Author's note: I'm getting more busy so, I may be late with submitting these chapters from here on in! I'll try to make it in weekly, but I may be a day or two late.

Thank you for your patience! Have a good one and enjoy!

Chapter 8: Companions

"What!? The tickets are HOW MUCH!?" Lucia looked like her jaw was going to hit the floor. She, Beatrice and Harold were standing before the ship that would take them to Dewford town.

"5000 Pokédollars a ticket!" The man standing in front of the ship said. "No more, no less."

"That's ridiculous! I don't even have that much money on me!" Lucia cried.

"I do," Beatrice said. She snapped her fingers once, and Harold crouched, placing down the briefcase he carried. In the briefcase, he pulled a smaller briefcase, and then pulled out a stack of Pokédollars. Lucia nearly gasped, it was more money than she'd ever seen.

"Harold, be sure to pay for my ticket. And only pay for Lucia's once she says 'please'." Beatrice said. Narrowing her eyes in annoyance, Lucia turned to Beatrice, who was smirking at her. "Are you thinking of biting the hand that's feeding you?" Beatrice asked. "This is revenge for making me say 'please' for my badge."

Lucia knew that she entirely deserved this, but even so, she couldn't hide her pouting. "I'm not saying please," Lucia mumbled.

"Then you're not getting on that ship." Beatrice flipped her hair sassily and started to walk past the ticket master. "Harold, let's be on our wa-"

"I paid enough for only the two of you to enter," Harold said. "I will not be joining you."

"What-" Beatrice spun around. Her eyes widened. "What did you say?"

"I apologize, Miss Beatrice," Harold bowed. "But your father, whose orders I must follow over yours, told me to part ways with you once you had reached the ship leaving for Dewford."

"What!?" Beatrice said. "But- Daddy- Daddy wouldn't do that!"

"He wanted you to have a journey that was as authentic as possible. I'm afraid I must agree with him."

"NOOOO!" Beatrice jumped up and down like a child seconds away from throwing a tantrum. "Come with me! I can't just go alone!"

"You will not be alone. Lucia is with you, now."

"Ehhh… not really.. But sure, let's go with that," Lucia said with a shrug.

"Harold! Please! Don't leave me with that-!" Beatrice pointed at Lucia. "That- that thing!"

"I am LITERALLY going to punch you in the throat!" Lucia cried.

"See!? That barbarian just threatened me! You just being here helps me be calm and collected! Please! I need you!"

"This is for the best, Beatrice," Harold said.

"No, it's not!" Lucia's eyes widened once she noticed Beatrice was beginning to sob. "I need you! Please don't leave me!" Harold moved in to hug the crying Beatrice. Lucia felt a twinge of sympathy and almost immediately looked away from the two of them.

"It's all right, there, there," Harold said.

"Without you- I'm..!" Beatrice choked between her sobs. "Who- who's going to-"

"I'd love to stay and watch this tearful goodbye," The ticket salesman said, "But, the ship is leaving soon."

"Who's going to carry my stuff for me!?" Beatrice cried. "Who's going to-"

Lucia narrowed her eyes.

"All right-" Lucia marched over and grabbed Beatrice by the arm. "Let's go. C'mon."

"NO! NO NO NO!" Beatrice tried hard to cling to Harold, but Harold and Lucia managed to pry her off.

"Lucia," Harold spoke loudly over Beatrice's wails of sadness. "Can you take this briefcase? It has everything she needs." Harold offered his briefcase to Lucia, who took it.

"Yeah, yeah," Lucia said with a sigh.

"HOW IS MY DARLING SLOWPOKE SUPPOSED TO GET THE BEST GROOMIIING!?" Beatrice cried.

"Stop trying to go after him! Jeez…!"Lucia had to pull with all of her might at this point as Beatrice kept her arms out at Harold, who was very much out of reach. He waved goodbye to the daughter of his Master as the boat's horns alarmed. The ship was already moving, and Lucia had to hold Beatrice back from leaping overboard to try to get back to Harold. Soon, the ship left.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Beatrice was sitting on the ground and sobbing loudly. Lucia groaned and stared down at her. She had no idea what to say. Though, she could relate. A little.

Nah, she couldn't relate at all.

