This chapter was rather difficult to write. I really had to think about how Marina will think and react. (Ironically, the scenes with Wes/Keel were surprisingly easy.) But I think it turned out well enough.

Now to go back to my editing chapters... Are any of you looking back at the ones I haven't edited yet? Please don't; I cringe shamefully when I see someone looking at them. (And just watch; half of you might just do that because I said not to! Let the cringing begin...)

Enjoy!

Chapter 49
Decision

Dark winds whistled with the pounding waves outside, invisible through the night that overtook the room. Distant movement and wild chatter could be heard within the building.

A midnight black Pokémon, an Umbreon cloaked excellently in the absence of light, shifted its head toward the young Plusle whimpering on the bed. The black fox gave off a gentle amber glow that illuminated the small bedroom, staring with wide crimson irises.

"Bura," it murmured in its rough tone. A few moments passed, and it turned back to its shadowy Trainer who stood nearby. Wes's golden eyes could barely be seen gazing into the dark room, his expression grave. Umbreon remained still, irked from being immobile in a situation where it would be fighting anything in its path, but it waited for him with utmost loyalty.

Even so, it could not contain its tension. "Burakii."

Wes looked downward, acknowledging his Pokémon with a pat on the head.

"Sorry," he muttered. His tone was unsettled.

Umbreon observed this with keen intent, and the yellow ring patterns on its body flickered for a moment. "Burabura," it growled gently, as if urging him to hurry up.

But the teen cast another glance into the room, or what he could see of it. The figures of the two younger Trainers could barely be recognized. His deep frown grew, and the PDA was clutched in his hand. Finally, relaxing his shoulders, Wes retreated and turned away.

"Let's go," he said tersely.

"Bura." Umbreon's ears perked, standing at once. It was perplexed, as it at least vaguely knew of what their plan would be, but it followed its treasured owner without question.

The pair slipped out of the room unnoticed.

"Your eyes...they're..."

The girl draped in dark purple and black, without a single movement or sound, gazed upon the awe-struck Marina before her. Now her entire face, young and fair like a porcelain doll, could be seen as well. More than ever, she was like an apparition, a ghostly vision of the past.

But it was those eyes that frightened Marina and stirred memories from deep in her mind. Vagueness shrouded the exact event, impossible to make the images vivid, but the clearer fragments contained a sickening, violent mood. There was blood, a searing pain in the chest, and horrible needle-like arms—all of it encompassing those red irises.

What was it about? Who was there? It felt too far away for her to recall; only the instinctive fear lasted.

Then Marina recalled that fateful Friday night, where her eyes became identical to the girl's.

Unable to hold herself up any longer, she fell to her knees. The lazy mist that permeated the ground gleefully took her in, and she never removed her eyes from the dark-haired girl.

The girl tilted her head in one limp motion at Marina's actions, blinking slowly. Then with sharp echoes trailing her heels, she approached. She leered at the poignant fear written in Marina's eyes. Now that she was doing the walking, Marina did not want her anywhere near. She could feel the thick, eerie sensation get stronger as the girl got closer.

What...What should I do?

The once-furious winds were now playfully in the unknown girl's favor, pulling along random locks of her raven-colored hair and the thin ribbons that were tied around her wrists.

What does she want from me? Marina's fingers brushed the rose clasp of her choker, desperately trying to remove it with soft tugs.

Before long, she stood directly in front of the young Pokémon Trainer. Overhead, more than a dozen black shadows appeared. Another chill pulsed through Marina; every shadow, various in shape, had one single eye at its center, and she recognized the Pokémon instantly.

...Unown?

The letter-like Pokémon danced around the girls. As if an organized choir, they rang in a simultaneous hum.

Marina stared in speechless shock at the mass of Symbol Pokémon, whose uncanny chorus continued. Thrown in a sudden twist of images that flashed before her, she clutched her hands, ignoring the numbed pain of her nails digging into them.

The young adolescent silently leaned over Marina, holding out her pasty white hand that her gloves failed to conceal. A light smile touched her lips, her bangs partly covering the blood-red eyes.

Marina spent only a second looking into those eyes again.

"I will save you this time, Maya—."

"No!" she screamed and flailed her free arm, smacking aside the hand and the ambiguous voices that began to resurface from the chambers of her memories. Shaking, Marina let herself lie still on the slab of black dry ice that was the ground. She quickly inclined her head.

"Y-You're the one who took over me at Lake Alph!" Anger filled her face as Marina continued louder than she anticipated. "Aren't you?!"

The timid girl looked at her without moving, frozen at the outburst.

"I know you helped me, but why did you have to hurt Kenta? Why? I don't know if you know, but he was my friend! He was..." Unable to say much more, Marina looked back down at her knees.

