Author's Note: Oh dang, look out, it's your girl, Clair. How long has it been? Don't answer that, I know it's been almost two years. Don't give me that look either. It's been a crazy living, man. I'm working two jobs, but I might lose one because of this pandemic. Can I get a yikes?
But, on the bright side, I've written 5 novels in the past year and a half, and by the end of this year I'll have five more completed. So, yeah, suffice it to say I'm working diligently on becoming a full-time author eventually, but I know it'll take some time to get there. What I really need to learn is patience.
Anyway, since I'm about to have so much free time, I figured I needed to work on finishing this fic because I keep saying I'll finish it, and I hate not finishing stories, so here we go. I'll still prioritize mainly my original works, but writing as much as I can when I can is a must. I'll need something to distract me in the next few months of being potentially jobless.
If you're still here, bravo, you're better than I am. Much love to y'all. Stay safe during this scary time.
87. How Does a Moment Last Forever
Suffice it to say, we were all dumbfounded. Corwin and Galilei had been declared the victor for the third and final match and the winners overall, but if Annie was still conscious and able to battle, this complicated things. Sophie didn't look as if she was going to accept the verdict and stared at Marina with a quirked left eyebrow. Marina grimaced, looked back toward the other elites, and gestured a few forward.
While the crowd had started chanting for a rematch, Marina spoke quietly with a few of the other elites for around five minutes. After that, she held up a hand and scowled until everyone had fallen silent.
"After asking for a general consensus, we have decided it's a tie."
There were immediate boos. Mine included. Marina held up her hands again, physically restraining herself so that she didn't start screaming swears at us. Once it was silent again, she peered toward Sophie and Corwin.
"Unless the trainers want to have another match?"
Sophie nodded determinedly. Corwin's smile had dropped halfway, and he was about to nod, but then his expression shifted thoughtfully.
"Halt for one moment."
Hushed silence occurred as we all glimpsed toward him.
"I am willing to have another match if and only if Sophie will grant me one date in return, regardless of who wins or loses."
A chorus of aw's. Some of the girls in the crowd started squirming giddily, as if it was the most romantic thing ever. Champion Lance smirked and leaned over to whisper something to Clair, who elbowed him in response. That response made me curious, but in that moment it was not the response that mattered.
We all waited for Sophie to say something. She stared flatly at Corwin. There was no sign of annoyance in her face, which I always took as a good sign.
"…No."
Well, now it was just awkward.
"It appears I am satisfied with a tie, then," Corwin said, smirking at Sophie. He was sticking to his guns for once, and it was probably something he should have done from the beginning with Sophie, but he definitely shouldn't have tried forcing her into anything. I guessed that was what had annoyed her so much.
"So am I," Sophie quipped, nodding stiffly at him. "Good battle." She turned around and started walking back over to the food table to grab a small plate of fruit. It was as if nothing had happened in the first place, and many people whispered about her in disbelief.
I started trying to walk over to meet her, but my knees buckled and Gage caught me, lifting me yet again.
"Don't try to move too much. Your body is still recovering," he pointed out. "Let me help you."
"I can do it," I murmured, but my legs suddenly felt like jelly.
"If you get dirt on your dress, Anka will destroy you." That was all the persuasion I needed for Gage to help me hobble over to Sophie. Eliseo, Bundy and Aurelia followed from behind.
When we reached the table, Sophie acknowledged me with a short glance.
"Congrats, Soph. A tie. Although let's be real, you smoked him."
"The final judgment was premature, but I digress. Are you feeling well, Rochelle?" she asked, surveying me with sharp eyes.
"Bridgette's perish song kind of affected me."
"Hm. I did not realize it could."
"Neither did I, so I guess I'll have to cover my ears from now on."
Anka and Brayden trotted over to us, and while Brayden and Gage talked to each other (Gage was still holding on to me, so I caught only a few snippets of their conversation. Something about Gage's dance moves.), Anka addressed me and Sophie, congratulating her first before she asked a question.
"Would it be that bad to go on a date with the guy?" Anka asked, cocking her head. "Not that I'm saying you should, but I don't know, he seems really into you. Like he's really trying. I've only known him for a week, and I see he just really likes you." She quickly waved her hands as Sophie gave her a cross expression. "Again: not saying you have to date him! You do you, honey."
"I don't have time for relationships or dating. Romance does not appeal to me and likely never will. He claims to be a genius, and yet he continues to act like an idiot. I shouldn't have to appease someone because they can't accept rejection."
Anka nodded slowly, slightly taken aback. "…You make some good points."
"That's because I'm right," she said snappishly. I completely agreed with Sophie. While I felt bad for Corwin in some respects with how desperately he went after Sophie, enough was enough. I doubted she was going to change her mind any time soon—or ever, like she had said. I wondered if he knew this. From what I knew of Corwin, he did know a lot. He rambled about historical texts and scientific facts all the time. And yet, he was clueless when it came to his feelings. That much was true.
