Pouring
Licinius was totally caught off-guard. He had never expected to be hit squarely on the jaw, twice, by water knives and fireballs. The attacks were fairly weak, yet of enough force to throw him backward. And it hurt. Sure, he was an immortal, but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. Yet again, he was used to pain, and after he landed on the ground after being sent flying, he smoothly stood up. He did not know how they did it, but the weight that had left his pocket had made him sure of one thing.
They had taken back Mewtwo.
And sure enough, the Ultra Ball was snug in Red's hands, and Licinius could feel his veins popping, an irritating itch running around his neck.
A smirk found its way to his lips, and Licinius flexed his muscles, before arriving right next to the boys at the next second. Green let out a yell, a water wall emerging in mid-air in an attempt to block off the enemy. But with a wave of his hand, Licinius deflected the weak defense, his arm already reaching out for the Ultra Ball.
"I'll be taking that."
And the moment he saw the expression on Red's face, he felt an inexplicable eruption of joy and exhilaration, for it was none other than a face of despair, shock, fear and combined into one. Even if the boy wasn't his sworn enemy himself, their likeness was enough to delight him, and he felt almost triumphant at this.
His fingers were mere centimeters away, and he was certain he will win this time.
No, you don't.
A flash of purple light and he instantly felt the space around him churning, shifting and the next thing he knew, was him standing within a purple orb, the psychic powers constricting him. From behind, he heard the shrieks of Darkrai and Brutus who had been hiding behind the pillar, being within the teleportation orb. He watched a red jewel shone, and smirking, he eyed the Espeon before him.
"Let me go, you foolish cat." He growled. "You should know that teleporting us away means teleporting yourself away."
As if I will let you harm my trainer. She hissed, the orb on her head glowing brighter.
"Espeon!" Red shouted, realizing that the Pokémon had come out of its Poké Ball of its own accord. "...What are you trying to-"
I'm sorry, Espeon replied telepathically and Red's eyes widened as the purple orb warped, disintegrating into nothingness and all four beings were snapped away. Red felt his knees going weaker and weaker, all color escaping his cheeks, for he was unable to believe what had just happened, that the fact that his own Pokémon, his Espeon, had sacrificed herself to ward off this danger.
He couldn't even scream, or cry out, because he immediately dropped to his knees, his brain shutting down, his ears not at all registering his friend's shouts, nor the fact that everyone was stirring awake from their nightmares induced by Darkrai. Murmurs of fright and worry erupted all around him, many confused and alarmed by the damage done to the Main Hall, surprised that in the middle of it all was Green Oak and Red themselves.
He couldn't hear anything.
His fingers curled up against the Ultra Ball containing Mewtwo, tightly, and tears streamed down his cheeks when he realized one thing:
His Espeon was gone.
No one could say anything to him. In fact, no one knew what had really happened except for Green, Ethan, and Lyra, and none could properly console that one trainer whose beloved Pokémon went missing during the Welcome Party. The press was too busy reporting about the incident of Deoxys attacking the League, and although Red's return was featured among the headlines, the sheer impact of the unprecedented destruction of Deoxys was enough to steer any sort of attention away from the trainer. The Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and the Champion were far too busy trying to sort out the mess to have time to understand his loss, and with his press conference pushed back to a later date, he had the liberty to do whatever he wanted for the next few days, yet all he did was to fly all the way back to a place he had not returned since three years ago.
The trip was solemn, while Charizard and Pikachu felt the painful absence of their comrade, both silently shedding tears. Both knew nothing of what had happened to Espeon, fearing what would happen to her, and most important of all, worried about how Red would deal with this sudden incident.
They landed some ways away from the town, and Red recalled Charizard while Pikachu sat on his shoulders, while murmuring "pika pika" in an attempt to speak with his trainer. The boy had not spoken for nearly two days since the event had happened, and it was incredibly worrying.
