The Tale of Seven

[Rikugurl]

Another soft sigh was pushed against the brunette teens neck as the silverette nuzzled it more before his slumber became peaceful once more. His silver hair slowly fell from Sora's shoulders, tickling the boy's neck now instead as more splayed across his arm.

His pale fingers moved slightly, running across a soft abdomen as the brunette stretched but they stopped around Sora's pelvic bone. His legs moved slightly closer, looking for the warmth once again as he unconsciously spooned the teen.


"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" The redhead shot up, flailing to get the cold water from his face and flung the washcloth across the room. His body started to shake as narrow green eyes slowly turned and looked at the furious blonde. "What the hell was that for!?" He cried before wrapping his arms around himself.


"Mnnnngh...." Ven replied as he only cuddled closer, finding a space in Terra's neck that would let him escape from the sun. Fuck... his body ached.

[Reno]

Sora bit his lip as he felt the other's hair brushing along his skin the sensation annoyingly ticklish. It took all of his willpower not to squirm or giggle or even reach up and scratch away the feeling.

But what was even worse was when Riku's fingers moved out of his own. He sucked in a sharp breath and his eyes shut, humming at the strangely pleasant feeling. He calmed down when the other continued to sleep, hardly aware of what he was doing.

He sighed this time contently and he slowly shut his eyes, decided he might as well fall asleep... in Riku's arms. He tried not to squeal like a schoolgirl at how pathetically happy that single thought made him.


Roxas tapped his foot, huffing. "For kicking me." He reached out, flicking the other on the nose. "AND slapping me. AND taking the whole bed. Jeez Ax, you're worse than Sora when decides to play DDR in his sleep."


Terra chuckled softly, running a hand through the other's hair and murmured softly. "A warm shower will help with the soreness, when you're ready to move." He sighed softly, curling his arm around the other and just enjoyed sharing his warmth.

[Rikugurl]

The room was silent, just the sound of the two breathing. Sora's was slowly down while Riku's was still deep and slow. The sun continued to try and break free, wanting the two in bed to see it... but there was no chance. Sora had protected Riku fully and there was no breaking that.

"Sora...." A soft breath was exhaled into the brunette's neck...and there went his sleeping as Sora shot up and his ocean eyes opened sleepily.


"WHAT!? I didn't....well....maybe...." Axel looked away guiltily as he rubbed his nose. "Well....I'm just not use to uh....sleeping with other people. Roxas still huffed and he sighed as he reached over to the phone by the bed and called room service. He needed coffee!!

He slowly laid back down before....
"EW!" He cried and shot back up, wiping a pool of spit from his cheek.


"Noooooooooongh...." The blonde complained more as he sighed, not wanting to get out of this bed for awhile.


Unfortunately, everyone had to get out of the warmth and comfort of their beds and rooms, checking out and gathering all their clean laundry.

The group all met, fully clothed and ready to go at the hotel's restaurant in which they were allowed a free breakfast thanks to Steven as well. They were seated at a around table with big comfy chairs and a nice, promising menu of breakfast feasts.

Ven gave a big yawn as he looked at his menu, getting slightly odd looks from the rest of the table. They were all a bit concerned when they saw him limp in, noting that he wasn't limping last night. Had he fallen on their date last night?

"Maaaaaan, I could eat his whole menu!" Axel licked his lips as his stomach started to agree. Riku, on the other hand was under his hood once more, debating on what small meal he should order.

[Reno]

Sora was just trying to drift off... when he heard his name whispered in the still morning air. He tensed in surprise and shot up, afraid he had been caught - of course, why should he be in trouble Riku was cuddling HIM - but when he looked at the other, he noticed he was still sleeping.

Well... now waking up actually. Wait had he been... dreaming about... him? He blushed darkly, and laughed as the other's eyes open. "Eeer, good morning Riku!"


The blonde rolled his eyes at the other as he tried to deny it, and sighed, noting as he picking up the phone. It wasn't hard to guess what he was ordering. However, it was too his great enjoyment as Axel laid back down on the bed in his own drool.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"


Terra just chuckled at the other's complaint. "Okay, stay here as long as you'd like." He could deal with that.


Of course, their lounging didn't last forever as slowly, one by one, everyone climbed out of their beds. Aqua, with her hungry fox, was looking rather sour as she came out of bed. Riku and Sora, both clean and well-rested, came calmly from their room (okay Riku was calm, Sora looked ready to sprout wings and fly). Roxas, appeased but somewhat sleepily, and Axel, happily caffeinated, easily gave up their room. And Ven and Terra, both having to take a hot shower, before they would get dressed and meet the others.

It wasn't long before they met for breakfast, glad it was also free. Most of them were now officially broke.

Terra just hummed, glancing at Ven every now and again from the corner of his eye, trying not to smile. The other was having some trouble walking, but the brunette didn't mind - it gave him a perfectly plausible excuse to help him.

Roxas rolled his eyes at Axel's comment, hitting him on the head with his menu. "Oh really? Then just order whatever has the biggest amount of food. I bet you can't finish it."

Sora sipped on his orange juice while he held his menu, licking his lips as he came upon a tasty looking selection. "Mmm pancakes~" It came with butter, syrup, some fruit and FIVE pancakes?! He wasn't sure he could eat ALL that. He nudged Riku slightly. "Hey Ri, wanna share this with me?" He pointed to the item on the silverette's menu.

Aqua hummed as she lowered her hand, letting Glaceon eat the poke-food she had snagged from Axel right out of her hand.

[Rikugurl]

Ven...actually wasn't all too hungry. He had a HUGE lunch yesterday and rather filling dinner last night. Though....with current....um....activities... he might of burned that all off. His body was still achy, making him pout and rather order a bed to sleep the aches away than food.

He knew though that this was the end of their journey. Beyond this...who knew if they would be able to ever get a free breakfast again...or another breakfast period.
"Mmmnnnn.... I'll just have....some eggs."

"Ouch!" Axel poured but glared down at Roxas in a competitive way. "Oh yea! You wanna bet! I'll show you! I'll order the Olympus breakfast and eat it all! Not even a crumb left!" He announced, pointing at this said choice.

Ven couldn't help but raise an eyebrow before looking for it, seeing what it was.
Country Ham, Pork Chops or Steak grilled to order, Three Eggs* cooked to order, Two Waffles, Two Pancakes, Fried Apples, Hashbrown Casserole, Sawmill Gravy, Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits, real Butter and the best Preserves, Jam n' Apple Butter (on request) we could find.

He slowly looked back at Axel and grinned. "No way are you going to be able to finish that."

