Chapter 27: Returning the Diamond
AN: Happy new year, everyone. I want to offer my gratitude to those who are still reading. I'm grateful that there are people who still
enjoy my work. So, this author's note is for me to offer my thanks to all of you. So here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy.
***I don't own anything in this story, so please don't sue me.***
"Virginia, where are you taking us?" Serena demanded, but Virginia kept running.
"Just a little further. I swear!" She saw another red door and ran towards it. She stopped in front of it and tried to push it with her back, but it didn't work.
"Here, let me try." Serena pushed with all her might and door actually opened. She saw light emanating from the other side and the three entered the new door. They looked around and it looked quite nice.
"Right, I think we're-"
"You want to tell me what that was all about?" Serna questioned the princess with a hint of anger. "You…cursing at me? What's going on? Why did we need to leave in such a hurry? Who was chasing us? I need answers, V. We…We're a team."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry. It's…I went to my safe space. You know, Oranguru's home."
"Yeah, that space in the middle of the jungle."
"Right. And then there was this woman. She was asking about Genny. At first I thought it was her mother, but she had these guns."
"Guns?"
"I thought she was going to hunt her. So, I ran. I mean, you remember what happened with Gannondorf. What if she is working with him?" Serena thought for a moment.
"It's possible. Better to play it safe."
"Exactly. But now…" Virginia gulped hard. "I've never been here. I don't know where we are and what we're going to do." While the two walked around, out of the corner of Serena's eye, she saw something move.
"What was that?" She asked. Virginia turned around and Genny's grip on Virginia's shirt tightened ever so slightly.
"What was what?" Virginia spoke. "Come on, we need to find someone or some sign that tells us where we are."
"Alright, but I'm telling you I saw something."
"It was probably an animal or something." Virginia reassured her. The two continued walking and then, Serena saw something dash by once again.
"There! There it is again! Did you see it?" Genny whined and her grip tightened once more.
"Serena, you're scaring her. You're also scaring me, so please stop playing these jokes."
"They're not jokes, I-" She paused as she saw something coming right towards them. "Duck!"
"Duck? Serena's there-" Serena tossed her bag aside and pulled Virginia to the side. Genny held on tight, but the strange blur she saw, which now looked like a bat with a sizable bust. Walked up to the bag and Serena ran back for her bag. She managed to grab it before the strange bat could reach it.
"Hey, what's the big idea?" She questioned the two with an angered tone.
"This is my bag!" Serena yelled.
"Finders keepers." She sternly stated back.
But you didn't find it; you were going to steal it!"
"Same thing." She shrugged her shoulders.
"It is not the same thing!" Both Serena and the strange bat lady were staring darts at each other.
"Um…e-excuse me." Virginia interjected. "Could you tell us where we are? Pretty please?" Virginia batted her eyes to the stranger.
"It'll cost you."
"What?!" Virginia gasped.
"Information can go a long way. Give me something worthwhile."
"Rouge…" A voice spoke up from behind her. She turned around to see a blue animal; about the same height as her except he looked mad.
"Hey now, come on Sonic. I was just teasing."
"Uh huh." He narrowed his eyes and she gulped.
"Alright, alright. I'm leaving. Sheesh, can't a girl have a little fun every now and then?" She opened her wings and she began flying away.
"Maybe she's from here." Serena whispered. "That could've been her mom."
"No, it wasn't."
"How do you know?" Serena glanced at Genny and her face was buried in Virginia's shoulder.
"Sorry about that." He apologized and offered a hand. "My name's Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog."
"Hello, M-Mr. Sonic…s-sir." Virginia nervously said before curtseying in front of him. "My…" She cleared her throat. "My name is Virginia. This is Serena, and this little one is Genny."
"Nice to meet you. Come on, Sally will want to meet you." He motioned for them to follow him and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
"…tell me you saw which way he went." Serena said while looking for any kind of sign for him.
"I was hoping you saw him." Virginia quipped and the two sighed.
