"…": Characters talking
'…': Characters thinking to themselves
(…): Extra facts about the story/inner thoughts
A/N Notes: Sorry about the delay; graduate school and thesis work are a pain. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 3: Day Two
En Route to Pallet Town, 20 miles from Viridian City, Kanto Region, 23 December 2010, 11:30 AM
Dawn yawned and leaned her body on Paul's, the plum-haired trainer's eyes focused on the landscape outside. The couple had been on the move since boarding a plane in Hearthome City, Sinnoh for Saffron City, Kanto at 11:00 the previous night. From there, it had taken a good six hours to take off, fly through the sky and land in Saffron City, where they'd spent a scant few hours getting some sleep at the Pokémon Center (Nurse Joy hadn't been particularly pleased to admit trainers at five in the morning; Paul didn't particularly care if Joy was upset or not) before checking out and hailing a taxi to take them to Pallet Town. The cab driver had looked at them askance at the demand that he drive them from Saffron to Pallet in two hours, but at the wad of five-dollar Pokébills Paul had tossed to the front of the vehicle he'd grinned and took off.
"How much longer?" Dawn mumbled against the G-Man's shoulder, eyes closed against the invasive sunlight. Paul shrugged for a moment before checking his watch.
"Not sure." Glancing up front, he asked the driver the question he'd just been asked, grimacing when he was told at least another half-hour. Repeating that answer to Dawn, a grumbled curse was her response. He smirked.
Thirty minutes later, Paul tossed a few more crumbled Pokédollars at the cab driver before swinging the two duffels that the Sinnoh couple had brought with them over his shoulder, mentally thanking the weatherman (for once) that he'd been spot on with his weather predictions. The weather was a balmy fifty-five degrees and there was no snow on the ground; compared to Veilstone, this place was a tropical paradise.
"Finally!" Dawn stretched trying to work out the knots that the long car ride had given her.
"Are you sure that it's okay that we're here early?" Paul asked haltingly after a moment, his eyes narrowing to a glower after the sheepish giggle that came from his wife. "You did call, right?"
"I, uh, kinda thought you'd done that," Dawn confessed sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck. Ignoring Paul's grunt of disgust she perked up as they saw the Oak Pokémon Laboratory up ahead. "I'm sure Gary and Misty won't mind…"
Of course, Paul griped to himself as he held a struggling little boy by the scruff of his long-sleeved tee-shirt, this was not what he had in mind when he decided to attend the party. Granted, he had to come by order of Thorn, but that wasn't the issue. The problem, as he saw it at the moment, was the kid in his hand… and the fact that he'd tried to kip something off his plate of food, which he'd placed down for one bloody minute to catch the Pokéball the elder Oak had thrown at him, something about a Dragon-type Pokémon…
"Kid, just what do you think you're doing?" Paul asked an eyebrow raised. The orange-haired boy pouted, arms crossed over his chest, not answering. Sighing in annoyance, Paul dropped the kid, who landed on his feet and turned to look at the plum-haired trainer. "Again, what were you doing?"
Scuffing the toe of his sneaker on the carpet, the boy took a breath before responding, "I, uh, was hungry."
"Don't your parents feed you?"
"Well, yeah, but they're so busy right now that it's hard to get their attention." Paul raised an eyebrow, impressed that the six-year old was using such advanced vocabulary. Then again, the son of Gary Oak was bound to be intelligent (Paul actually respected the spiky-haired Kanto native, if only because he was a respected Pokémon Researcher and Paul respected those whom he felt had earned it).
"Seriously?" At the nod he sighed and, glancing around to make sure that Dawn wasn't lurking around a corner or something (she would do that, the minx) he shoved the plate of food at the boy, grimacing at the cheeky grin he received in return. As the boy scampered off, Paul shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered into the back of the laboratory, silently amazed at the sheer size of it. Ten times the size of Reggie's small center and three times the size of Professor Rowan's place in Sandgem Town with five times the acreage, Professor Oak and his grandson had certainly outdone themselves on providing their Pokémon with a rather… interesting environment for when their trainers didn't need them at the moment.
