FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

_ ACT II _

Tom, Stefan, and Lya were on their way back to her house. "Tom, you were so brave back there", exclaimed Lya. "It was about time somebody shut that brat up." Tom blushed as he nodded to the compliment. "Yeah, but that was all an act; that guy honestly scared me", he thought. "Tom, I may have been paralyzed, but I could still see what was going on. With that said, I have a question; how in the heck were you able to knock out that Pokémon with one blow when you're supposed to be as weak as I, unfortunately, am", asked Stefan. "I don't know. When I saw that Andrew guy paralyze you and shove Lya to the ground, something snapped inside of me. It just happened out of impulse and I felt like I was stronger than ever. My body glowed white when I dived in to save you guys." "You must have done an Aerial Ace", stated Lya. "It's an attack that no Pokémon can avoid and it's pretty strong." Stefan was feeling jealous of Tom tapping into his newfound strength and wanted to get better as well. "You know what, maybe you and I should train", suggested Stefan. "I mean, if I'm going to become a human again from a Ho-oh, I want to be the strongest Ho-oh I can be before I do." Tom nodded in agreement, but his belly grumbled loudly. "Um...but before we do that, can we get some food? I'm starving."

The three made it back to the house and Lya ran into the house while Tom and Stefan sat under the same tree as they were before. Lya came back with two bowls of what looked like pellets. "This is food that Pokémon usually eat; some are more to specific Pokémon than others, but this can be eaten no matter who it is." Lya held a pellet in front of Tom's face; he sniffed it before biting it off of her hands. He munched and crunched on it to get a good taste of it, but the experience grew sour and he spat the pellet out in disgust. "I'm sorry, Lya, but that tasted awful." Stefan looked at his bowl and slowly pushed it away from him with his wing. "It looks like you don't even have the same taste of food as Pokémon. If it's real food you want, I can cook some, but it will be a while." "That's fine, I can wait", assured Tom. "In the meantime, let me give you my Pokedex so that you can know more about the Pokémon in this area." Tom nodded and was given the Pokedex. She then went into the house to cook.

Tom got up and began exploring; Stefan decided to stay and rest after all that happened earlier today. Tom was in the meadow as he held the Pokedex; looking for any Pokémon he had not seen before. "There's got to be at least some around here." When he turned around, one of those black birds returned. "Yikes, not you again!" But the Pokémon didn't attack him; it instead sat on his back and slumbered to sleep. He was trying to figure out what was going on, but he figured it would be a good time to get some information and pulled out the Pokedex. "Murkrow; the darkness Pokemon. This Pokémon shows strong interest in anything that sparkles or glitters." Tom looked at himself and saw his feathers shining as they reflect in the sunlight. "Well that makes sense." "Tom, foods ready", shouted Lya as she was calling out to him. He carefully put the sleeping Murkrow down and at least gave him and pet on the head; it chirred in response as it slumbered. Tom went back to the house and looked at all the delicious meals; she had some rice balls, steaming ramen, and curry bread all spread out neatly on the picnic sheet. "Mmm, now this is more like it", complimented Tom.

Tom sat next to Stefan as he sat where he was before. He took a rice ball and munched on it; swallowing it whole and hummed to the taste. Stefan simply lowered his head and subtly slurped some hot ramen. "Lya, there's something I want to ask you; Andrew, do you know him", asked Tom. Lya frowned a little and nodded. "He was my ex-boyfriend, who I use to date a while back, but then I realized how much of an egotist he was, and so I dumped him. All he cares about is his pride and his money; I think that attitude came from his father." "Who is his father", asked Stefan "That I don't even know; all he could tell me was he's been searching for something for several years. And don't ask me what it is because he never told me that either; "it's supposed to be top secret", he said." Tom finished his rice ball and licked his lips a little. "I'm sorry that happened to you, but I don't think you have to worry about him anymore; though the way he looked at me before he left gave me the creeps." Tom shivered at the thought and resumed eating. He took a slice of curry bread and took a bite; his eyes began to water as the spicy food hit him hard. He then huffed after swallowing it. "Phew, that's some hot stuff!" Lya conveniently had a bucket of water by his side and he dipped his face into it before drinking. Stefan decided to take a bite of a slice and swallowed it down no problem; taking another one afterwards. "It doesn't taste so hot to me."

