Author's Note:
Updated Chapters:
Chapter 7 – Changes likely unnoticeable.
Hello everyone! I am back, and a day early this time rather than a week late. Today is a special day, because I reveal that special character I've been taking name suggestions for! For those of you who were kind enough to submit me your name ideas, thank you! Let me know what you think of the name! It certainly isn't a common name by any means, but I feel I would be hard-pressed to find something better for this story!
So about this chapter, I mentioned I was doing something a bit different with it, and while I like the way it has turned out, it has also been one of the hardest to write! It's only seen a couple of iterations compared to the usual five to ten that I've spent on previous chapters, so I apologize in advance if things don't flow quite right. It is also the longest chapter yet!
For the casual reader, this chapter will seem like a lot of nonsense. However, for the more hardcore, this chapter foreshadows a ton of game-changers! So break out your detective notepad, and enjoy this beast of a chapter! I look forward to your predictions and hypothesis in the reviews!
Today is 8/12/2016 and this chapter is 7800+ words.
Update: I made a slight modification of events near the end of this chapter to patch an issue a reader pointed out to me that was also patched in the next chapter. The issue isn't fully resolved, but hopefully it is more tolerable.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, just dream it.
Chapter 26: Overslept
"I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" bellowed out the six-tailed fox kicking her tails in full-paced stride. She gasped for air to calm her panicking lungs as she rounded the lake corner and began pressing up the hill Northbound. "I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!"
Two red ears twitched at the sudden noise. The owner of those ears was a flareon positioned high on the rocks performing his early morning stretches before the new class of eevee arrived. The flareon followed the noise of panicked nonsense catching sight of a red blur rapidly approaching the shallow canyon below.
"Melody! What happened?" Trent called out towards the maddened creature.
"I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! I'm sorry! I'm late! I overslept! I'm late! I'm late! Have a good day!"
"Huh…" Trent grunted amusedly perplexed, staring off where she disappeared into the forest as quickly as she came.
The morning was promising warmth and calm air, but that was not the concern for the adrenaline-rushed vulpix dodging trees and branches praying none of the obstacles ahead were enough to make her improvised shortcut trivial. How she ever allowed herself to oversleep, well she didn't have time to think about it. There were too many trees in the way and too much work to get done on the site to slow down!
"I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" she recited as a makeshift mantra which paced her breath. Normally a breath per kick was terribly inefficient, but it was the only way she could react in time to weave side to side and leap over the stray roots and stumps. The upward slope was also dampening her pace. Her father must be both worried about her and stressed with the workload! She had to get there ASAP! Push! Push! Low hanging branch!
She pulled her head down and flattened her tails just in time to avoid the deep gashes that would have raked upon her skin. She looked up as soon as she felt clear of the dangerous obstacle only to see a yellow blob. She tried to scream out to the creature, but her outburst was out of phase with her exhale, emitting only an awkward gasp for air. She began to close her eyes for impact, but just before her vision left her she caught movement.
She opened her eyes again to realize the creature had successfully slipped out of harm's way at extraordinary speed.
"Tournament?" the jolteon asked.
"Yeah! I'm late! I'm late! Sorry!" Melody repeated without even glancing back to identify the tribe native.
"Can you tell him he has my sincere con…dolences…Shoot! She's already gone!" the jolteon complained as Melody disappeared over the horizon of the open hill. "I'll have to arrange our meeting later. I should go check up on sis. I hope I'm not reading too deep into what I saw yesterday." He turned and departed down the hill, away from where he had come.
Melody was already at her post, fetching her satchel and recalibrating her breath. She was making good time, but she was already supposed to be there, so she couldn't slow down a second. With her only break being the time it took for her to hook the satchel around her neck, she set off again, this time with a more regular breathing pattern. She still had a long way to go!
Her mind began racing as to what all she would have to get done immediately as she arrived. She would have to conceal her exhaustion, or someone might report her. That would be bad for Mr. Clesse. It wouldn't matter how many times she explained it nor the fact she could actually explain it in human speech, people were still going to believe she was the subject of brainwashed abuse. They would chase her down and try to force her into a protection center. It didn't matter if she ran. They all had bicycles and golf carts, like the one coming into her view in front of her.
"Oh no," Melody grunted as she slowed down. Her heartrate, however, was skyrocketing! She did it this time! Everyone must be in a stressful panic!
"Melody! Thank goodness!" cried a familiar eleven year old child, none other than Fia.
"Fia! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Melody sobbed, breaking into tears.
"Melody no!" Fia replied, reaching down and hugging the vulpix tightly. "Melody, can you be strong for just a little bit? We have an emergency right now."
"What?" Melody gasped between chokes of tears.
"A boy ate some keviar cherries out on the course, and he's reacting badly. The doctors are completely out of proper medicine," the girl explained. She gasped in confusion when Melody's eyes blasted open, and hesitated for a second before remembering the next step. "One nurse gave me this sheet with the name of the medicine and a product code." She pulled out a folded up sheet of paper. Melody immediately stood up and snatched it out of her hand before diving back into the forest.
