"How could you leave him behind?!" Gabriella screeched at the battered villagers. Everyone stayed silent. Frustrated, Gabriella pointed at a random villager. "You, tell me why you left Mandy behind!"
"I-I was just following orders, ma'am! When I heard 'retreat,' I ran for it!" the Poliwhirl stammered.
"Who said to do that?" the Gabite demanded.
Someone muttered "Garrett," a few others nodding in agreement. Gabriella directed her maniacal glare at the Gogoat.
"I feared for all of our lives," Garrett said gravely. "I didn't want anyone else to die-"
"He died?!" Gabriella cried.
"Wait, I only saw him get knocked out. That doesn't mean he's dead," Graveler said.
"So… he's not dead?" Gabriella asked anxiously.
"We won't know unless we go back," said Granger.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Gabriella shouted.
She made a few paces towards the bandit encampment, but Granger grabbed her leg to stop her. "Hold on, young lady! It's dangerous out there!"
"But Mandy-"
"We can't go back now!" a villager said. "We're all injured and tired and don't stand a chance!"
"But the bandits are tired too," someone else reasoned.
"We still need our food shipments, after all…"
"I'm sick of this!"
"We can't turn our backs on Mandy any longer!"
"Let's come back with more men!"
The villagers argued back and forth for many minutes about what to do while some slumped on the sidelines and Granger struggled to restrain the impulsive Gabite. "Gabriella, you're the director's daughter. Do you know how much trouble we'll get into if you get hurt?" the Graveler said through gritted teeth.
"I'm the director's daughter, so you should listen to my orders!"
Rolling his eyes, Granger tossed the Gabite back. "Oof!" Gabriella exclaimed when she landed on her bottom. "You're a meanie! No one they call you Grumpy Granger!"
Granger crossed his arms. "You can call me whatever you like as long as I do the right thing and keep my job."
"Don't you think rescuing Mandy is the right thing to do?" Gabriella asked seriously, her determined voice cracking now.
"Of course I do, but I'm not going back there alone. Just stay put for a bit, okay?"
"Hmph," Gabriella huffed, crossing her arms. As her fury subsided, panic began to sink in. She sat there for a while, thinking of all the horrible things that could be happening to her dear Mandy as she stared towards the bandits' encampment. Suddenly, she spotted Valerie dashing back to the group.
"Hey, everyone, good news! Mandy is alive!" Valerie announced to the villagers.
Garrett, who had been standing on the sidelines dejectedly while his men bickered, snapped his head towards the young voice. Upon hearing that Mandy was still alive, Garrett felt a wave of relief uplift his spirit. There was still time to correct his mistake so that he wouldn't regret abandoning the crazy Monferno for the rest of his life. The Gogoat was about to announce that he also wanted to go back and fight again now, like some of the other villagers wanted, but suddenly a thought held him back. Wasn't this random Vulpix associated with that random Shinx? Something could be fishy here…
"How do you know he's alive?" someone asked.
"I saw him tied up with ropes but definitely alive and well," Valerie explained. In truth, she hadn't actually seen Mandy, but that's what Shane told her to say. Her friend had warned her that the villagers were suspicious of him, so she didn't want to have to her ability to communicate with him using Extrasensory. Keeping things as simple as possible would be best.
"I also have a plan to defeat the bandits," Valerie continued. "Their leader, the Seismitoad, is the only one who keeps them together. Without their leader, all the other bandits won't know what to do or how to fight as a team. Would you folks agree?" she asked. Several villagers nodded or gave grunts of approval. "Alright, so I'm going to try to challenge the Seismitoad to a one-on-one battle. You all need to stay back until I beat him, and then we can attack as one force and the bandits will fall apart!"
Garrett stood there, not knowing what to think. How did this Vulpix know so much? Did she think she could beat a Seismitoad? It all sounded preposterous. It sounded like a trap! Garrett was about to voice out his concerns to his fellow villagers who, for the most part, seemed to be on board. "Hold on-"
"What are you guys waiting for? Let's go save Mandy!" Gabriella hollered.
