Authoress' Notes: Hi, everyone! We're Virgo (Alaina) and Pisces (Laura), The Zodiac Chiks; we're both huge fans of Pokemon, so it's fitting that our first Fanfiction story is a Pokemon one. So, here it is; please, everyone, R&R and enjoy our efforts.
Disclaimer: The Zodiac Chiks don't own Pokemon, or any familiar characters. They own Lenne Cheveyo and Sonya Bouchard, and their families; as well as any unfamiliar characters.
Summary: Two girls find out that odd happenings can sometimes bring a joyous tide.
Prologue: Stormy Dreams "Sonya, I got sand on meeeeee!" a voice screeched.
"We're at the beach, silly. Of course you're going to get sand all over yourself," another voice replied, a hint a laughter hidden in her tone.
"It's not funny!" the other whined, catching onto to the other girls' tone.
"Oh, Lenne…" Sonya sighed, "come here, then. I'll dust you off." Lenne shot over to where Sonya stood under her large red umbrella, and turned around. Sonya raised an eyebrow, a wide grin spreading across her mouth as she said, "You want me to dust off your butt?"
"No, dust everywhere! Please, the sand is getting into places I really don't want it--"
"Too much information, Lenny."
"Sorry."
Sonya just shook her head, a smile now playing on her lips. Her blue eyes shined like the ocean itself, the silvery flecks dancing in her iris' resembling the movement of waves. She had cherished Lenne as her younger sister ever since the girl had moved to Sandgem Town, seeing as that Sonya had no siblings of her own. But the young girls could not be any more different from each other; whereas Sonya's eyes were like the ocean, Lenne's were the soft gold-brown of a wheat field. While Sonya had pale, lightly sun-kissed skin and a petite figure, Lenne bore a slightly pudgy form with cinnamon brown skin. Sonya's face was framed by thick, slightly wavy auburn hair streaked with pink, cut short into a chin-length bob, while Lenne's straight black hair trailed down to the middle of her back.
But the most prominent difference: while Lenne preferred to cry her sensitive heart out when she was frustrated, someone was bound to get injured when Sonya was upset.
"Okay, you don't have any more sand on you," Sonya reassured the younger girl. The 15 year old was rewarded when Lenne swerved around and threw her arms around her. Lenne was an affectionate 14 year old when it came to people she was close to, but was generally shy and soft-spoken around others. Unless you knew Lenne personally, you would never figure she loved hugs. Sonya chuckled and patted Lenne on the head, "You don't need to do that for every favour I do for you!" The older girl jumped slightly when she felt a cold, wet nose nudge her thigh.
"Hey, what about me, what about me!?" Sonya and Lenne looked down from their embrace at the sound of a whine that longed for attention as well. The girls crooned as they looked into the glimmering eyes of Sonya's Growlithe. "No hugs for Helios?" the puppy whined innocently.
"Oh, you get hugs too, dear Helios!" Lenne chided as she hugged the fluffy red and black-stripped Pokemon. Helios the Growlithe barked in delight, earning a condescending sigh from another Pokemon, who had previously been napping on a towel.
"You act like you were born yesterday, falling around for attention like that." Sonya's other Pokemon, a Ralts she named Jason, said.
"You're just jealous that you're too shy to ask for hugs," Helios shot back.
Jason ignored the hot-headed puppy, knowing well that Helios had a habit of speaking before thinking. But Sonya bent down to rub her Ralts on the head, saying, "But being shy isn't a bad thing, Jase."
Jason the Ralts smiled at his human's encouragement. He turned back to lie on his towel shaded by the large umbrella-- then froze.
Something… didn't feel right, all of a sudden.
The small Psychic Pokemon looked up into the sky, and was puzzled to see the once clear blue hue of it had now darkened dramatically. It continued to darken, now accompanied by large tufts of deep grey clouds.
