Secrets of the Night
DISCLAIMER: I Do NOT own Pokemon!
Chapter 62: Scuffle of Legends Part 9: Aftermath and Repercussions
Chase cursed inwardly as his thoughts scrambled to handle the situation. Neo had once again pushed himself to the brink of his capacity and had paid the price for it. But it wasn't like last time when he blacked out in the middle of the road. This time, Chase had a feeling things were much worse, not including the fact they were in public.
He laid Neo on the floor with Kashu supporting his head while the others hovered protectively around him. Only then did he realize how pale his friend was and how shaky his breaths were. Arana floated nearby and tried to call out to him using telepathy while Genbu was making sure they weren't crowded by concerned strangers.
"We have to get him to a hospital now!" Gertrud knelt beside Neo, eyes shifting back and forth from the unconscious teen on the floor to Chase.
"I know! I know!" The silver-haired plucked a pokeball from his belt and quickly sent out Gremio's Manectric.
Emperor didn't even wait for instructions and bent down beside Neo. Chase then picked his friend off the ground by his shoulders and helped him get on. Arana and Kashu assisted them as much as they could until Chase and Neo were in place, the latter leaning limply against the former. Once they were settled, Emperor stood up and readied to bolt.
"Wait!" Chase abruptly interrupted and looked to Gertrud and the others.
In his panic, he didn't have time to recall each of them back to their pokeballs and now, his hands were full keeping Neo from falling off the Manectric. There was no way Gertrud and the others could follow out in the open, especially with Genbu who was now a huge Blastoise. Chase needed to think and time was running.
"You guys, go find Arc. Tell them what happened and stay with them for now," he instructed, thinking of the only possible alternative that was available. His mind was racing but the idea was actually plausible.
"Got it. Now go!" Gertrud and the others gave their consent as Chase cued Emperor and left the tournament hall as quickly as possible.
The four of them watch Emperor agilely maneuver through the quickly clearing crowd as nimble and as quick as they thought possible, given the value of the passengers on his back. Once he was no longer visible, Gertrud and the others looked to each other for reassurance. They hoped Neo would be alright but at that moment, they had to take care of themselves. The murmurs of strangers and curious onlookers made them tense. Gertrud was capable enough but the others weren't used to being away from Neo.
"We have to find Arc." Gertrud took the initiative, earning immediate nods from the other three, their gazes were concentrated on her but hesitance still flickered in their eyes. "Arana, go on ahead and I'll follow… Kashu, you stay with Genbu and tend to his injuries."
The Chandelure immediately took to the air and floated overhead. Gertrud shot one last look at the Wigglytuff and Blastoise. The two were uneasy but there was little choice to be done about it. Genbu was in no position to move around, he had just gone through a grueling battle and he was attracting too much unwanted attention with his newly acquired size. The Roserade patted each of them for additional reassurance before leaping into the horde of people in pursuit of Arana's lead.
A while later, the Chandelure found the person she was looking for. She circled around him and nudged Arc's back, attempting to explain the desperate situation. She was far too frantic to use telepathy. She could only rely on her gestures to extend the message.
"Hey Arana… What are you doing here? Where's Neo?" Arc watched her float about.
Snow Storm, Arc's Orange Island variant Butterfree squeaked repeatedly, trying to get answers out of the Chandelure as well.
Arana gave up. She didn't have time for explanations. Her flames lit up bright blue and soon a similar glow outlined Arc and his Butterfree, lifting them off the ground and into the air. They flailed around out of surprise but were okay. Making sure her psychic hold was secure enough, the Chandelure then carried them off over the heads of the roaming people.
"Arana! What are you doing?!"Arc protested loudly as he was carried off by the ghost-type.
Meanwhile. Gertrud had just ran into Arc's companions as they were rushing after him.
Panicky and panting, she caught their attention near the merchandise stands. "Thank Arceus I found you!" She panned her surroundings as a tinge of worry flickered in her scarlet eyes. "Where's Arc?"
