Yet another chapter! Isn't this fun?
Just so you know, I've been updating almost every day now. The only reason is because have maybe five chapters written all together, but I don't want to post them all in one day. Just so you know.
This is where everything gets exciting…!
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Pokémon or its characters.
Paul and Dawn walked through the forest in silence. Neither of them were paying attention to where they were going since they were too absorbed in their own thoughts.
Paul was mentally slamming his head against a wall.
Why why why why? You emotional idiot, what have you done?
Dawn was mentally slapping herself.
Oh my God! You weak idiot, what will Paul think of you now?
Both Paul and Dawn were worried about what the other thought of them. Paul was too worried about coming out as too weak. Of all the things you could have done, you HUGGED her? What were you thinking? You are NOT an emotional person, but now that GIRL thinks you are!
Dawn was worrying about the same exact thing. You had it all planned out: just a walk to check on that grave, and then you'd go back. But NO, you had to start bawling like a weak, pathetic little girl! Nice going, now I bet he thinks I'm an emotional crybaby, too.
Neither realized they were completely lost.
Ash ran, the hurt Pokémon in his arms and unconscious.
"Hey, Ash! Wait up!"
"Pika pi!"
Ash ignored the yells behind him. All he knew was that he had to save this Pokémon. He didn't know where he was going or what to do; all he knew was that he had to run, run, run as fast as he could. Perhaps he was heading for Hearthome, which was still a few days' walk away. But he didn't care. He looked down at the unconscious Pokémon.
The Sinnoh starter had scratches covering its body. Its flame, usually burning brightly, was almost completely out. That's not good. Ash had never seen a Pokémon this badly hurt before. He didn't know what to do…
Suddenly, he ran into something in the middle of the road. It caught him completely off guard; he had been too involved in his thoughts. He fell back, hard, clutching the Pokémon tighter so that it wouldn't fly out of his arms.
Ash heard a noise that sounding like another person falling backwards. He looked up to see what it was.
Even though it was dark, he could see the person easily: she was short, a few inches shorter than Dawn. Her hair was straight and was so long it reached her waist. It was chocolate brown with caramel highlights, making Ash think of a chocolate ice cream sundae.
Ash was able to quickly get up, but the girl was still on the ground. Using one hand to hold the Pokémon, he offered the other to the girl.
After overcoming the shock of suddenly running into someone on a seemingly empty road, the girl opened her eyes. A hand entered her field of vision. Her eyes traveled up to reveal not only a hand, but also an arm, and a body, and a head, and eventually a person, holding a Pokémon. Her emerald green eyes gazed into the face of a raven-haired boy.
She immediately felt embarrassed. Of course, being the clumsy girl she was, she would run into a person. And of course she would fall and make herself look stupid. She half-expected the hand to disappear and the boy to run, not wanting to deal with the embarrassed girl.
But the hand remained. The girl eventually lifted one delicate hand and gently placed it in the stranger's hand. He gripped it and pulled her up. The girl got to her feet and started brushing herself off. Again, she expected the boy to just run.
But he stayed. Embarrassed, she rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. "I'm sorry," she began, blushing. "I-I didn't...didn't know anyone else would be walking this late…" She trailed off.
Ash just smiled. "It's alright," he said. "I'm Ash, by the way."
"Chandler," the girl said, smiling back but still embarrassed. "But you can call me Chaney."
"Chaney," Ash repeated. "Alright."
"Um, do you need help…?" Chandler looked down at the injured Pokémon. Ash looked down, too, and his smile faded. He seemed to have forgotten all about his previous problem.
"Pika!"
"Ash!"
Brock and Pikachu finally caught up to them. "Ash, why did you run? We need to…to…" Brock trailed off, looking at Chandler. Kind of weirded out, she gave him a small smile and wave.
"Oh, sorry Brock," Ash said, noticing the awkward situation. "This is Chandler."
"Just call me Ch-" Chandler began before Brock suddenly grabbed her hand and knelt to the ground.
