Huzzah! Chapter 12 is here! this is my proudest accomplishment by any means, but it does help with story progression, which is every so very important, also I'm beginning to really need that break soon to space out my writing, the hardest thing to do seems to be not cramming so much into one chapter. For instance, up to about chapter nine for what I've posted on here is actually around the eighteenth chapter I wrote, up till around then all of my chapters were about a thousand words so I put two of them together as one chapter. I digress, where I was going with that is that the original plan was a eighty chapter or so long story, but when I was writing, things I planned for say chapter 20 happened in the third chapter I wrote, which causes problems. The alt. ending was actually the original ending, which was supposed to be way after when it happened, thus all of this is very far from the original plan, but I like it much more. So that was long, and probably hard to follow, point is, I hate planning, so my writing is... fast. Then again, all of this is practice, that's right practice for my bigger projects, not just the ones I'll put on here, I have a trio of books planned, but I want to make them as perfect as possible. So back to Dim and that Eevee, crank up that theme and lets get rollin'! (bonus message, just wondering, who are your guy's favourite characters? A lot more are going to be added soon, but as of this chapter which ones really shine, tell me however you like (P.M., or review))
He woke up the next morning a little earlier than her so he moved toward the latrine room and used it. Afterwards he went to the kitchen and cooked two pieces of meat, and got out some berries. As he set the food on the table she woke and came into the kitchen. She began to eat her food and Dim began to eat his. The only sound was chewing, and neither made eye contact. When they both finished the Eevee looked around for a second and then said "Thanks, that was nice, what you did last night." "We're friends, it was my duty." She smiled at his answer. "Well I need to go off to the training areas before I'm late." "Hold on I have something for you." She gave him a quizzical look before widening her eyes in surprise as she received a kiss, on the lips. She tasted the meat and berries they just finished, and an unfamiliar taste, which was pretty nice. He broke the kiss and stared in her eyes for a moment before lightly licking the end of her nose, earning a giggle. "Well, they'll be expecting you." He said before shooing her to the door. "I'll... I'll see you later." She said nervously. "Okay" he said with a small smile. She walked quickly down the hallway. He went back into the room closing the door and sighed to himself. "Even though we both just ate she tasted like honey. Maybe it's just my imagination." He shook his head going to his bed to meditate, thinking about how good that was at sweeping her off her feet. She, meanwhile was now on one of the higher tiers, the training grounds. She had a slight hop in her step and cheerfulness, while also seeming a bit angry and confused. "What's a matter little Eevee?" Chario said jokingly. "Not really sure." "Okay then. Well I'm gonna go mess with some Absols." He said jogging to some huddled in a group. "Alright! Get yourselves over here!" The instructor called out. The instructor was an Arcanine, a relatively large one at that. She hurried to were the other three Absols and Chario had gathered, right in front of him. "Okay, I want twenty laps around the grounds, and you have forty minutes." The laps didn't sound bad, but the entire thing occurred on a random type of ground, which was changed every day. Today was water and clay. They had two minutes per lap, assuming they didn't get tired, and a normal lap toke a minute thirty seconds on solid hard ground. The water and clay was going to slow them down and tire them. Thirty minutes and ten laps later, the Absols began to slow significantly, wheezing from exhaustion. Chario was running as fast as he could without falling over, but was only one lap ahead. The poor little Eevee couldn't touch the bottom and be above the water, which was excellent. She just swam around, though she wasn't very far ahead of Chario. "Ten minutes left!" The Arcanine called out. The Absols attempted some more running, but all three nearly collapsed. Chario did a slight dive and began swimming. The Eevee, noticing this, prepared to jump onto him as he passed by. She landed on him, but due to the added weight of the water in her fur, she nearly drowned him for a moment before he recovered and continued at full strength. "Turn!" She called when they got to a corner. "Turn!" "Turn!" If he was going to carry her, she at least wanted to help him navigate. "One minute!" "Chario two laps!" The Arcanine and Eevee called out. "Time!" The Arcanine yelled at them. "Chario we made the last lap, we finished!" "Thank... Arceus." He wheezed. The punishment for failing was running an obstacle course in which few managed to get through unscathed, which also changed daily. "Eevee, you didn't do those laps, you realize that right?" "What do you mean?" "Laps must be done by one's own power, not a different ones." "What? Then do I?" "Yes, obstacle course." Distraught she moved to the course and entered. "The rest you will spar, except for the Lucario, I want you to spar me." "Fine." Chario said looking worriedly at the Eevee going into the course. The first task seemed horrible, not a good start. She would have to swim through water that was to dark to see into, and who knows what was inside. "Why is there so much water today?" She complained to no one. She slide into the water slowly and began to cautiously move through it. After a few seconds she began to wonder why nothing had happened. She got to the end and