New World: Chapter II: Dust

Dust groaned as he rolled out of bed. Three days. Three days after being rammed by that

Tauros and his leg still hurt. The village doctor had said he'd be alright, but that didn't make him feel any better.

He brushed away the loose straw from the bed that still clung to him, and pulled on his trousers, grimacing as the sharp pain raced up his shin.

Dust's family was not rich, but their house as least had two rooms. As a child, he had slept in the same bed as his parents, and still did on the occasional cold winter night, huddling with them and his two year old sister Mona for warmth. Now though, he was grateful to have a space of his own. That was a luxury not everyone his age had.
He would be turning eighteen in a few months, and would soon be old enough to have a family of his own, still living in the same home he had grown up in. Being an adult didn't mean he didn't still have obligation to family, and one day he would be grateful to have grown up children of his own to tend the farm when he inherited it from his father.

Dust opened the door and stepped into what for lack of a better word, would be called the living room. His mother was trying, without much success, to coax Mona into eating her
breakfast.

His father glanced up at him as he entered.

"I thought you were going to sleep all day" he said, not angrily.

"I couldn't sleep. There was a Noctowl outside who wouldn't stop hooting. I wanted to
throw a rock at it."

"Nocdow!" Mona chimed in.

His father laughed. "How's the leg holding up?" he asked.

Dust put a little pressure on it, and was rewarded with a stab of pain. "Feels great." He lied, "I feel good enough to do all my work."

"Not today. As soon as you're done eating, take a bath."

Dust was perplexed. Neither of his parents looked washed, and Mona was always filthy no matter if she bathed or not.

"A bath?" he said, "Is it Sunday already?"

"It's the day of the Egg Festival." His mother said, "Have you forgotten?"

Indeed Dust had forgotten. The Egg Festival was perhaps the most important moment in a boy's life, the final rite of passage before he truly becomes a man. Every year, a caravan from beyond the mountains would come into the collection of villages tucked into the secluded valley, bringing all sorts of goods from the outside world for trade. The local baron would organize a festival to welcome the annual guests, and people from all the villages gathered to visit and see all the exotic Pokémon the caravan brought and basically have a good time.

Dust always enjoyed the Festival, but this year was special. Every year, the caravan would bring a supply of eggs with them, and each seventeen year old boy would be given one. What pokemon would eventually hatch from the egg was a mystery. Some boys received mundane, everyday creatures, while others got something truly exotic.

Without a Pokemon of his own, a man was not a man. He couldn't own his own home, or take part in the village meetings, or marry. Until you had your own pokemon, you were simply a child.

"Are you going?" He asked.

"I wish I could, Dust." His father answered. "But just because there is a festival doesn't mean the Tauros don't need feeding. It'll be just you and Mona this year."

Mona, hearing her name being mentioned, tried to join the conversation but was stopped when her mother seized the opportunity and shoved the spoon into her open mouth.

So after cleaning himself in the cold water of the river, he picked his sister up in his
arms and began the two mile journey to Mahogany, the village where the festival was being held.

Things were in full swing by the time Dust arrived. The air was full of music, the stands were surrounded by groups of people clamoring to spend their hard earned money on items that were in all probability not worth even a fraction of their selling price, and a very exited looking man was showing off a large horned monster he informed the awed crowd of onlookers was something called a Nidoking.

Dust bought his little sister a sweet roll and shunted her off to one of the tents for small children. His interest lay in the Pokemon battles, and he didn't want Mona babbling to his mother about large creatures beating eachother to a pulp. Somehow, he didn't think his parents would see that as quality entertainment for a two year old girl.

As expected, the battles were the most crowded attraction. There were numerous circular arenas constructed out of wood and filled with spectators watching the fights. The small arenas were surrounded by groups of men passing around coins, betting on the fights. Dust climbed up the staircase into one with a sign that read, "Beartic versus Absol".

