#she thought holding hands would help alain only for them to look at her confused which causing Aevia to be panic

[delightful-69]

some aevia/alain sketches, inspired by this ask

[ivyglow]

the bigger the secret, the greater the damage | Carter Hart

A/n: I’m not used to finishing my pieces with angst, but I hope this one reaches the expectations. Let me know what you think by sending me a private message or an ask (feedback is always appreciated!). 

Thanks one more time to @guentzgoal​ for proof reading this piece so fast. You’re the best, Tori! <3 

Requested: yes

Word count: 2.4k

Warnings: just to love birds dating in secret and fighting about it. 

Prompt: 32. “It just feels really shitty, to be the secret boyfriend/girlfriend.”;  86. “could we pretend that we’re in love?” 88. “i guess i was wrong about you” 

Working for the flyers was probably a dream for any media marketing undergraduate, but it was not a dream for you. Not when your dad was the head coach and made sure to let everyone know it after one month. He could not keep his mouth shut and honestly, you couldn’t blame him. You were each other’s only family and he tried to make sure you knew how much he appreciated you after struggling to accept your career choice during the early months. 

The first few weeks working with the players sometimes consisted of focusing on the databases behind the doors and eventually even going as far as photographing some moments, and you were able to blend in, no different treatment or anything. Well, except for Carter Hart, he treated you differently since the first day and he made sure you knew it.

You liked the transparency, it was nice to not keep worrying if you were reading too much between the lines. But at the same time, you knew better. He and any other player were in the list of things you should never get too close to.

Still, your best reasoning was not able to keep you two apart.

Two weeks later, you two were constantly messaging each other and talking about everything and anything, except for your relationship with his coach. Carter was in the dark about you being the coach’s daughter, and he was mad for some days after discovering with everyone else.

It made sense why you were so private and wanted him to keep it low key. 

It was not only the job, it was the father.

And of course, when Alain finally told everybody his daughter was working there, he also told that no one could lay a finger on you (especially his players).

It was too late, though. He probably should have told Carter sooner.

So the two of you kept talking. You developed a friendship with some other players as well, thanks to TK because he would always joke around about you being the daughter of the boss. But still, they didn’t know about you and Hart, you made him promised not to tell anyone, especially his teammates.

It was three or four months after you guys decided to turn the flirts and make-out sessions into something more serious.

Well, something more serious that wouldn’t involve meeting parents, posting pictures, or changing relationship statuses on social media. It was not quite what Carter was expecting, but still, he had you and you were exclusive and it was enough, or so he thought for some time.

It was a Sunday morning, the sun was creeping through the blinds hitting your face and giving the room a comfortable glow while your boyfriend watched you sleep beside him. Carter was used to the early morning practices, they were the reason why he was always the first to wake up, spending his time cooking breakfast, or just enjoying your company. Today was the latter.

He watched as soft snores came out of your slightly open mouth. You were holding him by his arm and even though the relationship was recent, it was long enough to Carter know some of your manners, he was very attentive when it comes to you. You were holding him not only for the warmth of his body but because you were used to sleeping holding something to. It went as far as when he wasn’t there, you would eventually cuddle a pillow that he mockingly dressed in one of his Flyers away jerseys.

You liked the routine you two created together, and yes sometimes you missed doing normal couple things like walking hand-in-hand or kissing without worrying if someone was around, but you had him and you feared that if things changed, your relationship would change, too, but for the worse.

Carter smiles softly at the faces you’re doing in your deep sleep and you stirred with the click of the camera, but his chest felt so comfortable against your arm and his muscles were in the best position next to your face. You could lay there forever.

And you did, not forever but as long as possible before you felt his stomach grumble in your hand that was laying flatly against his abs.

“Babe, as much as I would love to just chill in bed with you I really need some food” his voice was raspy, but not too much and that’s how you knew he was awake longer than you had imagined. You throw your body lazily on top of his searching for more warmth and lazily asking him for some stimulus.

His mouth was fast to found his favorite spot on your neck, close to your ear, the same spot that sends shivers through your whole body. He dragged his lips until they met your jaw seconds after.

“Wakey wakey, c’mon” he mumbled, hands gripping your waist.

You ignore his calls, choosing to get comfortable on that spot. “Alright, I’m posting this really cute picture and I thought you would want to help me with the filter since it’s you gripping me in your sleep…”

You jerked, almost falling off the bed.

“What picture?” Your heart racing, the image of your father discovering about your relationship with one of his players suddenly clouding your head.

Carter seemed to sense your uneasiness, “Hey, relax, I’m not posting it…” his forefinger found your chin guiding your face to his so it was easier to read what you were feeling.

“I’m sorry, Hartsy, it’s just nobody...we can’t let them discover...at least not like that…” you try to explain, the words suddenly vanishing.

The way his eyebrows furrowed and his lips formed a thin line you knew he was hurt. Carter wanted to tell everyone since the very first time, he wanted the whole relationship experience, he wanted to tell everyone how cute you were while sleeping, or how he cooked better than you, he wanted to post pictures of you two and comment in each one you posted. He had so many pictures of you. And he had small videos of you doing mundane things such as singing along your favorite song while driving and eating your favorite ice cream.

“It just feels really shitty, to be the secret boyfriend.”

“I get it, but you know I truly like you, right?” this time you were the one to bring his face to yours. You felt a pang in your heart with how his eyes looked everywhere before finally settling on your face.

He nodded, almost saying that he was tired, that he wanted someone real, something real. But it just took your lips to found his for him to give up the idea.

He didn’t want to give you an ultimatum, but he also did not want to keep getting hurt. 

You two lay there for a few more minutes in silence while Carter’s mind worked on overthinking the situation.

“My mom’s coming to town next month…” he started once your fingers found his hair, massaging his scalp lightly, “I was wondering if you wanna meet her.”

You stopped your movements for some seconds before his question settled. “Meet your mother?”

“Yeah.”

“That sounds...a big step. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just...I don’t know, Carter…” you trailed off. Meeting the parents was a step you were not sure about, first, you wanted to deal with your own father, and that’s the answer you gave him, “I kind of wanted to have a talk with my father before taking this step.”

His silence told you a message, loud and clear. And before you could try sugar coat it, the pang on your front door caught your attention.

You grabbed your robe and left the bed after giving Carter a peck. The walk to your front door took you less than one minute and once you reached it you regretted doing it so fast.

“Hey, dad!” the high pitched tone made your dad look at you, a confused expression on his face.

“Hey, y/n, you were still in bed?” Alain entered the house discarding his shoes at the entrance and heading to the sofa.

“I went to sleep late last night…” you told him before sitting on the other end of the couch. “I was working on some essays…” well, now you lied. You went to sleep late because that’s what happens when you and your secret boyfriend have the next day free.

Your father gives you a pointed look and you answered with a small smile, before bowing your head to pick with the nail polish that was almost disappearing on your nails. 

“Is there something you wanna tell me?” he asked suddenly and you cursed silently.

Alain knew you better than your mom did, he knew your traits and how you used to act when you were either nervous or trying to keep something. He wasn’t home very often in your childhood, but the time he could make it, he made sure to take the better out of it. He was attentive off the ice too.

“Nah, there’s nothing, dad. I’m just...exhausted.”

“Y/n, I’m your father…”

“I’m aware of that…” you mumbled sarcastically with a light tone before chuckling. He rolled his eyes.

“I was talking with your mom last night…” he started and you cursed again, cause when they teamed up to make you do something, it usually worked, like the time you did not want to go to the doctor after two days of high fever or when you wanted a cat but they both didn’t. “And she thinks you’re dating someone.”

They were a good team indeed.

And you thought it was cool that they weren’t together anymore, but they still talked like old friends.

“What?” you chided suddenly scared of what he was thinking. What if he wandered through your small apartment? It wouldn’t take much for him to find Carter. 

“Yeah, she heard someone last time she called you and she also said you seemed to be at the clouds with distraction.” 

A groan left your mouth and you got up, “I hate how mom’s always thinking that I’m dating someone. You know how I act when I like someone, dad, and I don’t like someone right now” you started your rant, “See, she probably heard this boy I was seeing for some months, we met at my first workplace, but it wasn’t nothing serious. The last thing I want right now is a relationship.” You were so caught up into making your father give up on the idea that you were dating you didn’t see Carter standing behind the door to the hallway, “and, to be honest, you know if it was something serious I would have told you by now. Have I told you something? Have I mentioned someone to you, dad?” 

He seems to study your face for some seconds before making an unexpected turn, “You do remember we made a promise of not dating any of my players, right?” 

You sight before nodding your head.

“This boy...was it really from your old job?” 

You nod again. You couldn’t risk losing your father’s trust and you couldn’t go back to live with your mom, he was ok with everything and he meant it, everything but dating his players. It was important to him and you promised you wouldn’t do it. Alain was your only family on this side of the country. It was him or going to France with your mother. 

“Dad, you know me when I’m in love. You remember Trevor when I was in middle school?! Or Dennis from our beach house...Do I look like I used to when I was head over heels for them?” Your question was answered with a chuckle, you were obsessed with these two boys. Trevor was the first boy you liked, you remember writing about him in your diary every day, and then Dennis came during a summer in high school, he was tall and very cute and you loved his dark hair. 

“I guess you have a point, y/n,” he said finally, “I just came to see if you want to grab dinner tonight. I was expecting to grab lunch, but I supposed you didn’t even have breakfast yet…” his light tone says everything’s alright and you relax tossing your body on the couch.

“I’m sorry, dad. But dinner sounds perfect,” you wondered. 

“Great, I need to go now. I’ll find someone else to have lunch with” he dropped a kiss against your forehead and you giggled with his words.

“You should get a girlfriend” you joke before he reaches the door. 

“Yeah, who knows…” 

You groaned, before getting up in minds of going back to bed, but Carter was already in your living room with one big step. You felt the blood drain from your face.

The evident look of hurt on his eyes. 

“Harsty,” you try to start but he just shook his head. 

“I knew I liked you more than you liked me, but I didn’t think you thought so little of me…” the way his hands were on his sweatpants pockets and his eyebrows furrowed, his whole body language screaming that he was hurt and it was on you. Your fault. 

“No! That was me trying to keep us from getting caught.”

“You’re the one with this damn idea that we should keep it all in secret. You had the perfect chance to simply come clean and tell him everything, but you chose to lie...well, tell him half of the truth, considering you don’t like me the way I thought you did.” 

Your eyes were watering and you tried to reach him, touch him, reassure him that it wasn’t as bad as you made it seem to your dad minutes ago. This time Carter didn’t back down and so you held him by his large shoulders, trying to catch his eyes, trying to make him see that it wasn’t your intention. 

“Could we pretend that we’re in love?” he whispered, his tone so small if you weren’t so close you would never hear. “Can you treat me like this Dennis or Trevor guy just for once...cause I guess I was wrong about you.” 

You stutter, the words getting stuck, your stomach low on your belly and before you could get yourself together he slips through your fingers. 

“You don’t have to worry about keeping it away from everyone, there’s no secret to keep anymore. I’m done. We’re done.” 

 You can find more of my writing here. 

[wlw-lovestruck-fiction]

Can I request a Helena fluff we’re Helena’s double Helen wasn’t killed by the witch queen? Helena and Mc went to go meet her as Helena and Helen cries as they now call each other family.

Written by: @psychasylumpoetry

US

TW: Mention of Suicide/Suicide Attempt; Mention of Abuse

“Are you ready?” Angel gazes at me with a radiant grin. “To be frank, I’m hesitant to do this.” I tenderly take her hand, holding it in mine. “It’s okay. I promise, she won’t say anything or do anything that’ll make you uncomfortable.” I nod, taking deep breaths. “I’m ready.” She smiles before getting on her toes to kiss my forehead. I gradually open the door, wandering into the well-lit studio.

“Is Helen Kay here at the moment?”

“I am Helen Kay, what can I do for y-”

She spins around, abruptly halting her words. I let go of Angel’s hand, stepping towards her. “I’m Helena Klein.” Her eyes broaden somewhat as I put out my hand for her.

“I know you don’t know me at all but-”

“You look just like me…”

She responds breathlessly, slowly walking forward, gazing into my eyes.

“All the way to the eye colour.”

She grins softly, “Are you a cosplayer?” My eyes widen, “Cosplayer…what is a cosplayer…” I glance back at Angel, she steps up alongside me, “No, she isn’t.”

“Can I ask why you look like a mirror image of me? Not to be rude or anything.”

I stare back at Angel. She provides me with the nod of approval before beaming at me. “Do you believe there are additional realms… different strata of existence?” Helen’s grin brightens. “I do actually. I’ve been studying it for a small while.” I nod.

“Well, I am…you. From another realm, it is fine if you don’t bel-”

“I believe you.”

I hesitate, gazing back within her royal cerulean eyes…our royal cerulean eyes. “You believe me?” She smirks.

Gods, it looks quite like my own

“You’re standing in front of me, flesh and blood. How could I not believe you?” She grins, before walking in front of me. I trace her features with my eyes.

Her piercing cerulean eyes, pale skin and full lips. Pale blonde hair and precise cheekbones. It’s similar to staring in a mirror.

Her hand hovers over my cheek. “Is it okay if I touch you?” I nod softly. Her soft fingers frame my cheek. She traces my jawline with her fingers, making out the features of my face. She runs her blunt nails down the side of my face before running her fingers down my hair, out of the way of my face.

“I’m sorry…I was just making sure you were real.”

“It’s fine,” I say softly smiling.

“You seem kind. That’s the only reason I let you touch me.” She smiles, “Or is it because you don’t let yourself be touched unless you know the person or feel safe around them?” My eyes widen slightly. “That is the reason…I feel like I know you…”

“Like best friends?”

“No…not friends…family.” Silent wonder fills her eyes. “I’m glad we’re on the same page, Helena.” She smiles, gently running her thumb over my cheek. “Now, what is it you’ve come to see me for?” She motions over to a couple of chairs. She articulates with a soothing tone. “I’m sorry, I don’t have a chair for you.”

“Oh it’s fine, I can leave you two to talk.”

Angel smiles before walking off. I stare after her. “Hey, it’s fine. I’m sure she won’t leave you here for too long.” She tips her head, “Anything in particular you need?”

“To get to know you a bit would be nice…”

I say softly, averting my gaze before looking back. “How about we get to know each other?” She tilts her head, looking at me. “That…Would be lovely.”

“Excellent. Let’s start with birthdays.”

“27th day of Frozen Lakes.”

“Ah, forgot…different realms…I was born on January 27th, 1990. In LA.” She hums. “LA?” I reply in question. “Ah- Los Angeles.” I nod, “What is your preferred season."

"Fall. The perfect season for sweaters. Not too hot, not too cold.”

“I hate being cold.” We speak at the same time before staring at each other wide-eyed. We pause for a moment before she speaks again. “Do you have any questions?” I sit a bit straighter.

“What was your life like?”

She hummed softly. “Well, I had a mother and a father. Very supportive people.” I nod, not showing on my face that I was happy she had supportive parents. “I was in the higher class as a child…I didn’t like being referred to as a rich kid,” She chuckled. “I didn’t have a lot of riches myself.” She tilts her head. “I can only imagine…” She slowly exhales. I can feel the tension between her shoulders.

“My father took his own life when I was eighteen and still living at home. My mother went into a deep depression. I tried to cheer her up.” She gently runs her nails down her arm. “I failed to do so, and she turned into a bitter woman…” Tears begin to form on the corners of her eyes. “She forced me to drop out. She made me do things that…I regret, even now.” The tremble in her voice only grew stronger.

I act on pure instinct. “It was only until a few years ago she decided to do the s-” I kneel in front of her and pull her into a tight hug. I hear her glasses clink to the floor. She sits still before beginning to warm into the hug. Her tears flowing freely as I gently rub her back.

She eased out of the hug, letting me kneel in front of her, “Alan was with me since childhood…Helping me through everything that had happened to me from breaking my ankle when we were fifteen up until now.” She smiled softly before sniffing and wiping her face. “I…um.” She cleared her throat, reaching for her glasses which were on the floor. I pass them to her, giving her a moment to compose herself before she spoke up.

“What about you?”

“My…life?” I look at her with a confused look. She nods with a soft smile, "It’s a nice way to get to know each other.” I chuckle softly, “We should probably sit over there then.” I point at the couch on the other side of the studio. “That works.” As we get up, I start talking.

“When I was younger, I didn’t possess very supportive parents. Magic was feared in my village and I was discriminated against for my magical abilities.”

“Mmm?” She hums before sitting on the couch, I sit on the corner as she lays her head on my shoulder. “I was seven when I cast my first spell.” I gently run my fingers through her hair. “A bit after that, I had met a ginger kitten.” I smile softly, “A bit bigger than how my hand was now…I named her Ember… Ember Cornelius Flame.”

“That’s adorable, Helena.”

I smile softly, nodding. “She was a very adorable kitten…I treated her like my own, like a daughter. Feeding her, washing her fur when I had the chance…” I sigh, “Well…one day…I found Ember dead…In the vibrant field, we used to play in.”

“Oh…”

I hum at her realization. “I was heartbroken…It hurt even more as a child. Out of instinct…I used my power…I drained the grass of its life and tried to give it to Ember.” I exhale slowly, “Well…I saw her paw twitch…then stop."

"That was when…one of the villagers cried, witch…”

I say in a hushed whisper. “I was forced to leave. And I did.” Helen looks up at me. “Is this how you arrived here?” I chuckle, “No, no…That was way later…After that, I left I set out to find a calling.”

“Well, that was when the witch queen came into my life.”

I softly stroke her hair. “I wanted to be her. And I tried to do so. I tried to kill her and take her power.” She tensed a bit, “You…” I shake my head, “I couldn’t…She did something to me…Made me submit.”

“She saw me useful. I became her protégé…I was a fool for falling in love with such a wicked woman.” A tremble ran through my body. “She used me for pleasure, giving me pain…painting my skin with scars…I became one of her prized possessions…Her little plaything…"

"Then she died.”

“In a war that she got herself into and one that I fought beside her in.” Helen gently turned to put her arms around my shoulders. “I wasn’t allowed to mourn. I had to be strong.” She rubs my shoulder gently. “Then suddenly…she was there…flesh and blood…but not really.”

“It was her but not really?”

I nod, “Looks it was her…attitude wasn’t.” I glance at the door. “That woman was her.” Helen tenses. “The woman outside is…” I smile softly, “No, she’s not the Witch Queen…I was even shocked.”

“I thought the witch queen had truly ceased…I was in love with the woman that had looked like her…Not for her looks but for how she carried herself.” I sigh lovingly before I continue. “Well, one night…while Angel was sleeping in my room, she was tossing and turning.”

“I watched her for a little bit before her face sported a wicked smirk only the witch queen wore…” My trembling grew just a bit. “The woman I had loved, and the woman I caused a genocide for were sharing a body…”

“Oh…Helena…”

“Even worse…Now that I knew that Angel wasn’t the Witch Queen…I had to hide it from the generals…And Alain…” My trembling ceases a bit. “I did so before they brought the Queen out of Angel…She wanted me to come back…But I refused…” I sigh, “So, I picked up Angel…and ran.”

“You ran away from the Witch Queen?”

“Yes…It was very difficult because she was looking for me…” I reply. Helen rubs my shoulder as she hugs me, “I can only imagine…” I nod, “We found shelter, had a few near-death situations…I made friends with my enemies…” I smile softly before sighing. “We went back to fight…”

“That was when I was transported here for the first time.”

“You’ve been here before?” Helen questions, “Yes, I didn’t quite know where I was at first…but Angel helped me through it all.” Helen nods, “Angel seems like a really good person…helping you through everything.” I smile, “She really is.” Helen softly squeezes my shoulder.

“We decided to go back and end the witch queen’s reign…” I draw a trembling breath. “That was when she killed him…She killed Alain…one of the only men I considered a friend since childhood.” Tears started to slowly form at the corner of my eyes, “One of the only people I could talk to when I wasn’t having the most enjoyable day.” Soon, my tears started to fall, “The one person who I could be myself around before I met Angel.”

I sob quietly trying to talk between each sobbing breath, “What she did hurt me to the point I used all of my magic against her…which lead her to redirect it and plunge the world into darkness…” I explain the time of the war to her as she gently hugs me.

My shoulders tremble softly as I try to smile, “After all of that…after everything we went through…I decided to propose…Everything was finally over and all I wanted to do was be with Angel. And that’s what happened. We got married, and officially moved back to Chicago to stay.” Helen rubbed my shoulder, gently wiping away my tears.

“You’ve been through a lot…I’m glad it’s over.”

She hums before pulling me in a tight hug. “I’m glad it’s over too.” I sigh, melting into the hug. “Thank you…” I whisper softly, “No, thank you.” She gently strokes my hair before pulling away. “Let’s change to lighter topics?”

“Please.”

We giggle before starting to talk about things like our favourite ice cream flavours, colours, and type of music. After a bit of time, Angel walks in. “Hey, babe?” I look up with a soft smile, “Yes, my love?” She scratches her neck with a nervous smile, “It’s seven. Are you ready to head out?” Helen checks her phone, “Ah! Crap! I missed meeting up with Alan! We were planning to catch a movie!"

"I apologize for keeping you for so long.”

“Oh no. It’s fine! I can just say that I was with my twin sister.” I lift an eyebrow, “Twin sister?” She chuckles, booping my forehead. “You, sapphire!” I look away, “I should have known.” I chuckle softly.

“When will I see you again?”

“Mmmm, Angel?” I look at Angel, she blushes at the sudden attention. “Ah, well…we’re going to be in town for a bit.” Helen speaks up, “Friday?” I look at Angel before nodding. “Yes.”

We discuss the plans for Friday, which ends up being ice cream at her favourite ice cream place. We exchange numbers and we’re out of the studio by 8:30 pm.

“Why are you smiling so hard?”

“I have a sister now.”

[incorrectjourneyshippingquotes]

So I have part one of a fanfiction I’m writing on Wattpad, and it’s regarding the Kalos Crisis AU. Also, before I present this awful fanfic to you, I wanted to make it clear that Satoshi and Gou are both 15 and Koharu is 14. So now, I present to you-

Chapter One

_________________

Gou rushed ahead of Satoshi, who was clearly more exhausted from running past him the previous five times.

Satoshi! Why are you so slow!" Gou called to his friend, who was sweating by the time he caught up to him.

"It's not my fault you're so incredibly fast!" Satoshi whined, tripping over his feet.

"Pikaaa-" Pikachu cried as Gou saw Satoshi fly towards him.

"Satoshi!" Gou opened his eyes to see Ash sitting on top of him. His face flushed a crimson red.

"Ah, Gou! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean too." Satoshi scrambled to his feet, hiding his face that was  blushing mess.

'Heh, cute.' Gou thought, not realizing Satoshi holding his hand out to help him up.

"Uh, Gou are you gonna stop staring at me and get up or.....?" Satoshi questioned. Gou blushed even more.

"Oh! Yeah, sorry." Gou apologized as Satoshi  grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

"Here. You've got to stop apologizing, Gou." Satoshi said while laughing softly. Gou turned away, muffling under his breath.

"Whatever."

"Let's start heading to Professor Sakuragi's lab."  Satoshi cheered. "Race you there."

By the time they got to Professor Sakuragi's lab, it was Gou's turn to be sweating.

"Gou~ why are you so slow!" Satoshi taunted while sticking his tongue out.

"Oh, boys! You're here! I have more research that I would need you two to investigate." Professor Sakuragi had called from the doorstep, letting the boys inside.

"So, what is it Professor?" Gou asked, walking to the lab full of computers.

"I need you to visit Kalos and get information about Zygarde controlled by Team Flare." Gou looked at Satoshi with excitement, though he wasn't excited at all.

"Satoshi, what's wrong?" Gou asked, noticing the gleam in his eyes was gone.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I must have gotten sidetracked. It's nothing, I'm fine." Satoshi stuttered out, his Pikachu rubbing against him.

"Pikachu?" The electric mouse cooed towards his trainer. Satoshi scratching his Pokémon's chin, assuring him he was fine.

"Alright, I have the tickets here. You're leaving tomorrow morning, so you can pack today." Professor Sakuragi handed each ticket to Satoshi and Gou.

"Thanks professor!" Gou said before he saw Satoshi wasn't with him. He sighed softly.

"I can't go back there not after what happened with them-" Satoshi muttered to himself, thinking he was alone. He looked at the burnt picture of his friends, reminded of the time they helped Korrina find Lucarionite.

"Pikachu." Pikachu sadly responded.

"Satoshi, what is it with you?" Gou entered the room. Satoshi quickly stuffed the burnt picture of Korrina, Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena in his bag.

"Satoshi!" Gou shouted, making Ash tremble at the sudden outburst.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, but please. I hate seeing you like this..." Gou started to tear up. "I want to help you, whatever it is."

Satoshi got up, putting Pikachu on his shoulder. "You wouldn't get it." He retorts blankly while walking out with his Pokéball's.

