To finally get back down to ground level, since the chain of mountains had stopped abruptly before it could ebb away into hilly slopes, we had to wind our way across the mountain's face in order to prevent any of our lives to be stolen. All the while, as I kept careful balance on a ridge barely wide enough to put one foot on comfortably, I was constantly reminded of the one who was driving the whole purpose of this journey -Giratina. Naturally, our focus was first to stay alive as long as possible, but our caution paid dearly for it. To finally climb down the mountain (unfortunately, Mandite chose the peak that part of it had sloughed off to form a vertical drop-off), it took weeks. Those weeks went by, slowly and painstakingly, without much word said asides the "Be careful!"
So I can assure you I was greatly relieved when my feet finally touched the forest floor at the bottom. From down here, I felt some old memories fighting its way to catch my attention. They succeeded, telling me that I had once passed this way before, and that I was within several months at best of where my childhood home was, the very one I had left and vowed never to come back many years before. I remembered that the woods here were bright green and new with growth, but with the cooler air, and the days slowly becoming shorter, I knew that autumn was about to sweep the forest with a fiery paintbrush, changing its color drastically from deep summer emerald to fire opals. As I passed by some vegetation, I could see that this process was on its way.
There was a very large expanse of wood we would have to cross, but at least it would be cooler in the fall. The last time I had passed through, it was spring, in which the air was too hot and too humid. Now, clear, crisp, cool wind whistled through the yellow-tipped leaves. But the little brook was still there, the very one I followed out of this forest years ago – in fact, this was the forest I had stepped out into a beautiful plain of grass. And met the most beautiful lucario. I blinked, remembering how much things have changed between then and now. It's funny – in the beginning, I really wanted to leave Aurora lost in a desert, but now... I would follow her around Sinnoh making sure she was safe.
"Hey," Mandite's voice snapped me out of my daze, "what's up with you?" I only sighed and scratched the back of an ear.
"I was thinking," I simply replied, not knowing what else to say about the subject. Mandite narrowed his jade-colored eyes in contemplation for a brief moment, and then shrugged, turning to Aurora. I heaved a sigh again, and looked down at the forest earth.
"Hey, Aurora?" Mandite piped up.
"What?" she answered, in her usual cheerfulness.
"Have you ever – well," I heard a tinge of uneasiness in Mandite's voice, "have you ever considered marrying Zhoke?" I felt myself choke on the inside, and could not resist looking at Aurora, to see how she reacted to this question. Aurora looked a little shocked at first, and then she lowered her eyes bashfully.
"Oh," she said, extremely softly, "I... Well, Zhoke said that we were meant to be together right from the start, and I kind of agree..."
"Kind of agree?" Mandite further interrogated. Aurora fidgeted.
"Well, I... I don't think that we should rush into anything," Aurora twisted her arms behind her back, not making any eye contact, "At first, we agreed." Something sharp shot deep into my chest, and I squeezed my eyes tight to keep back tears. So, she really had thought that Zhoke was to be her lifelong mate. There, the case is finally closed completely and finished. She has no interest in me whatsoever. It's time to move on, I thought bitterly.
"But, as time went on, I felt that we didn't know too much about each other for us to get married and live comfortably," Aurora continued, and Mandite nodded, tapping the side of his face.
"I have another question," he told her, "and do your best to answer it." I suddenly realized there was something odd about this situation. Mandite did not usually asked any personal questions – in fact, I never heard one from him. So why does he now bombard Aurora with two?
"In the beginning, you had hurt Zhoke because he had hurt Lucario," Mandite stated, "is that correct?" Aurora nodded. I hear Mandite hesitate, words caught by his tongue. Then, he asked,
"If Zhoke and Lucario got into a fight now, and Lucario was near blacking out, and the only way to stop the fight is that you had to fight Zhoke," Mandite took a deep breath. I looked up to Aurora, and already she looked frightened and deeply troubled.
"Would you fight Zhoke?" Mandite finalized, and then became silent, waiting for an answer. Aurora blinked, her eyes looking very lost and torn. I turned my head away - I knew that Aurora would prefer Zhoke over me, by a long shot. Suddenly, my ears picked up the quick breath of a sob.
