We continue where we left off with Alcea and Victoria, and see the two of them playing together like good old friends. It's sad to see what became of their relationship in the future, but with this chapter, now Vic has all of her memories back, at least.
So far, we've got some great girls running in the Nomination Round! Any others we want so far? We've got a little over a week left! If there are any other girls you think should be added, make sure to add them in the reviews! Let's see who the third Best Girl will be!
Currently Nominated: Ange, Ayame, Caelia, Cynthia, Donoma, Elaina, Maddi, Marion, Misato, Sango, Satsuki, Sylvia, Vic
KedharS: Hopefully this chapter will be even more wholesome.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: This was an amusing read.
JoshGamerV: Hope you feel better soon, dude.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 953
In spite of the girls wanting to stay with Shaymin for a little longer, there wasn't a lot they could do in the clearing. It wasn't like there were any games to play, and the space didn't have much room for things like hide and seek.
So mainly, the two of them just talked.
Victoria and Alcea sat across from one another, with Shaymin nestled lovingly in Alcea's lap. She gently petted her grassy fur, showing just how well she could care for pokemon. As she did, Victoria watched her, feeling a little envious. She wasn't sure if she was more envious that Shaymin seemed to be more attached to the redhead, or that Alcea was paying the pokemon special attention instead of focusing on her.
That wasn't to say that Alcea was neglecting her friend, though. She was perfectly capable of caring for a pokemon while also holding a conversation. And there were a lot of things that they could talk about, too.
Neither girl had lived a very long life. Victoria was only 8 years old, and Alcea was only a few years older, at 10. But because they lived such different lives from each other, both girls had a great wealth of experience that the other lacked. So Victoria shared her stories about growing up in such a small, peaceful town, while Alcea told her all about the fancy house she lived in and the parties that she went to.
Needless to say, one girl's stories were a lot more interesting than the others, at least that's how Victoria saw it.
She was actually a little in awe of Alcea. After all, the redhead was only a few years older than she was, and yet she seemed to live such a different life! It was amazing! Fancy parties, fancy food, fancy cruises, and not to mention the fact that she had her own pokemon as well!
"I can't wait until I'm 10," Victoria confessed, staring glumly at the pokeball resting beside Alcea. "My dad said he'd let me have a pokemon then, but I want one now."
Alcea tensed, a shadow crossing over her face. "Oui," she nodded. "It is quite something, to have a pokemon partner that cares for you, is it?"
"Did your dad give you your Bulbasaur for your birthday?" Victoria asked, feeling a little sad that she couldn't meet the Grass type pokemon because he was resting. Of course, being the innocent child that she was, she completely missed the pained expression Alcea wore when her birthday was brought up, although her older self, watching from the side, didn't.
"…Oui," Alcea said, nodding. She began to shake. Victoria realized that Alcea was about to cry, and gasped, scooting over to her.
"Are you okay?!" She asked quickly. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?!"
"I am… not crying…" Alcea said, biting her lip so hard it looked like it was about to bleed. She was doing her best to keep the tears down. "I swore… that I wasn't going to cry anymore."
Wow… she really was tough… Victoria's heart hurt, seeing how strong a girl not much older than her was trying to be.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I don't know what I said, but… I'm really sorry…"
"It is… fine, is it?" Alcea mumbled, shaking her head. "I simply… you see, it was… my tenth birthday was when I was stranded. I-I don't… I don't even know how long ago that was, and… my parents, they're just…"
Uh-oh. She looked like she was going to cry again.
And finally, she did.
"I want to go home!" Alcea sobbed, tears pouring from her eyes. "I want to see mommy and daddy again, and Holly, and everybody! I don't want to be here anymore!" She loved her pokemon friends from the garden, and she loved Shaymin, and Victoria, but she wanted to go home.
Victoria didn't know what to say. Part of her wished that Alcea would stay in Agate Village forever. She didn't have any friends her age, she didn't have any friends, really. But it wasn't fair, either. Alcea had her own family and her own home.
The tears fell from Alcea's cheeks and landed on Shaymin's back. The pokemon turned and stared up at the sobbing trainer.
"Shaymin?" She asked softly.
"S-Sorry," Alcea said, wiping her eyes. "I didn't mean to get you wet, I just…"
"That's not what she's saying," Victoria quickly corrected her misunderstanding. "She's worried about you, and wants to know if she can help."
Alcea finished wiping her eyes and turned to look at Victoria, confused.
"What do you mean?"
