Quiet guy: I gotta say that Ryla is probably my most favorite...
Kid ape: You dont like Rima? She's the cutest one!
Other room guy: Oh so you just forgot bout kee, Huh?
Kid ape: Other room guy is awake.
Quiet guy:...Yeah... He's especially moody today...
Kid ape: Why?
Quiet guy: ...He just found out that old yeller died...
Kid ape: WHAT?! OLD YELLER DIED?!
Quiet guy:...No comment...
Chapter 10
Ryla
Ryla slept soundly as the morning passed. She would shift every so often to get comfortable, but subconsciously she remembered Miria was with her. Miria had been awake at least an hour. Her mind wandered far and wide. She thought about the day she was transformed by that horrible machine. The more she thought about it, the more she grew to hate it. She knew why her father made it. She knew that he only wanted to help pokemon, but she couldn't help it. Look what that thing did to her. He didn't recognize his own daughter. He tried to catch her, like she was just another pokemon wandering in the open. That's what hurt her the most. She wondered if he was looking for her.
Ryla moved again and with a yawn she looked at the buneary.
"Are you okay?" She asked. Miria nodded unconvincingly. Ryla lifted herself and tried to see her face, but Miria avoided her gaze. "Is it your father?" Miria nodded.
"I can't believe he didn't recognize me." She said as her voice tightened. "I tried to call him, but..." She was holding back her tears. Ryla knew she wanted to be strong, but she also knew how hard that was. She nuzzled the poor buneary. Miria felt a little embarrassed. She's been like this for weeks. She felt that she should be over this by now.
"Do you think that you won't be able to go back?" Ryla asked. Miria wanted to say no. That she has all hope of returning to her home, But she didn't feel like it would be true. She slowly nodded as her eyes flooded with tears. Ryla put her large tail around her. She remembered what she was thinking about earlier when they met Unayo and Shade. What she would tell Miria when they found Rima, Greemy and Yumi. Would Miria agree, though? If she had no other options, would she still reject? Ryla really felt for the buneary's situation, but there's no way that she and her family could make up for a human's. In the short time that she has known her, Ryla already felt the need to protect her.
Ryla lifted herself up and climbed out of the basket. Miria watched her and started to follow.
"Stay here. I'm just going to find Lectro and ask him about the search party." Ryla said. Miria looked around as if afraid of something.
"But what about the ghastly? They're watching me.." She said fearfully. Ryla just smiled.
"Don't worry about them. If they disturb you, they'll have to answer to me." Ryla puffed a small ember from her nose as she finished. Miria looked a little relieved. "I'll also try to get us some breakfast. How's your paw? Does it still hurt?" Miria looked at her injury. They had been so preoccupied with what was going on that she nearly forgot about it. No sooner than she looked at it, she felt a small twinge of pain coming from the burn.
"It does now. I forgot about it until now." She said holding her paw. Ryla smiled again.
"I'll get you something for that too." The flareon then turned to leave. Miria made a small noise as though she wanted to protest, but kept quiet.
Ryla left the room and was soon down the hall towards Lectro's morning was busy and the halls nearly bustled with pokemon. A group of Bidoof with blue handkerchiefs tied around their necks huddled around a staraptor as he barked out orders to them. Ryla heard him say something about eevee kits. That must be one of the search parties for her family. The staraptor looked at her and so did the rest of the group. He nodded at her as if to assure her that they were ready to help her. She smiled back and continued on. The fire fox came to Lectro's room and went in. She saw the same box in the middle of the room. It didn't seem to have Lectro in it.
"Lectro?" She called. No answer. He must not be here right now. She turned and left the room. Suddenly she crashed into a shy looking vulpix. They both fell to the floor and held their heads as best they could with their paws.
"Oww..." The vulpix squeaked. Ryla shook herself and looked at her. The vulpix looked up to see Ryla standing over her. Her eyes grew wide with awe.
"Are you okay?" Ryla asked. Her voice.. It was so.. heavenly. The vulpix tried to speak but nothing came out. Ryla looked at her with concern. She didn't hit her too hard, did she? Ryla helped her up. The vulpix was small and had a blue hankie on her neck as well. She carried a small bag that hung on her side that she could easily access.
