She didn't walk around in the daytime that often, but she occasionally woke up before sunset and wandered the square in hopes of finding someone to chat with. This time, though, she heard something interesting and had to investigate. Her ears perked up at the sound of her name, and she snuck around a building and hid behind a crate to see a few of Pokemon Square's residents chatting amiably. Granbull had his arms crossed and face turned away from the group, but a curious blush that painting his muzzle showed he didn't appreciate the current topic. After a couple of seconds listening to them, she was . . . still thoroughly confused.
"Oh, come on, Granbull!" Shiftry shoved him playfully, grinning when the canine simply huffed and turned his back to them. "Can't you take a joke? You're not the only one who thinks so."
"I don't care."
"Oh, darling, don't be embarrassed!" A red tentacle wrapped around Granbull's shoulder as Octillery of Team Constrictor twittered lightheartedly, causing the dog to grimace at the suction cups now plastered to his arm. "You can admit that you find someone cute, sugar! It's not a crime."
"Although I wouldn't recommend saying it to her face," Lombre chuckled, looking as if he remembered a particularly nasty scenario. "Feraligatr can be a bit . . . hostile."
Kitty's eyes widened in surprise, nearly choking on air. Granbull likes Feraligatr? Wow. No wonder he's nervous about people knowing. If I liked someone as easily angered as her . . . I'd be afraid to even look at him, let alone tell him so! She shivered at the thought. Deciding not to sneak around anymore, she backtracked a bit before walking calmly over to them, giving clear warning as she kicked a pebble across the road. She saw Granbull duck his head, as if expecting Feraligatr to be rampaging towards him, but Shiftry's energetic welcoming told him it was just the umbreon of town and let him relax his tense shoulders. "Hey, guys! What's up?"
"Oh, nothing, hun!" Octillery lifted the tentacle off of Granbull's shoulder–the suction let go with a disturbing pop!–and placed it across Kitty's back with a squelch. The fox hid her grimace to be polite. "We're just talking about adorable things–like you!"
She paused at the sudden compliment, glancing at the water-type with confusion. "Uh–what?"
Shiftry grinned and joked, "Yeah, we're talking about those cute little fluffy things that we want to hug really tightly! Lucky for you, umbreon fit that description to a T!" He cackled when Octillery did a demonstration, and he motioned for the others to join in the fun. "Isn't that right, guys?"
"Oh, yeah." Lombre rolled his eyes. "We just can't resist huggable things."
"Wha–"huggable?" " What's going on again? And isn't Feraligatr the exact opposite of small and fuzzy? That might've been the point, though; they were either teasing him or hiding his secret, or both. You gotta love them . . . and their quirkiness.
"Well, she is short," was Granbull's reply, and everyone snickered as she gave an indignant huff. "What? It's true!" He held up a paw more than a foot shorter than him in example–her height. "See? In fact, the only one shorter than you here is Octillery!"
As everyone laughed at the girls' misfortune, the octopus gave her a reassuring pat on the back–pop, squelch, pop–and tried to console her. "Look on the bright side, darling; you don't have to worry about being taller than your boyfriend!"
Shiftry snorted. "Unless it's Gulpin." That comment set everyone off again, and they roared even louder when Kitty gave a frustrated growl and separated from Octillery with another pop, stomping down the road to release her anger on something else. Walking north to Whiscash Pond, she reflected on how even the fish was bigger than her. Then again, he's bigger than normal whiscash. Still, she was furious as she stomped up to the sleeping fish's home, shouting so he could hear her from underneath the water as her tail whipped about in fury.
"Whiscash! I need to talk to you!"
A few bubbles appeared before the blue fish surfaced, and he blinked in surprise at the livid umbreon before him. "Kitty? What is it?"
"How the hell are you so big?"
He blinked, clearly not expecting such a question from her as he asked carefully, "Are you calling me fat?"
"No, I'm calling you taller than me." She began to pace to expend her wrath in a safer way, but she continued to growl at the thought of being one of the shortest pokemon in town. "I'm so small, I'm only taller than people like Caterpie and Gulpin!"
"It's how you were made. Not born, no," he interrupted her protests calmly, "but how you were reborn when you came here, and when you evolved. You were meant to be that way."
"Well, what if I don't want to be that way," she grumbled, feeling sour towards everyone and everything taller than her. There's a lot to hate in this world because of that.
"Then you'll never be happy," he responded wisely. "Now, either you go to sulk somewhere else so I can rest in peace, or accept who you are and stop complaining. After all, you were a lot shorter."
She scowled. "That doesn't help."
"Kekekeh, stop whining, shorty!" The umbreon whipped about in surprise to see Gengar behind her, arms crossed and a grin wide as he–purposefully?–towered over her. Ooooh, I'm going to kill him. "The old fish is right; accept who you are and all of that crap, and life'll be a lot easier."
