Pokemon Mystery Dungeon- The New Age [Pg 13]

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Faintly, Rokan could hear Shierk speaking, though she bent her ears towards the fight ahead of her in a valiant effort to ignore him. As a result she could not make out his words, which was all the better. He obviously preferred to spend his time with Rani, so why burden him with her presence? Even as she thought that she knew she was being ridiculous. He had a romantic interest in Rani, of course he would pay more attention to her. But that was always how it happened. As soon as a pretty young thing trotted along aliances were forgotten, bonds were weakened, and names were less often uttered. It seemed that no matter how she cared, she could trust her affection, familial or romantic, to no one. Therefore she would not. After all, wouldn't she make a better rogue officer, relying on herself and her instincts? Perhaps not to bring Darkrai to justice, but afterward she would retreat into herself and become more than she was through her own means. She didn't need anyone, or anything.

She nodded in acknowledgement to Mack and crossed the lawn to the place he had indicated. So far it seemed that the fight between Kreep and Max was fair enough. There had been no foul blows exchanged, and no animosity was apparent between the combatants. It was a refreshing change.
 
"Oh," Shierk said in reply to her, frowning. He looked like he was thinking about what to do, then looked up and told her that he needed to tell her and Rokan something, and that it was about the nightmare he had suffered. He then sat down again, and Rani shifted closer towards him as he began to tell her what had happened.
Firstly, about his friend Kreep, whose rueful fate Rani mourned, especially considering Shierk's heartbroken reaction. Secondly, his father, and this one really hit home. She hadn't spoken to her father, or any of her family, for a very long time, yet still could not bear the thought of seeing any of them die.
Then came the third part of his nightmare, and Rani became awfully confused as he described the scene. An Arcanine. Her. Bleeding, in pain, with an Electivire torturing her? An Electivire that must have represented Shierk? Why? What on earth could it possibly mean?
Then there was the same thing with Rokan, and then the fight with Kreep, Weavile and himself, and how Rani herself and Rokan had together been able to give Shierk enough time and power to defeat himself.

After he finished, Shierk looked straight at Rani, and his beady black eyes locked with her large, deep ones.
"Rani," he asked her, "Do you think Darkrai could be doing this? Yes, it could be my subconsciousness, but..." he looked down. "I just don't know..." Rani didn't know how to reply; she didn't know either. "Do you see why I needed to talk to Rokan too?" he asked. "Both of you were involved in the dream. The same message was said about both of you." He went on to quote the voice in his dream: "'You will need the help of both of them to defeat yourself.'"
He stopped speaking for a moment, looking like he was thinking about something important, and then he looked straight into Rani's eyes again as he said "So, in a way, I owe my life to you. Both of you. Get it?"
His eyes lingered on hers for a few moments more, but then he leapt to his feet. "Come on," he said. "We need to tell Rokan too."

After thinking for a moment, Rani nodded. Yes, Rokan certainly needed to hear it, too. But first...
"Shierk," she said quietly, rising to her paws, "I'm glad you're okay. You really gave us a scare when you wouldn't wake up, you know? And-" she paused, debating with herself whether to tell him...
No.
"Are you sure you're feeling alright to go gallivanting off?" She substituted hurriedly, blinking rapidly. "I mean, you were unconscious, and you didn't have an Oran Berry or anything! Are you sure you don't want to rest for just a little longer?"
 
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Shierk blinked a couple of times. Had Rani just prevented herself from saying something? The 'you should probably rest' thing had helped her stumble out of something, he knew it. But she was right. He hadn't noticed it before, but he was exhausted. There was an ache throughout his whole body, and his prong still ached. Part of him wanted to ignore the pain and go tell Rokan about the dream now, but he knew he needed rest.

"Yea you're probably right Rani. Say you wouldn't happen to have an oran berry on you would you?" Shierk winced a few times as he checked his body for further injury.
 
