The Tale of Seven

[Rikugurl]

Riku tilted his head when he heard the name Gary. Who was... OH....Gyarados. He had to chuckle and shake his head as he walked after Sora, meeting the group by the shore.
He looked up at the dragon as he came close, smiling softly. He knew the dragon knew where to go since he had talked to him yesterday about it. Off to Route 121.

When the dragon lowered his head, the two climbed up as Axel dipped into the cold water, wrapping his arms around Vaporeon.

Empoleon too got into the water and laid on his belly as Ven and Terra got on.


Blood seeped down onto the trident as the blonde was holding onto it so tightly that it went through his palms like knives. It wasn't that much bit it still drew some blood as the crashed through waves. The good thing about riding Empoleon was that he was a steel type... in which waves couldn't flip him over or detour him in any way.

Axel on the other hand was shaking against his Pokemon in which had no fur to keep him warm. It probably wasn't any better for Riku and Sora so high above. He slowly looked over at Aqua...who seemed to be doing fine in all this.
Of course she was...she loved water. Raining in an ocean...what else could a water trainer want?

He frowned as he heard her talk about her father...and obviously, her using the past tense, Axel knew that he was no longer on this earth.
"What would he of known?" He had to question as Vaporeon swam against the stormy waters.

When he heard the last of it, he swallowed and nodded, his long, wet hair covering the sadness in his face. It seemed like everyone was missing someone... except for Terra, Ven and Roxas. They seemed to not be missing anyone at all. From Riku's story, he never mentioned his father so he must of died. Aqua's father had died as well and for him, his parents died when he was a baby.

This journey was becoming more and more interesting by the hour...

[Reno]

Sora was listening as well, able to hear Aqua's voice faintly in the air. His blue eyes swirled deeply with sorrow for the woman. He like Axel was starting to notice similarities. Riku and Aqua were both without fathers... Terra seemed to loath his... and Axel had neither parent. Ironically, it was the biggest family of the Eevee septuplets (that statistically would be at more at risk) who were still all together. They really had to start counting their blessings... Sora himself knew he'd had more than one near-death encounter. How many must Ven and Roxas of had? Or his parents when they had traveled?

"I really wished he hadn't to be honest. Died that is." Aqua said, her voice strangely neutral and her words also cold. But anyone could see she was hurting, if they knew what to look for. "He never told me I couldn't do anything no matter my age or how little I was. So he used to take me boating with him - I learned how to work the sails and how to steer... the vocabulary. He taught me how to fish both on and off the boat. It was a hell of a lot of fun." She grinned laughing some. "Magickarp are a bitch to catch when you're small. They're idiotic but strong and heavy so once they were out of the water most of the time I couldn't even lift 'em and I lost most of what I caught. My first, single-handed catch was when I was seven... I got a Goldeen."

Terra sighed, his fingers digging into Ven's ribs some as the waters continued to be rough. Even though Ven assured him again and again they were completely safe... that experience from his childhood continued to replay in his head like a broken record. The talking going on nearby was breaking into that habit though and he struggled to listen.

"What-" Roxas started to say when suddenly a wave hit him right in the face. He spluttered for a few moments and coughed out some water he hadn't meant to swallow. "Ugh, gross." He shook his head and tried again. "How did he die?"

Aqua shot a glance towards Roxas, raising an eyebrow. He certainly didn't have many qualms asking the hard questions did he? She sighed and tilted her head up, her face in the rain. "The storm beat him."
"But I thought-"
"He wasn't on a boat." She sighed. "I told you my dad did everything that had anything to do with water, remember? Well... in Canalave, we have this old watermill connected to our dam system which holds all the freshwater our town uses. It basically is a filterer - it brings the water from the dam out by a pipe system, and as it goes through the wheel dirt and other harmful substances are filterws from the water before being recycled. My dad was part of taking care of the turbines. Well one night, when I was about... nine and a half, there was this terrible storm. The waves were crashing so loud and hard it ripped away half of the pier... and the winds were fucking insane. Trees and rooftops were being torn right off. And the rain... it was flooding everywhere. Electricity was out all over town."

