Twisted Paths, Forgotten Pasts
Chapter 11
That same day, Jay awoke feeling rather strange. What had happened? Why did he feel like his best friend had just died?
Then it hit him. His best friend had just died.
"Fucking hell!" He exclaimed, sitting up. "Jyp..."
"He's still alive." An unfamiliar female voice said.
He spun around. "I'm dreaming, right? Jyp's dead. He has to be... I can't feel his mind!"
"Like I said, he's alive, but he might as well be dead. His body still lives, but his mind is elsewhere. Your creator has him with her, and she is doing her best to find a way to revive him."
"So, Jyp's... not dead?" Jay asked, not believing his ears. If this was a dream, he didn't dare wake up.
"That's what I said, unless you weren't listening-"
"I was! Can I, see Jyp?" He asked anxiously.
"Maybe later, we have work to do."
"To hell with work!" Jay snapped angrily, knocking everything off the small table by his bed.
"Jay! Shut up and hear me out!" She commanded, and automatically, Jay calmed down and shut up. "I know how much you love Jyp, your creator told me, but your duty comes first. Jyp knew that, and used his last bit of energy to carry on what he knew, instead of using it to save his own life. What did he tell you?"
Reluctantly, he answered."That the book is in Reva."
"So what does that mean?"
"That we must go back to Reva..."
"Correct. Duty first, remember that. The others have already gone for breakfast and they're packed and ready. Here." She picked up a tray and put it in Jay's lap. "Eat. I'll pack your stuff for you." And she turned around and proceeded to pick up Jay's things, fold them, and put them away neatly.
Eating quietly, he watched her every move. Something about her seemed so familiar, yet he couldn't quite figure out why. Probably just his mind playing tricks on him. If he'd seen such a beautiful woman before, he was sure he would have remembered. Long flowing blonde hair, bright sky blue eyes, perfect figure... She was almost as beautiful as Akira.
"You know, you should be less careless. I had to pick up all your coins and clean up that bottle yesterday." She scolded, packing away a paper bag full of the mentioned coins. "There, all done. Are you finished?"
He nodded.
"Perfect! Now go take a shower, I've laid out some clothes for you in the bathroom."
"What are you, my mother or something?" He remarked bitterly.
She grinned. "What makes you ask that?" And then she put her hands on her hips. "Now hurry up! We haven't got all day! It's a long train ride to the sea-port!"
"You got us tickets?" He asked, stunned. She'd planned out everything...
"Yes, I did. Now, before I have to ask you again..."
"Alright, alright, no need to bite my head off." He muttered, getting out of the bed and heading straight for the bathroom. "Women!" He said to himself, rolling his eyes.
Sajoya sighed, plopping down on the bed. This was harder than she'd thought it would be, but she'd have to put up with it. With Jyp out of the game, she was going to have to take his place...
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The journey to the seaport was relatively uneventful. Jay was considerably more cheerful than the day before, but to those who knew him well, they could tell he remained depressed about having to work without his partner, and best friend, or rather, brother. They got to Reva at 9pm, and headed straight for the library, which would be closing in an hour.
"Okay guys, we'll need to split up and search. The book is dark blue with a gold dragon engraved on the front." Jay told the others when they entered.
"I know where it is," Akira said. "I saw it on the day Ash and I went out to lunch, remember Ash?"
He nodded. "I found you in here."
"Follow me." She lead the group to the pokemon section, and then over to where the information on dragon pokemon were kept.
"Ivena and Ivan!" Taie hissed, stopping along with everyone else when they saw the two psychics. They had beat the group to the book, and identical expressions of triumph glowed on their faces.
Ivena stood up, clutching the book on draconian prophecies. "You were looking for this, I presume?" She asked with an evil smile. "Well too bad. We can't let you have it. We didn't go though all the trouble of getting rid of that pesky growlithe for nothing!"
Ivan tapped her on the shoulder. "Let's go." He said, putting his hand on the crystal that hung around his neck.
"Not so fast!" Sajoya interrupted. "I am *not* letting you get away with that book!"
