The Mirror Never Lies

[diageo11]

That was a cool chapter, I loved the glass gym, its mad cool.
The only thing I didnt like was the name fred, but thats alright it doesnt bug me much.

Keep going...

 

[Ria]

The only thing I didnt like was the name fred, but thats alright it doesnt bug me much.

The-hee, funny you should mention it, because when I was writting this chapter first, I started considering some cool and breathtakingly romantic names for Zephyr, but then I remembered how everyone hates plain, common names and I had an evil little chuckle and voila: Fred was born ;)

That one was for all the cliché-haters out there ;)

 

[Alter Ego]

Har-har, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with Diaego on this, that 'Fred' bit was lovely. xD I mean, we're all used to the gym leaders/important people to have all their snazzy, cool names, and then this uberly powerful gym leader is named...Fred? Nyah-ha, you don't see that every day. Good job. ^_~ I do see, however, that you don't seem to have much interest in battle descriptions in general. *Pokes Geodude battle* Yeah, that's basically what tends to happen, but this is a fanfic and there aren't countless of those battles to go through (Like in the games) so try to make them more interesting. You aren't bound by game rules here, so I'd really suggest some creative use of moves (Like with the Primeape battle). Otherwise the battles will kind of end up in an awkward spot since you can't really remove them, but at the same time they won't be that much fun to read. Maybe this is just because I'm a netbattling/manga nut, though. :paranoid: Anyways, that smiley is a riot. xD Yeah, hear that y'all?! Bow to the king of nitpicks! BOW! Now not only am I the corny king (Don't ask where I got that title. It's a long story...well, it was a pretty long time ago, anyway.) but the nitpick king as well. You can't halt my ascension. >D

Ahem, nitpicking time.

The boy grimaced.
"Oh, come on! You didn't think that was my real name, did you? I hate that! That's what people who are afraid of me call me."

In this case, he's being called something, not somehow, so it's 'what' rather than 'how'.

Fred frowned slightly, watching the little pokemon struggle.
"Yeah, I saw you fight from the air." he said, "I was circling the scene in case you needed help. You pulled it off great; I never would've thought an eevee could beat a full-grown Primeape."

A comma rather than a full stop after "he said". Also, the 'can' should be in past tense like the rest of the sentence.

Fred threw her a guilty look.
"Well, it depends on when you left. Those thugs broke into my gym yesterday around noon. I wasn't there at the time. I was on the field, training with Vida. When I came back, there was nothing I could do. All my other pokemon were at the gym and there was just too many of them to take them on just with Vida. After they took over the gym, conquering the whole town was a matter of hours." he glanced around pensively."I've been flying around town, trying to get in touch with some..." he seemed to check himself as he finished the sentence carefully "Some friends who could help me take my gym back. The PokeNav network is dead, so I can't get in touch with them that way."

Nyah, these two cases of 'get in touch' are quite close to each other and so, while not wrong, somewhat stylistically clumsy. I'd suggest replacing the second one with a synonymous expression.

Fay scratched her head pensively. How to explain this in short? She tried.
"Ah...look, I don't need my name in it, or anything. My family was kidnapped by the same people who took over your Gym, and my brother left a message for me in there, which can help me find something that can help him." she paused, feeling a bit silly. That sounded even more ridiculous when she said it out loud.

I assume that you meant for the 'which' to refer only to the message? In that case, remove the comma after "there", otherwise the 'which' would refer to the whole act of her brother leaving the message for her.

Fay blinked.
"You-er...remember him?" she asked the question hesitantly, not really sure whether she should be proud or ashamed, since Eru was known to have caused a commotion or two in his days.

Since it occured "in his days" (Presumably past ones), he was known to have caused these incidents, in past tense since he already caused them. Erm...I hope that was clearer than mud? xD

Fred sighed.
"I'm so sorry for what happened to you..." he said in the tone of someone who doesn't get it either and is worrying over it, "It's just that these guys are everywhere all of a sudden. I wonder what they're looking for."

You say something in a certain tone, but the tone of someone. Also, there should be a comma rather than a full stop after "worrying over it".

The boy watched her carefully for a long moment, before he gave in with a sigh.
"All right...we'll give it a shot. I've been planning to sneak in to get my pokemon back, anyway."

Comma required after "back" since the 'anyway' is a side-remark.

Fred's chest swelled with pride.
"Well..." he tried to sound modest, "Not glass, exactly...glass would be much too weak. This stuff is much sturdier. It was my idea, really. But-er..." he snapped out of it. "We don't have time for lessons in structural design. Let's go inside, and I'll show you why my maze is so famous."

No 'and required after "go inside".

As they made their way towards the transparent building Fay looked around for a door, but all she could see was the same, smooth surface. The building was well lit on the inside, and it was a remarkable sight, glowing a bright, clear light in the utter darkness of a besieged town. Fay could even see some guards on the higher floors, but she knew that they couldn't see them because it was so dark outside. That would change, she knew, once they were in the maze. Speaking of which...

Ehh...the first sentene is looking kind of lonely on its own. You could unite it with the first one by removing the full stop and adding an 'As' in the beginning. Also, "they're" should be changed into the past tense 'they were'.

Fay was inclined to agree. Fred had told her that the maze was on the first floor, but all she could see, through the transparent walls, was what was on the other side of the Gym.

Again, you slipped into present tense with the 'is'. Unless she's directly quoting his words then it should be 'was'.

Fred glanced at her over his shoulder and nodded.
"Good thinking!" he complimented her. "That's right, not only are the walls transparent, but I also had them cut in such a way that you couldn't tell they're there no matter from which angle you look...you should see it during the day. You can stand in the very middle of it, and feel like you're outdoors. Ah yes, the door..." He pushed against a place on the wall that looked the same as any other to Fay, and it opened.

No comma needed after "middle of it".

There was no time to argue, however. Once the guards realised that the intruders were going for the pokeballs and not the exit, they started pouring into the maze in large numbers, seeping into each passage.

You slipped into present tense again.

When she saw a group bursting in through the secret entrance that they had left open, Fay gasped out.
"We won't be able to go back this way!"

You usually leave something open rather than opened.

Fay glared at him.
"Don't get cocky, all right?" she warned grimly, "These guys have a way of turning the tables on you when you least expect it!"

Comma missing after "warned grimly".

He wasn't listening to her, though. Instead, he went about releasing his pokemon now that he had enough room for it.
"Let's show them, everyone!" with a loud swoosh, out of the pokeballs came a group of large, flying pokemon. From what Fay could gather, there was a pidgeot, Vida, then a skarmory, salamence, pelipper, tropius and a huge charizard.

You misspelled Skarmory. Tis' formed from "sky" and "armory", doesn't have anything to do with scars, regardless of what pokédex says.

She tossed the pokeball, and the little blue pokemon landed on the ground with a delighted 'Woopa!'. When she saw the geodude, she started dancing happily, at the very thought of being in a battle. Fay stared at her for a second, before she sighed.
"Oh, well...when were my pokemon ever normal? Okay, Woopy, let's throw that rock!"

There you got with the colloquialisms again. It's 'second', not 'sec', m'kay? Also, the are redundant commas after "dancing happily" and "for a second".

"Water Gun!" Fay ordered, determined to keep at least a bit of dignity. Woopy made a little pirouette before she fired a jet of water at the rock pokemon. Fay had to admit it was a nice hit, even with all the flashiness. It knocked the geodude out cold.

Umm...you knock something 'out cold', not 'cold out'.

"Whoa...he's got the place of honour and a crystal panel. I wonder how he earned it."

Since the verb "wonder" is in the present tense, the rest of it should be as well. It's just a 'he', not "he'd".

Luno found himself a bit shocked, as he glanced between her and the tablet.
"What the- did you even read all of it!?"

No comma required after "a bit shocked".

He grinned and waved his hand across the defeated thugs, being rounded up by his pokemon and their trainers.
"As you can see." he said proudly. "These guys won't be any trouble and my people are on their way back."

No comma needed after "defeated thugs".


And there you have it. The Geodude battle in itself was slightly anti-climatic, but it was an interesting chapter overall. Although in all honesty, I'd find it hard to take a gym leader with a Pelipper seriously. xD

 

[Ria]

Har-har, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with Diaego on this, that 'Fred' bit was lovely. xD I mean, we're all used to the gym leaders/important people to have all their snazzy, cool names, and then this uberly powerful gym leader is named...Fred? Nyah-ha, you don't see that every day. Good job. ^_~

Ehehe, that was the idea ;)

I do see, however, that you don't seem to have much interest in battle descriptions in general. *Pokes Geodude battle* Yeah, that's basically what tends to happen, but this is a fanfic and there aren't countless of those battles to go through (Like in the games) so try to make them more interesting. You aren't bound by game rules here, so I'd really suggest some creative use of moves (Like with the Primeape battle). Otherwise the battles will kind of end up in an awkward spot since you can't really remove them, but at the same time they won't be that much fun to read. Maybe this is just because I'm a netbattling/manga nut, though. :paranoid:

Heh, it's okay, you do have a point, generally speaking. On this occasion, though, I'm afraid that I made that battle short on purpouse ;) I mean, come on wooper vs geodude, it ain't much of a thinker, really o.O' Water Gun and geodude goes bye-bye o.O; I really didn't see much point in dragging through it as opposed to the primeape battle which was against all odds and recquired strategy to be won ;) Don't worry, I won't make EVERY battle that short, scout's honour ;)

Anyways, that smiley is a riot. xD Yeah, hear that y'all?! Bow to the king of nitpicks! BOW! Now not only am I the corny king (Don't ask where I got that title. It's a long story...well, it was a pretty long time ago, anyway.) but the nitpick king as well. You can't halt my ascension. >D

What have I done!?!? O.O'

Hehe ;) Glad you liked it ;)

In this case, he's being called something, not somehow, so it's 'what' rather than 'how'.

Oh yeah...why did I miss that??? o.O' Oh, well ^^

A comma rather than a full stop after "he said". Also, the 'can' should be in past tense like the rest of the sentence.

Ack >< Stupid fullstops and commas so close to each other >< They should be on the opposite ends of the keyboard ><

yah, these two cases of 'get in touch' are quite close to each other and so, while not wrong, somewhat stylistically clumsy. I'd suggest replacing the second one with a synonymous expression.

Hehe, see that's what happens when you take a tea break in the middle of a sentence >< You lose track of what you wrote before :D Thanks, I'll fix it ^^;

I assume that you meant for the 'which' to refer only to the message? In that case, remove the comma after "there", otherwise the 'which' would refer to the whole act of her brother leaving the message for her.

/nods/ That just about crazy enough to work! Aw, what the heck! Let's go wild and do it! Let's remove that comma!

Since it occured "in his days" (Presumably past ones), he was known to have caused these incidents, in past tense since he already caused them. Erm...I hope that was clearer than mud? xD

Try cement ;) Hehe, don't worry, I gets ya ;)

You say something in a certain tone, but the tone of someone. Also, there should be a comma rather than a full stop after "worrying over it".

Wow...a place where I SHOULD have put a comma but didn't...THE APOCALYPSE IS COMING! O.O'

Comma required after "back" since the 'anyway' is a side-remark.

Another one! O.O'

Ehh...the first sentene is looking kind of lonely on its own. You could unite it with the first one by removing the full stop and adding an 'As' in the beginning. Also, "they're" should be changed into the past tense 'they were'.

I see. Good thinking ^^

You misspelled Skarmory. Tis' formed from "sky" and "armory", doesn't have anything to do with scars, regardless of what pokédex says.

/regrets being to lazy to check her pokedex/ >< I'll fix it ^^

There you got with the colloquialisms again. It's 'second', not 'sec', m'kay? Also, the are redundant commas after "dancing happily" and "for a second".

Tsk, a slip-up >< Sure, I'll fix it ^^

Although in all honesty, I'd find it hard to take a gym leader with a Pelipper seriously. xD

Yeah, that's because you must always have an electric pokemon waiting and ready :P If not, pelippers are dangerous creatures, believe me >< Besides, Fred tends to do things 'his way' most of the time ;) You can expect surprises from him ;)

 

[Alter Ego]

Heh, it's okay, you do have a point, generally speaking. On this occasion, though, I'm afraid that I made that battle short on purpouse ;) I mean, come on wooper vs geodude, it ain't much of a thinker, really o.O' Water Gun and geodude goes bye-bye o.O; I really didn't see much point in dragging through it as opposed to the primeape battle which was against all odds and recquired strategy to be won ;) Don't worry, I won't make EVERY battle that short, scout's honour ;)

Fair enough, Wooper vs Geodude is kind of pre-ordained. Unless it's my Geodude in which case it selfdestructs and takes Wooper with it (Given that it's not a damp Wooper, in which case Selfdestruct goes poof. o.o). Anyway, I have that promise in writing now, so don't think you'll weasle out of it. xD

Yeah, that's because you must always have an electric pokemon waiting and ready :P If not, pelippers are dangerous creatures, believe me >< Besides, Fred tends to do things 'his way' most of the time ;) You can expect surprises from him ;)

Electric pokémon? Nope, don't use them, don't need them. xP The only ones of that type I really like are Magnemite, the Mareep evolution line, and Electrike, anyway (Raichu is okay too, but meh...I hate its other forms. :\). I handle Pellipers with my trusty Camerupt. (Please note the double type disadvantage). A Rock Slide or two and it's bye-bye Pelipper. They're a bit of a disgrace to their type. If you want Water/Flying then Mantine and Gyarados are far better bets. Those two are trouble. Of course, neither of them have wings so they wouldn't really suit Fred here. xD If you want dangerous pokémon, Qwilfish and Tangela (Capable of defeating Kyogre and Groudon respectively) are what you should look out for. o.o

 

[Ria]

Chapter IX: Seaman's Tales

Fay had one hectic night. Even though all of Fred's friends had responded to his call to liberate the city, it was still lots of work so Fay, Luno and Woopy had to pitch in too. They managed to flush out the last of the scattered villains which made Fay very proud of both her pokemon who did remarkably well. After such a rough night, a calm, uneventful morning was more than welcome...too bad they didn't have one.

Fay slided easily over the park fence, following Fred who'd done the same just a second ago, while Luno ran smoothly underneath it. As she was sprinting after the Gym leader, the girl hollered:
"Are you sure this is a shortcut!?"

"Of course I am!" the boy shouted back, "Can't you run faster!? You'll miss the train at this rate!"

Fay grumbled at her pokemon.
"If you didn't make us wait for the milk delivery," she grit out between gasps, "We wouldn't have to run."

Luno tossed her a sideways glare.
"If you had told us where we were going sooner," he snapped back, "We would have had time to plan the trip!"

Fay grit her teeth edgily as she tried to keep up with Fred. Arguing took out too much air right now. When they broke out of the park playground, they could finally see the train station on the other side of the street. They could also witness the magnificent sight of the 8AM train leaving in a cloud of white steam. Sylph had the only remaining steam running engine train in Rylan and Fay really wanted to be on it. When he saw the train leave the station, Fred halted and rested his hands on his knees, gasping for air. After just a second, Fay and Luno slided to a stop next to him.

"Oh...bugger..." Fred said, "It looks like you'll have to wait 'till tomorrow...that was the last one that came anywhere near Mount Pearl. Why did you insist on waiting for that milk delivery!?"

Fay glared at Luno and the pokemon glared back spitefully.
"Don't ask..." she grit out, "I guess we'll have to wait...argh, I could have slept in."

Fred straightened up and snickered a bit.
"Sorry, I didn't really sound hospitable back there." he scratched his head uncomfortably, "The truth is, I'm kind of glad you're staying. So far, you've just seen Sylph at its worst and I'd like that to change. How about I show you and Luno around a bit?"

Fay broke from a scowl into a smile.
"Hey, that would be nice!" she perked up, "Can we go to the harbour? I-I've never seen the ocean before."

Fred smirked.
"I can do you one better and get a professional guide! My good friend, Captain Yarch, is in town today. He'll be glad to meet the person who helped in making it possible for him to sail out on time..." he snickered, "I think he'd just die if his 'beauty' were ever delayed."

They made their way to the harbour with Fay enjoying each step. Now that the threat was over and done with, people came flocking back into the streets and what was going on now was a spontaneous carnival of sorts. There were clowns juggling and fooling around, street performers filling the air with playful sounds of polka and children chased left and right, eager to go everywhere and see everything. There wasn't a single face without smile and the mood was catchy. An old man with an aipom and a street organ was entertaining a bunch of laughing kids, while all over the place there were stands with candy, funny hats, local delicacies, and all sorts of other goods. The streets were bubbling with life again and wherever Fay and Fred went, people cheered, recognising their Gym Leader as one of the heroes who'd saved the day.

