Hello readers! I'm back! Not that it means anything, of course. On to the next chapter!
9. Steven Stone
"This is awesome!" Sara exclaimed happily.
Mr. Briney agreed. "Nice, isn't it? This is the reason I became a sailor in the first place!" he shouted over the sound created by the rushing wind.
"Ship ahoy! We've reached Dewford!" he yelled over to Sara. Sara jumped about in glee.
"Thanks Mr. Briney!"
The latter shook it off. "No need. I'll be waiting here until you've finished your business here. Delivering a letter to –who was it? - Steven Stone, right?"
"Yup. After I do that, I might as well challenge the Gym here for my second Badge. Roxanne told me that Brawly of the Dewford Gym uses fighting pokemon and awards the Knuckle Badge to the winners." Sara said confidently.
"My, you're not one to laze about, are you?" he asked admiringly.
"I guess not. Bye now!"
"Goodbye lass!" Mr. Briney hollered to the departing figure and retreated into his ship to rest in the cabin.
….
"We're here. Granite Cave." Sara announced to no one in particular.
"Right you are, lass. You're in Granite Cave. You'll get lost pretty quick if you continue walking that way without a light." A voice spoke in the darkness.
Sara nearly jumped out of her skin. "Who are you?" she asked cautiously.
"Me." A burly-looking man came forwards to stand in the dim light that managed to reach into the darkness of the cave. He had an explorer's hat on his balding head and wore hiking gear.
"Why can't I go in?"
"'Cause you'll get lost without a light to guide you." he said matter-of-factly.
"Oh."
"Um…where can we find a light source for me to enter?" Sara asked him after a brief silence.
"Easy. Here, use this." He showed her an object in his palm.
Sara squinted to get a better look at the object. It was hard to do so in the dim light. "I presume that is a TM, right?"
The burly man shook his head. "Nope, wrong guess. This is a HM."
"What's the difference?"
"Look here." The man pulled out another object from one of his various pockets and placed in on his left hand. "This -" he showed her the object on his right, "- is a TM. For one-time use only."
Sara nodded. "I've seen those before."
"Good. Now this disc-shaped thing on my hand is a HM, or a Hidden Move. Its shape is similar to that of a TM. This one contains Flash. From its name I think you can guess that this move allows pokemon to light up even the darkest areas. Unlike a TM, a HM can be reused." he concluded.
"Take it, please." He thrust the TM into her palm. "As a hiker, I should help people in need. My eyes are already used to darkness anyway. If I can't see through the darkness, my pokemon can use Flash."
Sara accepted it gratefully. "Thanks a bunch!" She turned to go. "Oh, wait. Did you see a man or a teenager pass by here, by any chance?"
"Yup. He went in here. His pokemon already know Flash, so no point in giving this HM to him. He wears posh clothes, too." He scoffed. "Not suitable for caves, if I may say so."
"Really?" Sara asked, slightly bemused.
"Uh-huh. His clothes must be expensive, by the looks of it. Too bad, it'll be ruined by the time he comes out of here."
Sara started to blend into the darkness surrounding her. "I guess I'll be going now."
"What? Wait a minute. I forgot to tell you that the HM requires the Knuckle Badge to function!" the man yelled. Sara was already out of sight by then and didn't hear him.
"Oh well. She'll find out the hard way." He consoled himself.
….
"Oh great. The HM's not working," Sara grumbled as she tried to teach her Kirlia Flash. Kirlia had failed to produce light no matter how hard she tried. "That man must've given me a dud. Whatever, favours come first."
I could help if you can find a branch, Combusken suggested.
"A branch? Now where can I find that in this secluded cave?"
Um…. Combusken didn't know. Sara sighed.
Oh, wait. I think I can summon one here. Kirlia volunteered. After several moments, she succeeded in summoning a stick.
"Yay! Thanks Kirlia!" Sara praised her.
No problem. Glad to be of assistance, Keeper, Kirlia panted.
"Rest now, Kirlia. Combusken…?"
One flame, coming up! Combusken used a small Ember on the stick that Sara held.
