Author's Note: All right, now, I have a few things to say. First of all, everyone should watch, or should've watched, AVATAR, It is an amazing movie. Second, I am sorry about Michael Jackson's death. My heart goes out to his family. As you can tell from this message, this chapter took more than a year for me to make. That's sloppy, it's just that writing this is an on and off thing.
Now, I am also looking for beta readers, because my other one lost interest. So leave me a PM if you want to beta for me. Also, any fan art would be greatly appreciated, and would probably get me to make chapters faster. Maybe an image of a black overcoat-wearing Gallade? I have tried my hand at altering a picture of a Gallade, and it is currently my avatar. Also! It is important to remember that I view Pokémon as a Parallel universe that is pretty much the same as ours, but with Pokémon.
Also, I have more to say down at the bottom, so please read that as well.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, Ash would total get some, instead of being 'teh ghey'.
Benstudios: Okay, I seriously need to get back into the game.
Dace: Yeah, you do.
Benstudios: Where's Ben Hill?
Dace: He's the Beta that lost interest.
Benstudios: Ah. Do you reckon anyone else will take the job?
Dace: Probably not. I mean, your story isn't that famous.
Benstudios: What?
Dace: Well, it's not. I mean, you have few comments, the length between this
chapter and the last has been fifty-two weeks, if not more, and the action is
lacking. Either that, or there is too much. I'm not sure which.
Benstudios *while wearing a sad face*: I'm going to have to change that.
*A puff of smoke appears*
Jake Wa: Hey Ben.
Benstudios: Wha'? Who are you?
Jake Wa: I am a beta reader, and I am here to help you.
Benstudios: THANK YOU GOD!
*Arceus walks into the room*
Benstudios: MY GOD! This is just weird…
Arceus: *telepathically* I didn't like you either kid.
*Arceus sends Ben flying across the room with psychic, then walks out*
*Jake Wa and Dace run over to Ben and pick him up*
Benstudios: Man that guys a jerk.
Voice: You're telling me.
Dace: Who the hell said that?
Voice: I did.
*A teenage boy with brown hair, wearing a brown zip-up sweatshirt and a pair
of jeans drops down from the ceiling*
Jake Wa: Who are you?
Teen: My name's Chris and I'm going to be joining this little story.
Benstudios: When did I hire you?
Chris: A few days ago, remember? I said I could bring more action to this story.
Dace: *arms crossed*: And HOW will you do that?
Chris: With these.
*Takes out a pair of P90 sub-machine guns*
All: Whoa!
*Dace unsheathes his elbow swords and tackles Chris, the blades on his
throat*
Chris: What the *BLEEP* man? I'm on your side.
*Everyone looks with a weird face at the ceiling*
Dace: What the hell was that noise?
Chris: Some kind of censor thing. It follows me around everywhere.
Jake Wa: OK, CAN WE GET TO THE GOD DAMN MOTHER *BLEEP*-ING STORY NOW?
WE'RE WASTING TIME!
*Everyone stares at Jake Wa*
Jake Wa: Man, that censor thing is annoying. Tell you what, lets break it.
Benstudios: How?
Chris: You can't destroy something that doesn't exist.
BenStudios: Ooooooooooooooookaaay, on with the story then.
Chris: Can someone please pull Dace off me before he slits my throat?
Benstudios: Nah, it's too funny. However, I can ask him to get off
Chris: Please do.
Benstudios: Dace, please get off Chris.
Dace: No
*Charlotte walks in*
Charlotte: Why are you on top of another man?
*Dace rapidly gets off of Chris*
Charlotte: Dace... are you gay?
Dace: Hell no. I'm straight as a pole.
Charlotte: For me? Please?
*Jess walks in*
Jess: Yes, please be straight for Charlotte, Dace.
Chris: *eyes Charlotte unnoticeably* I think I'm going to enjoy this place.
But I do want to say one thing.
All: What?
Chris: ENJOY THE STORY OR I'LL FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU LIVE, SNEAK INTO YOUR
ROOM, AND CUT YOUR HEAD OFF WITH A DULL MACHETE!
*Everyone looks at Chris*
Chris: What?
*Everyone just awkwardly leaves the room*
Chris: WAS IT SOMETHING I SAID!
Dace's POV
I stared at the face in front of mine, which looked horrified. I slowly withdrew my blade, and stood up silently.
Then, I ran.
I hadn't meant to do it, but years of paranoia were right behind me. There were times I would wake up at night, disturbed by a slight noise, and I would have had to kill someone before they jumped me while I slept. There were even times when I would kill people in their sleep.
I didn't know where I was running, but it had to be away from there. I was running as fast as I could now, sidestepping trees just as I was about to run into them. I wasn't feeling tired, not one bit. I could run for days, but I couldn't help feeling a deep weariness, and also a bit of self-loathing. Why had I done that? I could have killed her!
I looked down at my hands, stopping suddenly, so suddenly I almost fell over. Her face… it told me everything she had been feeling at that moment, surprise, fear, and now that I though back, she had been blushing slightly as well. I wondered what she had been doing.
