THE THIRD FACTION PART: 3

Chapter Thirteen:

Calm Before The Storm

The following day wasn't like any other. Holland stared at the creature locked within the cage in front of him. Sets of metal bars with an unnatural green light were the only things that separated him and the beasts.

"Bladedsnatch…" Holland's words faltered. In front of him, the familiar metal creature growled but made no move to attack. Holland's fingers clutched the side of his wheelchair as he remembered who these creatures really were.

"The refugees." Collin started beside him. The two were silent amongst the bustle of people around them. One of the refugees to the far off side stared longingly at a specific beast within the group. "They're people affected by the transformation. Either they lost their home or their loved ones were one of them."

"Why isn't the council doing anything about this?" That question caused the man beside him to pause. There was a glint to his eyes, a sparkle that lacked the joy Holland would expect.

"It's more complicated than that."

Before Holland could ask any further, the hustle and bustle of the world brought them back from their conversation. Seeing the saddened look upon Collin's eyes, Holland tried to change the mood. His eyes then wandered to Poppy. The girl was sporting a frilly, purple dress adorned with jewels on its skirt. Her usual ponytail was now wrapped in a bun. The girl played with the other children while Deedee hovered over them in the form of a flabebe.

"Looks like the birthday girl's having fun…" Holland mentioned, gaining the attention of Collin. His eyes regained their bright light once his gaze landed on the girl.

"You're right…" Collin looked fondly at Poppy and then turned to Holland. "The girl was never supposed to be here. It was our mission to capture these rogue creatures, the girl sneaks aboard all because she wanted to experience her birthday with her uncle. Imagine our faces when she jumped out of a barrel in the middle of our meeting."

The air around them loosened its pressure. Holland found himself laughing even after all the troubles that plagued his mind. In the fit of their laughter, Holland would occasionally sneak a glance at his hands. He was far from home, without any powers to speak of. He never thought it would happen.

It was freeing.

Even then, Holland felt there was something lacking. Fortunately, the sight of the people within the encampment brought a sense of familiarity within him. To be in a place filled with people he at least felt safe with. Bel smiled fondly to his side, being the pokemon that took care of him when he was a child, she unhesitatingly voted to push him around.

This brought Holland to another thought. Bel had effectively healed almost all of his wounds, yet the Pokemon Champion still found himself trapped within this chair. Apparently, he lacked the necessary energy to walk.

"Holland!" The birthday girl called to him, with Deedee floating right beside her. She didn't give him any time to react before shoving a basket into his face. "Wanna pick flowers with me?"

The eyes filled with warmth and joy were enough to send a lilting sensation to Holland's chest. The champion smiled fondly and nodded.

Thus, the two found themselves atop a flowery method just a few ways away from the encampment. Flowers upon flowers were sprawled out in patches of different types in front of them, reaching just beyond the horizon where a line of trees marked its end. The wind rustled through Holland's hair and washed away the sweat of the afternoon sun. That, along with the nice scent of flowers really gave a new meaning to serenity.

To his back, Holland spotted the encampment. A circle of green tents surrounding each other, forming a massive circle. In the middle, all of the daily activities were held, including Poppy's birthday. The color of the tents allowed it to be perfectly hidden within the forest trees if anyone were to fly overhead. Holland squinted, and within the middle he could barely make out the dotted forms of Collin and Leader Oou.

"Holland look at this!" The girl showed him a crown of flowers with various different shapes and colors. "Me and my mom would always make it before she died."

Holland was stunned for a moment. Ironically, he was never really good with emotional stuff, despite being a psychic. It was something that really bothered him too. But as Holland looked at the saddened look of Poppy, a light of faint familiarity crossed itself across Holland's face.

"I lost someone dear to me too." Holland said, earning the attention of the girl in front of her. Deedee was floating gently to her side. On the other hand, Bel paused at Holland's words. "I used to think that we would be together forever. Grow old together, explore the world together, and even achieve our dreams together. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case…"

Holland looked at the girl. "And to tell you the truth, I've regretted it my entire life."

There was silence. All that permeated through the meadow was their slight breathing and the sound of the wind pushing through leaves. This moment felt like something out of a novel for Holland. A place of silence where the characters bond over loss. But even with the surreal feeling, something inside Holland told him to let go.

'Just. Let. Go.'

Within the silence, those words screamed like a banshee inside Holland's head. It grated every nerve in his body, sending a flash of indescribable pain. Soon, the familiar feeling of cuffs appeared on Holland's neck.

"N-no…no—aarrrrghh" Holland screamed. The dreadful silence was broken, followed by the fearful looks of those he was with.

"Auddiii!" Bel quickly moved, sending a Heal Pulse to his way. The wave sunk deep into his skin and pushed away the pain.

