Astro.

I...was awake to hear Amber's talk with Cyrus. Or, at least, I was conscious enough to listen.

Riley had returned Riolu to his pokeball, so I was curled up by myself on Amber's bed. I remember hearing the door shut closed after Cyrus.

"I suppose I'll start with why I forbade you to leave," Cyrus' deep voice rumbled.

Amber hesitated. "...Alright?"

Cyrus sighed. "I told you that I created Astro by splicing human DNA with a Lucario's," He continued. "What I didn't tell you was that genetic engineering can be...pretty messy. Amber, Astro's DNA is fairly unstable."

I felt Amber's heart drop, and it was like someone shoved a rock in my throat. I stayed down, feigning sleep like I had been.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She sounded like a kid. "His DNA is unstable?"

"What it means," Cyrus continued steadily, "is that...Astro, he...DNA is the blueprint for all life on Earth. And, Astro's is unstable, which means that each cell is his body has an unpredictable blueprint dictating bodily functions. And, if it were to unravel or malfunction..."

He let it hang in the air, until Amber demanded, "Are you saying Astro could die?! Is that why you wouldn't let me leave?"

Another awkward silence, another metaphorical stone settled in my stomach.

"...Is Daisy the same way?" Amber hesitated again.

"I don't know if she is; I haven't had any time to do tests on her. Amber, I don't want you to leave with your friends again; Astro needs to stay in a safe, stable place. He's so strong-willed, he'll force his body to battle harder than what he's physically able.

I felt a hand on my head, stroking the baby blue fur. Amber's hand? Or Cyrus'? I didn't know, but I think it was Amber.

"Daddy, Astro loves to battle...besides, I could never ask him to seperate from Riley's Riolu. They're best friends! That's like seperating me and Dee!"

Riolu! I tuned out, receding into my own thoughts. No...if I mess myself up like Cyrus said...if I were to die...Riolu would be devastated...

Riolu was like family to me, or an actual extension of myself; he looked up to me so much, I couldn't help liking him just as much. We really were best friends, like Amber said.

I stiffened my muscles, shaking from the effort, and the two voices ceased. Cyrus and Amber said good night, but I knew Amber didn't mean it.

Amber stroked my head again, and I curled into a tighter ball. She picked me up, and laid me down in a little pokemon bed on the floor, where I'd slept the previous night.

I drifted back into an uneasy sleep, thinking about Riolu. How one hard-fought battle could kill me, and leave him all by himself.

That poor, nervous wreck of a kid. The same timid squirt I had been a role model for, for almost three months...

{Astro...are you crying?}

No, Riley-I'm fine. Don't touch me, you weirdo. I'm not afraid to kill you.

Riley.

I'll admit, I didn't hear anything from Amber's conversation with her father; I was too wrapped up in my reading.

Dee went to bed shortly after, and so did Amber's parents. I thought I was the last one left awake.

Around midnight, I heard a door softly open and close. I glanced at the hallway as I heard footsteps.

"Amber?" I asked quietly, so I wouldn't wake Dee. "'S that you?"

She padded out into the living room, darting into the kitchen. "Yeah-I was...just getting a glass of water."

I heard a sniff, and the tap didn't run. I set Lee's journal down, tiptoeing to the kitchen.

Amber was wiping at her eyes with a paper towel, breathing a bit unevenly.

"Are you crying?" I asked.

Amber gasped, jumping a bit. "Riley!" She turned and faced me. "God, you...scared me..."

The poor girl looked awful. Her face was blotchy and red, and her eyes were a bit red, too. I knew she'd been crying.

I took a step towards her. "You have been crying!" I confirmed. "God, what'd your dad say to you? Are you okay?"

Amber sniffled again, looking away. "I'm fine, Riley," She murmured, balling up the paper towel in her fist.

I walked to her and took the paper towel, tossing it in the trash. "You can tell me what's wrong. That's what friends do, right?" I legitimately wasn't sure.

She pouted. "Riley, it...it's none of your business, alright?"

Still, Amber wouldn't look at me. She tried swerving around me, but I grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her back.

"Hey-let go of me!"

"If it's bad enough to make you cry, then I'll make it my business, alright?" I half-growled. Pretty extreme, but I didn't like the thought of her being upset enough to cry.

Amber raised her eyebrows at my action, probably shocked.

I took the initiative, and let go of her arm. I urged her towards the living room, muttering, "C'mon, let's go sit."

We sat on the foldaway bed, careful not to wake Dee up and get her involved.

"What did your dad talk to you about?" I asked again, keeping my voice low. "Do you really not trust me enough to tell me stuff?"

"No! No, it's not you!" She squeaked, glancing away. She even blushed a little. "My dad, he...he told me something about Astro. Something...I didn't know."

"What was it?" I really hated that Amber was trying to keep something from me.

Amber bit her lower lip. "Astro, his...his DNA is unstable. And...Astro...his DNA could-could unravel. And, he could-" Her breath hitched. "-he could die. Th-that's why he gets tired from b-battling, and-God, Riley, I don't..."

It was a lot of information for a 13 year old kid to take in. Especially her, a 13 year oldgirl.

Before I realized it, Amber was crying again. Which really sounds terrible on my part; you'd think I, of all people,vwould notice a girl start crying.

I put my hand awkwardly on her shoulder. "Hey, it-it'll be alright."

It looked like she took that as a gesture of comfort, which it was, and she leaned against me and cried into my shoulder.

Naturally, me being Riley, all I could think was, What the hell do you do when a girl uses you to cry on?

I wrapped my arm tentatively around her, because I was thirteen and had watched many a romcom.

"Shhhh," I shushed her as she sobbed. "Astro'll be okay. He's a real fighter, isn't he? He's.. he's Astro."

I guess, like Amber and Riolu, I'd come under the impression that Astro was invulnerable. That nothing could kill him, let alone his own physical health.

Amber cried for a few more minutes, and I was glad when she stopped. We really didn't know what else to say, so she went on to bed.

I wasn't in the mood to read Lee's squiggly cursive any longer, so I put the notebook away, turn off the light, and went to bed with a wet, tear-soaked nightshirt.