The Myth of Shadowrun Book two in the Legends and Myths Chronicles by Mystic Vaporeon Chapter 1: Events set in Motion Darkness ensues where it finds suitable. Sometimes it is unexpected, and without warning, other times, it is welcomed, as the epitome of human agony reaches its peak. It can be frightening, or relief after something even more devastating than itself in its own. On the rare occasion, the inky blackness can be the worst torture that a soul can experience. The type of psyche associated with this unmitigated fear of the dark, is one who has been castigated by its wrath many times, and who's greatest fear of all, is the smite of it once again. She sat in the pitch black of the cell, the dead silence the only thing present in her mind. It was blank, no thoughts crossed it, no feelings nor emotions. The dark encircled her, wrapped its thick blanket tightly about her body, choking her until her chest felt as if were about to burst. She dared not move, any sound would be most unwelcome in her ears which had only held the rings of screams of agony and terror for ages. Her stomach twisted in terror for no apparent reason as her brain slowly began to function again. Her vision sparkled with white points of light as she hauled herself to her feet. "Why can't I see?" she said to herself, her human mind working itself into a panic. She spun around and quickly dashed the other way, only to collide roughly with the wall, splitting the bridge of her nose open on the rough stones. She cried out in pain and clasped her battered and bleeding hands over yet another wound. "No!" she wailed tears springing quickly to her eyes. She could feel the hot blood pouring over the fingers and down her cheeks, the facial wound bleeding more so than her hands. She wiped it away furiously and cleaned her hands quickly on her leg. "How long have I been here? What happened?" she asked aloud. She couldn't even remember, or see for that matter, what she was wearing. She hadn't really been in her body, her mind had wandered, trying to escape the pain. Her breath grew short, her chest heaving as she gasped for air. Her head spun with dizziness and she sunk to her knees. "M...My head hurts," she muttered and collapsed to the ground. Pounding sounded in her head in rapid succession; her heart beat. A knoll in the silence that again enveloped her. She shrieked in terror as she felt her hand being gripped tightly. Her head snapped up and she found herself staring into the woeful eyes of a young man. She gasped at the sight of him and sprung to her feet, despite the pain that now shot through her entire body. A small light shone on his mangled body, blood seeping from a countless number of wounds. His eyes, glazed with pain, looked up at her, begging for comfort. She backed away, screaming in terror. "No! No!" she wailed repeatedly until her sore back collided with cold metal. The man reached out to her, blood dripping from his outstretched fingers, the hand itself torn and bleeding. "Please make this stop!" the girl cried, tears mingling with the blood sliding down her face. She closed her eyes and the man spoke in a clear voice, and she wailed harder as she realized who it was, and where she was. He looked straight through her eyes with his piercing green ones, the unmistakable trait of her best friend. "Jessie...Help me..." Jessie sat bolt upright in bed screaming as loud as her lungs would allow. She quickly ran out of breath and sat with her hand pressed against her heaving chest, sweat pouring down her forehead. She quickly put a hand to her nose, which still felt as if it was split and bleeding, but when no blood came off of it, she realized she'd awakened from the dream. Her door flung open and James, still clad in baggy nightclothes, leapt through it. "Jessie! What happened? What's wrong?" he asked diving quickly next to her. She relaxed a little and sunk into the safety of his arms. "Oh god, James," she whispered beginning to cry. James could do nothing but hold her until the sobs that wracked her body had somewhat quelled. "Jessie please, you can tell me," he soothed, running his hand through her tangled red hair. "I...I had that dream again," she whispered hoarsely through her sobs. James softened and pulled her away from his body to look into her eyes. "You mean, the prison one?" he asked fearfully. She nodded and wiped the tears from her cheeks quickly. James looked upward, hiding his sorrowful expression from his friend. "I've been having it again too," he whispered, tears sliding silently down his cheeks as well. "Oh James," Jessie breathed wrapping her arms around his neck. He laid down onto the soft bed with her and closed his eyes. "Go back to sleep Jessie," he whispered to her. "I'm afraid to," she replied wrapping her long tail around her waist for comfort. "It was only a nightmare. If you have it again, I'll be right