~Chapter Fourteen~
After the kiss, Danny hugged me close for awhile, muttering words I couldn't understand to himself. Then, after a minute, my stomach growled so loud I was pretty sure Danny heard. He laughed and let go of me.
"I guess you came out here to get something to eat," he said, smiling.
"Yeah," I shrugged. Something in my head was still nagging me-should I tell Danny about the den? Would he come with me? Would he even BELIEVE me, for crying out loud?
"Um, Danny," I began.
Just then, a part in the Pokemon Center blew up. I mean, it just went BOOM really loud, sending bits of debris on everyone's head.
"What the. . ." Danny began.
Nurse Joy ran out, carrying a bunch of Pokeballs, looking worried. A few Chansey's and a Blissey waddled out, also carrying Pokeballs.
"What was that?!" a few people screamed.
"I was just tending to these Pokemon, when that part of the center blew up!" Nurse Joy cried. "I thought the whole thing was going to collapse, so I got all of the Pokemon and ran out here!"
Everyone was crowding around Nurse Joy, asking more questions. I stared at the half-blown up Pokemon Center. Who could have done this?
Danny ran up to Nurse Joy, asking if his Pokemon were all right. I looked at my feet, suddenly feeling stupid. That's when I saw it.
It was a small circle container-like thing about three inches big. A huge crystal was inside of it, glowing a bit. I picked it up and stared at it. The crystal seemed to glow brighter.
I gasped. "Omigosh," I whispered. I stuffed the round thing in my pocket and ran back to the river, forgetting about food and Danny. I jumped into the slightly murky water and quickly swam back to the den. The second I knocked on the door, Cielo let me in quickly and jumped onto the hard floor of the den.
Several Dratinis looked up at me curiously. "Draaa?" they asked. I ignored them and ran to the ugly statue Moerumushi and Dreamstar had been attacking earlier. I took the circle thing out and held it up.
I gasped again. The ugly statue of the ugly guy was holding the same circle thing I was.
It was the same width and height. You could see a crystal-like shape etched into the statue.
I fell to my knees. "What does this mean?" I wondered out loud, and my voice echoed in the den.
Every Dratini and Dragonair was silent until there was a knock on the door Ceilo was guarding. In an instant, every single dragon cried out loud in fear and dove into the water, hoping to be hidden.
With a scared look, Ceilo slowly opened the door. I spun my head around, still clutching the weird round thing.
Someone burst from the water and fell into the den. Whoever it was was covered in mud and dirt. They shook a little of it out of their blonde hair and-
"Danny?" I asked.
He looked up at me and then all around the den. "What in the blue heck is this place?" he asked.
I giggled and started helping him up, but still not letting go of the round object. I noticed out of the corner of my eye the crystal was glowing brighter. I was surprised Danny didn't notice it, but he was too busy taking everything in.
"How did you find me?" I asked.
"I saw you run away from the Pokemon Center after it blew up," he started to answer. "I just followed you." He took a deep breath. "How did you hold your breath that long anyway?"
I laughed. "That's my secret."
Danny raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "Okay, I'll ask this again: What is this place?"
My grin faded and I looked at my feet. "It's. . .um. . .well. . ."
Danny spun around and noticed Ceilo and Rio. His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. "There are two DRAGONITES here!" he yelped.
"What's so amazing about that?" I wondered out loud. "You have one yourself."
"Yeah, but two in one place. . .man!"
I smiled and shook my head. Then I looked at the water. "You all might as well come out," I cried as I waved my hands around. "He's going to be staying here awhile anyway!"
One by one, each Dragonair and Dratini carefully slithered out of the pool, where they had all hidden together. I spotted Mystic right away and she hopped right over to me. "Draaa, Draaaagoooonair."
"Yes, it's really Danny," I laughed. "He's going to stay here awhile," I repeated. "So you better get used to him."
Mystic snorted and went to her basket in my room.
I turned back to Danny. His face was white from shock, probably seeing all the Dragon Pokemon. "Whoa," he whispered.
"Yeah, I know," I said, interrupting his trance. He looked at me with a confused look on his face.
"April, why are you here?"
I was so startled by the question, I finally dropped the round thing. A large Dratini I called Dawn grabbed it in her mouth and took it underwater. I noticed the farther away it got from Danny and I, the more the glow in the crystal subsided.