Granger snapped his attention towards the Gabite and was shocked to see that she was already running way ahead of them. "Gabriella, wait!" he yelled, running after her. "What are you guys waiting for?" he yelled back at the other villagers. "We can't let the director's daughter get in harm's way!"
The villagers had no choice but to follow Valerie, Gabriella, and Granger. Please don't be a trap, please don't be a trap… Granger thought to himself. He bit his tongue though, figuring he had no right to lead after ordering that cowardly retreat. The other villagers would surely rather listen to Granger now.
"Are we following her plan?" someone asked.
"I guess… what else can we do?" someone else said with a shrug.
"My only problem with it is, how is this girl supposed to defeat the bandit leader? She sounds so confident too. I don't understand."
"That is a serious concern…"
"Don't worry, Valerie can definitely win," said Pete, approaching the two pokemon after hearing their doubts. "I saw her defeat a Garchomp back at the village easily."
"What?" Garrett spoke up. "That Garchomp is probably our boss! You're saying she attacked him?!"
"Uh, yeah…" Pete said awkwardly.
"Why?!" Garrett demanded, sirens going off in his head.
"Uhhhhhh…" the Ponyta stalled, looking away and feeling very uncomfortable. "I'm the courier who was supposed to deliver the shipment; do you remember?"
"Yes," Garrett grunted impatiently.
"Your boss wanted to throw me in jail for losing the shipment… so Valerie, the Vulpix up there, she, uh… stood up for me," he said quietly.
"Oh," said Garrett, nodding in understanding. "I'm sorry you had to go through that… our boss is a little, or should I say very eager to lock pokemon up… I know because I'm usually the one who has to do the actual locking. I can assure you that you did nothing wrong."
"Thank you, that's a huge relief…" Pete said with a sigh.
"Can you tell me anything about that Vulpix?" Garrett asked. He figured he could trust the Ponyta since he knew for sure that the Ponyta was a certified courier, and the story about Director Grimwald trying to lock him up was completely expected.
"Oh! Yeah, sure. Let's see…" Pete took a moment to think. "Well, she has a Shinx friend who went with you... but I guess you already knew that. Let's see… she said they trained and battled together for six years, I think?"
"Okay, anything else?"
"Uh, I dunno… I didn't really have a chance to ask much… Gabriella was talking to her the whole time about, uh... relationships. I don't think you want to hear about that…"
Garrett gave a small sigh of exasperation, never thinking he would ever be asking anyone about the director's daughter's gossip, but nodded and said, "Anything helps."
"Uh, okay… well, I think I remember Valerie saying her mom doesn't want her to be with her friend, and Gabriella said to ignore her mom…" Pete reluctantly recited. It sure didn't make him feel good telling two girls' gossip to an old guy. How would he ever attract a girlfriend now?
"Told ya the kid wasn't a frickin bandit," Granger said triumphantly. He had fallen back to listen to Garrett and Pete since Valerie had managed to keep Gabriella in line.
"You didn't believe his story either," Garrett argued back. "What did he even say again? They're traveling historians?"
"I do remember passing by the two of them on the path while I was on my way to the village, and they were nowhere near the bandits," Pete testified.
"That's good to hear," said Granger. "I'm still amazed that the girl he and Mandy were talking about actually exists, but I guess he was telling the truth after all."
"Does she really think she can take on their Seismitoad leader? How does she even know who their leader is anyway?" Garrett wondered.
"Well, if she's anywhere near as crazily strong as that Shinx, I'm sure she's not all talk," said Granger.
"She's definitely strong," Pete agreed. "I saw her take out your boss, remember?"
Listening attentively to the conversations going on behind her, Valerie smiled satisfactorily. After Pete had followed her to restrain Gabriella, Valerie had instructed the Ponyta to try and instill some confidence in her amongst the villagers; it sounded like he was doing a good job. Turning her attention back in the direction of the bandits, she noticed that Gabriella was advancing even further past her. Furthermore, the bandits were now in sight across the rocky terrain, and they were beginning to notice the return of the villager force.