Victoria blushed, and glanced down at Shaymin. "I mean… I…"
She didn't really know how to explain it. But ever since they'd healed Shaymin together, it was like… that voice in her heart had grown stronger, or clearer. She could feel the pokemon's thoughts, and knew what her feelings were. That's how she knew how attached the small pokemon was to Alcea, and how she knew that she wanted to help the other girl.
Of course, there was no way she could say something that stupid. Alcea would think she was a liar, and she didn't want to sound like a liar to her very first friend.
"Can you talk to pokemon?" Alcea asked, her eyes wide with awe. Her sadness over being stranded was gone, for the moment.
Victoria swallowed and nodded.
"That's amazing!" Alcea gasped. "I've never met someone who can do that! I've heard stories, of course, and read about things like that in books, but I've never met someone before! Is that how you knew that Shaymin was in trouble?"
"My-My mom, she's… well, she says…" Victoria was having a heck of a time finding the right words. She was nervous, incredibly so, but also a little proud. Alcea had been so cool and impressive with all her stories, and finally Victoria had something to impress her right back.
"Can your mother also talk to pokemon?" Alcea correctly guessed.
"…Yeah," Victoria admitted, nodding. "Apparently, it's like… a family thing, I guess."
"That is… very impressive, is it?" Alcea mused. "I wish that I could speak to pokemon… I have so many friends that I've made in the garden, but… even though I can tell that they care for me, it isn't the same as having someone like you."
She smiled shyly at Victoria. "You're… well, you're the first person I've ever really been able to talk to, since…"
Alcea had given the full story, about how she'd gotten stranded on a deserted island. Victoria didn't think she would lie about that, but also didn't see how that story could be true, since, well, they weren't on an island now. But the same way she didn't want her first friend to think that she was a liar, she didn't want to call her first friend a liar, either.
Or maybe she was a magical girl who fell from the sky.
Victoria beamed at Alcea. "I get it. I don't have many friends, see, so I know. Sometimes, it's like there isn't anyone I can talk to either. But you have that blonde girl, right?"
Alcea shook her head. "I've only met her once, even though she's my friend, is it? I'm not… very good at making friends."
Victoria refused to believe that. Alcea seemed like such a lovely girl! "But you're so nice!"
"I don't even talk to my sister," Alcea said, shaking her head again. "Holly… she's very sweet, is it? But even though I feel lonely back home… I still don't talk to her… and now, I miss her so much, I just can't take it!" Another pang in Alcea's heart, and another wave of tears threatened to break the surface. But she stayed strong. Holly was waiting for her back home. Even if her parents were… no, she didn't want to think about that.
"I wish I had a sister," Victoria sighed, staring at her lap. "A cool big sister, who would teach me all sorts of stuff, someone I could play with… you're lucky, Alcea."
Alcea smiled at her. "I wish… I wish you could be my sister, too," she admittd.
Victoria's jaw dropped and her face lit up. She'd been THINKING that, but she hadn't SAID it! Was she that easy to read?!
"Hey, I'm the one who's supposed to listen to pokemon's hearts you know!" She wailed, both girls sharing a laugh.
Ryoko watched the two of them talk from a distance, guilt and sorrow building up in her heart. It was a tender moment between the two of them, building a bond of friendship with each other. Two lonely souls, brought together across time and space, for the sake of a single pokemon.
If it were in her power, Ryoko wished that she could stretch this moment out for so much longer, and give them so much more time together. She took her watch out from beneath her shirt and checked it, wincing at what she saw.
Time was almost up.
"Hey, I really liked your stories, you know," Alcea said.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Victoria tilted her head to the side in confusion.
"All that stuff you were saying, about your family, and living here in Agate Village… it was nice," Alcea said. "See, I… I don't get a chance to see my mom and dad… not very often. Even before… you know. They were always working, so… I guess I felt a little jealous. Since, you know, you get to live in such a nice place like this."
Victoria was shocked. Alcea was jealous of her? Alcea, whose house she described was like a mansion? Who had servants? She was jealous of her?
"But… But you've got, like, so much awesome stuff at home, right? Like a butler, and a maid, and your own garden!" She sputtered.
"Victoria… can I ask you something?" Alcea said quietly, shyly looking down at Shaymin. Her cheeks were bright red.
"What?" Victoria asked.
"Do you… like living in Agate Village?" Alcea asked, glancing up at her.