"Meet me by the side entrance just shy of the furret plains!" Melody hollered behind her. She was flying faster now thanks to the downward slope carrying her, allowing her to focus on simply dodging obstacles in her way. She needed to find Taylor, the name becoming her new mantra as she spotted an opening to the outer path. She took a right turn towards it and was freed from forest obstacles. She soon passed the sign she and Trent had made the previous night.
"Melody?" a voice called in the distance.
"Must find Taylor!" Melody grunted in stride as she flew past the calling eevee. But to her surprise, she heard footsteps behind her slowly reaching her until an eevee was running alongside her. She didn't bother to look though. She just kept running. Perhaps this eevee was racing her to wherever for training or something? It didn't matter. She had to get to Taylor! She and the eevee kept running together. Running, running, she wouldn't stop. The good news was as soon as she was done she would get to rest. That would be a relief, but first she needed to get this done. She had the strength and endurance. She just had to keep pushing forward!
"This way!" commanded the eevee next to her, which darted off the path to the left into deeper forest. Melody recognized the voice as Caleb's, and without thinking followed him. She hoped he was actually leading her to Taylor and not trying to take her to something else! She was relieved when they reached a clearing containing a collection of baskets and vases arrayed against the trees.
"Thank heavens he heard me!" Melody thought to herself as the two cut through the clearing.
"He's just up ahead," Caleb pointed out as the two passed by several vaporeon and jolteon who stopped to watch them pass. Around the bend, the vaporeon in question came into view. He started walking to the side to get out of the way, and his eyes blasted open as they adjusted their course back towards him. Fortunately though, the two of them were slowing down.
"Emergency request! Code is six-one-one-five-two!" Melody fired at the vaporeon.
"Epidemic or case?" Taylor inquired.
"Case," Melody exhaled unhesitatingly. She watched as the vaporeon took command of the situation.
"Robbie! Capsule of six-one-one-five-two! A-SAP!"
"Right!" a jolteon answered before quickly taking off. Melody used the time to catch her breath. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.
"Thank you," Caleb told the vaporeon.
"No worries," Taylor replied. He waved his tail behind him, watching concernedly at Melody's heavy breathing.
"Thanks…Caleb…for…the…shortcut," Melody huffed between breaths. Her breathing was finally starting to slow.
"No problem," Caleb answered. "I can show you the way back too if you need to."
"I told Fia I would…meet her at the high entrance," Melody informed.
"Right! I know the way there too!" Caleb answered, not bothering to question the name. The jolteon returned, making quick time.
"Six-one-one-five-two?" the jolteon asked.
Taylor simply motioned towards the vulpix, who opened her satchel. The jolteon closed the gap in two leaps and carefully dropped cylindrical capsule into the satchel.
"Thank you!" Melody gestured as she turned and took off with Caleb leading.
"Good luck!" Taylor hollered as the two disappeared into the forest.
Melody and Caleb were back to racing! It was only a matter of distance before Melody could finally rest again. She just had to get to Fia! Hopefully the girl wasn't lost! Ironically, Melody had lost all sense of direction. Caleb was making cuts left and right, weaving around trees and cutting through arched branches and roots, before merging onto another main path. Fortunately, the shortcuts weren't nearly as hazardous as the shortcut she tried earlier. It was as if Caleb memorized the forest! Suddenly, a familiar pattern caught Melody's eyes, she was already on the exit path. Two more bends, and she'd be out of the forest! Caleb was amazing! Her eyes narrowed in determination as she made an effort to align herself horizontally with the eevee. She succeeded, just as the opening came in sight.
"Melody!" cried Fia, causing Melody to break into final sprint! The eevee stopped, turning into the forest out of sight. Melody didn't have time to contemplate Caleb's reaction to Fia's voice. Instead she blinked as sunlight pounded against her eyes. All she could see was the white silhouette of the golf cart and the shadow of the young girl in the driver seat away from the vulpix. The silhouettes came closer, but Melody's vision wasn't adjusting! She was all but blind! Finally, the silhouette was within two strides of her. She leapt blindly for the shadow, closing her eyes and praying!
She felt the cushioned impact she was praying for, as arms guided her ragdoll body onto the girl's lap. She tried to relax her breathing as the sounds of a motor drowned out all other noise. She felt the rush of acceleration as the vehicle took off towards the tournament grounds. Fia was gunning it! They needed to make haste! But for now, Melody could rest.
She closed her eyes, letting herself finally process everything that happened. It was a miracle Fia had the cart! It had saved her a bunch of running. The fact she overslept was no longer an issue. She was ironically fortunate, given the circumstances.
Melody paid no mind to the bumpy ride as the vehicle weaved its way up to the city. For her, the girl's skirt was plenty enough cushion and warmth. Instead, her mind was already refocusing on the day's business. Most likely, she was going to gather some press attention after the boy was treated. It was a major marketing opportunity for the tribe. After that, who knew what would happen! The good news was that today was looking like an action-packed day! There wouldn't be as much sitting around and listening to her father talk this time around. But shoot! She had to find Kieren too, and make sure he was ok! She only had four days to find him while the streets were empty. It probably wasn't good for his morale that the whole city just suddenly cleared out. She wondered if he knew about the tournament.
