A/N: This is so far going to be my darkest chapter, my biggest chapter, my most revealing chapter, and the most expensive. Actually, this chapter will probably create more questions that it answers. Also, there will be a celebrity appearance! Guess who it will be...
No not Jackie Chan. No not Johnny Depp. Even better. :-D
I also would like to thank Infinity Warrior once again, this time writing two scenes.
And I forgot to credit Jacuzzi® in a previous chapter. So I do that now.
And two more things: NO! There shalt be no described explicit content in this story. Even if it may sound like they may be 'doing it', it is not happening right now, if and when it does, I would stop it there and create a separate story, rated M. But it is NOT happening anytime soon. Kayla surprisingly will not partake of such pleasures until she is married, and neither will Jobe. So go jump off a duck. And I know perfectly well that Pokemon cannot talk to humans, (with a few exceptions) but this story needs that to support the plot, so again, go jump off a duck.
WARNING:
Ages 16+. Contains dark themes, shocking moments, short birth origin discussions, 'bodily activity' talks and see-through clothes.
RECAP:
Jobe & Kayla were about to leave to go get food, when she revealed to him that her family was filthy rich. She also told him that her dad's company might have been responsible for Jobe. They went and got the groceries, then ate, in which time Jobe discovered that he loved Shuca berries, watched a little TV, and went to sleep. The next morning, Jobe had already left for work, while Kayla went out for some early shopping, in which she purchased more Shuca berries and a swimsuit for each of them. Jobe then found out that he wouldn't be getting paid for working at the Mart, period. He left and went back to hotel, telling Kay the bad news. She reassured him that he wasn't being a burden, and she could support him as long as needed. He considered relocating to Lacunosa Town, but she convinced him to stay for a while longer. They had a short discussion over the swimsuit, then they both went to sleep.
o-o-o
During the middle of the night, there was a shadow. Not just any shadow, but an evil shadow. True, most adumbrations were evil, but this particular one was gruesome, even amongst its own kind. He stealthily traversed through the skyscrapers, no one being able to track him. He was much too lithe, too quick. Using much caution, he scaled one of the tallest buildings, and stood atop it. He could clearly see the next destination in front of him, which he knew housed his target.
Suddenly, he heard something rustle behind him. He flashed around, ready to combat anything that would dare to challenge him. When the figure made itself known, it was much like himself, but with a slightly different coloring. He didn't attack it at first, since it was his own kind. The other being submitted itself to him, to show that it meant no harm. He accepted it, and decided to rest with it for the remainder of the night.
o-o-o
Jobe woke up in the middle of the night with a nightmare. He had another dream with Kayla in it, this time, he was the one who was seriously injured. He saw himself lying on a road, with blood spilling out of his head. There was a car that had catastrophic damage in the background, along with Kayla, who was kneeling right by Jobe's mangled body. She was crying, but he couldn't hear why. Obviously it was because he was... dead.
This dream shook him pretty badly. Almost to the point of him screaming and waking her up, too. But all he did was jump up, trying to hold in his shriek. His chest was heaving, his vision was blurred, and his hands were numb. This one was different than the other one. This dream almost seemed... real.
He checked the clock; it read 4:39 AM. He was wide awake by then, so he did what he had done last time: got up and took a drink of water. The only change between this post-dream and the last, was that Kayla was sleeping in her own bed. Jobe drank the rest of the water, then quietly hopped back into bed.
Sleep was hard to come back to him, however. Jobe heard Kayla move slightly, then lay still. He tossed and turned, but it never came back to him. He couldn't get the image out of his head. Frustrated, he tore the covers off of him, then tiptoed over to the outdoor balcony, and stepped outside. He needed some fresh air.
o-o
Kayla was dozing, not quite asleep, but not awake either. She heard Jobe get up, but she thought he was going to the bathroom or something. After she heard him get a sip of water, Kayla shifted a little, so she could hear him better. It sounded like he was flipping the bed over. She peered out of the corner of her eye, and saw him getting up, with his head in his hands, and walking out to the balcony, apparently trying not to wake her up. She waited until he turned around, then Kayla got up and walked over to the balcony, to join him.
o-o
Jobe was just trying to soothe his mind, but it wasn't easy. Why do I have to have these nightmares? Is it because of my change? He thought, trying to discover the origin of his qualms. Just then, he heard a noise behind him, and he flashed back around to see what it was. He could barely see Kayla opening the door, and joining him out on the balcony.
"I see you couldn't sleep either." she lied.
"Whaddaya mean? I saw you, you were out cold." he said.
Kayla shrugged. "Okay, maybe I was. But you woke me up when you got that water."
"I was thirsty." he said, obviously lying to her.
"I bet you were, after tossing and turning like that. What's up?" she said, cracking his bluff.
"Fine. I had yet another bad dream." he said, reluctantly admitting it.
Kayla nodded. "I see. What was it that made it so bad?" she asked, trying to help him feel better.
Jobe was again reluctant to tell her. "This time it was... me. Getting killed by a car... you were standing there, sobbing, hoping that I was okay. The car was absolutely demolished. It was so gruesome..."
Kayla rubbed his back. "Remember, it was just a dream. Dreams usually tell what has happened, not what is going to happen. So, is that how you were killed the first time?"
Jobe shook his head. "I don't think so, because you were there, Wellstep said I was under a car, not being mauled by one. And I don't think an ordinary man could do such damage to a vehicle like that." he replied.
"Yeah, I suppose so. But I doubt, and hope it's not going to come true. Really, if dreams came true like that, then I would've been married and living on a private island. But, here I am." she said.
Jobe couldn't stop a small smile, because he was glad her dream didn't come true, and he would be ecstatic if his didn't either. "Well, it's a good thing too, or I wouldn't be here either."
"Now I doubt that. Maybe you would've gotten here quicker, or it could have been longer. But I think you would've gotten here either way." she said.
Jobe just shrugged. His dream still bothered him, but not as much now.
A long silence entailed after this, and Kayla broke it by rubbing his back again.
"So, do you feel better now?" she asked.
Jobe smiled. "Yes, I do. Let's get back to sleep, it's still really early." he said, moving back to bed.
Kayla went back to hers too. It was now about 5 AM, and both of them fell asleep. Jobe, with his heart lightened, and Kayla, with hers confused.
o-o-o
Jobe's internal alarm clock went off promptly at 7, so he got out of bed, and started to get ready for work, when he remembered he didn't have to go. Slapping his forehead, he hopped back into bed, and just laid there. He was still awake, but it more comfortable than standing around. Kayla was still sleeping, but he had no desire to wake her up, after a past experience. Even though he knew it probably would never happen again, at least in this environment.
He continued to watch her and ponder his next destination until she woke up. It was around 9, not too early but not too late. She got up, but didn't notice that he was awake yet. Kayla walked over to the bathroom and shut the door. Jobe decided he was going to play another bad prank on her.
The door opened outwards. There was a bucket that you were supposed to use to get ice for your cooler. There was also a sink, that deposited cold water when you turned the right tap. Needless to say, he filled the bucket up with ice-cold water, and stood behind where the door would open up.
Once he heard the door unlock, he got ready. The door opened up, and Kayla took a step out. Right then, he dumped the water on top of her. He smiled evilly at his dark deed, and Kayla looked miffed. She slammed the door, so Jobe was visible as the culprit, and he gave her a fake 'hi' smile. He thought he could see steam coming from her head, she was so mad. He also noticed that her tank top and shorts were soaked; so drenched, that they were partially see through. He tried not to laugh, or look down, but it was dang hard. Kayla just stared at him hard, and she started shivering. Her lips were turning blue, and her teeth were chattering. Jobe started to wish he hadn't done it, so he set the bucket down, and hugged her.
"I'm sorry, Kayla. I was just playing." he apologized.
She was still angry. "You get to tell the hotel staff you spilled 32 ounces of cold water onto the carpet. And you get to pay for the damages."
"No I won't. It's just water, it'll dry up. C'mon, get a blanket or something, you're shivering." he said, moving her closer to the bed. He ripped her blanket off, and wrapped it around her.
"You're making my bed, too." she said, still mad at him.
"Okay, okay. Whatever you say, dear."
"What?" she said, making sure she heard that right.
"I said okay. Whatever. I'll do it, just know that I was just playing." he said.
"...Oh. I thought you said something else..."
o-o-o
After a modest lunch, Kayla had forgiven him, but she still liked him cleaning up the place. She pretended to still be mad, by ordering him to dump the trash, get her a drink from the machine all the way on the 23rd floor, all the while he had his shirt off. Part 2 of her revengeful commandment.