"Sorry, but you can't stop us." Ivena sneered as she teleported away with Ivan following immediately after.
"Ashina katera." Sajoya whispered under her breath, making a small movement with her hands. "They cannot open the book without the dragon stone now." She said. "Unfortunately, neither can we..."
"What?" Jay exclaimed.
"It's the only way. We cannot have them opening the book."
Sighing, he leaned against a bookshelf. "So now we have to look for the dragon stone?"
"Correct."
"Damn!" He looked around for something to punch, but finding, nothing, resorted to just kicking the bookshelf, causing some books to fall.
The book is not that important anymore. Sajoya shrugged. With all the events that have happened lately that werent planned out, the paths have changed drastically.
Speaking up for the first time since they got to Reva, Rosc gave them a little big of news. "I think we've been locked in the library..."
"WHAT?" Taie looked at him in shock. "You're joking, right?"
He shook his head.
"Well, at least we still have the lights!" Ash said cheerfully.
The lights went off.
"Nice going Ash." Jay muttered.
"What'd I do?"
"Nevermind."
"Can't we just blast our way out of here?" Akira asked hopefully. She and Rika had been looking forward to taking a nice long bath...
"That would be destruction of private property. We shall wait here till tomorrow." Sajoya responded, sitting down. "Hey, it'll be fun!" She added cheerfully.
"I do not call being stuck in a library fun..." Rosc remarked.
"Pika..." Pikachu replied. "Pika pikachu kapi chu!" He added on a happier note.
"What'd he say Ash?" Taie asked.
"He agrees with Rosc, but added that so long as you've got friends, you can make it through anything."
"He's right." Akira said. "Hey, lets get to know each other better! I've known all of you for barely a month, in this life at least."
"How about going alphabetically?" Rosc suggested.
"Sure. But instead of just standing around here in the dark, why not sit in some light? Jay, if you wouldn't mind?" Sajoya asked.
Jay whispered something softly and a light appeared in the palm of his right hand. With another incantation, it floated from his hand and hovered over their heads, providing them with some light.
"Good, now let's sit, and Akira can start." She gestured for the others to sit, as she had already done so previously.
"Well let's see. I'm twenty-one years old, and I just graduated from the Datil University. I used to live with my parents in Datil, until the town mysteriously burnt down, killing my parents, our vaporeon, and my friends..." She paused here, but before Ash could make a move to comfort her, Jay had already put an arm around her shoulder. "That's all I really have to say... I never did get a job; I was looking for one when Jay informed me of what my true identity is."
"Well, my turn." Ash took a deep breath, thinking about his past. "I grew up in Pallet town, and when I was ten, I got my first pokemon, Pikachu." He looked fondly at the electric mouse. "From there on, I started my pokemon journey. I met up with Misty, and Brock. I'm sure you've heard of them." The others nodded. "Well, we traveled together for some time. At one point Brock left and Tracey, a Watcher, joined up with us, but Brock returned later on for some time. Ever since then I've dedicated my life to pokemon, and eventually, I became a pokemon master. I came to this town to challenge Jay, and now here I am..."
"What about your love life?" Akira asked curiously.
"Love life?" He blushed. "You didn't have to talk about yours." He retaliated.
"Love life and me do not go together in a sentence... I haven't had time to have a boyfriend, and I told you already! Remember?"
"Oh yeah... Well, I did go steady with Misty Waterflower, but it didn't work out. We were too different." He looked at Akira. "Happy now?"
She grinned. "Yes. So who's next?"
"I am." Jay said. "There's not much to tell about me. I was, unlike everyone else, created, not born, and raised by my creator."
"The little girl?" Rosc asked.
"Yes. I grew up here in Reva with Jyp, and eventually became the gym leader. I've spent my life studying prophecies and ancient mythologies. I also know how to use swords, and know many fighting techniques."
"Where do you get all your money from?" Taie seriously wanted to know, for she was sure gym leaders didn't get paid enough to support a trip around the world.
Jay was silent for a moment. "You don't need to know." Looking at Ash, he noticed that the pokemon master was about to say something, but one look at Jay's expression quietened him.
