Ragnarok

Note: Alright, here's the late train with the next chapter of Ragnarok. I didn't think Writer's Block would be so damn effective in stunting my writing for so long.

Hopefully I wont be so damn late next time. Anyways...

Please leave reviews and criticisms, even if harsh. The more criticisms I get, the better the quality of the story.

Also, rate it if you wish.

This chapter has OVER 9000!!!

...words. Sorry, I couldn't help it.

With that said, enjoy the read!

PS: In case you really care or whatever:

If this story had to have a theme song, it'd definately, without a doubt, be Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQVeaIHWWck

The song definately gives off the mood of the story.

I've bantered long enough. Again, enjoy the read!!
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1:01
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Three Years Later...

A young adult marched down the desolated hallways, looking from wall to wall, idolizing the pictures within the frames nailed onto the hard wood. He simply nodded after a glance at each one, his face remaining unchanged for a length of time not even the quiet housekeeper himself could imagine. Three years. Three long, lonely, laborious years in near absolute solitude. Positive thoughts were overrated, all he could really "enjoy" was the emptiness that he felt whenever he silently stalked down each and every hallway of his "sanctuary".

Nineteen years old; no job, no family, no friends, not even a friendly Pokemon companion to keep him company. Just him and the large house he ordered to be constructed those years ago. His only connection to the outside world would only be by necessity of supplies; going out for more food, water, and the like. The only connection he would allow into his house from that mysterious beyond would be what he continued to hear on the news stations, and whatever websites he would browse around, thanks to his new computer; having almost unlimited quantities of time to himself to do as he pleased.

He disliked the media. He disliked all the bias toward the events the media posted up. Whenever something from the television caught his attention, he would quickly research the story on the internet, just to kill what long stretch of time he still had in the day; the sooner he could fall into that wonderful realm of sleep, where nothing mattered, the better. The only evidence that Noah even existed anymore, would be from the mouths of the Twinleaf citizens whenever he went out for supplies in the market downtown.

He despised the people too; to be more exact: he despised what happiness they seemed to have that he knew he wouldn't be allowed. Staring at him whenever he made an appearance, mumbling and whispering behind his back, Noah himself being completely aware of what the people had to say about him. Clerks and cashiers purposely ignoring him whenever he needed to purchase anything for his house. Everyone pitied him, but at the same time, everyone feared him. With the luck Noah has shown in the last four years, it was possible to drop dead by just befriending him, according to them.

"Isn't that Noah Sol?"

"Y-yea...I think so. Wait a minute, didn't he kill his Pokemon?"

"That's what the news said. Killed them in a battle."

"How cruel."

"Where'd he go so wrong?"

"It's gotta be that thing that he wears on his necklace."

He could see why they'd blame the item. As religious as Twinleaf Town was, it wouldn't be any stretch of the mind to believe that his medallion was tainted by a specter.

It probably was the necklace. That damned necklace that just wouldn't come off; it was the source of blame from the townspeople. Noah tried valiantly, every day for the last three years since the incident at Eterna, to take the necklace off, but it refused to budge. Something was keeping it around his neck, some omnipotent force. He would forever try to pretend it wasn't there, as it was one of the only memorabilia of the incidents he was forced to suffer through.

"They say he's possessed by it."

"Get out; I don't believe that bull for a second."

"Alright then smart-guy, what do you think it was then?"

"I can' say...He looks twisted enough to do something like that, at least now. Back then, I wouldn't have guessed he could do something so awful. It's always the quiet ones..."

"It's a shame. He was such a good boy growing up."

"I wonder what happened to him."

"The Sol Incident you idiot, how can you forget? His name is in the title for Arceus' sake!"

"Oh, that's right! Man...the poor child. Even after what he's done, you can't help but feel terrible for him..."

"Yeah."

Noah would quickly throw his head to the side, trying to ignore conversations like those. The media betrayed him, twisting his story around, antagonizing him for his "lack of control during a battle", and having "a disability to take care of Pokemon". Total bullshit: he loved his Pokemon, he loved them with all of his heart and soul. What happened that day was...wrong. Turning it into a murder story, making Noah look like a villain, and all just for the sake of ratings, boiled the blood that pumped through his veins.

His Pokemon Trainer license wasn't revoked, realistically due to lack of evidence, but he was under constant surveillance, should he ever decide to become a Trainer again; a sort of "house arrest". He had quit on that night, at the police station in Eterna.

"Noah! Where are you going!?" Noah recalled Jerry's words as he silently eased his way back toward Twinleaf's general direction.

"Please, let me help you!" he would plea with Noah. "We can get through this! Noah, please!"

Noah would just turn around, showing Jerry his face, torn and shattered by the incident.

Jerry's voice never rose to Noah after the contact they had made with each others eyes that day, and just like that, Jerry vanished. Noah had no idea where he had left to, or what Jeremiah was doing, but at this point, he could care less.

Noah, as a result from the incident, cared for no man, woman, child, or Pokemon. Barely even himself for that matter. He would just waste the rest of his life away, looking at those sleek new walls and wood-polished floors of his fresh house for the remainder of his days.

It was strange too. Noah constantly hovered over the television and his own computer when he wasn't about, admiring the almost split-image of his home, and how accurate it was to the original design. Unfortunately...the smell of that night still somehow lingered, Noah's nostrils stung whenever the smell of that fire came wafting in through the windows or the rarely open door. All this time, caged up in his own home, doing nothing to accomplish anything in his life, Noah would stare into nothingness, feeding off of the latest stories broadcast by the news stations. The world outside, the world he once loved and admired, was changing.

Noah could only wonder as he stared at the closed window from his kitchen this day, watching the trees in the distant grasslands slowly bend to the wind's will.

'What the hell is going on out there?'