here when you wake up," James promised. Finally satisfied, Jessie slid her eyes shut as fell asleep with James' soft rhythmic breathing. @->->- "It sure is a great morning isn't it Pikachu?" "It certainly is Ash, and it feels incredibly good to be able to answer intelligently instead with my typical, uneducated "Pika!"" The Pokemon answered crossing his eyes comically at the mention of his old cry. Ash laughed. "You've got a great personality! I feel like I know you like ten times better now that you can talk!" he mused. "Perhaps you don't want to know my real personality," Pikachu said smiling deviously. Yes, Ash enjoyed the lighthearted and generally happy mood of his friend as they strolled in the immense gardens of the castle. They had been living there peacefully for the past few months, and nothing adverse had affected the placidity of their life. Yet. "So Riley, what about this next scroll? Which one will open next?" Misty asked nervously as she held the candle over the ancient yellowed paper. "I can't read worth squat down here, all I've managed to get is that there's an order in which they will open, and specific events trigger it, like the moons from your scroll," the dragon replied, his brow furrowing with frustration. "I can barely see these damn things, much less make out any writing, let's take them outside!" Misty said motioning to the door. "I don't wanna get into a scrap with the Princess's stupid mutt again! You know she wants to keep them down here!" Riley protested wincing in remembrance. Misty couldn't help but giggle when she remembered the time Riley had attempted to the take a scroll to the courtyard against Cerise's rule, her pet Maamut, also her favorite Pokemon, had made short work of the dragon. "I'll deal with Cerise, stuck up little brat," Misty promised and gathered the scrolls. Riley hopped on her shoulder. "Say, can I have your dessert tonight when she murders you?" "Not on your life lizard," Misty winked as they exited the dark room of history. She whistled a tune she'd once heard somewhere in Vertigo as she entered the banquet hall. Breakfast had not yet been set, and Misty frowned at the bare table. "Aw shoot, I wanted a Caracass fruit!" she whined. Ever since she had eaten them at Master Lotus's adobe house by the sea, they'd become one of her favorite foods. "You can get one later, c'mon! I wanna read the scrolls!" Riley said digging his claws into the girls scaly shoulder. She rolled her eyes and swatted him lightly with a scroll. "I'm going to check the kitchen, I'm hungry now, and I can't help on an empty stomach!" "You can't help! You can't read the ancient script!" Misty ignored the enraged dragon's calls and proceeded through the double doors to the immense white kitchen. "Oh hello Misty! A Caracass fruit is what you crave I see!" the rotund, yet cheerful head chef called from behind the counter where he stood slicing it for the morning meal. "Just one to hold me until your fabulous food!" she replied. The cook tossed the bright green object her way, and she caught it in the makeshift basket her webbed claws made. "Thanks!" she called and took off running for the fountain in the courtyard. Riley clung on for dear life as she picked up speed, and burst through the double doors of the main entrance. "Slow down! Whoa mermaid! Easy girl!" he called. She only laughed, coming to a skidding halt in front of the fountain bearing her likeness. Riley shrieked as he lost his footing with the momentum and slid off of Misty's shoulder into the cold water with a neat splash. Misty smiled and leaned over the rough stone edge of the round fountain. "Have a nice swim Riley?" she asked as he burst to the surface gasping for air. "I hate water! I hate it! Especially wet water!" he cried dragging himself onto the rim of the circular inlaid stone basin. Misty smiled victoriously, took a large bite out of the ripe fruit ad sat down to examine the scrolls. Jessie's eyes fluttered open as a thin ray of sunlight from her slightly parted curtains fell across them. She could still sense James' soft breathing behind her and his arms around her waist, even though she was dimly aware of her own senses. Temporarily forgetting the night's events, she yawned broadly and turned over. James drew in a deep breath raspy with sleep and slid one eye open groggily. "Morning," Jessie whispered gently brushing a mass of cerulean hair away from his eyes. He groaned and jammed his head under the pillow at the steadily increasing light in the room. "You never were a morning person," Jessie mused as she quietly slipped out of bed. "What time is it?" James' reply came muffled by fabric and feathers. Jessie decided he needed to be awakened and tapped him on the shoulder lightly. "Oh James?" she called sweetly. He swatted her hand away, but instead of leaving as he had wished, it came to rest on the edge of the blankets