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Peacekeepers
Chapter Twenty – Relinquish
A frigid, north wind swept across the land to meet a volcanic, swirling wave of heat atop the highest mountain peak. The two elements blended in a curious harmony as their physical manifestations greeted each other with an affectionate head bump.
"Brother," the volcanic entity spoke with a low rumble. "Did you meet my counterpart?"
"I did. She is a bright blaze of intensity and compassion," the north wind's incarnation replied with a regal nod. "And you, mine?"
"Yes. As stubborn and immovable as a glacier," the fiery beast answered with a huff. "He's reckless though. Perhaps a bit too reckless."
The aurora Pokémon rumbled a laugh. "You favor him for it."
"The same way you favor her untamed tenacity." The Volcano Pokémon looked out at the vast landscape distractedly. "What of our third?"
"He headed west, with the Aura wielders."
"And your patrol?"
The cerulean beast sighed dismally. "The humans continue their marching and posturing. I fear the true violence will soon be upon us."
The reddish-brown beast growled in response. "It is the same in my territory."
"Does this matter require the guardian's attention?"
"Perhaps, but not yet. Let them prove themselves first." There was a long pause as the two legendary beasts gazed down at the land below. "For now, we shall watch over them from afar."
The light that seeped through her eyelids was bright, too bright to keep sleeping. Cynthia's thoughts began to stir sluggishly, feeling fresh out of a dream but unable to remember it for the second time in the same night. It was immensely frustrating because both dreams had left a residual sense of importance in the back of her mind.
The only fragment of a memory was that flash of an image in the mist from the first dream, where Steven had his forehead pressed to hers in an intimate moment before it disappeared altogether... The sight had set her heart to pounding and her denial into overdrive, yet a longing settled into her throat, like a lurking sadness she never chose to confront.
Then, afterward, there had been that extremely strange sensation in her stomach... Almost as if she had been- No! No, that's ridiculous! She forcefully purged the thought from her mind, thankful that the sensation had vanished soon after it had appeared. Even so, a nagging, perplexed feeling remained.
Looking to avert her thoughts and hoping to catch a glimpse of the newest dream, she opened her eyes but immediately winced at the unusual brightness of the morning. She was also quickly distracted by a pair of glacial spheres staring right back at her, and mere inches away at that...
At first, her groggy awareness was simple confusion as to why he was so close, then she realized that she was once again the offender, having shifted closer to him in her sleep. For his part, Steven was lying on his back with his head turned her way, his gaze fogged over and giving the impression that he had woken at the same time and in just as much of a delirium.
Feeling frustrated by her own unconscious actions, she frowned a little as she backed away, feeling the bite of the damp morning chill. Failing to resist shivering, she guessed her sleeping self had naturally been drawn to his warmth, or at least, that's what she was resolved to tell herself.
"It's getting colder by the day," Steven observed as he sat up, foregoing a morning greeting and outright ignoring her earlier proximity. "We don't have the proper gear for this weather." He rubbed tiredly at his eyes and forehead, as if fending off a headache. "I feel like I dreamed but didn't sleep much..."
Cynthia didn't reply to the subject of the cold; there was nothing to be done for it except for keeping a campfire going all night, but that would draw too much unwanted attention. She nodded and sat up as well, drawing as many layers around her shoulders as possible. "I feel the same, though I remember even less than before..."
Their voices must have disturbed the three Munnas, since they began yipping and yawning into wakefulness (or as awake as a Munna could be). In response, Garchomp poked her head inside to check on them with an unhappy grumble.
Cynthia looked to her dragon to see what she was so grumpy about, only to blink with surprise at the sight of Garchomp's snout dusted over with a layer of fresh, white powder. "...Snow? It snowed last night?" That explained the uncanny brightness she had idly wondered about.
In answer, there was a collective, miserable groan from all four of their Pokémon. "Oh Gar, I'm so sorry." Feeling her heart ache with empathy and regret, Cynthia immediately moved to wipe off the snow from her muzzle and proceeded to give the dragon's head a comforting hug. "I know how much you hate the cold."
In response, Garchomp whined and burrowed into her master's hold, shivering violently. Cynthia could feel Steven's concerned gaze but she hadn't expected him to reach over and place a gentle hand on Garchomp's cold neck.
