Story Notes:
This is a story I've had on my mind for a while and couldn't skip over so, here it is. As of Chapter 3, this story is being Co-written by Catsithx.
Chapter 11
Watcher of Arceus
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Only the idea and OC's.
Author Notes:
-- This will be used for scene breaks and for when the story switches to another character, but it does not mean that a new section of the story has started.
xXx This will identify where each paragraph breaks.
'Character Thought'
(Pokemon speech)
Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon, never have, never will. Only the idea and OCs behind the story are mine.
Co-author: Catsithx
xXx
Chapter 11
Sarah awoke the next morning to find that Thomas was nowhere to be seen. She looked over to the clock and saw that it was still early, just a little after 7, but she knew that Thomas was always up sooner then that. Her first thoughts were that Thomas had ditched her again, until she noticed a small flick of a white tail at the foot of her bed and looked down to see Juno lying there. Taking another look around, she found a small note form Thomas explaining that he had gone out to get some of their supplies and would be back later. He also explained in the note that she had to be ready to go as soon as she could. After reading the note and seeing that he had left Juno with her, she knew now that he had accepted her company, there were no more doubts in her mind about it. She walked over and took her shower changing into the only set of clothes she had left for now. It didn't take her long to finish packing her things and getting ready, not having much left after the events of yesterday when the knights raided the boat. Juno was up by now as well and Sarah petted her while she waited. At last, a little after nine, Sarah heard some sounds at the door and Juno quickly took an aggressive stance ready to defend Sarah if it wasn't Thomas.
The door opened slowly and Thomas stood there waiting to make sure that Juno knew it was him before walking in. "Sarah, are you ready?" Thomas asked was he walked in with Rebecca and Razor by his side, all three of them carrying some bags. Radara was also with them, but with her lack of hands, she wasn't holding anything. Thomas laid out the gear on the beds and showed Sarah everything he had picked up. Two new hiking backs and good ones at that with canteen and phone clips, a full assortment of pockets, and lightweight, but very durable frame. Thomas had also bought them new pair of sleeping bags and a large four person tent in addition to some cooking gear, four canteens, and few other odds and ends. "And last but not least, something for your own protection." Thomas pulled out a pair of small metal rods with tapered tips on one end and key rings on the other. "Kubatons, lovely little devices." Thomas smiled.
"Kubatons?" Sarah looked at the rods. "I've seen a few of those, the security guards at my father's lab used them for self defense when they couldn't rely on their pokemon." Sarah stated.
"I have my own defenses aside from my blade." Thomas stated reaching under his bed and pulling out the majority of his things from his past lives. "I think we're going to start training together, once a week, we'll even try to take a day off just to train." Thomas stated. "The knights never once forced their pokemon into combat alone. We'll be expected to do the same if we encounter them later on."
"You expect them to meet up with them later on?" Sarah asked looking down at the kubatons.
"They've been hunting me for over 600 years." Thomas stated quickly preparing both of the bags, but making sure to put the tent and other major items inside Sarah's bag, taking the heavier and less important gear into his own pack. "I've only got one tent for us, it will be easier to work with if we just have one tent." Thomas explained. "I'm also packing your pack with most of the food, if we get separated, you should be fine."
"And what about you?" Sarah asked seeing how her pack was getting favored for their new gear.
"In the world we live in today, this is considered a true luxury to have a tent that folds up like this, to have light weight cooking gear, and to have packs designed for the sole purpose of camping out." Thomas stated. "Compared to what my father had to work with he started his journey, we are living the good life." Thomas kept up packing both backs and soon enough, they were ready. "We'll make our way to Carter City and get a ride down to the orange isles from there. I know a place that raises larpas down there for use by the isles in order to get back and forth and if we are lucky, we might be able to get one for ourselves." As soon as their stuff was packed, Thomas walked out of the hotel with Sarah and Radara at his side, they quickly made their way out of the city and into the forest onto one of the lesser used trails. Within a few hours, they had already put some distance between the city and themselves.
With their top concern just putting some distance between them and the city, they didn't stop for many breaks and their night was thankfully uneventful. Come the next morning though, Thomas was sure that they weren't being followed and he seemed to cheer up a bit. He was also glad that they had already traveled half the distance to the next city in such a short time.
Seeing that his mood had improved, Sarah's did as well and decided to strike up a conversation. Unlike every other time when she had done this, Thomas actually decided to respond for once, although he still didn't really appreciate the company entirely, he knew that he could use to it if he gave her a chance for once. Radara was pleased with his outcome and was finally relaxing herself as they walked along, perhaps her daughter might be born into a proper family for once, well as proper as their life would let them anyway. Like before, they didn't take too many breaks keeping up their good pace and by that evening, they had arrived in the Carter City, the small port town known for its trade with the Orange Islands.
Although it was a small town, there was a large outdoor market square used to sell and display the goods from the orange islands. Thomas smiled as he walked closer recalling the last time he was there. "Thomas, what's got you in such a good mood all of a sudden?" Sarah asked seeing his smile.
"Just some more memories from my grandfather, he was here when this place was still a small fishing port." Thomas replied. "Radara even reincarnated here once." Thomas pointed to small line of beach huts. "Right down there, third one from the left. Of course back then, they didn't have electricity, just a large fire pit in each one to provide heat."
"Wait, Radara reincarnated here?" Sarah looked down to the espeon who just lightly nodded her head.
'My grandmother would have liked to hold off on it a bit longer, but it was storming and there was no way we could get out of the region.' Radara stated. 'The people in this area were so kind to my mother when she was born, the town was just starting off then and she become the first official new life born here.'
"Eevee's were some of the most popular pets back then, their unevolved formed playful and cute, and with so many different evolutions, they had many purposes. My great grandfather was given several offers for her, but he couldn't sell her, none of us could sell out partners for any reason. We can't be separated to tell the truth." Thomas stated.
"What do you mean you can't be separated?" Sarah asked.
'We are bonded together, always drawn to stay near each other. Even if we wanted to, we can't stray too far from each other.' Radara replied.
