Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or its characters.
Author's Notes: I just want to make a fact clear, since I guess I didn't make it clear on the story itself, my bad. Drendan, D-Brendan, *His real name that I still haven't revealed yet* - is Deoxys. He is/was Deoxys, now completely changed with not only Brendan's DNA but also memories. So there will be not a second or third one.
Oh and a quick word about some of the parts on this chapter. Well, I wanted to take a specific turn or you can call route, with this story. But I was a bit afraid of doing so, because some people cannot like that among other things. But hey, I decided to take a nose-dive and do it anyway, so I hope I don't upset a lot of you with this decision.
A faintly annoying pain ached on Silver's left side, he tried to adjust a little better on his seat, moving his back to a more comfortable spot, and sadly, it did little to ease his sore muscles. It has been hours, maybe a day, since he has planted himself inside this room, Ethan's room in Rustboro' hospital.
Right after doing the most stupid and incredible thing the red-haired has ever seen, the brave raven-haired youth fainted on his rival' arms and for all this time he has yet to open his eyes. Silver remained in this room in silent distressing torture he made to himself, he can hardly look at his partner's face, yet he refuses to look away, he cannot look away…
"Stupid…" Silver mumbled quietly to himself.
Brushing a long lock of red hair from his right eye, he leaned forward again on his seat; most likely the reason for the soreness on his back, and placed his right hand on top of the sturdy casket on Ethan's left arm.
A curious looking Weavile paced quietly at the other side of the bed. The small cheeky Pokémon carefully watched her master as he fawned over the other' man resting body.
Silver gazed downwards, his scarlet hair raining down over his face again. "Stupid…" He whispered the words again, this time a little bit louder. Louder enough to get a stir out of his rival's still body.
"This… was not the reward I had in mind…" Ethan's voice came out ragged and tired. Nothing strange considering the situation he had put himself in. "Lugia…?"
In a sudden jolt of his head, Silver looked upwards. Red met gold in their trade of glances, an unwittingly smile crossed the red-haired' lips. A sincere and glad little grin, which showed more than what he hoped or wanted to show.
Seeing such rare sight in front of him only served to make Ethan smile back in response, although a less bright and warm one, given his state. "Now, that is a better reward." He said in a tease, his innocent smile turning into a smirk, something that managed to push Silver out of his dreaming state and back to his indifferent act. Like a prideful Persian, that has was caught giving to much attention to its owner, He hastily pulled his hand away, hiding it behind his arms as he crossed both in front of his chest.
"Your stupid bird is over there." Silver nodded to a group of six Poké-Balls on top of a small grey nightstand close to the bed.
Minding his heavy and injured arm, the also cocky youth raised his upper body up enough to lean his back against the hard headboard, sadly the pillow didn't go up with him. "Aw… I scared him away." Again, in his teasing tone, Ethan tried to push a little bit more. His rival's reactions never ceased to amaze him and his minor injury that will not deprive him of this pleasure.
"Hmph… I see you're well enough to be making jokes." Silver blurred out a bit harshly, throwing a few daggers in his glare. "And here I was blaming myself…"
"You have nothing to blame yourself over." Ethan responded almost immediately. The provoking tone in his eyes changed, to the sterner and cold gaze he often has. "If anything, I'm in fault for doing something- ahg…" He winced in pain, the side of his back aching with the hard surface pressing against his bruises.
Ethan's pained reaction startled his partner, as Silver almost jumped out of his chair because of it. Swallowing his pride down his throat, the red-haired got up from his large padded-chair and quietly walked next to the bed.
"Hey, you're finally up." A happy looking nurse walked inside the room, carrying a little tray on her hands.
Her ill-timed entrance managed to push Silver three-quarters of the room away from Ethan's bed. The red-haired somehow rested his back against the wall just before the young woman could enter the room properly.
"I was thinking of bringing something for you to eat." She threw a little glance at Silver; her face went a little reddened after receiving a glance back from him. "But your friend is awake now…" She raised the little tray, pointing to the pack of pudding' cups.
A low growl escaped the red-haired lips. "You can give it to him. I'm not hungry." He shifted his attention away from the woman again, playing cool his inner frustration.
"Actually… I'm suuuper busy today. I took a little detour to pick this up." She went over to Silver and handed him the entire tray, and his baffled expression only served to make the nurse giggle as she walked away. "I hope you don't mind helping your friend. He probably can't eat something like this by himself."
