Pyrocumulus

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i40.tinypic.com/j5bcrq.jpg);background-repeat:repeat-y;width: 525px;height:700px;] Lena could hardly wait. She sat on the front steps of the castle, staring at her watch as the second hand twirled around. Tick. Tick. Tick. Would he be the same as the old Zachary? Would he have changed? She tried to picture Zachary talkative and without his sunglasses. She couldn’t. She didn’t even think he’d be able to recognize him without his glasses. Would he be able to recognize her? She didn’t think she’d changed that much. Same short, blonde hair, same sweaters, same round face. Tick. Tick. Tick. She hated that sound. The sound of time slipping by, changing things, changing now into memories and tearing those memories apart. But she wore the watch anyways, so the ticks would remind her not to waste a single tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. She reached for the hot cocoa sitting next to her on the stone step and took a sip, then surveyed the road to the castle again. A man was nearing and Lena could just make out the bright blonde hair over his head. She started walking towards him, but it was too slow so she broke into a sprint. Halfway to him, she stopped, breathless, overcome by an unexplainable trepidation. She stared at her shoes before she gained the courage to look at him. By then, he was close enough for her to see him clearly. Suit. Taller than her (which wasn’t saying much, but he really was tall). Messy hair. Most important: glasses. A giggle escaped her. “Hi.” And with that single word, she purged herself of all the awkwardness that comes with meeting someone for the first time in years. She settled into his pace; she remembered this pace well. She’d practically had to jog down the hallway. Neither of them were an odd height necessarily, but Zachary was on the tall side and Lena was on the skinny side and she had to take two steps for every one of his. It felt faster here than in the halls, the air fresh and crisp, the wind from the sea flowing through her hair. She didn’t mind though. She caught Zachary’s hand and swung it while they walked, barely containing the urge to skip. They probably looked like a couple, but the thought didn’t even enter Lena’s head. Zachary was her best of friends, her only friend at one point, but Lena couldn’t think of him as everyone else. Zachary was her friend. That was enough. She didn’t want it to change. Change was scary. There was no reason for it, not when something was as natural as Zachary being her friend. It was meant to be. “What have you been doing all these years? Why didn’t we do this sooner? Do you ever see any of the others anymore. I don’t; I don’t know why. I guess I’ve just been so busy. I’m a breeder now; I just found the cutest karrablast and I've got this venipede that just evolved into a whirlipede and it's just adorable! You’re a researcher, right? What’s that like?” They entered the castle, Lena grabbing her hot cocoa from the stem though it was now luke warm cocoa.

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“Crud, crud, crud, crud, crud, crud, crud!”

And in the light of the one o'clock sun flew a large bird, an occasion feather colored a chocolatey floating down from the heavens as they were plucked from the creature in it's high speed flight. Pidgeot, like many Pokemon, usually came in only one side, but larger sized ones weren't so rare as for people to get into a huge fit over them. Which was nice, because if it had been normal sized for its species, the ride clinging to its back nearly for dear life would not have had as much room to crouch down on its back while it took off into the air stayed there. Made evident by its speed, too fast for it's usually moderate velocity, whoever was hitching a ride was in quite the rush, nearly pushing it to its limit in order to get to where they needed to go faster than if they'd just let it go at its own pace. Not that the aerial beast seemed to be complaining much; if anything, it was probably taking this as a challenge and nothing more.

The eagerness the final stage Pokemon presented was something Zach was to be thankful for and, gosh darnit, thankful was what he was. Of all the days his subconscious had chosen to sleep in on, it had to be the one day that he actually had made plans to be somewhere. Sure, he made appointments with other researchers in the area, but those were either in the late afternoon when he was bound to be up and at 'em or with people who were, by now, used to his being “fashionably late”. More like slept through the first ten minutes of the meeting, got ready in a rush, and either rode his Pidgeot or Charizard to his destination taking maybe a total of ten minutes. But today wasn't one of those stupid little meetings where he turned his Ipod up to make volume and feigned interest in everything everyone was saying. This was a more personal endeavor and one he would hate himself forever for being late for. Thankfully, seeing as his designated landing point was only just up ahead, he doubted he'd be more than five, ten minutes late.

