So in the midst of this chapter, I found out about a new Fire Emblem game(YAAAAAAAS) and I also stumbled across some impressive fanart of our Alolan sweeties all grown up. So with these two backing me, I've decided that, by the end of February, at the latest, I shall finish Enlightening the Soul and begin the next part of the saga!
Amy47101 does not own pokémon, only her OCs, Vale and Sara.
o.0.o.0.o
The Adventure Saga
Enlightening the Soul
o.0.o.0.o
Almost all the infants had been returned to their rightful homes, all but one. Leaf stubbornly glared at Lyra, cradling her little sister as the younger dexholder held out her arms. One simple word came from her lips.
"No."
"Leaf, you can't keep her." Gary sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. She shot him a look that to most people, looked like a righteous, cold glare of pure fury. But she knew he could decipher its true meaning. Who was going to stop me from doing so?
Gary sighed, running a hand down his face. "She's not even the Serenity you're looking for. She's the infant version of her."
"Your point?"
She turned her gaze away from Gary. He looked frustrated, and she didn't feel like dealing with his mood swings.
"She's my sister, and this way is easier. I can keep her safe this way. I can take her back to my mom." she held out her finger. The little baby latched on, playfully sucking on the extended digit. She looked up at the other dexholders. "As far as I'm concerned, this plan is flawless."
"You're deluded." Silver said sharply. Leaf chose to ignore him. Frankly, she decided a long while ago to ignore her juniors. While she found them an interesting lot, the minute they began trying to take Serenity away, she found little need to pay attention to the syllables that left their lips.
"Leaf, how do you think your mom will react to see an infant version of her long lost daughter?" Dayna asked gently. Leaf turned her furious gaze to her. Her arms, tired from cradling the baby, moved so the baby was looking over her shoulder, one arm supporting her head and the other supporting the rest of her body. "Do you really think… that she'll be able to handle raising an infant considering the state she's in?"
"I'll raise her." Leaf responded. A couple of them flinched, but she was deadly serious. The only way any of these people were taking Serenity was to pry her from her arms. The very thought made her unconsciously tighten her arms around the little infant. Serenity was making little cooing noises. Leaf gently rubbed her back, hoping she wouldn't burst into a fit of tears.
"Leaf, what do you think the press will say if you start toting around a kid?" Gary asked as gently as he could. "You broke the minute they started speculating a relationship between you and the blazing idiot over there." Gary nodded towards Fire. Fire shot him a look, clearly insulted. "You don't plan on toting the tyke up to Mount Silver when it gets to tough, do you?"
"If anything, Gary, you should know that it wasn't just the press that pushed me onto that mountain." Leaf hissed under her breath. Something flashed in Gary's eyes, a mix of guilt and maybe regret. An awkward tension filled the air.
"Leaf," Dayna tried again. "With the way things is now, we, especially you, can't afford to raise a baby…"
"And who are you to decide?!"
Her voice rose sharply, something that hasn't happened since before she retreated to Mount Silver.
"She's not saying this to make you feel bad." Fire said gently. "What we're trying to say, Leaf, is that with Mask still running free, trying to pull off who knows what… Well, we need a leader."
"My title is Strategizer, not Leader." Leaf shot back stubbornly. "She's my little sister."
"Which is why you need to put her back where she belongs." Gary responded.
"She belongs with me!"
Leaf finally yelled at them, fed up with their arguing. If she was the so-called leader of this group of heroes, then she should have the respect she deserved!
"She's my little sister! And you all are sitting here telling me I need to send her back like it's easy! I'm an adult now, I've been an adult for far longer than any of you would know! So don't tell me what to do!"
"You're acting childish Leaf!" Gary snapped back, seeming to also be fed up with her stubbornness. Leaf stubbornly averted her gaze. "I know you love her, but for Arceus's sake, do you really, really think the best possible option is to take her from the Flora, Obsidian, and Leaf from the past, possibly alter our current future, and raise her as your own?!"
Leaf gnawed at her bottom lip, refusing to meet his gaze. Because he was right, and she knew he was right, but she didn't want to admit it, both out of pride and the love for her little sister. The baby fidgeted in her arms.
"I think you're thinking about this all wrong."
Leaf snapped her glare up to Lyra. Instead of flinching back, she smiled warmly at her. Yet her gaze was thoughtful.
"I mean," she kneeled down in front of her, holding up her pointer finger. "Serenity is a confirmed dexholder now, right? You're thinking like 'I'm loosing her a second time' when in reality, you should be thinking 'Oh my Arceus, I've got confirmation I'm going to see her again!'. I mean, unless you don't plan on meeting and greeting your other juniors, I don't see what's so bad about this!"
She opened her eyes, glittering and warm.
"It's gonna hurt now, but you've got a guarantee not a lot of people get. You're gonna see your sister again, sooner than you think, I'll bet. So… can we please take her home?"
