Twisted Paths, Forgotten Pasts
Chapter 5
The next day, Michi woke up, and was surprised not to find Rezia in the bed, or anywhere in the room. Deciding it was nothing to worry about, as Rezia could take care of herself, she slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower.
Twenty minutes later, she stepped out in her towel, and nearly screamed when she was greeted with the sight of a red haired young man calmly standing by the door and smoking.
"Who are you and how did you get in here?" She demanded, firmly holding the towel against herself.
"The name is Kiajis, the father of all fire types. And Rezia let me in, she told me to wait here, and not cause any trouble."
"Oh..." She looked down at the floor, noticing that she was dripping water onto the carpet. "Well, if you don't mind, I need to change."
"I'm not stopping you," he said, extinguishing his cigarette in an ashtray that was on the table near the door.
She blushed, trying to think of a good retort, but decided to just keep quiet. Picking up her bag, she retreated back into the bathroom to change. She picked a light blue T-shirt that had a dark blue heart on it, and a pair of jean shorts. She dried her wet hair with a towel and then tied it into a ponytail. Stepping out into the room again, her bag in one hand, she found Kiajis sitting in a chair that he had pulled up in front of the TV. A ninetales lay at his feet, and turned to watch her when it heard the door open.
"Done changing?" He asked, not getting up from his place.
"Obviously. You think I'd come out half naked?"
"You never know." He said, now smoking a new cigarette.
She coughed, then walked up to him and snatched the cigarette from his fingers. "That'll kill you someday."
"I've already died once. What's wrong with doing it a second time? At least this time it's of my own free will." He shrugged, taking a new cigarette from his pocket and lighting it.
"Yeah, well I don't want to be breathing in any of your smoke! At least smoke somewhere else."
Turned his head to look at her, he didn't extinguish his cigarette, but just looked back at the TV. "Meet Sijia." He said, pointing at the ninetales.
She turned to look at Michi and smiled a ninetales smile. /Pleased to meet you. / She spoke in Michi's mind.
/Pleased to meet you too, Sijia. I'm Michi. / She turned to Kiajis. "How come I can hear her in my mind?"
He whipped around in the chair with a surprised expression on his face. "You can hear her? She's only supposed to be able to speak to me, her mother, and her siblings..." He looked at Sijia, who simply shrugged delicately. "Hmph." He turned back to the TV.
"What are you watching anyway?" She asked, sitting down on the floor next to Sijia.
"It's a documentary on Team Rocket."
"Why are you watching a documentary on team rocket?"
"There's nothing else to watch. And in case you didn't know, this town is run by them. Why do you think you couldn't leave yesterday?"
"How did you know...?"
"Rezia told me."
Silence...
The door opened, and Rezia entered. "Ah! I see you two kids have met!" She said cheerfully, her broad smile faltering a little as they both turned their heads to glare at her. "And I see you aren't getting along very well..."
Kiajis lifted his cigarette to his lips, but it flew out of his fingers and into the ashtray.
"You should know this one by now. *No* smoking!" Rezia said, noting the smug look on Michi's face as she spoke.
He sighed, returning his gaze to the TV. "When the h*ll are we getting out of this d*mn place?"
"We're leaving right after we eat. " A voice said from behind Rezia.
"Jizo!" Michi exclaimed happily, getting up from her place to run to him and hug him.
"Good morning to you too, Michi." He said, hugging her back, then carefully disengaging her from his waist. "I bought food so we don't have to go through the hassle of going to a restaurant here again." He picked up to bags that lay at his feet and carried them in, depositing them on one of the beds in the room. "Help yourselves."
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An hour later
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Packed, and back at the store they had left their bikes, they reunited with Reika and Janyin, who had been snooping around town earlier. The two eevees were, again, looking pleased with themselves.
"We found out our next-"
"Destination."
"We must travel to Saaia,-"
"Which is very, very, very far from here."
"So we have a long way to go."
"Therefore, we discovered-"
"There is an airport-"
"35 miles to the northeast-"
"Of this town." Janyin stretched, persian style. "So lets go!" He concluded.
