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Chapter 6: Take a Look at Yourself part 2

Alyson P.O.V

"God dang it!"

I slammed my hand against the mattress of my bed in frustration and buried my face in my pillow, letting out a muffled scream. I had been at this for at least two hours now and have made absolutely no progress whatsoever.

_ Aw, come on, hun. Don't give up yet. ** A soft, feminine voice rung in my head **. It's like riding a bike. It's hard learning, but once you get it, you never really forget. _

I groaned into my pillow. And pray tell, what would an alakazam know about riding a bike?

_ Absolutely nothing. But that doesn't make it any less true. _

I flipped over on my bed and stared at the ceiling, which only made me feel worse. It was pink, which was something I regretted greatly. I had a bit of an obsession with that color when I was a child and when we moved here my parents asked me what color to paint my room. I could have chosen anything really, but no. My three year old mind had decided hot pink was the perfect color to live in for the next fifteen years. I shrugged it off rather quickly though. It wouldn't be too long until I had enough money to lease my own house.

_ How about another try, eh Ally? _

I frowned at that. Yeah, because that worked out so well the first hundred times.

_ Oh come on, don't be like that. What do we do when we fall down? _

I smirked at that. It was amazing how much she was like my older sister. Calm, caring, encouraging, she even adopted one of her phrases. "What do we do when we fall down?" Something tells me she adopted that only because she knew what I would answer.

...we get back up.

_ Atta girl. _

I slid my legs over the side of the bed and stepped onto the fuzzy pink carpet. Normally I would have kept it clean at any cost, but after today, I didn't even bother. Now it was littered with pens, pencils, bits of paper, notebooks, and anything else you could imagine would be in a lab researchers room.

Alakazam had been training me on how to use telekinesis and it hasn't been going very well yet.

It wasn't long after I left Marcus in the hospital that my little friend decided to make herself known. She said she was waiting for the right time to speak up, and to tell the truth I'm glad she did. I much preferred freaking out in the privacy of my own home when nobody else was around then when everyone was trying to comfort me through my 'traumatic experience'.

I don't understand why my family was making such a big deal out of this. Yeah, I was in a bad situation. Yeah, that gyarados could have killed me, but the thing is, it didn't. Not only that, but it left no effect on me whatsoever. I'm fine, Rowan is fine, Marcus is fine, even Zorua is fine...or whatever Marc decided to name her.

I'd much rather just move on and forget it even happened, but how could I possibly do that when everyone keeps throwing it back in my face. My parents will always worry about me. That, I get. But when all my brothers and sisters are surrounding me and waiting on me hand and foot, it just makes me feel so uncomfortable. I mean, I know I get scared or nervous a lot, but I'm not weak and fragile or anything. I'm a big girl and I can take it.

I was even less weak now, what with the psychic powers and whatnot. Although, I'm still not sure about the cost. She brought me into this weird dream world...I didn't even know how to explain it, it was just weird. There, she introduced me to the freakin God of pokémon who began to explain the situation. I knew all about the shadows and what I was supposed to do, even if I didn't much like it. Still, what are you supposed to do when Arceus himself asks you to do something? Say no?

Anyway, today was my first training session, and it wasn't going so well. I wish it was as easy as it is in movies where you just have to clear your mind and concentrate. That I can do, heck I do it for a living. Nope, this was different.

Apparently, I needed a powerful memory or at least a powerful emotion...whatever that means. It could be happy, sad, aggravating, whatever you want, it just has to be strong. But it's been a few hours, and I was running out of memories, as well as things to try and move across the room.

I was a pretty mellow person in general, not a lot of things spark strong emotion in me, or if they do at the time, they don't have the same effect on me when I remember them. Well, there was fear, but I'm not sure that was so much an emotion than a state of mind. Anyways, using a fear related memory is supposedly a big no-no from what Alakazam said. Something about it being too unstable and things getting out of hand.

...case in point, my total mess of a room.

After learning the lesson for myself, I was stuck with going through random memories that were above-average but nothing really all that big.

I could maybe use my first kiss...nah, scratch that. Now that I look back on it, it really wasn't all that special. I know it's supposed to be big and romantic, and at the time it was, but now that I'm older, I don't think frenching my first boyfriend while being crammed in a porta-potty at a Blink-182 concert would give me that warm fuzzy feeling that it used to.

I could use the time my dad had to get heart surgery...but wait, that's fear related isn't it. What about the time I rode on Danny's fearow? Yeah, that was exciting. Could I use that?