Dust pushed his way through the cheering crowd all the way to the front. Inside the ring, an enormous white bear with giant claws stood on its hind legs roaring at the also white four legged creature with a black head adorned with a vicious looking blade that circled around it. Their trainers stood at opposite ends of the arena, their pokeballs out and ready to recall their creatures in case the battle got out of hand.

"Fancy meeting you here." said a familiar voice behind Dust.

The voice belonged to Maddie, the seventeen year old barmaid from his village. Dust had known her since childhood and once he had caught his first Pokémon, had every intention of asking her to marry him.

Unlike Dust, Maddie had come looking her very best, wearing a silken yellow dress she saved for special occasions, her hair was done up, and she even had a dainty little fan with flower print on it. The outfit would be considered plain by the standards of the ladies' fashions of the cities, but out here, Dust thought she looked like a duchess. She looked debonair and delicate, but Dust had seen her throwing rowdy drunks out of her father's tavern and quaffing ale like a barbarian. The mountainous countryside was no place for a delicate lady, and Dust would have no use with a wife who could do nothing more than look pretty, but he loved the fact that Maddie was able to anyway.

Absol pounced on Beartic, trying to slash with its blade, but the giant bear grabbed it in midair and threw it into the wall, eliciting both cheering and loud groans, depending on who had bet on which beast.

"That's a very big Pokémon," Dust said "I don't the Absol has a chance."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Maddie said.

"Really?"

"No. He's small, but he's got fight in him."

Absol attempted to pounce again, but the great bear swatted it again, raking Absol with its claws. Absol hit the ground and stayed there.

Maddie frowned. "Then again, what do I know?"

Absol disappeared in a crimson flash as his trainer recalled it. There was a general mix of laughter and angry shouting as all over the fighting pit, money changed hands.

"That was fast." Dust said.

Beartic's trainer jumped into the ring and the Pokemon lifted him up and placed him on its mighty shoulders. He raised his arms in triumph, taking in the cheering and booing with a self-satisfied smirk.

One single clap seemed to rise above the din, and in a matter of seconds the noise died down into an empty, awkward silence. A man rose from the crowd, still clapping very slowly. Dust had only seen him a few times in his life, but everybody knew who he was.
If the Baron had a name, Dust didn't think anyone knew what it was. He very rarely came down to the villages from his stately manor house, preferring to send retainers on any official business. His son Ashton was a constant presence in the villages however, constantly giving people grief and raiding the tavern with his gang of cronies.

The Baron looked like his son: tall, blonde and with an athletic build. It was nearly impossible to make out his age. He seemed youthful in appearance, but his cold grey eyes and the way he walked suggested a man who had experienced much of life, not all of it pleasant.

The Baron was wearing plain clothes, which explained how he had gotten into the crowd unnoticed. He leapt into the sandy pit.

"What a spectacular fight!" he said. There was a nervous muttering of agreement.

The Baron stroked the Beartic's white fur, eliciting a sharp growl. The bear's trainer was quick to silence it.

"Such a fine beast. You must be very proud to own a Pokémon like this." The trainer began
to answer, but was cut off by a raised finger. "I would love to see this Beartic in action against a real opponent, rather than the ones you people have pitted against it. I would relish the opportunity for one of my own Pokémon to face off against it."

The trainer climbed down from Beartic's shoulders. "You want to challenge me?" he asked.

"Unless you afraid, that is."

The trainer bristled at that. "Beartic can take anything you throw at him! We aren't afraid of anything!"

"Very well," chuckled the Baron, "Then let us get this battle underway."

The two men took their places along the ring. The Baron reached into his pocket and produced a pokeball, tossing it nonchalantly on the ground. There was a brilliant white flash, and a creature materialized in the air.

Rhyhorn were very rarely higher than four feet, but this one must have been seven feet tall at the very least and even longer from its stony armored haunches to its wicked horn. The Baron's Rhyhorn was a walking fortress.

