~~~~~~~~~
Linked
~~~~~~~~~
The van door slammed shut, and we began our descent down 
my driveway. Mrs. Selten pulled into the somewhat busy 
street of Orangebane, and started the twenty-minute 
drive to school. Mark Selten was busy with some 
unfinished homework, while the other kid, Emily, was 
reading a book. Mark and Emily were schoolmates of mine; 
Emily was in seventh grade, Mark in fifth. I carpooled 
with the Seltens, due to the family driver/butler was 
fired. He was a drug addict, and stole our money to buy 
drugs. My father fired Bruce when he found out. How 
nice. I looked out the window, watching the sun ascend 
into a clear sky and the land pass by.  

I just remembered my dream, well, nightmare is more like 
it. It went something like this: I was riding to school, 
in this car with the Seltens. The car was stopped, 
waiting for a green light. Suddenly, something burst 
through the windshield, shattering glass all over. The 
bundle of something, I thought it might have been a 
small pokemon, hurtled into my arms. I had looked down 
at it, and I saw that it was indeed a pokemon, but one I 
did not know. Its eyes were small and dark, but held an 
immense worry in them. All of a sudden, I saw a vehicle 
hurtle towards the stopped van. There was a great 
impact, as it crashed into us. Steel and metal grinded 
together, and I felt a great pain. I had woken up right 
after that, sweaty and shivering, and in my mind bore 
the imprint of the pokemon’s eyes. Strange, I know. I 
didn’t know what to make of it, but I had had many 
dreams before, and put this one aside.
 
I then wondered about school. What would we do today? I 
knew my schedule, but every day was something new, 
unpredictable, and totally different at Darn’s Academy. 
The teachers were fixed on new and unusual ways of 
learning, from scaling a nearby cliff with only a white 
silky string to see how spinarak climb, to eating oats 
and hay to see just how a ponyta eats. Of course, there 
were classes on training, and normal schoolwork, not 
just pokemon study.    

Darn’s was thought as a school for rich snobs who didn’t 
need to learn anything important because they already 
had enough money to get them through life. Michel 
Steadmann changed everything. He became the Headmaster, 
and made Darn’s the most sought after school this side 
of Kanto. Steadmann was an outgoing, eccentric old man 
that everybody loved. Although Head S. wasn’t the reason 
my parents wanted to send me there. Their Precious Angel 
deserved the best and only the best. Also, my parents 
fit the description of rich snobs who don’t know 
anything important because they have their money, and on 
top of that, clueless, brainless, and stupid. Their 
Precious Angel deserved to go to such an expensive 
school, for the price of everything showed its worth ......
According to my parents.

Yes, Precious Angel. I hated and despised their nickname 
for me; one I’ve had since I was able to open my eyes. 
My diamond-like sky blue eyes, that is, according to my 
over protective, dense blond lady I call my mother. 

I don’t know why I was picked to be the 60th 
kindergarten child to learn at Darn’s. I still remember 
the day Head S., the nickname for Headmaster Steadmann 
took me in. 
I was this pale, little thing, all skin and bones. I 
remember sitting in a white leather chair in front of 
the large, maple desk of Head S’s. My long, light brown 
hair was tangled in the way a five-year-old’s gets, no 
matter the efforts my maid had spent combing it out. I 
wore white velvet pants, with a simple purple shirt. But 
he looked right at me with those piercing hawk eyes and 
said,
"She is perfect." 

Those words, however, became my parent’s favorite, and 
they told everyone they had a chance to, "Michel 
Steadmann said our little angel is perfect!" 
It really bugged me. 

"How is your baby sister?" Mrs. Selten asked me, 
interrupting my thoughts.  
 
"Wha? Oh, Star? She’s cool," I replied, ignoring Mrs. 
Selten’s frown.

Another thing I disliked. Why did everyone around here 
talk so formally? Even people my age used a bare minimum 
of slang. What kind of place do I live in, anyways? 
Everyone talks like they live in times a hundred years 
ago. I was the only one, the only one talking like I 
actually lived in the 2000s. 

Dunlin: city of rich, dense folk. Every house in the 
area was simply huge, with as many luxuries in each as 
possible could be held. People were expected to shop at 
only the most expensive stores; eat only the most 
expensive caviar. 

Me, I hated caviar. I also disliked being forced to wear 
$700 leather pants for everyday use, when I was out 
riding rapidash, making forts in the woods. I was stuck 
here, besides the numerous vacations I had been dragged 
along to. Not where I wanted to go, to explore the 
Safari Zone or tour the famous Dark Cave, but to sit in 
fancy restaurants and gorge myself on tasteless food or 
shop in fancy stores, and ooh at the pretty buildings.  

I hadn’t been on vacation for a while, though, because 
of my baby sister. Star was only 10 months old, and took 
away almost all of my mother’s time, and all of 
Kristin’s, Star’s nurse, time too. Even though her young 
age, Star showed signs of turning out a snob, and 
probably a stupid one at that. Star had a head of blond 
curls, like my mother, with her rosy skin, and my dad’s 
hazel eyes. I, on the other hand, had light brown hair, 
and was skin and bones. The fat I did have, though, was 
muscle. My eyes favored my mother’s, but a more 
brighter, fuller blue. I was tall, five and eight 
inches, almost as tall as my dad and a few inches 
shorter than my mom. My skin was tanned from spending my 
time out in the sun. An average person, I looked like. I 
stuck out in Dunlin, like a giant in a town of midgets. 
Not that I was a giant, or Dunlin full of midgets.

"We’re here!" Mrs. Selten announced, opening the van 
doors with the press of a button. I grabbed my backpack 
and said good-bye, then hopped out onto the pavement. 

I pulled open the doors of the school, and headed up the 
front stairs. Weaving through the crowd of sixth, 
seventh, and eighth graders, I reached my white locker. 
After failing several times to do my combo right, I 
yanked open the stiff door after giving a slight kick to 
the lower right corner of the locker. My backpack was 
hung up, and all the books from it emptied. I grabbed my 
laptop, and turned it on. 

<Good Morning! Today’s first class is Pokemon Training, 
in field 2> my little computer greeted.     

Well, pokemon training was interesting, but field 2 was 
far away. I would have to hurry to be on time. Classes 
were changed daily, so a person never was bored, and for 
security reasons and school purposes. Students all had a 
school issued laptop, if they did not have one of their 
own. 

<You’ve got mail> the computer said, for the second 
time. 

I ignored it, and grabbed my trainer gear, and stuffed 
it into the daypack, along with my laptop. Then, I 
started weaving through the crowd to my homeroom. 
 
"Angel! May I carry your stuf- er, I mean belongings?" 
My only friend, Jeff rushed up to me, bowing mockingly. 

"Anytime, J-Fro, anytime," I responded, dumping my junk 
into his already loaded arms. 

Jeff, or J-Fro as I called him to the displeasure of 
everyone else, excluding him, was my one and only 
friend. He was as informal and stuck out as much as I. 
We were two peas in a pod, two dogs in a blanket, and 
had been friends since our first day of kindergarten. 
His nickname came from the mass of curly brown hair on 
his head. Jeff often called me Gel in return. J-Fro was 
an orphan; both his parents had died four years ago in a 
plane crash. Our parents were friends of sorts, and we 
had visited each other many times. Jeff was being 
brought up by his butler, cook and maid, and lived all 
alone in his huge house. Well, not exactly alone. He 
owned a couple of pokemon, but none could amount to his 
aipom. He loved that little monkey like no other, and 
they were always together.  

My pokemon, on the other hand, were pets and just that. 
I had a cute little pichu, a rapidash, a growlithe, a 
persian, and some goldeen and seaking in the fishpond in 
my front yard. I loved them all, but they weren’t the 
kind of battle pokemon, or friend pokemon. They were 
just sort of gifts, toys. 

"Well, Pokemon Training. Wonder what we get to do now," 
I sighed, walking through the hall with Jeff.

"Yeah, in field 2," Jeff added. I nodded. 

Field two was basically a field of tall prairie grass, 
and it connected to field one, a forest of sorts, and 
with field three, a giant lake and waterfront. There 
three fields were a mass of land that was ideal terrain 
for a challenge, and a great place to catch pokemon, 
when the school allows it. 
  
Most of the time we were at a normal battlefield, or a 
field specialized for elements. A lot of times we were 
in a classroom, also. 

"Here you go," Jeff dumped my back on top of my desk, 
and went to his own desk. I sat down, and waited for the 
bell to ring. 

The day went fine, in Pokemon Training, we were sent 
through the three fields and try to collect as many 
medallions as possible. Then, there was Math and all the 
other normal classes, English, Lit., Geography, and 
Science. Near the end of the day, the classes we had 
were Pokemon Behavior, and Pokemon Diets. There were 
other classes, too, but they didn’t happen every day. 

Now it was three, and school was out. Jeff and I finally 
got through the crowded halls of Darn’s, and I was 
scanning the parking lot for a golden colored van, and 
Jeff was looking for his yellow convertible that his 
butler drove. 

"Hey, Gel. Do you want to come over tonight?" Jeff 
asked. 

"Sure, call me!" I replied, and spotted the Selten’s 
van.   

"Bye!" I called, trotting to the car. 

"How was school?" Mrs. Selten asked me as I slid into 
the car.

"Ok," I replied, and shut the car door. 

The car sprung to life, and we pulled out of the school. 
Emily was staying after, so it was just Mark and I. I 
pulled out a book, and started reading  ‘The Digestion 
Of Fire Pokemon,’ article #4. Weird stuff, huh?  

"I have to make a small detour, and pick up a dress in 
Saffron. Is that ok? You two can go get an ice cream at 
The Majestic," Mrs. Selten asked Mark and I.
 
"Sure," I replied, groaning inside. Saffron was a good 
twenty-minute ways from here, forty minutes away from my 
house. And knowing Mrs. Selten, she wants to find a 
dress to wear for the next ball or what ever, try it on, 
get it personalized, all while chatting away with the 
sales clerks, then, finally buy it. Mark knew that too, 
and I could see him rolling his eyes. Ice cream at the 
majestic would be a tiny amount of some specialty 
flavor, with a cherry on top and in a glass bowl. All 
for a wonderful price of eight dollars.  