Satoshi sighed as he looked off the balcony. "Greninja, Bonnie, Clemont, Serena, I'll see you all soon."

"Pikapi..." Pikachu cried softly, he hated seeing his trainer sad. It wasn't before the other Pokéballs lit up and out came Riolu, Gengar, and Dragonite.

"Gen?" Gengar questioned, noticing a difference in Satoshi's voice.

"Dragonite?" His Dragonite was just as confused as Gengar.

"Riolu. Riolu." Riolu tugged on Satoshi's shirt, making him lean down and pick Riolu up.

"Why'd you pick me Riolu?" Satoshi asked out of the blue, Riolu looking up at his trainer. 

"Rio! Riolu!" It cried, exaggerating it's movements.

"Okay, okay." Satoshi said, laughing slightly. His Pokémon cheering slightly for Riolu.

"It's because I saw how you cared so much for me." Riolu said, but only he could hear it.

Satoshi was star struck. "Woah, Riolu, did you just use your Aura to communicate with me?" Riolu jumped up with excitement.

"You're amazing! I'm so glad you got to come with us." Satoshi pats Riolu on the head as his Pokémon cheer with happiness.

"You wanna go train Riolu?" Satoshi asked, getting the Aura Pokémon's attention.

"Rio!" The Pokémon cheered, following his trainer to the battlefield. Dragonite, Pikachu, and Gengar following.

"Alright, Pikachu! Use Quick Attack." Satoshi called to his Pokémon.

"Hey Riolu, can you hear me? You're gonna watch Pikachu's movements and dodge." Satoshi commanded. Riolu focused on Pikachu, dodging at the last second.

"Yes! Now get behind Pikachu and use vacuum wave!" Satoshi praised. "Pikachu! You use Thunderbolt!" He commanded. Gengar and Dragonite loved battling, but loved watching battles as well.

"He looks so happy, maybe I pushed it a little too far." Gou sighed as he watched the trainer battle. His Raboot staying close behind.

"Alright, I think that's enough training for today. You guys wanna help pack?" Satoshi asked with both Riolu and Pikachu on his shoulder.

Satoshi got back to his room to see Gou's luggage out by the door.

"Oh goddamnit Satoshi, you screwed up yet again!" He yells as he throws himself on his bed. "You screwed up your relationship with the only person you liked."

His Pokémon all looked at him with sadness. Little did Satoshi know, Gou was listening behind the door. All Gou heard muffled screams along with swearing.

"I mean, Greninja is fine, he's helping Zygarde take care of Kalos. Me and Alain took care of Team Flare and saved Chespy." The black haired boy ranted on.

"I mean, sure I traveled with girls. Misty, May, Dawn, some time with Korrina, and Serena, but I'm gay, Pikachu! I don't like girls!" He ranted to his electric Pokémon. Gengar, Dragonite, and Riolu had gone back into their Pokeballs.

"Pika?"

"Yeah I know, you wouldn't get it." Satoshi sighed.

"Hey Satoshi, I heard yelling. Are you alright?" Gou walked into the room.

"Oh, uhm, yeah." He muttered softly in response.

"Okay, well, it's only 12:30, you wanna go hang out somewhere?" Gou asked.

"Yeah sure." Satoshi responded, avoiding eye contact.

What is this feeling? Gou felt his heart flutter everytime he was near Satoshi. Was this what love was? Certainly not, but he'll ask Koharu when he gets back.

Focused on the road ahead of him, Satoshi barely said a word. Only answering Gou's questions with a simple yes or no.

When they stopped for a break, Satoshi let his Riolu out, where it was ecstatic to see it's trainer. Though he was saddened when his owner said nothing.

"Master, why are you sad?" Riolu used his aura to communicate with Ash.

"I can't go back to Kalos, not after what happened with Team Flare. What happened with Greninja." Ash communicated back with him, sighing out loud.

Riolu decided to end it there, as they were to start walking again. Both boys were ignoring each other until they got back.

Professor Sakuragi also saw this when Gou had bluntly responded to his questions with no emotion.

Gou decided to talk to Koharu about this. Whatever he's feeling, Koharu's got an answer.

He knocked on her door, hoping she would answer. "What's up Gou?"

Gou looks embarrassed and asks to step inside. After explaining his feelings, Koharu laughed silently.

"What's so funny?" Gou asks, a serious look plastered on his face.

"You have a crush!" Koharu exclaimed proudly.

____________________

I plan on adding more but I just need some constructive criticism since it’s not posted on Wattpad yet.

And yes, if you want to know what my Wattpad @ is @CasualAllinnoel if you want to take a look at my other shitty Pokémon fan fictions.

(Also, I don’t space out my paragraphs that much, it’s just Tumblr spacing god damn it)

[letsbenditlikebennett]

Belonging || Ariana & Kaden

TIMING: After this (x)  PARTIES: @chasseurdeloup & @letsbenditlikebennett SUMMARY: Kaden goes to visit Celeste’s tree and stumbles upon a distraught Ariana. Some heart to hearts ensue.  CONTENT: Mentions of domestic and emotional abuse

Kaden knew he should stay home, stay in bed, let his body recover. As far as he was concerned, it could recover on his way through the woods. He hadn’t meant to return so soon, but he always found himself gravitated to his home away from home. If he had to hazard a guess, he’d say he spent more time in the forest than in his apartment. Even if his non waking hours were considered. The longer he lay in his bed, the more his mind ran. Ran through his conversation with Morgan. With Deirdre. With Regan. What happened with Ariana. Alain. He couldn’t sit still and let them drown him. There was only one person he wanted to see right now, one person he wanted to sit with in silence and find some solace. Just one. But he was afraid seeing Regan would hurt more than help. She couldn’t completely offer what he needed, not right now. Or maybe she could but he didn’t feel like risking it. He had to be stronger right now, be the support, the anchor for her if he could. Not to mention, any discussion or questions she had would just confuse him more. And she was bound to have questions about his latest injuries, about his hunting, about what he wanted. 

No, Kaden needed silence. And comfort. That was one thing Celeste could still offer. It wasn’t as good as the guidance or patience she’d been able to give him in life, but it would have to do. So he’d walk through the woods, picking his way to a familiar tree. The sounds of the woods silenced his mind, it hushed the closer he got to her spot. In its stead, he heard something that sounded like crying. A step more and he felt it. The chill. He sighed and tried to hold back his heart from crumbling. He had two options. Turn around, let her have her solitude, or go to who he was sure was Ariana. He didn’t know if he could handle her grief along with his confusion, directionlessness right now. What would Celeste want him to do? He inhaled and walked to the tree. “Hey, Ari?” he said softly from a few feet away. “Are you-- do you want to be alone?” 

Everything in her still felt like it was spinning around. As if she couldn’t possibly grasp onto some sense of direction that would make all of this easier. If she had been so wrong about where she stood with Deirdre, what else could she have been wrong about? Was all of this for not? Trying to someone who could exist in two worlds the way Celeste? Ariana wondered if maybe it had been easier for her since for so long, it was just the two of them, but somehow her and Ulfric had managed, too. She had to be the fault here. She felt like a puzzle piece in the wrong box trying to wedge herself into places she didn’t fit. Like the little space carved for her in Deirdre’s home had never been right in the first place. It did nothing to lessen the still fresh sting of how quickly she’d been thrown out. She’d been too lost in her feelings to even hear anyone approaching. It was careless, really, but when a voice registered in her mind, at least she knew she was safe. Or would he turn her away just as quickly if he knew what she did to Sammy? No, she couldn’t let her mind go there right now. She sniffled and wiped away the tears on her jacket sleeve. “Kaden, hey,” she said weakly as she turned to look up to him, “I don’t-- Honestly, no, not really.” 

She motioned for him to join her and glanced back up at the tree. She’d sat here so many times before that she could practically remember every divot and line in the tree’s stump. It was funny to Ariana that they always seemed to meet this way, though the grin she made didn’t quite reach her eyes. “We have to stop meeting like this,” she joked as she absentmindedly took a fallen leaf in her hand. It crunched under the pressure of her palms and something about it relaxed her if only a little bit. She turned back to Kaden and asked, “What brings you out here?” 

Kaden nodded and silently took a seat next to her, close enough the could nearly brush shoulders. Normally he kept his distance, a space between. It felt silly now. After everything else, what happened the other night. There was no use pretending he didn’t give a shit, no use avoiding this. Whatever kinship this was. It was odd, the sensations spiking along his spine that normally sent him into alert, meant danger was near, in this place it felt like a strange sort of comfort. A constant reminder that he wasn’t alone, that his grief was shared. A reminder of his conflict and turmoil, too. But ultimately when sitting next to Ari like this, it felt like Celeste. Her work or doing or something like that, he couldn't put it into words. Maybe it was because he knew this was how she felt all the time when around her sister, some small piece of solidarity he could find with his fallen friend.

“We really do.” The smile Kaden tried to force onto his face didn’t quite seem to make it there. How many times had they ran into each other in the woods by this tree? Hell, he’d lost count. “Funny, I was about to ask you the same.” He exhaled and leaned farther back into the tree he was propped against. “Just needed some, I don’t know, something.” Well that was a shitty explanation. He tried again. “After what happened. And a few weeks ago. And last month. I just, I wanted--” Fuck, was the lump in his throat alreayd making an appearance. “Celeste would have understood. Wanted to talk to her. At her. I don’t know.” It just felt like the right place to be. And hell, he’d expected silence. So forming words around his thoughts wasn’t something he’d prepared for himself. “But that’s my bullshit. It doesn’t matter. And you’re not allowed to argue with me on that one. Why were you out here before I got here? What’s wrong?” 

They’d done this plenty of times before, often wordlessly, and it had become a comfort in its own right. A small reminder that she wasn’t the only one who wanted to keep Celeste alive in some way. Ariana noted he sat closer to her than usual though she wouldn’t mention it aloud. Their bond remained mostly unspoken and it seemed like it wasn’t something Kaden could deny anymore. Not when he’d been so distraught thinking he’d hurt her or when he’d gone through such extreme measures to make sure he saved people and kept her safe at the same time. The fact he wasn’t keeping his normal distance was enough for her to shake away the thought that everything with him was just as fragile as it had been with Deirdre. He knew the best and worst of what she’d done. Maybe not all the small details in between, but she felt comforted knowing whatever it was they shared wasn’t quite that delicate. 

“I get that. It’s nice to think she’s listening,” Ariana said as she leaned back on her palms and relished slightly in the feeling of dirt between her fingers. She listened as he spoke though it wasn’t something she could quite piece together. Given his answer was more of a nonanswer and just an indication that he had been struggling with things, too. “She would have understood,” she said simply, “She always did.” It’s where she felt like she was falling short. She wanted to understand how Deirdre could condone what Lydia had done. She wanted to understand what she had done that was so wrong. There was still that unwavering hollow feeling in her chest knowing she couldn’t return. She breathed out a sigh and responded, “You’re lucky I don’t have much in the way of arguing energy today. Plus, I kind of owe you one.” She leaned forward again and brought her hands to her lap, bringing a leaf to fidget with along. Another sigh was breathed out as she explained, “I was kind of… I don’t know, rejected by someone I considered family. Just felt shitty and wanted to be with her. It’s-- Do you ever feel like you have no idea what the fuck you’re doing? She always seemed to know what to do.” 

“Bet she would have had some great advice, too,” Kaden said. The words stung in their own way. Kaden wished he’d met her sooner, could have gleaned a little more from her, maybe then he’d have a few more answers than questions. It was funny, though, the more time he spent with the werewolf, the more he saw of the hunter in her. He wasn’t sure if he just didn’t let himself see it before but it was clearer every time they did this just how much Ariana had taken on of Celeste. Little things, mannerisms, phrases. Mostly the kindness. That one he’d known for a while. 

“You don’t owe me shit, alright.” His voice was small but the guilt that ate at him from just a month ago had only just started to dull. Sure, it wasn’t Ari then but that didn’t matter. Some part of him felt like he’d be atoning for that potential mistake for far longer than just one month of his life. A foreign thought, but the idea that he could have ended her life as easily as he had, it sent a shiver down his spine. She didn’t owe him shit. Kaden draped his forearms against his knees, folded his hands top of one another as he kept his eyes on the tree in front of them. That was until she explained her situation. His gaze drifted to her. She was hardly a big person to begin with, but her presence usually was. Right then? She seemed small. Smaller than she even was in reality. “Kid the only thing I’ve been sure of recently is that I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing.” Another sigh escaped him. “I didn’t know her as long, but I’m sure Celeste questioned shit all the time, too. You don’t grow up like us and end up, well, you know. I bet she had a million questions and doubts about her choices.” He gave her shoulder a small nudge with his elbow, eyes turning back to the tree in front of him. “But she knew she was picking what was best for you every time. Even I know that. And I don’t know shit. Probably helped ease the doubt.” Not that he really knew. But he could guess. “You got lucky. Having her.” Kaden wasn’t sure that was comforting or not given what she’d just told him minutes ago. “Whoever rejected you, fuck them.” There was more he wanted to say, thought about saying, but he couldn’t make the words leave his lips. Not yet. 

“She would,” Ariana agreed. How many times had she rolled her eyes at Celeste’s advice? Far too many. It was almost humorous now that she’d do just about anything for it. To be given some sense of direction that felt right. Maybe Deirdre’s piercing scream and throwing her out wouldn’t have stung as much if she still had that same safe haven to return to. There was nothing she could do that would have made Celeste turn her away. She still couldn’t help but feel a sense of righteousness here. How could she be tossed aside for someone who literally had a torture bunker in their home? Having Kaden there grounded her in a different way. He was just as appalled as she was by the whole situation. By what Lydia did to those people. By what she did to her. Even now, in the wake of what happened, he was nudging her shoulder without hesitation and she couldn’t recall such an easy gesture between them before. He showed up for her in more ways than she could have expected and maybe that was enough. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I don’t owe you shit. Doesn’t change the fact I’d want to be here if you needed me anyway.” 

It was obvious to her that he was still struggling with something that maybe she’d never be able to understand, but all she could do now was be here with him. Ariana wouldn’t push him, not today. Not when she already felt exhausted during a time of month she usually felt energized and rejuvenated. Even how much more comfortable he seemed with her as of late and how he saved her the other night, she had to believe he was going through some sort of internal struggle that only Celeste could understand. She stared ahead at the tree, right now they could both use her wisdom. “That’s a whole ass mood. Which is probably obvious given the mess I made with the leanan-sidhe. Which, I’ll be honest, still has me shaken up.” She picked apart at the leaf in her hands, creating little confetti like pieces around the ground in front of her. “I know you’re right. She had to make a lot of difficult choices. She just somehow made a way of making them look easy. Like she just naturally knew the way. Even when we had to pack our bags on a whim in the middle of the night and hit the road because her parents got a lead on us, it always seemed like she knew exactly what she was doing. Exactly where we were going. Maybe being together was part of that.” 

Her mind lingered wistfully on late night car rides. How Celeste would always give her cash and she’d load up on drinks and snacks for them. She remembered how much Celeste loved oatmeal creme pies and vanilla iced coffee no matter the weather. She remembered the way she could barely see the road ahead over the dashboard and what she could see seemed so dark, yet she always remained calm. Ariana knew she had to be scared, too. There was no way she couldn’t have been. They had been on the run after all. She’d been younger than Ariana was at the time, but somehow managed to put on a brave face for her sake. It was something she’d never stop being grateful for and still wished she told her that more. “I did. I should have told her that more.” She sighed and grabbed another leaf, eyes still locked ahead on her tree. The idea of completely writing off Deirdre with a simple “fuck her” wasn’t something that came easily. She’d been so kind before and now she just didn’t understand how what she’d done had been so wrong. How Deirdre could possibly stand behind someone who kept humans in her basement to abuse, torture, and eat. There was no way that was the only way and she had to think Deirdre knew that. Still, the words fae’s property rang in her mind. She shuddered slightly and said, “I wish it was that easy. To say fuck them and move on like none of it ever mattered-- But it did matter. You can’t just stop caring about someone at the drop of a hat.” 

“Well, then. Noted,” Kaden said. Even if he was sure he was the one with a debt to pay in this situation. Still. “But you should erase that word from your vocabulary, alright?” His tone was light, joking. Even if it didn’t feel like a joke just yet. Not this soon. It was funny, he’d wanted to be alone out here for a while but he was more and more glad that he wasn’t. Just hearing another heartbeat, it was comforting. Something about the steady rhythm along with the sound of the wind picking through the branches it just felt better. Maybe it didn’t answer any of his questions, but it was better. Maybe that was all he could ask for. 

“I mean, it’s been two whole days since--” Kaden didn’t need to spell it out. “And this, this is a big fucking situation. You weren’t ready for what you walked into. It’s not your fault. I wouldn’t have done much better.” In fact, if she hadn’t reminded him what they were up against, he was two steps from barging down Lydia’s door and taking care of this himself. And it would have fared about as well as her attempt at that, surely. He took the finger nail on his thumb, dug it into the side of his wrist. They had to fix this. Not today. But he had to try to right the wrongs there. He didn’t know how yet but soon. 

“I think her motivation had something to do with why it looked easy. If I had to guess.” Making decisions to protect someone else? It was always easier. Always. If Blanche was in trouble, for example? His choices were easy. Do whatever it took to help her. Kaden had no doubt that Celeste felt the same. When put up against a wall, there was no time for second guessing. You lept and hoped it was the right choice. Maybe it was something the two of them had taken from hunting, come to think of it. Not that he could ask. “And you didn’t have to tell her. With how close you were? She knew.” He sighed right along with her. He damn well understood what she was saying and he was confronted with his tendency to push away anyone who even so much as implied rejecting him before they had a chance. “I know. I really fucking know.” It was half of why keeping people at arm’s length was easier. It hurt less in the long run. For so many reasons. But hell, he definitely understood. It was part of why he was in that fucking clearing at all. “I’m sorry. I can’t make them understand what they gave up. But they… I mean it’s their loss, Ari. I know it feels like yours but in the end…” His words trailed off again and he found himself scuffin his boot back and forth in the dirt. “It’s their loss if they rejected you.”

“Oh, right,” Ariana said somewhat sheepishly. Watching her words hadn’t felt necessary around Kaden. He was safe. The other night had only proved it. “Thankfully, I have a feeling that even if you could use those words against me, you wouldn’t.” Unless there was some magic way to make her stay out of trouble. As it stood, trouble was all but unavoidable in White Crest even if one didn’t have a knack for it. She’d need to be smarter about her words though. They had put both of them in danger and they were hardly out of the clear just yet. The thought of putting him or anyone else she loved in danger again made her feel a small rush of panic that she quickly quieted. Right now, right here-- this was a safe place. The smell of dying plants and Kaden’s hair products reminded her of that. There was much left to figure out, but right now, they could share this moment with Celeste in a sense. 

“It is,” Ariana breathed as she looked down at her hands momentarily. They felt the need to keep busy somehow as if that could stop the anger and heartache that made itself at home inside her body and mind. “I wasn’t, but you told me that forever ago. I can’t help but think that if I let Athena take care of this from the start that Sammy would still be alive. I know there’s no changing it now. I do. And I know at the end of the day, it’s Lydia’s fault. I just feel… honestly, kind of fucking stupid. I wanted so badly for there to be a way to save him that didn’t involve killing anyone. I just don’t think that exists. Lydia isn’t bad because of what she is, but what she chooses to do with all while feeling no remorse is just--” She took in a huff of air to steady herself again. She knew her voice was shaking and she cared little to hide it. There was no need to. Not from Kaden. “I don’t think I can be the one to kill her, but I want to help. I want to get those people out of there. Whoever they are, there’s no way they deserve what she’s putting them through.” 

There was no denying that Kaden made sense. Ariana knew that feeling all too well. It came into play when that karkinoid had found her and Blanche on the beach. When that weird vampire thing paralyzed Kaden before. When she’d seen Alcher lunge at Adam. There hadn’t been a doubt in her mind then that she needed to act and there wasn’t any doubt about those moments now. If Sammy had made it out of Lydia’s alive, she was sure she would have felt the same. And hadn’t she been able to fake confidence then? “You’re right,” she said simply, finally dragging her eyes away from the tree and back to him, “You kind of had that energy the other night. Don’t get me wrong, I was still panicked as fuck, but you being there-- I knew it’d be okay somehow.” She didn’t note that it wouldn’t have been okay if Rio hadn’t shown up. Kaden may have been okay with sacrificing himself, but the thought of losing him devastated her, she couldn’t imagine how much worse it would be if she was the one to kill him. She nodded slowly, tossing around some leaves instead of picking them apart, “I hope she did. I think I’ll wish I could say it even just one more time.” She’d prefer a hundred. Even a thousand, but that wasn’t how the world worked. “It does suck. I guess things are just like that sometimes.” His next words surprised her and left her eyes misty. He’d never been mean to her-- harsh when he was trying to keep her from diving into something way out of her depth, maybe, but never mean. This had been a certain level of caring he didn’t typically show. He’d shown understanding while she grieved, but even if it wasn’t direct, he was expressing just how much he cared. That he wouldn’t want to give her up, that he couldn’t just toss her to the side so easily. “Thanks,” she said through tears though these ones were more heartfelt than heartbreak, “That means a lot and I appreciate you saying it.” 

“You’re right.” Kaden cracked a small smile. “One of the only word bindings Regan and I have? That we can’t promise each other anything. So you’re right. I think your choices say more about you than not. Wouldn’t want to take that away.” He tried to ignore the weight he felt fall down onto his chest just thinking about Regan. Things were better. Marginally. Maybe. Putain, he still couldn’t think about her much without feeling like a failure in so many ways. And she was friends with Lydia, wasn’t she? So much for pushing that weight aside, it decided to settle in. 

“Maybe. But if she’s made it this long, there’s no way any single warden is taking her down.” Especially not one that was still a kid. Not without a lot of collateral damage. Kaden understood the anger she felt, though, the desperation to help. He felt it, too. “I get it. Wanting to fight this. Fight her. After what you told me,” he shook his head, “I would have done the same. Maybe stupider.” It was probably why he cared about her so fucking much. Even if she was a werewolf, the very thing he was meant to rid the world of, her desire to keep people safe from harm, he recognized it. And he knew she meant it wholeheartedly. He looked over at her as she spoke and it struck him that the werewolf sitting next to him might be a better person than he was. It caught him so off guard he almost forgot to respond. “Then we’ll make sure they get out alive. Every one of them is worth more than five of her anyway. We’ll get them out. As much as I hate this word now, promise.” He had no fucking clue how. But they’d fix this. Another for his list.

His brow furrowed a bit at her comment. Huh. She had a point. Kaden hadn’t considered it much. Not really. He barely thought out there, just acted and reacted. He had a million questions, plenty of doubts, but his goal was clear. Almost as clear as it used to be nearly a year ago when he hunted. The singularity was simple. It just wasn’t what he was trained to do. Not even slightly. It struck a chord of guilt through him. But looking at Ari quelled any doubt that he made the right decision. “I-- if I hurt you, Morgan told me she’d bite me.” Putain, he wasn’t sure why he told her that. But he did have a point. “Not that she-- It’s not because of that. That’s not why I--” Fuck, this sounded bad. He had to try again. Deep breath. “What I’m trying to say is. If I had hurt you or, fuck, worse, I--” He felt his words catch in his throat. “I-- I’d have asked her to. I think. Or just-- I don’t know. I wasn’t going to hurt you out there. I couldn’t. Not after… I wouldn’t let that happen.” He looked down at his shoes again, tried digging a new divot with his heel. “So yeah. I-- you’re safe with me. As much as you can be. I… I mean, we’re both lucky Rio showed up. And came prepared.” More prepared than he was for the situation. He had to give the kid credit. “You don’t have to thank me. Really. I try not to say shit I don’t mean either so,” he said, trailing off his sentence with a shrug. 

Ariana knew she had been right. There was no way Kaden would ever use anything against her to hurt her. How they’d gotten to this point was still a bit of a mystery, but she wouldn’t change a thing. “I like that, that you both want each other to have a choice in things. Free will is important.” The sentiment was only more cemented after what happened at the start of the full moon. Her free will had been ripped from her in such a nearly devastating fashion. It was a reminder to be better. Be smarter. 

“I wouldn’t let Athena go in alone. I won’t let her go in alone,” Ariana said firmly. As sure of herself as Athena was, the thought of her being hurt or worse made her sick with worry. Losing Athena wasn’t an option though she didn’t want to ponder the why of that too deeply in this moment. Instead, she focused on what Kaden said next and laughed a bit. “I guess we’re more fight than brains, huh?” It was something they shared, a willingness to jump in the deep end if it meant keeping others safe. She imagined some of what they shared made it easier for him to see past everything he’d been taught and see her for she was. Some part of her knew he was all the better for it. Not just because he knew Celeste, but because he knew her. He made her want to be better, too. In light of Deirdre throwing her out for choosing to save a human at the risk of a fae, it was a nice reminder that everything she tried to be and embrace wasn’t for not. That there was a middle ground to be found. It’d take more than her to build it, that better world, but it was all one brick at a time. As much as she wanted there to be a better way, someone like Lydia wasn’t going to change her ways. The only thing that would follow her was harm and if she had a way to save the innocent people she kept locked in her basement, she had to act. “Just don’t make that promise to an actual fae. We’re going to save them. It’s not going to be easy, but we will.” 

