Cynthia remained crouched down by Storm for a short while as he slept. She found him interesting- he was essentially a modern-day nomad, and his training style wasn't what you would expect from a battler of his level. Even more curiously, there was the fact that Cynthia found herself enjoying his company. She'd always enjoyed the freedom and quiet that came with solitude whenever she could spend time away from the Sinnoh League. Normally, spending time around others drained her, yet she found Storm's company to be enjoyable. Enjoyable enough that she preferred his company over none.
On the surface, they didn't seem much alike, save for the fact that they both wore darker clothing. Storm was rather casual and expressive, whereas Cynthia had learned to keep herself polite and composed from a young age. There was also the difference in their age- Storm was nearly a decade younger than her. But despite those surface level differences, the two had quite a bit of common ground. Storm was a freelance archaeologist just as she was, albeit with a considerably smaller budget. He was also a rather talented pokemon trainer, and while he wasn't exactly a Champion like Cynthia, he was still near enough her level that they could make meaningful conversation about the subject.
For the past few years now she'd been quietly keeping an eye on the progress of Storm's gym challenge in the Sinnoh region, but she'd only seen him in-person once before today, when he'd challenged the Sinnoh League. Cynthia made a point to keep her eye on up-and-coming trainers. It was something she started doing after she'd lost against a challenger from a few years ago. It was her first and only loss as acting Champion, and it had also been one of the most enjoyable pokemon battles she'd had in years. It served as a reminder to Cynthia that pokemon battling was something that one could always continue to improve at. Before her loss, she'd started to feel as if there weren't any trainers she could have a close battle with other than other Champions, and the opportunity to battle other Champions wasn't a common one.
She had first met the young trainer who defeated her in Eterna City. At the time, they were only beginning their gym challenge- Cynthia first took note of them because they were helping Professor Rowan with the pokedex. But their growth as a trainer had been staggering. In just a few months that trainer became strong enough to take on the league, and they had been a key player in the fight against Team Galactic, even going so far as defeating their leader, Cyrus, in the distortion world. Cynthia had been present for the battle, and while the circumstances around the battle had been incredible from the perspective of a historian, the battle itself excited Cynthia as a trainer just as much.
After the crisis atop Spear Pillar was resolved, the young trainer wasted no time in challenging the Sinnoh Pokemon League. Their battle had been a close one, but Cynthia was defeated. But after defeating her, they weren't interested in actually keeping and defending the title, instead leaving to pursue other pokemon challenges in the Battle Frontier, among other things. So, the title of Sinnoh League Champion fell back to Cynthia.
Storm was a trainer whose career Cynthia had been following since the very beginning of his gym challenge in Sinnoh. Usually, she started paying attention to trainers once they acquired their fifth or sixth badge, but Storm caught her attention rather early on. Initially it was his unusual name that caught her eye, but when she saw that he had acquired gym badges from other regions, and that he was battling with an incomplete team- Cynthia's interest piqued.
Despite his decisive loss against Aaron, Storm was a very powerful trainer. He was easily a tier above most of the other gym leaders- and that in and of itself was noteworthy. The only gym battle that had been close was his battle against Volkner, and Volkner was unusually strong for a gym leader. He was famously a wall that kept many trainers from ever challenging the League. So much so that a few years ago he'd grown bored and considered leaving his position to challenge the League.
Had Storm challenged the Sinnoh League before the Spear Pillar incident, he likely would have made it all the way to the second member, Bertha. And if he was able to overcome his team's notable weakness to Bertha's ground-types, he may even have made it all the way to Cynthia herself. But the Elite Four had gotten much stronger since then, and so had she. Aaron especially had strived to improve his battling after the Spear Pillar incident. Cynthia hadn't expected Storm to beat Aaron, yet she found herself hoping he would win. And she'd been disappointed when he lost.
Storm was considerably quiet about the fact that he was a trainer of such high skill. As far she could tell from their chats, he wasn't discouraged by his loss at the League, either. He'd told her that he still seeked to improve his skills, yet he didn't train dogmatically like so many of her peers. That slow but steady drive to improve as a trainer was yet another thing they had in common. Though she loved pokemon battling, Cynthia preferred to train her pokemon as she pursued her interests, rather than live life with the sole purpose of pokemon training.