Neeko, Arc's Charizard took one look at the grass-type before seizing her in his claw and pointing in the general direction that Arc went. He growled angrily as his eyes narrowed and flames started shooting from his nostrils.
"Hey cool it!" Gertrud squirmed, trying hard to wrench herself free from the Charizard. "I don't have time for this! It's an emergency!"
Growling, Neeko dropped the Roserade after being scolded by Lily and her Totodile, Kappa and pointed once again in the direction that he saw Arc's head. Lily and Thorn sighed and knelt down next to the Roserade.
"We don't know where Arc is… he went for a walk about twenty minutes ago," Thorn whispered to Gertrud before glancing up at the Charizard. "We have a feeling Neeko might know though."
Gertrud looked up at the Charizard, unfazed by what happened earlier. "Well?"
Neeko answered in an angry tone as bits of flame flickered out of his maw.
"Arana's got him? Already? Why didn't you just say so?"
Neeko glowered at Gertrud and shot a small flame at her in response before looking in the other direction, annoyed by her lack of paying attention earlier.
"Neeko, be nice." Lily scolded him again. "What do you mean Arana has Arc already?"
Catching her breath, Gertrud shook her head. "Sorry. No time to explain. I left Genbu and Kashu on their own. I need to get back to them." She turned around and ran into the crowd.
"Hey! Get back here you garden weed!" Lily shouted angrily, Thorn trying to hold her back from tearing the Roserade's arms off.
Gertrud glanced back with an equally angry look. "If things weren't as bad as they are, I'd tell you. Right now, I really need to get back! If you want an answer then hurry up and follow me!"
At the hospital, Chase slumped back against the chair in the waiting room after he had left Neo in the care of the nurses and doctors after they stormed through the hospital doors on a Manectric.
The clock on the wall continued to tick monotonously, adding to the heavy atmosphere.
"Please be okay…" Chase muttered to himself as Neo's pale face and labored breathing played back in his mind.
"Sir Graceland." The butler's timing had always been impeccable so it didn't surprise Chase anymore, although, given the occasion, he was happier that the older man was around.
"Gremio," Chase acknowledged him and directed his eyes towards the hall where he last saw his friend.
"The young master will be alright," Gremio reassured him with a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder.
"He… didn't look alright," The silver-haired teen informed, his golden yellow eyes meeting the pristine white floor tiles.
"He will be," Gremio repeated, this time squeezing Chase's shoulder slightly.
A doctor strode back to them after half an hour. He informed them that Neo could be now moved to a room. Gremio arranged for one in the private wing of the hospital and proceeded go there immediately to see his precious charge. Chase followed suit, warily staying behind the older man's step.
A monotone beeping echoed in the white room as the lingering smell of antiseptics filled their senses. Sunlight seeped from the adjacent windows covered by a veil of thin green curtains. Gremio was the first to go in and then Chase after some nurses ushered them towards the bed where Neo lay, asleep with an oxygen mask strapped to his face. His eyes were closed and his pale skin was blending into the stark white sheets, leaving on the deep contrast of his black hair to be visible.
The monitor beside the bed continued to beep, displaying a jagged line and other rates. The sound made Chase uncomfortable. If he thought the clock at the lobby was bad, the machine attached to his friend was even worse. Peeking out from behind Gremio, Chase threw a glance at his friend and cringed at the sight, unconsciously shrinking back behind the gentleman.
"Sir Graceland, why not have something warm from the cafeteria?" Gremio suggested kindly. "You can just charge it under the young master''s name."
"N-No thanks… I can pay for it myself, but I think some hot chocolate would do me some good," Chase replied, inching his way to the door.
"Very well." Gremio nodded. "The cafeteria is at the end of the hall, to your right."
Chase bobbed his head blankly and left the room, leaving Gremio and Neo alone in the suffocatingly heavy room. As the door closed, the elder man pulled up a chair and positioned it beside the bed. He then took a seat and gazed deeply at the sleeping boy.