Lyra held out her arms. Leaf didn't want to let her sister go, but with they way Lyra put it, she knew she had to. Because not only was she getting a guarantee, but she just had a feeling that she would be able to trust Lyra's word. So with one last run of her hand over a small head of blond hair, the honey color that Leaf remembered having not grown in yet, she let Lyra take Serenity away.
Lyra held the baby to her chest, Serenity resting her chin on Lyra's shoulder. Big gray eyes stared at her innocently, possibly seeing her as nothing more than another caretaker. But Serenity smiled a big, toothless smile. Maybe it was a smile of recognition, or maybe it was simply because she was a baby and that was how babies were. Grins and smiles until they wanted something.
But then she, along with Lyra and the rest of the Secondary dexholders, stepped through the portal, taking Serenity back where she belonged, back when their father was alive and her mother smiled brighter than any gemstone.
Her heart lurched painfully, but she quelled it. She had to remember what Lyra said, after all. Serenity was out there, and she was going to be okay. Hopefully.
"...Hey." Gary muttered, suddenly coming up next to her. He plopped down beside her, crossing his legs and bowing his head. "If I was a bit of a jerk, I'm sorry."
"A lot." Leaf responded. "You were a lot of a jerk."
Gary whistled.
"Grammar, much?"
"Arrogant, much?" Leaf responded without a beat. Gary crossed his arms, settling into a silence.
"How long until people catch wind of this?" Fire suddenly asked.
"This battle wasn't nearly as flashy as ours was," Gary said slowly. "But the foreign police officers will definitely catch attention. And the moment there's word that we were helping them, they're going to get swarmed."
"They're foreign?" Fire asked.
"Looker and Sara are, at least." Gary shrugged. "They're good at hiding it, but there's a faint accent to certain syllables."
Fire let out an impressed whistle.
"I didn't even catch onto that. I mean, with their hair and complexion, they looked like they were perfectly Kantonese or Johtonese."
"Their style was to flashy and complicated." Dayna finally said. "I mean, Kanto and Johto are known for complex kimono's and yukata's, but that's only for special occasions. And not to judge or anything like that, but how many people do you see in these parts running around dressed like they are?"
The image of Sara with her jacket, shorts, and goggles alongside Looker in his trenchcoat flashed through their minds.
"Heh, you're right." Gary snickered. "Who wears a jacket like that when it's not snowing?"
"And what's the point behind thigh-high socks and shorts?" Fire cocked his head. "If Sara is cold, she should wear pants!"
"I think it's more of a fashion statement over a method of regulating body temperature." Dayna chided gently.
"I wonder where they're really from." Fire wondered aloud. "Do you think we'd look like bumpkins if we travelled to a region like that where that type of style was the norm?"
"Most likely." Gary said. "I mean, the flashiest I've seen people dress was in Saffron and Celedon City."
"Silver would probably have an annurism." Fire laughed. "Can you imagine him dressed up like that?"
"As Sara? No, because I don't need anymore trauma." Gary shuddered. "Silver would be fine, he's good enough at adapting to the world around him. But if I'd be worried about anyone, it'd be Ethan. You can tell when a kid is set in his roots, and Ethan is that type of kid."
"Speaking of Silver," Dayna said quietly. "Do you think they'll be alright? The sudden onslaught of fame will be kind of overwhelming."
"They already have recognition for bringing down Team Rocket. Or at least, the revival of it." Gary waved his hand dismissively. "But we're probably going to have to give a public statement."
Leaf's nose crinkled.
"Hey, no escaping it." Gary said, noticing her displeased look. "It's the life of being a public figure of heroism, I suppose."
"That's what we're going to be associated as now, huh?" Fire mused. "Heh. The Strategizer, The Trainer, The Helper, and The Healer. Sounds like codenames."
"Do you think the others going to receive titles?" Dayna asked. Gary snorted.
"Probably. As hard as my grandfather is to impress, he'll give credit when credit is due." a small chuckle. "Of course, with each new accomplishment, it's going to be harder and harder to impress him. I wouldn't be surprised if he distributed a bunch of pokédex's to a group of kids, but only titled the few he deemed 'worthy'."
"The representative heroes of each region." Fire joked. Dayna smiled and Gary smirk. Leaf remained stone-faced and quiet. Then she opened her mouth after a seemingly long bout of contemplation.
"I can only hope that gaining a pokédex doesn't automatically mean that they feel they must become a hero of some sorts. Obtaining the pokédex, from my perspective, was just an extra bonus in exchange for an adventure. If we obtained data, in turn, we got to see something outside of Pallet. The entire point of this, to me, was nothing more than an adventure. I can only hope that our future juniors don't loose sight of that."
There was a brief silence before Gary let out a laugh, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
"There's the wise beyond her years Leafy we know and love!"
Leaf felt his hand squeeze her shoulder in a familiar manner. She bowed her head to hide an embarrassed smile. She was to prideful to admit it aloud, but she was happy that Gary came back to her.
Reaching up, she squeezed his hand, then stood. A flash and a pop later, Pidgeot flapped it's wings above her.