After doing chores and useless labor for her for a solid 2 hours, Jobe was starting to get tired.
"Okay seriously Kayla? Do I really have to do all this stuff? I honestly am sorry, I was just playing around."
Kayla held a straight face for a minute, then blew her cover and started laughing. "That's why you don't mess with a Payton. Yeah, I guess I forgave you at lunchtime. But seriously, don't do that again. My clothes are still wet." she said, trying to wring out her tank top.
Jobe was a little mad that she had tricked him like that, but he was glad she wasn't made at him anymore. "Well, didn't it wake you up? That's what I was trying to do." he said.
"Wait, you mean you weren't trying to see inside my shirt?"
Jobe cringed, trying to keep his eyes up north. "Uhh, no. I was trying to wake you up again like I did before, in the cave, but hopefully with better results. I'm not sure which was better..." he said, scratching his head.
Kayla just shrugged. "Better for you or me? I'll leave that up to you. Anyway, what do you want to do today?"
Jobe thought for a moment. "Mmm... what do you want to do?"
"I don't know, that's why I was asking you. I know that I don't want to shop, don't really want to just sit around here all day, and the swimsuits haven't come in yet." she said.
Jobe tried to think of something, but there wasn't that much to do in Undella, save for surfing, sleeping, and eating.
Kayla had an idea in mind, but after the last experience, she didn't want to put it in front of him again, at least, not yet. There would be time.
The two sat there, trying to think of something reasonable to do for the rest of the day.
"Hey! I know. You wanna go visit another town? We can leave for a day and come back later tonight." Jobe suggested.
Kayla thought about it a minute. "I don't know. Where would we go? There's nowhere I really want to go to..." she said, trying to think of another city that interested her. "Let's just stay here, I guess. It'll be kinda boring, but maybe we can think of something to liven it up a little." she said, a thought in mind.
"Fine, I didn't really want to go either."
"Then why did you suggest it?" she asked him.
"Cause I thought you might've wanted to." he answered.
"I wouldn't of wanted to if you didn't."
Jobe shrugged. "Whatever, this is making my head hurt. Let's just hang here then." he said, stretching out on his bed.
Kayla nodded, grabbed the TV remote and sat on the bed next to him. Jobe felt a little uncomfortable, so he moved over a couple inches. Kayla slowly moved over, closer to him. Jobe didn't have much more room to slide over, he just hoped that she wouldn't try anything again.
"Kayla? If you want to watch TV, you have to cut it on." he said, noticing that she held the remote in hand, but did nothing with it.
She was in a sort of daze. "Huh? Oh yeah, you're right." she said, flipping the TV on.
This time, there was something half interesting on. Listed on the local Pokemon Channel, it was talking about scientists who had finally discovered where Eggs came from.
After Jobe heard the topic, it seemed pretty interesting to him, so he told Kayla to hold it there, but she appeared to be uneasy about it.
"Hello there, and welcome to the Pokemon Channel. Today in the news, scientists have finally discovered where Eggs come from! Yes, that's right. After all this time, we have finally found out how two different species of Pokemon can stay together for a period of time and create what is known as the Egg."
The news reporter kept going on about how long it took for the scientists to find out, how much money was spent, how many experiments, etc. Jobe thought it was intriguing, but Kayla seemed uninterested. She kept wrapping her arms around her stomach, but Jobe didn't know why. He signed it off as a stomachache from breakfast or something similar, and kept watching the show.
"Welcome back to the Pokemon Channel. As we told you before, we found out how Pokemon make these Eggs. May we welcome, Dr. Wellstep, who was a lead analyst in the discovery. Dr., can we ask why it took so long to discover this?"
At that point, Jobe's eyes went wide.
"HOLY CRAP! DR. WELLSTEP IS ALIVE!" he said, almost pushing Kayla off the bed, pointing at the TV screen. Kayla couldn't believe it either, but she never heard Jobe say he was dead in the first place.
"I didn't know he was even dead. I thought he had moved or something. Now can we change it?" she said, still feeling upset over the subject.
Jobe flashed around. "No way! Wellstep is going to talk! I've got to see if he'll say about where he is now, so I can ask him loads of more questions. He could answer all of the ones I have now, like if I can transfer powers or not." he said, returning his focus to the television screen. Kayla just groaned.
"Well, thanks for the info, Dr. Wellstep. This is certainly a fantastic step we have taken into uncovering everything we can know about the species. We have still yet much to learn, but this gives us hope. We'll be right back." The announcer said, then the crowd applauded as Wellstep walked off the stage.
Jobe had missed it. Everything he wanted to hear, possibly even his chance of finding the Doc again, and he missed it. All because of her, all because of Kayla.
"Kayla! You made me miss it. And there's no way to rewind it?" he asked, miffed that he didn't hear what Wellstep had to say.
"Sorry! And no, not on this cheap TV set. Maybe we can ask someone who saw it, if Dr. said anything about his location. I doubt he would, but maybe." she said, trying to offer up a solution.
He ignored her. "And I was so excited to find that he was still alive. And now I can't get in touch with him. Thanks." he said, plunking himself back on the bed.
Kayla sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, maybe you shouldn't pay so much attention to me. C'mon, the show's local, maybe Wellstep is still at the station."
Jobe hadn't thought of that. True, the channel was local, and Doc would probably still be there.
"Fine, then, let's go!" he said, jumping up and grabbing Kayla by the arm, and dashing out the door.
"Wait! It's raining and I need to change first!" she said.
o-o-o
It was about a 10 minute walk, or a 5 minute run to the station, WTCUND. (Wireless Television Communication; UNDella Town) After they got there, the company was just finishing their local broadcast, and were about to launch a syndicated show. Jobe knocked on the door while Kayla fixed her hair. He knocked twice more, and a bald man opened the door.
"Yes? Can I help you?" he said.
"Yeah, I'd like to talk to Dr. Wellstep. Is he still here?"
"Hold on a sec." Baldy said, then went back inside. Jobe could hear him shout through the door.
"HEY! WE GOT A BOX OF WHEEL STOPS IN HERE? HUH? NO?" Jobe slapped his forehead.
"No! Wellstep! Dr. Wellstep!" Jobe shouted, trying to correct the man.
"OH, DR. WELLSTEP? YEAH HE'S HERE. COME ON IN, THE DOOR'S OPEN." Jobe heard the man yell, and he turned the knob and entered, with Kayla not far behind.
In the small room, it looked like a college student's dorm. Magazines, CDs, cassette tapes, pictures, empty and half-full soda cans, these and more were laying all over the floor and amongst the tables and chairs. The man stood waiting at the other end of the room, but it was hard to navigate through without stepping on something. Baldy led Jobe and Kayla through another door, which led into a studio. There sat the cameramen, audio crew, director, the host and his guests. Instantly Jobe noticed Wellstep, who was seated next to another guest and someone from the audio crew. Wellstep didn't recognize him at first, probably because of his altered appearance that he got in Nimbasa.
"Dr. Wellstep? It's me, Jobe." he said, introducing himself.
The Doc looked him up and down, then got up and shook his hand.
"Jobe? I never thought I would see you again. I see you look well. Who is this, uhh... lady-friend here?" he said, gesturing at Kayla.
"Oh, this is Kayla. I met her shortly after leaving your lab, and I guess she decided to follow me." he said, not going into detail.
"Oh. Does she... know?" Wellstep questioned with anxiousness.
Jobe nodded. "Yeah, and she's okay with it too."
"Well... not exactly sure if that's a good thing or not. I suppose that if she keeps it to herself, and you trust her, it should be fine." he said. "Now uh... is there any particular reason why you chose her? She seems kind of like a floozy to me." Wellstep asked quietly, glancing her up and down, noting the way she was dressed.
Instantly Jobe hoped that Wellstep couldn't read minds, because she could act like a jade sometimes. "A floozy? Not at all. No, she had just woken up, and we saw you on TV, and I wanted to get here before you left, so she didn't change clothes. What did you mean by chose her?" he explained, then asked.
Wellstep nodded. "She must be a very late sleeper to get up at 10 in the morning. Anyhow, even though I may not approve of her clothing, so long as she behaves as a young lady should, Kayla will be a fine partner. And, I meant just that; is she not your wife or girlfriend? Surely she should be."
Jobe's cheeks turned red. He couldn't see her, but Kayla was nodding and giving Wellstep the thumbs-up. "Well, see, not really. I don't know, I'd rather talk about this in private." Jobe said, gesticulating to the other people in the room.