"I..um.. I hit my butt.." The vulpix suddenly blushed. "No, I mean..I-I mean..!" Ryla giggled and the little fox blushed harder. Its like looking at Rima in a new form.
"You're a fire type like me.." She said with more confidence. Ryla nodded with a smile.
"Glad you noticed." She joked. "Whats your name?" The vulpix stiffened.
"Um.. I'm Mina.."
"That's a pretty name." Ryla said.
"Can I ask you if you know any fire moves?" Mina asked. Was she wanting to learn a few? This must be why she's so fascinated with her.
"I know ember. Do you want me to teach you?" The vulpix beamed.
"Yes, please!" she nearly yelled. Ryla laughed at her enthusiasm.
"Okay. I'll show you sometime."
"Thank you!"
"I see you've met Mina." Came a voice from behind them. They both turned to see Lectro floating toward them.
"Hi, Lectro!" Mina happily greeted. "I was just going to give our guests breakfast." Lectro stopped in front of them.
"That's good to hear. Well no need to go any further. She's right here." Mina looked at Ryla in surprise. "Theres another one in the laundry room too. She has a small burn on her paw, so make sure she gets the right berries, okay?"
"Okay!" Mina then bounded off to Miria. Ryla looked at Lectro.
"I was just wondering when we could start." Ryla said.
"We have one search party already." He pointed over the rail down to the staraptor and his group who were waiting near the entrance. "The other is being formed as we speak. I was wondering if you wanted to join them." Ryla looked at the rotom.
"Yes I do." Lectro nodded.
"Very well. What about the buneary? Will she be joining as well?" Ryla thought about it. Miria may not want to, but it could help to get her mind off of returning home. A way to cheer her up maybe.
"I will ask her. What if she says no?" Ryla asked.
"That will be just fine. We have plenty to occupy her if she chooses to stay. Maybe she will decide to stay with us and become a member." Lectro said. They both were greeted by Hex as he glided toward them.
"We're ready, Lectro." He started as he looked at Ryla. "Hello. I'm going to help you on the search. If you need anything, just ask me." Ryla nodded with a smile.
"Thank you for this." She said to both of them. "How can I ever repay you?"
"There's no need. We're happy to be of service." Lectro said while Hex nodded in agreement. "Say, Hex. Mina is in the laundry room. Could you get her? We need to begin the search and we need her expertise on berries should this take us to areas unknown." Hex nodded and flew off to find the shy vulpix. "I said earlier that I knew someone in the same situation as Miria." He started. He looked at Ryla and she looked back. "I feel I should tell you. It was a few months ago. She came to me and told me she was once human and that she was changed by a machine made by Team Nebula. We tried to find the machine to change her back, but we were unsuccessful. She displayed strong human like acts for a while, but soon she started to behave more and more like a pokemon." Ryla listened. "Soon she was so far gone that she couldn't remember her human life. She now believes that she is completely a pokemon." Ryla looked at him and he looked back. "She is... rather good with berries though."
"So its..." Ryla started, realizing who Lectro was talking about.
"yes.. It's Mina." What did this mean for Miria? if she were to digress, what would happen to her? So far Ryla hasn't seen any traces of her acting like a pokemon yet, but if what Lectro said is true, then its only a matter of time.
"I think I should be going now. I have a matter to attend to." Ryla looked curious.
"Can I ask what it is?" She asked.
"It's a meeting between I and the legendaries of Sinnoh. Unfortunately, I can't give you any details." Ryla nodded. "Well, I wish you luck. I hope you find them." Lectro then left and Ryla trotted back to the laundry room. She walked in and saw that Miria was giggling with Mina while Hex floated around underneath a white sheet. Ryla smiled. Miria seemed to be just fine now. Mina looked and saw Ryla come in.
"Hi...um..." Ryla remembered. She never told Mina her name.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Ryla." Miria climbed out of the basket and hopped to the flareon.
