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Chapter 13:
"Can I be selfish for a little bit?"
A few minutes earlier, Blue and the scouting pair had sneaked toward Drowzee's abode. Patrat told Blue that they allowed Drowzee to rest inside a small, open – air cavern that provided fairly decent privacy, as it was surrounded by tall cliffs on all sides. Furthermore, for added privacy, the only way to enter the chamber was by the means of a small, barely noticeable crack in the wall.
When they reached said crack, Blue was both impressed and annoyed at the same time. The crack truly was barely noticeable. It was surrounded by thickset vines and covered by moss and other leafy growths. If Patrat and Sentret haven't shown it to him, he probably would've never been able to find it by himself.
Blue brushed aside the vines and the leaves, taking great care to keep his actions as silent as possible. The crack in the wall was just barely wide enough for a Pokémon of his size to crawl through, making him a little puzzled as to how such a heavyset Pokémon like Drowzee could've squeezed inside. Blue shook his head and dismissed that pointless train of thought.
Inside was a decently sized alcove, much larger than Blue expected. He surmised that it was probably just a little smaller than the sunny resting chambers he and Fée found in the cave on the beach. As he peered inside, he saw Drowzee pacing around, grumbling and mumbling something inaudible to himself. Then, he saw the rotund Pokémon bend down and fumble with something in the corner of the room.
He craned his head around the crack, trying to get a better view while still keeping his profile as unnoticeable as possible. Once he found the perfect angle, he spotted the object that the Drowzee was touching. His eyes narrowed as he stared a the large, dirty sack lying on the ground. A small lump was protruding out from the center of the bag.
Azurill was definitely inside that sack, he thought. There was no doubt in his mind at all. Anger filled his body as he watched the disgusting Pokémon prod the sack as if it was a toy. He wanted to rush in, he wanted to slug that creep right in the face. But, he remembered what Rapta said.
Do not engage him in combat. He could get away.
Blue knew that if Drowzee managed to get away, even without Azurill, he could always just teleport back and attempt another kidnapping. There was wisdom in the bird's words, and Blue knew it. But even knowing that, he couldn't help but feel frustrated at his inability to do anything but watch.
Everything changed, however, once the Drowzee lifted up the sack and revealed what was inside. As he suspected, Azurill tumbled out and struck the ground like a rag doll. Blue grit his teeth as he watched the poor little girl roll around pitifully on the rocky floor. Her body was bound by some sort of yellow rope, making it impossible for her to move or scream.
He could only watch in silent fury as Drowzee picked her up like a toy. The Drowzee laughed in the little girl's face, sneering gleefully and enjoying her helplessness. It took all of Blue's self – restraint to hold himself back.
But, even that wasn't enough once he saw Drowzee prepare to punch Azurill.
His anger hit the breaking point. What little self – restraint he had shattered into a thousand pieces as his fury overtook his reason. The words that Rapta told him flew out of his mind as he grabbed the side of the crack.
"Sir!"
"Riolu!"
He couldn't even hear the scouting pair's panicked cries. With a furious snarl, he tore into the chamber and ran toward Drowzee, flames of anger burning in his eyes. Drowzee didn't even notice the intruder until Blue was already right up in his face.
Blue drew back his right arm and bellowed ferociously, "You bastaaaaard!"
He put all his anger, his hatred for the psychic Pokémon into his fist as he sent his punch rocketing forward. His fist slammed into the side of Drowzee's head, causing a loud bam! to echo around the chamber. The sheer force behind the punch managed to lift the heavyset Pokémon off his feet and send him spiraling through the air.
Azurill made a muffled scream as Drowzee's grasp on her slackened. Blue quickly reached forward and caught her before she hit the ground.
"Mmph?!" Azurill cried out in surprise as she saw the bottom of the Riolu's face. Blue looked down at the sobbing girl and gave her a gentle smile.
"It's alright, don't cry," Blue said, gently patting the crying girl on the head, "I'm here now. You don't have to worry anymore." He gave her a comforting hug to calm her down, but still kept an eye on the dazed Drowzee.
"Patrat, Sentret," Blue commanded, making the two scouting Pokémon pop their heads out from behind the crack in the wall, "come here and take Azurill away."
"Sir, what do you mean?" Sentret asked, eyeing the Drowzee warily as he entered the chamber. Blue knelt and patted Azurill on the head before giving the little Pokémon over to the scouting pair.
"I made a mistake," Blue said as he turned back around, "Rapta didn't want us to reveal ourselves until he returned with help."
"Drowzee may be able to get away now," Blue clenched his right fist, "But, I wont let that happen. I'll make sure he's out cold before Rapta returns."
"Sir, the criminal is back up!" Sentret announced loudly as he saw the yellow Pokémon stagger back onto his feet.
"I'll be fine," Blue said confidently as he walked toward them. He placed Azurill at the foot of the crack and gestured for the scouting pair to take her away. Then, he turned back around and cracked his knuckles menacingly.
"I'll make sure he pays!"
Immediately, Blue kicked off the floor and dived toward Drowzee with his fist outstretched. His attack struck the psychic Pokémon square in the snout, and sent the pudgy Drowzee sliding backward a few paces. Not about to let up just yet, Blue ducked low and followed up with a hefty uppercut to the Drowzee's jaw. The powerful upward blow forced Drowzee's upper body up into the air.
Then, Blue clasped his paws together and raised them above his head. With a hearty shout, he drove his clenched paws down like swinging an axe. Drowzee's body was bent down from the blow, forming a strange upside – down U shape right before he collapsed to his knees. The yellow Pokémon gasped in pain and clutched the sides of his head.
"Grrahhhghhh...!" An unearthly groan escaped Drowzee's throat as he felt the pain ravage his body. With great exertion, he swung his gaze up at the Riolu, who was standing stock still and glaring back at him.
"Had enough?" Blue said, folding his arms together. Drowzee opened his mouth to reply, but a burning sensation at the back of his throat forced him to quickly shut his mouth, lest he release something more solid than curse words.
Blue took this chance to leap backwards. He held his arms to his side, fists still clenched and ready. Slowly, he gathered all the energy he had left inside his body and funneled them into his paws. This was the finishing blow. With all his strength, he'll knock out the Drowzee with his next strike! Tensing the muscles in his legs, he bent down low and dashed forward.
"Take this!" Blue shouted as he thrust both of his fists forward for a powerful double – barreled punch. However, the impact he expected never happened. Instead, Blue saw his suddenly fists stop right before they hit Drowzee in the face, as if he had hit some sort of strange, invisible wall.
He tried to strike Drowzee again with a quick punch, but the same result occurred. His fist was once again stopped by some sort of invisible field!
"Don't get cocky...!" Drowzee's voice was cracking, his breathing was shallow and ragged. Slowly, he raised his head, shooting Blue a furious glare. He stuck out his arms at Blue, palms open and fingers extended.
Mesmerizingly, Drowzee began to move his arms up in down in a snake – like fashion while keeping his eyes on the Riolu. An evil sneer appeared on Drowzee's face as an odd, purple glow began to cover the length of his arms.
"So you thought you could just... punch a Pokémon with psychic powers...?" He drawled, sniggering at Blue's futile attempts to punch him again, "You are... quite a fool...!"
Drowzee's eyes flashed a violent purple as he abruptly stopped the serpentine movement of his arms. At that instant, an invisible force exploded between Drowzee and Blue, blasting the Riolu away. Blue's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself being driven away from Drowzee at a high speed. He quickly dug his paws into the floor, stopping his backward movement.
"What...?!" He gasped in surprise, glaring incredulously at Drowzee, who had resumed his snake – like arm movements.
"You're... so foolish...!" Drowzee sniggered gleefully as his eyes gleamed with delight at the Riolu's surprise, "To think... you thought you had a chance against... me!"
Blue snarled indignantly and charged forward again, breaking into a dash and preparing to slug Drowzee in the face again. Drowzee, however, just shook his head and sneered. The psychic Pokémon extended his arms out to his side as the purple blow began to coalesce around his palms.
"This'll... give you quite a shock...!"
Suddenly, two spherical explosions of purple emitted from his palms. Blue halted his advance and covered his face, expecting another powerful force to strike him. However, no such force came. Blue cautiously peered out from behind his guard, wondering what happened.
"Heeh... heheheh...!" Drowzee's entire body had gained a bright, neon purple outline. He shoved his pudgy arms forward, palms facing Blue. Blue kept his arms over his face, waiting for an invisible impact to hit him.
