Minnow
If you're gonna dig, dig to the heavens!
Ok, so I thought I'd go ahead and repost my little story I'm working on, since it got sucked away several months ago. It's about Unown, obviously. I'm currently about a third of the way through chapter two, but I've been at the same spot for months now so it might be a while. Or I could put it up next week, who knows. I write kind of in spurts. Hmmm... Would love any help I can get to improve my writing and any title ideas would also be appreciated.
So, here we go.
Chapter 3 Progress: Not Even Started
“So, what made you so interested in the Unown anyway, Professor?”
Silas glanced over at the seat next to him, where his student, Nicholas, was looking at him with an air of great interest. Eyeing him, Silas considered how to answer. People would often question him about his fascination with the strange Pokemon, and his answer always disappointed them. The truth was, Silas didn’t really have any idea why he wanted to study the Unown; he just loved the things.
“Well, Nicholas,” he began, “You know their huge eyes?”
Nicholas slowly nodded.
“I love eyes.”
“The eyes?” Nicholas blinked, “But-“
“I love eyes,” Silas closed his eyes, tipped his hat, and wagged his finger at Nicholas, “No questions.”
Nicholas sighed and looked out the window of their car. The last few rays of sunlight had been clinging to the edge of the horizon earlier, but by now they had begun to slip away. A light drizzle fell from the cloudy sky, leaving small puddles along the road that he could see his reflection in. Looking down the road he could see the outskirts of National Park just around the bend. They would have to pass through it to get to the ruins that Silas was so anxious to get to.
“Hey, driver!” Silas barked. “How much longer until we get there?”
The driver looked at Silas in the mirror. He had been hired because of an abundance of money and laziness on Silas’s part, but his pay was good, so he didn’t mind Silas’s occasional rudeness.
“About twenty more minutes, sir,” the driver said, with the calmest voice he could manage.
“I really wish we didn’t have to drive all the way from Goldenrod just to get to the Ruins,” the Professor grumbled.
“Sir, I believe Violet City has an Airport,” Nicholas said, “Why didn’t you just fly in from there?”
Silas stared at his student for a few moments, before hastily pulling out one of his many city guides from his pack on the floor. He ripped it open and glared at the paper. On the back, written in large print were the words “Violet City”. He slowly moved his slender fingers across the page until they alighted on a single spot.
“Oh for the love of- why doesn’t anyone ever tell me these things!? It’s not as if I grew up here! I just came for my research! Nicholas!”
“Yes, sir?”
“Did you ever think of mentioning Violet City when I ordered my tickets?” Silas growled.
“Well, sir, I just assumed you had a good reason for flying to Goldenrod first even though it’s farther away, sir,” Nicholas said tentatively.
“Oh, why do you assume I know everything? I mean, I may be pretty smart,” Silas said, proudly, “But I’m not omniscient.”
Nicholas sighed again.
“Excuse me, sirs?”
“Huh? What?” Silas looked around, temporarily forgetting there was another person in the vehicle, until his eyes locked onto the driver. “Oh yes. What is it?”
“We have arrived at the Ruins of Alph, sir.”
“Oh! Good! Come on Nicholas!”
Picking up his bag, Silas pushed open the car door and stepped out onto the muddy ground. He pulled off his hat and looked up, letting the rain fall freely onto his face and long, brown hair. His hazel eyes flashed over to Nicholas, who had spent the last twenty seconds getting out of the car and walking over to Silas.
“Don’t you just love the rain, Nick?” he asked with a hint of wonder.
“Not really, it’s cold and gets all your clothes w-”
“What?” Silas stared at him, as if the idea of someone not liking
everything and anything he enjoyed was preposterous. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, let’s get inside.”
“I know when you’re lying to me Nick,” Silas said with a newfound air of confidence, “You’re not a good liar at all, you should stick to telling the truth.”
Nicholas stared at him, dumbfounded. After a few moments he started to formulate a response, but after thinking twice, decided against it.
“I guess I’ll go take our things in, then, sir?”
“Hmmm? Yes, yes, of course.”
Silas let the rain fall on his face for a few more seconds and then closed his eyes and turned around. He had been waiting to see the Ruins of Alph his whole life, and he was going to savor every second of it. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
He blinked.
“Wha-?” was all he could get out.
“It’s nothing!”
