Remnants 66 - Ruins of a Dream

Half a year had passed since I first started my journey. Summer had come and gone. The leaves were starting to fall, rusty reds and ocher. I was back at the ranch now. Not much had happened.

Then one night I had a dream.

I dreamt that I saw the Zoroark again - the one I had met so long ago, in Lostlorn Forest. He was standing in front of a familiar cave entrance, and he was looking at me with intent eyes. Standing behind him, in shadow, was a figure with long greenish blonde hair.

And then I heard it, clear and faint. Come.

I woke up, and I knew where I needed to go.

I packed my things, and got my team together again. Gilda was busy taking care of little Rosie, and Sonata was hesitant to leave Midnight, even though she was getting older. So it was Kitt, Fang, Belle and Charlotte, Maria, Leatho, and Marco who came with me. Belle asked Elana and Gemini to watch Churchill for her, and David was fine with watching over Daniel alone.

So I got on Fang's back, and we flew off. To Victory Road.

I trekked down through the caves until I found the one I had seen, framed by grass and old stone, not far from the peak. And there, waiting, was the boy. He looked the same as he had before - shaggy black hair, and bright, bright blue eyes. He looked up and smiled at me.

"You came." He said.

I nodded. "Yep."

He flicked his hand. "Let's go, then." Suddenly he wasn't a boy anymore - in the blink of an eye he was a Zoroark again, like before, and he vanished into the cave.

I went inside, and saw the ruins of a castle.

It was slumped inside the vast cave, as if it were half-buried here. The floor of the cave sloped down towards it, half-emerged int he rock. There, a long gangplank of sorts ran down to the ruins, and there I saw the Zoroark waiting.

I followed.

I went down the stair, and the castle loomed before me, dark gray, dappled shadow. A few spears of sunlight came through. They drifted down from cracks in the ceiling far above. A large piece of the wall was torn away here, forming a yawning opening, and that's what I walked through.

The Zoroark was waiting there, sitting on a fallen pillar. Sitting beside him, scratching him behind the ears, was him.

King N.

"Natural." I said quietly.

He looked up at me, and smiled faintly. "Hello again, Tabitha Baker."

I looked around. "What is this place?"

He stood, brushing dust off of his pants. Zoroark's eyes gleamed in the shadows. N gestured around. "This? This is what is left of Team Plasma's castle."

I looked. The pillars were crumbling, the walls broken and in pieces. But it was made of white marble, with gold inlaid and bright painted colors still shining. "It's beautiful," I said, and I meant it.

N snorted ruefully. "Hardly. It's just the ruins of a dream, now. The ruins of a twisted old man's dream." He sighed heavily. "I called it home once...but that was long ago." He turned to me, and his eyes glowed in the half-light. "Come, Tabitha. Let's walk and talk."

We walked together, through broken passages and down crumbling stairs. Even in ruin, I could tell the majesty this castle once held. But it was in pieces now, and in the half-light, it only seemed old and sad to me. As we walked, N spoke, and I listened.

"My first memories are not of this place - they are of someplace very far from here. I remember soft grass and sunlight, and eyes of piercing blue." He paused. "I can't tell how old I was, but when I was very small, I was abandoned in the woods. I was rescued, and raised, by the Pokemon that lived there. The Zoroark and Zorua. They have always been my closest friends. I remember running wild through the trees, laughing and playing in dappled sunlight and warm shadows. I slept under the stars, curled up in my mother Zoroark's fur." His face was bright with the memory. "That...that was home to me."

Then his face grew distant. "That was when a man appeared...and said he was my father. He took me away from my friends, and brought me to this place. This castle." He looked around at the broken walls and sighed. "This place was my whole world. That was Ghetsis. He gave me the name Harmonia, even though I kept the name that the Pokemon gave me. Natural. But Ghetsis didn't like it, so he called me N instead. He taught me much...he taught me how to be brave, to be a hero, and he gave me Pokemon to befriend. These Pokemon were broken and heartsick, abused by humans, and my heart reached out to them. But I can see now that all of it was just Ghetsis grooming me to summon Reshiram. All he wanted was a weapon he could use to conquer Unova."

He fell silent, and we walked.

Then we came to a high archway, leading into a long room. The far end was a great broken hole, looking out into the dark of the cave. N's face flickered in recognition. "This was the place that changed everything." He said softly.

We walked out into the room, the throne room. Out of the darkness flew a point of white light - and the light grew, and became Reshiram, who landed before us. He bent his long graceful neck, and N put his hand on Reshiram's cheek.

"Two years ago," He said, "I fought the other hero here. She had summoned Zekrom. I put everything I believed in on the line, and I learned that I was wrong. There was truth I didn't know - things I needed to learn. And so I left Plasma, with Reshiram, and I journeyed all over Unova. I learned a lot." He turned to look at me, and he smiled. "And when I saw you stand before Kyurem, even as he was about to kill you...I learned even more."

I looked at N. "Why did you call me here, Natural?" I asked.

His hand dropped from Reshiram's cheek. "This is a special place. Like Dragonspiral Tower. You can hear far here." He said quietly. "Listen, Tabitha. You can hear the voices like I can - surely you can hear it."

I paused. I closed my eyes and listened.

It was very faint - very soft. But I heard it. A distant cry - a plaintive call. I opened my eyes. "Kyurem."

N nodded, smiling. "Yes. You know what you need to do?"

"I do." I hesitated, and then said, "Thank you, Natural."

I held out my hand to shake his. But he took my hand, and pulled me into an embrace. I hugged him back, then let go. He smiled at me, like Brandon would smile at me. Like a big brother.

"Goodbye, N." I said, pulling out Fang and climbing on his back.

"Goodbye." He said.

Then I nodded to Fang, and we flew away, up out through the hole in the castle wall, into the cave, and out into the sunlight. Then we flew towards the Giant Chasm, following the call.


Remnants (c) me
Pokemon (c) Pokemon