Author's Note: Wow... I can't even begin to tell you all how thankful I am... Truly and deeply, just, wow, I'm in awe at the amount of reviews I received for the last chapter, and feel very humbled. Eight reviews, readers. Eight. As I'm new to this site, perhaps that's not a staggering amount or anything, but it's more than I've received for any single chapter thus far and I cannot tell you how grateful I am to all of you for telling me how much my hard work speaks to you guys. It's really what's writing is all about, and why I'm doing this. Please keep it up and keep reviewing as much specific feedback as you can! It makes me very proud to host this story for all of you, and I guess Zorua's just a lucky little fox for that reason. One of my favorite Gen V selections, I must say. Also, several of you asked whether or not I'd be covering the Liberty Island event with Victini. I think this chapter will answer that for you.
Now, I've put up a new poll. You all overwhelmingly voted for Oz to evolve all the way, so I guess that will be how it eventually turns out. Thank you for taking the time, of course, and be sure to vote in the new poll. The new poll is probably only going to stay up for one chapter or so, so I'd vote before you miss your chance to.
Quite proud of this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it. I think you'll notice a little something-something of a certain genre beginning to flourish here, if ever so briefly. :3 Hint, hint, nudge, nudge.
If Given The Choice
Anwyn sighed as she rested her cheek on the flat of her fist, her knee bobbing up and down impatiently as she sat in the lobby of the Pokémon Center brooding over the situation. Evening had settled over Castelia now, painting the busied canvas of the city with an ink of darkness and glittering lights. The electronic advertisements hung on the buildings were the main sources of light now, replacing the sun, and debatably, the moon as well. However, the blackened atmosphere outside only added to the tense uncertainty of her predicament. Nurse Joy and her Audino had taken Zorua to the emergency room on a gurney some time ago, and according to the still lit red sign above the double doors, they hadn't yet finished with her, still attending to her wounds.
N sat tiredly next to her on the leather couch on the other side of Oz who'd fallen asleep between them, softly patting her head as she continued to fidget. Most of the Trainer's staying in the Pokémon Center had gone to bed now, so there weren't any real disturbances or chatters of conversation floating around. The young man took this as a positive. Initially, he'd been very uncomfortable letting himself into the place, a purist at heart and preferable to natural methods of healing for Pokémon. Even he hadn't objected to leaving the Zorua to the hands of the Nurse and Audino though. Zorua's condition had worsened detrimentally by the time they'd arrived with her, wheezing and bleeding all over Anwyn... His gaze abruptly fixed itself on her bloodstained pieces of clothing, the way the crimson blemished, the way it oozed, likely seeping through to her skin...
"...Perhaps you should change," he suggested quietly, drawing his arms back into his lap.
His voice snapped Anwyn out of her thoughts. "Ah... Sorry?"
"Your clothes... They're... covered in blood..."
She confirmed his statement by glancing down, having been so enthralled in her efforts to get Zorua help that she hadn't even noticed. She pulled the two sides of her vest together to mask the defiled white of her shirt. "I'll change it and ask to have it washed before I go to bed," she assured. "But I can't move from this spot until I know she's alright..."
The corner of N's lips twitched, and Anwyn self-consciously hiked up her shoulders. "Night...?"
"...White is such a pure, beautiful color... Yet so easily tainted by dark, bitter things... Once it bears scars, the entire world can see them, and it takes time to wash them out..." he murmured, keeping his gaze leveled towards the ground. "Black, on the other hand... Black can be dirtied, corrupted... and still remain as black as it was before... Hiding all its faults... Feigning its innocence..."
His words sunk in slowly, flowing like a current through her weary mind. Black and white... Interestingly enough, they both seemed to subconsciously like those colors; she herself wore the opposite of him, her vest black and shirt white and his jacket white and undershirt black. She found it a strange coincidence, trying to contain the vastness of her curiosity as she asked, "What do you mean...?"
With profound gentleness, he guided up his eyes until they locked keenly on hers, cobalt and light blue meeting in a tender, entranced focus. "You are white," he stated simply. "And should not be tarnished by a substance as unsightly as blood..."
...'A pure, beautiful color'...? Heat rose to Anwyn's face, emitting from somewhere foreign in her chest which pulsed and fluttered with feeling. N, slipping back to his naïve ways, tilted his head, reaching out to touch her forehead.
"Are you ill with fever...?"
"N-no!" Anwyn blurted quickly, whipping her head to the side. "I-I'm fine...! A-anyway, I'll change my clothes soon, I promise. U-until then, stop with the... p-poetic concern..."
The young man stared at the back of her head for a moment, directing his attention elsewhere when she refused to move. Anwyn, able to calm the abnormal sentiments that had stirred, mentally scolded herself. . What was that? Why did I...?
