Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or its characters.
A few stray petals are starting to soar low in the air and the natural sunlight slowly being replaced by the multiple bright spots that are the improvised lamps spread in one large corridor, making a makeshift road to the dormant sea of flowers. Slowly by the minute, people are coming from every part of Hoenn to Ever Grande in hope of seeing the beautiful, almost magical, seasonal event of this little piece of heaven.
Ever Grande City, the symbolic last stop as the end of a journey, normally doesn't get even a fraction of this amount of visitors as it has today, and any outsider usually comes for the League' Castle at the tip of the mountain. However, today, especially for today, the isolated island has turned into a hotspot for the perfect touristic night.
Walking back to Ever Grande, the trio of trainers stopped at the edge of down, next to the already busy green avenue in between the flower's buds.
"That…. soured my mood." Ethan scratched the back of his head. With the appearance of an unexpected interloper, the idea of enjoying a happy time around flowers went down on the emotional drainer.
Ethan sitting with his back leaning against an empty bench, choosing to stay on the ground instead of the proper seat. Silver is standing close to his partner, at his right side. The redhead casually watching the coming and going of the civilians. And Brendan, who remained silent all the way back, is sitting on a bench right in front of Ethan, glaring at the raven-haired youth.
"What?" Ethan asked, shooting his gaze to the brown-haired trainer. "Liked my face or something?"
The subtle irony on Ethan's voice made Brendan frown. With his arms folded, he pressed his fingers against the skin of his arms. "Your friend, he recognized Kyogre with just one glance… As if he had an encounter with him before."
"Well, that's because we did." Ethan responded with a shrug. "Not an enjoyable one at that. Big blue face tried to drown us."
"He did, huh?" Locking his glare at the raven-haired man's face, Brendan stood up and walked close to him. "You're the owner Lugia, aren't you?"
"Owner? Pfft, that is a strong word. Lugia is a… friend. I would never call him my property."
Getting the proper confirmation, the usual calm person that is Brendan felt his nerves starting to boil again. "Never passed in your head to tell me that?" He reached down with this hand, grabbing the other man by the collar of his shirt.
"Oi, what are you think you're doing?" Silver stepped in, practically slapping his right hand onto Brendan's shoulder.
"Silver, please let him be." Ethan requested, more like ordered in a monotone voice carrying a bit chilling feel to it. The red-haired thought of arguing back, but a stern look from his partner convinced him to step away, although grunting in dissatisfaction. "And you." He glanced back at Brendan. "Why would I disclose any information like, if you never asked me? I can do many things, but mind-reading is not one of my gifts."
"Ahrg… Fine!" With a forceful push, the longhaired champion pushed the other man away, letting go of his shirt. " … it was Kyogre's doing or…"
"Man, don't ask something you won't like the answer for." Ethan eyed the other guardian with understanding eyes; he too would flip out of his mind if places in Johto were being blown up by strangers. "Look, that fiend was going to level that entire place not only the mountain. I had to do something about him, and that I did."
"Nobody got hurt." Silver jumped in. "We made sure to scare everyone out of the place before any of the fightings could happen."
Brendan's irritated features softened out, letting out a long defeated sigh, he stepped backward, sitting down onto the bench again. "One light of good news into this whole mess." He said.
"So…" Ethan said right after, with a curious grin. "There was actually one casualty." His voice caught Brendan's attention. The grey-eyed young man jolted on his seat, glancing upwards to the raven-haired, to his surprise Ethan was pointing a finger at him. "You… or someone that looked exactly like you."
"He's dead?!" Brendan jumped from his seat, his eyes widening a little too much.
"You don't sound too surprise hearing about another you…" Ethan glanced to Silver, who shrugged as if saying he had no idea what to say. "Care to explain a bit… if you want to, of course. Because I would feel super weird with another me running about the place."
"Those Rainbow Rocket clowns were somehow using my face to stir up trouble around Hoenn. Haven't you seen it on the TV?" Brendan vented out in frustration.
"That incident on Mauville City?" Silver inquired to which he received an energetic nod. "We only saw the Grunts taking over and flew there to help resolve the issue. Never caught a glimpse of that imposter of yours."
"If he is dead… then it doesn't matter. One less trouble to deal with." Brendan trailed off, running one hand over his brown hair. "And with you being the owne- er… friend of Lugia. Makes two of my most immediate problems solved." He frowned, thinking only to himself. 'Kyogre is now the worst of the problems.'
