Author's Notes: Hello, awesome readers! I come to you from the distant future to bring you another chapter! Okay, not really, but I am updating today. I'm sorry for the lack of updates in two months. A lot has happened since the last update. A) schoolwork and my part-time job (not surprising). B) Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver came out last month, so obviously I put some time into playing those games. C) Tekkoshocon VIII took place last weekend, so I had to prepare for and attend the con. I had a great time running around in my new Team Aqua cosplay, and of course doing so made me think of you guys, the awesome readers/Pokefans! So this is my gift to you for being so awesome.
In this chapter the plot doesn't advance all that much (if at all), but character development does occur. Two characters in particular share a few - how do I word this - sentimental scenes, but nothing really comes of it (at this point). The plot will really get going next chapter, but for now enjoy this light and fluffy chapter. :D
Disclaimer: I still don't own Pokemon. If I did, they'd be real.
Chapter 3: Quite the Wake-Up Call
Brooke was the first thing he saw when his vision cleared. Brock was rather surprised by how close her face was to his, and that startled him a bit. Realizing what she was doing (a little too late), Brooke quickly let go of his hand and backed away to give Brock some space.
"Oh my God, you're awake!" Brooke blurted suddenly. Brock looked at her and thought she was having a panic attack. "Don't move; I'll be right back!" She dashed out of the room, leaving her blanket and a very confused Brock. He didn't even have the chance to say anything to her, thus he sighed in defeat.
Brooke quickly made her way down a few flights of stairs and into the living area. Delia had just placed another tray of fresh tea onto the coffee table as she approached them.
"I'll take this, thank you very much; be right back!" Brooke said all of this as she delicately picked up a teacup and some sugar cubes and quickly but carefully left the room before anyone could say anything to her.
"What's going on now?" Tracey inquired as he and the others simply blinked.
"I guess she likes my tea," Delia teased as she giggled lightly, despite the fact that Brooke had left them all rather dumbfounded.
Meanwhile Brooke made her way up to the third floor – after nearly tripping on the stairs – and into Brock's room. She stopped inside the doorway and took the time to catch her breath. Of course, Brock wondered what she did a minute ago that left her breathless.
"I brought you some tea," she answered the question he was about to ask. "I…" she stopped herself as she noticed something different about Brock. He was sitting upright in his bed, but he was wearing nothing on his upper body. The sight of his bare chest and back bore into her brain at that moment. She hadn't realized before exactly how Brock looked without a shirt. Her mouth hung open slightly and her cheeks turned pink as she stood there, staring at him, almost forgetting about the tea. However, she shook her head to return to reality and walked over to the bed to hand the teacup to Brock, who gratefully accepted it. "So, how are you feeling?" She had to start a conversation immediately to avert her embarrassment.
"Well, I'm cold, I'm still soaked, and my body feels like it's been battered by ten thousand sandbags, but otherwise I think I'm fine," he replied, tasting the tea. Brooke wasn't sure if he noticed her previous nonverbal expression or if he had simply ignored it, but at least he didn't ask about it. "Wow, this is delicious! Did you make this?"
"No, that was Delia's concoction," she admitted. "I have to agree that it is good tea, though. Anyway, that ought to warm you up, but you should also find some dry clothes and better blankets. I took the liberty of raising the room temperature a bit; I'm rather cold as well. By the way, do you plan on getting some rest? I do, anyway." She really needed to stop rambling.
"Yeah, I guess I will; after that storm, we'll both need it." Brooke nodded before she took her blanket and left the room to give Brock some privacy. The latter sighed and shivered as the former left his sights.
What even happened? Brock asked himself. I remember being caught in the middle of a bad storm and falling overboard. The next thing I know I wake up in a bed, and Brooke's right in my face. Speaking of Brooke, I think she was the one who saved me from the storm. If that's the case, I need to thank her. As he thought about what exactly he wanted to say to her, he proceeded to change into some dry clothes, find some fresh blankets, and then get some quality rest.
Meanwhile Brooke idly walked down the hall and down the stairs to the first floor, keeping the blanket tightly wrapped around her as she did so. She just so happened to have seen Misty walking in her direction and decided to talk to her.
"Oh hi," the redhead responded after receiving a greeting from Brooke. "Since you're here, I might as well ask: for what reason did you burst into the room to take a teacup and then run away again?" After remembering what exactly Misty was addressing, Brooke showed a 'really, did I do that?' kind of expression on her face.
"Oh, that wasn't for me," she answered. "It turns out that Brock finally came to a few minutes ago."
"Wait, you mean he's conscious?" Brooke nodded. "That's great news! We should tell the others."
"I guess, but we should also warn them not to disturb him for a while; he took my advice and decided to take another rest, and this time I mean 'rest' not 'remain out cold'. You know what I mean?"
"Yeah, you're right. Well, let's go find the others." Misty and Brooke proceeded to search the villa interior for the other guests. Brooke told Misty that as soon as they delivered the news that she would also take a nap. After all, she was still cold and sore.
The two girls eventually found the others standing before a wall of glass panels that were – at the moment – coated with rainwater, as the storm hadn't let up just yet. They were staring out into the gray overcast that was the afternoon sky before they turned their attention to Misty and Brooke. The two decided amongst themselves who would break the news, and then Brooke spoke up. The words that left her mouth almost caught the others off guard.
"Oh, that's wonderful that he's finally awake!" Delia made the first rational – and probably more grateful – response.