All of a sudden, his head was jerked forward as a sharp impact struck him from behind. Blue let out a yelp of pain as he quickly spun around to see the assailant. But, there was nothing behind him at all.
"Ehhhehehh... what are you looking at?"
Blue turned back around at the sound of Drowzee's voice. Right as he did so, a small projectile struck him between the eyes, blasting his head backward. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a small pebble clattering onto the ground. The Riolu leapt backward again and touched his face with his paw. When he withdrew it, he saw that his paw was covered in a smattering of red.
"What...?!" Blue shouted out of surprise. Then, he felt a strange vibration around him, followed by a cacophony of loud, clattering sounds. Blue quickly spun around and saw an incredible sight.
Pebbles of all shapes and sizes were trembling on the rocky floor, creating an absolutely awful din. Slowly, every shard, fragment and chunk of rock began to hover off the ground. They rose several inches into the air before suspending themselves as if they were tied to invisible puppet strings.
"What is this?" Blue suddenly found himself surrounded by an entire army of tiny, jagged stones. All of which were now pointed directly at him.
"This... this is my power, you fool...!" Drowzee shouted in a ragged voice, "I'm... I'm strong... and you're just a weakliiiiiiing!"
Drowzee forcefully clapped his hands together. Immediately, every pebble closed in on Blue at an alarming speed. Given nearly no time to react, Blue hastily ran away.
"You can't escape...!" Drowzee began to wave his arms like a conductor at an orchestra, directing the stones around the chamber. The cloud of pebbles clacked and clattered against each other as they zoomed toward the escaping Riolu in a swarm.
Blue attempted to parry as many rocks as he could while he ran, batting away pebbles and stones with his paws. But for every stone he deflected with his fists, two more took its place. Eventually, he just couldn't keep up with the onslaught of rocks. A single pebble snuck past his guard and stuck him squarely in the side. Blue gasped in pain as he tumbled to the ground. As soon as he fell, the horde of rocks were upon him.
Stone after stone struck his body mercilessly, creating stinging welts all over his arms and legs. He let loose a roar of pain as an unending rain of pebbles clattered against his injured right leg, sending him crashing down onto the stone floor as more and more rocks struck his body.
Defiantly, he continued to swat at the flying stones, but it served little to no purpose, as the rocks just maneuvered around his fists and struck at his body.
"Hehh... so this is all you got...?" Blue could hear Drowzee's mocking voice over the hail of pebbles, "Did you think you were some sort of... great hero...?"
A particularly large and jagged stone struck Blue's forehead as Drowzee finished his sentence. The wound on his forehead worsened considerably, as Blue felt a trickle of red spill down his face.
"Did you think... just because you were brave... that you could rush into any situation... and win?!" Drowzee shouted shrilly as he sent another wave of rocks cascading toward the Riolu, "Defeat... defeat the villain... and rescue the princess... what a laugh!"
Drowzee conjured up more pebbles and raised up his arms, "I'll show you... that this world has no heroes..."
Blue closed his eyes and endured the avalanche of pebbles that crashed down on him.
"There's only... the strong... and... the weak!"
"So give... give up!" Drowzee's breathing became more and more ragged as he slammed another wave of pebbles onto the fallen Riolu, "I'm the strong... I'm the strong one now... and you're the weak! You're weak!"
Suddenly, the pebbles all clattered onto the ground, released from their invisible puppet strings. Blue weakly opened an eye and saw that Drowzee had bent over, clutching his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
"I'll... I'll..." The purple outline began to reform around Drowzee's body as he raised up one of his arms, "I'll... show you all... that I'm no longer... a weakling...!"
Blue felt a strange sensation on his right arm. A faint, purple glow began to surround his limb as Drowzee stood back up. All of a sudden, he was yanked up into the air by the same invisible force that controlled the pebbles. He hung in the air like a limp doll, suspended by invisible strings on his right arm.
"Haah... haah..." Sweat poured from Drowzee as he struggled to keep the Riolu in the air with his mind. He stared at the Riolu with gleeful eyes. Blue's arms and legs were covered in tiny bruises and cuts. His face was marred by a stream of blood coming from his forehead, staining his blue fur with a streak of red. Drowzee sneered blithely and said, "Look at you... so... so stupid looking and..."
He paused to catch his breath, accidentally allowing Blue to slip from the air slightly. Drowzee quickly realized his mistake and refocused himself, pulling the Riolu back up into his puppet – like pose. Drowzee quickly looked back up at the Riolu with a victorious smile on his face.
"What... what's with that look on your face...?"
He felt as though his grin was wiped off his face. The Riolu didn't look defeated at all, in fact, he looked the complete opposite. The Riolu's eyes were still alive, and they were still glaring daggers at him. He still wanted to fight, despite his helpless and ragged form...!
"You... you're mocking me...!" Drowzee raged, "Just... just like everyone else...!"
The yellow Pokémon's eyes fell onto the Riolu's injured right leg. A cruel thought ran through the Drowzee's mind. He smirked as he held his right arm forward, forcing the Riolu's right leg to levitate up along with his arm.
"Your leg... I see that it's still... injured..." He sneered, remembering the Riolu's weakness from earlier in the day, "How about... I tear it off... for you...?"
That should do it. That will wipe that disgusting look off the Riolu's face. He saw the Riolu's head slump down. No Pokémon in the world should be able to withstand such a potent threat! He'll have the Riolu begging him for mercy soon enough!
"...go ahead."
"What...?!" Drowzee was taken aback, "What did you just say?
"Are you deaf...? I said, go ahead!"
Blue snapped his head back up and shot Drowzee a fiery glare. He opened his mouth, baring his fangs at his captor.
"If you tear off my leg, then I'll just go and take it back from you!" He snarled back furiously, "I'll even go one further, I'll use my leg as a club and knock you out with it!"
Blue struggled ferociously against his invisible bindings, snarling and roaring as he attempted to break the ethereal ropes attached to his arm and leg. He sent another ferocious glare at Drozee, "Come on, you coward!"
Drowzee took a step backward, fear and surprise shining in his eyes.
He hadn't expected that kind of response from the Riolu. After all, who would?! What kind of mad Pokémon would willing give up a leg in this kind of situation?
"You... you're bluff... you're bluff..." Drowzee choked on his words. He felt a strange resonance inside his mind. Every time Blue struggled against his psychic bindings, he felt as if someone had punched him in the face. Waves and waves of unfamiliar energy rushed out of the Riolu, slamming into Drowzee like a tidal wave.
"No... no..." Drowzee's eyes widened out of fear as he raised up his right arm, "You're... you're supposed to be the weak one... and I'm the strong one!"
Drowzee stared at the Riolu with terror in his eyes. Why was he afraid of someone who he had already rendered helpless? Why was his eyes still alive when the rest of his body was in tatters? Drowzee just couldn't understand. He was the strong one and the Riolu was weak! The Riolu should've been just like him in the past! This didn't make any sense!
His hand hovered in the air, twitching and trembling. Blue stared silently at Drowzee, his eyes daring the psychic Pokémon to clench his fist.
"You... I'm... I don't...!" Drowzee's words became slurred and incomprehensible. His mind was nearing its limit. He couldn't continue to hold the Riolu and the legion of stones for much longer. He had to do something now!
"Uraaaaaaaaghh!" He released a strained – sounding groan, spreading his purple aura around his body. Immediately, Blue's body began to levitate higher and higher. Eventually, the Riolu was elevated to the top of the cavern.
"I... I wont hear anymore words out of you...!" Drowzee grunted with exertion as he twisted his arms around. A sneer appeared on Drowzee's face as he watched Blue's body slowly rotate in midair until his head was now facing down.
His eyes glinted maliciously as he brought both of his arms up, lifting Blue higher a few more inches.
"You're... you're gone...!" Drowzee hissed as he wildly swung his arms down.
The invisible strings attached to Blue's arms and legs suddenly began to pull him down. He felt a sudden rush of wind against his body as he began to plummet toward the rocky floor.
Blue tried to right himself in midair, thinking that at least he could try and land in a less dangerous position. But, even though he was no longer forcibly suspended in midair, the strings were still pulled taut against his limbs, preventing him from moving at all. All he could do was watch as his head drew closer and closer to the ground.
Blue shut his eyes against the inevitable. As the winds wrapped around him like an icy cloak, flashes of memory appeared in his mind. From when he first woke up to the beach, to when the Kabuto injured his leg, to when he had that fight against the bullies, and to when he first entered the town. Blue felt a little bemused smile crawl on his face as he realized that his memories only stretched to about a day and a half. What a pathetic life, he thought.