I went to the nearest tree and slowly slid down it, where I sat, my eyes closed. I could here the sounds of the forest all around me, the Beedrills, Hoot-Hoots, Noctowls and even the high pitched whine of some Pikachu. I groaned slightly, letting my head fall limply against the tree trunk, wondering what Charlotte had been up to.
I was thinking about it now, remembering every detail. She had been right next to me, but her focus hadn't been on me. It had been on something else. I hadn't seen much before I ran away, but I had seen what she was wearing, and what she was reaching for. I felt a little embarrassed about thinking of her rather revealing nightie, but lower, her hand had been reaching for my…
Coat!
I smiled slightly as I realized what she had been doing. Since the material in my cloak couldn't be affected by telekinesis or fire, water, grass, or any of the other elements, she had been forced to 'steal' it. It was probably because the two girls where curious about what was inside my coat. They would be disappointed, finding only a Zap plate, some Black Glasses, a Big Root, three belts, one brown, one red with four stripes, one green, with one stripe and the newspaper. But I wasn't too worried about that, it was in one of the inside pockets. It could only be opened with the key that was hanging around my neck, hidden under the Mind plate and Fist Plate that rested there as well. The two plates around my neck were akin to dog tags, one that had "Dace" stamped into it and the other… well, that was another story. I touched the dog tags just to be sure they were still there.
Why did Charlotte, who I had only known for a couple of weeks, always bring out the most extreme responses in me? First of all, 'saving' her had given me a burst of desperate strength when I needed it, then running from her tears, which were so like… another girl I used to know – and only a few minutes ago, when I had been about ready to cut her head off.
I heard a footstep near me, and stood up, realizing I was no longer alone. Walking over to the source of the disturbance, I waited in front of the shadows.
Charlotte stepped out, back in her gown. Her head was bent, and when she looked up at me, she had guilt written all over her face and Aura. My chest spike hadn't healed yet, so I could only see really strong emotions.
(Look, Dace…)Her voice trailed away, and she seemed lost for a few seconds. I could tell she had come here to say sorry, even though I had been the one holding a blade to her throat. I felt incredibly guilty, which was something I hadn't felt for years. Actually it was roughly two years ago, when I had killed for about the hundredth time, or maybe the second hundredth.
(Alright, um… I'm sorry for trying to steal your coat. I shouldn't be touching your property, and-) I put a finger to her lips and shook my head, although this wouldn't normally stop telepathy, she understood what I meant.
(Look, what you did was harmless. What I did…) I moved my finger below her chin, and lifted it up and to the side, so that I could see the slight cut on her neck. (I am the one who should be sorry.)
(I can forgive you though,) Said the Gardevoir as she reclaimed her chin, (It will be forgiven. But first, you have to do something for me.)
I decided to humour her, asking what she wanted. She wanted to know what my coat was made out of, so I told her. I was actually glad that she had asked me such an easy question.
(It's made out of a woven, light-weight steel mesh. It also has components, like miniscule particles of concrete, which resists bullets. It's also resistant to all Pokémon moves, because it has been made with some kind of secret material, which is coloured, black) I saw the question in her eyes, and added (and I don't know what it's called. All I know is that it has saved my life many times-) I stopped myself before I said anymore. I had let that slip, and for some reason, I didn't want Charlotte to know that my life was in danger, or ever had been. However it probably wasn't in peril at the moment, in a forest that I didn't know the name of.
(Mmh?) She had picked up on the obvious cut in my answer. (What's this about saving your life?)
(Uh, um, well you see-) I oh-so coherently began, (It's…It's nothing.)
(I'm pretty sure that if something concerns your life, it must be important.) Still, she didn't pursue the subject, and for that I was grateful. Suddenly, her aura turned a worrying shade of dark, really really dark, purple. I wondered for a moment why sometimes I could see her aura, and other times I couldn't. It couldn't be my spike all the time. Before I asked her what was wrong, she told me.
(I think that Jess saw me running into the forest after you, and I'm not sure what she might have thought about that.)
(Well, I think we had better make sure she doesn't get the wrong idea.) I said, stating the obvious.
Charlotte blushed a little at this, and I didn't even bother to think why. I reckoned that she must be embarrassed by being near me. I couldn't blame her; I was pretty ashamed of myself sometimes, being embarrassed at my actions or something else. We started walking back towards the camp, and about half way there, we were ambushed by a hyperactive ball of words.
"Okay, you guys have to tell me what happened. Exactly what happened. Also, I am going to make you swear to tell the truth, I don't want to hear any lies from either of you. I don't want you to avoid my questions, especially you Dace. Now, what happened?" Jess asked. I walked away, back towards the camp, right passed her.
"Hey!" She was very angry, and I wondered what she thought must have happened, and chuckled slightly with amusement. "Come back here and tell me what you did to Charlotte. If you hurt her, I'm going to…to..." Obviously, I wasn't the only person who couldn't speak coherently. "I'll kick you so hard in the nads you'll lose any chance at having children." I shook my head, but I didn't doubt that she would, so I picked up my pace and walked a bit faster.
