Goodbyes and Hello's

Katherine's P.O.V.

********

Nervous and excited at the same time,

Shaunder and I returned to the Icicle's den, slowly padding alongside him.

Slowly, another whirlwind of colors surrounded me....

---------

"Kate?"

"Irazi?"

Again, I was in the dreamworld, along with Irazi.

"I just wanted to praise you for what you did. You're almost close to fulfilling it."

"Huh... I guess I am..."

"You chose ice as your element. The unbreakable and the brave..."

I couldn't help but blush at Irazi's words.

"But remember your weaknesses..."

"Yeah, I know, I'm vulnerable to heat

and the thing to fighting types..."

"No, that's not it..." She said. What the heck does that mean?

"Norsoe can try to hurt you in your weakest spot."

"W-Where?" I stuttered, flustered at her words.

"Your heart." She said, and nothing more.

-------

Returning to reality, I shook the thoughts off my head.

My heart... Was probably my weakness.... What kind of pain is she talking about? Nah, I guess none of that matters now.

I seriously needed to go back. Now. I checked myself, my blue eyes wandered every corner of my body. Evolution somehow felt... amazing. Except for one thing.

Somehow, my fur felt thicker than usual, thicker than an average Glaceon I saw way back home. I gotta have to get used to this...

Shaunder was staring at me in a weird and strange manner.

"What?" I asked. "Nothing at all, Big sis... It's just... I've never seen an Eevee like you before."

I laughed at the response and ruffled his fur. It was a little sad I have to leave him like this, but I had to get back to Blake and Lonnie.

"I'm going to miss you." I said.

"Are you going to leave?!" The Cubchoo asked, shocked.

I nodded and heaved a sigh.

"W-We had to tell the clan about this... a-and..."

My voice trailed off when I saw Icicle.

"Tell us what?" She asked. I told her everything about my plan to go back, and she quickly understood.

"I guess Shaunder had to say goodbye."

She said. I turned to Shaunder. The little Cubchoo was on the verge of tears. He ran forward and hugged me.

"P-Please don't go..." He stuttered with trembling lips, balling his eyes out. I couldn't help but hug him back. Even I had a tear on my eye.

"S-Sorry Shaunder... B-But I'll promise I'll come and visit you... sometime."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

I started to walk away, waving a paw goodbye. I heaved a sigh, as I went on my way.

---------

"Almost... there..."

I panted, realizing I finally reached the forest. I slumped on the grass, exhausted. My leg was throbbing all over, and thanks to my tiredness, it didn't mind me so much at all.

"Kate!"

My ears perked up at the sound. That voice sounds familiar...

"Kate! Please don't leave me too!"

I stood up, and frantically ran at the direction of the voice.

"Blake! Lonnie!" I called. I jumped over the bush and rammed against a Pokemon, causing it to scream and kick against me.

"G-GET OFF ME!!!" It screamed.

"Lonnie?!" I asked, shocked.

"W-Who are you?!" She asked.

"I-It's me, Kate!" I stuttered.

"Oh, really?" A Charmeleon asked.

"Blake?" I asked. His eyes widened.

"If you're really Kate, what was the first ever food you ate at the town a few days ago?" He asked.

"Ramen." I answered, dramatically. "Topped with a few herbs and a few spices."

"Kate!" They synched and Blake gave me a tight hug. Lonnie followed suit.

"G-Guys..." I rasped. "I-I can't... b-breathe..."

Like obedient little pups, they immediately broke the hug and said, "Sorry..."

I laughed a little at the two Pokemon.

"Wow, look at you, Kate, you're a Glaceon now!" Lonnie beamed.

"That was awesome you somehow evolved..." Blake says. "But don't do that again..." He said, and heaved a sigh.

"Don't worry. I won't." I said. "I've been injured since I left, and I'm sorry that I stayed in that place, and that Leena... is somehow involved." I growled, spitting her name like poison.

"That cat... brought me there... she tried to kill me!" I exclaimed with a mix of anger and sadness from after what she did to me and from saying goodbye to Shaunder.

"T-That's horrible!" Lonnie gasped. "I knew that cat was up to no good at all! I swear when I see her again, I-"

"Lonnie." I scolded.

"Sorry."

Well, that was a bit overreacting...

"She may be a bit... devious, but I don't want to be like her... so-"

"You'll just let it slide?!"

"Uh-huh. Everyone deserves another chance. Besides, what worse could happen?"

"Fine... Maybe you're right..." She sighed.

"Let's go home..." I said. Should I tell her my secret?

Leena's P.O.V.

******

-------Next morning--------

"Good morning Leena!"

"Hi Leena!"

I couldn't help but do my signature smile; a smirk. Being famous is life, and I couldn't bear without being noticed. I groomed my beautiful, silky fur and went on my way to my team.

"Oh my Arceus!"

"It's them! The winners from yesterday!"

"Wow, I've never seen a rare specimen like her!"

"Ooooh!"

"Hey, hey, make way for Team Alpha!"

I stared at the crowd, confused. "Ahem, hello? What's going on?" I asked. A Lucario turned to me and said,

"Did you forget? That's the girl and her team that knocked you down yesterday!"

Immediately I turned to hostile mode and stomped my way to the small fox. Except she wasn't a small fox anymore, but a young, medium sized ice fox.

I gasped. She can't be prettier than me!

"Hi Leena." She said in a weird voice.

Which was obviously coated in an I'm not scared of you anymore expression.

"Don't worry." She continued. "I won't tell everyone."

"Don't you dare-"

"I said, I won't tell everyone."

Then she walked away, and whispered to me under her breath, "I'm giving you a second chance."