Valerie dashed in front of Gabriella to stop her. "Alright, you seriously need to stay back now," Valerie said sternly.
"Nothing is going to stop me from seeing my boyfriend!"
"Do you see those bandits over there? You shouldn't be getting any closer."
"But Mandy-"
"I'll make sure you're reunited with your boyfriend," Valerie said, annoyed. "Now please, no one wants you to get hurt, so I need you to stay back there with the villagers. I will lead us to free Mandy, I promise."
"Okay…" she pouted. Then her posture went back to being cheerful. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees that I'm here to rescue him!"
As Valerie watched to make sure Gabriella joined and stayed with the villagers, she felt a sudden cold pain in her chest. Would Shane be happy to see her? If she were Shane, she would probably be pretty mad at herself for not joining. But Shane was very kind, forgiving, and noble, in the truest sense of the word. He didn't even sound agitated in the slightest while they were communicating earlier, all while being captured. She felt so guilty. What should she say to him? Ugh, I better focus on actually rescuing him first, she thought, putting on a resolute glare as she slowly advanced towards the gathering bandits. She only vaguely paid attention to them, though, as she tried to connect with Shane again.
Shane, can you hear me? she thought.
Yeah, how's it going? Shane thought back. Even if it was just in her head, the sound of his voice made her smile and feel more confident.
I got the villagers with me. Remember the Ponyta, the one delivering the food shipment? I got him to convince the villagers that we're not bandits.
That's great! Oh, I see you and the villagers now!
Where are you? Valerie asked, trying to look beyond the gathering line of bandits.
To your left, but not too much. There's a Ferrothorn in front of me right now. Try looking past him.
Valerie located the Ferrothorn, and sure enough, there was her partner, smiling at her out in the distance. How are you feeling? she asked.
Well… definitely not in tip-top shape, but I reckon I can still do some damage. Looks like Mandy is still fainted, but he'll be fine. How are you feeling?
I'm ready to demolish that Seismitoad, Valerie thought confidently, feeling energetic now. She spotted the Seismitoad at the center of the bandit force. And I have my target in sight. I promise I'll carry out your plan and get you out of there.
Hey, I'm sorry you have to do this alone… Shane thought regrettably.
No, it's not your fault at all! Valerie immediately thought back, her eagerness quickly getting replaced with guilt once more. I… uh-
I know you'll do fine! Shane interrupted confidently. Now, you're getting close. Are you ready?
Valerie stood firm, facing the bandits. I'm ready, she communicated to her partner. Behind her, the villagers assembled into a nervous line, with the more injured, tired, or otherwise demoralized villagers who had been dragged along hanging in the back. That was okay; they simply needed the illusion of a sizable force. According to Shane, as long as Valerie could take out the Seismitoad, the lack of a leader would be enough to scatter the unorganized bandits. With a determined face, Valerie turned her guilt into the willpower to redeem herself and rescue her partner. Time for the next part of Shane's plan.
"Hey Seismitoad!" she hollered loudly, catching the attention of all of the bandits and the villagers. "I challenge you to a one-on-one battle!" There was a tense pause. Valerie glared directly at the Seismitoad standing behind his bandits. She went on to announce the terms. "If I win our battle, you bandits have to release the prisoners and hand over the food shipments. If you win, we will all leave without another fight. Do you accept my challenge?"
"Only a fool would accept your challenge!" the bandit leader boomed back across the no man's land. "We outnumber you, so either you leave without a fight, or we will send you running! You have ten seconds!" Many other bandits chimed in with roars or incoherent jeers.
"What kind of leader are you, cowering behind your men and your numbers? Come out here and fight me like a real warrior!" Valerie taunted. Of course, she knew exactly what kind of leader he was - a cunning and calculated one who obviously would not unnecessarily risk his current advantage. But the same could not be said of the bandits he commanded, and someone was about to take advantage of that.