He saw several large, flat, rocky structures that at first glance seemed to be nothing more than that, but closer inspection revealed man-sized, round entrances cut into the rocks. The stones were surrounded by a dense forest with large shrubs near the edges, growing in rows with small, pink flowers dotted among them. To the left of one of the stones was a small, white building that Nicholas was standing in front of, beckoning to Silas.
Silas walked slowly through the looming stones, still not believing what he was seeing. The Ruins of Alph were supposed to be magnificent! A relic from the ancient past, that’s what all the books said, and yet here he was, witnessing nothing more than a few slabs of rock.
“Are you positive,” he said as he came up to Nicholas, “That these are the Ruins of Alph?”
“Quite certain,” Nicholas answered, “What’s wrong with them?”
“Just look at them! They’re just-just rocks!”
“They’re more than rocks, they’re ancient ruins. I think they’re spectacular.”
“How can you say that!? Where are the statues?! The pillars! The tablets! Where are the Unown?!”
“Oh, that? Well, I’m sure that that’s all inside,” said Nicholas, gesturing towards the small openings in the slabs. “See the openings?”
“Openings?”
Silas glanced over at the doorway-like holes. His eyes grew wide; he hadn’t noticed the entrances before. He looked over at Nicholas, and then, with an almost manic look in his eye, broke into a run towards the openings.
“Sir, Wait!” Nicholas yelled, but it was too late, Silas had already disappeared into the Ruins.
~ ~ ~
Silas slowly stumbled through the dark passages. There were stone fragments and broken rocks everywhere, and, try as he might, couldn’t manage to avoid most of them. And being in total darkness didn’t help either; he had already nearly tripped over a particularly nasty, jagged rock and dearly wished he’d brought a flashlight.
“Why aren’t there any torches or something in here?” Silas said, exasperatedly, “I though it was supposed to be a tourist attraction.”
He felt his foot suddenly sink and froze in place. He began to hear a slight crumbling sound and fear struck him. As carefully as he could, he eased his foot towards him, letting the tile rise up slowly. He braced himself, but after a few minutes, nothing seemed to happen. He opened his eyes. The crumbling sound had stopped; he felt himself relax.
Confidently, he attempted to step forward. His blood ran cold as his foot passed through empty air, and slipped into the darkness. Silas balanced there for a few moments, before finally plummeting down into the chasm.
He felt the air rushing past him, until suddenly, as quickly as he’d fallen, he landed on hard stone. Dazed, he was surprised that he wasn’t hurt, and even more surprised that he could see. Blinking, he realized that there were torches along the walls of the chamber and finally could see the famous Unown script written on every available surface.
He walked over to the wall on his left and began to examine the writing. As he studied it, he realized that he could make out a few letters. He’d thought he knew the entire alphabet, but obviously there was much more, as the majority of the letters were completely alien.
He turned to look at the other wall and noticed that in the middle of the chamber the floor was slightly raised, as if a giant button was set into the surface. Remembering his previous encounter with raised tile, he stayed to the edges of the room, away from the center.
As he glanced back at the torches, a look of comprehension suddenly flashed across his face. Who had lit the torches?
Silas suddenly stumbled and fell to the floor with a crash. Rubbing his hands, he glanced behind him the see what he’d tripped on. He saw a tiny stone statue, about six inches tall, and depicting a strange Pokemon he’d never seen before. He began to crawl over to the statue to get a better look, when he was suddenly slammed into the wall. Before he could recover, he was pushed into the center of the room, astonished to find himself floating above the ground, just a few inches from the raised tile.
Instantly, all the writing on the walls, floor, and ceiling began to glow a bright turquoise, and, squinting in the bright light, he began to make out figures floating in the haze. A few got close and he could see that they were small, black Pokemon with huge, staring eyes, with each individual looking slightly different in shape. Silas gazed in wonder, he knew what these were, Unown, he’d dreamed his whole life of seeing a real, live Unown, but now his dream was finally coming true.
But, something didn’t seem quite right. They were moving much faster than he’d heard of them moving, and weren’t vocalizing their well-known chanting. He looked closely at them, but when he tried to touch one, a searing pain flew through his body and he was jerked back.
The Unown started to swirl around him at a higher and higher frequency, until their shapes began to appear as simple blurs. Now, he fully realized that something was amiss, and tried to break free of the Unowns’ hold, but now matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t overcome to combined might of the Unown.