"In all my years of traveling, never once have my eyes beheld such beauty, such magnificence," Brock said, imagining himself dressed in the outfit of a prince and Chandler as a princess. "I wish that my eyes could forever gaze upon this face of an angel…"
Suddenly, his reverie was broken with a poison jab from Croagunk. "Of…course… I could always just… get a picture…" Brock struggled to get the words out, being paralyzed with the poison. This comment earned Brock yet another poison jab. Brock fell onto his side. Croagunk, now satisfied, sat contently next to its trainer. Ash sweat dropped. Chandler, new to Brock's behavior, was blushing deeply.
"Uh…um…may I ask…" Chandler started, embarrassed. "What the heck was that?"
"Oh, sorry," Ash said. "He always does that when he sees pretty girls. By the way, that's Brock."
Both looked down at the still-paralyzed man lying on his side.
"'Pretty'? Sure," Chandler murmured, not believing it.
Suddenly, Brock stood up. He looked at both Chandler and Ash, silent. Then he just returned Croagunk.
"Sorry…" he said, defeated.
"…Anyway," Chandler began, looking back at the Pokémon in Ash's arms, "I assume you need help."
"Yeah…" Ash said, sadly. "I don't really know what to do…"
"I know," said Chandler.
Ash looked up, surprised. "You do?"
"Sure," she said. "I have some cheri berries at home that will help. And a few oran berries should heal it faster."
"Where's home?"
"Just down this path," she gestured behind her. "It's not very far away. Come on."
Ash and Brock followed Chandler, Pikachu catching a ride on Brock's shoulder. After a few minutes, they saw a small white house resting along the path. Its lights were off, except for a lantern hanging above the small wooden porch.
"This is it," Chandler said when they reached her home. She stood on the porch, and suddenly, the door opened. She walked in as if this was normal. Ash and Brock, however, were shocked. Chandler poked her head out and looked at the boys. "Don't you want to come in? I'll get a fire started in the fireplace." The boys shook off their shock and slowly walked in, afraid something else strange would occur.
By the time they walked in, Chandler had started the fire. Next to the fire place were an over-stuffed couch and one unmatching armchair. Near that was a small kitchen with only one stove, a refrigerator, a sink, and a table. On the other side of the room was a door that Ash assumed led to the bedroom.
Chandler was in the small kitchen, looking through the cupboards installed in the walls. "Why don't you sit down?" she suggested as she continued looking, knocking down pots and pans.
The boys sat down on the couch, grateful for the warm fire after having spent almost two days in the forest.
They heard the cupboards close and the pots and pans stop falling. Chandler walked to them, a basket in hand. "I have an orchard in the backyard," she explained. "We're going to go pick the berries your friend there needs." She inclined her head toward the Chimchar in Ash's arms.
"We?" Brock asked.
Chandler stopped and blushed again. She rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh, sorry." She laughed nervously. "I forgot you didn't know." She turned toward the armchair. "This is my Pokémon."
From the armchair arose a thin, graceful figure, about the size of a human. It looked as if it was wearing a long, white ball gown.
"It's a Gardevoir," Ash said, amazed. He had seen few Gardevoir in his journey.
"Yep," Chandler said, still slightly embarrassed. "By the way, if you were wondering, she was the one who opened the door for us."
"Of course," said Brock. "Using psychic, right?"
She nodded. "I found her when she was just a Ralts. She's the only Pokémon I've ever had or needed."
Gardevoir turned toward Chandler and smiled a bright smile. Chandler smiled back. Gardevoir then took the basket from her trainer and gracefully walked, no, almost floated, to the door, which opened quickly. She went outside and the door shut behind her.
Brock and Ash were both very impressed. "How did she just…know?" Brock asked.
"What?" Chandler asked.
"I mean, you didn't tell Gardevoir to get berries, yet she just left to get some. How?"
"Oh, that." Again, Chandler was embarrassed and blushing. "Well…it's kind of hard to explain…but…" She paused, as if listening to something. Her face lit up. "That's it. Gardevoir and I share a bond no other human and Pokémon possess, and therefore we are able to communicate without words."
"Interesting," Brock said, furrowing his brow. "So, is it like telepathy?"
"Sort of…" Chandler tried to explain. "We can communicate our thoughts without speaking out loud, but we don't use words. We sort of… feel what we're thinking. I can't really explain it."
