Ch.40

Stressful Start

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After much strained silence and tension that could be cut through with a knife, Alice and Eevee followed the rushing water out of the cave only to find that it lead to the open ocean with a strong, powerful current and lots of jagged rocks accompanying it. Looking past the razor sharp rocks, Alice barely make out land, but growled angrily at having no way to get there.

"Oh, that's just perfect; how am I supposed to get across?" Alice snarled, studying her surroundings for anyway to get to land, but found none causing her to throw her head back and curse Oni's name, but her new master's voice entered her head.

"(Stop whining Alice; I've clearly set out a path for you to start your journey,)"Oni calmly addressed her servant causing the ex-heiress to clench her fists so tightly that the veins on her hands started bulging and yelled back at the mouth of the cave while firmly stomping her foot on the ground.

"No, you have not! There's no way for me to get to land…ARE YOU TRYING TO HAVE ME KILLED!?" Alice roared ferociously as she stole a glance at the rushing water that seemed to want to suck in her into the depths, never to be seen again, and the jagged rocks that seemed more than eager to impale her on their sharp edges.

"(I'm only using the training methods you used as a pokemon trainer Alice; don't worry, you won't be killed. The currents will smash your body relentlessly against the hard rocks as they lead to land if you fall in, but if you manage to maintain your balance on the rocks, they'll cut you up badly, but it's nothing you won't be able to recover from,)" Oni responded aloofly causing Alice to clench her teeth tightly and grind them together making it sound like claws raking down a chalkboard before tensing her muscles and taking a step back.

Letting out a scream of effort, Alice reached down to pick up Eevee and sprinted towards the rocks and when she reached the last bit of land, she jumped across and extended her hand towards the sharp point. Biting down a scream for not only cutting her hand when gripping the rock, but also impacting the stationary stone with her shoulder, she righted herself and slowly placed Eevee in her shirt.

"I need both hands," Alice bluntly stated to her partner causing the normal type to nod hurriedly in response and shoot her a worried, angered look that seemed to say "Get across already idiot!"

Ignoring the pain, Alice planted her feet and jumped to the next rock where she screamed when she landed as it opened up a gash on her calf causing blood to pool to down to the water below, but she forced down the stinging sensation and repeated the process. Time and time again, Alice would keep jumping from rock to rock only to be stabbed or slash by the pointy rocks to the point where her entire body was littered with nasty cuts and it finally began taking its toll on her.

As determined as she was, blood loss began making her body feel weak and it took a herculean effort to stay awake as she nearly fell into the water when her grip briefly went slack. Finally, when she weakly attempted to jump to the next rock, she came up short and painfully hit her head on the rock, but didn't open her mouth to scream lest her lungs be filled with saltwater. Like the paddles on a pinball machine, the current mercilessly smashed her body against the rocks with unrelenting force causing her world to briefly go dark, but she fought to stay conscious throughout the entire ordeal. After much pain and agony, the current washed her and Eevee up on the beach like trash where the ex-heiress just laid there sucking in air for a long, long time before she painfully managed to get onto all fours before a backpack appeared in a flash of violet light and landed on top of her head causing Alice to scream in the soggy sand.

Angrily throwing off the backpack, she punched it repeatedly like a Gyarados laying siege to those who wronged it before impatiently opening it up and found a first aid kit along with other supplies she would need for her journey. Snorting, she sluggishly took out the first aid kit and opened it up finding the gauze and disinfectant causing her to spare a glance at her partner. Eevee wasn't as hurt as she was, but the evolution pokemon would definitely need to have a visit at the pokemon center later on. When she tried to patch herself up, her eyes weakly fluttered before she collapsed on her side where she lay still causing Eevee to concernedly limp over to her and attempted to pick up the gauze, but widened its eyes when the gauze and disinfectant rose into the air with a violet aura around them.

Eevee watched as a seemingly invisible person went to work spraying Alice's wounds and applying gauze to them and when the invisible person finished up, an authoritative voice boomed in its head.