"My turn then." Rosc spoke up, all eyes turning to the solidly built, grey-eyed man. "I grew up in Teni, the small town you found me in. There's not much to tell about me, I went to school there, and eventually started my own small business, which I had to leave behind to one of my friends." He turned to look at Sajoya. "Your turn."
"Nothing at all to tell, your creator wants my life to be kept a secret." The blonde haired woman replied from her quiet corner. "Taie?"
The small mother of all flying types perked up considerably, smoothing back her streaked brown and blonde hair. "I've lived in many towns around this country, traveling with my 'parents', who are right now... Well, I'm not quite sure. I never really liked them very much."
"Taie!" Akira exclaimed.
"Well, I didn't." She simply replied. "Anyway, I've made my own life myself. I work as an, err... exotic dancer-"
Again, Kira cut her off. "Really?"
"Really. It's not as bad as it seems, and it pays well." Here, the older woman grinned. "That's all I have to say. Strange group, aren't we?"
"But we're all connected by our pasts." Rosc said.
"Or our ancestors' pasts." Ash added.
Akira looked at the group and smiled warmly. It'd been quite some time since she'd been able to feel this comfortable with any group of people, but these guys, she just seemed to click with them. Kinda like one big happy family.
/One big happy family.../ Rika repeated mentally. /I like that./ She yawned. /I'm sleepy.../ And she fell asleep, slipping off Akira's shoulder and into her lap.
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The next morning one of the librarians opened up the library, and while doing her routine check, discovered a group of youngish looking people sleeping on the floor together. There was a young lady, with dratini sleeping around her neck, curled up between two young men, one with a pikachu, and the other she was quite sure was the gym leader. Another young lady was using a rather largish looking man for a pillow, and there was a blonde haired woman sleeping on her own, leaning on a bookshelf. She was the first to wake up, and looked up at the librarian with her sky blue eyes. "Good Morning." She said, stretching.
"Good Morning..." The librarian replied. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We got locked in last night." The woman got up then walked over to her friends, promptly kicking the gym leader in the side. "Wake up Jay." She commanded.
He stirred but didn't get up, so she kicked him again. Much harder. "Ow!" He exclaimed, sitting up sharply. "Why'd you have to do that?" He rubbed his ribs.
"The library's open. We're free." She answered.
"Still no reason to kick me awake..." Gently, he shook Akira. "Hey, wake up Kira."
"Wha...?" She got up, rubbing her eyes. "We're free?"
He nodded, then woke up the others.
"So where to next?" Rosc asked, stretching his massive limbs.
"Professor Kevin's house." Jay replied. "We can get some answers, *and* breakfast."
"Sounds good." Ash said, picking up Sorrow who was still sleeping. "Does he cook well?"
Jay nodded, for he actually missed Kevin's food. He and Jyp used to... Jyp...
"Hey, Jay? You okay?" Akira asked, tapping him on the shoulder.
"Yes, I'm fine." He replied, quickly pushing his thoughts about the growlithe away and concentrating on the matters at hand.
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When they arrived at the lab, which was a lot bigger than they had thought it would be, Jay told them all to wait behind, and then he entered. "Hey Prof! Guess who's back!" They all heard from outside the door. The greeting was immediately followed by the sound of something glass falling to the floor and breaking.
"JAY?" The sound of something, a table or some other piece of furniture, being pushed aside. "Good to see you! How are things going? Is Akira okay? Why are you back?"
"Hey, slow down. I'd like you to meet the rest." There was a brief pause and then the door opened. "Come in." He said, holding the door open for them. "Kevin, I'd like you to meet Akira, the mother of all dragons, and her first daughter Arika. Taie, the mother of all flying types, Rosc the father of all rock types, Ash, the master and the guardian, and Sajoya... We're not quite sure who or what she is though."
"Kevin?" Taie exclaimed. "It's been so long!" She threw her arms around him and gave him and big hug.
"They...know each other?" Ash asked no one in particular.
Rosc nodded. "Kevin's the father of all normal types, and there are a lot normal/flying crosses."
"Kevin?" Jay grimaced. "You little sneak! You knew this all a long , didn't you?"
