Disclaimer: I'd like to start off by thanking Floracat for adding my story to her favourites- remember, readers, reviews are greatly appreciated! I'm very friendly, you don't have to be shy! AshKetchumDarkSide: Lol, yeah, a lot of the anime girls are awesome, it's hard to choose. Thank you for your review!
Question: If you lived in the world of Pokemon, what would you do? (Would you travel? Become a trainer? A coordinator?)
My Answer: I'd be like Bianca; I'd have to search around to discover what I wanted to do. But being a coordinator sounds like something I'd enjoy.
Characters: Mars X Lucas, as requested.
Summary: She was really just a girl, after all.
Perfect
~Imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion, too
Imagine all the people, living life in peace~
The portal to the Distortion World collapsed, and you saw her collapse with it. Against the background of the sinking sun (or was it rising?), she fell to her knees atop the rubble of the Spear Pillar, her hands (such delicate, gentle hands for someone like her) curled into claws. Her head was bent, her hair glinting the colour of holly berries as she shook.
It touched something deep inside you.
So you went; you picked your way through the debris to kneel beside the commander (she was really just a girl, though- a girl even younger than you are). You put a hand on her shoulder, and she jerked away, wine-coloured eyes sparkling with hatred (defensiveness).
"Stay away from me!" she spat, the sound rattling out from between her teeth. She was shaking all over, her arms wrapped around herself (as if she was afraid she was going to fall apart). "Get out of here, you brat!"
You stayed put, staring into those fierce tear-filled eyes and not inclined to go anywhere.
"This is all your fault!" she accused, raising her hand as if to hit (or maybe to reach out to) you. You caught it, curling your fingers around her hand and lowering it gently back down as she continued to scream. "It's your fault that Master Cyrus is gone! He's gone." She ripped her hand free and turned away to hide her tears, but you could still see them glisten on her cheek.
You waited in silence, your hand still on her shoulder as she began to hiccup, words gushing out of her mouth in a grief-filled waterfall.
"He was like a father to me. We had a dream that we were going to accomplish together. We were going to make a perfect world. But all you outsiders had to ruin it! You killed him!"
"No, Mars." Your voice is soft with pity, and you think back: back to when you met her in the Valley Windworks, and not only how beautiful you thought she was, but what she said to you. 'We've been trying to create a new world that's better than this one…But people have shown little understanding about what we do. You don't understand either, do you? It's a little saddening…' "He was taking advantage of you. He was forcing his own dreams onto you. I didn't kill him, Mars. His ambition did."
Tears were spilling down her face, and she whipped around to face you, her full bottom lip trembling. Other memories floated around in your head: Mars giggling after your first battle, saying, 'I quite enjoyed our battle.'; Mars getting slapped by Cyrus, and how broken down she had looked; Mars letting you go after you were caught snooping around in their base, telling you in that catty way of hers, 'You're pretty strong, brat, but I wouldn't try and stop us if I was you.'; Mars leaning her head to the side, assessing you before smiling a little and walking off; Mars's eyes glimmering as she said, 'You know, it's too bad we're enemies. If we weren't, I think I might like you.'
She was shaking her head, staring you down. "That's not true," she hissed (cried). "His dreams were- are- mine."
"Why?"
"What?" She seemed disarmed.
"Why? Why do you dream of making the perfect world?" you asked. "What's wrong with this one?"
She blinked, tilting her head the tiniest bit to the side. "Everything. Murderers, famine, hatred, greed, poverty… This world is plastic. This world is a plastic, rotting mass of badness."
"It's human nature. You can't have goodness without badness, Mars. It doesn't work that way."
"Why not?" she demanded, staring hard at you (for an answer).
"Because if everything was perfect, nothing would be beautiful," you said. "There would be nothing worth fighting for, nothing to marvel at. If everything was perfect, then it would be plastic. But it's not. We're real, Mars. The world is real. It's raw and dirty and imperfect, and it's all we've got."
The fight in her eyes was dying, and she looked broodingly into the middle distance. "Why are you doing this, Lucas?" she asked, her voice uncharacteristically subdued. "Why are you bothering with me?"
"Because I think that you are perfect, in your own imperfect way," you said. She glanced back at you, surprised. "You're a good person, no matter what you say."
She gave a tired laugh, closing her eyes. "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way?"
"Exactly."
"Lucas… you don't even know me."
"I want to. And I want to help you, Mars. Let me help you."
"Sorry, brat, but save your good intentions for someone that needs them." She stood on trembling legs, and you rose with her. "I'm done with Team Galactic, now that Cyrus is gone. I'm going back to just being a girl." The look in her eyes was distinctly feline. "Take that whichever way you like."
You nodded. "I will."
She evaluated you for the longest moment, her lips slightly pursed. "Boys like you are a dying race, you know," she commented. "Hang onto that kindness, alright?"
You nodded again.
Haltingly, she leaned over to press her lips to your cheek, pulling away almost immediately. "Thanks for everything," she said, avoiding your eyes. "Maybe we'll meet again, someday."
"I'm sure we will," you answered, and watched as the ghost of a smile flickered across her tearstained face as she walked off and didn't look back.
~You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the whole world will be as one~
