Prologue: Big Brother

Prologue: Big Brother

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Prologue: Big Brother

It began… well, it's hard to say where it began. I guess you could start with the day I left Fortree City on my journey. You know, the journey. That age old quest for Pokemon glory. Even since I was little, I had watched the battles on TV, collected the cards, waiting for the day when I could finally begin the trip myself. My brother… he left before I did, and now I've come full circle. One of the circles at least. This is how it begins…

The sun was setting against the sea. That was something I wasn't used to; prior to this trip, the biggest body of water I'd even encountered had been the river by my house in Fortree. The bay windows of the airship framed the image perfectly, and even if I wasn't quite comfortable with hanging beneath a bag of metal and gas a mile above the ocean, it was still pretty cool.

I wasn't traveling alone: my older brother Matt was accompanying me and my best friend Richard to Kanto, the starting place of all great trainers; there were about thirty other passengers on the zeppelin as well. By the way, I'm Ian Cartright, of Fortree city, future Pokemon Champion. Don't believe me? We'll have to work on that.

It was all so simple just then…

…That was the last time it would ever be so simple.

Matt and Richard were eating dinner; I had been getting airsick the whole trip (it was two days from Hoenn to Kanto by air, flying high over the Whirl Islands) and I never was feeling quite myself. I wasn't the astoundingly fit one. That was always Richard. The guy could eat living Wailord and have no regrets, and probably run a five-minute mile afterwards. I'm more bookish, people say. The writer.

I saw another airship on the horizon, dark in color, and coasting along at much higher speed than us. If I thought anything of it at the time, it was quickly forgotten. There was suddenly a new interest to my eyes: a girl.

Now for those of you worried that this is going to turn into a love story, don't. Plenty of grit and blood coming right up, but you'll have to bear with me at some points.

She was beautiful as far as I could see. Hair the color of rusty iron that fell to her shoulders, a black sleeveless top and purple skirt... She was looking out the window to my right, so taken by the view that I was little more than wallpaper to her. Her stormy eyes watched the waves below, and I pushed my glasses up and adjusted my jacket. It was worth a shot…

"Yo Ian!" barked my brother, casually strolling down the deck toward me. The girl looked up, realizing she wasn't alone, gave me a nervous smile and walked off. I turned to glare at Matt and found he wasn't alone: Rich stumbled along behind him, flipping through a magazine he's picked up somewhere.

Despite my glare, Matt gave me an easy smile as he sauntered forth and continued talking. "You're dinner was getting cold so I let Richard eat it…"

"I was kind of busy there!" I said quietly, hoping not to alert the walking-away-girl.

"Huh? I don't see your computer…"

"No, I meant the girl." I turned around to show her to him, but the girl was already gone. "And… now she's gone."

"Relax, man," said Matt. "There will be other women; plus, I doubt you'd even figured out her name yet." Matt glanced back at Richard, who was still enthusiastically flipping through his magazine; just looking at the pictures. No offense to Richard, he's my best friend, but he's not the brightest pokeball in the bag. Suddenly, Matt started talking again. "Boys, I fancy a walk through down the axial catwalk; grant me the pleasure of your company."

He walked in usual slumped manner. I used to always wonder how he was able to walk like that all the time without throwing out his back. I also used to wonder why I always did what Matt suggested; go figure, but we followed him anyways.

I think the catwalks were supposed to be off limits to passengers, but that sort of thing never managed much to Matt. He led us past an 'EMPLOYEES ONLY' door and up a flight of stairs that rang like cowbells when we stepped on them. When we were up among the gas cells (which I wanted to stop and look at), Matt spied another stairway and motioned us toward it. We climbed quietly, Richard and I exchanging glances as we did. Matt must have had something in mind. We had no idea.

At the top of that flight of stairs was a small ceiling hatch. Matt pressed it upward lightly and air rushed in with a roar; the hatch led outside.

"Wait here, my lads," he said. Matt heaved the doorway open and climbed up onto the top of the airship.

Richard rolled up his magazine and tucked it into his pocket.

"So," he said excitedly. "Any plans for Kanto?"

"As long as we're still traveling together," I said, offering my fist. He bumped it with his and we discussed some of our ideas for our first weeks away from our families. Richard wanted the usual stuff: eating what he wanted, finding a girlfriend to travel with us (I shared his hopes on this one), competing the various gyms we'd heard so much about. My interests were, for the most part, the freedom, finding our own ways around, walking about at night. Finding a girlfriend sounded pretty nice too.

It was then that the hatch above us snapped open and Matt's head burst in. His easy smile was gone, and this worried me. Matt never stopped smiling. It was the primary thing about him that bugged me and the number one thing he had that I wanted. Other than his trainer skills, but anyway… No smileBad news.

