Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Realms ❯ A Brave New World! A Brand New Battle! ( Chapter 3 )

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"RRRRRRAAAGGGGHHH! W…WHAT?! WHAT'S INSIDE OF ME????!!!!!!!!!"

Jade simply stood, staring at the victorious, yet unstable Dragon. It wasn't just him…everyone else was speechless.

A Dragon like that is certainly no common sight, but seeing two of your friends actually…well, meld together and change into that thing was unreal.

Jade was convinced that he'd had his good share of the unusual, however…

The Steel Dragon continued trashing about, roaring wildly. He was punching the walls and sending large pieces of rocks falling from the ceiling.

"Take cover!" Nala yelled.

The 4 humans and 2 Pokemon, carrying an unconscious Zian, sprinted in separate directions, hiding behind several large boulders.

"Jade, you have to do something!" Hazuki urged.

"What why me?!" Jade protested.

"Because, with Kris temporarily unavailable, you're in charge." Firestorm called from behind his boulder.

"You don't really mean that, do you?" Riot, who was next to the Charizard, whispered.

"Of course not! He's just the most expendable person we have here!"

"That's being mean...muurrgghhh!"

Firestorm clamped a claw over her snout and waved to Jade.

"We're rooting for ya!" Firestorm smiled with fake enthusiasm.

"Oh....fine." Jade muttered, biting his lip. Gathering his courage, the young man stepped out, facing the Steel Dragon. "Hey! Kris! Nightslice! Or whoever you are you big scaly metal head!"

Everyone else slapped their heads in disbelief.

All of a sudden, the Steel Dragon fell silent and stopped, staring straight into Jade's eyes. It terrified Jade so much that he could only stand there, completely petrified with fear.

"Fire..." The Steel Dragon hissed in a barely audible whisper. "Fire...Fire...Dragon...Lombadra!!!!"

"Fire Dragon?!" Jade staggered in confusion.

"YOU WON'T GET ME THIS TIME!!!!!" The Steel Dragon roared, raising his arm-mounted blasters. "YOU WON'T!!! I'LL KILL YOU FIRST!!!!"

"Hey wait..."

"Get down!" Firestorm charged and tackled Jade, taking him out of harm's way, barely avoiding being blasted into a huge crater in the floor.

"What....?!" The Steel Dragon actually looked shocked at what he'd just done. "WHAT...are you?!"

His last line had been directed towards Firestorm, and Riot's appearance caught his attention as well. He was glaring around as if he remembered the two of them, and yet was trying desperately to piece it together.

"Voices....in my head!!! Get OUT OF ME!!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!" The silver dragon dropped to his knees, clutching in head in mental anguish.

"Hey, try to calm down!" Nala encouraged. "We're not your enemies!"

"Enemies...what...what are you?!" He howled. "What am I?! Where AM I??!!! WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ME!!! RRRAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!"

He began pounding on the sides again, sending everyone diving for cover, before running straight through a wall via a hole he smashed in it. The clear sky was visible through the opening and the Dragon leapt through, spreading his gray feather-like wings and soaring off before anyone could stop him.

The group waited until they were sure it was safe before gathering in the center of the cave. They ended up looking from all the destruction caused to the hole in the wall.

"Well, doesn't this just beat all?" Firestorm muttered dryly.

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"Alken...please wake up!"

"Urgh..."

"Alken!"

"Huh?! Abetos?!" Alken shot up, hitting his head on a very low ceiling. "OW!"

"Thank god you're all right!" The Houndoom sighed, raising his front paws onto Alken's bed.

They were in a small room with a bed, a window and a small table nearby. The ceiling definitely hadn't been built for someone of Alken's height.

"Yeah, you too partner." He nodded. "After I fell into the middle of that storm and you jumped in after me...hey!"

Alken stared at the blind Houndoom.

"You're talking!"

"Of course, what else would you expect?" Abetos asked. "I may be blind, but I'm not mute."

"NO, I mean you're talking and I can understand you perfectly!" Alken explained. "Kris and the others can do that, but all of them are genetically part Pokemon. I've never been able to."