The way he stumbled over his words as he spoke left her with a somewhat amused smile on her face to replace the happier tears that had been there just moments before. Ariana placed a hand on his shoulder, knowing it’d be more welcome now than it would have been in the past. “Chill, Kaden. I know you didn’t save my ass out there because Morgan said she’d bite you if you hurt me. I know the not hurting me was because you didn’t want to hurt me. That choice was yours and well, it means a lot to me. I know I’m safe with you… or as safe as anyone can be in this town. But hey, anyone that wants to fuck with us has to fight a hunter and a werewolf so.” Even from beyond, Celeste was helping in a way. It wasn’t the same. Nothing ever could be. But she brought them together and she admittedly felt much better than she had when she first arrived here. “I know we both tried to make him leave, but I’m glad he didn’t. He’s really coming into his own. I think moving out of his parents’ house has done a lot of good for him. He’s learning to be a hunter in his own way and decide what it means for him. Plus, that punch was awesome. He saved us both.” Kaden more literally, but Ariana would have been crushed if Kaden died, especially at her hand. She shook her head as he shrugged off her thanks. “I know you don’t. I just-- I feel better than I did before I got here. I’m glad you showed up.” That he kept showing up. For her. For others. It was a nice reminder that for all she lost, she still had so much to live and fight for. 

Her hand on his shoulder felt like a shot of electricity in a way, sending his hunter senses on alert. Kaden exhaled, relaxed, let it be something different. Just like Regan’s freezing skin shifted from something alarming to comforting, he’d have to find a way to let this settle in, too. Redefine what it meant from her. He hoped he hadn’t jumped. He didn’t mean to. In fact, it brought a relieved smile to his face, that she understood. Leave it to the teenager to cut through the crap and get right down to it. “Thanks. Guess you’re right. Didn’t expect that to be a team up any time soon.” Of course, she was used to it, surely. Had to be strange, growing up and bridging that gap. For both her and Celeste. He found himself again wishing he could ask his friend the thousands of questions running through his head. His head tilted as he caught some of her sister’s words. He’s learning to be a hunter in his own way and decide what it means for him. An odd feeling swelled up in him. Hard to name. Pride, maybe? Shit, he didn’t know. If it was that, not that he earned that feeling really, for which of the two of them, Rio or Ari, he didn’t know either. All he knew was that sounded so much like Celeste. So much like what she’d told him. He sniffed back the tears pricking at the sides of his eyes as he felt how much she was still alive right then. “Yeah I guess so. I can’t believe you think that punch was awesome. Considering,” he said, nudging her again, a smile creeping back onto his face. For how much he’d wanted to be alone with his thoughts before coming here, he was surprised at how much nicer this was. With a werewolf of all people. “I’m glad I showed up, too.”

[queerchoicesblog]

The Cage Of Fools

Hiya, folks! So, as previously announced, the wlw writing project continues after a break with a miniseries set back in the City of Lights - & Love - at the time of the Belle Epoque, at the turn of the century.

What does Élodie has in store for Léa? Find out in today’s chapter!

Hope you enjoy it: if you do, please consider spreading the word!

Next chapter out on Friday, I think!

TRIGGER WARNING: mentions to homophobia, violence

Tagging: @scottishqueer​

Previous chapters: Paris, Paris ; One Night At The Moulin Rouge , The Handkerchief

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As I wait for her, I look around, savouring the magic atmosphere of the Moulin Rouge backstage. The mix of sweat, champagne and perfume, the lively murmur coming from behind the velvet curtains...it's like being in a world of its own. A crazy secret world where you forget about the other one, outside these walls. Your miseries, the money in your pocket which is never enough, your sorrow. They're not admitted here, this place forges dreams only. It's so different from the atelier or where I live... The door of the changing room opens up again and the sound of laughters and a bottle being popped open comes from the inside. Élodie steps out just as I turn: she changed and is now wearing more ordinary clothes. I notice that she still keeps the handkerchief in her pocket. "Thank you for your patience, my dear" she smiles, approaching with a coat in her hands. "Not joining the party?" I ask, nodding at room she has just left. She looks back for a moment then meets my gaze again and shrugs. "Not tonight"

I'm a bit confused but she's probably tired. Maybe she had a long day too and can't wait to go home and crash to bed. She just asked me to stay out of politeness, maybe for my gift... I gesture her to let me help her putting on her coat. "What way are you heading? Maybe I can walk with you for-" I start but she cuts me short. "Actually I was hoping you would join me for a drink" she says, turning to face me again. "It's too early to go to sleep and I would love some company" She takes a pauses then flashes me an encouraging smile. "If you want to, that is" I'm surprised by her invitation. Me, the seamstress getting a drink with a dancer of the Moulin Rouge? I heard stories of spectators who would fight, maybe even duel for their attention or an invitation from a woman like her and now...this? Me? I try to snap out of it but before I can formulate a single word -and thought-, she speaks again as if reading my mind. "I won't insist if you can't but you've been so kind to me, travelling all the way here to bring me back my handkerchief. And I'd love to get to know you better, seamstress-poet" Her voice softens imperceptibly when she pronounces the epithet she gave me when we first met, in this very same corridor one week ago: seamstress-poet. I still hardly feel like a poet but I feel flattered: it's the second time she used it tonight as if she was quite...fond of it. And she remembered my name too. I'm quite tired to be honest, the hard work of the past few days is kicking in and for some reason my mind goes back to Marie, who's probably now sitting alone at the dinner table after saving some stew for me. She will be worried if I come home too late...yet I find the invitation alluring. And the brave, patient smile on Élodie's lips makes it even harder to decline her offer. "Yes, sure, why not?" I sigh, smiling shyly. "I'm not sure I can stay long but I'd love to". I button up my coat and Élodie claps her hands, her face brightening up. "Marvellous! Drinks on me, no arguing" she winks. Then she wraps her arm around mine and we walk into the court that leads to the main street. The moon is almost full up there in the sky and looks like she's bashfully hiding behind a veil of clouds: what made her so shy tonight? I shake my head at my silly thoughts. The night is cold, I wonder if the temperature will go below zero during the night: thank God tomorrow is my day off, I won't have to sew in miserable conditions. "So, where to, my dear friend?" Élodie asks. "Do you know any good place to go?" An inviting warmth spreads from her arm linked to mine, from our proximity. I don't have to hug myself to shake away the cold. "Mmh...I know a bar in Montmarte. I usually go there with my friends" I say, considering. "With the nice boy who lead you backstage and is not your boyfriend?" she teases, playfully. "Very well then, lead the way, mademoiselle!" I oblige but I stop after a moment. I frown: I completely forgot today's the closing day. Even a week ago we had to go somewhere else, but I can't remember where. I just followed the boys, still drunk of the wondrous performance at the Moulin. Élodie reassures me not to worry about it, we will come up with something. She grabs her chin and looks around, pondering options. After a moment, she turns back to me. "I know a spot, it's not far actually" she says and I get the feeling that she's a bit nervous now even if she tries to look cheerful as usual. "It's probably a bit different from the bars you're used to" "I'm no high-maintenance" I chuckle since she makes it sounds like I'm used to fine things, finer at least. "And I've never been in a bar at Pigalle" The thought thrills me: I know there are places I could afford but we've never been here on our nights out. We usually end up in the suburbs or down the river...Pigalle is a bit too far away from our usual routes. But it also has a reputation: they say it's the place where everyone can find their thrills. I know that some refers to the prostitues walking the streets night and day but I don't care. "No? Oh well...then to The Cage of Fools!" Élodie exclaims. "The Cage of Fools?" I laugh. "As long as you don't drag me straight to the asylum!" She laughs too, gently pushing me forward. "Why would I do that? They don't serve alcohol there!" True to her words, the place is ten minutes away or so it seems to me: I might be too distracted chatting with my new friend to notice but it wasn't far. Set at the corner of a back alley, I wouldn't have taken the Cage of Fools for a bar if I hadn't known better. It looks like a tavern with old worn wooden doors and painted glasses so smoky or dirty that you can't really see the inside. Even the sign threatens to fall any minute. The only hint of its true nature is the echo of music coming from the inside. Élodie holds the door open for me and a mix of cigarette smoke, alcohol and cheap perfumes hits my nostrils. I take a deep breath and we walk in. The place is surprisingly lively for the unassuming exterior. Tables are lined up to the sides to leave plenty of space for a dance floor at the centre. At the bottom, the bar is already crowded with costumers. At one of the stools, a singer is grazing her fingers over a little accordion just like the one one of my roommates owns. When I hear the musician's mastery, I cannot help but think it's a pity she never uses it. Élodie must be a regular here because she seems to know everyone, well almost everyone. She greets some girls chatting and playing cards at a table nearby, who kindly offer to make room for our coats. "You're early today" one of them comments as we take them off. "So what, complaining already, sweetness?" Élodie retorts, eliciting a round of laughters from the table. "She's just afraid of the competition, sunshine" another giggles before getting a shove on the shoulder from her friend who spoke first. Élodie rolls her eyes, smiling. "I'm here with a friend" she says, gesturing me to step closer. "Here, this is Léa, be kind to her, it's her first time here. Léa, my favourite foolish friends" The ladies turn towards me at unison and look at me in a way I cannot describe. Is it surprise the unreadable expression on their faces? Or else? Slightly embarassed, I wave my hand and greet them. "Ah, so this is the Léa" the one who hasn't spoken yet says, her eyes wandering between me and Élodie. "Nice to finally make your acquaintance, mademoiselle" "The Léa? I..." I start, confused, but my friend interrupts me. As a new popular jig starts playing -apparently there's a little orchestra too, not just a solo singer-, she drops our coats into the lap of one of the ladies and exclaims. "Oh I love this tune! The dance floor is screaming my name" "The can-can hasn't tired you out?" I joke, making room for her. Élodie reaches for my hand and smirks. "It takes more than a can-can to do that, my dear girl. Come, let's dance!" She pulls my hand but I freeze and ask the silliest question I could have ever formulated. "Dance? But like...with me?" I've only danced with other girls in private and they were my sisters after mom fell asleep. Oh and Marie when she wanted to rehearse beforehand in case Alain asked her to dance. I've never done it in...public. Élodie shrugs, half amused. "Afraid people will stare? Trust me, it's fine here. So, shall we?" Another sudden realisation hits me: I have never danced with a professional only for fun and when I was a bit tipsy. Or yes, where nobody could see me. I will embarrass myself... "I-I don't know the steps" I admit, blushing. Élodie smiles and pulls my hand again. "I can teach you but the real secret is...don't think, just feel the rhythm and move" When we reach the other dancing couples, I'm still unsure of what to do. I'm suddenly nervous, almost regretting being here. I stand in the position I usually take when we go dancing with the guys. Élodie looks at me, still half amused half....I don't now, maybe it's pity? "Is this how you dance with your non-boyfriend?" she asks but I sense no judgement or derisive intent in her playfulness. Then she takes my hand and places it on her shoulder. "You know what? It's fine, I'll dance the man part to make it easier for you" she winks. "But we have to stand a bit closer" A shiver runs down my spine when she wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me closer until our faces are inches apart and our bodies flushed together. When she speaks again, I can feel her breath on my lips. "And now showtime" she whispers, leading me into the fast paced dance. It's hard to keep pace and not step on her foot at first but she leads with confidence and tells me what to do every now and then. We bump into other couples but nobody seems to care and I don't even have to worry about falling because her arm keeps me steady. I've never danced like this, not even with other girls: she just makes it sound easy, fun. Soon I relax and gain a little bit of confidence to try some moves of my own, Élodie welcomes them with enthusiastic cheers. Just like at the Moulin Rouge the world seems to spin faster and be suddenly lighter. She must feel the same way because she's smiling again. When the tune comes to an end, we exchange a look and wait the next one. Now that my embarrassment has gone, I'm not leaving the dance floor so soon! We keep dancing, careless and free. And as we do so, thanks to less furious jigs and songs, I notice something that God knows why, I missed earlier when we entered. Élodie was right: this place is different from the bars my friends and I usually end the night in. I don't know why it took me all this time to realise such an evident detail but...on the dance floor there are only other women dancing with women and men dancing with men. Pretty much the same goes for the table or the niches or the bar. Some men are in feminine clothes and wear a wig and a rouge on their lips just like girls do; some women, included the singer, are in a masculine attire. Like cheap tuxedos and high hat or blouses and papillon that makes them look young ephebic dandies. I have never been in a place like this. I catch girls throwing lingering looks at me, taking in my full figure as I spin laughing in Élodie's arms. One even gallantly tips her hat at me and mouths something I cannot understand. I shrug smiling to signal I couldn't make out a single word and she smiles back, rising her glass. It's weird and new. I'm used to men asking to dance or dropping compliments when I'm out with my friends but women never look at me this way. At least, if they did, I have never noticed so far. Generally they're either friends or colleagues or clients who only check themselves in the mirror as I fix their clothes. This is different, this is like...being seen, regarded, admired maybe if someone likes what they see. The thought makes me blush furiously and I rest my head on Élodie's shoulder. I breathe in her scent and smile, thrilled and surprised to feel her head leaning over mine. Our hearts pound madly in our chests. We dance until I'm out of breath and ask for a little pause. Élodie takes my hand and leads me to the bar. We find two empty stools and take a seat. She asks me what I'll have and remind me that drinks are on her. Then she calls the bartender, they must know each other. "Pierrette! A glass of your finest cider for my friend here and the usual for me" She turns back to me. I'm still panting, my cheeks on fire. "You did incredibly well to be someone who 'doesn't know the steps'" "I just followed your lead" I laugh, dismissing her compliment. "You're kind but I'm a terrible dancer. Especially compared to you but it was fun" She throws me a smile veiled by the smoke of the cigarette she accepted from a guy, another friend or acquaintance I wager. "You should dance more often then. If you need a partner..." Our conversation is interrupted by the bartender approaching with our drinks. Pierette is one of those men in feminine clothes and has an incredibly sweet and welcoming smile. I tell her so when she hands me my cider and places a glass of cognac in front of my friend. "Thank you, Pierrette, you're a sweetheart" Élodie smiles, dropping coins in her hand and pulling her close to press a kiss on her cheek. The bartender bows her head and hesitates a little. Turning towards me, she adds, placing a flower on the counter: "The gentleman down there sends you this, mademoiselle" I turn towards my friend first and then towards the tables and I meet the gaze of the lady in tuxedo who tipped her hat at me while I was dancing. She courtly bows her head with a charming smile before resuming playing cards. The little violet must have been pinned to her jacket. "Look at you, already an admirer" Élodie comments, blowing off smoke. "That was...unexpected" "Do you like her? Would you like to go thank her?" I consider it for a moment: I probably should but she's playing and my friend invited me here. "Maybe later" I shake my head. "I'm here with you" I rise my glass for a toast and I think I see Élodie blushing a little at my words for the first time. "To our night out, to a new friendship" she proposes and we cling our glasses. We smile at each other then I divert my eyes, embarassed: I don't want my new friend to get the impression that I'm staring on anything. My eyes falls back on the little violet. "So, tell me, Léa, what brings a seamstress-poet like you in the City of Lights?" My story is pretty simple, actually. I tell her about my job at the atelier, a refreshing change from my maid years but at the time it was my only way out of my miserable provincial town. I share a few details of my life there, my father working as a fisherman... "Did your father fish oysters too? I think they do that up North" Élodie asks, pondering. "Oh yes, sometimes during the winter" "Ever found any pearl inside?" I laugh: I wish we did! "Had we, I would have never taken that maid job!" Élodie gives me a long lingering look before speaking again. "Maybe the reason why you never found one is simple. Maybe you are a tiny shining pearl" Sudden warmth spreads inside me, embracing my chest and the tip of my ears. "Don't tell me no one called you 'the pearl of Roscoff' back there" she adds, charming. "No, I was simply Léa, Gilles' daughter back there. If they remembered my name, that is" I shrug. "Weird people the folks of the North: they call themselves the best fishermen yet they cannot recognise a pearl when they see it" "Maybe they thought I was a mermaid" I joke to conceal how her words fluster me. Élodie seems to consider the possibility for a moment then she leans closer, our faces inches apart from each other again, and she sniffs my hair, my neck. The gesture is playful but also sensual. I don't know if that was her aim but I shut my eyes, grateful she can't hear my heart now. "No, you're not. You don't smell of tar or seaweed...and you have no tail" she declares, parting. I make a scene to look relieved as I hope she didn't notice the red on my the tip of my ears. She smiles, a gleam in her eyes. "And you?" I inquiry. "Tell me more about you" She gives a long look then drowns her drink. She tells me that she's been a dancer since the day she arrived here. Even before, actually. She started small but soon joined the dancing crew at Les Folies Bergere: I could have find her performing at the prestigious music hall a couple of months ago. She liked it there, the music acts were glorious but when she heard about the auditions for the Moulin Rouge she decided to give it a try. Why not, she thought. The rest is history. I'm amazed at how she speaks so casually of places that ignite the dreams of common girls like me, used to ordinary music halls and bars. "Do you regret leaving Les Folies?" I ask, taking a last sip of cider. "Not really, no. I still have friends there, they invite me to their acts but the Moulin is where I belong now, where I want to be. You see-" A loud ruckus suddenly erupts and people in the front start screaming. "Shit!" Élodie curses before quickly jumping off her stool. It all happens in the blink of an eye. I turn and see gendarmes pushing their way through the scared crowd that was dancing until a moment ago. Until their arrival. "Enough of your little party, you're under arrest" I hear them yell, cold and angry. Blood runs cold in my veins but I feel Élodie hands grabbing mine and pushing me off my stool too. "Follow me and run. Run!" She doesn't have to tell me twice. We sprint off in the panicked crowd, desperate for a way to escape the raid like everyone else. I only make out one voice among the screams of panic and the shouts of the gendarmes. "We're not doing anything wrong! Leave us alone" a woman is saying but she has little success against their wrath. Too soon the sinister whistle of a baton and the sound of a broken nose reach ears. Cold fear makes me shiver. "Shut up, degenerate! Secure the exits!" "This way, Léa, this way!" Élodie says, keeping pushing forward with the force of despair. We enter what looks like a storage room or a canteen and we keep running towards the door. We're halfway when Élodie let me move ahead as if shielding me from the chaos and panic coming from the main hall. More gendarmes are storming in and the door in front of us seems like our only way out. We're almost there when it slams open and another man in uniform materialises. As he spots us, he sneers and launches forward. I let out a shriek "Where do you think you're going?" he spits, furious. I duck just in time to avoid his baton and before I process what's happening, I hear him wincing. I look back and Élodie still has a fist mid air; then she grabs his shoulders and kick him hard in the groin. The gendarme collapses to the floor whining loudly. Panting, she reaches me and I grab her hand. "Run, Léa, run!" We both sprint off into the street outside and keep pushing forward and against our fatigue as we hear the shouts of other gendarmes in the distance, the echo of their boots appraching. We exchange a look and take a brisk turn to the left then one another, hoping to confuse the guards. We keep running hand in hand until our breath is short and I can hardly recognise the streets anymore. Where are we? Élodie pulls me into a back alley at the corner of a church. My knees threaten to fail to sustain me any longer but she puts an end to our mad run. We hide behind a lateral arc, the niche of a secondary access to the building but the heavy door is now closed. We both pant and I'm about to say something when Élodie spying the street nearby, places one hand on my mouth gesturing me to keep as quiet as possible. I look at her confused and a little scared but then I understand. "You sure they went this way?" The voice of a man, one of the gendarmes chasing us. "I thought so but I don't see anyone" another adds. "You stupid ass, we should have taken the other turn!" "Hey calm down, hot-head! Do you think I had fun running all the way here?" They're panting too. "They went the other way, I told you!" "What makes you so sure? Let...let me check the alley here?" Panic runs through my veins and we both hold our breath despite the exhaustion of the long run. Echoes of steps and a flash of light approaching on the ground. "I don't know, I think I see something" The lights moves closer and now a second set of steps resounds. His colleague must have followed him. I brace myself for the worst. Out of the blue a stray cat meets the light and hisses angrily before running off into the night. I hear a laughter. "Oh fuck off!" "You saw a cat? A fucking cat?" The light moves the other way: we're safe even if it was so close, too close. "Not a word, you moron" "The pussies went the other way, no point in wasting time with a cat" Another derisive laughter echoes. Élodie retrieves her hand but we keep silent until we cannot hear any steps in the distance. Then we let out a laughter, a nervous laughter to soothe our nerves. We even crack a joke about our fortuitous save. When our giggles die out though, Élodie goes quiet for a moment before breaking the silence again. "I'm sorry, I've been foolish...I shouldn't have taken you there" Her voice is somber and her lips are curled in a grimace. "Why? I liked the place and...and I even got to dance with a dancer of the Moulin Rouge: it doesn't happen every day" I say, trying to brighten the mood. I got quite a scare though and my heart is pounding like mad. Élodie smiles weakly, struggling to recover her usual mirth. "I ruined our night" "No...no, don't be silly" I wince and pull her into a hug. I don't even know what I'm doing, I just follow my instinct. I cannot bear the inconsolable guilty look on her face...I want to make it go away and see the cheerful, playful girl who was chatting and dancing with me an hour ago. Élodie hugs me back and I breath in the mix of spices and smoke radiating from her. When we finally part, our eyes meet again. Hers are so pristine like water or the stars floating in the sky above. I feel her hands cupping my cheeks, her thumb stroking my cheek as she did earlier to wipe off her rouge. She's searching my face, I don't know what she's looking for. We're so close, my breath catches again at our proximity. But suddenly she lowers her eyes and hangs her head as if in defeat. Did I do something wrong? What did she read on my face? After a moment she looks at me with a weak smile. "It's getting late and that was enough trouble for one night. Let's find a way to get you home safe and sound" A little confused and disappointed, I take her arm and we wander off into the Main Street. We soon bump into a carriage letting off its passengers and we runs towards it. I still get the feeling there was more than she actually said in her words. Élodie asks the driver to stop in a square I'm not familiar with...I cannot tell if we're in Montmarte or Pigalle. She turns towards me. "That's my stop, I live just over there" she says, pointing at a building round the corner of a street. "I'll give you some coins for your ride and he will take you home" She offers me a bunch of franques and drops them in my hand. I'm about to decline but she places one finger on my lips and closes her hand over mine. "It's the least I can do after all the trouble" "You have nothing to ask forgiveness for" I say, reading what must be going on in her mind. She gives me a tired smile and takes my free hand in hers. "Then tell me we will meet again. You will come visit me again" I smile nodding. We will meet again. "Promise?" "Promise" Her face softens and relaxes a little. She even offers me a brighter smile. Then she rises my hand to her lips and presses a feather like kiss on my knuckles. "Until we meet again, Léa" She takes off of the carriage and hands some coins to the driver before taking a step back and waving me one last goodbye. And she's walking away. The driver asks me where to go now, I stretch out of the window and tell him my address. His wip whistles and we're off into the night. As the carriage takes me away in the night, I sigh and fall back into my seat. Warmth radiates from the hand she held and brought to her lips. I close my eyes and bring it to my chest. My heart pounds just like when we were so close I could feel her breath on my lips in that arc. Or when she called me 'the pearl of Roscoff'.

[darth-el]

Seasons Change

Pairing: Jonathan x Nancy x Reader Warnings: It’s somewhat fluffy A/N: This is a direct sequel to “Special” which you can find here as I was requested to heal some hearts with a sequel. I hope you enjoy and feedback is welcome 

Masterlist

Part 1

You felt like you had lost everything. Your heart was hurting, you were like a dead person walking. You wanted the summer over and done with so you had something else to focus on. You were still renting old films to watch, but it wasn't the same without Nancy and Jonathan. You ended up crying over them, even if they weren't sad. You found yourself crying over Dr. Strangelove which started to make you laugh because the whole film was ridiculous and you were crying over it. It was at that moment you decided to stop crying and start healing because you shouldn't have been crying over Slim Pickens riding a nuclear bomb, you should have been laughing. The best way you decided to heal yourself was throw out your entire wardrobe and start fresh. You also changed your hair dramatically, you were tempted to get it all shaved off but that would have been too much of a change.

Time passed and you were starting heal, you managed to get a job in family video which would have been great except you constantly had Keith leering at you which did make you feel uncomfortable. He was threatened by you because your film knowledge was far more extensive than his. It had to be as you were planning on going to California to study film, but that wasn't for another year.