"Very well. Let us go to your house- you are not living outside, right?"
Jobe nodded. "Right, we moved into a hotel a couple days ago, I guess." he said, leading the way out.
"You mean to tell me that you two live together in a hotel? In the same room, possibly sleeping in the same bed?" Wellstep exclaimed, staring to have second thoughts about going.
"No, see it's not like that. Just wait until we get to the hotel, then you'll see." Jobe said, starting to get stressed.
o-o-o
Arriving at the Tavern, the trio found their way into the room, which wasn't too messy, but it could use some tidying up. Jobe told Wellstep to have a seat anywhere, and he found a spot on the sofa across from the beds. Jobe sat on Kayla's bed, and she sat next to him.
"Fine, now that we are out of reach of undesirable ears, we may talk freely. That is, unless you do not wish Kayla to hear any of this?" Dr. Wellstep inquired.
"No, she can hear this if she wants to. It's not really a secret to her anyway. Would you like to tell her how it all began?" Jobe asked.
Wellstep nodded. "I would, but please retrieve for me a cup of water to clear my throat." he said, and Jobe got up to fix him a glass. He handed it to the Doc, who then took a sip from it.
"Kayla, I'm not sure what Jobe told you, so I'll start from the beginning. And Jobe, you may not have even heard all of this...
It all started when I was walking in Castelia City one day, and noticed that there was a fire burning, not too far from me. I found where the source was coming from, and it was a car that had been overturned. There were bloody claw marks all over the side of the car, clearly made by some Pokemon, and I haven't even identified the source to this day, but I believe they were caused by either a Zoroark, a Zangoose or a dragon-type. Any of these could've been the culprit, but it is nigh on impossible to find out who it truly was without a witness, which to my knowledge, there was none. Make note, that it is not near as important as the other facts, but it is one and must be treated as such.
After examining the claw marks, I took a step back, and noticed what was a pair of feet under the car, that I knew had to be from a human. And it turned out that this human was Jobe, however he was dead. I won't reveal how I got you out from the car, but let it be known that I myself am not a Shapeshifter, just for your curiosity.
Now, let me give you a backstory on why I rescued him. First, it was the right thing to do, to make sure that no one was hurt, but that wasn't the case. Second, I had begun my own experiment, testing it on certain beings, all of which had failed before Jobe. This experiment was morphing characteristics of bi-pedal Pokemon with humans. Some of which failed at such proportions, that the results had to be killed off, so as not to disrupt the normal flow of life. That is when I discovered that I would have to use dead subjects, and revive them, so that it would be no change to the cycle if it failed again. Now, problem was, was that there was no current way for a living being to be brought back to life, within reason. Jobe, your leg was damaged beyond repair; and as you may or may not remember, you fixed that problem. But I digress.
So I spent another year or so trying to develop a way to revive deceased beings, and I finally did so on September 17th, three years ago. Yes, so you were actually frozen for about three years before I officially revived you. You were also the first human to be revived from the dead, at least being dead longer than a week. I have since revitalized Pokemon and insects, and the results have come along very pleasantly. I plan to have the device registered soon, and the President of Unova is due to award me a large sum to fund further projects in light of my successions. But again, that is a different matter.
After I finished the revitalizer, I then had to find something to morph you with. I chose a blend of a Zoroark and a Ditto that I had done earlier, and this is what you were morphed with. I think it went fine, with the exception of memory loss, but I believe that this is due to the fact that you were dead before I morphed you." Dr. Wellstep finished, and downed the rest of his water.
Jobe was speechless. He now knew most of his true beginnings, at least as far as he would ever know.
Kayla seemed just as stunned. Wellstep was indeed a very intelligent man, and she had never met or much less heard him talk before, and he was rather hard to understand.
"Well, Dr. I have a couple questions for you, if you can answer them." Kayla started. She bumped Jobe's arm.
"I would be happy to, especially if they are about your 'friend'." he replied.
She was curious what he meant by that, but didn't push for an answer. "Okay, then. What was Jobe like before I met him? You said that you kept him under your care for like, 3 months, right?"
Wellstep nodded. "Yes. He was very humble at first, not really knowing himself at all, but it rose to an appropriate level of pride soon. He didn't really feel any emotions, or at least he didn't make them known. And I know that has changed. Which brings me to my own question. What has happened with you, Jobe? And I want details between you and Kayla. And do not lie to me."
Jobe decided to answer this one, knowing Kayla would probably tell him that they were together and end it there.
"Well, starting from where you left off, I first met her shortly after leaving your lab, and I went to her house to ask for directions. I got off to a bad start with her mom, and her pet, so I left there for Castelia. I think later the next evening, I was looking for a place to stay, and I apparently sat on her car. She confronted me, and we had a little conversation. I did sleep in the streets that night, just so you know.
I don't think I saw her for a couple more days, until I got arrested. Well, we both got arrested. But then-"
Wellstep cut him off. "You both got arrested? What for?"
"Well, I think they said it was for being a menace to society. Someone must've seen me transforming, and called the cops. I think they thought she was an accomplice or something. We escaped, and she drove back to her house, where I thought that was going to be the last I ever saw of her. I went back to try to find your lab, and found your lab in ruins, and this..." he said, getting the book had had found out of a drawer. He handed it to the Doc.
"I found that at the remains of the lab. There were some other things, but that looked most important. Anyway, I stopped in front of her house, to take a last look, cause I knew the cops were looking for me, and I was leaving for Undella Town." he said.
-Dr. Wellstep examined the book, then flipped to the last page, and wrote something in it.
Kayla finished the rest for him. "And this is where I really came in. I saw him standing there, so I slammed the front door to grab his attention, and he came over, and we talked for a minute, then I told him that I could drive him to Undella Town. But then he said that it would be quicker to fly, so he changed into a Charizard and we flew there. But when we were almost there, I fell off and him, trying to save me, crashed into a house, and that really scared me, cause he stayed unconscious for like 2 days. I managed, but it was hard. To make a long story short, we rented this room, and saw you on TV." she said.
Wellstep nodded. "Interesting. So I see that you, Kayla, were in a way, trying to attract him." Dr. didn't pull any punches; he hit the nail on the head. "You still haven't told me about your inside, personal relationship yet."
She smiled, while Jobe sighed. "Okay, fine. Kayla, I'm not holding back anything anymore...
When I first met you, or her, I was instantly entranced. I don't know what it was, but something about you caught my eye, and I never stopped thinking about you since. Anyway, I knew I wanted to get to know you more, but your mom would've shot me if I got close. So I thought it would've been a lost cause until I met you in Castelia again. That rekindled something, so I tried to stay in town as long as possible. I guess, that eventually events occurred until we got to know each other more, and here we are."
Wellstep shook his head. "No no no. Let me explain further. What is happening between you two? It is not possible to just be friends like that, live together, travel together, you basically do everything together, and it cannot be without there being something more." he said.
"Well, I guess that's possible. Maybe there is something more, but right now, nothing special is happening. At least, I've told myself nothing special can happen right now, I don't know about you, Kayla." Jobe said.
Kayla shrugged. "I don't know. You said you weren't ready for anything. I said for you to let me know."
That put Jobe on the spot.
"So? Do you or do you not want her?" Dr. Wellstep pushed for an answer.
Jobe was getting frustrated. "Yes, and no. I mean, yeah, I do, but I'm not sure I can handle it right now. Realistically, there's just too much going on right now, with the cops and all, jobs, finding a somewhat permanent home, all that crap. I think it would be kinda hard to have a relationship under those conditions." he said, finally getting his point across.
Wellstep nodded. "I think that the both of you, so long as you each permit it, and considering the circumstances, that you two should abscond, since you are on the run anyhow, and just be done with it. If you know that you love each other, which I presume is true, then go with it. Do not sit idly by with those type of feelings." the Doc said, clearing his throat, and also letting the heavy words sink in. "I also believe that your love for her should be strong enough to withstand those troubles without a scratch, if it remains as it seems now. Jobe, I do think that you are, however, partially right. In light of what was previously said, there are certain things that I believe are prohibiting you from being together, and not so much as your traveling technique, or your standard life problems, but more how her restrictions may be concerning her parents. I presume you have had conversations like these with them?" he asked Kayla.
She nodded. "Sort of. Not like we probably should have, but they know that I am old enough now to make my own decisions based on my own judgment."
Jobe was surprised that he heard that. He thought for sure they would have to take a trip back to her house just so they could check up on her. Wait a minute, she's got that cellerfoam thingy. I guess she could talk to them whenever she wanted to...