"When did this start?"
Again, she stopped, as if listening to something. Finally, after what seemed like a long pause, she spoke. "Well, it didn't happen right away…" Chandler began, thinking back to the day when she and her Pokémon could communicate wordlessly.
"Come on Kirlia!" Chandler yelled while running through the forest, smiling back at her Kirlia. The Kirlia gracefully bounded after her trainer, broadly smiling, too.
It was a bright day, perfect for training, or maybe just goofing off. See, even though Chandler was collecting gym badges, she didn't train regularly and didn't catch any more Pokémon. Instead, she learned that she was more interested in medicine and berries than battling. But if her mother knew…
Suddenly, Chandler tripped and fell on her face. Kirlia, surprised, quickly ran to her trainer. But Chandler was fine; she was just a little clumsy. She smiled, embarrassed, at Kirlia. Kirlia smiled back, relieved that her trainer was okay.
"Want to keep going?" Chandler asked as she pulled herself up to a sitting position. Suddenly, it was dark. Chandler didn't know if the sun had gone down without her noticing, or maybe she was too deep in the forest. Either way, she suddenly became aware of the darkness around her. She turned her head toward Kirlia…but she was gone.
"Kirlia?" Chandler called out, standing up. But when she stood up, her legs felt so cold and numb that she couldn't walk. In fact, in the cold and dark, Chandler couldn't move at all.
That was when Chandler began to panic. "Kirlia!" she called out frantically, darting her head this way and that, trying to find where her Kirlia had gone. "Kirlia! Where did you go?"
Tears began to stream down her face. She was absolutely panicked and cold and numb and alone. If only her Kirlia was there…
Chandler heard a rustle in the bushes. She looked up. "Kirlia?" she questioned.
Suddenly, a large dark shape revealed itself from behind the bushes. A cold wind blew from it and hit Chandler at full force. Chandler, now at her last nerve, screamed, "KIRLIA!"
But she didn't scream it out loud. She was too cold and frightened to talk. Instead, she screamed it in her mind, begging for her Pokémon to return. But there was no use, really. Kirlia couldn't hear her thoughts…
Suddenly, she heard a voice in her head. "Calm, master. I'm here." She looked up and saw Kirlia standing next to her, her arms outstretched protectively. Kirlia faced the dark figure and narrowed her eyes. The wind soon began to die down. The dark figure turned and was suddenly gone.
Kirlia then bent down to inspect her trainer. "Are you alright?" Again, Chandler heard the voice in her head. But she didn't think much of it. In fact, after all the traumatic experiences she had just gone through, she could witness the whole world exploding and not care.
"Is that you talking to me, Kirlia?" Kirlia nodded.
"Let's get you home," Kirlia said in Chandler's head placing on hand on her trainer's arm and teleporting them both home.
"Sounds like a traumatic experience," Brock noted, nodding his head, suddenly acting more like a wise adult than a hopeless romantic.
"Yeah," said Chandler, looking down at the floor for a moment, as if composing herself. She then looked up with a small smile. "But I'm glad it happened. Gardevoir and I wouldn't have become so close if it hadn't happened."
"I wonder what that black figure was," Ash wondered out loud. "A Pokémon, maybe?"
"I don't know," Chandler said. "I've lived in Sinnoh my whole life, and I've never seen anything like that since my first encounter."
The three (and Pikachu) were silent for a moment. The silence was broken by Chandler, surprisingly. "So, why is your Pokémon hurt so badly?"
Ash was silent, staring down at the Chimchar in his lap. "I-I'm sorry for prying…," Chandler began.
"It's alright," Ash said. "I can tell you."
Ash told Chandler all about what had happened since the day before, starting with his battle with Paul ("Wow, that guy sure sounds like a jerk," Chandler had noted), losing Paul and Dawn over the cliff ("I hope they're alright"), getting lost in the forest (…*no comment, that was kind of pathetic*…), getting themselves out of the forest ("that's good to hear"), and finally finding Chimchar.