Landing a little ways away from the Castle of the Sky, he swiftly returned Viento to her Poke' Ball and took the rest of the journey by foot. Today, he would be meeting up with Lena Kipler one on one, an encounter he was a little more than excited for. Meeting not one, not two, but all three of what he considered his only real friends together a week back at the mall had forced him to try and get in touch with all three separately and hope to catch up without silly drama that had been built up from years passed. He'd already derped around with Logan a few days prior, but between he and the universe, he was a little more excited for spending the day with Lena. She, at least, wouldn't meow at people repeatedly in an elevator. In addition, he just felt more comfortable around her. They'd known each other in days before high school when everything he did wasn't an act to keep up the “cool guy” impression. Therefor, while he still tried to keep it chill all the time, it didn't feel like so much of a big deal when his demeanor slipped around her. He didn't think she cared as mcuh as everyone else did.

The blond had hardly enough time to register what looked like a young woman with the same hair color as he sipping on a cup of what could have been anything and sitting on the door step of the castle before she came tearing his way. Laughing a bit inwardly at the excited reaction to his arrival while staying completely impassive on the outside, he waited for her to gather her bearings before saying anything. It took her a moment to look at up at him, favoring her shoes before daring the travel upward, but he couldn't help but smile a bit when red met lavender. “Hi,” she said with a little giggle. “Yo.” This was all that had to be said before he was moving again, this time with an old friend struggling to keep pace. As they got closer to the front door, he noticeably slowed down, feeling just the slightest bit guilty for making her work more than him just to walk.

Lena caught his hand in her own, swinging it back and forth with her own as they continued onward. Jokingly, he commented, “Be careful. Don't want anyone to get the wrong impression, do you?” He nearly made the mistake of commenting on how he'd rather have people think he and Cecilia were together, too, before catching himself and realizing how much trouble that would put him in. While he didn't know the whole story – something about a boy Lena had liked, surprising as that was and C.C. Snatching him right from under her nose or something – he knew all to well the consequences. While he and Logan remained as tight as the fail bros they were, the impact of the fights between the two girls was enough to completely deteriorate the group of four after high school, none really hearing from the rest up until seven or so days prior. But he wouldn't dwell on that at the moment. Instead, he laced his fingers into her own in a way he would only ever do with her, happily embracing her friendly gesture and leaving it at that.

“What have you been doing all these years? Why didn't we do this sooner? Do you ever see any of the others anymore? I don't; I don't know why. I guess I've just been so busy.” Talkative as always. Not that he minded. “Not much. Just... researching things, I guess.” Not really knowing what else there was to say on the matter, he instead continued, “Honestly, I thought all of you guys had either died or just left the region. I think I tried to get in touch with Logan once or twice, but you know him. And you and C.C., well... I guess part of me thought you two never wanted to see me again. … Sorry.” However, she was already carrying on from where she left off. “I'm a breeder, now. I just found the cutest Karrablast and I've got this Venipede that just evolved into a Whirlipede and it's just adorable! You're a researcher, right? What's that like?” “You'll have to show me them sometime. And... Er. I guess I've been tryin' to pick off where Aunt Melissa left off with her research. Between me and you, well... I don't really think I'm doing a very good job. Sometime, I think she'd get... mad at me if she were still alive. I'm surprised she isn't haunting me out of spite yet.”

Laughing it off a bit too awkwardly, Zach caught sight of her taking a drink out of her cup again – coffee or cocoa, if he had to guess – and offered, “Is that cold? I think I brought Feuer with me. We've been working on adjusting the power of his fire attacks, so he could probably heat that up for you if you need it.”

1269 words.

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[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i40.tinypic.com/j5bcrq.jpg);background-repeat:repeat-y;width: 525px;height:700px;] “Could you? Thank you,” Lena handed Zacharie her cocoa to warm. She watched with interest as Feuer carefully warmed it. It must take a long time to teach the pokemon to be so precise. Lena was impressed. “I bet you’re a great researcher, Zacharie. In your own way. I bet you’re the bravest researcher. And you’re my favorite researcher, whatever that’s worth.” She took the cocoa back and they walked through one of the archways leading into the castle. Lena thought she should encourage Zacharie more, but she wasn’t sure how. She thought it must be hard to be a researcher, with all the expectations of the past resting on your shoulders like that. So she distracted him instead, chattering about how talented Feuer was. The inside of the castle was as cold as the stone steps. It was dark but for the light that poured from the narrow windows high over head, illuminating dust particles floating above their heads. The place itself seemed foggy, like a half-remembered memory. The two turned to the staircase leading to the higher floors of the castle. A roar slashed through the lazy air, echoing off the walls. Lena tightened her grip of Zacharie’s hand, moving closer to him. “What was that?” she asked, unable to keep the fearful quiver from her voice. They proceeded slower, with caution. By herself, Lena probably wouldn’t have continued for fear, but she wasn’t about to let Zacharie go upstairs to face whatever sort of creature could make a noise like that all by himself. Another roar shook the air and the stones around them, but they persevered forward. A Dragonite towered over a dark-haired man. Lena only saw the boy for a moment before the Dragonite blocked her vision in a mass of darkness. Lena was too scared to scream. A gasp was all the noise she made, her hands flying up to shield her face from the sight.

