Chapter Seven: Into the Firefight.

"And can you guess what happened next?" Penelope read aloud, reveling in the suspense of her audience, "turns out the basket full of apples had been switched! Patrat then realized he was carrying a basket filled with herbs, which another trainer had lost on a shopping trip of his own!"

Penelope's story time had become a part of many recruits' daily routine. Every night, Luca, Jerry, Audrey, and even Roy would sit down in the big house and listen to the stories she read. "Ohhhh, snap," Jerry interjected, "That Patrat is gonna get it now!" He was quickly silenced by the annoyed glares of the fellow listeners, but Penelope was used to it.

"Yes, when Jimmy saw what Patrat he done, he was furious!" Penelope continued, "He picked up the little Patrat and..."

"GET OUT! GET OUT! CODE RED! CODE RED!"

Everyone leapt to their feet. Roy clutched his football defensively near his chest. There was a loud crash, and General Mulligan stood in the ruined doorway.

General Mulligan was an Exploud, but he was not a general. He was always one who had to get his way, but nobody dared question his authority due to his size and, of course, his huge voice.

"GET OFF YOUR BUMS, POINDEXTERS!" Mulligan shouted, "WE GOT A CODE RED ON OUR HANDS!" The recruits stood there terrified for a moment. Code Red was the title given to the one event even Andromeda was afraid of:

Oblivion had found them.

Pokemon from all over the base were being rushed to the harbor, sent to fend off the bandolier-wearing attackers. There were hundreds of Oblivion soldiers, and more were pouring in by the minute. The Unova Alliance was losing ground rapidly as their soldiers fell before Oblivion's immense assault.

Luca and the others charged onto the battlefield, fire in their eyes. This is what they were trained to do: drive back the oppresive force that is the empire. Luca launched himself at the nearest foe, massive amounts of energy radiating from his tail. With pinpoint accuracy, he spun in the air and caved in the rival's skull with a brutal Iron Tail attack. The opponent fell to the ground, not moving. Luca stared at the body for a moment, then prepared to charge his next foe. But there was a little problem:

Luca's tail was too heavy.

Unfortunately, Luca was not a very refined fighter, so he sometimes had trouble getting his tail back to normal quickly. Unable to strike back, he scootched away as quickly as he could.

The other's weren't faring much better. Penelope was doing her best to keep her distance, but her water jets were mostly ineffective. Audrey dashed around the battlefield, zapping anyone she could get close to, but she knew that she could not outmanuver them for much longer. Roy fought as best he could, but was shocked to see that his football was ineffective against the larger pokemon. Jerry, of course, hid in his shell, hoping that they would just ignore him.

Before long, all of the remaining survivors were backed up against a wall, helpless against the unrelenting onslaught. But just when they were about to give up...

A flash of light rocked the battlefield.

Luca opened his eyes to a dazzling sight. Standing atop a building, like a warrior goddess bringing hope to her failing comrades, was Andromeda. Her entire body was enveloped in blue flames, and within moments, she was on the field, laying waste to the enemy forces. In a single blow, a dozen Oblivion troopers were flung into the air, landing with a heavy thud deep in the ranks. The others took a step back, only to be met with Aura Spheres to the face.

"QUICKLY, SCRUBS!" Mulligan shouted, running toward a nearby fishing boat, "THIS IS OUR ONLY CHANCE TO ESCAPE!" not wanting to be left behind, Luca, Jerry, Audrey, and Roy made a mad dash to the boat, which had been left unguarded when Andromeda entered. They fled, able to hear the screams of the Oblivion soldiers from miles away.

Chapter Six: Legend of Crater Forest

Audrey walked into the large house after her brief trip to the infirmirary. She sustained little injury from the incident with Andromeda, and was told that she could continue her normal routine. She knew that Penelope would be in there, and so she decided to bring her some food.

"Hiya, Pen," Audrey said as she stepped in, "I thought you'd be hungry, so I got you something from the mess hall." No sooner had she said that than Jerry ran up to her, licking his nonexistent lips.

