"What's he doing here?" Aini demanded, pointing to the hooded boy sitting in the corner. V blinked, turning her attention to six-year-old Raven, who sat passively in the corner.
"We're babysitting him." V said simply.
"But he's just sitting there!" Aini cried out, as if it was a travesty. "He won't even say anything!"
A pause.
"Say something!" Aini practically screamed at the boy. Raven, with eyes true to his namesake, glanced at her.
"Something." he said in a bored tone.
"AAAAAARGH! YOU LITTLE-!"
"Aini!" V said scoldingly. "He's our guest. Be kind to him." she turned to Raven. "We were telling a story about your mother and father. I'm about to move on to part three. Do you want to listen?"
"No." he said flatly.
"Quite the jokester, you." V said, settling on the floor next to him as her children gathered around her. Aini chose to sit on the other side of the room, away from Raven. "Anyways, we were just at the part where Silver is about to introduce Soul to her worst nightmare..."
o.0.o.0.o
A Lock of Trouble, Part Three
Despite Soul's constant pestering, the redhead refused to give her any details on the place he suggested they eat at. He just lead her through the woods until she spotted a faded sign.
"Here it is." he said, showing her the sign. "The Snuggly Mareep."
"Mareep?" Soul blinked, studying the sign. "Like Mara?"
"Like Mara." he nodded.
"Yay!" she ran up to the entrance with Silver behind her, opening the door to reveal...
An empty restaurant.
"Hey!" she blinked at the brunette woman behind the bar. The man crossed the room, allowing the busty woman to hug him over the bartop. "How'd you find this place?"
"By luck. How are you, Blue?"
"Making a living." she winked. "By robbin' people blind."
He rolled his eyes.
"And Turquoise?"
"Happy as ever. She wants to see you, though. When are you coming home?"
"Sooner than later. I'm not going to give you many details, though."
Soul glanced back and forth between the two, wondering what their relationship was. They were obviously close, but in what manner? The differences between them was astounding, what in personality and looks, so she assumed siblings were out.
So that left friends or lovers, right?
"Who's your friend?" Blue asked, glancing at her.
"Soul!" she chirped.
"What can I get you?" Blue asked. "Might wanna be quick, though. We've got a gang of thieves that usually always comes in this time."
Soul paled.
"Gang of thieves?"
"Yeah, comes storming in and pretty much take over the place. Starts fights with each other, most of the time." she sighed. "Oh the blood I had to clean up off my floors."
"Blood?"
"Pools of it."
"You okay, Soul?" she glanced wide-eyed at the redhead.
"F-Fine." she said bravely. "What's to eat?"
Blue grinned.
"Well-"
She was cut off as the door slammed open. Soul snapped her head to the door and felt her heart leap to her throat. Stomping inside was a huge group of people, most of them young men and women, some arguing, some yelling orders, but most wielding sharp weapons, some with blood dripping from them.
"Goody!" Blue exclaimed, clapping her hands. "They're here~!"
"They?" Soul asked, gripping the bartop so tight that her knuckles were white.
"The gang of thieves." she nodded to them. "See over there?" she nodded to a pale blond sitting with a brunette. "That's Jade and Onyx. The former sociopathic and the latter a laughing idiot, known to slain for their enemies without a care and with a grin. That white haired man? Carnelian. He's known to do anything for a coin, even turn coat on his fellow thieves. But rest assured, Opal will do her best to keep him in line. She may look innocent, but she takes training lessons from her brother, Onyx."
And like that, Soul listened as Blue rattled off details about the thieves.
Red, a known leader, lead most of the raids. Yellow was a gentler soul, a kidnapped noble from which no one paid a ransom. The only reason she was still around was because she was a great healer and under Red's protection. Sapphire and Ruby were with them, the latter known for her punch first ask never mentality and the latter for making disguises so great that no one even knew what the gangs real faces looked like. With them was Emerald, who was good at sneaking around and fooling people into a false sense of security with his shortness. Most people thought him a child, which made them drop their guard.
Then there was the dynamic duo, Diamond and Pearl, who served as distractions most of the time on their raids, and Platinum, a turncoat on the nobility, often giving information after her kidnapping and ransom fell through the cracks at her father's death. With them was Topaz, the girl who could curse like a sailor and always had explosives on her at all times. It was her favorite pastime apparently, to blow things up, with or without people inside. Finally, there was Black and White, the former known for destroying/blowing up stuff and the latter known for always having a good strategy for whatever was at hand.
But what stuck with Soul was that most of them had used their weapons against others, some with kills, and since they were known for kidnapping young ladies, some of which actually joined their ranks, she was not willing to stay in the same room as them.
"You're not looking to well." Soul turned to her guide, finding his concern rather odd, but was thankful for it.
"I'm fine." she murmured, though kept her eyes forward. Mara was tapping her cheek, trying to calm her down.
"I think," he said, standing. "We should get you back to your tower. Call it a day." he guided her to the door. "If you can't handle a bar full of thieves then you probably can't handle the city, which is filled to the brim with murders, rapists, kidnappers, gangs, more thieves..." he trailed off, counting each one off until they reached the door, only for it to slam in their face. Soul jolted, stumbling back as one of the thieves, the one she recalled being Sapphire, pointed to her guide.
