Part Six
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Secrets Revealed
So we can rock it day and night.
People gettin' down that's right.
From am to pm."
"AM to PM" by Christina Milian
AN: Matt, Cirrus' brother, doesn't know that she and Vulpix switched places. As such, I will be calling Vulpix, Cirrus, whenever she's with Matt. So please, please, don't get too confused!
~Blackthorn, Johto Region~
I sighed as Brock ran a brush through my thick fur. It had been a week since I changed places with Vulpix and so far nothing had happened. Nothing out of the ordinary and thusly to be considered suspect anyway. Vulpix's Pokeball had been sent to Kurt in Azalea, but he had sent word that it would take him up to a month to get it sent back to Brock in Blackthorne. That would turn out to be some of the better news of this slightly amusing day.
Why's that? Well, it could be because of a certain Team Rocket that decided to show up. Yup, that's right. Team Rocket as in Jessie, James, and Meowth. It seems that they'd heard of Claire's high level dragon type pokemon and they'd decided it would be in Claire's best intentions if they relieved her of them. So like I said, today was slightly amusing.
The faint sound of Jessie's mocking laughter caught my attention. With a groan, I perked my ears towards the sound, disrupting Brocks train of thought. Or brushing...whatever.
Narrowing my eyes, I listened harder, pushing Brocks questions of "What is it?" out of my way. It was then that I heard Claire's voice, calm and cool, but faint. They were a pretty fair hike away from our current location which was in a tree shaded area right outside of the Pokemon Center. I walked off of Brocks lap and onto the wooden slats of the park bench we'd been sitting on and cocked my head.
Brock stood up, shadowing over me, "What is it, girl? What's wrong?"
"Little Timmy fell in the well!" I said perkily, looking up at him with shining eyes.
Alas, his gaze was blank to my sarcasm. A second shadow fell over me, and I looked up to see light brown eyes staring at me. It was Lia, the teal haired trainer Brock met on the magnet train. "What's wrong with your Vulpix?" Her voice was concerned. "It looks like she hears something going on."
I rolled my eyes and sighed, "Brock picks a winner everytime." Deciding to do the Lassie thing, I leapt off the bench and trotted off a few feet, paused to look back, and go off a little more, look back again.
"I think she wants us to follow her," Lia said, grabbing Brocks hand, "Let's follow her!"
Her intelligence astounds me, I thought surly, darting off at a pace the two could follow. Soon enough, we'd reached a clearing just outside of town, and right into the middle of a battle.
~Viridian City, Kanto Region~
"How could you do this to him?" Matt asked Cirrus carefully. They were seated in the kitchen, alone and eating breakfast. It was raining hard outside, intermittent flashes of lightning danced around the house.
"Do what?" his sister asked, munching on an apple. "I simply think it's time to move on to more lush fields. Gary Oak would merely hold me back."
"From what? He's been declared a Pokemon Master and he's practically a sure shot to be leader of the Viridian City gym." Matt paused to sip some fresh orange juice. "What could be wrong with that?"
"If you like him so much, why don't you go out with him?" Cirrus narrowed her eyes. "Maybe all that arrogance is hiding a terribly 'sensitive' person."
"That's so wrong," Matt shook his head. "What has gotten into you?"
"More like who," Cirrus muttered. Lightning flashed and thunder sounded close behind.
"What?!" Matt cried out, imagining the worst. "You and AJ haven't..."
Cirrus burst out laughing, "Oh puh-lease and a half! AJ is very sexy indeed, but I have morals."
"Then what's wrong with you? You have been acting like a totally different person this past week." Matt frowned, "Ever since you and Gary went to see that Brock guy in Saffron City."
At the mention of Brock's name, Matt saw his sister's eyes darken in sorrow. He sighed, knowing a look of forlorn love when he saw one. "Have you been dating Brock behind Gary's back?"
Cirrus' head jerked up, "NO! No, that's not it at all." She looked away, a slight blush on her cheeks, "He and I have a far different relationship than that. Far different."
Matt started to ask a question when the doorbell rang. Cirrus ran for it, sandles clomping on the tiled kitchen floor, "Sorry, gotta go break someone's heart!"
Matt watched her go, and muttered, "That's not my sister. I don't know who she is, but she's not Cirrus."
Shivering and wiping at rain-soaked arms, Gary stood outside Cirrus' house, feeling unusually nervous. He didn't know why Vulpix called him and told him to come over, but he had a not good feeling about it. Vulpix had gotten a swift hang onto human things, and the phone was no exception.
The door opened, revealing Vulpix dressed in something he'd never seen Cirrus wear. A red cropped tank top bared her toned torso and the black hip hugger pants dropped below the belly button. "C'mon in, Soaked Oak," Vulpix sounded tense. "There are still some bagels left."
Gary followed her, taking off his windbreaker and hanging it on a coatrack, "Did you get your belly button pierced?"
She didn't pause, but shrugged her shoulders, "Yah, I thought Cirrus could use an interesting change."
"The hair wasn't enough?"
"Whatever! This hair was in such bad condition." Vulpix flashed Gary a smile over one bared tanned shoulder, "Now it's strong, shiny, and super healthy."