When they reached the yachting marina, they were greeted by the sight of a mammoth, luxurious coaster cruise liner nestled between many smaller yachts, ferries and merchant navies. This giant was a jetfoil, which was odd for a liner that big. Fred pointed over at the huge boat and explained:
"That's Sylph's pride and joy, the 'Blue Sophia'. We'll find Yarch nearby. He's the captain of this beauty."

Indeed, standing on the edge of the pier was a large man in a long, navy coat. When he turned around, facing them, Fay almost laughed, not because there was anything funny about him, but because he was just like someone would imagine an old sea-wolf. His captain's cap was tilted, and from underneath it poked bushy, white hair. His eyes were just as blue as the sunny sea surface, and his coat swayed dramatically on the sea breeze as he took the pipe out of his mouth and roared:
"Well, I be trice damned if I nay've thought ye'd not be gettin' out of that one, lad!" he strode towards them, and shook Fred's hand as he let out a loud, raspy laugh, "But ye 'ave, and ye showed them burks a thing or two, aye?"

Fred laughed as he shook the man's hand.
"Thanks, old chap, but I had help. Meet Fay Longfellow. She helped me sneak into the Gym and get my pokeballs back and then she and her pokemon helped us clear out the rest of the-er...burks."

The captain glanced at the girl, and then he took off his cap and bowed to her:
"Many thanks, lass. Ya, I be in yer debt for what ye did. Would ye care for a free cruise on me beaut'?"

Fay stared at him for a moment, before she stammered:
"Er- You're welcome, I uh-" she seemed to want to say something desperately and then she just went and blurted it out, "Why are you talking like that?"

The captain glared at her in utter gravity for a second before he grinned full-out and shrugged:
"The tourists love it. Seriously, thanks love, that was a good show! Lots of people depend on my Sophie and if there weren't for you, her wings'd have been clipped for good. My offer stands, though. How about it? A free trip, first class with all the luxury we can muster for you."

Fay grinned back at the old rascal, before she shrugged ruefully:
"Sorry, cap'n, I can't. I'm kind of in a hurry and I have to be off to Mount Pearl by tomorrow."

Yarch looked between her and Fred, before he puffed his chest proudly.
"Well, you're in luck, doll! Sophie's route is Sylph-Hauregy-Brashcove. If you get off at Hauregy, it'll take you a day's travel to get to Lotus...I assume that's where you're headed."

Fred nodded slowly.
"That's not a bad idea, Fay. If you took the train, you'd have to get off at Balay town, and from there it would still take a whole day's travel to reach Mount Pearl. Since you're missing a day already, it will come down to the same."

Fay glanced down at her pokemon.
"What do you think, Luno?" she grinned at him.

The Eevee growled.
"Are you nuts!? Imagine the food on that fancy boat! Take the offer before he changes his mind!"

Fay laughed, and extended her hand to the old sea-wolf.
"It's a deal, cap'n! We'll be glad to be your guests."

The man took her hand and kissed it gallantly.
"And I shall be glad to have you as such. Fred, old friend, I hate to take such charming company away from you, but I must apprise you of the regrettable fact that we shall have to abandon this charming port in exactly half an hour. Henceforth, the young lady shall have to proceed in the direction of the jetty, so that she may board this marvel of a ship, wouldn't you agree?"

Fay giggled at the man's intentional pomposity, and then she turned to Fred.
"Thanks for all the help, Fred. It was scary, but I had fun too. I promise I'll visit once this whole mess is over with."

The boy grinned, and shook her hand.
"You'd better. That brother of yours too. Take care, Fay. I wish I could tag along, but I've got to stay to make sure that yesterday doesn't repeat itself."

He watched Fay, Luno and Yarch walk away before he sighed slightly and turned to go back to his Gym.

Fay followed Yarch through the charming marina, laughing heartily at his jokes and teasings. Just above the pier gate, there was a huge sign that said:'The sunny bay of Sylph' and under the writing there was a big, beautiful picture of three milotics. Two were large and their necks were craning towards one another over the head of third one which was smaller and seemingly younger.

Fay looked up at the gorgeous image.
"Aw, what a cool picture! Are there really milotics around here?"

Yarch glanced at the sign and shook his head sadly.
"There used to be... " He said quietly. "But typically, humans messed it up."

Fay tilted her head.
"I'm afraid I don't understand. " she said.

The captain stopped and waved his hand across the gorgeous, sunny bay. The water was calm and white flocks of wingulls surfed the gentle sea breeze.
"A few years back," Yarch explained, "This cove was famous for an actual family of milotics. That's a drawing of them right up there. The larger ones are the parents and the little one was only a year old when this was drawn. They would often cruise these waters together on sunny days. People from all over Rylan and beyond came just to see them. As you know, milotics are very rare, but the coast guard published a notice, putting these under protection so that no one could catch them." he was silent for a second, before he added sadly, "All for the better...they're meant to be free."

Fay felt curiousity nibble at her, and even Luno pricked up his large ears, but they both waited patiently for Yarch to continue his story.
"About..." he paused pensively "About two years back, a horrible storm hit Sylph. It was unlike anything I've ever seen in all my days at sea. A tremendous hurricane raged all through the night, no one could set foot outside, people and pokemon alike. Any ship, even Sophie there, would have sunk like a log and any type of aircraft would have been blown around like a leaf." he paused again, his marry face grave now, "And yet, anyone who lives near the harbour can tell you this: even through the raging storm, somewhere in the middle of the night...there was a distinctive sound of something large, and manmade flying around the bay."

Fay was gaping at him open-mouthed now.
"But- that's impossible, right!?" she stammered.

The captain shrugged neutrally.
"Anyone who knows anything about aircrafts will tell you that and stand by it. But I was there...and I heard it through the wind and thunder. In the morning, the storm finally ceased. I had fallen asleep some hours before dawn and what woke me was the most tear-jerking sound I've ever heard in my entire life..."

He fell silent for a moment and took a bottle of brown, clear liquid out of his pocket. After he gave it a decent tug, he spoke on:
"It was her..." he nodded in the direction of the large picture, "It was Milly, the mother. She was...I-I suppose you can only call it 'singing'. Yes, she was singing, but not with joy...the very moment I heard her, I knew something was terribly wrong. It was a lament...a lament she was humming so that the entire town could hear. When I came outside, I realised why."

He stared at the picture for a long moment, while Fay and Luno were holding their breath in anticipation. The captain gave a raspy sigh.
"The sea had washed out the male's body on the beach. There was no helping him, he'd been dead long before the storm has calmed. The sight was heartbreaking...such a magnificent beast, spread out across the whole beachside, his open eyes filled with horror. I could swear and I stand by that 'till this very day, that he died not knowing if his family lived or not. It wasn't the storm that killed him either...oh, no. It was the people who were there that night. Most people don't believe that, since the very idea of anything human being out there on such a night defies common sense, but you know what? Common sense is common, not at all, if you know what I mean."

Fay's eyes widened with shock as she remembered:
"Wh-what happened to the little one?" she asked, not really sure she wanted to know.

The captain didn't reply for a long moment. At last, he said:
"No one knows. We haven't seen him since. Milly sang all throughout that day. No one could listen to her without tears...not a single soul. When she finished...Fay, when she fell silent, it was even worse. She just floated there with her head hung so low, her nose was almost touching the water. People say pokemon don't cry...people are idiots. She stayed there for days. We tried taking food out to her, but she wouldn't even look at us. Someone had the bright idea that we should catch her, so that she doesn't starve out there. When one of the tourists threw a pokeball at her, she let out a pitiful wail and dived into the water. We never saw her again."

Fay whispered:
"Where did she go?"

The captain smiled bitterly.
"Oh, she's still there." he said, "I know she is. Milly and I go way back. Now she only comes out when there's a storm and only then can we hear her song again, carried on the wind."

He fell silent again, and Fay knew the story was over, but she had no idea what to say. Suddenly, the horn from the 'Blue Sophia' let out a loud, high-pitched sound and Yarch perked up.
"Well, time for us to climb aboard! Watch your step! It can get slippery around here."

Fay just nodded numbly and followed him. From behind her back, she heard Luno's awe-stricken voice, echoing her own thoughts:
"Now that's a story!"


To be continued: Fay is on her way to Eru's next clue, but her ride may turn out bumpier than she'd planned. Is the port of Sylph really out of danger? Will Fay manage to avoid the disaster lurking in the depths of the sea? Read in the next chapter:"From Bad to Worse"


Weeee! It's my dad's birthdaaaaay! /dances happily/

That was fun ^^

Now then, next chapter coming up Friday, 25th of August. However, I'm not sure where I'll end up the next few weeks since I'll be a bit busy so in case I can't post on the 25th I'll post a day or two sooner instead of later ^^ So, see yuz ^^

 

[Alter Ego]

Nyah, yay for your dad's birthday, Ria. And for the new chapter as well. ^^ It was a good read as usual, and the story was really touching, especially with the ominous bits. Now why do I get the feeling that the baby Milotic will make his/her entrance somewhere later on? Anyways, there are nits to pick:

Fay slided smoothly over the park fence, pursuing Fred who'd done the same just a second ago, while Luno ran smoothly underneath it. As she was sprinting after the Gym leader, the girl hollered:

Ehh...two 'smoothly's quite close to each other. You might want to look for a synonym. ^^

The boy shouted back:
"Of course I am! Can't you run faster!? You'll miss the train at this rate!"

Nyah, you could split the quote in two after "Of course I am!" and stick the "the boy shouted back" bit in between. Ehh...I just a think it would...look nicer that way? No pressure, though. ^-^

Luno tossed her a sideways glare.
"If you had told us where we were going sooner," he snapped back, "We would have had time to plan the trip!"

"Told us"? As in 'told me and Fred' or 'told me and Woopy'? If so, that form is correct, otherwise it should be "told me".

When they reached the yachting marina, they were greeted by the sight of a mammoth, luxurious coaster cruise liner nestled between many smaller yachts, ferries and some merchant navies. This giant was a jetfoil, which was odd for a liner that big. Fred pointed over at the huge boat and explained:
"That's Sylph's pride and joy, the 'Blue Sophia'. We'll find Yarch nearby, he's the captain of this beauty."

Ehh..."they were greeted by the sight of a mammoth"? I'm pretty sure that there isn't even a mammoth pokémon, let alone a genuine mammoth to be found in the pokémon world. I think it should be an adjective like mammoth-sized, mammothic (Not sure if that's a word, though. o.O) or something to that effect, because 'mammoth', as far as I know, is only a noun.

Indeed, standing on the edge of the pier was a large man in a long, navy coat. When he turned around, facing them, Fay almost laughed, not because there was anything funny about him, but because he was just like someone would imagine an old sea-wolf. His captain's cap was tilted, and from underneath it, poked bushy, white hair. His eyes were just as blue as the sunny sea surface, and his coat swayed dramatically on the sea breeze as he took the pipe out of his mouth and roared:

Redundant comma after "underneath it". Whew, for a moment I was worried that the natural order had vanished completely. xD

"Well, I be trice damned if I nay've thought ye'd not be gettin' out of that one, lad!" he strode towards them, and shook Fred's hand as he let out a loud, raspy laugh, "But ye 'ave, and ye showed them burks a thing or two, aye?"

I'm pretty sure it's 'thrice', not 'trice', unless this is one of those american vs brittish things. At any rate, the correct expression for this way of speaking would be "outta'" rather than "out of". His act is so transparent. ;)

Fay giggled at the man's intentional pomposity, and then she turned to Fred.
"Thanks for all the help, Fred. It was scary, but I had fun too. I promise I'll visit, once this whole mess is over with."

Nyah, another redundant comma, this on after "I'll visit".

As you know, milotics are very rare, but the coast guard published a notice, putting these under protection so that no one could catch them." he was silent for a second, before he added sadly, "All for the better...they're meant to be free."

Comma needed after "As you know".

"And yet, anyone who lives near the harbour can tell you this: even through the raging storm, somewhere in the middle of the night...there was a distinctive sound of something large, and manmade flying around the bay."

No comma needed after "something large". Also, it should be 'flying' rather than "fly" in this case.

Common sense is common, not at all, if you know what I mean."

Umm..."common sense is common"? I'm pretty sure that you meant to have a 'not' in there, but if you didn't, feel free to slap me with a wet fish for making such an incorrect correction.

He fell silent again, and Fay knew the story was over, but she had no idea what to say. Suddenly, the horn from the 'Blue Sophia' let out a loud, high-pitched sound and Yarch perked up.
"Well, time for us to climb aboard! Watch your step, it can get slippery around here."

I'm not sure if 'high-pinched' is even a word, and even if it is, I don't believe it's appropriate for this instance. xD 'High-pitched' is the term to use. ^^

Fay just nodded numbly and followed him. From behind her back, she heard Luno's awe-stricken voice, echoing her own thoughts:
"Now that's a story!"

I'm pretty sure that awe-stricken requires a hiphon. At any rate, there's no comma needed after 'voice'.


Aaand that's about it. Either you did a very careful job with the punctuation in this one or I'm not being as sharp as usual. Whatever the case, most of the issues I found were kind of iffy, so good on you. It shouldn't take too long to correct, unless Icha comes around and dumps a mountain of stuff I missed on you. xD As usual, I'll be here for the next chapter, unless essay-writing and other homework kills me before then. Stupid school start...>.<

 

[diageo11]

Umm..."common sense is common"? I'm pretty sure that you meant to have a 'not' in there, but if you didn't, feel free to slap me with a wet fish for making such an incorrect correction.

I think she means common sense is stupid as I believe common can be used in the not smart sense. I think...:\

Anyway great chapter, can't wait for the next one :D:D:D:D

 

[Forci Stikane]

As you wish, Alter Ego. Oh, and mammoth CAN be used as an adjective.

But this time I think I'll just post the chapter as it should look first with fixes in bold:

Chapter IX: Seaman's Tales

Fay had one hectic night. Even though all of Fred's friends had responded to his call to liberate the city, it was still lots of work, so Fay, Luno, and Woopy had to pitch in too. They managed to flush out the last of the scattered villains, which made Fay very proud of both her pokemon who did remarkably well. After such a rough night, a calm, uneventful morning was more than welcome...but they didn't have one.

Fay slided smoothly over the park fence, following Fred who'd done the same just a second ago, while Luno passed easily underneath it. As she was sprinting after the Gym leader, the girl hollered:
"Are you sure this is a shortcut!?"

The boy shouted back:
"Of course I am! Can't you run faster!? You'll miss the train at this rate!"

Fay grumbled at her pokemon.
"If you didn't make us wait for the milk delivery," she grit out between gasps, "We wouldn't have to run."

Luno tossed her a sideways glare.
"If you had told us where we were going sooner," he snapped back, "We would have had time to plan the trip!"

Fay grit her teeth edgily as she tried to keep up with Fred.

Sorry, I've gotta pause here. Edgily!?? What's that supposed to mean?

...Continuing:

Arguing took out too much air right now. When they broke out of the park playground, they could finally see the train station on the other side of the street. They could also witness the magnificent sight of the 8AM train leaving in a cloud of white steam. Sylph had the only remaining steam-running engine train in Rylan and Fay really wanted to be on it. When he saw the train leave the station, Fred halted and rested his hands on his knees, gasping for air. After just a second, Fay and Luno slided to a stop next to him.

"Oh...bugger..." Fred said, "It looks like you'll have to wait 'till tomorrow...that was the last one that came anywhere near Mount Pearl. Why did you insist on waiting for that milk delivery!?"

Fay glared at Luno and the pokemon glared back spitefully.
"Don't ask..." she grit out, "I guess we'll have to wait...argh, I could have slept in."

Fred straightened up and snickered a bit.
"Sorry, I didn't really sound hospitable back there." he scratched his head uncomfortably, "The truth is, I'm kind of glad you're staying. So far, you've just seen Sylph at its worst and I'd like that to change. How about I show you and Luno around a bit?"

Fay broke from a scowl into a smile.
"Hey, that would be nice!" she perked up, "Can we go to the harbour? I-I've never seen the ocean before."

Fred smirked.
"I can do you one better and get a professional guide! My good friend, Captain Yarch, is in town today. He'll be glad to meet the person who helped in making it possible for him to sail out on time..." he snickered, "I think he'd just die if his 'beauty' were ever delayed."[/QUOTE}

That last one's a toss-up.

They made their way to the harbour with Fay enjoying each step. Now that the threat was over and done with, people came flocking back into the streets where a spontaneous carnival of sorts was going on. There were clowns juggling and fooling around, street performers filling the air with playful sounds of polka and children chasing left and right, eager to go everywhere and see everything. The mood was so catchy that there wasn't a single face without a smile. An old man with an Aipom and a street organ was entertaining a bunch of laughing kids, while all over the place there were stands with candy, funny hats, local delicacies, and all sorts of other goods. The streets were bubbling with life again and wherever Fay and Fred went, people cheered, recognising their Gym Leader as one of the heroes who'd saved the day.

