Somehow, Derek knew that it wasn't even six o' clock in the morning. Some primal instinct, some internal clock—something was telling him he shouldn't be awake at the present hour. However, the person shaking him awake seemed to think otherwise. Said person also must have taken his pillow, for Derek felt his head on the bouncy mattress rather than the cloud-like cushion.
He at first tried to protest, and he rolled over onto his side to avoid the tormenting hands, stopping the torture for a while. Then, something forced him to roll sideways onto his back again—and then slapped him straight across the face.
"The HE—"
"Shut up, idiot!" The assaulter spoke in a hushed whisper, stifling Derek's outrage with the pillow he had been missing. Derek tried to push him off, but it was like trying to push a wall—completely pointless. "I'm trying not to wake up that kid."
"Fwafion fwonf fwafe fwuff fwaf fweafifwy!"
"I'm sorry, what?"
Derek managed to slide out from under the pillow. He took a few long breaths before saying at a perfectly outrageous volume, "Damion won't wake up that easily, okay?"
He received a slap across the head with the pillow for his insolence. Derek glared up at Aewir, muttering curses all the while. The Gym Leader just sighed.
"Anyway." His voice was just as quiet as before. "Can you come with me? We need to talk."
Derek matched his volume. "Again?"
"It's important."
"Of course it is. It always is."
Aewir gave him a dry smile and helped him up in to a standing position. Derek ran a hand through his hair, feeling a heavy need to take a shower before getting out of the room, but Aewir threw him his jacket and shoes before he could even open his mouth. He sighed and pulled them on wearily.
Derek tightened the knot of his shoelaces before straightening back up again. He looked up to Aewir, noticing the Gym Leader's eyes were on Damion's sleeping form. He nearly fell over when Aewir asked, "He's sleeping like an idiot."
"I'm well aware," Derek said, scratching the back of his head. Feeling a bit embarrassed for his partner, he added, "But that's the only way he gets comfortable."
"Really now." Aewir put a hand on the doorknob and opened the door unbelievably quietly. "Well, whatever. He looks like a heavy sleeper, but we should go now just in case."
"R-right..."
Derek followed Aewir out into the hallway, closing the door behind him as gently as possible. It still made a soft thump, but Aewir gave no time for Derek to dwell on this: the teen was already out of sight. Only the flutter of his sweeping jacket led Derek through the pitch black dark.
The boy put a hand to the wall and sighed. It wasn't even time for breakfast and he was already ready to give up for the day. He resigned himself to a horrible day before wandering after Aewir.
Aewir was waiting for him in the lobby. "Come on," he said. He walked over to the entrance, leaving Derek to trot after him.
The doors opened automatically, letting a draft into the center. It swept the hair out of Derek's eyes and snagged at his clothing, but it was a warm wind, a soothing wind. He stepped past its embrace and into the dark night.
Aewir led him through the empty streets, the streetlights their only guide. They cast shadows, long and twisting, casting a gray light across Derek's bare skin. Silence fell heavily around them, save for the soft breath of the wind. It was an ominous silence; the last time Derek had walked streets so silent had been...
When had it been, exactly? He couldn't recall the exact memory, but he was sure he had been walking roads just like these in the past. Alongside a man—no, perhaps it was Yuki? It had to have been years ago, back when he had run from home.
He scratched his head. The memories from back then were vague. He only remembered small snippets, now that he came to think about it. When exactly had Yuki disappeared from his life, anyway? Why did he remember her but not anything else?
Left to his thoughts, he didn't realize where they had been walking to until Aewir came to a halt. They stood in a small park, aside from the rest of the town, just as deserted as anywhere else. Aewir sat down on one of the wooden benches beside the concrete path, motioning for Derek to sit beside him. Derek hesitated before complying.
One of his arms over the back of the bench, Aewir stared up at the sky and sighed. The stars were invisible behind a veil of clouds, and the moon a mere crescent. With his eyes closed and his expression calm, he looked almost as if he were sleeping. Only the thin line his mouth had become indicated otherwise.
Derek waited for a few minutes, though the silence tested his patience. He pushed himself up off the bench and, at Aewir's lack of reaction, walked for a bit. The few trees in the area waved their branches at him, attracting his attention to something else in the park: a little vending machine illuminating the grass around it. Derek wasn't sure how he had missed it in the first place, but he made his way over to it now.
He returned to Aewir's side with a pair of Cokes and held one out. "Thirsty?"