_ Heck if I know, it's your mind, hun, I'm just living in it. _

I gave a small giggle, before taking aim at a small pencil on the ground and thinking back to that day. The wind in my hair, the sun on my face, my feet dangling off the sides. And all of the sudden, that did the trick. The writing utensil was now floating in mid air in front of my face.

I smiled at myself, but then remembered not to lose focus. That's when bad things start to happen.

Almost as soon as I said that though, my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a momentary lapse in focus, and I quickly tried to regain it, which was a huge mistake. If I had just stopped right there, it would have dropped to the floor and everything would have been fine, but because I tried to regain control, it jerked to the side and then went flying to the other end of the room, crashing into a vase and shattering it to pieces.

"Huh, wassat." I heard from across the hall outside my room. I sighed in disappointment as I heard padded feet begin to run in my direction. A growlithe skidded to a stop in front of my room and began talking incoherently. "Alyson, I heard a crash. Are you hurt? What..." he trailed off as he got a good glimpse at the state of my room.

"What the hell happened in here?" he continued.

"Er...I'd rather not talk about it, Duke." I answered honestly.

He stared around at the debris in disbelief. "Ally, it looks like an ursaring tore through here looking for food. Now what happened?"

I began ringing my hands together awkwardly. "Right, well, remember that thing I told you about a little while ago." I said, trying to be as vague about it as possible in case one of my other family members had also heard the crash.

He nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Yeah, well...I was getting in a bit of training."

He shook his head. "I can't believe this...you're actually going through with this."

"Well what choice do I have?" I groaned, sitting down on my bed with my back against the wall.

"What choice?" He asked incredulously. "You always have a choice, Ally."

I sighed, tucking my legs to my chest and resting my forehead on my knees. "Not with this, I don't."

I was really starting to regret telling him about all of this, but I couldn't help it. Even before we could understand each other, Duke was my confident for everything. Of course he was never able to give advice, but he was good for venting. I could just sit down and tell him everything and then he would put a paw against my stomach and stare up at me with his big brown eyes. I swear that would never fail to calm me down.

I frowned at that. It's not like I could hide it from him forever, but I had feeling things would change between us now. Like the rest of my family, Duke was overprotective, but to a much higher degree than everyone else. Now that he knew I could hear him, something tells me I'm going to get an earful of unwanted advice as opposed to a comforting friend.

"Look," he said as I felt him hop up on the bed. "Can't you just pass this off to someone else? I mean, He's freaking God, he can choose anyone."

"Doesn't work that way, Duke." I tried to explain. "We...that is, my guardian and I...we're...tied together somehow. I don't exactly get how it works, but she's stuck with me."

Aw gee, thanks, I feel so loved.

I giggled a bit at that, which only confused Duke even more. You know what I mean.

"Besides, even if I could, what good would that do. Then everyone would just keep passing it along to the next guy. Eventually, someone's got to do it. So why not me?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "Well, you're small, not that strong, have no fighting experience whatsoever-"

"That question was rhetorical." I interrupted, slightly irritated.

There was a long pause accompanied by an awkward silence. I don't know why I snapped at him, but I immediately regretted it. Why does everything have to be so complicated.

But as soon as I started to feel depressed, I felt a familiar feeling.

"Hey." Duke gently placed his paw on my leg, getting me to look up...right into those deep brown eyes.

"Whatever you choose, I'm with you...I just don't want to see you get hurt."

I gave a small smile...even if everything was completely different now, I guess some things never change.

"I know you're worried, and I get that, but I'm not alone in this. I've got a few friends and we're going to sort this out by the end of the day if it kills me."

He huffed before setting his paw back down and taking a seat next to me. "Yeah...well...I don't even know these guys. How am I supposed to trust someone I've never met."

"Geeze. You're even worse than my dad." I said jokingly. "If it's really that big of a deal, then come with me. We're meeting up later today."

He was silent for a moment before mumbling something.

"'Scuse me" I asked.

He sighed. "There's nothing I can do to talk you out of this, is there?"

I laughed a bit at that. "What happened to "whatever I choose", huh?"

"What can I say, I was just playing the hand I was dealt."

"You manipulative little bastard!' I feigned hurt as I shoved him playfully.

I don't think he got that I was messing around, because instead of nudging me back like he normally does he got all mopey. "I'm sorry, I just...I don't know...what I'd do if you got hurt."