Victoria's smile was amazing. "I love it! It's the best place ever! Everyone here is so nice and sweet, they always greet me with a smile! And my dad is really cool, telling me all sorts of awesome stories, and my mom is always there for me, cooking me my favorite things, and…"
Her voice trailed off as the smile slipped from her face. "My mom…"
That's right. She'd run away from her mom. That was how this whole thing had started. She glanced up at the sky, where the sun was starting to set. It had been so high up in the sky before…
Victoria realized then what she'd done. Her mother must have been worried sick about her, she must have been tearing Agate Village apart trying to find her! She needed to go back and let her know that everything was okay!
She sprung up from and turned towards the cave when a tiny hand grabbed her wrist. She turned back to see Alcea staring up at her, her face twisted with fear.
"Where… Where are you going?" Alcea whispered.
Another pang of guilt stabbed Victoria in the heart. What had she been about to do? She was about to leave her first friend behind and go back home, even though Alcea was all alone?
"I just… my mom, she… she's gonna be worried about me, so… we have to go back," Victoria whispered, trying her best not to cry at the betrayed expression on Alcea's face.
"I… suppose you're right…" Alcea said, glancing down.
"H-Hey, I mean… I know you're going to miss Shaymin, but come on, you'll get to go home!" Victoria said. She wanted to make her friend feel better somehow.
"I know, but I…I still…" Alcea looked like she was about to cry again. When she raised her head to look at Victoria, there were tears in her eyes.
"I'm afraid," she whispered.
Victoria blinked. Afraid? Afraid of what? "Why are you afraid?"
The tears started pouring out again.
"Mommy and daddy… they were caught in the storm!" She wailed. "The boat sank, what if they… what if they… what if they aren't waiting for me at home?! What if there's no one?!"
Victoria realized what she was so scared of. That's right, if Alcea's parents were in that ship crash, then maybe… maybe they were…
"That's why I didn't want to go back earlier," Alcea admitted, hugging Shaymin tightly to her chest as she curled up into a ball. "It wasn't… it wasn't just to spend time with you and Shaymin… I'm afraid, Victoria. I'm terrified, is it? That if I go home, and they aren't there… at least… at least while I'm here… I can hope they're still alive, is it?"
Victoria frowned. She didn't like that. No, she didn't like that at all!
"What about your sister?" She asked. "You said her name was Holly?"
"Oui, Holly, is it?" Alcea peered up at her through the tears.
"Well, if… if your parents really are… not home, then… that means she's all alone, right?" Victoria asked quietly. "She's all alone, without, like, her mom and dad, and without her big sister too."
A chill went down Alcea's spine.
"I've always felt… kind of lonely," Victoria said. "Because I don't have any friends here. But… I've never REALLY felt lonely, either, because all the grownups are so nice to me. But Holly, she… she's all alone in that big house then, right? So you need to go back, for her sake, don't you?"
Alcea bit her lip. Victoria was right. She was scared about going back home, about not seeing her mom and dad there. She wanted to go home, but she didn't, either. Her heart was all confused and scared, but thinking about Holly made her realize that it wasn't a big deal at all.
"You're right," she said, nodding. "I need to go home, is it?"
"Shaymin!" Shaymin cheered, staring up at the two of them. Then, her body started to glow bright green.
"Whoa, what's going on?!" Victoria said, shielding her eyes. The light faded, and the sweet scent of flowers filled the clearing.
"My leg," Alcea gasped, staring down at her leg. It was completely healed. Where the bone had been improperly set, making walking difficult, and occasionally painful, it felt as good as it had been before the break. There was no redness or swelling, just a perfectly working leg.
"It is healing wish, a blessing from the protector of this place," Ryoko said, walking up to the two girls. "She healed you, to say thank you for helping heal her."
Alcea glanced down at Shaymin. The little grass pokemon had tired herself out, helping her like that. She smiled.
"Thank you, Shaymin," Alcea whispered, picking the small pokemon up and setting her down gently in a bed of soft bushes. She turned to Victoria. "And thank you."
Victoria beamed back at her.
Alcea glanced down at the Oracle in her hand. "I should… return this, is it?"
She turned toward the statue, but Ryoko placed her hand over the stone and shook her head, smiling warmly at the girl.
"I told you. That is for you to keep. To take back with you."
Alcea didn't know what to say to that. She looked at Victoria. "Is… is that okay?"
Victoria didn't really know, but she figured they'd ask her mom when they got back. "It's fine I guess. Come on, we need to go! My mom's going to be really angry!"
"Oui," Alcea nodded. Victoria took her by the hand, and the two of them ran for the cave.