One of the teen's eyes opened, but its black gaze was practically invisible in the dismal light. Aewir took the can with a gloved hand, mumbling softly, "Thanks."
Derek sat beside the boy and gazed down at the can. A trail of water slipped down the cool surface, leaving a dark spot on his gloved hand. The metal stung his bare fingers. "Can you tell me why we're here now?"
Aewir took a few moments before responding. The Coke in his hands was still closed. "That depends. I just want to confirm something."
"Confirm...?"
"Marina told me something interesting." Aewir turned to him with a small smile. "But I want to confirm it for myself. Derek, I challenge you to a battle."
The Coke slipped from his hands and dropped onto the bench. He stared at Aewir with wide eyes. "P-pardon?"
"I want to confirm how strong a Trainer you really are."
"B-but..." He found himself standing, though he didn't remember getting up. "You're the one who beat—"
"I didn't beat him," Aewir cut in. "Archer simply left because he didn't want to fight me. I'm quite sure he would have defeated me had he given forth the effort."
Derek highly doubted that, but given the situation, he couldn't bring himself to say that. Instead, he said, "That still doesn't mean—"
"Are you scared, Derek?"
The two stared at each other. The icy panic that had filled his veins gave way to the flames of indignation, flooding him with a mix of anger and adrenaline. He glared at Aewir—and suddenly, the Gym Leader started laughing. Laughing at him, no doubt.
"What's so funny?" he snapped.
"Your expression tells me you've gone through this before," Aewir said. He lay the still-closed Coke beside him on the bench and stood up, dusting himself off absentmindedly. He turned to Derek with a smirk. "Unfortunately, I've heard about that, too. Emily Rose, correct?"
Derek lowered his gaze. The splint on his hand was the only thing stopping him from clenching his fist.
"Chris, Matthew, Emily, Archer... You've met quite a few powerful Trainers in the past two months, haven't you? Have you ever thought about why that is?"
Derek made no answer. Apparently that made no difference, though, for Aewir just shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever. You've battled against some impossible odds already, and you've overcome quite a few. It's stupid how impressive you are for your age. You don't seem to agree, though," he pointed out, gazing at Derek. His expression brought back memories.
Annoyingly similar to Michael, really.
Derek gritted his teeth, but he forced his jaw to unclench. "That's—"
For the first time in days, one of his Poké Balls burst open in a shining light. Soran hit the ground and immediately pounced on him, nearly knocking him over. She slapped his hair with a paw once—then twice—then continuously, seemingly throwing a tantrum on his head.
"O-ouch! What the hell, Soran?"
She made her final blow count: she effectively whipped him with her tail before dropping back to the ground. As if nothing had happened, she turned to Aewir, letting out a growl.
Aewir blinked. "So this is the Eevee that I saw back then... Interesting. She seems to have a fighting will, now doesn't she?"
"Soran," Derek hissed, running a hand through his now-crazy hair, "do you mind? This isn't about you."
She glared at him and snapped her jaws. "Ee, Eevee vee."
"Like I would understand that." The boy rolled his eyes, which turned out to be a bad idea—Soran took the chance to jump on him once more, landing directly on his shoulder. He made to grab her but stopped when he realized she wasn't attacking.
She placed a paw on his cheek—the cheek Serin had somehow healed. He turned to her, but her eyes weren't on him. She watched Aewir, her fangs bared, her body tense.
He patted her on the head with a hand, biting his lip before making his decision. "All right, fine. Let's battle, Aewir."
"Excellent." The teen finally snapped the lid open on his Coke and took a small sip. He smiled. "Hopefully you'll last long enough for me to finish this drink, eh?"
-.-.-
Spinel, the Houndoom. Alexandrite, the Aggron. Zirconia, the Skarmory. These three Pokémon Derek had seen made judging Aewir's team all the more confusing: it wasn't a purely specialized team like one would expect from a Gym Leader, nor did it seem to be too balanced. Something told him to expect more Steel-type Pokémon.
He weighed his options. Soran would have to be his first choice, though it wasn't the greatest idea. She would have nothing to go for her against such opponents—rather, even if she did, it wasn't like they could hurt such a powerful foe. The best way to win would be somehow making Aewir's Pokémon hurt themselves...
"Shall we make this a simple one-on-one battle?" Aewir asked. He had pushed the sides of his jacket out of the way, and his fingers were on one of the Poké Balls hanging off the loosely hanging double belt he wore. "Or would you prefer something else?"
