It was like something out of a horror show though, more kid friendly Gangle supposed. She wasn't sure why it turned out this way, but Caine seemed obsessed with trying to make everyone happy. This new idea he had was making two random players work together to put on a show. The two people chosen for this ended up being Jax and Gangle. And though, both of them said no. Made it very clear neither of them wanted this. Caine just said "Well too bad! We're doing it anyway!" He clicked his fingers then, but Gangle had no idea what happened it felt like her view of things became distorted.
"What's going on?! Where am I?!"
Gangle tried to look around but she felt that she was wrapped around something it felt soft but she soon felt pain as part of her was made to move against her will. It felt like she was dipped downwards but her vision went upwards. She wasn't sure what was happening.
However, then Caine's voice rang out introducing Jax the Jackrabbit like he was some big deal showstopper from a circus. A spotlight then shone down from above showing a shadow which gave Gangle more of an idea what was happening. She was tied around parts of Jax his arms his legs his neck his torso like he was puppet. Her mask head was on the back of his head. Like they'd become some twisted amalgamation though they still had their bodies Gangle's was simply wound around Jax a certain way and this hurt. It hurt so much.
Gangle was whimpering and crying while applause from a huge manequin like audience were all sitting before Jax.
It didn't take long to get into contact with Rex. Especially after the sight that Soleil had seen from when she first stumbled across Shoki. He seemed to be acting fine, but there was an unrelenting rage that threatened to boil over for her.
Arriving at Nimbasa City's square was surprisingly quick for them. The aroma lady crossed her arms, scowling intensely as she waited for the man to bring the boy. He is REALLY going to get it when she sees him. She had photographic proof too, since the Cutieflies helped healed Shoki's face.
"Shoki, how are you feeling?" While waiting for Rex and Devon to appear, she turns her attention back to Shoki with a hint of concern. Regardless how mad she is right now, she's still pretty concerned over his well being.
Etou Eiji (Shoki):
The past few days had been a whirlwind for Shoki. The fight with Devon that had curbed his depression... and the attempt to calm the rage that was Sol's reaction upon hearing that Devon had wailed on the kid. He expected nothing less of the woman, but at the same time he knew it was done on good intentions, and he kinda needed the wakeup call. So ehre they were, in the busy bustling streets of the heart of Nimbasa, Nimbasa Square. Though they were in a secluded area to keep onlookers from getting involved, it still was a lot for the teenager to take in. The voices- sounds of the theme park near by... Shoki seemed quieter and more nervous than normal.
He smiled though when Sol addressed him and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine Sol, just nervous is all, the city does that. And my face feels better after the cutiefly helped.." Though it was more than just the big city that did this to him, he was nervous about explaining everything to Rex... to Sol. They were important in his life, he didn;t want to disappoint them. Sensing his trainer's stress, Shoki's Combuskin, Taiyou, bursted out of his ball, coming to stand near Shoki. "..Hey Taiyou.."
Devon Rainer:
His visit to stick around unova was going as he wished. Shoki was cheered up, and he got a new lead on the possible encounter with the lightning generator dragon itself if he gets lucky in his finding. All that’s left is to meet up with shoki and see what he needed to talk about. Hopefully it was no major topic form the last conversation he had....
That was until he saw the fiery red head accompanying him. That was a disaster waiting to happen as he felt a chill in his spine. Why was sol here? He was a bit hesitant to find out, but running off...wasn’t in his style to assume it was bad. His approach was subtle, though he was trying to calmly not try to get much attention....
“Yoooooo~ shoki! How ya feelin?~ What’s sol doin here?” He felt pressure. But where?
Rex Astrophel:
Rex crossed his arms and appeared before the three via teleportation. He had planned to relax but now he had to deal with whatever occurred between these three when he wasn't looking. "Sol. Shouki. Devon." He greeted each curtly before opening one eye toward Shouki. "Sol here said Devon beat you up. Right Sol?" He then turned his glance to her as he asked his question. Finally he focused on Devon. "I expect you have damn good reason for doing that and I demand to hear it now, boy." It was clear from Rex's tone he was not amused or in the mood for silliness.
Soleil Garde:
Seething hot anger. That's all that Soleil felt when, at last, everyone had gathered together on their little 'get together trip'. She tried so hard to maintain herself, least she look stupid in front of not only Rex, but Shoki too.
That was, well, until HE arrived, then it felt like Soleil had finally succumbed to the anger she had been balling up in her fist. As if on instinct, Sol protectively stepped in between Devon and Shoki.
"You. You. I didn't care that you ran around like an idiot. I didn't care at all if you're recklessly shoving yourself up a mountain and falling down its cliff side." She truly didn't care that both Rex and Shoki were here, Soleil is infuriated with him. "Give me a goddamn reason why I shouldn't return the favor right this second."
