Mistralton Arc: A Promise
"Well then..." Mari jumped off and landed on the ground. "I'm going to Lyra's.",
"See you tomorrow." Jacky promised and remained sitting on Noivern. "I'll hurry, I promise. Take care of yourself, okay?",
"Don't worry about me. I'll see you around! Come back safe and sound, don't let my lessons be in vain!",
"I'll do my best!" Jacky waved and Mari waved back before Jacky leaned back and Noivern pushed off. It flew off in the direction of a certain place. Mari watched her go before walking through Mistralton's streets and heading for Route 7- The place where Hypno had done its worst. She was tense; expecting her enemy to attack at any moment, but nothing happened. Skarmory kept watch from above and saw no one.
When Mari arrived at her aunt's house, the steel bird landed next to her and she knocked. It took a while before the door opened and a black-haired woman with brown eyes opened the door. "Hello, auntie", Mari greeted her. Lyra Weldin was in her late 30s and her mother's older sister. She had married Stanley Weldin when she was 22, before he died in a plane crash. Maki Weldin was a year younger than Mari, just 15 years old. When Lyra saw Mari, she first stood completely still before hugging the black-haired girl so tightly that Mari gasped and Skarmory shrieked in protest beside her. "Mari! I'm so happy to see you! I was so worried when my sister let you go on this journey... I thought Akari was off her rocker after Maki disappeared... It's such a relief to see you safe and sound!",
"Th-thank you..." Mari said, caught off guard, before Lyra let go of her. "I've heard great things about you... You've grown up incredibly! It said in the newspaper that you won the big tournament in Dirftveil!",
"I did..." Mari nodded. "But that's not why I'm here. May I come in?",
"Of course, child!" Lyra stepped back to let her into the house. Mari withdrew Skarmory and walked past her. "My friend will be joining us tomorrow. She went to do something, we'll talk about everything when she gets here."
Lyra closed the door and Mari heard a soft sound before Maki's Mareep joined them. "Oh... Hello, little one." Mari crouched down and gently petted the little Pokémon. "It's alright... It's just me." Then, she turned back to Lyra.
"Tea?" her aunt asked. Mari shook her head. "No, thank you. I do have a request, though.", "I'm listening, child.",
"Can I stay here until probably tomorrow?",
"But of course!" Lyra nodded. "You are more than welcome, sweetie... And so is your friend."
Mari screwed up her face at the nickname. Sweetie. How she hated that. "Thank you..." Mari suppressed her anger. She didn't want to confront Lyra with something this trivial now that worrying about her daughter had turned her into an emotional wreck. "Lyra... I may not be able to do much, but I am a Pokémon Trainer. Fighting Pokémon is what I do best. I'll do everything I can to join Jacky in defeating this little piece of scum that has Maki in its power. I promise. It's a Hypno... a rather renegade and vile Hypno, I might add... It's after Jacky and me, but so far, we've managed to avoid getting tricked by it. When the time comes... Then, we'll defeat it and end the haunting once and for all."
Lyra's sad eyes scrutinized Mari. "You move me to my core, Mari..." she said. "You've really grown strong since the last time I saw you...",
"That was for my 15th birthday last May. I'll be 16 soon." Mari shook her head. "That's not important now, anyway. Maki was like a sister to me, not a cousin. That's exactly why it's my duty and will to save her. If I can... And if I can, I will. You bet I will."
In the afternoon of the following day, Jacky landed at the door of the Weldin family. Mari had described the house she had to find to her via Xtranceiver. Flying didn't bother Jacky anymore and she was honestly proud of it. She knocked on the door and Mari opened it a little later, with Mareep in her arms. "Hey. There you are.",
"Hello." Jacky grinned and presented her newly won Toxic Badge to her. "Ta-daa! I caught up on my second badge!",
"That's awesome! Well done!" Mari set Mareep down and hugged Jacky. "Well, now we're even again in terms of badges. Too bad actually, I liked having a head start.",
"Hah, not with me." Jacky grinned. "Can I go in?",
"Sure." Mari nodded and Jacky withdrew Noivern before stepping inside.
"Lyra's already waiting," Mari informed her and walked into the living room. Lyra sat in an armchair with her legs crossed, looking at the two of them. Her eyes were not as sad as they had been the previous day. Mari's stay and her promise to save Maki seemed to have given her new strength and hope. "Hello," Jacky greeted the lady. "I'm Jacky. Pleased to meet you.",
"No, I am pleased to meet you, my dear..." Lyra shook her head, but still looked tired. Mari sat down on the couch with Jacky before the former began questioning. "Okay... to be more specific about the circumstances, we need some answers. First... was there anything bothering Maki or was she acting strangely before she disappeared?",
"She was very worried about her Mareep," Lyra replied. "She cares a lot about this Pokémon, and she was afraid that it might have gotten lost.",
"Afraid..." Mari nodded thoughtfully and looked at Jacky. "That's one of the negative emotions Hypno makes use of.",
"Yes... The greater the emotion, the worse Hypno's grip on you can become.", her blonde-haired friend agreed.
"I can imagine Maki was scared to the bones of the possibility to have lost her precious cuddle pillow." Then, Mari looked to Lyra again. "You said Mareep came back the following day and behaved strangely. Why do you think was that?",
"It might have seen something out there... I have no idea.",
"Did you see or hear anything strange before Maki went missing?",
"No, nothing! I... just heard someone sing from the woods when I was sharing some wine with my neighbors... It was a weird song, but we thought nothing of it.",
"A weird song... Did it mention children?",
"Uhm... I can't remember... I think it was, yeah... It mentioned something along the lines of fleeing to paradise, though.",
"Just don't do anything on your own, it can only end in disaster. You don't have a Pokémon. We'll find Maki again, but so far, not even the authorities had any success stopping this thing. Not that it means much... Leave it to us.",
"I ask you to be careful..." Lyra sighed, "Don't put yourselves in unnecessary danger. I beg of you... this is dangerous.",
"We know that, but for my part, I'm not afraid." Mari replied firmly. "We'll do what we have to do and we'll make it. There is no other way. We're going now, okay? Trust us.",
"Right... Maki will be back with you soon enough," Jacky optimistically agreed with her. Lyra managed to muster a wan smile. "I envy you kids for your courage... Take care of yourselves.",
"We will. Come, Mari." They both stood up and Mari hugged her aunt tightly before waving at her and leaving the house with Jacky.