When they reached the yachting marina, they were greeted by the sight of a mammoth, luxurious coaster cruise liner nestled between many smaller yachts, ferries and merchant navies. This giant was a jetfoil, which was odd for a liner that big. Fred pointed over at the huge boat and explained:
"That's Sylph's pride and joy, the 'Blue Sophia'. We'll find Yarch nearby. He's the captain of this beauty."

Indeed, standing on the edge of the pier was a large man in a long, navy coat. When he turned around, Fay almost laughed, not because there was anything funny about him, but because he was just like someone would imagine an old sea-wolf. His captain's cap was tilted, and from underneath it poked bushy, white hair. His eyes were just as blue as the sunny sea surface, and his coat swayed dramatically on the sea breeze as he took the pipe out of his mouth and roared:
"Well, I be trice damned if I nay've thought ye'd not be gettin' out of that one, lad!" he strode towards them, and shook Fred's hand as he let out a loud, raspy laugh, "But ye 'ave, and ye showed them burks a thing or two, aye?"

Fred laughed as he shook the man's hand.
"Thanks, old chap, but I had help. Meet Fay Longfellow. She helped me sneak into the Gym and get my pokeballs back and then she and her pokemon helped us clear out the rest of the-er...burks."

The captain glanced at the girl, and then he took off his cap and bowed to her:
"Many thanks, lass. Ya, I be in yer debt for what ye did. Would ye care for a free cruise on me beaut'?"

Fay stared at him for a moment, before she stammered:
"Er- You're welcome, I uh-" she seemed to want to say something desperately and then she just went and blurted it out, "Why are you talking like that?"

The captain glared at her in utter gravity for a second before he grinned full-out and shrugged:
"The tourists love it. Seriously, thanks love, that was a good show! Lots of people depend on my Sophie and if it weren't for you, her wings'd have been clipped for good. My offer stands, though. How about it? A free trip, first class with all the luxury we can muster for you."

Fay grinned back at the old rascal, before she shrugged ruefully:
"Sorry, cap'n, I can't. I'm kind of in a hurry and I have to be off to Mount Pearl by tomorrow."

Yarch looked between her and Fred, before he puffed his chest proudly.
"Well, you're in luck, doll! Sophie's route is Sylph-Hauregy-Brashcove. If you get off at Hauregy, it'll take you a day's travel to get to Lotus...I assume that's where you're headed."

Fred nodded slowly.
"That's not a bad idea, Fay. If you took the train, you'd have to get off at Balay town, and from there it would still take a whole day's travel to reach Mount Pearl. Since you're missing a day already, it will come down to the same."

Fay glanced down at her pokemon.
"What do you think, Luno?" she grinned at him.

The Eevee growled.
"Are you nuts!? Imagine the food on that fancy boat! Take the offer before he changes his mind!"

Fay laughed, and extended her hand to the old sea-wolf.
"It's a deal, cap'n! We'll be glad to be your guests."

The man took her hand and kissed it gallantly.
"And I shall be glad to have you as such. Fred, old friend, I hate to take such charming company away from you, but I must apprise you of the regrettable fact that we shall have to abandon this charming port in exactly half an hour. Henceforth, the young lady shall have to proceed in the direction of the jetty, so that she may board this marvel of a ship, wouldn't you agree?"

Fay giggled at the man's intentional pomposity, and then she turned to Fred.
"Thanks for all the help, Fred. It was scary, but I had fun too. I promise I'll visit once this whole mess is over with."

The boy grinned, and shook her hand.
"You'd better. That brother of yours too. Take care, Fay. I wish I could tag along, but I've got to stay to make sure that yesterday doesn't repeat itself."

He watched Fay, Luno, and Yarch walk away before he sighed slightly and turned to go back to his Gym.

Fay followed Yarch through the charming marina, laughing heartily at his jokes and teasings. Just above the pier gate, there was a huge sign that said:'The sunny bay of Sylph' and under the writing there was a big, beautiful picture of three milotics. Two were large and their necks were craning towards one another over the head of third one which was smaller and seemingly younger.

Fay looked up at the gorgeous image.
"Aw, what a cool picture! Are there really milotics around here?"

Yarch glanced at the sign and shook his head sadly.
"There used to be... " He said quietly. "But typically, humans messed it up."

Fay tilted her head.
"I'm afraid I don't understand. " she said.

The captain stopped and waved his hand across the gorgeous, sunny bay. The water was calm and white flocks of wingulls surfed the gentle sea breeze.
"A few years back," Yarch explained, "This cove was famous for an actual family of milotics. That's a drawing of them right up there. The larger ones are the parents and the little one was only a year old when this was drawn. They would often cruise these waters together on sunny days. People from all over Rylan and beyond came just to see them. As you know milotics are very rare, but the coast guard published a notice, putting these under protection so that no one could catch them." he was silent for a second, before he added sadly, "All for the better...they're meant to be free."

Fay felt curiousity nibble at her, and even Luno pricked up his large ears, but they both waited patiently for Yarch to continue his story.
"About..." he paused pensively "About two years back, a horrible storm hit Sylph. It was unlike anything I've ever seen in all my days at sea. A tremendous hurricane raged all through the night. No one could set foot outside, people and pokemon alike. Any ship, even Sophie there, would have sunk like a log and any type of aircraft would have been blown around like a leaf." he paused again, his marry face grave now, "And yet, anyone who lives near the harbour can tell you this: even through the raging storm, somewhere in the middle of the night...there was a distinctive sound of something large and manmade fly around the bay."

Fay was gaping at him open-mouthed now.
"But- that's impossible, right!?" she stammered.

The captain shrugged neutrally.
"Anyone who knows anything about aircrafts will tell you that and stand by it. Believe me, I was there...and I heard it through the wind and thunder. In the morning, the storm finally ceased. I had fallen asleep some hours before dawn and what woke me was the most tear-jerking sound I've ever heard in my entire life..."

He fell silent for a moment and took a bottle of brown, clear liquid out of his pocket. After he gave it a decent tug, he spoke on:
"It was her..." he nodded in the direction of the large picture, "It was Milly, the mother. She was...I-I suppose you can only call it 'singing'. Yes, she was singing, but not with joy...the very moment I heard her, I knew something was terribly wrong. It was a lament...a lament she was humming so that the entire town could hear. When I came outside, I realised why."

He stared at the picture for a long moment, while Fay and Luno were holding their breath in anticipation. The captain gave a raspy sigh.
"The sea had washed out the male's body on the beach. There was no helping him; he'd been dead long before the storm has calmed. The sight was heartbreaking...such a magnificent beast, spread out across the whole beachside, his open eyes filled with horror. I could swear and still do 'till this very day that he died not knowing if his family lived or not. It wasn't the storm that killed him either...oh, no. It was the people who were there that night. Most people don't believe that, since the very idea of anything human being out there on such a night defies common sense, but you know what? Common sense is common, not at all, if you know what I mean."

Fay's eyes widened with shock as she remembered:
"Wh-what happened to the little one?" she asked, not really sure she wanted to know.

The captain didn't reply for a long moment. At last, he said:
"No one knows. We haven't seen him since. Milly sang all throughout that day. No one could listen to her without tears...not a single soul. When she finished...Fay, when she fell silent, it was even worse. She just floated there with her head hung so low, her nose was almost touching the water. People say pokemon don't cry...people are idiots. She stayed there for days. We tried taking food out to her, but she wouldn't even look at us. Someone had the bright idea that we should catch her, so that she doesn't starve out there. When one of the tourists threw a pokeball at her, she let out a pitiful wail and dived into the water. We never saw her again."

Fay whispered:
"Where did she go?"

The captain smiled bitterly.
"Oh, she's still there." he said, "I know she is. Milly and I go way back. Now she only comes out when there's a storm and only then can we hear her song again, carried on the wind."

He fell silent again, and Fay knew the story was over, but she had no idea what to say. Suddenly, the horn from the 'Blue Sophia' let out a loud, high-pinched sound and Yarch perked up.
"Well, time for us to climb aboard! Watch your step. It can get slippery around here."

Fay just nodded numbly and followed him. From behind her back, she heard Luno's awestricken voice, echoing her own thoughts:
"Now that's a story!"


To be continued: Fay is on her way to Eru's next clue, but her ride may turn out bumpier than she'd planned. Is the port of Sylph really out of danger? Will Fay manage to avoid the disaster lurking in the depths of the sea? Read in the next chapter:"From Bad to Worse"


Weeee! It's my dad's birthdaaaaay! /dances happily/

That was fun ^^

Now then, next chapter coming up Friday, 25th of August. However, I'm not sure where I'll end up the next few weeks since I'll be a bit busy so in case I can't post on the 25th I'll post a day or two sooner instead of later ^^ So, see yuz ^^

Two thoughts: One, we know from the games that young Pokemon are usually unevolved, so how did they have a 1-year-old Milotic?

And two, how can a liquid be clear AND brown??

 

[Alter Ego]

Oh, and mammoth CAN be used as an adjective.

*Blinks* Really? o.o Dang, that's another incorrect correction from me. Curses! >.<

One, we know from the games that young Pokemon are usually unevolved, so how did they have a 1-year-old Milotic?

The keyword here is 'usually'. Also, the time of evolution for a Feebas depends on its beauty, not its level/age, so I'd assume that if the child was raised on a proper diet (The Milotics would know what's good for a little Feebas, ne?) it could evolve very quickly. Nyah, just as a thought. ^^

 

[Ria]

HOLY MOTHER OF CORRECTIONS AND THE UNCLE OF WHOM WE MUST NEVER SPEAK!!! LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THOSE POSTS! /faints..AGAIN/

/gets up/ I'm okay T_T Frozen potatoes anyone? /wobbles off to correct stuff/

Now why do I get the feeling that the baby Milotic will make his/her entrance somewhere later on?

Weeeell...y'know, maybe kinda, sorta, not completely but rather oddly strange in relatively short terms, so to speak.

...

:)

Ehh...two 'smoothly's quite close to each other. You might want to look for a synonym. ^^

Aw, fiddlesticks :-/ Missed yet ANOTHER blatantly obvious-er thingy.

Nyah, you could split the quote in two after "Of course I am!" and stick the "the boy shouted back" bit in between. Ehh...I just a think it would...look nicer that way? No pressure, though. ^-^

^^ Yah, I'll check it out ^^

"Told us"? As in 'told me and Fred' or 'told me and Woopy'? If so, that form is correct, otherwise it should be "told me".

As in - told everyone o.O'

Ehh..."they were greeted by the sight of a mammoth"? I'm pretty sure that there isn't even a mammoth pokémon, let alone a genuine mammoth to be found in the pokémon world. I think it should be an adjective like mammoth-sized, mammothic (Not sure if that's a word, though. o.O) or something to that effect, because 'mammoth', as far as I know, is only a noun.

No! It's a MAMMOTH-SHAPED BOAT!!!

Um-kidding ^.^' Er...what Icha said. ^^

Redundant comma after "underneath it". Whew, for a moment I was worried that the natural order had vanished completely. xD

I know :paranoid: Me too :paranoid: HOLD ME! /jumps into the strong, protective arms of the first Vin Diesel look-alike that walks by/ Hehe... ;)

I'm pretty sure it's 'thrice', not 'trice', unless this is one of those american vs brittish things. At any rate, the correct expression for this way of speaking would be "outta'" rather than "out of". His act is so transparent. ;)

Of course it is! It's for tourists! ^^ Oh, and I think it's trice, but I'll check o.O' I think I read that whole "I be trice damned" thing somewhere, but I don't remember where...maybe a computer game? o.O' I'll check ^^

Comma needed after "As you know".

IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN! Flee! Run! Escape! Scram! Scurry away!

Umm..."common sense is common"? I'm pretty sure that you meant to have a 'not' in there, but if you didn't, feel free to slap me with a wet fish for making such an incorrect correction.

^^ The sentence is:"Common sense is common, not at all" It's a commonly used construction, not at all ;) I read it somewhere long ago and liked it very much ^^ It just seemed like something Yarch would say ^^

I'm not sure if 'high-pinched' is even a word, and even if it is, I don't believe it's appropriate for this instance. xD 'High-pitched' is the term to use. ^^

Oh yeah o.O' Cripes, would you believe that I read that expression mere hours before I revised the chapter for the last time ^.^' Oooh, silly me ^^

Right! Since Ichapokemr kinda...sorta...quoted the entire chapter o.O' I'll just give a HUGE, GIANT...er-MAMMOTH thanks and fix everything that needs to be fixed ^^

Oh, and as for the baby Milotic...what Alter Ego said O.o

EDIT:PS: Just remembered about the "clear brown" liquid...two words:"BRANDY" ;)

:tired: One word again...I ALWAYS do that. :tired:

 

[Forci Stikane]

HOLY MOTHER OF CORRECTIONS AND THE UNCLE OF WHOM WE MUST NEVER SPEAK!!! LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THOSE POSTS! /faints..AGAIN/

...*points at Alter Ego* HE MADE ME DO IT!!!

No! It's a MAMMOTH-SHAPED BOAT!!!

....................................................o.0''

..........................LOL

Right! Since Ichapokemr kinda...sorta...quoted the entire chapter o.O' I'll just give a HUGE, GIANT...er-MAMMOTH thanks and fix everything that needs to be fixed ^^

Oh, and as for the baby Milotic...what Alter Ego said O.o

EDIT:PS: Just remembered about the "clear brown" liquid...two words:"BRANDY" ;)

:tired: One word again...I ALWAYS do that. :tired:

So you can copy 'n paste! Better than picking and maybe missing, no?:nervous:...:\ ...Like I said before, *points again* IT'S HIS FAULT!!

Oh, and my point about the liquid is that saying that a liquid is clear usually implies a LACK of color, so it can't really be both clear AND brown.

 

[Ria]

/saunters over, singing/

The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by

Oh, lookie! PC's back on ^.^ How nice.

I see friends shakin' hands, sayin' "How do you do?"
They're really saying "I love you"

OMG! PC'S BACK ON!!! MUST POST NEW CHAPTEEEER!!! RAAARGH!

Chapter X: From Bad To Worse


Fay gave a small, blissful yawn; this was life. She was on a small, private deck her cabin looked on. It was a yachting equivalent of a veranda, except this one had a mini bar, a jacuzzi in which Woopy was making a splash, a videophone, a TV and, in general, anything that would ensure that whoever was there, wanted to stay there.

The girl gazed at the calm, open sea. It reflected the sun and the water looked warm, but Fay knew that, at this time of year, it must be freezing. Since they were still close to the shore, groups of wingull and some pelippers here and there danced above the water. Fay followed the flock's formation with her eyes. Every now and then, the birds would dive into the water and come out with a small flash of silver in their beaks.

As the huge cruiser made a stop so that the passengers could admire a group of Lapras, Fay found her attention drawn to the birds again. An unfortunate Pelipper kept losing his lunch to pesky Wingulls. He'd catch a fish and then sit on the same rock to eat it each time. He'd toss it into the air and wait for it to come down with his beak open, but wingulls would always snatch it away on its way up and the unlucky, big bird would always end up left with his mouth miserably wide open as he let out cries of frustration at his quicker cousins. There was something saddening about the sight.

Luno came to stand next to her and followed her gaze to the birds silently.

"I had no idea they did that." Fay said, nodding towards the Pelipper, "I always figured I had all I needed to know at home, but if I hadn't come here, I'd never have known lots of things..."

Luno sighed.
"I guess so..." he said.

After a bit, he glanced up at the girl with an uncomfortable squirm.
"Hey, Fay..." he said.

She glanced down at him lazily:
"Hmm?"

"Nothing."

"You're one strange pokemon, you know that?" the girl chuckled, causing Luno to break into a snicker as well.

"Said the crazy human." the Eevee growled good-naturedly, "You're not all there yourself, you know...talking to a pokemon."

Fay was now sniggering openly, but her face turned serious when she saw Yarch on the lower deck, calling out to her, his face ashen with fear.
"Fay!" he hollered, "Come down here, you have to see something!"

Fay sprang into action immidiately. In one, smooth, gliding motion she placed her fruit cocktail on the table, scooped up her pokeballs, called Woopy back and ran out the door, followed by Luno. As they dashed down the stairs, the girl just couldn't help smirking.
"You've got to admit...that was pretty cool."

Luno rolled his eyes.
"Oh, shut up and run, will you?"

When they broke out into the deck, Fay hesitated at the curious sight. All of the guests had vanished and a large number of crewmen were at the guard rail, most of them with binoculars and telescopes. They were pointing at something in the sky and hollering at each other in heated discussion.

