Disclaimer: 2 AM Disclaimer-Writing powers, activate!

I should be sleeping, 'stead of keeping these late hours I've been keeping

I've been pacing and embracing that I don't own Pokemon

Even though I do love to write, I'm here dying though I know I

Should be sleeping stead of writing a FAN FIC.

DOOOO DOOO DOOO DOOOO DOOO DOOO DOOO DOOOO

Huh. That came out better than expected, actually. Had very low hopes. Go me!

Chapter 42: The Brash and the Timid

Gardevoir

It's awful to think, but the nice thing about there not being many trainers out on the roads these days is that you can have Pokemon Center revitalization tanks all to yourself.

I remember when Vanna and I were first training together, if I got injured or used too much of my strength at once, I'd have to endure sharing with dozens of other Pokemon at the same time... it was hard to find a corner to just sit and curl up in, sometimes, and that was even without friendlier Pokemon coming up to try and chat, or certain psychic type males, and even some females, coming up to attempt to... recharge their batteries with me.

As such, I never really got an appreciation for how nice the facilities really were: just did my best not to get hurt once I was back outside. But now that the roads are clear, and I can come here and have it to myself... it's nice. The water is warm and relaxing, the air is filled with all sorts of good scents, eucalyptus, ginger, vanilla, lilac... and it's honestly beautiful, too. The human designers who made them must have really cared about Pokemon... it would have been easy to make the tank cold and clinical steel, but instead it's naturally weathered stone, resembling a lake.

There is a Honedge who occasionally comes in to soak sometimes, but he mostly keeps to himself, and seems nice enough. I manage to nod and shake my head to answer his polite 'hello, how are yous' each time we run into each other, but we mostly keep to our own sides.

It's been three days now. Medici still hasn't awaken. Vanna and her friends can't be too far away at this point... they might even get here tomorrow afternoon. I'm growing more worried about how they'll react with every passing minute; I can already picture Vanna's dejected face when she walks into town and finds out that he isn't trying to serenade me. Ms. Amber will be upset too... and Qwill. Gosh, Qwill will be heartbroken, I know it...

I wanted to cry. I had the tank to myself, too, so I went ahead and did it. I let myself sink underneath the water and sobbed, clutching my chest tightly, trying to let all of the fear escape through my tears. I felt powerless, even though I wasn't, and alone, even though I knew a huge group of people who all cared about me were not that far away. Emotions and logic conflicting so readily like that can be draining in and of itself sometimes.

Then, I sensed it. A slight stirring, a brief surge of psychic energy breaking the rhythm of the night. I flung my way out of the tank and collapsed myself into light, surging back into the Center proper, leaving a trail of water behind me as I rushed towards our hospital room. I Reflected the rest off of me before opening the door, and when I saw his foot twitch... it was like a Golem had been lifted from my chest. I crossed over to him and stood at his side, pen and pad already out.

I... I don't think anyone's mentioned this yet, but my notepad is actually decorated with little Surskits? It's not important, really, it's just... they're my favorite Pokemon. They're really cute, I think.

"What the actual... oof..." Medici groaned as his eyes flickered open, immediately gasping and clutching at his chest. "That... oh hell, that..." He balled up his fist in pain and slammed the bedside, and I couldn't help but flinch back skittishly, letting out a soft gasp. His eyes widened, hearing that, and he tilted to face me. "You... h-hi..." he smiled, letting out another grunt and sitting himself up in bed, his blue fingers tracing the scar that had formed in place of his gash. "I... uh..." He smacked his lips. "I need a drink."

He began to get up, already fiddling with the IV drip in his arm, and I quickly scribbled a note to him, pressing it into his hand. I'll get something. Rest. He started to protest weakly, so... I may have Imprisoned him, just a little, just to keep him in bed. Only until he agreed to let me go out for him, though.

The vending machine in the Center's waiting room sold plenty of Lemonade and Fresh Water, but Medici... you don't need to know him too long to realize he's always eager to try new things. It was a bit of a hike, but a store a ways down the slope sold naturally filtered water from the Maxilla mines, flavored with locally grown ginger and mint. It... was delicious, actually. I'll admit I drank two myself before bringing two back for Medici... and another for me.