"I can't wait for you to meet my parents!" Victoria called over her shoulder as they got closer and closer to the entrance. "They're both really cool! And my dad has a whole bunch of awesome pokemon! I can't wait to let them know that I made my very first friend!"
Alcea smiled sadly back at her. The end of the tunnel was just ahead of them, they could already see the sunset.
Then her hand slipped from Victoria's.
"Huh?" Confused, Victoria stopped to look back, when she felt Alcea hug her from behind.
"Thank you for everything," Alcea whispered in her ear. "Don't turn around."
Victoria could feel the sensation of tears against her cheek.
"What's wrong? The exit's right there," Victoria said.
"I cannot… go with you, is it?"
"What?! Why not?"
"When I was brought here… Ryoko told me… that I would meet a lovely girl, who would become a dear friend. But that time with you would only last until we left the clearing. Then… I would have to leave." She tried to laugh, but it sounded like she was crying. "You were right, is it? I have to go back. To see my sister."
"Alcea…"
"Thank you, Victoria," Alcea whispered into her ear. "Thank you."
A flash of green light lit up the cave, and the scent of lilac, lavender, and mint flooded Victoria's lungs. She turned back, but Alcea was nowhere to be found.
"Alcea?!" Victoria cried. "Where'd you go?! Alcea?! Come on, stop playing! We need to go!" She was getting desperate. She frantically called for her friend, "Alcea, this isn't funny!"
"She has gone," Ryoko said, coming up from deeper in the tunnel, a solemn expression on her face.
"Gone?! What do you mean, 'gone'?" Victoria demanded.
"That girl was not from this place. Not from this time," Ryoko calmly explained. "She was stranded on an island, and I brought her here, from a point several years into your future."
"Huh?! The future?" Victoria had no idea what Ryoko was talking about.
"Right now, Alcea Vermeil is 7 years old. She is sleeping softly in her bed, half a world away from this place."
"But all the stuff she said, about the island, and the boat…" Victoria asked, still confused. How could Alcea be here and there? And the future? She was too young to make sense of it, even as an older Vic was putting the pieces together and realizing what was happening.
"That is something that is yet to come," Ryoko said. "In three years' time, Alcea and her parents will set sail on a cruise for her tenth birthday. They will not arrive at their destination. She will be washed ashore, and spend the next three years of her life stranded on a desert island. But, for one brief afternoon… I will have brought her back in time, to this very moment… to meet you. To help Shaymin. To receive the Grass Oracle."
Victoria shook her head. No, no, no! "No way!" She protested. "You can't do that! It's not fair! She… She was sad and crying! I'll tell!"
Ryoko raised her eyebrow. "…Tell?"
"That's right! I'm gonna tell my mommy and daddy what you told me! And they'll call up her parents and tell 'em not to go on the cruise! Then she won't get stranded and she won't be sad, and… and…"
A small, sad smile crossed Ryoko's lips. "You are… truly a kind child. But I am sorry… that will not happen."
"What?! Why not?!" Victoria demanded.
"Because all of your memories of this afternoon will be erased," she answered. "You will forget about everything you saw here."
Victoria froze. "N-No… No! You can't! I'm gonna forget about Shaymin?! And Alcea?! No! I don't wanna! I finally made a friend! You can't make me forget, I won't let you!"
A tear rolled down Ryoko's cheek and she raised her hand towards Victoria's face. "That girl… has already forgotten you herself."
For the first time since she met the strange lady, Victoria was afraid. Living in Agate Village all her life and numbed her sense of danger, but not enough to where she didn't know that she was in danger.
"You can't!" She cried, turning from Ryoko and running for the exit, as fast as her tiny legs could carry her. She didn't want to forget, she wouldn't! She clenched her eyes shut and pictured Alcea's smiling face, and Shaymin's bright eyes, the beauty of that clearing, those were the only things she was thinking about. As long as she was thinking about them, then she wasn't going to forget!
She stumbled over the chain, and tumbled forward, into the warm twilight. She picked herself up off the ground and looked around, confused. Why had she been running so hard? And why was it so late all of a sudden?
Victoria glanced over her shoulder at the yawning mouth of Relic Cave. The day had been a blur, but it was almost dinner time. She needed to get home before her mom got worried. She skipped down the path towards Agate Village, ignoring the wet stains on her cheeks from tears she didn't remember crying.
A tragic end to a budding friendship. It sucks that Ryoko was forced to do something like that, but it was necessary for the sake of the timeline. Doesn't make it any less tragic, though.