I'M BACK! I want to thank everyone for their infinite patience. I know this has been so up and down, but I hope to fix that.
Enjoy, read, and review!
It Takes A Village
The town seemed empty when we arrived in the sleepy knoll of Kaerno Village. Andrew hadn't been able to sleep at all the entire night. He had been up keeping watch on me, the others had offered to take shifts but Andrew refused to let any of them lose sleep. It was...strange, every time I had been able to doze off, nightmares drove me back awake, and whenever I woke up yelping, he would be there. Holding that now thoroughly wet blanket against me. Even though it was cold and slippery, the blanket was still comforting, somehow. Although, part of me couldn't decide if it was the blanket itself, or the selflessness of the act, that brought me comfort.
I was currently being held in said blanket and was nestled against Andrew like a sick puppy. Which, ironically, wasn't far from the truth. The lack of sleep and emotional trauma left me numb. I could hardly do more than stare blankly ahead. I think it bothered Andrew because every time he looked down at me I could hear his heart begin to race and he would usually say something to the tune of, "Let's hurry guys," or, "Are we sure we're headed the right way?"
Finally, we found the town's Pokemon Center. It was...quaint. You could tell that not many trainers stumbled upon this town. The Center was small, dusty, and only had one video phone that was thankfully vacant. Sammy threw herself into the seat and began typing furiously. The phone began to ring. Once. Twice. On the third ring someone answered. The screen burst to life and on the other side was an older woman with jet black hair, but a kind face which split into a giant smile upon seeing the group.
"Sammy! Oh, look at how you've all grown! You know, I was just telling your father how much I missed seeing your face, RUSTY! He'll be here in a sec, oh! Do you like what I've done with the house?" The screen moved to show what looked like a cheaply designed haunted house. Cobwebs, fake skeletons, even snacks in the shape of fingers and eyeballs were everywhere. Sammy palmed her face and whispered a quick apology to the group. Brandon just started laughing.
"It looks great Mrs. Sammy's mom! Super witchy."
"Oh, I'm so glad you think so! I was worried it would be too much, but then your sister told me about the different ingredients she has to use for spells and whatnot and I just became inspired!" Witchy? Spells? They brought me to a witch? Suddenly a younger voice clipped over the feed.
"Mom, what're you doing with the video phone? I'm expecting a call from Sammy."
"Oh, they're right here, honey! I was showing them my new decorations!" The image on the screen blurred as a slightly older version of Sammy sprung into view.
"Thanks mom, but I think I'll take it from here. Very important witch business."
"Oh! Can I help?" The girl's eyes darted back and forth, searching for any task her mother could help with.
"Uhhhh, sure mom, could you go pick some wild daffodils for me?"
"Of course, honey! How many do you need?"
"A florist's dozen."
"How many is that?"
"A lot, okay thanks, bye mom!" The scene moved again so that it was just the girl and a cream colored wall. "Hey guys! How's the journeying going?" She was chipper, almost annoyingly so.
Sammy glowed with joy at being able to see her big sister. "It's been amazing, Cory! The sights, the Pokemon, and of course all the friends we've made along the way! It's hard to believe we've only been gone for a few weeks."
"Aw, this is real sweet, but we've kind of got a situation on our hands?" Joan had leaned into the camera and gestured towards me. Cory's face turned into a puzzled expression.
"Damn, that looks familiar. Who messed up? Brandon?" Brandon stretched into the camera's view.
"I take offense!" Andrew shouldered him out of the way and gave Cory a pained grin.
"We don't actually know her...she kind of tried to steal our stuff and then this happened." He lifted me into view, still bundled like a baby. Cory physically backed away from the screen.
"Woah! That's some powerful magic! I can smell it through the screen. What Pokemon was it? Murkrow? Delphox?" Andrew interrupted her.
"It was a Ninetales." Cory paled.
"Oh gods, she stepped on a Ninetales?" Andrew nodded.
"Can you change her back?" Cory's face turned apologetic.
"I'm sorry guys, I just don't have that kind of power, no human does." I could feel Andrew's heart begin to race again. From the depth's of my emotionally catatonic state I felt a spark of warmth.
"So what are we supposed to do then? We can't just leave her like this!" Cory gave Andrew a sympathetic look.
"I said no human can fix this, but maybe another Pokemon can."
"So, we just have Mew turn her back like they did me?"
"No, it's not that easy." Joan rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, 'cause that was such a walk in the park."
"According to Pokemon magical law, Ninetales was in the right, she stepped on their tail and a price had to be paid." Andrew leaned in towards the screen.
"So, what do we do?"
"Well, first you have to find a Pokemon more powerful than Ninetales. Then you have to convince them to turn this poor girl back into a human." Joan snorted.
"'Poor' is hardly the word I would use." Andrew threw a glare at her.
"Anyway, what Pokemon do we look for?" Cory gave a pained grin and raised her shoulders.
"I'm actually not sure. I'm not too familiar with the part of the world you're in right now. But, I do know of a witch near you that might be able to help."
