Aval was next on our list of towns to visit. Our walk there was quiet for the most part. I wasn't talking to Blaze, and she wasn't talking to me. Neko was asleep around my neck. Inferno was asleep in Blaze's arms. Eventually, I couldn't take the silence anymore. It was a beautiful day, and I felt our tension would ruin it.
"How's your shoulder?" I asked. It came out as a squeaky whisper.
Blaze moved it around a bit. "Sore, but better."
We kept walking. The silence resumed. After a while, Blaze cleared her throat.
"How's your hand?"
I held it up in front of me and looked at it. I saw it was bandaged! A little blood had turned it red.
"Wha! When? How…"
"I poured a little whiskey down your throat our first night at Dominick's. Dulled the pain and kept you sleeping. Allowed me to patch you up." She laughed, "I swear, you'd die without me."
I pulled the bandage off. A crusty scab had formed over the wound. I poked it, pain shot through my arm, and I winced.
"Still hurts huh?"
I nodded slowly.
"Does it hurt in the real world too?"
I shrugged. I really hadn't noticed; I'd been so worried and exhausted after the meeting with Team Frost, I couldn't really feel anything. I did know that I didn't have a scab as ugly as that one.
"It shouldn't," Blaze said, not looking at me.
"If it does I'll submit a glitch ticket," I said quietly. She returned my statement with a grunt.
As we kept walking the ground began to change. My shoes were no longer sliding in soft soil. The ground here was harder. Our path had faded away. The temperature was changing too. It was beginning to feel hot. After walking a bit more, we were confronted by a huge wall of dirt and rock. I looked at Blaze.
"Are we lost?"
"No."
"Haven't you been here before?"
"Yes. I said we're not lost."
"Take out your Pokétasker and look."
"Dammit we are not lost!" She ran hand along the wall. "The opening should be right here." She leaned on a particularly large rock. It fell inward, causing a bunch of dirt and rock to fall with it. A cave opening neatly framed with similar looking gray rocks was revealed.
"See!" cried Blaze, slamming a fist into the palm of her other hand, "I told you I know where it is!"
"GOLEM!"
"Aw shit."
A very annoyed looking golem rose up from the pile of rocks on the ground. He was very big and very tough looking.
"I thought you couldn't find them in the wild," Blaze managed to get out.
"Different game," I said. I looked at her.
"What?"
"Aren't you going to fight it?"
"Why me!"
"You pissed it off!"
In any other game, fighting a golem would've been no problem for me. With it actually standing in front of me, I felt mighty scared. It growled and started walking forward.
"Use your Shedinja! It's Wonder Guard won't let it take damage from this guy!"
"Go Halo!"
I was shocked that Blaze listened to me with no objections.
"Shedinja!"
"Halo use harden, then use scratch on that golem!"
"Scratch!" I screeched, "That won't do anything!"
She didn't listen, and just as I expected the scratch didn't affect the golem. He seemed to laugh then rushed forward and tackled Halo to the ground. The shedinja though, seemed unaffected by what looked to us like a forceful attack.
"Halo, now's your chance, use leech life!"
The shedinja bumped heads with the golem, which seemed to hurt it a bit. It turned over, brandishing the crack on its back. When the golem looked down at it, he froze in place. He just stared into the crack. His eyes clouded over and he started convulsing. We stood watching, amazed.
"So the rumors must be true," I whispered, "Staring into the crack on shedinja's back really does steal one's spirit."
"Or their life force."
"I think you should catch him before Halo kills him."
"Pokémon aren't designed to kill," she murmured, still watching in awe.
I stared at Blaze in disbelief. As adamant as she was that things were wrong with the game, I found it hard to believe that she believed Pokémon were totally innocent.
"Just catch it," I said gently. Blaze took a Pokéball out of her backpack and threw it at the golem. When it touched him, he was sucked inside and easily caught. Then she took out Halo's Pokéball. "Halo return." It returned.
We just stood there for a moment looking at the entrance to the cave. Blaze walked over and picked up the Pokéball that housed her new golem. I walked up to her and put her hand on her shoulder.