"Are you so sure about that?" Ethan asked with a serious face. "I mean, sure the guy who was passing as you is dead, I mean one-hundred percent dead. No one would survive that blast, however…"
Silver took the cue to jump in; he took a step forward entering on Brendan's point of view. "A few moments before the explosion, I peeled something out of that man's face." He did a motion as if he was taking something out with his hands. "He was using a mask, a very strange one. Felt like a second skin."
Brendan sighed again. Just when he felt like a problem had gone away… "Then, you're telling me that anyone can use a mask and become me?"
"It's not certain that there are other masks like that. But it is something to consider." Silver frowned after giving his reply, his thoughts venturing away to the image of his father and his methods. "When Giovanni is involved, you can expect anything."
"I learned that in the worst way possible." Ethan said with a sheepish smirk, a strange reaction considering the topic. "Never underestimate Team Rocket; they may seem like fools at first glance, but they do a lot of damage under the covers."
"Yeah… I can see that." Brendan said, hinting at the chaos this group has already sow onto Hoenn.
"Just remember Brendan, we're here to stop them too." Ethan said, giving the younger man a friendly grin. He raised his good arm, giving the brown-haired trainer thumbs up. "You can count on us in this mess. Giovanni will not have his way in your region."
"Heh… Thanks." Brendan grinned back. "I really appreciate the back-up. Even more from a fellow guardian." He clenched his eyes ever so slightly. 'Whatever a guardian may be.'
"You bet."
"Brendan?!" Zinnia's agitated and exhausted voice sounded from behind the line of people walking into the field of sleeping flowers. "It's you… It's really you." Pushing people on her way, the draconid girl ran like crazy to her lover, jumping on to him, as she got close enough. Her arms wrapping themselves on his neck. She snuggled the side of her cheek on the fabric of his shirt, the warm feeling of his chest making the woman smile. "I looked for you everywhere… I was getting so desperate." She said, almost sobbing.
Seeing her face after that whole ordeal in Lilycove startled the young champion at first. Would she hate him after his outburst, after he hit her… but seeing the exasperation in her actions as she hugged him ever so tightly, washed all of his worries away. With a small smile, somewhat conflicted on what to do, Brendan embraced her back, adjusting her weight onto him so she could sit properly on his lap.
"Zinnia… I." He swallowed some words, taking time to consider what to say next. "Sorry for lashing out on you. I was not thinking strai-"
Silencing his lips with one finger, Zinnia took her beautiful red eyes to look at his, her entire expression mellowing at the gaze of his handsome face. "Shh… you don't have to say anything. I know." Pushing herself even more against his chest, Zinnia leaned in, taking her lips onto his. They locked themselves into a soft kiss, like a little peck just enough to feel each other's warmth.
"Ahem…" Feeling very uncomfortable with the display of affection, Silver cleared his throat, loud and clear, making his point straight.
Pulling away from her boyfriend's face, Zinnia turned her head to the red-haired, eyeing him up and down. "Who the hell are you?" She asked, glaring at Silver.
Ethan made an obvious motion to stand up and move over to the girl, but he found himself pinned down against the ground with Silver's left hand firmly holding him down, preventing him from being… him. The pale red-haired man gave a glare that said 'You will not flirt with her', making his partner laugh sheep-faced with a cold drop of sweat running down from his forehead.
"They are… friends." Brendan said, getting the girls attention back to him. "Ethan and Silver are helping me with the Rainbow Rocket problem."
"Oh… I see." Her natural aggression dying down, her head falling over Brendan's chest once again. "Brendan, I need to talk to you." She asked with pleading eyes. "It is important."
"Sure, anything you want. I still need to make it up for you." He pressed his lips on her cheeks, kissing him softly again. "I will see you two later, okay?" He looked to Ethan and Silver. "I'm not ready to go after them just yet."
"Don't worry your pretty longhaired head." Ethan replied jokingly. "We will enjoy the festival on our own; you go give your girl the attention she wants. The bad guys will not disappear after one night."
"Thanks again Ethan, Silver. I still don't know what being a guardian means, but I will do my best to learn how to be one." Brendan looked down to Zinnia, smiling softly to her. "I have to, for everyone's sake."
Taking Zinnia's right hand, Brendan helped her stand up and follow right after. Together, with their hands intertwine, the couple walked further away from the crowd coming in, to one of the few places that only Brendan, after living for so many years on the mountainside, knows about.
Silver stepped to the side and sat on the bench, next to Ethan. His general attitude changing from its normal way too stern and stressed, to a more relaxed one, something that clearly shows on his face. "So… what we do now?" He asked his partner, who turned his head and gave him a pouting face. "Calm down, I'm talking about the festival. I will not force you to leave."
