Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or its characters.
Author's Notes: The second and final part of the dual-chapter release. If you're coming directly from chapter 39, please go back and read the previous one.
Flourishing with life and colors, the upper side of Ever Grande is a complete feast to the eye. Embellishing, even more, the already beautiful city, this part of the island is almost untouched by human hands; just trees, gleaming grass and a rainbow-sea made out of flowers. The only landmark that contrasts this wild beauty, is that small house at the top of the highest hill, but instead of disturbing the peace of this paradisiac scenery, the little house complements it, drawing in all sorts of curious wild Pokémon out to the clearing, making it a busy location to the small creatures.
Isolated from most city noises and human company, two friends are enjoying the haven that is this place, bathing their leisure time under the soothing light of the setting sun.
"You let him win… why?"
Brendan never sighed so defeated as he did right now. How many times has he heard that one phrase since he stepped out of the Champion's chamber with that kid? At this point, it is impossible to know.
"Wally, for the gazillion time… I didn't let the kid win." Almost exploding in exasperation, Brendan limited himself to just fall with his back on the grass, letting his eyes roll upwards to the orange sky of the late afternoon.
Looking at his long-time friend with a look of disbelief, the tea-green haired man scoffed loudly and continued. "His last Pokémon was wavering, more than that, one soft breeze would take that Aggron down. Instead of doing what any normal person would do, you pulled a freaking Legendary Pokémon to make some goofy joke, that I didn't get, and then proclaimed the kid the winner." Narrowing his vision, Wally glared down at Brendan, who is currently mimicking his speech with one hand in the air. "I ask you again, why did you let him win?"
"My word Wally, why are you so mad about this? I didn't let the kid win, his Aggron defeated Ekkisu and all the while he was in his mega form. Look, I was battling against him one hundred percent serious until that moment… You know that Ekkisu is the strongest of my team, the boy earned that victory." Sitting down and crossing his legs, Brendan got a stern look on his face, showing how serious he is speaking right now. "I've been thinking all this time about the stuff Steven and even you keep telling me every day. Seriously, how many years I've been holding this title? I'm tired and I was just waiting for someone that could uphold the name I will leave behind."
Wally relented with his glare, letting his frustration flow out with a sigh. "I… can understand that. But what about that show you put up with Groudon. Scaring the kid like that?"
To that one, Brendan just waves one hand and quietly chuckled. "That was funny, you have to admit."
That look on Wally's face told Brendan everything his friend thought of that joke, and as it seems he didn't find anything funny in it.
"Gah, fine… jeez, you're gonna pop a vein or something like that with the constant frown." Messing with the freshly growing grass at his side, Brendan's façade changed to a more contemplative one. "I told you, I am tired, man. But if I am to put someone in my place, he needs to be worthy of it. Because when I retire from my spot on the League, all the crazy stuff that may happen around Hoenn? That will be their business."
The persistent look of dissatisfaction on Wally's face gradually changed to a more passive one, his gaze trailing to the side as he held one hand against his lips. "You tested him with Groudon… To see if he would run away at the sight of that giant thing." Green hair swishing in a quick movement as he darted his gaze back to his friend. "What if the kid decided to flee?" He asked genuinely curious.
"Then he would have failed and would be deemed unworthy of being Champion." Brendan replied with a cold seriousness, his eyes showing no trace of deceiving on them. Then, loosing up a bit on the sudden sternness of his features, he clicked his tongue and waved one hand in front of him. "As you could see, the kid has guts enough to stand up to Groudon. Anyway, there is no point in talking about what-ifs, he won and that's what happened." A subtle look of mischief appeared on Brendan's face, his red eyes getting a special kind of glint to them. "Oh, that's right… I remember hearing that everyone on the League's staff was rooting against me, YOU included… Shouldn't you be a little happier that I lost?"
Red tint flashed across Wally's face, his gaze going down to the ground and the building embarrassment forcing him to turn away from Brendan. "Sidney and Phoebe started that… I just got swept by their overexcitement."
"Sorry, I didn't remember how gullible my friend is…" Brendan doesn't truly hold that against Wally, deep inside even him was cheering on the boy's success. However, he is more inclined to withhold that information just so he can tease Wally a bit.
"I SAID STOP IT!" One loud and deeply frustrated voice stormed in the area, of course, that for Wally it was just a high-pitched cry of an annoyed Pokémon.
Both trainers turned their attention to the small path coming from Brendan's house, just to see a twirling ball made of pink and brown rolling in a messy entangle to their way. Moving like a small hurricane of noises, this small ball passed by Wally and Brendan, rolling wildly until it touched a tree and it parted itself in two parts; to one side rolling a dizzy Aster and the other a groggy Linoone.
"You stop!" Linoone hissed back. "Can't take words, don't come talking with me."
Shaking her head to scare her dizziness away, Aster quickly jumped on her feet and pointed one of her large ears towards the fuzzy-brown Pokémon. "Take it back. Take back what you said, now!"
"Pshht… I don't think I will." Doing what he has learned to do best this couple of years, Linoone managed to push Aster ever further into her fit of rage; the smug little grin on his lips just making the poor pinky-ball fume with frustration.
Stomping her little foot on the ground three times out of anger, Aster rushed right in towards Linoone again, this time starting a wave of tiny little punches at the top of his head. While not very harmful in their force, her constant little jabs are enough to make the other Pokémon screech out in annoyance.
Standing still at the running show, Wally and Brendan watched the little exchange, with Wally left just confused to the commotion, while Brendan is just chuckling at their non-sense.
Pointing to the cowering fuzzy-ball, Wally looked back to Brendan and asked. "That Linoone is living with you now?"
Brendan shrugged at first, not even him is completely sure about the answer to this question. "Well, technically he lives with Flannery, but every once in awhile, Stripes appear here out of nowhere. At this point I just let him be."
"Stripes?" Wally quirked an eyebrow as he asked.
"It's his name, Stripes." Brendan explained. "Before he left, Spiegel asked me to give him this name, as a parting gift to the little guy I guess." Taking his eyes back to the two little Pokémon, Brendan's features grew a bit nostalgic and even sad. "He said that it was too weird to keep calling him Linoone, something about him being too unique to not have his own name."
Glancing back to the small tree, Wally watched as Stripes raised his upper body, standing on just two paws; to then pounce at Aster, both Pokémon resuming their previous rolling motion as a unified mess of brown and pink.
"He is certainly… unique." He said with a pause. "Never saw a Pokémon quite like him. Wild and untamed, at the same time he is so comfortable around people; even attaching himself with some."
"According to what he says, Stripes finds us interesting." Brendan started. "When I asked why he lives with Flannery but doesn't join her team, he just says that she is gentle and gives him treats, so he stays in her home. As to why he keeps popping up here in Ever Grande… That is something about my face." Saying this, Brendan brought one hand to the back of his head, messing around with his hair. "I guess it's because of Spiegel."
"Speaking of him… any word on that fugitive brother of yours?" Walking closer to the small clearing of low grass, Wally took a seat on the ground as well, close enough to Brendan that their arms are in touching distance.
One long sigh came out of the tired champion, his eyes once again getting that nostalgic but yet melancholic look onto them. "The usual I would say. He writes to Flannery once every week, he gives me a call somewhere between one-or-two months basis." Thinking about their brief talks over the phone, Brendan's face quickly brightened up, his lips parting into a shining smile. "He is traveling a lot, and whenever he gets onto a different place he sends me a picture. Do you want to see it?"
If he wanted to or not, Wally had no chance to say his mind, for as soon as Brendan asked the question he was already taking his PokéNav out of his pocket and typing quite rapidly at its buttons.
"Look! This one he is standing at the top of Mt. Silver." He brought the device to the side, making it easier for Wally to see it.
At the small screen is showing the image of a blizzard-snowing mountain, the thickness of the falling snow so heavy that is clouding most of the scenery, save for one very distinct trace of this photo that is a standing thumbs up at the left side of the screen.
"Hah, this one is pretty good too." Brendan commented happily, quickly changing to another photo. "I didn't recognize at first, but this is the base of Mt. Coronet." He pointed to the gigantic wall of rock at the back, past the lush trees.
