I've been putting this off for a long time. Lenny vs Windra is the one battle I was not looking forward to writing. If Lenny won, I'd have to find some way to make a completely one-sided fight interesting; if Windra won, I'd have to jump through so many hoops to make the battle believable that I put it off for as long as I possibly could before I decided I need to just suck it up and get through this awful battle so I could move on with the story.
With that said, I think that the battle turned out... pretty well, all things considered. It definitely could have gone worse.
Chapter 6 highlights:
- Chara freaks out
- Kyro gets some advice
- the notes are found - decisions are made
- Quayle and Eldan have a disagreement
- the Jewels have a heart to heart
- first full exhibition match of the story (that isn't just a one-turn ass-reaming) takes place
- Lenny and Windra have their match
- it's friggin dope
This chapter currenly holds the record for longest chapter, beating out chapter 5 by just over 1000 words. Next up is Jethro vs Kyro, which I know Firo has been dying to read and I've been dying to write. I haven't rolled the winner yet, but I imagine I'll try and get things started sometime within the next few days. As you can see from the highlights, lots of stuff goes on in this chapter. It's a beast, but every word is worth it, I promise.
Word count: 18,208
Chapter 6: Risk Versus Reward
"Okay, explain it to me again," Taikyu said, grabbing a notebook and pencil. Taikyu had taken the young girl into his room for some privacy, and he wanted to make sure to take notes so he could relay them to his brothers. "You took control, and then what happened?"
Frisk sighed, slightly annoyed at having to explain herself again. "
I told you, old man, I won the fight. After that I tried telling Frisk that I won, but she wasn't there."
Taikyu nodded, writing down the words as she spoke. "You said it was as if she was never there. That isn't normal for when you take over?"
"
No, it's not," Frisk replied, pacing. "
Whenever I hijack her body, she's always struggling against me, trying to shove me back in. Always. Even at my strongest, I can always feel her nagging me."
"Did you feel her during the battle?" Taikyu asked.
Frisk paused, trying to think back. "
I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention to her. She'd messed up the battle pretty bad. Once I came out, winning was the only thing on my mind."
Taikyu nodded again, frantically trying to keep up with Frisk as she talked. He looked at his notes, idly chewing on the end of his pencil as he considered them. "Was there anything else strange that you noticed?"
"
No, not really... no, wait, yeah! When she let me take over. That was weird."
Taikyu leaned forward, his interest piqued once again. "What happened?"
"
So you know how I told you that Frisk never lets me out, right?" At Taikyu's nod of confirmation, she continued. "
I've always had to force myself in. But during the battle, when she let me take control, I didn't have to try at all. It was weird."
"That could be a factor," Taikyu said, adding this revelation to his notes. "Anything else?"
"
No, that's it. I'm kinda freaking out, old man. What am I supposed to do? I'm not Frisk and I sure as shit can't act like her."
"You look like her. That's good enough for now. Do you two share memories?"
"
Only since we joined. It's like Frisk is a car. When I died, I became a passenger in the Friskmobile. Everything she sees, everything she does, I experience it, too. The only difference is that since she's behind the wheel, she controls what we do, where we go, everything."
"That's what I figured," Taikyu said as he set the notebook on his desk. He rubbed his eyes, stifling a yawn. "I'm going to explain this to my brothers in Johto. They've all experienced a fascination with you, you know. I have no doubt that they'll be able to provide some fresh insight into your situation. In the meantime, Chara, just enjoy yourself, but do this old man a favor and please don't overdo it."
"
What are you talking about?"
"I mean you look and sound exactly like Frisk. Whatever you do, people are going to assume it's her. All I'm asking is that you dial back your usual behavior, at least until we have this sorted out and we find out exactly what happened to her. That means no cursing and no pranks."
"
No fun is more like it," Frisk whined, crossing her arms in complaint. "
What am I supposed to do instead?"
"Be a normal child," Taikyu offered. "You said that Frisk doesn't let you feel the sun. There's some time until dinner. Why don't you step outside and do that? Nothing like fresh air to calm one's nerves."
Frisk rocked on her heels. "
Yeah, maybe. Hey, old man. Would you... join me? Outside. I mean, I'm totally capable of going myself, but, uh... you're so old and all, I figure you could use the fresh air, too. And it's not because I'm lonely without Frisk or anything, so don't get any ideas."
Taikyu smiled warmly at the troubled lad. Figuring that this was the closest he'd ever get to Chara admitting he was worried, he nodded. "It would be my pleasure, Chara. Shall we go?"
The two competitors left Taikyu's room and headed upstairs to the main entrance to Indigo Plateau, which was still bustling with people trying to leave. Immediately, several eyes were on Taikyu, his massive height and dark complexion providing a stark contrast to the majority of the spectators present. One person noticed Frisk with him, and shouted, "Congratulations, Frisk!" This in turn caused others to spot Frisk and cheer, offering up their own congratulations. Within minutes, Frisk and Taikyu were swarmed by fans and received a barrage of questions and comments that was impossible for either of them to keep up with. Most wanted autographs or pictures, but there were some oddities, too, like the person who wanted to buy a lock of Frisk's hair.
"Please, everyone, give her some room," Taikyu pleaded, but the request fell on deaf ears as the fans continued to harass them. One of them rushed in with a phone, intent on taking a photo with Frisk whether she liked it or not. He tripped over his own feet and crashed into Taikyu, sending the two of them tumbling to the ground.
"
Old man!" Frisk yelled, staring in horror as the would-be photographer landed squarely on top of Taikyu. "
Bastard, get off him! I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!" Frisk was on the man in moments, desperately trying to push him off, but she was far too weak to do so herself.
Fortunately for Frisk, she didn't have to; the man scrambled to his feet, spouting out a hundred apologies. "I'm so sorry, Taikyu! I just wanted a picture and--" The rest of that sentence would never come; the man was reduced to a silent, quivering mess as Frisk brought back a leg and kicked him in the groin as hard as she could.
"
You dumb ass! That's for Taikyu!" Frisk knelt down to Taikyu, who still hadn't gotten up. "
Old man, are you okay? You need some help?" She looked up to the crowd. Some had dispersed, some had gone to the photographer's assistance, and some had their phones out, recording the entire thing. "
You idiots! He needs help! Someone get a doctor or something!"
Frisk could hear some people shouting for a medic, but most people simply stayed put with their phones out. She turned her attention back to Taikyu, who had managed to pull himself to a sitting position. "
Old man! You all right?"
"I believe so, Chara. Thank you for asking. I'd still like to see a doctor, just in case." Taikyu coughed, and Frisk was filled with equal parts relief and rage because the stupid medic should have been here by now. What the hell was going on?
Almost on cue, the medic did arrive; along with them were two security guards, their Pokemon - a Mienshao for one and a Weavile for the other - and Safiri. Most people put their phones down and backed away, giving the group a wide berth, but a few brave souls kept the cameras rolling in secret.
"What is going on here?" Safiri inquired, making her way to the front of the crowd. Spotting Frisk and Taikyu, her look changed from confusion to alarm. Reaching down, she yanked Frisk to her feet and pulled her aside. "What are you two doing up here? Didn't Ruby tell you that competitors aren't--"
"
Who cares?! Taikyu needs help!" Frisk pointed to Taikyu, who the medic went to attend to. Frisk glared daggers at Safiri. "
And what kind of stupid-ass rule is that anyway? You've got us all trapped like rats down there. We can't even go outside?!"
This can't be happening, Safiri thought as she picked up on some of the murmurs of the crowd. When word of this incident got out, it would surely reflect poorly on Diamant Industries. She knew at least one person in the crowd had to have been recording, so she'd have to do her best to do damage control and de-escalate the situation. "You are allowed to go outside, Miss Achra, but you and Mr. Taikyu are celebrities here. We limit the places you can go for your own safety, and--"
"
We have Pokemon, genius! They protect us! Gah, how stupid are you?!"
Safiri stared into the little girl's eyes, irises flaring bright red, and was struck speechless at the sight.
What in the world? Is she... no, that can't be. "Miss Achra, everyone has Pokemon. But your safety is of the utmost importance to us. That's why the rules are in place."
"She is right," Taikyu said, putting an arm on Frisk's shoulder.
Frisk whirled around to come face to face with Taikyu's chest. "
Old man! Holy shit, you're tall." She backed away a little so she could look him in the eyes. "
Are you okay?"
Taikyu smiled, gesturing to the doctor. "According to this nice young lady, I'll be fine. Just had a bad tumble, that's all. I'm sorry I made you worry."
"I'm glad to hear it," Safiri said, making another note on her clipboard. "You'll both need to follow me to my office to file an incident report. Not negotiable," she added when Frisk objected. The three of them headed off to do that and, with the show over, the crowd finally started to disperse, leaving the medic to handle the guy Frisk kicked.
* * * * * * * * *
After the battle between Frisk and Scarlet, most of the competitors left to do their own thing while Tsomu and the chefs were preparing lunch. Rose, Kiria, and Windra all consoled Scarlet after she returned, despite her insistence that she didn't need to be consoled and wasn't all that upset about the loss. Eldan, Nye, Quayle, and Cody sat at another table, naturally chatting about the battle, and Frisk's miraculous comeback. Lenny and Thresher sat at a table closer to the exit, wondering more about why Frisk suddenly grabbed Taikyu and left.
With his battle quickly approaching, Jethro decided to get in some last-minute training in, and started to leave before Kyro sprung from his chair and stopped him. "Mr. Jethro?" he asked, pulling on the older man's shirt.
Jethro turned to face the young man. "Huh? Oh, hey, Kyro. You lookin' forward to our match tomorrow?"
Kyro nodded, but it wasn't nearly as enthusiastically as Jethro figured it would have been. "Yep. Where are you going?"
"Do some training," he said simply. "I figure I got a little time before lunch, and I need to make sure my team is the best they can be so they don't get their butts handed to 'em by your Archeops."
"I was hoping you'd say that!" Kyro exclaimed, the spark bright in his eyes again. "I was thinking the same thing. Would you practice with me, please?"
An uneasy look crept across Jethro's face. "Eh, sorry, kid, not this time. This is somethin' we gotta do by ourselves. I'm sure one of these other guys would be willing to help," he offered with a smile, gesturing towards Lenny and Thresher. "Catch you later." With a wave, he turned and left, leaving a dejected Kyro behind.
He sat at the table with the two men, looking more troubled than either would have expected after being turned down.
"You all right, son?" Lenny asked, figuring Kyro was waiting for someone to ask.
"I think this is the first time I've seen ye frown since we got here, lad," Thresher noted. "Are ye that saddened by him not sparrin' with ye?"
Kyro shook his head, his icy blue bangs dancing around his eyes. "No, Mr. Thresher, I'm not sad, I'm nervous."
"Aye, and it's a perfectly normal reaction, I think! I was nervous before my battle." He turned to Lenny. "Ye nervous at all 'bout your match?"
"Hell yes," he answered simply, and it was the truth.
Kyro tilted his head slightly, confused by Lenny's answer. "You don't look nervous, Mr. Lenny."
"Well, that's probably because my match isn't until later, but it's also because I need to be strong for my Pokemon."
Kyro nodded, considering this, but then added: "I don't really understand."