"This you, pretty boy?" she asked gruffly. He blinked at the poster and moved her hand away, only to reveal a rather bloated face with narrow eyes, a tepig nose, and big lips. Soul glanced back and forth between the poster and her guide, finding the only similarity being their hairstyle.
"Now he's doing it just to be an jack*bleep*." her guide muttered in an irritated tone.
"Oh, it's him all right." Soul turned to Topaz, who was approaching them with a malicious grin on her face. She grabbed the front of his shirt as Soul cowered behind him. "Emerald, go find some guards!" she barked with a grin. "That reward money is gonna buy me some nice new *bleep*ing explosives."
"What about me?" someone wrenched him from her grasp. Soul whipped around with a gasp as Sneasel began trying to fight Onyx to get her guide out of a headlock. Onyx glanced at the pokémon, then booted it across the room. "Jade and I've been eying up that little cottage we've wanted for a while now!"
"No way!" Pearl shouted, punching Onyx in the face and pinning her guide to the floor. "Being a thieving comedian isn't a profitable business you know, especially with the way Red lead it! Dia and I are broke!"
And thus, mass chaos. Soul knew there was no loyalty among thieves, but this was ridiculous! They were friends, weren't they?! They were practically killing each other over her guide. The only one's who weren't really fighting was Jade, who sat calmly and watched the fight with a bemused expression, Yellow, who was cowering, Platinum, who simply sipped her drink like nothing was wrong, Ruby, who was yelling at them to stop acting so barbarous only to begin fighting with Sapphire, Dia, who was simply eating his food until Pearl and Topaz demanded he get in and fight, and Red and White, who looked to be trying to defuse the situation but ended up getting dragged into it.
"Let him go!" she exclaimed, punching one of them weakly on the back. They simply shoved her off like an annoying bug type. "He's my guide!" she exclaimed. "Please!"
Again, she was shoved back, this time, she was shoved against the bar, where Blue was seemingly panicking herself.
"I can't believe they somehow managed to pin one of those up in this place!" she exclaimed, coming out from behind the bar. "Get off of him! That's my brother!" Her cries went unanswered as she wrenched Dia off of her guide. Getting the worst fighter hardly seemed to help, as Onyx and Sapphire was already holding her guide's arms while Topaz was ready to punch him unconscious.
Soul, thinking quickly, reached behind the bar, grabbed an oddly placed frying pan, and smashed it over Topaz's head.
A resounding BONG the entire bar fell silent, everyone staring at her.
"Put him down!" she exclaimed, dropping the pan once she got their attention. Topaz slowly looked over her shoulder, glaring with red hot fire. "Listen! I have no idea where I am and I need him," she pointed to her guide. "To show me to the kingdom so I can see the floating lanterns because I've been dreaming of it since forever!" she took a deep breath, somehow managing to get the speech out in. "Find your humanity! Haven't any of you ever had a dream?!"
Topaz turned around fully, pulling a dagger from her belt.
"You leave her out of this!" her guide exclaimed, suddenly beginning to struggle against their grip. "She's got nothing to do with the reward money!"
Soul backed up until she was back against the bar, arched over fearfully as Topaz practically shoved the dagger under her nose.
"Do you know who we are, girl?" she asked. Soul shrugged. "We aren't complete barbarians." she tucked away the dagger. "Ever hear of Robin Hood and his Merry Men?"
"The old tale?!" Soul exclaimed. "I love fairy tales like that!"
"Meet the *bleep*ing remakes." Topaz jerked her head around the room. "We've got our leader, Red, and the rest of us are the..." she trailed off. "Ah, *bleep*. No way in hell I'm calling myself 'merry'."
"You steal from the rich and give to the poor?" Soul asked, entranced.
"We steal from the rich and give... most to the poor." Red clarified. "We have to keep a little for ourselves."
"We usually don't tell everyone about this." Sapphire grunted. "Make's us look bad in the criminal underworld."
"Which means we can't trade stolen goods as easy." White explained.
"All in all, we do know what it's like to have a dream." Black grinned, bringing a fist to his chest. "I'm not called the Dreamer for nothing!"
"Nobles are rich and greedy and annoying." Pearl shrugged. "We know what it's like to starve."
"Yellow and Platinum weren't kidnapped." Diamond grinned. "They joined our ranks willingly."
"The kidnapping makes us sound tougher." Ruby shrugged.
o.0.o.0.o
Silver watched in awe as Soul somehow managed to befriend the thieves that seemed so willing to tear him to shreds just minutes earlier. They were even sitting down next to him and drinking with them. Topaz was already drunk, howling with laughter as they all exchanged stories.
"You must be some hotshot thief for the palace guards to be hunting ya." Sapphire said with a smirk. Silver moved his gaze, realizing that she was talking to him. "What's your story, stranger?"
"None of your business." Silver grunted back. Sapphire nodded to Soul, who was happily chatting with Yellow and White.
"She know who ya are?"