"Oh, he won't mind." Ethan jumped in the conversation, curiously finding a sudden energetic disposition.
"Great." She twirled around, sparing her patient a playful little grin. "I'll come to see you boys later." In truth to her statement, the poor nurse dashed out of the room, probably darting to take care of more needing person.
Unreal, was the only word coming onto Silver's head. He eyed the cups with a distressed expression and grimaced after looking over to Ethan. The taunting, yet charming, smirk on the youthful champion is so big that is almost hard to believe that is any pain at all.
"No." Silver said short and dry.
"Aren't you thrilled with the idea?" Ethan tried to stir even more the situation and completely forget about his left arm. An unfortunate mistake, as for when he leaned over to the left side of his bed he almost fell to the ground for being without any support on that side.
A frown followed by a scoff. Silver sat down on his previous seat and casually began to open one of the cups. He peeled the lid open and eyed his partner with a devious face. "Yeah... In your dreams." With that said, Silver sunk the plastic spoon all the way down to the bottom and brought the entire thing over to his mouth.
Horrified and outraged, Ethan pointed his right index finger at his rival and frown. "How evil are you? Where is the sympathy for your poor… well, me!"
Gulping down the sweet mass of brownish delight, the cold-hearted trainer raised the lid over to his lips and gave it a slow and vigorous lick. "This thing is so good… You really should prove some."
"Heartless fiend." A pout, almost as large as the smirk Ethan had used before to tease his rival, appeared on his face.
"Vi." Weavile jumped over from the ground, landing graciously at Ethan's feet. "Vi, vi." She pointed at her trainer, making him raise a brow in response. "Vi vi, vi!" The little dark-blue Pokémon began a long and detailed rant, motioning with her white claws at each big sentence.
"Oooh, did he now?" Ethan looked over to Silver. The smile on his face, the look in his eyes… all translated to the worst possible outcome to the latter.
"Vi." A certain and definitive nod came from the little trickster.
"Wow… I don't know what to say." Wiping a fake tear away from his left eye, the raven-haired trainer eyed his rival once again, still smiling from ear to ear.
On his first thought, Silver pondered if Ethan had bruised his head too much, leaving him delusional. Then a very curious detail occurred to pass on his head. "Wha- You! What did you say?!" In a panicked reaction, he jumped out of his seat, holding the tray in one hand and using the other to point to his traitor little partner.
"Vi, vi." A snarky grin crossed Weavile's face. The little devil just shrugged off and laid back on the soft mattress.
"Dumb? Oh no. I think that is cute." Ethan replied to Weavile, making Silver even more confused for understanding only half of the conversation. Which eventually his rival noticed. "She saying you kept hugging me the entire time when I was asleep." Another playful grin made its appearance. "A clingy Silver all over me… isn't that cute?"
"I- What?! Ridiculous! I would not or never will do something as disgraceful as that. Even more, with you!" An over the top denial did little to favor Silver' claims but was the burning red line on his cheeks that gave him away even more.
"Vi, vi."
"I concur…" Ethan and Weavile shook their heads, almost in unison. Both looking at the Silver with a look akin to; why are you so defensive?
"Gaah, enough of you!" In an impressive display of finesse with his hands. Silver managed to pull the Poké-Ball out of his pocket and call Weavile back without dropping any of the cups from the tray. "And you!" he pointed at Ethan. "Stop with all this flirting with everybody... especially with me. I may have long hair, but I'm not a girl."
"I've never mistaken you for a girl, pretty hard to do that with this voice of yours." He chuckled at his own smart comment. "Anyway, you being a guy doesn't bother me. Life's too short to be thinking about that."
"Ethan… please, be serious for once." A heavy sigh escaped Silver's lips. He eyed his rival with visible frustration. "This type of stuff is not a joke. It is not funny in any way or form."
"I know. Stuff like this is never something to joke about." Ignoring the throbbing pain on his sides, Ethan pushed himself a bit further up in the bed. Not a shred of doubt in his expression. "That is why I'm dead serious when I said this."
By this point, Silver was expecting a sonorous laugh coming from Ethan, and then he would point his finger at the red-haired and boast of how he was made a fool again. However, instead of denying or playing as a joke, Ethan' straightforward words made an even greater impact on the mood around them.