"Are you planning to capture that Zorua once she recovers?"
Blinking in surprise to the question, the girl let go of one side of her vest to rub her arm, a little awkward. "...I was thinking about it," she admitted. "If I let her roam back on the streets by herself, someone could cage her again. It's not every day you see a wild Zorua... Stupid thugs will take advantage of it..."
N sighed, his features clouding with displeasure. "...How disappointing... You see with your own eyes the results of coercion, yet plan to do the very same thing thinking it'll do her good..."
"It's not the same and it will do her good," the brunette argued. "I'll treat her the way she's supposed to be treated and keep her safe. Even if she tricked people with her human illusion the rest of her life, it's just that—an illusion. Someone would figure it out eventually, especially since she can't hide her tail."
"But by capturing her in a Poké Ball, you assign her a life of battle and oppression. It's but a romanticized version of what you just witnessed earlier... "
"That's not true, Night. Most Trainers wouldn't be so utterly cruel as to raise a Pokémon to be a mindless fighting machine. Locking them in cages... Pitting them against each other until one dies... It's illegal and wrong."
N frowned as he pondered her ranting, a light pitch of anger sinking its fangs into his voice as he pieced together a response. "Yes, but many humans still do it for useless, petty things. Money... Glory...Power... It's these selfish lusts that prove Pokémon and people don't truly belong together..."
"...Eh?"
"They may say it is for understanding one another better, but what Trainers really use battles for is to compete..." he affirmed tersely. "And they hurt each others' Pokémon in doing so... Am I the only one who finds this atrocity so terribly painful...?"
"Ah, Night, that's not... When put like that, it is painful, but that's not entirely true either... You're being a bit narrow-minded."
He scoffed at her statement, furrowing his eyebrows. "My friends getting hurt... That's what a Pokémon battle is. It's deplorable, and I speak from experience..." His hands tightened as he appeared to recall some dreadful memory, his seriousness aberrant. "Zoroark... When he was a Zorua... he came to me just like this... The very same as this Zorua..."
Barron did...? Anwyn wondered. Despite the shock, the information clicked in her brain and made a lot of sense. So that's why... His dislike of me... of everyone but Night... It's because he can't bring himself to trust other humans... That's so sad...
The young man finally dared to look back at her, softening slightly. "Perhaps though, hearing another opinion could be useful... Do you believe that Pokémon battles help us understand one another...?"
Anwyn thought diligently on the subject, reviewing her own opinions and experiences before offering a reply. "...Yes," she answered. "Even through the hard times and the painful times... We fight... It's not always fun, but not always to hurt one other either... Sometimes it's to defend someone or something we care about... Sometimes it's to grow stronger—to work together to achieve a shared goal... So, with all honesty..." She smiled, shyly reaching out to take his hand in her own. "I do believe... battles can help Pokémon and Trainers..."
N, eyes broadening, glanced down at their hands, the simple brush of her touch constricting the functions of his body considerably. The warmth of it gave him pause, however, and he drifted off into contemplation, thrown off his usual track of thinking. "...Is it impossible for me to win while feeling bad about being a Trainer?" he asked, more to himself than Anwyn.
"Night..."
He seemed understanding of her at first, though that quickly vanished under another flash of upset, and he shook his head, tearing his hand away from hers. "As if I could pursue my ideals with something as meaningless as a battle... As if that could make me worthy..."
Anwyn clenched her lonely hand, confused by the comment. "...Worthy of what?"
The sign above the entrance to the emergency room clicked off at last, dimming to a dull state of no light. Nurse Joy soon exited with one of her Audino, wiping her forehead free of sweat. Anwyn wasted no time and shot up from her seat, forgetting about the prior conversation almost entirely as she hurried over to her. "Nurse Joy...!"
The woman heaved a sigh, which scared the brunette until the nurse smiled warmly with a light hum. "Had you not brought her here when you did, she surely would've died... But I'm happy to say you made it just in time to save her..."
Anwyn had never been happier to hear news of any sort in her life. She almost jumped to hug Nurse Joy, though somehow managed kept her excitement in check. "T-that's so great!" she shouted. "Can I see her?"
"Mm, long as you're quiet." The woman looked over at N. "Would your boyfriend like to come as well?"
Cheeks ablaze for the second time, Anwyn wildly threw her hands in front of her and waved them. "No, no, no, no, no! Night is not my boyfriend! I'm just his babysitter!"
N tiredly tilted his head, his exhaustion beginning to claim his place in the world of the wakened. Noticing this, Anwyn bit her lip, working through her embarrassment to yell at him. "N-Night, take Oz to the room I booked for us and go to bed!"
