Chapter 45

Eric was frozen in place, staring at Tsunami's collapsed form. He had watched the conclusion of the battle in mortified silence. Hardly daring to breathe, he watched his human Swampert fight a battle that would end in either his death or a meaningless victory.

He would've stayed like that for hours if the stadium platform around him hadn't begun to slowly lower itself.

His mind was still numb. Ever since the second Air Slash had ripped through Tsunami's shoulder, the match had been over. At least, it should have been over. Tsunami should have stopped, should have given up, but he hadn't. Why did he have to do something like that? Why take such a stupid risk?

Eric had wanted to beat Farin's crazed human Crobat too…but for Tsunami to risk his life…. How stupid could he be?

"That was an interesting display, just now," Farin's cold voice crackled through the speaker, "tell me, how did you get him to do that?"

Eric didn't bother answering. It figured that Farin wouldn't know that human Pokémon could override their usual limits. None of the pitiful, warped creations that fought for him wanted to die for him. But, on the other hand, Eric was already wishing that it wasn't possible.

The platform shook as it touched the ground, jolting Eric out of his paralysis. He shot out onto the field, racing towards Tsunami as fast as his legs could carry him. Amidst the blood, the dirt, and the spots of poisonous sludge, Eric slid down and knelt by his adopted father.

Tsunami's breath was ragged and irregular, but distinct. He was alive, just unconscious.

Eric sat back and exhaled. He remained there, panting in a mixture of terror and relief. Eric wouldn't be able to take it if Tsunami hadn't survived. Eric had already buried one set of parents in his short life, another would break him.

He wondered why Tsunami had taken such a stupid risk. If just one more attack had hit him, Tsunami would've been killed. A gamble like that in a match like this…what had he wanted that was worth risking his life?

But Eric already knew. He had started the fight seeking revenge against Farin. The man represented everything that Eric hated in his life. Farin had tortured him and nearly succeeded in tearing his family apart. It wasn't planned that way, but it made little difference to Eric. Blinded by anger, he had sought revenge. He had used Fernelia and Tsunami as weapons. He had used his parents as weapons.

It wasn't until Tsunami went over the edge and began risking his life that Eric saw the error in what he was trying to do. Tsunami had stopped obeying him and acted out of foolish pride; attacking an opponent in a fight where they stood to gain nothing.

Eric had done the exact same thing.

He was just like his dad…

The thought made a smile crack across Eric's face.

He was just like Tsunami. The idea had never occurred to him before. But he felt that was a good thing. That was the way that family should be.

But most importantly, his family was tired and hurt. They needed him and here he was moping in the center of the stadium, with a crowd of people staring down at him.

He withdrew Tsunami's Pokéball and recalled him. His unconscious form faded as the red light enveloped him. Then he was gone. Eric stood up to leave, never looking back at the crowd. The boy needed to get to the Pokémon Center.

And once Fernelia and Tsunami were fully recovered, he would have to yell at Tsunami for taking such a selfish risk. Because that was something else that families did.

"I hope they're alright…" Maple prayed as she watched Eric leave the stadium.

"Yeah…" Mark nodded, relieved that Tsunami had taken no more damage after passing his limit, "Tsunami should be okay. I think he's just knocked out. That was too close, though…" He sighed and sat back as far as sitting on a bleacher would allow him to.

After Mark's outburst, the other patrons took on a more subdued attitude towards the fight. Some wondered if, perhaps, the boy had realized something that they hadn't. But most were simply confused, maybe even a little agitated that somebody had the nerve to try and interrupt the match. It hadn't lasted much longer anyway and the attempt Mark had made to save Tsunami's life was easily ignored.

As the other patrons filed out of the stadium around them, several shot Mark strange looks of angered disapproval. Such looks of malcontent hurt Mark, but he knew that he could endure it. He knew why he had done what he did and he would have gladly repeated it.

But after the fourth time this happened, Mark started to feel very uneasy.

"Come on," he urged the two human Pokémon girls next to him, "let's get out of here."