"Food? For me?" Jerry exclaimed, before gobbling it up, "You really shouldn't have."

Audrey looked at him coldly. "If you're looking for Pen," Jerry continued, putting emphasis on Penelope's new nickname, "she's in the corner reading to Luca. Come on, join our little posse."

Penelope was one of the few pokemon that had learned to read human script. Ben sometimes treated her like a little sister, and taught her many skills pokemon wouldn't normally learn. When Jerry and Audrey walked in, they saw her curled up in the corner with Luca, a book in her lap. "Now," Penelope continued, "this next story is called 'The Legend of Crater Forest.' It's about a legendary pokemon." Everybody gathered around, waiting for her to start.

Louis walked over to where Celes was standing moments before. She had left a book on the floor, which had a picture of a malformed-looking pokemon on it. Curious, he picked it up and read the title, which, like all books written by pokemon, was written in the language of the Unown. "The Legend of Crater Forest," Louis read out loud, "How peculiar." He opened the book and started to read it.

"Once, in the upper regions of Unova, there lived a small villiage. This humble villiage wa located in a place called Crater Forest, which was filled with plentiful food all year round. Life in the villiage was perfect, save for one thing: the beast. The beast, as it was called, was a colossal dragon whose roar could be heard for miles. The beast did not like the people of the villiage, and would stomp through the villiage and gobble the people up in one gulp. The people lived in constant fear of the beast, and left sacrifices of children for it once a year on the first day of Winter. Then one year, a girl named Aurora was chosen to be devoured by the beast. But Aurora was clever, and took her father's spear with her when she went to the beast's cave. There, she slew the beast with her spear, and brought one of its scales back to the villiage to show the people what she had done. It is said that the spear that had killed the beast rested in the cave for many long years, and gradually absorbed its power. What was once a simple spear became a vessel for the beast's life force, where it has remained imprisoned for centuries."

Penelope looked up, and saw her three listeners trembling with fear. "We're f-f-fine," Jerry managed to spit out, "Keep r-r-reading."

Louis looked at the book for a mement longer, then dropped it on the ground, "Stupid humans," he thought, "making up these wild tales just to justify their cruelty. I'll bet this beast was actually harmless."

Chapter Five: The Taste of Home

Luca looked over at Jerry, who was sprawled on the ground, muttering something about how asphault tastes. Luca was about to go over and help him get up, but was interrupted by a quiet noise. A noise that sounded like...crying.

Curious, Luca followed the noise to the biggest house in Virbank City, the one where someone called the gym leader used to live. Luca had no idea what made this gym leader person so special. They trained pokemon to fight with other trainers, only to be beaten by anyone that passes through the town. Being a gym leader must be pretty depressing, Luca thought. He was snapped back to his senses by the sound of more sobbing coming from inside.

He stepped into the house and saw a familiar shape sitting in the back room. It was Penelope, crying over the hat she always carried with her. "Hello, Luca," she said, turning toward him.

"Hey, you were great back there," Luca replied, "Andromeda's jut a bit sour sometimes."

Penelope continued to stare at Luca. "Thanks, It's just..." She turned her gaze back to her hat, "Sometimes I wish Ben was still around. I remember how he would wrap his arms around me and tell me how...how much I meant to him."

Before the humans were eradicated, Penelope travelled from region to region with a boy named Ben. Ben was a great trainer, the kind who always cheered his pokemon on in a fight and was willing to put himself in harm's way to help them. He had found Penelope as an Azurill in Sinnoh, and from then on they were as close as a trainer and their pokemon could be. As such, it was a very sad day when Ben was taken away by Oblivion. The memories of that day still lingered in her mind.

Luca looked down at the ground, unsure of what to say. He had heard that he was bred in captivity, but his trainer had died before he'd hatched.

Penelope got up and turned toward him. "It's okay, Luca. You don't need to say anything. I may not have him anymore, but I still have you, and Audrey, and my books." She gestured towards the large bookshelf against the wall.

