"I want to try for another badge."
"Hey, not before me!" Darryn clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "I'm up for this one this time - I'm not going to be left behind! Plus, with all the combinations and practice double battling we've had, I'm bound to be ready for a gym battle. Bring it on!"
Jaima frowned. "Gym battles aren't like other battles, Darryn - they're more difficult and the Gym Leaders train to cover their weaknesses."
"Yeah yeah, but I'm totally ready for this one." Darryn grinned. It was finally time for him to prove his skills in raising Pokemon that were strong and beautiful. After the lengthy questioning from the Jenny who wasn't Jenny, Darryn had been able to get out into the Pokemon Center and ask for clues about the local Gym Leader.
Turned out the guy's name was Otis and he specialised in flying and fire type Pokemon. The Emberwing Badge was the prize but none of the young trainers in the Center had one to show Darryn what it looked like. If it was anything like the Stonebloom Badge from Gigarte then it was bound to be pretty impressive.
"Well, you would be ready if you borrowed Chompwater..." Meiko stuck her tongue in her cheek.
"I said no, didn't I?" Darryn retorted, folding his arms. "My strategy is all I need for my own Pokemon to come out on top. Just you see."
Meiko rolled her eyes. She didn't seem convinced. Darryn rolled his right back. He didn't care.
"Seems like Tsunami is going to have the upper hand in this place." Darryn told Jaima as they all went to retreive their Pokeballs from the local Nurse Joy. This particular woman in white seemed a little quieter than the others Darryn had met in Furoh. She had a timid persuasion and a shy way of missing her conversation partner's eyes. "She and Fang should have no problem at all."
"And Romeo and Zulu would be your best choices, too..." Tuesday piped up, reaching up to the counter to take her own four Pokeballs. "You both get to go in with advantages here."
"Ugh, who said anything about going in with advantages?" Darryn giggled, picking his own Pokeballs and clipping them to his belt. "I've got a plan that will knock this Otis fella right off his feet. Plus, I'm not sure Zulu can be relied on yet for a Gym Battle - he ignored me before when I asked him to do what Nurse Joy asked. Well, I'm sure he even heard me. If he did, he didn't show it very much."
"Now, what did they say about dinosaurs having brains the size of a pea?..."
"Meiko..." Darryn growled.
"Just saying!"
"Guys..." Jaima warned them. Meiko blushed and her mouth closed before another comment could come out. Darryn ran a hand through his glossy hair and a fire lit in his eyes. He could feel it coming. His very first Gym Badge on the road to the Furoh League. And from there, the recognition his needed to put his foot firmly into the world of Pokemon Fashion and Health Care.
Sleep.
Sleep sounded absolutely wonderful.
Too bad it was a dream she couldn't reach by... sleeping. Yeah, she was too tired to make any sense, even in her own head.
I want to pass out! Tuesday screamed internally. She was exhausted, mentally and physically. Possibly emotionally, too. She wasn't quite sure about that one. She had been more nervous than any of her traveling companions about getting her pokemon back, but she had exercised restraint and waited until she could escape to the restroom and lock the door, before calling out all four pokemon and bursting into tears.
She had been so scared that maybe Tempest and Dante were hurt too bad for Nurse Joy to heal. Sure, of course, the nurse would have said something, but that didn't register to Tuesday until long after her breakdown. She sat on the meticulously-clean floor of the bathroom and hugged her pokemon to her. The room was actually too small to hold a ponyta comfortably, but Wraith hadn't complained when Tuesday wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. The only one she hadn't been overly concerned about was Zorro, but he had remained conscious, unlike her other three pokemon.
To her delight, Wraith, Dante, and Tempest seemed to hold no initial animosity toward the riolu. Tempest seemed aloof and distant, but that was normal for her. Wraith was passive. Dante was the most interesting of all. He'd crossed his arms over his chest and appraised the small fighter pokemon with the eye of a father assessing his daughter's prom date. It kind of freaked Tuesday out a little, until Dante reached over and patted Zorro's head like he was a little child that had just said something cute. Utterly stupid, but cute.
She'd resisted the urge to laugh at Zorro's indignant expression.
Jaima's look of concern wasn't missed when she exited the restroom twenty minutes after she had entered. He had a look on his face like he was waiting for her to break down, and she realized that he probably was. They had just undergone yet another huge ordeal, only this one had connected directly to a rather dark piece of her past.
And that Officer Jenny hadn't helped, demanding to know everything. Thank God for Jaima, falling into big brother mode like an overprotective ursaring. He'd burst into the room when Tuesday was very near hyperventilation. She'd dealt with the memories before, thought a lot about that... day, but something about the way Officer Jenny spoke to her, and the questions she asked... it brought out a dark, foreboding feeling. One that made Tuesday scared. Afraid to be alone, especially in a room with a woman she didn't know, without a single one of her pokemon there for comfort - be it physical protection or mental stability.
But as she exited the restroom, tears dried and Tempest sitting on her shoulder (Zorro, Wraith, and Dante all back in their pokeballs), Tuesday had offered him a soft smile. Not a full-blown grin, but a smile that assured him that it was okay. It was getting better. After some sleep, it would probably be perfect.
If she could sleep.
Tuesday rolled over again, growling softly in annoyance. She didn't know what her problem was!
They were on the floor above the pokemon centre, taking up two of the offered rooms. Tuesday was sharing the room with Meiko, while the room next door held Jaima and Darryn. Her pokemon were all well, the fight was over, the Officer Jennys had let them free at last, and she was lying in a soft, warm bed, begging sleep to claim her.
Maybe it was the adrenaline. She knew she was exhausted, but... why couldn't she sleep?
Sighing, she slipped out of bed and then quietly out of the room. Maybe stepping outside into the cool night air would cleanse whatever lingering fear chose to hold onto her. She moved silently down the hall and through the quiet lobby, before stepping outside. The breeze that blew on her face was cool and gentle, causing her to release what she realized was a pent-up sigh. She was starting to feel better already.
She jumped when a shadow moved just to her right, and a hand laid down on her shoulder.
Shadow could feel it in the air. There was unrest.
Sensei Jaima was angry and weary, because of the way that the local police had been handling the event of the previous day. He had sat through his own interview patiently enough, but, when observing Little Tuesday's, he'd had enough. He'd charged in, making his unrest known, and gathered Tuesday up to be taken to safety. The One Who Wished To be His Mate had helped him in making sure Tuesday needn't endure any more interviews, mostly by submitting to more extensive ones themselves.
Little Mercury (and how odd it was to think of her as little, when only yesterday she was so much larger than he!) was acting oddly toward Shadow, and he'd thought, at first, it was anger at his being so easily swayed to close his heart. It was decidedly not, and he didn't know what to do about this new developement. Not long ago, he'd harboured seimilar feelings toward Little Mercury, and had been tolerated, but little else. Perhaps she had the right idea. She was still young, and though he had near the same experiences as she, his new form had brought about a new maturity that she couldn't yet match. Perhaps patience and tolerence was the key.
Little Mercury is exceedingly wise, he thought. The answer must be in her actions.
His own body and mind had caused him a bit of unrest, both in it's feel and it's new abilities. He was, for example, quite a bit heavier, much more than it's increased size seemed to account for. The large spikes coming from his wrists and chest seemed to be a clue, as they were made from a dense, metal like bone. But the most amazing part of his transformation was the new sensations he could encounter and interpret. They manifested in his mind as auras around people and pokémon. Where before he could sense ripples or energy coming from people, such as Sensei Jaima and Kohai Tuesday, he could now see them as waves. And Little Tuesday fairly blazed with the energy.
It was surprising. he had been training Sensei Jaima to battle like a riolu, and Sensei Jaima had some affinity for it. He would not have expected wise, quiet Kohai Tuesday to have an ability that seemed rife for combat which Sensei Jaima didn't possess.
It was true, however, and he would have to acknowledge it. It didn't matter. he'd made a pact with little Mercury and the others of his team, not to serve another master, and besides, a riolu of Tuesday's own had made himself known to her. He would make certain the Little Brother trained his Sensei properly.
He felt a sensation, in the back of his mind, similar to the aura that was around Kohai Tuesday. He stopped, at first, in amazement. This was new, this detection, even from behind, and he "watched" her for moments before finally turning.
She was flushed, and her aura was flickering like fire disturbed by a wind. Disturbed, he decided, was a fitting word. He went to her, and lay a hand on her shoulder.
She flinched, and he blinked. She did not know her power, and he was not to be the one to teach her. However, she was a friend, in a way few humans could be with pokémon. In a way Sensei Jaima strove to be, in a way Darryn was trying to be. Even the newest arrival was like them, treating pokémon that weren't even hers with proper respect and kindness.
It was not his place to teach her her power. She had another, and he would do so in time. Or they would learn together. But he had a place, and that was as her friend. He looked into her eyes, hoping that, despite his newly fierce appearance, she would see the affection he had for her. An affection that Sensei Jaima shared, and Little Mercury, and Stalwart Grondir. In fact, many of their party looked at Tuesday with affection. Shadow knew more, though. Shadow knew that she was stronger than they treated her. She had only to accept that.
The girl smiled at him,a nd wrapped her arms around his neck. He held her close, careful not to pull her too hard into the spike protruding from his chest. She leaned to the side to avoid it.
Shadow felt Sensei Jaima, who burned brightly by familiarity and not power, before Tuesday did, but he thought, maybe, she reacted a fraction of a second before he cleared his throat.
"You OK, Tuesy?" Jaima's face was soft, with concern, and his eyes smiled a bit in seeing his pokémon comforting her.
Tuesday nodded, then tilted her head slightly. "How did you know I was out here..?"
Jaima grinned. "I have two sisters. One likes scary movies. I know when a nightmare is imminent." He winked, showing that he was teasing, just a bit. He knelt, coming to eye level. "Truth be known, after everything that's happened, I couldn't sleep either. But I thought you might be out here."
He looked at her, weary and concerned. "Wanna talk about it?"
Being near Shadow helped.
Tuesday wasn't entirely certain as to why. She didn't see him as a pokemon. Well... no, that wasn't true. He was a pokemon and that much was obvious, but he seemed to fit into another category, as well. A nameless category. It was more than the fact that he walked on two legs, because so did Dante and Mercury, but... there was something about him that was more human than animal... almost.
But no, he was almost beyond human, even.
She had been surprised when she realized that he'd been the one to lay his hand... paw on her shoulder. Surprised, but not displeased. She liked it when he was around. She felt... safer.
She felt safer when Jaima was around, too, but it was different with Shadow, somehow. Jaima acted like an older brother and reminded her a lot of Brone. Shadow... Tuesday wasn't sure who Shadow reminded her of. Maybe there wasn't anyone, but there was some connection there. It was like they were on a similar level, Tuesday supposed. She was still a human and he was still a pokemon, and they dwelt on separate islands of existence in that regard, but it seemed that these islands met at some point... a point that Tuesday was either standing on, or near.
Nearing.
Things were changing. She could feel it. It probably had something to do with the fact that she was away from home, adventuring. She had made a new friend - a couple new friends - and everyone you meet brings on some change within you. She had been through trials with both Jaima and, for a short period of time, Darryn and Meiko. She didn't know the latter two particularly well, but Jaima did, and she trusted them. She trusted Jaima.
She trusted Shadow.
And she was back to where she had begun.
She had hugged him on impulse. She was actually surprised when he let her, didn't push her away, but utterly grateful. As she had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, however, her body twisted to avoid the spike protruding from his chest, tears abruptly came to her eyes, blurring her sight. She willed them not to fall, but she felt the burning sensation growing and part of her mind wanted nothing more than to sob openly into this lucario's welcomed embrace.
It still scared her, and maybe that was why she couldn't sleep. The nightmare lingered - a memory of something that hadn't been allowed to occur. Something that had been nothing more than a dream from where they now stood, but too sharp and defined to be ignored. It wasn't fading away - her heart wouldn't allow it to leave.
Of all of the things that she remembered from that waking nightmare, she didn't know why Shadow's death stuck with her the most.
Jaima, Mercury, Grondir, Fang, Tsunami, Ember, Tempest... all her friends, her companions, fallen to the merciless hooves of a stampeding herd of Tauros and Miltank.
But watching Shadow stand there and wait to be struck down...
It made her feel cold.
Abruptly, Tuesday shuddered. She felt some of the tears fall loose and slide down her cheeks, but she still bit the rest back, hiding the sob - or was it a scream? - that wanted to escape beyond her lips. Shadow still held her in a willing embrace, for which she would be eternally grateful. Just having him here, in her sights, letting her touch him, made the nightmare fade even the tiniest bit. It revealed to her that it had been nothing more than a horrid, too-real dream.
But she knew it would return in the night, once he was out of sight.
A feeling of eyes on her back, a presence, called her attention away from the memory and her knowledge of the reaction - the nightmare - that would return later. She loosened her grip on Shadow's neck and turned, just as someone cleared their throat, and she saw Jaima standing there.
He looked concerned. Tired... definitely in need of sleep just as much, or probably more, than her, but also concerned. He shouldn't worry about her so much. He needed to take care of himself. Tuesday was used to being on her own for the most part.
But it was nice to have him there, regardless.
"You OK, Tuesy?"
Tuesday nodded, noting the soft smile on Jaima's lips as he took in the scene. He was observant and, trying to be discrete, Tuesday rubbed at her eyes, cleaning the few tears from her face. She yawned - not entirely faked - to try and blow it off as rubbing tired eyes. She didn't think she'd fooled Shadow, but she also didn't think he'd say anything to Jaima.
"How did you know I was out here..?" Tuesday asked, tilting her head to the side curiously. She was probably laying it on a little thick, but blame it on both exhaustion and her desire not to appear weak. At least before a human. Even if it was Jaima, Tuesday had always been more comfortable shedding her tears in front of a pokemon. They judged less, though she knew Jaima wouldn't judge her.
He just might blame himself, which would be worse.
Big brothers. They were so strange.
"I have two sisters. One likes scary movies. I know when a nightmare is imminent." Jaima winked at her teasingly, but Tuesday barely restrained a shudder. He didn't know just how cursed by these nightmares she was, and she hoped he never found out. She didn't want Shadow to know, either. She didn't want him to know that she had nightmares about him following the way of a samurai and allowing himself to fall for his failure. It scared her. She didn't want the idea in his head at all. She didn't want to see it again! She didn't want it to happen ever!
Tuesday tried desperately to control her breathing, but she felt herself beginning to fall into a panic attack. She had always been a quiet person, so it wasn't easily detectable and Jaima didn't notice. His ignorance of her moment of rising fear gave her time to try and calm herself. She drew a deep breath, thinking about calm things. The wind blowing autumn's fallen leaves in a small tornado. Grondir singing a jaunty song without a care. Dante, as a Charmander, dancing from foot to foot in excitement for breakfast. Tuesday's shoulders eased and she felt herself relax slightly, the fear retreating. It didn't fully leave, but she wasn't in danger of hyperventilating anymore.
She could return to that when she was back in her room.
"Truth be known, after everything that's happened, I couldn't sleep either. But I thought you might be out here," Jaima admitting, kneeling down until he was eye-level with her, still none-the-wiser at her near-outburst. She preferred it this way. She didn't like scaring Brone, either. It was hider to hide things from Brone, though - he could read her, even without his eyesight. He kept tabs on her emotions with his powers.
Truthfully, she expected a letter here any day from him. He would be concerned about her. No doubt Cassandra was keeping tabs.
"Wanna talk about it?" The concern was back in Jaima's eyes, but the weariness followed like a lost puppy, lingering at the very edge of your shadow, hoping for some attention. Tuesday stared into Jaima's face, wondering if she dare burden him. Despite her mental ramblings, she knew he was talking about what had happened today... yesterday. The man with the Feraligatr.
He wouldn't have asked if he didn't want to know.
Shadow was still nearby, and that comforted Tuesday more than she thought - feeling slightly guilty - even Dante's presence could have done. Was there something wrong with her? Why was she clinging so desperately to presence of another trainer's pokemon? It was wrong.
She hadn't realized that she'd walked over to one of the tables lined up outside of the centre until she had sat down on the bench. Jaima sat down next to her, not so close as to be uncomfortable, but near enough that if she needed a brotherly hug, he was well within read and willing.
Shadow stood nearby, a silent guard. A protective shade within the darkness. She was grateful.
"I don't know what he was looking for."
What an odd way to start the conversation. Tuesday supposed that one would normally discuss the fears that had lingered with them after they were attacked by a pokemon, or perhaps the hatred of the man who had commanded his pokemon to attack. Feelings... fear, hatred, a seeking for revenge or vengeance. Those made sense, of course, but... Tuesday wasn't like other people, was she?
Yes, she was often ruled by her emotions - she often acted based on instincts that had grown out of her morals. Her views of right and wrong decided where she would stand when a path was forked, but she did not allow her emotions to blind her like some. She was an intellectual. Not a genius, by any standards. She didn't think she was particularly intelligent, even though Professor Oak claimed that she was one of the most intelligent trainers he had ever met. He'd tried to get to skip a few grades in school, but she had refused. She was already judged for her differing views, her bookish nature, and her small stature. She didn't want another reason to be different.
Besides, she wasn't all that smart, despite what people said.
But she lived on wit, as well, learning what she could from any source she could gather. She loved to learn. She was obsessed with knowledge in general, and so when she thought of that day, the first thing that she recalled, other than the fear that rose within her heart at every mentioning of the incident, was why the man had been there in first place.
He had been searching for something, but she didn't know what.
"He was so sure that Professor Oak had it that he was willing to sick his... his pokemon on us." Tuesday voice broke at one point and she shuddered involuntarily. She could almost feel herself grow distant with the present world, as her mind returned to that day. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared off, past Jaima, seeing something that he could not see.
"I was playing with an eevee that Professor Oak was caring for. Her name was Bombularina. You know, from Cats, the musical. She was beautiful. Quick, playful. I loved being around her, and it was nice out, so we were in the pasture when the man showed up." She paled at remembering him, standing there, towering over her like the giant must have towered over Jack up on the clouds. But Tuesday hadn't had a beanstalk to climb back down and escape through. "He didn't have any of his pokemon out at the time, but I remember his fingers were itching toward his pokeballs. It was like he couldn't resist the idea of... of sending them out on us."
Dante and Tempest had been with her, along with Bombularina. It hadn't been too long since Tempest had finally opened up to them, but their trust in each other had been true enough that it might have been the only thing that gave them true strength that day. Even the desire for self-preservation only went so far.
"He'd demanded to know where something was, but... I don't really remember what he asked for. It confused me too much. It made no sense. I knew everything about Professor Oak's lab. I was like a welcomed stalker, following him around as a second shadow that he was more than willing to explain everything to. Nothing was a secret within that place for long with me there, which is kind of sad when you think about it, but I still had no idea what the man was talking about.
"For some reason, he was sure I was lying. That's when he called his pokemon out."
She shuddered, remembering, and goosebumps rose across her arms, chilling her. "The Skarmory appeared first, I remember. I'd never seen one before - a pokemon of metal. It was too strange, too frightening - something... impossible. Illogical. Which is a weird thought for me, because I'm not close-minded in the least, but I think the fear was already setting in. I think I knew... something was going to happen. Maybe Cassandra was trying to channel me a warning and I just wasn't getting it, but it was almost like a premonition of danger. Dread.
"The Feraligatr came next. Huge, blue, with these eyes that were so cruel, and teeth that grinned like... like he wanted to hurt me, and I remember how I nearly fell over in relief when he followed the Skarmory, into the lab. I was worried for Professor Oak, sure, but the man was a genius - far superior to me - and would be able to take care of himself.
"And then the Typhlosion appeared."
She had seen one of these before. Big, beautiful, and drenched in flames. Tuesday had always had a love for fire pokemon. It only grew after this incident, somehow unhindered by the attack of the Typhlosion. Maybe it was because they held their own so well.
"To this day, I've never seen Dante and Tempest fight like they did that day. They're good, of course - better in some ways. But still... it was like there was something else there, that day. Something that joined us, so that we knew exactly what the other was going to do, before they did it, and we flew together. Like a flock of Spearow who all tilt their wings and dive, synchronized. Or a pack of mightyena that attack a flock of mareep on some unspoken signal. We just... knew." Tuesday didn't even realize that she was using the term "we." It never occurred to her to correct herself, that it had been Dante and Tempest who had done the fighting. She, of course, hadn't fought. How could she have hoped to? She didn't notice her use of the word, and so did not catch Shadow staring at her back, aware of something that she hadn't yet realized. Knowing that she had previously tapped into the power that dwelt within her, and swarmed around her.
"We almost had the Typhlosion beat, and I'm sure that's what the Feraligatr turned up again. The man had gone into the lab after them, leaving the Typhlosion with us, so maybe he'd sent his crocodile out after us, but, for whatever reason, he appeared.
"I don't really remember a whole lot clearly after that," she admitted, frowning. "I know that I was surprised when the Feraligatr appeared, coming up behind us. I turned to see him, and that's when he hit me with a water gun attack. He couldn't have been aiming for either Dante or Tempest, or even Bombularina - though no one would have been able to catch her, she was too fast - because the attack caught me too directly. I'm glad for that, though," she said quietly, and didn't see either Jaima or Shadow's look of shock at this admittance, or what followed, "because I'm sure that if he had hit Dante with that attack, he would have killed him, and I'd rather... well, I don't want Dante to lost his flame, no matter the cause.
"Things got blurry after that. I remember, it got really cold." She peered up at the sky, still not noticing the expressions of either Jaima or Shadow, too trapped in the memory that held tightly to her. "I was scared for a bit, but then that began to fade, and everything got kinda dark and fuzzy, like I was falling asleep, though I was pretty sure that I wasn't allowed to sleep. I was supposed to be watching over Bombularina, and she likes to run off."
Her voice had gotten softer as she lingered in the memories more than the present, not realizing that she was reliving verbally the moment of her drowning for her adoptive brother and his most loyal pokemon to hear, to react to. Perhaps she didn't even realize how close she had come to... to...
"I think I heard someone yelling at me, but I don't really remember if that happened or I was dreaming. It might have just been a dream, because somebody kept calling my name, and I was in that sleepy place where you can't answer, even if you want to. But someone was crying, too, which was weird, because I was just sleeping..."
She cocked her head to the side again, like a puppy, curious and lost in a vision of the past. "Brone said I slept for three days. Remarkably, I was still exhausted when I woke up." She grimaced. "I hurt all over, but I remember my throat was really sore and I couldn't hardly swallow. I was really thirsty, but everything tasted kind of funny, and my chest hurt." She looked at Jaima, her eyes coming back into focus for the first time in a while. "You know that feeling you get in your lungs when you're really sick, with some deep cough?" Jaima nodded softly and she didn't notice anything about his appearance, still not truly there. "It was kind of like that, only worse, like I had been hugged by a snorlax." Her mouth tilted up at the corner at this, in a little half-smile, as she remember watching Professor Oak undergo a snorlax hug at one point.
And then she was back on topic. "Brone could hardly be persuaded to leave my side, ever, which worried me a lot, because he has to take his medication and I don't want him getting sick because he's worrying over me. But Cassandra never left me, which was okay. I still had nightmares about being attacked by pokemon, and she was the one who helped me realize that not all pokemon were like that." She sighed sadly. "I hadn't let Dante or Tempest out of their pokeballs for a few days. I was afraid... I shouldn't have ever doubted them, but every time I closed my eyes, I saw that Typhlosion towering over us, or that Feraligatr, snarling... like we were just some appetizer to be scarfed up with little care." She shuddered.
"I'm getting better," she admitted, looking down at the ground, "but it still scares me sometimes. When I first saw Ember, she terrified me. She's such a tiny thing, so sweet and kind, and I was terrified of her, because I remembered that Typhlosion and how powerful she was. But... I was okay after a few minutes, and now she doesn't scare me at all. Skarmory really just kind of weird me out. Steel pokemon..." She shook her head, and then sighed.
"You've seen my reaction to Feraligatr. I stood up to that one, but it was only because we were in the middle of a fight and I was too filled with adrenaline to be smart enough to be frightened. Once the fight was over, I started freaking out of the Feraligatr that had helped save us - Meiko's Feraligatr. It doesn't make any sense! He's never done anything to me and I'm scared of him. Every time I see one of them, my heart starts racing, like I'm expecting an attack. And that's not even the worst of it! Water in general terrifies me! I hate water pokemon, and every time someone even brings up the idea of having me swim, I fall into a panic attack. It's so... pathetic."
Her shoulders fell and she sagged abruptly, heaving a sigh. She felt like a great weight had been lifted from her by revealing all of that to someone, finally, because she had never spoken about it to anyone before - not fully - but now she waited for Jaima's reaction. Maybe he would tell her that she was a coward for fearing water pokemon. Maybe she was rude for being afraid of Meiko's Feraligatr.
Tuesday felt tears prick at her eyes again and she could honestly blame at least half of it on exhaustion, as her thoughts sudden swarmed around the idea of Jaima not wanting her around anymore because she was a cowardly baby who insulted his lifelong friends just by existing. She knew that wasn't really anything more than her own fears and the lingering doubts placed in her mind by neighborhood bullies long ago, but she had come to rely on Jaima's presence in her life, even as she wanted to be strong and independent, and the idea of leaving him scared her. It scared her, she thought, even more than the Feraligatr. Even more than the idea of being anywhere near a body of water when she didn't know how to swim.
She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to be alone...
Jaima had never wanted to cry so badly as when Tuesday had finished her story. Even when Mecury had 'died', he'd eventually woken up, and it was OK. He'd cried then, but it hadn't been a pressing need.
He was understanding more about Tuesday than ever. Why she was so quiet. What had taken her so long in the bathroom at the pokécenter. Why, sometimes, she looked tired in the morning.
Jaima loved Tuesday, had grown to love her, in a short time, as he loved Mariko and Natsume. She was different than them, but still managed to remind him of them in different ways. Natsume was studious, curious, and the quieter of the two. Mariko was brave and cracked jokes (or tried to), often citing pop culture references, which she had a fondness for.
He hoped, if the three girls ever met, that they would get along. It didn't seem possible, but it hadn't seemed possible that he'd see Meiko, either, after so many years.
And everything they'd recently experienced must have been as suffocating as that Feraligatr's Water Gun attack had been.
Oh, Jaima could feel his heart grow colder and colder as she related the precise events that had occurred when she'd first met that... monster in human form. He'd set his pokémon on a child, unprovoked, and nearly killed her. In the battle on Mount Carello, he seemed not only unrepentant, but proud, claiming that she now "knew her place".
It hadn't escaped him that she'd used "we" as she spoke of the battle, but he didn't entirely understand. He often participated in the battles himself, as much as throwing himself at the opponent trainer, in dire situations, but Tuesday didn't. She thought up engaging combinations and innovative use of otherwise mundane attacks, but he didn't know how involved that was.
Shadow understood. He narrowed his eyes, glancing at Jaima, and nodded. She was one with her pokémon in that battle, and hopefully would be one with them in the future. It now made sense to Shadow; The Aura that she could wield did not have to be a physical force. It could involve her understanding and reading her pokémon, merging with them to make their attacks more affective. In time, even, she may be able to strengthen them with her own force of will.
Despite his misunderstanding, Jaima was impressed. She had fought and nearly won against an evolved pokémon, and with pokémon that were still at their first stage. His mind tried to come up with a dozen ways for this to happen, but in the end, he rejected them all. It was Tuesday's triumph, and he refused to rationalize that away.
Then she described the Feraligatr's attack, and Jaima's heart sank. He hadn't known. He knew she was afraid of them, had seen her reaction to Meiko's Chompwater, but he had no idea what had brought it on. The man's Feraligatr had nearly drowned her. There had, in the past, been a chance for there never to have been a Tuesday.
She described the feeling of her lungs, the concern of her brother and his pokémon, her long recovery, and Jaima's hands began to shake. He could feel his own breathing become harder, as if he had been the one to drown, but knew feeling it second hand was nothing to feeling it personally.
And then the worst came. She thought herself pathetic because she was afraid. Had he made that worse, telling her she could get over her fear? Did she think he meant she had to? Had he made her feel less than brilliant because he wanted her to not be constantly afraid or ashamed of her fear? He didn't know, but he suspected that was, indeed, the case, and mentally kicked himself.
She sagged, seeming relieved, but then began to cry. At first it was simply tears flowing from her eyes, and then it became sniffles. Finally, it became sobs, fearful and plaintive, but so quiet that if he wasn't watching her, he may not have even known.
Jaima didn't think about the way it may look, for a sixteen year old boy to pull a twelve year old girl into his lap and hold her tightly. He didn't bother to wonder if it was appropriate. He'd been comforting little sisters for years, and damn anyone who tried to call him a pervert for it.
He didn't even pay attention to his own tears flowing down his face, wetting Tuesday's hair as she wet his shirt. In the end, he simply held her, and rubbed her back, and let her cry.
When she looked up, there was a look akin to horror on her face, and she began to try to apologize. Jaima waved it off, not dismissively, but with a small smile.
"It's what family does, honey," he said softly, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Sometimes you just gotta let someone cry with you. Grief shared is halved. Joy shared is doubled." He knew he was paraphrasing, but he also knew she'd understand.
He tilted Tuesday's chin up. "Listen now, to oniisan. It's perfectly fine to be afraid. You went through so much, I'm surprised you weren't more afraid. You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of for being afraid of water, or feraligatr, or any of that." He stroked her hair gently, pushing some of the curly bangs from her face. "You've made me proud, the way you battled back on the mountain."
He smiled at her, wiping the remnants of tears from her face. "If you want help with the rest, OK, I'll help you. But don't you think I think less of my imouto if you don't want help, understand?"
Jaima exchanged a look with Shadow over Tuesday's shoulder. A grim, angry look. If they ever met that man again... someone was getting hurt.
Shadow nodded. Training with Sensei Jaima was going to need to get more intense.
Darryn listened in silence as Jaima closed the door behind him and headed into the hallway. He calmly drew in long breaths, counting the long seconds of solitude until he decided enough of them had passed to say that his friend was not merely visiting the bathroom.
*He can't sleep either, huh?*
"Vul?" Lady's large brown eyes came level with Darryn's face as he turned over with care and surveyed the room. Jaima's Pokemon, save Shadow, were all asleep on or near the narrow bed where the blonde had been resting a few moments before. After their evolutions, the small dorm was much more crowded than it had been elsewhere on their journey. Darryn peered at them, watching their breathing continue with the rythm of sleep.