Beartic roared at the new opponent, his mouth glowing white, ready to let loose a freezing blast of air. Rhyhorn simply charged, its massive rocky head pummeling Beartic into the ground. Its horn was coated red in the bear's blood.Beartic tried to rise to its feet, but Rhyhorn wouldn't let up, slamming its bulk into Beartic over and over.

Beartic lay unmoving on the ground, the heaving of its massive body gasping for air the sign it was even still alive. Rhyhorn backed up,shaking its head angrily as it prepared for a final charge.

Maddie knelt down to look at the wounded Beartic. It had fallen right in front of where she and Dust stood.

"He's going to kill it!" she said, panic rising in her voice.

Rhyhorn charged, kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake. Just at the last second, Beartic rolled out of the way with surprising speed for its size.

"Maddie, look out!" Dust screamed as the giant stone rhino ran into the stands. He grabbed her and threw himself to the ground as Rhyhorn crashed through the wooden frame, completely destroying the space where they had just been standing. He wrapped his arms protectively around her smaller body.

Beartic was upright, roaring angrily, blood gushing from its many wounds. A wave of freezing breath washed over Rhyhorn, covering its armor in ice.

Dust helped Maddie to her feet. Her dress was rumbled and her hair had come undone, but apart from that she looked fine. Nobody else had been hurt by Rhyhorn's charge.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Maddie looked morose. "I lost my fan. I dropped it when you grabbed me."

Dust looked in the fighting pit. Sure enough, the fan was lying in the sand below, remarkably unharmed.

"That fan belonged to my mother." She said, eyes starting to well up. "It's one of the only things I have left of her."

Dust began to clamber over the railing. Maddie immediately broke out of her state, and grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing?!" she shouted, "You can't go in there!"

"And let you lose a family heirloom?" Dust said, "I can't do that."

"You'll be killed, Dust! Don't…"

Too late. Dust leapt into the pit.

Dust landed hard on his feet, sending a stab of agony up his hurt leg. He fell to the ground, doubled up in pain.

Beartic's giant body went flying past him as Dust rose to his feet, landing on the ground with a heavy thud. Dust turned around, coming face to face with Rhyhorn. The rhino snarled. A cold chill ran up Dust's spine. He very slowly reached down and picked up the paper fan, trying not to make any sudden movements.

Rhyhorn charged. Dust threw himself to the side, barely avoiding the giant horn. A terrified gasp came from the audience (and a few jeers that Dust resented a bit).

Scrambling to his feet, he ran for the boundary, but his bum leg collapsed under him and he fell to the ground.

Rhyhorn charged again, its eyes filled with angry bloodlust. Dust could do nothing but hope it would be painless. He closed his eyed and brought his arms over his head.

When he wasn't pummeled into a bloody pulp, Dust dared to look up. Rhyhorn was less than a foot away, roaring with fury, its foul breath overwhelming Dust's nostrils.

Beartic was grabbing Rhyhorn around its haunches, straining with effort to keep it from killing Dust. With an agonized roar, it threw the rhino to the ground.

Dust scrambled into the stands, grateful to the giant bear.

Maddie had rushed over to his part of the small arena. He stood up and smiled at her, proffering the fan to her. She slapped him in the face. Maddie didn't look like much, but she could pack a wallop. Dust almost fell over.

"Dammit Dust!" She yelled at him. "Why did you have to do that?"

"I thought you wanted your fan." He answered.

"You're more important to me than a fan, Dust. What if you had died in there? What would I do then?"

Dust smirked. "I didn't."

This didn't help things in the slightest. "I really hate you sometimes." She said. Then, without warning, Maddie hugged him tightly. "But I'm glad you're alright. And you did get my mother's fan, so I guess I can't be too mad at you. Just never make me worry about you like that again."

"I promise." Dust said.

"You'd better be Dust. Because if you ever die on me, I'll make you regret it."