"I've reminded you time after time, young master." Gremio sighed. "You are simply stubborn just like your father."
A different beep reverberated across the room. Gremio pulled up his sleeve and activated his Xtransceiver. It was from his Fletchinder who, like the rest of his pokemon, had a customized accessory with a camera and a communication device. A flaming wing icon flashed and displayed an aerial view of Saffron City. On it was a teenage boy dismounting a Salamence. An Altaria was beside them and just ahead were three pokemon; a Wigglytuff, a Chandelure and a Roserade. They were just rushing inside the hospital.
"It seems your friend is coming to pay you a visit," Gremio informed his charge and stood up. "If you will excuse me. I shall see to them…" He bowed curtly and sent out his Gallade to watch over Neo. Given the shady visitors that had apparently come to Saffron City, he had to take extra precaution, including showing off his Gallade's mega evolved form last night.
Once Gremio reached the elevator, the doors opened and a pink bunny-like pokemon bounded out. Kashu's face lit up at the sight of Gremio as the elder man patted the Wigglytuff on the head and ushered her first back to the room before making his way downstairs, guessing that the others were held up due to his restriction for visitors. It was a precaution in case the high society got wind of what happened to the only living member of the Takamoto family.
Gremio strode towards the waiting area to find the young teen with Gertrud and Arana. They were watching the closing ceremonies of the tournament on the television screen. The winners of the third group were just accepting their prizes. A young lady in a green dress was in the middle on the highest platform with a Charizard in front of her. Next to her were two other trainers, a young male teen with a Lugia-style hair and another young lady with light golden hair tied in a half bun ponytail. In front of them were a Blastoise and a Froslass, respectively. And opposite to them was a brown-haired young man with a military-style outfit and a Hitmonchan, followed by a petite girl in a blue hoodie and a Gallade.
"Due to some incident, two of the top three participants could not make it to the closing events. In light of this, they sent their Pokemon in their stead. Standing in place for Arc Tsuinsupaiku we have his Charizard, Neeko and for Neo Takamoto we have his Blastoise, Genbu."
The announcer's voice boomed over the stage as another round of applause sounded off. The young lady with the Charizard was then handed a gold trophy figure of Arceus and a basket filled with various items and a painted egg wrapped in a fancy ribbon. The two who shared second place were given similar silver trophies of the three legendary birds as well as gift baskets of their own with their own set of items and a mystery egg.
"Ah. Now that is something worth remembering." The teenage trainer, whom Gremio figured was Arc giggled as he watched the sour glare radiate from the apparent third placer's face. "He is never going to live that one down I bet."
"Quite a shame that you both couldn't stand there in person," Gremio cut in, drawing the attention of all three of them.
"Gremio!" Gertrud and Arana lit up at the sight of the gentleman.
Gremio gave the two pokemon a curt nod before addressing Arc with a calm expression. "Salutations, young sir." He greeted, not wanting to alert him suddenly by referring to his last name.
"Hi there." Arc gave his signature wave touching his brow with two fingers and a spark jumping across the prongs of his hair.
"Gremio! How's Neo doing?" Gertrud tugged at his pant while Arana hovered restlessly.
"He has yet to regain consciousness," Gremio answered with a stifled melancholy in his voice. "I fear it might take a while for him to do so…"
The information made the two pokemon's faces sink, Arana's flames shifted into a deeper and more somber shade while Gertrud stared at the white pristine floor of the hospital. A heavy silence filled the empty lobby.
"You may all see him, if you wish," Gremio added, casting a careful glance at each of them. "I must warn you though… You might not like what you see."
Arana and Gertrud exchanged wary looks before they looked at Arc, waiting for his decision in the matter.
"I'm not going to stop you two if you want to go see him." Arc smiled and kneeled down next to the two of them. "I'll even go with you two if you want."
The two gave hesitant nods and agreed that they'd all go together.
