A/N: Many of you who have possibly read With the Wind at My Back, will notice that this… 'story' seems very familiar.. well, that's because it is. On reviewing the current options with my story, I decided to remove this prologue, and make it a short of a "one shot", as I've had the distinct feeling that this prologue might be pushing people away, instead of drawing then in… so, if they are truly curious, they can no read it separate, while they can also do so with the story this connects to.
This being said, The Legend and the Prophocy in connected through events to With the Wind at My Back. However, this merely details the prophecy, and one event, that will come into play, and be mentioned in With the Wind at My Back.
This 'one-shot' centers around the Three Legendary Beasts, Cats, Dogs.. whatever your fancy may be to call them, with the prophecy that surrounds them, and how they came to be… as this particular legend has always interested me. Read and Review as you please.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. And never will. If I did... why would I be writin' fanfiction, eh? I do however own the plot, and anything original that I come up with.
The Legend and the Prophecy
"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." -- 2 Peter (ch. I, v. 19-20)
------
The whole world will change . . .
It all began long, long ago. It was when humans and Pokemon peacefully coexisted with one another. It seemed to be a time when time itself stood still, for it was truly a peaceful time, full of happiness and joy.
From how it used to be . . .
I lived with my four brothers in the tranquil city, and though we lived on our own, we were happy. We lived in the town called Ecruteak. A peaceful, quaint town with a unique gift. There was a tower; a great tower that reached to the clouds, and often bells would ring, jolting the peaceful atmosphere. The Tower was said to be the roost of Undying One, the great rainbow bird called Ho-oh. Few had ever seen Ho-oh, except when its great wingspan would cover the sun as it made its way toward its roost that was forever guarded by the Priests that coveted it so dearly. And so, we lived in peace . . .
Families will be separated . . .
. . . until one day, a dark shadow took over us, mind, body, and heart. Rumors of men and women dressed in black erupted all over town. And the peaceful atmosphere of the city shattered. My brothers and I tried to learn all we could about these men in black. In fact, many did. But few ever returned. Through our search, we began to hear strange rumors that they were mastering Pokemon to do their evil will. And whoever tried to get in their way was ruined for eternity. My brothers and I, hardly more but young Pokemon ourselves, feared for the great cities safety, as well as our own. But when the black men finally entered our town, many, including us, were forced to flee. But we were pursued, because of our irregularity, for we were different then most of our kind. One night, some time later, while we were running, separated, away from our pursuers, the Black Ones managed to find my youngest brother, and lead him astray. At least, that is what my brothers believed. But I had a suspicion that he had left on his own free will. He had been acting strange lately. So consumed with the lust for power.
Friendships will be tested . . .
After that, our priorities changed. We did not know what to do – our brother meant everything to us. And we had a guess of where they had gone to – Ecruteak. Soon, we began to hear rumors, dark rumors, of what was going on back home. All of us were rattled, for we felt the rumors were absurd, and that they couldn't be true. Who could be so foolish as to try to capture the great Ho-oh? But we were filled with doubt. The Black One's had taken our brother, and who knew what else they might attempt to do. Foolhardy or not. We decided to go back. To try to find out the truth. When we arrived at the town, it was changed. Our brother had done his work. Friends that we once knew were dead, captured, or gone. And the rest of them were now our enemies. It seemed our brother had little mercy upon the Pokemon of this town, controlled by the leader of the Black Ones.
Love will become nothing but a memory . . .
The rumors that we had heard back in the wild were not disapproved. And we did here that the Black Ones were indeed planning to try to capture the great one that night. We all felt the obligation to try to save the tower, and the Ho-oh inside it. It was our duty, we felt, as Pokemon, to protect the tower. That night we approached the great tower. As we feared, the men and women in black were already there, with their Pokemon, and our brother. Sadness and anger that I had never known consumed me, and we began our ascent up the stairs. The Black Ones didn't seem to even notice our passing, no doubt mistaking us for one of their slaves.
Faith will become a myth . . .
We continued up the countless maze of stairs, finally arriving to the final flight of stairs. The humans, were already in the main room. The beautiful Bells of Metal and Crystal were ringing, signifying that Ho-oh was indeed here. I had heard that the Crystal Bells were supposed to soothe one's soul, but all I found was fear. The final door was closed, and no matter of Scratch or Bite attack could get it to yield. So, we were forced to Tackle the door down, breaking it in two. The room was full of the black men, the appeared startled at our entrance, but they were much more interested in something else. Their eyes were fixed on the great golden bird that was perched in the center of the room, surrounded.
