I AM SOOO SORRY! :(
For those who've been waiting for more chapters, I really really reaaaally feel the need to apologize for the long wait! You see, my problems only started because a virus got into my computer. Which ended up deleting practically everything stored on its hard-drives, including ALL of my fanfiction progress in the last few months. Including the edited/typed out full story of Promise Me. I would consider myself lucky that I found another related document on Google Drive, so all I need to do is read over certain chapters, edit some scenes to fit in just fine and BOOM, it'll be back to normal! Hopefully if I get my stuff back, I'll be quicker with the updates. But for now, let's just enjoy this new chapter!
But what happened last time!?
Basically Deino arrived in King's cave asking for forgiveness after being forced to abandon her while escaping an angry Beartic! Not only that, but Deino also pleads to join Iris' team for the future in a way repay her for his mistakes and keep her safe! King accepts Deino's apology and leaves the decision to Iris when she wakes up!
What'll her decision be? Find out! (Chapter will be a bit longer just as a gift for keeping you guys waiting for so long!)
(Also, I'd still highly appreciate it if people create fanart of King for me XD Like I said before, just picture Mega Charizard X's body and colors mixed with Y's ragged wings and spiked tail! If someone makes some fanart, I'll link it on my page for everyone to see!)
Now let's get down to it!
"So, this is it then?" - Human Speech
'Wow, I expected something... more.' - Human Thoughts
"Ready for the worst mistake of your life?" - Pokémon Speech
'I'm itching for a fight you little shit!' - Pokémon Thoughts
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, except my Mega OC!
Chapter 8: Acceptance
… Everything went as perfect as it should. Just like he expected.
From what he could remember, as if he'd ever forget, King was there for all of Iris' trials before her journey finally officially started.
And that included her acceptance of Deino's actions.
When King said everything would work out the way he had hoped, fate didn't disappoint him in the slightest. Although he wouldn't admit just how difficult it was for him to adjust to his new 'title', personally given to him by Iris herself. It took a while for King to get used to it, but it still made him feel awkward at times. It wasn't bad, but it was something special.
After all, it was just one after another in the cave.
On the morning they woke up to find Deino sleeping in their cave, King had been relieved that he didn't have to track the Dark/Dragon type down. But Iris and Axew didn't share the same feelings. In fact, she had a rare case of 'morning grump' that mixed terribly well with her memories of that stormy night.
Let's just say, Iris wasn't exactly nice when she acknowledged Deino's presence in the cave. And Axew's attitude was a lot worse, having heard everything Deino had done to his trainer by Iris herself. But nonetheless, he tried to remain obedient while Deino continued to speak his apology. Keyword being tried. As soon as Deino explained why he abandoned Iris, Axew quickly chalked it off as lies and started screaming for the Dark/Dragon type to leave and never come back.
Axew took a lot of scolding from King, eventually leading to King having to forcefully hold the tiny Pokémon back from attacking the Dark type.
But it wasn't like anybody could blame him for being so protective of his technical 'mother'.
Nonetheless, all was said between Deino and Iris, with King being the translator to effectively get the sincere message across. And like King promised, he gave Iris space to come up with a decision. Who gratefully appreciated the chance to think.
After spending time by herself, not even with Axew at her side, Iris had soon come back with a simple expression on her face. She wasn't upset anymore, not after calming herself with slow breaths. Which allowed her to think rationally about her decision. But during those 10 minutes, it felt like hell for Deino. Who, in turn, wanted nothing more than to run and not risk getting told off by an angry little girl, whom he so selfishly allowed her to chase him into a forest. But even so, he willed himself to stay and accept anything coming to him.
Luckily it hadn't come to anything physical.
Instead, Iris simply responded with, "If King says you're telling the truth, then I forgive you." To be honest, Deino almost didn't want that kind of response. Deep down, he expected something harsh. Something he deserved for his mistakes. Not long after, Iris had continued with crossed arms and a stubborn looking frown. "But I'll hold off on adding you to the team. I just need time to fully trust you…"
For what it was worth, it was enough for him.
