NSO Chapter 28
(Day 3, Part 1)
I don't own Pokemon.
Cleo lay on her bed, staring at the empty spot where Zenith had slept yesterday, now empty. In its place was a note, which Cleo had already read. The words written on it were barely legible, scribbled on messily with a pen as if the Umbreon had made the note in a hurry.
Have urgent business to deal with.
Be back v soon.
Looking around, Cleo noticed that her once closed bedroom window was now wide open. Clearly, the Umbreon had chosen the silent option to exit the house so as to not wake the Vaporeon from her slumber, her bedroom door always creaked loudly when it was opened. Smiling to herself at Zenith's thoughtfulness, Cleo got up to shut the window, before flopping back onto the comfort of her bed.
Cleo didn't mind Zenith's sudden disappearance. It gave her time to think about all the things that had happened to her since her move into this town. Especially the relationship status she had gained with Zenith. She regretted none of the choices she had made so far, but it always seemed that the two of them were...missing something. Unable to think of an answer immediately, Cleo's mind began to wander in newfound boredom, trying to find something to do. Glancing around her room, the Vaporeon's eyes finally landed on her bookshelf, filled to the brim with numerous romance novels.
That's it.
Romance.
But would romance with Zenith make their relationship better? That one question remained in Cleo's mind as she closed her eyes, imagining scenarios from her many novels, but with her and Zenith enjoying those romantic moments instead of the books' main characters. On one paw, they would make their relationship seem more of a... relationship, but on the other paw…
Cleo tried to come up with an effective argument to her own points, but her mind was already working against her, drowning her out with more imaginary scenarios, each more inappropriate than the last, all stemming from the books that the Vaporeon kept hidden when Zenith was around. Cleo was pretty sure that she was dreaming by this point, but she didn't care anymore. There was something odd, though. As the scenarios changed at their rapid pace, they changed with a muffled thump. The thumps slowly grew louder and louder, until some part of her subconscious realised that the sound must be coming from the world outside her dreams.
Cleo awoke groggily, still reluctant to leave her dreamscape. She found herself laying face-first on her bedroom floor, which left her confused for her moment, before deducing that she must have fallen off her bed in one of her more... intimate scenes.
She may have figured that part out, but the thumping still continued. It seemed like it was coming from... in front of her? The water-type raised her head, and her eyes widened with shock and surprise, all sleepiness now dispelled.
It was Zenith. He was standing on the window ledge, hammering on the thick pane of glass. The Umbreon seemed to be shouting, most likely calling out her name, but his words could not be heard through the window. Cleo scrambled to her paws and rushed to her windowsill, and released that it was latched shut by force of habit, restricting Zenith's normally easy access into her room. By now, Zenith had stopped pounding on the window but was still staring at Cleo through worried eyes. As Cleo unlatched and opened her window, the Dark-type leapt into her room immediately, circling the Vaporeon, giving her body a once-over.
"Cleo! Are you alright? No one answered the door when I rang the doorbell so I tried to enter through your window but I found you sprawled on the ground. I thought something had happened to you and your window was locked and-"
Zenith's words were cut off as Cleo threw her paws around him in a giant hug, the water-type patting his back to calm him down, smoothing down ruffled fur as she gently stroked his back. Cleo continued until Zenith's frantic, rapid breaths slowed down into a more composed, relaxed rhythm. She then pulled away from their hug to stare into Zenith's crimson pupils.
"Feeling better?"
"Much better. Thanks, Cleo. Sorry you had to see me like that." Zenith ducked his head, embarrassed at the huge contrast to his usual calm and levelheadedness that he had exhibited earlier.
"It's fine, Zenith. Actually, it's cute to see you all worked up over me." Cleo responded in a coy voice, causing Zenith to blush even harder under his dark fur. "And it's always nice to call out the Zenith comfort train," Cleo added.
Uh... Dialga? A little help over here?
I guess that you could change the subject, but-
Great thanks!
I wasn't finished...
"So... why were you on the floor like that? You almost scared me to half to death when I saw you."
"I was... sleeping. I think I fell on the floor, but didn't wake up. You know how deep of a sleeper I am."
"Thank Arceus. I thought something bad had happened to you."
But you're a light sleeper... that was why I had to leave through the window in the first place...
Don't bring that up.
"Really? Like what?"