Silas’s entire vision became a black and white blur, until he was slowly lowered down onto the raised tile, and with a blindingly bright flash, disappeared.
So, here we go.
Chapter 3 Progress: Not Even Started
Chapter 1
“So, what made you so interested in the Unown anyway, Professor?”
Silas glanced over at the seat next to him, where his student, Nicholas, was looking at him with an air of great interest. Eyeing him, Silas considered how to answer. People would often question him about his fascination with the strange Pokemon, and his answer always disappointed them. The truth was, Silas didn’t really have any idea why he wanted to study the Unown; he just loved the things.
“Well, Nicholas,” he began, “You know their huge eyes?”
Nicholas slowly nodded.
“I love eyes.”
“The eyes?” Nicholas blinked, “But-“
“I love eyes,” Silas closed his eyes, tipped his hat, and wagged his finger at Nicholas, “No questions.”
Nicholas sighed and looked out the window of their car. The last few rays of sunlight had been clinging to the edge of the horizon earlier, but by now they had begun to slip away. A light drizzle fell from the cloudy sky, leaving small puddles along the road that he could see his reflection in. Looking down the road he could see the outskirts of National Park just around the bend. They would have to pass through it to get to the ruins that Silas was so anxious to get to.
“Hey, driver!” Silas barked. “How much longer until we get there?”
The driver looked at Silas in the mirror. He had been hired because of an abundance of money and laziness on Silas’s part, but his pay was good, so he didn’t mind Silas’s occasional rudeness.
“About twenty more minutes, sir,” the driver said, with the calmest voice he could manage.
“I really wish we didn’t have to drive all the way from Goldenrod just to get to the Ruins,” the Professor grumbled.
“Sir, I believe Violet City has an Airport,” Nicholas said, “Why didn’t you just fly in from there?”
Silas stared at his student for a few moments, before hastily pulling out one of his many city guides from his pack on the floor. He ripped it open and glared at the paper. On the back, written in large print were the words “Violet City”. He slowly moved his slender fingers across the page until they alighted on a single spot.
“Oh for the love of- why doesn’t anyone ever tell me these things!? It’s not as if I grew up here! I just came for my research! Nicholas!”
“Yes, sir?”
“Did you ever think of mentioning Violet City when I ordered my tickets?” Silas growled.
“Well, sir, I just assumed you had a good reason for flying to Goldenrod first even though it’s farther away, sir,” Nicholas said tentatively.
“Oh, why do you assume I know everything? I mean, I may be pretty smart,” Silas said, proudly, “But I’m not omniscient.”
Nicholas sighed again.
“Excuse me, sirs?”
“Huh? What?” Silas looked around, temporarily forgetting there was another person in the vehicle, until his eyes locked onto the driver. “Oh yes. What is it?”
“We have arrived at the Ruins of Alph, sir.”
“Oh! Good! Come on Nicholas!”
Picking up his bag, Silas pushed open the car door and stepped out onto the muddy ground. He pulled off his hat and looked up, letting the rain fall freely onto his face and long, brown hair. His hazel eyes flashed over to Nicholas, who had spent the last twenty seconds getting out of the car and walking over to Silas.
“Don’t you just love the rain, Nick?” he asked with a hint of wonder.
“Not really, it’s cold and gets all your clothes w-”
“What?” Silas stared at him, as if the idea of someone not liking
everything and anything he enjoyed was preposterous. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, let’s get inside.”
“I know when you’re lying to me Nick,” Silas said with a newfound air of confidence, “You’re not a good liar at all, you should stick to telling the truth.”
Nicholas stared at him, dumbfounded. After a few moments he started to formulate a response, but after thinking twice, decided against it.
“I guess I’ll go take our things in, then, sir?”
“Hmmm? Yes, yes, of course.”
Silas let the rain fall on his face for a few more seconds and then closed his eyes and turned around. He had been waiting to see the Ruins of Alph his whole life, and he was going to savor every second of it. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
He blinked.
“Wha-?” was all he could get out.
“It’s nothing!”
He saw several large, flat, rocky structures that at first glance seemed to be nothing more than that, but closer inspection revealed man-sized, round entrances cut into the rocks. The stones were surrounded by a dense forest with large shrubs near the edges, growing in rows with small, pink flowers dotted among them. To the left of one of the stones was a small, white building that Nicholas was standing in front of, beckoning to Silas.