"(This is all the help Alice will be getting, Eevee; from now on, she's on her own,)" Oni informed the evolution pokemon sternly causing Eevee to shudder as if a cold chill just blew in and nodded its head in response to the info causing the foreign presence in its head to vanish, leaving the evolution pokemon with its currently unconscious trainer.

Not content to just simply wait around for someone to come, Eevee yipped and barked as loud as it could to attract attention and at first, nobody came to their aid, but after a while someone heard its cries and concernedly rushed toward them.

"Catherine…please…come…back," Alice murmured in her current state as the person who approached them knelt down and picked up the ex-heiress bridal style toward the pokemon center while Eevee laid down on her belly, wondering more about the history Catherine and Alice shared.

Pov Shift

Luka felt empty, like something had sucked out all the feeling in her and left a hollow shell in its wake, as she had since finished vented her feelings and sat far away from her team in order to be left alone with her thoughts. She could sense Catherine's dread and concern for her, but she strongly requested to be left alone for the time being which her girlfriend hesitantly allowed which Luka was extremely grateful for.

"(I should have died that day; not my brothers,)" Luka murmured as she lowered her head in shame and shook it slowly as she let her arms go slack and rest at her sides for a few moments before clenching them tightly in unsurmountable amounts of rage the likes of which turned her sclera back to a deathly black and her dark blue aura to once again take up a darken like the night sky.

"(Yoko…I should have seen the signs of your agony,)" Luka whispered through clenched teeth as she gripped her paws so tightly that blood dripped down onto the green grass below and punched the ground viciously as if she was mercilessly pummeling Catherine's former team once again.

Stopping once she created a fist sized crater in the ground, she tiredly fell onto her side where she looked up at the sky for a brief moment before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep to recollect her thoughts.

Luka's Dreamscape

Opening her eyes, the aura pokemon found herself in a graveyard empty of any tombstones except for three causing Luka to close her eyes tightly before approaching the graves intently. Coming to a stop in front of them, Luka placed her fist into her open paw and bowed respectfully to them before getting down onto her knees and placing her paws on her hips.

"(I'm sorry,)" Luka whispered to the tombstones as she reached forward and place her paws on the other two while placing her forehead against the one in the middle and stayed like that for a while before footsteps from behind caused her to wheel around defensively and get into a fighting stance.

What she saw caused her legs to become like jelly and she couldn't help but fall to her knees; right here in front of her was Rocky, Leaf, and…

Even after all this time, her former trainer still carried a gentle, child-like innocence to her. Hesitantly, Luka approached her first family and extended her paw to Yoko for a formal handshake, but was taken by surprise when Yoko enveloped her in a tight, warm hug causing Luka to melt into it and hug her back all while tears streamed down her face. With great reluctance, Luka broke off the hug and scooped up her brothers in her arms causing the little Turtwig to squeal in joy while the burly geodude let a small smirk tug at his lips.

"(How is this possible?)" Luka inquired curiously as she set down her brothers and let her arms rest at her sides while Yoko smiled serenely and put a hand on Luka's shoulder.

"We're not actually here; our spirits are within your mind right now because we sought you out," Yoko answered her former partner in a kind, but firm tone causing the jackal pokemon to raise a brow and fold her arms.

"(I assume Giratina allowed this request after you finished your trials in the Reverse World,)" Luka stated causing Yoko to tighten her grip on Luka's shoulder consolingly…and nod reluctantly causing the aura pokemon to flip out.

"(Why!? You could have been reborn in the physical realm and could have continued your dream to be the pokemon champion! Now all of you are stuck in the Reverse World forever!)" Luka shrieked in a tone that caused her voice to crack before Yoko cupped the aura pokemon's chin in her hand and smiled warmly.

"This was our choice; we couldn't stand idly by any longer while our family member's mental state deteriorated into misplaced rage and hate once again. Our new existence in the Reverse World suits us anyway; from there we can provide counsel to lost souls who have fallen to a similar fate," Yoko answered her former partner while wiping away Luka's tears with her thumb causing Luka to reach up and grip Yoko's wrist as if it was a lifeline.