I set down my book, and pulled out my laptop. I answered 
the email I’ve had since this morning, one that 
advertised an overnight field trip to Oak Labs. 

Been there, done that, I sighed. 

Then, I started an email, typing:

Dear Mom or Dad: 
Mrs. Selten has to go shopping for a dress. I might not 
be home for a while, at least not till four thirty. Jeff 
wanted to know if I want to visit him this Saturday. May 
I? I will call if I will not be home until late. It is 
not that important, since today is Friday.    
Love, 
Your Angel. 

I sent that email, and started another.

Wassup J-Fro!
The ‘rents didn’t say I couldn’t hang with you tomorrow, 
so I prolly can. Old Lady Selten is going to Saffron to 
buy a dress, and dragging Mark and I with her. >:( Lucky 
me.... 
Well, I guess I’ll see ya later!
Chillin, Angel. 

Done with my emails, I shut my laptop and continued 
reading. I had small paper due Monday on the Digestion 
Of Fire And Water creatures, so I had to finish this 
chapter.  

"Mom? If Angel and I are done eating ice cream at the 
majestic, is it all right if we go somewhere else? We 
can meet you at the town square at a certain time, if 
you would like?" Mark asked.

 "Well... all right. You two can meet me at the square at 
exactly four thirty," Mrs. Selten replied, in a stern 
tone. 

I rolled my eyes; now I wouldn’t be home until five 
fifteen at the earliest. 

<You’ve got mail> a computer beeped; it was mine. I 
looked own at the laptop, and decided to red it. Maybe 
it was Jeff or my parents. 

Angel?
How about we split at the majestic, and go do what ever 
we want? Just as long as we are at the square by four 
thirty.
-Mark

The letter read. Man, I hated the school. Instead of 
making a directory that consists of addresses or phone 
numbers, they decided to do email. Many people’s parents 
are high standing officials or bosses, or they own 
something extremely valuable, so that’s why there are no 
addresses or phone numbers. My school email was 
Angel@darn.org. I had another email, but only Jeff knew 
about it. I don’t see the point in those email names, 
though. Any stalker could go to Darn’s, and wait for a 
person named Angel. If there were two people named 
Angel, the younger one would have their last initial 
after their name. Pretty pathetic. 
  
Sure.

I emailed back to Mark, and then went to read my book. 
In no time, I was done and we were here. I stood outside 
The Majestic, and watched Mrs. Selten drive off.

I love Saffron. It was always my favorite city, out of 
all the ones I’d been to. It was big, elegant and the 
folk living here weren’t all rich, nor were they dense. 
Also, it held the Saffron Gym, home to Gymleader 
Sabrina. She trained psychic pokemon, and her place 
trained trainers and their psychic pokemon, too. Psychic 
was always my favorite element, psychic pokemon were 
always my favorite. 

"Remember, four thirty at the Square," Mark reminded me, 
and trotted off to a place unknown. I rolled my eyes at 
his back, then decided where to go. 

My mother would go straight towards the shopping 
district, my father a coffee place and then the business 
area. I decided to go to the edges of town, where I 
could find some good and cheap food. I started leisurely 
strolling down the crowded sidewalk, with my backpack 
swinging on a shoulder. 

Soon, I reached a small café. I stopped and entered the 
quaint little building. Inside, I ordered a deli 
sandwich and coke. I ate my meal quickly, then headed 
off down to the market.

All around me was the hustle and bustle of every day. 
Sellers called out, buyers replied, and people rushed 
around. 

"Miss! Miss!" One called to me. "A pretty necklace for a 
pretty miss?" 

I ignored the jeweler, and continued weaving through the 
crowd.

"Hot fish! Get your hot fish! Straight off the market!" 
Lured a fisherman. 

Soon I was in the far ends of the market, home to many 
gypsies. I clutched my bag even tighter, and stripped 
myself of any valuables. Even though I was never a 
victim of mugging or pick pocketing, I wanted to make 
sure. 

"Mammy been waiting for you," A little child, dressed in 
nothing but rags, said to me as they tugged on my 
sleeve. 

"Who’s Mammy?" I asked, but the boy had already left me, 
and was going into a dark alley. 

My curiosity overcame me, and I followed. The alley was 
dark. The dank stench burned my nostrils; I shivered 
convulsively. The boy had stopped, and drew open a 
small, worn, red rag. A small hole was revealed, and I 
stared uncomfortably at it. 

"It okay," The boy comforted unsuccessfully. 

I slowly got on my hands and knees, ignoring the black 
filth on the ground. Mom’s gonna be mad, I thought. My 
uniform pants weren’t that cheap, and they were dry 
clean only. 

But, as I went deeper and deeper down the hole, I 
noticed the ground getting cleaner, and much softer. A 
calm glow started to light my way, coming from a far off 
light ahead. I could see now that the floor was a worn 
carpet, and the walls were a smooth tile, instead of the 
ragged cement earlier. I could hear a faint drip-drip, 
but it stopped, and an eerily quiet rang through my 
ears. I started hearing the child crawl behind me, with 
much more ease and comfort than I. At last, the hole 
ended, and I got up on my feet. 

The room was small for me, but large by the standards 
around here. A large lamp hung from the ceiling, and lit 
the room. The carpet was plush red, the walls a light 
yellow. A sagging old couch lay to one side, a round 
table in the middle. There was a door, shut though, so I 
couldn’t see beyond it.  On the table was a vase of 
flowers, some old roses. The boy, getting out of the 
hole, scampered away through the door. 

"Mammy!" I heard him cry faintly.

A scraping of something, some thumps, and an old lady 
appeared in the doorway. She was dressed in an exotic 
dress, with a nice cloak on her shoulders. The lady 
stood about five feet, maybe taller, maybe shorter. Her 
shoulders were horribly hunched and pitiful, and she was 
crouched over because of old age. Her face was craggy 
and worn, but her eyes held a fierce light in the beer-
colored surface. 

"I have been waiting," She said to me, and sat on the 
couch. Her hand pointed to the chair by the table, and I 
sat there.

"I am Madam Mammy. I have awaited you for many years, 
child. Hap, please get my chest," The lady introduced, 
and sent the boy running into the other room. 

"For many, many years, I have played the role of an old 
gypsy lady. My home, these rooms are what left of it, 
was in the gypsy area. So I became one them. They don’t 
know I have this wealth, or they would take it," Mammy 
started.

"But, but why are you telling me this?" I asked, 
completely and totally befuddled. 

Mammy regarded me with an patient look, then she stared 
pointedly at the door. The boy came hurling through, 
carrying an elaborate, small, old wooden chest.    

"This is Mishap, or Hap. His mother abandoned him. He is 
now in my care." 

Hap squirmed under Mammy’s intense gaze, and thrust the 
chest at her before leaving the room. Mammy opened the 
chest slowly, and withdrew something.

I gasped. 

Dangling from her hands was the most beautiful thing I 
had ever seen. It was a necklace, with a charm on it. 
The necklace was beaded with light indigo, violet and 
diamond colored beads. The beads were circles, stars, 
and a few other shapes. The charm was a pokemon, a 
magnificent bird type I had never seen before. It was 
also a diamond. A glow seemed to resound off the beads, 
and the light made the necklace sparkle.

"This is yours. I would warn you to be careful, but I 
know you will anyways. It is the most pure and delicate 
crystal and diamond. It will help you on your way, and 
let you be found. This cloak is also yours," Mammy said. 

"But why me?" I repeated. Mammy shook her head, and 
reached into the chest again.

She drew out a cloak, a silvery with a blue tint, and 
put both things in my hands. I was awed and amazed at 
owning the two things, and profusely thanked Mammy. 

"They are rightfully yours, so it is only fair that I 
return them," Mammy replied, and ushered me to the door. 

"Bye, and thank you?" I called, crawling back through 
the tunnel. 

"Oh, no. It is I who should be thankful," Mammy replied. 

I crawled for what seemed an eternity, and the smell and 
gross feel grew more and more. Finally, I was outside. 
The sun was low in the sky, and I started hurrying to 
the square. The streets were almost deserted, and a cool 
breeze was playing with my hair and clothes. 

At last, I reached the Square to find an angry Mark.

"Do you know what time it is!? It’s four forty-five!" He 
shouted at me.

"Im sorry, I got delayed. Besides, your mom isn’t here 
yet!" I argued back.

He shot me a sullen look as Mrs. Selten rushed up to us.

"I’m sorry I was late, the check up line was long," She 
apologized, and we scurried away to the car. 

"I’ll try to take a shortcut to get home faster," Mrs. 
Selten said to no one in particular, turning on her van. 

We drove for about ten minutes, and I finished my book 
and paper easily in that time. With nothing else to do, 
I looked out the window. 

This looks familiar... I thought, suddenly alarmed. 
  
It was the street from my dreams! I realized, horrified. 
The next few minutes went extremely slow as I recognized 
more and more.

The car slowed; we were at a stoplight. Suddenly, though 
I was sort of expecting it, a blur crashed through the 
windshield. Glass flew all over, and Mrs. Selten started 
screaming and couldn’t stop. The thing landed in my 
arms, and as soon as he touched me, I felt a strange 
feeling sweep over me. 

 We were Linked... It dawned on me. 

I suddenly forgot everything around me, and it was just 
I and the pokemon. But he was still aware, and must of 
known my dream, I don’t know how. 

~TELEPORT~ He commanded, and I felt the abra’s psychic 
power filter into my head. I concentrated, and a flash 
went over us. I took it willingly, and with his 
guidance, disappeared and reappeared in a flash on a 
sidewalk. I looked around in amazement; how did I do 
that?

I looked around wildly, just in time to see a black car 
hurtle out of nowhere into the Selten’s van. A jarring 
sound, a jolt of shock, sparks flying, and the stench of 
burning metal and rubber everywhere. The Selten’s van 
was a crumpled heap, the black car gone. 
Suddenly, as the pokemon touched me, I felt a strange 
sensation overcome my body. I felt aware of everything 
that pokemon felt. I knew much more, as that pokemon’ 
wisdom entered my brain. A touch to his power source 
awed me, I could sense an ever-so-slight smell through 
him. I forgot everything around me, and focused on this 
being, my second self. But he did not forget.