"How about, anything?" Ethan grinned, shifting from his spot on the ground to the same bench as Silver. "No planning today, let's just enjoy the scene and eat some candies."
"That would be…. Interesting." Silver mused the idea with a little grin parting his lips apart.
Leaning in, Ethan resting his right arm on his red-haired friend's shoulder. "So why don't you go over one of those stands and get something for us?"
"What, why?"
"Don't be stingy. My arm still hurts and I think my legs are going bad too." Faking pained whimpers, Ethan slid himself slightly closer to his partner. The raven-haired youth tried to stroke a guilty feeling on Silver, which after a few sobs and rubs on his broken arm, successfully got to pale red-haired.
"Goddammit Ethan, are you really going to play 'that card' with me all the time now?" Silver hissed in exasperation.
Ethan grinned, going back to his spot with all the pain miraculously going away. "It's your own fault for being so obvious about it."
"Fine… I will get your stupid junk food." Not pleased with the utter shift of power on their partnership, Silver sucked up the irritation and decided to comply with his stupid rival's wishes. The red-haired stood up, fuming from his ears yet blushing ever so slightly.
"Silver." Ethan called out.
Silver stopped on his tracks but decided to not turn and look to Ethan or else the golden-eyed fiend would see the red line in his cheeks and a completely new headache would start.
"Could you lend me your phone for a moment?"
"Hã?! What you want with my phone?" Silver turned around, one brow raised as he eyed his grinning friend.
"I need to check something." Ethan pulled a small disc from his pockets; the same one Brendan had left on the table. "Mine can't read this thing, but yours probably can. You bragged quite a lot about it having the most innovative technology."
"I will assume that what you need to see is of the utmost importance, so take it." Silver pulled out a big cellphone with a black case and tossed it to Ethan. "Just don't break it."
"Okaaay!" Doing a silly voice, Ethan gave his partner a sheepish salutation.
Grunting some more, Silver turned on his heels. Leaving his aloof partner behind, the red-haired youth trailed over to the various stands at the new-made street just to the festival. From popcorn and grilled dishes to cotton candy and candy apples, the scent filling the place is entrancing, almost mesmerizing.
Contrary to Ethan constant need for sweet food, Silver has little taste for celebration treats and all that. Yet, he followed an invincible trail with his nose, a mildly sweet scent that led him to the cozy pinky stall of an old couple.
"Good evening young lady." The skinny old man clapped his hands together, giving a warm smile as a welcome. "What could we help you with?"
The granny as his side, dressed up in a flowery ceremonial robe, slapped the man softly at his arm. "Dann, for everything that is good, please don't be daft."
"Uh? What?" Dann rubbed his arm with a frown in his expression. His clean baldhead sparkling with the light of the small light bulb hovering over them. "Noah, your hand gets heavier by the year. Geez."
"Please young man, forgive my old husband. His eyes are not the same as they once were." The old woman named Noah bowed her head to Silver in apology, her face showing a few more wrinkles in concern.
"I… don't mind." The red-haired responded, folding his arms.
"A guy?!" Dann exclaimed excessively loud. "But he looks so beautiful."
Noah shot a fierce glare to her goofy husband, turning right back to Silver giving him another bow of apology. "Anyway, what would you like to taste first?'" She changed quite quickly to her business persona, and with a bright smile on her lips, she began to show the trays of sweets from behind the counter. "I think you really going to like this cinnamon bread." Noah cut a small size from a comically big brown bread and offered it to Silver on the tip of a fork.
"Or maybe a slice of this juicy crystalized banana." Dann jumped in, offering a square sugared candy.
Silver's eyed widened as the old couple began to push new types of food at him, one after the other as if they had started a weird type of competition between the two. His little curiosity has earned him more trouble than the red-haired had bargained for. For the duration of ten, very, long minutes, Silver had to endure the mature couple argues like a pair of small kids, but all in good spirits and trying to sell him the larger amount of foods possible.
With exhausted eyes, from the mental exercise of handling those two, Silver walked back from the stalls with a large brown bag in his arm and a piece of bread hanging from his mouth. He made back to the benches only to found Ethan completely engrossed with something on Silver's phone.
Taking in the piece of bread in one bite, the red-hair cleared his throat. "I'm back." He eyed his partner with a raised brow. Ethan didn't even acknowledge Silver's presence, despite the pale youth sitting at his side. "I brought your stupid food." He said pushing the bag to the person at his side, again no response. "What is so good that is keeping your attention so muc-"
Silver's mouth fell down; he simply could not believe his eyes.
