Jessilina had never felt so lost when those four words escaped Danny's lips.
She could feel her heart beating against her ribcage, her mind momentarily going blank as her cheeks no doubt went red.
What was she supposed to say?
There he was, someone she had gone out with for the past six months, waiting for an answer.
And what could she do? She blinked, sputtered slightly, and then thanked her lucky stars as their agent stomped around the corner, ushering them towards the stage.
Danny nodded at their agent, who was talking through a microphone clipped to her ear, before smiling to Jessilina, offering her his arm. "We can continue where we left off after the show is over, correct?"
Jessilina nodded slowly, placing her hands into her pockets instead. Danny shrugged it off; it was just nerves, he thought before motioning for her to go first, ladies first.
It was hard to concentrate during the two-hour morning talk show, knowing that Danny was sitting beside her, his unanswered question hanging in the air. She wondered idly if their guests – Brittany and her Igglypuff's from Johto, and Drew Reilly, current Contest Champion of Hoenn – could feel the tension.
When the 'On-Air' sign above the audience's seats turned off, Jessilina let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding. Before Danny could bring up their previous conversation, she slipped out of her chair, her high-heels hitting against the laminate floor underfoot to where Brittany and her Igglypuff's were signing autographs. The whole time though, she could feel Danny's eyes on her.
After the post show interviews and the audience had left, the producers of the talk show and their agents went over a rundown of the guests for the rest of the week – Steven Stone from Hoenn, Hermione and Paris from Sinnoh among the A-listed names – Jessilina found herself sitting on a boat bound for Shamoutti Island. Usually she spent the week on Naval Island to tape her show, staying at the five-star hotel near the lot, but today she just needed to escape.
Somehow, running away in this situation seemed like the right thing to do.
Her thoughts were scattered. When she looked at Danny, she knew that he was good looking – how many of his admirers were upset when they first announced they were dating?
But, when he asked her to marry him – why did she picture someone else?
"Just who are you?" she mumbled, running a hand over her face.
Why did the blue-haired man continuously come to her mind, a goofy grin on his face as he spoke? First, he only appeared in her dreams off and on, but when Danny asked her that question . . .
Why did she picture him?
She didn't even know who he was . . .
###
One month had past since Forrester had gone up to the Old Mill.
He had expected the small cabin to be empty and dusty, he hadn't expected . . .
The small room was clean, the dust was all gone, and it was as if someone had recently been there. The bed sheets were slightly rumpled from someone sleeping on it and there was an empty, dirty cup on the counter lining the back wall.
"Someone was here . . ."
He couldn't believe it.
Someone – could it have really been Brock – had been here, sleeping in that bed, sitting at that rickety table, Pewter City just below them. Lost in his thoughts, Forrester didn't hear the floorboards creak under a weight, a backpack thudding against the ground.
"Geo-dude."
Forrester jumped at the voice, his hand resting on the table's surface.
"I suggest that you leave," came a harsh voice. "I don't want any trouble."
Forrester's eyes widened, he could understand what Macey meant – he could hear a bit of Brock's voice hidden in there. His mind raced as he thought of what to say, his mouth dry, the words dying on his lips, as he stood there, his back to the door.
"You should have come home," he said unconsciously, his hand curling into a fist. "They – we, we looked nonstop . . ." he mumbled to himself, shaking his head.
"Hey, did you hear me?" the voice said again, the floor creaking under their weight as they came further into the small cabin. "I said leave."
He should have come home; he has no idea what he put us all through. He didn't even think about us as we buried an empty coffin, but instead took up residence in the hill overlooking the City, Forrester thought angrily.
Had he visited his own grave?
Forrester jumped however as a hand fell on his shoulder, bringing him back to reality and solidifying that the person behind him was indeed real. Without even thinking, Forrester turned on his heel, and brought his clenched hand up, his fist connecting to the other person's cheek.
Surprised, the other person staggered back, colliding with the ground below them. Cursing under his breath, a hand running across where Forrester punched him, the man glared up at Forrester, his expression then freezing in place.
It was like looking in a mirror.
The similarities were too similar – the slanted eyes, the darker complexion, the hair colour, and a similar build . . .
"Macey was telling the truth," Forrester said after a prolonged silence. "You really are alive."
Before him, stood his lost, older brother, he'd recognize him anywhere. Brock's hair had grown out slightly, giving the older teen a bit of a shaggier look. His jeans looked worn, as if they had seen many miles in their time, and he wore a dark green shirt. Forrester noticed the backpack hastily dropped near the door, the bag a tan colour, multiple pins attached to the sides.
"Brock . . ."