"You're not waiting?" Dayna asked.
"I see little point." Leaf responded. "I think I want to be alone for some time."
"Oh, no." Gary stood abruptly. "You're not going back to that ice cap!"
Leaf couldn't suppress the smirk as she felt Pidgeot grab onto her shoulders, lifting her a few feet off the ground.
"Leaf!"
"Gary, do me a favor and tell Lyra to come battle me." The smirk slowly formed into a smile. "I want to see how strong our juniors are to become!"
o.0.o.0.o
Vale stood in the single stall bathroom in the Olivine Licensing center, staring in the mirror as she waited for her trainers license to be processed. On the sink was a pair of scissors that she had 'borrowed' from the receptionist who took her information, and in her hand was a length of what was once her long hair.
Vale always thought she would never be able to cut her hair ever again, not since Mask had chopped it all off when she had tried to run away. Parts of those next few days were still blanks on her part, blanks she was sure that she would never want to remember.
But regardless, she swore she would never, ever get a haircut ever again, and no matter how odd she looked, she promised to herself that her hair would always be long. It was still long, on what she supposed was 'average' standards, falling to about the very bottom of her shoulder blades.
She was so afraid that Mask was going to figure out, sooner, rather than later, that she wasn't actually dead that she stayed within hiding. It was almost as if Mask had eyes on her whenever she was around, and he always knew her whereabouts. So for the first three months after the events were 'resolved'-or as resolved as the police and dexholders allowed them to think- she was absolutely terrified to leave the forest, having lived solely off what was provided. And it wasn't so bad, not until a little boy toddled into her campsite.
He had wavy, pale brown hair and bright hazel eyes, and he spoke in an indistinguishable toddler language, as if he hadn't quite learned how to pronounce his words. Closely after that, two small girls came running after him, followed by a woman who she assumed was the mother. She must have looked more pitiful than dangerous, as the woman almost dragged her back to Goldenrod, where Vale met the final member of her family, a man who seemed klutzy and flustered, but kind.
Bill and Daisy seemed to take to helping her as much she could. They had bought her new clothes-which was really hard to find, considering her height. In the end, the purple romper, the shorts part colored darker than the tank-top part, were still a bit short on her legs, so Daisy decided to 'fix it' by having her wear gray leggings under it and a navy blue, cut off sweatshirt over it. Vale hated to admit the sweatshirt was still to short on her arms, so she just rolled it up and said she liked it that way.
Vale was already noticing how weird people were looking at her, and the last thing she needed, as a missing child presumed dead, was attention. So her she stood with a majority of her hair gone. She tilted her head around. It was so odd not having all that weight, so this was definitely going to take some getting used too. And oddly enough, having her mask being missing, her hair now covering the scars, she felt like she was exposed and naked. One good gust of wind and everyone would have something outside of this odd pokémon that stood loyally next to her.
It was a bipedal, pink-and-cream Pokémon with oval, blue eyes. The top of its head, its back, and arms are pink, while the lower half of its face, body, ears are cream-colored, as well as its front and fingers. The patterning of pink and cream on its chest resembled a jacket, and it had three digits on its hands and two on its feet. It has a puffy, white tuft for a tail. To top off the cute factor, the pokémon had floppy ears with thin, curled extensions on the underside.
She had never seen such a pokémon in her life, or even heard of it being in Johto or Kanto. While she herself originally had pokémon that came from Sinnoh and Hoenn, those were given to her by Mask. This pokémon was completely unknown to her, and she was getting weird looks just by having it out in the open.
But regardless, this pokémon had stuck by her while she was in hiding for four months, and then two months more as she waited for her trainers license to be finalized. Supposing it was a female, considering that Hood considered it a mother at some point, she had gone out and helped her live in the woods for a few months, almost like she had experience with providing a human in a forest. Vale had no clue what her species was, or where she came from, but she was a loyal… friend, she guessed.
Tilting her head downwards, she let out a long sigh. Accepting her new appearance, she placed the scissors in the trash, then walked out of the bathroom with this pokémon following behind her. No doubt this pokémons origin was probably a blaring clue as to where Hood had gone, but she hadn't the slightest idea as to what this pokémon was. Anyone she asked, she got an odd look. So all she knew so far was that it wasn't from Johto or the neighboring Kanto.
As she was walking away from the bathroom, she heard hurried footsteps from her right. Turning her head slightly, she saw a blond teenager running with a couple bottles of water in her arms, only for her to trip and fall flat on her face with a loud exclamation. One of her water bottles rolled towards Vale's feet, and she, in response, kneeled down and picked it up.
Walking towards the fallen girl, who was now pushing herself up onto her knees, she held out a hand.
"You okay?" she asked. The girl blinked, then smiled, taking her hand.
"I'm good!" she grinned as Vale pulled her up. "I usually trip like that all the time and-"
She cut herself off when she fully opened her eyes, and then had to tilt her head back to look Vale in the eye. Vale tilted her chin downwards, surprised by the girls height. While she looked to be about fifteen or so, she stood at 5'4", which made the seven inches that Vale had over her seem overwhelming.