" Ouch! You burned me!" Sara yelped in pain as she shook her hand. The stick was transferred to the other, pain-free hand.
Sorry Sara, I didn't mean to! Combusken apologized.
"It's okay. At least we have a light source now." Sara muttered, blowing on her scorched hand. "Let's go."
The team went deeper into the dark recesses of the cave. Sara had transferred the stick onto her burned hand, claiming that there's no point in getting both hands scorched.
She spoke truly, for the stick burned out some time later, scorching her hand again in the process.
"Ouch, ouch, OUCH!" Sara screamed. "That's it! I'll bring proper equipment the next time I have to enter a cave. And I won't rely on HM duds, either," she said after an afterthought.
Her pokemon laughed. Sara glared.
"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?" she stormed.
Oops, Kirlia said.
"Combusken, can you produce some flames that you can hold with cupped, uh, I don't think you have fingers," Sara observed.
Combusken was offended. I get what you mean, but don't tease me, okay? She huffed. With that, she breathed a few flames onto her cupped claws, since she had no hands. They held the flames with no difficulty. Done.
"Let's go in before I get burned into a crisp by this second flame when Combusken makes up her mind to slip and throw the flames on me," Sara said, half teasingly. A flash in Combusken's eye told everyone it would be best if they kept quiet.
"Oh no." Sara stopped in her tracks.
What's wrong, Keeper? Combusken started speaking but stopped as she heard what her Trainer heard.
"The Keeper will be passing here for sure." A defiant voice said clearly despite the distance between them.
"How sure are you? For all we know, she may still be stuck back there on Route 104," another voice pointed out distinctly. By the speaker's soft tone, Sara deduced that one was a male and the other, female.
A glimmer of light could be seen at the far end of the passage now. Sara beckoned for her pokemon to follow her.
"I'll have to return you to your Pokeballs, okay? Then I'll be able to get out easily. When all of us walk together, we are sitting ducks," she whispered her plan. Her pokemon nodded. "Return, Combusken, Kirlia." Both pokemon disappeared into their Pokeballs. Unfortunately, the two unknown people detected the red beams of light that extended from the Pokeballs.
"There's someone there!" a voice called. Now that they were closer, Sara could hear the difference between the two voices clearly. The one who spoke earlier had a rough voice while the other had a gentle yet cold voice.
Sara tried to back further into the crack in the solid granite. She accidentally kicked loose a piece of rock in the process. She cursed silently as the sound produced by the rolling rock caught the duo's attention.
"That should be her!" the gruff voice exclaimed. "After her!"
'Great, now I've got myself stuck,' Sara thought helplessly. 'I guess that leaves me no choice. ' "Go, Combusken," she whispered. Thankfully, Combusken appeared silently and did not attract extra attention.
"Guard me while I release Kirlia," she commanded.
Right, Combusken saluted and got into attack stance. Release Kirlia now.
"Kirlia, I choose you!" Sara whispered.
Kirlia appeared before her, though not as silently as Combusken. Yes, Keeper? She asked rather too loudly.
"Shh!" Both Combusken and Sara scolded.
But wha-Kirlia's question was cut short when she heard two set of running feet on the hard granite floor. So that's it, she answered her own question.
Sara and Combusken glared at her. "Use Psychic on whoever who comes this way." Sara said bluntly.
All right. Don't get angry. How am I supposed to know what's going on the moment I emerged from my Pokeball anyway? She huffed.
"SSH!"
"There! I saw her!" a woman's voice could be distinguished. She didn't sound that she meant any good.
Here goes…. Kirlia unleashed a Psychic attack on them. Surprisingly, there were no cries of pain, no shouts of surprise. Only an eerie silence.
"Bite that Psychic pokemon, Poochyena."
Sara slapped herself mentally. "Poochyena! Of course Dark types won't be affected by Psychic attacks. Darn it! Combusken, use Flamethrower on the Poochyena!"
Okay. Combusken charged herself up for a Flamethrower attack. The barks of the Poochyena warned her to unleash her attack. As usual, the fire came out in a dazzling display of orange with a touch of red, knocking the Poochyena out instantly.
