Day 14: The End...Or The Begining?
Alain woke the next morning to sunshine streaming in the open window. Groaning, he pulled the blankets over his head and tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use. He was awake, and it was too bright in the room, even with the covers over his head, to fall back asleep.
Kicking the blankets off of himself, he rose to his feet and glanced at his clock. It read six forty-five. In fifteen minutes breakfast would begin. And then he had his battle to fight. The final battle of the school. Against Zara. And then he'd go home to Kalos with the Professor and Mairin. And all of this would be behind him.
His eyes darted around the room untill they came to rest on the table between the beds. Specifically, on the Mega Stone that lay on it. Alain picked it up and rolled in his hands. Why had Zara given him this? What was she trying to accomplish? She'd already told him to leave her alone and that she never wanted to see him again. So why give him a gift?
So she can battle you, of course.
But she said she said to stay away. Why battle me if she wants nothing to do with me?
Because she promised. His thoughts drifted back to what she'd said when she'd found out he'd broken his promise. That she would never forgive him. And she keeps her word. Even if I don't.
The thought stung him, and he gripped the stone tighter in anger. Why had he told Lysander her secret? Her troubles were all his fault. He deserved not to be forgiven.
Alain slid the Mega Stone into his pocket, dressed, and headed downstairs. His steps were slow and heavy, reflecting his mood, and the stone in his pocket seemed to burn into his leg. All it seemed to do was remind him of how much he had lost over the past few days.
He trudged into the cafeteria to find Steven, Professor Sycamore, Mairin, and Wally all seated at one table. Mairin waved him over and scooted the chair next to hers out for him. He sat down, and the Professor pushed a tray down the table toward him. Alain took it, and with an effort, put his thought of Zara out of his mind and ate.
Mairin started talking almost as soon as he sat down, and didn't stop for several minutes. She told Alain all about the Professor getting her and Chespie out of Lysander Labs, and about healing it. To Alain, she seemed determined to make up for all the time she'd spent away from him by talking even faster then normal. She'd finished telling him all about the Professor's latest discovery on Mega Evolution, in her own words, when Chespie suddenly leaped off of her shoulder and hugged his arm. Mairin stopped talking to see what her Pokemon was doing, then just as suddenly, she hugged him too. "I'm glad your okay, Alain," she said through the fabric of his jacket.
Alain put his arm around her and hugged her back, a bit awkwardly how she had a hold of him. He'd missed her too. And Chespie. But it was over now, she was fine, and she'd forgiven him. At the last thought, Alain felt Mairin brush against his pocket, and the stone inside burned against his leg again.
"Hey, Zara, saved you a seat!"
At Wally's words, Alain looked up to see Zara striding over to the table. She looked like she was completely back to normal, save for a slight limp. She came up next to Wally and sat down in the chair he offered. The chair that just so happened to be right across from his. She seated herself, and Steven pushed a tray over to her. She took it, and started eating, striking up a conversation with the other people at the table, but never looking at him.
"So Steven, was the seminar all you hoped it would be?"
"Definately. Who do you think's going to win today's battle?" Steven asked her.
"Only time will tell," Zara answered immediately.
"What about you, Alain? Who do you think will win?" Steven asked him.
Alain didn't answer right away. To be honest, he wasn't sure which of them would win the battle. As he considered his answer, his gaze came to rest on Zara. She looked up at him, clearly waiting for his response, and as she did, her eyes met his.
For only a second, many different emotions flashed in her eyes. Regret and sadness, fear and anxiety, and possibly hope and longing. In that second he wanted to apologize, to plead with her to forgive him, to tell her he loved her. But the emotions were gone as soon as they had appeared, and Zara quickly lowered her eyes to the table, looking away from him, and back at her food. Anger burned in the pit of his stomach, and he dropped his own eyes guiltily to the table.
"Alain? Zara?" Steven said slowly, "Is everything alright?"
Alain didn't reply, but Zara's head shot up, and she smiled a broad, if not slightly forced, smile. "Yeah, I'm fine Champion. Just a little sore from yesterday and nervous about today. I mean, this is a really big deal, is it not?"
Steven gave her a meaningful look, holding her gaze untill Zara dropped it again. "I hope that you would tell me if something was wrong, Zara," he said pointedly.
Zara sighed and put her chin in her hand, "It's complicated, Champion, and I'd rather not talk about it," she said in a subdued voice.
Professor Sycamore reached around Mairin and layed a hand on Alain's shoulder. "Anything bothering you that we should know about?" he asked.
Alain looked up at him, considering whether or not to tell him what as on his mind. He chose not to, and instead answered, " I can't battle today."
The Professor gave him a surprised look. "Why not?"
"My Keystone and Mega Stone were stolen." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the Charizardite Zara had given him and set it on the table. "I have a new Mega Stone, but not a Keystone."
The Professor stared at the stone for several seconds, before finally saying, "I can give you a new Keystone, Alain, but where did you get that Mega Stone?"
Reluctantly, Alain replied, "From Zara." He kept his eyes on the table as he said this, but he could hear Zara shifting in her seat across from him.
"That's one of the stones you found on the mining trip you made with me to Kalos a while back, isn't it?" Steven asked Zara.
When Zara didn't answer, Alain looked up at her to see her nodding to Steven.
"Wait a minute, how did you know Alain's Mega Stone and Keystone were stolen, Zara?" Wally asked. "I thought you got knocked out before that happened."
"Professor Sycamore told her that yesterday, remember Wally?" Mairin explained.
"You did?" Alain asked, addressing the Professor. He'd simply assumed Gordon or Astrid had told her they'd been stolen.
"I did," Professor Sycamore confirmed.
"Why did you give that stone to Alain, Zara?" Steven asked. "I thought you said you'd never trade it for anything."
Zara shifted in her seat again before answering, "I promised him if I didn't battle him in the competition, that I would battle him before the Seminar was over." As she finished saying this, she peeked up at Alain, accidently catching his eye again. Immedately she looked away again. Alain dropped his gaze the table once again. Feeling awkward, he shifted his feet under the table, accidently bumping Zara's leg as he did. He recoiled when he brushed up against her, quickly turning to look at the doorway. If he'd looked the other direction, he would have seen Steven and Professor Sycamore exchange concerned looks.
Zara grabbed her fork and began to hurriedly finish the food still on her tray. When she finished, she asked, "How long untill I have to be on the battle field?
Steven glanced at his watch. "Thirty minutes."
"Well, in that case, I'm going to train," Zara stated, pushing back her chair and rising. Alain noticed she was still putting most of her weight on her good foot, and suddenly another wave of guilt and anger washed over him. He scooped the stone off the table and put it back in his pocket, not wanting ot look at it any longer.
Zara reached into her own pocket and pulled out a pokeball, pushed the button on it, and released her Medicham. It materialized in a flash of white light and broke into quick dance, twirling around twice, giving a few little jumps and taking a bow. Mairin clapped when it finished, prompting another bow from the Fighting and Psychic type.
"What a ham," Zara said fondly with a smile and a role of her eyes.
"Are you going to train Medicham?" Wally asked.
"Not exactly, Wally," Zara replied cryptically. "More like I'm going to train me."
Wally's face lit up at this, but everyone else's showed confusion. "What does that mean?" Mairin asked.
"Want to come find out?" Zara asked with a wink.
"Yes, please!" Mairin replied. She and Wally pushed their chairs back and scrambled to follow Zara and Medicham. Zara smiled at them and turned toward the cafeteria doors.
"Be careful, Zara! Don't hurt yourself!" Steven called after her. Zara only raised a hand to acknowledge his words.
When the three of them were gone, Steven excused himself, saying he needed to go help get everything ready for the battle. That left Alain alone with Professor Sycamore.
"Alain," the Professor began slowly, "are you sure the only thing that's bothering is not having a Keystone?" As he said this, he slid a hand into the pocket of his pants and drew out a Keystone, placing it on the table next to Alain.
Alain took the Keystone but didn't reply. He just sat there, turning the stone around and around in his fingers, thinking.
She's safe and happy here. Without me.
Get over it! She doesn't need you! Accept that and move on.
But he didn't want to. He wanted to be with her. If he left her behind, he knew he'd miss her like he'd missed Mairin when he'd left her here before. And he wanted to protect her from Team Flare. He wanted to always be there for her to keep her safe. And somehow...he needed her. Before all this had happened, whenever he was around her, he felt...at peace, somehow. She to calm the raging storm inside of him in a way that he didn't understand but welcomed readily. He felt he might be able to rely on her to help him when he needed it. At least with some things.