Soon, all of the food was eaten and Tom rubbed his stomach as he smiled in satisfaction. "That was absolutely delicious; thank you", complimented Tom. "Alright; we refueled our tanks, now how about we do some sparring", Stefan asked. Tom and Lya nodded in agreement and soon, the two friends were at a distance from each other and staring down at one another as they prepared themselves. Lya sat near her house, which was a safe distance. "Tom, Lugia is a psychic and flying type, but can also know some water-based moves. Stefan, Ho-oh is also a fire type, so you should know a lot of fire-based moves." Tom was thinking about what he should do first. "Since my wings are supposedly powerful; let's see if something happens", he thought. Tom rose from the ground and then started flapping his wings hard towards Stefan. He could feel a sudden gust of wind hitting him and fell backwards. "That was a gust attack; a pretty easy move to learn", stated Lya. Stefan quickly got up. "Oh yeah? Then let's see how you like it." He began flapping his wings hard too as Lugia fell backwards as well. "So how do I do a fire move", asked Stefan. "Just close your eyes and imagine yourself using said attack; concentrate hard enough and you'll succeed. Try a flamethrower attack."

Stefan closed his eyes as he focused; he was in his own thoughts. "Okay, flamethrower...flamethrower..." He inhaled a bit and then exhaled; some fire emitted from his beak. "That's it; keep focusing", cheered Lya. "Tom, while he's doing that, focus on using hydro pump; you basically shoot gallons of water out of your maw." Tom nodded and closed his eyes to concentrate. "Hydro pump...how can someone shoot water out of their maw? Where does it come from?" "Tom, heads up", yelled Lya as Tom opened his eyes; there was stream of fire coming right at him. He screamed and ducked; the fire barely missed him. "Hey, watch it; you could've singed my feathers!" "How about you pay closer attention to your surroundings next time", retorted Stefan. Tom uttered a battle cry as he charged at Stefan; tackling him to the ground and pinning him. "Alright, you asked for it", warned Stefan and kicked him in the gut with his talons. This caused Tom to let go of his grasp and gave Stefan the opportunity to tackle him down. The two legendary birds were rolling around in the grass as Lya simply sat there speechless as she watched. Eventually, Stefan managed to pin Tom this time as they both stared at each other and panted. After a moment or two, they suddenly had the urge to laugh and so they did. Stefan got off of Tom and laid there next to him as they continued laughing lightheartedly.

"Man, we never fought like that before, have we", asked Tom "I know, right? Though, maybe we should do some individual training so that we don't go at each other's throats again", suggested Stefan. "Agreed", replied Tom. And so for the rest of the afternoon, Tom and Stefan trained at opposite sides of the house while Lya simply lied down on a beach towel to get some sun. At the break of dusk, Tom was in the lake cleaning his body from the training; washing off the dirt from his feathers. Lya arrived with some cupcakes as he dried himself off. "Ooh, cupcakes", said Tom as he sat at the edge of the lake. He took one and ate the whole thing in one bite. "Where's Stefan", he asked. "He's in the woods; he said that training in different environments would help him adapt to them." "Funny; first all he wanted to do was to go back home, and now he wants to train his feathers off." "I'm curious; what is your home like", asked Lya. "Well, it's basically just like this world, except there are no Pokémon, or anything of the sort; just plain animals without powers." "Sounds incredibly boring", she commented. Tom lightly chuckled in response. "Now that you think about it, it does sound boring...but it's where we belong..." Tom frowned as he felt sad again, which she noticed. "You look like you're not happy about going back; don't you have a family?"

When Tom heard "family", he felt even more uneasy, but being in Lya's company gave him the courage to admit his problem. He almost told Stefan about it back at school, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Tom revealed his backstory to Lya. "When I was young, the job market was at its worst decline in history. The only job available for my parents was the factory, owned by someone who was told by others as a tyrant. He seemed to have something against my family, because he gave them longer work shifts out of spite. They're practically never around in the house anymore because of it. The time they come home is when I'm already in bed, and they spend some of the time remaining to make me food in advance for the next day. I soon learned how to make food for myself so that they can have more time resting. But other than that, I was still alone, even during the holidays and my birthdays. I knew that my parents would still love me no matter what happened, so I managed to adapt myself in the lonely lifestyle. But on the night before I was brought here as a Lugia...I heard my parents laughing and happy. They were planning to give me up because...they figured it was pointless of having me around anymore."