Charlotte calmed her friend down just as I walked out of earshot, but I could still 'hear' her telepathy. From what I could gather, she was being asked if she and I had been having a fight. I laughed a little, before I started to run back. I was tired, and I wanted to sleep. But as I slipped into my sleeping bag, I realized that I couldn't. I was still sparking with adrenaline. I raised my fingers to my temples, massaging them. I didn't think it would help, but I honestly didn't care. I just wanted to get to the only solace I had from my life, which happened to be sleep. But for some reason, I kept on having that nightmare. So even my dreams – the last safe place left for me – was becoming dangerous. Just like me.
Sighing, I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself so I could return to the darkness of sleep...
Six hours later…
Yawning, I rubbed the bleariness out of my eyes. As usual, after falling asleep after two hours, I had woken to very bright sunlight and the noise of the three J's watching the early morning T.V. They had pestered Mewtwo about getting a battery operated television, and he had grudgingly given in, teleporting them one along with everything else. I slipped out of my sleeping bag, and looked over at the girl's corner. I felt really guilty about marking Charlotte, but the feeling was lightened by the fact she had forgiven me. Still, I couldn't get the image of her head rolling across the floor out of my mind.
I was, as per usual, the last person to wake up. I think it must come from being a teenager. I could vaguely remember how old I was, and when I was born. March 3rd I think. I crawled out of my sleeping bag and made my way on hands and knees to the fridge. I hadn't slept well at all.
I opened the door and blindly groped around for a can of Mountain Dew. My hand wrapped around a can, and I looked at it. The can was black, and the shine from the sun in my bleary eyes stopped me from seeing the name. Still, it would have to do. I stood up, and stumbled to one of the low rocks outside the cave, before sitting down heavily. I wiped my eyes with my empty hand, and saw that I would be drinking coke this morning. This wouldn't be good for my teeth.
After I was finished, I made the can hover in the air in front of me. Then, in quick succession, I sliced it into four pieces. I was feeling better now, and went over to the table where everyone was sitting. The first few times these people had seen my morning ritual of soft drink and looking stoned, they had laughed their heads off. Usually it only happened when I was tired. But I think they had finally gotten used to it, and I was happy that they had. My morning ritual was the one thing I had left. I have been doing it ever since I was fourteen, and needed to get drunk most days. Ever since I had lost all of my family. And my trainer.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts, trying to dispel the melancholy thoughts that hung over my head like a dark cloud.
(Okay,) Mewtwo looked like he was choosing his words carefully, (Near to our current position, there happens to be a town called Canalave. We will be stopping there to find some information. Hopefully, there will be some information regarding the organisation that ambushed me around the city.)
(Wait,) I felt a rising sense of apprehension, (You're not saying we'll be going into the city…are you?)
I could not believe this. I had known we were close to Canalave for a while now, but I had never thought we would be going into that cursed city. There were probably still people in there that wanted to kill me.
(That is exactly what I am saying; do you have something against the idea?) I wondered if I heard a shading of annoyance in his voice.
(Yes.)
(And what might that be?)
I said nothing, I wasn't going to tell these people anything unless something happened that made telling them necessary. After all, my privacy was just as important as everyone else's, wasn't it?
Eleven hours later…
I was walking through the streets of Canalave, looking at all the familiar landmarks, and the new ones that had sprung up in my absence. Still, despite my fears, I was slightly glad to be back in a place that was familiar to me. I walked into the Pokémon centre, and sat down on one of the sofas that were in the waiting room. I saw some trainers looking at me out of the corners of their eyes as I lounged there. I didn't want any of them to think I was without a trainer, but I couldn't stop the first trainer that thought to challenge me from doing so.
He said something brief about me looking like a good addition to his team, before sending out a rather weak looking Onix. After the good Nurse sent us outside, I decided I might as well brush up on my skills. They hadn't been properly tested in a while, and I wanted to make sure that they were still good. Combat was a central part of my life.
The Onix came rushing at me, using a Take-down. I swung a Drain punch, catching it just under the horn on its head. I hit it again with a Psycho cut, sending it back towards its trainer. It got back up, but I could tell it only had one move left before I KO'd it. The trainer ordered another Take-down. The trainer probably wasn't very skilled. I raised my arms in front of me, and absorbed the brunt of the impact, sliding back a few feet. The Onix fainted, falling to the ground with a resounding crash. Its master complained loudly about losing his only healthy Pokémon, and ran back into the Pokémon centre clutching the red and white ball to his chest.
I needed a better challenge, so I looked for the Aura with the largest range of colours. Normally, the more colours in an aura, the more experiences a person has been through. And powerful trainers went through a lot to raise their Pokémon. But my chest spike was still healing, and I couldn't really see Auras very well at the moment. Still, when I saw the blue haired trainer in the red suit, I knew I had found an incredibly powerful entity. He was conversing with another trainer, this one wearing a cap with a design on the front. I approached the blue haired trainer, and overheard the shorter black haired one call him 'Lucian'. I stopped right in front of my chosen opponent, and waited for him to finish his chat.