But she has Steven to protect her. And she's not clumsy or careless like Mairin. And she doesn't want to be around you. Didn't you see her a minute ago? She wouldn't even say your name she hates you so much.
No matter what you want, she doesn't want the same thing. And you can't force her to care about you.
His fingers stoppped turning the Keystone and gripped it instead.
"Alain?" Professor Sycamore asked warily.
Alain sighed in a depressed manner and pushed his chair back from the table. "I think I'm going to take a walk."
The Professor looked ready to argue, but instead pushed back his own chair and said, "Mind if I join you?"
Alain shook his head.
The two started to walk around the first floor of the building. Professor Sycamore struck up a conversation, telling him about many things that had happened since they'd lost touch, and occasionally asking questions, to which Alain would reply with short, direct answers. Much as he enjoyed being back with the Professor, his mind was to distracted and guilt ridden to focus on the Professor's conversation.
As they walked around the building for the third time, Mairin suddenly raced around a courner ahead of them and ran up to him. "Alain!" she cried, grabbing his arm, "You've got to come see what Zara's doing! It's amazing! You too, Professor!"
Alain hesitated to let Mairin pull him off to where Zara was, but eventually he gave in and allowed her to take him to the training room. She let go of him at the doorway, but he didn't go in, content to watch from the doorway. Professor Sycamore stayed right behind him.
Zara and Medicham were inside, training, as Zara put it, her. They were both in defensive fighting postures, slowly circling each other, eyes locked in anticipation. Then Medicham leaped forward and threw a punch at Zara. She avoided it, and tried to punch her Pokemon in the back as it sailed by her. Medicham avoided her punch, and swung it leg around in an attempt to knock her in the knees. Zara jumped over Medicham's leg and again threw a punch, this time at Medicham's head. The fight went on for several minutes, neither Pokemon nor trainer landing or taking a hit the whole time, both moving in perfect rhythum, untill Zara jumped to dodge a kick from Medicham and landed on her bad foot. It gave out under her almost as soon as she landed, making her fall, and giving Medicham a chance to punch her in the shoulder. Zara tumbled lightly to the floor, and stayed down, her chest heaving as she gasped for air.
Alain's heart lurched when he saw her fall, and without thinking, he raced to her side to see if she was alright. Medicham was already there, offering her a hand up, but Zara just waved it away, giving a breathy, "I'm fine, just give me a minute."
Medicham took a step back, but Alain didn't listen to her. He bent down and began to look her over for injuries. He visually scaned first her feet, then her chest and shoulders where Medicham had punched her, then the rest of her. But as he looked her over, his gaze found its way up to Zara's face, and his eyes met hers. Again he watched as the same jumble of emotions from before showed in them. Zara opened her mouth to say something, but he quickly looked away, not wanting to hear it. Without another word, he rose and left the training room, ignoring the three confused looks he got. Behind him, he heard Wally asking Professor Sycamore, "Should we take her to Nurse Joy?", but he didn't wait to hear the reply.
He walked out to the courtyard, and sat down underneath the one sizable tree in it. Why did I rush to help her? She had her Pokemon with her, she could take care of herself.
Why do I want to be with her so much? Why can't I just let her go already?
Because I love her. Because she makes me happy. Because she always seems to know what to do, even in the toughest situations and I don't. Because she is everything I can't be. Because she, of all people, could understand me.
And she deserves so much better.
He drove his fist into the dirt as his anger threatened to boil over. Slowly, he drew in a deep breath and let it out, keeping his eyes closed as he did. When he opened them, he saw students pouring out of the side doors into the courtyard. Steven and the Elite Four came out with them, as did Professor Sycamore, Wally, his Gallade, Mairin, and Chespie.
And behind them, Zara came out the door, still limping slightly. She marched, as best she could, up to the closer trainer's box, while Steven stepped up to the side of the field to referee. Alain hauled himself to his feet and strode into the other trainer's box.
As he stepped into the box, however, the front doors of the courtyard burst open, and several adults walked in, most of them carrying large TV cameras or other equipment that news crews used.
"What's going on?" he asked Steven, though he thought he knew.
"The Hoen Buzz Nav channel heard about the seminar and called me yesterday to ask if they could record some of our battles. So, I said yes." Steven answered.
So our battle is going to be on television, Alain thought. Great. Now I really don't want to lose.
But then another thought struck him. But if Zara beats me, if I let her win the seminar, maybe that would make it up to her for everything I've done. Maybe that would be a fitting apology. Maybe then she wouldn't hate me anymore. And maybe then...I could tell her...no, she deserves better than me. But I will make it up to her.
No matter what it takes.
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*XX
Zara stood in her trainer's box, watching the Buzz Nav news crew set up their equipment. Hard as she tried to focus on their work, or on the battle ahead of her, or Steven and the crowd of students around him, her attention kept slipping to the one place she was trying to ignore. Namely, Alain.
All her feelings seemed to be smothering her from the inside. Feelings of awkwardness this morning at breakfast, having to sit across from him, and yet of yearning at being so close to him, and then of sadness at knowing he didn't truly care about her. This was the last day of the seminar. If he still truly regarded her as a friend, wouldn't he be trying to spend some time with her? No, he didn't want to be with her.
Just get over it!
But...I love him. He saved my life, more than once. And Wally's. And he makes me happy. He makes me feel safe, like I haven't felt in years. Like there's finally someone out there who I can trust, who isn't a Pokemon.
She sighed and glanced at Alain again out of the corner of her eye. It doesn't matter anyway. You can't make him care about you. He's got other friends to be with, ones he hasn't seen in a while.
Ones who are better suited to be called friends. After all you've done, you should be thankful that Steven and Wally still want anything to do with you. Don't push it. Be glad you still have anyone to turn to.
She glanced at Alain again. But they aren't him. He's brave and selfless and...perfect.
And you're not worth his time.
She screwed her eyes shut, trying to block out her thoughts, but instead, she found her mind slipping to images of Alain from that morning. From after she'd fallen in the training room. When he'd rushed over to her. When she'd looked into his eyes.
So many things had flashed through his eyes in that brief moment. Sorrow, anxiety, stress, concern, confusion, pain, anger, longing, and more, too many to name or understand. What had he been thinking? She wanted to ask, but what did it truly matter? It was probably nothing she wanted to hear.
The news crew finished setting up their cameras, and the reporter took her position and began her report. Zara turned her attention back to Steven, who was lifting his arms in preparation to state the rules of the battle.
Her eyes drifted across the battle field once again to the opposite trainer's box. Zara sighed a heavy sigh. Let him go. Life doesn't always give you what you want, you of all people should know that.
But she'd never wanted something this badly since...since...she'd lost her parents. She still wanted them back that badly. But that was impossible, and this... well, impossible might be a fitting description after all.
Maybe you could...no, he wouldn't want that. But what if...no, that's ridiculous. What's something he wants, something you could do that would really get his attention, and hopefully help convince him you're sorry?
Wait...didn't Alain say back during the first few days of the seminar that his goal was to become the strongest? That he came here to win the seminar, for the people he cared about? I know he did. That would get his attention. I have to lose today, to let him win. If he wins, I don't know, it might help him see I'm sorry. Of course I can't tell him I lost on purpose, so maybe it won't help, but I can't think of a better idea. And I have to try something.
But if you lose, Steven might not let you challenge him. Who knows how long it might be before you get another chance at becoming the Champion?
Zara looked slowly up at Alain again. I'll have other chances to challenge Steven. But I may never get another chance to make this right.
Steven finished reciting all the rules of the battle as these thoughts finished going through Zara's head, and the Hoenn Champion finished with a, "Are you ready?"
Both Zara and Alain nodded to him.
"Then battle begin!" Steven shouted.
"Charizard, let's go!" Alain shouted, throwing his pokeball. Charizard burst out, roaring and thrashing it's wings and tail in an impressively powerful manner. It turned back to Alain after it landed, and Alain gave it the Mega Stone Zara had given him.
"Sceptile, at the ready!" Zara cried, hurling her pokeball into the air. Sceptile burst out, snarling and glaring at Charizard and Alain with intelligent eyes. Charizard narrowed it's eyes back at Sceptile.
They certainly can't wait to get at each other, Zara thought.
Alain gave the first command. "Charizard, use Flamethrower!"