"He's gone mad, he has!"

"There's no way he'll make it!"

"Something's wrong with the bird!"

Fay saw the captain approach her. He seemed quite shaken.
"What's going on, cap'n?" the girl asked, "Where did all the guests go?"

Yarch shook his head, worry etched in every inch of his wind-beaten face.
"I've instructed them all to go back to their cabins. We're going to have a crash landing on deck...if he makes it..."

Fay tilted her head.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, looking between him and the direction the crewmen were pointing in, "Who's crash landing?"

The man just offered her his field glasses. Fay tried to follow the direction that the crew was observing and eventually she saw it.
"It's a Pidgeot!" she gasped, "But...that's Fred!"

She put the binoculars down and gaped at Yarch.
"What's going on!?"

The captain shook his gray head.
"I don't know." he said earnestly, "We lost contact with Sylph two hours ago. I thought that they were just having trouble getting the connections back up, but...look at him."

Luno glanced between them.
"What's wrong!?" he barked, "What happened, Fay?"

The girl looked through the field glasses again, and shrugged.
"I'm not sure." she spoke to Luno in a tone which could just as well be interpreted as thinking out loud, "It looks like there's something wrong with Vida."

The small, black dot in the sky grew larger rapidly, and Yarch hollered at his men.
"Spread out, boys! Give'er place to land, and get some med-support up here!"

The closer the Pidgeot got, the more obvious it was that there was no chance of a safe landing - the bird's leg hung limply, obviously broken and the wings moved ot of sync with each other. The only thing that kept the creature in the air now was pure willpower. When she got really close, Fay drew her breath in sharply in sympath - not only was the bird injured, but her passenger was battered and unconscious as well. Fred seemed as if he'd had a rough time which made Fay wonder what could possibly have happened in Sylph.

She snapped out of her thought when she heard Luno shout at her.
"Here she comes, Fay!" he warned, "Look out!"

The large bird let out a painful shriek before she crashed on the deck, sliding on it for quite a bit, carried by inertia alone. Fay winced when the poor creature slammed itself on the hard floor, as if she wanted to protect her trainer from the impact with her own body. As soon as she felt Fred slide off of her back, the pidgeot scrambled in a semi-erect position, and spread her wings protectively, not allowing the medical crew to get closer.

Luno shook his head disbelievingly.
"What's she doing!?" he growled, squirming impatiently, "They need the help!"

Fay sighed heavily, her eyes full of sympathy.
"She's in shock," she explained, "She's still protecting him...I'll give it a try."

Luno's brown eyes snapped up at her in shock.
"You'll what/I]!?" he barked, "Are you nuts!? Fay, get back here!"

She pointedly decided to pay him no mind as she pushed through the crowd in order to reach the distressed pokemon. Squeezing through, she managed to jump in front of the huge bird just when it was about to attack with mighty gusts of wind which would, effectively, blow half of the crew into the sea.

"Vida, stop it!" Fay screamed and, strangely enough, the pidgeot did. Her wings froze in mid air, shivering slightly in pain and exhaustion. The large, terrified eyes scanned Fay's familiar face and, finally, the poor creature let out a soft chirp, much resembling a breath of relief, as she collapsed sideways flaccidly.

The crew stared at the upsetting sight in shock, but then Fay screamed at the medics.
"What are you waiting for!? Help them!"

Luno squeezed through the crowd, claiming the space next to his trainer at last.
"That could've been painful..." he said analytically, before glaring up at his trainer with a bark, "Have you gone completely bonkers!? What got into you, you crazy human!?"

Fay sighed with relief.
"Look, she was scared," she explained tiredly, "And she didn't know anyone but me around here..."

Luno gave her a pointed look.
"What about Yarch?" he asked tartly, "I didn't see him rush to meet death!"

Fay glared at him.
"Are you quite done?" she grit out tetchily.

Luno didn't get to answer, because Yarch approached them.
"Good show, love!" he smiled sadly, "The bird's in a bad way though, I'm not sure she'll pull through."

"What about Fred?" Fay asked.

The captain shook his head with a jadded roll of his eyes
"He ought to be all right, the daft bugger." he said grouchily, but with obvious relief, "Cuts and bruises and such...the meds are taking care of both of them right now. I can't imagine what could have happened."

Suddenly, a nurse emerged from the first aid wing. She glanced nervously between Fay and the captain.
"Sorry to bother you, sir." she chirped humbly, "But the boy woke up and he's asking to see you...and someone named Fay. He won't let us treat him until you come see him."

Yarch took his cap off and slapped it across his side in frustration.
"Hopeless, bolshie whelp..." he muttered, before he looked at Fay and sighed, "Let's go, doll. At least we might find out what, the bloody hell, is going on here."

They made their way to Fred's cabin to find him shooing away a very frustrated young medic who held a hypodermic at the ready and lurked for an opportunity to use it with a look of almost maniacal concentration.
"Will you pack it in!?" Fred snapped, "I'm fine!"

When he saw Fay and Yarch come in, he sighed with relief.
"At last!" he cried, "Tell this needle-happy charlatan to leave me alone!"

Fay rolled her eyes.
"Sheesh, men are such babies!" she muttered, "It's just a small needle, for cripe's sake! Let him give you the bloody injection and get it over with!"

Fred stared at her in utter shock.
"B-but...I-I..." he tried, but Fay cut him off firmly.

"Just let the man do his job!" she glowered at him, insinuating painful alternative solutions should he choose to make any more of a fuss before she motioned the medic to proceed, "Go on, doc."

The young man almost smirked as he stabbed the needle in vengefully, after which he packed up and left demonstratively. Fred rubbed his sore arm and glared at Fay reproachfully.
"Happy?" he muttered, "Look, where's Vida? Is she alright?"

Fay and Yarch exchanged worried glances, before the captain slowly decided to explain.
"Look, Fred...she's in a bad way..."

As soon as the words left his lips, Fred sprang.
"I've got to see her!" he stated, "Where is she!?"

Fay shook her head and cut him off.
"Oy, hang on!" she ordered, "She's getting help now. If you go there and bug the doctors, you'll just make it worse. Don't you think you ought to explain a few things here, first?"

The boy just stared at her for a second and then he dropped back on the bed and buried his head between his hands.
"It's a disaster..." he grit out.

He looked up at Fay and smiled bitterly.
"You were right. Those people who attacked Sylph...you said they have a way of turning the tables on you." he gave a bitter chuckle, "Boy, do they ever..."

Yarch shook his head incredulously.
"Those bastards came back!?" he rasped out, "How the hell did they beat you!? You were ready this time!"

Fred just glared up at him.
"Oh, I was not ready for that- that thing they unleashed! It was- I don't even know what it was. I couldn't look at it, I couldn't- I couldn't do anything."

Luno glared up at Fay.
"Hey, doesn't this ring any bells?" he asked pointedly.

Fay jumped slightly, staring at the boy in shock.
"Oh dear. Oh...oh..." she searched for a better expression, "Oh, bugger!"

"D-did they, maybe, let it out of a- a diamond pokeball?" she stammered, flinching when Fred's claret eyes snapped up at her in astonishment.

"H-how did you know!?" he gasped out.

Fay shook her head with a dark look.
"I think you've met that charming fellow who attacked my family." she said bitterly.

Yarch rubbed his rugged chin.
"What about Sylph? Have they taken over the town again?"

Fred looked up at him with a terrifying look in his eyes, and then he gave a harsh laugh.
"There is no more Sylph. They left the place in ruins. That thing is- it's beyond powerful. It annihilated my pokemon in a heartbeat...I don't even know if they're alive. I don't remember what happened after I saw the last one of them fall. That thing went after me, but it looks like Vida managed to get me out of there in time."

Suddenly, the boat heaved violently and Fay barely managed to keep her balance.

"What the hell was that!?" Luno barked looking more than a little sick.

Yarch motioned them to be quiet and they all suddenly became aware of the roaring wind outside.
"A storm is brewing..." the Captain said quietly, "A bad one. You'd better lie low for now. I'll go see what my men are at."

He stepped outside, his balance barely wavering at all despite the unsteady floor. Fred waited for his footsteps to become lost in the wind before he jumped to his feet.
"I'm going to see Vida."

Fay frowned at him.
"Is this some macho thing?" she growled jadedly, "Don't be ridiculous! Look at what it's like outside! You're still not steady on your feet, you'll get blown around like a leaf."

The boy glared at her.
"Look, she saved my life," he grit out, "I have to make sure she's alright!"

Fay sighed jadedly before tossing him a testy look.
"I'll make you a deal." she said, "If you stay here and rest, I'll go check on Vida and let you know she's okay. How about that?"

Fred gave her a long look. Then he smiled.
"Deal." he said tiredly, "I'm beat anyway...literally."

Luno threw Fay a disturbed look.
"Are you nuts!?" he growled, squirming nervously, "It's raging hell out there and it's bound to get worse!"

Fay said nothing as she left the cabin. Luno tumbled after her through the swaying hallway.
"Hey, have you gone deaf!?"

Suddenly, through the rain and wind, thunder roared outside, and the ship rocked violently again. The eevee had to scramble up the floor gone steep all of a sudden to prevent himself from sliding to the far end.
"Fay, don't be stupid!" he yelped, "We can go see how the bloody bird is later!"

Fay sighed and turned towards him suddenly.
"Look, Luno," she said slowly, resolve etched on her face, "I gave my word I'll go and see how Vida's doing and I intend to keep it. If you're scared to go outside, then stay here and wait for me. I'll be back in five minutes."

Luno glared at her darkly.
"Fine!" he snapped, "We'll go! But you'll be sorry when I fall overboard or something!"

Fay opened the deck door and smiled.
"Don't worry, I won't let that happen."

When they stepped outside, the strength of the raging storm surprised them. Fay felt the strong wind almost slam her into the wall.
"How did it get this bad so fast!?" she hollered, trying to shield her eyes from the whipping rain.

She'd never seen a storm hit so suddenly. When she and Yarch went off deck just minutes ago, it was warm and sunny without a cloud in the sky. Now, it was so dark, it could have well been night-time. Thin cords of lightning cracked the skies and the strong wind made the waves climb great heights. Wave after wave of freezing, salty water splashed the deck, leaving it slippery and unstable. Fay clenched the safety rail to prevent being dragged off of the deck by the tempest.

She glanced down at her pokemon, suddenly realising that he's too small to fight the storm like she could. What the hell was she thinking, bringing him along? Her eyes darted between the Eevee and the nearest door and, in a split second when Luno wasn't looking, she abruptly scooped him up, tossing him into the corridor. Before her pokemon could recover from shock, she slammed the door and fastened the safety lock.

"I'll never hear the end of this..." she muttered as she heard her pokemon protest from the locked hallway.

Luno gave an outraged growl as he scratched up the locked door.
"I can't believe her!" he barked indignantly, "Let me out of here, you idiotic human!"

Suddenly, there was a roaring sound unlike wind, thunder, or anything they'd heard so far. Not as loud, but ten times as ominous. The ship stood strangely still while the menacing sound kind of rolled closer. Fay dared to cast a glance across her shoulder and the sight of a mammoth wave rolling towards her greeted her in all its horrifying magnificence. It wasn't large enough to cover the cruiser when it hit, but it was as large as they went and it would easily obliterate anything on the lower deck. Fay's pupils dilated as she stared at the approaching disaster. She saw it grow nearer and larger in slow motion. Right before it hit, she clenched her teeth and shut her eyes tightly.
"Bugger!"

In the corridor, Luno almost rolled to the far end of it under the violent crash of several tons of freezing water. The ship heaved and rocked left and right as if a giant hand shook it. As soon as the eevee managed to scramble back on his feet, he darted back to the door.

"FAY!!!" he hollered from the bottom of his lungs, "FAY, are you out there!?! Fay!!!"

To be continued: Is Fay alright? How could anyone survive such a storm overboard? What secrets does the ocean hide in its depths? Will we finally find out more about the diamond pokeball inhabitant, or perhaps not? Read in the next chapter:"The Singing Ocean"


Ooooh, HUMANITY! I missed my deadline! /cries/ I feel TAINTED!!! TAAAAIN...Oooh, cookie! *munch* *munch*

Anyhoo, next part coming up...er...sheesh, this delay messed me up /checkes date/ Oh! Dear me! First of September!!! My FAVOURITE date in the WOOORLD! Wee! See yuz on 1st of September, then! The first day of the most amazing, beautifull, romantic, joyos month of the year! Glooorious September! /twirls away happily/

 

[Ria]

Ack, ooooohkaaaaaay, time to bite the ol' bullet. My first warning! ^.^

Ahem, I'm not really sure it's needed, but it's better to be sure. After all, one man's poison's other man's...something good o.O' I forget o.O'

Anyhoo, just a tad of angst and blood in this one ^.^' In an odd way, it made me realise that...I suck at writting angst and blood. ¬¬ Oh, that and a shameless abuse of italics! ^o^

Yeah.

Well, there ya go:

Chapter XI: The Singing Ocean


Luno screamed himself hoarse trying to outloud the raging storm, but in the end he just sagged to the floor miserably. He didn't see what happened, but he wasn't stupid. Fay had locked him into the hallway mere seconds before the freak wave struck. There was no chance she could have gotten away in time and even less so that she managed to stay on board. About an hour after the tempest cooled down, someone finally unlocked the door.

It was Fred who burst inside.
"Fay! Fay, are you there!?" he called out in a disturbed voice before he saw Luno. He stared at the dejected pokemon and his face slowly turned ashen with horrified realisation.

"Bloody hell..." he pressed out.

Luno looked up slowly and then his throat let out a low growl on its own accord.
"YOU!!!" he roared at Fred, barely resisting the urge to try and tear the boy to pieces, "It's all your, bloody fault!"

Fred heard it as furious barking, but there was no doubt about what the pokemon thought of him. He approached the furious creature and tried to pick him up.
"We'll find her, Luno, I promi- OW!!!" he dropped the eevee as if burned when he felt small, sharp teeth drive themselves into his arm.

The pokemon landed on his feet and let out a mixture of a snarl and a whine.
"Leave me alone! Bloody humans...you're all the same! All of you!!! You make us think everything will be alright...and then- AND THEN YOU BLOODY DISAPPEAR!"

Luno glared accusingly at Fred, but when he saw guilt and worry in the boy's claret eyes, he felt a bit calmer and growled softly.
"We'd better find her, human...or you'll be in trouble..."

***

Fay came to her senses slowly and gradually. Her head hurt like hell, her ears felt stuffed and she was soaked and freezing. She carefully opened her eyes and the world around her jumped into focus with painful swiftness. Apparently, somehow she ended up lying on her back, in what appeared to be a cave. There was a strange pulsating sensation in the cavern and water seemed to trickle from everywhere.

Fay tried to move, but it wasn't easy with her clothes soaked with water, heavy and cold, not to mention the fact a wave of dizziness and nausea would hit her whenever she'd strain herself. Eventually, she managed to roll on her side and push away from the ground in a semi-sitting position. Her eyes searched the surroundings and only then did she realise that she wasn't alone.

Not more than several feet away, a huge, gorgeous Milotic was sprawled on the cave floor, watching her with what could only be described as polite interest. Fay scrambled to her feet painfully aware that she was shivering with cold, her drenched clothes and wet, long hair not helping the situation in the slightest. She backed away from the large creature cautiously, as much as her numb limbs would listen to her.

She'd heard that Milotics are supposed to be very serene, wise and certainly not aggressive, but since she'd met Luno she stopped believing in pokemon stereotypes. For all she knew, this creature could be dangerous.

As the girl backed away, the pokemon's eyes filled with heart-wrenching sorrow and she began to hum a soft, sad tune. Fay listened to it in shock, because instead of the Milotic's cry, this was what she heard:
"Please, don't be afraid of me...I've been so lonely...all alone..."

The girl felt that she was shaking, but not just from cold anymore. Could this really be happening? Or was she hallucinating? She took a deep, calming breath and propped herself against a wet, stone wall for support.

"Are- are you...M-Milly?" she stammered uncertainly, which was difficult in itself because of the clanking of her teeth.

The pokemon swayed her beautiful, large tail in the air and Fay couldn't help following it with her eyes nervously.
"Humans used to call me that... back when I was happy... when I had a family." the Milotic hummed.

Her eyes were bereft of all joy as they glued themselves to Fay's face pleadingly.
"You will stay with me, won't you?" the large pokemon pleaded, "You understand me...I can talk to you."

Fay gaped at her in shock.
"Wh-what!? B-but...I-I can't..." she stammered, "I- I'm so sorry"

The girl winced as the rainbow-coloured tail slammed itself against a puddle of water angrily.
"No! I don't want to be alone anymore!" Milly cried, "You humans took my family away! You owe me something in return!"