Though, Beatrice crying was not good. Not good at all. She couldn't make fun of her if she were busy crying. Lucia grumbled and crossed her arms.

"Hey, remember that time when you beat me?" Lucia said. "That was funny for you, right?"

Beatrice continued to wail like a baby. Lucia's eyes widened once an idea struck her mind. If anything could cheer up Beatrice, it had to be her Slowpoke. Lucia opened the briefcase she was handed and widened her eyes. There were several mini briefcases inside, three, to be exact. Lucia opened the first one she saw- it was nothing but stacks of money. She put it aside and searched through the next one.

"Hey-" Anastasia's voice reached Lucia's ears, and she nearly yelped from surprise. She spun around to see the snow-haired girl looking down at Beatrice with worry. Anastasia was wearing a different outfit than usual, a magician's outfit. She had on a top hat, a tuxedo, and a short black skirt.

"A-Anastasia?" Lucia said. Anastasia wordlessly dropped to her knees in front of Beatrice, who was still crying.

"What's wrong?" Anastasia asked. "Are you okay? What's the matter?"

"H-H-Harold!" Beatrice cried. "He- He- He's-!" Beatrice started crying all over again. Lucia groaned and checked the second briefcase. Lucia's eyebrows raised once she finally found the Pokéball containing Slowpoke. She tossed the ball to the ground, and out he came.

"Pooooke!" Slowpoke yawned. Lucia quickly grabbed the clueless looking Slowpoke, ran to Beatrice, and offered him to her.

"Here, take him, he's all yours, just hold him, okay?" Lucia tried speaking over the girl's wailing. Once the red-haired girl had eye-contact with her Slowpoke, she quickly hugged him.

"Oh, Slowpoke.." Beatrice said. "What're we going to do.."

"Pooooke…" Slowpoke stared at the sky as though he had no idea what was going on. Anastasia stood up and drew in a deep and long breath.

"All right then!" Anastasia shouted. "I was going to save this for the show later, but I guess to help out a lovely lady, I have to do my thing!" As Anastasia took a few steps while holding on the brim of her top hat. "Let's go, Ditto!" Bead-like eyes and a long string-like smile appeared on Anastasia's hat.

"Ditto!" Ditto cried. Anastasia did a hat trick, flipping the hat across her arm. Once it reached her hand, Ditto turned itself from a top hat into a red carpet in a blink of an eye. Anastasia waved and tossed it into the air. She then leapt toward it, allowing the cape to cover her completely- and in a blink of an eye, Anastasia's outfit changed entirely. She was now wearing a long red dress, similar to Beatrice's. She landed on the ground with a crouch and stood up, raising her hands like she was holding a giant box over her head.

"Tada!~" She cried.

"Wow!" Lucia cried. She started clapping excitedly, then turned to Beatrice. "Did you see that!? Wasn't that incredible!?"

Beatrice sniffled a bit and nodded. "Yeah," She mumbled.

"Everything's gonna be okay, doofus! Now hold on, I want to talk to Anastasia for a sec," Lucia said. She stood up and then walked up to Anastasia. Almost immediately, the purple-haired girl started blushing. "Uh, you were really cool there," she said.

"Aww, thank you!" Anastasia put her hand out, and all of a sudden, her dress melted away like liquid. Anastasia was back to her magician's outfit all over again as Ditto reverted to normal- standing happily on Anastasia's hand. "Ditto and I practiced that for hours!" Anastasia hugged Ditto, smiling all the while. She then went into her pockets, grabbed her Pokéball, and returned Ditto to her ball. Then, suddenly, the girl's eyes shifted to Lucia's. "Kind of like how I wish I could stare into your eyes for hours."

Lucia's heart skipped a beat as Anastasia's smile deepened. "O-Oh, I- uh-!"

"...Lucia?" Beatrice's voice beckoned, and Lucia spun around. Beatrice sniffled as she stood up, holding her slowpoke like she would a teddy bear. "I wish to be alone for a bit... I'll meet up with you when I get the chance, later."

"Yeah, no." Lucia said. "You're staying with me. I'm not letting you wallow in your sadness by yourse-"

"I think you should let her go," Anastasia said. "I know you're worried, but sometimes people need to be alone, y'know? Get their thinking juices flowing!" Lucia sighed.