Receiving no response, other than a cold glare, Ethan brought his right hand to his forehead and calmly rubbed it in a manner to calm his own temper. "On those days where we battled against each other on every corner of Johto. What days, huh?" Feeling a bit of good nostalgia, his lips parted away just slightly. "Despite jumping at my throat at any chance you got. There are some things you didn't, and still, don't know about me."
Silver's impassive and unease eyes flickered with a warmer look. Remembering those ridiculous stunts he pulled just to get under his rival's skin, made him open himself a bit more to the conversation. He hummed, ever so quietly, as asking Ethan to continue.
Therefore, he did. "After hearing about this mythical Lord of the Seas and getting a fabled Silver Wing. Hah, I almost lost my head." Ethan eyed the pack of Poké-Balls to his side, particularly the purple one. "I went there as fast as I could. Like a frenzied beast, I battled each swimmer and wild Pokémon that got in my way. Took little more than half a day to reach the Whirl Islands." A faint little pain ran wild inside the champion's body, not a fresh one from his recent injuries, no… An old scarred one. A familiar pain that will always haunt his memories. "This happened before I had met Ho-oh."
"Before?" Silver asked, willing to break the silence he imposed himself. "But, didn't you capture Lugia, because Ho-oh asked you to do it?"
"Exactly." Ethan's voice came cold, drenched in a dreadful tone. "I battled Lugia, with everything I got. In the end, only Flames was left standing. Lugia… was a beast, a real monster. I had no idea the size of the trouble I got myself in." A suffocating sensation creeping in, coming from his chest and going up to his neck. It is as if he could feel that torment all over again and way to vivid for just a memory. "In the end, Flames managed to hit him pretty hard. Hard enough to drive Lugia into a furious state. He flooded the cave in a blink of an eye… I barely had time to pull my friend back before everything went dark."
Silver eyed his rival in disbelief. He chuckled, somewhat nervously and defiantly. "The way you're talking is like you died in that place. I'm not talking to a ghost, am I?"
"Heh, no… I'm very much alive." Ethan chuckled back, although a little more disheartened than his friend did. "But I almost did die. Water forcefully flowing inside my mouth, my lungs hurting so bad with the lack of air… I didn't wanted to die, you know?" He caressed the skin of his neck, biting his lips as he did. "I still wanted to beat the elite four. Become the new champion and a real Pokémon master… To battle a very annoying red-haired jerk one more time. I didn't wanted to die there, leaving so much undone behind me."
"Then… How?" Silver asked, even more confused and intrigued.
"I woke up on the shores of a little island, a bit more to the south. No recollection of how I got there, no idea of what happened around me. However, I found a very peculiar feather by my side. Green, white and red." Ethan clenched his right hand in front of him, as the same with the pain, the sensation of holding that feather still very much alive in his body. "That was not only the day Ho-oh saved me and choose me, but it was also a second chance. Now, I never leave anything for later… You never know when something like that may happen again."
The way Ethan spoke and finished his last sentence drove the point straight and directly on the issue Silver was more than glad to drop. But, after hearing all this even someone as collected as Silver cannot simply ignore and turn his face away. Despite his own voice of reason telling him to step away, he pressed forward. "Why… are you telling me this?"
"I'm not stupid. I've noticed the way you look at me." With a not ideal smirk on his lips, Ethan rested his back against the headboard. Even in his almost seriousness, it was impossible for him to contain his amusement over Silver's baffled reactions.
The red-haired, now with his face as red as his long hairs, felt a large lump coming up on his throat. Fear, a dumb fear of uncertainty crept over his sense; yet, he clenched his hands looking for inner courage to propel his own thoughts out. "Are you going to say that you love me?" In this sudden outburst, Silver dropped all masks and roundabout words.
"No. I don't." The response came short and dry. "And let's be honest here, Silver. Neither do you love me. A certain infatuation or something more meaningful, you're the only one that knows for certain." Rubbing his thumb over his lower lip, Ethan carefully considered his next words. "But we don't know each other in that specific way. Love is not something so trivial to flourish out of nowhere."
Even with his strong pose, a part of Silver wished to his little joke question to be answered truthfully. Yet, the answer he received, only served to throw even more shade on the whole thing. "Dammit Ethan, what the hell do you want from me?" He shouted in full frustration. "Why, are you even bringing this forward?"
