Chapter 79

Much like the Jynx-woman who sang it, the music was smooth and elegant. It was an odd type of indie rock that Mark had never heard before. Though they played a variety of songs, their specialty was slow and relaxing. As the night went on, Mark occasionally closed his eyes, wondering if he might fall asleep in his chair. It wasn't a bad feeling, though. It was exactly what he needed.

But Maple was having a hard time focusing on the music. After seeing Silver and Aroma, she kept wondering where Lily might be. Ever since their mission to rescue Aroma; Maple had almost never seen the three of them together. And when they were together, they were so distant from each other they might as well be miles apart.

Lily might have Shinobi for company, but it was Silver and Aroma that she cared the most about. All of them should be together. But they never were. What could that mean?

After the fifth or sixth song, Maple leaned in to catch Mark's attention.

"Did you see Lily today?!" she shouted to be heard over the music.

"Uh…just for a little bit!" Mark shouted back, "why?!"

"Were Silver and Aroma with her?" she asked, dreading the answer. She was afraid that Lily was still heartbroken over Silver. As her friend, Maple decided that she should make sure Lily was getting better. If the three friends were all together, that would be an important sign.

"I don't think so," Mark shook his head. It disappointed Maple that he didn't seem to understand what the problem was. She would have to handle this by herself.

"Okay," Maple nodded before continuing, "I think I saw them earlier, in the crowd. Umm…would it be okay if I go talk to them?" It occurred to her that she never had to ask for Mark's permission before. She briefly wondered why she did it this time, but she was more concerned about Lily.

"I guess so…" Mark hesitated. He still worried how close Team Deus might be, but he decided the crowded concert should be safe enough. "Yeah, go ahead."

"Thank you!" Maple nodded enthusiastically before standing up to go.

The problem was; she didn't realize how hard it would be to find Silver and Aroma amidst the crowd. She had no idea what direction they may have gone and getting through the crowd was even harder by herself.

There was a stunning variety of human Pokémon mixed into the crowd. Part of her wanted to slow down and get a good look at each one of them, but the stifling crowd and the bright lights from the stage made it next to impossible.

At one point, Maple thought she had seen Silver, but as she got closer, she realized that the human Absol was a girl, not a boy. The young Absol-woman must have noticed the disappointed expression on her face because she yelled a greeting over the noise.

"Are you lost?" she asked.

"Umm…" Maple stumbled, "I'm looking for someone. Have you seen a human Absol? I mean…a boy human Absol."

The Absol-woman called to a boy who must have been her trainer. Maple couldn't hear what they were saying, but she assumed that the Absol-woman was asking about Silver. After a few moments, the boy pointed through the crowd off to Maple's left. Maple waved her thanks and set off through the crowd once more.

Thankfully, the boy's directions were sound and it only took a few more minutes of crowd-dodging before Maple came upon Silver and Aroma. The two were alone, standing back from the bulk of the crowd. Silver had his arms around Aroma's waist as they both faced the stage. They swayed gently back and forth as if dancing to the music.

For a moment, Maple stood frozen in place. The pair looked like they truly belonged together. They hadn't noticed her and even seemed to be lost in their own private world. The world could collapse around them and they would just keep dancing together. It was the most romantic moment Maple had ever witnessed.

Maple started to turn around and fade back into the crowd, but then she remembered why she had come. It was true; Lily and Shinobi were nowhere nearby. Where were they? Was this moment only possible because Lily was suffering? She needed to know.

Maple's approach was awkward and slow. She didn't want to intrude by calling out. Instead, she took slow, tentative steps while simultaneously peering at them. She hoped that one of them would look up and notice her, ending the strange moment. Aroma finally did when Maple was no more than two feet away.

"Oh, hello!" the Meganium-woman called out, making Silver look up as well, "I remember you! Maple, wasn't it?"

Maple nodded in confirmation as she shuffled around to stand in front of the couple. Now that she was here, she didn't know what to do. It was Aroma who spoke next.

"I'm sorry I never got the chance to thank you," she apologized, "It scares me to think what might've happened to Silvy if you hadn't been there." Aroma leaned back and smiled into Silver's face, who kissed her in return.

Maple shuffled awkwardly in front of the happy couple. She tried to look away, but didn't know what to look at.

Aroma had picked her words very oddly. For one, she had called Silver "Silvy," which Maple knew as Lily's pet name for Silver. Worse than that, Aroma said she was grateful that Maple had helped protect Silver, but hadn't mentioned Lily at all.

"Umm…I'm looking for Lily, actually," Maple had no choice but to interrupt their kiss, "have you seen her?"

The two parted lips and shook their heads at her. "Not since this morning," Silver answered, "why?"

"Nothing important," Maple answered, "I just wanted to see her and make sure she's doing alright."

"I'm sure she's fine," Silver's response did little to ease Maple's worries, "she's probably just up in the hotel room. She likes to spend a lot of time on her laptop."