It was a slow shift which gave you the opportunity to work on your screenplay which you hoped would give you leg up on college applications. You were pretty much finished it and it was only a short one, but it was now into editing stages. There was so much red pen on it as you were far too critical of your work. You had a felt a small twang on your heart strings because you started missing Jonathan and Nancy, they would have been so much help with this. You heard the bell of the door go which didn't really grab your attention until you felt a presence looming over you. You looked up and it was Jonathan looking shy holding up a VHS of Taxi Driver, one of your favourite films and he was yet to see. You let out a small chuckle because you knew what he was asking without using words. “What do you say?” He sighed, hoping the answer would be yes but he knew both him and Nancy hurt you, a lot. You smacked your lips together pretending to be in thought, but it was also to torture him.

“My place, 7pm. Bring the popcorn.” You tried to play it cool, but you ultimately failed as you let out a noise of excitement, it was a noise you never heard before and it made him laugh as he thought it was cute. He noticed your screenplay on the counter and gestured to it to ask if he could have a look at it. You nodded as he picked it and read through it with a small smile on his face. The screenplay was based on one of your poems, it was about when you all spoke about your hopes and dreams one night and how each of you imagined the future. The poem and screenplay omitted the fact you were eating greasy Chinese food and making a mess, because of glamour. Hollywood was about glamour, not real life.

“You're too hard on yourself,” Jonathan broke the silence as he handed back the screenplay to you. “It should have the same rhythm as the poem, that's what makes it special,” He pointed at one of your red scrawls which was about the rhythm and if it made it feel unnatural. “Nancy and I do need to talk to you.” He let out a pained sigh because they were about to let you know the truth.

You set everything up for movie night when the doorbell rang and Nancy was at the door while Jonathan was getting something out the car, which turned out to be a lot of food. Nancy had a small stack of videos you had all intended to watch at some point and smiling at you. It felt like nothing had changed, but everything had changed. You let them both in and followed them both into your basement. You sat in front of your television waiting for Jonathan and Nancy to finish bickering over what movie to watch first. You eventually felt a tap on your shoulder and Nancy had passed you Cool Hand Luke, you were shocked you hadn't seen this as you had a massive soft spot for Paul Newman. Your mind started to wander thinking about Paul Newman and his love for Joanna Woodward and how you wanted that. Your mind went off on a tangent and started thinking about other classic Hollywood actors and why they don't make them like Paul Newman and Alain Delon anymore, but you did have Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro which did make up for it.

“Before you press play, we need to talk to you,” Nancy broke your train of thought.

“Yeah, sure.” You shook your head slightly as if your brain was an etch a sketch and you were erasing your thoughts.

“We need to talk to you about what happened,” Nancy gulped sounding scared and Jonathan looked at her while caressing her hand to let her know it was okay.

“Do you remember the whole thing on news about chemical leaks, Russians...” Jonathan began explaining.

“Yeah,” You looked at him confused and then averted your gaze to Nancy who looked like she was about to burst into tears as she looked at you.

“We broke up with you for your own protection,” Nancy's voice began to break.

“It was all connected, but not in the way you think.” Jonathan's eyes were intense as he looked at you. They explained about the upside down, what happened to Will, Eleven, monsters from another dimension that took over Will and Billy. The real way Billy died and how he sacrificed himself, which was probably the most surreal thing you heard. You knew they were telling the truth because no one could make this up and Hawkins was now under scrutiny since Starcourt. That's when Jonathan dropped the bomb shell.

“We're moving away,” Jonathan sounded upset by this. “Mom thinks we need a fresh start.” He exhaled sharply. You nodded in response not entirely sure what to say. Nancy sat down opposite you.

“We know we don't deserve a second chance, but we want what we had before,” Nancy whispered gently, it was almost soothing. “We can enjoy the time we have left with Jonathan here, and then it also means we can get out of Hawkins and go visit him.” Nancy laughed softly.

“We can also do that road trip we planned,” Jonathan smiled leaning forward in his seat.

“It's not going to be like it was before,” You sighed not fully believing that those words came out of your mouth. “Things have changed,” Nancy laughed in agreement as she picked up a lock of your hair to say “yes it has”. “I don't want any more secrets from you, if the world is about to end you need to tell me. Especially if it's the zombie apocalypse because you will need me then.” You teased making them both laugh and they agreed to your terms.

“Especially if it's the zombie apocalypse.” Nancy giggled giving you small kiss on your forehead. You pressed play and Jonathan pulled both you and Nancy onto the sofa so you could enjoy the movie cuddling one another. Midway through the third film you were all asleep with popcorn everywhere snuggled into one another.

[nelllraiser]

the ring-o was their name-o | remmy & nell

LOCATION: on their way home from smashing karkinoids. PARTIES: @whatsin-yourhead and @nelllraiser. SUMMARY: nell offers remmy a deal they can’t refuse a la godfather.

The single word that would sum Nell up after everything that had occured with the big papa lobster and Mister Eye was...exhausted. After her last spike of adrenaline had worn off as they got out of the ocean, she was ready to go home and sleep for hours. Still, she couldn’t deny that she’d reveled in a good fight. Finished with scooping a handful of the strange coins from the chest, she’d walked with Remmy away from the chest, the eye, and the beach. Hopefully she’d be able to unravel some of their mysteries when she had more of her magic readily available. The last thing she’d taken from the beach was a bit more of the lobster brains, just in case Remmy got peck-ish on the way home. “So-” she began nonchalantly. “You didn’t drop your knife again during the fight, right? Or in the ocean.” Nell didn’t have any particular desire to run into the tide in hot pursuit of any red-eyed zombie ever again.

Remmy felt a little dizzy, but after everything had started to heal back up, they didn’t feel any worse for the wear. They felt a little tingle in their arms, and somehow, their chest felt lighter. As if a weight had been lifted off it. For now. The slow trickling threat of their anger was still there, now just smeared across their knuckles as the only reminder left. They’d wiped some more of the guts off and used their now tarnished jacket as a towel for the rest, holding it out to Nell when they were done. “Oh, uh, no,” they said back, giving a little frown, “where um-- where did you even find it? I lost it awhile ago, I just assumed I’d never see it again.” They pulled said knife from their pocket, emblazoned with the army insignia on one side, their initials on the other. Darie had gotten it for them, when they’d been on their first leave from being posted overseas. They sighed with the memory, feeling that aching in their chest starting to come back. “And uh...sorry. About…” nodded back towards the beach. “But it uh-- it all worked out, right? I didn’t--” hurt anyone. The words left unspoken.

“Oh, thanks,” Nell said with a smile as she accepted the jacket. She was perhaps too drained to consider any possible magical cleaning at the moment. “I uhhhh-” How to broach this subject? “Well it actually kinda turns out- I’d met you even before the bracelet and Alain thing all happened. I didn’t know it was you, though. One time when you were zombie-d out. I’ve been looking for the zombie- er- you- ever since then.” She was glad to see they hadn’t lost the knife to the depths of the ocean, though. “Oh- don’t worry about it. If I was a zombie and I saw a giant eye...slop into the ocean, I’d probably try to run after it too. That’s like- probably a zombie dream or something.” But her grin grew wider as she didn’t hesitate to confirm. “The only thing you hurt were the karkinoids, Remmy. You were a goddamned superhero with your speed and strength!”

Remmy remembered those few days with a pang of guilt. They still weren’t sure what had happened during the black out, just like...just now, but that time was different. The last thing they’d seen was Blanche’s face, and then they woke up days later in alley covered in blood. “You saw me? I didn’t-- I didn’t like...hurt anyone that time, right?” They looked away. “That was um...I think the first time I’d really...lost control. I can’t remember anything.” They turned the knife over in their hands. “Oh, I-- I wouldn’t go that far. You like...summoned fire dogs! And, well-- I don’t remember much after that. I remember following you, though? And tunneling through that…” and glance over their shoulder, even though the beach was out of sight. “It felt kinda...nice.”

“No!” Nell said hurriedly, not wanting Remmy to worry. “I mean- you like decimated a Garkain. But it was super awesome! The thing didn’t stand a chance!” She could see that Remmy was still...acclimating to all this, and she tried her best to offer a moment of comfort. “But hey- now you know how to keep yourself from getting like that!” A small scoff filled the air, as if having super strength was not something to be underestimated. “I mean- I love my hellhounds but- like you could probably chuck a dumpster or something across a football field! That’s pretty damn cool.” But perhaps here was her in. “The...fighting? You know- that’s actually like- kinda the reason I was looking for the zombie that I didn’t know was you.”

“Garkain?” Remmy’s brow scrunched. “I don’t...know what that is.” It wasn’t important, though, because it wasn’t a person and that meant Remmy hadn’t hurt anyone because of their ignorance. It was like an entire sandbag was lifted from their shoulders in that moment. They let out a long sigh. “Yeah, yeah, I do. I’m trying my best.” They perked up a little. “You think so? A whole dumpster? Not that I would. That’s like...property damage or something, probably.” The next thing came as a bit of a surprise to Remmy. “What, really? Fighting? Why were you looking to fight a zombie?? Or, gerkin? Or….whatever it was called?”

“It’s like uhhh- a really big bat, kinda. A really big deadly bat that wants to eat people and other things. And you just totally went right in and completely made a meal of its brains. It was literally so cool.” Nell gave another encouraging smile in Remmy’s direction before saying, “Yeah! And you’re doing great!” The grin became perhaps the smallest bit more mischievous, as she pictured Remmy throwing a whole dumpster. “You know, we could try it. That’d be fun. We’ll just find like- some random dumpster no one cares about!” There was a slight hesitation as she tried to decide how best to put this, not wanting to mess up something that might actually be good for Remmy. “No, no! Well- kinda. I was looking to uh- capture the Garkain. I know I said I’m a bounty hunter but that’s not really...the bulk of my work. Also Blanche doesn’t know about this yet, so please don’t tell her. But here’s kind of like….an underground supernatural Fight Ring? I thought you’d be great in it. And if the beach felt good for you...imagine how good it could feel to do stuff like that all the time.”

“Woah, I…” Remmy had to pause a minute, take in what Nell was saying. “Wow.” was all they said. “You think so? I still feel sorta…” Angry? Upset? Confused? Remmy didn’t know the exact word, but what came out was, “uncomfortable.” But with what aspect, they weren’t sure. They let the thought peter off, though, enjoying the feel of the adrenaline rushing through them, and the stupid, dopey smile Nell had on her face that made Remmy smile, too. “I guess if no one got hurt, it could fun to try. I’d like to see like...how strong I could be, you know?” They paused again, stopped walking. Blinked. “Fighting ring?” Their immediate thought was that sounded dangerous. “Like...with people or more things like...the karkinoids? I- I don’t know if I’m really cut out to fight people. I’m-- but I mean…” they looked down at their hands. It had felt really good. To let go of everything and just let fists fly. And Remmy had been trained to fight. They flexed and unflexed their fingers. “What is it, exactly?”

Nell cocked her head to the side, not entirely certain what Remmy was getting at with their reaction. “Uncomfortable? Like- how so?” But her smile was quickly returning, glad to see that Remmy seemed to be enjoying this as well— at least on some level. “We’ll find a nice big open field! We can get tons of stuff to chuck around!” She tried her best to gauge their words, truly feeling that perhaps the Ring could help Remmy get a very good form of release. She still remembered how they’d talked about that anger inside them, and what better way to get it out than this? “There’s lots of things that fight there. Mostly supernatural, but some humans as well. I fight there, too! Not just work for them. I think you could be good at it. You’ve been great every time I’ve seen you so far.” Perhaps her and Remmy had a bit more in common than she’d originally thought, at least when it came to crushing things. “A lot of the time- it’s basically anything goes. There’s some different categories and things to fight in though, too. You can choose whatever you want to do. As for what you’re fighting, I only bring in the things that are causing too much trouble- things that deserve it.”

“It--” Remmy looked at Nell. “It’s nothing. Never mind.” Remmy nodded after a moment. “Yeah, okay! Sounds fun, actually. We used to line stuff up at camp and have shooting contests. It was fun.” They said, imitating holding up a rifle and taking a shot. “I was always pretty bad at it, but maybe I’ll be better at this.” It seemed like they could be, and the thought of actually being good at something made Remmy’s heart jump a little. They smiled. “You fight in it?” they asked, raising a brow. Well, if Nell did it, then it must be okay. Nell was a good person, and Remmy liked her a lot. Plus, Blanche trusted her. So, Remmy did as well. After a long moment, they nodded again. “I, uh-- I think I’d like to do it. It sounds…” they paused, looked down at their hands, “well, not fun, but maybe fun? It felt good doing that on the beach. It feels good, you know, knowing I’m good at something. But, um-- only monsters. I only wanna fight things like the karkinoids. If that’s okay?”

“That’ll be just like this! Except with more dumpsters and like- less guns. Though- if you want to bring a gun or something, that’s your prerogative.” But Remmy’s imitation brought a grin to Nell’s face, always feeling lighter by how pure they and their actions seemed. “And I have a feeling you’re going to be very good at dumpster throwing.” Then Nell was puffing out her chest in the slightest, a part of her glad that...she could finally have someone who knew about her and the Ring. Well- someone like Remmy. “Yeah! It’s super fun! I love it. A great way to just...feel alive, you know?” Like how she’d felt alive while fighting the karkinoid. “Really, though?” she asked, mildly surprised but also excited. “You want to try? It could be so fun! Maybe we could even fight together sometimes! We made a pretty kick-ass team on the beach, in my opinion. But for sure- only monsters,” she confirmed with a wave of her hand. “And you’re not just good, you’re great. Oh also-” How could she forget this part? “You get to keep your winnings- like if you win a fight. You get a cut of the money.”

“Oh, no,” Remmy said, shaking their head, “I don’t do guns anymore.” Not that they were entirely against guns, but they weren’t allowed to own one as a citizen, so it didn’t matter anyway. They looked over at Nell. The way she described fighting made Remmy feel warm. The things they’d felt weren’t weird or out of the ordinary. Someone else felt that way, too. And… “Feel alive…” they muttered. That was what they’d been chasing this whole time, wasn’t it? Wanting to feel alive. Not being able to be touched or hug someone or accept themself. It was because they didn’t feel alive anymore, whatever that truly meant. But this...this could be the solution to that. Remmy nodded. “I wanna try,” they confirmed again. “I’ve already got like...combat training and we had to do hand to hand stuff as well at boot camp, so I’m decent at it.” Not just good, but great. Nell’s words echoed in Remmy’s head again and they looked back down at their feet, smiling. “Money? Like, from bets?” The money was just a bonus, though it would be helpful. They hadn’t cashed their disability check since finding out they were undead, so that extra money could come in handy. Not that they needed the disability anymore. It almost felt like cheating the system. They stopped and turned to Nell. “Okay, yeah. Let’s do it. I’ll do it.”

“Oh,” Nell shrugged, not having realized that. “That’s cool, then. Just dumpsters.” But as Remmy looked at her...she couldn’t help but feel like they got it. They understood that need for the blood rushing through their veins, and the edge that fighting something brought. Her own smile grew a little softer, not entirely sure she’d ever seen that in someone before that wasn’t a Hunter. And even then— it was generally something that was trained. So it was nice that someone simply just understood. “For sure- you’ll be awesome, I already know. And we could also maybe work on your like- control over going Hulk and stuff, if you wanted to. That’d probably help in the Ring, too.” Remmy’s seemingly pleased reaction made her happy, though— happy that Remmy seemed happy. She still remembered...how it had been messaging her friend after everything with Alain, and the admission they’d made. “Yeah! Exactly! It’s a decent amount the more you fight, usually. Or the better the show you put on.” She couldn’t seem to stop grinning as she stuck out a hand to Remmy, as if meaning to have a handshake. “Let’s fucking do it.”

Shaking Nell’s hand felt good, in the moment. Remmy still couldn’t remember exactly what had happened on the beach, but they knew that, at some point, it had felt good. And if they could keep feeling good, then maybe things would start to get better. Maybe then they could really be good. They smiled, the thought settling in their stomach like a warm cup of tea. “Practice will probably be good,” they finally said, before they started walking again. They hooked their arm into Nell’s as they walked. “Also, um-- I don’t think I said it, but thanks for helping me out back there. Let me uh-- let me walk you home as a thanks?” They gave a shrug. “I’ll think of something better later. Promise.”

For a moment, Nell went in to change the handshake into a little die hug, a bit sheepish about it, but doing it nonetheless. A moment too late, she realized she’d only succeeded in globbing their mutual sliminess together, and pulled away with a bit of a chuckle. “Then we’ll practice,” she confirmed, eyes still proudly crinkled as a little glow settled into her heart, only bolstered by walking alongside Remmy arm in arm. “Thanks for helping me out, back there. And yeah- I think that’s a pretty good start. So chivalrous,” she teased as the last dregs of sunlight vanished below the horizon.

[11jj11]

Gym - Alain and Mairin One-shot

Here’s a fic for Marissonshipping week! This is for the prompt “friendship”. :)

"Mairin, wait up–!" Alain called, panting as he stumbled a stop. He braced himself against a wall of a building, trying to catch his breath.

"Hurry up, Ali!" A voice called from down the street, pure excitement in her tone. Alain wearily looked up, not quite sure on how the girl managed to outpace him. Mairin paused at the street corner, bouncing happily with her crutches in hand.

It had been a week since she had sprained her ankle, but Mairin had proven to be quite adaptable. She had swiftly learned out to navigate the city with her crutches with ease, basically swinging herself about as they wound their way through the streets. More often than not Alain felt as if he were going to get a heart attack with how lax she was about her ankle, acting as if the wound were nothing more than a bruise.

"Please don't call me that," Alain muttered as he walked towards her, more annoyed that she was declaring his nickname to the public more than he was about her using it. She simply flashed him a grin as he approached, before darting off around the corner. Her Pokemon were in pursuit– a Chespin, Flabébé, and Mareep right at her heels. Alain flinched as they danced about her legs and crutches, afraid one of them would trip the young girl.

"We're going to have a gym battle!" Mairin cried excitedly. "My very first one– hurry up, Alain!"

No matter how worn down he looked, Alain was actually looking forward to the gym battle that would be taking place. He had taken on the gym challenge only a year before– but those battles had been him literally sweeping through the matches with one member of his team– or just using Charizard when the gym leader had mega evolution. The battles had been swift, interesting, and had only been done last minute so he could get to the league and battle Ash.

...And collect mega evolution energy...

He pushed the thoughts from his mind without even blinking, having grown use to these intrusive thoughts. The mocking voice in his head only popped up on occasion, his fear having died down in the last year– the only thing that remained was the horrendous guilt. It was still a struggle he dealt with, but he found that shoving it aside worked. Usually.

He eventually caught up with Mairin– who was staring up at the giant tree that was the gym with a look of awe. Her Pokemon quivered in excitement as well, but soon a frown crossed Mairin's face. She glanced down at her ankle, then at Alain, shifting uncertainly.

"Um, I know the gym is in the tree..." Mairin said slowly. "But it isn't at the top of the tree... is it?"

"Usually, yes," Alain said, heading towards the gym. "That's where I had my battle with Ramos. That's one of the reasons why I wanted to schedule your gym battle for you– I requested that you have your match outside the gym because of your ankle."

"Oh," Mairin said, relaxing slightly as they continued on to the gym. There was a smile tugging at her lips again, and her Pokemon were chirring with excitement. Alain didn't blame them, since Mairin had always been such a passive trainer this was really their first real competitive moment. He knew that none of her Pokemon would want to let her down, but Alain knew there was really nothing they could do to upset Mairin. She'd love them no matter what.

"And I'm guessing this is our little gym challenger," A voice said behind them, and they could hear the clopping of hooves. They turned around to see Ramos riding up on his Gogoat, a smile on his face. Ramos nodded at Alain, clearly recognizing him from when he had signed up Mairin for the battle– but Alain knew that he also recognized him from everything that had gone down with Team Flare.

Alain was just glad he didn't bring anything up.

"Are you the gym leader?" Mairin asked eagerly, while her team nervously stared at the Gogoat.

"I am indeed, lass," Ramos said with a tip of his hat. "And I see why we couldn't have a match on the main field. Don't worry though, we have another outdoor battlefield just on the other side of the tree. I can let Gogoat here carry you if so you don't have to walk all the way."

Mairin's eyes lit up. "Really? That would be awesome!"

Ramos dismounted his Gogoat, nodding at the grass type– who summoned two vines from his shoulders. Alain quickly stepped forward to take Mairin's crutches as the Gogoat reached out, wrapping his vines around Mairin and placing her on his back. The young girl had the biggest grin on her face as she sat on top of the Pokemon, grabbing his horns for balance. The goat Pokemon tossed its head, and with a small whistle from Ramos it began to trot towards the gym.

"Don't go too fast–!" Alain cried to the grass type, and the gym leader set his hand on his shoulder.

"Gogoat can sense her emotions as long as her hands stay on his horns," Ramos said. "He won't do anything that can hurt her ankle more, don't you worry," His eyes glanced over Mairin's team with a frown, looking at Alain with a slightly confused look. "So these will be her Pokemon?"

"Don't underestimate them," Alain said, starting forward so Mairin wouldn't be alone when they reached the battlefield, her crutches under one arm. The Pokemon followed his lead, all of them bolting after their trainer, leaving the gym leader behind.

------------------------------------

The Gogoat came to a stop at the end on a simple battlefield, kneeling down near where a trainer was supposed to stand. He used Vine Whip to help her get off, standing next to her so she had something to hold onto since she had left her crutches with Alain. She smiled as she slowly stroked the Pokemon.

"Thank you," She told the Gogoat softly, and he tossed his head. He was a beautiful and powerful creature– and she hoped that she wouldn't have to battle him.

But this was her first gym battle, and she doubted that a gym leader would use stronger Pokemon for such a match.

The others eventually caught up to them, Alain hurrying straight to her side and giving her back her crutches. He took his time, making sure that she was balanced on them before backing away. Mairin let out a giggle as her Pokemon pressed up around her– Bébé on her shoulder, Chespie wrapping his arms around her leg– glaring at Zach as he nuzzled that same leg. She grinned down at her Pokemon, heart hammering in her chest.

"Are you guys ready for this?" She asked in a small voice. They had been training all week, under Alain's guidance as well, but...

They called out happily, excitement in their eyes. Ramos' Gogoat trotted away from them, heading towards the other side of the battlefield where the gym leader now stood. The grass type user had two Pokeballs in his hands, a smile on his face as he expanded one in his hand.

"Are you ready for your battle, lass?" He called.

"Y-yep!" Mairin said, a slight waver in her voice.

"Wait," Alain said, frowning. "Don't we need a battle judge for an official match?"

Ramos nodded. "Yep. And that's going to be you– no playing favorites though!"

Alain's eyes widened. "Wait– I'm not qualified to be a judge!" He said, shaking his head. "I'm just a trainer."

Ramos let out a hearty laugh, stroking his Gogoat. "You won the Kalos League last year, which opens up several doors for you. The obvious one is the right to challenge the Elite Four and eventually the champion– but you also are considered an ace trainer, which means you can judge official battles of gym ranking and lower. So will you be willing to judge this match?"

Alain looked slightly skeptical at this information, or perhaps he simply didn't want to be reminded of the league. He looked towards Mairin for a moment, as if wanting her to decide, and she gave him an uncertain smile. She didn't mind if Alain judged this match, she knew that he knew every rule there was to a battle, and that he would be fair when it came to calls as well. He pressed his lips together for a moment, before slowly making his way to the side of the battlefield, and Ramos beamed.

"Wonderful!" The gym leader said, then he turned to face Mairin. "This is going to be a two on two match– the gym battle will be over when one side's team is no longer able to battle. Substitution is also allowed for you as the challenger."

Mairin nodded, Alain having already informed her of the standard rules for most gyms. Chespie and Zach both stepped forward eagerly as Ramos sent out his first Pokemon, a bright burst of light coming from the Pokeball. A Skiploom took shape on the field, before it rose up into the air.

"Alright..." Mairin said, fidgeting nervously. "Um... Zach– you're up first!"

"Mar!" Zach cried excitedly, bolting onto the battlefield.

"Ch-ches?!" Chespie cried, freezing up as she said this. The Chespin spun around to face Mairin, giving his trainer a look of shock.

"This is, um, an official gym battle between Mairin and Ramos," Alain said uncertainly. "I mean, between challenger Mairin Floraison and Gym Leader Ramos. Challenger gets the first move!"

"Zach, er, use Thunder Shock!" Mairin ordered, not allowing herself to hesitate. The Mareep grinned, sparks forming around him as he released a bust of electricity up at the Skiploom.

"Dodge it," Ramos said, and the green Pokemon drifted away from the attack. "Bullet Seed."

The Skiploom opened its mouth, releasing a flurry of seeds down onto the Mareep. The seeds burst as they hit Zach, causing the Mareep to let out a cry. The orb on his tail began to glow, and he formed another Thunder Shock. The Bullet Seeds were still raining down on him as he released the second burst of electricity, this time striking the Skiploom.

"Tackle!" Mairin said as the grass type began to fall, and Zach raced forward, lowering his head. He slammed into the Pokemon, sending him across the battlefield. Zach puffed up his wool proudly, but the Skiploom merely spread its petals as it hit the ground, catching a breeze and bouncing back into the air.

Ramos didn't look too concerned. "Tackle it back, then go for a Fairy Wind."