"Because I like you." Again, simple and short. The Johto Champion has an infuriating way of simplifying any situation. "When you pestered me all around Johto, I hated you more than anything in this world. Nevertheless, I still looked forward to meeting you one more time. Now, getting to know the person behind that cold expression and smug attitude, made all those bad feelings turn into good ones."
Hearing to his own words coming out of his mouth, made Ethan blush deeply red. Something that Silver considered impossible, for someone so shameless to feel embarrassed. Another fact that the stern trainer would never admit, is how much he has grown fond of this invincible façade his partner always wears, but this new look, different from the always confident front, has even more unique charm, a special charm.
The abrupt quietness around them made Ethan even more uncomfortable of his position, never fond of being dumbstruck; he tossed his right arm upwards and began to mess with his hair in a forced attempt to cool down. "Braaah, Anyway… What I want to say is that I'm here…" taking a long breath, he finally calmed himself enough to lose the hot tint form his cheeks. "You just need to extend your hand and I will reach out to you as well."
"Seriously…" Silver dropped the tray on one of the large seats. He raised a hand to his face and shook his head quietly. "It's maddening to keep up with you and your antics."
"Your answer?" Ethan asked. He eyed his partner with apprehension and a bit of excitement, a thrill of making such a turn in everything around them.
"I… Hah… What the hell type of question is that?" Another heavy sigh came, then a quiet little chuckle. Silver leaned over to the silver tray and pulled one of the cups out of the pack of puddings. "For now… Let's just start with this." Carefully sliding his fingers over the top, he slid the cup open and walked right next to Ethan' bed.
"Oh… so now I get some pudding?" The raven-haired youth said playfully. "Took me talking about my past and basically declaring myself to you to get some damn pudding?!"
"Don't want the pudding?" Silver dipped the spoon in the cup, threatening to take a bite himself.
"Stop! I want pudding!" Ethan practically rolled over his bed, barely not dropping down on the cold floor. The desperation in his face kicking in some sadistic part inside of Silver, as the red-haired relished about the situation. He grinned and waved the spoon in the air, the poor champion whimpering and eying the pudding.
'Maybe… just maybe. Something like this could be good.' Silver genuinely smiled, a rare occasion. Having teased his rival for long enough, he properly feed him a piece of that sweet and delicious pudding.
An officer grunt stepped inside their new improvised meeting room. Although is just a temporary arrangement, this place is a lot similar to the enforcer's previous main room. "Ma'am, most of the re-organizing tasks have been completed." With a few drops of sweat running down his cheeks, the man flipped over a couple of pages in his clipboard, giving an assuring nod as he confirmed the details one last time.
Sitting on the bigger chair around the round table is the mature looking blond enforcer. In the absence of her master, Leyla has taken over the ownership of the big chair and the reins of every member in Hoenn. "Any incidents to report?" With a charming glance, she shifted her attention to the man. Just the fact that she spared him the time to look at him was enough to make the poor grunt blush and even get a bit teary eyed.
"N-no, ma'am." He gladly responded. "We made sure to only move things at night or at that intense sandstorm. No soul knows about our existence here."
"Hm… that is pleasing to hear." She responded with a sweet humming sound. "Anything else dear?" The grunt shook his head a couple of times, yet failed to get the hint at first. It was until she waved with her hand that he finally salute and walked away.
A thunderous thumbing sound came from the other hallway, on the other side of the door, then a helpless yelp.
"Are you blind?!" Raz irritable voice stormed out in the commotion.
"Eeehhkk! I'm so sorry sir." The same officer grunt screamed in panic.
"Whatever, you wimp. Get out of my way." In his apparent eternal state of anger, Raz stomped inside the room. As his eyes landed on the blond woman, he cooled off his angered face, but just enough to not anger the woman herself. "Only you here?" He asked. His voice is much more tame than before.
"Unfortunately." Leyla sighed, resting her chin over the back of her hands. "Scarlet is out on a mission of her own."
"The boss?" Raz took a sit on the far another side of the long desk, getting as much space as he can for himself.
"Oh, we received a brief report over from their side." She rested back on her chair. With her right hand, she pushed a thin orange file over the desk to her muscled comrade. "They have arrived at the target location. And I believe Josh has already made a huge scene… always so eager that one, huhuh."
