Fun fact: Hercules the Heracross was originally only going to be a minor character who barely appeared at all, and his debut chapter was originally going to be later into the story, instead of chapter 5. However, once I had the idea of making him Blitz's mentor, he became the important supporting character we know him as.
I have to say, I'm really pleased with how that's turned out so far, and I think the story became a lot better than it would've been if I hadn't expanded his role. :)
So, hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 27: If only I hadn't broken my promise, none of this would've happened…
At some point during the night, it had started raining. The sound of many raindrops falling from the sky and splashing against the ground, rooftops and plants ended up waking up Hercules, despite the fact that he was not normally a light sleeper. Looking out the window at the pouring rain, the sleepy Heracross could tell that the weather probably wouldn't clear up until tomorrow morning. Or maybe tomorrow afternoon, he wasn't sure.
While there was no sign of thunder or lightning, the way it was pouring down outside reminded him of the dark and stormy night three weeks ago…
Hercules hadn't quite expected the weather that night to be quite as bad, but luckily he had managed to make the necessary preparations by covering up all the windows and the front door so the rain wouldn't be blown right into his house. He'd been sleeping for a while already, when there suddenly was a sound at the front door that he had to investigate. Removing the cover slightly, he discovered that a certain Shinx was sitting outside with a frown on his face.
"Blitz, what are you doing here!?" Hercules asked, quickly removing the cover for a moment so the young Shinx could quickly make his way inside. "Why would you come all the way here on a night like this? Is something wrong?"
"I… I'm sorry…" Blitz said, shaking the water out of his fur. "I… I had a nightmare…"
"Ah, I see…" Hercules responded, petting Blitz on the head.
The two Pokémon headed into Hercules' kitchen, where the Heracross began preparing some tea for the two of them.
"Was it another dream about things back at Lightning Plateau?" Hercules asked, glancing over at Blitz while the water for the tea began to boil.
"Yeah…" Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly.
"I see," Hercules replied, looking through a cabinet filled with jars of honey.
"I'll have to go back someday, but… I'd rather not…" Blitz said, sighing. "I don't want to deal with everyone's expectations…"
"I understand," Hercules responded, nodding his head slightly while looking through another cabinet filled with nothing but jars of honey. "I wish there was something I could do to help you with that…"
"Oh, don't worry about that," Blitz said, rubbing his forelegs together. "I mean, you've already done a lot for me since I got here, and… well, it's not like you can change my destiny…"
"I'm not really sure if I'd call it destiny…" Hercules replied, finally finding the tea leaves he was looking for. "But, enough about that… How are things with you and Sera? I hear you two formed a rescue team a few days ago?"
"Well, yeah…" Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly. "She'd been asking me for a while to form a team with her, and I finally agreed to do it…"
"I see," Hercules replied, placing two teacups on the table and pouring in the tea. "Sera does seem like the kind of Pokémon that doesn't give up once she sets her mind to something."
"She certainly is," Blitz responded. "But at least she doesn't ask me to tell her more about where I'm from, or why I moved here and stuff like that…"
"Really?" Hercules inquired, getting a jar of honey out from one of the cabinets. "Isn't she interested in getting to know you better?"
"Oh, I prefer it this way," Blitz explained, blowing on his tea. "I don't want anyone in this town aside from you to know. That way, I can get to be just a normal Shinx… at least for a while…"
"Blitz, I think I've told you this before, but I don't really think you need to worry about what the Pokémon of Fenix Town would think of you if they knew the truth," Hercules said, beginning to pour the contents of the honey jar into his tea.
"I'm not taking any chances," Blitz replied, shaking his head.
"Well, you don't have to tell her yet if you're don't want to," Hercules said. "So, how is the rescue team business going, anyways?"
"Okay, I guess," Blitz responded, giving Hercules an odd look. "Um… Aren't you putting a bit too much honey in your tea?"
"What do you mean?" Hercules asked as he scraped out the rest of the honey from the bottom of the jar with a spoon.
