Chapter 98
Frustration, disappointment, and a deep sadness. Those were the primary feelings that Astral found whenever he looked into the Leafeon-girl's mind. She was calm on the surface, but the layer underneath was filled with torment. Deeper still, there was a gentle, energetic soul that was the true Maple. However, the transition into human life was being especially difficult for the young girl. It was also difficult for Astral to see what could be done to help her.
The human-Bronzong had decided to stay with Aurum and the boy, Mark, for the time being. Briar had returned to the flower meadow to relay recent events to Cashmere and Pixie. She would want details as the day unfolded, of course, but Astral felt the need to stay close by. Briar's love of gossip had the tendency to annoy the other human Pokémon—particularly Quickstep—but Astral was very patient, if nothing else.
Quickstep and Flurry had also parted ways with the others. Flurry took Ian and insisted on seeing her trainer while Quickstep scoffed at the idea and disappeared somewhere, alone. Astral inquired after PureBlueSky by his own methods, but the champion's mind was a whirlwind of emotion; flitting from one idea to the next like a mad man. In some ways, he was more distraught than the Leafeon-girl.
For both cases, Astral felt helpless. He had to remind himself that it was not his place to intervene in personal matters. Others, somewhere in the world, were suffering far worse than Maple and PureBlueSky. What could he do for them? Regardless, he wanted to do something. But no matter how long he thought over the matter, nothing stood out. There was no truth he could tell them that could ease their pain. None that he believed in.
It gave Astral much more joy when he looked into the minds of the children in front of him. While Katana and Maple practiced meditative exercises, Cherry and Billow battled ferociously as they trained together. Even as they yelled and fought each other, the girls' thoughts were ones of joy and release. They could be playing tag or football instead of shedding each other's blood.
The similarities and differences between the two girls also greatly amused the human Bronzong. Billow was a few years older than Cherry; over a century older if one included her time as a Drifblim. Yet, the two exhibited roughly the same maturity level. Whether one was advanced or one was lagging behind, Astral could not say for sure. Psychology was not a practice he had much experience with. He did not spend his days expanding his knowledge of the human world, as Farsight did.
Still, in a world such as this one, where so many spent most of their lives in pain, it gave him comfort to know that joy and innocence could still-
"Dammit!" Cherry cursed, as she finished drinking another potion, "I almost had you that time!"
"Almost doesn't count!" Billow teased as she spun and danced where she hovered, a foot and a half off of the ground.
Astral shrugged. He was still convinced of their innocence. It was just difficult to see from time to time. Even for a mind-reader.
Almost at the tree-line, Maple and Katana sat apart from the others. The only techniques that Katana knew to teach Maple were a few meditative poses and practices. Unfortunately, her pupil seemed to have difficulty sitting still.
"Relax…" Katana instructed, "Breathe deep…"
Maple fidgeted. She was sitting on her leg the wrong way. It was odd the way that she could feel all feeling seep out of it. She needed to move.
The two sat cross-legged, but Maple must have been doing it wrong. She had never sat that way before and Katana hadn't shown her how. Maybe she was leaning too far in one direction. She couldn't tell, but she couldn't feel her right foot either.
On the other hand, maybe it was supposed to feel that way. If that was true, it didn't make much sense to her. The pose wasn't relaxing just…weird.
She knew why she was supposed to be doing this. Katana had already explained that feelings of anger, frustration or jealousy made the Red State stronger and more difficult to control. If left unchecked, Maple might not be able to control it at all. Once that happened, using it would be too dangerous. She might have to stop battling altogether.
So, Maple needed to learn how to relax and relieve stress so that she could keep battling.
But that sounded backwards. Battling was how Maple relieved stress. She loved it. Maybe that was why it was so dangerous. Just like the Red State it made her feel strong and alive. Was that such a terrible way to feel?
"Relax…" Katana said again, "breathe de-"
"OW!" Cherry yelled "GET BACK HERE!"
That was another problem Maple was having. She was supposed to breathe deep and relax, but with Cherry and Billow training so close by, she wasn't sure how. Aurum made it look easy, as he fished without ever looking up. Maybe he was asleep…it was hard to tell with his big, straw hat shadowing his face. Maple wished she could be that relaxed. Instead she was always afraid that sooner or later a stray Flamethrower would come a little too close.
"Keep it down, you two!" Katana yelled as she ceased her own meditations.
"We can't!" Billow, the small Drifblim-girl shot back, "We're battling! Practice your Zen-whatever somewhere else!"
"This is more important!"
"Says you!"
"Uh, w-we can move…" Maple said, meekly, "I don't mind…" It might help her foot feel better.