Pikachu could sense the townspeople getting eager and curious about Red, and he glared at those who attempted to get closer and managed to successfully chase them off by filling the tip of his tail with electricity, zapping out sparks of lightning. His trainer had now arrived at his childhood home, yet he did not knock on the door and was only standing there motionlessly, his head looking down onto the pavement wordlessly.
A small drizzle started to come down, and the townspeople started to disperse, all going back to the warm and dry comfort of their homes. None of them knew the hurt and pain Red was going through, and all he did, was to stand at the front of the door, quietly.
After what seemed like an hour, the door finally opened, where Pikachu recognized the familiar face of Red's mother. She gasped, surprised by her son's unannounced return until she noticed the pained look on her son's face.
She was instantly reminded of the time when her son had done the same thing after hurting himself while playing. The young child had stood outside, not at all shedding a tear and quietly waited for his mother to open the door. She remarked in her head of how similar this situation was to the past, and how strange that this would be how her son would return home after three years. In the end, he was only fifteen, and in the end, he was just a child who needed his mother.
She smiled warmly, and gazing up into her son's eyes that were brimming with tears, she softly asked, "What's wrong, Red?"
He didn't speak for a long while, his Pikachu squeaking softly beside his ear, encouraging his trainer to say something.
He sniffled, trying to control his tears, and finally, he spoke, his voice torn and broken, "... Espeon saved me, and... and..."
His mother patiently waited. This was all she could do, for she knew her son was never one to complain, to seek help, until he truly needed it. And this time, he desperately needed it.
"... She's gone," he said, mustering the words in between breaths. "I don't even know what he will do to her, whether she's safe, whether she would ever return, where she is, and whether..." He choked on his words, and, taking in a deep breath, he continued, his voice breaking even more, "...whether or not she's alive."
She paused, before she brought her son closer, hugging the poor, broken boy tightly, all the while blaming herself for not being stronger to protect him.
The rain started to come down in loud spurts of water, the sound of it slowly encompassing the whole town, drowning out the cries of a single boy who lost his Pokémon and his friend.
Green Oak felt empty inside. He fingered the pendant that hanged around his neck, and he felt his chest constrict from a painful longing. Wincing, he tried to ignore it, while instructing his Pidgeot to fly faster, over the little houses of Pallet, all the way to the edge of the forest. He landed on the yellowed, crisp grass that gently swayed upon his arrival, and his boots crunched against as he took tentative steps towards the looming green wall of trees and bushes.
The edge of the Viridian Forest.
The memories were coming back to him bit by bit and he could vividly remember the day both he and Red first met Leaf at the town's childcare center. There weren't many children in Pallet, and naturally, the three of them were stuck together. They were seven, and they did almost everything together. He would fight and quarrel with Red and Leaf was often the one who broke off their silly little arguments. He could remember how she would stand between them, arms crossed, telling them to stop. He could remember how the three of them would crash over at each other's house and be sprawled over the bed, hiding under the covers and telling each other ghost stories in the dead of the night. He remembered the times when they would fool around the edge of the forest, wild and free.
He would remember that day when he suggested to go into the Viridian Forest, despite being told umpteenth times not too. He was playful, and his childhood friends went along with him.
And then there was that obscure void in his memory, where he could vaguely remember the figure of a man, the motionless body of his friend, and nothing else. He would remember being awoken by adults who found them by the edge of the forest and be told by his grandfather that Leaf's shoes were found in the forest. He remembered how the adults had scoured through the forest for days and nights, just to find nothing except for the pendant she wore, and she was presumed to be killed by a Pokémon and had died.
And when both he and Red told the adults about the figure they saw, they brushed it away, believing that whatever they saw was a figment of their imagination, or perhaps a post-traumatic illusion. They were helpless, and since that day, Green would have nightmares about that figure he saw, but he never told anyone, for no one would believe the words of a seven-year-old child. He was certain that the figure was the one who took her, who killed her. All this time.
