Secret of the Earth and Sky!

Chapter 12- Alex Cesarini Appears!

"May! Wait up!"

May was seething with slight rage, not really bothering about her brother. It was their entire fault… No. His fault. May looked at her hastily bandaged hands. Last night was rather uneasy one.

"Max, get up." May's voice was aggressive and stern.

"Ah!" Max scrambled out of bed, but then he stopped dead at May. "Your hands… what happened?"

"No questions! Pack up!"

"What about Drew?"

"I said! Pack up!"

"EEEEE!"

"Perhaps I was too rough with Max." May sweatdropped. "He wasn't part of it, really…"

May could tell, they were only just off to the lift off to Lavaridge Town. She was not looking properly, for she immediately bumped into someone.

"Oof!" that was what came out of her mouth.

"Oh? Sorry, I wasn't looking…" a girl's voice came upon her.

"Oh… I was…" May looked up to see a girl a year older than her.

The girl had brown hair that reached to her waist, tied into a neat ponytail. She wore a blue sundress and a black T-shirt, which was worn to compensate for the formality. She wore sneakers, of course. And she had a yellow messenger's bag, decorated with the elaborate insignia of some organization May never heard of.

"I'm Alex!" the girl smiled. "Alexandra Cesarini! Hm?"

Alex grabbed May's hands and looked at them.

"This will not do!" She dug into her backpack. "Here! Let me bandage you up properly!"

"Eh?" Max looked at the girl, and then sighed in relief. "At least May won't be having aching hands from now on."

May only watched Alex as she wrapped her hands with new gauze.

"So…" Alex started. "How did you get these cuts anyways? Looks like you pricked yourself several times."

"Oh… well…" May didn't want to tell anything about Drew, or even speak of his name. "I just… um… forgot that roses have thorns…"

"Oh, really?" Alex laughed. "That happened to me once!"

May examined her hands a bit more. The cuts still sting a bit, but hopefully she'll survive through the path to Lavaridge.

"Hey, Alex?" Max came to the girl. "You mind coming with us to Lavaridge? I think May might need more bandages… she's reckless sometimes, especially when she is in a bad state like now."

"Oh?" Alex turned to May, who was rather nervous about Max's comment, but Alex was beaming. "All right, then! The more, the merrier! I was on my way there anyways!"

"Thanks," May grinned. "I guess I might need some more company."

"So… where do you come from, May?" Alex asked.

"I'm from Petalburg," May answered calmly. "… I mean… Almia…"

"You mean that awesome region where the best Rangers come from?" Alex was rather excited. "That's cool."

"Yeah… My parents are Rangers, too."

"That's even better!" Alex kept up with May's pace. "When I was little, I wanted be one… well, look at me now. I'm a Coordinator and Trainer instead. Well… I do think that I have a potential for something more adventurous, though…"

"Well… I guess I feel the same…" May sighed.

"Where do you come from?" Max, oblivious to May's answer apparently, turned to Alex.

"I come from Kanto!" Alex clapped her hands together. "Well, my family did originate from some non-Pokemon country called Italy, and then for many generations, we've lived in Kanto."

"Wow, that explains a lot about you." May frowned.

"Hm?" Alex stared at May's expression.

"You seem to be lying."

"Eh?" Alex nearly tripped. "What do you mean?"

"Your eyes are very easy to see through…" May sighed. "I can see deep melancholy…"

"Oh?"

"May!" Max scolded his sister and slapped her on the arm. "Don't go making people feel bad cause you feel bad!"

"Hm?" Alex looked at May. She seemed slightly unemotional, by the looks of her plain face and cracked smile. Alex had seen looks like this before. Could it be that May was… heartbroken?

"Well?" May demanded calmly. "Care to tell me the truth?"

"Okay. I am from Italy, but I'm just an orphan…" Alex sighed.

"Your parents…" May muttered. "Were murdered, were they?"

"How did you…" Alex was shocked. This girl could see right through her!

"Oi!" Max slapped May again. "You're making Alex feel bad! Sorry, Alex, May has that strange ability to see through people's feelings. Sometimes she bugs everyone with that. And you should be much more kind, May! Even if Drew-"

"Don't." May didn't face her brother, but her voice was stern and cold enough to silence him.

"Max!" Alex calmed Max down. "It's okay. If she's sad, then let her vent it all out. It's better now than at the contest in Lavaridge, will it?"

May looked at Alex. This girl really does understand me… May thought.

"The sun is kinda high up…." Max commented after an hour. "Can we have lunch? Oh! And a nap, too? I didn't sleep well… well, May dragged me in the middle of the night…"

"I did not." May sighed. "At least I carried you for an hour. You should have had enough sleep then."

"I'm only seven! Having only five hours of sleep is detrimental to my mental development"

"Okay! Okay!" Alex split the argument. "Let's lunch. And May and I can train so you can nap, all right?"

Max and Munchlax were snoozing under an oak tree, while May sat cross-legged on a rock, with all her Pokemon by her side. Alex stood before her, observing the Trainer's Pokemon.

The Combusken was rather confident about everything, judging by the proud stances it got into when it was in battle with the others. That was so much like Infernape, who stood beside her. May's Beautifly and Tropius seem to share a close bond as in friendship terms, similar to Alex's Pichu and Riolu. The Eevee, as brave as her Glaceon. The Feebas, full of great potential. May's team would beat any Gym Leader if they would keep to it. But Eevee…

"Um… May?" Alex asked the meditating Trainer.

"Yes?"

"Have you ever given thought to what your Eevee would be?"

"A Glaceon, I guess." May hesitated.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm going to do that in Sinnoh. Why?"

"Cause, I can help you."

May raised an eyebrow.

"How would that be possible?"

"Easy." Alex dug into her bag to reveal a crystal the size of her thumb.

Eevee started to approach, but May stood still. What was going on? May thought. Shouldn't I be stopping it?

"Vee?" The crystal and Eevee's paw made contact, and both glowed. May gasped at the result of this glow.

"You turned my Eevee into a Glaceon?" May looked, unblinking.

"Yep!" Alex put the crystal away. "I guess it's that easy, right?"

"Thanks." May gave another smile. "I really appreciate it."

"No prob!" Alex got up. "Come on, let's get training. I guess pitching camp here would be fine. Better than that sandstorm I just got caught in yesterday."

"Drew, are you sure you want me to teach you this? It is a dangerous form. My own master was barely defeated because of it."

"I'm sure, dad." Drew's green hair shielded his eyes. "I'm sure of it."

"Alright, then, but I won't go easy on you."