Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Charon's Pursuit ❯ The Warden ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13

Charon would never remember how long, nor how far, he ran through the forest. The raichu, overcome by emotions and spilling a trail of blood that would make weaker beings shudder, couldn’t even make out the forest itself. The forest, because of pouring rain and the darkness of the night, transformed for him into a living hell. No sense of direction, water everywhere, mud and bushes tripping him like invisible mocking imps.

He wanted to escape. He no longer thought of his desire for a mate, his desire to prolong his bloodline, nor his desire to pull himself out of the lonely existence he has endured. He only wanted to escape, to leave everything behind, to protect others from himself. He wanted things back the way they were. No, not enough. He wanted to disappear forever.

Some force of nature must have read his mind, for before he knew it, his feet were no longer touching ground. He toppled and fell down a steep incline, banging against rocks and shrubs, plummeting into what felt like a black, sightless pit as the world blurred around him. He would not remember how long he fell, for by the time he stopped at the bottom he was already slipping into a coma.

His last sight was the canopy of the forest looming over him, blocking the stars, rain racing to pummel his face and body. His last feeling was the pain of his flesh wounds, augmented by his fall, seeming to siphon the very life out of him, the mud caked against his body as like an impromptu coffin. And his last thoughts were not of the pichu, or the vulpixes, or the elusive herd of ‘chus that, he assumed, he would never be able to see. Instead, his mind thought of only one thing:

Azelia…



She could collapse at any moment.

Lily, the maiden vulpix, suffered greatly as she barely managed to rise upon her four legs. Her whole body felt bruised; the most cautious of motions would shoot paralyzing pain through the entirety of her body, but it compared little to the fears that drove her to stand and not collapse to the ground to die. She was terrified of the limp body of the zangoose, terrified of the raichu’s act of abandoning, terrified that her mate may no longer be alive, but most of all terrified that Ivy, the young pichu, may have ran away, thus throwing her fragile mind and body into the merciless maw of the forest.

She had to call out to the offspring.

Clearing her throat, Lily called out Ivy’s name to the best of her ability. Her voice was weak, quivering from the injuries she suffered. She prayed that Ivy could hear her, rush to her side, provide comfort they both desperately needed.

No one answered.

Lily called her name louder, no longer caring about the possible dangers. She cared for the welfare of offspring more than she cared for her very life. If she was to admit this greatest of failures, she would not be able to move on. The grief would paralyze her, maybe even stop the beating of her small heart.

No one answered.

“It is no use calling out to her,” Said a familiar, but exhausted voice from behind, “She is likely petrified in fear.” Lily at once turned around, immediately relieved that someone was still alive, yet as soon as she laid her eyes on the face of her mate-to-be the maiden vulpix recoiled in fright. Calien’s canine face bore deep, red claw-wounds that desecrated half of his once-handsome face. The eye on that side did not survive Katar’s brutal attack, now a grotesque, gelatinous mass of flesh, no longer capable of sight.

“I cannot say I bear good looks anymore,” The male vulpix said solemnly.

“Calien,” Lily began to speak; but because she faced the guilt of pushing him away for so long in favor of their perilous journey for the pichu’s salvation, only to have her mate-to-be forever marred (and nearly killed), her voice trailed away. Would words of comfort from her be of any good, being the prime cause of his great misfortune?

Calien said nothing. Instead he walked past her, his paws sinking slightly in the mud, towards one of the bushes, not even bothering to glance at the body lying beside them. Lily watched him as a sense of helplessness crept into her mind.

“I saw the offspring take refuge within this bush,” Calien said as he started to part the bushes, “There is a good chance Ivy is still in here somewhere, if I know her well enough.” He paused briefly. “What happened to Charon?”

Silence passed between them, for the maiden vulpix was hesitant to speak. “Well?” Calien asked again, pushing the question. He did not bother to look back, his good eye fixated on the bush in front of him.

Lily struggled for a moment to find the will to even look at Calien, nevermind speak. Her body weakened further, her vulpine legs feeling like dry branches on the verge of snapping. “He…he ran away, after…after-”

“After killing the zangoose?” Calien finished for her, his voice unwavering in its serious tone. Lily fell silent, as her sight dropped back to the mud before her. The maiden vulpix’s paws dug into the earth, as she subtly clenched her teeth together, fighting desperately not to fall to pieces.