The cart eased its incline and gained speed as it entered the city grounds, steering off a sharp left towards the golf course. Fia gently placed one of her hands on Melody's neck, rubbing out the tension that had built up over the morning's events. Melody whimpered in guilty pleasure, before turning red when she realized the awkward sound she had made. Humans were just magical sometimes.
"Just relax, we're getting closer," Fia reassured softly, as she softly patted the vulpix's head before placing her hand back on the steering wheel. Melody wondered how much Fia knew about the recent events, especially Kieren's exile. She was still confused herself about it. Even Drake was confused by it. If only Drake could rename OAI; the name was too obviously secretive and uncreative. At least he solved the second issue with the project. A recording system would relay information much more accurately. The problem was, Tara would know. But apparently that issue was already solved, because just as everyone was leaving Kat's cave, Caleb had asked, "So for OAI, what next?"
"Hey, Trent. Blast from the past?" Kat asked mischievously.
Everyone in the room gave blank stares at her. Only Trent and Drake closed their eyes to try and decode the message. Everyone else just waited for someone to make sense of something. Suddenly, Trent's eyes blasted open.
"Wait, does this have anything to do with training?" Trent yelped.
"What?" Andy choked.
"Just for a day," Kat answered with a smirk.
"Seriously?" Andy and Connor asked excitedly. The two glanced at each other, and back at Kat, flabbergasted.
"What the heck is going on?" Drake interrupted loudly.
"Drake, you know this," Trent relayed.
"I'm confused too," Caleb admitted. "What do I need to do?"
"We won't need you or Melody for this," Trent answered reassuringly.
"FRICKIN' GENIOUS!" Drake thundered, interrupting Melody's confused gasp and silencing everyone for a brief moment.
"This isn't going to spread the curse, is it?" Connor asked cautiously after everyone recovered from Drake's outburst.
"Totally unrelated, actually. No promises, but it might just be a paradise!" Drake answered, still beaming with excitement.
The conversation had gone off topic from there. Melody still had no idea what the paradise thing was all about, but she trusted Drake was in control. Her concern had to be finding Kieren, making sure he was safe and not starving. She'd have Trent with her Saturday, if she didn't find Kieren by then. Hopefully that didn't interfere with whatever the group was planning. She had totally forgotten to ask Trent about that part last night. Her mind must have been too occupied by the fact that Drake had gotten into a family argument over the whole ordeal. She couldn't even imagine what that would be like. The lapras were incredibly intelligent creatures. Such an argument would require a ton of friction for such an outcome to occur, that Drake had to turn to desperate measures. Melody would admit she felt a little uneasy about the whole ordeal. It certainly wasn't the most ethical approach to the issue. But given what happened to Kieren, ethics could be thrown out the window! Ugh! This tournament was so awkwardly timed! All she wanted to do was go find Kieren, find him a home, find him some new friends, comfort him. She felt terrible she missed the whole event. She could have been right there, ready to take him in the moment everything happened, assuming she would have the composure. Now that she thought about it, she probably wouldn't. She would have absolutely lost her mind! Seriously, why did the tribe have to treat Kieren like crap all the time?
"Melody. Please relax," Fia interrupted, pushing down on the vulpix's stiffened shoulders. "Everything will be alright. I need you to relax and focus on the tournament today. I know you're all worked up, but everything will be alright. Trust me. Relax. We're almost there."
As soon as her tension broke, Melody could feel the human magic suppress the last of her rage. Her limbs collapsed again into peaceful rest in the lap of the young girl. She sighed. She'd have to forget about Kieren for now, or else she wouldn't have a chance to find him later. Today was going to be full of faces, and full of adventures.
Fruity flavor and tartness filled the umbreon's mouth. It was his first time trying the yellow drink, and it definitely wasn't what he expected.
"Like it?" Aurelein asked.
"It's different," Kieren answered, forgetting the human couldn't understand him.
"A little sour?" Aurelein guessed.
Kieren just shrugged and took another sip, causing the human to laugh lightly. Apparently a kid climbing one of the keviar trees ate some of the cherries and collapsed. Kieren had no idea they were poisonous to humans until Aurelein explained it to him. It was a shame. They had a lot of flavor. Kieren could see off in the distance where the tree stood, but he couldn't see the child, despite the surrounding area being cleared out by staff. Doctors and nurses were kneeling by the boy, blocking the umbreon's view. They were waiting for some treatment medicine to arrive and counter the poison.
"And here I thought these incidents only happened in the nature trail," Aurelein muttered. "I suppose I should appreciate the swamp fairies more…"
Kieren glanced up at the man sitting on the bench, curious as to the creatures he spoke of. Fortunately, Aurelein noticed his curiosity and explained things to him.
"In Laverre, some of the girls go out south to the nature trail's playground to play. But as soon as they notice a passing trainer or group, they abandon the environment and hide in the swamps to play pranks on the passing trainers. Legend has it the children long ago used to do this to protect the existence of what was at the time a controversial creature. Now, they simply do it for fun and tradition. But due to their habits, they always notice when a trainer eats a poisonous fruit and alert the rangers. Hey, looks like they got something!"
