Project G—Chapter nine (11-01-05)
It didn't take long for them to find the spot where Harley and Noctus-chan had been, and it took even less time for them to find out why it was called an ice cave… Because five minutes of walking led them to a tunnel filled with ice covered walls and slippery floors. There was ice coating everything. In a way, it was good. They knew they were headed in the right direction and thus, that much closer to the Ice Orb. But then again…
It was freaking freezing.
And of course, they weren't exactly dressed to be surrounded by ice. Luna kept tugging her skirt down to try and warm up her legs. Harley, Noctus-chan, and Jupetta-chan walked as closely as possible, their exposed midriffs and navels not liking the chilly air. Only Robert and Shuu wore clothes that covered most of their bodies, and even they wished they had a coat, a hat, and some gloves…
"How far do we have to go Luna?" Harley questioned, his bellybutton stinging from the nippy air. "We're all cold!"
"I know!" She snapped, hugging her bare arms around her. "If you haven't noticed, I'm cold too. We have to keep going until we find the orb though, cold or not. At least we hybrids have an excuse; we didn't get to pick out our clothes. You however had the choice of having your navel show or not…" Harley pouted, not liking having his taste in clothing questioned. He liked having his navel showing; it was sexy! Silly girl… She had absolutely no sense of fashion obviously.
"Don't let her get to you," Noctus-chan whispered in his ear. "She's just bitchy cause she's cold. I like your outfit. It's sexy." Harley smirked and gave his fashion inspiration a quick kiss on the cheek. Jupetta-chan, who at such a close proximity had heard the comment, raised an eyebrow.
"Of course you think that," he whispered back. "He dresses like you after all. Harley-sama, will you dress like me sometime?" Harley laughed lightly and gave his younger pokémon his own kiss on the cheek.
"Sure. When we're done saving the world, I'll make a Jupetta costume right away. Anything for such a little cutie." Jupetta-chan blushed and Noctus-chan rolled his eyes at such blatant flirting. It was a damn good thing he wasn't in denial over his feelings for his trainer anymore, or Harley probably would have had a one-way ticket to the cold ground…
As the three lovers talked among themselves, the other three were left alone with their own thoughts…
'Man, I hope we find that orb soon… It can't be that far ahead, can it? No, it must be close… Oh, it's soooo cold! Gotta think of something else. Um, money! Money is good! When this whole thing is over, I can sell my story and become rich and famous! TV specials, major motion pictures, a Saturday morning anime, cute little plushie Luna backpacks, hehehe…'
'Poor things, they must be so uncomfortable… Especially Luna. At least Harley and his pokémon can keep each other warm… If only Shuu would just admit that there was something going on! I know he has feelings for me. Perhaps I should just come out and say something…? No, I can't rush him; I might scare him off. I'll just have to be patient. Hopefully he'll come to his senses soon…'
'It's not that cold… Okay, so maybe it is, but honestly, Harley doesn't have to whine about it. Look at him, flirting with his pokémon. We're trying to save the world and he's more concerned with his love life… Stupid Harley. Who needs love? Not me. Nope, not at all. I couldn't care less about the opposite sex… Or the same sex! Especially not tall, blond, handsome, sophisticated, dreamy, wonderful— Oh, dammit.'
Dammit indeed.
Harley, along with everyone else, was completely ignorant to the boy's angst. He was more concerned with the body heat he was absorbing from the Jupetta-chan, who was sandwiched between Noctus-chan and himself. The further in they went, the colder it got… Luna might have been in a snippy mood, but she was right. His clothes, sexy as they made him look, did nothing to keep him warm.
'It's not like I designed them to be warm… It's usually hot in Hoenn. Hey, since this cave is cold, I bet that fire cave will be really warm! Then we can take off layers and I'll get to see my pretties in little or nothing! Oh, now I wanna get out of here sooner than ever…'
As Harley walked on, he let his mind wander to thoughts of his pokémon in various states of undress. If anything, it was warming him up at least… Unfortunately, it also meant that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. So when he stepped on a particularly icy spot, he wasn't able to steady himself. And that, of course, led to an obvious consequence…
He slipped and fell flat on his face.
"Harley-sama!"
"Harley!"
Jupetta-chan and Noctus-chan immediately scrambled to help their master up, while the others rushed as fast as possible without slipping themselves. Harley, his face pressed against the ice, attempted to yell something that came out as muffled rubbish. But as the hybrids kept pulling, he eventually got his head up enough to be heard.
"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" he yelled, not sounding at all pleased with his situation. The hybrids did as they were told, incredulous looks adorning their faces.
"Why?" Jupetta-chan questioned, not understanding why the coordinator would actually want to stay pressed against the ice. "Isn't it cold down there?"
"Of course it is!" Harley snapped, tears of pain forming in his eyes. "But my skin is stuck to the ice! You two are going to rip it off!" Noctus-chan frowned, briefly considering just letting him stay down there. Then he reminded himself that Harley must be in immense pain, and turned to his fellow pokémon.
