Chance

It was late afternoon when his search begins after his work at the guild. He heads hastily to the location he was hinted: the allyway close to the library.

Zeta stood in front of one allyway the Linoone suggested as he looked down upon the locket he was given.

"Pyrus…" the Zoroark reads out the engravement on its golden cover as he clenched the locket and prepared to move.

The allyway was dark and the narrow walls blocked most of the light that got in. Zeta got cautious the deeper he got with each lumbering step.

"Braixen! I got your locket, if it truly belongs to you." Zeta shouts.

It echoes through the walls, but with no respondance: A disappointment. He was ready to leave believing this was the wrong place but as he turned back, the very Braixen he sought stood a distance before him.

"Pyrus." the Zoroark spoke out hoping for a response, but the Braixen only stood there glaring with a menace at the Zoroark’s tensed face. Zeta waited for a reply but it never came; the Braixen didn’t cooperate.

Suddenly, The Braixen spewed out a flare at the Zoroark, but learning from the past, he knew to expect it.

"That won’t work on me this time." the Zoroark whipped away the flare but as the fire died down, he saw the smirk on the Braixen’s face.

"On the contrary. It has worked." the Braixen grinned.

Zeta didn’t understand. Suddenly, he felt an emptiness on the paw he held the locket and upon looking down on his claws, the locket was gone. The Braixen lifted his paw and the locket was there hanging on his.

"How did you…?"

The Zoroark was speechless and baffled and didn’t know what to say. His thoughts race for an answer until he realize something that he had read.

"Magician!" Zeta cried out to which the Braixen showed wide grin.

"I’ll be off now." the Braixen yelled out and began to ran off with the locket tucked in under his cloak.

The Zoroark tried to grab him, but only managed to tear a piece of theq Braixen’s cloak. The Zoroark chased him through the streets.

Zeta called for him to stop, but the Braixen was reluctant. His eyes began to glimmer then crates start flying all around him and are heading towards the Zoroark. Swiftly and gracefully, Zeta dodged every hazard that came which impressed the Braixen.

"Let’s see what else you got?" He said softly to himself.

As he was running, Zeta raised his arms. He was ready to use an Extrasensory and used his claws as a “gunsight” to gain a focus on the Braixen. As he was about to send it, the Braixen made a sharp turn heading towards the crowd of the market.

With the thickness of the crowd deteriorating his aim , Zeta continues the chase through the market but the crowd was making it difficult for him to follow; His skirmish through the crowd made keeping with the Braixen speed unmatchable. At this point he has now lost sight of the Braixen and stops to look around but to no avail.

As the sun sets, the crowd died down and everyone got ready to go home. Zeta got ready to leave feeling defeated, but once he began moving, he sighted someone peculiar: a familiar fellow. The cloak that adorns him was most certainly distinguishing and, upon looking down on the piece of clothe he tore from the Braixen, he knew it was the child.

The Braixen most certainly had no clue. Zeta tailed him through a dark, lonely allyway keeping himself quiet and, to his best, tried to stay invisible.Soon, with three walls surround them with no other exit but where they came from, the Braixen made a stop at a collection of empty crates and barrels; They were at a dead end. Zeta knew he had nowhere else to go and proceeds to approach him, but before he could blow his cover, the Braixen began raising his arms to which the crates began to float. The Braixen lifted the crates with a Psychic energy and positioned the crates infront of him; He made a path upwards using the crates as steps to jump on. Zeta observed the Braixen’s skill for a good moment until the Braixen, upon reaching the rooftops, cut the connections to the crates which started to drop. With the crates falling, Zeta’s only path to follow the Braixen is slowly crumbling. Zeta hastily made use of what is left in the air and allowed his Agility to jump on top if each crate as how the Braixen did before the crates crashed down below.

He stands on one last crate but the reach is so high it risks him of falling. He took the chance and made the faithful jump where he manages to hang on the roof overhang and avoided falling, if only barely. He looks down to the massive height and the debris caused by the crates below him and imagined of how things would’ve gone if he hadn’t been so lucky, which made him shudder. He pulled himself up slowly on the roof and with trouble though a little cautious for the Braixen was still near. Luckily the Braixen was far gone. He still hasn’t been noticed.

Infront if him was a path guided by walls of the upper floors of the buildings. The path lit up by makeshift lamps hanged by lines between the walls gave a clue he was nearing the Braixen. He follows the path and at the end he finds an open window where he finds the Braixen alone with his back turned. Zeta slipped in unnoticed and unannounced, crawling close to the Braixen with only a creak on the floor alarming Braixen of his presence. He turns to find the Zoroark behind him and threatens to attack him.

"Why are you here?" the Braixen snarled as he prepared to attack.

"You forgot something." Zeta said showing the Braixen of what appears to be a piece of paper on his claws. 

It was a photo containing a family of three Pokemon. All of the faces, but one, are blurred by the age of the piece. The only clear part of the photo was a picture of a young fennekin who sits between two others.

Where he got it was akready obvious. The Braixen, stunned, opened his locket and found an empty place where the photo had once been. The Braixen bared his fangs and embers leaked out of his maw. He gave a menacing glare but tears ran down his face.

"Give that back!", He shouted as things started to float around the room. His anger ceased when Zeta raised out his arm.

"I’m not here to cause trouble for you." the Zoroark said as he handed the photo, "I only want to talk."

The Braixen took the photo off of Zeta’s claws very quickly as if it simply vanished off his claws. The Braixen placed the photo back in his locket and sighed as he looked down on the open locket.

“If you don’t mind me asking…who are those two other Pokemon with you in that picture?” Zeta asked as the Braixen calmed down.

“I…don’t know.” the Braixen couldn’t recall, “Its not clear. I can’t even remember how I got this but it has been with me for as long as I can remember.”

Zeta understood well. He wasn’t a local resident and, like Luke, must not be able to recall their memorys.

"It’s okay if you can’t remember. It’s not the first.”

A short pause filled the room and silence echoes before the Braixen spoke up and broke the silence.

“Why are you looking for me?” He said staring thoughtfully at his locket.

“Why else?” the Zoroark commented. “I just want an explanation for what happened yesterday.”

“You interfered with our task before. we were preparing to lure the sceptile until you interrupted us but in the end you helped us take the sceptile down. Why?”

"You recalled about how the sceptile knew of your presence before I interrupted. I just don’t want him to kill you."

The Braixen explained, but Zeta was still not satisfied.

“The question still stands: Why?”

A pause lingers between their convesation. The Braixen couldn’t give a proper explanation other than tell him how he felt.

“I guess it was on my own incentive.”

The Braixen locks eyes with Zeta but immediately looked away as the Zoroark got observant.

“I can tell. Theres more to it than that.”

Some time passed and silence kept lingering in the room. The Braixen looked deeper into his heart and finally find what’s bothering him.

“I want some redemption.” He responded. “After all I’ve done I felt that all everyone knows of me as a thief who spat fire on their faces.”

"Why the change of heart?" The Zoroark asked.

He muttered, “Something just happened that questioned my life choices.”

Zeta looked at his eyes and traced honesty in his words. No lies hide behind his eyes and his voice didn’t crack. He agreed to help.

“If you wanted change in your life, why not join a guild?”