"Guys… we've got a problem. Get up here. We need to get moving now."

"Get moving?" I asked, sounding unintentionally skeptical. "We are on a blimp, you know. Not really anywhere to move to."

"Jhoto is only a few miles to the north. You can see it on the horizon, see there? Now we need to get moving. Come on!" Matt grabbed Richard unexpectedly and pulled him up onto the top to the zeppelin. He barked at me to get moving, and with a reluctant sigh, I followed him.

The first thing that hit me when I got onto the zeppelin's top was the wind. It literally hit me, like an invisible train, and I bowled over, gripping desperately at ship's skin as realized that I there was nothing to catch me if I fell. I was wrong though, because Matt was there. He would have caught me; one of his Pokemon. I guess I was lucky.

Matt was at my side in an instant. He hauled me to me shaking feet and I finally got a good look around.

The dark airship I had seen earlier was closer; too close, in fact, its hull almost touching ours. There was an insignia painted on its side: it was stylized black eye with a yellow slit for a pupil. My heart rose into my throat as I realized who it was; pirates (I know that seems dumb and clichéd, but I swear it was the first thing that came to mind). Matt knew who they were though. I was just beginning to realize that then.

"The Storm's Eye," Matt said to us under his breath. "Bad news, these guys are. Rogues and thieves… they sort of rose to fill the gap left after the Rockets were shut down, you know? Personally, I think the Stormies are worse. Now, like I said, we need to get moving…"

Before Matt could finish his sentence, I buzz filled the air, and we were all blinded by a brilliant beam of yellow light. It was a Hyper Beam, I realized when my brain came out of sleep mode seconds later. I sat up; Richard had been knocked cold by the blast, but Matt had remained on his feet. A pair of black sunglasses now covered his pale green eyes, and I noticed for the first time that he had a completely packed rucksack slung over his shoulder. He took it off and handed it to me.

"Stay here," he ordered, pulling a Pokeball from a magnetic catch on his belt. He enlarged it and cast it to the top of the airship. There was a flash of red and huge golden dragon hung in the air a few feet from the airship's surface. With a chime, the ball returned to Matt's hand. His face was grave. "Stay here," said Matt again. He jumped onto the back of the Dragonite he had summoned and was gone.

I forced myself up and looked around. Dozens of flying Pokemon had risen from the dark airship, and… we were falling. It took a second to comprehend the massive hole that had been ripped in the airship's skin by the Hyper Beam. I shook Richard until he rose, looking around wearily, and shouted when he saw the Pokemon fluttering toward our airship in a variety of manners. He clambered to his feet and the two of us gazed up at the spectacle above.

There was a golden blur, and the leading wave of Pokemon fell, Body Slammed by Dragonite. Matt brought his Pokemon around, the two of them moving as one. Matt leapt into the air and kicked a Storm's Eye operative off his Pigeotto while Dragonite dealt with others below. The two reunited in mid air, Pokemon catching trainer and rising again.

Dragonite glided low over the rival airship, letting lose a Flamethrower onto the flammable skin. Now both airships were sinking, the Storm's Eye's enveloped in flames. The conflagration lent an evil tint to Matt's face; the hissing flames turned his sunglasses orange.

Richard was starting to look panicked. I could tell he wanted to be a part of the battle… but our journey hadn't yet begun. Matt's, however, was nearing its end.

He jumped from Dragonite's back to ship next to us and beckoned for us to follow. I was a little afraid to, I have to admit. He was starting to scare me… this was a side of my brother I had never seen.

"Ian," he said calmly, sidestepping the hole in airship's back. "And Richard. I haven't been entirely honest with you, I'm afraid. And Ian, if anything happens to me here, I want you to tell dad about all of this, got it?"

"What the hell?" I started to ask, but he cut me off with a wave of the hand.

"Just listen for now, ok? I'm a member of this group… we call ourselves the Hermes. We carry the messages of the people and enforce their secret laws. The Stormies… they're causing trouble, and it's been up to us to stop them several times in the past. They want revenge. They want me." He smiled cockily, letting me know the real Matt was still in there. "I really don't want to give them what they want."

Matt whistled loudly for his Dragonite, which had been holding off the swarms of Pokemon that had escaped from the doomed Storm's Eye ship. To all of our surprise, Dragonite landed, but not on his feet. He was slammed into the deck –so hard that the airship rocked in its decent- by its rival dragon Pokemon: Salamance.

The Salamance roared, sounding like stressed metal, and crushed down on Dragonite until he sunk through the ruined airship's shell and onto the catwalks below. Salamence stormed in after its prey, but its rider stepped off in front of us.

