51A/N Hey all! It's been like, a year since I last updated! Yeah... sorry about that. Anyway, I'm sure none of you remember what's happened so far. So you can either go re-read, or read this super brief summary to refresh your brain. Special thanks to cpu8 for bein a dork!
-Calem betrays his region and tells Celestia about their plan to attack.
-Serena leaves to find Calem
-Dragons are frozen.
-Ice melts, dragons are possessed by (unknown, as of yet... well, there is a clue. XD)
-Dragons attack everywhere, Drew is captured and May takes him in.
-Ash is injured and Misty gets him medicine.
That was a horrible summary, so I hope you guys go and scan through. Anyway, sorry for the suuuuuuper late update (that rhymed!) but enjoy!
V - When The Purity Was Tainted
The Togekiss silently glided through the air, the fog keeping it covered. On its back, Serena held on tightly as she tried her best to see through the mist. "Fly a bit higher," she said, catching a glimpse of a rocky surface.
Finally, she had a semi-clear view of their surroundings. Below them was a deep forest, with long, dark green trees. However, it was on an angle. It was at the base of an extremely large mountain.
"So this is Dracotora," Serena mumbled under her breath. A sudden hiccup of shivers overcame her, she didn't know whether it was from the cold or the gloomy atmosphere, or both. She pointed to a flat part of land on the mountain, saying, "Land there, Togekiss!"
Togekiss landed softly onto the rocky surface, Serena sliding off its back. She took a few steps in, examining a large cavity on the mountainside. It didn't seem like there was anywhere else for her to go. She turned around, walking back to Togekiss.
"O...kay. This looks like a pretty cheerful place," she joked to herself, trying her best to laugh. The gloomy silence killed her mood as she sighed. "I don't think we'll find Calem here."
"Calem?"
Serena whipped around, to see a girl about her height with glowing red eyes. She was wearing a jet black outfit with long, wavy brown hair tied up. The girl stepped towards Serena, her eyes glowering with malice as she took each step – one by one.
"Who are you to call our prince by such informal terms?" she hissed, her piercing gaze intimidating Serena. "Where are you from? Answer me now!"
Serena staggered backwards, holding her hands up in retreat. "I'm just here to see Calem! Um – Prince Calem? His Highness Calem?" She winced, casting a hopeful glance. "Whatever you guys call him?"
"Who are you?" the girl demanded. "Identify yourself!"
"I'm S-Serena! Serena Yvonne of Celestia!" Serena stuttered, taking a few more steps backward. "Please, I'm just here to see Calem. I promise I will leave after a short visit."
The girl stared blankly, before letting out a dark giggle. "You think you can just visit him and leave? It doesn't work like that, naïve Celestian."
Before Serena had a chance to express her confusion, a boy with a matching outfit stepped out from behind the strange girl. "Leave her be, White," he said, a smirk growing on his face. He had the same crimson irises and messy brown hair. "Let's do as she asks."
"Really?" Serena said, her eyes widening hopefully. "You'll do that for me?"
He licked the edge of his lips, the smirk still painted on his face. "Don't make it sound like a favour. You'll wish we said no soon enough." Turning on his heels, he whistled a tune. In about two seconds, a Noivern burst through the large cavity in the mountainside. "Follow me."
"Uh… sure," Serena replied, slightly bewildered. Nevertheless, she climbed onto Togekiss. "Follow them!"
"Good luck," White said with a smile, with the same glow of malice in her eyes. "Take care of our guest, Black!" She sweetly waved them off as the two Pokemon took off for the skies.
On the way up, Serena gulped to herself. Her stomach churned as she wondered what Black had meant. She didn't feel like finding out. "Oh well," she breathed to herself. "There's no going back now."
After while of flying, they reached the mountain summit where the fog suddenly subsided completely. Serena's eyes widened at the sight. It was an absolutely ginormous, black castle – about twice the size of the Celestian one. It was surrounded by forest and a lake, on the mostly flat summit.