"You could say that our lives are linked together. We are bond to live with each other, to stay by the other's side and watch over each other." Thomas explained. "In any event, we are a pair which cannot be separated for long. We don't know how or why, but it's a truth we live by."
"Okay." Sarah was still left confused by the lack of a proper answer, but she didn't question it.
"We'd better get moving." Thomas once again started walking. "We've still got plenty of light, so I can start training you with those kubotans for a while today."
Radara was quick to keep up with Sarah right behind them as they walked into town. Thomas lead the way down the to the beach where he got them a hut for the night rather then stay in the pokemon center and they dropped off their gear leaving Juno to watch over it. Thomas and Sarah then went to get some more food along with Radara and Rebecca.
Thomas quickly went through the last of his cash restocking their food supplies as well as getting himself a new set of sunglasses to hide his slowly changing eyes. Sarah herself was also starting to run low on cash as well, but Thomas refused to let her withdraw anything right now knowing that the knights could easily track the money and with them just one city away, they wouldn't have time to vanish.
Returning back to their cabin, Thomas released all of his pokemon as did Sarah and Thomas made up a large meal for everyone, his several lifetimes of experience coming into play fixing up a very old Sinnoh dish, a mix of various vegetables and some berries with a few spices. It was quick, cheap to make, and filling which was what Thomas was going for and everyone enjoyed their meal that night, even with the slightly heavy tension in the air. Thomas and Radara seemed the most affected by this tension, still worried that the knights might be able to find them, although Radara had a few other reasons for the tension she was feeling.
Now with full bellies and rested, Thomas moved the furniture around to create a large empty spot in the middle of the cabin. "Might as well start with the basics." Thomas stated which got a slightly confused look from Sarah. "Come on, you need to learn how to use those kubotans."
"Oh yea." Sarah quickly reached into her pack and pulled out the two small metal rods.
"Alright, they are simple enough to use and my lifetimes of experience have taught me that the best way to learn to defend yourself is by having to do so." Thomas smiled and relaxed himself. "Remember, the point of using kubotans is not to hit with your fist, but with the end or tip of them." Thomas stated.
'Thomas, go easy on her.' Radara warned. 'I will step in if I have to.'
"Relax, I'm just walking her though the basics. We'll practice for about..." He looked up at the clock as it was a little after seven. "About four hours should be plenty of time to start." He replied as he waited for Sarah to join him. "I'm only going to show you the basics tonight." Holding out his hand, he had Sarah hand him one of the kubotans. Taking it in his right hand, he held his thumb over the end with the key ring, the tapered end pointed down. "The sides of the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, waist, and knees are all great points to jab with it." Thomas stated holding it in front of his chest, the tapered end pointed away from his body. "You will always want to take a position most appropriate to the environment, able to counter as wide a range as you can." Thomas explained waiting for Sarah to copy his stance.
Sarah's first lessons were a bit slow as the evening passed quickly with Thomas showing her a small number of defensive moves. Working hard showing her the basics uses of the kubotan, everyone watched as Thomas and Sarah started there training, missing the chimes of the grandfather clock in the corner until it let out a single, slightly loud, but low chime, showing that it was midnight.
Thomas and Sarah quickly began to lay out extra mats for everyone while Thomas threw some more logs onto the fire before starting to move the furniture back. By the time everything was done, it nearing one in the morning as they all got into their beds and cots. Rebecca was very happy to get to sleep with Thomas that night as he laid down in her cot and her presence did seem to help calm Thomas a bit much to Radara's liking. She knew that things would be rough, but compared to the way his father, it was a considerable improvement to how Jackson would have dealt with the situation when the knights showed up.
xXx
As usual, Thomas was up early and had already started to make a few calls checking on boat schedules looking for a convenient ride to the orange islands. Just as Rebecca wakes up, she looks over and finds Sarah still fast asleep, very quietly mumbling something about Thomas and her love for him.
Rebecca couldn't help but stare at her in anger for saying something like that; Thomas belonged to her, no one else. Despite how friendly they may have been over the years, she still harbored some bitterness towards Sarah every since they met back up with her in Petalburg and she was her normal self with Thomas once again.
Jealousy hits her though as Thomas has spent more time with Sarah over the last few days though, having little time for her. Getting up, she moves over to Sarah and puts her paws lightly on Sarah's back ready to push her out of the bed to wake her up.
Thomas looks just in time to see what Rebecca was up to as he puts down the phone. "Please Rebecca control yourself. We still have a ways to go before we get to where we have to go. I don't want you two at each others throat." Thomas sighs.
Rebecca looked at him for a moment as he turns his back, her foot now on Sarah as she is tempted to push her anyway. Before she has a chance though, a soft glow encompasses her and pulled her back to her cot away from Sarah's sleeping body.
'He said no Rebecca, so please try not to give into your jealousy.' Radara stated yawning as she had just woken up moments before herself.
'Why not? She always sleeps in late, why do we have to wait for her all the time?' Rebecca grumbles a bit looking at Sarah.
"Because my mother asked her join with us and she wanted to come." Thomas says walking over. "Besides, with the knights once again on our trail, they will look specifically for me alone in my travels, it's become second nature to me and they know this, they expect this." He sighs a bit realizing just how long it has truly been to travel with a human his own age in a sense.
'Ever since she showed up, you barely have time for me anymore.' Rebecca pouts a bit as Radara releases her hold.
"We've all been busy lately, being chased by the knights doesn't leave any of us much time for romance." He looks at her with a bit of sad face walking over and hugging her from behind. "I know it feels like I've been ignoring you as of late."
'Because you have, you dolt. All you worry about is the knights and watching over the legendaires, you seem to have forgot that your are her mate now, and she has need and wants you to acknowledge them. I can't help but worry about you, you keep going on and on about how you wanted someone to share your life with, to love and care for, and yet you forget that you have such a thing, a mate to call your own.' Radara shakes her head a bit, her voice slightly irritated. 'And don't give me that excuse, I know damn well what your going to say and I'm tired of hearing it. If I have to beat you into place to get this point across, I will and you know it.' Radara glares at him with a fierce look before looking back over to Rebecca with a much softer look. 'And Rebecca, quit your childish antics, I know your doing it just to get Thomas's attention. He loves you dear, a love he hasn't truly felt in generations, never forget that despite how dense he is.'
