From Now On
The three friends said goodbye to Sam that evening and went back on their way, now with a new Pokémon in tow. The Litleo was more than happy to travel with her new crew. She seemed very interested in the Ralts that hung around William's shoulders, however, the Ralts was not hardly as intrigued. She stayed seated on William's broad shoulder and kept to herself.
Their destination was unclear. With full bellies and light hearts, the trio just traversed into the less populated areas, surrounded by trees but occasionally spotted with clearings. William spent a lot of time on his trainer's brace, apparently doing research. By the time they had picked a spot for camp, he spoke up. "There's another research facility a few towns over. What do you guys think of seeing what they've got going on over there?"
"I think that sounds like a fabulous idea. You want to take a bus?" Katy curled up in her sleeping bag with her bag pillowing her head.
"Yeah. I think so."
"We should take our time though! Have a few battles! I want to see how Kiara is in combat." Christian scratched the lion's ear. She leaned into it with her eyes closed.
"That's a good idea too. We still need to send Brandon a battle video with Houdini!" Katy turned to the men. "So! Who am I battling?"
"We could have a double battle. If you are okay commanding two Pokémon at once," said William. "I want to battle that Lucario."
"I don't want to Xander to battle you! I think Xander has had enough!" said Katy. "How about Bentley?"
"Who the fuck is Bentley?" William laid down against his bag. The Ralts got down on her little knees then curled up against William's chest.
"He's my Dragonite."
"Nah, he's got a Water attack and I'm not about that. Or your Raichu."
"What's wrong with Banksy?"
"She looks strong." He put his arm down around the Ralts.
"All my Pokémon are strong, William. And you don't get to pick who yours battle." Katy bounced her eyebrows at him.
"Ugh. Fine." He pulled his blanket up over his shoulder, concealing the Ralts entirely.
"Do you have anyone Kiara could battle?" Christian said, sliding into his sleeping bag.
"I think Mozart is a bit too strong for Kiara."
"Who is Mozart?"
"She's my Scraggy. She's a bit crazy."
"What do you think, Kiara, do you want to battle a Scraggy?" Christian kissed the Litleo on the head.
"Roo!" She flopped over on her back in order to elicit belly rubs.
"I think we'll give it a shot. Maybe Mozart will go easy."
"She doesn't have such a setting, but we'll see." Katy turned to lay on her back.
Katy woke up in the middle of the night. It was far too cold to be sleeping outside now. There was more than a crisp chill to her sleeping bag and her teeth were chattering. She needed warmth. When she reached for Charlie's Ball, she stopped when she noticed a faint glowing near Christian's head. It wasn't the Litleo. It was a Munna, floating next to his blonde curls and giving off a strange mist. The symbols on its body were black instead of the normal purple and pink. It was eating Christian's dream—and he was having a nightmare.
"Mm," Christian turned his head back and forth on his bag though Kiara stayed sound asleep.
Katy didn't know what to do. The Munna was in the process of eating a nightmare; did that mean it was taking the nightmare away? Or should she shoo the Pokémon away and make it stop? If she were having a nightmare, she would want someone to wake her up. It seemed she had made a decision.
She crawled over to Christian and carefully shook his shoulder. "Christian. Christian, wake up."
His breath hitched and his brow furrowed in his sleep.
"Christian. You're having a nightmare." She shook his shoulder a tad more firmly.
He awoke with a start, causing the Litleo to wake as well. The Munna shuddered and the symbols on its body turned back to pink and purple. He looked at Katy first then at the Munna.
"Weeoowoo!" The pink Pokémon floated away into the trees.
Christian turned his attention back to Katy. "Did you see that?"
"Yeah. It was eating your nightmare. I didn't know if I should let it or if I should wake you up, but…"
He smiled in the dark. "You would wake me up from a nightmare?"
"I did. So, yeah." She smiled back. "What was your nightmare?"
His smile went away. "… You know? … I can't remember."
"Maybe that's what Munna does; it makes it so you can't remember your dreams." Katy shivered.
"You cold?"
"It's chilly out," she chuckled. "I think from now on we need to sleep indoors."
He sat up. "You, uh… Why don't you sleep next to me. Fire Deviants can radiate their own heat, as much as they want. I'll keep you warm."
Katy blinked and moved her shoulders. "You really wouldn't mind? It wouldn't be too weird for you?"
"Weird? No, not at all! You can sleep right up against my back, I'll keep you nice and toasty. Did you know I can direct where I export my energy?"
"No, I didn't know that. I mean—I figured as much but I didn't know to that sort of extent." Katy picked up her sleeping bag and put it back down next to Christian, climbing back in it. "Does William do the same thing?"
"Yeah, that's how he keeps warm."
"Even in your sleep?"
"Yep! It doesn't take a whole lot of energy, and we recharge in our sleep anyway!" Christian settled back in his spot, turning on his side. "From now on, you godda remind us when it gets too cold to sleep outside. Because we warm ourselves with our energy, the two of us don't always know."
Katy turned into his back, making herself the big spoon. "From now on?"
"Yeah, from now on. Like, we'll sleep inside from here on out but when it gets cold again next season, you'll have to tell us when it's too cold." Kiara made a circle in front of Christian before lying back down and closing her eyes.
Katy crossed her arms and scooted close to Christian's back. Next season. A year from now. He was insinuating that they would still be together a year from now, the three of them. She smiled into his shoulder. "I promise I will."
The next morning, Katy awoke to the smell of breakfast; bacon to be exact. Who the hell had bacon? She sat up, exposing her front to the cold, to see a fire started with a pan propped over it. The amazing-smelling steam rose from the pan, straight to her nostrils.
"If you guys wanted some alone time, all you had to do was say so."
Katy blinked and looked beside the fire where William was tending the bacon. "What?"
"I'm serious. I'll respect your privacy." He glanced at her.
"Oh. We were only cuddled because I got cold last night," Katy gathered her sleeping bag around herself and waddled to the fire and sat down in front of it, looking back at Christian who was just beginning to stir. Kiara wandered over and sat down next to William, rubbing on his leg.
"Oh. Sorry… You know, you could have told me you were cold; we would have slept in a Center or a motel that takes Points."
"It just got that way last night. It's about time for it I suppose." Katy put her hands out to the fire to feel its warmth. The heat caressed her skin so securely, just like Christian's heat had for the remainder of the night. "Where did you get bacon?"
"I've had it for a little while. Keep it in this battery cooled container. Sometimes… you just godda have bacon for breakfast."
Katy laughed. "Agreed." She picked up a piece and blew on it to cool it off before she bit a piece off. "Mm. Perfect." She chewed it up and spoke after she'd swallowed. "So, this research facility. Is it Advancement?"
"Yeah. Less of the corporate stuff like the one we went to. More where the labs happen."
"What's our plan?" Katy stuffed the rest of the piece of bacon in her mouth.
"To see what we can see."