Two more humans came running towards us as I challenged Lucian. One had dark-blue hair, and was a female; the other was about as tall as Lucian. His eyes were really hard to see. It was a wonder he wasn't wearing glasses. Or contact lenses. Lucian turned his attention towards me.
"So, what do you want my friend?" He enquired. I noticed a book poking out of one of his pockets. I sent my challenge to Lucian.
(I wish to battle your strongest Pokémon.)
In what seemed like moments, we were out in one of the deserted courtyards outside the library. There were a few others battling, but most had stopped to watch Lucian fight me. Apparently, he was the strongest Elite Four member in Sinnoh. Apart from the champion, he was the strongest trainer I'd ever seen. The tall brown haired human was announcing the match.
"The rules are one versus five. Lucian may not switch Pokémon or use items that are not already on his Pokémon. Lucian, chose your first Pokémon."
A Mr. Mime appeared in front of me. By now all most of the people in a hundred metre radius had stopped what they were doing to watch this battle.
"Oh, hello!" the Mr. Mime exclaimed, "I can't wait to see what happens when you fight Lucian's last Pokémon!"
As we began, Lucian ordered his Pokémon to use a Barrier. As with most Mr. Mimes, the barrier was incredibly powerful, but I had seen much more powerful ones, Mewtwo's for example. I found it easy enough to break through it and smash into the Mr. Mime with a Night Slash. Altogether, I knew seven moves: Cut, Night Slash, Drain Punch, Psycho Cut, Thunder Punch, Swords Dance and Endure. I probably used to know more, but over the years I've forgotten them. If anything, Teresa had taught me at least ten moves. We had practised them daily, but now I had forgotten three. If she had still been alive, she would have scolded me and we would have spent ages training so that I would remember them. I hit the Mr. Mime again with a Night slash, the edges of my elbow blades turning dark black, with purple on the fringes. I struck again, and this time the Mr. Mime was forced to his knees. Lucian shouted for his Pokémon to use Psychic, but it was too late. As I felt the first tingle of the telekinetic technique brush over me, I smashed the Mr. Mime in the face with a Thunder punch. With electricity running over its body, my opponent went soaring over, thudding to a stop and skidding the few remaining metres to come to rest at Lucian's feet.
Lucian bent down, and was about to return his Pokémon when I heard its vague telepathy telling Lucian it wanted to watch me fight. After an exchange in which Lucian said that the Mr. Mime had seen me fight up close and personal, the Mr. Mime convinced Lucian by saying that the fight had barely lasted ten seconds.
"I want to change the conditions of the match," Lucian raised his voice over the whispers and talk that had spread through the crowd. Apparently, I wasn't fighting fairly. I smirked as the group of children that had muttered that comment looked my way. One day, they were going to have a rude awakening. One of them was going to be murdered, or fired, or was going to have any number of things happen to them that certainly weren't 'fair'. "I don't want any more of my Pokémon hurt this badly. I shall send out one more Pokémon and whoever wins this next round wins the battle."
I was fine with this, and I was expecting him to send out another Psychic Pokémon, like a Bronzong. He did, but it wasn't one of the Pokémon I was expecting. As the white light escaped the Pokéball, a Gallade stepped out. It was shorter than me, but most Gallades were.
"I shall leave you two to fight each other. I won't burden my friend here by telling him what to do like I usually would." Lucian seemed to be pretty confident in his Gallades skills.
(Do you know the Rites?) My opponent asked me.
The Rites are a set of sacred rules laid down before the fight between two or more Gallades. They were a simple set of rules, and there were only three of them:
Observe the ritual of the Life Dance. (The Life Dance was a set of movements that listed what had happened in one's life, and what that same Gallade wanted to do in the future. Mine was pretty long.)
The Unsheathing must be done, and can only be done, after the Life Dance. (The Unsheathing is pretty much showing our elbow blades. It's like showing off, because when it comes to Gallades, the bigger the blades the more respect you get.)
If the contest is to result in the death of one or more of the combatants, then all must acknowledge its lethality. (That last one means that everyone should know if a duel is to the death or not.)
(I know the Rites.) I responded evenly.
Both of us made a formal salute, touching our Crests with our hands, then our chest spikes, symbolising that we respect the other. I waited for him to do his dance first. All Gallade's dances start with one knee on the ground, meaning being a Ralts. He rose to his feet instantly, showing he had been turned from a Kirlia into a Gallade as soon as he evolved. The rest of his dance was made up of him going through a simplistic Kata, meaning that he had been training since then. It ended with him stamping his left foot down solidly, and extending his blades in a split-second.
I had practised my dance every spare chance I got. Which wasn't many, but it was enough for me to remember what to do and when.
The beginning of my dance was the same as his, turning into a Gallade immediately after evolution. This gave him pause for thought because I had no trainer. Immediately, I swung my arms out wide, then brought my hands together with my chest spike in between my hands. Then, after making a figure eight with my left hand, I ducked my head into my chest and did a quick round-off, and after the flip at the end, I punched my right hand down into the ground we were fighting on, causing a few cracks to spread through the stones and rock. This symbolised control and deadly strength. The part involving my chest spike meant I had suffered hurt, but in my heart. To finish off, I crossed my forearms and brought them towards my throat, then extended my elbow blades, and settled into my stance.