"It really is, although he asked us to leave him be and let him rest for a while, if that's alright." Brooke was careful to add this detail. She then felt a light tug at her pant leg. She looked down to see a yellow mouse Pokémon, the Pikachu that happened to be accompanying Delia. "Oh, what's up, Pikachu?" The mouse was trying to tell her something, but she had little idea what it was trying to say. Pikachu resorted to waving around its small arms to make gestures and signs that would likely be readable. Misty finally figured it out and paraphrased its message.
"Are you saying that you want to stay with Brock for now?" she asked. Pikachu nodded, pleased with Misty's understanding of its nonverbal communication.
"Well, I suppose that's okay," Brooke replied. "Pikachu can keep watch over him."
"That's a good idea," Delia agreed. She then crouched to Pikachu's height and spoke face to face with the mouse. "Okay, Pikachu, you head upstairs and find Brock. Stay with him, and make sure he's okay. If he needs anything, or if anything goes wrong, then you come find one of us, okay?" Pikachu nodded and then scurried up the stairs and out of sight.
"You know, I think I'm going to follow Pikachu," Brooke mentioned as she yawned. "I'll find a vacant room and take a nap."
"Oh, matter of fact, we set up a room for you already," Oak finally spoke up. "Your room just so happens to be across from Brock's room and next to Misty's. Is that okay?"
"Oh yeah, that's fine with me. Now, if you'll excuse me…" she trailed off as she walked away, muttering only an unclear 'nap time'. She made her way up to the third floor and into the room that Oak indicated, eagerly diving onto the bed with a relieved sigh and drifting off to sleep.
"Hello?" someone called, knocking on the door. Brooke tried to ignore it, considering that she didn't want to wake up from her nap. Then she heard another knock and gave up.
"Hang on a second," she said in a rather lethargic tone as she put forth the effort to make herself leave the bed. When she lazily opened the door, she was caught by surprise when she saw the very person she hadn't expected to see. "Oh…hi, Brock. When did you wake up?"
"I've been awake for a while now," he answered nonchalantly. "Professor Oak said you were resting up here, but you've been in here for over three hours, so I decided to check on you."
"Three hours? Wow, I guess I over-napped again. What time is it, anyway?"
"It's almost sunset, although you can't really tell with the storm clouds covering the sky."
"Wait, that storm is still out there?" She walked to the window in her room to look outside. Brock followed suit. "Geez, it has to end sometime soon. Salvatoré must have been pissed if it's still going on."
"Wait, what did you say?" He looked at her as if she had broken a vow of silence. Brooke didn't understand why Brock seemed so confused by her statement – until she realized that she hadn't actually explained the whole story to him. She remembered talking about it while he was unconscious and forgot to truly explain everything to him after the fact.
"Oh…yeah, I should clarify that," she finally said. She proceeded to explain the back-story to him – everything that occurred since the storm began and up to the point when Brock regained consciousness. When she finished her explanation, Brock didn't really know what to say to that, considering how much he just heard and how it all rattled his brain.
"So what you're saying is that Salvatoré caused this storm for the sake of justice?" he paraphrased. Brooke nodded in response. "That is the most outrageous thing I have ever heard."
"Exactly! I said the same thing when I first heard the report. It makes me sick knowing that he put innocent lives at risk by doing what he did. I still wonder how many others could have been endangered or killed as a result. You know what's worse? It's the fact that he used Lugia to do just that. Lugia! I call that corrupt and despicable."
"I couldn't agree with you more. I've said this before: the Supremacy should leave the Pokémon out of it. Using them to enforce their already vile policies makes them much worse. Unfortunately, it's the worst crime they commit for which they won't answer."
"Brock, I couldn't have said it better myself," she replied, impressed with his last statement. "This incident has put me one step closer towards my desire to act against the Supremacy. The only problem is that the consequences are so severe that I don't know if the outcome of my actions would be worth losing my freedom." Brock wasn't sure what to say in response to this, either. He gathered his thoughts, trying to come up with some good advice. He, like Brooke, was caught between his rational sense of judgment and his desire to liberate the human/Pokémon world from the corrupt world government.
"Here's what I think," he finally stated, turning to look directly into her sapphire eyes. "You shouldn't let this matter bother you too much right now. For now, just relax, and give it some thought. Then, when you've really weighed your options, you should do what your heart tells you. If you make the decision to take the ultimate risk, then I'll support you every step of the way. I'm sure Misty will support you, too." It took a long moment for Brooke to absorb everything he just said, but when she did, she felt more grateful for her friends than she did before. She gazed into his onyx eyes, which radiated with sincerity, and spoke up.
"You're right, Brock, thank you. This is why you and Misty are my friends. So, I'll give this matter some thought; we have lots of time, I think. Anyway, let's join the others downstairs, shall we?" Brock accepted her suggestion and joined her as they left the room. However, Brock stopped just outside the door while Brooke took notice of this.
"Hey, what is it, Brock?" she asked. He turned to face her again.
"I meant to say this to you before," he answered, trying to find the rights words. She listened carefully, wondering what he had to say. "I…thank you for saving me. I really appreciate it." Brooke took his words to heart and grinned.
"You're welcome," she replied. "It's the least I could do for you." Brock felt more at ease after he properly thanked her for her selfless deed. With that said they proceeded down to the first floor to see the others.
Of course, little did they know that Misty was eyeing them carefully from her doorway. She had heard the last part of their conversation and saw how they acted in response to each other's words. With the tiniest smile she silently expressed her delight.