Tom's voice was growing tearful as he continued. "I can't believe...that no matter how hard I believed that everything will be alright...I ended up getting hurt..." Lya looked at him sorrowfully as she heard his story, feeling heartbroken and could not think of any way to respond to such a tragedy. She gently stroked the back of his neck as he sobbed softly and wiped the tears from his eyes with his wing. "When I go back, Stefan will be the only person I have left." "That's not true", objected Lya. "...You have me too." Tom looked at her surprised. "You mean...you want to come with us to our world? But don't you have a family of your own?" "The truth is...my parents died from a lightning storm over a year ago", confessed Lya. Tom gasped as he covered his maw with his wing. "Oh...I'm so sorry..." "To answer your question; I don't have anywhere else to go, so there's no reason for me to not come with you." Tom could not believe how much he could relate to her regarding being alone for a long period of time and losing people that they looked up to; whether it was from an incident or betrayal. "Do you want to know why I think you were turned into a Lugia? You're kind, gentle to those you care about, and you would protect them no matter what. That's exactly what I saw of you today back at the city; you went out of your way to protect a friend in need even though the odds were against you. You have a good heart, Tom."

Tom was filled with so much emotion after her little speech that he wrapped his wing around Lya and held her close. "Lya...thank you; talking about this with you made me feel better. And even if my parents don't want me anymore, I'll still be happy with you by my side." Lya blushed as Tom held her close; resting her head on the side of his body. They heard some bushes ruffling at the edge of the forest and turned around to see what it was; Stefan was covered in leaves and twigs. "I had a slight mishap", he said nonchalantly as he limped over to the house trying to shake the stuff off of himself. Tom and Lya just watched him curiously until they chuckled to each other. "It's late, so I should probably get to bed. Goodnight, Tom." Lya stood up and gave him a pet on the head; Tom hummed in response. "Same to you, Lya; goodnight." He watched Lya go back into the house with a warm smile before lying down next to the lake and falling to sleep.

Hours later, the three friends slumbered humbly. Lya was in her bed as the bright moon from outside became a nightlight for her. Stefan was sleeping at the side of the house and had the leaves and twigs stacked like firewood. Tom was sleeping on his stomach next to the lake as the sounds of the calm water comforted him. Some shadowy figures appeared from the bushes and quietly walked towards the Lugia; they had a thick braid of rope and a long piece of cloth. Two of them gently grabbed a hold of his wings and tied them with the rope behind his back as well as his tail. Tom was feeling uncomfortable of whatever was happening; he slowly opened his eyes and looked up to see one of them being Andrew with a grin on his face. He gasped in shock at what he saw and was about to call for help, but before he could, the person next to Andrew wrapped the cloth around his maw as his screams were muffled. The four grunts picked the Lugia up and took him deep in the woods; he was struggling in his bonds and tried as hard as he could to call out to Stefan, who was still sleeping.

After a few minutes of being taken into the forest, Tom saw a steel cage, which caused him to fight his bonds even more. When they put him down and were about to put him in; Tom kicked them away and kept doing it to the point where they could not properly put him in the cage. One of them summoned a purple bat Pokémon from a pokeball. "Crobat, use Supersonic", commanded the grunt and the Pokémon emitted yellow sound waves at the Lugia. Tom kept struggling until he suddenly stopped; his eyes were spiral-like as he became confused. The grunts were then able to place him in the cage and shut the door. Andrew looked into the cage at the knocked-out Lugia. "Sweet dreams", he said.

Tom fell asleep after being in a daze for a while. He soon woke up and noticed himself in the cage bonded with his wings tied behind his back and his mouth covered with a cloth. He tried to break his wings free; whining as he could not do it no matter how hard he tried. He abruptly stopped as he heard voices outside; he heard people moving around and doing things. "Guys, keep it down; I'm calling my dad over here", yelled Andrew. Tom put his head against the wall of the cage as he listened. Andrew held the phone against his ear as it rang. "You better have a good reason of calling me so early in the morning, Andrew", said the voice. "I do, Dad. I caught the Lugia that you wanted; like taking rare candy from a Togepi." "Excellent, son; I'll set the coordinates to your location. Make sure that Lugia stays put until I get there." "No worries; he's all tied up. He won't be going anywhere." assured Andrew. Tom kept listening to the conversation and feared that he was actually wanted by somebody. "Who is that guy", he thought. "I need to find a way out of this; I'm not going to be caged like some pet."