"It's a shame the tent isn't a little bigger to accommodate her," he murmured softly, an idea sparking in his eyes. "Maybe when we get to town we can pick up another tent just for her and the Munnas?"
Cynthia simply stared at him, speechless at his thoughtfulness.
He seemed to take her silence as an indication of discomfort, though. "Or rather, we could both just have our own tents, and Gar could sleep in yours with you... Naturally."
"Naturally," Cynthia repeated with a small smirk of realization. It seemed that he had fully succumbed to the idea of sharing a tent with her and his subconscious had already begun to see it as the new norm. It was a curious thing, to see him cool and indifferent one moment, then warm and vulnerable the next.
In the end, she decided not to mention to him that actually, sleeping in the same cramped tent with Gar would prove really awkward and uncomfortable, just... in a different way than their current arrangement.
Some squawking, grumbling and scuffing noises from outside caused both trainers to scramble out of the tent, only to see Aggron, Skarmory and Togekiss all romping around in the fresh powder, seemingly without a care in the world.
Garchomp looked on with a sour expression while the Munna's clung to her and watched with rapt curiosity.
"Well, at least some of us find this development enjoyable," Steven said, shaking his head despite his amused smirk.
Cynthia would not deny the fact that she had the sudden inclination to reach down, form a spherical projectile and initiate a snowball fight, but she resisted the urge with a strict frown. They had another long day of traveling ahead and couldn't waste the time or energy on such frivolous games, not to mention, Steven was still injured. They simply couldn't risk further injury or needless fatigue.
When he turned to meet her gaze, she could see the same mischievous thought had passed through his ice-blue eyes, giving the rest of his expression a sort of childish playfulness that was both astonishing and even harder to resist.
Harder, yet not impossible. "We should get moving. This snow will slow us down." She turned away from his silent challenge with considerable effort, forcing herself to ignore the pang of guilt when she noticed him droop slightly in her peripheral.
"Right, of course," he replied in his practical tone and moved to help her break camp.
As she worked at disassembling the tent, Cynthia couldn't shake the nagging feeling of having missed out on something really special.
It became apparent that the farther north they traveled, the deeper the snow got beneath their poorly insulated boots. To make matters worse, a brutal, frigid wind had kicked up, causing flurries to obscure their surroundings like an irregular blizzard.
Cynthia glanced up at the gray, overcast sky before turning to Steven with a frown. "Do you think we're even going in the right direction?"
The man was fumbling against the wind with the map in his hands in a vain attempt to orient their path. "I'm not exactly sure. But according to the map, we need to clear this mountain range before we head east to the lake."
Contemplating, Cynthia looked up at the sky again, then at Garchomp, then at Togekiss. The dragon was hanging her head and shivering in pure misery despite having a blanket wrapped and tied around her torso. The white avian was doing a little better, though he too was having a hard time treading against the relentless wind.
"I'll take Kiss up and survey the area." She gave Steven and the map a dubious look. "Do you suppose I'll be able to see the lake from the sky?"
After thinking for a second, he nodded in response. "It looks like a huge lake on the map, I doubt you'll miss it, even in this mess."
Nodding back tersely, she moved to give Togekiss a quick massage to warm up his muscles before hopping onto his back.
Before they could take off, however, Steven placed a hand on the avian's head to stop them. "Be careful," he said, more as a request than a suggestion. His eyes were full of concern but Cynthia couldn't help but feel like he was overplaying the situation. "If you run into trouble, have Kiss use Aura Sphere to signal me."
She nodded again, though inwardly, she didn't like the thought of him trying to ride Skarmory with his injured arm. "We'll be fine," she assured him. "Just a quick look, and we'll be right back."
With furrowed brows, Steven nodded in turn and stepped back; he still seemed worried, but he clearly couldn't think of an argument to dissuade her.
Garchomp whined her own grievances about the matter, but she was practically a dragon-shaped icicle with three Munna passengers; she was in no shape to be flying.
"Let's go, Kiss!" In response, Togekiss shot into the air with a determined cry. The fierce turbulence from the snow-driven winds forced Cynthia to hold onto him tightly, but after a few perilous moments, they broke through the worst of the storm and began gliding above it.
