Chapter Two: What's His Face
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Pokémon. :( I wish. I do, however own Rose, Heather, her parents and the idea for the house as well as Yoroshii.
AN:/ Warning. This chapter is pretty angsty. It probably has more angst than the other chapters. But it has a lot of information that can fill you in on Heather.
Flashback
"Hey Heather, do you want to come exploring with me?" A seventeen year old female with brown hair and hazel eyes asks a four year old Heather.
"Sure. Where are we going Ram?" Heather asks in curiosity. She pokes a small finger into her mouth and involuntarily chews on it. (Ram's really named Mary. Heather gave her the nickname. )
"We're going to a cave to do some spelunking." Mary explains laughing lightly as Heather tilts her head to the side.
"Spelunking is just a fancy way of saying exploring, Heather," Mary says chuckling slightly.
"Oh. Sp-lunky." Heather nods. "Explore." Heather waves her arms happily.
"Now Heather, this is a secret so you'd better not tell." Mary says holding up a finger.
"No tell. Promise." Heather grins holding out her tiny hand.
"Good." Mary says as she takes Heather's hand and leads her towards a cave in the forest not far off from Heather's house.
Mary takes out a flashlight and scans the area with it. A bunch of Zubat flutter down; both girls shielding themselves from their wings. Mary continues further into the dank cave, holding Heather's hand as she timidly follows.
"Don't be scared Heather. Nothing bad can possibly happen here." Mary smiles.
A roar echoes throughout the cave.
"Heather, hide behind these rocks and don't move. I'm going to scout ahead," Mary says as she gently pushes Heather behind a rock.
"Ram no. I scared." Heather cries shaking slightly.
"I know Heather. I just have to make sure that everything is alright," Mary says calmly.
"Let me come. I wanna come with you." Heather begs as tears stream down her face.
"Alright. . . alright. . ." Mary says helping Heather up and leading her forward into the darkness, clutching tightly to Heather's small hand.
They reach a clearing where a man is yelling at a Pokémon. It's fairly lit, but the girls have to step closer to see.
"Get over here you worthless Pokémon. Get here and serve your master." A husky man with brown hair and dark eyes shouts.
"Rr. . . Charizard rrr. . . zard."A pure black Charizard with dark blue wings, a blue and white flame tail, and bleeding nails protests. A thick scar covers his right eye. It's apparent he's been through rigorous training.
"I never see a Pokémon like that before." Heather stares in awe.
"Sh. . . we don't want them to hear us," Mary says putting a finger to her lips. Heather mimics her actions in mock humor.
"Plague, I think I hear something over there. Take care of it." The husky man growls pointing to the boulder where Heather and Mary are hiding.
"Oh no." Mary cries as the Pokémon runs over, claws barred, and strikes the boulder just inches from missing Heather and Mary's scalps.
Heather timidly peeps her head up slightly. The Charizard glares at her and swipes at her arm with an outstretched one. Heather winces and cries out clutching her arm in pain. The Charizard flaps his wings hard blowing Heather to the other side of the cave.
Mary decides its time to take action. She boldly leaps up from behind the boulder and runs in front of Heather-positioned between her and the Charizard- staring into the Charizard's blood red eyes.
"I know you hate humans. I can see it in your eyes. Not all humans are bad though. You must come to know this." Mary offers a hand to the Charizard. "Come with us. You'll see."
Charizard pins Mary to the wall, intense hatred penetrating its eyes.
"Heather, run!" Mary shouts as Heather staggers to her feet weakly.
"W-what it doing?" Heather cries.
"I-it's fine. I. . . ah!" Mary cries as the Charizard sinks its razor sharp nails into her sides. With one swipe it releases its hands pulling Mary to the ground.
"Run. . . now. . ." Mary pants between breaths.
"I can't leave you." Heather wails, truly frightened.
"You can and you must. Go. Go now and be strong." Mary orders carelessly tossing Heather the flashlight.
"No." Heather frowns. "I won't leave you behind."
Heather turns to the Charizard picking up a fairly sharp rock.
"You just a big dopey idiot." Heather shouts as she launches the pointed rock scoring a direct hit in between its eyes.
The Pokémon roars, smoke coming out of its nostrils. Anger streaks across its face as it lunges towards the small girl.
"N-no." Mary cries as the Charizard readies its claws to strike Heather, wanting the small girl dead.
Mary runs in front of Heather, arms outstretched as the Charizard strikes, recoiling in pain as her shirt is torn and blood leaks out.
"Ram!" Heather cries.
"Return Plague. That's quite enough for now." The man smirks returning the pitch black Charizard into a darker Pokéball.
"Ram. . . Ram hold on." Heather cries as she presses her face into what's left of Mary's mangled shirt.
"Heather. . . I've always. . . wanted a sibling. . . mainly a brother. . . a little brother. . . whom I could call my own. . ." Mary struggles, tears and pain doting her face, the color draining from it.