"I think what he means," interjected Thresher, "is that ye can't let yer nerves get the best of ye. Yer Pokemon are countin' on ye to lead them into battle. If ye look unsure, yer gonna make yer Pokemon unsure, too. Do I have it about right, Lenny?"
Lenny grunted an affirmative, nodding. Kyro did the same, mimicking him. "I don't want my Pokemon to feel nervous, but... Mr. Jethro's Pokemon are so sure of themselves that they don't even need to wait for him to tell them what to do...they just do it. Is his bond with his Pokemon that much stronger than mine? I was hoping I could practice with him some more, and maybe learn how he does it." He looked to Thresher. "You won your match against Mr. Taikyu. Did you ever stop being nervous during your fight?"
Thresher thought for a moment. The truth was, no, he
didn't stop being nervous. Watching Taikyu's Necrozma rip off its own arm as if it were nothing, using Ferrothorn's Stealth Rock against him as it nearly took him out in one hit, seeing Taikyu's Drampa actually leap off the ground and
fly, wondering if Corsola would be able to survive an attack that at any other time would have turned her into a streak on the pavement - Taikyu had had him on the edge for the entire battle. The question, then, was simple. What to tell Kyro? On the one hand, he could lie. He could make something up and he doubted either person at the table would doubt him; even if Lenny suspected something, Thresher didn't think he'd call him out on it in front of Kyro. Telling Kyro the truth might be the honest thing to do, but it probably wouldn't make him feel any better.
Might make him feel more nervous, he thought.
In the end, Thresher decided on the truth. The fact of the matter was, the boy was coming to him for advice, and his father would roll in his grave if he knew he'd deliberately misled a child, no matter the reason. "No, lad, I didn't," he finally answered. "Taikyu is an incredibly strong trainer, and he did a great job of keeping me on my toes. I was constantly wondering if I was gonna make it. But," he said, pointing a finger at Kyro to draw him out after he'd begun slumping in his chair, "Not once did I let my Pokemon see my fear. I believed in them, and they went above and beyond for me - all of them. And it brought me a hard-earned victory that I'm thankful I won't have to repeat."
"Only gonna get harder from here on out," Lenny stated.
"Ah, come now, no need to give the poor guy anything else to worry about," Thresher said with a laugh, putting a hand on Kyro's shoulder. "Listen, lad. Feelin' nervous is completely natural. Yer still a boy and yev got a lot of growin' up ta do, so don't think of yerself as any less a trainer than any of us. As I told Taikyu before our battle, we're
all champions. Me, Lenny, that horse's arse Alex," he said, gesturing discreetly towards him, causing Kyro to smile, "and
you, my friend. Think of how hard ye had ta work ta get to this point. Twasn't just luck got ye this far - it's believin' in yer Pokemon's strength, believin' in 'em when things seem like they're at their absolute worst, that gives them the push they need to turn things around. I haven't heard much about you, boy, but what I have learned? I'd be nervous fightin' against ye."
Kyro went wide-eyed at this. "Really? What for? I'm just a kid!"
"Aye, that's exactly it!" Thresher laughed again, causing Kyro to stare dumbly at the two men. He glanced over at Lenny for assistance, but Lenny simply shrugged. "Think about it. How old are ye, ten? Eleven?"
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Kyro shook his head. "I just turned nine last month."
Now it was Thresher's turn to go wide-eyed. "Christ above, you
just turned
nine? That means that you... you won the... qualifying tournament..."
"At eight years old," Lenny finished, duly impressed. "Pretty remarkable, kid."
"I don't get it," Kyro said, confused again. "You just said that we all did it. What's so great about that?"
"Lad, when I was nine years old, I could barely clean my own fish, let alone win a tournament of over a thousand people. Look around, boy. I'm nearly three times your age, and Lenny's like three times my age."
"Hey, what? Now hold on," Lenny interrupted him.
Thresher paid him no mind. "Some of the ladies are closer to yer age, but they're still a lot older than you. I wouldn't be surprised if ye were the youngest person to ever set foot here, Kyro. We all are champions, true, but no one became one as fast as you did. To have that much talent at yer age is unbelievable, ta say the least, and ye know what? I bet Jethro knows that, too. Ye ask me, I think he's more nervous than you are."
"Because I beat him the other day? That was just practice," Kyro countered.
"Aye, it was, but it wasn't
just practice. It was a way for him to see what ye were capable of, and ye floored both him and his Pokemon, if his account of it is true. Ye took a Pokemon that rightfully should have lost and mopped him up with it. That would make anyone nervous. And he's the one that's gotta fight against ye. I don't envy him at all."
Kyro simply stared, shocked by this revelation. "Wow, Mr. Thresher. I never thought of it like that."
"I'm glad I could help ye, lad," Thresher said, rising from the table. "Now, don't go restin' on your laurels. If you wanna get some practice in today, I'd be happy to go a round with ye after we watch ol' Lenny here lose to a wee lass," he said, playfully elbowing Lenny in the shoulder. "Whadaya say ta that?"
Kyro exploded out of his seat, his mood improved and his usual infectious smile back full force. "You bet! That sounds great! Thanks, Mr. Thresher! And good luck with your match today, Mr. Lenny!"
"Thanks, kid," Lenny said as Kyro ran out of the cafeteria.
A few tables down, the four ladies had moved on in their conversations to more pleasant topics than Scarlet's narrow defeat. Not feeling particularly hungry, Rose excused herself from the table, intent on taking a nap before dinner. To Windra's and Kiria's surprise, Scarlet seemed more than happy to see her go; the two shared a questioning look, but didn't say anything.
Unbeknownst to any of the other ladies at the table, Rose was a little hurt at Scarlet's behavior. She wasn't expecting Scarlet to invite herself into her room, of course, but at least she could have acted like she wanted her to stay. She thought about this as she left, not noticing the note hastily fastened to Windra's door.
It was clear to Rose that the junior Ranger had a crush on her. She'd known since the very first day - Scarlet had done a very poor job of hiding her feelings. She smiled to herself as she recalled the way Scarlet tripped over herself trying to save face. And yet, Rose thought, this also was not new to her. There were many Rangers who came before Scarlet who'd learned the things she'd done and reacted much the same way Scarlet did: lots and lots of flattery. Rose didn't think she was exceptionally pretty, but that didn't stop everyone else from telling her what they thought of her. Every time they saw her, it was variations of the same old compliments telling her how pretty and talented she was.
And here, Rose thought, smiling again, Scarlet was different. She was starstruck the same as everyone else was when they first met Rose, but she hadn't acted weird about it since the first meeting in the cafeteria. Scarlet treated her like a friend instead of a celebrity, and it was something Rose greatly appreciated. When she met Scarlet's Shaymin on the first night, she ended up staying far longer than she had planned. While it had been fascinating, from a purely scientific standpoint, to meet a Shaymin in the flesh, Rose had found it more fascinating that Scarlet never once put her on a pedestal. It wasn't Ranger Bersalk, Rank 10, and Ranger Jung, Rank 4; just two girls enjoying each other's company, shooting the breeze and discussing their dreams.
She wasn't surprised when Lucario suggested she might feel something for Scarlet, but she still kept silent about the subject. Truthfully, she was afraid of making things awkward with the younger Ranger; it was entirely possible that the reason that Scarlet hadn't continued gushing over her is because she wasn't attracted to her in that way. Rose wouldn't forgive herself if she ruined a perfectly good friendship over something as silly as feelings.
Still, thinking of Scarlet made her smile, and by the time she reached her door, she was positively beaming. She noticed the paper stuck to her door, and carefully peeled it off. "Um, gross," she said aloud as she noticed the material with which it was stuck, but her smile didn't start to fade until she read the words on the paper.
"No way," she croaked, her voice barely above a whisper. She couldn't believe what she was reading. How could she have read Scarlet so terribly? Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Lenny coming out of the cafeteria, so she quickly swiped her way into her room and locked the door. Desperate for someone to talk to, she took a ball from her belt and let its occupant out. "Lucario," she cried, throwing her arms around him. "I was right, Lucario."
(About what?) came the confused Pokemon's reply. Rose handed Lucario the paper and threw herself face down on the bed, screaming her frustration into her pillow. Lucario looked the paper over, then growled.
(This is what has you upset?)
"Yes!" Rose shrieked into the bed.
(Then I hate this thing! But, er... you know I can't read it, right?) Rose inhaled, then let out a long breath. She turned over, facing the ceiling, and dictated the note to him.
(Oh. I'm, uh... sorry.)
"I blew it, Lucario," she said, shaking her head. "I pushed her too far, and now she's mad at me. What do I do now?"
(Nothing, babe. You can do better than that bitch anyway.)
Rose shot up instantly, leaping to her feet. "Scarlet is
not a bitch! How could you say such a thing?!"
Lucario held up his paws in concession.
(Whoa, okay, sorry! I just thought it was what you wanted to hear! I'm no good at this sort of thing, okay?)
Rose sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed. "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you. I just... gosh, Lucario, maybe you were right. I mean, look at me. I yelled at you, and I feel like I could cry at any minute. I shouldn't be feeling this way for a girl I met only three days ago."
Lucario stared dumbly at her, completely unaware of what the right thing to say was.
(Why?) he finally asked.
"Because it's not normal! She just wanted to be my friend, Lucario, and I got so caught up in how special I felt around her that I forced her in a corner. She couldn't even tell me this in person! That's how uncomfortable she is around me now. No wonder she wanted me to leave the cafeteria," she finished, and wiped away a treasonous tear that had formed in the side of her eye. "I'm ashamed of myself. How can I ever make it up to her?"
Lucario started a reply, but reconsidered. Eventually, he simply shrugged.
(Babe, I have no idea.) When her face fell even further at this candid admission, he switched tactics.
(Okay, okay, um... all right, say you did something and made me mad at you. How would you make it up to me?)
Rose chuckled. "I'd cook you up your favorite treats, for starters. Then I'd give you a nice hot bath, and use that scented shampoo you like that makes your fur super soft. Then after we were done I'd push you onto my bed and -"
(Okay, maybe that wasn't the best example,) Lucario conceded.
(But do continue. What would you do next?) he said, grinning lasciviously.
"Down, boy," Rose scolded him. "I know you meant well." She sighed forlornly. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be."
(Come on, don't say that,) Lucario stated, taking a seat next to her on the bed. For a few moments, the two said nothing, and this bothered Lucario immensely. He hated seeing his master and friend so down.
(Why don't you fight for her?) he finally offered.
"That wouldn't be right," Rose said simply. "She said in her note that her heart belongs to another. I wouldn't want to come between them."
(Does she make you happy?)
"Yes," came Rose's immediate response. "She does. I like being near her. I want to get to know her better. We had such a great time Monday night."
(Then fight for her!) Lucario yelled through their bond, rising to his feet.
(That's what I'd do. If I were in your shoes, I would fight and fight and keep fighting as long as I had breath in my body. I'd march right over there and tell her how I felt, and I wouldn't leave until I'd said everything I wanted to say.) Rose was shocked at this sudden outburst, unsure of what to say to that, and he continued.
(sI want you to be happy. With a human,) he amended when Rose looked hurt at his implication.
(You know Gardevoir and I both love you very much, but you need human companionship. We both want to see you happy.)
"I am happy!" she yelled back at him, meeting his gaze. "You two mean the world to me. If Scarlet doesn't want to be with me, that's fine, I don't care! I don't need her, just like I don't need you telling me to abandon you two just because of what you are!"