Her lips twitched downward in a frown. "The letter came to us by Wartortle from an injured worker from the mill. It read that the turbine had broken, and the mill had flooded until the whole building collapsed killing almost anyone who had been inside and that the water from the dam was starting to flood everywhere. If they didn't stop it soon the town would suffer a lot of damage... and we'd possibly even run out of water."

She shook her head. "Of course, dad, being the noble guy he was, knew what he had to do, so he took his Pokemon Feraligatr with him to help him seal the broken pipes with his powerful jaw and after that helped get the workers who had survived somewhere safe. It was easy, effortless work really and barely an hour later they were heading for home... but it went so terribly wrong."

She swallowed. "They weren't even half a mile away... on a street called 'Atlanteas'. It was built in the recent years and was known for its tendency to flood at certain spots under heavy rains because the sidewalks hadn't been built with a drainage system yet - but it was the quickest way back to our house so dad took it. Well... they were treading through a large, deep puddle when it happened. There was this powerline on the street that had termites eating away at it. No one had known... but because of that the powerline... broke under the wind's force. The lines snapped with it... and hit the puddle my dad and Feraligatr were trying to get through." She shut her eyes. "They were both electrocuted to death."

She shut her eyes, falling silent for a while, letting the drizzling rain and the sounds the Pokemon made huffing and puffing as they swam fill her silence. Almost everyone seemed horrified - except Ven who had heard this before. Finally she spoke: "It was just dumb luck. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A one and a million chance. My dad just happened to be that millionth."

She growled. "I blamed so many people though after that day. The idiot workers who couldn't fix the problem themseleves. The electricians who bought the bad wood because they gave more of a damn over their budget than someones well being. My mom for not stopping dad when she fucking had the chance." She hesitated than admitted. "Myself..."

[Rikugurl]

Ven winced silently as he felt the fingers in his ribs. He was still sunburned no matter how much of that goopy shit Terra put on him. He gripped onto the trident more, feeling the sharp edges cut in deeper.
"Pol..." The bird called softly as he continued to dash through the waves as if they were nothing.

Axel blinked as he too couldn't believe such a blunt question as he looked over at Roxas who was hanging on the Buizel. When he saw how cold the blonde was, he frowned. Being in the water all day when it was sunny and nice and the water was cool and lukewarm but when it was stormy, rainy and freezing... they had a high possibility of getting really sick...

Unfortunately... there was no place they could get out of the water and warm themselves until they got to Route 121.

His thoughts were detoured though as Aqua actually started to explain what had happened...

His green eyes looked down, hearing Vaporeon's heart beat as he sighed softly.
How... could such bad things happen to such good people? It really did... amaze him. So ironic that a man who lived, breathed and talked water was actually....killed by it.
Perhaps... Aqua dad wouldn't want it any other way.

It also reminded him of what happened to Metagross that day, being stuck in the swamp and getting electrocuted. Luckily, the Pokemon had survived.
"I kinda wish I knew...what happened to my parents.." Axel said softly.

[Reno]

Roxas frowned as he heard the story as well, actually surprised she was telling it. He had been expecting her to just bite his head off and possibly force him to drown or something... but, something about being near water, or in it... seemed to make Aqua more mellow.

Now if only there was that kind of place for Ven.

"Be careful what you wish for. It might just come back to bite you in the ass." Aqua said, her eyes narrowed and still bitter even as she looked down at the water, stormy and gray and reflecting the sky above.

Nothing more was said for the next few minutes, no one knowing what to say to fill the silence any longer. There was really nothing to say, no condolences for Aqua would make her feel better, no topic changes for Axel would fill the gap left by his missing parents with no answers...

The rain starts to fall a little quicker, the wind a little harsher.

Sora pouted, shutting his eyes as some of his spikes fell in them. He groaned in annoyance. "I thought the purpose of spiky hair was to keep it out of my face!" He complained. He shook his head making some of them bounce right back into place and opened his eyes looking down towards the others. "Guys we better start picking it up before this storm gets worse!!" They'd have to push their Pokemon but... they didn't have any choice.