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Through most of his rambling – the professor was finding that he was starting to do that a lot – Lena remained quiet, walking, listening, and not really having anything to say in response. Some might have thought was was ignoring him, tuning him out in favor of not having to listen to his complaints, musing, and self loathing. But he knew Lena better than that. Just as he would listen to her talk about anything for hours on end, content with not being able to put forth any input other than a slight nod every so often – something he hadn't had to do yet, but wouldn't mind if it ever crossed his path – he assumed that she would listen to when he started yapping on and on about one thing or another. She didn't actually speak up until he mentioned her cooling cocoa, but sometimes he preferred the silence over someone trying to convince him otherwise through cliches and meaningless words.

“Could you? Thank you.” On cue, she held out the cup to him which he took with his free hand, setting it down on the ground only long enough for him to fish his Charizard's Poke' Ball from his pocket. It was back in his hands as the fire and flying-type appeared with a roar. Nodding to the massive beast, he commanded easily, “Heat it up. Try not to burn it to a crisp while you're at it.” Holding it barely any further than he would had a tiny Flamethrower attack not been thrown his way, he watched Feuer heat the drink with expert precision. He'd trained his Pokemon well. Almost a little too well if you asked him. Swirling the now-warm liquid a bit in his hands to mix the heat around, he handed it back to her and returned his Pocket Monster to it's capsule.

“I bet you're a great researcher, Zachary,” she started up again. The blond hoped she didn't notice how his head started to sag at the compliment. “In your own way. I bet you're the bravest researcher.” Not like her, he screamed silently, not having the courage in him to say his thoughts aloud. Never like her. He'd sat on his rear end and watched while people were slaughtered all throughout the war against Imum, not even aligning himself with the rebels in his own sick form of preservation. The only reason why he even did anything in it, helped the rebellion at all was because his aunt had been brave enough to stand up for her people and died trying to save him. How could he be the bravest when he'd always be stuck in her shadow? “And you're my favorite researcher, whatever it's worth.” But, despite his silent protests, he couldn't stay angry at himself. Not with that. Leaning his head down a bit to rest against her own, he said back, “That's worth more than you'll ever know.”

As they pushed through the door, he squeezed her hand a little tighter for a moment, saying, “Keep on guard. Stay close. The Pokemon here don't usually stray in the halls or attack unless provoked, but if they do, they're vicious. Don't want you getting hurt on my watch.” As much as he hated to admit it, he only half payed attention to her idle chit chat – complimenting how skilled his dragon was and such. He was too focused on the muffled roars of conversation and – worse – battle from deeper in the castle. Maybe he was still on high alert from the last time he had stepped foot in this place. Maybe he was just worried she'd get hurt. Maybe he was a little loopy in the head. More like a combination of all three. However, his train of thought was stolen again by a not-so-muffled shriek from up ahead. Whatever it was, it was angry and they were closing in on it much too fast.

“What was that?”

A pang of guilt shot through him at the terrified little quake that fiddled with her voice, the way she tightened her grip on him and huddle even closer to him than before. Their pace slowed, but it didn't matter how slowly they moved. Unless it moved ahead faster than they were or they simply managed to slip by the fray as if my a miracle, they were going to end up face to face with... well, whatever beast had let out that furious cry. Zach didn't have time to offer any comforting words or commands for the shorter blond before another roar, just like the one before was tearing through the once still air. Heart pounding against his chest, he slowed down even further. However, it wasn't long until a young man with a head of dark hair showed up just ahead, in combat with a ferocious Dragonite all by his lonesome.