"What will you call him?"
"I dunno," she answered, "Probably just Golem."
"That was scary to watch huh?"
"You're a wimp Jaime," Blaze answered, "That was nothing."
She took a flashlight out of her backpack, put it back on, and headed into the cave. I had a feeling that though she wouldn't admit it, we were both thinking the same thing. A lot of strange and scary events had been happening, and we never thought that a Pokémon game could be so violent…
"Why are we stopping, you said Aval isn't too far."
Blaze knelt by a stream and pulled Inferno out of her cloak. "He's thirsty."
"Thirsty! He hasn't done anything!"
Neko hopped down from my shoulders and bent to drink too.
"Neither have you Neko."
She mewed an indignant response.
Blaze sat down on the ground and stretched her legs, getting comfortable. A breeze blew through the cave and whipped her hair. She turned off the flash light and a beacon of light shined through the top.
"You're so lazy," I whined, but frankly I was tired too and glad to stop. My stomach growled.
"Here," Blaze took two sushi packages out of her cloak and handed one to me. I took off the cellophane and sniffed it.
"Is it still good?"
"I had it sitting on ice so it should be," she answered, taking the cellophane of hers, grabbing a pair of chopsticks, and beginning to eat.
"Ice in your cloak?"
"Yup," she ate another roll.
I hesitantly grabbed my own chopsticks and began eating. It was cold, but it was good, and refreshing in a way. Neko walked up to my backpack and pulled out a can of food. She trotted over to me holding it in her mouth. I put my food down, opened it, and laid it on the ground for her. She munched on it, tail winding in the air. Blaze took out some seed for Inferno and scattered on the ground. He pecked at it, peeping happily.
When we were done eating we all lay on the cool ground, surrounded by darkness, looking up at the sky through the crack in the cave ceiling. It was odd to get so comfortable in such a dank place. We could hear the chattering of curious Pokémon around us, but none came near.
"I'm happy for you," I said finally.
"What are you talking about?"
"You and Domonick, I'm happy for you, congratulations."
"Why would you be happy for us?"
"I like to see my friends happy."
Blaze grunted. "I'm not your friend."
"I know, I love you too."
She groaned and turned over. "I wish you'd leave me alone."
"You offered to help me out."
"I'm only taking you as far as Egarim and then we're done."
"No we're not," I chuckled.
Blaze sat up. "Yes we are! I don't want to spend my time with you!"
Her yelling awakened Neko and Inferno who had been napping. They looked at us sleepily.
"Have you forgotten I have to repay you? I'm going with you to Niatnoum to face Team Frost."
"You'd only get in my way. I don't need you to repay me. Staying out of my hair is good enough." As if to prove her point, she flicked her hand through it.
"Fine then," I said, "If I'm not going to Niatnoum to repay you, then I'm going to help Kayla."
"Like I said, I doubt you'd be of much help, to me or Kayla."
"Alright, I'm going sightseeing."
Blaze sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. "You're a stubborn bitch aren't you? Always trying to force yourself on people."
I smiled. "You know me better than don't you? I don't pick my friends, the world and the forces within it do."
"There you go with that aura crap."
"I can tell who I'm meant to be around just by looking at them. You for one, are one of those special ones who I'm meant to be friends with forever."
"Lucky me…" Blaze growled, "I guess I'll never get away from you huh? Wherever I go somehow you'll find me, or I'll find you."
"If the forces of the world allow it yes. I'll find you, and you will lead me to my other old friends." I laughed. "Social networking helps too."
We were silent again. I was left smiling in the dark and Blaze sat looking dejected. She finally stood up and grabbed her backpack.
"We should go."
I stood up and grabbed mine.
"Come on Inferno," Blaze said scooping him up, "Back into my cloak you go."
I bent down so Neko could hop on my shoulders. We headed through the cave, and when we came out we were greeted with blinding light, and the sight of an immense volcano in the near distance: Tnaig in Aval…