Kieren looked up to see a mini-super-transporter driven by a young girl with a vulpix on her lap. That vulpix was definitely Melody, but Kieren didn't recognize the human girl. He watched closely as Melody jumped down and opened her satchel, exposing it to one of the nurses by the boy. The nurse reached in, and pulled out some object too small to see which she handed to one of the other nurses. Melody and the girl stood by at the scene until one of the doctors gave them a thumbs-up and waved them off. Kieren followed his gaze as the two got back in the mini-super-transporter and took off across the fairway in front of them over to the right and into the crowd, where large cheering erupted.
"You know the vulpix?" Aurelein asked.
Kieren nodded.
"Is she the daughter of that talking ninetails or something?"
Kieren nodded again.
"I see…" Aurelein answered slowly. "You like her?"
Kieren stood at him blankly, the only way he knew to answer without words. Melody was a good friend. Nothing less, nothing more. It was surprising this was the first time he saw her since his exile. He wasn't sure if he was ready to talk to her. How would he tell her his plans of leaving, possibly forever?
Another round of applause broke out. Apparently the boy was standing and slowly walking towards another super-transporter, where they departed. Once the crowd settled, a voice blasted through the sound system.
"Special thanks to the nurses and staff for all their hard work! Now, we ask you turn your attention to the tee box where we have Aurelein Cindevelli, from Laverre City."
"That's you, man," Kieren told the human next to him, as they both arose and refocused on the game at hand.
"…We just want to make sure everyone is safe, healthy, and having a good time," Melody stated assuringly.
"Well we were all impressed with your heroic actions today," the reporter complemented. "So are you going to get some rest now? You look a little red."
"It's certainly an exhilarating way to start your day," she answered with a chuckle. "But actually it's looking to be a pretty exciting day today. Plenty of faces to see, food to eat, and some great golfing to watch under this beautiful weather we have today."
"You heard it from the vulpix!" And our golfers are warming up and jumping right back into the game. I'm Sharon from Sky 9 news bringing you back to the action!"
"Well done!" shouted one of the crew members as Sharon itched Melody behind the ear before standing up.
"Oversleep?" the tall golden ninetails asked her.
"A little bit…" Melody answered sheepishly.
"How long did it take for you to find her?" her father asked Fia.
"She was just outside the forest when I arrived," Fia answered, picking up the vulpix and bestowing human hand magic in the form of a neck scratching.
"Oh, well that worked out then," Mason answered, turning back to his daughter. "So onto regular business, I need you to report to Mr. Clesse that the issue is resolved."
"I already texted him," Fia interrupted. "He sent out the ok to resume the tournament before the interview."
"Well in that case, why don't you pick up a global information packet and take it to a guy by the name of Darren Brownson in the east boxes of seventeen," the ninetails suggested. "Hopefully by then Mom will have the R-T marketing materials ready for the print shop. Run those over to Shel and then go see if you can find Clyde at the bank and get him over. Apparently there's been some buzz on the billboard ads and Mitch thinks Clyde-Face will be hot for souvenirs."
"Is Clyde that psyduck on those Naturus billboards?" Fia asked.
"Yep," Melody answered, looking up at the human holding her.
"Well I'll let you go," Fia told Melody as she set the fire type down. "Thanks so much you two! Our family really appreciates all you do for these events."
"Thanks for putting up with me this morning," Melody answered.
"I do want to know about that later," Fia teased.
"If I have time," Melody responded while dashing off.
"What happened?" Melody could hear her father ask from behind her.
"Oh, she was a nervous wreck this morning," Fia answered.
"She hasn't slept very well lately," her Father told the girl.
"Really? I'm surprised she didn't volunteer as…"
"Sorry!" Melody excused herself as she nearly bumped into a quilava standing upright. The quilava remained totally oblivious to her as he stood cheering next to his trainer and the other girls watching the event.
People were everywhere on the course. What had been an open and calm location the last few days had become more packed than downtown on Friday night. Melody slowly navigated around the outside of the crowd, trying not to get trampled by the wave of walkers following their favorite golfers. The crowd came in all different colors and styles. Some were young adults in t-shirts, shorts, and baseball caps. Others were older wearing golf shirts or other polos with different colors, patterns, and logos. There were also visible farmers in the crowd, wearing tattered jeans and white t-shirts with mud stains. Some of them wore overalls, while others dressed like tourists with the exception of their straw hats. As she rounded the last bend, she could hear the name "Aurelein" being chanted. She turned to see a group dressed with uniquely different styles compared to rest of the crowd. The men all wore floral-patterned polos and khaki shorts, some of them wearing a flat cap or a derby. The women wore either a floral dress or a kimono. Some of the young girls wore a pink dress with greenish-brown stains tainting the frills.
Melody took a turn to the right to find a large white tent acting as an information center for the event. She dashed inside and made her way to the "staff-only doorway".
"Hi Melody!" a voice greeted opening the door for the vulpix.
"Hi Jessica!" Melody greeted the blond-haired lady. "Thanks."
Melody walked inside, quickly locating the table with piles of brochures for all the different advertisers.
"Which one's you need?" a male voice asked, surprising the fire type.
"Uh, the Valley's global," Melody answered turning to spot Ben Kistle, one of the movie theater staff.
"Here you go," he answered, stuffing several pamphlets into her satchel.