Despite the alarming turn this conversation was taking, Fay frowned slightly with a vague feeling that something else wasn't right there.
"Someone...took your family?" she inquired carefully, "But...wasn't it the storm? Remember the storm, Milly?"

The poor creature let out a bitter, hysterical laugh. The sound was disturbing, coming from such a gentle beast.
"The STORM!?" she was practically shrieking now, "Humans...so typical. They insult my entire race when they say that we can be killed by the very thing that bore us! My family was TAKEN from me! Those humans who could resist the storm killed my mate and took my child away!"

Fay's eyes widened in shocked realisation.
"So...there were people out there that night!" she rasped out, "Yarch was right!"

The Milotic's miserable eyes fixed on her, seemingly a bit calmer.
"Yarch...I know that name. He used to be my friend until he let that horrible thing happen!"

Fay felt the need to stand up for the captain. She gathered some courage and drew closer to the poor creature carefully.
"There was nothing he could do, Milly." she said gently, "Humans can't survive storms like that-"

Milly glanced at her bitterly.
"You did," she said, "And you owe it to me. I was the one who saved you... and now you want to leave me, just like everyone else!"

Fay winced at the accusing tone. She couldn't help but seek the creature's powerful tail with her eyes. She gulped nervously, but tried again.
"Ah...Look, I- my family was taken too, you know." she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

Milly gave her a surprised look.
"Taken?" she asked quietly.

Fay nodded quickly.
"Yes!" she said, "I-uh don't know if the same people did it, but they took my parents and my brother and sister. I can't stay because I have to save them! Please, Milly, you understand, don't you?"

The Milotic said nothing. Fay felt chill creep up her spine and rubbed her upper arms in a vain attempt not to freeze. If she doesn't dry up and get warm soon, she'll be in for some trouble. She had to approach this differently.
"Milly? Um...did you see those people take your-er...your child?"

The Milotic's lovely head rose slowly, as if it was a heavy burden. She stared at Fay for a long moment and the girl felt a pressure in her chest when she thought that she could see a spark of madness in the once beautiful eyes.
"They took him..." Milly replied softly, "I know, because I could hear him calling out to me through the storm...I could FEEL him being taken far away...and then..."

She let out a heartbreaking wail.
"Then they KILLED him!" she wept, "And yet...he remained..."

Fay stared at her, feeling a bit lost. This made less and less sense by the minute.
"I- I'm afraid I don't understand." she said carefully, but Milly wasn't listening.

"They made him stay..." she wailed dolefully, "They made him destroy and kill! They made him into a monster! My gentle child! Him, who loved everything! HIM, who awaited life with eyes wide open! THEY WOULDN'T LET HIM DIE!!!"

The pokemon roared, slamming her mighty tail against the cave wall, causing the whole cavern to crumble. Fay just barely managed not to lose her footing when a sharp gush of freezing, salty water struck her straight in the face. Water was spraying through several cracks in the ceiling and the walls, drenching the whole chamber. Fay looked around, noting how the water gushed from the gaps in sync with the pulsating sensation which filled the cave and it suddenly became clear to her why her ears felt so cluttered.

Her face drained of all colour.
"Good God..." she whispered in shock, "We're under water!"

Her eyes flew to Milly, who was now slamming her head sideways against the wall in a blinded mixture of fury and sorrow, sending violent tremors through the already crumbling chamber.
"Milly, stop it!" Fay screamed, trying to outloud a worrying, rumbling sound. "Milly! Oh, no!"

She gasped out the last part when the maddened pokemon turned her head towards her and Fay could see that the entire left side of the beautiful face was pulverized into a bloody mass. The poor creature's eyes now shone pure, blind hatred and it became very clear to Fay that she'd better make herself scarce if she wanted to have a slightest chance of getting out of this alive.

Her eyes searched for an exit frantically. There had to be a way through which Milly went in and out of this cave. She finally spotted it - a pool of water splashing at the far end of the crumbling cave. Fay had no idea how far under the surface they were, but if she had to choose between staying here with an insane pokemon and making a dive for it, she'd go for the latter.

She sprang towards the water and lunged into it, her insides churning at the biting cold. As she was taking a deep breath in order to dive she saw the Milotic had started to give chase, sliding across the stone floor towards her. Fortunately Milly's injuries seemed to hinder her balance and she couldn't keep on a straight route which gave Fay time to dive in and make a swim for it.

The girl moved as fast as she could through an underwater tunnel which stretched out from the cave. It was so dark that she had no idea if she was going straight or up. Her air was running out fast and her movements soon became desperate, but then she felt something warm brush against her hand. Fay grasped it firmly, whatever it was, and felt herself pulled forward at a much faster pace.

Finally they broke out from the channel into the open, brighter waters. If she wasn't in a desperate state between drowning and freezing to death, Fay would probably enjoy the beautiful sight of the coral reef, illuminated by the lights of hundreds of Lanturns and Chinchous . She forced her eyes to focus on whatever it was that she was holding onto and she recognised that it was a Wailmer. It seemed to be very young, but it was still more than strong enough to swim and pull her along.

The trip seemed to take forever and Fay's lungs began burning with the lack of air at about the same time her vision began blurring, when she finally felt her head break the surface. She gulped the sweet air in greedily, almost choking on it. The Wailmer let out a delighted whine and wiggled its fins at the mission successfully accomplished. Fay tried to smile through a coughing fit.
"I d-don't know where you came from," she rasped out, "but you're the- the best thing that ha-happened to me all day."

Soon, she felt her feet scrape the sandy bottom and the pokemon stranded them both on a beach a minute later. After that, the jolly creature hopped back to the water on its belly, disappearing into the waves. Fay busied herself with coughing the salty water out of her lungs. She wasn't feeling very well, freezing, and nauseous with slim chances of even crawling very far on her own.

Suddenly, she heard heavy footsteps approaching. She looked up and stared at the source of the sound for a long moment, before she let out a groan.
"You've got to be ribbing me..."

The tall man in a black leather coat smiled coldly.
"Come, now. Is that any way to greet an old friend?" he asked scornfully.

Fay glared up at him spitefully and scrambled on her feet, leaning against a large rock.
"How d-did you find me!?" she grit out.

The man tilted his head.
"Don't flatter yourself." he chuckled, "I wasn't even looking for you. But, since I'm here, I suppose it's about time I introduced myself. Or...have my men mentioned me to you already?"

Fay glared at him, while shivering violently. Both times she'd fought his thugs, they mentioned the same name.
"Benedict." she spat, "You're Benedict...what are you doing here!? I thought you'd be too busy destroying Sylph to take walks down the beach."

The man looked away with a slightest trail of unease on his face.
"That was an..." he cleared his throat, "...unfortunate, but necessary sacrifice."

He glared at Fay with forced determination.
"Actually, that should be the least of your worries right now, I daresay." he grit out resentfully.

Fay returned his glare defiantly, fingering the one pokeball she had left. The one Woopy was in. It gave her a bit of comfort, just knowing she wasn't completely alone.
"What are you looking for?" she asked suddenly, "What do you want?"

The man shook his head, his braided long hair swaying with the motion.
"Didn't I explain that to you once already?" he tutted, "I want the knowledge your family holds. And I must say I'm losing my patience!"

Fay felt anger fume inside her.
"We don't have the bloody knowledge, or whatever the hell it is!" she snapped at him indignantly, "And, you are lying! If that's all you're looking for, why did you keep attacking people after you captured my family!? Why destroy a whole city!?"

Her attacker chuckled.
"Well..." he said in a mock-rueful tone, "Two reasons, really. For one thing, you give yourself too much credit yet again, my dear. You and your family aren't the only ones whose knowledge we can exploit. We need more. As for the second reason...well, who could resist all those strong, well-raised pokemon when we have the means to get them, hmm?"

Fay threw him a revolted look.
"You're nothing but thieves..." she whispered, causing the man to chuckle again.

"Why, my dear, you wound me..." he snickered, "'Nothing but thieves', indeed!"

He pulled out a glittering round object from his pocket and Fay paled at the sight. As he tossed it upwards and caught it again, relishing in the way the girl's terrified eyes followed it, Benedict whispered:
"We are much, much more..."

With that, he threw the diamond pokeball, for that's what it was and released its inhabitant. Fay pressed herself against the hard, stone surface she was leaning on like she wanted to sink into the rocks as she felt the cold air and darkness spread from the direction of the creature.

Her hand flew to her remaining pokeball, but froze in mid air. How could she possibly send Woopy to fight that thing? She tried to look at the creature again, but once more, her eyes refused. Instead, they focused on Benedict's smug face, as he opened his mouth to speak.
"This is not your day, my dear," he snickered.

Fay glared daggers at him.
"Hardly." she grit out.

She saw him open his mouth to issue a command...the command and shut her eyes tightly. The order to attack never came, though. That is to say, if it did, it was lost in the loud sound of splashing water, as a huge beast emerged from it, roaring in pain and fury.

Fay didn't even notice when the creature obeyed its master's command and sprang towards her, but it never reached its target. With a wail, Milly rushed past Fay at an incredible speed. As the Milotic clashed with the mysterious pokemon, Fay just had to look away, ignoring the sound of a heavy body hitting the ground.

That was when she heard the voice:
"M-mother!?"

The hazel eyes snapped open in shock. Mother!? Her eyes slowly traveled toward the Milotic, now lying on the bloody sand and then they rose to the creature. As realisation dawned on her, she could see it for what it really was. It was shaped as a Milotic, but it was completely black. Black, black, black. If, in any context Black required a capital letter, it would be to describe the colour of this creature. It's skin was ebony and it didn't reflect light. Rather, it seemed to absorb it and kill it somewhere deep within itself. The inky face was framed by two obsidian stripes, and the jet eyes were so dark, they seemed like bottomless pits. Even the air around the creature had a somber quality.

Fay shook her head in disbelief.
"It- it can't be..." she rasped out.

Whatever they did to that poor creature, defied human understanding in its cruelty. The poor beast's sable eyes were fixed on the large carcass of its parent.
"Mother?" it called again, its voice thick with grief.

"Mother?" it repeated, the word piercing Fay's heart like a dagger. She looked up at Benedict who stood frozen in shock.

"How could you!?" she grit out.

The man's eyes snapped up at her, his face twisted in fury.
"Actually, very easily!" he snapped at her resentfully, "Who are you to cast allegations!? YOU, of all people! I do what I must, for the sake of ultimate power and all in our way will fall! My pet, get her!!!"

He screamed out the last part, but the creature didn't move away from its mother's corpse.
"What are you waiting for!?" Benedict bawled again, "Heed my order! KILL her!"

At that the inky eyes rose slowly towards Fay, but she wasn't the creature's target. With a spin-chilling roar, it whipped around and slammed its master with a black, crushing tail, smashing the man against a large rock.

"MOTHER!!!" the creature screamed in blind rage as it was about to launch another attack, but Benedict managed to get a hold of the diamond pokeball and call it back at the nick of time.

He slumped to the ground, coughing out blood and broken teeth before glaring at Fay with bloodshot eyes.
"You did it!" he spat, "You turned him a-against me! It- it was you...all along...y-you have t-the Final Achievement..."

His hand, shaking and covered in blood, reached into his pocket and pulled out a normal pokeball, out of which he released an Altaria. He clambered onto the pokemon's back and growled at the girl.

"I'll come b-back for you..." he gurgled through the blood, "You have n-no idea...what you are up ag-against..."

His pokemon took off gently, carrying him away. When she was out of danger, Fay drew in a long, shaky breath.

"It was her child..." she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. She sank to the ground, and pulled her knees to her chest, while sobbing uncontrollably. She couldn't help it, something about this whole thing made her feel like crying and vomiting at the same time. After a while, she finally slipped into unconsciousness.

To be continued: What will happen to Fay now? Will she wake up saved, captured, or lost? Will she and Luno be reunited? Will they manage to continue their journey to Lotus? What is Fay hoping to find there, anyway? Read in the next chapter:"It's In The Stars"


Gaaawd I suck sooo much! T.T /crawls under bed/ *sniff* Next chapter up on 7th of September.

Anyhoo, YAY! September!!! /dances/ ^o^

 

[Alter Ego]

Nyah, sorry for not having reviewed the previous chapter yet. I'm afraid school has me in a veritable deathgrip now with this bloody mammoth essay here. *Stabs essay* Deadline is in two weeks and I've got a lot of work to do on it, which, combined with my parents' idiotic ideas about 'home education', means that I'll have little time for anything else. I'll still come around to read, but I probably won't have time to review until after the deadline. Sorry about that. ~_~

Still...new chapters...and yay! My wild guess about the baby Milotic was correct! ^0^ Nyah, it's sad of course...but I was still right. ^^

Anywhoo...

Chapter 10

Fay gave a small, blissful yawn; this was life. She was on a small, private deck her cabin looked on. It was a yachting equivalent of a veranda, except this one had a mini bar, a jacuzzi in which Woopy was making a splash, a videophone, a TV and, in general, anything that would ensure that whoever was there, wanted to stay there.

Nyah, the "her cabin looked on" bit sounds weird. o.O Would sound better as something like "overlooked by her cabin" (I checked that in the dictionary, and it has the meaning of "to look over or out upon", not just "to ignore"). Anyway, the comma after "was there" is redundant.

The girl gazed at the calm, open sea. It reflected the sun and the water looked warm, but Fay knew that, at this time of year, it had to be freezing. Since they were still close to the shore, groups of wingull and some pelippers here and there danced above the water. Fay followed the flock's formation with her eyes. Every now and then, the birds would dive into the water and come out with a small flash of silver in their beaks.

"Must be" sounds like present tense to me, I think that should be "had to be" instead.

As the huge cruiser made a stop so that the passengers could admire a group of Lapras, Fay found her attention drawn to the birds again. An unfortunate Pelipper kept losing his lunch to pesky Wingulls. He'd catch a fish and then sit on the same rock to eat it each time. He'd toss it into the air and wait for it to come down with his beak open, but wingulls would always snatch it away on its way up and the unlucky, big bird would always end up left with his mouth miserably wide open as he let out cries of frustration at his quicker cousins. There was something saddening about the sight.

Just a small note: for some reason it's standard to list concrete features (Size, colour etc.) before abstract ones like "unlucky".

"Said the crazy human." the Eevee growled good-naturedly, "You're not all there yourself, you know...talking to a pokemon."

Nyah, I notice that you wrote "Eevee" with a capital 'E' here. Is this a deliberate trend break or something else?

The closer the Pidgeot got, the more obvious it was that there was no chance of a safe landing - the bird's leg hung limply, obviously broken, and the wings moved ot of sync with each other. The only thing that kept the creature in the air now was pure willpower. When she got really close, Fay drew her breath in sharply in sympath - not only was the bird injured, but her passenger was battered and unconscious as well. Fred seemed as if he'd had a rough time, which made Fay wonder what could possibly have happened in Sylph.

Commas needed, two of them...one after "obviously broken" to turn it into a full side-remark, and another after "a rough time". Can't you just hear reality cracking at the seams? o.o

Luno's brown eyes snapped up at her in shock.
"You'll what[/I]!?" he barked, "Are you nuts!? Fay, get back here!"

You're missing a [ from the cursive code.

"Vida, stop it!" Fay screamed and, strangely enough, the pidgeot did. Her wings froze in mid-air, shivering slightly in pain and exhaustion. The large, terrified eyes scanned Fay's familiar face and, finally, the poor creature let out a soft chirp, much resembling a breath of relief, as she collapsed sideways flaccidly.

A hiphon missing in 'mid-air'.

The captain shook his head with a jaded roll of his eyes
"He ought to be all right, the daft bugger." he said grouchily, but with obvious relief, "Cuts and bruises and such...the meds are taking care of both of them right now. I can't imagine what could have happened."

Nyah, you've got one 'd' too much in 'jaded'.

Yarch took his cap off and slapped it across his side in frustration.
"Hopeless, bolshie whelp..." he muttered, before he looked at Fay and sighed, "Let's go, doll. At least we might find out what, the bloody hell, is going on here."

Both commas around "the bloody hell" seem redundant.

He looked up at Fay and smiled bitterly.
"You were right. Those people who attacked Sylph...you said they have a way of turning the tables on you." he gave a bitter chuckle, "Boy, do they ever..."

Two forms of 'bitter' quite close to each other, you might want to look for a synonym.

"What the hell was that!?" Luno barked, looking more than a little sick.

Missing comma after "Luno barked".

She'd never seen a storm hit so suddenly. When she and Yarch went off deck just minutes ago, it was warm and sunny without a cloud in the sky. Now, it was so dark, it could have well been night-time. Thin cords of lightning cracked the skies and the strong wind made the waves climb great heights. Wave after wave of freezing, salty water splashed the deck, leaving it slippery and unstable. Fay clenched the safety rail to prevent being dragged off of the deck by the tempest.

