Chapter Two: The House Guest
What the hell is going on? This can't be a mere coincidence that Pokémon are suddenly real, can it? Nintendo or Game Freak has to be involved in this somehow; it would make sense market wise. Not only that, it would also be a massive scientific breakthrough to create a device to give life to fictional entities. If that is true, then Nintendo would evolve into probably one of the richest if not the richest company to exist. However, Nintendo is denying all association with the incident; plus, what neo sapien died to give them that kind of technology. Whatever the cause, the damage is done. Pokémon are now an actual species and I have one recovering in my room.
I rubbed my head to help soothe the pounding headache that developed from still trying to comprehend this information, but something suddenly broke my chain of thought. A low rumble with the sound of a chain being cranked reverberated through the walls. My eyes widened as I quickly turned and heard the sound of a car engine rev, followed by tires pull up onto the concrete of my garage. After that, my heart skipped a beat as I furiously switched my gaze between the wall and the ceiling.
Have my parents heard the news yet about Pokémon? Have they even encountered one already? How am I going to explain having a Latias in my room? This isn't going to be easy.
With monstrous energy, the garage do flew open and a little girl stepped into the house. She was the age of a second grader with one of the brightest smiles I've ever seen on her. Her glimmering sapphire blue eyes hid behind her wet walnut brown hair that she had in a pigtail. And like me, her entire body was drenched, but the only difference between me and the little girl was the fact she was soaked with only water, while I had some blood mixed in.
The very second the girl saw me; she ran up to me and excitedly exclaimed, "Alan! Alan! Did you hear!? Pokémon are real!"
"Yeah, isn't that great?" I responded with a nervous smile. Before I could continue any further, I found myself in the tight embrace of a much older woman.
Her voice was far more mature and filled with worry as she spoke the words, "Oh thank God you're okay!" She then pulled back and looked me in the eyes. Just like my little sister, her appearance was the same except her hair wasn't in a pigtail and instead of having joy in her aging blue eyes, fear had welled up.
"You should have called when you got home! Strange creatures have started appearing and there was that odd rain storm; you could have gotten hurt or worse!" Just like how I felt, her tone was on the borderline of complete hysteria. Shortly afterwards, the horror in her eyes increased as her mouth dropped. I noticed in the corner of my eyes she was looking at her left hand.
"A-are you bleeding!? You're not hurt are you!?"
"That's…that's not my blood." I let out a deep sigh as I tried to find my next words, but couldn't. Instead, I started slowly walking up to my room and then stopped at my door. "Peek inside."
My mother looked nervous, but she was compliant. It was only a few seconds before she had her clean hand over her mouth and shut my door. She started stammering as she turned to me. I could barely face her as she was now, but I still spoke.
"I found her when I took shelter from the rain and just couldn't leave her there in its current condition."
Before another word could be said, the door to my room went wide open and I could hear my sister let out a loud gasp. I looked in my room and could see the girl already in front of the Latias and reaching her hand out to the Pokémon as if to pet it. My mom then rushed in and grabbed my sister back.
"Don't touch it, Cecil!" The middle age woman exclaimed as she exited my room while carrying the little girl. After that, she turned to me and ordered me to get rid of the thing.
"No…"
"What do you mean "No"? Don't talk like you know that thing! You have no idea what it's capable of!" My mom barked.
"I'm not about to abandon her the way she is!" To further prove my defiance, I stood in the doorway and stared her down; blocking any means of getting to the injured Latias.
"Your father is going to have a word with you when he comes home, and then we'll get rid of that thing!"
I watched as my mother left with my sister back downstairs. After that, I turned to the Latias who was looking up at me in confusion.
I know what Pokémon are capable of, and because of that, I know that they possess powers beyond human comprehension. What's actually stopping this Latias from attacking us the moment she gets her strength back? My mom has the right to be afraid, but what about my dad? How is he going to react? What is he going to do when he gets home? What have I done?
I felt like a man waiting for his firing squad to shoot when I sat in the living room with my parent. The silence would have been unbearable if it wasn't for Cecil's eagerness to see Latias again. Unfortunately, no one was allowed to head back into my room until my father arrived. It took maybe around ten to fifteen minutes for him to get home when my family started waiting, but for me and probably my mom as well, it felt like hours.
My father was the same age as my mom, but with some scruff on his exhausted face; giving him the appearance of being slightly older. He was also a tall, well fit man with short hair so dark, it almost seemed black. Also like everyone else, he too had a shower from the storm. He looked towards my mother and me with his stern brown eyes quizzically. There wasn't a moment to spare when he was told of my actions. When my mother was done, I spoke up after; telling my dad on how I found the Latias and decided to take her in.
My dad then said with his deep voice, "Show me it" and just stared us down.
Each step I took felt so heavy to the point that I felt like I was going to sink into the ground. Despite that, I sluggishly continued forward to where the Pokémon was kept and stopped next to my room's door. After that, I watched my father enter the area without a single speck of fear in his eyes. His audience then watched how he stood only inches away from the Latias while examining it, and then looked her directly in the eyes. From what I could see by peeking around the corner, Latias didn't break eye contact with my dad, but from her expression, seemed intimidated.