"Paul!" The Veilstone City native turned his head and nodded at Gary Oak, the Researcher coming up to him and shoving his hands in his khaki pockets. "Thanks for coming early." He grimaced and continued, "Don't get me wrong. I love Mist, but when it comes to these parties, well,"
"You feel like hurling?" Paul asked wryly smirking at the Researcher, who smirked in reply. Changing the subject he stated, "Your son was bugging me earlier."
Gary sighed. "Damn it. Misty and I told him to be polite and not do anything like that again. What'd he do?"
"Tried to steal my food then somehow convinced me to give him my plate of food," Paul muttered embarrassed that he'd been outsmarted by a six-year old kid. Granted, the kid was the son of two friends (respected friends, no less), but that didn't mean that he was okay with a six-year old's easy manipulation of him.
Gary frowned then chuckled, the sound carrying over to a herd of Tauros, whose ears pricked up for a moment before returning to their grazing. "Yeah, that's Chris, alright." Slanting a look at his friend, he questioned, "Did he use the 'puppy dog eyes' on you?"
Paul thought back to the incident and grimaced. "Yeah." Gary's chuckle was heard once again, drawing the attention of their wives. Soon enough, Dawn had her arm linked in Paul's, Misty with Gary's.
"What's so funny?" Dawn asked and Paul lowered his head slightly, not willing to outright admit that he'd been outwitted by a six-year old. Gary smirked and nudged his wife, her sea-green eyes meeting his dark sapphire orbs.
"Chris is up to his tricks again," Gary announced and Misty frowned, obviously wanting to hear more about her rogue son. "He convinced Paul here to give him his plate of food."
"No," Dawn gasped looking at her husband incredulously. "You, you were outwitted by a six-year old?"
"It can't be that big of a deal, can it?" Misty asked smirking. Paul seethed. She obviously knew that it was a huge deal to him and was baiting him. Damn her. "I mean, can't big, smart Paul Andreas resist the charm s of my six-year old son?"
Paul's fist clenched and Dawn, concerned, placed her hand on his, sending a shock up Paul's arm. Unnerved (and relieved that the blunette was still physically able to do something like that), Paul slowly unclenched his fist, eyes shooting a quick thanks to his wife, who merely smiled. After a moment of silent communication, Dawn began to giggle, ignoring the sour look sent her way by Paul.
"Sorry, but it's, it's just so funny!" she giggled hand in front of her mouth to prevent the noise from traveling very far. Paul rolled his eyes skyward at his wife's antics, a small smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. Gary and Misty moved a few feet away to give the Sinnoh couple some privacy, and both shared a look that spoke volumes.
"Hey! Anyone here?" rang a voice breaking the moment between Paul and Dawn. Upon recognizing the voice, Paul growled low in his throat. Damn, if it wasn't Ketchum…
"Keep your shirt on, Ashy-boy," Gary hollered back laughing at the outraged shout he heard from around the corner. Sure enough, an embarrassed and slightly upset Ash Ketchum soon trotted around the corner, his fiancée Anabel Lunara on his heels, Pikachu cradled in her arms.
"Way to be mature," Gary mocked grinning smugly at the flash of red that crossed Ash's face. Ash grunted and ignored his best friend, eyes catching sight of Paul and Dawn a few feet away.
"Paul, Dawn! I didn't know that you were coming!" Bounding over, he shook Dawn's hand enthusiastically, eliciting a giggle from the blunette. Then, holding out a hand for Paul, the Kanto G-Man waited patiently, much more so than he had in the past, and after what seemed to be an eternity, Paul took the proffered hand, shaking it slowly.
"Managed to wrangle vacation time, and Thorn said that Rowan and I had to show," Paul replied to Ash's earlier question, grimacing at the fact that he was here at this thrice-damned party, even if his personal reason was to both please his wife and save her.
"Nice," Ash commented grinning. After a moment of awkward silence, Ash turned to Misty and began narrating a story from years previous when the two, along with Tracey, had traveled throughout the Orange Archipelago. Gary had moved to the patio door a few feet away, welcoming more guests while keeping an eye on the second traveling trio of Ash's, grimacing at the mention of the numerous suitors his wife had unwittingly enticed throughout her journeys. Paul noted this and snorted wondering why Oak didn't do anything to stop the conversation from progressing further… then noted how much the ginger-haired Gym Leader seemed to enjoy the talk, though she heatedly denied leading anyone on.
