Chapter 62

"You have a Salamence?!" the bright chirping voice of a young girl sounded off to Tempest's left. She was pretty, by human standards. Her auburn hair was almost absurdly long, down to her waist, and her eyes were a bright shade of green. Tempest narrowed her gaze at the newcomer, lowering her pointed head to the ground.

"Uh…y-yeah," Tempest's trainer stammered as he watched the girl. There was an odd, unsteady quality to his voice.

"Oh, that's awesome!" the girl bounced, making her hair puff up. Tempest watched it float back down, as gentle as leaves falling in autumn. "Nobody ever brings any dragons here!"

"Really? That's-"

"What's his name?" the girl cut off Tempest's trainer, but he didn't seem to mind. What was more; she made the mistake of assuming Tempest was male. She wanted this girl gone, immediately.

"Well, it's…well…" her trainer stammered, hesitating for some reason she couldn't understand.

"I'm sorry," the girl paused to peer at the boy by Tempest's side, "what'd you say?"

"She."

"Huh?" the girl blinked.

"My Salamence is a she," Tempest thoroughly enjoyed the look of shock on the girl's face, "Her name is Tempest."

"Oh…oh, I'm sorry, Tempest. I didn't know."

Well, at least she apologized. Most people didn't care whether or not they insulted her. They just kept right on talking or battling or doing whatever they were doing without a second thought. A grievous mistake when it was a dragon that they had angered.

"It's okay…it…happens a lot," Tempest's trainer forgave the girl all too easily.

"Umm…is it okay if I come a bit closer?"

"Oh, sure," the boy offered, shocking Tempest more and more as this absurd situation escalated, "I mean…I think it's okay. She can be…a bit touchy around strangers."

"Uhh…okay. Well, here goes," the girl began to walk closer. Her eyes were, rightfully, wide with fear. Tempest snarled at her as she approached. Just a few more feet and she could bite her arm off. She snapped at the air in warning.

The girl let out a sharp, startled squeak and drew back.

"Tempest," the voice of her trainer had an unexpected edge to it.

He was standing by her shoulder, but with her head lowered to the ground, she had to peer up at him. His voice was calm, his eyes stern and commanding. The opposite of what he was in front of this small, weak little girl.

"Tempest," he said again, "be nice."

So she was.

She let the girl approach. She placed her hand on top of Tempest's head. It trembled at first, and then grew steady as Tempest obeyed her trainer's command.

"She's…warm," the girl said, somewhat surprised. She began to stroke Tempest's head, even more surprised by the smoothness of the scales. The girl's hands were soft to the touch and she was gentle and respectful as she stroked her. At least she was decent at that.

"Yeah, it's…" Tempest's trainer searched for words, "that's…well, dragons are warm-blooded. Not like…lizards, or…other stuff. Dragon Pokémon, anyway, I mean."

"I see…" the girl began to smile again as Tempest tolerated her touch. She wanted this girl to go away, but her trainer wanted her to stay. This was supposed to be a training session, but the girl had interrupted and the boy was forgetting why they had come.

"So…uhh…" once again, that nervousness took him over, "do you…uhh…live here?"

"Huh?" the girl started, "oh, yep! All my life. Born and raised here. It's quiet, but it's pretty."

"Yeah, it is," the boy nodded, looking away.

"You're with that boy…Ed, right?"

"Yeah. We're sort of Pokémon trainers." The girl smiled, amused by the idea of a "sort of" Pokémon trainer.

"Me too, actually," the girl replied, "well, except for the traveling part," she sighed before continuing, "Why'd you guys come to Himitsu Island? It's not exactly famous and there's no gym or tournament or anything."

"Somebody told Ed that this was the last place anybody saw Jirachi," the boy shrugged. His voice grew steadier as the conversation went on.

"Jirachi? I thought Jirachi wasn't real."

"Beats me. But there's all kinds of Pokémon legends. It doesn't seem right that they'd all be wrong."

The girl smiled again, "do you think you'll stay long?"

"I don't know. Depends on if we find anything."

"Oh, alright," at last, the girl stopped stroking Tempest's head and looked around, "I guess I'd better go. It was nice meeting you," she turned to the dragon, "and it was nice meeting you, Tempest." The Salamence scowled at her again.

"Oh…uhh…okay…" the boy stammered as the girl started bounding away, "wait! What's your name?!"

"My name?" she spun as she turned to look back, making her hair swirl again, "it's Rachel!"

Eight years had passed since they had met, on that day. Eight years and the memory was still fresh.

Flurry had told Tempest that she couldn't remember much of her life as a Glaceon, but Tempest was different. Maybe there were a few hazy spots from when she was a Bagon and a Shelgon, but most of those were memories she could do without anyway. None of the important memories started until she met Sky.

Himitsu Island was far below her as she glided through the air. In those eight years, it had undergone just as many changes as Tempest, River and Sky had. Eight years ago it was a calm, quiet, peaceful fishing village filled with local lore and superstition over the strange forest and volcano. The forest and the volcano remained untouched, but the fishing village was a city now. A tourist trap that survived on the human Pokémon tournament. A tournament that could barely even fund itself.