He then realized that he had been training enough to know some moves. He remembered about all the moves that he had in his disposal. He figured that hydro pump would the one to use in the current situation he was in, even though he had not fully mastered it. He closed his eyes and concentrated. "Alright...focus...please make this work...", he begged. He took a deep breath and kept it there for a few seconds until he exhaled. But when he did, the cloth that covered his mouth ripped apart as gallons of water shot out of it. Not only that, but the hydro pump was powerful enough to break open the cage door. Tom did not expect it to happen, but it was better than he had hoped. The grunts and Andrew looked to see what happened as he quickly got out of the cage and ran frantically. "Get that Lugia, you idiots; he's getting away", screamed Andrew.

Meanwhile, Lya yawned as she awoke and put her hand over her desk to find something, but it was not there. She looked closely to confirm the deduction. "Where's my Pokedex", she asked herself. Back at the forest, Tom was running past the trees as the grunts pursued him. One of them tossed a ball. The ball popped open a massive sheet and entrapped Tom; binding him tightly as he was stopped in his tracks. He lied down on his back and looked in anger as the grunts and Andrew caught up to him. "You're such a rebellious legendary, aren't you? You can't learn when to submit", said Andrew. "You can tie my wings together, cover my mouth shut, and wrap me up like a gift. But you will never, ever break my spirit. Quick question, what was that move that you used on me that made me confused?" Andrew looked at him weirdly. "Supersonic; why?" "Thought so", replied Tom followed by a smirk.

Lya then remembered giving the Pokedex to Tom and headed outside to see him, but he was not there. All she found was the Pokedex of where she last saw him; she was growing worried. She found Stefan still sleeping and tried to gently shake him to wake him up, but Stefan was a heavy sleeper. "Come one, Stefan; wake up!" She then took a deep breath and yelled as loud as she could. "WAAAAKE UUUUUUP!" Stefan screamed as she did this and fell flat on the ground. He got up and groaned as he rubbed his head "Do you have to scream so loud close to me?!" "I'm sorry, but Tom isn't here and I don't know where he went." Stefan rubbed his eyes a little. "He's probably just cruising in the sky somewhere; I'm sure he hasn't gotten into trouble." They suddenly heard an echoing scream in the distance, which caused some of the bird Pokémon to fly away from the noise; it sounded like Tom. "Hasn't gotten into trouble, huh", retorted Lya. She climbed onto Stefan and he flew off to the direction of where the sound was.

Tom was screaming at the top of his lungs as yellow sound waves emitted from his maw. Andrew and his grunts had their ears covered from the deafening sound. "How is this possible; Lugia can't learn Supersonic", exclaimed Andrew. He then remembered the Lugia asking him what was the last attack they used on him and then he realized. "No, he's using Mimic!" Tom soon stopped as all that screaming tired him out; panting a little. Andrew stopped covering his ears and kicked the Lugia's side, which made him yelp. Tom growled at him. "I'll keep doing that as much as it takes for you to behave, you impudent little...!" "Hey, rich boy", called Stefan. "Kick my friend again and I'm going to roast you!" Tom looked at Stefan and Lya with gleam in his eyes. "You came!" "Oh, I'm shaking in my little boots", said Andrew in a sarcastic tone. "After what I saw back at Argentum city, you won't last more than 10 seconds with me." Stefan landed on the ground to let Lya get off. "Andrew, enough is enough! First you wanted Ho-oh and now you want Lugia; why him all of a sudden", asked Lya. "That's none of your business! So unless if you're going to dare challenge me..." Andrew summoned Girafarig from his pokeball. "...then I suggest you turn around and go back the way you came."