"Practice what you preach" are the first words that come to mind . . . excluding the swears. Her scowl deepened at his presence, wondering how long he'd been there before shaking her head and arguing, "But I don't like being short! You always get stuck behind the tall people, you're automatically dubbed "weak" by everyone, and–and–you're short!"
Just to irritate her, he sauntered over and placed an elbow on her head, and as she tried to growl threateningly at him he taunted, "At least you can crawl into those teeny-tiny holes and hide away from everyone. Then you can sulk in peace!" He snickered when she jerked away from him.
"I still don't like it. Shiftry and the others kept on calling me "cute" and "small and fluffy" and stuff. Damn stereotypes and their . . ." She grumbled on for a while, her attention drifting away from the world around her as she remembered the conversation in town. Those jerks. I should shadow ball them all, and then we'll see who calls who "cute!" Her plotting was interrupted by a snort, and her head jerked up to glare at Gengar. "I don't like being called "small" and "cute!" "
He rolled his eyes, mumbling, "Well, you are." He didn't seem to find his words odd in the slightest, and he raised an eyebrow when her jaw dropped in shock. ". . . What's wrong with you?"
"W-what?"
He seemed to take the time to replay the conversation in his mind, for he didn't reply until a sudden flash of realization made his face twist in what looked to be horror. ". . . Geh, "short!" I meant "short!" " He sighed as if he had just dodged a bullet–which he had, as it would've shot his reputation. Flirting with Kitty? No one would believe it. "Psh. As if I'd call you . . . you know."
He suddenly didn't look so comfortable standing in the clearing with them, and Whiscash reestablished his presence there by clearing his throat to catch their attention. "If you'd like to avoid more "short" comments, Kitty, I'd suggest leaving in that direction fast. A group from the square is thundering its way down the path." That caused her to move rather quickly; she dashed out of the clearing with all of her agility, eager to get away from Octillery's suction cups and the awkwardness that had fallen between her and Gengar. It would've gone away rather quickly with anyone else, but with him . . . it got worse. She mulled over it on her way home, taking the long way to make sure she wouldn't run into anyone else. She felt ridiculous sneaking into her own base through the window, but she figured it was better than taking her chances with getting caught at her front door. Once inside, she plopped onto her hay bed with a huff and went into deep thought.
It's freaky to even imagine Gengar calling someone cute . . . let alone me. Remembering their conversation at the foot of Mt. Freeze, she tried to figure out how this impression of the ghost came about. I could see Alakazam saying that easier than I can imagine him! Maybe it was just the thought that he would find romantic interest (or not-so-romantic interest) in anyone after conning and deceiving the entire town, or the fact that the very name of his team tended to tell how he dealt with people. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to do that even if he was interested. It was weird to contemplate whether he had Casanova skills up his sleeve, and she snorted at the thought of him being smooth and cool with any girl. I'd pay to see him try.
Then again, if you can make smart-alecky comments, you're at least somewhat good with words. She frowned, trying to imagine him flirting with someone in town. God, this is so weird. It's like imagining Sakura being okay with traveling at night: I just can't see it! She felt that was a bad thing, realizing that if she ever saw him succeed in flirting, or her partner getting over her fears, she would still feel weird about it. Crossing her paws and laying her chin on them, she recognized that she still had many stereotypes and prejudices to overcome, and the thought saddened her. Even with all of this progress . . . I still have a long way to go.
"Oh, thank you, thank you!" The ledyba grabbed Kitty's paw with four of her feet and shook it in some twisted version of a handshake. "I don't know what I would've done if I didn't get to see Oddish! Thank you, thank you for answering my letter!"
She had asked to be escorted to the deepest part of Uproar Forest so they could plan a surprise party for another friend of theirs–surely no one they knew would overhear their planning in the middle of this place, right? Their logic baffled the umbreon, but a mission was a mission, and she went through with it intending to escort the insect safely. After the two had wandered off to talk in privacy, Kitty shook her head at their lack of sanity before figuring she might as well continue and walked deeper into the forest.
Memories twirled in the air around her as she strolled absentmindedly through the trees. I remember beating the mankey gang as an eevee. She could almost feel the triumph that had swelled within her then at her accomplishment, for Sakura had been afraid she wouldn't be able to handle the type disadvantage. I certainly showed her a thing or two about determination! She giggled, remembering the way the bulbasaur's jaw had dropped in absolute shock. "Ah, those were the days . . . before everything became complicated."
She sighed at the reminder, her mood dampening as the events after that came back to haunt her. "Before I had to run away from home . . . before I had to prove myself . . . before I had to rescue Team A.C.T. underground . . ." She glanced up at the sky hiding behind the leaves, a frown now on her face. "And before I had to go to the tower in the clouds to find Rayquaza." She remembered the resolve she had developed then, knowing she was going to leave after she saved the world but deciding to do the right thing and go on with it. She even thought she might have to die to get it done, and she hadn't flinched away.