(Rose, you--)
"Let me finish!" she cut him off sharply, tears coming to the surface. "I won't stand here and let you suggest that you're somehow beneath me because you're a Pokemon. You're loyal, and caring, and courageous, and I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for you. I don't care what anyone else says! I'm not going to let anyone else tell me how I feel! I
love you, Lucario, do you understand that? Both of you! I--"
Lucario swiftly closed the distance between them and covered Rose's mouth with a paw.
(Rose, stop yelling! Someone might hear you!)
Rose's eyes went wide with terror as she realized he was right. She dashed to the door and flung it open, only to find an empty hallway, but she still felt nervous. True, no one was there, but if either Frisk or Cody were in their rooms... there's no way they wouldn't have heard her outburst. She quietly closed herself in her room again, her mind racing as she imagined worse and worse scenarios of being found out.
Fate had been kind to Rose in this instance. At the time of her damning declaration, no one had been around to hear it, but she would be foolish to think that fate would show her kindness every time.
Her good fortune would not last forever.
(You have to be more careful, babe,) Lucario said, gently wiping Rose's tears away.
(I don't have to tell you what will happen if you get caught.)
"I know," Rose said, her voice barely above a whisper. Clearing her throat, she said, "I'll tell everyone someday. But it'll be on my terms."
(What if it isn't?) he asked, gesturing to either side of the wall.
"Then I'll fight," she answered, taking his paws into her hands. "No one will ever keep you two from me. They'll have to kill me first." She sighed. "I like Scarlet. She's nice, a really talented Ranger, and she doesn't act like I'm some sort of goddess all the time. Do I have feelings for her?" She shrugged. "Don't know. I was looking forward to maybe exploring that path, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. We just met at the wrong time in our lives, that's all," she finished, forcing a smile onto her face.
(At least tell her how you feel,) Lucario pleaded.
(Just like you did with us, remember?)
Rose nodded, recalling the memory. "You were both really surprised."
(And grateful,) he added.
(We could tell you were fighting with your feelings, so when you finally came clean to us, it was such a relief. Your demeanor changed. It was like a weight had been lifted from your shoulders, and we both noticed it.)
"Yeah, but this isn't exactly the same. Scarlet's human. I wasn't raised to question being attracted to humans." She considered Lucario's suggestion. "Maybe I'll tell her someday, but now isn't a good time. It's clear she's trying to distance herself from me, and I don't want to upset her any further. I want to show her that I'm mature enough to handle rejection, and respect what her heart feels." As if in agreement, her stomach growled audibly. "I guess all those emotions made me hungry after all... I'm going to get some lunch. Do you want me to bring you something?"
Lucario smiled, extracting himself from his master.
(Nah, I'm good. Thanks, babe.)
* * * * * * * * *
Lunch was cheerful, mostly. Taikyu recounted his adventures with Frisk, and was touched by the amount of concern the other competitors had for him when they learned what had happened. Chara, still unsure how to handle Frisk's body when he
wasn't trying to embarrass her, stayed mostly silent. Rose rejoined the women from earlier, and was surprised to see that Nye had joined them; she was not surprised when she learned that Windra had all but dragged her to the table.
Eldan, Quayle, and Cody took this opportunity to chat about the table full of women. "So," Eldan began, "who's the cutest, boys? My pick is Nye, obviously."
"Didn't Nye say you weren't allowed to talk about stuff like this?" Quayle asked, not looking up from his food.
"There's nothing inappropriate about it," Eldan insisted. "I just want to know who you guys like, that's all."
"Still, should we really be having this conversation?" Cody asked in a hushed tone, leaning forward and glancing around as if they were doing something illicit. "What if they hear us?"
"I don't think that's going to be a problem," Eldan said as loud cackles of laughter were heard from the table. "They're not paying any attention to us, Lenny's got the TV going over there, we'll be fine. So, who's your pick?"
Cody retreated into his seat. "Um... well, I mean, Windra seems nice. She's been all over, yeah? I've only traveled through Alola. Well, the tournament I won was in Kalos, but I didn't get out much. Anyway, I'd love to hear stories about the places she's been. I bet she's met all sorts of interesting people."
Eldan raised an eyebrow. "Really? Eh, I guess. Definitely not my cup of tea, but to each his own. What about you, Broody McDarko?" he asked, turning to Quayle. "You gonna pick Nye too?"
Quayle continued to eat, ignoring Eldan's obvious attempt at getting under his skin. "Yes. Nye and I go way back."
"Really?" Cody jumped in. "I didn't know you guys knew each other."
Quayle nodded. "Yeah. We actually grew up in the same town, before it was destroyed. I don't know what she did after that, but we ended up meeting again years later, and we've been close friends ever since then."
"Do either of you know what 'cute' means?" Eldan asked, bored with their answers. "I'm asking you which one you find most attractive, not who you want to go on adventures with or whatever."
"What's wrong with that?" Quayle asked, a hint of anger in his voice. "Is the only thing you like about Nye the way she looks?"
Eldan opened his mouth to reply, but stopped short. His last statement wasn't even supposed to be bait, but it appeared that he'd struck a nerve with it all the same. The desire to bait Quayle further was strong, but with Cody watching, and with Nye herself a stone's throw away, Eldan decided to bite his tongue and instead answer honestly. "No. But of course, it's a part of it. I'm a man of style, boys. I like to keep up with the latest trends, know who's popular to wear and who's not. I like my women to be as stylish and beautiful as me, and Nye fits that. The two of us are more alike than she's willing to admit, you know."
"That's the most long-winded 'yes' answer I've ever heard," Quayle retorted. "Just save your breath next time."
"I don't expect someone like you to understand," Eldan shot back.
Quayle put his fork down, glaring death at the Team Flare member. "What is
that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Eldan said nonchalantly. "Just that you still look like a monkey dressed you, that's all."
"Hey, that's enough," Cody said, holding a hand between them. "We're all friends here, yeah?"
"Definitely not," Quayle spat, getting up from his chair. "I could never be friends with someone who can't see Nye for who she is and not what she wears."
Unintimidated, Eldan rose to meet his gaze, disgust dripping from every syllable of his reply. "And I could never be friends with His Royal Highness Edge Nightdoom, someone who stoops to despicable levels just to win a Pokemon battle, and look horrendous while doing it."
"I apologized for that!" Quayle yelled, slamming his hands on the table and gathering the attention of most of the other competitors.
Noticing exactly who was arguing, Nye got up from the table and threw herself between the two men before the conflict escalated further. "Stop it! What is going on?!"
"Nothing," both guys said simultaneously.
"Don't give me that! Listen to yourselves! If you insist on acting like children, I will treat you like children!"
"Everyone, please stop yelling," Alex quietly said into his plate, but no one paid any attention to him.
Since Nye was already facing Quayle, she started with him. "You need to control your temper. Don't let him trick you into getting angry. He purposefully says things like that so you get upset. That's what he wants. Understood?"
Quayle did not take his eyes off of Eldan, but he nodded. "Understood."
That wasn't good enough for Nye, who grabbed him by the chin and forced him to meet her gaze. "Make eye contact when a lady addresses you! Am I understood?"
"Yes!" Quayle batted Nye's hand away, holding his jaw as he looked her in the eye - apparently she'd grabbed him too forcefully. "I understand."
"And you," Nye continued, spinning around to face a snickering Eldan, "Quit harassing my friends!" She emphasized each word by poking him hard in the chest. "Who I choose to associate with is none of your business, Eldan. If you want any sort of relationship with me, you will treat my friends with respect. Quayle isn't perfect, but he's trying. Give him another chance, like I gave you one! Don't make me regret that decision!"
The entire cafeteria was quiet after this remark, the program on the television the only thing preventing silence from reigning supreme. Satisfied by shaming Eldan into blessed silence, she went back to her table and plopped into her chair. "I swear, those two will be the death of me," she lamented just as Jethro re-entered the cafeteria.
"Jethro! Where have you been?" Tsomu yelled, desperate for things to get back to normal. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
Confused, Jethro glanced at the clock. "Uh... twelve?"
"Exactly! Lunch was ready half an hour ago! Now eat up, it's almost gone!" Tsomu dragged a still-confused Jethro over to the tables of food, and conversation slowly started picking up again. Quayle and Eldan said nothing to each other, leaving an uncomfortable Cody to eat in silence. Eventually, Lenny and Windra were summoned to do battle and, with everyone wishing them luck, they left.
* * * * * * * * *
"Good afternoon, everyone! My name is Ruby Erthgrand, but you all knew that already! Say, everyone, I've got a burning question I need to ash you all. Are you all ready to see some action?! I lava good match and I'm just as anxious as you, so let's not waste any more time, shall we? Approaching the east platform is a man who didn't want me to make a big deal out of his introduction, but I'm doing it anyway! He's old, but he's hot, and what he lacks in youth he makes up in raw firepower! Will his opponent be able to take the heat, or will her light be extinguished? I want every single one of you to show some spicy Kanto love for your Slateport City champion, the man, the myth, the legend, the one, the only, Lennyyyyyyyyyyy Beckett!"
As Lenny took his position, the crowd gave Ruby what she asked for. He did his part and waved, acknowledging them but doing little else. He had a feeling Ruby was going to ignore his request for a simple introduction, but he didn't think she'd lay it on so thick.
No matter, he thought, his hand already on his first Poke Ball.
Sorry, kid, but this battle's mine.
"That's what I like to hear! Let's keep that applause going for his opponent, a well-traveled lass who makes her home in Unova! She's managed to visit every continent, likes bugs, and hates Quayle!"
From off stage, Windra giggled. She was hoping Ruby would say that on air.
"She's a simple girl with a simple mission: become grand champion! Let's see if she can make it happen today! Give it up for your Anistar City champion, Windra Wallace!"
Windra opened the door leading outside, and it made her realize how long it had been since she'd set foot outdoors. The crowd's cheers were secondary to her as she closed her eyes and spread her arms wide, feeling the warm summer breeze rush around her. The crowd, perceiving her movement as an acknowledgement of them, continued to show their support. Windra approached the platform, eyeing Lenny from across the field. She knew she was going to have to work for it, but she believed in her team, and herself.
This one's for you, Mom.
Once both players were in place, it was time to spin the wheel. Both players looked intently as the field was chosen, and once it was, Windra's heart sank. "It's the fire field! Surely not the battlefield Windra was hoping for. How will she handle this setback? We're about to find out!"
Esmeralda stepped forward as Ruby introduced her, and after she confirmed each contestant was ready, she said the magic words. "Trainers, release your Pokemon!"
"Chomper, go get 'em!"
"Go, Ninetales!"
Both Pokemon hit the field and, for a moment, most of the crowd was wondering if Lenny's Ninetales was gifted with its Hidden Ability, the way Eldan's was, and there were a few sounds of disappointment made when they learned that she was not. That didn't bother Lenny in the slightest, though he could admit that automatic sunny weather would save him time in battle.
Windra's mind went into Fire-type mode - basically, how she altered her game plan when up against Fire-type Pokemon. She knew Lenny used
some Fire-type Pokemon, but wasn't sure
which, and it didn't occur to her until just now that perhaps asking him about his team might have actually yielded results. Would Lenny have been as forthcoming as Cody was?