"You're really tall." she said in quiet awe.
"So I've been told." Vale responded. She held up the water bottle. "Yours?"
"Yeah!" she beamed, taking the water bottle. The pokémon that Vale didn't know the name to popped around her legs, catching the attention of the girl. "Oh! An Audino!"
As the girl kneeled down to pet the pokémon, Vale suddenly was paying rapt attention to the girl. She looked as if she recognized the pokémon…
"You know what she is?" Vale asked slowly, kneeling down beside her.
"Oh, yes!" she beamed. "See, Audino are pretty famous where I'm from. They're like the equivalent of Chansey's here in Johto and Kanto! I'm very surprised to see an Audino here in Johto, as Unova is so far off from this region! Are you here to get a passport to get home? I am! I kinda misplaced mine, and since I don't have a trainers license, I had to come here to get it re-registered."
"Passport home…?" Vale asked. She honestly thought that a trainers license was like the equivalent to a passport… "No, no I'm here getting my trainers license."
"Trainers license…?" the girl trailed off, her brow furrowed. "I thought you could do that at fourteen here. At least, that's what my friend told me."
"Ah, well…" Vale trailed off, biting the inside of her cheek. "Family complications, I guess."
"No way!" she exclaimed, hopping up and shaking her hand excitedly. "We're the same! In Unova the legal age is sixteen and even thought I turned sixteen almost six months ago my Daddy refuses to let me apply. Secretly though, my friends and I all sent our applications in together, and they should be processed soon! I'm Bianca, Bianca Steele!"
"V-Vale." Vale managed, completely caught off guard by her enthusiasm. To some extent, it almost reminded her of that girl that Silver hangs around, Lyra. But Bianca seemed way clumsier and… more excitable…? If that was possible?
"Are you Unovian?"
"No." Vale shook her head. "No, no, I was born in…" she trailed off, furrowing her brow. She had no clue where she was born originally, all she ever knew was Mask. "...Johto."
"Johtonese!" she exclaimed excitedly. Vale could feel the skin on the back of her neck prickle. Looking around, she saw people were staring at them. Not that she really blamed them. The both of them looked odd and out of place, what with Bianca's long white skirt with the orange and green color scheme alongside Vale's own height. This girl seemed to scream tourist... "So, what are you doing here with an Audino if you're from Johto?"
"Well," Vale pursed her lips, lifting her head as she contemplated on what to say. "Mmm… Basically, I had a friend who had to leave, and we ended up trading pokémon. He has one of my first pokémon, a Sandshrew, and he gave me this Audino. It might be a wild guess, but I suppose that this pokémon is a clue to where he is. He's in this… Unova. So I'm going to follow him and try to change his mind on what he has to do."
When she looked down at Bianca again, she saw that the younger girl had her hands balled into fists against her chest, a faint blush across her cheeks and eyes glistening with unshed tears. Vale took an instinctive step back, holding up her arm like Bianca was a bomb waiting to go off. Crying…? Why was she crying?
"You… Oh, it's just like a romantic tragedy!" Bianca suddenly sobbed. Vale felt like she just got the wind knocked out of her. A romantic tragedy? Oh, if this girl only knew. She didn't even know his true name, only a nickname that she gave him. And yet, she felt embarrassed. Vale wasn't sure if it was because Bianca was jumping to conclusions, or if it was because she was jumping to that conclusion. Bianca immediately took her hands, holding them in her own with a new determined, albeit, watery, gaze. "I'm going to help you! I can't just stand by and watch a girl in love loose it due international separation!"
Vale was about to open her mouth to correct her, when suddenly, the intercom crackled to life.
"Would Miss Vale Grey report to the front counter to take a photograph for your license? Thank you."
"You go do that, I'll get my Daddy and we'll get you a ticket to Unova, I promise."
"But-" Vale exclaimed as Bianca went around her. The blond teen looked back with a big smile.
"Don't worry, my Daddy owns a steel company, so money isn't an issue!"
Vale could only stand in silent shock as the girl continued on to find her parents. She wasn't sure if she should accept this as some sort of joke or if she should decline her generosity. Vale chewed on her lip for a moment, then she shook her head and turned, going towards the front desk. She should accept any help she could get, because she literally had no money and no supplies. And if Hood really was in Unova, she had to track him down and convince him that Mask was wrong, and whatever he was told was a lie.
Besides, it wasn't like she was ever going to see Bianca again after this.
Right?
o.0.o.0.o
Lyra had hidden herself within the tree base that Silver had set up on the outskirts of New Bark, nervously bouncing her leg as she sat on the bean bag. She… was worried.