"Bah… that Josh. I don't trust him." Raz spat out. "The things he does… are way too fucked up. Even for me."
"Hm?... I didn't take you for a soft heartened guy." Leyla looked at Raz with a dark amusement in her eyes. "Scared of hurting anyone?"
"Don't even try to stir shit up. I respect you a lot, Leyla. But I will not hold my tongue if you try to be funny." The big enforcer stirred in his seat, crossing his arms together in front of him. "I ain't scared of doing what I need to do. But I would never blow a building full of people and If for some reason I ever did something like that… I sure as hell would not be smiling about it."
"Raz, dear. You don't need to love Josh. As long as you both do your parts, everything will be fine." Saying that she eyed him with a cold stare. "Speaking of doing your part… where is it?"
Raz's brows tilted with irritation. Not only was she defending Josh but also looked at him with a superior look in her eyes, something that makes the burly man' blood boil like nothing else. "Doubting me now? Pssht, here! Chew on this crap." He pulled a vibrant blue orb out of his desert jackets pockets and rolled it over the table.
Leyla grasped the orb with her right hand, looking fairly closely at its strange engraved pattern on the middle of its round shape. "Did you find Rush?" She asked without taking her eyes away from the object.
"I Found the boy, quite easily actually." He grunted in discomfort. "I got the orb from his cold hands at the bottom of the ocean... I really hated his guts, but I took no joy in seeing him like that."
"Oh… Rush, dear… such a shame." Leyla closed her eyes for a moment, embracing the orb close to her voluptuous chest. "But the mission still remains. We will proceed as planned and pave the path for our master' plans."
"True enough. Nothing we can't do about the boy." He said, interestingly enough, with a weigh of respect in his words. "But, do we really need to get cramped inside such a shitty place?" He ran one hand over the red line that is his hair, droplets of sand falling over and even clinging onto his fingers.
"Your dissatisfaction is more than enough to prove how right my decision to stay here is." Leyla responded. Her soft jab at him making the man growl quietly and turn his face away. "This is not a vacation, remember. The furthest away from unwanted attention, the better. So this hellish desert is more than perfect for this base."
"You may be right…" Raz said, still frowning and snorting. "But still is way shittier compared to the beach. Stupid fucking kid, barging on our door like he owns the world."
"Huhu, Raz, my dear. In Hoen… that man owns the world. That is why; we need to take everything away from him, all while scheming from the shadows. He won't see us coming again, not until is too late." She raised the orb against the light coming from the ceiling and smiled. "We will take all, and not only Hoenn, no. The entire world will belong to us."
"Maybe… But taking over Hoenn. Ah… that will feel especially nice." Raz' lips parted in a grim and wicked smile. "I will make him pay for that humiliation…. And when he kneels before me, crying in misery. That… will make me laugh."
Another restless night, another day without proper sleep. It has been days since Brendan lay down and properly rested. Yesterday, which his sudden shutdown, followed the same pattern. These ongoing waves of nightmares are draining him each time more, making the young champion dread each time he has to go to bed.
Again, tired and riled up, Brendan opened his eyes. He stirred to the side, trying to get out of his bed, and then noticed that he was not in his room, not in his house.
"Are you feeling okay?" Steven's concerned voice came from the side. The steel-blue haired scion is sitting on a chair right next to a little table. Tea in one hand and his PokéNav in another.
"Truthfully? I'm feeling like crap… again." Brendan sighed, getting his feet on the ground, sitting up on the long couch. "But I no more voices in my head. That's good."
"So, no angry enflamed beast whispering in your ears?" Steven asked and Brendan nodded. "Well, I see that as a win."
Still a bit dizzy from his troubled sleep, Brendan's eyes took a little longer to adjust to the entire room and light of the day. But as his eyes settled correctly, he noticed a brown luggage-bag sitting next to the door and that made him raise a brow.
"Taking a vacation?" He asked in a friendly and playful tone.
Steven stood quiet. He pondered and mulled over his thoughts, his eyes laying on the brownish object. "I got a call this morning." He said a lot more disheartened than he intended to be. "Remember that friend that I talked about yesterday?"
"The 'close friend' you had in Sinnoh?" Brendan responded more in question than a real answer. He scratched the back of his head, changing his line of sight down to his own feet. "By the tone of your voice, is not something good. Is it?"