'Is that what I need to do?' Paul silently wondered noting the Oak brat running around, chasing after at least five older children, all of them eerily looking like the breeder who'd traveled with Dawn in Sinnoh all those years ago. 'Damn, how did Slate procreate that fast?'
"You five, stop that!" came the demand and Paul's eyes landed on what seemed to be a miniature Brock, complete with a dark green vest over a slightly torn black tank top. "Billy, Tilly, stop leading Chris towards the paddocks." Paul's head spun around and, sure enough, an older girl was dragging a protesting Chris away from the leader of the Tauros herd, the bull's scared face tilted at a slight angle out of curiosity. The five mini-Brocks had vanished.
"Let me go! Dad lets me play with the Tauros all the time!" the brat protested dark sapphire eyes glowering at the girl who was dragging him away from the game. In response, the girl sniffed as if a stink bomb had detonated near her.
"Liar." She dumped the orange-haired brat at the mini-Brock's feet and glared at the latter, fingering a Pokéball. "Forrest, he's yours to deal with 'cause I have to go train Nosepass." Then, she spun around and stomped off, leaving the mini-Brock, er, Forrest, clenching his fists. The little Oak brat shot Forrest a raspberry before taking off again, avoiding a last minute swipe by the teen.
"Nyahh!" Chris crowed avoiding a grab from yet another mini-Brock, though this one was shorter than Forrest before running into Paul, who grabbed him, once more, by his tee shirt.
"You're troublesome, you know that?" Paul sneered bringing the brat eye-level with him. Chris crossed his arms and glared, which of course led to a glaring contest. Dawn, noting the event dropped her face into her palm, then went to find Gary or Misty. Not that she thought her husband would hurt Chris, but, well, the parents should deal with the issue.
"Good catch," the teen Brock-lookalike stated walking up to the two glaring males. Reaching out, he grabbed Chris' arm and tugged, Paul releasing him without hesitation. "Brat's got a tendency to escape any babysitter Gary and Misty get him except for his grandfather and aunt." Paul stared.
"You know him?"
The teen raised an eyebrow. "Duh. My brother's good friends with them." He pointed out Brock, who was watching the female with the Nosepass – a sister? – while chatting with Misty about something, eyes alight. Suddenly, Ketchum's fiancée appeared and grabbed the ginger-haired woman by her wrist and dragged her towards the three males, mouth moving a mile a minute. 'Wait… didn't I hear something somewhere that Ketchum's fiancée was semi-mute?'
The kid, now held tightly by his arm cringed at the stormy look that appeared his mother's face, then paled further when he saw his father hurrying towards him, eyes darkened.
"Christopher Samuel!" Misty hissed eyes narrowed. The teen-Brock, er, Forrest, handed the now placid boy to his mother, who gripped him by the shoulder leaning down to talk to him. Gary arrived a moment later and grabbed his son's other shoulder, kneeling so that he was eye-level. Paul watched for a few moments, taken aback when his mind suddenly replaced the image of the Oaks with himself, Dawn and… well, he would've liked to call it some random kid who had attempted to steal from him… but couldn't. The kid was dressed in short blue jeans, a dark orange shirt and had a gold chain of some kind around the neck. Dark blue hair – the same shade as Dawn's – danced in a small breeze and as his eyes subconsciously widened the kid turned slightly to rub at eyes that were his, his eyes and the facial structure was his, oh Arceus it was…
"Paul?" Just like that, the image vanished and Paul visibly flinched. Dawn, whose hand had just brushed the edge of his arm, withdrew immediately, believing that her touch had been the cause of Paul's twitch.
"Paul?" she tried again not physically reaching out again, a part of her crushed at the thought that her touch was not welcomed by her husband.
"What?" he answered. Short, sweet and to the point. Yep, nothing seemed to be wrong but Dawn knew her husband. Something was bothering him, and she had no clue what it was.
"Paul, Chris has something to say to you," Gary interrupted voice tipped in steel. Glancing over, the Veilstone City native noted that the little brat was subdued eyes narrowed. At Chris' refusal to say anything, Misty nudged him forward.
