Chapter 23

Even with the sounds of fighting drifting through the woods, behind him, it was a long time before Mark could move from where he was standing.

First, he considered everything that Suicune had told him. What had he learned?

Jirachi was the creator of the human Pokemon around him. Apparently the legend of the Pikachu girl, or whatever it had been, was a glorified version of a visit from Jirachi. It transformed her on a whim and then left her alone. What did Suicune say? Jirachi was equal parts chaos and innocence.

Suicune clearly didn't like it. But what was Suicune? Ho-oh had sent it here to observe the human Pokemon. To what end? What did it want?

He had left with more questions than answers. The worst of it was that Suicune refused to tell him everything. The most important question he could think of was left unanswered. Now it was starting to feel as though Suicune had appeared simply to taunt him.

But there was nothing he could do about it. Suicune was far too powerful for him to chase after and demand answers. But Mark realized that wouldn't be necessary. It had given him the chance to roam free through Palkia's Woods and entrusted him with a very important secret of the Pokemon world. It obviously trusted him. He should return that trust, right?

Mark supposed he had no choice but to trust Suicune. Whatever was going on, it knew a lot more than he did. He had no reason to distrust it, nor Ho-oh, for that matter.

Whatever was going on, he couldn't help. Instead, he should be focusing on his own problems. What was he going to say to Maple?

She had run off, on her own, to train with Aurum. Well, Mark could hear fighting. That meant Aurum really was training her. If she was training, she was getting hurt and that was exactly what Mark had been trying to prevent. Like Aurum had told him, he couldn't protect Maple from everything.

Of course, maybe he didn't have to. It wasn't a trainer's job to keep their Pokemon from getting hurt. If that were the case, Pokemon battles wouldn't happen at all. What a trainer really did was help their Pokemon become stronger.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Mark had never been sure how he felt about that old saying. It seemed true enough, but was that the only way? If he was the one responsible for Maple getting hurt, could he really just throw her into a battle?

He still didn't want to. That hadn't changed. Maple running away from him didn't stop the fact that he didn't want to purposefully put her in harm's way.

But he was being selfish and over-protective when he thought something like that. Maple wanted it, after all. If he stopped her, he wasn't protecting anybody but himself. She would do it anyway, and she would run away to do it.

Wouldn't it be better if he was by her side? He could watch over her and protect her. Pushing her away wasn't the answer. If she was going to get hurt, the least he could do was stay near her. Even if it hurt to see her get hurt, it would be better if he saw it, rather than wonder about it from a distance.

If she was going to get hurt, he wanted to be there to pick her back up again.

He began to walk forward, through the trees.

Maple ached all over as she stood up and downed yet another potion. They had tried three more times, but it was just too hard. Whatever needed to happen, she couldn't do it by herself. She was beaten and battered. Her dress, once just stained with blood, was now covered in dirt and riddled with small tears in random places. She had been out here for hours, but nothing had changed. She missed Mark so much that she could cry.

But she didn't. She wouldn't let herself, anymore. If he was looking for her, then she couldn't give up either. Even if she couldn't control the Red state, all of the fighting against Katana and Billow had to be worth something. She couldn't stop trying now or it really would all be for nothing.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Katana look up at something off in the distance.

Maple followed her gaze and saw Mark standing at the edge of the woods.

She started running towards him, but she slowed down as she got closer. What if he had come all this way but still didn't want her to battle? She didn't want to choose between the two. She couldn't abandon what she was, but she couldn't leave Mark either.

There was a strange look on Mark's face. He appeared to be thinking very hard about something. He hadn't moved since Maple had started running towards him. Maple stopped just a few yards away from him. He wanted to say something.

"Hi," he began as he searched for words, "umm…it's…good to see you."

Maple smiled and nodded.

"I…wanted to say, I'm sorry," Mark hung his head, "I don't want to see you get hurt. But I also know that I can't protect you from everything."

It took all of Maple's willpower to stay where she was. She wanted to just run over and hug him and let everything go back to the way it was before. But he wasn't finished, so, she stayed where she was.

"I know that you're going to fight," Mark continued, "and I know you're going to get hurt. That's just who and what you are."

Mark began walking towards Maple, but he still couldn't look her in the eye. Was this the right thing to do? Would he be able to live with this decision? Why didn't he know?

"The thing is," Mark stopped an arm's length away from Maple, "if you're going to get hurt, then I want to know about it. I want to watch over you. I want to be there to make the pain go away."