But, most of all, he thought of the friend he was leaving behind. The young Eevee's crying face appeared in his mind. He remembered when he first met her on the beach. Was she crying then? He couldn't recall. But he remembered when he first woke up, how the first thing he saw was her concerned and worried face. If he could move his head, he would've shook it at that memory.
His body was falling faster and faster now. It felt like an eternity was passing between his fall and the impact. One last memory surfaced inside his mind.
'Yes Fée. Let's go together tomorrow. Now let me go to sleep.'
Right, he said that to her. He promised her that he would stick together with her as they visited Treasure Town.
'Looks like I'm breaking another promise,' Blue thought to himself, 'I'm sorry, Fée...'
Blue opened his eyes. In that split second of vision, he saw Drowzee's disgusting smile. Then, everything flashed white.
"Bluuuuuuue!"
I dived.
When the bright white light faded, I found myself standing in the center of an unfamiliar rocky cavern. Xatu collapsed behind me, looking as though he was exhausted. But that wasn't what caught my eye. Right in front of me, falling at an incredible speed, I saw Blue falling head first.
I didn't even have time to think. I just charged toward him as fast as I could.
I slammed into his chest with my head right before he hit the ground. We tumbled away as my tackle canceled his downward momentum. I saw his eyes fly open in surprise as I grabbed him by tightly by the waist with my paws. We tumbled roughly across the floor together like a ball. I shut my eyes and cradled his body protectively, trying to keep him as safe as I possibly could.
Eventually, we slid to a stop. My head was spinning and the huge rush of adrenaline I felt was quickly fading, leaving me with a heavy sense of exhaustion.
"F – Fée...?" I heard him slowly groan out my name. Slowly, I shook the dizziness out of my head and opened my eyes.
Tears filled my eyes as I saw him lying beneath me. His body was injured all over. Bruises, cuts and other horrible injuries covered his entire body. The fur on his forehead and chest was stained red by the wound on his head, and his right leg... I couldn't even bear to look.
"Oh... oh, Blue...!" I buried my head into his chest and sobbed. A strange sense of relief filled me as I felt his heart beating underneath his fur. Even though he was so battered and bloody, I was so happy that he was still conscious and alive.
"Guh...!" I heard him cough painfully as I tightened my grasp around his body, "Fée... where did... augh! How did you?!"
"Oh!" My eyes snapped open in surprise. I saw him smiling painfully at me as I was lying on top of him. My face flushed bright red as I quickly released my vicegrip on his chest. I shook my head and quickly rolled off his body.
Blue coughed painfully and tried to stand back up. But, as he put weight on his mangled right leg, he collapsed and fell forward.
"Blue!" I quickly wedged myself between his body and the ground. He grabbed onto my back and stopped himself from slamming into the rocky floor.
"Fée... how did you get here?" He asked in a weak voice as he tried to use my body as leverage to stand back up.
I shook my head and placed my head underneath Blue's chest. With a gentle push, I shoved him back, making him fall backward and into a sitting position. He gaped at me, surprised, as I quickly pulled the torn bag off my neck.
"Hold still, Blue," I instructed him as I quickly withdrew an Oran Berry out of my bag. As I held the little blue berry, I felt a strange sense of gratitude. This little berry has helped me out so much lately that I've grown quite fond of it. Mentally, I thanked it and quickly held it in front of Blue's face.
"What is –?" He began to say in a confused tone. But I just shook my head and stuffed it into his mouth, interrupting his question.
"Eat it, it'll make you feel better." I said impatiently. Blue, although still looking a little confused, nodded obediently and began to chew the berry.
While he was slowly eating the Oran Berry, I looked over to the other side of the room. There, I saw a Drowzee kneeling in the corner. Sweat poured from the grotesque Pokémon as he panted heavily. The Drowzee was breathing heavily, and his face looked like it was heavily bruised from multiple punches. I shuddered as I watched him glare daggers at the two of us.
"Eevee..." I heard Mr. Xatu speak from behind me. I turned around and saw him panting heavily as he stumbled his way over to us. After taking a deep breath, he pointed at Blue with his wing and asked in a quiet voice, "...will the Riolu be alright?"
"Xa... Xatu?" Blue must've already swallowed the berry. He struggled to get back onto his feet as he gaped at Mr. Xatu, "Why are you here too...?"
"You two know each other?" I said, a little confused.
"Somewhat," Mr. Xatu stated in a nervous voice as he gave Blue his wing to pull him back up. Mr. Xatu shook his head and placed his wings on Blue's shoulders. He looked Blue in the eyes and said, "I'm... I'm sorry Riolu..."
"What...?" Blue tilted his head in confusion, "What for?"
Mr. Xatu shook his head again and replied, "For everything. For not assisting you when I should've... for trying to use you for my own purposes when you trusted me..."
"I don't care," Blue bluntly stated, making Mr. Xatu's eyes widen, "It doesn't matter what happened in the past, Xatu. You're here now, so you're helping me out, right?"
"Y... yes, I suppo –"
Suddenly, Mr. Xatu's words were cut short by something small and fast whizzing past us. Blue snarled and quickly grabbed Mr. Xatu's wing and my paw. He yanked us down to the ground as even more hard missiles flew past us, just barely missing our heads.
"Drowzee...!" Blue growled angrily as he punched away one of the missiles aimed at him. The pebble clattered onto the ground as Blue impudently pointed a paw at Drowzee.
"You... how dare you weaklings ignore... me...!" The Drowzee spoke in a pained, exhausted as the two of them glared at each other. As I slowly got back up, I saw the yellow Pokémon kneeling on the ground, his arms covered in some sort of eerie purple aura. He was levitating an immense quantity of pebbles behind him using some sort of psychic power. I tried to take a step forward, but Blue stopped me by putting his paw in front of my face.
"You... Riolu..." The Drowzee continued to speak in his horrid voice as he controlled more and more stones behind him, "I was... so close... you... got lucky...!"
Blue didn't answer. I saw his paw in front of me clench into a fist instead. Was he going to just run ahead and punch the Drowzee? He can't!
"Blue, you can't fight anymore!" I shouted at him hoarsely, "Your body's too injured! If you keep fighting, you'll just be hurting yourself even more!"
"She's right, Riolu!" Mr. Xatu agreed, "Furthermore, that Pokémon possesses psychic abilities! Even if you were healthy enough to punch him, he can just stop you in your tracks without even touching you!"
"I've already punched him before," Blue responded bluntly, "and I can do it again."
"Blue!" I shouted at him, but it was too late. He had already rushed forward, despite all the injuries present on his arms and legs. Was giving him that Oran Berry a bad idea?! It might've been able to give him some energy, but it can't heal up all his injuries just like that!
"You're an... idiot!" The Drowzee flung his entire army of pebbles directly at the charging Blue. If any of them struck him now, he'll be knocked out immediately! There was no way Blue could win against such an onslaught in his state!
"Noooo!" I screamed out loud as I ran after Blue. The wave of stones were mere inches away from him now, but Blue showed no signs of slowing down. I urged myself to go faster, I wanted to do something to save him, whether it was knocking him out of the way or blocking the stones myself! I didn't want to see him get hurt anymore, for anyone's sake! He was my friend, and I want him with me! Please, don't push yourself anymore, Blue!
"Light Screen!" Suddenly, a bright flash of light emitted from between Drowzee and Blue, followed by the sound of hundreds of stones colliding against something hard.
"What...?!" Drowzee and Blue both shouted the same thing. I couldn't blame them. From out of nowhere, a great wall made of a wondrous light had erected itself between Blue and Drowzee, blocking every missile that the yellow Pokémon had sent at us.
"Riolu!" Everyone's heads turned toward Mr. Xatu, who had extended both of his white wings out to his side. His eyes were glowing a beautiful blue color as he shouted loudly, "I will abandon you no longer! I'll protect you while you attack that criminal!"
"Xatu!" Blue smiled widely at Mr. Xatu. Then, Blue turned toward me and gave me a quick look. Was he telling me to fight alongside him? Right as I was pondering that thought, Blue gave me a nod, confirming my thoughts.
"Let's go, Fée!"
A burning flame of courage was ignited inside me. Blue, Mr. Xatu, and I, we're all fighting together against this enemy! I nodded back at my friend, and we both turned to face the Drowzee, who was pounding futilely against the great wall of light that Mr. Xatu had created.