Riku pulled up his hot chocolate, blowing on it softly before taking a sip. He blinked though as he was nudged, looking over towards Sora. He tilted his head before looking down at the menu. "Oh, sure, Sora."

[Reno]

Terra just smiled at Ven's choice, feeling similar. Well not achy, but definitely not too hungry. He looked back at the menu, wondering what he should order. Just as he was, he heard Axel's announcement and looked up, before looking down at the menu as well. Damn, was he ordering for all of them?!

Roxas smirked suddenly. "Alright, you're on." He said, before looking at the single orders knowing he better order something light so he could help Axel eat that big huge meal that he had NO way of finishing unless he had all six of his Pokemon help!

Aqua looked at the choice as well and sighed. "Grumpig." She mumbled under her breath. Glaceon was licking her hand, looking for more food.
"Don's worry, We'll have more soon."

Sora grinned happily. "Cool! Thanks!" He chirped happily.


About fifteen minutes later, everyone had their orders, except Axel. Roxas was happily eating his bowl of cereal - Poke-flakes - while Sora was placing two and a half pancakes on Riku's plate (plus most of the fruit, knowing that the other liked it). Ven was eating his small plate of eggs and Terra was having some hash browns and bacon. Aqua was sharing her meal - a crepe, some bacon and an omelet - with Glaceon.

It was about ten minutes later when their waiter, and another waitress, came wheeling out this HUGE food cart and came right up to their table. Everyone else had to edge away from Axel as plate after plate of food was set all over the place the two happily thanking him for his order.

"Jeez!" Sora cried from where he sat, not having realized the competition that had been going on - obviously preoccupied with a certain someone else. Was Axel trying to feed the whole nation?!

Roxas was leaning back in his chair as he held his bowl, no longer having a place to put it down. God that was a lot of fucking food. "Well, hop to it."

[Rikugurl]

"Mmmm...." Ven smiled as he put his plate down, empty except his fork. He sighed and leaned back, wincing from the pain that ran from his butt up. When he looked up though, he saw two people walking over, wheeling a cart over to...their table. Was the order really that big!?

Riku smiled as he thanked Sora, slowly eating his breakfast to enjoy it. He too looked up when Sora exclaimed and looked at all the plates being set down...just for Axel.
There was no way he was going to be able to eat that... with being as skinny as he was...he wouldn't have anywhere to put it!

Green, usually narrow eyes widened when he saw the plates being placed down. He blinked, slowly looking up at the women who had brought his doom, a sweatdrop appearing behind his head. "O-oh...y-you're welcome." He gulped before looking down at all of it. Man, it looked awesome but...it didn't SOUND like that much.

However, when he heard Roxas next to him, he frowned and grabbed his napkin, wrapping it around his neck before he grabbed his silverware. "Alright!"


"........." Ven's eyes were wide as his mouth was gaped, looking across the silent table.
Everyone was stunned and...a bit worried.

The whole table was actually looking at one person: Axel.
The redhead was hunched over, his face buried in one of his many empty plates.
He had eaten it all....by himself...and sort of...collapsed.

"Maybe someone should poke him..." Riku whispered.
"He might explode though." Ven whispered back.

[Reno]

Roxas smiled as he watched Axel 'hop to it' chuckling some. He was just waiting for the minute the red-head asked for some help. He could eat some waffles... and maybe they'd need some of their Pokemon.


Roxas however, watched plate after plate after plate get devoured, his now empty bowl dangling from his finger tips as his expression mimicked Ven's.

Everyone, already down with their food, could only watch in silence as Axel finished the very last bite... and then fell, face fist into his plate. Everyone waited, in silence, for the red-head to revive himself, but after a few minutes, everyone realized he wasn't moving.

Aqua's head turned around at Ven's notion. "Then we definitely can't move him!" She whispered.
"Ah, what's wrong diva?" Terra whispered back. "You guys are such girlfriends, him throwing in your lap isn't going to break you're little bond right?"
"I just cleaned these clothes!"
"Well someone should at least get his face out of his plate." Sora jumped in, whispering as well.

"Axel?" Everyone's head turned sharply to look at Roxas. "Axel... hey? You alive? Listen you didn't have to eat it all, really. I swear I wouldn't of gloated much." He reached over, placing his hand on his shoulder.

[Rikugurl]

Everyone looked up at Roxas who was the only one not whispering, seeing is worried face. Well, at least they now knew better than not to dare the redhead! HE'D DO IT! Seriously!

Ven bit his lip as he saw his brother put his hand down on Axel's shoulder, ready for Axel to actually burst and breakfast would be sprayed all over the place. Then they would have to fight over who got his pokemon and...it would be one big mess!!

But... he didn't.
All he did was moan and slowly but steadily picked his face off the place and slowly leaned back in his chair. He was rather pale as he reached up and covered his mouth.
"OH SHIT! HE'S GOING TO BLOW!" Ven cried before cowering under the table cloth... but his eyes only opened wide when he heard:

"BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP!!"

[Reno]

Everyone watched as Axel lifted his head, all their looks of concern turning to panic as they came to the same conclusion Ven screeched out.

"Oh shit no!" Aqua cried as she jumped out of her seat while Glaceon hid under the table as well. Everyone else was too shell-shocked to move as they stared with wide eyes as Axel let out a HUGE burp. Seriously, everyone in the restaurant and even a few people OUTSIDE turned to look.

".......Nice one." Terra was the first to say, clapping.
Sora just sighed and smiled, as if he expected nothing less. And joined in the clapping.
"Don't encourage him!" Roxas hissed, pulling at Axel's ear. Always high up in mannerisms wasn't he? "What do you say to all these nice people?"

[Rikugurl]

"Whoa!" Ven cried as he bopped his head back up, looking at Axel seeming to feel much better and back to his normal skin tone. "Man, you gotta teach me how to do that!" He laughed and clapped as well.

Riku could only shift, pulling his face in his palm.

"Hahahaha, thanks!" Axel smiled but whimpered as he felt his ear being yanked, his green eyes looking up at a rather pissed off blonde. Slowly he looked around, seeing everyone frozen as all eyes were on him. His cheeks started to redden as he coughed in embarrassment. "O-oh...haha....heh.....uh.....excuse me?"


After the many apologies and some convincing that if Axel hadn't burped like that, he would of exploded to Roxas...so not to get mad at him. They left, trying to sneak out as they walked to the harbor. It was finally time to finish their journey together and claim back the pokemon that were rightfully theirs and loved.