"But Zorua..." he mumbled, eyelids drooping.
"You're about to collapse on the floor! Go to bed...!"
Only half-listening, the young man scooped the still sleeping Oz up into his arms and stood, swaying a little in place. Nurse Joy tittered at his obvious exhaustion, gesturing to her Audino. "Escort him to his room, if you would. I wouldn't want him falling asleep in the halls."
"Audinoo," her assistant replied with a bow, walking over to help N find his way. Watching as he was ushered away by the Pokémon, reluctant to comply but too tired to resist, Anwyn sighed, wondering why in the world she bothered dealing with him. The nurse couldn't help but giggle at her.
"Are you sure he's not your boyfriend? You two seem pretty close."
Her face hardened indignantly. "H-He's not!"
"Heh heh, well, shall we go visit Zorua?"
The reminder of the injured fox destroyed Anwyn's trivial discomfiture, and she nodded briskly, following the Pokémon healer down a wide stretch of hallway beyond the doors with a few others doors running along the left and right walls. She assumed they were medical rooms reserved for the most serious patients, an assumption that was confirmed when Nurse Joy stopped at the door nearest the emergency room and motioned her inside. As Anwyn stepped into the dark space, she was greeted with the quiet beeping of a heart monitor, Zorua tucked inside a blanket within the glass casing surrounding the cushioned bedlike table she'd be put on. A few cords stuck into her fur for the heart monitor and an IV drip of blood. The bag for the drip had gotten low on fluids, as Zorua had taken in most of it already.
The tiny Pokémon slowly fluttered open her eyes upon hearing visitors, making a quiet noise when seeing Anwyn.
"Hey..." the girl said softly, relieved by her apparent recovery.
Nurse Joy did a quick check on the Dark-type's heart rate before going over and pressing a button on the panel near the table. In response, the two sides of the glass casing retracted back into the slots around the padding, allowing Zorua to be touched.
"If it weren't for that young man's Zoroark, we wouldn't have had enough blood to transfuse," the woman confessed. "Do be sure to thank him for me later."
"Of course," Anwyn said, remembering how uncharacteristically eager the Barron had been to volunteer for that. She gently reached out and stroked Zorua's head. "I guess Barron really likes rescuing you, huh?"
The Dark-type mewled hoarsely, still a bit scared of her and the contact of her hand.
"Unfortunately, Pokémon that are bred and raised specifically for illegal fights aren't very socialized. Though it's good she isn't displaying any aggressive behavior."
"How'd you figure out she was bred for the ring, Nurse Joy? We never mentioned it," Anwyn pointed out.
The woman only gave her a smile, one weighed with unease. "Much like your Pokédex, we have the technology to determine what moves and abilities Pokémon have... The sad reality is that we have problems with these kinds of Pokémon often. Castelia is a big city that attracts both good and bad, after all." She sighed, shaking her head glumly. "I've seen it many times before, and this little Zorua's moveset is far too diverse to be anything except a Pokémon bred to fight."
"Why...? What moves can she use...?"
"All very unusual, powerful ones..." she replied. "We detected Dark Pulse, Extrasensory, Hidden Power, Calm Mind, and even Night Daze in her arsenal..."
Anwyn gawked, hardly believing what she'd just heard. "That's just... insane..." she exclaimed. "Especially Night Daze—that's a signature attack, isn't it?"
"Mm, only learned by Zorua and Zoroark after vigorous training. It's ironic that this little one has such potential when she's so skittish..."
She's was designed to be a perfect weapon even before her birth... Anwyn couldn't help but reflect back on what N had said, a little uncomfortable with everything going on. She dragged a chair over from the side and sat near the front of machine holding Zorua. "I think I'll stay with her for a little while... If that's okay..."
"It is... Just try not to move her until the IV has finished administrating," the nurse advised, turning to leave the room. "And do be sure to get to bed soon... It is pretty late."
"I will..."
With that, the woman lightly shut the door behind her, leaving the human and Pokémon alone. For some time, the air was thick with silence, Anwyn gazing at the fox with more sympathy than she'd ever given anything in her life. Zorua only stared at the human's compassion and care for her wellbeing with equally matched uncertainty and nervousness. Nurse Joy had given her a warm bath before hooking her up to the devices around her, so her fur no longer held the bloody evidence of her escape. Under the few streams of ashen moonlight that managed to flood in through the window, her dark pelt was a pure essence of the night, beautifully majestic and visually soft. Her eyes seemed to cut away the shadows too, remaining bright and strikingly visible even in darkness. Anwyn resigned herself to a small smile.
"Life has been unfair to you, hasn't it...?"