"Oh, never mind," Blitz replied, looking down at his own cup of tea. "Anyways, as I was saying… Sera and I only formed our rescue a little over a week ago, so I don't really know how good a rescue team we are yet…"
"But I'm guessing your missions so far have been successful?" Hercules asked.
"Well, yeah," Blitz responded, nodding his head.
"I thought so," Hercules replied, smiling. "You're a fast learner, and I have no doubt that you can put your skills to good use when you and Sera explore mystery dungeons."
"Thanks," Blitz responded, taking a sip of his tea. "Again, sorry about coming here this late just for this…"
"It's okay," Hercules said. "Are you feeling better now?"
"I… guess so…" Blitz responded, drinking up the rest of his tea. "So, I guess I should be heading home now…"
"Are you sure?" Hercules asked, looking a bit concerned. "You can stay over for the night, if you want."
"No, it's okay…" Blitz replied, starting to walk towards the door. "This kind of weather doesn't really bother me all that much."
"Well, if you say so…" Hercules responded, nodding his head slightly and opening the door for Blitz. "Good night, Blitz."
"Good night," Blitz replied, before heading outside.
Hercules sighed as he looked out at the rain, thinking about Blitz and wondering how the young Shinx was feeling now. He knew that Blitz hadn't taken it well when he found out that Sera and Chiaki had learned the truth about why he came to Fenix Town. Hercules felt awful about breaking his promise not to tell anyone, while he also believed that it couldn't stay a secret forever.
Still, he had wanted Blitz to trust his friends enough to tell them himself. All Hercules could do now was hope that things would work out, and that Blitz would be okay.
"I have to talk to him soon…" Hercules muttered to himself, sighing. "Will he want to talk to me, though?"
Hercules was the only Pokémon in Fenix Town that Blitz had fully trusted with everything. Hercules knew that, and yet he'd still betrayed that trust by telling Sera and Chiaki about the events that led to Blitz coming to town to train at the dojo. He only hoped that he'd be able to regain that trust, and that this wouldn't have any lasting negative effects on Blitz's trust in anyone else…
Eventually, it stopped raining and a new day began. Even if he was tired, and felt like he'd barely gotten any sleep, Hercules had to get up and head over to the dojo. The ground was still wet from the rain, but while fire types might not enjoy walking on it in this state, Hercules thought it looked kind of pretty when parts of it glistened in the light of the sun.
"Hey, Hercules!" a female voice called out, and Hercules turned to see a certain Ledian already having finished setting things up for today's work.
"Oh, good morning, Marietta," Hercules said, giving a friendly smile. "I see you've already set everything up."
"Well, you know me," Marietta responded, smiling back. "I always get up early, and I'm always ready to assist rescue teams with keeping their money safe!"
"That's good to hear," Hercules replied, nodding his head. "Keep up the good work."
"You know I will!" Marietta responded, grinning.
Hercules smiled, and continued heading for the dojo, before Marietta suddenly called out to him again.
"Hercules, wait!" Marietta said, waving to him.
"What is it?" Hercules asked, tilting his head slightly.
"I was just wondering if you might be… I mean, if you're free tonight, after work, I was thinking... that maybe the two of us could head over to the café for some refreshments or something?" Marietta asked, smiling. "You've seemed kind of stressed lately, so I was just thinking it might help to get out and spend some time with a friend, and just, relax, you know?"
"Oh?" Hercules replied, thinking about it for a moment. "… Yeah, I suppose that might help… Okay, I'll meet you at the café after sunset, then."
"All right, I'll see you then!" Marietta responded, waving good-bye to Hercules.
She continued watching him flying off in direction of the dojo, until he was out of sight. Once she was certain he couldn't see or hear her, Marietta did a fist pump with her upper left hand and grinned. "Yes!"
Hercules tried not to think too much about it while at work, but found himself occasionally glancing over at the entrance to the dojo. Part of him probably hoped a certain Shinx would show up, but he knew he probably shouldn't expect it considering the current circumstances. Other than that, things were as usual at the dojo. The other Pokémon working at the dojo assisted the rescue teams who came in to train.
