Shout out to all my reviewers!
-Guardian of the Hell Gate: I love writing, and though there are times I get distracted, in my heart, I never give up on any story. (Except for the ones I started when I was five or the ones I have to write for school. Some of those it would be better to jsut scrap, you get the picture)
-Wild Totodile: Like it? I'm glad!
-Elliot: Sniff, sniff. That is the best encouragement an author can get!
-Khgirl08: Wait, this is a mystery? flips through script that's news to me! (jk)
-Blood Sucking Fox: Your guess hit the nail on the head. : D
-Kouken: When I began writing, I honestly never thought I'd inspire anyone to do anything. To tell the truth, I'm flabbergasted. But its a good thing!
To those of you who were here from the beginning, I understand you might be hurt that I never responded to you. Don't worry. I probably won't keep this up. I think I'm only going to respond to those I haven't before or otherwise through messages.
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Chira stared around her at the buildings that seemed so different from her own home town. "This is Celadon?" she asked Trey, hugging Insight to her.
"Yep," he nodded, his eyes reflecting some deep emotion. He shook his head. "Come on, there's still plenty of time for you to challenge Erika."
"Erika?" Chira trailed behind him. "Have you fought her before?"
Trey flashed her a smile. "Yep. When I was just starting out, Erika was my first Gym battle."
"Was she hard?" Chira asked, cocking her head.
"Of course. All Gym Leaders are hard if you're not ready for them."
"What is that?!" Chira asked before stumbling to a halt, her eyes wide as she gazed at the huge building that rose from the streets like a guard tower.
"Hmm? Oh, that's Celadon department store… You haven't traveled much, have you?" Trey smiled at her astonishment.
Chira blushed. "Not really. I mean, not to any big cities. After…" She gulped back her explanation and substituted, "My parents aren't all that keen on big crowds. We generally stick to smaller towns."
Trey raised an eyebrow but let it pass. "Too bad. Guess I'll have to keep a close eye on you then. Don't want you getting lost in the crowds," he teased.
Chira bit her lip.
"Don't worry about it!" Trey told her. "You'll be fine. Cities are nothing to be scared of."
"Kyaaa!"
Chira automatically ducked as a low shadow dove at her. She rolled to the side, protecting Insight as much as possible.
"Hey!"
She heard a crack, then a thud, and looked up to find Trey standing over a grounded Spearow, holding his pack like a weapon.
"Trey!" she cried, rushing to the pokemon's side. "You could have killed it!"
Trey stared at her, amazed, as she fussed over the Spearow, checking it for injuries. "Chira," he began slowly. "It just attacked you!"
"It was just acting on orders!" she shot back, then paled.
By now a small crowd had formed around them, murmuring to themselves. A woman pushed through the people, throwing herself at the Spearow with a small cry.
Trey pulled Chira up and hissed at her, "What do you mean 'acting on orders?' What are you not telling me, Chira?"
She tried to pull away. "Trey, you're hurting me," she whimpered, prying at his fingers around her arm.
"What did you do?!" the woman demanded, cradling the Spearow in her arms. A nice lump was forming on its head, visible even at a distance. "Why did you attack my Spuck?"
"What?! Lady, that thing attacked us first!" Trey told her, pushing Chira behind him. She grabbed his pack as he began gesticulating while still holding it, nearly hitting her in the head.
"Spuck would never do that! He's loyal to me, and he loves humans! He'd never do something like that against my orders!"
"Then maybe it wasn't against your orders," Trey said very quietly.
The woman paled almost imperceptibly, but Chira noticed, and so, apparently, did Trey. The crowd had gone silent.
"You did order it, didn't you?" Trey said, still in that too quiet voice.
"Why would I tell Spuck to do something like that? I've never even met your friend!"
"My friend?"
Too late she realized her mistake. "Well, yeah, I figured your friend was the one who was attacked, wasn't she? You aren't the one with the scrapes," she added somewhat smugly, proud of her save.
Chira glanced down at herself. She did have several scrapes on her hands, and one knee of her pants was ripped, but that was about it. Not very much to go on, especially considering her hands weren't visible to the woman, and her pants could have ripped before. How had she known the woman had initiated it, anyway?
She glanced up at the overcast sky. Dark clouds on a very windy day. It was going to storm later. She shook her head. Where did that come from? This was no time to be distracted. She returned her gaze to the two trainers squaring off just in time to lock with the eyes of a member of the crowd right behind the woman.
" Erin?" she asked, taking a step forward. Next moment the world was reeling and her knees hit the ground. She shook her head, her eyes closed tightly against the sickening sensation. When the world finally righted itself, she opened her eyes to find Trey kneeling in front of her, the woman right behind. Her eyes reflected genuine fear for a moment before being masked by concern, real or faked, Chira couldn't tell.
"Chira?" Trey asked. "Are you alright?"
She nodded, stilling when the world threatened to tilt again.
"Are you sick?"
She frowned at Trey. "I feel perfectly alright, just a little dizzy." With a start, she remembered the apparition and jumped to her feet, only to find unfamiliar faces surrounding her. Her shoulders sagged.
Trey slipped her arm over his shoulder. "Why don't we challenge Erika tomorrow? I think you could use some rest."