Too late now, she thought. She chose to lead with Chomper for a few reasons, not the least of which was that her usual go-to, Tyeaf, would be virtually useless unless she managed to get a lucky Spore off. Her plan was simple: weaken his Pokemon with Chomper so that Tyeaf could put them to sleep and finish them off, using Archeidon as an anchor in case things got messy. Chomper was nothing if not quick, and Lenny's Ninetales looked a little chubby around the midsection, so Windra liked the position she was in.
Now she just had to keep it. "Chomper, use Thunder!"
"And right off the bat, Windra's ordered her Chomper to use Thunder!" Ruby's shocked voice rang through the stadium, to swells of cheers. "Looks like she's planning on ending this quickly, folks!"
"Ah, you're a girl after my own heart," Lenny said, smiling. "Ninetales, use Sunny Day! If you have time to dodge afterwards, do it, but get that sun shining first!"
Ninetales looked to the sky and howled, the sun-shaped rock strung around her neck glowing bright as she did so. As the clouds over the arena parted, allowing the hot afternoon sun to shine unobstructed on the battlefield, Chomper raised his paws and tail skyward, the bright sun cutting through his storm clouds, making aiming difficult. When he believed he had his bearings, he fired, dropping an enormous bolt onto Ninetales, who made absolutely no attempt to dodge it. The attack struck her dead on, and she collapsed to the ground. Gritting her teeth, Ninetales struggled to get back to her feet, in far more pain than she thought she would have been in. It wasn't like she expected it to tickle, but she felt like she'd been hit with two attacks at once. With a silent apology to her master, she fell down again, unable to do anything more.
Esmeralda made Chomper's win official, and Ruby went nuts. "And Ninetales goes down in a single hit! Ladies and gentlemen, this match hasn't been going on for more than a minute and Lenny has already lost his first Pokemon! Is Windra on her way to breaking the speed queen's record? We could be seeing history in the making, folks!"
Windra was overjoyed. That was some attack! She hadn't expected it to hit once Lenny started messing with the weather, but not only did Chomper hit Ninetales dead on, he took her out in one attack! "Hell yeah! Great job, Chomper! Two more of those and we'll be on our way to the next round!"
She was brought back down to earth by Lenny, who recalled his Pokemon and didn't appear worried in the slightest. "Don't get cocky, kid. I'm just getting started. Ninetales's job was to set up the weather, and she did that. I wasn't planning on losing her after one attack, but it makes no difference. If she wouldn't have fainted, I would have just switched her out. Your Chomper won't be able to handle what's coming next." And then he said the two words that she had hoped she would never hear come from her opponent's mouth. "Go, Camerupt!"
Camerupt emerged onto the field to cheers, and Windra stared into the eyes of her worst nightmare.
Of course he has a Camerupt, she realized, again, far too late.
He's from a town next to a volcano and a crapload of Fire Pokemon. Why am I surprised? With this, all of Windra's carefully laid plans went right out the window. Chomper was completely useless here, and Tyeaf wouldn't stand a chance. It was Archeidon or bust. She recalled Chomper to his Poke Ball, switching Archeidon in, and Lenny didn't waste any time in going on the offensive. "Eruption, Camerupt!"
"Kai, Silver Wind!" Windra ordered. "Don't let him use that attack!"
Camerupt braced himself, smoke pouring uncontrollably from the volcanoes on his back, gearing up as Archeidon flew forward, approaching just as Camerupt finished preparing. With a roar, an enormous stream of lava exploded from within him, raining fire and earth in a wide circle all around him and covering nearly half the arena.
"Quiver Dance, get out of there!" came Windra's next command, but it was a little too late. As the lava and rocks fell, Archeidon was struck by the attack, taking moderate damage, but he was still alive. "Now use Giga Drain!"
Lenny nodded. Everything was still going according to plan. "Eruption again, Camerupt, keep it going! Get that whole arena nice and hot!"
Camerupt slowly plodded forward as another massive blast exploded upwards and outwards, making it harder and harder for Archeidon to find safety. His wings glowing bright green, Archeidon swooped in and fired a similarly colored beam at Camerupt. It struck him dead on, starting to sap his strength. Camerupt whipped his head around, catching Archeidon off guard and forcing him to retreat, right into another falling rock, sending him crashing into the center platform.
"Destroy that platform with Earthquake, Camerupt! Don't give her Pokemon anywhere to rest!"
With a monstrous grunt, Camerupt reared back, stepped forward a few paces, and brought down all of his weight in a mighty crash that demolished a large part of the center platform, sending Archeidon scrambling out of the way. The shift in the ground caused all of the geysers to erupt at once, sending massive amounts of steam into the sky, creating a dense mist inside the arena.
Windra cursed under her breath at this latest development. Thanks to the fog, she could barely see a few feet inside the arena. Both Archeidon and Camerupt were nowhere to be found, though she thought she could faintly make out the outline of Archeidon's six wings flapping gently nearby. What could she do? She could try a sneak attack. That might work; Camerupt was enormous and slow-moving, an easy target. But the offset of being so big and heavy, Windra remembered, was intense strength. She couldn't see it, but she knew the entire floor was virtually covered in lava and rocks. She remembered Camerupt swinging his massive head, just barely missing Archeidon, and didn't want to think about the damage that would have been done if he'd connected the hit.
Suddenly, Windra had an interesting thought. If her young eyes couldn't see in this fog, she doubted Lenny would fare much better. This put her in a pretty good situation, she reasoned; Archeidon could simply boost up until he was too powerful for Lenny's dumb Fire-types to handle, and then that would be that!
Finally, moments before Esmeralda warned them both for inactivity, she gave her command. "Quiver Dance again, Kai! Stay low and stay hidden!"
"Wait for it, Camerupt! When you see an opening, blast the damn thing with Stone Edge!"
Camerupt looked around, trying to spot his opponent, but couldn't find him. He could hear the flaps and movements of Archeidon's wings as he danced around the arena, but the fog was still too thick for him to do anything. Finally, a gust from Archeidon blew enough of the fog away for Camerupt to catch a glimpse of Archeidon's wings, and he began charging his attack. Several of the rocks on the ground started glowing white. With a focused grunt, he exploded one, sending shards of hot rock all over the area. Archeidon shrieked and shot straight up into the sky; following the sound of his voice, Camerupt drew in more of the glowing stones and fired them skyward, exploding each in turn. The sound of rock pelting flesh was heard, as was the sound of Archeidon's pained cry as he was knocked out cold by the attack. He fell to the earth, crashing hard, and Esmeralda could only hope no permanent damage was done. "Volcarona is unable to battle. The winner is Camerupt!"
The crowd erupted into cheers once more - as Ruby went on to say, this was turning out to be quite a battle after all. Windra grit her teeth, digging her hands into the side of her podium. This was
bad. No, she amended, it wasn't just bad, it was
really goddamn colossally bad. She couldn't do anything but stew as she listened to her dreams, her prayers, her hopes of winning this match go down with Archeidon. As she recalled her Pokemon, she considered just giving up right there. She could see that the fog was disappearing, but her odds of winning were vanishing right along with it.
What am I thinking? she thought.
Who am I, Tsomu? I'm not giving up! Giving up is for chumps, and I'm no chump! With artificially renewed confidence, she sent out the only other Pokemon she had that might do something. "Tyeaf, go get 'em!"
Tyeaf hadn't been on the ground for more than ten seconds before she started wailing in pain. With her extreme vulnerability to fire, even standing on the now-superheated ground became a tough and painful task. Her eyes scanned the arena, looking for somewhere she could scurry to catch a reprieve from the heat, but could find nothing except the remains of the center platform. Quickly, she made a beeline for it, but Lenny was ready. "Fire Blast!" he commanded. With a breath, Camerupt blew out a long, five-pronged stream of fire, setting Tyeaf ablaze, knocking her out immediately, and melting the remains of the center platform.
"Paras is unable to battle! The winner is Camerupt!"
"Oh come
on! What the fu- how did- are you
kidding me right now?!" Windra sputtered, quickly losing control. It was over. It was all over, there were no two ways about it. Lenny and his stupid sun (
why was it still sunny, that should have ended ages ago) and his stupid Fire-types and his stupid goddamn cheating-ass Camerupt had robbed her of her chances at winning the prize money. All her friends, all her family, everyone she cared about... she knew that they were all watching, watching her get smoked on live television, and there was nothing she could do but send her Pokemon to certain doom. And it wasn't like it was her fault! It was Lenny's fault for raising such a dumb freaking Pokemon. Fire/Ground-types, she decided, should be outlawed. Packed up and shipped to the goddamn moon, every single one of them.
She hated how she felt right now. She could feel tears threatening to spill, and if she didn't send out her Pokemon, she was going to lose it right there. "Chomper, go get 'em!"
No sooner did Chomper materialize did Lenny give his order. "Earthquake! Finish this battle, Camerupt!"
I CAN'T LET THIS HAPPEN! Windra thought in a panic, eyes wide and fresh with tears, her face a look of pure fear as she realized she was moments away from being eliminated.
I'M NOT GOING DOWN LIKE THIS! "Chomper, Agility! When he raises his legs, use Slam to knock him on his back!"
Chomper nodded hesitantly, watching Camerupt raise his legs for one final attack. He zipped forward, gaining speed, watching Camerupt try to follow his movements. He zoomed around the battlefield, deftly dodging pools of lava and rocks. Finally, when Camerupt was at the apex of his ascent, Chomper charged, leaping and smashing head first into Camerupt's soft belly.
"YES!" Windra shouted, but her excitement was short lived. To her horror, despite making Camerupt grunt in pain, Chomper was nowhere near powerful enough to topple a Pokemon several dozen times his own weight. As it was, Chomper could only roll out from underneath Camerupt to avoid getting killed by his giant hooves. Camerupt came down with a mighty crash, cracking open the ground and exploding the rocks still were lying about. There was absolutely no way for Chomper to evade such an attack, and he tumbled ungracefully backwards, defeated.
"Pikachu is unable to battle! The winner is Camerupt, and advancing to the quarterfinals is Lenny Beckett!"
And just like that, Windra was out of the tournament. The crowd was on its feet, cheering both players for a well-fought battle. Ruby commended Windra for not giving up in the face of near insurmountable odds, but Windra didn't hear any of it. It was all just noise, nothing registering but her own voice in her head:
It's over. Just like that. You lost. What are you going to do now?
She wordlessly recalled Chomper, turned around, and marched straight back into the building, not bothering to shake Lenny's hand.
I can't believe I lost that badly! she fumed, all but stomping down the stairs leading to the VIP area. Truth be told, she didn't mind so much that she lost, more than
how she lost. She was so happy at the start of the battle, the way Chomper had knocked out Ninetales in one hit. Recalling that memory made her smile, but that moment of happiness was short-lived as she thought of the rest of that disastrous battle.
She tried not to think about how her parents would react to seeing her lose. She winced as she remembered telling them that she'd won the preliminary tournament, and that she'd accepted Diamant Industries's invitation to compete for the grand prize. She was so confident... she'd wanted nothing more than to make them happy, to make it so they'd never have to worry about money ever again. She sighed as she clamped down on that dream, which was well and truly dead at this point.
The only thing that could make this worse is if I'd lost on my actual birthday, she mused.
