Author's Notes: OMG, I'm so sorry that this has been 404ing the entire time. But no one told me that it was like that DX I'm so sorry.
Chapter 38
1 month later... and thank god too.
That was most definitely the longest month of my entire life. And what a month it was.
That night, I fell asleep with Chandler still in my arms and woke up the early the next morning. Good thing to, I didn't want to greet Terra when she was in a maternal mood.
I contacted the organization, and Terra escorted to my room. We took a hospital bed, and wheeled Terra into the apartment, and placed her exactly where she had spent the last 6 months.
When I walked in, Dallin and Sanj barraged me with questions pertaining to what's wrong with Terra. I didn't say a thing, but instead, I smiled, kneeled down, and showed them Chandler, still cradled in my arms, sleeping calmly, and cutely.
When Dallin and Sanj saw him, their eyes lit up, and sat around Chandler, watching him breathe in simple amazement. I explained everything that happened to Terra and me, but they didn't really listen. They were too busy watching Chandler being cute.
I watched Terra, from the other side of the room, sitting in a chair, perfectly silent, to see when she would wake up. I sat by the door incase anything happened.. Finally at 2:00 in the afternoon, she woke up. I made sure not to make a single moment for Terra's first real interaction with her son.
When she finally noticed Chandler at her side, she looked at him with eyes, glimmering with happiness. It was heart warming to see her like this. She sniffed the baby, and then groomed it's fur. I kept an eye on Chandler, he was to adorable not to look at.
I moved on the chair, placing my elbow on the chair, and my head on my hand. As I made this movement, the chair let out a small squeak, but to me and Terra, the sound rang through the silence like a bomb.
Terra swung to her feet and spotted me across the room. She stood in a low stance, teeth baring, ears folded back, and ready to fight. I had to evacuate the room as fast as possible. I jumped to the door and swung it open.
What happened next, however, wasn't mentioned in the books.
'Nick?' Terra had spoken, clearly and easily. I stopped and looked over my shoulder.
Terra was calmly standing right beside Chandler, just as if everything was normal.
'Terra!? You sound fine.'
'I'm just as surprised as you are.' She smiled happily, but with behavior like this, something was up. However, I didn't realize that at the time.
I turned around, and faced Terra, who had went back to lying down in that corner. I slowly approached Terra, taking very small steps.
'Nick, I'm fine. You don't need to treat like a wild animal.' Calmed by her remark, I started taking larger steps. I stood beside the couch, only two meters from Terra.
I could see that innocent look in her eyes, a look that was so priceless to see. I took another step towards her.
Suddenly, she jumped back to her feet and flared up her back, growling and hissing ferociously. I literally screamed and jumped back. Terra advanced very quickly on me as I tripped over nearly all the furniture in the apartment, trying to escape her. As soon as I made it to the door, she had stopped advancing, and was already lying down with Chandler in the corner of the room.
'Nick? What's wrong?' She asked innocently.
I was hyperventilation and bent over, clinging onto the door. "YOU JUST ATTACKED ME!" I blurted out.
'What? I... I didn't. I don't remember.'
I got back up, and started to get closer to Terra. Bad idea.
'Terra, you-' Terra launched from her spot again, and rushed for me. This time, I was closer to the door. As soon as I ran out, Terra snapped back into reality.
Terra's eyes widened. 'Nick, I'm sorry, I zoned out. I feel like I've been chipped all over agai-' Terra thoughts were suddenly cut off. She flared up her back again, and dashed towards me.
I slammed the door shut, and jumped out of the way. I heard a thump on the door, and everything was silent.
That was only the first day of, what was going to be a very long month.
Fortunately, while I was out at the cliffs, Karen had cameras installed into my room. She took me behind her desk, and showed me, the views. I could see the kitchen, the tossed up furniture from my escape, and Terra doing something with Chandler that I didn't want to think about.
In the mean time, Karen had assigned me a separate room, room 4, just across from me. I asked her why not room 2, or 3, but she said that those are occupied.
Room two was practically the same as room one, same furniture arrangement, same appliances, and same look. The only thing that was different was the view, which wasn't very good at that side of the building. It wasn't too much for Dallin, Sanj, and me to deal with.