~TELEPORT~ He commanded, and gave me his power. 

I suddenly felt the pain and agony of death, my bones 
snapping and then I was gone. I was in the car, had the 
metal and plastic crunch me to pieces. 
No! I wasn’t. Mrs. Selten and Mark were.
Emotions overcame me. I snatched the power of the abra 
away, and teleported. I didn’t know where, anywhere was 
fine. As long as it wasn’t here.   

~~~~~~~End Chapter One~~~~~~~~~
Nighteyes told me to keep a history, a journal of sorts. 
I am doing it to please him, and it takes away all those 
hours of waiting. So here it starts.
This history of the Mendanbar family goes back to the 
medieval ages. I am Angel Mendanbar, by the way. Sir 
Mendanbarmouslydanicous made a living off of jousting 
and tourneys. He soon became quite rich, for the times 
he lived in. Mendanbar, as he called himself for short, 
married a duke’s daughter, Sariena and had four 
children. His children, Beretta and Morwenna both were 
married off to prominent men at an early age, while 
Lukas and Arthur continued Mendanbar’s fame by jousting 
and other knightly activities. They both took on the 
shortened name Mendanbar to call themselves by.      
During the Great Famine, Arthur’s son Drake took up 
fighting fierce and strong pokemon, like charizards for 
sport. Later on, when people caught pokemon by other 
means than the pokeball, for it was not invented yet, 
Lukas’s grandson made a living off of training and 
battling his pokemon. Later, his daughter Felicity bred 
champion fighters to be trained and sold to the highest 
buyers. 
The next generation of Mendanbars were drunkards and 
thieves, excluding Oakly Mendanbar. He was a brilliant 
scientist, unfortunately, and assisted the invention of 
pokeballs. His children, Molly, Mathew, Merlin, Matilda, 
Maxwell, Marvin, Melvin, and Melissa did not all follow 
their father. The triplets, Merlin, Melvin, and Marvin 
all were excellent soldiers, and Maxwell was duke of 
Celadon. Melissa had married the King of the Orange 
Isles, while Matilda became the Duchess of Saffron. 
Molly married a very rich and wild man named Henry, who 
later was the founder of Dublin. 
Maxwell, though, decided to abandon the named Mendanbar, 
and become Oak. His son was Maxwell Jr., and in that 
line, a tradition of naming the first son Maxwell has 
started. I believe the youngest Maxwell is a professor, 
and is known as Max Oak XIX. 
Merlin was quite the soldier, but got tired of being 
that and became a magician. Not a very good one, though. 
He was shamed from his family, and disappeared out of 
the picture.  
Mathew married and had only two children, instead of his 
father’s eight. One of those children, Wesley, had a 
grandchild named Peter. Peter was my great-great-
grandfather. Peter was his grandfather’s favorite, and 
inherited quite a fortune when Mathew died. Peter’s 
brother, Patrick, squandered his money on clocks. He was 
a clock fanatic, and later made the clock, Big Pat. 
Peter had a son named Regal, and began the tradition of 
naming children not normal named, like objects, 
emotions, or traits. I believe I had a third cousin 
named Shrewd. Regal’s son Valiant was certainly not 
valiant, and had many an illegitimate children on many a 
women. He only had one legitimate son, my father 
Gallant. Gallant married my mother, Joanna. They had two 
children, Angel and Star. After that, there isn’t any 
more generations yet.[/i]  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   
Totally oblivious to my Linked, I collapsed in a heap on 
my bed. Emotions over swept me, and I started crying 
soundlessly.
 
It would have been me... Poor Emily and her dad... I have a 
psychic pokemon... I’m Linked...
Those thoughts and much more rushed through my head. 
But, as suddenly as they came, they left me. 

~It is okay~ my abra comforted, and I felt him shift 
around my thoughts and memories.

~Oh no! I have to change the baby’s diaper~ I exclaimed.

~Never mind that~ the abra replied briskly, and I 
suddenly forgot about the diaper. 

~Wh-who are you?~ I asked, feeling quite stupid. 

~I am your Linked One, my name is Nighteyes. I am an 
abra, a psychic pokemon~ He replied. 

~I know that!~ 

~Then why’d you ask?~ 

~I dunno... Why are you linked with me? I mean, my friend 
just Linked with his aipom, and they’ve known each other 
for all their lives. And I wanted to know what your name 
was...~ I trailed off stupidly. 

~You know, your making me feel really stupid~ I 
commented.

~Maybe you should learn, so you do not feel stupid~ 
Nighteyes replied, mocking me. 

~Anyways we were Linked not because we chose each other, 
but we were chosen by others. Chosen by our superiors, 
chosen to do something we would not normally do~ 
Nighteyes sounded angry, so I decided to avoid further 
questions. 

~Well, we do not have time for talk right now. You need 
to get ready, and then we must leave. We are not safe 
here. What would some one say if they safe you alive, 
when you just got killed? You need to get a bag, one to 
carry on your pack. Proper items need to be brought. 
Some food, some clothes, your laptop perhaps, other 
necessary things. To get the food will be a bit tricky, 
but your cloak will help. To be invisible for a short 
amount of time, conceal yourself in the cloak, and say, 

" Power of water, fire and earth, 
cast this spell from it’s birth, 
Silent, sightless, soundless let this wind creep, 
wide and far, shallow and deep."

 Hurry. Start now, meet me here~

And with that, Nighteyes pushed me away. I yelped 
quietly in surprise, but then hurried away to my closet. 
I had been camping before; I had an idea of what to 
bring. Ignoring all the fancy clothes my mother 
preferred, I went to the back. I swiftly snatched 
clothes of all kind out of the secret drawer, and 
dropped acceptable items on my lap, while flinging the 
rest away. 
 
Surveying the small pile of clothes, I picked what I 
thought would be lightest and best. My end result 
consisted of a swimming suit I used when normal suits 
would be ruined, underwear of course, shorts that were 
waterproof, warm but lightweight pants, a long sleeved 
shirt, a normal tee shirt, socks, and a tank top. I 
chose my blue sandals, good for climbing amongst 
slippery rocks, and put on my strong and comfortable 
walking/hiking shoes. I changed out of my uniform, a 
stiff white shirt and plain black pants, and slipped on 
a hooded sweatshirt and grey sweat pants. All the 
clothes went into my durable hiking backpack, one roomy 
enough for me, but not too b bulky to catch attention. 
 
Clothes done, I left my closet and grabbed the cloak. I 
put it over me, and carefully checked that nothing of me 
was showing. I muttered the words Nighteyes had told me 
under my breath, and waited for something to happen. 

Nothing did. Puzzled, I walked over to one of the many 
mirrors in my room. There was nothing there! Satisfied 
that the spell worked, I went down the hall. Being 
invisible was so much fun! I danced in front of the busy 
cook, and nearly laughed out loud.

~Stop! Even though no one can see you, they could feel 
you~ Nighteyes commanded, and I quickly halted. 

Now, I moved much more carefully. Weaving in and out of 
the cook’s path, and many counters and appliances, I 
gathered a small amount of food. I hoped that the cook 
wouldn’t notice the bread, two canteens, dried fruit, 
and various other things I took. 

I darted up the stairs again, and to my room. I was 
almost done; I just needed to get a few more things and 
pack it all together.

~Hurry~ Nighteyes urged me on from his perch on my bed. 

My room was considerably neat for a teenager, but messy 
by my parent’s standards. I found my drawing pad, camera 
and laptop with ease, but other things weren’t so easy. 
A flashlight, guidebook for pokemon training and other 
careers to help along my ploy, a pokedex and a lighter 
took me longer. 

Finally, I had everything packed and I collapsed in a 
heap on my bed.

"Done!" I said triumphantly to Nighteyes.

~Good. You forgot a sleeping bag of sorts, preferably 
one light and small, though. Get that, and your pichu’s 
pokeball~ the abra reminded me, and sent me running to 
get those things.  

~Here~ I had gotten a nice sleeping bag and pichu’s 
pokeball and put them into my pack. 

~All right. We go now. But first, you shall email your 
friend, Jeff. Tell him you aren’t dead, but you are 
gone. Have him tell your parents, when the time arises, 
to leave your room as it is. You may tell him you are 
going on a journey, not for training, something else. 
Tell him to be ready; we may need to call upon his help~ 
Nighteyes instructed.

Puzzled, I got out my laptop and summarized Nighteye’s 
words. Then, the abra and I slipped out of the house 
under the cover of my cloak, and began walking. 
~~~~~~
We walked long into the night, and only rested when the 
sun was high in the sky. Where we went, I didn’t know. 
We had left my backyard, and went through the woods, far 
back into woods I had never been in. I did not know it 
was afternoon when we stopped, until I checked my watch.

Nighteyes halted in front of me, causing myself to 
stumble and almost fall over. 

~We can stop here. I do not think anyone will find us 
here, for now. Go fetch some large branches, and some 
firewood~ the abra instructed. 

I set down my pack, whose burden had doubled 
mysteriously since I first picked it up, and trudged off 
into the woods. This area had not been touched by much 
all, not even many pokemon resided in this secluded 
area. Finding large branches was quite easy; no one was 
there to gather wood of use the fallen trees. 

"Here," I panted, lugging the last branch to Nighteyes. 

~Good. Now, is that tree fine for a platform?~ the abra 
pointed to a tree of to the side of this small clearing. 

I warily eyed the monstrous thing, and walked up to it. 
The branches were low and sturdy, and most of them went 
off in curving lines. No one part went straight up. 

Weird, I thought. 

Turning back, I saw that all the branches were neatly 
sliced into long planks, and the firewood was stacked 
neatly. 

"Okay, what’d you do?" I demanded to Nighteyes.

~Would you want to do that yourself? I figured it would 
be easier. Plus, with enchanted wood, no one could tell 
if the wood was there. Now, I suggest you make a fire 
near the base of the tree, in that circle~ Nighteyes 
replied.