Cherry shook her head.

The crowd was up and moving again and her fear had returned with it. She wasn't going anywhere for a long time.

"Right…wait a second, I'm stupid…" Mark shook his head and scoffed at his earlier absent-mindedness as he removed Cherry's Pokéball from his belt, "we can just take you down in this."

The little girl looked at the ball a long time.

"Do I have to?" she said meekly, her small face crinkling with worry.

"Now, what's wrong?" there was an uncharacteristic edge to Mark's voice.

"It's…small in there," Cherry explained.

"Dammit…" Mark groaned. Of course. Cherry had a fear of crowds and small spaces. He supposed that he couldn't hold it against her. After all, he didn't want to think about how many new personality quirks he'd pick up after spending three months in a Team Deus prison.

"I'm sorry…" Cherry squeaked and inched closer to Maple. The Leafeon-girl's presence was becoming much more comforting than the human boy's at the moment.

"No, it's okay," Mark agreed with clear reluctance, "we can just wait, then. It's not like we're in a hurry." He shrugged and began watching the crowd as they emptied the stadium.

Cherry and Maple followed his lead, no less uneasy. This particular side of Mark was a rarity and neither one of them had seen it before. Exactly what was wrong? Was he upset over the crowd's refusal to listen? Or was it just the disapproval of a small minority that irked him so much?

But even Mark didn't know the answer, and they were forced to drop the subject.

After a few minutes, Maple spoke, trying to lift the mood.

"It was a good match, though," she smiled and nodded to herself, "I didn't know Fernelia was that strong."

"The Tropius-lady?" Cherry asked, "yeah, me neither."

"I'm still really happy that Tsunami beat that horrible Crobat, too," Maple added, "He and Fernelia each got one!"

"Yeah!" Cherry's enthusiasm began building again as the two Pokémon girls relived the match, "I mean, Farin really won, but Eric kinda…tied with him. So, it's not all bad!"

The enthusiasm between the two girls continued to build as the stadium emptied.

As they sat there discussing Eric's match, Mark began to feel left out. He became worried about his unexplained, short-tempered attitude and the effect it had on Cherry and Maple. Then he began to worry about what was becoming of his relationship, whatever it was, with the two of them.

It wasn't long before his head started to hurt and he felt like he needed a change in scenery. But Cherry wasn't ready to leave for another ten minutes.

"You stupid, selfish, asshole!" Eric screamed at Tsunami in the patient's room of the Pokémon Center, an hour later, "why the hell did you think that was a good idea?" Eric, of course, already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear Tsunami say it.

Tsunami did not meet Eric's gaze as he put his ripped shirt and jacket back on. The wounds on his shoulders had closed back up and he was once again at the peak of his health. For a human Pokémon, there was little that a good Revive and Hyper Potion couldn't fix.

"Is it true, Tsunami?" Fernelia sat in the corner of the room. Small spots of purple goo, left behind by the Crobat's Sludge Bomb, dotted her forest green and earth brown dress. She too was once again fully healed, but Tsunami could not ignore the hurt in her voice and eyes.

It was stupid. And selfish of him to risk his life just for the sake of his pride. He had no excuse. He had ignored Eric's orders and continued fighting a losing battle.

How could he have so easily forgotten what was more important?

"It's true," Tsunami admitted, "I...just..." He let the sentence drop and started over, "they hurt us. I wasn't going to let them get away with that. I won't let anyone hurt our family."

Fernelia stood up, walked over to him and slapped him, hard, across his face.

"And what would our family be if we lost you?" Fernelia yelled, "I don't care what excuse you have! If you leave us, I won't forgive you!" Tsunami stood stock still and stared at Fernelia. He had never seen her this angry before.

"I'm sorry," Tsunami whispered as Fernelia began to cry, "you're right. It was stupid," he stretched his arms around her and held her, "and it won't happen again."