For an undetermined amount of time, the black-haired girl simply watched her. She attempted to reach out again, but stopped hesitantly. When her delicate arms recoiled, all the Unown froze in midair. And though Marina wasn't looking, she began shaking her head slowly with dread sewn on her face. The wind churned, dragging the snow along with it. Her hands, so fragile, made various signs; her mouth even moved a little, trying to find the voice she never had.

Despite the girl's efforts, Marina left her head hanging low, her bangs loosely flicking in the cold breeze.

Letting her hands fall to her sides, the dark-haired girl retreated. Every single step she took was crystal clear; this caused Marina to look up, and herto pause immediately. Both of them stared at one another, quiet and sorrowful. Marina, in this silence, realized something—a memory from when a group of Unown had first surrounded her in the Ruins of Alph.

"Your name," she said. "It's Maya…"

The far-off light softly revived across the vast expanse of space, and the spineless shadows fled. Even so, the only one to take notice was Marina. Before she could form a word, the timid girl turned and clicked away on her heels.

"Wa...Wait...!" Marina forced herself to her feet and took off after her, but she didn't advance any farther than a few steps before she was hindered of movement. She felt her body freeze completely in mid-walk, her hand outstretched. Fear rekindled as she felt the choker constrict her neck, but the feeling was doused soon after.

Above them, the Unown began chirping at random, floating fervently amongst each other and the luminous snow.

A moment later, Maya turned to Marina, her ponytails whipping behind her. She narrowed her glittering eyes, which were no longer glowing—no longer red—but sparkling a gentle hazel hue. Her lip trembled and her hand moved to her neck. She worded something silently, forcing a smile on her bittersweet face.

Once her fingers touched the identical choker, Marina's vision blurred. The young Trainer attempted to thrust her way through the unseen pressure, but it went in vain as she could barely move any of her limbs.

"Wait, Maya," she softly called again, "Hold on, I've got so much I want to ask you…!"

She could do nothing as she watched Unown hover above the young, reticent girl. As if she had closed her eyes, her sight shut into darkness...

Blankets enveloped her body as Marina slowly woke, dizzy and shifting within the warm covers. "Wait..."

"Nightmares again?"

Hearing the clear voice, Marina's eyes snapped open. At first, she could barely tell the difference, but a dim light illuminated her surroundings. She breathed deeply and stared at the ceiling, at the dark florescent light bulb. For good measure, she bent her arms and knees as well as her hands, but she paused; curiously, her left hand was weighed down by something soft yet firm—was it another hand?

To her left, Nurse Joy's voice asked again, "Are you awake now?"

"Oh..." Marina turned her head calmly. "Yeah, I'm fine—."

She froze stiff. Her eyes met with a familiar black and yellow hat, and then a red jacket. She barely needed to recognize anything else as she gawked at the boy, whose head rested on the sheets beside her.

Marina shot up from her lying position at once. "Kenta?!" She spent a few seconds in a fearful anticipation, staggering as a wave of dizziness crashed into her head, and she held her forehead tenderly when the boy failed to wake.

A soft laugh reached her ears, and she glanced at the pink-haired nurse, who had placed an extra candle on the small desk.

"That's good; you do know him," she said, holding a glowing lantern. For once, the woman seemed to smile.

"But...! W-Well..." Speechless, Marina looked down. Kenta's bangs were sprawled untidily as his head leaned on his free arm, as if he had literally fallen asleep without realizing it. His other arm, Marina noticed with a start, lead right to her hand, which he held firmly in his own.

She couldn't help it; she smiled. "Yeah... We're friends."

A second later, she shook her head and looked at Nurse Joy. "When did he get here? What happened?" Marina added the last question as she truly noticed that the lights were off in the room and the hallway.

"The electricity went out for some reason. He came to visit you earlier today while you were sleeping." She made another short laugh. "He hasn't left your side since."

"...How... did he know I was here?" Marina asked, mostly to herself as she stared at the slumbering boy at her bedside.

"Never mentioned that," Nurse Joy answered and turned to leave the room. "I'm not sure when we'll get power again, so make deal with the candlelight."

"Um, okay. Thank you." As soon as she was out of sight, the blue-haired Trainer let out a light sigh and gazed down at Kenta. A worried frown curved on her lips.

How did he know I was here? Marina repeated in her head.

Biting her lip just a little, she lifted her free hand and touched the boy's hat. Though hesitant at first, she lightly prodded him.

"Kenta?"

Upon the absent response, Marina poked him again—and again, waiting tensely each time. Though she could wake up in a much more rambunctious manner, a part of her urged her to stay hesitant and gentle.

"Kenta," she pleaded in a whisper, prodding him once more, "Hey, Kenta?"

After her attempts failed, the girl let her hand drift away. For the moments that passed, she watched him breathe softly as she became lost in thought.

Suddenly, something furry ran against her leg, causing Marina to jump at once. "Ah—!" Covering her mouth with her free hand, she glanced at Kenta and peered into the darkness.

