Chapter 2- Goodbyes and Gifts
Mary was both right and wrong. When Rachel stumbled out of bed at the crack of dawn, she didn't feel better at all. Unable to sleep for long, she had been plagued with guilt and worry for Axel. However, in the middle of the night Rachel had been seized with an incredible desire to act, despite her own uncertainty and fears of the outside world. Even if she had to force Luna to come with her, she would do whatever it took to get Axel back. He was so small, and he needed her. She felt as if a piece of her heart was missing and wouldn't be repaired until the creature was safely at home again.
She headed down the stairs, yawning loudly. Upon entering the living room, Rachel was startled to see her mother-usually a late sleeper- already awake and sitting on the couch.
"Good, you're awake," Mary said cheerfully, although Rachel could see the strain in her mother's smile and saw that she looked awful, like she hadn't slept much either. Her brown hair was messy and her eyes had purple bruises underneath them. "Come into the kitchen, I have breakfast ready."
Rachel was taken aback; her mother rarely cooked breakfast. Usually they ate a bowl of cereal and maybe some toast in the mornings. Today, Mary had cooked eggs, bacon, and waffles. Rachel loaded her plate and sat down. She noticed her mother had only a mug of coffee in front of her. Mary smiled wearily at her daughter again.
"Mom, I can stay-" Rachel blurted suddenly. A fresh sense of guilt wrenched her stomach- she hadn't given a single thought to her mother, sitting alone in an empty house for who knew how long?
"That's nice of you to offer, honey, but you and I both know that isn't going to happen. I won't let it, as much as I would like to. You need to go, I know you. We're kidding ourselves, giving you the night to think it over. I think you knew you were leaving as soon as Axel was taken."
Rachel slowly nodded. "I..I suppose so."
Mary took Rachel's hands in her own. "Don't worry about me. This had to happen sooner or later. You're not a little girl anymore. You and Luna are all I have left; it is for that very reason that you must go."
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Rachel asked anxiously.
"I'll be lonely and worried. But I'll manage." Mary stood up. "Are you done eating?"
Rachel hadn't eaten much, but her stomach seemed to have shrunken to a third of its normal size. She pushed her half-eaten breakfast aside. "Yes."
"All right then. Follow me, I have some things to show you."
Rachel followed her mother into the spacious living room. The paneled pine walls were nearly completely covered in photographs, mostly of Rachel, her mother, and her late father. Rachel swallowed the sadness that suddenly welled up as she thought of him for the first time in years. I wonder, would he approve of me leaving?
Mary picked up a stack of items that had been lying on the fireplace mantel. Rachel had never seen them before, and realized that her mother had collected them the night before after she had gone to bed. She wondered if her mother had slept at all, and decided she probably hadn't.
"Now, I'm probably right in guessing that you're going to leave today?"
Rachel nodded. "I suppose if you want I can wait a day or two…but I really want to go as soon as possible. Who knows how far away Axel can be by now?"
"I understand, honey. Here," she said gently, and handed her a strange device that Rachel instantly recognized as a Holocaster. Rachel's jaw dropped as she examined it. Holocasters were extremely valuable-and expensive.
"I was going to give that to you for Christmas this year," Mary said almost apologetically. "But you need it now. It's pretty simple to operate, and I have one too, as you know. If you ever need me, don't hesitate to contact me. As a matter of fact, use it anyway to let me know how you're doing. Just be careful with it. I could only afford the one and they cost a lot to fix."
Rachel hugged her mother tightly. "Thank you. So much. This is fantastic!"
Mary smiled, glad that her daughter was pleased with the gift. She broke the hug. "I'm not finished," she continued. She passed a large bag to Rachel, who glanced quickly inside it and saw it was mostly empty.
"If you're traveling on foot, there isn't much you can bring with you. But that should be enough space to pack the essentials. Check in the pocket; I took the liberty of drawing out your savings last night. Use it wisely. Speaking of which, you might want to call Rob and tell him you're not coming to work anymore. They'll be all right without you; store clerks are in no great shortage."
Rachel had completely forgotten about her part-time job. "Yeah, I'll do that," she said. She glanced back in her bag and stared at a number of round red objects rolling around at the bottom. She had seen these objects a handful of times, but mostly knew them from pictures in books. Axel had never had one. "Mom," she said sharply, "Why are there Pokeballs in here?"
"Just in case," Mary replied innocently.
"I'm not catching any Pokemon! I'm not battling Luna either, unless I absolutely have to."
"Sweetie, you never know. Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them."
Rachel sighed, but decided not to argue with her mother. She looked away from the bag and saw her mother had one last object in her hand. It looked just like the ones in the bag, except it was pink, with a heart on the front. Mary handed it to Rachel.
