Chapter 20

Maple didn't stop running until she was at the edge of the Kieru Forest. That was when she realized that she was standing on grass again. She hadn't stepped on grass since before she and Mark had arrived in Olivine City. After that was the ship and after that was Himitsu Island. Nothing but metal, pavement, and concrete.

That was actually how she had found the forest. No directions were necessary; her feet just knew where to take her. She didn't even care where she was going, as long as it was away from everything back there. Away from the pain and the fear and the fighting. Away from Mark.

Maple looked around. The city shot skyward behind her, the massive hotel at its center. Around that, the skyline of the buildings sloped downwards, eventually stopping and giving way to the wilderness that dominated the island long before humans had even thought of burying it in steel and concrete.

She stood a full mile away from the edge of the street. The tree line started here, marking the border into the lush forest. She could hear the flow of a river, somewhere in the middle of the trees. Mirroring the city, the trees sloped upward, this time going north towards the mountain looming in the distance. The massive mountain was the size of the entire city at its base, and its peak reached nearly twice as high.

It was here, on the border between humans and nature, where Maple stopped. Once she stopped running, everything caught up with her and she realized what had happened. Running was all she could do to stop the pain from coming back. But as soon as she stopped, it caught her. She could do nothing more but sink down to her knees and cry.

Why couldn't he understand? Why was there so much fear in his eyes when he looked at her? Why was everything this hard? She was supposed to be happy, but everything was falling apart and there was nothing she could do. Why had she ever evolved if all it would do was bring pain?

None of these questions could be answered. But, eventually, through sheer exhaustion, the tears stopped flowing. In a daze, Maple lied down on the grass and curled up, tucking her tail behind her legs. Willing the pain away, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the feel of the grass against her.

She was still lying in that same position when a tired, old voice called out to her.

"Weren't there two of you this morning?"

Maple shot up, startled to hear Aurum's voice. The old man was just a dozen yards away, walking towards her with his folding chair underneath his arm. Flushing with embarrassment, Maple stammered and stuttered, trying to explain too many things at once. After a few seconds of trying to sort out the nonsense, Aurum put up his hand.

"It doesn't really matter, anyway," Aurum sighed, "you still want to train, don't you?"

Without hesitation, Maple nodded vigorously.

"Then follow me," Aurum walked straight past Maple without stopping, "the fish aren't just going to jump out of the water, after all."

Her spirits lifted after seeing the old man, Maple turned and trotted after him, into the Kieru Forest.

He led her, in silence, for another fifteen minutes through the trees. He didn't once stop to get his bearings or check their surroundings, despite the fact that they weren't following a path at all. He had gone this way too many times to have to question such simple details.

Forestland Pokémon of all kinds scampered through the underbrush around them. None reacted with hostility, but just trotted away from the two intruders into deeper sections of the forest.

Maple couldn't help but feel uneasy around them. Ever since the first Rattata had reacted violently towards her, she no longer knew what Pokémon would do if they saw her. Her eyes darted around, watching the movements of every Pokémon in the forest. She looked for something, anything that might treat her as one of their own. But none did. They hid as if she were just another human. Maple was starting to feel as if she didn't belong anywhere.

Aurum led Maple to a pond in the middle of a large clearing. One of the streams, breaking off from the river, flowed through here on its way out to sea. The water current was a gentle, patient flow that barely made a sound as it flowed through the forest.

Maple had never seen water so beautiful in her entire life. It sparkled with life and was magnificently clear. She put her face right up to it in child-like wonder and watched the fish and water Pokémon alike swim peacefully through the water.

Without stopping, Aurum unfolded his chair and planted it along the northern edge of the pond. He unfolded a collapsible fishing rod and set to work.

"So, when do we start?" Maple asked excitedly, "What do we do first?"

"You said your name's Maple, right?" Aurum asked and Maple nodded, "you have two days until your first match, right?" Again, Maple nodded. "Then you're getting a crash course."

"What do you mean?" Maple asked, tilting her head to the side.

"We don't have time to play around," Aurum said flatly, "you'll learn by doing." Aurum withdrew Katana's Pokéball and threw it behind him.

The young woman Weavile, fully recovered, appeared in front of Maple. Katana looked Maple up and down and grimaced before glancing at her trainer.

"Master, I'm not fighting this…am I?" Katana said, not bothering to hide the disdain in her voice.

"We're giving lessons, again," Aurum said dryly, not removing his eyes from his fishing pole, "you have an apprentice. Congratulations."

"An apprentice?" Katana looked Maple up and down again, "no offense, Master, but your 'retirement' doesn't seem to mean anything."

"Just do it, already," Aurum sighed, "if you need a challenge, then remember that she's by herself in the whole tournament and the first match is in two days."

"By herself?" Katana raised an eyebrow at Maple. Throughout their conversation, Maple had no idea what to say. Her chosen idol was standing right in front of her and was going to train her. She couldn't have asked for anything better.

"Kid was stupid enough to enter with one human Pokémon," Aurum explained, "now they won't back down because she's just as stupid."

"Fair enough," Katana shrugged, "what's your name?"

"Umm…Maple," the little girl squeaked.