"Wow, what a coward! And you call yourself their leader?" said a voice from the bandit side of the field.
"Who said that?!" the Seismitoad outbursted; looking behind him, he spotted a grinning Shinx.
"How can you guys take orders from a leader who's scared of a girl that's half his size?" Shane continued.
"Hey, shut the hell up, you prisoner!" the Seismitoad roared. He made a Mud Bomb in his hand and angrily lobbed it at his insulter. With his legs tied up in rope, Shane couldn't do much to avoid taking a direct, super-effective hit.
Shane! No! Valerie mentally cried. Are you there? Are you okay?!
Could be better… although I think I deserve that for starting such a dirty slander. But on the bright side, it looks like it's working, Shane remarked. Indeed, the bandit line erupted into chaotic chatter.
"C'mon boss, trash that girl!"
"Show them who rules the mountain!"
"Take her prisoner too!"
"Silence, men!" the Seismitoad commanded. There was no silence; instead, the shouts grew louder. "I am your leader, so you must listen to my orders!" he yelled amidst the voices. "Or else!" he added, though it was a feeble threat.
"Then prove you're our leader!" the Ferrothorn bandit demanded, slamming a metal limb against the rocky ground.
"I ain't following a leader who's scared of a girl!" the Hitmonchan bandit shouted. Several other bandits said similar things amongst cheers and jeers.
Heh, that was easier than I thought, Shane sent his thoughts to Valerie. A fight is inevitable now. Start charging up your Solar Beam!
Great idea, I'm on it, Valerie thought back. She fanned her tails out behind her, and they started dimly glowing.
"You pokemon need me!" the Seismitoad insisted. "You misfits don't stand a chance without me leading you, and you know it! Now get back into a battle line!" Most bandits fell back in line, although a few continued to grumble and demand a battle.
Uh oh, I may need to rile them up again, Shane thought to Valerie.
No! Valerie immediately cried out. You've done enough already, and I don't want you getting anymore hurt! I'll handle it from here.
Okay, go for it. You got this!
Valerie smiled from the comfort of his thoughts, then took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Hey, Seismitoad!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "Are you scared? You must have never fought a real battle in your life, always hiding behind your minions! Why else would you be afraid? You're fully evolved and have a double type advantage, and you still hide! I thought I would fight a real man, a true bandit leader, not a cowardly blue turd! You're so cowardly, you'd hit a defenseless prisoner instead of fighting a real fight! Are you really a leader? Will your bandits really follow a loser like you?"
A deathly silence wafted over the battlefield. And then, from the bandit side...
"You can't back down now, boss!"
"Slam her into the ground!"
"I can't follow a coward who backs down from a challenge like that!"
"If I were the boss, I'd slaughter her!"
Over on the villager side, there were mostly reactions of shock and awe. "Geez, Valerie is intense…" Pete muttered.
"She's gotta free her crush from the bandits' villainous grasp! That's what love will do to ya," Gabriella said.
"I can't imagine my wife doing anything like that…" Granger muttered.
For Garrett, it was a stunned silence. He was left to himself to wonder - How wrong had he been? Was this all his fault?
Valerie watched as the Seismitoad pushed past his line of men and stormed into the no man's land with two Mud Bombs at the ready, one in each hand. She wasn't smiling or feeling righteous anymore, or proud of baiting him into a fight; she felt rather dirty. The insults and lies had gone a little too far, even for her. But it was all in the name of winning the fight, right?
"I'm going to smother you, girl!" the Seismitoad roared menacingly.
Shaking off various thoughts, Valerie prepared to take him out and leave the bandits leaderless. She aimed her six tails forward, and they went from a white glow to a stunningly bright green from the solar energy that her tails had been collecting this whole time. She unleashed her prepared Solar Beam directly at the Seismitoad, the bundled beam of bright green light shooting towards its target at a viciously fast speed.
What she didn't expect was the Seismitoad immediately unleashing a powerful Hydro Pump that stopped her Solar Beam in its tracks, causing a massive explosion between them.