The first week went by without much trouble. We had cameras observing Terra and Chandler's every movement, which seemed normal, as I was told. But watching Terra was eating me up on the inside.
Terra hadn't eaten in a week, and with the breast-feeding she had done with Chandler, she dropped an obvious amount of weight. She looked thinner than I had ever seen her, yet she seemed normal with it. However, inside, I knew that she wasn't normal.
But, during that week, I made one huge mistake.
During the time that I had my new room, I forgot to give Karen back the key to room one. For the few week that I had spent in room 4, I had sometimes picked the key to room one by accident. But one time, out of force of habit, I went to room 1.
I had just come home from a mission, tired and exhausted, but I had noticed that things were significantly easier with Sanj's help. Anyway, without, realizing, I went to room 1, and haplessly picked the right key. I unlocked the door, and walked into the room as Sanj and Dallin looked at me with puzzled looks, but they were too surprised to respond. I walked in and jumped onto the couch, just as I did every day.
When the remote wasn't in the spot I left it, I got back up and searched about the couch for the remote, but as I was looking, I saw something in the corner of my eye. I looked up, to find Terra staring at me with unblinking eyes, and teeth bare and ready for attack. I leapt off the couch in and instant and made a run for the door. I ran out the door, and slammed it shut, shaking the doorknob, slightly. I jiggled the knob a little to find that it was loose. Hmm, I might need to get someone to look into that...
Thank god, I escaped, but I didn't escape uninjured. The second I jumped off the couch, Terra grabbed onto the thigh of my right leg. When I jumped away from Terra, her claws ran down my leg, making them throb with pain. I had to wrap that leg from top to bottom with bandages. I could barely walk... it's a shame that my powers didn't work on myself.
The next week wasn't so bad, it actually ran rather smoothly. But I was still disturbed by Terra's shrinking physique. She was losing weight at a ferocious pace, and looked terrible. Her fur was ruffled, and knotted, and she hadn't moved in inch, save for the time that she attacked me.
I felt so sorry for her, that I took a desperate attempt to get Terra to eat. I opened the door a tiny crack, and threw in some of the berries that we ate when I was a typhlosion. But all she did was sniff the berries like they were something she had never seen before, and then she simply went back to caring for Chandler. The berries just laid on the floor, being ignored.
'Hmm, Terra not eating? What a strange prospect,' Dallin humored. It cheered me up briefly, but I was still worrying for Terra. After that brief moment, I finally got snapped back into reality:
'Nick,' Dallin said, 'You're going to have to face it. Terra has to care for Chandler, but you don't have to care for her. She's a big typhlosion, she can do what she wants. And you don't have to be watching her every second. It's not like Chandler's your son.'
My heart skipped a beat at that last sentence, and somehow, I knew that Dallin and Sanj sensed my surprise, but they just shook it off and Sanj continued.
'Dallin's right, Nick. And look at me, I'm not aloud to go anywhere without you, and you haven't left the house, because you're too worried about Terra. She's going to be fine, so lighten up.' He gave me a quick slap on the back, which nearly tossed me off the couch.
It was than that I realized that they were right. I hadn't left the apartment nearly as much as I had when Terra wasn't caring for Chandler, or even when she was pregnant. I needed to get out of the house, I needed exercise, I needed life.
The next week, the fourth week, and the last week, I was anxiously awaiting some activity from Terra. It was bound to happen soon but Terra was showing no signs of changes.
Fortunately, I was showing changes in my life. Thanks to Dallin and Sanj's advice, I had an improved lifestyle, and had made new discoveries in town too. I had discovered new restaurants and places to go. I had even discovered something that I should of seen years ago. But despite this, my leg was still in pain, but it wasn't long before I could remove the bandages, and be ready to go.
A center for training your pokemon. A facility made for training pokemon of all types. For Dallin, there was this awesome machine in which Dallin electrocutes a metal pole, and the machine would read how many volts were in his shock. And as for Sanj, there were punching bags, and punching mats. The thing about this things though is that there were speed detectors on each machine, to see how fast a fighting pokemon could through it's fists or feet. I couldn't wait to take Terra and Chandler there, I'm sure that Terra would love it, at least.