He could painfully remember the memories where the adults were simply discussing with one another of the mystery of the death of that one child, the sobs of her parents and how they had moved away after that tragic incident, never to be heard from again. He had always been frustrated with himself, of why he couldn't remember who the figure was, of how he could no longer see her, and how he could never stop the loud throbbing of his broken heart.
Two days ago, his memories were finally unlocked, his head was cleared and he finally made sense of everything, yet his heart seemed to hurt more than ever, and he did not understand why. He climbed over the bushes, entering into that familiar forest path he saw just two days ago. He wound his way through, passing by the towering trees that seemed to be trying to swallow him whole. A few wild Rattata tried to block his way, but he merely flicked his wrist, sending a weak Water Pulse, scaring them away. He could strangely manipulate water, albeit weak and was probably at the standard of a level 5 water type Pokémon. Even Red himself could use fire in a more stable way than before, and the only explanation for this phenomenon they received was that they were "talented", according to the immortal Neo in his memories. He could not quite understand why, and could not really explain it well to Brendan, who was surprised at the sudden development. The Hoenn Champion was unfortunately busy, due to the ruckus at the League Building, and so were the other Major Arcana cards, and after promising to gather again one day after the hustle and bustle had died down, they went to settle their respective responsibilities. While Green knew that he should have asked Red to come with him to confirm whatever Neo had told them through their flashbacks, he knew better than to bother the trainer after his Espeon disappeared, and was quick to decide that he would do this alone. He wanted to see it with his own eyes that everything that conspired eight years ago was true.
The rain was starting to come down softly, and Green tried to prevent the rain from falling onto him, yet his powers were still premature, and he grumbled at his own incompetence while continuing to traverse through the path. He could see the clearing ahead, and he clutched onto the pendant- her pendant- while feeling the pain in his chest increasing in spurts as his heart palpitated. The rain was falling in bigger drops by the time he arrived at the same place he had seen in the flashback. The same towering tree was taller than ever, and he immediately recalled the scene of Neo restoring the forest to how it was before his fight with Licinius. The sound of rain was permeating through the tree trunks, and he carefully stood in the middle of the clearing, staring at the gigantic tree, the soft rustling of leaves surrounding him.
"Leaf," he called out softly, warily. "If you're here, please say something."
He felt his heart ache when all that was returned to him was silence. He stepped closer to the tree, convinced that she was probably hiding behind it. If she was here at all.
"Leaf, it's me, Green," he tried again. "Green Oak."
The sound of rain increased in volume, and Green could feel the anticipation in him dying away, disappointment sinking within his chest.
"Leaf," he repeated, his voice cracking. It hurt. Maybe she never became a ghost. Maybe she just died and that was it. Maybe she simply died, and he no longer had to hold any more expectations and he could quickly move on and forget about her.
He felt the pain elevate itself slightly, and sighing, he slowly turned around, his boots shuffling against the wet forest grass. His eyes were looking down towards the ground, and he trudged a few steps forward, until he froze and stopped, feeling someone's gaze that was upon him.
His hand trembled, trying to convince himself that it couldn't be. It just couldn't be.
He gingerly looked up, and he met eyes of the color of the forest. He knew these eyes, and he could feel his breath getting caught in his throat when his eyes properly looked at the figure before him.
Her soft honey brown hair was long enough to reach all the way to her waist, and she wore a pure white dress that fit her slim frame well. Her face was that of a young female teenager, her green eyes staring straight at Green.
"Green," she said. He could find no words to say, as he stepped forward, his hand reaching out, wanting to touch her, to ascertain if she was real.
Yet his hands simply passed through her hands, and it was then when he realized that her body was translucent like smoke, the water droplets passing through her transiently. His lips quivered, and the ghost pursed her lips and looked away.
"You died," he began. "So why...?"
His heart was aching, pulsating so heavily and the pain was suffocating. He didn't know why it hurt so much, and why he was crying, and why was the rain falling harder than ever before.
"Green, I-" She gasped, her arm reaching out towards him, yet he knew that he would feel no warmth, no physical touch from that hand.