atop the bed. "Get up!" she cried sharply and flung them off her companion. He shrieked in protest but the red haired youth didn't stop there. She held them back as she used her marginally developed psychic powers to meekly draw back the curtains, letting the golden sunlight of morning fill the room. She snatched the pillow from his head and he squeezed his eyes shut harder against the unwelcome sensation. "Jess that really hurts!" he complained in genuine agony. "You'll get used to it Dracula," Jessie replied and went to her closet to retrieve a clean tunic, pants and her leather boots. "Cerise hates it that I dress this way," she mused and threw her clothes on the end of her bed. James sat up now, looking at her with a furrowed brow. "What?" Jessie asked, irked. "Are you okay now?" he asked innocently. Jessie's face softened and she nodded. "Yeah, thanks for staying with me," she said timidly. "Anything for you," James replied and stood up. "Best go get dressed for breakfast, the Princess won't be pleased if we're late," he announced. "Why don't we be late? I like bugging her," Jessie replied smugly. James smiled at her, radiant in the early sunshine and good spirits. He looked away to distract from his dreamy expression and nodded. "Fashionably late of course," he said hinting at the old value of beauty they held while in Team Rocket. He still valued it of course, but the arrogant vainness had gone. "Absolutely," Jessie said. There was a long quiet as the two friends stood there looking at each other. "I do need to get dressed James," Jessie finally said. James blushed and fingered a tail feather nervously. "Oh, sorry, meet you at the fountain, then we can goof off," he said and exited the room with a smile. He paused at the door, resisting the urge to open it, wishing he could've stayed. He cursed himself again for loving her and walked to his room. Once there he quickly shed his nightclothes and picked up the outfit he'd been wearing the previous day. He, unlike Jessie, kept his room in an organized mess. "Now, I know I have a clean tunic here somewhere," he muttered sifting through his laundry. He managed to unearth one boot and the pair of pants he'd set aside especially because he knew for a fact they were clean. He finally gave up and went to his closet, ironically as a last resort. He opened it swiftly, and nothing but a few wire hangers jingling with the breeze of his open window greeted him. He scowled and looked to the bottom of the wooden compartment to find a singular white tunic laying crumpled on the floor. He reached down and picked it up, also revealing his missing boot. It was one of his favorites, loose and casual looking, the neckline looking as if it were a v line once, but then broken to form two ninety degree angles of fabric. It laced delicately at the top, but he never bothered with that, it looked nice with the crisscrosses of cord across his chest. "Wonder if it's clean," he said to himself jammed his nose into the soft folds of it. He smiled and nodded. "Yep, clean," he said satisfied at last with his attire. He closed the window and promptly changed. Once he had done so, he decided it might be nice to fly down to the fountain from his room at the very top of the Easternmost tower of the castle. He reopened the window and looked out to see Jessie chatting happily with Misty who had already been there. The two women had become quite good friends over the few months they'd been there, often talking together and having sleepovers like young girls. James often wondered if Jessie ever talked about him, because he had entrusted Ash with his secret love for her, and he was the only one he had told about it. After all he had seen him kiss her, and confess his love, what was he supposed to do? Tell the kid it was all a lie said just to get her back? Ash was smarter than that, he knew. James sighed and felt his cheeks to ensure they weren't burning with embarrassment and spread his wings. After sharing a bed intended for one person with Jessie the previous night, they were cramped and stiff, making him restless to take to the skies. He leapt deftly from the window, gliding on the warm updrafts, circling slowly downwards. Jessie shielded her eyes from the light, looked up, and smiled as he drifted lazily downwards. "Hello James!" she called cheerfully as he lighted in front of them. He bowed comically and both girls rolled their eyes. As James stepped over, he noticed a sopping wet and bedraggled looking Riley asleep next to Misty. "What happened to him?" he asked pointing. "Small accident, he'll be alright," she said grinning deviously. Jessie and James looked at each other and shrugged. "Jess! James! Misty! Da best part a' da day! Breakfast!" all turned to see Meowth bound out of the main doorway to the palace. "Come on!" he said stopping in front of them. Misty stood up, gathering the