"Fine. But in twenty minutes, meet me at this same spot, got it? Leave without me and I'll punch you."

"It's going to be tough for me, without Harol-" Beatrice started to tear up again.

"Hey- Hey!" Lucia shouted in worry.

"Hey, c'mon, now!" Anastasia cried. They both approached Beatrice quickly.

"Man.." Lucia said. "You really are torn up about Harold. Like, it's not even something I can laugh about anymore, I just feel bad."

"You're going to be okay, okay?" Anastasia said. "I promise. I super-duper mega promise."

"I.. I can get used to it…" Beatrice said. "It'll take some time for me to adjust. I can't be sad forever." She took a deep breath. "I-... I need to remain strong. So one day, I can meet my idol."

"Quinton's your idol, right?" Anastasia asked. Lucia furrowed her brow. Her mother had told her many things about this Quinton person, and none of it was good. She couldn't just advise Beatrice to not idolize this person, because that said idolization was giving her strength. The purple-haired girl sighed deeply.

"I think… I can be by myself for a little bit," Beatrice said, nodding in affirmation. "Go. I'll meet you by the entrance after about twenty minutes."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Lucia said. "All by yourself?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"Yes."

"Absolutely sure?"

"Yes- Lucia- I said yes!" Beatrice said in slight annoyance. Lucia grinned.

"That's the answer I was looking for. By the way, you're dumb."

"Don't expect me to thank you, moron."

"You can thank me, though!" Anastasia cried. Beatrice's eyebrows raised as her face turned red. She sighed deeply.

"...thank.." Beatrice looked away. "You…" She mumbled. Anastasia giggled.

"Wh-" Lucia turned to Anastasia, then back to Beatrice. "Why does she get a thank-you and I don't!?" Lucia cried. Beatrice turned to Lucia and narrowed her eyes.

"Because you have to say 'please.'" Beatrice said.

"You-" Lucia stopped talking for a moment and took a deep breath. "You know what? Touché."

"Now go. Have fun with Anastasia for a moment, I need to collect my thoughts."

"Oh, you're such an idi-" Lucia's eyes shot wide open once Anastasia's hand grabbed hers. Her entire face became red.

"C'mon! It's a date! I've got a lot to talk about with you!" Anastasia cried.

"D-DATE!? IT- IT'S NOT A DATE!" Lucia cried. "I- I SWEAR I'LL HIT YOU!"

Anastasia grinned and chuckled mischievously as she pulled Lucia away. "Byeee, Beatrice! Get well soon! C'mon, let's go!" Lucia nearly tripped as she was being dragged away.

"I'm going to bring you backstage where everyone's preparing for the Pokémon contest!" Anastasia roared.

"There's a Pokémon contest!? Here!?"

"Yeah!"

Beatrice watched as the two of them ran off. She sighed deeply.

"Oh, Slowpoke," she said, nuzzling her Pokémon. "How would Quinton think of me if he saw me like this..? He'd probably call me trash. Anything less than perfection is-"

"You'd be wrong about that," Beatrice's eyes widened in alarm once she heard an all-too familiar voice. She turned and nearly gasped.

"M-Marie!?" Beatrice cried. Marie smiled and waved as she approached the young girl. The redhead shot a glare. "What do you mean, I'd be wrong?" Beatrice continued. "Someone like you wouldn't understand the greatness of being perfect."

"You and I started off on the wrong foot. We should be friends," Marie offered a handshake. Beatrice stared at her hand and shot a glare. "C'mon, now." Marie said.

The redhead shook her head. "I can't do that," She said. "Not after the humiliation that you orchestrated."

"Humiliation?"

"I lost," Beatrice said. "I made a bet with you and lost. It was more than humiliating."

"Did you really lose? I mean, sure, you lost the battle, but… are you sure you didn't gain anything from that loss?"

"Gained-?! I gained nothing! What do you mean?"

"You gained friends."

Beatrice's eyes widened.

Marie smiled and pulled her hand away. "If you don't consider me a friend, then that's fine and dandy. But do yourself a favor, and at the very least, consider those two your friends." Marie winked before waving Beatrice goodbye.