"Like..." Zenith seemed to ponder that question, but then shook his head vigorously, as if trying to clear his head of bad thoughts. "Never mind that. You're safe, and that's all that matters to me."
"Aww..."
"So... half the day's gone. I have a plan for the rest of the day... but I kinda need your permission for it."
Cleo' curiosity was piqued once again. "What did you mean by 'needing my permission'?' Her tone was wary, and caused Zenith to shuffle his paws on the ground nervously, now doubting the faith he had in his 'plan'.
"You know how your cell structure is similar to water, right?"
"Yeah..."
"And you can control water with your mind?"
"Still can, but I don't see where this is going..."
"Well..." Zenith took a deep breath, before blurting out the words on his mind.
"Since you can control water and you're kinda like water... I wanted to see if could change the forms, shapes or sizes of your body through your control of water." As the words left Zenith's mouth, he realised that the words he said sounded dumb. Changing a living thing's own definite size and shape? That would almost be impossible! And judging from Cleo's incredulous expression, Zenith thought that Cleo felt the same way. Stammering, he felt the need to backtrack, to take back the plan that he now regretted coming up with.
"I-I mean, let's just forget everything I just said. That was a dumb plan anyway. Why don't we just-"
"Zenith."
"Y-yes?"
"I think that it's a great plan."
Zenith blinked twice at Cleo, the water-type's words slowly sinking in.
"Are you sure? It might be dangerous, and since no one's ever done this before I have no idea what might happen to you..."
Cleo stared at Zenith intently as he continued to ramble on. He was staring at her through the same worried eyes, and his paws were shifting nervously on the bedroom floor, as if unsure of his actions. He was so different from the Zenith that she knew, the Dark-type that laughed in the face of danger and kept a level head in all sorts of situations. What could've caused him to act the way he was now?
"Zenith, you're acting weirder than usual. What's wrong? It's only a few tests, and they sound fun. I've never seen you this worried."
"It's you! How can you still be so calm about this! It's your life on the line here! I-I-I'm going to ask you to do things that may make you collapse internally, and you say it's a great plan? It's a horrible plan, and I'm a horrible Pokemon for asking you to do this, and y- "
Zenith halted as she saw the shocked look on Cleo's face, the Vaporeon startled by the unexpected outburst.
"I-i didn't mean it that way. It's just…" A small pause as a hesitant Zenith tried to clarify. "I'm fine when it's just me who's in danger, or when we're both in dangerous situations together since we can watch each other's backs. But you, facing uncertain situations we know so little about? I just don't want to hurt you… or worse… especially by you blindly accepting whatever I say."
Zenith slumped to sit on the floor, lowering his head to hide his expression of guilty shame, and Cleo felt her heart ache at the sight, throbbing with a similar feeling.
She had to agree that Zenith was right. She shouldn't have just agreed to what he suggested just because he was… Zenith. There would be certain risks she probably might have to face if she gave her permission. But then again…
The Vaporeon sat, leaning her head on Zenith's shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I have to admit that I wasn't thinking much, or at all when I approved your 'plan'. But I want to ask you something: did you do any calculations, or research on this before asking me?"
"Of course. Theoretical calculations, and they show that the experiments would hypothetically work." The Umbreon pulled out some folded-up notes from a pocket of his utility belt and looked through them, examining them closely for errors.
"There. I trust you with the experiments and procedures. Now all I ask is for you to trust me that I can take care of myself during these experiments. Just like when you battle solo in all those fights, I trusted you to make it out safely, and you did. You just have to do the same for me. Don't worry, I won't force myself to make the tests 'work' when I'm clearly feeling otherwise."
But I know my skills when it comes to battling. For untested science experiments that might most likely be unethical… argh. I could really use some divine advice here.
Just let her do the tests.
Wait, you ARE the God of Time, right? So you can see into the future?
Yeah, and I can tell you that Cleo will be alright. Just trust her.
"Okay then. A bit of trust in venturing into the unknown. Promise you'll tell me whenever you feel uncomfortable, pain, nausea or anything bad?"
"I promise."
Getting up from the floor, Zenith extended a paw towards Cleo, who accepted it with delight. She could still feel the aura of worry surrounding Zenith, but it seemed to have reduced slightly, replaced with a little confidence.
"Thanks for the pep talk, Cleo. Is it okay if you meet me on the front lawn in a few minutes? I need some time to prepare… and ensure my calculations are 100% accurate."