Silas walked slowly through the looming stones, still not believing what he was seeing. The Ruins of Alph were supposed to be magnificent! A relic from the ancient past, that’s what all the books said, and yet here he was, witnessing nothing more than a few slabs of rock.
“Are you positive,” he said as he came up to Nicholas, “That these are the Ruins of Alph?”
“Quite certain,” Nicholas answered, “What’s wrong with them?”
“Just look at them! They’re just-just rocks!”
“They’re more than rocks, they’re ancient ruins. I think they’re spectacular.”
“How can you say that!? Where are the statues?! The pillars! The tablets! Where are the Unown?!”
“Oh, that? Well, I’m sure that that’s all inside,” said Nicholas, gesturing towards the small openings in the slabs. “See the openings?”
“Openings?”
Silas glanced over at the doorway-like holes. His eyes grew wide; he hadn’t noticed the entrances before. He looked over at Nicholas, and then, with an almost manic look in his eye, broke into a run towards the openings.
“Sir, Wait!” Nicholas yelled, but it was too late, Silas had already disappeared into the Ruins.
~ ~ ~
Silas slowly stumbled through the dark passages. There were stone fragments and broken rocks everywhere, and, try as he might, couldn’t manage to avoid most of them. And being in total darkness didn’t help either; he had already nearly tripped over a particularly nasty, jagged rock and dearly wished he’d brought a flashlight.
“Why aren’t there any torches or something in here?” Silas said, exasperatedly, “I though it was supposed to be a tourist attraction.”
He felt his foot suddenly sink and froze in place. He began to hear a slight crumbling sound and fear struck him. As carefully as he could, he eased his foot towards him, letting the tile rise up slowly. He braced himself, but after a few minutes, nothing seemed to happen. He opened his eyes. The crumbling sound had stopped; he felt himself relax.
Confidently, he attempted to step forward. His blood ran cold as his foot passed through empty air, and slipped into the darkness. Silas balanced there for a few moments, before finally plummeting down into the chasm.
He felt the air rushing past him, until suddenly, as quickly as he’d fallen, he landed on hard stone. Dazed, he was surprised that he wasn’t hurt, and even more surprised that he could see. Blinking, he realized that there were torches along the walls of the chamber and finally could see the famous Unown script written on every available surface.
He walked over to the wall on his left and began to examine the writing. As he studied it, he realized that he could make out a few letters. He’d thought he knew the entire alphabet, but obviously there was much more, as the majority of the letters were completely alien.
He turned to look at the other wall and noticed that in the middle of the chamber the floor was slightly raised, as if a giant button was set into the surface. Remembering his previous encounter with raised tile, he stayed to the edges of the room, away from the center.
As he glanced back at the torches, a look of comprehension suddenly flashed across his face. Who had lit the torches?
Silas suddenly stumbled and fell to the floor with a crash. Rubbing his hands, he glanced behind him the see what he’d tripped on. He saw a tiny stone statue, about six inches tall, and depicting a strange Pokemon he’d never seen before. He began to crawl over to the statue to get a better look, when he was suddenly slammed into the wall. Before he could recover, he was pushed into the center of the room, astonished to find himself floating above the ground, just a few inches from the raised tile.
Instantly, all the writing on the walls, floor, and ceiling began to glow a bright turquoise, and, squinting in the bright light, he began to make out figures floating in the haze. A few got close and he could see that they were small, black Pokemon with huge, staring eyes, with each individual looking slightly different in shape. Silas gazed in wonder, he knew what these were, Unown, he’d dreamed his whole life of seeing a real, live Unown, but now his dream was finally coming true.
But, something didn’t seem quite right. They were moving much faster than he’d heard of them moving, and weren’t vocalizing their well-known chanting. He looked closely at them, but when he tried to touch one, a searing pain flew through his body and he was jerked back.
The Unown started to swirl around him at a higher and higher frequency, until their shapes began to appear as simple blurs. Now, he fully realized that something was amiss, and tried to break free of the Unowns’ hold, but now matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t overcome to combined might of the Unown.
Silas’s entire vision became a black and white blur, until he was slowly lowered down onto the raised tile, and with a blindingly bright flash, disappeared.
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