PMD: Stargazer Chronicles

Pharaoh- Prologue

A light at the end of a hallway revealed dust particles in the air. An Audino pushed them away as she raced outside.

Clouds boggled down the night sky. Audino stopped running before she hit the edge of the marble porch. She raised her arms over her head and pulled her sky blue eyes above the pillars of the railing.

Activity covered the lawn. Pokemon were everywhere, meandering about or standing in place in a crowd. Just ahead of them was what her parents had been working on for years; a steel device: four pillars stretching over all of their heads connected to a small platform. Agatha had been tucked in bed already, but she wanted to see it.

Agatha walked down the marble ramp to the grass. Most pokemon were facing towards the device, making it easier to avoid their eyesight.

Suddenly, Agatha stopped moving. Her feet were swinging in the air. She was turned around by two. long white arms that held under her shoulders. The Gardevoir holding her had a little smile on her face.

"You know you should be in bed," Gardevoir said.

"I deserve to watch! This is stupid!" Agatha said.

"If you watch, it will have to be from the balcony."

"But why just me up in the balcony?"

"In case something happens." Gardevoir nuzzled her cheek against the Audino's. "Family treasures stay protected, you know."

"Okaaaaaay," Agatha groaned.

"Now head on up, sweetie."

Once Gardevoir set Agatha down on the grass, she turned back where she came from. She watched her mom start working her way through the crowd as she backtracked.

Agatha was back on the porch balcony when it was time. She pulled up and sat on the edge of the railing with her feet dangling off, taking turns swinging back and forth. Her mother made her way to the opposite side of the crowd, facing them and raising up her arms.

"Hello everyone! We're about to start, so everyone find a good seat!" Gardevoir announced.

The crowd below bustled and shifted into rows. Agatha started taking shorter, faster breaths. She was never able to get what it was really trying to do, but they put a lot of work and trips overseas for it. All of her parents' research went over her head, most of the time.

A Clefable in front of the crowd started to work with a nearby generator. Her dad was usually clumsy, but he untangled wires with a level of focus she rarely saw.

"We all have that same connection to this world," Gardevoir said, "and that's the reason we're here today. My feelings led me down this path to investigate."

Agatha smiled loud and proud. She was sure her family down there was doing the same, even if she couldn't see their faces from behind.

"Lots of us have felt very uneasy for the last few years. I think it's time that we breathe easy, enjoying every last bit of our family and celebrating the passage of time instead of dreading it."

Clefable raised a finger and smiled in Gardevoir's direction. She smiled back.

"So, let's get this underway!" Gardevoir said.

Grooves on the bottom of the steel panel became visible as a red color filled them. It spread on the surface in a pattern like liquid, settling into multiple rings made up of two lines connected by slanted lines.

A smooth hum settled in the air while Agatha watched with her breath stuck in her chest. A cracking pop disturbed it.

The noise started to sound like iron on a grater. Agatha grabbed her ear strands, trying to suppress the noise.

Bright sparks flew up in the air. A spark landed in Agatha's vision and fell right below her feet.

________________________________________________________________________________

Audino Agatha laid face down on the floor. A sound to keep her from feeling alone, but it wasn't the voices she wished it was.

The hum of flames got close. Agatha heard it clearly behind her, but she could only lift her head to look forward. Broken chunks of burnt marble were scattered in front of the way back inside.

The heat on her back was a gentle blanket, but growing stronger. She had to move forward.

Agatha tried, but couldn't stand up. She had to drag herself along the floor back inside, away from the fire. The smell of smoke and the sting of her dragging herself were uncomfortable, but gashes all over her body hurt the most. Her muscles felt like she'd run a marathon, but it didn't scare her as much as something else.

A sinking, cold feeling in her feet. Despite the hot air and panic, they still felt like they were frostbitten off. When she was out of the way of the smoke, she didn't want to put effort into looking back.

Everything in the world was starting to feel dull.

"Check there!"

A piercing cry was the sharpest thing she could feel.

"Help...!" Agatha called.

Her voice didn't sound like her own. The weak pitch waved up and down. It was a miracle footsteps seemed to respond, but by the time they reached her, she couldn't respond back.

Agatha's whole body felt suspended in liquid, and in a dream. Everything around her shifted and swirled whenever she moved, or thought she moved.

Time passed, and she laid on her front with things on her back. She slept when they were taken off.

Eventually, Agatha woke up. She felt a tinge of pressure over most of her body, but she was able to turn herself up and pull off the white covers over her body.

A second set of white cloths covered her body; a cocoon of bandages, most overlapping with each other.

A white ceiling loomed overhead. The ceiling light wasn't bright, but it stung her eyes. She rubbed over them with her fingers and opened them again. A pale curtain covered a window on the side of her bed. A shut, wooden door acted as the only way in or out of the room.

"Mom! Moooooom!" Agatha called. "Where are you!? Mooooooom!"

A Bayleef pulled open the door and entered the room when Agatha yelled out. He did a short gallop to her side with his face wide open.

"Agatha," Bayleef said. "Calm down for a moment. I'm here to help. Are you okay?"

She looked to her right at the Bayleef. She didn't recognize him.

"Where are my parents!?"

"You need to rest," Bayleef said. "You're in a hospital..."

"Where's my family?"

"Right now this is about you."

Agatha's memory pieced itself back together. She threw off the covers from the rest of her body.

Her feet were missing. Her legs stopped just below her ankles.

Agatha's feet were gone. She blinked two times. Her arms froze in place. They eventually rose and pulled down on the strands of her ears. Beads of tears rose up on the bottom of her eyes while her jaw clenched.

What just happened?