Thin lines of a fair tanned skin shifted graciously as a pair of hands explored her naked body. A gasp followed, together with a wanting whisper. One hand waving upwards, grasping firmly at flocks of short black hair. Both people moaned in unison, the pleasure filling them up, the sensation almost maddening. Smiling at each other, the naked woman and the naked man locked themselves into a passionate kiss.
"ETHAN!" Silver shouted at the top of his lungs, probably the first time in his life that his voice reached such pitch. "What hell are you watching on my phone?!"
"Wa-wa-wait! This is not what it looks." Ethan instantly put the phone down, raising his hands, well the only hand he could rise up.
"Not what is looks?!" Silver flared up, his face red as a tomato. "You asked for my phone to watch P-" He held his tongue for a moment, dreading the thought of yelling that word with kids wandering about. "You're watching porn." Silver said in a rushed whisper.
"Listen, this is not porn…" Ethan rebuked, he reached with his hand to pull Silver closer, but the red-haired yanked his hand away. "Okay, this is two people having sex… but it is not porn. Just look at it."
"I will not-"
Ethan cut his friend by grabbed him by his hand again, now with a much tighter grasp. "Just stop being a stubborn hardhead and come here."
More than uncomfortable with the situation, Silver sat down again, taking the phone on his hands and disgruntled by Ethan's persistence, resumed the paused video. As he heated action commenced anew, Silver frowned and growled.
"I can't believe you're watching this outdoors!"
"Shut up and look closely." Ethan said with an annoyed hiss. "Have you noticed anything? Like the people doing it?"
Seeing a familiar semblance at the male's hair, Silver clenched his vision, getting even closer to the screen. "Is this that Brendan kid?"
"And that feisty girl of his."
Silver glared at his partner. "Ethan, how the hell you got this?"
"Woah, slow there. This is not mine." Ethan raised his hand in defense again, trying to shield himself from the piercing gaze of the red-haired. "Brendan forgot this disc on that table earlier; I just… recovered it for him."
A tired sigh came from Silver as he rested his face against the palm of his hand. "You're distasteful… to pry on someone's property like this. And that kid is strange himself, who would record this and leave it on the open?"
"That is the point." Ethan proclaimed proudly. "That, while it was in his possession, this disc is not his." With a fast move, he snatched the phone back and paused the video again. "Remember the showy girl talking with him before we moved in? She was the one that gave this to him. Since you were sitting with your back to them, you couldn't see it."
"So what? She is blackmailing him with his… intimate video?" Silver furrowed his brows.
"A possibility, but I don't think so." Showing the screen again, now even pointing at a specific point, Ethan turned to Silver. "I got in my head that this guy is not Brendan. I tried to look very closely at it, even replayed from the start, yet I could not find something that would prove this." His golden eyes shined with confidence as he spoke. "However, I am almost certain that this is not Brendan."
Focusing his eyes at the static image, Silver stared intently at this 'Brendan'. He pondered about it for as hard as he could. "As absurd as you sound right now… I think you may be right." He closed the video and took the disc out of his phone. "And if this is not Brendan."
"That girl was trying to do naughty things with this disc. I imagine Brendan would not take too kindly on this stuff." Ethan added in. "Think she is a member?"
"Probably… only Team Rocket would step so low." A rushing feeling of anger took over the pale redhead. Any time he hears another casualty of his father's 'anything for the mission' mentality, it feels Silver with nothing but shame. "What will you do with this?" He asked, handing over the disc to his partner.
Ethan grinned, holding the little thing up in the air. "The right thing, of course." With a pinch of his finger, he smashed the disc into little pieces. "I got your back for today, kid." He said aloud, even though it was more like a thought he wished to send to Brendan. "So." The cheerfulness coming back to Ethan's self, as if this unfortunate matter had never existed. "Let's enjoy the evening just the two of us, no Rainbow Rocket nor Giovanni to ruin the mood."
"As if I could take this out my head now." Silver replied with a disgruntled voice. Lowering his head to gaze at the ground, the red-haired failed to notice his partner getting closer and leaning in.
"Then, let me help you with that." It was quick, somewhat too quick for Silver to register. But Ethan pulled his chin up and crazed his lips with a soft peck. "This is for being so kind to me." He whispered ever so close to the other boy's face, his breath ticklish at the pale skin.
Burning red and mute from reactions, Silver eyed Ethan with plate-wide eyes. He touched his lips with two fingers, still feeling the warmth of the other's lips. Then it hit him where they are and how many people are still around them, which made the red-haired jump out from his spot and turn to the opposite direction from his crazy rival.