I looked up at Danny and into his eyes. I just stared and stared until finally I spat out, "I don't know. I really don't. Mystic found this place, and then I found the Pokeballs, and the note, and then--"
"Woah, wait a second!" Danny held up his hands and smiled. "That's too fast. Can you repeat that, but with details and in English?"
I smiled sadly and looked at my feet again. I told Danny the whole story of how I got here-Mystic punctured my heart, we found the door, how I felt about Dad's note, all of the Pokeballs. When I finished, tears were streaming down my cheeks.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," I blubbered. "I like training Pokemon, but I don't want to live here forever! I want to get out and see the world and capture more Pokemon and meet a lot of people and make some friends, but if I do that, I'll feel like I'm betraying Dad!" I took a small breath before continuing. "And if I stay here, it's going to make me sad because Dad did this exact thing, and it's all one place and-"
"April, April," Danny interrupted. He took me in his arms. "Calm down. You're confusing me again," he said in a joking tone.
I smiled and buried my face in his shirt. "I'm sorry," I said. "But I don't know what to do anymore."
Danny just stroked my pigtails until I calmed down. When I looked up at him, suddenly I realized I was just so tired.
"I'm going to take a nap," I said, gesturing to my room. "Will you be okay out here?"
"Sure," Danny smiled, understanding. He pulled out a Pokeball and threw it into the air. A strong-looking Dragonite came out.
"This is the perfect time to train Dragonite," he said. "If you don't mind."
"What else is the den good for?" I joked as I staggered to my room. I closed the door and flopped onto my bed. Mystic looked up with surprise as the bed made a loud squeak.
"Sorry," I mumbled. I buried my face in the flat pillow. I looked up with disgust.
"God, this pillow is flat. Has this been here since Dad was around?" I asked to no one in particular. But Mystic looked up and nodded.
I groaned and pulled some clothes out of my backpack to use as stuffing, not really caring they would get wrinkled. I took the old, flat pillow out of the pillowcase, and as I did, something fell and hit Mystic in the head.
"Draaaagonair," she whined.
"Sorry," I said again. I curiously picked up what had hit Mystic in the head. It was a dark book with a picture of a Dragonite taped onto the cover. I gasped when I read the words under the picture:
"Journal of Chris Tamer."
After the kiss, Danny hugged me close for awhile, muttering words I couldn't understand to himself. Then, after a minute, my stomach growled so loud I was pretty sure Danny heard. He laughed and let go of me.
"I guess you came out here to get something to eat," he said, smiling.
"Yeah," I shrugged. Something in my head was still nagging me-should I tell Danny about the den? Would he come with me? Would he even BELIEVE me, for crying out loud?
"Um, Danny," I began.
Just then, a part in the Pokemon Center blew up. I mean, it just went BOOM really loud, sending bits of debris on everyone's head.
"What the. . ." Danny began.
Nurse Joy ran out, carrying a bunch of Pokeballs, looking worried. A few Chansey's and a Blissey waddled out, also carrying Pokeballs.
"What was that?!" a few people screamed.
"I was just tending to these Pokemon, when that part of the center blew up!" Nurse Joy cried. "I thought the whole thing was going to collapse, so I got all of the Pokemon and ran out here!"
Everyone was crowding around Nurse Joy, asking more questions. I stared at the half-blown up Pokemon Center. Who could have done this?
Danny ran up to Nurse Joy, asking if his Pokemon were all right. I looked at my feet, suddenly feeling stupid. That's when I saw it.
It was a small circle container-like thing about three inches big. A huge crystal was inside of it, glowing a bit. I picked it up and stared at it. The crystal seemed to glow brighter.
I gasped. "Omigosh," I whispered. I stuffed the round thing in my pocket and ran back to the river, forgetting about food and Danny. I jumped into the slightly murky water and quickly swam back to the den. The second I knocked on the door, Cielo let me in quickly and jumped onto the hard floor of the den.
Several Dratinis looked up at me curiously. "Draaa?" they asked. I ignored them and ran to the ugly statue Moerumushi and Dreamstar had been attacking earlier. I took the circle thing out and held it up.
I gasped again. The ugly statue of the ugly guy was holding the same circle thing I was.
It was the same width and height. You could see a crystal-like shape etched into the statue.
I fell to my knees. "What does this mean?" I wondered out loud, and my voice echoed in the den.