"Hey!" Sonic called out. "It's-" He stopped and laughed nervously. "I…guess I'm moving too fast for you." Both girls nodded their heads and he began walking with them.
"So, what brings you all the way out here?" He questioned.
"We just…appeared here." Virginia answered.
"Really? Just…out of thin air?"
"Mr. Sonic, you must believe us. I swear upon the Hyrule name that I'm-"
"WOAH! Hold it!" He stopped and held out his hands. Genny whimpered while hiding her face and Virginia proceeded to comfort her. "The Hyrule name? So…so that means…are you telling me that you're the daughter of Zelda? You're that Virginia?" Virginia silently nodded her head and Sonic smirked.
"Sally is definitely going to want to meet you." They continued walking towards a house and instead of going to the front door; Sonic led them around to the backyard. Most of them were huddled by the table discussing something. A young rabbit girl was picking flowers while what Virginia could only assume was her mother watched on. Sonic walked up to the larger group.
"…the numbers again." A young woman said with an authoritative tone.
"Shade, I've run the numbers! I don't know where else they'd be!" The fox boy insisted.
"S-Shade, b-be nice to Tails…he's…he's been working so hard and-"
"Cosmo, we need to find them. We checked Eggman's base and they weren't there. Run. Them. Again." She said with a menacing tone. Tails gave a heavy sigh and nodded his head.
"Hey Sally-" He approached a young girl with a wonderful shade of auburn colored hair. She turned around and her expression said she wasn't too thrilled to see Virginia or Serena.
"Who are they? What are they doing here?" She questioned the blue hedgehog.
"Well, the little one is Genny." He pointed to Genny, who was low looking at the chipmunk woman. "That's Serena and this is Virginia."
"Sonic, we're kind of in the middle of something here. It's nice you're making friends, but we really need to find the chaos emeralds. So, could you tell your friends to…I don't know…go away, please?"
"Now Sally…" Sonic approached her and placed an arm around her. "You can't talk to Zelda's daughter like that." Sally's eyes grew big and she quickly turned back to the girls.
"Z-Zelda's…wait…" She thought for a minute before pointing to Virginia. "Virginia…Virginia Hyrule, right?" Again, Virginia nodded her head while Sally covered her nose and mouth with both hands. "I'm so sorry. I offer my most sincere apologies. I meant no disrespect. Please forgive me." She fell to her knees and bowed before her. Virginia's face turned a light pink not from blushing, but by embarrassment.
"Um…you…you didn't really disrespect me…could you please…please stand up?" Virginia requested and Sally complied with her order.
"I…sorry." She quickly apologized once more before continuing. "We're in the process of locating some precious gems and we're at each other's throats. It's getting a little testy…" Sally glanced over to the others who were arguing and waiting while the one who called himself Tails stared at a computer looking at numbers.
"Here, why don't we see if Genny wants to play with that little rabbit." Serena took Genny and began walking over to the rabbit woman. The mother glanced over and gave a warm smile.
"Hello." Her cheerful attitude was quite contagious and Serena smiled as well.
"Hi. My name is Serena and this is Genny."
"…hello…" She said quietly.
"Hello, Genny. Would you like to pick flowers with my daughter, Cream?" Genny looked over at the little rabbit girl and then back at the woman before nodding. "Cream!" The woman called out and the most adorable rabbit came running towards her.
"Yes, mommy?" Her voice was incredibly soft and sweet. Her eyes here a light colored brown and her dress was orange with a blue silk ribbon around the collar. Next to her flying by her head was some unusual thing.
"Genny would like to pick flowers with you. Is that alright?"
"Oh yes!" She jumped with joy and clapped her hands.
"Chao chao!" The little thing next to her cheered. Serena set her down and Cream approached her.
"My name is Cream and this is my very best friend, Cheese."
"I'm Genny." Genny said quietly. "Can I play with you?" Cream nodded her head and she ran towards the flowers. Genny ran after her; giggling and happy to have made a new friend.
"She's such a pretty girl." The older rabbit smiled while she watched on.
"Yeah, I bet her parents are worried sick." The woman turned her head with a concerned look.
