PERISH SONG By Twilight Harmony Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any characters from the games or TV show. There are a few original characters of mine which I ask you do not use without my permission, and the plot and dialogue is all mine, too. A/N: I got this idea a while ago and I thought it was interesting. The story will be told from many points of view, and I hope it doesn't get confusing. ~*§*~ CHAPTER I Orange-red flames moved upon the treetops in a fatal dance. Teresa didn't need to hear the peoples' screams to know she was in danger. Gathering her few belongings she hurried to the door, where a thin rope ladder descended to the ground below. "Myao?" The head of a Delcatty appeared in the doorway above her. "Maaow!" it pleaded. Teresa turned around and saw it. Dropping her bag to the ground she climbed up the ladder again and wrapped an arm around the frightened Pokémon. I won't let you go, Lily, she thought, as she carried the Delcatty back down. She felt hot wind on her face as the blaze reached the tree beside her. She didn't hear its roots snap as the fire drained its life away. But Delcatty did. It leapt down from Teresa's arms and tugged on her pants with its teeth. Sensing that something was wrong, Teresa ran forward, just as the huge tree fell to the ground. Its branches whipped her face, knocking her down, but she was safe. Standing shakily to her feet she looked around her. People and Pokémon scurried for safety nearby. Lily? she thought, scanning the area for the sight of her beloved pet and only friend. She saw something pinned beneath the tree's trunk which confirmed her worst fears... ~*§*~ "We receive tragic news today from Fortree City. It appears that a bizarre forest fire was somehow set in the mountains and drifted down to Fortree where it destroyed the city. No word yet on the number of casualties caused by this strange phenomenon..." The guests of the Cove Lily Motel stopped what they were doing and anxiously watched the television report. Those with relatives in Fortree instantly grabbed for their cellular phones to make that one hesitant call. They didn't notice a man sitting in the shadowy corner, grim like all the others, watching the news footage of the burning city. It's a shame, he thought, sipping the last of his coffee, for such a fair place to meet such a horrible end. His thoughts were interrupted as the woman sitting at the table beside him started to cry. As someone went to comfort her he caught the sight of a family smiling in relief. Strange what tragedies do, he thought. They can bring pain but also great joy. "Daddy's safe, honey. It's going to be okay," a mother reassured her confused toddler. Feeling that this room was best left for those who were affected by the report, the man stepped outside into the relative cold of the midwinter night. Somehow the business in Fortree brought back other memories. Memories he had tried to forget for the past month. All these weeks he had been trying to find himself, discover what it truly meant to be a Pokémon trainer. For the first time in years, he had failed at something, been beaten by a girl no more than a child. And yet... He almost smiled to himself, remembering her triumphant face, her eyes shining as she learned that she was now the One. He hadn't been surprised, really. He had seen a part of what she was capable of. But wasn't he supposed to be the strongest? Living up to his father's expectations had been difficult, and yet he managed... He had a feeling that she would make the right choices. Perhaps she could prove to be more successful than he had been. ~*§*~ "Elana, wake up! Come on now, dear. It's past ten o'clock!" "NO," groaned the half-awake girl. "Leave me alone!" Sighing in exasperation, Caroline Brown pulled the comforter from the girl's shoulders. Reflex kicked in, and the teenager pulled her legs up against her stomach and reached for the covers again. But Caroline was quicker. She held onto the comforter tight and wouldn't let go even as Elana pulled on it. One sleepy gray eye opened as she scowled at the woman she'd lived with for the past thirteen years. "Oh, fine! Why do you have to be so mean?" she whined. But Caroline only laughed. "Now, how do you think people would feel if they knew their Champion was whining about getting up for breakfast?" she said. Elana made a face and sat up. "Why don't you come downstairs now, sweetie? I bought some groceries with the prize money you won." Great, thought Elana. I can't sleep in on the weekend and Caroline confiscated my prize money. Is this what being the Champion is about? Caroline left and she got up to dress. Passing the desk in the corner of the room she stopped for a moment. A small bag lay next to the computer, thrown there the night before. She turned the bag upside-down and six Poké Balls rolled out. The reason she had won. Elana didn't take any credit for herself. "Come on out, guys," she said, and the Poké Balls started to shake. Remembering something, she added hastily, "Not you, Kyogre." There was no room in her bedroom, or her house, for that matter, for the gigantic whale Pokémon. The Balls opened up, and in flashes of red light five Pokemon stood on her floor. The one closest to her was a sleepy-eyed Swampert. He was her highest-level Pokemon. Next to him appeared a fox-like Pokémon with many bushy tails and fluffy, cream-colored fur. Ivory the Ninetails glanced at Swampert and began to groom herself. In a flutter of cottony down, a beautiful Altaria appeared in the air above them. Elana's smallest Pokémon, a Bellossom named Belle, glanced up at the others. Finally, a Kecleon leaped down from its Poké Ball. "Are any of you hungry?" Elana asked them. With cries ranging from "Swampert," to "Ninetails", they said their approval. "Okay, come on." So the whole calvacade bounded downstairs into the kitchen. Caroline laughed as she saw them come in. "Oh, it's the whole gang today, is it?" she said as she fried eggs at the oven. "All right..." said Elana. "So, Swampert likes onions, but not mushrooms, and he won't eat fish. But Altaria loves fish, and doesn't like any vegetables. Ivory, on the other hand, will eat apple slices (but not celery), and she hates anything too spicy. Kecleon likes scrambled eggs with pepper, but not too much or he'll get sick. And Belle likes warm water and honey, and all kinds of berries. Got that?" She said all of this very fast. "Of course, dear." ~*§*~ A pile of blackened stones was all that was left of the Fortree City Gym. Its former leader stared solemnly at the wreckage and then looked back at the crowd that had gathered behind her. She knew they expected her to encourage them; to tell them that there was still hope for their city. Winona turned to face them. She needed to be their leader today. "My friends and fellow citizens of Fortree: hope is not lost. Though this tragedy has stricken our home we should not be discouraged. Family and friends who should not have died lost their lives last night. But those of us who survived... We must go on. We can rebuild this city. We can replant the trees. We can continue our lives. We MUST, for the sake of everyone." Great-Grandmother would be proud, she thought, remembering how Winifred Wingfoot had led the first people of Fortree after a summertime flood transformed the soft ground into five feet of mud and uprooted many trees. Winona smiled inside at the enlightened looks on the faces of the families, though outside her mouth remained in a solemn line. That day the inhabitants of Fortree got together all the shovels, pails, and other types of gardening equipment they could and gathered seeds that had survived the blaze. With the help of their Pokemon they cleared out the rubble and started collecting supplies for rebuilding their houses and stores. A temporary Pokémon Center was set up underneath a large tent so that the Pokémon working on the city could be rested. As Winona looked over all the people working together, she couldn't help thinking that maybe the fire hadn't been so bad after all. ~*§*~ A/N: Well, this chapter was really just an introduction to the characters. I promise that a lot more is going to happen later on. There'll be a few more original characters, as well as quite a few that you already know.