If their situation hadn't been so dire and time-sensitive she would have liked to take a few extra moments to marvel at the beauty of the sun spilling through the clouds all around them. Shaking the distraction from her mind, Cynthia began surveying the ground far below. Due to the storm, the landscape was splotchy and difficult to make out, but the huge lake was indeed hard to miss.
"Right, looks like we were on track after all. Ok Kiss, let's head ba-" her words were cut off by a sudden clap of deafening thunder.
Startled and concerned, she peered down through a gap in the clouds to check on Steven and their three Pokémon. They appeared as mere dots on the white landscape below, but they were facing off against a yellow form, with what appeared to be violent sparks dancing around its body.
Cynthia scowled in frustration; being the one to volunteer for the dangerous reconnaissance, it never occurred to her that Steven would be the one in trouble. Tightening her grip, she didn't even need to give Kiss the order before he tucked his wings into a sharp nosedive.
Squinting against the biting wind and stinging snowflakes that battered her face, she quickly identified the yellow antagonist as a Raikou, though it seemed odd to see it acting so aggressive after meeting its two passive brethren.
Togekiss deftly maneuvered through the violent winds and lighted on the snow-covered ground seconds later, allowing Cynthia to dismount. "What's going on?" she questioned and noted how Aggron had taken point to confront the agitated legend, while Skarmory remained by his master's side as a last line of defense.
Steven met her gaze and his expression immediately softened with relief, either because he was grateful to have backup or he was glad to see her unharmed, probably both. "No idea," he admitted with a shrug. "It came out of nowhere, and it really gave our Pokémon a spook... It also seems really angry for no reason."
"It hasn't attacked yet?" Cynthia wondered, her eyes narrowing at the beast suspiciously. It snarled savagely at Aggron and he roared back to match, but neither made a move to attack. Instead, sparks danced continuously as the Raikou began pacing back and forth threateningly, as if looking for weaknesses.
"No, and I'm keeping Aggron defensive, but Metal Sound and Roar haven't had any effect for some reason." Steven glanced over at Garchomp with a frown. "Also, Gar has been acting strange, like she's distracted."
Cynthia looked to her ace to see that the dragon was completely disinterested with the furious Raikou and was instead sniffing the air suspiciously in the opposite direction. The Munnas attached to her were chirping, but it didn't exactly sound like fearful noises for some reason... In fact, they almost sounded excited?
Glancing thoughtfully between Gar, the Munnas, and the Raikou, Cynthia was struck by a sudden realization. "Illusion?..." She muttered to herself, drawing Steven's quizzical gaze as she gestured at the two posturing monsters. "Have Aggron use Hyper Beam!"
"But this is a Legendary," the man replied skeptically. "Any attack we throw at it will just aggravate it even more!"
"No, it won't, because it isn't real," Cynthia insisted and pointed to Garchomp. "Gar and the Munnas are on to something. Raikou is just the decoy."
"It isn't real?" Steven questioned, momentarily bewildered as he scrutinized the roving beast. "I think you're right!" He must have seen something out of place, because he suddenly gave Aggron the signal to attack.
Apparently eager to attack, Aggron loosed a powerful Hyper Beam without hesitation. The Raikou merely snarled in response, and what should have been a clean hit, simply phased right through the thunder beast, as if it were a hologram.
With one final roar, it began to fade, and a moment later disappeared altogether. "You were right," Steven concluded with a smile.
Cynthia sent him a sly look; she hadn't been ignorant to the initial doubt in his eyes, his voice. "Might I ask what finally convinced you of that?"
"Ah, well, as the legend goes: "when a Raikou is angry, dark clouds gather above, which strike down lightning whenever it roars", or so I recall." He gestured to the former battlefield. "Neither were present in this case."
"I see," Cynthia replied simply and turned to investigate whatever had Garchomp distracted.
"Wait," Steven called and followed with a disappointed lilt in his tone. "You're not going to tell me your theory?"
"Hmm, no." Feeling an odd sense of amusement from keeping him in the dark, Cynthia failed to keep the smile out of her voice. "We'll find out soon enough if I was right."
