Chapter 8

A new day, A new Wound

A knock at the door was what woke James up. He lazily got up and lulled over to the door. It was Kris and Lazard. They had water guns. "Yo cmon! We're gonna go wet people!" They simultaneously spoke. James felt a mischievous side of him wanting to say yes, but he remembered the agreement he had with himself last night.

"Naaa…I think I'll hang with these guys today."

"Meh. Suit yourself. TALLYHOE!" And with that, the two idiots were gone.

He sensed everybody else waking up and said, "Good morning guys!"

"Morning Master!" Violet got up and put her cheerleader suit on, Jagex yawned about ten times, Gaia was waiting at the door, and Lillie almost fell out of bed. Luckily, her bed was right next to him and he caught her bridal style. He giggled as he looked into her eyes full of thanks and amazement.

Everyone started to walk out of the room and down the hallway. While in the hallway, James noticed Gaia heading a separate way from the others, so he decided to follow him. He creeped up behind the ghost pokemon and threw his arm around his neck surprising him. "Where ya going big guy?"

Startled, Gaia replied in a nervous manner, "N-no where…" He turned his head the other way.

James saw through his little lie and called it, "It's a secret ain't it." He had a small grin on. Surprised, Gaia nodded slightly. "Well…can I come? I promise to keep it a secret." Gaia knew well enough that his master wouldn't lie to him.

"Ok."

As they made their way through the forest, James awed at the beautiful lake. As he walked with his big friend, Gaia called out, "Tear! Tear, are you there?" James thought to himself, "Tear…Did he make a girlfriend?"

"Gaia? Gaia is that you? Oh Gaia you came back! And…you brought…a friend?" Tear revealed herself from behind a tree, fog rolling in as usual. As she watched James, she hid behind Gaia.

"Oh, don't worry about me!" James threw his hands up in an earnest manner. "I'm not mean." He stuck his tongue out playfully.

"O-okay. Gaia!" She threw her arms around her friend and hugged him. He did the same.

They walked, Gaia and Tear talking, James taking in the sights. But curiosity struck James like it had struck Gaia the day before. "Umm. Hey Tear. Not to be rude but I have a question." James had asked her name before. Gaia and Tear both ran a finger down the side of their eye to represent a tear. He knew her name well before however.

She stuck her head in front of Gaia and replied in a questionable tone, "Yes?"

James tilted his head to her,"Are you wild?" Both her and Gaia's mouths' dropped. She became worried again, but Gaia quickly held her and turned his head toward James.

"Master, please don't ca-" Gaia started to plead only to have James put his hand up to them.

"Relax guys~ I wouldn't want to steal your girlfriend Gaia." At first Gaia and Tear were relieved, but blushed as they realized that they were hugging again. "I'll tell you what. You two enjoy your day, I'll be back later." He took her hand and kissed it mannerly and walked off.

"Girlfriend…?" Tear locked eyes with Gaia. He looked back. She regained that sense of security and began to bring her face closer to his. Soon, their lips were embraced. They felt their love fully as their kiss was full of passion and care. She was the first to break the kiss, gasping slightly for air. "Would you really have me as your girlfriend?" She sounded skeptic. No one ever cared for her, let alone actually loved her.

"It would be my honor…" Gaia took her hands as they began to waltz.

"There he is!" Violet blasted as she spotted the zangoose from yesterday.

He in turn spotted and approached them "Ah. There you are. Care to join me for a peaceful walk through the woods?"

"It would be my pleasure…" Her voice sounded dreamy. She quickly grasped his claw and walked off with him towards the forest.

Jagex spoke up as the two stepped out of sound view "Oh cmon! What does he have that I don't!?"

"Heehee. It sounds like somebody. Is jealous!" Lillie started laughing. But she stopped as she watched Jagex shoot her a dirty look. "S-sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. It's not your fault. It's just…" He lowered his bill as he thought.

Lillie was interested in what he had to say. "It's just what…?"

"…When I first joined you guys, Violet was the first one to fully talk to me and become my friend…I guess I just…you know…" He began to blush.

"Oh my god! You like Violet don't you!? Awh that's so adorable!"

"Well it's not going to be if she falls for that hunk!" He sighed. "I'm gonna take a little walk…" As he walked out of view for Lillie, he was glomped by James. He had been resting behind a bush so he overheard the whole conversation.