There was a long silence, but it wasn't exactly awkward. Duke...well...how do I explain it. He was like...the older brother I never had. Well, that's not true, I had three older brothers. It was more like...he was the older brother I've always wanted. Yeah he was overprotective, but he was different than the rest of my family. He would try to talk me out of being stupid, or give his opinion on the matter before I do something, but he didn't freak out over every little thing. When he found out about the gyarados attack, he just said he was glad I was ok and left it at that.

I guess the difference was that my family just worried over everything, while Duke only got this way when there was a legitimate concern. So, I wasn't necessarily surprised that he said what he did, but while it did give me that warm fuzzy feeling, it also served to remind me how dangerous this was going to be.

It sent a shiver down my spine just thinking about it, and for the first time since that Alakazam popped into my head...I was scared.

...I needed a hug.

"Aw com'ere ya big lug." I finally said, taking him by surprise and wrapping him in a hug. It was way more for me than it was for him, but he didn't need to know that.

He yelped as I picked him up, but didn't object. Quite the contrary, he started nuzzling against me in return.

"Hey, I was planning on taking a break and going for a walk. How about you come with and we'll go grab something to eat?"

"Now who's being manipulative." He teased.

I giggled. "Basic rule of 'Guys 101'. The fastest way to get to them is through their stomach."

We shared a laugh for a moment before I finally let him go. He hopped on the ground and shook his fur out. "Well, let's get going then, I'm in the mood for pizza and I can't exactly get it by myself."

I snickered. "Should have never started giving you table scraps. You're addicted."

"Too late now, and it's not my fault that poke chow tastes like something a skuntank shat out."

"Thanks, I really need that image right before I eat." I said, grabbing my purse off of my nightstand.

...I never did answer my phone. Whatever it was, I'm sure it was unimportant. I never cleaned my room either, and I'm sure I was going to get it for that later, but it didn't matter. For the next few hours, there will be no parents, no brothers, no sisters, no one that will treat me like I'm dust in the wind that will disappear at the slightest provocation. Just me and my best friend.

...the way it should be.

---

Aria P.O.V

You know that feeling you get when you've just woken up? Where you're way too tired to actually start moving, but you're too awake to go back to sleep. I absolutely love those moments. It's the only time of the day where everything is serene, and I can just lay back, close my eyes, and enjoy the summer weather.

I especially enjoyed summer because that's when i could bring the hammock out. It was a birthday present from Alyson and Danny about two years ago. Well...anniversary present, anyway. It was the anniversary of when I met those three. No one knew my actual birthday...not even me. Regardless of how old I actually am, or the occasion that opted the gift, it was really quite sweet. Alyson and Danny got the hammock, Cora got the pillows and blankets and I've had a comfy bed ever since.

In the summer, I could hang it up in a tree for a few months and sleep outside, the warm night air was perfect for it and I don't know why, but I like being high off the ground.

However, the best reason to sleep out here was in all the subtle little nuances that only come in summer. The warmth of the sun on my face, the pleasant breeze lightly bristling my fur, the smell of Pecha berries wafting through the air. All of it was absolutely intoxicating. The world is a perfect place and absolutely nothing can ruin it.

"If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, I have absolutely no interest in being your fuck-buddy!"

...except that.

My eyes snapped open as I returned to the real world, a world that, unfortunately, was a lot less perfect than my happy, early morning daydreams. The voice, though a little far back, was familiar all the same and the scent that smelled even sweeter than pecha berries seemed to spell out the situation pretty quickly.

...Absol in heat.

I flipped over in my hammock just as said dark type came stomping through the bushes below, a luxio with a rather perverted smirk on his face trailing closely behind her.

"Stop following me!"

"Aw come on, don't be like that. You know, I'd be a good mate."

The white-furred canine world around and bared her teeth. "And what, pray tell, can you offer me that no one else in these woods has already."

The luxio grinned. "I'll be the best you ever had."

"Fat chance! Get out of here!" She yelled.

"Yeah? And what if I don't?" He said, taking a threatening step forward.

The absol, however, kept a straight face and was unwavering. "I've got a blade for a tail and it's extremely maneuverable. Get as close to me as you want, I don't mind that, but if you try anything funny, I swear to Arceus, it's coming off."

That wiped the grin right off of his face and replaced it with a cringe. He grumbled something and then slowly turned to walk away.

Once he was out of sight, the dark type breathed a sigh of relief and i took that as my queue to speak up.