"Use Will-o-Wisp to melt the ice. He should be able to get up that way." Jupetta-chan nodded hesitantly, not used to being yelled at. He'd never been yelled at before… Pushing it out of his mind, he stood up, and once everyone had cleared out of the way, aimed the attack at the ice surrounding his lover. As it slowly melted into water, Harley became impatient and glared up at the boy.
"Can't you go any faster? The attack is three feet away!" Jupetta-chan didn't know how to react. A lump slowly formed in the back of his throat.
"But Harley-sama, if it gets too close, I might burn—"
"I don't care!" Harley screeched, the tears beginning to roll down his cheeks. "This fucking hurts! Burning would probably feel better! So hurry the hell up!" Not only had he never been yelled at, but he'd also never heard his master swear like that. Too shocked to object, he redirected the flame closer, and within a matter of seconds, Harley was able to push himself up. His exposed flesh was red and raw, and a small patch had been torn away and was bleeding.
Noctus-chan was torn between his two lovers. On one hand, Jupetta-chan had only been trying to help, and he didn't deserve to be yelled at. On the other hand, Harley hadn't been lying when he'd said it hurt like hell… And he had a good feeling that this wouldn't be the only time he'd have conflicting interests.
"Are you alright Harley?" The purple-haired man nodded, tentatively getting to his feet. Robert and Luna, who had watched the whole ordeal with shock and awe, grabbed his arms and helped to steady him. Shuu watched Jupetta-chan watching everyone trying to think of a way to treat Harley's wound. Shuu had barely said two words to him, but he couldn't help but feel bad. It wasn't Jupetta-chan's fault that Harley had fallen. And if it hadn't been for his Will-o-Wisp attack, the only fire attack any of their pokémon had, Harley would probably have been hurt a lot more than he was now. Surely, the poor boy would get a heartfelt apology at any moment…
But Harley just avoided Jupetta-chan's sad gaze, looking anywhere but at his young lover. It was just too much for the boy, and fat tears rolled down his pale cheeks. Shuu watched silently as he turned around and ran off, no one else noticing. Sighing, he carefully walked over to the others, allowing the hybrid a head start so he could have some time to himself before they went after him.
He just hoped he didn't get hurt in the mean time.
"It's cold."
"I know."
"Really cold."
"I know."
"Really, really—"
"Will you shut up already?" Duana frowned. She'd thought all that sleep earlier would have put him in a better mood…
"I'm just trying to make some conversation… Do you think we're close to the orb yet?" Kieran shrugged, glad he was wearing pants and long sleeves, unlike Duana who donned a skirt and no sleeves at all.
"I don't know. But the boss said it'll get colder as we get closer to the chamber with the Ice Orb. And it's pretty damn cold now, so I'd guess we're almost there. We'd just better hope that girl didn't get there first…" Duana decided to stay away from that one, knowing he'd just blame her for making them miss their chance.
"I wonder who she got to help her… If anyone. I mean, who would believe her in the first place?" Kieran humored her, taking any way to keep his mind off the chilly atmosphere.
"She stole the other two necklaces, remember? All she would have to do is use them on other pokémon, and they'd now she wasn't making it up. Whoever we find with her, I'm sure they'll be two others just like her…" The blonde nodded, seeing the sense in it.
"Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll be Pippi or Purin or something…"
"With our luck they'll be Hellger or Windie…" They sighed simultaneously, hanging their heads, already predicting defeat. They were biologists, not trainers…
As Duana fretted over whether or not her single pokémon would be able to handle whatever they came up against, something caught her attention. She stopped suddenly, causing her partner to look back at her curiously.
"What's wrong?" She looked around, as if looking for something.
"I heard someone… I think they were crying." Her eyes lit up as she saw a small path leading down a tunnel. "Come on, let's check it out!" Without waiting for a response, she took off, Kieran not far behind. Sure, it was just one more distraction, but if there was a person, they might be with the experiment… Besides, he was curious too.
It didn't take them long to reach the end of the tunnel, leaving them in a small room with a large, solitary rock in the middle. On the rock sat a boy who looked to be in his early teens, with black hair and an outfit that looked quite familiar… He was crying over something, and Duana felt her heart break over the sad sight. Maybe he was just a kid that had wandered in the cave and was lost… He was all alone after all…
"Hey, are you all right?" Jupetta-chan looked up at the strangers, surprised that there were other people in the cave. Could they be the people after Luna? She had never described them, so he had no idea. They didn't look evil though… He supposed that as long as he didn't talk about their mission, or the fact that he was a pokémon, it wouldn't hurt…
"My boyfriend yelled at me. He slipped on the ice and I was just trying to help… Now he won't even talk to me! He hates me!" He started crying again, earning him a sympathetic look from the blonde. Kieran stayed quiet, regarding the boy with suspicion.