Kevin nodded, disentangling Taie from himself. "It had to be kept a secret. Jyp suspected it, but he kept his mouth shut." Pausing thoughtfully, the professor examined Jay. "You know, he was right. For someone as smart as you, you can be awfully dense..." Kevin looked around, frowning slightly. "Where *is* Jyp?"
Sajoya answered before anyone else could speak. "He's in what I think you guys used to call a 'Purgatory Coma'."
"How the hell did that happen?"
"Ivena and Ivan..." Taie replied. "I'd like to rip off her psychic stone and crush it right in front of her face!" She hissed vehemously.
Kevin looked at Taie, slightly surprised. "You've changed a bit." He remarked. "You never used to be all that vicious..."
"I don't believe she's changed all that much." Rosc mused. "She's a stripper in this life."
"A what?"
"Must you use that name? I prefer exotic dancer." She replied calmly, a coy smile on her face. "I could give you a demonstration." Batting her eyes, she looked up innocently at the tall professor.
Ash groaned. "I *really* don't want to be hearing this..."
Taie shrugged. "I guess you wouldn't like to know how well I knew your ancestor Lial then."
Ash sighed and looked at Pikachu. "There's no escaping in this group, is there?"
"Chuuu."
"Dartini-dra." Arika agreed from her mother's shoulders.
"So, you guys figured out that the book is here? Took you long enough... And I was forbidden to tell you. I'm in charge of the book, but I have limitations." Kevin took off his lab coat and draped it over a table.
Akira explained. "Our minds were being blocked, courtesy of Ivena and Ivan. They also beat us to the book. Sajoya here activated some sort of lock on it-"
"And now you can't open it without the dragon stone..." He finished for her. "We were going to have to find the eight stones for our group anyway." Kevin replied with a shrug, but then he remembered something. "But there are two dragon stones, one for Akira, and one for Calisin. We'll have to find her stone before he finds his."
"Don't we need to have all eight on our team first?" Rosc asked.
Kevin nodded. "The 'great three', as I call them - you've met the little blonde haired one, right? The girl?"
They all nodded.
"Well, they put some sort of 'spell' over the groups so that we cannot get the dragon stones, the fire stones, or the water stones without having all our eight members. The other stones, however, we are free to search for."
Akira, and Ash, and Pikachu for the matter, were both confused about the whole 'stone' matter. Ash had vague memories that had something to do with the stones, but he didn't understand them. Jay, however, had been taught about them by his creator.
"Jay?" Akira asked, tugging his sleeve. "What are the stones?"
"The stones are really crystals. Each of you guys, all twenty-four of you, have a stone, named by your type. Yours would be the dragon stone."
"What do they do?"
"When you have your stone, you're able to use your full power. When the stones are together, they are even stronger, which is why we have to be extra careful about Ivan and Ivena."
"Well, couldn't they just kill us all if they're so powerful?" Ash had to admit, he was lost.
"Yes, but it's not allowed. If they tried to kill us all, they would die instantly, banished to a fate even worse than Jyp's."
"I guess that makes me feel slightly better." Ash said to himself. "But could they do what they did to Jyp to us?"
"It takes too much energy, and they know that doing something as drastic as taking two of us out of the 'game' could seriously upset the balance of things, and therefore maybe even tip the scales in our favor. You can never be sure. That's why they wanted the prophecies, so that instead of killing us, they could anticipate our moves and prevent us from doing anything that might negatively affect them."
Kevin and the other two had finished talking. "We think it'd be best if we concentrate on searching for the other four of our group, and maybe look for the other stones on the side. But its up to you, you're the guide."
Jay thought over this for a moment. "I agree with you guys, but I'd like to spend today trying to piece together what Jyp foresaw some time ago. I think we accidentally left our notebook in the gym. You guys relax, go see a movie or something."
"I'll come with you." Sajoya said, speaking for the first time since they had entered the gym. "You'll need some help."
He bristled slightly. "I'll be fine on my own."
"No you won't." And she grabbed his hand and led him out of the lab like a mother dragging a reluctant child.