"It's alright, Lady." Darryn soothed his only Pokemon that slept outside of her ball, running his hand smoothly over her glossy fur. She arched her back into his hand as it drew across her back, her spine pushing up to receive as much pressure from his palm as possible. That was the usualy signal she gave to let Darryn know she wished to be brushed and to have one of his deft scalp-massages. This time, however, he simply down at her and scooted her out of the way before quietly slipping from the bed and moving to the door.
Lady hopped down from the bed, her cushioned paws making only the very faintest of bumps in the night. Darryn checked that Jaima's Pokemon were still sleeping - he didn't want to wake them after the day they had been through - and clicked the door open before moving into the hall and towards the Pokemon Center's bathroom.
<I know you are awake,> Lady sent to Mercury as she followed her Prince into the corridor, <And I also know you are worrying about them... all of them... I have concern, too... But staying up all night won't help anyone.>
<Seems some dogs do learn new tricks.> Mercury giggled back at her through the closed door. <They have been through too much to simply move on. Their emotions are all over the place right now - even the pretty boy's, though he hides it well. We need to support them while their minds recover as well as their bodies.>
<I am prefectly aware of my Prince's feelings.> Lady sent back snootily, trotting behind Darryn's ankles. <I know him better than anyone.>
<Uh, you've known him all of five minutes?> Mercury scoffed.
<With hearts as close as ours, seconds are enough.> Lady snapped, her lip twinging into a snarl even as Darryn admitted himself into the bathroom. Lady followed.
<You might have a small talent with the psychic energies, Foxtrot, but I still see more than you. You really have to watch out for Darryn. His surface might be calm but a torrent rages underneath. He's different from when we departed in the dismal town to the south. Things have scarred him and he is trying to keep it from everyone. I don't know why... maybe he is ashamed? Maybe it's to stop any of you worrying? Whatever the case, you shouldn't be demanding things of him right now - you need to be giving something back.> Mercury's thought-speak was solemn. Almost mothering.
<Keep you opinions to yourself, ChromeDome.> Lady cut Mercury's telepathic connection off and slammed down a barrier so the Kirlia could not look into the bathroom from afar. That was exactly the sort of trick she was bound to use and Lady did not wish for anyone save herself to look upon her Prince while he bathed.
"Lady, you can just wait by the door for a little bit, ok?" darryn smiled fondly down at his Pokemon. His dark eyes were tired but they did hold happiness - Lady was certain of that. Those eyes were always kind and sparkling - the sort of eyes that made her trust humans once again. True enough, the original female had drawn her towards the group but it was Prince Darryn that had made her stay. She sat on the cold tiles and curled her luxurious tails around her feet to keep them warm as Darryn selected a towel and stepping into a shower cubicle.
As the steam began to billow out into the bathroom, Lady winced slightly. Even steam made her feel uncomfortable - water was not her friend - but she was there to watch over her master and no amount of water could make her stray when he needed her. Why else did he keep her out of the pink Pokeball? Because he was proud of her strength and beauty. Because her presence made his own strength and beauty shine that little bit more. She was certain of it. Certain. That's why he would return to the room with her and clip her nails, brush her tails and massage her muscles.
<Watch this.> Mercury's voice slammed into Lady's conscience like a brick. The Vulpix gave a start and rose to her feet, preparing to give the rude Kirlia a mental battering but she didn't get the chance. What she saw stole her thoughts completely.
Using her superior psychic powers, Mercury had boken down Lady's barrier and forced a vision of her Master into her eyes. It was as though she could see straight through the shower curtain - she could see everything. A blush was her immediate response but her embarrassment gave way in a flash.
<My... Prince...> Lady gasped to herself, drinking in the sight of his perfect body marred by the scars of battle. The water of the shower ran red around the teen's ankles as he gingerly dabbed at the deep cuts in his legs where teeth had found their mark and tenderly tested the pain of the dark bruises on his ribs where fists had slammed their target. She even saw the red-black mess that he spat from his lips where he jaw had been struck by the fat human male in the cave. She had not been witness to the source of some of his injuries but the latest capture had said that the humans battled bravely. Lady had no idea Zulu had meant Darryn was in a fist fight. She had no idea the pain that her Prince had suffered... was suffering.
<Now don't you dare confront him.> Mercury warned, her voice still soft yet strong. <If he wanted to share this, he would. He is dealing with it his way but you must support him. You are not the be-all and end-all of his journey. Return his kindness and he will heal all the faster and be able to share himself more. Selfishness will only cause him to draw further in on himself and that is not healthy for anyone. Just give him what he needs.>
Lady didn't bother to respond. She had nothing to say. Prince Darryn was hurt and that was all that mattered. She would have to protect him from more than just his rivals. She could not feel his pain like Mercury could but she could feel her own for simple knowing he was hurt and that pain stung more than any knife that could pierce her heart.
When Darryn stepped from the shower, enrobed in a dressing gown that hid his injuries, Lady was thankful for the painful steam that clung to her body as it hid the tears that ran freely down her cheeks
<I'll give him more than what he needs.> Lady finally replied to Mercury, her resolve shining through her thought-speak. <I'll give him the world.>
Tuesday opened her eyes slowly, greeted with more enthusiasm than was desired from the sun. She looked up, bleary-eyed, to see thick rays of light piercing through the parted curtains of the window. Turning her head, she saw that the other bed in the room was empty and made up neatly. Meiko must have already gone downstairs.
Tuesday's stomach grumbled lightly and she rolled her eyes sleepily. Breakfast time, obviously.
Groaning lightly at having to get up, she crawled out from under the covers and barely managed to catch herself before she stumbled face-first to the floor. Yawning widely, she stood up straight and scanned the room aimlessly.
Tempest was curled up on the bed in a tight ball, trying to catch a few more fading wisps of sleep. She always kept her back pressed tightly against Tuesday's, so the pikachu would have been woken by Tuesday's retreating from bed. As it was, the rodent's long ears were twitching lightly, observant as ever.
Dante and Wraith both slept in their pokeballs. Wraith was a bit large to keep out inside of the room, and Tuesday got the feeling that he preferred being out in a place where he was free to move around. Dante's tail-flame was even bigger, hotter, and more exuberant in his new form, so his sleeping outside of his pokeball near anything brilliantly-flammable was just teasing the Fates. His tail flame didn't dim enough for it to be safe for any of them.
Zorro, the recently-caught riolu, was the only pokemon other than Tempest who slept outside of his pokeball. Tuesday, though she didn't know how, didn't even have to look to know that he was balanced on Meiko's bedpost.
Turning, she saw that she had been right, and spared a moment to wonder how she had known that. For his part, Zorro merely perched there, watching her curiously. His face didn't hold that teasing grin as he studied her, and Tuesday wondered at what he was thinking.
Digging through her pack, Tuesday pulled out a set of clothes and quickly changed. She was slipping on her shoes when Tempest finally decided to give up her attempt at sleep. She uncurled herself from a ball and looked at Tuesday.
Her tail twitched. "Pi?"
"What?" Tuesday asked, meeting her eyes. Tempest was studying Tuesday's attire and she glanced down to see what the issue was. Then, she laughed. "Hey, Zorro!" she said, turning to her riolu. "We match!"
She hadn't even thought about it when she grabbed the outfit. Her pants were black courderoy, and her shirt was a navy blue, exactly matching the blue and black of Zorro's fur.
Zorro grinned at her, his eyes closing tightly at the force of his joy. He let out something akin to a yip of pleasure. Tuesday finished tying up her shoes and quickly made up her bed as neatly as she could, as it was pressed tightly to the wall. When she slung her pack over her shoulder, Tempest immediately took her usual place on Tuesday's left shoulder. To her surprise, however, Zorro leapt onto the bed and looked at her with a silent question in his eyes.
Tuesday's eyesight flickered for a moment, and she felt her mind drift off. Like she was daydreaming, her thoughts scattered to the wind, dragging her in various directions at once. She was unfocused and lost, somewhere like that place that she went when she was thinking hard about something. She shook her head quickly, however, chasing away the feeling, and her eyes returned to Zorro. This all happened within a mere second, so it must not have appeared to him as though she had lost concentration at all, except that he had a look of something akin to wonder on his face.
Tuesday blinked at him and, as though he had spoken to her aloud, she knew what he wanted.
"Sure, Zorro," she said softly, her own voice filled with curiosity, "you can sit on my shoulder." She turned lightly, so that her right shoulder faced the riolu and, grinning openly, the jackal pokemon leapt up and landed gracefully on the other side of her head from Tempest.
Tuesday was surprised. She had expected him to weigh more than he did, but his lithe body was surprisingly light and he couldn't have weighed much more than Tempest. It felt right, somehow, to have him there, sitting on her shoulder. It was more than the fact that it balanced her out. It was simply... right.
Tuesday closed the bedroom door behind her as she slipped out into the hall. She didn't remember coming up here to go to bed. Actually, she didn't remember anything after Jaima spoke to her. She had told him about that day, and then he had hugged her, and he had been crying. She felt so bad for making him cry, but he'd said that that was what family - they cried together when they needed to. And she realized that she saw him as that - family. Her big brother. That must have been why it was so easy to fall asleep in his arms while he was holding her.
Someone must have carried her up to bed. Amazingly, she had slept through the night. She couldn't remember a single nightmare, which was perfectly fine by her, but she had a feeling that this was only because she had been so exhausted. She couldn't work herself into teary unconsciousness every night she wanted a restful sleep.
I hope Jaima and Shadow got enough sleep, she thought. She'd feel bad if either of them was still tired because she had kept them up too late.
"Rii," Zorro commented, placing his left paw on the top of her head.
Tuesday smiled. "You're right, Zorro," she said, and headed down the stairs. "Time for a new day to begin." She pushed open the door to the lobby and searched for her traveling companions, her friends.
Her family.
Meiko was most amused.
When she first saw Jaima, walking with the tiny girl with hair color so close to his she wildly thought the girl was his daughter (silly, yes, but she had been climbing for hours and perhaps a touch of heatstroke was also to blame! Besides, Tuesday was small enough to look eight... still silly.), she had been impressed with how he'd grown. His command over his pokémon and, later, his prowess in fighting only impressed her more. He was smart, and so kind to the girl and even to his friends (a little bossy, but she actually thought he came by that honestly; He did help raise a pair of rambunctious twins!), it reminded her of everything she'd liked about him when they were kids.
He had been her first crush, and even though she'd gotten over it, she wished she never had to.
This, however, was a new side of Jaima; Exhausted. His head was down on the table next to an empty bowl of what looked like rice. Next to him, his kirlia, a pretty blue domed creature, mimicked his posture, face down on the table. It was so cutely miserable that Meiko wanted to giggle.
So she did.
"Sure," Jaima droned into the table, muffling his words slightly. "Laugh at my misery."
Meiko giggled again. "Why are you so tired, Jaima?"
Jaima raised a hand, unwilling or unable to remove his head from the table. "I am not at liberty to discuss it at this time," he said, wearily.
"OK, so why is your kirlia so tired?"
The kirlia in question, Mercury, also raised her hand, also leaving her head on the table. Ditto.
Meiko blinked, then flushed. The mental voice was more than just a voice. It was emotion, and thought, and it held Jaima in a very high regard. And it knew, without prying and without even trying to be nosey, that Meiko cared for Jaima.
"I don't know if I'll get used to that."
Jaima's voice was still muffled, but his hand pulled his bowl down to eat from it from his position. "You get used to it."
Meiko laughed softly.
* * * * *
Shadow watched Little Mercury and Sensei Jaima from the wall, kicked back, leg up to rest a foot on the wall. If he had been human, the pose would have looked either cool or cheesy, but he didn't concern himself with such trivialities. From here he could see Sensei and the one who wanted to be his mate.
It was so easy to read people now. He could see intentions and feeling flickering through the waves that emanated from everyone. Meiko, Sensei Jaima's friend, was happy and amused, and also very effectionate toward most of the humans in her party (including the one who preened like a Persian. Her aura was shot with dark blue spikes of near-malice, but still, there was genuine affection and respect there, too.
He was tired, as was his Sensei and his Little Mercury, but unlike them, he wasn't letting it show. It was a sign of their trust in people that they did. It was a sign of Shadow's diligence that he did not.
Along came Tuesday, blazing in her subtle power. He could read intricacies in it now. There were bonds forming, told by the way her aura interacted with the Little Brother on her shoulder, supported by the way the Pikachu on the other shoulder had a similar connection, stronger, yet harder to notice due to the pikachu's 'normal' sized aura.
Shadow beckoned the riolu. As Tuesday was sitting, it seemed nothing for him to jump down and scamper to its older relative, yet Zorro seemed hesitant.
Shadow almost smiled. Caution to temper his recklessness was good.
Shadow nodded, then motioned for the riolu to follow, outside. Where they could spar, and Shadow could judge the riolu's skill. He was no hatchling, as Shadow had been when Rosie had taught him, but Zorro may not have had the benefit of proper introduction to the art of the Fight.
Shadow would give it to him. It was the least he could do for Tuesday.
* * * * *
Mercury watched Shadow leave, her eyes hooded, her head throbbing, and one word echoed deep down in the recesses of her heart, where she could still hide things, even from Trainer Jaima:
want
She let her head drop again with a heavy sigh.
* * * * *
Jaima had finally picked up his head when Tuesday walked in, offering her a sleepy smile. She looked concerned, but he waved it away, motioning for her to eat first and talk later.
"I woke up when Jaima brought you in, Tuesday," said Meiko, causing Jaima to blush a bit. She winked at him playfully. "I hope you don't mind if I let you sleep in a little bit..."
Tuesday hunched a bit and also blushed, but managed a soft "thank you" before tucking into her chosen meal. Meiko smiled fondly at her, and then at Jaima.
The smile faltered a bit, and she said, over Jaima's shoulder, "Can we help you, Nurse?"
Jaima blinked and turned. And paled.
There was Joy, the young nurse from Lenoilia, standing, wide eyed and flustered.
"Ah... um..." She faltered, and Jaima flushed and looked down. He saved her from having to speak, but in the worst possible way.
"Hi, Joy. Sorry I missed your note."
Tuesday didn't pay much attention to the arrival of Nurse Joy. She felt bad for keeping Jaima awake so late. She spared a moment's concentration to wonder why Mercury was so tired, but her focus returned to her guilt at being such a burden. She hated being so bothersome. Brone always worried about her when he should be taking care of himself. Cassandra worried when she should be watching over Brone. Her parents worried about her for all of the wrong reasons.
And Jaima worried about her now, when he should be back in bed, sleeping. Meiko had let her sleep in, but why hadn't Jaima?
Unless he thought he should be awake to watch over her when she woke up.
Sighing softly, Tuesday picked apart her turkey reuben, before deciding she wasn't hungry, and getting up from the seat. Her attention was elsewhere as she walked from the lobby outside, ignoring all else around her, and so not noticing the tension between Jaima and the recently-arrived nurse.
Stepping outside and hearing the automatic doors swish closed behind her, Tuesday walked without thinking, following some pull in her mind or in her heart. She found herself standing outside of some sort of paddock, which was empty save for two familiar pokemon.
Shadow and Zorro were dancing around each other like two musketeers, sans sword. They both moved swiftly, delivering blows to try and strike the other down, but each had an advantage over the other.
Tuesday crawled up to sit on top of the fence and watched them. Shadow was, of course, the larger of the two. He had already weighed more than Zorro did when he was a riolu, and his evolution had brought with it an even greater weight, mostly concentrated in the metal spikes protruding from his body.
Smaller and more lithe than the elder, Zorro was faster on his feet than Shadow. Though the lucario had a greater stride, Zorro seemed to base his movements on agility, dancing around his opponent in a series of dodges and flips, avoiding attacks more than sending out his own.
As she watched, however, Zorro leapt forward to land on his forepaws, before pushing off the ground to send his hindlegs toward Shadow, aimed at his chest.
Shadow, for his part, turned his run into a slide and skidded on his back on the ground. When Zorro came hurtling above him at an uncontrolled catapult, Shadow kicked both of his rear paws against the riolu, sending him flying into the air.
Zorro let out a cry of surprise, but twisted in midair, attempting to gain some semblance of control. He lost the battle with gravity, as was to be expected, but he did manage to land on his feet, which almost had Tuesday applauding, but she didn't want to interrupt them.
Tempest, however, didn't have such qualms.
Tuesday had forgotten that the pikachu still sat on her shoulder, until she leapt up onto Tuesday's head. Zorro was in the middle of dodging a series of punches coming from the swift-pawed Shadow, when Tempest cried out, "Pika pi!!" in what sounded like a mocking manner.
Zorro looked over in their direction, his expression affronted. The distraction, however, was all it took for one of Shadow's punches to land solidly, sending the unhappy riolu crashing to the ground.
Leaping quickly to his feet, Zorro leapt forward with a snarl and started yelling something at Tempest, who was still sitting on Tuesday's head. Grabbing her around the middle, Tuesday pulled the pikachu to her chest, to find that she was making faces at the snarling riolu.
"Rii! Riii oooo!" Zorro snapped back, and Tempest stopped making faces, her cheeks lighting up with sparks and her ears flattening against her head in anger.
"Piiiiikaaaaa..."
"Tempest, stop!" Tuesday yelled, half-wanting to keep holding the pikachu, and half-wishing she could drop her. She'd been shocked before and it was never a pleasant feeling.
To her surprise, it was Shadow who stepped forward and, with a disapproving look in his eyes, swatted Zorro in the back of the head. Startled, the riolu staggered forward and then looked back, rubbing his cranium. Shadow was glaring at him with a look of distaste.
"Cario," he said firmly.
Zorro turned back and looked at the ground. "Lu," he snapped, sounding defiant. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Tempest. "Rii..." His eyes shifted to Shadow before looking back at Tempest, resigned. "Rii lu olu."
Tempest chuffed, sounding unimpressed and slightly indignant. "Chu," she muttered, and turned her head away. Sparks stopped coming out of her cheeks, but it looked like something was left unfinished between the pikachu and riolu.
So much for her pokemon getting along right away. Maybe yesterday was just a fluke. Tuesday sighed.
"Back in your pokeball, Tempest," she said, pulling the ball out and flashing the pikachu back into it. "And stay in there until you're ready to be nice."
Tuesday looked up, sighing. "Shadow..." She tried to think of what to say to the lucario, for being there for her last night, for testing Zorro's strength, for... everything. She smiled softly. "Thanks."
Funny, how words failed her when she was so adamant at using them. She hoped he understood. She got the feeling that she didn't know all of what was going on between him and herself, and Zorro. There seemed to be something else there - something that he understood but which yet evaded her. Maybe he'd realize that she was thanking him for that, too, even before she knew fully what it was.
"Sparring, huh?" Darryn walked up behind Tuesday on the fence and leaned on it next to her. The young girl gave Darry and faint smile but said nothing and instead focused on her new Riolu's training with Shadow. Darryn watched them in silence for a couple of minutes, taking note of the way both Pokemon moved and how quick their reflexes were.
*There's no doubt about it... Shadow is a true expert in this... No wonder Jaima asks him for help to train...*
"Dante and Tempest not coming out, too? Your Ponyta?" Darryn asked Tuesday, trying to stimulate conversation with the girl. He wasn't very good with kids and he hadn't really had chance to talk with the girl alone sine he had met her. In fact, they had barely spoken ten words to each other. Tuesday shook her head but still said nothing. Darryn inwardly groaned. He was useless at this!
"Vul." Lady announced herself as she jumped up onto the face in between Darryn and Tuesday. After being brushed that morning, Lady's oddly scarlet fur shone brilliantly in the sunlight of the morning. She looked to Darryn once before nuzzling the girl's arm with her head. Tuesday almost flinched but, looking down at the fire fox Pokemon, she seemed pleased to be getting attention from Darryn's partner. Tuesday smiled.
"She's lovely." Tuesday offered, stroking Lady's fur softly. Darryn watched in stunned silence as Lady allowed herself to be touched by another person. No-one but Joys had ever gotten so close to her without a warning look or a snap. It was incredible!
"Uh, thanks!" Darryn vaulted himself over the fence and reached over to pat the Vulpix's head. "I've got her on a special diet for fire-types that bolsters epidermal quality and swells their fire-sacs so their fire-type attacks are stronger. It's a recipe I made myself - that's what I specialise in. Looking after the health and beauty of Pokemon is what I've been trained in and coming on this journey has only helped me improve on the practical skills that I was taught at college."
"It's good for fire-type Pokemon?" Tuesday asked, interest sounding heavily in her tone. "Is it something Dante could try?" Darryn grinned.
"Of course! I'm going to mix up some more supplements for all of my Pokemon later today before their gym battle so I'd be happy to make extra. Now, if it's ok, I'm going to get some of my own training in on the other half of this field?" Darryn began unclipping Pokeballs.
"Uhuh..." Tuesday shurgged and smiled.
"Then it's time for everyone to come out!" Darryn announced, throwing all of his Pokeballs into the air. His small menagerie gathered around quickly and listened intently as Darryn set up their training regimes.
*****
"Now, let's practice our speed and accuracy! Ready?!" Darryn called, Bravo and Lady the only pair left to train on the field. They hollered back their preparedness and readied themselves. "Great! Then Bravo use Featherdance! Lady, shoot all of the feathers down with Ember - make sure to hit each target with only a single flame each!."
"Pideoh!!!" Bravoe screamed, spinning himself into a frenzy and scattering swirling feathers far and wide over the field. Lady pounced into action, her Agility allowing her to run rings around their portion of the battlefield while spitting needle-like shots of flame into the air. One by one, flaming quills fell to the ground, each and every one hit with pin-point accuracy.
"Excellent! Now speed it up! Bravo, speed up the feathers with Whirlwind!"
The training continued, Bravo sending more and more feathers into the squall without seeming to actually lose a single one from his body, while Lady's speed and focus shot down each target.
"Let's turn this thing around! Lady use Ember on Bravo! Bravo, repel them all with Whirlwind!" Darryn ordered, watching as Lady's flames were easily sent back down at her as dissipating sparks thanks to the Pidgeotto's roaring crosswind.
"November? Mind giving Lady a boost?" Darryn asked. His Ponyta nodded proudly and trotted out to where Lady was standing. She stood directly over the fox and ignited the surroundings with her Flame Wheel.
"Fool of a Took!" Tuesday cried, jumping right off the fence.
Darryn held out a hand to signal her to calm down. "It's OK. Fire attacks only make Lady stronger. Check it out."
Sure enough, Lady's Ember grew in strength and soon a roaring jet of flame was spiralling out from her lips. Clearly she had not had that sort of power before - her ability was working.
"Y'see, Vulpix have an ability called Flash Fire. Any fire attack used against them is turned into power for the Vulpix to use. It just so happens that my Ponyta has the same ability, too. And, with any luck, it will be a key skill in our gym battle..."
"Wow..." Tuesday's tiny voice piped up. "If anything you really shouldn't throw yourself in next time!"
"O...K..." Darryn rolled his eyes, not really understanding Tuesday's Tolkien reference.
"Umm... that ability stuff is cool and all... but should it be getting that close?" Tuesday asked worriedly.
Darryn looked up. "No.. it really shouldn't... aw crap!"
Flames struck Bravo, Lady's powered Ember engulfing the poor bird in a firey swathe of super-powered heat. Bravo's wings still circled amid the blaze, ripping through the fire faster and faster as he attempted to cast the attack back to its origin.
"Lady, November, stop it!" Darryn cried, racing out towards the battlefield. His Pokemon immediately obeyed and the jet of fire ended, but the firey ball that surrounded Bravo remained.
"GEOH GEOH GEOOOOH!" Darryn's Pidgeotto screamed, the flames slowly beginning to disperse.
"You can do it, Bravo! Put them out!" Darryn urged, unable to lend any other support without the bird coming to the ground. Bravo continued to windmill his wings, the flames being dragged away from his face and neck, crawling slowly upwards away from his tail. The process was slow and painful to watch but eventually only the bird's wings were aflame.
"Something's not right..." Tuesday whispered, standing a little behind Darryn but squinting upwards with analysing eyes.
"Yeah... those flames should have been put out already... what is this?"
[Heat Wave. A fire-type attack of the Special variety. Heat Wave is a powerful move that utilises the the hot breath of a fire Pokemon which may inflict a burn on the foe. It has been recently recorded that certain flying-type Pokemon can learn this technique by generating the heat required for the attack with ultra-fast wing beats.]
"Oh my God! My Pidgeotto learned Heat Wave!!!" Darryn clapped his hands and laughed as Bravo swung his wings forward and sent a crimson jet of intense light into the sky. "Bravo, BRAVO!!!"
Having watched Darryn train his pokemon while Shadow and Zorro were sparring (up until the point where Tempest decided to be rude), Tuesday decided that now might be a good time to do some training of her own. She didn't intend to attempt a gym battle this time, since she didn't think that she was ready yet, physically or mentally. She also wasn't sure that she liked the idea of forcing pokemon to battle for sport.
Tuesday saw her pokemon as companions and a family, and forcing them to fight for her when it was unnecessary seemed cruel. She knew that Professor Oak condoned pokemon battling and enjoyed watching it as a sport, and Tuesday would never look down upon someone (so long as they treated their pokemon right) for battling, but she just didn't know how she felt about it. The trials that she had already been through had forced her pokemon to battle for their and her lives. That was a point at which it was a necessary evil, but...
She supposed she had a lot of introspection ahead of her, during which she would need to decide her place in various areas. She wanted to be a pokemon researcher, and her first priority was, of course, to learn all that she could about pokemon. Talking with Darryn had been very informative, and Tuesday was excited to have more conversations with him. He was obviously quite proficient with chemistry if he was creating his own recipes to help pokemon based on their specific types. She had no doubt that she could learn a great deal from him based solely on that. It looked like she might even need to buy a new notebook!
And, of course, she would need another sketchbook, since she was running low on blank pages, and she always preferred to do her pokemon research by hand, rather than relying upon a pokedex. She would catch sight of a pokemon, sketch it out, and record what she could on that same page. The information that she had gathered about each of her pokemon, however, had taken up a good deal of her sketchbook space, and she would have to send this one off to Professor Oak soon.
Though, a good way to fill up what was left would be to test her pokemon's strength, and work on some new maneuvers.
"Well, that sounds like a plan," Tuesday muttered to herself. She leapt down from her retaken seat on the fence and grabbed her three occupied pokeballs, tossing them to the ground as Zorro came dashing over to her.
Wraith appeared first, delighted to be free from his pokeball. With a loud whinny, he bolted away, running swiftly across the ground, his black mane and black waving like a victorious flag behind him. Tuesday watched him run, as Tempest and Dante appeared in flashes of red light.
Tempest took one look at Zorro, before crossing her arms and turning her head away with a huff. Tuesday sighed. "I don't suppose you two will cooperate enough for us to plan some maneuvers?" Tempest glared at her. "Fine, then, Pest," she said, emphasizing the nickname in her ire, "you're working with Wraith."
"Pika!" Tempest declared indignantly.
"I obviously can't have you working with Zorro," Tuesday explained, exasperated, "since you're so full of animosity toward him for no reason."
"Ka!"
"And you've worked with Dante before. We need some new maneuvers. So you can work with Wraith, or you can work by yourself."
Tempest, arms crossed tightly over her chest, glared at Tuesday with all of the wrath she could manage to hold in her chocolate-brown eyes. Finally deciding that Tuesday wasn't about to change her mind, Tempest stalked forward angrily and, with a sharp "chu!", pressed the button on her pokeball and allowed herself to be pulled inside. Obviously, she didn't feel very participatory at the moment.
Tuesday sighed. I think I get why Jaima calls them his "kids" now. Children. Huffing, she turned to see that Wraith had finally burned off some of his excess energy and was standing not too far away, watching the proceedings. Dante was standing firmly with his arms crossed, eying Zorro, who was grinning in a mischievous manner that concerned Tuesday.
"Do I want to know?" she asked.
Dante shook his head slowly, and then smacked Zorro on the back of the head. The riolu let out a yelp and rubbed his head, glaring halfheartedly at Dante, but it was clear he didn't show the charmeleon any animosity. In fact, his slumped shoulders and submissive stance revealed not only that he viewed Dante as his superior, but also that he thought the charmeleon was right in... whatever that had been about.
Tempest, no doubt.
"All right, Dante, we've already got a few maneuvers for you, so I think we're just going to have you test out Zorro's agility, and see what we can pull with that, 'kay?"
"Leon," Dante said, nodding sharply.
"Okay," Tuesday said, tapping her bottom lip. "What're we gonna try to-"
"Bulba."
Tuesday turned to see that another pokemon had joined her in the paddock. "Hey, Grondir," she said. "You wanna join the party?"
"Saur." The bulbasaur ambled over to stand beside her. Tuesday continued to tap her lip, thinking.
"Grondir, you know vine whip, right?"
"Basaur," Grondir replied, waving his vines gently around.
"Would you like to help me try something? I don't know if it will work."
"Saur," Grondir said, nodding. He seemed happy with the idea of helping, and Tuesday thought she might have an idea. It wouldn't do much good without Grondir around, but maybe it would come in handy in the future.
"Okay, so Grondir... wrap your vines around Zorro's wrists."
The riolu gave her a curious look, but held out his hands. Grondir, trusting Tuesday, wrapped one of his vines around each of the riolu's wrists.
"All right, now Zorro, I want you to jump up, and then Grondir, pull your vines taut, and see if you can't fling Zorro behind you. Ready, Wraith?"
Wraith whinnied loudly, stomping a hoof impatiently. "All right, all right," Tuesday said. I have no idea where this idea came from, but... here goes. "Jump, Zorro!"
Tuesday was vaguely aware of Shadow's presence nearby, watching them. Her eyes, however, were on Zorro, as the riolu jumped into the air. Grondir hunkered down and yanked hard on his vines, pulling them taut and abruptly jerking Zorro by the wrists. With a yelp, the riolu found the vines around his wrists loosen, and then he was flying forward, the wind whipping back his bandana tassels.
On instinct, hoping to catch his landing, he threw his weight forward and did a flip, until he was falling feet first. Instead of hitting the ground, however, Wraith suddenly appeared beneath him, running swiftly, and the riolu landed astride his firm, cream-coated back. Wraith whinnied loudly in success and raced around the paddock, with Zorro grabbing his mane to keep himself astride the ponyta.