"Hey..." Thomas starts to say something, but quickly quiets down as Radara turns her gaze to him once again.
Rebecca looks down though after a few seconds as Thomas hugs her a bit more, realizing that she has been acting a bit jealous knowing that Thomas is hers and nothing could change that.
A loud thud catches all of their attention as they group looks over to Sarah's bed to find it empty, a cover just barely still on the bed. Rebecca holds back a laugh, but still smiles. 'Hey, she fell on her own, I didn't do anything.' She counters quietly seeing Radara eye her. 'Not that it wasn't funny.' She giggles a bit as Radara shakes her head.
Sarah gets up holding her elbow with a slightly painful look on her face. "What happened?" She asked looking at Thomas and Rebecca. "How did I get on the floor?"
"You rolled right off the bed." Thomas smiles a bit. "Don't worry about though, we need to get ready. I found a trade ferry heading out for the orange islands in two days and the small business that owes boat happens to let trainers hitch a ride with them. Until then, we can get some more training in with your kubotans, I showed you the basics and you caught on quick, now your going to use them against me."
Sarah looks down at her watch. "What, now?" She asked yawning. "But its not even seven and we were up late last night. Can't you give me another hour of rest, I'm used to sleeping in for a while."
'That's all you ever do.' Rebecca mumbled a bit, but still loud enough for Sarah to hear.
"What was that?" Sarah turned toward Rebecca slightly annoyed by already having been up so early. Thomas sighed and shook his head, it was going to be a long two days for him.
xXx
Thomas was surprised that those two days passed much quicker then he had thought, even if there were a few problems. Seeing how Sarah was advancing so quickly with the kubotans, he decided to do a bit of sparing with her to help her get more of a feel of them. Although she was a quick learner, Sarah didn't have much, if any luck against Thomas, his quick actions often disarming her in the first few moves, Rebecca always laughing each time this happened as Thomas constantly changed his choice maneuvers for each match.
Going at it for the tenth time that day, Thomas and Sarah each took their stances, Thomas of course quiet relaxed in general, but like Sarah, half a day of training had taken a small toll on him as well, both of them breathing a bit hard. Thomas stepped up quickly and while Sarah tried to jab with the kubotan in her right hand. Thomas sidestepped her maneuver easily enough and Sarah then tried to strike him with the kubotan in her left hand. Once again Thomas stepped back as Sarah tried to strike him once again with her right hand. Seeing a small opening, Thomas reached up and grabbed her wrist, gave a hard yank pulling her to her knees, and with a quick flick of the wrist, he knocked the kubotan out of her hand.
Sarah groaned a bit having been unable to even touch Thomas once during their two days of training, with each match he appeared to only get just a bit faster. Releasing her wrist and holding out his hand, Sarah took it and Thomas helped her up. "Why is that I keep getting tossed around?" Sarah asked looking over a still smiling Rebecca. "A little positive reinforcement wouldn't hurt."
"The last time I told you were doing good, I downed you one move. You can't risk getting cocky. If the knights have the chance, they won't hesitate. If they feel that you've been brainwashed, they will end it." Thomas stated causing Sarah to sigh a bit.
Looking back up, Sarah noticed an odd change about Thomas as she looked at his face." Thomas, your eyes. They... they're...." Sarah couldn't quiet explain the change in his eyes.
He merely nodded. "They've got a reddish tint on the border, don't they?" Thomas stated. Hearing this comment Rebecca stopped her laughing and walked up to only to see just what Thomas has said, a very light red border had began to form around his blue irises.
'Thomas, what's going on?' Rebecca asked a bit worried.
"Relax, this is normal." Thomas smiled. "It's just the next change of many."
Sarah looked at him a bit confused, but she was knew there was a lot about Thomas she didn't know. "Okay, if you're sure you're about this."
"I've gone through this same change once a lifetime since I born, you get use to the change after a few times." He smiled as Sarah looked at her wrist a bit. "Oh, and Sarah." She looked up at him as he walked over and picked up his bag. "You have impressed me, your may not be a quick as Rebecca learning to defend yourself, but you learn fast."
Sarah smiled at his compliment and walked over to join him collecting her bag. It was almost time for them to leave anyway to catch their boat. Picking up her cell, Sarah suddenly realized something. "Oh Thomas, I know you said that we need to keep a low profile, but I really need to call my parents." Thomas and Sarah both recalled the last time Sarah had failed to check in. It was a small beach just outside of Lillycove City, a massive summer themed set of contests was going, things like beachball and a few select styles of pokemon tournaments, mostly set for the strongest fire and a few other types. Thomas has been drawn there himself, although for different reasons. Sarah had forgotten to check in for while and her father, having been friends with the local law enforcement had sent out a calling party. Thomas had almost been caught in the middle of his work by the group of officers sent to look for Sarah only to have them walk in on him in the middle of awkward situation a few hours later with Sarah. From there, things got worse and Sarah's father only got more protective. "I really don't want a repeat of last time and if we're being chased as it is, that would really make things difficult."
"At least wait until we get on the boat. They may have contacted your parents by now and I wouldn't put it past them to tell stories to help their cause." Thomas stated.
"Wait, how could they have gotten to my parents already?" Sarah asked.
"I don't know, but you heard Felix, they had already contacted my the Falston's within two days of finding me." Thomas stated as he called back his pokemon minus Radara and Rebecca while Sarah called back all of hers. Getting ready to walk out of the room, there was a soft crackle as Thomas began to turn off the lights, the one right over the door popped loudly in a bright flash of light, Thomas quickly covering his eyes as he staggered back some groaning a bit. "The heck was that?" He asked rubbing his eyes as Sarah and Rebecca walked up.
'Thomas, are you okay?' Rebecca asked as he began to rub his eyes.
"That flash hurt." He replied rubbing his eyes.