At some point, Garchomp had wandered off a ways, still sniffing about and growling suspiciously at something that was obviously invisible to the naked eye.
Cynthia followed after her, with the others trailing behind cautiously; thankfully the near-blizzard had calmed down after Raikou's disappearance. After another moment of what seemed like aimless roaming, Garchomp finally came to a sudden halt and peered down at the seemingly empty, snow-covered ground.
The dragon emitted a demanding bark, causing a pair of large, purple-pink blobs to materialize directly under her piercing gaze; they both trembled and whimpered in fear.
"As I suspected," Cynthia said with a satisfied smirk. "The culprits responsible for that Raikou illusion."
"Ah, Musharna," Steven concluded with a hand to chin. "Yes, that makes sense. Although, that was a very convincing illusion, I must say."
Seeing the pair of frightened Pokémon cower even further, Cynthia marched over to place a calming hand on Garchomp's flank. "Stand down Gar, these two don't mean any harm." When the dragon offered a confused whine, the woman turned to the Musharna with a soft smile. "They're just here for their babies."
All at once, the two Musharna chirped in relief at being understood, while the three Munnas detached from their temporary guardian with happy cries. The five of them altogether circled each other in a noisy, chaotic family reunion.
Cynthia continued to smile at the heartwarming scene as Steven drew beside her with a hand on his hip. "Finally! I was starting to think we'd be stuck with them forever."
Sending him a sidelong frown, the female champion tried not to let her disappointment show as she realized her fondness for the little pink blobs was not unanimous. "You don't like them?"
"Hmm, I wouldn't say that," Steven mended with a casual gesture. "More that I find their dream mist powers a nuisance. Also, it's been harder to defend ourselves when we have to think about protecting them as well."
"Yes, I suppose you're right," she replied, unable to argue with his practicality. "Still, a part of me will miss their cute little antics."
"I don't think you're the only one," Steven commented as their three other Pokémon all gathered around curiously, while Garchomp emitted a long, unhappy whine.
"Oh Gar," Cynthia sympathized and placed a comforting hand on the dragon's shoulder. "You had to know this would happen sooner or later. You know we never could have taken them home with us."
Drooping her broad head sullenly, Garchomp let out the most pathetic whimper, as if she were physically pained. The sound seemed to spur the Munnas into action, splitting away from their newly found parents to latch onto their former guardian's face, all mewing affectionately.
Garchomp stumbled back, startled at first, but was quick to respond with a muffled whine. It was such an unusual, warbled cry, somehow somber yet joyful at once. Hearing it left Cynthia in a moment of astonishment; throughout all their years together, she was sure she had never heard her ace emit such a strange noise before.
Albeit, the dragon had never served as a surrogate mother to three unruly Munnas, either.
The bittersweet exchange lasted a mere moment when the parents called for the youngsters to return. Two obeyed but the third hovered over to touch heads with Aggron in a brief farewell. The metal behemoth merely tipped his head and hummed his reply, as if he were more perplexed than sad.
Once the babies had gathered together again, the parents led them away. After reaching a certain distance, the five disappeared altogether, leaving nothing but white tundra and falling snow where they had been.
Cynthia watched with a sympathetic heart as her dragon looked up at the sky and loosed a soft, forlorn howl. It could have just been her imagination, but the woman thought she seen three distinct snowflakes descend and land on Garchomp's rough snout, melting there almost instantly.
Sighing empathetically, she wordlessly moved to give her ace a comforting hug.
Togekiss inched closer tentatively, offering a consoling chirp up to his teammate. Steven remained silent where he stood; if he thought Garchomp was overreacting, he wisely chose to keep those thoughts to himself.
Skarmory on the other hand, had no such qualms about teasing the dragon with an obnoxious chatter.
Garchomp simply ignored him, while surprisingly, it was Aggron that grumbled a sharp rebuke at the metal bird.
"Alright everybody, just calm down," Steven intervened before an argument got started. "We still have a ways to go today." He turned his sober gaze to Cynthia. "I hope you spotted the lake while you were up there..."
Nodding, the woman gave her dragon one last, comforting pat before turning to lead the way in the direction she had seen the lake. The others followed, all except for Garchomp.
She remained standing there for a few moments, alone, under the gently falling flakes.