Wellstep continued. "Very well then, I also assume that you will apply such logic and judgment on who pick as to be your partner, whether Jobe or anybody else, it is all up to you. As a word of advice, and I mean this in no negativity, do not choose Jobe just because of his special ability. It may sound very tempting, especially since that ability can become useful in various ways, but do not let that cloud your mind. If you like him just for that fact, you may be disappointed later. And I think that you know what you would want, so again I leave this to you, you don't have to answer." he said.
Kayla shook her head. "No, nothing needs to be unanswered anymore. I love Jobe because of his personality, how he reacts to situations, and how he makes it out of them just fine. Not to mention, his awesome abs..."
Wellstep smiled. "Jobe, also a word of advice to you. Since you have this skill, do not abuse it to attract a female. I only hope this is not why Kayla is 'traveling' with you now. I do sincerely hope that this is a matter of affection and not one of showing off. And that is just my warning, do not utilize this power for that purpose. It leads to a dark road, and that is one which I seriously doubt you would enjoy. You may be pleased with the adoration that you would receive, but it is, more likely than not, for the wrong reasons." Dr. Wellstep said, giving a firm warning.
Jobe took it in as wisdom, and not a commandment, but he had no interest in 'playing the field' anyway. There was only one he was interested in, and she was sitting right next to him.
After several minutes of deep thinking, and a painful silence, Kayla broke it.
"Well, Dr., if it's okay, I have more questions of my own, I think we got sidetracked. The first one is, can he be killed? Like does he really even have a weakness, cause it doesn't seem that way." she said, curious for his reply.
Wellstep, being the smart man that he was, shortly gathered his thoughts before answering.
"Let me put it basic: Yes and yes. Yes, Jobe can be killed, but it is very difficult to do so, one of the only ways to do it would be by instant disintegration, because he would not be very likely to avoid it. If one of the newer criminal's guns were to be used against him, he would have such a lilliputian chance of survival, some would say impossible. Now, he does have several weaknesses. Among the tests that I have done, previously I had told you that mushrooms were a weakness, that is false. I have not yet discovered a physical weakness, and I don't think he has either. But as typical, even for a normal person, there are always the moral right vs. wrong adjudication that would occur when you come across a certain subject. That and any sort of illness; these two are the verified weaknesses. Now, I have not been around you very long since you left, but apparently Kayla here has, so I will ask her. Have you noticed an incline or decline in Jobe's moral values?"
Kayla didn't take long to answer. "Oh, heck yeah. I have noticed, big-time. There were some things that he would've done in the past, and he won't do now, and vice-versa. There are some specific things he wouldn't have done soon after I met him, but now, I think he would consider it." she said, an idea in mind.
Jobe didn't know what she was thinking, but he didn't want to know either.
Wellstep seemed pleased with that answer. "And very well it should be that way. I think you would be worse if it was anything bu. Now, do you know the source of this? I think I do, but I want to see if you can guess. Keep in mind that this could not have come from a family, since he had none." he asked her again.
She thought for a moment. "Mmm... only thing I could think of would be from you, in the short 3 months that you spent with him."
He shook his head. "Not quite. Like I said before, I had not been around him since he left, and I watched him closely to see how he would react to certain things. If what you say is true, then no, the source is from you, Kayla. You have been unknowingly showing him what is right and what isn't. I assume that you live in a relatively moral household, given the reason why you chose to travel with him in the first place. This shows in your character, and Jobe picked up on it and applied to himself. Normally this is done through a father or mother, but obviously Jobe has neither. Now, that isn't to say that he should look up to you like a mother, but that he can learn from you like one. And not to sound disrespectful, but when I first saw you, Kayla, I thought for sure that Jobe had hung around the wrong people, and their immoral values had rubbed off on him, but I see now that this is false. I hope that makes sense." he explained.
Kayla didn't take offense to that comment, after all, Jobe was the one who dragged her along with him. She had never even considered that it would've been her who was changing the way he lived. It never dawned on her that she was the one to unacknowledgedly show him how to behave, up to a certain extent.
"Okay, then. That was surprising. I still have a few more, like why did you even do this? I mean, was there really anything in it for you? Did you get paid for it? How did you do it?" she asked him, all at once.
Wellstep raised a hand. "Not too many at one time, young lady. I did the experiment, as I mentioned before, because it was an old hobby of mine, and it was still in the testing phase. So I needed test subjects. But I do not want to go through that twice, I have told you already.
In a way, there was something for me, considering that I thrive on succeeding, and striving to correct my failures. I am not sure if you read the book, but it mentions several things about that. In fact, that is the title. But no, I was not being funded for anything, although the results of this experiment have attracted great amounts of attention and recognition to my efforts, and I have been rewarded. But that was not the original intent.
As for how I actually transferred the powers over, or more like copied, since the original is still alive and has the powers in full force, it would take a rather long time to explain, and I must leave tonight. But, to make the story shorter, I had these two tubes that I put both Jobe and the special Zoroark into each of them, and I ran the computer program that listed the coordinates of the location for the powers in the DNA. I then stitched it over from the Zoroark into Jobe, and once that was finished, I used the revitalizer to wake him up, while he was still in the tube. Jobe, I am not sure if you remember, but those flames were actually the reviver, not the transfer. The entire process took about 3 days." Wellstep answered.
Kayla seemed like that worked, but she still had more questions. "Okay, that makes sense, I guess. Now, what happened to the Zoroark, he is still alive? Why wasn't he killed off like the other experiments?"
-Doc nodded. "You are just like my youngest sibling was, so many questions. But that is good. Yes, the Zoroark is still alive, but I know not of its whereabouts. And he was not killed because he was a success. I am saying he, but the species was actually a female. She, was a success. What the difference was between a normal Zoroark and her, was that she could retain the form that she had transformed into, and keep it that way for as along as she saw fit. A normal Zoroark drops the illusion if they lose concentration, where she did not have to worry about it. That is why I thought that it would be a perfect match for you."
Jobe was not very surprised, but he still hadn't heard that before. It was then that he realized something. "Whoa whoa whoa... I'm part female?" he exclaimed. Kayla burst out in laughter.
"Yes, I suppose you could look at it that way. But not to the point of where you actually develop the female parts of the body. It is by a far majority psychological. In other words, you may be around a group of men, who would like to go for a movie, and they want to see some violent bloody murder, where as you may be more inclined to watch a romantic comedy. There is nothing wrong with this, but just be aware that if you become ostracized because of it, you know why." Wellstep said.
Jobe nodded, and noted that important fact. Kayla was apparently done with questions, but Jobe had some of his own.
"I guess it was at the very beginning that you had mentioned something about girls not being Shapeshifters. Is that even possible, or has it just not happened?" he asked the Dr.
"Well Jobe, in light of who is here tonight, we can safely say that is has not been done, obviously since I am currently the only one who has performed the transfer. Now... for a different matter, if you were to marry Kayla here and have children, and one was to be a boy and inherit your power, I would not be surprised. But if you had a girl and she took it from you, I won't say that it isn't possible, just that it hasn't happened yet. And that example is not to push you two into anything, by the way, just an example." he said, with a twinkle in his eye.
Jobe smiled, then threw his other question at him. "Okay, then. What about transferring my power? Or at least sharing it? Cause I can think of several situations where it would've been nice if Kayla could do it too."
"Mmm... good question. Of all that I know, it is not possible to do so, but then again, I am even not fully competent of what you are capable of. So it very well could be possible to transfer the whole block or even just a fraction, I do not know." he explained. That was not the answer Jobe was looking for.
"Ah... well, maybe I'll try to, but I'm not sure how." he said, nudging Kayla on the arm. "Do you know of anyone who might know how to do it?" he asked.
Wellstep nodded. "Yes, that would be you, Jobe. You tell me if you think it is possible. If you believe hard enough, it probably is possible. I know why you want to do it, but you must be absolutely certain that you trust Kayla with that power. It is a bigger responsibility than either of you may imagine. Even though you already possess it, there are still things that will never be the same. Things that Kayla may not want to give up, but that is up to her and herself only. If you are not capable of the sharing yourself, I do have a theory, but I will refrain from telling you until a later time." he said, writing something else down in the book.
Jobe took note of this, and reminded himself to read that page later. "So, one more. How did your lab burn down?"