Helios followed suit, picking up the scent of un-salted moisture in the air. The girls, along with the other people strewn along Sandgem Beach, looked to the sky. The threat of on-coming storm was evident; the wind picked up, sending a cold shock along the shoreline.
As soon as the first drop hit the sand, people scrambled to collect their belongings and run back into town.
"Sonya, your umbrella!" Lenne shouted over the fierce wind. Sonya snatched up the umbrella, using it to shield Helios and Jason from the rain rather than herself. Lenne covered her head with a towel, throwing one over Sonya's head as well. The group retreated from the beach, now running through the slick, slushy soil of the forestry that served as a border between Sandgem Town and Sandgem Beach. After reaching the outer rim of the town, Lenne turned to Sonya with disappointed eyes. "And we were having so much fun…" she mumbled so low, Sonya barely picked up what she had said.
"Don't worry about that right now!" she shouted over the pounding rain, "just get home as fast as you can! If the sky's clear tomorrow, we'll--"
A clash of thunder cut off Sonya and caused Lenne to scream.
"-- we'll come back tomorrow!" Sonya finished, glaring up at the stormy sky.
Lenne nodded, clunked foreheads with Sonya, waved good-bye to Helios and Jason, then sped off towards her house. While Sonya's house laid on the outskirts of Sandgem Town, Lenne's house was located about a quarter of a mile off from the town's laboratory, where the always-traveling Professor Rowan resided when he decided to check into his home town.
When she reached her front porch, Lenne stood on her toes to reach the spare key on top of the porch lantern. She cracked open the door a little but didn't walk in, reminding herself of her situation. Lenne sniffed in hurt, Mom is going to have a heart attack if I come in soaked like this, she thought to herself. Maybe I should go through the back door so she won't see me?
A shuffle came from Lenne's living room, and Lenne prepared herself to be yelled at by her mother. But instead of a dark-skinned hand opening the door, a large blue muzzle nudged the door open the rest of the way. Lenne blinked, then smiled. "Hey, Huttser." Her father's Manectric nodded, came outside and began to push Lenne in from behind. "No, Huttser. Mom will get mad at me…"
"Your mother is not home, so hurry inside girl. She would be more upset to have you fall ill from the miserable rain. Clean up the mess later."
"Heh. Good point."
Lenne allowed the Manectric to push her in, then she ran down the corridor to her room to get changed.
"Don't run, you'll slip and hurt yourself!"
"Haha, thanks… dad!" Lenne squealed as she shut her bedroom door before Huttser had the chance to scold her. Whenever her father was gone, it was Huttser who would assume command of the house, acting as though he was a kind of second-father to Lenne and Una, Lenne's younger sister.
"I swear to Mew, that girl…" he huffed-- then chuckled.
XXX
Sonya swore under her breath as her foot gave into a slip in the slushy soil, but she regained her composure before she could fall face-first.
"Sonya! Are you okay?" Jason asked, a look of concern written on his cute face. He was cradled in Sonya's arms, due to his inability to run very fast. "It would be easier if I could Teleport us to your home…" Helios skidded to a stop as well, looking up at his human.
"Really Jason, it's okay. My home isn't far; it would just be a waste of energy on your part to Teleport us when we're almost there!" Sonya reassured the Psychic Pokemon.
"But--"
"Sonya, please hurry! I can't stay outside in this weather!" Helios pleaded, interrupting Jason.
"Okay. Let's keep going!" As Sonya and her two Pokemon made their way through the rain, Sonya couldn't help but steal one last glance at the sky. It was such a beautiful day… there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. On top of that, it almost never rains in Sandgem; only once in a while during the spring or fall. But we're stick-stuck in the middle of summer!
Just as Sonya finished that thought, she reached the front door to her house. Seeing that no light was filtered through any of the windows, Sonya knew her mother was still on patrol and her father was still bustling around the clinic. Sonya let herself in as well her Pokemon, her short hair matted to her forehead. "Ugh," she sighed, running her fingers through her soaked hair. "I need to take a shower, guys. I'll be out in a few, okay?" Sonya ran upstairs, closing the door to her bathroom behind her.
