Shadows of Aura Chapter 4

Pokémon Shadows of Aura
Chapter 4: Changes

A flash of light filled the room as lightning struck the ground. Followed by this light was a loud thunderous boom causing Irvine to jump a little at his desk."Arceus! Could this storm be any more loud? I'm about to have a damned heart attack!" he joked to himself. Irvine sat at his desk in the university, rubbing his forehead feeling very tired. On his desk he had a piano finished clock, a bottle of scotch along with glasses. He also had a humidor of his treasured cigars. However, laid in front of him was an old book. The book appeared to be quite old, dating back to the mid 19th century. The book was titled, "Legends of Almia." Irvine had the book opened to the section of Dalius and the Orb of Almia. He sighed to himself before saying, "I have been trying for the past few hours to try and figure out what was so special about this orb. However, I've only been hitting dead ends! This is hopeless!" He roared before pounding his fist onto the desk. Irvine took a few deep breaths before pouring himself a cup of scotch. He was about to take a sip until he heard the door to his office being knocked on. Irvine looked up at the door and called out, "Not now I'm busy! Come back later!"

Irvine was about to pay his attention back to drinking his scotch when door was knocked on again. This time however, it was much harder and louder as if someone was pounding on the door. Irvine shot up from his chair and strutted over to the door. "For God's sake I said, "Come back tomorrow!"" Irvine grabbed the knob to the door and was about to open it until it was burst open. Irvine flew back into his desk as a shadow appeared in front of him. Irvine looked back up and saw that the shadow was approaching him slowly. "No wait! What are you doing!?" Irvine cried out. The shadow clamped on Irvine and it started to consume him. "No..... No! NNNNOOO!!!!" He screeched before the shadow had completely consumed his body.
  
--The Next Morning--

Henry shot up from the floor gasping for air. He looked around, finding that he was his room, panting heavily. He shut his eyes letting out a heavy sigh of relief. "It was all just a bad dream….." he said sounding very exasperated while rubbing his head. "Thank God!" Henry got onto his feet and opened his eyes. He made way over to the bathroom, feeling the need for a hot shower. He arrived in the bathroom, wishing to look at the mirror, to see whether or not he needed to shave. He looked into the mirror and what he saw shocked him. His head was covered in blue fur followed by some black fur around his eyes and over his forehead, forming what looked like a mask. He had long pointy canine ears along with four teardrop dreads coming from the back of his head. "Wha-What the hell!?" he gasped. He bent over, grabbing the sink. He breathed heavily trying to take everything in. "I-I'm...." He looked back up at the mirror. "I'm a Lucario...." He continued to look at his new face, seeing that it was longer, forming a muzzle. His teeth were now sharper and longer. However, he noticed his eyes hadn't changed color. They remained sapphire blue. He looked downward, checking the rest of his body. He saw that his hands were covered in black fur and that his palms now had pink paw pads. He turned his hands over to see that he had spikes coming out of the back of each one. He looked at his arms seeing that they were covered in blue fur. He looked at his chest and saw that it was covered in vanilla colored fur with a spike coming out. He then looked at his legs which were now canine like covered in black fur. He turned around while continuing to eye the mirror. Once he back was in view, he could see that he had a blue tail. He yelped at the sight, causing him to accidently discharge an aura sphere. Henry's attack hit part of the bathroom wall, imbedding a large crater to appear in the wall. Henry yelped once more as he heard the loud crashing sound. "Oh my god...." he said as he examined the crater in the wall. "I-I can use aura sphere!!" he said with a little excitement in his voice.  

He then turned back around and paid his atention back to the mirror. He couldn't believe what was happening. He was now a Lucario, but how? "How did this happen?...." he questioned. Henry gasped as he came to the realization. "The orb!" Herny dashed into his room only to find the orb shattered into a thousand pieces. He got onto his knees in horror seeing that very thing they went out to desert for was now shattered. "No!!" he cried out. Henry clenched his paw into a fist. he got back up and sat on the bed. He gazed at his paws. "Dalius must've done this.....there's no other explanation! But why.....? Why would he turn me into a Lucario?" He bowed his head. "What's Jen going to think about this.....?" he said fearfully. He mind raced with thoughts of rejection. How'd she'd leave him for being a freak. Henry sat there hugging his knees until his ears perked up hearing the sound of the door being unlocked.

"Hello Henry I'm home!" called out a voice Henry had hoped not to hear.

"No....." he said softly. "She's back....." Henry began to tremble. "How am I going to face her looking like this!" he said to himself.