They landed outside the castle, and in a matter of seconds, all hell broke loose. A dozen guards ran out with large spears, holding them up to Togekiss. Black slid off his Noivern, explaining the situation to the guards as Serena didn't dare move an inch.
"Get down and come here," he commanded to Serena as the guards made way for her. "Hurry up."
As soon as she slid off her Pokemon, chains were thrown around its wings and necks. It cried out in fear as it was bound, trying to fly away but helplessly flopping to the ground.
"Togekiss!" Serena cried, but was pushed back by guards holding spears up to her. She was pulled back by Black as he pulled her hands back and attached handcuffs.
"Told you you'd regret it," he said matter-of-factly, dragging her away from her captured Pokemon. He ignored her cries and pleas as he pulled her into the castle. "Calem is no longer he who you knew before. He is no longer a coward."
Serena gritted her teeth and glared daggers at Black as she broke off from his grip violently. "He was not a coward."
"I've known and followed him for his entire life," Black replied, regaining his grip on her wrists. "He never had the pride of Dracotora in him – despite being the king's son."
"What has gotten into these guys," Serena muttered to herself as she was pushed through the castle halls, earning the stares of hatred from those they passed.
After walking for a while, they reached two very large doors. Black smirked as he pushed them open.
"You wanted to see him?" he asked, pushing her up the hall, "Here he is. Go on, talk to him."
Serena looked around at her surroundings. It was a large, dark, symmetrical hall with crystal windows and guards stationed by the walls. However, right above her was none other than Calem, seated comfortably in a throne. On his head was a black, twisted crown with sapphires, rubies and emeralds embedded on the tips.
"Calem? Do you remember me?"
He opened his eyes, glowing crimson red in the dark. He tilted his head slightly. "Ah, it's you," he mused, standing up. His long, black cape draped behind him as he went down the few steps, reaching her level. He then walked up to her and lifted her chin slightly with a single finger. "How could I forget you, Serena?"
Hope filled her as she smiled and let out a breath of relief. Her aqua blue eyes twinkled. "What happened to you? Come back with me, try and help – we can stop this mess!"
Calem stared for a second, before chuckling darkly and turning around. "My, my. You really are a fool. You came here, to the Dracotorian castle, thinking that you could change all this?" He threw his head back and laughed out loud. "I told you that naïve view will get you nowhere."
Serena could do nothing but stare at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "But… what... what happened?" Her voice cracked. "What's happening?"
Calem rolled his eyes. "Take her away. Lock her up," he commanded as he glanced at Black. "Punish her for wasting my time." He then turned his back to them, ignoring Serena's yells and cries as she was pushed back down the hall.
"I didn't come here for nothing!" Serena yelled loudly as Black pushed her along. "You can't do this to me! Calem, please!"
Just before the doors were closed behind her, he turned to glance over his shoulder. For less than a second, the crimson glow left his pure blue eyes.
Over in Flarespyre, May sat in her bedroom, flicking through all of her mail. Drew sat with her, helping her through the piles of paper.
"Sometimes I hate being royal," May said, tearing open another envelope.
"Really?" Drew questioned, raising a brow. He had a bitter tone. "I thought it'd be easy with such a powerful nation." He tossed another letter into the junk pile, not taking notice of May's sympathetic glance.
As she scanned the letter in her hands, she raised her eyebrows. "Hey, take a look at this. The prince of Krystalacia needs to meet me as soon as possible… at a mountain?" She looked at the attached map, frowning.
"Read it out."
May nodded, clearing her throat. "Dear May. Under the current circumstances I hope you can understand my urgency. I ask you to meet me at the location marked on the map I have given you. I cannot tell you anything else as I don't know who may be reading this letter. Bring only those you ultimately trust. Best wishes, Steven."
"What's your relationship with him?" Drew asked, folding his arms. He frowned. "I'll come with you. I don't trust that stony pretty boy.
"And you are so much more trustworthy?" she shot back playfully. She stared at the parchment with a sentimental gaze. "Prince Steven… I was actually supposed to get an arranged marriage with him. It didn't happen though, we both refused."