Etou Eiji (Shoki):
"Hi Devon and Sens- eh?!?!" Shoki seemed surprised when Sol suddenly stepped between him and his friend. He'd hoped that it would have been a little... less intense, but then again Sol had been furious and Rex... well, he was probably the same. It was always hard to tell his emotions, even if Shoki could see his aura. He felt Taiyou tap his arm twice in reassurance, a little reminder they had developed upon working with one another.... a way to keep Shoki on task.
"Sol.. Sensei, please don't be mad at Devon." Shoki eventually spoke up, putting his hand on Sol's shoulder, and looking to his teacher. "It... it isn't his fault. All he was doing was trying to help me, I was being the ridiculous one.." his eyes ghosted to Devon's direction for a moment, before he looked down at the ground. "If you promise not to get mad at Devon anymore.. I can explain what happened from the beginning.."
Devon Rainer:
Well, this was a remarkable turn of events. Rex was here, pissed off it seems as well as the fiery red head herself. Sweatdrops went to the back of his head as he signs, wondering what sort of word choice he should use here. Though, if he was not already riled up being called a reckless idiot, again, he may have had a more clear mind to think it out.
"Look, there are some emotional hurdles that a man can't overcome with words alone. I didn't hit him that hard and we blew off some steam. " He moved his vest to show where shoki punched him in the ribs, which was a bit black and blue from the bruising.
"By what we went through, I thought it would be the fastest way to let the pain out of his heart. If you wanna hit me sol, go ahead. I won't dodge. I helped my lil brother, so I did what I wanted."
Rex Astrophel:
Rex shook his head and sighed at their answers. "So essentially you both beat the sad out of each other and now honestly believe you're over your traumas? Tch." The naivety would be astonishing but it was par the course was this point wasn't it?
"While the sadness and pain you both feel isn't dominant in your auras, it's still there. You two basically just used violence as a way to release some pain or really just distracted yourselves from it. Whatever happened to get the both of you like this hasn't been properly dealt with so are you two going to enlighten us?" Rex asked casting a stern look to both young men.
He could have read their minds but that would free them from having to be accountable in expressing their pains. He had no desire to spoon-feed or coddle them like that.
Soleil Grade:
Her patience would have snapped in half if Rex hadn't pointed out the fact that violence was the distraction. Her glare still hot and hard, Sol's eyes snapped to Shoki her arms now visibly crossed to contain the anger that was still building up in her.
"Rex is right. What you two did, not only is it stupid, but you're excusing your own physical actions. That is not justifiable. I don't care if you both agreed to it, that's not how you deal with your own grieving."
"Especially you, Devon. I could punch you out right now, but you know what? Even afterwards, I wouldn't feel satisfied with it. The fact that you hit a blind kid, let alone Shoki, shows to me that you think nothing more than for yourself." Words bitten into, showing aggression, Soleil silences herself and closes her eyes.
"So yes, what could be so painful that you BOTH had to just slam each other a punch? Please, do tell."
Etou Eiji (Shoki):
Shoki sighed, not able to look st anyone's aura. "I just..." there was a moment of hesitation. Remembering was hard... explaining it after Devon forced it out of him was evidently harder. But with a big breath in and out, it was time to come clean.
"I just wanted to explore this cave... it had a lot of pokemon in it, and thr gym leader said there were aaron inside. I promised my little brother I'd bring him home one... so I ignored M-" suddenky he felt his mouth go dry, and tje sting of tears in his eyes.
"...I ignored Machi. I didn't think she was being resonable when she was hesitant to go in.... then tjere was a huge earthquake... and the cave started collapsing..."
"Machi got me out but- but she got stuck inside and didn't make it out... I wasn't gonna say anything because I thought I was gonna just burden you abd Sensei and Ava... and Devon hit me because I wouldn't tell him wjat was wrong.. and then I lost it and hit him back."
Even now he was trying not to cry... still looming down.and trying to hide his fsce behind his long messy hair.
Devon Rainer:
“........” He could not help but think of his own lose with shoki telling his story, as he remained a bit quiet while the boy told his tale. The loss of someone dead to you is never easy, and it scars...deep inside the heart. Some never recover, but that is why friends are needed to make you realize that you don’t have to handle it alone.
“.....I lost to rayquaza at the start of this year....I overabused the power of my mega stone and it overshock my body and left me drained......igneel, he shielded me from the mega evolved sky dragons hyper beam, at the cost of his life....I could tell from the look and feel of shoki that he....no, that we were both grieving similarly. If left unchecked, it can fester and make you want to do things you should not do....so I hit him. To let him realize who he was truly upset with, and to not wallow in what he lost, but to think of what he still has and who are there for him, and to those who are no longer with us who we carry on in our hearts their memory....”