'Thomas, are you light sensitive?' Radara asked looking up at him.
"That would be a yes, I'm very light sensitive." He stated as he rubbed his eyes one last time before looking around, small spots fading from his sight.
'I knew your eyes were changing too quickly, you whole body is slowly changing ahead of schedule, this just proves my theory.' Radara stated.
"What do you mean ahead of schedule, I thought you said this was normal." Sarah asked looking at him as he found his sunglasses and put them of.
"It's rare, but it happens." Thomas countered. "My eyes normally change about month and a half, sometimes two months after my eighteenth birthday." Thomas stated.
"It's only been a little over a month since you turned eighteen." Sarah stated.
'Thomas, your changes have been occurring ahead of time for the last two years, at first a day or two which I could accept as you were returning to you original power, but your eyes, it always took a week for them to become light sensitive even when changing.' Radara stated walking up to him. 'I can't help but be worried.'
"Radara relax." Thomas stated as his vision returned to normal, the small spots gone but he was able to make things out a bit more clearly now.
'Thomas, are you sure your okay.' Rebecca asked.
"I'll be fine. Come on, we have a boat to catch." He smiled to help reassure her, but Radara wasn't so sure.
'Thomas, you will keep me informed of your changes from now on, I'm worried something isn't right. You've already teleported once, your eyes are changing too soon...' Radara informed Thomas and Thomas alone.
'I'll let you know if anything happens that shouldn't.' Thomas replied back to her. 'Tavu always changed faster then the rest of us as he regained powers, with me being the only one left, we can't exactly track how fast I'm regaining my abilities.' Thomas stated as they returned the key to cabin and started to head to the docks.
'That's just it though, Tavu changed faster because that thing did something to him, to help him regain his powers. We still can't even be sure that it was responsible for his attack or whether it was something else that set him off.' Radara stated.
'How could it have done something to me?' Thomas asked looking down at her. 'I was busy helping to restrain Lugia with Gali when Tavu made the kill freeing the others.'
'I don't know Thomas, something just doesn't feel right.' Radara sighed a bit as they walked. For all she knew, Thomas was right, he could have just of been returning back to his original form, each passing form allowing them to get just a bit closer to their original powers. But still, something feeling in her kept nagging and she couldn't help but worry about this.
The group of them quickly made it to the dock where a small group of other trainers were getting ready as well, but not as many as Thomas had originally thought.
To save a bit, Thomas got them a single room with two beds for the two day journey down to the Orange Isles. As Thomas had asked, Sarah had called her parents and was forced to leave a message since her parents were not home. During the two day trip though, Thomas made sure to spend some time with Rebecca, which pleased her greatly even if they had to be a bit discreet, but at least he was with her and spending time with her. The two days on the boat passed without trouble, although Thomas was wearing his sunglasses all the time now hide eyes as their red trim and his sensitivity to light grew.
Around midday on the second day, the small boat arrived at Sunburst Island ready to pick up its next shipment of crystal to take up to Carter City. The group made a small stop for a meal. "So, where to now?" Sarah asked as Thomas looked around.
"We can get a ride to Hamlin Island from here." Thomas replied. "You can make a small withdrawal from the bank there, and I'll empty out my account as well. We spend the night there and get a lapras in the morning." Thomas explained. "Once we get our lapras, we'll head over to Ice Island. Articuno shouldn't mind the company that much and we can hide there for a while."
"Hide there?" Sarah asked a bit confused as Thomas walked down the main street of the port.
"The knights will still focused on Kanto, but there is chance that they may expand their search. Besides, a week of relaxation after everything we've gone through recently might help us all." He smiled looking over at Rebecca. "Its been nearly sixty years since I've stopped her and no doubt, Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos would welcome the company, and I image they will be most eager to meet you knowing how I have been over the past 600 years."
"Thomas, how are we going to get to Hamlin island?" Sarah asked as Rebecca smiled back at Thomas. "I don't have much left."
"I've got just enough left to get us there, I already priced most of this out." Thomas stated as he found a nice small shop on the edge of the town and walked inside. Walking in, Thomas pulled out the small emerald band that he had picked up from his box of things that Diana was holding for him. "Let me know if you see any you like." He told Rebecca as he walked in. "But keep in mind that they need to be small." He stated walking through the store looking at the large assortment of small gems, crystals, and statues.
"Thomas, what are we doing here?" Sarah asked.
'He is looking for gemstones to create a glove similar to one he showed you, his personal reminder that once again has a mate.' Radara stated.
"Oh yea." Sarah recalled the night that the knights had first caught up to them and she had met Felix and Macy.
Thomas looked around for a bit with Rebecca before she finally found a few, a tray full of odds and ends which included a set of three amethysts and a ruby, all of them small and round. Thomas grabbed the gems and walked up to the counter and after a bit of talking, traded his emerald band for the four small gems and a little bit of cash. With that one detail out of the way, they headed back to get on a ferry to Hamlin Island.
It was easy, if boring trip from Sunburst Island to Hamlin Island where Sarah and Thomas quickly went to the bank. "Remember Sarah, don't take out too much, just your normal amount." Thomas stated as they walked in and each went to a teller. Sarah withdrew her amount, 550 dollars, enough to last her a month, easy in and out deal. Thomas on the other, took a bit longer as he emptied his account and then closed it with the excuse of moving to the Sinnoh region, where his current bank did not have any branches. At last, Thomas walked out with a fair amount in his pocket and stashed in his bag.
"And just what took you so long?" Sarah asked as they walked out of the bank towards the local hotel.
"I told you I have empty my account." Thomas explained. "Sadly, because of what I am, I'm often forced to break relations with people I know, too often." Thomas sighed a bit.
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.
"I'll quit aging soon enough. Once that happens, people tend to take notice after a while." He explained as they walked into the hotel.
"Sarah?" A voice called out from across the room. Both Thomas and Sarah looked up and sitting there across the room were Sarah's parents talking with Thomas's parents.
"Oh, Thomas!" Vivian called smiling a bit as she walked up to Thomas with Andrew and Sarah's parents by her side.