"How did you find me?" he asked, defeated, not meeting Forrester's eyes. "I –"
"Macey saw you last night – she said she spoke to you," Forrester shook his head. "Of course she told me, she was beside herself with excitement at her brother still being alive." Brock shook his head. "Why did you hide away? Do you even know what we went through?"
The cause for all their pain and grief for the past year stood before him.
"I didn't want to be found," Brock said after a moment. He shook his head, holding a hand up to Forrester as the younger teen tried to speak. "I washed ashore just outside of Hutbur Port with no memories, all I could remember was my name," Brock shook his head; he remembered how helpless he felt during that time, a blanket over his memories. "Cooking – it was all I could remember, so I took a job as a cook aboard a cruise liner. I was in Sinnoh when I started trying to connect the dots and fill in the pieces. I was at the Vermillion for the ceremony marking the sinking of the Saint Anne . . . I only came here to see how everyone was, I didn't want the past brought up for everyone –"
Forrester watched Brock intently, many expressions passing over Brock's face. "I . . . I want to know, I want to know everything . . ." Forrester said slowly, his emotions torn. "We're your family; we deserve to know what happened, even your other life." Forrester shook his head, stopping Brock. "It'll be between us – and Macey – this entire search was her idea. We'll deal with everyone later; they don't need to know right this second."
Brock nodded, his thoughts still conflicted.
He watched Forrester disappear into the trees separating the old mill from the Museum, saying he was going to meet Macey. A small part of him wondered if he was doing the right thing, a stone's throw away from the Pewter Gym, balancing on the brink of disrupting his family's life once more.
###
Dawn closed her eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath.
She could do this, she was confident that she could win the Wallace Cup.
"You're going to do fine," a voice said, the person sitting down beside her. "You've been practicing nonstop."
Dawn nodded, her blue eyes honing in on the man beside her. "I hope so," she said, leaning back on her palms. "That was the most grueling training I've ever gone through."
After talking to him on the outskirts of the forest, which wasn't the greatest tactic in her mind, Dawn had watched him from a distance, first in Solaceon Town and then again in Hearthome City – finally approaching him in the city's square. She wanted to speak to him in a public place, she wanted witnesses if something went wrong – she was only ten years old . . .
Dawn told him she wanted to become a better Coordinator, explaining that her mother was a top Coordinator, and that Dawn wanted to live up to her mother's legacy. Jim nodded, listening in silence to her story, interjecting now and again for clarification once and a while.
And then her month long training begin – although she often called it boot camp behind his back – to get back the spark she had when she left Twinleaf Town. She studied the magazine covers and interviews given by Paris of Sinnoh, Brittany of Johto, and the three Sensational Sisters' Underwater Ballet's of Kanto, all of these trainers effectively showing off the beauty and talent of their Pokemon in multiple ways.
If there was one thing she learned – it was that there were many ways to show off your Pokemon's beauty and talent. She even caught Paris and Hermione's interview on the Morning Island talk show out in the Orange Islands – where ever that was – in the hotel's computer café.
She wanted to be like Paris someday; she wanted her name to be known, she wanted to be that person who comes out of nowhere and takes the world by storm. But, first she needed to get to the Grand Festival . . .
"Attention contestants," came the voice over the P.A. system, the idle chatter in the room dying off. "The Wallace Cup will begin in five minutes time, please make your way to the stage area now."
Dawn took a deep breath, closing her eyes momentarily. "You'll do fine," Jim said, standing up, arms crossed over his chest. "Just remember your training – make sure they see your Pokemon – try to use swift sparingly."
Dawn nodded; determination on her features as she looked briefly at Jim. "You're right, there's nothing to worry about –"
"That's my Coordinator," he said, pushing her forward, the waiting area almost empty. "Now, go shine and fight for the Wallace Ribbon."
Dawn's red high-heels echoed against the linoleum underfoot as she caught up with the other Coordinators. She noticed a couple of them shot a look in her direction, but Dawn tried to shrug it off, squaring her shoulders as she looked straight ahead.
Let them doubt her . . .
Let them write her off as a failure . . .
She gripped Buizel's pokeball tightly in her grasp; they weren't going to intimidate her.
Her name was going to be in lights, she hadn't trained day and night for the past month for nothing.
As Lillian's voice sounded through the speakers and the spotlights lit the stage up, Dawn could hardly contain her excitement.
This was her moment.
####
So far, her journey wasn't starting out how she wanted it to. May's original plan was to head to Littleroot Town to receive her Torchic, and the head home to Petalburg City and explain to het parents that she didn't want to be a Pokemon Trainer. Yet, somehow, she found herself without a bike, and a travelling companion outside of Oldale Town.