Wellstep's expression turned dark. "I lost everything I had, with the exception of this book and a few other crucial items. I am glad that you retrieved this article before anyone had a chance to steal it, and I urge you to keep it. Yes, I will regretfully hand it back to you, it is yours for referential purposes. Please, feel free to read from it at the bedside or whatever it is you two do for entertainment. You will notice that it is wrote in a rather different form; I wrote it to me, so that I may lay on my deathbed one day and remind myself of all that I had achieved, and all that I had not. And my lab had burned down, because I was met with a dastardly being, of which I hope you never come across. He had no name, but they call him, at least around the parts of Nimbasa and Castelia, the Shadow of the Night. He approached my building at approximately 6:27 and 34 second. I was conducting an experiment, the timing needed for was extremely precise. So I paused what I could, and answered the door. There was the creature; about 5 foot tall, but he floated, only about a foot off the ground. I wish I could describe him further, memory surprisingly fails me, but just know that he was very evil-looking. He then raised a single arm against me, which held a paper; one that I will not reveal the contents, but it was one much searched for in the realm of chemistry. I read the title of the page, and tried to take it from him, but he held it away. He then passed right through me; yes, you heard me right, just like a ghost. So he passed through me, then navigated throughout my laboratory, looking for something. I was not able to stop him, nor was I in any shape to try. Apparently he did not find what he came for, so he meandered through my various beakers full of different substances, and apparently he knew which ones could combine with others to combust, and so he did. I tried to put the fire out, but it spread faster than any wildfire, with use of the chemicals involved. The being then handed me the paper, and fled; but he did not flee out of the door, he fled through the floor. Just sank right through the concrete. I was stunned, and I knew it was a Pokemon, but I could not place the name on it." he said, swallowing hard.
That must've rung a bell in Kayla, cause she exclaimed, "Hey! My mom said that she thought she saw something wandering around our backyard, looking for something. Funny thing was that Dante wasn't going crazy as he normally does, almost as if 'Shadow' was not even detectable. She almost pulled a gun out on it, but I told her not to since it looked like a Pokemon, and it probably would only anger it. Dang, I sure am glad she didn't... he wasn't even mad and he burned down the whole lab!"
Wellstep nodded. "Yes. I still do not know what he was searching for, unless he was attempting to steal something from me. But then that raises the question of why he knocked politely on the door with that paper. And why he would come at an hour when everyone was awake..." he said, deep in thought.
Jobe didn't know what he meant by 'everyone' since he knew that himself, Kayla, and probably most other people would be sleeping at that time. But the Doc could be weird with definitions of words, so he tossed it as just a figure of speech. Another thing Wellstep was famous for.
"Well, children, if you have no further questions, I shall retire for the night. Jobe, it was a pleasure seeing you again, and Kayla, it was nice to meet you also. I will give the both of you two last pieces of advice: the most important thing in a relationship is not love, but honesty and trust. And it is apparent here that honesty and trust are not lacking, or else Kayla would not be here, and Jobe would most likely be dead. And the last bit of aid would be to never leave each other's side. If this is to continue, Jobe, you make sure you watch over and entwine Kayla with devotion, and Kayla, you be sure to support Jobe and adulate him to your fullest extent. It is with these last words that I bid you goodbye." he said, walking out the door.
o-o-o
"He's weird. He talks weird and he's hard to understand. I guess it's because he's old and stuff, but he needs to update his vocabulary." Kayla commented, noting the way Wellstep delivered a conversation.
Jobe agreed. "Yeah, he can be hard to listen to. But he sure does explain things, as long as you know what the words mean. I guess that adulate means adore or love?"
Kayla shrugged. "I guess. And what about entwine? Does that mean to tie me up or something?"
Jobe laughed. "No, I don't think so. It probably means to love, too. But the real question is whether we follow his advice or not..." he said, leaving it unanswered.
Kayla remained silent for a moment, as did he. Neither was completely sure if they wanted to pursue this further, although both had almost a need for it. She was starting to get tired of his avoidance of the subject, so it would probably be better to end it here and now, for better or worse.
"I.." they both said at the same time. "You first." she said.
Jobe cleared his throat, then began. "Alright, look. I like you and everything, and after hearing his advice, I do think that he is right that we can't be doing all this stuff together and just pretend that we don't like each other. I think since it is the reality, we should accept it instead of trying to cover it up. Life would probably be better that way, don't you think?"
Kayla shrugged. "I was just going to ask if you wanted to kiss me, but sure!" she said, happily hugging him. Jobe was surprised at her response, but he didn't care. It was finally done; they were officially together. Caught in a loving embrace, the couple enjoyed the rest of the day, alone.
o-o-o
Two that cannot exist without each other... He thought to himself, picking up a bottle labeled "The Essence of Light and Dark". The bottle was an opaque gray, obviously the mix of black and white. He swished it around, and the settled contents flowed throughout the glass container like clouds. He then cautiously flicked the cork off of the mouth of the bottle, and willed the light to stay in, but the dark to come out. The light then slowly faded away, yet the dark remained. He then put it back in the bottle, and loosed his hold on the darkness; only then did it gradually disappear. Two that cannot exist without each other, can be torn apart so easily... What a shame.
o-o-o
The next morning, Jobe woke up, only to find that Kayla was in his bed, with him holding her. His mind was still asleep, so at first he didn't know what was going on. He soon remembered the conversation he and Kayla had with Dr. Wellstep, and his advice. He didn't want to let her go, but he had to use the bathroom, so he quietly removed himself from the embrace, and went to the latrine. It was then that Kayla woke up, noticing that he was no longer there. She heard the bathroom door close, and that gave away the reason. She yawned loudly, and looked at the clock. It read 8:17 AM. Not too early, but late for some. Kayla got out of bed, and like her everyday routine, stretched her lax muscles, then got a cup of water. She heard the door unlock, and Jobe stepped out. He waved then headed for the refrigerator. There was a few food items inside, so he picked several of his favorite berry, the Shuca. He popped one into his mouth, and savored the flavor. Kayla looked at him funny, so he shrugged.
"What?"
"That's not breakfast. You don't like bacon or sausage or any real breakfast food like that?" she asked him.
"I dunno. I haven't tried any of that. This is fine for now." he said, putting another one in his mouth.
"Whatever. I'm going to have me a nutritious breakfast." she said, pulling out some Grumpig bacon. It was cold, but they didn't have a stove to heat it up, just a microwave. She put it in the machine, and set it for 20 seconds. Soon, the deep-fried meat became hot and crispy. She pulled it out, and chewed off a piece.
"See? That's real food." she said, although wishing that it was fresh.
Jobe shrugged, enjoying his berries.
o-o-o
Not long after they finished breakfast, there was a knock on the door. That was strange, since no one should be allowed to just knock on the door like that, unless it was Dr. Wellstep again.
"Just a minute!" Jobe yelled. "Quick, Kayla! Change into something decent in case it's Dr. Wellstep again!" he said, cause she was still in her tank top and short shorts. Kayla frantically dug around in the drawer for something to wear.
"Hurry up! I've got to let them in!" he urged.
"I'm hurrying!" she said, ripping her clothes off.
Jobe groaned and covered his eyes. "Not out here! Get in the bathroom!" he said, pointing to the lavatory.
"Oh, right, sorry." she said, moving into the bathroom. He shut the door, because she didn't.
Jobe cleared his throat, then calmly asked, "Who is it?"
"Package delivery for, Payton comma Kayla?" the anonymous caller said.
"Oh." Jobe replied, opening the door. It was a small box, about the size of a shoe box. He had to sign for it, but the man wouldn't let him.
"No, sorry. Mrs. Payton has to sign it. Security measures, I'm sure you can understand." the man said.
"Fine, you're just going to have to wait a minute. She's in the bathroom... HURRY UP KAYLA!" he yelled.
"I'M COMING!" she said, opening the door. She was now dressed in a flamboyant, but not too sexy, light blue blouse and tight jeans. "Who is it? Oh, they came!" she said, snatching the box away from Jobe.
"You have to sign for it." the guy said, handing her a touch tablet. She scribbled her name on it, and the man shrugged, then left. But not before whispering something to Jobe.
"You lucky ass."
Jobe stuck his tongue out, then quickly shut the door. Your darn right I'm a lucky ass. He thought to himself, smiling. But not that lucky.
Kayla had already opened the box up, which expectedly held both of their swimsuits. His was laying on the edge of the bed, but she didn't let him see hers.
"Hold on! I'm gonna go change into it. Change into yours too." she said, heading off to the bathroom again.
Jobe looked at the pair of shorts, they were a little small but they would do. He stripped then put them on. They were a navy blue with streaks of white and a lighter shade of blue. They also had bits of yellow spread out on them. After he found them to be suitable, he heard the door unlock, and Kayla stepped out.