"Thanks!" Melody answered, heading back out as Ben held the door for her.
Melody was back out on her quest, trying to remember which way was the route to the seventeenth hole with so many people distorting her sense of location recognition. This year she could finally appreciate what the people were excited about, but that still didn't make it easier for her to get around, especially with their biggest crowd yet. Finally, she found her way to the edge of the course, and as she walked along the outside of the road, the noise of the crowd all but faded. There were significantly less people watching the first golfers. By the time she reached the seventeenth hole, she realized that none of the golfers had even gotten to that point yet. However, the boxes were full as usual with people in business suits or fancy dresses along with their overly groomed Pokemon. They were all chatting away, awaiting the first set of golfers to reach the infamous par five.
"Hey! Look! It's that talking vulpix that saved that boy's life!" one of the men shouted to their buddy. Melody approached them, hoping the follow-up could give her some insight as to who Darren was. "Hey Vulpix, Darren here had some questions for ya if you don't mind."
"Darren Brownson?" Melody asked.
"Why yes!" A man sitting next to the shouter wearing a black fedora answered. His expression was of slight shock, while his loud buddy simply laughed.
"Told ya they'd send someone," he commented. "Care if I dig?"
"Go right ahead," Melody answered, allowing the man to reach into her satchel and find the pamphlets. He handed them to Darren.
"Darren owns a children's hospital in Sinnoh. They see a lot of unique cases every day, and can't get proper medicine fast enough."
"Most companies either sell in bulk, or sell at a premium for custom orders with delays, and we need a lot of variety very quickly so we can get children out the doors," Darren explained. "Poor children don't always get treatment because their families can't afford to keep them in care until the medicine arrives."
Melody was almost in tears at the man's confessions. "That's so sad," she told him.
"So what makes you different?" Darren questioned, catching the vulpix off guard.
"Well, we're not factory oriented. We use natural processes instead. It's hard to explain, but the variety of the personalities within our tribe lead to a great variety of different products which we sort and package dynamically to order. Most of our long-distance clients keep a variety inventory for special cases and order to replenish as needed."
"Interesting…" Darren replied. That's a hard commitment to make, though if it works, it is certainly worthwhile."
"They have a website right here," his friend pointed out on the pamphlet. He then showed him his phone. "It's pretty professional too."
"If you can fill an order basket with what your hospital currently needs and take it to the local PC, we can get it processed within a day and send it back with you."
"Wait, are you saying you're fully inventoried with over sixty-five thousand different products?" Darren asked.
"Our output can be kinda random sometimes, so that's a necessity," Melody explained.
"Interesting. I don't see anything on dedicated priority shipping. If you've got that fast of tournaround…" Darren trailed off.
"It's less efficient cost-wise, especially since our main clients have some sort of networking for epidemic treatment distribution anyways, so the inventory system works better. However, we do accept priority retrieval, and integrate exceptionally well with their authentication systems. It is a solution for emergencies."
"And how do you manage that?" Darren asked suspiciously, nose in the pamphlet.
"Dude! Did you forget you're talking to a vulpix?" Darren's associate asked him, prompting Darren to facepalm. The associate turned back to Melody. "Thanks, Vulpix. You don't need to let Darren waste your time anymore."
"It was a pleasure meeting you," Melody replied, before setting off.
Back outside, the area was still empty, with the exception of a few wandering children clearly disinterested in the main event. More specifically, a group of boys skipping fallen cherries into the nearby pond had caught sight of a group of frosty girls, and were secretly starting to follow them. Melody couldn't blame the boys; frosties were a very different group of people. They wore a cream-like fluff on their heads, some just on their faces, some just in their hair, and some both. The fluff was a natural substance produced by a fruit nicknamed "splatterfruit" due to the way it spat out said substance when opened before exposing the nutritious core. Frosties weren't too common in Eon city, but Melody had heard rumors that they could be found everywhere in the southeast of the region where the crop was grown. Since the kids were all headed in the general direction Melody was headed, she decided to move in closer to the boys and listen in on their discussions, as she didn't recognize them as being from any part of the region.
"So did they lose a bet or something?" one boy asked.
"Do girls even make bets?" another challenged.
"Maybe it's some kind of cheer outfit," a third suggested.
"But it's not uniform, and why would anyone choose THAT as their costume?" a fourth argued. "Literally they could have dressed as anything else and gotten the same effect!"
"Maybe they're some kind of performing group," a fifth guessed.
"What if they're vampires covering up their blood stains?" a sixth joked.
"Hey! Look! There's a vulpix!"
Melody flinched at the outburst as some of the boys turned their attention to her.
"I wonder if it can speak like those ninetails we saw earlier!" a boy with sandy brown hair which was long enough to cover his forehead and ears exclaimed.
"Hey Vulpix! Can you speak?" a boy with short spiky hair next to him called out.
"Yeah," Melody answered softly so that they could only barely hear her.
"Did she say 'yeah?'" the spiky haired kid asked.
"It almost sounded like that, didn't it?" answered his friend.
"Come on! Let's go find out!" a third with glasses shouted.
It wasn't that Melody was being timid or nervous, but she had learned the best way to introduce her ability without causing people to shit themselves was to be really quiet at first.