"Ohh, chocolate cakes with frosting on top." Ethan sang happily, taking the bag of sweets on his hands. Apparently, he isn't slightly fazed from their quick kiss. Something ridiculous to Silver, who is having the hardest of times to keep a straight face, despite how fast his heart is beating.
Unluckily for the distressed pale feminine boy, this is most likely not the last time Ethan will do something like this. There is no amount of arguing that will knock an idea out of the golden-eyed champion's head when he makes his mind.
And at this very moment, Ethan's eyes are very transparent about what is going on inside his head, with his brightly glowing orbs clearly saying 'You look so cute blushing like that.'
"I missed you…" Brendan breathed softly onto Zinnia's neck; the couple still wrapped in a tight embrace. "With all the craziness happening all around me, I barely had time to think of anything. But holding you in my arms right now… I missed this so much."
Having walked to the other border of the massive natural garden, they decided to sit on the shadow of a large oak tree. Brendan sitting directly under the leaves with his back leaning against the large brown trunk, and Zinnia sat at his side with her legs crossed and her eyes constantly changing from the almost blooming buds and the darkened figure of her lover.
"Me too, I… missed you." She said weakly. Although the sentiment was not fake in any way, Zinnia did, in fact, missed the days she sole monopolized Brendan's time with her crazy stunts, her heart still weighs heavily with guilty. "I am sure Aster misses you too. When I last saw her, she was terrified because your disappearance."
"Aster… another friend I hurt with my recklessness." He sighed deeply, remembering the little pink ball that always jumps directly at his chest whenever she sees him. "Is she okay?"
Zinnia nodded, grinning with the thought of her little girl. "She is a tough girl you know. But she was very stubborn about waiting for you are your house. Nothing I said made Aster walk from the entrance door."
"Heh, then we should hurry back home… At least we should hurry back, whenever the flowers bloom." Brendan glanced down to the silent field on the hill in front of them, the little buds sparkling with the moonlight; as if the stars had descended from the sky, pretty lines formed on the glows of the flowery buds, making them own set of strange patterns like grounded constellations.
This scenery never grows old in the champion's eyes, each year he makes sure to be present and each year the beauty of the events manages do leave him dumbstruck. Silently gazing at his side, Zinnia is also lost for words, but not from the growing flowers, no. Her eyes are fixated on Brendan's form, the shape of his features and more especially, on the glow of his eyes.
Grey, sharp and pretty, are the first words that come to her mind as she looks to his eyes. But there also more, they look tired, matured and somewhat scarred.
"Your eyes… They look so different from his." In a slip of her tongue, Zinnia whispered the words louder than what she wanted.
"From who's?" Brendan replied with a little grin; his grey eyes still focused on the sleeping flowers below them.
She bit her lips, cursing her big mouth for saying anything. In a mere minute, Zinnia thought of more than a dozen things to say and each left a sour taste in her mouth. In a mild panic, her eyes traveled away from Brendan, averting him for as much as possible, as if for some reason that would make the problem go away. And with a glimpse of something on the back of her vision, came the solution to her problems.
"Brendan… There is a perv old man staring at us." Zinnia said in a rushed tone, holding one hand in front of her mouth. She noticed her boyfriend's body shudder and his browns furrow. That was a winning stroke. "There, to your right. He is looking right at us."
More or less than six feet away from the couple's chosen spot, a lone man was sitting with his elbows resting on the grass, holding his upper body firm on his stance. At his side sat an old clay bottle with a wooden skull as its cap.
Shuffling uncomfortably in his long black coat, the old ran a pair of fingers over his white mustache. "I would appreciate if you wouldn't call me a perverted old man."
"Drake?!" Brendan looked at the old sailor, surprise to see him. "Ah… What are you doing here?" The young champion still eyed his colleague with a bit of suspicion.
"I was here far before you came in with the missus. Shouldn't I be the one giving you judging eyes from your lack of manners?" The dragon tamer huffed annoyingly on his spot and took a long sip from his clay bottle.
"Sorry, I really didn't saw you there." Scratching the back of his head, Brendan gave a short smile to the old man, who nodded back as if letting the youngster know that he accepted the apology. "But, hey. I didn't know you watched the festival. Sorry for saying this, but it doesn't really suit your image."
"Appearances can be deceiving. You, more than anyone else, should know that. Right, mister unbeatable champion despite your baby face." Drake gave him a bright grin, showing his sharp teeth. Taking another shot from his mysterious drink, the veteran trainer changed his gaze away from the couple but gave a low grunt as notifying that his attention was still with them. "Brendan, the league staff has been in an uproar this last few days. Poor girl Haru is at her wit's end trying to get a hold of you. We had to postpone more than two matches past the Elite Four because our champion has been missing."