"Maple…cute…" Katana said without expression. Turning away from Maple, Katana walked back towards the forest, putting twenty yards between the two of them. "Alright, come at me, then."

"W-What?" Maple squeaked a second time.

"Fight me," Katana said it as if it were as natural as breathing, "you expect to get better at fighting without fighting?"

"No…" Maple shook her head.

"Welllll," Katana groaned, "then fight me, already." Katana took a firm stance, placing one hand in front of her, and motioned for Maple to come at her.

Still unsure of what was happening, Maple didn't react right away. She honestly hadn't known what to expect from training with Aurum, but this somehow did not seem like a possibility. This would certainly be one of the fastest ways to train. Yet, she didn't really feel as if she could fight.

The first two times she had been fighting to defend herself. But something about attacking didn't feel right. Was that a human side of her?

Shaking her head, Maple bent forward and ran at Katana. Coming in close, Maple slashed at her with her tail. Spinning and twirling, she slashed at Katana again and again, but hit nothing.

Katana dodged the attacks with barely any effort. Worse, Maple couldn't follow her movements. Katana was a blur that faded only a thousandth of a second before Maple's Leaf Blade slashed into her. Maple might as well have been fighting a ghost.

After a few minutes, Katana tired of the ease of it all and she kicked Maple in the stomach, sending her rolling backwards along the ground.

"That was disgusting!" Katana spat, "Don't bother coming here looking for training if you're not even going to take it seriously!"

"I'm sorry…" Maple coughed, slowly getting back onto her feet.

"Sorry, nothing!" Katana was furious at how weak her "apprentice" was, "where's the fire? Where's the will to fight? You're a Pokémon, dammit! Act like one!"

Again, Maple came after Katana, slashing repeatedly with no results. She couldn't understand it. What had she done wrong? Was the gap in skill that drastic? How could she train like this against someone she couldn't even see?

But a part of her mind told her that wasn't the whole story. Maple wasn't fighting her hardest, that much was true. But, why? Was she somehow unconsciously holding back? What could make her do that?

This time, Katana slipped behind Maple and punched her squarely in the back, sending her face-first into the dirt.

"What's wrong with you?" Katana fumed, "you actually got worse…"

"I'm sorry," Maple coughed into the dirt a second time.

"Is that all you can say?" Katana shook her head, "I don't want you to be sorry. I want you to fight me like you mean it."

Maple got to her feet a little more slowly this time and Katana noticed something in the girl's eyes that she hadn't before. She remembered that look. Tempest had it in her eyes.

"Where's your trainer?" Katana asked.

Maple didn't respond, but her eyes narrowed and she came at Katana again. She was a bit faster that time, Katana had to admit, but she was still remarkably slow. Too slow, in fact. She wasn't fighting the way she should.

Katana had seen enough battles to know how strong an opponent really was. The girl in front of her should at least be able to see her movements. There was potential in her, but it wouldn't be easy to train her if she didn't get rid of the barriers holding her in place.

Katana sent the girl sprawling with little effort, again.

"We could do this all day, but it won't mean anything until you fight me all out," shaking her head, Katana stared down at the pitiful sight for a few seconds. Talking seemed to be helping, so she tried again, "so, tell me. How long have you been a human Pokémon?"

"Two weeks," Maple said.

"Two weeks…you're nothing but a baby…" Katana smirked as another piece of this girl's puzzle clicked into place, "Why do you want to fight?"

"Because it's what I am," Maple declared, wiping the dirt off of her cheek.

"Not right now, it's not," Katana said, "I've seen this before. You're having trouble deciding exactly what you are. Are you a human? Or are you a monster?"

"A 'monster'?" Maple didn't like the word.

"Yes, a monster," Katana nodded, "you feel that, don't you? That need inside of you. You evolved because you want to be human. We all did. For whatever reason we wanted to be human and we were strong enough to make it a reality. But that need remains. Humans push it away, try to lock it up and control it. But that's not what we are. It's not what you are. You're not a human."

What the hell are you? Maple closed her eyes. What was the answer to that question? She didn't have one when he asked it. In truth, she still didn't have one. But she needed an answer. As much as it hurt to look for one, she had to have an answer.

Was she human? If she was, she should be able to put all of the fighting behind her. She could just stop and not do it ever again. She could just be with Mark and never worry about Pokémon battles ever again. They could just run away together and everything could be wonderful.

But that was wrong. Mark had pushed her away and now she was here. But why was she here? She hadn't hesitated at the opportunity to train with Aurum, but why was that? And what was it that was holding her back?

Katana was right. The human part of her, the part that loved Mark, didn't want her here. It wanted her back with him, to listen to him and just forget about fighting. But there was another part, the part that needed to fight, to feel her blood coursing through her. She needed that just as much as she needed Mark. And now she could let it out.

Yes, she could let it out. Here she didn't have to worry about what Mark thought. She could be as wild as she wanted. And she did want to be wild. It had been gnawing at her ever since she had evolved. So much extra power and she hadn't even begun to test its limits. Finally, here was that chance! Right in front of her was the most powerful opponent she could ask for. And she was ready.