Maple nodded, even more unsure of what to make of Silver's unconcerned answer. She didn't like the idea of Lily hiding away in her hotel room. It sounded too much like what she had heard about PureBlueSky. She didn't want Lily to shut herself away and hide.

"Well, thanks anyway," With nothing left to say to them, Maple had no choice but to leave Silver and Aroma.

"See you later," Silver called after her, "don't forget; we've got a battle coming up!"

"I know," Maple stopped and looked back, "I'm looking forward to it."

As she left the pair, she smiled to herself.

Lily was one of her best friends on the island and Silver and Aroma were hurting her. Neither of them seemed to realize it and they certainly weren't doing anything to make it up to her. They had forgotten about her and left her all alone.

Lily might not be able to fight back against them, but Maple could.

Cherry watched Maple disappear into the sea of people and couldn't help but feel a little jealous of her new big sister.

What is wrong with me? She thought. They were just people. They wouldn't hurt her. And yet, every time she got near a bunch of them all together, she always panicked.

Mark had promised he would never leave her. It made him something solid to hold onto when she was scared. It was nice, but Cherry knew she couldn't keep doing it. She needed to be strong enough to go by herself.

Still…why did there have to be so many?

As she watched the crowd, she caught sight of two other human Pokémon children running around. A small Eevee-girl in a brown dress was ducking in between the legs of the other concert-goers while a Pachirisu-boy in shorts and sneakers zipped after her. The two of them were no older than Cherry, maybe even a few years younger.

Cherry had no idea what they were playing, but they each had huge smiles on their faces. Even though she couldn't hear them, they were giggling wildly as though whatever they were doing was the most fun they had ever had in their whole lives. The Charmander-girl wondered what it was like. She never had fun like that.

Whether it was because the Pachirisu-boy had seen her sad face or because he had seen an easy victim, he skidded to a halt when he caught sight of her. He was no more than eight or nine years old with a squirrel-like tail that was as big as the rest of his body. Still grinning widely, he ducked underneath the rope around the tables as he ran straight up to her. Lightly and quickly, he touched her knee with an open palm.

"You're It!" he yelled.

"Huh?!" Cherry yelled back, stunned by the suddenness of what had just happened.

"I said you're It!" the Pachirisu-boy said it with absolute conviction. "It" was a self-explanatory term. Fully convinced that he had explained the game as much as he needed to; the boy ducked under the rope and dashed back towards the crowd. He stopped for just a moment to make sure Cherry was following. When he realized she hadn't moved an inch, he walked back.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked.

Cherry looked from the boy out into the crowd; out into the sea of people that she could drown in. Out there? She thought, dismally. She looked back at the shining, electric-blue eyes of the Pachirisu-boy. She shook her head in nervous fear.

"Why not?" the boy began to whine.

"Is something wrong, Cherry?" from behind them, Mark leaned forward to investigate.

"I'm It!" Cherry explained.

"It? Like Tag?"

"I don't know!" Cherry admitted, "But I'm It!"

"Uhh…" Mark studied the Pachirisu-boy before answering, "Well, you can go, if you want. Just don't leave the square."

"I CAN'T!" Cherry yelled at him.

"Ohh…" Mark nodded as he looked at the crowd. He looked back at the Pachirisu-boy, "Sorry, some other time."

"How come?" the boy peered at the most grown-up person present "is she not allowed to play with strangers? My trainer pretty much lets me do whatever. My name's Zap, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Zap," Mark nodded, "but that's not the problem."

"Then how come?" he looked back at Cherry who was eyeing the crowd warily, "wait…you're not afraid are you?"

Oh, no, Mark thought. But it was already too late.

"You are!" Zap giggled maniacally at the discovery, "You're afraid of all the people!"

"Shut up!" Cherry yelled at him.

"Zap, leave her alone," Mark told the boy as sternly as he could. He had to be careful, though. The truth of the situation was that even though Mark was twice the size of the Pachirisu-boy, it would make no difference in a fight. The boy could easily beat him and he seemed to know it. Zap wasn't even remotely scared of him.

"Come on!" Zap sneered, "they're just people! Most of them can't even hurt us!"

"I said NO!" Cherry was close to tears.

"What's wrong with you?" Zap continued, "you're scared of nothing!"

"What are you doing, runt?" none of the three had noticed Sparks stand up and circle around the table. He towered over the small Pachirisu-boy, an intimidating figure that matched the weaker human Pokémon's electric type. The effect his presence had on Zap was astounding.

"Umm…who are you?" Zap's short ears and fluffy tail flattened as he looked up.

"A big boy that wants you to shut up and go away," Sparks growled at him.

For a moment, Zap didn't move. He stayed where he was, gauging the difference in strength between himself and the human Luxray. In the end, he decided not to and began walking away.

