Chapter 74
They gave her that?! Quickstep thought when Maple's eyes began to glow red, Aurum, what the hell were you thinking?
Apparently, Astral had left out a key detail of Maple's training when he told Quickstep that Aurum had a new apprentice. They had given the girl the ability to use the Red State. Even if it was meant to make the girl strong in a short amount of time, it was too risky. Too many things could go wrong with it.
Even amongst the Four, few human Pokémon could use the Red State. In fact, there weren't any on RiverofTears's entire team. Quickstep had it, but outside of a battle with Edge he refrained from using it. In truth, it scared him. And he was well within his rights to be scared. After all, Tempest, the first to evolve into a human and the first to access the Red State, had come dangerously close to killing both River and Sky when she triggered it by accident. Even now, Tempest had difficulty controlling it. Especially when combined with Outrage.
The little Leafeon-girl in front of him did not have the experience that Tempest did. Maybe she wasn't quite the angry bitch that Tempest could be, but Aurum had given Maple a box of matches without any way to put out the fire. She could easily lose the control she did have.
Quickstep tilted his head back as Maple's Leafblade came within a centimeter of his nose. The girl was so fast and strong, Quickstep had difficulty believing it. She had come to the island a two-week old, baby, human Pokémon. Six days later, she was just about on par with Quickstep and the rest of the human Pokémon underneath the Four.
And all of it was thanks to the Red State glowing in her eyes.
The power boost was impressive, but how much control did she have? Throughout their sparring match, Quickstep had seen her eyes flare brightly several times. Whenever she managed to draw blood, her attacks increased to the point of savagery. Thankfully, Quickstep was quick enough to be able to stay ahead of her most of the time. Whenever she did draw blood, it was little more than a trickle and they always stopped shortly after it happened to heal their wounds.
Without her trainer's influence, if Maple scored a true hit there would be no stopping her.
But Maple never suspected Quickstep's concerns as they fought each other.
The Leafeon-girl was more concerned with keeping up with the human Mienshao. Most of his attacks were kicks that came quickly and suddenly. His long sleeves moved frequently and served to distract her. They hid the direction of his next attack until just a split second before it happened. His kicks were awesomely powerful, too. It took only one or two direct hits before Maple was coughing up blood and they would have to stop for a break.
Even still, fighting Quickstep was easier than fighting Katana. Maple could take more hits from Katana, but against the Weavile-woman, Maple often felt like she was slashing at the wind. Fighting Quickstep hurt, a lot, but she hurt him plenty as well. They stopped to heal his wounds more and more frequently.
The best moment of the afternoon came just over an hour into their sparring match.
Maple was coming at Quickstep in her usual spinning attack, slashing with her leaf-like tail. She missed three times before stopping. As her back was turned, Quickstep's right leg came up, aiming for her shoulder. Unable to see the attack, but knowing it was coming, Maple ducked underneath it while simultaneously bringing her tail up in an arc, behind her. Leaping into the air, she slashed up Quickstep's right side. The attack cut a long slash from mid-waist to shoulder, ripping his shirt and letting out a river of blood.
Sweet victory screaming in her ears, Maple pressed the attack, ready to finish her partner and claim her second victory over one of the Four's human Pokémon.
But then, Quickstep's eyes began to glow red.
Maple had dropped her defenses as she closed in, but that gave Quickstep the chance he needed to stop her. His left leg snapped forward like a whip and struck Maple in the stomach. Shouting in pain, Maple bounced backwards along the ground.
Before she stopped, she managed to regain her footing. She lifted her head back up and launched herself at her opponent.
"Maple, STOP!" Quickstep screamed.
Skidding to a halt, Maple remembered their agreement to stop whenever someone was bleeding. How had she forgotten that?
"Oh, no!" she cried, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" As she apologized, she released the Red State. But, for some reason, she was sad to feel it go this time. Had it ever done that before?
"It's alright…" Quickstep grimaced in pain as he clutched his bleeding side, "I'm still up. Just grab a Hyper Potion and quick!"
Maple raced over to the bag of food and medicine Quickstep had borrowed from the Meadow Sisters and fumbled through it for the potion. There were still several bottles of blue liquid in the side pouch. She rushed one over to Quickstep and knelt with him while he drained the bottle.