"Ram it be okay. I get help." Heather tries, her eyes welling up with tears.
Ram groans and gasps one final breath before her head rolls to the side.
"Ram. Wake up." Heather bawls. She turns around to see the husky man behind her.
"You foolish girl. You're the cause for this girls death. You're the cause. It's all your fault. It's all your fault." The man shakes his head. "It's such a pity that a creature like you exists. It'll be such a heavy burden to tell her parents you're the cause for her death."
"I. . .I'll run away." Heather sobs choking on her tears.
"They'll find you wherever you go." The man smirks. He takes his boot and kicks Heather hard in her side but she doesn't feel it. All she feels is sorrow and emptiness.
"B-but. . . I make it better." Heather cries as she takes some of Mary's torn shirt and pushes it against her bleeding chest.
"It won't do you any good. You'll have to face the music sometime. You're such a burden. I bet your parents will hate you. They won't look at you twice." The man smirks wickedly.
Heather curls up crying her heart out. "I do better. I help. . ."
"It's only a foolish plea." The man mumbles. He walks away leaving Heather utterly alone.
A chill wind blows into the cave and Heather hugs her bleeding arm over her body whimpering.
Slowly Heather clambers to her feet, clutching tightly to the flashlight in her hands. Crying, she trudges home.
A tall red haired woman with warm brown eyes wearing a pink shirt and a blue denim skirt seated on the porch eagerly awaits her daughter and Heather's return. She looks up and smiles as she spots the younger girl.
"Heather." Delia smiles warmly. "Where's Ram?"
"Sh-she's gone." Heather sniffles and then angrily sobs, scrunched up on the rock bedding in front of her house. She digs her nails into the rocks squeezing their sharp edges to her skin.
"What do you mean. . .wait. . . no. She can't be dead." Delia sobs. "How did it happen?"
Heather, feeling totally guilty and ashamed, mutters three words. "It my fault."
"Oh Heather." Delia sighs getting up and scooping the small girl in her arms. She looks at her arm and sighs.
"Let's go get you cleaned up. You're wounded." With that Delia carries the small girl into the house.
Flashback ends
A red haired woman with warm brown eyes stands proudly beside her five year old son. The boy has messy black hair spiked in odd angles around his head. He has auburn eyes and lightly tanned skin. Z-shaped birthmarks are etched under each of his eyes.
It has been two years since the woman, Delia Ketchum last visited the Flower family in Yoroshii.
"How would you like to meet one of my good friends? They have a daughter a year older than you. A daughter two years younger than you and a son who's a teen already." Delia smiles at her son.
"I won't get cooties will I?" He asks, his messy black hair blowing in the breeze as his auburn eyes latch onto his mother's.
"No." Delia laughs softly. "Did you hear about cooties at your preschool, Ash."
"Yeah. All the boys say they're real nasty. One boy, Tommy, he say his brother got cooties from a girl. His brother has a red mark on his neck to prove it." Ash remarks proud to know so much about them.
"I really ought to pull you out of preschool." Delia fumes blushing in embarrassment at the thought of what Tommy's brother really has.
"Kids say they call cooties love bites. I no wanna be bitten mama." Ash cries, suddenly distraught at the thought.
"You won't be son. I'll make sure of it." Delia smiles at her only son.
Delia takes her son's hand and gently pulls him down the walk, taking him on a short car ride to Yoroshii to the north. Ash stares out the window watching Pokémon go by as they pull in front of a large house. Rocks dot the perimeter of the house and lead to the porch with a porch swing connected. A spiky red haired teen sits quietly on the swing, a large frown creasing his brow.
"We're here." Delia says as she unbuckles Ash and he climbs out of his car seat exploring his new surroundings.
"Hey a guy." Ash exclaims waving shyly to Lance.
Lance looks up and peers at the boy in sudden confusion. Few people new where they lived. They tried to keep it that way.
Delia shuts her car door, walking around it waving to Lance.
"Hey Lance. It's good to see you." Delia smiles.
"Yeah. . .hi." Lance motions them to come inside. "Heather's still pretty bummed out about what happened during your last visit. She still blames herself."
Ash stares confused at the two as they mingle back and forth. He quietly examines the interior of the house. A ceiling fan twirls above the couch, which is beige in color, in awkward silence. The carpet is a dark blue. A welcome mat sits on either side of the front door with a Pikachu face smiling on it. A big screen TV decorates a wooden shelf in front of the couch. Beige arm chairs dot the perimeter of the couch.
"Heather." Lance calls as Delia and Ash situate themselves on the soft couch.
Heather cautiously enters the living room and Lance motions for her to sit down. Heather sits on the arm of a chair as Lance sits in it. Heather notices Delia and starts to scamper away. Lance grabs Heather's shirt collar as she tries to squirm away.
