Chapter 10: And The Plot Thickens

(I'm so sorry but I don't have a real name for this chapter 😭)

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Lance's P.O.V

I look up at the rainbow sky, the setting sun burning my exhausted eyes. I lose my concentration on my steps and stumble into Homare, who simply pushes me off him without a word, keeping an arm on me to prevent anymore near falls. Black spots begin to cloud my vision and my body slows down. I lean into him, all my weight immediately leaving my feet as all of it goes onto him. My eyes begin to shut, and—

"Stop it," the Armarouge growls aggressively, shoving me off of him and forcing me back awake. "We need to keep going."

"But Homare, we haven't stopped once after leaving Forest Village last night," I state, focusing really hard to keep myself up and moving. We've been through five towns throughout the day but my companion refuses to stop, not even for a five minute break. We have only ate snacks today because he won't let us sit down and cook a real meal.

I haven't complained about any of that, though. I'm honestly scared to. Ever since last night, he's been acting… strange. He's short tempered and barely listens, demanding that we never stop moving in one direction and ignores everyone that tries to talk to us. I'm extremely worried about him.

"We don't have time to stop," he snaps. I flinch slightly but he doesn't seem to notice. "We have to catch up to that wannabe Dragon. We have to stop him. We have to—"

"Homare," I exclaim, grabbing the Armarouge by his arm and forcing him to look at me. When he snaps his head back his eyes are filled with cold aggression, but they soften when they actually focus on me. "I can't keep going. Even if I could, by the time we reach Draco I will be too weak to fight. I already am. So give me fifteen minutes to rest. Please."

My last word is a soft beg, my voice barely above a whisper. Homare looks at the almost gone sun then back at me. "Fine," he says with a sigh of defeat. "Fifteen minutes."

"Thank you," I tell him happily as I collapse to the ground. My head slams into the cold dirt, but I don't care. I'm just happy to be off my feet. As my compadre sits down beside me, I hear a quiet, almost inaudible, sigh of relief. I know he probably won't admit it, but he needed this break just as much as I did.

The two of us sit there silently, gazing at the dazzling stars above. I want to ask him why he's so stressed. I wonder what happened last night that has put him in this emotional state. As we left the village he told me he'd explain as we went. But he never did. I don't ask, though. I don't want to push. I'm sure he'll tell me when he's ready. For now, I just enjoy the break, smiling softly to myself as I admire the night sky.

Homare's Point of View

I hate that Lance was right. All I want to do is keep going. To confront Draco. No, it's not even about Draco. I want to confront Jasmine. It's all I can think about. But I've pushed myself to a point of exhaustion that, if I were to face them right now, I wouldn't have the strength to actually fight. It's pathetic.

And there's just so much bothering me. Why is Jasmine working with the fake Dragon? What did she do to that Wigglytuff? What ancient power was my sister talking about? What other experiments has she preformed? Who else has she hurt?

My entire body begins to shake as these thoughts crowd my mind, all of them yelling on top of each other trying to be the loudest. I need to keep walking. The amount of pain I'm in forces me to focus on moving, helping me ignore all this unwanted chaos.

I look over at Lance, ready to tell him we need to get moving, but he's sleeping peacefully, a small smile still on his face. I sigh, looking up at the twinkling stars. My vision blurs and all the little white lights that fill the night sky blend together. Maybe I do need to sleep…

"I guess… we can rest here for the rest of the night," I whisper to the Gallade. I know he's asleep, but I don't want to admit that I'm also doing this for myself. I slowly lay myself onto my back, my entire body immediately relaxing despite the earth being so uncomfortable. "But we continue first… thing… in… the… morning…"

My words slow down along with the rest of my body. My eyes gently come to a shut, filling my world with darkness. With one last thought about Jasmine my mind leaves me and I enter the wonderful state of sleep.

A certain Ceruledge's perspective…

I stare out the window from my room in the tower, gazing at the glowing crescent moon. Of all the shapes the white rock in the sky makes, this one is my favorite. It's so sharp and pointy, but it also looks painful. As if someone sliced it into this form, splitting it open and forcing it apart from most of itself. The thought of it like that brings me joy.

"Jasmine, what are you doing," Draco questions from behind me. I turn around and find him lazing in his bed, watching me with boredom.

"I was admiring the wondrous moon," I answer as I leave the window and approach my desk. I look over all my bubbling liquids and glass vials connected to twisty-turning tubes. My eyes roam away from what I'm creating to what I have already created. Tiny glowing crystal orbs of ancient power. "Tell me, my partner in crime, how well do you actually understand the energy of my stones?"

"Uuuuh, I don't get it at all," the wannabe Dragon answers honestly. "I just know you smash it onto a Pokémon and they get stronger."

I can't help but chuckle with amusement from his ignorance. "Oh, how simply said," I state as I scoop one onto my blade, gently rocking it back and forth, watching closely as it obediently rolls along with my movement. I love inanimate objects. They're so easy to control. "Would you like me to explain how they function to you?"

"You'd explain it even if I said no so go for it," the Charizard tells me. If I had a mouth I'd be smirking.

"You know me so well," I say as I roll the tiny orb of power back onto the table. "You see, when I crush them onto a Pokémon, I release a power from within it that is directly attached to the subject's DNA. I awaken an ancient power that is deep within their blood. It's in their ancestry. It evolves a final stage Pokémon into a stronger, temporary form, unlocking strengths that cannot be achieved any other way. It can even alter the DNA of the Pokémon, giving it new abilities and types. But you see, the power of that Pokémon has to be in the stone. Without DNA connected to the Pokémon, these little balls of energy are useless. Watch."

I slam my blade into one of the orbs. The stone is split in half, flashing a blinding white as its power is released, but nothing happens to me. "Well, why don't you put some Charizard blood into one and give it to me," Draco inquires, looking at my creations with newfound interest. "Make me a Dragon type and let me live my dreams!"

"I intend to do that, actually," I inform him, unable to stop my joy when I see him smile with excitement. "But I have to perfect it before I can. Remember how that Wigglytuff mutated and blew up? There's a very high chance that's what would happen to you if I gave you one at my current state of knowledge."

"Oh…" the village destroyer mutters, now understanding the severe consequences these may have. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door, preventing me from explaining more. Before I even give permission for them to enter, a Vaporeon walks in, looking at me with an expression of cruel amusement.

"Ah, Queen Vapor," I exclaim, giving a small bow to the fish/dog/cat. "What do I owe this pleasure to?"

"We have captured another test subject for you," she says happily, giving me a smile. "Down in the dungeon!"

If I could, I would have a smile so wide it causes pain. "I'll be right down. Thank you, your majesty!"

I give another small bow before pushing a few of my crystal balls into my pouch.

Time to have some fun, I think with pure excitement.

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Ah, yes

A beautiful chapter I think!

@Dragonfly102024 (the one that requested it), @UnovanZorua @fineasmatei @PokeMom244 @Thur55555555555

Apologies if I forgot anyone

Enjoy!