The eevee stared up at the clouds, squinting against the sunlight as she tried to catch sight of the legendary they sought. ". . . Rayquaza's up there. Somewhere." She didn't know what he would look like, but she knew that if he didn't cooperate she'd have to fight him to get him to reconsider. That seemed to be the trend with legendaries, strangely enough. No matter what the cost, though, she had to convince him to help them, for the sake of all who lived on the planet–all of her friends.
"Yep." Sakura eyed the clouds they stood on warily, as if waiting for them to disperse and let them plummet to their deaths. Shaking away the fear, she turned to her partner and said with forced cheerfulness, "Well, let's get a move on! We've got a world to save!" She walked forward to begin the journey, but Kitty stared at the tower a little longer.
"I'm sorry, Sakura," she whispered to thin air, her eyes tearing up. "It's what I was brought here to do." Sniffing quietly, she quickly wiped away her tears and chased after her friend, determined to make the best of this. Let's make this the greatest adventure we've ever had!
Her reminiscing was interrupted by the angry cries of mankey, and she rolled her eyes as a horde of them surrounded her with crazed expressions. "Is that so," she replied sarcastically, ready to fight her way out, and they screeched in reply. "Alright, come and get it!"
One lunged at her screaming defiantly, but she easily kicked it aside and shot a shadow ball to add insult to injury. Baring her fangs, she grabbed and tossed the next one that attacked into another, spitting out the fur that came with it. When one tried to defeat her with fury swipes, she grinned and knocked it out with a single headbutt, barely feeling the pain of the moves. This is easy! Piece of cake. She could barely imagine the point in time these sorts of attacks would have thrown her for a loop, and she danced around the attacking mob like a clefairy on joy seeds.
She was so involved in the attacking mankey, in fact, that she didn't realize one had pulled back, an intelligent glint in its eye as its paw began to glow. It bided its time, unlike its brethren, and then suddenly lashed out at her when she came within reach, catching her off guard. The focus punch caught her in the jaw, and she was tossed onto her back by the sheer force of the attack, letting the others have a chance at attacking her. The irony in the situation would've made her laugh, if her head wasn't spinning. With their vicious and relentless assault, she was knocked out in a matter of moments.
The next morning, Medicham danced into the base whistling a merry tune, and she shouted in a sing-song voice, "We've got maaaiiiil!" Giddy with the thought of gaining money, she tossed the letters excitedly onto the desk, and the ghost-type sitting there began to sort through them as she boogied in place. "Oh, adventuring we go, adventuring we go, high-ho a dairy oh, adventuring we go!"
"Kekekeh, did you get that off the top of your head?" Snickering at his teammate's eagerness, Gengar flipped through the feeble stack of paper they had developed the past couple of days. Keh, not too bad, I guess. Considering my reputation, this is a whole lot more than I expected. Flicking the corners of the letters with his claws, he skimmed them briefly as he looked for something interesting. "Geh . . . Ariados, Marowak, Cubone, Sakura, Milotic, Gyara–ugegeh?"
"Sakura? That venusaur of Team Foxfire's?" Ekans slithered over curiously as his leader frantically searched for the letter he had passed with the grass-type's request, and as he stared at it the snake glanced at Medicham with concern. She shrugged, showing she also had no clue what was going on as they both awaited orders. Finally, Gengar dropped all of the other letters onto the desk and stood up, snatching his bag hanging on the back of the chair as he fast-walked out of the door with a purpose. They chased after him in alarm, and Ekans shouted, "Wait, where are you going? What's going on?"
Gengar didn't answer, simply rereading the shocking information on the paper. "I went to check in on Kitty this morning–she's normally sleeping, so I just poke my head in–but I didn't see her at her base. I asked some of the nocturnal teammates of our team, and they all said they had last seen her going to Uproar Forest. It doesn't normally take her all night to accomplish a mission. She made me swear not to abandon this mission no matter what, and I know she'd be furious even if I was trying to help her . . . I know you're a jerk, but please, please find her? I'm really worried." The words made him start to worry, and Sakura had to be serious if she was asking him for help. He scowled as he picked up the pace. "Ugegeh. Of course, she'd end up getting herself into trouble, after getting her teammate to promise to never abandon "the noble cause." "
When he got into town to access his supplies, though, he realized he had to act the part–strange how it was all pretend now–and he paused a moment to let his teammates catch up as he gathered his composure. No reason to run in looking like someone's dying and like I care. Putting on a fake mocking smirk, he strolled into town with only a bit of urgency and casually withdrew from storage, ready to neatly avoid any and all questions asked of him with his regular arrogant responses.