"If I don't fight Zhoke..." Aurora said, her voice wavering with uncertainty.
"Lucario is history," Mandite finished for her with a punctual note. And then, Mandite's hard expression softened, as he saw Aurora's tears.
"I'll let you think about it," he said, and then walked forward, putting space between us and him. Aurora began to cry harder, being an emotional soul. Even though I decided that I will break away from her now, I still could be a friend.
"Aurora," I said, giving her a glance, "if that ever happened... I just want you to know that I understand if you let me fall." Aurora looked up into my eyes, her tears like the rain that rippled a magenta reflecting pool, and all the love for her that I ever had rushed back to me in one, emotional wave. But, somehow, I did not flinch for the least bit.
"If that happens," I continued, "I want you to know that I would die for you." And then, I realized I had revealed too much, and I quickly averted my eyes, the heat rushing to my face. Oh, I am so careless...
"You... You would really do that?" I heard Aurora, her voice small and timid. I blinked and looked down at her. Her eyes was widening with surprise and amazement from my response.
"I would," I said, "for you." And Aurora looked down at her paws, blinking. I felt myself cringe with disgust for myself – that was too obvious. And what kind of lame response is that? I bit my tongue.
"That's... that's really nice of you, Lucario," I looked back to Aurora.
"Well," I said, "I'm sure that Zhoke would do that, too." To my surprise, I saw Aurora shrug.
"Zhoke is more of a person who would fight for me, but would save his own life..." she sighed, "I really don't know – sometimes, he can be really self-centered." I nodded, showing that I understood. Without warning, my heart spoke. I could feel the words coming to my throat, and I desperately tried to push them back.
"Aurora?" Aurora looked back up at me.
"Yes, Lucario?"
"I..." I hesitated, "I..."
"HEY!!!!!" Both of us jumped. Mandite was waving to us, standing next to a large thicket of underbrush. Relieved and disappointed, I meekly went over to Mandite, who looked rather upset with me.
"I thought you told me that this forest was the last major landscape before the beach!" Mandite yelled.
"I did," I retorted indignantly. Mandite screwed up his childish face, and the pointed to an opening in the brush.
"Then tell me what's that." Shocked, I knelt and peeked through the leaves. Beyond the twigs and vegetation I saw a sight that threw a punch into my stomach. It can't be...
"What's wrong?" I heard Aurora behind us, and I shushed her. She fell silent immediately. I looked back into the bush.
Before my eyes, lay a city, infested with pokemon trainers.
"How are we going to deal with that?" I whispered earnestly to Mandite. But no one answered. I took my nose from the bushes and glanced around for the little warrior.
"Mandite?" There was rustling from a nearby bush. My muscles tensed, ready to defend us from trouble. But it was only Mandite, that kid. He emerged from the leaves, straightening a shoulder plate.
"Don't scare me like that!" I hissed at him. Mandite's yellow eyes looked up at me lazily from his mask.
"Psh! It's only me, Lucario," he said nonchalantly, "I would never leave you guys unless it was for a good reason." Aurora and I happened to roll our eyes, in which Mandite saw.
"What?" he asked, indignant.
"You do have a tendency to wander off to look for food," Aurora commented, half exasperated, half amused. Mandite faced away from us and folded his arms.
"Food is a good reason, too." he replied with false haughtiness. I snorted, and Mandite shot me a glare, before saying,
"This is aside the point," Mandite tapped the side of his mask, "to answer Lucario's question, I say I have a plan." Aurora cocked her head to one side, and I raised an eyebrow. Mandite flicked back and forth between us, and then ushered us to come close.
"Now, here's what I want you to do..."
~*~
"I think this is absolutely ridiculous." I said to Mandite, standing next to a device containing rubber balls. Mandite at that point was inserting coins he had collected by going around the outskirts of the city looking for change in vending machines. Aurora stood by, drawing a thick, back, scraggly line around the middle of a red and white rubber ball with a marker. Markers were smelly things, I thought, scrunching my nose as another whiff of strong, odoriferous marker ink wafted by.