Hope will shatter . . .
Ho-oh looked saddened as the Human's commanded their Pokemon to attack. Fire, Water, Dark, Electric, Psychic, all the elements were here, caged in one great room. All were targeted at the great shining bird. But we did not fight the shining bird, but fought the other Pokemon around us. However, we were weak and outnumbered, and they were strong. A cry pierced my ears as I felt my remaining energy wane, as I was slammed into the ground with a hard Low Kick to my side. I turned and beheld rainbow colored wings as Ho-oh, impervious to the combined attacks, flew strait out of the room. We had won, and the Human's began to retreat, leaving us three for dead as we lay spread-eagled on the floor. Though dizzy with pain and exhaustion, I felt happy. Still, seeing my brother retreat down the stairs, stopping only once to look back. Only once.
And all will burn . . .
We lay in the tower for a precious while as we strove to regain what little energy we could. And once we felt strong enough, we stumbled our way down the maze of stairs. But a strange smell was filtering into my noise, and my eyes widened as we ran down the stairs, smoke filtering up to meet us. We knew what had happened. The Humans, in their spite, had set the rickety building aflame. It was not long before we were met with the burning flames, which ate happily at the wood. The tower was already collapsing with the heat, and the flames as they atethrough its insides.
And Darkness will enshroud . . .
No matter what way we went, we were surrounding by flame. We soon were overcome, even as we battled our way to the final floor. One by one, we all feel into darkness, consumed by the fire and smoke. I looked around at the once beautiful tower, now red with fire, and black from the charred wood, before the darkness overtook me, and sighed, for my time was up.
But from the ashes great power shall awaken . . .
Darkness filled my vision as I regained consciousness, or at least I thought I did. I felt like I was floating on the wind, little but a leaf in the breeze. I could not see, yet a white light began to glow around me. I tried to breathe, but yet I could not. Suddenly, I felt a burst of power surge through me, and I gasped as air entered my lungs, and life flowed through me again. My eyes opened and I beheld the great bird standing before me: Ho-oh, along with two unfamiliar, yet familiar creatures. I then understood. We had been saved, by the grace of Ho-oh.
One with the Passion of Magma . . .
I looked on at the great beast before me. Brown, shaggy fur covered his body, and what seemed to be a mask of red and silver covered his face, He seemed familiar, yet so unfamiliar, like a long forgotten memory. But I realized within a few moments, that this new creature was my brother, my eldest brother, the wisest of us all. He was now Entei, the Lion of Fire, and the representation of the West Wind.
The second with the Speed of Thunder . . .
I looked beside him, seeing yet another new creature. Golden eyes stared back at me, as he shook his golden fur, aligned with black stripes, and roared. And out of the heavens, Thunder echoed and Lightning sparked across the sky. My older brother, playful and full of joy, was now Raikou, the legendary Tiger of Thunder, representation of the East Wind.
The next with the Compassion of Water . . .
And I, too, had changed. Blue, silky fur covered my slim body, and I became known as Suicune, the Panther of Water, and representation of the North wind. I then turned as Ho-oh cawed a final note of good-bye, before spreading his rainbow wings, flying upwards into the moonlit sky. I almost called out to Ho-oh to wait, to find out what had happened to my youngest brother, hoping to hear the answer that he had survived. But I was stopped as I heard Entei begin to growl, and a sense of dread had filled my being.
And the last with the Apathy of Shadow
I turned, my sapphire eyes glancing to where my brothers were staring, and I found myself staring into a pair of cold, emotionless, amber eyes. A snarl came from the shadowed figure as he advanced into the pale gleam of moonlight. We then knew the fate of the last, the youngest, of our siblings. He no longer seemed to carry the happiness he once did as his skinny form made its way into the moonlight. He was changed, but not in quite in the way we had been. He stared at us, as if daring us to speak, as we beheld him. I saw Entei step forward, fur bristling, raising a threatening paw. Our brother's expression turned to one of a sneer, and I was suddenly filled with fear as this reincarnation of darkness stepped forward. Entei's deep voice could be heard as he bade the shadow to get out, to depart, but the shadow did not heed. Entei lunged forward, but the shadow sprang to the side, a terrible grin upon his face. The south wind began to howl, and a terrible haunting cry echoed across the clearing.
But even Light must fade . . .