It had been a good nine months since the events of Celebi and Mask, and at the time, the police had released a statement with minimal information. Basically, it was that that Mask was found to be connected to crimes within the past few years in Johto, and that he used the name Rockets to put the blame on Team Rocket and cause confusion. No information on his connections to the kidnappings were released, mostly due to confidentiality but also because Sara was certain the only people outside of herself, Looker, and the eight dexholders that knew about Vale was Mask. So, logically, whoever talked about Vale outside of them would have some sort of connection to Mask.
In those nine months, Krystal decided to finish her Johto pokédex and Ethan travelled with her. Silver and Lyra decided to challenge the league, which resulted in Lyra's victory against Lance, but she turned down the position. She knew champions would have a hand in political power, and guidance or not, she knew she couldn't commit herself to such a position. She didn't trust that she wouldn't throw funds at every sob story, and since the Champion is a symbol of utmost respect and power. She honestly wondered why it was that children as young as fourteen could obtain such power, but who was she to judge? They were just influential, not outright casting laws. But influence was a powerful thing, especially if they had a ton of people backing them up. Just look at Leaf after she was declared champion. She practically ripped open the missing persons case on Serenity, which got positive feedback and negative feedback. Positively, people began keeping an eye out for Serenity, donating funds towards finding missing children in general, and sending in a wave of police tips on where they saw Serenity and what they thought happened. Negatively, people thought she was abusing her power for her own purposes. They thought that she shouldn't have reopened such a personal case so soon, and instead brought awareness to all the missing children across the region.
Lyra understood how much power she could have had, and while she was honored to have the influence, she was terrified of abusing it.
But now, she was stuck with the influence. When word got out that the Johto dexholders again helped save the world, people practically flocked to learn all they could about the newly dubbed 'Secondary Dexholders'. They were practically as much of a sensation as the 'Primary Dexholders', aka, the Kanto ones. Those group titles, apparently, originated from the names of color groups on a color wheel; the primary colors, the secondary colors...
Lyra supposed this originated because all but she had a color in her name, which was creative on the part of the media.
But what she was worrying about now had nothing to do with the influence she held or her newly gained fame. Rather, she was nervous about the newly gained fame Silver had obtained. Similarly to how the Primary dexholders rose in fame, so did the amount of fans and obsessive fangirls. Already, Lyra discovered much to her own awestruck horror, there were fanfictions and fanart dabbling the internet. Some cute and innocent, some realistic and marvelous… most… Well, most were fanart of things that were less than innocent.
So of course, she was worried Silver may have run into some obsessive fangirls on his way here. For whatever reason, Silver seemed to attract the biggest following of the current male dexholders. Lyra could understand why, because he was very handsome, and the fact that he had uncommon red hair and wore all black seemed to add an extra edge to him. On one hand, Lyra was happy Silver was getting recognition for his strength, which was something she honestly suspected she always wanted, but on the other hand she was beginning to feel the sickening feeling of envy.
She wasn't going to admit that she was beyond beautiful with anything remarkable about her. She knew she was plain. And even though Silver always faced those other fangirls with either a grimace or outright horror, and even if he always came back to her, she still felt nervous, like there was always that underlying possibility. Oftentimes, she wondered if that nervous suspicion stemmed from her mothers infidelity. She certainly hoped that having that affair come to light wouldn't make her suspect everyone she ever got into a relationship with, but she never had a reason to distrust her friends or Silver. Ethan and Krystal never had a reason to lie to her, and Silver… well, to some extent, he kept his secrets, but it wasn't like she kept her own story of abuse out in the open like a medal of honor.
But she had her reasons for suspicion. Being the avid fangirl of the dexholders, she knew about Gary's… impulsive nature. Oftentimes, she suspected Leaf ran to Mount Silver because of it. And while Silver and Gary were absolute polar opposites, well…
She shook her head back and forth so hard it made her dizzy. Sure, there were suspicions of Leaf and Gary having a rough patch, but they seemed fine now! And Fire and Dayna turned out fine! Silver wasn't like that, he would never just chase a girl because she was wearing a skirt!
As if to punctuate her point, the door to the base slammed open, and a head of red hair scrambled up and slammed the door shut. Lyra pushed herself up as Silver krabby-walked away from the door like he was retreating from a monster. He was panting like he had been running, his jacket was loose, and his hair was disheveled. His expression was a mix between shock, annoyance, and an underlining tone of horror.
"Are you okay?" Lyra asked, kneeling down next to him. He looked up at her whilst reaching up to rub the side of his head.
"A bunch of those damn females cornered me and tried to take my jacket. One of them ripped out a chunk of my hair."
"Are you bleeding?" she asked gently, reaching out to run her hands through his head. She felt a small bump from where his fingers were, but didn't feel any blood.
"There's not a bald spot, is there?"
"Nothing noticeable." Lyra responded, brushing his hair over the bump and smiling. "You'll be fine."
"Arceus." Silver muttered. "If it weren't for the government paying me for being a admirable 'public figure', I'd have shaved their heads bald."
