Incomplete Explanations

Devan woke up. He opened his eyes, and could only see light and fuzzy shades of what looked like light fixtures and objects around the room he was now in. He couldn’t tell where he was or what had just happened to him. He then remembered the conversation he had just had with Arceus. What did he mean by that incredibly cryptic statement, the one about keys and doorways? Thinking about it only made his head hurt, and for some reason, his chest. He then noticed that he could feel something on his chest. He looked up, and saw a pair of large red eyes staring back at him.

“Are you okay?” the owner of the eyes asked him. “You were talking in your sleep.”

Devan could only reply with a groan, resulting from just coming out of the anesthesia. He felt extremely light-headed, as if he had been hyperventilating nonstop for the past hour and a half. The rest of his body felt oddly clean, as if it had been flushed out. He looked around the rest of the room, only to be interrupted by the pair of red eyes again.

“Hello? I asked if you were okay,” Red Eyes stated, curious as to why Devan did not answer back.

Devan tried to reply to the question, but could only muster a cough. He tried to point at his throat to make her try to understand, but his arms were limp, and he could do nothing to move them.

Another voice spoke up. It sounded very feminine and had a soothing quality to it, which reminded Devan somehow of a loving mother. “Little one, he’s coming out of anesthesia right now. He’ll be able to answer you soon enough. I’m sorry, Devan, but Arceus said I had to take her to you as soon as possible. You remember me, don’t you?” she asked him. She then padded up to his bedside where he could see her.

Devan not only recognized her, but was so shocked to see her that he shot up in his bed launching the little creature with red eyes to the other side, where it landed with an “oof.”

“S…suicune…” he muttered. A thousand questions flooded his mind. He wanted to ask her about everything that had just happened to him that day: why Arceus chose him, of all people, to carry out his mission, what she had been up to since their fateful run-in in Johto, why she brought the little Pokemon to him…but he couldn’t find his voice.

“Wow, what a surprise, Devan. It’s a miracle you recognize me after two years. I thought you would have forgotten me by now. The reason I’m here is because Arceus asked me to bring you something…” She then padded over to the red-eyed, blue and black colored Pokemon sitting on his bed rubbing its little head and picked it up. She then placed it on the floor, and continued to speak. “This little Riolu is a gift from Arceus, and she is your soon-to-be partner. Arceus has gone through a lot of hard work to find this perfect partner for you, Devan, so please treat her well. I don’t want to have to come after you if something has happened to her.”

The Riolu, noticing her lack of input in the conversation, lost interest and began to explore the room they were in. She would stop once in a while to return her attention back to Suicune and Devan to see where the conversation was going, but after a short moment or two lose interest and return to her exploration.

Devan stared at Suicune for a moment. “I don’t travel with others. Rule number one of the Arcbound: Avokii will not bind to other’s wills.”

Suicune snorted. “Devan, if the founder of the Arcbound heard you say that, he would slap you upside the head. The Avokii of the Arcbound weren’t only meant to travel with other humans, they were also meant to have pokemon as partners. I was a partner to one once…but that was a long time ago. As for that rule, it was made during the time that the guilty ones were among us.”

“Whatever. What I meant to say was that I don’t travel with anyone else, Suicune. When I did travel with someone, it was always to cover my identity. You know how many enemies we Avokii have out there,” Devan explained.

Suicune shrugged, and gave an uninterested glance at Devan before turning around. "It's not your choice, Devan. Arceus told me to give her to you, and that you should take care of her. That's why I'm here..."

“Wait…why would you of all Pokemon leave Johto to give me a Riolu? There has to be another reason you’re here, and I’m guessing it’s something pretty important, otherwise I would probably be talking to someone or something else,” Devan stated.

“There is,” Suicune replied, as she turned back to face him. “I have come here to explain to you what Arceus could not, due to your little meeting being cutting off so early. However, I am at somewhat of a loss as to exactly what he wanted me to tell you. As you may already know, I am one of the three Oracles of Arceus: Suicune, the Water Oracle. The other two are Entei, the Fire Oracle, and Raikou, the Thunder Oracle. All three of us have a direct mental connection with Arceus, as well as links with each other. However, several days ago, we lost the ability to communicate with Arceus. Not even his first children, the Guardians of Paradise, have been able to speak with him. The only way we know he’s still alive are messages he has sent to all of us. However, he has cut the connection before any of us could respond to him. We, his oracles, are very concerned that something has happened to Arceus. Even if nothing truly ‘happened’ to him, there must be some reason why he cut contact with us. ”

“Ever think he just grew tired of you guys and just didn’t want to talk to anyone?” Devan asked, receiving a malicious glare from Suicune in return.

“Devan, this is serious,” Suicune scolded him. “If something…rather, ANYTHING…happens to Arceus, something terrible is bound to be the result. If control of Arceus somehow happened to fall into the wrong hands, it could result in world domination, or even worse, Armageddon.”

“Okay, so…why was I dragged into all of this?” Devan asked.