The latest urgent report had come in several days ago, rocking the entire nation. Not just Sinnoh, no, but all regions, specifically Johto. Lance, the dragon master, once the great Champion of Johto, disappeared from the face of the earth. He just went...missing. All that could be found was a note on his door, below it: his trainer belt, complete with all six of his powerful dragon Pokemon.

"Going home."

Yeah. That's what the entire note on Lance's door said.

Lance's sudden vanishing act quickly changed the way the world worked, to put it simply. Lance, known mostly through his talent as a Pokemon Master Trainer, was also the third member of High Noon, representing the Johto sector. This caused an imbalance within the government; there was no replacement for Lance at the time, and because of this, the entire branch of the government containing the economy and welfare of Johto was crumbling. If this continued...

It may become something that can reach the magnitude of The Regional Split.

Noah shuddered, snapping out of his mid-day trance, and walked quickly to his near-empty room, save for a small bed, a computer, and a large textbook. He grabbed the book, and head straight back to the kitchen, where he could keep a constant surveillance on the television in the den, from across the kitchen counter of course (over some dishes that needed a desperate cleaning). He opened the crisp Twinleaf Academy textbook he had ordered recently, re-reading the section of Sinnoh's history entitled: The Great War: Circumstances leading to The Regional Split. Skimming over the section, he read the highlighted pieces of information he had marked earlier in the week, matching his old note-taking skills he adopted during his years back at the academy.

The section of the textbook was undeniably vague, but effective enough to be believable. There was only so many pieces of actual info pertaining to The Regional Split, and even then, Noah only skimmed through the highlighted bullets of the section:

"Full scale war...between all of the regions of the world...due to an extreme irregularity in High Noon...death toll escalated past one million...three million in the third year of the war...highest death rate in Sinnoh region. Sinnoh nearly destroyed."

Noah remembered, by heart, what came next.

"Richard Sol, Vivian Sol, and a renegade group of followers took it upon themselves to rid the world of the corruption within High Noon. Slowly, the small group assimilated the massive armies of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, and slowly pushed the opposition to the peaks of Mt. Silver and Mt. Chimney, and ended the war. The two were greeted by all as heroes of the Age of Peace between the nations.

By using their ideals...a renewed High Noon was created, and the world once again was balanced...The recreation of High Noon, and the systems the Sol Duo put into effect marked the beginning of the Seventh World Kingdom."

The bold lettered chapter on the next page caught Noah's eye. Seventh World Terrorism: Cyrus. Noah quickly slapped the book shut. This was the one section of the book he absolutely refused to look back on. He remembered, as a child, the day Cyrus was introduced to the world. Palkia and Dialga were brought from their own universe, threatening existence itself. The situation looked grim...until those two trainers appeared from nowhere.

Only few had even heard there names, and even then, no one truly knew who they were, or where they had come from, but the combined efforts of those two decimated Cyrus' "claimed" attempts at becoming "God of a Brave New World". Palkia and Dialga were sent back to their dimension, Cyrus and his commanders were taken into custody, to rot for the remainder of their lives in prison.

Or at least, until they broke free from prison several years later. Cyrus hadn't given up just yet. Galactic was still running around, terrorizing people and causing nothing but havoc and chaos without his lead. Cyrus' ambition was still as strong as it was those years before his confinement, and once again, he tried to summon the beasts of time and space by regrouping his organization.

This time, the two trainers...weren't so lucky.

The world would've been destroyed...had Richard and Vivian not intervened. Noah would later bury his face in his hands, the pain from remembering their feats contrasting with those "feats" he'd become so famous for.

Galactic was utterly annihilated...but Cyrus managed to escape. Even though he didn't go out often, he still feared for his life. Cyrus was still out there, somewhere, plotting; picking his moment to strike the world yet again, in his third attempt to become this so called "God". It wouldn't be long: The Sols were disposed of, High Noon was struggling yet again, and the world was completely helpless, like an infant in a carriage, waiting to be picked up and nurtured, or knocked over and onto the pavement below. It was a perfect time.

Noah would have spoken aloud his own personal opinion of Cyrus, if he could. The night his parents died, his "memorable" scream tore away at the vocal tissues in his throat. He was advised to "take it easy", and to refrain from raising his voice. He was fine, until the second incident. All the shouting he had done had completely destroyed his ability to speak; he was unable to make any words come, only being able to muster grunts and similar Neanderthal-like sounds. Noah was practically a mute, which made living off of News and the internet somewhat of a necessity for communications, since no other living person would be able to understand him out in the world.

How one could go about, living as a mute. The concept alone forced another chill down Noah's back. Only the strongest would survive, going about with such a severe disability.

Finally back in reality, he tossed the textbook in his hands to the soft couch several feet from the television screen, the news reporter's voice audible from the kitchen as Noah began to fill the sink with water and dishwashing formula. Noah reluctantly grabbed a plate, dirty with food stains, and dipped it into the hot water, letting the heat soften the grime before he would scrub it off with a moistened small towel.

The reporter's voice seemed to trail off in Noah's head as he mindlessly completed his task with amazing speed. Of course, washing his own dishes did only take several minutes, as he rarely ever used the plates, cups, and utensils in the pantry.

"...and for you Pokemon Trainers out there, be on the lookout for more on this influx of exotic Pokemon! This will be broadcast through the Poketechs, channel three if you ever need information on new swarms of Pokemon covering the lands of Sinnoh! Stay sharp, and happy hunting!"

'Oh yea,' Noah thought. Another change in the world, good for Trainers, yes, but at the same time; it was simply a bit unnerving. The Great Migration.

For what Noah believed to be the length of one year already, Pokemon from other regions have begun migrating in irregular patterns. Pokemon are becoming more and more scarce in the lands of Hoenn and Johto; all of the herds and flocks are slowly shifting east to Kanto, and eventually, northeast to Sinnoh. The new highway system that connected the regions over large portions of water only made this migration easier for land based Pokemon, although most still preferred to end their movement in the northeastern portion of Kanto.