But, for one last time, force of habit caught up with me.
I brought Dallin and Sanj home, and this time, they were the ones who are exhausted this time. I walked up to room 1, again, without realizing. Dallin and Sanj were too tired to notice that I was going into the wrong room. I walked in, along with Dallin and Sanj, but this time, I realized much faster this time that this was the wrong apartment. I turned around to make haste for the door, to find that Dallin and Sanj had already ran out. When Sanj ran out he grabbed the door to open it, but swung his hand back before he let go.
The door slammed in my face giving me the presence that Terra needed to know I was there and present. When I saw Terra get up, I grabbed the doorknob, and turned it as fast as I could. But in an instant, the doorknob made a strange clacking noise. When I turned the knob, all it did was slide, and it didn't actually open the door. I broke the door, and was locked in.
I turned around to find Terra running towards me, feet and claws sliding across the floor, slipping as she ran. I turned and jiggled the knob as much as possible, but the door didn't open.
When I turned back to Terra, I was slammed against the door, pinned against the wall by my shoulders. Her claws dug through my clothes and into my shoulders. I was petrified with fear, I couldn't move, only think.
'OH MY GOD, I'm going to die. How can this happen now? Why, Terra, Why? Oh my god. This can't happen.' I was shaking in fear, unable to move or fight Terra's strength. All I could do was stand still, and look into Terra's blue, merciless eyes, for that was the last thing that I saw.
I closed my eyes and waited certain death. I could feel Terra's warm breath against my face, and tensed my muscles, awaiting the deadly pain in my future.
Terra's breath stopped and time seemed frozen. All of a sudden, I felt a Terra's tongue roll up my face. I opened my eyes in confusion. Terra looked at me with a grand smile, and her blue eyes, gleaming with happiness.
Terra mumbled something in her head.
'What?' I asked, unable to hear.
'I'M BACK TO NORMAL!' Terra screamed in her head. She released her grip on my shoulders, and wrapped her arms around me. The fear and anxiety was drained from my body, and welcomed by Terra's warmth, and my happiness. I hugged her back, not wanting to let go.
But alas, I had to. Terra was heavy, but not as heavy as she usually was. In fact, she was deathly light. But she seemed fine inside.
I let her go, and she ran around the room in excitement, while I walked over to the corner of the room to see Chandler. Again, bad idea.
I kneeled down, and looked at Chandler in his seemingly tightly closed eyes. He looked up at me, and stared at me in amazement. To him, I must of resembled a giant, but then again, so did his mother. When I looked back up, I found Terra right in my face, growling all over again. I jumped back, and fell onto my butt, crawling on my back.
As soon as I stopped moving, Terra snapped back into reality. She looked at the baby, than at me.
'Ok, ok, almost back to normal.' I looked at her in surprise, but I soon found myself laughing. Yes, she threatened me, but the sound of her voice was enough to pull me over.
I crawled around Chandler, to avoid upsetting Terra, and gave her a quick hug.
'Well, Terra, it's finally over.'
'That's where your wrong.' She lulled her head at Chandler. 'As you can see, it has just begun.'
One week later
Now that Terra was out of maternity, things were almost back to normal. The cameras had been removed from the room, and Terra was now back into her routine, only Chandler was with her constantly.
It was cute the way that they traveled together. Terra would walk smooth and level, while Chandler perched himself on the back of Terra's neck. I must say that he certainly had quite the grip on her, as he hasn't fallen off once, no matter how fast Terra goes. But whenever Terra ran, he had a blast going at the speeds he experienced.
Terra seldom ate, which was rather unexpected. She said that she would need to adjust as eating to much would be a shock to her body. But it didn't take her long to make her way up to the food she usually ate.
One thing that I loved about this world is that pokemon were a lot more accepted than animals back on Earth. They were allowed in almost every building in town, including restaurants.
Which, is exactly how I rewarded Terra, for all of her hard work . I took the gang out to Terra's favorite restaurant: The Steakhouse. The second the sight of that place came to her, she'd drool faster than she could realize.
I made sure that everyone in town knew of Terra's behavior. Terra was somewhat of a celebrity in town, and was known to people as the affectionate typhlosion. But I made sure that they got a fair warning that Terra wasn't the same as she usually was.