Looking him over, Storm looked the part of a traveler. His boots were muddy, and his clothes were well-worn. His thick overcoat was more practical than fashionable, tattered and frayed at the bottom. It was currently wrapped around him like a blanket, making his scuffed leather boots the only other part of his outfit visible at the moment.
It had been a great shock to Cynthia when Storm revealed that a vision of the future was what led him to Vallus. In her time researching Storm's career as a trainer, she didn't have so much as an inkling that Storm possessed the dimensional scream. It was an ability that Cynthia had a keen interest in when she was younger; she was obsessed with the idea of somehow obtaining the ability during her pokemon journey. But the ability- and any concrete information about it- had proven to be impossible to get ahold of, and she'd long given up on ever learning more about it. At this point in her life, Cynthia was content to accept it as one of the many wonders lost to time. But then she met Storm- somebody who possessed the ability.
Cynthia was eager to hear more about what Storm had seen during his travels. She was especially curious to hear about what he had seen in his previous visions, but she didn't want to let her interest in his ability dictate every interaction she had with him. Cynthia's thoughts wandered to Storm's earlier battle with Vallus, and she looked at the gashes on his face and shoulder. The gruff looking injuries seemed so out of place against his soft features. The contrast made Cynthia acutely aware of just how pretty Storm was. Cynthia's gaze wandered up and down the silhouette of Storm's body as he slept. His frame was small and slender. Looking at his neck and face, Storm was almost unnaturally pale despite being from a tropical region; so much so that Cynthia wondered if he had a condition of some kind. His hair was also quite long for a man. It was messy, strands of it fell over his face as he slept, the deep black color contrasting with his skin. Storm's eyelashes were noticeably full as well- It would be easy to mistake him for a woman while he slept had Cynthia not spoken with him for the prior few hours. As she looked across his face, Cynthia's eyes locked back onto his cut.
The sight caused a spike of guilt to run through Cynthia. Storm had been incredibly grateful for her aid, but in truth Cynthia actually arrived a great deal earlier during Storm and Vallus' battle. For reasons she's still not entirely certain of herself, she'd hesitated to intervene despite Storm's visible injuries. She figured that the stakes of the battle may have had something to do with it. Being the Champion allowed her to spectate high-tier pokemon battles often, but something about how in sync Storm was with his pokemon was unlike when he had challenged the Elite Four. It reminded Cynthia of that trainer. A small part of her had wanted to wait until the last possible moment to help. She knew for fact that it wasn't fear that stopped her from acting.
The possibilities as to why Cynthia would do such a thing had been gnawing away at her psyche during their expedition, but she tried her best to bury those thoughts. She wanted to believe that it was because she had been so deeply engaged in the battle as a spectator, and leave it at that. In any case, when Storm had run out of pokemon, Cynthia was reminded that the battle wasn't an ordinary pokemon battle. She'd sent out Togekiss and made a beeline for Storm, and Togekiss was just barely able to intercept the Fire Blast in time. Had Cynthia waited longer...
She shuddered at the thought. Looking down at Storm, his only movements were the silent rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. It was clear that he was mentally and physically exhausted, even if he didn't realize it. On top of his injuries, it was apparently the first time he'd experienced two dimensional screams in the same day, and the toll it took on him was apparent. He was quite dazed when he'd regained consciousness earlier... Cynthia found herself worrying for him. Storm was energetic and excitable, but seeing him still and asleep like this made him appear so small and fragile. Seeing Storm's fragility made her feel the urge to protect him, as she had before. It was an odd feeling- distinctly different from the times where she had helped others in need. Cynthia sighed silently and stood up, looking around the chamber.
It may have been reckless to bring him along, after all. She thought to herself.
Earlier, when they were opening the door, she had only barely managed to catch him when he'd fainted. Without Storm to help, the large door had begun to close, forcing Cynthia to pull him into the chamber quickly before the door shut entirely. Storm hadn't mentioned anything about losing consciousness whenever he experienced a vision- though it's not as if she had pressed him about every little detail regarding them. She didn't want to come on too strong about her interest in his ability; after all the two hadn't even known each other for a day.
