Embarking

By: Theodore 'Blitz' Leung

theoleung@sprint.ca

The wind blew harshly across the icy surface of the frozen lake. At the centre of the look stood a young teenager, wearing slightly torn blue jeans and a short sleeved white shirt. Her eyes were closed, her sapphire hair flailing in the wind. She was concentrating something, her mental unaffected by the cold air of this northern area.

A few Pokémon watched the female from the edge of the rink: a Jolteon, a Vaporeon, and a Starmie were among them. They were semi-interested in the affair the female was in, though remained more towards being diligent and guarding her more then anything.

The eyes of this young girl opened slowly, revealing a beautiful pair of sapphire coloured eyes. She glanced towards her three companions at the edge.

"I am done," she told the Starmie, telepathically. The Water/Psychic type awakened upon hearing the voice the female at the centre of the lake. The star figure leaped up.

"She's ready," the Pokémon told her other two companions, who were also awakened from their slight nap. They turned their gaze towards the female, who approached them. The trio of Pokémon watched her, as she stopped and stood motionless before them. They wait for her reply.

"Let's go," she told them, before heading back towards a near by city, not very populated, but not that small either. It held its own Gym, the Gym Leader this female trekked back with from Pokémon Stadium, after witnessing the fall of one of companions, followed by a discovery of her own self.

This is Glacier City, the home of Sarpal, a Chimera subject infused with Lapras DNA.

* * * * * *

The female entered her own dwelling, dark and cold, though she enjoyed it like that. It was her nature to be attuned towards a rather cool environment. It hadn't changed much since she invited Ryna and Sam in all so long ago. She recalled the memory in her mind, smiling a little. Her Pokémon crept in, before Sarpal closed the door and locked it shut. The wind blew a few pages of the book on the kitchen table over.

The Lapras Chimera walked towards the book, flipping it back to where she was reading before. The book was old, though the Chimera wondered how much of it was true. The book itself was an interesting find, dealing with various ancient Pokémon, Myths and Legends, though some of them have 'confirmed' sightings. Tim himself was one to bear a Moltres, so the Chimera was curious if any more existed. One article caught her attention though, as it was the page she was currently on. She re-read the paragraph, wondering if she could…

"Lapras…" she spoke softly, not loud enough for the other Pokémon to hear. "The Ice Dragon. The Lapras is now just a species of Pokémon who dwell in the water and act as a transport for those who are fortunate to catch one. However, myths and legends state Lapras' were more then that before. Said to be ferocious creatures that dwelled in the water, attacking any that dare interfere with them. They tell of Lapras' that could total battalions of ships single-handedly, using the power of Ice, Water, Psychic, Electric, and oddly enough, Grass. Over time, they have become tame, choosing to steer away from civilization."

"Dragon…" Sarpal whispered, flipping through some more pages now, briefly glancing upon some of the other Dragons recorded in the book. Though Dragon's were normally two types, they also generally dwell past their 'domain', dabbling into other elements as part of their repertoire, at least, according to what Sarpal read. Dragonite would be a perfect example, being able to use Fire, Ice, Water, Electric, Flying, and Fighting, just to name a few.

Sarpal cocked her head towards the sky, though it was blocked by the ceiling. Jewel did the same, feeling the same presence that Sarpal thought. Despite being more attuned to it, the Starmie could feel the 'signal' was directed towards the Lapras. They have been working on attuning her Psychic ability after all.

"Psychic…" The Lapras Chimera spoke aloud, getting the attention of the other two Pokémon who weren't psychically attuned. Jewel watched for the Chimera's reaction, expectantly. Sarpal gasped, eyes wide, before quickly bolting out the door, the trio of Pokémon in pursuit.

* * * * * *

The wind seemed to oddly picked up as Sarpal trekked across the harsh wastes of the ice, though the cold didn't effect her, the blizzard did. Her vision was barely inches in front of her, though she didn't let her sight guide her anymore, she let her Psychic powers guide her. Someone was calling her, and she couldn't ignore it. She had to know who.

Jewel remained close behind, also following the Psychic signal, though Vapour and Jolt had a hard time keeping up through the haze and snow blowing past them. Jolt especially, not being in his environment at all.