"Is it just me or is she a lot like Jyp?" Akira said after a few seconds of silence.
"She's a lot like Jyp." Kevin immediately replied, his green eyes sparkling with mirth. He ran a hand through his short brown hair and then looked at the group. "So, what do you guys want to do?"
"I want to go look around town again." Looking out a window, Akira smiled. "It's a lovely place, and the last time when Jay gave me a tour, it was at night so everything was closed."
"I'll go with you." Ash offered, not minding spending some time 'alone' with Akira.
"Well, they happen to be showing the Titanic... I never did see that movie." Rosc scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"Great! That leaves us alone!" Taie exclaimed, snuggling closer to Kevin, who had his arm around her waist.
"I guess I don't mind that." Kevin replied, winking at Taie.
"Oh no, you two are coming with me, and we're watching Titanic together. I'm gonna keep an eye on you two." Rosc folded his arms across his chest.
"Aww, come on Rosc! We haven't seen each other for a very long time..." Kevin protested.
"You'll have plenty of time to be with each other, but today, we are watching Titanic." He hauled the reluctant couple out of the door. "We don't need any new pokemon species at the moment." He was heard saying as they left.
Akira chuckled and shook her head. "Taie's very... friendly."
"Friendly? That's a very big understatement." Ash grinned.
"Pi. Ka. Chu." The yellow pokemon agreed.
"Well, shall we tour the town?"
"Of course!" Kira replied, holding his hand. "Let's go!"
So they began to tour the town, hand in hand. Ash had to admit he had been extremely surprised when she had slipped her hand into his own, but he hoped she hadn't noticed the expression on his face. She probably though he only thought of her as a friend. If only she knew the truth... He'd loved her since the first day he saw her.
===============================
Taie wiped her eyes with one hand, the other one clutching tightly onto Kevin's arm. He and Rosc, however, were calmly eating popcorn, quietly snickering when it got to the sentimental parts.
And then the lights went off.
Taie froze, and quickly made it out of her seat and into Kevin's lap, like a frightened little kid. Then thunder was heard and she let out a little yelp.
"Someone's scared of the dark..." Kevin whispered to Rosc.
"I heard that!" She exclaimed, not loosening her death-grip on Kevin.
"Don't worry Taie, the lights should be on soon." Rosc said reassuringly, patting her on the head like a pet growlithe.
"Men." She muttered.
They saw a flashlight beam, and one of the people who worked at the theatre hurried to the front where the screen was. "I'm sorry but there's currently a storm, a very bad storm."
"A storm? But I didn't see any clouds earlier," Kevin remarked quietly.
"And there's a blackout throughout the town, so I guess you'll have to wait to see the rest of the movie. Please keep your tickets stubs, and when the light comes back, we will gladly let you back in to see the rest of the movie. Stay calm and stay in the building. We'll be passing out flashlights so you won't have to be in the dark."
Thunder crashed again and Taie buried her head in Kevin's shoulder. It was going to be a long, dark afternoon.
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"Ash?" Akira asked, on their way to her place so that they could cook something to eat. "Did you feel a drop of water?"
"Water?" He looked up at the sky, but there aren't any clouds..." As he spoke, angry black clouds suddenly filled the sky. "Shit!" He grabbed Akira's hand. "We need to find shelter!"
"But we're in the middle of the woods. My house is still quite far from here!" She held his hand tightly.
Quickly, Ash picked Pidgeot's pokeball. "Pidgeot, Go!"
The bird pokemon appeared and stood before them, cawing curiously.
"Pidgeot, we're gonna need you to hurry up and fly us to Akira's house. It's gonna rain soon."
"Pidge." It nodded, and lowered itself so they could climb onto its back. "Geot?"
He turned to her. "Akira, where's your house?"
"Tell him to fly straight. I'll tell you when we fly over it."
"Okay. Pidgeot, straight!" He commanded.
It cawed again then took off into the air. Mere seconds into the flight, however, it began to pour heavily.
"It's not much further than here. If he can just keep it up for a little while longer..."
"He'll be okay." Ash replied. "We've been through worse. Just hold onto me tightly."