Holding his body against her own had been rather awkward, she wasn't really sure what to do with him at first. She was able to recall the experience with such clarity. The feeling of his body's warmth, the way his hair had tickled at her collarbone as she held him. Recalling it, she felt a warm tingle in her core. Cynthia couldn't recall the last time she'd hugged somebody other than her grandmother in her adult life, or the last time she'd had any other kind of prolonged physical contact for that matter. She attributed her unusual feelings as a symptom of her solitary lifestyle, and pushed the matter to the back of her mind. She needed to focus on the task at hand.
Against the wall opposite from the doors there was a large, dark stain. The room was rather large, and it was otherwise empty aside from herself, Storm, and a large illustration on one of the other walls, making the stain that much more conspicuous. There was a visible indent in the floor and wall where the stain seemed thickest, accompanied by clearly visible cracks. It made Cynthia uneasy- it certainly wasn't here the last time she visited, and the amount of force it would take to damage the stonework in such a manner was almost certainly the work of a pokemon. The stain's shape resembled a blood splatter, but it was far too dark to be that. From this distance, the color looked to be black with a purple-red tint. She figured it was likely a substance created by the pokemon responsible, such as a toxin or a tar, and decided it best to keep her distance.
The illustration was on the wall opposite of where Storm slept. It was a colorless engraving of a snow capped mountain. It was also gigantic, taking up the entire wall. It was unmistakably a depiction of Mt. Coronet, the mountain that towered in the center of Sinnoh. There was writing beneath it in Unknown script. Cynthia approached it, admiring the intricate artistry.
The text read: 'Friendship. All lives touch other lives to create something anew and alive.' She placed her hand on the rough surface, tracing the ancient carvings with her fingers. She was proficient in reading Unknown text, but she didn't need to read this particular passage to know what it said. She remembered the text well from her first time here. Although all the text in the ruins had already been translated by scholars for well over a century now, she had slowly translated it anyway during her pokemon journey for the fun of it. The sweetness of the message had taken her by surprise.
Cynthia smiled to herself, lost in her memories for some time. It was a very happy period in her life. During her journey as a novice pokemon trainer she'd been free to explore her interests and travel as she pleased. She somewhat envied Storm's lifestyle. While her position as Champion afforded her the privilege of meeting many strong challengers, it also came with many responsibilities.
As if answering her thoughts, she heard Storm begin to stir from across the room. "Cynthia...?"
Cynthia's heart skipped a beat as his voice shook her from her thoughts. She turned to see Storm sluggishly sitting up from his nap. Using the wall for support, he stood to his feet, staring up at the illustration. "Whoa... that looks incredible..." He slowly walked over and joined her, the two of them dwarfed by the imagery that towered over them.
"Doesn't it? I never tire of the sight..." Cynthia smiled seeing that he had strength enough to walk on his own. "Are you feeling better?" Now that he was awake, Storm's red eyes were visible; another curious trait of his. It wasn't an unheard of eye color, but it was certainly an uncommon one.
"I feel good..." Storm put his hand on his shoulder and rolled it a few times. "Well, good enough anyways... Unless I have another scream, I think I'll be fine." He let out a small yawn. "How long was I out for?"
Cynthia pulled back her sleeve and checked her poketch. "Well... It seems like it was somewhere around half an hour, give or take."
That was longer than she thought. She could have sworn she'd only been reminiscing for a couple of minutes. And she'd only been looking at Storm for a short while. Then again, she hadn't exactly kept track of the time. The thought that Cynthia may have been watching him sleep for the majority of that time sent a cold shiver down her back. It was unlike her to do something so creepy.
Storm unknowingly interrupted her troublesome thoughts. "See, it was a power nap," he stretched and let out a half-grunt, half-sigh. "Just like I said."
"You know, Storm," Cynthia let her sleeve fall back over her wrist. "I don't think that you're being dishonest, but if you begin to feel unwell I don't want you to feel pressured into joining me. I had originally planned on pursuing this alone, and you've already been through a lot today."
Storm let out a little laugh. "Oh, trust me, I'm not acting tough. If I feel too shitty to go on, I'll let you know. Promise." He put a fist to his chest in a salute of sorts before gesturing to the mural with his head. "So, catch me up to speed. I'm dying to uncover this big mystery of yours." He still sounded enthusiastic, despite everything.
Cynthia felt a flutter in her chest at his bubbly tone. "Well, I'm glad to hear you feel better. I have a theory pertaining to the text that I wanted to run by you... But before we delve into that, I must admit that I'm curious to know what your dimensional scream revealed to you. Did it feel at all relevant to anything in here?"