"Hello Heather. It's been a while." Delia gives her a delicate smile.
"Nice to see you. Got to run." Heather says and instantly vanishes.
Lance stares at his hand where her shirt still hangs to notice an Eevee scampering away.
"That little. . ." Lance mumbles as he drops her shirt. "I hope you know you'll have to come back for your shirt sis."
Delia and Ash stare wide-eyed at the scene that unfolds. A small brown Eevee prances back to where the shirt was and wiggles inside of it, the shirt instantly disappearing over its body. She sticks her tongue out at Lance and scampers off down the hall.
"I'm sorry. I probably should have mentioned this. Heather's my dad's newest test subject. He managed to create something similar to a Pokémorph and tested Heather with it. She can change into Pokémon at will by simply thinking about them." Lance explains.
"That's. . . different for sure," Delia says in awe.
"Why don't you come see Heather. I think she's a little startled by your mom." Lance says as he beckons to Ash who jumps off the couch and follows him to Heather's room.
Knocking once on the painted black door, Lance opens it and walks back out to talk to Ash's mother. Ash pushes the door open, peering inside to spy an Eevee huddled in a corner, angrily scraping her paws against the tough plaster wall.
"Um. . . I'm Ash." Ash introduces himself awkwardly, staring around the room.
On the right side is a bed with a blue and gold frame with a nightstand on the side of it. Black and gold covers are pulled over the bed. To the left is a sink with a connected mirror and a door leading to what Ash can only imagine is a connected bathroom. Near the Eevee is a huge walk-in closet with sliding doors. Games are stacked in containers on the floor and top shelf.
Heather continues furiously scraping her paws along the wall, ignoring his presence.
"What. . . are you doing?" Ash asks as he scoots over and peers beside her.
[I'm mad.] Heather grumbles as she pulls her paws away from the wall, blood leaking down them and streaking the once white wall.
"Oh no. You hurt." Ash cries reaching out to help her.
[Go away.]
Ash flinches slightly from the harshness of her voice but continues softly.
"Your brother sent me here. He say you need comfort." Ash admits.
[Too bad. I don't want comfort.] Heather grumbles as she bounds over to the stool climbing onto it fiddling with the handles on the sink. [Stupid paws. . .]
"Here. I help." Ash grins turning on the cold water.
[Hmph. Thanks I suppose.] Heather mutters as she washes the blood off her paws.
"Do you always do that when you mad?" Ash asks pointing to the blood streaks on the wall.
[Sometimes.] Heather admits.
"Why don't you turn back into a human so we can talk?" Ash pleads silently.
[Fine.]
In a small flash of light Heather transforms into her human self, in the clothes she had on before. She wanders to the bed and sits down, staring slightly at her once wounded now free hands.
"Do you know mama?" Ash asks calmly.
"Yes." Heather responds. She silently folds her arms across her chest and stares ahead. Her eyes fixed on the blood stains.
"Mama say girls give cooties," Ash says with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I don't." Heather frowns.
"Want to play a game?" Ash asks as he stares excitedly at the games in Heather's closet, stumbling into it.
"I guess. If it'll keep you quiet." Heather shrugs and then follows him. Ash points to some cards that are laying on the floor.
"Go fishy." He grins. "I'm five."
"So I'm six. Big deal." Heather shrugs indifferently.
"Can we be friends?" Ash asks, teary-eyed.
"I. . . uh sure. Why not." Heather sighs.
Ash takes Heather's hand in his own and leads her to the floor by her bed.
"I want to be a Pokémon master when I grow up." Ash announces proudly.
Heather freezes remembering something Ram had told her when Heather was four.
"I'm going to be the best Pokémon master ever." Ram beamed proudly.
"What wrong?" Ash asks not knowing that he had brought back Heather's painful past.
"N-nothing." Heather shakes her head and beckons with her hand. "It's your turn."
"Got a Nidoking?" Ash asks.
"Go fish." Heather responds as Ash picks up a card and grins placing the now pair of Nidoking on the floor on his side.
The game ensues with both kids constantly screaming "Go fish!". Eventually it comes to a halt as Ash wins, Heather smiling at him as he waves his arms happily in the air.
"I win. I win." Ash grins. "I beat a girl."
Heather frowns slightly but instantly calms and smiles.
"Hey how about we go and see Eevee." Heather grins cheerfully.
"Eevee? Like a real live Pokémon?" Ash asks wide-eyed.
"Yes. Come on." Heather says as Ash cheers and follows her down to the lab. She yanks open the door and calls Eevee's name.
Eevee bounds over to Heather, who takes Eevee in her arms and leads her back to her room.
"See here. Eevee this is Ash," Heather says as she sets her down.
Eevee jumps on Heather's bed and stares at the boy, her paws laying along the foot of the bed as she peers over it at him.
