The Patron Quadrilogy: The Legend Begins

Chapter 6

Friday, October 13th, 9:30 am, 2018
Petalburg Mall
"You're absolutely sure they're here?" Steven asked. "This is pretty far from Littleroot."
"It literally took us thirty minutes," Brendan muttered. "What the hell are you complaining about? We flew here. They probably did as well."
"Whatever, we're here now," Steven said. "We might as well check it out."
"You OK, April?" Brendan asked the Patron of Articuno. "You're awfully quiet, even more than usual."
"I'm just trying to figure out when they built a mall here," she replied, looking at the ten- story building.
"They built it three years ago," Brendan replied. "You haven't been in a city for a while, huh?"
"You could say that, yeah."
"Let's hurry this up," Steven muttered. "And Brendan, don't set off any fire alarms, OK?"
"Both of you, cool it!" April growled. "Let's go find this Guardian. You can fight later."
They entered the mall and looked around. The mall was pretty large, various stores, food courts, and signs directing people to said stores and food courts. In the center of the room was a large opening, where people could look down to the basement level, which was where most of the food courts were. Escalators brought carried people between the two floors. And of course, looking up, was a similar view. An opening, and lots of escalators.
"It's like it's a city inside of a city," Brendan thought.
"Yeah, except there's no places to sleep," Groudon replied.
"All right, good point. Anyways, knowing May, she's either at a fashion store, or at the food court. I just need to focus, and I'll be able to find her." He closed his eyes, and let his senses carry throughout the mall. Before long, he found her.
"Alright," Brendan said. "She's on the fifth floor, in some clothes shop. I think her friends are there, too."
"Well, let's go, then," Steven said. "The sooner we find them, the sooner we can leave."
Friday, October 13th, 10:47 am, 2018
Petalburg Mall, Fifth Floor
"I really don't like escalators," Brendan muttered. "They're so slow."
"Yeah, well it's either these or the stairs," April pointed out.
"There aren't any stairs."
"Exactly."
"We're almost to the fifth floor, so relax," Steven said.
"Also, I should mention that May doesn't want her friends to know that she's a Patron. She doesn't want to put them in danger."
"Well, if your hunch about that "Shadow Patron" is right, it's a bit late for that."
"Shit, I didn't even consider that," is Brendan thought. "What if he already knows about her friends? I can't keep an eye on all of them!"
"Let's hope that isn't true," Brendan told them. "But, unfortunately, it probably is. Regardless, I won't be able to keep an eye on all of them."
"So, what are you going to do?" April asked.
"I honestly don't know. I can't keep an eye on all of them, nor can my Team. But, if we don't do something, and if the killer knows about them, he'll use them to get to May. He'll kill them to get her."
"So, this is a lose/lose situation?" Steven asked.
"Probably, unless we find the killer before he tries anything."
"We're here," April said. "Let's go find them."
"Right, this way." Brendan said, her location still fresh in his mind. Within minutes, Brendan felt the others stop walking. He knew why. He'd sensed it when he was searching fo May. A powerful aura.
"Is something wrong, guys?" He asked.
"I-is this the aura you were telling us about?" Steven asked, visibly shaken.
"Yeah, it is."
"How could someone's aura be this powerful?" April asked.
"According to Groudon, Aura Knights when noted as having some of the strongest auras. Strong enough to rival a revered Legendary, like Ho-oh. They are, essentially, Pokémon born in human form. I think that's why us Patrons recoil upon first contact. Our auras become extensions of our Legendary's. So, when we encounter a powerful presence, they'll recoil like us."
"So, would it be like two Golems rolling toward each other, colliding, and stopping each other in their tracks?" Steven asked.
"I don't think so. In our case, we can still move through that aura. It just throws you off at first contact. That's why I didn't stop dead upon sensing it like you guys did. I encountered it before. And May didn't react to it at all, because they traveled together for about a year or so."
"All right, let's go."
They continued walking on, but Brendan could tell both of them were on edge.
"Guess I can't blame them for feeling aggressive. This aura is stronger than any of us, and it's stronger than anything we've encountered before."
They finally reached the May, Claire, and the others. They were all sitting around, drinking soda, and eating soft pretzels. He also saw Drew, his hand bandaged up.
"Serves him right."
"Hey! There you guys are!" Brendan said, racing over to them, Steven and April close behind.
"Brendan? Steven? April?" May exclaimed, confused. "What are you three doing here?"
"What, we can't say hi to an old friend?" Steven laughed.
"That was forced as hell."
"I heard you were back in Hoenn, and I wanted to say hi," April replied.
"Hey, can you shed light on Drew's story here?" Ash asked. "He says you burned his hand yesterday just by grabbing him."
"Yeah, mind explaining what happened?" May asked, staring at him with that "I-know-what-you-did" look.
"After pulling a knife on me, he's lucky I didn't burn a hole through is chest."
"I have no clue what your talking about," Brendan said nonchalantly. "That sounds ridiculous."
"Don't lie, asshole," Drew snarled.
"Alright, fine," Brendan smirked. "Want your knife back? It's a bit melted, but should still be functional. But, I have a feeling you didn't tell them that bit."
"Now look who's lying," Drew laughed. "This guy's crazy." His laugh died as Brendan pulled Drew's switchblade out of his pocket.
In a split second, he grabbed his knife and booked it.
"Hmm, that's odd; just running off without saying goodbye."
All of them, with the exception of May, April, and Steven, just stared at him, uncertainty and fear showing in their eyes.
"Relax, you guys are chill," Brendan said. "I didn't want to burn him. But he pulled a knife on me. Also, for the record, he oversold it with the bandaging. It was a first degree burn."
"That's not why we're scared," Brock said. "You act like the ability to summon fire is an everyday thing."
