I opened my eyes as a flat tone filled the room. Blood was all over the top of the bed and my face. My shot had been true. The nurse, Mars, and Saturn ran in as I let out an anguished cry. No one said anything, there was nothing to really say at the moment. I dropped the gun onto the bed and cradled Aya's limp body against my chest as I cried, and even though a part of me was happy to know she was in a better place it still hurt to know that I had just killed someone I loved dearly. I slowly pulled off the leads for the heart monitor then pulled the IV out of Aya's leg. Slowly I stood up holding her body tenderly against my chest and walked out of the Pokemon center, heading around to the back of the building. Once I found a good spot I then placed her body onto the ground and backed away. I called out Rosy and when she looked at Aya she looked at me in shock.
"Rosy please... I need you to cremate her. She got injured protecting me and she didn't want to live the rest of her life paralyzed from the neck down. So please," I asked as I knelt down and rubbed her head gently. Rosy understood then walked over and took a deep breath causing her body heat to almost triple. She then opened her mouth and a bright white flame erupted from her mouth and engulfed Aya's body. In just a few seconds her body was turned to ashes. Once everything was burned to a fine ash Rosy stopped and looked back at me. I slowly walked over and took out a small empty glass bottle and put a few of Aya's ashes into it then sealed it tightly. I placed it in my pocket and then looked at Rosy.
"I need you to do a very powerful fire spin. I need you to try and kick up a strong wind to carry her ashes away," I said softly but before Rosy could do it, a very strong gust of wind blasted down and blew the ashes off high into the air.
"It has been a while, Aren," A female voice said behind me and I turned around and saw Nour standing near a Dragonknight.
"Yes it has been Nour, thank you," I said softly then I headed back into the Pokemon center. Nour recalled her Dragonknight and followed me in.
"Aren we need to talk first," she said and I turned around and looked at her," I know you only want to fight this yourself but you need help. I went ahead and lead a group into the Oreburgh Lab and took it out for you. You can start with the Nightshade labs now. I am sure you want to do that now more than ever."
"Yeah...at first I wanted to do this for a good cause but now...now they have made it personal. I don't want to drag too many people into this. The Nightshade labs are run by my twin brother and my father," I said in a cold calculated voice. Nour nodded showing she understood, but it did ease my burden to know I was no longer alone in this fight. People were beginning to open their eyes and fight against the corrupt system they lived under. I knew it would take the heat off me and give me a little more breathing room, but at the same time I wasn't happy that others were getting involved. I turned and looked at Saturn and Mars and walked over to them.
"Let's get moving, I don't want to stay here any longer," I whispered and they nodded slightly and I pulled out the small bottle and some string and made a small necklace then put it on. I picked up my things and headed out for the car, though I felt sadness and wanted to cry but, I just couldn't. I wanted to get out of here and away from here, away from the pain that came from this place. Nour helped me along with Saturn and Mars. Once we had everything packed we climbed into the car. I sat in the very back of the car, next to my gear and I laid there wondering why I wasn't crying. There was a soft flash and I looked over and saw that Sasha was sitting next to me. I slowly sat up and looked at her wondering why she came out. Sasha looked at me and gently touched Aya's ball then moved her paw to her heart and bowed her head. From what I could tell she was saying she was sorry for my loss. So I placed a hand on her head and rubbed it gently before slowly pulling her against my chest. The second she was laying against my chest I started to cry hard, sobs took my ability to speak. Sasha rubbed my chest gently and let me cry on her shoulder. I cried and cried until I passed out from the exhaustion.
I woke up when the car stopped and I looked around and saw that Sasha and Twi were sleeping next to me. I was wondering what was going on so I shifted and looked out the window. We had pulled back onto the ferry that was taking us back to the cabin. I settled back down and looked at Twi and I could see that her cheeks were damp. I gently rubbed her head, and she slowly opened her eyes and looked at me. I sighed softly and rubbed her head and kissed her gently.
