High School Union, Chapter 28
EmeraldDragon1; Hoo boy, another one already?
Giratina; Idiot, you're the one writing the story. And by the way, what's the idea of having me being shot?
EmeraldDragon1; (rolls eyes) Duh, to add drama to the story. Plus, this gets rid of Jessica, who has been a thorn in both of our sides since the fourth chapter, where she came in originally. Admittedly, however, she looked much better then.
Giratina; (rolls eyes) Idiot. Anyway, what do you plan on doing this chapter? Probably something stupid.
EmeraldDragon1; Why are you so negative towards me? What did I do wrong?
Giratina; (sarcastically) Oh, let me think. There's making me a feminist, then turning my viewpoint around in very few chapters, the tormenting you had Palkia doing to me, having me make a tough decision to choose between my friends or career, then shooting me! I think that's a good reason to hate you.
EmeraldDragon1; (gulps) Uh, okay, I get the idea. But still, I hooked you up with a great guy, right? That's something, isn't it?
Giratina grudgingly concedes, then ditches EmeraldDragon1, who sighs in relief.
EmeraldDragon1; Phew, I really dodged a bullet there, pardon the pun. Anyway, with this bit out of the way, and none of Mew's lemon ideas in sight, let's begin!
Progress…
It was Saturday and Giratina was looking forward for the next several hours. Arceus had let her know that the gang was going to come visit both her and Palkia in the hospital. There were going to be arrangements made so they could all hang out at one area. During the week, Arceus had been helping her with the homework that her friends so graciously collected for her, and the same thing had been done for Palkia, though Dialga was treating her. Although she wasn't too happy to see homework, it was better than whatever was on the few channels that this hospital got.
After a couple of hours, a nurse came in with a wheelchair meant to take her to her destination to meet up with her friends. Over the course of the week, the doctors had steadily taken her off the knock-out meds and put her on Vikoden. It definitely dulled the pain she sometimes felt, and while it made her drowsy, it didn't knock her out cold. They had also been having her exercise her legs, making sure she would still be able to. But despite that, they insisted on putting her in a wheelchair to get her over to her friends.
Giratina settled in the chair and neither she nor the nurse spoke a word. After a maze of halls, the nurse pushed her through a set of double-doors where she saw all her friends there, including Palkia in her own wheelchair. They all looked at her and shouted in joy, glad to see the last member of their group in one piece personally. Shaymin walked over and lightly hugged her, which Giratina returned. She looked at the rest of them, happiness suffusing her through the slight drowsiness she experienced because of the medicine. She spotted Mew scribbling all over Palkia's casts, and she scoffed. Palkia noticed and said
"It doesn't matter, they come off in a couple of weeks anyway. Tell you what, though, they itch to high hell!"
Everyone laughed except Dialga, who was frowning and told her
"Sorry to burst your bubble there, but the term is 'to high heaven'."
Palkia thumped him on the forehead and rolled her eyes, saying
"I know that. This just goes beyond that because this itch goes beyond what I've felt before."
Everyone laughed again, and Arceus came to stand by Giratina. He kissed her on the cheek again, making Palkia roll her eyes. Giratina decided not to argue it for the time being and said
"So, what's been happening this whole week?"
Everyone began to give their accounts of the passing time, mostly concerning the couples. Mew and Mespirit, Uxie and Azelf, Celebi and Shaymin, and, of course, Latias and Latios. For the most part, they had all been enjoying each other's company while Arceus and Dialga were left to flounder. It was funny in a way, but most of the girls were waiting for two of the three ringleaders to return. The Sisterhood just wasn't the same without them, or so they thought. Latias was starting to grow out her hair, just to see what it would be like. Latios, naturally, didn't care too much how she changed her looks, as long as he could still recognize her for the girl he fell in love with.
Giratina rolled her eyes and thought
"How cheesy."
Then the conversations split apart and Giratina moved herself, with some difficulty, to Palkia. She grinned at her and said
"You know, whenever we said we would follow each other down the same road, I didn't think this would happen."
Palkia and Giratina enjoyed a good laugh from that, then Palkia became serious.
"So, how're you holding up?"
Giratina shrugged and said
"Well, I won't say I'm unshaken by this experience, but I think the chances of it happening again are slim, especially since Jessica's in juvie and her gang disbanded. I guess time will only tell what happens next."
Palkia nodded musingly, then asked
"Did you see it? Your whole life?"
Giratina nodded and replied
"Yup."
Then Palkia asked
"Any regrets?"
Giratina paused for a second, then said
"Only for holding Arceus off for so long."
Palkia sighed in relief, then said
"That's good on multiple levels. So, you tell him you want to step it up?"
Giratina smirked at her and replied
"Yeah, but he thinks it's the drugs."
Palkia snickered and said
"Well, he's in for a surprise, isn't he?"
Giratina joined in on her snickering and said
"Yup."
After the two were finished, their boyfriends came up to them to keep company. For a while, they only conversed about trivial things, then Giratina asked
"Hey Arceus? What's the status on the trip?"