"What the!?" I gasped, facing the tree. 

Nestled in the three large branches that split off near 
the trunk was a perfectly constructed platform, with 
sides and a partial roof. There was a circle of medium 
sized stones at the base of the trunk, and a chimney 
that rose up alongside the platform, and ended at the 
top of the tree. 

~For warmth, and so smoke does not bug you~ the abra 
explained. 

I shook my head, then went over to my pack. After 
digging through it and getting my lighter, I knelt by 
the circle, and attempted to light a flame.

~Wait!~ Nighteyes said suddenly, causing me to drop the 
lighter.

~Did you bring money? No, you brought your ATM card and 
a credit card. Now, if your dead do you think the banks 
going to keep your account open? All your money will go 
back to your parents. I will teach you a spell, and you 
can use that instead. We will probably need money, if 
you want food, so we can sell the lighter. Don’t look at 
me like that!~ Nighteyes explained. 

I stared down at the lighter lying in my hand. It was an 
expensive, good one my mother had given to me. She had 
insisted, " If you must light things, at least do it in 
style." Typical of her. I pocketed the lighter, and then 
stood up. 

~Ok, what’s the spell~ I said tiredly.

~You must point some body part of yours at the place 
where you want fire, and say,

"Power of water, wind and earth,
raise this fire from its birth
Set the spell to spark the flame
that cannot be hoped to tame."  

Also, if you are in need of shielding from fire, change 
the third line of that to

"Set the spell to shield the flame."~ Nighteyes told, 
and then closed his eyes. 

With many questions bubbling around in my head, I went 
to work. Nervously, I pointed my hand at the wood, and 
chanted,

"Power of water, wind and earth, raise this fire from 
its birth, Set the spell to spark the flame, that cannot 
be hoped to tame."  
      
Nothing happened. 

~You have to pause after each line. And saying it loud 
does not help. Quiet will do~ the abra said, shaking his 
head.

I tried again, and this time felt a slight tingling 
before the wood burst into fire. Glad for the warmth, I 
sat down by the flames and sighed happily. A rumble in 
my stomach sounded, and I opened my pack. I withdrew all 
the food I picked, and started eating greedily. 

~Stop! That is your only food for a while! Do not waste 
it right now~ Nighteyes warned, and caused me to blush. 

This time, I tore off a small chunk of bread and spread 
some butter over it before stuffing it into my mouth. 
The food warmed me, and I savored my every bite. Not 
many times have I had to ration anything. Once I was 
finished, I got up and but away everything. My pack was 
thrown up onto the platform, and I stated heaving myself 
up. I unrolled my sleeping bag, and spread it, then took 
out a brush. Trying to run the brush through my tangled 
hair only produced more problems. After much yanking and 
tugging, my hair was tangle free. I put it up in a 
ponytail, and then put the brush away. 

~Nighteyes?~ I asked tentatively.  

~Go ahead, ask away~ was the response to my unasked 
question. 

~About the spells...~ I trailed off, not knowing what to 
say.  

~The others rarely use weapons, or physical attacks. 
They barely even use their given pokemon powers. Spells 
are their main tool. A spell can do anything; magic can 
do anything. Only a few can use spells, and get them to 
work properly. Anyone could say the words, but to get 
them to do anything is the tricky part. The Skill allows 
spells to work. So does Linkage, in some cases. And the 
creators of the spells, they can use them~ He paused.

~Yes, I have the Skill. And, you do to. Because of me. 
The Skill is not bad, nor evil like people think. It is 
not becoming a beast, or knowing the languages of all 
beasts. I am a pokemon already~ Nighteyes said.

"Then... then you had a friend. A linked friend..." I said 
softly. 

~Yes and no. My mother and father were both Skilled from 
their Linked... Their Linked were married, and their son 
Linked onto me. But children are not supposed to use 
Skill. It can kill then; it can do horrible things. So 
they took me away. You are also young to use the Skill. 
But you need to, for your destiny. You will have to 
research the Skill, later.  
Anything else you want to know?~

~And what, may I ask, is my destiny?~ I asked 
sarcastically.  

But the response was anything but sarcastic. 

~Oh, you will find out. Angel, you will find out. We 
will stay here for a bit, than you shall assume the role 
of pokemon trainer. One who is more interested in 
drawing and traveling than training. That is why you 
have your pichu. He, though young, will begin training 
tomorrow. But now is your time to sleep. Goodnight~ 
Nighteyes voice faded in my mind, and I drifted off into 
a dreamless sleep, against my will. 

Stupid hypnosis... I thought angrily.
~End chapter 2~
 ~~~~~~~~~~
After years of research on Skill, I have found out many 
things and proved many wrong. 
Skill is not a bad thing, nor evil. It is merely traces 
of the so-called Old Blood. Skill works like Linkage, 
except with a few less things, and a few more. As 
Linkage, Skill creates a bond between a pokemon and 
human. But Skill allows them to not only communicate, 
but in some cases, allows them to switch places, or be 
sense through another. It is true a person will start 
resembling the pokemon they are Skilled, but only slight 
things, not the full demonic things stories have said. 
If a person has been Skilled long enough to one 
creature, they will eventually learn the tongue of that 
one species. Not, as myths proclaim, the tongues of all 
beasts. Skilling is harmful, even fatal, if a young 
child uses it. Once they are Skilled, many things can 
happen. If the creature dies, so will the child, as they 
are not developed enough to break the bonds. Many adults 
do die to, if their Skilled is dead. If a creature falls 
sick, the child will too. Many pokemon sicknesses don’t 
normally happen to children, but when they do, prove 
horrible and deadly. That is why the two must be 
separated at once. There are probably more results, too, 
but have not been recorded or taken place. 
Linkage, though, is a bond formed between two, allowing 
them to communicate with thought, and both the pokemon 
and person receive part of the other. In Skillage, the 
two souls are combined. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Patches of sun streamed through the forest’s high 
canopy. The girl woke, and yawned. She hopped down from 
her place in the tree, and stretched. A fire was already 
lit in the stone circle, and the girl sat down by it, 
and warmed herself. An abra floated over to her, and 
they talked, probably with psychic because their mouths 
weren’t moving. The girl walked over to the stream, and 
exclaimed something I couldn’t here. The abra said 
something, and the girl shook her head and sat back down 
on the stone. 

Then, the girl took out a container from her bag. She 
opened it, and started eating the contents. A delicious 
smell wafted into my nose, and almost made me run into 
the clearing. But I resisted the urge and continued 
watching. 
 
After many tantalizing minutes, the food was gone and 
the girl finished. The girl got up, and withdrew a 
round, small thing from her pack. She threw it on the 
ground, and when a red flash came out, I knew it was a 
pokeball. Even though I lived this far away from 
civilization, I knew what a pokeball was. That was one 
of the reasons I lived out here. And plentiful food, 
too. 
 
Out of the red flash materialized a pokemon. I gasped; 
it was a pichu. One of my kind!
I bounded happily into the clearing, with a shout of, 

"Pi, pikachu!"
~~~~~~~~~~~
"What the!" I cried. 

A small yellow blur, a pikachu by the way it squealed, 
darted into the clearing, and eagerly began talking to 
my exulted pichu.

"I thought you said there wasn’t anyone here!?" I 
demanded to Nighteyes.

~It’s just a wild pokemon. And besides, it wasn’t here; 
it probably lived a bit down, where this stream branched 
off. Besides, if you have two pokemon, your more likely 
to look like a trainer~ Nighteyes shrugged.

~I don’t want a pikachu! One pichu is enough. Besides, 
I’d be copying all those other trainers that start with 
pichu and pikachu!~ I argued. 

~Fine... But your pichu seems to be very happy~ Nighteyes 
finished, and went back to meditating. 

I sighed, and turned to the two pokemon. 

"Hi... pikachu?" I questioned.

"Pi... Kachu, chu kaa..." It replied shaking its head.

~Huh?~ I said to pichu, using Skill.

~You can talk! Wow, I gotta tell you a lot of stuff! 
But, this is Rian. He lived around here, and he was out 
eating and when he came back, he found his log gone. And 
he lived here for a while, and he used to live by a 
city, but too many people tried to catch him, and he 
lived out here! He’s hungry! And he wants to be your 
pokemon...!~ My pichu, Sunny said. I rolled my eyes at 
the way she talked, and Nighteyes Skilled,
 
~The next time you bring along someone, get a normal 
creature~ emphasizing normal. 

~Not my fault! You’re the one who said to bring it!~ I 
protested, then added,
~What should we do? Sunny obviously likes the pikachu, 
but I don’t want to train pokemon, or own them!~ 

~Keep it. He may be useful~

~What?! No. I don’t want a pikachu~ I argued.

~Tough. I am going to have him bring me to town, so I 
can purchase you a few pokeballs. And food~ Nighteyes 
finished, and turned to the pikachu. After talking to 
it, Nighteyes came to me. 

~He’s going to take me into town, but I will need your 
bank card~ 

~Why not? After running away when I’m supposed to be 
dead, learning spells, and talking to pokemon I 
shouldn’t understand, what’s wrong with giving an abra 
my bank card?~ I grumbled, handing over the flimsy piece 
of plastic.  

Nighteyes took it, and on cue, the pikachu bounded off 
into the woods, with the abra on his tail. 

"Well, Sunny, its you and me.." I sighed, turning to the 
pichu.  

~I’m Anatayla! Not Sunny! My mommy named me Anatayla, 
and that’s what I am!~ The pichu stomped her foot, her 
fists in small balls. 

~But I named you Sunny~ I protested, holding back 
giggles. 

The comical thing had tripped, and was frantically 
waving her arms to keep balance. She righted herself, 
but then started sniffling. A tear slid out of the 
corner of Sunny’s eye, and I knew she would start 
bawling any minute. 

"Ok! Anatayla it is! But can I call you Tay, for short?" 
I sighed, picking up the little pokemon.

"Chu!" Tay cried happily. 

"Ok, good. Now, we have to wait for Nighteyes and your 
pikachu friend, so what do you want to do?" I questioned 
the mouse.

