Part 5: The Circle
PERIOD ONE: STAND ASIDE
Note: Arbitraitorous arbitrocious arbitrary boring chapter is boring and arbitrary IMHO. I need to build'em up before I beat'em up, guys! Whoops, did I go too far, haha hey ignore that, yeah? :D Good job, you ignored it-LOOK, CAPS! EVERYONE LIKES CAPS just read the dang story, dang it. Dang.
For real though, sorry about the waitsies. I'm uploading stuff onto deviantART as well, so check me out there if you want. If not, that's okay. (PASSIVE AGGRESSION WINS WARS.) Make sure to leave a like and subscribe-oops. Wrong shit. HAR HAR. 3 Hey, plot development here. Enjoy the boring madness~!
DISCLAIMER! I don't own Pokémon! All characters belong to me and stuff, but any Pokémon involved are of their respective owners.
There was no time for second thoughts.
I was out of breath and hunched over, one arm hanging, the other against my chest, a sting cutting deep into my heart. It was something magical, non-physical, yet here, in this world, fighting me. I was a move or two shy of toppling backwards. All that Rinavay had to do was send something—anything—into me. Energy ball, perhaps. That would've done it.
I gasped for air, lungs swollen from battle, skin beneath my fur rippling with the pain of many scars brought to me by leaves of blue. When I opened my eyes and looked for my adversary, I found too much sunlight to ingest at once, blinding me, making me fall. I landed on my tail and put up an arm, blocking the light. Rinavay, who called himself Nirva now, was standing tall, standing before me, with his head raised, a victorious smile pushing the corners of his mouth up. The brilliant blue etchings in his body faded, flickering, unnecessary for the moment, sheathed like weapons. I gasped and coughed all at once, hoping my gesture was enough to push him back. Fatigue plagued my legs and my arms, more so the latter the longer I held my arm out.
"What a joke," the blighted Leafeon began, curt. "What happened to the old Azabell? Don't tell me he's gone this soft."
"Nirva..." the floette murmured, unhappy with her companion's gall.
"It's okay, Laura," he said, looking back. "I know how this looks unfair, But if you've seen what I've seen, you'd know why I'm... doing this."
He returned his attention to me. He stepped forward in a way that made me flinch, my tail tip flicking underneath my posterior. I was done. I hadn't the arcane fire burning bright enough within me to hold back the devastating power of Gamma, and Gamma Rinavay was, holding true to his reincarnation even on this world. I had only wished I knew how he had gotten here so quietly. I shuddered to think that it was because of me—because I... remembered him.
I closed my eyes, helpless and breathless.
A call. A splash. My fur was struck with droplets of warm water, lapping against my wounds.
I looked for the source of my savior—I knew I had a savior, and that the splash wasn't my blood. Was it Laura? Impossible. That Pokémon knew no water-type moves. No, this was something orange in color, tall in shape, with a pair of tails that looked as though they could've operated as propellers—yes, of course; a buizel.
I took a second to sniff—it was Bryan, the refugee who found his way to us. The human who aided Pokémon, a good soul. He turned his head partially, one eye scanning as far back as it could to make sure that I was in the condition he preferred. I stared back stupidly, as time kept its secrets from me, playing slowly, slower than I had imagined.
"Move aside, Edge," he barked. "Go on and get your fluffy butt gone. I'll mop up the drama here. Go!"
I nodded, with little word given. No, Rinavay. You weren't that cruel. You wouldn't have hurt Bryan. I was your enemy, not him. Biting my tongue at that thought, I rose, soreness gnawing into my knees. I caught a glimpse of a round blue figure—a marill. Travis, too. I gave a second nod, as to show someone—anyone that I knew the situation was under control. I had to go. I didn't have the energy to fight anymore. I was supposed to be better than this, but I... th-that... Laza...
I... couldn't fight. I had to go. I backed away a few steps, finding myself against the wall of the so-called locker room, then I turned away and ran, gravel shooting into my paw pads with each step.
...
-PERIOD-ONE
…
With Edge scampering off, I had this one all to myself. It didn't look good. He smelled of sickly magic, and all I could do to combat that was pretend to look confident. My back wasn't straight, despite that. I was hunched over, arms out, scanning the other's poise. It was cocky. He hadn't made a single movement since I'd arrived to kill the lights, save the frown that his lips performed after he'd been an advocate of that cheeky, coy smile, so sure that he'd beaten Edge—beaten us.