"Go back," Jewel yelled to her companions through the howling winds. They barely heard her. "Go!" the Starmie shouted again, though the pair of Eevee evolutions wouldn't just abandon their trainer in this storm. "She is following a Psychic signal! I'm barely following her, but I can better then both of you put together!" Once more, Vapour and Jolt hesitated, exchanging looks.

"And what if she does get lost?!" Vapour yelled back, dropping his head as another harsh blast of snow zoomed past him. Jolt nodded in agreement, hardly noticeable through the thick blizzard.

"I will not harm her," a voice spoke in the minds of the pair, surprising them all. "If she can not pass this, then there is no hope." The two Eevee evolution exchanged looks again, wondering about the voice. They finally agreed.

"Bring her back in one piece, Jewel!" Jolt exclaimed. The Starmie barely noticed, but 'nodded', before continuing to fly in a spiral, speeding up to make up for lost time. The Vaporeon and Jolteon in turn retreated back towards Glacier City, unable to bear the blizzard for much longer.

* * * * * *

Sarpal pressed higher up, climbing some steep slope as she tried to find the signal. Despite being one with Lapras genes, her hands felt bitterly cold. Never once did she ever feel so cold before, after all her years of living at Glacier City.

"Who are you?!" she screamed out towards the blizzard, getting no response at all except for the wind that blew harshly. Sighing softly, she trekked on, placing her hand into the deep snow in order to balance herself on the steep incline.

Her foothold gave way. She cried out in surprise as she began to fall backwards, arms flailing as she tried to regain balance.

A hard force pressed against her back, bringing her back into balance as she regained her footing. When he felt secured, she glanced back, seeing the Starmie press her back against the trainer's to keep her from falling.

"Thank you, Jewel," Sarpal spoke telepathically, nodding her head before continuing on deeper. "I hope Vapour and Jolt are okay…"

"They returned back to the city, on the advice…of this…being," Jewel answered in the same Psychic fashion. Sarpal wasn't very surprised, she would have ordered it herself considering the environment. She was only going on because she could 'see' where she was going, sort of. Shoving the thought aside, she pressed higher up, knowing she was going up considering the slope of her climb. It took her ten minutes, and she was freezing, something odd for a Lapras, but she reached the summit of this location.

The blizzard suddenly stopped when she hit the summit, clearing up the view completely. Sarpal realized she wasn't as high up as she thought she was, though to her, it felt like a long climb considering. The summit over looked Glacier City. The Chimera admired the view, somehow wondering how she avoided this location before.

Her admiration was cut short as a Psychic wave alerted her senses of danger. Quickly, she rolled to the side, looking towards where she stood before. The air rippled momentarily, effected by Psychic residue from a Psychic attack. The Chimera found the source and turned towards it, only to find the source teleport away.

"Behind!" Jewel shouted out, but the warning came too late, as Sarpal was thrown forward by the Psychic attack. Her landing was broken by the soft snow, as the Chimera quickly rolled again to a side, an Ice Beam impacting against her last known location. In response, she snapped her own Ice Beam towards the target, who again only teleported away.

Jewel tried to intervene, only found herself bouncing off an invisible barrier. She gasped, knowing it was a Psychic type in there, but didn't know that Psychic type was strong enough to fight AND erect a barrier to keep others out. Sarpal risked a glance towards Jewel, seeing her locked out. The Starmie wouldn't even reach the trainer with Psychic messages, and there was no way Sarpal could hear a regular message if she was concentrating on this battle. The Starmie could only watch helplessly.

"Psychic/Ice…" Sarpal whispered, the Pokémon she was fighting obviously being of those types, or so she thought.

The Chimera lunged to a side, sensing the next attack to come. To her surprise, it came as a Flamethrower, melting all the snow where she stood last, leaving only bare rock face from the small rocky hill.

"Psychic/Ice/Fire?!" she exclaimed, visibly shocked by the attack set thus far. However, she had little time to analyse, being on the defensive again as a Psychic was thrown at her. Instead of dodging, she tried to repel it with her own Psychic, though it was weak in comparison. The blast threw her into the invisible barrier around the summit, forcing her onto her knees when she landed on the snow.

She quickly tilted her gaze back up, seeing the shimmering figure of her attacker flicker in and out of existence around the edge of the barrier opposite of Sarpal.

