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XANDER VALENCIA

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Igniting the Spark

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Earsplitting screams of terror shook the sky like thunder as flames engulfed the small, overcrowded apartment building that stood within Nimbasa city. Panicked people shoved past others, desperately trying to fight their way to an exit, pokemon in arms. A mother dragged her fifteen-year-old son down the smoke-filled stairwell behind her, stumbling over the steps in her haste.

[break][break]


“We’re almost there” she urged, her foot coming in contact with the bottom of the stairs. “We’ll make it.”[break][break]



A woman’s cry splits the air as if it were lightning.[break][break]



“Oh, god! Somebody, help me, please!!” [break][break]



The boy froze in his tracks, causing his mother to jolt with surprise.[break][break]



“Xander, honey, what’s wrong?? We need to get out of here!!” she pleaded, pulling on her son’s arm once more, but the blue-haired boy did not budge. Instead, he stood quietly in place, listening intently to the woman’s cries. With one swift, fluid movement, Xander released his arm from his mother’s grasp and turned towards the stairway, sprinting up the steps as fast as he could. [break][break]



“Xander, what are you doing?! XANDER! COME BACK HERE!”[break][break]



There was no reply. The boy’s golden eyes were fixated on scaling the stairs, his dark indigo hair billowing behind him as he ascended. There was no way he was going to flee this building while others were still inside, trapped. He had to do something. As he climbed, the voice became increasingly louder until he came upon a door that he believed to be between him and the source of the distress signal. [break][break]



Xander’s hand clasped around the door handle and began to twist, but the door stood fastly in place. “Is anybody in there?” [break][break]



“Y-Yes, I’m here, I’m here!!” A frantic, muffled voice spoke from the other side of the door. “Please help me, the door is stuck!!”[break][break]



“Step back, I’m going to try to bust it in!” Xander shouted, his shoulder coming in contact with the uncomfortably warm wooden slab in front of him as he rammed his body heedlessly into the door. Attempt after attempt was made, one more forceful than the next, until the door finally gave way and Xander’s body stumbled into the hazy room. The area glowed swirling colors of red and orange as flames engulfed the walls and began climbing towards the ceiling. [break][break]



The woman hastily ran up to the teenager, her hands gripping his shoulders. “Please, you have to save my pokemon!! She’s trapped!!” A desperate, shaking handing pointed towards a door leading into another room, flames dancing at its feet. [break][break]



“...I’ll do what I can. Get out of here.” [break][break]



Without another word, Xander made towards the doorway of the other room, dodging around the incoming flames and broken glass that were scattered around the floor. The teenaged boy could feel the heat on his skin as he emerged into the next room, sweat rolling down his face. Fire had engulfed roughly three-fourths of the room as it crawled around the walls, ceiling, and floor, decimating anything in its path. The intensity of the heat was almost unbearable; although every ounce of Xander’s body told him to flee, his mind forced him to proceed as he fought his way through, searching for any signs of life. [break][break]



Then, his ears detected a weak, frightened cry. Golden eyes darted around the room in search of the origin until they locked onto a mareep huddled in the corner, shaking in fear. Xander quietly approached the overwhelmed pokemon, reaching his hand outwards towards it. [break]
[break]


“...I’m here to help you.” [break][break]



As his fingers brushed against the wool of the small pokemon, a static shocked leapt onto his hand, causing him to quickly retract and wince in pain. However, Xander persisted; once again, he gingerly extended his hand out towards the sheep pokemon. To his surprise, the mareep stepped against his hand, and he pulled the shaking pokemon safely into his arms. [break][break]



The air was thick with smoke, making it increasingly harder to breathe with every second that passed. Xander brought the collar of his shirt up to cover his nose and mouth with one hand with a cough as he cradled the mareep against his body with the other. An unexpected, roaring explosion from another floor shook the entire building, startling the weak pokemon and causing it to flail and break free of his hold. It took off, running through the blazing inferno. [break][break]



“Wait, come back!” Xander exclaimed, taking off after the mareep. A crackling noise emitted from the ceiling as a board began to fall loose. Without thinking twice, the indigo-haired boy dove towards the mareep, catching and sheltering it within his arms as part of the ceiling caved in on top of him. Xander screamed in pain as the weight of the boards collided with his body, trapping him underneath them. He tightened his grip around the mareep beneath him, hoping with all of his might that his body would be enough to shield the poor little creature from harm. The flames lapped and licked closer as Xander struggled to breathe, his vision fading in and out. Was this the end? Was he going to die here, trapped in a burning building under pounds of heavy wood?[break][break]