"What's that all about?" he asked, a leafy blue ear flicking.
"What?" I said.
"What do you see in him, dude?"
"Edge? Don't tell me—you're Laza, aren't you? You don't sound like Laza. You look a lot like 'im though."
"Nirva, pipsqueak. Nirva's my name," he sighed, sitting back on his glowing haunches. He turned to face the Pokémon beside him. She introduced herself to me prior. Laura, she said. Why was she with this guy? "You just made me miss a real nice chance to set this mess straight."
A gust of quiet confusion.
"What do you want with Edge?" Travis broke in, stealing the silence from us.
"Plenty," he scoffed, raising his head to me again. "What'd you do that for?!"
I grunted at the outburst. The tone of voice he shed was polar to the lax surfer of a voice from before, like something just snapped in his head, and it really made him sour. Judging from that face, the scowl and the brimming fangs, I felt forced to tell myself I was in for a fight, my legs beginning to shake in anticipation.
"What, it's not obvious? Edge is a pal of mine."
"Shut—NO! He's not! He's no one's 'friend'," he mocked, turning around sharply, walking a ways before stopping, pausing to take a breath. He spun around before continuing. "Edge isn't your friend. Get the friend thing out your head before I shove it out the other end of your skull."
"Yeah? Why don't you talk to me more like that?" I threatened. There was so much hot air in my chest pushing me to spit a couple water guns into this asshole's face.
"Enough, you guys. Seriously, enough," Laura stressed, hovering between us, looking my way, then Nirva's, then mine again. "Nirva, I'm surprised at you. I took you to be less careless than that. You can't attack people because you feel like it—who does that?! Be mindful of others around you. I shouldn't have to tell a grown boy these things."
"Mmph," Nirva sulked, puffing through his nose and looking away from the floating Pokémon. "You don't get it either."
"Excuse me?" she tested.
"It's my way of saying 'sorry'."
"I don't like it very much, but we can work on that another time."
I watched Laura put one of her tiny hands on her hip region, holding the flower-like parasol over her shoulder. Like a disappointed mother, she waited for Nirva to have something to say for himself. Call me the brother, then, eager to see him punished, simply out of sheer curiosity.
"Uh-huh, heheh. Another time," he chuckled, giving us all a cocky grin. "'Scuse me. I have an errand to run. Yeah. Errand. Sounds good enough. Laura, meet me in the woods when you're ready. Use that Gamma you got and you'll run into me in no time. And don't you water-type losers even think about trying to take me on. I don't need Gamma to ruin your day."
"What was that?" I grunted temptingly, stepping forward, lifting a paw. Laura stopped me dead cold, spinning to launch a needling glare. Out of respect, or something of the sort, I shrugged off the testosterone.
"Nirva," Laura hummed. She shut her eyes, then she faced away from me. Travis joined me, his tail touching my own. "I want to trust you. I want to know more about 'Gamma' and Laza and..."
"Wait, Laura," Travis chimed in. "Think carefully about what you're doing. You want to get that close to Laza?"
"Let her make up her own mind." Nirva barked.
"I wasn't going to persuade her either way, but," Travis coughed. "I just wanted to make sure she... th-that she was sure."
"I've thought about everything," she started. "I knew what I wanted right when I changed. I knew that Laza would take my worries away. He could make me forget everything this cruel world has done."
"You really want to forget? You have to remember everything you get in life. That's how you... how you live, Laura." Travis added.
"No," she dismissed. Not once did she look back. She took her parasol in both hands again and flew to the leafy vulpine. "That's just how we're told to live. I don't want to be told how to live. I want to be taught how to live. I believe Laza's going to do that for me—for all of us."
I straightened my back and took a breath harrowed by Laura's fatigue. It sounded like she wanted to give up and couldn't be convinced otherwise. It was a painful thought and an even more painful sight. I've seen Pokémon give up before, back at the Grove. Never did they once say that Laza was the key to this whole dilemma. The opposite was true. They always spoke Laza down like a monster and said that we all had to fight our own battle against him. The closer we grouped together, the easier it was to take us all out at once. And, y'know, I sort of believed them, as much as it sucked. It wasn't the right message, but at least they weren't... like Laura... She gave up so much worse than everyone else.