"Oh, you poor thing. I'm sure he didn't mean it. Sometimes the cold weather just makes people cranky. Like my partner here. …Of course, he's always cranky." Kieran glared at her, but Jupetta-chan giggled. Maybe she was right. Harley couldn't have possibly meant what he said… He loved him after all!
'I probably shouldn't have run away… I bet Harley-sama and Noctus-chan are worried!'
"I guess you're right. I should go find him and my friends… I kinda just ran off without telling anyone…" Duana nodded cheerfully. Whoever this kid was, he was all right in her book. Pretty cute too… Too bad he was gay.
"If you want, we can walk with you. We're looking for some people ourselves…" Jupetta-chan nodded, glad for some company. There was no way such a nice lady could be evil…
"Okay! It's this way!" He jumped up, waiting for them to reach him before he started leading the way.
"Oh, by the way, my name is Duana, and this is my partner Kieran. What's your name?" Jupetta-chan faltered ever so slightly, knowing that he couldn't tell them what his real name was, nice people or not.
"Ju. My friends call me Ju-chan." As Duana nodded and started conversing happily with the boy, Kieran started plotting in his mind. This kid wasn't telling the truth about something, and he had a feeling he knew what was really going on. The name, the clothes, the almost transparent cord around his neck…
Besides, how many people had red eyes?
"…I'm such an idiot."
"Yes, yes you are." Luna whacked the green-haired boy upside the head, glaring at him.
"Don't say that! He feels bad enough as it is." Harley shook his head, pressing Robert's handkerchief to his slowly healing flesh.
"No, he's right. I can't believe I yelled at him like that… I wasn't mad at him or anything; it just hurt so much that I wasn't thinking…" Noctus-chan understood all too well how anger could get to anyone and felt nothing but sympathy for his lover. If anything, he was pissed at Shuu, who had watched Jupetta-chan run off and had only told them when he was nowhere to be found. Needed time to think his ass…
"I'm sure he's fine," Robert reassured, not liking seeing his best friend so upset. "He still has his attacks after all, so he can stand up to anything he comes across." Harley knew it was probably true, but it didn't mean he didn't still worry.
'It's all my fault… I'm such a bitch! How could I have said that to him? Oh Jupetta-chan, please be okay, I promise I'll never yell at you for no reason ever again. Just be all right!'
After a few more minutes of searching, they all could swear they heard voices… But no one wanted to look like a total basket case, so they all stayed quiet. Then the voices became louder and clearer, and—
"Jupetta-chan!" Harley ran ahead, needing to see his lover right that second. Noctus-chan sighed and shook his head in irritation.
"Harley, you idiot, you're going to slip again!"
Jupetta-chan was happily chatting with Duana when—
"Jupetta-chan!" He immediately grinned when he heard that, and he took off after the voice with complete disregard for the ice covered ground.
"Harley-sama!" Duana blinked as the boy ran off. Jupetta? Was that what Ju was short for? She was glad her parents didn't name her after a pokémon…
'Wait… Harley? No, it couldn't be… But maybe…'
She quickly followed her new friend. Kieran also caught the "Jupetta" that had been yelled, and his suspicions were confirmed. Well, they might not have the orb yet, but at least they weren't too late… With that in mind, he ran after his partner.
When Duana reached Ju-chan, she saw him hugging two violet-haired men, with another man and a boy standing off to the side…
…And she promptly squealed.
"Oh my God! You're Harley, Robert, and Shuu! You're my favorite coordinators of all time! I've seen all of your contests! I've been following your careers forever!" She ran over to them, once again causing Noctus-chan to question why no one was falling, a star-struck look in her eyes. "This is the best day of my entire life!"
When Kieran caught up, he noticed his partner practically drooling over three sweat-dropping men who he identified as those coordinators she was crazy about. She'd liked contests ever since they'd begun, saying it was the perfect opportunity to see gay men in their natural element. Personally, he thought she was crazy, but it kept her from getting into trouble at least… He felt bad about having to ruin her fun, but they had a job to do…
"All right, where is she?" Everyone turned to him, Duana included, and gave him a questioning look.
"What are you talking about?" He looked around the tunnel, answering her in a matter-of-fact manner.
"Just think about it. Jupetta-chan. Red eyes. Close to that Harley guy you like so much who has a Jupetta, which he calls the same thing. And that other guy," he pointed to Noctus-chan, "has yellow eyes. And look at their necks. See anything?" She did as she was told and gasped.
"Those are…" He nodded, then smirked as he spotted a large bolder a bit down the tunnel.
"That's right. If they have the project, the experiment must be with them. So come out you coward, or we'll have to make you come out ourselves!" Luna appeared from behind the bolder, scowling at the newcomers. Duana's face lit up at finally finding their target.
"Lina! Finally! I thought we'd never find you! Now come on, just come quietly—"
"No," she said firmly as she walked closer. "I'm staying with my friends, and we're going to stop you. If we need to fight to make that clear, so be it." She reached her fellow companions and unsheathed her claws. "And for the last time, my name is LUNA!"