Following Disaster
Chapter II

Naia's eyes sprang open for the second time that night. Head cocked, crimson stare fixed on her, her Pokémon waited in silence. Chaos was already envigorated and fully awake, and he gave an impatient flick of his scythe-like tail as he waited for Naia. She blinked, still clearing her head from that morning stupefication, and stretched. Her muscles were sore from the walking she'd done yesterday and she scowled as she felt the painful tug of stiffness. Chaos didn't seem to share the problem; he seemed and acted perfectly in shape.

Naia hurtled excitedly from the automatic door of the Pokémon Center, offering herself to the morning sunbeams. It was the first time she'd seen Lilycove in the light of the newly risen sun, and it really was a dazzlingly beautiful place. Her lively eyes darted from the store to the beach to the contest center. She caught herself suddenly and wondered if she should be focusing more on her goal. A part of her mind dragged her toward the promising attractions of Lilycove, but another pulled at the problem of locating Spect. Naia argued with herself--just because she was here to find Spect, it didn't mean she couldn't have fun along the way. You've had enough fun, it's time to get to work, snapped back the other half of her mentality.

Naia compromised with herself. She contended herself with a stroll along the lovely beaches, freeing herself of sneakers' imprisonment and digging her bare toes into the warm sand. With the ocean spray sprinkling her with its refreshing coolness and the constant gentle wind that wafted from the water, it was enjoyable weather.

'Hey..' Naia stopped short as she saw what lay ahead in the next stretch of shoreline.

'Absol?' inquired Chaos, leaving his large pawprints before Naia as he stepped in front of her, raising his delicate nose to the scents of the atmosphere. Naia studied the person who stood just a short distance from her, and swiftly covered the remaining ground between the two of them.

It was the girl Naia had spotted the night before, the one who'd been out so late and who'd so attentively searched the skies. The girl had a strange appearance: fair skin, contrasting oddly with the dark green shirt and black pants she had on, but blending nicely with the dirty blonde of her hair. The girl's hair was quite long in the front; it came nearly to her waist and was carelessy harnessed in some worn elastic bands. In the back, however, the hair was cut quite short, not even reaching her shoulders. She stood with her face to the ocean, her reflection broken by its constant ripples.

Naia joined the reflection to make a wavy portrait of two in the changing sea waters. She looked back at her own features. The short chestnut hair that framed a friendly face, the tanned skin and freckled cheeks, the pools of deep brown that were her eyes. Finally, the other girl looked up, noticing the intrusion on her reflection.

'Hi.' Gray-blue eyes blinked and searched Naia as the greeting was issued.

'Hey.. um..' Naia paused, wondering if it would be impolite to pose the question of what the girl had been doing the night before. Perhaps the girl would be angry at Naia for noticing. Maybe she was out so late because she didn't want other people near. Naia decided on a different question. 'What's your name?'

'I'm Kyuudou,' The girl replied. 'What about you?'

'My name's Naia,' Naia informed her. She reached out a hand to touch the Absol, who was eyeing Kyuudou suspiciously. Kyuudou noticed, her eyes following from Naia's face to her arm to her hand to the odd, helmet-like head of Chaos.

'You have an Absol.. I've only seen a few.' A hint of a smile flitted across Kyuudou's face. Her eyes moved over Chaos's powerful stance and the strong muscles that were noticeable beneath his glossy fur. 'He looks healthy. And strong. Did you train him yourself?'

Naia hesitated. 'Well, no. That's kinda why I'm here. Looking for his trainer.'

'What happened to him?'

'We don't know. He left four years ago and I haven't seen him since. He was after these Pokémon legends that he was always hearing about.'

To Naia's surprise, Kyuudou's face brightened and lit up into a grin. 'Really? That's what I'm doing too.. I've heard so many stories about a chamber under the sea.. and what you could have if you can break the seal.. Oh, and that reminds me.' Kyuudou turned her head toward the water, long silky strands of hair whipping around as well. 'Relicanth! That's enough practice.. resurface.'

Naia blinked in confusion as nothing seemed to be happening in the sea. However, Kyuudou was smiling, and a moment later the strangest undersea creature Naia had ever seen raised its head from the water. It was fishlike, but it looked more like a piece of the ocean floor than something that would live there. Its scales weren't shiny and smooth, but jagged and rough like rock fragments. As it opened its mouth to receive the Pokéblock that Kyuudou was retrieving from her bag, an ancient sound rumbled from its throat, a cry unlike Naia had ever heard.

'Is that your.. Pokémon?'

'One of 'em, yeah. This is Relicanth and he's gonna get me into that undersea place.'

Naia blinked and wondered what Kyuudou meant by that. Would he break down the walls to the chamber? Would he force open an underwater door? He didn't look especially strong to Naia. 'How?'

Kyuudou flipped a tail of hair behind her shoulder. 'According the the information I've gathered, a trainer must enter the chamber with a Relicanth and a Wailord in order to unlock the hidden doors to three ancient Pokémon.' Kyuudou's head was down, watching her Relicanth, and Naia couldn't see her expression as she spoke.

'What ancient Pokémon?' Could they be the ones that Spect had sought?

'I don't know exactly. No one really does. I don't think anyone alive has ever seen them. And no one yet, I think, has figured out the way to unlock them.' She raised her head to the sky and grinned. 'Except me..'

'So why haven't you gone yet?'

Kyuudou's expression quickly melted into a frown. 'My Wailmer hasn't evolved yet. And I need for him to become a Wailord before I can go. He's almost there, though. I'll only have to stay here awhile longer..' She seemed to be talking to herself more than Naia now.

Naia shifted her weight to the other leg and searched her mind for something to say. It was an awkward moment. However, picking up the conversation again was needless; Kyuudou broke the silence with a new comment. Her bright eyes searched the clouds still as she spoke.

'I don't think there are just ancient Pokémon under the water or in ancient prisons or anything like that. Sometimes.. when I look at the sky, I see something really immense. It's hard to make out.. and it's usually only at night or early morning, when no one else is around.'

'Is that what you were doing last night?' Naia blurted out.

'Yes.' Kyuudou smiled, and to Naia's surprise, didn't question how she knew that. Kyuudou lapsed into silence for a little bit, running her hand absently over the rough skin of Relicanth and watching the clouds drift across the mountains.

Mountains.

Suddenly, Naia's body gave a jerk as the setting of her dream flooded back, crystal clear, into her memory. It was here and she was sure of it. The distant islands peeking through the waves, the imperious mountains that jutted grandly from the horizon. Surprising though it was that the journey had been so short, this was where she had to start her search for Spect. Chaos took a sharp intake of breath and Naia knew he too sensed something here.

But where to go? And how to start?

The three figures stood in silence on the shoreline. Three pairs of eyes watched the shifting skies and three pairs of lungs drank in the cool air. Three minds wondered and feared, but three figures were motionless still.