"Do you mean that?" Eric was so touched by his parents' embrace that he nearly dropped his act and joined them. But he wasn't finished. He needed to hear Tsunami say it and mean it. Eric had forgiven him, but he needed to make sure Tsunami really wasn't going to risk his life the next time.

Tsunami looked down at his son and thought about what that meant. He had suffered for him, fought for him, bled for him, and he was more than willing to die for him. But when he had risked his life against the Crobat, he hadn't done it for Eric; he had done it for himself. As Eric said, that was selfish of him. If he had died it wouldn't have been for Eric, it would've been for himself. His heart sank with the shame of it.

"Yes," he said. He released Fernelia and walked over to Eric and knelt in front of him, "I mean that. If I die, I won't-"

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE!" Eric screamed. He took a deep breath in and out. Tsunami's eyes were wide with shock over Eric's outburst. After a moment, he continued, "I don't care what reason you have. I don't want you to die..."

"Fair enough," Tsunami nodded and hugged his son, "then I promise not to die."

Eric was old enough, and mature enough, to know that Tsunami couldn't possibly keep a promise like that. Still, it helped to hear him say that. Maybe if he believed it hard enough then it could be true. Promising not to die was a lie. But Eric wanted to believe that lie too much.

"Okay..." Eric pulled away from Tsunami and nodded, "I forgive you, then."

There was the ghost of a smile around the edges of Eric's mouth. Tsunami had hoped for better, but he decided that he didn't deserve it yet. He would have to earn it back from Eric.

There was a soft knock on the door followed by the even softer voice of the Blissey-nurse from the opposite side.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," she apologized, "but you have some visitors. A Mark Diamond wishes to see you."

Eric called out to let Mark, Maple and Cherry into the room. They were a welcome sight after what Eric's family had been through that morning. The two girls seemed as cheerful as ever, however, Mark looked a bit more distant and care-worn than usual.

Actually, no, that wasn't quite right. Fernelia was the only one to notice, but she managed to pick up on Maple's subtle uneasiness. She suspected that she was worried about Mark. Fernelia also took note that the Leafeon-girl was becoming more adept at hiding her concern.

"Sorry about that battle," Mark began, a little awkwardly, "I mean, having to go up against Farin like that."

"It's okay," Eric answered, though it was obvious that he didn't feel okay, "it's...part of the tournament, I guess."

"Right..." Mark still found it unfair that opponents were selected at random, but he was at least coming to terms with it.

"You did really well!" Maple, as always, was cheerful and quick to help lighten the mood, but she was only slightly less awkward than Mark, "I mean, in a way you sorta tied with him. That's pretty good!"

"Thanks," Eric nodded, a little more cheerful, himself.

Mark turned to look at Tsunami. Aside from the rips in his jacket, the Swampert-man appeared fine. That was a relief, to say the least, but Mark wasn't quite sure how to say what came next.

"Are you...feeling okay?" he tried. He could've done worse.

"Me?" Tsunami asked, "yeah, I'm fine," then he remembered Mark's attempt at ending the fight, "oh, yeah...sorry to have to worry you. But, thanks for looking out for me." He said it with genuine sincerity.

"Oh," Mark began, "well, as long as you're okay." He felt a little bit better knowing that Tsunami appreciated the help, even if he had ignored it at the time. However, Eric and Fernelia shifted a little. Tsunami's brief moment of life-risking battling was clearly a sensitive issue. Mark began worrying if he and the other two Pokémon-girls were intruding.

"What's wrong with you two?" Cherry asked with a fantastic lack of tact.

Eric and Fernelia snapped to attention at the small Charmander-girl's question. They stared at her in silence, unsure of how to respond.

"Cherry," Mark warned, "please."

"'Please' what?" she countered, "I just asked what's wrong."

"Uhh..." Mark stammered, thrown off-balance by Cherry's bluntness, "well, you should be more polite."

The girl peered up at her trainer, her eyes asking why politeness was an issue. But Mark had no response prepared and he stared back with an equal amount of confusion.

