When Hunter woke the next morning, he could see the sun rising. Lucario was still asleep, as was Buizel. He turned onto his back and looked through the cabin door. Nobody was coming by. That meant Lucario was safe from discovery. But still, he can't get off the train with me. I only got on with one Poké Ball.
When they were about fifteen minutes from the Veilstone station, he shook Lucario, waking him. "You should get outside again. I'll meet you in the woods outside the station."
Alright. Lucario got up on the window ledge, opened the window, and flipped out onto the roof.
The train slowly pulled into the station, finally stopping.
Hunter saw a shadow flitting across the ground, and got off the train.
In the woods, Hunter met up with Lucario and they started walking. "My house isn't too far from here. It's on top of a hill, so we should be able to see it quick."
Why are we walking? Lucario asked. He started running, Hunter following fast.
Eventually they came to the foot of a hill. Hunter smiled. "Good. It's still here."
He checked the garage for any signs of oil stains, anything to suggest recent habitation. "And it doesn't look like anyone's living here."
Lucario nodded. Good. That would be a nasty surprise if anyone was.
Hunter chuckled. "Right."
He opened the front door, looking around the empty interior.
The front door opened into a spacious living room. Two chairs and a sofa were in an arc around the television. Beside the TV, there was a door that led to the kitchen. Beside that door there was a staircase, where there were two bedrooms and a bathroom.
Hunter started climbing the stairs. "We can argue over rooms later. Right now, I'm going to go and take a shower."
You do that, Lucario said, walking around and looking at various items in the house.
Hunter stood in the shower, allowing the water to rinse weeks of dirt and grime from his body. I need to cut my hair, too, he thought to himself.
He stayed in the shower for about two hours, even when the water got cold. When he finally exited, with a towel wrapped around his waist, he went into his room to change into a fresh set of clothes.
When he came down the stairs, he saw Lucario lying on the couch, one knee in the air and the other leg draped across it, swinging one foot. He raised his head as Hunter came down the stairs. You were in there a long time.
"You'd be in there a while too if you hadn't bathed in days."
Lucario smiled. That's why I'm not human.
He barked in surprise as Hunter lifted him up using Aura, carrying him up the stairs towards the bathroom. "Come on, now it's your turn."
But I don't take baths! Lucario protested.
"Deal with it. It's not that bad."
Let me go!
Buizel was rolling on the floor, laughing.
Lucario stood in the bathroom as Hunter talked him over how to use the shower. "Left is hot, right is cold. Adjust it until you're comfy."
He started to walk out, then turned. "Oh, that reminds me… Don't forget to wash behind your ears." He shut the door and walked away laughing. "I've always wanted to say that."
Lucario stood in the bathroom. He looked at the window. Too small for him. He jiggled the doorknob. Locked. And Hunter will probably drag me back up here if I come out. He got in the shower stall, and remembered what Hunter told him. He turned on the cold water, and immediately gave a surprised bark as the showerhead drenched him in freezing water. He quickly turned the "hot" knob, and the water began to grow warmer. He kept adjusting it until he felt comfortable, then looked around.
Hunter knocked on the door. "Soap is the blue bar!"
Lucario saw a light blue bar and rubbed it. He cocked his head at the suds that resulted, and then began to rub it over his body.
A while later, he came, soaking wet, out of the bathroom.
Hunter's voice floated up the stairs. "Use a towel!"
Lucario stomped back into the bathroom and came out with a towel wrapped around his waist.
As he came down the stairs, Hunter sniffed. "Good. Now you smell nice."
Lucario could smell something floating around his body. He sniffed. It smelled like…Pecha berries?
"The soap is scented, just so you know."
Lucario took the towel off and started drying himself off.
Hunter went back up the stairs. "Come on, Buizel. It's your turn."
Buizel followed Hunter up the stairs. Lucario finished drying off, then followed.
When he entered the bathroom, he saw Buizel in the bathtub. It was already wet, and Hunter was rubbing shampoo into its fur. He took his hands from Buizel and said "Rinse."
Buizel dove underwater and began swimming around playfully, then poked his head up and watched as Hunter washed his hands of the shampoo. Hunter looked back and said "Out."
Buizel jumped out of the bathtub then onto a stool, having to do it twice because the first time it slipped and fell off. Hunter took the last remaining towel, then began drying Buizel with it. After a few minutes he put the towel away, took a brush out of the cabinet, and began combing Buizel's fur.
Lucario cocked his head. What are you doing?
"Grooming Buizel. He has to take a bath too."
Buizel gave a relaxed Bui as Hunter finished brushing.
As the three went down the stairs, Lucario looked out of one of the windows. He saw a small, conch shell-like flower sitting on the grass. He tapped Hunter on the shoulder. Come on. I have something I want to show you.
When the two went outside, Lucario knelt by the flower.
This is a Time Flower. They're really rare, but I've seen some around the mountain sometimes.
"What do they do?"
Through the power of Aura, they can show us the past.
He placed a paw over the flower, and it suddenly twisted, causing a blue spore to drift into the air, suddenly bursting open into a large bubble that encased the house, Buizel, Hunter and Lucario.
Hunter watched as a little boy played with a Buizel. Two adults, his parents, looked on and laughed.
Lucario looked at Hunter. Tears were trickling down his face. Lucario took his paw from the Time Flower, and the spore returned to where it had come from.
That night, Hunter sat eating what he had made for his dinner as Lucario watched the news.
"In the news today scientists are baffled at the strangely sudden epidemic of déjà vu that has plagued the region for months. They are still no closer to finding a cure, a spokesman said, but we are also looking to the victims of this epidemic to find out what the cause may be. In other news a widespread wave of illusions has come over the populace, many claiming that they see themselves doing that they had done days, weeks, months or years ago. While this has helped police forces capture previously unknown criminals, other things such as trees and other natural landscapes have also begun warping."
Time, and Space, Lucario said. Could Dialga and Palkia be behind this?
Hunter watched. "It may be possible, because déjà vu isn't a very common thing. And the sudden warping completely points to some disruption of space."
They sat watching TV until late at night. Hunter led Lucario upstairs and pointed to his room. "You'll sleep there."
Where will you sleep?
"In my parent's room."
Lucario shrugged and entered Hunter's room, shutting the door as he entered.
Hunter and Buizel went into the master bedroom. Buizel jumped onto the bed as Hunter changed and got into it.
In Hunter's bedroom, Lucario stared around the room. On the nightstand there was a picture of the family. Hunter was laughing, a much more carefree person than the boy he was now. Lucario also looked at a picture of Cameran Palace, a place that, according to Hunter, his parents had once visited on their honeymoon. Lucario felt a connection to that place for some reason, but he could not figure out why.
He shrugged and rolled over. He hadn't bothered to pull the covers over himself, instead sleeping on top of the smooth bedspread. He eventually fell asleep, but his dreams that night were full of screeching tires, screams, and one voice, which he recognized as Hunter's, repeating "No. No, it can't be true! NO!"
He slept on, jerking but unable to wake himself from the land of nightmares into which he had wandered.
So, hope you got a laugh over Lucario's bath. Anyways, it's not going to be this idealic for much longer. Only four more chapters left, and then, the setting up of the sequel. Two of them are going to be pretty short, so I'll put them on together. R and R, please!