1 Topic by Herbert40k (edited by Herbert40k 2013-05-07 01:27:59)

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Topic: Innocence Lost - Herbert's Story

Eterna City, August 2001

Summer had come to Eterna City. Sinn summers were rarely a memorable occasion, being only a short temperate period before the region returned to its natural state of chilly but survivable cold, but this year the sun had come out in full bloom and the area was blisteringly warm. Bug Pokemon swarmed the forests, and the vegetation grew thick and wild, taking advantage of the fleeting bout of good weather.

Inside the city itself, a young boy of about four years old was trying to get some shelter from the sun. He had mousy brown hair and plain brown eyes, and his baggy clothes fitted his skinny frame rather awkwardly. At present, he was sitting on a small hill, beneath the shade of a gigantic statue that dominated the surrounding area. He had no idea which Pokemon these statues were supposed to be of, though his grandfather spoke of them with some degree of reverence.

He was alone, at the moment. The city was quiet on the busiest of days, and today the heat had driven most people inside. That was okay. The boy liked the peace and quiet. It was not as though he had any friends to keep him company, anyway. The other children in town only ever talked to him in order to call him names. No, it was better when they were gone. Less-

"Hello!" came a shout from nearby. The boy looked around, confused. Who could possibly be calling after him? The only person who ever called after him was his grandpa. And yet from his position under the statue he could see two children approaching, both of whom were around his own age. One boy, and one girl.

The boy was rather plump for such a short child, with raven-black hair, a bright smile, and a complexion pale enough to be virtually translucent in the summer sunlight. He was swaddled thickly in layer upon layer of thick black clothing, which gave his pallor a rather amusing red flush as he sweated heavily whilst waddling over to the brown-haired boy. The girl, on the other hand, could not have looked more different - she was still pale, but her face was freckled and had none of the signs of warmth that the boy's showed. Her hair was a dirty shade of ginger, and her clothes were ragged and torn.

"We play near this place all the time, and we saw you here and you looked really lonely!" the plump boy said excitedly, as he sat himself down next to the brown-haired boy on the grass. The girl remained standing, and stared vacantly up at the giant stone Pokemon. "It's kind of lonely around here, because there's not that many people. Do you want to play with us?"

"Um, I'm not sure," the other boy stuttered, rather unnerved by the overbearing nature of this sudden new companion and the silent staring of the girl. "My grandpa says I shouldn't talk to strangers."

"We're not strangers, though, we're friends!" the raven-haired boy said cheerily, giving a reassuring smile. After a moment's pause, however, his expression became rather more thoughtful. "Why did you say grandpa? Don't you have a mommy or daddy?"

There was silence for a while as the brown-haired boy looked down at the ground. "No, I don't," came his reply, after a moment. "Grandpa takes care of me. Mommy and daddy are... I don't know. Grandpa says they went to a better place. I don't know what he means, though."

"I don't have a daddy either," the girl said absently, now idly picking at the flowers growing between the shadows of the two enormous statues. "My mommy just shouts at me all the time. I don't know what happened to daddy. He gave me a letter, but mommy tore it up." She said this in an impassive, uncaring monotone, as though the subject meant nothing to her.

Hearing these stories evidently saddened the plump boy, though he brightened again remarkably quickly. "I've got a mommy and a daddy! Though I don't see mommy much. That's okay though, because daddy is really nice! He's a bit stern but always takes care of me really well! You should come and meet him sometime!"

"You're scaring him, you know," the girl pointed out with an obvious lack of concern, gesturing to the brown-haired boy's discomfort as he continued to stare at the ground with a pained expression. The plump boy, still babbling excitedly under his breath, looked up upon his friend's comment and suddenly became much more apologetic.

"Oh! Sorry! I was just trying to be friendly. Do you still want to play with us?"

Another few moments passed, whilst the brown-haired boy sat and thought about their suggestion. He had never really had any friends before. Other than grandpa, no-one had ever played a game with him, or taken him out for a walk in the forest naming all the Pokemon as they went. It would be nice to have friends.

"Um... okay," he said, after a long period of silence. "I'll play with you, erm... what's your name?"

"Oh, I never told you my name, did I? I'm Lucius! Alice calls me Lucy sometimes, but I don't like that because it's silly and it's also a girl's name. This is Alice, by the way!" He pointed excitedly at the girl next to him, who simply gave a quiet nod in return.

"Yes, that's my name. Alice. What's yours?" she asked, and for the first time a hint of curiousity found its way into her otherwise emotionless voice.