Lyra let out a small, barely audible giggle. When Sara and Looker released the little information they were willing to give on Mask and his deeds, the governments of both Kanto and Johto named them 'Public Heroes'. In exchange for making public appearances and just being good citizens, the government is paying them a decent, monthly check until they turned twenty-five, which is the legal adult age. Depending on their income and how much popularity they still had, it would determine, overall, how much money the government would be willing to continue providing them with.
"But you're controlling your temper." Lyra smiled. "That's good. When I first met you, you would have punched them or something."
"It's only for the government check. Socking a bunch of girls in the face isn't exactly 'admirable public figure behavior'."
"I'm happy you didn't punch them in the face. It means you're growing as a person."
"Don't think to highly of me." Silver said dryly. "If it were a bunch of guys chasing after you, I'd do nothing short of killing them."
"You wouldn't." Lyra shook her head.
"You're right." Silver muttered with a smirk. "Not in front of you, at least."
Lyra simply smiled, though she had trouble telling if he was serious or not. Just as she opened her mouth to counter his claims, he put a finger to his lips, indicating her to be quiet. Lyra shut her mouth, as Silver pointed towards the door. Lyra strained her ears, and heard the faint screams of fangirls, looking frantically for their target. She felt envy bubble up inside of her again, and she anxiously looked at Silver. He looked more annoyed than anything.
"I'm dying my hair." Silver responded bluntly, face screwing into a scowl.
"Aw, don't do that." Lyra found herself pouting. "I like your red hair."
"Yeah, but it makes me stand out like a shiny pokémon." Silver continued to glower.
"Speaking of shinies," Lyra murmured. "How's, um, Vale's Umbreon? Is he happy in the daycare?"
"Happy as he can be, I guess." Silver muttered. "I stopped in a week ago. Ethan's grandma said that they seem to be doing okay. They're eating normally and all that."
"What are you going to do with them?"
"No idea." Silver let out a sigh. "Actually, no. I plan on keeping them in that daycare center to be cared for until I have a better plan. It'll cost me a pretty poké," he smirked, as if he thought of a funny joke. "But then again, what are government checks for?"
"You really do enjoy those government checks, don't you?"
"It's nice to have the government pay me. True, I have to suck it up and act like a good boy, but as long as I'm not caught being bad, I still get paid. It's like being paid for existing."
"But we earned it." Lyra smiled. She furrowed her brow as they trailed into a silence. Lyra had come to accept that when Silver didn't want to say anything, he wouldn't. And more than anything, he hated small talk and he wasn't going to be one to initiate it. At the same time, however, Lyra had found that the silences were comfortable.
"Silver, I think I'm going to go and challenge Leaf."
He glanced at her, surprised.
"Really?"
"I talked to Gary when I was traveling Kanto. He said Leaf was waiting on Mount Silver for a battle. And I think I should fulfill that."
"Good luck." Silver said, bowing his head and crossing his arms. "Not that I doubt your strength or anything. You managed to gain the championship and then you blew through Kanto in only about six months."
"Pretty impressive considering it took me almost a year and a half to travel across Johto."
"Yeah, but we didn't need to worry about Team Rocket or the Masked Rockets side-tracking us." Silver shook his head with a smirk. "But back to Leaf… Coming from a moron who challenged her, she's not like any of the saps we've battled before. The closest I came to battling her was probably Gary or Vale… And even then, she could easily wipe the floor with both of them, probably at the same time if she tried."
"You make her sound like a god or something." Lyra giggled. "But in hindsight…"
"She kind of is." Silver muttered under his breath. "It's almost frightening how strong she is. She's on an entirely separate tier than even the Champions…" he glanced at her. "Sometimes I get really scared thinking about what would have happened had Mask gotten his hands on such strength. Leaf and Vale together would have been a true force to be reckoned with…"
There was a heavy silence as memories of Vale seemed to pass through Silver's head. His lips were tightly pressed together and his fists were clenched. Lyra felt her heart ache for him, because she knew the feeling all to well.
She reached out and placed a hand over his fist. All she could do was be a unit of support at this point. She only hoped, and wished, that Silver understood that there was probably nothing he could have done to change Vale's decision.
"I'm going to follow Mask." Silver suddenly announced. "I'm going to follow him and get him in jail, even if it means dragging him there myself."
"Do you even know where he's gone, Silver?"
Silver pursed his lips. Once again, he was scowling. Lyra frowned, averting her gaze.
"Sorry. Usually you're the one being realistic about these things."
"Yes, but that is because realism is both honest but painful. And truthfully, I have no leads on where Mask could have gone or what his plans were after this. But Vale deserved better than… the hand that was dealt to her." he let out a sigh. "You know, we came here to talk about what we wanted to do about our futures, and you want to challenge Leaf. I have the recognition that I always wanted. I am now considered a pinnacle of strength here in Johto. I have everything I always wanted," he shot a small, almost bashful smile at her. "Plus extra."
Lyra felt her cheeks warm, and she smiled brightly at him. Something seemed to dawn on Silver, as he abruptly turned away, suddenly looking very awkward as his face lit up as red as his hair. It took everything within Lyra to suppress her giggles. How could someone who was normally so calm and collected get so flustered like this? It was cute.
