"Grow-lithe!"
What? Arcane? I look down at him, greeted by his playful brown eyes. His fluffy beige tail wags happily, and his tongue hangs out of his mouth as he pants. In his eyes I see myself reflected, my old self as well as my new. He blinks, and my morphed self is all I see.
He finally understands!
"Arcane!" I hug him again, tears still flowing. He rubs his cheek up against my face, his fur drying my tears.
I look back over at Ritchie and Matt. "Well, Arcane, will you use a weak Flamethrower to warm them up?" I ask. He nods as fire begins to lick his jaws. A thin stream of flames shoots from his mouth, the embers dying about a foot away from the two.
"I told you we'd find her," I hear Matt murmur.
It only takes a few minutes for them to get fully dry. Ritchie seems fine, but Matt is just curled up beside the Raikou morph, shivering.
"Is he okay?" I ask, walking over with Arcane at my heels.
"I don't think so," Ritchie replies. He's worried. So am I, for that matter.
"Matt," I say, lying down beside him. I hear a faint hum of acknowledgement. "My fur will keep you warmer than Ritchie's. I'm a fire type after all." I look apologetically at the Raikou boy. "No offense," I add.
"I'll only take offense if you're lying," he laughs as Matt rolls over and leans on my lower body, his fingers entwined with my fur.
"So, what happened to you two?" I ask, looking back at the Mew morph huddled in the warmth.
"Cayla, your fur is so nice and warm and soft and fuzzy…Ritchie, you need to get some fur like this," Matt mutters quietly. I chuckle at the comment.
"He's feverish," Ritchie explains. "I found him about three days after that first rain storm. He wasn't looking good then, and he's just gone downhill. He's been calling everyone. Except me. Because we found you, I'm wondering if he was picking up on them."
"If he's sick then we need to get him to a doctor!" I know I'm shouting, but they should have been looking for a doctor sooner!
"How many people do you know that'll treat Pokémorphs?" he asks. Ooh. He's got a point there.
Of course, I don't care. "We need to get Matt to a doctor," I say firmly.
"A few problems with that," Ritchie states. "One: it's raining, it's cold, and that could make him worse." Hmm, good point.
"Two: Where will we find a doctor not only willing but ABLE to treat a morph?" Well, there's a possible way around that.
"Three: Where can we find of those doctors?" Aha! There's a solution to that one!
"In town! Where else?" I laugh.
"And where can we find a town?" Ritchie asks. He thinks he's beaten me! Oh, I'll prove him wrong!
"There's one on either side," I state matter-of-factly. "This is the Ilex Forest. To the southeast is Azalea Town. To the northwest is Goldenrod City. If we want to get help for him, Goldenrod is our best bet." Well, I feel very proud of myself now.
"Okay, that works," Ritchie says. He stands again and starts moving Matt around. Before I know it, the boy is stretched out across my back!
"Hey! Why's he riding me!?" I ask, almost yelling.
"Because you have the warm fur, it'll probably stay warm even when it's wet, and that might keep him from getting worse," Ritchie states. Well, he's got a point there. "Now, shouldn't we get going!?"
"Is he okay!?"
What the…!? A girl just bounded into the cavern, her mermaid-like tail curving above her head. Water cascades off her streamlined cyan body, fin like ears twitching constantly.
"Who are you!?" Ritchie and I exclaim in unison. She glares at us for a moment, seemingly annoyed that we don't recognize her.
"Victoria," she says smoothly, smiling and flicking her head, causing her fins to ripple.
"So…you're Victoria?" I ask. She's more Vaporeon than human, her entire lower body and a good portion of her upper body resembling the water type.
"Now, answer me!" she almost screams. "Is Matt all right!?"
"We don't know yet…" Ritchie starts.
Wait a minute. No way! It couldn't be…oh, I'll bet it is!
"You have a crush on him, don't you?" I ask, pointing back at the Mew morph. Victoria's cheeks go bright pink as she worries the ground with one paw.
"Yeah, she likes him," Ritchie concludes with a laugh. He turns serious again after a few seconds. "We're going to take him to the hospital in Goldenrod," he explains. Victoria blinks, startled, then nods and turns around…something just crashed into her!
"What…! AMY!?"