"That's Luna's Pokeball. She hasn't been inside it since she came to live with us."
"I didn't even know she had one," Rachel said with wonder.
"Well, you see…Luna used to belong to a Trainer. She even battled Gym Leaders with this Trainer. From what I can understand she was pretty good, too."
Rachel shook her head, beyond surprise. She had never imagined Luna battling before. Even knowing that the Furfrou would be traveling with her, she had never actually stopped to think about her in combat. And she had never thought about Luna's previous life before either.
"Who was the Trainer? And why did she come to live with us?"
Mary gazed out the window, a trace of anger in her normally soft eyes. "He was an acquaintance of your father's. He trained Luna from the moment she was born, battled by her side, and tossed her away. He was going to dump her in the forest to fend for herself before your father brought her home. He just…grew tired of her."
"Wow," Rachel said. She thought about Luna, abandoned by the only person she had known and probably trusted her entire life. She wondered if her abandonment might explain her aloof manner.
Mary seemed to come back to her senses. "Well, anyway, it's pretty simple to use. Just click the button on the front and Luna will return to the Pokeball. Keep her out of it as much as you can, but some places require you to keep Pokemon in their balls. It's best that you carry it with you."
Rachel carefully placed the ball in her bag. "Mom…thank you."
"You can thank me by taking care of yourself out there."
Rachel hugged her mother, more aware of her fragility than she'd ever been. "I'll come home, I promise."
"I know you will," Mary said in an almost inaudible whisper. "I hope you find Axel and that he's safe; and more importantly, that you'll find what you need."
Rachel stood at the foot doorway, giving her room a last sweeping glance. Although it had changed appearances many times as she aged, she had never slept much anywhere else. It gave her cause to wonder where she would be laying her head in times to come, and what sort of things she might experience. She waved to the empty room halfheartedly and started down the stairs.
Walking into the kitchen, she saw her mother had already prepared a package of food for her along with a bag of Luna's favorite Furfrou chow and several containers of water. Rachel placed them in her pack along with the rest of the items she had decided to bring; clothes, toiletries, an extra pair of shoes, a framed picture of her family, and Axel's favorite toy- a cloth rope. When she got him back (she tried not to think the word 'if') she would let him play with it until he tore it to shreds. She always stopped him before he got too rough with it, but she felt she would no longer care.
Mary was nowhere to be found, but Luna was lying in her accustomed spot by the back door leading out of the kitchen, sunbathing. Unsure of what to do next, Rachel cleared her throat. Luna whipped her head up and narrowed her eyes at Rachel- not aggressively, but disdainfully. Irritated, Rachel put her hand on her hip.
"Okay, Luna. You're not happy about it, and I'm not so much either. But you're coming with me. We've got a job to do, you and I. I promise to be good if you do."
Luna simply stared at her, then wagged her tail one time before turning her head to face the door again. Rachel wasn't sure if Luna had understood her or not. Heaving a sigh, she began walking to every room in the house, looking for her mother. She found her coming out of her bedroom, and Rachel tried to pretend she didn't notice that her eyes were red and wet. Mary smiled weakly. "I suppose this is it, isn't it?"
"Yes. The train leaves in an hour and I need to get to the station in time to get a ticket."
Mary nodded. "Of course." She followed her daughter into the kitchen, unwilling to say goodbye but knowing she would regret it deeply if she didn't. To distract herself, she began talking to Luna.
"Who's a good girl?" Mary crooned. Luna's eyes lit up and she thumped her tail. Rachel felt a faint pang of jealousy at the genuine affection that Luna so easily gave to her mother, but suppressed it. "Are you going to be good for Rachel? Keep an eye on her for me, will you? Yes, I know you will. Who's a pretty girl?" Luna barked in response, and Rachel had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.
Mary stroked the Pokemon's fur, gave her a hug, and turned to her daughter. They embraced one final time. Mary wanted to tell Rachel to be safe, to trust Luna and her own instincts, and to never forget where home was. But when she opened her mouth, all she said was "I love you."
"I love you too." Rachel adjusted her pack on her shoulder and glanced uncertainly at Luna. Mary gave a little chuckle.
"I have the feeling that soon you two will be closer than her and I. A journey together could change you in more ways than you'd think."
Rachel had her doubts, but hid them from Mary. She cleared her throat and said, "Come."
Luna threw her a scornful look and stayed put. Rachel clenched her jaw. Firmly, she repeated. "Luna, come!"
She hadn't expected the Furfrou to obey the second time, but was pleased to see her almost blow a sigh and pick herself off the ground. Luna trotted over to Rachel's side and gave her a look as if to say, Happy?
Somewhat reassured, Rachel opened the front door and, after a single long glance back at her mother, walked down the path and away from the only home she had ever known, Luna trailing dutifully behind.