"Well, I think this is absolutely ingenious," Mandite answered, watching a new rubber ball fell down a chute and into a slot, where he reached in and pulled it out. He examined the purple sphere, splayed with yellow smiley faces, for a long moment before tossing it into his bag. The real point behind Mandite's madness, asides the fact we looked utterly silly, is to find pokeball-type objects, like novelty items that were half red and half white. If you draw a black line where the two colors meet, it looks just like a regular pokeball. The only problem was is that half colored rubber balls were hard to come by – in half an hour and fifteen rubber balls later, we had only found one. We just needed a second one.
Mandite said that we will try to run right through the city as fast as we could, hopefully without causing any attention. The city wasn't too big, he said, so we should be fine. But, if we do run into a nosy trainer, Mandite will just pull out a decoy pokeball and say that he was our trainer. And Aurora and I had to do was follow his command if such incident happens.
"Drats!" Mandite spat, as he checked his backpack for spare change, "I'm out again – can you go get some more money for me, Lucario?" I heaved an exasperated sigh, but did not protest. Giving Aurora one last glance, I turned my back on the two, and wandered off to find some more money. The dirt road that lead deeper into the small city was lined with the autumn leaves that had started to fall. The lightweight frames swirled around my feet as they danced in the wind. On this walk, I started to think of several things.
Dhenalix came to my mind first. I wondered how he is doing, generally and with his new understanding of fatherhood. I smiled, thinking about the blissful, dazed look on his face when Tyyakkuvh came by, bringing the news of his egg. He is a kind soul, Dhenalix, and a very lucky absol. Even other pokemon that are much more welcome around others are having their troubles with love affairs; I thought bitterly about myself for a brief moment. Maybe, once all this trouble is over, I can get to know him better. I could use another good friend.
I also thought about Giratina, with a shudder. I decided to shake that ominous thought off for the moment.
I thought back to yesterday's earlier events, when Mandite had asked Aurora such peculiar questions. Since when he had asked those kinds of questions? Why? I shook my head, not understanding why.
And, of course, I thought of Aurora. I thought about everything I have done with her, from the beginning up until of my last glance of her, drawing a line on a rubber ball. There were more memorable moment, nonetheless – the day she had hung upside down from a tree, offering an apple; the day she had braved the flash flood; the night when she laid her head against me the day I rescued her; the day where she had in turn saved me from Zhoke, and many more, painful memories. But perhaps the most vivid memory was the look on her face when I told her I would die for her cause. It was comprised of utmost surprise, like a sudden realization a person has when they are slapped in the face. I don't know why, but that's how I would describe the look.
Perhaps the most embarrassing thing is when I become absent-minded while deep in thought. Suddenly, I bumped into something, which startled me.
More of someone, actually. I found myself looking up and locking eye contact with a pair of very large, star-blue eyes. I stepped back, putting a comfortable distance between me and the other pokemon. The gardevoir that stood before me blushed slightly pink and bowed her head. I could tell she was a girl, by the way her eyes are shaped. I have seen male gardevoirs before, all of them looking rather feminine but the eyes. Her eyes were definitely those of a lady.
"I'm sorry," the gardevoir said in a soft, gentle voice, clasping her tiny hands together behind her back, "I didn't mean to bump into you." I blinked, feeling rather awkward.
"No, I'm sorry," I corrected, "I should have looked where I was going." The gardevoir only sighed, swaying from side to side, gazing shyly at me. I frowned a bit – what is she thinking? Then, I realized she had some obvious interest in me; how awkward. I shifted uncomfortably, wanting to walk away but not wanting to be rude. I love Aurora, but she doesn't love me, so should I fall for this gardevoir instead? Maybe I should – then, this awful torment of vain love can end. Maybe.
"What's your name?" she asked, her voice getting smaller all the while. A name – I felt a little pained about that fact. Remember, I don't have a real name, due to the fact I was a second child.
"Just call me Lucario," I said, grudgingly. I stared at the ground for a while, before I remembered to mind my manners.