"It's okay, Mark," Fernelia spoke for herself and Eric, "we're just tired from the battle. It's nothing serious." Lying was unfamiliar ground for Fernelia and she fooled no one.

"Oh, alright," Mark was almost too willing to let the matter drop. He supposed that he had no real right to grill them for an answer.

"That's not true," once again, Cherry bluntly pointed out the truth. Her talent for picking out lies was one that she could use very often.

"Cherry, stop it!" Mark scolded her this time.

She shot her gaze directly at Mark, challenging him. Her emerald eyes narrowed as if to ask who he thought he was to talk to her like that. She had no reason to fear him. They were friends and she had relied on him before, but that alone wouldn't be enough to force her to back down. In her eyes, she had done nothing wrong. Whatever he was accusing her of, she was innocent.

Mark, on the other hand, nearly folded right at the beginning. He had helped rescue this girl just the day before. She had been so small and scared then. And even as they walked around Himitsu Island together, Cherry seemed like a perfectly agreeable little girl.

But, maybe that wasn't what she wanted.

It was true, Cherry had been weak and scared when they found her. She had been forgotten and abandoned in her cell. Mark and the others had taken her away and helped her, but they still knew next to nothing about what happened to her down there.

What if she felt like the same thing was happening to her again, but only above-ground? It made absolute sense. Out of one prison where she had learned to trust no one, into another. She could walk around in this prison, but if she was still restricted from doing what she wanted, what difference did it make?

But Mark hadn't been trying to restrict her. He was just trying to be sensitive to Eric and Fernelia. Cherry didn't see the point in such sensitivity. How could he teach her that? More importantly, how could he teach her that this wasn't the Team Deus base; that she could trust him?

The others in the room likewise didn't know what to do in the face of Cherry's defiance. Maple was especially fearful as she watched her trainer and her newfound little sister fight. As it was, the other four were watching what was rapidly becoming a temper tantrum. But they all knew what the problem was. After all, Mark had not even been her trainer for twenty-four hours yet. There was still plenty that he needed to learn about her before she respected him.

That standard was one that held true even for normal Pokémon.

"So..." Eric tried, "did you guys want something? Or just coming to say 'hi'?"

"Oh," Mark blinked and pulled away from his confrontation with Cherry, "well, there was one thing." He noticed Cherry subtly grinning in satisfaction as he turned away.

Backing down from his human Charmander was, in all likelihood, a terrible decision. Mark knew it in an instant, but he had no idea how to handle Cherry just then. Their relationship was new and strange to him. He wasn't ready for a direct confrontation with her. He needed more time...

"I wanted to talk to you about finding one of the Four," Mark looked directly at Eric, trying his best not to imagine that grin on Cherry's face growing bigger after her victory.

"Oh, sure," Eric nodded, quickly, "good idea."

"I've heard PureBlueSky has a match tonight, if you're interested," Tsunami pointed out.

"Really?" Mark brightened at this turn of events. Suddenly, he envisioned meeting PureBlueSky in the same way that he had met Aurum. Aurum had been hard and gruff on the outside, but he had still agreed to help Mark and Maple. Perhaps PureBlueSky would do the same.

Remembering Aurum, Mark wondered what had happened to the old man. The last time he had seen him was during his match against Tristan. After it was over, Aurum and Katana had both vanished as if they hadn't been there at all.

In truth, Aurum was going to be angry the next time Mark saw him. He dreaded the thought, but it would be good to see the Golden Trainer again. He had taught Mark and Maple too much for Mark to truly dislike him.

"Do you two want to go to another match today?" Mark smiled at Maple and Cherry. Maple, of course, grinned back and nodded eagerly. Cherry, however, tried to hide her excitement, but Mark saw through her easily. It was a quick fix, but she had forgiven him. for the moment.

The small, red-headed Charmander-girl grinned and nodded slowly.

There was another knock on the door and the Blissey-nurse announced the arrival of another one of their friends. This time, the small group turned to see Lily entering, followed closely by the always vigilant Shinobi.