Seeing this second photo Wally noticed a weird trend on these pictures… once again the visibility of the place is horrible, the camera was focused on just a small clearing in between some trees and at the back, a wall of brown rocks going up that probably is the mountain, and of course that signature thumbs up at the left side, coming from the person taking the photo.
"Why doesn't he take a photo of himself or at least peek with his head at the side… He is just giving thumbs up and taking pictures of nothing." Complained rather annoyedly the green-haired man.
Not really fazed by the criticism of his brother's photographic skills, Brendan just laughed and dismissed the complaints with a wave of his hand.
"He is having a lot of fun! Every time he sends me a picture, he puts a lot of happy faces or small Pokémon holding little hearts in the message." The grown-up man made a sound that resembles a giggle, a little unsettling to the other man sitting at his side.
"I don't doubt…" Wally rolled his eyes a little at the silly grin on his friend's face; just looking at those photos was enough to make Brendan beam happily. "He still sucks at taking photos."
"Daddy!" Aster came running towards Brendan, bopping her head on his arm as she snuggled onto him. "Stripes is being mean again…"
Smiling down to his little girl, Brendan picked Aster up in his arms and rested her on top of his crossed legs. "Really?" He asked with a sweet tone, clearly not taking things very seriously but still being very attentive to the little Whismur. "What did he do this time?"
Having a downcast look, Aster has her ears deflated to show her sadness. "I was minding my own business, talking with Ekkisu back home." She jumped from her place, her ears jumping into an alert state, ready to strike at any moment. "He came and said that my name is dumb! That's wrong, he is wrong! My name is not dumb."
"Of course, sweetie. Your name is cute, just like you." Brendan said with a voice full of sugar, his tone making the little Whismur giggle happily.
"Na-ham! It's dumb." A sly looking Linoone popped down from beneath the ground, just his head poking out as he looked up at Brendan. "Aster?! What kinda name is that? Super dumb." To make his mischiefs super effective, the brown-troublemaker made sure to look at Aster and grin, the poor pink-ball inflating her cheeks in frustration. "Look at my name, Stripes! That's super cool because I am full of stripes, yours is just dumb."
From her spot on top of Brendan's lap, Aster leaped towards Stripes, landing with both of her tiny feet onto his face, practically digging him back into the ground. After sneaking a few paces inside the earth, the taunting Linoone popped up once again against the grass, sticking his tongue out towards Aster.
In all his prank and chaos making, Stripes failed to see the growing shadow that was approaching him, only when a pair of hands was already grabbing him and pulling him out of the hole that he noticed someone standing on top of him.
"For goodness sake, Brendan. Why does this fleabag always find his way here?" Stormed out one angry draconid woman, all the while she is shaking the poor Linoone in the air. "The only thing he does is screw around and make Aster agitated… seriously, so annoying."
Still as young and beautiful as six years ago, Zinnia has changed very little. Her hairstyle remains the same, together with her simplistic but rather wild sense of fashion with her dark and red shirt, with the always provocative small shorts hugging tightly to her tights. Her figure, however, is a bit more feminine and fit, a perfect contrast between an athletic body and generous curves. To see this beauty every day is Brendan's greatest treats, and he has a rather difficult time not falling in love with her all over again each time he sees her.
On the hands of the dark-skinned beauty, wiggling for dear life, Stripes tried everything he could to get away from the scary woman, but her hold on the back of his head is way too strong for it to budge. "Release me, Dragon Woman!" He hissed loudly, shifting his head around in a useless struggle to bite one of her hands.
"Zinnia, let the poor Linoone go." Brendan felt sorry for the little guy, he too was once a victim of one of Zinnia's pitching hold… that was not a very fun experience. "He just keeps pestering Aster, because he likes her."
"Crazy talk! What is there to like about that pink round stupid Aster?" Stripes fervently denied such accusations, his wiggling getting twice as fast and wild.
Staring at the distressed Linoone with a new light, Aster quietly tilted her head to the side. "He likes me?" She asked a bit lost. "Ekkisu likes me, but he is not mean, he is very kind and fun."
Brendan just laughed at his daughter little confusion, Wally at his side just watched the scene unfold in a complete obliviousness, completely satisfied to sit at his spot and rest a bit from his busy day. The tanned woman, however, is sharing neither of those two moods.
With a strong swing of her left arm, Zinnia brought Stripes higher up and closer to her face. "Oi fleabag, you better stay clear of my little girl, you hear me!" She threatened the Linoone by shaking him even more. "If I catch any more of your funny business, I will turn you into a carpet."
Utterly terrified of her shining emerald eyes, Stripes screeched out in terror, turning himself into a little tornado of brown in his desperate struggle to get out. One lucky hit of his long tail at the woman's nose was enough to make her flinch, one uncontrollable urge to sneeze came about forcing Zinnia to let go of the Pokémon in her hands and quickly sneeze at the side.
Rejoice his freedom and the lack of a mortal pinch at the back of his head, Stripes landed on the ground and quickly vanished into the closest bush he could find. After some rustling of leaves, the frantic Linoone poked his head out again and stuck his tongue out at everyone staring at him.
"Next time you pinch me, I will bite at your ankles, Dragon Woman!" He vanished back inside the bushes again, then pop right back out. "And I don't like you, stupid Aster, stupid!" Right-back inside he goes again, this time for good as the leaves quickly stopped moving.
"Brendan… you better do something about that punk!" Zinnia threw a flaming glare towards her loved one. Her voice suddenly gaining a dangerous edge to it as she began to speak again. "Or I will, and next time I will do more than pinch his dirty fur."
Looking back to his lover with innocent eyes, Brendan just shrugged with his shoulders. Whatever Zinnia wants him to do, it would be more than inappropriate against an innocent little Pokémon and contrary to his wife, Brendan finds rather amusing the interactions between Aster and Stripes.
"Is every day in your home so energetic?" Wally asked both Brendan and Zinnia, earning a silly grin from his friend and an odd look from her. "Seriously, every time I come over there is at least some sort of commotion going on. What happened last time… Oh, yeah. The flock of Wingulls that flooded your front yard."
Zinnia snorted, crossing both arms under her breasts. "How in the world is that our fault?"
"Can't possibly say, but with you and Brendan, who would be able to?" Wally commented with another shrug. Yet, despite his little smug shade thrown at them, Wally is not wrong. Whenever those two are involved, only the craziest of situations end up happening; thus, his little hesitation of coming together with any of them in all the little vacation trips he was been invited to.
"Say, Wally. Are you going back to the continent today or are you staying in Ever Grande?" Brendan asked him.
"With your first defeat happening? I bet today will not be a safe place, for any member of the League, in the continent." Wally replied with small shivering of his back, just imagining the waves of reporters and curious trainers coming at them on full force to get any scoop about the triumphant new champion. "Why you ask?"
Brendan smiled at the reply question coming from his friend. "Stay to have dinner with us. Today is the rare occasion when Zinnia is making dinner, you won't see that everyday… or month." His head went bobbing forward after Zinnia's hand slapped him for his small comment.
"Er… Brendan, no offense but I rather not." Wally politely declined or tried to, but as soon as he started Zinnia was already on top of him.
"The hell, why not?" She demanded angrily. "Are you saying that my food is bad? Any problems with me, pale boy?"
"Look, despite many reasons, I don't have a problem with you Zinnia…" Wally rebuked with both hands raised in self-defense. "A bit of reservation towards your cooking skills, but the problem is way more serious." Brendan and Zinnia stared at him, waiting patiently for him to finish his thought. "How do I put this on words…. You two are the problem." He said firmly, to the couple's scandalization.
"Hey!" Brendan protested loudly. "What's wrong with us?"
At that, the green-haired man frowned and looked at Brendan with a façade of disbelief. "Seriously?" He asked. "Last time I came over to have dinner, you two just started to make out, right in the middle of it. Like, I mean really making out. I'm one-hundred percent certain that at the moment I closed the front door behind me, you two just went at it like two Pokémon in heat."
At that revelation, the odd couple looked a bit embarrassed by it, mostly Brendan because Zinnia has a strangely proud look to her.