"Aren't you like, 17?"
"Yep."
"Isn't that too young?"
"That's the reason I refused him, you grasshead!"
Drew leaned back, a ghost of a smirk passing by. "Well, are you gonna go?" The amusement left his face as he looked down at the parchment. "How do you even know it's from him?"
"It has the seal of Krystalacia," she replied, pointing to an imprinted symbol. She sighed. "He seems urgent. I have no choice but to believe it's from him right now. Pack up, we leave tomorrow at dawn."
White walked down through the aisle between the underground cells at Dracotora Castle, glancing through the bars. She smirked as she found the person she was looking for. "Feeling alright there, Serena?"
Serena sat in the corner of the tiny cell, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her eyes were dull and lifeless. Tear streaks could be seen across her face, her blonde hair was tousled, clothes tattered and bloodstained. There was no reply.
White crouched down, tilting her head and examining the girl. "My, my. What have they done to you?" She chuckled, pouting her lips. "I could hear your screams – they were music to my ears. Innocent, pure, pink screams. My favourite."
Some time passed, before White stood back up and looked down upon the ravaged girl. "Your hideous name, it means 'clear, tranquil and serene.' Everything we aren't." Her eyes seemed to glow a deeper red. "Don't think you will ever have a place by Calem's side."
More footsteps approached, this time it was her brother. "Such harsh words White," he remarked, opening up the cellar door. There was a malicious glint in his eyes as he smirked. "Come on, Serena. I'm sure you'll love this next one." He swung the key around his finger. "We've prepared it just for you."
"Isn't this unsafe? We're basically travelling towards Dracotora."
May sighed, trudging up the path with her Blaziken beside her – carrying her large bag. Beside Blaziken was Sceptile, Drew's Pokemon. "Just because this random mountain is near Dracotora doesn't mean it's actually in Dracotora, Drew."
The pair were travelling by foot along a mountainous ocean-side path after three days of various methods of travelling. The view was breathtaking, huge cliffs with the raging sapphire-tinted waves crashing against the rocks below them.
"I can't seem to figure out which region we're in right now," Drew thought out loud, frowning at the map. "This is really weird." He passed the map to May, hoping she could make sense of it.
"Neither," the princess replied with a shrug. She then grinned as they reached the top of a hill. "There," she exclaimed, pointing to the biggest mountain around them. "That's where he'd like to meet!"
Drew turned to her with a sceptical look, but nevertheless continued walking down the path. "That's one huge mountain though. He probably just wants to show you some cool rocks." He snorted. "What a dork."
May shot him a glare, before cheerfully continuing on the path. She broke into a jog, clearly more enthusiastic than before. Within half an hour, they had reached the base of the huge landform.
"So, now what?" Drew asked, glancing up around them. He placed down his bag, bringing his bow and loading an arrow from his quiver. "This looks like an ambush."
The princess raised a brow, before rolling her eyes. She cupped her hands to her mouth, yelling out for Steven. The vibrations bounced around the mountain's base, echoing multiple times. After a few seconds, there were various rustling and crunching sounds from the bushes – Drew averting his aim towards the perpetrator.
"Woah, woah," said the boy who stumbled out of the vegetation. He held his hands up in the air, flashing his pearly whites as he smiled sheepishly. "Steven sent me to collect you – he's uh – kinda busy right now."
"We can wait," May deadpanned, scanning him up and down. He had a fitted black t-shirt, camo pants and spiky auburn hair.
"You sure?" the boy asked, gazing upwards to the setting sun. "It's gonna get dark before he's done. Plus, there's always dragon types flying past us since we're close to Dracotora. Please, trust me. You need to be quick, we can't be discovered."
After a few seconds of hesitation, Drew lowered his bow. "I say we follow him. Not like we can go anywhere else."
"Alright," May gave in, nodding. "Let's go."
The boy gave a sigh of relief, before ushering them to follow him. Behind the bushes was a hidden path, filled with large overgrowth.