Andrew quickly leaned in towards the screen. "What's her name?"
"Well, for one it's a he. Yes, he's a male witch, not a warlock, trust me there's a difference. His name is Bob, and he makes great crostata." Brandon lifted an eyebrow.
"Bob the witch?" Joan echoed his bewilderment.
"Who makes crostata?" Cory sent an unamused look through the screen.
"Yeah, your point? It's better than Brandon the idiot who orders pizza." Sammy leaned in to block Brandon from the camera.
"Alrighty then! So, where do we find him?"
"Last I heard he was setting up shop somewhere in the mountains near you. I'll send him a message so he knows to expect you. Mt. Vernef should be pretty close to you guys. If you start hiking up there, he'll be able to find you." Sammy scratched the back of her head.
"Sounds like an awful lot of trust to put on a stranger, but okay then! Thank you for all your help, sis. Tell mom and dad that I love and miss them, hopefully we'll capture a bird Pokemon soon so that we can visit." Cory opened her mouth to respond but was quickly cut off.
"Oh, honey! I got the flowers you wanted! I got as many as I could carry!" Suddenly, the girls' mom hopped into view. The woman had basically draped herself in dandelions, every possible pocket was stuffed to bursting. Cory and Sammy started laughing hysterically. Cory was the first to form actual words between snorts.
"Thank you, mom. These look great. I'll be able to make a buckets of dandelion tea." Her mother's face lit up with pride.
"Oh, thank you sweetie! I'm going to go show your father, RUSTY!" The girls continued laughing as their mother left the screen. Soon after, everyone joined in, unable to shake the image of the flower woman from their minds. Finally, Sammy took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Thank you, Cory." Cory wiped a tear away. "Anytime, sis. Call again soon, okay?" Sammy smiled sweetly. "Love you, sis."
On the outskirts of the village, the group looked up at the northern mountain range. Joan had her arms crossed.
"So, what's the plan?" Andrew grinned, shifting my weight around for a better grip of the blanket.
"Simple, we go find Bob the witch." Joan held her forehead.
"Seriously? We're going this far out of our way for a thief?! What has she done for us? We don't even know her damn name!" Andrew turned on his heel and looked Joan straight in the eyes.
"Okay, listen Joan, I'm going to say this once, and that's it. She made a mistake, so have I, so has Jack, and so have you. Sure, she made some really bad choices, but there has to be a good reason behind them. And even if she doesn't, what gives us the right to abandon her like this? What if you had turned your back on me? Why is this different? Just because she tried to steal from us? I made that exact same mistake, but you guys pulled together to help me anyways. You put on a tough act, Joan, but I know you're not going to abandon this girl during her darkest hour." Joan held Andrew's gaze for a tense minute. Then she sighed.
"Fine. We'll help her, out of the goodness of our hearts." I could practically see the sarcasm drip from her words. Brandon hopped cheerfully next to Joan.
"Yeah, it can't be any worse than saving your sorry butt." Sammy laid a hand on Andrew's shoulder.
"You know I'm always up for a jog through the woods." Andrew burst out laughing at some inside joke I guess the two of them shared. Sammy pulled out her Pokegear. "Well anyway, we've got a nice little walk ahead of us if we wanna get to the mountains before nightfall." Andrew gave the group a wide smile.
"Thanks you guys. Let's get going before we waste anymore daylight."
Everyone began moving happily along, except me. I was still being held like a child who couldn't be trusted to stand on their own legs. Which was fine with me. I had a lot to think about. What was I going to do if I was stuck like this? Was I going to stay with this group of strangers I had just happened to get stuck with? What were the odds of getting stuck with a group of people who were willing to help her so much? Would...would they let her stay if she got changed back? A small spark of electricity jumped across my skin, I yelped as it stung me.
"Hey, just so ya know, it's not the best idea to keep everything bottled up, believe me." I looked up into Andrew's eyes. A warmth radiated from him that I hadn't felt since I was six. Yet another show of kindness. It was too much to believe. It all felt like some kind of trap, like Emma. But, maybe they were different, or maybe they weren't. I shook my head and ignored the heat behind my eyes.
"I'm fine. Just get your lapdog to calm down with the lightning." Andrew just chuckled and held me just a little closer. I was thankful as it gave me a false sense of privacy to wipe my tears away.
Ta-da? I hope you guys enjoyed this, I really hope to finish this story. And to everyone who has offered their help, I really thank you, these characters just mean so much more to me than I had ever thought and I have to take responsibility for their story. I also want to thank everyone who told me how much they love these stories and want to see them finished. It's because of you that I'm back, thank you.
DJ:Bob?
Huh?
DJ:Bob the witch? Creative juices were really flowing with that one weren't they?
I'm sorry, da hell are you doing here?
DJ: Yeah, you thought I was gone, but actually I've just been waiting, like everyone else here, jerk.
Please Read and Review while I question my life choices.