My elbow blades were clearly much longer than his, and I was taller. He looked to be about the same age as me though. He looked shocked, and he had a right to be. Only a few individuals had killed people, as represented by my last manoeuvre. I had done one other thing while dancing though. I had activated my Swords Dance. He had too, which is what the Rites cause Gallades to do. I always felt a little self conscious about my kata, as it wasn't very humble, and seemed like a boast. Still, one of the points of the kata was to be truthful.
As we squared off, I looked for weaknesses in my foe. The Mr. Mime had been eager to watch me battle this Pokémon, so I needed to be cautious. The Gallade suddenly ran at me, at a speed I hadn't expected. So he was incredibly fast for a Gallade. What else? I blocked his Leaf Blade easily, his glowing green blades smashing into mine. The Leaf Blade had made his blades longer for a few seconds, and I was going to have to watch out for that. I leaped back from the frenzied slashes of my opponent, and ducked back into the fight with electrified fists. After grabbing onto one of my opponents hands, I channelled more energy into my attack. I took a step back, looking into the eyes of my paralyzed enemy. Then I drew back my arm, aimed carefully, and hit him right in the face with my right hand. He skidded back a few feet, which was surprising given the fact that I the punch I had just swung was one of the rare few that were well aimed. He shook his head, and began to charge at me, his blades glowing purple. I decided I might as well meet him Psycho cut for Psycho cut, so I started pouring energy into my blades, using my psychic powers to increase their sharpness, and the size of my blades a tiny bit. As he ran at me, I put all my weight on my back foot and leapt towards him.
My right arm came up across my body in a diagonal cut to block his attack. However, without the leap I had performed, I probably wouldn't have had the power to resist that attack. Both of his blades had come sweeping down in a double slash. My arm jarred, all the muscles in it tensing at the same time to give it a rock-like hardness. We stayed that way for half a second before my left blade snapped out and cut across my opponent's cheek. He moved his head to the side just in time to dodge most of the cut, but my purple blade was quick enough to give him a cut just above the eye, and cause him to lose some of his hair.
We sprung apart, each appraising the other. Then he began a forward rush again, this time with his blades glowing green and lengthening quite a way. But then a spasm rocked his body, the electricity from my Thunder punch had caused him to falter. I jumped into the air, spinning in a pirouette to lend momentum to my assault. My cut attack landed a little to the left of where I had been aiming, so the only mark on the other Gallade was a thin cut along his stomach. I was waiting for the Gallade to make a sign of surrender, but he kept on coming. After I landed, he attacked me with a jab to the stomach. I retaliated by kicking him hard in the chest, on the right side of his chest spike. I then swung a punch aimed for his head. He ducked under the blow, coming up on my left. I quickly raised that sides arm to deflect an incoming punch, but instead I felt the sharp edge of an elbow blade slice across my shoulder. I quickly took a step back, my arm raised to ward off any incoming attacks. Blood was running in small rivulets down my arm, flowing into the grooves of my muscles. I looked at it for a second, and then turned my attention back to the fight. My shoulder would be fine. I bent over backwards to avoid the second Leaf blade sent my way, but the lengthening of the blade allowed it to slice across my cheek.
I came up with my right hand curled into a fist, and smashed my opponent straight on the nose. I felt bone break under my knuckles, and then felt a strong grip on my wrist. He had caught hold of my punch just as I was about to draw back and brought his other hand up to close on my closed hand. My left arm jabbed him in the stomach twice, but it wasn't enough to make him let go of my hand in time. I felt the knuckles of my hand break, and then I heard my wrist click. I roared in pain, my left elbow blade coming through to slice across the stomach of the one who had just made my favoured hand useless. I growled after I drew a step backwards.
I had to let my right arm dangle down by my side to make sure it didn't cause too much pain. I prided myself on my ability to resist physical pain, but my right hand was now bent at a ninety-degree angle, and that meant it hurt like a bitch. I was wondering if I had any chance of winning, when a huge electrical current washed over the enemy. The current was actually so strong that he toppled over backwards. I quickly leapt forward, hissing as my hand was dragged across my hip. I knelt next to him and put my blade against his neck. He eyed me for a second, and then nodded his submission.
I sighed, feeling the adrenaline that had been pumping through me leave, the feeling of which made my legs wobble slightly. I offered my left hand down to the Gallade and he grabbed onto it, pulling himself up. I stood still as he walked past me to Lucian, who was looking a little worried. As I pulled myself back to reality, I realised that everyone was cheering and that people were shouting things about how I was a 'tank' and that I would have destroyed all of Lucian's Pokémon. I looked towards the Pokémon centre and passed through the crowd. I almost smiled as I neared a batch of the humans, who visibly paled. I walked past them towards the doors, and as I entered them I heard the noise from outside become a whole lot quieter. I staggered towards the Nurse Joy standing by the counter.
