Legacy - a short story (PG-13 or R)

[Charizard04621]

~ Legacy ~

My first sights out of the confines of my shell were the faces of a Dragonite and a Kingdra. My mother wore a kindly smile, but deep in her eyes was a feeling I could not yet place. My father’s wise and pleasant face seemed troubled with problems that added many years to his age. Both were victims to exhaustion and prolonged suffering.

My name is Legacy. I have never forgotten. It was the name my mother gave me. When she first whispered that name, I felt a slight shudder travel down my spine. I felt as if the word escaping from her lips was laced with forebodings of doom, wrapped in the eternal fear she then lived in, so long ago.

I never saw my father much. Each day he lived was hell renewed. He could never escape the shadow of doubt. No matter what he was doing, should the slightest unfamiliar sound be heard, he would vanish into the darkness of the Dragon’s Den as quickly as he had come. After he vanished I would do the same – behind blades of grass, under stones, or maybe in a heap of dirt. My mother always hid me away at the smallest sign of trouble. Whenever the clan of Dragonair came by, led by that pompous Dragonite that my mother hated so, I was completely out of sight. It was as if she did not want them to know that she had a son.

It was on one such day that my life changed forever. This day, however, was different. This day, my father chose to stay. And my mother stood by him.

As always, the Dragonite leading the clan wore his scornful, condescending look. When he saw my father, however, his expression changed from one of disdain to pure, seething anger. “You’re still with that filth?” he cried, his thundering voice echoing through the cave.

Calmly, my mother met his gaze. “He is not filth.”

“He is a lesser dragon,” the scoundrel answered back. He held her face in his hand and looked into her eyes. “Come, my dear, forget this unworthy Kingdra. He is a dead pokémon. You shall be my queen, and the clan will be ours to rule. We will make beautiful children together, you and I – children of pure blood.”

For a long time there was silence. I watched from my bed of seaweed as my mother stared hard into those cold, haughty eyes. Then, without a word, she spat at his feet and walked silently into the water back to my father.

“Please reconsider, darling,” said the cruel Dragonite, icily now. “If you go with him, we will have to kill you too.”

“Then I will die!” The determined fire flashing in her eyes was sincere. Choking my sobs I recalled her last words to me in a blur. Hide, Legacy… Grow strong. When the time comes, you may confront them… And they will accept you. Live, my son. Live for me. Live for your father.

The horrific scenes that followed haunted my dreams for the rest of my life.

My father fought to defend himself, but there were simply too many. The Dragonair isolated him despite his efforts. Two wrapped their bodies around him to restrain him as he struggled. From there it was only a matter of sharp horns boring into his heart. I watched with tear-filled eyes as he convulsed in terrible agony. Blood gushed out of his body where they punctured him. His ebbing life painted the water crimson. Even as he lay dying my father continued to thrash wildly, spending his remaining energy fighting until his limp, lifeless body sank into the darkness of his watery grave.

Waves upon waves of electricity from the Dragonair imprisoned my mother. Her muscles were again and again constricted by their charge. The wicked Dragonite descended upon her, shaking his head. “Tsk, tsk. So much for that Kingdra. Are you sure you would not prefer me now, dear?”

She answered with a swift punch to his stomach. He was shocked, but then he laughed. He pinned her. Her convulsing limbs, victims to the constricting electricity, were useless. My eyes filled with fear as I realized that my mother was completely helpless. I wanted most to save her from the clutches of that deplorable fiend, but I knew that there was nothing then that I could do.

He held her against her will, but she could not escape his humiliating torture. She cried and kicked and struggled, but his weight was overwhelming. The sight of my brave, spirited mother so viciously subdued was the most painful my heart would ever have to bear. I prayed every moment he held her that he would release her to find her peace…

When he was finished with her, he killed her.

From that day forward, I vowed to live for my mother and father. When the time came, I would punish that murderer for his crimes. Strangely, I felt no fear – only hate. Every passing day my heart burned with raging fire. As long as the murderer still lived unpunished, I could not rest.

The Dragonair clan never found out about me. My parents and their constant vigilance had trained me to remain wary at all times. As the months passed by, I would avoid them, sometimes getting into very close shaves where discovery seemed imminent. But as time progressed, I got better and better at hiding. I could blend into my surroundings with ease, vanishing unseen into the shadows. With a life of constant hiding and secrecy, I learned to become invisible.

Every other creature that dwelled in the vast lake took pity on me. They taught me how to battle; the Lanturn showed me their Thunderbolts, the Lapras their Ice Beams, and the Kingdra their draconic flame. Little by little they helped me to grow strong. Eventually, I perfected my Faint Attack technique. My ability to vanish was flawless.