[What's his face?]
"Ash." Heather repeats.
[Cinder head, huh.]
"Hi Eevee. I'm Ash." Ash smiles as he pulls the Eevee off the bed and into his arms, petting her gently.
[Stupid hugs.] Eevee mutters. [Stupid hugs and choking that comes with it.]
"Ash, Eevee says you hug too tight." Heather laughs.
"I do?" Ash asks confusedly and sets her down.
[Finally air. Fresh clean air. Oh darn. . . where's the Febreeze.] Eevee ambles around the room curiously looking for sanitary spray.
"Why you need that Eevee?" Heather giggles.
[Because I have human on me. Human boy germs. Ugh. . . cooties.]
Heather bursts into a fit of laughter and rolls around on the floor. Eevee laughs a little also as she tries to maintain her serious composure.
"What so funny?" Ash asks scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
"Eevee." Heather says in between laughs.
"What Eevee saying?" Ash pouts.
"That you have cooties." Heather laughs harder.
"Do not!" Ash glares slightly at Eevee.
[Do to. You slobbered on me. Now I need a bath. Fetch me some iodine faithful servant] Eevee commands. She pauses. [Oh wait. They're too young to know what that is.]
Deadpanning, Eevee runs to the sink. Heather runs some water over Eevee and she shakes her now matted coat.
She jumps down and glares at Ash.
[Dirty boy. Impure thoughts.]
"I'm not dirty." Ash growls after Heather explains what Eevee said to him.
A brief knock occurs on the door and Ash is shocked to see his mother standing in the doorway when it opens.
"Ash it appears since it was a fairly long trip we're going to stay a few days. You'll be able to get more acquainted with Heather." Delia explains.
"Okay." Ash nods smiling at Heather.
"Heather will you please come talk to me?" Delia asks.
"Mph. . . fine." Heather mumbles as she walks out the door. "I'll be back Ash."
"'Kay." Ash nods.
Heather and Delia seat themselves on the couch and Delia explains to Heather that it wasn't really Heather's fault for Ram's death. She tries to comfort the girl as she breaks down, hot tears rolling down her face.
"B-but that man said I'm the cause." Heather cries.
"Man? Heather explain." Delia quietly motions Heather on.
After Heather explains to Delia what happened, to which Eevee jumps in Heather's arms in comfort, Delia shakes her head and explains the man was pinning the blame for what he did on Heather, having taken advantage of her childish innocence.
"Heather he just wanted to accuse you because you were young and he knew he could take advantage of you because of it. You tried everything you could to save my daughter. I'm very lucky to have you around." Delia says and pulls Heather onto her lap in a hug.
"Are you sure? Am I really a hero?" Heather asks sticking a hand in her mouth.
"Yes. You are." Delia says rubbing Heather's back soothingly.
Heather, for the first time in a long time, smiles a gracious, grateful smile.
"Thank you Delia." Heather grins. "I do have one question though."
"What's that dear?" Delia asks.
"Why didn't Ram know about Ash." Heather asks coyly.
"Ash was with his father at the time. Ram was very intimidated by my husband. She always stayed clear of him." Delia says with a sad smile. "So Ram never went around him. If she did she would've met Ash. Ram was on a Pokémon journey at the time of Ash's birth."
"That explains it," Heather says as she turns to her room.
"Wait Heather." Delia says as Heather turns around. "Please don't tell Ash. He's too young to understand. He'll hate us."
"Okay. I promise not to." Heather says as she skips to her room to get better acquainted with Ash.
[What's his face?] Eevee grins as she trails after Heather.
"No. Ash." Heather tries again.
[Right. Cinder head.]
"Oh Eevee." Heather laughs as she rolls her eyes -stuffing her hands in her jeans pockets- and shakes her head heading off to her room.
And that's how Heather met Ash.
Me: Okay I know that in the next chapter in the original Beating Hearts, Probing Desires it just ended the Ash and Delia staying at Heather's house abruptly and proceeded on to another bit of angst. I feel I should write a bit more about Heather and Ash's bonding. I just don't feel that it's very connected here. XD So the next chapter will not be very angsty at all.
Ash: Woohoo. No more angst.
Me: Yep. An angst-free break. If there's any angst it'll probably be during the. . . (shuts mouth) you'll see.
Ash: I'm glad I get to star in this fic too.
Me: Yup. Prepare for some bonding. Next chapter: Heather and Ash bond and Heather makes a new friend. Though parting ways can sometimes hurt. Will she ever see him again? Dun dun dun. XD (of course if you know me yes I have recurring characters.
Ash: Yay.
Me: Yep. Now everyone do your part and review. ^^ I really appreciate it. It helps me as a writer and brings faster updates~
Ash: You got that right. This is the fastest I've seen you update in a long while.
Me: I know. I have a month until school starts so I better be getting busy.