A few moments later, Quickstep's wound began to close and the blood dried on his injured body. Sucking in a deep breath, Quickstep felt the pain fade completely. He looked over at Maple, her light-brown eyes wide with alarm. It was so difficult to grasp how deadly the little blond girl was.
That had been too close. If Quickstep hadn't activated his own Red State at the last moment, Maple could have, and probably would have, killed him. He couldn't blame her, though. That was just how the Red State worked. Without training and without Mark to help calm her, the Red State would just take over.
Quickstep cursed his stupidity. This training session was a horrible idea. He should have stopped it the moment her eyes started glowing red. Maple was already in a fragile emotional state. Her trainer was ignoring her, nobody wanted to help their cause, and she was lost and confused around total strangers. With all of that, it was kind of surprising she could hold the Red State back at all.
"Why did Aurum teach you that, anyway?" he couldn't help but ask.
"Teach me what?" Maple asked innocently.
"The Red State," Quickstep shook his head, "that is some seriously dangerous crap they decided to dump on you."
"Oh," Maple hung her head, "that…" When she blinked, she remembered the time when she had fought Coraline. She only remembered failing to keep up with her and slowly losing the fight. Then there was a blank and the Banette-girl's slashed and bloody body was lying on the ground in front of her.
"Why the hell did they do that?" Quickstep asked again.
"I don't know…" Maple whimpered, "It was Katana's idea. But, I needed to get strong. We needed to win our match…"
"All that just for a stupid tournament?" Quickstep scoffed. Sometimes he hated how much people blindly loved Silph's beloved "Evolution Cup." The whole thing was meant to bring together human Pokémon and their trainers. It accomplished that well enough, but the tournament itself was a glorified showcase. It was an excuse, not the true reason for coming to Himitsu Island.
But there were also those where the tournament was the true reason they were here. For those people, winning meant a lot and sometimes it was everything. Sky was one of those people and it was one more reason Quickstep hated him. Winning a Pokémon battle proved nothing. That wasn't what they were for.
"Listen," Quickstep put a hand on Maple's shoulder, "there's no way to take that back. But, promise me something."
"Umm…what?" Maple drew back a tiny bit from his touch. It wasn't right.
"You're already stronger than most of the Pokémon in the entire world," he explained, "so, what's the point in getting stronger if it means using something like that?"
Maple hung her head again and thought about that. Mark had told her something like that before. Back when they had first arrived. She didn't have to fight at all if she didn't want to. They could stop whenever they wanted and nothing would change. She could just spend the rest of the tournament with Mark and forget about getting stronger.
Maple shook her head and lifted Quickstep's hand from her shoulder.
"I know," she nodded, "but I want to get stronger. I really do. I want to be like you and Katana and Tempest. I can do it. I know I can." She moved away from Quickstep. It was time for her to go, "I'm sorry that I hurt you, I really am. But I'll get better at it."
"That's not what I'm worried about," Quickstep warned.
"I'll be fine," Maple snapped back, "don't worry about me so much. I don't want you to protect me."
"Maple!" Quickstep shot to his feet, "Dammit, I-"
"I hate to interrupt," a calm, polite voice cut off Quickstep, "but I'm afraid it's time for Maple to leave us."
Maple turned around to see a human Bronzong standing just behind her. She stood up to greet him…or her. It was a little hard to tell.
"Umm…I'm sorry," Maple apologized, "who are you?"
"My name is Astral, child," the Bronzong answered, "I serve EdgeoftheEarth and I am the eyes and ears of the Four."
Child? Maple thought. She was getting sick of people treating her like a baby.
"My apologies," Astral bowed his head slightly, "would 'young lady' be more appropriate?"
"Huh?" Maple stared at him, "did you just-?"
"Read your thoughts?" Astral grinned slightly, "Yes, I did. I apologize for that, as well. Many do not appreciate it. However, it is an excellent way to gather information."
"Umm…"
"But on to the matter at hand," Astral continued, "I believe I must inform you that your trainer has finished his duties somewhat earlier than expected. He has started searching for you…and is not likely to know of your presence here."