"Henry!?" called Jen a second time. "Henry, are you home?"

Henry felt himself begin to panic "What do I do!?" Henry let out a heavy sigh, trying to keep his wits about him. "I guess I'll have to show her. It's inevitable……" he said to himself. He took a deep breath before calling out with, "I'm here Jen!"

"Well come on out here you lazy bum!" she joked.

"I'll be out shortly dear; I think there's something you should see! Just give me a few minutes!" he replied.

"Ok dear!" she called before giggling.

Henry rested his head on his paw, taking in very deep breathes, his eyes bulged. "Oh god….." he muttered. "What am I going to tell her!?" Multiple scenarios played out in his head all of which end up her hating him. "What if she leaves me….."  He gripped the sheets on his bed with his other paw. Henry's head shot back up. "No! She loves me and we'd never leave each other!" Henry took his other paw off his head and formed a fist. "No matter what!" He stood back up. "Well here goes….." He sighed. His heart raced as he took his first heavy step toward the hallway. Once he entered the hall, he could see that Jen was in the kitchen grabbing herself a bottle of water. Luckily for him, her back was turned to him. He walked up to the kitchen counter as Jen finished drinking her water. Henry's heart raced, the moment was finally here. He lowered his head, with his eyes raised to her. "Jen…." called Henry faintly.

A warm smile played on Jen's lips. "Hello there hun." She said cheerfully. She turned around expecting to see the love of her life. Instead, she was greeted by the sight of a blue furry canine. She gasped clamping her hands over her mouth. Henry shut his eyes, and growled to himself. He scared her off.

"Oh my god Henry!" she squealed. "You look soooooo cute!!"

Henry's ears perked up. "Huh?"

"That costume is adorable!!" she squealed again while giving a cutesy face. Before Henry could even process what was going on, he was glomped on by Jen. She began to nuzzle on his soft chest fur. "Oh Henry.....the fur is sooo soft!" she purred holding him tight.

Much her surprise, Henry pulled her off. He stared at Jen, deep into her eyes. He knew what he was about to say would most likely scare her off. He took a deep breath before saying, "Jen....this is not a costume...."  

Jen cocked her head to the side. "Huh? What do you mean hun?"

Henry began to tremble. "Jen....I.....I don't know how to put this in an easy fashion......So I'm just gonna say it bluntly......" Henry took a deep breath, knowing that this next sentence will probably be his bane. "I-I've been turned into a Lucario......"

A large smile grew on Jen's face as she burst into laughter. Henry just growled to himself. He just told the love of his life a horrible ordeal he's going through, and she's laughing at him? "Oh my god! Ha ha! That's a good one....." she said while tearing up. "You nearly killed me!"

Henry gritted his teeth before barking with, "I'M BEING SERIOUS JEN!!!"

Jen jumped a little from his bark. She looked at him with a distressed face. "Wha-what?" she murmured. She bowed her head to him and began to sniffle.

Henry sighed to himself feeling guilty about yelling at her. "I know you're confused Jen." He placed his paw on her cheek. Jen looked back up at him and gripped his paw. "But allow me to explain...." Henry took a deep breath before starting with, "During the expedition with Irvine.....we found a cave. After making our way through the cave, part of it collapsed leaving Irvine and I separated. I told Irvine I'd press on and so I did. After traveling down the cave a little more, I found this underground temple." A large grin spread across his face. "Oh how you should've seen it Jen. It was amazing! You would've loved it." he said admirably.  "I then walked into the temple and there, I found this orb. It was beautiful as you can imagine. It had the perfect surface and shape with very majestic shades of blue. Shortly after I found the orb, I was rescued from the cave. Irvine and I spent a day in the hospital then we made our way back home. On our ferry Irvine explained to me that he wanted me to take the orb back here and hide it."

Jen tilted her head to the side. "But why?" she inquired. "Why would he want you to hide it?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "Apparently Irvine lied to me about this being HIS expedition. It turned out he was hired for this by a man named Giovanni. He didn't want this man to take the orb for himself and auction it off. He figured it belonged to a museum. So I agreed to help him. I grabbed the orb, stuffed it into my suitcase and then left when the ship docked. After you left, I took the orb out and was about to stuff it in my drawer when it suddenly started change. It changed from the gorgeous, calming blue color to a fear striking black color. It shattered in my hand and then I was engulfed by this......this........shadow......" stuttered Henry beginning to tremble.

"A Shadow?........."

Henry nodded. "Yes, and when I came to, I found out that I've been turned into a Lucario." Henry looked away from her gaze. He didn't want to tell her about that horrid dream that plagued his mind.

