After a Long Journey

[Washington]

It was morning. Ectra, the ampharos, lay completely asleep in the middle of a nice meadow. She had walked herself to exhaustion.

[Dead PhoenixFX]

-Amber peeks her head out after awakening and the pokes at Ectra's tail-

"Hey...you still alive?"

[Washington]

Ectra moaned groggily.

"H-wha?"

She looked up at the little bug pokemon, her face full of sleep.

[Dead PhoenixFX]

-She giggles and nuzzles into Ectra's tail-

"Hehe"

[Washington]

Ectra, still half asleep, began to speak.

"We're almost there. I live over that hill. But my body isn't going anywhere."

[Dead PhoenixFX]

-continues to nuzzle-

"It's ok, just rest"

[Washington]

Ectra put her head back down in the tall grass, and passed out again.

[Dead PhoenixFX]

-After a number of hours, Amber got impatient and attempted to awaken Ectra but using ember a little on her tail-

[Washington]

Ectra jolted awake.

"Ah!"

She got to her feet, startled. She calmed down as she noticed Amber beside her.

"Oh, it was just you."

She looked around, surveying the land.

"Yup. I live right over that hill," she said, pointing to a flower-covered hill with a dead tree atop.

[Dead PhoenixFX]

-crawls back into her cocoon pouch-

"Let's go!"

[Washington]

Ectra headed over to the hill. As she climbed the incline, she could see her home cresting into view. There were hundreds of mareep, flaaffy, and ampharos.

"Home sweet home," she said to herself.

[Dead PhoenixFX]

-Amber crawls out her pouch and jumps on Ectra's head-

"Oh, I see it too!"

[Washington]

Ectra continued down the hill, as a flaaffy appeared from the crowd and began to rush over to her.

"Mom!" he called out.

Ectra rushed forth, and extended her arms to her son. They embraced for a moment. As they stepped back, the flaaffy spoke.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"Looking for your brother," she replied, somberly.

"We're not going to find him," he said, flatly.

Ectra took a deep breath. She knew he was right.

The flaaffy peered around Ectra's back and noticed Amber's string cocoon.

"What's this?" he said, reached for the cocoon, and grabbing Amber. He pulled her apart from Ectra's back.

Ectra replied, "Oh, that's a friend I picked up, Amber. Amber, this is my son, Volen."

[Dead PhoenixFX]

-is feeling a bit shy-

"H-hi."

[Washington]

Volen put the little bug pokemon down on the ground. "Nice to meet you," he said.

"Has anyone else gone missing?" asked Ectra.

"Not since you left."

[Dead PhoenixFX]

-Amber looks confused-

"Missing?" she said curiously in a worrisome tone

[Washington]

Ectra looked to Amber, somberly.

"Yes, I'm afraid. My son has not been home for a long time, and no one knows where he is."

Volen commented, "Pokemon go missing. That's the way it is."

[Dead PhoenixFX]

-Amber ponders on the subject-

"Why is that the way it is though?"

[Washington]

Ectra replied, "Because there are bad Pokémon in this world. Just like the one in the badlands."

[Dead PhoenixFX]

-Amber accepts that-

"But that doesn't answer my question. Why is that the way it is? why can't we change it?"

[Washington]

Volen interjected, "There's an organization called the Shadowspeakers, and it goes around kidnapping pokemon so that they can do dark experiments on them. Everyone knows it, but no one likes to acknowledge it."

Ectra flared back, with tears in her eyes, "Volen, don't you dare speak that way! He could be somewhere else!"

Volen replied, "He's been missing for about thirty sun cycles! Even if he wasn't captured, there's no way he could possibly be alive."

With that, Ectra broke down in tears, pressed her arms to her face, and ran away.

[Dead PhoenixFX]

-Amber tries to run after Ectra but her little legs don't take her far-

-she turns around and glares at Volen-

"Why'd you have to go a be mean like that?!"

[Washington]

Volen looked to the little bug pokemon, annoyed. He thought her naive.

"It's not mean. It's the real world. One day you'll learn that, pest."

[Dead PhoenixFX]

-Amber, being angered by Volen, uses Ember on him-

"Meanie!"

-Then she toddles off after Ectra-

[Washington]

Volen flinched as the hot embers bounced against him.

"Gah! Hey! You little runt!"

He shook it off and began to shout after Amber.

"You better be careful who you mess with, little kid!"

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