"Hey!" he stopped to taunt Cherry one final time, "if you're not too scared, meet us out here tomorrow morning! You're still It, you know!" After that, he disappeared into the crowd.

"Pissant," Sparks muttered.

"Hey, thanks," Mark called after him, "if you hadn't stepped in, I doubt that kid would've listened to me."

"It's no big deal," Sparks shook his head, "I hate bullies." He jerked a thumb in Ebony's direction. The Honchkrow-woman shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Well, thanks anyway," Mark said again before kneeling down with Cherry, "are you okay?"

The Charmander-girl clearly wasn't. Her head was down as she gritted her extra-sharp teeth. Her small fists shook and her tail flared more brightly than usual.

"Mark…" her voice was a snarl of anger, "I don't want to be a coward."

"You're not," Mark told her, "don't listen to him."

"He said he'll be here in the morning…"

"Yeah, he did."

"Can I fight him, then?" she looked up at Mark. Her green eyes were narrowed with anger.

Mark sighed and thought before answering.

What was the right answer here? She shouldn't be so quick to solve her problems by fighting. That much he knew. People would probably tell her all sorts of terrible things in her life. Her first instinct shouldn't be to attack and solve all of her problems with fighting.

On the other hand, Mark couldn't help but sympathize with her. Zap had mocked her with no provocation at all over something that Cherry could not control. The boy had no respect for either of them and did whatever he pleased. Perhaps such a boy needed to be taught a lesson. A battle would certainly help get the message across.

Mark couldn't be certain what the right thing to do was, but there were other, stranger things to consider. First of all, he knew now that Pokémon and human Pokémon alike both enjoyed and needed to battle. A fight between them did not have the kind of malice a fight between two normal people would have. It was also extremely unlikely that they would be permanently hurt by it. It was like settling a grudge with a sports game.

Cherry also needed to fight a true opponent. So far, most of her training had come from Aipom and Bidoof. She needed to fight a human Pokémon and this could be the best opportunity to do it.

If Mark was right, it could be the final trigger she would need to evolve into a Charmeleon.

"Sure," he told her, "we'll come back in the morning and wipe the floor with him."

Cherry smiled at that idea and flipped her tail a few times.

"But just this once," he added quickly, "you can't fight everybody."

"I know," Cherry nodded, "but I really don't like him."

"Me neither," Mark agreed.

There were only fifteen minutes left before the concert was over, when Mark felt the first droplets of rain.

"Dammit…" Cara swore close by, "c'mon, just a little bit longer…"

But the skies were deaf to her pleas. The rain grew steadier and after just another fifteen or twenty seconds, she had disappeared. She darted into the crowd, skillfully navigating the wall of people in an effort to reach the stage and salvage her livelihood.

"I think we'd better find Maple and get going," Mark told Cherry, "come on." He moved to take the small girl's hand, but she jerked away from him.

"I'll do it," Cherry told him, "I'll be fine."

"Alright," Mark nodded, "I'm here, if you need me."

To his surprise, Cherry did not grab onto him for support. She walked cautiously, but was resolutely determined to not rely on him. Thankfully, they did not have to go very far before Maple rejoined them.

As the band cut the concert short and bid their farewells, the rain began to grow steadier. It was a light rain that wasn't much more than a drizzle. It was the kind of rain that lasts for days.

Mark hoped he was wrong about that as he led his two Pokémon girls back to their hotel room. The sixth day of the tournament had been a long, unpleasant ordeal and all he could think about was that Round Two was just beginning. The battles would become closer together and get harder every step of the way. They had survived Round One, but the tournament was still only beginning.

AN: back again.

if you can't tell, i don't really claim to know enough about music to really describe in depth what Serenade and the Triplets play. it's a kind of mellow indie rock, but beyond that i trust you to use your imagination.

anyways, Day 6 is finally over! and there was much rejoicing!

seriously, though, i can't really tell what the deal was with Day 6 but it just refused to end. too many characters to cover, i guess. i dunno. well...the whole "weekly posting schedule" getting shot to hell might have had something to do with it too...

by the way, i was reading over the last chapter and noticed a pretty bad mistake, on my part. when Sparks asks if he can break one of the speakers, Cara originally said "Only if you like eating." which, of course, should have read "Only if you don't like eating." sorry if i confused anyone, that was a really bad spot to make a mistake like that. it completely ruins the joke (not that it was a real gut-buster to begin with, but it bothered me a lot). anyway, it's fixed now. (speaking of making mistakes that [hopefully] aren't a big deal...)

i seem to be developing that as a common mistake (the whole leaving a word out deal). i'm sure there's other times where i did that, but, sadly, that's one of those errors that spell-check skips over (because it's stupid) and i must apologize in advance if i miss something like that.

i'm tired.

so...

thanks for reading!

i'll be back as soon as i can for the start of Day 7!