"That's not going to happen", objected Stefan. "If fighting you will get our friend back, then I accept. I'll show you what a legendary can do." Stefan planted his talons firmly on the ground and stretched his wings outward; preparing for battle. "Lya, I'll divert Andrew and his goons so that you can help Tom." Lya nodded. "Big mistake; Girafarig, use Psybeam", commanded Andrew as a beam of light shot out from its horns. Stefan shot himself up from the ground and flew away. Andrew and his grunts chased after him, leaving Lya and the captured Tom. Lya got down on her knees and saw the ball that popped out the entrapping sheet. There was a small compartment. Inside were several buttons. "Oh no, I can't tell which one frees you", admitted Lya. "Just press one and quickly; I want to get revenge on that spoiled brat for kicking me like that." Lya was hesitant, but she pressed one of them. The sheet began to tighten; binding him harder. "Ah, wrong button", he screamed. She grew flustered as it happened and tried another button; the sheet surged with electricity as it gave him a brief shock. Tom sobbed comically as tried to suffer through it. "Don't worry, Tom; I'll get you out. Just a few more tries."

Stefan flew to a clearing in the forest, which he thought would be more suitable for a bird his size. Andrew caught up and resumed battling. "Use Thundershock", he commanded and Girafarig shot electricity out of its horns. Stefan was able to dodge it and the additional strikes that followed. He then swung his wings around as stars shot out of them; performing a swift attack. The stars hit the Pokémon easily as they could not be avoided. "Erg, Garafarig, use Psychic." The Pokemon's eyes glowed blue as so did Stefan's body; he was stuck in midair. Garafarig pulled him closer to them as Andrew smirked. "Psychic is such a wonderful attack, isn't it", he asked in a smart-alecky tone. "True...but only if you know how to use right", replied Stefan and he took a deep breath before spitting out a stream of fire at Girafarig. The Pokemon was burnt and it caused it to lose control of its psychic. Stefan flew up in the sky and then dived down as his body glowed white; performing an Aerial Ace. The attack collided with Girafarig and it forced it flying and hitting a thick tree and becoming unconscious like last time. Andrew screamed out in anger, "Girafarig, you're useless! No matter, I still got two more to fight you with!" But before he could use them, he was hosed with water; it was Tom using Hydro Pump with Lya riding him.

Andrew fell on the ground soaked and tried to get back up. Tom landed next to Stefan and got Lya off. "I think it's about time to wrap this up", Tom said as he threw the ball that contained the sheet. He threw it at Andrew as it popped open the sheet and entrapped Andrew this time. He was trying to fight the tightness, but to no avail. He looked to see the Lugia towering over him with a mischievous grin. He got down closer to the human's face, which made him scream in terror. "No, don't hurt me please", begged Andrew. "Not so much fun being on the other end of the stick now, is it", he snickered. "Now before you get packing, I have a question for you; who is your father and what does he want with me?" Andrew gritted his teeth as it seemed like he didn't have much of a choice but to confess. "My dad...is a collector; he collects rare Pokemon and has you on the top of his list. He's on his way as we speak and he'll deal with you personally." "We'll see about that", replied Tom and got off of Andrew before whacking him with his tail. "That's for kicking me."

The grunts were running towards the three summoning their Pokémon. "Let's finish these guys once and for all", suggested Tom. Stefan nodded and they both flew up in the sky with Lya on Tom once more. Both of them flapped their wings hard as they performed a gust attack. The direction of the strong winds colliding created a tornado, which swept up the grunts and Andrew; throwing them far over the horizon. The enemies flew for about a few miles until they landed at another part of the forest; hanging on to some branches of the tall trees. Andrew was hung like a cocoon wiggling around in frustration. "Stop fooling around and get this off of me, you dolts", he yelled. One of the grunts pulled up a walkie-talkie and spoke into it. On the other end, a shadowy man held up the device and listened as he sat in a chair full of gadgets and buttons. "Sir, I'm sorry to report that...the Lugia has escaped; his two friends came and foiled the plan as well. Should we go back for them?" "No, I'll take care of it. Don't bother reporting back; you're all fired." He pressed a button, which cut-off the signal, and slammed his fist against the arm of his chair. "You are a slippery one, my friend, but you won't be able to escape my own grasp once I come after you myself." The mysterious man got up from his chair and looked out the massive window of the meadow below. "I will have my prize, even if drastic measures have to be taken. I await for your little visit...Thomas."