His eyes widened and he said
"Thanks for reminding me. Excuse me, can I have your attention guys?"
Everyone stopped talking and looked at him, whereupon he asked
"Has everyone told their parents about the trip?"
There were some general nods of assent, then Shaymin said
"My parents want to speak to you, though. They wanted me to check you for a good time to call."
Arceus nodded, then said
"I'll be available once I get home, most likely around five. I can go up until midnight, then I go to bed."
Shaymin nodded and gave her thanks. Dialga and Mew said
"Our parents are all for it, so we're good to go!"
Arceus nodded to them, then turned his attention to the twins, Mespirit and Azelf. Mespirit shuffled a bit, and Azelf said
"Our father doesn't really want us to go."
There was silence for a moment, then everyone burst out
"Why?!"
Mespirit softly said
"Well, dad doesn't trust Mew too much, although I keep telling him he's way too childish to pull any stunts…"
"And he doesn't like Uxie much, considering what he put me through for quite a while."
Uxie hung his head, still ashamed. Everyone began to protest, but Arceus held up a hand and told them
"Have your father call me either tonight or tomorrow. I'll speak with him and see if I can change his mind."
Mespirit and Azelf nodded, looking relieved. He looked at Celebi, who simply held a thumbs-up pose. Everyone laughed and he asked Latias and Latios on their status. Latias rolled her eyes and said
"Oh, I got my parents to see reason. They won't interfere."
Latios said pretty much the same thing, and after yet another round of laughter, Arceus turned to Palkia, who dismissed it and said
"I can do whatever I want; my parents aren't really keeping a track of me."
Arceus raised an eyebrow but didn't question her. He turned to Giratina, who said
"I'm going to call my parents soon. They just returned my phone, so I'll try today. I'll direct them to you if need be, which I don't think it will."
Arceus smirked, then said
"Okay then. As long as everything goes well, meaning nobody else gets hurt, we'll be leaving the day after school ends, and coming back the day before Christmas. Everyone cool with that?"
There were nods of assent and the group devolved back into their spliced conversations. After a few more hours, the visitation arrangements were timed out, so Palkia and Giratina were wheeled back to their rooms after saying their goodbyes. Giratina found her cell phone by her bed, on the nightstand. She picked it up and began dialing her parent's number.
"No time like the present" she said to herself.
After a couple of rings, her mother picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hey, mom?"
"Giratina?"
"Yeah."
"Hi, sweetie, how are you?"
"I'm fine, mom. Can you find dad and put this conversation on speaker?"
"Sure, just a minute."
Within that minute, her father had been located and she was put on speaker.
"Hello?"
"Hey, dad, how's it going?"
"I'm doin' just fine, sweetheart, I'm worried about you."
Giratina rolled her eyes and said
"I'm fine dad. But I had something I wanted to tell you, and sort of ask you."
"'Sort of ask me'? What do you have to 'sort of ask' me about?"
"Well, Arceus has this mountain condo, and he wants me and my friends to see it. He wants to take us the day after school ends and be back the day before Christmas. I want to go, so even if you say no, I'm going. But I might as well ask and hope for the best."
Her father sighed exasperatedly, then said
"You're getting more and more like your mother, you know that?"
There was a playful smack on the other end, and Giratina laughed. Then she asked
"So, can I?"
"Well, you've already said you would, so I don't see the point in arguing. However, I expect you here bright and early for Christmas, do you understand me?"
Giratina giggled and said
"Sure. Thanks, guys!"
"You're welcome. Bye."
"Bye."
Giratina hung up the phone with a sense of elation and triumph, happy that things had worked out.
XXXXXXXXXX
It was now the second week in December, and Giratina was back on her feet. The final exams were upon them, so Giratina had been cracking hard on them, with Arceus' help, of course. She had wanted to step their relationship up, but Arceus held her back, saying she needed to be absolutely sure, which he was convinced she wasn't. She was getting frustrated with it, but she wasn't sure how she could prove it to him.
Palkia's casts were coming off tomorrow, which Giratina planned to meet her for. She had immediately set back to work after getting out of the hospital, not wanting to lose her vacation days. Fortunately, Katherine was kind enough not to dock any, and Giratina showed her gratitude by working very hard, despite the slight pain.
Giratina was heading to lunch, happiness overcoming her again. The reports of the trip complications were quickly resolved. Shaymin's parents were easily convinced that Arceus would take care of her and accept responsibility for any problems. The twin's father had been a bit harder, but eventually Arceus managed to wear him down to agreeing. He had threatened, of course, that if anything happened to his daughter's under his care, there would be hell to pay. Arceus had accepted this death threat with equanimity.
She sat with her friends, who were talking excitedly to Arceus about the activities they could partake in up there, and he had all sorts of ideas, including snow volleyball, dividing teams based on couples or gender, hiking, though there wouldn't be too much of that because of the snow, and of course, board and card games. Giratina could feel the impending excitement on her, but she knew she had to finish the finals before they left.
They would be leaving Saturday morning. They were just now arranging the carpooling schedules, Arceus holding the list up in front of him.