Entei shrank back, his deep growl resonating from the back of his throat. There was fear that I had not seen before present in his eyes, even as the haunting notes stopped. I stepped forward, slowly, haltingly, begging the one before us to stop this nonsense, to come back – back to how he once was. A savage grin was all that met me, and his muscles tensed, long tail swishing back in forth as though preparing to strike. But he didn't, stopping only a moment to raise his head before snarling, darting headlong into the forest southward, vanishing into the shadows.
Into the Darkness of Night . . .
I watched him vanish into the woodland, making a motion to follow him, but a sound of whirring sent me spinning around, seeing nothing save a small, round object, glowing red in the fading light, shooting towards my brother, Raikou. It hit him in the side, and he gave a startled roar and was pulled into the vortex of the orb, it landing heavily on the ground, wiggling for a few agonizing moments as we watched on, stupefied. Men wearing black were suddenly beginning to appear, though small in number. The Black Ones were just ahead of us, grinning with a lust and want that could only be seen on those that had more than evil intentions. Raikou's angry roar was heard again as the ball broke apart is a flash of iridescent Light and Electricity. The men hurriedly backed away from the angry creature. A bolt of pure electricity descended from the now cloudy sky, striking the ground with a rage. Most had escaped the blast unscathed,by three of them were not so lucky.
Where Courage will falter . . .
I watched with a mixture of shock and awe, looking over to my eldest brother, fear still present in his eyes. Raikou then turned, his attack finished, racing along the grass to the East. Half in terror of the Black Ones, and half in terror of our own newfound power, Entei and I ran after him, but were made to turn our separate ways. I fled to the North, Entei the West.
Truth will subside . . .
And so, that was how our tale began. As the years went by, doubts of our existence flourished until we were little more then a myth to please children and puzzle scholars. We were known in the myths as the Legendary Dogs, Cats, Beasts, or whatever our seekers chose to deem us, but to us it mattered little. We did not care, only caring about keeping out of their reach. Though the Tower was burned down, we often resided in Ecruteak's forests, not daring to visit the shambled tower, which had managed to survive the years, even in its horrid condition.
And Power will be bound . . .
News began to reach our ears that the search for our power had begun, by a new leader of the group of humans who had terrorized the tower long ago. He called himself Forcystus. Also, another message came to us, that of a prophecy. And we knew what must be done. We went into the deepest part of the burned tower, and there was our power sealed in stone, until the day when we would be awakened, and the Final Judgment; the very last judgment would commence.
Until the day that the bounds should be broken . . .
We knew we would be awakened. But we did not expect that a boy, about the age of fourteen, would be he one to loose the bonds. He had stumbled into the room accidentally with a Pikachu following loyally behind him. With an almost childish fascination, he fought his way passed ruined wood and chunks of rock to get to our platform. He reached out an outstretched hand and touched me first. Warmth shot through my veins like such I had only experienced with Ho-oh, and the stone encasing myself crackled. There was a power in this boy, and I could immediately sense the friendship between he and his Pikachu. My brother's, at the simple touch of the boy, awoke also, until all three of us were staring at him. Surprise, not fear was in his eyes.
By the Chosen One . . .
We were all dumbfounded that such a callow youth had awakened us. And he surprised us more at his immediate, opening challenge. And his Pikachu, who was obviously afraid, but tried not to show it, stepped forward. That was enough for Raikou, who bolted off in a burst of electricity out through the shambles of the tower. The boy seemed to understand our wish, and called his Pikachu off – which was more then glad to – he was content at staring at reaching out a hand to touch my muzzle, laughing as I jumped, startled. Entei had more dignity, and left the room, sharing with me a knowing glance. The time of judgment had come. But what would be the outcome this time, I wondered. I was reluctant to leave the boy, but voices, of a girl and two men reached my sharp ears. I bowed to him out of a sudden whim, and raced through the path my brother had taken. I looked back at the boy as I ran, whose gaze of wonder and happiness had not left him. His friends were coming towards him, but before they could get a proper glimpse of anything, I was gone, heading towards the North. Perhaps we would meet again, perhaps we wouldn't. Only time would tell.
End Note: Yes, I do refer to the Beasts as "cats" as that's how, supposedly, it was in the Japanese version. However, I hope I do not offend anyone at the term, and I fully admit that there is evidence that points to them being dogs, beasts, and whatever else have you.. though there is evidence for the 'cat' theory too. So.. whatever your preference, I hope you enjoyed. And please review. I'd love to know what you think. And yes, I do take anonymus reviews.