When he heard the click of the bathroom door, Helios jumped onto Sonya's window seat and stared out the window. He didn't say anything at first, then finally, "You felt it, too?"
"Of course," Jason replied. "I believe every Pokemon on the shoreline felt it."
"What… what was it? The rough change in the wind? It sent a jolt through me, like nothing I've ever felt before," Helios questioned aloud, more to himself than the Ralts. "It was not just the weather. It was a kind of… message?"
Jason fell silent; then, "Even I don't know. I tried picking up anything else the wind would let me read, but I couldn't see -or feel- anything else. But the clear feeling of dread, hostility… it was all carried in that shift of the wind."
"What from, I wonder…"
The two Pokemon continued to stare out the window.
XXX
Later that same night, it still hadn't ceased raining. Rain was uncommon in Sandgem, and its residents were quite baffled. Stores closed early, all Pokemon were brought indoors with their owners, and windows and doors were locked in an attempt to keep mother nature out.
Sonya was staring out of her bedroom window into the inky blackness of the rain. She dried her hair by shaking it with a towel, then threw the towel to the other side of her room. Her parents still had not returned home, but she knew better than to worry: her mother was a policewoman, her father a doctor of his own independent Pokemon clinic. Both occupations often required 24/7 dedication, sunshine or rain.
Sonya was stroking Helios' back, and suddenly felt a strange sense of drowsiness. As she watched the fat, shining drops splatter on the window pane, she smiled as she thought, Huh… they look like thousands of pretty little pearls… The drowsiness quickly became the need to shut her eyes, and she obeyed. She didn't feel like moving from her comfortable window seat and shifted a bit, falling asleep instantly with her faithful Growlithe and Ralts curled up on either side of her.XXX
"I've always loved rain, but this is just down right scary," Lenne whispered in the dark of her room.
"Do not fear nature; you will only give it more of a reason to frighten you."
"Heehee, you say the weirdest things Huttser."
"Hmph."
Lenne was leaned up against her windowsill, resting her head on her arms to look out at the dark weather. "When do you think it will stop?" Lenne said a bit too loudly, braking away from her previous whispers.
"Shhh!" Huttser growled, "Lower your voice, girl! You wouldn't want to wake your mother or sister up at this hour, would you?"
Lenne looked over at her clock hanging on the bedroom wall, which read half past 11 p.m. "Sorry," she whispered.
Huttser padded over to where the girl sat, and took a seat next to her in front of the windowsill. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and felt a pang of guilt as he easily read the look in Lenne's eyes.
"… You miss your father, hm?" Lenne forced a smile and buried her face deeper into her crossed arms, but said nothing in reply. Huttser looked down for a minute, then shifted closer and nudged the side of her head with his sleek blue muzzle in comfort. "He's coming back in a few months, child. Your patience will be rewarded. I beg your forgiveness if I sometimes remind you of his absence."
"Oh, Huttser, that's not it," Lenne mumbled, embracing the fatherly Manectric around the neck. "You and daddy are alike in a few ways, but overall completely different. You're you, and he's him, there's no confusing that. I love you both equally; and the best part is, I have two different daddy figures in my life, heh! Sure, I miss him a heck of a lot when he's traveling, but I'm just worried… wherever he is in Sinnoh right now, is the weather just as ugly looking and terrible? I wish there was a way I could know."
Huttser smiled at the girls' words of reassurance, but nodded and said, "Knowing the kind of man your father is, you know that not even treacherous weather can deter him. I believe he's just fine…" Huttser fell silent as he became aware of the expression of awe on the girls' face.