Reika looked at Kiajis and Sijia, frowning thoughtfully. "We need to re-arrange ourselves now. Unless you want to buy another motorcycle..."
Jizo shook his head. Airplane tickets would be expensive, so they could not afford another motorcycle. "Me and Rezia can ride on one bike with Reika, Janyin, and all the supplies we bought. Michi, you can sit behind Kiajis, and Sijia can take up the side car."
Michi looked at Kiajis with an annoyed look on her face, then sighed and walked over to the bike they would share. She sat behind him, her arms hooked tightly around his waist, and as soon as Sijia had hopped in and had settled in, they speedily followed Jizo, who had already taken off.
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That very same morning, Jay, Jyp and their group were seated around a table in a restaurant, looking thoughtfully at various maps. Jay had a complete map of the world.
"Are you serious?" 'Kira was asking Jay, turning her attention from her map of the country they were in, to his map.
"Yes I am. You still don't believe me, do you?"
"Well can you blame me? Four or so days ago you tell me that all the dragon pokemon are my descendants and that I'm the reincarnated version of myself-"
"Well, actually..." Jyp interrupted.
"Don't interrupt me Jyp! And that we're out to save the world or something. Then you tell me we're going to be traveling all over the world! It's been less than a month since I left my town! Other than college, which was less than two miles away, I'd never been out of Datil!"
"Think of it as making up for all that loss time." Jay suggested, returning to the map and his discussion with Jyp.
She sighed and looked at the map. Their country was a small one, and she still couldn't believe she was leaving it... From her 'hometown' Datil, to the small island of Reva, to the fishing town of Kaon and then to the luxurious city of Jaxi where they currently resided in. There weren't all that many more main towns in the small sparsely populated region. There was Saaia, the *only* city in the whole country with an airport... You'd think that in this day and age airports would be plentiful! But many people still relied on pokemon, so pokemon centers were found just about everywhere, while airports were rare...
/What is bothering you Akira?/ 'Rika asked mentally from her place on 'Kira's lap.
/I'm not used to traveling... And now, suddenly, I am being asked to journey around the world... It's kinda weird./
/You don't believe all we say, do you?/ The dratini suddenly questioned, looking up at her mother with her big blue eyes.
/Can you blame me? If I only I could remember-/
/Remembering your past will not be the main problem... Following the right path will be, and is. So long as you have faith in us, you will be able to do without your memory. But you must let your heart, and us, guide you to walk the correct paths of the many you will have to choose from./
/Great, not only do I have to travel the world, but I have to be careful where I put my feet.../
The dratini suddenly laughed in Akira's mind. /That was not meant to be taken literally!/
Kira grinned, petting the dratini on the head. /I know, I know. I was just joking./
"Akira, you ready to go?" Taie asked.
The young blue-haired woman looked up, and noticed that everyone had already gotten up to leave. She blushed, and put Rika on her shoulders, folding her map and getting up from her seat. "I'm ready."
"Good. Ash and Pikachu have gone off to rent a van, and Jay and Jyp have disappeared to who knows where. They're an interesting pair, those two..."
"Yeah, they are..." She held the door open for Taie, and they walked out onto the streets. "So, are we going anywhere in particular?"
"Library. There's a certain book we're looking for... We're not very sure about the name, but its should be somewhere along the lines of 'The Draconic Book of Prophecies'..."
Akira and Arika's eyes widened, and they looked at each other in amazement. "Would it happen to be written in an archaic kind of language?" Kira asked. "And be blue with a golden dragon on it?"
"Why yes... How did you know? I thought you had lost your memory."
"I saw it two or three days ago back at Reva... I didn't know what it was though."
/I didn't know either... And I had completely forgotten about the book until Taie mentioned it ... This is not like me, I rarely forget things that I know are important, and I definitely knew that book was important./ Rika seemed slightly bothered by this fact.
/Now that you mention it, I'd completely forgotten about it too.../ She looked at Taie thoughtfully. "Rika says she completely forgot about it, but she also says she usually doesn't forget things like that... Could her mind have been tampered with? Mine too?"