"Mark's looking for me!" half-panicking, Maple looked around in alarm. She needed to leave right away.
Astral pointed to her bouquet of flowers, forgotten on the ground just a few feet away. Maple rushed over to scoop them up and dashed away.
"You'll find him in the center of town!" Astral called after her, "but be wary, it's not likely he'll be in a positive mind set!"
Well, Mark thought, at least she's not hurt.
His brief conversation with Lily still bothered him. Ever since meeting her, Mark had never really understood Lily. She was always pleasant and cheerful, but there was something forced about it. It was as if she were hiding something.
But what could she have to hide? She should know that she could trust Mark. If there was anything that he could do to help, he would. So, what was happening that she didn't want to share? He had no idea.
It was strange to think that he would be fighting her in just two more days. Unlike his fight against Tristan, he and Lily were not enemies, but friends. Instead, Mark had seen him as a dangerous enemy that had threatened him and Maple. Even if he wasn't really evil, it had been easier to fight Tristan.
Mark had no second thoughts about fighting Tristan, but Lily was not Tristan. Lily was not the dangerous and unstable opponent Tristan had been. Instead, she was a meek, though cheerful girl who had come to the tournament just to meet people and make friends. And wasn't that what Pokémon battles were really all about, in the end?
Battles between friends were far from unheard of and it was common for a Pokémon battle to bring two people closer. So why was he suddenly so worried about fighting Lily?
Mark shook his head. He was worried about Lily, sure, but it had nothing to do with their battle. Two friends could fight a Pokémon battle without hurting that friendship. He needed to remind himself of that.
"So, where are we going, now?" Cherry asked as they left the hotel behind.
"Kim said that she usually hangs around the beach," Mark explained, "so, that should be where we can find them."
Mark and Cherry made their way to the beach. On the way there, Mark realized that the beach was the only remaining area on the island that he hadn't visited yet. While the forest and volcano dominated the western half of the island, the city took up the eastern half. From there, the shipping docks took up the southeastern coast and the public beaches were along the northeastern coast. It was a half-hour walk from the hotel.
They could hear and smell the ocean before they could see it. The sound of rushing waves against the shore drifted far inland. Though he had Surfed with his Pokémon before, Mark had never ventured out into the open ocean. Himitsu Island was the most exotic and faraway place he had ever been to.
However, he was a little underwhelmed at seeing Himitsu Island's beaches. It was a short beach-line, maybe only a hundred yards between the city pavement and the ocean. Still, the water looked clean, blue, and free of pollution. Not to mention that the ocean itself always had a kind of awe-inspiring quality to it. Mark didn't count himself as a beach-lover, but he knew enough to say that Himitsu Island had what mattered.
There was a volleyball game being played between a mixed group of human Pokémon. There were no humans playing; as they would undoubtedly be outclassed by the physically stronger human Pokémon.
The net spanned about thirty feet of the beach and had ten players for each side. As Mark came closer, he realized that all of the players were men.
He soon recognized Volt amongst them, aggressively chasing after the ball regardless of where it was heading. Unfortunately, his play-style worked against him as a human Ambipom seized the chance to score and spiked the ball right into the section that Volt was supposed to be defending. Volt screamed out in rage and shot a Thunderbolt skyward to vent. The others barely took notice and only chuckled a little before the game continued.
But a familiar voice called out, taunting the human Raichu.
"It's just a game, Volt!"
Underneath the shade of a beach umbrella, Sprinkle looked like a mermaid, stretched out with her tail curled up next to her, occasionally flopping up and down a bit. There were two more muscular, male human Pokémon close by her, but she acted as though their presence was a given. The rest of the beach was an even mix between men, women, and their human Pokémon. Yet, it seemed to Mark that Sprinkle was somehow the centerpiece of the whole beach.
It took a few moments to find Kim, who was about ten feet behind Sprinkle and her entourage. Still in sneakers and jeans, she was not dressed for the beach as her Vaporeon-girl was. Mark could see a baseball bat lying in the sand close by. However, he began to grow worried as he scanned the beach. Maple was not with them.