It had taken all of Cynthia's restraint to not hound Storm about what he'd seen when he'd initially woken back up. Her curiosity had been killing her.
"Oh... right. I should tell you." Storm's peppy tone fell flat. He glanced over to the stain in the room. "I heard whatever caused that, I think."
As Storm explained what he heard during his dimension scream, Cynthia felt perturbed. The dark spot in the room was likely what was left of a dead woman, or at the very least it marked where she had likely died. And she'd never heard of a pokemon called 'Empraxion', though she could swear that the name seemed familiar. That was something she wanted to ask Professor Rowan about as soon as she could.
Cynthia regarded Storm with a finger under her chin. "And you're certain that you didn't hear the name of that man?"
"No," Storm shook his head. "I didn't hear either of their names. I didn't recognize their voices at all either. Honestly, the only specifics mentioned were that they had been to Lake Acuity, the dude sounded really intense about meeting 'The Almighty'." Storm made air quotes for the title. "The only guess I have is... y'know..." Storm pointed up with a thumb.
The implication was clear. It was a rather old-fashioned way to refer to Arceus, but there wasn't much room for interpretation. "There are very few beings one could refer to in such a manner, and if this man is looking for a way to somehow meet with Arceus, then Sinnoh's ruins are certainly the correct place to search."
Though, thought Cynthia, Spear Pillar would be without a doubt the best place to actually meet with it. What little Cynthia did know about Arceus, she would rather leave unsaid unless it was absolutely necessary to share.
"So," said Storm, "it's fair to say he was here for the same reason we are, but do you have any idea why he was at Lake Acuity? I know there are a few lakes in Sinnoh, but I don't recall hearing about any ruins or historic landmarks at any of them."
Cynthia frowned. "Well, I can think of one. It actually worries me quite a bit that whoever this is knew..." Cynthia trailed off.
Storm tilted his head slightly. "Knew what?"
Cynthia studied Storm's face. He was so curious and so eager to learn... But Cynthia wasn't sure how much she should share with Storm. A lot of this information could be misused if it fell into the wrong hands. And that information would be all the more potent in the hands of somebody who possessed the dimension scream. It was only just a few years ago that the lake guardians had been taken away by Team Galactic. Cynthia had come to trust him in the short time they'd talked, but part of why she had taken him along was because Vanessa had asked her to.
When she pulled Cynthia aside and talked to her, Vanessa had told her that she felt as if Storm wasn't telling the full truth when she interrogated him about Vallus. By now, Cynthia was pretty certain that Storm simply omitted the fact that he'd used his dimensional scream to find his way to Vallus and that that was the end of it. But it would be plain irresponsible to share every single important secret she knew pertaining to mythical pokemon with someone she'd just met, least of all someone who Vanessa found suspicious.
"Cynthia..?" Storm gave her a concerned look. She'd been silent during her contemplation, and it clearly made Storm uneasy.
Cynthia sighed. "I'm sorry, Storm. I just don't feel comfortable telling you everything I know yet. It's not that I don't trust you, but considering everything that's happened and the fact we've only known each other for such a short period, it would be reckless of me." She felt bad having to deny Storm such knowledge. He stared into Cynthia's eyes. It felt to her as if he were looking for something. She felt an anxious stir in her chest and maintained her gaze as she waited for his response.
After a beat, Storm gave her a smile. "Oh, that's okay. Is that the only reason?
"Yes, it is." Cynthia was struck with relief, and then confusion. "You're unbothered by my withholding information from you?" Realizing how ungrateful she sounded, Cynthia hastily added on to her question. "Which I do appreciate. I suppose I'm just surprised."
Storm gave her a resigned smile and let out a short sigh. "Well, it's not that it doesn't bother me..." He put his arms behind his back and took a few straight-legged steps away from the large illustration to get a better look at it. "I'm curious. Like, really curious. I want to know what's at Acuity. Especially now that I know it's important enough for you to keep it secret." He shrugged, hands still behind his back. "But getting fussy over it won't help anything. It's sensitive information, even more so with Vallus and whoever this other mystery person is out there. I don't expect special treatment, Cynthia. I'm just happy to be along for the ride." Storm gave Cynthia a toothy smile. "If anything, it's encouraging for me to know that you're playing your cards so close to your chest! It's smart."
