*~.#.~.#.~*
"Yeah. It's positive," a teen was a bit annoyed.
"Then what luck," another teen had the complete opposite reaction.
"You call that luck? Oh no, dude. I call this bad luck. Not only the team that was supposed to spy on him failed, we also brought a not yet prepared human to the base!" he shouted furiously.
"B-But we couldn't just leave him," the younger teen tried to evade the anger of his teammate.
*sigh* "You're right. We might be strong, but we're not monsters... I think we should get him out of here," he decided.
"Where? He still needs a doctor!" the younger one explained.
"We can't trust the doctors in here you idiot!" his anger came back.
"K, k, chill," the younger teen stepped back. "Fine. We'll do it your way," he gave into the idea. "So, what's the plan captain?"
"Go back just the way we came in," the older one smirked and the two approached the unconscious teen.
"I kind of feel bad for him. He'll have to go back to the cold autumn's water," the younger one really had sadness in his voice.
"What the-? Are you crazy? We'll drop him off on shore obviously!"
"Oh, hehe. Alright, captain. Then it sounds like a good plan."
"Sometimes I don't understand what's happening in that head of yours... And stop calling me captain!"
*~.#.~.#.~*
The search for Farrioust was fruitless. Not one little thing gave off the impression that he got to shore. Walcekite wondered if whether he has his pokemon with him or not. Then she would at least feel safer, because she would know that Raden would fly him back from anywhere in the world. Well, the only way to make sure was to check back at his room in the pokecenter.
"I wonder how Catlesy reacted, when she saw we weren't at the center. She must have freaked," Walcekite giggled and her mood lightened up a bit.
Meilli was happy to see her trainer finally thinking about better things. She herself still couldn't care less for that black-haired boy with a Gothorita, but she saw that the loss of that boy could be a huge blow for Walcekite.
"That idiot. Breaking pokeballs and bonds. Just who does he think he is?" the Zorua growled without realizing it and caught Walcekite's attention.
"Huh? What is it Meilli?"
"N-Nothing. I just remembered something?" she said awkwardly.
"Come on you fluffy ball of fur. Spit it out," the teen giggled and nudged her face to Meilli's side, as she was still on Walcekite's shoulder.
"Ah! You'll make me fall!" Meilli giggled too, but was still scared and let her nails out, so she could secure herself, but they went in too deep and Walcekite felt her skin ripping.
"Ow, Meilli! Carefull!" Walcekite caught the tricky fox in her hands and took her off. Once the dark grey fluff was in front of her, Walcekite rubbed her nose to Meilli's. "Do you remember how we met?" suddenly the trainer felt nostalgic.
"Yeah. It was during a storm similar to the one last night," Meilli linked the memory and smiled.
"Do you ever regret coming with me? It just seemed like I forced you to be with me," Walcekite's eyes clouded.
"Don't be silly. I remember clearly that I agreed on my own free will. And I didn't have where to go anyway," she sighed.
Walcekite let Meilli down and sat on a stump nearby. She was exhausted from walking around for a few hours straight, especially in a "broken" forest. She just didn't feel like taking a break before, but when her mind got filled by other things, not only the wish to find Farrioust, she remembered her human needs too. Maybe she was tired, because she didn't eat anything... All the Oran Berries Palabella found were given to Locus.
"Meilli... Could you tell me about your family?" Walcekite asked.
"Th-there's not much to tell really. I don't even remember them now. The only flashbacks I get are usually in my dreams, but since I started travelling with you, they come less and less," Meilli explained.
"But that means that you are forgetting your family because of me. I don't take it as a good sign," she noted.
"Well, what I remember only brings me pain... I know it was a tragedy... I remember what I felt, but I can't remember what happened... Pretty weird, huh?" she smiled.
"I think you are repressing your memories," Walcekite started drawing with a stick in the wet ground. "That will only bring more pain. But I know you can't get them back on a whim... Alright," she squatted down to Meilli. "When you dream of another flashback, please narrate it for me. I just know that that memory is eating you from the inside," Walcekite stood up and started walking again. Meilli followed and soon was beside her trainer.
"When you talk like that, it seems that you experienced these things yourself," the tricky fox noticed.