~ Can we start training?~ Anatayla asked. 

"Sure, why not?" I sighed, and got up. 

After retrieving a rope from my pack, we went a bit away 
from camp, in a small treeless area. I picked up a 
stick, and scratched a large circle in the dirt. 
Motioning for Anatayla to stand on an edge, I began 
instructing her on what to do.

"This is a little exercise I was taught at school. Im 
going to swing this rope around, in a circle. Your task 
will be to jump over it, without touching the rope. Get 
it?" 

Tay nodded, and crouched down on all fours. I trotted 
over to my spot in the middle of the circle, and began 
turning round and round. Each time the rope came to her, 
Anatayla leaped, with a swiftness I never knew she had. 
Even though my stomach was beginning to feel queasy, I 
swung around even faster, till everything was a complete 
blur. My head not being able to handle anything more, I 
stopped, and slid to the ground.  

"Very good," I wheezed weakly, petting the enthusiastic 
little pichu.  

"Now, can you try some electric moves, if your not too 
tired?" I asked hopefully. 

~Sure, here I go!~ Tay exclaimed, giving me barely 
enough time to back away. 

"PICCCCHHHHHUUUUU!" Tay cried, balling her little paws 
into fists, and concentrating. 

Little sparks fizzled on her cheeks, then formed into a 
lightening bolt shape, and... disappeared. 

"Cha...." She said disappointedly.

~It’s okay, try again!~ I encouraged, feeling 
disappointed myself.

Tay tried a few more times, and only managed a measly 
zap. Suddenly, I felt a slight probing of Skill on the 
edges of my mind. Then, a flash of light and Nighteyes 
and the pikachu were back.

"Okay, you can stop Anatayla, you’ve done great!" I told 
the pichu, and she trudged wearily back to camp. 

~Hey. What’d you get?~ I asked Nighteyes.

~Oh, just cash and a few pokeballs. I also got a fake 
license~ The abra shrugged.

 He held out his hand, and a blue aurora surrounded it. 
In a poof, a small bag hung from Nighteyes’s fingers, 
and he handed it to me. Opening it up, I gasped at the 
sight. A humongous wad of bills, mixed in with 
pokeballs, and various food items. I glared up at 
Nighteyes, who was floating with an amused look on his 
face.
 
~You needed money, didn’t you?~ He said back calmly.

~And just how much did you get?~ I asked very 
suspiciously.

~Oh, I figured five thousand dollars would last a bit~ 
Was the casual reply, as I withdrew the large wad of 
green bills.

~Five thousand!?~ I screeched. 

~Yeah. I just transferred that amount to the bank, 
teleported in, and took the money~ Nighteyes explained 
slowly, like I was a little child.
   
~You STOLE!?~ My Link-scream would have been nearly 
deafening if it were an actual voice. 

~Not exactly stole. I gave the bank money, and took it 
back. So they didn’t gain or lose anything, and your 
parents didn’t gain anything, while we gained~

~Erm... not really~ I replied. 

I gave up, knowing a pokemon would never understand the 
concepts of humans. 

~I know a lot more than you think I do. Anyways, I am 
going to camp, please do not disturb me~ Nighteyes’s 
voice filled my head.
 
The abra floated away, leaving the pikachu and I.  

"Well, I guess I have to capture you..." I trailed off, 
withdrawing a pokeball. 

"Chu!" the pikachu grinned quite impishly at me. 

Feeling quite stupid, I tossed the red and white ball at 
the pikachu. A red flash enveloped him, and the light 
disappeared into the ball. Like many times I had seen 
before on TV, the ball wiggled a couple of times, quiet 
ding, and I had caught a pokemon. After walking over to 
the spot on the dirt the ball laid, I picked it up and 
pressed the button on the side. The ball opened, and out 
materialized the pikachu.

~Hi... pikachu?~ I reached out with a touch of Skill, and 
Linkage.

~Name’s Rian. Tay told me about you, angel. Nighteyes 
too! I know what you’re really doing, so don’t make up a 
story. Nighteyes thinks I can help a lot, and I will try 
my best~ Replied Rian happily. 

~Okay. I’m glad you’re with me. Since we aren’t really 
doing much now, you can go back to camp. I’m sure Tay 
would like you to be with her~ I said, shyly. I’d never 
really talked to much pokemon, besides the smart, old 
Nighteyes, and young, foolish Tay. 

Rian bounded away, with such grace on his small paws, 
and I followed. 

~Time for your training~ Nighteyes floated up to me.

~What?! Training...~ I exclaimed.

~Yes. You wont be able to rely on others, you need to 
learn spells, defense, attacks, all that~ Nighteyes 
explained patiently.

Befuddled again, I dropped the bag of money and 
pokeballs I had unknowingly slung over my shoulder, and 
followed the abra back to the clearing I had just 
entered. 

~How can you teach me all that?~ I demanded. 

~And how can you know all this? Wouldn’t you be a 
kadabra, or alakazam by now? Why did you tell Rian all 
that stuff?~ I was on a roll now. All the questions I 
had been bursting to ask came out. Nighteyes waited 
tolerantly for me to finish. 

When I finally finished, he stuck out a leg. On the 
brownish skin, was a golden bracelet, with a light brown 
stone set into it. I gaped at this, never having seen 
the usually tucked in pokemon.
 
~It’s a t stone. I am old, but have been kept from birth 
an abra. By the one who’s orders I follow. Rian plays an 
important part in this, you will find out. Now, start 
stretching~ Nighteyes said quietly, then starting to 
watch me through expressionless black eyes. 

Blushing, I sat, and started touching my toes, then 
doing all the exercises I knew. I felt a strange 
sensation, as Nighteyes appeared in my mind, and started 
moving my body for me. After his silent guidance, he 
left my head, and spoke.

~Good. You will need to learn the exercises I taught 
you. Now, you learn how defend yourself. In a place 
where magic can be used, and you have enough strength, 
this spell will create a wall: 
Power of water, wind, fire and earth,
raise this spell from its birth
Send this strength to shield this pain,
With help of Dragon’s bane~

As the abra said this, a shield of purple materialized 
in front of Nighteyes’s outstretched hands. As it grew 
to stretch the length of Nighteyes, it disappeared.
 
~Hit me~ He commanded. 

Puzzled, I raised a fist, and hurled it at my friend. A 
shark pain spread throughout my arm, and I yowled in 
pain. I barely noticed the purple glint as my hand 
connected with the invisible shield.

~Try your fire spell~ Nighteyes ordered again. 

I shook my head, but never less repeated the spell and a 
sent a large flame soaring at the abra. The fire 
collided with the invisible wall, and spread out to the 
sides before disappearing.  

~Now, you can try the spell~ Nighteyes suggested.

Holding my hands up in front of me, I whispered, "Power 
of water, wind, fire and earth, raise this spell from 
its birth, Send this strength to shield this pain, ."

A blue light spread upwards from the ground, and quickly 
covered the space in front of me. When all was covered, 
the blue turned to invisible, and the only sign that 
there was a wall there was the occasional glint of 
sunlight shining on it. 

~Good. But a simple wall won’t be enough. Your mind must 
be strong, able to keep the wall up. Be strong~ 
Nighteyes hurtled a white light at me, and it instantly 
filled the shield. Now the shield was visible. 

~Spread your wall! Or I could get past you!~ He ordered, 
and I desperately tried to shield the next barrage of 
attacks. Finally, Nighteyes stopped, and I set my hands 
down. 

~Well done. You may rest, and in an hour or so, we will 
work on other ways of defense. Keep building up your 
mind~ Nighteyes praised, and I wearily plodded to camp. 

Not many times before had I been so mentally exhausted; 
all my brainpower had been drained by the spell. 
Stifling a yawn, I curled up in my sleeping bag and fell 
into a dreamless sleep. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next few weeks went by in a blur. I was taught 
spells to enhance, defend and attack. Nighteyes trained 
me into a fighter of sorts, I could punch, block, use a 
knife. I also learned the arts of assassinating. 
Rian helped teach Anatayla to battle, and Nighteyes and 
I helped Rian. Every couple of days, a trip to town was 
taken to buy necessary items. 
I grew stronger, more flexible. Calluses grew on my 
knuckles; my skin became more tanned as I spent life 
outside. I learned to run distances without feeling a 
bit winded. Whatever little fat I had turned to muscle 
or was used up, for my skimpy diet did little but quench 
my hunger. I could do multiple spells; even slight 
healing. My mind grew stronger with each magic I 
performed. But mostly we waited, what for, I do not 
know. Only Nighteyes knew.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~End Chapter 3~

