Thank you for the reply, Master. And here is Chapter Three. It's a little shorter than intended originally, but I'll put the last bit of the chapter into Chapter Four.
Read and enjoy.
Chatper Three: The Path of a Coment
It had been about a week since that crazy night when Lexa found Chiisai. Alexakai had been so worried about her father that she didn’t know if she’d make it out of bed the next morning.
But for once, God smiled on Lexa. Her father worked for a company that occasionally required him to go away for a couple of weeks at a time. To her sheer amazement, this was one of those times! Her father had packed up and left for ten full days.
She and Chiisai were on day eight. Lexa couldn’t believe how wonderful it had been. She and her new friend had spent hours playing in the house and on the mountain trails. Lexa had cleaned the whole house from top to bottom and now it carried an air of normalcy.
Lexa sighed happily and stretched out. They were on the roof stargazing. Chiisai had mentioned how much she loved the stars, and thus, Alexakai had decided to surprise her new friend.
“What are we going to see? What are we going to see?” Chiisai bubbled, hovering above her head.
Alexakai giggled and snatched the Pokemon. She hadn’t laughed as much in the past eight years as she had in the past eight days. “Just wait! You’ll see, I promise!”
The Togetic giggled louder as Lexa tickled her. She had made a marvelous recovery, but was still much too weak to attempt a huge Teleport again.
Lexa sighed and folded her arms behind her head. The stars twinkled and smiled above them. As she gazed over the majestic scene, she felt so small. It was like the very heavens had opened up to them and was sharing a beautiful secret with them. She had never felt so at peace.
Chiisai nuzzled Lexa’s chest.
“The stars are just as clear here as they are back home. I didn’t see much of them, but when the Kigai let me out, I could see them,” she said in a quiet, reserved voice.
Alexakai rubbed the Togetic’s tummy. “Hey, now. I promised you I’d never send you back there. I’ll never let them take you away. When we get out of here, we’ll be able to see the stars every night.”
Chiisai purred. Well, it wasn’t exactly a purr, but it was what Lexa had identified as the Togetic’s happy-noise. She made a soft, whispery noise that seemed to roll effortlessly in her throat. It sounded much like how a kitten with a cold might purr. Chiisai said that not many people were able to make a Togetic purr, but sometimes, a person that was very special to the Togetic could entice the marvelous noise forth.
And that had made Lexa feel more loved that she had ever felt in her life.
“Chiisai?” Alexakai asked. “Have you ever seen a shooting star?”
The Togetic stared at her with wide eyes.
“Only once. It was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen!”
Lexa smiled. “What we’re going to see tonight will be like that, only bigger and brighter. It’s called a comet.”
Chiisai purred louder before breaking into a fit of mad giggles. She pulled out of Lexa’s arms and did a few backwards tumbles in mid-air, laughing a giggling. She zipped around the roof and talked so fast it made Lexa’s head spin.
She reached out and re-snatched Chiisai. “Hush, you silly creature! Keep buzzing around like that, and you’ll miss the comet!”
Well, that quieted her down. The pair sat on the roof for another few minutes, anxiously awaiting the comet. A low rumbling reached Lexa’s ears. She absently wondered if it was going to rain. Shifting a little, she thought to herself that it sounded more like something coming up the gravel road than thunder.
The bottom suddenly dropped out of her stomach. Lexa strained her ears, and she could hear something driving up the road. Fear and intuition told her so. She bolted upright and clutched Chiisai tightly to her. “Listen!” she whispered fearfully. “Do you hear anything?”
Chiisai cocked her head, listening.
“Sounds like a motor vehicle,” she said slowly. A look of realization passed through her eyes.
“It’s not—“
“I have to get you inside. Now!” Lexa said shakily, walking over to the makeshift hatch in the roof. She dropped down to the mattress below the hole. The old mattress cushioned the fall into the attic. Chiisai pulled the hatch closed behind her.
“He’ll be home any second…” she moaned. “I have to get you downstairs. I’ll lock you in my bedroom…” She shook her head and started down the stairs, heading past the staircase. “I’ll—“
A car door slammed. Lexa froze, her breath catching in her throat. “Hide!” she pleaded to Chiisai.
The Togetic flashed behind the wall as Lexa raced down the stair into the kitchen. She began absently rummaging through the fridge.
The door burst open with a crash. Her father stumbled in to the living room, his brownish hair flying about haphazardly. Alexakai winced as she caught a glimpse of his eyes. They were wide and bloodshot. He was drunk.
“ALEXAKAI!” he roared.
She gulped and moved in to the living room. “Yes, father?”
“Where’s my beer? Who cleaned the house?”
Lexa trembled. “Y-your beers are nice and cool in the fridge. I cl-cleaned the house. I thought you’d appreciate coming home to a nice clean house.”
He gave her a wicked grin and stepped close to her. She smelt bourbon on his breath. She hated it when he drank bourbon almost as much as when he drank whiskey. Bourbon binges were rare for him, but the effects were massive. Bourbon made her father violent.
And now, he looked more violent than ever. “Maybe I like the house a mess,” he hissed, taking her by the wrist. “Who gave you the authority to override my wishes?”
Alexakai steeled herself. He really didn’t care what the house looked like. He was just looking for any excuse to beat her senseless. He loved the feeling of power that he got from it.
“No one,” he whispered, answering his own question. “You need to learn your place in this house!”
His hand met her face, sending her sprawling. Lexa rose slowly, a line of blood running from the corner of her lips. She trembled before her father, pleading silently to God that he’d leave it at that.
But he didn’t. He shoved her back to the ground. “Did I tell you to get up?” he screamed.
Lexa whimpered a little, trembling. He’d get bored…
His boot met her stomach. “Going to learn your place?”
She tried to answer, but he’d knocked the wind out of her. She tried desperately to draw enough breath to whisper something, anything!
He kicked her again, viciously. “Answer me!”
She finally managed to gasp in a breath, but wasted it on a sob. Then, breath would no longer visit her lungs.
Her father grabbed her by the shirt and hauled her up, punching her hard over her shoulder, ribs, face, and stomach. “You worthless, ungrateful punk!” he pat as he beat her, lashing out at close range.
Lexa couldn’t breath, she couldn’t think. Her brain seemed incapable of thought. All she could feel was pain. Harsh, intense, never-ending pain.
Suddenly, however, the pain lessened. She could no longer feel his fists pummeling her small frame. She opened her eyes to see her father bathed in a strange, purple light. His eyes were wide, horrified.
Lexa turned around and saw Chiisai. Her usual black eyes were glowing with the same purple light that surrounded her father. It was a Disable attack! But, Togetic couldn’t use that…
“Alexakai, we’re leaving. Now.”