"Good thing you thought of sending Poochyena as a hoax, Fayne. Now we know her exact location." A man congratulated his colleague. The woman smiled.
"My pleasure, Damien." Fayne inclined her head.
"Graveler, go!" Damien ordered.
"Zubat, I choose you!" the woman said coldly, sending shivers down Sara's spine.
Keeper, how can I attack if I can't see? Kirlia asked anxiously.
"Combusken, how did you attack that Poochyena just now? Did you see it?" Sara asked frantically.
I located its bark, of course. My eyes are only good enough to see a black figure in the dark, nothing more, Combusken replied.
The duo didn't hesitate to attack Sara and her pokemon.
"Zubat, start with Supersonic!" Fayne commanded.
"Graveler, use Rock Throw!" Damien said, standing beside his partner.
"Combusken, locate the source of the Supersonic and use Ember! Kirlia, try to keep the rocks away from Combusken and yourself using Psychic. After that, use Confusion!" Sara yelled while clamping her ears shut with her hands; the Supersonic bounced off the walls and it hurt her ears.
Combusken and Kirlia held their own quite well. They cooperated gracefully, with one attacking and the other defending the attacker. Without realizing, Sara was sending telepathic messages to them.
"Combusken, avoid Graveler's Rock Throw and then use Double Kick."
Combusken obeyed this voice in her head and kicked Graveler hard, knocking its breath out. It fainted on the second kick.
"Graveler, return." Damien grumbled angrily.
"Kirlia."
Kirlia looked around confusedly. Looking at Sara, she realized that her Trainer's eyes had turned silver. They shone brightly like two stars in the darkness, allowing Kirlia to see. Sara's hair whipped across her face gently as if blown by a gentle breeze.
"Use Confusion."
Baffled, Kirlia turned to face her foe. Zubat used Supersonic. Both attacks collided and cancelled each other out.
"Now use Psychic to break through its barrier of sound."
Kirlia's attack hit Zubat squarely in its chest. It screeched in pain and began writhing on the floor.
"Zubat, open your eyes and use Aerial Ace on Combusken!" Fayne ordered.
"Teleport in front of Combusken and use Confusion once more on Zubat when it appears to attack. "
Kirlia obeyed. The Zubat fell victim to her attack. At the same time, Combusken screeched in agony.
"Kir-li-lia!" Kirlia cried out.
Sara looked around to find the source of their pain. Her gaze landed on the duo facing her.
While Kirlia had been finishing Zubat off, Fayne and Damien had released more pokemon, namely a Mightyena and a Golbat. These had attacked Combusken and Kirlia upon their Trainers' orders.
"You…" Sara glared at them.
"Yes, Keeper? Just let us finish then we can grab you off to our hideout. Our boss needs you. Yes, very much indeed." Damien said with a malicious smile.
"NEVER!" Sara screamed. Her silver eyes flashed.
"Combusken, use Double Kick on Mightyena. Kirlia, Psychic on Golbat."
Fayne and Damien looked at her blankly.
"Why isn't she attacking?" Fayne asked her companion. Damien shrugged.
"I don't know. But her pokemon are."
"WHAT!"
It was true. While the two were discussing, Combusken and Kirlia had attacked their foes. Both foes either yelped or screeched in pain.
I have to end this soon, Sara thought. Her pokemon were rapidly tiring out and would not last longer, she knew that. But her remaining pokemon were currently resting at the Pokemon Center, recovering from a series of battles with some swimmers on the way to Dewford.
"Meteor Mash!" an unknown voice yelled. It was strong and low, and it seemed to echo around the crowded passage, making the air vibrate. A shrill cry was heard as an unseen pokemon prepared its attack.
All of a sudden, their surroundings disappeared, replaced by revolving planets. Sara could see Venus up close near her.
"What's going on?" she heard Fayne ask her partner.
"I don't know," he answered uncomfortably.
Without warning, huge meteors began to dislodge themselves from their positions and hurtled towards Mightyena and Golbat, sparing the remaining two pokemon. Mightyena and Golbat were unable to evade the rain of countless meteors as their Trainers did not respond and were hit repeatedly until they fainted.
