Disclaimer: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Explorers of Time/Darkness is property of Nintendo/Chunsoft. Silver the Charmander and Pikapi the Pikachu belong to me, Heart-of-Memories (Christina Barnes)
A/N: I'm replaying PMD2, and this little ditty popped into my brain and would not shut up. (frowns)
Pairing: None, just simple friendship between Grovyle and Player!Character.
It was still dark when Grovyle woke up. He stared into a corner, wondering what had woken him up for a moment before Pikapi's mutterings from one of the other beds entered his hearing. The Grass Type made a face when he heard the Pikachu's mutterings about Silver, but said nothing as he eased himself out from under the blanket. A muffled curse as one of his elbow leaves got caught on the fabric made him worry for a split second that he'd woken Silver, but when he turned and didn't see the now Charmander's tail flame on her nose, he worried. She wasn't even in bed when he looked up, and panic took over. He had just found her again, he couldn't lose her now. Leaving Pikapi sleeping on the beds of hay, Grovyle padded up the stone stairs to the bluff outside. Instead of bieng pitch black out here, the little cliff looking over the water was lit by Silver's tail flame. She looked up at him when he walked up behind her, and the confused look in her big grey eyes made him smile as he sat down beside his friend.
"Why are you up so late?" The Charmander shrugged, tail twitching in the chilled breeze.
"Couldn't sleep. Nightmares." Grovyle smiled in sympathy. She'd had nightmares for as long as he'd known her, and that had been for a long time. Her parent's death, the death of her brother and sister, the loss of her home, thier first and only meeting with Primal Dialga, the list of things that gave her nightmares was long. Silver really scared easy. Speaking of Silver, she was staring up at the stars that were slowly vanishing with Dawn's first light. The female was calm, if the flame on her tail was anything to go by. But if they faced Dusknoir or Dialga again...it was likely she'd get scared. But she'd never run, Silver was too brave to run away from a fight. That was what had drawn Grovyle to her in the first place.
"Silver...do you remember when we became partners?" Silver frowned, crossing her forearms and tilting her head.
"It feels like it should be the clearest memory in my head, but no. I can't remember that." Grovyle shook his head, leaning back to look up at the sky as he began his tale.
"It was about...2 years ago. Jirachi, one of Cel's friends, had brought us to the ruins of Fogbound Lake. She had to smack the sense back into me, I didn't want to work with a human at all." Silver blinked, confused. It made Grovyle smile. Even if she was a Charmander now, her face hadn't really changed all that much. Well, the fire she spit out was a change, but not that much of a stretch from her humanity.
"Yeah, I didn't really like the idea of working with a human, but when Jirachi told me you could use the Dimensional Scream...I think my opinion changed quick. You don't know how people earn that ability, do you?" Silver shook her head.
"I thought I was born with it, or something." Grovyle looked away, saddened.
"The Dimensional Scream only comes around if a person or Pokemon has lost thier entire family." Silver backed away for a second, then sighed and seemed to deflate. She looked out to sea, tossing a large stone into the water.
"So...I'm an orphan. No family to leave the lights on for me to come home to?" Grovyle nodded, and Silver drew her short legs up, wrapping her tail around them as Grovyle patted her back. The scales from her right shoulder to her left hip area were lighter, scarred by a fierce claw that had belonged to Primal Dialga. Silver tilted her head, trying to look over her shoulder.
"Do you know how I got that? I've had it since I woke up on the beach."
"Primal Dialga gave it to you. We got cocky looking for the Time Gears, we got caught. This was the result of our escape. Best plan you ever came up with, had this not happened." Grovyle gave a wry chuckle here, the dry sound bubbling past his lips.
"You scared me to death when you fell like that. I thought I was going to lose you. That's when Celebi found us, and she got us to safety. You healed up, then we tried coming here. You know how that turned out." Silver nodded, tail tip twitching as she looked out across the horizon.
"I honestly thought that Dusknoir had given it too me...you know, when Pikapi and I first met him, I thought we could trust him. Fat mistake I made." She snorted flames, scales on her forearms repelling the fire up into the air. It petered out, making Grovyle a little sad. Would she fade like her flames? Or would she stand firm alongside Pikapi to take down Primal Dialga? He couldn't say.
"We all make mistakes, Silver. You know that." The Charmander nodded, then suddenly turned as the sun began to come up. She stood up, looking at the rising sun with eyes that were clear in thier disicion. Grovyle smiled to himself, standing up and putting a clawed paw on Silver's head. She gave an indignant squeak, patting as his paw with her own, but after a moment, she held still as they watched the sunrise. Grovyle tilted his head.
"You know...I've wondered how you'd react to seeing the sunrise after living your entire life in the Darkness." Silver shrugged.
"Probably the same as you." Her sweet smile was the same, and Grovyle nodded, looking back towards the horizon as it slowly turned pink and pale blue.
"Yeah..."
Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall the dawn.
Heart's Note: Silver's comment about trusting Dusknoir, was what I thought first playing the game. He seemed so friendly, then the thing with Amp Plains and saving our collective asses...I thought he was an ally. Of course, then Grovyle get's caught...and boom, big mistake on my part. (huffs)