"Now come on, help me find a good one."

Chapter Four: Remembrance

Castle Oblivion loomed over Unova, a warning to all who would dare to stand against the empire's might. Once the fortress for a group of humans who called themselves Team Plasma, it had been seized early on in Vladislav's conquests, acting as the base of operations ever since. The castle was nigh-invincible, fortefied with immensely thick walls and guarded by thousands of powerful pokemon ready to lay down their lives for the empire.

Louis and Raymond passed through numerous checkpoints on their way into the castle. Being built atop a mountain, the checkpoints were the only way to get to the castle, adding yet another strategic advantage. After being identified a total of nine times, the doors of the fortress swung open and the two operatives were allowed entry. With unusual agility, Louis ascended the interior walls and climbed into a hidden chamber. His own fortress of solitude, the chamber once belonged to another Zoroark, so it accomodated Louis perfectly. He stepped in, his eyes falling upon a familiar silhouette.

"Another success, Sweetie?"

Standing in the center of the room was Celes, a Gothitelle that had become quite attached to Louis ever since the Empire found him. She stood taller than most of her kind, and had a sweet high-pitched voice that made most male pokemon bend to her whim. Louis just glared at her, immune to her feminine charm. "It disturbs me that you think of this ongoing slaughter as normal, Celes," Louis retorted, his gaze never faltering, "don't you treat anything like it has magnitude?"

"Of course I do, Sweetie," Celes chuckled, sauntering right into Louis' arms, "but you keep on pushing me away."

Louis shoved her off, then turned away. "You're just like that spoiled little brat Haley," he muttered, "obnoxious, inconsiderate, and above all selfish!"

"Oh, poo," Celes grumbled, "this is about your sister again, isn't it?"

Louis growled. Back when he was a Zorua, Louis had belonged to a trainer whose name has has been lost in time. The trainer was highly competitive, and raised his pokemon to become the most powerful they could. Most of the trainer's other pokemon rejected Louis, all except for one:

His half-sister, whose name he had forgotten.

Both being children of the trainer's Smeargle, Louis and his younger sibling spent lots of time together. He had fond memories of running through the tall grasses of Route 3 with her at his side. Life was good back then, but was cut short by the cruelty of the humans.

Cut short by Haley.

One Summer morning, the trainer's bratty little cousin, Haley, came to town with her parents for her birthday. She went up to Louis' trainer and demanded him to give her one of his pokemon, throwing a huge tantrum until he gave in. Haley ended up giving her Louis, a pokemon he said didn't live up to his expectations. Louis still remembers that moment, when his trainer disowned him and a little girl stole him away from his family. He never forgot his sister's tear-swollen eyes as he was carried off, unable to do anything but cry out.

But that was not the worst of his suffering.

Unlike her cousin, Haley did no know nor care about the needs of her pokemon. She spent her time yelling at Louis to use moves like thundershock and ice beam and kicking him around when he failed.

Louis touched the scar on his neck, a grim reminder of Haley's abuse.

Finally, when he could take no more, Louis fled into the wild, where he evolved and eventually joined Oblivion. He carried out numerous raids and assassinations, all motivated by one thing: revenge. One night, he got his wish, and brutally attacked Haley in her own home, leaving her to die a slow and painful death. When he heard about the Unova Alliance, he was shocked. Why would any pokemon work to bring back those terrible humans, he wondered. Do they like being enslaved and forced to fight for their trainer's entertainment? Although he was an assassin,Louis didn't like hurting other pokemon. There was only one reason he even involved himself with the horrible UA:

They had his sister.

Louis turned back towards Celes, fire blazing in his eyes. "Say what you want about her, but she's the only one who I hold close, the only person I have left. I will find her, no matter what I have to do.

Celes frowned at Louis, then turned around and disappeared without a sound.