Charizard launched a Flamethrower across the field straight at Charizard.
"Dodge it!" Zara cried.
Sceptile leaped clear of the Flamethrower, never taking its eyes off Charizard.
"Fly at it, Charizard!" Alain commanded.
"Charge it, Sceptile!" Zara ordered.
Both Pokemon charged each other as fast as they could.
"Thunder Punch!" Alain ordered.
Zara hesitated for a second. Why would he order a not very effective move when he could use a super effective one? she wondered, but shruged it off. Now's my chance to let him land some damage on me. She hesitated again, making sure she waited long enough that Sceptile wouldn't have time to react, then shouted, "Dodge it Sceptile!"
Just like she'd planned, Sceptile didn't have time to react to her command, and took Charizard's Thunder Punch to its stomach. Giving a cry of confused pain, it tumbled backward, then rose to its feet and fixed Zara with an utterly puzzled stare. Zara only made a placating guesture, and Sceptile turned back to Charizard.
"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.
Charizard surged forward at Sceptile once again, building speed as it closed.
"Use Detect!" Zara ordered.
Sceptile's eyes glowed blue and it cleanly dodged Charizard's multiple green claw swipes from its right claw. After a minute, Charizard grew frustrated and launched itself at Sceptile angrily, slashing at the Forest Pokemon, but Sceptile was ready for it and moved out of its way, letting the Flame Pokemon sail past it.
Zara expected to hear Alain frantically tell his Pokemon to pull up. Instead, silence met her ears. Charizard seemed to have expected the same thing, but not hearing clearly caught it by surprise, and instead of trying to save itself, it went spralling face first into the ground. Zara looked up at Alain, expecting to see frustration on his face, but instead was met with his normal calm and unreadable expression.
He's not surprised at all, she realised. It's almost like he expected this to happen.
She quickly shoved the thought aside, deeming it crazy, and focused on Sceptile again. "From the depths of my heart, Keystone respond." she said as she touched her Keystone with two fingers. "Sceptile, Mega Evolve!" and she flung her hand, fingers splayed, above her head.
With a roar and a bright flash of light, Sceptile Mega Evolved. It whirled around so it's tail faced Charizard.
"Use Dragon Pulse!" Zara ordered.
Sceptile opened its mouth and fired a Dragon Pulse at Charizard.
Across the field, Alain raised his new Keystone. "Keystone respond to my heart. Beyond evolution, Mega Evolve!" and he raised a fist, Keystone clutched inside it, into the air as the stone reacted.
Charizard Mega Evolved and roared, shooting a blast of blue fire into the air above it.
"Dragon Claw!" Alain commanded.
Charizard flapped its wings and took off down the field straight for Sceptile's Dragon Pulse. It closed and swiped at the rainbow colored attack with its Dragon Claw, dashing the attack to pieces. That much power took even Zara by surprise, and she opened her mouth to tell Sceptile to dodge, but Charizard didn't advance. Instead it just turned its back and flapped back toward Alain.
He just left himself wide open when he should have attacked. Looking up, expecting Alain to be scolding Charizard or something, Zara was again faced with the same calm impassible look from before.
Charizard's back still turned a full two seconds later, Zara also knew that this was the prime chance for a counter attack on her part. But if she was trying to let him win, she couldn't just hit him like this.
He never acted like this during his other battles. He always kept attacking hard and fast untill Charizard couldn't go on any more. What happened? It's almost like he's trying to-
"Hey, what's wrong with you guys!" someone in the crowd, who sounded like Mairin, shouted.
"Yeah, stop playing around!" someone else, who sounded like Wally, shouted.
Others began to mumble amongst themselves.
-messing up on purpose, Zara finished her thought. What is going on with him? Is he really trying to lose?
"Zara? Alain?" Steven whispered to them. "Is everything alright?" Zara could tell by his tone that he knew something was up.
"Time out," she said, holding up her hands in a "T" shape.
Everyone in the courtyard fixed her with strange looks, and even Sceptile turned to look at her.
Zara ignored the stares. Stepping out of her trainer's box, she walked around the perimeter of the field till she stood just outside of Alain's box. Keeping her voice down so that only he could hear her, she whispered forcefully, "What are you doing?"
"I could ask you the same question," he said without looking at her.
Zara couldn't quite keep the taken aback look off her face. "What do you mean?" Could he actually tell I was messing up on purpose? ...Yeah, probably could.
"What do you mean?" he countered.
Zara bit back a retort. "Asked you first," she countered instead.
Alain turned to look at her, and fixed her sharp blue eyes on hers. Zara couldn't help it when her heart skipped a beat, but she took a deep breath and forced herself to return his gaze. After a moment, Alain said, "It doesn't matter." He looked away again, and Zara couldn't help but hear some sort of strain in his voice.
She took another deep breath to steady her own voice, then said, "Well what ever your doing, stop doing it."
"Only if you stop too."
And not let you win? Look Alain, I'm practically handing you the victory, and you're telling me to stop? "Why?"
He didn't answer for several minutes. Finally, just when Zara was ready to give up and go back to her trainer's box, he looked back at her and said, "When I asked to battle you, I wanted to see what you could really do. Let's just battle each other. No holding back. And no mistakes." His eyes held all the same emotions from before, still so mixed up, but one emotion seemed to shine through the others a bit. Sorrow. Sorrow when he looked straight at her.
Zara had to take another deep breath as his eyes met hers again. She nodded, and quickly turned and walked back to her trainer's box, heart pounding, eyes starting to mist over. How can I ever make things right now? And why does he look so sad? What did I do now?
It hurts too much to think about.
She stepped into her trainer's box, and turned on her heel to face the battle field. Steven gave both trainer's a curious glance before dropping a hand and saying, "Begin!"
Sceptile turned one eye on Zara and gave her a questioning glance. Zara took another deep breath, put on a determined face, and smiled back to her Pokemon with a confident smile. Just forget about all of this and battle him like you really mean it. Enjoy it as a good battle with a strong opponent, nothing more, nothing less.
Sceptile gave her something akin to a smile back, and let out a growl at Charizard. Charizard only growled back louder.
"Sceptile, Dragon Pulse!" Zara ordered. No holding back this time.
"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Alain commanded.
The attacks met mid-field and exploded, sending up a huge smoke cloud. Several students cheered.
"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.
"Dodge it!" Zara shouted.
Charizard charged Sceptile, and as it approached, began slashing at the Forest Pokemon as hard as it could. Sceptile only danced out of the way, ducking and dodging around every single swipe.
"Leaf Blade!" Zara commanded.
Sceptile jumped into the air as Charizard swiped at it, twisting around to slice its leaves across Charizard's back.
"Hit them with Flamethrower!" Alain ordered.
Charizard twisted its head around to an almost awkward angle and fired a Flamethrower at Sceptile. Sceptile reacted by raising its Leaf Blade attack over its face and intercepting the Fire type move. Charizard managed to push Sceptile back, but didn't hurt it overall.
"Dargon Pulse!" Zara shouted as soon as Sceptile landed.
"Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.
Sceptile fired a Dragon Pulse straight for Chrarizard, and Charizard flew up to meet it as it readied a Dragon Claw. The Flame Pokemon intercepted the move, cutting it to slivers of color, then charged forward to strike Sceptile. But Sceptile was gone.
"Leaf Blade!" Zara commanded.
From below Charizard, Sceptile jumped up and sliced a Leaf Blade across Charizard's wings. With a mighty roar, Charizard lost its balance and tumbled out of the air.
"Grab it and throw it to the ground!" Zara ordered.
Sceptile grabbed Charizard's arms and and bit down on its shoulder. It slung Charizard in over its head and threw it to the ground. It hit the ground and sent up a cloud of dust that settled quickly.
"Charizard!" Alain cried.
"Now Dragon Pulse again!" Zara shouted.
Sceptile fired a Dragon Pulse down from where it had jumped at Charizard.
"Thunder Punch!" Alain ordered.
Charizard hauled itself to its feet and punched the incoming Dragon Pulse. The two moves canceled out and exploded.
As light smoke rolled across the field, Zara's eyes kept darting from Sceptile to Charizard, waiting for the chance to strike. The smoke cleared, but neither trainer nor Pokemon moved.
Then Alain cried, "Use Blast Burn!"
Zara watched as a flaming aura surrounded Charizard and it punched the ground. A small smile pulled at her lips as she ordered, "Detect, Sceptile!"