She was a member of the Stand. The Stand... gave up. Everything.
But who was Nirva?
"You're such a loyal girl. Hey," Nirva cooed, looking up to the tiny floating Pokémon. "I'm sorry I acted rash. Is that a little better?"
"Much," she said. I didn't see her, but I heard the smile in her voice. "You don't need to wait for me. I'll come with you."
I felt defeat. It sunk into my shoulders like teeth.
"Boys, can you let the Stand know I'm away? Tell them that I'll be back soon," she said, to us this time, finally showing us her face and how it changed in all of some minutes, tranquil. "You know where to find them?"
"Room 102, Mister Davidson's. I got it," I confirmed, blank and bent as loose-leaf paper. "I'll just... tell Danithan."
I didn't want her to go, but... I didn't know what else to say.
"Danithan," Nirva hiccuped. He looked uneasy, with the way his body language shifted, paws shuffling at the ground one at a time, his floral tail twitching, trembling even. "Th-that's weird, heh."
No one seemed to comment on his discomfort, verbally or physically. I wondered if I was the only one to have noticed it. It wouldn't have been a first for these things.
"I... okay," Laura yielded, holding back. She wanted to say something else. "Yes. You do that."
"See ya, half-pints. Maybe you'll change your mind and give us Gamma-folk a chance. Peace." Nirva concluded, lifting his back into a subtle arc, as if waiting. Laura gently drifted onto it, sitting with her spaded tail off to the side, holding the umbrella up to block out the threatening sky—that or the sunshine she was so blind to. Not a moment spared and the duo was off, drawing paradise together, orchestrating silent consent, contradicting everything I knew about this thing called the Wave—the apocalypse, some called it, with quivering lips and shaking legs.
I crossed my arms and gave a look of solitude to Travis. They were all here and now they're not, I thought. It was just me and the waterball again.
"I knew Laura," he said, queued up like magic. "I had her on my Facebook. Zack's girlfriend. She's... different, than how I remember her."
"Aren't we all?" I queried.
"How different are we, should be the question."
Good point. How different were we all? Laura was different enough to have her faith bent so far out of shape that she was a hysterical mess. She was a member of that Stand, so I was about to find out just how jacked up they all were. They didn't seem so bad the last time I checked on 'em. 'Nother chance was right around the corner.
After taking ourselves from those awkward roots Nirva wrapped around our ankles, we put ourselves back into the hallways of Metedia, walking through puddles, searching the bends for any sign of our good Circle buddies. No one from the Grove was even around anymore. Well, that was what it felt like. We all ran like batshit crazy away from that invasion. Most of us got lost along the way. Some of us probably died. It was lonely again. Everything was chill, then it all went to hell. I had to get used to it. At least I still had Travis, Atti, some dregs of the Circle, Edge...
Where'd that azabell go? He ran for it—really, the boy flew. I'd never seen him run so fast. Nirva scared the crap out of him. He didn't show that much fear affronting those authorities.
Laura: infatuated with Nirva. Edge: terrified of Nirva. Huh.
I had enough time to bat away at these thoughts. Travis helped. He said some stuff about how he knew Laura through Al, who knew Zatch, who was Zack's brother, who was Laura's boyfriend. I must've given him the 'cool story, bro' vibe. He was cut short by my silence. Either that or the guy across the street near the farm houses laughing loudly. A few stray humans here and there.
…
"Room 102." I said, standing in the wet grass before the building—English rooms. This was where most of us had class after lunch. It sucked that Kieran didn't have it with me, but Kieran was getting a little more distant from the Circle each week. There was some sick drama between him and Pat, I guess. Hurt her feelings, felt bad, left us. Big oops. Hah, then there was that thing between him and Ivan—dang...
That was what this classroom did for me. It brought me back to our elementary days, us kids, pretending like we knew the world through a story, a comic, where we put our minds, poured our hearts, and imagined our lives through the eyes of others. The Wave wasn't a whole lot different from that. 'Cept the whole 'it being real' thing. I couldn't believe how much of nerds we were. We never stepped outside of our comfort zones until the blankets got too hot and we took 'em off, got a taste of the real world, couldn't ever go back... Still, the Circle survived without its creative powerhouse Kieran and its rambunctious head Ivan.