The left and lower halves of his face were covered by a metal mask, like a negative of the Phantom of the Opera. His hair was midnight black, tinged with blue, and hung over his metal face in oily mats. He wore a white trench coat that bulged around his right arm, where some device seemed to be concealed. From what I could tell, his visible eye was amber, large, and calm.

"Matthew," the man said as to an old friend. He had a foreign accent that I couldn't quite place, and his voice was hushed by the mask. "You are doing well, I trust?"

"I'd be doing better if you were to fall down that hole behind you and impale yourself on something nasty." Matt smirked, reaching for a second pokeball. "No chance of that happening, I guess?"

The masked man shook his head. "Matthew, you have long troubled my friends and I at the Storm's Eye. You have been a bother that must end. Now."

"You certainly cut the chase, don't you?" I was getting worried. I hadn't been expected adventure this soon… or this adventurous. And now Matt was involved… I snapped back to reality as Matt continued to speak. "And by the way, don't call me 'Matthew'."

A chuckle came dryly from behind the mask. "You worry about such trivial things, my boy. You do realize your life is at an end?"

"I figure I've got more time than you think!" Matt rushed the masked man, shoving him roughly in the chest and sending him down the tear in the airship. My big brother turned to me, wiping off his hands on his jeans. "No, lets the get the hell out of here…"

He was about to call for Dragonite when it happened. I think even Matt was expecting to be followed, that the masked man had survived the fall. He knew, but he didn't react. I always tell myself that he knew, but deep down, I think Matt really didn't know what was going on. That's why he died.

I screamed at him, trying to warn him, but there was no time. The masked man rose through the hole he had been pushed down, riding the back of his Salamance. He raised a hand and pointed it at Matt. My brother started to turn, but never made it. Another flash; another burst of sound and light. The Hyper Beam tore through Matt's chest; red ribbons of blood sprayed out onto my arm and side.

I didn't even realize what was happening at the time, I just grabbed Matt to keep him from falling. Just a slip, I tried to tell myself, Matt will be fine. Just give him a minute…

…Richard was tugging desperately on my other sleeve and turned to look. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, but the masked man still moved quickly. His Salamance charged another attack, but just before it fired, the ground swelled and tore beneath my feet and I found myself lifted on a golden magic carpet. Dragonite lifted us up, into the air, and away, gliding into the sea.



The Salamance looked at her master, her dragon eyes asking a very good question: Do we follow them?

The masked man shook his head and stroked his Pokemon's snout. His master's airship was gone, many of his bravest and stupidest men dead at Matt's hands, and his surely killed. The masked man spun up onto his ride's back and they were off, headed toward the darkening skies of Kanto, where his master was waiting.



Dragonite somehow managed to glide all the way to shore, carrying me, Richard, and dying Matt down a beach somewhere in southern Johto. It wasn't until we had landed that I realized how grave Matt's condition was. There was a hole about one foot in diameter in his lower stomach. It was horrible, gruesome, and somehow, Matt still had a little cocky life in him.

"See what I mean?" he whispered. "Nasty devils, these Stormies."

"Matt," I said; I realized I was crying, my tears dripping on Matt's blood soaked sweater. He smiled and blood dribbled out the side of his mouth, coating his lips. I almost vomited.

"Don't worry bro," he said. "Don't worry about me. You've got a whole life ahead of ya to worry about. Listen to this: do what you love and screw everything else. Ok?"

"Ok…" my voice was audibly shaking. Matt tried to move his arm, decided against it, and then looked over at his Dragonite.

"Free to go, buddy," he said to the Pokemon. "Go make something of yourself. Thanks a bundle, you were always my best…" Matt's eyes began to close. He was dying… I panicked and shook him until his eyes opened again. They were paler than usual. "Ian, take the rest of Pokemon. You'll need 'em. Their all great… take care of 'em."

His eyes closed again, and this time, I didn't shake him. I still have no idea how he kept his head through the intense pain he must have been feeling. He still managed to communicate with me. Well, that was Matt for you…

"And Ian," he said, not opening his eyes. "That man, in the mask. His name was John Rook. No matter what happens, ever… don't let him get to Cassidy. I was supposed to protect her, and… he thinks she's dead with that airship, but she's not. I just know she's not…"

My mouth suddenly started working again, and almost unhinged as it "Cassidy? What the hell are you talking about Matt. Come on man, wake up! Matt? Listen, what are you talking about? Matt wake up!"

Matt's pupils dialated, vanishing into the mossy sea of his irises. He started laughing, a wild cackle that rose until he was scaring Pidgey from the trees behind us. The surf came up, and as went away, so did the last of Matt's life.

Richard was passed out on the sand, I desperately wished I was in the same condition. My eyes filled with salty tears and closed my big brother's eyes. My head fell to the sand, and my life fell apart like a shaken jigsaw puzzle…