Roxas teeth chattered, holding onto Buizel tighter. He didn't want to experience what 'worse' was. "Alright, let's go Buizel!"
"Bui!" Called the otter, his tail spinning faster as he moved through the water.

[Rikugurl]

Riku sighed as the silence took them, the storm not minding at all. He too thought of the same thing just Sora announced it. This storm was going to get worse... He looked down, seeing the two trainers in the water and frowned. It was going to be very dangerous for them if this storm got any worse...

He looked down at the Gyarados, his eyes glowing blue.
"We have to hurry. As fast as you can, my friend!"
His hands gripped the horns as the dragon did what he was asked.

"Come on, full speed!" Ven called, the penguin giving out a cry before pushing his flippers harder.

"L-l-let'sssss g-go!" Axel chattered out as he held onto his first pokemon tightly, feeling his tail move faster.


By dusk, the sound of hooves, wings and paws stopped in a small field by Lilycove City.
The blue dragon on the other had already had his own journey to make. Riku had asked him to meet them at Lilycove City's pier at noon so they could head to Mossdeep City.

The group seemed much to weary from the very long day of travel, only cooking a small meal to hold them over for the night and they could get some real food in the city.

Beds were made close to the fire, especially Axel and Roxas who had to travel in the stormy and freezing waters.

As the redhead started to snore, Riku shifted in his bag. They were going to bump into a larger problem tomorrow...

[Reno]

Close to Axel, Roxas was already fast asleep, his back faced towards the fire. Luckily after riding on Rapidash for the most part he was dry and warm and, being near the fire, found no problem falling asleep.

Aqua was the third person by the fire. She sighed staring into the dancing flames quietly, her eyes faraway as she thought deeply about something. Talking about her hometown and her father... reminded her of things she'd rather not remember.

Sora was close by to Riku, curled up in his own sleeping bag and holding Jolteon close to his chest. He yawned tired, nuzzling his face in the fox's spiky fur like he was his pillow. "Night~" He called softly to everyone who was still awake.

Terra sighed as he stared at the stars. He turned on his side, making himself more comfortable as he pillowed his head under his arm and shut his eyes also making to go to sleep.

[Rikugurl]

In the morning, Axel found out he didn't have any more coffee.
Talk about a forest fire.
Sora tried to make him feel better, stating that they HAD to have coffee in the city... but the redhead blew his head off at the brunette, making the blonde twins snap back.

Birds of all kinds flew from the trees as a huge argument burst out over nothing and luckily, Aqua was the one who put a stop to it all. Of course her and Terra had some choice words about vaginal issues but Aqua stomped that out as well.

They needed to get Axel coffee...now.

The group quickly hurried through the route by foot and got to the city about a hour later.
To their surprise, the city was bustling as if it was a huge one! Well, it was... but some remembered it as a small ocean city. Now it was booming with contests, a huge new department store, a hall of fame and everything!

Axel and Roxas rushed towards the nearest cafe as the rest headed to the department store.
"Haunter..." The ghost looked around as he was let out and blinked, seeing some animals in bows and ribbons. OH NO! NOT THIS AGAIN!
Ven glared at Terra and Ven, just WAITING for them to comment...

[Reno]

The morning was hell. It all started nice and normal, everyone packing up, wanting to hurry to town so they could get a real meal. There were even some soft and quiet conversations between the more awake of the travelers, mainly the triplet trio who all had a tendency to be early risers... for the most part. Even the Pokemon were in good moods despite the fact everyone was out of Poke-food.

No one really noticed the craggy and groggy red-head trudging towards the weak fire with his bag dragging on the ground beside him. No one cared as Axel shifted through his bag, pulling out a familiar canister of coffee grounds and popped it open.

However no one missed his horrified and furious scream when he realized that the canister was empty, nothing left but the shiny silver bottom gleaming at him guiltily. Everyone jumped about three feet in the air in fact, looking at the red-head like he was some psycho let too early out of the asylum.