The door was wide open and there were plenty of 'mons inside, talking and tattling, bouncing around like children. They had it made. They were so safe under Laza's watch. I didn't want to disrupt them. Really, I had no problem with them if they had no problem with me. They knew I was with Edge. What would I do? Could I just barge in? Could I do that with Travis?
I saw a flash of green and brown. Atti. That sharp cap didn't lie as much as he himself did. I heard his voice amidst others—they all sounded like kids, except the few giants that supervised them like parents.
I guess I could do that with Travis. A lighthearted Stand wouldn't have been struck salty.
"Do we go in?" Travis asked. It was nice to hear the same unrest from him.
"Yeah, whatever, let's just get this over with. They won't bite." I laughed. It was kind of ridiculous. I knew some of these guys, right? I saw some of them every day. Today, I was afraid to think that they'd've thought me a traitor. I walked forward and threw my arms up, wholeheartedly amused with it all. Didn't bother Atti. Not one nub.
"WEASEL NUMBER TWO!" someone squealed—frick it was loud. There was a blur of red and cream and—I swear I heard the screech under her feet—came to a sliding stop before me. With her paws behind her back and her big face giving me a tiny smile, I reciprocated everything I could. Except the smile. I was a confused wreck.
"That's not fair; what if he wants to be weasel number one?" another someone said, sharing the red bunny's shape, but not her gender—although it seemed a lot like they should have shared genders. Wait, didn't they? They did, at one point. They also shared bodies at one point.
"He can't be weasel number one, but Travvy can be bubble number one!" Ericka said, pointing at Travis. I followed the gesture. He was blinking. Eat your heart out, you lucky marill.
"Thank you?" he mumbled.
"Uh," Derrick blushed, pulling at Ericka's tail, who whined a terrible noise in response. "What's up, guys? Looking for someone?"
"Not really," I remarked quietly. "Laura's gone with... someone called Nirva."
"Nurrrrv-wha? Who's theeaaaaat~?" Ericka sang.
"Someone a lot like Laza." Travis answered for me, put in better words than I had ready to be deployed.
"Oh," Derrick gasped. "What? Wait, wh-"
Pain in my face, searing, loud. It was something small, marble, asymmetrical. Right on my nose. I slapped a paw onto my muzzle and cursed.
"OH MY GOD," a boy called out, quick and drowned in the inflection of grief. I opened my eyes, having only found them to be closed out of reflex. There were bursts of wind striking at my body, colorful, with small square designs, owned by an insect with a gray head and abdomen. "Sssorry. I-I'm so sorry. I didn't—JOEL! Stop laughing!"
I only just registered the laughter.
The butterfly—John, I think—ducked low, grabbing the object that struck me in the face. A white object with a crowned top. He held it in both hand-less appendages.
"Really, I'm sorry—you okay? I turned and my wings, er," he stammered. This was a good sweatdrop moment. Who deserved it better? Me or him? I was standing there, rubbing my nose, half-interested gaze locking itself onto the guy. I didn't think I'd be assaulted as soon as I walked into here. Well, I did, but not like this. "I-I guess my wings are more powerful than I thought. Um... sorry."
"We're cool, man." I said.
"Aaaah, shhhhheesh, that was—wooo, that was a real wonker," the black and yellow, blue-eyed reptile thing named Joel said, stopping near Ericka to wipe his wet eyes with one of his spiky hands. He'd really been keeling over with laughter. Good to see that someone enjoyed my pain.
"Ya see," Ericka started, pointing at the John and Joel. "That's what happens when you play too much chess."
"Chess isn't like that, Ericka." Derrick argued.
"Chess is booooooriiiiiiing." she retaliated.
"IS NOT!" John and Joel hollered.
"Is tooooo." she poked.
"Guys, this is serious! Laura might be in real danger now. We don't know anything about this Nirva person or what he's trying to do!" Travis said in an attempt to stamp out the petty stuff happening here.
"Wha?" Joel meeped.
"Nirva?" John pipped.