Linkage is another thing I have researched. Unlike the 
Skill, it is not feared nor hated by the general 
population of humans. Most accept it, and many are 
Linked. Linkage is a simple connection between two, and 
happens when a deep friendship/love is formed between 
the two. The connection allows the two to understand 
each other through mind-speak. It does not, however, 
combine the souls, like Skill. Both Linked and Skill 
were named and discovery around the middle nineteen 
hundreds. 
~~~~~~~

I glanced up at the man; his face was a beet red, and 
shiny with sweat. 

"Use your rage, tauros!" He ordered. The tauros shook 
his head up in down in agreement. Then, pawing the 
ground, he broke out into a run at Rian.

~Why don’t you use that flip move we practiced?~ I 
suggested to my friend and pokemon, Rian. 
 
He gave the barest of nods, and crouched down, keeping a 
wary eye on his opponent. Without warning, Rian sprung 
up into the air, sparks flying from his electric sacs. 
He executed a perfect flip, landing on the angry tauros 
opponent. The pokemon bucked and tossed, but Rian held 
on, and zapped the tauros senseless. Then, his job done, 
Rian hopped gracefully off. The exhausted tauros 
collapsed, against the will of its trainer. 

After muttering a string of curse words, the trainer 
recalled his pokemon, and walked over to me. 

"Here’s your money," He said gruffly, handing me some 
well-wrinkled bills. 

"You know, I don’t need any money..." I replied, shoving 
the cash back in his hand. 

"Are you sure?" He asked, his face a mix between hope 
and depression. 

"Yeah. Besides, I wasn’t the one who wanted to battle, 
you were," I reminded. 

"Why thanks, girl. You’re a real angel, you know that?" 
The man blushed, and walked away. 

~He’s right! Your angel!~ Rian hopped up into my arms. 

~I did good right?~ the little pokemon asked.

~Of course, Rian, of course. What do you say we go find 
Tay and Nighteyes, and get something to eat?~ I 
responded.

"Pi-KA!" Rian replied happily. 

I started walking off to the town square, where 
Nighteyes said they would be. More and more people had 
been challenging me, since I rarely was seen except for 
the few trips to town for supplies. We mad an odd group, 
Nighteyes, Tay, Rian and I. I wasn’t the only one who 
kept their pokemon out, but I kept three of mine out, 
while others only had one. 

~How went the battle?~ Nighteyes greeted. He and Tay 
came up to use, and I picked up the little pokemon, 
while Nighteyes floated. 

~I won!~ Rian exclaimed. 

"Yup, and we’re going to get something to eat," I added. 

~Ice cream!~ Tay squealed.

"Sure why not?" I sighed, and heading over to a nearby 
ice cream parlor. 

Once inside the deserted shop, we sat down at a small 
corner table. A waitress came to take our order, and the 
bustled off to tell the cook. 

~I have been thinking...~ Nighteyes started.

"Wow!" I commented sarcastically, ignoring the glare the 
abra gave me. 

~We should be moving soon. It’s not getting any safer 
here, and someone might start questioning you. And you 
could use the experience. Your getting lazy, not walking 
much distance; you also do not have to set up camp every 
day~ Nighteyes paused, as our ice cream was being 
served. 

~I’m getting lazy?! What about waking up at dawn and 
practicing for a couple of hours? Studying? Learning all 
the spell stuff? Meditating? Running? That’s getting 
lazy?~ I protested.  

~Not to the normal person. But yes, in your case~ 
Nighteyes responded calmly. 

I glared, but said nothing. I slurped the strawberry 
milkshake, and looked around at the café. It was 
unusually empty, for a Friday afternoon. 

~More?~ Tay interrupted my thoughts, looking up at me 
with pleading puppy eyes.

"No, not right now. We’re going back home," I said, as 
the waitress came over to deliver the bill. I paid in 
cash, and then we got up to leave.

After the pichu and pikachu assumed their usual spots on 
me, and Nighteyes floating besides, we walked out. 
Immediately I shaded my eyes from the afternoon glare. 
The street had it’s usual after school hustle, and I was 
jostled several times while making my way across the 
park. 

"Hey, you! Girl!" A man called, and I looked around, 
unsure if he was talking to me. 

A young man sauntered over to me, his muscles showing 
through the tight, cut-off shirt. He grinned, and I 
mentally frowned. 

"Yeah, you. I challenge you to a match, over in the 
park," He paused, flashing an even bigger grin, "Winner 
gets the losers pokemon. And I want to battle that abra. 
Unless your too afraid." 

Slyly, he pointed to Nighteyes. 

~You want to?~ I asked, curious, because I had never 
seen the abra fight.

~Fine... If you accept his pokemon, or he actually gives 
one to you, choose the houndoor. It’s just caught, do it 
hasn’t been affected by it’s owner. Your going down~ 
Nighteyes responded, directing his last sentence to the 
man. 

~I am not having another pokemon~ I said firmly. 

"Yes, Nighteyes will battle. He says you can use two 
pokemon, while I will use one," I told the guy, 
smirking. 

"I doubt it. He will regret that! And what a pathetic 
name, Nighteyes. My name’s Tom, by the way," Tom 
snorted, and we walked off to the park. 

Obviously, Tom had told his buddies that he was 
challenging me, and probably anyone else he could. A 
crowd had formed around an empty battlefield, the one we 
were to use. 

I got in my position, at one end of the field. Tom stood 
at the other end, and took out a pokeball from his 
pocket. Grinning, he casually spun it on a finger. I 
rolled my eyes in return, then turned to Nighteyes.

~Don’t show off, please. If you do, more people will try 
to battle, and I don’t want to battle. And don’t hurt 
the other pokemon too badly~ I begged.

~If he deserves it, I will. But he doesn’t look like he 
does~ Was the reply, and Nighteyes say down, meditating. 

"Let the battle begin!" Tom yelled, throwing the 
pokeball. 

It exploded in a red flash, and out appeared a 
charmeleon. It smirked, baring his teeth and showing off 
his claws. Nighteyes opened his eyes, and I gasped: they 
were a bright, blank purple. Floating over to the middle 
of the field, Nighteyes blinked, and his eyes were back 
to normal.

"So that’s how he got his name. Oh well, charmeleon, 
we’re going to beat him!" Tom muttered. 

After hearing that, the charmeleon leapt up, and opened 
his mouth widely. I shook my head sadly; Nighteyes and I 
both knew that was going to be a fire attack. To 
counter, Nighteyes held up both hands, and a shield of 
light spread around him. 

~I don’t think spells are supposed to be used~ I told 
the abra. 

~He doesn’t know that~ Nighteyes responded, and I knew 
he was grinning. 

A large stream of fire erupted from the charmeleon’s 
mouth, but on reaching the shield, scattered harmlessly 
away. 

"Pika!" Rian squealed happily, giving a thumb’s up sign. 

I smiled; the poor pokemon had no chance. Twirling a 
finger around casually, Nighteyes summoned a huge spout 
of water, officially named Whirlpool, and sent it flying 
at the fire lizard. Drenched and clearly weakened, the 
charmeleon fell over, but got up. He ran angrily at my 
abra, slashing his claws around madly. Nighteyes easily 
floated upward, and the charmeleon flew harmlessly by. 

By now most of the crowd was laughing, excluding Tom’s 
friends. Tom himself was beet red, but still had a 
determined look. With a final sweep of his hand, 
Nighteyes finished off the charmeleon, sending another 
wave of water at the lizard. 

Angrily, Tom returned the pokemon, and shouted,

"You only beat charmeleon because he hasn’t had enough 
experience. There’s no way you can fight hitmontop!" He 
through out a pokeball, and a hitmontop appeared.

"You know, Nighteyes is a psychic pokemon, and fighting 
pokemon are weak against that type," I informed Tom, 
stifling a laugh. 

This battle was even easier: Nighteyes just sent a 
simple psychic blast, and the hitmontop was down. As he 
recalled the pokemon, Tom walked over to me, blushing 
furiously and obviously angry. 

"What pokemon do you want?" He mumbled. 

Remembering what Nighteyes had said, I replied,

"If you don’t mind, I’ll have your houndoor." 

"What?!" Tom goggled. 

"I just got that yesterday. It’s weak, and pathetic! And 
how did you know I have a houndoor?" He questioned, 
amazed. 

"All the better for me to have it. And Nighteyes told 
me. You don’t have to give me a pokemon, or anything. I 
didn’t want to battle in the first place," I replied.

"No. If I don’t give you something, I’ll be shamed by my 
gang. You’re the one with the worse side of the deal, 
though," Tom said quietly. It was my turn to be amazed.

"Gangs care about shame?" I exclaimed.

"Of course. Here you go," Tom replied stiffly, handing 
me a pokeball. 

"Bye!" I called to his back. 

I pocketed the pokeball, and then turned to my pokemon.

"What do you want to do?" I asked. 

~More ice cream?~ Anatayla asked hopefully, causing me 
to laugh. 

"No, we got to get home," I replied, and then started 
walking off, in the direction of the woods.

~Hey!~ Rian called, scrambling up my back with ease, and 
perching on my shoulder. A week ago, that would have 
hurt, but I was used to it. 

"Erm... excuse me?" A voice called. 

I turned around, and saw a teenaged boy run up to me. I 
catch my breath as I saw his face, and my heart did a 
double take hearing his voice.

"J-fro?" I croaked. Confusion clouded his face. An 
unrecognizable emotion flickered over his eyes, and he 
looked down.   

"I was called that. But my name’s Jeff," He said 
quietly. That little statement confirmed who I thought 
he was. I threw my arms around Jeff, happily squealing,

"Oh my god, Jeff! What are you doing here?" 

"Who are you?" He replied, baffled. I stepped away, a 
hurt look in my face.    

"Jeff? You don’t remember me... Angel?" I whispered. 

~Well duh! You look totally different, and your supposed 
to be dead!~ Nighteyes mind-shouted. I realized he was 
right; I donned comfortable pajama-like pants, and a 
oversized sweatshirt, far from my usual wear. 

"Angel... but... your dead..." Jeff said, also whispering. 

~She’s not dead!~ Piped in Anatayla, who had remained 
quiet until now. 

"No... I’m not. You can thank Nighteyes for that. It’s a 
long story. Oh, I have so much to tell you! I got Rian, 
and Sunny, well, Anatayla now. And Nighteyes, of course. 
And were linked! Oh, you gotta come with us!" I babbled 
happily.

~Time to go~ Nighteyes interrupted, talking so Nico, 
Jeff’s aipom, and Jeff, could hear. Then, with ease, 
Nighteyes teleported us away. 
~~~~~End Chapter 4~~~~~
Avenging Angels: The Sequel Of Linked
~~~~~~~~

The wind tossed impatiently around her, sending clothes 
and hair flying. Standing as far out over the balcony as 
she could manage, Hope thrust her arms out into the air. 
The numerous silver bracelets jangled down her arms, but 
she ignored them. Her mind focused on more important 
things, the hundreds of enemies in their ships down 
below in the bay. 

Her rings tingled with the power stored in them as she 
grabbed a fistful of air and pushed it tumbling. The air 
collected speed and power as it went down, and formed a 
small whirlwind. 

Hope called on water next, and the waves rose up high, 
answering her call. Unintentionally, cloud had gathered 
over the area, and lightening flashed down from the 
thunderheads. It struck her hands, and sent a pleasant 
tingle through the girl. But the electricity had other 
jobs. Shaking her head, she sent it over to one of the 
ships. It struck fierce and strong, shocking the metal 
prows.
 
The whirlwind had become a tornado now, with water 
combined. It chased the ships all over, blocking attacks 
from both machines and creatures. The waves too, had 
been put into the cyclone’s trail. The rocked back and 
forth, giving a brutal lashing to anything in its path. 

The ships turned around now, focusing on fleeing rather 
than attack the port. The girl sighed, and put her arms 
down. Tiredness overcame her, and she tumbled forward. 
An instant before she fell over the ledge, strong and 
warm arms wrapped around her waist. She sighed and fell 
asleep that moment, and like he would a baby, the man 
carried her down the tower.  
~~~~~~
 A couple years later...
~~~~~~

"So, who are we fighting again?" Angel asked the abra in 
front of her. 

~I don’t remember you asking that question before, so 
why would you say, ‘again’? But, anyways, we are 
fighting your namesakes, Angels. How ironic...~ the abra, 
who was commonly called Nighteyes, replied, the last 
part more to himself than anyone else. 

The group was sitting around a fire, a fire that 
strangely burned on nothing but the dirt of the ground. 
A teenaged girl lay in a boy’s lap, both seventeen. A 
pichu, pikachu and aipom were also nearby, munching 
happily on dinner. Also, an abra sat on the ground, very 
much in front of the girl and boy. 

"Angels? But... but..." The boy, known to most as Jeff, 
demanded, confused. 

~Ready for a big lecture?~ Nighteyes asked, with a look 
about as amused as an abra can get on his face. The 
girl, Angel, Jeff, and pokemon nodded their heads.

~Yeah, they exist. Like almost everything and anything. 
Angels aren’t your god’s messengers, or anything like 