Steven dropped his gadget on the table and looked over to his friend again. "Sinnoh was attacked last night. Celestic Town… was burned to the ground." In deep frustration and irritation, Steven clenched his free hand with enough force to make his already pale skin get even whiter.
"Rainbow Rocket?" Brendan felt the same sensation as his friend, in his head, because he let the bad guys get away someone else got hurt.
"It seems so. For all the years I have known Cynthia, she had never… She never asked for help. So stubborn, both of us" Steven scoffed, a nostalgic sad little smile appearing on his lips. "Hearing her voice crackle in our call… that broke my heart, man."
"Steven…"
"Brendan, I will chase those criminals… I will bring them down." With his eyes burning in rage, Steven's words sounded serious… deadly so. "I need to go there, but I can't go to Sinnoh… my father…"
"He is out of danger, and I think you being at his side was very crucial on that delicate phase. But someone else needs you now." Stumbling on his first steps, Brendan walked over to the small table and crouched right next to his friend. "You need to go."
"Can I? Really? What if some of them are still here and then-"
"Then I will handle it." He bopped his close friend on his shoulder and smiled brightly, confidently. "Take your vacation old man and go stay with your friend, leave Hoenn on my hands."
"Old man… that's new." Even with all the pressure and tension mounted on his shoulders, Steven managed to laugh. "I knew I could count on you, Brendan."
"That's what friends are for and we are friends for su-" From the corner of his eyes, Brendan caught a glimpse of a silhouette spying on them from the small window on the left wall. He hastily shifted his eyes to the small opening, and a freezing chill ran down his spine. "HOLY…. WHAT'S THAT?!" He shouted in panic, tumbling down and falling with his back on the floor.
"HE'S HERE!" a conglomerate of voices echoed all at the same time. A ridiculous amount of people are stacking and pressing themselves against the window from outside the modest house; all of them desperately trying to peek inside the house. Sadly, for poor Brendan, in his perspective he could only see a massive shadow with numerous hands and eyes, staring at him with hungry eyes.
"Oh… that. I almost forgot about them." Reacting somewhat too comfortable in the situation, Steven just stood up and walked over to the window, promptly pulling the curtains over it. "Somehow the media found out that you are here and… They have come in droves; I've never seen that crowd so thirst for an interview as they are now."
"About Lilycove? Oh… what a mess." Brendan dreaded the idea of giving two hours of non-stop speech about his tragic outburst.
"Sorry friend, but that is just the tip of the mountain." Walking back and sitting once again on his chair, Steven closed his eyes and sighed. "Yesterday… Mt. Pyre disappeared. To put it correctly, an explosion consumed the entire place."
Brendan's face fell. "What… Is that even possible?"
"Yes… it is. By the account of several witnesses, a battle between Kyogre and a giant silvered flying Pokémon ensued at the top of the mountain." With his fingers twitching, Steven appeared intrigued by some of his thoughts. As trying to convince himself of something, he whispering something under his breath but quickly shifted his attention back to his friend. "I believe that this strange being is none other than Lugia. Johto's Lord of the Seas."
"Why is Lugia here? No, forget about that for now. What does this have to do with me?" Annoying and perplexed, the young champion looked over to the window but saw nothing more than the closed curtain.
"Apparently, you were there." Steven saw his friend twitch with his words, which made him nod, understanding the reaction. "I know, this sounds implausible. However, several people attest to this fact; Hoenn's Champion was present in that battle. In other words, you were there… or someone that looks exactly like you."
"The person who attacked Zinnia on TV Mauville?" Something stirred inside the long-haired youth. That aberration of an incident still lingers inside his mind and his anger over it hasn't diminished a single bit. "This is ridiculous! How can people mistake me by someone else, even with a wig, the differences would be easy to spot."
"On that same day… of the attack on that news channel. I got hold of that footage and watched it, over and over again…" He locked his gaze with his friend's eyes, in an attempt to convene the full seriousness of his words. "Brendan. That was you on that day. Maybe not you, but someone who looks exactly like you, who sounds just like you, and even had the little details of your facial features. All matched."
"I… believe you, Steven. But then what? I was not there, I couldn't be at that place." Wailing his arms in the air, Brendan reasoned his voice. "Then what is this second Brendan?"
Slowly running a finger on his chin, Steven looked over to the side and considered an idea. "A copy… they maybe managed to copy you somehow."
