“Partus! Partus! Zoyun tolokko nal mortek azh’ni.” I said, opening the door.

(Father! Father! The hand of death is approaching.)

When I opened the door, the world shattered, and time stopped.

I didn’t want to believe it.

But how could I not? It was right there in front of me.

The observation room, covered in bullet holes, blood splatters, knife marks, and, the grand prize, the window smashed completely. My life had gone straight to hell, and I knew then and there that there was a concerted effort for blood.

Without hesitating, I opened up a nearby drawer, and found exactly what I’d need—a loaded revolver and a small pouch full of bullets. Father was a prepared man, to say the least. As well, my reputation as a pacifist would keep me from being framed for the death of my father. I decided that I had one real option: escape. And I knew just the place.

Viridian Forest.

It was on Earth, yes, but it was…by Il’ra, it was home. I was born there, and sometimes, I feel like that’s helped me at times…although I can’t understand how.

___

I walked into the chapel, and knelt before the giant ruby cross there. Kneeling before it, I clutched the sapphire cross around my neck.

“Il’ra, sovak ta. Il’ra, nual ré,” I said.

(Il’ra, protect me. Il’ra, be my shield.)

“Yal’ra, nual ré. Valshi ji’nir , Il’ra i Yal’ra, toveral. Ra temik aviscon.”

(Yal’ra, be my shield. Into your hands, Il’ra and Yal’ra, I place my fate. For you are gods.)

“Prince! What are you doing here?”

I jerked my head around, to see Archbishop Kinto, who was one of the few people I could trust—he was from Viridian also. I gave a rapid, frantic bow of respect, before blurting out, “Lord Kinto! The Trials are upon us! By Il’ra, we are doomed!” in my rather broken Japanese.

He looked down. “By invoking her sacred name, I assume you truly are in grave peril, Prince Takeru.

“Excellency, this is not my peril alone. All Harberia is in mortal danger.”

“What has happened? Leave out not a single detail, or may Il’ra spit upon thy heart!” he said, before gasping. “I…well, that’s a bit harsh, yes, but…”

“No, no, I understand you want to know what occurred,” I said, raising a hand. “Father…is dead! His observation dome was covered in bullet holes, knife marks, blood, and…the observation window was destroyed, completely shattered into pieces! Someone attempted to kill me too,  and I…I had no choice. I had to kill him…it was pure instinct, I swear it!”

“Calm yourself, young one. You may speak perfect Harberian, but…slow down. Now, what happened?”

I took a deep breath.

“Father is dead. His observation room speaks for itself, and a man attempted to kill me,” I said.

Kinto’s face became grim, and he looked down.

“Dear Il’ra, this bodes ill. Follow me.”

He walked to the large, purple veil behind the altar, and walked through. I was stunned—only he was to enter behind that veil.

“You coming?”

I slowly rose, partly stunned, and walked through the massive veil.

It was beautiful.

Three marble statues of Il’ra were in the Chamber. Golden ornaments decorated the room, as did several paintings of Il’ra. Kinto walked straight to a small, ornate altar made of fine marble with a golden box on it. Out of the box, he took out---a single Poké Ball, which he handed to me.

“Your father intended this to be yours,” he said. “It is an Eevee.”

“Why have you kept it in the Chamber of Il’ra this whole time?” I asked. “For her blessing, I can assume.”

“Considering that it was on the altar of her most sacred place, I would say so.”

“Then, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to leave the chapel so I can see my new Eevee,” I said.

“Well, seeing as Il’ra has blessed it, I suppose you could see her here.”

I hesitated for a moment, before finally taking the Eevee out. It was a small one with a timid look, and Kinto raised an eyebrow.

“That is the blessing of Il’ra? Hm…” he said.

“Il’ra was the smallest of Yata’s children, was she not?” I replied.

“Well, I guess…”

“Her name will be Umbra,” I said.

“Umbra?”

“It fits her.”

“Does it? Hmm…well, that would be your decision. Now, what are we going to do about this crisis?”

“Well, Viridian is a possible location,” I said. “As much as I hate to leave, it may be the only shot we have.”

“Then you had best go there.Your father planned for this sort of thing, and set three escape ships in secret hangars throughout the Palace. The nearest is a one-seater, single-barrel V-20 starfighter. I assume you know how to fly?”

“I know a few things.”

“Then you’d best go,” he said, walking over to the wall. He pressed a single brick into it, and the altar moved sideways, revealing a secret compartment. I was stunned.

“Now, just go down that ladder, and go down the hallway. You’ll find it.”

“What about the keys?”

“There’s a biometric scanner on both the door to get in, and the V-20 itself. Now then…you’d best get going.”

Suddenly, we heard voices outside the veil.

“Where is he?”

“Guns loaded!”

“Go,” Kinto said. “They won’t kill me if you’re not here!”

I recalled Umbra, and began down the ladder as the altar moved back over the opening. As if on cue, light bulbs on the top of the tunnel lit up. As I got to the bottom of the ladder, I carefully crept through the tunnel, which looked as if it hadn’t been used in years.

After what seemed to be an eternity, I came across a door with a small pad right next to it. Placing my hand on it, it gave a light ‘ding’, and the door opened. Walking through, I saw a small starfighter---a V-20. I jumped into the cockpit, placed my finger on the biometric scanner, and set a course for Viridian before hooking up the stasis masks…

___

A faint beeping noise awoke me. Dazed, I unhooked the stasis mask as the faint beeping turned into a loud, roaring tone. Switching off the alarm, I looked through the cockpit to see a large planet ahead. I switched the engine into landing mode, and prepared to land, as I went down towards Viridian…

As if some higher power were against me, something suddenly struck my vessel, and I began to plummet downwards in a fiery spiral.

“Maruto!!!!” I yelled, trying to land the ship.

(Crap!!!)

+++

I stopped suddenly, and looked around.

“Something wrong, Red?”

“No,” I replied. “Just…I hear something.”

I looked up, and saw what looked to be a small plane spiraling into the ground. At the last second, it crash-landed about fifty yards away, the shockwaves knocking us to our feet.

“Woah.”

“Let’s go see what’s going on,” I said, running towards it.

“Wait up!” Yellow exclaimed.

We ran up to the smoldering remains of the site. The cockpit opened, and the pilot got out, dazed and confused, his eyes dull and heavy with fatigue, and blood dripping from his fingertips. He muttered something, and looked at us.

“This is not good,” he said in a heavy accent.

“Are you OK?” Yellow asked.

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“There’s no way you can be OK!” I said. “You…how…who?”

“Worry not, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“I swear it.”

“Good…where were you headed to, anyway?” I asked.

“Here. A meteorite got me,” he laughed.

“Ah…where are you from?”

“It was once utter paradise,” he said, sighing.

“What happened?”

“It…became…hell!”

With that, he collapsed.