No comma needed after "so dark".

She glanced down at her pokemon, suddenly realising that he was too small to fight the storm like she could. What the hell was she thinking, bringing him along? Her eyes darted between the Eevee and the nearest door and, in a split second when Luno wasn't looking, she abruptly scooped him up, tossing him into the corridor. Before her pokemon could recover from shock, she slammed the door and fastened the safety lock.

"He's" is present tense, what you need is "he was".

Luno gave an outraged growl as he scratched up the locked door.
"I can't believe[/i] her!" he barked indignantly, "Let me out of here, you idiotic human!"

Nyah, you're missing part of the cursive code again.


And that's it for the chapter. It's a good one overall, and you made the storm suitably dramatic. ^^ Also, nice work on Fred's attitude...that's just...very male of him. Especially the doctor part made me laugh. xD

Chapter 11

Luno screamed himself hoarse trying to outloud the raging storm, but in the end he just sagged to the floor miserably. He didn't see what happened, but he wasn't stupid. Fay had locked him into the hallway mere seconds before the freak wave struck. There was no chance she could have gotten away in time and even less so that she managed to stay on board. About an hour after the tempest cooled down, someone finally unlocked the door.

I'm pretty sure 'outloud' isn't a word, you might want to look for a synonymous expression.

Fay came to her senses slowly and gradually. Her head hurt like hell, her ears felt stuffed and she was soaked and freezing. She carefully opened her eyes and the world around her jumped into focus with painful swiftness. Apparently, somehow she ended up lying on her back, in what appeared to be a cave. There was a strange pulsating sensation in the cavern and water seemed to trickle from everywhere.

No comma needed after "on her back".

She'd heard that Milotics were supposed to be very serene, wise and certainly not aggressive, but since she'd met Luno she had stopped believing in pokemon stereotypes. For all she knew, this creature could be dangerous.

Once again, there's a slip into present tense here. It should be "were" rather than "are". Also, "since she'd met Luno" kind of calls for a "had stopped" rather than just "stopped" to maintain the same tense.

The Milotic said nothing. Fay felt chill creep up her spine and rubbed her upper arms in a vain attempt not to freeze. If she didn't dry up and get warm soon, she'd be in for some trouble. She had to approach this differently.
"Milly? Um...did you see those people take your-er...your child?"

Nyah, two slips into present tense.

Finally they broke out from the channel into the open, brighter waters. If she hadn't in a desperate state between drowning and freezing to death, Fay would probably have enjoyed the beautiful sight of the coral reef, illuminated by the lights of hundreds of Lanturns and Chinchous . She forced her eyes to focus on whatever it was that she was holding onto and she recognised that it was a Wailmer. It seemed to be very young, but it was still more than strong enough to swim and pull her along.

More present tense. Unless this is some fancy grammatical construction which I'm unaware of. o.o

The tall man in a black leather coat smiled coldly.
"Come, now. Is that any way to greet an old friend?" he asked scornfully.

The comma there is making it sound like a command "Come, now.", as opposed to the expression "Come now..." which I believe you were aiming for.

With that, he threw the diamond pokeball, for that's what it was, and released its inhabitant. Fay pressed herself against the hard, stone surface she was leaning on like she wanted to sink into the rocks as she felt the cold air and darkness spread from the direction of the creature.

Comma required after "what it was" to turn it into a full side-remark.

Whatever they did to that poor creature, defied human understanding in its cruelty. The poor beast's sable eyes were fixed on the large carcass of its parent.
"Mother?" it called again, its voice thick with grief.

No comma needed after "poor creature".


Aaand that would be all of the nits I could find. Hope you're still awake. :P Anyway, I think I see what you mean about writing the angsty dark bits. It's not that you're doing it bad, it's just that it clashes a bit with the original tone of the story. Myself, I've never faced such problems since any piece of writing I undertake becomes dark in one way or the other, nyah, I'm actually a bit jealous at people like you who can avoid that. At any rate, I'll be back to read like I think I mentioned at the top of the page, so even if you don't see me posting here, do remember that I'm still a fan of the writing that is made by you, and 'fan' is usually not a word I enjoy ascribing to myself. ^^

 

[Forci Stikane]

...Gone...Chapter 12's gone...and my post...THE WRATH OF THE BABY MILOTIC STRIKES AGAIN!!!!

 

[Alter Ego]

Nyah, not only that; I believe that any corrections Ria made to chapter 11 have vanished as well. Stupid database errors. T_T

Anyways, yeah, my essay has been handed in so I'm back and ready to review properly once the chapter gets back. ^^

 

[Forci Stikane]

Well I guess it'll be a while...and Ria's work is cut out for her...so I'll say this now:

TRAINERS HAVE NO TRAINERS!!!

...^That applies to the chapter that was erased.

 

[Ria]

Chapter XII has been re-discovered! :D It was on one of my dad's backup discs along with the rest of the fic XD Sometimes I love having a responsible family. :D Well...kinda. Anywoo:

Chapter XII: It's In The Stars

The way her day had started, Fay half-expected to wake up still cold, soaked and, if at all possible, in an even more of a bind. Needless to say that waking up to gentle sunlight in a soft, warm bed was a very nice surprise indeed. As soon as she stirred, something bounced on her stomach and she heard a familiar voice.
"Hey, Fay! Are you awake?"

"Lno?" she mumbled sleepily but as soon as she did, a sharp set of teeth chomped down on her hand and she jerked upward in alarm.

"Wha-what!?" she glared at the source of all the trouble and it glared spitefully back at her in the form of a very annoyed Eevee.

"What was that for, you crazy pokemon!?" she grit out.

Her pokemon barked back furiously:
"That was for being a stupid human, you-you...stupid human!"

They stared at each other for a moment and then Fay broke into a grin and scooped him up, hugging him tightly.
"Aw, I missed you too!" she cooed.

"Put me down, you nut!" Luno barked while he was squirming to get away, "Gah! I said quit it!"

Suddenly, there was a third voice:
"Hey, what about me?"

Fay jerked, almost dropping her pokemon and stared at the person sitting next to her bed. "F-Fred! I-uh...didn't see you there."

The boy grinned:
"Yeah, I kind of noticed that." he said, "You feeling okay?"

Fay looked around in bewilderment.
"Uh-yeah...What happened, anyway?" she asked, "Where are we?"

As far as she could tell, she was in a nice hospital room, tucked comfortably in the warm bed. The window was open, but the view was blocked by a bunch of branches which were sagging down burdened by white, satiny blossoms.

Fred seemed a bit disappointed
"We were sort of hoping you'd tell us what happened." he said uncomfortably, "We did find you unconscious next to a dead Milotic..."

Fay paled horribly. She'd completely forgotten about that.
"That's right!" she rasped out, "Milly is...dead."

Luno gaped at her in utter astonishment.
"Milly!?" he gasped, "The pokemon from Yarch's story!?"

Fay looked between him and Fred and then shook her head with a groan.
"Wait." she said, "Stop. Let's start over..."

She told them what happened from the moment she woke up in an underwater cave, to the end, when she passed out from exhaustion.

Fred shook his head incredulously.
"I can't believe how lucky you were!" he said in an awestricken voice, "If she hadn't helped you, there's no way you'd have survived that wave!"

Fay stared at him with utter bemusement. Lucky!?

Luno snapped her out of it with a frustrated bark.
"I'll have you know, if you ever do something like that again, I'll personally bite your hand off!"

The girl pondered vaguely whether she ought to comment on Fred's definition of luck, but gave it up. There were better things to do.
"Yes, yes, very-er lucky, that's right." she said impatiently barely managing to hide the sarcasm, "Now will you have mercy and tell me where we are?"

Fred flinched guiltily.
"Oh. Right." he said ruefully, "Sorry. Well, we started searching the beach from Hauregy, and found you not more than a mile away. We're at the Hauregy Pokemon Centre now since the hospital is closed."

Fay frowned.
"Closed?" she said incredulously, "How can a hospital be closed?"

Fred shifted uncomfortably.
"Er. Well, the thing is, news of what happened in Summerlight and Sylph has spread all over Rylan. Lots of towns decided to brace themselves for potential attack so the whole of Hauregy is at the defensive and most institutions are closed. They merged the hospital with the Pokemon Centre since every able pokemon trainer has been recruited and the town has converted into a genuine fort. The only reason they let us in was because Lola and I are old friends."

Fay scratched her head in confusion, trying to will her brain to operate.
"Lola," she said slowly, "Lola...that rings a bell."

Suddenly, she remembered where she'd heard that name and slapped her forehead:
"Of course! She's the new Hauregy gym leader! Her mum was my mum's best student, so she left the Gym in her care when she retired. I knew I'd heard that name before."

Fred smiled a bit with a nod.
"Yes, I know, and so does Lola. If these were different times, you two would have lots to talk about."

Fay carefully checked what she was wearing under the sheets and after she established it was her old, though now thankfully dry, clothes, she kicked the cover off and jumped to her feet.

"Let's have a look around." she said as she reached for her trainers. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something so she looked up at Fred, "Hey, how's Vida?"

The careful question seemed to leave Fred crestfallen.
"They say she'll pull through," he muttered, "But she might never fly again."

Fay sighed with sympathy.
"I'm so sorry." she said, "She's a strong pokemon, though. I'm sure she has a good chance to recover."

As they stepped into the hallway, Fred sighed.
"Yeah, that's what I think too." he said optimistically, "She can't travel just yet, but I'm sure that the staff around here will take good care of her while I'm gone."

"Gone?" Fay frowned, "Where are you going? You ought to lie low until this whole mess blows over."

Fred glared at her reproachfully.
"What do you mean, where am I going?" he snapped, "I was, supposedly, the most powerful trainer outside the Elite Four and that- thing wiped me away!"

Fay opened her mouth to comment, but the boy cut her off.
"Poof!" he snapped his fingers, "Just like that!"

Before she could seize the opportunity to speak, Fred ranted on.
"I mean, if strong pokemon, solid teamwork and good tactic don't help against that thing, then what will!?" he held on to the topic like a dog with a bone, "How can you- I mean...have you even seen that thing!?"

Fay glared at him feeling slightly irritated. She waited for a moment to make sure she wouldn't be interrupted again before she replied.
"Yes." she retorted tartly, "As a matter of fact I have. Twice."

Fred stared at her.
"And you still think there's a way to beat it?" he asked incredulously "You trust Eru that much?"

Fay whirled on him with a grim look.
"Yes, I do." she was pleased with how absolutely certain she sounded, "He knows-"

But Fred groaned and cut her off.
"Aha! But, that's just the thing, isn't it!" he interrupted her triumphantly, "What if he didn't know? There was no way in hell he could have known that they have that thing on their side! And even if he had known, it didn't do him much good, did it? Look at where he is now!"

Luno growled quietly.
"I'll bite him, if you want." he offered helpfully as he glared up at the irritated young man.

Fay shook her head tiredly which meant 'no' to Luno, but it also meant 'enough' to Fred.
"Look," she said jadedly, "Don't you think I know all that? The thing is - I can't just sit around and do nothing. Those people can only want what Eru's found for two reasons: either because it's powerful, or because they're afraid of it. In any case, we'd better get our hands on it before they do, or we're in for even more trouble and, quite frankly, I'm really not in the mood for more trouble, you know?

"Fine. I'll go with you, then." Fred said in a tone of someone who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, causing Fay to glower at him in a mixture of shock and irritation.

It was about to become a staring contest, when a third voice startled them:
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

When Fay looked over to see who'd spoken, the first thing that caught her attention was the hair. The wonderful, glorious hair. Slopes and slopes of flowing obsidian danced around a strange girl's lithe frame with even the slightest movement of her head. From within the pitch blackness which almost swallowed the milky face, two roguish jet-black eyes smiled at them.

Fred shook his head gloomily, still glaring at Fay.
"No, Lola." he muttered, "Not at all."

The girl winked with a sly smile.
"If you say so."

She was dressed in a simple outfit consisting of a short, white dress which she wore over a pair of old, faded jeans. Suddenly, something moved behind her and, a second later. a Gengar floated through her, looking for attention.

The girl giggled like the sensation of a pokemon gliding through her tickled.
"Where are my manners?" she waved her hand towards the ghost gracefully, "This, my friends, is Malice. Say hello, Malice."

The pokemon grinned broadly and, Fay noticed with some uneasiness, slightly hungrily.

Luno discreetly drew behind his trainer's legs and growled:
"Why do we always run into the nutcases?"

"Don't mind her." the strange girl said casually as she waved her hand through the ghost in a caressing manner, "We haven't been accepting challenges ever since this...ghastly business had started. She's just eager for blood."

"Blood!?" Luno squeaked from behind Fay.

Fred rolled his eyes impatiently.
"Oh, quit it, Lola!" he snapped, "Don't mind her, Fay. She just loves to scare people, it's her hobby."

The girl pretended to pout.
"Aw, now you've spoiled my game, you naughty boy." she tutted and then smiled at Fay, extending her hand with a wink, "I'm Lola, by the way. Lola Mirkovic. I heard what happened to your family and I'm really sorry. My mum had told me a lot about Serene and how she was the best gym leader Hauregy has ever had."

Fay relaxed a bit and gave her a grateful smile.
"Er. Thanks. I'm Fay." for some reason, while staring at the ghost, she could only manage small sentences, "Nice to meet you. Er."

Lola smiled broadly.
"Aw, nice to meet you too. Well, I don't mean to be rude, but I have to go and check how everyone's doing with the defenses and all. Would you like to come with?"

Fay gulped.
"I-uh...guess it wouldn't hurt." she said carefully, " I'll have to be on my way soon, though."

"We will have to be on our way, remember?" Fred reminded her tartly.

Fay rolled her eyes with a frustrated groan.
"You don't even have any pokemon left!" she grit out with a murderous glare.

"You'll help me catch some, of course." Fred retorted matter-of-factly.

As Fay was sending a particularly venomous look his way, Lola smirked at her knowingly.
"I'm impressed, my dear." she giggled slyly, "I've been trying to get my hands on him for years and look at you; known him for mere days and already he latched himself onto you."

Next to her feet, Luno sniggered:
"Humans are so weird."

Fay tossed a tired look towards Lola.
"I don't even know what to say to that." she remarked halfheartedly.

Lola giggled at that.
"No worries, love." she said with a cheerful wink, "Us gals have to stick together, right?"

Fay looked over to Fred, as if looking for some sort of explanation, but the boy just shrugged, successfully implementing the following statement into the simple movement:'Yeah, I know she's weird, but she's a good friend and once you get to know her, the strangest things become perfectly normal to you.'

As they made their way towards the exit, Lola remarked unworriedly:
"I've managed a small chat with Fred before you woke up." she told Fay pleasantly, "If I understand correctly, you want to get to Lotus for some reason?"

Fay snapped out of her thoughts which, at the moment, revolved around a vague concern about where her backpack has ended up.
"Oh." she said politely, "Yes. Is there a clear route from here?"

They reached the exit at that time and Fred held the door open for the girls. Fay was pleasantly surprised when a fresh breeze splashed over her carrying soft, white and pink petals from the fruit trees scattered all over the place.

They walked slowly down the pavement covered with fallen blossoms and petals as Lola seemed to ponder this last question.

"I'm afraid there is no clear route to Lotus." she said slowly, lost in blithe contemplation as her sable eyes drifted towards the large mountain, barely visible in the distance, "People rarely go there since the town has no gym or any other attraction. The only connection that they have with the rest of Rylan is the caravan which travels there to trade occasionally."

Luno groaned in frustration.
"Oh, great! Why can't anything ever be easy?" he muttered grumpily.

Fred scratched his chin pensively.
"Yeah...I heard something about that." he mused, "Apparently, Mount Pearl is completely surrounded by wild forest. We'd better find a good guide."

Fay sighed, pretty much sharing Luno's sentiments on this.
"What about that caravan?" she asked suddenly, "They're bound to know the way well, right?"

Lola tossed her gorgeous hair back, with a pensive look.
"Mm...well, yes." she said hesitantly, "And no. They're in town now, but..."

She trailed off, as if she was unsure how to explain the situation.
"Eh, why don't you come along with me and see for yourselves?" she said eventually.

She led them through the streets of Hauregy, occasionally pointing out some of the more important buildings and explaining their purpose in a calm, tour-guide way. Hauregy was a pleasant town, to say the least. There were blooming apple trees everywhere and a sweet scent of fruit blossoms spiced the air. Marring the picture were groups of somber-looking trainers, patrolling the streets purposefully with their pokemon.

Following a group with her eyes, Lola waved her hand lazily in their general direction.
"They're just safety measures," she said indolently, "To make the civilians feel more at ease. I'm well aware that, should these people decide to strike here, we won't stand much chance."

