Of Fears and Courage - A Serpent's Tale

[Requiem of Whyspers]

"Mikael Morpheus Stone! Will. You. Get. Up!" Inga Stone yelled, ripping the blankets from over her son't head.

"Uuungh...." Mikael groaned, darkened eyes opening a fraction of the way as he looked around. "Is the dark gone?" He questioned, eyeing the Cleanse Tags plastered in the corners of the room. At least they had held and kept the Ghosts away throughout the night.

"I just don't understand you, child." Inga replied, her tail twitching in irritation. "Mikael, you are twelve years old now. You should not be afraid of the dark, still." She stated, rapidly folding the boy's blanket with a grace one might never expect from her.

"Of course not, momma. You never understand." Mikael replied with a wide yawn, sitting up in bed and beginning to remove his pajamas, beginning with his shirt, which he fought over his diminutive wings with little difficulty. Tossing the shirt into his hamper, he kicked off his pants, flicking them in afterwards with a quick motion of his tail. Running down the hall outside his room, he could hear his mother yelling.

"How many times must I tell you not to run through the house in your underpants, Mikael?!" Inga could only shake her head and sigh at this point, hearing her child grab a towel from the hall closet as he darted into the restroom crying out ' four-hundred-million, nine-hundred-thousand and two!". It was a few minutes later while Inga was gathering up her son's dirty clothes that she heard it. A blood curdling scream from the bathroom.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Thinking Mikael had fallen and hurt himself fairly badly, the elder hybrid bolted to the door of the bathroom, throwing it open to find her naked son cowering in the corner, a Spinarak dangling from a thin thread. Sliding open the window near the ceiling, her tail began to glow with silver light as she flicked the spider up and out of the room with an Iron Tail. "Thanks momma." Mikael muttered quickly, grabbing his towel.

"Always so fearful." Inga lamented, leaving the bathroom as Mikael began to dry off, returning to his room a while later. It wasn't until the glowing red eyes of the spiky shadow on he wall caught his eye that he freaked out. Seeing the shape on his wall, he packed some clothing and when he mother wasn't looking, he raided the kitchen.

"I've had it with this place. Momma never listens and daddy is always busy working..." The fearful Dunsparce hybrid said to himself. He waited patiently, going about his chores as best he could until Inga wasn't watching and then he darted out the front door. "I'm sorry...." He whispered, dropping his PokeGear on the ground near route 37.  

[Reno Vantas]

Somewhere near Ecruteak, a bright pink flash would illuminate the road as a being phased into existence. Mikael would be able to see the flash on the road in front of him, with the light eventually dying down to reveal a person now laying across the road. And while the shock of red hair on his head and the suit he wore would be standouts on their own, the piece of machinery that appeared to be in the same place where his left arm would normally be would likely gather the most attention. What the hell had caused this to happen?  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

"By the sacred fire!" Mikael exclaimed, falling backwards at the bright pink flash, startled out of his sudden depression by the person who had simply begun to exist before his eyes. Had that been a case of Teleportation? Looking all around, he couldn't find any sign of a Pokemon capable of the attack.

"Are you....a creature gift life by the Sacred Fire?" He asked quietly, more to himself than to the red-haired humanoid with the mechanized arm. As he drew closer, his tail twitched anxiously, a sign of his mounting fear. Could this be a ghost? His wings began to flex instinctively, preparing for a quick escape. Drawing just close enough to poke the figure with a stick laying nearby, he poked the man hard enough to get his attention if he weren't unconscious. Would it pass through or make contact?

Feeling the stick come to a stop upon meeting flesh, he sighed in relief. It was a living, breathing thing for now. Fears alleviated somewhat, the young hybrid walked closer. "Are you alive or dead?" He asked, his voice weak still. Just because he was trying to run away didn't mean he could leave someone in need to die in the streets, especially in the city of Ghosts.  

[Reno Vantas]

It would take a few moments after the stick poking for Reno to slowly fade back into consciousness, quietly taking stock of the situation as senses slowly began to struggle to the surface. What he was faced with was himself, laying across a road near a town with a strange hybrid staring down at him in fear. It would take a minute before the new location implications fully sank in. That Darmanitan offshoot had taken his body for a joyride.

Jolting up from his position sprawled across the road, he began to quickly and out loud catalog himself. "Okay, two legs, check. One head, check. Two arms...Oh god, what happened to my arm!?! Oh. Wait, right. I did that to my arm. So check."