They were all obviously heading toward Sinnoh, but for what reason? It was beginning to stir up trouble in Sinnoh and Kanto as well. With such a large influx of wildlife, rations in the wild were becoming scarce, and the routes into and out of cities were slowly becoming more dangerous for travelers. To finally add to the fire, unconfirmed reports were starting to pick up Legendary Pokemon in the wrong regions as well. Several weeks ago, some trainers outside Goldenrod City claimed to have seen a colossal, white colored beast slowly march off toward the west during the night. The footprints of the creature were massive, and were now being analyzed by scientists, trying desperately to discover what Pokemon it had been.

Trouble seemed to easily appear these days. Noah sighed in relief, knowing that he wasn't the source of anything within the past three years.

"NEW POKEMON ALERT!!" the TV rang from the other room, the excited news reporter on camera, live at Route 201, very close to Twinleaf Town. Noah perked up slightly, trying to feel any emotional connection with the bulletin. He slowly turned up the volume on the television using the remote.

"We've received multiple trainer reports that a pack of Zangoose have moved into the area recently. They are highly dangerous but only several herds have been identified, and at this point, seem more than willing to strike. Zangoose are known for their eternal feud with Seviper, and with those sharp claws, they can wallop almost any opponent they come by! Trainers, now's your chance! Come by Route 201, and good luck! Oh, and do be careful!"

'A quick report to catch the viewer’s eye.' Noah thought. 'Interesting to say the least.'

'Zangoose only live in the grasslands, far away in the distant lands of Hoenn, so what the hell are they doing so far from home?'

Noah motioned the remote toward the TV, the screen fading to black in the blink of an eye. The sun was already beginning to set, and Noah's tired and weary eyes were beginning to falter; more from boredom than exhaustion. In fact, it took him several moments to realize that a new sound was wailing through the stuffy hallways of his house, a sound Noah hadn't recognized right away due to how long it was since he's last heard it. Noah's phone was ringing.

'I haven't had a phone call...ever.' Noah thought to himself.

Noah slowly inched toward the phone. Just as he expected, it was ringing almost off the hook. He stared as it continued to wail into the oncoming night. Could it be a prank caller? No, he hadn't answered the phone once since the incident, primarily because of one small intricate detail: his phone never rang. He hadn't given a soul his new number either, so how could anyone really get in touch with him at all? Sweat starting to form at the peak of his forehead, his concentration all put toward deciding whether or not to answer the caller.

His hand quickly shot forward after a moment's thought, and picked up the phone, but not quite putting it to his ear. He simply held it out in front of him, slightly above his chest, trying to decide what to do at this point. A harsh realization sharply overcame him like a swarm of beedrill: he couldn't talk.

'IDIOT. MORON...STUPID, DESPERATE, BASTARD!!' he cursed himself, his eyes reddening slightly from his condition. He began to lightly grind his teeth, still holding the phone in the air in front of him. It was there, a connection to a person from outside was on the other side of the line. If he really wanted to talk, now was his chance.

Noah placed the phone on the side of his face, clearing his throat. He opened his mouth to talk; nothing but air. To get the attention of the caller, he instead decided to grunt, trying with amazing difficulty to make it sound as close to "hello" as possible. He felt insignificant, trying to talk in such a manner.

"Noah." the other voice on the line spoke. It was a female on the other line.

"This is an automated message from Bee."

Noah's eyes widened. There she was, again. His father's voice rung in his ears once more. "Find Bee!" He had never given up the search, despite the fact that locking himself away from society was pretty much the equivalent to forfeit. He left his thoughts in his mind, concentrating on what Bee had to say this time.

"It's time for us to meet. I've arranged for you to meet with a friend of mine outside of Twinleaf Town, near the fork in the road that leads to Lake Verity. You'll see right away who to talk to. You'll then be escorted to Jubilife City, where we will talk in person.

Oh, and take something to protect yourself with. Galactic activity has peaked in the region. You are to meet the escort in exactly one hour."

The phone line died right after the sentence ended. Noah's insecurity to the outside world plagued his mind with what could happen out there, terrible memories slowly rising again from the deep recesses of his mind. However, this was his one chance. He had to fulfill his father's wish. His blood, finally pumping from something other than the news reports late at night, gave him a small rush that urged him to obey Bee. He sat down on the couch in front of the den, staring blankly into space, trying to think.

'How'd she find my number? Why didn't she get in touch with me sooner? Why now?

Why me?

And just who is the escort; can I even trust them?'

Thousands more of these thoughts began to puddle together in Noah's mind, before he looked at the clock resting atop the TV He only had fifty minutes to decide and act. In the end, he would chose to go. His thirst for adventure, a caged bird singing, was starting to re-awaken. He tried to contain his emotions, not forgetting how the world has treated him. He still didn't care for anyone, but if anyone had any answers to...well...anything, it would have to be Bee...right?

After all, what does Noah have to lose? Getting mauled by a wild Pokemon, killed by Galactic, or simply just waiting by Route 201 for a escort that would never come. They all sounded like better ideas, with better outcomes, when compared to how slow, monotonous, and meaningless his life had become. Noah hurried to his room, putting on his "downtown" clothes: a plain white shirt, blue pants, white tennis shoes, and a cloak: something that could hide his face from commuters and the like. Although he was aware that they probably figured the cloaked figure walking down the street to order some fresh beef at the meat market was probably Noah, it felt comforting to Noah to be hidden from society like this.

Within ten more minutes, he could be seen, from atop the trees in the forest beyond his house, dashing across the yard and toward the front gate, by a couple sitting on several tree branches. Unfortunately for Noah, something Bee ordered him to do was left ignored.

In his rush, he had forgotten to take a weapon to protect himself with.