"Excuse me," someone proper spoke, deep and mature. I saw the source of that elderly voice. The tall guy in the classroom, wearing the sunglasses, looking badass. Well, both of the big guys looked badass. I knew the guy. Davidson. Best teacher I'd had in years. His voice was strong enough to quiet all of us down, give him attention, and let him think of something to say while he adjusted his glasses between two claws. "Travis?"
"Yes? Hi Mister Davidson." the marill quipped.
"Did you say that Laura's in danger? Or did I overhear wrong?"
"You heard right, Sir. She's been taken away by someone like Laza, but... also not Laza. He calls himself, uhm, Nirva."
"He attacked Edge. Gave no reason for it at all, just... was a bully." I added.
"Is Edge hurt?" I heard Atti ask. Just like that, nearly everyone in the room was quiet and listening in. Atti joined up with me, standing beside Travis.
"This doesn't sound too good. Laura's my star pupil. The Stand can't be the Stand without her." Davidson remarked, shaking his head.
"And Edge is still my... He's still my friend." Atti commented.
"Sounds like someone's trying to break the peace between us." Derrick said.
"It doesn't sound like Laza at all..." Ericka moped.
"And no one knows where Danithan went either." Mariposa, our always-present background friend, one ear tall, spoke up.
"It's all going south." someone despaired.
"Don't panic," Davidson began, lifting an arm and then gently lowering it, as to settle any unease. "We just need to get ahold of Laura again. Danithan, too, if possible. I wouldn't think to send any of you out on those streets right now, but-"
"I'll go," I interrupted. "It's kinda my fault anyway."
"No way, Bry!" Travis objected.
"Er," Davidson cleared his throat. "Bryan? No offense, but that's a terrible idea."
"Yeah, I know."
"Bry, you're a reckless guy, you know that?" Travis groaned.
"Yeah yeah, I know."
"What—no! I can't let you go alone!" Ericka exclaimed, taking a hop forward. It covered the distance that Derrick pulled her back previously. Again, the little red bunny thing was inches from me, arms crossed, looking up to me like she meant all sorts of business.
"Uh-huh?" I mumbled, lifting an eyebrow.
"Yeah 'uh-huh'," she repeated. "Laura was the one who spread the Pokémon sickness to me. Ever since then, I've felt closer to her. I don't know what it is or how to explain it, but it's somewhere inside of me, and I... don't think I'm alone."
"You're not," Derrick stuttered. "I feel the same way. I want to save Laura and Danithan, too."
"Yeah, see? It's so weird!" she shrugged.
"That's true for all of us," Mariposa said. "When we were transformed, we all felt closer. Like all we had left was each other. I... guess I'm lucky I still have my uncle."
"Ya always will." said the canine in question.
"That's what truly makes us the Stand. This is why we respect Laza. He came and made us the best of friends, you could say." Davidson explained, looking over the many Pokémon in the room. At once, they all wanted to be just like me: a hero of a human who could've said they got outta here without the cold. And now... they were still just like me. I guess I wasn't too far off from the Stand. But I wasn't infected by anyone. I was... infected by the land. I had no connection. I had no one to call a partner other than the friends I had made as naturally as friends could be made. I was... alone in that regard.
"I don't think Laza did that," Travis ventured. He got some eyes, some confused, most skeptical. "I think you guys did. You were together through, well, hard times. We get closer during hard times. It's only human."
"True, but when you go outside and see what the 'humans' have been doing," Rodriguez, the number one uncle, paused. "You know the rest."
"Oh... y-yeah..." Travis whimpered. He and I were thinking the same thing. I knew it. I saw it in the way his face was pointed at the ground now, how his eyes spoke a memory of a man in white, holding a silver gun.
Some silence blanketed the room.
"Atti," I said, turning to the chespin. "Go find Edge."
"Huh?"
"I think he needs a buddy right now."
"Oh. Okay. Where is he?"
"Don't know. Check around. Don't leave the school. If you can't find him, come back to this room. Got it?"
"Got it," he nodded. "What do I do when I find him?"
"Keep an eye on him. The Circle's short on people. Al and Topher aren't enough to keep that kid in check, so I need you around him. You can keep him distracted. Do... kid things. And Travis?" I hesitated, frowning at the marill.
"I'm with you, Bry." he said, already facing me.
"Mm?"
"Don't even think about trying to assign me something out of the way."
I cracked a smile. My heart tingled.