The fox's already emotionally drained expression took a shallow turn, and she didn't make a move to hint the human at an answer. Anwyn placed her good hand a few inches before the Pokémon, who crawled back a little, nose twitching.
"That guy... Did he keep you in a cage your whole life...?"
Ears pinned back, Zorua whimpered, shuffling her paws. She tentatively rested her muzzle in the palm of her hand, nodding to her question.
Anwyn only continued to smile, her muddled attention hedging towards a nonexistent area of the room. "...I understand you, y'know... I know how you feel..."
At that, Zorua tipped her head, whining inquisitively. The brunette laughed a laugh devoid of all humor, the presence of certain memories associated with her statement whisking her positive emotions off into a murky, deadened abyss in the back of her mind.
"When I was little, before meeting my friends, I was a lot like you... Timid, shy, doubtful..." Anwyn revealed, closing her eyes. "Scared... all the time..."
Zorua continued to listen, highly interested. In response, Anwyn went on, her tone cheery despite the cheerlessness of her story. "I wasn't in a good situation once... I was hurt a lot for no reason, and to this day, I still don't know why," she explained. "After our house burnt down and we moved directly into town, I met Cheren and Bianca... I avoided them at first, but after they persisted for a year or two, I began to change, and I became much happier... I hate it... looking weak... So if something bothers me, I mask it with a smile and bury it. "
The girl gently took back her hand, Zorua watching as she made her way over to the window. Seeing that they were close enough to the ground, Anwyn opened the sliding glass, the wind outside drifting past her hair and tossing it back. She reached into her bag, her hand stilling on the cool surface of an empty Poké Ball. As she slipped it out, the polished steel shimmered under the natural and artificial lights of the city. She walked back over to Zorua, placing the device down in front of her before settling back into her chair. The Pokémon's fur frizzed out a little at first, unsure of the Trainer's intent.
"I'd prefer to help you, offer you a way out," Anwyn told her. "But... I've decided to give you the choice... It's your life now... Not mine, not that guy's, not anyone else's... Just yours..."
The fox growled a bit, poking her face over the Poké Ball to look at Anwyn clearly. The human, still smiling, said, "If you come with me, I won't let anything like this ever happen again, and I can show you the world can be a wonderful place..." She swung her arm towards the city outside. "But the window is open for you. If after you've recovered you want to leave and resume life on the streets, you may... I won't stop you."
Zorua unsurely mewed, her ears slowly lifting off her head as she wavered between the window and the Poké Ball. Anwyn meanwhile leaned back into her chair, fatigue beginning to rear its ugly head. She tried her best to stay awake, but her consciousness steadily blurred and lapsed. Her fortitude eventually abandoned her alltogether, and she began to nod off, the room fading away to the realm of her dreams... Dreams of white light, voices, and fire...
"Do you possess... the courage to seek the truth...?"
...Again...
"You reject me because you're afraid... But you cannot fear what is already within you..."
...I don't know who you are, but quit invading my mind... Telling me things I don't understand...
"You'll have to understand... If you want your truth to prevail over the Hero of Ideals, that is..."
...Heroes, truths, ideals... You talk like those fables my mother used to read to me. It's not funny... I don't believe in such things...
"You cannot lie to me... We share the same values..."
...It's... It's not a lie...You've been haunting me with these dreams since I was a child. I don't want you here, understand...? Go away...!
"...What a pity..."
Anwyn snapped herself awake, not as hot nor as panicked as the last time she'd dreamt of the voice, but still breathing hard and left just as confused. Her head throbbed some, though she wasn't as concerned with that at the moment, for what she saw ahead of her banished all other thoughts from her mind. The Poké Ball she'd left still sat on the padding, but...
Zorua was gone...
She worriedly glanced at the IV drip, the contents of which had drained completely. So Zorua had at least waited to intake all the blood before departing, leaving a mess of unhooked cords in her wake... A quick check for the time from the nearest clock told her that it was only an hour past midnight, so she at least hadn't fallen asleep for very long... But still...
"...Guess she really was too scared. I don't blame her, in a way..." Anwyn whispered to herself. "I just hope she doesn't get hurt again..."
Her hand opening to retrieve the spherical device, she found something odd about it, something odd but familiar. The metal felt warm, full even... She lifted the Poké Ball close and examined it, an inkling of hope providing her with vague possibilities.
I wonder...
Her thumb leisurely shifted over the button and pressed it down. She aimed the front out towards the bedding, holding her breath and biding every precious second as she flung her pressure off it. To her pleasant astonishment, the sphere did not open emptily. The telltale white light invoked a small body into the room, slowly but surely shaping into the form of the Zorua.
The illusionary fox shook her body and threw off some stray specs of light, peeking up at her new Trainer and letting out a little "hello" in the form of a purr.