scrolls and followed the cat as he scampered enthusiastically back into their home. Misty stopped halfway there when she realized neither Jessie nor James followed her example. "You guys coming?" she asked. Jessie smiled and raised an eyebrow at James. "What do you say we take a spontaneous one day vacation?" she asked standing up. James smiled back and put his arm across her shoulders. "I'd say you were brilliant," he answered. Jessie indicated to their friend that they would not be present at breakfast and they strolled nonchalantly towards the main gate. "Those two," Misty mused shaking her head after them. They were obviously the best of friends, but Misty could see something else there. Perhaps it was just her overly romantic brain working double time, but she was firmly convinced of her suspicions. "I wonder why they haven't gotten together yet." James and Jessie chatted happily as they walked along the dirt path leading into the forest. "Where exactly are we going? James asked. Jessie simply shrugged in response, pausing her speaking to examine the brightly colored foliage that adorned what seemed like every inch of the forest. It was thick, and there were other events going on in the forest, but both friends were oblivious to them. They didn't notice the boot marks or the broken disheveled branches of various trees and bushes. "I hate to say this, but I'm hungry," James said sheepishly, fully expecting Jessie to smack him senseless. She smiled as he flinched when she turned to face him. "Here," she said and tapped him lightly on the shoulder, "there's your beating for the day, mustn't let old traditions die can we?" James smiled as they turned back to get some late breakfast. Cerise was not pleased with them upon their return, but they ignored her as usual and the day passed by uneventfully, until that night. Sweat poured down James' forehead as he tossed about in bed, his psyche assaulted by his horrible reoccurring nightmare. In it, he was locked deep in a black dungeon, pain searing his back from an unknown source. Tears and blood streamed down the sides of his face as he cried out in pain over and over again. He'd had it ever since he and Jessie had run away from team Rocket fearing for their lives, and barely escaped with them, he himself having the most luck. He most likely should have not been alive at that point. The pain in his hand, his right one, was unbearable. He'd tried uselessly to defend himself with that hand, but the glint of the dagger as it descended toward him blinded him momentarily. Then there was pain again. The feverish nightmare exploded into a flash of light as he awoke, opening his emerald green eyes to end the terror. He cried out in fear, but stopped as he realized someone was holding him. His heart beat remained quick, and his breath came in short gasps as his conscious mind was slow to realize it was no longer dreaming. He stopped the panic and forced himself to look at who it was. Jessie put a finger to his trembling lips and laid him gently back down. "It's okay James, you had it again I assume?" she asked gently. He drew in a deep breath and smoothed his damp blue hair away from his face, keeping his hands on his forehead. He tenderly rubbed his temples, squeezing his eyes shut as if it hurt. "I'm going to have to kill myself fairly soon, either that or die from lack of sleep," he muttered his eyes sliding shut again. Jessie brushed a strand of hair James had missed away from his closed lids and smiled vaguely. "I had mine again too, mind if I stay?" Jessie muttered her voice cracking. She looked away sharply and wiped at her eyes furiously. James sat up at this point and touched her shoulder tenderly. "You're crying again, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned. She looked balefully at him, her crystalline azure eyes wet with tears. James practically melted, they looked positively stunning in the pale silvery green moonlight. "It's getting more real every time, tonight...It was worse, I held you in my arms until...Until you were gone," she sobbed burying her face into her hands. James cradled her gently in his arms for the second night in a row. "It's alright Jessie, we both made it, we may have a few scars to prove the hell we went through, but my hand is perfectly fine now, and we're totally free, both of us," he soothed. "I know, it's just that, when we were there, I thought for sure you were going to die. That scared me James, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you," she whispered. James ran his hand though her hair and held her closer, remembering what had happened. Jessie too, as she clung closer to her best friend, recalled the events that had led to their mutual traumas. They'd been beaten, again, but this time, Giovanni had decided it was the final offense. They were both taken down to a deep dungeon, and beaten severely. James