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"Eris! Quit fucking with that damn burmy and GET OVER HERE!" a voice thundered.

"Oh quit being such a spoiled-sport, Commander." Eris flirted, winking an eye at the man. She turned around, a sharp knife gripped tightly in her arm. A burmy, still half alive, was cut almost entirely in half, it's blood dripping down the tree's trunk, to a hungry pack of bidoof below, each one salivating at the mouth.

"Ugh, so repulsive. Those rodents'll eat anything, just like spoinks." Eris mused, digging her knife straight into the burmy's head, silencing its cries for help. She laughed, "bug-juice" squirting on her outfit. She lifted the burmy by its body, turning it upside-down, letting the brain matter slowly splat onto the bidoof's below, each one clawing at each other, trying to get closer to the bug's essence to nourish their bodies, before she finally dropped the limp mass, letting them wreak havoc on one another just to get a bite in.

"Goddamnit Eris, would you pay attention!" the man commanded. He quickly threw a pokeball in front of the wild pokemon, a brilliant flash of light illuminating the trees nearby. A large beast appeared, more than ten times the size of any of the bidoofs. The man snapped his fingers, signaling for the beast to advance. The monstrous Pokemon instantly wrapped itself around the rat-like creatures, and squeezed them into submission, suffocating them all in one full attack. The man snapped his fingers again, completely disregarding what he had just done, and returned his Pokemon to its pokeball.

"There, now nothing else to pay attention to..."

"You know Cratos, that'll only attract more bidoof."

"...Just shut it, and look." he grunted, handing Eris a pair of binoculars.

Eris finally saw what the fuss was about. The young adult had just come running down the long stretch of road leading to his house, and was already running out of the gate, completely oblivious to what had just happened to the bidoof group.

"Oh my, oh my, looky what we got here." she said slyly. "We inform the ground troops now, right?"

Cratos stared back at Eris for a moment, considering what to do.

"He said for us to ensure that he's stuck in Twinleaf Town. Order them to follow him wherever he goes. If he tries to go toward Route 201, then they can attack."

"Alright!" Eris exclaimed, jumping from the branch to the hard ground, happy to finally get out of the trees and stretch her limbs. "I was really bored of this post. They could've at least switched troops around." she told Cratos, kicking the bodies of the dead Pokemon to the side as she walked.

Cratos ignored her comments, landing right beside her from the trees they had been stationed in for several months now. "Come on, and try not to get side-tracked."

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Twinleaf's peaceful setting outdoors was disturbed by the young man in a dirty-looking, brown cloak, racing down toward the outskirts near Route 201. Bystanders simply stared as he darted street through street, mumbling to themselves or talking to friends about what they had just experienced. The incident with the Sol family: that was the last time anything interesting had happened in Twinleaf Town. The slow, somewhat "too peaceful" lifestyle of the townsfolk didn't bother the civilians, but at the same time, they would continue to hope for something to bring the town together again in terms of "gossip".

They really needed to find a hobby.

Noah ignored the millions of eyes ogling away, his cloak barely clinging to his body, held together by his hands. He could feel his hot breath on his fingers, breathing in and out in unsteadying rhythm. He could hear the chattering of the townspeople as he passed by, not in words Noah could or would care to understand. He had something to do, finally, after three long years. Being out in the public, not out of necessity, gave Noah an odd sense of comfort.

"Wait a second...isn't that..." one civilian would point out.

"Hey, that's 'No Soul'!" a child exclaimed. The now common alias the world had given him stung his ears whenever he heard it uttered from another’s lips. It was nothing more than a terrible pun, based on ignorant opinions of his new lifestyle.

"No Soul? Here? I don't believe it."

"What do you think he's doing outside?"

"No Soul, how wrong is that?"

"How can people call him that?"

"They gave him the name because of what he did in Eterna three years ago. Don't you remember the report?"

"Now he spends all of his time in his house, not speaking a word, his facial expression never changing. It's as if he's got no emotion: no soul. Get it?"

"So that's were it comes from?"

"Yeah, at least I think. No Soul. Noah Sol. They almost even sound the same. It's creepy."

"Wherever he goes, I'm just glad it's not here."

"Amen to Arceus for that!"

Noah's footsteps continued to "pit-pat" down the empty streets as the last few rays of sunlight dimmed away. He only had five more minutes to make it to the beginning of Route 201. He slowed his pace down, trying to catch his breath as he fell to a fast trot. He'd make it there, on time, at this rate. He had already run past downtown Twinleaf; it was noticeably smaller than most other cities, so it's only natural for the center of their city to be smaller than others. He had run past the Pokemon Academy, the Pokemon Center, and several restaurants and hotels, before the lights of the city began to fade into the distance behind him. Houses from the opposite side of the city began to replace the industrial complexes in numbers as Noah shot by like a bullet. Jerry's house was located here, noticeable by the large estate and foregrounds his parents owned that led up to their mansion. Noah didn't have time to admire it, he had somewhere important to be at at the moment.

The town's border was obvious, the road devolving from hard cement-like gravel to a man-made dirt trail, winding down toward tall grass and trees in the distance. Noah continued to tread on, the fork in the road was just up ahead. It was already visible, the two roads that split, the one on the left leading to Lake Verity, the one on the right leading to Route 201 and eventually, Sandgem Town. Grass surrounded whatever wasn't dirt road, trees bordering the area off, giving the wildlife places to sleep, eat, hide, and watch as travelers went one way or the other. Two large signs the shape of arrows were plastered by the fork, each designating the name of the place in there direction. The black paint used as the letters on the sign were faded, but still clearly legible.

A figure stood by the two arrows, right down the middle of the fork in the road, staring back at Noah, lifting their body off the sign they were leaning on when they finally noticed him running toward them. Inspecting the figure from afar, Noah immediately realized who it was.

"Her again?"

