Thread: Pokemon Quest 2: Melody of Hope (Yusei Fudo and Duke Devlin)

"Ohmigosh!" Vara clapped her hands over her mouth, then threw her arms around her friend. "Congrats, girl! I'm so happy for you! Can I be the godmother~?"

Pain shot through Jasmine's left shoulder. Her face scrunched up in pain. "Ow. Ow. Ow... Look, I appreciate it, but you're killing my arm."

"Sorry~" Vara let go of her friend and giggled. "I just can't believe it~ I thought it'd never happen~"

The doctor smiled kindly at Jasmine, then at Diego. "Well, congratulations you two. I want to keep her here for about a day or two to get all the blood back inside her and make sure she, that arm, and the baby will be just fine, and if you like, I can do an ultrasound so that you can see him. Or her~"

The shock still hadn't worn off yet. Jasmine felt like she'd been told someone else was pregnant, not herself. She felt sick. How the hell was she supposed to take care of a baby? Sure, she had Diego to help, but... She didn't have the faintest idea. She was in Vasilios's game, she couldn't protect both her baby and the people in danger at the same time. Maybe she couldn't save them anyway. She'd have to pass the messages on to Diego and hope he'd take them seriously... But with the wound in her shoulder, maybe his doubt would be cleared.

"What do you think Jazz? You wanna see our baby?" Diego smiled, holding the hand of his wife tightly. "Or do you still need some rest?"

"We're happy for you airb-- Jazz." Twitch said, fixing the position of his red tie. "If I knew you were pregnant, I should have brought a gift..."

The Champion sat beside Vara, his ever-present, creepy smirk widened. "Oh, really? You want to be the child's godmother? I don't mind being the godfather, then."

"Get back here." Elisa said quietly, her voice sending chills down Twitch's spine.

"U-uh, I'm just being kind to a friend..."

Crap, this really is happening to me, isn't it? Jasmine thought. Her heart climbed into her throat, making it harder to breathe.

"U-uh, now? I... I do want to see it, but..."

"Well we wouldn't do it now, we'll wait until the blood transfusion is done. Probably sometime early tomorrow morning. Would you like to see it then?"

".... Yeah. Okay."

"Well, go get some rest then. We'll see you again tomorrow." Twitch stood up, then walked outside, his hands on his pocket.

"Goodbye." Elisa sighed, walking outside with her loyal Gallade butler.

"I wish Ky had a cellphone..." Diego sighed, scratching the back of his head and sighed. "He would be really happy."

Ky...

At the mention of her father, Jasmine' s heart dropped. She looked from Diego, to Vara... Then to the doctor. She needed him out of the room if she was going to talk about what had happened.

Luckily, he seemed to read her mind. "Very well then, I'll head upstairs and make an appointment for you. If you need anything, just pull that string and someone will be here to assist you."

"Great, thanks," Jasmine mumbled, and the doctor strode out of the room. She let out a heavy sigh. "Look, I have to be honest with both of you about what really happened. And what's happening now. Please, just don't say anything until I'm done. Diego, I told you about that email yesterday? This morning, I got another one. It said that Ky was going to... To try to kill Robin. I thought... I thought I could stop him, so... I tried, but... He just... Didn't even acknowledge me... He wore some kind of weird armor... I just... I don't know what's going on, and... This is so hard, but... I have to accept sometime... I can't save everyone by myself, I thought I could, I just..."

"Shh... It's okay. Th- thank you... for being honest with us.." Vara gently touched Jasmine's hand and shared a glance with Diego.

"So Robin is now... Dead?" Diego raised his eyebrow, wanting to disbelieve, but he knew he wouldn't dare to. He could read, from the expression of her face and her eyes, that she wasn't telling a lie. "So... The sender of the e-mail... Vasilios, wasn't it? Tells you about something that is yet to happen, and you tried to stop it. This made no sense. If he knew Robin would be killed, he could have stopped the killer, whoever it was."

The man sat down, his hands folded, his brow furrowed, and his eyes stared straight at the floor, thinking hard. "... I doubt that Ky would kill his friend... Are you sure it is really your father?"

"I'm sure. He sent a mirror image of himself back to keep me busy while he attacked Robin... And when I ripped off his helmet, it was him... My father... God, I don't know how or why he would do something like this... Or why Vasilios is sending me those emails, or anything. All I know is that I have to keep people from getting hurt. I managed to save Joey, Dan, and Midori yesterday, but... I couldn't save Robin..." Jasmine put her good hand to her forehead and rolled her eyes up to look at the ceiling, trying to keep herself from crying. "I... I just know some big shit's going on... Vara, I want you to be careful around Ales... I don't think he's actively involved, but he's probably got something to do with why Vasilios's doing this... They are twins, after all..."

Vara took a deep breath in. "I don't know... I don't think so..."

"Vara, Ales was dead. Now he's possessing the body of a teenage boy. Do you really think no weird shit is going on that has something to do with that?"

"It has been eight years since Ales was gone. Everybody believed that he was dead, but it turned out that he was inside Dan's body. I doubt that Ales had a connection with Vasilios' plan." Diego shook his head. "I'm not sure though... Everything is so confusing, but I have to agree with Jasmine. Something is bound to happen. Something big. And did you say Joey? What, what happened to him yesterday?"

---

When Shooter regained consciousness he was slung over Zane's right shoulder, stomach down. His training sword had been replaced at its side, and Zane held his sword in his off hand. Zane made no attempt to make the ride pleasant...

Shooter took a deep breath. "I... lost again."

"Of course you did. You lose every time."

Shooter lifted his head slightly. "And... I really thought... I had you for a moment... I'll beat you next time..."

Zane scoffed. "What makes you think there's gonna be a next time?"

"There will always be a next time..."