had resisted, while Jessie had not, knowing that it was futile. They'd forced her to watch as two burly guards had overpowered him. James had the extreme disadvantage, being on the small thin side, and unarmed. Large hunting knives had resulted in the torn and bleeding hand from her dream. The assault had nearly taken his life, and to add insult to injury, unbeknownst to Jessie, they'd forced him to watch, bleeding and weak, as they had whipped her. Then they'd thrown them both into a dark cell and left them for dead. Jessie had cared for her friend, praying he wouldn't leave her, but it seemed that he was not long for this world, and he nearly did die. His hand had been the worst, she'd barely been able to look at it, it was so mangled. When Meowth had finally rescued them, he'd nearly lost it at the hospital, but the skilled doctors saved it and him. James finally sat up, his vision blurring with white points of light. He moved his scarred hand just to ensure it was still there and not in pain, the memory of his injury causing it feel slashed again. "I'm definitely not sleeping again," he muttered. "Me either," Jessie answered. "Go for a walk?" James offered. Jessie sat up and nodded. "I'll go get dressed," she said getting up, but James grabbed her wrist. She turned back to face him and shot him an inquisitive look. "Let's just go in pajamas," he said smiling cheerfully. Jessie chuckled slightly at him, even through all he'd been through, he hadn't changed a bit. "Sure," she answered, and they walked arm in arm down to the courtyard. They strolled silently out along the same path they had the previous morning, James stretching his wings the whole way. He'd slept on them in an odd fashion that night and they were bothering him. "These are a blast to have during the day, but they're a pain to sleep with," James whined as he fluttered them lightly one last time before putting them back into place. "Wish I had got the power of flight," Jessie mused tugging on one playfully. James smiled at her. "Perhaps someday you can fly with me," he whispered under his breath. "Hmm? Say something?" she replied. He felt his stomach twist. "Uh, I...I didn't say anything..." he muttered nervously. Jessie shrugged and they continued walking. "Sir! Two people walking, one male, and one female, pretty freaky looking if ya ask me and-" he was cut of by a swift arrow in his chest. "Never did like him," a gruff voice muttered. He rose from his seat and strode briskly to the door of his tent, peering through the folds of fabric at the immense military camp sprawling before him. Vinetra had given him a larger budget, and he'd been able to 'kindly' recruit new soldiers. Those kids that had escaped a few months back had disturbed her a bit. Afraid that word of the seven messengers' return would spread and cause more resistance, she'd hired him to crush one of the smaller annoying towns not loyal to her. His target lay not too far beyond his current residence, nestled in a remote part of the low mountain ranges near the coast of the Neonthian sea. "Captain Eratus Sir! I assume you've killed another lackey in spite?" his thin, bony second in command officer said as he crept from his tent. "Rill, this is not of concern to me whatever his business was, besides he annoyed me," the captain said gruffly. Rill grinned and crossed his arms across his chest. "Oh but it is sir, he told me before you slaughtered him and I believe you'd be quite interested," he said smugly. "Don't be coy with me, I am your superior," Eratus snapped back, glaring at his officer with one eye, the other's grotesque features hidden by a patch. Rill smiled even broader and produced a small blue feather from his pocket. "I believe you recognize this?" he asked. Eratus' eye widened and he snatched it from his grip. "The blue feather of the man your dead minion saw in the woods," Rill said triumphantly. "Send our best assassin to fetch them, I'd like to have a word with the lot. And if a single feather or whatever the other one has is out of place, I'll fry his scalp and feed it to the Doggesh!" he snapped and swept back into his tent. "Righto sir," Rill replied in his strange accept quite similar to that of the British. He saluted in mockery at the cynical old captain and crept stealthily. The thud of the body as it landed outside on the ground was enough to make him shudder, but the sound of it being torn apart by the hoards of dog-like Pokemon they kept for protection nearly made him retch. Nightwing also heard the sound from his tent. Being the camps most accurate archer and inconspicuous member, his hearing was forced to be acute. He peered cautiously around the flap of his tent and his forehead met the cold metal of the arrow loaded into the crossbow he knew had been there. "Well Rill, I see you have another assignment for me," he said coolly. "I hate you Nightwing, you