"No." Silver said. "I'm not dragging her into that. She's just an annoying girl who doesn't know a thing about the world around her. I'm taking her to the lanterns, bringing her back, and that's that. She doesn't need to know anything else."
"Don't jade 'er to much." Sapphire stated. "Ya don't see people like her often. World's to *bleep*ed up."
Silver thought about that for a moment. Maybe that was why her mother locked her in the tower? To preserve that childish innocence? If that was the case, he didn't blame her. The world was a scary, dangerous place, filled with Arceus know's what. Soul did't know anything about the world. He couldn't comprehend how she could simply be so trusting and kind all at once. Her trust in the goodness of people was a mix of sickening disgust and odd fascination.
He might even say it was endearing.
"Well, Silvy, I didn't think you had it in you." he glared up at Blue.
"Don't say my name in front of her." he muttered harshly.
"You gonna keep your girlfriend around? Green and I've got an extra guest room for you to share. You can get on with making Turquoise's cousins."
"I've only met her this morning!" Silver hissed. "You're disgusting."
"Hey, love at first sight, just like with me and Green." Blue grinned. "How much longer are you going to stay away, though? You know about this place. You know we're always willing to welcome you."
"You know I can't escape unless I have a lot of money or protection." he glanced at her. "I honestly thought you married Green for said reasons."
"Jerk." Blue huffed. "I had to work for his affections, thank you."
"Must have been terribly hard." Silver muttered sarcastically.
"You know it!" Blue laughed, smacking him on the shoulder.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Emerald ran in with an excited look on his face.
"I found the guards!" he exclaimed. Everyone looked at him, horrified. Emerald blinked. "What?"
"YA IDIOT!" Sapphire exclaimed as Silver jumped up, grabbing Soul's wrist and dragging her behind the bar. He helped her gather up her hair as they heard Emerald get shoved aside.
"Where is that redheaded plunderer?!" he heard Gold exclaim. "This got personal with what he did earlier! Where is he?!" Silver ducked under the bar with Soul's hair, then passed it to her as she wrapped it around her arm. The girl was shivering next to him, then jumped as Gold's fist slammed onto the bartop. "Find him at any cost!"
He didn't expect someone like Gold, who he heard was lazy and carefree, to get so angry. Was he that mad that Crystal fell off the cliff? Did he blame him for that? Idiotic! She was the one who chased him onto the branch!
Slowly, he peeked out from under the bar, and watch as they brought Will and Carl in, arms chained in shackles. He jolted, ducking back under. Those two had it out to get him, and he was not willing to even let them get a glance at him.
Suddenly, a hand flashed in front of his face. Silver blinked, eyes flicking to Red's face. His gaze shot to the left, then back to him. He gestured for them to follow, and both crawled out with their pokémon beside them. Red pushed down on a certain beer tap, revealing a secret passage that fell behind the bar.
"Blue and Green installed this after we told them about our mission." he explained. "A secret escape should we need it. Seems they're after you this time, though." he then turned to Soul. "Go and live your dream. Come back and pay us a visit though, will you?"
"Of course!" Soul chirped as a promise. "Thanks for everything."
Red grinned.
"We'll keep an eye out for you if you ever need help." he urged them forward, passing a torch into Silvers hands. "Now go."
o.0.o.0.o
Blue watched nervously as Gold searched through her bar with some other guards. Red had already gotten Soul and Silver out, but she was seriously nervous they would arrest the thieves as they were, in fact, notorious thieves. And then, in turn, arrest her for hiding thieves. She had a family to raise! A little daughter at home, barely a year old! What was she going to do should they arrest someone?
"I think," Sapphire announced, holding up a drunk Topaz by her arm. "This is th' gal yer lookin' fer!"
"Ya gots meh!" Topaz slurred with a happy grin, holding out her arms, as if prepared for shackles. Blue rolled her eyes at Topaz's low tolerance for alcohol. "Take meh aways!"
"The person we're for is a redheaded male." Gold said, crossing his arms in irritation.
"Sir!" Blue glanced up at the soldier who had searched the upper floors. "He's not here."
"Such a shame." she called out with an overdramatic sigh. "This is such a waste of time. Now hurry along. Unless, of course, you'd like to drink yourselves silly?"
She could tell the notoriously lecherous sketch artist was having trouble avoiding the offer. But just as she was sure he would accept the offer, the front door was kicked open.
Literally kicked open.
Blue was prepared to yell at the rude person who practically kicked the door to her tavern off the hinges, only to see blue colored hair in pigtails walking through the room. Blue all but shut her mouth at the sight of the lead guard. Crystal glanced about on the ground, as if searching for something.
Slowly, she bent down and picked up a single, long strand of light brown hair.
"Light brown." she said, glancing around, as if taking in all hair colors.
"That's mine." Blue blurted. "Sorry if it's against healthcode and all. This stuff just falls out when I'm under stress."
Crystal responded simply by taking the end, and gently running her hands along the hair, holding the two ends with her arms spread wide. Blue swallowed, though kept her composure. No doubt that was Soul's hair with the color and length. Crystal followed the small strand, wrapping it around her fingers until she came behind the bar and paused.
"Clever." she commented, turning and pressing down on random levers and beer taps until she found the one that opened the passage.