When we entered the restaurant, everyone made sure to keep their distance from Terra. But for once, all eyes were not set on her, but little Chandler who was still clinging to her neck. There were a few "aaaaw"s here and there, but they still kept their distance.
When I made it too the table that we usually sat at, the waiter made his way over, and asked for our order. I ordered the usual for the entire gang, and something special for Terra. I made sure to whisper to the waiter, so that it wouldn't ruin the surprise for Terra, for when I whispered through my mouth, I whispered in my head too.
Terra stared at me with excited eyes, and a hint of drool in her mouth, as the smell of cooked meat filled the air. 'So Nick, what'd you get me, what'd you get me?' It amused me how hyper Terra would become over food.
20 minutes later, the waiter came in with meals for everyone but Terra. He placed the plates on the table for me and Sanj, and on the chair beside me for Dallin. He than strolled away, back into the kitchen. 'What!? Where's my food? What did you tell him to get?' Terra quickly blurted. I just sat, and remained silent.
A few seconds later, the waiter came out holding a plate high in the air. Terra looked at him with great anxiety and excitement. The waiter kneeled down, and placed the plate right in front of Terra. On the plate laid a giant 12 ounce steak.
I had to admit, at that precise moment, Terra had the most priceless look on her face. Her eyes stared at the steak with excitement, unblinking, and with this strange look to them, as if she had just seen a ghastly. She licked her lips, and even with her mouth shut, drool was flowing out like a river. You could swear that she was a water pokemon if you thought that it was normal water coming out of her mouth.
Terra looked at me with the funniest look in her eyes. Of all the things she had seen on our adventures, it seemed like this was the most exciting thing she had ever seen.
And with a single jolt, she jumped forward and threw herself into the steak faster than you could see. She bit it and jabbed at it, gripping at it as if it were a wild animal. She basically indulged on the steak like she hadn't eaten in over a month, which at that moment, I realized was true.
When we returned to the apartment, Terra was tired from eating so much food, but then again, she always got tired after eating like this. It seemed to calm her down in a way.
I laid down on the couch, and turned on the TV, ready for some of my favorite comedy and reality shows. When I relaxed on the couch, Terra jumped up, carrying Chandler on her neck, and laid down on my lap. Dallin jumped up on top of Terra, and than up to my shoulder, and rested there. Sanj got away from the fridge, and sat down on the couch next to me.
We were all together, something that I hadn't experienced in over half a year. It seemed like an eternity ago that things were this peaceful, but it was finally happening.
For the first time in what seemed like forever, I was finally assured that things were back to normal.
I woke up the next morning, feeling warm minded, and warm hearted after yesterday's events. It had been so long since I didn't feel any stress, or worry for my friends. I loved it, and I never wanted it to change.
But as I brushed my teeth, and walked into the main room of my apartment, greeted by the dawning light of morning I saw out the window, the phone rang.
I walked up to my desk and turned it on. Karen had called with the usual call to tell me to come to her office. I knew that a new mission was in store for me, and now thanks to all the friends I had, missions were no longer a fear, but a rush of adrenaline and excitement.
I made my way to Karen's office, and walked into her brightly lit office. To my surprise, the Professor stood beside her as she sat at her desk.
"Nick, this is going to sound complicated, but this may be most important thing that you've heard from us yet." Karen spoke glummly. They had a distressed look on their face. My excitement and adrenaline was replaced with stress.
"Nick, we've been studying those portal signals, the ones that were picked up when you destroyed the Alpha plant. We've been searching and comparing those signals, and for the past two months, we've come up with nothing. But that's because we've been using the signals that only the organization used. So instead we've been studying every signal that's ever happened. It proved to be a rigorous task but because, well, we aren't the only people who use portals. But after two months of searching, we've found the signal. It was one traced only a few miles from here, and it happened about a year ago." She seemed to be getting more and more nervous as she went along.
"So? Where does it go."
Karen paused for a brief moment, collecting herself. "Nick, the portal signal we traced was the one that you used with Terra to get here, to Johto."
"What!?"
"Nick... the portal went to Earth."