"Oh dear, you must have been in that fight outside!" I almost felt like making a sarcastic comment, but the fight had worn me out more than I had thought. "Here, come with me and I'll patch you up." She looked at me suddenly, as if remembering something. I hope she didn't, because if it was history with me and Canalave, it was definitely not good. She walked through some sliding glass doors and into the main hospital. I followed, and lay down in the bed Nurse Joy indicated. The blood from my shoulder and my many other cuts from my body was causing the bed sheets to turn red, but the Nurse didn't seem to care. Instead, she told the Chansey that was helping her out to get some bandages and some antiseptics, along with various other medications. Nurse Joy took out a portable x-ray machine and started holding over the parts of my body that were injured. As she traced it over my arms, she was surprised at the fact that I had no bones in them, apart from my hands. I told her that it was normal for me, and asked her to take a look at my right hand.
After her analysis, she told me she would have to put a cast on it. I knew that my body would heal within a few days, but I knew that having a cast on wouldn't be detrimental to my health. As long as I healed as soon as possible. Despite having no bones in my arms, I did have my blades, but they didn't really count. They were made of something akin to steel, like a cross between carbon fibre and another metal of more durability. To exit their sheaths, the muscles around them squeezed in a wave motion, incredibly quickly, and this forces the blades out at up to four hundred kilometres an hour.
As I waited for the nurse to come back with the bandages, I had a visitor.
Charlotte came through the door, looking exasperated and a little worried. I was also guessing she was seriously pissed off by the way her fists were clenched at her sides. I couldn't see her aura at all, which was really annoying. I really needed to get her to tell me how to do that.
(Dace, why do you always get into fights?) She questioned as she came closer.
(Hi there.) I don't think that saying hello lightened the mood at all. In fact, she looked ready to slap me. I didn't know what was causing her to be so angry. It seemed incredibly ridiculous to me.
(That Gallade out there is in a lot of pain! Do you know what you did to him?) She didn't allow me to answer, which I thought was rather rude, but I was curious as to what I had done to the 'Gallade out there'. It couldn't have been anything really bad, because I didn't remember doing anything worse than he did, when he broke my hand.
(When you punched him in the stomach, you must have really hurt him. He's lying out there in a puddle of...of…) She looked disgusted, so I provided by saying 'blood'. She shook her head, then nodded, then shook it again.
(That and something else, you must have punched him in a spot that triggered the bowels. He's lying in his own waste. And blood, which came out as well!) She shivered and I got off the table.
That's when the Nurse came back in, and she ordered me back down. I shook my head, and told her to follow me. I walked back outside, noticing immediately that the crowd had thinned down considerably. I guessed that not everyone had the stomach to see the mess that was on the ground. The good Nurse quickly ran back inside and emerged with a stretcher, her Chansey right behind her. They picked up the downed Gallade, careful not to step in the muck, and brought him back inside. I didn't bother going back inside. I didn't need the Nurse; I needed a doctor that could put a cast on my hand. I walked over to a smaller building, right next to the rather grandiose Pokémon Centre. Inside, there was a small man in a too large white coat. He was old and had a pair of glasses that covered twice the area around his eyes, making him look incredibly ridiculous, but he was a doctor, and that's what I needed.
He took one look at my hand, and even without my saying so, beckoned me into the ward and put a cast on it. I thanked him, walking out. He said something about payment, so I decided to contact Mewtwo, telling the doctor that there would be someone here to pay for my treatment soon enough.
(Actually Charlotte, where is Mewtwo?) I'd just remembered that I'd left the group at the bridge, I had headed back while they had gone across.
(He's booked us into a hotel near the library, across the bridge in the centre of town. And you're not going to believe this, but he is rich!) I wasn't actually surprised about this, but I was curious as to where he got his money from. (He booked us into a five star hotel, but there were only three rooms available. Mewtwo took one for himself, Jess and I have chosen to be bunk buddies and the three J's are all in the remaining room.)
(So, where do I sleep?)
(I don't know, but you're welcome to share Jess and my room. Mewtwo doesn't want anyone in his at all.) She looked at me, and then quickly turned away again. I wondered if she was still angry because I'd punched Lucian's Gallade in the kidneys too hard.
(I'm…) What was I apologising for? But I went on, (I'm sorry for what I did…)
God, I sounded so pathetic. But Charlotte looked back at me with a small smile.
(It's okay Dace, it seems fighting, and at that winning, is part of your nature.) She pointed towards the big bridge that linked the two halves of Canalave together, (Now let's go find Mewtwo.)
That night…
I was walking down with Charlotte and Jess to a building filled with bright strobe lights, that also had loud music blaring out of speakers located outside the door. Each speaker looked to be about one and a half times as tall as a normal human. We were on our way there for some, quote "Recreational time so that I may proceed in my investigation to uncover who is attempting to destroy me" unquote, according to Mewtwo. Jess and Charlotte decided to go and have a night on the town in order to gather information. The building with a ridiculous amount of light and sound blasting out of it was called 'The Mariner' because the founder had intended it to be used by sailors as a resting place. Its purpose had changed a few years after an accident that caused the hospitalisation of two seamen over a dispute about who had caught the biggest Magikarp.
