The Aura Within | Pokémon

Thirty Two | Ethereal Sphere

The knights were able to find a boat willing to take them to their final location of the mission: Sirena's Island. The ride from Pewter Village to Sirena's Island took almost half of the whole day, but thankfully they made it without any problems. The whole way, all Soul thought about was that strange prophecy Akira told her about. What could it mean? Was it some sort of premonition?

Not a single answer came up by the time they arrived at the island. Before she forgot, Soul made sure to write it down in the notebook since this sounded like something General Hayes would like to see for himself. After thanking the man who shipped the boat for them, the squadron walked deeper into the island to explore. None of them had any real knowledge about this island nor of the people who lived here. It would have been nice if General Hayes had gone over each location with a bit of background information.

For the first ten minutes or so, all they found were tropical plains and wild Pokémon here and there. However, after that, the squadron finally came across a large opening located in the center of the island. Huts and tepees were scattered all over the area. What surprised Soul was the small population of people residing on the island. How could an island with this many people be a spark of conflict?

Soul looked over at her squadron and motioned for them to follow her. Taking slow steps, she walked into the area with her back straight and eyes forward, like a real knight should appear. As they walked into the area, the knights began the catch the eyes of the people who lived here, eyeing them suspiciously. The blonde woman decided it would be best if they squadron ignored them and tried to find the representative of this island themselves.

"Hey!" Blake barked, causing the rest of the squadron to halt. "Quit the staring!"

"Akira." Soul pinched the bridge of her nose. "Hit him."

Seconds later, the blonde woman heard a satisfying smack, followed by a loud "ouch". She smirked a bit before motioning the rest of the group to follow her. Even still, the people kept a cautious eye on them, some burning holes right through her as well. It began to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Stop right there!"

Immediately, Soul halted her walking, raising her hand to stop the others as well. In front of her was a young boy with black hair tied into a braid and piercing green eyes. He wore a black long sleeve shirt under a brown vest, dark brown trousers, and a pair of dark green open toed shoes. On his left hand, he held a spear with the blade appearing extra sharp. Next to him stood a Marshtomp, who looked at the knights with the same cautious look the people here were giving them.

"State your business and where you came from," the boy ordered with a strict tone.

"We are knights from Rota and Indigo Palace, sent here on a mission by our superiors," Soul claimed. "We would like to speak with your leader."

"Prove it," he demanded.

"Of course," she agreed, turning toward her squadron to let them know to do the same. After showing him their badges of both Rota and Indigo Palace Knights, the young boy nodded his head before turning his back to them.

"Follow me."

• • •

The young boy knocked on the wooden door in front of the knights before taking a step back. They waited for a few minutes before the doorknob jiggled and the door finally opened. A man possessing similar traits as the young boy had stood there. He had the same black hair and green eyes, but his hair was short. He wore a white button up shirt with brown trousers and black shoes. His belt had a small sheath that exposed the handle of what they could assumed was a dagger.