Desperate Gamble

I guess I owe a cursory explanation. I was 7 when Pokemon hit the States, and i fell in love with it for five years. I got very bored with it after the Johto series started and for years had not bothered with it. Upon finding this gem of a site I began reading whatever I stumbled across until a friend recommended me to Slash Firestorm's, Sinners. After reading that I found I still remember quite a bit about my good old days playing the games and watching the show. While I'm still not a fan, I appreciate the universe and what i presents, my problem was that it was all dolled up for the younger audiences. So... HERES TO REPLACING CHILD HOOD MEMORIES WITH MORE METAL VERSIONS OF THEM!
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Chapter 1: So Much to Do...

A streetlight burned defiantly in the cold, wet street. Despite the mild downpour of rain that splattered rhythmically on the roof, one young man could not help but stare at the ceiling of his small room. The room's only sources of light were the lonely sentinel guarding the street and the dull blue glow of a laptop computers charging light. Neither would have kept the young adult from his slumber on a normal basis, but with a head full of useless thoughts he could not help but lose sleep over the prevailing sources of illumination.

A woman floated before his vision; one from his past who had drifted away with the passing of time. He had known her since they were still clinging to their respective mothers hands when in public. College has a funny way making you feel isolated despite how many people crowd around you, and the restless nights only amplified this feeling. Turning onto his side, the young adult seemed to find a little comfort in a position reminiscent to that of a fetus. Old habits die hard. The soft glows were less of a nuisance now, and sleep now drifted ever closer.

A dull crackling began to build in volume, and the room filled with a deep turquoise light that enveloped everything. Turning over to address the situation the young man was immediately dumbstruck as a gaping sphere of turquoise energy flooded the room. In no position to run, and with nothing to effectively shield himself, the student looked on in fascinated horror as what he suspected was imminent death approached.

That evening a room with only one occupant suddenly heard the beating of two hearts. Or, the youth suspected two hearts were present. The sphere began to distort and peel away gently reveling a strange figure that had been held within.

White, red, black and gold bits of transparent flesh and bone like appendages formed a being unlike any that had ever been conceived in the mind of a human until that day. Vaguely snake like in form, the being resembled a twisted dragon that might have felt more at home in a place far more ornate in nature than the industrial looking sprawl of human society. And yet, here an apparition stood bearing this resemblance.

If there was any calm in the young man, he did not show it now. Nervous sweat began to build on his hands as he clenched the sheets of his bed and began instinctively backing away from the truly alien sight before him. Rationality only beginning to return when the thing spoke.

“You shall do...”

With that the bed, the laptop, and streetlight vanished from his life forever. A black screeching void filled his senses as he was sucked from the only world he had ever known. Shortly before losing his mind to the maddening onslaught, the youth was thrown forcefully into another existence. One that consisted of a world with skies the color of purest white, and with ground so red that it might have been a sea of blood for all he could guess. This was truly a world not for human eyes.

As the youth picked himself up from the unnervingly colored ground, he saw the base of another being, but like the world around him it was not something readily understandable. The image had been greatly reduced in size compared to the real thing, which now towered over the half erect youth who, even at full height, would not have been anywhere close to as tall.

“Rise human, we have little time to accomplish much.”

Now more curious than terrified, the former college student stood with newfound resolve. A questioning look now adorned his face as he gave a solid once-over of his multidimensional kidnapper. A non-human being who spoke a language native only to a large group of humans was addressing him as if it had been raised on Earth.

“Who are you, and why me?

A pair of questions like this might seem easy to answer, but in truth there are times when an answer can only lead to more questions. This was one of those times.

“I have many names, but you may call me Giratina, and I have brought you here so that you might help me with a task of dire importance.”

It dawned on the out of place human, that these words had not been spoken orally, and that any omnipotent being with a use for a soft skinned human, was truly in dire straits. This being, Giratina, had ripped space and time to find, transport, and now communicate with him, and him alone. The task it had would most definitely be one that required finesse and tact to complete, as well as contain numerous dangers and strange variables.

“Over countless eons my once infinite powers have begun to fail me. That is why I called you. You are to be a proxy to me and act where I cannot. In the many iterations of existence there is another world that bears your kind. Through domestication of the planet's many creatures they have softened their own desire to aid myself or the other Great Ones. Because of this selfish desires of power and lack of resolve to look at the needs of others they have grown to be rather single minded in life. As such I cannot count on them for assistance now, when everything is at stake.”