The brown-haired boy looked back at his two new friends, and a smile started to form on his face.

"My name is Herbert. Herbert Chesterfield."

2 Reply by Herbert40k (edited by Herbert40k 2013-06-02 20:38:24)

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Re: Innocence Lost - Herbert's Story

Lake Verity, October 2004

Winter had once again begun to extend its cold grasp over Sinnoh. Twinleaf Town was sleeping underneath a thick layer of snow, and the nearby lakefront had not escaped the icy touch of the season. The lake itself had not yet frozen over, but small icicles were beginning to form on the dying trees, and the grass was hidden beneath a dusting of frost. All was quiet, save for a quiet crunching noise as three pairs of footsteps made their way towards the lake.

Lucius couldn't help but shiver. Despite being swaddled in layers of thick clothing and warmed by the nearby flames of Omega, he was still unused to the cold climate of his home region. Lawrence, on the other hand, was seemingly unfazed by the icy winds. He knelt by the lakeside and ran his hand through the water, looking down at his blurred reflection. After a moment, a similar face appeared besides his.

"You know where we are, son?" asked Lawrence, without looking backwards. Lucius' reflection gave a small nod.

"We're at Lake Verity, aren't we?" the boy replied, with another shiver.

"Correct. This lake is home to Mespirit, legendary Pokemon of the lake and the Being of Emotion. It is said that any who touch it will be drained of all emotions in just three short days-" He noticed his son's nervous expression, and changed his tune. "-but no human has seen it for over fifty years, so it is highly unlikely we will be the first. I think you are safe to wander around and appreciate the beauty of the place. Remember to stay out of the tall grass."

"Aw!" said the boy, with a disappointed expression. "Couldn't you just get Omega to look after me or something? I bet she could beat up Mespirit if it decided to mess with us!"

"You underestimate the power of legendaries, son," replied Lawrence, with a slightly amused smile. Omega's smile was even wider. "It is said that the lake guardians came into being at the moment of Sinnoh's creation, to balance the opposing forces of time and space. Mespirit gave humans spirit; taught them how to feel joy, and sorrow. And yet that imperfect spirit has proven to be more of a curse than a blessing..."

Lawrence gave a small sigh, and turned to Lucius.

"Do you think this world is complete, Lucius?" he said, after a moment's pause.

"Huh?" said the boy, confused. "What do you mean, dad?"

"Think about it, son. Our world is a remarkable one. With Pokemon, we can wield incredible powers. We are surrounded by natural beauty, as this very lake proves. And yet it is ruined by our flawed and incomplete spirit. For love is countered by hatred. Compassion by cruelty. Humility by arrogance. The same spirit that allows us to create is also the instrument of our destruction... if this world were truly complete, would we not be free of all these imperfections?"

"Um..." Lucius stuttered nervously, unsure of how to respond or what his father even meant. "I... guess? But, I mean, the world's a nice place. I'm happy with it. Besides, I've got great friends like Herbert and Alice! Once we get our own Pokemon we're going to go on lots of adventures and be friends for ever and ever!"

Lawrence gave a sad chuckle. "Such youthful naivete..." he said, with a small shake of his head. "I don't think you quite understood my question. But you are only seven years old, after all. Perhaps you are a little young for such things. Omega, would you care to show Lucius around the lake?"

"<With pleasure.>" replied the Infernape. She loped up behind Lucius, and with a sudden movement picked him up and dangled him upside down. The boy gave a squeal of delight, laughing happily as he was carried playfully along. Lawrence watched the two for a moment, the same sad smile still present on his lips, before looking back at his reflection in the lake.

"Your 'gift of spirit' took everything from me, Mespirit. You took my brother, you took my friend, you took my wife. Please... let me keep my son, at least."

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Re: Innocence Lost - Herbert's Story

Eterna City, June 2005

It was a cold morning in Sinnoh. The early summer sun had disappeared behind a  thick layer of fog, and there was a distinct chill in the air that was keeping most of Eterna City's residents indoors. No doubt the cold would pass as the day went on, but for now it hung over the city like a dull grey shroud. Nevertheless, the poor weather had not deterred three young children from heading out to their usual playground underneath the statues on the hill, who appeared to be engaged in a rather animated conversation.

"How come you get a Pokemon so early?" Lucius asked Herbert, a twinge of jealousy creeping into his voice as the Bulbasaur nuzzled up against his leg.

