Pokémon: Chaos and Command

Chapter 23: Ruins of Fear

Everyone had a small lump of anticipation and anxiety lodged within their throats, gazing into a bottomless mouth of the entrance to the ruins. An ominous and malevolent air spewed out of the cave opening whilst leaving no hints as to what may lurk within, par one exception where ignorance would have been bliss: Ureb. They weren't going to back now, but some of the energy that went towards their ambitions had waned, this was nothing like Serenity by proxy. Any preparations they may have wanted to make were already accounted for, all they needed to do was set foot into the unknown. Thankfully, they had a guide with them, who took the lead. Draak, Cherri, Jazmine and Abaeze all ventured into the darkness.

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The small ember of a lantern light suddenly ignited in flame as more of the area became visible. The cave was deceptively large, despite the feeling of confinement that came from the thick air rather than its size. Strange markings bloodied the ground and walls with bizarre purple swirls and unknown symbols. The frequency and density began to increase and swell in a certain direction, though the group were heading in a different direction. It was too dark to discern what could be there, but they could hazard a guess.

The silence was almost deafening, besides the sounds of their own footsteps and breaths it was completely quiet. It felt like there was no life, or even as though time came to a halt in this cavern. The growing unease was eventually subsided as Draak stopped before a wall. He hung the lamp on an erection in the wall as the wall was illuminated to reveal what appeared to be some kind of mural. It depicted 5 beasts, 4 smaller Pokémon seemingly spearheaded by a singular. One of them had a passing familiarity, it looked almost elephantine. Cherri quickly realised what this was.

"Is that Elabnakof? Are these...all the Pokémon from the ruins?"

Draak confirmed his suspicions.

"Yes. The Peacekeeper Pokémon, The Fearmongering Pokémon, The Gatekeeper Pokémon and The Warmongering Pokémon. The Guardian Elders of Ijowa. They shaped the region, allowing it to prosper and deter would be intruders in the past. They were lead by a singular Legendary Pokémon: Emporror, the Commander."

Abaeze looked on at the mural as he gazed on upon the visage of these ancient Pokémon (Jaz slightly disturbing the mood by taking a picture with her phone). Though perhaps unsurprisingly, he had many questions.

"They helped the region prosper? How come I never knew about this? My school maybe wasn't the best funded but this seems like something too important to ignore."

"Because they're trying to make everyone forget."

"Hm? "They"? Do you mean...?"

Draak simply gave a somewhat grim nod.

"I don't need to talk about how strong these Pokémon are. Omi probably told you all when you encountered Elabnakof but they were sealed away such that their power can't be abused, nor can they accidentally harm the citizens of this region. But that wasn't the only reason."

"Well technically I was never there so-"

"Jaz let him finish."

Jaz rolled her eyes as Abaeze tried to get her to just listen to Draak's words as he continued.

"The Royal Family of the past found them impossible to control for their own agenda, so they had them sealed away and left certain figures to ensure they don't escape. I-I guess you could call them guardians for the guardians-

E-Either way, once battling became commercialised the guardians were also Gym Leaders."

They all looked at Draak, the answer so clear it needn't even be questioned.