With his gaze on the ground, Mark didn't know that Maple was on the verge of tears. He was only aware that she started to shuffle her feet, maybe out of nervousness, maybe not.

"So…" Maple swallowed, in an effort to keep her tears back, "does that mean…that you want me back?"

Mark didn't answer, at first. This whole time he had been thinking that Maple didn't want him back. But, at the same time, she had been afraid that he didn't want her back. They had both blamed themselves for what happened.

He smiled to himself and looked up into Maple's big, brown eyes. Then he saw the tears behind them and somehow he felt stronger. He suddenly wanted to make those tears go away forever.

"As long as you'll take me," he said.

Maple flung herself into his arms and cried against him. Mark felt his shirt start to get wet as she sobbed in short little sniffs.

"Hey," Mark tried to comfort her, "why are you crying?"

"I don't know," Maple sobbed, "I'm just…happy."

Mark sighed and held her tighter. He stroked her soft, beautiful hair, pushing her ears back as he did so. Breathing deeply, he drank in the sweet scent that filled the air around her.

That was a kind of crying that he could live with.

"Well, that's just the cutest damned thing I've ever seen," Katana smirked, watching the reunion between the human boy and the Leafeon-girl.

"Oooooh," Billow cooed, "that's so pretty!"

"Pretty?" Katana wasn't quite sure where Billow was getting that from, but it did make some sense.

After another minute or two, Mark and Maple released each other and they started approaching Katana and Billow, their hands interlocked.

Aurum once again left his fishing spot, empty handed, and moved to join them as Maple introduced Mark to Billow and Katana. The Golden Trainer watched them intently. Just as he predicted, the bond between the two was strong enough for the young man to find his way through Kieru Forest and reunite with his human Leafeon. Better still, that bond was growing stronger all the time.

"You're late," Aurum scolded Mark, "don't do it again."

Mark snapped to attention and stared at Aurum for a moment before responding, "y-yes, sir. It won't happen again."

"Good," Aurum nodded, not letting any of the anger leave his voice, "we've already lost most of the day. If you're going to be ready in time, we have to get started immediately."

"Right," Mark agreed. He briefly looked at Maple to confirm her feelings about training. He saw that there was no change, so he no longer hesitated, "what do we need to do?"

"First you're going to watch," Aurum explained, "you have some catching up to do." Aurum began to walk away, putting a suitable distance between himself and the human Pokémon.

Reluctantly, Mark released Maple's hand and went to go stand with Aurum. He didn't know what to expect, but something very serious and very dangerous was happening.

Once the two humans were ready and at a safe distance, Katana volunteered to be Maple's opponent. At first, the girl did nothing. She just fidgeted in place, glancing over at Mark every now and then.

"It's okay," Katana said as soothingly as she could manage, "he needs to see this."

Maple nodded. She didn't like it, but Katana was right. Once more, she closed her eyes in concentration and went Red.

Mark was stunned as he watched Maple let out a vicious snarl and lunge after Katana. It was like what he had seen before, but a thousand times worse. Maple attacked relentlessly and without hesitation, like a wild animal bent on killing everything around her. The change was so drastic and complete that Mark couldn't even be sure he was looking at the same girl anymore.

The minutes dragged on as Katana dodged attack after attack. She could keep ahead of Maple, but the girl was getting faster. Desperate, she slashed across Maple's midsection with a Night Slash, but no blood came forth and Maple continued attacking as if it had never happened. Katana barely dodged an attack that would've caught her throat.

Jumping backwards, Katana made an Ice Shard in her hand. She aimed and flung it into Maple's shoulder. This time, Maple snarled in pain as she groped for the icicle sticking into her. She pulled it out as blood began to ooze out of the wound. An instant later, she was herself, again and she sank to her knees.

"Holy…" Mark gaped, trying to grasp the meaning behind Aurum's training methods, "what the hell?" Without a word, Aurum approached Maple with another potion from his seemingly endless supply within his fishing gear.

Mark ran after him to inspect Maple. There was an inch wide circular wound just below her collarbone that was bleeding freely. She tried to smile at Mark, but it broke and she grimaced with pain. Aurum handed her another bottle of blue liquid and she drank the whole thing without stopping. After a few seconds, Mark could see the torn muscle and skin sew themselves back together and the wound closed right before his eyes. All that remained was a streak of blood, which Aurum wiped away with a cloth.

"That's what training with me is like," Aurum whispered as he backed away from Mark and his human Leafeon.

"Are you okay?" Mark ignored Aurum and knelt down with Maple.

