Silas Meets Raphael of Furia

Everything went black. Echoes of some exotic melody strummed through Silas’s head. The tune beckoned him forward to a light in the distance. It fished something out from within him and the hook in his heart was set. A desire to be seen. Pride that would allow itself to be swallowed. Saved.

>"Welcome. Thank you, otherworlder, for accepting this brief summoning."

>"Please, take a minute to step out of the mud. I sincerely apologize for this. However, it should come right off."

Unfazed, Silas pulled his boots up and out of the muck. “Well… Yeah, it’s just mud, so. And hey, you know I’ve found myself in worse dreams than this. What is it this time? Some kind of swamp? Kind of creepy. No doubt this place has some ghosts. I’ve got chills right now.”

Silas’s eyes outlined the stranger's pure white hair down to the tips of his flowing white coat. His piercing green eyes felt almost familiar as they gazed into his soul. They were tired, but knowing. Something was different. The stranger had an eerie and ghost-like disposition, but this was all too real.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait. Timeout!” Silas made a hard gesture with his hands, then wrapped them around his head. “How hard did I hit my head this time? I’m still going to wake up right? I think I got some important stuff to do... Um, is my mom here though? Maybe if I can just say hello or something...”

>"Thank you again, for accepting this brief invitation. For now, you may think of this as a dream. I will be asking you some questions. Why? It is simply my role to ask. For your benefit."

“You can keep saying that all you want, but any time someone assures me a brief stay… Not so. And it looks like you’ve been here for even longer. I doubt you get by just on tea and swamp water, though. What are you really after?”

>Now, let's begin.

Silas looked more carefully at surrounding black mud and aged foliage. He squinted quizzically at the man sitting at table seemingly untouched by the mire. The stranger was unblinking and the gravity of the situation clicked into place.
“Fine. Yeah okay, I’ll play along.”

>State your name and occupation.

“Uhhh…” Silas set his jaw. He was put back to those interviews at the Department Store. “… Silas,” He choked out, “Silas Loch. I’m in the maritime technical know-how of sea related relations. Freelance. Right now, the new Team Aqua is paying the best. Guess it just makes the most sense too.”

>Where do you call home? What is "home" to you?

“I have a bed on my boat under deck? Maybe more of a hammock than anything really. Home, home? Lilycove City. Even though my pops could be one of the thickest headed among even the tourists, it’s got everything. Contest Hall. Lisia. Miku sometimes too. As much as I hate to say it, the Department Store is a one stop shop. Allen wrenches, Gabite feeders, toilet seats, electric heaters… You name it.

>How close are you to your family? What does that word mean to you?

“Ah, like I said... Complicated stuff. Blood is blood for sure. No matter what anyone says or does, it’s the stuff that binds us. Whether I like it or not. But I’ve made my place with friends. Bonds that I would never betray. Family can only continue on with evidence of loyalty. And that’s when you can breathe easy without having to worry if there’s going to be a Scyther blade in your back or not. Metaphorically or for real.”

>From your standpoint, what are your strengths and weaknesses? As a trainer, or as a person.

“I like to think I’m pretty good with figuring things out. Technically. A little bit electrically. Need any help souping-up your boat? Car? Maybe less so with cars, but I can figure it out. Helped us out of a jam driving the seas with Aqua a few more times than I can count. As far as being a trainer and Pokemon go? Wheaton, my Volbeat, is my friend. My other Pokemon too. I can’t really say I know what I’m doing by ‘training’ them per say, so that’d be something I need to work on. For them. I don’t want them to get hurt.”

>Have you ever been in love? What happened?

“Love? No, no. Nothing like that… Well, there is this girl. Coleen. But we’ve just got some stuff to work through before we even have time to slow down to consider... You know, maybe we could skip this question?”

>In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do?

“Evil, huh? That’s a strong word. I don’t know... Maybe releasing a giant Aggron loose onto a city as it bites through skyscrapers and it shoots laser beams from its eyes? All the while the trainer is laughing maniacally from an overlook.”

>That will be all, thank you. Though our time together was brief, may you enjoy the gift.

“Oh, hey I guess you weren’t lying. The gift? What gift? Wait, who are you anyway? Raphael? Caliz, Furia?”

>You wake up, with an item you had wished for in hand. What item is it?

Breath returned to Silas as he opened his eyes. A soft breeze brushed against his hair and cheek. The sea looked just as he left it sparkling under the stars. A deep and broad roar shook the ground. The island’s trees gave way and whined as they bent a few hundred feet behind him. Hunted. Waves of torment again flooded his body. He rolled his head to see she was still breathing in his arms. Her eyes closed and black hair floating around her head. Bruises and fairly deep cuts marked her skin. This time, he could feel the heft of a flare gun in his hand.
Silas didn’t quite understand, but he’d take this second chance from that Raphael or whoever. Furia, huh? Maybe a past or otherwise adjacent life had called out to him. A warning?
Silas and Coleen might go out after all, but now with some help. Silas extended his arm to the sky. Haloed by the moon, his finger hugged the trigger. The flare sailed a bright streak of red into the night.