The three friends were back at Lya's house to rest up after the fight with Andrew and his minions. Tom was looking at himself in the lake as the others joined him. "Thank you both for saving me; if I hadn't learned that mimic move during training, I wouldn't have been able to send out that signal." "No problem; I'm always happy to sacrifice some of my sleep to help a friend. And, it's the least I can do after what you did for me." They both smiled at each other before Stefan walked away to get his sleep time back. Lya stayed with Tom though and sat down next to him. "How did you learn Mimic anyway", she asked. "Well, when I was trying to learn Hydro Pump, I kept thinking more about the flamethrower move almost burning me. The next thing I know, I was breathing fire instead of water." He moved his wing around in the water; creating ripples as it deformed his reflection. He kept thinking about what Andrew said about his father. "How can someone be looking for me in this world? I'm not from here. And who does this person think I am; some kind of ornament?" "If that's the case and he is indeed coming, then you should stay at the house and not go anywhere", said Lya. "And just when things were going fine too. We have to find some way to get home before he finds us", said Tom. "But you don't even know where to look. Do you even know how you got here in the first place", asked Lya.

They suddenly heard a scream coming from Stefan and ran over to him. "Stefan, what's wrong", asked Tom. Stefan had a petrified look on his face as he looked up in the sky. When Tom looked up as well, he gave a scared look too. The sky was growing dark as lightening flashed frequently in the ominous clouds. The wind began to pick up. "No...it's the storm again! Lya, that's what turned us into this and brought us here", exclaimed Tom. "Get in the house", yelled Lya and the all ran inside. Lya locked the door and they all sat and huddled closely away from the door; hearing the loud rumbles from the thunder and the roaring wind making the walls creak. "Wait, what if this storm is here to take us back to our world", suggested Tom, "This could probably be our only shot at getting home!" Tom was getting up, but Stefan grabbed him by the wing. "No, Tom; Stay!" "But Stefan..." "But nothing; I'm not going through that whole scene with you again! And how do you know it's going to send us back home? For all we know, it might take us into another world where we're alien frogs or something! I just don't want anything bad happening to you." "But..." Tom looked at Stefan as he looked back at him sternly. Last time when it happened, he was off his nut and the stress took over him. He had to learn to take his friend's advice and sat back down. "You right, Stefan; I guess I wasn't thinking clearly."

The lightning struck at the house numerous times as the whole room they were in vibrated. The walls, ceiling, and floor were glowing brightly from the strikes. Then the whole house imploded as bits and pieces flew everywhere. Tom wrapped himself around Lya to protect her from the falling debris as pieces of wood landed on him. They were revealed to the storm and duck and covered as they awaited the inevitable strike of the lightning. But everything went silent as the thunderous booms stopped and the wind subsided. They got back up and looked at the calm clouds; they were clearing up. "Is it over already", asked Lya. She then looked back at her destroyed house in woe. "I worked so hard putting all this together." "Wait a minute, look", yelled Stefan as the clouds cleared more to reveal a massive symmetrical airship in the sky above the clearing clouds. Tom was able to notice the lightning retracting to the metal rods on the ship. "That wasn't a storm at all; it was all a hoax", exclaimed Tom. "I can see why; that thing is huge", replied Stefan. The airship had latches under it, which opened up, and released several electrical rings. They were heading towards the three as it urged Tom and Stefan to fly away from them.

The rings missed Lya and went after the two legendary birds. Tom and Stefan decided to separate, but the rings went after Tom instead. He looked back to see the rings chasing him and tried numerous sharp turns. He even dived into the forest to make the rings hit the trees, but none of them did and continued to pursue him. Stefan flew over to Tom and tried to help him fend off the rings. His swift attack did nothing at all and his flamethrower did not do anything except cause them to go after Stefan instead. He quickly turned around and went in the other direction with Tom following the rings. Tom tried using his Hydro Pump, but to no avail. "These rings are indestructible", he stated. It seemed that the rings would not stop chasing them unless it captured one of them, and so he decided to make the sacrifice. "Stefan, these rings won't stop until one of us is captured, and the man clearly wants me. If that's the case, then he can have me." "Tom, don't do it! There has to be another way!" "I'm afraid there isn't a choice left; take good care of Lya for me." Tom touched one of the rings and all of them began to encase him in a barrier of energy as he groaned from the shocks they emitted and enclosing on him. They took him up into the latches of the airship. Stefan watched the latches close with Tom, who just sealed his fate to save his friend. "Tom, you fool..."