"She…She's not yours?"
"Well, no. She was travelling with her sister. But then she…um…well, some bad stuff happened and we are trying to find her parents and bring her home." The woman smiled once more and turned back.
"The two of you must have hearts of gold." She smiled while Genny was picking flowers and handing them to Cream. "My name, by the way, is Vanilla."
"It's very nice to meet you, Vanilla." Before Serena could ask any questions, she turned to meet eyes with Virginia and she motioned for her to return.
"I can keep an eye on her if you have other business to attend to." Vanilla suggested to the young woman.
"That'd be great. Thank you so much." She got up and returned to Virginia. "What's up?"
"Apparently, Tails has been tracking what this…thing is. He's noted a whole lot of people who have been killed and he has a theory that they may not actually be dead."
"They're not actually dead? That…That's insane!" Serena blurted out loud enough where most of the people working heard her.
"Who the fuck are they?" The echidna named Shade pointed at them.
"They're friends." Sally replied.
"We have plenty, we don't need more assholes looking for these things."
"Shade, come on." A pink girl walked towards the group and kissed Sonic before embracing him in a hug. "I've missed you." Sonic smiled and glanced back at Shade.
"I'll vouch for them. They're good people." Sonic spoke up.
"How can we trust them?" Another echidna questioned Sonic. His most notable features were the gloves he had on. They were incredible in size with two giant spikes protruding from each glove.
"This is Zelda's kid. You think she'd raise someone to be a thief and a liar?" Sonic pointed at Virginia and everyone's eyes stared at her.
"You…You're…" The pink girl asked.
"Alright, let me give you the run down." Sonic said to the princess. "This is Amy Rose. My darling wife." Amy's cheeks blushed pink and she kissed him again. "You know Sally and me. The two hot heads over there-"
"Fuck you, Sonic!" The echidna yelled.
"Hey! Watch your mouth! He yelled back and motioned for Knuckles to turn around and look behind him. Knuckles glanced over to see that Cream and Genny weren't too far from where the rest of the group was. "That guy is Knuckles and the girl is Shade. They are the guardians of the master emerald."
"The master emerald." Virginia repeated. "The most gorgeous jewel in…" Virginia turned to Serena. "We're on Mobius."
"Mobius? Where's that?"
"It's quite far from home. That door…I can't believe we…" She trailed off when she noticed Sonic staring at her. He wasn't mad, but she felt ashamed that she cut into his introductions. "I'm sorry." She bowed her head.
"It's all good. The two over there? The little rabbit is Cream and the little chao flying by her is her best buddy, Cheese. Sitting on the bench is Vanilla, Cream's mother." Sonic turned and pointed to the last two. "Finally, the yellow fox guy is my best friend, Tails. And the girl next to him is Cosmo."
"It's very nice to meet you all." Virginia smiled. "This is Serena. She's my girlfriend." Serena's cheeks turned light pink. "And the little girl over there is Genny."
"What do these chaos emeralds look like?" Serena asked Sonic.
"Hey Tails!" He broke the hug with his wife. Though she had a second of disappointment, she knew better than to hold onto him. "Can you boot up the pictures of the chaos emeralds. Maybe they can help us."
"One second." He replied.
"He's running the numbers." Shade informed the blue hedgehog.
"The numbers can wait, Shade." Tails pulled up the emeralds. "Aright, so these are the chaos emeralds. The power in just one of these emeralds is enough for anyone to conquer planets."
"Hey V…isn't that the diamond Sam gave to you as a present?" Serena whispered pointed to one and Virginia also saw the white diamond projection in the hologram.
"It looks like it." She whispered back. "Mr. Tails…I…I think we may have one in our possession."
"You stole a chaos emerald?!" Shade went ballistic.
"N-No! I-It…It was a gift!" Virginia protested. "Sam…Sam gave it to me. I-I-I didn't know! I swear!"