'Gary' and the wailord was summoned by Riku, the group slowly get on the whale as Sora and Riku got atop the dragon. They couldn't stall anymore, for the fate of their Pokemon could be grim if they took to much longer.

[Reno]

By the time they had set out, it was still early morning. Everyone was looking a little more uncertain now, looking back at the town every now and again, as if they could call the day before back to them.

But time had to move forward. Everyone knew, no matter how hard you try, it is not possible to bring back the past except in your memories. So, everyone got onto their two swimming companions and without much more ado then that, they set off, knowing that soon they'd be having the fight of their life.



Binoculars were lowers and blue eyes shut as a sigh was admitted, the breeze blowing her blue hair from her face as she stood like a figurehead to the moving whale. She looked over her shoulder, back to where four were sitting. Terra and Axel, as usual were clinging to the identical twins as if their lives depending on it. However, something seemed different about today then it had two days ago. She could almost say their was something... intimate to the way Terra held onto Ven, and Axel curled around Roxas.

Her eyes slowly moved to the top of the sea dragon, seeing two figures atop it holding onto the crown of the monster Pokemon, but what made her raise an eyebrow was the way Sora nuzzled his face into Riku's back... and the silverette let him.

She silently took in what was obviously three growing couples, her eyes darkening some. Not in jealousy, or in anger, or in disgust. No, their was something... sorrowful to her gaze.

She knelt down, patting the large whale on his blubbery skin. "Hey can you slow down some, Wailord??" The large Pokemon seemed to of heard her and understood, it's speed slowly down some. In moments, Gyarados realized how far ahead it was getting and, after a blue shine from under Riku's hood, Gary slowed as well.

"Hey what's going on?!" Sora called down, sounding concerned. He was probably thinking someone was hurt or - quite possibly - Axel was seasick after all that food!

But neither was true. Aqua was walking over the long stretch of the whale towards the group of four and she looked up. "You two, get down here!"
"Uhh... o-okay?" Sora said, confused. After some speaking with Gyarados, the large head lowered as low to the body of the almost still whale now and the two carefully jumped onto the top of the larger Pokemon both of them stumbling a little. They both looked at Aqua questioningly (even though of course no one could see Riku's face) but she only waved them over to the other group in which she had now joined.

Sora walked along the whale, holding onto Riku's hand loosely under the guise that he was 'afraid to fall'.
"Sit." Aqua ordered, pointing her finger down in a gesture that said 'Park it!' and they did so. She looked over her shoulder. "Okay. Wailord, Gary, you can speed it up!" It seemed Sora's nickname had stuck. There was a hissing cry and a beautiful wail from the two as they did as they were told, Gyarados lowering his head into the water to moisten his scales after having them up in the sun for so long.

Everyone gave the woman a peculiar look as if they couldn't figure out what her angle was. Some of them were thinking, maybe, she wanted to start planning ahead for Sky Pillar. But they were wrong. She sighed slowly. "Listen, I know most of you are TRYING very hard to stay optimistic about what were going to be doing soon."

"So what, you're just trying to check and make sure we aren't going to chicken out?" Roxas growled, feeling slighted.
"No, I obviously know all of you are fucking courageous enough - or dumb enough - to do this if you didn't run away and hide someone in town last night." Aqua said, rolling her eyes. Why was the blonde so fucking temperamental? "I just don't want any of you having any regrets... if something happens to one of us." She straightened up, noticing Terra and Axel... both had let go of their blondes to listen to her. "So if there's something you need to say, to share, to talk about it's time to get it off of your chest. You might not have another chance to."

[Rikugurl]

Riku frowned as he looked back, seeing the whale slow down for no reason. What was....wrong? He looked down, his eyes shining blue, asking the dragon to slow down. It did so and the whale was able to catch up slowly. When he heard the bluette call, he glanced down, some of his silver hair falling and flowing in the ocean breeze.

He looked back at Sora and nodded, slowly getting up and they carefully jumped. When Riku got his balance, he gasped a bit, seeing Sora slightly lean down on his bad leg, the balance being interrupted by some kind of pain. Graceful and strong, Riku wrapped his arm around the brunette to catch his fall and slowly helped him to the place where Aqua had requested them.

Axel swallowed, not liking the sudden motion change. He was already getting use to the fast pace! His stomach started to growl and he started to do some relaxation breathing to calm it.

Ven could only cross his arms as he looked away, hearing what Aqua was trying to get at. Pfft, what was the point about learning more about someone if they might all die in the first place. Only a woman---

"I would... like to ask the first question." An unlikely voice was heard first and all eyes were on Riku. The hooded teen slowly glanced at Sora with some concern. "You're leg, Sora....what happened? We're all....really concerned."

[Reno]

Roxas eyes narrowed as well. Something left unsaid? What could there possibly b-

Everyone jerked there heads suddenly to Riku's question, looking towards the silverette, then slowly towards a now very uncomfortable looking Sora, hands paused over said leg that he was obviously rubbing the pain out of. The wheels turned in his head, probably trying to find a way to get out of it.

Roxas snorted, rolling his eyes. “Nice try,” He said as he glanced at Riku. “If me nor Ven have gotten it out of him, you’re definitely-“

“Wellllll…” Sora broke in, hesitatingly glancing at the silver-haired man who had single-handedly made him feel at his lowest and highest in only one week. Could he really tell him the story of how he got this bad leg? He noticed Roxas looking at him in shock, but Sora just blushed. “If you really want to know… I wouldn’t mind telling you…”

“What?!” Roxas exploded. “That is NOT fair-“
“Well I didn't want to tell you and Ven because I knew you two would freak out!” Sora said, waving his arms. “And… you probably still will… well okay compared to Ven’s secret-“ He glanced at his blonde twin and smiled apologetically for bringing it up, before looking at the man sitting next to him. “Well anyways…You sure you want to know? It's... a long story.”

Riku only nodded, but Sora almost felt like he was saying ‘You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to though’ and this made Sora melt inside. He sighed softly, as if coming to a decision then smiled nervously. “Okay well…” He noticed everyone leaning forward suddenly and it made him squirm. Did they... really all care about him that much?

He shut his eyes, wishing he had Jolteon, or Raichu or Arcy for support. As well. He took a deep breath and the story just started to spill from his lips. “It started after my first year of Pokemon training. I was about eleven. I only had two Pokemon with me at the time – Eevee and Pikachu. I had already won over half all the badges in the Kanto region but I was struggling to complete the last two. I spent money on the ferry to Cinnabar… and failed miserably. Blane… well he handed my ass to me let’s leave it at that. Three times.”