"T-thaks Bel." Holland said in between pants. His fingers clutched at the base of his neck, feeling the pain of cuffs retreating back.

"Holland…" The faint voice of Poppy entered his ears. The champion looked at her to find the girl's face glistening. "...are you rising?"

"Rising…" Holland repeated. He heard those words before, when he battled that woman. "I heard that before, the woman I was fighting said I was rising to…enlightenment?"

The girl's eyes widened by a significant margin. All of a sudden, she inched her face closer to where her breath grazed Holland's skin.

"Listen to me, Holland." Her voice sounded serious. Unlike the cheerful girl from before, this one looked grim. "Have you accessed your first spell?"

Holland was quiet for a moment. Spell. Wasn't that the words? Holland remembered that moment, a moment of perfect clarity where all became clear. That moment disappeared as quickly as it came, sinking back into the depths of his consciousness.

"Yeah…I think I have." Poppy's face turned frozen with a sense of resolve.

"Then we need to find Uncle Oou. If what I read was correct, then you must be dealing with the backlash of rising. That could explain why you're still stuck in the wheelchair and the abnormal shift in your mana." Poppy was now readying to go back, telling Bell and Deedee to prepare to head down hill quickly.

"Wait, how do you know all this?" Holland asked as he and Poppy were exiting the meadow.

"I've been studying the order of mana growth ever since I awakened a year ago."

"Awakened what?"

"My powers!"

The four then entered the line of trees that made up the boundary of the meadow. The afternoon sun was soon reduced to rays of light as the thicket of leaves blocked most of the star's shine.

"And what will exactly happen to me?"

Poppy looked at him, and this time it looked eerily similar to the face she made back at the meadow.

"You could lose your powers, forever!"

.....

"The order of mana growth dictates the levels at which mana reaches its full potential." Leader Oou stated. He stood firmly beside Holland. The latter laid flat atop a wooden table. It was just the two of them, hidden away in Oou's tent. "It's a good thing my niece discovered it and brought you to me quickly."

"But why?" Holland asked. He knew something was up, but he never heard of something like this from the other psychics.

"Very few people reach enlightenment, Holland. I am lucky to call myself one of them. Enlightenment is a process in which your mana releases its true potential. If incorrectly mitigated, then it can lead to dire consequences." Leader Oou placed a hand on Holland's chest. Releasing a nerve wracking pulse to Holland's chest. "Calm down, Mr. Holland. You need to be strong. Since you've accessed your first spell then that would mean a piece of your true potential was unlocked. This can lead your body to shut down due to the unfamiliar feeling of your power."

Holland closed his eyes and bit back his lip. He sure wished Bel was here, unfortunately for him, Oou wanted to conduct this privately. As the pulse from Oou reverberated through every bone in his body, Holland could feel a faint reaction. His eyes shot open at the familiar feeling.

"There it is…" Oou said, as he too felt the same reaction Holland did.

It was small, but it always did. What's different this time is that Holland had Oou to guide him. His power felt like an unseen hand that weaved through his power, meticulously untying and straightening the tangled up mess that was his power.

It took two hours as the sun neared the horizon. And those two hours were the most satisfying two hours of his life. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest. Within those hours, Holland slowly regained the feeling within his legs. And once it was done, he could wiggle his toes!

"And that's it." Oou said with a satisfied humph, he then called for Bel who eagerly entered holding his wheelchair. "Unfortunately, you still won't be able to walk. I'd probably give it two to three days."

Bel carefully lifted Holland and placed him in his wheelchair. The champion and his pokemon looked at the leader, who in turn, led them out.

"And about your powers. I seem to have sensed that they were blocked." Holland looked at him. Oou didn't need a reply. "Your powers have changed Holland with the acquisition of spells. It'll take time for your body to get used to it. So I suggest you start practicing."

Holland and Oou parted ways soon after. When the stars finally revealed themselves, the height of Poppy's birthday party commenced.

The birthday girl played with all the kids of the refugees. In a game where the objective was to throw a ball inside a cup, a long armed child managed to perfectly shoot it. From the side, Holland could hear murmurs from the knights saying he could be an archer. The kid in question seemed to have heard it as a wide smile plastered itself upon his face.

During the next couple of games, the scores were easily split. It was when the grown up games started that Holland began to doubt if this was a child's party anymore. It was reasonable since Holland found himself staring at two naked men with only a stained, white fabric hiding their private parts duking it out in a pool of mud. Though, Holland would admit it was a sight to see.

The next couple of games were not as flashy, but entertaining nonetheless. Suspiciously, Oou wasn't present during all of this. It wasn't just him that notice though, as Poppy began craning her neck beyond the crowd of party-goers. Holland began feeling the same familiar tingling bubbling up in his nose. It was unlike during Oou's when it outright choked, this was more ticklish rather.