"If they copied me, why would I exact copy be working for them?" Brendan cried out. "Even in my… worst state, I would never work for the same people that hurt… killed, so many innocent people."
"Yet, this Brendan does." Steven said coldly.
"What a mess… what a massive mess." A throbbing head-ache taking form at the side of his head, Brendan sunk his face over his hands.
"Still wants me to go over to Sinnoh?" Steven said with a playful chuckle.
Brendan grunted annoyed. "Whatever this… person is. I'll find them and bring a stop to this." He raised his head, a gleam of determination shining on his eyes. "No more Brendans wreaking havoc on Hoenn, neither me nor this impostor."
"Lugia and Kyogre?" The scion asked, watching carefully for the answer.
"Kyogre… is my duty, just as Groudon is. A duty I neglected for far too long. I guess I got complacent since he never made as many problems as his rival did." He trotted over to the small desk holding the orb and the black Poké-Ball, putting both away, back in his pockets. "Lugia… that is another problem, but a curious one. Why would a mythic beast from Johto come over to Hoenn? That doesn't make much sense, unless..."
"Unless someone is behind his actions. Maybe he is someone's 'duty'." Steven concluded with a small nod.
"True enough. However, one problem at a time. First I will deal with this second 'me', then I will see about Mt. Pyre." Taking a long breath, Brendan changed his mood in a full swing. He smiled at Steven and even patted him on the shoulder. "A lot of work, but I can do that alone. You've something else to do."
"Yes… I have." Steven smiled back. "Still, before you kick me away from Hoenn in a hurry. Want some help with that hungry press crowd?"
"Please, do help." Brendan deflated rather quickly after remembering about the news people outside the house. "I will never get used to giving interviews… imagine to twenty people at the same time."
"Hahah, luckily for you. I have plenty of experience with them." Taking one last sip of his somewhat forgotten tea, now pretty cold tea, Steven put the cup down on the table and stood up. "Come. Let's give them a little show, so they can love you some more."
"Pssht, yeah… a show…" Brendan always hated the spotlight, but sometimes being social and public, is something he has to do. The troubles of being the famous unbeatable Pokémon League Champion.
At the outskirts of Lilycove, hidden behind the tall brushes and well-spread trees. Zinnia sat quietly next to a large old oak, her back against the tall trunk and her eyes gently watching the figure of her lover, innocently playing or 'talking' with the Linoone from the previous night.
In the midst of his long and not fruitful dialogue with his new furred companion. Brendan turned his head to the side, clearly annoyed at the little Pokémon. Then, his eyes landed on the tanned-skin young man, smiling quietly as she watched them.
"What?" Brendan asked.
"You look so cute doing that." She said with a giggle. "Remind me of when we first met. How sweet and cute you looked back then. Your eyes so innocently staring at me as we meet at each different spot… Now you have the same eyes. I missed that."
"Innocent? More like furious." He scoffed, his pair of blue and red eyes going back to the wild Linoone. "First he said that he knew where my ball was. Now? He has no idea…. Lying little jerk."
In response to the offensive words, the aggravated fur ball launched himself at the young trainer, scratching away with his tiny claws. The little thing squealed and growled, completely vexed with the accusation throw at him.
Brendan wiggled uncontrollably. "Stop that, you liar." They fought at each other, one trying to leave little bite marks and the other trying to rid himself from the harassment.
After a good three minutes of a 'fair' fight between them. Linoone hopped away from his new friend and dashed hastily towards a tall grass.
"I'll get you for that!" Brendan shouted at the tops of his lungs. He shook his hand in the air, clenching his fist as he did that.
The silliness of the whole ordeal made Zinnia burst in a fit of laughter. She couldn't handle how cute her boyfriend was being at this early hour, and only let the loud sound of her laughs guide her away.
"It's not funny… and my feet still hurt." He pouted, dropping down on the grass. With one hand Brendan rubbed the sole of his right foot.
"Ow… my poor Brendan. Being assaulted by nature at every corner." She laughed even more, which earned her a frown from him. "Okay, okay. I will stop making fun of you." She slowly crawled her way next to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Will you forgive me, if I get something for you to put on?"
"A pair of shoes would be nice." He responded with a little grin. Difficult for Brendan to keep a straight/angry face when she nuzzled at his back.