Arc nodded and got back up. "Excuse me for one moment." He walked out the front door of the Hospital and released his Rapidash. After a quick set of instructions were given he slapped the fiery horse on her hindquarters, sending her off into a gallop and he came back inside. "Okay. All set to go. I just had to send transportation to get my two companions."
"Very well." Gremio acknowledged before standing in his full height. "Before we may proceed, I need to properly introduce myself. My name is Gremio. I've served under the young master's family before he was born. I am his butler, caretaker as well as his guardian." He then gave a curt bow in Arc's direction.
Arc bowed back in respect and introduced himself as well. "My name is Arc. I'm just an average traveling trainer from Pallet Town who had the unique pleasure of meeting Neo outside the Safari Zone."
"I've heard much about you from the young master," Gremio informed with a slight smile as he began to lead the group to the elevator. "And from what I've gathered, you are far from an average traveling trainer. You've not only defeated the young master but also won first place in the tournament," he added.
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Gremio strode ahead while the three followed quietly behind him, the sound of their footfalls bouncing off the walls The halls in the private wing were long and narrow. It was also eerily empty to the point it wouldn't be surprising it the area was haunted.
As they continued passing room after room, the silence made them restless. Gertrud and Arana started walking closer behind Gremio until they finally arrived at Room#276. Gremio cast each of them a soft warning look before the doorknob clicked and the door opened up. Wordlessly, he stepped inside and ushered the trio to venture further in. They noticed Kashu sitting in a chair before they shifted to the bed. Each had wary looks as they spotted Neo, but it seemed like the two pokemon were taking it more badly than Arc.
Arana floated closer and hovered just above her trainer's head. Letting out a sad wail, she remained on that spot. Gertrud, on the other hand, honestly didn't know how to handle the situation. Neo wasn't her trainer but seeing someone she knew over the course of the week, lying very still in a hospital made her shift uncomfortably. She backed away unconsciously as her eyes averted to a different sight.
"You okay Gertrud?" Arc looked down at her.
"Y-Yeah… I'll be fine," the Roserade replied. "What about you?"
"Not much fazes me after I saw Neeko put in a Goldeen tank for his own survival." Arc cringed at the flashback as he shoved the terrible memory aside.
Gremio walked over to the side of the bed and sat in the vacant chair that was positioned there purposely. He gazed down at Neo for a long moment before reaching out and running a hand through the patient's dark locks.
"Will he be alright?" Gertrud asked.
"It's not as worse as his previous breakdowns but it'll be sometime before he wakes up," Gremio answered, his eyes not leaving his charge. "I estimate he'll come around within the week..." That only served to dampen the reality of the situation. Gremio sighed inwardly. "Why not head to the cafeteria? Sir Graceland is likely there. Take a right at the end of the hall."
"Sure." Gertrud turned towards the door as Kashu followed, leaving Gremio with Arana.
Arc accompanied them both about half way to the cafeteria but stopped by the window. Gertrud and Kashu continued ahead until they found Chase sitting in front of a table a stack of empty styro cups. Beside him was a Gardevoir sipping what smelled like hot chocolate.
Shoving another cup in the embrace pokemon's direction, Chase gave a sigh and caught a glimpse of the approaching two pokemon. "Hey Kashu… Gertrud. Did you guys find Arc? Where's Arana and Genbu?"
"Yeah. We did…" Gertrud answered. "Arana is with Neo while Genbu is with Thorn."
"Who's Thorn?"
"He's Arc's friend. He and Arc's girlfriend, Lily took Neo and Arc's place in the closing ceremonies so we could come here," Gertrud replied.
Part of the statement made Chase grin but he didn't bring it up. He quietly watched Neo's Wigglytuff take a seat beside his Gardevoir as Faith sweetly handed her a cup of hot chocolate. Gertrud, on the other hand, looked at the other vacant seat but hesitated to sit down. She was still feeling edgy after seeing Neo.
Feeling the atmosphere shift back to an uncomfortable silence, Chase spoke up, "Okay. So could you hand Genbu's pokeball to this Thorn guy? Maybe Gremio can help."