And now it was being used as a party location.
I walked a slight distance behind the two girls, still wondering how I had managed to get myself into this mess. I vaguely remembered something about relaxing after the fight earlier today, and then something even vaguer about me agreeing to get drunk…
But moving on.
As we neared the doors, a rather large man in a black suit asked us for passes. Charlotte and Jess handed him three white envelopes, and the man jerked a thumb in the direction of the doors. I stared dubiously at the large white building, and hurried inside after the girls in order to escape the noise. This was futile, as the music seemed even louder inside the building. I caught sight of the bar and immediately made my way over.
Sitting on one of the stools, I produced my card that allowed me to buy up to half a litre of drinks from any liquor shop – which was ALOT. The card could be used once each visit, and I always brought it with me wherever I went. Deciding to start off with a pint of whisky, I tilted my head back and let the scorching drink slide down my throat.
Casting my gaze around, I saw Jess and Charlotte in conversation with another group of Pokémon, comprising of a Garchomp, Breloom and Gengar. I was surprised that the latter had been allowed in, as usually ghost Pokémon were seen as too freaky to be let into parties. I agreed with that though, as I didn't think anybody liked the idea of someone who can walk through walls appearing in, say, the toilets, while there were other people there.
I don't know why I moved from my barstool, as I had just gotten settled, but within moments I found myself standing in between Charlotte and Jess. I still had my drink in hand, and took another mouthful.
Charlotte turned to me, and I could see joy in her eyes.
(Oh my god! Dace! These are my friends that I met with my trainer, we were all raised together and this Gaspar here was captured before me, so we were discussing what had happened to each other since we were released.) Charlotte explained in a rush. I relaxed seeing that the conversation was a friendly one.
"Charlotte has told me a lot about you Dace," The Gengar said with a grin, "and don't worry, it's all good things she's been saying."
(Well, that's a relief. I would like to hear what she said about me, but I guess that can wait. What's your name?)
"I'm Gez, this here is Orle," He said while gesturing to the Breloom, "And this is Forza"
I looked the Garchomp up and down, subconsciously sizing him up. He appeared to me as the most dangerous of the group, and I was ever weary of threats. Forza was looking intensely at me as well, now that he had noticed my glance. I shifted my gaze to the Gengar and the Orle, the Breloom. I realised that Orle was a female, but only after seeing the subtle difference in upper body proportions that separated the males from the females. The build of the chest was the only non-perverted way to tell whether a Pokémon was male or female, as well as other parts of the anatomy that I could take a guess at but would rather not say. It was always hard to tell the difference in gender between some Pokémon, until you got to know them well enough.
I drunk some more of my drink, then got shoved hard by a man who had stumbled into me. I put my hand out to steady myself and grabbed onto Charlotte's arm. Unfortunately, this did not have the desired effect and we all ended up on the floor in a tangle of limbs. My hand that I had used to grab onto Charlotte had found a rather odd purchase, and looking over one of the drunken man's arms, I quickly snatched my hand away from where I had been groping Charlotte's breast.
(Oh, jeez I am so sorry.) I meant it, but it somehow didn't sound very sincere.
(It's okay, it was an accident – just help me get this man off. He's passed out.)
I sat up, and noticed that my drink had spilled all over the front of me. We were getting some odd glances from everyone in our immediate vicinity, but they seemed not to pay too much attention. It was just another case of a drunk man spoiling someone's afternoon. I got one of my knees under me and stood up, keeping one of my arms under the man, who had indeed fallen unconscious. I offered my non-engaged hand to Charlotte, and she grabbed it as I proceeded to help her to her feet.
Charlotte stood up, then fell against me with a cry.
(What's the matter?) Came from me, and other cries of "Oh my" and "What happened" came from people and Pokémon all around us.
"Owwww…" Mumbled Charlotte. "I stepped in some glass."
Looking down, I saw that she had indeed. There was a puddle of blood forming around her feet.
(Can you hover with levitation?)
"Not for lon-" Her next sentence was interrupted by a hiss as pain hit her again.
(A couple of seconds should be long enough.)
She stood on her uninjured foot and started to rise off the ground, but her focus wavered as a fresh wave of pain hit her. Still, she had stayed airborne long enough for me to step forwards and get an arm around her so that she was slung over my shoulder. I discovered that I could carry both Charlotte and the man easily enough, so I walked over to the door and threw the man out, before manoeuvring Charlotte so that I was carrying her bridal style, with her legs over my right arm and her upper body leaning on my left. She folded her arms against her chest and shut her eyes tightly to ward off the pain.
I walked back towards where I had left the others, garnering myself a couple more odd looks on the way. The Gengar had used his powers to crush all the pieces of smashed glass, spilled drink and blood into a small ball, and had deposited it in the nearest trash can.