"Yeah. That's true. But I haven't forgotten... And I know I can't keep it down or bad things will happen, but it just hurts... that's why I know you are hurting as well, even if you don't realize it."
*~.*.*.*.~*
The spies were walking beside the edge of the river. They knew Farrioust was probably in the ocean, but they had to look around the shore first, to make sure, so they still didn't get their flying pokemon out. They planned on walking through the forest, before that would be needed. Also, because of the storm, it was really hard to notice anything in the mess that was the forest, if one would be flying above it.
"So we accomplished that Farrioust fell into the river, but that doesn't mean that Walcekite went down with him," Simpherra didn't understand, why weren't they looking for the girl.
"That's true, but Farrioust was our first and main objective. Right now, Walcekite is but an add to the job we have to do here. That means we need to find Farrioust first. The authorities aren't very interested in the blue-haired girl right now any way."
"Even though she was lost to them? I would think that makes her the most interesting of them all!" Simpherra protested.
"I don't care why they want to know more about Farrioust than the girl. I just know we need to find him," Seffus was getting annoyed by his teammate.
"You know what I think?" Simpherra smirked. Seffus wasn't happy about that. He knew that the red-eyed girl will start to irritate him even more. "I think that you are the one that is too concerned about Farrioust, to look for Walcekite. Well, I guess it's just natural. He is your - "
"I know who he is and I'm telling you - it's only business," a vein popped in the teens forehead and he cut off his teammate. She didn't look too happy about it.
"Seffus, you aren't the only one that can burst here, you know. I'm not a little girl anymore. I can stand up to you," she explained and found Seffus stopping just before her and looking her right in the eyes. Only a few inches were separating them.
"Oh really, little, black bunny?" he was at least a foot taller than her and that already made him more superior, but the nickname caught Simpherra totally off guard.
"Wh-what did you call me?" the female trainer was surprised, but still kept the anger in her voice. Seffus must have gotten the color out of her black/emerald outfit and her raven like hair.
"You heard me. You are just a little, black bunny that survives only by following a big bad wolf that has to protect her," he smirked.
Simpherra snickered. "You? A big bad wolf? I'm so regretting not getting that pic of you sleeping," she started laughing at the memory. "That cuteness on a wolf? I think not!"
"Hehe, you think you are the only one that saw your teammate looking cute while sleeping? Well I've got news for you. I saw you first!" Seffus counterattacked.
"Y-you?," Simpherra was surprised but shook it off. "But you didn't get pictures too!" she got her teammate. But then she wondered. "We've been traveling together for at least a few years now and only now I look at him... differently... I see his kinder side, his cuter side. Wh-why is that?" she was both confused and a little scared. "Am-am I starting to *gulp* like him?"
"Huh? What's wrong? The look on your face changed," Seffus noticed.
"Um, it's nothing," only after she cooled off, she noticed the closeness of her teammate and jolted away, though she wanted it to look like she just walked away calmly.
Seffus realized why did she suddenly backed away and felt his cheeks blushing. When one is threatening someone, the closeness seems threatening too... but when one snaps out of it, it just seems... awkward.
"So, Simpherra..." Seffus started after a while, when he was sure his cheeks weren't red anymore. "We should go looking for our objectives."
"Oh, yeah," the black-haired girl started remembering more things, than the previous scene. "He was so close... I almost wanted to-" she shook her head. "No! No way! Snap out of it Simpherra!" she commanded herself in her thoughts.
"What's with the shaking?"
"Uh, nothing. Could you please stop observing me? I feel like I have no personal space," she tried to keep distance from him as they started walking next to the river.
"Whatever you say... Little black bunny," he smirked.
"Stop it!" she shouted like a little girl.
"Alright alright," he chuckled. "But when we get to the forest, don't cry for the big bad wolf's help," he grinned, trying to show his fangs. Actually, his were visible even when he smiled just a little, but now they were fully seen.
Simpherra growled, but stayed silent. "What's with the sudden joking around? Maybe he really is changing..."
After they entered the forest, the effect of the storm was clearly visible. The city couldn't compare with the damage the forest had to put up with. The two spies had to mostly look on what they were stepping on, rather than trying to find Farrioust and Walcekite. But that still didn't keep them from spotting a cerulean-haired girl with a dark grey furball on her shoulder.