I stared at her in disbelief. After all I've done to her, she'll just let it slide?!

Katherine's P.O.V.

*********

-------

We arrived at our assigned dungeon, its creepy features tempting me to explore deeper.

"Cool..." Blake beamed.

"We need to hurry." I said. "Someone is trapped inside and it needs our help. Blake, can you blow a Flamethrower on this stick?"

"With pleasure."

Without a second thought, he inhaled deeply and blew a few sparks of fire on the stick. I used the stick as a torch, but being a quadruped Pokemon made it hard to hold it.

"Let's go Lonnie." I said.

"Lonnie?"

I turned to the grass fox. She was pale as a ghost.

"Hey,i t's okay to be scared..." I said, trying to comfort her. "Just take a deep breath and everythi-"

"B-But it's scary!" She exclaimed. Facepaw. Why does she want to be a rescuer when she is scared of almost-everything?!

"Come on, it's not that bad..." Blake coaxed. Lonnie took one look at the dungeon's entrance, and sighed.

"A-Alright... I-I'm g-going... i-in..."

I heaved a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Okay, let's go!" I said, and ran towards the entrance in a frenzy of excitement.

Are you wondering why we needed a torch even Blake had that flame on his tail? Simple. His flame could only emit a weak glow, that's why we needed a torch as an extra source of light. Some say that eeveelutions can see well in the dark, but that's only for the Umbreon.

"Blake, can you be the one to hold this?"

I asked, pawing over the torch.

"Sure."

Then he turned to me.

"Are you going to tell Lonnie about the human thing'y?"

Hearing those words made me flinch in surprize.

"W-What?"

"I said, are you going to tell her about the human thing'y?"

Immediately, my ears drooped in guilt. I've been keeping a secret from a kind and gentle friend. A friend! A kind and gentle friend!

I turned to Lonnie. She had a confused look on her face, wondering what we are talking about.

"F-Fine." I said. "I'll t-tell her about it... sometime."

I sighed as I took a step forward. I tried to shake the thoughts out of my head, but it still kept haunting me every second. The feeling remained inside me, leaving me flustered and distraught.

"Kate." Lonnie says, breaking into my thoughts. I turned to the Leafeon with a frown.

"Something wrong? You seemed kinda off today..."

"I-I'm fine..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, you don't have to worry about me."

"Okay, if you say so..." She says. "Wow, an item!" She exclaimed and ran towards it.

"It's a TM."

She read the label, and her excitement morphed into disgust as she read its name.

"Ice Beam."

Then everyone turned to me.

----------

"Are you sure its not a big waste of time trying to learn this move?" I asked, rather bluntly, after learning an Ice-type move.

"Of course not! It is really useful,you didn't have any Ice-type moves before, don't you?" Blake asked. I shook my head. I guess it was worth it...

"You're getting cold." Lonnie complained.

"Excuse me?"

"You're getting cold."

"Then step away from me."

"B-But I'm scared."

Arceus. Arceus. Immediately, I changed my body temperature into something warmer (I've known this since I'm around with the Beartic clan a day ago). Then I glared at her.

"Now. Okay?"

"Thank you."

I rolled my eyes and laughed. It wasn't long before we realized we finally arrived at the last floor. It was weird that nobody came out to attack us.

"I think that's-AGH!!!"

Lonnie yelped in surprize when a Focus Blast came out from nowhere and sent her flying towards the wall.

"LONNIE!" We called.

Blake and I quickly darted towards the grass fox.

"Y-You're bleeding..." Blake says.

"I-I'm f-fine..." She stuttered.

I turned to the attacker. It was a Heracross, a bug type and a fighting type. Bug is an advantage and the Fighting type is a weakness. Without hesitation I fired an Ice Beam towards the Heracross, freezing it solid.

"Don't do that to her ever again." I growled at the frozen Pokemon.

"Eat this. It should heal you right up." Blake says, handing her a berry.

"T-Thanks."

"Are you alright?" I asked, aproaching her.

"I'm fine, Kate."

"Phew. You gave us a good scare."

SHATTER!!!

I whipped my head to the side in horror. Heracross has shattered the ice and was coming right for us.

"Stop it!" Blake shouted and used Inferno on the wild Pokemon. It remained standing, except for a few burns.

"Cover your ears." Lonnie ordered.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

We did as we were told, and Lonnie let forth a Grass Whistle, except we couldn't hear it, thanks to our covered ears. The Heracross fell asleep.

"That was amazing, Lonnie!"

The Leafeon couldn't help but blush. "Well, it looks like Mom's move really is useful..." She says.

"Your mom?" I asked. Lonnie sighed. That awful memory with her dad must be dragging her down...

"L-Let's just go..." She said.

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell, the dungeon has over ten floors, no wonder the mystery Pokemon got lost...

"Good gracious!" A voice beamed. We stood there, as still as ice; it was Dr. Watson, the science guildmaster.

"Thank you for dropping by! I thought I was a goner!"

"Uh...Guildmaster Watson?" I asked. "How did you get here in the first place?"

Dr. Watson gave a small chuckle, and replied, "Well, I was here to collect some samples for my new experiment." He says. "Until I realized I got lost! So much for a mon of science..." Dr. Watson muttered.

We laughed as we went on to reach the surface.

--------

"Here's your pay, Team Alpha." A Mailman Braixen says.

"Thanks." I said, and read the amount to Blake and Lonnie.

"Nine thousand Poké." I said. Huge smiles soon got plastered on our faces.

"I guess we'll had to divide that to 3000 each of us. Is that all right with you?"

"Yes."