My heart felt low as I could only imagine the terrible expression I wore. Yes, I brought home a creature that could potentially harm us, but from how Latias responded to me and allowed me to treat her wounds, I honestly don't think she have would turn against us.
When my father finally broke contact with injured Pokémon and started back to the group, I immediately noticed Latias glance directly at me with her nervous yellow eyes. It was at that moment, I knew that despite all I have done to try and save this majestic creature, I had failed.
"Don't forget to change its bandages when the time comes, and do try to find out what your new friend eats. That thing is your responsibility now."
My eyes widened and my mind went blank the absolute second I heard those words come out of my dad's mouth. What made the thing even more shocking was just how nonchalant he said it too.
"What are you saying!? This isn't some dog Alan found!" My mother announced with one of the most shocked faces I've ever seen.
"Alan isn't a little boy anymore; he's old enough to make these kinds of decisions. He knows what he's doing." My dad countered with a relaxed tone. "So what's for dinner?"
My mother started stammering as both her and I wore the same dumbfounded face, but our astonishment was eventually cut out by Cecil gleefully asking for spaghetti with shrimp. Upon hearing that, my dad then let out a light hearted chuckle and agreed to the suggestion. From my other parent's confusion, it was obvious who was going to be cooking tonight, but that didn't matter to me. I let out small snicker, followed by a sigh of relief when the all the tension left me.
"By the way, don't forget to wash your covers. There's some blood on it." My dad stated when he reached the bottom of the stairs.
What he said was enough to snap me back into a coherent state since he was right. However, before I did switch out the sheets, I dropped down to the ground and sat eye level with the Pokémon.
"Looks like you get to stay after all. So, you glad?"
I don't know what kind of response I was expecting. In fact, upon saying that, I wondered what Latias would sound like; if it was going to be based more on the anime or game. I watched Latias open her mouth and heard a soft growl; not one made from her voice. I then laughed as I saw the Pokémon turn her face away while with what actually looked like a blush of embarrassment.
"Don't worry; I'll get you something light to eat." When I began to leave, I felt the tinge of a migraine form and I could have sworn I heard someone say "thank you." It was a soft female's voice that wasn't old enough to be my mom's or young enough to be my sister. I looked over my shoulder and saw Latias lay her head back down on the futon. It couldn't have been the Pokémon, could it? Whatever it was, I shook my head grabbed a meal for the guest.
It was a couple of minutes of staring into an open fridge and guessing what this Pokémon eats. Eventually I came down to the decision of fruit; based on both the game mechanic of berries and the anime showing that Pokémon will at least eat fruit. Unfortunately, I don't have any super fruit that can heal the devourer instantly, so I decided on a bowl of apple sauce that I spiced up with some cinnamon and a bowl of strawberry ice cream I took from a tub of Neapolitan. When it came to the point of me spoon feeding Latias, I couldn't help but go over her body and look at her injuries.
I don't know if that was you that spoke earlier, but if you could talk Latias, I have so many questions I want to ask you. Would you be able to answer them? Can you tell me how you got hurt? Can you tell me where you came from?
After the Pokémon finished eating her dinner, I didn't leave to grab mine yet. Instead, I just stayed next to the Latias. She quizzically gazed back at me until I laid my hand on her soft cheek and began to gently caress it. My action seemed to help relax the eon Pokémon since after a minute had passed, Latias then proceeded to lay her head in my lap. This was enough to cause a small smile to form on me and want to stay even longer with her. Sadly, my time spent in this position was cut short due to a giggling Cecil poking her head from around the corner of my door and informing me that she was sent to tell me that my dinner was getting cold. As much as I didn't want to leave, I fought the urge to stay and eventually got up to finally eat. After that, time seemed have flown by.
I had already finished washing my covers, and also exchanged the towels I originally laid out for my guest with a blanket and extra pillow I had. After that, I decided to change into the turquoise scrubs and white t-shirt that I used as my sleepwear. However, I couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed undressing in front of Latias, so in order to save some modesty; I ended up changing clothes in my closet. Once done, I switched off the light; leaving only a bit of the moon's illumination crawling against my floor.
I felt a bit nervous as I lied flat on my mattress. I've had a sleepover when I was younger, but I can't consider this to be in the same kind of context, nor can I consider this situation to be like sleeping next to a pet. I want to say it feels as awkward as a fresh couple's first night together, but when I put it that way, it sounds weird. This is a Pokémon I'm spending the night with, so just how am I suppose to compare this situation?
I rolled over on my side; facing my injured guest and noticed she hasn't fallen asleep yet. Instead, Latias was staring over at me until she shuffled herself to free one of her arms and reached over. The eon Pokémon held her hand at me and kept it in air all while keeping me in her sight. I remained frozen as I gazed back in wonderment. It wasn't until Latias made a soft trill that I decided to slide out from under my sheets and crouch in front of her. Even though I moved closer, she still held her hand up to me. Out of curiosity, I gradually raised my left hand and gently grasped it. I don't know what Latias was doing or planning, but after a few seconds, I felt like some small force was entering me using my hand as the bridge. Following that, I could feel another migraine form, but that was soon washed over with the sense of being filled with absolute appreciation. After that, my lips arched upwards as I let go of the Pokémon so she could rest.
"Pleasant dreams."