I took long enough that I was surprised to find him still lying in bed. I thought at the very least he'd have crawled out to look out the window. I'd found myself slightly dreading coming in to hear him strumming a tune for me, having summoned his guitar somehow, but now that it hadn't happened... oddly disappointing. In fact, the way he simply took the water with a thankful nod and began to sip at it, sighing in refreshment... also oddly disappointing. I bit my lower lip, then scribbled another note to him.

Are you ok?

His eyes flickered from his water to me for a moment, then back, and he chuckled. "Yeah... I'm alright..." He took a deep breath and winced slightly as it puffed out his chest. "It's just... I..." He took a hard gulp, his eyes shimmering. For a second I panicked, already starting to curl into a ball: if Medici of all Pokemon were to start crying, I'd lose it all over again. But he held back.

"It's just the last thing I remember is going limp and... falling..." he said, struggling to form the words as he clenched his fist. "And now... now I'm here in this white room and it's a beautiful night out and there's a cool breeze blowing through the window and you're the only one here and... I..." He looked so unsure and... incompetent, like a child trying to play an instrument for the first time, the emotional fluctuations washing over my senses like a tide crashing repeatedly. "I can't help but think that... maybe I croaked and this is heaven and now that I'm dead the next time something like this happens I'm not gonna be there and then..."

I slapped a post-it note onto his forehead to get him to stop: the tide was coming in to the point where I was struggling to keep my head above water. He blinked, peeling my note off slowly.

Did that hurt?

"Well, yeah..."

And in your ideal world, would I do something like that to you?

He grinned a little at that. "I mean, maybe. It is nice to see you assert yourself."

I felt myself turn red and looked away. Silly of me, I know, considering how innocent the comment was, but... well, without Vanna with me, even that simple kindness teetered on the brink of being overwhelming.

Medici, seeing my reaction, sighed. "Definitely wouldn't want you shying away from me like that, though," he continued, drumming his fingers on his chest. "So I guess that proves it, still alive. Thanks, Gardevoir." He crawled out of bed and hopped to the floor, spinning his arm to loosen himself up. "Never thought I'd say this, but I've been asleep for WAY too long. I need to stretch." He glanced up at his bed. "Where's the... oh, of course. I'm a Pokemon, why would I need a call button? Silly me."

Something about the false, almost playful bitterness let me straighten up a little bit. It did seem silly... most Pokemon I knew were quite intelligent enough to call in a nurse for themselves. I'll come. I wrote, following it up quickly with: I need to make sure you don't push yourself too hard.

He smiled at me. "Thanks. Let me just wave down the nurse and..." The conversation you might expect occurred once Nurse Joy entered the room to see Medici leaving. An immediate voicing of concern, followed by Medici saying he needed to take a walk, followed by a sudden flustered look when she realized he could speak. I had actually seen pieces of this scene in a brief glimpse of Future Sight, though had no idea when it would occur. Seeing it happen exactly as I'd pictured was amusing, and I let out a quiet giggle.

I could tell Medici wanted to say something, had felt his mood lift up when he heard my laughter, but he held his tongue, instead letting the nurse talk him into taking a brief dip in the revitalization tank to wash up and heal more before heading out. I was grateful for that; so much was already going on, the last thing I needed to deal with was a compliment. He took longer than I thought he would, and when he finally emerged from the tank, the sun was beginning to sink behind the horizon.

Maxilla is... beautiful, by the way. Vanna used to take us here all the time before Death began lurking around every corner, and I've always adored how naturally the town seems to spring from the mountainside. Buildings were slotted into the side of the stonework as a trail lazily wound its way up towards the top, with only the pathway leading to the mines looking artificial, bizarrely cutting away from the rest of the slope halfway up.

Apart from Maxilla radio tower at the top, I mean, the two hundred foot tall spire blazoning against the skyline like a conqueror's flag, a declaration of mankind's triumph over nature in a town that otherwise perfectly coexists with it. Though its gleaming steel beams contrast with the natural red stone that the rest of the buildings are made of, it looks purposeful, as if the mountain was created to someday support it and facilitate fast communication to all of Salvout.

