Chapter 76

Cherry sat alone on the corner of her bed. She looked back and forth, from Mark to Maple, back to Mark, back to Maple. They weren't saying anything. The tension hanging in the room was so bad she was afraid to breathe too loudly.

This should be the part where they told each other what had happened. Cherry herself wanted to hear where Maple had been all day. She hadn't been with Kim, but whoever Quickstep was, he must have been somebody cool and important to make Maple want to go with him.

He couldn't have been a bad person either. Maple came back and had found both of them right when they came to look for her. So, why were they fighting? Something was happening that Cherry didn't understand. That seemed to be happening a lot and she didn't like it.

Around half an hour after they came back, Mark let his other Pokémon out of their Pokéballs. Volcano, Tanker, Jitter and Eclipse sat in a small circle as they happily ate their Pokémon food.

Mark had spent very little time with his Pokémon since coming to Himitsu Island. Aside from making sure they ate and drank, they didn't require much attention. Still, it felt rather neglectful to leave them alone all the time. After the match against Tristan, he had all but forgotten what they had done for him. Five of his Pokémon had struggled to take down a single human Pokémon. They deserved better than being left alone inside their Pokéballs.

As they ate, Maple knelt down in between her brothers, Jitter and Eclipse. At first, they paid little attention to her and continued eating. She began scratching Jitter behind his ears, but the Jolteon still ignored her. Eclipse, on the other hand, took notice of his brother's neglect and rubbed against his sister's human leg.

"Huh?" Maple started, in surprise. She looked over at the Umbreon and reached out her hand, tentatively. Eclipse closed his eyes and pressed his head against her palm, seeking attention. Maple gladly stroked his back. He still remembered who she was. Still remembered the bond they shared.

Mark watched the human and regular Pokémon. The whole thing confused and fascinated him. What was the difference between them? Could the regular Pokémon evolve into a person at any moment? If they could, why didn't they? Was living in a Pokéball and eating what looked all too much like pet food really a good life? After spending so much time surrounded by human Pokémon, he wondered if normal Pokémon would ever look the same again. It made his head hurt to think about it.

If nothing else, life as a Pokémon was much simpler than being a human. For the past few days, Mark had spent most of his time worrying. There was little time to relax and even less to have fun. Peaceful moments like this simply didn't happen.

Six days. Six days had passed since coming to Himitsu Island and Mark rarely stopped to enjoy it.

There were no tournament battles that day. The entire island was taking a break, except for him. The morning had passed training Cherry, and Aurum had brushed them off. Maybe he should just take the rest of the day off, as well.

As the others finished eating, Eclipse continued to bask in Maple's undivided attention. His movements and behavior were all very cat-like as he rubbed against his sister and let her pet his back. Mark recalled the rest of his Pokémon before turning back to Maple and Eclipse.

"Doesn't that seem…weird, to you?" he couldn't help but ask.

"What does?" Maple asked. She looked up at him as she scratched behind Eclipse's left ear.

"Uh, petting your brother," Mark shrugged, "that's not weird, to you?"

"No…" Maple tilted her head, slightly. She didn't understand the question.

"Never mind," he sighed. There was no way to make the question plainer. Maple and Eclipse looked very different from each other, but Mark couldn't seem to get beyond the fact that the Umbreon was the Leafeon-girl's brother. He couldn't explain how he felt. Maybe he really never would look at Pokémon the same anymore.

Unaware of his turmoil, Maple turned back to Eclipse. The Umbreon began licking her hand, very affectionately.

Mark had no idea what to do. The gap between Maple and himself kept growing. He needed to do something soon. If he didn't, how could she trust him at all? There was still a lot he wanted to ask her, but he didn't know how to start.

He noticed the small, tattered bouquet of flowers Maple had brought with her. Where did she get them? He hadn't seen wildflowers like those anywhere on the island. Edging around Maple and Eclipse, he scooped the flowers off of the bed. Cherry looked small and frightened in the corner. That only made him feel worse.

He rummaged through his bag, but the best thing he could find was a metal canteen. He couldn't quite fit all of the flowers inside without further mashing them together. He had no choice but to remove a few that had lost a lot of petals. Using water from the bathroom sink, he filled the canteen and set the makeshift flower vase on top of the table between the beds.

"They're pretty, you know," Mark said as he sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Thanks," Maple said, without looking up. It might have been Mark's imagination, but he could've sworn that there was hatred in Eclipse's eyes whenever the Umbreon looked at him. The red color reminded him of whenever Maple used that strange Red State. It was unsettling, at the very least.

"Where did you get them?" he asked, trying to ignore Eclipse's steady glare.

"From the Meadow Sisters," Maple answered. This time, she turned to look at him. "I thought we were going to see RiverofTears, but Quickstep took me to see her human Pokémon instead."

"You met her human Pokémon?" Mark asked, "All of them?" Surprisingly, talking became easier as they went. He could only guess that Maple was just as eager as he was to avoid another fight. It was a small favor, but he needed the break.