"Well..." He looked at May. She just sighed, and nodded.
"Well, I feel like an ass."
"Well, for us," He explained, gesturing towards April, and Steven. "The ability to harness an element is. We'll explain later. Being in public isn't the best place to talk about this."
"Unless she wants me to, I'm not going to tell them that May is like us. I won't totally break my promise to her."
Friday, October 13th, 11:56, 2018
Route 103 (North of Oldale)
"So, why did we have to come out here?" Ash asked.
"Because, it's not the best idea to explain this power in public," Brendan repeated. "Also, the pub was busy."
"Do your friends there know about this?" Dawn asked.
"Yep. I even gave them powers. They're my Lieutenants, Nathan and Marilyn are the only Lieutenants here. Claire has powers as well."
"You mean all of you can use fire?" Serena exclaimed, looking at Brendan, Claire, the Twins, April, and Steven.
"No, while some other individuals can cast fire, my powers were given to me by Groudon."
"How'd you accomplish that?" Ash asked.
"I defeated him in a battle," Brendan pulled his ruby amulet out from beneath his shirt. "He gave me this, it's called an Item of Power. He also dubbed me his Patron."
"So, you can use fire because of him?"
"Yep," He held his hand out, and within seconds, his hand was covered in flames. "And just so you know, if it's a Legendary Pokémon, it probably has a Patron. Only exceptions are Giratina and Arceus."
"How is this possible? Your hand is engulfed in flames, and you're also telling us that other people out there are also capable of achieving these powers?"
"Well, technically yes. But, when we say anyone, we mean that literally. Criminals and the like can also get these powers. They just have to defeat a Legendary Pokémon."
"And pray that it doesn't already have a Patron," Steven added. "Only certain Legendaries can have two, and even that's rare."
"But, aren't you afraid you'll hurt someone you care about?"
"That's always a possibility," Brendan said outstretching his flaming hand. "But, practice makes perfect. Here, grab my hand quickly. It won't burn, I promise." Everyone hesitated.
"May?" She walked up to Brendan, and grabbed his hand. The flames engulfed her hand, but she didn't flinch. After a minute, they let go of each other's hands. May's hand was completely fine, even her glove remained intact.
"We have more-or-less complete control over our powers," Steven explained. "We've used them quite a bit."
"That means that I also choose what I think should burn. The fire can either be lukewarm, warm, or scorching. It all depends on what I want to do. If I like someone, I'm not going to burn them. If I don't like someone... Well, you saw what happened to Drew."
"So, April, Steven," Ash asked. "What are your powers?"
"I'm the Patron of Rayquaza," Steven said. "I control wind."
"And I'm the Patron of Articuno," April answered. "I control ice. I can shoot icicles, and even create a weapon with my ability."
"That's rather scary," Misty remarked.
"Hey, I've been hit by both an icicle, and I got grazed by a sword made of ice."
"What?" Dawn exclaimed.
"Patrons are usually supposed to be rivals," Steven explained. "We even form Teams to help gain territory, and, of course, we sometimes go to war."
"Like, you actually try to kill each other?!"
"No! Arceus, no," Brendan laughed. "That's one of our sacred rules. Patrons may not kill each other, barring a few exceptions."
"Such as?"
"If a Patron begins killing other Patrons or pedestrians indiscriminately. Or, if a Patron kills during one of our meetings, which usually occur at the start of a new season."
"There's plenty of rules we have to abide by. However, in terms of combat, accidents have happened," April said. "The only thing you're meant to do is chase off your opponents, and, of course, give them a few injuries to think about. However, in some cases, deaths have occurred, and well, lots of other Patrons had to step in. The murder of a Patron or any of their teammates is the worst declaration of war we could receive."
"Sounds like most Patrons shun killers," Ash said.
"Unfortunately, not all of them do," Steven sighed. "In some cases, the line between murder and an accidental murder in self defense gets too blurry for us. As a result, some Patrons want that rule removed. Various factions even formed because of that. A few were even borderline extremist. Most factions tend to dissipate over time, after everything cools down. But, in some cases, they persist. And they grow in size."
"And something tells me that it's mostly the extremist factions?"
"Not quite, mostly, it's just people who will openly disagree with the no-killing rule. That said, some, and I think of one in particular, have, indeed, gone extremist. However, they still obey the seasonal truce, and they haven't done anything... yet."
"Do the alliances name themselves?"
"Initially, no," Steven said. "However, as time went on, and as more alliances formed and broke, we did begin naming them."
"Our alliance, if you can call it that," Brendan said. "Is called Steam, the gaseous product of fire, ice, and water. Our Lieutenants don't see eye to eye, however."
"Is that bad?"
"No," April said. "But we have fought each other in the past. We might again in the future. Needless to say, some of our Lieutenants hold grudges."
"Patrons are meant to be rivals, and we constantly have to test, or rather, fight each other," Steven told them. "This means our Teams must be rivals as well."
"Why?" Dawn asked, irritation becoming present in her voice. "Why hurt each other if you all have these powers? Can't you use these powers for good?"
"It's just the way it is," Brendan explained. "There's not always any antagonism when it comes a fight between Patrons. And, no, we don't use our powers for good for one reason: we aren't superheroes. We'd just do more harm than good with our powers."
"Then why have these powers at all!?" She spat.
"Simple," Steven replied. "To maintain balance. In this world, people would try capture the Legendaries, rather than try to serve them. Because of this, they've hidden themselves in some of the most inhospitable locations of this world. Trainers have died trying to reach some of them; they either burn, freeze, fall, or drown trying to find them."
"We are chosen to maintain a sort of balance in their stead."
Dawn clenched her fists.
"But none of you are willing to help the world," she whispered. "So, why do you exist?"