The Raichu girl is sitting on the floor, rubbing the back of her head with one hand. As I say her name she looks up. I watch her eyes grow to almost twice their normal size…okay, that's just wrong! And it's pretty creepy, too. She already had big eyes, but this is ridiculous…
"CAYLA!!!" she shouts, running over. Whoa! She's hugging me! Well, didn't see that one coming. Arcane is looking at Amy with barely suppressed fury…aah! He never met Amy in his memory! Well, that and he's a Growlithe, and Growlithes don't like anything touching their trainers.
"It's okay, Arcane!" I exclaim. "She's a friend!" He glares at Amy for a few more seconds, then walks over to Ritchie, challenging the Raikou morph. I notice that Amy is still doing a wonderful job of inhibiting my breathing.
"Umm, Amy? I can barely breathe!" I shout. She releases some of the pressure, but maintains her grip. Okay, that must mean that something's wrong. "Amy, what's wrong?"
"THEY TOOK POLLY!!!" she cries. Didn't see that one coming, either. I gently stroke her back…they must have tried to get her, too. I can feel lash marks on her back, and her shirt is tattered around the marks.
"Who is 'they'?" Victoria asks. "And who is Polly?"
"'They' are the people who turned us into morphs," the Raichu morph sobs. "Polly is the Ampharos morph who was taking care of me."
"Do you know where they were headed!?" I ask urgently. Amy looks up at my face, her deep brown eyes searching mine. She must be wondering why I'm willing to help after leaving like I did. But if a fellow morph is in trouble, I'll help them. Even if I don't like them at all, I'll help them.
"Goldenrod City," she whispers.
Perfect!
"Okay, everyone, we're headed for Goldenrod!" I exclaim, breaking free of Amy's hug and trotting out into the rain. Something in the Arcanine's instincts knows which way northwest is. Thank heavens, or I'd be lost! I hear a lighter splashing beside me, and look down to see Arcane at my heels. If only that kind of loyalty could be found in humans…
"Got that right."
Whaa…!? That sounded like Matt! Jeez, I thought he was asleep! But I have to concentrate on what's in front of me right now.
I hear the other four running after me. We have three objectives now. One: get Matt to a hospital. Two: find Nate, the only one still missing. Three: save Polly. She may be annoying, but she knows what it's like to be a morph.
Goldenrod, here we come!
What? Arcane? I look down at him, greeted by his playful brown eyes. His fluffy beige tail wags happily, and his tongue hangs out of his mouth as he pants. In his eyes I see myself reflected, my old self as well as my new. He blinks, and my morphed self is all I see.
He finally understands!
"Arcane!" I hug him again, tears still flowing. He rubs his cheek up against my face, his fur drying my tears.
I look back over at Ritchie and Matt. "Well, Arcane, will you use a weak Flamethrower to warm them up?" I ask. He nods as fire begins to lick his jaws. A thin stream of flames shoots from his mouth, the embers dying about a foot away from the two.
"I told you we'd find her," I hear Matt murmur.
It only takes a few minutes for them to get fully dry. Ritchie seems fine, but Matt is just curled up beside the Raikou morph, shivering.
"Is he okay?" I ask, walking over with Arcane at my heels.
"I don't think so," Ritchie replies. He's worried. So am I, for that matter.
"Matt," I say, lying down beside him. I hear a faint hum of acknowledgement. "My fur will keep you warmer than Ritchie's. I'm a fire type after all." I look apologetically at the Raikou boy. "No offense," I add.
"I'll only take offense if you're lying," he laughs as Matt rolls over and leans on my lower body, his fingers entwined with my fur.
"So, what happened to you two?" I ask, looking back at the Mew morph huddled in the warmth.
"Cayla, your fur is so nice and warm and soft and fuzzy…Ritchie, you need to get some fur like this," Matt mutters quietly. I chuckle at the comment.
"He's feverish," Ritchie explains. "I found him about three days after that first rain storm. He wasn't looking good then, and he's just gone downhill. He's been calling everyone. Except me. Because we found you, I'm wondering if he was picking up on them."
"If he's sick then we need to get him to a doctor!" I know I'm shouting, but they should have been looking for a doctor sooner!
"How many people do you know that'll treat Pokémorphs?" he asks. Ooh. He's got a point there.
Of course, I don't care. "We need to get Matt to a doctor," I say firmly.
"A few problems with that," Ritchie states. "One: it's raining, it's cold, and that could make him worse." Hmm, good point.