Her arms were entwined tightly around his waist, and Rika was curled around Akira's neck so tightly that any tighter, and she'd be strangling her mother. Pikachu and Sorrow were tucked under Ash's jacket, keeping firm grips on the fabric with their paws and teeth.
"There it is!" Akira yelled over the howling wind.
"Pigeot, land!" Ash commanded the bird.
It landed as carefully as it could, which wasnt very, in this weather. They hopped off the pokemon and Ash recalled it.
"Akira, got the key?"
"Yes." She quickly fumbled through her pockets and withdrew the key, opening the door and entering immediately, shutting it as soon as Ash entered. She grinned. "That was fun."
"Fun? We're a pair of drowned pikachus!" He looked at the wet yellow pokemon in his arms. "No offense meant, Pikachu."
"Kachu."
"I guess we should dry off... Let your pokemon out Ash, the house isn't all that big, but they'll fit. And your Charizard could heat things up a bit."
"True." Ash let them out and the poor Pidgeot looked up at Ash with a sigh.
"Poor thing!" Before Ash could say anything, Kira ran up and got her blow dryer. "You can dry him off with this. And after that, I think Pikachu and Sorrow need it too."
"Thank you." Ash said gratefully, plugging it in.
She looked down at herself. Soaked was the first word that came to her mind, but unfortunately for her, she hadn't left any clothes behind because what she had wasn't much, as a result of the fire. "Damn, we don't have anything to change into..."
"Huh?" Ash looked up. "That's right! We left our bags at the lab..."
"Well, I do have a drying machine. We can dry off our clothes in that." Akira suggested.
"And what do we do until then? We can't sit around naked!"
She started laughing, and her deep blue eyes seemed to laugh along with her. "No, of course not. Hold on." Running upstairs she searched through her wardrobe and grabbed two large bathrobes. She ran back downstairs and handed one to Ash. "Here."
Ash looked at the fluffy white robe she's handed to him. "You're kidding, right?"
She shook her head, droplets off water from her hair flying everywhere.
"You're serious?"
She nodded.
"Okay, as soon as I'm done with these guys I'll go change."
"Good, I'll go change now." And she put Arika down on the carpet, going to change.
"Has she always been like that?" He asked the dratini.
"Tini?"
"Like... so spontaneous."
"Dratini." The dragon pokemon said in an affirmative tone. She looked around the small house. There was a nice cozy kitchen, and even cozier living room, and upstairs, two bedrooms and one bathroom. Such a sweet little place... Maybe when this was all over they could still come back and visit this place. That is, if they survived.
"Why so gloomy?" He asked her again, now drying off Pikachu and Sorrow. "You've got this pitiful expression on your face."
"Tini-dra, dratini tini ti..."
"Okay, I admit I don't understand dratini, but I have the feeling you're talking about this whole thing, right?"
"Dratini."
"I know why you feel like that then. I mean, there I was, a proud and content pokemon master. Now I'm told that I'm supposed to protect the-" He immediately stopped himself, he'd almost said 'the girl I love. "the Mother of All Dragons." He sighed. "I can barely keep myself out of trouble! Let alone keep her out of trouble."
The dratini made a little sound that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle.
"What's so funny?" He demanded, turning off the blow-dryer now that his pokemon were dry.
Arika slithered over to Ash, looking at him with sincere black eyes. He felt a slight jolt in his mind. /I know you love her, there's no need to hide it. I can see it when you look at her./
"How are you able to...speak to me?"
/Because of who you are. How can you guard my mother if you don't have some sort of link with her? The link with the Guardian to my mother has always been through me. I can talk to you when I really want to./
"Oh."
She seemed to laugh again. /I find you amusing. Don't ask me why. I've never met anyone like you, save your first ancestor. But anyway, I do not mind that you love my mother, but you must be careful, there is always the Father of All Dragons to beware of./
"Her husband from her first life?"
/Yes./
"You guys saw him at the cafe, didn't you? Why did he seem to scare you when you saw him?" Curiously, he took his eyes from the hair dryer and to the baby dragon.