Lya called out to Stefan as she was trying to catch up on foot. He dived down and landed close to her. "What happened", she asked. "Tom just took the bullet for me and he was taken into that airship. I tried to talk him out of it...but he's too bold for his own good. Get on; we're going to get him back." Lya nodded and climbed onto Stefan before he soared once again; catching up to the airship and following it. The stub under the latches began to drop down, revealing four cannons with one on each side. The one pointing at Stefan shot a bright blue energy ball; it hit him right in the underside. Stefan grunted from the impact. "Ah, that felt so cold!" The stub spun as the next cannon aimed and fired another energy ball. Stefan tried his best to dodge each one as they fired at a constant rate. Lya held onto him tightly to keep herself from falling with him maneuvering each shot. Some of them missed, but some hit him in the wings, more of his underside, and even his head. After each successful hit, Stefan was growing weaker and tried his best to keep going. "Lya...I don't think I can make it...", he said panting. "You got to try; Tom wouldn't give up if he was trying to save you", she reinforced.

Stefan nodded and kept going. Normally for him, the more logical decision would be to stop and assess the situation. But thinking about how Tom would do it, he continued pursuing despite knowing the possible consequences. The stub suddenly retracted; putting away the cannons. It soon dropped down again with an only one, but bigger cannon. It shot a large missile at Stefan, which he was able to dodge, but it turned around and chased him. "It's a homing missile", he stated. "Stefan, it's gaining", yelled Lya. Stefan quickly thought up an idea and blew a stream of fire at the missile; it was becoming overheated. Soon, the missile exploded and the two were pushed by the sonic boom. This caused Stefan to lose control and fell towards the empty beach. Stefan and Lya landed in the water. Stefan was slowly sinking, but she managed to catch him and pull him up to the surface. As she tried to swim back to shore with the unconscious Stefan wrapped in her arm, the airship was flying above them as she watched it go over the ocean. "Tom..."

Tom was in a huge marble room; still encased in the electric rings. He looked around to see numerous artifacts of myths and legends. He suddenly saw the pillar in the middle moving downward. At the top, was a man sitting on what looked like a control panel for controlling the ship. He had pistachio-colored hair with two lopes coming down from opposite sides, purple eyes, and was wearing a specially-designed robe. His throne reached the bottom and got up to walk over to Tom and greet him. "Master Thomas, we finally meet face to face." Tom was giving him a harsh look the whole time, but was surprised when he called him by his name, even though they never met. "Okay, how do you know my name?!" The man merely smiled a little. "All in due time, my friend, but for now, let me introduce myself. My name is Lawrence Geraldine III, and I am a collector of some sort." "I'm aware; your precious little Andrew spilled to me who you are." "You heard right", replied Lawrence, "I collect legendary Pokémon, specifically the bird kind." "But why", Tom asked, "Why would you want a fake Lugia to be a part of your collection?" "You see, I brought you here not to collect you, but to help you learn the truth about yourself; a community service, if you will", explained Lawrence. "The truth? I was born and raised as a human with a human family; how is that not true? "As you were indeed raised as a human, but you were not born as one." "And exactly how is that possible", asked Tom. "I should probably cut to the chase then", suggested Lawrence. "Are you aware of the legend of Lugia", he asked. Tom simply shook his head in response. Lawrence pointed Tom to a stone slab that had several inscriptions on it. "Read it aloud to me, please", he requested. Tom was reluctant to do so, but he decided to humor himself and read what the slab said.

"Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice or lightning, lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash. Though the water's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its song will fail, and thus the earth shall turn to ash." Lawrence continued explaining. "Even though the legend says it only comes up when the equilibrium of nature is unbalanced, there is another piece to it that I discovered after some very extensive research. Lugia can also be called upon by the son of the sea's guardian. And that person is...you." Tom was utterly confused. "So you're saying the Lugia from the legend is my real father?" Lawrence nodded. "Yes, and if you do not believe me, I am more than happy to show proof. I used a machine that turns humans into Pokémon based on their personalities and memories; how coincidental that a random boy like you would have the qualities of a Lugia. Most of those I tested on became average and common Pokémon because they held uninteresting lives, but you are a special case. I will admit I was not expecting your friend to become a Ho-oh; he must have special and unique qualities like you do."