"I was going to ask if you could bear staying with me for a little bit longer." I said.
"Oh! Hahah, herp-a-derp~!" he laughed, then blushed, then covered his face with his spherical tail.
"That's sooo keeeeeeeyyyyyoooooooooooooooot!" Ericka—GAH this girl didn't need to do that! I squinted at her, but she was too busy with her paws folded and looking off at the ceiling and swaying back and forth to notice. So I passed the squint on to Derrick, who shied away from it. Then went ahead and hid behind his female counterpart.
"Rod, what's the forecast like out there?" Davidson asked.
"Officers are abandoning shop. You heard Sanders. They're after Katalyn now. Pokémon are extremely low on the list of priorities. Hey, keep an eye out for any weird behavior, kids. The higher-ups have spies in certain parts of Autumnridge. Pokémon spies." the arcanine revealed. I knew about the spies. I didn't know where or who they were, but I knew they were close.
"I'd still suggest they be careful. Other Pokémon aren't as friendly as us." said the blaziken.
"Mmh, yeah," Rod grunted. "Take it slow when you can and fast when you have to."
I nodded to everything that they had to say. It didn't matter as much as they thought it would. I was going through the forest. After kicking us out, I wasn't sure what the authorities had left to do there, so I figured it was safe. Still, I didn't tell them that I wasn't going to be sticking to the streets. I knew how bad those got. I lived in a hot zone. Well, no more, but I had lived there. I'd seen dark things. They had every right to warn me.
With Atti off on the hunt—or search, I guess—for Edge, I had my three companions, two if you were picky and counted Derrick and Ericka as one. Whatever. They were both people. Anyone who thought otherwise would've had a problem with me. So, I had my crew. They weren't really the Circle, but they were close enough.
"Good luck, guys." Joel told us, waving us out the door.
"Come back in one piece!" Mariposa said.
"Too late~!" Ericka giggled, something to which I'd expected Derrick to roll his eyes if he had retinas for the motion to make any sense.
So longs aside, we removed ourselves from the comforts of unfamiliar home, a familiar feeling, and stepped our first steps onto the tear-drenched asphalt leading across to the farmland houses. I didn't see Atti out here, so that was good news. He hadn't gone too far. I'd only wished I knew where Edge had run off to. Maybe he was with Al and Topher by now. Maya was somewhere, I was sure. Lucia and her absol and charizard bodyguards were tough enough to take care of themselves and anyone else around them. There was a flygon with us at one point. Vince's mom, too. I stopped keeping track of people after I saw them leave the Grove on their own accord. What was the point?
From where we were now, the woodland was a small hike away. So many times have I walked this road, but never did I once see myself walking on four legs. That wasn't the issue. It was just a little thing to notice. No way. The issue wasn't about being a Pokémon anymore. That stopped being the problem as soon as I transformed.
The issue was...
...what...
What was the issue anyway...?
It was the walls, wasn't it? Those damn walls.
It was me.
Heh... heheh...
The closer we got to the treeline, the deeper my heart sank into my body, somewhere, burning cold and hot altogether. There was a fear mixed in the damp, wet caverns of my living corpse... Scene of the crime, I thought. I was coming back to the place it all started. Maybe I would even see the bridge again, where I met Travis. The waters, where I floated with him. The branch, where I cut myself open. The obsidian circle, where too much of nothing always happened, and how I thought that it would've been that way forever.
…
…
…
"We have to go back. We can't wait any longer. Come on." Edge said, tripping up on his own lips. He was shaken, tail fluttery, eyes never still for longer than a half-second. The tips of his paws were touching over and over. His fur was messy. There were scrapes on his chest.
Everyone in the library decided all at once to keep their words to themselves. I was part of that, since Edge's tweak-out didn't have enough to do with me for all I knew. 'We have to go', he said. He wanted us to go back. We had been here for only this long, and already, he wanted to go back. What's gotten into him?
"Edgy, you're being so edgy," Topher approached him, looking up to the frantic cat. "Tell us what's the matter, okay? Why do you look like you had a bad time with the ground?"