"Hey Jagex! How you doing?"

"Fine I guess…" He replied. James heard the sad tone and had watched Violet walk off with the stranger. But he knew something wasn't right.

"I saw the whole predicament from here. Your worried about Violet

aren't you?" James sat down with him by a bush.

"Well I gue-" That's when it hit him. "Hold on."

"I know that tone. You just realized something." James looked worried. "Think about it. It's a beautiful day out, in a wonderful park. Now this guy is a warrior that we know likes attention. So…Why did he take her through the woods?" Jagex became worried. He was right. Something fishy was going on here. He had to act fast. "Listen. I need you to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't do anything rotten to Violet, Kay?"

"Yes sir!" Jagex saluted with his stick and quickly ran into the forest silently.

"He's a good man…" James started to recline when he was squirted by an ounce of water.

"Awh damnit! I'm out right now of all times! Man I could have had you good!" It was Lazard and Kris. They were apparently out of water. "So, what have you been doing all day?" Lazard inquired.

"Awh nothing much."

Lillie felt quite confused to see Jagex walk slowly behind a bush and then bolt into the forest within seconds. But she was feeling a bit tired, so she decided to rest against a tree and watch the clouds. She started to enjoy herself before she heard a familiar nagging. "Well well well. Look what we have here." Lola was sitting a few meters away watching her. "I never knew one could be so beat from being useless!"

Lillie became instantly irritated, "What do you want?"

"Oh nothing, nothing~" She tried to hide her smile with her paw. "I just came to 'congratulate' you on your failure of a victory yesterday. I especially loved the part where you cried from stepping on a thorn~"

"Oh really? My favorite part was when I saw your excuse for a mate~ Besides. I still won that battle."

She began to circle Lillie at the same distance. "You know…The only reason you win is because your pampered~"

"Oh shut up! James trains me perfectly! We've defeated many opponents! In fact, I remember beating you once, and I didn't even have to fight you!"

Lola was officially pissed off. Lillie hit a nerve. But she quickly removed her frown with an evil grin. Sparks started to trail off her fur, which soon became visible. "How about we settle this then?" She didn't see Lillie move.

Lillie was frozen, her eyes full of fright. "Ac-ac-actually, I was feeling kind of t-tired…" She got to her feet and began to back away.

"What's this? Lillie, the amazing typhlosion, backing down from a fight!? Ha! Cmon! What's wrong!? Are you scared!?"

Lillie tried to move, but her feet were plastered to the ground. She was numb. She couldn't even speak. She thought to herself, "This is just a bad dream. Just a very bad dream. I'm still in bed and, and James is going to catch me and make sure that I'm ok. Everything will be ok." She tried to reassure herself, but she felt stone when Lola prepared to use an attack.

Lola's fur was eliciting a yellow glow as she spoke, "I'm going to teach you a lesson, you pink puff." She threw her front legs in the air and brought them down as she attacked, "THUNDER!!!"

A giant thunder strike came from the sky and hit the ground in front of Lola, making its way towards Lillie. It was so immense, it was easily a meter in diameter and it destroyed the ground as it moved.

As James and his friends spoke, he heard Lola speak her attack. He glanced over the bush to see the huge strike making it's way toward Lillie. His heart dropped. Lillie couldn't move. She thought this was the end. She began to scream, "NOOOOO!"

Moments passed. The light was still there. Was she dead? No, she still felt numb but saw the thunder strike in front of her. It did not move. It only remained, flashing. She also heard a screaming, but now, it wasn't her own. Under the thunder strike, she saw someone. But who? She tried to peer, only to have her soul disappear as she realized who it was. It was James!

Lazard and Kris quickly ran from behind the bush to catch witness to the scene. A crowd quickly grew as the bolt downed upon the body. Moments passed that seemed like an eternity. Finally, the bolt ceased, and James landed on his feet. Lillie called out to him, "J-James…?" But there was no response. A smoldering smoke resonated from his head. His clothes were burnt. Suddenly he fell to the ground, his eyes blank. A new scream filled the air. It was Lillie's.

Jagex was out of breath. He had been trying to find the pair for about half an hour but to no avail. Just as he had lost hope, he regained twice as much. He thought to himself, "No! I have to find her!" But as if Arceus herself heard this, he heard something. It was a rustle.