Now that she could open her eyes, she glanced towards Mark. He stood nearby Cherry, instructing her while she battled the much stronger Drifblim-girl. Without Maple to stand in as a sparring partner, he had to stay with Cherry while the Charmeleon-girl trained. Even still, Cherry was a poor match against Billow and she lost often. It was difficult to tell if she was making any progress.
Maple also doubted that she was making any progress. She and Katana had been meditating for almost a whole hour. If she was supposed to feel any different, then it wasn't working.
She wanted Mark to stay with her. She knew that there was nothing he could do to help, but it would still be nice just to have him sit with her. It had been nice when he stood up for her and comforted her after…well, after Lily…after Silver…
"Ugh…" Katana groaned, "Alright...let's try taking a walk." In a quick, smooth motion the young Weavile-woman stood up.
Maple, however, was nowhere near as graceful. She brought her left leg up easily enough, but the right felt odd and clumsy. When she put her foot on the ground and stood up, the sensation was dulled. Her leg was stiff, as well, refusing to bend and flex the way it was supposed to. As a result, she stumbled and nearly fell over, but Katana gripped her shoulder to steady her.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"My foot feels weird…" Maple admitted as she looked down at it and tried wiggling it a bit. Soothing warmth began to flow into it. Soon afterward, the warmth was replaced by a bizarre prickling sensation. It was almost as if twenty people were poking her with toothpicks as fast as they could. It hurt, but not much.
"Your foot fell asleep?" Katana stared at Maple, incredulous.
"Uh…" Maple didn't know how to answer, "Maybe?"
"You were sitting on it the wrong way," Katana explained, "It happens when you cut off the circulation of blood to a part of your body."
"Oh…I see," Maple nodded.
Katana sighed. "How long have you been human again?"
"Uh…" Maple counted, "three weeks…I think."
"Three weeks, huh?" Katana mused. She thought back to her own time as a human. What a long, strange month it had been…
Then, Katana thought of something. She looked at Maple, then over towards her, male, sixteen-year-old trainer, then back to Maple.
"What is it?" Maple asked.
"Never mind," Katana shook her head, "let's get going."
"Okay," Maple agreed. Her foot still prickled a bit, but at least she could walk normally.
Mark watched as Maple and Katana left the clearing and vanished into Palkia's Woods. He knew that there was little that he could for her. According to Katana, Maple was under a lot of stress and needed to relax. It made sense. With everything that was happening with Team Deus, training for the tournament and adjusting to human life; who wouldn't be stressed?
Maple had been very quiet these past few days, as well. Was that a sign that something was wrong? He wished that she would talk to him about it.
At any rate, it wasn't her fault that this was happening to her. Katana and Aurum had taught her the Red State without knowing much about it. If they knew this could happen, why didn't they teach Maple how to control it before? How could Mark trust them if they held back information that important?
He took a deep breath to clear his thoughts. His own relaxation technique, he realized.
He should be focusing on training Cherry. Charmeleon or not, she still had a lot of catching up to do. She needed his support if she wanted to stand a chance against Billow. He couldn't help Maple, so he needed to focus on what he could do.
"Flamethrower!" he commanded. Cherry obeyed instantly, shooting her stream of orange-red flame directly at Billow.
However, frail as she might look, Billow was strong and could easily take three of Cherry's Flamethrowers. And her Shadow Ball hit back twice as hard. Aurum's training methods were often cruel, but Mark had to admit that it prepared both trainer and human Pokémon for the worst.
"Try not to judge us too harshly," a calm voice came from behind Mark. He turned to see the human Bronzong standing there. It was difficult to read any sort of emotion on his stoic face.
"Katana and Aurum did what they thought was best," Astral went on, "please understand that."
"Trying to," Mark muttered as he turned back to the battle, "Again, Flamethrower!"
Cherry prepared her next attack, but Billow was much quicker. The Drifblim-girl fired the ball of concentrated darkness long before Cherry could finish. The attack hit the already injured Charmeleon-girl in her forehead. The blow knocked her off of her feet and she fell unconscious before she hit the ground.
Mark was at her side in a moment with a Revive in hand. Aurum had offered to restock his supply of medicines. It would still be a long time before Mark would finish training under Aurum's instruction.
Astral sighed. Mark was more agitated than he had realized. Part of him wanted to reveal the secret behind Maple's worsening condition; the true source of her torment. But he would leave that matter between the boy and the Leafeon-girl.
Instead, he wondered what else he could do to earn Mark's trust back. Was there something that he was missing? Was there some idea that hadn't occurred to him?