"A secret passage." Gold said, widening his eyes.
"Seems so." Crystal nodded. "Gold, call Explotaro. Arkee!" she called her pokémons name as Gold called for his, watching as the two fire types smashed through the door to their respective owners. "We're going after Silver!" Crystal said, glancing back at the soldiers. "Secure this tavern and anyone in it for further investigation!"
Blue watched as they stormed down the passage, then slowly turned her attention back to the guards.
"Sorry, dears." she said offhandedly. "But it'll take a lot more than three or four guards to detain my tavern and those who frequent it."
And like that, chaos ensued. The gang of thieves began beating on the guards as they tried to subdue them. Blue giggled amusingly, watching over the bar.
Her gaze suddenly snapped to where Will and Carl were standing previously.
"Where...?" she whipped around, just barely catching the sight of Will's garish outfit as they disappeared down the passage. "No!" she dove for the passage, only for it to close shut. She whipped back to the lever to see it, reaching for it, only for a guard to get thrown over the end, snapping the lever free. "No!" she cried out, trying to futilely reattach it. That failing, she tried to move the lever, but all her attempts were in vain.
She turned back to the passage with a worried look on her face. If Silver betrayed Will and Carl, Arceus knows what will happen.
"Silver..." she trailed off, grinding her teeth together. "Don't go doing something that will get you killed."
o.0.o.0.o
Mckenzie watched in disgust as the thieves inside began fighting.
Hearing a startled cry, she watched as a brunette with her hair in a ponytail stumbled out, obviously getting disoriented in the fight. An idea striking her, she yanked the girl up and brought her dagger to her throat. Making sure her cloak was up, she slammed the door open, she pressed the knife closer to the girls neck, eliciting a scream that caught attention of all the thieves.
"White!" a boy with spiky brown hair exclaimed.
"Now that I have your attention," she said forcing the girl forward and thrusting the knife under the tavern-owners nose. The young woman said nothing, eyeing the knife then bringing her blue orbs back up to her face, as if trying to think of a plan. "Tell me where that tunnel lets out. And be truthful, dear," she smirked a dark, ominous smirk. "Less this girl gets her throat slit."
o.0.o.0.o
Soul was absolutely ecstatic as she followed after her guide through the tunnel. They spent the first few minutes running, but after Silver took a moment to being sure they weren't being followed. After a minute, with Mara's help, they lit the torch.
"I'm surprised with how you handled yourself back there." he said after a moment.
"I know, right?!" Soul exclaimed excitedly.
"But then again," he continued, looking over his shoulder. "What if those were ruffians who didn't want to help the poor? What if they were truly out to get the reward money?" he turned fully. "That was a stupid move. You could've been hurt. Badly."
Soul blinked, then lowered her head.
"Sorry." she murmured. Her guide let out a sigh.
"But, I suppose if you didn't do that, I'd be in shackles by now." he said, turning back around. "Not to shabby for a girl who's never fought before."
"T-Thanks!" Soul beamed. Her guide rolled his eyes, then turned back around. As he continued walking, she did a silent happy dance. She didn't know why it made her so happy to have impressed him, but her heart was hammering and she was so happy she could burst into song and dance.
Of course, she knew if she burst into song, she'd look like an utter idiot. But dancing was totally fine, right?
Over her fit of happiness, she glanced back at her guide, then slowly tucked some hair behind her ears, following after him with a small grin. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Mara looking at her strangely, but she said nothing to acknowledge the odd look.
"What's you name?" she asked, jogging up next to him and crossing her arms behind her back.
"I don't do backstories." he responded.
"But I didn't ask for your backstory. I asked for your name!" Soul clarified.
"No." Soul pouted at his stubbornness. "But," he continued. "I would like to know about yours."
"My name? It's Soul!" she said cheerfully.
"You backstory, moron." he responded. "I know I'm not allowed to ask about the hair or why it's seventy feet long, and frankly, I'm a little weirded out by your overprotective electric cottonball,"
"Her name is Mara." Soul defended, petting Mara to calm her down.
"But I do have one question." he paused, turning to her. "If you want to see the lanterns so badly, why haven't you ever gone before?"
Soul stopped walking.
"Um... well..."
She paused her thought process as the sound of footsteps began echoing around them. Slowly, she turned, and saw two men chasing after them.
"Traitor!" the older one roared, his pounding footsteps echoing around them.
"Soul, run." her guide muttered.
"What?" she asked, glancing fearfully between the two men and Silver.
"I mean it," he said as he began scooping up armfuls of her hair, shoving it into her arms then grabbing his own armful. "Go! Run!"
Then they were bolting down the tavern.
"Sneasel," her guide yelled, grabbing her arm with his spare hand to get them to run faster. "Night slash!"
The pokémon hissed in agreement, summoning the move and attacking their pursuers. Soon after this, they stumbled out of the mouth of the cave, her guide long since tossing the torch aside so the two men wouldn't have a light to follow. Soul glanced around in a panic, seeing they were on a cliff surrounded by some sort of waterworks or something.
