Antoshi and Fireball got up from their seats, satisfied with the lunch they had.
"That was great!" Fireball exclaimed, feeling more enthused to be on the road with a full stomach. The duo stretched a bit and sighed happily.
"Ready to see some sights?" Antoshi asked with a smile as he picked up his backpack, slinging it back over his shoulders.
"Not ready to hit that Gym yet?" Fire retorted as he and his friend began to stroll away.
"I suppose not," Antoshi replied with a casual shrug. "I guess I'm a little nervous after not battling for a while."
"I got ya," Fire said with a grin. "I'm always with you, one-hundred percent. If you don't want to battle right now, I don't want to battle right now." Antoshi chuckled at his remark as they reached a crosswalk. They waited patiently at the corner along with other pedestrians who seemingly paid no mind to the hulking fire-type that loomed above their heads. The duo waited for the crossing signal to change to a green light, looking both ways before crossing. Once on the other side, they were absorbed into the crowd of people sharing the sidewalk with them.
"This place reminds me of Saffron," Fire remarked, curiously looking around just as his friend was.
"Mm-hmm," Antoshi idly replied, his attention focused on the various stores they were passing by. Just then, the two of them, equally distracted, bumped into a small crowd of people. "Huh?" Antoshi uttered inquisitively, he and Fireball noticing people crowding around a storefront.
"It's terrible," they overheard someone in the crowd. "This city hasn't had a robbery in a long time." The duo looked at each other, realizing something was going on. They began to slip their way inside the crowd, which was a more difficult task for the bigger Fireball.
Antoshi gasped when he saw shards of broken glass all over the ground. They were the remnants of a large window at the front of a clothing store. The blond-haired boy felt an overwhelming sense of sorrow when he saw the store owner visibly upset as he talked to the police. Inside the store, clothes were strewn all over the floor as though the thief was unable to choose what clothes they wanted.
"Looks like his store will have to close for a week, they said," a man near Antoshi spoke.
"Money right out of his pocket," another person replied. "It's a shame, really." As Antoshi lamented for the store owner, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He glanced over to see his pal leaning in close to him.
"We should keep moving," Fireball said. "There's nothing we can do."
"I feel really badly, though," the boy replied. "Maybe we should try to help."
"Come on, Antoshi," Fire insisted, gently coaxing his friend out of the crowd. "It's not that big of a deal, and it's not your fault either." Antoshi groaned, looking back at the man. He then took another look at the glass on the ground.
"Wait a minute," Antoshi said, causing Fireball to stop. "Maybe there is something I can do." The Typhlosion looked at his friend curiously. The boy discreetly lifted a finger, pointing to the shards of glass. "It's gotta be possible. Just like with the apple." Fireball's eyes widened.
"Antoshi, you mean...?" he trailed off, though the boy just nodded, knowing exactly what Fireball meant. He watched with interest as Antoshi put all his focus on nothing but the glass shards. They both gasped when they saw a few of the glass shards move slightly. Their excitement broke the boy's concentration, causing the shards to fall limp again. The boy groaned, feeling a sense of guilt for not being able to help.
He took another glance at the store owner, who was looking in disbelief at his broken window. It reinvigorated his emotions, his fingertip and pupils glowing a soft purple hue. Suddenly one of the glass shards began to float in the air, causing the small crowd to gasp in amazement. Antoshi narrowed his eyes, placing the glass shard back onto the window frame, immediately moving another one onto the frame and continuing to do so with more and more of the glass. Loud, audible murmurs and gasps were heard. The crowd, the police and the store owner were stunned, watching the inexplicable phenomenon unfold before their eyes. At the same time, the duo treated fixing the glass like a puzzle.
"Far left," Fireball spoke quietly to his friend as Antoshi couldn't figure out where the shard he was moving went. "No, no, flip that one around," he added for the next piece. The two began to smile more and more as the glass shards showed a vision of their former self until finally, the window was complete.
"That's amazing!" someone exclaimed in the crowd.
"Now, how will they hold together?" Fireball asked. Antoshi thought for a moment before closing his eyes as well as his fist. The only object he could see in his mind was the broken window. He began to envision it as it once was, as a whole. The cracks in the glass suddenly glowed with the same purple aura the boy had given off before. The aura was invisible to all the spectators except for Fireball, whose jaw hung open a bit as the aura began to bond the glass together again.
The crowd watched in wonder as they saw the window become just that: a window. They all began to applaud the store owner, thinking it was some kind of show. The owner himself however scratched his head in bewilderment, but decided to take a bow for the crowd's benefit. Antoshi opened his eyes with a bright smile, sighing happily at his accomplishment. Fireball placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Do you feel better?" Fire asked, turning to his friend with a grin. Antoshi grinned even wider at him, feeling an overwhelming sense of pride. He was more happy to have helped the store owner than have to use his newfound powers, which he was still uncertain about. Fireball nodded. "Let's keep checking out the sights then, buddy," he added before the two of them turned around and began to casually stroll down the sidewalk. They left the crowd behind to curiously inspect the fixed window and converse about it.