Suddenly, the front door opened, and in Gardevoir gracefully walked, carrying a basket full of berries. Now that they knew how the door opened and closed, Ash and Brock could see the faint blue glow that surrounded the door as it shut.
Gardevoir walked up to Chandler and handed her the basket, smiling. Chandler smiled back. Ash guessed that Chandler told Gardevoir her thanks nonverbally.
Chandler walked to Ash and kneeled in front of him, placing the basket beside her. She picked one cheri berry from the basket. "For Chimchar," Chandler explained, holding the berry above the Pokémon in Ash's lap. She squeezed the berry in her hand and the juice fell into Chimchar's mouth. She repeated this action with three other berries. "There, the major injuries should start healing." She picked up a few oran berries. "These will make him heal faster." She started crushing the berries and their juice fell into Chimchar's mouth. Then she was done. She picked up the basket with the leftover berries, gave one oran berry to Gardevoir, and started nibbling a cheri berry herself. Gardevoir sat back down in her chair and Chandler sat between Ash and Brock.
"When will Chimchar wake up?" Ash asked worriedly.
"Soon, I think-" Chandler was interrupted by Ash's gasp.
One of Chimchar's eyes was opened, its brown eye searching the face of the trainer holding it. Suddenly, both eyes sprang open, and it propelled itself off of Ash's lap, landing in a fighting stance.
"No, no! Chimchar, it's me!" Ash tried to calm it down. But apparently, that was the problem: the fact that Chimchar was with Ash and not Paul. Outraged, Chimchar began filling up its lungs for a massive flamethrower aimed at Ash.
Suddenly, Chimchar's eyes shut and it collapsed on the floor.
Ash and Brock looked around, confused, and saw Gardevoir standing up, looking down at the Sinnoh starter. They both looked to Chandler.
"Hypnosis," she explained. Ash and Brock nodded their heads.
Ash walked over to Chimchar and started to pick it up.
"Wait," Chandler said. "We don't want a repeat of what just happened. Maybe someone else should hold him?"
"How about you?" Brock suggested, sitting back down on the couch in his original position. "Part of the problem was that Chimchar recognized Ash. Chimchar won't recognize you."
"That might work," Ash said, picking up Chimchar and handing it to Chandler.
Chandler was reluctant to take Chimchar. "Are…are you sure you won't mind…?"
"Why would I? I don't want him to burn the house down. Besides, he's not even my Pokémon."
"Then are you sure the trainer won't mind?"
Ash paused for a second. "I'm sure he would, but he's not here, so there's nothing he can do to stop you."
Chandler was momentarily surprised at Ash's response. She could hear the hatred for this unnamed trainer in his voice. Gardevoir could too; she could feel her surprise.
As Chandler took Chimchar gently and sat down on the couch (unknowingly sitting next to Brock), she asked, "Why do you hate Chimchar's trainer so much?"
"Well…," Ash began, collecting his thoughts.
While he was thinking, Chandler and Gardevoir had their own conversation.
"You do realize you're sitting next to him, don't you?" Gardevoir asked, smirking.
Chandler blushed, but stopped blushing as she turned her head to the breeder beside her, who seemed to be staring intensely at her face. "Oh my God, what are you doing?" Chandler asked loudly, very freaked out, as this had never happened to her before.
"What are you talking about?" Brock asked, starting to move closer to Chandler.
Suddenly, in a very out-of-character act of pure terror, she yanked one hand from beneath the Chimchar in her lap and slapped Brock across the face.
Ash jerked his head up, surprised at the sudden sound. Brock, also surprised, put one hand up to his cheek. Chandler had stood up, still holding Chimchar, and was now glaring at Brock.
As everyone was frozen with surprise and shock, what sounded like tinkling music came from the other sound of the room.
It was actually laughter, coming from Gardevoir. In fact, Gardevoir was laughing so hard, she had ungracefully fallen out of her chair.
Chandler blushed as she saw her Gardevoir's reaction. "Gardevoir…"
"What was that?" Brock yelled, standing up to face Chandler.
"What should have been done! I mean, what were you doing?" she countered.
"I was taking a closer look at Chimchar!"
"Well, why didn't you tell me that?"