Sora chuckled but his eyes were dark from the memories. “I felt like I was at a dead end for awhile… and I kept both Pikachu and Eevee at my side at all times so we could all train together and get faster and stronger each day. We raced and we practiced and challenged everyone in sight until we were all too exhausted to move. But it seemed my defeats just… made it worse all around. I started losing all the time and I knew it was because my heart wasn’t in it anymore. I was making too many mistakes and I had lost faith in my ability as a trainer. It was depressing.” He laughed suddenly as if his time of limitation was comical to envision.

He glanced around the circle then. “I know what you guys are probably thinking. ‘So why not capture more Pokemon to vary my options?’ I won’t lie – a water type against Blane’s forces would have been nice but… though this may be silly I… try not to catch Pokemon that I don’t make strong bonds with.” He sighed and got back on track.
“So one day I just said ‘Screw this’ and turned for home. I decided my journey was done.”

Roxas and Ven, he noted, were watching him, their eyes full of intense interest. It was as this admittance of weakness was something grand but shocking to them, as if it was something they knew he was capable of feeling but wasn’t allowed to have. They’d always looked towards him as the strongest of them. The ever optimistic one, the one who never gave up. They never really thought to think that he too had his times in his journey, like Ven devastatingly had, like Roxas still did, where he believed he couldn’t do it.
“Mom and dad… never told us you went home.” Roxas said softly, trying to further the story.

Sora smiled then. “I never made it back home. I… I ran into a trainer on my way back. And at his side… was a Raichu. He was… well not nice but not rude really either. Just matter-of-fact I guess. We had a battle and… of course I lost. So he asked me what I thought my puny little Pikachu and weak little Eevee were going to do for me. I was angry at him for being so disrespectful to my friends and showed him the badges they had won me… and he scoffed at them and said ‘So what? They ain’t winning you anything now.’ He started to brag how he had just come back from Junita Town – the thunder country and had his own Pikachu evolved with a thunderstone. I snapped back how it wasn’t right to evolve them just for power – as if they were toys meant to bend to your will – and left.”

He hesitated, frowning a little. “But then for some reason Pikachu and Eevee started urging me to GO there. After losing to Raichu, Pikachu was more eager than ever to get stronger and if he had to evolve to do so, he would. That was just him. Meanwhile Eevee was just all too aware of the thunderstone I had for HIM burning a hole in my backpack. They didn’t want me to give up and thought by prolonging the journey I might come to my senses. I caved mostly because I loved seeing new places and said we’d go take a look but I wasn’t making any promises. It wasn’t an easy journey mind you, nearly a month out of the way. I avoided battling the best I could and nearly turned around like twenty times but Eevee and Pikachu wouldn’t let me.” He chuckled.

“As we went I learned more and more about Junita. It’s economy is made up of all electric-type Pokemon from all four regions. I’d even heard from a few trainers that they’d heard Zaptos flying overhead or Raikou roaring in the distance. For the first time in awhile I was excited. It was like a dream-come true really. Pretty soon I just couldn't wait to get there!!! I always loved electric Pokemon even if the three I have make a habit of shocking me… daily.” He laughed though his eyes bright, completely in the moment.

He leaned back and looked towards the sky. “This is where the story really starts.”

Sora panted softly as he climbed up the long hill along the well-worn sandy path that trainers beforehand had cut into the ground years ago. Almost there! It wasn’t really too steep but he knew it would be easily to roll down if he just turned around and curled himself into a ball. He felt bad for the Voltorb and Electrode that lived in these parts – He was sure that happened to them a lot. On either side of him the land was wild and free full of grass and many trees. At the bottom of the long hill towards the left was a small pond he had stopped at to get some water and found to his delight a Lanturn and Chinchou school living within, telling him he had reached the thunder country. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let him get any water – having electrified it completely.

He decided to forgo it – the town couldn’t be too far, right? Just over the hill probably. Eevee and Pikachu were at his side, smiling all the way. This was exciting for them too! “Race you guys to the top!” Sora suddenly chirped to their thrill. Without much more introduction than that, Sora, Pikachu and Eevee all suddenly burst into a sprint, running up the hill. The brunette was laughing even as his short legs failed to carry him up the hill quickly. Pikachu took the lead, and kept it, effortlessly all the way to the top. Eevee was a close second, bouncing along cutely. Than Sora was last, bending over to hold his knees and catch his breath. “That was great!”
“Pika!” “Ee!” They agreed.

Sora straightened, smiling but then it fell and he gasped. “Oh maaan!” He pointed. “That HAS to be at least a two or three day joooourney!” His Pokemon turned to look, than squinted at the jagged rocks way far in the distance. That was where the town was, built right against the rocks.
“Pika…” Pikachu sighed, ears falling in exhaustion. Next to him Eevee was looking similarly forlorn.

“What say we have lunch?” Sora chirped. They were like magic words, the two perking up excitedly and agreeing instantly. He laughed and nodded before walking towards the small field surrounded by a small grove of trees – a perfect picnic area. He set his backpack on the ground and started to search the edges of the trees for firewood while Eevee and Pikachu sunbathed on the grass.
He had collected maybe four pieces when it happened. A growl.

Sora tensed… but it wasn’t until the Pokemon walked from the shadows that he started to feel apprehensive. It was a green Pokemon with yellow lines on its body – an Electrike. And it was not looking very happy. “Hey there…” He said softly, nervously. To his growing horror though… another appeared beside it… and another and another…

He straightened and slowly started to back away, coming up beside his own two Pokemon. Pikachu and Eevee had both stood once more, coming closer to him. “We… We must have walked into their territory.” Sora breathed in terror as six Electrike came from the forest and formed a menacing line. Behind them a larger Pokemon appeared the obvious leader. He was blue and yellow – a Manectric.

He slowly let the sticks fall from his numb grasp. It was a bad move. Their leader gave a growl and suddenly the electrike were charging for them. He couldn't even find the breath to scream.

“PikaCHU!” Pikachu’s red cheeks sparked and a bolt of electricity shot from him. It slammed in front of three of the electrike, drawing their attention. Without waiting for an order from his master, he charged.
“Pikachu, No!” Sora cried but it was too late as his yellow mouse friend was suddenly brawling with the three, electricity both yellow and blue sparking all around. He saw Pikachu get smacked down by a headbutt and another latched its teeth around one of his long ears strong enough to draw blood. His heart seized in terror. “PIKACHU!!!”