Emotion of a thousand sorts and more beat through Anwyn's heart as she mulled over the gravity of the Pokémon's decision. After so much abuse and violence, knowing nothing of life but the solitary glimpses through the dingy bars of a cage or the makeshift rings where Pokémon much larger had threatened to crush her every bone and muscle, she had said something to get through to this Zorua... Her—a Trainer, the very class of human she'd probably grown to hate so very much. The choice hit Anwyn so intensely that she almost shed a tear...
"...You'll never have to fight again, if that's what you want," she promised, scooping the fox into her arms and cradling her close to her chest. "Never again..."
Zorua weakly nestled her head against Anwyn, beginning to relax into her warmth—probably the first warmth of she'd ever felt from someone in her life.
Thinking expeditiously, yet delving deeply into the confines of her mind for something special, Anwyn caressed her new Pokémon's velvet ears. "I think... I'll call you Maya..."
Zorua tilted her head and yipped, cutely curling her tail sideways.
"It's a name that can mean many things," Anwyn elucidated. "'Illusion', 'fantasy', 'hardworking', 'everlasting'..." She pressed her face into the Dark-type's tiny body, never wanting to let go of her again, no matter what power attempted to pry them apart.
...And 'truth'...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
"What a stunning display of splendor and grace... This painting is even more wonderful than the last!"
Anwyn vacantly stared at the blobby swirls of black and white, wondering if N was truly looking at the same picture she was. After getting up this morning and talking for a bit, they'd traveled down the street where Casteliacone had been located and were handed out some flyers announcing a nearby art gallery's one-day-only free walk-in. Thinking she would see some of Burgh's works, Anwyn had jumped at the chance to get in for free, dragging N along with her. However, failing to pay attention to the specifics of the flyer had cost her. Not only did the undersized art gallery not display any paintings of Burgh's, but the current themes of the exhibits were in the "motif of legends in the Unova region".
Maya, using Illusion to appear as a child again, held Anwyn's hand as they continued touring the place, Oz just as confused as his Trainer on the meaning of the various pieces of art and rubbing his chin.
"Night, this is boring—it's just shades of black and white spilled messily out onto a canvas," Anwyn complained. The painting they were looking at really wasn't something special to the naked eye, simply white and black painted into one large circle, one dot of white in the blackened area and one dot of black in the whitened area. The title of the painting was: "Ideals and Truth".
"You cannot see the beauty in this? I expect more from you, Anwyn," N pouted.
"I-I can't help it! It just looks uninteresting to me!" she whined. "The last one we looked at was at least more unambiguous. Y'know, the "Twin Heroes" one—they actually looked like the artwork in their fairytales!"
N grinned. "Oh, so then, you have immersed yourself in the tale of the twin heroes."
"When I was a kid," Anwyn clarified huffily, scratching the fibers of the brown rug with the heel of her boot. "I've outgrown that story, seriously..."
"Outgrown it? Why ever would you say that?" N asked, innocent. "It's part of our history, after all."
"It's just a fable..."
N chuckled, leading Anwyn over past the statues to view the works on the furthest wall from the entrance. Four paintings, much more prominent than the previous two, were mounted before them under strong studio lights. The larger two of the four paintings hung furthest left and right, one depicting a shadowy storm with wicked lashes of black lighting streaking all over the surface while the other...
White... fire...? Anwyn thought, the fair inferno searing the painting's appearance in an uncomfortably familiar way. She read the labels of the two paintings: "Black Lightning Bolt" and "White Flame".
"Gives you chills, doesn't it? Tingles..."
"Um... Sort of..." Her attention flicked towards the two paintings in the middle. These ones, like the "Twin Heroes" portrait, were more specific and less abstract. The theme of black and white attained its dominance over them, but this time with dragons. On one side, a black dragon— large, powerful, with sharp red eyes that heavily contrasted with the blue glow surrounding its massive build. As Anwyn directed her gaze to the other painting, her mouth dried up, feeling something squeeze her heart still. The other dragon... The white dragon... Unlike the first, its form was beautiful, sleek, almost feathered... But what really got to her were its eyes... The same piercing, commanding blue eyes she'd seen when...
"That would be an artist's interpretation of the legendary Reshiram," N told her, observing her focus on it.
Anwyn blinked. "...Reshiram?"
"Indeed... And this other Pokémon..." N reached out and traced his fingers down the other painting. "Is the legendary Zekrom..."
Zekrom and Reshiram... Like in the stories... Anwyn noted wistfully. "You talk as if you know them or something, Night," she joked.
"Mm, no, not yet... But perhaps someday," he spoke softly. "I'm fascinated with these two Pokémon, you see. Whether they be real or not, they aspired so many of my dreams when I was a child..."