"What's going on?!" Soul exclaimed as they neared the edge near a rickety ladder, catching sight of the exit cave, her guide holding her arms so she wouldn't fall over.
"I cheated those guys out of a deal." he responded simply. Both heard a faint crash down below, and Soul recognized the male, but not the female. Palace guards?
"And those guys?!"
"People who want to arrest me." he responded. Soul glanced around nervously, trying to find a way to escape. She glanced up at the rafters, then shoved Mara into his arms, causing him to drop her hair.
"Hold Mara!" she exclaimed, grabbing up the end of her hair and praying that her plan would work. She then threw it out like one would a rope, and watched as it lashed around a rafter.
"Soul, what are you-"
She cut off her guide as she swung across the chasm and landed on a ledge on the other side. She whipped around, unwinding her hair from the rafter and grabbing the end again. On the other side, she saw Silver dodging the attacks from the two men who were chasing him. She had to wait for him to stop moving if she was going to help them.
"Mara!" she shouted across the chasm. "Thunder Wave!"
Mara let out a cry of affirmation, then unleashed the attack, stunning their enemies for a moment. Her guide stood still for a moment, turning to her.
"Hold up your hand!" she shouted. Her guide blinked, then scooped up Mara and his Sneasel, holding out his hand. Just as the two men were regaining consciousness, Soul snatched her guides wrist in her her hair and yanked. He was swooping over the chasm, conveniently over the two guards chasing them, then landed on another scaffolding. She sighed at him being safe, but turned as she heard a loud sound.
She widened her eyes at the two men already up, them and their pokémon working on knocking down a pillar. All at once, it was down, and the older one in the less garish outfit was practically sprinting across the pillar.
"Soul!" she turned her attention back to her guide. "Jump!"
Soul swallowed, then exhaled to steel her nerves. Then she took a flying leap from the cliff...
Only to have her hair snatched up by the man following her.
She let out a shriek of fear, clawing at his arm as he wrapped it around her neck.
"Ha!" he shouted down to her guide. "Not so tough now, are you, traitor?!"
"Carl!" her guide roared, keeping a strong grip on the other end of her hair. "Let her go!"
"Yay!" the other man clapped. "A hostage! A hostage!"
"Carl! Will!" her guide shouted. "I'll kill you!"
"To bad, to sad!" Will sang.
"Let me go!" Soul exclaimed, kicking at Carls legs and punching at his arms. He grunted in slight annoyance, but said nothing.
"Explotaro, flamethrower!"
Soul shrieked as fire practically scorched her head. Carl let go to protect himself, giving her the chance to leap off the cliff as her guide had requested earlier. She managed to land on the ground, yanking her hair from her guide and bolting across the ground. She spotted her guide sliding down the wooden water slide on his feet, looking quite dashing, she thought, if not for fluffy little Mara on his shoulder.
He landed a little close behind her, snatching up the ends of her hair as Carl and Will managed to chase after them, fighting the two for who would get her guide first.
Soul turned to look over her shoulder, crying out as water suddenly rushed at them.
"The dam." her guide muttered. "Dammit, we breached the dam!"
And with that, he began running faster, almost dragging her behind him in a desperate attempt to outrun the tsunami trying to swallow them.
"Crystal!" she heard a male voice exclaimed.
"GOLD!" she heard a female voice scream, followed by the startled cry of a female and pokémon. This was followed closely by the screams of two men, and Soul knew that that the guards, Crystal and Gold, most likely with their pokémon, with those two men that her guide knew, were all swallowed by the water.
"Oh, no...!" she exclaimed as she felt water lapping at her heels.
"Go, Soul, go!" her guide cried out as she felt a shadow fall over them. She dared a glance over her shoulder, letting out a terrified wail as a huge stone was falling towards them. There was a small cave entrance right there. Just a little longer...!
Both ducked into the cave, both them and their pokémon alive, though blunged in darkness as the stone blocked the cave. Her guide ran back to the rock, trying to see if there was a gap that would allow them escape, only to be soaked by water. He stumbled back, Soul whimpering as water began rushing in.
"Up!" her guide cried. "Climb up! Up!" Soul nodded, clambering up the rocks, only to bonk her head.
"No!" she cried. "No, no, no!"
"Soul!" her guide scrambled up the rocks, only to find what she found. A dead end.
Soul suddenly found the water up to her waist. She cried out, glancing around in a desperate attempt to see a way out. Mara and Sneasel clambered onto a rock as her guide dove down in an attempt to find a way out. In a few moments, he popped up again, taking deep breaths before diving back down. Soul was trying to get some rocks loose in an attempt to be free.
Her guide popped up again, hair plastered to his face, throwing himself against the stones, trying to find a loose spot. He hissed slightly, and Soul wondered if he cut his hand. There was a moment of silence, then he dove back down.
Even on her higher perch, Soul felt the water creeping up around her waist, causing the skirt of her dress to float around her legs. Her guide popped up, leaning against the stones as he breathed.
"It's no use." he said, shaking his head. "I can't see anything."
"You're lying!" Soul shrieked in response, the panicked, shrill sound echoing across the stone walls. She glanced around, squinting for a moment, then took a deep breath and dove down.