“Eee! Eeeeeee!” Eevee cried beside him, catching his frayed attention. The fox looked up at him, desperately trying to make him understand something but Sora couldn’t, before he suddenly shot over as well and tackled one of the electrike that was still coming for them. He growled before jumping and biting another on the muzzle. The third attacked him though, biting onto the fox’s leg and pulling him to the ground. “Vee!!” She whined and then screeched as the electrike shocked her. “VEEEEE!!!”
“EEVEE!!” Sora cried in horror, tears he hadn’t even known he was crying falling hot and fast down his cheeks. Suddenly, without any consultation to his brain, he was running forward. “Stop it! Stop it please!”

He didn’t get far. He didn’t see it coming – nothing but a spark of blue – before he was screaming in pain from the jolting sensation that sent his nerves on fire. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
As fast as it had begun it was over. He stumbled back and weakly sprawled on the grass, his whole body twitching and aching from the shock. He heard, dimly, Eevee and Pikachu crying out – for him or in pain?

He grunted as a paw was laid on his chest and as his blurry vision cleared he looked up towards the fierce blue face of the leader as it growled down at him. “Please… They’re my friends… Don’t hurt them…”
The Pokemon just growled more, sounded even more furious at this notion, and its jaws opened, striking down at him. Sora reacted on instinct, his mind screaming to survive, grabbing the first thing he could – a forgotten firewood stick, and smacked it across the Pokemon’s face.

The wood snapped on impact, blood spraying from a deep cut. There was a yelp of pain as the wolf jumped off, shaking his head and Sora scrambled to his feet, looking mortified but not apologetic. His eyes gazed past for just a brief second – catching Pikachu giving one of the Electrikes another shock even as he got tackled from behind and Eevee using protect just as two came charging for him, they bouncing harmlessly off his shield – when a growl alerted him back to his own problem.

His frightened eyes fell first to the Manectric who looked angrier than ever and then to his measly broken weapon. He started to back away, holding it in front of him as the other approached.
He was shaking all over with fear but his eyes didn’t leave the other Pokemon’s even as he heard more screams from his friends. It wasn’t until he felt something light brush his cheeks – leaves from a low hanging branch – that his concentration was broken. He jumped, his eyes darted to the right, frightened of another attack.

Manetrike took the distraction and gave a jump, tackling Sora in the gut with brute force.
Sora gave a chopped cry as he felt the air leave him too fast to be natural and a sharp flash of pain. He fell back… and started to roll and roll and roll right back down the hill he had climbed.

Unfortunately it was not on the clear trail, but in depths of the forest.

He struggled and yelled, hands reaching out, trying to stop his descent; until suddenly there was a flash of brown in his eyes as his body jerked with impact, a snap so sickening it made his stomach turn, and a pain so great everything just went black.

The circle was quiet, everyone enraptured by the story and horrified by the events they had to remember were in fact true. “And…?” Aqua prodded. “What then?”

Sora took a deep breath and let it out, unable to stop it from shuddering. These were not good memories for him. “I woke up at the bottom off the hill, maybe fifty feet away from the lake I had visited not long ago. It was… to Pikachu and Eevee crying to me. I don’t know how they faced that great force of Electrike all by themselves but somehow they had... or maybe they ran away I don’t know… I was just glad to see them alive. Then… then I tried to move and found… I couldn’t. I remember this sharp, incredible pain searing through me when I tried to get up.”

He glanced towards Ven then Roxas and finally Riku a little nervously. “I had… broken my leg on the way down.”

“You WHAT!?” Roxas burst out from beside Axel, his eyes blazing. “And you didn’t tell me!?” Ven also seemed shocked, but he shushed Roxas and looked towards Sora, wanting to hear more. Broken bones didn’t faze him as much it seemed.

“Well I didn’t want you guys to make a big deal out of it! I mean gosh this was like five years ago and you’re still making a fuss! I’m glad mom and dad never knew - they woulda collected us all right back home.” Sora laughed softly. He looked around his eyes landed on Riku once more. He smiled a little at the other, unsure of what to make of tension in his body. He almost… wanted to hug the other, run his hands soothingly throwing his hair and murmur ‘Hey it’s alright, I’m okay see?’ But he doubted Riku was worrying THAT much about him… right?

He looked down before stretching out his left leg. “I found out later the damage I had done. They guessed I probably hit a tree on the way down and fairly quickly too. I had had displaced the bone here,” He said, pointed at his knee, “And broken the femur here,” He pointed again this time higher up on his thigh and then circled carefully to include his pelvic bone and hip. “I did damage further up too. Only small fractures they had said but enough that… I was completely incapacitated. I could hardly move my lower half at all, not that I really wanted too. It hurt… a LOT. They said because of all the breaks my leg would never be the same again - that it would be easy to hurt or even break again and I hate the fact they were right. To make matters worse…”

He grimaced this time, then pressed is fingers against the lower half of his torso a little above his stomach. “When that Manectric tackled me, he broke these two ribs and sprained the next two above them. That explained a lot to me later on because when I woke up there in the forest I could hardly breathe. It was because I was on my stomach, putting pressure on these bones and messing with the pattern of how my right lung inflated that made it so difficult. It wasn’t impossible… but it was painful and I couldn’t stop thinking that I was asphyxiating. I couldn’t even turn over – I didn’t have the strength or ability even for that. I didn’t understand why exactly, I was too deep in trauma to grasp what had happened. At the time all I could register was a lot of agonizing pain, terror and my inability to breathe well. …I thought I was dying.”

There was a long stretch of silence around the circle, no one sure of how to respond.

Sora waited for a moment, before he slowly continued. "It was… because of that thought that I knew I had to do something… or I really would die.”

“Eiiii…aaaa……………”
“Eee………eeeeeeeeeee………….”
Sora groaned at the noises.
“Uuuuuuuuu!”
“Weeeeeeeeeee! Eeeeeweeeeeeeeee!”
His eyes fluttered as the voices started to get clearer.
“Piiika! Pikachu!”
“Eee! Ee, Eevee!”

He opened his eyes. At first he was frightened because he couldn’t see right, the colors in his sight exploding randomly like a kaleidoscope on speed and pulsing like a heartbeat. But slowly it faded and the forest around him, darkening with sunset, came to be. He breathed out slowly, feeling as if he should be careful before he took a breath – and froze. Not because he wanted too… but because he couldn’t any longer. He breathed out than in again – and was frozen once more. W-What?

He gasped sharply trying to FORCE more air in, and then pain hit and crippled his action. He groaned fingernails digging into the soil as he felt like he was being slowly scalded by a branding iron against his stomach and tears slipped down his face. “Oh god…” He choked on air and jerked a little, convulsively. That sent another round of pain, this time more ferocious than the last, and he was gone again.