"Sure thing..." The Roserade nodded and walked out the door.
No sooner than Gertrud left, Caesar, Gremio's Gallade strolled in with a phone in hand and a bag in the other. "Sir, there is a phone call on the young master's phone. My partner insisted that you are more qualified to answer, seeing as this Blaze character is an acquaintance of yours."
"Blaze is calling?!" Chase was taken aback but he nonetheless stood up and accepted the phone from Caesar while Kashu took Neo's bag. "For a shy guy, he has good timing."
Before he clicked the answer button, he suddenly recalled the nearby videophone and decided to hook up the phone to the machine for a face to face conversation.
As Chase prepared the call, Caesar looked at Faith who had been staring all the while since he came in. The Gardevoir flushed upon meeting the Gallade's gaze and hurriedly wiped the remnants of chocolate from her face and shoved the discarded styro cups, almost threatening to dump it all on Kashu who squeaked a warning.
"Caesar, could you get Gertrud?" Chase requested. "Tell her, her trainer is calling."
"As you wish," the Gallade gave a curt bow in Chase's direction as well as Faith and Kashu's before vanishing in a flash of light.
Caesar reappeared in the lobby where a brown-haired girl in a green cocktail dress was talking to a Roserade. She had a Totodile in her arms, a Charizard and a oddly colored Butterfree. The young boy who came into room earlier was also with them.
"Pokemon Center. Only place big enough to house that giant turtle." The brunette pointed towards the door.
"Figures." Gertrud gave another long sigh as she glared at the double glass doors leading outside.
"Halt." Caesar interrupted, snapping everyone's gaze to him. "I shall take it there in your place, miss Gertrud. You have a phone call upstairs. Sir Graceland mentioned that it was your trainer."
"Blaze is calling?" Gertrud practically threw the empty pokeball at the blade pokemon before darting towards the elevator.
The Gallade caught it expertly and turned towards the two trainers and their pokemon. They were the young master's friends and he knew that Gremio wouldn't want them to wait around after coming all the way there. "You are requested to proceed upstairs as well… And if you may, please refrain from taking the Charizard or other large pokemon to the second floor."
Arc looked over at the large orange winged reptile with a worried expression.
"Thorn said he was staying at the Pokemon Center. Perhaps Neeko could accompany the courteous Gallade there," the lady in green suggested and handed the boy a pokeball that seemed to belong to him.
"Do you mind if he follows you there?" Arc asked the Gallade.
"Very well." Caesar nodded and headed towards the door. The Charizard diligently did what his trainer asked of him and followed the Gallade to the Pokemon Center where he would meet up with Thorn.
Unbeknownst to them, a certain brown-haired trainer with a Hitmonchan followed them to the hospital. He wondered why Neo and Arc were missing in action during the closing ceremonies and decided to trail Lily after overhearing a conversation and find out for himself. He didn't expect to end up in such a place but it only intrigued him more.
After Arc and the others headed up the elevator, he ventured further inside and walked up to the receptionist but before he could make it, a tall redheaded woman with a violet-haired kid approached him.
"Heyah~!" The fiery redhead winked with a huge smile on her face. "How're you doing?"
"Out of the way," Kiba said quickly as he and Champ made to follow the others up in the elevator; but the redheaded lady stopped right in front of him, her smile still not leaving her face. "Look lady, I'll give you an autograph later just get out of the way!"
"Aww… That's cute~" The redhead giggled and leaned closer to whisper darkly, "Would that be written in blood?"
At the sound of the woman's words, Kiba immediately tensed up and pushed himself away from her as Champ took a defensive position in front of his trainer, sensing his sudden distress.
"Who are you?" Kiba asked, more curious than scared of the girl before him.
"So jumpy. I'm just teasing." The mysterious female straightened up and stepped forward, unafraid of the boxing pokemon keeping her away from Kiba. "My companion and I…" she gestured to the lithe built boy with the ponytail. "Are merely here to present a proposition."