By this point Jen tears started to flow out of her eyes her breathing becoming shaky. She looked up at him and much to Henry's surprise, she threw her arms around him. "Oh Henry! I'm so sorry this has happened to you!" she said sobbing into his fur.
Henry wrapped his arms around her holding her close. Tears streamed down his cheeks landing on her shoulders. "Jen.....I've never been so scared in my life. I-I was scared on how you'd react."

"Henry, it's ok...." she said rubbing his back. "I'll be fine." She moved back to the point where she could look at him but still held onto him. "But why.....?"

Henry ears perked up as he cocked his head to the side. "Huh? What do you mean?" he inquired, confused about her question.

Jen bowed her head to him as she continued crying. "Why did you go with Irvine? Why couldn't you have stayed here!?" whined Jen while her voice broke.

"I had the chance to find Dalius' tomb. There was no way I could miss it!" he exclaimed. Henry let out a heavy sigh. "I just.....I just had no idea that something like this would happen,"

"Well it wouldn't have if you had stayed!!" barked Jen.

Henry barred his teeth. "YOU THINK I WANT THIS!!!?" he roared feeling hurt by Jen's comment. Without even realizing it, Henry accidently discharged an aura sphere. His attack hit Jen in the gut and sent her flying to the other end of the room. She hit wall and landed with a hard thud. Henry gasped as he realized what he had done. "Oh my God Jen!" He ran up to her and checked her over. She was still conscious but was trembling from fear.  "What have I done!? Jen are you alright!?"

"You.....you hit me!!" she blurted out.

"Jen....I'm so sorry!!" pleaded Henry. "It-It was an accident! I-I can't control my abilities!!" He offered her his paw. "Here, let me help you up." he said softly in an attempt to reduce the tension.

She looked at his paw then furiously shoved it away. "Get away from me!!" she barked. Henry slowly back off feeling very sick to his stomach. Jen glared at Henry with the flames of Hell itself burning in her eyes. "Get out..." she bellowed.

Henry felt a sharp pain stab his heart. His ears dropped. "Wha-What.....?" he whimpered as tears started to form in his eyes.

Jen gritted her teeth before she let out the sentence that utterly crushed the man she once loved. "I SAID GET OUT!!!! I DONT' WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!!!!"

Henry felt his heart shatter into a thousand pieces. His breathing becoming deep but shaky. "Jen....." he cried. "If you want me to go.......then I'll leave........" He walked over to the door as tears flowed down his cheeks. He felt as if the world had no meaning by this point. He felt like someone had taken a knife and stabbed him in the heart. Once he reached the doorway he pulled the door open. He looked back over at Jen with look of complete despair. She still glared at him, looking as if though she wished to kill him. "Jen....I'm truly sorry. I love you......" he said sincerely before walking out the door. Once Henry stepped outside, he jumped as he heard the door being slammed behind him. He also heard the "click" of the door being locked.

Henry growled to himself as a purple flame engulfed his hand. However he paid no mind to it as his emotions ran with noting but rage and sorrow. Hot tears rolled down his face as he ran down the streets. Within a few minutes he found a line of trees that lead to a nearby forest. He ran past the line of tress and without even thinking, he leapt to a high branch of one of the trees. He continued leaping from branch to branch not even caring that he could do this amazing feet. He reached the end of the tree line and jumped down. His paws landed firmly in the ground and he landed perfectly. Henry may have reached the tree line, but he was still in a secluded part of the forest. He fell onto knees and raised his head. "WHY!!!!?" he howled. "IT'S NOT FAIR!!!" By this point all Henry could feel was an inhumane rage. "She's wrong! She's just a selfish little brat!!" The flame on his paw grew even bigger. Henry let out a dark chuckle. "I'll show her!!"

Henry was about to go back to the house when suddenly, images from his nightmare started to play in his mind. The horrible nightmare of him seeing Jen being murdered by that Lucario. Henry gripped his head as the horrible images plagued his mind. At first he had no idea why these images were being shown to him. He then began to think long and hard about it. Henry then felt his hear skip several beats as he came to the realization. The Lucario in the dream was him! He was the one who killed Jen! It was a warning of what would happen if he went back allowing his rage to consume him! Henry hugged himself as he began to tremble. "I-I can't go back!" he cried. "I....I can't......Jen would die if I do......."

Henry feeling defeated laid on the grass, face first and wept bitterly. He gripped the blades of grass with his paw. "I'm sorry Jen......." He sobbed. "I'm so sorry........"