"<Bulba~>" the Bulbasaur chirped happily. It was still young and freshy hatched - perhaps a month old at the most. It cheerfully scampered over to Herbert when the boy beckoned it and started nipping at his hand with toothless jaws. Herbert flinched slightly as it did so, but gave a small smile after realising that the bites were almost entirely harmless.

"Erm, you know how grandpa took me on holiday to Kanto last week?" he replied, still smiling. "He talked to a professor whilst we were there, and together they agreed that I was old enough to take care of a Pokemon. So they gave me this baby Bulbasaur as a birthday present. I get to keep it if I can prove I can take care of it properly."

"You're supposed to be ten before you get your own Pokemon, though," Lucius retorted, his tone shifting from somewhat jealous to somewhat accusatory.

"Well, grandpa and the professor decided I was mature enough. Besides, me and Alice are both older than you."

"That's true," said Alice, who was idly petting the Bulbasaur in an almost mechanical manner. "We're eight. You're only seven."

"Yeah, but I'll be eight next month! And both eight and seven are less than ten - at least, I think they are. It's not fair." Lucius folded his arms and pouted, which did nothing but give him an unfortunate resemblance to an overdressed Piplup.

Herbert sighed, the smile slipping from his face as the Bulbasaur continued to nibble on his fingers. He hated how stubborn and entitled Lucius could be at times, yet he hated the prospect of disappointing his friends even more. It was kind of unfair, really. And Lucius was his first and best friend. Without him, Herbert would've spent the last four years of his life alone. He wouldn't even have Alice if it wasn't for Lucius.

"How about I let you name him?" he sighed, after a long pause.

Lucius' face brightened almost immediately. "Really? You'd let me do that?" he asked, his brain clearly thinking of ideas already even as the sentence came out of his mouth.

"Sure. I can't think of a good name anyway."

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's a boy," said Alice, still petting the small green creature without a trace of energy or enthusiasm. Not that the Bulbasaur seemed to care, since he took a break from feasting on Herbert's fingers to nuzzle up to Alice.

"Hmm..." said Lucius, fingers stroking his rather pudgy chin. After about a minute's thought, he eventually came to a decision.

"How about Mars?"

"Mars sounds cool," said Herbert, nodding. He turned to Alice. "What do you think, Alice? Is Mars a good name?"

"Mars is a girl's name, Lucy," she said without looking up.

"Really?" said Lucius, confused. "Because I was thinking of the planet Mars. Can you imagine how awesome it would be to be named after a planet? I think that when you get lots of Pokemon and you put together a team to beat all the gyms you should name them all after planets. Since after all, planets are awesome, space is awesome, and science is awesome, so you should name your awesome team after them!"

"The planet Mars was named after a girl, you know," replied Alice, ignoring the rest of her friend's short speech in favour of focusing on a minor nitpick. She received a light punch on the arm from Herbert in return for doing so.

"You're too smart for your own good, Al," he said, smiling at her. Rather unusually, she smiled back, her normally expressionless face harbouring a small grin. The moment likely would've gone on for longer had Mars the Bulbasaur not clamped his toothless jaws around Alice's hand, causing her to try and gently shake him off. She was successful, and Mars went running over to Lucius' side, where he received a brief petting for his troubles.

Herbert continued to smile as he watched Mars scamper around by his friends' feet, then clapped his hands together. "So," he announced, looking from Lucius to Alice in turn. "Now that we've got our own Pokemon to take care of us, you two want to head down to the forest?"

"Sure!" said Lucius and Alice in conjunction, though the latter did so with noticeably less enthusiasm.

"Let's get going, then," said Herbert. Before the other two had a chance to react, he turned around and started running at full sprint towards Eterna Forest. "Last one there is a rotten Exeggcute!"

"Hey, no fair!" yelled Lucius, as he, Alice and Mars ran after Herbert.

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Re: Innocence Lost - Herbert's Story

[spoiler]Okay, breaking chronological order here, but I'd rather get the Orre sections of Herbert's backstory written before he starts alluding to them IRP and nobody has a clue what he's talking about. This is the second of three planned chapters, so admittedly it's somewhat very out of context. Oh, and to clarify, the Herbert referred to in these chapters is the Lucius Cain the J-Team knows and loves tolerates, not Original!Herbert.

The Under, November 2012

"This looks to be the entrance."

