Hello again everyone! I hope you had a good thanksgiving, or a good thursday for the non-americans. It feels good to be home after three months at school, although I could do without my mom saying I need a haircut every fifteen minutes.
Rocker on: I would think he can't, but the final say goes to What Lies Beyond. I had a five hour car ride home, so I had time then to crank out the body of the chapter, then edit once I had time that night. I certainly am thankful for reviews in general, getting feedback is one of my favorite things about writing.
Shieldliger001: I'm glad I did a good job with it. Cliches aren't necessarily a bad thing if you moderate them, but it's easy for a newer author to go overboard with them. Subverting a trope can be a good tool as well.
On with the story!
I awoke peacefully for the first time in awhile, it seemed. Alejandra slept, her head still on my chest. Caleb was sitting up, obviously wide awake. "He's watching us, the arcanine is." He said. It was then I noticed the bags under his eyes, he hadn't slept.
Alejandra stirred, lifting her head. "He's waiting, just out of sight, for us to let our guard down." Caleb said.
"Then we never give him that opening." I replied.
"We can start taking shifts keeping watch at night." Frost suggested. "You don't have to do everything yourself, Ca'le-Sa."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Didn't want to wake everyone is all." Caleb said with a yawn.
"Should we get going?" Alejandra asked, standing up and stretching her back.
"I'd say so." Frost said. "No point in sitting here, waiting for him to attack us."
Caleb pushed himself off the ground, patting dirt off of his coat. "Agreed. We need to get to Geosenge town before the trainer leaves."
We left the campsite behind, once again traveling on the main road. There were about the same number of travelers as we had seen yesterday, but less of them seemed to be trainers. The sight of a young boy holding his mother's hand sent my mind off, thinking of my mom waiting for me to come home.
I dwelled on it for a minute, imagining how it would feel to walk through the door once again, the look of surprise and joy on my mom's face. The dream quickly faded and the reality of the road took hold once more.
Frost and Caleb were on edge, probably worrying about Joshua showing up. This meant that when a man in a dirty looking sweater stepped out from behind a tree Caleb nearly took his head off.
"Easy there," He said, holding up his hands. "I just wanted to talk. You're Bane, aren't you?"
Caleb's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that name?" He growled, shifting his feet into a fighting stance.
The man closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. "I'm not proud of what I've done. I hate myself for it, it haunts me to the point where some nights I can't sleep." He said, shifting his gaze to the ground. "Look, I used to work for Pluto, and I'm sorry. Ha! As if an an apology can make up for what we did to you. Still, I just had to say something."
Caleb stood stock still, staring at the man. "I've made peace with myself." He said. "Bane is gone, I go by Caleb once more. I can assure that Pluto's free days are numbered, his capture is already a certainty. I forgive you."
It was as if a burden of great weight was lifted from the man. He stood a bit straighter, his eyes wide. "That was more than I could ever ask for." The man said.
"You need to find your own peace, stop dwelling on the past." Caleb said.
The man nodded, turning back towards the woods. "I wish you safe travels, Ba- Caleb." He said. "Goodbye!" He walked off into the trees, quickly moving out of sight.
"Well that was something." Frost said, as we began to walk once more. I kept silent. Caleb had made peace with what happened to him, where as I was doing everything I could to not. Yet, if I hadn't been changed I wouldn't have met Alejandra… it was all so difficult to reconcile. The day wore on, the sun climbing higher and the traffic getting sparser.
I sensed that Caleb was on guard, as we slowly became the only people on the road. Alejandra was looking around every few seconds, waiting. Frost had taken up the rear position, watching behind us. The sun was directly overhead.
I could hear him now, in the absence of other passersby. The rustle of a bush being stepped on sent a chill down my spine. My mind raced, planning out useless strategies, but I pushed that away. I needed to focus on what was actually happening.
He strode out of the treeline, my pulse quickening. I glanced over at Alejandra, her hackles raised, softly growling at him. I had never seen her as animalistic as she was now. There was a blinding flash of light as Frost mega-evolved, wings unfurling.
"I still don't want to fight you." I called out.
"That's because you're weak and you know you won't win." He said, haughtily. "You only know how to run, and you're relying on others to protect you. Pathetic!"
"Relying on others doesn't make one weak." Frost said.
"And neither does running." Caleb said. "Tobias had the strength to give you more chances than you deserved, you don't understand that there is strength beyond the physical."
"Enough talk!" Joshua roared. "I'll kill you, Tobias!"
I pulled from the pool of energy within me, producing a ball of energy, holding it in place.
"That's it, fight me!" He said, beginning to charge at me. Everyone else scattered, but I stayed in place, waiting for my moment. At the last second I threw myself between his legs, letting him collide with the ball of energy.
He yelled out in pain, crashing to a halt, but getting right back up. He sent a blast of fire at me, but Alejandra stepped between us. Once again, the fire seemed to fold into her, and she glowed with power. She charged at him, fire gathering around in front of her as she ran, catching him in the side as he tried to dodge.
Frost took the opening, sending out blades of solid air that left slashes in Joshua's side. He roared in pain, struggling to find his footing. "Please, stop this!" I called out, taking a step towards him. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"I'll never stop. I won't stop until you're dead, and once you're dead I'll kill your little girlfriend as well. " He said, breathing heavily, eyes darting back and forth.
It felt like something in me snapped when he said that. "You will never hurt her again!" I yelled, rushing at him, gathering energy in my tail. I jumped over his retaliatory strike, my tail meeting his face, cutting through to hit bone. He howled in pain, collapsing to the ground.
I turned around, walking back in front of him, nearly gagging at the sight of what I had done. I had slashed all the way down from his forehead to his cheek on a diagonal line, passing through his eye.
"I don't understand." He choked out. "How you can be so damn good all the time. Even when you hurt me, it's to defend someone else. Help me understand!" He shouted the last words.
"Leave." I said, harshly. He gave me a sad look with his remaining eye, and began to limp away, blood leaking from his wounds. I watched until he had vanished from sight in the trees.
"I just wish there had been another way, why couldn't you have just left me alone." I murmured.
"Some people will only care for power." Frost said. "There's nothing we can do to save those people from themselves." I didn't respond.
"Come on, let's get going." Caleb said, after a few minutes. We set out again, Alejandra staying close to me.
"Are you ok?" She asked.
I shook my head. "He threatened to hurt you, so I attacked him. I'm just not sure if I did the right thing."
Alejandra laughed lightly. "I can't speak for what's right, but I would have done the same. When he said he was going to kill you I would have attacked him then, but you were in the way."
"Love is a powerful emotion." I said.
"There's none stronger." I replied.
We walked onward, even after the sun set. I saw light in the distance, and a sign we passed confirmed my guess. Welcome to Geosenge Town, it read.
Joshua moved through the trees, slowly making his way back to the forest where it all began. He entered a clearing, stopping as he saw the floating being before him. It was not the one who had offered him power, he realized instantly.
"Child, you have been harmed by the promise of power. It is time you found peace." Mesprit said, floating over to him.
Joshua closed his eyes, tears beginning to fall. He felt the presence push on his mind and didn't resist it's embrace. It was as if a veil, ripped by a blade of leaf, had been fully lifted from his eyes at last.
Mew felt the mental link to the once-human shatter, and raged internally. "If you keep transforming humans at a whim someone's going to figure it out eventually." Mewtwo was saying. "We're too evenly matched for me to force you to comply, but give me your word that you will stop."
Mew forced a look of concern. "Of course, you have my word." It said, it's thoughts already breaking the promise. It's playthings had been taken away, and it would need new ones soon.