"Really?"

"Ask me something."

"OK, what's the square root of 5783?"

"Something easier!"

"Never mind, I'm convinced." Abetos nodded. "Something's really wrong here then. You're a relatively normal human being, and..."

"What happened to Kris and the others?" Alken cut in.

"They weren't with us when we were found. But..."

"Who found us? And where are we anyway?"

"This group of Growlithes found us washed up at the bank of some river." Abetos trailed off. "But...before I start giving you any location names, I think you should take a look outside the window and confirm what my other senses have been telling me."

THUMP!

"Urm...watch your head too." Abetos added in.

Rubbing his sore head, Alken had to bend down to look outside the window. However, the moment he did that, everything else was immediately forgotten as he stared in a mixture of shock, disbelief and awe.

Outside were the streets of a seemingly normal-looking city. Normal in Alken's point of view except that all the inhabitants walking about the streets were Pokemon of all different shapes and sizes.

And all the speech he could hear outside were 'English' words to him, not in the individual Pokemon's languages.

It may have been something out of a child's fantasy, but Alken was utterly dumbstruck.

"Tell me I'm dreaming..." He staggered.

"Wish I could partner, but then I would be lying." Abetos replied. "Somehow...we've ended up in one heck of..."

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"...a strange world..." Firestorm whistled, unknowingly ending with the same phrase as Abetos.

Elsewhere, Jade and his group had decided waiting around the cavern would be of no help to anyone and had carefully made their way out. They'd gone down a small, rocky hill, which fortunately wasn't too steep, wandered through a forested area for a while, and had finally come to a town.

A town that, like Alken had discovered, was inhabited by only Pokemon.

"Erm...you guys have any ideas?" Hazuki uneasily shifted her feet while holding Yusia close to her.

"I'm sort of open to suggestions." Jade muttered, glancing nervously around.

Although they were at the edge of the town, some of the bystanders had begun to turn and glance in their direction.

"Perhaps we should leave." Nala suggested. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Zian needs help." Firestorm insisted, looking down at the unconscious Psychic Dragon in his arms. "But I think she's right. You guys hang back and I'll..."

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance." An Alakazam abruptly teleported in, startling the entire group.

Firestorm unintentionally threw Zian up into the air, but Nala managed to catch him before he hit the ground.

"I'm never gonna let you be my doctor." Jade whispered to the Charizard.

"I must apologize, please excuse my horrible manners." The Alakazam bowed. "I often forget that common folk are not used to me teleporting around. But tell me, my dear Charizard, are those human beings you have with you?"

"Well, duh!" Firestorm blurted out. "What else would this idiot be...urmph!"

Jade stamped on his foot and put a hand over his snout.

"Sorry, he hasn't got much to say for manners either." Jade continued calmly. "See, we're rather lost and were looking for directions when we stumbled upon this place."

"More human beings..." The Alakazam didn't seem to be paying attention to Jade's words as he gave Jade's arm a tug. "From another world...just like Cid..."

"Excuse me? Another world?" Nala questioned.

"I'm sorry, I should explain this more clearly to you. My name Epsilon, a researcher here." He introduced.

One by one, the members of the group returned the introductions.

"Do you think you could help our friend here too?" Hazuki asked, gesturing towards Zian.

"Hmmm...a Dragon, I see." Epsilon muttered, walking over and raising his hands above Zian's head. "His condition seems stable for now. He's in no danger, but I'll need to perform a more detailed analysis to be sure."

"You hardly seem surprised." Riot commented.

"Perhaps it would be better to come to my lab." He offered. "There is someone there who'd most definitely like to meet you. This way..."

He vanished in a flash of light, leaving the group standing there in a state of confusion. Epsilon then teleported back, scratching his head nervously.

"I'm terribly sorry, I forgot not everyone can teleport."

Everyone let off a long sigh.

"Not to worry people, gather round in a circle...good. Now, hold on!" The Alakazam snapped his fingers, and in another flash of light, the group had been brought from the street to within a huge library.