"I'm Gary by the way, from Martialaos," the boy introduced as they walked. "Pleasure to meet you, princess of Flarespyre. You're more beautiful than I imagined." He chuckled, before turning to Drew with an eyebrow raised. "And you are?"
"Drew," he replied, unamused. "Prince of Floriade."
"Ah," Gary replied, before rolling his eyes playfully. "So much royalty joining us. We're gonna be so strong."
May frowned. "Who's us?"
"Look for yourself," Gary said as they entered through a large opening into the mountain, into what seemed like a cavern. Except it wasn't just any cavern. It was the entire mountain – hollow from bottom to top.
There were a few thousand people bustling around the various levels of the hollowed mountain. Either eating, chatting, training, battling, soldering weapons. It was like a mega city inside a mountain – though it wasn't very full.
"Come on," Gary said, smirking at the sight of May and Drew's astounded faces. "Steven is this way. He co-runs this place."
May and Drew earned many stares from the people they walked past, and many greeted the royal duo graciously. One of the levels they passed through was a training level. They watched for a minute as a flexible, athletic blue-haired girl gave a series of rapid punches. The tall, muscular, purple-haired boy she was targeting, however, was easily blocking every move with his palms.
They finally reached a large room, where Steven was seated inside conversing with a few people.
May's sapphire eyes scanned the Krystalacian prince up and down. He was clad in fitted battle clothing, with little armour at his current state. He was wearing dark leather boots and steel pads on his shoulders. On his hip was a sword sheath, hanging from a belt with multiple tools. She did admit – he looked charming, as always.
Gary leaned on the wall, folding his arms as he cleared his throat. "I apologise for interrupting, but our guests of honour have finally arrived."
Steven looked up from his conversation, a smile growing on his face as he scanned the newcomers. "We've been awaiting you, Princess May." His gaze shifted to the princess' companion as his eyes filled with recognition. "Ah, you must be Prince Drew of Floriade. Pleasure to have you here with us."
Drew raised a brow, a quizzical expression on his face. "How do you know me?"
Steven laughed quietly. "How could I not? You are one of the most skilled archers I've ever seen."
Drew's mouth formed an 'o' shape. He thought back to the archery competition he attended in Continentia two years back – which he had won of course. He smirked, flicking his fringe. Perhaps Steven wasn't as bad as he thought.
"Why are we here?" May asked, looking around at her surroundings. It seemed like Steven's office, filled with maps and documents pinned on the walls. "Looks like some sort of base you have going on here."
"I'm sure you're aware of the current situation of our world. We're trying to create a resistance against the dragons," Steven replied, standing up. His gaze shifted to the many documents and maps. "We're pinpointing exactly where they'll attack next to try and bring as many survivors to safety here. So far we've gotten people from Celestia, Skyglade, Martialaos, Galvania and my own region – Krystalacia."
"Why didn't you send people to Floriade?" Drew questioned bitterly, narrowing his eyes. "We…" He paused, hesitating. "We have weaker military than all of those other regions."
Steven gave a small nod, a sympathetic expression on his face. "We didn't predict that Floriade would be their next target. I sincerely apologise, Drew." He received no reply from the grieving prince, so he continued. "Anyway, I hope you realise the amount of destruction and evil that will overcome the world if we don't team up and do something. We must also figure out what has caused the dragons to behave this way."
May nodded sincerely, looking straight into Steven's eyes with a flare in her eyes. "I'll put in my full cooperation." Her gaze shifted to Drew. "You?"
"Sure. I'll do what I can to help."
Steven nodded, a small smile adorning his face. "We appreciate it. Eventually, more and more troops with gather. You will all have training every day, if we get time. Every bit will count."
There were a few nods and a short silence, before May decided to ask another question.
"So, uh – where exactly are we? We couldn't figure it out from the map for some reason."
Steven glanced up at her, before smirking and leaning back on his desk. "You're standing in Lemuria, the lost land."
A/N OoooOOoO (Lemuria is the region of Normal, btw.)
Anyway, please leave a review for feedback, or if you still enjoy and would like to see this continued. Thanks!
-ShinyDragonair2