"Okay, so Giratina, the twins, and Uxie are with me. Latias, Latios and Mew are traveling with Dialga. Finally, Shaymin and Celebi are traveling with Palkia, leaving plenty of room for extra luggage. Any questions?"
No one had any, so they all broke to get the first round of finals over with. As a prestigious school, it could afford to give their students the week before Christmas off, as well as the week of New Year's. This would be the week that they finished their school business up, then head off for a week of fun!
There wasn't much for Giratina and Shaymin, along with Celebi, to do during gym. It was mostly a test to check that everyone had retained the physical education learning that was required of them. The schedules for finals were, admittedly, a bit screwy. For some reason, the school twisted the classes around for them, though no one could explain why. They didn't argue with it, just rolled along.
The day ended earlier than usual and Arceus gave Giratina a ride to the hospital. There she waited, and within an hour, Palkia was rolled out of the back room, beaming at her liberation. They escorted her outside, where she jumped up and tightly hugged Arceus and Giratina, happy to be out of there at last. She inhaled deeply and sighed in contentment, saying
"Wow, the first whiff of actual air. I missed it."
They all laughed, then Arceus pointed to Palkia's car, looking as good as new, in the patient parking with a special permit. Palkia shrieked and ran to it, excited to get back on the road despite her accident. Giratina rolled her eyes and Arceus chuckled. Palkia immediately zoomed off to, as she said
"Get away from this place ASAP!"
Arceus escorted Giratina home for the day, and she was surprised to see a limo outside. After wracking her brains for a moment, she remembered Meloetta.
"Hey, you alright?" Arceus asked her. She turned to him and said
"Yeah, I think so. But could you come with me?"
He smiled and unbuckled his seatbelt, saying
"Sure."
They both got out, and as they did the iconic singer stepped out of her limousine. Giratina walked next to Arceus and faced off against the slightly older woman, and Meloetta asked
"So, have you reached your decision?"
Giratina nodded and said
"Thank you for the offer, but I'm going to have to pass."
Meloetta seemed a bit shocked for a moment, then asked
"May I know why?"
Giratina grinned, then grasped for Arceus' hand, responding
"I have my place here, and I don't want to give it up."
Meloetta smiled, then nodded and said
"So be it. It's not quite the answer I was expecting. But it was the answer I was hoping for."
This shocked Giratina for a moment, and she asked
"Why?"
Meloetta sighed and looked to the sky, and as she did a breeze played through her long, luscious hair. Then she said
"Most stars choose to become so because they have no family or friends to hold them back, to care for and be cared by. I am no different. So to hear that you have this means you will go farther than stardom can reach. Keep your friends close to you at all times, and enjoy what I believe you have there."
She smirked at Giratina, who rolled her eyes and held out her hand and said
"It was very nice to meet you, Meloetta. I'm glad I got the chance to meet my role model."
Meloetta smiled again and took the hand, shaking it and saying
"I'm glad I managed to touch your life for the better, Giratina. I must be on my way, though, so I wish you both the best."
Arceus bowed slightly to her and said
"Thank you. Good luck on your tour."
Meloetta scoffed and said
"Lord knows I'll need it."
They laughed and Meloetta was driven away in the fancy vehicle. Giratina entered her apartment after receiving a kiss from Arceus (on the cheek, of course) and she started making a list of things she would need to bring with her.
XXXXXXXXXX
The last final had just ended, and everyone was running outside and shouting in glee, excited that the semester was finally over. Giratina, Arceus, and the rest of the gang had set a meeting place at the school parking lot, where Arceus, Dialga and Palkia had parked their cars next to each other. They met up and Arceus, along with Dialga, began to set up the plan with them.
"Okay, it'll take several hours to reach the mountains, and about another half-hour before we reach the actual condo. So, I want to get started as early as possible. I think everyone getting up at six is a safe bet."
Nobody argued, which made Dialga happy. Arceus simply said
"Go home and pack whatever you want to take with you; just don't overdo it, okay? We are limited on trunk space."
Everybody nodded, so they packed into the cars in the style that they would be traveling. During the week, Arceus had bought three walkie-talkies that could be used to keep in contact with each other in case of emergency, or as Palkia said, of boredom. Everyone rolled their eyes at that, but none more so than Giratina. They turned them on and tuned the channels to match. Once that was finished, they all went to their respective houses to pack and give their goodbyes to the family members who wouldn't be seeing them off.
Arceus dropped Giratina off at her apartment and kissed her again on the cheek, but she was too excited to care.
"See you tomorrow!" she called out as she flew through the door, ready to pack all the supplies she needed; a few days or so worth of clothes (they had a washer and dryer up there) her toiletries, and for safety a sleeping bag. After double-checking that she had everything she would need, she went to bed and set her alarm for five so she would have time to shower and double-check her supplies one more time. Though she was excited, she soon fell asleep.
And I'm excited too! You should all be as well, so keep those monitors ready. Lol. I'm not perfectly sure when the next chapter will be ready (college, obligations, the works ~v~). But rest assured, I will write it out soon!
