Anistar's Twilight Chapter 2
"Morning." Sue, the maroon haired, blue eyed girl had a rare sense of excitement, even the lack of a smile could've suggested otherwise.
I wouldn't be surprised if Gastly, Terra, and Astro were any more visibly excited than Amaterasu was. After all, this WAS the start of their journey...well, technically not.
Gastly explained to me this morning that he and the gang would have to travel through a few towns just to get to Lumiose City. It was going to be a journey JUST to get to the start of a much bigger journey.
Didn't the gang need a Pokemon to avoid safety issues while on the way to Lumiose? This question was asked rhetorically by Sue's father, Maximillion. Rhetorically why? Because we all knew the gang could carry themselves on their own. Sue was about as strong and independent as Terra, despite being his subordinate. Astro was bigger than Terra, surely there would be SOME sort of intimidation when trying to provoke him. Lastly, there's Terra, his attitude problem give him and the gang this 'first to fight, first to die' atmosphere.
"All set." I said to myself as I entered the living room.
"Good morning!" We were greeted by Mr. Maximillion. Sue told me that her father put off going to his job in order to see her off on her journey this morning.
"Today's the day." Also in the living room, was the often smiling Gastly, " Mr. Maximillion's made breakfast for you."
We turned to the dining room table to see quite a bizarre food that was uniform on the table's two plates. One each plate, was a hamburger patty topped with a flower shaped egg yolk, with a side of bacon.
"I thought I'd make your favorite: Flower topped hamburgers with a side of bacon!" Maximillion sounded quite impressed with himself.
Mouth watering, I smiled while staring at the food he had set up for the both of us. Could this meal be better than last night's takoyaki dinner? I doubt it. Takoyaki is my favorite food now.
Unlike me, Amaterasu didn't smile at the sight of the flower topped hamburgers and bacon. She walked over to the table, but she didn't take a seat. She just looked at the plate very carefully as if she were inspecting the food. She picked up a single piece of bacon and simple said, "Overcooked."
Maximillion facepalmed himself, while I gave Sue a more lighthearted smile. She didn't mind though, as she placed the bacon slice EXACTLY where she took it. Her criticism on the entire dish was summed up into just one word that came out of her mouth, "Imperfect."
Oh, she was a perfectionist alright. It was actually amusing, though her drive for perfection could be to the point of a fault. She's almost as brutally honest as me, ALMOST.
Gastly sighed in slight frustration, "For goodness sake, Sue. If it was up to you, we'd be here all day waiting for you to finish finding an invisible Trubbish."
"Shut up." Sue said casually to Gastly.
Mr. Maximillion and I shared yet another laugh at the expense of Gastly.
...
After having finished our breakfast, it was that time...
The four of us now stood just outside the apartment, with Mr. Maximillion facing his daughter, Gastly, and I.
The morning was about as cold as the night before, if not colder due to the neighboring ocean's cool air. The morning was so young in fact, that a slight fog made the city's giant sundial slightly less visible. Sue, her father, and Gastly didn't seem to mind, thought that's probably because they're locals and are used to this sort of weather.
"Honey..." Mr. Maximillion uttered to his daughter. At this moment, he seemed so sentimental. I don't blame him though. After all, this COULD very well be the last time he ever sees his daughter.
"It begins," Amaterasu said.
"I know..." Her father replied.
I though that a goodbye as major as this would be longer and more dragged out, that was until Sue suddenly turned and started away from her father.
A girl of so few words...and she doesn't even excuse the farewells of those close to her...
"Sue!" Mr. Maximillion called out to his daughter before she was able to put any sort of real distance between her and him. Sue stopped, but didn't bother to turn around and face her father. She just waited for him to say what he needed to say. "Once you and the gang arrive in Dendemille Town, call and check in on me!"
"Alright."
"And there she goes..." The talking Gastly said to himself, "Just think about it. If Sue were to somehow become Champion, we would all look back to this moment and say to ourselves: The legacy of Amaterasu all began with a short goodbye. Oh how I look forward to that day..." It was then that Gastly also started on his way, catching up to a Sue who seemed to be headed in the direction of the sundial that was on the other side of the foggy city.
Who was left now? Just Mr. Maximillion and I...
"So..." Mr. Maximillion faced me, "What's next for you?"
To be honest, I didn't have an answer to his question, and that was because I'd given absolutely no thought as to what I was going to do after the night before.
"I..." I struggled to find an answer, "I'll follow Sue and Gastly!" They were the only people/pokemon I knew enough to tag along while I figure out what I was going to do with myself.
...