"The league... I understand where you coming from. But on these days, I have been trying my best to solve this mess around Hoenn." Brendan frowned as he gave his reply. "I can't do that and still be in Ever Grande for the league."
"I get it. You're saving the world and all that deal. I saw some of it on the TV." Draken chuckled softly. His stern expression unreadable, as he watched over a few of the buds blossoming slowly. "However, you're still our champion. And that is one of your most important duties." The old dragon tamer frowned ever so slightly, moving his right hand to his white hat laying on the grass. "The young kids starting their journeys, the youthful teenagers trying their best to become worth of getting over here to Ever Grande, and even the adults that still dreams of facing against the very best. Brendan, to all these people, you are their hero."
Brendan opened his mouth to say something back, but nothing came out. He only stared down, feeling embarrassed for forgetting about this. He felt a tug on his left arm, a soft hand laying on top of his. He looked to the side and saw Zinnia looking at him, smiling with all her warmth to him. Her beautiful red eyes pushing away the troubled feeling growing in his chest.
"Listen, kiddo. I know that your life is a heck more complicated than the one of this old fool here." Drake said pointing to himself. "But even with all that's happening around you, you need to stand firm and tall for all those dreamers out there. Like Steven, despite all his troubles, stood up and watched over your own journey."
"Without Steven, I would be more than lost in my life right now." Brendan closed his eyes, remembering vivid memories of all the times Steven, out of nowhere, stepped in from behind tall bushes, more than ready to help the young Brendan on his difficult path. The sight of a grown-up adult hiding inside a pack of green leaves still cracks a goofy smile on the champion's lips. "Thank you, Drake. I guess, in a way, I was diverting away from the right path."
"Heh, don't sweat it. Just make sure to make an appearance on the League's halls tomorrow or those poor ladies will lose their minds." With a satisfied sigh of relief, Drake pulled himself up from the grassy ground. He tossed his hat up on top of his head, which landed a bit crooked with front tap covering his left eye. "You kids have a good evening and enjoy the spectacle."
"They're just starting to bloom, are you really going to leave now?" Brendan asked as he noticed a few more flowers slowly starting to wake up from their long sleep.
"Seeing their last hour as little buds it the real magic to me." Fixing his hat and taking the bottle from the ground; Drake turned around and began to walk away. "See you tomorrow, Champion." With a lone wave of his free hand, the old dragon tamer vanished into the direction of Ever Grande City.
"Quite the show off that old man, huh?" Zinnia commented with a happy grin. Even if she is not that fond of strangers, she has to admit that the old dragon has style. "But he looks like a good guy."
"That he is. Drake is an amazing person and a great teacher too." Brendan glanced back to his lover and smile. With a swoop of his left arm, he pulled the unexpected draconid girl back to his arms. "He taught me a whole lot about dragons, you know." His tone came out very suggestive, his gaze being even more.
If Zinnia was not in the mood to get 'closer', she certainty got in it very quickly. Her arms, as if they had a will of their own, snaked their way across his neck, pulling the red-eyed girl even closer to his face. Brendan moved the rest of the way and planted his lips on hers. With their kiss getting more passionate, more intimate, the young lovers forgot about everything other than themselves.
While Brendan and Zinnia enjoyed each other company, the field right below them started to glow with an even brighter light. One after another, all the flowers began to open and spread their petals. Blue, red, pink, yellow… and a flowering wave of colors washed over the open field, the moonlight resonating with all of them, making a fantastical show light.
As a jolt of pleasuring sensation ran over Zinnia's body, she moaned inside Brendan's mouth. His reaction was to move his hands lower, the right one slightly grazing on top of her left breast, the left one slowly sliding down over her back, making its way to her waist. With a powerful grip on her side, Zinnia gasped. Her head zoning out for a moment, as something warm flustered her insides.
"Wait... please." She pulled away from his kiss, leaving Brendan more than disappointed and his face showed that. "Brendan it's not that I don't like it." She placed a hand on his cheek.
"Then why did you pull away?" He eyed her with anticipation. Even if Brendan tried to hide his frustration, the throbbing pack on his pants gives him away.
"We came out here to talk, remember?" She gave him an apologetic little smile. "I want nothing more than to throw myself at you and lose my mind in your warmth."
"I vote for talking later." Brendan moved in again, placing small kisses on her neck. "And enjoy the warmth of each other now."