"(Your family members-)"

"As much as it pains me to say it, it seems that my decision all those years ago to move to the outskirts of Sinnoh was the right decision; what they call justice is merely misplaced revenge given thin justification," Yoko spat disdainfully upon remembering what her family members did and said to Luka who perked up and raised a brow at her former trainer which didn't go unnoticed by her.

"Revenge…isn't something I'm fond of, but seeing what they did to Rocky and Leaf…you had every right to go after them, but you shouldn't have been so brutal with them," Yoko chided her former partner causing Luka to sag her shoulders and nod slowly, knowing what Yoko said was true, before picking her head up and staring at her former trainer.

"(I know I shouldn't have given them cruel deaths even though they deserved it, but I couldn't help it…not after what they did to Rocky and Leaf and what that day made you do,)" Luka replied to her former partner causing Yoko to put her hands on her hips and stare expectantly at the aura pokemon while Luka felt like a little Riolu again being scolded for eating all the chocolate in the house.

"You did…good in preventing monsters like them from terrorizing people, but I don't want you to ever again lose sight of who you are," Yoko firmly ordered the aura pokemon causing Luka to let tears fall down her face and nod vigorously in response causing Yoko to sigh and smile like the bright sun once more.

"(Do you guys approve; approve of me being a lover of the girl you caused you such pain?)" Luka asked reluctantly causing Yoko to shake her head as if that was a silly question and nodded in affirmation causing the aura pokemon to smile widely for the first time in a while.

"Yes, I do. On that day, I saw her trying to stop her pokemon so I knew she mustn't be all that bad, but seeing you help change Catherine for the better from the Reverse World makes me proud to know that my teachings haven't been lost on you," Luka's former trainer answered in pride for her former partner causing Luka's eyes to light up and hug her former partner tightly causing Yoko to grunt in surprise, but she grinned at the aura pokemon and hugged her back.

Breaking off the hug, Rocky and Leaf approached Luka and seeing their determined faces, she knew what they wanted.

"(C'mon squirt, show your brothers how strong you've gotten after all this time,)" Rocky said while pounding his chest while Leaf stamped the ground like a Taurus ready to charge causing Luka to smile warmly and nod as she dropped into a fighting stance and allowed them to make the first move.

Immediately, Leaf fired a flurry of razor sharp leaves at Luka while Rocky dug his hands into the ground and flung baseball sized stones at her like a machinegun causing Luka to expertly deflect them away from her body or cut them in half with her claws with focused precision all while slowly advancing toward them which is what they wanted. Breaking off their flurry of attacks, Rocky punched the ground forcefully leaving a giant crater in the ground while Leaf summoned a multitude of giant, glowing vines from the earth and sent them toward the aura pokemon who considered her options in a split second.

Stay on the ground and get knocked onto her back where the vines would hold her down and sap her of her energy or jump into the air and somehow manage to hack away at the forest of vines hurtling toward her. She chose the latter as she jumped and gracefully spun in the air all while kicking, punching, and slashing away at the vines attempting to entangle her and seeing this surprising amount of skill, Rocky and Leaf looked to each other and nodded. Leaf let out a determined shout and summoned a strong hurricane of leaves that caused Yoko to grip the tombstone tightly in order to prevent herself from being sucked in while Rocky called forth multiple slabs of sharp stones and allowed them to be sucked into the overwhelming hurricane.

Letting out another shout, Leaf sent the hurricane of razor sharp leaves and pointy stones toward Luka who widened her eyes in shock and hastily conjured a sphere of chi the size of a beach ball and fired it at the oncoming hurricane which successfully managed to push Luka back from the hurricane which was still steadily coming toward her. Luka suddenly gave surprised, pained shout as she was knocked off of her feet by a powerful tremor that shook the earth and despite her best efforts, she couldn't get the proper footing to pick herself back up as more shock waves further rattled her body causing her to hiss, but she endured it.

"(Rocky is trying to pin me down and he's doing a damn good job at it and they're hoping that this attack will be able to finish me; why not let them believe they succeeded?)" Luka strategized as she continued to force down the pain as the shock waves that trembled the earth and although Luka feel like she was a little fish being shook around in a plastic bag, she miraculously managed to regain her footing.