"Sorry about that… Jeez, were we that lost into it?" Asked the mildly ashamed man. "Zinnias was just so gorgeous that night, I had to go and give her a little peck in the cheeks."
Now Wally was the one scandalized. "Peck in the cheeks?" He said outraged. "More like a submarine dive with your tongue inside her mouth. No way in hell I am submitting myself to that horrific scene once again. You two have fun, I will just go get something to eat in town."
"Alone?" Asked Brendan intrigued. "Aren't the Elite Four having a little get together with Drake… to celebrate my defeat?"
One violent shivering took over Wally's body, his face grew paler making him look very sick. "Are you out of your mind? They are having this small party in a bar… can you imagine it?! Sidney and Phoebe, but drinking out of their senses or what little senses they have." Now he just shook into a spasm, truly horrified by the image of those two in a drunk state next to him. "I would either get punched to death by Sidney or sexually assaulted by Phoebe, either of those is a terrible fate."
"One sounds bad, but the other not so much." Zinnia jumped in, giving Wally one studying look. "Just indulge the girl in her desires already."
"Wait, Zinnia. Wally is not that type of guy. His girl would be very pissed if he gave in to Phoebe's unrelenting advances." Then Brendan was the one giving Wally one curious look. "Wait, why the hell don't you tell Phoebe about May already?"
"I have… several times…" Wally said defeated. "She purposely chooses to forget that fact or rather doesn't care that I have a girlfriend." Getting a dead look to his eyes, Wally slumped to the grass, sighing hardly in his woes. "Between Sidney's constant 'friendly punches' and Phoebe's killing-boobs-hug, my life on those halls is a miserable experience."
"I know the feeling, hah… In my first years, those two stuck to me like I was made out of glue." Brendan shuttered himself, remembering his share of Phoebe and Sidney's friendliness. "Phoebe especially can be a bit too much."
"Thankfully for you, the hugsy-dancer got a very convincing chat from your scary girlfriend to leave you the fuck alone." Zinnia said with a scary look in her eyes, her right hand tightening into a fist right in front of her. "Then, no more squishing my husband's face between her tits."
Like a god has presented itself in front of him, Wally looked at Zinnia with his eyes radiating with hope. She was a beacon of peace and he desperately needed that solace.
She noticed the odd look of admiration she was getting from the pale man, just for then scoff and shake her head. "Sorry friend, if you want the same treatment, you will have to ask your girlfriend to scare the hornyness out of that girl."
Right then Wally's beacon of hope came crashing down to his reality of despair, the poor soul slumping like a lifeless log to the side. Even if he asked May to intervene, she's is way too nice and barely can scare little Pokémon out of her garden. Sadly, for the mighty Tyrant of the Elite Four, he is stuck in his predicament until Phoebe finds another target for her hugs.
"Haha… Hang in there, buddy." Brendan casually patted his friend on his back, from one ex-prisoner of that fate to another.
Resting on a comfy bed with soft blankets lying on top of her after a tiring night is one of Zinnia's hidden delights. Most people just think of sleep as a necessity, for her, this moment is pure bliss where she can be lost inside her sweet dreams on the comfort of her large bed. That is, normally she can enjoy this moment of sleep, which is kind of impossible right now with the person at her side grumbling and twirling around on the bad like a restless beast.
"Brendan…." She pleaded with a soft and low voice. "I love you from the bottom of my heart, but if you keep rolling on the bed, I will kill you."
"Sorry, did I wake you up?" He turned towards Zinnia and touched the small of her back.
"Actually no. I would've needed to doze off before you could wake me, but is impossible to do so with you making that much noise." Now Zinnia is the one turning to look at Brendan, as she usually likes to sleep with her belly against the mattress, her face is almost always turned to the other side. "Why are you so restless?" For the whole day she found strange his lack of reaction from being dethroned as the invincible champion, now seeing him unable to sleeps shows that he was not so indifferent after all.
Brendan sighed, crossing his arms against his chest. "Is just… I'm so pissed off right now." He puffed air out, his frown growing fiercer.
Seeing her husband pout is always heartwarming to Zinnia in a strange way, she just finds his handsome face so cute while pouting like that. Still, she likes, even more, when he purrs sweetly when she hugs at his side and comfort him on his bad mood. So, without thinking twice, Zinnia wiggled closer to him and wrapped one of her arms above his firm abs. "I know… But we're here for you. Me, Aster and everyone else."
"I know…" He looked at her and showed the most handsome smile ever, making the draconid woman melt at his charming looks. "But seriously, who Wally think he is, making such accusations like that!" And quite instantly Zinnia's delusion about her husband woes got crushed into dust. "It only makes me more upset, the fact that we proved him right by the end of today's dinner."
Slowly pulling her arm away, Zinnia sat up on the bed and looked at Brendan with a look of disbelief. "You've been sulking this entire time because we had sex after dinner and proved Wally right?
At her question, Brendan slightly misunderstood her meaning and innocently replied with full honesty. "Yeah…"
"Three in the morning, Brendan! You've been rolling around the bed ever since we came to sleep at twelve. For everything that is sacred, you better shut up and sleep, before I beat the crap out of you with a pillow." After her very loud outburst, Zinnia whipped the upper body to the other side, showing Brendan her back as she dug her head against her pillow again.
Quite scared of Zinnia's vibrant emerald eyes, Brendan had cowered to his corner of the bed, hiding his face bellow the blanket. But as the silence grew in the room again, he got out of his protective shell and moved closer to her, placing one hand at her back once more.
"Babe… don't be mad at me." Getting just an angry snort out of Zinnia, Brendan moved even closer and pulled her into a loving embrace. Touching the back of her neck with his lips, he began to plant kisses all over her skin, going from that sensible spot to the entire length of her shoulders.
Zinnia's heated mood slowly changed, melting away with the low moan coming out from her mouth. "Brendan… you better stop that before you get me going again."
"Yeah… why is that?" He continued to plant kisses on her warm skin, this time shifting Zinnia towards him and trailing to the upper part of her chest.
Another set of low moans came from her, this time Zinnia bringing one of her hands to the back of his head and grabbing at his hair. She pulled his head up towards her and snatched his lips into a melting kiss. "Look at what you've done, Brendan… No more sleep for both of us now."
Locked up in another searing kiss, Brendan smiled against her lips giving to his wife every bit of him that she wanted. "Doesn't sound so bad, does it?" He went in, kissing her deeply again.
Digging her nails onto Brendan's broad back, Zinnia tried to stifle a surging moan with little success. The more he trailed down, kissing, touching and nibling, the harder it gets for her to hold her voice in. "I-It doesn't – Ah- Brendan…" He pushed the chest part of her nightgown to the side, grasping her left mound with his mount, playing with her nipple, using his tongue and teeth to get every sort of noise out of his wife. "Keep going… don't focus only on my boobs." She pleaded with a sweet and erratic voice.
To her pleasure and satisfaction, his hands quickly began to trail down to the rest of her body; massaging her firm belly and sliding on her thighs.
"Yes… keep going…" Zinnia bit her lips in anticipation, after just a bit of teasing and touching, she is yearning for Brendan again, a feeling that only keeps growing the more he touches her body in all the ways that only him knows how to. "B-Brendan… Bre… Brendan?!" Suddenly, he stopped. No more playful touches or licking at her exposed breast. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Z-Zinnia… Can't you feel it?" Brendan brought his face up, his shining red gems wide in surprise as they stared onto her eyes. "This presence, an overwhelming presence."
Still breathing heavily and heated all around, Zinnia took some time to calm down her mind, opening herself up to the gigantic pressure flowing in the air. "I do… now that you said it, I do feel it." She looked at the direction from where this presence was coming, her senses getting sharper at this point. "It feels so familiar… is that Kyogre?"
"Yes! This feeling, it can only be him!" Brendan readily jumped out of the bed, leaving his wife exposed to the cold. "He is moving towards Hoenn, he is coming back. Spiegel must be with him, that crazy bastard is coming back here."
"You look excited…" She commented at him jumping around the room half-naked, his eyes sparkling like those of a little child full of sugar.