Storm's overwhelmingly positive attitude caught Cynthia off guard. Not only was it relieving for him to take it so impersonally, but his unwavering kindness was also incredibly endearing. She'd worried that Storm might be offended, and instead, Storm had complimented her. Cynthia felt yet another flutter in her chest. "I appreciate it, Storm. For what it's worth, I really do trust you. I want to check Lake Acuity once we're done here. And I'd like you to join me."
Storm snorted. "I'm glad that I can be trusted as long as I have a babysitter."
Cynthia opened her mouth to correct him, but seeing her face, Storm interjected. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I just think it's kind of funny that you withheld info and then invited me to come along in the same breath. I'd love to tag along." Storm walked back up to her.
Cynthia relaxed her shoulders. "I'm happy to hear you'll join me."
The two spent a short period silently admiring the mural before Cynthia finally decided to speak up. "Storm," Cynthia said, "hearing how he talked, do you feel as if the man from your scream may have any relation to Vallus?"
He bit his lip. "I mean... they both came to this area, and they both are clearly willing to use pokemon to hurt people. I'd believe it, but we can't really be sure of that yet- there wasn't any direct implication of the two being in league with one another." Storm crossed his arms and leaned against the mural, looking over at the large stain across the room. "At the very least, I think they were both here for the same reason. Which, by the way, is a reason I would really like to know details about now." He raised his eyebrows expectantly at Cynthia.
Cynthia gave him a glance before looking back up at the mural again, happy to accept Storm's segue away from the worrying topic of a man who's searching for a way to reach out to the creator of the universe. "Well, I have a hunch that the information here details Giratina's banishment."
Storm's eyes widened ever-so-slightly as he looked over to her. "You mean to say that we could put all of the debates around Giratina's banishment to rest? That would be huge, Cynthia!"
"I can't say for sure," Cynthia said. "But I'm very confident that the information here pertains to an artifact key in Giratina's banishment. There are two artifacts that tie closely to the masters of space and time, one belonging to each of them. They're called the Lustrous Orb and Adamant Orb, respectively. This is entirely speculation on my part, but I believe there to be a third artifact belonging to Giratina. And I have a sneaking suspicion that it somehow ties into its banishment."
Cynthia stepped back. "But first thing's first." Cynthia procured the notebook she had been using to guide them through the ruins and flipped through it before handing it to Storm. "I want to see if your initial thoughts are about this passage. I only have one working theory at the moment." One of the upsides to doing this with Storm was that his perspective of Sinnoh's history was more fresh than hers. It meant his thinking wasn't as constricted by any preconceptions based on what the most popular historians had written.
Storm accepted the book and looked down at the page. "I take it that this is a translation of the script on the mural?"
"It is," said Cynthia. "Sorry for the poor handwriting, I made it when I was much younger."
Storm squinted at writing, pulling the book closer to his face. "You sure about that?" Cynthia felt a smile creep onto the corners of her lips as Storm took a playful jab at her poor handwriting.
Truthfully, Cynthia's handwriting hasn't gotten much better since then. If she really needed to, she could write neater if she took her time. But she only ever hand-wrote her notes, and usually only she would be looking at those.
"What a gentleman you are." Cynthia returned his playfulness. She crossed her arms and kept quiet to let him think. Watching Storm's face as he thought was rather amusing. He was just so expressive. She found it cute. Not wanting to stare, Cynthia averted her gaze back to the script on the mural.
Finally, Storm spoke up. "Hmm. Well, I have one idea, but it feels kind of silly." Hearing that, Cynthia was almost positive that he had come to the same conclusion as her.
"I'd still like to hear it, Storm." Said Cynthia. "Even a silly idea might have merit."
"Well..." Storm closed the book and handed it back to Cynthia. "I think we have to break the mural. Or at least, the parts of it that say 'lives'. I feel like we should at least check if they're hollow, but the guy from my scream already said his pokemon confirmed that the walls in here weren't. We probably still should check, but it doesn't exactly bode well." Storm pushed his knuckle to his mouth, looking up at the mural in thought. "Not to say we have to break this thing. I want to hear what your idea was first."
Cynthia exhaled silently. "I'm afraid I came to the same conclusion as you. I was hoping you may have come up with something more metaphorical than breaking it." She really didn't want to break anything down here, but it seemed too obvious a solution to not try.