It's an oddly deterministic fantasy for a world I'd otherwise want to be solely crafted by our own choices, I know. Yet the more I see of this place, the more I sense the presence of a grand, divine author, granting us emotions just to see what we'll do with them, and reap whatever entertainment that brings. But... that's silly. Just the kind of thoughts you have when you spend your life in silence.

Medici let out a whistle of awe when the Center doors opened and he took it all in. He edged up towards the slope and peered down, gazing at the people passing back and forth. "You know, when we first started traveling, I thought the rest of the cities we'd go to would just be Cliffkiln copied and pasted over and over again. I'm glad to see I was totally wrong." His foot played with a rock on the ground, and for a second I could tell he was thinking of kicking it down. He thought better of it, though, instead turning around to face me. "As uh... as Vanna might say, where can a girl find some fun in this town?" he chuckled.

I tapped my notepad against my head, trying to hide my smile. Since you need to rest, I was going to try and bore you with shopping. Is that ok?.

He nodded, though immediately started rambling as we walked down the slope. "Whoa, hey, who says I don't like shopping? Just because I'm a guy, that doesn't..." he paused for a moment to let out a yawn. "Ach. Anyways, like I was saying, just because I'm a guy doesn't mean I don't enjoy looking at things sitting on shelves for hours on end to decide the one perfect thing to take home, darting in and out from store front to store front and window to window in a noble quest to identify the intangible quality contained inside the purchase that's just out of reach, and that only..."

Now you sound like Qwill.

"Oof. And now I miss that little spaz. Where IS everyone else?"

We were flown here by a park ranger's Noctowl. The rest are still a day or so out, assuming they keep their normal pace.

"Did you get hurt too? I can't imagine you'd be here for any other reason."

Everything that happened made me very tired. I wrote hastily, not wanting to delve into the details too much. And I didn't want you to be alone. Waking up and finding no one around would have been frightening.

"Well thanks for that, Gardevoir." He stopped walking for a moment and pressed a finger to his neck, measuring his breath. My stomach started to churn. We hadn't walked very far. Was this was a bad idea?

"No, no, I'm fine, just me being silly. Trying to find stuff wrong that isn't," he waved off, taking a deep breath and shaking himself out, walking a little faster to prove his point and changing the subject. "You know... I've been wondering this for a while, but is there a reason you don't have a name? I mean, I understand that Vanna might not be the sort of trainer that does that but... I mean, Gallant has a name, why don't you? I know you're brainy enough to think one up for yourself."

I haven't thought about it. That wasn't true.

"Well in my humble opinion, which is exceedingly arrogant by normal standards, so I'm told, I think you should have one. As elegant as 'Gardevoir' is, it is... just a species name. And it's a mouthful."

We're here. We had, in fact, arrived at the store I'd had in mind, but more than anything I wanted the conversation to be over. Not due to Medici, but... well. The store I'd brought him to was called 'Dusk 'til Dawn', a refinement shop near the mines that sold everything from regular gemstones to Burst Hearts. It was a quaint looking place and nothing too fancy, little more than a room with various bins for holding the shop's wares. The scents and sounds of stone being worked and melted wafting in from the back gave the entire place an authentic air to it, though, and I enjoyed being able to peer over the counter and watch the owner work.

The pair of Persians that guarded the floor lifted their heads and meowed at us, one of them flopping over onto its side to play with a few stray strands that were coming loose from the shop's blue and red striped carpet. The other began to get to its feet, and without waiting to see what it was doing I reached out with my mind and gently tugged its whiskers, causing it to purr happily and roll onto its back. Better not to take chances, even if these two seemed perfectly tame.

"Someone reads the Pokedex." Medici hopped up onto one of the shelves and began to walk along the front, balancing himself and beginning to idly root through a bin of Fire Stones, lifting them up to compare them. I walked over to the precious gemstones, admiring the rubies and sapphires on display in silence.

For a while, we didn't say anything to each other, and there was little sound but the soft clacks of stone against stone and the occasional mews of the Persian pair. I felt that familiar tightness start to well up in my chest. Should I be saying something? Doing something? I didn't truly want Medici to be bored, but I didn't want to rile him up either... how was he even supposed to communicate with someone like him?