Meanwhile, the young man with sable hair was casually laid on a grassy knoll just outside the city, popping some potato chips into his mouth.
"That was a pretty good lunch," he remarked, seemingly to himself. "Tastes even better knowing I got it for free," he added with a devious smirk. He briefly recalled how he calmly stole various snack foods from the store, ending up shoving an employee who tried to stop him into a wall twenty meters away. It was enough to cause the small crowd in the store to back off, allowing him to walk right out. He chuckled wryly at his actions, beginning to unwrap a chocolate bar from the small pile of stolen snacks right next to him. Just then, he dropped his chocolate bar when he heard the voice in his head gasp in shock.
"Ow, what the hell?" the boy wondered aloud, rubbing his ear as the noise was quite loud.
'I just sensed something,' the voice spoke with intrigue.
"Really?" the boy nonchalantly asked. "So what?" The voice chuckled softly.
'My, you've gotten so cocky since we first met, boy,' the voice remarked. 'Is it because you're full now or because of the power I helped you unlock?'
"A little of column 'A', a little of column 'B'," the boy calmly replied, biting down on the chocolate. "But mostly because I'm free, of course," he added with his mouth full.
'Indeed. Free to enact your vision of a new world, yes?' The boy licked the chocolate off his lips before glancing at the bar in his hand.
"Definitely," he replied, suddenly consuming the bar in his dark aura, burning it away into nothing with a soft chuckle.
'Then how would you feel about having some help?' The boy narrowed his eyes just as he was picking up a small bag of candy.
"What are you saying?" he asked cautiously.
'That 'something' I sensed just now. It wasn't something you should dismiss so hastily. I detected a faint exertion of spiritual energy similar to your own.' The boy's eyes widened in surprise, dropping the bag.
"You mean... there's... someone like me?" he asked, his lips curling up into an eager smile. He suddenly did not feel so alone.
'Yes,' the voice whispered, beginning to speak with an eerily calming tone. 'I want you to seek out this person. Help 'persuade' them to join you in your cause. Is that understood?' The boy's eyes made a sudden shift to an unnatural red on black.
"I understand," he calmly said as he got to his feet. "If this is your will, I will carry it out." Leaving behind his food, the boy marched his way into the city, seemingly under the influence of the omnipresent voice in his head. With a cool smirk on his face, he made a beeline for his target, uncertain of who they were, yet eager to gain their allegiance.
Antoshi and Fireball, still in high spirits over their previous spectacle, eventually walked by an ice cream store, a sight that naturally caught their attention.
"Sweet," Fireball spoke up, "ice cream! I could totally go for some right now."
"Well..." Antoshi trailed off, thinking about how much money he had on hand while reaching for his wallet. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to spend a little extra just once."
"Nevermind that!" Fireball exclaimed heartily. "You deserve a reward after you fixed the window for that man."
"Shh!" Antoshi quickly shushed him, apparently forgetting he was the only one who could hear Fireball speak.
"Oh, right, sorry," his friend quietly apologized, seemingly as forgetful. The two had become so used to talking with one another that it had become natural to them. Antoshi made a motion with his head for his friend to follow him inside. Fire nodded, ducking under the low entry to the shop as his friend held the door open for him.
Inside, the young male employee behind the counter tried to ignore the fear of having such a towering Pokémon as Fireball stare him down as he took their order. Antoshi took the ice cream cones from the employee's trembling hands, handing them off to Fire as he reached for his wallet to pay the man. Fireball casually took a lick of both their cones. He quickly pulled away with a convincing smile as Antoshi looked over at him suspiciously, having heard a slurping noise. The employee nervously got him his change, handing it off to the boy. The duo then began to make their way out of the shop. Antoshi took his ice cream cone back, inspecting it carefully.
"Hey!" he exclaimed. "I see a lick on my ice cream, Fire." He held the door open for his friend once again.
"Wasn't me," Fire casually replied as he exited the shop.
"Sure it wasn't," Antoshi sarcastically replied, though with a smile on his face.
"Come again!" the employee shakily exclaimed before coyly adding, "please don't."
Outside, the duo continued to take a calm stroll while enjoying their cold treats. Fireball had already begun to eat his ice cream with haste.
"Vanilla with sprinkles," Antoshi said, smacking his lips as he stared at his ice cream. "My favorite." He closed his eyes, about to take his first taste of the ice cream when he suddenly bumped into an oncoming pedestrian, his ice cream toppling over and landing on the front of the person's green shirt. His eyes shot open, jaw dropping in shock as he watched his cherished ice cream splat onto the sidewalk before noticing the stain it left on the other person's shirt.