As time went on the creatures of the lake provided no challenge to me. I had never lost a battle, and I could defeat several of them on my own. It was then that I decided that it was time to leave the Dragon’s Den.

My guardians bid me tearful goodbyes. I was ever thankful to them, and could not find ways to fully express my eternal gratitude. They begged me to stay, but I knew that there was nothing left for me there. But I promised them that someday, when I was ready, I would return, and they would know me.

Outside the Dragon’s Den, it was a different world. In the early stages of my travels, I learned the fearsome power of ice. It was in a horrible cave that I nearly met my death for the second time. The floors were slick, covered with ice. I made the mistake of braving the cave. From the outside, it didn’t look that bad. But once I was in, I lingered too long. By some stroke of bad luck, the entrance to the cave collapsed. I was sealed in. I remember thinking then that I would surely freeze to death, for I knew no way out. But rather than wait to die, I decided to battle against fate. And I won.

Somehow, I managed to stagger out of that cave, through the winding mazes and vast, icy halls. I made it barely alive, but alive nonetheless. A Charizard found me and nursed me back to health.

From her I learned the art of wielding flame. She also told me that I could fly. “One day, when you become a majestic Dragonair, you can take to the skies with your magic and be free.” Her words remained in my memory forever.

As the years went on, she, too, had nothing left to teach me. I took my leave, but not before making her understand how invaluable her kindness was to me.

Long years passed by as I continued my journey. From here and there I learned new skills and began formulating more complex strategies. Each day I trained myself to preserve my unique ability. I knew then that no Dratini could use Faint Attack – no Dratini but me. I never lost a battle.

On one such day I felt more energized than usual. My current abode was a quiet lake in the mountainside, where the water was crystal clear. The surrounding meadow, rolling hills of lush green grass sprayed with fragrant flowers, promoted an air of peace and tranquility. Here I had come to focus and develop my skills with practice in isolation.

It just so happened that day that a swarm of Scyther came to invade my quiet home. I didn’t hear them – they were so quiet – and I was resting silently at the time. When I noticed them, it was too late. They had already surrounded me, and were tense in battle positions. It was clear that they wanted the entire territory for themselves. I had no choice but to fight.

I am not proud of what I did that day. Because the swarm threatened my life, I could not hold back – and because I could not hold back, lives were lost. My power unharnessed was a dangerous force; for I fought with the anguish of one who has lost the thing most dear to him, and has no hope of claiming it back. Through all those lonely years, no matter how much I looked to the sky, I could not see my mother in the stars like she had once promised me.

After the massacre, my body burned with power, the likes of which I had never felt before. As I felt the strength coursing through my body, I was aware of a faint white glow… And then I became longer, much longer. I grew into a magnificent beast. A single horn protruded from my forehead, and my ears became the shape of delicate white wings. Then came the magical carbuncle under my chin. I was ready.

The Dragon’s Den looked the same as when I had left it, many years ago. As I entered, I was aware of an old, familiar stench. It was the rotten stink of that black-hearted murderer. My eyes narrowed.

Confronting the old, overweight Dragonite, I made it clear that I was trying to disrespect him. I was not afraid.

“You insolent youth!” he bellowed. His voice was as ugly as ever. “Who do you think you are? How dare you talk to the leader of the Dragon Clan like this?”

“My name,” I said softly, with ice in my voice, “is Legacy. You killed my mother.”

“Why you! What kind of absurd accusa- ” Suddenly his ugly eyes lit up with recognition. “She had a son?”

The murderer nearly reeled in surprise. My gaze did not waver.

“Oh, this is unheard of! I don’t understand. Why would she mingle blood with a lowly Kingdra instead of having pure children by me?”

“You bastard…” My voice trembled. I was seething with rage.

“What are you all waiting for?” The Dragonite looked frantically at the Dragonair around him. His subjects. “Kill him!”

I silently thanked the guardian angel who had placed Faint Attack into my arsenal. Vanishing from sight, I moved away from the group of Dragonair so I could safely continue to make my demands.

“Where did he go? You dirty blooded half breed! Where are you hiding?”

“Be assured, I am here,” I told him, still invisible. “But if you don’t call off your guards, I will not grant you the opportunity of seeing me again. I challenge you to a duel for your position.”

The murderer swore under his breath. Challenging the leader of the clan was an age-old, sacred tradition. There were rules he had to follow. The battle had to be one on one, a fair fight. And he could not refuse.

“You are getting on my nerves,” hollered the Dragonite, turning his head this way and that, searching for any sign of me. I gave him none. “You know I have to accept that challenge. You filthy half blood! FINE! Show yourself and I will give you your fair fight!”

“Call off your guards.”

Cursing some more, the fiend waved his Dragonair a distance away. Slowly, I rematerialized directly under the Dragonite’s nose. He did not look pleased.