"Well, yeah. I haven't seen him for six years, that's too long. How does he look like, what he has been doing, is he staying? My mind can stop making all these questions."
"Just look in the mirror… he looks exactly like you." Zinnia commented with a little smirk.
Ignoring her little joke, Brendan twirled in place, glancing back at Zinnia with a frantic look. "If he is traveling at this hour, he must be using a cruiser to travel. What's is the time for the first boat to arrive in Slateport?"
"Dunno… maybe at eight in the morning?"
"That's too soon!" Brendan cried out, both hands flying to the air. "If we want to catch him by surprise, we need to get moving now." As soon as the words flew out of his mouth, Brendan jumped towards his wardrobe, swinging shirts left and right in his search.
Still waiting for that tasty feeling of Brendan getting onto the most serious part of their earlier business, Zinnia stared at her husband with a look of dissatisfaction. "Brendan, it's three in the morning. Where in the goodness sake are you going?"
"Back to the continent, of course! We need to wake everybody up, and start to plan for his arrival."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Zinnia yelled at him, pushing the blanket aside, she pounced out of the bed and grabbed him by his waist. "I would say that you can't go around waking people up, but I don't really care. What I care, is that you made me hot and willing, now you're just planning on leaving me like this?" She threw him one dangerous look, making Brendan shiver and whimper under her commanding voice. "You better get that cute ass of yours back onto that bed and take good care of me."
Even if Brendan knew that he shouldn't, he did it anyway. "Or…?"
"Trust me, you wouldn't like to know." Giving her warning as straight forward as she could, Zinnia pulled Brendan down towards her and pushed him against the soft mattress. "Loving and attentive wife first." She planted a long and wet kiss on his lips. "Missing clone/brother later… am I clear?" She bit at his lower lip, pulling it back a little right before letting go.
"Cute wife first…" Brendan watched as Zinnia sat on top of him, straddling him down with her legs.
"Good boy." She giggled provocatively. Making sure to move as slow and as sexy as possible, Zinnia pulled her red nightgown up her head, revealing her body in all its glory to her husband. "Now, let's forget about everything else but this moment." She leaned in, taking his lips into a passionate kiss. "Just make love to me."
"As you wish, my dragon-lady."
Each Friday on Slateport is a day of celebration and large movement on the dock's streets. People coming over to receive their relatives traveling from another region or people coming over to make a stall and sell their goods at first opportunity to the arriving tourists. As per usual this lively gathering of people has commenced since the first light of the morning.
Kids are running around the large avenue going to the docking area, their parents and guardians calmly following behind, chatting away as they move closer to the large ship that just arrived at the coast.
The already loaded commotion of people gathering around only intensified as the giant ladder approached the stationary vessel, the arriving travelers calmly making their way down; those with little to no baggage coming down to the dock, while the others with heavier luggage are coming out from the more secluded lower passage of the ship.
From the sea of people, one person, in particular, is getting a lot of attention as he stepped out of the extravagant cruiser, holding in his right hand the shoulder strap of his heavy brown bag. Feeling the chilly morning wind and the welcoming scent of Hoenn, a shy little smile appeared on his lips.
"This place feels the same as the day I left…" He eyed the busy streets and the populated stalls at the sideway, a little chuckle escaping him when he recognized some of the shop keepers as being the same ones that were here on the day he left to travel the world.
Differently from his peers walking at his side, he didn't go straight to the large gate welcoming them to the large city. Instead, he stepped aside and walked over to the border of the dock, standing right next to the sea.
"How are you feeling down there? Tired of swimming all this time?" He asked at the calming waters, some people staring towards him in the distance and wondering why he was speaking to himself.
"For me, swimming is like breathing to you." Came a deep voice from below, the profound sound of a growl mildly startling some passengers still getting out of the giant vessel. "I hardly would tire from something so mundane. And swimming over to Hoenn was way better than just lazy all day inside that stupid ball."
"Yeah, I thought you would say something like that." The man replied with a sheepish grin, resting his right hand on his waist. "Sadly, you need to go back for now. I need to go inside the continent and I know how much you miss me if we part for too long."
"Preposterous!" Roared the mighty Titan, his deep voice shaking the entire port.
Feeling the gaze of everyone resting at his back, the trainer quickly took out his cerulean Poké-Ball and called back his giant friend before he could truly rage out and scare the living bit out of everyone.
Glancing at his side to make sure that no one else was close, he brought the blue ball closer to his face and said. "No need to be shy… I know how you feel." The small object shook with a violent force, almost escaping his grasp and going to the floor. Being quick with his finger, he managed to hold it in place until it settled down and got dormant again. Feeling a bit more secure of the situation, a large grin appeared on his lips.
Having secure his precious companion from the cold waters, he turned around and quietly resumed his path towards the city.
His natural curiosity has only grown over the years of exploration, every bit of detail and slightly interesting occurrence catching his attention without fail. From running children bumping at him and saying sorry, to the small talk being shared by the older people around him.
Truly Slateport is one of the most welcoming cities in the region and this sight only warms up anyone entering Hoenn for the first time, or in his case, coming back after a long time away.
Passing by more than one food stall in his way, a grumbling sound quickly erupted from his stomach; the smell of fresh-baked sweets luring him in like a siren's call. Having no restraints on his whims, he ordered at least two of everything that looked more interesting, ending up with a paper bag full of bread and soft cakes.
"Have you heard it?" One gossiping lady called out to another, her voice standing out a bit from the others floating in the air. "Apparently someone defeated the Pokémon League Champion." That comment quickly picked his interested, but too busy in his delight of foods, he has chosen to just inch himself closer and raise his ear in curiosity.
"If I heard it? I saw the picture and all!" The other woman fiddled with her bag, taking out a recently printed magazine. "Look, this is an urgent edition that they made in a rush last night." She brought the magazine up, showing the rather colorful cover. "You see this boy standing beside Brendan, all stiff and silly in the face? He is the one!"
A gasp came out from the first one, her hand trailing at the picture of the cover. "Can't believe it! Someone so young defeated the invincible Champion?! He doesn't look older than twelve years old."
"I know right! But I barely paid attention to him… I just can't stop looking at Brendan, he gets more dreamy every time I see him."
"Gosh, I still can believe that he is married now… such a waste." The woman holding the magazine turned the cover over to her and a way to broad of a smile appeared on her face. "What I would give to hold him at least once..."
"Erh… excuse me girls, but could you lend me this magazine for a moment." Having finished his treat in a spectacular fast speed, the glutton approached the two of them with a friendly smile on his face.
Both women turned to see the newcomer, one growling in frustration for having her moment with 'Brendan' ruined, but that attitude lasted just until her eyes landed on him.
"My gosh…" The girl holding the magazine blushed wildly, her entire face turning red instantly. Her friend not faring much better in that regard. "Of course, p-please suit yourself."
Giving her a stunning smile, he gladly accepted the magazine.
With his eyes landing on the cover, the pacing of his heart went at full speed. He heard them talking about it but still, seeing in huge capital letters 'The Champion has fallen' was a huge blow to take in. However, instead of getting sad or angry, a satisfied look washed over his features.
'He lost, but look at him… He looks so happy about it.' Seeing his brother smiling proudly at the side of that unknown boy, it was strangely comforting.
Distracting himself away from that picture before his eyes could get teary, he noticed both girls looking at him with mesmerized eyes. Such attention was always a little strange for him, but at each passing year, he seems to be getting more and more of those reactions, especially from girls.
"This is insane right?" He lifted the magazine and pointed at the cover, but both women just continued to stare right at him. "Knowing that Brendan lost… that's quite surreal, don't you think?"
"Y-Yeah…" Replied the owner of the magazine, a blond girl with sparkling purple eyes. "So… surreal…"
"Cait… I think I am in love." The second one, a brunette with short height and chubby cheeks, blabbered out without thinking, her head lost to her daydream state.
"Well, thank you for lending it to me. I need to get going now, but it was nice talking with you two." He gave the magazine back to the girl, the blond practically melting as her hand made slight contact with his.
"W-Wait!" Yelled both of them.
"What is your name?" Asked the blonde.