"Ah, sorry," Chris muttered hands folded across his chest. Paul's eyes narrowed and before he could even contemplate turning down the brat's half-hearted apology something in him… well, for lack of better word, shifted.
"Whatever," he muttered instead nodding at the young couple to show that he did, in fact, accept the apology and stalked off towards one of the large lakes on the property. Dawn shot a small reassuring smile at Chris, whose face had fallen at the odd acceptance of his apology.
"Don't worry about him," Dawn chided ruffling Chris' hair, ignoring the pout she got for doing so. "He accepts your apology, Chris, however half-hearted." Looking at Gary and Misty she continued sheepishly, "You know how he gets. He, uh, is kind of upset that he's here at all."
"If he doesn't want to be here, then why," Misty began looking at her husband for a possible answer.
"Uh, I think that Lance kinda forced him into it," Dawn answered finger to her chin. She looked down at a tug on her dark purple, knee-length skirt and met the now curious-eyes of Chris.
"Miss, uh, what's your name again?" Misty sighed while Gary chuckled, eyes having lightened up to their traditional dark sapphire now that the crisis was over.
"Ah, Dawn."
"'Kay. Miss Dawn, how come ya don't have a kid yet?" Chris asked innocently only to receive a tap on the head from his father, who was frowning. However, Dawn, who'd known the grandson of Samuel Oak for years now, could see the mirth dancing in his eyes.
"Ah, well, ah," she began eloquently and praised Dialga when Anabel called motioning her over, a knowing look on her face. Excusing herself, Dawn hurried over to Ash's fiancée leaving a miffed Chris, a chuckling Gary and knowing Misty behind her.
"He's something, hmm?" Anabel asked walking up to Dawn as the Sinnoh Coordinator grinned weakly at her in greeting, nerves still a bit frayed.
"Who, Chris?" At the answering nod, Dawn smiled. "He really is. He's definitely Gary and Misty's kid." She slanted her gaze towards the lilac-haired Frontier Brain and added slyly, "So. When are you and Ash going to tie the knot?"
Anabel flushed but grinned. "Hmm… June."
"This June or sometime in the future?" came the reply and Anabel laughed. It was a known fact among the rather large group of friends that Ash and Anabel had to keep putting off their wedding due to his duties as a G-Man and hers as a Frontier Brain, not to mention numerous requests from Lance to take over the position of Champion of the Kanto League while remaining a G-Man agent, a full-time job in and of itself, plus Scott's continuous requests that he become the eighth Kanto Frontier Brain. Was it really too much to ask for a chance to get married? Yes, it apparently was.
"This June." Anabel's reply was so sure that Dawn had to believe it to be true. Grinning, she proceeded to congratulate the woman, demanding that she be allowed to help with wedding preparations, that she be invited and, oh, how many bridesmaids were allowed?
Anabel giggled and the two women were soon deeply involved in wedding talks, so much so that when Anabel casually brought up the subject of children Dawn was taken aback and didn't how to respond.
Meanwhile, Paul had found a relatively silent spot across the lake and was observing the party with wary eyes. No way was he going to get dragged into conversations that he could easily avoid by isolating himself. Spotting the red shock of hair that could only belong to his boss heading his way, Paul resigned himself to being asked to mingle.
"There you are, Andreas," Lance stated an arm around a woman that Paul had only seen in magazines. Lorelai Prima-Thorn was a stunningly beautiful woman, petite and fierce, her glasses doing nothing but enhancing her beauty. It was obvious why the Dragon Tamer had grabbed her when he could. "Glad to see that you keep your promises."
Paul merely nodded attention focused on the stagnant lake waters. Hearing a chiding sound from behind him, his face flushed and he spun around only to meet the amused face of Lorelai.
"My, my. What a temper," she mocked hand moving to cover her mouth. "You have quite the spirit, you know." Paul scoffed and turned away not quite sure what to make of the statement.
"Paul, as glad as I am to see that you are physically here," Lance threw out glancing across the shore to the gathering of friends, glad to see that regional differences didn't hinder friendships. "Your spirit isn't fully here. Why not go spend time with your friends or, even better, your wife?" With that, he and Lorelai left the plum-haired man to his own thoughts, which were in absolute chaos.