Unfortunately, not very smoothly as they ended up in various heaps and piles here and there.

"I'm very sorry." Epsilon bowed. "My skills at teleporting others are quite rusty."

"You could've told us that earlier." Jade moaned, rubbing his sore behind.

Nala placed Zian down on a set of cushions before joining her friends at large work desk. The Alakazam shoved some stacks of papers away to clear out some space on the desk.

"He should be here any minute now." Epsilon said.

Before anyone had a chance to ask, a side door swung open.

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"Oh, Epsilon, it's you. And these are the visitors you'd been expecting?" A voice asked. "And, oh my, they really are human!"

"Friends, I'm pleased to introduce Dr. Cid." Epsilon gestured towards the old man approaching them.

Dr. Cid was a white-bearded man around his 70s. He was mostly bald on top of his head and wore black, thick rimmed glasses. The old man was rather plump and could have easily passed himself off as Santa Claus.

He was dressed in a completely white suit and hobbled towards the party excitedly on his walking stick.

"I haven't met another human in more than 40 years." The doctor smiled, shaking all their hands more than once. "It's so nice to meet you all."

"Yes, well, not to sound disrespectful doctor, but we happen to need some answers." Nala spoke. "And our friend..."

"Don't worry, I'll take a look at him." Epsilon offered, gently picking Zian up and carrying him to the next room.

"You shall have them, to the best of my abilities, my child. But first, do you mind if I ask you how you ended up here?" Cid asked, sitting down at his desk.

"Erm, no problem." Jade nodded, looking to his friends.

He told the researcher a little about their lives (with several small details omitted). Jade went on to describe their failed rescue attempt at sea and their earlier encounter with the Rock Dragon, plus Kris' and Nightslice as well.

"I see, the prophecies have proven true after all." The doctor remarked after listening intently. "I'm afraid that I know nothing about any of your missing comrades, however, I'm sure you want to know about this world in return."

"Indeed, that would certainly be much appreciated." Riot said.

"In ancient times long forgotten, they say that both worlds were one. It was the time that 16 Legendary Dragons once battled across these lands."

"And he was one of them." Firestorm said to himself, giving a quick glance over to Zian.

"8 fought alongside the Dragon God Harasalt, the side of good. 8 served Kaiser, the side of evil." Cid continued his story. "Destruction reigned as the battle lasted for years and many fell by the wayside, never to rise again."

"We've heard that story, more than once actually." Hazuki commented.

"However, I'm certain you haven't heard this part." Dr. Cid assured. "In the final clash of the two Dragon Gods, the energy generated was so tremendous that it tore a rift in the very fabric of time and space."

"And this, 'other' world was created?" Jade asked.

"Yes, and some of the ancient ancestors of the Pokemon you see today were literally sucked into this other world, developing and growing, without the interference of humans, until they are as you see them today."

"But...you're here Dr. Cid." Young Yusia piped in.

"Ah, but I was from your world originally." The old man closed his eyes. "About 40 years ago, I went on an expedition to explore a volcanic island, in the Orange region, that had seemingly risen during a huge earthquake."

"Guys, if I remember correctly, that island wasn't too far away from our rescue attempt at sea." Jade told the rest of his group, before nodding to Cid to signal him to continue.

"As I descended into the volcano's opening, a storm suddenly brewed up and I was separated from my team. I had an unfortunate fall, and could only remember plunging into some bright light. Next thing I knew, Epsilon had found me and brought me back here, to his place. I was very confused at first, but Epsilon gave me his support. I never found a way back, so I've stayed here all these years, studying the ancient secrets and legends of this world."

"Must've been tough." Nala remarked. "Being stuck in a world where you're the only human in existence."

"It wasn't too hard after a while." The doctor sighed. "This world is intriguing too. Not only Pokemon live here, but Dragons and other beings from our wildest fantasies. The 'Dragon Realms' as I call it. Recently however..."

"Urgh..."

"Zian!" Hazuki gasped. "He's awake!"