Tuesday laughed in delight and amusement, grinning from ear to ear. "Maybe I should have named you Thunder!" she called to Wraith. She had an idea that her riolu and ponyta were going to work well together.
"All right, let's try something else. Zorro, stay on Wraith's back, but Wraith, come running this way." Obediently, Wraith dug her hooves into the dirt and changed direction. "Grondir, send a razor leaf attack at Wraith." Wraith snorted. "Zorro, you're on guard duty." Zorro gave her a curious look, frowning. "Your job is to use force palm to swat the razor leaves out of the air before they can touch Wraith. Wraith, dodge some if you must, but no ember attacks. Grondir won't hurt you."
"Saur."
"Ready, guys?"
There was a chorus of agreement from the trio. Tuesday stood beside Dante, the two watching as Zorro, astride Wraith, raced toward the sturdy bulbasaur. "All right, Grondir! Razor leaf!"
"Bulba!" A series of leaves burst from the bulb on Grondir's back, slicing through the air like spinning knives. Perched on Wraith's back on his rear paws, Zorro raised his hands and took a downward swing at the first leaf to reach him.
There was something like an electric shock that coursed through Tuesday, when a pulse of bluish light predicted the death of the spinning leaf.
This continued until Grondir had cast razor leaf three times. Wraith hadn't been hit once, though he had needed to dodge a number of times when Zorro hadn't been quick enough to take out all of the leaves in time. Wraith stood with his head bowed, breathing deeply, with Zorra sitting on the ground beside her. Both seemed pleased with themselves.
"You did great, guys!" Tuesday declared, dancing over to them. She patted Wraith's neck and scratched Zorro's ears, before turning to Grondir. "Thanks a bunch for your help, Grondir!"
"Bulba," Grondir said, grinning. "Bulba... saur..."
The white light that enveloped the bulbasaur caught Tuesday off guard, but she found herself grinning. She knew what to expect moments before the light faded, and the form of the bulbasaur was replaced with the larger form of an ivysaur.
"I guess that training session was all you needed, Grondir," Tuesday said. "Come on! Let's go show Jaima!"
She was grinning from ear-to-ear when she bolted back into the lobby of the pokemon centre. "Jaima! Hey!" She skidded to a stop next to the table, her observational skills lacking in her excitement, and so she noticed none of the tension in the room. "Jaima, look! Grondir evolved!!"
Jaima watched as Joy's face fell. She had been stunned before, but now she was saddened. Dammit, he thought, kicking himself. I forgot how much I hate the taste of shoe canvas...
"I had wondered," she said, twisting a corner of her apron. "I had wondered if it even arrived. I see that it has." She was about to turn and leave when the third person at the table piped up.
"Jai-kun..." The voice was pleasant enough, on the outside. No one, however, at the table missed the acidity of tone in the speakers voice. She struggled to keep her face passive, interested, but there was a twitch in her left eye.
Jaima looked down at his knees. "Meiko-chan, meet Joy. She is a nurse-in-training who was recently reassigned from Lenoilia City." He didn't look up, but gestured politely toward Meiko. "Joy, this is Meiko Omura, a friend from my home town. We met when my family and I moved there when I was six."
What Jaima expected, having no real experience with human interaction on a social basis outside of his home, school, or the lab. Even the school interactions were cut short when his hours lessened and then when he finally dropped out. So everything he'd ever seen about girls had been seen on television.
Even he was not so inept as to expect it to be close to reality, but he did not expect what actually happened.
Meiko stood and put out her hand. "A pleasure to meet you," she said, bowing, a short bow. Jaima blinked and glanced up, just in time to see Meiko's glance at him.
She was not happy.
"Thank you," whispered Joy. "It's nice to meet a friend of Jaima's." She looked down, then looked at Jaima. "Can we-"
"Jaima! Hey!" Through the lobby came a curly headed blonde bundle of smiles, being trailed by an ivysaur. Jaima, for one frozen moment, thought that he was possibly going to get another young girl vying for his attention (which was wishful thinking; Joy wasn't looking at him at all, and Meiko was fairly glaring at him, in a way that, if she had the ability, would certainly set his hair on fire).
"Jaima, look!" Tuesday gestured excitedly at the ivysaur strutting behind her. "Grondir evolved!"
Jaima blinked, and for a moment, both girls and the tension were forgotten. Jaima steppd out of his seat, kneeling next to and peering at Grondir. He had nearly doubled in size, and the bulb on his back had sprouted. "Gron! Good job! When did this happen," he asked Tuesday.
"Just now!" Tuesday's grin was just as wide as his. "He was helping me train Zorro, and he evolved!"
Jaima grinned and patted him on the head. "What is it with you and female trainers, huh, buddy?"
"Saur," Grondir croaked, his voice now an octave lower than before. It seemed to surprise him as well. Jaima chuckled.
Tuesday and Jaima didn't notice, and the two girls in question didn't notice it in each other, but Mercury was an observer, and she noticed right away; Both Meiko, who wanted to be mad at Jaima for not even seeing a possibility for what he had started with a *nurse Joy* of all people, and Joy, who was sad and scared to have to talk to Jaima in front of a girl who obviously felt jealous, both had soft expressions on their faces, because Jaima was attending to his pokémon despite his usual discomfort. Joy's expression became wistful; this is what had attracted her to the tall blonde boy in the first place. Meiko's grew stormy. Yet another example of what she had liked about Jaima, flaunting itself when someone had already taken the place she hadn't even realized she'd wanted so soon.
Jaima looked up, smiling at Tuesday, but the smile was not as happy as usual. "Have you ever watched an evolution this close before, Tuesy?" The younger girl shook her head, wide eyed. "Well, why don't you document what happened, and see if you can't find out if there are any differences in Grondir's personality."
Tuesday cocked a wary eye at Jaima. "Are you trying to get rid of me..?"
Jaima shook his head in resignation. "Yeah, I know, you're smart. I am, honey, but only for a little bit, and only so I can try to talk to Joy, who I met before Ember was stolen, and Meiko, who you've met." Jaima looked up. "Joy, this is Tuesday. She's the one who found Ember, and we've become close."
Joy bowed lightly, and Tuesday bowed in return, then looked at Jaima. "Are you all right?"
Jaima smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. I really am interested in hearing your observations about evolution." He actually was, and something must have convinced Tuesday of it, because she nodded, then motioned for Grondir to follow. Jaima watched her go, noting that Tempest wasn't on her shoulder, but Dante and Zorro were following her (tussling like brothers). He'd have to ask.
Later.
"Jaima," Joy said, still very soft. "Is it all right if we take a walk..? I have some things I'd like to say..."
Jay looked at her, then at Meiko. "Ah... it would be rude to Mei-ch-"
"Oh," Meiko said, her voice slightly higher than usual, "Don't mind me. I'll be fine." Jaima looked at her, but she looked away. "Just fine. Go talk."
Jaima's lips pressed together, and he turned, motioning for Joy to lead the way. Meiko waited a few moments before watching him go, then turned on her heel and marched to her room, where she dropped onto her bed unheedful of Tuesday across the room.
"Just... fine."
* * * * *
Jaima and Joy walked silently through a tree covered garden. Joy looked around, and Jaima kept his gaze at the ground, hands in his pockets. Finally Joy cleared her throat.
"I... I'd like to know why I didn't get an answer, Jaima. It hurt to not hear from you." Her voice was shaky, but neither angry nor malicious. Jaima sighed.
"I'm sorry I hurt you, Joy. But... it's hard to explain why. I... I didn't get the message right away..." He looked at her, and she looked at him. Her face was impassive. "Tuesday and I had an encounter with... or... or we thought we had an encounter with... a... a pokémon I'd only seen in books. A Celebi. Or we just fell victim to a psychic type... but in the end, time passed, and it was too late to respond."
Joy looked down, unwilling to see the anger and accusation in Joy's eyes. But she put a hand on his arm. "That's actually a relief. You could have contacted me afterwards."
Jaima huffed, part chuckle and part sigh. "To tell the truth, I didn't think you'd want me to. Besides, more stuff happened almost right after. Shadow got taken, and they used some kind of Shadow machine on him, and there was a fight with Team Deception--"
"That was you?!" Joy's earlier sadness and shyness seemed to have evaporated. "Jaima, that Team Deception was very cruel to their pokémon, and I hear they're using more Shadow Machines!" She blushed and looked down. "You could have been hurt."
"I was with my friends."
They walked in silence, and Joy cleared her throat. "Jaima... I'm... glad you didn't answer." Jaima looked up, blinking, and she smiled sadly. "You're a nice boy, and you are very patient and kind, both with pokémon and children. But you're a Trainer. And a good one. You'll be travelling, and I... I want to be a Nurse. A good Nurse." She looked down. "I'm sorry, Jaima, but I don't think we should see each other anymore."
Jaima sighed. "I was thinking something similar after I got into Lenoilia the second time." He looked at her, surprised to find them close to the door of the pokécenter. "I think you're right. But I'd like to be friends, if... if that's all right."
Joy smiled, the first real smile he'd seen on her. "That's good, Jaima. I'd like that."
She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, lingering for a second before dropping down, flushed. "I will see you, then, if you're going to be around."
Jaima nodded, and Joy turned and walked inside, smiling softly.
Neither saw Meiko in the window of her room. And neither knew that, from her angle, it looked as if Joy had kissed Jaima on the lips.
Tuesday sat on her bed cross-legged, sketchbook on her knees, as she gazed at Grondir. The newly-evolved Ivysaur was testing out his new form, as Tuesday recorded what information she could about the differences since his evolution. She had never seen an evolution up close before. She had even missed out when it came to Dante's evolution, so this was a real treat for her. Plus, Jaima had hit the nail on the head when he suggested her recording any sort of personality changes in his loyal pokemon.
Tuesday couldn't really find any of those, though it didn't really surprise her. Grondir was always a very loyal, serious pokemon. He had a manner about him that was calm, and he tried to project this onto others to solve problems, like when Tuesday had first met Jaima. He stood his ground in battle, firm and even stubborn. He had seemed from the start more mature for his age or evolution, so not seeing an alternation in his personality didn't strike Tuesday as being particularly odd.
POKEMON EVOLUTION:
Bulbasaur --> Ivysaur
Subject's name: Grondir
Trainer: Jaima Kuonji
Having witnessed a pokemon evolution up close, I have taken it upon myself to record the differences that can be found within the subject immediately after said evolution. The subject, Grondir the Ivysaur, is more than willing to help me with my research, and seems to be just as interesting as I am in discovering any changes that have occurred within his person.
This emphasizes a point: evolution is very much like the maturation of a human. We can suspect what we will look like once puberty strikes, but we have no true, set knowledge of what will have occurred. The same can be said for pokemon who have evolved. Grondir is taking his time studying his own body to discover physical differences, having not previously known what it is he would have looked like upon his evolution.
From sight alone, there are only a few significant differences. The bulb that sat closed on Grondir's back has begun to open, leaves fanning out just above his spine, to frame a deep-red flower, still closed. The subject seems to have a wider stance, his paws more capable of gripping the ground, than there was in his previous evolution. This will give him a greater distribution of his weight and possibly make it more difficult from his to be loosened from his stance by attacks such as GUST or WHIRLWIND.
The colors of the subject's coat have not seemed to change, and the distribution of dark spots across his body have made no visible alteration. However, subject seems to have sharper fangs than in his previous form, and his ears seem to be more sensitive than they were as a bulbasaur. At subject's willingness, I examined his vines and discovered that they longer than in their previous form, as well as more maneuverable. This suggests that, as a pokemon evolves, they not only gain more abilities, but also strengthen their understanding of the abilities they had previously.
Unfortunately, until I am able to witness the subject in battle, I will not be able to make further observations based on his abilities or maneuverability as a whole. Such information to come at a later date.
- Tuesday I. Berdison, Pokemon Researcher
Tuesday tucked the report into her sketchbook with the pictures of Grondir as both a bulbasaur and an ivysaur, before sliding the sketchbook into her messenger bag.
For the first time since her arrival into the room, Tuesday looked up at Meiko. The girl had come storming in and gone to the window, but after staring out of it for only five minutes, she had flopped onto her bed and begun to cry softly. Tuesday, who had always tried to keep her emotions quiet and out of the visage of others, had done nothing to bring attention to Meiko's plight. As she looked up now, she saw that the red-headed girl had fallen asleep on her bed, though her face still held a lingering look of pain, with tear streaks staining the flesh of her cheeks.
Tuesday got to her feet, instinctively sliding the strap of her messenger bag across her chest. She studied the sleeping Meiko for a moment, wondering what was bothering the girl, but knowing that it was none of her business. It would work out, she was sure.
"Ivy."
Tuesday looked over to where Grondir was, nudging a blanket with his nose. She smiled softly at him and walked over, picking up the soft fleece material. Grondir had that loyal, caring look on his face as he studied Meiko, and Tuesday wondered if he had met the girl before, or if he was just protective toward anyone (or anyone that was close to Jaima).
Tuesday unfolded the blanket and softly draped it over the sleeping Meiko, noticing how chilly it was in the room. She tended not to notice such things when she was writing or drawing, but of course, Grondir would be more susceptible to the change in temperature.
When Meiko was covered with the blanket (and still asleep), Tuesday quietly opened the door, slipping out behind Grondir. She closed it as softly as she could, and then walked with quiet swiftness down the hall and toward the lobby downstairs. She hoped that Jaima had spoken to Joy as he needed to. He'd looked bothered by something and she didn't like that. She knew everything worked out in the end (or she dearly hoped it), but it still concerned her to see such unsure emotions dancing across her adoptive brother's face.
As she walked, she thought about a couple problems of her own. The first and most bothersome was Tempest's sudden attitude; how she was treating Zorro so rudely and being uncooperative. Tempest hadn't acted like this toward Tuesday since they had first met, and now she was being so... unlike the pikachu that Tuesday had come to know.
Her other problem, and the one she just couldn't figure out at all, was whether or not she should try out for a gym badge. Either way, she didn't think she would fight in this gym, but she couldn't decide if it was cruel or not. Knowing Jaima as she did, she knew that he would never place his pokemon in danger if he could avoid it, but wasn't pokemon battling - fighting for no reason - just as cruel as hurting your pokemon yourself?
Tuesday knew Jaima would never do that to his pokemon, and she supposed that, secretly, she wanted to try battling, but she was unsure. She'd seen cruelty, and Tempest had been the victim of a vicious trainer prior to meeting Tuesday. She was just... uncertain, and she didn't like it.
While Tuesday wanted to be a researcher with every fiber of her being, she also knew that just wandering around wasn't going to get her much information. She needed to join in on activities, and battling was a popular (is there a word strong enough?) form of entertainment and socializing. It would certainly help her, but she didn't know.
She needed a second opinion, and she trusted Jaima.
So when she spotted the blonde boy sitting at the table, with Shadow standing nearby and Mercury in his lap, she let her shoulders sag in relief and wandered over to plop down in the seat across from him. He looked up at her when she sat down and Tuesday gave him a wondering look. "Are you okay, Jaima?"
He nodded slowly. "Yeah, Tuesy," he said, and then smiled. "I'm all right."
"Good," Tuesday said, and then her grin faltered slightly. "Can I talk to you?"
"Anything," Jaima said, sitting up a little straighter and leaning on his elbows on the table. He watched as she similarly arranged herself, sitting up straighter, as if changing from a concerned little sister to a tiny pokémon researcher.
Jaima thought better than to blurt out the "tiny researcher" part.
"Well... It's..." She faltered, showing herself still an adolescent, with doubts and fears and worries, and Jaima wondered if he was really qualified to help her. After all, he was still an adolescent with doubts and fears and worries.
"Is battling humane?" Tuesday had blurted it out, and flushed because of it, but she didn't lower her eyes like she usually did when she felt that she was being a little childish or silly. She must really feel strongly about this.
"What do you mean," Jaima asked neutrally, tilting his head.
Tuesday's hands came up, as if they held a box in which was the answer but she couldn't figure out exactly what it was. "I mean... we capture them, and we make them learn moves and do things, and then we pit them against other pokémon in fights that always end in both of them getting hurt. I mean, I know it's accepted, but doesn't it seem..." She struggled for the right word.
"Barbaric," Jaima offered, and Tuesday swallowed.
"I was going to say mean, but your word fits too well..."
Jaima smiled. "You're worried that you're forcing your friends to do something that will hurt them." It wasn't a question, but Tuesday nodded, looking down now. Jaima reached out and put a hand on hers. "Well, I can give you a little history. Pokémon heal faster, and more completely, than humans do. They can faint where most things would die, and while they can be killed, it's harder to do it accidently. But that has nothing to do with what you're asking, really. I'm just mentioning it to show cause and effect." He smiled at her, noting that her eyes, unlike Mariko's, seemed to light up the more he spoke, as if he were a real professor and she was his student. Given how she loved to learn, she was enjoying his little know-it-all speech. "Professor Elm says a lot of that has to do with an unstable molecula structure. They evolve quickly, and can channel energies to a certain degree, so they're... well, tougher than we are."
Jaima leaned back, but Tuesday leaned forward, her attention rapt. "Back to your question, though. I can give you an example of two extremes. First, Ember." He leaned back, revealing the long quilava sleeping at his feet. His hand stroked the soft fur on her back, gently, and Ember squirmed in delight, through her snores. "She was terrified of fighting." He shrugged. "I really wasn't a very good trainer to her. She never fought. And that's fine. A lot of people keep pokémon as pets. But then, suddenly, I was on my journey, and there was fighting involved, and Ember just... she'd do it, because she was loyal to me, but it scared her so bad. So, one day, I decided I wasn't going to make her fight anymore. I wouldn't be able to keep her with me, but... I was going to send her to Mom, to let her take care of eggs or something."
Tuesdays' eyes widened. She'd only ever seen the cyndaquil (now a quilava) when she was valiantly fighting. She hadn't wanted to sometimes, but she hadn't been forced to. Had she really been that timid? And Jaima was willing to send her home, just so she wouldn't have to fight?
As she came out of her concentration haze, she noticed a glum look come over his face. "Then she got stolen," he continued, swallowing. "And you found her, and you brought her back to me." His voice was laced with pride and gratitude, even after all this time. Even after he'd repayed the paltry act of returning a lost pokémon a hundred fold. "I was going to send her home right then, but Mercury says she was against it. If it meant staying with me, she'd learn to fight." He smiled down at Ember, who had woken up and was blinking at him. "And she's pretty good at it..."
Ember nuzzled his hand, then curled up again and began to doze. Jaima smiled down at her, then looked at Tuesday. "On the other extreme is Shadow. It would be cruel *not* to let him battle." He raised a hand, forestalling Tuesday's question briefly. "Sure, there are riolu who would prefer the more controlled battles of contests, or to simply spar. But Shadow's not any of them. His very first battle, almost right out of the egg, was against another riolu. She taught him how to fight, and in the end they knocked each other out. He's never looked back, and I've never had to."
He put his hand over Mercury's crest, and she looked up at him. "Even this one. One of her first battles... well, it was my fault she even got involved. It was for the stonebloom badge. In Gigarte, the leader there uses rock and grass types. So I picked Shadow, because fighting is strong for rock types, and Mercury, because Ember was scared to then, and most grass types were also poison types, which psychic is strong against, right?" Tuesday nodded. "Well, I never thought that there was a plant dark type. Mercury was barely able to form words mentally, but she was terrified." Jaima shook his head. "And she still battled. I don't know if she was onld enough to tell me she didn't want to, but the only thing that she voiced a problem with was the cacturne."
Jaima's brow furrowed, and he chuckled. "All of that has come right around to saying battling is fine... but that's not what I'm telling you." He smiled. "I'm telling you, see what they think. I knw Ember was afraid to fight before Mercury could really tell me. You'll be able to figure it out, especially as close as you are to Tempest and Dante."
Tuesday's head dropped, and Jaima tilted his own. "What...?"
"It's Pest. She's..." Tuesday sighed. "She's being very mean and obstinate lately." She looked up, and her eyes were desperately sad. "I don't know what's gotten into her."
"Well..." Jaima worried his lip. "Sometimes I've seen trainers who's pokémon get strong quickly, and the pokémon loses respect for the trainer until the trainer gets stronger." When Tuesday's face began to cumple, Jaima swallowed. "OK, wait, hold on," he said, quickly. "Why don't you let her out, and we'll see what's going on?"
Tuesday brought her pokéball out and released the pikachu on the table. Tempest looked around, saw Tuesday, and huffed, crossing her arms and turning her back.
"When'd this start," Jaima wondered, peering at the pikachu curiously. Tempest growled at him, and chuffed, pointing her nose in the air.
"At least sense this afternoon, when I was trying to train Zorro-"
At the sound of the name, Tempest's hackles raised. "Chuuuu," she snarled, her lightning sacs iin her chees sparking and flaring.
"See," Tuesday said, worried and sad. She looked as if she were about to start crying.
"Well," Jaima started, earning a glare from the pokemon. "It looks like she resents Zorro."
"Chuuuuu..."
"But why," asked Tuesday plaintively.
Tempest saw her about to cry and chittered at Jaima. "PiKA! Pika pika chu pika..." she darted to Tuesday's hand and returnd to the ball.
"Well, I mean, you and Dante have been her team for exceptionally long time, and then, suddenly, this riolu shows up and seems to snap your attention away before she knows what's wrong.. Maybe she feels like she's lost a chance or lost you or something."
"Never," Tuesday cried. "No, that could never happen.
"Well, that's something you will need to convince Tempest of." Jaima stretched and yawned. "I think I'll go to bed. You OK," he asked, and Tuesday nodded yes. He stood, smiling, and kissed her forehead. "Good night. Hope I helped some."
"Good night, Jaima. You were a great help."
It was only when she was almost back to her room when she realized whst Jaima's explanation reminded her of. She peeked at Meiko, still asleep, and sighed. "Maybe it is jealousy..."
While Jaima, Tuesday and Meiko amused themselves for the evening, Darryn turned his attention to his portfolio. Since starting out with his scabby Caterpie and fat feather deficient Pidgey he had managed to procure a set of impressive and beauty Pokemon that had proven their strength on more than one occasion. His main worry for them was not their skills in battling but whether or not he was actually contributing to his main goal - becoming a Fashion expert.
"OK... so for her next supplements I'll try... Spelon Spicy Poffin with Shuca Berry juice..." Darryn scribbled the next entry into November's dietary calendar and made a note of the changes that the Cheri berries had made to the lustre of her flames and sheen of her coat. With no reference to see what was considered "average" for a Ponyta Darryn had no true idea of how well he was faring with his equine acquisition but he was confident she was improving day by day.
Closing his notebook (which was bulging with inserted cuttings from magasines) Darryn let out a long sigh and relaxed back on the sofa, running his hands through his glossy red-brown hair. At what point had everything gotten so tiring? Back in the beginning everything seemed so much simpler and not one detail of his regime fell out of line. Now, hoever, he was hard pushed to update his progress reports and he hadn't had time to slow down once since leaving Gigarte. He watched Jaima and Joy talking across the waiting area before they split and walked their seperate ways.
*And how long has it been since you had a little romance?* Darryn's conscience laughed at him pitifully.
Shaking his head to himself, Darryn collected his fashion case together and clipped it shut, running a hand over Lady's back where she rested quietly at his side. She looked up briefly, blinked once, then lowered her head to her forepaws once more and closed her eyes.
Rising slowly from the cushioned seating, Darryn left his bags with a snoozing Lady and crossed over to the food court. In the late evening, the food being served was limited to only a few selections but Darryn wasn't hungry. He opted for just a diet coke and waited as the serving girl set to retrieving his order.
"Mawile ma!" A little voice squeaked up from his leg, accompanied by a tugging on his jeans. Darryn looked down to find a cute little tan face smiling up at him with intense happiness. "Wile mawile?"
"Err..." Darryn shrugged down at the Pokemon, not knowing what to say. "You want a drink, too?" He guessed.
"Ma ma!" The Pokemon bounced on the spot and buried her face into his shin. That was when Darryn sa the great dark appendage sprouting from the back of the Pokemon's head. Dark steely grey skin bulged out and down to the ground like an overripe pods of peas only this pod had razor sharp teeth. It was a truly bizarre sight. How could something so cute have such a menacing side to go along with it?
"Diet coke?" The server girl slid the carton across the counter.
"Er, can you make that two?" Darryn tossed some more Poké onto the counter as he bent down to offer the strange Pokemon a drink. She took it gratefully and giggled, sucking on the straw delicately and squealing with delight when she got a taste of the ice-cold drink.
"Thirsty, huh?" Darryn rubbed the Pokemon's head and gasped with pleasure as his hands made contact with ultra-soft fur. "And whoever your trainer is, she must get you the best conditioner on the market!"
"Actually, I make it myself."
"WHA!" Darryn stood up quickly and damned himself for being caught of guard in a public place. "S-sorry! I just found this Pokemon and she wanted a drink so I-"
"It's fine!" A dashing face grinned back and Darryn showing off pearly white teeth and a neat black haircut that screamed good taste. The trainer was a little older than Darryn but couldn't be more than around 20 - youth rang clearly in his features but experience shone through those beautifully bright blue eyes. And he smelled... Oh BOY did he smell! "Not every day a cute guy buys my Mawile a drink!" He laughed - a melodious sound that Darryn could have listened to for hours.
*Cute guy... ME!?*
"Uh, but I-" Darryn stammered.
*Damn! Don't be stupid! Be cool!*
"I think she's taken with you, y'know?" The trainer went on, bending down to lift the yellow bundle of joy into his toned... very very nicely toned... arms. Darryn gulped. "She doesn't just go tugging at the pants of just anyone."
"Uh..."
"And neither do I." He went on.
*Is this serious?! Surely this isn't right?! Me?! Here?! Now?!*
"Diet coke?" The server girl returned, sliding the second to Darryn. He hastily grabbed it and took a long drink, trying to buy any time he could to try and think of a decent reply for the hot pile of studly manliness stook next to him.
"Not going to get me one? Yikes, I must be losing it!" The guy rubbed pensively at his temple with a spare hand.
"NO!" Darryn yelped, almost choking. "I mean, no, I will get one - hang on!" He threw his wallet over the counter and left the server girl to it. She rolled her eyes and moved off once more.
"I'm Troy." The guy smiled again. Darryn stared blankly. "How about we sit?"
"Buh.. duh..." Darryn allowed himself to be led back to where lady was watching them with narrowed eyes. He sat awkwardly and felt bad when the server girl had to follow them over with his wallet and the final order. "I'm Darryn." He managed to get out through almost quivering lips, his heart racing quickly.
*Why now?! And why does he have to be hotter than me? That makes it so much harder!*
<The male lusts.> Lady informed him from her seat, her large brown eyes glittering dangerously.
"Darryn is it?" Troy smiled and drank a little, his icy blue eyes not leaving Darryn's brown. "So, tell me a little about yourself, Darryn."
And so Darryn's night began...
*****
When Darryn finally made it to the rom he was sharing with Jaima it was extremely late. The room was dark but not silent - one human and six Pokemon all rythmically breathing with the sounds of sleep was a rather special sound. Darryn tip-toed into his own bed, Lady joining him on the side of his pillow and curling up instantly, turning her back to him. She was sulking.
<Sleep well... Darryn.> She muttered to him petulantly. <We must focus for our battle tomorrow.>
Darryn heard her but could not listen as his focus was already completely elsewhere - his eyes fixed on a scrap of paper with a string of numbers on, held up to his face.
Tuesday sat on her bed, curled up in the corner with her arms wrapped around her knees. She was shivering uncontrollably, tears running down her cheeks. It was inevitable, she supposed. After the night that she had kept Jaima and Shadow up late and fallen asleep in Jaima's arms, she had slept as peacefully as a happy persian. Now, however, the exhaustion had been spent on a long night of sleep, and she was back to the original order of things.
Nightmares. Nightmares, and lots of them.
It's funny. You only dream for a few minutes, if that, and everything you dream is nothing more than flashes of images in your brain. Your own imagination and need for logic and an understandable timeline is what makes the series of images turn into a story in your brain. Unfortunately, this is true for nightmares as well as dreams, and Tuesday had the unfortunate bad luck to be equipped with a vivid imagination, and her nightmares were long.
She was having trouble waking up while in the midst of the horrid dream, and this curse upon her mind was keeping her trapped within the depths of a restless slumber, while she suffered through not one, but multiple nightmares.
They had changed, of course. New experiences and worries tended to do that to a person. Oh, the majority were still about Shadow, naturally, but there had been changes. For instance, in her dreams, he was a lucario as he was now, standing with an expression of firm resignation, staring down a herd of charging tauros and miltank.
But then, it wasn't always bovine. The dreams had taken on a serrated edge, and now Shadow was being trampled by a herd of angry pikachu, each of them snarling, fur standing on end as electricity frolicked like crickets through a field across their golden and brown bodies.
Sometimes, Shadow didn't look like Shadow, but like Zorro, and it wasn't a herd of pikachu - just Tempest. And Tuesday was there, trying to convince her rodent friend, one of her oldest companions, her most trusted comrades, that she would never be forgotten or left behind. She was trying to reason with her that nothing and no pokemon could tear them apart. Tuesday could love both Tempest and Zorro, but the pikachu couldn't understand this. She would ignore Tuesday completely, as though the girl had never spoken, and then she would attack Zorro.
The riolu would fight well, of course, dodging more than attacking as was in his nature, but no matter the power he used, no matter the maneuvers, Tempest was always faster, always stronger, and she always won.
And Zorro always died.
It wasn't that he fainted. Jaima had said that pokemon would faint in a situation where a human would be killed, but Zorro didn't have this benefit. Even the tiniest of sparks from Tempest was always strong enough to send him crashing to the ground, eyes lifeless.
Tuesday couldn't recall how many times or how many ways she had seen Zorro die by Tempest's rage. She couldn't remember which times she saw Zorro and which she saw Shadow, because at points, the two seemed interchangeable. Sometimes, she could distinctly tell Zorro apart - he seemed to glow with a faint blue color, like someone was shining a tinted light on him. But most of the time, she couldn't see the difference, and she didn't know if Tempest was killing her friend or Jaima's.
She just knew that Tempest always looked so pleased with herself afterward.
A hundred times, it could have been, that Tuesday watched the riolu, the lucario die. A hundred times, some by a pikachu, some by bovine pokemon, and sometimes... something else. Something that was neither rodent nor bovine, and Tuesday knew it was dangerous, but she couldn't identify it. She couldn't remember what it was, other than that it was bad, and it was coming.