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Had he bought it? It was hard to tell, but he wasn't saying anything about it, in any case.
She smiled in relief as he agreed to rest some more.
"I'm afraid not," Rani replied to his question. "But I'll go and get you one from the infirmary, if you want!"
 
Shierk smiled slightly at Rani. "Yea, that'd be great." Shierk waited until Rani had gone inside before peering around the tree. Rokan was sitting there talking to Mack and watching a battle between Kreep and Max. Shierk motioned towards her. "Hey! Rokan! I really need to talk to you! could you come here please?" Shierk stared at her as if waiting for a response.
 
Shierk agreed eagerly, and Rani grinned at him then headed back inside the building to search for an Oran Berry. After hearing drips of water, she realised that she was still wet from the fountain, and that after falling over she was once again covered in dirt.
"Wonderful," she said to herself. "I look like a total freak." Of course, it didn't matter what anyone thought of her, especially Shierk. Why should his opinion matter more than Kreep or Mack's? Of course, there was no reason…

So why was she even thinking about it?

Rani shook her head to dismiss the thought. "Preposterous."

Now, where was this infirmary? She hadn't exactly made her own way there the last time… Now that she thought about it, she had no idea how she had turned up there! Presumably, someone had carried her there… Thinking about it logically, it must have been Shierk. Shierk had carried her all the way to the infirmary? She stopped and glanced back. She couldn't see the door anymore, but she smiled as she thought about how tired Shierk seemed. No wonder he had gone to sleep if he'd gone to all that trouble. Gone to all that trouble… For her…
She began to blush slightly (or would have if her fur had not covered it), but immediately frowned and shook her head, once again dismissing the thoughts. He would have gone to the same trouble for Rokan, or for Max, or for-
No, not for Kreep. But that was a different matter. Those two seemed to be enemies (though she still wasn't exactly sure why). The point remained; his carrying her to the infirmary after he himself caused her to fall unconscious was nothing special. He would have done it for others, and was his duty to do it. He hadn't done it because of any special feelings for her, and she didn't want it to be.
Did she?
"No, of course not!" she exclaimed out loud. The entire idea was absolutely preposterous. They were too different. She was a quadruped, he a biped. She a Fire Type, he an Electric Type. She a Growlithe. He an Elekid.
Rani decided not to think about who she was trying to convince or why, and instead decided to focus on finding the infirmary. She hadn't really been paying attention to where she was walking, and now she was pretty lost, so she turned around and started back the way she had come until she found herself in a familiar looking area. A door nearby had splashing sounds coming from it, so she looked inside and saw what she expected; Hayley, Len and Buizel inside. She nodded and turned left, and soon found herself back at the infirmary. She quickly entered and scooted around, searching the draws and cupboards until she found a stock of Oran Berries. She made to pick one out, then paused. How on earth was she supposed to take a berry back to Shierk if she needed all four paws to walk? Again she wished that she could be bipedal; it seemed to be a lot easier. In any case, this meant there was only one thing she could do...
Rani sifted through the berries until she found one that had a rather long stalk attached, and gently picked it up by said stalk in her teeth; it was the only way. She made to close the door, but then a thought popped into her head. She quickly grabbed another Oran Berry and placed it in the thick fur under her neck. After all, she couldn't hold both berries with her teeth. She would give the other berry a wash later on.

Having grabbed the berries, Rani shut the drawer and padded out of the room, ready to try and leave the building without getting lost this time.
 
Even from where she was standing, farther away as Mack had suggested, Rokan heard Shierk calling her. Her good ear flicked back towards the sound as she debated how she wanted to respond. She could ignore him and pretend she hadn't heard him, though her ear had given her away. She could shake her head and motion towards the fight, letting him know she was watching for foul play, and that he should come there. But in the end her last instinct won over and she flashed an apologetic look at Mack as she turned and sauntered back.

"What is it, Shierk?"

Her voice was surprisingly warm, despite the cool front she'd intended to place. She supposed she couldn't be that cold for that long.
 