"Hi Vulpix! My name is Jackson," the spiky haired boy introduced as the group approached her. "The guy in glasses is Jacob, and the other guy is Jeremy."
"Can you tell us your name?" Jacob asked, kneeling down.
"Melody," Melody mumbled.
"It definitely said something," Jeremy commented while kneeling down, Jackson doing the same.
"Can you repeat that?" Jacob asked.
"Melody," Melody repeated a little louder.
"Melody?" Jackson asked.
"Uh huh," Melody answered quietly.
"Are we scaring you?" Jacob asked.
"Mm mmm," Melody answered, shaking her head no.
"So why do you talk so quietly?" Jackson asked.
"Reasons," Melody answered, slightly louder, earning a smile from the boys.
"I like your bag," Jackson commented.
"Thanks," Melody replied.
"What do you use it for?" Jacob asked.
"Whatever really," Melody.
"Like?" Jackson beckoned.
"Notes, pamphlets, mail, snacks, whatever fits really," Melody answered, now at normal speaking volume.
"You're talking louder now," Jacob commented.
"Hey, can you tell us about those girls?" Jackson interrupted.
Melody giggled. "I noticed you were following them."
"Well yeah," Jackson admitted. "They're weird-looking. You can't even see half their faces."
"They're frosties," Melody explained. "They're wearing the content of a fruit that grows in the southeast. I rarely see them outside of these annual tournaments."
"So you don't know why they're wearing that stuff?" Jacob asked.
"Nope, but other than that, they've seemed pretty normal to me when I've talked to them in the past," Melody answered. "Go talk to them!"
Jeremy ran off, possibly to spread her advice to the others. The three watched him from a distance as he started stirring up discussions with the other boys and occasionally pointed at Melody.
"So where are you from again?" Melody asked.
"The two of us are from Ecruteak. The others are either from Goldenrod or Saffron," Jacob explained.
"Wait, isn't Saffron in Kanto?" Melody asked.
"Yep! They ride the rail to school in Goldenrod. It's safer after the Eden Hostage incident."
"Hey! They're going!" Jackson shouted, bringing their attention back to the rest of the boys now slowly approaching the group of frosties.
"Hey! What are you doing?" One of the boys hollered out to the girls.
"Everyone! Scatter!" One of the frosties shouted in response, prompting the girls to dash off in different directions giggling madly.
"I thought you said they were otherwise normal," Jackson casually pressed the vulpix.
"They're also girls," Melody answered giggling. "It's a game! Go chase them! Hurry!" She nudged Jackson with her nose to emphasize her point. He quickly picked up on her cue, and ran off to the others with Jacob in pursuit.
Melody dashed off as well, laughing as the boys struggled to keep sight of the frosties ducking behind trees and popping out from hills and tall grass. Suddenly she felt something grip her from underneath and lift her off the ground.
"Come on! They're starting the back nine soon!" the voice spoke to the bewildered vulpix.
"Huh?" Melody asked.
"There's popcorn in the exec post! And you're mom is almost done!" the voice called back. Melody was still a little confused what Fia was talking about, much less why she was way over on seventeen in the first place. But popcorn sounded amazing! Fia was surprisingly quick, and apparently really high on energy. Melody lifted her head up to watch as the world flew by her. It was exhilarating, the wind breathing against her eyelashes. The noise of the crowd began to flood her ears again as Fia dashed passed a large wall of people. The exec box suddenly came into view, as Fia started making side-to-side maneuvers to avoid running into people. Melody felt an arm give way, nearly causing her to fall as Fia opened the door and ran inside. Melody could see her mother out of the corner of her eye, but Fia was heading straight to the popcorn machine.
"How much you want?" Fia asked, already scooping both buckets full.
"I think that's good," Melody giggled.
Fia set Melody down on a nearby table before lifting out the buckets and handing one to the vulpix. Immediately afterwards, she was out the door and out of sight, a few spilled pieces of popcorn in tow.
Melody giggled as she grabbed her popcorn and made her way over to her mother.
"Having fun?" her mother asked.
"Perhaps," Melody teased while shoving her first shot of popcorn into her mouth.
"How does this look?" the ninetails asked, holding up an electronic tablet. Melody leaned in closer, mouth still full of popcorn, until she was able to see the picture displayed. It was a portrait of the Clesses, with Fia holding Melody while Zach was holding an eevee. Behind them was a mob of vaporeon, jolteon, and flareon in a forest setting. Melody knew this was the work of digital magic, but it was a convincing image to anyone unfamiliar with the inner workings of the business.
"Looks good!" Melody answered after swallowing. "Where's the text?"
"I'm still working on that," her mother replied. "Stencil or Times?"
"Make it glowing," Melody suggested, grabbing more popcorn.
"Ooh! Good idea!" Her mother responded. "I know exactly what I want to do!"
Melody stayed and ate popcorn while her mother slowly assembled the missing text for the advertisement. There was a globe in the middle, with curved text above it reading "Empowering". Another set of curved text underneath read "The World's", and underneath in big letters read "HEROES". With several more edits, the world darkened while the letters began to glow. The lighting was tweaked further until the whole logo and text began to "pop out" of the image in a natural way.