Valerie's eyes widened. Shit, this is not good! she immediately thought.
Get ready, he's going through the smoke! Shane warned her.
The Seismitoad approached Valerie and hurled a Mud Bomb at her. She dodged it, then just barely avoided a second Mud Bomb cleverly thrown in the direction she sidestepped. While the Seismitoad made more Mud Bombs out of his hands, Valerie hit him with an Extrasensory, the surprise purple blast of energy knocking him down.
What do I do?! I blew my Solar Beam, and he has a massive type advantage over me! Valerie thought to Shane in a panic.
You have to charge up another Solar Beam. Keep him at bay for as long as possible. You can do it! Shane encouraged.
Indeed, she had to do it for Shane. She started gathering sunlight in her tails once more. Her opponent was back on his feet and racing towards her now with a glowing fist. She let loose a powerful Flamethrower at the approaching target. The Seismitoad took the hit, raising his arms in front of him to protect his face. He leaped towards Valerie and swung his arm at the Vulpix. Valerie ducked to avoid the wild punch but was then hit from the other side by the glowing fist.
Valerie grunted in pain as she was knocked back by the punch. To make things worse, she felt her power get sapped, indicating that the move was Drain Punch. When she landed, she saw a Mud Bomb coming fast and desperately scrambled away to avoid the attack, breathing heavily now. Another Mud Bomb came relentlessly at her, smacking into her side super effectively. Disoriented and hurt, she painfully lifted her head and forced herself to focus her psychic power on the Seismitoad. He started firing a deadly Hydro Pump, but Valerie's quick Extrasensory was enough to knock him onto his back, causing most of the Hydro Pump to shoot into the sky instead.
She struggled to her paws immediately after firing the Extrasensory, knowing that she needed to act fast. With the Seismitoad knocked down but herself losing strength, it was now or never to launch her Solar Beam. Unfortunately, the beginning of the Hydro Pump was still heading directly towards her as she stood up. The small jet of heavily pressurized water landed a direct hit on her, causing heavy damage. Despite the cries of her aching body, she shakily aimed her six tails at her enemy. Her tails were basked in green energy as she launched her Solar Beam. The powerful, super effective beam pounded the Seismitoad in the gut as he was getting up, sending him flying across the battlefield with an awful scream. He hit the ground, rolling to a stop in front of his line of cronies. A shocked and disorganized commotion erupted amongst the bandit ranks.
"What now? The boss lost…"
"Are we giving up the food shipments?"
"No way! I'm not going to starve tonight!"
"I'm getting out of here! I'm not going to jail!"
"Well, I'm gonna do what the boss couldn't and take that girl out!"
Breathing heavily, with her vision hazy and her entire body exhausted, Valerie wanted to do nothing more except curl up into a ball. The sound of an incoming electric attack promptly reawakened her awareness that she was standing in the middle of a battlefield. Valerie instinctively hopped out of the way, but a sharp pain shot through her left hind leg after landing. She winced in pain, then heard another electric attack coming at her. The next moment, though, a Graveler rolled in front of her and blocked the attack.
"That was an impressive show, young lady! We'll take it from here," said Granger. As he said that, Garrett charged past Granger and Valerie and rammed into the Electabuzz bandit.
"Thank you," Valerie breathed out quietly.
Granger nodded, then went back into Rollout to help out Garrett. As small groups of villagers stuck together and advanced on the bandits, Valerie finally settled down to rest her legs and catch her breath.
That was really close… Now that the bandits' leader is out, I hope the villagers can drive off the bandits because I feel like I'm about to collapse…
…
Shane? Are you there?
Suddenly in a panic, Valerie realized that she'd lost her telepathic connection with Shane. She immediately tried reaching out with Extrasensory again but trying to do that gave her a headache on top of her already aching body. She urgently but carefully got to her paws and hurriedly followed the villagers onto the bandit side of the field.
