Long overdue I know, so sorry for making you guys wait but here is the next part in Ruby's adventure, commence operation! :)
"Now Ruby, I know things may seem a little strange at the moment, but I promise I will explain." Professor Oak said to me as we poured out the feed for all the Pokémon. I nodded my head and waited patiently, glancing to Latias who was holding onto my shoulder and watching us curiously. "You see, you are what they call an Aura Guardian. There are a rare few of you out there, but you are all able to use your aura in powerful ways. The true extent of your abilities are yet to be discovered."
"Aura Guardian?" I questioned, thinking things over in my head.
"That's right. Other guardians tend to roam the regions keeping the peace between people and Pokémon. There are some very powerful people out there who try to stir things up and they are just some of the few who try to keep things in order." Professor Oak explained so I stood up and dusted off my hands, turning to face him.
"So why were you so intent on me never practicing this aura thing? Why were you so afraid of it?"
"I thought you were too young to understand or even control your gifts, Ruby, but I think you've quite effectively proven me wrong. Your powers go way beyond anything I've ever seen or heard of before, being able to hold off such an intense attack as that Fire Blast proves that." He told me as he too finished up then turned to face me, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Ruby, your gifts are still dangerous. You must be extra careful not to push yourself further than you can manage. You can hurt yourself, and other people too."
Hanging my head I nodded, understanding the severity of the situation. "So what can I do?" I asked and Professor Oak chuckled.
"You can go check on the nests whilst I carry on with some work." He said with a smile, patting my shoulder before moving off around me. So I'm an aura guardian. That's quite cool! However, how am I supposed to harness my power without practicing? I think this is going to be a lot harder to control than I initially thought.
Shaking my head I went out into the backyard and was instantly swarmed with Pokémon, crowding around and calling out as they tried to lick my face, making me giggle. "Hey you guys! I am not your lunch, stop that! Ivysaur that tickles! Arcanine, I'm not your play toy, Muk NO!"
"Muk!" Our friendly and affectionate friend beamed before falling on top of me, consuming me with his sludgy body. "Muuuk!"
"Muk get off me!" I laughed. "I know you like me but I need to breathe!"
"How about I help you out of there?" Gary suggested and instantly I craned my neck upwards to see him standing in the sunlight, smirking down at me. Great. He just has impeccable timing for finding me in tight spots.
"I totally got it." I answered stubbornly and tried to pull myself out from under Muk but he merely smothered me more, laughing and smiling as I gave up then held out a hand, grumpily turning my head away as Gary chuckled then grabbed my offered hand and pulled with all his might, dragging me out from underneath Muk with the help of Ivysaur and some of the other Pokémon.
I slid out from underneath Muk but with the sudden release of pressure, I flew forwards and collided into Gary, making us both yelp and tumble to the ground though Ivysaur quickly caught us, wrapping us both tightly together in his vines then lifted us into the air safely.
"Saur! Saur! Ivysaur!" He cheered as I felt my chest being tightly pressed up against Gary's, our arms locked to our sides as we blinked at one another.
"Well this is awkward." I stated bluntly, clearing my throat then looked away to hide my blush. "Um…Ivysaur? You can let us down now buddy." I told him so he lowered us back down and let his vines shoot back into his bulb where I instantly took a deep breath, feeling the freedom for my lungs before it was taken away again by a bone crushing hug from a rather emotional Machoke.
"Machoke! Ma!"
"Machoke…I like you…too…but I can't…breathe…" I wheezed, clenching my fists and closing my eyes tightly as Machoke cried into my hair, glad to see me okay but didn't realise the extent of its strength.
"Let her go now Machoke, I think she gets the message." Gary said, patting Machoke's shoulder so it instantly let go, allowing me to breathe again. "You okay?" Gary asked as he helped me to my feet.
"I'm good. Happens all the time." I waved away then straightened my hat and neckerchief. "When did you get back?"
"Just now. How are things here?" He asked then looked around, seeing how there was a new flower garden in full bloom and all the Pokémon were looking happy and healthy. "It looks great."
"Yeah. The flower garden was my suggestion. It helps keep the peace between the grass and water Pokémon, seeing as they like to spend their time with the flowers rather than fighting over territory." I explained. "I was heading over to the lake to check on the nests. Want to come?"
"Sure." He nodded his head and followed my lead. I noticed a couple of squabbling Pokémon so I broke them apart then saw they were fighting over an apple, so I pulled another one from my supplies sack and then they were both happy. "You seem to be right at home here." Gary noted as we stopped again for me to check on a bandaged Poliwag tail.
"Of course. I love all the Pokémon here and I spend most of my time with them." I said with a smile. "Seeing as my parents are away so much, there's little else I can do."
"They still out in Hoenn?" Gary asked as we walked and I nodded my head.
"To be honest, I think they might be thinking about moving out there. Mom likes it a lot and dad's work keeps him there pretty much all the time." Gary looked at me quickly with a sharp expression.