He stopped and turned to look back at them. Giving a charming smile yet again, he waved one hand and replied. "The name is Spiegel."
Getting a small wink as a reward from their new idol, the girls almost fainted. Soon after that man distanced himself away, they entered into a deep and intricate argument about who is a better catch, Brendan or this mysterious Spiegel, in the end, no common ground was reached in that discussion.
Leaving behind those two funny girls, Spiegel continued to walk towards Slateport, this time having enough restraint to keep himself from diverting away to another interesting looking stall amongst the dozens of them. Not long after, he reached the giant archway and the city entrance proper, getting a full view of Slapeport bustling streets.
Taking some time to just glance at the scenery in front of him, Spiegel quickly noticed a small contingent of people waiting at the small park close to the giant archway of the port city. Each member of that group is waiting patiently for someone that arrived on the boat, some of them are holding out signs with the name of the person they are waiting for, others just waving signs of welcome for each passenger that arrives on Hoenn.
It was there, standing in front of that group of people, that Spiegel found the most interesting sight yet. A small brown Pokémon, standing on his rear legs and holding a cardboard sign with his sharp little claws. It was hard to not smile at that adorable scene happening in front of him.
Breathing slowly and calming his racing heart, Spiegel composed himself properly before going to meet the small Pokémon, it wouldn't do for him to cry before getting the first word out from his lips.
"Hey there little friend, are you waiting for someone?" He asked the serious-looking Linoone, his voice slightly startling the Pokémon who had barely paid any attention to him.
"Ah… Sorry lady, but I can't play with you right now." Linoone replied with a stern tone, his face showing a mild annoyance at the interference. "I am waiting for my friend to arrive, so if you could, please move aside."
"Lady?" Spiegel said perplexed, his face twitching into a slight confusion. He was not offended or upset about the mistake, but rather confused as to why he was called a girl. But then clicked on him rather quickly that for his little friend, that hasn't seen him for so long, his appearance may be a bit misleading. "Hahaha… I'm afraid you are mistaken, Stripes."
"Hey! How do you know my name?" Squeaked the Linoone loudly, almost letting the sign fall in his shock. "Wait, you can talk with me? Who are you?"
Narrowing his vision as he stared firmly at this 'woman', Stripes studied carefully each characteristic of this person's face.
Even per his own funny standards, Stripes recognized that this person is beautiful in every manner; in his honest opinion, way prettier than Zinnia and strangely enough, even prettier than Flannery.
Their face is pretty and soft, very feminine in most regards. The soft curves of their facial features a wild contrast to Brendan's now more manly and sharper edges; such features are adorned by a very pale skin that only makes those traits shine even more. Eyes deep blue with a familiar glow onto them, a glow that shines with gentleness and friendly warmth. And most of all, the most striking feature of this person, an extremely long brown hair, so full and yet soft, going all the way down past their waist.
His clothing didn't exactly help his case this time either. Differently from years ago, Spiegel's new stylistic choices divert quite a bit from his brother's taste. For starters, he is wearing some dark purple pants with loose legs at the end. Instead of sports shoes as he used too, now he is wearing some black boots with high-cane, the longer part of his boots tucked inside the loose legs of his pants. The upper part apparel is made of a dark ocean-blue shirt with no sleeves on one arm, showing his pale skin some more, while the other arm he has a very long black sleeve/glove that hides his changed limb.
"I am a bit hurt you know… I expected at least you to recognize me, little trouble maker."
"SPIEGEL?!" The poor Linoone jumped far high in his shock, his eyes almost bulging out from their sockets as he screeched wildly in his confusion. "Call me a Wurmple and strap me into a tree… what happened to you? You look so different now."
Overjoyed to finally see his friend again and a bit ecstatic from the surprise, Stripe dropped his sign and began to run laps around Spiegel's legs, the small Pokémon bursting with energy all of a sudden.
"Do I look that different now?" Spiegel asked with a quirked brow. He touched his cheek with one hand and messed with his hair with the other. "I feel like only my hair has grown more, not much aside from that."
"Na-ham, no way! You look like a girl now." Stripes yelled loudly, still doing his laps around his friend.
"Stop with that already, I don't look like a girl." Replied a slightly disturbed doppelganger.
Stripes suddenly stopped running and fell on his back, before Spiegel could get worried about the Pokémon's health, the small Linoone broke into a loud fit of giggles. "You look so much better than that Dragon Woman. I can't wait to see her face when she sees you."
Letting his small furry friend lose himself to his laughter and mischievous planning, Spiegel walked past the rolling Linoone and crouched down to take the sign in his hand.
"Welcome back, your stupid dork… signed, Stripes." To a welcoming sign, the choice of yours is sure puzzling for Spiegel, at least to a point that makes him question the overall friendliness of such welcome.
"What did you say?" Stripes jumped back on his paws, rushing to his friend's side and practically taking the little cardboard thing in his claws. "Is this saying, stupid dork?" He turned his head to the side and brought his gaze to his friend's ocean-blue eyes.
"Yeah… it is. And it says that it is signed by you."
"THAT WITCH!" The small Linoone raged in a fit, grabbing the sign with his mouth and trashing it into pieces. "She said that this was a nice sign and that I should hold high for you to see. She played me!"
"Okay… no need to get angry now. Who made this sign for you?"
Having finished the cardboard sign completely, leaving only tiny bits spread on the ground, Stripes turned to Spiegel and bashed his claws against the street's floor. "The Dragon Woman! She came all suspiciously nice and said that she would make a nice gift for you. I should've known! That snake, she is not a dragon, but a viper! I will get her back for this."
Patting his distressed friend on the head, Spiegel felt a little sorry for him. "There, there… I'm not upset, it was kind of funny actually." Using his now empty paper bag, Spiegel collected every piece of the late cardboard sign and tossed it at a trash can at the side of the avenue. "Stripes, hm… where is everybody?"
"Hã? Hm… I don't know…" The small trouble maker trailed his gaze to the side, getting suspiciously quiet after his sudden outburst.
"You don't know… huh?" Those deep-blue gems eyed the innocent-looking Pokémon with a little edge on them.
"Yeah, I don't. the only thing I know is that I need to stall you for a while before taking you to that little town for the surprise—" Stripes slammed his claw on his little mouth, freezing up on the spot, his eyes going from one side to the other in fear of having messed up.
"Surprise? What kind of surprise is that?" Spiegel pressed on, feeling that is a bit too easy to get answers out of his honest friend.
"Don't know… don't care… My only job is making sure you don't suspect a thing before getting there."
"So, let me see if I got this right. They sent you here to stall me for a while and make sure I don't suspect anything about this surprise thingy. Is this right?"
"Exactly, so spot on! I am glad that you understand it. Now stop asking difficult questions and let me stall you."
"Hah, you're still the same goofy ball as before. I'm glad you didn't change a bit, friend." Walking next to the still suspiciously wary Linoone, Spiegel crouched next to him and opened his arms, inviting the little brown-furball to jump onto him.
"?!" Stripes just stared at him with a dumbfounded face. "What are you doing?"
"Come on, don't be shy. Jump in my arms." Spiegel made just a simple invite, but by the look of outrage on Stripes' face, it is like he has said the most offensive thing on the planet.
"Nev-" Before Stripes could shout his utter rejection, he was grabbed by Spiegel's firm grasp; despite how delicate he may look, this man has an unbelievable strength to his arms, locking the Linoone into a close embrace that he would not so easily avoid.
Getting back on a straight pose with Stripes still in his arms, Spiegel adjusted his bag on his back and began to march forward, deeper inside the city. "So, where do we go until you have stalled me for long enough?"
Despite his initial struggle and exaggerated denial, the small Linoone quite quickly settled comfortably on his friend's hold, spinning his body around and laying against those slim arms as if he was getting comfortable in a cozy bed. "Oh, oh! I know! How about we go to that desert on Route 111. I want to show you a cool trick I've learned; it's called sand-surfing."
"Hm… that sounds fun. Can you teach me how to do it too?"
"Of course, I can! I am the best sand-surfer there is. Stick with me and you will be surfing in no time."
"That settles it. To the desert, we go." Said a very excited Spiegel.