Tempest could see everything from this height. Her eyesight was good enough to distinguish between human and human Pokémon from a mile up. She could watch the entire island, but she doubted it would help anything.

Whisper could be anything. Sky had warned them all about it already. Zoroark could disguise themselves as any Pokémon. And Whisper had already proved that he could change into a human Pokémon. Even if they found him, he could change right back, undoing all the effort it took to find him the first time.

It'll be like searching for a needle in a haystack, Sky had told his search team, except even when you sit on the needle, it changes itself to look like a piece of hay again. He didn't have much confidence, but at least they could keep Whisper from attacking people openly.

It was no help that Whisper was a dark-type as well. The psychics, Astral and Farsight, wouldn't be able to find him even if they wanted to.

Speaking of the rest of Sky's human Pokémon, Tempest would not be shocked if she was the only one trying to find Whisper. All but she and Flurry had stopped listening to Sky as early as two years ago. They hated him and Tempest's threats were the only thing that kept them in line. Quickstep had been the first to try to leave, which was especially disheartening now because the human Mienshao would be the ideal choice to fight a Zoroark. The best choice and he was probably just goofing off.

Wait…never mind "probably," she could see him from here.

"Asshole," she muttered as she pulled up. She brought her gentle glide to a stop and hovered over the city, flapping her dark red wings to steady herself.

What to do? She could crash down on him and force him to search, but he'd stop again as soon as he thought Tempest wasn't watching. On the other hand, she was starting to get bored herself and scaring the daylights out of him might help to alleviate that.

Quickstep was a moron and a jackass, but maybe he had the right idea. They had already wasted a full day searching and come up with nothing.

She should go back to the hotel room and check on Sky, Flurry and Ian. Flurry was still mentally shaken from battling Whisper. She hadn't spoken about it, but Tempest had seen enough of Whisper to know why. Flurry was strong, but her spirit often seemed fragile to Tempest. She was the type of person that wanted to see good in everyone. When she had been attacked with such cruelty and been treated like a toy, it shocked her very being. Tempest, on the other hand, had been strong enough to do the same to Whisper, but held back because Sky had taught her how to be better.

Sky had done that. The Sky that she admired, at least. The Sky that had commanded her in their first battle in nearly three years. Not the Sky that lapsed back into a depression just a day afterward. For one brief moment Sky hadn't been thinking about River, but only about the opponent that threatened those he cared about.

Sometimes, Tempest hated RiverofTears. If it hadn't been for her, Sky wouldn't be like this. He wouldn't shut himself off from the world, crawling away and hiding. But the hatred never lasted.

Tempest hadn't liked River from the very beginning. Sky was someone else around her, but more than that, River had intruded on her life. Tempest was happy as a Salamence. Happy with a trainer that would guide her to victory after victory in tournaments in every region and every city all around the world. If only they hadn't been interrupted by a little girl who had been amazed to see a Salamence in a tiny island town.

But if it weren't for that same little girl, then Tempest wouldn't have her human face eight years later.

RiverofTears was down there. Tempest could even see the mansion where she had once lived. Was she still there? What was she doing now? The people of this island had loved her, before and after all of her Pokémon became human. She could be anything she wanted and she was the only member of the Four to remain here.

Tempest gazed at the house a while longer. The key to getting the strong Sky back was in there. One meeting was all it would take. Failure or success decided in a moment. They might forgive each other and become friends again, maybe even fall in love. Or they might not. But no matter which outcome, the future would be decided. One moment, one meeting, and years of not knowing what might be would be over.

The dragon-lady began to shake. Every time she thought about what she planned to do, her heart began to race and her throat felt dry. Was this what Sky felt when he thought about seeing River? When he thought about the slim difference between happiness and misery?

Maybe she was crazy to be forcing this. She was as terrified as he was what might happen, but he must know as well as her that it was the only way.

One moment. The most terrifying moment she could imagine.

Tempest could no longer stand to look at the house below her. RiverofTears was in there, she was certain. But she wasn't certain what the young woman might be thinking.

Rachel raised a hand up to block the sun. Luminous, her human Chandelure, had thrown the curtain wide, flooding her bedroom with unwelcome sunlight. She could only make out her butler's silhouette in the light, but she knew exactly what he looked like and it never changed. His suit and tie were a pure black, while his shirt was a light gray. However, on each shoulder, wrist, and on the top of his head, a total of five candles burned with an eerie blue flame. His eyes were a bright yellow made even more exotic from the light of the blue flames.

"What time is it?" Rachel furrowed her brow as she waited for her head to adjust to the change in light.

"Seven o'clock, madam," Luminous answered.

"Don't call me that," Rachel lowered her hand, feeling like she could see again, "I feel old when you call me that." She sat up and looked into the mirror across the room. Seeing herself, and the color of her hair, reminded her of her other name.

"My apologies," he bowed and seemed to think a moment, "miss."