Noah finally halted to a complete stop in front of the lady dressed, again, in all black. She brushed back several strands of her gorgeous blonde hair before approaching him. Cynthia tapped him on the shoulder; he was crouched over trying to regain his breath.

"I didn't think you'd actually show up, Mr. Sol. Bee is waiting for you back in Jubilife, so we must keep this brief."

She signaled him over with her index finger, turning to walk down toward the path to Route 201. Noah wasted no extra time, walking only feet behind her. The feeling her presence gave off was soothing, but a sense of alarm he had noticed in her voice hinted at him to stay sharp.

"I'm sure you've realized what's happened recently, back at High Noon." Cynthia told him. "We've been having trouble finding him, and don't even know where he ran off to. We're also trying our best to keep Johto under control. They fear that the other regions will turn on them, converting them over.

Noah wanted to reply, wanted to ask her several questions about High Noon. What exactly was going on behind closed doors at the government; that was something that has been troubling Noah's mind for the past months.

"I told Bee to stay away, she wanted to see you herself, and I'm sure by now you've been given the same warning from her. Try not to affiliate myself with the rest of those politicians back at High Noon and the Sinnoh Headquarters. I assure you, my views and ideas are much more profound and grounded than theirs."

Noah was slightly alarmed. He'd forgotten to bring protection. On top of that, Cynthia's choice of topic seemed to be very shaky. Something was on her mind, something troubling enough to force her to switch from High Noon to Bee in an instant.

The moon was slowly beginning to rise, illuminating the path a strange, violet-blue color. Several Noctowl could be heard cooing over the trees, the Pokemon having just come in from Johto due to the migrations. Noah was slightly unnerved, but Cynthia continued to walk along the path, undisturbed by the noises in the night.

Route 201 was an incredibly short route. After a few more minutes of quiet marching, the lights that signaled the border to Sandgem Town were already in eyesight, about one more mile down the road.

Noah was still looking around the tall fields of grass and trees for anything moving, when he abruptly bumped into Cynthia's back, not realizing that she had paused completely in mid-walk. A gentle breeze came blowing in from Sandgem, cooling Noah's face, still hidden under the cloak he was wearing.

"Noah, listen to me very carefully." Cynthia told him, distress slightly apparent in her voice. "We're surrounded."

Noah jumped a little, trying to take in the words. He took another look around: nothing from what he could see.

"They've been waiting for us to get near Sandgem. There's nowhere to run to except into the forest. Even for a trainer of my caliber, it would be suicide." Cynthia clenched her teeth in frustration, grinding them a little. "Noah, should things get out of hand, I want you to run back to Twinleaf."

No sooner had she said this did a large burst of freezing wind burst through from the trees in the surroundings. The freezing feeling made Noah's skin crawl, keeping him immobile. It hurt, feeling the wind blow with such a drop in the temperature. Cynthia covered herself with her arms, Noah trying to wrap his body in his cloak. He looked around again, finally noticing movement in the grass. Five...ten...twelve...fifteen. Fifteen men and women in black clothing revealed themselves, creating a human fence that blocked off the remainder of the road to Sandgem Town.

"Sorry, can't let you through here." a girl's voice said playfully. Slender-bodied, with flowing blonde hair and dazzling azure eyes, Eris approached, breaking through the fence to get almost directly in front of Cynthia. "Isn't this interesting? Cynthia of High Noon. I didn't think you'd end up getting involved with us so soon."

Cynthia didn't recognize the girl, but didn't bother with words. She knew who they were there for, and she knew who they worked for. She quickly reached for her belt, throwing three pokeballs out in front of her, the light blinding Noah's vision for a few moments. A large mass of pink, a biped jackal-looking Pokemon, and a small green Pokemon with roses at the end of it's arms were all at the ready, prepared for battle.

"Gastrodon, Lucario, and Roserade. Nice choices, obviously. You WERE Sinnoh Champion at one point after all." a deep male voice replied. A pale, large and bulky man marched from the grass; his fiery red eyes seemed to fiercely glow in the moonlight, his hairless head reflecting it otherwise. Cratos raised his hand, signaling the people behind the two to arm themselves with pokeballs at the ready. Eris at this point, whistled, a strange looking, ghostly Pokemon reacting to the noise, floating toward her side, the source of such a chilling wind.

Cynthia turned quickly to Noah. "GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!" She turned back, grabbing her other three pokeballs, releasing her other well known Pokemon, all appearing with there own battle cry.

Noah wasted no time obeying her orders, quickly turning around back toward Twinleaf, his heart rate already increasing. The adrenaline kicked in as he tore off in the opposite direction, Eris pouting as he did so.

"Hey Cratos." Eris noted, acting like a little kid, putting her index finger on her lips. "He said 'don't kill the boy'. We can still play with him though, right?"

Cratos thought about it for several moments while reaching for his own Pokemon. "I need you here...but...if you want him to have fun too...then I don't see why we can't let him play with a few of our own."

Eris cheered gleefully. With a bright and innocent looking smile on her face, she waved her arms toward the grunts, pointing towards Noah's location. The grunts silently nodded, then rushed to catch up to Noah.

"Don't you DARE run from me!" Cynthia thundered, issuing her Lucario to take on the incoming grunts. Lucario flipped toward the oncoming enemies, drawing on its own aura to gather power. The pokemon threw its paws out, forcing aura from the tips, slamming head-on into two grunts, knocking them unconscious on the ground. Lucario was preparing for another attack, when Cratos unleashed his own Pokemon, blocking Lucario from getting anywhere near anymore of the grunts.

At this point, Eris revealed all of her own Pokemon as well, ordering them all to attack Cynthia's party. Cynthia could not hold off both enemies at once, and in an attempt to protect herself, she called for Lucario to come and join the fight with Eris and Cratos giving the remainder of the others room to give chase after Noah.