"How's that?" the ninetails asked, moving her head to the side.
"Definitely!" Melody answered, reaching for more popcorn.
"Here's another one I made," her mother told her as she flipped over to another digital work.
Melody laughed at the image. It was a portrait of her behind a doctor holding an empty capsule. The text read, "Always Prepared – Even if You're Not!"
"Alright!" her mother began while slipping out a thumb drive from her driving tower, "Can you take this over to the print shop? All the order specs are on the drive."
Still licking her lips of butter, Melody was already back on the streets far away from the crowd. The main roads were chillingly empty. Now was her chance to keep an eye open for Kieren as she made her journey! She called out his name in human-proof speech, hoping he would suddenly emerge from the shadows of the alleys or from behind one of the dumpsters. He never did. Melody took a turn to the left down another road, passing the Pokemon Center. It was closed, likely because Nurse Joy had a station set up on the course. But that also meant that no one was in care in the Pokemon Center, meaning no Kieren. Melody continued, hoping, praying that her friend would return to her as she continued to call his name. Her eyes started playing tricks on her as she began seeing movements in the shadows. Realizing how paranoid she was becoming, she stopped looking and resorted to only calling his name, exhausting her butter-filled throat in the process. Just as she could barely scream anymore, she found herself in front of the print shop.
"Order is on the drive," she announced raspedly, throwing her satchel on the counter shortly after entering.
"Oh my gosh, Melody! You sound terrible!" a large, blonde, and normally overly cheery woman gasped in horror. "Please, make yourself some tea over there while I load this up!" she instructed, pointing at a water dispenser with tea packets on the adjacent table.
Melody obliged. A few minutes later, she was feeling better. She watched the office TV which was broadcasting the tournament. Apparently, the pokemon entrant was tearing through the competition, though she never bothered to catch its name nor species. Thinking of a pokemon golfing reminded her too much of Kieren.
"Alright! Everything's processed. It'll be about half an hour or so," the woman told Melody.
"Thank you, Shel," Melody answered, standing up.
"You sound much better," Shel complemented. "Try not to push yourself now," she insisted as Melody left the shop with a thankful nod.
Melody was torn between panicking to find Kieren and preserving herself for the work she had yet to do. She resorted to humming the tunes she'd often hear play in the shops at Eon Park Square, hoping that it would help her relax while providing some sort of noise for Kieren to recognize if he was around. She had no idea if his new form had as sensitive of ears, but she could only hope.
The sound of rushing water alerted her she was nearing the splash park. She kept her distance, instead forcing her gaze on the construction site. She had heard the site design was changed half way through construction, so the company had to rely on outside help to get things done half the time. Fortunately though, they seemed to have off for the big event. After the gym, the road cut through several practice battlefields before degrading into a narrow grotto path outlined by a small forest archway. A sign above the archway read, "To Eon Park Square – Pokemon Only". Two other signposts on either side provided more practical information detailing the shops available, as well as some FAQs. A short quick beep sounded from the right as Melody passed through, alerting her the security system was well and working. It usually was.
At the other end of the passageway Melody was greeted to loud heavy music and a lot of commotion. They were making last-minute preparations for the weekend festival, hanging up banners and changing the light bulbs in the street lamps with higher-powered variants. Melody recognized several of the machoke and machamp as the same from the construction site, friendly and helpful as always. A couple of alakazam and malamar were discussing with a dusknoir regarding what would likely be the spook-coaster. They redesigned it every year to keep things fresh. The other thrill attractions were either having the last few pieces assembled or under inspections.
"Clyde! You're a star!" Melody greeted the psyduck reaching along the bank roof from a ladder.
"Huh?" Clyde asked, glancing back over his shoulder with an astonished expression across his face.
"You're a big buzz in the town right now! Do you want to come do some modelling and maybe greet some fans?" Melody asked excitedly.
"Oooh! Our little Clyde's becoming a supermodel," a nearby roselia commented while untangling streamers.
"How lovely!" a bellossom added.
"Have you seen the signs?" Melody asked. "He looks super legit!" Clyde glanced back at the work he was doing, hiding his slightly reddened face.
"Perhaps when I'm done with this," he answered, to which the two grass types immediately gasped.
"Oh my gosh, Clyde!" the roselia snapped. "Go! Kass and I got this! Just Go!" Clyde turned to the bellossom, slightly astonished by the outburst.
"Take lots of selfies," she quipped. Clyde shook his head, descending the ladder as the three females giggled.
Clyde walked up to Melody, trying to keep a straight face, but turned in concern when he heard the roselia climbing the ladder. Melody could see him fidgeting when the roselia continued to climb up on the roof, streamers wrapped around one of her flowery arms and trailing down to the bellossom.
"What! You never seen a roselia on a roof before?" the roselia teased back at Clyde.
"Emira's always on the roof," Melody commented. "Come on. We going?"
"Uhhh… yeah," Clyde answered, turning around and scurrying to catch up with vulpix. The two continued walking in silence until they exited the grotto entranceway. "What did you mean when you said Emira's always on the roof?" Clyde broke the silence pressingly.