'And now I would love to know how we're going to get out of this one Thomas?' Radara asked sarcastically
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Only the idea and OC's.
Author Notes:
-- This will be used for scene breaks and for when the story switches to another character, but it does not mean that a new section of the story has started.
xXx This will identify where each paragraph breaks.
'Character Thought'
(Pokemon speech)
Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon, never have, never will. Only the idea and OCs behind the story are mine.
Co-author: Catsithx
xXx
Chapter 11
Sarah awoke the next morning to find that Thomas was nowhere to be seen. She looked over to the clock and saw that it was still early, just a little after 7, but she knew that Thomas was always up sooner then that. Her first thoughts were that Thomas had ditched her again, until she noticed a small flick of a white tail at the foot of her bed and looked down to see Juno lying there. Taking another look around, she found a small note form Thomas explaining that he had gone out to get some of their supplies and would be back later. He also explained in the note that she had to be ready to go as soon as she could. After reading the note and seeing that he had left Juno with her, she knew now that he had accepted her company, there were no more doubts in her mind about it. She walked over and took her shower changing into the only set of clothes she had left for now. It didn't take her long to finish packing her things and getting ready, not having much left after the events of yesterday when the knights raided the boat. Juno was up by now as well and Sarah petted her while she waited. At last, a little after nine, Sarah heard some sounds at the door and Juno quickly took an aggressive stance ready to defend Sarah if it wasn't Thomas.
The door opened slowly and Thomas stood there waiting to make sure that Juno knew it was him before walking in. "Sarah, are you ready?" Thomas asked was he walked in with Rebecca and Razor by his side, all three of them carrying some bags. Radara was also with them, but with her lack of hands, she wasn't holding anything. Thomas laid out the gear on the beds and showed Sarah everything he had picked up. Two new hiking backs and good ones at that with canteen and phone clips, a full assortment of pockets, and lightweight, but very durable frame. Thomas had also bought them new pair of sleeping bags and a large four person tent in addition to some cooking gear, four canteens, and few other odds and ends. "And last but not least, something for your own protection." Thomas pulled out a pair of small metal rods with tapered tips on one end and key rings on the other. "Kubatons, lovely little devices." Thomas smiled.
"Kubatons?" Sarah looked at the rods. "I've seen a few of those, the security guards at my father's lab used them for self defense when they couldn't rely on their pokemon." Sarah stated.
"I have my own defenses aside from my blade." Thomas stated reaching under his bed and pulling out the majority of his things from his past lives. "I think we're going to start training together, once a week, we'll even try to take a day off just to train." Thomas stated. "The knights never once forced their pokemon into combat alone. We'll be expected to do the same if we encounter them later on."
"You expect them to meet up with them later on?" Sarah asked looking down at the kubatons.
"They've been hunting me for over 600 years." Thomas stated quickly preparing both of the bags, but making sure to put the tent and other major items inside Sarah's bag, taking the heavier and less important gear into his own pack. "I've only got one tent for us, it will be easier to work with if we just have one tent." Thomas explained. "I'm also packing your pack with most of the food, if we get separated, you should be fine."
"And what about you?" Sarah asked seeing how her pack was getting favored for their new gear.
"In the world we live in today, this is considered a true luxury to have a tent that folds up like this, to have light weight cooking gear, and to have packs designed for the sole purpose of camping out." Thomas stated. "Compared to what my father had to work with he started his journey, we are living the good life." Thomas kept up packing both backs and soon enough, they were ready. "We'll make our way to Carter City and get a ride down to the orange isles from there. I know a place that raises larpas down there for use by the isles in order to get back and forth and if we are lucky, we might be able to get one for ourselves." As soon as their stuff was packed, Thomas walked out of the hotel with Sarah and Radara at his side, they quickly made their way out of the city and into the forest onto one of the lesser used trails. Within a few hours, they had already put some distance between the city and themselves.
With their top concern just putting some distance between them and the city, they didn't stop for many breaks and their night was thankfully uneventful. Come the next morning though, Thomas was sure that they weren't being followed and he seemed to cheer up a bit. He was also glad that they had already traveled half the distance to the next city in such a short time.
Seeing that his mood had improved, Sarah's did as well and decided to strike up a conversation. Unlike every other time when she had done this, Thomas actually decided to respond for once, although he still didn't really appreciate the company entirely, he knew that he could use to it if he gave her a chance for once. Radara was pleased with his outcome and was finally relaxing herself as they walked along, perhaps her daughter might be born into a proper family for once, well as proper as their life would let them anyway. Like before, they didn't take too many breaks keeping up their good pace and by that evening, they had arrived in the Carter City, the small port town known for its trade with the Orange Islands.
Although it was a small town, there was a large outdoor market square used to sell and display the goods from the orange islands. Thomas smiled as he walked closer recalling the last time he was there. "Thomas, what's got you in such a good mood all of a sudden?" Sarah asked seeing his smile.
"Just some more memories from my grandfather, he was here when this place was still a small fishing port." Thomas replied. "Radara even reincarnated here once." Thomas pointed to small line of beach huts. "Right down there, third one from the left. Of course back then, they didn't have electricity, just a large fire pit in each one to provide heat."
"Wait, Radara reincarnated here?" Sarah looked down to the espeon who just lightly nodded her head.
'My grandmother would have liked to hold off on it a bit longer, but it was storming and there was no way we could get out of the region.' Radara stated. 'The people in this area were so kind to my mother when she was born, the town was just starting off then and she become the first official new life born here.'
"Eevee's were some of the most popular pets back then, their unevolved formed playful and cute, and with so many different evolutions, they had many purposes. My great grandfather was given several offers for her, but he couldn't sell her, none of us could sell out partners for any reason. We can't be separated to tell the truth." Thomas stated.
"What do you mean you can't be separated?" Sarah asked.
'We are bonded together, always drawn to stay near each other. Even if we wanted to, we can't stray too far from each other.' Radara replied.
"You could say that our lives are linked together. We are bond to live with each other, to stay by the other's side and watch over each other." Thomas explained. "In any event, we are a pair which cannot be separated for long. We don't know how or why, but it's a truth we live by."