"You're Rochelle, right?" Brayden interjected, smiling at me. "I'm Brayden. I'd shake your hand, but you got your hands full there, I see."
"I don't think she'd want to touch your hands, anyway. I saw you and Anka a little while ago. Way to be subtle."
"Gage!" Anka smacked him on his shoulder.
"What? You guys are definitely the opposite of subtle."
"Sorry if love triumphs over all," Anka said dramatically, as if that was the greatest comeback ever.
"So is love supposed to make other people want to vomit? Because then you guys are doing a great job," I included. Gage grinned at me wolfishly.
"Our love is so misunderstood," Anka declared, jokingly falling back against Brayden. They were cute, but also downright disgusting. I was only half-joking about the vomit thing.
The dancing in the circle resumed, but I was still too exhausted to attempt it. Plus, the music was starting to make me feel dizzy again. Gage volunteered to take me back to the hotel, but I refused, intent on staying out for as long as possible during our last night in Alola. He agreed and then, after I suggested it, guided me north of the town to the collapsed bridge. There, it was quiet, and once people saw the bridge was gone, they returned back to Iki and sought out other activities. Bundy stayed back to dance in the circle, while Eliseo and Aurelia followed playfully from behind us. I cautioned them when we got to the bridge and told them to be careful.
Gage and I watched them tumble for a bit, not saying anything. I had a feeling he wanted to say something but was still debating how. That was when I came to his rescue.
"Glameow got your tongue?"
He sighed. "…I need some coffee."
"How many cups have you had today?"
"Just three."
"Just three?" I was surprised his teeth weren't yellower than what they were.
He shrugged. "I like coffee."
"Yeah, try 'love.'"
He shrugged again and didn't say anything. It was starting to piss me off a little bit, but that also could have been because I was so tired.
"What is up? I thought we had a truce. Don't be weird. Or I'll kick your ass as soon as I get more feeling in my legs."
"No…that's…" His eyebrows furrowed and then relaxed as he sighed. "…Ariella."
"Oh." It was back to this. I wasn't sure why he wanted to tell me now of all times and tonight of all nights, but he was motivated, for whatever reason. "Yeah, why is that such a popular subject right now? You can tell me on other days, you know."
"Today would have been her birthday."
Now I really didn't know what to say to that. For a second, I thought about mentioning how I wasn't even sure what Bundy's and Poona's birthdays were (though it wasn't too late to find out Eliseo's), but it was going to come off like I was changing the subject—which was what I wanted to do, but Gage seemed like he really wanted to get this off his chest.
He stared at the bridgeless cliff ahead of us. "I tried not thinking about it. Today was a good distraction. Initiation and shit. The party. I think Anka knew about it and that was why she wanted me to get dressed up. Why she wanted us to double date. To distract me. When Ariella died, I was missing in action for a long time. Anka and Brayden reached out, but I ignored them. I ignored everyone for a while. I think that was when Porter really started hating me because I refused to meet or talk to him. Kyler was the only one that got to me because he visited me in person and forced me to talk to him."
I sat there in silence, not saying anything. Behind us Eliseo and Aurelia were patting each other's paws and murmuring something in low voices.
"…What happened to her?" I finally asked.
Gage's gaze darkened. "I wanted that championship. I wanted to try. If we had never gone—"
"Quit that shit. You think the blame-game has any winners?" I interrupted sharply. "Been there, done that, still kind of living it. Just tell me what happened, and try not to sound like such a victim." My last words had been a slap to the face, but he looked grateful for it as he pulled back his shoulders and straightened.
"…Psh. Fine." Well that was easy. He grunted to clear his throat and continued, "We went through Victory Road. I had been traveling in it for two weeks. I was warned by different people that it was going to be dangerous. I knew that and felt confident in my team. By the end of it, however, I didn't think any of us were going to make it out alive—and one of us didn't.
"It was…so stupid. I panicked. I…she…I let Ariella out when we were attacked by an onix, a graveler and a golbat. They ambushed us. She was a luxray up against two ground types, but I wasn't thinking about type differences. I just let her out and froze up. I couldn't even get a word out. She started fighting on her own. I fumbled, tried to get Allegra out to help her, but…by the time Allegra was released, they had crushed her. She could take the hit, I know she could, but they did it over and over again. They broke practically every bone in her body. The pokéball didn't even recognize her as alive. A couple trainers nearby helped. I carried her all the way to the center, but they said there was nothing they could do. It was the worst moment of my life, and I still see it happening. I still see her."
"…It was the Freedom Fighters, right?" I asked. He nodded without looking at me. "…Bastards…"
"After that, I wasn't the same. I went back to Blackthorn and stayed home. Mom had to force me to eat. Greg forced me to train. A couple of months later, Greg gave me Aurelia as a gift. She distracted me and kept me going. While my team and I mourned Ariella, Aurelia was carefree. She was the only one who hadn't known Ariella." He paused to glance at me. "I was training her and Agolini when I heard you. I got carried away with how late it was. I should have approached you better, but that was new for me. I hadn't really talked to anyone in a long time. Plus, you and your xatu were in pretty bad shape."