After a moment, Maple's eyes opened and a faint smile spread across her face. She took a few deep breaths. Liberated, she looked around the clearing in the Kieru Forest again, somehow seeing new life in all of it.

"So, what are you?" Katana smiled at her. One barrier down.

"I'm a monster," Maple hissed. She sprang at Katana and her vision went red.

After Maple had left, Mark sat dumbfounded in their hotel room. His brain wasn't working, time just drifted by as he tried to grasp a hold of what had happened.

What had he done? Maple was gone and it was his fault. She was gone, utterly and totally gone. How could he have let that happen?

At last, his legs listened to him and he stood up. A few blood-soaked towels remained in the bathroom, sitting on the floor. He left them there, wandering out into the hallway in a stupor. His mind refused to work and he started to aimlessly drift around the hotel. He would've continued for much longer had a familiar voice not called out to him.

"Hey, what's going on?" Lionel's unfailingly smiling face trotted up to Mark, parting the haze created by Maple's departure.

"Oh, it's you," Mark muttered. Then, after a second, he remembered something, "you!"

"Yeah, it's me," Lionel replied, "where's Maple?"

"Gone," Mark fumed, "thanks to you."

"Me? What did I do?" Lionel grinned despite his offended tone.

"What did you do?" Mark gritted his teeth at Lionel, "What didn't you do? You told everybody on the island that I'm the only one in the tournament with one human Pokémon! People came out of nowhere to fight us!"

"Yeah, so?" Lionel asked, "I thought it'd help toughen you guys up. You need to train, after all."

"You're not helping!" Mark yelled, "Maple is gone because some asshole fought us!"

"Wait, wait, slow down," Lionel put up his hands, suddenly becoming serious for the first time since coming to the island, "Maple's gone? What happened? Calm down, start over, and tell me everything."

Mark shrugged and fought with himself to calm down. For a few seconds, all he could think was, Maple is gone. She left. She just got up and left. Over and over his head repeated the terrible words. He had failed her.

"We had a fight," Mark closed his eyes, trying to will away the worst pain he had ever felt, "God, it's all my fault. Why the hell did I say that crap to her?"

"Hey, take it easy," Lionel reassured him, "it'll be okay. Just tell me what happened to Maple."

"Okay," Mark took a deep breath and started again, "like I said, we had a fight. She fought some guy with a human Blastoise. Beat him in one hit. Kinda cool, actually. But there was just so much blood, everywhere. She was covered in the stuff. And you know something?" He paused to read Lionel's expression, but the blond-haired boy indicated that he didn't know anything. "She didn't care. That's the part that freaks me out. I've never seen a girl like her, well, any girl really, not freak out around blood!"

"Wait," Lionel was lost immediately, "that's a bad thing?"

"Well, no, I guess," Mark shook his head. Was that what bothered him about it? He had to think back. No, that wasn't right. Maple reacted to it, alright. He remembered seeing something in her eyes. Then, he realized it. She had enjoyed it. That was what disturbed Mark so much. There was a part of the sweet, lovely, innocent Maple that enjoyed spilling blood.

It was something that wanted to take her over. He had seen it in a brief instant. Maple had turned, her smiling face, her long, light blond hair with the stubborn green tuft, turning to face him. And in that brief moment, he remembered seeing that strange light in her eyes that was never there before. It was a look of bloodlust.

"Hey, you okay?" Lionel's voice brought Mark back from the memory.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Mark said, rubbing his temples.

"Okay, so, you freaked out over the blood and had a fight," Lionel summed up the story, "That's not that bad. Could be worse, anyway. Any idea where she went?"

"No," Mark shook his head, "unless…unless she went to go train with Aurum."

"Aurum?" Lionel drew back in shock, "the Golden Trainer? You know him?"

"He was on the boat with us," Mark explained, "he agreed to train me and Maple for the tournament."

"Oh, sweet, good call," Lionel complimented Mark.

"It doesn't matter," Mark hung his head, "I have to drop out of the tournament."

"What?" Lionel's jaw dropped open in disbelief, "no frickin' way! You guys had one fight and you're just gonna give up? What the hell?"

"I can't let her turn into a monster," Mark whispered.

"Too late for that, man," Lionel shook his head.

"Huh?" Mark raised an eyebrow.

"She was a monster first," Lionel pointed out, "she turned into a girl. You can't keep her from becoming what she already is."

Mark furrowed his brow and shut his eyes in concentration. He tried to think, but all he could see were memories of Maple. He saw her crouching in front of him, right after she had evolved. He saw her sleeping peacefully with her tail tucked behind her legs. And he saw her covered in blood, with tears in her eyes as she left him alone.

"Dammit!" He cursed. There was still so much to sort out and he couldn't think…

"Well, whatever," Lionel said, "let's just find her. Then you two can sort this whole thing out and go back to being the cute, little, inseparable couple that you used to be." Turning on his heel, Lionel led the way out of the hotel. Still in a daze, Mark followed after him.

AN: and now Maple's dark side comes back.

i really enjoy writing her character. there's a lot of sides to her which makes her very fun and interesting to write for.

so...yeah, nothing super special to talk about this week. cya next time!