"Now, Axel..." Sora was the first to say, smiling calmly. "It's not the end of the world, there's got to be coffee the next town over." Apparently he hadn't learned his lesson from the first time Axel snapped at him. Because the red-head practically turned into a rabid dog the way he jumped up and snapped at the poor brunette, instantly putting Ven and Roxas on high alert as they came to the eldest brother's rescue.

Riku, being the non-confrontational person he was, stayed back and merely watched the four go at it, Ventus and Roxas making a discordant, synchronized scream, Axel just sounding like some wild Zubat outta hell, and Sora jumping in whenever Axel said anything about either of his brothers that he shouldn't.

Ventus and Roxas were both about ready to punch the red-head when suddenly they were all blasted down by a new voice.
"ENOUGH YOU FUCKTARDS!!" The bluette growled as she stepped in-between the four, hitting the blondes and Axel back with her arms. After she so very 'kindly' told them to shut the hell up (and after punching Terra for his unhelpful comment) they all set out on foot to town, the triplets keeping their distance from the red-head.

At least until they actually got there that it. Roxas finally sighed in relief, walking over to Axel. "Come on." He growled, grabbing the other's arm and dragged him down the trail. "We'll meet you after he's sane!"

Ten minutes later Roxas was setting a cup of coffee in front of Axel hard enough to make the liquid slosh but not spill over. "Here." He said tersely as he sat down on the opposite side of the table, sipping at his own bought drink. Tea, surprisingly with a little bit of honey added. His eyes narrowed, watching Axel sip at his drink, having the modesty to at least look somewhat ashamed.

"You owe everyone an apology, especially Sora." Roxas finally said, glaring at the other. "There's no fucking reason to get all bent out of shape for fucking caffeine!"


Meanwhile a few streets away the rest of the group - that is the two miffed siblings, the hooded Gethin turned Riku, the water-crazy bitch Aqua and the muscled brunette Terra were all headed for a department store in hopes to get supplies. Some extra blankets, a sleeping bag for Aqua, some Pokefood among other things any traveler naturally needed.

That was when they passed Pokemon in some fancy looking bows and ribbons. Aqua and Terra both raised an eyebrow and looked at Ven, evil grins on their faces and words at there lips. They never got to say a word though because something shocking and... utterly disturbing happened.

"AWWWE! How CUTE!"
Everyone's heads whirled around and... some jaws dropped as SORA ran over to the line of Pokemon set beside there dolled up trainers. He quickly ran up to a trainer who had a Charmander in a sparkly blue bow. "Where did you get that bow? My Arcy would just love that!"

"Holy fuck..." Terra slowly said. "I think it runs in the family."
Aqua chuckled, nudging Ven some. "You SURE Sora has a dick in his pants? You might wanna check and make sure you don't actually have an older sister."

[Rikugurl]

Axel sighed as he saw the coffee placed in front of him and wrapped his thin fingers around it. He brought it to lips and took a big gulp, smiling as it went down. The instant it hit him, it was as if he turned into another person. That happy, friendly, helpful and dopey fun loving redhead that everyone knew well by now.
Even his hair settled and didn't look crazy anymore as his eyes calmed and nerves relaxed.

His exotic green eyes looked over the rim before he pulled it away slowly. He frowned, looking away before nodding. "I know... I'll apologize when we catch up..." He wished that he knew WHY he needed his coffee in the morning and honestly forgot how long it had been since he didn't need it in the morning to get through the day.

He frowned more at the last bit and looked away slightly. "Like there is an excuse for you to storm around when I'm not paying attention to you?"


Ven growled more and more as he saw them lean in.
OH FUCKING GO AHEAD! MAKE MY DAY!
He was already thinking about come backs when he blinked, his blue eyes moving to see where the girly cry came from even if he already knew who it was...

With a roll of his eyes, he crossed his arms as his brother ran over to a Pokemon and a cute girl. He be shocked if Sora DIDN'T run over to them.

When he was nudged, he could only grin.
"Don't ask me~~ Ask Riku, he'd probably know better than I~~~"
The hooded teen stopped and looked over, frowning under his hood. "What are you implying?"
Ventus only grinned more as he nudged over at Sora. "What were you doing in the mountain all day~~~"

The hooded teen seem to jerk a bit and then a sound of that of being pissed off came from under the hood before he turned and walked off to the store.