"Well, if it inspires you, but all means, believe in it..."
"I do, quite strongly." N released a soft, contented sigh. "I would very much like to befriend them... But, I suppose, only the Hero of Ideals and the Hero of Truth are capable of such feats..."
Suddenly, Anwyn's Xtransceiver rang out, spreading apart the conversation and earning the girl quite a number of glares from other people in the gallery. She hurried and pulled the communicator out, offering an apology before picking up the call. "H-hello...?"
Bianca's cheery face blinked onto the screen, the blonde excitedly flailing her arms. "Anwyn! Anwyn, Anwyn, Anwyn!"
"H-hey Bianca, calm down, I get it; you're happy I picked up. But this isn't the best place to—"
"No, no, silly! You're never going to believe what happened! Cheren and I finally got to Castelia, and, well, gah! I can't tell you over this thing—you have to come meet up with us!"
Her heart leaped for joy at the opportunity to leave this dull place. "Great! I'll be right over, where are you?"
"Liberty Pier! It's the pier to furthest west! You can't miss it 'cause the Royal Unova's docked there!"
The cruise ship...? Isn't it normally docked on the pier nearest Skyarrow Bridge? Stuffing the thought, Anwyn nodded. "Right, okay, I'll be there soon as I can."
"Okay, but hurry even faster than that!"
Hanging up the call, Anwyn took back Maya's hand and turned to N. "Time to go, Night~ We gotta go see my friends now."
N immaturely shook his head, holding onto the nearest statues like a child refusing to leave a toy store. "But, but... The paintings..."
A nearby guard narrowed his eyes, annoyed by the juvenile behavior of the young man. "Sir, you cannot touch the exhibits..."
"Right, he won't~" Anwyn hooked N's arm under her free one and pulled, dragging the poor Trainer around the corner and out the gallery. "Off to Liberty Pier we go~"
"A-Anwyn, no! The paintings...!"
"Oh shush! You'll get over it."
Hauling her friend through the bustling crowds, N still protesting over losing his chance to view the exhibits more, Anwyn stopped when she came to the port of the city, glancing around the wide array of gray piers for the one Bianca had mentioned. True to her word, the cruise ship—Royal Unova—had docked on the westernmost pier, serving as the checkpoint which she needed to reach. The salty air wafting from the vast expanse of the ocean excited the prospect of whatever surprise her friend had in store. It could be anything, after all, with Castelia being so expansive.
The closer they went to the Royal Unova, the more beautiful it became. The sheer size of it knocked back all Anwyn's previous encounters with what she'd considered large boats. It had several different decks on different tiers, all of which seemed to glitter when kissed by the sun's rays and absolutely covered in fun activities. The gorgeous mode of transportation, wonderful as it was to see, appeared just as expensive to ride on as any other cruise liner or yacht. From the lowest deck, a ramp extended down to the dock for people to board, an employee collecting the tickets from passengers and jotting down their information for safety precautions.
N peered up at the aquatic marvel. "What a lovely collection of formulas and mechanics..."
"...Seriously? You see how amazing this boat is and that's the first thing you think of?"
"Is that strange?"
"Yes!"
A hasty voice called out to her as she and N traversed near the middle of Liberty Pier where the line had formed. "Anwyn~!"
Sure enough, it belonged to Bianca, and she ran over from the line with Cheren in tow. When she reached Anywn, she said, "I'm so happy to see you again! You too, Oz!"
"Osha!" the otter greeted, tapping his scalchop.
"You won't... believe..." Bianca trailed off as soon as she noticed N, quieting a bit. "Who's this, Anwyn? Your new friend?"
"Ah, yeah. This is Night," Anwyn introduced. "Say hi to Bianca, Night."
A little awkward, N tilted down his head, emotionless as he spoke, "...How do you do?"
"Wait a minute..." Cheren stopped just short of where the three of them stood, stiffening and glaring hard at the green-haired teenager. "You're N, that guy we met in Accumula... What are you doing hanging around Anwyn?"
N, perplexed by his choice of words, replied, "I'm really not hanging off of anything, as you can plainly see."
"...Are you an idiot?"
"I don't believe so."
Anwyn stomped her foot. "Cheren, would you chill out? Night's my friend now!"
"'Night'...?"
"Wait, this is the 'N' you and Cheren told me about?" Bianca asked. "But he seems so nice..."
N only scratched his neck, half-lost in the context of the conversation. Anwyn sighed. They were really getting off to a great start, weren't they? "Look, I got to know him and he's really just a big kid who needs more friends, so be nice, okay?"