"I shouldn't have come," he murmured, and, avoiding her gaze and broken voice, he ran straight past her, a chill running through him as he brushed past her ghostly figure. He ran out of the clearing, the rain battering onto him like boulders, his heart hurting like crazy. It shouldn't be hurting so much, he told himself. He had finally seen her after so long, after so many years of missing her, so he should have felt happy that he had reunited with a friend; he should have felt glad.
But why was he hurting so?
He fell on all fours, his arms shaking as he barely managed to support himself. The rain splashed on him, and he could feel his tears mixing in with the rain.
"Green." Her voice called out from behind him weakly. "Please."
He could feel her hand reaching out towards him, and a feeling of utter rejection rose in him, and he howled, "Don't touch me!"
"Green," she pleaded. "I can explain-"
"Don't touch me! Don't talk to me! Don't...!" he screamed, his whole body shaking. He could feel the ghost behind him turning silent.
"Don't hurt me any further," he gasped, his knuckles turning white from clenching too long.
"And you think I haven't been hurt?" she yelled. "You think I wanted this?"
Green went stiff before he stood up and turned towards her. His eyes widened, for the ghost girl before he had a face full of agitation and frustration.
"I never wanted to die," she cried. "You think I wanted to leave you and Red, to see the two of you growing up without me and going on your own adventures, while I was invisible to both of you?"
"You think," she gasped, her voice dry and full of hurt and visible tears flowed out of her eyes, "that I never cried whenever I saw you crying because of me?"
Green was stunned while a thought struck him:
He had been lonely.
So was she.
"I missed you." She breathed heavily and dropped to her knees, her hands covering her face, her ghostly tears soaking her white dress.
He was rooted onto the ground, but not for long, when he walked towards her. He knelt down, his knees splashing into the puddle of water.
He longed for his childhood friend, and he finally sees her again.
His hand reached out towards the cheeks, passing through, a cold smoke wrapping around his hand.
Yet he could never touch her.
Another pang of pain struck his chest, and he still did not understand why it hurt as if his heart was being torn out of his chest.
"I missed you too," he sighed, while the rain drowned out his tears, and her tears.
She looked up, surprised that he was in front of her, and then she noticed the accessory he had around his neck. The rain was soon reduced to that of a small drizzle, and while Green was soaked throughout, he did not seem to care. While Leaf wiped away her tears, so did Green, and a soft silence surrounded them for while. Finally, she looked up and grinned at him, the same grin that he thought he had lost eight years ago.
"You kept my pendant with you," she said softly. "I thought you'd throw it away."
"Well, I didn't."
"Well, of course, you won't." She chuckled as she stood, lifting the heavy mood slightly. He smiled, knowing that she had always been good at cheering people up, even if she were a ghost.
"So, you missed me?" she said cheekily. "I didn't know you could be this soft."
"So did you," he replied with a smirk while he stood up, while he shook his head to shake off the excess water in his hair. "You even cried."
"So did you," she retorted. The raindrops had become smaller. The two of them stayed silent.
"You're taller now," she then commented. "Remember back then, you were so much shorter than me."
Green snickered, as he proudly stood in front of and placed his hand above her head.
"Evidently."
She laughed, laughter that Green thought he had lost eight years ago.
"How's Red?" she asked, bringing in their other childhood friend into the topic.
"Red?" Green then snorted. "He went up Mt Silver and stayed there for nearly three years, then got himself crushed by a Golem, and now he's back here."
"Crushed by a Golem!?" she exclaimed.
"He's alive," Green murmured. "If he wasn't, I would have been truly alone."
Leaf fell silent and bit her lower lip, her body fading in and out.
"Think I can go see him for a bit?"
"I doubt you should," he answered while shaking his head. "He's not in the best mood to see a dead childhood friend who's a ghost."
She pouted, and then hurriedly asked, "What happened to him?"
"His Espeon disappeared after a... series of events," he said. "It's difficult to explain."
"Is he alright?" she murmured, concerned.