The battle field quickly began to break up into many small clumps of dirt and rocks, but Sceptile sucessfully dodged every blast of fire, jumping nimbly from clump to clump. The Blast Burn finally exploded, but Sceptile remained unscathed.
As the smoke from the attack began to clear, Zara thought she heard a frustrated growl from Alain's side at the field. The smile the had pulled at her lips quickly became an ear-to-ear grin. "Use Dragon Pulse!" she ordered. Now this is what I hoped a battle with him would be like!
Sceptile shot a Dragon Pulse through the smoke at Charizard's silhouette, cutting a clear path through the wispy grey smoke. She knew Charizard wouldn't be able to intercept it so soon, and if it tried to dodge, she'd be ready for it.
"Get out of the way, Charizard!" Alain shouted.
Charizard flew to the right and avoided the move, but it stirred up the smoke and added some dust to the mix, lowering visibility again.
Zara whistled between her teeth and when Sceptile looked at her, she ran two fingers down her forearm.
Sceptile charged quickly and quietly thought the smoke and attacked Charizard full on with a Leaf Blade. Charizard roared in pain and surged upward, trying to get away, blowing the smoke off the field.
Now fully able to see, Alain ordered, "Dragon Claw!"
"Leaf Blade!" Zara countered.
Charizard swooped down at Sceptile, it's claws glowing green, but Sceptile dodged smoothly. The two Pokemon kept trying to attack each other, twisting and whirling around each other, both constantly striking but both dodging or intercepting every strike. Suddenly, Charizard feinted, and as Sceptile fell for the feint, Charizard slammed it's claw down on Sceptile's head. Sceptile screamed in pain.
Zara winced and shouted, "Fall back, Sceptile!"
"Pin in down" Alain cried.
Sceptile staggered backward, but Charizard only charged forward once again, claws glowing an even brighter green, eyes burning with energy, ready to throw Sceptile to the ground.
"Detect!" Zara commanded.
Sceptile cracked open its eyes, and they began to glow blue. Quick as lighting, it leaped and twisted out of Charizard's way.
"Don't let them get away!" Alain shouted.
Sceptile continued to dodge Charizard's Dragon Claws, but Charizard worked hard to keep the Forest Pokemon directly in front of it.
No, Sceptile's Detect is going to run out before Charizard stops attacking! Zara thought frantically. And sure enough, the blue glow in Sceptile's eyes was begining to fade. "Dragon Pulse!" Zara ordered quickly.
As Sceptile's Detect gave out all together, and Charizard drew back to give a final swipe of its Dragon Claw, Sceptile fired a Dragon Pulse straight into Charizard's chest so quickly that the Flame Pokemon had no chance to react. It went spralling, roaring angrily.
"Dragon Pulse again!" Zara cried.
"Flamethrower!" Alain commanded.
The attacks met mid field and canceled out. Silence fell as the two trainers and their Pokemon stopped moving.
He is strong. Really strong. I'm lucky I'm Sceptile's still standing, but it dodged the attacks very well, Zara thought. But what do I do now? We're practicaly at a stalemate. He can't hit me and I can't close for a good clear hit.
"Blast Burn!" Alain shouted.
"Detect!" Zara countered.
Again, Sceptile dodged the powerful Fire type move. It exploded, leaving several large crack in the ground. Zara thought she saw Alain glowering at the field, but whether it was in concentration or frustration she couldn't tell.
Zara looked down at the field too. And then she had an idea. "Dragon Pulse on the ground!" she commanded.
Sceptile launched a Dragon Pulse at the ground, but instead of it simply striking and exploding, the attack hit the cracks and began to move down them like water, branching out into many different arms. The rainbow colored attack flowed along quickly untill it was almost to Charizard's feet.
"Fly up, Charizard!" Alain shouted.
Charizard surged off the ground just as the attack reached its feet. The Dragon Pulse's many branches flew up after it, looking all the world like the head, arms, and legs of a Dragon type had been dismantled and were individually reaching for Charizard, but making the attack seem much bigger than it usually could be. The attack missed however, nipping at Charizard's heels but never touching it.
"Leaf Blade!" Zara cried
Sceptile leaped, faster than a Quick Attack, up behind the rising Charizard and slashed at it wings, sending the Flame Pokemon plumeting. This time, however, Charizard caught itself before it fell into the Dragon Pulse below, and turned to face Sceptile, fury burning it its eyes.
"Dragon Claw!" Alain ordered.
"Detect!" Zara countered.
Sceptile dodged the Dragon Claw cleanly, and danced back over to Zara. Charizard, gave up attacking after the first couple of swipes, clearly knowing it would be useless to try and hit the Grass and Dragon type.
Both Pokemon came to stop directly in front of their trainers, both covered in dust and scratches, both's shoulders heaving as they breathed.
Zara glanced up at Alain, waiting for his next move, but as she looked up at him, she could just see across the field that his fists were clenched. He drew them back from his body and leaned forward anxiously.
Zara knew something was coming. Something big.
"Take this Blast Burn!" Alain cried, passion resonating in his voice as it carried across the field.
Zara opened her mouth to order a Detect, when she realized something very importaint. Sceptile had already used Detect as its last move. Thus she had no idea if it would work now.
Charizard punched the ground with a firey claw.
Uh-oh. What do I do now! her mind screamed at her.
The fire filled cracks covered a third of the battle field.
Only one thing left you can do. Fight fire with fire.
"Sceptile," she cried, "use Frenzy Plant!"
Without any hesitation, Sceptile slammed its tail into the ground. Huge roots began to grow out from around the Forest Pokemon.
Charizard's Blast Burn met Sceptile's Frenzy Plant a little more than halfway across the field on Sceptile's side. The two attacks struggled against each other, both Pokemon pushing to overcome the other with everything they had. First Charizard looked as though it would win, then Sceptile pushed back against a weak point. Ten seconds crawled by, then twenty, then thirty.
Finally the attacks stopped their writhing against each other all together. They began to bulge outward toward the other, swelling, till they looked ready to burst.
And then they exploded.
Exploded, in Zara's opinion, wasn't a strong enough word to describe the blast that the Blast Burn and Frenzy Plant created. In a split second, the whole courtyard filled with dust, smoke, fire, and debris. Everything went everywhere. She covered her head in an attempt to shelter herself from the debris, and thus saw nothing but her shirt sleeve for several seconds. The explosion roared on for almost a full minute, before finally silence fell over the field. Zara raised her head tentitvely, careful to watch for any more flying debris. She didn't see any more as she uncovered her head. Instead, she saw a ruined battle field, a disorganized crowd...
...and Sceptile and Charizard both lying down on the field.
They can't be knocked out. Can they? Zara wondered to herself. Not both of them. No-
With two great flashes of light, Sceptile and Charizard both released their Mega Forms. Neither of them moved so much as a claw.
Zara could only stare at the field, dumbstruck. When she finally came to her senses, she looked up to find Alain with a very similar expression to the one she was sure she'd had on only moments before plastered on his face.
"Both Sceptile and Charizard are unable to battle. Thus, ladies and gentlemen, we have a tie!" Steven shouted from the side of the field.
Suddenly, everyone burst out cheering, clapping, whooping, and hollering, and every other kind of celebratory noise imaginable. Mairin burst out of the crowd and ran up to Alain, cheering, and hugged him. Moments later Wally also came running out of the crowd and up to her. The young trainer looked ready to burst he was so happy. Zara just reached down and put an arm around his shoulders. In all honesty, she wasn't sure how to react to this turn of events. She hadn't lost, but she hadn't won either. Shound Should she be happy she managed to do this well or upset that she hadn't taken him out?
As she pondered these thoughts, Sceptile and Charizard began to stir. Zara raced onto the field, leaving Wally behind, and knelt next to her Pokemon. "You alright, Sceptile?" she asked.
Sceptile took a quick look around the field, then ducked it's head, mumbling something in an apologetic tone.
"No, don't apologize Sceptile. You did your best, and that's all I could ever ask for. And after all, we didn't lose. We'll call you and Charizard evenly matched, okay?"
Sceptile offered her that same expression that was akin to a smile, then looked down field. Zara followed it's gaze till she was looking at Alain talking to his Charizard and helping it up. Sceptile slowly rose to its feet beside Zara and took a step toward them.
"Whoa, hang on there pal, you need to rest," Zara protested, grabbing onto Sceptile's arm and pulling it back toward the ground.