"Petalburg's just a bit further," May said, pointing ahead. "We should see it in about half an hour or so. I'm glad to finally be back, I didn't think I'd be gone this long," she said, mumbling the last part.
At least the first part of her original plan had gone according to plan – Torchic was still there. Professor Birch had commented that his son, Brenden, had taken the Mudkip, and after May had chosen Torchic, Cole had been offered the Treecko, the last of the starters.
Needless to say, the fact that Birch and Cole knew each other had surprised May, for just being new to Hoenn – a bit odd in her opinion – he seemed to make connections with people rather quickly.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Cole commented, Aipom perched on the top of his backpack. "By the time your journeys done, you'll definitely be fit."
"Hmm, maybe," she shrugged, glancing over her shoulder, an eyebrow raised. Hadn't Cole mentioned that he studied at the Pokémon Academy instead of traveling to the different Gym's for badges? "But, traipsing all across Hoenn – the country's huge!" May curled up her nose at the thought. "I just wanted a Pokemon so I could venture out past the city's limits easier . . ."
Cole let out a laugh, shaking his head. "You sound like such a girl, where's your sense of adventure?"
May scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Adventure . . . yeah, right! Like getting spooked by that Duskull and losing my bike? If that's the start of my adventure – no thanks, I'll just stay home."
"What happened to your bike?"
"What happened to my bike? You happened to my bike!"
"M-my bike, I'm following you until you repay me for my bike."
Cole let out a laugh, shaking the thoughts away as he effortlessly caught up to May, passing her by. "Come on, stop being a spoil-sport, the whole world's ahead of us, waiting for us to challenge them."
And yet you're studying at an Academy instead, she thought idly.
However, May found herself smiling despite herself as she picked up her pace, brown eyes intent on the black haired teen, Petalburg City stretching out before them. "That may be, but it's a one-in-a-thousand chance, do you know how many trainers are out there?"
"And you're a Gym Leader's kid," Cole retorted, ducking under a tree branch. "Shouldn't you know about the other Leaders? I'd be using that as an advantage."
May scowled, what was with this kid and his logic? "Like I said, I just want a Pokemon for a companion –"
"If I didn't know it," Cole cut her off. "I'd think that was an old lady talking behind me."
"Old Lady?!" May screeched, eyes narrowed as she caught up with Cole. "Take that back!"
"Go on an adventure then and prove it," Cole grinned. "Seriously, I'm only eleven and traveling to a new continent, alone – travel with me."
May shook her head, reaching out and grasping his backpack, the metropolis of Petalburg before them. "I hardly know you –"
Cole shrugged. "Well, it beats traveling alone, right? I mean, that's how you meet people, who knows, they could become your new close friends."
May regarded him with narrowed eyes, weighing the options as she walked, her footsteps hitting the pavement below. "Time would pass by faster and being alone in the forest may not seem so daunting at night . . ." she shook her head. "I have to see what my parents think about it. Our house is right beside the Gym, it's about a dozen blocks away, up that hill, naturally, and it's situated on the other side of the city . . ."
Cole nodded to her words, not really paying attention to their meanings.
Why was it that instead of picturing Anabel and Duplica, he was picturing the red-haired girl with the hastily scooped up ponytail and the brown-haired teen with the messy hair? And then, a yellow creature, a Pokemon, was there too, sitting at the feet of the other two teenagers.
Just who were they?
Where they just from a well imagined dream?
Or, was it something he had somehow forgotten?
"Cole!" He jumped, May's voice snapping him out of his thoughts. Glancing around, he noticed May standing about five feet behind him, hands on her hips as she tapped her foot. The girl shook her head, pointing to the left. "It's this way and up the hill, it's the quickest way," she stuck her tongue out at him. "I've lived here forever – don't even think about trying to find a shortcut, I know them all, already."
Cole let out a dry laugh as May started up the incline, Torchic's poke ball attached to the small yellow pack around her waist. Grinning at Aipom, the monkey jumping down from his shoulders, he started after May.
"The Saint Anne, it's been a year since it sunk over in Kanto. It's just a news recap," she said, the television flipping back to the news anchor. "You ready to go though? It should only take us about fifteen minutes to get there. I really appreciate you coming with me," May added, smiling.
"Do you know anything about the Saint Anne?" Cole asked, the automatic doors opening for them.
"No, just that it sunk and no one knows why," May said with a shrug. "Wait, you're from Kanto, shouldn't you know all this?"
Why didn't he know anything about the sinking – May had mentioned that it was all over the Kanto news a year ago.
A year ago . . .
A year ago . . .
A year ago Erika found him . . .
####