The shorter, but slightly older woman nodded. "That's highly possible. We'll have to tell Jay and Jyp about this. That book is really important..."
"Where do we go now then?" Kira asked, looking around in awe at the stores that lined the streets.
"I was thinking of hitting a clothes store, but Tilae can be a real pain when I try to go shopping for clothes..."
/I don't think I like clothes shopping very much either... Oooooh! Bath and Body shop!!!/ Rika exclaimed as they passed by one. /Can we go? Pleeeeaaaase?/
Kira laughed. "Taie, Rika wants to go in the Bath and Body shop. Do you mind?"
"Nope, and I don't think Tilae does either. Do you?" She looked sternly at the bird pokemon that accompanied her all the time, and he looked up at her with an angelic expression on his face.
They walked in, and Rika seemed to be in paradise. She inhaled the aroma of scented soaps that characterized that kind of shop and kept directing Kira over to product after product. The store even carried special products for pokemon, and Rika hovered over that section, all but drooling over the wide selection of items.
Tilae did not, being male, understand his mother, Taie, and the other's fascination with the things in the store. *He* wanted out as soon as possible, and was horrified when their mother bought some feather care products for him. He had gone along just fine in the past without all that junk, and even in this present life, he had never needed any of those things. 'Lemon scented feather leave-in conditioner' and 'Special feather strengthening shampoo' were just two of the things they could have done without....
And so the poor male pokemon was dragged along by their mother, 'aunt', and cousin to store after store, browsing around for things that both mankind and pokemonkind could have done without... Of course, the bookstore was fun, but it wasn't enough to make up for the torture they were put through...
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Meanwhile, Jyp and Jay were speaking with 'their creator'. The seemingly six year old girl, clad in flowers, sat on Jay's lap as she often liked to do. Her blonde hair was shining with an unusual glow, and her bright sky blue eyes twinkled as she spoke. " You've been doing well. You handled the incident with Ash properly, and you have managed to keep your feelings for Akira to yourself. Plus, you're heading on the right track!"
Jay grinned. "Why not just say it? You're proud of me!"
She laughed. "I'm proud of you. And Jyp, you too. You're doing a good job of keeping Jay in line. Have you had any more visions lately?"
The growlithe shook his head. "No. Thats why we've been trying really hard to find that book. We need it now more than ever..."
The young girl sighed. "Unfortunately, I have no idea where it is. It's passed through so many hands over the years, I haven't been able to keep track of it..."
"We'll find it eventually. There are only so many places a book like that could be!" Jay said optimistically.
"Thats the spirit. But I must be going," she said, getting off Jay's lap. "Keep looking for the book, and watch out for all members of your group! Return to town and hurry to your next destination. Every second is precious..." And a flash of bright blue light blinded Jyp and Jay briefly, then faded, the 'young' girl now gone.
Jay sighed, picking up Jyp. "On our own again... She didn't tell us much..."
"She never does." Jyp replied dryly. "And you're going in the wrong direction bone-head! The town is that way!" The growlithe pointed at a different direct with his paw.
"Oh..." Jay replied. "I knew that; I was just testing your sense of direction."
"Pathetic excuse human. Now, are we going? Or do I have to remind you again?"
"Temper, temper." Jay said calmly, walking in the right direction now. "I know fire pokemon have a bad reputation when it comes to their temper, but you've always prided yourself in being different, haven't you?"
The growlithe rolled his gray eyes. "There are times when you have to go with the flow, Jay. Ya gotta be one with the rest. Ya know what I'm saying?"
"Why? Why am I doomed to live my life with you?"
"Because we're soul mates Jay. Were destined to live our lives miserably together!" The growlithe licked Jay on the cheek, then snuggled his head with Jay's. "I love you man..."
"Wonderful..." Jay muttered. "If you don't stop squirming around, I'll drop you. You can walk yourself. You've been getting a bit chubby."
"You wouldn't drop your one true love, would ya Jay?"