Shierk stared at Rokan, the image from his nightmare flashing before his eyes. The injured Ninetales. Rokan. "Um yeaa, Remember the nightmare? You were in it." Shierk stared at her carefully as he sat down again. "I guess I should start from the beginning huh?" Shierk vaguely wondered where Rani was as he explained the nightmare to Rokan. He told her every little detail, The voice, his emotional breakdown, his worries about his friend Kreel and the scene with the electivire. He kept his face serious the whole time. "Rokan I honestly don't get most of the dream. The parts when my body was covered with fire, I still don't get that. I thought I felt something on my face when the first part of it came in, and I heard Rani's voice during the second wave. Did you two try to wake me up from that?" Shierk stared intensely at Rokan waiting for an answer.
 
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Rani cocked her head slightly as she walked outside, then sighed, smiling exasperatedly. Well, had she really expected Shierk to stay still?
Actually, she had, more fool her. Still, it didn't matter. She would rather he was feeling good enough to be up and about than feeling so bad he couldn't move. She attempted to call his name, but she still had her mouth closed, so it came out as a barely audible grunt. She shook her head and crept out, realising he had been too busy talking to Rokan to notice her. She slowly walked around the back of the tree, and snuck up behind him. She leaned close.
"BOO!" she grunted, before nudging his arm and looking pointedly down at the Oran Berry that she held by the stalk in her mouth.
 
Then Rani came up behind him. "AAAH! Jeez Rani! Don't do that." Shierk took the Oran berry and bit into it, gesturing towards Rokan. "I was telling Rokan about the y'know, the Nightmare." Shierk held his hand over his chest, waiting for his heart to slow done enough. "I was waiting for her to reply when you scared the sparks out of me."
 
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Rani exclaimed after Shierk had taken the berry. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything important!"
Goodness, what must have Shierk and Rokan thought of her then? She had blatantly interrupted their conversation! It was odd, she was acting so out of character... But it felt good. The rush of scaring Shierk – it was something she'd never experienced before. Her heart was beating quickly, the adrenaline was running around her body... No wonder he and Kreep had wanted to tickle her; this was pretty fun stuff! Rani vaguely wondered what it would be like if she started to tickle Shierk, but dismissed the thought from her head almost instantly. Being tickled was horrible; she wouldn't do it to anyone else.

Rani sat down beside Shierk and looked at him and Rokan apologetically. Well, at least Shierk was eating the berry. The sounds of a fight made their way to Rani's ears and she looked over to where Kreep and Max were fighting. She needed to talk to Kreep, as much as she was afraid to. There was nothing for her to be afraid of, since she had managed to learn a Fire Type move... But perhaps she was scared to use it against him. She didn't want to cause unnecessary pain or suffering, and she didn't want to have to use any moves in self-defence unless they were in a real battle. Perhaps she would battle him again. In a proper battle, with no dirty tricks like tickling.

Snapping herself back to the present, Rani looked at Rokan to wait for her reply to Shierk's nightmare. She had a few theories, but they could wait; if Rokan was about to talk, Rani didn't want to interrupt her again.
 
Rokan listened critically, still a little hurt by the ease with which Shierk's attention would stray to Rani if she was in the picture. She had opened her mouth to explain about the fire over his body when the canine herself literally barreled into the situation. She backed up a little bit, tails twitching in agitation though her face showed no signs of annoyance. All she could do was wait for Rani to settle herself down, as there would be no sense answering when there was a high risk of her being overshadowed once again.

When it was clear she was going to let Rokan speak she did. "I'm afraid the fire was of my doing," she admitted. "You were beginning to scare me, so I Embered. Needless to say it was not very effective."
 
Mack part-noticed that Rani, Rokan, and Shierk were chatting in the distance, probably about the bone-chilling event from earlier. It would like to find out the details, but it felt that watching the battle was more necessary now. Seriously, it would hate to leave and find that another disaster happens.
So far the battle seemed to go well, yet a pretty long time as well. Sometime they should be off on their mission, which Mack could tell would be an ominous one.
 