A voice cut through the roaring flames.[break][break]



“Is anybody still in here? Anybody at all?”[break][break]



Was somebody there to help?[break][break]



With what little energy he had left, Xander cried out to the voice, praying that they were able to hear him. His vision began to fluctuate further, and all he saw was a figure standing over him before his vision went black.[break][break]



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"What the hell did you think you were doing?! You could have been killed!"[break][break]



An exasperated mother stood over the hospital bed of fifteen-year-old Xander Valencia, who remained soundless.[break][break]



“Speak to me, dammit!” she growled, clutching the side of the bed. “You never answer me. Never!”[break][break]



Silence.[break][break]



“Ugh, I don’t understand you!” the mother snarled, throwing her hands up and taking a step away from the hospital bed. “You're so damn reckless. You can’t ever be a hero, Xander. Stop pretending to be one before you get yourself killed.”[break][break]



More silence. [break]
[break]


“Just be thankful that help came along. If the pokemon ranger hadn’t shown up, you and that mareep would have been goners.”[break][break]



The mareep...Xander couldn’t take the creature off of his mind. The poor, frightened thing...although he knew that the mareep belonged to the woman he had helped to save, he still couldn’t help but think about how it felt to hold it within his arms as if it were his own. Xander pushed the thought out of his mind. After all, it was alive and well; shouldn’t he be happy?[break]
[break]


A knock was heard at the hospital room door.[break]
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With a begrudging sigh, Ms. Valencia strode towards the door and opened it, where a nurse stood with a crying pokemon in her arms. Xander tried to lean forward to get a better look, but was soon impeded by the pain caused by the bruises all over his body. Instead, the boy focused all of his energy into overhearing the conversation.[break][break]



“You see, Ms. Valencia, the nurses over at the pokemon center brought this little girl over because, no matter what they did, she wouldn’t stop crying. It seems too that her owner cannot claim her any longer due to losing her place of residence...we were wondering if bringing her in with your son would calm her down at all.”[break][break]



“Well-”[break][break]



“Yes, let me see her.” Xander broke his silence, garnering the attention of both women in the room.[break][break]



“Oh, no you won’t. Don’t you remember that we lost everything we have in that fire, too? We almost lost you. We don’t have the ability to take in a pokemon like that.” Ms. Valencia flicked her tongue.[break][break]



“...I just want to calm her down, mother.” A hint of sadness could be heard within his voice.[break][break]



“...I...alright, fine. Do whatever you want.”[break]
[break]


The nurse entered the room and tenderly rested the mareep onto Xander’s lap. As if it were a magic spell, the creature ceased its crying, and immediately snugged itself up against the injured boy. A light, gentle smile warmed to hide the usual cold, distant expression upon Xander’s face. All of the pain he had felt seemed to melt away in an instant, and he realized just what he was meant to do with his life, regardless of what his mother thought of him.[break][break]



The mareep was just the spark he needed to ignite his ambitions. It was his responsibility to protect all.

[break] [break]

KINDER THAN HE LOOKS

[break] Standing at 5'9", Xander Valencia is a man of few words. Often times, he refrains from speaking unless absolutely necessary, and his serious personality projects a cold, uncaring visage, his golden eyes sharp and distant. Looks can be deceiving, however, as Xander has a large, compassionate heart for others around him. He has a hard time articulating his feelings, however, and the simplest of gestures towards him can cause his face to burn a bright red in a fluster. Much to his embarrassment, he loves cute pokemon a little too much. [break] [break]

Five years ago, he found himself victim of a fire that ravaged an apartment building in Nimbasa City that decimated all that he ever knew as home. In the incident, aside from many temporary bruises, Xander suffered large burns upon the back of his legs. Due to this, he is very uncomfortable wearing any type of clothing that will reveal his legs, and as such will wear pants even in summer weather. During this incident, he saved the life of a small mareep named Isabelle, who eventually became his lifelong partner. Ever since that day, Xander knew that he wanted to become a ranger to help keep both humans and pokemon safe. At the end of high school, Xander applied to The Elite Academy, and managed to be awarded a need-based scholarship, due to the fact that his family was still recovering from the fire that decimated their lifetime belongings. The academy saw promise within him; he was a hardworking student with excellent grades, work ethic, and personality. However, the academy expressed concerns that Xander's rash personality may be a detriment, as he is willing to risk his life and make decisions in an instant without thinking about the repercussions.

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STAHL

JUN SAZANAMI from ENSEMBLE STARS