/I don't know...Something was, different. Not quite right about him.../ The mental link left his mind right as Akira showed up, bundled up in her robe. Her wet blue hair looked black now that it was wet, and she had braided it.
"You look different."
"Different as in without any clothes, or with my hair all braided and wet?"
"With your hair all braided and wet, of course. Though I have to admit you do look slightly different without any clothes..."
"Pervert!" She exclaimed, grabbing a pillow from a couch and flinging it at him.
"Ow. You said it first..."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Go change so I can hurry up and dry the clothes."
"Okay, okay." He got up and looked around. "Where?"
"Up in the spare room."
"Ok." He went upstairs.
She picked up Arika and sat down in front of the fireplace, looking for a lighter. None. "Charizard?"
The big pokemon looked up from where he was curled up. "Char?"
"Could you light a fire for me? Just use ember though, I'd rather not have the house burn down."
"Zard." The charizard strutted up and started the fire for her.
"Thank you Charizard." She stood up and patted him on the head. "You're a good boy." She hugged him. "Hmm, mind sitting with us until the fire starts? It's cold in here."
The charizard shrugged, and Akira sat down, snuggling up with the big fire pokemon.
Ash entered and looked at Charizard in surprise. "You got him to obey you? It took me forever to gain his trust, and he never listens to anyone else!" He looked at the Charizard. "Why the sudden change of heart Charizard?"
"Charizard char zard ri chari char." It replied, as if it should be obvious.
"He says you're the mother of all dragons..." Still confused, Ash turned to Akira.
"Well, charizards are supposed to be dragons in a way, right?" She answered.
/They are, but not pure dragons like the dratini species. Fire, Water and Dragon are all closely related./
"Rika says fire, water and dragon are closely related." She added.
"That makes sense... It explains the reason why many fire and water pokemon either look like dragons, or can use dragon attacks..." He sat down by the fireplace. "Oh, and I started the drying machine for you."
"That's nice of you." She replied somewhat sleepily.
"Tired?"
She nodded. "Charizard? You can go now. The fire's blazing now."
The Charizard nodded and curled up elsewhere, the other pokemon immediately flocking to him and falling asleep by him, glad for some warmth. Pikachu and Sorrow, however, curled up together in Ash's lap. "Ash?" Akira asked sleepily. "Mind if I use your shoulder as a pillow?" She asked, her desire to sleep easily guessed by her drowsy tone.
"No, I don't mind." He replied.
"Thank you." She was about to lay her head on his shoulder when she looked up, her face barely inches away from his. "Sure?" She asked worriedly. "My hair's all wet..."
"I'm sure." He replied, holding her gaze for what seemed like eternity.
"Cause I don't want to get your shoulder wet..."
"Kira, I don't mind."
"You're so nice.." She replied, yawning and resting her head on his shoulder. "I wish all men were like you and Jay..." She fell asleep.
/Our faces had been so close.../ Ash thought.
Rika chuckled again, earning a glare from Ash.
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Jay looked through the book, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Sajoya watched him intently, never taking her eyes off of him, and he found that slightly unnerving. "Can't you do something else?"
"Like what?"
"I dunno... Find a book and read or something." He suggested hopefully.
"I'm comfortable just watching you." She flashed him a quick smile.
"I don't like being watched."
"Oh? Okay, then I'll just help you out." She got up and kneeled behind him, looking over his shoulder and reading.
Jay wondered what his creator was thinking when he sent this woman here. Sajoya was beginning to get on his nerves. Sure she was beautiful, but extremely annoying. "Do you have to read over my shoulder?"
"How else do you want me to read?" She retorted.
Silence.
"Can't you...go outside? I'll call you when I need your help." /Which hopefully, won't be happening./
"Fine. I can tell when I'm not wanted." She got up and opened the door, closing it immediately. "It's storming!" She exclaimed.
"Storming? That's impossible!" He got up and opened the door, slamming it shut in the same way she had. "It's storming..."
"Told you."
"But... but... There weren't any clouds!" He picked up the book, flipping through. "I wonder if Jyp prophesied anything about storms..."