"We go!" Replied an equally excited Stripes. Letting his friend carry him around, the spunky Linoone pointed the way forward and began singing one of his many short songs.
Just humming along as his little friend let his voice out, the returning Doppelganger felt a warm feeling inside his chest. Even if he loved every single one of his travels, each place he traveled, every discovery he found… It was all fantastic and life-fulfilling. But being back here on his 'home', just singing around with one of his friends… Without a doubt, this is the place he wants to be from now on.
"Which time is it again?" Asked one very irritated Zinnia. Her right foot is stomping on the green ground beneath her, a harsh frown showing how much she is annoyed at this moment.
"Way past twelve…" Said one equally as vexed red-haired woman, but instead of anger, she is getting anxious with the wait. "Isn't this a bit too late? Why exactly did you two tell Stripes before he left?"
Growling like a feral beast, Zinnia turned to Flannery with a vicious glare. "We just asked that stupid fleabag to stray the guy a bit around in the road… not to take him to a trip over the moon." She glanced back to the open road out of Littleroot, only the quietly waving of the grass appearing on her sight. "That useless thing has probably got lost and left the other one clueless on Slateport."
Flannery frowned at the other woman, puffing her cheeks, she placed both hands on her hips. "Why are you so MEAN to Stripes?" Even after so long, she still has that little bit of 'Flannery' that always pops out in her speech.
"Because he is a noisy punk and his every purpose in life is to make me angry in one way or another."
While the two heated-headed beauties began to argue over their fuzzy-furred friend, the man standing next to them is fretting like crazy, his trembling hand pressing close to his lips.
"What if something happened…" Said a panicking Brendan. "Maybe a crack opened on the sea and swallowed the entire ship! Or even worse, maybe Spiegel was enjoying the view at the side of the cruiser and got pushed into the open ocean…."
"Jeez, Brendan would you stop panicking for a moment?!" Zinnia yelled at her frantic husband, his red eyes instantly snapping towards her, the intensity of his gaze scaring her a little bit. "If you stop making crazy stories for just a while, you will notice that Kyogre is not only here on Hoenn but he is somewhat close. This means, that unless he has evolved and created legs out of a sudden, your brother is carrying him around on who knows where."
Aside from those three, standing right in front of Littleroot town's entrance, quite a lot of commotion is happening in this small rural town. One side of the population is working in a frenzy, placing decorations and helping the respected couple prepare their house to receive a son that they had never known before, at least not properly.
Then, there is the other side of town, most precisely, the members of Brendan's Fanclub. If the mood on town is festive and cheery because of the arriving guest, their mood is one of grief and borderline depression. Each member is dressed in black, from head to toe, all of them mourning the recently deceased invincible streak of their idol. Apparently, the news of Brendan's defeat left them into a spiral of hopelessness; even if said Brendan is right here in town, going crazy about his brother's return.
"Seriously… how long are they going to keep crying over that?" Asked a mildly annoyed Wally.
"I don't know…" May sighed at his side, she has tried to be rational with those people once… it didn't go anywhere. "Just leave them be, we have much more to focus right now."
"Looking forward to seeing him again?" Wally said with a cheeky tone, his brows quirking up into a funny suspicious manner.
To his question, May just hit him in the arm and then embraced him from the side. "Of course I am, just as much as you are." She said with a giggle. "As weird as everything was when we meet him, I came to like him as a close friend."
Wally nodded quietly, a soft smile appearing on his lips. "No teasing or smug behavior… He was the perfect friend I wished I had… please don't tell Brendan I said that." Squeezing his sides, May just giggled at her boyfriend's confession, she would surely have some fun later with that little slip-up.
"Wally, dear. Can you help Norman place the big sign in the living room?" Brendan's mother came out of the house, surprising both May and Wally, the couple snapping out of each other as soon as they heard the woman's voice. "Oh please, you two… There is nothing wrong with a little show of affection."
They looked at each other, blushing deeply, and then laughed at their silliness.
"Big mama, where do I put these?" Aster came tiptoeing out of the house, holding a pack of blankets in her small hands. To her 'big mama' she was just making such cute noises and acting adorable, so the woman leaned down and patted her on the head.
"Mur, mur… Mur!" A little girl with brown hair tied in two tiny twin-tails came walking right behind Aster. She heard Aster calling out to her mother and began to imitate the same words she heard. "Aster is so funny."
To this day, Aster cannot understand why this girl follows her around saying just those words. But ever since Brendan's little sister was able to walk on her own, they have become close friends and inseparable play-buddies whenever the little Whismur comes over to visit.
"Are you two helping with the decoration?" Said the older woman with a motherly smile.
"Yes!" July replied with a squeal. "Aster, let me help too."
Aster looked at July and then down to the blankets on her hand. "Okay." She stood in the tip of her little feet and handed over half of the stack that was sitting in her tiny arms.
"Mur!" July squealed again, this time turning around and zooming inside the house.
"Wait! You will drop them." Worried about her new helper, Aster dashed after the girl, making all the cute noises that only she can.
Back with the anxious trio, Brendan is on the verge of storming out of Littleroot and going after Spiegel all over Hoenn; he probably would have darted out of here long ago, if not by the fierce grip of of his wife's arms wrapped around his body.
"I mean it, Zinnia… It's just a little peek on the road outside, I-aarg- I will not fly all over Hoenn, I promise."
"Just stay -ggah- put, Brendan!"
Finding themselves in a surprise wrestling match, the famous couple is entangled in a mess of arms and legs, Zinnia so desperately trying to keep Brendan in place, while he is doing his best to squeeze out of her clutches.
As weird as it is to watch to grown-up people practically rolling on the dirt in the middle of town, Flannery is feeling a lot more relaxed after this strange display of her friends. Still, her mind cannot help but wander around, thinking about her silly pair that she has been missing for so long and for so much.
Lost with the memories, the few ones she has about her boyfriend; Flannery felt a sudden tug press at the side of her pant's legs as if something was ever so slightly pulling her away. "Stripes?!" Looking down she noticed that the pull on her pants is actually the Linoone, that just popped out from the ground, biting at it and pulling away. "W-what? You want me to follow you?" She asked with a soft whisper, not sure why he would try to pull her away instead of calling out for Brendan who can actually understand him.
Letting go of her pants for the moments, Stripes looked upwards and nodded. Giving a sneaky look at the wrestling couple at the side, the turned around and dashed quietly towards the forest at the side of Littleroot.
"Is this another one of his pranks…?" Wondered Flannery, a poor victim of many of Stripes 'pranks', that fuzzy ball of trouble has the habit of doing the weirdest things just to surprise people. Sparing a glance towards Brendan and Zinnia before leaving, Flannery quietly followed the small Linoone inside the curtain of trees.
Wondering if she would be able to catch up to him, she was glad to see that he would casually pop his head from behind a tree just to guide her way forward. After no more than two minutes of walk, Flannery reached a small clearing in between the large trees, this place has a magic feel to it because of the glow of the sun reflecting on the sea at the shore just ahead. A few paces inside this small clearing, Flannery saw Stripes speaking to someone and then turn his head to look at her; after giving the Fiery-Gym Leader a happy little grin, the energetic Linoone sprinted right back inside the trees.
"Stripes, wait a minute!" She called out to him, ready to follow the small Pokémon inside the turvy trail he vanished to.
"I asked him to bring you here…" A familiar voice called out to her, this voice coming over from behind one of the trees at the edge of the land. "There are so many people in Littleroot… I just wanted to have some time with you." Spiegel stepped out from his hiding spot and stopped right in front of her. "Hi, Flannery…"
With a loud gasp, Flannery brought one hand to her mouth. "Spiegel…?" She said his name in a confused manner, instantly recognizing his voice but still at lost on his appearance.
Moving closer to his loved one, Spiegel took one of Flannery's hands into his own and kissed the top of it. "Yes, it's me." He said with a handsome smile. "Flannery, I missed you so-" His voice was silenced by a crushing embrace coming from her, her arms hastily wrapping around him, pulling him closer, squeezing the air out of him just so see if he is real.