She didn't get far, though. A pair of strong hands wrapped around her biceps, yanking her up.
"Soul, listen." she blinked, feeling him turn her around so he can talk to her face to face. She barely able to see his silver eyes in front of her. "There's no point. It's pitch black down there."
Soul was silent, bowing her head slightly, realizing death was upon her. Tears formed, streaming down her face as the water rose to her chest.
"This is all my fault." she sniffled. "Mama was right. I never should have done this." Regret filled her as she looked up at her silver-eyed companion, full on sobs. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
There was a moment of silence, then she felt his arms wrap around her, stroking her damp hair in some, if any, comfort.
"Silver." he said. Soul blinked.
"W-What?"
"My name." he clarified. "My name is Silver. I didn't want to tell you because I was caught up with people like Carl and Will, and I didn't want to drag you into that sort of life. I thought the best way to keep you out of danger was to have you know as little information about me as possible." a low sigh. The water sloshed around their shoulders. "Hell of a lot that did."
"Silver." she tested the name on her tongue. "That's nice."
"Silver and Soul." she thought. "Soul and Silver."
"I have magic hair that glows when I sing." she confessed. What the hey, right? If they were all gonna die, she might as well have someone else know. Silver pushed her back, blinking in surprise.
"What?"
Soul paused, gears suddenly turning in her head.
"I have magic hair," she said excitedly, grasping some of the locks. "That glows when I sing!"
Silver probably thought she was crazy right now. But she didn't care. If she could get just a few lyrics out...!
"Flower gleam and glow,
Let your magic shine...!"
She took a deep breath, hearing Silver do the same as they were suddenly submerged in water.
o.0.o.0.o
Despite being submerged in darkness, Silver kept his eyes open, as if praying for a way to see. He had all but dismissed Soul's earlier admission of having magic glowing hair, until the cavern was suddenly filled with a golden glow.
He watched as Soul slowly opened her eyes, cocking her head and smiling, the glowing tendrils flowing around her like a mythical halo. Mara and Sneasel was floating beside her. She looked like something akin to an angel. He gasped in surprised, though quickly smacked his hands over his mouth to stop the foolish mistake.
He saw some of the hair getting tugged somewhere, and saw it being sucked into a small hole. Air bubbles. Both frantically began pulling at the rocks as the hair lost it's glow, plunging them in darkness. Silver was rushing as quickly as possible, his bare hand blasted by cool air. He began pushing at the rocks, then suddenly, the whole wall collapsed, sending them both tumbling out.
They were carried down a gentle stream for a moment, before both scrambled onto the shore with their pokémon at their side, gasping for air.
"We're alive." Soul grinned, pushing her hair out of her face.
"Her hair glows." Silver muttered, flopping on his back, to utterly exhausted to care if his boots were soaked.
"We're alive!" she cried out, standing up with a cry of joy. "Silver!"
"It actually glows." he said, laying an arm over his face. "I actually didn't see that coming."
"Silver!"
He rolled back over and glanced at Mara the Mareep and Sneasel were staring at him.
"Why does her hair glow?!"
"Silver!"
He blinked as Soul stood over him with an aloof smile, sopping hair sticking to her face as she spoke.
"It doesn't just glow."
o.0.o.0.o
Mckenzie stood hidden behind some rocks, expertly wielding her dagger, prepared to slash the throat of Silver the thief should he come stumbling out. She watched with wild anticipation as the door moved...
Only for a black haired man to stumble out, hacking and coughing.
She darted back behind the rock, watching as another man with dark purple hair stumbled out, a xatu and a houndoom following them.
"That damned boy," the taller one said as his garishly dressed friend stood next to him. "I'll kill him! I'll kill Silver!"
Mckenzie listened as the two, who called themselves Will and Carl, discussed their plan back and forth. About how they planned to get revenge against Silver. About how they needed to find the tiara.
A sly smirk creeped onto her face, ducking away her knife and gripping the strap to the satchel.
"Ooooor~." she sang out, catching their attention. Both slowly turned, looking at her. She smiled slyly. "Perhaps you would like to stop running around like wild pokémon chasing their tails and think for a moment." at the end of her sentence, she held up the satchel, almost mockingly. The two stared at it in awe before taking action.
"Xatu-!"
"Houndoom-!"
"Oh please," she waved her hand dismissively. "There's no need for that." she casually tossed the bag to them. Will caught it, but Carl wrenched it from his grasp, pulling out the tiara. Both chuckled greedily at the sight of their prize. "Well then, if that's all you desire then be on your way." she studied her fingernails for a moment, smirking. "I was going to offer you something worth a thousand crowns. Would've made you filthy rich it would, and that's not even the best part." she laughed. "Ah, well, alls well that ends well. Enjoy your..." she trailed off, taunting them. "Crown."
A long pause.
"What's the best part?" Will asked suspiciously. She turned.
"It comes with revenge," she held up his wanted poster to prove her point. "On Silver."
Another pause.
"What's your plan, lady?" Carl asked. Mckenzie smiled, walking up to them.
"I'll need this," she said, taking the satchel. "As a bit of bait, yes?"