"You were kind of an asshole," I recalled. He smirked at me.
"Says the one who made my shin bleed."
"Hey, it was dark, and have you ever heard of 'stranger danger'? Because that's a thing."
"Yeah, but you didn't really have many options. It was either stay there and let your xatu die, or risk coming with me and getting saved."
"I thought you might have been a Tamer. Plus, Keane ended up dying anyway," I mumbled. I didn't have enough anger in me to retaliate stronger and make him see my side of it. Something told me he did understand where I was coming from, but he was choosing to be an asshole and mess with me. I had to remind myself that although Keane was dying from the bullet, it was truly the dark print that made his body shut down. If the dark print hadn't seized him, would the bullet have killed him, anyway? I couldn't tell.
"…I saw myself in you when that happened. I saw the same pain. You were that close with that xatu?"
"…Not as much as I could have been. I never really called him my friend until it was too late. He was…my conscience, I guess." I laughed hollowly, because sometimes it felt like I still didn't have one. Maybe Keane had taken all hope of one with him. "He left me visions in the Ruins of Alph of his past. I was supposed to be his redemption." I stared at my arms, half-expecting the fur to make an appearance. "So far, I'm sucking really hard at it."
"That's what she said," he mumbled, and I gave him a look. "Hey, remember the truce? Just trying to keep it light. Don't want you sobbing in my arms or anything."
"Yeah, says the one who wanted to share his feewings in the first place."
"Gage?"
I turned toward Aurelia's flat expression as Eliseo pressed against her side, unconscious and breathing deeply. I couldn't help but smile at the sight, while Gage pulled out his phone to take a picture like a total mom.
"Can we go back? I want him to wake up," Aurelia said, looking very bored but not as annoyed as her voice sounded.
"She wants to go back," I translated, as Gage continued taking pictures.
"Yeah, sure, Ari." He flinched from using the name, so I punched him in the shoulder. "Shit! Do you have lead knuckles or something?"
"No, they're just super effective on idiots," I said, grinning mischievously.
He smirked, but then his expression became strange, and he scratched the back of his head, making a face while scraping the hardened gel in his locks. "Before you go to Olivine tomorrow, could you come with me to Blackthorn? I have something for you there."
"Depends: are you going to kick me as soon as we get to Blackthorn and call that a gift? Because I'll kick you back twice as hard and make sure you don't recover from it."
He snorted. "To accuse me of such a crime…pssh. Maybe you don't deserve my gift after all."
"If I don't like it, can I return it?"
"You are so ungrateful."
As soon as we stood up, still bickering, Aurelia head-butted Eliseo, knocking him awake. He gave her a fierce scowl and clawed back at her, but she evaded his retaliation and hissed at him.
"Why are you so mean?" Eliseo demanded. It was the longest sentence I had heard from him yet.
"Because you're stupid," Aurelia replied, as if it was the most obvious fact ever. She pranced ahead of us, flicking her tail. Eliseo followed in a low grumble and looked back at me.
"Can we train tomorrow?"
"Definitely," I said, my smile widening.
"So about that Blackthorn thing," Gage resumed, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Yeah, sure. But if I don't like it, I'm returning it."
"Trust me, you'll like it." I gave him a curious look. "And if you don't, I'll just break it or something."
"That sounds suspiciously like something made of glass, and if it is, I'll probably smash it, anyway."
He merely leered knowingly and gestured to the circle, where a crowd had resumed dancing. "Shall we?"
"I guess."
For the remainder of the night, all of us danced, laughed, ate, and enjoyed ourselves. It became one of the most memorable moments of my life. The locals graciously allowed us to stay up until three in the morning, but by that time many people and pokémon had started dispersing. Only a few of the recruitment officers stayed up to watch us and make sure we were safe. The other elites, such as those in resolution and recovery, walked away and announced that everyone would be teleported or transported tomorrow at noon. When Rayburn and Champion Lance were leaving, the dancing stopped for a short while to see them go. Half of us expected Champion Lance to give some kind of speech, but he merely smiled, waved, and said it was nice to meet all of us and see us have such a great time. Rayburn agreed.
I went to bed that night exhausted, and it was the first time in a long while that I didn't have a nightmare. Even so, I thought about the curse and what Tapu Bulu had said. If I was going to make any progress with controlling my curse, I would have to change on my own.
I stared at Sophie's bag before I went to bed, but ultimately I couldn't bring myself to get up and grab a pokéball. Just the thought of not being human made my skin crawl. I didn't want this curse, but learning to control it was necessary. I knew that. And yet…
I decided to push these thoughts away and instead reflected on the night and how much fun it had been. It was going to be the first time in a long time that several members of the units and their elites were all united for one entertaining time. I wished for something like it to happen again.
But in the future, I was going to wish that I hadn't.