"Leave Kanto? You can't do that Rubes." He told me almost fiercely and I blinked at him.
"Why not? If my parents decide that's where they want to go then I'll have to go with them." But Gary shook his head.
"Grandpa needs you here. You're great for the Pokémon and if you move, then I won't get to see you as often." He's worried about not seeing me again? Well that's…kind of sweet. Dang it, he's making me blush!
"Wow Gary, it almost sounds like you care." I said jokingly so he gave a shrug.
"I like to at least consider us friends." He answered before looking ahead. "Is this the place?" I looked around and blinked, not realising that we'd arrived at the lake.
"Yup. This is it. The water Pokémon all start to build their nests this time of year so that they can claim their little plot of territory to raise their young and keep their eggs as warm as possible." I explained, pointed to a cluster of reeds. "You see?" Gary craned his neck then smiled, spotting the nest.
"Yeah you're right. You sure know a lot Rubes." I gave a proud smirk, taking off my hat and pulled off the headscarf I wore to cool down a little. It was really quite hot today, I'm going completely red in the face.
"I like to think so. Come on, I want to show you something." I said then crept along the bank, found a particular spot then parted the tall grass to reveal a large nest where Vaporeon was curled up in a ball as she slept, her tail curled around two brown eggs with a cream coloured stripe running around the middle.
"No!" Gary breathed in awe. "Those are the eggs!"
"Uh huh. Why don't you let Umbreon out? I'm sure he'd like to see." I suggested as Vaporeon lifted her head and smiled at me as I crawled carefully closer then stroked her head.
"Right. Umbreon, I think you should see this." Gary said and let Umbreon out of his Pokéball. Umbreon instantly lifted his head and noticed Vaporeon, who called out to him and he bounded over in one leap, smiling warmly as he licked her face then began to sniff the twin eggs, proudly sitting beside Vaporeon who stretched out a little then nuzzled her head against his chest, getting comfortable before going back to sleep again.
We watched them together for a moment, enjoying seeing the family together until Gary finally spoke. "I'm going back out on a journey soon."
"What? When? Where?" I demanded to know. "You only got back a few minutes ago!"
"Not right now, but soon." Gary amended with a smirk. "You're not getting rid of me that easy. Come on, let's go check on the other nests and leave these two to talk." He said, standing up then began to walk away, hands tucked into his pockets and I blinked before following after him.
I made checks on all the Pokémon we could find, making sure they were healthy and that the eggs were okay however the wild Pokémon didn't let us get too close, so we had to be careful. I let Latias out for some flying and she helped me get a little closer to the wild Pokémon, as she would be allowed to fly over the nests and report back to me if she found anything out of the ordinary.
Satisfied everything was alright, Gary and I head back to the lab. "So where will you go?" I asked and he took a deep breath before shrugging and looking up at the sky.
"I don't know. I just know I have to keep moving." I gave a little smile of understanding.
"Once you set out, it's hard to settle back down again." I said with a nod of my head. "I get that."
"You do?" Gary said in surprise. "I thought you were more of a home bird yourself. You always seem to settle right back in almost straight away."
"True, but I love travelling." I told him simply. "I love going out there and meeting new Pokémon, learning new things and also making memories. You should see my photo albums, I've filled four of them already." Giving a little chuckle to myself I looked up at Latias as she soared over our heads, playfully looping and gliding over the water to skim the surface gracefully.
"Your Latias is growing up fast. It's already a great flier." Gary noted to me as Latias flew over to me and hovered before us, giving a smile and a call for us to hurry up with our chores so we could go and play.
Gary and I made our way back to the lab and found Professor Oak and Tracey pouring over some papers and trying to document them all. "Ah! Gary! Welcome home." His grandpa looked up with a smile as he heard us enter.
"Hi grandpa. How's it going?" He asked as I walked on in, only to be body slammed by Ivysaur.
"Ivysaur!" He cheered then began to lick my face as I laughed.
"Yes I'm glad to see you too! I've only been gone a few minutes." I giggled as he began to lick my face.
"Well Ivysaur seems to think it was far longer." Professor Oak chuckled as I managed to sit up, Latias having managed to lift Ivysaur off of me, having grown quite a bit since I parted ways with Ash and the gang. She was now too big to hold in my arms, but that didn't stop her flying into me for a hug at any given time. "I'm glad your home Gary, how about we go for dinner in your favourite restaurant later? I'll make reservations." He suggested and Gary smiled with a nod of his head.
"Sounds great grandpa."
"Ruby and Tracey, you two can come as well if you like?" The offer hung in the air and I looked up from fussing over Ivysaur in surprise. However Tracey answered before me, politely declining the offer.
"I'll stay here and make sure the Pokémon are all okay. Besides, I need to try and get this work done by tomorrow." He told me then turned a knowing look on me. "But I'm sure Ruby will be more than happy to go. Right Ruby?"