It was when Collin announced the cutting of the cake that Oou finally made his appearance. Holland wanted to greet him when all of a sudden, a face of grim determination showed itself upon him. The man silently walked past the crowd and talked with Poppy. From where he stood, Holland could only make out the heart broken eyes of Poppy before she marched off. Oou wasn't looking any better as the lines on his face were more prominent tonight than ever.

"I'm sorry everyone, but the celebration must come to a close." His words silenced all the cheer, even Collin found himself frozen with the cake cutter in hand. "Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we are forced to pack up our encampment and head immediately to headquarters in the capital."

His words sent a series of murmurs across the crowd and even Collin found it suspicious. The man walked up to Leader Oou and whispered to him. The man whispered back and the disappointed look of Collin turned deathly serious. The man nodded at Oou and proceeded to face the crowd.

"I'm sorry everyone, but there is nothing we can do. Quickly pack up, we are leaving in 30 minutes." This sent the murmuring crowd into work mode as everyone started taking down all the decorations and disassembling the tent's foundation. "And remember, we mustn't leave a trace!"

Holland went up to Holland with Bel and Deedee in tow. The man greeted them with a tired look. His charming face now looked pale. Nevertheless, the man still forced a smile up on his face.

"What's the deal? Isn't it Poppy's birthday?"

"Yes, it is. But Oou got a call from the other faction heads. We need to get to the capital as fast as possible."

"Why?" Holland felt terrible for Poppy now. The face of a girl marching away with eyes that looked shattered was enough to make him wince. And he didn't even see it clearly!

"I don't know. All I know is that it's so important, Oou was ordered to arrive ahead of time."

"Wait, so he's gone!?"

"Yup. He just left. Turns out they need all three faction leaders tonight. Oou left after he talked to me so he would arrive at no later than midnight."

Holland didn't reply. He was deep in thought before telling Bel to try finding Poppy. The hearing pokemon tuned out the other sounds and managed to single out Poppy's heartbeat.

"Holland, if you're gonna talk with Poppy. Tell her we're sorry."

Holland nodded at Collin before leaving with Bel and Deedee. Passing by the hurrying people, Holland watched as every pot, pan, chair, and miscellaneous items were locked away in wooden crates. The once open tents were now reduced to a small hut of fabric. A man wearing a leather coat took down the party decor with the help of children beside him.

Right now, the massive circle of tents grew smaller and smaller. Bel continued to push through, and finally led them to the Bladedsnatch cages. Under the enchanted cages' viridescent glow, the group of beasts found themselves sleeping snuggly amongst each other. It was cute, if the deformation of innocent civilians without permission didn't bother him.

To the far off corner of the cage, Holland spotted the huddled form of Poppy, releasing soft whimpers every second. Her hands passed through the cage and we're petting the Bladedsnatch. Apparently, a ten foot blade didn't scare her.

"It's ok." Poppy said, as if knowing he'd ask. "They won't hurt me, they won't."

"Hey, I'm sorry about your party." Holland said, earning a silent response from the child. "I know you didn't just want to have any normal party."

"During my birthday, my parents would always host a party just for us. Now they're gone."

Holland wanted to comfort her further when the shout of Collins entered their ears.

"I guess we should go…" the same tingling sensation made its presence known. This time, however, it was stronger. Holland sniffed it and sent out a strong sneeze.

In his wheelchair, the pokemon champion watched in amazement as the massive encampment turned into a small row of reduced tents. Collin arrived at the front, and to Holland's further surprise, a massive engine resembling a train materialized in front of him.

The engine roared to life, billowing clouds of smoke as it readied to take it off. The engine then extended into a mass of yellow energy sneaking under the line of tents. Once the energy placed itself smoothly, it turned to carts with iron wheels stripped together by a thick, metal chain.

"All aboard, everyone!"

Just as Collin said, in 30 minutes they were riding through the forest. Unfortunately, Holland could still feel the tingling sensation wrap around him. The tents transformed into tiny little cabins with there very own room. Holland was no inside his, when he returned both Bel and Dee.

He placed his belt of pokeballs to a rack on the side. One ball was still in his fingers though. It was an old one, filled with scratches, and the clear sign of age. As Holland's fingers caressed every feature it had, the memories came rushing in like a flood.

"Gracia…"

Too caught up in his tears, Holland had not noticed the tingling sensation turn bold. It crept up to his side and silently invaded his senses. Filling up with tears, Holland was not aware of his quick loss of consciousness.

The tingling feeling had completely masked itself around his senses. After a few seconds of crying, Holland saw nothing but darkness.

That night, everyone in the moving train collapsed.

....

Hi everyone! After this chapter is where the action will start to return. I wanted there to be a little breather while Holland tried to figure everything out.

Please bear with me guys, this will be good.

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