"Mina gave me a rawst berry and my burn healed." She said as she showed Ryla her paw.
"Thank you, Mina." Hex came down and took off the sheet.
"Are we ready?" He asked. Ryla looked at Miria.
"Would you like to come with us?" Miria looked around and saw Mina and Hex waiting for a reply as well. If she went with her, She may digress. If she did she might not want to go home. As much as that appealed to Ryla, she couldn't live with herself with that lie. That being said, how was she going to tell the buneary?
"I.. I would love to help you on your search, Ryla. I'd like to meet your kits anyway." Ryla smiled. Hex and Mina cheered.
"I'm glad." Ryla said.
"Well we better get going. The others are waiting for us." Hex exclaimed as he flew out the door.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Called Mina as she darted after him. Miria started to follow.
"Miria?" Ryla spoke. Miria stopped and turned to her.
"Yeah?" The flareon hesitated. She had to say something, but her conscious wouldn't let her deliver the message. She had to tell her.
"...Nevermind. It can wait. Lets go." Miria smiled and bounded out the door after Hex and Mina. Ryla sighed. This was going to be quite difficult.
Everyone was gathered at the entrance to the old chateu. The first party was the staraptor's and his group of bidoof. The second group was made up of Ryla, Miria, Hex, Mina, a rattata and oddly enough a beedrill. The ratata introduced himself as Damon with a hint of "confidence" in his voice. The beedrill introduced himself as Bodore. He was much more down to earth than Damon was.
"I actually wanted to leave on my first search and you guys came. I hope I can be helpful to you." Bodore said. Ryla thanked him. She looked over to Damon who was sitting between an uncomfortable Mina and a bored Miria.
"I'm just sayin that those kits have nothin' to worry about." He boasted. "When I find those Team Nebula punks, they're gonna wish I took it easy on em."
"Really..." Miria sighed. " I wonder how ever those poor eevees are surviving without you." Sarcasm clear in her voice. Mina started to giggle.
"Hey, I really think you and I get each other, heh."
"With that attitude, I think You'll be plenty of help." Miria then took Mina and walked over to Ryla.
"Heh... She likes me."
The staraptor was speaking with Ryla and her party. He gave them directions as to how they were going to proceed with the search.
"My group will search through the Evo Stone Trees. I think you should search the river area. By the time we have checked, we should all meet up in the middle. There's a meadow there. We can rendezvous and begin the search again if we can't find them." Everyone agreed.
"One more thing. Hex, if you will." The ghost pokemon floated in front of Ryla and Miria. He held out two blue bandanas for them. "I, Ario, on behalf of the Chateau Rescue Team, appoint you, Ryla and Miria as honorary blue members." Hex then tied a handkerchief around Ryla's neck. The flareon looked at it and felt a smile spread on her face. She looked over to Miria to see Hex tying hers around her waist. She Looked at Ryla and made a pose. Ryla laughed.
"Congratulations, searchers. Welcome to our team." Ario said as everyone started clapping (as best they could). Miria blushed at the attention.
'If only Yumi were here.' Ryla thought as she received the praise from the party.
"Well, lets get a move on." Ario said and each group began to head different directions. "And Damon." The ratata looked at him. "Behave yourself.." Ario then took to the skies and gave a majestic cry. Damon looked at his team and smiled. They all looked back.
"What?..." He said. The team all shook their heads and walked ahead. "WHAT?!" The ratata ran and caught up with them.
Ryla walked in front of Miria and Mina. Mina was teaching Miria about different berries and what to look out for. That was what Yumi did for Rima and Greemy. It was only a few days ago, but Ryla felt like they had been missing for weeks now. Were they safe where they were? Would they be able to take care of themselves if They were separated? Her mind began to buzz with questions and soon she felt someone watching her. She looked over to see Hex coming up from behind.
"Are you okay?" He asked. Ryla looked forward and noticed that Mina and Miria was now in front of her. She sighed.
"There's so much going on. I just wish that I knew what to do." She looked at The buneary ahead and remembered what she had to do. "I feel so guilty about all this. My family is gone, and I have news that I'm not sure how to tell." Hex looked ahead as well.