But she couldn't remember, so it didn't matter, because her mind was too filled up with images of death, destruction, and betrayal. Memories, nightmares, dreams, what-ifs, and what-might-have-beens filled her to the brim, and then they spilled out of her in the form of tears, and Tuesday was sobbing uncontrollably, but keeping herself silent so as to not wake Meiko. Because she was being silly. She was being a child. She shouldn't be worried. She shouldn't. Everything was fine. Everyone was okay. No one was hurt.
But was no one hurt? Maybe something had happened. Maybe someone had been hurt and she just couldn't remember. Tuesday's arms tightened around her knees at the thought, and then she silently crawled out of bed and padded to the door in socked feet. She slipped into the hall and quietly closed the door behind her, before quickly moving over to what she knew to be Jaima and Darryn's room.
Tuesday hesitated outside of the room, her hand reaching for the door knob. Wasn't she being silly? Wouldn't Jaima or Darryn be mad at her for being so childish? She was on her adventure, and if not for having met Jaima, she would still be on her own. She shouldn't be acting this way. She should be grown up and act like an adult and stop crying over night terrors. It was a stupid, childish thing to do, and she should be ashamed of herself.
Pulling her hand away from the door, Tuesday slipped back inside her room and climbed silently back into bed. One glance at the other bed assured her that Meiko hadn't woken during her little escapade, and she was glad for it. She didn't need someone else losing sleep over her childish stupidity, and she refused to wake Jaima up and make him lose sleep over it again.
Wrapping the blankets around her, Tuesday pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Tempest hadn't come out of her pokeball since their talk with Jaima, and Tuesday didn't want to call her out, since Tempest was obviously mad at her. She couldn't deny the fact that she missed the pikachu, though, whose presence had always been a comfort when she was sleeping in a strange place, or after a nightmare.
Tuesday felt her eyes start to burn again, and suddenly she wanted nothing more than to be home so she could run into her brother's room and sob into a familiar hug. But Brone was miles upon miles away, and with her gone, he could worry about himself, and take the medication he so desperately needed. Cassandra was there taking care of him, making sure that he was healthy and safe, and Tuesday was a big girl and had to take care of herself and stop being a baby.
So she wrapped her arms around her knees and curled into a ball under the covers. She tried to still her shivering and lie still, but not even she had strength enough to will the tears to stop falling. She closed her eyes and let her mind drift, as she begged for a peaceful sleep.
She fell immediately into a nightmare, and throughout the remainder of the night, woke up randomly to numerous nightmares involving Shadow, Zorro, a herd of bovine, and a thousand pikachus with Tempest's angry face.
Jaima awoke, feeling his body jerk as if catching himself from falling, even though he was in the center of the bed and surrounded by pokémon. Grondir and Ember remained on the floor, and Shadow leaned in a corner, eyes closed, arms crossed, snoozing. His body, however, was tense as if any small sound would wake him fully.
Fang lay behind Jaima's knees, large enough now that he fit into the crook fully instead of taking a small space at the angle created. Tsunami lay at his feet, on her back, her massive flippers behind her head. Her wide mouth opened and closed as if she were snoring, but all that came out of her was a light gurgling noise that was almost soothing.
Mercury lay near his head, as she always had, and she was twitching. Her eyes were scrunched closed, and she whimpered softly. She was not speaking or projecting mentally, but her actions showed exactly what was going on: She was having a nightmare.
Jaima reached out a hand and stroked her crest. She twitched away from it on contact, but then stilled, allowing him to touch it gently. Memories flooded him, of when he met her, the little ralts standing on the ground in front of a floating apparition of her gardevoir mother. He wondered about her. Mercury had shown him the event that lead to her death, but did she still live on in spirit, or had finding her daughter been the unfinished business that tied her to this world?
He wanted to send her the good thoughts, but he wasn't certain how. He didn't even know how he communicated with her mentally. It was Mercury that initiated any link that they had, and he always got the feeling that when he spoke to her mentally, it was more that she was listening than that he was making any sort of connection.
Still, he stroked her crest, tried to soothe her, and eventually fell back to sleep.
* * * * *
Meiko woke to the sun shining into her face despite the blinds she had pulled down. Her mind felt just like her tongue: coated in slime and making everything sour. She remembered flashes of yesterday as if it were some kind of repeating loop in a bad movie; it was all Jaima and Joy and that stupid kiss they shared in the garden.
She was beginning to think she never should have come out in the first place. But there wasn't anything left to do for about a month back in New Bark, and she had been struck with a sudden desire to see Jaima and figure out once and for all exactly why the boy had stayed on her mind for so long.
She had built it up in her head without even intending to. She would find him, since his mother had given her the GPS code to track him by. A little stalkerish, but she fully intended to call him before meeting him. It was pure luck that she had been distracted by the commotion on the mountain and he had been part of that commotion. They would talk, and relive old times, and...
This part always changed. He would fall in love with her instantly, or, because that was silly, they would just be really good friends, or something would happen that would make him want her around. He certainly wouldn't be kissing some other girl.
And why a Nurse Joy?! They were everywhere! Meiko scowled into her pillow. Did Jaima have some kind of crush on the nurse family, and was just waiting to get older, or find one young enough? Did she ever have a chance?
She sat up, no longer willing to stew over it. If that's what he wanted, more power to him. She could get Bloodwing to Fly her back to the port, and catch the very first boat to Johto.
The thought caused her heart to drop horribly in her chest, but it was better to get it done with than it was to dwell on it.
Sitting up caused the blanket that had been placed over her to fall to her waist, but is still took a second for her to realize that she had not gotten the blanket herself. She was on top of a fully made bed, and still in her clothing (which included her shoes, much to her disgust). She looked over at the next bed. Tuesday lay there, her back to the room, her riolu perched on the bedpost, watching her.
She walked over and knelt, looking at the riolu for a moment before looking at Tuesday. The girl was so quiet. It was a wonder she had said anything at all, but she was beginning to like the girl. It was definitely nice that there was another girl around. Well, two, if Darryn counted, she thought with a mental giggle.
This one was an enigma, but she was sweet in her own way. Sometimes Meiko didn't know if Tuesday lacked confidence or was simply too smart to speak up sometimes. And she had been so absorbed in studying Grondir that Meiko had been loath to interrupt, even though she wanted to rant and rave about Jaima.
Stupid Jaima...
Meiko reached out and tentatively touched Tuesday's hair. "Thanks, honey," she whispered, then stood to shower and change.
Maybe she'd wear the tank top and shorts today. That would show Jaima.
* * * * *
Mercury did *not* feel good. If one could be nauseous in their head, that would be Mercury. She couldn't even think about breakfast, yet she ate, just to make sure Trainer Jaima wasn't worried.
Shadow, however, was another matter. Every time she tried to steal a glance at him, he was already looking at her, curiously, and concerned. It would have been flattering if not for the concern! Now it was just disconcerting.
She looked over and saw Zorro, who was half watching over Tuesday not eat her breakfast, making a mocking imitation of Shadow's concerned gaze. It was annoying, and she secretly cheered when Dante smacked the riolu in the head.
She felt like she was wrapped in gauze that had been soaked in alcohol. It was hard to concentrate, to think. She knew something was wrong. She knew, for example, that Tuesday was more tired than a full night's sleep should account for, and that Darryn was happy, but she knew by their physical presences, not by their psychic ones.
What if she was losing her powers?
She pushed the bowl away. She wasn't hungry anymore.
* * * * *
Meiko dreaded this moment. How many times had she heard her mother say it. "Tromping about in the wilderness isn't ladylike Meiko! You need to be more ladylike."
Never mind the fact that she was the biggest fan of Clair, who had herself admitted that she spent a lot of time in the wilds before she decided to become a dragon type trainer in Blackthorn city.
Hypocrite.
But she was going home. She'd decided that she simply couldn't stay around anymore. She wasn't eligible for the league challenge because she hadn't completed Johto's league, and one couldn't work on two leagues at once, could they? It didn't matter. There were only four gyms here.
So she made the call, and, in an instant, her mother was on the vid screen. As usual, she didn't let Meiko talk at first.
"Meiko-chan!" Her mother's face was round, but not flabby, and her eyes were squinched tightly shut in glee. Her eyes were narrow usually, so it gave her the look of one of those http://www.rachro.com/ManekiNekoGold.jpg. "Are you still on that horrid island? Are you still at Arasam? I've sent you a present, you will absolutely adore it!"
Meiko never liked when her mother sent her a present she would "absolutely adore". For one thing, they invariably were pink or bright canary yellow. For another, they were always girly. Meiko liked being a girl as much as the next person, but her mother thought she should be a princess, or a nurse, or a ballerina. She had no intention of being a princessnurseballerina. She was going to be Meiko.
"It should be at the pokécenter now! Meiko it's perfect! Her name will be Precious-"
"Precious?! Mom, what did you do?" Meiko rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"I sent you a pokémon egg! It's just about to hatch!"
Meiko looked up, mortified. "Hatch? How close is it to hatching, mother?"
Sending a pokémon egg through the computer wasn't necessarily harmful to the egg, anymore than sending a pokémon was harmful to the pokémon. But sending an egg that was close to hatching caused problems, because either the egg could be left in the computer at the other end, which would stall the hatching process, or the egg, rarely, could hatch in transit.
"Don't speak to me that way young lady!" Meiko's mother's face lost its happy look. "I had to get it to you before you tromped off to another town!" She sniffed disdainfully, fully prepared to launch into a diatribe about how "unladylike" her journies were, but Meiko cut her off.
"Mom, you can't send an egg when it's about to hatch! You can cause hatch defects, or personality problems, or even worse, you can stillborn the egg!"
"Meiko, I will not have you-"
"Hello, Omura-sama," came a male voice from behind Meiko. She turned, her heart leaping in her chest, and saw Jaima, then turned back to her mother, trying to school her features. With any luck, her mother would assume that she was still angry about the egg and not at Jaima.
"Jaima!" Her mother had gone quickly from angry to shmoozingly happy at the sight of Jaima. "Meiko had hoped to run into you in Furoh. How is your journey going?" Unlike Meiko, Mother Omura approved of Jaima's journey. In him she say no need to be ladylike.
"It's OK. A few bumps in the road, but pretty good otherwise." Meiko knew better. He'd had two pokémon stolen and something worse had happened recently, but she could hear in his voice that he wasn't being modest. He knew full well if he'd told her, she'd tell Midori Kuonji and worry her needlessly.
"Oh, Jaima, I wish you'd talk Meiko into coming back home. It's so wild out there. No place for a lady..."
Jaima smiled politely. "Oh, Meiko's fine, ma'am. She's an excellent trainer." Before Meiko's Mother could protest, Jaima went on. "What's the problem, though? I heard a commotion."
Meiko blushed. Trust Jaima to be discreet. And he'd complimented her!
"Oh, Meiko's raising a fuss because I sent her an egg. It's almost ready to hatch, and I wanted Meiko to be the first thing Little Precious saw!" She beamed, and Jaima, Meiko could tell, had to fight not to roll his eyes.
"Um... Ma'am, it's not good to send an egg that's about to hatch. Once you feel movement, you should wait until the shell is off. Except with Togepi, because they wear the bottom parts."
Meiko's mother paled. "Meiko... said, I mean... I thought she was just fussing..."
Meiko saw red, which promptly drained from her vision within seconds. "Oh, ma'am, you should listen to her. She definitely knows her stuff." He smiled, genuinely, and Meiko looked at him wide eyed. "We need to go find the egg and see if it's OK. Good to see you, ma'am!"
The connection broke, and Jaima pulled Meiko to the Nurse' station.
"Joy," Jaima called, attracting the attention of his (Meiko felt a surge of jealousy just thinking it) girlfriend over. The training nurse looked down and scurried over. "Is there an egg in the back for a Meiko Omura?"
Joy's lips pressed together, but Jaima raised his hand. "Her mom sent it. She didn't know it was dangerous to send them this close to hatching." Joy's face softened slightly, and she even gave Meiko what looked like a sympathetic look (the hussy!). She went to the back, then came forward, setting the egg in front of Meiko.
As feared, it was bright pink with a red bottom. It was wiggling wildly now, and as the three teens watched, the egg burat open to reveal a tiny egg shaped pink pokemon.
"Happiny!"
Meiko almost groaned in frustration, and Jaima, smiling, had picked up the card that had been taped to the egg. "To Meiko, from kaasan, take care of Precious."
The happiny looked in wide eyed, undisguised revulsion at Jaima, then at Meiko. "Ny?!" It asked, incredulously.
There would have been more from the hatchling, except with a tiny cry or "ratta!" A recently hatched Ratata launched itself at thew baby. Meiko and Jaima whirled, too slow to react, but the happiny spun, raise a tiny arm, and Pounded down on the ratata's head. "HAP! Ny happi ny pi ni!"
Meiko, for the first time, grinned. "Right. You're staying, then!"
* * * * *
A green bird dropped an envelope in a flowery script on Jaima's bed, then fluttered off to deliver a note to, and wait for, his master's son's adopted sister.
“I feel pretty! Oh, so pretty! I feel witty and pretty and-”
“Good morning, Daz.” Troy’s silky, firm, melodious voice sounded from behind Darryn as he sang and danced down the Pokemon Center steps. His feet tangled in their desperate attempt to stop him from making anymore of a fool of himself and, as a result, he fell. Arms windmilling, Darryn’s mouth worked circles of shook as the marble entrance way floor rushed up to meet him…
“Urh!” Darryn gasped, the floor halting its assault several feet from his face. He blushed furiously, turning his head up to see that beautiful smile and perfect hair, immaculate teeth and dazzling eyes that he had been appreciating the night before. Those very… very nice arms held him steady – one clasping his elbow, the other wrapped intimately around his waist. Darryn gulped.
“I’ve heard of guys falling head over heels but seriously?” Troy laughed, easing Darryn back to his feet and grinning broadly. Where his hands left Darryn's body, goosebumps remained in their wake. “You’re in a good mood,” the young man continued, “have a pleasant evening?”
Darryn was stunned. There were no words. NO. WORDS.
“What’s that?” Troy peered intently downwards. Darryn gasped.
*NO! NOT NOW!*
Troy’s hand whipped down and Darryn almost died. Almost. The death process didn’t have time to complete as the hand came up just as quickly with a piece of paper held delicately between strong fingers. A piece of paper with a number on it… Now, Darryn had had no idea Troy (or anyone else for that matter) would be around to witness him singing and dancing with the number of a pretty boy as the object of his elation. Embarrassment levels had officially hit a new high for young Kellor.
“It’s nothing!” Darryn yelped, whipping the paper off Troy and stuffing it into his pocket. “Just a new recipe for a scale-conditioner I’m coming up with for reptilian Pokemon… nothing else!”
“That’s funny…” Troy held a finger to his chin. “I could have sworn it was my number… I must have been mistaken.” He stuck his tongue out playfully at Darryn and punched him in the shoulder. “You sad prat.”
“Uuh…”
“Buy me breakfast.” Troy dictated, throwing an arm around Darryn’s shoulders and leading him towards the cafeteria.
*****
“And so I’m going to make it as far as I can in the Furoh League to prove to the world that beautiful Pokemon can be some of the strongest Pokemon around and not just ornaments to put on a shelf.” Darryn concluded, taking the final bite of his French toast and sitting back in the comfy booth chair.
“I see,” Troy shoved another mouthful of bacon into his maw and chewed quickly. Somehow the older guy had managed to eat around three times the amount Darryn had and yet remained just as slim – he would have to lead a very active lifestyle to be able to maintain that sculpted figure. Darryn himself had a strict fitness regime and watched what he ate far more closely but they both seemed twinned for body dimensions. Well, Troy was a little more muscular – especially in the arms. “And your first gym battle is today?”
“Yep!” Darryn ran his fingers over the icy condensation on the glass of orange juice between them. “I wasn’t ready back when I started in Gigarte but I’ve been in a lot of tough battles now to realise that I’ve got to start somewhere and Arasam is as good a place as any.”
“Oh, really?” Troy sat back and raised an eyebrow. “Arasam is quite the pinnacle of Pokemon Training in Furoh – maybe you should try over on Fidona for your first gym?” He leaned closer and lowered his voice with fake dramatisation. “I hear they practically give away badges over there!”
“Pfft.” Darryn snorted and drank the remnants of his morning meal. “The Arasam Gym will give up my first badge – you’ll see.”
“So, you’re inviting me to watch?” Troy surmised, putting his cutlery together. “Such a blatant date request and we’ve known each other less than a day! Wow, you’re forward, alright!”
“Wait! No! I mean I didn’t mean it like that!” Darryn waved his hands. How could he have been so stupid and sound so pushy like that?! He chewed the insides of his cheeks in a futile attempt to stop himself from ever speaking again. It failed. “I’m not forward! But you can come if you like… Only if you want to! I’m not being pushy or anything! And my friends will be there anyway!”
“Friends?” Troy quirked an eyebrow.
“Yeah, the ones I said about last night – I’ve been travelling with them.” Darryn confirmed, scanning the cafeteria for any of them. “They’re here somewhere…”
“Oh right… This Jaima dude.” Troy stressed the name quite deliberately. “You two close?”
“Uh, sort of.” Darryn arched his neck. Where were they? “We met back in Gigarte and we travelled together down to Lenoilia… Then we split up a little while before he came to rescue me on Mount Carello. I’d say he’s my best friend in all of Furoh, to be honest. We have different ways of training but he’s taught me a lot about Pokemon since I started out – I’m lucky to be travelling with him.”
“Oh, really?” Troy folded his arms. “So you two are… partners?”
“I guess you could say tha-… NO!” Darryn nearly coughed up an entire lung, holding himself back from saying something stupid yet again. “No way! Jaima’s just Jaima! I’ve never even thought of him like that! ‘Sides – he’s totally got the hots for this Meiko girl who showed up the other day. I don’t want to sound like a gossip or anything but there is definitely something going on there.”
Troy’s obvious relief was written in luminescent ink on his lightly tanned, flawless face. Darryn held in a laugh so as not to make the guy feel uncomfortable but inside he was laughing uncontrollably.
“Just as well then.” Troy began to rise from the table. “I wouldn’t want to make you a two-timer, would I?”
“Two-timer?” Darryn quirked an eyebrow.
“Well, duh! First date and all.” Troy rolled his eyes. “Keep up, Daz-man.”
“But I!”
“I’ll see you at the gym. Eleven a.m., sharp.” Troy winked and swaggered towards the door. His Mawile, Mawwie, tottered out from under the table and rushed after him, giggling insanely. Lady watched them all from across the room - she had decided to sit with Tuesday for some reason to eather breakfast of Darryn's specialised canine crunch cereal. “You’ll look good in blue. Wear blue.” Troy dictated once more as he left the Center. Darryn watched him go with longing eyes, already wishing that he new ‘friend’ was on his way back to corner him into yet more embarrassing situations…
“Ooooooh!” Meiko crooned loudly from over Darryn’s shoulder. He jumped practically out of his skin.
“Meiko!” He yelled, holding a hand to his chest. “I nearly had a heart attack!”
“Someone’s got a boy-friend!” Meiko sang, plonking herself down on the seat across from Darryn with an enormous grin on her face.
“Someone’s trying to ha-ard!” Darryn sang right back, casting a very obvious look up and down the female trainer’s outfit. She followed his gaze and immediately began to turn beet red.
“Shut up!”
“You shut up!”
Tuesday sat at the table, staring down at her bowl of oatmeal. It didn't even smell good. Between the nightmares that continued to wake her up throughout the night and the thoughts that haunted her during her waking moments, Tuesday had managed a whopping four hours of sleep, and none of it seemed to help her at all. She felt more tired now than before she went to bed, and she had a headache that was making it hard for her to concentrate. The only she should could manage to focus on was the memory of the nightmares, which were either growing in intensity or just affecting her greater the more she had them. That was odd, too. You'd think after a while that she would be desensitized.
She hadn't wanted to go back to sleep, knowing that she would only fall into another horror flick in her mind, so she'd followed Meiko downstairs and into the cafeteria. Going through the line, she'd gotten some apple cinnamon oatmeal, but after two bites she'd found it only made her stomach feel horrid. She pushed the slop around with her spoon, but had no lingering desire to eat it, and the smell was starting to get to her, so she pushed the bowl away from her and buried her head in her arms on the table.
Beside her, Zorro and Dante were bickering, and Dante smacked the riolu upside the head again, but when she buried her head in her arms, they seemed to quiet. She could almost feel their concern rolling off of them, but she didn't look up. She didn't have the energy. She was just so tired...
She closed her eyes and, before she could stop herself, slipped into sleep.
*You’re up first, Darryn! Time to prove yourself out there! The combinations are set, the battle plan decided. You’ve got friend to cheer you on, what more could you want?*
Darryn slumped even as they walked up the hill through town. What he wanted was some time to think about the past twelve hours! A hot guy just had to come along on the most important day of his Pokemon journey so far and mess with his brain. Typical!
The group slowly drew up to the doors of the impressive Pokemon Gym and, much to Darryn’s displeasure, no-one was there to great them. He pondered for a moment, wishing harder not to be stood up than he did for the gym badge. Where was Troy?
“Lose something?” Meiko urged Darryn towards the door. “Or are you just going Torchicken on us?”
“Uh, no way!” Darryn puffed out his chest and headed for the door. “Just collecting my thoughts is all!”
The interior of the Arasam Gym was even more impressive than the exterior. A massive vaulted hall carved directly out of the rock of the mountain extended far and wide, accommodating an enormous battle field of stone suspended by rock pillars from underneath over a seething pool of molten lava. It bubbled and spat angrily, waiting impatiently for the next trainer to try their luck against the cavern’s owner. A great circle of light blue sky allowed the sun to shine brightly down into the stone dome and it was then that Darryn realised where they were. They were in the crater of Mount Carello itself.
“Oh, now this is way cool!” Meiko grinned. “Reminds me of the gym back in Blackthorn City – obviously Clare is a better gym leader than anyone in this region could hope to be, but the gyms are still similar. The only way challengers could win was to use the arena to their advantage in the battle to get the badge.”
“And that’s just how I’ll get mine…” Darryn muttered, eyeing the rocky field, bubbling lava and soaring cavern walls that grasped the azure sky.
“There he is!” A voice that sang sweeter than any Chingling announced from a seat over in the stands. “There’s the guy who’s gonna beat ya, Otis! Just like I said, y'know - he's a definite keeper this one!”
Darryn blushed immediately. The guy who he’d met the night before was already fighting his battles for him. And… Oddly… Darryn kinda liked it! He also kinda liked the way Troy sat back in an extremely relaxed lounge with Mawwie rocking back and forth in his lap singing merrily.
“Oh he is, is he?” A tall, lithe man walked smartly out to the opposite side of the field where a Pokeball transportation machine was waiting for him. He keyed a few buttons with long slender fingers and an orb of crackling energy materialised, slowly fading into the familiar red and white of a Pokeball. “We’ll soon see about that.”
"The rules are simple," Otis intoned, holding out a hand to the machine as another ball crackled into place. "The battle will be two pokémon per side, with one in reserve for a total of three. You may replace one fainted pokémon with the reserve, but cannot hold your reserve back if one of the original fighters has fainted." Otis waited patiently for the third ball to form, his eyes on the machineas if Darryn were inconsequential. "The first combatant for whom all their battling pokémon faint loses the match. Is that understood? Good," he said, not waiting for an anwer, "Then choose your team and present them."
As Darryn's hands went to his belt, Otis lifted a finger. "Bear in mind, having more than three pokéballs on the field when the battle commences is instant disqualification." He raised a brow. "Also, you should have come to the arena knowing which pokémon you wished to participate with. It shows confidence."
Otis would have continued, but a voice from the stands interrupted. "What are you trying to do, bore his pokémon into fainting? Let him fight!" The voice was light hearted and laughing, and Otis rolled his eyes mildly.
"Fine, then." He lifted his hands, releasing all three pokéballs at once, which popped open, not in the simple flare oof white light, but in red, blue, and golden flames.
"Long ago, fire inside the mountain erupted forth, launching into the sky in a futile attempt to fly. From some of those motes of flame was born the symbol of this gym, the Moltres, and since, we of Arasam have saught to unite the beauty of the flame with the majesty of flight." Otis smirked. The speech, though presented dramatically, we so well practiced that he could deliver it without a thought. "You do not face a moltres today, but you face three pokémon that best embody the spirit of that day. Magmar, Fearow, Growlithe! Come and face your foes!"
*Damnit, they look strong!* Darryn froze on his podium, unsure of what move to make. Not one of his muscles had the energy to contract, his bones rigidly rooted to the spot. Was he really pushing his luck with the strategy he had taken? Should he switch around his options now? Romeo and Zulu... they would definitley have the advantage here...
"So, what's your big battle plan!?" Troy called from the stands, still louging back at his gorgeous leisure.
*I can't send the others now... we've worked too hard on these combinations!*
Still unable to move, Darryn stared blankly at Otis - the leader of the first gym Darryn had challenged. Everything seemed different from the Challenger's podium. When he had sat on the sidelines and shouted for Jaima and Mindy to kick ass during their last battle, nothing had been too serious for him. But now, everything was different. This match meant too much to him for him to simply sit back and watch.
"Make your move, Challenger." Otis frowned across the vaulted cavern. "We don't have all day - we have another trainer waiting in the stalls."
*Am I even ready for this? How long ago did I start out? Several weeks ago? A month? Is that long enough to truly be a trainer worthy of even a single gym badge?*
"Come on, Darryn!" Jaima called eagerly from the stands. "You can do it!"
"If you don't, your boyfriend will dump you!" Meiko giggled loudly.
*Oh my God! Troy! I need to win this if he is watching... If I don't, he won't want to talk to me again - it's obvious. He must think I'm a right fool for entering into this competition. But hey, I just met the guy, what do I care what he thinks?*
"Not my boyfriend!" Darryn shouted back at the stalls. Even as he looked over, Meiko was making a heart-shape with her hands. Jaima gave her an exasperated glance and she stopped immediately, flushing more red than the Magmar on the field... The field!
"Send out your Pokemon or you will forfeit the match!" Otis urged from across the battlefield, folding thin arms over his narrow chest.
"Give him a break, Oaty!" Troy called down from his own perch. "You can't time perfection!"
Darryn bit hard on his lip, drawing pain to silence his doubtful thoughts. He had battled trainers on his way here and won. He had fought against evolved Pokemon, took on Team Deception and he was still doubting his skills? Sure, Jaima was the heart, always caring and knowing exactly how to treat his Pokemon in order to draw out their true powers. Mindy had been the arms, supporting and strong as she bonded with her own Pokemon to bring out the absolute best in them - calling on powers than even they didn't know they had. But what was Darryn?
He wasn't an idiot. Every team had members that filled a specific niche. Without that niche, they would eventually be removed from the process. After all, it was only wise to separate the wheat from the chaff. He could see Tuesday's place already forming - Jaima's actions, right down to his body language, made it absolutely clear that the young girl would be sticking around for a long time to come and her place was set and waiting. Her obvious passion for knowledge made her the brains of the operation. Maybe not yet, she was still a kid, but she was smart - that much Darryn knew. Smarter than he had ever been at that age.
* What am I?*
<You are the eyes, of course.> Lady, sat at his ankles looked up at him with those hypnotic dark eyes. <You see all that is in front of you and adapt accordingly. You saw the female's sadness and so sent India to watch over her. You saw the way our skills could be combined to fill your own design for our battles. You saw the way that male looks at you. You reacted... accordingly.>
Darryn was astounded. How could that little Pokemon know so much. Even what he was thinking?! Lady turned her head to the stands where Mercury floated, nodding approvingly. Darryn clenched his fists. It was time. He had to make this move or his feet would be still forever!
*If I'm going to send my Pokemon to fight on even ground with a Gym Leader, I should follow the local proceedings, too... Here goes!*
"I call the fleet footed form of November, blinding speed of Bravo and beautiful grace of Lady Foxtrot to the field! They, too embody the majesty of Moltres and together they shall produce flames that Mount Carello has never seen before!"
Darryn was shocked at the sound of his own voice. Commanding and firm. It was too cool!
"November, Bravo - to the front!"
And so Darryn's battle for the Emberwing Badge began...
"It's commendable to attempt to outdo another trainer in his chesen element," Otis intoned. "So I commend you - as foolish at it was." The gym leader mad a fluttering motion with his hand, and the fearow he called out blurred, rising near the top of the arena. At the same time, the growlithe leapt with a snarl, racing for the ponyta with a look of pure, ferocious glee on his face.
* * * * *
Meiko crossed her arms in front of her chest. The outfit was not having the desired effect! Jaima wasn't distracted (which was a good thing, as far as his match was concerned, but it would be nice if he'd noticed!) And he was giving her that look, exasperation mixed with the eyerolling dismissal of a parent. Ugh!
Tuesday was subdued next to Meiko, and the other girl was bothered. She seemed tired, but Meiko knew for a fact that Tuesday slept through the night. Maybe she should tell Jaima...
She looked, and Jaima's eyes were glued to the match. He reached down and stroked Grondir's head, frowning when his hand came away wet. Muttering something about putting Grondir in a pokeball, he turned his attention, briefly, to the rest of his team. He let them walk freely. It wasn't common for an entire team to walk freely. Still, it wasn't unheard of...
He's concentrating on his match. Tuesday will be alright. I'll keep an eye on her myself.
* * * * *
Jaima wiped his hand off on his jacket, muttering about Grondir possibly needing to go into his pokeball. He had to fight not to lean over and ask Meiko if he should. She looked better than just fine in the tank top and shorts, and he'd caught a glimpse down her shirt when she was teasing Darryn. He'd had to grimace and roll his eyes away to keep her from catching him.
He'd better watch himself, he knew. He respected Meiko far too much to be peeking down her shirt...
* * * * *
Otis watched the growlithe intently, as it's approach changed from a pell mell dash to a zigzagging circle that confused the ponyta. As it reared up, his ears perked. The signal, a high pitched whistel from far above, had been sounded.
"NOW!"
From the rafters, dodging past the pidgeot, came the streaking spear like form of the diving fearow. the growlithe jumped up onto the back of the ponyta, and before it could buck, leapt off into the diving back of the fearow, leaping even higher into the air and opening it's mouth to send a stream of flame at the bird above it. As this happened, the fearow spread it's long wings, pulling out of the dive just above the floor of the arena and using it's wings to knock the ponyta off it's feet from the side. A slight smile craced Otis' lips as he watched. It was wonderful to see his friends performing admirably, as always.