"But…" Silver started the conversation again, trying to shoo away whatever awkwardness he seemed to feel. "I don't have closure or security. Not with Mask still running around. He could be anyone out there. I never saw his face, and I don't know if I'm passing him on the street. And any day, he could swoop in and just hurt me or hurt people I care about. And he's shown that he can and will do that. So,"
He inhaled, then exhaled.
"I'm going to be working with Sara and Looker to find Mask."
Lyra felt her stomach lurch for a second.
"So… What does that mean about us?"
"Don't get the wrong idea." Silver said, folding his hands in front of him, but keeping his gaze forward. "You were thinking about your mom again, weren't you?" The look on her face must have sufficed as an answer, because he turned fully to look at her. "What was it this time?"
"How did you know?" she asked quietly.
"Whenever you think about your mother, you get really… sad. Like it suddenly becoming overcast on a sunny day."
"I didn't think you'd notice something like that."
"Who do you take me for? Ethan?"
"Ethan isn't that dense, I'm just…"
"Really good at hiding it." Silver said. "And I will admit, you had me thinking you grew up in a perfectly happy home. When it comes to me, I made it obvious that I wanted no social contact whatsoever, which is typical of people who have suffered trauma of some sort. You, however, embraced it. So I was very surprised to learn you had such…" he trailed off, pursing his lips as if he was trying to figure out a good way to word what he wanted to say. But Lyra knew.
"Crippling self-esteem issues?"
"Well-"
"It's fine." Lyra said, bringing her knees to her chest. "I know it's not obvious. Because I try not to think about it to much, and I try to… care for her, at least."
"So what is it that made you so upset."
Lyra could feel the back of her neck prickle with embarrassment.
"So, um, you might not know about this, but when Leaf went up to Mount Silver, it was mainly because of rumors about the… loyalty of her and Gary's relationship. Over those three years, Gary went through about a four to six month period of going from one girlfriend to the next. Leaf seemed completely out of the picture. Of course," she tilted her head back, staring at the leafy branches that provided a roof for them. "Gary seemed to go back to Leaf, because he stopped his, er… philandering and even though the relationship seems a little strained now, I think they really do love each other."
"Where are you heading with this?" Silver quirked an eyebrow. "You know how I feel about you shipping people in real life, no matter if it is 'cannon' or not." he crossed his eyes and snorted. "Whatever that means."
"No, I'm getting to the point, I promise!" Lyra said insistingly. "Just… Oh, how do I explain this? Well, my Papa was a really, really nice person, the perfect husband. He was a great dad, a hard worker, he provided for me and Mom… Sure, he was kinda plain in looks, but he had a beautiful soul. Yet… it wasn't good enough for my mom. And she, you know… cheated. On him."
Silver was deadly quiet. Lyra wasn't sure if he was connecting the dots, but he had his hands folded in front of him, gloved hands clenched tightly together. His eyes were cold, like steel pendants, completely cutting her off from what he was thinking.
"I'm not accusing you!" Lyra suddenly blurted. "I promise, that's not it in the slightest! But I know I'm a lot like my Papa when it comes to looks, I know I'm really, really plain! And judging by our spike in popularity, and all the really, really pretty girls who are chasing after you I wouldn't-"
"Don't say something along the lines of 'I wouldn't mind' or 'I wouldn't blame you' in some sick way to make me 'feel better'." Silver abruptly cut her off. His voice was low and cold. Lyra flinched.
"Please don't be mad." she murmured softly. "I swear, I'm not accusing you of anything, I just-"
"Let me ask you something." Silver said. His voice was still cold, but he brought his head up to look her in the eye. "Say I left this treehouse right now and went off with one of my Arceus-damned fangirls. Would you be okay with it?"
"Well I-"
"Yes or no."
Lyra chewed her lip, bowing her head slightly.
"No." she finally said.
"Then it's not going to happen." Silver said assertively. "I'm not Gary Oak and I'm not your mother. You don't need to feel as if I'll go running about because of some newfound popularity."
"But-"
"Now I'm starting to feel insulted." Silver sighed. "And before you start babbling," he cut her off. "Why would I give two hoots about a girl who only started caring about me after I obtained fame and a semi-decent fortune? No one, be it the government, an adult, a fangirl, or anyone, would have looked at me twice before everything went down with Mask and we were recognized as dexholders. No one," he glanced at her with a faint smile. "But you."
Lyra felt her heart rate accelerate.
"Of course, your insecurities are justified." Silver continued. "Just as my issues socially are, to a small extent. And perhaps this is a generalization, but most guys would be angry if they we accused of cheating. Maybe before all of this, I would have been angry as well. But I can't bring myself to be mad. Sort of like how you never lost your patience with me and my…"
"Edginess?" Lyra threw out there. Silver shot her a look that seemed annoyed, but his lips were pulling into a smirk.