"I take it Lectro told you about Mina." Ryla looked at him a little surprised but nodded. "Well I can't say that I know how you feel because I don't. All I know is that she seems to trust you. It would be better coming from you than for her to never know." Ryla let his words sink in. "As for your family, if they are anything like you, I'm positive that they're fine. We'll find them." These words were unexpected from a ghost type, but he was right.
"Thank you, Hex. I needed that." Hex smiled and evaporated before her. Ryla felt a little courage come to her. She had to tell Miria before the day was over.
The team had been walking for several hours and everyone was beginning to grow tired. Mina had scouted ahead to search for berry bushes and trees. Damon took the opportunity to try and get close to Miria and Bodore floated above with Hex for any signs of the river area. Ryla was alone.. again.
"I'm just sayin." Damon began. "Maybe you and I could share a berry or two. Unless they're leppa. Then you might need to find some of your own." Miria rolled her eyes and let him try. It was amusing to her. Pokemon were definitely more human than she realized. She thought about her father. A nice, kindhearted, wild Loppuny.. A loppuny? That wasn't right. Her father was human... Right? She looked back to Ryla who was walking behind her.
"Something wrong, babe?" Damon asked. Miria looked at him and actually found him appealing for a second. She gasped and ran over to Ryla. "Where ya goin?" He called to her. Miria stopped in front of the flareon and tried to speak.
"R-Ryla.. I just.. and.. Damon... He was cute, but... and my dad.. I couldn't remember him and.. Whats happening to me?!" Ryla couldn't understand what she was saying.
"Slow down, Miria. Whats wrong?" The buneary tried to catch her breath and spoke again, each word threatening to become engulfed in panic. Ryla listened and realized that she was starting to digress.
"Miria how long were you like this?"
"A few weeks I think?"
"...Miria, I have something to tell you..." Ryla then explained what Lectro explained to her. The more she spoke, the more nervous the buneary grew. She began breathing harder and harder.
"I'm gonna be a buneary forever?" She whimpered.
"No. We just need to get to the machine before you comp-"
"I don't wanna be a pokemon forever!" Miria shouted. She then sprinted into the trees.
"Miria!" Ryla shouted after her. Damon watched the terrified buneary run. Where was she going? What was wrong? He looked at Ryla and saw her ready to give chase. He looked up and called into the sky. Down came Bodore and Hex.
"There's something wrong with Miria. I gotta follow her." Hex nodded.
"Okay. I'll keep an eye on you from above. Bodore, you go and find Mina. I'll keep an eye on you too." Bodore nodded and flew off. "Hurry, Damon." Hex said as he flew up in the opposite direction. Damon looked and saw that Ryla was already gone. He dashed toward where he saw Miria run.
Her thoughts raced. Why was this happening to her? Tears fell from her eyes as she ran. She didn't want to stay like this forever. She didn't want to forget her father. It wasn't fair! The scared pokemon ran and ran. She was nearly out of breath, but still she pressed on. Suddenly she tripped and fell into a puddle. Her fur was soaked to the skin. The water washed away her tears and her fluffy cotton like fur clung to her body. She didn't try to get up. She laid there and began to weep.
"Well well well. What do we have here?" Came a gruff voice from next to her. She looked up to see a vicious looking houndoom hungrily staring at her. Her heart leapt at the sight of him.
"What a treat. Here I was thinking that I would have to work hard to get today's lunch." He began to walk towards her. Miria whimpered in fear. She felt a strange feeling come over her. It was as if something spoke to her from within. Something told her to get up and run. To find the nearest den hole and hide inside. She felt her feet push her up and she began to back away. The houndoom was closer to her. Though he wasn't that close, he still loomed over her. It was too late to run. Instead something told her to jump. The dark canine showed his teeth and Miria nearly squealed in fright. Her ears began to tingle. She aimed them to the ground and before she knew what she was doing, she smacked them against the ground. A pillow of dust puffed into the houndoom's sight.