Although she could have dispelled the hurricane by dispelling her aura and chi, she allowed it to suck her in. Luka bit down on her lip as she was assaulted on all sides by stones that slammed into her body like an angry stampede of Taurus while leaves cut into her, leaving sizable gashes all over her body all while she tucked her legs into her chest and covered her arms with her paws in order to minimize the damage as best as she could. Sensing that Rocky and Leaf had lowered their guard, she let out a war cry and threw her arms out as the outburst of aura and chi forcefully dispelled the hurricane. Luka's brothers were sent flying back where they painfully landed on their backs and groaned in pain, seeing stars, and felt a sudden weight pressing down onto their chests and found Luka's paws pressing onto their chests while glowing with powerful, dark blue energy.

"(Do you yield brothers?)" Luka asked of them causing Rocky and Leaf to exchange glances at one another and let out smirks before nodding, conceding defeat, causing Luka to grin and help them to their feet where Rocky just stared up at Luka with nothing but pride in his eyes.

"(I'm so proud of you little sister; to think you were just that childish Riolu all those years back and now you are this powerful, mature warrior. It brings me great joy that you are finally a stronger fighter than I am and I hope you stay on this path,)" Rocky complimented her causing Luka's chest to get warm and felt a wave of joy rush through her causing Luka to bow respectfully in response to his compliment which Rocky returned.

"(Likewise Lulu; you'd better not slack off in your training,)" Leaf said in a squeaky voice that Luka could tell was trying to imitate Rocky's deep and wise tone causing both Leaf and Luka to laugh heartily and for Yoko to take a step toward them.

"Luka, before we have to go, Rocky, Leaf, and I want to give you this," Yoko said kindly as she placed her hand on Luka's shoulder while Rocky and Leaf placed their appendages on Luka's leg all while the aura pokemon patiently waited for whatever they were trying to do.

Yoko's and Rocky and Leaf's appendages suddenly flashed white causing Luka to wince and close her eyes until it died down and when it finished Luka felt…whole.

"We've given you some of our spirit; that way, we'll always be with you," Yoko informed her former partner causing Luka to smile warmly and hug her family tightly which they returned as their bodies started to crumble into dust.

"(Take care of your new family for me okay?)" Rocky requested causing Luka to wipe her face with her forearm and nod as Rocky's body completely turned into dust and just as with Rocky, Leaf turned to her.

"(You keep training to get big and strong okay Lulu?)" Leaf said to the aura pokemon who chuckled merrily and nodded as Leaf's body turned into dust and fluttered away into the wind, leaving only Yoko and Luka.

No words need be spoken to one another as Yoko and Luka embraced one another one final time until Luka's former trainer's body completely faded into dust, leaving her alone, and upon turning around the tombstones were no longer there causing Luka to let out a relieved sigh and smile widely. Closing her eyes in concentration, she let out a determined shout and flared up her aura which was no longer dark blue; instead it was a bright, vibrant sky blue with a blinding shade of white to it and her sclera turned bright gray. Nodding, Luka lay down on the grass with her paws behind her head and closed her eyes again, trying to wake herself up.

Pov shift

It was hard for Catherine; first she nearly escaped being beaten to death by Yoko's family members and she had to see her girlfriend have a mental breakdown right in front of her all while she could only hug her in the hope that it would do something, but she felt it was for naught. Now Luka had requested to be left alone which was something the former heiress didn't want to do after seeing Luka break down, but she reluctantly granted it to the aura pokemon after some talking so hearing Luka's aura fire up with a demonic shriek and see her dark blue aura become tinge of black was concerning for the former heiress. Though she was relieved when it died down, she was still concerned for her girlfriend whom she desperately wanted to help.

"That's it; I'm not standing aside any longer," Catherine huffed irritably after a few minutes had passed by as she got up and intently walked toward her girlfriend causing Graveler, Floatzel, and Kricketune to get up and follow her as the former heiress came to a stop beside Luka and sat down cross-legged.