"A liar and a thief…" Shade shook her head with disapproval. "What evidence do you have that you're even the child of Hyrule? What if that's a lie, too?" She called out. Virginia couldn't think of any way to prove she was indeed Zelda's daughter. She checked her wrist, but the triforce wasn't glowing and therefore, she had no proof otherwise.
"You know what? I think she's telling the truth." Sonic declared and everyone stared at him.
"With no proof? How can you be sure?" Sonic turned to the princess.
"Call it a hunch."
"You and your damn hunches…" Shade growled at him. "One of these days, you're going to get us all killed."
"May I see it?" Tails inquired about the supposed chaos emerald that they had. Virginia turned to Serena and she dug up the strange diamond in her bag and handed it to Virginia.
"There it is." Amy said with awe. Virginia walked towards Tails and handed him the emerald.
"Thank you." He smiled and examined it. "Where did you find this?"
"I didn't find it. Sam…she was going to give it to me, but then…" She drew an imaginary line across her neck.
"I'm sorry for your loss." He spoke in a soft, saddened tone. "May I ask where you acquired this?"
"The Alola Region."
"Alola…" He typed into his computer and thought for a moment. "Let's see, Eggman went through that wormhole with two emeralds and the other five were sucked into the other wormhole." He thought for a moment. "Knuckles, I think we need to head to Earth."
"Why?" He asked.
"If I'm correct, I think the numbers might be a little off."
"I told you!" Shade yelled. "Somebody better pick up the phone, because I fucking called it!" Sally hit Shade's arm and pointed towards Cream; picking flowers with Genny. Shade lowered her head and nodded silently.
"Alright. I think I know what happened." Tails said as he pulled up another hologram, but this looked like a chalkboard. "Originally, I thought that Eggman's experiment failed. I believed he was trying to gain the power of the master emerald to conquer Mobius…"
"And fail, like he always does." Amy rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"But, since Virginia…er…Sam…found this in the Alola region, I think Eggman was trying to send the emeralds somewhere."
"Send the emeralds somewhere?" Knuckles questioned. "Who and where would he be sending them to?"
"I don't know…" Tails began thinking again. "But now that I know where this was found…" He put the single chaos emerald in a glass jar. "I think we need to expand the search. I don't believe there are any chaos emeralds anywhere on Mobius."
"I…um…I think I may have that answer too…" Virginia quietly raised her hand and spoke up. "…maybe…" She said in a much quieter tone that before. "Do you still have that book?" She whispered to Serena. She pulled out the book and Serena presented Tails with the book.
"What is that? It looks like…nonsense." Cosmo squinted her eyes and tried to make sense of whatever it was.
"This looks like ancient writing." Tails flipped through the pages. "Hey Shade, come here a second." Shade walked over to the fox and examined the book. "Is this some kind of ancient Marauder language?" She examined the text and shook her head.
"No, but the pictures look kind of cool." She pointed to one that looked like some kind of green being with a few black stick figures bowing to it. "Is it some kind of God?"
"I…I don't know. I think the answer lies in that book…"
"But we need someone to translate it…" Tails murmured while continuing to flip through it. "Virginia, would you mind if I kept this for a little while? I promise I'll give it back in perfect condition. I'd like to try and examine what language it might be."
"We should probably offer the three of them a place to stay. Any takers?" Sally looked back and questioned her friends; no one raised a hand. "Come on, guys…they gave us a chaos emerald. The least we could do is offer them a place to stay."
"Why don't you do it?" Knuckles folded his arms.
"My home was destroyed. Remember?" Sally said through her teeth. "I'm staying with Sonic and Amy. How about you, Tails? You can give her a place to stay and keep examining that dusty, old book."
"Well, the only free room we have is the lab…and I…kind of don't feel comfortable letting her…in there." He pointed towards the little girl and, though Virginia wanted to object, she knew that Genny would probably mess with something she shouldn't and the consequences could be fatal.
"He makes a good point." Sonic chimed in. "Hey, Knucklehead. You have room for three in-"
"No." He sternly stated. "We barely have enough room for us. "You've seen where we live. We couldn't possibly fit anyone else inside."