Jay did.
"Owww!" The growlithe exclaimed as he fell on the road. They had now entered the town, and Jyp wished that if Jay had planned on dropping him, he could have at least done so while they were still on the grass. "If we weren't in such a hurry I would mind link, you know."
"But you wouldn't do that to your one true love, would you buddy?" Jay replied, looking at Jay with his innocent green eyes.
"Argh! Don't look at me like that!" The growlithe growled, glaring at his partner, but then giving in and softening the glare. "Damn, if I wasn't such a good friend..."
"Awww, Jyp has a soft spot." Jay scooped up the growlithe and continued walking to where he had told Ash they would meet.
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Ash and Pikachu waited in the car, parked by the hotel, listening to the radio, and singing along... If you could call a sound that strongly resembled a persian being run over by a lawn mover, singing...
"Neeeeeeeeeear! Faaaaaaar! Whereeeeeeeeever you are, I believe that..." Ash stopped as the pikachu changed the channel.
"Pika-Pi! Country Music!" The electric mouse exclaimed happily. "Ooooh, Faith Hill! Pika!"
"Pikachu, your taste in music has been, and will always be extremely weird and misguided..." Ash reached over and changed it back to Celine Dion's song. "Now that is music!"
"No, this is." A voice said, and an arm reached in through the open window and changed the station. All of a sudden 'Bye, Bye, Bye started playing on the radio.
"Aw, c'mon Jay! You call that music?" Ash exclaimed, looking at the former gym leader with surprise.
"Yeah! Pika!"
"Hey, who says boy bands are only for girls?" Jay protested, getting in the passenger seat and putting on his seatbelt. "Anyway, we have to go searching for the ladies."
"Yeah, yeah, but can we change the station?"
"No! Now drive kid."
Ash sulked, but started up the car and drove into the streets. "Have any idea where we can find them?"
"Easy, check all the `Bath and Body' and similar shops in town." Jyp replied, standing up on Jay's lap and looking through the window. "There they are!" He exclaimed. "They're leaving a pokemon care products store. I feel sorry for Tilae, the poor guy..."
Ash turned the car around and drove to them, parking a little ahead of them and opening the window.
"Hey girls!" Jay exclaimed, flashing them a charming smile and leaning out the window. "Need a ride?"
Kira grinned, looking at the car. "Nice van." She commented, opening the passenger door and stepping in. "Where to next?"
"Wherever the growlithe commands." Jay replied.
"Why do I not like the sound of that?" Taie asked Kira, who sighed, looked out the window, and then back at Taie.
"Well, we gotta go, where we gotta go..." Akira twirled a lock of her navy blue hair on a finger, still nervous about this whole saving the world business. She watched the town disappear behind them, and after starring out the window for some time, she settled back in her seat and fell asleep.
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"CALISIN! Where the h*ll are you?" Chisa couldn't believe he had disappeared again. He kept getting up and wandering off with that damn dratini of his! The vulpix scurried back to where Chiata had camped overnight, deciding that sticking together was best.
She wondered what had drawn her to the burnt down town of Datil... Nearly the entire town was now ashes, and not many people still lived there. The few who had survived the disaster had most likely left, so who could it possibly be that had drawn her here?
"There you are Chisa! Don't run off like that." Chiata bent down to the Vulpix's level and looked her over.
"What, you were worried? I'm touched." Chisa replied, making a beeline for a pillow and lying down on it. "Have you seen the Dragon guy?"
"He went for a walk earlier. You were looking for him?"
"Yeah, and whoever drew me here. I couldn't have wanted to come here for no reason, right?"
"Right. I wonder who it is?"
"No clue. Who knows who's gonna be on our team? It could be anyone."
Chiata looked out of their tent, restless and weirded out by the town."Well, come on, lets go check it out."
Sighing, the Vulpix got up. It was times like that that she wished she were a Ninetales... Her little Vulpix body was good for sneaking around, but wore out too easily.
Noticing her partner's distress, Chiata picked her up. "Next time you're tired just ask me to carry you. You're a small pokemon and you don't weigh much."