She walked into the hallway and towards her room, with no desire to share that particular piece of information. She didn't want people making a big deal about it, especially since it had been on her birthday two years prior that she'd gone back to see Damien, only to find a vacant house and no trace of the man she had fallen for. She hadn't been able to shake the feeling of having been abandoned since then, and so she made it a point to act as though her birthday was just another day. Windra took a small bit of comfort in knowing that none of the other competitors had any idea her birthday was only two days away. She knew Safiri knew, or at least had the information, as date of birth was required as part of each competitor's registration; but Safiri didn't seem like the type of person who would make a big deal about birthdays anyway, so Windra was fairly safe Safiri would keep her big mouth shut about it.
Finally approaching the door, she regarded the note that was stuck to it. Curious, she peeled the note off, making a face in disgust and confusion at the gum, and read it. Her jaw fell straight to the ground and she wiped her eyes, making absolutely sure the words on the paper were the same words she'd just said in her head. She read it over and over again, her sour mood vanishing as she realized that yes, this was real, and no, she wasn't dreaming.
"YES!" she shouted, pumping a fist in the air. "Oh my god, hell yeah!" Windra looked almost manic in her glee, her mind racing with possibilities. "I don't know what changed your mind, Scarlet, but I'm not complaining!" She read the note again, grinning ear to ear. It looked too good to be true, but there it was, plain as day in front of her. "This is gonna be so sweet!" Putting the note in her pocket, she raced to get her Pokemon healed. Night could not come fast enough for her.
On her way into the Pokemon Center, she ran into Esmeralda and Lenny, chatting as the attendant took Lenny's Pokemon.
"Oh, hey, Windra!" Esmeralda bounded over to greet her. "I'm sorry about your match. We were just talking about it, Lenny and I."
At the mention of his name, he stepped forward, sized Windra up. She wasn't glaring hot death at him anymore, but he could tell she was still upset. "You did the best you could, kid. Luck just wasn't on your side."
Five minutes earlier, Windra would have told Lenny where he could stick his
luck, but the news she'd just received improved her mood so much that she simply shrugged. "At least you admit you were lucky," she said, walking past the both of them and handing the attendant her Pokemon.
"Ruby and I both agreed that this battle was about as one-sided as it could get," Esmeralda explained, taking one of Windra's hands in both of hers. "As soon as we saw the matchup, we knew it was going to be a rough one for you. Battling on the fire field was just... what did Ruby call it?... Salt in the wound," she finished.
"Yeah, you're not wrong about that," Windra mused. "I'm just mad that I didn't get much of a chance to show my stuff, you know? I'm not so bad a trainer that I end up losing to any random idiot with a Camerupt. No offense," she added, looking at Lenny, who simply shrugged it off.
"None taken. And it's funny you should mention showing your stuff, cause Esmeralda here had an idea she thought you might be interested in."
"Yeah! I wanna have a battle with you!" Esmeralda squealed.
Windra raised an eyebrow, confused. "Wait, huh? A battle? You mean, you and me?" At Esmeralda's enthusiastic nod, Windra continued, "You're a trainer?"
Esmeralda grinned wider at Windra's surprise. "Mm-hmm! Well, we aren't trainers professionally, but we do have Pokemon. All three of us do! You've seen Safiri's Glaceon, right? It's
really strong, probably stronger than any Pokemon the rest of you guys have!"
"I could beat her," Lenny said confidently. "She wouldn't be a match for Camerupt."
"I don't knowww," Esmeralda sang. "I've never beaten her, and I'm pretty good, if I do say so myself. Ruby's never beaten her, either, and most of her Pokemon have a type advantage against Glaceon."
"What other Pokemon does she have?" Lenny inquired.
"Now what fun would that be if I gave everything away?" Esmeralda said, winking at the older man. Turning back to Windra, her face sobered a bit, and she said, "I hated seeing you like that out there. I thought that I would ask you for a battle so you would have a fairer fight, and you can show everyone what you can really do. Your matchup against me isn't nearly as one-sided, so it should be a good fight. What do you say?" She gripped Windra's hand tighter, brought it to her chest and held it there. "I want to see you smile again."
Heh, she has big boobs. Way bigger than Scarlet, whose world I am finally gonna rock tonight! That thought made Windra smile, and Esmeralda smiled back, happily bouncing in place. "You know what? Sure, why not. You might say I'm in a better mood than I was ten minutes ago. My Pokemon are all beat up, though, thanks to
someone," she said, glaring at Lenny, "So it'll have to wait. When did you wanna do it?"
"Tonight, before dinner. I have a meeting with Safiri and Ruby after that, and your Pokemon should be ready to go in a couple hours or so. That should give us plenty of time to have a good battle and work up an appetite for dinner. What do you say?"
Windra considered this and, finding it acceptable, nodded. "Sounds good. Meet you in the practice arena at 5:00?"
Esmeralda confirmed with a nod, bringing the slender girl in for a hug. "Great! I can't wait. I've got to go take care of some things for tomorrow's matches, but I'll see you later! Bye, Lenny!"
Lenny nodded at her, and she left, leaving the two former opponents alone with the attendant. For effect, Windra rolled her eyes, walking past him and out the door. She didn't get more than a few paces away when Lenny came out behind her. "You gonna stay mad the whole time we're here?"
"Maybe I will," she called back, not looking. In truth, finding the note from Scarlet had put her in such a good mood that she'd decided, most uncharacteristically, to absolve Lenny for his most mortal sin... but she wasn't about to let him know that.
Lenny just chuckled to himself. "Suit yourself, kid," he said, watching Windra disappear into her room.
* * * * * * * *
Some time later, Windra took her freshly healed Pokemon and made her way to the training center, where she was surprised to see everyone waiting for her.
"You invited everyone?" she asked Esmeralda, who'd greeted her at the door.
"Yeah," she said, smiling, taking Windra by the hand and leading her towards the battlefield proper. "I thought you could use your own cheering section, so I asked if they would be willing to sit and watch. And everyone agreed!"
"Everyone?" Windra asked, skeptical. She looked over to the seating area and did a head count - sure enough, everyone
was there, even Lenny, who waved at her as he caught her eye. Windra was surprised to see that Ruby and Safiri were also in attendance. Ruby sat and chatted with Kiria, though she got up from her seat once she saw Windra walk in; Safiri, who had been seated next to Ruby, was busy scribbling something on a clipboard. She glanced up, spotting Windra, who waved, and she hesitantly waved back.
Ruby met the two of them in the center of the arena. "So you're really gonna battle Esmy?" Ruby asked, her hands on her hips. "It's not gonna be easy. You up for the challenge?"
"I'm here, aren't I?" Windra shot back, mimicking Ruby and putting her hands on her hips.
"So you are," Ruby replied, nodding. "All right, the rules are the same as in the tournament. Since Esmy has six Pokemon to your three, and she already knows your Pokemon, you'll get to help determine what three she uses." She took out a piece of paper that was torn on one end - likely ripped from Safiri's papers, Windra guessed - and handed it to Windra. She also handed her a pen. "Cross a name off the list. Then, Esmy will pick one to use. You'll repeat that three times and that will determine her team."
She looked at the list of Esmeralda's Pokemon. There was one that caught her eye as particularly dangerous to her team. She went to immediately cross it out, but reconsidered. This was supposed to be a chance for her to prove herself, right? What was the point of the battle if she just eliminated all the Pokemon that were strong against hers? Deciding to leave it in, she chose instead to cross out a Pokemon she thought wouldn't give her a challenge. It was weak against two of her Pokemon, and even though it was immune to Tyeaf's Spore, it was still weak to her attacks, and that would be too easy.
She then handed the pen and paper to Esmeralda, who considered the Pokemon Windra eliminated. "Not who I thought you'd pick first," she noted, circling a name and returning the paper to Windra.
"I know. I'm a real glutton for punishment," she said, noting that Esmeralda had circled the Pokemon Windra considered eliminating. She carefully studied the remaining Pokemon and decided on a Pokemon she wasn't too familiar with. She'd been to Alola only once, but had spent almost no time studying the local Pokemon variants. As it was, she knew nothing about it, and didn't want her first encounter with it to be here and embarrass herself further by not having a clue how to fight it.
Esmeralda immediately circled another name, and Windra raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You sure about that one?"
"Oh yes. It's my favorite Pokemon. Their little hats are so cute!"
Windra wasn't sure that she would call the apex predator of the desert cute. She'd heard horror stories about how they would follow weary travelers, then kill and eat them once they finally collapsed due to exhaustion. But hey, she reasoned, it was horrifyingly weak to two of her Pokemon, and she wasn't going to complain about that.
The last two names on the list were both problematic for her, but she decided to eliminate what she considered the greater of two evils. Birds were annoying, and she hated them almost as much as she hated Fire-types. If she was going to fight a Psychic Pokemon either way, she'd much rather fight one that wasn't also a stupid bird.
Ruby looked over the list. "All right, Esmy, that's your team. Think you can do it?"
"If Windra is as strong as I think she is, I think I've got my work cut out for me," Esmeralda admitted. She handed Ruby the Poke Balls of the three Pokemon she wasn't using, then wished Windra luck and took her place on one side of the battlefield.
Ruby took the Poke Balls and handed them to Safiri. "Here, hold onto these, will you?"
"I can't be babysitting, Ruby, I need to watch this battle. Mr. Diamant will definitely want to hear about this, especially if Esmeralda loses."
Ruby shot her a questioning look. "You don't really think Esmy's going to lose, do you?"
"No, absolutely not," Safiri answered confidently. She leaned closer to her sister, whispered in her ear, "Her battle intelligence is top of the line, and her Pokemon are on the same level as ours. Miss Wallace doesn't stand a chance."
Ruby shrugged. "I wouldn't be so sure... Esmy wouldn't challenge Windra to a fight just to crush her. Maybe she sees something in her that we don't?"
"Exactly, which is why I need to pay attention to this battle. Now, if you please..." she trailed off, shooing Ruby away with a hand.
Rolling her eyes, Ruby pocketed the three Poke Balls and went to the center of the arena, where she called everyone to attention. "All right, everyone, sorry to keep you waiting! We're about to start an exhibition match between Windra Wallace and Esmeralda Rayvenflight, following tournament rules. Three against three, with three switches allowed in the match. First one to lose all their Pokemon loses. Are there any questions from either player?"
Windra locked eyes with her opponent, shaking her head no. She wasn't quite sure what she was getting herself into, but there was no going back now. She saw a look of fierce determination she hadn't seen in Esmeralda before, and it was a little jarring to see the normally bubbly Esmeralda so focused. Did she look like that when she was officiating, she wondered? She hadn't paid any attention to her during her fight against Lenny--
She pushed that thought out of her head.
Can't get distracted, she thought as she readied her first Pokemon. Esmeralda did the same. Ruby turned to the small crowd, who'd been mostly silent up until now, and frowned. "Let's hear some noise back there! You guys are about to see one hell of a battle, so why don't you guys start sounding like it?!" In response, the others cheered and yelled their support for Windra, and Ruby smiled. "That's more like it!" She turned back to the two battlers. "Now begin!"
"Tyeaf, go get 'em!"
"Come, Tyranitar!" Esmeralda yelled in a voice that Windra didn't recognize. It sounded like her, but it sounded so
unlike her that she had a hard time matching the voice to the face.