The once quizzical stare now deepened as the gravity of this imposing figure's speech sped towards its' climactic finish. There was no turning back, and there never was once the portal had opened. The young man was along for the ride no matter what, so he figured that memorizing what came next would be vastly more important than analyzing the being before him.

“A tear has begun to form in causality itself, and this tear is centered within this alternate home for your species. While I can repair the damage to a very effective degree, the source of the tear has been growing in strength and I fear that my power might be outstripped soon. I will bring you as close to the disturbance as I can, but from there you must search for the source on your own and do whatever you can to rid the world of the cause of this wound...”

Holding his tongue for as long as he could, the youth finally burst forth at this point. Incredulity and a hint of indignation hung on his voice as he let his words flow without thought.

“You plan on taking me from my world, throwing me into one completely alien to me, and expecting me to survive in my sleep-ware? Let alone save the world? I'll be dead in a weak! I know you need my help, what with the fate of, well, everything. but you could have done a little more to prepare for this, let alone to prepare me.”

The great Giratina's eyes seemed tired for a brief moment as it began to second guess its' chosen emissary. Shaking its' titanic frame slowly it reared to full height and spoke again with mustered control and confidence.

“You accuse me of being unprepared? I thought you might have understood that you would at least be properly armed for this task!”

A deep, guttural laugh seemed to emanate from the huge creature. Intense turquoise light enveloped the large create as the blood red ground at the pint-sized humans feet began to flow with similarly colored ruins. A myriad of curved, intersecting lines began to form an elegant circle upon the ground, and multiple pillars of light rose from the ground ending in small shapes seventeen in total.

“Around you are symbols representative of the elements held within the creatures native to the world you will enter. Each holds strength and weakness in it that may be played upon by another element. I now ask that you approach each of the symbols, take them in your hand and experience these elements for yourself. Once you have found six that are to your liking I shall imprint them upon your body. The runes will appear upon your skin, and a cursory touch may bring each element to life within your body for as long as you can harness it.”

Dumbstruck would be a rather appropriate word to describe the young man's facial expression a that moment. The idea of being armed for a task had never seemed so personal to him. Mythical armor and weapons where what he had had in mind regarding potential outfitting, but this was something else. In a near trance the man approached each symbol slowly and tested what it did to him. One sphere wreathed his extremities in fire, while another caused electricity to ark across his fingertips. Time seemed to slip into the background of his thoughts as he perused the energies until finally deciding upon which six he would find the most useful. Giratina had remained silent until this point, but spoke when he felt the time was right.

“You appear to have made up your mind, human. Shall I imprint your desired abilities upon you now?”

A hesitant look followed by an uncertain nod were the only acknowledgements given. With this the light emanating from the titan grew to such a degree that looking directly at it was a difficult task. The circular symbol upon the floor began to shift and ooze up the legs of the young man before settling on his right arm and twisting around the appendage. The shape lost its liquid like, illuminated property moments later as Giratina began to return to normal. Looking at his arm, the youth saw that the once turquoise energy had shifted into what appeared to be black ink. The interwoven lines formed a delicate tattoo like sleeve from wrist to shoulder with a hexagon of small clear circles midway between wrist and elbow on the inner arm.

The youth flexed his arm and tested each of the applied elements one at a time to ensure that the multidimensional being had not simply been toying with the incredulous human it had pulled from one reality into another. Now further satisfied with the results of the odd ritual, the youth addressed the imposing creature.

“You said you would be able to get me close to the cause of the tear. How close are we talking? Twenty miles? Thirty?”

At this the being laughed so heartily that the ground trembled lightly.

“You think my power is that far gone? Someone of your size can be put anywhere within... oh, a hundred feet of where I deem to send you. I would have gone myself, but as I said, my power is limited. Be ready to fight though, as I suspect the cause is human made, and if that is the case then you will have to defend yourself. Now, it is time for you to add a new chapter to your story.”

With this Giratina again glowed brightly. Soon the white and red plane that had been Giratina's home and proverbial prison disappeared, another place the youth would never see again. With the youth gone to face an unknown fate, the proud being slumped over for a brief rest. The power it had expended had been great, and now it could not aid the young man. Giratina sighed deeply as further thoughts troubled it. None of its immortal brethren had been able to be contacted, and for all Giratine knew they were in far more danger than he or the human he had sent to do his work. Only time would yield answers, and unless the human succeeded, time would indeed be short.