Turning to where he remembered the hybrid was, he raised his robotic arm before announcing, "Sorry to be acting so weird, but please make sure after what happens next I survive." And with that, Reno returned to blissful unconsciousness. Well, that was interesting.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

If anything, the strange partially mechanical man's even stranger behavior only proved to frighten Mikael even more. "U-u-um..." He stammered out, trying to think. He was at least human enough to be capable of human speech., that much was certain to the boy. But after that outburst? Could he be trusted? Was he sane?

"I dunno what I should do...." He groaned, trying to make a decision. "I'm not staying here, though." Verbalizing the thought helped him to cement his decision to leave. He only hoped he could get far enough away before his mother noticed he was gone.

Deciding that, since this strange man had decided he should be trusted with his safety that he should at least try, he hauled Reno's lifeless form over his shoulder and began to walk. Very, very, very slowly. How far could a twelve year old get with a grown man's dead weight thrown over his shoulder, after all?  

[Reno Vantas]

Approximately one kilometer down the road, Reno would begin to stir into consciousness again as the movement and mild amount of light finally irritated his brain enough to tell him to wake up. Slowly opening his eyes, the Co-Leader of Snagem realized that they were a large distance down the road from where he had landed. Amazing that the kid had hauled him this far, especially given how scared he had looked when Reno had been able to see the kid. Popping off of Mikael's shoulders and landing on his feet, he finally spoke again. "Okay kid, did not expect you to carry me off. Where are you going? I might as well come along, my day job needs to be on hold while my....lets call it sudden sleeping, sorts itself out." Reno said, looking over the young hybrid. Well, he seemed to be around the same age as Leslie. At least, if hybrids kept to a human lifespan. Either way, he thought he might have a handle on what the kid might be feeling.

Knowing his luck, he was going to be completely wrong.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Mikael stumbled slightly when Reno stirred, his weight vanishing all at once. He trembled slightly as he faced Reno, though he appeared to be less afraid now that they were outside the city of Ecruteak. "I-I-I...." He stopped himself immediately, realizing he was stuttering. "I'm not exactly sure..." He admitted with a small sigh, the rise and fall of his shoulders making his wings shift subtly.

The boy's tail flicked about as he thought for a moment. "I'm thinking of going to Violet City for now and I'll figure out somewhere else to go after that." He said. He had an idea where he could go there.

"Um......Who are you?" He asked a moment after verbalizing his only-just-now-decided destination.  

[Reno Vantas]

Moving his eyes around as he let his thoughts roll around inside his head, Reno would eventually raise an eyebrow before giving a small nod. "Good plan. Let's see what that leads to." Reno absentmindedly mused, staring down the path in front of them as the boy questioned his identity.

"My name is Reno Vantas. Wayward vagabond and native to this interesting land." He said, thumbing his nose as he finished his introduction. "Now then, your turn. Make a good introduction. Let me know who you are and wow me with it."  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

"Um....Ok." Mikael agreed.

"My name is Mikael Morpheus Stone and I'm a professional Digger!" He exclaimed proudly, though the pride was quickly replaced by anxiety. "Or...at least I will be someday, I hope." It should be noted by now that his self esteem was not exactly aided by his very obvious fears.

"Piiiiieeeeee!" The Caterpie that had just crawled up near him would wish it had gone the other way when it saw him. Hearing the tiny insect's voice, Mikael's body tensed visibly, the boy looking down in jerky movements. When he saw the little green caterpillar, he screamed, terrified, and snapped his tail towards it without a single thought, sending the poor Bug-type careening through the air towards the trees. It would take several moments of near-hyperventilation before Mikael would come back to his senses, though.  

[Reno Vantas]

Simply standing there and watching as the kid attempted his entrance, Reno felt himself growing a little critical of the kid. What had brought him to this one, when he could barely stand upright without doubting his ability to do so. He didn't want to write someone off like this so quickly, but Mikael did not seem to have any spark or potential like Reno had thought he had seen earlier.

When he saw that Dunsparce hybrid snap his tail at the Caterpie and send the Bug type soaring through the air over the trees, Reno felt himself grow a little smile. Sure, the kid may have his fears, but it seemed he still had something to back himself up. "Y'know what? I'll do it." He spoke aloud to himself.