"Oh no…" Amy scratched the back of her head. "So, where are we going to-" They were interrupted by Cream running back with Genny. The two were carrying a couple floral crowns in their hands.
"We made these for you." She held up the crowns she had and smiled. She set them down and picked up one to place on top of Sonic's head. He knelt down and she set it easily on top of his head. She then moved on to Amy Rose and did the same thing. Genny held one up and placed it on top of Sally's head.
"Hey…Vanilla…" Tails nervously began.
"What are you doing? You can't ask her." Cosmo whispered in protest, but Tails went for it anyway.
"Yes, Tails?" Vanilla tilted her head to the side.
"Your name was Serena, right?" He pointed to the young brunette woman next to Virginia. Serena nodded and he turned back to Vanilla. "Serena, Virginia, and…that little girl need a place to stay for a couple nights. I was wonder if-"
"They can stay with us." Vanilla quietly approached the group.
"Vanilla…" Cosmo said quietly.
"I still have an air mattress and we have plenty of space in the living room. We'd love to have you."
"I…thank you so much." Virginia pulled out her billfold. "How much would you like? I can pay you for a day or two or-"
"Oh nonsense! It will be fun." Vanilla knelt down as her daughter placed a floral crown on top of her mother's head. "Cream, darling. Would you like Genny to spend the night?" Cream's eyes lit up and she gasped, followed by a huge smile.
"Can she? Oh please! Please! Please! Please! Please! I'll be extra good. We can have a sleepover and cook marshmallows, and tell ghost stories…well, maybe not ghost stories…I don't like ghost stories…" Cream's ears drooped from worry and because she was a little scared.
"You know, I don't like ghost stories either." Virginia told the young rabbit girl. "I get scared quite easily." Cream's fears quickly went by the wayside as she giggled and grabbed another crown before running towards Shade. Even though Shade was rather mean to Virginia, she seemed like she really cared for Cream.
"You look really pretty." Cream smiled and Shade smiled back at the child.
"Thank you, Cream. I think it matches my eyes." She blinked multiple times and the two girls laughed. Finally, Genny approached Knuckles and hid her face behind the crown.
"No way. I'm not-"
"Lighten up, Knuckles. They worked really hard on this. Everyone else has one." Shade insisted. "Don't be such a downer." Knuckles groaned with exasperation before kneeling down and Genny put the crown on his head. He face turned bright red from embarrassment, but the girls cheered with joy.
"Yay! That's everyone!" Cream clapped her hands.
"Nuh uh! They don't have one." Genny pointed to Virginia and Serena. Cream's face turned light red from embarrassment.
"S-Sorry." She bowed her head and quickly ran back to the flowers.
"Honey, don't worry." Virginia walked over to her and smiled. "We're not upset."
"Don't you want a crown?" The little rabbit asked and blinked her eyes.
"Oh…" Serena cooed while placing a hand over her heart. Virginia looked up at her and smirked. "What?" Serena questioned. "I mean, just look at her. She's so cute!" Serena gestured to Cream. She had the most adorable smile on her face. Serena knelt down next to Virginia. "We could never be mad at the two of you. You're both so cute." Genny and Cream giggled before getting back to work on their crowns. Virginia stood up and walked back to Vanilla.
"Thank you so much for your hospitality." Virginia thanked the older woman. "I…there must be some way I can repay you…"
"I can cook dinner. For…For everyone, I mean." Serena mentioned and Virginia's eyes lit up.
"Yes! Oh please. You must let us cook for you. Serena is the best cook in the entire world. She'll make something delicious for you all." Virginia praised her girlfriend.
"Alright, you go into town. Get enough food for everyone, including our Pokémon, and show them what we can do. Meanwhile, I'll stay with Tails and see if I can crack that book. Or at least make some headway." Virginia quietly informed her girlfriend. Serena nodded and turned back towards Sally.
"Could you point me in the direction of town? I'm going to need to buy some food if I'm about to make dinner for you all."
"That sounds wonderful." Vanilla clapped her hands to show approval.