Skiploom dove at Zach, aiming for his feet to knock the sheep to the ground. The Pokemon weaved away from a jolt of electricity meant to deter him, a happy little smile on his face as he began to glow. A pink light came from him, a small gale being sent right at Zach. The Mareep braced himself as he was hit, trying to keep his footing.

"Meep!" He cried, releasing a Thunder Shock– but once again the Skiploom merely looped out of the way.

"Loom!" Skiploom said, tauntingly flying above.

"Stop, Zach," Mairin said, knowing that repeated attacks weren't going to work. "Let's use... Cotton Spore– slow him down!"

His wool faintly glowed, spores floating up from him. Skiploom swiftly went into a dive, but the Cotton Spore seemed to track him, drifting after the grass type. They stuck to him as they hit, the puffs of wool clinging to his petals and body, throwing the Skiploom off balance. He spun around in the air, spiraling towards the ground.

Zach didn't wait for an order, charging forward with a Tackle, slamming into the Pokemon once more.

Ramos frowned. "Bullet Seed."

The Skiploom rolled over onto its feet, releasing another flurry of seeds. Zach turned to the side so the Bullet Seeds were hitting his thick wool coat instead of his face. The orb on his tail flickered, sparks running across his body as he prepared another Thunder Shock. Mairin saw he was about to attack again, and swiftly called out.

"Use Thunder Shock!" She gave the order at the same time he released the attack, bolts of electricity flying from him and hitting the grounded Skiploom. The grass type let out a small growl, still trying to get the Cotton Spore off of him so he could get back into the air. "Tackle!"

Zach charged forward, once again hitting the Skiploom– but the force of his strike knocked some of the remaining puffs off of him. The Skiploom spread its petals, spinning them about, slowing himself so he didn't crash into the ground. Skiploom flicked his body, knocking the rest of the Cotton Spores off from him, zipping back into the air.

"Meep!" Zach cried, releasing another Thunder Shock up at him.

"...Your Pokemon is attacking on its own," Ramos said with a slight frown. "Recently captured, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah..." Mairin said uncertainly, glancing at Zach.

The Mareep wasn't disobeying her or ignoring orders– he just liked to throw in his own attacks when he saw a chance. Alain had told her that this was to be expected with a new Pokemon though, since they weren't used to acting only on orders. It took time for them to learn to only depend on their trainer, and to gain the trust to do so.

"Fairy Wind," Ramos said, and a gust of pink energy was fired down onto Zach.

The gale hit Zach straight on this time, the breeze knocking him onto his side. The Mareep let out a small groan at this, lifting his head up unhappily– but the Skiploom was already diving down, a Bullet Seed forming in his mouth. The flurry of seeds rained down onto the Mareep, the electric type being hidden in a small cloud of dust as they exploded.

"Eep!"

"Zach!" Mairin cried nervously. The gym Pokemon were so much stronger than she had expected, and she was slowly realizing that she should have trained more. The Skiploom gilded near the ground, waiting for the dust to fade so he could strike once more.

A small yellow shape rushed out of the fading plume– Zach ramming into the Skiploom with a powerful Tackle.

"Mar!" He snarled, knocking the grass type from the air, the force of the blow slamming him into the ground. The Skiploom was panting as it hit the battlefield, and Zach wasn't waiting to see if he was down. Sparks crackled around his wool, a Thunder Shock being sent out from him. "Meep!"

The Skiploom let out a groan of pain, and didn't rise back up into the air.

Alain raised a hand up into the air. "Ramos' Skiploom is unable to battle– that means this first round goes to Mairin and Zach!"

"Mar," Zach said, holding up his head proudly. The electric type looked back at Mairin, who took a moment to realize that they had defeated the first Pokemon. A smile slowly spread over her face, and if it wasn't for the cast on her leg she would have ran forward and hugged the Mareep.

"Awesome work, Zachy!" Mairin called out instead. "Um, can you still battle?"

"Mar," He nodded, throwing a smirk at Chespie– a dark scowl appearing over the little grass type's face.

"Are you ready to face my next Pokemon?" Ramos asked as he recalled his Skiploom, and Mairin gave a small nod. "Alright then– Carnivine you're up next!"

Mairin couldn't help but gulp slightly as the grass type was released, the Pokemon hovering menacingly above the battlefield, a grin on its face as it looked down at Zach. The Mareep took a startled step back, and began to spark his wool to show he wasn't going to back down. She had never seen this kind of Pokemon in person before– but boy did it look powerful.

Alain shot a glance at her, but raised his hand to start the next match. "The challenger may switch Pokemon if you– if they wish to."

"We're good," Mairin said quietly, and at her side Chespie let out a bitter huff. "Zach, use Thunder Shock!"

The Mareep released a burst of electricity, but the Carnivine barely looked affected, leaf-like hands curling as she waited for orders. Ramos was watching Mairin and her Pokemon closely, as if waiting for a reaction of some kind.

"Carnivine is a pure grass type– meaning she has a natural resistance to electricity unlike Skiploom," He said, leaning back against his Gogoat. "Carnivine, use Growth."

The grass type spread its leaves out so they were facing up towards the sun, and a glow engulfed the Pokemon, increasing its energy. Zach let out a nervous titter, and charged forward with a Tackle, but the grass type merely drifted up out of reach.

"Try a–" Mairin began, but Ramos cut her off.

"Leaf Tornado," Ramos snapped his fingers, and a burst of razor sharp leaves began to form around the Carnivine. They whipped around her faster and faster as they gained speed– before being released down at Zach. The swirling twister of leaves engulfed him, sending the electric type across the battlefield with a cry of pain.

The attack died down, leaving a fainted Mareep in its wake.

Alain closed his eyes for a moment. "...Zach is unable to battle, Carnivine wins this match. The challenger may switch in their last Pokemon."

Mairin reached for a Pokeball, recalling Zach in a burst of red light. She struggled to hold the Pokeball and her balance on both of the crutches, and Alain looked like he was going to hurry to her side. But Chespie summoned a Vine Whip to help keep her stable, but yet he refused to look at her.

"Good job, Zach," Mairin said softly, slipping the Pokeball away. She glanced at her two remaining Pokemon– Bébé on her shoulder and Chespie at her side. She sat up a bit, squaring her shoulders. "Okay Chespie– you're up now!"

"...Pin!" A voice snapped, and she glanced down at Chespie. The grass type was retracting his vines, looking away from her, arms crossed.

"Chespie?" Mairin asked uncertainly. "Don't you want to battle?"

The Chespin hesitated, looking back up at her for a moment– and this was enough for Mairin to know that he did want to battle. But there was a bitterness in his eyes, and he swiftly looked away again. Worry spread over Mairin's face, and Chespie again looked at her, frustration in his gaze.

"Chespin ches!" He cried, tears stinging his eyes. He pointed towards Zach's Pokeball, then towards Mairin. "Pinpin chespin pin ches! Chespin pinpin!"

Though she didn't understand a word of what he was saying, Mairin was slightly taken back by this sudden attitude. She nervously glanced towards Alain and Ramos. Alain looked worried, but yet not surprised, while the gym leader looked impatient. Bébé was staring down at Chespie, unimpressed.

"...Are you upset because I sent Zach out?" Mairin said uncertainly. She knew that the two of them didn't get along, but still... it wasn't like this was the first time she had used someone besides Chespie– Bébé had been on the team nearly as long as Chespie had.

"Pin!" Chespie cried, stamping one of his feet. He nodded, but Mairin had a feeling that this was only the tip of his anger. Again he let out a long series of chitters, waving his arms and vines– pointing from her, to himself, to the gym battle, even to Alain– desperately trying to convey his frustration. "Chespin ches ches!"

"You're upset because..." She hesitated, not knowing exactly what the Pokemon was trying to tell her. "Because..." She swallowed. "You feel I've been paying more attention to Zach than you... right?"

"Pin!" He cried, nodding angrily– pointing out to the gym battle once more.

"You think I've been depending more on him than you," Mairin said– and apparently this was exactly what Chespie was trying to say. The anger faded from his gaze, the little grass type looking up at her watery eyes.

"Chespin pin," He whimpered.

"Chespie, do you remember what Alain told us at the beginning of the week?" Mairin asked quietly, and the grass type looked slightly confused. "Before we started training?"

"...Pin?"

"The reason why I've been training Zach more was because he needed more training than you, he wasn't as experienced as you are," She closed her eyes for a moment. "Alain said that gym leaders save their strongest Pokemon for last– so I was just doing the same thing when I sent out Zach first."

Chespie went still.

"I wasn't trying to replace you with Zach," Mairin said. "I didn't mean to make you feel like you were being ignored– you're the most reliable Pokemon I've got."

The grass type was watching her with wide eyes, looking slightly taken back. All the anger in his gaze was now gone, and he glanced around at everyone uncertainly, before returning his eyes to Mairin. He swallowed– before bolting forward and hugging her leg. Mairin wished she could kneel down and return it, Chespie's small arms wrapping around her.

"Ches..." He whispered apologetically, clutching her tighter.

"Do you want to battle, Chespie?" Mairin asked, and the Chespin pulled back.

"Chespin ches!" He gave her a nod– before running and bolting onto the battlefield. The Carnivine looked down at him with narrowed eyes, but the Chespin held his ground. Mairin glanced towards Alain, who gave her an approving nod.

"Are we ready to continue?" Ramos asked, sounding slightly impatient. Not as if he were in a rush, but more as if he were silently saying that this problem was one that should have been handled before the gym battle had begun. Mairin nodded, and Alain raised his hand over his head.

"Both trainers are down to their final Pokemon– Chespie versus Carnivine. Begin."

"Pin Missile!" Mairin shouted, and the spines on Chespie's head began to glow green.

"Growth," Ramos said, and Mairin shifted nervously as she watched the Carnivine gather more strength, her leaves glowing. Chespin fired the Pin Missile, the green spines speeding towards the grass type, who flinched as she was hit with the bug type move.

That was of some relief to Mairin, showing that the Pokemon wasn't just strong enough to take Chespie's moves without a flinch. Still, those jaws on the Carnivine looked nasty... it clearly wasn't a weak Pokemon. She knew that gym battles were supposed to be a challenge, but she also knew that gym leaders were supposed to use weaker Pokemon for newer trainers. This was her first match, but the Pokemon were much stronger than what she had been expecting. Perhaps gym battles weren't meant for her after all...

Mairin swiftly shook her head, trying to regain her focus. "Um– Tackle!"

"Bite," Ramos ordered, and his Carnivine dove to meet Chespie as he charged forward. Her jaws snapped open, a dark aura surrounding her fangs. She crunched down onto Chespie, the small Pokemon letting out a cry of pain as he was lifted up into the air.

"Toxic!" Mairin snapped, surprising even herself when she didn't freeze up. Chespie struggled in the Carivine's jaws for a moment, his head and one arm hanging out of its mouth. He gritted his teeth as her heard Mairin's command, a glow surrounding his spines. He released a cloud of purple around him, the Carnivine choking as the Toxic engulfed her.

Mairin's heart was pounding, but a few moments later Chespie was released, falling to the ground as a Leaf Tornado attempted to blow the Toxic away. But the damage had been done, a purple tinge spreading across the Pokemon's skin. The Carnivine was coughing, small eyes narrowed in frustration as the poison began to take its toll.

"Pin!" Chespie called.

"Tackle it," Mairin said, but the Carnivine was too high in the air for the Chespin to reach her. This doesn't stop him from trying, jumping up in an attempt to grab its form.

"Up you go," Ramos said with a flick of his hand, and his Carnivine drifted even higher into the air. Chespie huffed up at it, then glanced at Mairin for another command. "Acid Spray."

The Carnivine opened its mouth, choking back a cough, before releasing a purple liquid from her mouth. The Acid Spray rained down on Chespie, the grass type letting out a scream as the poison sizzled against his skin. Chills raced up Mairin's back, just staring at her Pokemon as he quivered in pain.

At Ramos' command the Carnivine formed a Leaf Tornado, the whirlwind of razor sharp leaves slamming into Chespie, sending him across the field.

"Chespie!"

"Bite."

"Um... Vine Whip!" Mairin countered, but the moment she called it she knew it was a poor idea. Twin vines formed along Chespie's neck, and he swung them at the incoming Carnivine. Her jaws snapped open, seizing them with her mouth, and she threw Chespie into the air. Her heart was racing at seeing her starter in such a position, but yet her mind seemed to remain clear. "Pin Missile!"

Chespie twisted himself around as he was falling, the light green glow forming along his spines. He hit the ground with a thump that made Mairin flinch, but he landed on his feet. The Pin Missile was released straight up at the Carnivine, the ranged move able to reach it in the air. She let out a bitter hiss as she was struck, drifting closer to the ground.

"Tackle!"

"Bite," Ramos countered as Chespie ran forward, a dark aura forming along its fangs.

"Vine Whip!" Mairin cried as the Carnivine pounced forward. "Vine Whip instead, around its mouth!"

Chespie ducked and rolled, the Bite snapping right where he had been standing, two vines forming from his shoulders. They shot out, wrapping around the Carnivine's giant mouth, muzzling the Pokemon as it turned to try to land another Bite. Its eyes widened in surprise as it was now unable to open its mouth, and with a grunt of force Chespie slammed it into the ground.

"V-vine..." The Carnvine sputtered through the Vine Whip-muzzle, the poison working its way through her. Chespie was huffing as he started to lift the large Pokemon up into the air with his vines once more, but having caught Mairin many times from her falls he didn't even struggle. He threw the Carnivine across the field, smiling back at Mairin.

"Tackle!" She cried, knowing they needed to strike while the Pokemon was grounded. Chespie began running forward, head lowered as he charged. The Carnivine raised her head, Ramos commanding her to use Acid Spray, the poison type move forming in her mouth to intercept the Tackle.

A flicker of light ran across Chespie, Mairin's eyes widening as a white glow engulfed the Pokemon.

His body began to swell in size as the light danced around him, the Chespin instinctually tucking his arms and legs in close to his body, going from a charge to a roll. He barrelled forward as he grew, his form becoming rounder and larger with each passing second. The Pokemon was merely a blur as the Acid Spray hit him, the attack being deflected by his speed. The glow faded just as he slammed into the Carnivine– the Rollout sending it flying across the battlefield.

"Quill!" Chespie cried as he landed on his feet, grinning happily. He then paused, looking down at his hands in confusion. He stumbled back a few steps, taking in the new form with shock, and he turned to look back at Mairin, the Quilladin blinking as it tried to process what had just happened.

"You evolved!" Mairin cried, awe and surprise in her voice as she looked over her starter. "You evolved, Chespie, you evolved!"

"Din!" He said, flashing her a smile, though he still seemed very shocked.

"Leaf Tornado," Ramos called, reminding them that the battle was not yet over.

"Dodge it!" Mairin cried, and Chespie instantly curled himself up into a ball, rolling away as the twister of leaves sped at him. He uncurled himself, looking at the Carnivine as it slowly drifted into the air. Her entire face was now a dark purple, the Toxic spreading swiftly with each passing moment. "Pin Missile!"

His spines twitched, glowing as the bug type moved was formed. Carnivine attempted to drift forward, but cringed in pain as the poison took its toll. The speeding Pin Missiles was launched out at the grass type, multiple hits striking the struggling Carnivine. Chespie didn't relent, the Quilladin firing one right after another as the gym leader's Pokemon struggled to stay in the air.

Another wave of the poison damage washed over Carnivine, and the grass type collapsed down onto the field.

"Ramos' final Pokemon is unable to battle!" Alain said, a smile flickering over his face. "That means that this gym match goes to Mairin and Chespie!"

There had already been a smile on Mairin's face, but as she heard these words that grin only grew. She had won– she had won the gym match! And not only that, her starter had evolved. She hurried onto the battlefield as quickly as her crutches would allow, and Chespie was beaming at her. He raced to her side, looking as if he were about to jump into her arms– before realizing he now came up to her elbows.

The newly evolved Pokemon hesitated for a moment, his round shape and stubby arms not meant for hugging. He then instead summoned a Vine Whip, using them to reach out and embrace Mairin. She let her crutches fall to the ground, knowing that Chespie would be able to support her better than ever. She let out a yelp as she was raised up into the air, the Quilladin proudly placing her on his head, using his vines to keep her in place.

"Quill!" He called happily, smiling up at her. "Din!"

"You were awesome, Chespie!" She said, unable to keep back a laugh. Bébé had drifted off of her shoulder, and was now darting around them with a happy smile on her face. Alain had dropped his 'official' stance from being the judge, hurrying over towards Mairin.

"Well that battle was certainly filled with surprises," Ramos said as he made his way over to her. "Here is the Plant Badge, proof that you have defeated me."

He held it out, but with Mairin using her arms to hold onto Chespie's spines she couldn't reach out to take it. Bébé came to the rescue, the little Flabébé darting out in front of them, a tiny little arm held out to take the badge. Ramos hesitated, but let the fairy type take it. Bébé sank a bit at the sudden weight, but raced to Mairin, holding it up proudly for her to see.

"We did it– we got our first gym badge!" Mairin squealed– and Ramos suddenly froze up.

"Wait, did you say this was your first badge?" He asked, eyes suddenly wide. Mairin blinked, then nodded, and Ramos then rounded on Alain. The raven haired boy was scratching the back of his head, the gym leader scowling at him. "You said that this was her third gym match!"

"No," Alain said, looking slightly guilty as Mairin flashed him a look of confusion. "I said that you should use the team you use for people's third gym matches. I was able to request to battle stronger Pokemon when I took on the gyms, so there should be no problem with that."

"That's allowed– but the thing is I didn't know that this was her first time!" Ramos cried. "I have very different approaches to challengers depending on their experience level– even if their team can take on stronger Pokemon! Here I was thinking that a third tier challenger was still dealing with starter pride and using freshly caught Pokemon, when that's what to be expected with a first time challenger," He turned towards Mairin, giving her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for my attitude in the battle, lass, if I would have known I would have handled this differently."

Mairin was staring at Alain. "...You set me up for a harder gym battle?"

Alain crossed his arms. "Mairin, I watched you and your Pokemon training all week. If you would have come in here facing his tier one team, you probably would have beaten them in just a few hits. I also knew that if I told you to request a higher tier team you would have felt that you weren't ready to handle that."

"Is that why you were so adamant on being the one to sign me up for my gym match?" She asked. She had thought it was because of her lack of experience and twisted ankle.

"Partly," Alain said with a shrug, and he looked at her uncertainly. "...I hope you're not mad at me, but gym battles are supposed to be a challenge and I knew a tier one team wouldn't give you that..."

Here she had thought she had been struggling against a team meant for new trainers, but in reality she had been battling Pokemon far stronger than she realized. There was no denying that she was slightly frustrated at Alain for going behind her back... but at the same time there was a warm feeling in her chest knowing she had defeated a strong team.

And that warm spark only grew as she realized that Alain thought she was a stronger trainer.

She looked down at Chespie as she sat on his head, who looked very proud as well. His quills twitched as she held them in her hands, and she then returned her gaze to Alain. "I forgive you– but you have to promise that you won't go behind my back like that again, Ali!"

Alain chuckled. "Fair enough, Mair," He reached out, ruffling her hair. "By the way, that was an amazing battle, and congratulations on evolving, Chespie."

"Din!" Chespie sang happily, before usings his vines to set Mairin back on the ground. Alain reached down, picking up her crutches and handing them to her.

Mairin bit her lip. "Hey Alain... we're going to be heading back to Lumiose soon, right?"

"Yes, when the doctor says you can put weight on your ankle again."

"...Do you think I can challenge that gym when we get there?"

He smiled. "The Lumiose Gym isn't easy, electric types have barely any weaknesses, but I'm sure you're up for the challenge."

"Well, the stronger I become the closer I am to battling you," Mairin said with a grin. "Trust me, you and Charizard are going down!"

Alain let out a laugh. "I'll look forward to it."

[austynsuzuki-blog]

What Is This Life? (A Guzma Fanfiction) Chapter Two: Time To Prove Yourself

"Come on, lift with your legs woman!" Alain yelled at Celine as they continued to lift the passed out Guzma but him being 6'5" he was a lot heavier than he looked.

"We could just leave his pants on and just take his shirt off. Save my innocence and yours. Also, no more heavy lifting." Celine commented as she stood up straight, stretching her back as she prepared herself to try again.

Alain sighed as she lifted Guzma's right leg pulling off his oversized sneaker and sock before doing the same with the other foot. He was still on his back in the living room floor but they had gotten his jacket, tank top, and now his footwear. He was so heavy though it was harder to get his pants off just because of the fact he was limp, just dead weight. Taking a deep breath Alain grabbed onto the bottom of his pants, tugging at them as she fought to get them down. The dead weight of his legs and the clinginess of the wet fabric made it extremely difficult but with enough strength, they finally came off.

"Alright, that's as close as I'm getting to him naked. I'm done." Alain said as she threw his pants onto the floor, grabbing a dry blanket off of the back of the couch and throwing it over his form to cover him up.

"Well, we should probably get some cold washcloths or something to make his fever come down. It was almost one hundred and two degrees last time we checked it." Celine said thoughtfully as she looked at his face.

It was clear he was having hallucinations of some kind because of the constant mumbling and looks of distress that came every once in a while. It hadn't been long since he had passed out but it had been long enough for the two girls to piece together who the fuck he was. It was a debate between dedicated cosplayer and the real deal Guzma.

"I don't think it's him. That's just me but think what you want." Alain answered in an almost nagging voice as she placed the wet cloth on his forehead.

His mumbling had gotten more absurd with every passing phrase being something about Ultra Space, Ultra Beasts, or beating the shit out of someone. They seemed to be getting less threatening and just in general weird. Guzma jerked in his sleep a bit, tears forming in the corners of his eyes to fall down his cheeks. This got both the attention of Alain and Celine making them feel extremely taken aback by his change in mood in his sleep. He began to talk again in his almost comatose state, his voice barely a whisper and he was whimpering.

"Please don't eat my ass, Ultra Beasts..." Guzma begged as he continued to sob, making Alain snort with laughter.

This was not what they had been expecting him to say, not at all. Alain was almost crying trying to hold back her laughter and Celine just looked completely perplexed at his sudden outburst. Taking in deep breaths of air Alain finally let out a series of loud laughter while Celine continued to stare straight ahead still trying to process what Guzma had just cried out in such desperation. It wasn't long before Alain's hysterical laughter roused the white-haired male from his sleep. Raising up to a sitting position he ran a through his tangled locks, becoming confused once he touched the wet rag stuck to his forehead.

"What the hell...?" He trailed off looking at the wet cloth in his hand before his attention turned to his unfamiliar surroundings.

"You're finally awake. How do you feel?" Celine swooped in to take the cloth from his hand, tending to him as a nurse or a mother would.

Alain made no move to help tend to their sick patient, instead of finding it better to smirk as he made eye contact with her, giving a half-hearted wave. It was obvious if it weren't for his lack of strength he would have attacked her but for now, he remained docile, only glaring at her before turning his attention back to the woman who was closer to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Get ya' hands off me." He growled at her as he grabbed the blanket, throwing it off of himself. It was then that he noticed he was wearing less than what he came in with.

He was never one to be shy but this was a situation he had never been in and before he knew it a light blush had settled on his cheeks despite himself.

"Your clothes are still on the floor where I left them." Alain was leaning against the arm of the couch, using one arm to support her weight.

Her tone was blatantly distasteful, making it completely known she was uncaring of the situation. Now that he seemed to be back to himself he could leave and that was what she had wanted from the very beginning. She didn't think even if she gave herself a chance to be kind to him she would like him, just because he had challenged her on her own turf.

"Hey, you're the one who bust into our house and passed out on my friend. Do not use that tone of voice to the person who took care of you." Celine was now on the spiteful bandwagon just because he decided to be rude to her.

She had not expected a thank you but she also didn't expect him to be so audaciously rude to her. Guzma looked pissed off and shocked at the same time as he looked between the two women, not knowing whether to fight them or let it go.

"Damn, that was a complete three-sixty you did on me there. Did ya want a treat or somethin' for doin' such a good job takin' care of me?" He started out sounding a bit nervous but as he continued to speak he began to sound more suggestive.

"Hey, hey! Keep your nasty thoughts to yourself home invader!" Alain yelled at him, using this opportunity to step in and rescue her completely frozen and red-faced friend.

"You got the nerve to call me nasty? Aren't you the one who just said you took my clothes off?" He challenged her getting up off of the ground so that he was standing up at his normal slouching posture.

Alain opened her mouth to respond but closed it abruptly as she found herself at a loss for words. This did not stop her from standing her ground to protect her friend's innocence from the so-called leader of Team Skull.

"Both of you stop before you start another fist fight," Celine spoke quickly taking her turn to stand between the two trying to face off.

Doing as was suggested Alain backed down, still prepared to scrap if he so much as decided to even look at her or Celine the wrong way. Guzma snorted in amusement at the sudden interjection and the obedience of his newfound enemy.