As Tom listened to this, it did make a bit of sense. He remembered when Lya explained why she thought he became a Lugia; because he was always caring of his friends and was not afraid to face his fears for them. Though he did have his flaws, like being too headstrong or overconfident, and that is why he had Stefan to moderate him because he was the more rational of the two. "Okay, that seems legit", admitted Tom, "But I'm still not convinced..." Lawrence shook his head and chuckled a little. "I do have another piece of evidence to show you. Fair warning; what I am about to present might traumatize you." "I'm willing to take that risk", assured Tom. Lawrence walked up to his control panel and pressed a button. "Very well." A bookcase appeared as it rose from the floor; containing several files and documents. He took one from it and walked over to Tom. He opened the file and showed him a piece of paper that had his complete information; his full name, address, and the names of his parents. When he got to "State of Custody", his eyes widened and his mouth went dry from what he saw. "...adopted...?"

Tom was completely stunned by the new discovery. He wanted to believe it was not real, but the documents looked authentic, including the signatures of both of his parents and the stamp at the bottom left corner. Everything he knew about his parents was a lie after all those years. "No...no, this can't be...you're lying; you could've forged this!" "I assure you, boy; this is one-hundred percent genuine." Tom was down on his knees and covered his eyes with his wings. "This whole thing can't be real...I must be dreaming...when I wake up, I'll be in my own bed like this whole nightmare never happened." Realizing that he was fooling no one but himself, he broke down and sobbed; he felt like the world that he once knew shattered into a million pieces. "I will tell you what I will be willing to do. You have two choices." he pulled out two small flasks full of liquid; one was blue and the other was red. "The blue one is an antidote that will return you and Stefan back into humans. I will also give you both a ride back to your home. It will be like everything that you have experienced in this world never happened. If you take the red potion, it will make you a Lugia permanently. I will then set you free and promise never to capture you again. I'll even give you the coordinates to where you can find your true father, just in case if you are ever so curious. So what is it going to be, Master Thomas?"

Tom listened to Lawrence and began to think carefully about the choices he was given; assessing each one like Stefan would. "If I go back to my home, everything will be like I never left, which means I'll be sent away by my not-real family. Even if I had Lya beside me, where would she live? It isn't possible for her to be with me all the time; I don't want her to suffer the same way I would. Maybe...it would be best if she stayed here in this world; she'd be much happier here than the cruel-hearted world I was from. If I drink the red potion, I can be a Lugia forever; doing all the things I could never do before. And after learning about the adoption papers, it does make it possible that Lugia could be my father. I had to have come from somewhere, and it is the only lead I have of finding my true past." After some thinking, he got back up and looked at Lawrence. "I have a request; I'll take the red potion, but only if you give my friend Stefan the blue one and take him back home. I don't want my decision to affect his fate."

"I will accept your request", agreed Lawrence. When he moved the flask towards the barrier of Tom's prison, a small opening was formed and he poked his arm inside. Tom took the flask from him and looked at it closely. He then held it with both of his wings and brought it up to his lips; drinking the potion. It had no taste, which was better than having a bad taste like cough serum. Tom finished the potion and sighed. "You are now a permanent legendary Pokémon", Lawrence stated. "And I am a man of my word; so as we agreed, I will release you." He pressed another button on the control panel and the barrier surrounding Tom disappeared; the electrical rings that held it together deactivated and bluntly fell around him. A wall of the room opened, revealing the vast ocean. Tom walked over and smelled the salty breeze. Lawrence walked over to him. "Twenty miles over there straight ahead is Shamouti Island; there is a shrine at the edge of the island that will help you find your father. If you look at the horizon and see three islands side by side, then that is when you know you are on the right island", he explained. "Alright, and thank you...I guess." Tom jumped off the airship and flew away to the direction of where to go. Lawrence watched him go with a smirk. Tom looked below him and saw the fish Pokemon swimming in the water as he kept flying to his destination, which would take him a while to get there. He kept thinking about the decision he made about being a Lugia forever and also thought about Lya. He did like her a lot, but due to the circumstances, it seemed like it was never meant to be. At least they could still be friends though, which was better than nothing, but he wondered if his friendship with Stefan will still be.

TO BE CONCLUDED...