The vulpix nodded silently, thankful for her partner's tendency to look out for her. They'd been through so much hardship together, and stuck by each other at all times. "Lets check out that old house." Chisa pointed at one that had only been half touched by the fire. It looked deserted, but the fox pokemon had a feeling someone was still there.
Chiata cautiously walked up to it, and then opened the door, peering in with her green eyes. "Anyone here?" She called out as she stepped in, walking around the house.
"Who're you?" A voice asked from behind her.
Chiata wheeled around. She hadn't heard him come towards her and had surprised her. She looked at him in shock, but Chisa recovered first and spoke.
"The question is, who are you?"
He looked at the speaking fire pokemon with a slightly puzzled expression on his face. "Sian, Father of all Ice and Water types."
"You're a dual type?" Chiata exclaimed, now having found her voice. "Well, I guess that explains some things... You're supposed to come with us."
"Why?"
"Because you know you should." Calisin said from the doorway. "Nice to meet you again Sian."
"Calisin..." The man said silently, testing the name. Looking up, a slight smile crept onto his face. "Its a pleasure to see you, brother."
"Hmm, we are brothers, aren't we? Do you have your 'pokemon' yet?"
"I have Sazet, my seel. He's in a pokeball..." The other man sighed, closing his icy blue eyes briefly. "Lets go then." He said, following Calisin out the door.
Chiata watched their new member go. He was tall, with light blue hair that hung below his shoulders, loosely tied into ponytail. He seemed to emit a constant calm aura, relaxed and at ease. But at the same time, he seemed very...cold. Just like his type. She shook her head, trying to clear it of idle thoughts, and followed the two men back to where they had left all their things. Their business in Datil had ended. And it was time to move on...
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Three hours after their departure, Jizo's group had made it to Saaia. They now had command of the world, and could go wherever they wanted to. The problem was where? It was easier to tell where you had to go when you were traveling on the land, because then you could go where you felt you had to go. But in an airplane? Your destination was your destination. No going where you feel you should go after you've already selected one place...
The eevees sat together, thinking this over. They had no idea who was going to be on their team, and therefore had no idea where the person would be... Rezia and Jizo, too, were thinking this over, looking at a map that showed the courses the airplane would be taking that day.
Michi, Kiajis and Sijia, however, occupied themselves by watching TV. The news blared on the screen in the lobby, and they were currently talking about pokemon thefts.
"We're reporting live from Corvil, in Teza, where three pokemon where recently stolen..." The reporter was saying.
Michi wasn't listening though. She was having another vision...
She saw herself, in white again, standing over someone's body, but this time the someone was a pokemon, or at least, had a pokemon aura and was not dead. Her surroundings were unfamiliar, but she could practically smell the chemicals in the air... There were cages, lots of cages... Was it a lab? Or maybe a pokemon doctor's hospital...
The vision faded away.
Michi frowned thoughtfully. This time, she could sense it was going to happen soon, unlike the other visions she'd been having, which she sensed were far away. She turned to the pondering twins, and pointed at the TV screen. "We're going to Teza." She said in a distant voice.
The twins each looked at their other half, then back at the girl. "Are you sure that's where we should go? Teza is rather far..." Reika looked at Michi. She knew that it was wrong of her to question Michi, but the girl was still awakening, her powers might be rusty.
"I am sure." The girl replied.
"Then Teza it is! Guys, we're going to the continent of Ralaos!" Reika grinned, jumping into Jizo's arms. "Lets go buy tickets."
/Michi, we have to sit together./ The ninetales told Michi mentally. /Even though that means having to sit near my father.../
Michi smiled, and looked at the ninetales. "Alright. But you sit in the middle, k?"
/As long as I'm near you./ And then the ninetales turned back to her father, leaving Michi to ponder over this. Why was Sijia so set on sitting next to her? She had only met the Ninetales that morning, but was she really sweet for a fire pokemon, they rarely made friends that easily.
"Hey, Michi, snap out of it! We have to board the plane now."