"Okay, for this instance only, I'll let you look without me slapping you." she said, wearing the two-piece that she had ordered. Jobe didn't want to seem too anxious, but he was. He checked her over, from head to toe, then toe to head again. The colors matched his, with the same blue and white streaks.
"It's a little small..." she said, trying to adjust her top.
Jobe's forehead started the break in sweat."Mine is too. But it probably affects you more than me..." he said.
"Yeah. So, how does it look?" she said, posing.
Jobe felt his mouth go dry. He remembered the last time he fudged a compliment up, and he didn't want to repeat that. "It looks great. It looks great on you." he said, relieved it was over.
"Yours does too, but you need to take your shirt off." she said, helping him get out of it. Kayla couldn't help but marvel, seeing his abs and peritoneum. Jobe also couldn't help but gape at her legs and chest, too.
"There. You said that there was nothing to do today? So let's go to the Bay and break in the new suits." she said, putting an over shirt and a skirt on. Jobe put his shirt back on, grabbed a Shuca berry, then headed out the door.
o-o-o
It was a short walk to the beach, but it was enjoyed by them holding hands the whole way. When they got close, Jobe noticed that the Shack was there with great disdain. Kayla had no better thoughts of it either. He just hoped that the same guy who was bothering Kayla the other day wasn't working there anymore. Actually, he hoped that he wasn't there, period. Kayla led him over to an empty spot on the bright white sand, and set down 2 towels that she stole from the hotel. Kayla then sat on one while he laid down on the other.
"Such a nice day, isn't it?" she said, trying to strike up conversation. That was one thing that was still hard to invoke, even though there was plenty to talk about, Jobe just wasn't a big verbalizer.
"Huh? Oh yeah, it is." he said, being brought up from his thoughts.
She gave him a sidewards look. "It's kinda hot, though."
"Yeah, I guess it is. That's what you get for coming to the beach in the middle of the day." he said.
"Well... let's go cool off, then." she said, pointing over to the water.
Jobe bit his lip. "Umm, no thanks. I told you that I didn't want to go in the water."
"Oh, come on. You don't have to go in real deep. Just like up to your neck. C'mon!" she said, pulling him up.
"Aww..." Jobe replied, reluctantly heading towards the Bay.
As they got closer, Jobe looked back, and thought he saw Mr. Burly at the Shack again. He hoped that it was someone else, since that would be where they were going to eat lunch, and he didn't want to have to knock him out again. Suddenly, Jobe felt his feet hit water. He looked down, and saw that he was already at the shore. The cold water was calmly washing up and down the sand, covering his feet to the ankle, only to fall back again. They both stood there for a second, then Kayla pulled him out deeper in the binary compound.
"C'mon, 'water' you waiting for?" she said, giggling.
Jobe chuckled. "That was so cheap. I know you can do better than that."
She thought for a minute. "No, I don't think I can. Enjoy my cheap jokes." she said. They were in the Bay about waist-deep now. The water was cold; Jobe was starting to shiver, even in the hot, humid weather. The deeper they got, the colder it was.
Now they were shoulder-deep, at least to Jobe. To Kayla that was neck-deep. They couldn't go any further that that, unless they wanted to swim. He was already shivering, and his lips were starting to turn blue.
She noticed this. "Aww, is Jobey cold? Here, I'll keep you warm." she said, cuddling up to him. Jobe then put his frost-bitten arms around her, and brought her closer in. He didn't detect any amount of frigidness in her at all.
"Aren't you cold?" he asked her in surprise.
"No, I'm used to this. I go hunting virtually all winter long. You begin to build up a resistance to it." she said.
Jobe shrugged, and soon after, the cold wind from the air made his teeth start to chatter. He made an attempt to stop it, but it was hard without gnawing them together.
"Damn this temperature." He cursed aloud.
She looked at him curiously, he hadn't use language like that before. Then, a devious idea came to Kayla's mind. A devilish grin came to her face as she stated, "Great. Now your teeth are chattering. But, you're in luck, I know of a very good way to eliminate that…"
"What is it?" he replied with a question.
Kayla moved so that she was in front of him, and then embraced him again, except now she was face-to-face with Jobe. She looked at him in the eyes, then told him, "This." Before her lips pounced upon hers.
This kiss was unlike the other, mostly in that she had a certain amount of his consent this time; also, the bitter alcohol did not taint his mouth. It was also much more passionate, so as to leave a deep impression on his mind, and his lips.
He didn't object to it at all, in fact, it almost seemed, to her, like he was drunk again. She flashed her eyes open to see his reaction, while still in the kiss, but he was caught in the moment, his eyes closed shut.
She continued with the grazing on his face, only to end it a minute later, so they both could breathe again.
Jobe did not know what to say. His mind was hopelessly blank. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. "Uh… Um… Uh… It was enjoyable?" he babbled.
She nodded, her chest still heaving. "Yeah, it was. Uh… Good job."
"I... I didn't even do anything." he said.
"You did more than you think you did." she said sweetly, hugging him again.
"I did? Oh, I guess I did... what did I do again?"
She smiled. "You made me feel loved. I haven't felt that from anybody other than my parents for a long time."
"Ah..." was his reply.
There was a short silence, with them in each other's arms, not caring about anything else as the waves pulsed back and forth around them.
"Sooo... do you feel cold anymore?" she asked him.
Indeed, Jobe did not. "Funny thing is, no, I don't. I won't forget that technique next time I get cold again." he said, holding her tightly.
She smiled devilishly at him again, then replied. "Neither will I."
o-o-o
They remained in the water for a while longer, before Jobe started to get hungry for lunch. They headed back, breaking away from each other's arms when they got closer to the shore, but still holding hands. By the time they got to the snack bar at the Shack, both of them were already dry.
o-o-o
"Yeah, give me a hamburger with lettuce and onions." Jobe ordered.
"And I'll have two hot dogs with mustard." she said.
The barkeep sighed, and started to cook the food.
Jobe then remembered something. "Oh, bartender! I almost forgot our beverage. Get me that bottle right there..." he said, pointing to a bottle of Chaènalleã Armòirae. Kayla put his arm down.
"You can't drink that stuff! Remember what happened last time? Not to mention, it's bad for you and you don't need it." she whispered in Jobe's ear, while telling the barman just to get 2 lemonades. The man sighed again and put 2 glasses of citrus drink on the bar, then went back to cooking.
"Hey hey, I can drink what I want. That stuff was goooood..." he responded.
Kayla shook her head. "You're not getting any." she said, before the guy dropped two plates, containing a hamburger and two hot dogs, right in front of them.
"Now dig in." she said, picking up a dog and taking a bite out of it.
Jobe raised his burger to his mouth, and took a chomp out of. It wasn't that good, to be truthful, but it was food and he was hungry. He finished it in no time, then downed his lemonade to wash down the bitter taste. She hadn't even finished one of her hot dogs, and he was already done.
"Slowpoke." he said, prodding a finger into her stomach.
"Hrrfhh!" she said with a mouth full of wiener. Kayla tried to poke him back.
Jobe caught her arm before it reached him. "Now don't get me started. Finish your lunch so we can go." he said, letting go of her arm.
It took her about 5 minutes, which seemed like hours to Jobe, compared to how fast he ate his. Kayla just finished the last of her lemonade. She set the glass down, licked her lips, then paid the guy.
She then gave Jobe an alluring smile. "Well... how about going back to the hotel for 'dessert'?"
The barman looked at the two of them suspectingly, then sighed and went back to his chore of cleaning the dishes.
Jobe's heart skipped a beat. "Uhh... why don't we stay here? I mean, like you said, it's so nice outside..." he said, trying to get out of that situation.
The smile faded from Kayla's face. "Fine."
o-o-o
They remained at the beach, going into the surf for a while, then returning to their special spot. They kept up that routine for the rest of the day, until it got dark.
"Let's get back to the hotel. It's like 9 PM already." Kayla said, rolling up the towels, after shaking the sand off of them.
Jobe was putting his shirt on. "Yeah, I'm getting tired too." He yawned.
As they finished packing up, one thing that neither of them noticed, was a pair of red eyes, watching their every move.
o-o-o
After returning to the hotel, Kayla tossed the towels in a hamper, then they both headed up to the room.
"I'm gonna go take a bath now, but I've got an even better idea. Why don't you get in the jacuzzi with me?" Kayla suggested after they got up the room.
Jobe shook his head. "No way. Look, I'm not doing anything like that before I get married, understand?" He wanted to make this point very clear.
"Dr. Wellstep sure did teach you lots about life, didn't he? Y'know, with the Combees and the Pidgeys and stuff?" she said, laughing. "No, we'll still be in our swimsuits. It's just the get the salt water off."