Oh my gosh, what was that?

Further down her bed was a lump that aimlessly crawled in circles. Once she heard the small cries of her Plusle, she pulled up the sheets. Amber's head whipped toward the light and smiled as she saw Marina, who blinked blankly.

"Geez, how'd you get down there, Amber?" she asked quietly.

I did leave her out of her Poké Ball when I fell asleep though, she reasoned inwardly. She must've been scared to be by herself when everyone was sleeping.

"Plasula!" Stumbling in a clumsy running start, Amber scrambled and snuggled beside her. "Plasu!"

"Shh," Marina put her finger to her lips, "You've got to be quiet...!"

As she picked up the gleeful Plusle, who snuggled without a complaint, she cast a glance at Kenta. She slowly sunk back into the bed's sheets, watching him still as her head rested on her pillow.

"...Kenta?"

The storm winds outside were at a dull roar, and her eyes began to droop the longer she listened to it. She squeezed his hand softly, giggling a little and smiling in relief.

"Goodnight, Kenta."

"Burakii..."

The darkened halls of the Pokémon Center were barely lit by candles, lanterns, and various Pokémon using the Flash technique. Such was the case for Wes's Umbreon, who trotted beside him like both a dark shadow and a guiding flashlight.

"Bura bura," it murmured again, without much reason.

They continued down the foyer, smooth yet quick, navigating past various medical rooms. Other people did the same, rushing from one room to another and fiddling with their PokéGears as they called others about the current situation. Though it had been a solid fifteen minutes since the power had gone out, no one had yet to be able to fix it. The wild scuffles of terror that once filled the building were soothed as everyone waited on edge for their precious electricity to return.

Wes smirked grimly at his handiwork.

The two passed a small cluster of nurses and Chansey that strutted quickly with armfuls of supplies. They didn't turn one suspicious eye on them, but one did greet him, albeit very hurriedly.

"Hello, Keel dear."

The teenager's yellow-gold eyes darted over to her, but merely returned to the subdued path that his Umbreon was scooting ahead of.

It was easy, all too easy. Those who worked here knew of him from being at the pharmacy. They trusted him, even though he wasn't supposed to be in the Pokémon Center in the first place. He worked at a store that sold medicines, not applying them; did they really think he would come assist any Pokémon that needed treatment? Alone? Walking through these dark backrooms where there weren't any Pokémon kept?

These people are gullible. Just like that damned girl.

He made a deep scowl and slowly gritted his teeth. Upon catching sight of this, his Pokémon slowed slightly.

"Bura." Umbreon's pace became awkward as it slunk onwards, an occasional glance steering toward its partner's face. It narrowed its crimson eyes, perhaps even frowning in puzzlement.

Wes noticed this and immediately erased the frustration that he showed. With that, he was calmed too. He hastened his gait past the whitened windows, catching up to his Pokémon partner. From that point on, his expression maintained a stoic composure. This did not fool his Umbreon, who still cast glances at him, but it feigned its own calmness as it accelerated to a light and stealthy sprint.

Up ahead, they would soon come to a bend in the hall; their destination. If their plan had gone perfectly, they would join up with their other partner.

"Eifi."

The soft greeting assured them to slacken their pace, and soon the lavender fox came in sight as it sat gracefully in the glow that the windows yielded. Umbreon barked as it bounded toward its associate. It reached the waiting Espeon first, followed soon after by Wes, who soon knelt before the both of them.

"Good job, you two," he murmured in a soft praise, stroking their fur.

"Eiifi..." "Burabura!" Umbreon and Espeon warmly accepted the gentle pats they received, Espeon rubbing against him calmly while Umbreon pawed at him to get more attention. An honest grin appeared on the boy's face.

But the psychic fox stiffened, twitching its large ears. Its deep violet-navy irises turned up at him, connecting with his eyes with a perceptive stare. Wes stopped, much to Umbreon's annoyed pouts that it shot at Espeon.

"I know; I can't hide anything from you," Wes paused, "That mission that we were sent here to do..."

He stood, and his face was luminous and even pale in the moonlight. His brow furrowed as he took a few final moments to piece his decision together. Both of his companions sat still, watching him loyally as always.

"I'm not going to do it." He then added strongly, fearlessly, "We're going back home."

I'm very glad that the latest tropical storm here wasn't bad enough to put a damper on my progress. Not a single thunderstorm. It's awesome; I only regret not going outside and getting completely drenched in the rain. I like doing that...rain's very calming.

Digressing somewhat further, I'm sad to say that I'll have to restart my Pokémon Ranger game... I gave the Manaphy to the Diamond game that's currently on an indefinite M.I.A. Sorta no other choice, you know? XD

Now I shall sleep or else I'll end up like Kenta...except I'll be in my own bed, I'll be alone, and...I won't be KO'd.

Until we meet again, dear readers, across the sea once more...