"Gyaaaaaaah!" Drowzee screamed in a shrill voice, pounding his fist against the wall, "This... this cannot be...! I won't... I won't lose to weaklings!"
His hands began to glow purple once more as he slammed it against the wall. I heard Mr. Xatu make a loud, pained squawk as the wall shattered into a million, glittering fragments. The Drowzee sneered at Blue and I as he raised his arms again, ready to fire off another volley of stones.
"No!" I shouted. Before Drowzee could do anything, I was already running ahead at a ridiculous speed. The room around me became a blur as I blazed forward, headfirst. I felt a few pebbles collide against my face as I plowed through the hail of stones, but it wasn't enough to stop my advance. Within seconds, I broke through the Drowzee's shield of stones and slammed my head right into his bulbous gut!
"Gyeeegh!" He emitted a satisfying screech as he was blown backwards by my speedy blow. I bounced off his body as he was sent flying backwards. The pebbles he was controlling dropped out of the sky and clattered onto the ground. As I paused to catch my breath, I saw a blue blur rush past me.
Despite how injured he was, Blue was still running at an incredible speed. I was awed at his tenacity. His bright red eyes looked as though they were twin flames as he glared at the dazed Drowzee. He leaned back and raised up his right fist. Then, he stomped the ground with his right foot and skidded to a stop.
"How does a weakling's blow feel to you?!" Blue shouted as he used the remaining momentum from his dash to send the back of his right first at Drowzee. He struck the Drowzee's snout with the small, bony bump on the back of his paw. I winced sympathetically as I saw the Drowzee's head twist around from the sheer force of Blue's backhand.
But it wasn't over yet, Blue extended his left paw and grabbed onto Drowzee's long, stretchy snout before he was blown even farther back. With a loud shout of exertion, Blue yanked the Drowzee back and somehow managed to hurl a Pokémon larger than him over his shoulder. I watched as the fat, yellow Drowzee sailed through the air like a strangely shaped bird.
"Fée!" I was snapped out of my daze by Blue's shout. He pointed at me with his paw, and then pointed at the Drowzee sailing toward me. At first, I didn't understand what he meant, but then, he tapped his head with his paw.
Memories of yesterday's attack against the Koffing and Zubat resurged into my mind. Instinctively, I understood what Blue meant by that. I gazed up at the Drowzee. He was flying closer and closer to me. Putting what little energy I had left into my legs, I bounded off the floor and up at the Drowzee.
Until yesterday, I've never been in a fight before in my entire life. But, strangely enough, every movement I did, every thought I had, felt entirely natural to me. Maybe it was because of all the adrenaline that was pumping through my body right now, or maybe it was the sheer amount of confidence that I felt emanating from Blue that was making me move. But whatever it was, it didn't matter to me right now.
I reached the same height as the Drowzee. In that split second, I saw the yellow Pokémon's eyes widen in fear right before I reared my head back.
Clong! I slammed my head directly onto the Drowzee's, making a dull, ringing sound like that of a bell. It hurt horribly, and made me immediately regret my decision to strike at his head. However, the attack worked, as Drowzee was sent flying downward. From my height, I could see Blue and Xatu rushing into position below.
"Drowzee," I heard Blue shout at the Pokémon, "you said you wanted my leg, didn't you?"
He stuck out his right leg and nodded at Mr. Xatu. Mr. Xatu's eyes and wings began to glow bright blue once more. Suddenly, the pebbles and stones that littered the room hovered around the two of them like a small tornado. Xatu swept his wings forward, pointing them at Blue's right leg. As if on command, the pebbles all surrounded Blue's leg like a rocky shield.
"Then you can have it!" Blue shouted loudly as he twirled around, balancing on his left leg. Right before Drowzee hit the ground, Blue swung his rock – covered right foot directly into the yellow Pokémon's pudgy gut. A loud, resounding crash! exploded from the kick's impact as pebbles and stones flew off Blue's foot and all over the room.
The Drowzee was blown far, far away by Blue and Mr. Xatu's powerful combination attack. The pudgy, yellow Pokémon slammed into the farthest wall away from us and stayed embedded in it. His eyes rolled into his head as he slumped down, defeated.
I suddenly felt a warm pair of paws wrap around me, catching me right before I landed onto the ground. I turned around and saw Blue holding me from behind, his arms around my body.
"Gotcha!" He said with a big, happy smile on his face as he hugged me tightly.
"Blue!" I turned around and hugged him right back, burying my face within his fuzzy chest. "Blue, we did it!" I shouted happily, my voice a little muffled by his fur, "We beat them!"
Blue patted my head and smiled at me, "Hm, that sounded a little familiar," He said in an amused voice. I giggled and hugged him even tighter, making him wince a little.
"Oh, right!" A thought ran through my mind as I let go of Blue. I quickly looked around the room for Mr. Xatu.
"Huh...?" Oddly, I couldn't find the tall bird anywhere inside the room. I asked out loud, "Mr. Xatu? Where did you go?"
There weren't any obvious exits that he could've left from, and there definitely weren't any places that he could be hiding behind. Did he teleport away? After it became clear that he was no longer present inside the chamber, I sighed and frowned in disappointment. I wanted to thank him for all the help he provided Blue and I. I glanced over to Blue, who was also looking around the room with a bewildered look on his face.
"I guess he's gone, huh?" Blue muttered as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. He looked at me and sighed.
"Maybe he had somewhere he needed to go?" I hypothesized. Blue shook his head and shrugged again, indicating that he doesn't know either. We both wore confused looks as we tried to imagine where Mr. Xatu could've gone.
"Sir! Are you alright in there?" Our wonderings were cut short by the arrival of an unfamiliar voice. I glanced toward the other end of the room, where a Patrat and a Sentret had rushed in from a tiny, almost unnoticeable crack in the wall.
"We're here to help you, Riolu!" Shouted the Patrat, who put up his paws in front of his face in a boxing pose, "Where's the criminal? I'll lay him flat with my mega punch!"
"Sir, I believe the criminal is already unconscious," said his Sentret friend, who tugged at the Patrat's arm and pointed toward the Drowzee.
The Patrat slowly followed the direction of the Sentret's finger with his eyes. When he finally reached the sight of the fainted Drowzee lying against the wall, his eyes opened up ridiculously wide and he leapt into the air, screaming.
"Gyaaah!" Patrat jumped into Sentret's arms, trembling.
"Blue, sir! I see you have succeeded in incapacitating the criminal!" The Sentret shouted, squirming uncomfortably as he tried to salute while holding onto Patrat, "Much congratulations to your success, sir!"
I gave Blue a questioning glance, wondering who those two were. He caught my gaze and gave me a small grin. Blue turned back toward the two Pokémon and cleared his throat loudly, giving the two of them a start.
"Patrat, Sentret," Blue said in an uncharacteristically serious voice, "where were you two when we were fighting the criminal?"
"Erk!" Patrat quickly clambered off his partner and stood up straight. He saluted Blue and replied dutifully, "Riolu, we were – um – busy formulating a tactical combat plan to aid you!"
"T – that's right, sir!" Sentret replied, nodding furiously, "We were waiting for the – um – opportune time, sir!"
"We could've jumped in at any time with formation Alpha, sir!" Patrat added loudly, speaking over Sentret.
"That's right, sir! Formation Alpha would've completely decimated the criminal, sir!" Sentret corroborated in a voice that was even louder than Patrat's.
"Sentret!" Patrat shouted, glaring at Sentret, "Stop attempting to speak over me!"
"Sir, with all due respect, this is my regular vocal volume, sir!"
"That is a lie, and you know it!"
"I dare not lie to you sir! However, I am inclined to bending the truth, sir!"
"Sentret...!"
"Sir...!"
Blue chuckled and shook his head at the silly antics of the two Pokémon. I began to giggle a little myself.
"Well then, since you two were absent during the battle," Blue said while trying to cover his laughing face with his paw, "I am afraid I have no choice but to give the both of you demerits."
"What?!"
"Sir, that's too cruel!"
I couldn't hold back my mirth anymore when I saw the horrified looks on the faces of those two. I burst out laughing, while Blue was having severe trouble keeping his own laughing face in check with his paws. The two little Pokémon stared at us with incredulous looks on their faces, which only served to make us laugh even harder.
"Hey, Fée..." Blue leaned over to me and whispered into my ear, "what's a demerit?"
"Blue...!" I mockingly smacked him over the head with my paw. "Don't pick on... pff – hahaha...! Don't... don't pick on them when you don't even know what you're talking about!"