"And yours?" I asked in turn. The gardevoir turned really pink after replying,
"Michelle," the gardevoir whispered so softly I had to strain my ears to hear, "my name is Michelle." I nodded, and started to walk off, feeling that the conversation has ended.
"Wait!" I hear Michelle call to me, and I turned around, "where's your trainer?" I blinked, not sure how to answer that question.
"He... he is over there," I pointed in a random direction, and then began to walk again. But before I could take another step, I hear Michelle say,
"Mine is over there," Michelle pointed in the direction where the city was, "can we meet yours?" I hesitated – this would endanger our freedom, and Mandite doesn't have another fake pokeball for me to "prove" that he owned us. I looked over my shoulder at Michelle, her thin, fragile body swaying from side to side. I knew that she was a nice being, gentle and kind, but her trainer? I better not risk it – it would be better if Michelle just came alone with me. Besides, I might as well grow accustomed to favoring another girl, one that was open instead of taken.
"My trainer is not very sociable," I made up an excuse, "but you can meet him – he doesn't mind pokemon as much as humans." Michelle blinked, her starry blue eyes not sure what to do. I walked towards her, and then back in the direction I came from, gesturing for her to follow me. Michelle silently followed, walking by my side, none of us not knowing what to say. I looked at her, feeling very awkward. I held no feelings for her, but I am trying to force myself to. If I had the time, I probably would fall for her; but since I do not, thanks to Giratina, I would just have to cut the time short.
It wasn't long before we saw Mandite again.
"I asked you to bring me back money and instead you brought back a girl." Mandite pointed at Michelle, who hid behind me, frightened. Aurora looked up at me, frowned a bit, and busied herself with a fortune cookie Mandite gave her, turning away from us. Mandite just gave Aurora a look, and then turned back to look at me.
"Lucario," he said, patiently and earnestly, "this is not the time for the birds and bees." Michelle and I flushed deeply, and Mandite looked back at Aurora for a moment before turning back to me again, gesturing for me to look at Aurora. I did, and saw that she was sitting, bowed over and depressed. What could that mean? Was this reminding her too much of her and Zhoke? I gave her one last, concerned glance, before saying,
"Mandite, meet Michelle," I introduced, gently pushing the gardevoir forward, "Michelle, meet Mandite – my trainer." I emphasized that word, and gestured to Michelle, indicating that she didn't know we were wild. Mandite took the hint, and gave me a wink.
"Nice to meet you, Michelle," Mandite said, politely, and Michelle made a hesitant smile.
"You don't look very much like other trainers around here," she pointed out, and Mandite shrugged.
"Oh posh," he said, flicking off the fact with a wave of his hand, "I'm one of a kind." Michelle smiled and giggled a little – Mandite can be charming if he really wanted to. But, right now, he seemed like there was a much bigger urgency on hand. The warrior rocked back and forth on his heels.
"Well, it's nice meeting you, but me and my pokemon," Mandite used his hands to point at me and Aurora, "need to get going on our expedition." With that said, Aurora stood up, and walked over to Mandite, giving me a look filled with hurt. Guiltily, I stepped from behind Michelle and said to her,
"I have to go now," Michelle nodded, turning red.
"Are you coming back?" I blinked. Was I coming back? Most likely not.
"Perhaps," I said, half lying.
"Well," she said, blinking back tears in her large, blue eyes, "good bye, Lucario." And she turned on her heel and left. I watched her for a few seconds before turning to Aurora. To my surprise, she looked very upset, almost mad, with me. Here I was, telling her that we must go on this journey without Zhoke, and now I turn around courting someone else. What a hypocrite and selfish person I am, I thought bitterly.
"Aurora?" I asked, wanting to apologize. My heart was still yearning for her. Out of character, Aurora glared at me, and replied sharply,
"Don't talk to me," and stormed off after Mandite. Ow... that hurt. I stood alone, feeling like I have been skewered right through the chest.
Aurora... I'm sorry.
Well, this chapter sucks. I'll try to do better the next one. ^^;
So... any reviews about how much this sucks, please?