Cynthia tossed out a pokeball, and her original pokemon companion, Garchomp, appeared in a red flash, letting out a cry. Immediately, the large blue-and-red landshark turned around and rushed back over to Cynthia, nuzzling into her neck. Garchomp had always been a big cuddler, which had been less problematic when she was a Gible. But for over a decade at this point, she's been a few inches taller than Cynthia and a good deal heavier, making her clingy nature a bit more difficult to manage.
"I know, girl. It's been a while since we were out of the public eye." She hugged the large dragon back, knowing exactly where to place her arms to avoid getting pricked by any of the pokemon's spikes. Cynthia gave Garchomp scritches on her neck just under her jaw, eliciting a deep, reptilian purr from the pokemon.
Realizing that Storm was watching, Cynthia felt a shock of embarrassment run through her. She hadn't really ever interacted with Garchomp like this in front of anyone before, and something about showing her pokemon such blatant affection made her feel strangely vulnerable. Glancing over, she saw that Storm was simply smiling at the sight, which brought Cynthia immediate relief. Storm had displayed similar affection for his pokemon when she helped treat them after his previous battle; she felt silly for worrying.
Eventually, she gently pushed the draconic pokemon off of her. "Alright, that's enough for now. We have some work to do. We'll have plenty of time later." Garchomp gave her a little nod and obediently stepped back.
Cynthia turned to Storm. "I don't believe you two met earlier. Garchomp, this is Storm. He'll be joining us for the foreseeable future. Storm, this is Garchomp." Cynthia gestured over to Storm, who Garchomp began to slowly approach.
Storm walked over, meeting her halfway. He looked up at the pokemon, his tiny frame making Garchomp look all the more imposing by comparison.
"So, you're the Garchomp I've heard so much about." Storm stood up on his tippy-toes, just barely coming up to shoulder-level with the pokemon before falling back down to being flat footed. "I've heard some pretty good things about you from Cynthia." Garchomp slouched down to his level before letting out a low purr and gently stepping forwards into Storm, leaning into him. "Whoa, okay there, um, it's nice to meet you, too. Haha." He gave her a pat on the snout as her weight caused him to step back.
It was highly unusual for Garchomp to get so cuddly with someone else, but then again, their entire circumstance was fairly unusual. Seeing Storm getting along so well with Garchomp made Cynthia feel rather happy. She'd always found Garchomp to be cute due to her energetic and kind nature outside of battle, despite her fearsome appearance. Storm was quite similar in that regard.
As Cynthia admired the two's exchange, Storm let out a grunt."Wow, you're heavy." As Garchomp pushed even more of her weight onto Storm, he glanced in Cynthia's direction. "Cynthia?" His voice was strained.
Hand on hip, Cynthia walked over to the two and shook her head with a smile. "Alright, Garchomp, that's enough. Keep that up, and you just might hurt him." Garchomp paused her snuggly onslaught and looked down at Storm before letting out a low, apologetic rumble. She stepped back from Storm sheepishly. Seeing the two this close up, Garchomp was probably over twice the weight of Storm. Cynthia often forgot that Garchomp was on the larger side for pokemon due to the fact that she was fairly tall herself.
Storm laughed. "It's okay, Garchomp. Just be a little more gentle next time." Garchomp's heavy tail flicked back and forth excitedly at the implication of a 'next time'. Cynthia walked past the two, over to the lowest instance of the word 'lives' on the wall. She was just tall enough to reach up and rap on it with her knuckles before giving it a solid smack with the bottom of her fist. If there was space somewhere in there, it certainly wasn't close.
Looking over her shoulder, she could see that Garchomp and Storm were watching. Both of their heads tilted slightly as they looked on. Cynthia barely managed to suppress her reaction to the cute sight and kept her face neutral. "Well, this one certainly isn't hollow. I'm willing to bet that the other one is the same." Cynthia stepped back away from the wall and took another long look at it.
"So, we're actually going to smash it?" Storm walked over with Garchomp in tow.
Cynthia looked the mural up and down last time. She had a lot of sentimental value for this particular illustration. "I'm afraid so. I have my reservations about destroying such a well-preserved piece of history... But considering the fact that others are after whatever is down here, someone else might do it even if we don't."
Storm nodded. "Yeah, we need to try." He placed a hand on part of the mural with a soft expression. "Still sucks, though."