"Now, we need to figure out a few things. The first being, who the fuck are you?" Celine continued, turning to look at Guzma who pointed to himself in a bit of confusion.

"Who the fuck am I? Who the fuck are you?" He asked back, surprised that they did not know who he was, knowing he was at least infamous in Alola, which in itself was quite a large region.

"She asked you first." Alain snapped at him, stepping forward despite Celine putting her hand on her chest to hold her back.

"I asked her second." He growled back, crossing her arms over his chest rolling his eyes at the overly aggressive dirty blonde.

"Hey! Both of you stop it!" Celine yelled at both of them, glaring as she turned her head both ways to make pointed eye contact with each of them.

"The name's Guzma. I'm the leader of Team Skull, so you two can call me Boss." He finally answered haughtily, making it a point to only look at Celine and not Alain.

This move only made Alain angrier but she knew it best to hold herself back or she would murder him. She wasn't sure what it was about him that rubbed her the wrong way but she was not a fan of his. Maybe it was his cockiness or his entitlement. Whatever it was she was going to have to try very hard to keep herself under wraps around him.

"Prove it. If you really are who you say then you should have a Pokemon in here." Alain countered, throwing what she thought to be a prop at him.

He caught it gingerly, examining it for a moment as he looked for any marks or indication that she had disrespected his Pokemon.

Glaring at her he pressed the button on the front of the ball, a bright light coming from it as he called his Golisopod from its ball.

"Oh, fuck..." Celine breathed out softly as the large bug type Pokemon stood in front of them, separating them from its trainer.

"Okay, it's official. I believe you..." Alain mumbled, at a loss for words as she stared at the large creature in front of her.

This shit could not be real.

--------------

To Be Continued...  

[jem-dreams]

The Confused Sorceress in Shining Armor

Helena Klein x fem!(MC)reader for @thealehazeleyes warning-ish: more of, even though milder, jealous Helena. slight angst but sweetness overload! phew, finally done! I’m really sorry this took so long to write! but since I wasn’t given much of a plot to work with it took me a little more time. but here it is! and I hope you all enjoy it!

It’s a beautiful day. Well as beautiful as a cloudy day can get. But even during biggest lightning storms there is one thing that lights up Helena’s day like moon and stars light up midnight sky. She doesn’t understand why but you are her reason for every smile she gets, every giggle that threatens to escape past her lips. Just every emotion that gives her this warm feeling inside. She’s not used to it, far from it. After all her queen made sure she’ll never know the feeling of love and being loved. But when you entered her world you flipped it upside down. It confuses her greatly, not just the fact that someone sharing Witch Queen’s face could be so different. Ever since your arrival she has been trying to process how your world of thoughts works and she’s been having an extra eye on you to call out your bluff the moment you let your guard down. But she has found none as of yet and that is annoying her a lot. She is almost certain any moment now you are going to drop your surprisingly good disguise and tell Wolfson and his grew to attack them. While so, she also truly wants to believe in your kindness, to hold on to that little sparkle of hope to have this feeling stay. No matter how much she tries to tell herself that the Witch Queen wouldn’t approve of it, that she doesn’t need it, she still has to admit she in fact likes it. All thanks to you.

Helena is just about to pass one of the huge windows on crystallized hall when something catches corner of her eye. Curious she walks closer to it and she sits on the cool windowsill. She sees you together with Alain both of you sitting on the garden bench among the spiked flowers. Her eyes narrow immediately, the dark feeling she has come to know returning to her very core. She doesn’t know why would she ever feel this way but seeing you there, laughing with Alain irks her so much that she wants to get down and sweep you away. And the fact that he used to be your childhood friend makes matters a lot worse. Of course she has been hiding it as well. After all it’s inappropriate to go after the queen if she has already decided otherwise. But it doesn’t mean the attention you seem to give Alain goes unnoticed by her. Oh no, the complete opposite and how she wishes it were her you had your eyes on. She slaps herself lightly to awaken herself from the daze. No, this is not right. She shouldn’t be even feeling this way. She shouldn’t feel… jealous of her own comrade. But oh, how she does. Even though more slowly, Helena started picking on jealousy whenever she’d  see you and Alain even glance at each other and she wishes she knew why. In fact, she does know, she just doesn’t want to admit it. And there’s the fact when the Witch Queen is back there will be no room for… love. You’ll be most likely disposed of anyway once the queen returns. That thought always brings her a bang of thread and her will to protect you awakens, and this time isn’t any different. With those feelings present again as well her build up anger flares just a little bit hotter.

‘’What are you doing to me, little girl? What are you planning?’’ she asks no one, not that there’s even anyone to answer. She curls her fingers to a fist on her lap as her hard gaze keeps following your every move. This all is so maddening. So much so that she thinks she has gone insane the very least. All of the confusion, jealousy and… compassion, as she’d word it, has brought her to the point where she doesn’t even know what to do with you. Even more importantly what to do with herself. Frustrated sigh escapes her lips before she takes a calming breath. This isn’t the moment to let it go loose. She needs to concentrate on her one and only goal at the moment. Yes, that’s what she needs to do. Just concentrate on the future yet to come she’s been so hungrily waiting for. But then why does it feels so wrong?

She watches Alain stand, probably suggesting you two get back in to the castle. Seeing you shake your head no makes her jealousy ease somewhat, even more so as the man finally nods and leaves you alone on the bench to take in the garden’s beauty. While feeling happy about Alain finally leaving your presence she doesn’t move, she keeps sitting still and watching you as seconds turn to minutes. She could stare at you for hours and she’d never get bored. You’re just so magical, in your own sense. A siren whom only needs to smile and she has everyone already under her spell. Just what she wouldn’t do to be the cause of that smile. Suddenly something hitting the window catches her attention. A rain drop? It seems it’s about to rain soon enough and judging by the clouds it’s going to come down heavy and dreadful.

She sees you shielding your head with one arm, the pour down is probably starting sooner than she thought. Without realizing it she waves her fingers in front of the window creating an invisible forcefield above you just a second before the rain starts coming down as a heavy shower. She watches you look up above your head totally confused and once you realize you have a forcefield above your head you try to look for the source of the magic. Helena bites her lower lip slightly, wondering to herself what is she doing. She cares only about getting her queen back and nothing else, especially of some strange girl that popped out of nowhere and just happens to look like her queen. Okay maybe a little but no more than that. Right?

Her eyes widen slightly in surprise as she suddenly registers your grey eyes staring up at her. She can’t help a smile as she sees you waving slightly and smiling at her, grateful and bright, before running back in to the castle’s walls. Helena makes sure to drop the little spell as soon as she’s sure you are under at least some kind of shelter, smile still remaining. Suddenly she scoffs and shakes her head. No, she can’t let you do this to her. She is loyal to her queen and her alone. She can’t be changed, there’s no way. Then why are you doing so good job at it? Helena runs her hand through her hair looking back out, her eyes reflecting all the crippling emotions going on in her mind. She leans her forehead against the cool surface of the glass, her eyes closing tight.

‘’Whatever am I going to do?’’ she whispers to nothing, the quiet echo of empty hall being her only answer.

                                        ~*~O~*~

Another day of confusion, another day of unsorted feelings. Helena scoffs as she rubs the corners of her tired eyes while continuing her journey along the long halls. She didn’t get much sleep last night, all she could think about was you and what to do with this… situation. She still has to come up with anything clever, still refusing to believe she’d have any feelings towards you. You’re not her queen, recently she noticed, not really even in looks. Her queen is all way cold and ruthless while you are-.

‘’Warm and gentle’’, she says quietly almost in actual awe. Her eyes widening, she stops on her tracks shaking her head. Helena silently curses herself for letting such words slip past her dark painted lips. She needs to concentrate on the task at hand: forget about whatever this is and get her queen back. Only if it were as simple as she makes it sound. Sighing she decides she needs some fresh air and her thoughts back on her queen. She looks out of the window meeting her answer and likely savior behind the painted glass. The rose gardens. Smiling slightly, she calmly continues her way, anxiously waiting for some comfort from the tall flower beds. When Helena finally reaches the gates to the garden she stops for a moment to listen. She hears a sweet humming sound that hasn’t graced these gardens before. Frowning ever so slightly she makes her way stealthily towards the sound. When she finally looks around the corner her breath catches in her throat her eyes widening slightly. She sees you moving around by the roses, the soft light emitting from the white flowers making your whole appearance shine more brightly. As you stand in front of a tall wall of leaves your angelic humming stops just for a moment. You lean closer to the roses to breath in the sweet scent of them, a content sigh escaping your lips. Helena blushes slightly as she stares at you awestruck. Every move that you make, every little sound that manages to get through doesn’t go unnoticed by the sorceress. Helena is absolutely drawn in by you, her whole world now focusing just on you. Your siren’s spell has done it again, she is absolutely awestruck, your humming tempting her to get closer. But before she can take even one step the spell is broken once more by her sheer willpower. Helena looks down biting her lip, her eyes narrowed a little sadly and frustrated. Why of all times you had to be here? Why some higher power wants to test her like this? Then again, she’d rather have you here than anywhere near Alain, or the other generals for that matter. She makes her decision; instead of mobbing around here she needs to do something else. Destroying few practice dummies should do the trick. She straightens her posture and takes a deep calming breath, giving you one more glance that is supposed to be the last for today. Just when she’s about to turn on her heel you turn around and your eyes lock with hers. Well damn it.

‘’Oh Helena! Hi! I didn’t see you there. Would you like to join me?’’ you offer with a smile. After a moment’s hesitation Helena finally nods making you beam at it. She grows nervous upon seeing it, trying her best not to show it as she walks up to you. The two of you sit down on the bench, both of you on either side of it. Awkward silence falls, neither of you sure of what to say. This continues for a moment longer until you decide to break the silence.

‘’So… What you’ve been up to?’’.

‘’Uh, nothing much’’, Helena starts out slowly:’’I thought of practicing more on few of my spells. I haven’t exactly mastered them.

‘’Really?’’ you ask your voice filled with surprise:’’But I thought you were plenty strong with magic’’. Helena can’t help the chuckle that makes its way up her throat, a smile forcing its way on its place. The surprise and little confusion on your features is just too hard to resist.

‘’I am plenty strong but there is still all kinds of magic that I haven’t managed to master yet’’, she answers simply, holding both pride in her abilities and excitement for learning something new. That makes you smile and you scoot a little closer to her.

‘’Can I watch when you practice? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you practice yet’’, you tell her, hope clearly shining in your eyes. Helena looks taken aback, seemingly not expecting you to ask such thing. She knows you’ll be a big distraction so she should say no. Then again, she should be able to work her spells even under highest of pressures as her queen has been teaching her.

‘’Um I suppose, yes’’, she says before she can stop herself but the light sparkling in your eyes makes it totally worth it.

‘’Thank you so much, Helena! Can’t wait!’’ you beam at her. The sorceress blushes softly as she looks slightly away. Okay, this is going better than she expected this to go. Wait what is she thinking?! Of course it’s not! She came down here to forget about you but instead here she is, sitting right next to you and talking to you and whatnot! How if ever she wishes she could make the earth swallow her.

‘’Helena, are you okay?’’ you suddenly ask, worry lacing your voice. She looks at you a little surprised, realizing her displeasure must’ve been visible on her face to cause you to look at her with such worry.

‘’Oh. Yes, I’m just-‘’, she begins but she stops when she hears slight movement in the bushes further away at the edge of the forest. Snapping her gaze right at it, she in one quick swift move gets up to stand and moves right in front of you, having her blades at ready. With narrowed eyes, she looks around everywhere where eyes just reach, not seeing any source that could have caused the noise. But she knows someone, or something, is out there and she’s just about to find out what.

‘’Who’s there?! Show yourself!’’ her commanding voice booms mightily around the area scaring a few birds. She sure can be powerful even though she doesn’t raise her voice that much and you find that highly impressive. Not long after more rustling is heard and the creature in the shadows makes itself known. It’s… a fox? But not just any fox, instead of usual red coat it has beautiful silky silver fur, reminding you a lot from winter. It cutely sniffs the ground before it locks its black button eyes with Helena’s deep blue ones. After long staring competition between her and the animal Helena realizes whom it belongs to. The sorceress loosens her stance, scoffing at the silvery creature:’’It’s just one of Jinhai’s pets’’. You’re surprised Jinhai would have an animal of that kind as a pet but then again foxes are beasts too in a sense. Helena turns her head slightly as she hears something moving behind her but when she sees you she calms down completely. She still doesn’t understand how you are able to do it but something about your presence just does it to her. Slight redness taints her cheeks when she finally realizes how close you stand next to her, your sides almost touching. She studies the studious look on your face, finding it extremely cute. Cute? No no, she can’t be going there, she just can’t. Just when Helena’s about to look away, embarrassed, you catch her attention by breaking the fallen silence.

‘’You know, I think it’s very beautiful’’.

‘’Beautiful?’’ Helena voices her confusion raising her eyebrow curiously. She raises it more as you suddenly look the other way slight redness finding its way on your face as well.

‘’Y-Yes. It reminds me of you’’, you admit trying your best not to let the blush show. Helena gets startled, not expecting those words to leave your lips. Very visible blush decorates her cheeks as she’s frozen on where she stands trying to register what she just heard. Did she even hear you right? Helena feels more heat rushing to her in waves the more she thinks about it, her brain trying to understand these feelings. Surely you, her for now supposed queen, don’t find her attractive? No, she must have heard you wrong, she must have. Helena looks away trying to form an intelligent sentence before saying a word but she finds herself unable to.

‘’It’s an amazing creature. Mysterious, sleek and absolutely beautiful’’, you break the silence with an absentminded edge to your voice. Helena’s eyes widen and she quickly turns your way, her eyes searching your face, trying to find anything that shows any sign of a lie. But she finds none. And now she can’t turn away. That dreamful edge you have has completely captured her attention, her eyes and mind focusing on you and you only, everything else disappearing from all around her. Suddenly she’s brought back to earth as she catches you moving quickly to your side to face her, nervousness very much clear on your every feature. Even in your forever cute smile.

‘’Oh, and thank you for saving me, my sorceress in shining armor’’, you say quickly leaning in and you peck her cheek before running off to the safety of the castle before your embarrassment can show. You leave Helena there frozen on place, the color of her face leaving even brightest of tomatoes pale in comparison. She doesn’t register a thing that goes around her, her mind completely shut down. Absent mindedly she walks over to the bench sitting on it once more. This can’t be happening, this so can’t be happening, her mind tries to tell her. She tries to think of each and every scenario that could prove this to be a cruel joke, or at least a dream. But she can’t convince herself so, not with all the proof there is right in front of her. Her hand slowly moves to her cheek, over the spot that you kissed. She can still feel your soft lips against the surface of her skin, the gently touch lingering on it like a ghost. A little smile starts tugging on her lips, a dreamy smile slowly making its way on them. Suddenly everything seems so much clearer, all of the doubt leaving her be. Helena chuckles softly at the thought, at the chance of her being in love with you. A happy sigh escapes her lips as she leans back to look up to the sky, speaking with small voice.

‘’Yes, whatever am I going to do?’’.

that’d be it folks! again I’m really sorry it took me so long to write this and I know this, like, sucks TwT like seriously, I’ve done better but I guess this is the best I got right now TwT sorryyy!!! but I hope you all, especially you who requested this, enjoyed it nonetheless! till next time~!

[kalosstarters]

One-shot: In Need of Healing

(The original title was About Healing and Feelings)

I have been wanting to write something new for a while now, but writer’s block (and limited time) are trying to stop me, so @modeststroke suggested I edit this fic so I’d get at least some writing practice. Anyway, I wrote this fic a year ago, and it takes place during Mairin’s Kalos Quest, i.e. when she’s 17 and has returned from her individual journey. I did add something to the dialogue so it does have something new as well. 

Also, it’s 0:25 and I have to be up in like 6 hours so excuse me for not spell checking the changes I made. There probably are mistakes in it.

Words: 1809

A few months into their new journey, Alain and Mairin stopped on Route 5 for the night. Alain had slept the previous nights rather badly, so when they settled into their respective tents that night, he passed out quickly. However, only after few hours of sleep, he woke up to a scream coming from the tent next to his. Just pulling his T-shirt on, he got out of his tent to see what was wrong. What if team Flare had attacked, and…? He didn’t dare to finish his thoughts. Even after 6 years, those events were still so fresh in his memory. 

Not wanting to break into Mairin’s personal space without her consent, Alain first tried to communicate with her from outside the tent. However, she didn’t answer to his yells, so he eventually opened the zip of Mairin’s tent with shaky fingers. He couldn’t wait any longer if someone indeed was with her...

He sighed of relief when he saw she was alone, only her loyal Chesnaught Chespie next to her. Despite Chespie’s attempts to wake her up, she remained asleep, but she was trashing around restlessly and sweating a lot in her sleeping bag. Alain flinched and closed his eyes for a moment when she screamed in her sleep again and then started helping Chespie, because obviously whatever she was seeing was hurting her (and, his subconscious said, it was hurting him too).

“Mairin, Mairin, wake up!” he said in a weirdly high pitched tone, and shook her arm rather hard. She did eventually open her eyes, but looked pretty confused when she saw Alain’s face so close to hers.

“It’s OK, you were just seeing some nightmares,” he tried to reassure her in a quiet voice.

He wiped her sweaty forehead with his hand to check if she had a fever because her eyes were glossy, cheeks worryingly red, and her breathing ragged. Against his cool hand, her skin felt burning hot.

For a moment, Alain didn’t know what to do or say, but then he decided it would be the best to try to calm the girl down, so he stuttered:

“I-I t-think you have gotten ill.” Gee, Alain, way to be a calm and patient doctor, he scolded himself. He saw Chespie observing him with serious eyes, and that helped him to pull himself together.

“But don’t worry, we’ll get you better soon!” he promised.

What now? he thought in his mind. I’ve taken care of sick Pokemon at Sycamore’s lab, but I don’t know how to take care of a young girl…

He felt helpless. During all those months they had been traveling together she had never been ill, and he had been thankful for that. Taking care of a Pokémon and your friend were two very different things in Alain’s opinion.

He didn’t have any medicine with him (he scolded himself again in his mind, because he knew you should always be prepared for these kinds of things when you’re traveling) so he had to check the location of the closest pharmacy from his DexNav (he had thrown his Holocaster away after the team Flare incident, but thankfully Steven had given away this Hoennese device). He figured it luckily wasn’t too far from their whereabouts, but he didn’t want to leave Mairin alone in that condition, so he left his Fennekin and Weavile along with her Chesnaught to keep her company.

“I’ll go get you some medicine for the fever, but I’ll be right back! Please, remember to rest and drink a lot! Fennie and Weavile will stay here with you,” Alain informed Mairin, and left the camp.

While he was walking fast towards his destination, he was wondering why he was acting so weirdly. It was not like him to get so worried about someone being ill. He had been trained for situations like this. He didn’t even notice that his steps were so loud that he scared a lot of wild Pokemon away when he stomped past them.

The sun had risen when he finally reached the pharmacy, and its doors had luckily just been opened so he was able to get the medicine immediately.

When Alain was back at the camp, he found Mairin asleep again. Fennekin had curled next to her and Alain’s Weavile tried to cool Mairin down by blowing an occasional, light Icy Wind outside the tent. He shook her awake, and felt something nasty go through his spine when she looked at him with tired eyes.

“Hey, I’m here with your medicine. Your fever is still high, I think you should take this right away,” he instructed while putting a wet towel on her forehead with his other hand. She took the medicine, and he left her alone to rest, believing that was the best thing he could do at that moment. He checked the tent every once in a while, and brought her a lot of water and some mashed berries when she showed signs of waking up. She didn’t want to take any of them, but with some determination Alain managed to make her eat them.

A couple of days later Alain was sitting on a huge rock with his Fennekin, watching stars, and perhaps remembering the times when he was traveling with just Charizard, who was training elsewhere at that moment. Mairin, who was feeling much better already and whose fever was down, crawled quietly out of her tent and heard Alain talk to his little Pokemon:

“Am I really ready for this, Fennie? To become a Pokemon doctor? If I got so worried about her even though she had a normal flu, how can I treat something that is far more serious? After almost ruining everything, you know... when you weren’t around... I wanted to start healing instead of destroying, but I’m not sure if I’m good enough.”

“Fenn” the fox Pokemon answered, trying to encourage her trainer, and pushed her head against his sleeve.

“I am so relieved to see she’s getting better already. I don’t ever want to see her as miserable as she was when… well, it was a long time ago.”

Mairin thought she shouldn’t interrupt them when Alain was telling his private thoughts to Fennekin, but to her annoyance her clumsiness (which wasn’t as frequent as it had once been) took over just in that moment. She was about to turn back to her tent when she tripped over a tree branch, and fell loudly on the ground. Alain and Fennie turned to see her.

“Are you all right?” Alain smiled a little bit when he saw his friend cringing at herself. This was just like the old times, he thought happily.

“Uh, sure,” the redhead mumbled, her face red of embarrassment, as she shook the dirt off of her clothes.

“So, I overheard you earlier..” she tried to change the topic, “I think you are going to be a great Pokemon doctor. The way you interact with your Pokemon is something pretty special. I can see from everything that you share a strong bond.” 

She had a small pause and joked: “After all, you even eat the same food with them.”

“Thank you?” he said, not sure how to take the last part. It was still good to hear her joking; that meant she truly had recovered.

“No, thank you. You were really sweet taking care of me like that. You wouldn’t have had to.”

“Nah, it was nothing. And of course I had to, you are my friend. I’m glad to see you’re fine now.”

Before he had time to react to it in any way, she had gotten closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Just accept my gratitude, OK?”

“Wait, have you learned new words? ‘Gratitude’?”

“Alain! I’m not 10 anymore.”

“I know, I know. I was just kidding.”

“Wow, Fennie, did you hear that?” the girl addressed the Pokémon. “That’s some character development. Alain, joking.”

She earned an annoyed look from Alain, but he didn’t break the hug yet. There was something calming about it, in both Alain and Mairin’s opinion.

“Remember the last time we did this? I couldn’t even reach your chin!” Mairin broke the silence cheerfully. Suddenly Alain was awfully aware of the lack of space between them, but he also wondered how this felt so natural. When she had been younger, she had (tried to) hug him quite often, but it had felt different back then. She had been like a sister to him... But that had changed after her return.

Hold on a second. I couldn’t possibly be falling…. no. She’s still so young, Alain thought, ignoring the fact that she was already older than he had been when they had first met, almost an adult.

“Yeah. You have grown quite a bit since.” He patted her head and tried to smile, but he was still a bit confused by his feelings. She pulled off and was now leading him back towards the stone where he had been sitting earlier.

“Come sit with me Alain. I heard the other day that tonight you can see a lot of shooting stars on the sky. And if you see one, you can make a wish.”

“Fine.”

“Can I use your legs as a pillow? Looking at the stars is so much easier if I don’t have to bend my neck like this.” Mairin showed her awkward position and he allowed, though after a bit of hesitation.

There was a minute of silence before she exclaimed: “There, I think I saw one! I wish that whatever our future goals are, we will achieve them. Your turn, Alain.”

“I thought we weren’t supposed to say our wishes aloud or they won’t come true.”

“Oh, OK. Well, say it quietly in your mind then.”

Alain looked at the girl resting her head on his lap. Her slightly longer red hair was untied and formed a beautiful curtain behind her, and he resisted the urge to comb it with his fingers. Her eyes looked healthy and happy, and she had an almost childish gleam in them. She was wearing just a top and night shorts, but somehow this casual look made her even more attractive in his eyes.

“Even if nothing else ever happens, at least she still wants to be my friend..” he thought, thanking his stars. He had almost messed things up beyond reparation once…

“What are you thinking about, Alain?” she asked suddenly.

He couldn’t tell her his true thoughts, not yet, so he just whispered:

“I’m just glad you’re here.”

But when he glanced down at the girl who looked back at him with her signature smile, which he had once been so determined to see, and her shining hazel eyes, he suddenly knew he was a goner. And there was no turning back now.

[noblessobliged-m-blog]

send me a symbol and i will write a drabble about my muse from the point of view of my muse’s younger self. ( this meme )

          Sword training was always Alain’s favorite part of the day. He didn’t have to sit still, or read large books with tiny letters, or try and wrap his mind around the meanings of large words that he didn’t think he would ever use. Moving his body was definitely the best, and it was so much easier for him to remember footwork and stances than it was whatever he read with Alek the day before.

          However this time the practice sword in Alain’s hand fell to the ground, though the sound it made didn’t reach the young blond at all. His blue eyes were wide as he stared at the sight of their teacher and governess on either side of his twin brother who was curling in on himself protectively while crying. The broken words that his twin was speaking were heard but not recognized in his shock.

          Alain felt his body trembling, and his short breaths had nothing to do with the sword exercise they had been doing moments ago. He… He had hurt his brother. More than the little scrapes and bruises that the two collected when they were training. Something like that wouldn’t cause Alek to cry like this so that meant that he was really, really hurt and it was Alain fault.