Cheren sneered at the very idea of befriending the creep who'd practically spoken over him as if unimportant the entire time they'd talked in Accumula. His complex fuel of upset pooled into his normally calm eyes and honed them sharp, leaving his mood untrusting and wary. N stared back with no discernible emotion, the two males on totally different ends of the spectrum and not about to play nice.
"Okay, if that's N... or, erm, Night... Then who's this girl?" Bianca questioned Anwyn when the silence become awkward, gesturing towards Maya. The disguised Pokémon hid a little behind her Trainer, and the brunette tittered. "This is Maya... She's... my new Pokémon~"
Cheren and Bianca's faces went blank, Maya only retreating more out of sight. Cheren snobbishly pointed at his friend. "I think being around N has screwed up your sanity, Anwyn—that's clearly a person."
"N-no, really, she's a Pokémon! A Zorua! And quit gawking... She's sensitive!"
Being more knowledgeable than Bianca, the dark-haired boy sunk back into his usual composure of intellectual coolness, adjusting his glasses. "Ah, well, that makes a lot more sense. You could've mentioned that straight away."
Annoyed by his attitude, Anwyn glanced at her Zorua. "Why don't you give them a little demonstration?"
Maya blinked slowly, peeking out at Cheren and Bianca a moment before nodding. In a flash of light, her body morphed back to her real appearance, the blonde gushing in adoration at her endearing form.
"She's. So. Cuuuuuuute," she squealed.
Jumping and flipping, Maya flashed purple again, disguising herself as Cheren this time. As expected, her tail poked out from her pants and remained unhidden, wagging behind her. She held her hands up like paws in front of her, staring out at the real Cheren with adorable eyes, releasing an even more adorable sound from her mouth. Needless to say, Cheren was less than amused at the little display, his mouth agape and glasses slipping comically down the bridge of his nose.
Anwyn and Bianca both burst out laughing at the sweet and lovable version of Cheren Maya had produced, the boy huffily turning away and beyond embarrassed.
"I-I do not act like that!" he spat. "What a horrible imitation! Tell her to change back—I demand it!"
Maya actually giggled a bit at his outburst, unmasking her current illusion to go back to her disguise as a young girl, holding her Trainer's hand again. Anwyn could barely comprehend anything anymore, laughing her brains out at Maya's mimic of her male friend.
"S-she made you look so huggable, Cheren," Bianca admitted, also laughing at the visual just witnessed. Her comment only added a flush the boy's touchy expression, and he heatedly whirled around with his back to everyone.
"Y-you're all ridiculous! Can we hurry up and get on the boat?"
His comment halted Anwyn's glee, and she hummed thoughtfully, offering her puzzlement to Bianca. "The boat...? He doesn't mean the Royal Unova, does he?"
"Well, actually, that's what I wanted to surprise you about!" The flighty girl dug through her bag for something, Anwyn and N watching with interest as she found whatever she was looking for and pulled it out. "Ta-da~" Bianca cheered, her hands holding out four plastic passes with the face of a little tan and orange Pokémon on the front, its big sapphire eyes quite cute. "They're Liberty Passes! I got these for being the 10'000th visitor to enter Castelia City this week! It's enough for me and three friends to go on a special two-day cruise on the Royal Unova around Liberty Island!"
"Are you serious...? That's awesome!" Anwyn shouted, pumped with eager anticipation. "How lucky can you get, Bianca? That's a once-in-a-lifetime trip!"
"I know, right! You're coming with us, aren't you?"
"Yeah, of course!" Anwyn took her pass happily, a stray thought worming its way into her mind and pausing her exhilaration. "Ah, but... What about the fourth pass?"
"Ah, well..." Bianca stared at the plastic for a few seconds, then directed her gaze towards N. "Why don't you take the last pass, Night?"
The young man, with genuine surprise, asked, "...Me...? Are you sure?"
"Well, if you're Anwyn's friend now—"
"What? Don't be idiotic. He can't go," Cheren argued.
N, outwardly unfazed though perhaps inwardly offended, melted back into the shadows cast by the brim of his hat, saying nothing in return to the challenge.
"Cheren, don't be a jerk," Anwyn tiffed, Oz nodding in agreement. "It's a waste if nobody takes the pass, and Night's my friend. He's going."
Before he could retort against her decision, Anwyn swiped the extra pass and offered it to N, scowling somewhat. "Here, Night."
He took it, though apprehensive and unsure whether or not this was okay. "...Thank you, Anwyn..."
"Keh..." Uncomfortable but in no position to complain further, Cheren stormed off towards the winding line near the ramp, throwing a miffed conceding statement over his shoulder. "Fine, whatever, let's just get our spot back, otherwise getting on the boat will take hours and we'll have horrible rooms."