"No," Chira shook her head. "I'm ready now."
"No, you aren't."
Chira stared at him. His voice and eyes were steely, and she knew immediately that it was foolish to try and fight him.
"Fine," she sighed, sagging against him. By the time they reached the pokecenter, she was grateful for his support. Her head was killing her, and her eyes seemed to have a mind of their own as they kept slipping closed. "Something is seriously wrong with me," she mumbled, her voice thick and slurred. "I can't understand." Trey helped her onto a couch. "I was never sick as a child. I would spend all night in the rain, barefoot and in short sleeves, and I would be as healthy as ever the next day. Why am I so weak all of a sudden?"
Trey motioned to Nurse Joy to help him get her into a room. "She needs some serious sleep. If she's not better in the morning, I'm going to force medication down her if I have to."
A figure turned from the back of the crowd as Chira collapsed, walking quickly away, a smaller figure following.
"They have no idea," the first person muttered.
"Why is she so weak now, monsieur?" the second asked in a soft, low voice.
"The strong ones always are as their gift matures. We must let him know."
The smaller one shuddered. "I'm glad you're the one making the call."
Chira yawned and stretched, blinking at the murky sunlight coming through the window. Rain pounded heavily against the panes, a lilting music against a backdrop of city sounds. She shook her head, and tried to capture a hazy memory. A storm. Worse than this one. A sensation of rocking violently. A boat? She shook her head as it began to pound. It was never a good idea to start out the day with a headache. Maybe some hot chocolate would help wake her up.
She found Trey pacing the cafeteria. He rounded on her. "How are you feeling this morning? You sure slept enough last night."
Chira glanced at the clock, surprised to find it close to noon already. "I'm feeling a lot better. I don't know what's come over me recently, but I sure will be glad when I'm over it."
"You and me both," Trey muttered, guiding her to a table. "Sorry, but you'll have to settle for lunch fare. They took in the breakfast food around ten."
"That's fine. In fact, food of any kind sounds really good! I'm just sorry I slept so long. Did you feed Cami and them?"
Trey nodded. "First thing, along with my pokemon."
The two joined the small line of people. "You know, I don't think I ever have seen all of your pokemon. What do you have?"
Trey smiled. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
Chira thought. "You have an Arcanine and a Bellosom, that I know of. Will you tell me if I guess?"
He shook his head, handing her a tray.
"Oh, come on! You're not being fair!"
"Glad to see you're feeling better," a soft voice said. Chira turned to find Nurse Joy watching her. "If you need anything, just let me know. I'll be happy to help."
"Thank-you!" Chira smiled widely.
They slid into a table, and Chira paused before taking her first bite, fork in midair. "You know, I should probably call my parents and Jordan. Afterall…"
She looked at Trey just in time to see a flash of something quickly hidden. "What?"
"Nothing," he shrugged, taking a bite of broccoli. He wrinkled his nose at it. "Mush," he muttered, before moving on to something else.
Chira smiled and dug into her salad heartily. It wasn't the freshest, but is sure beat travel food.
"When do you want to go to the Gym?" Trey asked.
"As soon as we're done eating, if it's okay with you," Chira managed around a bite of lettuce.
Trey's mouth twitched.
"Don't laugh!" Chira pleaded, swallowing. "You purposefully chose that time to ask a question, so don't blame me when I try to answer it!"
"I'm not!" Trey held his hands up to show his innocence.
Chira growled at him. Trey froze.
She blinked at his expression. "I was only playing, Trey."
"Do that again," he told her.
"What?" She stared at him, not quite believing she heard right.
"Growl again. Go on," he urged.
"Why?"
"Because…" He paused, thinking of a reason he could give her.
"Excuse me, but you have a phone call." Chira turned to find Nurse Joy standing beside them. "It's your mother."
Chira shot out of her chair. She waited impatiently by the front desk for Joy, and lunged at the cubicle she pointed out. "Mom?"
"Honey." Her mother's face appeared on the screen. "You haven't a clue how long it's taken me to track you down. I honestly didn't think you would be at Celadon already."
"Yeah, we kind of went on a detour. I still need to earn the Thunder Badge, and then we'll be moving in order again."
"Good, just keep your goal in mind. How have you been?"
"Good! Things have kind of been getting hectic, but we're all fine," Chira lied, crossing her fingers in her lap.
"And those two charming boys you were traveling with?"
"They're in Vermillion. They both have already earned the badges I'm going for, and Cami can travel faster on her own."
"Your father will be so proud. He had to step out a moment, but he'll be back shortly. We miss you, you know. It's not the same without you."
"Oh, Mom."
"So what are your plans after you've earned the eight Kanto badges?"
"I'm going to the Orange Islands," Chira answered promptly.
"Following the lead on your birth family?" her mother asked softly.
"Yeah," Chira answered just as softly.
There was silence for a moment. Then Chira said, trying to sound natural, "Well, I have to get ready to battle the Gym Leader here, so I'll talk to you later."
"All right. Be careful, Chira. And remember, your father and I love you."
"I love you, too," she murmured as she hung up.
Shaking her head, she dialed the Vermilion pokecenter's number.