"Huttser!" She gasped and pointed out the window, Huttser's eyes followed. Out beyond the distance of the forestry that boarded the beach, something glowed; a faint, demure, white light. At first, Lenne thought it to be lightning; but there was no sound, and the light never faded even for a moment. "It's so beautiful… like something from a dream…" She murmured to herself. Lenne was unconditionally drawn to the light. She didn't know why she felt the urge to pursue it even though it was beyond the woods and back towards Sandgem Beach.
Huttser scrunched up his muzzle in uncertainty, then looked back to Lenne. But the girl had jumped to her feet and ran over to her closet. She took out a thick beige sweater and tugged it over head to cover her pajama top, then grabbed her raincoat and put it over the sweater, and shoved her bare feet into her boots. She didn't bother to change out of her pajama pants.
The ever-watchful Huttser couldn't believe what he was seeing. "You are not going out there, child! Not now!" Huttser growled.
"I'm sorry, Huttser," Lenne continued to whisper, "but what if someone -or a Pokemon- is out there alone? I have to go see what it is, please. I'll be okay, just don't tell my mom if she wakes up!" Before the Manectric had the chance to say anymore, Lenne bolted out of her room. She slowed down midway in the corridor as she passed her mother's and sister's room, being as silent as her body would allow her to be. Nothing stirred, and Lenne quickly opened the front door to the pounding rain. She suddenly became unsure of herself, but squeezed her hand into a fist in determination.
"If you insist on a blind pursuit," came Huttser's voice as he padded up behind Lenne, "then I refuse to let you go alone."
Lenne looked at him in surprise, then smiled. "Thank you… I'm sorry if I'm such a burden to you."
Huttser simply shook his head accompanied with a heavy sigh. "You need to stop apologizing so much. I'm confident that Sonya gets frustrated with that habit of yours as well."
With that said, Lenne and Huttser took off into the raging night, the Manectric sticking close to the girl with his ears open for any unseen danger. Lenne could no longer see the light as she had viewed fro her bedroom window, but she somehow sensed it was still there. The duo ran together, past the lightless houses, then the tall trees that blocked the view of the beach. They kept running, even as the rain pounded ever harsher, as though warning them away.
XXX At the outskirts of Sandgem Town, the slumbering Sonya was dreaming. Dreaming of things she was unfamiliar with, seeing things that were distorted but alluring, and did not make any sense…Dream…
Sonya opened her eyes and felt a jolt of familiarity as she looked around a golden, barren meadow, which she swore she'd never seen in her life. She heard a noise and tried to turn her head, but it seemed her body wouldn't obey her mind's commands as her dream form kept staring ahead. ":Hello, old friend,:" a voice, which she recognized to be her own although it sounded different somehow, spoke; she was even more startled when she realized that it didn't come from her mouth, but from her mind. ":The Humans are at War again, my dear friend; Pokemon everywhere are being forced to fight for their freedom… Humans are capturing them by the dozens for the sole purpose of being trained as Soldiers in the War. Hundreds have died already,:" A voice responded in her mind, which Sonya thought sounded very much like Lenne's, except older. ":I know. I hear their screams in the Dream… Tell me… does he have anything to do with the Humans going to War?:" Sonya heard herself responding. ":… Yes, he does, Chika. Both Humans and Pokemon are in a Living Nightmare.:" ("No…" Sonya fought to regain control of her own voice, "That's not my name… that's not my name! What is she talking about? Lenne, it's me! That's not--")
The moment she cried out her best friend's name, Sonya saw a bright white flash, and she appeared over Sandgem Town. It was as if she was flying, staring down as a familiar black haired girl ran towards a tiny, prone form on the shore of the beach. Her father's prized Manectric, Huttser, was tailing right behind her. What is that girl thinking!? She's going to get hurt in this storm! Sonya felt her mind being gently prodded and her consciousness lightly tugged towards the Waking World…… Sonya awoke with a jolt, covered in sweat as the last scene in her mind came into focus: she knew Lenne was out in the storm and running towards the beach. How do I know that, though? She wondered to herself, carefully uncurling herself. She put a hand to her forehead, still dazed at what her mind's eye just encountered. Sonya felt something shift against both sides of her, and gave a small smile to her Ralts, who was looking at her worriedly along with her concerned Growlithe. "Thanks, Jason," she told him, knowing that he'd gently prodded her mind into wakefulness when he sensed her distress in her dream.