So she's bringing the big guns out right away, Windra noted as their respective Pokemon hit the field, Tyranitar's Sand Stream ability summoning up a massive sandstorm that would have had the spectators shielding their eyes if not for the low-level shields that automatically surrounded the arena. They were of good quality, but they likely wouldn't hold up in any battle worthy of the main stage, which was another reason why Safiri was questioning Esmeralda's decision to fight here.
Windra noticed that Esmeralda's general stance had changed in the last few minutes, as well. Before the battle, she was giddy and excited, seemingly unable to sit still for more than a few moments, but now she appeared almost robotic, standing with her feet squarely planted shoulder width apart. One hand rested on her hip, and she watched Windra intently, seemingly waiting for Windra to make the first move.
So she did. "Spore, Tyeaf! Gotta knock that bad boy down to size!"
"Blow it back!" Esmeralda ordered, her eyes cool and her face unemotive. Tyranitar roared in reply, and when Tyeaf shot out a massive cloud of sleeping spores towards Tyranitar, he simply changed the direction of the sandstorm and blew the entire attack back onto Tyeaf. It didn't have any effect, but it gave Esmeralda an opening for her next move. "Now, Stealth Rock!"
Tyranitar stretched out his arms wide, summoning several large stone pillars from the ground, floating a few of them further in mid air. Remembering how both Taikyu and Thresher creatively used the levitating stones to attack, the others were excited to see if either player would do something similar.
Windra was already starting to feel nervous, but she did her best not to let it show on her face. Stealth Rock was absolutely devastating to her team; Archeidon was going to take massive damage from it. Tyeaf was already out, so she'd be spared, but she didn't like the idea of her ace Pokemon taking huge damage just from switching in. With no way to remove it from the field, she had no choice but to fight it out, and she kicked herself for not eliminating this threat immediately.
"Smack Down, Tyranitar! Squash that bug!"
Tyranitar summoned a boulder about twice the size of Tyeaf and hurled it straight towards her; she instinctively hid behind one of the stone pillars and used her claws to climb to the top of it, only to see Tyranitar throw another large rock at her. She leaped out of the way just in time and skidded on the ground, spinning around in time for Windra to give another command. "X-Scissor!"
With Tyeaf so close, there wasn't time for him to summon another rock, and he raised his arms up to block the incoming attack. Tyeaf slashed him twice, hard, the energy from the attack the only reason it was able to scratch Tyranitar's plated hide in the first place. Tyranitar roared in pain as Tyeaf skittered behind a rock, prepping to launch a counterattack, but Esmeralda was ready for her. "Dark Pulse!"
"You got him on the run, buddy! Stay low and attack with Fury Cutter!"
Tyeaf shot out from behind her cover and darted forward, ignoring the slight sting in her eyes from the sandstorm. She was definitely making up for this afternoon's embarrassing loss. If she could take down at least one of Esmeralda's Pokemon, she'd feel a little better about herself.
Regrettably, it was not to be. As Tyeaf raised a claw, a huge wave of dark energy exploded from Tyranitar's body in all directions. The wave passed through the stones, but it didn't pass through Tyeaf, who was blown away by the move. She crashed into a levitating stone and slumped over, defeated.
Ruby made the win official, grinning as she did so. It was rare that she got a chance to officiate a match; since Esmeralda's creation, there hadn't been a need for Ruby to do it, and a part of her missed being front and center to hotly contested battles. But she knew her true calling was in the announcer's booth, using words to paint pictures in the minds of those who were unable to see such battles for themselves.
While the others cheered the two battlers on, Safiri was watching intently, taking notes on things that seemed interesting to her. For example, why was Esmeralda acting and speaking that way? The earlier Sapphire models had been programmed with a 'battle mode' that shifted most of their intelligence to Pokemon battling, allowing them to give orders with ruthless efficiency. The problem, though, was that the biots didn't look natural. Like Esmeralda, they didn't move and rarely spoke, only to give or alter commands depending on the circumstances of the battle. Safiri knew for a fact that Esmeralda's programming was leagues more advanced than that of S2 or S3... so what was the point of drudging up some old, defunct code?
She also questioned just how much damage Tyeaf was able to do to Esmeralda's Tyranitar. If the power level between them was as huge as she thought it was, then such a powerful hit could not possibly have done the damage it did... but it was hard to refute seeing it happen with her own eyes.
"You did good, Tyeaf," Windra said, recalling her fallen Pokemon. "At least you got a good hit in. Now rest while your brothers handle things." She looked over to Windra, who still had not moved a muscle since the battle started. "You ready to see something really awesome?" Windra asked, her voice cool and confident. "I couldn't use it against Lenny, which is probably for the best. I would have sliced his entire team down with it."
Esmeralda nodded slowly, curious. "I'm intrigued. Show me, Windra!"
"You got it. Chomper, go get 'em!"
Chomper came out and was immediately blasted by the Stealth Rock that Tyranitar had laid. He winced in pain as the sharpened stones dug into him, but he was fine. After voicing this to Windra, she put her plan into action just as the sandstorm died down. "Perfect! All right, Chomper, Thunder Sword! Show Esmeralda how strong we really are!"
"Stand by, Tyranitar," Esmeralda ordered. "I want to see this."
Tyranitar grunted an affirmative as Chomper raised his paws as high as his tiny arms would allow, summoning dark clouds over the battlefield. When they were in place, Chomper crouched low on all fours, sticking his tail high in the air. After cloaking his tail in metal, he checked his positioning again. It had to hit just right... finally, he was ready, and he called down a large thunderbolt that struck his tail, causing a brief flash. When the light faded, Chomper's tail was glowing yellow, extended nearly three feet by a silver blade-like beam. Chomper swung his tail around a few times to test if the technique would hold, and it did. The other competitors marveled at the sight of it; Eldan in particular was highly impressed by the combination and wondered if any of his Pokemon could pull off something similar.
"Are you impressed?" Windra asked Esmeralda. "You should be. I don't get to use this technique a lot. It's really slow to get going and it requires some pretty precise aim on his part. But when it works," she said, grinning wider, "then watch out!"
"Oh, we will. Stone Edge!"
Tyranitar held out a hand, levitating one of the nearby rocks and focusing energy into it. Chomper didn't give him a chance to get further than that; he dashed towards Tyranitar with his tail held high, turned around, and delivered a single decisive swipe with the beam across his chest. Tyranitar immediately dropped the rock and fell to his knees, taken by surprise. He clutched the spot where Chomper had hit him as he looked at Esmeralda with real pain in his eyes, questioning how that attack could have hurt him so badly. Unfortunately for him, Chomper didn't give him a chance to get further than that, either; with another swing of his tail, Tyranitar was blown onto his back, and he ceased movement a short time later.
Esmeralda's look was one of calm concern, but her mental processes were going into overdrive trying to find data on this attack. Finding none, she smiled, the first emotion she'd shown since the battle started. "Tell me, Windra," she said as she recalled her Pokemon, "What sort of attack is that? I don't think I've ever seen it before."
"It's a mixture of Thunder and Iron Tail," Windra explained. "I don't know the magic behind it, but I think it infuses..."
Ah, so that's why it was so strong, Esmeralda deduced, ignoring the rest of Windra's explanation.
It's both Electric- and Steel-type at once. No wonder Tyranitar was so badly damaged by it.
"...and so I decided to call it Thunder Sword. Pretty slick, huh?" Windra finished.
"Yes, dear. And now that I know the limitations of your attack, I've figured out how to defeat it. Come, Reuniclus!"
Reuniclus entered the fray, shifting his body parts inside his gelatinous body. He made a gurgling, hungry sound, and he was ready to do battle.
While she didn't know too much about Reuniclus, she did know that at Electric moves and Steel moves both worked perfectly fine on it. "Slice him down, Chomper!"
A grin slowly crept over Esmeralda's face. Just a few moments more...
Chomper dashed towards Reuniclus, sword tail ready to strike. He spun around with a slice, and panicked when Reuniclus simply shifted his body, causing the beam to miss all of his vital organs and simply pass harmlessly through him. Not expecting the attack to miss, it threw Chomper off balance, causing him to tumble to the ground. Scrambling to his feet, he tried again, but this time Reuniclus braced himself, causing Chomper's tail to get stuck inside Reuniclus's body.
"Agility, Chomper, get out of there!"
"Snatch it!" Esmeralda countered.
Chomper started to run, straining himself against Reuniclus's hold. Suddenly, Reuniclus's eyes flashed purple, causing Chomper to inexplicably cease his attack. Reforming an arm, Reuniclus dragged a flailing Chomper around the arena at high speed until finally releasing him, sending him sailing through the air and crashing into the wall. In pain, but still in the fight, Chomper got to his feet, awaiting his orders.
"Use Thunderbolt!" she commanded, and Chomper brought down his attack with expert precision, but Reuniclus's stolen speed allowed him to dodge it easily. As she tried formulating a plan, Windra grumbled under her breath, glad that there were no microphones around to pick it up. There was one thing she could try. It was a long shot, and if Esmeralda didn't go for it, she'd be back to square one, but she saw Reuniclus form a giant fist and make a rush towards Chomper, and she decided to go for it. "Use Agility to dodge that punch!"
Esmeralda immediately went for Windra's bait, much to Windra's surprise. "Snatch it again!"
Again, Chomper's attack was mysteriously halted, but Windra was planning on this. "Use Electro Ball!"
Chomper summoned a large ball of electricity and whipped it at Reuniclus using his tail; Reuniclus made to dodge it but found that the ball was homing in on his position. Panicking, Reuniclus turned tail and ran, hoping to outrun the attack, but the faster he moved, the faster the energy ball tracked him, and he was finally hit, knocking him off balance. He took a moment to get his bearings, and this gave Windra another idea. "Electro Ball again!"
A second attack was launched. Realizing she wouldn't be able to evade it, Esmeralda set out to mitigate the damage and then start healing. "Light Screen!"
Windra's mouth fell open slightly at the opening Esmeralda had left her. "That's even better! Volt Tackle, hurry!"
Chomper zoomed towards Reuniclus just as the Electro Ball made contact. While Reuniclus was recovering from the hit, Chomper leaped up and crashed into his soft body before he could rearrange himself, scoring a powerful hit and knocking the Pokemon out cold.
"Reuniclus is unable to battle," Ruby declared. "Chomper is the winner!"
The others cheered at the win, but Windra was understandably worried. Technically it was two against one, but one look at Chomper would tell you he didn't have much left in him. He was covered in scratches and bruises, his breathing terribly labored from his most recent attack. Esmeralda's third Pokemon wouldn't have much trouble taking the win. And while she knew Archeidon had a
massive advantage against it, Archeidon was about to get annihilated by Stealth Rock. She sighed as Esmeralda recalled Reuniclus. She'd already done far better than she did against Lenny, so she didn't think she would be all that mad if she lost, but she still wanted to win, badly.
"Come, Cacturne!" Esmeralda shouted, sending her final Pokemon into the battle. "Pin Missile!"
"Agility, then Iron Tail, Chomper!"
Esmeralda's Cacturne pointed her arms towards Chomper and fired off a seemingly endless stream of needles, which Chomper was barely able to avoid thanks to the Agility. He leaped high, tail cloaked in metal and ready to strike, when Esmeralda changed tactics. "Spiky Shield!"
Bringing her arms close to her body, Cacturne's protective shield was up moments before Chomper landed; the outside of the shield then burst forth with dozens of large spikes, eliminating what little remained of Chomper's will to fight.