Lotus and Riley were currently having a sparring match as part of a demonstration on the importance of being able to predict your opponent's moves in battle. So far, they appeared to be evenly matched.
One of the Hoothoot was keeping its eyes on one of the obstacle courses, and keeping track of the time it took for each of the Pokémon on the rescue teams going through it to reach the end. A Makuhita was taking notes as the Hoothoot told him the time.
"Everyone seems to be doing their jobs well," Hercules thought to himself. "Maybe I could step out for a bit, and try to talk to Blitz…" Hercules considered it for a moment, before shaking his head. "No… At this point, he and his teammates have likely already headed out to their next mission…"
Hercules decided to just keep focusing on his work, and not think too much about it for now.
After a while, Hercules did notice a familiar Shinx enter the dojo. He quickly noticed that it wasn't Blitz, though, but rather Blitz's younger sister Lita. Hercules smiled and went over to greet the young Shinx.
"Hey there," Hercules said. "What's going on?"
"Well, my brother and his friends are out on a mission, so I decided to come here!" Lita replied, smiling.
"I see," Hercules responded, nodding slightly. "But, isn't someone else supposed to be looking after you?"
"Frederick was supposed to, but then something came up, and I asked him if it was okay if I went here while he sorted it out," Lita explained.
"Ah, okay," Hercules said, petting Lita on the head. "So, how is Blitz?"
"I guess he's feeling a little better," Lita responded, thinking for a moment. "I don't think he and Sera have sorted out their issues yet, though."
"I'm guessing they still don't know what to say to each other on the subject?" Hercules asked.
"Probably," Lita replied, nodding her head. "Chiaki and Azure aren't really helping that much either, since whenever they try to approach the subject, Sera or Blitz just changes the subject…"
"Hopefully, Sera and Blitz can figure out how to sort things out on their own…" Hercules said, sighing. "If only I hadn't broken my promise, none of this would've happened…"
"Oh, don't feel bad," Lita said, looking up at Hercules. "I'm sure everything will be sorted out."
"Yeah, but… I'm worried Blitz won't want to talk to me again," Hercules responded, looking away. "I'm the only Pokémon in this town that Blitz fully trusted with any of his concerns, and yet I ended up betraying him by telling his secret to Sera and Chiaki…"
"… You did make a big mistake," Lita replied, nodding slightly.
Hercules just remained silent for a while.
"… I'm sure Blitz will forgive you," Lita said, after thinking for a few moments.
"How do you know that?" Hercules asked, looking at Lita.
"Well… You want to make things right again, don't you?" Lita responded, smiling at him.
"Of course I do," Hercules replied, nodding his head. "I just don't know if Blitz will listen to me anymore…"
"I don't think Blitz really is mad at you, to be honest," Lita said. "I'm not really sure how feels, though… Then again, he might not even know it himself…"
"So, in other words, you think he has mixed feelings about this?" Hercules asked.
"I guess so?" Lita replied, tilting her head slightly.
"… You know what? You're right," Hercules said, giving a small smile. "I need to show Blitz that I'm still here for him, and maybe I'll be able to help him figure out how to sort things out with Sera."
"Yay!" Lita responded, grinning.
"I just need a chance to talk to him," Hercules said, thinking for a few moments.
"No problem!" Lita said, smirking. "I'll just stay here, and then he'll have to come here to pick me up later!"
Hercules chuckled and petted Lita on the head again.
"You're really clever," Hercules commented, smiling at Lita. "Just like your big brother."
"You really think so?" Lita asked, looking really excited. "Thanks!"
Lita cheerfully followed Hercules around as he went back to work, and now all they had to do was to wait.
After a few hours, when things were beginning to quiet down in the dojo as rescue teams were beginning to head home, Blitz entered the dojo to look for his younger sister. After getting back from their mission, Blitz and the others had met up with Frederick, who explained that Lita was over at the dojo. He soon spotted the younger Shinx, who happily walked up to her brother.
"There you are, Lita," Blitz said, sighing.