Blue sheepishly scratched his nose and looked away. I shook my head and continued to giggle happily.
"Fé~e! Blu~e!"
Suddenly, a tiny, blue blur ran in between Patrat and Sentret at us, knocking the two of them aside like bowling pins. A big smile appeared on my face as I bent down and held out my paws welcomingly.
"Azurill!" I shouted happily as Azurill leapt into my embrace, nuzzling my ruff affectionately and wrapping her tail around me. I returned the affection by hugging her tightly and rubbing my chin on her head.
"Fée! You're here!" She cried, muffled by my fur. Her little face popped out from underneath my ruff and stared at me. I noticed that her face was covered by a few long, dark streaks, and the top of her head had several bruises on it. Feeling concerned and worried, I hugged her even tighter.
"I'm sorry, Fée..." She apologized in a soft voice, "I'm sorry for running away..."
I patted her head and cooed, "It's alright Azurill, you don't have to apologize."
"But I made so much trouble for everyone..."
I shook my head and put her back onto the ground. I gave her a small smile and said, "The important thing is that you're safe now, Azurill."
Blue walked over and knelt beside me. He reached out his paw and patted Azurill's head, making her blush a little.
"I'm sorry you got hurt, Azurill," Blue said in a kindly voice as he gently rubbed the dark lines on her face. Blue shut his eyes and said in a regretful voice, "It's my fault. If I hadn't let you out of my sight, then that guy never would've been able to take you away."
I placed my paw on his, making him open his eyes. I shook my head and stared directly into his red eyes and said in a comforting voice, "It's not your fault, Blue. Don't blame yourself." I smiled as I recalled the words he said to me yesterday. Blue must've recognized his own words as well, as he blushed and shook his head, grinning.
"That's right!" Azurill said in a chipper voice, "It's not your fault, Blue!"
Azurill suddenly jumped up and landed on Blue's shoulder. She wrapped her tail around his arm and pressed her cheek against his.
"You're my hero, Blue!" Suddenly, Azurill leaned over and gave Blue a big kiss on the cheek.
"Oooh!" Patrat and Sentret both opened their eyes wide and made an awed sound. I found myself staring at Azurill, my mouth hanging open out of shock.
"A – A – Azurill!" I suddenly regained my composure and shouted out loud. Azurill blushed so hard that she looked like her blue body turned completely red, while Blue just looked confused as to what just happened. Feeling oddly embarrassed and a little jealous at the same time, I quickly reached up and pulled Azurill off Blue's shoulder. Her tail untied itself and smacked me in the face in the process.
"Eheh..." Azurill giggled contentedly to herself as I held onto her. I shook my head and turned away from Blue, who still looked puzzled as to what everyone was blushing about. Azurill kept trying to squirm out of my hold, but I held on tightly while I tried to keep my own emotions in check.
"Well, it sure looks like you're all having a lot of fun."
Thankfully, the arrival of yet another unfamiliar voice rescued us from this embarrassing situation. Everyone looked up at the open roof of the cavern and saw a huge bird – shaped shadow descend from the skies.
"Rapta!" I heard Blue call out, "You're back!"
The great bird landed beside us in a flourish of feathers and dust. It was a large, magnificent Staraptor. The crest on his head gleamed brightly as he turned his head around slowly, surveying the battlefield with his sharp eyes. The Staraptor's gaze eventually fell upon the KO'd Drowzee in the corner. Then, he turned to look at Blue, or more specifically, the wounds all over Blue's body.
"Blue..." He suddenly covered his face with his wing and released a big sigh. He shook his head and gave Blue an angry stare, "I thought I told you to wait for my return before engaging the criminal in combat."
"Sorry Rapta," Blue lowered his head, looking a little shamefaced, "but I had my reasons for fighting him."
"Whatever your reasons were, you should still learn to follow directions and understand the situation before impulsively jumping into combat."
Rapta shook his head and extended a wing out to Blue. But, before the Staraptor could touch him, Azurill leapt out off my grasp and shouted.
"Don't yell at Blue, mister!" Both Rapta and Blue looked taken aback by her angry shout. Azurill glared fiercely at Rapta before continuing, "He saved my life! He's a good person, so don't get angry at him!"
Rapta blinked. Evidently, he didn't quite understand what was happening. He turned over to look at Blue, who just grinned and shrugged. Unfortunately, that only made the look of confusion on Rapta's face even more prominent. He turned back to look at Azurill, who was still glaring daggers at him.
Sighing, the Staraptor retracted his wing and took a step away from Blue. He looked over to Azurill again to see if that action appeased the little Pokémon. Azurill nodded, looking mollified. I quickly picked her back up and took a step back as well.
"You've got a pretty loyal friend there, Blue," Rapta remarked, shaking his head. Blue scratched his nose sheepishly and shrugged again.
"So what's the situation now then?" Blue asked as he pointed at the Drowzee, "What do we do with that guy?"
Rapta took a quick glance over at the Drowzee before answering, "Don't worry about him now. I've already contacted the authorities back at Treasure Town." Rapta flicked his crest nonchalantly with his wing, "They'll arrive in due time and arrest the criminal. Do not be worried."
"I see, that's good," Blue sighed and placed a paw on his chest. He turned to me and smiled, "so that means we can go home now, right?"
"E – eh?" I wasn't expecting him to suddenly address me. My face flushed red again as I quickly nodded as an answer. Blue grinned and turned back to the Staraptor, looking as though he was completely unaware of my embarrassment.
"Unfortunately, I can't quite carry you, your friend and that little spitfire over there," Rapta commented, pointing at Blue, me and Azurill. "As much as I'd love to fly you all home, I'm afraid we'd only reach halfway before we'd all crash into the ground." Rapta remarked with an amused tone.
"Eh? Then how do we get home?" Blue crossed his arms and looked confused, "Aren't we really far away from town?"
"Mr. Xatu's no longer here either," I added, "so we can't ask him to teleport us back to town..."
"That's true, hm..." Blue mumbled, cupping his paw over his chin as he pondered.
Rapta suddenly cleared his throat, catching our attention. Before we could ask anything, the Staraptor reached into his wing with his beak and withdrew something small and shiny. He began to walk toward Blue, but he paused for a second and glanced warily at Azurill, who eyeing him suspiciously. Rapta sighed in defeat and decided to drop the item in his beak on the ground instead of handing it over to Blue.
"What's this?" Blue asked as he picked it up and held it up against the sun. The object was just a tad smaller than Blue's paw, and resembled that of a small, clear marble. It glinted off the sun's rays, sending rainbow light scattering all around the rocky cavern. Azurill leapt out of my grasp and walked up to the ball, staring at it in awe.
"That, my friend," Rapta added, glancing over to Azurill again, "is an Escape Orb."
"'Escape Orb?'" Blue repeated the word, confused.
"Oh! I've heard of those before!" I piped up, recognizing the object. Everyone suddenly turned toward me, making me blush once more from the sudden attention. I quickly turned away and said, "Uhm... I've read about them before in an explorer's manual. Orbs are tools with various effects that explorers use while on expeditions."
I pointed at the clear, glassy marble in Blue's paws, "An Escape Orb has the ability to transport a group of explorers back to where they consider their home. So it's extremely valuable when you end up in a dangerous situation. Like... if your party accidentally falls into a trap and you can't find a way out."
"You're surprisingly knowledgeable about explorers," Rapta remarked, sounding impressed, "I see you aren't an apprentice yet. Have you considered applying to my guild?"
"E – eeeeeeh?!" Startled at his forwardness, I took another step backward. I felt my foot get tangled up by something on the ground and accidentally tripped, falling painfully onto my behind.
"Ow!" I glanced down at the offender and saw my little pink bag lying on the ground, its torn up straps wrapped around my leg like an entangling vine. My face burning hot, I quickly pulled the straps off my leg and picked myself off the ground. I grabbed my bag and shook my head to show them that I was fine.
"Uhm...!" Joining... his guild? I wanted to tell him that I was indeed interested in joining an exploration guild, but I didn't know what guild he belonged to. It's always been my dream to join the Wigglytuff Guild, and I didn't want to let that dream go. I prepared myself to politely decline his generous offer, but he just chuckled at me.
"Well, that was just a joke," Rapta covered his amused face with his wing, "but do give it some consideration, hm?"
Rapta turned toward Blue again, ignoring my incredulous expression. He placed his wing on the Escape Orb and addressed Blue.
"This Escape Orb is currently set to the Sheriff's back at town." He explained, "All you have to do is hold it up into the air as high as you possibly can, and it'll take you there in an instant."