Anastasia and Lucia were walking slowly together, still hand-in-hand. Lucia's heart was beating extremely fast at this point. What was more surprising was that Anastasia hadn't said a word. Even as they walked through crowds, she hadn't said anything, she just stared ahead. Lucia felt like she should say something but didn't know what. Other than small encounters, she didn't know Anastasia that much at all. She only knew her name, and how pretty she was. Lucia wanted to get to know her but had no idea how. Although, having her hold her hand like this was nice.

"Hey, Lucia?" Anastasia asked, turning to Lucia suddenly. "What's your favorite color?"

"Um, it's uh-... It's… white."

"Are you saying white because it's the color of my hair? Are you flirting with me?" Anastasia asked, smiling mischievously.

"Wha- No!" Lucia cried, blushing a bit. "I'm not! It's really my favorite color!"

"Heh, I'm only teasing. So why White?" Anastasia tilted her head. "It's such a plain color!"

"It's also the color of snow, and snow looks really beautiful on things like trees and house roofs. I liked watching it snow when I was home."

"Heh. You know what my favorite color is?"

"What?"

"Yellow."

Lucia narrowed her eyes in suspicion, yet her face grew redder by the second.

"I-I bet you tell that to other girls," Lucia said, pouting a bit. "You probably tell them that their eye color is your favorite color! I bet you'd tell Beatrice her eye-color was your favorite."

"No, I'm serious, my favorite color is yellow!"

"Wha-...Why?" Lucia asked, blinking a few times.

"Yellow reminds me of the sun. It's so bright and beautiful, always shining for everyone. It reminds me of what I want to be for other people-Oooh!"Suddenly, Anastasia stopped walking and turned to Lucia. "I just thought of something really romantic! Can I say it?"

"Uhm.. Sure," Lucia said.

"Okay! Ready?" Anastasia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I was bright- brighter than the sun itself. I shined for those who needed it. So I could become their hope, their reason for living. My mantra was: everyone needs a guiding light. A raison d'être. With all this, one may ask, 'If everyone needed a guiding light, a reason to live- who would shine for you?'" Anastasia placed a hand on her heart and looked Lucia straight in the eye. "Who takes care of the caretaker? If I allow everyone to lean on me, who do I have to lean on? I was lost, wondering who would shine a light as bright as mine to give me hope. And fortunately, one day- I found it, I finally found it. You. Your eyes- they shine brighter than any light- brighter than any star. You are what I live for." Anastasia smiled softly.

Lucia was absolutely starstruck.

"How was that?" Anastasia asked, giggling. "Did you like it? I came up with it on the fly!"

"O-Oh.." Lucia was attempting to catch her breath at that point. Having her breath taken away for so long was not good for her heart. "Yeah- It's- it's amazing.".

"Thanks!" Anastasia said. "Say… Do you like me, Lucia?"

"I-..Uh- I-..!" Lucia's hands began to shake. This was all too sudden! Anastasia grinned.

"Nah, actually, don't answer that," Anastasia said, her wide smile turned sad. "...I know the answer's no."

"...Huh?" Lucia was taken aback by Anastasia's change in tone- the cheerful girl's sunny disposition was completely gone.

"I've been rejected by hundreds of girls," Anastasia said. "Most of them said I was too forward, others flat out rejected me..." The snow-haired girl put on a giant grin on her face, but Lucia could tell it was forced. "I bet you're wondering why I'm sad all of a sudden. It's just… holding your hand for so long, it…" Anastasia's grip on Lucia's hand loosened as she looked away. "...A-Anyway- I don't want to get too comfortable." Anastasia said with a light chuckle. "I already know you'll reject me." Lucia didn't know what to say. Anastasia pulled her hand away from Lucia's, and for a moment, Lucia's fingers moved to grab the girl's hand again only to stop herself short.

"But- uh, no matter what happens, even if I ask you out for real someday," Anastasia put both of her hands behind her back. "Please don't stop being my friend, even after you reject me, okay?"

"Wh-Why would I…." Lucia's voice was shaking. She gulped, then took a deep breath. "Wh-why… would I stop being your friend?" Lucia asked.