Waiting would only make it harder. Cynthia backed away and pointed at the lowest instance of 'lives' on the mural. "Garchomp, focus on that point, and use Rock Smash." Garchomp looked from the mural back to Cynthia and gave her a nod. She took two hefty steps forward, building momentum before slamming the spike at the end of her arm into the wall with a resounding thud. Garchomp stumbled back, away from the wall. It looked completely undamage. Garchomp walked back up and leaned in close, peering at the wall. Even if it were solid rock behind the wall, Garchomp was strong enough that it should have at least damaged the stonework in some way. There was definitely something supernatural going on. And judging by Storm's expression, he realized it, too.
"Maybe try the other one?" Storm suggested.
At this point, there was no reason not to. Cynthia ordered Garchomp to go for the higher one this time, and after a leap followed by another powerful strike, the same thing happened. Garchomp looked from her own arm to the wall, bewildered. She clearly wasn't holding back.
Despite her earlier decision to stay away, Cynthia walked over to where the stain was in the room and crouched down to inspect the damage, careful not to touch the dark sludge. The stonework was damaged, both the floor and the wall were cracked, and there was a visible point of impact. Since she'd gotten this close anyways, she searched through the many pockets on the inside of her coat until she finally found a small corked vial. She unsheathed her knife. Its hilt was wrapped in faded red cloth, and the blade was a dull golden color with a silver edge. Using the back end of the blade, she very carefully scraped a small sample of the sludge into the vial. She then pocketed it, sure to place it where it wouldn't get crushed or impacted.
She stood back up and walked back over to join Storm as she wiped the sludge off the small knife. "Well, it seems like we have the right idea. The fact that the mural is so unnaturally sturdy compared to the rest of the chamber makes me think that we're definitely supposed to be interacting with it somehow. At the very least, it means that we don't run the risk of needlessly destroying it."
Storm eyed the spot where she sheathed her blade. "Cool knife." Though he didn't acknowledge her comment, Cynthia knew he'd heard her. She hid a smile. Even with them pursuing a mystery as large in scale as Giratina, Storm remained curious about every little thing.
"Thank you." Not wanting to let them get sidetracked, Cynthia left it at that. They could talk about her blade later, if he was still interested. "Have you thought of anything else we could try?"
"Actually, yeah." Said Storm. "The passage mentioned lives touching other lives or something like that, right?"
Cynthia resisted the urge to recite the entire passage verbatim. "That's correct."
"Then," continued Storm, "we could each try and do it simultaneously. Maybe it wants there to be some kind of cooperation between multiple people, or pokemon. It would fit with the sentiment of the passage."
Cynthia put a curled finger under her chin. It was definitely fitting, considering what the passage said. "That's worth a try, Storm." Cyntiha looked at Storm expectantly. He stared back blankly for a moment.
"Oh, right, I thought you were gonna... Here, I'll just-" Storm procured a pokeball and sent out his Mawile, who Cynthia now knew to be Storm's original pokemon partner.
Storm squatted down to the short pokemon's level. "Hey Maw, I know you're still resting, but are you feeling good enough to break something real quick?" The pokemon nodded and flexed its small biceps before letting out a passionate but cute battlecry.
It had a rather fierce disposition for such a small thing, and it was far stronger than it looked. Cynthia didn't know the species well, but as far as she understood, Mawile tended to act more timid or docile, relying primarily on surprising foes- or prey- with their larger set of jaws. But 'Maw', as Storm called him, was rather fierce. It seemed just as likely to kick or punch as it was to bite something.
"Alright, Cynthia," said Storm, "we're ready when you are. Could you have Garchomp get the high one?" Mawile squinted his eyes at Storm slightly, offended at the implication it couldn't reach the higher word.
Cynthia nodded. "Sounds good. On the count of three?" The two stepped away from the wall. Mawile and Garchomp each exchanged looks before also readying themselves.
"Sure." Storm pointed up at the lower word. "That's the spot, bud. Got it?" Mawile let out a grunt in acknowledgment and raised up both hands in a boxer-like stance. "Great!" Storm and Cynthia exchanged a glance. After brief silence between the two, they both spoke.