Oak Laboratory, Pallet Town, Kanto Region, 23 December 2010, 9:30 PM
Later that night, the Oaks had convinced many of their guests to stay the night, so for the adult party-goers, alcohol was in decent number and usage. As a result, Paul had taken great pleasure in setting an intoxicated Barry next to an equally drunk Angie Robinson. Dawn hadn't been particularly pleased with the trick, but after a moment had giggled and helped him arrange the limbs so that it looked as if something had truly taken place rather than just two intoxicated people lying next to each other. Ketchum had stumbled upon them and in a move that had shocked Paul had suggested removing some of their clothes, "for fun" as he'd phrased it. With that done, Paul had smirked and decided that his revenge on his partner was, for the moment, complete.
After the trick had been executed, Dawn had dragged Paul outside and down to the lake, the sound of the water lapping the shore relaxing for her.
"So, did you have fun?" Dawn asked ocean-blue eyes glancing upwards at the stars decorating the Kanto skyline. 'We never see this many stars in Veilstone; too many skyscrapers.'
Paul didn't respond for a moment pondering what exactly to say. 'How do I put this without sounding like a complete sap, not to mention showing Lance that I took his advice. Granted, he's not a mind-reader, but he can tell. Ass.'
"Paul?" Dawn placed a hand on her husband's forearm once more, relieved when he didn't flinch nor shrug it off.
"I – yes, I did," Paul answered slowly his onyx eyes meeting those of his wife's. "Interestingly enough, it was entertaining."
"That's great!" Dawn espoused a grin stretching across her face. Moving closer, she tugged at his arm and, reluctantly, Paul let her drape it over her shoulders, smirking in spite of himself. 'Little minx.'
The two walked in silence for a while before they came upon a stone bench that was placed perfectly on the lake's edge, a willow tree planted behind it. Dawn dragged a semi-protesting Paul over, placing him before moving to take a seat next to him. However, Paul tugged on Dawn's wrist, sending her off-balance and into her husband's lap, the G-Man smirking at the surprised look on her face.
"Paul! What was that for?" Dawn demanded straightening up so that she could look Paul in the eyes but not removing herself from her current seat. She may be happy there, but the reason for said action was still required.
Paul shrugged not verbally responding; however, his initiating an emotional kiss did more than words to explain his actions. As Dawn returned the favor, Paul was taking in every detail about his wife, wondering how in Arceus' name he had not noticed just how damn beautiful she was. From her navy-blue hair (silky, smooth, held up with the same golden-yellow barrettes from when she was ten) to her expressive eyes (and damn but if she didn't know how to use them to her advantage), her hourglass figure to her dedication to Pokémon, she was a goddess. 'Why did it take her dying for me to see this?'
The kiss soon came to an end and Paul rested his forehead against hers, their breath mingling in the chilled air. Their eyes met and Dawn could swear that there was a softness there not usually found. Curious, she opened her mouth to comment on it but Paul took advantage, causing her to forget her question. Tongues mixing and breath mingling, it took all of Paul's self-control not to let it escalate; at least, not outside in the night air and where there was a chance that someone could accidentally interrupt them.
'I'd have to kill them then,' Paul thought grimly a calloused hand slowly moving to grasp a strand of Dawn's hair.
A few minutes later, the two looked at each other and Paul further resolved that he'd do all he could to save his wife. As he hesitatingly returned the sudden hug Dawn had given him, his eyes caught a dim white glow in a thicket further away from the lake's edge. Resolving to check it out as soon as Dawn was asleep, he turned his attention back to his wife and suggested that they go to bed and warm up. Obviously agreeing, Dawn smiled and pulled Paul back with her towards their assigned room on the first floor of the massive Oak mansion.
Three hours later, and wrapped in a black jacket Paul made his way down to the lake and, pushing aside the few branches impeding his path saw Celebi. Paul gritted his teeth. 'Damn it, can't he leave me the hell alone?'
"Tsk, tsk. Here I was, prepared to give you a final tip to help you out and you insult me." Celebi, in his human form put his arms behind his head and moved away, smirking as he heard the grunt of annoyance from the plum-haired man behind him.