"I... suppose." Carl said, though seemed reluctant.
"Now then," she said, pressing the tips of her fingers together. "How much do you think one would pay to be young, forever?"
o.0.o.0.o
Silver didn't say anything as he watched Soul dutifully wrap her hair around his injured had. He could practically feel the wound throbbing, no doubt filled with infection and splinters after he gathered firewood for the crackling fire that provided them warmth.
"What are you doing?" he finally asked. He let out a hiss as she pulled the strands to tight, jerking his hand back.
"Sorry!" Soul winced, as if feeling his pain. He fixed her with a blank stare, waiting to see what she would do next. "Just..." she trailed off, still gently holding his hand. "Don't freak out?" the sentence ended as if she was asking a question.
Silver hardly believed anything else that happened to him today would surprise him. After all, he's escaped capture and death more times than he had in his entire life, and he's been stealing from people since he was a child. To calm her nerves, he nodded, a promise he wouldn't flip out over whatever was to happen next. She exhaled.
"Flower, gleam and glow," Silver watched as she began the song, closing her eyes. At her roots, her hair began to glow, forming that angelic halo again.
"Let your power shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine,"
He watched in odd fascination as the golden light travelled down her hair, glittering ang gleaming against the dark forest floor.
"Heal what has been hurt
Change the fates' design,"
His gaze caught Mara's, who held up her paw with a smug look. Silver slowly brought his gaze down to his hand, watching as the golden glow circled the hand around his finger, bringing on a bit of warmth.
"Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine…"
"What once was mine..."
As she finished her song, she opened her eyes, staring hopefully at him. The glow faded from her hair. Silver lifted his hand, slowly unwrapping the strands, opening his mouth in slight surprise as the brown locks fell away.
The cut was gone.
"Don't freak out!" Soul exclaimed. Silver blinked, then closed his mouth, turning towards the fire.
"As if I'd freak out over something as trivial as healing." he crossed his arms, casting her an intense glance. "Though I am curious about your hair and the magic qualities it seems to possess. How long has it been doing that?"
"Forever?" Soul mused. "Mama said when I was a baby, people tried to cut it. They wanted to take it for themselves." she reached for some of her hair, brushing it back, revealing a single, shoulder-length lock of hair. "But when it's cut, it looses it's power and stops growing." she awkwardly scratched her cheek. "A gift like that need's to be hidden. Kept safe. Protected. That's why Mama never let me..." she paused, swallowing uncomfortably. "Let me..."
"You never left that tower." Silver said, connecting the dots, suddenly feeling sorry for the girl. He knew what it was like to never be able to leave a place, and he hated it. But he always had the option of breaking out. Recalling the argument Soul had with her mother earlier in the day, he assumed her mother turned violent when she dared to disobey. Slowly, almost pulled by something other than his brain, his fingers brushed the cheek he had seen swollen earlier. "And when she hits you when you ask to go."
"That was only once." Soul bowed her head. "I was being irritating. It... should have been expected."
"No mother should ever hit her child, no matter how annoying she is." Silver said, dropping his hand. "And you shouldn't expect physical retaliation for a simply task like leaving your home. You're a prisoner. Do you even realize that?"
"I'm not a prisoner." Soul stated, lowering her gaze. "Mama expects me home, okay? Home is that tower."
"Do you want to go back?"
Silver could practically see the conflict on her face at the question. Sighing, she turned with a bright grin on her face.
"So your name is Silver?" she asked. He blinked at the change of subject. "Where'd you get that from?"
"Well, it sounded better than 'kidnapped child who was taken so young that he can't even remember his real name'."
"You were kidnapped?" Soul asked. Silver scowled, running a hand through his hair.
"I'm not all good at telling stories, so don't get all *bleep*y." he said. "I don't remember my mom or my dad. I was kidnapped by a man known only as Mask. Blue was too, but she remembers. She told me we were kidnapped. He wanted to create a guild of children thieves, so feared that they were threats to everyone. He wanted professional assassins, thieves, kidnappers... you name it and we can probably do it."
"A master criminal, taking on apprentices." Soul murmured.
"I suppose." Silver agreed. "Anyways, Blue married her way out. She married a researcher or something and is actually under royal protection." he smirked. "Seems that the Oak family line aren't half bad as advisors."
"So why is Blue running a pub in the middle of nowhere?" Soul asked.
"A scam." Silver said. "Robs some rich travelers blind. Helps Red's gaggle of thieves."
"And... you? How do you plan on escaping?"
"With that tiara." Silver said. "I was going to sell it, piece by piece, and drop off the face of the earth for a while. Then come back when I was sure Mask forgot about me."
"I'm sorry I messed that up." Soul said. Silver responded simply by flicking her in the forehead.
"You messed up nothing." he stated. "As for where my name came from, Blue and I were partnered together. When I was shoved in the same room as her, she asked what my name was, and all I could think of was the silver moonlight streaming through the barred windows." he leaned back with a sigh. "I suppose I figured 'Silver' sounded better than 'Moonlight'."
Soul giggled, shifting closer to him.
"I think Moonlight is a pretty name!"