"Don't worry about him; they'll make sure he doesn't get hurt." Cratos mocked. "You have us two to deal with." Cratos released his other Pokemon, preparing them for the onslaught against Cynthia's team.

----------

Noah could hear it, the sounds of several footsteps headed toward him. He had to get off the dirt road, had to find a way to get the enemies off his trail, but how?

There was only one other way to go: through the trees in the forest. Without consideration, Noah sharply turned, breaking through the shrubs and grass that bordered the trail. He could hear the grunts behind him, screaming to each other.

"Where the hell'd he go?"

"Quick, search the surroundings!"

"Sir! He's in the trees, there’s a trail!"

Noah's mind went blank, his heart pumping even faster. He ran straight through, ignoring the starly that jumped into the air, startled at the intruder. He even ignored the branches that jutted out and around the environment, scratching and cutting him on the face and arms. His cloak snagged onto a branch, forcing him backward stumbling. With the new loss of balance, Noah fell straight backward, landing hard on the rocks and dirt below. He let a small yelp escape as he felt a rock slam hard against the center of his back.

"Over here, he's over here somewhere!"

Noah jumped right back to his feet, ripping the cloak off, as it was still stuck in the claw-like features of the trees. A little more light on weight, Noah burst into full speed, tearing through the surroundings. The footsteps from the grunts were getting louder and louder.

"HE'S HERE!! I SEE HIM!! HE'S OVER AT..."

The voice died out quickly, Noah's mind blocking everything to focus on running. The woods vanished up ahead, a small open area with a large boulder resting near the edge of the circular lake the only thing visible against the darkness of the night. The still water the only thing completely noticeable by Noah. He was at Lake Verity.

He was snapped out of his confusion when he heard the grunts tearing through the forest behind him, emerging from the shrubs just as he did.

"THERE! GET HIM!!"

His heart felt as if it had stopped. The grunts advanced upon him, grabbing him by his white shirt, and forcing him toward the boulder, slamming him hard against the surface. He closed his eyes, waiting for anything to give him a sign of his impending doom.

A daunting realization: 'That girl said 'don't kill him'. Oh, shi-'

Noah felt a solid fist ram up against his face, the impact forcing his head to slam against the rock once again. Another fist followed, and another, and another.

And even more...

To his ribs...

To his chest...

To his shoulders...

Then kicks to his thighs...

It wasn't long before Noah felt the warmth of a peculiar fluid running from his nose and mouth, and even at the back of his neck from the impact with the boulder. His blood was sent flying in all directions with each attack, only encouraging more to surface. Noah's body fell limp, falling to the floor weakly, his legs sprawled out in front of him arms helplessly limp and fallen to the sides.

"We can't kill him, right? Well, let's make sure he doesn't try this crap again..."

The punches and kicks ceased for a moment, but Noah could hear and feel their presence. They were up to something.

"Ready? One...

Two..."

Noah braced himself for some kind of impact.

"Three!!"

Just then, he heard another strange noise, from the woods. Snarling and growling, from beasts of sorts. The migrated Pokemon didn't take kindly to such a loud outburst during the middle of the night. Noah realized what they were the moment he heard them speak in their own Pokemon tongue.

'How lucky,' Noah though, 'that the Zangoose herd was nested here, at this spot, of all places.'

An outcry from both the grunts and the Zangoose broke through the night, signaling an oncoming battle, light from the grunts' pokeballs revealing the details of Lake Verity. That's when the pain came.

A large, sharp pain, from a large massive object. Noah refused to open his eyes, but he did cry out loud, trying to take in the unwelcome sensation. He felt his leg, the source from all this pain, give in, he heard a loud cracking sound, and felt the mass budge slightly.

'Those...' Noah thought to himself, tears streaming down his face. 'They dropped a fucking boulder on my...oh god...I...I can't feel my leg.' Noah silently cried, ignoring the battle taking place several feet in front of him, surprised that he hadn't been assaulted by the Pokemon. Screams of agony could be heard from either side, whether a grunt almost had his face ripped off by Zangoose's massive claws, or a fellow Zangoose had just received a lethal attack from the grunts' Pokemon.

Moments passed...

Even more...

Cries from both sides continued. The wailing haunting Noah's mind, reminding him...

It's shit like this that kept him from leaving Twinleaf.

Then, silence. He heard the Zangoose fleeing, indicating his worst fears: The grunts were victorious. He heard a mass hit the ground nearby. Probably one of the dead victims of the battle.

"Damn thing, almost ripped my arm off."

"Relax, it's dead."

"What the hell are those things doing here?"

The talking stopped momentarily, the enemy regaining its focus on Noah.

"Now then you little runt. How about the other leg?"

Noah's eyes tightened, not wanting to re-live that painful experience just a moment ago. The stress build up on his body was beginning to force his mind to cave in.

"Can you hear me?" a voice called out, from inside of Noah. He jumped slightly, trying to regain his lost focus. He could feel it: the necklace he had been given. It was giving off a faint-white glow, obvious through the grunts' reaction.

'Yes, I can' Noah thought, hoping that whoever this was could read his mind.

"Good. We seemed to have finally established a connection."

'A...connection?'

"I've been trying to get in touch with you for a long, long time."

'You...You're that voice...' Noah realized. He initially ignored it the last two times, too distracted with his other problems, but he did know it was there. Now here it was again, for the third time, conversing with his thoughts. This time, he had nothing to stop him from listening to it, except of course, for the agony the grunts were sure to make him suffer through.

"Do you want me to stop this?"

'P...please. I don't want this.'

"I will assist you, but I however, need you to make a deal with me..."

'A deal?'

"If I help you...you are to follow through on my request. Do you accept?"

'Yes, yes...just please...help me.

"Very well then. Open your heart. Let me inside...give me your soul..."