She squealed under his kisses. Giggling away like a silly infatuated girl, Zinnia still slipped away from his embrace. "I can't… not until we talk this through." Even if her chest was claiming to give in, the draconid girl stood her ground, much to her lover's disappointment, again.
"Ah…" He gave a huge sigh, leaning backwards to the tree again. "Okay. I am all ears." He looked back to Zinnia, even in utter frustration, he still managed a lovingly smile to his precious one.
"Okay… but promise me that no matter what I say, you will believe me." Zinnia said, already getting afraid of his reaction. She turned her face away just slightly but continued to look at him from the corner of her eye.
"I promise." Brendan said simply.
"Your cries of anguish… I heard them." A deep voice echoed from below the seawater. On the surface, nothing more than a few bubbling little waves are at view. "Your pain, your hatred. They are as deep as my own."
Spiegel stood at the edge of the green thick forest at the south of Littleroot, his feet quite literately halfway into the shallow water bashing against the small groove slope before the ocean.
He eyed the dark blue waters, skeptical of this voice. "How did you know my pain?" He snorted. "How would you even know anything about me?"
The little bubbling waves changing, evolving into a more drastic and wild movement of water. "Because we are the same." A little tip of an even darker blue appeared on the water. "Beings mirrored by hated opposites. Where should be only one, there is two."
"How do you know about this?" Spiegel took a single step backward, his eyes fixated on the small darker blue spot.
"You can feel my presence. What makes you think that I cannot feel yours? Or the presence of you other self?" Kyogre decided to show more than half of himself, his deep yellow eyes glaring at the young man. "Accept your fate, guardian. We are kindred spirits, bonded together by an undying hatred for our enemies."
"Bonded, huh?" A weak chuckled escaped. "You think you can defeat Groudon?" He asked with a defiant smirk.
"I WILL DESTROY THAT THING!" A monstrous screech echoed in the air, Kyogre fully rising to the surface. "That abomination is nothing more than a coward, slipping away when he needs. Getting the help of lesser beings to match my power." His furious rant slowly calmed down, half of his body submerging back in the sea. "It is my destiny to kill Groudon and reign over this world."
"And my fate to kill Brendan." Spiegel added in, his head lowering enough to hide the upper part of his face in a darkening expression. "I will work with you, Kyogre. I can't destroy that person with Groudon in my way. And you can't possibly match the molten primal without me."
Kyogre jolted upwards again, the little human testing the limits of his patience. "Without this decrepit form jailing me away from my real form, I can easily destroy him." His yellow eyes burning with passionate hatred, he glanced down to Spiegel. "Yet, for that to happen. I need you." He calmed down once again, lowering even more than before, keeping just the upper part of his body in the surface.
"I will help you, but first we need to find the blue orb." Spiegel's eyes darkened once again, his tone changing to a deadly one. "My orb." He glared at Kyogre, who just watched the courage of this little person. "Now, for that to happen. I will need something more from you." He said with a wicked grin.
"Speak, human."
"This." He pulled a cerulean Poké-Ball out of his pockets. "I will need you to go inside of this."
"You wish to imprison me?! As that buffoon got himself caged?" Kyogre growled louder again, his never almost running wild.
"I can't carry you around with all that size, can I?" The duo-colored eyed youth replied with a shrug. "Make your choice. Primal of the Deeps."
Minutes of silence followed Spiegel words, the primal contemplating smashing this person like a bug he is. However, that, he did not do. Kyogre slowly approached the slope, getting his head very close to the defiant trainer. "Tread carefully, guardian. Even inside that small thing, I can still make your life a living hell."
"I know you can, Kyogre." Spiegel chuckled at the threat. With a light bop on the massive Pokémon' head, he 'captured' the giant titan into the cerulean colored Poké-Ball. Having collected his prize, he gave a long sigh. "For how long have you been there?" He threw the question in the air.
"Since you started to speak with the wind." Wally stepped out of the darkness, getting in front of his old friend. "I heard someone breaking a window of professor Birch's lab, coming out to see what happened, I saw you walking by yourself into the woods."
"Ah… this is unfortunate." Spiegel eyed his friend with saddened eyes. "I… didn't want you to see this."
Wally frowned, taking a step closer. "What was this about?" He asked. "You're speaking of killing Brendan… I don't understand."
"I am not Brendan. Not the Brendan you know." Spiegel answered bluntly, his resolve never wavering. "Someone tried to make a copy of Brendan, they failed the first time. But as you can see, they didn't fail for very long."
"If you're not Brendan. What is your name?" The tea-green haired youth asked.