"You might need a pair of hands to help you bring it back. I'll help." Sally suggested and began leading the way.
"Actually, I-"
"If I don't get out of here, I'm going to lose my mind. Please." She insisted to the young lady. Serena smiled and nodded before bringing her Pokémon out.
"Braixen, Pancham, Sylveon…would you like to go for a walk with me?" She asked. The three cheerfully agreed and the group followed Sally towards town. Virginia walked over to Tails, who was now examining the book's pages and pictures.
"What can you tell me about this book? Where did you get it? Do you know what language it is? Is it telling a story of some kind? I'm guessing it's some kind of fairy tale book based on these pictures." Tails spoke without lifting his head.
"I don't know anything on the book. It was a gift from one of my friends, Sophocles. He received it from a merchant a few years ago and it's been sitting on his shelf. I examined the little…symbols, I guess." Virginia peered at the book as well. "It's obvious not any of the standard languages. You know, English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese…so I thought I'd go a bit further. I don't recognize it as Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, Sanskrit, Babylonian, Hieroglyphics, Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic…this doesn't even look like Tamil." Virginia explained. "I can't figure out what it says, or even where it's from."
"What about those squiggly line things from…what is it…Johto?"
"Are you referring to Unown?" Virginia questioned the two tailed fox. "These symbols aren't like them ether. That's where I am stumped. I do not know what this language is."
"Well, judging by the pictures on the sides, it looks like some sort of sacrifice to this…what I can only assume is maybe a God of some sort?" Tails scratched his head. "And this photo shows the same being but with planets…or some kind of spell? I don't know…" Tails murmured and continued flipping the page. "Whatever language this is, I am fascinated by it."
"If I weren't so scared, I'd probably be fascinated too." Virginia said just as she felt a tug on her pants. She looked down and the two girls finished the crowns they were working on. Virginia knelt down and felt an ever-so-light touch on the top of her head.
"Now, you have a crown too!" Genny cheered while she and Cream looked around. "Um…where is…" She looked up at Virginia with confusion and worry.
"You mean Serena?" She knelt down and smiled while Genny nodded at her. "Serena is going into town to buy food for us all. She's going to make us a really yummy meal. Hey! I've got an idea! Cream, do you want to meet my friends?"
"Yes please." Cream nodded her head with excitement.
"Alright, but remember, they may look scary, but they're not." She tossed her Poké balls into the air and out popped K-9, Zap, Aqua, and Torch."
"What are they?" Cream cried out before cowering behind Genny.
"They're nice. Watch." Genny walked up to Zap and put her arms around her. Zap cooed and nuzzled against Genny while the others began exploring the area.
"Oh wow." Cosmo exclaimed and she knelt down just as Aqua approached her. With a shaky hand, Cosmo re4ached out and felt Aqua's smooth skin.
"It's…It's like I'm touching water." She quietly told Tails. "Tails, you must try this." Tails knelt down and scratched under her chin. Aqua chirped and practically melted to Tails' touch.
"She's pretty." Tails smiled while he died his hand on his fur and returned to examining the book. Knuckles and Shade were trying to come up with a plan on where they should go first.
"So, Tails thinks they're on Earth. Maybe we should head for one of the other regions." Knuckles suggested.
"Right." Shade nodded. "One was in Alola…so, maybe we should head to Kalos, or Kanto? Egghead might've led a path or knowing his clumsy ass, he probably dropped them all into the ocean." She shook her head with frustration and turned around to see some kind of fire looking animal.
"We shouldn't leave out Johto or maybe even Hoenn." Knuckles murmured before he heard a squeal of joy. He turned around and saw the animal licking Shade's face.
"Aren't you just the cutest thing ever? Knuckles! Can we keep it? Please?" She laughed while Torch continued licking her face.
"We don't know what that thing is…or what it eats…or where it came from. That fur ball probably belongs to the kid over there." Shade glanced over and sighed with disappointment.
"You know what? I think we should call it off for today." She suggested.