"Going on another mission, dear?" Kangaskhan's words were suspicious but understanding, as if she still had her doubts but wouldn't let the past or rumors get in the way of her job. Good, he mentally snorted, and he requested for certain items as he impatiently tapped his foot. He was ready to go, but he wasn't ready for a dungeon and so had to wait until all of his stuff was together. Before he could leave, however, the normal-type got one last comment in. "Good luck," she told him, and although it was a cautious send-off it was well meant. He paused on his way down the path, frowning in thought, before the smirk returned and he gave an indifferent wave over his shoulder, eyes focused ahead of him. He missed the satisfied smile she gave him, and she hummed a lullaby to keep her child asleep as she organized the items behind the counter.
It was only when they were officially on the road–and away from prying eyes–that he informed his teammates of the situation, and he braced himself for the questions he knew were coming. Ekans was silent on the matter, choosing to hold his forked tongue, but Medicham wasn't quite as considerate as she pinned him with a glare. "Why are you so concerned with helping her? From all that I can gather, she's made your life miserable, and this time she messed up on her own. Life sucks, and then you lose a few items." She sounded very critical of the umbreon, and Gengar couldn't help wondering why it sounded like his teammate had a personal vendetta against Kitty.
"To be fair," he countered, "I've messed up her life just as much, so we're basically even."
" "To be fair?" " She balked at his words, asking shrilly, "Since when were we ever "fair?" Is our name just for show now? Did you–did you become soft?"
He glared at the fighter in irritation, not liking the tone she was using with him. "I can't believe I have to ask this, but who's the leader? Who's the one who makes the decisions?" As she finally shut her trap and fumed silently, he crossed his arms while they continued down the road and argued, "Besides, with all of the missions they've done, Team Foxfire is loaded. Saving the savior of the world equals big cash reward. Big cash reward equals your expensive spending sprees. It's simple algebra. Get it?" The sour look he received showed he had earned her silence, at least, and one glance at Ekans showed he wasn't willing to argue with him anytime soon. Satisfied with the peace that settled between them, however strained, Gengar looked on to the path ahead of them, daring anything else to get in their way. I've had enough of delays.
An hour of walking served to dissipate most of the tension between them, enough that the snake felt it was safe to speak up. "How far in is she, anyways?"
"Near the end," he muttered with a snort, "because she just has to overdo things."
"She probably finished a mission and felt overconfident," the fighter chirped, rubbing her hands together at the thought of such a disaster. "Probably bit off more than she could chew! Uproar Forest is full of mankey, after all. One probably got a good fighting-type move on her, and then–" She whistled and demonstrated a falling plane, emphasizing the crash with a silly sound-effect. "–she's out cold!"
"Nice to see you're looking on the bright side of things," Gengar commented sarcastically, rolling his eyes at her love of tragedies. I'd bet she would've loved Shakespeare. "Kekeh, are you going start singing about her failure as soon as we find her?"
"Of course!" Things were a lot smoother between them at the subject of Kitty's misfortune in a different light, and the ghost-type figured this would be the only way he could talk about her with Medicham. "It wouldn't be a proper mission otherwise!" She started to think of a ditty early, humming different tunes with a bounce in her step he could almost admire. It was this unorthodox attraction to mischief and mayhem that had caused him to recruit her, and it was now the reason he sometimes had trouble becoming a better person. She doesn't seem eager to try changing anytime soon. If anyone thought that he would take a long time, she was just a lost cause.
Ekans, on the other hand, would change at the drop of a hat. Turning his gaze to the silent serpent, he examined the yellow eyes that focused on their surroundings, alert for any sudden changes in the situation. He was an opportunistic pokemon, looking for the easiest way out of situations that would be less likely to have detrimental effects on him later. He'd be "good" in a heartbeat if it meant he stayed out of trouble, and that might be worse than someone who actually likes being bad. He'd be a perfect double-agent, if you could trust him to stay on your side. Sometimes he had his doubts, but Gengar was sure the snake was on his side, for now. He's loyal, to an extent. He's never bailed on me before I bailed on him, at least. The leader was sure he knew where his teammates' loyalties began and ended, and so he trusted them to a certain point–enough that they were his right-hand men, anyways. They, normally, followed him without a complaint.
Unless I try to do something good, he thought sourly, remembering how he had to sneak out of the base to assist in making the Teleport Gem. They're great at causing mischief, but when it comes to being decent, they get all out of sorts. No matter that it might soften people's criticism or make them lower their guards–we're "above being good." Scowling at the thought, he decided he needed to at least teach them both some manners. That way they won't be completely helpless when I . . .
"Gengar?" He snapped out of his daydreaming and glanced at Ekans' curious gaze. The purple snake pointed with his tail to the wooden sign designating the entrance to the dungeon. Nodding in acknowledgment, a confident smirk widened at the prospect of helping the one pokemon he had never expected to need any. Oh, the sweet irony. She'll be mortified. He conjured the image of her horrified expression, snickering at her slack jaw before shaking it away and proceeding to search for the real thing, to savor it.