"Oh... well then, sure, I guess..." he said, heading into the bathroom to cut the water on. He then took his shirt off again, while she took off her skirt and overshirt. Kayla dipped a toe in, then shook her head.
"No no, the water needs to be much hotter. Like this..." she said, bumping him out of the way, then turning the hot water on full blast.
"Isn't that hot enough to scald somebody?" he said, noting the amount of steam that was rising from the tub.
She nodded. "Yeah, it probably could." She then gave him a smile, which broke into a laugh when she saw his expression. "Fine, we'll let it cool a little." She said, turning the cold water on.
"Yeah, cause I didn't want to be boiled tonight."
Oh, you'll be plenty warm, don't you worry... She thought to herself.
Kayla let it fill up, then activated the jets.
"Oops! Almost forgot..." she said, grabbing some soap. "What's a jacuzzi without bubbles!" and poured half of the bottle in the tub.
That was a big bottle of soap, too. "Uhh, I think you're only supposed to put in like a tablespoon..." he said, reading the label.
"Pshaw! That'll only make tiny little bubbles for sissies. And you're not a sissy, are you, Jobe?" she said, mocking him.
"Aha! You wish. I'm only saying that you're cleaning the mess up when this is all done." he said, slowly stepping into the hot tub.
Kayla got in with him, and it wasn't a huge tub, but not as snug as the cave that they lived in a couple days ago.
"Man, I am so glad we don't live in that thing anymore..." Jobe thought aloud.
"Huh? What're you talking about?" she asked him, obviously confused.
"Oh, I was just thinking of the cave that we slept in a couple days ago." he replied.
She nodded. "And that doesn't bother you? Yet it does now?"
"What, sleeping together? No, because, I mean, it wasn't like we actually slept together, y'know? We just... had to rest in the same bed." he said, defending his position on the subject.
"Yeah, but if you told somebody that without giving them more details, then they would assume that you actually did." she argued.
He looked over into her light blue eyes. "Why would I tell anybody? I didn't even tell Wellstep. I don't trust him with that. He barely approves of us now."
"Dr. Wellstep doesn't have to approve. He doesn't control you. He's not your father. See, I do have to listen to my parents to a certain extent, but you have absolute control of your life. You can do what you want, when you want." she said.
He shook his head. "No. Not true. I have to listen to you."
She gave him a sweet smile. "Well, yeah you do. But I mean that you could..." she took a deep breath. As much as I hate to say it... "leave me and go on your own path, where you live however you want. I mean, if you wanted to, you could control the whole region of Unova. But you don't want to. And I think that is one reason why I like you so much. Your self-control."
She admitted it again. She really does like me... "Exactly, I don't want to. As much as possible, I want to live a normal life. Sure, that little bit of control is nice to have, but I've never known anything but that. And I will never know what it is like to have a father or mother. Or siblings, for that matter..." Jobe said, his eyes starting to tear up.
Kayla's were getting wet too. That's true... "Well... not to push you into doing anything, but you know, you could have a father and mother-in-law..." she said, planting the idea of a spousal relationship in his mind.
Jobe was dumbfounded. He didn't know how to respond to that. I really have got to talk to a guy about responding to girls... Jobe simply nodded in response, not wanting to give her any false hope.
Kayla waited for a verbal response, but didn't receive any. Not that it was expected, since it was a rather touchy subject, but it would've abated her to know what he thought about it. She closed her eyes and tucked the conversation away for later, and enjoyed the warm water surrounding her body. There were two jets on her left side, one massaging her thigh and the other her kidney-area. They were very relaxing, even though she wasn't very stressed to begin with. Her eyes suddenly flashed open, as she felt something crawl on her back.
"Aiiiek!" she screamed, swatting at whatever it was. Jobe recoiled, he had put his hand on her shoulder to massage it, and she must've been in such a daze that she didn't notice.
"What? It's just me." he said.
"Oh, I'm sorry, that scared me. I thought it was a Joltik or something creeping up on me."
Jobe rose an eyebrow. "I seriously doubt that really scared you. If you mean scared, you mean like the time I woke you up in the middle of your naked nap?" he teased.
"That was different. And you still ought to try that sometime. It feels completely different than being clothed. Especially when you're sleeping together." she said.
"Now look, I told you I wasn't going to- did you say together?" he stopped short.
She nodded. "Yes I did. Only that one time, when you woke up and I was in your bed. That was the only time. Trust me."
He gave her a sidewards glance. "I'm not sure I can anymore. Not when you do something like that." he said, shaking his head.
"You still had clothes on. It was really hot in that hotel, okay? They must've turned the heat up in the middle of the night. I didn't want you to know, so before you woke up, I made sure to change into clothes again. Yes, it's probably creepy to you now, but that will change." she said seductively.
"Sure, but I already told you, I won't have any of that until later. Real later." he firmly stated, as he inhaled the steam from the air.
"You say that, and you do have a certain amount of control," she began, getting closer to him "but even a Shapeshifter would fall to something like that eventually. Lucky for you, that's not my interest either, I'm just playing with you." she finished, giving him a playful shove, and then turning his head towards hers. She leaned in, and planted a quick smooch on his lips.
"You're not getting cold, are you?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.
Jobe shrugged, he felt a little light headed. "Cold?"
"Yeah, you forgot already? This'll remind you..." she said, turning his head putting her lips to his again, except this time, it was more intense.
This time, it was more enchanting; more enticing than before. Jobe didn't just sit back and let her take over; he pushed his own osculation on her, which she happily accepted.
Kayla reciprocated the motion with her own caress, hers was more experienced than his, but the meaning was the same. It was just the two of them, caught in the moment of adoration that surrounded them. Bliss… In the moment.
o-o-o
Look at those humans. Endeavoring in their pursuits of a mate, and they have engaged in the first step. Hmm... looks like they are partaking in it several times. He thought to himself, watching Jobe and Kayla make out through his special ability to see through walls. He nodded to the other character, who motioned back.
"Time?" one of them asked the other.
"Not quite, almost. The humans are embracing each other lovingly, and it disgusts me. I cannot work like this, it will have to wait until they are done. I can barely stand to watch. They cannot continue this forever, though, and when they stop, that is when the move shall be made. But before they finish, we can advance our position, so that we are ready before they are."
Darkrai motioned to the door of the hotel, and ZoRoark obeyed, and moved forward towards it. They weren't very far, and when they got to it, luckily there was no one there, Darkrai didn't feel like incapacitating anyone right now. Once the automatic doors allowed them inside, there was a lady standing at the counter, who saw the duo and called for the manager. Darkrai warningly pointed at her, then went with ZoRoark and quickly fled deeper into the building before the manager got out to the lobby.
After describing them, the manager exclaimed. "Are you crazy? I don't even know who they were, but they sound like they were badass. I'm not going after them, take that gun there and you go." he said, waving her off.
The lady grabbed a phone, and started to dial.
o-o-o
"Good thing human no chase. We kill human if do." Roark said, with her unintellectual speech.
Darkrai agreed. "Yes, it would have been horrible if we would have to spill blood tonight, but I'm afraid it is inevitable with the prey we have. He is known to fight back."
And with that, the two arrived in front of Room 35, which held two of their unsuspecting human targets.
o-o-o
Jobe and Kayla continued with their romantic moment, not noticing, or caring about anything around them, including the 4-foot high mound of bubbles that had grown while they had their eyes closed. In fact, they were so caught up in the second, that Kayla had suddenly submerged underwater, and only after that, did they stop.
She laughed as she wiped the water off of her eyes. She started to feel dizzy after that, her mind was in a fog. Dang! That was hot. "How long were we at it?" She asked him, but a decent guess had it at least 5 minutes.
Jobe was no better, he couldn't think straight either. "I suppose it was a bit of time." He smiled. There was lip rouge all over his face, and his lips felt numb.
"Whoa, Kayla look! I told you that you put too much soap in here!" he exclaimed, pointing at the cave of bubbles that they were in. It seemed that their motions had popped all the ones that they touched, and the suds just grew around them.
"Oh well, now we know for sure no one saw us." she stated, wringing her hair out.
He raised an eyebrow. "The door's closed, there are no windows, so how could anyone have seen us?" he questioned, chuckling.
She shrugged. "I dunno. It's kinda cool to be surrounded by all these bubbles, think about it. We're in another little world..." she said.
Jobe looked confused. "Okay, you're starting to get loopy. C'mon, let's get out..." he said, right as heard the sound of a door unlocking. Jobe froze, unsure if that was a neighbor or their own door; it sounded too close to be a neighbors.