He touches his bandages right arm, slowly undoing the bandages to reveal the tattoo of a red dragon color design on his entire arm. “I was a man who thought of only myself....maybe. However, if it is to help a friend overcome the weights of his own heart, I’ll do what I can.”
Rex Astrophel:
Rex wore an unreadable expression as he looked up to the sky briefly before he spoke to them. Death. It was always such a difficult concept and reality for people to face, in fact that very fate is what drove people to live the way they did cautiously or recklessly as they could manage. He knew Sol would comfort Shouki, and saw Devon got a tattoo to never forget the event. A simple pep talk wouldn't help them heal, just ease their pains for a few moments.
"I've watched and felt loved ones die. Some suddenly, others over the span of months. While the pain of loss stings, from it comes growth. If you find yourself trapped in a dark night of the soul, explore the darkness, understand it and come to drawn strength from it. You've endured pain like this and survived, which means you can endure more. The legacy of your pokemon are now carried on in your minds, hearts and any offspring they had." Rex told them as his hand brushed against the pokeball on his belt containing the baby Charmander he had gotten from Devon during the holidays.
"I'll let you know now, you'll go on till things feel normal again. You can't bring them back to life from death, so live your lives to the fullest in honor of them instead of wallowing in pain that you'll eventually overcome." His words sounded cold and maybe even cruel and uncaring, but in his opinion, they needed to hear this now.
Soleil Garde:
Not only did one pokemon die due to saving their own trainer, but two. One, from a fatal accident. The other, Sol could tell, wasn't. On one hand, she had sympathy for Shoki. His pokemon truly did try to help him even when he wanted to explore an area to find an Aron. On the other hand, it was hard for her to grasp that feeling towards Devon.
To say the least, she didn't feel bad for him at all in comparison. Her eyes remained hard on him, glare intensifying but biting back her own words as Rex seemed to take the course of action into his own hands. What he was saying, for the both of them here, was true. Moving on was the ONLY medicine to forgiving one's self with the results of their own actions. It seems like not only have these two experienced death, but all of them standing here right now have. In one form, or another.
The pain was all too familiar for her, and for a moment Sol clenches her fist. The image of his body was still ironed into her mind and knowing that she was the result in his death made her feel utterly sickened.
"Life always has an end to it, but it's all up to you two to determined if the life your pokemon gave you is worth it or not." Her voice still cut sharp, she looks at Shoki, her hand on his own on her shoulder, then at Devon. "If I were in both of your shoes right now, I would not waste it. Showing no change in yourself from their sacrifice is equivalent to spitting on their grave. Fix yourselves." She closes her eyes and sighs. "Or live the same as you have been. Your choice, your consequences."
Etou Eiji (Shoki):
Shoki listened carefully to what Sol and Rex had to say. Even Devon, to.some extent. They were rught, and he knew it deep in his heart. Machi died for a reason... she was there to protect him, trained since she was abandoned and taken in by his Father, as an extention when Hayato, Hiroto, Nanako, Koutarou, his Mother, or even little Hayate couldn't be there for him. A safe guard... something familiar in the tines when he found himself in a new enviorment.
And now that safeguard was gone... that familiarity buried in the cave on Dewford Island.
But with that sacrifice, came Shoki's lease on life. He still could expirence the things Machi never could. The only thing he couldn't relate to... what still bothered him was the lack of her legacy minus himself. She had no kin, she only had the teenager. But then again...
He decided to not think about that just yet. Right now...he had to learn to forgive himself. "You're right... I don't want to live the same as I was prior. I don't want to make the same mistakes so.. I'm sorry I didn't go to you guys sooner... I want to change. I want to be a trainer and someone Machi and you guys can be proud of.."
Devon Rainer:
“.....I’m not going to go down the same road I have been. I....have a lot more about myself and with the bonds of my Pokémon before I can truly grasp what I want to dream of.” He said, as he looked to Rex and saw the little action the man had over one of the Pokémon he carried. Was it....? His heart felt heavy to see that little one again. The painful memory of the sacrifice in his mind. He was weak....but he had strong friends and bonds with them that he could not let his scars hold him back.
“I caused my Pokémon’s death. I overabused myself and a extraordinary power to the brink of exhaustion. Never again.....if you still want to hit me sol, you can...”
Soleil Garde:
"I told you before. No matter how many times I could, I will never be satisfied with the results." Sol states, her eyes pointedly looking at Devon as she shook her head. Everyone had said their part, and the both of them knowing that they were in the wrong was the first step into recovery.
The next step would be acceptance, then moving forward in life. Such as the way of nature was, it's what it was meant to be.
"I am still disappointed, and you're very lucky that I have no desire to waste my energy on you. This is the road you both chose, and so you will walk it with the mistakes that you've made." Blunt, yet still burning, Sol looks at the both of them, and then at Rex.