He just gave a shy smile and laid a small hand on her arm. I'll worry about that later; right now, I have to make sure Lenne's not being stupid, she thought as she grabbed her rain coat, shoving her feet into her dark pink rain boots before she bolted outside, her protective Growlithe eager to tail her and her Ralts riding in the hood of her rain coat.
XXX Lenne finally reached the shore, whipping her head around in attempt to find the light she had seen from afar. But to her dismay the light was gone, and Lenne felt about ready to cry due to what she now believed to have been her foolish imagination all along.
"Do you see now, child? There is nothing out here! You threw us into this terrible weather for nothing!" Huttser reprimanded her for getting ahead of him as well; he'd purposely been behind her most of the way to keep a look out for her, but she had gotten far enough ahead of him until she was out of his sight, and he slightly began to panic before he caught up to her. "Lenne, if your father hears of this--" the fur on Huttser's back rose as he paused mid-sentence, and sniffed the air. He turned around towards the water on their right side, and Lenne followed his gaze.
There, washed up on the shore of the beach and seemingly out of nowhere amongst the raging ocean, lied an unconscious Totodile. Lenne cried out, and ran to the small Pokemon in a panic, "Oh, Huttser, look!" Huttser was caught off-guard for a second, then growled in warning, "Lenne, stay away from the water's edge! We're in the middle of a storm, you foolish child!" But Lenne seemed not to hear him. She knelt at the Totodile's side and, seeing another onslaught of powerful waves, carried him away from the shore and more towards the direction of the woods.
Lenne stood under a curved-down tree, which still wasn't enough of a shelter, but it was better than nothing. Huttser sprang over to Lenne, inspecting their curious find as well. Lenne stared down at the small, blue reptile cradled in her arms, and her eyes softened even more so than they naturally were. "It's a Totodile," she murmured to Huttser.
"An aquatic Pokemon. It looks like a youngling; perhaps the waves washed it away from its' home?"
Right then, Sonya came stumbling out of the woods, Helios right behind her and her Ralts hanging on to her hood for dear life. Seeing each other, she and Lenne looked at each other stupidly. "What are you doing here!?" They shouted in unison.
There was a moment of silence, the pounding of the rain the only audible sound.
The older girl was the first to recover from the shock, and replied, "I'm here because you're going to hurt yourself by going out into this storm without any protection from the lightning, stupid!" Immediately, she felt regretful for her words when she saw the hurt in her best friend's eyes, "Lenne, I didn't mean it like that! You know that, right? It's just that, what with him being an Electric Type, Huttser's not the best Pokemon to be with you when lightning's around."
Huttser nodded in agreement with the older girl, aware of his Lighting Rod ability that attracted electricity. "Thank Mew we went through the trees, and didn't race through the open. "
Lenne's eyes went downcast as she mumbled, "I know you didn't mean it like that, Sonya. It's okay; you and Huttser are right. It was really stupid of me to run out here in this weather, but…" the girl looked down at the Pokemon in her arms, drawing the notice of Sonya as well, "it's just, I saw this light coming from the beach… and I just had to see what it was," Lenne answered, attempting to hide her hurt from her best friend. "When I reached the beach, the light was gone. Then Huttser and I found this Totodile washed up on the shore. Sonya, we have to help it…" Her friend's attitude immediately softened, "Is it hurt?" "I don't think so…" The younger girl replied uncertainly.
Sonya reached out and stroked the Pokemon's head, taking a closer inspection of it, "It doesn't have any visible injuries--" A look of realization suddenly dawned on her, "We're standing in the middle of a storm like a group of idiots, aren't we?"