Sara turned to look at the newcomer. He had gray hair that stick out just at the right places. Anyone could see that his outer coat and trousers were made out of expensive material, even from a distance. His steel-gray eyes looked at Fayne and Damien, who stood trembling.
"Go," the newcomer said. That single word was enough to send the duo scuttling away.
"We'll be back for you, Keeper!" Damien shouted as he was engulfed in darkness.
Sara collapsed onto the cold granite floor and blacked out. Her pokemon ran towards her, but the newcomer beat them to it. He felt her forehead and began shaking her gently.
"Get up." He coaxed her.
….
(Sara's speech will be bold while the voice will be in bold and italic.)
"Where am I?" Sara muttered as she tried to stand.
"Lie down Keeper, you are not fit to stand just yet." A voice said firmly.
"At least tell me where I am now."
The voice sighed. "You are unconscious in the real world. I am the one who spoke to you through your dreams. I am here to warn you."
Sara was alert at once. "What is it?"
"Two of the evil organizations I spoke to you about have found out your true identity. Team Universal and Team Aqua are hot in pursuit of you, for you are the key to success in their plans for world domination. Beware, Keeper. Beware of the last organization who is still in the dark of your secret."
Sara nodded. "I will."
"Then get up now. Your team mates are getting worried."
"May I ask one question?"
"Go ahead."
"Who are you?"
Silence. Nothing but silence.
"That, Keeper, you shall find out later. Goodbye."
The unending white around Sara collapsed. She screamed and woke up in the pokemon world.
….
"Finally. I thought that you were dead." A voice spoke from above her. Sara blinked several times before scrambling to her feet.
"Who are you?" Sara asked warily.
" Steven Stone. And may I know this fair lady's name?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.
Sara looked to Combusken and Kirlia for answers. Both shrugged and pretended not to notice. She grumbled inwardly.
"Sara. Sara True." She answered cautiously. "What happened?"
"You blacked out." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh, right. You're Steven Stone, right?" Sara wanted to confirm. Steven nodded.
She rummaged about in her backpack and produced a long, white envelope, albeit a rather crumpled one. Steven stared at it in surprise.
"For me?"
Sara nodded briefly before munching a sandwich that she had packed into her bag earlier that day. She was ravenous, although she didn't know why.
"What time if ift?" she asked with her mouth stuffed full with sandwich.
Steven frowned and did some calculations on the dusty floor by scratching the surface with his finger.
"If I'm not wrong, it should be sunset out there."
"Sunset? Was I unconscious that long? It was sunrise when I came in here," she objected.
Steven smiled slightly. "Believe it or not, it is indeed true."
Sara sighed sadly and sat down on the cold granite floor.
What's the matter, Sara? Combusken and Kirlia asked in concern.
"I can't challenge the Gym now…." She said sadly. Steven patted her back comfortingly.
"There's always tomorrow," he pointed out.
Sara nodded and seemed to cheer up a little at the prospect of challenging the Gym the very next day. Steven stood up and offered a hand to Sara. The latter smiled and accepted his offered hand. Both blushed a deep red when their hands made contact. The pokemon sniggered.
Ahem. Combusken let out an almost inaudible cough as Kirlia giggled in a high-pitched yet melodious voice.
Sara and Steven blushed even harder, if that was possible and let go of each other's hands. Steven put his hand into his trouser pocket while Sara put hers on her hips. Giggling hard, Sara's pokemon ran off into a passage leading out of the one they were in.
Come on, Combusken said to Kirlia. Let's leave the two lovebirds alone. Kirlia couldn't restrain a laugh.
"Don't do anything concerning you-know-what!" Sara warned as she saw her pokemon speed off to a branching passage.
We're both females! Kirlia screamed back. Laughter could be heard among them as the sound echoed around the entire passage as well as those nearby.
Sara turned to face Steven. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's gotten into them today," she admitted.
Steven patted her shoulder, making her blush softly. "It's okay. My pokemon do it sometimes too."