"My question," Kiba said undeterred by her playfulness and silently cursing himself for not having noticed the boy with her. "Who ARE you?"
"You're really pushy." The woman laughed flirtatiously. "You'll get to know me more in the future. For now, you can call me Leiko." She tilted her head towards her companion. "Over there's Ikari-chan~"
"Ikari." The boy with the purple hair corrected with a calm tone.
"Well, Leiko," Kiba said looking down at the violet haired girl suspiciously. "Exactly, what is it you're trying to propose?"
"Hehehe… You make it sound like I want to marry you," Leiko teased, earning an unamused glare from Kiba. Giggling lightly, she circled around him. "You performed quite well in the tournament. Your battle style was really interesting. We were wondering if you would like to join us."
"My battle style?" Kiba asked confused by Leiko's words. "What the hell are you talking about? Join what?"
Leiko's amber eyes flickered like dangerous flames. "You know what I mean. The way you utilize your pokemon's moves and most importantly, the way you don't care about the lives of others and simply focus on the goal at hand."
"I care about some life," Kiba said defensively as he started pacing around Champ slightly, as if to look at the two at a different angle while allowing one of his cocky grins to cross his face. "And once you wrestle a feral Rhyhorn and live to tell about it, everything else seems pretty simple in comparison."
"Is that so?" Leiko eyed him curiously. "Hmmm… So about the proposal, hubby. You up for it?"
"I haven't heard anything yet," Kiba reminded her. "Sing me something that interests me and maybe I'll consider it."
Leiko looked around observantly. "Maybe, a less public setting. I want to do it more privately~"
"With the kid watching?" Kiba asked with a smile, apparently adjusting to Leiko's teasing manner as he instructed Champ to stand down. "Have you no shame?"
Leiko skipped towards the younger boy and placed a playful hand on his purple head. Ikari narrowed his eyes but remained quiet. "Oh my sweet little companion is not what he seems. In fact, he competed in the tournament. Fourth group. First place."
"What?!" Kiba asked as his eyes suddenly hardened as he looked down at Ikari. "This kid got first place? He can't be any older than thirteen! I was ten when I won my first tournament and that was sheer luck!"
"Oooh. It takes more than luck, hubby." Leiko draped her arms around the younger boy's shoulders. "And Ikari is fifteen," she added innocently and pulled out a pokeball. "And before I forget, I did say we need to move to a private place."
A crimson mass emerged from the capsule and before it fully materialized, the three trainers and the Hitmonchan were surrounded by a brilliant white glow before they vanished from the hospital lobby.
Inside, during the whole encounter, Chase had finished setting up the call and chatted away with Blaze. He had just explained the situation to him; Neo's hospitalization and the tournament as a new female voice shot comments off screen.
Blaze's face had been white during the story of Neo's hospitalization, but was glad to hear that Neo had performed well in the Scuffle of Legends. He seemed disappointed that he hadn't heard about the tournament, but his stay in the Kanto region was meant to be rather short anyway.
Midway, he called back his Gardevoir to avoid Faith from getting high on chocolate. Kashu helped clean up the mess from the table and joined Chase.
Blaze whispered quickly to Chase in case either Gertrud or Arana were in the room. "Hey, so I found these cute little plushies at the Pokemart on Cinnabar Island. I found a Chandelure one which I'm going to give to Gertrud when she gets back. Also, there was a Roselia one, but no Roserade ones." He held the plushie up to the screen to show Chase. "And apparently Naomi went on a search after she split up with you guys… I don't think you told me that a gym leader actually hung out with you for a while… She found a Gengarite piece."
"Really?!" Chase beamed in excitement but suddenly the enthusiasm went down the drain upon recalling Neo's current condition. "H-He would have been just as excited to hear that… Heh. Naomi and Neo got along really well. You could say really well."