After bowing his head with a quick thanks and another short apology, Deino had attempted to leave the cave. Only for Iris to, reluctantly on her part, stop him from leaving and offer him a place in the cave with them. As an opportunity to build up their trust; another chance. And while it was awkward for the first few days, it was better that way. It showed King that Iris was mature enough to see past Deino's faults and take time to reach a solid answer.
An answer that could mold her entire destiny.
However, it didn't take long before Iris eventually added Deino to the team. Somewhere around 3 weeks did Iris rethought her answer from before. They had become friends, only from King's constant attempts at putting them in bonding exercises. Meanwhile, Axew had soon grew to like Deino, but Drilbur on the other hand, still had yet to warm up to the Dark/Dragon type Pokémon. Which was solved through one means of bonding: through a Pokémon Battle. Which actually took a total 20 minutes due to type advantages between them, but soon ended up with Drilbur winning.
Only because in the last few minutes, he evolved into Excadrill and literally beat Deino a couple of feet into the ground.
It still took a while for the trust to build up to actually friendship, but the bond was still there.
Other than that, all was well for the small family.
Especially for King.
Back to the morning when Deino apologized, Iris had privately pulled King to a quiet area of the cave so she could talk about the 'papa' topic. It was something King was still a bit hesitant to accept, but he did so nonetheless. Much to Iris' happiness. He had prioritized the way Iris felt before his own pride and he realized the role he now had in her life. His reward? Iris using all of her strength to give him somewhat of a bone-crushing hug.
But the fact was still there.
He was her guardian, the one who could actually protect her, nurture her. He was the being who filled the empty hole in Iris' life as her father figure.
To his Pokémon friends in Kanto, he was King the Forest Champion.
To the forest Pokémon of Unova, he was Pyro the Destroyer.
To Iris… he was Papa.
And he was proud to call himself all three.
Time Skip: 7 ½ Months Later…
The time had come.
The dreaded deadline King found himself hating more and more each day.
It finally came.
August 30th had come faster than King feared it would. It was Iris' birthday. Normally, he'd have love the day more than any other day of the year. But this wasn't exactly like her other birthdays. No, this was her 10th birthday. The day the village Elder, Sophia, would officially announce Iris old enough to become a Pokémon Trainer. But to be honest... King didn't expect his heart to hurt so much. They'd only been together for a little less than 2 years and in that time, he'd grown to love and see Iris as his own daughter. Just as she saw him as her father. In fact, he saw Axew, Drilbur and even Deino as his children alongside her.
But like everything, good things must come to an end.
He knew the day would come that he'd be forced to say goodbye.
After all, he had been using all of their free time training Iris so she could uphold her end of their deal.
He just didn't realize how attached he had gotten to the little girl.
When he – as well as the entire village – watched her leave for her journey, he didn't expect his heart to hurt as much as it did. He thought he'd be ready to see her off. He was proud of the girl he rescued, the same little girl who grew up into the mature trainer she promised to be. For a brief moment, he believed his hug could keep her from leaving.
It only made his turmoil worse.
But King didn't dare let his selfish emotions keep Iris away from her dream.
"I'll see her again," He promised himself. "I'll see her again."
However, to 'see her again' was too long for King to handle. Which influenced his need to give Iris and her team a personal farewell.
Iris had stuck with her first three partners, something King didn't expect.
Deino: Even after all their hard work, the Dark/Dragon type was still the most hyperactive of the group and played off King's departing words with a silly smile, the trademark grin everyone knew him for. It was something King would miss, even if he didn't say it out-loud.
Excadrill: After evolving, King eventually saw him as the big brother in their little family. His personality followed after King's; optimistic, caring, considerate, determined and highly protective. He was the cool-headed fighter in his team. But being the first to evolve, Excadrill believed his role was to protect Iris on their travels, just as much as Deino felt the need to. King would miss the drill Pokémon's battle-ready attitude.