"Why am I blushing all the time? This is so girlish…." Sara thought.
"Why am I acting like this? It's not as if this was the first time I held a girl's hand," Steven thought.
"I'm usually a cheerful person. So why do I feel awkward around Steven?"
"I wonder why I act like this when I'm near her…."
"Let's find a way out of here." Sara shivered; the cold atmosphere was getting to her. To her surprise, a pair of arms wrapped themselves protectivelyaround her.
"You're cold," Steven murmured. Hastily, Sara pulled away from him, only to trip and fall onto the floor. She thrust out her hands to break her fall. She fell sideways without coming to much harm.
"Are you okay?" Steven asked, concerned.
"I-I think so." Was the shaky reply.
Sara! Out of the blue,Combusken and Kirlia appeared in front of the duo. Kirlia had apparently used Teleport to transport herself and Combusken to the vicinity.
Are you okay? Kirlia asked, concerned. She started checking her Trainer for wounds.
What did you do to her? Combusken snarled at Steven.
"Whoa, no offense, but I don't understand Pokemon language," Steven said. That angered Combusken even more, and she started to rant about his carelessness, clumsiness and so on.
Combusken! Sara is hurt! Kirlia exclaimed and held out Sara's right arm, turned upwards, for everyone to see. It was badly bruised, not to mention a nasty cut just below her index finger that continued downwards halfway down her arm. Blood was flowing freely from the wound.
"Sara! You're hurt!" Steven exclaimed and bent down to examine her injury.
"It doesn't hurt…" she muttered as she glared at Kirlia. Kirlia glared back at her.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Let's check."
Sara tried in vain to pull her arm away from Steven's iron grip. Even then, she could not help blushing. "Let go!" she protested.
Steven ignored her and slowly stretched out his free hand towards the cut. Sara watched it with growing apprehension. Gingerly, the tips of his fingers brushed against the edge of the gash on her arm, which was now red with blood. Sara winced openly but managed to avoid screaming in pain. Steven's fingers were covered with the red liquid.Sara's pokemon glared at him angrily for causing more agony to their Trainer.
Steven looked at her straight in the eye. "Does it hurt?" he repeated his question.
The latter looked away from him. "No, it doesn't," she said quietly but grimaced when Steven shifted his position, moving her arm along with him. By now, Sara's face was quite pale. "OW!"
Everyone's head snapped to her direction. Sara smiled weakly in return. She had tried moving her arm but a sharp pain told against it. Steven gazed at her for a moment before saying: "Come on. We should probably get out of here to treat your arm."
Sara made an effort to stand. The effort sapped most of her remaining strength. She started to stagger and nearly fell again but was caught by a strong, muscular arm.
"Here, I'll help you." With that, he placed an arm around her and lent her a supportive shoulder to aid her in standing. Sara wavered for a moment. Steven hurriedly tightened his grip around her. He peered into her pale face. Even her lips had lost most of its natural colour. Meanwhile, Sara's two pokemon looked on anxiously.
Steven shook his head. "We'll never get out of here by nightfall if she's in this condition. I'll have to carry her." He glanced over to Combusken and Kirlia. "Is that all right with you?" Both pokemon exchanged glances and shrugged.
In his arms, Sara struggled weakly. "I don't need to-b-be carried," she whispered indignantly. Steven hugged her, careful of her hurt arm. Up close, his complexion looked flawless.
"Nonsense. You can hardly stand now. Conserve your strength." He murmured. With that, he lifted her off the ground and into his arms. He then nodded to her pokemon. "Let's go."
Sara's head rested peacefully on Steven's chest as he wound his way in and out of passages as easily as it had been his home, with her pokemon in tow. The gentle rhythm of Steven's footsteps sent her to sleep.
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So how was this as a chapter? Nice? Bad? Horrible? Review, please! Tell me your rating of this story, and I'll try to upgrade my story to meet your satisfaction.
NEXT EPISODE….
No thanks to being stuck in the Granite Cave, Sara's goal to challenge the Dewford Gym had delayed. She got herself injured in the process, too. Too bad…