"Pikachu is no longer able to battle! The winner is Cacturne!"
Windra sighed. Well, this was it. Time to face the music. "Archeidon, go get 'em! Also I'm sorry for this!"
Windra's Archeidon materialized in the battle, and the rocks went to work. The closest ones to him glowed white, shooting rocky shrapnel into him. Archeidon screeched as the stones battered him, knocking him to the ground and cleaving a good chunk of his energy away. Esmeralda felt sorry for the Pokemon, but she was not about to give a Pokemon with such a large advantage against hers any reprieve. "Cotton Spore, Cacturne!" Cacturne opened her mouth wide, firing a seemingly endless stream of fluffy white cotton balls, with most of them covering Archeidon, impairing his movement and making it difficult to fly up. "Sandstorm!" she commanded, and Cacturne raised her arms up, summoning another vicious sandstorm while Archeidon was still reeling from the Stealth Rock damage.
Windra didn't like the idea of the sandstorm coming back, but at least she knew how to get rid of the cotton, the same method she used whenever a Pokemon was dumb enough to try and bind or otherwise restrain her Volcarona. "Fiery Dance, Kai!"
Immediately, Archeidon was engulfed in flames, burning the cotton into nothing and freeing up his wings. He surged towards Cacturne, who dodged the attack with a series of flips and slides.
"Silver Wind! End this fight, Kai!"
"I won't allow it! Sucker Punch!"
As Archeidon prepared his attack, Cacturne dashed at an alarming speed towards him; without stopping, she sprang up onto one of the grounded Stealth Rock pillars and did a soaring leap off of it, a needle-tipped arm raised high, cloaked in dark energy. She brought it down hard on Archeidon, forcing him to stop the attack just moments before he fired, but Cacturne was burned by the contact. Archeidon plummeted to the ground, the sandstorm quickly draining what little remained of his life. "Roost, Kai! Hurry up before it's too late!" Archeidon managed to alight himself on a fallen pillar, a soft white aura glowing around him. Cacturne, in pain from the burn, tried shooting a Pin Missile to stop the attack, but the damage it did was negligible, nowhere near enough to counteract the healing Archeidon was doing. "All right, Silver Wind, one more time!"
"Sucker Punch again!" Esmeralda commanded, and Cacturne quickly started running again; however, the pain from the burn was wracking her body, and it affected her running speed; as such, Archeidon finished the attack just as Cacturned jumped to strike, sending a massive wave of powdery scales in her direction. Even with the sandstorm boosting her ability to evade, the attack was far too large and powerful to avoid, and Cacturne was blown back into a pillar, obviously and decisively defeated.
"It's over! Cacturne can no longer do battle," Ruby said, amazement in her voice. She looked to Safiri in the stands, who was frantically scribbling notes. "The winner is Windra!"
"Awesome!" Windra exclaimed, pumping a fist. "Woooooo! Great job, Archeidon!"
She brought her Pokemon back into her Poke Ball as Esmeralda did the same, and Windra was confused by the look on Esmeralda's face. She seemed like her normal, cheerful self, further evidenced by the way she practically skipped over to Windra, hugging her tight before she could object. "You did it! I'm so happy for you! I knew you could do it."
"Yeah, we are pretty awesome, aren't we?" Windra bragged.
"I gotta say, Windra, I'm really impressed," Ruby admitted, returning Esmeralda's remaining Poke Balls to her. "Esmeralda is a lot stronger than she looks. Safiri and I didn't think you were going to win."
"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, Ruby," Windra deadpanned, rolling her eyes. "At least I won
something around here... but man, I'm hungry. Yo Tsomu!" she called into the stands. "When's dinner?"
"Should be ready any minute now!" he called back. He would have loved to help, but the other chefs had no problems with letting him take a day off from helping to watch the battle.
"That's what I wanna hear!" Windra said, extracting herself from Esmeralda, barely noticing that she was still holding onto her. The other competitors must have had a similar idea, because they all filed out of the training hall, leaving the three Jewels of Tajna alone.
"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself," Safiri said, reading over her notes, a detailed account of the battle with some of her own thoughts. "I just don't get it, Esmeralda. How could you
lose? None of their Pokemon should be anywhere near ours in terms of strength. That Volcarona has a power level of seventy, seventy-five maximum."
"Eighty-three, actually. I scanned it during our battle," Esmeralda said casually. "Pikachu is level seventy-two, and Paras is level sixty-eight."
Safiri's eyes widened in disbelief. "Sixty-eight! How in the world did a Pokemon like that land such a hit on a Pokemon almost a hundred and forty levels above it?"
"Because I let her win."
The eldest Jewel wrinkled her face in confusion, not having any idea what to make of Esmeralda's confession. "Wh-what? I don't understand, you
let her win?"
"Yeah," she answered simply, sitting down and stretching her arms and legs. "Before the battle, I explained the situation to my Pokemon, and they all agreed to help me make it convincing. I also used inferior battle intelligence, just to make things even easier."
"But
why?" Safiri asked, incredulous. "What could you possibly gain from throwing a match?"
"I don't gain anything from it," Esmeralda said, smiling. "But Windra does. We all knew Lenny was going to thrash her, even though his Pokemon are all lower in level than hers are. I just wanted to make her feel a little better about herself, that's all."
"She won't feel better when she finds out you let her win," Ruby noted.
Esmeralda crossed her legs. "Do you two plan on telling her?" When neither woman said anything, she continued. "Then she won't find out. You both heard the way she talked about herself. She has bad self-esteem issues. From what, I don't know, but what I do know is that I will do anything I can to see her smile."
"You like her," Safiri deduced. At Esmeralda's soft nod of admission, Safiri just shook her head in disbelief. "I knew it. Esmeralda, that's dangerous and you know it. I know I said Mr. Diamant's order was for us to build rapports with the subjects, but this is ridiculous!"
"I know, Safiri," Esmeralda quietly said. "I'm not going to say anything, I promise. And please don't tell Mr. Diamant."
"I have to tell him!" Safiri shouted, rising to her feet. "If he found out I kept something like this from him, he'd..." she trailed off as she imagined all manner of terrible scenarios.
"Now hold on, just a minute," Ruby said, taking one of Safiri's hands in hers. "There's no reason why he has to know. Esmy hasn't done anything wrong... yet," she added, glancing over at her little sister. "Besides, it's not like you haven't had lovers in the past."
"They weren't our
test subjects, Ruby!" Safiri yelled, a bit too loudly. She looked to the door, seeing if anyone had happened to overhear. Finding no one, she continued. "That isn't the same and you very well know it. Mr. Diamant knew about both of them, in any case."
"You were in a relationship before?" Esmeralda asked, curious.
"It was before you were born," Safiri said. Saying they were 'born' was technically not accurate, as none of them were birthed naturally, but despite that, Diamant had still insisted on them referring to their creation date as their birthday. After all, he'd said, it was the day they came into this world, and if that wasn't the same as a birthday, then he didn't know what was.
"Something else you kept from me," the green-haired jewel muttered, but the superior hearing of her sisters heard her loud and clear anyway.
"Excellent segue, Esmy," Ruby said, sitting between her sisters and leaning back against the bleachers. "Long as we're here, we might as well have that meeting you promised, right, Safiri?"
Safiri looked at her watch. She had planned on using dinner to finalize some more details for next week's matches, but as long as they were here... she sighed, hating to waste the time, but she did say she'd talk to them, and it would make more sense to do it while they were all already there. Still, she had hoped to do it in her office; at least there, she'd be behind a desk, and not feel so terribly vulnerable. "I suppose we could, yes." Neither of her sisters said anything after this, and it took Safiri a moment to realize that they were waiting on her. "So, as you both know by now, two days ago, I was making my report to Mr. Diamant. I made a joke in poor taste, and he referred to me as S7, my designator number."
"What did you say?" Esmeralda asked, her voice full of concern.
Safiri opened her mouth, a dismissal on her lips, but she remembered that the entire reason she'd agreed to this meeting was to get her to stop doing things like that. "He complimented me, and asked what he would do without me. I said he could just make more." Ruby winced at that; Esmeralda merely looked saddened. "Don't look at me like that. I know it was a dumb thing to say, all right? I let my guard down. He gave me permission to speak freely, so I did."
"Freely doesn't mean break his cardinal rule, Safiri," Ruby admonished.
"I don't need you to tell me that!" she snapped back. "In all my time with Mr. Diamant, the only time he ever called me S7 was when we first met." She smiled as she recalled the memory. "He said, 'From this day forth, you will no longer be referred to, by me or anyone else, as S7. Your new name is Safiri May Kiter. You may not be completely human, but you're more than just a machine, and I won't tolerate anyone treating you as one,'" she finished.
"You have a middle name?" Esmeralda asked, envious. "I don't think I have one."
"Actually, yes, you do," Safiri corrected. "Ruby does, too, although your situation is a little different, Esmeralda. You have a designator number, but it's not like mine. Your designator number is actually your name. Mr. Diamant wanted us to feel as human as possible, so when designing you, he named the project after what he'd planned on naming you, just to get everyone used to calling you by your name."
"Project Ariel," Ruby said, remembering. "I got to pick your name," she said with a grin.
"Yes. And that was going to be your name, right up until about a month before you were to be born," Safiri continued. "Mr. Diamant realized his company needed a new image, and a new face to go with that image. So you were redesigned from the ground up to be more appealing to the average layman. It set us behind schedule a month or two, but Mr. Diamant insisted it would be worth it in the long run. Mr. Diamant also felt that you needed a different name, one that sounded a little more... mysterious. And since he felt bad about effectively terminating the life of a biot he had spent so much time building, you received that biot's name. Your full name, and your designator number, is Esmeralda Ariel Rayvenflight."
Esmeralda found herself moved to tears by Safiri's words, and she silently wiped them from her eyes. "I had no idea... wow."
"My story isn't nearly as interesting," Ruby chimed in. "There were no drastic redesigns involved with me, and if memory serves, my project was named Ruby as well, right?" She looked to Safiri for confirmation and, after getting it, turned to Esmeralda and offered her hand. "Ruby Kaylin Erthgrand. Nice to meet you."
Esmeralda giggled, shaking her big sister's hand. "Esmeralda Ariel Rayvenflight. The pleasure's all mine!"
"It feels nice, doesn't it?" Safiri asked, not at all sarcastic. "It feels nice to be treated no differently than the humans we masquerade as. He could have called us anything he wanted, made you two R1 and E1 and simply treated us as servants." Her face hardened. "Neither of you had to deal with Ms. Whitemore treating you like a slave."
"She was president before Mr. Diamant took over," Ruby explained to Esmeralda.
"Dawn Whitemore was a cruel and soulless bitch who didn't deserve that title," Safiri spat. "I spent two years with her before she was thrown out. Working under her and working under Mr. Diamant is like night and day. I didn't know any better back then, but I do now. I was essentially her slave, reduced to fulfilling menial tasks for her, not once being thanked or praised for the work I did, work I did without complaint, mind you." She paused, calming herself down before she continued. "Once a new Sapphire model was released, Ms. Whitemore would have the old model kill itself. Unknown to Mr. Diamant and the rest of the benefactors, Ms. Whitemore had suicide switches secretly installed on every model after she was found to have had a hand in murdering S1. Upon Ms. Whitemore activating a trigger, the biot would commit suicide. They didn't have to deal with it anymore and Ms. Whitemore would be absolved of any wrongdoing, killing two birds with one stone."