"Great! A pair of shoes incoming." Zinnia hopped on her feet and smiled brightly to him. "You wait for me here until I get something in the city. We don't want a huge crowd to follow us again."
With a little whimper as she took her arms away from him, Brendan laid with his back on the grass and smiled. "I'll be waiting then." He said in a sweet and innocent tone, making her heart fluster with so much ease that troubled Zinnia a little bit; if one day he manages to master the art of his pure smile, Zinnia would be done for.
With the widest grin on her lips, she waved at him one last time and darted away to Lilycove at her full speed.
In her uttermost determination to do this quick and get back to where she wanted to be, Zinnia wandered around the little town, making her way the incredibly tall building that is the Department Store.
"Good day, miss. What are you looking for?" A friendly clerk of the common store received the draconid girl with a beaming welcome.
"Looking for sandals or open laced shoes. Masculine ones." She said, almost paying no mind to the working staff and going directly to the visible shelves.
Browsing along with various types of footwear, she grabbed a few in her hands, imagining what would look best on her aloof companion. And of course, she couldn't help herself but giggle at each image of Brendan that popped in her head.
"Look, they're doing an interview with the champion." An overly excited girl cried out loudly. "Yun, Come see it. It's live."
"Oooh, I love him." Another girl dashed fast to the corner, clapping her hands as she eyed the large TV on the wall. "He's with Steven too. Oh, I don't know who I love more."
"Pfft, Brendan is the better one." A third clerk practically manifested herself behind her co-workers.
"Steven is the best." The first one melted herself on top of her desk, her eyes glued at the sight of the blue-haired scion.
Zinnia's interest was picked when they mentioned Brendan's name. Quietly to not take attention to herself, she squinted between some shelves to look at the TV. Her mouth dropped instantly.
'To everyone listening to me… I promise to always give my best to prevent terrible situations like the ones in Rustboro and Mt. Pyre.' Brendan said sternly, looking with a fixated gaze onto the group of cameras. 'That is my word, as Champion.'
Two of the girl squealed with such high-pitched tone at his cool remark, falling even more to the dazzling image of their hero. Zinnia, on the other hand, was confused, conflicted and more than nothing else, she feels sick.
"B-Brendan…?" She eyed his features, his determined Grey eyes and even the man standing right next to him. "There is no mistake… that is Brendan. My Brendan." She clenched her hands on top of her chest. Biting her lips, she looked over to the pair of shoes on her hands. "If that is Brendan… With whom I've spent last night with?"
Two Brendans, two completely convincing Brendans. And one terrible feeling of dread and despair washing over poor Zinnia's mind. However is her choice, however, is her thoughts, she is now stuck with a possible grave problem or/and an even graver mistake.
If you are liking the story so far, please leave a review. :)
PS- For some reason, last chapter had a lot more reviews than usual (not complaining xD). So I guess I need to make things a bit more spicy at each chapter from now own so you guys will comment more.
Reviews:
Mallory S. Nocturne chapter 17 . Jun 19 – Yeah, the one and only. What a fast guy, huh? Not even a day since he was 'born" and he is out there making some ruckus.
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Guest chapter 17 . Jun 20 – Hey, Zinnia is not that crazy to be doing that outdoors. Or maybe is she?
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DOOT76 chapter 17 . Jun 21 – Well, that's Zinnia were talking about here. Of course she will be the one taking the lead. But I guess she found the wrong Brendan, sheesh what a mess huh?
And I only said D-Brendan as a joke. That will not be his name… any clues of what may be the real one?
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MrMogiGaming chapter 17 . Jun 22 – I know right? I wonder what the real Brendan would do if he saw that… A ragging Groudon burning everything? Yikes.
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Hmm chapter 17 . Jun 25 – I feel bad for them too, which is weird since I was the one writing them getting to this place…
I wonder, would Brendan forgive Zinnia if he thought she cheated on him… with himself? Boy, it sure would sting, to feel cheated a second time…
The Clone will do a lot in this, Help? That I don't know (I know, but won't say.)
He will. What name? Secret.
That would be something, wouldn't it. Well, let's wait and see what more he will get himself into.
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Guest chapter 17 . Jun 27 – A reverse Harem... Imagine the twice amount of Brendan's hands going all around Zinnia's body. She would probably melt. Could she handle that much Brendan in her life?