Blue, startled, quickly lowered the arm that was holding the orb. He glanced over at me and Azurill and asked, "But what about my friends? Can I take them along too?"
"Of course," Rapta replied matter – of – factly, "just hold onto each other before activating the orb. It'll take you all back with no trouble at all."
"I see." Blue looked relieved at that information. He walked over to Azurill and I and held out his paw at us. Timidly, I placed my own paw on top of his while Azurill wrapped her long tail around the both of ours, securing them together.
Blue held up the orb in his other paw and prepared to raise it up into the air. But, before he activated it, he turned around to look at Rapta one more time.
"Hey, Rapta!"
The Staraptor looked surprised, "What is it?"
"Thanks for everything!"
Blue grinned at the Staraptor and quickly thrust the orb as high into the air as he could reach. In that instant, the rocky cavern, Rapta, Patrat and Sentret vanished from sight. The world became covered in a bright, white light. An odd, floating sensation took over my body. It felt like somebody had grabbed onto my ruff from behind and forcibly pulled me into the air.
The sound of rushing winds filled my hearing as we traveled through the white void. I squeezed Blue's paw tightly. I was afraid of being left behind in this strange, white world. The only thing I could feel during this voyage was the warmth of Blue's paw.
Then, one second later, the white void shattered. The next thing I knew, Blue, Azurill and I were standing in the middle of a large, wooden room. Pokémon were hustling and bustling all around us, talking in loud voices and doing all kinds of activity. Blue looked at me, his face mirroring my own confusion.
"I guess..." I said slowly, taking in the atmosphere around us, "...I guess we're home now!"
"Bwahaha! I knew he could do it! What did I tell ya, Hariyama? He's a ringer, ain't he?"
Blue and I sat on rickety wooden chairs as two loud Pokémon walked up to us. Azurill had fallen asleep on my lap and was snoring gently. One of which I recognized from the hundreds of signs posted up in town as Machoke, guildmaster of his self – titled Machoke Guild. The other was a large, heavyset Pokémon that was covering his face with his huge, huge hands.
"Yes, and I'm quite sure you're happy about completely abandoning your own event," the huge Pokémon – Hariyama I assume – said in a scathing voice, "I hope you're aware of how disappointed the contestants were when they realized that the very Guildmaster they were hoping to impress was nowhere to be found."
"Ah, well it's not a big deal," Machoke said in a nonchalant voice, shrugging for emphasis, "if they're gonna impress me, then they better show their stuff right in my face!"
"...that was the point of the battle royale, Guildmaster."
Sighing, the large Pokémon left his laughing Guildmaster behind and walked up to us. He bowed respectfully before us and said, "I apologize for whatever trouble my Guildmaster might've put you through."
"No, it was no trouble at all," Blue replied in a cordial voice, "in fact, he helped us out a lot."
Blue reached over and patted Azurill on the head, "If he hadn't offered his help, then I never would've been able to save Azurill here."
"Ehehe!" Azurill giggled as she enjoyed Blue's head pats.
Hariyama looked surprised by Blue's words and turned around to look at Machoke, who shrugged and continued to grin widely.
"I see," Hariyama closed his eyes and shook his head, "although I don't fully understand the entire situation yet, I've heard that you defeated an outlaw and rescued your friend, yes?"
"That's right."
Hariyama nodded and waved his large hand at a floating Magnemite at the other side of the room to come over. He leaned over and whispered something inaudible to the Magnemite, who beeped and whirred in response before floating out of the room. I stared at the Magnemite curiously before Hariyama turned back around and spoke again.
"Riolu, perhaps you should come with us for the time being," He said, folding his massive hands on his chest.
Blue looked surprised and said, "What do you mean? Did I do something wrong?"
"No, it's not like that at all," Hariyama shook his head. He pointed a finger at Blue's body and said, "at our guild headquarters, we can examine your injuries and get you some medical treatment. What do you say?"
"Oh," Blue glanced down at his body. He covered up his scars with his paws and shook his head at Hariyama, "It's alright, I'm totally fine. There's no need for that."
"Eh?" I goggled at him, startled, "Blue, what are you talking about?"
I glared at him and pointed a paw at his right leg, "You've been walking and fighting on that injured leg for almost two whole days now. You need to go get some rest!"
Blue crossed his arms and tried to hide his leg underneath his chair, "I said it's fine. I don't need any rest, Fée." He obstinately pointed at me in response, "I ate that – um – Oran Berry you gave me earlier. I'm totally fine now, see?"
He tried to flex his arm to show me, but his wincing face did nothing to impress me. I shook my head and sent him an angry look.
"That Oran Berry I made you ate isn't enough to completely heal you, Blue." I shook my head and continued, "You need serious help before you get hurt even more."
Blue frowned and folded his arms, "I said I'm fine, Fée. In fact, I think you need more help than I do," I looked confused as he pointed at my face, "you were hit by a few of Drowzee's stone attack earlier. I think you should go get that checked out before me."
I self – consciously pawed my face. Sure, I got hit by a few of Drowzee's missiles earlier, but it was nothing compared to the sheer amount of injuries that Blue had on his body. I shook my head and sighed. Why was he being so stubborn?
"Blue, this is nothing," I said in a frustrated voice, "your body is hurt far more than just a few scratches on my face."
I softened my gaze and stared imploringly at him, "Please, Blue," I said in a pleading voice, "I don't want to see you so injured anymore. Please, just go with Hariyama and get yourself healed."
Blue was taken aback by my sudden change in demeanor. He opened his mouth to retort, but froze as he caught sight of my stare. Eventually, he sighed and faced away from me, scratching his nose sheepishly. He stayed silent for a while, as if he was thinking hard about what to say.
"Alright Fée," He said finally, turning back to me and giving me a defeated grin, "you win. I'll go with them."
"Blue... thank you," I sighed and smiled at him. It was like a heavy weight was being lifted off my back as I watched him jump off the chair and toward Hariyama and Machoke.
"Dynamic!" Machoke bellowed suddenly, making me and Azurill wince and cover our ears, "It's nice to finally have you with us, Blue!"
"I didn't agree to anything yet, Machoke," Blue replied with a frown on his face as he stood nex to Hariyama. Machoke continued to grin though as he walked up and placed a beefy hand on Blue's shoulder.
"You might not agree now," He said, patting Blue's shoulder proudly, "but I'm sure your tune will change once you take a gander at our headquarters, ha ha!"
"Save the tour for after he's been looked at by the Audino, Guildmaster." Hariyama said with a shake of his head.
"Blah!" Machoke shouted immaturely, "Scars are the rewards of battle!"
"Not if they're still fresh, Guildmaster."
As the two muscular Pokémon walked out of the room, still arguing with each other, Blue paused and turned around. I smiled and waved at him, urging him to follow them. He looked away for a second before giving me one last look.
"See you, Fée." He spoke in a low voice, just barely audible over the hubbub of the sheriff's office.
"Bye, Blue..." I felt my smile slipping slightly as I watched his back disappear beyond the doorway. I cupped Azurill's body with my paws and hugged her.
A strange flood of sadness rushed through my heart as I sat alone in the room. I didn't know what I wanted to do. A part of me wanted to run after Blue and follow him to Machoke's Guild, but I couldn't just leave Azurill alone in here. I had to stay and wait for her brother to come and take her home before I could leave. I closed my eyes and lightly placed my chin on top of Azurill's head and listened to her soft breathing as she continued to sleep. Slowly, I began to nod off as well.
I had a little dream.
I dreamt that I was standing in the middle of a snowfield. Everywhere I looked, there was pure, white snow covering the ground. Tiny, glittering flakes of white were gently drifting down from the sky. At the center of the snowfield, there was a solitary tree. Its thick branches and bushy leaves were covered with a heavy layer of snow, making it lean slightly to the left.
It was a lonely, forgotten tree.
No other trees or plants grew around this tree. It was simply by itself in the middle of a vast, empty snowfield.
And yet, despite being alone and friendless, it continued to grow. This lonely tree grew into a large, strong tree that can withstand the heavy weight of the snow piling on top of it.
I touched the tree's surface, feeling its rough bark against my paw. A strange, nostalgic feeling washed over me as I looked up into its branches. I felt a memory inside my heart. However, as I tried to recall it, the memory refused to budge. It was as if the memory had been too deeply buried underneath all this snow.
Yet, as I sat in front of the lonely tree, I felt an odd sense of kinship with it. I wanted to know where this tree was, or why it felt so familiar to me. But, as I continued to think about it, my body began to shiver.