The girls along with the Pokemon, save the unconscious Totodile, burst into fits of giggles and chuckles. The mood turned serious again when Lenne asked, "Is your dad's clinic still open?"
Sonya nodded, "Lenny, Dad's clinic is always open, rain or sunshine. Let's go."
XXX
"Will it be okay, Mr. Bouchard?"
"He doesn't have any external or internal injuries; oddly enough, he is merely sleeping," replied Sonya's handsome father, Dr. Frederic Bouchard. He was the owner of his own independent Clinic, set apart from the Pokemon Centers scattered throughout the world. It had a more comfortable and soothing feel to it, and was one of a kind. It was Sandgem Town's local Pokemon medical building, seeing as the town did not have a Pokemon Center.
"He?" Sonya inquired. She was seated on a lengthy couch that served as a place to get comfortable in the waiting room, which was currently empty. It was past one in the morning now, which took a toll on the puppy Helios, who slept with a glob of drool hanging from his stout, white muzzle, and the small Psychic Pokemon Jason, who was also fast asleep on the couch. Huttser stood upright, determined to stay awake until he could take Lenne home.
Dr. Bouchard smiled and nodded. "Affirmative. Male Totodile, Calm nature, Torrent ability. I couldn't identify his age, but he's fairly young."
"Can we see him?" Sonya pressed, eager to inspect the Totodile.
Her father chuckled and tussled the girl's short hair, earning a pout from Sonya. "I don't see why not." He led the girls to a tidy room with two rows of fair-sized baskets, and three counter tables. This was the Pokemon incubating room, which was used for baby Pokemon. The Totodile was clearly past his hatchling age, but he didn't belong in the larger rooms just yet. Sonya and Lenne went over to one of the baskets, which held the still-unconscious Totodile. A hideous cry erupted suddenly, scaring the wits out of both girls, but Sonya's father only laughed. "It seems one of my patients can't fall asleep. I'll be right back, girls." Mr. Bouchard excused himself, his duty to tend to a sick, wailing Purugly coming from another room down the hall.
Neither girl said anything for a minute. But then Lenne took notice of Sonya's puzzled and concentrated expression, and was the first to speak. "What is it?"
"It's still a bit weird to me…" Sonya trailed off as she looked down at the Totodile.
"What is?" Lenne pressed.
"The Totodile are a rare kind of Pokemon in the wild, and are sometimes used as starters. If they are seen in the wild, they live near fresh-water sources." Sonya knew her fair share of Pokemon knowledge, so Lenne always took her information to heart.
"Like lakes and rivers, and all that?" Lenne prodded.
"Yeah. But this one was on the shoreline of an ocean; I've never heard of a Totodile living in an ocean. I'm not saying it can't happen, but it has never been seen or scientifically recorded. On top of that, Totodile's are native to the Johto region. What was he doing out here?"
The girls fell silent again. A little more time passed, and Lenne timidly reached inside the basket, and took one of the Totodile's small clawed hands into her own cinnamon one. "I don't think that matters, so long as he wasn't hurt."
Sonya nodded, but then her mind drifted elsewhere: she reflected on everything that had happened tonight, and decided to stay silent about her out-of-the-ordinary dream. She would tell Lenne at some point, but for now, they would have to focus their efforts on learning what they could about this wonder of a Pokemon and if he belonged to somewhere else, or somewhere else.
Little did the girls know that their meeting with this Totodile would set off a chain of events that would lead them into an ugly past, present, and if something wasn't done to prevent it, the future. But it wouldn't be until a few months later when the waves of Sonya and Lenne's unavoidably interwoven fates would begin to surface, for the truth was only a journey away…
XXX
Authoress' Notes: Well, there's the Prologue; please, tell us what you think about it, by R&Ring for us!
Ciao,
Virgo and Pisces