"I know Aya was a sister to you. I will miss her as well," I said softly and she nodded slightly. I sighed and leaned back against the bag behind me and looked out of the window at the sky. I knew what was going on with Twi, there was a hole in my soul where Aya use to be. I have never liked to use the word hate but at this moment I hated that I was forced to end the life of someone I loved and I wanted to kill everyone who was involved. I had first thought that this was something I was wanting to do, to make a change in the world, but now... it has become a personal vendetta. I use to think I could back out of this if I needed to but now, I couldn't make myself back out even if I wanted to. It was hard to think that something like this has completely changed on how I viewed this whole thing.
Hours slowly ticked by as the ferry rolled with the swells of the sea. I could feel the storm brewing somewhere out over the vast sea, like the dark hole that was left in my heart. I did feel better having Twi snuggled close to me but the pain of my loss was always there reminding me that I will never see Aya again. I slowly sat up and looked at my friends and saw they were sleeping, the gentle rocking of the boat had lured them off to dream land. Lucky. I could not seem to fall back to sleep. I settled back down and held Twi close to me as I rubbed Sasha's back slowly. All the while I was beating myself up for not doing anything to save Aya. I knew in my heart of hearts that there was nothing I could have done but at the same time I still felt bad for not doing anything. After a while of beating myself up for another hour or so I soon fell prey to the rocking of the boat.
I slowly opened my eyes when I was shaken awake by Mars. I slowly sat up and blinked and looked around. I smiled a weakly as Mars helped me out of the back of the car. I turned around and picked Twi and Sasha up in my arms and headed for the cabin, but I froze in place when I saw Nour restraining Saturn.
"Nour...what are you doing?" I asked softly as Trish and Rosy appeared from their pokeballs.
"What does it look like I am doing Aren? I have been forced into this," She said as she pointed her handgun at me," Your brother has threatened my family if I don't take care of all of you."
"Nour, put the gun down and let's talk about this," I said slowly, unable to do anything with Twi and Sasha in my arms.
"There is no talking about this Aren. Unlike me you do not have a family that cares about you," Nour snapped as she shifted the gun to Mars, who had just walked out from behind the car," I don't think so Mars. Do you think I couldn't see you trying to sneak that handgun out of the bag?"
Trish moved in front of Mars holding her hands out in a protective manner as a deep warning growl rumbled deep in her chest. I didn't like this situation at all, there was nothing I could really do and I felt useless.
"Nour, please think about what you are doing. Do you honestly think my brother will let your family go? You decided to stand up and do something, you stood up to fight back against the corruption and abuse. Did you stop to think once about the danger you were putting your family in? How about yourself? The last time I saw you was in the warehouse and watched you get shot," I said as I tried to pull her attention back to me," Nour your just a teenager for Christ sakes. What do you think I feel when I watch a girl your age getting wounded in a fight I started?"
"Aren, please, don't make this harder than it is already damn it!" Nour shouted as her hand began to shake.
"Nour put the gun down. You know I can help you. I will be taking down my brother and his lab next. I will end this," I said calmly as Twi and Sasha began to wake up," Please, I have dealt with enough today as it is and you know that."
Nour looked down and slowly lowered her handgun and that is all Saturn needed to disarm her and place her in a hammer lock. I let out a soft sigh happy that it had ended without anyone getting shot. I gently placed Twi and Sasha down on their feet then looked at Nour.
"Saturn, please take her inside and talk with her, I am going to help Mars with the bags," I said softly and watched as Saturn slowly walked Nour into the cabin. I then walked over and helped Mars with the bags, but I noticed the strange look on Trish's face.
"Trish, what is the matter?" I asked softly as I knelt down near her with a bag in each hand.
"Aren...I sense something growing within Mars," Trish replied softly.
"What...what do you mean?" I asked slowly as I tried to figure out what she was talking about.
"Aren, Mars is pregnant," Trish replied bluntly.
I looked at Trish like she was crazy. I stood and walked over to Mars, leaving the bags near Trish.
"Mars...is there anything you haven't told me?" I asked her in a serious tone, but when she didn't meet my eyes I knew she was hiding something," Mars are you... are you really pregnant?"
"I just found out at the Pokemon Center. I asked them to check when I missed my period," she said softly then looked up at me," It is yours Aren. You are the only one I have had sex with, so there is no doubt in my mind it is yours."