"I didn't feel a need to!"
"Didn't you realize I might have taken it the wrong way? Especially after the way you acted before we came here?"
"No! I didn't!"
Gardevoir's laughing grew and soon she was rolling on the floor.
"Guys, guys, calm down," Ash said.
Both Brock and Chandler were breathing heavily, glaring at each other. They hadn't noticed how close they had gotten during their fight. Chandler lightly blushed and looked away.
"Oh, sure, you don't like him," Gardevoir said to Chandler, still laughing her head off.
"Shut up," Chandler said, blushing. Realizing what she was doing, she shook off her blush and sat down on the farthest end of the couch, looking irritated. Brock also sat down, crossing his arms.
Everyone was quiet but Gardevoir, who was just wrapping up her laughing spell. Finally, after she was done laughing, she sat back down on her chair with a goofy smile on her face. There was a long silence, broken only by Ash's comment: "Wow, this is awkward", provoking yet another laugh attack from Gardevoir, briefer this time. But the musical laughter was so contagious that Ash was also laughing hysterically, and even Brock and Chandler were grinning.
It took a while for Ash and Gardevoir to calm down. When everything went quiet again, Brock sighed and turned to Chandler.
"Look, I'm sorry for everything. I shouldn't have acted that way to begin with, and I should have realized-"
"No, no, I'm sorry for overreacting," Chandler interrupted. Embarrassed, she rubbed the back of her neck. "I…I shouldn't have, and I feel bad for slapping you…how's your cheek?"
Brock turned his face so that the slapped cheek faced Chandler. It was still bright red.
"I bet some berries could make the red go away faster," she suggested, trying not to look at Brock directly in his eyes.
Brock smiled. "I'm fine, thanks. I've gotten worse."
"Besides, he's been rejected too many times by other girls to even care," Ash said, laughing, still in a good mood.
Chandler furrowed her brows. "Other girls…?"
Brock broke in, also chuckling. "Yeah. When it comes to heartbreak, I'm your man."
Both boys continued chuckling, but Chandler, along with Gardevoir, stayed silent.
"Anyway, enough talk about my dead love life," Brock said, his chuckling slowing to a stop. He turned to Chandler. "Do you know when Chimchar will wake up?"
Chandler stared blankly at the wall, as if in some kind of reverie. "Um, hello?" Brock waved a hand in front of her face, but she didn't respond. "Chandler?" Brock asked, beginning to become worried.
"What's wrong, Chaney?" Ash asked, also becoming worried.
They both looked at Gardevoir, hoping Chandler was just in some deep conversation with her Pokémon.
Gardevoir looked terrified.
As Paul and Dawn continued walking through the forest, both were silent, deep in their own thoughts. The silence was so awkward, Dawn could almost feel the awkwardness radiating off of her. And Paul, too, for that matter, but Dawn didn't notice.
Suddenly, as if breaking glass, Paul broke the awkward silence. "Do you smell smoke?"
Both began to smell the air. They could smell it, and far away, they could see a bright light: fire.
Dawn immediately began to freak out. Fire was one of her biggest fears, along with heights and spiders. "How did we not notice that?" Dawn started hyperventilating, which Paul noticed Dawn did whenever she was frightened.
Paul grabbed Dawn's shoulders. "Look, troublesome, you have to calm down. This isn't going to help."
Dawn's rapid breathing became a bit slower, but her heart still beat fast. "Will we be able to make it out in time? I mean…" I still feel kind of faint from what happened by my dad's grave. You remember. Dawn couldn't put her thought into words; she just hoped Paul knew what she meant.
Paul, not being dumb at all, figured it out. He quickly scooped Dawn in his arms and started running.
"H-hey! What are you doing?" Dawn momentarily forgot her terror and blushed. She definitely did not want to be put in another awkward situation, and Paul holding her most likely would put her in that situation.
"Saving your life," Paul said.
Paul continued running through the dark forest, the only light coming from the fire behind him. If I can just get out of this forest… But Paul didn't know which way was out, and he didn't have much time. As each second passed, he could feel the warmth of the flames behind him more and more. And as each second passed, Paul grew more tired and slow. He could generally run farther without growing tired, but he had never run so far while carrying a girl. Dawn's weight started to slow him down, and suddenly, she felt like a thousand pounds in his arms. Paul's breathing grew shallow and uneven, and his vision started growing hazy.