Tuesday tried to concentrate on the match, she really did. Jaima and Meiko were paying apt attention to the goings-on of the battle, as was the stranger who sat some feet away, obviously here for Darryn by what had been said. She wanted to watch the battle and cheer on the boy who was becoming a friend, becoming a member of her ersatz family, but she couldn't seem to concentrate.
Every time she blinked, in that darkness behind her eyes, she could see the nightmare happening again. It was like the blackness of her eyelids were a consuming force, a black hole that longed to suck her into its depths, where she would be lost forever, forced to bear witness to the repeated deaths of Shadow and Zorro, and sometimes both at the same time. Because wasn't Shadow Zorro, and Zorro Shadow? Or was that all just in her head?
She blinked again, trying to moisten her aching eyes, and the vision flared. Shadow, as a lucario, standing in the middle of a field. Off to the side were the fallen bodies of his comrades, he the last member of a small, insignificant army. Alone. A failure.
When he stared out into the meadow, perhaps beyond it, his eyes were haunted... Tuesday didn't know what with. It ran deeper than mere emotion; it was a state of being. Loss. But something deeper yet than loss. Like a part of him was already dead, and his body had yet to follow.
And then he let it.
This time, as had been happening recently, Tuesday didn't see Shadow from the side, taking in his profile as he awaited his death. Oh no, here she stood before him, as though she were the phantom of Death, herself, waiting for the blow that would end his life. From this angle, she could see his gaze fully, and that it was not filled with expectancy of his death, as she had thought, but gratitude for its coming. Anticipation. Impatience, even. He wanted to die, and he wanted death now.
And then the tauros, for it was the bull in the lead of the herd, ran through Tuesday as though she truly were no more than a ghost. Shadow did not have the same immunity, however, and the horns of the tauros pierced his blue and black fur, sinking effortlessly into soft flesh, and blood bloomed forth like a schoolgirl's blush, only this was a fierce crimson instead of a soft pink. This was hot and sticky and flowed down over the fur of Shadow's body, staining it with death.
The hooves of the following tauros and miltank trampled the lucario where he fell to the ground, but Tuesday could see him as easily as if they weren't even there. He lay on his back, hands reflexively clapped over the wound in his stomach, but blood gushed easily through his fingers. Death... Tuesday... they were one in the same here, lingered nearby but refused yet to touch him, leaving the lucario to suffer through a painful and lingering death.
Shadow's pupils were dilated in shock, his green eyes glazed in agony and nearing death. His body twitched, convulsing in the final throws of fading life and rising damnation, and Tuesday could only watch. The part of her that knew she was Death wanted to reach out, to kiss the lucario with a touch that would bring him peace, but something held her back. Fear? Disgust? Did she loathe Shadow so much for letting himself be destroyed that she would force him to suffer? Did she hate him so much that she would condemn him to agony, and damn herself?
Shadow seemed to look at her, but he couldn't see her, could he? Of course not. She was Death. She was a ghost - a lingering phantom crafted from the very essence that was nonexistence. He couldn't see her.
But then why did it seem as though he gazed at her with eyes full of longing? Pleading for her. Because I could not stop for Death... Should she stop for him? Draw her carriage up and let him climb inside, and then let the four horses gallop off into eternity? Should she grant him peace? Should she... God... stop looking at her... she doesn't want... she can't... those eyes, so full of pain, dying, death, lingering, stop... stop....
"Stop!"
Tuesday rocked back with a gasp, jerking herself to a stop moments before she toppled over backwards, into the aisle behind her. She gripped the bench beneath her with hands so tightly that her knuckles were as white as marble, and she was shivering lightly, trying to calm her breathing.
She had fallen asleep.
During Darryn's match.
She had to be the worst friend on the planet.
Letting out a sound that was half sigh, half sob, Tuesday buried her face in her hands, breathing deeply. When she had herself mostly under control, she drew her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and sat staring out at the battlefield, forcing herself to watch the match. She would root for Darryn, because he deserved to win, and she would stop being such a baby!
Even as a torrent of fire headed for Bravo and November was knocked to the ground, Darryn was watching for the right moment. He had a multitude of combinations up his sleeve to counter any fire-flying opponent but all they needed was the right opportunity and timing...
*Fire attacks directed on Bravo - I knew it! Just as we planned!*
"Bravo! Take the hit!" Darryn shouted, producing a gasp from all watching. His Pidgeotto, loyal and brave, flared his wings and wrapped them around himself, allowing the fire to rain down upon him. The heat dashed into his wing's, charging them up with thermo energy that he needed to execute the first part of Darryn's first plan.
*Bravo can't use Heat Wave unless he flies at top speed or its attacked with fire. He might be a little hurt by that, but just wait...*
"November, get up and use Flame Wheel on the Fearow before it can escape! Bravo, use Heat Wave on November!" Darryn called out, hoping that his Pidgeotto hadn't taken too much damage in the last attack.
Bravo plumeted toward the ground, still wrapped in flames but as he went, those flames began to collate in his wings... more... more...
"GEOH!" Bravo's descent ended as he spread his wings wide, a spray of brightly glowing feathers pouring from his wings like crimson rain across the arena. Troy leaned forward in his seat suddenly, his eyes widening and his attention completely stolen by the beauty of the move. A streak of shimmering red energy flooded from Bravo as he kicked his wings into a frenzy, pouring every ounce of the move upon November even as she ran underneath him, her own body erupting into flames.
With a screaming whinny, November's Flash Fire kicked in and her Flame Wheel surged into a blaze twice her own size as she dashed at the fleeing Fearow. The bird looked over its shoudler, squawking loudly in surprise as a massive ball of flame galloped towards him.
"Interesting," Otis intoned softly. He crossed his arms, then nodded. "Growlithe, intercept the ponyta now! Fearow, lift off and use Mirror Move on the Pidgeotto."
The growlithe dashed in front of November, skidding to a halt and absorbing the fiery attack with its own ability, taking the hit in the side and tumbling, but saving the fearow. This bought the bird time to rise and intercept the Heat Wave attack, sending it back up to Bravo.
"I very much doubt your pokémon can channel that energy into another attack while still trying to generate his own. 'Know your opponent and know yourself'." He fell silent, however. The trainer was doing an admirable job of throwing him off guard by type and attack combinations.
A trainer, however, doesn't need to be told when he is doing well. Only when he is failing miserably.
He tapped his chin and wondered what to do next when an idea came to him. He called out now, inspired by the ponyta's fire spin attack. "Fearow, Growlithe, Special attack: Firestorm!"
The fearow's wings began to beat, not quickly, but strong, hard beats, whipping up a Gust, which began to spin on itself into a Whirlwind. As he did so, the Growlithe shot a Flamethrower attack into the winds, setting it ablaze with heat just before the fearow sent it careening toward the pidgeotto.
* * * * *
Meiko sighed. Jaima had recalled Grondir, afraid he would get sick in the heat (and it was sweltering), and Mercury, too, had requested (Meiko assumed) to enter her pokéball, eliciting a worried glance from Jaima. However, she got her wish: She was returned to her pokéball.
When Otis turned the tables on Darryn, Meiko looked at Tuesday. Whatever line Otis had quoted had seemed right up the younger girl's alley. Therefore, Meiko was concerned about Tuesday's stance: Legs up, knees against her chest, staring blankly at the match below.
She wanted to alert Jaima to her suspicions, but thought better of it. It wasn't her place to intrude, and, besides, Jaima needed to concentrate on the match.
It would be up to Meiko to watch.
*Crap! GOtta be quick!*
"November, return!" Darryn's surprise call-back was immediately followed up with Lady dashing straight into the arena as planned. They had previously agreed at Bravo would be the key in powering up during the battle and protecting him to a certain extent was the fire types' duty. Lady's scarlet fur burred across the field but she wasn't going to make it in time...
*OK, it's time to use the first defence... Here goes!*
"Bravo, Featherdance! And Lady use Extrasensory! Use Feather-Facade!!!" Darryn crossed his fingers. The defensive pattern had blocked a powered-up Fire Spin from November in their training but would it be enough...?
Lady's eyes shone bright blue as her psychic energies slammed into Bravo's rapidly expelled feathers, snatching them from the air and sending them into a hexagonal formation that created a neat, hardened wall of keratin between the Pidgeotto and the incoming attack.
With a roar of crackling, whirling howls, the Firestorm crashed with the feather-shield, burning and hammering away at its defences. Bravo, still pouring out feathers could not see that the wall was slowly crumbling, becoming ash that got caught up in the wind and began to decorate the air with dancing motes of darkness. Darryn, however, could.
"Bravo, no!" The flames tore the counter in two, shattering the formation and consuming Bravo once more.
*No time to hang around! Got to move!*
"LADY!" Darryn's Vulpix was already on the move, her Extrasensory working its magic. A small cloud of Bravo's feathers, untouched by the flames, swirled high in the air above the soaring Fearow. As one, they all swivveled and dove, the featherdance attack raining down on both avian and canine alike.
*Bravo, please be alright!
Otis nearly smiled as the boy took his ponyta out of play and sent the vulpix at his heels in. The strategy was, at first glance, sound, but as with most strategies, time pointed out the flaws all too readily. The firestorm flares as more fuel was added to it's flames.
"With both of your pokemon occupied with the defense of one, you've handed me a weapon. I accept it." He made a hand motion and sent the growlithe charging at Lady. A vicious bite to the flank broke her concentration, but not soon enough. The fearow fell out of the sky, caught by the recall beam bore it's body could crash to the ground.
"Magmar, take the field."
*What's a Magmar?!*
Darryn watched with fascination as the Pokemon emerged on the other side of the field. He'd never seen one of thse before. If it was anything like a Charizard or a Typhlosion...
"It's got an ass for a head!" Troy laughed from the side of the arena, clutching his sides with both hands as he laughed outrageously. Otis shot a warning glare in his direction but either Troy didn't notice or didn't care. Darryn let out the tiniest snorts of a giggle as he, too, saw the uncanny resemblance and its sheer ugliness brought the whole atmosphere of the stadium down.
Back on the field, Lady had no time for the humans' games. The Growlithe dug his teeth deep into her side, blood beginning to seep through her already scarlet fur, darkening it with wetness. Her eyes, glowing blue, turned on him with anger. The dog looked at her with slight apprehension then gasped with fear as she lauched him off her with Extrasensory. She flung him high into the air, piercing his thoughts with mental daggers before slamming him to the ground.
"That's it, Lady!" Darryn cheered, excitement welling in him like a fountain fit to burst. "Now let's use that technical combo we worked on. Ready, November!?"
Darryn's Ponyta came clattering across the arena in a flash of dainty hooves and passionate flames. Lady's glowing eyes intensified as they lifted the Growlithe from the ground once more. Otis' Magmar ran towards the group but there was no way that fat ass could make it in time...
"Open his eyes!" Darryn ordered, Lady's psychic powers wrenching the dog's eyelids open even as he was attempting to force them closed again.
"Magar, do something! Faint Attack!" Otis sounded nervous... Darryn grinned.
"November, Hypnosis!" Darryn ordered, his equine partner skidding to a halt eye-to-eye with the Growlithe and fixing it with a sleep-inducing stare. Almost instantly the dog stopped squirming in the air and fell into a slump. Lady immediately flung the unconscious body high into the air, eplting it with psychic attacks as it went. Darryn wasn't ready to celebrate though. That Magmar was closing fast and Lady was completely exposed. He grabbed quickly for the Heal Ball on his belt.
*Tactical recall!*
"Lady, return! Bravo, back in the air!" Darryn announced, hoping that somehow November could dodge whatever that beast had to throw at her.
Otis' face hardened. The trainer had some surprising combinations, and he was showing quite well that he was more than flash. Still, once the element of surprise was removed, it was obvious upon whom the dependency rested.
The trainer had recalled his vulpix and sent out his pidgeotto instead, and, since he was now down a pokémon, Otis followed the trainer's release with one of his own. Fearow soared above, smarting still, but now awake and looking for vengeance. The magmar lumbered below, but in this the trainer's 'surprise' move of using a fire type was to his detriment. It wasn't that he hadn't chosen wisely; Both of the trainer's fire pokémon were powered up by fire attacks, and he had used that ability very well. However, fire type attacks had diminished effect on Magmar, who could live comfortably in the heart of an active volcano, and he had been trained in defense, and a minor boost in an already surprising speed.
He was no Rapidash, but he could indeed surprise a trainer who didn't expect him to get into the field of battle very quickly.
"Magmar," Otis intoned calmly. "Smog, smokescreen, and confuse ray on the ponyta." He smirked, just a bit. Yes, it wasn not very wise to concentrate on a one on one battle when the opponent was effectively using attacks that struck with double the power, but in this case his plan was to divide and conquer. Obfuscating the equine's eyesight was one step in that plan.
"Fearow," Otis snapped, allowing his anger at having lost one of his pokémon to show. "It is time to use our secret weapon. Target the pidgey and use Tri-attack!"
*CRAP!*
"Bravo, protect November with Whirlwind! November, protect Bravo with Fire Spin!" Darryn called with more wishful thinking that actual knowledge that either plan would work. he was desperate! Bravo had already taken heavy hits and November wasn't exactly known for her endurance battling... In fact, she'd never won a battle...
"GEOH!" Bravo screamed his efforts as he blew down the descending cloud of Smog and Smokescreen but Darryn's error was two fold. Not only did clearing the air give perfect chance for the Confuse Ray to flash deep into November's eyes but the subsequent delusion meant that November could not react as speedily as he had hoped. Her dazed gout of spiralling flame flew wide of its mark, sailing harmlessly through the air with a triple-beam of thunder, fire and ice spashed from the foe Fearow's beak.
"Get out of there!" Darryn yelled, already knowing that even Bravo's speed could not outrun that piercing attack. All three bolts slashed into his body, feathers flying on impact. His flight faltered and he dipped in the air, xhaustion beginning to take hold.
*I've got to do something! If I don't then the match is as good as over...*
"Faint Attack!" Otis ordered from the opposite side of the stadium. Darryn wtchedin shock as the fire type glimmered and shimmer, disappearing and reappearing next to November in a flash, its fists slamming hard into her neck. She screamed as the impact drove her to the ground, making Darryn wince with her pain. Her equine eyes rolled madly as she bucked, kicking herself harshly in the stomach. She screamed again and again, each cry becoming weaker and weaker.
"Ponyta is unable to battle." The referree finally announced.
*We can still pull this back!*
"November, return! I call Lady Foxtrot back to the field!"
*Defence first. That was our original plan. Defence, followed by a hard attack. We've got to take them one at a time!*
"Bravo, settle down and use Roost! Lady, get ready!" Darryn announced, waiting for Otis' next move. "Protect Bravo!"
Zorro watched as Darryn recalled his ponyta, November, from the field. She wasn't as pretty as Tuesday's ponyta, Wraith, but then, Zorro's favorite colors were black and blue. November couldn't help it if her natural colors weren't as royally awesome as his coat.
Tuesday sat on the bench with his arms around her knees, staring out at the match. It seemed as though she had calmed down, as Zorro couldn't feel misery or fear rolling off of her like he had been able to previously. Maybe things were working out for the better. He smiled. It was a nice thought. And he had something that would cheer her up the rest of the way, too!
He'd had to sneak off while she was busy paying attention to the match, but he managed to find the girls he was looking for. When he joined in their little routine and managed to mimic their lithe maneuvers perfectly, they had recognized his obvious cuteness and given him a gift. Zorro's grin widened, his sharp teeth flashing. He couldn't wait to use it!
Of course, he had wanted to use it for both battles, but he hadn't made it back in time. He didn't want to distract Darryn from the heated midst of battle (it looked like he needed all of his concentration for this match. Really, relying on a horse and a bird!? This was the job of someone amazing, like Zorro!), so he would just have to wait for Jaima's match.
It would be worth it, though. He sneaked a glance under the seat at his prize and grinned again, before turning back to watch the match.
This was going to be great!
Jaima was on the edge of his seat! The combinations being shown by both the Gym Leader and Darryn were absolutely fantastic to watch, Darryn's being crisp, clean, and precise, but Otis' being something of a power over looks philosophy. Already there was an outage on both sides, and both were, in Jaima's opinion, evenly matched.
Next to him, Tsunami watched, something in her eyes beginning to show, an excitement for battle she'd never had before. Likewise, Fang, sitting calmly, contrasting the last battle where he bounced around as if on a spring, was lashing his tail in eager anticipation. Jaima had already decided to employ them in the next battle, but who his third should be was still vague in his mind. Mercury seemed tired, and though he didn't doubt her power, he didn't want to stress her out. She already seemed lethargic. Grondir would be a surprise, but would it be worth the risk? He was vulnerable to both types of this gym, and if they dodged his status ailments, they'd make short work of him. Shadow was quick and agile, but the type disadvantage would be a detriment, and besides, he was grateful for the watchful eye he was keeping on Tuesday.
Tuesday worried him. He knew she was a quiet person by nature, with a kind of serenity and attitude Jaima had never seen in a twelve year old (not even himself, if he were completely honest). But this, with her knees pulled up and her eyes dull, this was worrisome. This was after a feraligatr, or in the face of her worst fear.
Which, of course, he had thought was the feraligatr.
He wanted to reach over to her and ask what was wrong, cancel his match until tomorrow and get to the bottom of this, but Meiko gave him a look and a light shake of her head. Girl things? Maybe. Or maybe Meiko knew that she needed time.
He just wished there was something to hurt so it would stop hurting Tuesday.
He turned back to the match. If he couldn't postpone it (Tuesday had looked stricken just knowing he'd been up late the night before last), he'd make it as quick as he could. And that meant one thing;
He'd have to win.
* * * * *
Otis almost grinned. "Protecting your pidgeotto is a good tactic. But if the vulpix is protecting him, who is protecting her?"
With a wave of his hand, he called out, "Fearow, Aerial Ace! Magmar, Faint Attack!"
He watched as his Fearow bolted to a dive toward the vulpix, a well groomed and properly trained specimen, and as his magmar faded from view to appear on her other side. The vulpix managed to dodge the more visible attack by leaping over the fearow, but that put it in prime position for the faint attack.
But that was not the plan. "Fair Play!"
As one the bird u-turned and the magmar dashed, both of them lashing out at the pidgeotto. Perhaps the name of the attack was wasted, but Otis didn't care. Turnabout WAS fair play, after all.
Darryn watched with horror as the pair of Pokemon closed in on Bravo with a well co-ordinated bluff that paid of far better than Darryn could have ever expected. A sharp beak from above, a powerful fist from the front. Darryn's Pidgeotto had no hope of dodging, despite his incredile speed. A grounded bird would need time to get up to speed and time was something that Darryn's half of the field did not have.
*I don't have a choice... Bravo's got to take the hit but he'll be out for sure! I guess there's nothing else for it. I wanted to save that combination but now's the only chance we've got!*
<I am ready, Prince Darryn!> Lady landed gracefully and spread her legs wide. She was bracing herself... She knew what he was planning already?!
Darryn grit his teeth and made the judgement call. Bravo would understand... he hoped.
"Bravo, use Twister on yourself!" Darryn ordered, producing gasps from all around the stadium. Troy leaned forward in his seat, that lazy smile completely gone. Now, his face was one of intense concentration and observation. He did not blink as he took in the every detail of Darryn's battlestyle. It was gorgeous but completely unpredictable!
The Pidgeotto blinked with a moment of hesitation but, just as he was ordered, he threw his wings into a frenzy, ripping up a contained tornado that crackled and flashed with intense sapphire light. Otis's Pokemon rushed in, directly into the pathway of the attack. Even so, a dagger-like beak tore into his chest and a flaming fist slammed down on his back. His avian scream of pain carried desperation as Darryn's flying-type poured more effort into the attack.
"Move back!" Otis called out to his Pokemon, ordering the retreat but the Fearow was in now position to escape. It's broad wings were the perfect target for Bravo's localised whirlwind and so got caught up in the vortex, spinning higher and higher into the air. The Magmar, however, jumped away, wiping at its arm where the razor-edged wind had sliced at its burning flesh.
"Lady! Use Flamethrower on the vortex!" Darryn ordered, knowing exactly what the consequences were. Lady, unlike Bravo, did not flinch. Her mouth opened wide and her primal scream let rip a spiralling gout of flame that tore through Bravo and raced up the swirling storm of the Twister. Red and gold sparkled dramatically against silvery blue in the frenzy of fire and wind, producing a blindingly beautiful column of sparkling light that burned onto the retinas of all watching.
The resounding cries of not only Bravo but also the Fearow shook the stadium as Lady's flames proceeded to calify the atmosphere and drain all the energy from their bodies. Moments later, two unconscious bird collapsed to the floor and Pokeballs were raised.
"Bravo, return!" Darryn held up the Premier Ball and kissed it as it closed, whispering under his breath "You did amazing out there. I am so proud of you!" The ball was minimised and Darryn's focus came back to the match. He was nearly there. All it was now was one-on-one.
"Let's do it Lady, Extrasensory!"
Otis' eyebrow raised. A very nice turn of events had just happened, and he had come close, dangerously close, to praising the trainer. He'd have to be sure he was getting enough sleep at nights.
The trainer was relying far too much on extrasensory from the vulpix. (Perhaps he'd like to trade the vulpix. She was a beautiful specimen). However, Extrasensory could, like most attacks, be negated quite easily.
"Magmar, use Smog. Cover the arena!" The magmar grinned and blew clouds of a seemingly viscous, malevolent gas from its mouth, its dark form covering the entire form and spilling from the arena floor into the lava below. The smog cloud reached up to the magmar's chest before Otis waved for it to stop.
"Now! Rock Smash at the arena floor at your feet!" Another pokémon may have hesitated, but the magmar simply slammed a fist into the ground, sending a plum of rock debris over his head. "Again!" The magmar repeated the action. "And again!"
The smog was thinning now, pouring over the edge, the wind from the magmar's blows lending it a small amount of momentum. When the magmar struck the ground, there was a yelp to the side. "Magmar," grinned Otis. "Find her and strike her down with Faint Attack!"
* * * * *
Meiko was grinning from ear to ear, but Jaima's lips were pressed together. It was annoying. "Come on, Jaima, Darryn's got this in the bag! There's no way that thing can use fire on Lady, her ability negates it! And he's got her hidden in smog!"
Jaima nodded once, but said nothing. Meiko folded her arms. Probably wanted to go back to the Nurse and get some personal care or something stupid. This was a great match, and he was ruining it.
"Darryn's a great fighter," Jaima said. "He took on two pokémon with a team he was hardly familiar with. But he's not fighting right now... it's almost like he's putting on a show."
Meiko frowned. "These are effective attacks he's making."
"Yeah, but they're also organized. Like that feather shield thing he did. Lady took a little time to make perfect shapes. It was affective, but..." Jaima shook his head and smiled, a nice, handsome smile, that was both sweet and self conscious. "Listen to me. Pokemon color commentary." He smiled again, then turned to the field. "Never mind me. He's doing a great job. Just... I dunno, there's something I can't put my finger on.
Meiko looked back at the battle and tried to ignore her heart pounding.
"Vuuul!" Lady exploded out of the smog, tendrils of purple smoke clinging to her body as she flew limply through the air. Even as the poison cloud faded, the Magmar's raised fist could be seen along with an ugly grin on its beak. Otis wore that same smile. Confidence personified.
*Lady can't take much more - she's too tired to do much more... We've got to finish this!*
"Lady, let's go with Agility!" Darryn commanded. His Vulpix snapped out of her daze to land gracefully and burst into a blur of speeding crimson fur, trailing a cloud of Smog behind her. The Magmar watched her warily, turning slowly to keep her in sight.
"Magmar, Confuse Ray!" Otis commanded.
*Oh no you don't! Time for our next trick!*
"Lady, Imprison!" Darryn called. Lady's eyes flashed blue and a visible yet insubstantial net seemed to weave itself around the fire-duck-monster-thing's body. It's attack was stopped dead and it gasped with confusion.
"Now, Energy Ball!" A green sphere smashed into the Magmar's chest, making it stagger backwards. "Again!" Ball upon ball rained into the foe as Lady charged head-on spitting veridian globes that forced the opponent back one step at a time. "And get in with Flamethrower!"
"Magmar? Mach Punch now." Otis intoned. Suddenly everything seemed to move in slow motion. Lady launched herself at the Magmar, her mouth already spitting fire in a spiral-jet of flames even as the Magmar seemed to disappear and reappear at her side with that grin on its face again. Darryn's Vulpix gasped and her eyes slowly turned to meet the fist coming straight towards her...
"MAG!"
"VUUUL!"
"LADY!"
The small vulpine Pokemon hit the dirt with a sickly thud, dust kicking up around her with the impact. Darryn didn't need to wait for the referee to call the result to know that his Pokemon was unable to battle. It was quite obvious - anyone in the stadium could see that Lady wouldn't be getting up in a hurry. Leaping off his platform, Darryn ran to Lady's side where he scooped her up carefully in his arms and kissed her head.
"Oh, Lady. You did so well!" He nuzzled her fur. "I'm really proud of you."
"Magmar, return." Otis said calmly, his Pokemon shrinking back into its Pokeball. He turned to Darryn and raised an eyebrow. "You did well, Challenger, but I'm afraid the Emberwing Badge will not be yours today."
Darryn's heart sank. He'd lost. His gym debut and it had resulted in a fail. After all that work. All those nights grooming and getting the attacks just right. All the studying and sparring. What was it all for if he still didn't have anything to show for it?
"I understand." He admitted, clicking Lady's Heal Ball to its maximised size. She stirred momentarily and kicked weakly into his chest.
<I will not lose!>
"Thank you for the opportunity, Otis." Darryn bowed respectfully and shook the Gym Leader's hand. "I'll keep training and try again some day."
"You do that." Otis said loftily, looking Darryn up and down. "Send the next challenger into the arena once you're out."
Regretfully, Darryn nodded and made his way over to the stands where three pairs of eys were watching him. Were those eyes carrying pity? Darryn didn't know. He hoped they weren't. If they took pity on him that only meant that yet again he was left behind while the others moved ahead. He held back the tears and made his way up to where Jaima and the girls were waiting.
Jaima had no clue what to say as Darryn came up the stairs into the seating area. He knew he would be devastated to have gotten that close and lost, but from the outside, Darryn had put on a magnificent showing. He had knocked out two of the three gym leader's team with no type advantage, no strength advantage, in fact, he seemed to have a disadvantage where that was concerned. Jaima's opinion of Darryn had only gone up since the day he met the other boy.
Luckily for Jaima, Meiko seemed to know exactly what to say. As soon as he appeared near them, Meiko stood and walked to him, giving him a generous hug. "You were terrific!" She beamed into his face, then punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Seriously, Darryn, you did a fantastic job!"
Darryn didn't seem convinced, and expressed as much, but Meiko waved the nay saying away. "Darryn, not everyone wins their first gym challenge! I had to do my first gym three times before I passed, and these gyms are a lot more complicated! There is nothing at all to be ashamed of with a showing like that!"
"She's right," Jaima chipped in. "Besides, who could work out combinations like that? You can't have forgotten our battle on the mountain. You were phenomenal, and you hadn't even met half of those pokémon until that day!"
Meiko spared Jaima a small grin. "Jaima's right! You'll get 'im next time!"
"Meiko's right about me being right! Y--"
"Will the next Trainer please come to the arena?" The voice was impatient and condescending, and set Jaima's teeth on edge. Meiko seemed to feel similarly. Her eyes narrowed as she looked toward the arena.
"Well, that's me," Jaima said, suddenly and inexplicably nervous. Darryn had taken a lot of care and work, had taught his pokémon moves that made them into an effective team, but Jaima had nothing like that in his arsenal.
A ball on his bandolier burst open, and Mercury appeared, looking haggard and frantic. Did I miss it?! Did his match start?!
"No, Mercury, I'm still here, but they're calling for me." Jaima peered at his pokémon and came to a decision. "You can watch up here with Shadow and Grondir."
But..!
"No buts, sugar. You're tired, and these three haven't had a chance to fight yet." He gently caressed Mercury's crest. "Root for me, OK?"
"If the Trainer is not on the arena in five minutes, he will forfeit his attempt!"
Jaima sighed, gave a shaky smile to his friends, and made his way down. There was so much on his mind. Tuesday's silence, which, while possibly normal, was never such a fearful silence. Meiko's seeming ire at him, coupled with the times she seemed almost friendly. Darryn's obvious distress. Mercury's fatigue.
Slowly he allowed such concerns to pile into the back of his mind, determined to keep his mind on his match. But he didn't have combos, and he didn't have a lot of training. He had a type advantage, but that wouldn't hold up well against a good trainer. He was outclassed. Out skilled. Out maneuvered.
Calm.
Jaima sent a mental smile to Mercury, and stepped up to his podium. One by one he pulled pokéballs from his bandolier.
The blue ball with the small fin built up on top.
The blue-grey ball with a mold of a flame on the back.
The black ball with the gold star shape on top.
"My name is Jaima Kuonji, from Cherrygrove City in the Johto Region." Jaima's glasses flashed in the light. "And I challenge you."
Tuesday followed Darryn with her eyes as he made his way slowly back into the stands. She wanted to tell him that she thought he had done a good job. What little she had seen of the match had been brilliant on his part. Her mind kept slipping off into the darkness of dreams and memories, and occasionally she would doze off, but Zorro always woke her dutifully, as she had asked him to. But when Darryn sat down, Meiko was talking to him about the match, so Tuesday turned back into Silence and then turned back to the field, as Jaima walked out onto it.
His glasses flashed in the stadium light as he challenged the gym leader, Otis, and Tuesday had to smile. She knew he'd do well, of course. His pokemon were deeply loyal to him, and he to them.
That was sometimes a frightening thing, however, wasn't it?
Tuesday shuddered, the memory that had never actually left her mind flashing forward into her attention. Closing her eyes, willing the visions away, she wrapped her arms tighter around her knees and tried not to cry. This was becoming too much. She had to stop being such a baby! It was ridiculous!
"Coward," she whispered softly, and buried her head in her arms.