Sceptile only turned to look at her with a very serious expression on its face. So serious, that Zara let go of her Pokemon and simply let it go. She watched it carefully as it crossed the field.
Sceptile walked slowly across the battle field, untill it came to a stop directly in front of Charizard. The Flame Pokemon looked up from its trainer at Sceptile. Suddenly the courtyard seemed to get quieter. Both Pokemon only stared at one another for several seconds. Then, Sceptile held out a claw to Charizard.
"Sceptile, scep."
Charizard looked from the claw to Sceptile's face and back again. "Char?"
"Tile."
Charizard took a lumbering step forward, and reaching its own claw out to Sceptile's, took it in a firm handshake.
Zara watched the two Pokemon in awe. After all this time of being such stiff rivals, looks like those two finally called a truce.
As they pulled apart, Sceptile lowered it's head. "Sceptile tile sceptile!" it growled challengingly. Zara knew her Pokemon well enough to interpret that to mean, Next time, the results will be different.
Charizard sort of smiled back and growled back.
Zara smiled, an ear to ear grin like she hadn't smiled in years, at that. Happy. That's what she was about the tie. Happy, because now at least Charizard and Sceptile had made peace between each other. As she thought this, her gaze drifted from the Pokemon to Alain, and her smile grew slightly stiff.
The news crew had already begun to clean up their equipment and the crowd was starting to pour into the field and congratulate both trainers. Zara recalled Sceptile to give it a rest, and listened as every student in the school filed past her to say congratulations. The next several minutes were more of a blur of faces and words to her. After a while, she slipped away to the Pokemon Center and handed Sceptile over to Nurse Joy. When she came back, Steven was coming out of the opposite door, holding a wooden box.
"Alain! Zara! Come over here, please!" the Champion called.
Zara pushed past Brittney and walked up to Steven.
"Well," Steven began slowly, "I'm afraid we have a bit of a dilemma. You see, this is the winner's metal," and he lifted a gold colored metal engraved with a Mega Evolution symbol on it from the box he held, "but we only expected one winner, so we only have one metal. I can order another one, but you two will have to decide who gets to keep this one."
Zara and Alain both looked at each other, then quickly looked away.
"She can keep it," Alain mumbled.
"No, you can have it," Zara returned.
"You're the girl. You should keep it," he mumbled again, keeping his eyes averted.
"But you're the one who doesn't work with the person who's going to order the metal. If I take this one, you'll have to wait untill the new one gets shipped to the Champion, and then till it gets shipped to you out in Kalos. Plus, the shipping for something going all the way to Kalos is really expensive," Zara finished, ducking her head a bit in embarrassment.
After a moment of silence, she looked up again, wondering what the matter was to find Alain staring at her. Her eyes met his, and she saw the same jumble of emotions inside them again. But this time, sorrow wasn't the foremost emotion. If she wasn't mistaken, it might have been admiration. But it was gone almost as soon as she'd seen it, and Alain turned back to Steven.
"Then, Alain, it is my great pleasure to award you with this medal to commemorate your victory at the Mega Evolution Seminar," Steven said as he lifted the blue ribbon the metal hung on over Alain's head and placed it around his neck. Alain held up the medal to look at it better, and Zara was sure he was smiling as he did so.
Steven began to address the entire crowd after that. He spoke for a while, thanking everyone for coming, congratulating them on how well they had all done in the seminar, and encouraging them to come back and study in the school once it opened completely. He kept Alain and Zara next to him, one on either side, the whole time.
When Steven finished, Phoebe opened the front doors to the courtyard, and several people began to pour through the open doorway. Zara didn't recognize any of them, but it didn't take her long to figure out they were parents and grandparents of the students.
Slowly, the courtyard emptied out, as students left with their families or went to collect luggage. Almost everyone said congratulations or goodbye as they left. Jacklyn passed by Zara as she headed out, and she purposely stepped on Zara's foot as she left. Zara chose to ignore her. After all, she'd probably never see Jacklyn again. And good riddance.
Finally, the courtyard was empty except for Zara, Alain, Steven, Wally, Mairin, Professor Sycamore, and the Elite Four.
"And that is the end of a very eventful Mega Evolution Seminar," Sydney said.
"You can say that again," Phoebe agreed.
"Shouldn't you be headed home as well?" Glacia asked, peering critically at Wally.
"M-my parents are coming t-t-to get me tomorrow morning," Wally replied. Glacia only sniffed.
Steven stepped closer to the Professor, and held out his hand. "Thank you for coming to the Seminar, Professor. I hope it was beneficial."
Professor Sycamore smiled warmly and shook Steven's hand. "It was, but not in the way I expected." His gaze drifted to Alain meaningfully.
Steven smiled back. "I know what you mean." Zara saw his eyes cut over to her, then dart back to the Professor.
"Well, I don't mean to run off, but we have a plane to catch in twenty minutes," Professor Sycamore said as he glanced at his watch. "I can send you a copy of what I've learned here, if you'd like."
"Yes, if you don't mind," Steven answered.
"Alain, you'll have to go get you bags," Professor Sycamore said.
"Right," Alain replied with a nod of his head. He immediately set out for his room.
"Bring them down to the car outside! We'll be waiting for you there!" the Professor called after him.
Zara watched Alain leave the courtyard, regret filling her mind. She wanted to shout after him, and tell him she was sorry for slapping him, and ask if he would ever forgive her. But she didn't.
Let him go. Let him go back to his own life in peace without stirring up bad thoughts. Perhaps this way he'll remember you for the battle you gave him and not for the slap.
Still, she felt she couldn't let him go without doing something.
Steven and the Professor began to walk slowly to and through the front doors. Zara was about to follow them when Mairin started talking to her.
"Zara, you were great today. I've never seen anyone battle Alain and tie before! You'd have to really good in order to do that!" She put on a cheerful smile, and turned to Wally. "And Steven told me you did really well too Wally! I'm glad I met both of you."
Zara smiled as well as she could through the jumble of emotions inside her. Reaching a hand down to Mairin, she reaplied., "I'm glad we met too, Mairin."
"Can we be pen pals?" Mairin asked hopefully. "At least, as long as I'm not traveling with Alain."
Zara was about to answer yes, when she spotted out of the corner of her eye, Wally's shoulders sagging. "I'd love to, Mairin, but I'm usually too busy to write very many letters. What if you were pen pals with Wally? He's got more time on his hands. That is, if it's alright with you," she addressed the last sentence to Wally.
Wally smiled so big, Zara thought his face might split in two. "Th-th-that'd b-be great-t!"
"Hooray!" Mairin cried. She reached out and gave Wally a big hug, making the green haired trainer go beet red. Zara chuckled slightly at his embarrassment.
Mairin released him after a moment and said happily, "I'll write as soon as I get home!"
"Che, chespin che!" Chespie exclaimed, pointing at the front doorway. Zara looked up to find it empty.
"Oops, I've got to go!" Bye!" Mairin exclaimed, turning and racing for the doorway.
Zara smiled as she watched the red headed trainer run out to the car and Professor Sycamore. She slipped her hands into her pockets absentmindedly, fingering the the things inside. A pang of sadness hit her as she reached automatically for her ring, but didn't find it. All that was in there was her dad's pitch-pipe...
Wait, if there is anything I could give him to tell him I'm sorry, wouldn't this be it?
But you can't give that away! It's all you have left of them!
It's just a pitch-pipe. Just a piece of the past. Just something you need to let go of.
And you can't let go of him.
"Mairin, wait!" Zara cried without thinking twice, something she hadn't done in years.
Mairin stopped and turned around. "What's the matter?"
Zara jogged up to her and knelt down. Drawing the pitch-pipe out of her pocket, she pushed it into Mairin's hand and said, "Can you give this to Alain for me?"
"Sure," Mairin answeted, closing her hand around the pitchpipe.
Zara heitated for a moment before adding, "And can you tell him something?"
Mairin nodded. "What?"
"I'm sorry."
Zara didn't offer an explination. She just rose and walked away, kept walking untill she was out of the courtyard and out of the school. Till she was alone.
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*XX
Alain trudged down the school stairs, suitcase in hand. He plodded across the courtyard, and out to the car that Professor Sycamore had parked in front of the school. The Professor and Mairin were already buckled in and ready to go when he got outside.
"Come on, Alain, we can't miss the plane!" Mairin called.
Alain picked up his pace a bit, reaching the car as quickly as he could at a brisk walk. He dumped his suitcase in the back seat next to Mairin, then climbed into the passenger seat.