Alice's statement was directed at a worn and rusted iron trapdoor near the back of the room. Until about five minutes ago, it had been sealed shut with all manner of weights, chains and danger signs, but Belladonna's telekinesis had made short work of the seals holding it shut. Herbert attempted to lift it open, but his efforts were stymied by the fact that it weighed far more than he could lift. Belladonna watched his efforts for a moment, then sighed, and psionically lifted it up for him. He gave the Eggexcutor a nod of thanks, then looked over at Alice, who was pulling on a helmet to complete her Cipher Peon disguise.

"Seems a shame to keep a pretty face hidden behind a helmet like that," quipped Herbert, then yelped as he received a smack around the back of the head for his trouble.

"Lucius, please, at least try to be professional. We have a job to do, and I would complete it without having to endure your immature antics," Alice said in an exasperated tone. "Remember, we are here to investigate the ruins of the Under and recover whatever information we can for the ONBS, so that they will provide us with assistance in finding Deimos. A task which I am sure that we both agree is of the highest priority. And do put your helmet on, it would be a terrible shame if you were killed by something as mundane as a falling lighting fixture."

"Fine," grumbled Herbert as he put his own helmet on. He blinked for a moment, adjusting for the tint of his visor, before following Alice and Belladonna down through the trapdoor and into the abandonded streets of the Under. The corridor that they found themselves in had cleary not been kept in the best of conditions even before the Under's abandonment, and now they were decrepid and seemingly on the verge of collapsing. Alice glanced both ways before turning back to Herbert.

"I will head left, you go right. Radio in if you happen to find an entrance to the laboratory," she told him. He simply nodded in response, and headed off in the direction she indicated, listening to Alice and Belladonna's footsteps disappearing behind him. It wasn't long before he encountered his first obstacle in the run-down corridors, which took the form of a wrecked metal door handing off of its hinges. The rust had turned the once-chrome door a dull red.

"Dear Arceus, this place has seen better days..."

"Maintain radio silence unless necessary, Lucius. Comments about the poor condition of the local architecture are hardly necessary."

Herbert gave a noise that was somewhere between a sigh and a groan, and flicked his helmet radio off. He was fairly certain that Alice didn't want to talk to him anyway, radio silence or not. With a sigh, he gently pushed on the battered door, afraid that it would fall off of its hinges if he applied any more force than was necessary. Thankfully for him, it creaked upon without any major incident, and he stepped through the doorway, turning on his flashlight pointing the beam into the room.

The light revealed what had once been a clean, sterile white room, now dank, broken, and smeared with grime.  All of the equipment in the room was broken, though even a brief glance at one of the machines told Herbert that the majority of the damage had been inflicted intentionally rather than via decay. A lone fluorescent light flickered on and off in the corner of the room, casting long shadows across the floor. Without lowering his flashlight, Herbert raised his free hand to his helmet and turned his radio back on for a brief moment.

"I think I've found it."

"Excellent. I will start making my way towards your position now. Stay where you are."

Without another word, the radio went dead. Herbert sighed, then cast his eyes around the room again, taking in the small details. Several files littering the broken desks caught his eye, and he picked one up, taking a brief glance over the contents. Nothing pleasant. He'd seen enough of Galactic's experiments to know that he wasn't interested in what new depths Cipher could sink to. With a nauseated feeling in the pit of his stomach, he put the file back down and turned back around, hoping to examine one of the machines more closely. Instead, he was met with a low hiss as a pair of black eyes blinked at him from the corner.

A panicked observation as the Pokemon stepped out of the shadows told Herbert that it was a Scyther, and a particularly vicious and territorial-looking one at that. But its most noticeable feature was the shadowy cloud surrounding it, somehow even darker than the murky dimness of the room. It pulsed with a rhythm that Herbert could feel in the back of his own head when he looked straight at it, giving him a headache if he kept his eyes on the creature for too long.

"<Intruder,>" the Scyther hissed darkly, its blades glinting in the dim, sterile light of the laboratory.

Herbert dropped the flashlight and started to back away, holding his hands up in an attempt to indicate that he wasn't hostile. "No, no, I'm friendly. I don't want to hurt you. Understood? You're free to go, I'm not here to-"

He was interrupted by the Scyther stabbing through his Peon uniform, its sharp blade tearing through the metal armour with minimal effort.

"<Lies.>"

In one fluid motion, the Scyther pulled its blade out of Herbert's stomach and delivered a sharp kick, sending the boy staggering backwards until he hit the wall of the small room and slumped to the floor. He glanced down at the hole that had been punched through his Peon armour out of a sense of morbid curiosity, idly wondering why he wasn't in excruiating pain. Apparently you didn't feel any pain in the moment just before death. The thought passed through his head without invitation, and he wasn't sure whether it was supposed to be reassuring or unnerving. He decided on the latter.