went to the next room. Then she new why nothing had happened, and why the water was so dark. It was full of metal filaments, and this room was full of electrical currents arcing the walls. They probably wouldn't kill her, but the would definitely hurt a lot. She ran through, jumping every time a current began to arc towards her. She got to the room with only one burn, just her fur though. Sighing at the burnt follicles, she went to the next room. "Great, just what I needed." More complaints. The room had a large divider of unknown thickness, and a pit of what appeared to be randomly placed spikes and caltrops. Climbing in it took a total of three seconds to puncture her foot on a caltrop. Wincing, she looked for blood, there was a single tear of the red liquid from a small hole. Taking care she moved around as many caltrops as she could, and moved to the exit. The problem occurred when amount of light dropped to less than none. Within seconds the hole on her foot gained multiple friends. After she climbed out her feet were pincushioned and covered in blood. She walked to the next room slowly and wincing on every step. She gasped, the room was bare, except the ceiling, which looked like it was excruciatingly hot. Slightly confused and very concerned, she began to walk into the room. But there was a slight problem, the room was on a hidden axis, and if she put it off balance, she could be in serious trouble. The room immediately began moving counterclockwise, throwing her to her left. A few seconds later she found herself standing on a surface heated to seventy degrees Celsius. She screamed and ran as fast as she could to the other end. She got to the exit and jumped off and onto the end platform. She tried to crawl out, but that hurt to. "This... is... ridiculous." She huffed out. "Alright, that's enough for you, don't want to kill you." The Eevee froze, and coughed, once. "No, it's not." "It is." "I would rather the course." "Hey Blinky, that's not a way to greet an old friend." "Last I remember, you wanted me to die, and said 'Alright, that's enough for you, don't want to kill you'." "I was wrong to do that to you. I didn't realize what I did till I was nearly halfway across the continent and nearly dead again." "Yet you never came back, you never apologized. I loved you, you were my friend, then you nearly killed me and left me purposeless broken tool, just lying there crying. Could have killed me, but that would have merciful!" She ended yelling. "I can't apologize enough." "You can't apologize at all." "I know." "Go away. I don't need you anymore." "I think you do. Right now that Lucario is in an infirmary, I got a little carried away. And the rest of your group has no idea what kind of situation you're in." "Fine, help me out of here. If it will ease what little soul you still have." He smiled and picked her up by the scruff of the neck, that was when she actually looked at him for the first time, it was the instructor. "You're the instructor!?" He nodded, and exited the course. He brought her to the infirmary and sat with her till the nurse came. She refused eye contact. He looked at her every couple of seconds wanting to apologize but not thinking it would get anywhere. "What?" She said. "Yes I know you're staring, I've been watching you in the window." He glanced at the window and noticed she had been watching him. "You don't know how bad I've felt over these years, it kills me on the inside to see you in pain again." "You need to leave." He sat for a moment. "You didn't have to face all the love in your life dying in front of you or leaving, everyone giving frightened or disgusted stares, and nightmares of doing it over and over till there was enough blood to drown a lake." "I'm sorry!" He cried out bursting into tears. "I hope you are." She turned completely away and laid there ignoring him and the world. Defeated, he left, eyes wet. When it began to get late Chario carried her to where she and Dim were staying, since he was feeling better. He put her in front of the door, looked at her for a moment, sighed and began the walk to his place. "Dim, I'm back." She said sullenly, walking in. "Good, I made some more meat, and used the berries for extra flavor. She shambled to him and collapsed on him crying. "Hey, it's okay. Shhh, I'll protect you, don't worry." "Dim, there are some things you can't protect me from." She sniveled out. "Then I'll take the damage for you." He said looking down at her puffy eyes. He let her eat in peace, and afterwards she laid in the bed she was supposed to sleep in and pretended to sleep, but really she couldn't stop thinking about her old friend turned enemy. He was an Arcanine now. They had missed so much of each others lives, and she was sad about that, but she was angry that even came back at all, too little too late. She fell asleep late at night crying lightly. Dim meanwhile was a wreck. He was having cold sweats, anxiety, and every time he looked at her, he felt like he was dying. Eventually he too, fell asleep, but his dreams were even worse. Nothing but replays of every time she had been hurt. Then after a long time of that, he saw Obsideon, his love, his reason for living. Then she spurted blood out of three cuts across her throat. "NOOOO!" He screamed enraged, turning mega and bursting a hyper beam out that blew the front wall apart. Calming down he collapsed sniffling for a second and remembered where he was, he looked to his side, but the Eevee was gone. Relieved he noticed it was morning time. He left, and gazed guiltily at the destroyed wall. Gulping he walked away to go see Star for training. As soon as he got there Star called out, "Get up here now!" Scared, Dim raced up to the second floor, coming face to face with Star. "We need to talk about that Eevee, and exactly how you two are connected."