Darryn listened to Jaima and Meiko's supportive words and was grateful for them, even if he didn't show it very well, but he couldn't help thinking how things would have turned out if he had used Romeo and Zulu... They were the smart choices! They probably could have given him a victory! But he had chosen to be a smart alec and take on the gym leader on an even battle field. How could he be so stupid?
Troy's icy eyes watched him with a mixture of interest and concern from across the stadium. That lazy smile and relaxed slump was gone. He looked tense. Apprehensive. Darryn looked away. The embarrassment of losing in front of the first guy to pay him any attention since Justin was too much to handle on top of the loss itself. Life sucked.
Jaima made his way down to where Darryn had been standing on the Challenger's Platform, his selected Pokeballs already picked from his bandolier. Darryn was surprised to see that both Mercury and Shadow were watching from the sidelines and mentally gave Jaima kudos - they were his strongest Pokemon, after all. Even so, Fang and Tsunami were the obvious choices for the gym's inhabitants and yet Ember was in the lineup... Whatever Jaima was thinking, there was no doubt a plan behind leaving Mercury on the side lines...
Darryn stood up from his seat and shook out his depression. There was no point being selfish and brooding like that. He'd just go on with even more drive than before. If Meiko had multiple attempts and still got as far as she did, he could too!
"Come on, Jaima! Show him what you've got!" Darryn cheered, gripping onto the rail at the field's edge.
"Tsunami, Fang, and Ember, please come out and greet your opponents." To the outside observer, Jaima seemed calm, even a bit aloof. To those who knew him well, his pokémon included, there was a mere quaver in his voice that was otherwise admirably strong. To him and to Mercury, and Shadow, who could see his aura flickering with tiny bright yellow streaks, Jaima was a nervous wreck.
Golbat! I'm starting to hate that evolutionary line! I could have used Mercury, but she looks so tired! Fang isn't the fastest, but he is strong. He should be able to hold up, and Tsunami's a good battler, I saw that in the battle on the mountain, but I just don't know if I've trained them right! What right have I to go up against a gym leader who's spent a lot of time getting their max potential from their pokémon, when all I've really done is battle them and let other people use them...
Trainer Jaima, please be calm... There was a note of franticness in Mercury's mental voice, and Jaima scowled at himself. He was being selfish. Mercury wasn't feeling well, and neither was Tuesday. He should call it off.
Don't you dare! The shout was like a slap to the back of his head, and the mental connection cut off abruptly, and Jaima looked up to see Mercury blushing and rubbing her head. He sighed. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't, it appeared...
"Fang, please take the field, and Tsunami as well. Ember, watch carefully, you will be going in as backup."
He didn't have a strategy. He didn't have a plan. He had, however, very loyal pokémon, and he knew their limits better than he had before. He'd just have to watch.
* * * * *
Mercury was mortified. What was wrong with her, yelling at Trainer Jaima like that? She took deep breathes and began to empty her mind. It was not easy.
Trainer Jaima had been having nightmares, but they were linked with Mercury's own, and therefore doubly bad. Trainer Meiko, who had affection for Trainer Jaima, was also angry with him and jealous. Tempest also was jealous, and angry, and hurt, somehow. Trainer Tuesday was hurt and terrified, the strength of the latter emotion keeping her from finding out why, and in Mercury's current state, if she tried to figure it out, she might hurt the poor girl. Lady was teetering between jealousy and hurt and pride, but was leaning toward jealousy. Shadow...
Shadow was a pool of serenity with a mist of concern around it. She could get lost in that, except for one thing. When she thought of Shadow, her throat closed, her crest tingled, and her heart pounded. Her mind clouded so much that she couldn't think.
But now there was a respite. Lady was steaming, Trainer Darryn was trying to be supportive of Trainer Jaima, Trainer Meiko and Shadow were concerned with Trainer Tuesday... all of these basic, strong emotions kept her from getting too overwhelmed. She could, if she wanted, sleep.
She could rest. It was nice.
She could... zzzzzz
"I see you are taking the opportunity to select Pokemon with a type advantage." Otis pushed his wire-framed spectacles up the bridge of his nose with a swift flick of irritation. "You should know that a Gym Leader trains his or her Pokemon to a level that can surpass any type advantage that may be introduced in a battle. Not only that, but we Gym Leaders of Furoh all specialise in Double Battling. If you forget that, you will lose."
Otis' eyes flickered upwards at his hovering Pokemon. What he had said was true - he had, indeed, prepared for battling against Pokemon that should have an advantage against his own. Numerous ideas came to mind as to how to attack the situation but habit set in and Otis found himself ordering the move that he often did in that siutuation.
"Noctowl, use Light Screen!"
The lazily flapping bird Pokemon hotted its acknowledgement and its eyes glowed ominously, a golden shimmering bubble made up of octagonal fragments sprung into place around itself and the Golbat circling manically over its head.
"Now, Golbat darken the field with your Haze attack - blind your opponents with a blackened mist!"
The Golbat's irratic flight came to a halt and immediately a raven-coloured smoke began pouring out of its mouth like some sort of ethereal waterfall towards the ground where it billowed out in ever-expanding waves. Otis smirked.
"Make your move, trainer," he snipped, "And make sure it's the right one."
Jaima bit his lip, surveying the rapidly darkening field. Several things entered and left his mind, considered and abandoned, or failing at the thought's task of trying to distract him. He could have used Mercury as a surprise against the Golbat, but the Light Screen would have negated her effectiveness. Neither of these on the field were something that Tsunami had a direct effect on; Smart on the Gym Leader's part, because she was doubly effective against the numel. How did you know she'd be doubly effective against the numel? Old research from the Lab. And the single most important thought; Light Screen affects attacks that aren't physically delivered.
"Tsunami, Water Gun on both of those fliers! Hit 'em before the Haze gets too thick!" As Tsunami attempted to spray the two with water, a move that would be less effective because of the Light Screen, Jaima gave his next command. "Fang, Charge! Hold your ground until I say so!" Tsunami took another breath to loose more water, but Jaima held out a hand. "Tsunami, return! Ember, take the field! Use Smokescreen! If we can't see them, they can't see us!"
He had a hunch this wouldn't work. After all, the golbat, even though it had eyes, also had sonar, and a lot of flying types had keen eyes, enabling them to see through fog and such. But it didn't matter. Either it would work, or it would draw them in, and Jaima had ideas for both.
Fang was still sparking, sending out bolts of electricity trough the haze, like upside down storm clouds. Ember's bottome was barely visible as a line of orange glow, her back-fires igniting and burning some of the haze. Both gave themselves away, but the smoke screen was beginning to cover the tell tale signs up even in such short a time.
"Ember! Bank your flames now! Get ready, because they're going to attack!" Then he said something that no one in his crew was around to remember, but both Fang and Ember did. "Remember how you acted when Fang fought against Lemonade!"
* * * * *
Shadow, too, knew the reference. It had been truly an awesome sight, Ember, kind, gentle, frightened Ember becoming a powerhouse battler when Fang had been knocked out. It had been the same fight that Rosie had shown him the kindness of a crash course in Fighting. He would never forget it.
However, the field was obscured from normal eyes. The command would lend Ember a hint of unpredictability if she understood what Sensei Jaima was trying to do. Shadow, however, would have to wait until that happened. He couldn't see, but he could perceive the aura around the pokemon on the field. Fang was trembling, charging his body with the bioelectric charge in his forelegs, and Ember was quivering, but her aura was hotter than her glames.
He turned his attention to his fellow spectators. Sensei Meiko's aura was banked, as many are when thinking. Kohai Tuesday's was almost gone, emulating a loss of hope, but she was tired as well. It was sad to see one so full of Aura banked so. He would have to try to fix that.
Zorro, the Little Brother, was dancing in the silly outfit, and he would have taken the Little Brother to task except that it would likely cheer Kohai Tuesday if she saw it. And that, Shadow knew, was the Little Brother's intent.
Little Mercury lay on a chair, her crest against the back, snoozing but finding little rest. He sent thoughts to her through the Aura, and she calmed a bit.
A flash of movement in the Aura came out, and he jerked his eyes to the field. The next move was being made.
Darkness.
The field filled up with darkness.
Tuesday shivered. She felt much like the field would have, had it been a living force capable of emotion. Empty, lost... nonexistent. It was as though she wasn't even fully here. Part of her was somewhere else, but not in that world she faded off to when deep in thought. No, part of her was trapped within the depths of a memory, dying a little more each time she was forced to watch Zorro die, Shadow die, the bovine stampede, Tempest slaughter her friends...
Every time she closed her eyes, she was enveloped in the shadows that made up her despair and lingering fear... or was her lingering fear and despair creating the shadows? It didn't matter... the shadows were there when she closed her eyes, and now even when her eyes were open, there was darkness.
Zorro was dancing around in front of her, dressed in a cheerleading outfit. It was funny, and it was cute, and Tuesday wanted to laugh. Her giggle seemed to get lost somewhere along the way, however, and the happiness she might have felt at the image was sucked into the black hole that had opened up inside of her. She felt lost... and cold.
Unable to see anything on the battlefield (and that scared her), she instead turned her attention fully to Zorro. The riolu was jumping from side to side, using his lithe agility to preform maneuvers that no teenaged human could have managed.
He waved the pompoms wildly, cheering with brazen glee, and Tuesday's lip did begin to curl upward.
But then her lingering exhaustion stole the clarity of her vision as it had been doing off and on all day. Suddenly, Zorro looked less like a dancing riolu wearing an outfit, waving pompoms, and more like a battling riolu, covered in blood and crying for help, or mercy, or... something. The abrupt, stunning yellow of the outfit looked like the color of Tempest's fur, and the mixed coloration of the pompoms nearly sent Tuesday into hysterics.
She blinked and her vision came back to her fully, and she could see Zorro as he was - fine, dancing... happy. But in her mind, she could see the blood and smell the death, and she was so afraid.
Without offering any explanation to her pokemon, without thinking of how being recalled so abruptly would make poor confidence-lacking Dante feel, Tuesday grabbed both pokeballs and summoned the two pokemon back into them. She then quickly stuffed all of her pokeballs into her backpack and set it on the bench beside her. If her pokemon were in their pokeballs, they were safe. Nothing would hurt them there. Even if Tempest did get out of her pokeball, as she was well able to, Zorro would be safe, and Dante would be safe, and Tuesday wouldn't have to watch anyone die.
She turned her attention back to the field, but she still couldn't see anything beyond the blackness produced by the sight-obscuring attacks. Within the confines of that ever-lingering darkness, the dreams came back to her.
At first, of course, it was the miltank and the taurus. She could hear the thundering of their hooves and the plain, simplicity of their cries as easily as if they were stampeding through the battle arena.
Then, of course, it was Tempest. Hot-tempered, impatient, angry Tempest, with every attack within her arsenal holding ten times the power of a Dragonite's hyper beam.
Tuesday had witnessed these dreams so many times that she could predict every move that the pokemon would make. As she gazed unseeingly ahead, she watched Tempest kill Zorro twice with a thundershock, three times with quick attack, and once even with a tail whip. She bore witness to Shadow's death four times, Tempest puncturing his chest with his own steel horn, using volt tackle, the attack she had forbidden the pikachu to use. And then, of course, she electrocuted the lucario with Lightning Tornado, the attack-maneuver that Tuesday had come up with herself.
Was it really Tempest out there, or was Tuesday the one actually doing the killing?
But these dreams... visions... memories... nightmares... they had become predictable. They were almost boring, except that they made Tuesday hurt inside. She did not even physically react, however, as she watched her comrades die. It was all the same.
Until that third death arrived.
A nameless, shapeless, soulless foe... he rose out of the darkness like a black death. Nothing more than a shadow, and yet far more than any piece of darkness could ever hope to be, the creature - the thing - did not dash forward so much as he glided, and he did not kill Shadow so much as he slaughtered him.
A hand through the chest, ripping out the lucario's heart, and then Shadow was fine again.
A kick to the head, decapitating the jackal-pokemon, and then Shadow was fine.
A slice across the midsection, and then Shadow - no, it was Zorro now - fell, disemboweled and dead.
Slashed, cut, stabbed, impaled, beheaded, diced, crushed, strangled... the list went on and on. Tuesday lost count of how many times the pokemon died. She lost count of who died more - Shadow or Zorro. She lost count of how many wounds had been obtained, and how many times her head physically ached when she watched her comrades fall.
But she remembered the laughter.
It never stopped. Just once. It began, and never ended. He was still laughing now, this shadowed demon. Cackling with glee, but cackling wasn't even word enough. He was beyond happy, this beast, and she could see his smile in the darkness around her, and in her.
He had finally stopped killing the riolu and lucario, but they had equally stopped rising. The two lay side by side on the ground, where they had once been standing back to back. Blood pooled around the both of them, staining their blue and black fur crimson, and Tuesday wanted to cry.
And then, of course, she realized she was crying. She made no sound and in her silence had even fooled herself, but now she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks like tiny rivers that had never been taught how to trickle with that laughing melody that all brooks had. Her cheeks were no doubt red, and they were cold and stiff, but the tears kept coming, and Tuesday didn't have the strength to wipe them away.
The neck of her shirt was wet, but Tuesday simply continued to stare ahead, not making a sound. As she gazed into the darkness of the field, however, she thought she saw a crimson light, and then two golden eyes opened and she realized that this beast was here. He was here, this shadowed demon, and he was going to hurt anyone that Tuesday was around to watch die, and so she had to leave. She had to leave now!
Without a word to anyone, without a sound, Tuesday sprung from the bench and bolted to the door. She sat the nearest and so no one saw her leave. The moment that she heard the door close behind her, she broke into a run for all she was worth, racing out of the battle arena and into the town.
She ignored the street signs and the intersections and simply ran. She ran to get away from the demon in the shadows, and to escape the nightmares, and to protect her friends, and with the hope of outrunning her tears.
But the tears came faster the faster she ran, and soon she was both lost and blind, and this knowledge only made her cry harder, and suddenly Tuesday wasn't letting the tears fall silently but was sobbing and begging, but she couldn't remember who she was begging and what for. She just wanted to go home, she wanted her brother, she wanted someone to hold her and tell her that everything was okay, and to chase the bad dreams away. She wanted someone to tell her that Shadow was okay and he wasn't going to stand staring into death, begging it to come. She wanted someone to assure her that Tempest wouldn't kill Zorro out of jealousy or rage. She wanted someone to show her a future without a big black shadowed beast that killed everyone she cared about.
And she wanted a hug. She wanted a hug really, really bad.
Choking on a sob, Tuesday sniffled and leaned up against a building. The bricks were cold and so offered her neither warmth nor comfort, and Tuesday felt even worse for expecting it.
"I'm being a baby," she whispered, but she didn't really care. She knew she should act more grown up, but she couldn't bring herself to even try at this point. She was tired... she was exhausted. She was having nightmares that made her want to be sick and which caused her chest to ache in an agony that wasn't physical. She felt like her head was fuzzy and her heart was heavy and her mind was too great a burden to bear.
But the nightmares kept coming, and Tuesday was worried, she knew. Part of her was begging her to turn around and go back and make sure Shadow was all right. Part of her wanted to run back to the battle arena and call out Zorro (I didn't bring my pokeballs with me?) and make sure he wasn't hurt. Part of her was afraid that her dreams would come true without her being there to stop them, as if she would have been able to...
But another part wanted to stay away, because if she wasn't there to watch, then they would be safe. If she wasn't there, then Tempest couldn't get jealous, because Zorro wouldn't have her, either. Shadow wouldn't fail and then give his life to his failure, and Tuesday could protect them, just by staying away.
So... so if that was the right thing to do, then why did both her mind and her heart agree that she should go back? Why did that choice seem to grow bigger the more she thought about it? Why did it seem smarter to be with her older, stronger, wiser friends?
It's not safe here.
The thought came to Tuesday's mind just before she heard the growling.
Her head snapped toward the sound and she saw them - two houndour, advancing toward her with the slow ease of a hunter who knew he had his prey in hand. Tuesday took a step back, only to suddenly realize that she had positioned herself in an alley with no back exit. The only entrance held the two dark dogs, both with crimson eyes and bared fangs. One was larger than the other, and while both held the rage all dogs had when protecting their territory, they larger's eyes seemed to hold something else, as well. A hatred. A desire to hurt.
Tuesday whimpered softly, retreating. It was a stupid thing to do.
The larger dog was fast.
He took two strides, and then leapt, his paws slamming into Tuesday's chest.
His weight was tremendous and threw her clean off her feet. She hit her back first, but her vision blurred moments before the pain of her struck head registered. The world took on a kind of fuzzy hue, and then it faded slightly, only to let Tuesday see that the snarling she heard was from both houndour, as they battled. When had that happened?
The smaller was losing. A male, with ribs that shown through his thin, filthy fur. He was standing partway between Tuesday and the larger houndour. Protecting her... why?
The larger dog was faster than the smaller.
A female, Tuesday realized, as she dreamily watched the battle. Older, with scars on her legs and a few on her face. She was well-fed for a stray, and strong from experience she gained living without a trainer. Without care. Fueled by hatred, it seemed, as she snarled and slashed and bit the younger dog, until the small, too-skinny, weak houndour hit the ground with a dull-thud and lay bleeding, whimpering... vulnerable.
Tuesday didn't really think about it when she grabbed the pokeball. She knew it was in her pocket. She always had one vacant ball that she kept separate from the others. She didn't really know why - it was one of those things that Anika did that she, for some reason, picked up on. She was glad for it now, as she tossed the Great Ball - her only one of that kind - at the weak and wounded houndour.
The dark dog disappeared into the pokeball with a soft whimper, and the ball landed on the ground, shaking weakly, before going still. The other houndour looked confused for a moment. Stunned, even, but the disappearance of her prey, but then she knew she had another prize awaiting her, and this one wouldn't disappear.
With a snarl, crimson eyes flashing, the dark canine turned her full attention back to Tuesday, and advanced.
Otis watched nonplussed as a smattering of water dashed through the air, cutting the Haze like melting butter - wherever it struck it was simply replaced by fluid darkness that clung to everything like gaseous glue. True, there was a chance for impact but the damage would be greatly reduced. In short, the Marshtomp wasn't a problem. The Luxio, however, was building energy and defenses while Otis had set his own. That could become troublesome.
"Tsunami, return!"
*If he thinks switching around will help him, then he's wrong!*
"Ember, take the field!"
*And the Quilava comes in... perfect! Doesn't he know the way we Leaders battle on Furoh?!*
"Noctowl, return!" Otis fired off the Pokeball's collection beam into the smog and a bright red flash came flooding back. "Numel, go!" His short, hot-headed camel trundled into the battlefield, his face hard and uncompromising.
"Time for the attack! Golbat, Supersonic! Numel, Magnitude - knock them both down!"
"MOVE!" It was a moment of panic that caused Jaima to shout so, and he took a moment to calm himself. His hands gripped the Trainer Podium where he watched the battle from with a white knuckled grip, and he prayed that his pokémon were quick. The good thing was that the smog and the haze likely threw the numel's aim off as much as it was intended to obscure the opponent pokémon, but he didn't want to take that chance. The magmar's smog attack hadn't slowed it down all that much when Darryn and Lady were under it.
The golbat's sonic boom struck something and sent up a plume of rock above the haze line, but no cry followed it. Jaima breathed a small sigh of relief; Either the bat couldn't use Sonar and Sonic Boom, or they had moved in time.
In the arena, Ember felt the rumble of Magnitude and dodged, not away from but into Fang, throwing him clear. The magnitude attack swung toward her, and struck the ground around her, jostling her off of her feet. Fang growled thanks and a warning not to do that again, but Ember had taken Jaima's command literally; She was to protect Fang as much as she could.
"Fang," Jaima cried out, noticing the status for Ember dropping on the readout sensor embedded in his podium. "Find that Golbat and use Spark! Ember, Quick Attack on the Numel! Be swift! Try to keep it off balance!" He was relieved to see that Ember hadn't fallen quickly; ground attacks were strong against fire and electric both. It was amazing that Fang hadn't been hit.
Ember was getting upset. She was scared, she was trying to protect Fang, and she hurt. It was making her angry, which was a good thing; She wasn't afraid to fight when she was angry. But it also made things hard to hear. So when Jaima said "Quick Attack on the Numel! Be swift!" all she heard was "Attack... Numel... Swift." That triggered something inside of her, and she pitched forward on her front legs, sending motes of fire that turned into white stars flying, not just at the numel, but up above the haze to the golbat as well. Fang saw the stars and followed them, and as the golbat dove to avoid the stars Fang was nearby, charging forward with his entire body electrified.
* * * * *
Sensei Meiko was preoccupied with Sensei Jaima's match, which is how it should have been. If she wished to make a proper mate, she had to look out for him and let the pokémon watch the younglings. Kohai Tuesday was no mere youngling, but she was small and the humans couldn't possibly see the power she contained. Shadow could forgive them the assumption.
He had been surprised when Kohai Tuesday recalled her charmeleon and the Little Brother abruptly, but it put him on alert, and when she dashed out, he followed without asking. He would be her support if she didn't trust the Little Brother yet. She was dashing throughout the city pell mell, ignoring her heart and mind and acting with only her terror to guide her; it flowed off of her like puffs of acrid smoke. Finally, she stopped, but she had run so swiftly and so intricately through the city that Shadow had briefly lost her.
When she stopped, he could better follow her aura. It was now yellow with fear as well as acrid with terror, and he quickened his pace. He came to the mouth of the alleyway just in time to see Kohai Tuesday make her catch, but from the flickering of her aura, red near the back of her head and yellow and blue shot in the rest, she had been hurt. It was no mere catch, it was a desperate act of preservation.
"Lu!" Shadow barked at the houndour as he moved to bite the life from the Kohai he had left his Sensei to protect. The dog snarled, a long, low growl-whine of frustration, then snarled and tore up the alley toward Shadow. He stood tall and strong, beckoning the creature forward with his paw. As long as this snarling demon was charging him, it was not going to harm Kohai Tuesday.
"No," came a whisper, and Shadow could sense the acrid terror enveloping Kohai Tuesday's weakened Aura, but did not allow himself to be distracted. He launched a Hi Kick at the canid as it leapt, and heard a satisfyingly pained yelp. The houndour landed on its paws shakily, panting heavily, then opened it's mouth.
Flames shot forth, and Shadow cried out. He had felt flame before, and it hadn't hurt this badly. The protusions at his wrists, chest, and back burned at the flesh around them, as if heated and now branding him, and he staggered.
"NO!" It was a wail, a cry, and the houndour was attracted to the smell of Kohai Tuesday's fear. He turned to her, and Shadow, pained but not down, tackled him.
Otis grimaced behind the bank of Haze. Things weren't going how he planned. He had never coutned on his opponent knowing a move like swift and so had not thought to defend against it.
Stars rained down upon his two Pokemon - flashing strobe silhouettes announced the clash of Swift upon Light Screen as the golden barrier was bombarded with the nippy little projectiles. Otis drew in a slight breath of relief as the damage inflicted was reduced by the Noctowl's legacy but he had to clamp his jaw tight when Golbat came careening out of the fog, electricty crackling off his body.
*That Luxio needs to be dealth with. Promptly*
"Golbat, Giga Drain on the Luxio. Numel use another wide-spread Magnitude and make it a big one!"
The blue Bat Pokemon swept back into the gloom, a swirling green vortex jumping from his mouth, searching out the prey in the fog while the Numb Pokemon shook off his momentary daze from the Swift attack and stomped harder into the ground, a glare of concentration falling upon his brow.
"Don't get cocky when Light Screen is still in play!" Otis warned the challenger, already thinking of what sort of tactic to employ next.
Jaima hissed. Otis was starting to get on his nerves with his attitude, but that wasn't his problem at the moment. His problem was that he had two pokemon that were weak to ground moves with a ground type on the field. Tsunami could easily take the ground type out, but Jaima had to be certain Otis didn't simply switch him out at the same time, and that meant knocking out the golbat. Hopefully, if the golbat fainted, the haze would go away as well.
"Ember, Swift again!" He grit his teeth. This magnitude was harder than the other, and he had no way of knowing if it could knock out both of his pokemon in one fell swoop. If only there was a way to get one of them airborne!
Ember dashed toward Fang, and had found him and moved in front of him when the order came. She pitched forward on her dorelegs, releasing the stars again, but when the magnitude attack hit, she rolled all the way onto her back. Struggling to keep her eyes open, she gasped as Fang also rocked to his side, slamming hard and panting.
"Fang!" Jaima's voice was clearer now, defeat lessening the whooshing of blood through Ember's ears. "Try it again, one more time! Go for the green stuff in the field! Ember, you can stand up! We need another smokescreen!"
Jaima's hands on the podium were slick with sweat. Both of the pokémon on the display were flashing red, and a chime was dinging, one for each, out od synch with each other. It was grating. Jaima had no business trying to get this badge, but he wasn't going to let himself or his pokémon down without a fight.
* * * * *
It didn't look good for Jaima, and Meiko sighed, rubbing the end of his bandolier between both thumbs and her indesx fingers. The leather was smoothing where she rubbed it, but she didn't care. If he won, she'd buy him a brand new bandolier.
She glanced to her left. Darryn was as intent on the battle as she had been, his jaw working, wishing he'd been out there. She looked to her right, and was surprised to see that Tuesday had left, without her bag, the pokéballs still visible through the opening. Zorro was gone, Dante was gone, and Shadow, who'd been behind them, was gone.
Well, crap.
She squirmed a bit. She wanted to see this battle, to support Jaima, especially if he lost, but he'd be upset if something had happened to Tuesday. She was probably in the bathroom.
And... she... probably took Shadow with her. For protection.
From the bathroom.
... Riiiiiight.
"Darryn," she whispered, clenching her eyes shut.
"What," he said, not taking his own gaze from the battlefield.
"I need to go find Tuesday..."
Darryn did look at her this time. "Now?!" He glanced around, scowling. "What the blaz- Jaima's in the middle of his match!"
"I know," she said miserably, "but Tuesday's been out of it lately. I just want to see if she's OK."
Darryn cast a skeptical eye. "Look, if you don't want to see him los-"
"It's not that!" she said, a little too loudly. "You know how he is, especially with the little sisters he has! He'd rush out himself if he knew, in the middle of his own match!" When he didn't stop glaring, she sighed. "Look, she's probably in the bathroom. I'll go find her and come right back!"
Darryn rolled his eyes, twitching a bit, then finally came to a decision. "It's just in case, mind," he said, pulling a ball off of his belt. He released a jolteon, and Meiko blinked. "Romeo, go with Meiko. Help her find Tuesday. If she's in the bathroom, come right back!" The last was directed to both Meiko and Romeo. Meiko rolled her eyes.
"Yes, mother," she sneered, dashing out the door as inobtrusively as possible.
Once out of the observation area, Meiko jogged to the rest room. It was empty, and her stomach dropped. "If you can track," she muttered to Romeo, "now would be a good time..."
The electric pokemon looked up at her, then dashed out the door. Meiko followed at a run, and Romeo made sure he was slow enough to follow, frustrating as it might be for him.
Tuesday had been frightened, and though she had run quickly, she had run in more or less a straight path. Though they'd had to back track for some unexpected turns, they soon were attracted to the noise of a battle.
A houndour, a large male, was tussling with Shadow. Both were hurt and panting, Shadow with some swelling around his spikes and the houndour favoring his left side.
Romeo dashed forward in a burst of speed, slamming into the houndour with a quick attack, giving Meiko room to pass and check Tuesday. The girl was groggy, mumbling something about Shadow needing to run before she passed out. Meiko turned to the battle, her jaw set.
Tuesday's head hurt, and everything was kind of fuzzy, like she was surrounded by cotton swabs. She could see the houndour advancing toward her as though she were watching from a distance. It was an odd sensation, and somewhere, she knew she was losing consciousness, but it didn't really matter.
Until Shadow appeared.
She hadn't thought that anyone would come, but if she had expected anyone, he would be the least on her mind. After all, he was more often dead than alive in her dreams now, and it was becoming hard to distinguish between the two.
He darted forward, calling the fire-dog's attention, and for a moment, Tuesday was grateful to see him.
And then she remembered that lucario were part-steel pokemon, and that steel was weak against fire. And then Shadow was beckoning the houndour forward, standing tall and firm, wanting the other to come at him.
Just like in her dreams, only this was real.
"No," she whispered, feeling ice fall into her belly, because the houndour charged, snarling at Shadow. The lucario hit the canine back with a high kick, but, of course, houndour were fire pokemon, and they were stronger.
Shadow screamed when the flames struck him.
The steel horns on his body seemed to glow red with heat, and the lucario threw back his head with a howl filled with pain and confusion. Agony. Dying agony.
"NO!" Tuesday screamed, the dream coming back to her, overlapping the reality that she could see. Was Shadow there or not? Was he fighting or pleading for death? Was she really seeing this, or was it all a dream? "Shadow!" she screamed.
The houndour, attracted to her cry, turned his attention to her, and the move left his side open. Shadow struck, tackling the canine to the ground, but the houndour was large, and fast, and he snarled and snapped as he attacked Shadow. The two fought, snarling, barking, snapping, growling at each other, ripping open fresh wounds and screaming in pain.
Tuesday, her vision flickering in and out, found herself sobbing in fear, because as powerful as he was, Shadow could not win this battle. Not as a steel-type. Not against a houndour. He was going to die, just like in her dreams.
Her shirt was soaked, her cheeks stained wet, and Tuesday's eyes hurt, but not as much as her head. Her eyesight was blurry with tears, but also flickering in and out every time her head started to ache, and she felt half like she was going to be sick, but she didn't quite know why. But it didn't matter. Only Shadow mattered. Only Shadow and that he needed to... needed to...
"Run, Shadow," she begged, but her voice was weak from crying, from screaming, and she didn't know if the lucario heard her. He probably did, but wouldn't listen. It wasn't like him to listen. He was too noble, and it was going to get him killed. But that wasn't allowed. Tuesday wouldn't allow it.
"You're not allowed to die, Shadow!" she screamed, though it came out garbled in a sob she hadn't realized she had been at the mercy of. She felt more tears flow down her cheeks at the sound of the lucario's wailing cry of pain as the houndour released another ember attack at him. She sobbed, choking on her tears, and she started to whisper in plaintive pleas, "Run, Shadow. Run. Please, run. Please."
She thought she heard another bark, but it was a distant sound that could have been part of a distant, rising dream. Or maybe the houndour had a friend, coming to play tag-team, to slaughter Shadow. But no, the lucario would run, because he had to. He had to run. He had to.