that. They are immune to age, but not to death. Beings 
with no body, but a shape made of light. They are highly 
intelligent, and most are many thousands of years old. 
Few are good; most are bad. Their leader is the one you 
call God. But he isn’t the creator. He simply was the 
first angel, and he started that story, and has been 
worshipped since. Yes, angels are your enemies. They and 
the creatures they create, clone, or obtain. And perhaps 
most of the humans in the religions that worship the one 
God~ Nighteyes explained. 

"And your leader is...?" Angel asked, hoping the abra 
would respond. But he shook his head, and silence 
overcame the group as they finished eating. 

It had been almost three years since Angel’s life was 
turned around. Three years since she met Nighteyes, 
found Rian, and ‘died’ to all humans besides Jeff. About 
two and a half years since Jeff came with, and since 
they became more than just friends. A lot had changed. 
But war would be starting soon, and they all had to be 
prepared. Nighteyes instructed Angel in advanced spells, 
with Jeff, Rian, Tay and Nico in beginners’ learnings. 
Nico and Rian were both very good battlers, and Tay 
wasn’t that bad. Jeff and Angel knew attacking ranging 
from the arts of assassinating to simple hiding tricks. 
All of them were in excellent shape, and happier than 
most would be in their situation. The group had traveled 
most of Kanto, never staying in one place for more than 
a week, to avoid the enemy.   

Jeff yawned widely, and stretched. Angel stood up beside 
him, her head barely reaching the middle of his face, 
even though Angel was at least five foot ten.   

"G’night," She announced, before walking away to her 
tent. 

~Get a lot of rest. Tomorrow might be busy~ Advised 
Nighteyes. 

Jeff nodded and followed Angel. Rian was curled up 
closely to the fire, and Tay had joined him. The pikachu 
and pichu made a cute little pair, and an innocent half 
smile spread across the dreaming pikachu. Nico had left, 
looking for a nice tree to act as his jungle gym. 
Nighteyes was meditating, as usual, on a tall rock. He 
opened his eyes briefly, and put out the fire. 
 ~~~~
 A couple of days later...
~~~~~

Jeff stopped, and wiped the sweat from his brow. He 
looked up, at the monstrosity of a mountain in front of 
him. A barely visible, pinprick of a trail wound up the 
side, the trail they were on. He took a swig of water 
from the bottle at his side, and continued on. A pace of 
six miles an hour was set by the leader, Nighteyes. The 
abra easily floated at the head of the group, which 
consisted of him, Angel and Nico. Rian and Anatayla were 
in their pokeballs, resting. The pichu and pikachu pair 
weren’t suited for this kind of hike, while his Nico was 
at ease.

Angel also had a houndoor she won in a battle, but she 
had given it to the last village we passed, as thieves 
had been raiding the simple farming community. The 
houndoor had been trained well, and it was living 
happily with the people. Just one of the reasons he 
loved her...  

The sun cleared the horizon, and left again. A pale 
light was cast upon the bare mountain as the moon shone 
in the twilight. And still they walked. A magiked 
flatbread Nighteyes had devised and water were the only 
food. Loads were light, a small pack for each human.

~Nico! Why don’t you drink some water?~ He called, 
talking through the mind to mind communication allowed 
by Linkage. 

The small purplish monkey paused on top of a dead stump. 
He flicked his ear back and forth, before hopping to the 
ground. He little paws barely touched the surface of the 
ground before they were in the air again, sending 
himself moving quite easily on the dirt. The hand-like 
appendage on his tail grabbed Jeff’s offered arm, and 
the monkey hoisted himself up.    

~Sure, sure, why not?~ Nico grumbled good naturally, and 
opened his mouth to receive the stream of cool water. 

~Can I go in the ball? There used to be trees and stuff 
I could swing along on, but now... everything is dead~ 
Nico asked. 

I nodded, and reached into my pocket for the red and 
white ball. Nico was right; everything was dead. A 
couple of days ago, there were short trees and bushes 
lining the path, but up here, everything was gone and 
dead. Even dirt was scarce. Jeff suspected that higher 
up it would be sheer rock. 

And why were they going there? 

Was Jeff’s question. Nighteyes had said something about 
meeting someone there, he thought. But what would want 
to live in this barren wasteland? 

~Stop!~ Nighteyes mind-shouted, and I froze. 

~Something is not right...~ He muttered, and Angel, him 
and I assumed a defensive position, our backs to each 
other. 

~Get ready... put up a shield~ the abra directed, and we 
all held our hands up.

 I muttered the shield spell, but Angel and Nighteyes 
were linked together and advanced, they just had to 
think it. A purple light from Nighteyes, a white one 
from Angel, and a blue blast from me appeared, and they 
spread to form a dome around us before disappearing.  
  
I yawned suddenly as a tiredness overcame me; I had not 
slept in a long while. Snapping me out of my daze was a 
stifled gasp from Angel. Being the protective boyfriend, 
I looked around anxiously, before squealing myself. 

Surrounding us were about ten huge beastly things. Each 
had a long bow strapped to their back, and a glinting 
black axe in their hands. Their tops were man, from 
chest up, but below that was hard to say. Brilliant 
coppery bronze hair streamed down, from their beards and 
head. Their faces were proud and dangerous, features 
chiseled well in their faces. Strong, hard muscles 
outlined their arms and chests. That part was not what 
surprised me. 

They had four legs. Their bottom half was one of an 
animals, a dog or cat’s most likely. Make that a large 
dog or cat. The animal part of them was about five feet 
tall, and the man added on made them three to four feet 
taller than me. White paws stuck out from coppery-bronze 
fur, and a magnificent tail streamed from their ends. 
They looked like something I had only seen once before, 
a picture of a legendary creature at school, long ago. 

"Entei..." I gasped. 

"Entmen," One boomed in a low voice, correcting me. 

"Put down your weapons, my men, and their wall will go 
down," The one ordered; he seemed to be the leader. 
Also, he had a golden axe, while all the others had 
black. 

~Lower your wall~ Nighteyes told me, and I did as he 
Angel did the same. 

"Greetings, Nighteyes. You and your... humans are welcome 
in our home," The leader said, bowing deeply. 

~We would be glad to, Goldenfoot, and let me introduce 
Angel and Jeff~ Nighteyes replied formally. I felt a 
strong urge to bow, and did so. 

"Treebounce, Grasseye, will you carry the humans? Let us 
go, then, for the day draws near it’s end," Goldenfoot, 
the leader, ordered politely, and motioned for two 
Entmen to come up to use. 

One came over to me. I noticed the bright, grassy color 
in his eye, and assumed he was Grasseye. Listening to 
his instructions, I climbed onto the lowered back, and 
held firmly onto his fur. I prepared myself for the 
speed they might go, but still yet out a yelp as he 
bounded away, making no sound. 
~~~~~~~
End Chapter 5
~~~~~~~ 
~~~~~
Some pages of Angel’s diary that were found at 
Whitehaven... 
~~~~~

The war had come. It hit us full blast, a raging tornado 
rushing into town. But that wouldn’t be a good 
comparison; I’ve never seen a tornado. Oh well. I hate 
war. I don’t hate much, so that’s pretty different. I’ve 
strongly disliked before, but never hated. Im going off 
subject, aren’t I? Well, back to war. It’s horribly 
bloody, and the smell of death is everywhere. But there 
are many on our side, we fight back and kill about any 
equal number if not more. The entmen are fabulous. They 
are near invincible, and just go straight in battle, 
slaughtering left and right. Oh, that’s another thing 
that’s different. No one uses guns, bombs, or near any 
advanced technology. It’s all olden stuff, right out of 
the pages of a book about the medieval times. 
~

Thank god Nighteyes taught me how to use a sword. And 
knifes, fists, even the entmen taught me how to use a 
bow. But most of the fighting is with my mind and 
spells. I heal too, only the most injured, though. 
Nighteyes tells me to save most of my power for 
fighting. So when there is a break in battle, or I am 
restless, I head off to the tents of the wounded. It’s 
horrible there, grown men and creatures crying, yelling, 
dying. There is blood, so much blood. I am not a 
certified nurse, so I clean, make beds, feed the fallen 
fighters. 
 ~

I have not seen an angel yet. Funny, how that is. They 
get their minions, weak, innocent humans and pokemon, to 
fight for them. 
~

I miss Jeff. He is somewhere on the front, fighting, 
scouting, whatever they need him for. Although its 
terribly selfish, I want him back. He shouldn’t be out 
there. Doesn’t Nighteyes know that? 
~

Fourteen days ago it was my nineteenth birthday. I just 
realized that today. My, how things go so fast. It was 
my golden birthday too; June nineteenth is my birthday, 
and I was nineteen. I thought your golden birthday was 
supposed to be fun? I don’t think Jeff noticed, but I 
don’t know because I never saw him. How many days has it 
been? At least a month since I’ve seen Jeff. Oh, I miss 
him. 
~

When Jeff comes home I’ll be so happy... Its been about 
two months now... 
~

JEFF’S HOME! Oh, I’m so happy! He’s really thin, so I’ve 
taken up the job of stuffing him with food. But bad 
news, one of the entmen was killed. But Jeff has with 
him an egg, found in the ashes of the dead creature. 
Nighteyes told me, being part legendary, they are 
immortal and do not age. To keep up their population 
when one dies though, an egg is formed in the carcass of 
a dead entmen. Like that legendary phoenix bird, ho-oh. 
I am also caring for the egg. Rian’s back too, with 
Anatayla. They were helping a group of electric pokemon 
fight, but they weren’t gone for too long. It’s still 
strange to see Rian as a riachu, and Tay as a pikachu. I 
love Jeff so much...
~

We’re on the move again... Nighteyes says it’s not safe 
for me. So, were going somewhere, I have no idea where 
though. But, Jeff, Tay, Rian, and Nico are all coming 
with! It’ll be just like the old times...
~
 
 It was dark. Dark as night, so dark you could not see 
your hand in front of your face. But still we moved on, 
our little group. It was impossible to travel during 
day; we were visible from the sky and ground. Even 
still, in the cave we were walking through, we could not 
travel during day. I wonder what I looked like, my face 
probably white from lack of sun. I wondered how everyone 
else was faring. You were unable to speak; anyone could 
be listening. I found this all incredibly dreary, and my 
only refuge was during day, when I would be able to curl 
up with Jeff and everyone else and sleep. 
~

I, being linked to Nighteyes, could tap into his power 
and use echolocation-like sensors to ‘see’ something 
before I ran into it. Jeff, on the other hand, held onto 
me and stumbled his way through. 
~

We continued on, walking, never stopping. I pretty much 
was being led by Nighteyes, so I needed not to pay 
attention. I let my mind wander instead, to the war, to 
the incredibly kind entmen.  
~

We had left with them the egg Jeff found, and soon now 
it would be a baby, a baby entman. I wondered what he 
would look like; I had never seen one. Would the upper 
part be a boy, and the entei part a puppy? Or would he 
be a miniature entmen, and just grow. I say he because, 
as Jeff and I found out, all entmen are he. That’s how 
they were created, with no females in their race. I 
wondered how they could have children, and Grasseyes had 
explained that entmen were immortal, and only died if 
something else killed them by a weapon. No disease, no 
poison, no age could kill entmen. If one did happen to 
die, in its ashes would be an egg, of a baby entman. 
~

But day after day, hour after hour, I stopped thinking. 
It tired me, worried me, and was a big pain overall. It 
was worrying me, the fact that I stopped thinking. 
Nighteyes, too, was worried. He would occasionally stop 
in my brain, but never say anything. I could feel the 
emotions, though. Sadness, worry, all of it went to me. 
But it was all better than thinking. I bet if we were 
allowed to speak, Jeff would worry too. But if we were 
allowed to speak, I wouldn’t be worried. I could talk, 
ease my boredom, and let me think about something or 
another.  
~

Whitehaven! This is where we were going... The whole place 
is out of a wonderland, beauty everywhere. It seems so 
untouched by anything. The buildings are all ancient, 
castle like, things. I doubt anyone from the 
modern/normal, technologic world knows about this place. 
Otherwise it’d be a prime tourist spot and archeologists 
would flock here.
~

I feel so safe here...
~

Its too white. I know that sounds stupid, but basically 
everything is white... It’s too cleansing, and dull after 
a while...
~

Been here a year. I don’t think Nighteyes plans to let 
us go anywhere.
~

(The rest of the part found from Angel’s diary was 
unreadable...) 
~~~~