"One-"
"Alright, one-"
The two awkwardly cut their count short as they spoke over one another. Both pokemon looked back at their trainers. Garchomp twisted its long neck around to look at the two and cocked her head to the side. Mawile turned its head just enough to glance at them before rolling his eyes and turning back to the wall, still in his readied stance.
Storm cleared his throat. "Um, how about you do it."
Cynthia felt herself smiling at the silliness of their miscommunication. "Very well." She gestured back to the wall with her head, and Garchomp turned back around again. "Here we go. One... two... three! Garchomp, use Rock Smash!"
"Maw, Rock Smash!"
Both pokemon leaped up at their targets. As each pokemon struck the wall in unison, both points of impact emitted a bright, white glow. It was similar to the white glow a pokemon emitted when they evolved, except that it was far brighter. It was bright enough to make Cynthia shield her eyes with her arm. Once the glow had finally died down, the entirety of the Unknown script was missing from it. Instead, floating in front of the mural were dozens of actual Unknown. The pokemon each floated away from the wall, up to the ceiling above her and Storm. There was a strong correlation between the types of Unknown present and the Unknown letters that had composed the text on the wall. Cynthia figured that wasn't a coincidence.
All of the Unknown began to form circles in the air above them, three in total. Garchomp and Mawile both took fighting stances. Cynthia commanded Garchomp not to attack, and Storm followed suit. Whatever it was the Unknown were doing, it didn't feel hostile.
"Cynthia, what's going on?" Storm slowly backed over to her while looking at the scene above them, and Cynthia in turn backed up to him until the two were within arms reach of one another. Both of their pokemon rushed to their respective trainer's sides.
"I would guess that you were right. We solved the puzzle." Cynthia called out over her shoulder with a raised voice. "Be ready for anything." She'd understood Unknown to have mysterious power when in groups, but she'd never seen it for herself.
The Unknown sped up, circling them faster and faster until it was impossible for Cynthia to keep track of any individual Unknown. The air around them began humming with energy, causing any hair and loose clothing on herself, and Storm to gently float upwards. Cynthia glanced over to check on Storm, who looked equal parts, amazed and worried. Then, a beam of light appeared in the room, enveloping the four of them. This time, it was a vibrant pink, and it got brighter and brighter until, eventually, it was impossible to see anything other than the shadowy outline of Storm and their pokemon.
Cynthia called out for Storm, but she couldn't hear her own voice. Then, in an instant, the light faded. Cynthia found herself in a completely different location. She and Storm were standing on a dais in a massive, underground chamber. A few Unknown flew past the two, and looking up, there were hundreds of Unknown flitting about haphazardly in the open air above them. The chamber was easily several stories tall, and the architecture looked ancient. In front of them was a wide staircase whose steps were at least waist-high. Looking around, Storm was with her on the dais, but both Mawile and Garchomp hadn't come along. The three rings of Unknown that had taken them here till hovered above them, though they were in the process of slowly dispersing into the larger mass of Unknown in the chamber.
Feeling the inside of her coat, Cynthia felt a small rush of panic. She didn't have her pokeballs.
"Storm, do you have your pokeballs?" Though Cynthia asked, she already knew the answer. His pokeballs were usually visible on his belt, and she didn't see them.
Finally tearing his attention away from the sight in front of them, Storm gave her a curious look before reaching a hand down to his belt. His eyes widened as he felt their absence. "No... " He began rifling through all of his pockets. "I take it you don't either?"
"I'm afraid not." Cynthia approached Storm as the last of the Unknown above them disappeared into the larger mass above them. Unnerved by their circumstance, Storm drew closer to Cynthia. Seeing him come near her for comfort gave Cynthia a small thrill, but she quickly set the feeling aside- now wasn't the time for such feelings.
Dozens of Unknown began to filter out of the swarm above, with only a select few coming down to eye-level with Cynthia and Storm. As the Unknown sorted through one another, Cynthia felt a thrill.
Storm noticed the shift in her demeanor. "Cynthia, do you know what's happening?"
"They're... communicating with us." Cynthia watched in awe as the final few Unknown slotted themselves into a short line of text using their bodies. It was a mere three words.
'Do not fear.'
YOU ARE READING
Bloodlines and Heartbeats
عاطفيةStorm, a pokemon trainer in his twenties, has spent almost a decade traveling between different regions at his leisure, learning about their history. His strange ability to see into the past- and sometimes into the future- has aided him in this purs...