"For a girl maybe." Silver said. "Anyways, that's my story." he stood up crossing his arms. "As I said before, I didn't want to drag you into the criminal underworld you're too... innocent. To kind. It would be like throwing a flower into a pit of fire. You wouldn't last long, now I'm even more convinced of that with that hair of yours."
"You aren't going to leave me, are you?!" Soul exclaimed. Silver rolled his eyes.
"I promised you the lanterns and you'll get to see the lanterns." he said. "I'm going to go gather firewood."
He stood up, going into the darkness, only to be stopped as Soul spoke.
"You know," Soul said as he turned back. "If I had to choose between adventuring with you and the tower, I'd choose you, Silver."
Silver paused, then shook his head.
"You must be the only idiot to follow a trained murderer."
As Silver walked away, he decided he couldn't exactly ignore the odd warmness in his chest.
o.0.o.0.o
Soul stared admirably at Silver's back, a rather goofy look on her face, watching as his red hair slowly faded away into the darkness.
"Well," a shrill voice exclaimed. Soul jolted at the familiarity, jolting around as her mother lowered her cowl. "I thought he'd never leave."
"M-M-M-M-M-Mama?!" Soul exclaimed, stumbling away from her as her mother wrapped her arms around her. "How did you find me?!"
"Oh, it was simple, really." she responded. "I just listened to the sound of complete and utter betrayal and followed that."
Soul sighed.
"Mama..."
"We're going home, Soul." she said, pulling back. "Now."
"Mama, you don't understand. This journey has been incredible and I've learned so much and... and I even met someone."
"Yes, the wanted thief, you do me so proud." she responded sarcastically. "Come on, Soul."
"No! Mama, wait a minute!" Soul wrenched her hand back. "I... I think he might like me!"
"Like's you? You've only known him a day, and vice-versa. I've watched him, Soul, he's got a heart of ice. This is why you should have never left the tower. You get so emotional and such, it's no wonder you're blowing every little thing he does out of proportion."
"But every little thing Silver does is important!" Soul argued.
"Dear, this whole romance that you've invented proves that you're to naive to be out here, interacting with people. I mean really," she bolted around her, cupping her face. "I mean, like you? Really? Look at you! You think he'd honestly be impressed when he has that blue eyed brunette back at the pub? Don't be stupid Soul. Come home, with Mama."
"No!" Soul exclaimed, stepping back.
"No?" her mother said warningly. A pause. "Oh? Well, then, I see how it is." she placed a hand on her hip, beginning to talk in a demeaning tone. "Soul know's best, Soul is so mature now, such a clever grown up miss." she patted her on the head like she was a little girl. Soul flinched in response, backing away from her, the dark sneer on her mothers face unsettling. Her mother grabbed at her chin, digging her nails in and successfully leaving a scratch along her jawbone. "Soul knows best. Soul thinks she can handle herself. Well than, give him this!"
Soul jolted as she held out the tiara, satchel on her wrist.
"H-How did you-?!"
"This is why he's still around, Soul!" she said, throwing the crown at her. "Open your eyes! He wants nothing to do with you! Just the crown! Once he has it, he's gone! But then again, if Soul know's best, then everything will be just fine! Just remember," Soul watched in horror as her mother stomped away. "If he's lying, don't come crying to me!"
And with a flutter of her cloak, she disappeared into the night.
Soul stood there dumbfounded for a moment, staring after her mother, wondering how she managed to disappear in such a short amount of time.
"Soul?" she squeaked in surprise as a hand came down on her shoulder. She backed away from Silver in surprise. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." she responded with a small smile, keeping the satchel behind her back. "Just lost in thought, I suppose."
Silver rolled his eyes, tossing some wood on the fire.
"Ditz."
o.0.o.0.o
"... He's asleep." Aini deadpanned. "How could Raven had possibly-?!"
"Shh!" V hushed, staring at the boy, sitting in the corner with his head ducked down, sleeping peacefully.
"It's rude!" Aini responded.
"You're one to talk." Iri giggled.
"Be quiet." V said. "Celina, do you mind if Raven used you room for the night?"
"I don't mind." Celina shrugged. "Let me get Zoey."
As the three kids skittered out of the room, V gently lifted Raven into her arms, the boy snorting slightly in response, but otherwise still asleep.
"Mama," Celina asked, staring at her with Zoey the Zorua in her arms. "Where am I sleeping?"
"How about with Mama?" V offered quietly. "I'm going to put Raven in your room."
"You wanna know what Nysa-Eon had?" Celina smiled. "Stars on her ceiling. It was pretty."
"Sounds beautiful." V responded, laying Raven down. "Head to bed. I'm going to call someone, okay?"
"Okay!" Celina chirped, running off. V listened for the door to shut, then eased downstairs and picked up the phone, waiting for an answer.
"What?" a gruff voice on the other end demanded.
"A ray of sunshine as always, Silver." V responded. "Anyways," she smiled. "I just figured out how to keep Raven from laying awake in bed at night."
o.0.o.0.o
Well, well, well. We're tied between MangaQuest and Franticshipping! Respond in the reviews on which story you want next and what fairy tale should be told!
Amy47101 signing off! ^.^