But as she left...
Hope came
To continue on...
The angel prophet 

[A piece of the Angel Prophecy] 
~~~~
Even a few more years later...
~~~~
  

A crack of white light burst through the stormy, black 
night and just as quickly disappeared. Following was an 
ear-splitting rumble of thunder. Water poured down from 
the heavens, drenching anything in its wake. The water 
pattered against the old cottage, streaked down the few 
glass windows. 

The young man shifted uneasily in his wooden chair. His 
eyes stared out the window, long used to the light. 
Ashes lay where a fire had long since gone out, and no 
lights shown in this house that night. An eerie chill 
had settled in the building. But still he stared out the 
window, watching, waiting, for something that would not 
come. 

Or would it?    

A chittering noise startled him; he turned around. The 
purplish, monkey-like creature chattered and scolded 
angrily at it’s master, and hopped into his lap. 

"Nico, Nico..." the man sighed, petting the creature. 

~You need to eat! And, get a fire starred or something! 
Its cold~ Nico mind-yelled.

The man shook his heads sadly, and turned back to the 
window.  

"Yeowch!" He screeched, yanking his hand away from the 
wrath of the creature’s teeth.     

~Now~ Nico ordered, baring his teeth. He was sick and 
tired of his master and friend acting like that. 

The man got up slowly, as if he hadn’t stood for weeks. 
And he hadn’t. Inching along at a snails pace, the man 
backed up from the window. Once out of view, things sped 
up, and he briskly moved about the kitchen, cooking a 
long awaited meal. 

As if he had been in a trance, the man suddenly noticed 
weeks of dust, dirt and dirtiness everywhere he looked. 
As he finished preparing the meal of hastily thrown 
together food, the man asked,

"How long?" 

Nico snorted in reply, but added hotly, 

~About two months... I practically had to shove food and 
water down your throat, and you didn’t even notice!!~ 
     
The man blushed and lowered his head to concentrate on 
eating. The food brought a warmth back in him, that he 
had not felt for a  long time. He ran his hand through 
his hair, and started visibly when he found he was not 
able to without his hand getting tangled. His hair was 
also long, longer than usual, and it no longer stuck up 
in a ‘fro, but hung down to his shoulders.   
 
After eating, he hustled off to the bathroom, where he 
engaged in showering. Taking care if his hygienic needs, 
he began to clean in a frenzy. 

A naturally neat person, Jeff was embarrassed at the way 
he was, and thanked god he was not like that when Angel 
would show up. It had been almost a year, almost a year 
since they last separated. Nighteyes had forced him to 
go off, to live in this secluded place a couple 
mountains away from Whitehaven. He then took Angel; to 
whereabouts Jeff did not know. 

He then set to the job of starting a fire. There was a 
very sparse amount of wood in the house; he would have 
to get some later. After neatly gathering a pile of 
kindling and logs, Jeff muttered a spell and a flame 
sprung up from the wood. It quickly caught onto the dry 
wood, and soon a warming glow was cast over the room. 

Pleased with himself, Jeff returned to the armchair, but 
this time bringing it close to the fireplace. He went 
into the bedroom to gather blankets, and finally settled 
down. Nico leapt on his lap happily, and the two dosed 
off in a comforting sleep.

Crack! 

Jeff leapt up, wide awake within seconds. He looked 
around, and in his disbelief the door was wide open. 
Rain was splattering the wooden floor; wind blew in 
greedily. Jeff rose, and moved to the door. 

A face appeared. A muffled noise sprung from his mouth 
before his hand clasped over it, a gasp. He gained 
control, and held up his hands in defense. A crackle of 
blue light, there was a shield in front of me. But what 
to come would be more surprising. 

A human stepped out of the shadows of night. He pale 
face was aged beyond her years; eyes that still held a 
twinkle gleamed out. A cloak, or many cloaks, covered 
her, and the wind tossed them around not playfully at 
all. 

Jeff’s eyes gained a suddenly recognition, as he 
whispered hoarsely, 

"Angel?"

She nodded slowly in reply. Emotions overcoming him, 
Jeff ran over and took Angel in his arms. But she backed 
away.

"No, not now... Jeff..." She whispered, almost to herself. 
She revealed a bundle, hidden in her arms. Thrusting it 
into his, Angel started again,

"I have to go... I’m going to fight him, the head angel. 
Yes."  The last part to herself, a decision Jeff knew 
nothing of. Angel turned away, and Jeff saw the tears 
streaming down her face. 

"Don’t give her up. Don’t let Hope go... Ours... I love you 
Jeff," She whispered, her eyes reaching out, seeking his.

They eyes locked. A single moment, though seeming an 
eternity, they stood. Then, as if Jeff was in a 
nightmare, Angel swiftly turned around. Jeff reached 
out, a slight "no" on his lips, and she was gone. As 
suddenly as she came, Angel was gone. 

He stood there, for who knows long, as the cold rain 
drenched him. A small cry startled him, and Jeff noticed 
again the bundle in his arms. He turned away, back into 
the house. Shutting the door behind him, Jeff realized 
he was crying. He looked around, his eyes seeking his 
best friend. The pokemon did not even see, didn’t see 
Angel.

Another cry nearly caused Jeff to leap. Again, he looked 
down at the bundle. But this time he opened it. 

~A BABY?!?~  His mind shout was immense, Nico jumped. 
And the baby started crying. 

Inside the cloth was a baby. A baby... Not even a week 
old, the child’s eyes were not open. He remembered what 
Angel had said...

Ours... Don’t give up Hope...

She (was it even a she?) was Angel’s and his... and her 
name was Hope. And that was why Angel had come. Shock 
drifted away, it was replaced by happiness, pride, a new 
responsibility, what every father felt when they held 
their child.  
 
~Oh my god...~ Nico was on his shoulder, looking down. 
 
"Hope. Well, I guess we got to take care of you," Jeff 
said shyly, looking down on his daughter, his beautiful 
daughter.   

Jeff turned around, wandering in a daze through his 
house, a dreamy smile upon his face.
~~~~~~~~~~
End Chapter 6...
~~~~~~~~~~

~Written By The Minnesotan Tree Hugger/Artic One