'Fortune favors the prepared mind.'
Louis Pasteur
oxo…oxo
When Craig woke, the first thing he asked was "can I have some pancakes?" I had looked at him with an eyebrow raised before sniffing the air. Sure enough, May's mum was making pancakes for breakfast. I grinned down at him before nodding.
"Sure; course you can." I told him before helping him up and leading him into the kitchen where May, Ash, Max, Brock, Drew, Norman and Caroline were, most sitting at the table leaving only Caroline to make the pancakes. I sat down next to Brock and Craig sat nervously next to me, between me and Drew. Secretly, Craig was a huge fan of the green haired coordinator and he kept looking over at him before turning away quickly. The pancakes were gorgeous, like usual, and it didn't take long for Craig to finish them off. I remembered how hungry I had been when I had arrived and felt myself smile at the way he stuffed the food down his throat.
"So, what exactly is going on? Where am I? And how come your alive?" he asked when he finished his food. I wondered if he thought he was dreaming. No, the pain was too much to be a dream, I remember. I looked at him sadly before shaking my head.
"You're in the world of pokemon. I'm not dead here because this is where I decided to live." I told him simply. He looked at me in confusion and I smiled. "I can't know for sure but your coming here must be the work of a pokemon called Palkium. He is the son of Palkia and Dialga and can pass through dimensions and time and stuff. He brought me here and gave me a choice, to stay or go. By that time I already had a pokemon, met my friends and fallen in love with Brock." I said, my face heating up at the confession. Craig looked at me startled before glancing at Brock, who was smiling, and looking back at me.
"You and…" he started, a sly smile growing on his face. My own smile faltered as I realised his train of thought and my face flared. Brock had always been my favourite character when I was watching the show. I had loved him, well, as much as someone can love a fictional character, and Craig knew it.
"Craig." I said warningly, telling him with my voice not to go where I thought he was going. He smirked and shrugged before eyeing Brock and grinning. I sighed slightly before turning my eyes on Brock and the others, all of which had confused looks on their faces. "Remember when I said you were a TV show in our world?" I asked them as an explanation. They nodded. "Well, Brock used to be my favourite character ok?" I admitted, turning even redder than I thought possible.
"Even with all the flirting!" Craig finished before chuckling slightly at my face. I growled slightly before getting an idea.
"Sick um Absol!" I cried with a finger pointed at my brother causing the large dog like pokemon to leap forwards and chase a suddenly quite frightened Craig around the room.
"Ok, ok! I'm sorry!" he cried as we laughed. Feeling a small wave of guilt at his fear, I told Absol to leave him. The boy sighed slightly before climbing back into his seat at the table. I knew this was all new to him and he didn't really know whether the pokemon would hurt him or not but I had thought he might realise Absol was playing. Maybe he had, I supposed, but he didn't look like it. A smile came back to his face quickly though and I decided I should worry about him too much.
What I was really worried about though was Palkium's involvement in this. What was going on? I mean, the last time he did something like this he was punished by his mother and he hadn't liked it in the slightest. Why would he do it again? It didn't make sense and for some reason it felt like some sick joke. But I didn't believe that he would do that, not to anyone let alone me. Maybe I had misread him? Maybe his kindness and vulnerability had all been a lie, some act to send me astray? I shook myself mentally. What was I thinking? Palkium would never do that!
"Sammy? You ok?" Craig asked. I looked up at him before smiling. I know my expression hadn't changed as my mind had wandered but Craig had always had a sort of sense to see people's emotions and always mine. Brock looked at me in surprise, he had been fooled by my mask and while part of me was proud of myself, another was disappointed that he couldn't see.
"I'm ok. I was just thinking about Palkium." I told my brother quietly. His expression changed as he shook his head slightly, his sweeping white hair swaying slightly around his face and his green eyes locked on my own with a knowing gleam.
"Is he the pokemon who brought me here?" he asked dryly, causing my eyes to widen slightly and my grip on Brock's hand to tighten. Then I looked down.
"Yeah."
He nodded calmly before standing up, excusing himself and walking out the door. Ash watched the door for a moment before glancing at me and following him. I felt myself let out a small sigh of relief before I put my arms on the table and my head on my arms.
I smiled into my arms as I felt brocks hand's stroke my hair gently. I loved having people stoke and play with my hair; it was so relaxing, so calming. I was soon feeling better again. After a while, Ash came back with a laughing Craig in tow and I smiled at my brother before grinning at his return smile.
"So, who is this Palkium guy then? I've never heard of him." Craig asked me later as we walked down the road. We had decided to carry on in our journey, the party just a little bigger than before. It seemed to be growing all the time. I had given my brother Ponyta, Vaporeon and Luxio as a rental to make sure he was protected if he came across any trouble if he was on his own.
"Neither had I until I came here. He's the son of Dialga and Palkia and seems to be quite powerful. He brought me here and I assume he brought you here too." I told him. He blinked at me for a moment before his eyes furrowed into a confused frown.
"But I thought legendarys had no gender?" he asked me, curious confusion ringing in his voice. I smiled.
"Yeah, apparently they can change their genders at will but prefer humans to think they don't have a gender so they don't try and breed them." I explained. I hadn't been told the last piece of information but I figured it was a good enough reason whether or not it was their main reason. Craig nodded slightly before looking away. I turned to Brock, who was standing next to me and smiled. He smiled back before taking my hand in his again and squeezing it tight. He seemed to be doing that allot these days.
"Don't worry. I'm sure there's a valid explanation. Trust in Palkium." He whispered softly, earning a scowl from Craig at the close proximity of his lips to my ear. I blushed slightly before nodding and squeezing his hand back.
I smiled. Having Brock beside me would be a huge comfort. I knew he was right; I had to keep my faith in Palkium. But with all that had happened, it was easier said than done.
oxo…oxo
I hope you like this story! I thank you for the reviews you have been giving me and I urge you to keep them coming! This is quite a hard part of the story to write and I'm trying to fit it around school work and everything else now I'm in 6th form but I will try my best to complete it as well and fast as I can. Any reviews will surely help me along and inspire me to write. I know some of them already have. Special thanks to Boss-slayer451 and Latina-Chica-16 for inspiring me to write this chapter and for all your reviews along the way. ^_^
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