"Yeah," Maple nodded, the pain all but gone, "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"No," Mark shook his head, "no, it's okay. If it's part of who you are. Don't be ashamed of it."

"Thank you," Maple smiled.

"It's called the Red state," Katana came up behind them, "it makes us very strong, but it turns us into true monsters. If she can control it, she'll become very powerful, very quickly."

Mark nodded and considered. Becoming very powerful, very quickly was what Maple needed. This Red state was exactly what he had seen in Maple's eyes earlier that day. He couldn't explain it, but he knew it was dangerous. There was something more at risk than what Katana and Aurum were telling him. But did they even know what that was? Maybe they did, maybe they didn't, but ultimately it didn't matter. If Maple really could control it, then what was there to fear?

"What do you need me to do?" Mark asked, helping Maple to her feet.

"Stay closer," Aurum answered, "fight alongside her and guide her like you normally would."

"What?" Maple stared at Aurum in disbelief. She had no intention of letting Mark get close enough for her to hurt him.

"Master, are you sure about that?" even Katana doubted Aurum's idea.

"I'm sure," Aurum nodded, "you've been trying all day, that's plenty of time for her to understand what the Red state is. All that's left is her trainer's influence. If it's not enough, then it never will be and we're done here."

Mark and Maple stared into each other's eyes. Just like that, Aurum had declared that if they failed, it would end there. If Mark stood with Maple, it might be enough for her to control the Red state. If not, she would probably never master it.

However, there was a lot of risk in that. It didn't matter to Mark if Maple hurt him, he wasn't afraid of that. He was more afraid for Maple. How would she react if she lost control and attacked him? It would damage her more than him.

And what did Aurum mean that she would never control it, if it didn't work? Could some human Pokémon unleash the Red state but never master it? There were still so many questions, but Mark only saw one path forward.

"I'll do it," he promised, never taking his eyes off of Maple's.

"Then get started," Aurum said, impatiently, "time is running out."

"Right," Mark nodded. He moved to stand just a short distance behind Maple as Billow stepped forward for her own turn.

"You'll do it this time, Miss Maple," Billow beamed, "I know you will!"

"Thank you," Maple took a deep breath. She looked back at Mark and he nodded for her to get started. She closed her eyes and felt for the Red state, knowing that Mark was right behind her and wasn't going anywhere.

Mark watched Maple dash forward and felt the very air around her change. The sweet, lovely Maple was gone again. Now she was just a beast, a barely conscious killer. He didn't think he'd ever get used to watching her do that. But now wasn't the time to think about things like that.

Maple's tail whipped and slashed at Billow, but the little Drifblim-girl was too quick and she floated back out of her reach. A moment later, she bounded off of the ground and floated a few feet above Maple's head. Snarling, the creature that looked like Maple cursed Billow and tried to reach her with no success.

Growing even angrier and frustrated, the creature sensed something else nearby. An easier target. She turned and looked at Mark, grinning madly. The red glint of bloodlust hung in her eyes and Mark went cold with fear.

Maple…

Then there was a shimmer. It shook through the creature and distorted it and then was gone. It was just a brief one, but for that instant the red glint dulled. The thing that looked like Maple shook its head, disturbed by the interruption and turned back to the helpless target just a few meters away.

She advanced towards him, eager for the kill. It would come quickly. It wouldn't be the frustrating, fruitless chase that she had suffered through all day. No, this time she would have it. She could practically taste the ecstasy to come.

"Maple!" Mark called out, "Maple! You can do this! I know you can!"

The shimmer came again, stronger this time. The thing retreated a few paces. There was something more to this one. Something even more dangerous than the other two. Another shimmer washed through her and she sank to her knees.

"Maple," Mark rushed forward, heedless of his own safety. If she was going to kill him, then so be it. He just couldn't stand watching her like this anymore.

He knelt down in front of her. She was shuddering as the shimmers came quicker and quicker. More and more, the monster that had taken her over was fading and the girl within was taking control.

Maple suddenly realized where she was and what she was doing. She could feel her blood pulsing through her. Every sense was heightened to a degree that dwarfed even her previous abilities. The world around her shone with incredible detail. She knew immediately that she had mastered the Red state.

As she knelt on the ground, she could hear her own heart beating, but right next to her, there was a second. She looked up and watched as a smile spread across Mark's face. After a few more seconds, she smiled back.

AN: EXTREME HAPPINESS CHAPTER!

oddly enough, i think being apart strengthened their relationship more than being together would've. weird. well, that's life for you.

so, yeah, that's it. hope i didn't get too mushy with their reunion.

thanks for reading!