Steven stepped up to the driver's side and said a few words to the Professor, then addressed him. "I'm glad you came to the seminar, Alain. Perhaps you'd like to come back when the school opens?"
"I'll think about it," Alain replied.
Steven nodded, then stepped back from the car. Professor Sycamore started the engine, and with that, they pulled away from the school.
"Bye Alain! B-bye Mairin!" someone called behind them. Alain turned around to see Wally and his Gallade standing in the open doorway of the school, each waving one hand over their heads.
"Bye Wally!" Mairin called back, leaning out the window as far as she could and waving both hards over her head. She kept waving untill the school was out of sight.
As the car crested a hill, the school slipped out of their view, and the Maville City Airport came into view, Alain sighed and put his chin in his hand.
It's over. It's really over. She's gone, and you said nothing to her about an apology or your feelings. She's gone, and you'll never get her back.
Isn't that for the best? She should be happy now that she never has to see you again.
The car pulled into the airport's parking lot, and Professor Sycamore turned off the engine.
But she looked happy after we had our battle! Was that just because we had a good match?
Alain opened his door automatically and climbed out, then reached over the back door to get his suitcase.
It must be. If she really cared, she would have come to say goodbye with Wally. And she didn't.
Professor Sycamore handed his car keys over to a person in a uniform marked with the logo of a Hoenn car rental company. Then he walked toward the line of people waiting to get on the plane. Alain saw him show a lady behind one of the many counters three tickets. She took them and pointed toward a long line of people waiting to board a plane. The Professor nodded and stepped toward the end of the line. Mairin followed him, and Alain followed her.
Forget about her. You have Mairin and Professor Sycamore back. That should be enough for you.
He shoved the torrent of thoughts out of his mind and focused on Mairin. She stood contentedly in front of him, playing with Chespie. He watched her for about ten minutes as they slowly moved through the line.
Suddenly, Mairin let out an, "Oh!", and whirled to face him. " I almost forgot. Zara told me to give this to you. But I don't know what it is." She slipped her hand into her pocket, then pulled it back out closed tightly in a fist. She held out her hand to Alain, palm down. He extended his hand untill it was underneath hers, and once it was Mairin dropped what she held into his waiting palm.
Alain knew what it was before it even hit his hand. Zara's pitch pipe. For a second he thought he'd imagined it, but then the cold, hard metal hit his hand. He could only stare at it for a moment, but slowly he began to come to terms with the reality of the object, and his fingers closed over it automatically. His surprise was so great that he dropped his suitcase, and it hit the floor with a loud clatter.
She gave me this? Why? Hundreds of reasons surfaced in his mind, but none of them made sense.
As if Mairin had sensed his question, she said, "Zara said to tell you she's sorry. But she didn't say what for. Did you two have a fight or something? "
But Alain wasn't listening. She's sorry? For what? She didn't do anything wrong to me.
"Why'd she give you that thing Alain?" Mairin continued to prod.
She just gave away her father's pitch pipe, the only thing she has left to remember him by. To me. Why? What did I do to deserve this? And why is she sorry? If anyone should be sorry, it's me.
"Alain? Is everything alright?" Professor Sycamore asked, turning around to look at him.
She gave me her father's pitch pipe. Something she treasures. But she wouldn't give that away to someone she hated. So that means...she doesn't hate me. And she isn't happy.
But still, why give it to you? Why be sorry?
His hand closed tightly around the pitch pipe. Only one way to find out.
Without a word to the Professor or Mairin, Alain tore away, past the people in line behind them, through the airport, and toward the door they'd come in.
"Alain!" Professor Sycamore called after him, but he ignored it. He ignored everything, the people around him, the thought of his suitcase he'd dropped, the thought of the plane bound to Kalos, due to leave any minute, and everything else. All that mattered now was getting back to Zara.
He dashed out the airport doorway and into the parking lot. Grabbing Charizard's pokeball from his pocket, he threw it into the air and the Fire and Flying type materialised before him.
Charizard turned it's head to give him a strange look. "Char?" it asked.
"No time," Alain replied hastily. Climbing onto his Pokemon's back, he said, "Back to the school Charizard."
Charizard growled meaningfully, as if it guessed why they were going back, but took off to the north, beating it's wings hard and fast.
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Zara leaned back further as another wooden box flew through the air toward her. It crashed into her arms, and she took a step back to balance herself.
Turning to face Sceptile, who stood a couple of yards further away, she hefted the box toward it. The Grass type caught the box in its mouth and set in the back of a delivery truck, where Wally took it and pushed it to the back of the truck.
She and Wally, and both of their Pokemon, were behind the school, loading objects and such into various trucks that weren't needed here anymore. But instead of the normal way of loading a truck, Zara had started an bucket brigade of sorts. Whatever needed to be loaded was tossed from person to Pokemon to Pokemon untill it reached the truck.
Zara turned back toward the school as a blue cloth sack flew toward her. She caught it and sent it on. "Careful with this stuff, Medicham," she scolded. "We don't want to break anything."
Medicham only nodded before catching another box and sending it to her.
Zara caught the box, surprised at its weight, but didn't throw it. Alain helped me lift a heavy box to get it into the school. And I nearly ran right into him after that. She closed her eyes, trying to relive the memory.
But he's gone now. Gone back to Kalos, where he's with his friends. Where he's happy.
"Medicham!"
Zara started at looked up just in time to have another box fly into her shoulder. "Ow!" she exclaimed, and dropped the box she held.
"Medi, medicham cham!" Medicham cried as it ran up to her. Her Larion followed it as fast as it could, as did Wally's Gallade and Azumarill.
"Scep!" Sceptile cried at the same time. Inside the truck, Wally turned around and spotted her. He and Sceptile both raced to her side.
"Are you hurt?" Wally asked as he reached her.
Zara looked down at the two boxes that she'd dropped. The one she'd been holding was fine, but the other one had a couple of boards that had splintered. "Great," she muttered, then scooped up the broken box.
"Are you okay, Zara?" Wally repeated, his voice gaining even more concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine Wally, just got lost in thought."
"About you're battle?"
"That, and a bunch of other things."
Wally put a hand on her arm. "Don't feel bad that you didn't win, Zara. You were great."
Zara offered him a weak smile. "Thanks, Wally," she whispered, not trusting her voice.
"Sceptile." Sceptile nudged her, then took the splintered box out of her arms. It looked her in the eye, and in that moment, Zara realized her Pokemon knew exactly what she'd been thinking about.
"Okay everybody, back to work," Zara said, shaking her head to clear it. As Medicham tossed her the next sack, she thought, He's gone, and there's nothing you can do to change that now.
But I want him back so badly.
Suddenly, Zara was sure she could hear wingbeats faintly above her. But she quickly shook it off as her imagination, caught the sack, and sent it on.
So badly, I'm imagining his Charizard is actually flying back here as we work.
But the sound of the wing beats only got louder and more defined, untill Zara knew she wasn't imagining it.
It can't be his Charizard. It must be Steven's Skarmory or Drake's Salamence.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile cried suddenly. Zara turned to find the Forest Pokemon staring at something above the school, a happy expression on its face. Zara simply smiled back at it, caught another box, and sent it on. As she threw the box to Sceptile, Wally came up beside it, and followed its gaze. "Hey, isn't that Charizard?" he asked.
Zara whirled around so fast she nearly lost her balance. "Where?"
"It just flew into the courtyard," Wally said.
Zara didn't waste anymore time. Ignoring the sack Medicham threw to her, she dashed through the school's back door, through the hallway, and into the courtyard.
And there, in the middle of the courtyard, stood Charizard, Alain sliding off its back.
He climbed off his Pokemon, then looked around slowly. In those seconds of him not seeing her, Zara suddenly wanted to bolt. He had to have some very importaint reason for coming back here. And I might not like what it is.
But then he saw her. His eyes met hers, and he crossed the field till he stood at directly in front of her. For a moment, neither person spoke. Zara could only stare at him, millions of questions whirling in her mind. Finally, she managed, "What happened?"
"What do you mean?" Alain asked.
"I mean, why did you come back? Did you forget something? Or was there something you..." wanted to tell me? she finished mentally, not able to voice the thought.
In reply, Alain held out his hand, palm up. In it rested her pitch pipe. "Why did you give this to me?" he asked, getting straight to the point.
Zara took a deep breath. "Because...because I...because I needed to let go of it," she stummbled.