"Kekekeh. Get up, brat."
Kitty groaned and squinted at the sunlight that forced its way into them as soon as they were open, feeling an impending headache just on the fringes of her consciousness. Her surroundings were mostly brown and green blurs, but a single torch of orange and red sliced through the darkness of the forest, hurting her poor eyes as she scrunched them shut to escape the pain. Unfortunately she didn't have the luxury of sleep anymore, for something grabbed her and pulled her roughly to her feet ignoring her feeble whines. "Ngh, but I want to sleep . . . ugh. Headache."
She had a distinct feeling of déjà vu when faint mumbling was followed by something assaulting her sides, and her eyes shot open as she squealed and squirmed in her aggressor's arms as the ghost-type watched on with a grin. She was then dropped as Medicham began to laugh hysterically, obviously amused by the umbreon's reaction as her teammates hid their mischievous smirks. Shaking the remnants of exhaustion from her body and giving a mighty yawn, Kitty finally turned to face the three of them with an aggravated glare, snapping, "What the hell was that for? I was–"
"Sleeping on the forest floor," Ekans interrupted, and she paused in her rant to examine the trees around her.
. . . Oh. That's right, I was . . . Furrowing her eyebrows as she tried to piece together her last waking moments, she was foiled by the serpent as he went on to explain the situation for her, much to her frustration. "You must've gotten pummeled by a mankey or two after you finished your mission, and then–psh, you were out." Giving his leader a glance, he added a bit softer, "The venusaur was worried."
It took several moments of her jaw working up and down without issuing forth the words she wished for, and then it all suddenly came back to her like the snap of a rubber band: The ledyba, the oddish, and all of the mankey returned to her memory in startling clarity. Her eyes widened when she put two-and-two together, but she couldn't help the tentative question she offered Team Meanies as they looked on in delight. "You . . . came to rescue me?" It sounded ludicrous even to her own ears, but she watched as they nodded mischievously, letting her absorb all of the information they had given her until, finally, her jaw dropped open to express her mortification. "Oh . . . God."
"Kekeh, you bet!" Gengar thoroughly enjoyed her embarrassment, prodding her with an impish smirk, "We expect a handsome reward for bringing you in!" Snickering with his teammates when she covered her head with her paws and moaned, he then motioned for her to follow them as they turned to go back the way they came. He whispered to Medicham, loud enough for the black fox to hear, "Y'know, I still can't believe the savior of everything got into trouble in Uproar Forest . . ."
"H-hey!" She sprinted after them with a scowl, shouting, "How about you guys go to a dungeon where everything's nearly fatal to you, and then you try laughing!" Narrowing her eyes when they simply laughed at her challenge, she gave a huff and pushed ahead of them, holding her head high as she tried to piece together her shattered dignity. I swear, if they hadn't gone to the trouble of finding me, I would've so kicked their asses by now. Grumbling under her breath like she always did when angered, she scowled when Gengar made another comment about her habit of talking to herself.
"Kekekeh, is that how you convinced Rayquaza to help you? You threatened to talk his ear off?"
"I don't think he has ears," was Ekans' contemplative remark, and they went off on a tangent debating whether or not there were hidden ears on the guardian of the Sky Tower. The snake was questioned about his lack of knowledge on the subject, but he simply replied, "I'm a snake, not a dragon. There's a difference."
"But they're similar, aren't they? And don't you at least have a basic idea of how all scaly pokemon are structured?"
"Medicham, do you know much about Lucario?"
She snorted at the mention of the legendary rescuer. "No."
He hummed in thought at her abrupt response. "He's a fighting-type, isn't he?"
"Well, yeah, but–he's got a lot of fur and spikes and . . . stuff! It's different!"
The snake nodded, satisfied by her answer. "Exactly." He seemed to enjoy the frustrated groan he received from his teammate, and then his gaze wandered to Kitty trotting silently in front of them. He "picked up his pace" until he was slithering beside her, and when she glanced at him with poorly hidden surprise he matched her gaze coolly, his own hint of curiosity making his eyes sparkle. "Kitsune–Kitty?" At her affirmation, he continued, "Kitty, do you know whether Rayquaza had ears or not?" He seemed to be eager for her answer, as if to make an example out of it for his teammate.
Kitty frowned at the bizarre question, trying to gather what little memory she had of the fight with the gigantic serpent above the clouds. "Well . . . I didn't see anything like my ears, but . . . I don't know if that means he doesn't have ears." Pulling up everything she knew about reptiles, she ventured slowly, "I remember something from my science class about hidden ears–like underneath a flap of skin, or some faint indent on both sides of the head or something. That might've been what he had."