"Okay." Sarah was still left confused by the lack of a proper answer, but she didn't question it.
"We'd better get moving." Thomas once again started walking. "We've still got plenty of light, so I can start training you with those kubotans for a while today."
Radara was quick to keep up with Sarah right behind them as they walked into town. Thomas lead the way down the to the beach where he got them a hut for the night rather then stay in the pokemon center and they dropped off their gear leaving Juno to watch over it. Thomas and Sarah then went to get some more food along with Radara and Rebecca.
Thomas quickly went through the last of his cash restocking their food supplies as well as getting himself a new set of sunglasses to hide his slowly changing eyes. Sarah herself was also starting to run low on cash as well, but Thomas refused to let her withdraw anything right now knowing that the knights could easily track the money and with them just one city away, they wouldn't have time to vanish.
Returning back to their cabin, Thomas released all of his pokemon as did Sarah and Thomas made up a large meal for everyone, his several lifetimes of experience coming into play fixing up a very old Sinnoh dish, a mix of various vegetables and some berries with a few spices. It was quick, cheap to make, and filling which was what Thomas was going for and everyone enjoyed their meal that night, even with the slightly heavy tension in the air. Thomas and Radara seemed the most affected by this tension, still worried that the knights might be able to find them, although Radara had a few other reasons for the tension she was feeling.
Now with full bellies and rested, Thomas moved the furniture around to create a large empty spot in the middle of the cabin. "Might as well start with the basics." Thomas stated which got a slightly confused look from Sarah. "Come on, you need to learn how to use those kubotans."
"Oh yea." Sarah quickly reached into her pack and pulled out the two small metal rods.
"Alright, they are simple enough to use and my lifetimes of experience have taught me that the best way to learn to defend yourself is by having to do so." Thomas smiled and relaxed himself. "Remember, the point of using kubotans is not to hit with your fist, but with the end or tip of them." Thomas stated.
'Thomas, go easy on her.' Radara warned. 'I will step in if I have to.'
"Relax, I'm just walking her though the basics. We'll practice for about..." He looked up at the clock as it was a little after seven. "About four hours should be plenty of time to start." He replied as he waited for Sarah to join him. "I'm only going to show you the basics tonight." Holding out his hand, he had Sarah hand him one of the kubotans. Taking it in his right hand, he held his thumb over the end with the key ring, the tapered end pointed down. "The sides of the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, waist, and knees are all great points to jab with it." Thomas stated holding it in front of his chest, the tapered end pointed away from his body. "You will always want to take a position most appropriate to the environment, able to counter as wide a range as you can." Thomas explained waiting for Sarah to copy his stance.
Sarah's first lessons were a bit slow as the evening passed quickly with Thomas showing her a small number of defensive moves. Working hard showing her the basics uses of the kubotan, everyone watched as Thomas and Sarah started there training, missing the chimes of the grandfather clock in the corner until it let out a single, slightly loud, but low chime, showing that it was midnight.
Thomas and Sarah quickly began to lay out extra mats for everyone while Thomas threw some more logs onto the fire before starting to move the furniture back. By the time everything was done, it nearing one in the morning as they all got into their beds and cots. Rebecca was very happy to get to sleep with Thomas that night as he laid down in her cot and her presence did seem to help calm Thomas a bit much to Radara's liking. She knew that things would be rough, but compared to the way his father, it was a considerable improvement to how Jackson would have dealt with the situation when the knights showed up.
xXx
As usual, Thomas was up early and had already started to make a few calls checking on boat schedules looking for a convenient ride to the orange islands. Just as Rebecca wakes up, she looks over and finds Sarah still fast asleep, very quietly mumbling something about Thomas and her love for him.
Rebecca couldn't help but stare at her in anger for saying something like that; Thomas belonged to her, no one else. Despite how friendly they may have been over the years, she still harbored some bitterness towards Sarah every since they met back up with her in Petalburg and she was her normal self with Thomas once again.
Jealousy hits her though as Thomas has spent more time with Sarah over the last few days though, having little time for her. Getting up, she moves over to Sarah and puts her paws lightly on Sarah's back ready to push her out of the bed to wake her up.
Thomas looks just in time to see what Rebecca was up to as he puts down the phone. "Please Rebecca control yourself. We still have a ways to go before we get to where we have to go. I don't want you two at each others throat." Thomas sighs.
Rebecca looked at him for a moment as he turns his back, her foot now on Sarah as she is tempted to push her anyway. Before she has a chance though, a soft glow encompasses her and pulled her back to her cot away from Sarah's sleeping body.
'He said no Rebecca, so please try not to give into your jealousy.' Radara stated yawning as she had just woken up moments before herself.
'Why not? She always sleeps in late, why do we have to wait for her all the time?' Rebecca grumbles a bit looking at Sarah.
"Because my mother asked her join with us and she wanted to come." Thomas says walking over. "Besides, with the knights once again on our trail, they will look specifically for me alone in my travels, it's become second nature to me and they know this, they expect this." He sighs a bit realizing just how long it has truly been to travel with a human his own age in a sense.
'Ever since she showed up, you barely have time for me anymore.' Rebecca pouts a bit as Radara releases her hold.
"We've all been busy lately, being chased by the knights doesn't leave any of us much time for romance." He looks at her with a bit of sad face walking over and hugging her from behind. "I know it feels like I've been ignoring you as of late."
'Because you have, you dolt. All you worry about is the knights and watching over the legendaires, you seem to have forgot that your are her mate now, and she has need and wants you to acknowledge them. I can't help but worry about you, you keep going on and on about how you wanted someone to share your life with, to love and care for, and yet you forget that you have such a thing, a mate to call your own.' Radara shakes her head a bit, her voice slightly irritated. 'And don't give me that excuse, I know damn well what your going to say and I'm tired of hearing it. If I have to beat you into place to get this point across, I will and you know it.' Radara glares at him with a fierce look before looking back over to Rebecca with a much softer look. 'And Rebecca, quit your childish antics, I know your doing it just to get Thomas's attention. He loves you dear, a love he hasn't truly felt in generations, never forget that despite how dense he is.'