Alain gave her a puzzled look. "Why give it to me?"
Zara dropped her gaze to the ground. "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather give it to."
After a moment of silence, she peeked back up at him. He was looking at the ground, confusion and possibly denial in his expression. What is he thinking?
He looked back up at her. "Zara..."
"Yes, Alain?" she answered quietly.
The confusion in his expression intensified, and his face contorted slightly in thought. He opened his mouth to say something.
And just then, Wally, followed by both his and Zara's Pokemon, raced into the courtyard. "Zara!" he shouted.
Alain's eyes clouded, and he turned away from her. "This belongs to you," he said quietly, holding the pitch pipe out to her.
Oh no, Wally! Couldn't it wait! Zara's mind screamed, but she managed to keep the irritation off her face. She took the pitch pipe, and turned to her young friend. "That's my name, don't wear it out," she teased as Wally ran up to her.
"Wow, so it was Alain's Charizard," Wally said as he approached Zara.
"Sceptile?" Sceptile stepped up to her and gave her a critial look.
"What?" she asked.
"You just ran off, like the school had caught on fire or something," Wally clarified. "What was that all about?"
Zara hesitated. "It's complicated Wally."
"Too many things are c-complicated with you anymore," Wally said dejectedly.
Suddenly, above them, a loud "Gar!" rang thought the quiet, and a Garchomp landed in the courtyard next to Charizard. Professor Sycamore and Mairin climbed off its back and the Professor returned it to its pokeball.
"Alain, why did you run off like that?" Mairin asked almost accusingly as she ran up to him.
"I'd like to know the same thing," Professor Sycamore said firmly, but not unkindly.
Just then, Steven came out the side door into the courtyard. "What is going on out here? I thought you had a plane to catch," he said to the Professor, "and I thought you were loading boxes," he said to Zara.
Zara just looked at him with as inoccent a look as she could muster, but the Professor replied, "We did, but Alain left us and came back here. And surely by now the plane has left," he added, looking at his watch. With his other hand, he handed Alain his black suitcase.
Alain obtained an apologetic look.
"There won't be another plane back to Kalos till tomorrow," the Professor continued, "so I suppose that means we need a place to stay the night. Are there any good hotels it Maville?"
"You don't need a hotel," Steven said firmly. "You can stay here for the night."
"We wouldn't want to impose," Professor Sycamore said.
"Not at all," Steven affirmed.
"Alright. Then we will."
"Yay!" Mairin said, jumping up and down.
"Yes!" Zara heard Wally say behind her. Somehow, it didn't make her smile.
"Zara, don't you have work to get back to?" Steven hinted.
"I'm going," Zara said as cheerfully as she could. Giving Alain one last look, she turned and walked back through the back door. Wally and Mairin both followed her, Mairin chattering all the way, describing every last detail of what had happened at the airport.
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Sceptile watched as its trainer walked slowly out the back door, followed by Gallade's trainer and that Chespin's trainer, and all of their Pokemon.
"I'll show you to your room," Metagross's trainer said. He turned and walked out the side exit to the open area. The tall trainer with the Garchomp followed him, as did Charizard's trainer.
Sceptile sighed a small, tired sigh as it watched everyone go.
Charizard's trainer turned back before he disappeared around the corner. "Charizard return," he said, and held up a pokeball.
Charizard, however, flew away from the beam of red light and landed a few feet away with a growl of annoyance. Its trainer only gave it a frustrated look and shrugged his shoulders before leaving the two Pokemon alone.
"Sceptile, sceptile tile?" What was that all about? Sceptile asked.
"Zard." Nothing. Charizard growled in return. Silence fell for several moments.
"Scep, sceptile tile tile scep, sceptile scep tile scep, scep..." Look, I know we don't like each other, we're rivals and all, but... Sceptile trailed off.
"Char?" What? Charizard asked.
"Tile sceptile sceptile, scep tile tile, scep tile tile sceptile." I know my trainer cares about your trainer, that she misses him, but doesn't want to tell him.
"Char? Char charizard." Really? Mine acts the same way.
"Sceptile scep, tile tile tile sceptile, sceptile tile scep scep tile scep. Sceptile tile scep scep tile." Don't get me wrong, I don't want to work with you, but I do want my trainer to be happy. And if that means getting her to talk to your trainer, then that's what I'll do.
"Charizard." I understand.
"Sceptile sceptile?" So you'll help me get them to make peace?
"Char. Char zard char, charizard char char." Yes. But if you tell anyone, I'll burn you to a crisp.
Sceptile smiled. "Scep." Deal.
"Charizard char?" So what's your plan?
Sceptile stepped closer to Charizard and leaned in as close as it dared. "Sceptile tile scep..." Here what you need to do...
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Alain stood in the room he was sharing with Mairin for the night, unpacking what he needed from the suitcase Professor Sycamore had given back to him. The digital clock on the bedside table read eight twenty. The sun had long past set. Alain gathered his pajamas out of his suitcase and took a step toward the shower.
Suddenly, Charizard burst out of its pokeball in a flash of white light. Spreading its wings as much as it could, it looked at Alain's arms, then at the window. Giving itself a shake, it turned to Alain and nudged him toward the window.
"What is it?" Alain asked his Pokemon. He put down his pajamas and walked to the window. There was nothing outside but trees and stars.
"What?" he repeated, turning back to Charizard. Charizard wore a longing expression. The Flame Pokemon spred its wings again and tried to flap them, growling when one struck Alain's bed.
Alain thought for a moment before guessing, "You want to go out?"
Charizard nodded, then jabbed a claw at him.
"Me too?" Alain guessed.
Charizard nodded again.
Alain hesitated, then relenting, picked up Charizard's pokeball and recalled the Fire and Flying type. He left the room and walked out onto the fire escape, then released Charizard. Charizard flew in a loop, rising high above the roof, then came to a stop in front of him.
Then, from above them, Alain heard a, "Scep!"
Oh great. Zara's up here too. He moved to go back inside before she saw him, but as he reached for the door handle, Charizard growled at him. "What?" he asked.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile's head appeared over the edge of the roof. The Grass type wore a happy expression as it dipped its head respectfully to Charizard. Charizard dipped its head back.
Zara appeared right behind it. When she looked over the edge of the roof, she quickly spotted Alain and disappeared again. Alain sighed to himself and sank back against the door. Why did I come out here?
You almost told her everything earlier. You wanted to tell her everything.
Yes, I did. But that doesn't mean I should. She's safe and content here, without me, and I need to accept that. Clearly she doesn't want to be around me since she won't even look at me.
But she gave you her pitch pipe. And she said there wasn't anyone else she'd rather give it to. Why would she say that if she hates you?
Ugh, it makes no sense!
Never mind it. She deserves better than me, with everything I've done to hurt her. I should just-
"Alain?" Zara's voice cut through his thoughts. "Are you coming up?"
-leave her alone... Alain finished his thought, but suddenly he changed his mind.
"You don't have to, just asking," Zara added quickly when he didn't respond.
Alain grabbed onto the edge of the roof and, stepping onto the fire escape railing, pulled himself onto the roof. Zara was already a ways down the roof, her back turned to him.
"You wanted something?" he asked cautiously.
"No," Zara replied without turning around, "just wondered what you were doing."
Alain looked away from her sadly. Silence fell.
Charizard landed on the roof next to him, stirring up a breeze with its wings. Sceptile stepped closer to Zara and nuzzled her shoulder.
Alain put his arm around Charizard and let out another sigh to himself. "Had enough time outside?" he asked his Pokemon.
Charizard responded by shoving him down the roof with its snout.
"Hey!" Alain cried, tipping from Charizard's shove, and nearly losing his balance. "What's with you?"
"Char," Charizard growled at him.
"Hey! Cut it out, Sceptile!" he heard Zara say, and looked down the roof to see Sceptile shoving her down the roof toward him with its snout. Zara, however, was doing a better job of avoiding the shoves.
Charizard shoved him in the back again. "Stop it, Charizard!" Alain ordered.
Charizard looked up and gave a negative growl. Sceptile looked up at it, and gave a quick dip of its head. Quick as a flash, the Forest Pokemon grabbed the back of Zara's shirts in its mouth and lifted her up to where her feet wouldn't touch the roof top.
"What are you do-" Alain began, but he stopped abruptly when Charizard grabbed the back of his jacket and lifted him up in its mouth. Alain hung there, feeling like a string of Christmas lights. "Put me down, Charizard!" he commanded. Charizard only snorted, sending a blast of hot air down Alain's neck.