Jade rushed into the adjacent room to find the Dragon Whelp lying on a bed.

"Zian, are you all right?"

"Barely..." Zian breathed.

"There are about a thousand questions I want to ask you right now." Jade told him. "But you're in bad shape and need some rest."

"Wow, Jade...you really mean that?" Zian looked up weakly.

"Actually, I'm just saying it because we're the good guys." Jade snapped, grabbing Zian by the neck. "NOW TELL US WHAT THE F*** IS GOING ON HERE BEFORE I SQUEEZE THE STUFFING OUT OF YA, YOU LITTLE PIP-SQUEEK OF A DRAGON!!!!!!!!"

(Everyone else sweatdrops as Jade starts strangling the human-sized Dragon.)

"Gurgh...can't breathe..."

"Erm...Jade, cut it out..." Firestorm muttered nervously waving his claws. He, more than anyone else present, knew Zian was a pretty powerful psychic. However, it surprised him that Zian hadn't used his powers to throw Jade off him.

"The poor sap can't talk if he can't breathe." Riot interrupted.

"Yeah, sorry." Jade nodded, releasing his grasp. "I got a little carried away."

"Even in this world...you're still in great danger..." Zian spoke in panicked gasps. He kept trying to get up, but it seemed as if nothing below his neck would move. "No...I'm..."

"I'm afraid it's bad." Epsilon said grimly. "He's suffered some bad neck injuries, and...urm..."

"Just spill it." Zian gritted his teeth, as if he already knew.

"You're paralyzed...from the neck down..."

For a while, everyone could only stare in shock. They were then forced to cover their ears when Zian let off a long howl of despair.

"Damn it! Why didn't he just kill me?!" He screamed.

"Who?" Firestorm asked. "More importantly, what happened?"

"Zian, come to your senses and tell us!" Hazuki urged.

"I failed! I let my comrades down...." Zian continue moaning, not taking heed of anyone else. "WHY?! WHY ME???!!!!! RRRAARRGGHHH!!!"

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Kris was definitely more freaked out than anything else right now.

Bahamut had pretty much gone berserk, blasting at the others before fleeing. Not only that, any attempts to talk to him had only resulted in further contributing to his madness.

It was one thing not being able to control your own body, but a whole other being stuck in someone else's body and also not being able to control that.

Finally, the Steel Dragon crash landed amidst a sea of trees, exhausted. Dazed, he stumbled over to a nearby river and dropped to his knees.

<Seems that he's calmed down.> Nightslice's voice spoke. <I think that if we direct our thoughts at each other, we won't hear us.>

Bahamut didn't seem to react to that and Kris assumed it was safe to reply.

<Yeah, but that won't solve our immediate problem.> She noted. <I can't do anything to control him, and it seems like neither can you.>

<So, our situation now is that that Spirit Crystal merged us into the form of this Dragon here. Only thing is that he so happens to have a mind of his own and our minds are trapped inside him.>

<That about sums it up.> She sighed. <Speaking of that, how'd you know it was called a Spirit Crystal?>

<I have no idea. The name just snapped into my mind.> Nightslice told her. <Along with a whole lot of other things I can't figure out.>

<By any chance the Heart, Body and Mind theory that came to me?>

"Stop talking as if I'm not here!!" Bahamut suddenly roared.

<You can hear us?!> Kris and Nightslice both stuttered.

"I don't care! I want some answers now!! Tell me what the hell the two of you are doing in my head before I..." Bahamut obviously had something in mind, but he stopped short realizing he couldn't exactly threaten someone he couldn't see.

<Dammit, will you relax?> Nightslice tried. <We're just as confused as you are, so let's try to work this out in a reasonable manner.>

"I am the Dragon of Steel! I do not need to deal with the likes of you lesser beings!"

<Hey, you wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for us!> Kris yelled angrily.

<Hold on, are you a Legendary Dragon by any chance?> Nightslice cut in. <One of the 16 Dragons that battled in the great wars of Harasalt and Kaiser those thousands of years ago.>

"Thousands of years ago?!" Bahamut gasped. "What time is this?! Is this my afterlife or have I been brought into the future?!"