Derek glanced towards Soran. She turned to him as well, her expression easy to read: it's your choice.
With such a difference in offensive power, and with a horrible lack of defensive strength, his best bet would definitely be using strategy. Strategy, though, would be difficult in this situation with such unbalanced odds. There was a difference between strategy and tactics...
"One-on-one sounds fine," he decided. "And I'll choose Soran."
Aewir smiled. "All right. Then I'll choose a Pokémon you've already seen before."
He grabbed one of the Poké Balls and released the Houndoom from inside. The capsule burst open, illuminating the night for a few brief seconds as the beast materialized. It stood tall, its head around Aewir's chest—easily dwarfing Soran. She was barely a fifth the Pokémon's size and looked about as a good a match-up as a stuffed toy.
Derek had seen Spinel once before, but that had been from a distance and outside of battle. Now, Derek felt an odd pressure emanating from the Dark Pokémon, as if he were being pushed back by a gale...but at the same time, there was an oddly comforting warmth flooding through him.
On the ground in front of him, Soran pawed the ground anxiously. The bandages had long since been removed, and her paw had recovered from the battle against Lt. Surge. She was obviously more than confident in her ability to win.
Way more confident than Derek, anyway. He took a shaky breath, trying not to let his fear show.
"Then, Derek." Aewir shifted his weight from one leg to the other and smirked. It was the exact same motion as Matthew—only a thousand times cockier. "I suppose you can go first."
He felt a raw heat flush through his body. "Soran, Quick Attack!"
A white spark lit the night and instantly burst forward in a radiant path. Soran raced forward in the first attack of the battle, with the trail trying its best to catch up to her. Sections of the park lit up as she darted around—the benches, the scattered trees, even the air above—before Soran finally made for her target.
Aewir's voice cut through the night. "Faint Attack."
Soran smashed into the grass, sending a few green blades flying. The trail she had left faded, and the only lights in the park remaining were the scattered streetlights and the dim sky. She looked around, trying to find her lost target, but the Pokémon had completely disappeared from sight. Even Derek, who was rather confident in his eyes in the dark, couldn't find a trace of Spinel.
Like a snagging sensation, a sudden ripple of awareness overcame Derek. To the left—then to the right. A soft step here, a harsher push there. Spinning circles around Soran, so quickly, so silently, that the darkness hid the Houndoom in its mantle.
But Derek knew where he was.
"Soran," he growled, "Quick Return! Behind you!"
She exploded off the ground. Her entire body was burning brighter than a star, her brilliance blinding, yet even the ever-reliable Quick Return failed to hit its mark. She slipped through a shadowed image of what was once her opponent and was sent skidding through the dirt, only to be struck by Spinel from the side.
"S-Soran!"
Her aura flickered out of existence, and she hit the ground with an audible thud. Almost immediately, she jumped back up to her feet, but the damage was done: her breath was coming in pants now.
It was only now Derek realized just how hopelessly outclassed he was.
"Come now, Derek." Aewir folded his arms across his chest. "Is that really the best you can do? You have a magnificent partner—guide her properly."
Derek couldn't respond. He watched as Soran looked back to him, her eyes like wildfire: dangerous, uncontrollable. She wasn't going to back down from this fight.
He couldn't understand it. Why was she so insistent on fighting, anyway? Was this some sort of way of her showing she wanted to help him? Knowing her, she wouldn't ever want to admit it...but that didn't mean she had to battle for him. He would have been perfectly willing to just pass up the battle in the first place.
Ever since he had been defeated by Louis...no, even before that. Since Lt. Surge, since Emily Rose—ever since his battles against Brock and Flare, Soran had fought and overcome all sorts of challenges for him. Aewir was right; she was a magnificent partner. One that he probably didn't deserve.
Well, he thought, we're stuck together, so we might as well win together.
He nodded towards her, and she nodded back. With a deep breath, he turned back to Aewir. "Aewir, you're right."
"Does that come as a surprise?"
Derek thought about that for a second. "No... I guess not. She's a magnificent Pokémon, so when she beats your Spinel, I doubt that'll be a surprise either, huh?"
Aewir paused. Derek could have sworn he saw the Gym Leader's eyes widen for a split second, but the teen just laughed. "All right, kid, let's see if you can live up to that boast. Spinel, another Faint Attack!"