"Spiegel." He responded with a weak grin. "A proper name, for someone that is nothing more than a reflection, don't you think?"
Wally remained impassive, staring at this 'copy' of his friend with stern eyes. He showed no signs of disbelief but didn't sound his opinion either.
"Wally, what I said earlier… I meant every word, each one of them." Spiegel bit his lower lip, glancing downwards to the ground. "Even if you… even if I am not your childhood friend. I still want to be your friend." Getting no response from the green-haired trainer, Spiegel sighed again in frustration. He shook his head to awaken himself from his pitied state and started to walk past Wally.
"Are you going to fight Brendan?" Wally asked as the other man stood at his side.
The question forced the blue-and-red-eyed youth to stop, and even without turning his head to the side, he responded. "I will." His voice came out somewhat shaken. "Brendan's every memory… Brendan's feelings and dreams. I have all of them inside of me. I have to fight because I have a reason of being."
Having said what he wanted, Spiegel resumed his pace. The longhaired man disappeared inside the forest, leaving a conflicted Wally behind.
Wally wavered shortly. Keeping a straight face was taking everything he had in him, there was no way he would not feel heavily impacted by this discovery. "What… should I do with this?" He took both hands to his face and screamed on his palms, muffling his voice enough to sound like nothing more than ragged breathing.
"No… this isn't right." Brendan said, shaking his head in denial. "The guys, passing as me. He is dead. He died at Mt. Pyre."
"Brendan, you promised me." Zinnia tugged on his arm, looking at him with pleading eyes. "This person… he was not impersonation you, it was not the same as that man that I fought on Mauvile." She raised his hand to his face and forced him to look at her. "That man… he was you."
Brendan jerked himself away, growling in frustration. "He was not me, I was not there!" He spat angrily. "Zinnia, what are trying to say?"
"I know this sounds crazy, but is the truth." Zinnia crawled closer to her lover again, carefully taking hold of his hands. "The way he spoke… the look in his eyes. Everything about him is just like you. A little more childish and innocent, but still you."
"This is ridiculous… How can someone." Brendan was more than ready to refute her words again until some pieces began to match inside his head. "You thought he was me…" He glanced down, his gray eyes almost piercing her flesh with a fierce gaze. "What did you do with him?"
The coldest chill ran down the draconid woman's spine. She felt herself dwarfs under that glare. Zinnia swallowed hard, she wanted to place everything out in the open, no matter how bad things would go, or if Brendan would never forgive her for it. It is the right thing to do. "Nothing, we did nothing." However, she lied. "We spent a lot of time talking, and then I realized something was different about him. I didn't know what to do Brendan… I just walked away."
"Dammit Zinnia. What is he doing right now? with whom? He has my freaking face, how could you let him get away?" Brendan fell on his back, scowling at the bright little dots in the sky. "Sorry… for yelling at you again." His face fell; again, Brendan hates himself for his lack of control over his emotions.
"You don't need to apologize… I understand." With her heart breaking apart, Zinnia maintained a cool expression. She scooted very closely to Brendan, lying right next to him in hopes of his presence washing away the guilt inside her heart.
"He is coming for you..." A deep, evil voice echoed inside Brendan's mind and together with it an excruciating headache.
Brendan's entire body shook violently, his hands flying to his head. "Ghhh… Stop..." He pressed his fingers into his hair, desperately trying to push the voice away.
"Brendan?!" Zinnia watched in horror as his left eye began to glow with a red light, his expression writhing painfully.
"I feel the other presence getting stronger. He has joined himself with my hated rival." Groudon continued, making Brendan scream with the pain. "Prepare yourself to unleash me upon this world... or your weakness will be the end… for both of us."
Brendan gasped soundly, the voice fading away but the pain remaining as strong as ever. The traumatic experience is so strong this time that a thick line of blood began to run down from his nose. He desperately reached down for one of his pockets, pulling out the dark Poké-Ball and holding it close to his chest.
"That monster again…" Zinnia wrapped her arms around her lover, praying that her embrace would ease his pain, she stroke his hair with one hand. "Don't worry Brendan. I am here now… You will not carry this burden alone anymore. You will never be alone again."
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Mallory S Nocturne chapter 21 . Jul 18 – Right? At first I was like: "Hm… I don't know about this character." Now I am like: "He is so cool ."
Maybe Spiegel can change his ways in the future… maybe...
Mr MogiGaming chapter 21 . Jul 20 – Poor Brendan, he didn't even know about Spiegel and had his hands full with trouble already. To tell the truth… I don't want the two of them to meet… things will probably get messy.