(Me and Charlotte may be taking a small break from this, so we will be seeing you some other time. Jess, you can stay here… probably until midnight. Or until I get sent down here to get you.)
"Aw… But midnights when the party really gets going. Oh well, I suppose I'll see you two later on. Kiss Charlotte good night for me, won't you Dace?" I blushed at her request, there was no helping it.
(What are you talking about you deranged rabbit?)
"Ahahaha, no need to get your trousers in a twist, figuratively speaking. See you guys later!" Said the evil bunny as she hopped back into the mosh pit surrounding the DJ.
It was kind of sweet, in a way, that her aura showed anxiety concerning Charlotte's welfare.
Turning on my heel, I strode towards the bar and asked the man whether there was a medical kit anywhere. He directed me to the toilets and into a small sick bay, which already housed a woman who was so intoxicated that she had managed to bash her head into something very solid, so hard that she had a massive bruise forming over her eye. She was going to love the next morning, I could tell.
I sat Charlotte down on one of the gurneys as the barman left us, knelt down to get a closer look at her injured foot. Quickly grabbing some antiseptic and a roll of bandage, I applied the antiseptic to the part of the bandage that I was going to use to cover the wound. I held onto her hand and told her to squeeze when I pulled out the glass.
(Okay. When I count to three, I'm going to pull out the glass.) Charlotte nodded in agreement.
(One-) I yanked the piece of glass out.
(KYAAAAAA!) Was the reply I received.
Working quickly with my one spare hand, I held the bandage in place and used my meagre telekinetic abilities to twist the bandage around her foot once. As soon as this was done, I shot my hand out and wrapped the bandage tightly around her ankle and the upper portion of her foot. I was lucky that my casted hand was being held onto tightly by Charlotte, instead of my non-cast hand, for two reasons. A) She was squeezing harder than expected, and B) I wouldn't have been able to tie up the bandage.
Finishing up, I tucked the trailing end of the bandage into the top, and allowed Charlotte to her feet. Once again, she stumbled and fell against me.
(That hurt!) She shouted into my head. (That hurt, I thought you were counting to three! You're mean!)
(I had to pull it out before you tensed up in preparation) I mentally sighed. (Sorry for that rather unorthodox method. But it is a lot less painless than if you had tensed up, as I would have had to pull it out more slowly then. You are lucky though, because I think that the glass was small enough that it didn't hurt any of your foot muscle.)
I realised belatedly that I had wrapped my arms around her in a hug. What was wrong with me? I couldn't seem to keep my hands off her tonight. I started to draw my arms away from her, and she almost fell again.
(Um. We may have a slight problem here.) I should win an award for being Captain Obvious.
(I can't seem to bear any weight on my left foot at all.)
(We're going to have to move together to get you back onto that gurney.)
We started to do this awkward shuffle, and we were almost there when I slipped over some liquid on the floor. I fell over, doing my best to regain my balance and at the same time trying not to make the same mistake as I had before, so I made sure to grab the table instead of Charlotte.
It still didn't work. We ended up in a rather suspect position on the table, our heads only a couple of inches apart. Both of my hands had ended up grabbing the gurney above where her head was, and my left knee had managed to find its way onto the operation table as well, just on the outside of her right leg. We were both too stunned to move.
And just then some people walked in.
"-And so I say that SHE should go and… Whoa, I think we're interrupting something James."
"Wow. I never thought that two Pokémon fornicating would be so… like humans, like missionary position, you know?" Said a deeper voice than the first.
I leapt off Charlotte as quickly as I could and turned to face the humans. The guy who had spoken up first was a teenager of medium height with long dark brown hair swept over one eye and masses of leather straps wrapped around his forearms, and his friend was a kind of portly human of about the same height with shorter brown hair. He had one Pokéball strapped to his belt buckle, and he was wearing a shirt that promoted some football club. The one with the darker hair had six Pokéballs, three strapped to each of his armbands.
"Yeah… that Gallade looks rather pissed. Let's leave them to it." I was embarrassed just to think that they thought me and Charlotte... well I wasn't going to dwell on it.
As soon as the presumptuous fools left, I turned back to Charlotte.
(Would you mind if I picked you up like I did before?)
(No. Not at all Dace.) I believed I could hear embarrassment in her voice.
Walking out of the sick bay with Charlotte in my arms was a rather different outcome than the one I had envisioned. Her foot seemed to have been wounded a lot more severely than I had originally thought. I'd have to get Mewtwo to have a closer look at her. I turned in the direction of the bridge and started towards the apartment block.
On the rooftop opposite the clubhouse…
"This is watcher two to ambush team four. Subject is headed in your direction. Your orders are to Neutralise the Pokémon. Over."
"Watcher two. This is ambush team four. We have sighted the target. There are two Pokémon en route, including the target. Orders? Over."
"Neutralise both of them. Over and Out."
Authors note: That's the end of chapter eight. Took me a while didn't it? That's cuz it was long. And I also want to put a mention in here about someone who is helping me on this. Chris is a pretty cool guy, and I want you all to visit his page and have a look at this stuff. I think he'll appreciate that.