"Well…" Anastasia shrugged. "All of the girls I tried asking out, kinda.. Uh… stopped talking to me all together. Falling for people fast kinda weirds people out, y'know?" Anastasia said. "I flirt with every cute girl I see, but I know in my heart that I'll be rejected. So at this point, I do it for fun. Though, you reacted differently to my advances. I'm guessing you've never had anyone flirt with you before. Which is a surprise, you're super pretty!" Lucia was berating herself at this point, she needed to say something, but her mind was going haywire. "It's kinda like how I treat these Pokémon contests," Anastasia continued. "I'm entering for fun, but in my heart, I don't think I'll win. But just cause I probably won't win, doesn't mean I won't try! With all that said, I'm still going to keep flirting with you. Seeing you react like this and squirm in embarrassment over every little flirtatious remark is literally the cutest thing ever."

"D-Don't call me cute.." Lucia grumbled.

"You give my Ditto a run for its money!" Anastasia giggled. "And that's saying something!"

"Shut. Up.." Lucia covered her face with both hands. "I'll. hit. You. I swear."

"Ohhh- if we were together, I'd totally hug you right now! You're so precious!" Anastasia cried.

"Then…I'd definitely hit you!" Lucia swung her hands down and glared.

"Ehhh- I dunno, I don't think so!" Anastasia said with a wink. "You'd probably say, 'oh, Anastasia, you're so sweet!' and then kiss me! Like this!" Anastasia started making kissy faces. "Mwaah! Mwaah!"

"I wouldn't do that!" Lucia cried.

"OH! Speaking of kissing! I have to get going soon and get to the backstage- and sorry for not getting you backstage, I really wanted to, but I kinda forgot! Anyway, anyway!" Anastasia started hopping with energy. Lucia had no idea how she had so much of it but was thankful for it regardless. "In regards to kissing, you know what people do at the end of dates?" Anastasia stopped talking, as though she expected an answer from Lucia. Lucia tilted her head.

"Uh.. they say goodbye?" She asked.

"No, silly! They kiss!" Anastasia shouted. "One says… 'I had a wonderful time!' the other says, 'I- I did too!' And then, slowly but surely, their lips come together like a magnetic force is pulling them! And then..!" Anastasia cupped her hands together and puckered her lips, moving closer to Lucia.
Almost instantly, the genes of her parents kicked in, and out of sheer embarrassment Lucia punched Anastasia in the face and sent her flying. Her body spun like an arrow before she tumlbed to the ground with a thud.

"Ow..." Anastasia groaned. Suddenly, in a blink of an eye, the white-haired girl sprung to her feet.

"Okay! Gotta run! Bye bye!" Anastasia blew kiss after kiss as she waved goodbye and ran off. Lucia put her hands on her hips and sighed.

"I'm honestly not sure what's funnier," Beatrice's voice made Lucia yelp from surprise. "The fact that you're obviously head-over-heels for the girl, or that she doesn't realize it."

"I thought you were going to wait for me back there after twenty minutes!" Lucia cried.

"Well, it's been forty and I was tired of waiting," Beatrice said. "Also, a bit of advice. When you're around the one you like, you should-"

"I DON'T LIKE HER!"

"Lucia, I watched you stare at her like a waiter would stare at a ten thousand Pokédollar tip."

"And I saw you crying like a little whiny baby earlier!.. Speaking of which, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you for worrying."

"That's right, you'd better say thank y-" Lucia blinked. She stared at Beatrice with wide eyes. "What did you just say?" Lucia said.

"What? I said thank you."

"...Who are you? What did you do with Beatrice?"

"Be quiet before I buy and sell you. I'm going to go see the Pokémon contest. You're coming with me."

"Why would I come with you?!"

"Because if you don't, I'll buy and sell you."

"What is it with you wanting to buy me and sell me!? This is why I want to punch you in the face!" Beatrice simply stared as Lucia sighed deeply. "Ugh, I'm sure if I said no, you'd start crying all over again. So fine! Whatever! Let's go!"

For a split second, Beatrice smiled.

"Let's be on our way, then. I'll walk ahead, so your footprints won't contaminate the floor I step on." Beatrice flipped her hair sassily as she walked ahead.

"Excuse me!?" Lucia ran toward Beatrice.

As the two walked off, arguing with each other, Marie watched them and smiled.

"I wonder what he'd say if he saw you now?" Marie said under her breath.