"I'm done here. I originally wanted to give Devon a taste of his own medicine, but as far as I can see, both of them have their shared pain. As long as he doesn't touch Shoki again," Sol made a point to look at Shoki and Devon with an air thick with expectation. "then it's all said and done with me."
Rex Astrophel:
"Understand that life is precious and be taken away at any given moment. The pain you both feel is pain any and everyone who cares about you will feel at your funerals." Rex told them not mincing words at all while picking Charmansder's pokeball from his belt, letting them out. The baby fire-type looked around at them all before clinging to Rex's leg. "*While the ones left behind can live on without you, the part you played in their lives can never be replaced. The wound never heals, everyone just learns to grow accustomed to live through the pain. *" He was firm with his words and spoke as if what he said was an absolute truth.
"Shouki." He flicked his aura so Shouki could know Rex was serious in more than just tone. "I expect you contact me when things happen in the future. Hiding things from me shows not only don't you trust me but also that you think you can hide your heart from me. You can't." He then picked up the Charmander into his arms, the baby happily crying out in joy at the affection, before turning to Devon.
"Your reckless pride costed more than just you dearly. If you repeat the same mistakes don't grow and learn from them, more of your pokemon will die along with you. You sought power and strength mainly for frame and with others as an afterthought. Arceus will never appear before you as you are now. You must transform into someone worthy for a God to deal with on a personal level." With that he turned to Sol. "I could find a model to have a lunch date with, but I rather not risk being bored for an hour. Care to join me for lunch?" He asked with a wink thrown it at the end.
Etou Eiji (Shoki):
"But Sensei I-...." Shoki immediately shut up. There was no point in arguing things like "I didn't mean it that way" or "I just wanted to deal with it on my own". The fact was, he should have told someone. He should have had the nurses at the hospital contact Rex or Sol. He didn't, and that reflected what Rex had just told him. He hurt more than just Machi.... more than just his Father. He hurt the man who offered to help teach and train him.
"Yes, Sensei, I'm sorry..it was disrespectful..." came the mutter of his voice, growing quiet afterwards, unsure of what to do now.
Devon Rainer:
Pride.....yeah, his ever growing pride had caused his clouded judgement. He assumed cause he had been on a winners high lately with several legendary Pokémon. He had ignored his bodies taxation of exhaustion and just ran forward. He was...lucky to be alive alone, let alone not terribly injured. At least not physically.
The sight of the little charmander is when it really hit him...he was not sure what to say or what he should feel for the little Pokémon. “Someone worthy for god to personally deal with huh...” he felt like trash. He was it at the moment....He felt the tears enter his eyes from looking more and more at the charmander before he turned around and began to walk away from it all.
Soleil Garde:
Sol quietly observed as the pair had seemingly thought over their own discourse. No other words were needed now that everything was said and done. Her only thoughts now was that the words she and Rex had said were taken into consideration.
Placing her hand on Shoki's shoulder again, Sol glances at Rex and sighs. Her anger now finally diminished now that the conversation was done. "I'll join you- in fact, I might need a good few glasses of wine after this." Huffing, she looks at Shoki, then at Rex curiously. "Shoki's coming with us though, right? It's quite a way for me to take him back- plus i'm sure all of this has made even him hungry."
Etou Eiji (Shoki):
Shoki was about to suggest he leave but... his eyes widdened with surprise upin hearing Sol's suggestion. He was sure nrither of them wanted to talk to him after this... he woukdn't want to talk to him.
"Sol it's fine... I don't wanna trouble you or Sensei.." Especislly with Rex... those words still rang loud in his head, and refused to leave so easily.
Rex Astrophel:
Rex gave Sol a dull look before turning to Shouki. "I suppose you two could join if you don't have anywhere else to be at the moment." He honestly expected he and Devon wanted time alone to sort through their feelings but he supposed he could afford to show them some niceness. Thanks Sol you turned a (not) date into a (not) family outing.
Etou Eiji (Shoki):
Shaking his head, Shoki let Sol's shoulder go and instead grabbed onto Taiyou's clawd hand gently, shortly after locating it. "Don't worry Sensei. I'll get out of your hair." He'd see them again anyway.
Without much else, the teenager turned and Taiyou began to quietly lead him away- or at least somewhere quieter. Maybe the pokemon center, he could rent a room there until he figured out his next move.
Soleil Garde:
The aroma lady raises a brow at Rex's look, and then glances over when Shoki dismissed the offering and trailed away with Taiyou. Well, she had to admit it was partially her fault that she had dragged him here- then seemingly ditching him to his own devices.
But it was for the best. For both of them.
Closing her eyes, she sighs and shakes her head. "It's a good thing you were here, Rex, otherwise I would've popped Devon a new one. Anyways, let's go. Before you change your mind and decide to go with one of those hot Nimbasa models instead." Sarcastic, as always, but she had to in order to shrug off the thought of passing pokemon in her head.