"Hey!" I whipped around with a gasp and he flinched slightly, curling a hand and waving in apology. "Sorry but... I thought you might want to come look at this. I've got no clue what it is, but it's literally got your name on it." He pointed to an oblong sphere of crystal with green and pink stripes streaking through it, and I nodded. Gardevoirite. You've found the mega stones.

"The what?"

I blinked. You don't know? It was a rather huge discovery a few years ago.

"Yeah, well my memory only goes back about a year and Cliffkiln wasn't exactly connected to the outside world so... enlighten me?"

The tightness in my chest started to relax. Mega stones allow Pokemon who are close to their trainers to undergo powerful temporary transformations in battle. There's only a handful of Pokemon whose stones have been discovered, and I just happen to be one of them.

"Well that's awesome. And exactly the sort of thing we need, I think, let me... hang on." He cracked a grin, holding his hands in the air. "I've tagged this thing, so this is a decent first test of whether my psychic power's still ok... Accio!" He snapped his fingers, then ducked his hands underneath the thin air, and his guitar case practically pixilated into existence, landing in his arms. "Still got it! Phew. I keep my money in here... let's see if I've got enough..."

Ah... no, please, that's too kind. Don't. I should have known this would happen. I should have taken him berry shopping.

"Don't... it's not like that." He picked up the stone. "It's a gift, sure, but I'm not, you know, trying to make you like me with it. This will help you defend Vanna better, right? And all of us..." He nodded, counting out enough money for the Gardevoirite, then handing it to me. "There. If you don't want it, give the money back, but hold onto it for at least a little ok? Now then... looks like I've got enough for one more." He hopped back up onto the shelf, and I gulped. I could see what was coming.

"Wow... look at all this!" He exclaimed. "Blastoisinite for Shelligan... Galladite for Gallant... Sceptilite for Inigo! I need to start panhandling for more money..." The cheery tone of his voice fell off in an instant, and he went silent. I bit my lip, eyes welling up. I knew exactly what he'd found, and I could already feel the inner turmoil crashing around inside of his head. "Med..." he paused, lifting up a light blue sphere with pink and yellow pockets. "Medichamite?" He palmed the mega stone, poking at it with a finger, before turning to look at me. "This... this is a joke, right? You put this here?"

I shook my head slowly. No. I managed to write out with shaky hands. Medicham is a mega evolution species. It's real.

His eyes became unfocused, and his body slumped... for a moment I was afraid the stress from the trip had gotten to him. "That's that, then. I guess it's time." He let himself down from the shelf slowly. "This has been really helpful, Gardevoir. I know what I have to do now." He rolled the stone back and forth between his fingertips, staring at it as if he expected... perhaps hoped... it would vanish at any given moment. When it didn't, he began walking towards the counter. "I'm... going to go check out that big tower up at the top there. See if there's anything interesting. You take your time. I'll wait for you."

I couldn't watch him interact with the shopkeeper, or leave the store, only knowing he was gone once the tiny bell attached to the door frame had rung. The entire time, I could hear his emotional center screaming at him, repulsion at becoming something he didn't want to be, fear of losing part of himself during evolution. I'd heard Medici joke about not wanting to become a 'cross-dressing yoga instructor' before, but I never would have guessed that the humor was hiding this. I fell to my knees, gasping when he was finally out of range of my senses, and one of the Persians came over to lick at me, making sure I was ok.

"Oy..." the shop's owner called to me, reaching out for my hand. "You alright? Do I need to get you to the Center?"

I shook my head, righting myself, pulling the Persian's whiskers in thanks for its concern. I leafed through the wad of bills that Medici had left me, scanning the shelves for what I needed. I had to hurry.

I bolted up the slope, my feet hitting pavement as I made my way into the square in front of Maxilla Radio Tower. The lights along the tower were switching on as the sun finished setting, basking the entire area in light like an artificial sun. Food carts were still busy serving customers dinner and couples walked the streets, leaning against balconies and admiring the view... there was even trainers gathered around in front of the tower having battles, one particularly loud and obnoxious one searching for 'a pair of buxom twins to accompany him on a quest.'