"What the?!" He barked. Slowly, the dust settled and he saw that the buneary was gone. He looked around for her, but she was nowhere to be found. "What is this?! Some kinda joke?!" He bellowed at the air. He stalked around a few trees in search of his prey.
"Come on out, little morsel. Do it now and I'll make it quick." Little did he know, Miria was hanging onto a branch for her life. She gripped the tree with all her might and tried to remain quiet. The large predator stopped right underneath her, still scanning the ground for her. He then felt a little drop splish on his nose. He shook his head in confusion. It wasn't rain, and it had the scent of...
He looked above him and saw his lunch trembling above him. He growled at her and she squeaked.
"Get down here, you!" Miria shook even harder.
"Ryla! Help!" She called out.
Ryla heard her name and sprinted toward the source. Damon heard it too and followed suit. Hex looked down from above and saw Miria hanging from a tree. He gasped. After taking a quick look to see if Bodore and Mina were okay, he flew down toward her.
The houndoom was trying to snap at her. He jumped and crashed his teeth together in many failed attempts to get her. He was starting to get frustrated.
"Don't make me burn you off. I like my prey raw!" He yelled at her. Miria was starting to lose her grip. Her wet paws and fur was making the branch slippery. She slowly began to lose strength and the houndoom knew it. He sat down and held open his mouth to wait for her to simply fall in. Miria couldn't hold on any longer and with her heart thumping, she fell. Time seemed to slow as she plummeted through the air. She screamed and felt her heart clench. The houndoom felt his mouth water with anticipation. Was this it? Was this how it ends? Miria didn't even get to see her father again. She couldn't say goodbye. It... It wasn't fair..
Suddenly Miria felt her weight shift and something wrapped around her. She looked up to see Hex holding her. The houndoom roared with rage.
"HRRRRAAAAGHHH!" Came an ear piercing cry. The houndoom started to look over but was tackled by an orange blur. He slid and rolled across the ground. When he rebalanced himself, he saw that he was attacked by an angry flareon.
"You can't have her. Leave now!" Ryla barked. Hex floated down and put safely put Miria down.
"You're soaked!" The ghost pokemon gasped. Miria looked at him and felt her tears flooding back. Without thinking, she thrust herself against the haunter. Hex looked surprised but put his floating hands around her. She let her emotions out as he tried to comfort her.
Damon finally arrived. He looked and saw Ryla squaring off against a menacing houndoom.
"I"m here! Don't worry, I'll..." He saw Miria hugging Hex across the clearing. He felt his face heat up. His claws gripped the ground and anger built in his chest. He then dashed away from them.
"That's my prey!" The houndoom growled. Ryla growled back.
"Well lunch is canceled today." she said as a column of flames erupted from her mouth. The houndoom dodged and retaliated with his own pillar of fire. Ryla jumped out of its way and the houndoom turned the flames as she ran. He stopped the attack and Ryla took the opportunity to charge him. The dark canine saw her coming and opened his jaws. It was too late for Ryla to stop. She felt the monster's teeth close around her side. She yelped in pain as the Houndoom lifted her off of her feet and violently threw her into a tree. The flareon collided and fell to the ground. Her side was throbbing from the bite. She tried to stand, but felt her front left leg buckle under her. Her leg must've got hurt when she hit the tree.
"Ryla!" Miria screamed.
"Stay where you are!" Ryla yelled. Miria wanted to run over to help her, but did as she was told. Ryla endured the pain and stood to her feet, ready to face her opponent. The houndoom puffed a ember out of his nose to intimidate her. Ryla didn't budge. She then lunged forward at him.
"This again?" He laughed as he prepared for the attack. Ryla suddenly stopped right in front of him and as she slid, she kicked up a plume of dust that flew straight into the houndoom's eyes. He roared as he was blinded from the sand attack. he lowered his head and shook it to rid himself of the dust in his eyes. He tried to look for the fire fox but his sight was hindered and his eyes began to water. He heard something behind him. He turned around and let another pillar of flames billow from his maw. He hit nothing but air. He turned and kept looking but couldn't see.