The villagers stuck together in small groups, as she had instructed them to earlier, while many bandits were fleeing or running around. It was hard to look around with so many pokemon moving around, so Valerie kept advancing towards where she thought Shane was. All signals of pain and exhaustion were blocked out as she searched for the one pokemon she had sought out in the first place. As she got closer, venturing in between two villager groups, she finally spotted her best friend… hanging limp in the claws of a Toxicroak!
Eyes widening, Valerie was seized by a wave of pure, sinking dread. She immediately tried to dash towards him, but her legs would not comply. Gasping in pain, she was forced to slowly stumble her way. "You!" she cried, her voice cracking. "Let go of him!"
The Toxicroak spotted her and cracked a wicked grin. "Hehehe, look who came a moment too late!" he cackled.
But Valerie quickly ignored the Toxicroak when she saw Shane's eyes open. She instantly reached out to him telepathically, ignoring the new, horrific headache caused by exhaustion.
Shane! Can you hear me?! she desperately cried.
Hey Valerie. I'm going to shock him to make him let go, so get an Extrasensory ready, okay? Shane quickly instructed.
Oh, thank goodness! Valerie thought in utter relief. Okay… I'm ready.
"See what happens to pokemon who oppose me?! Hey, are you even list-AH!" the Toxicroak screeched as a weak jolt of electricity shot through his arm. He instinctively jerked it away, letting go of Shane. Unfortunately, with his legs still tied up in rope, the poor Shinx did not land comfortably on the hard ground.
A split second later, a purple explosion of psychic energy blasted the Toxicroak far away from Shane with a shout of pain and surprise. Valerie elicited a gasp of her own after launching the attack; her head was throbbing now from overexertion as she was seriously at her limit. Despite the pain in her head and her limbs, she struggled over to Shane and planted herself firmly between her love and their enemy.
Shane lifted his head up, and his heart fluttered when he saw his best friend standing guard over him despite all she'd been through already. The Toxicroak had recovered and was now approaching them furiously. Shane saw Valerie begin a Flamethrower, but only a few small flames sputtered out of her muzzle. Despite the Mud Bombs he took from the Seismitoad and the beating from the Toxicroak, Shane concentrated whatever he had left in him into his paws.
"You are so done!" the Toxicroak declared menacingly, charging towards Valerie with his fists glowing deep purple with a Poison Jab.
Valerie tried again to create a Flamethrower, once again unable to muster the strength to do so. "N-no…" she gasped as tiny flames spilled out weakly.
"Valerie, give me your paw so I can help…"
She glanced back, saw his Helping Hand and the hope in his eyes, and gently stepped back so that their paws met. A warm burst of power flowed into her from Shane's mighty Helping Hand. Jerking her head back towards the oncoming Toxicroak, she finally let loose a Flamethrower.
"AUGH!" he screamed as he ran straight into the flames. The Toxicroak crumpled, the force of the attack throwing him far away; after the boosted Flamethrower ended, he did not get up.
Valerie let out a huge, exhausted sigh of relief. Then she lowered herself to the ground as her legs gave way.
"Valerie! Please don't faint, hang in there, okay…?" Shane urged.
"Let me untie you…" Valerie said, crawling over and beginning to work on the rope that still bounded Shane's paws together. It was a struggle, but Valerie absolutely wanted to finish the job of freeing Shane.
Shane slowly glanced around them. "Looks like the villagers have driven the bandits away. You can relax, please don't overexert yourself any longer," he insisted.
"Shane, I… I thought you were dead!" Valerie suddenly cried.
"What? Why?" Shane asked, concerned.
"I tried to send thoughts to you earlier, but the connection broke…"
"I think we lost it when you got hit by the Seismitoad."
"Yeah, I guess so… but then when I came looking for you, it looked like the Toxicroak had k-killed you!"
"Oh… I was pretending in order to catch him off guard… I didn't mean to distress you, I'm sorry…"
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry!" Valerie cried. "I… I…" she stammered, not knowing what she wanted to say.