"Spiegel, Spiegel! I missed you, I missed you so much." She loosened the grip of her hug just enough to pull back and get a proper look of his face. "It has been so long… you changed so much…"
He laughed quietly with a bit of hesitation, trailing his gaze a bit to the side in apprehension. "A good change?" His eyes went puppy mode with the question, just to make her melt at the sight of them.
"You look so beautiful… I thought you would look just like Brendan, but… you look like a beauty model." One of her funny snorting laughs escaped the red-haired woman, making her cover her lips a bit ashamed. "How will I keep all the girls away from you now?"
And right then all the apprehension building up inside of him faded away like nothing, replaced by a wide grin and a look of pure happiness. "You don't need to. The only girl I want is you."
Holding the tip of her chin with two fingers, Spiegel pulled Flannery closer, taking her lips in a sweet and calming kiss, as innocent and pure as the first kiss they shared a long time ago.
"Gosh… you should've sent a few photos of you, that way I could've prepared myself for all of this." Still feeling a bit high on her senses after their kiss, Flannery held closer to him, resting her head against his lean chest.
A bit speechless back by her comment, Spiegel wrapped his arms around her waist and pulling her even closer to him. "You will have the rest of our lives to get used to… all of this." The last bit he said with a few provocative hints in his tone. "I love you, Flannery. Thank you for waiting all these years for me."
She giggled and then laughed quietly. "You are worth the wait." Looking upwards to his blue shining eyes, she pleaded for a kiss with her gaze and he gladly obliged, capturing her lips into another soothing kiss. "I love you, Spiegel."
Alone in the middle of nowhere, with just the warmth of each other's body flowing through them. Truly a moment of pure bliss for a couple that has not seen each other for long six years. To Flannery and Spiegel, time could stop right now and never resume again and they would still be forever happy in each other's arms.
Unwilling to part away from him Flannery wants to stay here for the whole day, but with her honest personality, she is unable to steal him all for herself and leave his welcoming party behind them. "Spiegel… we need to go back. Everyone is waiting for you."
Feeling the same as her, Spiegel hummed quietly and finally let her go. "I know… but I'm kind of nervous about it. There's too much of them in the same place, it's mind wreaking enough to face my… my parents for the first as Spiegel."
"It's okay. I will be there with you." She grabbed his hand into a firm hold, locking their fingers together. "From now on, we will face everything together." How in the world can he say no to those earnest eyes?
Just now dawned on Spiegel how much sway Flannery will have over him, and deep down, he doesn't mind it one bit. Squeezing her hand affectionally, Spiegel got from her every courage he needs to look forward and walk towards Littleroot. With his giggling girlfriend at his side, the missing doppelganger is finally coming back home.
"SSSURPRISSEEE!" An entire town worth of people shouted at the same time as soon as Spiegel stepped out of the tree cover; not expecting this loud of a welcome, he almost toppled down to the ground.
Brendan is the first one to step forward, beckoning his brother towards a fierce hug. "Welcome back, little brother. You sure took your sweet time making us wait, huh?"
"Sorry, man. Stripes took me to sand-surf, we kinda lost track of time in there." The younger of the twin offered his brother a sheepish grin.
"So that's why your pants are covered with spots of sand." Grabbing his sibling by the shoulder, Brendan guided him towards the large group of people watching them; feeling Spiegel's shoulder tense instantly, Brendan gave him one strong squeeze to give him security. "People of Littleroot! You waited long enough to meet my young brother, and here he is! I present to you, Spiegel." Giving said brother a light push in his back, Brendan gently shoved him forward.
After Brendan's grandiose introduction of his brother, the following reaction was a deafening silence; one long and awkward silence. Standing in front of so many gazes and getting the most brutal silent treatment he has ever suffered; Spiegel was quickly starting to panic. Dozens of idiotic ideas crossed his mind as to why he has caused such a bad reaction out of these people, if this keeps going for much longer, he will certainly sprint towards the trees again.
"Oh my… Look how handsome my son is." Their mother was the first to break the silence, the mature woman rushing towards him, grabbing his face with both hands. "Welcome back and nice to meet you, Spiegel."
Spiegel had to stifle the rush of tears coming to his ocean-blue eyes, instead of giving in to a loud crying fit, he replied her words with a sincere and glad smile. "Nice to meet you too, mother."
His mother squealed like a little girl, clapping both hands in front of her with happy excitement. "I can't believe how pretty he is… I think I going to cry…"
"Moooom!" Brendan yelled from his spot. "What's up with that? You will make me jealous with this favoritism." He turned to Zinnia standing close to his left with a face of pure distress. "Ain't I pretty too?"
His wife, who had turned very silent after her brother-in-law sudden appearance, looked towards her husband and offered him a sorry look.
"Come on, Zinnia! Not you too." In an overly dramatic scene, Brendan went to the ground in total defeat.
From within the large group, the stern-looking man responsible for drilling respect inside everyone's head walked closer to his wife; placing a comforting hand on her shoulder and giving his new son a serious stare.
"Have you found your path?" Norman asked in his always serious voice, which sounds more like a strict teacher than a father.
Spiegel looked at his father for a moment, giving him a respectful nod before responding. "Yes, sir… I finally found my path in life."
Amazing every bystander present, Norman gifted them with a phenomenon rarer than a solar eclipse… He walked closer to the younger man, patted him on the head and smiled. "That's all that matters, son."
From there on out it just turned into a full-blown celebration. Everyone jumped forward, seeking to steal a bit of Spiegel's attention. Most men and boys were so curious to meet a person like him, ask about his travels and how good he is as a trainer. The female population of Littleroot was more interested in another part of this exciting newcomer; they couldn't hide their awe with his appearance; their overeager pleas for his attention left poor Flannery in quite a distress.
"Hey there, kid." Wally gave Spiegel one friendly slap on his back, getting his friend's attention onto him. "Life sure is surprising, isn't it? Who would thought that you would become the skinny-pretty guy, while I turned out to be the ruggedly handsome, huh?"
May slid closer to her green-haired boyfriend, poking him on the side. "Did you just call yourself handsome?" She gave him a funny look paired with a giggle. "That's so lame."
"You called me that!" Wally replied with a frown. "I just echoed your own words." His girlfriend just continued to giggle at him.
"Wow… you two sure look close." Watching them for only a moment and Spiegel already noticed the subtle touches traded between the two. "Wally, have you finally grown the courage to ask May out?"
"Actually, I was the one doing the asking." May jumping in, giving her long-haired friend a playful wink.
Changing his gaze from May to Wally, Spiegel gave him one judging look with his sparkling blue eyes. "Wally… she was the one asking you out? Even with you being the first one in the relationship having any romantic feelings… Jeez, you are lame."
"Shut up, okay. She moved too fast… I couldn't keep up, things just happened…" Wally quickly went from being one trying to tease his friend to be the one being teased by everyone. The poor man can never be on the other part of these playful trades. "Forget about it…"
"Ow... don't pout, Wally. If it serves as consolation, I do think you are handsome." Topping off her little apology with a quick kiss on his cheek, May made Wally's frustration melt rather quickly, his serious frown quickly changing to a goofy grin.
Leaving the couple to their innocent flirting, Spiegel stepped aside after being called by his mother. He had to wiggle his way out of some members of Brendan's Fanclub, the same people who were mourning a tittle just minutes before, are all euphoric about their idol's younger twin.
His mother waved for him to get closer, then looked down at the little girl hiding behind her legs. "Go on, July. Go meet your other brother." She tried to nudged July out of her hiding spot, but this only made the girl get even more stubborn in her shy behavior.
Walking past the little girl and her mother, a little pink Pokémon approached Spiegel and tapped him on his legs. "I remember about you…" She tilted her head a little to the side, looking at him with a very attentive gaze. "You're the man who looks like daddy." She said happily, pointing up to his face.
"That would be me, Aster." Spiegel crouched and leaned closer to the little Whismur, patting her on the head. "Nice to meet you, my name is Spiegel."
"Yes! I remember about you, we met before." She dangled happily on her feet, bobbing her round body back and forward. "I like you. You're nice like daddy."
"Oh gosh, you are so cute still." Unable to withstand the pure adorableness of that little pink ball, Spiegel surrendered himself to Aster and grabbed her in his arms, taking her into a squeezing hug.