<I somehow think it's a weird combination of both.> Nightslice replied. <So...you weren't one of the Dragons who survived, were you?>

Bahamut was silent for a long while before he finally answered.

"No...it was a cheap shot." He growled. "I can only remember his face, and his flames....flames....fire...Grrrrrrr!!!!"

Bahamut glanced towards the sky as a huge shadow temporarily blocked out the light. A large Wyvern like Dragon flew above them, its red scales gleaming in the sunlight. It was a two legged creature with a long, spiked tail and its upper arms joined into its leathery wings.

"Pyro Dragon..." Bahamut snarled. "The enemy..."

<Hey, things have changed in those thousands of years you've been dead!> Kris called out. <Wait, don't start this again!!>

Too late, Bahamut had already taken off in pursuit of his self-proclaimed adversary.

And there was unfortunately nothing Kris and Nightslice could do about it.

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SLAP!

Everyone, including Zian himself stared as Hazuki withdrew her hand.

"I'm really sorry about that." She said sternly. "But it's not just your life that's on the line here. We're all in a crisis and you may be the only one with the information to get us out of it."

"Yeah, we're all in this together. Just tell us who did this to you." Firestorm growled, cracking his knuckles. "And I'll show him what its like to mess with my friends!"

Zian took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down.

"I apologize. It's been so long since the last time that I actually feared for my life. But he...it...I don't know...just came out of nowhere."

"Who?" Jade asked.

"I don't even know...." Zian cringed, genuine fear showing in the green dragon's eyes. "You all saw it, didn't you? The storm at sea...and my failed battle."

"The humanoid dragon thing?!" Nala gasped.

"It was something not of the world my brethren and I watched over for so long." Zian continued. "Even I never saw it coming. Somehow, it managed to gather up the Spirit Crystals and came after those of us still living."

"You're not making any sense." Jade muttered.

"OK, the Spirit Crystals are basically the source of a Legendary Dragon's powers. The crystals remain even if the body should perish, so there were 9 crystals belonging to the Dragons who died in the wars or during your battle against Kaiser, scattered throughout our world, Earth Realm."

"And we know that the 7 of you remaining became the hidden guardians of our world, the Earth Realm." Jade nodded.

"But then it came. I didn't even sense it had located the other 9 crystals until I saw it holding them. Even with 7 on 1...we failed. I....can still hear their dying screams....but...I...I...ran away..." Zian broke down in tears.

Hazuki leaned down and gently took his head in her arms.

"Then, it came after you. My conscience would not allow me to turn my back again, and I intervened. I've never been beaten so badly in my life, but I made one desperate attempt to draw the enemy back into whatever world it had come from..."

"That chant, right?" Nala wondered.

"I was half conscious, so I don't exactly know what I did. But apparently, and it worked...with a heavy price..."

"Can't you heal yourself?" Jade asked.

"I don't think he can." Firestorm carefully ran his claw along the large scar at Zian's chest. "He ripped your Spirit Crystal out, didn't he?"

"And with it...my powers are gone...and I'm...." Zian sobbed. "I SHOULD BE DEAD LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!!! I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE!!!!!"

Despite Zian only being able to move his head and part of his neck, everyone reached out to stop him from sinking his fangs into his own throat.

"So what? Die?! That'll solve all the problems?!" Firestorm yelled furiously. "That'll thank your friends for what they did?! What would they think of you now, wallowing in self-pity?!"

Firestorm banged a fist on the table, causing everyone who could to back off several feet. Zian continued staring at the Charizard with mixed emotions in his teary eyes.

That moment of silence was broken by a deafening explosion outside.

"It's a Pyro Dragon!" Epsilon exclaimed, teleporting to the window. "And it's attacking the town!"

"Why is it doing that?" Hazuki stared outside at the burning village below. "Hidoi..." (Awful)

"There has been great unrest recently." Epsilon told them. "Inter species wars have broken out all over the place. But the inhabitants here are neutral to all sides!"

