I walked into the entrance of the cave, my shoes thumping against the stone floor. Nine years had passed since I was kidnapped, and I had settled in well. Yes, you heard me correctly, I had settled in well. I wasn't trying to run, because: one: My second father and everyone else in my old village were most likely slaughtered, and two: I was living with a group of Pokémon that were also hiding for their lives, the majority of the Dragon Types.

I readjusted the bag on my shoulder and kept walking. The cook was going to be ecstatic at the variety of berries I had gathered. Well, if she was still alive, that is.

As I walked, I named of all the different species of Dragon Types I passed; Druddingon, Zweilous, Flygon, Salamance, you named 'em, and they were there. Well, excluding the legendaries, all the Pokémon knew they were locked away somewhere deep in Arceus's castle.

Finally I had arrived at the cook's room, and I set the bag of berries onto the ground, wiping of the sweat

I had just noticed off my forehead.

"Hey, Cook!" I called into the tunnel that was connected to the kitchen. Everyone called the cook just 'Cook', since her name was long or complicated, or something, no one really told me why. "Berry delivery!" I waited a little while longer till Cook came walking out of the tunnel, her white, fluffy Altaria wings folded behind her.

"Why thank you, Ari, dear, we were running low." She looked into the bag and a smile spread across her face. "My, you've even collected some Cornn berries, those will go wonderfully in some soup. Have a nice day!"

"You're welcome, and you too," I said as she gently heaved the sack onto her back and hovered above the ground, using her wings to help hold up the weight. I turned around and headed for mine and Drake's room, exhausted from the trip.

Drake was the Dragonite who 'kidnapped' me when I was seven, and he was twenty three, now. He tried to act like my father, but he was really more like a brother to me. I came to the familiar moss vines that marked the entrance to our 'house'.

"Knock, knock," I said, since I didn't feel like hitting my knuckles against the stone wall of the cave.

"Come on in, Ari," The deep-ish but kind voice of Drake called to me, and I ducked in through the hanging greenery. I flopped down in a chair near Drake's and waited for him to ask me some random questions. He always asked something, whether it was "How was your day?" to "Do you think it is possible for a level one to beat Arceus?". He was weird that way, but sometimes we had a good time pondering out of stuff like that. He put his book down, pulled of his reading glasses, and asked me a question, as usual.

"How was collecting today?" He asked, using a funky way to say stuff, like always. He had really changed from the jerk face he was when he was fourteen.

"Fine, I got a whole sack full today, and Cook was rather happy." He nodded his head, taking in my answer for some reason.

"What kind of Pokémon has died today, do you think?" And there you go, the weird question.

"Uh... Maybe a Magikarp? They're normally really clumsy, and not too good of fighters." Again, he just nodded his head, taking in my answer. We sat there like that for a few moments, and we probably would have stayed like that longer, if Erik the Druddingon hadn't burst in.

"Dr-drake!" He yelled, his voice full of urgency. "E-ella the Axew and Caleb the Bagon we're hurt when out in the meadow! We're not sure by who, but they're extremely hurt!" Drake stood up quickly, his glasses and book tumbling to the ground.

"Lead me there. Ari, stay here." He grabbed a nearby blanket and as he gestured for me to stay.

"Wha- why?" I jumped out of my seat at his command.

"Just stay here, please."

"Fine," I said, sitting down in my seat and crossing my legs. "But you're lucky that I'm listening to you now."

"Thank you." He ran off with Erik, not saying another word. As soon as he left, I headed to the hospital area and waited for them to return. It was a suspenseful ten minutes, waiting and wondering how badly everything was going. Finally they ran in, Cook following them.

"Set them down on one of the beds," Cook said, her voice cracking with worry. Erik and Drake set the make shift stretcher carrying the injured Axew and Bagon down. They were cut and bruised, frosted and bleeding. Cook got to work on them immediately.

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The sun had finally set, and I was still sitting in the hospital. Ella's even and deep breathes could be heard nearby. Caleb's would never be heard again.

I never really knew him, just that Caleb had been brought here as an orphan, too, though he had a harder time getting used to others. I had heard he had been shy and timid, trying to go unnoticed through the day, and crying himself to sleep at night. Finally he met Ella, and he got to be a little more used to others, not sitting in the shadows all day, but playing outside. Sure he still hid behind her when they walked around the caverns, but at least he was there.