They quickly hid behind a tree with sighs of relief, both because they found one of their objectives and because Walcekite doesn't have a sensory type pokemon, to help her find out she was being spied on.
"So she's alive and well... I wonder where Farrioust could be," Simpherra whispered.
"That punk. Always giving me trouble," Seffus growled.
"Hehe. But I bet when you see him alright, then you'll only be glad," Simpherra snickered. "Maybe you'll even shed a tear of joy."
"I think you're delusional," Seffus sighed. "We don't have time for you to be sick."
"Oh come on. Wasn't there at least one moment, when you were glad about Farrioust?" the black-haired girl asked.
"It's none of your business," he said coldly.
"At first you were so easy-going and now you are once again a cold jerk," Simpherra sighed.
"I seemed so clear, huh?" he smirked. "I'm either friendly or cold? Maybe I'm completely different inside and I'm just putting up an act?" he asked like he was teasing Simpherra. "Or is it too confusing for you?"
A vein popped on Simpherra's forehead. "You are really getting on my nerves."
"Alright, alright. It's too confusing for you. Don't worry little, black bunny," he smirked and spoke up, before his teammate could. "Let's just do our jobs and leave our private lives outside."
The black-haired girl could smack Seffus for many words that irritated her, but she once again calmed down and buried it. "Some day I'll break out and then even he will be afraid," she thought, slowly going after her objective... But she had to ask. "Do you think she is searching for Farrioust here?"
"I think she's just lost," he answered.
"W-what? No. I think she is feeling bad, because she can't find him. Because she can't be with him."
"Well, aren't you the expert on feelings," Seffus snickered.
"Well I know more than you!" she shouted while whispering, but even with that little shouting, it got Walcekite's and Meilli's attention.
When the blue-haired girl started turning around, Seffus grabbed Simpherra and quickly got her behind a thick tree, that he hoped would hide both of them.
"I-is someone there?" Walcekite inquired and looked at Meilli that was still sitting on her shoulder. "Did you hear anything?"
"Yeah. I think I heard someone whispering."
With Meilli's agreeing, Walcekite chose to inspect, who could be so close to them.
Simpherra's breathing became more intense. She tried to keep it quiet, but it was hard, especially with Seffus keeping his hand on her mouth, so she wouldn't speak anymore. Although she didn't scream, even when she was being grabbed and dragged, her teammate still didn't trust her enough.
"I-I know someone's there," Walcekite tried to seem threatening, but the cracking in her voice didn't help.
"We need to run. She can't see us," Seffus was worried. "Krookodile. Sand Attack," he whispered, but it was enough for his pokemon to hear.
With a flash, a giant brownish red crocodile emerged from his pokeball and quickly threw sand at Walcekite and Meilli with his claws. Of course, because of the storm, the sand, or rather earth, was covered by forest debris... so that flew too.
Both females froze at the sight of the debris' wave coming right at them. Walcekite tried to move backwards, but her legs didn't listen. She looked at Meilli once more and wanted to get her and hug her, protect her, but the tricky fox jumped off her trainer's shoulder and became engulfed in a crimson aura while she was soaring towards the ground.
A dark wave spread faster than the debris and knocked away anything in sight. Even Walcekite had to fall from the force, but she didn't mind. As long as she wasn't buried under the debris, it was all fine.
"What was that?" Simpherra asked with a painful voice and just then understood that she spoke too loud.
"You idiot," Seffus was still whispering. "Get your flying type out and move." As he said that, some more flashes revealed a giant Volcarona and made Krookodile come back.
Simpherra growled, but agreed that she acted stupidly. She quickly got out a pokeball and released her Skarmory. With both trainers on their pokemon, they took off. But Walcekite wasn't willing to let them get away so easily.
"Meilli, shoot them both down with Shadow Ball!"
"Volcarona - Hurricane," Seffus hanged on tighter and let his pokemon release a magnificent gust that blew the fast shadow balls back to the ground.
"Who are you?!" Walcekite shouted.