It was at that moment that Luka yawned loudly and stretched her limbs as she opened her eyes and found her teammates sitting beside her causing Catherine to awkwardly wave at her, but squealed in surprise when Luka scooped her up and twirled her around with a face of elated joy causing the former heiress to smile and hug her back. Setting Catherine down, Luka approached her teammates and hugged them all tightly causing all of them to grin and hug her back, glad to see that she was finally feeling better.

"So Luka, are you feeling okay now?" Catherine inquired causing Luka to turn to her with a determined grin and flared up her aura causing all of her comrades to shield themselves with their forearms as they noticed that the jackal pokemon's aura was no longer a dark shade and saw it was bright as the clear sky.

"I'm better than okay Catherine; I feel…amazing," Luka stated, still in disbelief on what she had experienced, causing Catherine to cock her head to the side curiously as to why she felt this way causing Luka to get down onto her knees and beckoned her teammates to sit which they did.

"In my dream, Yoko, Rocky, and Leaf came to talk to me after they finished their trials in the Reverse World," Luka began in a calm voice causing Catherine's jaw to drop in disbelief while Graveler, Floatzel, and Kricketune exchanged glances, hearing about Luka's first family, and patiently waited for the aura pokemon to continue her tale.

"They-"

"(Yes, they gave up their chance to be reborn in the physical realm in order to aid me…and after all this time, they helped me move on from what happened that day,)" Luka softly interrupted her girlfriend causing her teammates to mull deep in thought; they dreaded to think that their trainer was a different person back then and Catherine and Luka had only told them a censored version of what happened.

"(Catherine, don't blame yourself any longer for what happened that day; Yoko gave our relationship her blessing and she told me that she was disappointed in her family members for what they've become so don't dwell on it,)" Luka continue causing Catherine to bring up her forearm and wipe away some tears that were starting to fall before letting her arm rest back at her side once more.

"What was it like meeting them again after all this time?" Catherine asked curiously and her teammates leaned forward in anticipation for the answer causing Luka to chuckle softly and shoot her girlfriend a warm, compassionate grin.

"(I felt…I felt great being able to meet them again; they gave me good advice and before they had to go, they gave me this,)" Luka answered as she ignited an orange sized orb of spiritual energy that shone a bright, ethereal blue causing all of them to gasp in awe.

"(When they died, I thought they were lost forever and it was my fault that I let them be killed; so they gave me part of their spirit and it made me realize that they were never lost. All the great times I had with them, all the memories that we shared, makes them a part of me in spirit; they live on through my memories of them,)" Luka finished, feeling a great weight leaving her, causing Catherine to smile widely upon hearing Luka say this, and reached forward to hug the jackal pokemon which Luka returned earnestly before breaking off the hug and turning to her teammates.

"(Thank you…all of you…for helping me through this,)" Luka gratefully stated to them causing Floatzel to blush and rub the back of his head awkwardly, Kricketune to chirp happily, and Graveler to fold his arms and nod in response while shooting Luka kind grin which she returned with her own.

"Yoko's family-" Catherine started, but stopped talking when Luka put a paw on her shoulder to comfort her and slowly pull the former heiress toward her chest.

"(We don't need to dwell on our encounter with them anymore; if they don't want to forgive us, so be it. We'll respect their decision and keep as far away from them as possible,)" Luka continued on for her girlfriend causing Catherine to sigh deeply, intensely going over her encounter with Yoko's family in her head, before nodding solemnly, still not liking the idea of not being able to make amends with Yoko's family.

"I need some ice cream and a milkshake to clear my head," Catherine mumbled causing Luka to grin and pat her girlfriend's back softly causing a small smile to come to the former heiress's lips as she turned to Floatzel, Graveler, and Kricketune with that same smile.

"What do you say you guys? Want to try some human delicacies?" Catherine offered to her comrades causing them to cock their heads to the side and rub their chins before nodding slowly causing the former heiress to pump her fist in the air and for Luka to roll her eyes, but nevertheless followed suit.

Pov shift

Maris shouted in pain as she was flung across the battlefield and painfully landed on her stomach, knocking the air out of her, but still retained some composure in order to roll out of the way of a powerful, concentrated blast of draconic energy that lit up the sky. Grunting when some spare debris hit her face, she fired off a magenta sphere of her spiritual essence at her attacker who smirked at the incoming attack and took it right in his gut. However, Maris smirked a bit when she saw the brief flash of surprise when the orb not only caused him to groan, but was actually succeeding in pushing him back and he didn't get the time to bat it out of the way when it exploded in a beautiful display of light.