"Oh." Shierk nodded that would definitely explain the fire. "Rokan what do you think the voice meant? And the Electivire?" Shierk stared at Rokan and then at Rani. He would need both of them to figure it out.
 
Rokan gave her mind ample time to process the details. She was often good at problem solving and had a particular interest in interpreting dreams, though she was by no means a professional.

"Perhaps the Electivire symbolized yourself," she suggested. "Especially since it's your final evolutionary stage. I'm not sure what the voice means. There's every chance that your subconscious fears Darkrai interfering in your dreams, and therefore integrated a disembodied voice, a phantom you couldn't fight. Perhaps you fear that which you cannot see?"
 
Rani could tell that Rokan was not best pleased with her. Well, why should she be pleased with her? Rani had been the cause of many an interruption during moments that Rokan and Shierk were together... Of course, it hadn't been her fault that Shierk had decided to stop his battle with Rokan and interrupt Kreep's attack, but just then she had been downright rude...
After listening to Rokan's suggestions about what the dream meant, she suggested:
"Maybe because of what happened with your friend and your father, you're worried about getting close to others in case something happens to them, too. Maybe that Electivire hurting Rokan and me was there because... Well, because we've started to develop a friendship here, and you have subconscious fears that something bad will happen."
She had been looking at the ground, still ashamed of the atrocity of her interruption, but now she looked up at Shierk. She hoped her suggestions hadn't been foolish.
 
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As Len and Haley kept shooting targets, They eventually got the hang of their moves and Haley was able to learn water gun. However Len still had trouble with getting bubblebeam to work well for him. "There has to be something I'm doing wrong..." Len thought to himself. "Hey Haley, I think we've practiced enough. Lets see what every ones doing outside. You can join us if you want Alexei."

As the two walked outside, They saw Rani, Rokan, And shierk were having some sort of conversation, Along with Max and Kreep having a battle. "Geez, I think we missed a bit too much." Len was interested to get information on what happened while they were inside, But everybody seemed to be busy. There was a lone Magnemite though that didn't seem to busy... So Len curiously asked it.

"Hi.. Mack right?", We just came out of the target range.. Did something happen out here? I heard a lot of noise coming from out here..."
 
"It's nice to see you out here." Mack was glad to see others joining them outside.
"Well, I'm not positive of what happened in the beginning (I wasn't there), but what I saw was..." Mack explained to the Poliwag, who was named Len, about Kreep and Rokan having a short battle, until it was interrupted by Shierk. It explained that Shierk seemed to have a horrifying vision and was starting to moan in his sleep.
"Right now, Max and Kreep are having a battle now, Rokan, Rani, and Shierk I believe are discussing over the incident, and I am keeping watch of the battle as referee." What a long story Mack told. It wasn't quite sure if it got everything straight, but it was sure Len understood what happened.
"What brings you out here?" Mack asked. It was in the mood for having company.
 
"Oh us?" Len replyed. "It was getting lonely inside. And I was pretty interested on what was happening outside... so shierk was dreaming..." Len didn't want to believe that Darkari knew who his enemies were. It was far too soon for that to happen. It could have been his own subconscious after all.

"Hmm... Well thanks for filling me in." Len sat down and spectated the battle Kreep and max were having. "So, A battle huh? Mind having another referee?"
 
"I don't mind." Mack responded. "Rokan was originally going to be a referee also, but Shierk needed to confer with her." Mack never noticed it until now that ever since it was asked to join the team, it was getting easier to talk to others. During its youthful days, no one really appreciated a prodigy and never bothered socializing with one. But everyone here doesn't seem to mind it...so far that is.
"Is Alexei still in the building?" It briefly asked. Even if Alexei is an unpredictable type, Mack might as well get used to it; he will be joining them on the adventure.
 
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