"Wait!"
"Huh?"
I found myself running so that I could catch up to Sue and Gastly, who both stopped to turn and face me.
"No name?" Amaterasu said confused.
"What are you doing here?" Gastly asked as he floated toward me.
"I..." Because I didn't have to run too far to catch up to Sue and Gasty, it took not too long at all for me to regain my breath, "I want to come with you."
"No." Sue answered pretty quickly.
"You'd just be another person to worry about on our journey." Gastly added.
I sighed as I looked to the ground. Did Sue and Gastly really not care after all?
"But...I've no idea what I'm supposed to do next..."I said.
"Don't care." Sue replied coldly as she started walking again.
"Sorry..." Gastly said to me as he followed.
I could feel a slight breeze pick up on my black cape-like scarf as I just stood there. I felt left behind, and alone...alone in a city full of strangers...in a WORLD full of strangers. This cold world...I couldn't stand the though of just wandering aimlessly for what could feel like an eternity in my life. Maybe...maybe...
I began to walk after Amaterasu and Gastly, which sparked some annoyance on Amaterasu's part as she turned to me sharply, her eyes narrowed and arms crossed as she answered, "No!"
"I'm following you whether you like it or not." I replied calmly, "I've got nothing to lose."
Sue immediately raised her fists in an attempt to intimidate me, but I didn't flinch.
"Honestly, what would striking me solve?" My brutal honesty that Gastly was talking about yesterday was starting to kick in, "Knock me to the ground, and I could just get back up and continue to follow you."
"She's correct, you know, "Gastly said to Sue, that smile still on his face.
"Shut up," Sue said to Gastly. She may have scolded him, but she also listened to what he said. It took a moment, but Sue stood down, and continued toward the giant sundial. She's really in control of her anger, if that was even anger at all...
...
Behind Sue, Gastly and I followed. It was so early in the morning that morning dew was still on the grass throughout the few neighborhood we passed by. The morning dew went perfectly with the fog and cloudy weather. It made the atmosphere of the city seem what I would like to call, 'Utopian'.
It was a silent walk to the sundial. Even Gastly wasn't talking to me...
The first person to talk was waiting for us at the sundial.
"Sue!" He called.
It was Astro. Astro was tall, taller than me, and even Terra. He was even more muscular than Terra. He had short, dark brown hair that was spiked in the front, that went with his blue eyes. His shoulders were on the broad side, and his chest was really brought out by the slim fit, white shirt that was being worn over a black leather jacket. He wore dark blue pants that were made to look almost black when paired with the white shoes he was wearing.
Astro...my observations from yesterday give me the impression that he has an abundance of arrogance, though he is not as aware of it as Terra is with his arrogance, or me with mine. He could challenge Terra for the role of 'Group Leader', I believe.
"And you..." His normally upbeat attitude disappeared as soon as he laid his eyes on me. He then turned back to Sue and Gastly, "What the Hell?! What's she doing here?!"
"That's what we're trying to figure out." Gastly answered in an annoyed tone.
Astro turned his attention toward me, and slowly approached me, "Get out of here!"
"What'll happen if I don't?" I asked calmly as my eyes narrowed.
Astro didn't open his mouth, he just responded by quickly putting up his fists. Was fighting the them of this group or something? They seem to want to use their fists quite often. Sue also put her fists up as they both stood against me.
"Nice comeback there, little girl." Answered an approaching voice from behind.
"Hm?" While Astro, Gastly, and Sue all smiled, I wondered who it was coming to the city's sundial, though the voice was all too familiar.
It was Terra, the group's leader.
"Astro, Sue! Nevermind this no-name girl here. We've got a journey to begin now," Terra said.
"Wow...and Terra's usually the first to start fighting..." Gastly said to himself.
"It all starts here, the beginning of the rest of our lives." I wasn't sure why Terra began speaking with such depth all of a sudden, " Imagine our names standing next to each other as we each cement the very legacies that it our journey...To Kalos' epicenter, we go!"
Terra, Astro, and Sue were all ready to embark. Together, they took the time to embrace the giant sundial as they all smiled. Yes, even Sue smile, and that smile alone was enough for her to seem slightly less intimidating. In fact, with the exception of Gastly, this is the first time I've seen any of the gang smile at all. They seemed so...different than usual. Perhaps a simple smile can give the world a different impression of a person...Maybe it was the sundial. Could the sundial actually be something more than just a pretty sight?
"Alright!" Terra said as he started to head west after staring into the sundial for a few moments, "We're heading out now."
Astro, Gastly, and Sue began to follow, but...
