Carrying On: MetalDragonShipping
The woman kept her head tilted back, just letting the air pass over her. Her black, greasy hair twirled before settling beside her ears. Her eyes stayed closed as she listened to his footsteps. She rocked back and forth on her feet, waiting for him to stop admiring where they were and see her. A wicked grin settled across her face when he stopped at the top of the staircase and gasped. The woman gave a small, mocking laugh and said, "It's about time you got here."
She could practically hear his suit crinkle as he straightened. Her shoulders shook as she held in her laugher. She did laugh as he addressed her formally, "Zinnia."
Zinnia whirled around – her cape striking through the air – and snapped her red eyes open. She crossed her arms, short hair falling around her ears as she leaned forwards. He kept a passive look even when Zinnia gave him a mocking grin. In a light, almost friendly tone, Zinnia said, "Aw, don't be like that, former Champ. And here I thought you appreciated me getting you through Mt. Coronet."
"You never did answer my question," Steven said coolly. He took a chance stepping forward. His eyebrow rose as he saw her flinch, and how she hid it by leaning away from him. "How were you able to call my PokéNav Plus?"
Zinnia gave a wild laugh and turned away. She shrugged, as if his question wasn't serious, and answered, "With mine? Does it really matter, former Champ? Look around, not many people get to see this place."
Steven walked up next to her, relaxed. Zinnia tensed. Both purposefully looked anywhere but at the other. "This is Spear Pillar, isn't it?" Steven asked.
"Heh," Zinnia gave a small nod. She turned from the crumbling, barren structures to the curious man. "Yep! There are a lot of legends surrounding this place. Some say the Pokémon of Space and the Pokémon of Time appeared up here. Others say this leads to the Distortion World." She breathed out a sigh and rocked on her feet.
Steven turned back to her, question dying on his lips when he saw her staring up at him. Instead, he raised an eyebrow. Zinnia laughed at his expression. Steven's lips pulled down in annoyance. When Zinnia turned around again, to face the view, Steven looked towards the end of Spear Pillar and asked his question. "Why did you lead me up here?"
"You've been following me," Zinnia stated dryly. Her face crinkled like she had smelled something foul. Steven didn't deny her sentence. "I thought I might as well show you something. Since you like rocks and stuff, I thought you could search around while I enjoy the view."
Steven turned to look at her, a war going on inside his head. Take her back to Hoenn now or take her up on the offer. Eventually, he simply said, "Thank you."
Zinnia jumped away from him, shock blatant on her face. For a few seconds she only blinked, as if to clear away her astonishment. Then she looked away and shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. She waved towards the back end of Spear Pillar, "Whatever. Go search around. I'll still be here."
Taking the once in a life time opportunity, Steven didn't rush his way through Spear Pillar. He found faded glyphs and barely standing walls with ancient writing on them. Every now and he looked up and saw Zinnia leaning against a partially crumbled pillar, exactly where she said she would be. Her face tilted up to the sky, ignoring the large region of Sinnoh that stretched beneath them. After staying on her trail for a month, this seemed far too easy for his liking. Still, Steven looked around Spear Pillar until the sun started to set. Only then did he stand up, dust off his pants, and walk towards her.
Neither of them wanted to break the silence. Breaking it would mean returning to real life. At the moment, only one of the two of them had a mission. Steven cleared his throat, but Zinnia just smirked at the sky. The man waited before asking, "Are you ready to go?"
Zinnia speaks as though he didn't, "This is the highest spot in Sinnoh. Here, you can be close to the sky. There are only a few places like this left in the world. I like it here the best because when it gets foggy, and you can't see Sinnoh, it feels like you are standing in the clouds. Do you know a place where you can feel like that?"
Steven regarded her with a cool look before gazing across the land below. "Why are you here, Zinnia?"
Said woman let loose a crazy, wild laugh. Steven could see the sadness creasing her face, even if she smirked cruelly at him. "That's the question, isn't it? The one everyone asks?" She sighed and turned her back to him, placing her head on the stone pillar. He noticed how her shoulders slumped. Her arms crossed in front of her, making the woman appear smaller than she was. When she spoke, he could hear the forced nonchalance, "I don't know what to do anymore. I thought I'd be gone after everything was over."
"Gone?" Steven asked.
Zinnia shook her head, waving a hand as if brushing something aside. "You know, gone. Mega evolve Rayquaza, go into space to destroy a meteorite, and never come back."
Dead, Steven realized. His eyes widened as he realized that she was ready to die for her cause. She was so sure that Rayquaza was going to come and help that she had bet her life and millions of other lives on it. She was expecting to die to save everyone else, or die with everyone else.
"Good thing for Brendan," Zinnia gave a round of goodhearted chuckles. "Everyone is safe, thanks to him. It's all over…. But now what? What's my purpose here now that it is all over?" Zinnia cast a glance back at Steven. Then she shook her head and went back to staring at the sky. "I brought you here thinking it might give me purpose. Guess I was wrong again, huh?"
Steven stared at her back for a good while, thinking over a response. When he could finally think of something good enough, he straightened and said, "Zinnia-"
"Steven," Zinnia cut him off. She turned around, eyes wide with excitement. "Can I hold your hand?"
Steven blinked in shock. His face set into a mask, but no matter how hard he thought, there didn't seem to be another motive to her request. Slowly, he nodded. Zinnia's smile grew and she latched onto his nearest hand, her fingers curling through his. She smiled brightly at him. For a few seconds their hands stayed together, and then Zinnia took a step back with a large laugh.
"Heh," the woman chuckled, quieting her laugher at Steven's raised eyebrow. She kept smiling brightly. "It's been awhile since I held someone's hand. Thanks. By the way, I think I've come up with a way to carry on."
"Oh?" Steven kept his eyebrow risen and took a step forwards. His hand stretched out, itching to take hers again. "Does it involve coming with me to Hoenn?"
"Nope!" Zinnia cackled at his expression. She hopped backwards, watching as Steven's eyes narrowed and he straightened. For every few steps she took back, he took one long one towards her. "I'll carry on by giving you a good chase! Try and catch me, former Champ!"
The woman was gone and in Mt. Coronet before Steven could even blink. The man scoffed, briskly walking towards the entrance. Next time he caught up, he wouldn't let her get away. If she kept trekking up and down regions, it may take them awhile to get back to Hoenn.
Steven really didn't mind that at all.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon