A/N
Hey people, I've been on break for a while as of so far. But, I'm back and I'm ready for another chapter of Live together Die together. I've been gone for over a week at this point, and that's due to the Christmas schedule messing up my writing mood, and times. And I do read your reviews, I'm not going to leave this story, but I have to say that I'll probably end this story at some point, as opposed to The Beautiful People which has none in mind. Anyways I'm Lamosamo67, and here is another chapter!
-POV Bryan-
I heard my name being called, and I felt myself snap out of my sleep under the tree. I looked around and saw that it had gotten dark out, and I heard my name being called again.
"Bryan! Where are you?" I heard a male voice shout.
"Here!" I shouted back and then I heard something approach me. It turned out to be the Machamp, Knuckle.
"Oh, what are you doing here leader? We're all worried sick about you. Chaos tried to order a search party to find you." He said, sounding relieved at the fact.
"Wow, I'm flattered that you all care about me so much. I just came here to blow off some steam. Sorry for causing so much concern." I said, shocked at how much that they cared about me.
"Of course, now, everyone is worried sick about you. Come, time to go home." He said as he extended his arm to help me up. I gladly took his arm, as my lethargic muscles were too weary to pull me up without support.
"I do have a question for you, Knuckles," I said, in thought and he looked at me.
"Of course, anything."
"Why did you come for me? I don't mean you, as in the pack, but you specifically." I said and he chuckled.
"Well, I suppose it's because I feel like I have a duty to help you. If you no longer have Ka, then someone has to look out for you." He finished and I felt myself smile, as he led me back underground, where the pack was apparently in a frenzy looking for me.
"Well, in that case, thank you, Knuckles. If you ever need something, just ask." I said and he turned to me.
"No no, this is my job, so I can't ask for anything I return. I'm bound to help out the leader whenever he's needing help." I looked at him as we walked. He seemed to believe that his dedication was out of nothing but his sense of duty.
"Well, either way. Let me know if there's anything that you want. Even if you're just performing your duties, because you're performing them quite well." I said to him as we walked through the dirt tunnels, and other pokemon passing by looked relieved. He looked at me, with a look on his face that seemed like gratefulness.
"Well, thank you. I will leader, but I suppose that I should be asking the same of you. Anything that you need me to do?" He asked and I shook my head, but then something came to mind.
"Actually, there is one thing. If you're up for it. If you don't have the time, or don't want to, just let me know, I won't be mad." He looked at me, brow raised, and nodding.
"Anything leader Bryan. What would you like to ask of me?"
"Can you train me? You saw my powers, and I'd like to figure out how to fight, but I'm not quite in the mood to talk with Ka." I said as he bit his lip.
"I am sorry leader, I can't teach you how to fight, but how to utilize martial arts only. I cannot show you how to use your powers. You may need to use your powers to fight, and I hate to say it, but Ka is your best choice unless there is another Lucario that I'm unaware of." He said and I began to chew on my cheek, as I tend to do when deep in thought. "And may I offer some advice?" he asked and I broke out of my thought, and looked up at his bulking figure.
"Sure, what?"
"Bite the bullet, and train with him. He feels bad about it. He and Ro are distraught at the turn of events. They're both happy that they have each other, but otherwise, they have been torn apart on the inside, at being publicly shamed by you. Swallow your pride, and utilize him. I know that you may not want to, but if you need to train, then you need him. There's no getting around it." he said and I thought about his words for a moment.
"Hmm, thank you. I'll give careful thought as to what you said. Thanks again Knuckle. I'm going to head down to dinner. See you there." I said to him as I broke off, and made my way down to the dining hall, lost in thought.
I felt my legs hit something as I was walking and tripped. I threw my arms down to catch me, and I did so successfully. I shifted my weight to my arms, and rolled over what I had tripped on, as to not land on them and hurt them. After I was done, I looked at who it was and Lethe was standing there shocked. She ran over to me and bombarded me with questions.
"Are you ok? Oh, sorry, I'm clumsy. Did I hurt you?" she said in a quick series of statements and questions. I shook my head and chuckled.
"Actually, I was going to ask if I hurt you by falling on you. I'm sorry Lethe. I should've been watching where I was going. I was just in deep thought" I reached out to pat her on the head and she recoiled a little but accepted my affections.
"It's ok, I'm so sorry leader." she said and I shook my head.
"It's fine. Now, I'm off to dinner." and on that statement, I smiled and got up. I turned to leave when I heard her say "Wait!" from behind me. I turned around and I saw her standing up, and walking towards me.
"Can I join you for dinner?" She asked and I shrugged.
"Sure, why not. Any reason why you suddenly want to join me, though?" She looked away from my gaze at this question and she muttered something quietly. "Can't hear you. Speak up Lethe?" I asked and she repeated herself, this time loudly enough for me to be heard.
"I just like you. I want to spend time with you." she looked up at me to gauge my reaction and then continued to avoid eye contact.
"Sure, if you want to. I have nothing against it, join me." I said as I smiled at her awkwardness and I went to the dinner hall, where everyone was gathered. they all stood up and gave me a curt bow when I entered and they stayed standing for any evening announcements that I may have.
I thought for a minute before deciding that I did indeed, have 1 quick thing. "I have nothing to report, but one thing. Ka, I would like you to come and talk to me before dinner is over." I said, and I looked around to see him sitting with Ro, almost alone at their table with the exception of an Arcanine, and a Luxray sitting at the other end of the table, as far away as possible from them. I made quick eye contact with Ka, and he nodded, and he broke it as soon as we had gained the eye contact. I walked over to grab a berry, and then sat down at my table, joining Lethe who was already sitting, and Nancy, who smiled at me as I sat down. Elder Jynx was also sitting there, with nothing in front of her, and apparently waiting for me.
"Ah, Bryan. I have something to talk to you about. But first, I must ask, you've been informed of the other packs of Pokemon around us, right? Coastal, Southern, and mountain?" He asked and I nodded.
"Yes, I have. What about them?" I asked, but I had a feeling that I knew at least the gist of what she would say.
"I need you to visit the coastal pack and try to form an alliance with them. Scouts of ours have reported an excessive amount of pokemon from either side, crossing into the other territory. We need to figure out, if they're making an alliance, then we need to have an alliance ourselves. I'm recommending that you travel there over the course of the next few days, and talk to their leader. They are led by a Samurott named Shwell." She finished and I nodded.
"Sure, Is it possible to get a message to them soon that I plan to visit and speak? I don't think that it would be a good idea to show up uninvited and unannounced in hostile territory." I said and she put her hand on her chin.
"There is wisdom in your thought leader. We have a Pidgeot in this pack named Clyde. Call him and tell him of the plan. A single member will seem like little threat instead of a leader and bodyguards." She said and I nodded. I stood up and left my seat, but didn't move more than that. I stood there for a full minute until people realized that I was standing, and waiting for silence to speak. Soon after they had realized, the noise in the room died down almost immediately. I cleared my throat and began to speak.
"Is there a Pidgeot named Clyde in here?" I shouted and I heard an immediate response.
"Me, my Leader. Can I help you?" I heard him ask, and I scanned the room to see a raised wing.
"Yes, come over here. I'd like to speak to you." I said and I sat back down. the chatter in the room resumed, and Clyde the Pidgeot walked over and sat next to me.
"Yes, Leader Bryan? Is there something that you needed me for?" He asked and I nodded.
"Indeed. I need you to fly to the Coastal pack and speak with Shwell, their leader. Tell him that I desire to speak with him, and will be leaving to speak with him at midday tomorrow. It will take me a few days to arrive." I looked at him and he appeared to be listening, taking in the information. "Can you handle that?" I finished and he slowly nodded.
"Yes, of course. I can leave as soon as now, or tomorrow morning. It will take but a few hours to fly there." he said and I nodded, as Elder Jynx watched our interaction with apparent interest.
"Thank you, you don't need to leave until tomorrow morning, but if you decide to wait until then, I'd like for you to leave by the time that breakfast is over with. Ok?" I asked and he nodded once again.
"Of course, I'll grab an early breakfast and leave before it even starts tomorrow." he said with a bow and I smiled and gave him a hearty pat on his feathery back.
"Excellent, that is all," I said as he smiled and walked back to his table, and began to converse with his friends again.
"Amazing. I think that you are truly the leader that this pack was destined for. You handled that very well. You're kind, yet still firm." said the Elder Jynx that was sitting at the table yet. As I stuttered and tried to think of a response to her praise, she chuckled and left to rejoin the elders. I took a bite of my berry and looked at Lethe, who was staring at me fondly. And behind her, I saw Chaos, also looking at me with an expression of fondness. I gave her an encouraging smile, and she returned it with zeal.
"Well, she's bold." I thought as I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Pardon leader, you requested me?" I heard and I turned to see Ka standing there, looking shaken, and nervous. I felt my expression harden at the sight of him, as well as my feelings of affection.
"Yes, I did. I need your expertise. I'm only doing this because I have no other choice. Remember how I asked you to help me learn my power, and asked you to train me?" I asked him and he nodded without a word.
"Well, I need you to train me. I don't want to talk to you right now, and I can barely look you in the eye without the strong urge to slap you, but I'm going to not do that. I'm no longer asking you, but I'm telling you to train me. I'll be fair in my expectations, and consider this an opportunity to redeem yourself if this goes well. But remember, that's not until this is done, and if it goes well." I said to him, and he looked at me, with a mixed expression, one that I could not gauge.
"If you're telling me to, I cannot deny you. I will do my best to help you leader and to not let you down. I will warn you, though, discipline is the only way to truly learn it. I will have to be strict and teach you in a way that you may not like, but it is the only way to learn." said Ka, shrinking back as if he was afraid to speak without repercussions.
"Ok, I understand that. it's a complicated skill, and I won't be unreasonable. If it can only be done through discipline, I will allow you to discipline me. But only for the training. And if you could, can you train me both in the powers and in the martial arts aspect of it too?" I asked and he nodded, seemingly excitedly.
"Of course, I will do anything that I can." he said, looking visibly happy.
"Good. Don't forget, I'm still pissed off at you beyond belief. You are my last choice in this. Do not disappoint me. We will begin once I return to the pack. Do I make myself clear?" I asked and he deflated.
"Yes, sorry again. I greatly regret my actions, and will do whatever I can to make reparations for what I've done." He said with a bow, and he walked away without another word. I rubbed my eyes with my fist and felt my appetite leave me. I felt another tension, but one that I brushed off to the side for right now. Lethe looked at me, with a look of sympathy.
"I don't envy you, this all sounds hard. Good luck with it" she said as I shook my head.
"Thank you. I need all the luck that I can get. Now, I have something to do quickly. Where is knuckle?' I asked myself, trailing off quietly, talking to myself. I spotted the large Pokemon sitting within a group of other fighting type Pokemon, and a few smaller Pokemon, that appeared to be female. I stood up and walked over to his table and tapped him on the shoulder as he was listening to his friend talking. Knuckle turned around, and when the Hitmonlee who was talking saw that it was me, he shut up immediately.
"Yes leader?" asked Knuckle and I beckoned him towards me. He stood up and he followed me back to the table which had Lethe, Nancy had left at some point.
"Sit down Knuckle," I said as we both sat down, side by side.
"Yes, leader? Something else you needed from me on this night?" He asked me.
"Of course, I called you to me, so I could talk. I don't often do that for fun. Anyways, I'm leaving for a few days, and I need two people to help, both positions are ones which you're eligible for. First one, I need someone to lead the pack for a few days, I don't have a prime mate or bodyguard, so I ned to find someone, and you're an option. And option number two, I need a bodyguard on the trip." I said and he looked up and didn't speak for a minute.
"So, are you asking me which job I'd prefer, or for advice on them both?"
I thought for another moment, and I realized that asking him to make my decision for me, would make me bad in the end. "I suppose advice as to who I should choose. But I'd also like to hear your preference." I said and he didn't respond for a few seconds. While he took his time to think, I took a look around at the Pokemon who were slowly filing out of the room, looking sleepy, and presumably getting ready to go to bed for the night.
"Well, I would rather lead for a few days. While I would also enjoy bodyguarding you, there are many other Pokemon who can guard you, not many who know enough to lead." He said and I was surprised at his thoughtfulness at his carefully thought out response.
"Well, good answer. Ok, I'll put you in charge during my absence. But, who should I ask to bodyguard me? You're free to go unless you have any suggestions." I said and he shook his head in response.
"Very well than Knuckle. You're free to go." I said and he nodded his appreciation and got up to go join his friends, who had left with the rest of the crowd. Lethe cleared her throat, and I looked up at her, from the empty doorway that I had been previously looking at,
"May I suggest someone for this dilemma?" She asked me and I waved my hand in front of me, in a way that she understood to mean go ahead. "Well, what about Chaos? She would probably love to travel with you, and she's a great fighter. She's hard to defeat." She said and I thought for a moment.
"Maybe. I've never seen her in combat, so I would be taking a major chance in trying this, but if she does turn out to be good, then I will have gained a good bodyguard in the process." I said, more thinking aloud than to her.
I looked behind Lethe, looking for Chaos, to see an empty table. "Damn" I whispered to myself and I stood up and went on a walk, to see if I could locate her. I stood up and saw Fer walking out the door, slowly, and with much deliberation.
"Hello, Fer," I said to him, politely, trying to sound polite and he turned around and waved to me. I saw his hand that I had ordered to have declawed, and I saw that he was missing half of each finger. "What the hell happened to your hand?" I asked him, out of shock, and a little louder than I had intended.
"What do you mean what happened? This is the result of what you ordered," he said, seeming confused, but surprisingly, not angry.
"I thought that I just ordered a declawing, not half of your fingers gone. Had I known that it would happen like this, I would have ordered some other form of punishment. I'm sorry Fer, truly." I said and he shrugged it off.
"No worries. feraligatrs have large claws, even under the skin. I know that you didn't know, and I'm learning to live with it. At least you let me keep the claws on my good hand." He said, sounding downright jolly and happy as if we were talking about a nice day he had at the beach.
"Well, I'm glad that you've forgiven me. I'm sorry." I reiterated, and he again shrugged my apology off. I shook my head and took a breath.
"Well, I have a few things that I need to do. I'll see you later." I said and I went on a sort of quest to look for Chaos.
I wandered the down the halls and heard a commotion once I made it to the hallway with my room. I saw that there was a large Arcanine standing in front of Chaos, and trapping her into a corner. She sounded aggravated, so I decided to see how this would turn out, and I decided that I would step in if things turned violent.
"Bitch, what makes you think you're so special? You barely know the guy." The male Arcanine said, sounding aggravated.
"I told you, no. I'm not being your mate. I'm saving myself. Now, leave me alone." She said, trying to sneak past him, but he blocked her.
"Last chance before I make you mine." He said and she shook her head.
"Have to learn the hard way, do we? Ok." She said as she turned clear, and her outline leapt above him, and behind. The large fire canine looked around, trying to locate her, but by the time he saw her reappear behind him, she had her claws out, and slashed him across the face, deeply enough to draw blood, but not deep enough to do any damage. "Now, how would you like that to be your dick? I won't hesitate to castrate you. Now, move." she said and the Arcanine looked away, and slinked off, making eye contact with me as he was walking by.
"Really? Get out of my sight. I am having a talk to you later, and I'm considering her threat." I said, in rage at him as he walked by, then hurried away out of sight as soon as he rounded the corner.
"I'm sorry you had to see that leader. But he won't leave me alone, and this time he decided to take it a step further. Anyways, can I help you?" she asked, and I smiled.
"You already have," I said and she looked confused. She opened her mouth to speak when I interrupted. " I need a bodyguard for a few days while I travel to the pack on the coast. And you're the perfect candidate. I was going to try and ask you to spar with someone so I could see how good you would perform in battle, but you did beautifully." I said and she smiled and bowed.
"Well, thank you. I feel honored to have a leader such as yourself compliment me such as that." She said, and I could sense the awkwardness in the whole situation. I gave her a pat on the shoulder to try to diffuse the tension, and she laid her head down on my hand.
"Thank you, now, I'm going to sleep. Goodnight Chaos." I said and she gave me a pouty look but wished me a goodnight as well, and I went into my room.
I sat down on my bed and felt my mind wander. "Why why, why is this happening to me? I was just another person before all of this, and suddenly I've been plunged into the middle of this, with no idea as to which way is up. I've been doing my best, but I still have to wonder, am I doing the right thing with these pokemon? And with this pack, and with my life. I have nobody to call my own anymore, and I make decisions based on what I think they would like the most. Am I being too lenient, or too rough? I want nothing but the best, but I'm unsure if I can provide it. Oh well, All I can do is ask someone tomorrow on their thoughts, but other than that, I have nothing that I can do by myself to figure out whether or not I'm good. I can't examine my own actions, because I have nothing to judge them against. Anyways, I'm tired. I should probably go to sleep.' I thought as I laid down, and tried to sleep.
I laid awake for many hours that night, thinking about everything that had happened, about Ro and Ka, training with ka, Chaos, Knuckle, the other packs, and about the well-being and security of the pack. But, within time, I had the dark grasp of sleep take me for yet another night.
A/N
Hey, Simple end AN, because I'm tired, and want to have this up before I sleep. Sorry, it took a week, but as I said, the Christmas schedule messed up my already messed up schedule. Anyways, leave a review to tell me how I did, whether good or bad. And if you liked it, give the story a follow or fave, I appreciate it. Anyways, thank you a lot dl-o-lb for editing these for me, It's appreciated, and I'm Lamosamo67, Out!