hate me, let's just cooperate shall we?" he spat derisively. Nightwing examined a perfect fingernail carefully, ran his hand through his long jet-black hair thoughtfully and muttered something incoherent to himself. "Take much longer and I won't hesitate to put an arrow in your skull, bastard," Rill seethed. "Fine alright I'll do it, what's the mission Mr. Cranky pants?" Nightwing asked. "Address me as sir peon!" Rill scowled practically foaming at the mouth. "Touchy touchy, let's just tell me so bad ol' Nightwing can get out of your bony face!" he replied smugly. Rill slammed the crossbow onto the ground, activating it and sending an arrow through Nightwing's tent into a nearby tree. "Whatever! You are to go into the forest and find two people, one has a tan tail and cat ears, the other has wings. Apprehend them, and bring them back unharmed! Do you hear me? Unharmed! Leave immediately, that is all," he said aristocratically. He huffed and scooped the broken crossbow from the ground, storming off. "Heh, pissing him off is so much fun," Nightwing mused and walked lightly back into his tent to get ready for his newest game. Hours and countless preparations later, the nearly invisible young man sat in the branches of a tree. He'd found his targets and had tracked them to arrive at this exact spot any moment now. Even as he readied his trap he heard the cheerful conversation of the two young friends. He rolled his gray eyes visibly. "Lovers, blech," he spat wrinkling his nose at the thought and tightened the rope around the tree. "You can not!" Jessie said, still smiling, but stopping in the middle of the road. "I can too, just watch me!" James replied. Jessie had insisted that he was a weakling, and couldn't lift her, he begged to differ. "Let's see you do it then!" Jessie said grinning deviously. James bent down and swiftly scooped her from the ground. She yelped in surprise and wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself. Though he wobbled tremendously with the effort of holding her in a joking manner, he held onto her thin frame. "See? I t...told you I could-" his sentence was cut off by his loss of balance and both crashed to the ground laughing. Nightwing took this opportunity to slice the rope holding his trap in place neatly with a sharp dagger. Jessie and James were never aware of what had happened until the expertly hidden board was drawn from underneath them, and they fell headfirst into the black abyss that lay beneath it. James landed on his back, carefully spreading his wings to avoid injuring them and soon felt Jessie atop him. He cried out in pain and quickly shoved her to the side. "Ow! James fold those things back in!" she screeched shoving one. There was a small snap as the shaft of the longest flight feather at the tip of one wing broke against the hard stone wall. James winced in pain and folded his wins carefully back in. Jessie helped him up, brushing the dirt off of his back. "Jessie," he whined reaching down to pick up the fragment of his feather, "look what you made me do!" Jessie rolled her eyes and flicked it from his grasp. "It'll grow back, are you okay?" she asked curtly. James nodded silently, but looked up as a shadow fell across his vision. Jessie slowly looked up as well, and a scowl marred her face as her eyes met the steely gray ones peering down at her. "Well well, a lovebird with his girlfriend how touching," Nightwing mused. James felt his cheeks run hot with embarrassment and quickly retaliated. "She's not my girlfriend!" he sputtered. The young man simply smiled and drew a small brown pouch from his pouch. "You two are really cute together, really you are, and I hate having to do this to nice couples, but, my hands are tied, I'll make sure they don't kill you in a way that's too painful," he said smiling sadistically. Jessie and James' eyes widened in fear as he dumped the contents of the pouch into the pit. The silvery power glinted in the moonlight as it drifted down, filling the duo's senses with fatigue. They both coughed as their worlds began to spin and Jessie finally succumbed to it, falling forward onto the ground. James had time to finally see the oppressor's face fully before he fell to his knees, collapsing atop his friend. His vision blurred before he shut his eyes, slipping out of consciousness. Nightwing leapt down into the pit and held his hands in front of Jessie and James' mouths. He smiled, their mutually shallow breathing indicating his stun powder had worked yet again. Another flawless mission, as always. "Score one for Nightwing, and one for the alliance!" he said victoriously as he bound his new captor's limbs, whistling as he did. When he had managed to get them out of his trap, he reset it, leaving no trace again that it had ever been there. All he left when he returned to camp with his prize, was a single, broken blue feather.