"I'm sorry," Lily said in a meek voice, "I came as soon as I heard. Are you okay?"

"We'll live," Eric said bobbing his head side to side, debating whether or not they really were okay. The phrase itself had taken on a new meaning. After all, the three of them living had been something that he had taken for granted when he woke up that morning.

The nurse closed the door behind Shinobi. When the latch sounded, the others in the room realized that no one else was going to be following Lily and her human Ninjask into the room.

"Umm...Lily?" Maple was the first to show her concern over it, "where are Silver and Aroma?"

"Huh?" Lily turned to face Maple, "Aroma and Silvy? Oh, they're off by themselves." She spoke in a hurry, as if eager to get the words out quickly.

"Is something wrong?" Tsunami asked.

"No, no..." Lily shook her head, "they're fine. They're not in any trouble; they just wanted to be alone for a little while." Maple glanced at Shinobi as he crouched by Lily's side. She watched him sigh ever so slightly and close his crimson eyes. She also sensed that he was in pain. Not physical pain, but an emotional pain. That was certainly strange...

"Well, as long as they're okay," Mark shrugged.

"Yeah..." Lily nodded.

The rest of the room moved on, but Maple continued to worry over Silver and Aroma. The thing that bothered her most had been Shinobi's strange reaction to what Lily had said. Maple had never seen Shinobi show any kind of emotion. What did that mean?

She thought about how Lily answered. Silver and Aroma were "off by themselves." But Lily had told them earlier that morning that their group had been training. Shouldn't they have been together? And wasn't it odd for them to split up again so quickly after being reunited in the underground of the Team Deus base?

Something else was going on. Something that the others didn't notice.

Maple looked over at Cherry. She wondered why the Charmander-girl, who was so adept at picking out a person's lies, did not notice.

Lily was telling the truth, Maple realized. But there was more to it than that. And why did it bother her so much?

She blinked a few times and thought. Then she remembered something important.

Back when she and Mark had first arrived, they met Silver and Lily in the hotel room. Silver had been running away from Lily at the time, causing the young girl to slip into a mild depression. Maple could clearly remember the hurt that had been in her eyes that day.

She remembered Silver's strength and determination to rescue Aroma from Team Deus. She remembered each of their expressions when they had been reunited in the prison.

Then Maple very clearly saw the whole picture. Silver and Aroma were in love with each other, but Lily was also in love with Silver. Maple didn't know the expression of a "love triangle," but now she knew the pain that Lily was trying to hide.

She wanted to hug the poor girl, but she didn't think it would be enough to help.

"Who's PureBlueSky?" Lily was asking Mark.

"Uhh…" he turned to look around the room, but he realized that everyone there was a newcomer to the tournament. None of them had ever seen PureBlueSky. They only knew about him from what others had told them.

"Nobody really knows," Tsunami shrugged, "he hasn't been seen in three years. All we know is that he's the champion of the last tournament…and probably the strongest trainer in the world."

"Oh…" Lily wasn't quite sure how to respond, "that's neat, I guess. But he's fighting tonight, right?"

"Yeah," Mark nodded, "our plan is to go to the fight and try to meet up with him afterwards."

"Okay," Lily nodded, "then I guess I'll go to, then."

"Great!"

"It'll be good to pick up some tips," Lily grinned slyly, "then I can use them against you."

"Huh?"

"Oh, didn't you know?" Tsunami half-smiled at Mark's dumbstruck expression, "you and Lily are fighting each other in the next round of the tournament."

Mark's gaze slowly swiveled back from Tsunami to look at the girl standing in front of him. She smiled and nodded, her hazel eyes glinting a bit.

"It will be an honor to face you in battle," Shinobi turned towards Maple and lowered his head, in a show of respect.

Maple looked down at him and remembered the incredible amount of power he had shown against Lionel, Farin and the rest of Team Deus.

"Umm…you too?" Was all she could think to say.

AN: yep, Mark vs. Lily is happening. And once again, they have a lot of training to do.