Axew: While he didn't evolve, or even get much battle experience as his teammates, he was still the 'youngest' King saw him as. He was the ball of endless joy, Iris' first partner until the end of time, the son King wanted to protect just as much as he did Iris. He had tried not to cry during their departure, but he failed when King pulled him into a hug. Nobody could blame the baby dragon for getting so emotional.
And Iris… King vowed to never forget her face. He couldn't. He has been there as her guardian-no, as her father ever since that storm. He had given her the biggest hug he'd never give anyone else and in a flash, memories of their time together had flooding his mind.
Rescuing her from Serperior…
Introducing himself and learning about her past…
Flying around with a happy Iris on his back…
Battling with her…
Helping her fall asleep under his wing…
Telling her stories of his past battles…
That day was the first time Iris had seen King cry.
He had always put up a tough, caring front that everyone knew him by. But King wouldn't, or even couldn't, have stopped himself from pulling Iris into a hug and burst into tears. And in the spur of the moment, King hadn't even noticed the sincere expressions from the villagers when they heard his cries. They soon realized just what kind of bond the two had. To see the tears in his eyes fall like a broken dam? To hear that he never wanted her to leave? It was too much for Iris to handle before she too found herself crying alongside him.
"I'll miss you too, Papa…" Her words would be forever etched in his brain for as long as he lived.
He never wanted to let her go.
But he did.
And he watched her go.
Like a proud father would.
Never before had King resented the silence in his cave.
He had always been the type to enjoy the peace and quiet whenever he got the chance.
However, things had changed and he didn't even notice.
Things like his sleeping patterns being thrown out of wack. King would find himself waking up at night to check if Iris had returned and was fast asleep under his wing. It was habit he'd found it extremely difficult to break from. Even then, if he didn't wake up at night, King would always find himself waking up with a smile and ready for a daily flight alongside his daughter.
Only to remember the heartfelt goodbyes they spoke to each other.
The first few weeks after Iris' departure were spent in mild depression. King couldn't believe that he'd taken after Iris so much. It was enough for him to realize that her presence had become such a big part of his life.
Waking up to see her smile, their daily conversations about other regions, their time with the forest Pokémon; he felt lost without her as his roommate.
Luckily, his time alone in his mountain was enough of a sign to catch Sophia's attention.
Being the parent-figure to everyone, even King himself, Sophia would often travel to his cave to uphold the conversations that King yearned for.
Sophia had become his link to the 'outside world'.
She had become his link to Iris.
His daughter, during her travels, had managed to keep in touch with Sophia with each chance she could. Iris had been making excellent progress, winning badge after badge from every possible gym in the region. However, it took a long time and King started to worry about her well-being.
But Iris made sure to send letters explaining her tales with her team. Meeting new friends, adding more Pokémon to her team, even recorded videos of her gym battles that she sent regularly so he'd see how much she and the rest of them had grown.
Her adventures were shared between King and Sophia, never failing to make the two adults proud of her achievements.
And they never stopped rooting for her.
Okay, once again, I'm SORRY for taking so long to update this thing, but I should be getting back into the groove now! More updates should be coming in faster now that I got a back-up, but hopefully things won't get too jacked up. Anyway, how was the chapter guys? A little bit of a tearjerker for some people who fall too easily to emotion stuff and for others, probably just a good chapter. Still, this was actually a fun chapter to read over and get back into the groove of the story. A chapter where the big, tough King the Mega Charizard realizes how much of a softy he's becoming after taking care of little Iris, breaking down into tears like any caring parent would. I really do hope you guys enjoyed it, but a little heads up! The next chapter is the ending! I still plan on doing the epilogue battle, maybe even more, but that will take a while.
Next update will be next Monday!
I'll leave it there guys!
REVIEW OR PRIVATE MESSAGE me any questions regarding the story!
But still, seriously. REVIEW PLEASE!
And remember, if anybody has found or made any type of fanart of King, please don't be afraid to tell me! I'd love to see it! (Mega Charizard X's black/blue colors and body mixed with Y's ragged wings and spiked tail!)
Stay tuned for more!
REVIEW PLEASE! XD