I looked around the room before he spoke. I heard him take a breath, as if taking in all of the pairs of eyes as lightly as he could, each with their own weight, heavy and tired from all of the running. Lucia was here, having finally lost her sprightly touch to the hopelessness that followed the authorities. The hulks were here—three gigantic Pokémon that barely fit through the front entrance of the school's library: flygon, charizard, and... that other one... The one with the white fur and crescent blade near its face. Maya and Misses Maire... we were running dry. It was no wonder all of them lost their spirits.
"I..." Edge spilled, sloppy with his demeanor. It was sparse, this manner of his. He was always so eloquent. He pressed his paws to the sides of his head. "Can't believe I didn't see this coming. Why didn't I notice it?!"
"Easy, easy," someone masculine told him, pronouncing the vowels harder than the consonants. I looked for the body. It was the charizard, towering over most of us. He came up to Topher and Edge, his footsteps like miniature quakes. In close quarters, he set his wings around the two protectively. "Bud, you just let us know who did this to you, and we'll take care of them."
"N-no, you can't do that," the boy shook his head, bell chiming. "He's too powerful."
"Laza again?" Topher inquired.
"Not Laza. His brother. His Champion. His name is... I-I don't know what his name is now. He changed it. He's a leafeon."
Laza's brother? When did he have a brother and how the hell did we miss that? Shouldn't we have known about this? Or was it just some raving lunatic on the streets trying to be a fake prophet? Was now the time for that, really?
It got a few murmurs out of our kind—the kind who didn't get Laza or his deal or his goal or whatever it was he was ever thinking. We were in complete blue.
"Laza has a brother?" Topher asked, shifting. I couldn't see what he was doing behind the wings. "When did..."
"That's what I was thinking," I breathed. My lungs couldn't help themselves. I felt the fur on my back stand on end. I looked back, lifted my ropy tail, and found myself staring at the open double doorway to a soggy, old campus. Somewhere out there, there were... two Lazas. "Edge."
"What?"
I faced ahead.
"Where did he go?"
"Huh?"
"You got away from him, by the looks of things," I shrugged. "So, where'd this person get to?"
He didn't answer me right away. I was afraid he might've known what I was thinking. Honestly, I didn't even know what I was thinking. I spoke before I thought. That was nothing new, according to Emelina. I thought I could go and see this guy for myself. Really, the brother of Laza? Get real—something like that couldn't have a brother. But, if I wasn't totally baked to shit and assuming things, I was pretty sure that Edge just got beat up by this... this uh, 'leafeon'. I didn't like that too much.
"I don't know. He left with one of the Stand Pokémon. Laura? The floette."
"Al, what're you thi—oh, you are so not going to pick a fight with him." Topher countered.
"Well, I wasn't, but now that I hear he's got Laura..." I grumbled. That didn't belong to him. Laura didn't belong to someone like that.
"No no no! None of you are going after him. He's mine!" Edge pouted, shedding his maturity.
"Hon," a tender, motherly song came from the center of the room, next to one of the gaudy chairs. She walked forward, sheepish, yet deer-like. The little doe had an orange backside to her, with a yellow flower, petals wide, placed between her ears. The flower was a part of her head—it didn't fall off no matter where her head was pointed. The voice made me long for its attention. It was for Edge. "All of us care about you. We want you to be safe so that you can do your part against Laza, like you've always said. How can you do that right now?"
"I... can. I can, I just have to..." Edge gulped, watching the doe, defeated by her adult presence.
"Drew," she cooed. "You're surrounded by friends and family," she paused again, winking to her son. "It'd be wrong of us—me especially—to let you off on a reckless journey just to get back at a bully. You let us take good care of you until you're all better."
Edge closed his mouth a few seconds after leaving it open, speechless. He stared at the tiny doe, a former caretaker, before looking around the room. He had the limelight.
"I'm not... Drew..." he said, aghast, insulted, desperate.
"Oh, found you, Edge," a boy called, standing in the light of the doorway. His details were etched out by sunlight until he came closer, shielded by a roof. That green, spiky cap. Those front teeth. Atti. Him being here alone only made me wonder what Bryan was up to. He spoke while walking. "Hi guys; Bryan's out. He went with Travis somewhere."
"Mmh?" Edge frowned, blinking at the chespin.