I was sitting in the middle of a snowfield, after all.
Smiling wryly to myself, I curled up into a small ball at the foot of the solitary tree. I don't know why, but it just felt natural. Eventually, as the snow slowly piled up around me, I closed my eyes and left this snowy world behind.
"Guuh..."
I woke up feeling sore and uncomfortable. Groggily, I opened my eyes and looked around me. The sheriff's office was completely empty. I was alone inside of the dark, wooden room. I glanced down at my paws. Azurill was no longer there. Instead, there was a small paper note lying at the place where she was.
I picked up the note and held it up to the dim moonlight. It was just bright enough for me to make out what the words were.
'Fée, thank you for everything you've done for us today.'
I recognized the neat, but somewhat shaky handwriting as that of Marill's. He must've come and picked Azurill up after I fell asleep. I glanced back down at the letter and continued to read.
'When I heard that you returned with Azurill, I was so happy and relieved that I cried when I saw her sitting here.'
I noticed that some parts of the note were indeed smudged by several large water droplets. I shook my head and tried not to imagine Marill sobbing as he bent over the piece of paper, writing around his tears.
'Azurill woke up, of course, and she wanted to know where your friend was. The Riolu, I assume? But, as we tried to wake you up, you wouldn't rouse, no matter what we did. So we decided to just let you sleep. You looked really tired too.'
A pang of emotion hit me as I remembered my goodbye to Blue. I looked up from the letter and at the doorway in front of me. I don't know how long I had spent asleep, but hours must've already passed between our goodbye to now. Blinking away my tears, I turned back to Marill's letter.
'I don't know when you might wake up, but when you do, let it be known that you're always welcome to come over to our place for food and, if you want, you can stay here with us as well. I'm sure Azurill will enjoy your company. If not, then I'd be glad to talk to you some more, sometime.'
I smiled at his invitation. Although I considered Marill a good friend, I didn't want to impose on his hospitality too much. I did make a mental note to visit them someday though.
'Also, just between you and me, I've decided to take your words to heart. I haven't told Azurill yet, but I'm planning on spending more time with her. Not as a fussy mother, but as her brother. It's a little scary to go out every day, but for her sake, I'll try to be a little braver. Just like you, Fée.'
I cocked my head to the side as I reached the end of the letter. He thought I was brave? Suddenly, I remembered the speech I gave him before I teleported away with Mr. Xatu. I suppose I did cheer him up a bit as well as encourage him to... well, stop being a coward. I blushed a little as I remembered my odd confidence from before. It was a little unbelievable to think that I, who was pretty much the same as Marill yesterday, would be able to tell him to stop being a coward.
And it was all thanks to my new friend, Blue.
"Thanks... Blue..." I whispered quietly as I folded Marill's letter. My bag was lying beside me. The straps were once again tied together in the same hasty fashion as before. As I picked it up with my teeth, I glanced down inside it.
My precious treasure. The small fragment of rock that I held so dearly. Everything began when it was stolen from me by those two bullies.
I wondered. If I hadn't been robbed by those two, would I have ever met Blue?
Probably, probably not. I wouldn't know.
I shook my head and threw my bag over my neck. I stuffed Marill's letter inside of it and slowly walked out of the sheriff's office.
The cold, night wind blew across the now – emptied streets. I shivered a little as the chilly wind ruffled my fur, brushing away what little grogginess I had left inside me. It was a little unbelievable. Just earlier today, the streets were filled with crowds and crowds of Pokémon. And now, as night has fallen, it seemed like everyone had suddenly disappeared.
As I looked up into the night sky, I mulled over my options. If I headed to my left, I would be on the road back to where I lived. If I went to my right, I would find myself in front of the great staircase that lead to Wigglytuff's Guild once more.
Today's the day, I said to myself this morning. Today's the day that I'll ask them to accept me as an apprentice.
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the cool night air. There was no reason for me to hesitate, right? Even thought Blue was no longer with me, I'm no longer a coward!
I slapped the sides of my face with my paws and took a step to the right.
It didn't take very long for me to reach the top of the cliff once again. I looked around at the now very – familiar sights. The wooden totem poles that displayed a bunch of Pokémon faces, the two huge braziers that stood, unlit, beside the road. Even down to the little dry bushes that dotted the top of the plateau. I knew it all, I've seen it all. After all, I've been here every day.
I looked at the huge, pink tent looming out of the ground in front of me. Personally, I thought it looked pretty garish. Although I do consider pink as one of my favorite colors, the tent was so brightly colored and so eye – catching that it kinda gave me the creeps.
I shook my head. This wasn't the time to criticize the guild's preference in tents. I took a step forward, onto the wooden grille embedded in the road. I felt the grille dip downward slightly under my weight as I waited. Usually, when I stand on this grille, a voice explodes from underneath, shouting out that an Eevee had arrived.
However, this time, the only sound I heard was the whistling of the night wind blowing across the frontier. I looked around, confused. It was only when my eyes locked onto the bright moon above that I realized.
It was late. Very late. Night had probably fallen hours ago and anyone who was in the guild was probably asleep by now, which included the sentry below. A bemused smile wormed its way onto my face as I gently stepped off the grille. I stared at the bright pink tent as I took a step back onto the dirt.
What was I expecting? Did I think someone was going to be there, this late at night, and let me in? I shook my head. I was being too presumptuous.
"Today... wasn't my day either," I mumbled sadly to myself. I tugged at the bag around my neck as I turned my back to the tent. Sighing, I decided to head home for the night.
"Hey, where are you going?"
I froze. My right paw was just about to step down onto the stairs as I heard a familiar voice behind me. Slowly, I put my paw down and turned around.
"B...Blue?" I stifled a gasp when I saw him. The Riolu, my friend, was leaning against one of the totem poles that stood next to the road. He grinned as I acknowledged his presence and pushed himself off the wooden post.
I was stunned, no startled, no surprised. A million questions were rushing through my mind at a ridiculous pace. My heart was beating so hard that I thought it was going to leap out of my chest and do a jig on the road. I tried to open my mouth and ask him a question, but the only sound that came out of my mouth was a muffled, choking noise.
"What, is it that surprising to see me?" He remarked as he watched me struggle with my emotions with a curious expression on his face. He took his right paw and waved it in front of my face, "Hellooo? Fée? You home in there?"
"W... wh..." I my mouth continued to gibber odd noises as I tried to formulate a sentence. Blue tilted his head questioningly at me and tapped me on the forehead with his paw. I shook my head wildly, knocking away his paw.
"Blue...!" I finally managed to gasp out. My voice was hoarse and low as I finally found the words I was looking for, "Blue... what are you doing here?!"
"What do you mean, 'what am I doing here?'" Blue replied in an indignant tone as he held his paw, "Am I not allowed to be up here at night?"
"No, I mean, that's... errgh!"
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to recompose myself. He's so infuriating sometimes! Opening my eyes again, I glared at his dumb, smiling face angrily.
"I mean, didn't you go with Machoke and Hariyama to their guild?" I said in an angry tone, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be lying in a bed somewhere there?"
"Jeez," Blue scratched his nose sheepishly, "If I knew you were going to be so mad to see me, I wouldn't have waited here in the cold for hours."
"You... what?" Once again, I found myself at a loss for words. Blue folded his arms and grinned at me.
"When Machoke and Hariyama took me away, they kept trying to convince me to join their guild," He explained, waving a paw around in the air, "but I just refused them every time."
"Why?" I said out of confusion, "Being invited to a guild by a Guildmaster isn't something you can just ignore, Blue!"
"Really?" Blue looked genuinely surprised at what I said, "Well, I guess I just ignored them then!"
"Argh, that's not what I meant!" I shook my head out of frustration and glared at Blue again, "I mean, why did you refuse? You're perfect for that guild!"
"I am? How so?"
Was he being annoying on purpose? I didn't know, but I answered anyway, "Machoke's Guild only wants Pokémon that are strong and brave! And... well, you're both of those! Plus, even the Guildmaster really seemed to like you, Blue!"
"I guess so," Blue replied nonchalantly, "he's a nice guy, but, between you and me, he's kinda stuffy."
"Stuf...what?!"
Blue frowned and folded his arms, "That guy – Machoke – keeps doing these weird poses and talking loudly as we walked to their guildhouse. It was funny at first, but then it got really annoying after a while."
"So... what did you do?" I asked slowly, afraid of what kind of answer I'm going to get.
Blue grinned widely at me and said, "I ran away, of course."