The off-screen female voice piped up again for the nth time. She hadn't shown or introduced herself yet to Chase, but had been persistent throughout the call. "Oh Arceus, you were right when you told me he is a massive shipper." There was an irritated groan before the voice was silent again.
Chase was growing curios by the minute of the off screen voice's identity but before he could inquire, the door creaked open.
"A Gallade mentioned that Blaze was on the line, Chase." Gertrud stuck her head in the room, waiting for a break in the conversation. "Whenever you're ready."
"Sure, Gertrud. C'mon in." Chase waved her over.
Eagerly, the Roserade approached and beamed at the sight of her trainer on the screen. It was then that Chase remembered something important.
"Oh yeah… Before I forget." He interrupted the reunion and linked his phone. "I'm sending over some pictures to let you know what we've been up to."
A loading bar appeared and several pictures appeared at the side of the screen. Some were from a fancy-looking hotel, a few from a garden-like setting with a battle going on. Gertrud was in a majority of the pictures and showed that she was battling alongside Arana against a Shiftry and a Tropius.
Blaze's eyes widened at the photos. "Well, I was feeling guilty about facing Naomi without you Gertrud, but I'm glad that you got to face a gym leader with Arana and Neo." The bouquet Pokemon smiled at her trainer. "We lost though, I guess we just weren't the same without you to help." Gertrud stuck out her tongue to tease her trainer.
"Anyway, other than that, how have you been Bla-" Gertrud seemed to realize that her telepathy wouldn't reach through the phone. She began to pout when two other Pokemon appeared on screen. The first was a small white pixie holding onto an orange flower. The other one was a humanoid pokemon with flowing green hair with musical bar-like accents on one side her head and a grey treble clef on the opposite side that seemingly functions as a headset microphone.
The second Pokemon began to speak in human language. "Hey Gertrud, Grant sent me over while you're with Neo. I'll translate, so you just speak."
Chase was curious as to what kind of pokemon was actually capable of speaking the human language but he didn't get the chance to inquire when the Roserade nodded as she cleared her throat in order to speak. There was a squeak that was more higher that Kashu's. All of them seem to jump at the high pitched voice Gertrud had. It was obvious that she hadn't used her 'real' voice in very a long time.
"Don't worry girl, I'm sure you'll warm into it." Blaze gave a reassuring nod to his Pokemon. His head turned to somewhere off screen. "And Persephone, why don't you get over here and chat?"
"Azusa, could you move the XTransceiver back so it can fit me in the frame?" As Blaze and the other Pokemon's images shrunk, a girl walked on screen. She had violet eyes and brown hair, clipped back over her ear with a Shellder hairclip. "Hi, I'm Blaze's friend Persephone. I guess it's nice to meet you Chase."
"Ditto." Chase grinned. "It's nice to meet you too, Persephone."
He felt a little bad that Neo wasn't able to meet Blaze's friend. The thought dampened his spirits yet again but suddenly, Chase felt a tap on his shoulder, he glanced back and saw Arc and Lily along with a Butterfree and a Totodile.
"Long time no see." Arc smiled, his Butterfree squeaked as well.
"Hey, Arc." Chase glanced back with a less enthusiastic smile than he usually had.
"How are you holding up?" Lily chimed in and put a comforting hand on him.
"Better than the guy sleeping in the other room," he chided, more like tried.
"Not the time for your jokes Chase and- Who's that?" Arc pointed at the monitor.
Chase introduced Lily and Arc to Blaze and Persephone and vice versa before his phone rang and he excused himself from the group.
End of Chapter 62
Part 2 of this is more eventful.
To get a better view of this chapter, check out Scriffignano's story. (Chapter 39)
It directly coincides with this. The events that aren't stated clearly are detailed in the other.
Like the what happened at the tournament hall.
This is part of the surprise, Kiba is going to be a vital character in Secrets of the Night.
Honestly, it was done on suggestion and on-the-spot brainstorming. Lol.
And it turned out awesome! Wait and see. Heheh.
Read and Review!
Thanks ever so much my followers, reviewers and all-around readers.