"Was today's mission a difficult one?" Lita asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Kind of," Blitz responded. "Had to catch this outlaw…"
"Was he difficult to beat?" Lita asked.
"Well, no, he wasn't all that strong, actually," Blitz responded. "However, he was really fast, and it took us a while to catch up to him… We did manage to keep him from reaching the stairs, and eventually managed to get him in a corner…"
"I'm assuming you used your hunting knowledge to corner him?" Hercules asked, stepping forward.
"Um… Yeah…" Blitz responded, glancing down at the floor and rubbing his forelegs together. "How'd you know?"
"Because I've gotten to know you pretty well during your time here so far," Hercules replied.
"Oh, right…" Blitz responded, still not looking directly at Hercules.
"I'm going to go wait outside while you talk!" Lita said, before cheerfully walking outside.
Hercules and Blitz were quiet for a few moments, before Hercules finally spoke up.
"Blitz, I'm really sorry I broke my promise not to tell anyone," Hercules said, sighing. "I wanted you to tell Sera and Chiaki yourself when you were ready, and I was hoping I could help you with that…"
"I know…" Blitz responded, rubbing his forelegs together. "You kept encouraging me to tell her, but I kept thinking it was a bad idea… I thought she would think of me differently if she knew who I really was…"
"Does she?" Hercules asked.
"… I have no idea," Blitz replied, shaking his head slightly. "I don't really know what to think anymore… Maybe you were right all along…"
"Huh?" Hercules responded, surprised to hear this.
"I mean, after the conversation I had with Bow…" Blitz said, thinking for a few moments. "I never realized that… she and I felt so similarly about things…"
"She understood how you felt about your situation, and could relate to it," Hercules commented, smiling.
"Hercules… I won't forgive you for telling Sera and Chiaki the truth about me just yet," Blitz said, looking up at the Heracross. "But… I need you…"
Much to Hercules' surprise, Blitz suddenly ran up and hugged him.
"Blitz…" Hercules said, smiling and gently petting him on the head. "I'm still here for you, anytime. Whenever you want to train, or you need advice, I'll do my best to help you."
"Thank you…" Blitz replied, giving a small smile. "Well… I guess I should get going now."
"Good-bye for now, then," Hercules said, nodding his head slightly.
Blitz then headed outside, briefly glancing back over his shoulder before disappearing out the door. With a sigh of relief, Hercules went to finish what little work was left before he was done for the day.
Marietta was humming to herself while waiting outside the café for a certain Heracross to show up. She occasionally glanced around, and seemed quite pleased once she finally spotted Hercules flying over to the café.
"Ah, there you are!" Marietta said, grinning.
"Sorry if I kept you waiting," Hercules responded, smiling at the Ledian.
"Ooh, you seem to be in a good mood," Marietta commented, as the two of them headed into the café. "Good day at work?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Hercules replied. "And how was your day?"
"Pretty good," Marietta responded, taking a seat. "Of course, I guess my work isn't as interesting as yours."
"Maybe not, but I'd say your job is probably more important than mine," Hercules said, smiling at Marietta.
"Oh, I don't know about that," Marietta responded. "I mean, sure, keeping money safe for rescue teams is important, but I'd say the way you help Pokémon train is important too."
"Well, of course," Hercules replied, nodding his head slightly.
"So, how'd you end up in charge of the dojo, anyways?" Marietta asked.
"Oh, well, it's kind of a long story," Hercules responded. "But if you're interested, I'll gladly tell you."
"Sounds good to me," Marietta replied, nodding her head slightly. "Let me just go order us some drinks first. You like your berry juice sweet, am I right?"
"Yeah, that's right," Hercules responded, nodding his head.
"All right, I'll be back in just a moment!" Marietta replied, cheerfully flying up to the counter to order the drinks.
Hercules smiled as he watched the Ledian talk with River, and thought to himself about how he hoped Blitz would be able to sort things out with his teammates soon. Things were starting to seem like they were only going to get better from here… but then again, perhaps it was a bit too soon to be thinking that way.
End of Chapter 27.