"Well…most of them," Maple answered, "there was Teardrop, Briar, Pixie and Cashmere. Oh, I also met Astral. He's with EdgeoftheEarth."

"That many?" Mark asked. Meeting so many powerful human Pokémon in one morning was rather impressive.

"Yep!" Maple chirped, happily, "oh…but, nobody wants to help us…" Her ears drooped as she looked at the floor. She continued stroking Eclipse, taking comfort in her brother's presence.

"Help us?"

"Well…I thought you said we needed somebody from the Four to help us…" Maple nervously bit her lip, "so…I wanted to, you know, ask them for help…"

"Wait…Maple…is that why you went off by yourself?"

"Please don't be mad…" Maple shook her head.

"I'm not mad," it wasn't a lie, but he couldn't say it was the whole truth either, "I was just worried." It was impossible not to be.

He sighed aloud and picked his next words carefully, "I need to talk to you."

"What is it?" Maple asked. Something about the way he said it made her heart race.

Could this be it? He said that he had been worried about her. That was good, right? If he was worried, that meant he still cared. Despite everything else, he still cared about her feelings. Why else would he get so upset?

But Mark didn't answer for a long time.

He looked at the girl sitting on the floor, in front of him. She sat there with her long, leaf-shaped ears and tail. She was petting an Umbreon that was also her brother. The two were so different and so similar at the same time. And all Mark could think about was how she was a normal Leafeon just a few weeks ago. He was never quite sure how big the difference was between the human girl and the Pokémon she had been.

Kim had told him to be honest with Maple, but how could he? He didn't know the answer himself. Would he ever know? Trying to think it through wasn't getting him anywhere either. All it did was lengthen everything.

That was the worst of it. Whether the answer was "yes" or "no", thinking about it was just wasting time. He needed to act.

Yet, when faced with the moment, he still couldn't do it. If he told her no, it would crush her. The whole reason she evolved into a human would be for nothing. But if he told her yes and was wrong, then giving her what she wanted could hurt her even worse. Living a lie like that would hurt both of them and turn what should be happiness into hatred.

He couldn't risk something like that. He had to be sure.

"We're not going to fight Team Deus, anymore," Mark told her. There was a slight sparkle to Maple's eyes that faded as he said those words. He didn't notice it had been there until it was gone.

"Oh…" Maple turned her attention back to Eclipse. Once again, his red eyes seemed to narrow at Mark. "Why not?"

"We're losing too many people," Mark admitted, "Eric, Lily, everyone," he left out Kim, "no one wants to fight. And there's too many of them for us to do it alone."

"But…the Meadow Sisters…" Maple reminded him, "They said that PureBlueSky might help…"

"Wait…" Mark realized he had missed something, "did you meet PureBlueSky?"

"Uh-huh," Maple nodded, "just for a little bit, though. He's not very nice."

"What happened?"

Mark listened calmly and patiently as Maple related how she had met Quickstep and PureBlueSky. Though Mark wasn't convinced that Quickstep was trustworthy, anyone that had connections to PureBlueSky was worth knowing about. Any information about them at all would be worth having.

However, he was just as disappointed as Maple by PureBlueSky's refusal to help them. It wasn't just Mark and his friends, but everyone on the island was in danger with Team Deus beneath their feet. Yet no one did anything.

"Briar said something strange, though," Maple continued, "I think…I think PureBlueSky likes RiverofTears…"

"Huh?"

"Well…" Maple wasn't sure how to put it. When she thought about what Briar had said, it sounded a lot like her and Mark. But that didn't make much sense. How could the most powerful trainers in the world still have the same problems?

"She said he needs to 'confess his feelings,'" Maple said, "but she doesn't think he'll do it."

Mark stared at her, puzzling over the bizarre message. PureBlueSky couldn't talk to girls? Did he hear that right? To be fair, Mark was having trouble doing exactly that, but…PureBlueSky? The returning champion had such a mundane…teenage problem? And that was preventing him from fighting against Team Deus?

For some reason, he didn't feel so stupid anymore.

"Well, okay…" Mark shrugged. One more reason to forget about Team Deus. At this point, the best he could hope for was to just keep Maple and Cherry safe. They were his responsibility. Everyone else was just going to have to worry about everyone else.

The mix of relief and regret was the most bittersweet feeling he ever experienced.

"I guess it can't be helped," Mark gave in, "we'll just have to worry about each other." He looked from Maple to Cherry. "But I want both of you to stay close by. We'll have to protect each other first and worry about the others second."

"We're not going to fight?" Cherry had finally mustered the courage to speak. The tension in the air was gone, but she was afraid it might come back at any moment.

"I'm sorry," Mark apologized to the small Charmander-girl.

"It's okay," Cherry nodded, "we tried, right?"

"Yeah…" Mark nodded, "we did."

"So, what now?" Maple asked.

"Well, let's see…" along with the tournament bracket, Mark had received several other papers when he had registered for the tournament. The small stack had been left utterly forgotten on the hotel desk. Now was as good a time as any. He picked it up and started flipping through the pages.