Maris, regaining her oxygen, slowly climbed to her feet and found her opponent, Delia's Dragonite, slowly descending in front of her with both of his claws beaming with azure energy and pointed directly at the fighting type who had shifted her weight on her right leg and was clutching her gut with one arm.

"(Say uncle,)" Dragonite playfully called out to her causing Maris to chuckle under her breathe and shake her head as her expression suddenly turned into desperate determination, but when she moved a single inch, Dragonite's reflexes in battle kicked in and like a tidal wave, Maris was swallowed up by the massive rays of azure energy fired at her.

Maris screamed as she felt like she was in the core of the sun itself and was flung backward by the attack, but fortunately Hydreigon managed to catch her like a football while Dragonite, with expert control, diverted his attack up into the sky where it slowly fizzled out of existence. Chirping at Maris concernedly, the martial arts pokemon gave a grateful grin and tried to stand up onto her feet, but nearly collapsed in a heap if Hydreigon hadn't caught her. Helping her stand, they both waited for Dragonite, Delia, Druddigon, and Lopunny to come meet them.

"(Wow that was great Maris! You really got my blood pumping there!)" Dragonite boomed excitedly causing Maris to nod in response to this while letting a small smirk come to her lips before it went back to a neutral expression as Delia began spraying hyper potions on both Dragonite and Maris.

"(You feel better now?)" Lopunny questioned the fighting type who after getting her wounds healed, smirked at her and put a paw on her hip causing Lopunny to scoff and do the same, but the two pokemon let out a chorus of laughter after a few moments had passed.

"(Yeah, thanks for helping me blow off some steam; I feel much better than I did before,)" Maris thanked them causing Druddigon and Dragonite to extend their claw to her for a fist bump which the fighting type returned while Lopunny brought her fist into her paw and bowed respectfully in turn like Delia showed her causing Maris to bow back to her while Hydreigon, per usual, just simply clicked back.

Sighing, Maris clicked back as best as she could which caused Hydreigon to give a fanged smile and playfully nudged Maris who laughed and lightly pushed him back.

"So, ready to talk to Dmitri again?" Delia offhandedly asked causing Maris to scowl and vigorously shake her head while turning away from the dragon tamer with her arms crossed causing Delia to snarl under breathe, but didn't press the issue…for now.

"Fine, I guess you're staying with me until you and Dmitri resolve this. C'mon, I have to meet with my parents for a picnic," Delia stated tersely as Hydreigon, Druddigon, and Dragonite allowed themselves to be sucked back into their pokeballs while Lopunny and Maris went to either side of her and began accompanying her to where she wanted to go.

"You damned fool Maris; you had a good thing going on and you had to ruin it with your flawed logic."

Pov shift

"(Kit Kat, are you feeling okay?)" Stephanie asked of her best friend as they patrolled the Unovan landscape near the Battle Academy causing Karen to shake her head vigorously, but she didn't stop her patrol just for that even though she was sorely tempted to do so.

"No, I'm not okay. I didn't want to kill the Swords of Justice, I didn't want to start a civil war, and I didn't want to be the "Legend Killer" that other pokemon fear. It's at times like these I sometimes regret ever setting out to be the pokemon champion," Karen admitted to her best friend causing Stephanie to nod in agreement, feeling the title of champion was more trouble than it was worth, but she raised a brow at her best friend curiously.

Noticing this, Karen sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she pushed away the bushes that got in her way before turning to address her longtime friend.

"Of course whenever I do that, I remind myself that going through that journey is the reason I met you and my other family members so it was worth it in the end," Karen continue causing Stephanie to let a slight grin and nod in response to that answer as she turned her head to look at her teammates who were keeping a lookout for any danger causing the grass snake to shake her head and let a barely noticeable smile come to her face.

"I guess…I guess they're my family too after all; I was just too proud to admit it."