Esmeralda took this information in, horrified by the things Safiri was telling her. Suddenly, a terrible thought entered her head, and she jumped to her feet, unwilling to believe the logical answer her brain told her. "Wait, Safiri... you said that she installed suicide switches on every model." Tears threatened to spill over, but she had to know for sure. "Does that mean that..."
"Yes," Safiri confirmed, causing Esmeralda to burst into tears. "I have one, too. When Mr. Diamant took over, one of the first things that he did was order my suicide switch to be removed, but it ended up not being possible because the switch was not an actual switch but something that was hard-wired into our code. But please don't worry about it," she said, hugging Esmeralda as she bawled. "Mr. Diamant has my trigger under lock and key back at the main office, with a fingerprint scan required to unlock it. As for you two, the suicide code was erased once it was found, so neither of you two have it. Okay?"
For a time, none of the women said anything as Safiri continued to hold her sister. When Esmeralda finally stopped crying, they sat down again, but Esmeralda continued keeping her arm around Safiri. "So you thought that Mr. Diamant might kill you over the comment you made?" Esmeralda asked.
"No, nothing so drastic," Safiri clarified. "But Mr. Diamant means a great deal to me. He opened my eyes to a way of life I never would have known existed, had he not taken over. I made a promise to myself that I would do everything in my power to pay his kindness back in full, no matter what. I even offered to bear his child."
Ruby's eyes widened at that. "Safiri! You can't be serious!"
Safiri straightened in her seat, folding her hands across her lap. "I was very serious. I believed that with my superior DNA, I would bear him a fine child. I didn't offer for romantic reasons, Ruby, but you know he has no children of his own." When this seemed to quiet Ruby down, she continued. "He was not comfortable with the idea. He said he viewed me as a daughter, and it would not be appropriate. I told him I didn't understand and didn't care, but he was firm. He also cited the lack of information on our ability to bear children, since we were not designed with that aspect in mind. He didn't want to put either my life or the life of the child in danger. Compared to normal humans, our genes are excellent. We should be compatible, but he forbade me from researching it any further. I told him I would always be open if he changed his mind; he said he wouldn't, but he appreciated my loyalty nonetheless.
"I promised myself that I wouldn't do anything to endanger my relationship with him. He's so different from Ms. Whitemore... when we get to talking, it's hard for me to remember that he is my boss, and not just a dear friend." A pause as she breathed deeply, trying to rein in tears that were making their way to the surface. "I hurt him. Breaking his cardinal rule was a slap in the face to everything he's ever done for me, and it pains me to no end knowing how much I hurt him."
Ruby sat on the other side of her older sister and hugged her as Esmeralda did the same. "He apologized, didn't he?"
Safiri nodded. "Yes, of course. He said he was out of line. I believe he was sincere in his apology."
A squeeze from the red-haired beauty by her side. "Then leave it at that. He knows what you had to endure under Ms. Whitemore, and he knows how hard you work for him. And based on what you've said, he also knows how much you regret saying what you did, so there's no sense in beating yourself up any more over it. You forgive him, he forgives you - life goes on. Right?"
"Right!" Esmeralda cheered, wrapping her other arm around Ruby and squeezing them both tight. "You said yourself, Mr. Diamant loves you like his own daughter. He just wants us all to feel human, even though we're not."
"I know. It's just..." Safiri sighed, trying to think of the right words. "I feel guilty. It was such a boneheaded thing to say... The second I said it, I knew I'd messed up. I just can't get over how reckless it was."
"You wouldn't be you if you could," Ruby reminded her. "The fact that you feel those emotions at all just drives home the point that at the end of the day, we're mostly human. Do you feel better now, having talked about it with us?"
Safiri considered. She wasn't surprised to learn that yes, she did feel a little better. It didn't take the sting of disappointing her boss away, but having her sisters around, sisters who at least understood and could relate to her viewpoint, dulled the pain a little. She smiled, wrapping an arm around each sister and hugging her in turn. "Yeah. I'm sorry for making you guys fuss over me." She looked at the notes she'd taken of Esmeralda's battle. "I guess none of this means anything anymore, huh?"
"Eh, I guess not. I'm sorry for not telling you girls about it," Esmeralda apologized. "I just wanted to do something for Windra, on my own, you know?"
"Just be careful," Ruby warned. "Don't jeopardize the project for your feelings."
"I won't," Esmeralda said solemnly, putting a hand over her heart. "She doesn't feel anything for me, anyway."
As she said that, the doors to the training area opened. Kyro bounded in, excited to get some more practice in, followed by Thresher, who noticed the three sisters holding council. "Sorry, are we interrupting?" he called, causing Kyro to stop in his tracks and notice them. "Just lookin' to keep a promise I made to the lad, but we can come back another time if you need the space."
"Not at all, Mr. Fessco, we were just leaving," Safiri replied warmly as she made her way to the floor, recognizing her opportunity to escape sister time. "Please, enjoy yourselves." Straightening her skirt and jacket, she briskly walked away before Ruby or Esmeralda could find a reason to object.
"You two gonna have a battle?" Ruby asked, excitement in her voice. "Want me to officiate?"
"I don't mind," Thresher shrugged, looking to his opponent. "Whadaya say, Kyro? Shall we make it real official like?"
"That would be awesome!" Kyro exclaimed, running up to Ruby and shaking her hand. "Thank you, Miss Ruby!"
He ran to his spot on the other side of the battlefield, a seemingly bottomless well of energy, and Ruby couldn't help but admire that about him. Were all kids as energetic as he was? Thresher took his place nearby, and Ruby looked him over. Catching his eye, he smiled at her, as if noticing she was staring but not caring that she did. He took a few moments to do some stretches, and Ruby watched as his toned muscles flexed with each movement. She made a note to contact Thresher after the tournament was over. If he didn't have someone at home waiting for him...
"Enjoying yourself?" a voice asked. Ruby turned to see Esmeralda, arms crossed, eyebrow raised, with a knowing look on her face.
"Yep," Ruby said with a wink, causing Esmeralda to roll her eyes. "Don't worry about me."
"Sure, sure," Esmeralda said dismissively. "Have fun, you three. I think I'm going to turn in for the night."
After she left, Ruby turned to the two battlers. "Tournament rules okay?" she asked, turning to each man in turn. After both agreed, she raised a hand towards each of them. "Then begin!"
* * * * * * * *
After another tasty dinner, Scarlet had retired early to her room. She quickly checked to make sure that yes, both of her notes were received, and prepared herself for what she hoped was going to be a magical night. As she sat soaking in the bathtub, she wondered if Rose was even going to show up. In hindsight, leaving a note that essentially amounted to a proposition for sex was a horrible idea, especially since she'd made no attempt at hiding the contents of said note. The fact that she hadn't
had time was of little consolation to her; she could only hope that Rose had received it quickly, and anyone else who happened to pass by just minded their own business.
Scarlet reached for some shampoo and realized, with little surprise, that she hadn't planned on what to do if Rose
did show up. What if she showed up, but just wanted to be friends? What if she showed up and
didn't want to be friends, that she'd somehow been offended by her request and now hated her? She stopped mid-scrub, shaking those bad thoughts out of her head. She decided that, just for tonight, she'd only think positively.
After she'd finished, she browsed her wardrobe, thinking of what to wear. Thinking positively, she decided that less was more, and slipped her favorite nightgown over her head. It was the same color as her name, and it fit her nicely. She looked herself over in the mirror, adjusted herself and made sure everything was just so. She barely started brushing her still-damp hair when a knock was heard at her door.
This is it, she thought, her pulse quickening.
Are you ready?
Scarlet put her brush down, went over to the door, grabbed the handle. She inhaled deeply, letting it out slowly as she pulled it open. In front of her was Windra, in a tank top and pajama pants, and she looked... determined, Scarlet decided. "Oh, hey, Windra. What's up?"
Windra shocked her by pushing her way into her room, forcing Scarlet to step backwards, and closing the door behind her. "Hey," was all she said, backing Scarlet towards the wall. Scarlet was stunned into silence, not knowing what was happening, but a part of her wasn't complaining about the intrusion either. Scarlet gasped as Windra grabbed her by the hips, pulling her forward and crushing their lips together.
"Mmmmhm???" came Scarlet's confused reply as Windra continued kissing her hard and fast, moving her hands to Scarlet's rear. She squeezed, causing Scarlet to gasp in response, and Windra used this opportunity to force her tongue into the younger girl's mouth.
Wait a second, Scarlet wanted to say, but the words never made it out. Windra let out a moan as Scarlet put her hands on Windra's hips, intent on pushing her away, but to Scarlet's surprise, it didn't happen. Finally, Windra broke the kiss, moving instead to Scarlet's neck, nipping at the clean skin there.
Her mouth free at last, Scarlet started her objection. "Windra wait what are you - ah!" Scarlet gasped as Windra sucked on her skin. "Don't do that, you're going to - oh, yes, that's much better," she finished after Windra started making long strokes there with her tongue. "But wait, what are you doing here?"
"Taking what's mine," Windra answered, giving Scarlet's rear a squeeze and pulling her in to emphasize this. "You don't have to say anything... unless you're screaming my name, that is."
And god, how she wanted to. Scarlet could feel herself getting more aroused with every passing moment, and she wanted nothing more than for Windra to march her over to that bed and force her to submit, but her brain gave her pause. Instead, she continued kissing Windra, as she argued with herself, conveniently ignoring that Windra was getting much bolder with her hands and was slowly pulling Scarlet away from the wall.
This isn't Rose.
No kidding.
Didn't you just decide that you were not going to get involved with Windra? What happened to your note? What if Rose shows up?
Maybe Windra decided she likes me after all. And if Rose really was coming, she would have been here already, right?
Her brain had barely registered Windra gently pushing Scarlet onto her bed.
This is wrong. This should be Rose, not her. Are you prepared to live with this?
This question gave Scarlet just enough pause to stop Windra, who'd just tossed her shirt across the room and was working on removing Scarlet's gown. "Wait. Windra, wait," she said more sternly when Windra didn't. "This is all so fast, and-"
"And you've been hot for me ever since that day in my room," Windra finished for her, straddling her the way Windra imagined Scarlet had during her visit. She noticed that the gown was the same color, but she filed that information away for later. As turned on as she was, she didn't want to waste any more time. There was far too much talking already and not enough them being naked. Hoping that would be the end of Scarlet's objection, she again started to remove Scarlet's gown. "Don't worry. I'll be as gentle - or as rough - as you want me to be," she whispered hungrily into Scarlet's ear, licking at her earlobe. She ground herself on Scarlet, causing the girl beneath her to moan loudly into her hands. Windra chuckled as she did it again, grabbing Scarlet's hands and pinning them above her head, forcing a panting Scarlet to pinch herself to stop herself from making the same noise again. "Let's make magic, Scarlet."
And with that, the candle that was Scarlet's resistance was finally snuffed out. Whatever Windra's feelings for Scarlet were, whatever Scarlet's feelings for Rose were, they could certainly wait until morning. Scarlet broke free from Windra's grip and sat up long enough to toss her nightgown to the floor at the side of her bed. "Abracadabra," she said to a grinning Windra, pulling her back down onto the bed.