Calien sighed. “This means we are on our own for now,” the male vulpix stated somewhat morbidly, as he continued his search. He pushed aside more of the leaves until the familiar yellow of the offspring reached his vision. “I was right about Ivy,” he commented, his voice void of enthusiasm.

Lily looked up, her hopes somewhat perked. She watched as Calien reached into the bush with his canine jaws. Moments later, the tiny Pichu emerged from the bush, held gently over the earth by the flesh of her back in the vulpix’s mouth. Her body hung like a ragdoll, the head bowed, as though she was lynched. It did little to ease Lilly’s despair, whose gaze froze upon the offspring.

Already she could see the torture that would await her. Somehow, in her comatose state, Ivy would perish. So tragic would her death be that the suffering of her short life would channel into her spirit. She would be reborn as a vaporous ghost, doomed to forever wander the forest, invisible, deaf, never again to feel the warm touch of her mother even if she stood right beside her. Ivy would cower, claw at the air, and bawl as her echoing wails of despair go unheeded, unanswered, and ignored until the end of time, for no one would hear her, not even her mother…save for the female who failed her.

Lily’s legs gave out on her as she fell to the awaiting soil. Her consciousness faded as Calien rushed to her side, fearing the worst of everything.


Hmmmm…I’m not sure what to make of it all.

Unbeknownst to Charon and the others, a unique being, one lacking of flesh and bone, had been watching the events that unfolded. No mortal eye could see him, for he usually preferred being unseen, yet his eyes could see all within his “domain”. He could also hear things that mortals normally could not hear. In the case of recent events, this was a blessing, for the sylvan landscape was crying murder. Charon’s explosion of electric fury cost the life of one of the great elder trees. To lose a great friend and a respected source of knowledge sent a shockwave through all of the towering barks. Forgetting that the terrorizing Zangoose first sparked the flame Charon unknowingly fueled, they demanded their overseer, the fleshless being, to enact justice upon the rodent.

Death, death to the tree-killer! Demanded the trees, their ‘voices’ united as one, Burn him to embers as he burned our greatest elder!

The fleshless being sighed. It was a wonder he didn’t go insane with all the issues he’s dealt with over the years. My dear members of the flora, as the Warden of this forest I can’t just carry out demands based on seething sensationalism. You clearly forget the circumstances of this particular…predicament. The raichu’s merely a foreigner defending his equally foreign companions- at least, I think they’re companions. However, he seems to have a slight penchant for overkill, not that he necessarily indulges in it. Based on his peculiar actions, he might even carry a heavy guilt for it.

That’s all you have to say for this murder!? How soft you are! accused one of the trees. They rustled furiously in face of the Warden’s dismissing attitude. We won’t except any excuse for this atrocity, this desecration of our kind! Creatures of the wood are supposed to know better! This, this rat, it might as well be human! Look, the creature’s blood flows like a river. He has abandoned his companions and has thrown himself into our maw. Let us finish him, so that his presence doesn’t defy us further!

If anyone lays a finger on the rodent, I will see to it his mind is violated by nightmares from sunrise to sundown, from dusk to dawn, until the end of his days! cried the Warden, as his patience with the trees quickly withered and died, you trees have always been so shallow, thinking only of your own species and kin. You couldn’t possibly comprehend what was going through that rodent’s mind, watching that psychotic zangoose attempt to destroy and violate his companions. And need I remind you that the zangoose intentionally gutted your barks, while in the raichu’s case it can only be called, of all things, an accident?

The trees grew even more furious. The zangoose’s abuse can heal over time, but none can revive the elder after what the rodent committed! We demand justice, and we demand it now!

The Warden sighed. Oh, so you’re that determined to punish a creature for trying to protect his companions? Fine, we can do just that, but it will be done by my hand and my hand alone! Despite your anger, you all know the raichu’s intent was noble. I won’t see that rewarded with a needless death!

Chapter 13

Charon would never remember how long, nor how far, he ran through the forest. The raichu, overcome by emotions and spilling a trail of blood that would make weaker beings shudder, couldn’t even make out the forest itself. The forest, because of pouring rain and the darkness of the night, transformed for him into a living hell. No sense of direction, water everywhere, mud and bushes tripping him like invisible mocking imps.