"Paul?" asked Dawn, hearing his breathing. "Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah," he said between short breaths. "I can make us out of here… I…I can…" He trailed off, deciding not to speak anymore and conserving more oxygen. But his thoughts, like his vision, were also becoming hazy.
Suddenly, Paul collapsed. He fell onto his knees, dropping Dawn, and fell on his side, rolling onto his back. He closed his eyes. I just need…rest...that's all… He became unconscious.
Dawn, after being dropped by Paul, immediately picked herself up, though she was weak. She rushed over to Paul's side and kneeled.
"P-Paul?" Dawn asked, shaking him a little. "Paul, wake up. You're scaring me."
But Paul didn't open his eyes. "Paul!" Dawn became hysterical. She was stuck in a forest that was on fire, she was weak and probably wouldn't be able to get herself out, and the only one that could have possibly gotten her out was now unconscious. "Paul! Stop this!" Tears streamed down her cheeks. Paul wasn't waking up anytime soon. Dawn started yelling, "Anybody! Help! Please!" But no one would answer. Dawn knew this. She quit yelling and just kneeled there beside Paul, sobbing.
There was so much I wanted to do… Dawn thought, convinced she was going to die. I'll never be able to win the Grand Festival. I'll never watch Ash become Champion. I'll never see Piplup or Buneary or any of my Pokémon again… I'll never see Ash, or Brock, or even Mom… And I'll never have my first kiss.
Dawn looked at Paul. For once, he looked peaceful; he wasn't irritated, or annoyed, or criticizing anyone. He didn't seem harsh or mean in any way. He doesn't even look like Paul… At least I get to see Paul like this for the last time…
Dawn ran her hand through his hair, feeling its silky smoothness. She grabbed his hand, which was cool, even though they were in the middle of a burning forest. Speaking of burning forest… Dawn looked around. The fire had almost completely surrounded her. It was about fifty feet away, but it was coming closer. She quickly turned to Paul. I don't want to see the fire coming closer… She put his hand up to her cheek and closed her eyes. If Dawn wasn't in this situation, she would have been embarrassed and would have immediately let go of his hand. But since Paul was unconscious and Dawn was going to die anyway, she didn't care.
"Paul, I'm sorry," Dawn said, crying harder. "I'm so sorry…" She closed her eyes.
Suddenly, through her eyelids, she could see the faint glow of a light. Is the fire here already?
But the color wasn't right. Her eyes snapped open.
Paul was glowing, like an angel. A shining white light enveloped him. Am I dead? Dawn wondered. A dark shape entered her field of vision. She looked at it and saw that it was a Pokémon. It was tan-colored and walked on four legs. Its tail and ears resembled long leaves, which were currently glowing, and smaller leaves grew from its forehead, chest, and legs. It had large brown eyes that looked right into Dawn's blue ones.
A Leafeon? Dawn was confused. Are there Leafeon in heaven?
But the light disappeared, and Paul was no longer glowing. He looked almost the same, and he was still unconscious, but his breathing was deeper. He seemed healed.
Dawn turned to the Leafeon and watched as it began running in circles and tilting its head up to the sky. Dawn looked up, too, and one single raindrop fell on her nose. Dawn wiped the drop off her nose, but another one soon fell on her arm, another on her head, and another on her leg. It was raining. Leafeon continued running in circles and tilting its head up to the sky, and the rain became harder and harder. The fire started simmering as the rain hit it, and more and more steam appeared. Soon, there was more steam than smoke in the air, and the fire died out.
Dawn was at her breaking point. She had been under so much emotional stress, from seeing her father's grave to nearly dying, that she fainted.
Finished! I think that was the best chapter yet! And it was the longest, too! Nine pages on Word! Awesome.
What do you think will happen to Paul and Dawn now? Why did that Leafeon help them? What is wrong with Chandler? This will all be revealed in the next chapter of Hearthome Destiny!