"Thank you," RiverofTears told her self-appointed butler.

"Shall I get your breakfast, miss?" he asked.

"Sure," the young woman tossed the covers aside and stretched.

"I will only be a moment, miss," Luminous bowed again before melting through the floor on his way to the kitchen.

Once he was gone, River readjusted the curtains to her liking and crossed to her dresser. Though her family had money and River often enjoyed wearing something a bit fancier than a t-shirt and jeans, she was still a Pokémon trainer. She dressed quickly, but another glance in the mirror re-confirmed her suspicions that her hair would take a while this morning.

Though not as long as she used to wear it, her thick, auburn hair took a lot of care to maintain. Still, she was proud of it and was especially proud of the blue streak down the center. Teardrop helped her dye it and she still remembered the looks on the faces of Edge and Sky when she had presented it to them.

She looked out of the window again. The sky had been clear since the tournament had started, but now it was slowly turning gray. If not that day, then the next day, it would start raining.

Rain. Just in time for her second battle. She smiled at the thought. River loved the rain and so did most of her human Pokémon. Sky had often suggested using a Pokémon that could call the rain, but she didn't mind not having one. She wasn't as competitive as he and Edge were. She liked her friends the way that they were.

She had barely started combing her hair when Luminous knocked on the door with her breakfast. She called for him to come in and he placed a silver tray on her night stand. When she thanked him, he once again melted through the floor. He only needed to use doors when he was carrying something solid. The food would get stuck against the ceiling when he tried to pass through.

River smirked to herself at the mental image. Luminous had been a gift from her grandfather. Her grandfather who had taught her everything he knew about Pokémon. Her grandfather, who was back on the island with Edge and Sky.

What name had they picked for him? Aurum? That must have been it. It sounded like something Sky would come up with. He always said he wasn't good with names, but River always liked them.

They were all back now. Three years they had been gone, but they were home again.

Would they stay this time? No, probably not. They were all hiding, too. River hadn't seen any of them in Round One. She would eventually, though. The tournament ensured that. She would see her grandfather again in Round Three and Edge and Sky would see each other again in the semi-final.

But would they ever be in the same place again?

Teardrop, Briar, and Pixie had all met up with another group of Sky's and Edge's human Pokémon. They missed each other and wasted no time once they were back on the island. Why couldn't the humans act like that? Whatever happened, it was over. Couldn't they just forgive each other?

It could be that simple. It wasn't too late.

But RiverofTears wasn't a little girl anymore. It had hurt to lose those bonds that had brought them together. Hurt like that wasn't easily forgotten.

And three years was a long time. They were home, but were they the same as when they left? River herself had changed quite a lot in that time. She wasn't a child anymore. They wouldn't know her and she wouldn't know them.

She wanted to believe differently, but she knew the truth. Going back was impossible.

She reached over to the night-stand and picked up the small ring. Instead of a diamond, a small sapphire decorated the top. She admired it for a few seconds, as she did every morning, before slipping it on her left hand. When she did, she became Rachel again.

Her fiancé wasn't a Pokemon trainer, like her, but it didn't matter. If her own hadn't evolved into humans, Rachel doubted that she would still call herself a Pokemon trainer. Those days were over, for her. She had more important responsibilities these days. She was building a life here and her island needed her.

She looked back at the clock on the nightstand. There was still plenty of time before she had to meet with Alfred Silph. As a representative of the city council, it was her job to discuss all of the grand ideas that Silph had planned for their little island. He had a habit of deciding key details at the last possible minute. It fell to Rachel to keep him in line because she knew him personally. It was going to be boring and tedious, but it would keep him from ruining Himitsu Island more than what he had already.

Briefly, she wondered about her choice of dress. But then she remembered that Silph didn't want to meet Rachel, he wanted to meet RiverofTears. He expected a Pokemon trainer with her hair dyed to reflect her pseudonym and ready to fight in his precious tournament. If she dressed the way she went to council meetings, it would be more difficult to talk him out of his grand schemes.

Still, she shouldn't think too much ill of Alfred Silph. True, most everything that he built for the tournament was useless without it and the city became a ghost town, but the money it made for the little island could not be ignored. Sometimes Rachel didn't even recognize the quiet little island that she had grown up on.

Rachel sighed and fingered her engagement ring a while longer. She really was all grown up if these were the things that she worried about. Pokemon battles were always so far from her mind, these days. Whenever she looked in that mirror and saw her hair and the way she was dressed…how could she be that girl and the woman she was now at the same time?

She could only be one. And whenever she looked at the sapphire in her ring, she knew the answer. Her fiancé had been sure to give her a little reminder; a piece of what she was before and what she would carry with her.

A week ago she had dyed her hair for the tournament and become RiverofTears, but it wouldn't last. The dye would fade and she would become Rachel once again.

AN: can you tell that I kinda wanted to name him Lumiere? I COULD, of course, but I feel like that would confuse the two a little too much. They have very different personalities, even though they're both candle-based butlers…

Thanks for reading!