"Another man falls victim to your dazzling charms, eh Kira?" I asked with a smirk. She looked up at me surprised at first, but then quickly spread a frown across her face. "You could have helped, you know."

I stepped off the hammock and onto one of the branches of the large maple tree that was my temporary bed post. It's true, I could have helped her. I had a bit of a mixed reputation in these woods. Most of the time, people saw me as an approachable person, but I was a fighter, and I made damn sure that everyone knew that. If I get pissed, I will not hesitate to kick your ass. And let's face it, I get pissed pretty easily depending on the subject matter. So yeah, me stepping up and threatening the sex-crazed feline would have worked just fine.

However, really, what good would that have done. If I threatened him and he ran off, he would just be right back on her as soon as I was out of sight. What was that thing Alyson said...something about teaching a man to fish...oh forget it, the point is, she needs to learn to fight her own battles so she can fend people off when I'm not around.

"You looked like you had things under control. I don't like stepping in unless I'm needed."

"Whatever...hey, you got any more of those Cheri leaf things?"

I nodded in reply and hopped down a few more branches to a hollow point in the tree. Digging my claws into the hole, I dug out a bag full of small red leaves and tossed them down. Kira sliced it open with her scythe before it hit the ground, letting the leaves spill out across the forest floor and proceeded to lie down and roll around in them.

It was an old trick that I had learned after I went into heat for the first time. The leaves can easily overpower any scent, even a female in heat. Granted, Cheri berries would have worked a bit better, but I'm not about to waste food.

"How much longer do you have in your cycle? I'm running out of those."

"Oh, I feel so fucking sorry for you." She grumbled under her breath.

I became a bit irritated at that. "Hey, focus that anger somewhere else, I'm the one helping you, remember?"

Kira was normally a very sweet girl. Like most pokemon, she can still snap a bone when she needs to, but most of the time she played that "mother hen" role for anyone and everyone who needed help. However, heat made her crazy, and really why shouldn't it.

Yeah sure, the smell is bad, but that's not the worst part, hell, the pain isn't even the worst part. The worst part is every single guy following your scent and wanting nothing but sex. On the one hand, if you fuck him, your heat cycle's over, but you're technically mated to the bastard until one of you dies, on the other, if you don't, you continue to feel horrible and you're stuck with every guy offering to be your mate, letting the cycle repeat itself.

...and they're wondered why we're so pissed at them. Do they not get that we are in an immense amount of pain? Because let me tell you, it's not just an irritating itch that won't go away. If you want a closer comparison, why don't you go find a charizard and shove it's ignited tail up your ass, then you can come to us and say that you get how we must be feeling.

Me...I get how Kira is feeling, which is the exact reason I decided not to start an argument and instead just gave her some perspective.

Kira sighed. "Sorry Aria...but you know that's not me talking, right?"

"Yeah yeah, I get it." I said with a wave of my paw. "Forget about it."

To tell the truth, I kind of felt a bit guilty. Kira was one of the few female pokemon in this forest that I convinced to stay away from Danny

...ugh...ok...let's get this straight. I don't hate Danny. I don't like Danny either, but it's not like I can't stand being around him. It's just one of the minor inconveniences I have to deal with to hang out with Alyson and Cora and it's become a sort of a mutual dislike between us.

I don't have a problem with what he does, pokemon don't exactly look down on that sort of thing anymore. It's the way he does it that pisses me off. If you mate, it should be for love. That's the explicit reason that Kira and I have held out so long (although lately, she's been wavering a bit more than I have). I really just wish he could see that he's only hurting himself by doing this. If you only mate for pleasure, than how do you cement an actual relationship?

In other words, it's my prediction that once his libido is gone, he's going to grow old and alone, so I've taken it upon myself to try and get pokemon to stop going to him. But sitting here, watching my friend in pain, I was somewhat tempted to tell her to just go screw him already.

...somewhat...but not really.

"Feel better Kira. It'll be over before you know it."

"Yeah yeah yeah." She responded with a shake of her head before trudging along into the trees again.

I watched her leave and, with a large yawn, fell back down into my hammock. The sun was still in the east part of the sky, so it wasn't quite noon yet. I still probably had a good hour before I had to head for the clearing, and it's a good thing too, because I was feeling oddly tired. Not tired enough to sleep, but enough to keep me lethargic...back to daydreaming I guess.

---

? P.O.V

_Come on, kid. Just like last time. _My guardian told me in his usual deep bass voice.