"That was what I was going to mention." Cid continued. "All the different species used to live in peace. I don't know what started the fighting, however now no one wants to stop."

"This is too much!" Jade yelled, furiously kicking the wall. "Storm, let's go!"

"Understood!"

"Let me..." Riot began when Firestorm held up his hand.

"Riot, you need to stay here and look after the others." The Charizard growled.

"But..."

"Riot, don't argue right now. Please."

Reluctantly, the Aerodactyl nodded.

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The lab was located at a reasonably safe distance up a hill, but it didn't take long for Firestorm to fly down to the village below.

Now that they were closer, both could see that their opponent was a red Wyvern easily the size of an 18 Wheeler tanker. Whatever Pokemon he could see below were all running for their lives, presumably not being much of the fighting types.

Firestorm pelted their opponent with a series of fireballs and was barely able to swerve away as it retaliated with a huge burst of flames.

"These are not good odds!" Jade cried as the Pyro Dragon turned its attention from attacking the town to them instead.

"Ya think?!" Firestorm snarled, attempting to duck in between a couple of buildings, which the Dragon simply tore down.

"Get out of the way!" Jade yelled upon seeing the Dragon rearing up for another blast.

Firestorm flew downwards and dove around the corner, just in time to avoid being toasted like the rest of the street. The pair tensed themselves for a follow up attack, but it never came.

Some new explosions and screeches of pain made them peek out from under their cover.

"It's that Steel Dragon from before." Jade stared.

Although smaller, the silvery shape seemed to have the upper hand, buzzing round the Pyro Dragon and throwing off energy blasts from the cannons mounted to his arms. Of course, the Pyro Dragon wasn't a sitting duck and returned fire furiously. One of the stray blasts happened to blow a nearby wall apart, sending tons of bricks falling.

"Look out!" Firestorm tackled Jade, throwing them both through a side door into what seemed like a shrine.

A row of torches lined either side of the carpeted floor which led up to the altar. Around it were several large golden bowls with flames burning in them.

"Shrine of Fire." Jade read a sign hanging from the ceiling.

"This is no time to be sightseeing." Firestorm growled. "We should look for a rear exit before..."

BOOM!!

An explosion blew out the East wall, sending the torches toppling like dominos and setting the entire place ablaze in a matter of seconds.

"Oh CRAP!" Jade cursed, finding himself pinned against the altar, surrounded by a circle of flames. "Storm?! Where are you?!"

Shielding his eyes, he could make out the Charizard's limp form sprawled across the floor.

"Hey! This is not a time to be out cold!!" Jade screamed. "Storm!"

A beam fell from the ceiling, startling Jade. He stumbled backwards, tripping over the altar and sending its contents flying. Jade landed inches away from the circle of fire, feeling the searing heat of the deadly flames at his back.

However, something landed beside him as well. It was an elongated crystal glowing in the reddish orange of the flames. It emitted a bright light as Jade took the crystal in his hand.

Suddenly, the ceiling above him gave way. Jade panicked and closed his eyes as the burning chunks hurled towards him.

"RRRaarrrrgghhhh!" Firestorm had leapt to his aid, spreading his wings to shield Jade from the debris.

"Storm!" Jade cried, seeing the blood on his friend's back. "Guargh!"

Firestorm collapsed, pinning Jade down as well.

Jade's fist automatically clenched. As he did so, the crystal began to glow ever brighter.

Looks like you need me again, Jade.

Jade blinked, unsure if he'd actually heard to voice or not.

Don't tell me you're forgotten me already? Remember how I told you I was lying in wait within your body?

"I know I definitely heard that." Firestorm muttered weakly.

Hmmm...You even have my Spirit Crystal. Tell you guys what, if you will become my body, I'll get you out of this. Deal?

"You...you're the Legendary Dragon of Fire!" Jade realized.

Hurry up, you haven't got much time!

"Let's do this Jade..." Firestorm nodded weakly.

"Right...with you..." Jade managed, holding up the crystal.

"EXECUTE...DRAGON MELD!!!"