"You know there might be someone out there who could beat me and my… edginess."
"If there is," Lyra said, falling flat on her back. "I'd like to meet him or her."
There was a small silence.
"So what should we do?" she finally said, not sitting up. "You want to find Mask, I want to go challenge Leaf… Do you even know where to look?"
"...I have some ideas." Silver muttered under his breath. "I've already had contact with Sara, and I have some ideas. He's not dumb enough to go and loiter around here or Kanto, and I don't think he'd stick around Hoenn either."
"Because supposedly he's connected to two disappearances there." Lyra recalled the information from so long ago. About how Felicity and Nathaniel disappeared, only for Felicity to show up as Vale years later. "So what does that leave?"
"I don't think he'd attack Fiorre, Almia, or Oblivia." Silver said. "They're full of pokémon rangers, and those guys are just as powerful as the police. Plus, those regions are generally very small. He wouldn't go and take over a region so small and so rampant with police forces. That being said, we could probably cross off Alola as well."
"So that leaves… Kalos, Sinnoh, and Unova, right?" Lyra furrowed her brow. "Maybe a place with a lot of legends?"
"I thought that too." Silver responded. "I've had Krystal do some research for me, and she says that Kalos is probably off the list because they only worship and recognize three pokémon as legends."
"So… Sinnoh or Unova."
"… I think it might be Unova." Silver murmured under his breath.
"Why?"
"While they have nine recognized legends, like Sinnoh, they have a handful of pokémon called 'mythical pokémon'. These pokémon are so rare that people genuinely question their existence. That being said, Unova is an independent metropolis. They are so far away from other regions that their native pokémon are completely unique to itself."
"What better way to make a statement than take down an mostly independent nation?" Lyra said quietly.
"Exactly."
Lyra propped herself up on her elbows.
"So are you going to Unova, then?"
"… Probably." Silver said. His gaze hardened again. "I'm going to find him. I know you're probably tired of hearing this, but I swear he's going to pay for everything he's done."
"I want to help you." Lyra said quietly. "Because I know how much Vale meant to you."
Silver let out something that was a cross between a chuckle and a snort.
"You know, even though I know you're plenty capable of handling yourself, I still don't want you involved in anything else to do with Mask."
"Yeah, but," Lyra sat herself up, turning to him and folding her legs under her. "It's not like I can get any less involved. I already know about what he plans to do… and what extent he'll go to get what he needs."
"But you're-"
"Your weakness?" Lyra asked in an almost teasing tone. Silver closed his mouth, lips in a straight line.
"You're not a weakness, just something I need to protect." Silver finally said, turning his head away. Lyra reached up tentatively, softly placing her fingers against his cheek and turning his gaze back to her.
"But wouldn't the best way to know I'm safe is if I'm always with you?"
Silver was quiet.
"I want to help you, Silver. I don't want you to think you're all alone or you have to do this alone. I want you to rely on me just as much as you want to keep me safe." Lyra pressed. "You'll wait for me, won't you?"
Silver shut his eyes, but reached for her hand on his cheek. Lyra could feel a small tremble in his fingers.
"And what if I fail and you don't get a third chance?" he whispered under his breath.
Lyra could feel her heart lurch at that. It was something Silver was reluctant to talk about, what happened while she had entered that dark void up to the point until they reunited in it. But Krystal and Ethan had explained in as minute detail as possible what had happened. And it made her heart break for him, because it was obvious that was exactly what he was thinking about.
"You're silly." Lyra smiled gently, moving her hand from his face and wrapping them around his neck. The trembles were resonating through his whole body, and it was obvious by how tense he was that he was trying to suppress it. "Maybe I have this small fear that cheating will always be an open possibility, but I know you'll always keep me safe. That's just within your nature, to cherish and protect whats important to you. So as long as I know I'm important to you, I know I'll be safe and loved."
"Fears and insecurities be damned." Silver muttered under his breath, as if finishing her thoughts. He hugged her tightly in response. They stayed like that for a while, holding each other as a form of comfort and support for the present and the future. Silver stopped trembling after a while.
"I'll wait." Silver muttered. "I'll cheer for you from the bottom of Mount Silver until you come back down. And then… We'll head to Unova together."
o.0.o.0.o
So basically, there was a six month time-skip between the events of Vale and Hood parting ways and Vale deciding to go to Unova. Vale's art can be found on my deviantart, AmytheEeveeLover. Then there was another couple months, leading to the events of Lyra deciding to challenge Leaf. Lyra and Silver, with more travel experience and less side quests/defeating Team Rocket, managed to beat the Kanto gym leaders.
I wanted to express that Silver and Lyra probably won't have an easy relationship, as both have severe insecurities while they both care very deeply for each other. The more attention they have, the more their insecurities might pop up. But I want it to be understood that their relationship is so open that they can express this to each other without it being a huge problem.
But the next chapter will probably be the last, which I am so, so happy about. I'm really excited!
Amy47101 signing off! ^.^