I was sitting in my backyard wearing my usual attire; black sweatpants, black hoodie, which would be unbearable to normal people, but frankly, i needed it just to stay warm. I used to joke that my heart was made out of stone and ice because I rarely showed emotion in public areas, but considering how cold I always seem to be, I think it's completely possible.

It may seem a little unsafe to be practicing what I can only really describe as magic in my backyard, but I knew I wouldn't get caught. I lived alone, the yard was fenced off, and no one ever came over, so it's not like I would be disturbed or anything.

So, I sat indian style in the middle of my garden amidst the numerous flowers I had grown in my free time. My eyes fixated on a small patch in front of me. A rather large weed had gotten it's tendrils around one of my azaleas, which was now wilting. I reached out my hands and grabbed them, the weed in my right hand, the azalea in my left.

I didn't even have to think about it this time, my body just kind of...reacted. I could feel the energy course through my body as the life was sapped from the weed and transferred back to the flower. The spiky little root I had drained soon turned into a lifeless brown husk and I crushed it into pieces without so much as a second thought.

Well...that's one way to tend a garden. What else am I supposed to use this for, though. I'm not exactly comfortable with killing people.

_ Sorry, but there might come a time when you don't have a choice. _

As if on cue, I heard the gate on my fence creak open and turned to see it was a familiar face. Not a friendly face...just a familiar one.

She was a rather young girl, probably in her late teen years, with long red hair that was definitely not her natural color. She wore a pair of skin tight black jeans with a dark red t-shirt and an absurdly large amount of dark make-up. The whole appearance just seemed to scream "look at me, I'm emo".

...Is that what I really look like to other people...God, I better start buying different colored hoodies.

As if to contradict everything she wore, she grinned when she saw me. "Hello there, Death."

My eyelid twitched at not only the mention of my arcana, but at the look on her face. The grin she wore wasn't pleasant or inviting in any way. It was the kind that usually came with the phrase "Why So Serious!?".

"I told you not to call me that." I grumbled.

Her grin turned into a fake mocking pout as she approached me and tousled my hair condescendingly. "Aw, is the grim reaper mad."

"Shove it, Satan." I quipped back. Of course, that completely backfired.

"Aww, you're so sweet." She said smiling in the most sickeningly sweet way possible. I kept forgetting that she actually likes being referred to as her arcana.

"Maura," A new voice game from the gate, this one coming from a tall, thin man with a pale complexion. "Don't patronize him, we're here to ask for his assistance, not piss him off."

This new man was also someone I've met before. He had a small tuft of silvery hair on his head (if I had to guess, I'd say his hair color was from a dye as well) and wore a black suit coat with matching black pants. Normally this outfit would be completely respectable, but on him, it just looked like he was trying to look like an anime character...and failing completely.

Maura shrugged in response. "Whatever."

"Get out of my house...Now!" I shouted at them. I don't care what they were going to ask, it wasn't worth it...it never was.

"Tsk tsk. Is that any way to treat a king?" He said with a smile.

"Just 'cause some guy named The Emperor is latched to your soul, you think you have power over me? I'm not death, she's not the devil, and you're not a fucking emperor!" I ranted.

"On the contrary, being that he is, as you say, 'latched to my soul', he is, indeed a part of me, and I choose to accept all of me. It's a shame you cannot do the same. Such power is wasted in your hands." He spat.

"Hey, Amias, your nose is starting to look a little brown, you might want to dig your head out of your ass."

Amias frowned. "Charming. But as much as it pains me, I need your help. You're going to be coming with me now."

"Forget it," I said, standing up and heading to the door with the full intention of locking myself inside. But as I stepped on the deck and reached for the handle, my left leg erupted with pain. I cried out as I fell to the ground and clutched a small knife that had just been thrust into my thigh. I tried to scream out for help, but I quickly found that there was a hand covering my mouth.

My eyes widened with fear as Amias towered over me and Maura held me down. I normally could have easily broken free, but I found that my muscles were much weaker than normal, and they were steadily growing more limp. Maura held another knife in front of my face. "Poison tipped daggers. You're not going anywhere."

She let me go and stood up, but I could no longer find my voice to scream.

I was helpless. Completely and utterly helpless.

"Let this be a lesson to you. Whether or not you choose to help us, we will get what we want."

My vision began getting blurry as I slowly but surely faded into the blackness of unconsciousness.

"Don't worry. Once you wake up, it will all be over."

...and then I was gone.