"Hey..." Thomas starts to say something, but quickly quiets down as Radara turns her gaze to him once again.
Rebecca looks down though after a few seconds as Thomas hugs her a bit more, realizing that she has been acting a bit jealous knowing that Thomas is hers and nothing could change that.
A loud thud catches all of their attention as they group looks over to Sarah's bed to find it empty, a cover just barely still on the bed. Rebecca holds back a laugh, but still smiles. 'Hey, she fell on her own, I didn't do anything.' She counters quietly seeing Radara eye her. 'Not that it wasn't funny.' She giggles a bit as Radara shakes her head.
Sarah gets up holding her elbow with a slightly painful look on her face. "What happened?" She asked looking at Thomas and Rebecca. "How did I get on the floor?"
"You rolled right off the bed." Thomas smiles a bit. "Don't worry about though, we need to get ready. I found a trade ferry heading out for the orange islands in two days and the small business that owes boat happens to let trainers hitch a ride with them. Until then, we can get some more training in with your kubotans, I showed you the basics and you caught on quick, now your going to use them against me."
Sarah looks down at her watch. "What, now?" She asked yawning. "But its not even seven and we were up late last night. Can't you give me another hour of rest, I'm used to sleeping in for a while."
'That's all you ever do.' Rebecca mumbled a bit, but still loud enough for Sarah to hear.
"What was that?" Sarah turned toward Rebecca slightly annoyed by already having been up so early. Thomas sighed and shook his head, it was going to be a long two days for him.
xXx
Thomas was surprised that those two days passed much quicker then he had thought, even if there were a few problems. Seeing how Sarah was advancing so quickly with the kubotans, he decided to do a bit of sparing with her to help her get more of a feel of them. Although she was a quick learner, Sarah didn't have much, if any luck against Thomas, his quick actions often disarming her in the first few moves, Rebecca always laughing each time this happened as Thomas constantly changed his choice maneuvers for each match.
Going at it for the tenth time that day, Thomas and Sarah each took their stances, Thomas of course quiet relaxed in general, but like Sarah, half a day of training had taken a small toll on him as well, both of them breathing a bit hard. Thomas stepped up quickly and while Sarah tried to jab with the kubotan in her right hand. Thomas sidestepped her maneuver easily enough and Sarah then tried to strike him with the kubotan in her left hand. Once again Thomas stepped back as Sarah tried to strike him once again with her right hand. Seeing a small opening, Thomas reached up and grabbed her wrist, gave a hard yank pulling her to her knees, and with a quick flick of the wrist, he knocked the kubotan out of her hand.
Sarah groaned a bit having been unable to even touch Thomas once during their two days of training, with each match he appeared to only get just a bit faster. Releasing her wrist and holding out his hand, Sarah took it and Thomas helped her up. "Why is that I keep getting tossed around?" Sarah asked looking over a still smiling Rebecca. "A little positive reinforcement wouldn't hurt."
"The last time I told you were doing good, I downed you one move. You can't risk getting cocky. If the knights have the chance, they won't hesitate. If they feel that you've been brainwashed, they will end it." Thomas stated causing Sarah to sigh a bit.
Looking back up, Sarah noticed an odd change about Thomas as she looked at his face." Thomas, your eyes. They... they're...." Sarah couldn't quiet explain the change in his eyes.
He merely nodded. "They've got a reddish tint on the border, don't they?" Thomas stated. Hearing this comment Rebecca stopped her laughing and walked up to only to see just what Thomas has said, a very light red border had began to form around his blue irises.
'Thomas, what's going on?' Rebecca asked a bit worried.
"Relax, this is normal." Thomas smiled. "It's just the next change of many."
Sarah looked at him a bit confused, but she was knew there was a lot about Thomas she didn't know. "Okay, if you're sure you're about this."
"I've gone through this same change once a lifetime since I born, you get use to the change after a few times." He smiled as Sarah looked at her wrist a bit. "Oh, and Sarah." She looked up at him as he walked over and picked up his bag. "You have impressed me, your may not be a quick as Rebecca learning to defend yourself, but you learn fast."
Sarah smiled at his compliment and walked over to join him collecting her bag. It was almost time for them to leave anyway to catch their boat. Picking up her cell, Sarah suddenly realized something. "Oh Thomas, I know you said that we need to keep a low profile, but I really need to call my parents." Thomas and Sarah both recalled the last time Sarah had failed to check in. It was a small beach just outside of Lillycove City, a massive summer themed set of contests was going, things like beachball and a few select styles of pokemon tournaments, mostly set for the strongest fire and a few other types. Thomas has been drawn there himself, although for different reasons. Sarah had forgotten to check in for while and her father, having been friends with the local law enforcement had sent out a calling party. Thomas had almost been caught in the middle of his work by the group of officers sent to look for Sarah only to have them walk in on him in the middle of awkward situation a few hours later with Sarah. From there, things got worse and Sarah's father only got more protective. "I really don't want a repeat of last time and if we're being chased as it is, that would really make things difficult."
"At least wait until we get on the boat. They may have contacted your parents by now and I wouldn't put it past them to tell stories to help their cause." Thomas stated.
"Wait, how could they have gotten to my parents already?" Sarah asked.
"I don't know, but you heard Felix, they had already contacted my the Falston's within two days of finding me." Thomas stated as he called back his pokemon minus Radara and Rebecca while Sarah called back all of hers. Getting ready to walk out of the room, there was a soft crackle as Thomas began to turn off the lights, the one right over the door popped loudly in a bright flash of light, Thomas quickly covering his eyes as he staggered back some groaning a bit. "The heck was that?" He asked rubbing his eyes as Sarah and Rebecca walked up.
'Thomas, are you okay?' Rebecca asked as he began to rub his eyes.
"That flash hurt." He replied rubbing his eyes.
'Thomas, are you light sensitive?' Radara asked looking up at him.