Ekans gave another curious hum. "Interesting." Eyes flickering behind them at his teammates, he went on, "So, you're saying that you're not positive on the matter?"
"Er, yeah." She frowned at his triumphant hiss, asking suspiciously, "Are you just looking for something so you can win this argument?" When he nodded shamelessly with a cheeky snake grin, she rolled her eyes, muttering, "Geez, you guys are worse than children with sibling rivalry . . ."
Gengar unexpectedly strode over to walk on her other side, startling her when he pointed out, "Keh, you sound familiar with that subject. Has the poor kitty had to deal with little kids in the past?"
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You mean, other than you? Yeah, I have. There were these two rattata, and both wanted desperately to be on my team. They thought up the most complicated pranks to pull on each other, and yet they almost always backfired and got either me or Sakura." She recounted a particular mishap where one had dug a pit to trap the other one while he impressed Team Foxfire, but then Kitty had accidentally stepped on the tarp hiding the hole and yelped in surprise as she was suddenly plunged into darkness.
"What the–"
Fwump!
"Kitty? Kitty!" Sakura's desperate calls filtered in with the sunlight from above, and when the umbreon began to cough from all of the dust that had been stirred from her landing her teammate tried to keep her calm. "Hold on, grab my vine!"
As she waited for her eyesight to adjust to the dark, she noticed a strange echoing sound coming from her right and decided to investigate. She turned her head and squinted, trying to discern what was there, before the sudden thump of Sakura's vine smacking against the wall of the pit startled her–and a flock of zubat. Apparently, the hole was connected to an underground cave where the bats slept during the day, and they didn't take too kindly to being disturbed as they shot out of the opening to screech warnings at her.
"Ah! Bats! Zubats!" Trying to fend them off with poorly aimed shadow balls, she finally leapt for the vine that had awoken them and screamed for the venusaur to pull her up. "Jesus Christ, Sakura–up, up!" She was nearly flung from the hole as the flock followed her out, and she ducked underneath one of her teammate's leaves as the angered bats flew around in confusion at her sudden disappearance. When they finally dispersed to find shelter from the unforgiving sun, she gave a shudder and crept out from her hiding place, whispering, "Are they all gone?"
"All but one," her friend mumbled, poking a zubat that had for some reason collapsed on the ground. Kitty cocked her head in curiosity and, despite her better judgment, hopped from her perch to examine it up close. He was panting raggedly, and a scrape on the membrane of his wing hinted to him being one of the unlucky ones to get hit by a stray shadow ball. Feeling slightly guilty as she watched her struggle to get up, she gestured for Sakura to pick the zubat up with a vine and drape her in a leaf's shade to avoid getting sunburned.
"Leave it to you to feel sorry for hurting someone that was attacking you," Sakura teased, and she received a light smack from Kitty's tail as they continued on, both planning to strangle the rattata brothers when they returned home.
"That's actually how we got Zubat on our team," she added after her narration was done, "so I guess something good came from it."
Gengar grinned at her optimistic statement, as if finding it ironic compared to her previous brooding. "Silver lining, huh? Kekeh, you're full of that, aren't you?"
She scowled at his taunting, and she said matter-of-factly, "Actually, no, I'm not, thank you very much. I'm just choosing to make light of the situation to make myself feel better about my pain." Turning her head away from him, she decided to never be nice to him ever again so he wouldn't get the idea that she enjoyed his heckling. Because I don't. I might not like his moping, but this isn't worth it. She sighed at the thought of walking into town knowing everyone would know about her screw up, and her ears drooped as she glared at the dirt path passing beneath her paws. "Stupid mankey. Next time, I'm chucking chestnuts at them. Without peeling them." She yawned, feeling exhausted even after sleeping the night away. "Great. Now my sleeping schedule's messed up."
"Kekeh, you're doing it again."
She finally snapped, being far too tired to care about manners anymore, and she spun on her heels (an impressive feat, being a quadruped) to face him with an irritated growl. "You know what? I don't care. I already know I'm crazy, okay? I don't need to be reminded! After all, what sane person would go up against Groudon after Team A.C.T. went missing? Or go to the clouds to wrestle with Rayquaza until he finally shot down that goddamn "falling star?" " She was mildly satisfied by Team Meanies' stunned expressions, and she scoffed before facing the road again, grumbling, "And who in their right mind would ever try to look for good in everyone?" She mentally berated herself for ever deciding to change her views of the world, wishing she could return to the pessimistic outlook she had the few weeks she had been a hermit. Too bad I have a conscience.
"Thank you for taking this quest, sir." The ariados gave a weary sigh, glancing at the canyon walls with familiarity as if he had been there many times before. "I'm afraid my daughter's run off again, despite my warnings."