"I'm so sorry, I--" he stopped suddenly, coming face-to-face with the person. A boy who couldn't have been any older than Antoshi, unkempt sable hair partially covering his tired, dark shaded green eyes that seemed to stare right into his own. But more than that, Antoshi was left in shock at how the other boy, aside from the color of his hair and eyes, looked almost identical to himself, as though he were looking in a mirror.
'He's the one...' the voice inside the sable-haired boy's mind whispered. The boy hummed thoughtfully as he, too, realized how much alike they looked.
"Whoa," was the only thing that Fireball could utter as he saw the two near-identical boys staring at one another. Antoshi was speechless, while the other boy stared intensely at him. Both of them were unable to figure out who the other was.
"Have... we met? Before?" Antoshi inquisitively asked.
'Who is this boy?' the voice in the other boy's head asked. 'Do you know him?'
"No," the boy replied to the voice, though seemed to reply to Antoshi as well. "We've... never met."
"How freaky," Fireball remarked, his gaze shifting from one boy to the other. The young man with dark hair gave a convincing smile to Antoshi, extending his hand in friendship.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"I'm Antoshi," he replied.
"Antoshi?" he wondered aloud. "That's an odd name," he added just as Antoshi calmly took his hand and shook it. Almost immediately as their hands touched, the sable-haired boy gasped, his eyes going wide as he saw a vision of a bright light and the sound of babies crying. Antoshi let go of his hand and the vision faded, leaving the other boy in a slight daze.
"And yours?" Antoshi asked as the other boy shook his head.
"L...Latoshi," he uttered, as though he were uncertain of his own name. He stared at the ground, trying to figure out what his vision meant.
"Latoshi?" Antoshi uttered, surprised at how similar their names were. He turned to Fireball who just gave him a curious glance at the realization.
'Why did you not tell me your name before?' the voice asked.
"Because I didn't know it," he angrily muttered, narrowing his eyes.
"Didn't know what?" Antoshi curiously asked. Latoshi quickly shifted his focus back to the blond boy, smiling reassuringly.
"Didn't know where I was going," he calmly replied. "I really should've paid attention. Sorry about your ice cream."
"No, that's okay!" Antoshi quickly rebutted. "It was my fault, too." The two smiled at each other while Fireball stood next to Antoshi. The blond boy casually gazed to the sky for a moment, seeing some dark clouds starting to roll in.
"Antoshi," Latoshi calmly began, capturing his attention again. "You seem like a nice person. If you wouldn't mind, there's something I'd like to show you."
"Well sure," Antoshi replied, glancing to the sky again. "But maybe we could continue this in the Pokémon Center? It looks like it'll storm soon."
"Sure."
"Sweet!" Fireball exclaimed. "Maybe they'll have some leftover food from lunch," he added as he and his friend turned around to head back the way they came in search of a Pokémon Center.
"You just had lunch!" Antoshi exclaimed. "And ice cream!" Fireball quickly gobbled down the rest of his ice cream cone.
"It's gone now!" he happily proclaimed. Latoshi stood in place, narrowing his eyes at Antoshi.
"There's definitely something different about him," Latoshi spoke to the voice in his head as the sidewalk began to clear out, people looking for a shelter from the impending rain.
'He seems very trusting of you,' the voice said.
"Indeed, he does," Latoshi agreed.
'Just think, boy. With him by your side, your plan will come to fruition much sooner than you expect.' The notion caused Latoshi's lips to curl up into a devious smirk.
"A soft heart like him, he'll be easy to manipulate for my plan."
'Oh? You seem quite sure of that.'
"I'm positive. Either he joins me, or he dies."
Latoshi calmly spun around, burying his hands in his pockets before heading in the opposite direction that Antoshi and his friend were going.
"He seems a bit odd," Fireball quietly said to his friend, believing Latoshi was still behind him.
"He's fine," Antoshi replied with a smile. "I'd really like to get to know him better. I feel like there's something about him. Something I can't really put my finger on, but he seems familiar to me." He then turned around with a smile. "What do you think--?" he stopped, realizing the other boy was not with them. He scanned the immediate area for the sable-haired boy, finding him far off in the distance, heading toward a thicket of trees outside the city.
"Hey, Latoshi!" he called out, getting no response. Latoshi continued to calmly walk away. He groaned worriedly, noticing the clouds beginning to cover the sun, turning the city dark. "Wait up, Latoshi! The Pokémon Center is this way!" Again, there was no response. Antoshi didn't want the boy to get caught in the rain, especially in a wooded area. He quickly took off, feet stamping the pavement as he sprinted toward Latoshi.