There was something about the air that made my whiskers twitch with disquietude. It wasn't so much the entrance, but the way Atti put that statement, or the silent breath that followed closely behind, stalking it to its destination. I took it from the charizard who offered his protection to the boy. He had moved away by now, but I couldn't stop noticing him. He gave a look to another in the room, unnoticed by the group of us. She was in the dark, seated, reading a book up until this point. She stood up and gave a look back, leaving the book open, the story unfinished. Her eyes were rays of an ultimatum. She was dressed in white and green. Maya, a gardevoir, she said she was.
"Pardon me," she spoke. My tongue caught wind of her speech before she had even done so. "Did they say where they were headed? I wouldn't want those boys to get into too much trouble."
"Eerrrr, something about Laura and Danithan in the woodland." he responded.
Two and two were four right then and there. All ends met and we were late to make the last knot.
"Good timing." I thought aloud.
"Yes, I must hurry now." she said, her gown sweeping against the floor as she made a brisk march to the door. I felt the air brush by me. I followed its trail.
"Right behind you." I said.
"Mm?" she stopped and turned halfway. "No. I would advise against it."
"I need to do something else out there. It doesn't have to do with Laura." I reassured her. Somehow I knew that was coming. No one wanted you to follow them anymore. Just meant that more people could be netted. That was never me.
"Very well," she placed, putting no time down to think of an answer. I was fine with that. "I'll guide you until we need to part ways."
"Fine by me." I lied. Maya was... strange... about this.
"Al, you... Okay, Al. Don't get caught. You won't get caught, I hope. Oh, please don't..." Topher complained, complained, and complained some more—stop, man. 'S okay!
I looked at the 'min before I left. I blew him a smirk. Edge was looking at me without much concern. Topher was watching me with a large frown. He was forgetting something: I wanted to go and see myself what Cruce was up to. Short-term memory must've been a ball-ache sometimes.
It wasn't that. He was distracted with a lot of things, and Cruce, ironically enough, was one of them. Was he really going to be all better someday? Crap if I knew; although, I did want to see him. We made it a habit to check on him every so often to do some weird voodoo stuff with Edge and Topher to see if he'd wake up or not. I didn't like the atmosphere. Creepy as hell, it was. Was probably even worse if you were alone, but... ah well. Couldn't cry now. Too devoted. Rugby guys never cried. Mostly.
I passed by Atti and squinted when I left the building. The air was still moist. My static was breathing, reaching out to the water particulate, branching like infantile lightning. Maya was ahead of me, running. Even in restless motion, she appeared graceful. Her dress was like snowy fluid, kicking up, revealing pointed legs. I dashed through puddles. The water was cold and gritty, like that of a wave crashing upon a sandy shore. I found the image: running along a beach, sand under my feet. I saw it twice. I saw myself as a human, probably alongside Emelina. Then, I saw myself as I was now, alongside a six-tailed fox who share the same name as Emelina.
I missed her.
I went as far as pretending that Maya was her. A chase.
I missed her...
Zack, is this your bag, too? Sorry, bro, it sucks. Hope you're okay. They didn't shoot you too much, did they? Nah, you're a tough son of a bitch—you'll be a'ight.
Ah, fuckin'... I forgot that Topher was putting up with this now, too. He liked Zatch. Shoot. Y'know what, maybe I... maybe I oughta get the Z's back for us. They're probably doing better than I think. Maybe they got away.
Little gift, just for my favorite girly boy: I'll get those Hummings jokers back. Put 'em right where they belong. Here. With the Circle.
…
Chasing after Maya... started to feel more like a hunt.
…
…
…
"Are we almost there? Dang, gosh, jeeeeez Autumnridge is far."
"Not quite. We have approximately five point two kilometers left until we encounter the city limits."
"Whoa. How'd you—did they put GPS in you?"
"Maybe. Affirmative, I think. That would expose me to hacking, but I feel they've prepared against such a thing."
"Funky. Hey! Nick-adia! How ya holdin' up, girlfriend~?"
"Is that going to be a regular thing now?"
"You're just gonna have to put up with it!"
"Guess it could be worse. Eh! I'm fine. What about you, Young?"
"Patricia is correct. By the looks of things, we'll be there in just under an hour at this pace. Just stay off any major roads. I don't need to tell you why."
"Wow, we're slow. Alright, girls! Keep it up~! We're home free!"
Characters Involved: a lot