"What are you?!" Sarpal thought, throwing herself aside again, this time being attacked by a torment of electricity. She gasped once more, standing back up. "A Psychic who can attack quickly between Teleports using Fire, Ice, Electric, and Psychic…what is this?" she thought, watching the shimmering trails that phased in and out of existence. It was then, Sarpal saw it. She may be partially Psychic, but she wouldn't be able to predict any attack until she realized what she could see.

The glimmer of light phased back in, but Sarpal fired a Psy Beam attack even before the Pokémon was there. The two impacted, as Sarpal silently cheered for being correct in her assumption. The Pokémon crashed back into its own invisible field, but Sarpal wasn't done yet. In turn, she launched an Ice Beam next, a beam she didn't intend to stop for a while. The blast hit the Pokémon while it was still caught in its own shield, piling on as more and more ice was launched.

Eventually, there was a layer of ice so thick that just seemed, suspended in the air, if it wasn't frozen onto the shield. Sarpal huffed softly, falling to her knees, watching the block of ice that held her opponent.

The ice prison shattered into a million fragments, spray Sarpal with shrapnel. She was forced to cover her eyes and face momentarily, as the hail whizzed by. When it stopped, she opened her eyes, gasping at what she saw before her.

A small dragon, well, as small as dragons could get stood before her. It was best said as a whelp, though he was the same size as Sarpal. She admired the dragon in awe, his green and red wings flapping softly, gazing intently back at Sarpal. The dragon landed on all fours, folding his wings back, a smile on his face.

"Well met, Ice Dragon," he remarked, the shield now falling around the battlefield. "I am Zian, a Psychic/Dragon type Pokémon, though you may recognize me as one of the Legendary Dragons in your book." Sarpal nodded slowly, wondering what the cause of this encounter would be. "I must say, I was worried that you may not have been able to see through my patterns."

"Um…pardon my rudeness…but why do you seek me now?" Sarpal asked, obviously questioning the effect of being presented to one of the Legendary Dragons that was supposedly only a myth.

"Do not worry, I can sense your impatience," Zian responded, glancing towards Jewel. The Starmie only 'stared', listening in as being one of Sarpal's partners. The Dragon returned his gaze back to the 'Ice Dragon'. "It is…odd…to say this, but I speak from Dragon, to Dragon."

"The one you call friends are currently in danger," he continued, as Sarpal listened silently. "In fact, unless all of you…Chimeras…are together, it is most likely you will all die." Sarpal continued to listen, suppressing her feelings of fear and despair. Of course, even if she did suppress it, the dragon could still feel it. "I know you do not wish…to travel again, and I respect those wishes, but, from Dragon, to Dragon, I feel obligated to tell you."

"I am not a Dragon," Sarpal responded bitterly, placing a hand the opposing arm. "I am a Chimera."

"A Chimera with a Dragon's spirit," Zian retorted, taking to the sky, hovering in the spot. "I am just telling you now. They are at the Trilands, if you wish to try to save them, but that is up to you. Sarpal remained silent, as Zian expected. The Dragon smiled again, turning away. "I shall save you the trouble of climbing down," were his final words, before he, Sarpal, and Jewel was taken from the location.

* * * * * *

Sarpal found herself near the docks of Glacier City. Jewel was by her side, both confused on what just happened. They recognized the area, but something was in the air, something…friendly.

The air was taken by the faint sound of a song, played by the dock. Sarpal blinked once, trying to pin point the source. It took little time, and she quickly headed off in the direction, Jewel following behind.

They weaved between buildings and cargos before finally reaching a certain pier. By the pier was a Lapras, and on her back was a young teen, male, playing a flute. He wore blue jeans and a sleeveless shirt, though smudges and grim on those articles of clothing showed he has been travelling a lot. On the pier was a Vulpix and a Pidgeot.

He glanced up, smiling. The music stopped as the boy and his Pokémon gazed at Sarpal. His black hair was short, but his blue eyes had the same gleam as Sarpal's. She blinked a bit in confusion. "Are you Sarpal?" the boy asked, stepping onto the pier. Sarpal only nodded slowly, trusting this stranger before her, for some reason. She felt, something similar between them. "My name is Ice," the boy spoke, raising his hand. Water sprouted from it, followed by it freezing solid by ice. Sarpal stared wide eyed, surprised yet again today. "And I am a Lapras Chimera like yourself."

Fin