During the half-a-second it took for these thoughts to come and go, the Scyther was upon him again, this time with its blade pressed up against his chin. Through the cracks in his visor - Herbert hadn't noticed the cracks until now, but assumed that the visor must've been broken at some point during the brief fight - he could see the Scyther glaring at him with leery black eyes, devoid of any form of pity.

"<You die here, worm,>" it said, and even though the sentence was nothing more than a low hiss to Herbert its meaning was quite clear. He closed his eyes and waited for the Scyther's claw to deliver the final blow - and was instead greeted with the sound of something being thrown across the room by a burst of energy, the sharp blade pressing against his chin suddenly gone. Putting two and two together with surprising speed considering his loss of blood, he opened his eyes again and looked over to see Kirk emerging from the entry corridor, already charging another Aura Sphere.

"<Speak for yourself, bug-brain,>" he growled, only briefly glancing over at Herbert before returning his gaze to the Scyther. The Aura Sphere had done little more than distract it - a distraction that Herbert was immensely grateful for, however - and already it was darting towards Kirk with claws bared. Kirk shifted sideways, launching a Stone Edge at the Scyther, but it easily avoided the attack and was upon Kirk in seconds.

Kirk's futile attempts to wrestle the Scyther off of him lasted for all of about ten seconds. The Scyther was far too quick for him to oppose, his every strike failing to connect whilst he was worn down by the sheer unbridled ferocity of the attacks he received in return. He tried to dart to the side with an ExtremeSpeed, hoping to get out of range of the Scyther's claws, but was caught by a dark claw to the jaw in the process and knocked to the floor. The Scyther had him pinned before he could even regain his bearings.

"<Pathetic. Nothing more than a token effort to save a being far weaker and frailer than yourself,>" it snarled, as Kirk struggled vainly against the blade held to his throat. "<Death would almost be a favour for creature such as->"

The Scyther was then rather suddenly cut off mid-gloat due to being engulfed by a Luxury Ball. It landed on the ground and shook angrily a couple of times, almost as if enraged that it had allowed itself to be caught off-guard in such an embarrassing manner, before sealing shut with a quiet click. Herbert staggered over and picked it up with his free hand, the other still clutched across his stomach and slowly being stained a brilliant shade of red.

"Phew, that was a close one. Thanks for the help there, Kirk," he said, pale but still evidently in possession of most of his faculties as he clipped the ball to his belt. "Arceus only knows what would've happened if you hadn't been around..."

"<Would've been nice if you'd thrown that Luxury Ball a few seconds earlier. Besides, I could've taken him if he hadn't caught me off-guard,>" Kirk grunted, though his expression took on a tone of concern when he noticed the severity of Herbert's wound. "<Are you alright? Looks like that Scyther managed to->"

"Lucius!"

The sharp yell interrupted Kirk and drew the pair's attention to the source of the noise - a Cipher Peon stepping through the door. Kirk growled as Herbert's hand immediately went to his Pokeballs, but he relaxed after noticing a mane of red hair poking out from the back of the Peon's helmet.

"Kirk, stand down. It's Alice," he said, weakly waving at her as she approached.

"Indeed it is. Apologies for any delays, but I encountered some difficulties whilst making my way over here and was forced to - dear Arceus, what happened to you?" Her calm monotone wavered slightly as she saw the blood on Herbert's otherwise stainless armour.

"Oh, that? I had some trouble with a Scyther that had one of those weird auras around it. Nothing to worry about. Now let's get back to finding-"

"It is something to worry about, Lucius! You're bleeding all over the place, you need medical attention urgently."

"Okay, sure, I could use some patching up, but it's just a flesh wound," he said, holding up his hands in an attempt to illustrate the fact. Alice's reaction was hidden behind her helmet, but her frown as she examined it clearly indicated that she didn't share his opinion.

"Lucius, you are almost certainly suffering from delirium brought on by blood loss. I can help by applying basic first aid, but we need to get you help immediately. Lie down for a moment," she insisted. Herbert opened his mouth to object, but before he could start to form a sentence his legs had given way of their own accord. Alice's helmet bobbed into his field of vision, mouthing words that his brain refused to process as he closed his eyes and let the world around him fade away.

The last thing to pass through his mind before he slipped into unconsciousness was that it'd be an awful shame to die single.