"Are you nuts?!" Knuckles yelled. "We can't-"
"I'm not saying for good. But…we're kind of losing our minds…and, we should take a small break. You know, like an hour or two. Let's just give ourselves a small break to unwind and relax. Come here and say hi." Knuckles growled with frustration and eventually walked over to his girlfriend and the fire Pokémon. Torch quickly ran over to him and started jumping on his legs. For the first time since Virginia arrived, Knuckles actually smiled and gently petted her mane.
"Wow…she's…soft." He made the observation.
"She's cute too!" Shade gushed and laughed when Knuckles got tackled by her. Instead of getting angry, Knuckles began chuckling.
"She's a fighter. I like this one." He sat up and Torch began licking his face. "Hey! Knock it off!" He said with a growl, but Shade smiled.
"Oh you're not going to do anything, you dummy." She joked and sat there while Torch proceeded to lay in his lap and closed her eyes. "Oh…she's taking a little nap." Next was Amy Rose and Sonic. They were sitting on a bench; watching their friends have the time of their lives with Virginia's Pokémon.
"They're all so pretty." Amy smiled.
"I wonder what the fastest Pokémon is." Sonic scratched his head. "I think I heard somewhere there's this…horse? I think it's a horse. I can go a hundred miles an hour or something. But is there anything faster?"
"All you think about is racing." Amy joked with her boyfriend and then noticed a yellow looking Pokémon. "Sonic! Look!" Amy pointed out and hopped up. Jolteon carefully sniffed around and was much more wary than the others.
"Careful, Amy…that one looks like it might attack."
"Oh come on, Sonic…I don't think-" She then noted that it was growling at her. "…um…" Amy gulped hard worried that it might attack. Sonic was getting ready to grab Amy when they heard a voice speak up.
"Zap!" Virginia approached the yellow furred Pokémon. "Zap, play nice. These are our friends. They won't hurt you." She massaged Zap and the electric Pokémon seemed to calm down. "I'm so sorry about Zap." Virginia apologized and turned her head towards the couple. "She's…well, very over protective."
"She wasn't like this when she was playing with Cream and Genny."
"She's taken a liking to Genny and Cream…I don't think anyone could have animosity towards that little girl." Virginia turned back and stopped. "Will you be nice to my new friends?" Zap looked over and walked towards Amy. Amy, now nervous by Zap's aggression towards her a minute ago, hesitated while reaching out to her. She finally placed her hand on the top of Zap's head and she smiled.
"Your fur is so soft." She smiled. Zap smiled back and stepped forward and proceeded to nuzzled against Amy's body. "Sonic, you should try this." The blue hedgehog hopped down and carefully approached Zap. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, but then she walked towards him and stopped. Sonic offered a hand and she slowly head-butted it and he carefully massaged her head.
"Hey there…" He chimed quietly. "You're just looking out for your family, aren't ya?" He kept massaging and Zap backed away before rolling onto her back. "You want a belly rub?" He asked and she looked up at him like she were demanding he do as she wanted. He began rubbing her belly and she yipped with joy.
"Look at her, she's not mean." Amy admired how nice she was now. "You're Pokémon really are special."
"It's…it's nothing." Virginia smiled while she watched how happy Zap was to have her belly rubbed. "I…actually happy we are here…away from that woman…" She said the last part much quieter than the first.
"What woman?" Sonic questioned as he picked up on her last remark. Virginia was scared, but she decided to open up to her new friends.
"There was this woman…on Alola. She was tall, and thin, and really scary looking. She had a gun and she was asking questions about Genny…" She gulped hard.
"You think she's a hunter?" Sonic stopped rubbing Zap's belly. She whined for a moment before he looked down and smiled. "Alright, alright." He continued rubbing her and she seemed happy once more.
"I don't know. I just called Serena and we left as soon as we could." Virginia murmured. "But…goodness, I hope Sam didn't have to deal with all this. Finding Genny's parents, trying do understand what's going on, the whole thing with that book, and hunters…" Virginia placed a hand on her head. "My head is killing me." Zap got up and walked over to Virginia. She whimpered as she rubbed up against her leg. Virginia knelt down and kissed Zap's nose. "I'm alright, sweetie. I'm just a little stressed out. Why don't you go play with Amy and Sonic? I'll check on K-9 and then I'll probably take a little nap." Zap didn't leave her side.