He wanted to escape. He no longer thought of his desire for a mate, his desire to prolong his bloodline, nor his desire to pull himself out of the lonely existence he has endured. He only wanted to escape, to leave everything behind, to protect others from himself. He wanted things back the way they were. No, not enough. He wanted to disappear forever.

Some force of nature must have read his mind, for before he knew it, his feet were no longer touching ground. He toppled and fell down a steep incline, banging against rocks and shrubs, plummeting into what felt like a black, sightless pit as the world blurred around him. He would not remember how long he fell, for by the time he stopped at the bottom he was already slipping into a coma.

His last sight was the canopy of the forest looming over him, blocking the stars, rain racing to pummel his face and body. His last feeling was the pain of his flesh wounds, augmented by his fall, seeming to siphon the very life out of him, the mud caked against his body as like an impromptu coffin. And his last thoughts were not of the pichu, or the vulpixes, or the elusive herd of ‘chus that, he assumed, he would never be able to see. Instead, his mind thought of only one thing:

Azelia…



She could collapse at any moment.

Lily, the maiden vulpix, suffered greatly as she barely managed to rise upon her four legs. Her whole body felt bruised; the most cautious of motions would shoot paralyzing pain through the entirety of her body, but it compared little to the fears that drove her to stand and not collapse to the ground to die. She was terrified of the limp body of the zangoose, terrified of the raichu’s act of abandoning, terrified that her mate may no longer be alive, but most of all terrified that Ivy, the young pichu, may have ran away, thus throwing her fragile mind and body into the merciless maw of the forest.

She had to call out to the offspring.

Clearing her throat, Lily called out Ivy’s name to the best of her ability. Her voice was weak, quivering from the injuries she suffered. She prayed that Ivy could hear her, rush to her side, provide comfort they both desperately needed.

No one answered.

Lily called her name louder, no longer caring about the possible dangers. She cared for the welfare of offspring more than she cared for her very life. If she was to admit this greatest of failures, she would not be able to move on. The grief would paralyze her, maybe even stop the beating of her small heart.

No one answered.

“It is no use calling out to her,” Said a familiar, but exhausted voice from behind, “She is likely petrified in fear.” Lily at once turned around, immediately relieved that someone was still alive, yet as soon as she laid her eyes on the face of her mate-to-be the maiden vulpix recoiled in fright. Calien’s canine face bore deep, red claw-wounds that desecrated half of his once-handsome face. The eye on that side did not survive Katar’s brutal attack, now a grotesque, gelatinous mass of flesh, no longer capable of sight.

“I cannot say I bear good looks anymore,” The male vulpix said solemnly.

“Calien,” Lily began to speak; but because she faced the guilt of pushing him away for so long in favor of their perilous journey for the pichu’s salvation, only to have her mate-to-be forever marred (and nearly killed), her voice trailed away. Would words of comfort from her be of any good, being the prime cause of his great misfortune?

Calien said nothing. Instead he walked past her, his paws sinking slightly in the mud, towards one of the bushes, not even bothering to glance at the body lying beside them. Lily watched him as a sense of helplessness crept into her mind.

“I saw the offspring take refuge within this bush,” Calien said as he started to part the bushes, “There is a good chance Ivy is still in here somewhere, if I know her well enough.” He paused briefly. “What happened to Charon?”

Silence passed between them, for the maiden vulpix was hesitant to speak. “Well?” Calien asked again, pushing the question. He did not bother to look back, his good eye fixated on the bush in front of him.

Lily struggled for a moment to find the will to even look at Calien, nevermind speak. Her body weakened further, her vulpine legs feeling like dry branches on the verge of snapping. “He…he ran away, after…after-”

“After killing the zangoose?” Calien finished for her, his voice unwavering in its serious tone. Lily fell silent, as her sight dropped back to the mud before her. The maiden vulpix’s paws dug into the earth, as she subtly clenched her teeth together, fighting desperately not to fall to pieces.

Calien sighed. “This means we are on our own for now,” the male vulpix stated somewhat morbidly, as he continued his search. He pushed aside more of the leaves until the familiar yellow of the offspring reached his vision. “I was right about Ivy,” he commented, his voice void of enthusiasm.