When he came too again, Pikachu and Eevee had crowded closely, twin faces of concern staring at him. It was a little darker than before – he had been out a couple minutes. He turned his eyes slowly and smiled weakly, taking softly and weakly. “Eev… Pika… You’re okay…”
“Pika!” Pikachu said happily, his ringing voice making the other cringe as it made his head pound.
Eevee just whimpered and licked his cheek where the tears had dried.
“I… I’m okay…” Sora whispered as he started to move his arms, the action sluggish but not impossible, as he gripped at the ground and started to try and pull himself up. He barely got his collarbone off the ground before he screamed and fell back down, trembling. The shock sent another stab through his stomach that made the tears fall down anew and he shut his eyes, gritting his teeth as he moaned and sobbed, trying to force himself to stay away from the darkness that threatened to consume him again. Pikachu and Eevee’s worried voices above him were nothing but a dizzying mixture of noise around him that made little sense until the pain started to ebb just a little bit and the darkness faded from the fringes of his mind.

He opened his eyes again, his eyes darting towards his Pokemon and whispered. “I… can’t move… It… it hurts… too much.”
Eevee whimpered, licking his cheek again. Beside him, Pikachu looked panicked.

He shut his eyes, trying to think. What… What was… What was he going to do? He couldn’t get help. He couldn’t… couldn’t even really breathe. He couldn’t get to the thunder country but maybe…

“P…Pika...chu…” He gasped out.
“Chu?” The mouse mournfully squeaked, tears in his eyes.
“G-Get… help…” Sora raised his left hand and pointed a trembling finger towards the worn path they had traveled hours ago. “F-Follow… the road to… Junita. Get… someone here.”
Pikachu turned to look at the road then back at him, shaking his head vehemently. He didn’t want to leave his suffering trainer and friend behind!

“Pi…kachu… listen to me… You have to.” The brunette said, sliding his head along the grass to face the mouse more. “I need… help. You… can do it. I… I know you can.” He grit his teeth as he felt the hurt rise up again before it slowly ebbed back down. “Pika… you’re strong… and in… your element. You can… make it.”
Pikachu looked down at him uncertainly for a few seconds before his eyes narrowed and he nodded. “Pika!”
Sora raised his hand slowly and placed it atop the others head in a sloppy pet. “Good… Me and… Ve… We'll be here… waiting.”

Pikachu nodded and then, after a final look at his trainer and a smile to Eevee, he turned and ran for the path before shooting up it at an incredible speed, disappearing from sight in seconds. Sora twitched and looked towards his first friend. “…Ve…”

Eevee looked at him and whined. He was used to his trainer shortening his name but it never seemed necessary before. “I won’t… ask anything… of you…” Sora whispered. “Just please… be here… with me…”

The fox whined again before nodding and curling up right under his chin as a solid comfort, making a soft worried noise each time he felt his master shake in pain. A soft hand curled around his body and held him close as Sora focused blankly on the grass right in front of his eye and just let the pain have its way with him.

“There wasn’t much else we could do except wait. About two and half days really.” Sora said softly.

“You laid there for three days… I think I remember that. I had gotten really sick for… for three days on my way to Erica’s gym. Not sick, sick really just… I hurt a lot… and I felt panicked for you. I started calling all around and stuff…” Roxas was saying, dazed. To the brunette’s shock the other was looking like he was gonna cry.
The blonde sniffled and quickly wiped his tears away before choking out. “What… what about food… and water?”

“Well, Eevee went off to get food and fought the Lanturn for water when he needed it… but I couldn’t do anything. I tried to have him go grab my backpack – maybe haul it down the hill or something – but it was gone. The Electrike took it. I started to worry about water knowing without it I’d die before Pikachu ever got back… but I shouldn’t have worried at all.” He got some curious and confused looks. “Well… what happens when you have a lot of negative energy stored at the ground and positive energy in the sky?”

Terra, who was certainly the most book-smart, answered first. From the look in his eyes it seemed he had already come to this conclusion early on way at the start when the town was first mentioned. “Thunderstorms.”
“And with thunderstorms-”
“Rain.” The elder finished.
Sora smiled and nodded, even though he was blushing at this admittance. Though he wouldn't spin the mortifying tale of how he licking water from grass and sucked it from his clothes. “So I got… enough water. Enough to survive though my throat was still sore and parched most of the time. They happened every few hours or so. And the lightning never hit me – it hit the trees or the water so I was protected. From that at least and Eevee fought off any other electric Pokemon who DARED to come near me, getting himself hurt most of the time.” He sighed not wanted to lament over this too much. “Well with that much rain I bet you can guess my next problem. By noontime, I was sick from being out there in the rain so much or maybe it was from the breaks I dunno… and that’s actually when... I found my next friend.”

Sora shivered some, groaning at the pain it caused. He felt weary but unable to sleep. He felt cold but unable to get warm. He felt stiff but unable to move. He felt breathless but unable to inhale…

“D-Damn…” No word described this better than maybe… “Fuck…” Both he had learned from Ven. And now that he had said them aloud, they were part of his vocabulary too. Great. His mom would start lathering his toothbrush with soap and he’d have to punch Ven for getting him in that mess…
If… if he ever saw his mom again. Or Ven.

Another shot of pain dashed away those thoughts, this time vicious even to make him groan. God, he didn’t know death took so long. Couldn’t he just be struck now? Damn the trees… damn the pond…

“Vee!” Came a soft cry and drew Sora’s attention away from his thoughts. His eyes spotted his brown fluff ball running through the trees, a little branch in her teeth. It had some red berries on the end. He was glad he could provide for himself…

He dropped it down by him. “Eee…?” He lowered his head and nudged it over towards him.
Sora smiled at the sweet gesture, but said softly, “No I don’t… want any. You… eat it.”
Eevee’s ears lowered some and he sighed, carefully picking off the berries on the branch with his teeth and chomping on them. Sora watched for a little while, drifting off as he tried to recall how long he had been there. It had been nearly a day. Without him to slow him down, Pikachu was probably making up a lot of time. Maybe… maybe he was even already there… maybe they were coming for him now. M-

It was such a light noise that broke him from his reverie. But it was also such a light noise before that started this chaos that had him sniveling at the bottom of a hill.

It was a stick snapping in half. That was the noise. Eevee looked up from his berries and tensed, looking towards the forest over the pond. He growled. Sora blinked before slowly, ever so slowly turning his head to stare over the pond as well. At first he saw nothing but the glare of sunlight off water that made his eyes squint and his head pound.
But then there was no mistaking the sudden orange in the green – something so wrong in that coloration of the forest that he realized it wasn’t part of it. “What…?” He whispered.