Making a trail of bumps on the ground, Stripes quickly popped up beside his long-time friend, scowling at the scene playing in front of him. "You guys need to check on your eyes." He said with a scoff. "There is nothing cute about her silly face."
Spiegel and Aster looked down at the Linoone standing out above the green ground. "Is that so…" The long-haired trainer said with a hint of mischief in his tone. "Funny, who was the Pokémon that simply could not stop talking about Aster, huh?" He grinned when Linoone fully jumped out of the ground, outraged out of his small hole in the earth.
"D-Dunno what you're talking about…" Denied the brown jokester.
"Oh, you don't?" Spiegel diverted his attention to the Whismur in his arms. "Aster, would you like to know what he spent the whole day talking about?"
Aster tilted her head to the side again, a bit curious but still unsure about it. "He only says mean things to me…" She said with a low cry, her ears deflating down sadly.
"That's just the front he is putting in. Stripes actually think that you-"
"Aaaah! Stupid Aster, pink blob of dumbness." Stripes shouted from the top of his lungs; to the ordinary people around him, it looked like he was howling to the moon in the middle of the day, and finding it quite a funny presentation they clapped to his yell of anguish.
Puffing up her cheeks, Aster jumped out from Spiegel's arms and went running after the fleeing Linoone, ready to pummel his fur with her little fists.
"Hey, you punk!" Zinnia yelled from the other side of town. "Stop harassing my daughter."
"Hah… I'm not sure what happened, but those two get along very well together no?" Spiegel's mother watched the odd duo chase after one another all around town, a gentle smile resting on her lips all the while.
"They sure do, even if the Linoone would never admit it." Spiegel replied with a small chuckle. Stripes will be due to a harsh struggle in his future if he doesn't change his act towards the pinky Whismur.
"H-He likes Aster?" July finally walked out from behind her mother's legs. She looked up to Spiegel, still a bit afraid of him.
Spiegel kneeled closer to her, offering a calming smile and then nodded. "He sure does. But he is too shy to admit it."
July tilted her head to the side, a small frown forming on her pure face. "That's dumb, isn't it? If he likes Aster, he should say it. I like her and I say it every time."
"Well, Stripes likes to pose as a free and strong Pokémon. He is scared that saying it to her will make him look weak." He explained as simple as he could so his little sister could follow it.
And she did, but only to make her cross her arms and pout angrily. "Then he is dumb."
"Haha… maybe he is, but just a little." Warming her up to speak freely to him, Spiegel reached out with one hand and offered it to the little girl. "I've met you before when you're just a baby, but… Nice to meet you again, July. My name is Spiegel."
Getting conscious of him again, July averted her gaze to the side, fiddling with her fingers in a shy manner but not going back behind her mom. "Mommy said that you are my big brother… But Brendan is my big brother… Do I have two brothers now?"
"Yes, July." Her mother leaned over her, tapping lightly over her small shoulders to get her attention, just to give her a reassuring smile. "Both Spiegel and Brendan are your big brothers."
"Big brother…" July eyed Spiegel from head to toe, reaching up to his hand and squeezing his fingers in a curious touch. "You're my brother, I have two brothers..." She giggled and smiled at him, stepping closer to her new brother and resting her face on the side of his neck. "Nice to meet you, big brother Spiegel."
Every little encounter since he reached Littleroot has challenged Spiegel's ability to stay composed and hold his cool façade. He casually played off Brendan's initial announcement, he naturally talked with Wally, May, Zinnia and every one of his previous acquaintances as if he has never left before; he has even stayed calm after being accepted so lovingly by his father and mother.
However, July's words utterly broke his resolve. As soon as the little tomboy reached to his neck and wrapped him into a warm embrace, his eyes melted in tears.
Feeling the small hiccups coming from her brother, July stepped back and looked at him with concerned eyes. "Big brother?" She glanced back to her mother, still distressed by seeing the man crying. "Is he hurt?"
"No sweetie… your brother is not hurt…" The mature woman had a lot of trouble keeping her tears from spilling out, still allowing a few sobs to escape her lips as she watched the scene with a melting heart.
Taking Spiegel by surprise, a pair of strong hands grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him back up to his feet and turning him in place. "We waited a long time to welcome you here, Spiegel." Brendan looked at his brother with a solemn look, any signs of his playful persona completely gone. "Have a good look at the people around you, around us. This is your family, man. This place right here is your home, our home." Fighting with every fiber of his being, Brendan tried to hold the gleaming tears from sliding down his cheeks but to no avail. "Spiegel… I'm so glad to finally be able to say this to you. Welcome back home, little brother."
Sobbing, crying and in a complete mess of tears; Spiegel looked down to the ground for a moment and then pulled Brendan into a crushing hug. All the bottled emotions stored inside his chest came flowing out like a stream of water down the river's path. He tried two times to put his feelings into words but he could only sob louder than before, it was only when Flannery's soft hand rested on his back that Spiegel stopped shivering from crying so hard.
"Thank you, Brendan… Thank you so much all of you guys here with me…" Forcibly rubbing the tears away from his face, Spiegel looked at the people around him and he gratefully smiled. "I am finally back home."
============================================ THE END ================================================
Chrono Cross - Life ~ Distant Promise ( watch?v=cnBWY7D_X7Q )
This is it, the conclusion to this short story I had the pleasure of writing.
For everyone that stuck through until the very end, I would like to express my most sincere thank you. Seriously, I can only be grateful for your patience and for being able to start and finish this idea I had for a plot. It is all thanks to everyone that followed this story until the end and it would be very difficult without this incentive.
Again, thank you for coming on this journey with me.
One last time, I will leave a special gift to you. A song, to maybe sweeten this farewell a bit more.
Chrono Cross - Radical Dreamers ~ Unstolen Jewel ~ ( watch?v=aBE3c9X0BoA )
Alone in his frozen throne up at the giant mountain, the raven-haired champion stared at open space in front of him, spacing out in the middle of his conversation.
"Ethan… are you listening?" Silver's rather annoyed voice ringed through the phone, startling Ethan back to his senses.
"Yes, I am listening babe…"
"Don't call me that... it's disgusting." Spat even angrier the red-haired man.
"So, how long are you going the keep traveling with Looker?" Ethan made sure to put his 'puppy eyes mode' into his voice as he asked the question.
By the long sigh coming from Silver, he could visualize the red-haired rolling his eyes. "Just one more week. We found some traces that may take us to Giovanni, in whatever dimension or planet he has ran to."
"That's nice…" By his tone, Ethan is clearly not interested in the maniac old man or the boring tales of Looker and his travels. "I miss you, okay?"
"Okay…" Silver replied hesitantly, even his voice carried a bit of his blush.
"I have a nice surprise for you. When you get back in Johto, will make sure to give you the greatest se-"
"I am ending the call, good day to you Ethan." Soon after only the hollow ringing noise of Ethan's phone could be heard.
"He still so shy…" A satisfied smirk flashed on his lips, this resistance only enticing the wild raven-haired even further. "Just you wait until I get my hands on you again, my lovely Silver."
Before he could dive in whatever improper delusions that were brewing inside his head, Ethan heard the echoing steps of someone reaching to his chamber at the open summit. Intrigued by the prospect of a new challenger, he waited patiently until a silhouette appeared behind the curtain of white light guarding the open door.
His golden eyes gleamed with wildfire as soon as that person stepped out into the light. If those carmesin eyes weren't familiar enough, that small yellow creature standing on the man's shoulder would surely remind him of this person.
"…Your name is Ethan, right?" Said the red-eyed trainer, a small smirk showing on his face. "I heard you're pretty good."
Every hair on Ethan's body got electrified in an instant, shivering everywhere. "Holy fuck…"
However, contrary to that day on Lilycove, he is trembling with pure excitement and grinning from ear to ear. This exact moment is what he waited for all these years on the top of this blasted mountain, no matter how much he came to hate the snow.
"Back to get another session of ass-kicking?" Ethan jumped out from his outlook spot, landing on the natural arena on top of Mt. Silver. "I've been waiting for you… Red."