I ran up and tackled him in the chest. He gasped out of surprise as we tumbled down onto the dirt. I stood on top of him, glaring down at his stupid grinning face.
"You can't just run away from a Guildmaster, Blue!" I hissed, outraged, "That's... that's incredibly disrespectful!"
"Hahaha!" Blue laughed cheerfully for some infuriating reason. I growled and pressed my forehead against his, staring directly into his eyes.
"Blue, I'm taking you back to Machoke's to apologize, right now!"
Blue stopped laughing, but he continued to grin at me. He reached up with his paw and patted me on the back of the head as he continued to smile in that dorky way.
"Fée, if you take me back to Machoke's right now, then you can't do what you wanted to do here, you know." He said plainly.
"What...?" I replied, confused. Blue shook his head, knocking up some dust with his ears.
"Don't you remember?" He said as he gently pushed me off his body. He sat up and dusted his paws off and pointed at the big, pink tent behind him, "You said that 'today was the day!' and that you were going to finally apply at Wigglytuff's Guild, right?"
"Y – yes..." I gaped at him for a second before quickly shaking my head, "T – that's not the point right now!"
I grabbed onto his paw with my teeth and tried to pull him off the ground, but he stayed stubbornly still with his behind glued to the dirt. He laughed annoyingly at me as he watched me struggle to pull him away and toward Machoke's Guild.
"Fée – ouch!" He yelped in pain when I accidentally bit a little too hard. I quickly let go out of surprise. Blue shook his paw and blew on it.
I sighed in defeat and sat down next to him, watching him suckle his paw like a little child.
"Blue, there's no point in me being here now anyway, you know?" I said in a disappointed voice, "Even if I were to ask someone to open up, they might all be asleep by now."
"Hm?" Blue pulled his paw out of his mouth, trailing a little saliva from it as he turned around and looked at the thick wooden gate in front of the tent. He pondered it for a second before saying, "Well, that's a shame, huh?"
I nodded, moreso out of disappointment than annoyance by now, "That's why we should just take you back to Machoke and apologize. He's probably still waiting for you back at his guild, Blue."
"Hm, but if I went back now, I'd be breaking my promise with you again, Fée."
Promise? What did he mean by that? I glanced at him with a puzzled look on my face, wondering what kind of promise he made with me.
"What, you don't remember?" Blue said, noticing my confused expression, "It was yesterday, Fée! At the cave? Remember, you wouldn't let me sleep until I said yes?"
"Um..."
Blue sighed at my inability to remember, "And I thought I had memory problems..." He remarked dryly. Dusting himself off, he stood up from the ground and extended a paw to me. I took it and he pulled me up with him.
"I promised to stick together with you when we head to Treasure Town, remember?" Blue explained with a slight frown on his face, "Then you ran away from me before we even reached the town gates."
"Oh... oh!" Suddenly, my memory of last night reappeared in my head. I felt my face heat up as I recalled what I made Blue promise me. I quickly turned away and covered my face with my paws. He didn't have to take that promise so seriously!
"Well, I suppose I'm partly at fault too," I heard him say from behind my covered face, "When I made it into town, I kinda got distracted and forgot to go find you."
"Eh?"
I peeked out from behind my paws and saw him gingerly rubbing his chest. The huge bruise that was present there earlier had mostly faded away now, thanks to the salve I put on it a while ago. He scratched his nose sheepishly as he quickly covered up his chest when he saw me gazing at it.
"So, I'm sorry Fée," He said in a low voice, "I should've stuck closer with you earlier. I broke our promise. Please forgive me!"
He clasped his paws together and bowed in front of me apologetically.
I turned my head away and pretended to cough. I didn't know how I should respond to him. After all, he wasn't the only one that got distracted too. I remembered my chance meeting with Azurill, as well as being dragged into a restaurant with Sunflora and Loudred. He's not the only one at fault.
"Blue..." I turned back and smiled at him, "You don't have to apologize. It's not all your fault."
"Some of it still is though," He replied, poking his head up, "and I'd like to make it up with you, Fée."
"Eh?"
Blue suddenly straightened up and walked back to the totem pole. I watched him curiously as he disappeared behind the wooden sculpture. He reappeared a second later, holding a small, multicolored box in his paws.
"What's that?" I asked, staring curiously at the box. He grinned and put the box onto the ground in front of me.
It was a small, rectangular box with a rounded lid. It resembled that of a treasure chest actually, except much smaller than what I've read about in adventure stories. The box was mostly made of wood, but it had a small, metal hinge behind the lid so it could open up. Splotches of color adorned the box's surface, giving it a bright, colorful personality.
I gently nudged the lid, and found that it opened up fairly easily. I quickly glanced over at Blue, who just nodded at me and redirected my attention back to the box with his paw. I gulped nervously and proceeded to push the lid completely open.
At first, I couldn't tell what was inside. But, as the moonlight shone into the box, I slowly began to make out what the contents were.
"Is this... a ribbon?" I reached inside and pulled out a short length of cloth. It was pink colored, but in a softer hue than that of the tent behind Blue. The fabric felt soft and nice to the touch, and it glowed dimly in the moonlight. It was the most beautiful ribbon I've ever seen in my entire life.
"That's right," Blue said as he gently closed the box's lid. He took the ribbon from my paws and walked behind me. Then, he placed it against my right ear. I shuddered a little when I felt him touch my sensitive ears.
"Hold still, I'm not really skilled at this just yet," He whispered as he began to clumsily tie the ribbon onto my ear. After a few minutes of fumbling around, he finally pulled the two ends of the ribbon taut and backed away.
I reached up with a paw and touched the soft cloth that was now tied on my ear. It felt loose and uncomfortable, and I was afraid that it was going to fall off if I touched it again. Overall, Blue wasn't very good at tying ribbons.
But, at the same time, I felt as though it didn't matter. A smile crept onto my face as I closed my eyes and patted the ribbon again. I felt a little bit of his warmth radiating from the ribbon, as if he had placed a little bit of his own strength into the ribbon as he was tying it.
I opened my eyes and turned around to look at Blue. He had a strange, almost nervous – looking expression on his face, as if he wasn't sure if he tied it on correctly or not. I opened my mouth wide and gave him a great, big smile.
Feeling a warm emotion inside my chest, I slowly stood up and walked toward Blue. He still had that funny look on his face as I neared him. I didn't say anything at all. I just closed my eyes and rested my cheek on his chest.
"Jeez," I heard him mumble, "And now you're all nice and huggy again. I just don't get you sometimes."
"Hehe..." I giggled and gave him a playful nudge. He responded by pushing me back and chuckling a little.
"Hey Blue?" I asked him in a quiet voice, "Can I be selfish for a little bit?"
"Selfish?" He replied, "Sure, why not?"
I smiled and looked up into his red eyes.
"Can you stay with me for a while?"
"How long is a while?"
"I dunno, how about until I become a real explorer?"
"A real explorer, huh?"
"It's always been my dream, you know. To go out and explore."
"Yeah, I know."
"So..."
"Sure, Fée. I'll stick with you until then, and then, maybe even a little bit after."
"You sure you wont regret it? I'm not as brave or as strong as you, Blue..."
"I don't mind. You're a lot more fun to hang around with than Machoke and his sweaty gang."
"Hehe... thanks, Blue."
"You think they'll try to enter any time soon?"
Sunflora shushed her irritated companion by holding her leaf up to her mouth. Loudred grumbled inaudibly, a surprising feat for the usually – loud Pokémon, and ducked behind the tent's pink flaps. Sunflora shot him a dirty look and continued to look out at the two embracing Pokémon outside.
"Oooh... those two are just adorable, don't you think?" She couldn't hold back her glee as she saw Fée hug Blue, "I just can't get enough of watching them! I'm going to write this in my diary as soon as I get back to my room!"
"Yeah, and how long will that take?" Loudred grumbled as he yawned, "Those two have stood out there for almost half an hour. Who knows how much longer they'll take?"
"If you hadn't taken so long to open the gate, they could've been in here already, Loudred!"
Loudred jabbed a thumb at Blue and Fée outside and replied irritably, "They didn't even notice that the gate is open, Sunflora. What am I to do? I can't just go outside now and ruin their little lovey – dovey moment."
"Oooh.. you're right..." Sunflora said reluctantly, "Maybe they'll notice on their own eventually! I can't wait to welcome them to the guild, eek!"
Loudred sighed and shrugged his shoulders despondently, "Yeah, sure. Who knows how long that'll take?"