Eevee yipped as the orangeness with black streaks – he thought it was shadows – came out of its cover and with a mighty bounce of its back legs, leapt over the pond. Sora’s limited breath caught. He recognized this beast. He’d only ever seen them on the television though in televised battles or contests…
Arcanine. The beast was once believed to be a legendary – though he never understood the specifics of why. Growlithe were quite plentiful... so Arcanine could be as well if one could obtain firestones. Encountering one in the wild though… He rose his head a little, eyes wide.

The tiger dog stepped forward and Sora gasped sharply, than whined as it spiked pain again. He slumped back into the ground, shaking powerlessly. Another step and he made a noise of fear. If… Arcanine was here for a meal…
“Ee!!!” Eevee suddenly yipped and he jumped in between them, hunching down and scowling fiercely. “Vee! Vee!”
“Eevee…. No…” Sora whispered as if berating him, reaching out for his fox and tugging him back by his ear. “Get… out of here…” Eevee whimpered and shook his head. He wouldn’t leave him like this! He sighed and held his palm on his fox’s back and forced him to lay down next to him as the Arcanine continued to approach before stopped right in front of him.

Under his palm, Eevee’s eyes were narrowed and he continued to growl fiercely ready to break free and attack this new threat the moment he started to try and hurt his trainer. Sora just tilted his head up a little, looking up at the dog’s face, tilted to the side almost as if it was confused. “Please… don’t hurt Eevee… if you want me… fine… but don’t… hurt him.” He couldn’t help but recall… how badly his last attempt at pleading with a wild Pokemon went. His lips trembled a bit, wary suddenly for his easy way of trust, and as the dog’s head lowered he shut his eyes tight, waiting for the end.

He didn’t expect… the large warm tongue that rolled across his face.
“EEEEE-…vee?”
Sora’s eyes opened, coming face to face with a black nose… and kind eyes that even then he believed was motherly. He blinked, momentarily forgetting everything that bothered him as wonderment took its place. He lifted his hand from his fox, slowly as if he was afraid to spook her. She sniffed his hand as it passed her nose and her eyes warmed as he clumsily pat the poof atop her head.

“Good… girl.” Sora murmured with a smile. But the moment was broken when his stretching suddenly reminded him of his screaming stomach and he cringed, hand limply falling into the dirt as he quaked and tried to curl in upon himself. Arcanine found the display curious, but when Eevee started to whine in fear and the petite boy started to make noises of pain she snapped into action. The tiger dog started to sniff at him curiously, nudging at his arms carefully and sniffing along his body and in his hair, trying to smell blood. She didn’t catch that, but she did smell sickness in him. When she nudged his left leg, seeing how twisted and odd it was, Sora wailed his body seizing up. In about as little as time, he relaxed and his breathing became nothing more but a whisper of a ghost.


When Sora came too again, it was dark. He remembered hardly anything at first as he, as always, went through a panic attack over his pain that continued to disjoint him and his breathing which terrified him. Once he had relaxed again, realizing where he was. But it seemed… different.

Around him, were little glows of light that flickered and danced as rain poured from overhead and thunder boomed. Yet… he hardly noticed the cold for once. He felt… warm. He blinked noticing first the fluff of brown under his arm snuggled close to his armpit. “Ve…?”
Eevee opened his brown eyes and smiled happily at seeing him awake again. “Veee!”

The second thing he noticed were the dancing lights – five of them nearby. It took him a moment to realize… they were little campfires. There crackled and popped as the rain hit them, dying out slowly.
And last he realized something he probably should have from the start. His right side felt warm… and no rain was hitting his face. He blinked deliberately slow as he turned his turned his head… and looked up. Arcanine was there. She was laying close to him, almost like a mother would with her newborn baby and her head was hovering over his, keeping the rain from it. Her eyes were closed and, despite being bombarded with water, was smiling.

“A….Arc…?” Sora whispered the unfamiliar name now full of disbelief. She was… still here? The dog’s eyes opened and she looked down. She barked softly and Sora felt her whole body rumble with the sound. She licked away the mud on his cheek tenderly as happy to see him conscious as Eevee had been. He stared, dazzled yet wondering if this was a hallucination brought on from long hours of pain. “You… helped… me?”

There was no answer but only because none was needed. “Thank you…” Sora breathed out, reaching up for her. Arcanine quickly ducked her head as low as she could as if knowing it would hurt him to stretch to high. He smiled at the gesture, running his fingers along the side of her muzzle. He frowned when they came away wet. “You… should leave… shouldn’t be… in water.”

The dog just growled softly and smiled, raising her head to continue to block out the cold rain. “Arr…”
“Stubborn…” Sora whispered but he had no energy to argue further. He raised his head a little, only to let it rest once more on the top of Arcanine’s large paw like a pillow. His eyes slowly fell shut finding it easy to drift off with two friends at his side keeping him warm.

“She just… came to you?” Aqua asked as if this was the most impossible thing she had ever heard. “What a fucking load of-“ Ven elbowed her hard and she shut up quick.

Sora grinned at the small exchange. “When I asked about her age Nurse Joy told me Arc's been a mom several times in her life. I think maybe I reminded her of someone somehow… maybe one of her pups. I’m not entirely sure and each time I think back on that time I always come up with a different answer. I don’t think I’ll ever completely understand why she stopped and came to me but… well there’s more to the story.”
“More?” Terra groaned suddenly, wincing when Ven elbowed HIM next.
“Well you didn’t think it just ended there did you, with me just lying in a forest with a fox and a dog did ya?!”
“It could.”

“Well if that’s the case I could just say 'he died the end'!” Sora joked. He got a few patronizing glances. “Well obviously I didn’t but there’s more to it… but if you guys don’t want to hear it…”
At the notion of the story stopping, Riku jerked his head up, and even though no one could see his face it was obvious he was glaring. Everyone shut up quick.

Sora laughed giddily, his stomach bursting with warmth at the silverette’s intense interest in him. It made him glad that compared to this extraordinary man with extraordinary powers and uniquely colored eyes and rare silver hair… could find anything about him fascinating as well. It made him happy.

“Okay then well!” Sora continued, taking a breath.