"Sceptile, let me go! Let me go!" Zara demanded across the roof, flailing as hard as she could. Sceptile took several steps to regain its balance, but didn't put her down.
Instead, it took a step closer to Charizard.
Then Charizard took a step closer to Sceptile. Then another.
Alain tried desperately to twist his way out of Charizard grip, but the Flame Pokemon held on tightly. Zara continued to flail across from him. "Sceptile, if you don't let me go, I promise, no more pokeblocks for a month."
Sceptile didn't show any signs of letting go.
Both Pokemon kept advancing untill they stood a little less than a yard apart. Meaning Alain and Zara hung mere inches from each other.
Both trainers froze when the reality of how close they were hit them. Alain sucked in his breath and tried to pull himself back toward Charizard, but with no foot holds, he couldn't really move anywhere.
"Sceptile," Sceptile said around Zara's shirts.
"Charizard," Charizard growled around Alain's jacket.
Alain let his gaze fall on Zara. She was looking back at him, but her eyes kept darting around like she was scared to death. Scared of me probably.
"Sceptile, I mean it about the no pokeblocks for a month," Zara said, her voice barely a whisper. Her eyes stopped darting around and stayed fixed on Alain's. For a moment, everything went quiet as they stared at each other. Alain saw all the same emotions from this morning flash inside them. But this time, the hope and longing he'd seen were far more clearly defined. Suddenly, her eyes clouded, and she started to cry.
Oh no, what did I do? Alain though, alarmed.
"I'm sorry, Alain," Zara choked out.
Sorry? For what? He stared at her in confusion and shook his head slowly.
"Sorry I called you a liar, sorry I turned against you, sorry I slapped you, sorry I said all those hurtful things, sorry for everything." Now she was sobbing. "Professor Sycamore told me everything. All about how you met Lysander and he tricked you, and that everything you did was to protect him and Mairin. That you've been training to save them." She choked out another sob before adding, "I thought I had your reason for getting stronger all figured out. But I was wrong, and I acted without knowing the whole truth." Tears continued to flow down her face, and her expression turned to one of misery. "I'm a terrible friend. I shouldn't have said anything. You have a home back in Kalos to go back to, without me or anything I've said to deal with. I guess what I'm saying is, I'm sorry saying what I said, and I hope you have a good life back in Kalos, and I- I- Sceptile just put me down already!" she burst out, struggling against her Pokemon's grip again, fresh tears pouring down her face. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to reach up behind her neck at Sceptile's mouth.
Alain could only state at her. He couldn't believe his ears. That's what she was sorry about? That's why she's been giving me things? That's why she waqs staying away from me? Because she felt guilty?
He stared at her for several second, as she struggled against her Pokemon. Suddenly, a sense of longing and caring flowed over him, and lifting one hand, he touched her check very lightly, wiping away some of her tears with his thumb.
At his touch, Zara froze and her eyes flew open and met his. She looked scared to death as she looked back at him, but after a moment, the fear in her eyes subsided and she relaxed. "Alain, I..."
Alain didn't answer, simply kept rubbing his thumb across her cheek. But as he did so, his thoughts began to nag at him.
She stayed away from you because she felt guilty. But she didn't need to. If anyone should feel guilty, it's you. Your the one who hurt her so much. Even if you want her, she deserves better than you.
His expression hardened, and he turned his head away from Zara, dropping his hand to his side.
"What's wrong? What did I say?" Zara asked.
"Nothing," Alain replied bluntly.
"Something. It has to be something," Zara pressed. "Whatever it was, I'm sorry."
"You didn't do anything wrong!" Alain shouted suddenly, making Zara flinch. "You were right to doubt me in the first place! I did end up hurting you and getting you kindnapped, and I did tell them who you were, and I did gather Mega Evolution energy for them! All of this, you getting hurt, and Chesipe getting knocked out, everything, is my fault." He clenched his fists tighter in anger. "You shouldn't want anything to do with me. I'm a threat."
"But you did all those things for the right reasons," Zara said.
"That doesn't change the fact that I did them," Alain countered bitterly.
"No, but no one can blame you for them if you didn't know what you were doing," Zara said slowly.
"Yes they can!" Alain shouted. "I blame myself for them!" He clenched his fists tighter, and tried to turn away from her completely, but couldn't quite. Finally, he whispered, "You deserve better then me, Zara." As he said it he closed his eyes tightly, trying to hold back the water works.
Suddenly, he felt something brush his hand, and looked down to see Zara taking it in hers. He looked back at her to find her eyes shining.
"I don't want better than you, Alain," she whispered.
Alain stared at her, his heart starting to beat double time. "Are you sure?" he whispered back, unwilling to believe his ears.
Zara nodded and held his hand tighter.
For a moment, Alain was speechless, but when his senses came back to him, he asked in a barely audible whisper, "Then what do you want?"
Zara's hand started to tremble in his, and a suddenly Alain was afraid he'd said something to upset her. He opened his mouth to apologize, when Zara said pnly just loud enough for him to hear, "I- I want- I want you, Alain. I- I love you."
Alain's heart skipped a beat, and he stared at her, dumbstruck.
When he didn't respond for several seconds, Zara fumbled around, saying, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I'll just-"
Alain cut her off by putting his hand back on her cheek. "I love you too," he whispered.
Zara's hand trembled even more in his, but now he took it and held it firmly in his own hand to keep it from shaking.
"Char?" Charizard rumbled quietly.
"Scep," Sceptile said around Zara's shirts. It took half a step forward, putting Alain and Zara less then an inch from each other. They wer so close, Alain could feel Zara's breath ghosting across his face.
Slowly, Zara's gaze moved from Alain's eyes to his lips. Alain's heart sped up even more, but he slowly leaned forward toward her, stopping before he completely closed the distance between them. He gave her a look that he hoped said, Are you sure?
Zara smiled ever so slightly, her eyes shining happily, and leaned in closer to him. Alain leaned in more, tilting his head to one side and closing his eyes as he got closer.
And then he felt her lips brush his. He pushed against them firmly, kissing her with everything he had, passion and love urging him on. She hesitated for a second before kissing back, more slowly, but just as passionately. Slowly her let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. After a moment, he felt her arms wrap around his neck.
Suddenly, everything around him seemed not to matter anymore. All of his past, and everything it contained didn't matter, not here, not now. Not in this moment. All that mattered was her, that she was here with him, happy and safe.
Perfect. This is perfect.
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Zara wrapped her arms around Alain neck as she kissed him. This whole time, ever since he'd said, "I love you too," her mind had been screaming, He actually likes you! in what could easily be the most corny senence ever thought on the planet. But somehow, she didn't care.
After a while, they broke apart for air. But as Zara drew back, Alain gently pushed against her lower back, urging her back toward him. She looked back at his face and smiled a small smile. He smiled back, just barely, and she leaned against him, leaning her head against his, her face nuzzled into his blue scarf. He leaned his head against hers, resting his cheek in her mess of blonde hair.
Nothing mattered except here and now. Nothing mattered except her and him. All the fear Zara had about the future, all the what-ifs that constantly loomed over her head seemed to melt away. All that mattered was him, here, now, with her, happy.
She barely registered when Sceptile set her down on the roof. She head the Grass type saying something, probably to Charizard, and then heard the sound of flesh slapping flesh, what happens when two people give each other a hard handshake, but ignored it.
Alain lifted his head off of hers, and Zara raised her head to look up at him. When she looked at him, his eyes were shining in the starlight. "I love you, Zara," he whispered.
"You already said that," she teased, smiling as she said it.
"I can't say it enough," he answered. Then he leaned in and planted his lips on hers, and wrapped his arms even tighter around her.
Perfect, Zara thought. This is perfect.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
And now Alain and Zara have made peace and told each other everything. Personally, I think this chapter came out really well, though long, but not as long as the last one. What did you guys think?
All I have left for this story is the epiloge, so it's almost done. (Yay, my first completed fanfic!) I would really like to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this story. The support is greatly appreciated. :)
Also, if you'd like to see more stories about Zara and Alain, I've got a poll up on my profile page for that. (And FYI, guests can vote on polls too! Just click on my name, RebelMandM, at the top of the page!). I'm thinking if I get twenty yes's, then I'll post another story.
And, as always, (you all know what's coming)...
Please review!
