The sky was still fairly dark when I awoke, but it did have some light starting to shed upon the area. The area itself was rather quiet. Not a sound was heard. Not even the pond was filled with the sounds of sloshing. I figured that all the Quags were still sleeping and laid my head back down.
But then the memory of Priss came into mind and the favor I had to do for her. I groaned, not really wanting to get up, but the sooner I left, the sooner I would be in this Violet City. I grunted as I rolled over and began pushing myself up. I was, however, pushed back down suddenly by a foot upon my back.
"Looks like I just found me a foot stool to rest upon," came Gus' voice.
I blinked in alarm and wildly looked around for Sire. He was nowhere to be found. Neither was Siren or any of the Quags for that matter. It was just Gus and I. I gulped, afraid of what he might do to me.
"Looks like Sire won't be coming to your rescue this time," Gus whispered in my ear. "Nor Siren for that matter. They and all the Quagsires left to find a new area. They won't be coming back."
"Th-That's not true," I said, trying not to believe it.
"Oh but it is," Gus said. "I volunteered to stay behind. And with no one around, I can do whatever I want."
I gulped and shook. I was petrified. If only I weren't afraid, I could possibly teach Gus a thing or two. The foot shoved me harder to the ground as my face met the grass and dirt. I made a muffled grunting sound. The force of his foot was beginning to hurt.
"Look at you," Gus said. "I want you to remember this moment, Cyndaquil. I want you to know how weak and pitiful you'll always be. You'll never be strong. I want you to remember how weak you were against me as I crushed every single bone in your body."
With the last few words he had spoken he added more pressure on me, making it harder for me to breath as my body began to flatten against the ground. The pressure kept on coming and my breathing became harder.
I was nearly out of air when Gus' foot suddenly came off. I immediately rose up and sat straight up as Gus fell to the ground.
"Damn it, Gus!" Sire screamed, hitting him to the ground. "You have no respect for others who are weaker than you. Do you have no shame?"
Gus just looked up at Sire and smirked. "Why don't you try taking a guess," he said with a smirk. Sire growled and kicked him in the stomach.
"Stay away from Quil," Sire growled threateningly.
"Or you'll do what?" Gus asked. "I just wanted to say my goodbyes to him privately. You won't have to worry about me treating him badly after he's gone."
"I'll be speaking to you once Quil leaves," Sire said.
"Why can't you say it now?" Gus asked.
"I'll say it when the time is right," was all Sire said as he turned around and led me away.
"You just wait," I heard Gus say. "Some day you'll come across a completely strong pokemon and meet your end."
I realized that it was me that he was referring to. I didn't really care what he said. I somehow knew that he was only trying to make me feel like I was useless, but still it somehow managed to get through for I winced.
Sire seemed to have noticed because he turned around and hurled something at Gus pretty hard. The object made contact with Gus and it must have been a lot harder than when I had thrown because Gus fell tot eh ground and clutched at his head, groaning.
"Come on, Quil," Sire said as he continued leading me away from the pond. "There's something I want to talk to you about."
"What is it?" I asked.
"Remember the other day when you accidentally slipped into the river?" Sire asked me. I nodded. "Well I saved your life, Quil. And because of that, you owe me a great debt. One that only you can handle alone."
"What is it?" I asked again.
Sire glanced back for a second before returning his attention to me. "I really can't say," he replied. "If I do, you'll always be expecting it. I just want you to be careful when you leave is all I have to say. Try to avoid getting into fights as long as you can. And be as far away form here as you can."
"Why?" I asked. "What's going on?"
"Like I said," Sire said, stopping at the edge of the forest. "I really can't say. Just be careful out there, Quil."
"I will," I replied with a bit of confusion on my face. I began walking off into the woods to continue my traveling when Sire suddenly stopped me.
"Hey Quil," he shouted.
I turned around to see what he wanted and there, in the pond, were all the Quags in a straight line. Some were a little distant from others. I blinked, not knowing what was going on.
"Before you leave, we want to give you a proper farewell," Sire said as he signaled the other Quags to do whatever it was they were supposed to do.
Some of the Quags began spouting out water from their mouth into the air while others spat out one strand of water. I stared in amazement as the water all spelled out something in the air. It spelled out something like this.
F-A-R-E-W-E-L-L Q-U-I-L!
I smiled and at the same time began tearing up, even as the water fell into the pond. It was a really special way to say goodbye.
"Thank you!" I yelled out to them.
"Good luck out there, Quil!" I heard Siren yell back. "We'll all miss you."
"Except Gus that is," Sire said.
I chuckled at that one and with a final wave, I turned towards the woods and began walking off for Violet City.