Tuesday thought she felt something... familiar. Like someone was there who she could trust... who she knew... but she was too tired, and the world was too dark, and Shadow needed to run, so nothing else mattered.
"Shadow," she whispered, as the darkness settled in around her like a veil. "Run, Shadow. Please... please... run."
Whether or not he listened, she didn't know for certain, but she was sure he wouldn't.
She heard a snarl, triumphant, barking, a thud, whimpering...
Tears slid down her cheeks at the clarity of sounds and meaning. A triumphant howl, a broken whimper, and silence. Shadow had fallen. Shadow was dead. Just like her dreams.
Tears slipped down her dreams and followed her into darkness...
Otis smugly chuckled under his breath as the Quilava and Luxio slowed, their fatigue openly showing in their movements. This battle would be faster than the first! Having a fire and electric type out against his Numel was the best thing he could have wished for! All it would need was another Magnitude and then...
All of a sudden, the glowing golden shields that surrounded the Gym Leader's Pokemon shattered and fell, motes of sparkling light dancing away to nothing on the field. That meant... Dozens of spinning stars came whizzin through the air, screaming their aggression as they slammed into Numel's hump and against Golbat's wings. Otis squeezed his twig-like fingers into white-knuckled fists.
*Curses! How did he know when Light Screen would fall?!*
"We need another smokescreen!"
*Without knowing the extent of the damage my own Pokemon have taken, it would be foolish to let them battle blindly like before...*
"I don't think so! Golbat, Gust the fog away!" Otis ordered. His Bat Pokemon screeched angrily and kicked its wings into a windmill, dispelling the combined Smokescreen and Haze in one magnificent movement. Otis smirked. Things just weren't going the the favour of this Kuonji boy...
"Yiiiieeee!" Golbat screeched again. This time it was pain. Otis frowned intently as his poison Pokemon flapped and struggled, something clearly wrong with its flight. That was when Otis hissed with realisation.
*The Swift attack on its wings followed by a Gust put too much strain on it... it must have pulled a muscle or something... what a vile trick!*
The flying type spiralled down and down before it landed awkwardly on its feet, shrouding itself in its wings. Otis hated it when someone clipped his flying types' wings but it wasn't as though he hadn't prepared for it. Using Magnitude now would be a mistake. That meant...
"Golbat, use Astonish on the Luxio! Numel, hold back and use Amnesia!"
Otis' Golbat began to toddle towards his foe but the Luxio was far faster and his agility was like concord to a pushbike when Golbat was grounded. The lightning lion's grin was all Golbat could see as electricity crackled of its body as it charged in for a Spark attack...
"Golbat, return!" Otis held forth his Pokeball and snapped it shut angrily, tossing it back into the transporter without looking. Noctowl's ball was already in his hand.
As the owl Pokemon joined the Numel (who was completely contented in his forgetfulness), Otis realised he only had a couple of strategies left. Even so, the best had been saved for last and his trump card was still waiting.
"Noctowl, put up another Light Screen and keep high in the air! Numel, back on the Magnitude!"
*This boy is a tricky one. Swift to combat the Haze only to try and use Smokescreen to use my own strategy against me? Getting Golbat on the ground to prevent use of ground-type attacks? Either he is incredibly lucky or his talent is better than I thought... Even so, he won't be keeping this lead for long...*
Meiko pulled a pokeball from her belt and held it out. "Chompwater, GO!" However, it wasn't chompwater, it was a small corphish that blinked up at her. "Rockclaw? Oh! Right, I switched my team out to help match Jaima's." Meiko winced, then shrugged. "Rockclaw, us- ROCKCLAW!" She put her face in her hands. "Don't eat the garbage!"
The corphish glared at his trainer, but she pounted to the houndoom. "Get him in a vice grip and don't let go!" The corphish scuttled to the fray, grabbing the houndour by the foot. The canid yelped and kicked back, but the corphish hung on tenaciously.
Shadow took advantage of the attack, striking home another punch, and nimbly dancing backwards. He was hurting, but it didn't matter. Sensei Meiko had come to the rescue, and he didn't think the battle would last much longer.
If Romeo had been put off by the addition of the water type, he didn't show it, switching from electricity based attacks to Quick Attacks.
The houndour howled, in pain, rage, and frustration, and glowed, evolving into a houndoom. It was, however, still a tired houndoom.
"Rockclaw! Back off and use Bubble! Soak that thing!"
The corphish complied, and the houndoom staggered but did not fall. With the canid wet, and the corphis away from it, Romeo let loose with a bolt of electricity. The wet dog yelped, twitched, and fell, Romeo barking his victory.
Meiko checked on Tuesday again. She wasn't breathing labourously, but the bump on her head wasn't getting smaller. Sighing in slight disappointment, she hefted Tuesday up and started walking to the pokecenter. She'd miss Jaima's match, but he'd understand. She wasn't about to let Tuesday stay alone and hurt in her room.
* * * * *
Jaima took advantage of the switch out and change in strategy to make his own changes. He had agonized over it, but in the end he needed two pokemon on the field and logically, his choice was clear. He hoped beyond hope that Ember would understand.
"Fang, return! Tsunami, take the field! Water Gun on the Numel, and follow it with a mudslap! Ember," he paused, biting his lip, then nodded. "Swift again, then Defensive Curl!"
How he'd gotten so lucky, he didn't know, but he attributed it to the team he'd employed. Logically it had been a bad choice, to try to again use fire against his opponent, matching type against type, but the choice hadn't been made by logic, not completely. Grondir would have folded like a lawn chair here, and Shadow now had a weakness to fire and ground as well. Mercury was tired, exhausted, and finally Ember, Fang, and Tsunami hadn't had a chance to participate in a gym battle.
Jaima began to relax. If he was going to lose, and he didn't trust his luck to hold out much longer, he wasn't going to do it tense. He'd fight his hardest, give the best commands he could, and trust his team, and be extremely proud of them. And if Meiko teases me, well, that's her hang up.
Otis hated, absolutely hated when he lost ground on the field. With Golbat out, he was clearly in the worse position but thanks to Light Screen, his Numel and Noctowl were still in pretty good condition. That couldn't really be said for the challenger's Pokemon. They had sustained injury and were hardly in tip-top shape as a result.
The order for a switch on the Kuonji boy's part was a wise choice from anyone's perspective. Clearly a Marshtomp would have an advantage in the current situation and getting the Luxio away from Numel was an equally applaudable move. That said, however, the challenger didn't know the extent of Otis' training...
"Take the hit!" Otis commanded his Pokemon, allowing the Water Gun and Swift to come flying in with terrfying force. They rained upon the golden Light Screen, a fraction of their power seeping through to strike their targets. Otis' Numel, still numb from its Amnesia blinked angrily as the cool water filtered through the shield and struck him, doing less damage than normal but still a super effective hit nonetheless.
A cheer erupted from the boy up on the viewers platform, but Otis didn't have time to listen to idiotic cries of congratulations. Choosing to take the hit meant that Otis' own Pokemon could focus on building their own attacks and once ready, he could sweep the boy's team with no problems.
"Noctowl, use Sunny Day!"
The owl Pokemon's eyes shone brightly with an incandescent white light that parted the cloud above the stadium and brought down the heat of the midday sun right into the arena. The move had taken months for Otis' flying type to perfect but here it was in all its glory.
"Numel, Solarbeam on the Marshtomp!"
Otis' Numel grunted happily and opened its mouth. A narrow white beam immediately shot forth, an arcing light of majesty that dessimated the globules of mud that were flying towards its maker. The foe Marshtomp's eyes widened considerably and its mouth dropped with shock.
*This is the end!*
A black, spinning ball flew at high velocity out of nowhere, intercepting the beam several feet from making contact with the water type. Otis hissed angrily as the Quilava was catapulted through the air from the impact and cursed it for being so quick on its feet. He didn't wait to see what happened next, instead he focus on the next attacks.
"Numel, more Solarbeam!"
Jaima looked, to the outside, as if he had merely narrowed his eyes and shifted so that his glasses flashed in the light. To the psychi- To the two psych-.... to any psychic attending in the arena, Jaima became a sudden white hot flare of energy. It certainly made Mercury sit up in the seat with a sudden gasp. Ember flew back and nearly hit the ground, but a red beam intercepted her fall and drew her back into the flame decorated pokeball. With the other hand, he released Fang.
Jaima's fingers tightened on the podium and he grit his teeth to the point that they felt like they might break. Across the field Otis, too, was snarling, but in anger at Ember's sacrifice, and the sight of it seemed to galvanize Jaima. He plugged Ember's pokeball into the reader built into the podium, glancing at the display. Fainted. Not dead, despite taking a solar beam when she was nearly fainted.
Fang began dashing around the arena, electricity sparking around his forelegs, running so quickly that the slow numel couldn't track him with a solar beam. He growled as he ran, piercing the numel and the noctowl with an angry gaze.
"Tsunami, MUD SLAP!" He growled it out, the first time he'd spoken in a commanding voice, and Tsunami responded brilliantly, hitting the ground with a water gun and then slapping the mixed mud at the numel. "Again!" The numel, opening it's mouth, was hit full in the face by the attack, forcing it to shut it's eyes.
"Now dodge and hit the noctowl with a water gun! Just like hunting for flies!"
"How many times do you have to hear the facts?" Otis was nearly snarling, even as the water soaked the bird's feathers. "Your attacks have little effect while Light Screen is active!"
"Interesting thing about Light Screen, Otis," Jaima said, low and deep in his throat. "It isn't effective at all against physical attacks! NOW FANG!"
Fang leapt up the wall, scampering up amongst the rocks and crevices, and dove at the noctowl, his entire body sparking, and an odd, gleeful, wicked grin on his face.
* * * * *
Meiko sighed deeply. She couldn't believe the pain in her legs. When Tuesday had run, she'd run the opposite direction from the pokecenter, and therefore the walk there had been twice the distance than the walk to the gym. Coupled with the run to find her, she was glad when Shadow had insisted on carrying Tuesday after two blocks. She knew he was injured, but he had been so adamant that she knew it was a battle she'd lose if she'd dared argue. Shadow being Jaima's pokemon made the argument pointless. He wasn't her pokemon to order around, so she wouldn't force him.
When she walked in, she was faced with the final distaance through the lobby to the one nurse who she really didn't want to see. The nurse that had been revealed to be Jaima's girlfriend. Still, she thought with a deep sigh, Tuesday needed attention, so Meiko would just have to suck it up.
She stopped short. There was Joy, leaning against the counter, twirling her hair around one finger. On her face was a coy smile, and her eyes were glued to the dark haired young man across the counter. A dark haired young man that, while good enough looking, was definitely not Jaima.
She fought back the urge to leap across the room, like one of those corny kung fu movies that her father loved, and scratch the girl's eyes out. She did, however, stalk forward and slam her hand on the counter, barely managing to keep her face passive when Joy turned, startled.
"Tuesday hit her head," she said in a clipped manner. "Is there someone here who can look at her? I know you're trained in first aid, but I'd prefer a human nurse if I can get it."
Joy said nothing, but rushed into the back, pulling one of her cousins with her. The elder Joy looked at Meiko briefly. "She's gone to medical school," said the younger Joy shakily, intimidated both by the prospect of a hurt human, and Meiko's icy stillness. "What happened?"
"She was attacked by a houndoom. Shadow was fighting it off when I arrived. He'll need to be looked at as well, and Darryn's Jolteon Romeo will need rest. He wasn't hurt, but he did fight. Also, my corphish." She handed the one ball to the young nurse. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll need to find a way to contact Jaima." You know, she sniped mentally, your boyfriend. You hussy.
The elder Nurse smiled at Meiko. "She's all right. Would you please take her to her room to rest?"
Meiko nodded and walked away, carrying Tuesday. She was proud of her restraint, but still angry. The anger faded when she opened the door to her room and looked at Tuesdays' bed.
"Oh! Wait a minute, Mr. Postman!"
"Noctowl!" Otis gasped, not thinking to keep track of the Luxio had been a blunder. He'd been so focused on defending Numel that the challenger had been able to sneak up on the single Pokemon that Otis own that knew not a single attacking move.
Feathers flew as Fang crashed through the golden shield to slam home the electric attack, driving the owl Pokemon downwards to crash heavily into the rocky field. Dust rose in a flash after the impact, showering the Pokemon and their trainers with sand and gravel while they waited for the smoke to fall. When it did, however, only one Pokemon was left standing.
"Noctowl, return." Otis snapped the Pokeball up quickly, recalling the honorable bird where it would be able to take a deserving rest.
"It seems I took battling you too lightly, what was it? Master Kuonji? But don't think it is all over yet. Light Screen will be in play for a little while yet and your Luxio is now wide open!"
Fang's graceful landing had placed him pretty much exactly halfway in between Tsunami and Otis' Numel whose face was still lightly softened by the effects of Amnesia but a glimmer of determination managed to shine through all the mud that covered them. That was what Otis liked to see in his Pokemon. Not only the ability to pull off great strategies but also to fight to the very end with all they had. Numel's sight might have been a little off due to the Mud Slap but not all moves required you to aim...
"Numel! Rip up the arena with your Magnitude once more! Take your opponents down!" Otis cried. He fought down the silent admissions that he was being pushed against the ropes. He was forced into a corner and his hopes were all pinned on Numel now.
The small Camel Pokemon seemed to reciprocate its owner's feelings. It let loose a honking wail as it slammed its feet to the dirt, a tremor building around it in an instant. He screamed louder and harder, pushing the quake into a shuddering jolt with all his might. That was when it happened. White light shone brightly from the Pokemon's every pore and right before everyone's eyes, Numel began to evolve...
Fang watched the dirtcamel lift it's foot and sprang to action. He'd done it! He'd made his trainer proud! Now he had to make Mama Ember proud, and he knew how. The tremor was coming behind him, and he let the vibration catapult him into his new friend, Tsunami, and push her into the air. He'd almost not made it. The tremor struck him as he was coiling to spring, and instead of a clean tackle, it was a tumble that sent him into the marshtomp's legs. It had the desired effect, though; she didn't take as much damage as she might have. Fang smiled to himself as darkness and light claimed him.
Tsunami wasn't happy. She was already queasy from the heat, and it was her first real attempt at battling. At first she thought that she'd done something wrong, because she'd been called back so quickly, but then she was on the field again, and her new, good trainer was giving her commands like he believed in her, and she made a point to push herself. But then the ground was shaking, and that didn't help her queasy stomach, and then, Fang sent her flying, and that definitely didn't help.
She could feel throw-up in her throat. And it was one of those special throw-ups, the kind she could use as an attack, and sometimes did, at will. She hated using that! It reminded her of the muck, and being abandoned, and sick! She didn't want to make anyone sick..!
But if she was going to throw-up anyway, she thought with a sigh, it might as well be useful. She landed, wobbled, fell to all fours, and spewed a purple ball of goo at the camerupt.
It hit dead on, and the camerupt shuddered, looking a bit purple and green as well.
He smiled. <<That was weak,>> he said, sneering. <<You're weak!>>
Tsunami shuddered in anger. Weak! Weak! It wasn't weakness that let her survive in the muck canal for three days! It wasn't weakness that kept her alive on the mountain when that fireskunk stomped on her over and over! Weak?!
The camerupt slammed it's foot down again, and Tsunami fell on her back, but stood again. She wouldn't lose. She refused to lose! She rushed at the giant camel and struck it, Endeavoring to bring it down to her level. The camel shuddered, it's eyes widening in shock. Tsunami's wide mouth widened more. At point blank, she opened her mouth and sent a gout of water into the camel's face...
* * * * *
Meiko sat vigil by the bed. The Nurse had said that Tuesday would be all right, but Meiko couldn't see that from where she was sitting. The girl's face looked strained, and she looked as if she was on the verge of crying, even unconscious.
She'd sent the Kuonji mail pokemon to find Jaima, and found herself secretly hoping, win or lose, that Jaima would be here soon.
Otis grinned when the Luxio finally went down. The lighting cat had been a little menace from the outset but at least only one Pokemon was left on the field a piece. Not only that, but Otis' newly evolved Camerupt was in far better condition. Otis was so proud of his little Numel in those moments when it had driven itself into evolution. When it had first been caught, Otis had had some worry that the little camel would never grow stronger but time and again its gutsy attitude had pulled through - now more than ever!
"Congratulations, Camerupt! Now, let's finish this off!" Otis nearly cried with joy. His enormous new Pokemon grunted his approval and lowered its gaze upon the Marshtomp. "MAGNITUDE!"
Camerupt's wide hoff slammed deep into the ground, creating a tremor that filled the entire stadium. His opponent wobbled and tripped, the shockwave of the ground attack rippling up into her legs and crippling her momentarily. Otis almost spat when she rose.
*There is no way she can hold on much longer... this match is over!*
"Go, Camerupt!"
"TOMP!" Kuonji's Marshtomp was on the move, some ounce of strength managing to carry it around the area once more. It spat a globule of purple thick liquid at Camerupt which struck hard but left no visible damage... unless...
*How can that Marshtomp know Toxic? No matter...*
"Solarbeam!" Otis commanded, calling for the knock-out blow. It seemed, however, that the foe had other plans. Unluckily for Otis, his freshly evolved Pokemon had become cumbersome and slow with its new form and by the time he had taken aim, the water type was rushing around his side and striking in with its flippers. Now, that marshtomp was by no means fast but Camerupt was... nearly immobile!
The resounding thud of the punch delivered by Camerupt's opponent made Otis flinch and yet again he was taken aback by what he was seeing.
*Endeavour?! What a dispicable move!*
He cursed profoundly under his breath and, knowing it was already too late to try and order another attack, witnessed painfully as water was sent directly into Camerupt's face. With a roar and a low, arduous moan, the fire type toppled to its side and fell with a crash. Otis held up its Pokeball and bowed his head slightly in defeat.
"I appears that I have lost." Otis stated calmly, pacing evenly across the battlefield. Somehow, despite his displeasure at losing, he was wearing a genuine smile that he had not expected. Even in loss, Otis of Arasam was able to admit that he had enjoy every minute of the battle and shaking the boy's hand was the least he could do. "You battled admirably and I must say I was touched by the degree of support your Pokemon gave each other - they must be really close. Here, take the Emberwing Badge with my respect and make sure you go all the way to the Furoh League - we can't have just anyone beating me, can we?"
The Kuonji boy bowed respectfully *It must be a Johto thing?* and gave his thanks before going back to join his friends... friend waiting in the stands. With no more challengers waiting, Otis returned to his chambers to research new ways to battle to counteract the strategies he had just witnessed.
Jaima had watched the tail end of his battle with a look of shock on his face. He was certain when Fang fell and was recalled, he'd lost, but Tsunami had surprised him, first using a move he hadn't even known she knew, then evening out the newly evolved camerupt's advantage over her, and finally striking for the knock out, all the while looking more determined than he'd seen her.
"Tsunami, great work!" he said as the marshtomp turned and smiled up at him. "You've earned a rest. I'm going to recall you." He did so walking across the arena to shake Otis' hand. Now that the match was over, the Gym Leader seemed more friendly, appreciating the battle, and Jaima reflected that he had felt the same way about Chloe in Gigarte.
Taking the badge, he bowed to Otis, then turned to leave. As he made his way up the stairs, he pondered the badge. He had been lucky in this match. His pokémon had taken over twice, and while he was proud that they had protected one another, he couldn't deny that, had he been in control, things might not have ended so well. He made a resolution to train harder, learn more about his pokémon and their abilities.
Darryn dashed out of the osbervation area, practically squealing, and Jaima laughed as he fairly demanded to see the badge. He knew he was tired, but it still seemed that Darryn was more excited about the badge than he was. He clapped the fashion expert on the shoulder. "Your match was an inspiration, Darryn, plain and simple. Are you going to try again? And where are the girls?"
He didn't get to hear the answer. Mercury's panicked voice blotted out al outside noise, though it wasn't loud. Trainer Jaima! Shadow's missing! So is Meiko and Tuesday! Her voice sounded distinctively panicked, and Jaima felt his own heart pounding.
From the vent in the volcano high above, a green Swellow swopped down. Young Jaima, Miss Meiko has sent me to gather you. Your young friend has had an accident and Meiko is at the pokecenter with her. Jaima felt his heart rise into his throat, pounding as if trying to escape. He looked at Darryn, wild eyed, and relayed the information to him, emphasizing that Tuesday was hurt somehow, though the information had only been filtered through psychic intent and not words.
He gathered his bandolier (was the end past the buckle worn down?) and grabbed Tuesday's tote bag, along with Meiko's backpack, and dashed out, Darryn trailing after.
* * * * *
Meiko was...
parched.
"Shadow?" She spoke softly, as if Tuesday was merely sleeping and shouldn't be awakened just yet. The Lucario lifted his head from where he was watching Tuesday slumber. His green eyes, which had been narrowed, widened in question, and a bit more seeing the sheepish smile on Meiko's face.
"Could you go to the counter and get me a soda, and some moo moo milk for Precious?"
The happiny, which had been resting in Meiko's lap, holding, oddly, a little blue ball in it's pouch, looked up and rolled her eyes. "Nyyyyy...."
Meiko put her hands together and bowed slightly. "I wouldn't ask, but Jaima might be here soon, and I know you're close, but he can't speak the pokemon language, and Mercury might be back in the ball. Please?"
Shadow pushed away from the wall, cast another thoughtful look at Tuesday, and then bowed. He took the money and a note that she'd written out and walked out the door.
Meiko sat back, sighing. Jaima had good pokemon, interesting pokemon. And nice, to boot. She didn't really want to get all mopey, but it was another of those things she was seeing as good qualities in him, and she questioned, before viciously stomping on the notion, why he couldn't have possibly waited for her...
He wasn't, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt, and with a darkening expression, anything like Tahiro.
She squashed that idea, too. Tahiro was the past. Right now, Tuesday was the present. She'd deal with the future when it bothered to show up.
Steel was weak to fire.
That fact was the first thing to become coherent in Tuesday's mind once the nightmare began.
Pokemon of the steel element were weak to fire attacks. Shadow was a steel-type pokemon, now that he had evolved.
And houndour were walking flamethrowers.
Tuesday remembered the sound of Shadow's cry. When the houndour had attacked him with an ember attack, the lucario had howled in pain, extra-sensitive to the fire that before wouldn't have been nearly as bad.
The sound of his cry echoed in Tuesday's mind as she recalled the battle, Shadow arriving in time to draw the houndour away from her, and then fighting with the snarling canine, its fangs dripping salive, tongue lolling hungrily.
Shadow had beckoned the houndour to come at him. And, of course, Tuesday's imagination decided it was time to run a marathon.
She remembered the wanting, pleading gaze of Shadow as he stared down the incoming stampede of tauros and miltank - the look in his eyes that simply begged that it all be finished. She had seen that enough times that it bothered her still, but didn't through her into hysterics. She recognized it as a dream.
But Tuesday really had been attacked by houndour.
And Shadow was beckoning the fire canine to him, his eyes holding that wanting, pleading gaze. Kill me now, they said. End this.
He'd arrived in time to draw the houndour off, to protect Tuesday, and now he was dying for her.
His agonized howl at the fire attack hadn't yet left her ears. It probably never would. But now she could hear whimpers and yelps of pain, as the houndour sank sharp fangs into Shadow's flesh and ripped bloody wounds open across his fur. Crimson blood stained blue and black fur, and every time that Shadow tried to fight back, to defend himself, another fire attack erupted from the canine's lips, and Shadow was screaming again.
She begged him to run. Begged, pleaded, called out prayers to a thousand dieties, a million wishes to five hundred genies. She begged the world, pleaded for the jackal to listen, but Shadow was noble, and stubborn, and did what was right, even when it wasn't worth it.
Blue-black fur and blood.
He was supposed to run, but he wouldn't listen. He was supposed to protect him, but he wouldn't listen. He was supposed to fight to stay alive, but he wouldn't listen. He was supposed to be strong and never give up, but he wouldn't listen.
He wasn't allowed to die!
But he wouldn't listen...
Blue-black fur and blood.
The yelping, the screaming, the howling... had stopped. No more sounds of pain erupted past the lucario's lips. No more cries as he attacked his opponent's. No more growling defensively, or protectively.
There had been the howls of the victorious, but even they had long since died out.
Silence.
Tuesday felt the tears on her cheeks, as consciousness returned to her. She became aware of the fact that she was lying in a bed. The walls were familiar - the bedroom she shared with Meiko at the pokemon centre.
Her head hurt. She'd hit it when the houndour attacked her. Everything had been going fuzzy when Shadow... Shadow...
Tuesday raised her head and tried to ignore its pounding at her rising. She scanned the room. Meiko was sitting in a chair beside her bed, speaking to her, but Tuesday wasn't listening. The door opened and Tuesday's eyes were drawn to it.
Jaima stepped briskly into the room, alone. The expression on his face was one of sadness, guilt, and deep concern. He looked almost ready to cry, and Tuesday immediately knew what had happened.
It hadn't been a dream - any part of it. Shadow had arrived to save her, fought the houndour to protect her, and lost.
He'd been killed.
Shadow was dead.
Tears filled up Tuesday's smoky blue eyes, and then began to spill over. They ran down her cheeks, soaking her face and shirt as she began to sob, and she pulled her knees up to her chest and shook her head wildly. She didn't want it to be true! It wasn't fair! Shadow wasn't allowed to be dead!
"I'm sorry," she whispered suddenly, because it was her fault. If she hadn't been so stupid in the first place... If she hadn't run off... Things would have been fine if she'd never left the gym.
But she did, and Shadow had come to save her, and gotten himself killed.
Just like in her nightmares. Every. Single. One.
Sobbing into her knees, shaking her head, Tuesday kept apologizing, but she didn't think it would ever be enough.
Shadow was gone.
During their run back to the Pokemon Center, Jaima didn't say a word and that worried Darryn much more than Tuesday's health. True, it was a shock to hear that the young girl had been in an accident, but Darryn hadn't known her for long and Meiko would have said if it had been really awful. Well, who knew what spin Mr. Postman had put on the story? Maybe it was worse? All that really concerned Darryn was his friend's mood change. He had been so happy to have won the battle and now... That little girl must really mean a lot to him.
They reached the Pokemon Center in record time and trotted across the shiny waiting room to where Shadow was trying to quickly carry two drinks in his paws (lacking thumbs) back to a room adjacent to the waiting area. Jaima made a beeline for him but Darryn was quick to lay a hand on Jaima's shoulder.
"Your other Pokemon? I'll see to them?" He offered, taking Ember, Tsunami and Fang's Pokeballs as Jaima unclipped them. Jaima offered the briefest of thankful smiles through his worried frown and hurried off with his Lucario. Darryn watched them go and heaved a sigh. Just when it was time to celebrate and something like this happened? It seemed so unfair yet so normal that Darryn couldn't even to begin to understand the confusion in his head.
"Just another one of our little adventure dramas..." He muttered to himself.
"So that's what you call it?" Troy snorted, walking over to Darryn with Mawwie tottering behind him. The boy's digustingly pretty face seemed even brighter and fresher than normal and Darryn's heart skipped a beat a full three times as those icy eyes held him captivated to the spot.
"Oh, hi Troy." Darryn said, some embarrassment beginning to leak into him after their 'date' had gone without them really talking to each other and Darryn not achieving what he set out to do. His day wasn't going brilliantly but at least it had started well... Yeah. Like that mattered. "Didn't get the badge. Guess I wasn't ready."
"Whatever," Troy rolled his eyes, "badges are badges. Just bits of metal on a pin for any old trainer to wear to say he's got bigger muscles than another. Big whoop." He flashed one of those pearly smiles that made Darryn stop and stare before going on. "What you really want are ribbons."
Darryn led the way to the reception desk and fished for his own Pokeballs to set alongside Jaima's in the entry tray.
"Ribbons? You mean like Contests?" Darryn asked, running his fingers over Lady's Pokeball fondly. She had battled so well!
"Yeah, I mean Contests! They take way more strategy and preparation than Gym battles do and your style of battling is way more suited to a Hall match rather than a Gym one." Troy's enthusiasm would have been contagious if Darryn had any idea what he was really talking about. Truth be told, Darryn hadn't paid much attention to Contests - they seemed to be the weaker trainer's option for a journey and he had wanted to prove that beautification and the confidence that came with it brought a Pokemon just as much strength as lifting weights.
"Huh, no my thing." Darryn said, smiling politely to the Chansey who took his tray.
"Oh shut up, Daz." Troy plucked the nickname from Darryn's past, giving him a little shock. No-one called him that anymore. "You went into that battle with combinations that would make the hair on any Co-ordinator's neck stand up. You're amazingly suited to it and don't even know it. So, I was thinking you could take place in the Contest that is being held today?"
Darryn frowned. "Uh, I don't know... I'm not sure what to really do in a Contest and my Pokemon need to rest before I make them battle again..."
"Look, you only need three Pokemon, right? You do have three more, don't you?"
"Um... no?" Darryn shrugged. "Only five are with me. Well, I guess my Butterfree is my sixth but she's in Sinnoh right now and-"
"So? Have her sent over! Seriously, Dazza, you've got to take part in this today. There's only a couple of hours before the registration forms need to be handed in and you could have your very own ribbon by this evening. What have you got to lose? I can show you what you need to do and afterwards you can tell me if it was a waste of time or not." Troy's intent gaze was paralysing.
Darryn shifted nerously. He really didn't feel comfortable with some guy just telling him what to do. Not only that, but the embarrassment of losing twice in one day might be enough to put the fashion-trainer off Pokemon completely. Even so, it did sound interesting...
"Sorry, Troy, but I've got to make sure my friends are OK and then we'll want to get soemthing to eat, relax a little, maybe play with our Pokemon. The last thing they'll want to do is watch me vain it up all over a stage."
"Oh, pish that!" Troy insisted, grabbing Darryn by the hands. "You have to take part! I really want to see what else you can do and if you were my opponent I'd have better than front-row seats! Pleeease?"
"Oh, so you're a Co-ordinator?" Darryn widened his eyes. "I kinda just assumed you were a Trainer like me.. Erm... Well I don't really want to be in the way if you're going for the ribbon. Maybe I should just watch?"
"No no no! You've got to take part!"
"Geez, Troy, I get the picture! Damn! Well, I'll check in with my friends and then I'll come find you and let you know. OK?"
Troy pouted and stuck his tongue in his cheek.