I single tear slid down my face and splattered on the stone floor. I already knew of only one Gijinka who had a cold enough heart to kill a child, and that was Arceus. Another tear ran down my face, following the other one and shattering as it hit the floor. I thought about my parents, both killed by Arceus, Geki, and all the other Dragon Types or any other Types he had killed. And for what reason, no one knew. One day he just up and decided to murder Dragon Types. Tears continued to follow one another down my cheeks, silently mourning the lives lost because of Arceus; the lives of warriors who fought to keep themselves alive.

I imagined myself as a warrior like that, standing upon a hill in armor, staring hatefully upon Arceus as he commanded his forces that raged below him. Of course, I would have my own forces countering them, fighting for everyone. I smiled at the thought of that. Too bad it could never happen.

Or could it?

I practically leaped out of my seat when I thought of that. It was possible, yes possible, I would need help, and lots of it. The Dragon Types alone wouldn't be enough, so I would need help from others. And what would the easiest way to get a full army together? Recruit the legendaries. They were our gods, the ones we worshiped and lived under, if they joined me, all their followers would join my army, and every legendary away from Arceus's arsenal, is all the better.

I ran out of the hospital and back to my little alcove, glad that Drake was helping with digging Caleb's grave so he wouldn't question me. I found an old back pack and started shoveling supplies into it; pairs of my almost identical clothes (most Gijinkas wore outfits that reflected what Pokémon they are), some random first aid kit I had lying around, other useful items. I had even thrown some random book from the pile of Drake's favorites that he wanted me to read. I figured I wouldn't need to bring food, I could always pick berries along the way.

Quickly, I headed out of my alcove and towards the entrance. In my mind, I was deciding if I should say good bye, or leave a note and go. I was so lost in thought, that I didn't notice Drake until I bumped into him.

"What's with the bag, Ari?" I shifted the sack-like back pack on my shoulder awkwardly. I was considering if I should tell him what I was doing, or lie my way out.

"I'm... leaving....On a journey." Well, I wasn't lying yet.

"Why? There's not much out there other than death for us Dragon Types." I sighed. He was going to make this hard on me.

"Exactly."

"Exactly? No... A-Ari, don't tell me..."

"No! I mean... I'm going to stop Arceus. I'm going to free us, so we can actually live, and not get ambushed when we do little things like go outside to play."

"Ari, this is nonsense. Arceus is ruler of everyone, he has too many troops; it just won't work! What can one Garchomp do against thousands of Gijinkas, many of them one's who know Ice Type moves?"

"Who said I was alone? The whole point of my journey is to convince the legendaries to become my  ally, and to take over Arceus in the end. It's a do it or bust type of thing."

"No."

"What?"

"No. I said no, as in you're not going to go on this journey and get yourself killed." I crossed my arms. Oh, so he's going to play it that way.

"Too bad."

"What?"

"I said too bad, as in nothing you can say will stop me. I told you before that one of these days I wasn't going to do what you say, and I guess that day is today." I looked up at his face, my own locked in an expression hat told him I wasn't going to budge. He sighed, and put his chin on my head and his arms around me.

"Ari, I've tried to be a father to you ever since I brought you here, but you're more than that to me. You're like my sister, and I don't want to lose you, too." He let go of me, and put his hand on my head as if I was much younger. "So stay safe, and come back if stuff just doesn't work, okay?" I nodded my head at him. That was manageable. Thank Rayquaza he didn't fight harder.

Before he could start walking away, I stood on my toes and kissed him on the cheek. "See you when I get back, 'bro'" I put air quotes around 'bro', while heavily coating it with sarcasm.

"Yeah, you better come back, 'sis'." I smiled up at him, and began walking away, ready for my journey. "Wait, Ari, one more thing." I stop and turn back at him, hoping he's not going to try and make me feel guilty about leaving. "Not all legendaries follow Arceus. You'll want to try and recruit them, first. I heard that Kyogre and Groudon are rather annoyed at Arceus for imprisoning Rayquaza." He smiled at me, and I made sure to remember that. "Now get out of my sight!" he waved his arms jokingly, motioning me away. I turned to leave, grinning.

I was going to defeat Arceus, and nothing was going to stop me.

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The next chapter is up, and the story's really getting started! And congratulations to Daykota31 for being able to guess what Pokémon Drake was! *Throws confetti* Hope you guys enjoyed, and have a great day! Oh, and don't forget to comment, vote, and recommend this story to others!