She gave Fred a sly wink.
"Not when our infamous 'Zephyr' couldn't stop them at his best." she added innocently.

Fred winced and glared at her.
"Do you have to rub it in?" he grit out, "I know I messed up, but...you don't know what it's like. You haven't seen it."

Lola smirked, eyeing him critically.
"What?" she said tartly, "Is there a club of 'those who have seen the thing' I can join if I did?"

Fred tossed her an irritated glare.
"Can't you take things seriously for once in your life?"

Luno looked up at Fay.
"Don't you think you ought to cut in?" he remarked pointedly.

Fay looked over to make sure that no one was paying her any attention and smirked at him:
"Why on Earth?" she asked innocently, "Aren't they just a charming pair?"

Suddenly Luno's ears flicked upward.
"Do you hear that?" he muttered, looking around for the source of the noise and Fay shared his surprise when the sound reached her ears too.
"Music?" she wondered out loud.

Lola glanced back at her and nodded with a smile.
"Yup, good pair of ears there." she grinned brightly, "We're getting close, they're just behind this corner."

As they moved along, the music became clearer and clearer, forming an odd contrast with the somber atmosphere of the town which expected attack. The tune was a unique mixture of violin, cymbal and some string instrument unknown to Fay. A female voice began singing and a round of cheers greeted it. The melody was fast but at the same time sad, in a way.

When they passed the corner which Lola had pointed out, Fay and Fred gaped at the sight which greeted them. Fred stammered in shock:
"B-but...that's a-a..."

"A gypsy caravan!" Fay finished his sentence, gaping at the colourful company.

There were six of them camped in a charming little park, apparently feeling quite at home there. Two Ponytas and a Tauros were grazing peacefully close by, barely sparing a glance to their loud masters. Nestled under the blooming apple trees, there were three lovely, little house-wagons, and one large cage on wheels in which a huge Snorlax slept serenely. Two of the carts were green with red roofs, while the third was midnight blue with stars and a half-moon painted on one side and a crooked sign that said "Kveroslava, the great Oracle".

Suddenly the wooden window shutters on the blue wagon slammed open and a scruffy-looking, unkempt old woman - Kveroslava the Oracle, Fay assumed - hollered, waving her fist at her companions:
"How can you produce such infernal cacophony," she bawled, "When the interstellar nebulae interfere with my sidreal planetary calculations!?" the shutters slammed closed grumpily and angry ranting could be heard from within, until the company laughed and burst into song and dance again.

The musicians now formed a circle and a young gypsy girl danced in the middle, slapping her cymbal on her side and laughing as her long, black hair whipped around her dramatically. She vaguely reminded Fay of Lola. One of the musicians spotted them and jumped to his feet with his arms widespread and a huge smile shining on his dark face.
"Lola!" he shouted with a look of delight on his face, "Hey, Senka, Ilvire, your cousin is here!"

Fay gaped at her guide.
"Cousin!?"

Lola grinned full out an winked at her.
"Hehe, meet my family! My mum was from this troupe." she said, obviously relishing in Fay's surprise, "She decided to stay in Hauregy and join the gym when she met Serene..."
She winked.
"And a certain local boy." she added slyly

Lola shrieked happily when two small children, a boy and a girl, rushed towards her and ran to meet them. She exchanged some quick kisses and hugs with everyone and then started dancing in the middle of the camp while the rest of the troupe started playing again.

The man who'd greeted her slammed her fist against the blue wagon.
"Get out here, Kveroslava!" he hollered, "Your granddaughter is here!"

Luno shook his head.
"More lunatics." he commented resignedly, "Why am I not surprised?"

Fay grinned. There was just something about the whole scene that made her want to. Then she glanced over at Fred, taking in his shocked expression.
"I thought you two are friends, how come you didn't know about that?" she commented with a snicker.

He shook his head.
"There's no way someone can know everything about Lola." he grit out as he watched the girl dance, her long, inky-black hair forming an airy cocoon around her as she spun in rhythm with the music.

The door on the blue wagon slamming open stopped the music as the old lady dashed outside, making Fay wonder how she could move so fast with so much jewellery on.

Lola giggled and rushed to meet her.
"Grandma!" she shouted as she threw herself into the old gypsy's arms.

The woman's eyes filled with tears as she hugged her granddaughter.
"Loleva!" she sobbed, "You shine like the sun to this old woman! Let me see you!"

Lola giggled.
"Grandma!" she chided gently, "You've only been away for two weeks!"

Kveroslava shook her head with a grave expression.
"In these dark times, none of us is promised tomorrow." she warned morosely, a look of tenderness and concern settling on her face as she caressed her granddaughter's cheek, "Is it true that you are the one preparing this town to battle? Say it's not true, malena, my old heart can't bear that."

Lola threw her a stern look.
"Now, basho, you know I'm the gym leader, just like mum was." she said in the same, mildly chiding tone, "And I have responsibilities just like she did. Now, no more crying. I want to introduce you to some friends of mine. This is Fred..."
She motioned to the boy.
"Remember, I told you about him." she added mischievously.

A look of darkest, outraged contempt settled on the old woman's face as she nodded.
"Ah." she said in a tone of scornful understanding, "The mastav."

Fred looked between them in utter confusion.
"T-the what?" he glared at Lola, "What did you tell her!?"

He practically jumped away when the old woman smacked him on the hand with her cane.
"Don't yell at my granddaughter!" she shrieked, "She is the gentle child of the stars and-"

"Eeeasy there, basho." Lola interrupted her gently and steered her towards Fay, "Look, this is Fay. She's Serene's daughter, you know."

At that, a chorus of understanding, friendly chattering broke out, and the entire company rushed over to Fay, hugging her, shaking her hand, some elder women pinched her cheek, and the children pulled her trouser leg.

Fay froze in complete and utter shock, not really sure what to do, but fortunately the crowd split as Kveroslava nudged through grumpily.
"Let me through, you ungrateful-" she ranted angrily, "Out of my way! Let me see Serene's little girl, aaah! Just as pretty as your mother – puy!" she spit on the ground suddenly and everyone followed the example with a collective 'PUY!'.

Fay just stared at them in mortified astonishment for a long second, but when she caught a glimpse of Lola guffawing with laughter, she broke into a snigger too.
"Nice to meet you all." she said with a huge grin causing the crowd to burst into an approving round of cheers.

"Maybe you should spit too." Luno offered helpfully but Fay didn't get to reply because Lola approached and patted her back approvingly.

"There you go, you're family now!" she said, grinning ear-to-ear before turning to her grandmother, "Basho, Fay and Fred need help. They need you to take them to Lotus."

Kveroslava's look turned grave at that. She shook her head, waving her hands.
"No!" she shrieked, "No! This is no time to travel! You should see how the moon interpolates with the astral nebluae...if she could wait for the vernal equinox-"

Fay interjected carefully.
"Um- m'am?" she said pleadingly, "Look, I don't really know what that vernal thing is, but I can't afford to wait around for anything. My entire family is in danger, and if I don't help them soon-"

Kveroslava cut her off suddenly.
"Entire family?" she gasped with eyes wide open, "Serene too?"

"Er- yes!" Fay nodded quickly, "Her, my dad and my brother and sister...and many other people too."

Kveroslava hrummed pensively and turned her back on Fay, walking slowly away from her. The girl glanced at Lola who smiled a bit and squeezed her hand.
"Let her think," Lola said positively, "She puts on a show, but she has a good heart."

"Gee, who else we know is like that?" Fred sniggered, causing Lola to toss her hair at him spitefully.

Suddenly, the old woman whipped around and declared.
"We will go. However, you will have to do us a favour in return. We can only take you through the forest and drop you off at the base of Mount Pearl and we will have to leave straight away." she trailed off for a second, before she decided to elaborate, "Dark times are upon us...and the Pearl mountain has a significant role which even I can not fully grasp. If we leave now, we can drop you off and return by noon tomorrow. I don't want to be anywhere near that mountain when night falls and the moon reaches its zenith. What I would like you to do is to take out little Ilvire with you to Lotus. You only need drop him off there, someone will be waiting for him."

Fay glanced down at the little boy who was hiding behind Kveroslava and staring up at her with huge eyes.
"Er- sure, no problem." she shrugged, "We can do that."

Lola smiled and hugged her grandmother with delight.
"Thanks, basho! You're the best!" she grinned at Fay, "Isn't she the best? You okay to leave now, though?"

Fay winced.
"Er-" she scratched her head awkwardly, "Actually, my backpack..."

Fred slapped his forehead.
"Oh, no!" he groaned, "It's back at the Pokemon Centre...sorry, Fay. I had no idea you'll need it now."

Lola winked with a smug look.
"Hey, no problem. I have to run back to arrange your identifications. I'll be back before grandma's finished packing up." she winked and whirled around, leaving them staring after her in wonder.

Fay and Fred cringed when Kveroslava shrieked suddenly.
"Pack! You two guests better help as well. Hop to it! We'll leave old Snorky here, we need to travel light! Go, go, go! Pack, pack, pack!" with that, she slammed herself shut in her wagon again.

Lola returned just as they were putting away the last of the instruments. Strong gusts of wind announced her arrival and she came into the view, riding a huge Fearow. The large bird landed softly and clamoured at Fred with its long beak. Lola dropped on the ground and grinned at him as she offered Fay's backpack to her.
"I thought I'd bring along an old friend to say hi."

Fred shook his head in amazement, staring at the huge bird.
"Is that Flare? I can't believe how big she's gotten! Hi, old girl." he stroked the bird's large beak as the creature purred in delight.

Luno glared at the bird with annoyance.
"I'm getting tired of this." he said tetchily, "When will we get to see some pokemon that are smaller than me?"

"When you grow bigger." Fay replied teasingly, making use of the fact that no one was paying her any attention.

"Yeah, but when will that be?" Luno growled, squirming impatiently.

Fay rolled her eyes with exasperation.
"Do you know what happens to pokemon who ask a lot of questions?" she grit out, glaring at him.

Luno seemed to ponder this seriously.
"No." he said eventually, "What?"

They glared at each other for a long moment, before they broke into a snigger together. Fay checked herself quickly and glanced around to make sure no one noticed the exchange. Her talking to a pokemon like he could understand her would raise a lot of questions which she wasn't quite ready to answer yet.

She relaxed when she established that no one was looking at her. However, the window shutters on the midnight blue wagon closed softly just before the hazel eyes flew over them and there was a soft chuckle from within. Fay turned her attention back to Lola and Fred whose reunion had turned into an argument at some point, which the rest of the troupe was observing with smug amusement.

"For the last time, I'm not bringing Flare with me!" Fred snapped, "I gave her to you so that you can get in touch even when the PokeNav network is down, you need her more than ever now!"

Lola rolled her eyes patiently.
"Would you listen, you pigheaded, bolshie twit." she said slowly, emphasizing each word, "First of all, you gave her to me because she and Vida couldn't stand each other and don't you try to deny it. Second of all, I wasn't even going to give Flare to you. I just said that, since you don't have any pokemon, I'll give you one of mine, courtesy of Flare. And, by the way, this was what I meant."

She took a pokeball from her pocket and released a small Hoothoot. The creature landed on the ground, took a look around and bristled up his feathers, doubling in size.
"Frr?" it said.

Fred looked up at Flare and then stared at the Hoothoot.
"How exactly are they related?" he asked suspiciously.

Lola rolled her eyes.
"They're not." she retorted tartly, "Grandma found an abandoned egg in the woods and brought it here to hatch. Flare adopted him and they've been together since. I'm not sure, but I think he thinks he's a Spearow."

The little Hoothoot puffed his feathers up again, glaring up at her with annoyance.
"Frrr!" he protested in an outraged voice.

Fay scratched her head in mild confusion.
"Now that I think about it." she offered, "Aren't Hoothoots supposed to...well hoot?"

Lola sniggered.
"Yeah, that was a clue." she said with a wink, "Here, catch."

She tossed the pokeball to Fred.
"You'll thank me some other time."

Fred caught it with a suspicious glare.
"I'm not sure I should." he muttered crankily, pointing the pokeball towards the small bird with a sigh, "Alright...come back."

"We're ready to take off, Lola!" one of the gypsies cried. "You sure you don't want to tag along?"

"No thanks, Svadlav." she replied with an apologetic smile, "I've got to keep an eye on things here. Oh, almost forgot, here are your identifications. Keep a close eye on them."

Fay briefly studied the small plastic card she was given, but there was no time to ask questions since Kveroslava burst out of her wagon again and started spurring everyone on.
"Get moving! Get moving, no time to lose! Hajde, hajde! You two, hop on, we're leaving!"

Fay watched Fred hop onto the closest wagon and then she scooped Luno up and did the same. They waved to Lola as the company left the small park.
"Thanks for the help, Lola!" Fay shouted. "I'll visit when this gets cleared out!"

To Be Continued: On the way to Mount Pearl at last. What will Fay find there? The solution or just another clue? What secrets does the town of Lotus hide? Read in the next chapter:"Soul Whispers"

Heh, okie-dokie, I'm glad that's done with. I just hope nothing happens before I push the 'save' button like, PC crashing again or power getting cut or...bomb falling on me for some reason. That would be, like, the pinnacle of irony ^.^'

PS: Oh, yeah, I thought I give some info on the weird words Lola&Co. use in this chappy. I was too lazy to go about inventing an entire Rylan Gypsy dialect, so I just threw in some words from my language + plus others I made up. :P

Malena = word from my language, means little one (f.)
Basho = not an official word, but that's what I used to call my grandma when I was little ^.^
Mastav = made it up. Means: Git, twit, wally, plonker, divvy, nit, flibbertigibbet, regular daft bugger ect. ect. ad infinitum. :D
Hajde = word from my language, means 'come on'.

PPS: Whooo! Alonso won the Grand Prix of Japan! This is the best day - EVER! /dances/ I had to get up at 6AM to watch the darn thing, but it payed off! Yaaaay! I'm happy! :D

 

[Ria]

Chapter XIII: Soul Whispers

An especially large bump on the road sent Fay leaping upwards, hitting her head on the wagon ceiling...again.

"That was the tenth time!" Luno informed her cheerfully, wagging his tail in delight.

"You don't have to look so bloody happy about it." Fay grit out while rubbing the sore spot on her head. She was very quickly getting tired of this "charming" ride through the forest.

"I miss Yarch's ship." she complained grumpily. "I mean, sure the trip ended with me almost drowning, then freezing, then getting killed by an insane pokemon, then being captured, but at least there were cocktails."

"We should be there already." she added crossly, "It's almost dark."

Her wish came true in the form of a sudden halt which caused her to lunge forward, her head colliding with an odd, seemingly useless chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

"Eleven!"

"Oh, shut up!"

She practically burst out of the wagon in a very Kveroslava-like way, happy to finally have firm ground under her feet, only to encounter Svadlav's grinning, hopeful face.

"That was some ride, wasn't it?" he said in the proud tone of someone who is personally responsible for the "comfort".

Fay glared at him, but her temper waned at his optimistic expression.
"Um- yeah." she waited exactly three seconds to avoid sounding too eager before she asked, "Are we there yet?"

"Yes, we are and in good time too!" the girl who looked like Lola giggled as she passed by with an armful of dishes, "We'll have lunch together and then turn back."

Fay looked around and realised that everyone was busy with cooking-oriented chores. Svadlav went to join Senka and Ilvire who had gathered up some dry branches to build a fire and Kveroslava was fussing nearby, while tossing various vegetables into a large pot.

Luno tilted his head, staring at the commotion.
"They sure do like making lunch." he said with a fascinated look, "I wonder if they have mil- hey!"

He yelped out the last part when the little girl suddenly ran up to them and scooped him up, hugging him tightly.
"Aaaaaw, you're so cuuuute!" she cooed with delight, "What's his name?"

Fay snickered at the sight of her pokemon trying to wriggle away from the girl desperately.
"Luno." she said with a slightly wicked grin, "He really likes to cuddle."

There was an outraged groan from the Eevee.
"Oh, I'll get you- argh!" he yelped when Senka squeezed him even tighter, "Tell her to pack it in!"

Sound of timid footsteps caught Fay's attention and she looked over her shoulder to see that Ilvire had approached them and was watching the scene wistfully. He was an odd child, quiet and shy. While his sister, Senka, was a right little chatterbox, eager to go everywhere and speak to everyone, he was her polar opposite. In fact, Fay could almost swear she hadn't heard the boy utter a single word during the whole trip.

If she had to guess, Fay would say that Ilvire wasn't more than ten years old. He was a small boy with a thick mass of unruly, coal-black hair and huge brown eyes which always seemed fearful of something. When he realised he was noticed, he flinched almost guiltily, but Fay grinned at him before he got the chance to run off.