She looked at Kiajis and rolled her eyes, getting up to follow the rest of the group. Sijia may be a very sweet pokemon, but her father was far from nice
----
In the plane, Michi shared a middle row with Kiajis and Sijia. The two humans each sat by the aisle, and the ninetales was curled up in the middle. Jizo sat near the window, and Rezia sat next to him. Both of them had their eevees on their laps, as it would have been a waste of money to buy plane seats for the small pokemon.
The visions came to Michi again. They had been coming more frequently since she'd met Rezia and the rest. The one where she knelt by the dead human played in her head again. For some reason, she could not tell anything about the person, only that it was a human, not a First, but a somewhat pure human... What on earth was a somewhat pure human?
"Ninetales?" Sijia asked, resting her head on Michi's lap. They had lifted the armrest to give the ninetales more freedom of movement.
"Nothing Sijia, nothing..."
/There is no such thing as nothing. Nothing is still something. Everything you do has a purpose, everything you see has a meaning./ The ninetales said, the twinkle in her eye lightening the seriousness of her words.
Michi stared at the ninetales for a moment "What do you mean by that?"
But the ninetales closed her eyes and did not reply. A little hurt by that, Michi decided to go to sleep.
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Jizo was busy concentrating on the clouds he could see through the window. Head on his shoulder, Rezia was fast asleep, and the eevees were long gone in their own little dream worlds too, so Jizo was on his own, trapped in his blue airplane chair, unable to move too much otherwise he'd disturb the two females that were using him as either a pillow, or a bed...
He watched the plane's left wing cut through the clouds in the sky. Flying was a new thing for Jizo. He'd never been on a plane before, or even flown on a flying pokemon... He imagined that the latter would be more of a delight, but for now, he was content.
Turning his head carefully to look at his sister, he smiled as he watched her sleep peacefully. Her raven hair draped down her back, and some of it had fallen over her own right shoulder. She looked so content at that moment. If only their whole life could be like that! As peaceful and safe as a dream... He looked at the eevee on his lap. Reika too looked content, and even Janyin, dozing on his sister's lap. Sijia, Kiajis and Michi were, no doubt, also peacefully in their own little dream worlds...
He laughed silently to himself. Why was he always the odd one out? The one so serious when everyone was happy? He'd always let Rezia have fun for him, let her be the one to light up the room... Was he doomed to a joyless existence? He sighed. Enough. He should stop worrying for once and for all. Everything would be all right... No, he hoped everything would be all right. How could he guarantee that Rezia, Reika, Michi, Sijia, Kiajis, and Janyin would make it out of this alive? And himself? He did not care... If by dying he would save those he was supposed to protect, and those he loved, then so be it.
And with that last thought, Jizo closed his eyes, and fell asleep. He dreamed of the days when he, Rezia, Reika and Janyin were happy. The days when they could live life as they wished, not worrying about their future duties...
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2 hours later
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Michi woke up suddenly with a very bad feeling in her gut. For no particular reason, she felt the need to get off this plane, to leave it, but that was impossible. And knowing that made her feel trapped and panicky.
Sijia, roused by Michis frantic squirming, woke up, and Michi could feel the ninetales shivering, but the plane was not cold. Could the ninetales also sense the apparent danger? As if on cue, Kiajis woke up with a worried look on his face. He turned to look at Michi, and she could see the fear in his eyes.
"The plane is going to crash." He said quietly, petting Sijia to try and help calm her down.
"Crash?" Michi asked. "How would you know...?" She started to ask, but trailed off, because she knew he was right. How didn't matter.
"I know." And he turned to look at the back of the seat in front of him, as if he had not just predicted their deaths.
Again, as if on cue, Jizo, Rezia and their eevee partners awoke, and immediately took charge as soon as Michi informed them, a confused expression on her face, that the plane was going to crash.
"Michi, Sijia, Kiajis, get over here! We must stick together!" Reika called, beckoning them over.