"Oww…" Cherry groaned as she sat up. She coughed a few times as she finished swallowing the bitter medicine.
"Let's take a break," Mark told her, "it's almost time for lunch, anyway."
"Okay," Cherry agreed, rather relieved to get the chance to stop being knocked back and forth constantly. Maple was one thing, but Cherry had a type advantage against her Leaf Blade. Billow, on the other hand, hit at full force with every attack. She'd rather be fighting Nails again.
"How about you go find Maple?" Mark suggested.
"Alright…" she looked around, "where'd she go?"
"Palkia's Woods," Mark gestured, "you'll find her, trust me."
"Okay," Cherry rose to her feet and began running towards Palkia's Woods. When she was gone, Mark turned back to the human Bronzong.
"So…Maple mentioned before that you can read minds," Mark began, "Is that true?"
"It is," Astral nodded, "Quickstep refers to me as the 'Eyes and Ears of the Four' from time to time."
"Then, can I ask you a few questions?"
"Very well." Inwardly, Astral smiled. Of course! How could he have missed it? This boy was naturally inquisitive, constantly seeking answers. Astral could share what he knew. So long as Mark believed what Astral told him, it could help undo the mistrust the boy had.
"Team Deus," Mark began with the most immediate issue, "what do you know about them?"
"Little, I'm afraid," Astral shrugged, "Human Pokémon still exist mostly in rumor. For there to be a criminal syndicate kidnapping and experimenting on them seemed impossible. We first learned of them several years ago. My own trainer, EdgeoftheEarth, decided to do a bit of investigating. However, I'm sorry to say, we reached a dead end. They're very careful. They have excellent resources and are very skilled. They never do anything too openly or attract attention to themselves."
"Any idea who leads them?" Mark asked.
"No," Astral shook his head, "a few suspects were considered, Alfred Silph included, but all were innocent. As I said, they're very careful and possess their own countermeasures against human Pokémon, like myself. You, on the other hand, have been inside one of their bases of operation. In all truth, you may know more than I do."
"Farin," Mark told Astral, "their fourth in command is named Farin. Does it mean anything to you?"
"I'm afraid it doesn't," Astral shrugged, once more.
"But wait a second," Mark held up a hand, "if you know that we were inside their base on the island, why aren't you doing anything about it? Why not attack them? You're all strong enough."
But Astral shook his head. "You may not be aware of this, but there is a…barrier that prevents me from seeing inside their base. As I said, they're careful, skilled, and resourceful. To attack them without knowing more would be reckless. Lives could be lost in such an attempt."
Mark had to agree with Astral there. His own infiltration with Kim, Eric and Lily had been exactly the kind of reckless act that Astral wanted to prevent. They were lucky to get out alive.
"Is there anything else I can answer for you?" Astral offered.
"Yes," Mark agreed, "one more thing has been bothering me. There's…a Pokémon in the woods…"
"Suicune," Astral nodded, "yes, I'm aware of it."
"Then…"
"No," Astral shook his head again, "I have tried. However Suicune seems to have its own defenses. Dark and psychic human Pokémon are also immune. I do not know why it is here, or what it wants."
"It…spoke to me, earlier," Mark started, "well, first me and later Maple. It called human Pokémon the 'Children of Jirachi.' What does that mean?"
"Any number of things," Astral explained, "legends of the first human Pokémon abound, but each one is slightly different. Which one is the truth, or if any of them are true may not even matter."
"But it was Jirachi," Mark insisted, "Jirachi…made it possible."
"You're free to believe whatever you like," Astral shrugged, "but I can't tell you for certain what the truth is."
"Alright…" Mark sighed.
"If you want to ask Suicune directly," Astral offered, "I could tell you where to find it, but it will likely run from you. Or it may simply refuse to answer your questions."
"No…that's alright," Mark hung his head. He had hoped for better when he decided to talk to Astral. Apparently, not even a mind-reader could help him.
"I'm sorry I could not be of more help…" Astral apologized.
"It's alright," Mark told him, "thanks for being honest with me."
"Of course," Astral nodded. Though he wondered how much of the truth the boy really could handle.
AN: yeeeesh…a thousand apologies for the excessive delay on this one.
I'm not sure why, but I had a tough time really getting going with it. I must have stopped and re-started about five or six times. I wouldn't call it writer's block, but I was short on motivation with this one. Probably because I know what's coming up in the next few chapters and this one's…kinda boring. Not my best, but…oh, well…
Btw, I've also had a few job interviews lately. So, not sure how much longer I'll be able to post in the middle of the week. I'll let you know what happens.
Anyway, cya next time and thanks for reading!