"What are you doing?" Cherry asked. Mark remembered that neither of them could read. They had no idea what he had just picked up.

"Well, today is an off day for the tournament," Mark explained, "there's no battles going on, but there are other events scheduled…"

"Other events?" Cherry peered at him as though he had gone insane, "what are you talking about?"

"We need a break," Mark told the human Pokémon-girls, "we've been fighting and training non-stop and worrying about too much at once. Let's take the day off. Relax, explore, have fun, that sort of thing."

The two girls blinked in astonishment and turned to look at each other. Did Mark really just say that? No battles? No training? They smiled at each other as they realized it was true.

Maple reached Mark first, knocking him back onto the bed as she hugged him. Cherry was right behind her.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" the girls cheered.

Whisper ground his teeth in impatience. There was nothing more boring than guard duty.

He had been watching over Fate all morning and it had earned them nothing. The Gardevoir-woman had flipped out and stopped whatever the hell it was she was doing once or twice, but otherwise the morning was completely uneventful.

The afternoon was just more of the same. She didn't even flip out anymore. She just sat there; calm and quiet. How could she stand it? Whisper just wanted to kill something already.

"Hey, how much longer-" he started to ask.

"Shh!" Fate cut him off.

It was the fifth time he tried to ask what was going on. She told him nothing. She didn't even explain those little episodes of hers. For all he knew, the Meganium-girl they were supposed to be hunting had gotten away and now Fate was just stalling for time while she came up with an excuse.

Whisper started to indulge himself with thoughts of killing the delicately built Gardevoir-woman. She was a psychic-type, so she would pose no threat against his dark-type. He could take his time and enjoy it. Knowing her, she probably wouldn't scream, but he could do without that. If he killed her and ran, he'd have a good head-start before-

"They're leaving," Fate fluidly rose to her feet. Her eyes stayed closed, but her voice was almost excited.

"What?"

"They're leaving Palkia's Woods," Fate answered, "we can intercept them once they clear the trees. We have to move."

"What?! Seriously?!" the waiting had gone on so long that Whisper had become convinced it wouldn't end.

"Yes, Whisper," Fate repeated, "you'll get your chance to kill them both. Now follow-"

"You'll do no such thing," a cold voice came from behind them.

Whisper turned to see Cal coming up to meet them. There was an uncharacteristic urgency to his steps. It was also odd that Cal had come by himself, rather than sending the little blond-boy. Whisper began to wonder what was happening back at the base.

"Master…" Fate let go of her psychic link to Aroma as she knelt before her trainer. She kept her head down and folded her hands over her chest in a gesture of complete submission. "I'm sorry, master. I didn't notice your approach."

"You were doing what I asked, Fate. You don't need to apologize," though his words were gentle, Cal's tone was strictly business, "something's come up. I need both of you, immediately."

"Immediately?" Fate looked up just enough to see Cal's face. Her trainer was never this upset. Something was very wrong.

"I'll explain on the way," Cal turned, expecting both of them to follow, "we need to gather Lionel first and then we'll be ready."

"What the hell do we need the brat for?" Whisper interjected.

Cal stopped, mentally weighing how much time he really had. When he made up his mind, he turned back to face Whisper.

"I need you to help me defeat Farin," he told them, "he's gone insane and plans on attacking the entire island."

"I'm not hearing anything I don't like," Whisper grinned. Attacking the whole island was the best plan he had heard in years.

"He's going to expose us all to a counterattack," Cal went on, "one that will likely wipe us out. If we don't stop him, then Team Deus is finished. It might take weeks, months or years, but I assure you we're not ready for a war."

"Yeah, I still haven't heard the part where I give a damn," Whisper shook his head.

"He has a full team of six warped human Pokémon," Cal explained, "they're mindless, destructive monsters and it will take all of our combined forces to even think to challenge him."

"A challenge, huh?" Whisper nodded this time, "getting better, but still no sale."

"They're also completely disposable," Cal spoke the only thing Whisper needed to hear, "I encourage you to kill them. Any permanent losses will help dissuade him from attacking. And, if we fail, Farin won't hold those deaths against you."

"Heheheh," Whisper chuckled, "ahh…you're good at this. I could stand to get a kill or three."

"As long as you fight, it makes no difference to me," Cal brushed aside his comments. If nothing else, Whisper was predictable. Everything began and ended with battle and, more importantly, killing. The human Zoroark would never agree to having a trainer again, but Cal could still control him.

"Umm…master?" Fate spoke up.

"What is it, Fate?"

"What about the Meganium-girl?" she asked.

"We have to let her go, for now," Cal shrugged, "Farin needs to be dealt with, first."

"Of course," Fate rose to her feet to follow her trainer. She resigned herself to let Aroma go, for now. The girl's death would be a nice, unexpected present for Cal. That would certainly bring Fate joy.

She began to wonder if there might be a way through Palkia's Woods.

AN: I gotta say, I'm just as eager as Whisper to write another battle. It's been waaaaay too long.

Anyways, I don't think there's anything special to talk about this week. So…cya next time.

Thanks for reading!