"I liked it straight." Gary muttered as they walked into the kitchen. To Gary's surprise, Matt was there, eating an omelette. The older boy nodded slightly at Gary, who nodded back. Gary was further surprised by the calculating look on Matt's face; he was staring at his sister as if he'd never seen her before.
Which wouldn't be too far from the truth.
"Bagel?" Vulpix asked, holding out a pre-sliced bagel.
Gary shook his head, "No, I just want to know why you called me and told me to come over."
"Oh, that," She put the bagel down, "I just wanted to let you know that I'm dumping you. I found someone new and it's over between us, buh-bye."
Gary blinked, "What? Is this some sort of a joke?"
"It's no joke, Oak," Vulpix stared at him, unblinking. "I don't love you, I don't need you. You're holding me back from something I have to do. I won't let an imposter do it for me."
"You can't be serious," Gary forced his voice to be even, but he heard and hated the slight tremble to it. It was too freaky to think that Vulpix would try to dump him. And seeing her as Cirrus made it a nightmare come true. "And what's more, you can't do this."
"Yes I can," Vulpix said mockingly, "It's called free-will and I have it." She walked around the center island, and poked him in his chest. "I will go to Blackthorne and rescue him, and if you think you can stop me, well, I'd like to see you try."
"Blackthorne?" Matt broke in, "Whassup with Blackthorne?"
"You can't go there," Gary said, ignoring Matt. His anger took over and he talked in his old "Takin' Care of Ash the Loser" tone, "You're practically a baby! You can't even take care of yourself! How do you think you can help Brock?"
"I..." Vulpix started.
"You have no powers! You're helpless!" Gary shook his head, "You'd just get in the way and get yourself hurt! You would be a liability and not an asset."
Tears began to well up in Vulpix's eyes. "But..."
"Face the truth!" He sneered at her, "You can't help him as you are. In fact, you would probably be the one responsible for getting him killed."
The tears spilled over and Vulpix rushed past him, shoving him hard, and running for the french doors that went from the kitchen to the back yard. Shoving one open, she ran out into the storm, swiftly disappearing in the darkness.
"Cirrus!" Matt yelled, running out onto the wide wooden patio. He could barely see her red clad form running into the woods beyond their property. "Come back!"
Gary stepped out onto the patio, standing behind Matt. "She'll come back."
Matt didn't turn around, his heart still in his throat.
"She always does."
Matt spun around, "What do you mean by that?" Lightning crashed around them.
Gary raised an eyebrow and spoke cooly, "I mean..." He sighed, "There is a lot for me to tell you."
Matt folded his arms across his broad chest, "So start talking."
Vulpix crashed through shrubs, the rain lashing her barely clothed form, lightning and thunder roaring around her. She stopped when she reached a clearing, and sank down under a tree, sobbing.
It can't be true, it just can't be! She thought, looking out at the clearing through tear-filled eyes. I would never do anything to hurt Brock. I've never been a liability to him.
She sat there, the rain soaking into her pants and top, and she thought long and hard. It was strange to be in a rainstorm and not fear the water that was touching her body. If she could, she'd tell Brock how wonderful it felt.
Brock. Her Trainer.
He wasn't in any trouble at the moment, and she could usually always tell when he was. Vulpix knew some Pokemon had a special bond with their Trainers, even if they weren't of the psychic variety. Ash had one with his Pikachu, Misty had one with Togepi, and she knew that Cirrus had one with Umbreon and Mystique. Even Gary had a bond with his Eevee, though she didn't know why the little Pokemon would bond with the arrogant one.
One and only one of the Pokemon Cirrus trained had truly frightened Vulpix. The cyndaquil that insisted on naming itself Xanady held an imposing aura of maliciousness that the fire fox had never felt before. The cyndaquil was one of the reasons Vulpix gave the lot of Pokemon to Matt; she knew he'd take care of them.
Mystique and the Umbreon could easily figure out that she wasn't the real Cirrus, and it would only be a matter of time before they would refuse to battle or even come from their Pokeballs. She knew this because she'd done it to Suzie once. Suzie was Vulpix's first Trainer, until the breeder had given her to Brock.
Vulpix loved Brock, but not in the way that humans loved each other. That would be impossible and it never really entered Vulpix' thoughts. Rather, Vulpix loved Brock for who he was, the whole package. It didn't matter how girl-crazy he got, or how powerful he was as a gym leader. It was the essence of Brock...the being he was, that Vulpix loved. And if he died and she wasn't there to try to protect him, she may as well die anyway.
Suddenly, she sneezed, and it was then that she realized she didn't know where she was. Vulpix stood up, shivering, and walked around the clearing. Rubbing her arms, she walked across the center of the clearing, to the other side of the clearing. She thought she'd seen something moving, and she called out, "Oak? Is that you?"
When she got no response, she poked around in the bushes, "Come on out, Oak. I'm ready to go back now."
A low growling sound had her stepping back into the clearing. From the bushes came a tall, dark, massive shape, and when it stepped out into the clearing after her, Vulpix could see she was in for a whole mess of trouble.
"Uuurrrsaaa...."
Uh-oh, looks like Vulpix has gotten herself into trouble, cuz I don't think that's Gary! Will she be okay? And what's Team Rocket doing trying to get Claire's Pokemon? All this and more, in the next episode of Hidden Journey!