Mark began to weave his way through the crowd of beach-goers. He headed directly for Kim, though he couldn't help but glance towards Sprinkle as he got closer. The Vaporeon-girl was astoundingly attractive, there was no denying it.
"Best idea I've ever had," Kim sighed aloud as Mark approached, "I mean, look at it," she waved at the volleyball game, "they get to show off, be 'manly,' and fight for Sprinkle's attention. And I don't have to scream at them to give her space. Everybody wins!"
"This was your idea?" Mark asked.
"Yep," Kim nodded, "bought the net and a few volleyballs and the rest took care of itself."
"Okay…" Mark didn't really understand what she was talking about, but she seemed happy. Still, there was a reason he was here.
"Kim?"
"Yeah?"
"Where's Maple?"
"Oh…yeah…" Kim sighed deeply, "uhh…I guess I should apologize. I didn't think you'd be back this soon…"
"Apologize for what?" Mark pressed, his voice growing impatient, "where is she? I left her with you for a reason."
"Yeah, I know," Kim nodded, her own voice rising along with Mark's, "but I'm sure she's fine. I mean, she can take care of herself. She's a big girl."
"Kim," Mark insisted, "I'll ask one more time. Where's Maple?"
"Ugh…" Kim bit her lip, "you're gonna kill me…she went off with this guy. Some human Mienshao named Quickstep."
"She did what?" Mark stared, "with who?"
"I don't know!" Kim snapped, "I don't know who he was. He just said he was with PureBlueSky or something. But Maple seemed to trust him, so, I let her go."
"You let her go with somebody you didn't know?"
"Yeah, what of it?" Kim retorted, "She's not five."
"She's younger than that!" Mark burst out, "She's not even three!"
His mind suddenly went into a panic. It was the biker incident all over again. He lost Maple and she was off with somebody that he didn't know and couldn't trust. If Kim didn't know this "Quickstep" he could be anybody. He could be Whisper in disguise for all they knew!
"Kim…" Mark kept his voice relatively calm as he felt himself boiling over, "tell me you know where they went."
"The hotel," Kim sighed, "like I said, the guy said he was with PureBlueSky. They were going to visit somebody. I forget who."
"Thanks," Mark rolled his eyes, "you've been a huge help."
"HEY!" Kim shot to her feet, deciding she wouldn't take this any longer, "maybe you forgot, but I didn't exactly volunteer to look after Maple! Maybe if you had the balls to be honest with her we wouldn't be in this situation!"
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Mark yelled back. Cherry began to shrink away as the two friends screamed at each other.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Kim screeched, "The girl's in love with you and you don't have a goddamned clue what to do about it! You said the same goddamned thing to me just the other day!"
"Okay!" Mark shouted back, "for starters, that's none of your business! And-"
"BULLSHIT it isn't my business!" Kim cut him off, "you're the one who adopted me as your 'big sister.' I didn't sign up for that job! You just latched onto me and started asking for advice! Well, here's my damned advice: grow the hell up and TALK to the girl!"
"How the hell am I supposed to talk to her if she's not even here?! You know, with the only other person on this whole island I'd trust with that responsibility! The person that I trust the most!" Mark was so angry his hands were shaking and he could feel his face turning red, "We're FRIENDS! But I guess that doesn't mean anything to you, does it?! Goddamn it, Kim!"
Kim took a step back. Something he said made her pause.
"You…trust me more than anybody?" she asked. She must have heard that wrong.
"Dammit!" Mark threw up his arms in his rage before storming off of the beach.
As he went, Kim looked around in a daze as all the eyes on the small beach focused on her. Sprinkle was running towards her, leaving her escorts behind.
"Sprinkle…" Kim reached out for her best friend's hand, "can we leave early today?"
Dammit, dammit, dammit, Mark mentally cursed as he stomped through the city streets.
"Slow down!" Cherry yelled, "You're walking too fast!"
"We need to find Maple," he snapped, "get in your Pokéball if you can't keep up!"
"No!" Cherry whined, "That was mean, back there! It's not her fault!"
"Cherry, shut up!" Mark yelled. This day was getting worse and worse. He hadn't expected to get so angry at Kim like that. Somehow, it just happened. Everything she said was true, but what gave her the right to scream it at him like that? He trusted her like a big sister, how could she let him down like that?