With all the distraction, it was difficult to find Medici, and when I finally found the ledge he'd gone off to, it was almost too late. His legs were bent in a meditative stance, his arms curled and resting on his knees. Tears glistening down his cheeks as he began to glow brightly. Desperate, I chucked the stone I'd bought at the back of his head, and as it struck him the glowing stopped, and his arms flailed wildly before he went crashing to the ground.

"I WAS BUSY OVER HERE!" he roared, stomping on the ground and prepared to lash out. I bit my hand and waved sheepishly, and his anger subsided, his foot stepping forward and landing on the robin's egg blue stone I'd purchased with the money he'd given me. "An Everstone?" He kicked it off the ground and caught it, clenching it tightly. "Gardevoir... why?"

I bent over my pad and began writing furiously, trying to put my feelings into words. I crumpled up the note and started again, then tore the next note. My arms were shaking, my brow actually sweating as I tried to figure out what I needed to write. It was useless. It was actually useless. Note after note began to build up around me as I struggled to get things exactly right, and I finally flung the pen down to the ground in frustration, the utensil splintering against the pavement. I held my head in my hands, fighting back sobs, chest heaving.

"Easy..." Medici whispered, picking up a shard of the pen and whistling, putting it back together and offering it back to me. "Take your time. I won't do anything rash."

I took the pen from him and sunk to the ground, bending over my pad, taking a moment to just draw an outline around the Surskits that decorated it. Medici sat down a ways from me and just waited, patiently biding his time by juggling the two stones that he now had. I smiled. He wasn't nearly as good as Shelligan, and kept dropping them when he tried to do something too complex.

I tore the most recent page off of my notepad and leaned over, sticking it on his head. Now he was covered in Surskits and still couldn't juggle. He crossed his eyes and looked up at the note, but didn't take it off, instead lifting a finger and poking at the note, tamping it down further onto his skull. I couldn't help but laugh, and the words finally came to me. Thank Arceus.

You're fine the way you are. Don't let Death shock you into doing something you'll regret.

His eyes scanned back and forth across the words for minutes, until the corners of his mouth finally rose in a smile. He popped open his guitar case and pulled out a spare string, then rubbed his fingers together, around one end until it glowed white hot. He pressed the end against the Everstone and carefully threaded a hole into the rock, then looped the makeshift necklace around his neck, fusing the ends together with a hiss. "How do I look?"

I smiled and nodded in approval, the tightness in my chest loosening as his torrent of emotions began to settle. "Should I go back and trade this for yours, then?" he grinned, flicking the Medichamite up into the air. I turned red, not wanting to impose but... at the same time... Vanna.

If you want. Or maybe get Galladite for Gallant instead?

"I get the feeling he wouldn't appreciate the gift... I don't actually think we've spoken since I beat him up in Woodale, after all," he laughed, leaping to his feet with a new spring in his step. "I'll grab some Gardevoirite for you, then we'll retire to the revitalization tank, and then...you know what we'll do then?"

What?

"Tomorrow morning, I'm teaching you how to panhandle. We're going to make sure we're drowning in these Mega Stones before we leave, alright?"

He was excited again, brimming with confidence even as his legs shook from everything he'd put his body through. I couldn't say no, now could I?

Author's Note

I should point out something out. When I stopped writing this story three years ago, the concept of 'Mega Evolution' had yet to be invented by Nintendo. It was just around the corner, but I had no way of knowing that, so I was happily surprised to find that both Gardevoir and Meditite were among the few Pokemon that had been given Mega forms. I really like how this chapter turned out, and being able to incorporate that new part of the franchise into the story so seamlessly feels awesome.

I was also surprised to find, doing my research like I do, that Gardevoir is now no longer a pure Psychic type, but a Psychic/Fairy type. This doesn't impact the story too much, I don't think, but the fact that she's completely immune to Dragon type moves could become an important plot point, I suppose.

The Maxilla arc, as you may have guessed by now, is a time to set some of the violence and action aside and do some character work again. There'll be some battlingstill, at least I'm planning on it for now anyways, so don't worry about it getting too boring if all you want is to watch Pokemon beat the crap out of each other. I understand. I was that way once too.

I think that's all I wanted to say. I'll casually throw a shill out for more reviews, since I love them and read every single one and like seriously we're only TWO away from 100, so come on people, but y'know. No pressure or anything.

Viva la feminism?