But there was no response. The two humans flew away with their pokemon and as Walcekite didn't have a flying type, the chase was over before it began.
"You certainly are an idiot," Seffus was still furious at Simpherra. "You could have blown everything. Thank Arceus she didn't have a pokemon she could chase us with. Then we would end up hurting her and they would take us off the mission... Idiot," he repeated.
Simpherra's armor bird's wings flapped loudly, but it was the sound that always calmed the black-haired girl. She knew she acted wrong, but that were just simple words that she spoke too loud. How can he be so mad at her?
"Skera, let's descend," she patted Skarmory's side and the pokemon softly shifted her weight, so that she would land somewhere on the left.
"Where do you think you are going?" Seffus yelled. "We still need to find Farrioust!"
Simpherra didn't want to talk. She looked at her multi-purpose watch and decided to send him a message.
"Find him yourself. I'll look after Walcekite."
Skera was still losing altitude, so it was obvious that Seffus' teammate won't get back to Walcekite, but he was too fed up to go after her. Finally, he agreed with Simpherra's plan and flew towards the ocean. If Farrioust really was washed away, he would probably end up there.
The vast, dark blue ocean was an amazing sight, but got boring too quickly. Seffus was trying to find the Demon Kid in this seemingly never ending blueness, but it proved to be harder than he thought.
*sweat drop* "If he drowned, I'm dead," Seffus thought and checked the map on his watch. "I'll soon be over the base. Hope they won't spot me, but I need to check everywhere, before they find him themselves."
Two peculiar objects were swimming near the base. Seffus asked Volcarona to fly in circles and descend slowly, so he could get enough observation time and could act quickly, if it were a threat. It seemed like two people were on a big Seismitoad and one more was on a Carracosta. They were swimming towards the shore. It didn't take Seffus a long time to notice that one of two humans on the Seismitoad looked very familiar.
The dark-haired guy checked the other two teenagers on his watch and found out that they were Team 48. Compared to Seffus and Simpherra's, that were Team 22, these guys were newbies... And now Seffus will have to look like a complete idiot that lost the person he had to spy on in front of them.
"Hey, Team 48. You found my objective," the Volcarona quickly descended, when she got another order. "I'll take him from here."
"Well, well, well. The famous Seffus lost his brother, huh? What would your mother say?" the older teen on the Carracosta teased his superior and got a growl in return.
"Just give it," he flew towards the Seismitoad, on which Farrioust was lying and the other teen was about to give the human, but the older trainer stopped them, when he made his Carracosta use Water Gun.
"Don't you think you should do us a favor, because we found your precious objective?"
"Fine. What do you want?" Seffus growled again.
"We'll contact you, when we need to and you'll have to do whatever we say," the white-haired bargainer smirked.
"Deal," Seffus finally took his brother out of the hands of a young teen male with blond hair and flew off.
"Always giving me trouble since the day you were born. What a burden," Seffus spoke up when they were already high in the sky and returning towards Nimbasa City. "Ultimately, I'll have to be the one that saves them, while you will be just another victim that couldn't do anything. Pathetic, little brother."
It was near evening when he started seeing the shore. He also noticed Simpherra and Skera flying towards him. "So she didn't watch after Walcekite." *sigh* "Well, at least I got this idiot back."
Neither of them talked to each other and just brought Farrioust to the pokemon center. They were concerned that nurse Joy wouldn't look after a human, but they were wrong to doubt her. Ultimately they rented out the same rooms as before and went to sleep. A day full of searching was exhausting. At least it won't be the same tonight... Or they can just hope for that.
I'm not sure how to answer reviews done by guests that were written not in the last chapter, so I'll just write here.
The word firetruck starts with F and ends with UCK. I think the word is obvious *smirks* and I found about this word while watching SMOSH so they should get the credit or whatever, hehe.
Also, I base this story not only on the games, but also on the anime, so Route 4 (that was from chapter 16 to chapter 19) has the Desert Resort on the side somewhere and is mainly a forested patch. I needed to go with the anime here, because I had to get two pokemon that were found there during the anime.
Sorry for again not having anything related with the chapter here, hehe. I just write out what I want and I don't need to add anything.
But still, review ^.^ :)