Walking over to where he saw Mikael hyperventilating, Reno softly placed his right hand on the boy's shoulder. "Now then. That intro highlights what exactly your issues are. You have no confidence in yourself and you let your fears control you. But that tail smack tells me that even if you are running off autopilot, you might have some instincts telling you to fight rather than simply flee." Backing up a step to allow Mikael better sight of himself, Reno let himself continue. "So, I think I'll train ya. And if you agree, you promise to show me some respect and listen to what I say. So, do you care to continue or are you taking the blue pill and we just continue on our way till we reach Violet City and you get settled?"  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Mikael slowly managed to get his breathing back under control. When Reno spoke, he flinched slightly, not realizing it was just the readhead beginning to speak. "I promise I'm not always scared!" He attempted to assure the crimson haired psychic of his worth. But Reno might be right. His self confidence was subpar at best and entirely absent at worst.

"I do want to be strong.." He mused. "But...I'm not sure about letting someone I just met train me in anything...." He wasn't saying no. He just wasn't saying yes yet.  

[Reno Vantas]

Staring at the small hybrid for a moment, Reno quietly opened one of his Pokeballs and looked down at the Wynaut. "You don't know me? Well, time for a crash course." Reno muttered cryptically, unable to feel his usual sensory enhancement that usually came with his partner Pokemon being out. But he still had access to the one thing he needed to succeed with his plan to enlighten the kid. Connecting mentally with Mikael, Reno began to send his memories across the link to show exactly what he had done, the type of person he was, and the weirdness of his old accent. At the same time, he was searching through the hybrid's mind to get a handle on what sort of person Mikael was so that he might adapt the training methods to be reasonable for the Dunsparce hybrid.

After a few moments, Reno figured he had done enough to inform the boy about everything he was questioning. Severing the link, he asked, "There. We have now known each other fer, I mean for, at least a few months worth of memory. Now then, do you want the training after seeing what I do or are we just going to be travel buddies?"  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Mikael started to speak again when his mind was assailed by image after image from Reno's past. When it was over, he looked up at the man, wide eyed. "Did you do that?" He asked, his mind awash with possibilities for the future now. Could he possibly learn to do something even remotely close to that?

"I....I want to get strong! I have to be if I'm ever going to be like my daddy." He decided then and there, putting on a brave face as best he could. By now, night was beginning to fall and in spite of his brave face, Mikael was very visibly frightened, shivering slightly as he glanced around rapidly, as if something were going to jump out at him at any moment in an attempt to swallow him up like a ripe fruit. "C-c-can we go now?!" He'd ask after a moment.  

[Reno Vantas]

Reno smiled at the little kid and his reaction to the notably insane actions that he himself had committed throughout his career, he was quick to answer, "Yes. I do not know what you are asking about what I did, but I know that I did it. Wait, did I include any of my weird mental realm stuff in that memory montage? Those I would not consider close to reality." He wasn't going to supply the image of him dueling his clone across a giant Bronzor as total reality.

Watching as the smaller kid began to slowly panic with the ever-growing darkness, Reno opened another Pokeball before holding its occupant in the air by its leg. "By the power of electricity!" He called out, watching as the Elekid in his hand began to brighten up and glow with a bright light that illuminated the area. "Now we can go. You wanna hold Sparks? He won't bite. If he does, I kick him." He offered, extending the normal hand that was holding Sparks towards Mikael.

Slowly walking in the direction that the Dunsparce hybrid had previously been going, Reno decided he might as well lay the ground rules for this training. "Okay, if you want to learn any of this, you are going to need to agree to a few things." Glancing around the forest they were in, Reno found himself almost paranoid that things were going to change for no reason. Regardless, he focused on his speech. "One, you do what I say you do with no question. I've learned some of my best tricks and ideas from doing the stupidest sounding things." Quickly tapping on his leg, he felt Harleen crawl up his back and start looking around the area from his shoulder. "Two, you are going to face your fears when we do this. I don't expect you to leave this training without fear of anything. That is unreasonable and even worse than being too fearful." He felt a flash of memory cross his mind, the intense panic and adrenaline he felt after that incident just after his last bout of training. "Sorry I keep pausing. You never stop learning. I'm just making sure I remember everything I'm saying. Three, and this is the most outlandish part, so listen up."

Leaning in close to Mikael, Reno glanced around again at the forest to make sure things were still the same. Why was he so focused on that? Either way, he whispered to Mikael, "I need you to respect me. And respect means like maybe a nickname or a title. Something to call me that helps keep the teacher-student paradigm together and prevent a friendship from interfering with that. So you would use the respect name when you wanted knowledge or training, and my actual name when you just wanted to pal around or something not involving your training. Yes, this is all a mite confusing, but do you agree to all of it?"