"Don't forget me!" Fireball announced as he followed after his friend.
'What the heck is he doing?' Antoshi wondered, watching the boy walk past a small, grassy clearing before disappearing behind the trees. Antoshi panted heavily, wind whipping at his face, reaching the same clearing not too long after. He followed behind, where he saw Latoshi standing in another small clearing surrounded by trees. His back was turned to Antoshi as he gazed to the cloudy sky.
"Latoshi!" Antoshi breathlessly exclaimed, soon accompanied by his lumbering friend. "What are you doing out here? It's going to rain soon." Latoshi turned around, smiling.
"Oh, I know that," he replied. "But like they say, a little rain never hurt anybody."
"Yeah, but you don't want to catch a cold, do you?"
"To be honest, that's the least of my worries," Latoshi replied with a casual shrug. "I had something to show you and I wasn't going to wait for the rain to let up to get that chance. The sooner, the better, I say."
"Well, what's so important that it can't wait?" Latoshi chuckled softly, staring directly into the boy's brown eyes.
"You have, let's say, 'special powers', don't you?" Antoshi's eyes went wide in shock, as did Fireball's.
"Nobody... is supposed to know about that," Antoshi said in disbelief. "Officer Jenny was supposed to have made that go away."
"I didn't need anybody to tell me," he replied. "I figured it out myself."
'Oh? You didn't need anyone?' the voice incredulously asked.
"Be quiet," he muttered under his breath, not willing to tell anyone there was a voice inside his head. He then turned his attention back to Antoshi. "Don't be afraid of your powers. I'd like to see what you can do." Antoshi thought over his request for a moment before giving a reply.
"I really shouldn't," the boy worried. "I mean, I just can't."
"That's a shame, really," Latoshi casually replied. "I suppose you're still developing yours. I mean, I'm still getting used to my own." The duo gasped, stunned to realize the other boy had powers as well. "That's what I'd like to show you. But I also have a proposition for you."
"Proposition?" Antoshi inquisitively asked. "What do you mean?" Latoshi chuckled, walking over to a nearby tree. His arm suddenly began to glow with a black aura, shocking Antoshi and Fireball. Latoshi gave a shout before thrusting his arm clean through the tree before sharply pulling out, leaving an impression of his arm in the trunk. The two were amazed by what they saw while Latoshi calmly stood there, looking over their expressions with a cool smirk.
"That's not all I can do," Latoshi said, taking a few steps back. He formed a ball of dark energy in his hand, before tossing it at the tree trunk, obliterating its base and causing it to topple over.
"Timber," Latoshi calmly said, smirking at the two as the tree crashed down behind him. Antoshi gasped, suddenly comparing the dark energy Latoshi used to the same energy used by a mysterious dark being in a previous nightmare. His face plastered with fear, he shakily stepped back, remembering how he was killed in his dream. He knew being there wasn't right. He couldn't trust Latoshi, no matter what. Conversely, Latoshi was amused by the other boy's blatant fear.
"What's the matter?" Latoshi calmly asked. "You seem afraid. I realize my power might be intimidating, but I've yet to tell you of my proposition." Fireball glanced at his friend, at the expression on his face, realizing there was nothing good to come from Latoshi or what he had to say.
"You see," Latoshi began, calmly stepping toward Antoshi as the boy continued to back away, "Antoshi, you and I are clearly more superior to the weak, pathetic, parasitic humans that infest this world. You have powers, as do I. It's obvious that we're smarter, stronger and overall better than everyone else. Therefore, I propose to you the advent of a new world. Think of it, Antoshi. You and I could exterminate the disgusting humans of this world and rule side by side as kings!" Latoshi's lips curled into a twisted smile, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "What's the point of being normal? What has it brought you? Nothing but boredom, right?"
"N-No," Antoshi uttered, continuing to slowly retreat as Latoshi advanced on him.
"Come on, Antoshi!" Latoshi excitedly goaded him. "Join me! I promise it'll be the best decision you'll ever make! I know first-hand that the people of this world care for nothing but themselves. They don't care if you live or die. Help me show them a lesson!"
"Stop!" Antoshi shouted, causing Latoshi to cease moving, frowning angrily at the blond boy. Fireball quickly ran over to his friend's side. "Just... stop, okay? Let's go, Fire." Fireball nodded, keeping a careful eye on Latoshi as they both began to walk away. Latoshi's expression turned light-hearted, chuckling softly. His chuckling quickly began to turn to amused laughter. The two stopped in their tracks, both staring at Latoshi as he threw his head back, cackling hysterically.
"Do you think you're just going to walk out of here alive?!" he asked in a bewildered tone, sending a shock through Antoshi's heart. "No, no, no. It's not that simple for you, I'm afraid. See, you can either choose to join me in my conquest, or I'll have to terminate you."