"When you going to tell me or try and keep it hidden from me Mars? Trish told me what she felt when she moved in front of you," I asked as emotions boiled over once again. Mars shook her head as she hugged me tightly as I started to cry again. Everything was happening so suddenly I didn't know what to feel. Happiness? Sorrow? I didn't know what to feel anymore. I lost someone very important to me and yet I have gained another reason to fight. They say one person dies, a new life enters the world.
I sat down on the bumper of the car and Mars sat in my lap and held onto me. At this moment it felt like my whole world had been turned upside down. I felt a rough tongue travel over my hand and I looked down to see Twi, Pearl, Trish, Rosy, and Sasha standing close to me, doing their best to show me that they were there for me. That even in my messed up world that they looked up to me and loved me in one way or another, be it the love of a mate or that of family. Mars was there for me as well, not only as the mother of my child growing in her belly, but also as one of my closest friends. Saturn was also there to watch my back and help me when I needed it. I realized that Aya's death had also affected them as well. We all were hurting because of what happened and I felt better knowing I wasn't alone in this.
"No one here is happy about the death of Aya, but no matter how much it hurts us we cannot let this drag us down and make us forget the fun times we had with her. All we have is each other and not a single one of us would like to see the others sit around and cry over the death of anyone of us. It won't be easy, but we have to stay on our feet and continue on," I whispered softly to all of them as I placed a hand on Mars's belly," We have something important to protect now. Mars is pregnant with my child and we have to fight harder so that when that child comes into this world it won't have to grow up with the level of corruption that is around us right now. Mars I know you want to be on the front lines fighting, but now you have two lives to think about, your own and the baby growing inside you, but I know you won't stay on the sidelines so I ask you for the child's sake, stay back out of the fighting and watch our backs through a rifle scope. Please."
"I can do that Aren, I know you are right and want the best not only for me and the child, but with what happened to Aya...I cannot just sit back and watch you and Saturn and both of your pokemon put your lives on the line. If watching your back through a rifle scope helps then I will do it. At least I am doing something other than sitting here wondering if you will come back or not," Mars replied as she looked up at me in thanks," Come on, let's go inside and rest, we all need it after a day like today."
I could not agree more with Mars at the moment, but I still had to sit down and talk with Nour and make her see that I would keep my word. I stood alongside Mars and we gathered up the duffel bags and headed inside with my pokemon following closely behind us.
I placed my bags into my room then headed into the kitchen where Nour was sitting in a chair. I sat down and looked at her as Saturn placed a drink in front of both of us. I sipped my tea a little bit then looked at Nour.
"I know you want to get your family back safe. I am not mad for what you tried you do, but I want you to understand that my brother and father will not keep to their word. Once I was dead they would have most likely killed you," I said softly as I sat back in my chair," But I will hold to my word when I say I will save them, but you need to trust me."
"Aren...I want to believe you, I really do, but you will need to let me come with you. You will need to let me fight beside you," She replied and I sighed and looked up at the table top.
"Okay...okay... Mars will be staying back as a sniper now," I said as I looked at her catching her attention," She is going to have my child, but I cannot just flat out tell her she has to stay here. I want her to be safe and still help out as much as she can. So being a sniper would be the best thing for her."
Nour nodded once my words sank in and she sipped on her tea and then looked up at me. I tapped my fingers on the table as she looked at me and I got the feeling she understood more than what I had told her. I finished my tea a few minutes later and stood up.
"Right now everyone needs help. Either to see what is going on in front of them or to fight it. I won't stop you from helping me," I said softly before I turned around and headed for my room. On my way I saw Trish and Pearl kissing on the couch and I chuckled softly. When I walked into my room I found Twi, Ruby, and Sasha laying on my bed waiting for me. I slowly removed my clothes till I was in my boxers. I joined then and curled up next to them under the covers and smiled then they moved to get closer to me. Though Aya was missing, I felt wanted and needed here. I held onto them and rubbed their backs slowly and relaxed as I watched them fall asleep. I spent a few hours watching them sleep and soon my own eyes slowly closed and I fell asleep in seconds.