Lily looked up, her hopes somewhat perked. She watched as Calien reached into the bush with his canine jaws. Moments later, the tiny Pichu emerged from the bush, held gently over the earth by the flesh of her back in the vulpix’s mouth. Her body hung like a ragdoll, the head bowed, as though she was lynched. It did little to ease Lilly’s despair, whose gaze froze upon the offspring.

Already she could see the torture that would await her. Somehow, in her comatose state, Ivy would perish. So tragic would her death be that the suffering of her short life would channel into her spirit. She would be reborn as a vaporous ghost, doomed to forever wander the forest, invisible, deaf, never again to feel the warm touch of her mother even if she stood right beside her. Ivy would cower, claw at the air, and bawl as her echoing wails of despair go unheeded, unanswered, and ignored until the end of time, for no one would hear her, not even her mother…save for the female who failed her.

Lily’s legs gave out on her as she fell to the awaiting soil. Her consciousness faded as Calien rushed to her side, fearing the worst of everything.


Hmmmm…I’m not sure what to make of it all.

Unbeknownst to Charon and the others, a unique being, one lacking of flesh and bone, had been watching the events that unfolded. No mortal eye could see him, for he usually preferred being unseen, yet his eyes could see all within his “domain”. He could also hear things that mortals normally could not hear. In the case of recent events, this was a blessing, for the sylvan landscape was crying murder. Charon’s explosion of electric fury cost the life of one of the great elder trees. To lose a great friend and a respected source of knowledge sent a shockwave through all of the towering barks. Forgetting that the terrorizing Zangoose first sparked the flame Charon unknowingly fueled, they demanded their overseer, the fleshless being, to enact justice upon the rodent.

Death, death to the tree-killer! Demanded the trees, their ‘voices’ united as one, Burn him to embers as he burned our greatest elder!

The fleshless being sighed. It was a wonder he didn’t go insane with all the issues he’s dealt with over the years. My dear members of the flora, as the Warden of this forest I can’t just carry out demands based on seething sensationalism. You clearly forget the circumstances of this particular…predicament. The raichu’s merely a foreigner defending his equally foreign companions- at least, I think they’re companions. However, he seems to have a slight penchant for overkill, not that he necessarily indulges in it. Based on his peculiar actions, he might even carry a heavy guilt for it.

That’s all you have to say for this murder!? How soft you are! accused one of the trees. They rustled furiously in face of the Warden’s dismissing attitude. We won’t except any excuse for this atrocity, this desecration of our kind! Creatures of the wood are supposed to know better! This, this rat, it might as well be human! Look, the creature’s blood flows like a river. He has abandoned his companions and has thrown himself into our maw. Let us finish him, so that his presence doesn’t defy us further!

If anyone lays a finger on the rodent, I will see to it his mind is violated by nightmares from sunrise to sundown, from dusk to dawn, until the end of his days! cried the Warden, as his patience with the trees quickly withered and died, you trees have always been so shallow, thinking only of your own species and kin. You couldn’t possibly comprehend what was going through that rodent’s mind, watching that psychotic zangoose attempt to destroy and violate his companions. And need I remind you that the zangoose intentionally gutted your barks, while in the raichu’s case it can only be called, of all things, an accident?

The trees grew even more furious. The zangoose’s abuse can heal over time, but none can revive the elder after what the rodent committed! We demand justice, and we demand it now!

The Warden sighed. Oh, so you’re that determined to punish a creature for trying to protect his companions? Fine, we can do just that, but it will be done by my hand and my hand alone! Despite your anger, you all know the raichu’s intent was noble. I won’t see that rewarded with a needless death!

Whatever it may be, just- In the midst of a tree’s snapping command, it suddenly became paralyzed in the midst of a brief, but dangerously vivid nightmare. It petrified all over, but just before its voice could scream outright from fright it suddenly found itself back in reality.

Do not mistake me for your errand boy, flora, The Warden warned, or else you’ll deeply regret it.

And with that, the Warden paid no more attention to the trees. He now took heed of the faint trail of blood left in the raichu’s wake and followed its chaotic course. In a manner of time, he would come across the injured raichu. If needed, he would cast the large rodent into a deep sleep. Then, he would have the chance to solve the enigma that was the creature’s thoughts and memories.

I sincerely hope this raichu isn’t a mere nutcase, thought the Warden, with any luck he might prove to be useful.