"Kekeh, don't worry," Gengar smirked, ready for an easy mission to relax without his teammates' squabbling. "I'll find her in a heartbeat!" He took the lead confidently through Great Canyon's rocky trails, picking the easiest paths so the arachnid could keep up with relative ease as they both kept an eye out for Heracross. The brat sounds like she enjoys causing her parents grief, he speculated, giving a soft snort at the image of a heracross laughing maniacally as she tossed rocks down the canyon. I'd leave her alone for a few hours so she'd learn a lesson.
His current assignment reminded him of the rescue mission he had to accomplish a few days earlier, and his grin widened as he remembered the horrified look on Kitty's face after she woke up. Ah, makes me wish this world had cameras. When he had insisted on bringing her straight to her partner, she had fumed silently as she led them out to the meadow where the venusaur nearly crushed her in an attempt to give her a hug. Gives "bone-crushing hug" a whole new meaning, he snickered mentally, going on to remember the way him and his teammates had roared with laughter as Sakura interrogated the leader of Team Foxfire before forcing her to promise not to go out on another mission alone. He had earned himself a shadow ball to the face when he offered to be the one to go with her, and all-in-all, he hadn't regretted picking up that letter.
Then again, a chance to bother her and find possible blackmail is always worth it. He was going to make sure she never forgot about this day until she found some way to keep him quiet, and even then the residents of Pokemon Square probably wouldn't let her live it down, either. "You had to have Team Meanies rescue you? How hard did that mankey hit you?"
"Ah, sir," Ariados interrupted his bodyguard's train of thought, "I don't mean to pry, but . . . you look awfully cheerful. Good day?"
Gengar wasn't bothered by his question, too delighted by the past week's events to care about nosy escorts. "You have no idea, kekeh." He smirked, figuring he might as well start spreading the news of her failure now. "A few days ago, I had the pleasure of rescuing the savior of the world. You know–short, umbreon, has a problem with being called short?"
". . . Ah, yes, you mean Kitty." The spider clicked his mandibles together in a sign of approval. "I remember that girl. She's very considerate, that one."
The ghost eyed him with interest, and he ventured slowly, "You . . . know her personally?" Oh, this just keeps getting better and better.
He gave a soft hum, as if finding the question amusing. "No, not in particular . . . she helped me find my daughter before, in this very canyon." His eyes glazed over as he reminisced, and he absentmindedly scurried over a small boulder as Gengar simply passed through it. "She also pushed me out of the way of a rock tumbling from the ridge above–she sensed it before I felt the vibrations. She's remarkable, that's for sure; strong, alert, and as loyal as a growlithe."
"And as stubborn as a tauros," Gengar snorted, rolling his eyes at his companion's praises. "She simply refuses to admit that she's wrong until she gets herself into major trouble."
Ariados glanced at him and disagreed immediately. "She seemed rather humble when I talked to her last. She realized she had done wrong and wanted to make up for it, it sounded like." He laughed at the ghost's curious gaze, and he darted ahead just as a sandshrew tried to claw him in the face. Gengar took the offender out quickly and made an effort to pick up the conversation where it had been interrupted, but the spider instead said, "Let me ask you a question, Gengar: Do you consider yourself a friend of hers? I can't continue this heart-to-heart unless I know."
He opened his mouth to immediately answer with a casual "sure," but then he hesitated as he truly thought about it. Was he a friend? Or did they simply tolerate each other? Did it really matter in the long run? Would he be able to tell if I was lying? Mulling over the past events that had thrown them together, he stared at his feet and muttered truthfully, "I'm . . . not sure." He didn't know why he was suddenly bothered by this, or why he now wanted to know the answer to the spider's question. It was like an injury he wasn't aware of until it was pointed out, because it was only after he knew about it that it started to sting.
He was surprised by Ariados' chuckling and the satisfied twinkle in his eye, and he was furthered confused when the spider turned to look ahead of them and decided to divulge the information he had sworn to protect. "She was so quiet while walking with me that I was afraid she was bored of me, but after I politely inquired I saw she was fretting over something important. You see, she had had something like a "fight" with a friend of hers many, many weeks ago, and she was worrying that he felt he was to blame." Pausing for a moment as if replaying the conversation in his head, he added from his own intuition, "Evidently, although she didn't admit it, she felt a bit of the blame herself.
"So, I advised her to tell him that the past was the past and should remain behind him, and I was pleased to see that the words didn't surprise her." The father chuckled, pointing out ironically, "I even think that he was the one to have told her that! How comical that the advisor has to listen to the echoes of what he preaches." He gave the ghost beside him a knowing glance, letting his words sink in as they walked on for a while in silence. After a few more scuffles with crazed pokemon looking to defend their territory, he finally picked back up on the thread of conversation. "I do hope that she reconciled with her friend. It sounded like she really cared about him."