Noah's eyes suddenly shot wide open. He felt his body trembling, his arms automatically wrapping themselves around his chest. All of his senses went numb, save for his sight.

The warmth and taste of his own blood was no more.

The copper-like smell that drifted in the air vanished.

The sound of the grunts questioning what was happening to the boy was silenced.

A ripping feeling. He felt something inside of him tearing in half, something that was a part of him, but not physically distinguishable. Whatever it was, it felt as if it was torn into two perfect halves.

A large black shadow forced itself from Noah's person, taking a figure that Noah couldn't comprehend. Just catching a glimpse of such a creature weakened Noah's mind. He caught a quick glance of the grunts, fear evident on their bloody and battle-scarred faces. His eyes wandered to the dead figure of a Zangoose on the floor, a small distance away.

Then, his sight was cut off. He was still conscious, but nothing greeted him but a dark void. An awkward purple light was glowing in the distance, luring Noah toward it like a magnet. Noah's body couldn't control itself. His face rested back against the rock, his mind going completely blank. The last thing he "heard", was the sound of that mysterious voice...

"Not exactly what I was expecting, but this will have to do. Noah Sol, eh?

Your life as you once knew it is over."

----------

A young woman's eyes flashed open, her mind -after gaining full consciousness- focused on the pounding she felt radiating off her head. Instinctively, she moved her hand to rub for forehead and feel for her temperature. Nothing, her hand was unable to respond. She tried again to move her hand; nothing, it wasn't budging from her side. She looked down, realizing why she couldn't force her hand to her head. A very small pair of handcuffs had been tightly secured around her wrists, and behind her back. Her arms felt tied to the very chair she rested on, along with her feet, her eyes only confirming this. Cynthia panicked, flashbacks of what happened on Route 201 reappearing within her photographic memory. She had been subdued by the attackers with a strange, black substance, when she fell onto the dirt road with a hard thud. The impact must've been the source of the headache, and possibly the reason why she had been knocked out.

In vain, Cynthia pulled and pulled the ropes, trying hopefully to weaken or loosen them in any way. No luck, the ropes were knotted together tightly, and nothing she could do at the moment would do any good. Taking a deep breath to stay calm, she looked about her surroundings. There didn't seem to be much to look at: there was the chair she sat on, in a blank, empty white room. Without any decorations, the geometric shape of the room gave off a generic vibe, something like a basic outline of any room in any building, at any given time. The walls were padded with a thick layer of what appeared to be a soft, cushion-like material, and a large, bulbous light shined down from above. The only other piece of furniture in the room, was a second chair several feet in front of Cynthia.

'An interrogation?' she thought to herself, waiting for something out of the ordinary to suddenly catch her eye. Again, nothing.

Cynthia hung her head, knowing that she had failed her mission. Her only hope was that Noah was alive and well at the moment, and that someday, Bee would get in touch with him herself…

Cynthia then head a loud, high pitched squeaking sound; the sound of a lock being pulled out of its place, coming from the wall on the other side of the room. The outline of a door slowly began to reveal itself along the center of the wall, and then slowly, the door itself began to shrink from Cynthia's perspective. In reality, the door was simply opening from the other side. A tall man with outrageous blue hair started to walk toward Cynthia's direction, the rest of his features blocked by a strange light that was permeating the surroundings from the opening. He calmly took his seat, making himself as comfortable as possible before acting. Once positioned, he lifted his arm toward the door, and snapped his fingers together as a sign to close the entrance. The strange light faded completely, Cynthia finally able to see the features of the man's body that identified him right away.

"Hello, dear Cynthia. Did you miss me?" the man asked.

"I should've expected this to be your doing, Cyrus." Cynthia replied back.

Cyrus cupped his hands together, raising them to his lips to conceal his lower face, deep in thought about what to say, or at least, to look like he was in thought..

"I'm going to ask you several questions, my lady. I expect answers, and will take nothing less. Failure to answer these questions correctly, or honestly, can and will be punishable by death. Do you understand?"

Cynthia's adrenaline started to pump again. Her life, in the hands of Cyrus? One of the world's most deadly of criminals? Well...fuck.

She forced her face still, trying to hide her fear at the moment. She could feel her face grow hot, her eyes beginning to water. "No," she told herself, "Don't you dare cry. Don't you DARE cry."

Cyrus cleared his throat, Cynthia's attention drawn back to his question.

"Do you understand, my lady?"

"...Yes."

"Good. Then you'll tell me what I need to know?"

"...Yes."

"Yes, sir."

Cynthia tried to lash at Cyrus, the ropes still proving too strong for her body to rip through. How much she wanted to strangle him right now, or even better, how much she wanted to see her Lucario beat the living shit out of him, removing that obscene smirk little face, or imagining her Garchomp rip his body in half with his powerful jaws.

That's when another great realization dawned upon her: her Pokemon. They were gone.

"What have you done to my Pokemon!?" Cynthia cried.

Cyrus simply chuckled under his breath. "No. Answer my question first. Then...maybe I'll answer your questions...if I feel like it."

"You bastard."

"What was that?!" Cyrus fumed, his emotion dangerously shifted, quickly jumping from his chair and onto Cynthia's body within a moment. He quickly reached into his jacket, pulling out a small pocketknife that quickly shot out, hovering over Cynthia's neck.

"Listen now, and listen good, you little bitch." Cyrus threatened, his voice quickly transforming from warm and gentlemanly to icy cold and sadistic. "Don’t think for one fucking second that I wouldn't end your life, and the lives of your little friends, right here! I'm the one holding the knife." Cyrus quickly gripped his pocketknife, and in a sweeping motion, grazed Cynthia's cheek with the blade, blood quickly forming on the wound. Cynthia could only cry out as Cyrus quietly returned to his seat, having to pick it up from the ground because of his little outburst.

"Now, I'll ask you one more time." he warned, waving the knife in the air, the faintest hint of blood now dripping off the edge. "Do you understand?"