With a sudden movement, he reached out to grab my neck. I dove; his fist crashed into the water surface. Continuing to submerge, I ventured deeper into the lake, watching for the fiend to follow. When he realized that I was not coming back up, he promptly swore and dove in after me.

The fiend was met with my crippling static charge, electricity that shut down his ability to move properly by constraining his muscles. He roared in fury, but he was too slow to catch me underwater. I glided effortlessly through the lake, allowing him to get closer, and then pulling away at the last minute to taunt him. Even deep in the lake, I could see his face burning red from his frustration and the exertion of his strained muscles.

After I thought it was enough, I led him back to the surface. The next phase of my plan required land. I spotted a good place up ahead, and began to head for it. Just then, however, the angry Dragonite emerged from the water and caught me in his hands.

Not what I had expected, but I was not trapped yet. As he began to apply pressure to my body, I took advantage of the water that made my smooth skin even more slippery. Wriggling did not free me from his tight grasp, although he had difficulty holding me. I decided to switch strategies. With some maneuvering, I managed to seemingly entangle myself around his arms, effectively tying them up. He could continue to squeeze, but he would have to remove me unless he wanted his bones crushed too. Grumbling, the Dragonite headed towards the island – just what I had hoped for. Without him noticing, I freed my tail and held it above the fiend’s spine. It began to glow silver.

“I’ve got you now, you know,” he told me. “You’re stuck. All I have to do is lie down on you for several moments, and it will be over. As soon as I get on the land, that is.” He raised one foot onto the dirt, and then the other. Water cascaded from his body as he pulled out of the lake. “You puny half blood…”

At that moment, I brought down the Iron Tail upon his spine. The targeted impact, aided by my previous Thunder Wave, temporarily stunned the Dragonite. It gave me enough time to uncoil from his arms and slither free.

“I am anything but puny,” I replied, knocking him upon his back with a plasma blast. I followed up my Hyper Beam with concentrated streams of frost. Before he could get back to his feet, my Ice Beams froze him into place. I climbed onto his body, looking down into his eyes. My neck was arched, my horn glowed, and I was ready to strike, if need be. “I am not the one who is looking into the face of death,” I told him. “I am in the perfect position to kill you now. Because I am not a heartless murderer like you are, however, I will not. As long as you relinquish your position as leader of this clan and acknowledge that I defeated you in a fair fight. You will hand power over to me. Once you do that, I will make sure no dragon will ever jeopardize the life of a fellow pokémon again. Every creature in this lake will be free from the tyranny of this clan.”

The Dragonite, in no position to fight, croaked his agreement. “Son of a lesser dragon,” he coughed. “You’ll be sorry.” A dark shadow fell upon his face. Too dark.

Acting upon fearful instinct, I turned around to see the group of Dragonair behind me. The crackling energy they gathered lanced toward me in the form of many beams…

I felt as if my skull was on fire. I was driven into the ground, my head bombarded with explosions. Red dots clouded my vision. I had difficulty understanding what was going on as the world around me spun. Colors began to fade slowly. I was aware of an increasing crushing force collapsing my throat, and the blurry, cold face of a familiar murderer. Although I knew then that I had failed my quest to live, I felt strangely at peace. Mother was waiting. I could take off into the skies and be free.

[PancaKe]

Wow that was unusual to say the least. Veyr different type of story, very well written. The Dragonite lost in a fair fight, yet his clan still killed Legacy. That was so wrong. I mean, it was supposed to be a fair fight, wasnt' it? Ah well, it was a great little story, and I enjoyed it heaps!

God bless

~Mist

[mistysakura]

Oh well, you couldn't have expected him to fight fairly... that was really sad. I loved the Dragonair's background, and how he had one purpose in his life, in everything he did. He was a cool character, and it was fantastic how you made us totally sympathise with him.


This was a great story.

[Charizard04621]

Thanks for the responses!

Mist - Thanks. I hoped to avoid a cliché ending... You know, hero completes quest, everyone lives happily ever after. In this case, it wouldn't make sense anyway... Because just as really bad people are pretty much unchangeable, bad pokémon aren't likely to reform.

mistysakura - I appreciate it. The idea for Legacy I actually got from an RPG... He was my character, and the RPG was looking to be so great, but then it died due to lack of activity. I loved my character, though; he was so much fun. So I decided that Legacy merited some form of a story.

I'm glad you both enjoyed it. Oh, and I noticed something else... Both of you have names that begin with (or consist of) "mist". *random*

[Lady Vulpix]

Sad story indeed. But very well written. The battle scenes were greatly described, as is your tradition. Some other scenes could have had some more description (like the cave part, or the time Legacy spent with the Charizard), but that could have turned this into a longer story. Overall, I think it was quite good.