He peeked over a nearby bush to find a breathless scene. Violet was pinned up against a tree, her body full of scratches, her outfit torn, and the zangoose holding her by the neck. She was full of fear, her eyes swollen. "What's wrong Violet… I though you said I was dreamy…" Her eyes filled with fright and tears.

She coughed up with a hoarse voice, "What do you want with me…" Suddenly, she found her mouth being stuffed with his tongue. She attempted to force it out, but the invading object had too much strength. A strand of their mixed saliva remained connected as the Zangoose broke the kiss.

He laughed maniacally as he licked her cheek and held up her panties that he apparently picked up, "You know what I want…So why not make it easy for yourself and bend over…"

"No…please…" She wanted to be with her friends. She wanted to be with Lillie so they could gossip. She wanted to be with James so she could cheer with him. She wanted to be with Gaia so she could get him to stop being mopey. But most of all, she wanted to be with Jagex.

"Shut up! Your under my mercy now. So lets get this-" Suddenly, he turned his head toward a bush. "What was that?"

"Focus…"

"What the hell is th-" The predator was never able to finish his sentence. Instead, a focus blast hit him square in the nose, sending him flying through a few trees. He smashed against a tree with a shattering sound, most likely his spine, and fell to the ground.

Violet opened her eyes and watched as a heroic Jagex hopped out from behind the bush and screamed. "Leave her alone you punk!!!" Violet rubbed her eyes and watched as the bird ran over to her frantically hugging and asking her if she was ok.

"J-Jagex? –Sniffle- Oh Jagex it's you!" She threw her arms around him and cried into his chest, "Where did you.. Why were you…"

He threw his arms around her neck and told her, "I…well…" He sighed, then looked at her with truly honest eyes. She looked into them. They were the eyes of a hero, one who knew he didn't have to lie. "I was looking for you guys because I felt…jealous." He lowered his bill in disgrace.

"…Jealous…of…of what?" Violet was stunned. She'd never thought that he, the warrior of her team, was capable of containing jealousy.

Jagex couldn't think. He was just so happy that she was ok. He looked into her eyes. They were full of gratitude, happiness, and tears of joy. He couldn't take it anymore. He wrapped his bills around her lips. She never expected it. She squealed at first, but then embraced the bliss that they were enjoying together. She closed her eyes as their tongues fought for control, not rough with fury, but softly with compassion. Both collapsed to the ground as they gasped for air. They laid their backs against the tree. Violet was still surprised. She turned her head to watch her savior as he cutely held his gut and panted for air. "Why…? I thought you hated me…"

He turned his head and placed his hand across her cheek. "Violet…I've loved you for as long as I could remember…I was jealous because he had beaten me to something I wanted to do for oh so long. I've wanted to but, I thought you hated me. So I kept my distance…I tried to impress you multiple times but…"

"…Really…?" She sat up to face him. She was now blushing a heavy red, hearing the confession from the man who loved her. "…Well…I've always been afraid that you didn't like me…I always thought I was ugly, so I tried to make you laugh with jokes but…I guess I was really mean…" She lowered her head and started to cry slightly.

He spoke up again, "Really…?" She turned to face him. Their eyes locked. They began to rest on eachother, both exhausted. They closed their eyes and both confessed, "I love you…"

After a few minutes, Jagex caught glimpse of something and giggled. Violet turned and asked, "What's so funny..?" As she turned her eyes to see what he was looking at, her face jumped seven shades. He had her panties on the tip of his stick! "Gimme those!" She quickly swiped them and ran behind a tree. She walked out moments later and walked up to her friend. They stood awkwardly apart from each other.

"So…Do you want to…want to…walk back together?" Jagex scratched his head.

To his surprise this time, she had given him a long compassionate kiss. "It would be my honor…hero."

On their way back, they were holding hands. They didn't talk. For the first time in a long while, they just enjoyed each other's company. As they emerged from the forest, they saw Gaia emerge as well, but with someone.

"Who's this?" Jagex kissed Tear's hand and Violet curtsied as they exchanged introductions. Just as they began to converse, something caught their attention. There was an ambulance driving down the road that passed right next to them. Everyone continued to talk except for Gaia. Jagex asked, "What's wrong Gaia?"

Gaia stared in the direction of the ambulance. "I think I heard Lillie crying in that ambulance…"

Violet stepped up, "Are you sure?"

Gaia began to follow the ambulance as fast as he could. "I'm positive."