Suicune shook her head. “I can’t tell you that. He wants you to figure it out. His orders for me were simple enough: ‘Find Devan, give him what he needs, and help him on the journey that I have unwillingly forced upon him. However, he needs to figure out on his own what I want him to do.’ That’s all he asked of me. I received his message two days ago, but the strange thing is that it was the last message he has sent to anyone. Until he talked with you today, that is. I wish I could tell you everything, but I have my orders. I can only give you this tablet he wished you to have and Zephyr. However, I cannot help you just yet. There’s a rather urgent matter I must attend to. I wish I could stay to help you out, but for now you’re on your own. Don’t let your guard down…there are people that wish you dead, some for reasons beyond your comprehension. If you find who you’re looking for and they don’t know who you are, just show them the mark on your left hand. They’ll know what to do then.”

She turned around again to leave, but muttered one last thing to Devan. “If it’s any consolation, I can see why he chose you. You look just like Taris did when he was your age: the same snowy-white wild hair that flows down the front of your shoulders, the same body frame, and even the same shape of your face…the only difference is your icy-blue eyes. His were red,” she told him. She then erupted in a vortex of water and disappeared.

Devan sighed. “Who the hell is Taris?” he asked himself, not expecting an answer in return. He then looked at his left hand, and noticed a strange mark on it. It was a weird ring-shaped symbol, similar to that of Arceus’ ring on his lower torso. He wondered if it would wash off, and then thought it was probably an inkless tattoo of some sort; it would be bound to his skin probably for the rest of his life, even if he wanted to be rid of it. He didn’t know how to begin this whole trip.

“Great, now what do I do?” he then asked the Riolu, who was playing with a strange tablet with writing chiseled into it.

“I dunno,” she replied. “I think she wants you to have this though. She gave it to me and told me to give it to you when she was done talking to you. I don’t know what it’s for, but it is sure fun to play with,” she stated.

He picked up the tablet. “Huh…for Mako, the ball maker. Sunnyshore market…” he read. “Great, just what I wanted. A goose chase. Fucking wonderful,” he complained. He got out of bed and began to pack his stuff, taking the tablet from the Riolu and shoving it into his bag next to the strange flute he had “found” when he woke up from his Genesis dream.

“Get up, and let’s get going,” he said to the Riolu. “We need to get out of here as soon as possible. This place is making me sick, and I don’t want to run into anybody else on the way out…”

Then, a group of seven people burst into the room: a few old men, some wrinkled and liver-spotted, others probably in their early 60’s. One of that group, however, was a young woman, who looked like she had just entered into her 20’s. She had milky-white eyes, and Devan seemed to get lost in them when he returned her stare, as well as hair as white as his; if not, possibly even whiter. Accompanying the strange men and woman was the girl that had rescued him. they were all wearing what looked like brown priestly robes (aside from the girl, who was wearing the same ceremonial garbs she had been wearing earlier), and the young woman with the white eyes was wearing a pitch white Miko gown. The room, as surprisingly small as it seemed, took up most of the room, which seemed to piss off Devan more than he already had been.

“Oh, great. Just what I needed…What do you people want from me now? Can’t you just leave me the fuck alone?!”

“Watch your tongue, lad,” one of them spoke up. He had white facial hair covering most of his face, and his eyelids were so wrinkly it was almost like his eyes weren’t open. What hair he had left went down his back to about his neck; it didn’t look trimmed, and Devan could tell he probably didn’t want to bother loosing the only hair he had left (other than the large amount covering his face). “We only came here because we were worried about your health. But this young lady here says she heard you muttering a name which hasn’t been heard outside this town in decades…”

“Well, she heard wrong, elder. Can I leave now?” Devan interrupted. “I have to make an important call, and I’ve got a long trip ahead of me.”

“Sit, Avokii,” one of the old men ordered. “Elder Tobara is the Head Priest of this village, and demands respect from…”

“He doesn’t need to be scolded, Ansem, he just needs to be examined.”

…I don’t have time for this, Devan thought to himself. “Sorry, but I’m in a hurry. Later.” He picked up his bags, the Riolu, and the tablets she had pulled out while they were locked in conversation. He took out his dagger, slashed a symbol in the air, and stuck it to the wall, which caused an explosion upon impact. The old men only looked on as the white woman disappeared, and reappeared on the other side of the wall Devan had just demolished.

“Wha…where’d you…how’d…” Devan stuttered in utter disbelief. “I don’t have time for you! Get out of my way!”

“Speak to Tobara first. Then we’ll let you be on your way,” the woman insisted. “I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

“It will be quick, Devan, I promise,” the elder encouraged him. “I only need to see your left hand…”

“You want my left hand?!” Devan yelled, beginning to go into rage from enduring the seemingly unending annoyance. “Here! Here’s Arceus’ damn symbol! Now let me go, Suicune bothered me enough today already, and I don’t want to have to deal with you any…”

Devan didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. Suicune appeared in a flash of water, and yelled for Devan. Devan ran over to her with all of his goods, and they disappeared as quickly as Suicune appeared. A strange rune flew through the water, and the white woman slowly lowered her hand.

“I’ve got them tracked, Tobara. They won’t get far before I catch up with them,” she informed him.

“Don’t hurt them too much, Shiiba. Just make sure to bring Devan back. He has a huge responsibility that he needs to take care of for this village…” the elder warned her.

“I won’t, Elder, I won’t…”