Chapter Three: Life in the Shadows

A shadowy figure creeped through the shadows of Lacunosa town. Nearby, a group of UA troopers stood listening to thier leader, an Abomasnow named Mortecai, rattle off thier plan to attack the Oblivion encampment on Villiage Bridge. The figure listened intently, taking in Mortecai's every word. Finally, Mortecai walked away from his cheering followers,

And right into a carefully prepared trap...

No sooner was Mortecai out of sight then a black claw tore across his neck. Reeling, Mortecai looked up and saw the face of his assailant. He was a Zoroark with red bandolier, indicating that he was one of Oblivion's soldiers. However, there was something different about him. his expression told of anguish and sorrow, as if the killing hurt him. The last words Mortecai heard befor blacking out were "I'm sorry," whispered by his attacker.

His name was Louis.

Louis stood over Mortecai's corpse for a moment, deep in thought. "Why did the war have to go on like this?" he wondered, "Why are we forced to kill each other like this?" "Are we really any better than the humans we overthrew?" His contemplation was interrupted by the sudden appearance of his teammate, Raymond the Emolga, who promptly descended from his perch and landed at Raymond's feet.

"Now that he's gone, this division of the rebels is hosed." Raymond said, pulling out a pair of sunglasses and slipping them on, "No more yeti sightings here."

Louis continued to stare down at Mortecai's body. Unlike Raymond, he struggled with the idea of killing other pokemon, even if they did sympathize with those accursed humans. Louis slowly turned around, taking one last look at the death he had brought, and leaped onto the rooftop.

Chapter Two: Among Ruin

Luca closed his eyes to shield himself from the massive explosion of dust, the one thought going through his mind being "what the Arceus was that?" There's no way that Audrey's fireworks could've done that. It was either an attack by Oblivion or the even more unpleasant option.

The recruits were unlucky enough to be faced with the latter...

Standing before them was the pokemon that every UA recruit knew and feared. A pokemon strong enough to take them all on and still come out on top. The one who had created the Unova Alliance. Andromeda the Lucario. "Just what do you think you're doing?" She snarled, her piercing blue eyes glaring down at the recruits, "get out of my way."

"Well what if we don't want to, Lady?" Lenny called back, before knocked across the pavement by an aura sphere in the chest. Andromeda gazed over the rest of the recruits with an icy glare, then dashed past them all, mumbling something about how they would never understand.

Andromeda bounded up to the top of the easternmost oil rig. This was her favorite place in the encampment, where she could sit and contemplate with the ocean as her only companion. Andromeda had a dark secret. One that would destroy her if anyone found out.

Andromeda was human.

She wasn't completely sure how she had become a Lucario, but once it had happened, everything changed. She could no longer communicate with other humans, and was powerless to protect them against Oblivion, even with her immense strength and speed. Before all this had happened, Andromeda had been like any other trainer. She travelled from region to region, catching and training her pokemon to one day fulfill her dream of becoming a pokemon contest master. Those sweet memories were still fresh in her mind, and any reminders of them were painful to her. Now, she was alone.

"You still want the old times, don't you."

Andromeda turned around and saw her only friend, Terry the Blaziken, standing over her. Terry was only a Torchic when the two had first met. He had been her first pokemon, and the two had many adventures together. Terry had lost his left arm fighting off an Oblivion attack, but still remained loyal to his former trainer. "It's definitely going to be hard to return to the human world after the war," he continued, "How will your old friends react to you when you come back to them as a pokemon?"

"I'll find a way to change back," she called back, but there wasn't much confidence in her voice. She had no idea how she became a Lucario. How could she become human again? And what about the recruits? What will they do when they realize thier leader was a human this whole time? There were dozens of questions that still remained unanswered, but Andromeda knew she had to figure them out. But how could she?

Correction Corner

In my last post, I mistakenly called the character Jerry the Turtwig by the name of Lenny several times. I apologize for any confusion. The character is in fact named Jerry. This mistake has arisen from the fact that Jerry was originally called Lenny, but I have since changed the name.

Apologies to all who were confused,

Matt Daley