It had been… awhile. He wasn’t sure how long exactly, time didn’t seem to be correct any longer. He wondered sometimes why he felt no hunger but knew it was probably due to the pain he seemed to be in, distracting him from his needs. He had, over the course of the past few days, grown strong enough to lift his head… and was able to look back. He wished he hadn’t. The sight of his leg was ugly and had sent him into a small fit of hyperventilating and crying. It was so twisted…

He had never broken anything in his life, so it really wasn’t a surprise it scared him. After he had gotten over the sight of himself however he couldn’t help but look back at it, like a curious child who pokes at a dead creature’s remains. There was something interesting at things that weren’t right.

Arcanine hadn’t left his side. Neither had Eevee of course – but Eevee was his best friend, he never expected him to. Arcanine was something he did not understand. She kept him as warm as she could during the thunderstorms and tried to encourage him to eat by bringing food back with Eevee. She built campfires by using her teeth to break branches off of trees, dug a little hole in the ground until it was large enough she didn’t have to worry about grass catching aflame then lit the fire with an ember attack. She also collected water for him more effectively. She found large leaves in the forest that were naturally curved and dipped them into the pond and brought it to him to drink – something he really appreciated because it restored a little of his pride.

He wasn’t sure where she had learned to do all this or if she was just that intelligent but he appreciated her sensitivity and her strength as much as he loved Eevee’s encouragement and love. If he did die before Pikachu got help… he would be happy that he at least made one more friend.


Then… it just happened. He was dozing off on Arcanine’s paw when he heard a very faint cry. “Piii!”
Eevee, who was sitting on the tiger dog’s back, batting at an ear, suddenly jumped to attention. “Veee!!!”
“Pikaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Something yellow raced down the hill. The figure stopped and looked back ears twitched before hurrying over towards the pond.
Sora opened his eyes. “Pika…chu?”
“Pika!!” Cried the electric mouse happily. Eevee jumped from Arcanine’s back, tackling the mouse happily. “Eee! Eee!”

The next thing Sora knew there was an ambulance coming down the hill carefully. He sighed slowly, smiling as the mouse quickly came over to him. He spared a curious glance to Arcanine but looked to his master. “Chu!”
Sora pet the other on the head. “Thank you… You… did good.” The mouse looked proud. “Meet Arc… she’s a friend…”
“Pika…?” The mouse looked back to the dog. “Chu!”
“Arrr…” Growled the dog softly, but calmly.
The ambulance stopped and people rushed out. “There he is!”
“Nurse Joy you were right!”
“Hurry get the stretcher!”

"And that's basically it!" Sora said with a smile.

“I couldn’t have asked for better more loyal friends… if I didn’t have them… I would of died. I owe all three of them my life.” He lent back sighing, but seemed more content. “The ambulance took me, Pikachu and Eevee away… but Arcanine couldn’t come with because of her size. I was sure it would be the last time I ever saw her. I passed out again when they got me on the stretcher… and the next time I woke up I was in a hospital and feeling a hell of a lot better. I learned about what happened to me and Pikachu and Eevee were there waiting for me to wake up. And the doctor told me… that Arcanine was outside their front doors, waiting as well. He told me that she had followed the ambulance all the way back to town.”

He smiled fondly, looking down at his Poke-belt. "No one knew where she came from, or why she had been in a thunder country of all places. Until then, I could hardly believe those stories were true - that a Pokemon will find a trainer and follow you because it wants to be part of your team. I'm not even sure how long she had been following me..." Aqua eyes darkened, unnoticably here, as she thought of another Pokemon. A little pink cat.

"She... was still waiting around town. For weeks even, just for me. It really wasn't hard, once I was out of the hospital and on crutches to just ask her to come with me. And she agreed. After that well..." He just shrugged and smiled. "My leg never truly got better, but my spirit did. If this Arcanine thought I was worth the trouble, and Eevee and Pikachu would risk their lives for me even when it seems hopeless, then I knew I had to honor those bonds. No more giving up, no broken promises. And... that was really all I needed I guess."

[Rikugurl]

Everyone was in...a bit of a daze after what they had just heard. Everyone knew something was wrong with Sora's leg...but no one would of guessed it was because of such a long, horrible event.

Axel could only frown, his eyes looking down at the Wailord's back as he was deep in thought. What...could of made those Pokemon so angry. Electrike and Manectric weren't known to be grumpy or dangerous Pokemon at all. In fact, Manectric didn't even care for humans and never showed themselves when one was around.

He had to wonder...maybe it was just being in a high volume of electricity that made this normally gentle Pokemon feel overpowered and making them irritable. Still, it wouldn't be a good excuse for them attacking a human for no reason, especially not in such a vicious manner. Perhaps the Manectric was a Pokemon of an abusive trainer in which was freed and it might of formed a pack, leading them in it's hatred. That would be the only good explanation he could come up with.

"You're very lucky, Sora..." Riku said softly under his hood. He too started to ponder, not so much about the bully Pokemon... but the Arcanine. Darkrai had come to his rescue for no reason...as so did Moltres for Axel. He wondered... why these Pokemon had come to aid them when they had never even met before. The study on Pokemon was still full of questions but... he couldn't help but think that maybe it was something beyond sheer luck.

Was it...their special Eevee's....?

Ven growled as he crossed his arms. "You should of told us! It wouldn't of been anything we couldn't of handled." He frowned as he looked at his brother. "I'm going to....KICK that Manectric if I ever bump into it!" He announced but sighed. "I'm just glad... you're ok though, Sora... I was worried sick..."

The young blonde was sitting on a rickety bed, some water dripping off the ceiling of a run down motel. A little Eevee was close by, watching her sister, a Glaceon and a blue haired girl pace the floor near by. The girl stopped and looked over, not looking all that happy. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

It was the first time they were out by themselves, new to each other and the idea of being a part of a 'Team'.
"Nothing, leave me the fuck alone..."
"If I have to fucking work with you, you better fucking talk." The girl snapped back and the blonde boy could only growl.
"I...I'm just in a lot of pain."
"Pain? When the hell did you get hurt?"
"I didn't get hurt....It's not my own pain...."
"What...the hell do you mean by that?"

The blonde sighed even deeper as he reached up and wrapped his fingers around his pendant that was dangling from his neck. "My brother.... there's something wrong with my brother. It's hard to explain but... you see, I'm a part of a triplet. I have... really strong bonds between my two brothers out there. When ever their emotions are really high...I can....kind of feel them..."

"...........Freak."
The girl walked off and out of the room, making the blonde sigh one last time. "Sora... what's wrong....? Are you....ok?"

Everyone was a bit more settled, the shock of the story slowly wearing off just before Axel opened the door to a new one. "Alright...I have another question." He started, everyone looking at him before he slowly looked over at Aqua. "How did you...end up in Team Rocket?"