Kayla stopped too, also uncertain of who could've done that, since it was like 10 at night, no one should be coming in at that time. Jobe managed to get out of the tub without slipping, and quickly dried off, then put his shirt back on. He was going to find out who exactly was barging into their room at this hour.
o-o-o
Darkrai and Roark had made it into Jobe and Kayla's room, after a careful manipulation of the door lock. They couldn't escape detection; there was an audible click after they shut the door. But they should still be... distracted right now. Darkrai assumed.
"Now, Roark, we must wait here until they finish, if ever, but we need to keep them in there. So, listen out for any sign of them opening the door, and be ready." Darkrai whispered to Roark, who gave a quick nod in confirmation.
Jobe helped Kayla out of the tub, and while she dried off, he tried to look through the lock of the door to see who was out there, but he couldn't see anyone.
"I don't see anyone, but I'm not taking that for granted. Stay here, and I'll go see who this person is." he whispered to her.
Roark gave a nod to Darkrai, and that was the signal.
Right as Jobe was about open the door, it opened for him. He looked up, to see ZoRoark and another dark being, one that floated, he was about 5 foot tall, and seemingly matched Wellstep's description fairly well.
"Uhh... who're you guys? I mean, I know who you are, Roark. I guess it's good to see you again. How and what are y'all doing here?" Jobe asked, hoping they could understand him. Needless to say, they could.
"Shut up, human. You will only talk when I address you. You have no right to ask why we have come here, but I shall tell you regardless. Roark here has come for you, I believe to... repay an old debt. And I, Darkrai, have arrived for this female here, her name is Kayla, if I am not mistaken?" Darkrai said, pointing to Kayla.
"Me? What do you want with me?" she asked, having no clue what the dark duo was asking about.
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Darkrai boomed, hurling a ball of shadow at her. She took the hit and fell, unconscious. Jobe's rage just went up a notch.
"Kayla!" Jobe said, kneeling down next to her, checking to make sure she was okay. She seemed to be sleeping, there was no mark on her from the orb at all.
Jobe slowly stood up. "I don't give a crap about who you are! Get the hell out or I'll unleash it on you!" he screamed.
Darkrai didn't even flinch. "Did you not hear me? I said silence, or you shall end up worse than her. And I know how much that hit just hurt you. I can feel it. I can feel your pain, it is mixed by anger and a desire for revenge. So... why do you hesitate? Oh, I see. Trying to give us a second chance. Well, Jobe, I know perfectly well who you are, and what you are capable of. But tell me... do you?" Darkrai said, as Roark pounced on Jobe.
As Jobe wrestled with Roark for domination, Darkrai floated over to Kayla's unconscious body, and picked her up by the neck, then took her out of the bathroom and laid her down on the bed. Like I said earlier... I do not want innocent blood spilled. Darkrai decided to wait outside of the bathroom, to see if Roark could finish the job without him.
They were caught in a violent tangle, Roark with her sharp claws and Jobe with his brute fists. He could change any time, but he wanted to get Roark off of him so he could concentrate more. His mind was still clouded with thoughts of his and Kayla's make-out session, so it was hard enough to think without someone trying to break your neck. Jobe finally got a strong grasp on Roark's leg, which he used to throw her into the tub. She landed with a splash, and the bubbles flew everywhere. Jobe took this time to take a deep breath, and calm his mind. By that time, Roark was already back up. This time, Jobe took the offensive, but it was hard to get a good hold on her since he was almost twice as tall as Roark. She had no problem getting Jobe, however. With use of its claws, she kept Jobe on the defensive, by forcing him to jump backwards, until his back touched a wall. Roark jumped up, and about slashed Jobe's neck off, but he transformed into stone at the last second, which Roark's claws bounce harmlessly off of. Actually, it hurt Roark more than Jobe, as she had now broken the tips of two of her talons. Jobe smiled and changed back into his human form, but it seemed to only make Roark angrier.
"Why are you after me? What did I ever do to you? If it's about the day at your trailer I'll gladly pay for it." Jobe bargained.
Roark snickered. "Wish it was trailer. Wish it was easy. Pain and hurt. That payback."
Jobe was confused by its meaning, but his guess that he had somehow hurt Roark, and she was here for revenge. "Then why is Darkrai here?"
"Darkrai smart. Good plan. He kill Kayla, hurt you. Make you surrender. Then take you see boss. Boss not like you, boss mad at you. Boss make you our slave." Roark replied. That burned Jobe up on the inside. He parried Roark's attacks with renewed vigor, in his perhaps futile attempt to protect Kayla.
After fighting with Roark for several more minute, and neither of them gaining so much as a scratch on each other, his rage and confidence hit the peak. "Remember when I said I was going to unleash hell on you? Well, here it is." he said, willing his body to change into very strange robotic Pokemon, one called Genesect.
He couldn't talk in this new form, but he now felt armored; probably because he was. Roark's claws served no purpose now. She tried to attack Jobe with kicks, but Jobe's new metal armor was too tough. He grabbed Roark's leg, and threw her against the wall. It left a formidable dent, but Roark wasn't finished. She jumped on top of Jobe, desperately trying to break into the metal. Jobe just tilted his head back and slammed Roark into the wall again, and she busted through it this time. Roark didn't get up, too fatigued to move. Jobe changed back, smiled, then cautiously exited out of the bathroom.
Darkrai was waiting outside of the latrine with Kayla's asleep body. He could hear the fighting going inside, he heard crashes, splashes, and general sounds of pain. He couldn't help but assume that it was Jobe who had fallen at the last big smash, one that sounded like the wall broke down. Darkrai assumed that Roark would walk out at any time, with Jobe's body in its claws. What he saw was the opposite.
He turned around to see Jobe with a confident smile on his face, ready to fight off Darkrai now. Darkrai shook his head, and pulled something out from his endless shadowy cloak.
As was Darkrai's specialty, he started to mess with Jobe's mind. "I know that this is one of your favorites, the Chaènalleã Armòirae. Is that not true? I also know that you like these Shuca berries, is that not also true? Two things that you like. Now what if they were taken away..." he said, smashing the bottle and crushing the berries. The liquor and the berry remains splattered all over the carpet.
"And now that something you like has been taken away... how about something you love?" he said, moving over towards Kayla's head. Jobe's eyes went wide, he couldn't imagine what Darkrai could do that would kill her, but he didn't want to find out.
"You lay a hand on her-" Jobe warned. Darkrai's hand moved over her face, about an inch away from touching it.
"I'm serious!" Jobe threatened. Darkrai moved his hand even closer, but still not quite touching.
"That's it!" he yelled, jumping up to land on Darkrai, but an unseen force stopped him, midair. Darkrai had put his arm up, and froze Jobe with a shadowy force in the middle of his jump.
Darkrai shook his head. "I see how you try to protect the ones you love. But it does absolutely no good, not when there is someone like me to stop you in your valiant efforts, only to find that you fall short. Only to find, that you failed, and you couldn't do it. How does that make you feel, Jobe? Hurt? Depressed?" Darkrai taunted.
"I feel nothing! I have not and will not fail! Nothing comes between me and Kayla!" he screamed, trying to break free, but it wasn't happening.
"You are very dense. I have been trying to communicate to you through metaphors, and apparently it does not go through. I will not put it in layman's terms: Jobe, you lost. I won. Kayla will die, you will witness it, and feel the loss. I will hold you here, as you watch her suffer through and perish. You will then feel the overwhelming sense of defeat- one that you previously never experienced. And, you may try to commit suicide to stop to feeling, but no. I will not allow it, since I am now in charge, and decide what you can and cannot do. You are no longer a free man, as if you were to begin with. Once Roark wakes up, I will terminate Kayla's short life... such a shame, too. She had such a bright future together with you... I could see it..." Darkrai paused, reliving the dream that he had foreseen. "And after that, you will come with me to my humble abode, and then you shall truly see what it is like to suffer. If you thought going through Dr. Wellstep's little 'flames' was painful, you have not seen where I live. Oh, what is that I hear? It cannot be... Roark? Is that you waking up?"
_-o-o-o-_
I am so evil. Yah, I brought him back-in-black. Literally. This is how he is in TRROD. And so, this dynamic chapter comes to a close. Now, give me those well-deserved reviews. Do you think Kayla should die? Or... who says she will? And if not, who's going to stop Darkrai? Oh, I guess that's what Chapter 13 would be for...
Thanks again to Infinity for writing the two-and-a-half makeout scenes.