"Ah, wait for me, Cheren!" Bianca called out, running after him and waving for Anwyn and N to follow. The brunette admired her shimmering pass, only able to fantasize about the new experiences it could bring her... She absentmindedly wondered what Pokémon was on it, though remembered N and tucked the thought away for the time being.
"Sorry about him. He's a little... cautious sometimes," she said comfortingly, patting his shoulder.
"I'm used to it," he assured in a clipped tone. "Don't fret. I'm quite alright."
Being 'used to it' isn't good, Night... And you always talk faster when something's bothering you, Anwyn thought, shaking her head. "Well, shall we go? This should be a fun way to wrap up our free time!"
With a smile that could've passed off as real, he nodded, and the two friends followed the path Cheren and Bianca had paved for them with Maya still sticking close to Anwyn and Oz waddling behind them with a grin. They both had no idea what the surprise adventure would have in store, only that anything could happen after they boarded the boat and sailed towards the mystifying and beautiful Liberty Garden, which towered in the far distance of the city and watched over them, anticipating their arrival...
Review replies:
Ashley Eon: Yes, N is quite the clueless little intellectual. XD He really contradicts himself, which just makes him that much more fun to write. And I'm glad to here I described her little illusion form well! I figured they'd sort of have their own personal forms that they could use that sort of hinted at the fact that they're actually Pokémon. She seemed cute in my mind when I thought of it, so I'm glad I went with that. And, wow, thank you so much for your opinion. I am quite modest; putting this story up here for anyone to read actually made me a little nervous, but I wanted to see if I could create something people would really be deeply attached to. :3 So I'm very happy you think I touch on all those things. It is my goal to cover a bit of everything, not just the two genres I put this story under. Your reviews always make me smile, so keep them coming!
PiecesBaby: I know Zorua and Zoroark are sort of referred to as the Gen V Riolu and Lucario in terms of how popular they are, but I really do love those two Pokémon. They're up in my favorites with the Oshawott line. As per whether Anwyn catches her or not, well, I think you know now. XD
Daughter of Kabegami: First of all! Okami penname. That's just awesome. Love Okami. And, as your review is nice enough for a reply, and this is the first you reviewed, thank you for the compliments! Anwyn's nicknaming habit is really fun to play with, so happy you enjoyed the fact that she nicknamed N and Barron. Hope to see more feedback from you.
Dethclaw3: I think your question on Victini has been answered. I was planning on it from the beginning, actually. One of the first things I wanted Anwyn to do since most people don't seem to. Thank you for your review and I hope you'll continue reviewing!
Mushroomminer: Like with the last two reviews, thank you for reviewing, as its the first I've seen from you and it's enough of a review for me to reply. It was my intention to really do my own interpretation of Black that follows the story while maintaining its own purpose, and I do think I'm doing well with that so thank you for noticing. And, obviously, glad you enjoy it. XD Ahaha, you should replay them, or whichever version you have! The games are brilliant.
Tripolar: Now, I'm going to be upfront and honest. When I read this review, I almost zoned out of reality for a good few minutes trying to comprehend how my writing could possibly garner a review as, contrary to what you think, intelligent and thoughtful as yours. What you put there is possibly the best amount of feedback I've ever received, and I just felt so deeply touched by everything you said. I really don't deserve all that praise. I seriously wanted to PM you and sort of give a personal thank you for your review, but sadly, you reviewed as a non-member and I had no way to do that. The reason Anwyn doesn't really go into detail about her little issues with Team Plasma is strictly because she knows N's somewhat supportive of them and doesn't want to get into a fight or ruin their developing friendship by bringing it up, so tends to just feed him little pieces. I think you'll find though, especially with the next two or three upcoming chapters, that the little spiral of conflict you mentioned is going to really start visibly showing, and will continue to show throughout the story until it finally breaks him by the end. N, in my eyes, is such a brilliant character due to the fact that he's a mere puppet who doesn't know any better than what his puppeteer has let him him believe. He's a well-intentioned extremist, and a genuinely good person just wanting to help his friends. It's truly the scene after you defeat N for the final time in the game that gets to me. That one scene really shatters the childish, uncomplicated mold for Pokémon, which I absolutely adore, to be honest, horrible as the reveal was. I highly doubt Nintendo is ever going to make a antagonist I'll love more than N, but, I'm getting off-tract here. It's my sincerest, and almost imploring hope that this will not be the last review I hear from you. As you do not have an account, I can only count on you seeing this if you continue reading and I really want you to know that it's your kind of review that really drives me; its exactly the kind of review I wanted to get a lot of too, so it'd be really great if you could keep up chapter to chapter and give me feedback. Your comments about the environment enhancements, especially, have already helped me, so again, only hope that you will see this and consider it. I'd be very grateful.