"Valerie, relax…" Shane pleaded. As soon as Valerie freed his paws from the rope, Shane pulled her into a deep hug.
She melted into the hug, overjoyed that she was with her best friend and the one she loved again. Although her body still felt exhausted from the strain of the battles, her headache subsided in the calm comfort of his paws. However, at the same time, she felt like she didn't deserve a hug. Now that he was safe, her whole guilt about how they'd gotten here in the first place came crashing down. She thought of how much trouble she'd caused for Shane. Maybe he'd be better off if I just got married off… she thought, feeling awful.
"What's the matter?" Shane softly asked, wholly feeling his friend's distress.
"I… I never want to leave your side ever again… but only if you still even want me around…" Valerie trailed off, breaking the hug and looking away.
"Of course I want you with me!" Shane immediately said.
"But I've been such a burden on you. You wouldn't be here, hurt in the middle of a battlefield if I… if I hadn't abandoned you… You wouldn't be here in the middle of Nydyhan if I hadn't left the castle and gotten captured!"
"It's only minor injuries. It's not like I've been in any serious danger."
"Not in any serious danger? You could've been taken away, imprisoned, or killed!"
"I can always count on you to rescue me," he said with a cheeky grin.
"But that's not the point! The point is it was all my fault, to begin with!"
"It wasn't, though. I shouldn't have said... what I said…" Shane muttered, looking down.
Valerie shook her head. "It was true though…" she admitted, as much as it hurt to say it. "I should've… I should've owned up to it and followed you. Especially after what you said next…" she added quietly with a slight blush. "Instead, I was being selfish and petty. It's my fault, and you got hurt because of it. I'm so sorry..."
"It's okay!" Shane insisted. "We all make mistakes. Look, if you really believe it's all your fault, then I guess I can't change your mind, but I can tell you this for sure: you are not a burden to me! You're my best friend! If anything, I'm the one who's been a burden on you!" he laughed carefreely. "How could I have gotten through these past six years without you?"
"You would've had Sir Robin and Gregory…" Valerie said quietly.
"What makes you think I could do it all with them but not you too?"
"I should be a polite noble like them, and you, but instead... I've been selfish, I've been telling lies, and I said such horrible things to the Seismitoad earlier!" Valerie cried. "Shane, you've always been so nice, so caring, while I've just… I dunno…"
Shane shook his head exasperatedly then abruptly pulled her into another tender hug. "You've been under a lot of stress lately due to the whole royal marriage thing and your mother... Honestly, I've been stressed out about it too," he admitted, briefly remembering his panic attack last night. "Let's just forget about all of that for now. We can overcome anything as long as we're together."
"I-I guess..." Valerie muttered quietly.
"The Valerie that I've known for six years is someone who has always been at my side, supporting me," Shane continued. "You made me feel comfortable at the castle and trained with me all the time. I never would have built up the strength and confidence of a proper squire without you. I know you'll always be there for me."
A familiar warm feeling stirred in Valerie's chest. "You're so kind, Shane. I'm so happy to do everything with you," Valerie said as she returned the hug and added on a nuzzle.
They stood there in silence for a while, simply enjoying each other's embrace with smiles on their faces. Shane was overjoyed that Valerie was back to her affectionate self.
Valerie's heart skipped a beat as Shane pulled back from the hug so that they were face-to-face and held her forepaws in his. She couldn't help but gaze into his kind, confident expression.
All that mattered to Shane at that moment, in the middle of a battlefield, in the middle of a foreign country, was his loyal, supportive partner. "Valerie, I know how you feel about me... and I feel exactly the same way," he said. "I love you, Valerie."
Valerie smiled warmly. "I'll never leave your side again. I love you too, Shane," she said happily, leaning in close to him once again.
Shane closed the distance, closing his eyes in bliss as his lips met hers. It was a moment of pure warmth and care as they held each other close and kissed.
It didn't matter that they were in the middle of a battlefield, in the middle of a foreign country; to Valerie, she was with the love of her life once more.