Every Dratini and Dragonair was silent until there was a knock on the door Ceilo was guarding. In an instant, every single dragon cried out loud in fear and dove into the water, hoping to be hidden.
With a scared look, Ceilo slowly opened the door. I spun my head around, still clutching the weird round thing.
Someone burst from the water and fell into the den. Whoever it was was covered in mud and dirt. They shook a little of it out of their blonde hair and-
"Danny?" I asked.
He looked up at me and then all around the den. "What in the blue heck is this place?" he asked.
I giggled and started helping him up, but still not letting go of the round object. I noticed out of the corner of my eye the crystal was glowing brighter. I was surprised Danny didn't notice it, but he was too busy taking everything in.
"How did you find me?" I asked.
"I saw you run away from the Pokemon Center after it blew up," he started to answer. "I just followed you." He took a deep breath. "How did you hold your breath that long anyway?"
I laughed. "That's my secret."
Danny raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "Okay, I'll ask this again: What is this place?"
My grin faded and I looked at my feet. "It's. . .um. . .well. . ."
Danny spun around and noticed Ceilo and Rio. His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. "There are two DRAGONITES here!" he yelped.
"What's so amazing about that?" I wondered out loud. "You have one yourself."
"Yeah, but two in one place. . .man!"
I smiled and shook my head. Then I looked at the water. "You all might as well come out," I cried as I waved my hands around. "He's going to be staying here awhile anyway!"
One by one, each Dragonair and Dratini carefully slithered out of the pool, where they had all hidden together. I spotted Mystic right away and she hopped right over to me. "Draaa, Draaaagoooonair."
"Yes, it's really Danny," I laughed. "He's going to stay here awhile," I repeated. "So you better get used to him."
Mystic snorted and went to her basket in my room.
I turned back to Danny. His face was white from shock, probably seeing all the Dragon Pokemon. "Whoa," he whispered.
"Yeah, I know," I said, interrupting his trance. He looked at me with a confused look on his face.
"April, why are you here?"
I was so startled by the question, I finally dropped the round thing. A large Dratini I called Dawn grabbed it in her mouth and took it underwater. I noticed the farther away it got from Danny and I, the more the glow in the crystal subsided.
I looked up at Danny and into his eyes. I just stared and stared until finally I spat out, "I don't know. I really don't. Mystic found this place, and then I found the Pokeballs, and the note, and then--"
"Woah, wait a second!" Danny held up his hands and smiled. "That's too fast. Can you repeat that, but with details and in English?"
I smiled sadly and looked at my feet again. I told Danny the whole story of how I got here-Mystic punctured my heart, we found the door, how I felt about Dad's note, all of the Pokeballs. When I finished, tears were streaming down my cheeks.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," I blubbered. "I like training Pokemon, but I don't want to live here forever! I want to get out and see the world and capture more Pokemon and meet a lot of people and make some friends, but if I do that, I'll feel like I'm betraying Dad!" I took a small breath before continuing. "And if I stay here, it's going to make me sad because Dad did this exact thing, and it's all one place and-"
"April, April," Danny interrupted. He took me in his arms. "Calm down. You're confusing me again," he said in a joking tone.
I smiled and buried my face in his shirt. "I'm sorry," I said. "But I don't know what to do anymore."
Danny just stroked my pigtails until I calmed down. When I looked up at him, suddenly I realized I was just so tired.
"I'm going to take a nap," I said, gesturing to my room. "Will you be okay out here?"
"Sure," Danny smiled, understanding. He pulled out a Pokeball and threw it into the air. A strong-looking Dragonite came out.
"This is the perfect time to train Dragonite," he said. "If you don't mind."
"What else is the den good for?" I joked as I staggered to my room. I closed the door and flopped onto my bed. Mystic looked up with surprise as the bed made a loud squeak.
"Sorry," I mumbled. I buried my face in the flat pillow. I looked up with disgust.
"God, this pillow is flat. Has this been here since Dad was around?" I asked to no one in particular. But Mystic looked up and nodded.
I groaned and pulled some clothes out of my backpack to use as stuffing, not really caring they would get wrinkled. I took the old, flat pillow out of the pillowcase, and as I did, something fell and hit Mystic in the head.
"Draaaagonair," she whined.
"Sorry," I said again. I curiously picked up what had hit Mystic in the head. It was a dark book with a picture of a Dragonite taped onto the cover. I gasped when I read the words under the picture:
"Journal of Chris Tamer."