Okay, maybe Maple wasn't as naïve as she had been during that biker incident, but all of them knew that Team Deus was still lurking around the island. They were wildly dangerous and bound to strike again. As the only people on the island who knew, they needed to stay close or it would be too easy for Team Deus to attack them.
And now that group was falling apart too. Cara and Eric had already decided to return to their own lives and so were Lily and Kim. Should he do the same and forget about the base hidden underneath their feet?
Maybe they were right. There was too much for Mark to deal with. He couldn't balance training Cherry, the match against Lily, Team Deus, Suicune's cryptic message, and his relationship with Maple all at the same time. Something had to go.
"Is it true what she said?" Cherry asked, though her voice was still upset, "that Maple's in love with you, but you don't like her back?"
"It's not that simple," Mark shook his head.
"Why not?! Either you like her, or you don't."
"I don't know, Cherry," Mark insisted, "and this is not the time!"
They walked in silence from then on. Mark continued to take long, angry strides, walking as fast as possible without running. Next to him, Cherry had to half-jog to keep up.
They had just entered the square when Maple appeared through the crowded streets, running as fast as she could.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Maple panted as she came to a stop in front of them. Most of the petals were gone from her bouquet of flowers.
"Where were you?" Mark hissed as he stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders. He didn't really mean to sound angry, but his fight with Kim was still fresh in his mind.
"Umm…" Maple stuttered, "I was training w-with Quickstep…" Normally, whenever Mark touched her, it was the most wonderful sensation in the world. But not this time.
"Who's Quickstep?! Why did you leave Kim?!"
"H-he's one of PureBlueSky's human Pokémon. W-we saw Flurry and went to go v-visit RiverofTears and…Mark, that hurts…"
Mark drew back, letting go of Maple's shoulders. There were red marks on her skin where he had been holding her.
His anger fled in moments, replaced with complete shame.
Oh my God, I'm an asshole, he thought. Maple's big, brown eyes were wide as she looked at him. What was that expression? Fear? God, he hoped not.
"I'm sorry, Maple," he apologized, "let's just go."
"Okay," she nodded, "I'm sorry, too."
They walked back to their hotel room, each of them too afraid to speak.
AN: holy sheet. By the grace of God, I'm FINALLY back! Almost literally too, since Easter vacation is pretty much the only reason I had enough time to write a chapter.
Not exactly the kind of chapter I would've preferred to come back on, but…well…it is what it is. Day 6 is depressing and the damned thing needs to end.
Sadly, I must once again inform you that my work schedule is STILL crazy. I've been working a minimum of 65 hours a week for the past month and a half. Seriously, never grow up kids, it sucks balls. Of course, I will try to post as often as I can, but, again…yeah…
Keep your fingers crossed that I'll be able to post again before Memorial Day (I think that's the next time I'll be on vacation).
In the meantime, if you're still eager to read something written in this world, I invite you to check out Chrischunk's story The Children of Jirachi: Leo's Tale. He PMed around…two months ago? (again, never grow up, kids) asking if he could write his own story based on this story. Naturally, I said yes as the idea of there being fan fiction based on my fan fiction is awesome and amazing.
Now, for obvious reasons, I haven't had the chance to read it just yet, so, I can't vouch for how good it is. However, I believe it is set during the previous tournament (three years prior to this story) and follows Chrischunk's own original character Leo with appearances by Kim and PureBlueSky (maybe others). So, if it sounds like your thing, be sure to check it out.
Additionally, if there's anybody else that wants to write something based on The Children of Jirachi, I am 100% behind you. I'd be a horrible, horrible hypocrite if I wrote fan fiction but forbid people from writing fan fiction based on my fan fiction.
All I ask is that in your disclaimer (you know, the part where you say "I do not own Pokémon") just add in a quick line about this story. Something like "based on characters, events, and locations found in The Children of Jirachi by orangeshoelaces." That's it. other than that, go nuts. Alternate timeline, additional characters, whatever.
Just remember that what I post here is, for all intents and purposes, considered The Children of Jirachi "canon."
I guess that's all I wanted to say. So, I will see you when I see you.
Thanks for reading!