". . . right." He felt uncomfortable, walking beside a pokemon that seemed to know so much about him without actually knowing it was him–unless those glances that he kept giving the ghost were for something other than curiosity–and he cleared his throat to try to shove the tension from his gut and out of his life. This was supposed to be a relaxing mission, dammit! "Well, that's different. Normally, she's very stubborn."
"I see," was Ariados' humorous reply, and he inquired lightly, "Does she normally argue with you? I would think that she wouldn't spend any time, shouting or not, with someone she despised. And you're uncertain that she's your friend?"
He scowled, feeling the need to defend himself. "Geh, it doesn't matter, anyways. She has plenty of other people to hang out with." His frown deepened when he realized how jealous he sounded. I really don't like this ariados. Where's that little brat? Trying to cover up his mistake, he abruptly changed the subject. "So, you and your wife–mate–whatever, you two lose your daughter how often?"
Ariados smiled but didn't comment on his guardian's anxiety. "It seems she loves to sneak off at the worst of times: Before dinner, after naptime, and whenever I take the time to blink. She's very fond of finding new friends, and this place seems to be her favorite to scout out for playmates."
He then launched into a story of the several pokemon his daughter had tried to drag home kicking and screaming, spinning a tale much like he would spin a web as his story relieved the tension in Gengar's ghostly body. Before long, laughter rang throughout the canyon at the description of a poor sandshrew that hadn't a chance to dig away from the heracross, and the resentment he felt towards Ariados lessened a bit. He tells good stories, anyways. He let himself forget about their previous conversation, instead enjoying the misfortune of the insect couple trying to keep their daughter on a metaphorical leash when, in Gengar's opinion, they needed to acquire a very real one shortly. And I'll be saying that the next time I have to help him look for her, too.
"Heehee, is that so?"
"Kitty!" The venusaur thumped her vines into the colorful flowers around her in a ridiculous temper tantrum, and she scowled when her friend simply continued to laugh at her as they sat in the grassy meadow, under the dwindling light of dusk. "It's not funny! I'm being serious, here!"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry." She rubbed the tears of mirth from her eyes and cleared her throat, trying to regain the calm she had had before she started to tease Sakura. "Okay, so, you're saying that the charizard you've been trying to find a friend for . . . you've come to like him?"
"Y-yeah." The grass-type looked bashful after confessing, and she eyed the swaying blades of grass beneath her as she sighed wistfully. "He's very shy, but he's got a big heart. He doesn't mind being compared to Charizard from Team A.C.T., although he had to don a nickname–Har–to prevent confusion. And he looks past what others see and finds all of the good qualities in pokemon." It was a tender subject to touch upon, as ever since she had evolved Sakura had self-esteem problems with her looks; going from tiny and cute to huge and intimidating could do that to anyone. This obviously played a big role in her crush. ". . . I really, really like him."
"I see. Well," Kitty spoke casually as she used her hind leg to defeat an itch behind an ear, "he seems like a nice guy. What's stopping you?"
"I . . ." She huffed. "Okay, I'm a big coward. Emphasis on the "big" part."
"Oh, come on, don't start that again–"
"I know, he's around the same size and whatnot." She rolled her eyes at the umbreon's irritation. "I'm trying not to bash myself too much, okay? It's just . . . hard."
Kitty sighed, remembering the weeks she had spent simply sulking in her base. Don't I know it. "Okay, we just need to work on your confidence. How about . . . just think of the way you stood up to Rayquaza in the sky. You were very brave then!"
"To be honest," Sakura grumbled, "I wasn't nearly as scared then as I am now."
"Now, that's just silly. If he's such a nice guy, you don't have much to worry about. After all," she nudged the grass-type with her shoulder, grinning, "you're the kindest person I know! He can't not like you!"
Sakura rolled her eyes, mumbling, "Oh gee, thanks. If you say so, it must be true!"
"Seriously, don't worry about it." Kitty gave her an encouraging smile, trying to convey the confidence she had in her partner. "It'll feel better to get off of your chest, anyways. He sounds like he'd understand whether he likes you back or not." Her tail curled around her paws as she continued to reassure Sakura, and eventually they fell into a companionable silence as they enjoyed each other's company. They rarely had the chance to do this anymore, considering they were always busy with missions, so both of them were glad to finally get to see each other and simply talk about things they would never share with anybody else. It reminded Kitty of the unbreakable bond they shared after all of the hardships they struggled through, and it made her think that the venusaur would back up any decision she made, no matter what. Maybe even protecting Gengar, if I can convince her I'm not insane.
She was startled from her contemplating when her friend gave a small hum, and she looked over curiously at the venusaur staring towards the horizon, eyes unfocused in thought. "What is it, Sakura?"
"You know, I think Gengar's . . . changed."
Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),
~DL ("Dragon Lover")