Michi immediately stumbled across the seats and automatically settled in Jizo's lap, her arms around his neck and her head buried into his shoulder. He was surprised at first, but he put his arms around her, holding her tight.
"I'm scared..." She whispered. "Are we going to die? Is the plane really going to crash?"
"You're not going to die Michi, it's not your time to die, but yes, the plane is going to crash..."
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Are you going to die?" She lifted her head to look at him.
He was silent.
"Jizo?"
"Don't worry about me Michi..."
"But-"
"Shhhh..
Rezia looked at Jizo and Michi, then at Kiajis. "Don't be expecting me to be crawling into your lap."
He snorted, and sat next to Rezia's seat.. Sijia had settled down at Jizo's feet, content to be near Michi. "I know you can take care of yourself." He said quietly. "Sh*t, I need to smoke..."
"Well don't! You need to break the habit."
"Hmph," Was his only reply, and he simply clasped his hands together. "It's starting..." he stated somewhat calmly, closing his eyes and holding tight onto Rezia's seat. "Hold onto something and brace yourself."
The plane started shaking, first only a little, and the pilot announced that it was nothing to worry about, but then the shaking got worse, and the plane started to drop. Of course, the flight attendants tried to calm everyone down, but no one ever paid attention to those people. Why should they? They're gonna die, and they should be calm?
Of course, their own little group was calm, simply hanging on as the plane began to drop, hoping for a miracle, but knowing they would most likely not get one.
But then Kiajis started to glow with a warm red light, like a flame, but not as hot, or as red. Loosely taking on the form of a dragon, the glow then transferred to Sijia, who started murmuring something softly under her breath. Her eyes flew open, and then focused on Michi. The frightened girl suddenly stopped shaking, and loosened her death grip on Jizo. She starred into Sijia's eyes, and a sort of power seemed to pass between them. Michi too started to glow, except her glow was white with hints of blue and purple.
Michi's hair blew with an unseen, unfelt wind, and she reached out to touch the ninetales, and speak one word. "Fly." She said it softly, but with purpose and meaning. The plane still shook, but less vehemently, and began to lift again, flying on its own until it was out of the danger area, when it finally allowed the pilot to take over.
The white-haired girl stopped glowing, and she fell back into Jizo's arms, fast asleep. Sijia looked at the girl proudly, then walked back to her seat and curled up there, falling back asleep. Kiajis was not exactly sleepy... He got up, walked to his seat, and sat down, trying to focus on something else, but failing. Finally, however, he gave in and took a cigarette out of his shirt pocket and lit it with his finger, then started smoking.
"This is a non-smoking flight Kiajis!" Rezia hissed, glaring at him.
"Well that's just too bad. I'm not in the mood to argue and I need to smoke."
She sighed, rolled her eyes, and then hugged Janyin, who was still shaking. Rezia giggled. The fearless Janyin was scared of something after all. She looked at Jizo, who was getting up to put Michi back in her seat. He did so, then returned and looked at his sister.
"I think that marks the end of our normal life..." He said with a sigh.
"Since when were we normal?" Rezia asked with an impish grin on her face.
"Shut up Rez." He muttered. "I'm going to try and sleep..."
"G'nite!"
"Siblings... Almost die in a plane crash and shes still bubble..." And he closed his eyes, marking the end of the conversation.
Rezia wondered what the news reports would say. 'Crashing Airplane Mysteriously Pulls Through Storm' or maybe 'Crashing Airplane Saved By Mysterious Psychic Pokemon?' Well, she'd have to just wait and see. All she hoped was that no one had witnessed what had happened in their little corner. People somehow managed to not notice the ever present magic in the world.
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They made it to Ralaos at around 10pm. Michi sleepily hung on to Jizo, who had to tuck Reika under one arm. Rezia walked by his side with Janyin in her arms, and Kiajis trailed behind with Sijia, the two of them probably conversing mentally.
Although they had gotten plenty of sleep on the plane, they were not in the mood to go wandering around the town they had landed in, and so, without paying any regard to the surroundings, they stopped at the nearest nice looking hotel, got two rooms, and retired there for the night.
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