"He will be," Green answered. "He's not the type to mope around for too long."
"Hopefully." She nodded.
"Leaf," Green whispered. "I'm sorry."
She tilted her head to one side, confused by his sudden apology.
"If I hadn't stupidly suggested going into the forest, you wouldn't have..." He trailed off, unable to continue further.
"Yeah, you were stupid." She huffed as she stood up. "But what's done is done."
"But-" He began until she brought a finger towards his lips. Her ghostly finger was cold, smokey, and he was once again painfully reminded that she was no longer human.
"Besides, it's not like I will forever remain dead," she explained. "As long as I grow stronger and find back my physical body, it'll be fine."
"Grow stronger?"
"Like this." She grinned, while her whole body glowed a deep ghostly purple, a Shadow Ball formed within her palm in mere seconds. Green blinked his eyes in surprise, awed by the powers displayed by her.
"How much stronger do you have to get?"
She shrugged her shoulders, as she twirled around, her white dress spinning along with her. He smiled at her carefree attitude and quickly hid his smile when she turned around.
"So, which card are you?"
"The Magician," he replied, while he conjured up a little water sphere. "Still a little wet behind the ears, but it's a start. What about you?"
"Mmm, Number XIV."
"... Temperance?"
"That was the name, I think."
"Was it lonely?" Green inquired. "For eight years."
She skipped backward, her green eyes staring into his intently. She then smiled bittersweetly, an expression he had never seen before.
"Very," she whispered. "If only you realized sooner, I wouldn't have been so lonely, stupid Green."
"Yeah." He sighed. "I was stupid."
She twirled around again, her body going transparent and back to translucent, and it scared Green. It was as if she would just disappear again, just like eight years ago.
"But if you weren't this stupid, I wouldn't have fallen in love with you either."
His eyes widened, his ears not believing what he had just heard, and he stared at Leaf incredulously, while the ghost girl before him started hovering in the air, winking at him.
"Did you just...?" he murmured.
"I just confessed to you," she chirped. "Any problems?"
Her body faded in and out, and he stared at her hands, silently wondering when he will finally be able to hold them. The same pain that was throbbing in his chest seemed to worsen for a moment before he sighed deeply.
"No, none at all."
He laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling above him for a long while before he turned to his side and curled up his body. In the dead of the night, in the comforts of his own hotel room, he couldn't sleep. Five days since the incident at the League Building, and as the Hoenn Champion, he was expected to help out, to explain the situation to the press and he gladly did so. But the number of faces of horror and fear that he had seen as he went around Kanto and Johto was enough for him. The populace was doubting the League's ability, and he could not blame them. An international organization that was supposed to ensure peace between Pokémon and humans throughout the regions and create a system of order with the Champion at the top, their reputation was undoubtedly tarnished for allowing the infiltration of enemies and the destruction of the Main Hall.
He remembered Ethan, the Johto Champion, trying to appear mature, and Brendan felt almost sorry for him. Being a Champion that is too young led to many opinions and criticisms that floated around, and he could sense distrust and cynicism towards Ethan from the people during all those press conferences. He was clearly being forced to grow up, upon taking up the Champion title. If anything, he was afraid the younger boy and fellow Champion might be unable to deal with all the pressure placed on those small shoulders. It was fortunate that Lance was there to assist the young boy, and it was no wonder that Brendan saw certain similarities between Lance and Steven.
When he took up the Champion title, Steven was the one who helped him the most, and Brendan was grateful towards his senior. He was grateful that the former Champion was willing to lend a hand in the search and investigation of the Major Arcana and the plates. He was even more grateful that Steven had come along with him to assist Kanto and Johto.
Yet sometimes he felt that he was over-reliant on the man himself. And dragging him into the whole Major Arcana business was perhaps too much. He sighed, when he remembered the many events that happened over the week, and how he met Kanto's best and the youngest Champion in history, Red. The fifteen-year-old boy that he met in Goldenrod for the first time, the Fool that had a null sign on his hand.