Terra commented, making Ven stick out his tongue but he stopped when he heard something close by that made him gulp.

"Oh, do you think Venita will show up?"
"I hope so! She was soooo cute!"

[Reno]

Roxas stared blankly as Axel talked back to him, the words cutting him deep. W-What? For a few moments he was just stunned, the sentence whirling around his head again and again like an unending whirlpool, his cup raised halfway to his lips, completely forgotten.

His jaw suddenly clenched, hard enough he was afraid he'd break his teeth, blazing blue eyes slowly raising to look at Axel darkly. "Excuse me?" He set his tea down with a hard clink, the cup actually cracking. "I don't think I quite heard that. What did you say?"


Aqua blinked at Ven's response, smirking some at the implication. They HAD been in the mountain for a long time... and came out holding hands.

Terra chuckled at the blonde and silverette's little tussle, glancing at Ven. "Told you you were snarky~" He chuckled at the tongue, thinking of about ten better uses for it, most of which were R-rated thoughts when suddenly a name caught his attention.
Venita.
He glanced up looking towards two girls who were giggling in excitement and rolled his eyes. How did 'she' get so popular? She was in ONE contest! "Idiots don't know what they're missing." He mumbled under his breath, catching Ven's hand in his and tugging him towards the store. He's rather have his Ven than Venita anyday.
Aqua blinked but followed after, looking over her shoulder. "Sora come on!"

The brunette looked up and smiled, looking back to the girl. "Thanks very much! Gotta go!" He turned and hurried after his friends.
The girl he left behind blinked slowly. "That boy... was weird."
"Chaaar...."

Sora hurried in behind the others announcing happily. "I'm gonna get a bow!" Some of them glanced back, raising mocking eyebrows. "What? Arcanine deserves something special for lugging us around all day! I wanna get something for Gary too but I dunno what'd he'd like."

He grinned hurrying past the others to Riku's side. "What do you think Ri?" His grin fell some noticing how tense the other was. "Hey, what's wrong?"

[Rikugurl]

Axel jerked when he heard the loud smash on the table and looked down, seeing the crack that it had made. A quick thought ran through his head about if they would have to pay for that or not but when his eyes caught Roxas's, he was brought back into the situation.

He frowned, telling himself to hold his ground instead of saying it was nothing and forget it.
"You heard me..." He stated as calm as could be, trying to me neutral. He saw what could happen if he became snappy and also so the other fights that had happened in the group because someone lost their head.
"If you have the right to be silly sometimes, than I do to. It's not right and something we have to work on."


Ven swallowed as he looked away. How was Terra going to feel when he heard that naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame!
"AAH!" He cried as he was pulled after the silverette and shuffled, catching his balance as he started to walk. He blushed then looked back at the crowd. It had been so easy winning that contest. Shit, if a guy could do it, what did that say about the girls?

He should his head as he squeezed Terra's hand, hearing Haunter float close by. He glanced at Sora, rolling his eyes about 'Gary'. That poor thing was probably a girl!

Riku continued to walk to the store, going inside as the double doors opened for him and felt the warmer air inside along with bright lights, tons of good, lots of people and pokemon a like.
He glanced down at Sora and sighed, shaking his head. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

[Reno]

"Silly...?" Roxas repeated, growling hardly noticing that the cup he had cracked was leaking hot tea all over his hand. "You think I'm... being silly?"

He ground his teeth, cheeks flushing some. "I'm not the one fraternizing with some blue-haired BITCH who caused all of our problems to fucking BEGIN with!"


Sora blinked curiously at Riku's response than smiled brightly, brushing it off. He reached out catching Riku's wrist and tugging him off in another direction. "Oh well okay then! Why don't you help me pick out a ribbon for Arcy!" Not like he was giving the other teen much of a choice...

"Seriously Ven, does your brother even HAVE a Y-chromosome?" Terra asked, raising an eyebrow.