"That would be a yes, I'm very light sensitive." He stated as he rubbed his eyes one last time before looking around, small spots fading from his sight.
'I knew your eyes were changing too quickly, you whole body is slowly changing ahead of schedule, this just proves my theory.' Radara stated.
"What do you mean ahead of schedule, I thought you said this was normal." Sarah asked looking at him as he found his sunglasses and put them of.
"It's rare, but it happens." Thomas countered. "My eyes normally change about month and a half, sometimes two months after my eighteenth birthday." Thomas stated.
"It's only been a little over a month since you turned eighteen." Sarah stated.
'Thomas, your changes have been occurring ahead of time for the last two years, at first a day or two which I could accept as you were returning to you original power, but your eyes, it always took a week for them to become light sensitive even when changing.' Radara stated walking up to him. 'I can't help but be worried.'
"Radara relax." Thomas stated as his vision returned to normal, the small spots gone but he was able to make things out a bit more clearly now.
'Thomas, are you sure your okay.' Rebecca asked.
"I'll be fine. Come on, we have a boat to catch." He smiled to help reassure her, but Radara wasn't so sure.
'Thomas, you will keep me informed of your changes from now on, I'm worried something isn't right. You've already teleported once, your eyes are changing too soon...' Radara informed Thomas and Thomas alone.
'I'll let you know if anything happens that shouldn't.' Thomas replied back to her. 'Tavu always changed faster then the rest of us as he regained powers, with me being the only one left, we can't exactly track how fast I'm regaining my abilities.' Thomas stated as they returned the key to cabin and started to head to the docks.
'That's just it though, Tavu changed faster because that thing did something to him, to help him regain his powers. We still can't even be sure that it was responsible for his attack or whether it was something else that set him off.' Radara stated.
'How could it have done something to me?' Thomas asked looking down at her. 'I was busy helping to restrain Lugia with Gali when Tavu made the kill freeing the others.'
'I don't know Thomas, something just doesn't feel right.' Radara sighed a bit as they walked. For all she knew, Thomas was right, he could have just of been returning back to his original form, each passing form allowing them to get just a bit closer to their original powers. But still, something feeling in her kept nagging and she couldn't help but worry about this.
The group of them quickly made it to the dock where a small group of other trainers were getting ready as well, but not as many as Thomas had originally thought.
To save a bit, Thomas got them a single room with two beds for the two day journey down to the Orange Isles. As Thomas had asked, Sarah had called her parents and was forced to leave a message since her parents were not home. During the two day trip though, Thomas made sure to spend some time with Rebecca, which pleased her greatly even if they had to be a bit discreet, but at least he was with her and spending time with her. The two days on the boat passed without trouble, although Thomas was wearing his sunglasses all the time now hide eyes as their red trim and his sensitivity to light grew.
Around midday on the second day, the small boat arrived at Sunburst Island ready to pick up its next shipment of crystal to take up to Carter City. The group made a small stop for a meal. "So, where to now?" Sarah asked as Thomas looked around.
"We can get a ride to Hamlin Island from here." Thomas replied. "You can make a small withdrawal from the bank there, and I'll empty out my account as well. We spend the night there and get a lapras in the morning." Thomas explained. "Once we get our lapras, we'll head over to Ice Island. Articuno shouldn't mind the company that much and we can hide there for a while."
"Hide there?" Sarah asked a bit confused as Thomas walked down the main street of the port.
"The knights will still focused on Kanto, but there is chance that they may expand their search. Besides, a week of relaxation after everything we've gone through recently might help us all." He smiled looking over at Rebecca. "Its been nearly sixty years since I've stopped her and no doubt, Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos would welcome the company, and I image they will be most eager to meet you knowing how I have been over the past 600 years."
"Thomas, how are we going to get to Hamlin island?" Sarah asked as Rebecca smiled back at Thomas. "I don't have much left."
"I've got just enough left to get us there, I already priced most of this out." Thomas stated as he found a nice small shop on the edge of the town and walked inside. Walking in, Thomas pulled out the small emerald band that he had picked up from his box of things that Diana was holding for him. "Let me know if you see any you like." He told Rebecca as he walked in. "But keep in mind that they need to be small." He stated walking through the store looking at the large assortment of small gems, crystals, and statues.
"Thomas, what are we doing here?" Sarah asked.
'He is looking for gemstones to create a glove similar to one he showed you, his personal reminder that once again has a mate.' Radara stated.
"Oh yea." Sarah recalled the night that the knights had first caught up to them and she had met Felix and Macy.
Thomas looked around for a bit with Rebecca before she finally found a few, a tray full of odds and ends which included a set of three amethysts and a ruby, all of them small and round. Thomas grabbed the gems and walked up to the counter and after a bit of talking, traded his emerald band for the four small gems and a little bit of cash. With that one detail out of the way, they headed back to get on a ferry to Hamlin Island.
It was easy, if boring trip from Sunburst Island to Hamlin Island where Sarah and Thomas quickly went to the bank. "Remember Sarah, don't take out too much, just your normal amount." Thomas stated as they walked in and each went to a teller. Sarah withdrew her amount, 550 dollars, enough to last her a month, easy in and out deal. Thomas on the other, took a bit longer as he emptied his account and then closed it with the excuse of moving to the Sinnoh region, where his current bank did not have any branches. At last, Thomas walked out with a fair amount in his pocket and stashed in his bag.
"And just what took you so long?" Sarah asked as they walked out of the bank towards the local hotel.
"I told you I have empty my account." Thomas explained. "Sadly, because of what I am, I'm often forced to break relations with people I know, too often." Thomas sighed a bit.
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.
"I'll quit aging soon enough. Once that happens, people tend to take notice after a while." He explained as they walked into the hotel.
"Sarah?" A voice called out from across the room. Both Thomas and Sarah looked up and sitting there across the room were Sarah's parents talking with Thomas's parents.
"Oh, Thomas!" Vivian called smiling a bit as she walked up to Thomas with Andrew and Sarah's parents by her side.
'And now I would love to know how we're going to get out of this one Thomas?' Radara asked sarcastically