And his red eyes.
An ominous chill ran down his spine, and frowning, he turned back and stared at the ceiling again. That boy was a mystery, and Brendan had a strange feeling, that everything that was happening was due to him. The letters he got from Licinius, the emergence of cards, the sudden manifestation of powers in Green, Red, and Ethan, the fact that his father was revealed to be an immortal, even the attack on the Main Hall was because of the Mewtwo Red had with him. Everything was strangely intertwined with the former Champion, with the Fool.
Who is Red?
Brendan clenched his fist, the sound of metal clinking around the room, as fragments of metal were formed within his fist. He recalled that run-in with Licinius' underling, the face-to-face confrontation with Licinius, and how he was hopelessly weak during that time when he was held by the collar. He recalled the evil energy he could feel from the enemy, and the empty black eyes he made contact with, and he couldn't help but shudder. The man was dangerous, and the thought of facing him again made him afraid. And he hated that he was afraid. He trained so much, he should have been able to stand his own.
Kill another card. He clicked his tongue, angry at Licinius, at that underling, at the fact that his heart was feeling twisted and hideous. He cursed at himself, the fragments of metal disappearing, while the walls of his hotel started growing out sharp and pointed metal growths that appeared threatening as they extended, intertwining, while the single half-card sat upon his bed, furious at himself.
The human heart is most unpredictable, Champion of Hoenn.
He gritted his teeth, feeling immensely disappointed and fearful of one person:
Himself.
His head was throbbing, and he brought both hands to his ears, trying hard to tell himself to cancel out those ugly thoughts. No matter how much he wanted to save May, how much he wanted to save himself, to save themselves, he must never, never think of such thoughts. He bent his knees, burying his head onto his thighs, while taking in deep breaths, to stop this fear, to remove these thoughts. The metal growths on the walls extended longer and longer, in response to the negative emotions he was feeling, and slowly, they encompassed the Lover, alone within the cage of metal.
Perhaps he was never brave at the start.
It was night, and the moon was a perfect circle, white and shining with a bright glow. She bathed herself under its light, in her balcony, in her house in New Bark Town. The past few days had been busy in her father's lab, in fact, most of the scientists of Kanto, Johto and those who came from Hoenn had been busy, with the shattered orb retrieved from Deoxys during the attack on the Main Hall. Lyra had been helping out her father, who had been tiring himself greatly, and the least she could do was to do the menial labor around the lab. It was after various DNA studies and tricky analyses of the orb did her father finally made sense of the data and mystery of Deoxys' sudden change. She remembered the horror on her father's face when he made that shocking discovery, and how he had met up with Professor Oak and Professor Birch privately. She had sneakily overheard their conversation, and even up till now, she cannot believe what she had heard from behind the door.
"There was… Human DNA in Deoxys." Her father had said carefully. "A large amount of it."
A sudden urge to vomit rose in her throat, and she tried to suppress it, but it was painful. It was truly horrifying, and she still couldn't understand how could there be traces of human DNA inside the Pokémon. Lyra hated the feeling she was experiencing in her gut. Although the Hoenn Champion had ascertained that the mastermind of the sudden increase in the number of Deoxys and the war itself was Licinius, the Major Arcana had come to the consensus to keep this a secret, for it was dangerous to let the existence of that man, who was an immortal, to be known by too many people. Even the idea of the Major Arcana was dangerous; it had the potential to disrupt any form of order in this world. She had read up plenty of the obscure information of the mysterious deck of cards, and had the chance to heard a whatever thoughts Green Oak had, and even till now, she still couldn't understand the true purpose behind its existence, or even humanity, which never originated from Arceus, known to be the Creator of all things in this universe. Guardians of the balance of the world? Original humans? Humans who can wield the power of Pokémon? Was that all that is to the Major Arcana?
"That DNA is perhaps the reason behind how Deoxys was able to regenerate itself during the battle with Mewtwo."