Cynthia, who was looking to the wall opposite, slowly turned back toward her captor. She could feel the warmth of her own blood slowly building at the wound, then dripping down to her chin, dripping onto the white floor. She was in no position to do anything, and had to watch what she said next time, if not for her sake, for the sake of her own Pokemon.

She replied to Cyrus with a simple nod. Cyrus made a quiet 'humph' sound to confirm.

"Now then, allow me to get this over with. The sooner I ask, the sooner you can answer, and the faster you can be reunited with your pathetic Pokemon. Several weeks ago I received notice from several of my captains that a large sum of my men were attacked and taken into custody by several vigilante civilians in Eterna. I've seen the way the government works in the past, so I know all of the little bullshit tricks your kind like to pull." Cyrus held his knife sideways, rubbing the sharp end with his thumb of one hand, and holding the blunt end with the other. "So what I'd like to know, is simply whether or not High Noon was involved in this little facade."

Cynthia tried to think. Yes, she had heard of a large portion of Galactics being beaten near death before a police force large enough managed to break through the chaos to arrest them. She had to answer quickly though, to keep Cyrus busy before he got bored.

"No." she answered back, still showing obvious signs of aggression toward the man. Just his appearance made her despise him. And that smile that felt glued to his face...

"No, sir."

"What you've done...you don't deserve that title, you fucking monster!"

Cyrus let out a sigh. "You just don't seem to get it, do you? Perhaps I should remind you where your place is here..."

Cynthia's screams could be heard down the halls of the desolated corridors outside of the room.

A new wound, carved deep into the flesh, was fresh and bleeding near Cynthia's wrist, blood slowly starting to drip down the sleeve to her outfit.

"Well then." Cyrus continued. Questions two and three: Aside from you, how many members of High Noon are currently active, and what is the name of the Kanto representative of High Noon?"

Cynthia started to cry, unable to hold back her fears after that last attack on her body. "Without me...two, since Lance was reported missing. Three if he's still alive.

As for the Kanto representative. I...I don't know!"

"You don't even know?" Cyrus asked, taking a bit of satisfaction with this new discovery.

"No. Truthfully, none of the members even know who he is. He just...appeared one day, applying for the job after, well, you know. He...he qualified with flying colors; his ideas seemed revolutionary at the time. But even to this day, he has yet to ever reveal himself to us."

Cyrus took several minutes to let this news sink in. Cynthia's tears started to freely fall.

"My, my. What trust you have in strangers, my lady. My last question. The last person you were with: Who was it?"

Cynthia's face turned pale. 'Had he seen her and Noah?'

"Who?"

Cyrus frowned, waving his knife in her face. "Now now, don't make me cut that other beautiful arm of yours, sweetie."

Cynthia started to panic again, afraid. She had remembered her orders from Bee: "Don't tell anyone what you are doing for me, not even High Noon." She knew well what to expect for lying to him...

"I-I don't know who you're talking about."

Cyrus, without a word, pulled her other arm out slightly from behind her, gripping the knife tightly in his open hand. Another scream from Cynthia echoed down the hallways yet again. At this point, she was panting, short on breath, with several waves of pain crashing into her mind every few seconds. He stared at Cynthia with a cold stare.

"Don't you ever try that bullshit again."

Cynthia refused to respond.

"That was Noah Sol, son of Richard Sol and Vivian Sol. That's who you were talking to. My commanders themselves reported it. When my forces ambushed the two of you, Noah was chased back toward Twinleaf Town before we lost sight of him." Cyrus started to flip the knife in his hands. "A large portion of my men were reported to be missing after you were subdued, and none of them returned to base. I don't suppose you might've known where he went off to, since we haven’t been able to find him in the city?

"He's not in Twinleaf Town?" Cynthia questioned. She looked back at Cyrus, who was obviously disappointed at the reply. "I ordered him back to town, whether or not he obeyed is something I can't answer."

Cyrus quickly accepted her answer, putting the knife away.

"Thank you, my lady, that's all."

Cyus raised his hand again, snapping his fingers, the doors opening moments afterward. The strange light was gone from the opening from what Cynthia could tell. Cyrus stood from his seat, walking toward the only exit.

Cynthia snapped, "Cyrus! Wait! My Pokemon! Let me see them!"

"Of course, I'm a man of my word, my dear." Cyrus replied, pointing toward his vacant seat. Cynthia look down, her trainer belt resting on the seat opposite of her. He sighed, knowing that her friends were safe soothing her.

"Oh, and one more thing." Cyrus spoke, loud enough for Cynthia to hear back in the room. He lifted his arm toward Cynthia, letting his fingers snap together again. As the door began to slowly close, a gooey, black substance crawled quickly from the inside of Cyrus' shirt, quickly squeezing into the opening of the door, hungry.

"Good bye, Cynthia."

The door shut behind him, the only sound at this point being Cyrus' maniacal laughter from his most recent victory.

----------

Back on Route 201, a man with a strange, black mask was hiding. He had witnessed everything that had happened to Cynthia and the members of Galactic. Without hesitation, he quickly placed a speaker to his lips from within the mask that hid his face from the world.

"Sir this is J reporting in. Cynthia has been taken by Galactic to an unknown location."

A strange voice replied to his own. "Excellent. We can use that to our advantage…

What of the boy?"

"He fled back toward town. I however can't confirm that he's back in Twinleaf Town at the moment."

"Go find him, and make sure he's safely in the boundary line of Twinleaf Town. We can't take any chances: The boy MUST live."

"Understood. Over and out."

The transmission cut-off, the man in the mask stood stationary for several moments before deciding on a course of action.

"What's so important about Noah Sol, master?" he thought to himself, quickly disappearing into the woods that head into Twinleaf, the sun's rays already rising from the hills on the other side of town.