"Hey." Terra stopped right next to me, looking me in the eye with an irritated face that he may have been reserving just for me, "Don't follow us. I don't give a crap if your lost. Following us is not where you belong."
I didn't even open my mouth as Terra and the other started on their journey. Last time Terra and I got into it, he was the victim of his own ignorance when it came to the words he chose. This time though...what he said was true and to the point.
Why did I allow for Terra and the gang to proceed without a fight? Simply because Terra was trying to avoid trouble. I didn't want to look back at this moment and say 'I was asking for it because I kept threatening to follow them'. But now that I'm NOT following them, I don't know where to go...
...
Alone on a bench, in front of the giant sundial...again. You could say that I was reenacting what I was doing yesterday before the sunset, only this time, Terra and the others weren't here.
What's next for me?
I sighed. Sitting here all day was not going to give me answers as to who I am. My thought prompted me to getup and head back into town.
...
The morning dew on the vivid grass was still very much alive. The few locals I passed by happened to give me stares like I was unfamiliar, in which I was.
"Who wears a scarf like that?" said one young woman. She was talking about the black scarf I wore like a cape, but I paid her no mind.
...I really am an alien here, aren't I?
...
I decided to visit the city's southeastern edge. I started into the distant sea, as I have on numerous occasion while I was on the other side of the city. I couldn't help but look at my own reflection...
...
'sniffle...'
"Huh?" I said confused. The sound of crying was accompanied by the opening of a door nearby. It was enough for me to remove my sights from the eastern waters and look behind me.
"Hmmm..." It was a pokemon exiting one of the resident houses. Her face was purple, her hair and body predominantly black and white. Her wide, watery blue eyes were certainly an attention grabber.
"Gah...gah..." The floating pokemon looked as if she were looking for something or someone.
Unfortunately for her, there was nobody here, nobody except me...
"Gah!" Wait a minute...as soon as she laid her eyes on me, she looked as if she had finally found what she was looking for. Tears still flooding her eyes, the pokemon rushed over to me with the face of uncontrolled panic, "Gah! Gagah!"
"Huh?!" I was started when the pokemon began slightly pulling my arm while looking back and forth between my eyes and the open house she just came out of. It was as if she was directing for me to follow her inside. "Um..." I was very hesitant as I continued to stare into the eyes of the floating Pokemon, "Do you need my help?"
She nodded frantically. If that was the case, I had to do something. Why? It just felt like the right thing to do. After all, I'm in need of help too...
"Okay..."
I followed the pokemon into the house.
I was very pretty inside. Pictures of a very beautiful woman were lined up on the walls. The woman was on the elderly side, but still beautiful. She could make any visitor forget how spacious the rest of the house was.
"Gah! Gah gah!" The hysterical pokemon was able to grab my attention from the beautiful woman, and motioned for me to follow her one more and through the upper hallway, portraits of the woman were also aligned. A few of the pictures even had the woman accompanied by a man. Her husband, maybe? The way he held his arm around her tenderly in one picture just gave me the impression. The couple were both smiling as the stood in front of the giant sundial...
"The giant sundial..." That sundial seems to get a smile out of everyone...
In a matter of about half a minute, I was led by the pokemon into an open door that led into a bedroom. Here, pictures of the woman were more frequent than in any other room in the house. Outside the window, you could see the sea serving as a complimentary background to a large building labelled 'Gym' in the distance.
"Gah!" Floating to a red blanketed bed, I could see what the pokemon might've needed me for.
"Huh?" She was attending to a person lying under the bed's covers.
This was a person I saw just moments ago. It was the elderly man from the portrait...the woman's husband, or so I thought.
"Um, hello?" The man didn't look in my direction/ It was as if I didn't exist to him as his eyes remained half closed. "Um, Sir?" I called him again, still no answer.
"Gah! Ga..." The look of hysteria on the face of the pokemon turned into a face of despair as she calmly looked at the man, her face dripping tears at a slower rate than before.
Because the man was unresponsive to my voice, and because the pokemon seemed so desperate to get me to follow her, I walked into the bedroom knowing that I was not given permission to enter.
I gasped as I got a close up on the man. The his eyes were only half closed, his body was still, motionless. He was not breathing. He was dead...
To Be Continued...
To the world I have left behind...Thanks to the kindness you and Gothita showed me, I was able to keep smiling until the very end. I apologize that I can't look after Gothita anymore, but I know you'll take care of her. Finally, take this comet shard as a token of my thanks...
The last will of Daniel Starr...
At long last, I shall reunite with my wife in the next life, Annie Starr...