          He started to move backwards, one step, then two, his head shaking back and forth in rejection. “I-I didn’t…”

          Their teacher had even warned them too, when he gave the boys the dulled steel swords for the first time. His teacher had said there were heavier than the wooden ones, and that if the two of them weren’t careful they would hurt the other. Alain remembered thinking that it would be fine, he wouldn’t actually hurt Alek.

          But he did. He who was always praised for being gentle got too wild, too rough, and as a result hurt his brother. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt! Alain turned his back on the two adults and his brother and ran as fast as his legs would take him to somewhere else, anywhere else. His feet took him to the furthest corner of the manor’s garden where there was a gap behind a flowering bush just large enough for a child to fit through in the stone wall. The twins had discovered it two years ago when they were exploring, and kept it their secret.

          Crouching down Alain crawled under the bush and through the tunnel until he made it to the other side. Once on the other side Alain stood up and started moving again. It wasn’t as if he was going anywhere, he just knew he couldn’t stay back there and he didn’t want to go back yet. Before him was his and Alek’s playground, the twins favorite place to come and play.

          When they first started exploring it Alek guessed that it used to be part of someone’s garden, because it wasn’t wild like the forests in their home fief, and there were flowers everywhere as well as a large, old, and empty fountain with the statue of an angel at its center. They had also never seen any animals other than the small ones that could live in the city.

          It wasn’t until he reached that very fountain that Alain stopped, and promptly half collapsed in front of it as though his legs decided they would move no more. He turned so his back was resting against the stone side of the basin.

          He didn’t want this, he didn’t want to hurt Alek! He loved Alek! Smart Alek who would explain things he didn’t understand. Brave Alek who would talk to new people for the both of them. Mischievous Alek who suggested they sneak out to this playground with a grin.

          What if his twin didn’t love him anymore because he got hurt? What if Alek didn’t want to be around him anymore?

          With those sort of thoughts the tears and crying he had been holding back began, and immediately started rubbing his face with his sleeves trying to get them stop. It wasn’t working very well though, and he didn’t understand why which only caused more tears.

          Then, suddenly, Alain felt a small hand on his head brushing against his hair. The touch made the little blond jump, and his head shot up to see who had found him. For a heart stopping moment he wondered if it was one of his siblings that had somehow come to collect him, he didn’t want to go back yet...

          “Oh-!”

          “Who…?”

          Standing next to him was not his big brother or sister, but a little girl. She had brown hair that stopped at her shoulders, and green eyes the same color as the tree leaves that watched him with worry. One of her small hands was curled into a loose fist and resting nervously against her heart. If he had to guess Alain would say she was around his own age which was seven, though maybe a little younger.

          “I-I’m sorry, you were crying…” She explained nervously before kneeling down next to him on the ground, her pink flower colored skirt making a poofing noise as she patted it flat. “Are you hurt? Or lost?”

          In truth he thought she was a fairy. She was small and pretty, not to mention appearing out of nowhere.

          “Are you alright?”

          “I-I’m fi...ne.” Alain replied, his speech tripping and breaking as he tried to answer hurriedly. He had been so surprised that he was staring without answering, which was rude and embarrassing. Again he rubbed his sleeve over his face quickly, trying to dry it off.

          “Really?” She sounded like she didn’t believe him, and Alain peeked over his arm at her. She didn’t look convinced, though could he blame her? He probably wouldn’t be convinced either.

          “I’m not hurt or lost.” He muttered in reply before turning his face away from her, his arm coming back down to his side. When she didn’t reply he peeked her way again, and the little girl was just watching him with big worried eyes and a small frown.

          Heat started to gather in Alain’s face, and his gaze turned to his hands which were resting against his lap. He wasn’t hurt! He wasn’t, really! He had done the hurting…

          “Ah…” His vision blurred again with tears, and for a third time Alain used his sleeve to get rid of them. At the same time a small hand rested against the top of his head brushing his hair gently the same way his mother and siblings did when he was upset.

          “You are hurt.”

          “I’m not.” Alain replied stubbornly, turning his teary blue eyes to her with a scowl that looked more like a pout.

          In response the fairy girl smiled, “It’s your heart right?”

          Alain blinked in confusion, his heart? His head tilted down so that he could look at at the area of his chest where his heart was, and his hands patted there as well as if checking for injuries. As he figured he didn’t see or feel anything… So why was the fairy suddenly giggling? This time when the boy looked at her he was really pouting.

          With both her hands at her lips she tried to keep the noise to herself, but it wasn’t working. When she realized that he was pouting at her the fairy shook her head and lowered her hands a little bit.

          “Not your outside heart, your inside one.” She tried to explain, but he still didn’t understand and just stared at her. “Uhm, the one that makes you happy when good things happen, or sad when bad things happen. Where all your feelings are from? Even though you can’t see it, sometimes it gets hurt when bad things happen to you.”

          Oh, that was his heart too? But… Why was his heart hurt? Alain frowned at the grass, trying to understand. He didn’t have a bad thing happen, he did a bad thing. So he shouldn’t be hurting, because it-

          “I don’t think it was your fault.”

          Alain jumped again, looking at the fairy in shock. Did, Did she read his mind?! How did she know what he was thinking?! Did… Did she know he hurt Alek too? But if she did, then why was she saying it wasn’t his fault? It was his fault, he got too rough.

          “Because you were crying and your heart is hurt, I don’t think it is your fault if something bad happened. You didn’t mean it right? So if you go and say sorry everything will be ok, I don’t think anyone will be mad.”

          He didn’t mean it. Yeah, he hadn’t meant to hurt Alek. According to their fairy if he apologized it would be and no one would be mad… That didn’t seem right though, not to Alain. Because he was mad too; at himself for hurting Alek in the first place. If he said he was sorry his brother and the adults might not be mad at him anymore, but he would still be mad at himself.

          “What if I’m mad?”

          “Eh?” She looked surprised by his question, her eyes going wide for a moment as her head tilted to one side in confusion.

          “I hurt someone important. He… was crying, and the adults looked worried. I think, I’m mad… That I did that. Even if I say sorry, what if I’m still mad?”

          This time she looked down in thought, watching her hands which were folded on top of her skirt. Her head tilted to the side after a moment, as if she were having a conversation with herself, or maybe she was listening to what the flowers in the distance thought. When she looked at him again she didn’t seem any less confused.

          “I don’t know.”

           Alain hung his head at the honest answer, so neither of them knew about that. Would it be alright for him to apologize still if he didn’t have an answer for that?

          “You worry a lot don’t you?” Once more that small hand brushed his hair, but this time the boy didn’t react. Did he worry a lot? He must if the fairy was saying so. “If you sit still and worry, won’t it hurt more?”

          Blinking the boy and looked up at her, receiving an encouraging smile from the fairy. Right, he wasn’t good at things that made him sit still. So, if he stayed here hiding it wouldn’t be good. Did that also mean that if he didn’t want to be mad anymore, he should just go and follow the fairy’s advice? If it didn’t work, he could just try again right?

          “I’ll go.” As he said that Alain shifted to his knees before he stood up, and then offered his hands to help the fairy up as well.

           With the both of them on their feet, and holding hands Alain fidgeted for a moment his face warming up again. She looked at him curiously, her head tilting to the side a little bit like she was asking what was wrong now. Quickly Alain shook his head, he wasn’t good at thinking so he should just go! That was what he just decided a moment ago right?

          Quickly he leaned forward and kissed the fairy’s cheek, though just as quickly he pulled back and let go of her hands. Her green eye seemed as if they had doubled in size from shock, and Alain himself felt like his face was right in front of the fireplace.

          “Th-Thank you!” He said hurriedly before turning around and running away, though this time he was headed back towards home.

[validark]

Chapter 3

I have 5 chapters written and I should not multi-upload them all but what am I going to do? Multi-upload them!!!!!!

Alain closed his door as quietly as he possibly could, trying his best not to draw Lysandre's attention. Lysandre may of not sounded upset on the phone, but Alain knew better... Charizard was out of her Pokeball as he locked the door, sniffing at the new scent in his bag. He laughed at her eagerness and fell back on his bed, resting his hands over his eyes. His wrist still hurt from class earlier and he regretted not paying attention to class for the past three weeks.

"So, tutor me." Manon sighed, resting her book down and reaching for his. Opened it to the page they were reading and pointed to the first paragraph. "Read that then tell me what it's about." Her voice was still flat but he noticed that her hand was trembling. "And pass me your work book." Surprised at her bossiness, Alain handed her his book and began to read the first paragraph. "I don't get this." He said finally after reading and re-reading it six times. "I have no idea what they're talking about." He looked up to see that Manon had her eyes closed and her hand over her mouth and nose. "Ok, Do you know what we've been looking into for the past three weeks?" She asked, somewhat muffled by her hand. Her eye creaked open to watch him as he shook his head. She sighed deeply and began to flip back through her book before sliding it over to him. "Read this, take notes and do some research when you get home, tomorrow morning I want to see the first two pages summarized and with your own notes."

He groaned loudly and sat up and rubbed his hand over Charizard's scales. "Mind helping me with some school work?"

Manon gave a small cry as a plate flew by her head and smashed into the wall behind her. Her father was on her in the next second, his fist hitting her cheek and sending her sprawling. Bits of glass cut into her hands and her father kicked her in the stomach before spitting on her. She'd gotten home late from work, all she'd wanted to do was pass out in bed. But her father had been standing in the kitchen holding a plate, when he saw her he'd started yelling and screaming at her, smashing plates onto the ground. Still lying on the ground she felt tears well up in her eyes. She'd just brought that set of plates... Her eyes drew to the blood that had begun to seep out of the cuts on her skin, she should probably fix that... Maybe when she could breath again. Hazily she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, confused she reached for it, hissing in pain when the glass shards dug deeper into her palm. /Oh yeah... I gave him my number, didn't I?/ She thought as Alain's name popped up. Before she could answer her phone stopped vibrating, a missed call message popping up on the screen followed by a text. lol sorry if you were sleeping i just had a fe...  "He did not use the voice to message function and that looks like a long ass text." She whispered as she unlocked her phone and eyed the text. "At least it's not a wall..." She put her phone down when she noticed the blood smeared to the front, she should really take care of her hands first. As she got up, she thought of who could help her. Her dad would not, but Professor Sycamore would help.

An hour later and she sat on the Professor's couch, her hands and forearms wrapped up in bandages and an ice pack pressed against her cheek. Now, with a clear head, she read Alain's message then read it over again. lol sorry if you were sleeping i just had a few questions you said that some of your notes related to your art homework i was wondering if you had a copy of that i could look at also are we also looking into Hoenn's history or just Kalos you made some notes about Rayquaza and my friend was wondering if you'd help him out with History as well, the one with the red hat not the blond one She had to take a deep breath before replying. Yea I have a copy of my art homework (if you want I can also give you a copy of my english homework its about AZ too) We're not looking into Hoenn yet I just found it funny the timing is all Uhh... yea sure I can help your friend (btw I wasn't sleeping I just got back from work and had to do some stuff) "That Alain?" Professor Sycamore asked, walking in with two mugs in his hands a Chespin at his feet holding a small plate of cookies in his paws. Manon nodded, dropping her phone onto her lap and holding her arms open for the Chespin to jump into once he'd set the plate down. "Hey, Chespie!" Professor Sycamore sat down beside her, handing her one of the mugs. "It's hot chocolate." He mumbled when she hesitated to take it. "And he missed you, I still think you should take him." Manon only hummed, taking a sip from her hot chocolate. "I'd love to... It's just he wouldn't be safe there. I need to get my own place..." She rubbed the small Pokemon's head, smiling when he leaned into the touch. The professor only watched her from the corner of his eye before changing the subject. "So, you staying here tonight or do you think you're going to go home?"

[ladystylestores]

NATO Imagines Future Warfare

Innovation is a key component of readiness when it comes to future threats. NATO’s Innovation Hub recently commissioned a short story from author August Cole, asking him to draw upon his writing and imaginative abilities to create a picture of what NATO operations could be like in the year 2040. The Cipher Brief is pleased to be able to bring you 2040: KNOWN ENEMIES, with permission from NATO.

CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES — PARIS, FRANCE

The protestors’ braying air horns reminded Alain Durand of the feel of his father’s hand squeezing his as they watched the Tour de France peloton speed by on a verdant hill outside Chambéry, half a lifetime ago. Tonight on the Champs Elysees it meant drones. It meant gas.

He carefully pushed aside two old fashioned white cloth banners — “PAX MACHINA” and “NON AUX ARMEES, NON A LA GUERRE,” written in thick red brush strokes to better see. In a field of view populated with synthetic representations of the real world, the banners were anachronistic but also enduring. They spoke to the necessary spirit of dissent in one of Europe’s more temperamental democracies, Alain thought. Yet it was time to change again: France was the last NATO member, other than the United States, to maintain conventional combat forces. The other members had already robotized.

“A matter of not just tradition but national survival,” his father, a colonel in France’s 3e Régiment de Parachutistes d’Infanterie de Marine, always insisted.

The horns stopped. The crowd of thousands hushed to better hear the whine of the oncoming Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité riot-police crowd-control drones, a sound like a frantically played piccolo. It was a child’s sound — that was why it intimidated. The flight of a dozen drones hovered in a picket formation in front of the crowd of more than 10,000 marching along the cobbled stones toward the Arc de Triomphe. On Alain’s augmented reality glasses, the bots were bright orange dots, tagged with comments from around the world guiding him on everything from how to download apps to jam their controllers to offers of legal representation. Alain reached into his satchel and cursed, as an ad for gas mask replacement filters popped into view.

A protestor’s drone, bright yellow and the size of an espresso cup, darted past him, then returned to hover in front of his face. It was filming. He could see the live feed it broadcast on his own glasses, identifying him as the son of a senior army officer. He looked around, feeling a need to disappear in the crowd even though that was impossible. He swatted at the yellow drone, and it darted off.

Was that a Catalyst design?, he wondered. The mysterious informal global network emerged on the public stage about three years ago, fomenting dissent and countergovernment action in the virtual realm. It started with what was essentially algo-busting or AI-enabled augmented-reality pranks to make a point about excessive Chinese and American influence around the world. But in the last six months, something had changed, and they were now moving from the online to the real world, supplying not only plans for printable grenades or swarm drones but also the fabs to make them. They had never tried to operate in Europe before, or the U.S. Was this drone a sign something was changing, literally before his own eyes?

Those same eyes began to itch. He had other things to worry about for the moment.

“Juliet, I don’t have my mask,” he said to his sister. She already had hers, a translucent model with a bubble-like faceplate that made her look like a snorkeler.

“And?” she said.

“I am certain I put it in there, but …” he trailed off.

She sighed angrily, condensation briefly fogging her mask. Four years younger, his 15-year-old sister could judge him harshly. She got that from their father.

“We stay,” she said, passing him a bandana and bottle of water. “Parliament votes tomorrow. Father is already deployed. If we leave now, when will we ever stand?”

“Ok, ok,” Alain muttered. He wet the bandana and braced himself for the gas.

Drones dashed just a few feet overhead, a disorienting swirl of straining electric motors and the machines’ childlike tone. The crowd sighed all at once and then individual shouting erupted around him. A moment later his eyes began to sting. Fumbling with the bandana he quickly wrapped the wet cloth around his mouth. But, eyes now burning, he struggled to tie it around his neck. With so much gas in the air, no one without a mask would be able any more to continue watching the eruption of digital dissent. He felt Juliet’s fingers on his neck, helping secure the bandana’s knot. Hands now free, he angrily pumped his fists in the air and blindly grasped to help hold his cloth banners aloft.

JULIUS NYERERE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT — DAR-ES-SALAAM, TANZANIA

It was so hot, when the convoy stopped at the main gate to the joint United Nations-African Union compound, that the German and Italian battle bots broke formation. The NATO task force’s hundreds of small armored wheeled and tracked machines jerked and shimmied like ants as they fought over the shade beneath the bright blue revetments — towering stacks of shipping containers reinforced with blast-foam. That left the French para forces, what NATO classified as a light-effects company due to its mostly non-robotic composition under, in the crushing heat with nowhere to go. That was fine for the French unit’s commander, Luc Durand. His men and women could handle the heat; the bots were another story.

Captain Monika Toonce hopped off one of the oversized German Jaeger crawlers and jogged over to Durand’s open scout car. The French convoy included the jeep, six-wheeled troop carriers (each carrying 12 paratroopers as well as external racks of offensive and defensive smallbots), and four mules loaded with ammunition, spare parts, and assorted spider-like fixers.

“Colonel, we are still waiting for the clear codes before the task force can enter the compound,” Toonce said. She paused to wipe sweat from her nose. “Headquarters said they sent them. But they are not yet authenticated here …”

Durand cursed. The bots would not yet be cleared for self-defense, let alone offensive use. He forced himself to ease back and put his boot up on his jeep’s wheel well, a pose he could hold for hours on a high-speed cross-desert dash or pulling security at a vital intersection. This is an old problem in a new form, he thought. This is why the French army trains to fight with or without machines. “La victoire ne se donne pas!” was the motto adopted four years ago.

Deconflicting the newly arrived German and Italian anti-armor/aircraft and counter-personnel bots with the existing UN-AU peacekeeping forces — so that they didn’t automatically attack one another — was just another form of confusion and complexity. For all the advantage the machines offered, they also brought the onset of the fog of war forward that much earlier in a conflict. Ignoring Toonce, Durand drew with his finger on the dusty screen he wore at his waist, a series of arrows to sketch out a concept. He snapped a picture of the tracings with his glasses; it was something he would write up when he got back from deployment. You never know where inspiration will come from.

“Ok, you want to ride with us then? We are heading in. The machines can handle themselves, no?” Durand said.

Toonce looked torn between waiting with the disabled bots or accompanying Durand. Her responsibility for the German armored forces was a significant one, given the expense and competition for deployment-likely slots in the Bundeswehr. There were fewer soldiers in the German army today than there were postal carriers in Bavaria. Why they kept so many of the latter and so few of the former us was not something Toonce allowed herself to weigh too deeply. She loved the army, loved her comrades and their machines.

Toonce nodded. The maintenance techs were still on the way. She was the sole German representative, and she told herself she needed to be present when the NATO task force leaders finally presented themselves.

The two soldiers were in a narrow pause, a lull — in what had been fevered fighting — that the NATO task force had taken advantage of to deploy by air from a staging area outside Nairobi.

“Good choice,” Durand said. Toonce hopped on. Durand smiled at the master sergeant in the seat next to him, who tapped the jeep’s dash twice with the sort of gentle encouragement one might give a beloved horse. The vehicle advanced on its own at the gentle command.

They proceeded inside the compound under the watching guns of a pair of stork-legged Nigerian sentry turrets, each armed with a trio of four-barreled Gatling guns mounted on the mottled-grey fuselage pod.

Serge Martelle, the para master sergeant, handed Durand a palm-sized screen, a phone that used the local civilian networks.

“Seen this, sir?” Martelle asked.

A sigh. An image appeared of Alain’s face, jaw clenched and wide eyed, in the midst of a Paris protest. Again.

“No, not now, Martelle,” Durand said. A nod and he withdrew the screen. But Durand pulled up footage on his glasses, already tagged to his own and his son’s social media accounts. The final image was a bleary-eyed and red-faced Alain holding aloft the “PAX MACHINA.” It is Bastille Day after all, isn’t it. Durand smiled as they pulled up to a Kenyan general and his staff, standing at attention.

AU-UN HEADQUARTERS — DAR-ES-SALAAM, TANZANIA

“It’s not a mystery, as such, but we are not yet certain who is supplying the rogue Tanzanian army elements, as well as other local elements. But we can ascertain that they are currently involved in a rapid-equipping cycle using established and improvised fabrication sites that …”

“It’s Catalyst,” Durand barked. “Just call it out!” It was too easy to be rude to the UN Peacekeeping Office AIs; they were atrocious. Indecisive. Burdened with a politeness programmed to appease too many sensibilities. And that accent, unattached to any country’s native tongue, is an affront, he thought.

“Colonel Durand, analysis indicates a probability of certainty of—” the machine responded, now using a careful ethereal cadence to mollify Durand.

“General Kimani, with respect, how might we begin to engage an adversary that we refuse to identify?” Durand pressed the point. If the AU UN force acknowledged an “outbreak” of Catalyst coercive technologies, it would require an escalation of military presence that neither organization wanted to endorse at this point in the crisis.

“The last twenty-seven hours have seen no fighting,” Kimani responded. “We are hoping to use this window for dialogue.” He was the senior officer of the AUMIT, or African Union Mission in Tanzania. His charge included the military aspects of the peacekeeping mission, as well as coordinating with UN and quasi-governmental conflict-resolution groups trying to cool the conflict. “Right now, we’re running a Blue Zone dialogue with the dissident Tanzanian army, UN negotiators, Front Civil, and others. An invitation was extended to Catalyst, but no response.”

Durand nodded. Why would this highly disruptive and increasingly dangerous movement join in? It had no leaders. No clear strategy. He viewed French military intelligence’s take as sound: Catalyst sought to undermine US or Chinese economic, political, and military blocs of strategic influence to enable sub-national movements of self-determination.

The Blue Zones were private virtual environments managed by UN AIs to facilitate non-confrontational negotiations with machine-speed modelling and data. Some even talked of the platform’s AIs themselves being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. If Kimani really believed the UN could speed that diplomatic cycle up before the rearming of the Tanzanian coup forces then there was a chance this could resolve without further violence. Durand knew him by reputation and instinctively trusted him. Then he ground his teeth. He was being too optimistic. But what were the odds some Catalyst algos weren’t already spoofing that whole thing? It happened before, in Venezuela, in ’38. They never joined these kinds of hand-holding sims.

His watch buzzed. Toonce reported the clearance codes were finally being transmitted and would be uploaded shortly. Having the NATO mech forces inside the base would make him feel better as they could be re-checked, zeroed, and synched with the UN and AU bots already in the area of operations. NATO-reinforced UN and AU patrols could begin the next morning, he hoped. Leave the conciliation and negotiation to the UN. He had his mission.

On his glasses, Durand cued up his task force’s status reports, and began watching the downloading of the clearance codes. Details mattered, even more so with machines. As a leader you had to stay on top of it. He focused on the data and half-listened as Kimani spoke for another minute. A Rwandan officer began discussing the Belgian food fab facility near the port about to be brought online.

Blasting horns brought conversation to an abrupt stop. Half of the attendees around the table jolted upright, standing and holding the conference table with white-knuckled grips as if bracing for a bodily impact. Durand remained seated and sighed. He locked eyes with Kimani, who shook his head. An attack with a warning was one you would survive, they both knew. It’s the strikes that come without any heads up that get you.

His glasses blinked, a scratching and pixelated green snow, then returned to showing the download progress of the clear codes. Stuck at seventy-six percent. Martelle was already on his notepad, ensuring the French paras inside the compound were ready for what came next. Of course they would be, he knew. That also gave him calm.

The door burst open and Toonce paused to catch her breath. She wiped dust from her mouth and began to speak.

“The clear codes were hijacked,” she said. “Catalyst payload rode the packets, but it’s not a Tanzanian Army attack. They got partially hit, too — at least their Chinese systems, from what I can tell already. One of the local groups it looks like, based on analytics. Took the task force bots and mechs down. Same with the AU and UN already deployed here. They’re trying to bring the whole country to a stop, they say, to start real negotiations.”

“How did they attack, exactly?”“They used the clear codes to target our bots’ firmware, forcing a factory reset that requires hard keys that only exist back with the civilians at the defense ministries. We, as the deployed German army, don’t even hold those. Same with the Italians. As for the Tanzanian army systems they got from the PLA, I don’t know anything for sure, but seem to be down, too.”

That might seem fortuitous, but Durand immediately looked at it another way: If Catalyst elements could wipe out the Tanzanian army’s reliance on Chinese platforms, that would be a blank slate for a new dependence on easily downloadable and fabbable Catalyst systems. Tanzania would probably acquire the Doktor anti-armor system, a simple self-firing short-barreled launcher that could be concealed in a backpack or mounted with suction-grips to a driverless vehicle, and maybe Viper launchers, a short-range 64-shot swarm weapon about the size of a concrete block that could be held and aimed by two handles or prepositioned to strike on its own.

Nearby explosions — one, two, three — rocked the room and knocked out the lights. Sounds like mortars. In the darkness, as Durand began to taste dust in the air, he conferred with Martelle about what to do next. His paras might be the only truly friendly combat-capable force in the area right now.

CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES — PARIS, FRANCE

Wringing out the handkerchief for a third time into the café’s brown-stained sink, Alain finally had the courage to look into the cracked mirror. Black splotches beneath the edges of the glass stained the edges of the reflective surface, framing a specter’s raw, red eyes peering back from an inky cloud.

“Oof,” he sighed. The neck of his black shirt was torn, by whom he could not remember. Claw-like scratches ran along his neck from his left ear down to his opposite clavicle. The blond girl who was shot in the legs? Or was it the CRS trooper who hit him with the mace?