Once again, the Houndoom faded into the night, and once again, Derek knew exactly where the Pokémon was. He had messed up earlier—he had missed the timing. Reading the opponent's next move was vital in this situation.
Derek glanced to the battleground. The concrete road was of minimal importance; neither Pokémon would benefit from using it, so both Trainers had abandoned it. The majority of the park was a level grass field, which really wouldn't provide any benefits, either. Luckily, Aewir seemed to have no intentions of setting the entire park on fire. Trees and streetlights could provide elevation for Soran if she needed it...then again, a well-aimed Flamethrower would really have no limitations against an airborne target.
The field would be of no assistance, Derek concluded. All that was left was Soran's ability and Derek's own skills. But considering how easily they'd been defeated the first time around, he wasn't too confident in either.
"You sure you have time to stall, Derek?" Aewir asked, breaking the boy's concentration. He looked up, only to see Soran knocked aside like a doll. She rolled on the ground, using the momentum to get back up again, albeit shakily. Her motions were jerky, forced—she was exhausted and wouldn't last much longer.
There had to be a way to defeat Spinel's Faint Attack. If Derek could just do that, if he could just find a momentary weakness, he was sure that a Quick Return attack would even the playing field.
It was a bit like fighting Brock again, really. The unbelievably powerful Onix; of course Soran had stood no chance against such a powerful foe. And yet she had overcome the Rock Snake Pokémon...
Wait a minute. How did we beat Brock, again?
He had waited. Listened. But that had pushed him to the edge—no, there had been something else...
Of course! Wish. Wish—and then a full-out Quick Return!
"Soran, Wish!"
She raised her eyes. Just above her head, casting a glow upon her battered body, was a silver star. It sparkled for a few seconds before fading, swallowed by the night. Soran lowered her head, her eyes closed.
Houndoom were fast. Houndoom were strong. But Soran was faster, Soran was stronger—she had to be.
"Listen for the right moment—Shadow Quick Return!"
He realized, now, what Aewir had been talking about. Soran was a magnificent partner to have. He had to guide her, not control her. She wasn't a pawn for him to use—she could do things on her own just as well as he could. If he tried to command her to do every little thing, obviously the opponent would figure out what they were doing.
The black aura that surrounded her was like a cloak of darkness; she disappeared into the night just like Spinel. Derek could see her, though, and he knew Aewir could as well—they both saw as the two Pokémon collided.
Shadows tore at the Houndoom, propelling Spinel through the air. He skidded across the field, digging four distinct lines through the dirt. He grunted—the first sign of the battle wearing him down. Soran landed softly opposite him, a wild smile on her face.
At this point, it somehow felt necessary to pull a heroic line. Derek decided to take a leaf out of Damion's book: he threw his arm out in an unnecessarily fancy motion and smirked.
"Aewir!" he shouted, making sure his index was as stretched out as possible. "This time, it's our turn to attack!"
A/N - Oh my God, Archie actually released twice in two months. That's amazing.
First off, let's get this out of the way. If you want a story that's totally fresh and probably will become awesome, go read "A dream's weight" by Writing Jet. Of course, go read "Isshu no Aoi Kaze: Advent" and "Hell is Cold" by Ikitsumi and 3LittleMuffinMen respectively as well. I'm in a jolly mood!
Second, it's 3:40 AM on a Tuesday here. I should be doing homework, but SCREW THAT S#&$!. I only ever update when I'm a) procrastinating and/or b) sick. In this case, I'm both. bah
Third, for those who haven't seen my profile (and really, why would you?), I am currently working on a new project. It's a book I'm writing, and I'm about 10 ~ 20% done, so I should be done by the time summer comes around. I'm focusing more on that than anything else, so expect faster updates. YES, YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY. EXPECT FASTER UPDATES. I tend to work on everything when I write anything. Hehe.
Oh, and guys. I've got 71 reviews on this story and 27 reviews on LM,R! as of right now. That's a total of 98—that's right, NINETY-FRIGGIN-EIGHT—reviews total. Can you believe I've almost got 100? That's ridiculous. Seriously, when I get my next two reviews (whenever that is, whether it be in two days or two years), I will do a little happy dance. Or maybe a big happy dance. Who knows.
...anyway, whoever gives me my 100th review, expect a heartfelt PM. No, screw that. I'll send PMs to everyone. I love you all.
TIME TO GO DO MY HOMEWORK NOW! TOO DA LOO