"Hey, Ilvire, you want to play too?" she offered gently, "Here, come and meet Woopy."

Ignoring the odd way the boy stared at her while she was speaking, she pulled out her other pokeball and, a second later, the little Wooper landed on the ground with a delighted squeal. She looked up at Fay with a huge smile and then wobbled towards Luno who had just managed to squirm his way to freedom where she tried to eat his tail in an affectionate way.

"What the- stop that!" the Eevee snapped as he jerked his soft tail away, causing Woopy to squeak with delight and chase after it.

The boy smiled hesitantly as he approached her and reached out to pat the little blue pokemon, causing her to halt in her pursuit after Luno and nuzzle the outstretched hand happily.

"Aw, that's nice!" Senka giggled, "He only smiles like that when he's playin' with pokemon. Pity he can't have his own."

Fay looked at her in surprise.
"No? Why not?" she asked without thinking, "He's old enough..."

"It is better that way." a voice startled Fay from behind and she turned around to look at Kveroslava who sat close by, slicing some carrots.

"He couldn't raise a pokemon properly even if he caught one." the old woman said, "Can't speak or hear, poor dechki."

Fay winced in surprise, suddenly realising that it wasn't because of shyness that Ilvire hadn't spoken to her at all.
"Oh! I see." she said with a quick glance to the boy who had happily joined Woopy in her pursuit of Luno's tail, "I'm sorry, I had no idea."

"It's okay." Senka put in helpfully, "He's always been like that. He'll go to mount Pearl and learn how to train pokemon without talking. I wish I could go too."

"Senka, dosta!" Kveroslava cut her off sternly, causing the girl to stomp her foot angrily and run to Svadlav.

Fay smiled slightly at the childish gesture as she spoke to Kveroslava.
"So that's why you're sending him to Lotus." she said pensively, "I heard that the trainers from there don't have to speak in order to communicate with their pokemon. My brother trained there too, but he never spoke much about it. He even got himself a small house up there...he was planning to go back after beating the Elite Four."

Kveroslava snorted through her nose slightly.
"The mountain hides many secrets that appeal to young trainers." she said contemplatively, "It is a pity that the ones who know the most simply do not talk about it."

She chuckled to herself as if she'd just heard a good joke, causing Fay to stare at her in utter bewilderment, but the girl didn't get to ask any further questions since she was suddenly startled by Fred's voice hollering from the direction of the woods.
"YOU CAN'T USE FURY ATTACK, YOU STUPID BIRD!" he bellowed, "YOU'RE A HOOTHOOT!!!"

Fay exchanged incredulous glances with Luno and they hurried in the direction Fred was shouting from, leaving Woopy behind to play with Ilvire.

They found the boy in a nearby clearing, gesticulating wildly while screaming at his Hoothoot who was observing him with not much more than polite interest.
"Peck!" he hollered at the little bird, "Peck! How hard can it bloody be!? If I had a beak, I could do it!"

"Hey, that's no way to train a pokemon." Luno remarked in a disapproving tone, "I'm glad he's not my trainer."

Fay grinned at him.
"Why, was that almost a compliment I just heard?" she asked with a beaming smile, causing her pokemon to glower at her.

"Don't count on it." Luno growled edgily, "I meant to say that there are worse trainers than even you."

It was then that Fred spotted them.
"Hopeless!" he snapped indignantly, "Just bloody hopeless! He thinks he's a Spearow, he's using fury attack, for cripe's sake!"

Fay approached them and glanced down at the small bird who returned her look with a quizzical:"Frr?"

"Well...train him like a Spearow, then." Fay offered, "They're both birds, they both have beaks and wings, they should be able to perform similar attacks, if not same."

Fred stared at her in outraged astonishment.
"Train a Hoothoot as a Spearow!?" he repeated with a revolted shudder, "I can't do that, I'm a professional! If I did that, I'd be the laughing stock of my entire Gym!"

Fay shrugged.
"But your pokemon would be happy." she pointed out rationally.

Fred glanced between her and his new pokemon frantically.
"Yeah, but- but- I can't!" he stammered desperately, "I mean...he's- I'm- oh, come on!"

Fay couldn't help sniggering.
"Oh, very eloquent." she teased, "I can't imagine why your pokemon doesn't understand what you want from him."

Fred glared at the small bird darkly.
"Oh, he understands." he grit out edgily when the Hoothoot puffed his feathers up with a spiteful glare, "He's just messing with my mind!"

"Yeah, that's definitely it." Fay said sarcastically, "Just look at that machiavellian little face."

"Frr?" the Hoothoot said, blinking his large, red eyes at her, making her smile.

Fred glared at her but relaxed a bit.
"Maybe it's my fault." he admitted grudgingly, "I got so used to having strong, well-trained pokemon, I almost forgot how hard I worked to get them that way."

Luno bristled his fur.
"That's right!" he barked, "Typical human, blaming his pokemon for everything that goes wrong."

Fay glanced at her pokemon with gentle rebuke.
"Luno." she chided him softly, causing him to lower his ears and mutter something grumpy under his breath.

"Come on." she told Fred, "Let's go see if we can help with lunch."

***

Fay had to admit it was good to eat with a family, even if it wasn't her own. It was true that the Longfellows were scattered all across Rylan most of the time, dad at his post at the League, Eru and Lea training, but it was an unwritten rule that, for every holiday, they'd get together at home and spend it as a family.

She found herself missing it suddenly, as she watched Ilvire and Senka engage in a playful joust over a potato with their forks and Kveroslava clucking disapprovingly while trying to cut Ilvire's unruly hair when the boy wasn't looking. They were comfortable with each other and they laughed often. They were a family.

Needless to say, when it was time to go separate ways, it was hard for everyone, especially Ilvire who looked like a betrayed puppy as he watched the small caravan disappear into the woods, his sister waving at him sadly from the last cart.

Fay sighed at the boy's dejected face and knelt in front of him with an encouraging smile. She tipped his chin so that he'd look at her while she was talking.
"Cheer up, Ilvire." she said gently, "This way you can get a pokemon someday. All yours, you know. Won't that be great?"

The little boy glared at her angrily, as if everything was her fault and trumped off to sit at the other end of the fire his family had left behind.

Fred rolled his eyes.
"Very smooth." he snickered, "I mean, you're a girl and all, shouldn't you feel a wave of warm, tender, maternal something-or-other?"

Fay threw him a venomous glare which grew even more toxic when Luno howled with laughter next to her feet.
"That's not how it goes!" she snapped irritably as she went to sit by the fire, "What do I know about kids anyway? I was the youngest child!"

Fred grinned and rose his hands defensively as he backed away a bit and released his Hoothoot from the ball to train some more.

Luno came to sit next to Fay, still sniggering to himself.
"Maternal!" he repeated through breathless giggles, "You! That's rich!"

Fay glared at him and spoke to her other pokemon.
"Go play with Luno's tail, Woopy." she ordered and the little Wooper squealed with delight as she launched herself towards the Eevee.

Luno jumped away with a yelp.
"That was so cheap!" he barked as he ran from Woopy who pursued him happily around the fire.

***

It got dark after a little while and they all gathered around the fire, listening to its merry crackling. It cast warm, orange light all over old, mossy trees and softened the chilly night.

Luno was enjoying his warm milk, every now and then casting amused glances at Woopy who seemed to be trying to figure out how the Hoothoot made his feathers puff up, which the small bird was more than happy to demonstrate.

Fay watched them with a smile for a bit, sipping warm tea.
"Are you going to name him?" she asked Fred eventually, "I feel odd calling him 'the Hoothoot' all the time."


Fred threw a sour look at his pokemon.
"I haven't thought about it, really." he grit out, "But...yeah. I guess I should. I named all my other pokemon...maybe Nigel?"

Fay almost coughed her tea out through her nose giggling.
"Nigel!? Who names a pokemon..." she guffawed out the last word, "Nigel!"

Woopy stared at her amused trainer before looking up at the bird and bursting out laughing in her own way. The Hoothoot puffed his feathers up and glared at Fred accusingly.

"Sheesh, everyone's a critic these days." the boy muttered tetchily, "Well until I hear a better suggestion, Nigel it is. So there."

Fay tried to compose herself.
"Wh-well..." she gasped out, still suppressing giggles, "There are loads of better names. Let's see...Hoots, Seye...hm...Otto?"

"JASPER!!!" a third voice suddenly roared.

Fay almost dropped her mug from shock at the sudden noise. She and Fred exchanged stunned looks before jumping to their feet. They called back their pokemon and, after Fay showed Ilvire to follow them, they all hurried in the direction the clamor was coming from.

Just as Fred and Fay broke out of the shrubbery on one side of a small clearing, a boy roughly their age dashed out at the opposite end, apparently running from something. He slided to a stop when he spotted them and there was a frozen moment where they all just stared at each other. Fay had to admit that she'd never seen such a strange person in her entire life.

The boy's dark blue eyes were the only thing that seemed sharp on him, everything else seemed rather scruffy; his auburn hair was shaggy and he was wearing a ridiculous brown, tweed suit which had seen better days. It was clean but shabby and patched on the elbows. He even had a silly, matching top hat, equally scruffy as the rest of his attire.

Before anyone had the chance to comment, the pursuers broke out of the bushes behind the strange boy along with their pokemon. Fay quickly scanned the company - there were two men and they did not seem amused by this chase through the woods.

Yellow light flashed briefly as a Pikachu jumped from behind one of them and claimed a spot next to its trainer, waiting for a command. At the same time, there was a gentle gust and a Venomoth descended in front of the other man keeping airborne with slow, soft movements of its large wings.

There was something familiar about their dress style as well.
"Oh, crap!" Fay gasped when she realised that she was facing yet another clash with Benedict's thugs. She threw a nervous look towards Ilvire and pulled him behind her in a vain attempt to keep him out of sight.

"Small world." Fred commented shortly as he reached for his pokeball with a dark look.

It seemed, though, that the attackers had no interest in them whatsoever. All their attention was focused on the person they were hunting.
"I-I've got you now, Jasper!" one of them panted, throwing the strange boy a murderous stare, "You're not weaseling out this time!"

The boy - Jasper, Fay assumed - took a shaky step back, grinning nervously at his attackers.
"Blimey, look who's here!" he beamed at them uneasily, "Fancy meeting you guys in these parts...eheh...imagine, running into each other in this huge forest, eh?"

The thug glared at him viciously:
"Cut the bollocks, Jasper!" he snapped, "We've been chasing you around all afternoon and you bloody know it! Now, the boss wants you alive but he didn't say anything about roughening you up a bit. What I'm trying to say is: please – give me a bloody reason."

The strange boy took another step back towards Fay and Fred. He gulped loudly before grinning uneasily again.
"Easy now, mates, there's no need for all this bovver, is there now?" he adjusted his scuffed hat nervously, "I mean, we're all rich in the ol' gray matter, ain't we? Surely we can confer like adults."

"He's so weird..." Fred muttered, staring at the boy in bewilderment, "Er- should we help him out?"

Fay scratched her head uncomfortably.
"Well..." she started uncertainly, "We might as well have a listen first. I want to see what's going on."

"Argh...don't wait too long." Luno growled impatiently, "I feel kind of sorry for the poor guy."

The strange boy practically yelped as his pursuer motioned his Pikachu into battle position.

"Ay- now, wait, hang on!" he started babbling, "Are you sure you want to go that way? I-uh...I mean...come on, remember all the nice times we had..."

The man interrupted him darkly:
"Like the time you led us off the garden path, made me look like an idiot in front of the boss and swindled me out of all my money?" he crackled his knuckles with a terrifying grin.

The boy's smile died for a second but he gulped and forced on a grin again.
"Ahaha...Kyle, my old friend, that was a misunderstanding. You see-er...I was just- it's not safe to carry all that money around, so I-uh..."

He threw a desperate look to Fred and Fay over his shoulder, before jumping behind them suddenly and nudging them both forward.
"A-Aha!" he exclaimed, "Look yonder! A pair of valiant trainers comes to aid their colleague."

Fay cringed when both thugs suddenly glared murderously their way.
"Fred..." she grit out as she reached for her pokeball slowly, "Remind me to thank that charming fellow later, will you?"

She hurled her pokeball at the thugs and Fred did the same only a second later.
"Go, Woopy!"

"Go, Nigel!"

"You're sticking with Nigel?"

"Yes! Can we fight now!?"

"Nigel is rather stiff, if you ask me..." Jasper commented idly from behind them, but Fred shut him up with a dark glare.

"We're not." he said icily, before turning to battle, "Alright, Nigel! Use Peck on the Venomoth!"

The small bird glanced at the large insect before looking up at Fred with a miserable chirp.

"Aw, the poor nipper is scared!" Jasper said sympathetically before cringing at the dark glare Fred was sending his way, "Er- I'll just shut up, then."

The thug Jasper had addressed as 'Kyle' rolled his eyes.
"I don't have time for this." he growled, "Flik, zap that sorry excuse for a bird!"

The yellow pokemon grinned as he strained, sending a dancing wave of crackling electricity towards the small bird who cringed expecting a world of pain.

Fortunately, Fay managed to give a last second order.
"Woopy! Take the blow!"

The little Wooper hopped straight into the path of the lightning, allowing it to hit her and giggling in delight as the voltage only tickled her a bit.

"Stupid ground types..." Kyle muttered, "Use slam on the little bugger!"

The Pikachu hurled itself towards Woopy who waited until he got really close and then just danced away easily while the yellow rat crashed past her harmlessly.

"Oooh, she's good at that!" Luno commented, "That's how she got me too, that first time."

Fay looked over at Fred and Nigel, but the boy motioned towards his frightened Hoothoot helplessly. There was no way Nigel would fight today.
"Okay Luno, you'll have to fight too, Nigel's not well." she sighed.

The Eevee shuffled his fur readily.
"Hah! Finally! Order away!"

"Luno, use Quick Attack, don't let them catch you still!" Fay ordered, "Woopy, use Mud Slap on the Pikachu!"

Luno gave a short nod and dashed towards the Venomoth, developing such speed, he was barely visible while Woopy scooped up some dirt with her moist tail and hurled it happily towards the Pikachu.

Fay watched their advances anxiously. They could win this one, but if the attackers had any more pokemon, they were in for trouble. She became aware of annoying tapping on her shoulder so she glared at Jasper.
"What?" she snapped.

The boy beamed at her charismatically.
"Terribly sorry to bother you, miss, but perchance I could help in my own, modest way?"

Fred glared at him with unbelieving indignation.
"You couldn't have done that before?" he snapped.

Jasper just grinned a wicked little grin and stepped out into the battlefield, waving his arms.
"Alright, pack it in!" he shouted, "Stop the battle! No more battling, please!"

The entire scene froze as everyone stared at the strange boy in a worn tweed suit and, probably, wondered at his sanity.

When he was sure he had everyone's attention, Jasper smirked.
"Ah, much better!" he said suavely, "Now, I wasn't going to do this, but..."

He pulled out a pokeball and rubbed it on his patched sleeve unhurriedly as he spoke on.
"But you gentlemen forced me. You do know what this is, I imagine?"

Kyle paled as his eyes followed the pokeball nervously.
"You- you wouldn't dare..."

Jasper shrugged idly.
"I don't see why not." he said blithely, "I mean, it's my only chance to get you chaps to leave me alone, so..."

He lifted the pokeball as if to throw it and the attackers burst out screaming and scrambled into the bushes frantically.

Jasper sniggered and tossed the pokeball, releasing what Fay least expected to see...

To Be Continued: What sort of creature has Jasper unleashed? Why was he being pursued in the first place? Will Fay finally find her way to Lotus? What will she find there? Read in the next chapter:"Sound of Silence"

Right, then. Hmm, what to say? Next chappy coming up 5th of October. The "Crazy Time" of year is still on, though, and while I don't think anything will come up on that day, you should probably have reservations ^.^' The possible delay (if any) will not be more than one day so the alternative date is 6th of October ;)

Now, then:

Well I guess it'll be a while...and Ria's work is cut out for her...so I'll say this now:

TRAINERS HAVE NO TRAINERS!!!

...^That applies to the chapter that was erased.

Um, sorry, Icha, but I understood NOTHING at all from that post ^.^' My brain is slow this morning and my memory is generally a lottery (you never know what will pop up ;) ) so, you'll forgove me, right? ^.^'

Nyah, not only that; I believe that any corrections Ria made to chapter 11 have vanished as well. Stupid database errors. T_T

Anyways, yeah, my essay has been handed in so I'm back and ready to review properly once the chapter gets back. ^^

Yay! ^o^ Looking forward to it! ;)

PS: My favourite character (besides Fay and Luno, that is) has entered the story! Whoooo! /dances/