She bit her nail, trying to sort out her thoughts, and trying to connect the dots together, despite how incredibly hard it was. How can human DNA provide the power to regenerate in a Pokémon? It just didn't…
… Make sense?
She paused, her eyes going wider and wider in realization. If there was any reason behind this strange occurrence, the only explanation Lyra felt that fit was that it was related to the Major Arcana. And if Licinius was the one in control of the cloning of Deoxys, then it meant one thing:
One of the Major Arcana is in his hands.
And considering how Deoxys was able to heal and regenerate, Lyra could only think of one single Pokémon type that was the best at regeneration and healing and it was none other than the Fairy Type.
She mentally noted down this observation, knowing that she had to relay this information to the others tomorrow when they all gather at the Training Facility the League has ordered all trainers and the research team to go to. She let out a sigh and gave a glance towards the full moon once again. Then, she turned around, ready to turn in for the night.
"Hey," A familiar voice called out. Startled, she spun around, and her chocolate brown locked with a pair of mercury silver ones. She blinked, thinking that it was an illusion, and pinched her cheeks, surprised that this was even happening.
"S-S-Silver!?" She stuttered. The boy who had disappeared on both Ethan and herself for the past few months, the boy who she had been incredibly worried about, was now perched on her balcony railing, and it was reminiscent of that night when she first met him. She gritted her teeth, furious, and she stomped forward, surprising the red-haired boy.
"Where were you?" She reprimanded the moment she came face-to-face to him. She felt so angry, so furious at him, for suddenly disappearing like that. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"
"Do you have to care where I was?" He answered roughly.
"Yes, I do!" She huffed angrily.
"Why?" He muttered, his gaze upon her steely, fierce and… lonely. "Because you like me?"
"I-" She began.
"I never once said I would return your feelings, so stop it." He snapped, his words sending daggers into her heart. "There is no reason for you to concern yourself with me."
She felt the heat rising in her chest, and she tried to hold in the tears as she answered back in a low voice, "Because I like you, that's why-"
"Do what you like," He cut in. "I came here because I couldn't find Ethan and I need to ask you about something."
"Ethan?" Lyra gasped. "Wait, did he know where you were all this time?"
Silver stared at her for a moment, before he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. She felt hurt, but she knew that she can't do anything about it. He had been clear, and it was just her, all this time, having these one-sided feelings. She clenched her fists, and swallowing the lump in her throat, she willed herself to ask, "So what do you need to ask?"
"I had a dream last night," He started. "A dark figure, and some mysterious words, that are… strange."
She widened her eyes in response to the familiarity.
"Something about the Last Generation, and the final ending. The weird figure also said something about addiction and freedom," He continued. "And now I have this."
He rolled up his left sleeve, and the Roman numeral XV was on his left arm, black and permanent. Lyra suppressed a gasp, as she stepped back a little.
"You have a V tattoo on your neck, don't you?" Silver murmured. "Hierophant?"
She slowly nodded her head, still in a slight daze and trying to take in what she had just seen. The number XV, and that only meant that Silver was part of the Major Arcana.
Number Fifteen, The Devil.
He eyed her carefully, as he unrolled the sleeve. He swears he will have an answer, about the strange Pokémon that had attacked him days ago, about the strange dream, about the tattoo he suddenly gained overnight.
"Tell me," He hissed. "What is the Major Arcana?"
Hope that you have enjoyed this chapter. I guess downpours can be quite the stimuli for writing chapters, and hence the title of this chapter. I'm someone who likes to delve into the emotions and psyche of characters, and I had fun exploring that in Chapter 29. Do tell me what you think about the plot of the story so far!
Additionally, I'm starting to think about changing the title of the story... again. Yes, I'm an indecisive kid and I need help. So I'm planning to change it to something like "Arcadium" or "Arcanus" lol, or should I keep it as it is? Do tell me through PM/review. :)
Thanks for reading this chapter. Adios and I'll come back soon with Chapter 30 *shoots confetti everywhere*
Cheers,
onetimetrip