"I always see her and her trainer Violet out on the roof at night watching the stars," Melody explained. "It's their thing, I guess."
"Huh…" Clyde stuttered. "Never would have guessed." They continued a little farther in silence, passing back through the empty battle field and park.
"I have to make a stop at the print shop," Melody told him, pointing her head at the store on the right.
"Cool!" Clyde answered. Before Melody could turn, he was already waddling over to the splash park. She paid no mind as she turned and entered the print shop for the second time that day.
"Oh! Melody!" Shel exclaimed. "The last batch just finished! How's your throat! Do you need more tea?"
"I'm fine," Melody answered. "Thank you for the offer. Is there anything I can take with me right now? I'll send someone to get the rest."
"Hmmm," Shel thought. "We could maybe fit a couple banners in your bag, but I'm not sure if we want these folded over. They are usually roll…"
"Hello! Oh! Melody! Hi! Are the prints done?" a young girl's voice interrupted.
"Just finished," Melody stumbled a bit surprised.
"Perfect!" Fia exclaimed. "I got the cart. Do you mind helping me load up? I'm a bit in a hurry!"
"Sure," Melody answered without thinking.
"I can help too," Shel stated upbeat. "This way!"
The three of them moved quickly to relocate the long rolled-up banners to the back of the golf cart, only taking the time to exchange vital information about the task at hand. Before Melody knew it, Fia was already strapping in the consignments.
"Melody, did you find that psyduck?" Fia asked.
"I did. He's at the splash park," Melody answered, turning towards the perceived abomination. "Clyde! We got a ride to the event!"
"Coming!" Clyde shouted back. He quickly splashed his way over, unintentionally intimidating the vulpix into a backpedal. Fia scooped Melody up in her arms as she turned and got in the vehicle.
"Hop in Clyde!" Fia gestured, patting the seat next to her while keeping Melody as far left as possible. Clyde obligued, familiar with human transportation.
"The name's Fia by the way," Fia introduced as she stepped the cart into motion.
"How was the water," Melody asked.
"Good! I'm all squeaky clean now," Clyde proclaimed. "How's your umbreon friend doing?"
"Kieren?" Melody choked, "I still haven't found him yet…" She glanced down at the Fia's feet, letting her gaze slowly fade.
"Isn't he c…?" Clyde began, but he was cut off by Fia.
"It's best we don't talk about it, Clyde. Melody, relax. You're all tensed up again."
"Sorry," Melody apologized. "I've been a bit worked up about it all as of late." She finicked about in Fia's lap so as to allow herself to loosen up.
"That's quite alright. I don't think I really understand the issue anyways," Clyde pronounced slowly.
"Only Melody understands it," Fia commented. "But if you want to watch with me, they're waiting for the group to finish up on the thirteenth."
"Wait, what?" Melody questioned. She glanced over to the psyduck, whose face was stiff and slightly pale. She turned back and glanced up at Fia, who was staring straight forward and biting her lips. "What just happened?" she asked, her mind unable to process the bizarre series of events under the stressful thoughts of her still not finding Kieren. Her mind was spinning. Competing what? What does that have to do with the golfers at the thirteenth? What group is Fia talking about? Wasn't she referring to the golfers in general? The questions kept pouring in and jumbling together into a dizzying nonsense. Her mind was spinning…
Spinning…
Spinning…
"I feel like I'm going to throw up…" Melody moaned.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! MELODY! NO!" Fia shrieked. The cart began swerving as hands grabbed the vulpix and reoriented her about. Melody closed her eyes as sight of pavement passed in front of her. Seconds seemed like minutes of jumbled chaos, despite the only external stimuli being the sound of the cart's motor grappling Fia's heavy foot on the pedal. Eventually, the vehicle began to slow down. As soon as it stopped, Melody could feel herself being lifted by Fia's arms.
"Help! Your daughter said she feels like puking!" Fia pleaded.
"Oh! Baby girl!" a voice responded in deep concern. The next thing Melody knew, she was riding on the back of a furry creature. "Just hold on! You'll be alright," her mother tried to reassure her as they cut through the course and headed towards a side building out of the way. The ninetails rushed in and located a quiet dark room, where she laid Melody down. Not a minute had passed before she returned with blankets and cushions, tucking the vulpix in and telling her to rest.
Melody didn't need to be told twice, as her throbbing head wanted nothing more than sleep. As soon as her mother's footsteps disappeared, her consciousness slowly drifted away.
She only woke up once to snack on crackers and sip soda under her mother's care, and slept through her entire trip home that night.
Author's Note: So was my effort worth it? Is your head spinning like Melody's? So I've got some news for you! This is your last chance for a bonus chapter this summer! I know some of you probably feel cheated on the missing weeks of chapters and heightened requirements for bonus chapters, but get this: With this chapter, I have uploaded more words this summer than last summer, AN excluded. Now that I got this chapter out of the way, I am going to try to lower the requirements back down again. Notice I said "try" because it is totally possible I won't have time to keep up and get the next chapters out. So do me a favor, help me out and post your reviews, criticism, favorite parts, favorite characters, favorite quotes, predictions, and/or event submissions! Also next week's chapter will be the last this summer. See you then! ~Dreaming I'm Latios