A gentle knock on the door. “Everything Ok?”

That was his sister.

“A moment,” he said. He wiped his face with a coarse paper towel one more time, then put his augmented reality glasses back on. He tinted the lenses light blue. “I’m coming.”

Back out into the café, he rejoined his sister. A coffee waited, and he carefully touched its side with shaking fingers. Still warm. He closed his eyes and sipped the bitter espresso, grateful for the company of his sister and the tranquility of the café. Police drones raced by every few minutes, but no police were going to stop in here. They had other concerns right now responding to the attacks on the Champs-Élysées.

AU-UN HEADQUARTERS — DAR-ES-SALAAM, TANZANIA

Through thick black smoke, one of the tall two-legged defense turrets spun its gun mounts in lazy circles like a pinwheel. It did not fire as a swarm of bird-sized winged drones flew past in a corkscrew formation toward a far corner of the compound used for medevac flights. A series of blue strobe-like flashes followed by a sound like tearing paper meant that part of the camp would no longer be usable, Durand knew.

“Whose drones?” he asked aloud, looking around for Martelle.

“TA,” Martelle shouted, meaning “Tanzanian Army.” Normally, Martelle could look up with his glasses and get a read-out of the environment, seeing detailed information on everything from bandwidth to physical objects just as if he were going shopping. But since he had been on the base network during the attack, he saw nothing except fingerprint smudges and dust.

Yet after emerging from the bunker, the French officer knew where to find his soldiers. He sprinted at a low crouch toward a dispersed arrangement of vehicles set up in defensive positions. He greeted a soldier crouched near the rear flank of an AMX-3 armored vehicle. The paratrooper had set up a camoflage brown pop-up ballistic shield and was aiming a 10-year-old portable defense weapon skyward. These double-barreled shoulder-fired kinetic and microwave weapons were not connected to the base network or even the vehicles they were carried on, and so were still able to autonomously shoot down incoming shells and drones.

“Getting started a bit earlier than we wanted,” Durand said.

“Always ready, no?” said the soldier, whose chest armor name-plate read Orbach.

Durand held up the tablet he wore at his waist, and tapped it against the soldier’s forearm-mounted screen. Between the hastily broken up meeting and this physical connection, the mission-management AIs hosted on Durand’s tablet had created a plan of action based on years of training and real-world operations led by the colonel.

“There you go, Orbach. You have everything you need? Maybe I can fire up a fab for a nice coffee for you?”

Orbach smiled and nodded.

“Now get ready,” Durand said. “Let’s get out of this mess here and go start some trouble.”

Orders given, the information would spread rapidly from soldier to soldier, vehicle to vehicle, by direct or indirect laser transmission. Reliable, tightband, and perfect for a situation like this. Somebody might intercept it, but that was true with everything, wasn’t it?

At once, half the French paras moved to their vehicles, as the other half began climbing the shipping containers. Thanks to the task force’s own orbital sensors, unaffected by the attack so far, Durand had targets. Conventional doctrine emphasized machine vs. machine engagements, but he was going to be doing something far riskier. And more important: targeting the individuals who were the contacts, or nodes, for the Catalyst technologies. There was no time to waste staying inside the protection the base afforded. The Catalyst systems were learning and improving, from the first wave of attacks. Iterative warfare required ferocious speed and more initiative than most leaders were comfortable with.

A text message from Toonce appeared on Durand’s glasses. The UN base’s network was back up. Wait. Based on the auburn-colored text and the blue triangle icon, this was a message being sent via an encrypted consumer messaging app.

“I’m printing new logic cores for the defensive bots first, then the offensive systems. We have 213,” Toonce said.

“Of course,” Durand responded, a subvocal command converted to text. “How long?”

“Six hours.”

“And if you alternate printing, say, one defensive then one offensive, so there is … balance in our capability? I will not wait for the AU forces to regenerate. There is a window here we have to take before another round of upgrades by Tanzanian Army forces, or whoever else is equipping with Catalyst systems. We are moving out now.”

He closed out the conversation. Six hours would become 12, which would become a day delaying until the machines were ready. Durand’s paras were primed to fight now. La Victoire ne se donne pas.

Inside and atop the trucks and jeeps, the soldiers began cueing up virtual representations of their targets. The drivers took manual control, the safest option at a time like this. Less than a minute later, Durand and Martell were back in the scout car, with the commander buckling on his armor. The convoy rolled forward at a walking pace toward the base’s main gate. Some of the paras cast wary glances at the glitching Nigerian defense bots, which swayed back and forth atop their stork-like legs. Other soldiers looked for the two para sniper teams protectively watching from atop the shipping containers. As the vehicles advanced, the snipers flew a quartet of Aigle reconnaissance drones to scout routes established by Durand’s AIs.

The French soldiers were not the only ones rushing to action. Holding a water bottle in his lap, Martelle watched a squad of Kenyan infantry worked carefully to clear the medevac flight pad, guiding a pair of eight-legged explosive ordnance disposal bots as they cleared the area of micro-munitions left behind by the Catalyst swarm. The “confetti mines” were the size of an old postage stamp, paper-like explosives that detonated when their millimeters-thin bodies were bent or cracked. Coiled tight around titanium spools stored inside the bird-like drones, the mines fluttered to the ground by the hundreds, arming as they fell. One mine alone might not be enough to injure a person or even a machine. But if one detonated, it triggered other nearby mines.

“Martelle, hey,” Durand said.

“Sir,” Martelle responded, nodding. He took a drink of water.

“They have their job. We have ours.”

“Always ready. Onward,” Martelle said.

A tap on the pad at his waist and Durand urged the column forward. The base’s thick-plasticrete barrier-gates at its main entrance swung outward like arms extending for an embrace. Durand held his breath as his jeep was the first through, out into the open area beyond the base. With a feeling of regret, he passed intricate human-sized pyramids of dust-covered German and Italian bots, looking like cairns on a forgotten desert trail. It was as if in their final moments they sought to join together out of fear. He did not need those machines to complete this mission, but he would be lying to himself if he did not admit that they could make a life-or-death difference for his soldiers.

“Faster now,” said Durand. “We have our objectives, now we—”

His glasses vibrated painfully.

“MISSION ABORT,” read the message, a bright red scrawl of flashing characters.

This was no time to stop. He swiped it aside, and motioned for Martelle to keep driving.

Then General Kimani broke through with a direct audio feed.

“Colonel, you need to return to base. Mission abort. Confirm?”

There was no way to lock the officer out. Unlike with a fully autonomous formation, there was no “kill switch” for Durand’s troops. He led them, fully.

“We are en route to the objectives, general. You can see our target set; it has been approved by the task force command.”

The jeep slewed to the right, around a broken-down Tanzanian Army T-99X tank, a self-driving Chinese model that was exported throughout Africa, complete with stock PLA green-and-brown digital camo.

“No longer. PKO and AU leadership just made the call. They do not want your troops hunting down individuals in the city. Their models say it will just worsen the situation for civilians, everybody.”

Worsen? Durand thought. Isn’t it already bad enough?

“So,” said Durand. “That’s it?”

“I am going to propose another target set. Only bots, fabs, and cyber targets. No humans. We can deploy the task forces systems in six hours, I understand. Your paras can be on standby.”

Machines targeting machines, said Durand. That’s all they want any more.

He braced his leg and leaned back in his seat as his vehicle accelerated onto a deserted artery flanked by half a kilometer of torched and roofless four-story buildings. He looked back over his shoulder at the trailing convoy. His troops were there, following.

August Cole is co-author of Burn-In: A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution

Read also How NATO is Innovating Toward the Future only in The Cipher Brief

Read more expert-driven national security insights, perspective and analysis in The Cipher Brief.

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[11jj11]

A Visit - Marisson Family (One-Shot)

“And then at recess we were play trainers and I got to be the gym leader and I was a fire gym leader with a Fennekin and a Charizard and a Flareon and they were super strong and they could all mega evolve!”

“Really? And what does mega Fennekin look like?” Alain asked, an assumed smile flickering over his face.

His eyes glanced up at the rearview mirror, watching as the dark haired girl in the backseat pressed her lips together in thought. “Mega Fennekin... is really big! Big enough to ride on! And she has wings and can fly just like a Charizard!”

“Mega Fennekin sounds like she’d be really strong in battle,” Alain said. “Was anyone strong enough to beat the gym leader?”

“Nope!” Faith said proudly, puffing up her chest. “I won all the battles in our game! Gym leaders are the strongest, that’s why. But Michael says he wants to be the gym leader next time so that means he gets to win the battles...”

Faith rambled on, happily telling her father about her day at school in great detail, a huge grin spread across her face the entire time. Alain smiled as he listened, though a tiredness hung about him as he drove through the crowded streets of Lumiose. His work schedule was anything but constant, trying to balance between Faith’s time in school, sleep, and still being able to spend time at home with her. Of course Professor Sycamore was nothing but liberal with the hours Alain worked, allowing him to change his schedule from week to week and even day to day.

Moving to Lumiose had most certainly helped, while he missed the more peaceful environment that had been back in Coumarine City, living in the same town as his work was just simply much easier. And an apartment was easier to manage than a house and a yard... and in the end a fresh start had been what he needed.

“And then our teacher had us write a letter to someone special in our lives,” Faith said, digging through her backpack. “She says that my handwriting is looking so pretty and that my spelling is super-duper good!”

“And who did you write your letter to?”

“Mom,” Faith said happily, oblivious to the way her father tensed up slightly, pulling out an envelope out of her backpack. “See? It’s right here! And I really really want to give it to her, so I was wondering if we could go visit her today?”

Alain didn’t say anything for a moment, stormy blue eyes locked straight ahead as he drove. He barely seemed to hear his daughter’s words. Faith watched him for a moment, tilting her head in confusion.

“Daddy?”

“Uh– yeah,” Alain said, blinking slightly as he was pulled from his thoughts, voice quiet. “I guess we could... but we need to go home first, okay? Get all cleaned up from school, eat, and then we can go visit Mom.”

“Yippee!” Faith said excitedly, throwing her hands up into the air. “Can we bring them a gift too? Ooo! Flowers! Let’s do flowers!”

“Of course, sweetie,” Alain said quietly.

“Kadey! We’re going to go visit Mommy today!” Faith declared loudly the moment Alain unlocked the apartment door, the young girl bursting in excitedly. Her eyes immediately locked on the couch in their front room, pouncing onto the Flareon that was fast asleep. Dark eyes widened as he was scooped up into the young girl's arms.

“F-flare?” The fire type let out a cough of smoke, being turned around in Faith’s arms so she could look him in the eyes. The Pokemon’s demeanor completely changed as he took in her words, tail thumping happily. “Eon!”

Most of Alain’s Pokemon lived at Sycamore’s lab now days, a majority of them being much too large to comfortably to live in the tiny apartment. Kade and Lucas happily spent their time indoors, sometimes joining him on his trip to the lab, while Weavile’s Pokeball he kept on himself when traveling about. Sometimes Charizard joined him as well, though she seemed to prefer to stick with her mate and son at the lab.

Lucas let out a happy yip, the Electrike running into the room upon hearing Faith’s voice. He was a hyper little Pokemon, and absolutely adored the young girl. Even though she had quite a few years until her journey, Alain had a feeling that the electric type would be joining Faith once she became a trainer. And with her interest in mega evolution, he’d be a good pick as well.

“You can come too, Lucas!” Faith said happily, sitting on the ground so the canine could crawl into her lap, while Kade laid across her shoulders. He was much too big to comfortably sit on one, so he kept himself balanced across two.

Alain’s picked up Faith’s backpack, which she had left on the floor like usual, hanging it up on the coat rack near the door. He stiffened a yawn, having worked a late shift the night before, stumbling towards the kitchen. He found a half empty pot of coffee from this morning sitting out on the counter. He didn’t even blink, grabbing a cup from the stack of dishes in the sink, pouring himself a mug of the cold brew. He shuddered at the taste, but honestly didn’t care, just trying to wake himself up.

“Can we go now, Dad? Can we, can we?” A voice chirped from behind him, and he let out a sigh.

“Why don’t you get yourself an afternoon snack, then we can go,” Alain replied. “Dad’s really tired right now, so just give me a minute.”

“Did you work last night again?” Faith asked, and Alain couldn’t help but notice that all eagerness from her voice was gone– a much more serious tone taking its place. He turned to look back at her, those amber eyes watching him in concern. She was only six, she shouldn’t have to worry about such things...

“Yeah, I did,” Alain said quietly, taking another sip of the cold coffee. “Don’t worry, I’ll be more awake in like twenty minutes, just need the coffee to kick in.”

Faith crinkled her nose. “I don’t like the smell of coffee.”

“...Mairin was the same way.”

Faith tilted her head to the side. “Well, you better make sure you don’t smell like coffee when we go to visit her then,” She turned to leave the kitchen, Kade still in her arms when she paused. “Why do you have to work at night, Daddy?”

“So I can be with you after school instead of working,” Alain replied.

“Why can’t you work after school– and I can come to the lab with you,” She nodded to herself as she said this. “Yeah– I can play with all of the Pokemon and the Fennekins, and then that way you can sleep at night. You know you’re not a Noibat, right Daddy?”

“Why not? I think I’d make a pretty good dragon.”

Faith let out a giggle. “No you wouldn’t– Charizard and Kaj are the dragons!”

“Trike!” A voice barked from the other room– Lucas demanding his playmates to return. Faith giggled, and ran back into the mainroom with Kade, leaving Alain alone in the kitchen. He let out a long sigh, staring down at his mug.

He couldn’t just drag Faith to the lab every afternoon, she should be living a normal childhood and not waiting for him to finish work. He was fine right now anyways, the coffee was already making him more alert. It was no substitute for sleep, but did that really matter?

He took another long drink, draining the mug.

---------------------------

“Faith, stay by me!” Alain called as his daughter bolted down the sidewalk– not wanting to lose her in the large crowds that filled Lumiose City.

“Okay Dad!” She chirped, pausing by a street light to wait for him. Kade and Lucas were at her heels like usual, all three of them waiting for him to catch up. Faith was bouncing up and down excitedly, her letter clutched in her arms.

“Here, hold my hand,” Alain said as he approached her, and instantly she reached up and grabbed his hand. “Remember Lumiose is really big, and I don’t want you to get lost.”

“We’re not lost, I know exactly where we are!” Faith said proudly, pointing down the street. “The flower shop is over there, remember you said we could buy flowers for them, remember?”

“I remember,” Alain said as they continued forward. “What kind of flowers do you want to buy this time?”

“Hmm... A rose for Mommy and a lily for Vaya!” The girl grinned up at Alain. “Do you think they’ll like those flowers?”

“They’ll love them,” Alain replied, giving her a tight smile.

Faith tugged him forward, clearly wanting to move faster. She let out a giggle as they continued down the street, the floristry they often visited soon coming into view. Before Alain could say a word Faith slipped her hand out of his, rushing into the small shop. A bell rang as Alain slipped in after her, holding the door open so the two Pokemon could enter as well.

She was already at the counter, beaming at the purple-haired woman behind it. “Hi Ms. Cooper! Me and Dad are here to buy some more flowers! We want a yellow rose and a... purple lily!”

“Hello Faith, hello Monsieur Vide,” The woman said, smiling warmly at the young girl, and giving a nod to Alain. “It’s always nice to see you two again, what brings you here today?”

“We’re taking a letter to Mom!” Faith said, holding up the envelope in her hand. “I wrote it today in school and I want to give it to her right away! We get to see Vaya too.”

“How nice,” Ms. Cooper said with a kind smile, searching for the flowers Faith had requested. She carefully laid the rose and the lily on the counter, and Alain’s hand went in search of his wallet. His eyes widened as his hands found an empty pocket though, and he closed his eyes.

“...It appears I’ve forgotten my wallet...” He said quietly, holding back a sigh. “I’m sorry Faith, but it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to do flowers today.”

“But Dad–” Faith began.

“Oh, don’t worry about that today, Monsieur Vide,” Ms. Cooper said, picking up the two flowers and placing them into Faith’s hand. “They’re on me today.”

The little girl brightened up. “Thank you so much Ms. Cooper!”

Alain gave her a grateful smile. “I’ll be sure to pay you for them next time.”

She waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it, like I said they’re on me. Enjoy your visit with your daughter, sir.”

Alain nodded, placing a hand on Faith’s shoulder, and guiding her to the door. One hand held the two flowers, and the other held the envelope. She smiled up at her father, who gave her a small one in return, and soon they were back out on the crowded streets of Lumiose. With no longer a hand to hold Alain was careful to keep his daughter close, but with Faith that wasn’t always possible.

“We’re almost there, Daddy!” She said excitedly, bolting ahead as her eyes spotted their destination up ahead. Alain reached out to try and grab her, but she was already winding her way through the crowd, and orange and green blur at her side.

Fortunately an older woman noticed the fleeing girl and Pokemon, placing a hand out to slow her down as Alain run after them. “Slow down there, dear.”

“Excuse us!” Faith said, trying to dart around her. “We’re in a hurry!”

“Faith, you can’t run off like that!” Alain cried as he caught up to her, flashing a grateful smile at the woman. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“Remember little one, when you run off like that you’re making your father worry,” The older lady said to Faith. “Those are some pretty flowers you got there. Where are you in a rush to?”

“We’re going to visit my Mom and my sister!” Faith said happily.

The woman smiled. “How fun. Do you like to play with your sister?”

“I dunno, I’ve never played with her before,” Faith said, and she looked up at Alain. “Can we go now, Daddy? We’re almost there!”

“Yes, let’s go,” Alain said, careful to keep his hand on her shoulder as they continued on.

Alain always had a hard time coming here, making his way down the long road and looking across the fields. Honestly, it hurt to be here, to be reminded of times that had become so painful– but yet ones he never wanted to forget.

“I found them, Daddy! I found them!” Faith cried, up ahead on the path.

Alain nodded, slowly following after her. The young girl happily sat down on the grass, Kade and Lucas at her side. As he reached her he did the same, sitting down as he looked out at what sat in front of him. It was strange how something could fill him with such sorrow, but yet at the same time a warmth.

The grave sat in front of them, the white stone gleaming in the sunlight.

They always seemed to come here on days like these, with the sun shining overhead and not a single cloud in the sky. The warmth embracing them when it felt that clouds should have covered the skies. Alain’s eyes flickered to Faith, who had a small smile on her face, though the young girl’s eyes seemed distant. His gaze returned to the gravestone taking in the names written on it.

Mairin Floraison Vide Loving Wife, Loving Mother

Vaya Mairin Vide Who Was Taken Too Soon

The years on the headstones were carved beneath the names, the years leaving Mairin as only twenty-five when she had been taken, and little Vaya hadn’t even been with them one day. The death dates for both of them were the same, those horrible numbers representing the day his entire life had been torn apart.

“Hi Mom,” Faith said quietly, kneeling in front of the headstone. “Hi Vaya, me and Daddy came to visit you guys today. I hope you guys are doing well, Dad says that heaven’s supposed to be a very happy place so I hope everything is happy there today.”

Kade slowly approached the stone, a slight whine filling the air. He pawed at the grave, before rubbing himself up against it, as if trying to reassure who laid below. Lucas lingered back, head resting on his paws, letting out a small whine of his own.

“We brought you guys some more flowers,” Faith continued, looking at the two blossoms in her hand. She glanced at Alain, before holding them out to him. “Here Daddy, you can give Mom the rose and I’ll give Vaya her lily.”

Alain carefully took the rose from his daughter, looking down at the soft petals. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a small breath, before carefully setting the flower right below Mairin’s name. Dried stems and crumpled petals lingers around the headstone, the remains of the flowers they had brought here before. Faith inched closer to the grave, kissing the lily in her hand, and placing it near Vaya’s name.

“I also have a letter for you, Mom,” Faith said, holding up the envelope she had been so excited about. “And don’t worry, Vaya can read it too,” She frowned for a moment. “But Vaya is just a baby, so she can’t read, can she? Don’t worry– I’ll read it outloud so that way both of you can hear it!”

With that Faith ripped open the letter, pulling out the single paper inside. Words written with a bright blue marker proudly stood on the page in Faith’s handwriting, hearts and small doodles scrawled between the lines. She held out the paper, clearing her throat as she always did before reading something, and began:

“Dear Mom, today we get to write letters to someone very special in our lives, and the first person I thought of was you,” Faith said. “You are very special because you are the very best mom on earth, and even if you aren’t on earth anymore you are still the very best. It’s been a long time since you’ve had to leave, but I still remember when you’d take me out into the garden, and when you’d sing me songs, and when you’d sneak me candy even when Dad said no more treats for tonight.”

She glanced at Alain, clearly him not having supposed to hear this, but he just smiled and waved for her to continue.

“Daddy still doesn’t let me have treats at night, which is something I miss, but me and Daddy go out for ice cream every Friday. I get chocolate with Pecha berries, and Dad says that those were your favorite too and so that makes us twins. Chocolate is the very best and I am going to have a chocolate cake for my seventh birthday. I hope you’re able to have chocolate and birthday parties in heaven, but I’m sure you do because heaven is supposed to be a happy place and chocolate and birthdays are very happy things.”

Alain noticed as he looked over her shoulder that she had spelled heaven as ‘haven’, and chocolate as ‘chacolat’.

“I am going to now draw you a picture of Kadey and Kindle battling so you can see how strong they are. I hope you like it really-a lot! Love Faith,” She then turned the paper around so it was facing the gravestone. “And see? Here are the drawings, this one is Kindle as a mega Fennekin, and here’s Kade.”

The Flareon perked up a bit at the mention of his name, sniffing the paper.

“Can we send the letter to them now, Dad?” Faith asked, and Alain nodded, holding out his hand. She carefully slide the letter back into the envelope, handing it to him, and Kade trotted in front of Alain. He carefully held out the paper, while the Flareon released a gentle Incinerate, the envelope catching fire.

They watched in silence as the letter burned, Alain setting it on the ground as the smoke drifted up into the air. Faith leaned back, watching it rise into the sky with a wistful look.

“There we go,” Alain said quietly. “I’m sure Mairin will be happy to have your letter.”

“Do they have fridges in heaven?” Faith asked quietly. “Because if they do I want Mommy to hang my drawing on it.”

Alain pulled her into a hug. “I know she’s going to treasure it. I’m sure she’s looking down on us right now.”

“...I miss Mommy,” Faith whispered quietly.

“I miss her too, Faith, I miss her every single day,” Alain whispered. “And I know she misses us as well.”

“But we don’t have to worry,” She said, leaning her head back to look up at her father. “Because Vaya and Mom have each other so they aren’t alone. Just like how I have you.”

Alain blinked, and for a moment he didn’t reply, just looking down at his daughter. Then he wrapped his arms tightly around her, bringing her into a tight embrace, placing a kiss on her forehead. Faith leaned up against him, humming a small song as he held her.

“...Have I been a good father, Faith?” Alain asked quietly.

“The best,” She replied with a nod, before tilting her head to the side. “You’ve asked me that before– how come?”

He knew that this hadn’t been the first time he had asked her such, and he knew it wasn’t going to be the last. He pulled her out of the hug, looking into her eyes as he sat her in his lap. It was a question he asked himself everyday, a fear he constantly lived with. Because just like Faith, he too had lost his mother. And just like Faith, he had only been left with his father.

And Alain’s greatest fear was him becoming like that horrible man.

He brushed her dark hair out of her face. “Because, Faith, I only want the best for you.”

“I want the best for me too,” She said.

Alain smiled softly, before again looking at the grave of his wife and daughter. He had never been able to say goodbye to Mairin, she had been wheeled away into another part of the hospital as quickly as possible in an attempt to save her. He had never been able to hold his youngest child, who had been a stillborn. They had been hoping to bring home another member of their family that day, but instead they had lost two.

Faith was all he had left, and his little girl had become the center of his life. She was the light of his day, his only hope in this dark world. She was the reason he got out of bed each day, and pulled himself through work so he could be there when she got home. She was the one thing that never failed to make him smile, even when there was a time he thought he would never be able to again.

“Faith, I love you,” Alain said softly.

“I love you too!” She responded right away, that wonderful smile on her face. Her eyes lit up, an idea crossing her mind. “Hey, Dad, can we get a treat tonight?”

“No treats until after dinner,” He said. “You know that.”

“...Can we buy a treat to have after dinner?” She asked, looking up at him hopefully. He stared into her amber eyes, before letting out a sigh.

“Of course, sweetie,” He said, and with that he pushed himself to his feet, his little girl in his arms.

“Goodbye Mommy!” Faith called, peering over his shoulder and back at the gravestone. “Bye-bye Vaya! We’ll come visit you again real soon.”

Alain looked at the white gravestone as well. “...Goodbye.”

He lifted Faith up onto his shoulders, who giggled happily at this action. Kade and Lucas followed behind Alain as they headed out of the cemetery, the two Pokemon glancing back behind them as they walked. Alain kept his eyes locked straight ahead, his arms carefully holding his daughter in place as they left.

Faith began chattering away excitedly, unaware of the tears streaming down her father’s face.