"I…uh…huh?"
"Excellent! I'll book us a table. You should go and see your mother Gary, I know she'll love to hear all about your adventures." The professor suggested and Gary nodded his head.
"You're right. I'll see you later. Rubes." He finished with a smirk before walking out the door and leaving me still blinking in surprise.
"Saur?" Ivysaur nudged me so I shook myself out of it.
"I'm good." I smiled then kissed the top of his head. "Come on, how about we go to the hill for some fun?" I suggested to him and Latias and they both instantly jumped up with excitement, calling out and nodding their heads eagerly. "Okay then, let's go!"
"Make sure you're back by six! That's when I've booked the table." Professor Oak called after me as I ran out. Dinner with the professor, Gary and probably his mom. Sure, I can handle that. Plus the only decent restaurant in Pallet Town is a Pizza place, so that's all good.
"Sure thing professor!" I waved a hand behind me and raced out the door. Ivysaur and Latias chased after me all the way to the hill where we stood and gazed down on all of Pallet Town. I took a deep gulp of breath then yelled at the top of my lungs, spreading out my hands. "I'M QUEEN OF THE WORLD!" My voice echoed over the hills and I giggled as Ivysaur and Latias both copied me, letting their voices sing out also until there was once again silence. "Awesome. I'll race you down!" I called then flung myself forwards, rolling down the grassy slope with uncontrollable laughter as Ivysaur raced after me and Latias flew, both of them laughing also until finally we landed in a heap at the bottom, both my Pokémon using me as a cushion as I drew them to me and hugged them. "That was fun!" I giggled to them both. "Again?"
"Saur!"
"Latias!" They both nodded their heads so we raced back up the hill and rolled down again, doing this over and over until I was finally exhausted, making it back to the top one last time before collapsing and looking up at the sky.
"Ooh look at that one." I gasped, pointing up and both Pokémon turned to see the cloud I was pointing at. "It looks like a flower."
"Ivysaur." He nodded his head in agreement then curled up beside me for a nap and Latias did the same. Resting her head on my chest then closed her eyes, so I let them sleep for a moment. I watched the clouds as they rolled past, fluffy, white and perfect as I tried to make shapes out of them.
After a while I too closed my eyes and almost fell asleep, though I was still aware of my surroundings. We all rested there for a long time until I heard someone climbing up the hill. "Grandpa said I'd find you up here." Gary announced, making me groan slightly as I tried to remain in my own little sleep bubble. "Rubes? Are you asleep?"
"Not anymore." I answered, rubbing my eyes then put my hands behind my head as I tried to sit up but there wasn't anything to lean against and I didn't want to disturb Ivysaur and Latias, so I was just moving to lay back down when Gary sat down right behind me.
"Here, you can lean against me." He said simply, as if it were perfectly normal for us to sit so close together. When he casually placed his arms around me I felt my face go deep red, steam practically coming out my ears as my pulse quickened. Stupid Gary. "Have you been up here all afternoon?"
"No! Well…maybe." I corrected with a deep blush as Gary shifted a little closer and rested his chin lazily over my shoulder, making me squeak slightly in response before I gulped. Snap out of it Ruby, at least try and act normal. "How's your mom?"
"She's okay. Glad to have me back. She's actually really looking forward to meeting you properly." He told me and I blinked in surprise.
"I've met your mom before. We did go to school together for the first ten years of our lives, remember?" I reminded him and he rolled his eyes.
"I know that, I meant face to face. You've never actually officially met." He pointed out and I realised this was true. I'd seen Gary's mom around for fairs, school plays and things like that but we've never actually spoken. "So are you going to go change or something before we go?" He asked me.
"Change?" In answer he swiped gently at my hat, knocking it down over my eyes.
"Have you looked at yourself recently?" I jerked my elbow and jabbed him in the gut with a smirk.
"Hey! I know I look scruffy, but that's how I like it." I defended simply then rested my hands on both my Pokémon. "And I always end up looking messy with all the work I do, so why bother trying to look presentable in the first place." Gary chuckled.
"Good point. It's up to you I guess." Though maybe he did have a point as well. I was covered in grass, dirt and I was pretty sure I had a nest in my hair. "Well, we'd better get going if we're going to be there on time." He said so I sighed then gently woke my Pokémon.
"Come on guys, time to go. Ivysaur return, I'll drop you off at the lab. You too Latias. I'll see you guys later, okay?" I smiled and they both nodded their heads before crowding closer for a hug, which I readily gave them both before returning them to their Pokéballs.
Gary stood up then grabbed me under the arms and lifted me up to me feet as I yelped. "I'll see you there, okay?" He said to me then turned and walked away leisurely, hands tucked into his pockets as he went in the opposite direction I needed to go. I watched him for a moment, holding my arm tenderly then gave a little smile.