"Looks like she doesn't want to leave you right now." Amy noted. "It's alright. She can stay with you. We'll go introduce ourselves to the others."
"Are you sure you're not mad?" Virginia winced. She was afraid they might scold her for some reason.
"You're working yourself too hard. Go do…whatever it is you're going to do. I'll get you some aspirin and get the couch ready. Give me, like five minutes." And with that, Sonic got up and started walking away.
"I can't ever thank you enough for your hospitality." Virginia bowed to the pink hedgehog.
"It's no big deal." Amy brushed it off. "Your mom is, like, the coolest queen ever. She invited us to her wedding and she's always been kind to us. Now, it's our turn to repay her."
"Thank you. On behalf of my family…thank you." Virginia looked up and she saw K-9 face to face with Vanilla. "I better check on him." She quickly walked towards her dog and she saw Vanilla was watching while Cream and Genny were rolling a ball to him. He pushed it back with his nose and the girls laughed.
"Hello, Virginia." She smiled and continued brushing his fur. "I hope you don't mind, but your dog…he's so wonderful."
"Hey there K-9…how are you feeling?" She questioned the dog and he barked with happiness.
"I was worried when I first saw him…he just looks so…frightening. But I see that he is just a cuddly little dog who enjoys making new friends."
"That's K-9. He was the first Pokémon I ever helped. And since he was a little growlithe, he's been with me ever since. I don't know what I'd do without him." She walked up to him and carefully ran a hand through his fur. He licked her face and Virginia started laughing.
"He loves you very much. I'm so happy to see that kind of bond between the two of you." Vanilla smiled like only a proud mother could.
"Genny, are you having fun?" Virginia knelt down.
"Uh huh. Cream and me…we like a lot of things!" She exclaimed as she rolled the ball to the rabbit.
"Genny, I'm going to take a little nap, alright? Can you be a good girl and play nice?" Virginia questioned the laguz child. Genny nodded her head while K-9 rolled the ball back to her. "Alright then. I'll just be inside if you need anything." Virginia waved goodbye and looked back at Vanilla.
"Don't worry, my dear. I'll be sure to keep them out of trouble." Vanilla waved goodbye and Virginia went inside with Zap in tow. She walked to the front door and knocked. The door opened and sonic motioned for her to enter. The house wasn't very fancy. There were a few doors, a bed that was extended to be bed in the living room, and a small kitchen; it was kind of a cozy little place for maybe a person or two.
"I don't think Sally will mind if you crash on her bed." Sonic motioned to the bed. "Bathroom's to the right, I think Serena and Sally should be back in a few minutes, but here." Sonic handed Virginia a couple pills and a glass of water. Virginia quickly down the pills and finished the glass of water.
"Rest as long as you like. We'll make sure Genny and your Pokémon are safe." Sonic nodded.
"Sonic, is there any…particular reason you are being kind to me?"
"I'll send the bill to Hyrule and they'll pay me back." He shrugged and Virginia stood there, frozen from shock. "I'm kidding, it's just a joke." Sonic held up his hand and chuckled. "Virginia, you're a sweet kid. You're doing something important and Sally, Amy, Tails…we know what you're doing is important. If we can help in any way, just let us know."
"Thank you." She mouthed the words and Sonic shut the door.
"I'll be sure to have Serena wake you up if you're still sleeping when they get back." He smiled once more before shutting the door. Virginia walked to the sink and washed the glass before drying it and setting it by the counter. She then grabbed the blanket that was on top of the bed and crawled underneath it. Zap hopped up and curled up next to Virginia.
"You comfy?" She asked quietly and Zap licked her cheek. "Alright, Zap. Let's take a little nap. Virginia closed her eyes and her electrical friend curled up next to her just before they fell into a deep slumber.