Now, Professor Hazel had been here before and had attempted to fight off the dragons by himself as well. Well, almost. More like himself and one of his overly vicious birds to help him not die. They managed to defeat Pokemon after Pokemon, yes, but that didn't mean that he wasn't in danger. He only really felt safe when he had two birds and his sword. However, the fool up ahead didn't have two birds and a sword. He just had himself. Had he been by himself, Zach might have just thrown himself into battle, using his sword to catch the beast by surprise then proceeding to either tag team with the stranger or provide an opening for them to escape. But he couldn't just leave Lena there. So, instead, he stepped in front of her for a little bit, voice calm as he ordered, “I need you to reach into my pocket and grab one of my Poke' Balls. It doesn't matter which one, just any of them. And don't let them out until I tell you to, okay?”

1031 words.

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It definitely wasn't the presence of dragon Pokemon that lured him to this place. Nor was it the existence of the strongest wild Pokemon in Lyeant that had led him to the place known as The Castle in the Sky. Maybe he himself didn't even know why he was here. Arceus wasn't a dragon Pokemon, and an area such as this was simply unmentioned when discussing the events and places that took place during the war against Team Imum. But Yuu's mission to find Arceus had not halted in the slightest bit. He still had a mission to fulfill. To search this great castle for clues about the god Pokemon, Arceus.

It was a personal mission, though he was aware that several of the other god Pokemon were on that same mission, or at least investigating into the matter. Even the evil god Pokemon such as Giratina and Kyurem were interested in the whereabouts of their king. As a lesser god Pokemon, Yuu felt as if it were his calling to go and try to save Arceus, if Arceus was in any danger. Since the beginning, Yuu hadn't trusted humans nearly as much as Latias had. But if it was humans who had captured Arceus, he was not the kind of personality to say something as cruel as "I told you so." He understood why Latias could love humans so much, but he could never bring himself to see them the same way.

Although he hadn't come across anything - or anyone - of significance, he was certain that his path of destiny was building up to something. The Eon Pokemon kept in his human form. Even though humans here was a bit more unlikely that the other major cities, Pokemon were also known to freak out at the sight of him, and Latios preferred not to make too much of a presence. He would even turn himself invisible, except doing that for several hours at a time cost him energy, and he preferred to use his power of invisibility while he slept.

The empty halls of the castle echoed with only the wind. His soft footsteps could not be heard. As a psychic type, he was able to sense other Pokemon in a limited way. He could sense a dragon type nearby. Arceus wasn't a dragon type, though. He wasn't expecting really to find Arceus hanging around here for no reason, though, but most other great god Pokemon were dragon types, and Yuu felt blessed by Arceus to also be a member of the dragon typed Pokemon.

But in the next few seconds, Yuu got to see who this dragon Pokemon was up close. The thud of powerful leathery scaled dragon wings could be heard, and a giant Dragonite came hurtling towards him at a high speed. Yuu began to protect himself by aiming a psychic attack the dragonite's way, hoping it to be just enough to avoid conflict. Yuu hadn't really been expecting to battle today. At first the Dragonite was surprised and confused, wondering how a human could use a Pokemon move, but then Yuu wasn't pleased to realize that his attack had only provoked the Dragonite into a rage, and before Yuu knew it, he had been hit by the Dragonite's powerful hyper beam attack.

The hyper beam instantly damaged the castle, causing the walls and bits of the ceiling to crumble and rain down from the sky. Yuu had been knocked back several meters by the attack. As he began to stand up again, he heard the Dragonite roar loudly, and by the time he was up to his feet again, Yuu found himself being stared down at by a very angry pseudo legendary dragon. Yuu was well aware that he was not the strongest Pokemon in the world, even though he was considered a legendary too. But if he faced against this Dragonite's power, he would be overpowered by only the Dragonite's hyper beam.

Yes, he dare not forget that this place was a place where the strongest of dragon types came to train by fighting against each other. But since Yuu disliked fighting and violence, training was not something he did enough of. If worse came to worse, Yuu would have to use his Memento attack to flee the battle to a place where he would lay fainted, weak and vulnerable to death for a long time. Yuu looked the Dragonite fearlessly in the eyes. He was also a proud dragon, and a god Pokemon at that. He would do everything in his power to put this Dragonite in its place. He just hoped he could survive another or two of the Dragonite's Hyperbeam attack...

:3 || 778 || Zach & Lena