"Fine, but hurry up! I've got to go think about my own combinations and train you up in two hours if you decide to take part so don't keep me waiting!"
"Fine fine!" Darryn made to move but only then realised that Troy was still holding his hands. His skin flsuhed to a bright Cherubi red as he wriggled free and hurried off to find Jaima and the girls.
"Oh, and Dazza?"
Darryn turned around quickly, face still flaming.
"What?!"
"Nice ass."
Jaima's heart had been pounding as he run, barely acknowledging that Darryn was still behind him. He pratically burst through the door, spotting Shadow with two drinks in his hand (and, on reflecting on it later, that should have set him at ease), and had nearly sprinted to the lucario when Darryn stopped him, offering to take his fainted and tired pokemon. Jaima forced himself to relax a bit, pulling Ember, Tsunami, and Fang's pokeballs from his bandolier (when had he put that on?) and offering a smile of thanks, one he could tell hadn't come as brightly or thankful at the time, but he wasn't worried about it overly. Tuesday had been hurt, and he had to get to her.
He made his way to Shadow and took the drins, both boy and pokemon moving quickly to the room. Outside of it, he found himself oddly hesitant to go in. Shadow looked at Trainer Jaima, and motioned for the drinks, laying his paws flat. Jaima didn't get it at first, but then set the drinks on the lucario's upended paws. They balanced perfectly with a moment's effort. Then the lucarion nodded to the door.
When Jaima didn't move, Shadow kicked him, firmly in the rear, and glared. Jaima got the message.
He opened the door to see Tuesday sitting up, and was surprised to watch the girl's eyes fill with tears. She set her head on her knees and wept, and Jaima, swallowing thickly, went and held her.
Even when she'd started to apologize, he had no idea what to say. Was she apologizing for running off? For missing his match? For being hurt in the first place? None of that mattered in the face of things. Was she delirious? He looked at Meiko, who looked from Tuesday's back to Jaima's face, then back at Tuesday, seemingly also confused.
"Where's Shadow," Meiko asked, in a whisper, and Jaima felt Tuesday twitch, almost jerking out of his arms. She was too weak with her grief to make any headway.
"He's in the hallway, holding some drinks." Jaima, somehow, managed to look amused. "Kicked me in the rear when I hesitated."
Tuesday was struggling a bit more, so Jaima let her loose a bit, trying to see her face. What little he saw as her head whipped around was incredulous, and filled with such dread, yet also relief that Jaima was more confused. He didn't see it very clearly, however, because Tuesday's curls struck him in the face.
Meiko was leaning out the door. "Shadow, would you please watch over Tuesday? I need to have a word in private with Jaima."
The lucario stepped in, and for a confused second, when Tuesday screamed and leapt from the bed, Jaima thought the girl was attacking his pokemon. But she clung to him, sobbing, and Meiko was pulling him away with a firm, powerful grip that he didn't even know she had.
"Meiko, what is wrong with you?!"
Meiko didn't stop until they were out the door, which she closed gently. The next thing he knew, she was glaring at him, pointing at his face, and hissing, "Don't!"
Jaima blinked. So many emotional responses today, he didn't know if he could take much more. His hands were shaking. "'Don't' what," he snapped.
"Don't tell her you're going to pull out of the League Challenge, or stop fighting, or that we'll all go home if that's what she wants." Jaima blinked, and Meiko scoffed a bit. "You have the exact same look on your face you had when you told me you weren't going on your Trainer's Journey!"
Jaima scowled. "Look, maybe if I'd been more careful-"
"Jaima, I was here, too, OK? She wasn't talking to anyone! I didn't know something this bad was happening, Darryn didn't know, how could you?! You're not Superman, Jaima! You can't fix everything just by watching!"
Meiko pointed directly at his nose. "Trust me on this one, if you tell her you'll give up on your Challenge, she's going to blame herself, and then she might shellder up worse than she did now!"
"Meiko, I didn't do anything, I mean, we talked, but--"
"Jaima, she's not four! She's twelve, and she obviously thinks she can take care of herself for the most part, because I doubt you've been with her all this time..." Meiko began rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Jaima, you're a onee, I believe in you for that, but you've given up six years for your sisters. And they feel guilty over it!" Jaima opened his mouth, but Meiko, pleading now, held up a hand. "You did the right thing then. You did what you had to do. But that situation is different, way different than this one. Please trust me. Talk to her, encourage her, but don't give up your life, because it's just going to make her feel like a burden!"
Jaima stared at her for moments, then looked away. "I just.. I don't know what to do, and I don't know how to fix it."
Meiko offered him a tremulous smile. "I know. I know that feeling. Sometimes you have to let them come to you, and hope they trust you enough..."
Jaima sighed and leaned against the wall, giving Meiko time to peek in the room. "We should give her more time," she whispered, and Jaima nodded.
"What happened?"
Meiko told the story as concisely as she could, but she could see Jaima's face tense when she mentioned the houndour, and more when she mentioned it's evolution. Jaima shook his head. "Shadow's part steel now... weak to fire..."
Meiko made a face, as if he might have dropped his head, and she was too polite to mention it. "Yeah," she said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice with little success. "But dark is weak to fighting." The duh was implied, and Jaima felt, his mind whirling though it was, that he fully deserved it.
"Yes. I knew that..."
"You forgot." There was a hint of their old, playful selves breaking through.
"Ah... yeah, yeah I did," he said, ducking. Meiko chuckled, then reached for his hand. She seemed to think better of it.
"Um. I saw.... when I brought Tuesday back, I saw your friend..." the emphasis wasn't intended, but got Meiko's point across. "She was... Jaima, she was flirting with another guy."
The admission came hard for Meiko, but Jaima blinked at her. "So?"
Meiko's jaw dropped. "'So?' Jaima, she's... she's.. I mean..." She spluttered, trying to keep her comments within the bounds of civility.
Jaima blinked. "Yeah, well, I didn't expect her to stay single forever. It might look a little soon, but we broke up a while ago. We just weren't around each other enough to tell each other." He took Meiko's stunned expression as a need for more information. "She's a nurse, and I'm... well, it looks like I'm still taking my Challenge, so..."
"So you're not..?"
"Not for a while."
Meiko stepped in front of him, confused, which it seemed was making her angry. "I saw you kissing in the garden!"
Jaima blinked. "Meiko, we haven't kissed... I mean, there was once in Lenoilia, but then I left to find Ember... Wait, why were you watching us..?"
Meiko blushed. "I... never mind..."
Jaima looked at her as she slumped against the wall next to her. She was still red, and holding her forehead in one hand as she crossed the other in front of her. She... she was really cute.
"I haven't said thank you yet, have I," Jaima asked, changing the subject.
"For what?"
Jaima kicked the floor a bit. "For showing up. And helping us... and..." He swallowed thickly. "And staying."
Meiko looked at him, looking away when he looked back at her, but there was a soft smile on her face. "Pikachu Ranger missed Houndoom Ranger, that's all."
Jaima chuckled, too, then Meiko looked at the door. "Think it's safe?"
"I hope so," Meiko quipped. "Shadow's got the moo moo milk I was going to feed to Precious."
Both began to chuckle when behind the door, and angry "Ny!" sounded.
When Jaima had come into the room and immediately scooped her up into his arms, Tuesday had curled up and sobbed into his shirt. Her crying, however, was not loud enough to keep her from hearing Meiko's words, and so when the girl asked where Shadow was, Tuesday jerked, trying to pull herself away from Jaima. Because, of course, once he remembered what had happened to Shadow, he wouldn't want to be anywhere near the creature that had caused his death.
"He's in the hallway, holding some drinks."
Tuesday thought that her heart actually stopped. It couldn't be. She had watched Shadow die. In fact, she had watched him die several times. Could... was it possible that it had all been a dream? Could she dare to... to hope that...
"Kicked me in the rear when I hesitated." Jaima actually sounded somewhat amused, though Tuesday could hear an undercurrent of lingering concern.
She fought against his hold and he finally released her. Tuesday whipped her head from side to side, looking from Jaima to Meiko, seeking out truth in their eyes, as well as looking for Shadow. But he wasn't here... were they lying, to make her feel better? They wouldn't... would they?
Meiko got up and walked to the door, leaning out of it. "Shadow, would you please watch over Tuesday? I need to have a word in private with Jaima."
Tuesday drew a deep, shuddering breath, her heart pounding. The same line kept repeating in her head - an involuntary plea. Don't be lying, don't be lying, don't be lying...
When Shadow stepped into the room, Tuesday didn't quite know what happened. It seemed like her heart started pounding hysterically at the same time that it stopped. Her breath caught in her throat, and then she was near hyperventilation.
She couldn't speak, but she did scream. She didn't know why she screamed. If it was a cry of fear that she was hallucinating, or one of glee that Shadow was here, he was all right.
She burst free of the bed and leapt at Shadow. Part of her was frightened that she would fall right through Shadow, and wake up to a reality where he was dead.
But then she slammed into him, knocking the wind out of herself but not caring. She wrapped her arms around him and clung as tightly as she could, sobbing, afraid to let go. Distantly, she heard the sound of door shutting softly, and then the quiet popping-swish of a pokeball opening. And then Shadow was wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly.
Tuesday didn't know how long she cried, but eventually, she calmed enough to pull away from Shadow, sniffling and rubbing her eyes. She stepped back and looked at Shadow, embarrassed, but with a great deal of relief.
She felt like she needed to give some sort of explanation for her behavior. She rubbed her right arm, looking away from him for a second, before meeting his green eyes again, her own filling again with tears. "I... I thought you were dead," she said, though her voice came out in a broken whisper. "I kept dreaming it... over and over." She shuddered abruptly, wrapping her arms around herself and looking down, half-wanting to sink to her knees but fighting it. "Promise me, Shadow," she whispered, "you won't ever give up. No matter what." She met his eyes. "Promise me... please?"
Shadow stared at her for what seemed to be a long time, their eyes locked. He blinked, as though surprised at what he saw in her gaze and Tuesday looked away, disturbed at what he might have seen within her. A moment later, however, she felt one of Shadow's paws reach out and tilt her head up until their eyes met again. When he was certain that she was paying attention, he nodded, as though he understood what she meant and was promising that it would never happen. Tuesday swallowed thickly, and couldn't help but hug him again. Her arms were wrapped around his torso as she stared off to the side, watching with exhausted pleasure as the nightmare was cut into ribbons of might-have-beens, before fading away entirely.
Darryn had never felt so awkward in all of his life. On one side, Jaima and Meiko were having a heart-to-heart and on the other Tuesday was having a baby fit with Shadow and her Riolu in the ward room. If there were two things Darryn hadn't been very good with it was loved-up heteros and kids. After he heard a tiny cry, however, he inwardly sighed and made a quick decision.
"Oooh! Precious!" He hurried to the doorway and admitted himself, focused on getting over to where Meiko's darling little Happiny had spilled moomoo milk all over itself and the floor. He took one of Romeo's headband accessories from his pack and moped up the spilled milk which he berated the pink Pokemon for crying over before lifting her into his arms and rocking her slowly in one arm. With the other, he fished a Pecha berry out from his pack and held it over the half-glass of drink that was still left. He squeezed hard and let the sweet juice drip into the white infusion before holding it back to her mouth.
"Piny!" Precious wriggled with delight, her tears dry, at the taste of the sweetened milk and struggled to drink more, reaching with her stubby arms towards the glass.
"Ahem..." Jaima and Meiko both watch Darryn with raised brows. Tuesday's face was blank with confusion and the two Aura Pokemon simply stared.
"Uh, what?" Darryn looked around quickly. "She spilled it so I just thought..."
"That. Was. Great." Meiko said with awe. Her eyes werre still wide. "Precious never lets anyone feed her - she insists on doing it herself for some reason..."
"Must have been lucky..." Darryn quickly off-loaded the baby onto Meiko, embarrassment flooding him. "Spilled milk aside I was hoping to talk to you guys about something. Y'see..."
Meiko stared in wonder as Darryn calmed Precious (she hated that name as much as the happiny did!) and enticed her to drink what was left of the milk with the simple addition of berry juice. As much as she teased him, she was really growing to respect Jaima's friend. He could battle, he could take care of pokemon (Jaima himself had gone on about that the night they'd arrived in Arasam), and he was, she had to admit, very handsome. If he had been straight, Jaima might have had some competition.
She looked over at Jaima and hid a smile. Naaaaah.
She grinned at Darryn, praising him, and grinned more when he handed Precious (she had, had to find an onomancer as soon as she could!) to her and shuffled back, blushing like a sunset.
It wasn't long before he launched into his explanation of his "not-boyfriend"'s invitation to compete in the local Contest scene. She grinned. Troy sounded pushy, bossy, and suave. In other words, perfect for Darryn. When she mentioned his obvious attraction to the young man, and Darryn protested, she got a look from Jaima. At first she was annoyed. Yes, she liked him, but he shouldn't be warning her off. After a little thought, she figured maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was just amused.
He rolled his eyes but said nothing, and Meiko thought there was a hint of a smile on his face. She couldn't help but grin a bit.
"Well, it's not my thing, Darryn, but I'm willing to watch. It's not like Petropolis and Fidona are going anywhere." Jaima grinned at his friend easily. "Besides," he said, a hint of his own teasing in his voice, "who am I to get in the way of romance?"
Meiko giggled, surprised, and Darryn squeezed his eyes shut. "He is NOT my-- You're impossible, the lot of you!" With a huff, Darryn opened his eyes. "I'd like to have at least one of you competing with me. Meiko?"
She shook her head. "I have no interest in it. My mom's all after me to be a coordinator when the contests finally come to Johto, 'like a proper young lady'," she finished in a nasally voice. "Well, no thank you, I can be a proper young lady and kick your butt in the battle arena, thank you."
Darryn nodded, understanding but concerned. "Tuesday?"
"I'd rather not," the girl said, tired and a bit drained, and as quiet as she could be and still be heard. "I'd rather sit out and watch before I try."
Again, Darryn nodded, but his frustration mounted. "Jaima, you're my last hope."
Jaima smiled sheepishly. "I just got through with a battle-"
"So did Darryn," Meiko piped up. Her eyes were twinkling. Jaima scowled at her.
"And my other pokemon are tired--"
"Shadow's just been to see the nurse, Mercury's been sleeping all day, Grondir just needs to cool off a bit, and I can let you borrow Desertdancer if you're really worried about it." Meiko grinned, eyebrows raised.
"And," Jaima said, pointedly, "I have nothing that's contest worthy to wear."
Meiko pulled out her wallet with a flourish. "I have a credit card, a bank account because I never spend anything on myself, and a keen eye for fashion." She scowled at Darryn when he snorted, but chose not to make comment. "Give me an hour, and you'll be the handsomest man there."
"Ahem."
"After Darryn and his boyfriend."
Jaima held up his hands. "No. No, no, no, a thousand times no!"
Meio sighed, pitifully, and put her wallet away. She turned to Darryn and leaned in to him, seemingly consoling him. "Don't worry, we can convince him together," she said conspiratorally. "Go tell your Not-Boyfriend you're in."
* * * * *
Meiko left on an errand, and Darryn left to seek out Tryo, leaving Tuesday and Jaima alone. Tuesday was looking at the bedspread of her bed, picking at it nervously, and Jaima sat next to her. He put a hand on her back and sighed.
"Want to talk about it, Tuesy?"
She shook her head, and Jaima sighed a bit. "I think you should, if you want to know."
"I don't..." She had stopped, had been about to say more, but a convulsive swallow stopped her. "I don't want to be a burden."
Jaima was silent for a moment, then scootched closer. "I don't know what your homelife is like. In my home, hugs are given very generously, and anyone can talk to anyone about anything. It's how I treat my sisters, always." He paused, unsure of how the next thing might be taken. "I've said it, but I don't know if I've let you know, for ultimately sure, Tuesday... but I think of you as one of my little sisters."
She looked up, then back, over her shoulder. "Y-you do..? Really?"
He nodded, solemnly. "I know we've only known each other for a short while, but that's how I feel. Maybe I needed one around. Or maybe you needed a big brother around. Or both. But I have a feeling if I'd met you in Johto, where my sisters already are, I'd feel the same way."
Tuesday smiled, tremulously, and turned, hugging Jaima. She held on for a long time, and neither spoke for a bit. Finally, she opened her mouth.
"Ever since we went through... when we met Celebi..." She sniffed, and swallowed again. "I have nightmares. They happen over and over. You..." She swallows. "You died. Or something. And Mercury. And Shadow tried to save you, but... when it happened, he just gave up. And I watched it!" She began to weep, tears streaming from her eyes. "I watched it, over and over. I wanted to stop it, but I couldn't, and I watched it!"
Jaima pulled her close again, stroking her hair. "It keeps happening," she continued, her voice soft, and only the higher pitch warning of her distress. "And then Zorro came, and Tempest... she hates him! She really hates him, and she kills him over and over in my nightmares, too!"
She finally composed herself, but made no move to lean back. "When... I ran away. I'm sorry, but I got this feeling that if I wasn't around, nothing wuld try to kill my friends. It was like I was being targetted, or manipulated, or something. I just... I had to get out of there. So..." She looked up, wincing. "Two houndour found me when I stopped. And I didn't have any of my pokeballs. But one tried to stop the other... Oh!" She saw the great ball on her nightstand, where Meiko had put it after retrieving Rockclaw and Shadow, along with this ball, from the Nurse. "I must have caught him..."
Jaima waited, patiently, as she looked thoughtfully at the ball. "I think I hit my head, but I saw Shadow, and I remembered he's steel now, and houndour are fire types..."
Jaima chuckled, and Tuesday looked at him, wary that he was teasing her. "Yeah, I... I remembered that, too. Meiko reminded me that they're also dark, which is... pretty weak to Shadow's main type."
Behind Tuesday, unnoticed, Shadow rolled his green eyes and Zorro snickered.
Tuesday stared at Jaima, then put her face in her hands. "I'm stupid."
"Far from it, imouto." Jaima smiled a bit. "Just confused."
"I'm sorry, Jaima. I know, I'm being a big baby..."
Jaima looked at her. Protests may not work, and Meiko's words hit him harder than he'd let on. She wasn't four, like his sisters had been when he'd first taken responsibilities for them, and, more importantly, he wasn't ten. He nodded.
"Mercury dies in mine." Tuesday's eyes snapped up, widening. "And you. And Shadow leaves, angry that I couldn't save any of you." His heart dropped as he recounted it. "And like you, it happens over and over. And like you, it's not always them. Mercury's crest is a lot like my sister's hair, and sometimes she wears these little red berettes on either side. So sometimes it's not Mercury, it's Natsume, and it's not Shadow leaving it's Meiko, and it's not you getting trampled, it's Mariko..." He let out a shaky breath.
"How do you handle it, Jaima?" Tuesday leaned in, putting her head on his shoulder.
"Ah... I wake up. And there's Mercury, and there you are, and there's Meiko and Shadow. And I kind of accept that Mariko and Natsume are safe, because Mr. Postman would tell me, or Mom, or Professor Elm. And it sucks, but..." he shrugged. "I never really scared all that easy, anyway."
"So I'm the only one..." Tuesday sighed, "I'm the only one who lets it get to her."
Jaima pulled her head up to look at her. "Yeah, well... you're not me. You have a much better imagination. And you're..." he winced. He didn't like to bring it up, but a fact was a fact. "You're younger. That doesn't mean your feelings are invalid, it just means you haven't had as much time to deal with them as I have."
Jaima could see he needed to get to his point. "Tuesday, this is what I'm trying to say: If you are bothered by anything, anything at all, you can talk to me. If you feel like you don't deserve to, I'm not doing my job as a brother properly." He smiled, a little sadly, but rubbed her head. "You can talk to me."
"And me." Meiko stepped into the room. "Because I know, there are somethings boys are just useless at." She knelt by the bed, looking Tuesday in the eye. "And Darryn'll do in a pinch."
Jaima looked at Meiko, and she beamed at him, so brightly his heart couldn't help but lift.
Why don't you take a nap, Tuesy. I'll wake you in about an hour and a half.
Zorro was pretty sure that if anyone else had suggested Tuesday go to sleep after just explaining how she suffered from continuous nightmares, she would have blatantly refused. But she trusted Jaima, and she trusted his judgment, and so she did as he told her.
Of course, it probably helped that Shadow stood behind him with his arms crossed, nodding in agreement.
So now Tuesday was lying in her bed, the covers pulled over her. Zorro was perched upon the bedpost, as was swiftly becoming his customary place. He was balanced perfectly, watching over his hermana and contemplating... there was a conversation that needed to occur, but he wasn't looking forward to it. Not at all.
Still, it couldn't be avoided any longer. It was unsafe to continue to put it off, and the silence had gone on for too long as it was. With a sigh, Zorro leapt from the bedpost, flipping in midair to land with graceful silence upon the bureau at the end of the bed. He slipped his paws into Tuesday's messenger bag, sniffing the pokeballs he pulled out until he found the one he wanted.
It was red and white, like his pokeball and the other he had found. The smell surrounding it was like burnt fur. Zorro would know the scent anywhere. It was disgusting.
With a curl of his lip and more than a little reluctance, Zorro let the smelly pokeball roll from his paw and clatter against the floorboards. There was a paff! sound, as the pokeball opened. When the red light faded, Tempest sat on the floor, looking around curiously, ears twitching. Her nose twitched and she looked up. When her eyes settled on Zorro, she crouched low, her fur puffing out, and growled at him.
"Rata," Zorro said, matching her gaze, "I do not wish to fight. Only talk."
Tempest's ears flattened against her head. "Well I don't want to talk, mutt," she snarled. "I don't want to be anywhere near you."
Zorro's teeth clenched together. He didn't like this anymore than she did, but there were more important things than this rivalry they seemed to have.
"Listen, Rata. I no fight you. It will hurt my heramana, y I will not."
Tempest snarled. "Why don't you speak English, you stupid dog?"
Zorro's eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched, but he didn't want to take the bait that Tempest had dangled for him. Fighting would hurt his hermana, and he didn't want that. Above all else, it was important that no harm ever came to her.
"I know you no like me, rata," he said, holding back a snarl, "but we have same intención. We protect mi hermana... Tuesday. We protect."
Tempest growled softly, as though she wanted to say something but was refraining so that she could listen. It must have taken a lot of self-control.
"I no like you, rata, and you no like me. Not necessary. You not mi amigo, but... ally? For mi hermana... is important, sí?"
Tempest's fur seemed to settle, though not entirely. Her eyes were still narrowed, but she regarded Zorro with a thoughtful expression, considering his words.
"I hate it," she said finally, "but you're right. We're both here to protect Tuesday and despite my better judgment... she likes you." She huffed. "I don't know why."
"I tell you it mi charm, but you no believe me. Además de, we no friends. Allies."
"Yes," Tempest admitted with bitter reluctance, "and that is all we will ever be." She turned and walked back to her pokeball, reaching out a paw to tap the button on the front and recall herself.
"She think you hate her."
Tempest paused for a long moment, before looking back at him, still watching her from his seat upon the bureau. "What?"
"Mi hermana. She think you hate her. She scared... y solitario."
Tempest glared. "Why should she be lonely? She has you now."
Though Zorro was curious, he didn't bother to ask how Tempest had come to learn Spanish, since she obviously understood him when he spoke. He didn't think he would get an answer.
"Mi hermana have mal nightmares. About mi hermano mayor, me, y you." Tempest narrowed her eyes in confusion, and Zorro answered her unspoken question. "She dream you kill me, over and over. You may want to, but not wise. It scare her. Hurt her."
"I wouldn't ever hurt her like that, mutt!" Tempest snarled.
Zorro sighed, rolling his eyes softly. "I no say you do. She have nightmares. Y you hate me and no be with her. She think she lose you."
Tempest snarled defensively. "I won't hurt her, and I don't hate her!"
Zorro eyes narrowed and finally, he did snarl. It was low and too quiet to wake Tuesday, but intimidating nonetheless - enough that Tempest actually jerked back in surprise, eyes wide.
"Prove it," he snarled. He pointed to the bed but kept his eyes locked to Tempest's face. "She suffer nightmares every night. Wake up screaming. Wake up alone. You care for her?" He growled. "Then no leave her again."
Tempest, crouched low the ground with an uncertain expression on her face, glanced briefly at Tuesday sleeping on the bed before looking back at Zorro. After a long moment, she finally huffed and annoyed sigh. "Fine. You're right." She growled. "But don't get used to that! I still don't like you!"
"Ni yo," Zorro said, sitting back, his expression evening out and then returning to that mischievous half-smile he almost always wore. "Well? Why you wait?"
Tempest spared him one final look, before turning and heading toward the bed.
"Y, rata."
Tempest rolled her eyes, getting sick of Zorro's voice. "What?" she snapped, and turned just in time to see a pokeball flying toward her face. She managed to cry out in surprise, before the ball struck her and she was sucked into the red light.
Grinning widely, vowing never to forget the look of surprise on the pikachu's face, Zorro made his way back to his perch on the bedpost. He sat comfortably and watched over Tuesday, ignoring Tempest when she escaped from her pokeball and glared at him, before leaping into bed with Tuesday. He did let a smile show when she curled up against Tuesday's back, only to have the girl roll over and wrap her arms around the pikachu.
He snickered quietly, but looked away before the pikachu could see him watching. Smiling as she closed her eyes and let herself slip off to sleep, he stared at the door, wondering what the others were up to and planning what to do to Tempest once the pikachu woke up again.
After all, they were allies. Not friends.
Mercury travelled on Jaima's shoulder, larger than when she used to, but still too tired to float. Her aura, which had been dark lately, as evening out the the light blue it had been, and she felt relieved, she had said. Even her actions toward him were much more serene.
The Little Brother and Tempest resided on Kohai Tuesday's shoulders, glaring at each other but at rest, having formed a temporary truce. The red, blazing aura from Tempest's anger was moderated with cooling golden streaks from her affection, and a deep green of shame. Still, there was much more rest with Kohai Tuesday now, and Shadow could now see that she would be all right, her blazing Aura merging with both the Little Brother and Tempest for short times.
Sensei Jaima, too, was content, as was the girl who wished to be his mate. It was odd that she didn't admit it as soon as she knew, but humans had a way of hiding things, even from themselves. It wasn't his place to force anything, just to watch and protect. Mercury agreed with him, however; She even believed it was a mutual desire, but Jaima, as yet, seemed unaware. Humans, he thought with an inward chuckle.
Sensei Darryn alone seemed agitated, but it was to be expected; He was going to another competition, and did not feel ready, if Shadow was interpretting the aura right. There was something else, something that made this event much more important than it might have been otherwise. It would either trip him up or spur him on. Shadow did not know.
All of the friends were laughing and teasing, save for the nervous preener, and there was such a lack of tension that Shadow was very nearly relaxed off his guard. But a Lucario could never be that, and when he noticed it, or when it was shown to him, he felt it more keenly thanks to the relaxation in the air.
They were being stalked.
He saw the Little Brother's ears twitch, and sent him a warning to stay behind with the others, just in case. He also touched minds with Mercury, warning her to be on alert. She tensed, but also sent him affirmation. Her worry was nearly overwhelming, but it was for him, not for the group, and he tried to send reassurance to her.
He, Shadow, had been hanging in the back of the group as it was, so he was unnoticed when he slipped away, or so he thought. But Mercury was now friends with Lady Foxtrot, and asked (nicely, which was a sign of how worried she truly was) for the vulpix to cover him, emphasizing that danger to the group was danger to Darryn.
Shadow slipped into alleyway, using his aura sense rather than his eyes to see. The aura he could feel was stronger than his, and instead of the peaceful blue he always perceived just under his own skin, it was a malevolent, blood crimson color.
<<Vell vell vell...>> The voice came as a soft purr, deep and throaty, and almost seductive, if not for the aura it eminated from. Shadow stopped, dropping, slightly, back into a stance. <<Ve haff heard off you, off course, but ve did not sink you vould sense us so soon.>>
From the shadows, moving with a grace Shadow had seen in very few pokemon, came a near mirror of him, but in many ways opposite. Even her coloring, her chest blue, her arms covered in tawny fur, and the places where he was black covered in a light smoke grey, seemed to set her apart. But the worst was the look on her face, the red eyes matching her aura.
She was cruel. And she enjoyed her cruelty.
<<Why do you stalk us,>> Shadow said, his tone calmer than his mind. His muscles were locked, waiting to spring, though he could tell he couldn't hope to defeat her. Not yet.
<<Your band of humans haff caught ze attention of mein gebeinterrin and her employers. I haff been sent to test. Ze tiny one, she iss intriguing, nein?>>
<<You will leave her alone!>> Shadow found himself close to leaping despite the odds, but instead of a snarl and challenge, the female clucked her tongue.
<<Oh, she hass passed ze test. For now. And zere iss no sport in fighting you. You vill nefer hope to defeat me.>> She grinned, and held out a paw, pads facing him. <<I should use you as an example for ze ozzers...>> A ball of red energy formed at her palm, and she grinned, even as Shadow braced himself.
<<Escuse me, perra, but I no think that is verra good idea,>> Came a new voice, and Shadow spared a glance back.
<<You were to stay with the Kohai.>>
<<Sí, sí, but la bella Mercury say I should be here. Mi hermana is safe enough from la perra.>> Zorro grinned. <<Y we are no alone.>>
<<I can defeat both off you easily,>> yawned the female, but another voice, and a large shadow, made even her pause.
<<They are not alone,>> came a delicate purr, that, if Shadow had not known better, had not watched the changes, would have taken for a match for the cruelty in this female.
Another voice, surprisingly gentle, spoke but one thing, but stood in the mouth of the alley like a wall. <<Go.>>
The female looked, then snorted in amusement. <<It iss not my problem to deal vith you now. Vhen the time comes, you'll all see how foolish you are beink. And ze girl will be ours.>> She stepped back into the shadows, leapt up a fire escape, and was gone.
Shadow relaxed, looked at Ramhorn, Lady Foxtrot, and the Little Brother in turn. He could see in their auras that they all agreed with his assessment; that their troubles, though quiet for now, were far from over.
Together they made their way to the group, slipping into their customary places. None of them, save for the Little Brother, who'd filched a little pirate hat to make his excuse, were missed. Even large Ramhorn was silent in retaking his place behind and to the left of Sensei Meiko.
Shadow watched, and waited, and vowed that he, and the rest of their team, would be ready when the time came.
But, for now, let there be a little fun.
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