,” Zlata turned away from him and glanced back at the white bundle again. “He must have died alone, feeling like a failure without anybody to comfort him...it haunts me to this day. At least Ichika and Aoko both died well.”

“Auren was not even offered up to the sun, was he?” Ryun asked, his tone growing serious. Zlata breathed in sharply, trying to control her reaction.

“No, he was not. There was no way to do it,” she shook her head. “It’s too late now. There’s nothing left of him to offer.”

“There is that,” Ryun pointed to the bundle “It will be enough.”

“It is...but I’m not sure if I could stand it. It should have been years ago and it would have been if Auren had not left,” Zlata wrapped her arms around herself. “I can’t attend my son’s funeral. He haunts me too much.”

“He has to be offered up sometime and I think it should be now. If you let him go, he will stop haunting you,” Ryun glanced down at Nea. “If we’re going to be raising her, we cannot keep mourning our own children. And,” he looked straight into her eyes, “I never got to say goodbye to my children. Let me at least do this for him.”

Zlata nodded slowly. She was not alone in feeling Auren’s loss. For all of her suffering, she could not bring herself the chance to deny Ryun’s request. A part of her knew that he was right anyway, that she could not keep running from this forever. Auren had to be allowed to go free.

“When the snow stops then,” she glanced at Nea, who had fallen asleep again. “We can’t leave her alone and she won’t be able to tolerate the cold.”

***

Hours later, Hohenheim landed deep in a clearing in the Bellchime forest, which was bare save for a covering of pure, untouched snow. His wings knocked snow off the branches and it fell to the ground with a soft, muffled slap. As he settled in the snow, it melted from the heat coming off his body, exposing the golden leaves that had fallen off the trees that autumn.

Ryun got off his back first, landing carefully in the snow that the ho-oh had not melted before extending a hand out to Zlata. She took Nea in one arm and with the other took his hand before getting off Hohenheim’s back. Once she had landed, Zlata looked around the clearing. It was one of many in the forest and she knew she must have visited it before, a long time ago, before the war, before her children had even grown up. But that was a long time ago and a lot had happened since then. She had no memory of it now.

“Do you think this is a good place?” Ryun asked, seeing her looking around. Interrupted before her thoughts could drift from the task at hand, Zlata nodded.

“It is,” she said quietly, looking up at him. “Could you gather wood for the pyre? I’ll stay here with Nea.”

“I shall,” Ryun told her and took the white bundle out of the depths of his coat, handing it to her. “Look after this then and gather your thoughts so you can say what you need to say.”

With that, he kissed her tenderly and went towards the trees. Hohenheim followed on after him, melting the snow around them so they could find dead branches easier. The wood was wet but it would not be a problem with Hohenheim’s fire.

Zlata stood alone in the snow, holding Nea in her arms and the two objects wrapped in white cloth in one hand. Even though she could not see them, the cloth did little to disguise the feel of their contours in her hand. No doubt Auren’s spirit had been waiting for a long time to be released. She wondered how he would react to what they were about to do or what he would say. Most likely he wouldn’t blame her for his death but that did not help alleviate Zlata’s guilt.

A cold breeze around them stirred the snow and hit Nea’s unprotected face. She winced and whimpered, threatening to burst into tears. The sound snapped Zlata back to reality. She dropped the bundle and she cuddled the girl close to her body, comforting her and restoring some warmth into her frozen cheeks. Once Nea had been pacified, Zlata unwrapped her scarf from her neck and tied it over Nea’s face, leaving just her eyes free to peek out at the world around her. The girl rubbed her face against the soft, warm cloth and to her surprise, despite the thought of Auren hanging over her, Zlata found herself smiling.

After a while, Hohenheim returned, carrying with him several thick branches. He laid them down on the ground in the centre of the glade and began rearranging them as though making a nest. Ryun returned shortly afterwards, having seen Hohenheim returning. He was carrying a smaller bundle than the ho-oh but the wood he had collected was finer and better for kindling. He approached the pyre and laid down what he carrying on top of the wood that was already there, spreading it out across the top to create a surface. His work was mechanical and his eyes had a far-off look.

It did not take him long to finish and he returned to Zlata’s side, greatly subdued as he took Nea from her again, making sure to keep her face covered and safe from the cold.

“Go, it’s ready,” he murmured so quietly that even she could barely hear it. Zlata looked up, trying to meet his gaze.

“Are you alright?” she asked him, concerned. Ryun nodded slowly.

“I’m fine. But building a funeral pyre for your own son is...sobering,” he looked up at her. “It will be better once it is lit. Now go. We need to do this.”

Zlata grasped the bundle in her hands and walked up to the pyre. She kneeled down and carefully placed it in the centre of the wood. A moment passed before she untied and unfolded the cloth. The gold of Auren’s circlet caught the weak winter light and glinted slightly, untarnished despite the decades it spent inside Turnback. The dagger lay beside it, its wooden handle worn away by time and rot but the sacred fire forged blade still shone bright and pure, the swirls on its surface seeming to move and ripple in the light.

There was so little there to burn but it was all that was left of Auren. Zlata could only pray it would be enough to put him to rest.

She got up and stepped away from the pyre, going to stand by Ryun’s side and taking his arm, both to give him support and receive his. As she did, she caught the look on Nea’s face: innocent, sleepy, not even realising the significance of the event that was going on around her. That was definitely for the best, Zlata thought.

<Hohenheim, light it.>

The ho-oh glowed with a brilliant light before blue flames began to appear on his body. The flame lifted itself off him and flew towards the wood, setting it alight in an instant. It remained blue even as it began to devour the wood. Zlata and Ryun’s eyes remained fixed on the dagger and the circlet. The cloth around them curled up as it burned but the metal remained strong for a while as it resisted the heat. However, even it could not withstand the heat of the sacred fire for long. The gold melted first, mangling the design of the circlet dribbling through the wood and into the earth below. Soon, the red-hot steel followed, it’s swirls stretching before disappearing as it grew hotter. It was made by sacred fire so it was only right that it would be unmade by sacred fire.

The forest lay silent and still around them save for the crackling of the fire. The world did not seem to acknowledge the significance of this event.

Zlata’s shoulders began to heave as uncontrollable tears rolled down her cheeks. This was it. This was the culmination of all her guilt and grief. Somehow, she thought it would be different, that somehow Auren’s spirit would be here.

She looked up the sky, sighing with relief. Of course he wouldn’t be here. He was gone, to join the sun like he should have all those years ago. Whatever guilt or blame she had carried before this, she could let it go now, knowing that he was at peace. This was a small gesture in comparison to her failure to be there for him but it was all she could. Somehow, it seemed like it would be enough.

Ryun’s arm wrapped around her shoulders, drawing her closer to him to comfort her. She huddled into his shoulder, thankful that he was here. Whatever had happened in the past, it was over. The war had ended and even though they were still healing, at least she could now leave behind her guilt. There was no need to dwell on what happened to Auren anymore.

There was a small sound from Nea as her tail moved under the blankets they had wrapped her in and poked out of the top next to her head. Zlata smiled down at her and reached out a hand to stroke her head, making sure that she was warm.

“Let’s leave the past behind. For her sake,” she said quietly.

“If you are ready,” Ryun replied, turning to face her.

“I am now,” Zlata sighed. After all this time, it would be good for them to raise another child. Even though she was blessed with distortion, Nea was their flesh and blood too. She was Auren’s legacy.