"Give it to me." She took the book, looking through. "Here!"
He snatched the book back.
"The skies shall darken and the winds shall blow Storms shall appear with no warning Marking the awakening of the mother of all water types "
Jay closed the book and sighed. "Jyp never was very good at making the prophecies flow..."
"It's really not his fault. The prophecies weren't originally written in English you know, he has to translate them."
Jay wasn't really paying attention to her though. "This seems to be about the mother of all water types, Akira's sister. Something's obviously wrong though, for her to cause a storm, but without Jyp, or the book of Draconic Prophecies, we have no clue as to what's wrong... But she must be somewhere near here for us to experience the storm full strength."
"Correct. You're smarter than you look." She grinned as he glared at her with his green eyes.
"But we can't do anything now. We're stuck here!"
"Unfortunately, you're correct again...And I have a feeling we're stuck here until tomorrow." She sat down on the floor, resting her back against a wall.
"Stuck here...together?" He sat down next to her. "Why me?" He asked the ceiling.
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Akira had woken up not too long ago, and had gotten their clothes so they could change back into them. "Doesn't it feel great to put on clothes that are just out of the dryer?" She asked him, twirling around playfully.
"I used to do that in the winter," he admitted.
"Pikachu, pika pi kachu?" Pikachu asked, tugging on Ash's jeans.
"He wants to know if you have any hot chocolate."
"Hot chocolate? I hope so. I could really use a cup right now." She realised, walking immediately to the kitchen.
/What's hot chocolate?/ Rika asked as Akira searched through the kitchen cupboards.
/It's a chocolate flavored drink, kinda like tea or coffee, only... chocolate./ Akira replied. "Ah-ha! Found some. Ash, mind boiling some water? The kettle's already on the stove, just fill it up." /Rika, do you by any chance know where the mugs are?/
/No. You really should pay more attention to things mother... You can be quite absent minded at times./
/I can't help it... I haven't lived here long enough./ She opened a random cupboard. "Here we go! Plenty of mugs! She took out four. "Does Sorrow want any? Or your other pokemon?"
The hybrid shook her head. "I guess she doesn't." Ash then looked at the other pokemon. "And they're all asleep... I guess I'll leave them alone, I don't want to wake them up."
"Okay, four it is then." She put the mugs down, then after some searching, found the teaspoons. As she was about to retrieve the mix from the counter, where she had absentmindedly left it, she stopped, and put one hand on her forehead. "I feel strange..." She looked at Ash. "Is it just me, or is it getting hotter in here?" She seemed to loose all feeling in her legs, and her head hurt.
/Ash! Get up and catch her!/ Arika yelled at him, and he quickly obeyed, although he wasn't sure what she meant by 'catch her'. Immediately after he reached her side, she fainted in his arms.
"What's wrong with her?" He asked Arika worriedly. "Is she sick?"
/No, she is not sick./ The dratini slithered from around the girl's neck and onto the floor. /It is something else... But I don't know what!/ The dratini seemed more worried about the fact that she didn't know what was wrong, than the fact that something was wrong. /There's nothing we can do, we'll just have to wait and see what's wrong. All we can do now is put her to bed./
Wordlessly, Ash picked her up and carried her upstairs. He didn't like this feeling of helplessness; he didn't like not being able to do anything to help her... He laid her gently on the bed and covered her with the blanket that was folded at the foot of the bed, then he sat down on the floor and just waited. He could still hear the wind howling outside, and the rain falling heavily on the roof. If he listened carefully, he could even hear the rustle of the tree's as the wind blew through their leaves. But that wasn't what he wanted to hear, he wanted to hear Akira's voice.
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Later on that day, the storm let up for an hour, and the others gathered at the gym. They soon realized that Ash and Akira were still missing and headed for her house. Thankfully, they found them; Akira asleep on her bed with her dratini curled up by her head, and Ash leaning against the wall, fast asleep with Pikachu curled up in his lap, and Sorrow sprawled at his feet. Not wanting to disturb them, for it was night anyway, they quickly retreated and cooked a quick meal, then found their own resting places for the night.
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