"Where are you?!" He barked. Ryla suddenly jumped on his back and sank her teeth into his neck. The houndoom howled in pain and tried to shake her off. The more he flailed, the tighter she held on.
"Get off me!" Ryla decided to finish and released a scorching flame on the houndoom's bite. He Stopped and began to buckle under his weight. His vision began to falter. The heat didn't bother him much but the pain that it left in his wound was beginning to become unbearable. Hex and Miria watched The fight. They never would have guessed that Ryla could be such a gifted fighter.
The fire fox then let go of the houndoom and he tried to steady himself. Ryla then prepared for the final attack as she crouched down and charged herself. When the houndoom finally looked at her, already seeing double, he saw her take off at a blurring speed. Before he knew it, she plowed into his side and knocked the wind out of him. The houndoom rolled across the ground and didn't stir. Ryla was out of breath by the end of the battle. Miria and Hex dashed over to her side.
"Ryla, are you alright?" Hex asked. Miria looked at her side and saw her injury. The buneary gasped at the sight.
"Don't worry, Miria... It's just... a scratch.." Ryla gasped before she collapsed to the ground.
"Ryla!" Miria cried. She knelt down next to her and tried to wake her. "Please wake up! Ryla, you have to wake up!" Hex put his ghostly hand on Miria's back. She looked at him.
"She's exhausted, Miria. She just needs rest." He said. She looked at the fainted flareon. She felt only guilt. If she hadn't run off none of this would have happened. She sat down next to her and laid herself on her side. Hex looked at her.
"Stay with her. I'm going to fi-"
"Ryla! Miria!" They heard from behind them. They looked and saw Mina and Bodore coming toward them.
"Uh nevermind." Hex finished. Mina stopped in front of Ryla and a look of shock spread on her face.
"What happened?" She asked.
"That's not important right now. I need you to treat her, okay?" Mina nodded and shook off her berry bag. "Bodore, I need your help moving this houndoom away from here. We dont want him near when he wakes up." Bodore nodded.
"Make sure she is safe... Where is Damon?" Everyone finally noticed the ratata wasn't there.
"You didn't see him, Miria?" Bodore asked. Miria shook her head.
"He said he was looking for you with Ryla. I wonder where he went." Bodore looked around the area. Hex growled.
"We don't have time for this. We'll look for him when we come back." Everyone nodded. Hex and Bodore then proceeded to carry the unconcious houndoom away. Mina looked at Miria. The buneary seemed down. The fire pokemon sat next to her.
"Are you okay, Miria?" She asked. Miria looked at her. Would she understand if she told her? It seemed as though she could trust her, but...
"It's nothing, really." Miria replied. Mina knew she was covering up, but she didn't want to press it. She didn't know what to say so the two sat there in silence for a while.
The sun was high in the sky. That let everyone know that it was mid-day. Miria looked up and thought about what Ryla told her.
'If you stay like this for too long, you'll lose all your memories of your human life. You'll believe that you're really a pokemon.' Those words echoed in her mind. Could it be true? It couldn't be, but Ryla was so serious when she told her. She must've been telling the truth. What are the chances of her finding another machine in time? The thought made her feel even worse.
"Miria?" Mina spoke, breaking the silence. Miria looked at her. "What do you think of Damon?" Miria's eyes widened. Where did that come from?
"...Uh. he's a little annoying." Miria confessed. Mina giggled which made Miria smile.
"I think he's funny to watch. He tries so hard." Mina laughed. Miria smiled thinking back to the thought of him trying to talk to her.
"It is funny, huh?" Miria started laughing.
Damon sat behind a tree listening to the girls laugh at him. He felt his anger swell inside as he thought back to Miria hugging Hex. He then jumped up and dashed away.
"I'll show them what's funny."
End of chapter 10
Kid ape:... Oh man... Old Yeller did die... Why did he have to get shot?!
Other room guy: That's not all. King Kong jumped.
Kid ape: WHAAAT? NO THAT'S NOT TRUE! (watches clip) WAAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!
Quiet guy:... I miss MK...