'… Sorry.' Celebi glanced over his shoulder and relished the sight of the usually arrogant trainer apologizing for something he had said. 'Perfect.'
"Accepted." Moving closer to the man, Celebi leaned closer and sighed. "Look, Andreas. I'll say that you're doing a… passable job here, but really, where's the romance?"
Paul's eyes snapped up and glowered at the legendary Pokémon. 'I am not a romantic sap like Ketchum.'
"Did I say Ash Ketchum's name at all?" Celebi mocked eyebrow raised. "No, I didn't. Obviously, I don't expect you to buy a truckload of roses for Dawn for delivery tomorrow. That's too much to expect of you." Paul's growl dripped with annoyance as Celebi continued, "However, while you have shown your wife that you're willing to take vacation time for holidays and attend events that are important to her, you have yet to prove how much you truly love her.'
'Bullshit,' Paul snarled eyes burning. 'I had to give up my sanity to deal with idiots like Ketchum, I was accosted by a six-year old brat multiple times and was manipulated into giving up my food, all in less than twelve hours!' Celebi didn't look impressed.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Paul's eyes flashed before Celebi sighed and stated, "To you, Andreas, that may be enough to save your wife, but in reality, those actions were geared towards satisfying yourself that you were making Dawn happy. Right?" Paul hesitated but then agreed. Celebi nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Listen. Why not try asking Dawn what she wants to do?"
Paul stiffly nodded in agreement after a moment, eyes narrowed in thought. 'Let her choose what to do? With my luck, she'll choose something I hate… but, is it worth it? Is sheworth it?' Paul looked back at the mansion, his mind's eye imagining his wife burrowed underneath the covers, nose wrinkled at something in her dream, hands tucked around her or underneath the pillow. 'She's worth it.'
Celebi, hearing this last thought nodded in satisfaction but then narrowed his eyes upon hearing a mental command from his boss. 'Damn. Arceus, why didn't you tell me earlier?' Upon hearing no response (not that'd expected one) Celebi sighed and wondered if he could escape as soon as he delivered the news.
"One last thing," Celebi began drawing Paul's attention back to him. "Tomorrow is indeed your last day, but," Celebi paused, trying to put what he needed to say into the correct words, "but, there is one condition that I wasn't aware of when I offered you this bargain."
'Condition? What condition?' Paul demanded eyes flashing. Stalking closer, he made as if to grab the disguised-Celebi's clothes but remembered that he would then be physically disrespecting the one Pokémon who'd given him the chance to save his wife in the first place.
"Um, you see," Celebi was not pleased that he had to say this. He just knew that it was going to end badly. "Dialga and Arceus have both told me that Destiny cannot be changed."
Paul got a bad feeling in his gut and, having been one to trust his gut instinct in the past on life-changing issues did so again. 'What, what do you mean?'
Celebi sighed, eyes closing for a moment before opening them again. "What I mean is that no matter what happens, well, Dawn will die."
Paul didn't answer for a moment, head lowered and bangs covering his eyes. When his head came up, Celebi winced. Yeah, he was pissed. 'What. the. Hell? You told me that I would be able to save her, not realize just how damn much she means to me and then let her die again!'
"I know. I'm sorry," Celebi abruptly stopped, tilting his head as if hearing something. A smile flickered on his face before vanishing; Paul caught it and his hopes began to slowly rise.
"Are you sure?" Celebi whispered and after another moment, the Pokémon turned to an anxious Paul. "Change of plans. Arceus has heard your words and plea, and has decided to give you one shot, and one shot only, to change Destiny. He talked to Dialga and through some quick talking managed to get his agreement."
'Meaning…'
"Meaning, Andreas, that you'll have until midnight tomorrow to discover the one surefire method, or gift, if you will, to prove to Dawn that you truly love her. If you manage to find this gift, then Dialga promises to let Dawn live."
Paul digested this for a minute and, wanting to make sure that it was true looked Celebi in the eye and asked, '… Do you promise?'
Celebi observed the desperation in Paul's voice, the haunted eyes and knew, somehow, that the next day wasn't going to be ordinary. "Promise."