[Rikugurl]

Green eyes widened as the redhead's mouth gaped. Adults, children and Pokemon in the cafe stopped what they were doing, looking over to see who could be swearing like that in such a happy town.

The green eyes narrowed, eve more than their natural self as he took another sip of his coffee. He placed the cup down on the table before crossing his arms. "Look, I don't tell you who you can be friends with, don't tell me who I have to be friends with. I never forced you to forgive Aqua and mind you, I haven't either but HATING her isn't going to get me anywhere. She's a person too, with feelings and she can't be too much of a huge 'bitch' if she left Team Rocket and is now traveling with us to help correct something she did." He looked away slightly before frowning.

"Life is suppose to progress, not stand still. Hating someone doesn't bring you further in life, so I try not to hate anyone." His eyes moved back to Roxas and frowned more. "And if you're angry at me for being friendly with her, you should be angry at Sora too. AND let me remind you Roxas, it was your BROTHER who stole my Pokemon, not Aqua."


Riku yelped as he was dragged down an isle, not even able to protest...though he wouldn't anyway. They walked down a few isles before they wound out that the accessories for Pokemon was on the second floor. They didn't even bother telling the others as they rushes (more so Sora) to the elevator.

Ven looked around, stopping at some displays and frowning. This would all be much more fun if he.... had money.

[Reno]

Roxas glared some, listening to the other talk, the words going in one ear and out the other. His eyes sharped though when the other mentioned Sora and then Ven and his fury sparked again, making his body shake, his heart race and heat radiate from his skin.

Before he could stop himself, for whatever reason - maybe his protectiveness over his siblings, his jealousy towards Aqua or just something unnameable - he said something he knew deep in his heart he never, ever should of uttered. Why didn't Axel get it? Why didn't he see through his anger?

"How dare you bring Sora and Ven into this. You were the one who was telling me that you couldn't tell me how to feel regarding my brothers! Hypocrite. You have NO right..." He pointed at the other suddenly. "Especially when you don't even KNOW where yours is! for all you know HE'S DEAD TOO."


Sora hummed happily as he danced down the aisle with ribbons, looking at the colors and disregarding the red and orange almost instantly. He hesitated at the yellow however, tilting his head. "Mmm... would yellow look good on orange?" He reached out for the roll of fabric but his fingers twitched and then paused in mid-air as Sora just stood there. His hand dropped and fell too his heart, feeling how rapidly it was beating, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Roxas...?"

Aqua just grimaced as they walked through the store. Shopping, ugh. Why did woman like to do this again? "What exactly do we need again?"

[Rikugurl]

Axel growled as he heard Roxas come back. Was he not listening to a WORD he said!? Did none of his points POINT out ANYTHING!?
His face too grew red, ready to come back, much less calmer than before. Obviously talking calmly did nothing and---

"For all you know HE'S DEAD TOO."

His face suddenly went pale and froze. He blinked as his mouth gaped, realizing what Roxas meant.
R-reno wasn't...
He slowly looked down, tears forming in his eyes as his lips slowly started to quiver.
He closed his mouth and eyes, the water build up unable to keep as tears slowly ran down his face.

He suddenly got up and turned, walking out of the cafe quickly and through the doors that lead outside.


Riku tilted his head as he looked at the ribbon, Umbreon sniffing them here and there. They smelt like... ship. ".....Did you want one too?" He asked his black fox, only for those red eyes to roll. Riku couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, so you don't want to look pretty, huh?" He joked before looking up, hearing Sora's question and slowly walking over.
"Yellow would wo--- Sora!?" He called as he came closer, looking down at the brunette in concern.

"Are you ok?" He asked as he saw Sora's face pale a bit. "What about Roxas?"


Ven sighed as he put his hands on his hips and looked around at all the shit that was for sale. "Well, your ass needs a sleeping bag, we need to get Pokefood...and COFFEE... some more food, cooking---" He stopped suddenly and reached up for the charm on his necklace. Not the gem Terra gave him but the pendant his father did the day he and his brothers were born.
"Roxas...?"