"Two: Where will we find a doctor not only willing but ABLE to treat a morph?" Well, there's a possible way around that.
"Three: Where can we find of those doctors?" Aha! There's a solution to that one!
"In town! Where else?" I laugh.
"And where can we find a town?" Ritchie asks. He thinks he's beaten me! Oh, I'll prove him wrong!
"There's one on either side," I state matter-of-factly. "This is the Ilex Forest. To the southeast is Azalea Town. To the northwest is Goldenrod City. If we want to get help for him, Goldenrod is our best bet." Well, I feel very proud of myself now.
"Okay, that works," Ritchie says. He stands again and starts moving Matt around. Before I know it, the boy is stretched out across my back!
"Hey! Why's he riding me!?" I ask, almost yelling.
"Because you have the warm fur, it'll probably stay warm even when it's wet, and that might keep him from getting worse," Ritchie states. Well, he's got a point there. "Now, shouldn't we get going!?"
"Is he okay!?"
What the…!? A girl just bounded into the cavern, her mermaid-like tail curving above her head. Water cascades off her streamlined cyan body, fin like ears twitching constantly.
"Who are you!?" Ritchie and I exclaim in unison. She glares at us for a moment, seemingly annoyed that we don't recognize her.
"Victoria," she says smoothly, smiling and flicking her head, causing her fins to ripple.
"So…you're Victoria?" I ask. She's more Vaporeon than human, her entire lower body and a good portion of her upper body resembling the water type.
"Now, answer me!" she almost screams. "Is Matt all right!?"
"We don't know yet…" Ritchie starts.
Wait a minute. No way! It couldn't be…oh, I'll bet it is!
"You have a crush on him, don't you?" I ask, pointing back at the Mew morph. Victoria's cheeks go bright pink as she worries the ground with one paw.
"Yeah, she likes him," Ritchie concludes with a laugh. He turns serious again after a few seconds. "We're going to take him to the hospital in Goldenrod," he explains. Victoria blinks, startled, then nods and turns around…something just crashed into her!
"What…! AMY!?"
The Raichu girl is sitting on the floor, rubbing the back of her head with one hand. As I say her name she looks up. I watch her eyes grow to almost twice their normal size…okay, that's just wrong! And it's pretty creepy, too. She already had big eyes, but this is ridiculous…
"CAYLA!!!" she shouts, running over. Whoa! She's hugging me! Well, didn't see that one coming. Arcane is looking at Amy with barely suppressed fury…aah! He never met Amy in his memory! Well, that and he's a Growlithe, and Growlithes don't like anything touching their trainers.
"It's okay, Arcane!" I exclaim. "She's a friend!" He glares at Amy for a few more seconds, then walks over to Ritchie, challenging the Raikou morph. I notice that Amy is still doing a wonderful job of inhibiting my breathing.
"Umm, Amy? I can barely breathe!" I shout. She releases some of the pressure, but maintains her grip. Okay, that must mean that something's wrong. "Amy, what's wrong?"
"THEY TOOK POLLY!!!" she cries. Didn't see that one coming, either. I gently stroke her back…they must have tried to get her, too. I can feel lash marks on her back, and her shirt is tattered around the marks.
"Who is 'they'?" Victoria asks. "And who is Polly?"
"'They' are the people who turned us into morphs," the Raichu morph sobs. "Polly is the Ampharos morph who was taking care of me."
"Do you know where they were headed!?" I ask urgently. Amy looks up at my face, her deep brown eyes searching mine. She must be wondering why I'm willing to help after leaving like I did. But if a fellow morph is in trouble, I'll help them. Even if I don't like them at all, I'll help them.
"Goldenrod City," she whispers.
Perfect!
"Okay, everyone, we're headed for Goldenrod!" I exclaim, breaking free of Amy's hug and trotting out into the rain. Something in the Arcanine's instincts knows which way northwest is. Thank heavens, or I'd be lost! I hear a lighter splashing beside me, and look down to see Arcane at my heels. If only that kind of loyalty could be found in humans…
"Got that right."
Whaa…!? That sounded like Matt! Jeez, I thought he was asleep! But I have to concentrate on what's in front of me right now.
I hear the other four running after me. We have three objectives now. One: get Matt to a hospital. Two: find Nate, the only one still missing. Three: save Polly. She may be annoying, but she knows what it's like to be a morph.
Goldenrod, here we come!