Pokémon TMR: Buried Secrets (book 2)

Prologue: An Early Christmas Present

I stared at the Motostoke factories spew out black smoke, filling the air with it. I looked down at the people holding umbrellas, all in dirty clothing as they either went towards the factories or away. A light rain pounded down onto the dirty, rat filled streets. I looked directly below where the entrance to our apartment was. My brother, Ryan was saluting an officer while in his uniform. The officer nodded, said something that was lost to the noise of Motostoke and climbed into a horse-drawn carriage. The horses whinnied and clipped-clopped down the cobblestone street and out of sight.

Ryan seemed to release some tension in his shoulders, taking off his hat. He looked up and gave me a smile. I stepped back from the window and shut it, the noise outside somewhat muffled. This moment reminded me of that day many years ago, when Dad died. When Ryan was first getting deployed. He was only supposed to be gone for a year, but things with Kalos escalated and he ended up having to stay for two. He had returned alive and was on break. But he's been deployed to many different areas already many times, so at this point I felt almost indifferent about it happening again.

I tried to distract myself by sitting down on my desk, pulling my notes from the drawer. I spread them out, grabbing the world map. It was one the latest editions, including a couple more colonies over in the New World. I had compared this to old maps, but whenever I had spotted something amiss, it was always because of map errors.

"I will find it," I muttered. "I will find the region in your stories, Dad."

A knock and Ryan poked his shaved head into the room. "Still at it?"

I nodded. "I won't stop."

He gave a slight smile. "I gave up trying to stop you a long time ago. But, get out more."

"I do," I said. "To buy more maps."

He sighed. "I mean just get out to do stuff other than this. Hang out with friends or something. I don't mind if you continue doing this, but I would feel a little better if you did more than just that."

"Maybe," I said. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning," he said.

"That stunt you pulled off didn't make them reconsider?"

Ryan scowled. "What's wrong with having a couple a drinks?"

"Nothing, I guess," I said, piling a couple papers together. "But I was hoping they wouldn't deploy you for it. You and your friends were pretty drunk. Certainly showed the people of Galar we have reliable soldiers."

Ryan sighed again. "You don't want me to go that badly, huh?"

I didn't answer, just brought out a fresh paper and took the pen from the ink bottle.

"Look," Ryan came over, the floorboards creaking, and set his hand on my shoulder and his Wooper leaped onto my desk. "This will be the last time, I promise. The war with Kalos should be over soon."

He stopped, then rummaged in his pockets. "Since I'll be away for Christmas, I thought I would give you your present early."

I stopped with the pen hovering over the paper, a drop of ink staining the paper. Wooper rubbed his head against me and I smiled slightly as I rubbed him.

"That got your attention," Ryan chuckled and brought out a cracked stone. "I found this over in Kalos one time. I know you enjoy rocks and such, so I got you this."

He dropped it in my hand and I studied it. Stripes of jade green and white adorned the smooth outside, while the other half must've been broken off of something, the pieces hard and jagged. The entire thing was about the size of a small marble.

"Thanks," I said softly.

"Hey," Ryan ruffled my hair. "No need to thank me. I am leaving after all. It's the least I can do."

He got up and turned towards the door, stopping with his hand on the knob. "Hey, I will be back, just like always."

"I know," I said, not looking at him.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but whatever he said was muted. Everything began mixing together as the scene faded away.

...

I groaned, feeling a sense of weightlessness. Something was tied tightly around my legs, binding them together. I was experiencing a slight rocking motion, akin to that of being on a ship out at sea.

"The stone," I muttered, trying to remember Ryan's voice. "I... I brought it along... didn't I? Then... did I lose it... in the storm?"

I slowly opened my eyes, trying to remember where I was. I could remember, leaving Galar, getting caught up in that storm, and...

My eyes shot open and my head jerked, causing me to grimace in pain. I glanced up to see vines wrapped tightly around my legs which led all the way up into a tall tree. Around were many other trees, each one lush and beautiful. I was suspended about ten feet off the ground and below were roots and a mossy forest floor, which included some sort of moss that grew over and around things.

I lifted my arms, which felt very sore, and grasped my head, trying to fight the headache coming on. I remembered arriving on the island, watching my brother shoot himself, the Jungle Tribe, the Hive, and...

"Luna," I said aloud, startling myself. "Xera!"

I felt myself swing slightly as my head darted around, looking. Just five feet away, hanging like me, was Luna, still unconscious.

"Unconscious," I thought. "Not asleep? Why would that word be my first thought..."

A sense of dread filled me as my mind reconnected the pieces. I looked back down at the strange curved moss along the forest floor. I watched as it lifted up and down, breathing. I felt something above me, sliding down my legs. I moved my eyes to look up and I stared directly into the face of a giant Serperior. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!!! I HOPE YOU ARE ALL HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME TODAY!!!

And Pokemon TMR is back!!! I hope you all missed it, because I got one heck of a story to tell. This story will be lacking a cover for the time being, so just be patient. Since you're here from the first book, I can assume you enjoyed it. So, prepare yourselves. That was only the intro into this Mysterious Region. Things are going to pick up with new places to explore, new people, new mysteries, and new threats. Liam, Luna, Xera, and all their Pokemon are back in this thrilling sequel; Pokemon TMR: Buried Secrets. I hope you all can enjoy this ride with me. Also, side note, the I'm thinking of having the schedule be every three weeks I'll post a chapter, at least when my Christmas Break is over and School starts up again. The reason being is that I want to progress LDOC as much as possible, since there's 80+ chapters planned. Since this story will only be 30 chapters total like the last one, I figured an every three week schedule sounds appropriate. Thanks to those coming back to read this. Toodles