Zane grumbled, "Will you shut up? Every time you open your mouth, you start bleeding again. Do you have any idea how much of a pain in the ass it is to get blood on my uniform? Raagh, and I got a date with Ritz after this, you little shit."

Shooter gave a short chuckle. "Of course I do. I bleed on my uniform more than yours."

Zane raised an eyebrow. "You're telling jokes now? I must have hit you harder than I thought."

Shooter coughed a bit, smiling, before letting his head fall again.

Even though Ales did helped him a little, he still can't win. Shooter is the kind of guy that would rather hold a joystick than a sword, and unlike Zane, whose trained to fight since he was a child, Shooter avoid fight as best as he could.

Everytime both of them are in the PE class, something bad is bound to happen. And today is no difference. Zane dragging a wounded, bleeding, and unconscious Shooter to the school's clinic is a common sight in the academy.

They passed through the library, and Zane could see through the window that the new girl, Midori, is writing or drawing something. He just hoped that she didn't see his dear boyfriend like this and start bitchin about it.

"Oh, yeah, that's right... Well... I don't know. And remember that wild blizzard there was yesterday at Snowpoint? The mail Vasilios sent me warned me that there would be a blizzard, and if nothing interfered Joey, Midori, and Dan would all die," Jasmine explained. "They're all safe, I think. For now... But... We have to look into this..."

"But... It's dangerous... And now that you and Diego are going to be parents..." Vara glanced down at Jasmine's stomach doubtfully. It was still flat as a board-- but of course, that would change in the near future.

"As members of the Leaugue, Diego and I have a duty to keep the Sinnoh region and its people safe..."

"But you're going to be a mother, Jazz! A baby should always come first!" Vara protested. "Look, I'll ask Ales tonight about this. Everything. He'll be honest to me, I'm sure he will. But you can't take matters into your own hands anymore-- it's not just your life you're risking here."

***

Midori looked up from her picture of Lilli, taking a break. She wished she still had the photo as a reference-- she couldn't quite remember the way her nose sloped.

Her eyes moved out the window and she caught a weird sight-- one boy carrying another boy over his shoulder. Curious, she adjusted herself in order to peer out the window easier.

Upon closer inspection, she recognized the carrier as Zane, and the wounded boy as Shooter.

She let out a small gasp and threw her pencils and open sketchbook to the side, then rushed out the door. "Dan!! Is he alright? What happened?!"

"Vara's right, Jasmine." Diego nodded, his hand on Jasmine's flat stomach. "You can't act on your own. True, it is our duty to protect the people of Sinnoh. But you're still a human. You can get sick, you can get hurt. No, if that prince wants to play a game, then I'm game."

"Listen now, Jazz, I don't want anything happens to our baby --our baby--. Just stop doing this, Jasmine. I beg you."

---

"Yeaaah, the fucker's fine." Zane rolled his eyes as he keeps on walking towards the main building. "Just a little scratch."

Though, the world little wouldn't fit if you see the wounds on Shooter's body. His shoulders was bleeding, but thank Arceus Zane's sword didn't pierce any vital spot.

Always. It was always like this. If Ales is in a bad mood, he would just take over Shooter's body, and then he'd make Zane his personal punching bag.

The jock, however, thought that Shooter isn't fighting at his full potential (blame Ales for that), and he was pissed. Really pissed, up to the point that he almost beheaded the boy.

"... Rrgh, what a pain."

Jasmine looked into Diego's eyes, and she could see the desperation in them. Her eyes moved down to her stomach, and waves of fear and frustration went through her. How could this happen, now of all times? She never wanted kids. Yes, Diego wanted them, and she probably would have given in at some point, but it wasn't supposed to be now. Not now, when Sinnoh needed her.

She looked back into his chocolate eyes and put her hands on top of his. "A.... Alright..."

***

Though Zane was carrying Dan, Midori had to walk fast to keep up with him. She looked over Zane's cuts and bruises. ".... Did you two get in a fight?"

"That's good." Diego sighed in relief. Sometimes, he hate how his wife can be so stubborn, short tempered, and impatient. But that's what made her Jasmine. That's why he loved her so much. The day she entered Diego's gym, he thought that this was just another silly girl trying to win the badge so she can show it off to her friends.

Well, he had never been so wrong in his life.

"Now promise me you won't wander off somewhere." The man stood up, fixed his shirt, and walked towards the door. "I have to take care of few things and make sure the press didn't just barge in here and start taking pictures. Vara, take care of her for me. I won't be long."

---

"No, we were having a precious tea time. Of course we did!" Zane couldn't resist but to answer with a sarcastic answer. It was a stupid question. Of course they got in a fight. Zane was tired, bleeding, and smelled of grass. All he wanted now is a hot bath, jasmine tea, and Ritz to accompany him.

They were just having a normal sparring session. The teacher put Zane and Dan in the same team in hope that they would get along at each other, and Zane could make up for Shooter's somewhat lacking strength. Things are going pretty well until Shooter accidentally tripped Zane with his feet and the two got in a fight...

"... Why are you following me?"

"I'm hooked up to all these machines, where can I possibly go...." Jasmine mumbled, irritated and put her good hand to her forehead.

Vara looked at her best friend, concerned. "Jazz... Do you want to talk?"

"No. I'm fine."

"But..."

"Look, just leave me alone, okay?! Just go on your little date with Ales!" Jasmine exploded. "What would I talk about? My father's a murderer? The world needs me and I picked now, of all times, to get knocked up?!"

"That's not till 8. Besides, I'm worried about you." Vara took her friend's hand and held it tightly. "Fine, if you don't want to talk, just hold my hand, okay? You know I'm always here for you. And don't say that. A child is a blessing, no matter when it happens."

***

An angry blush flared across Midori's cheeks. "Why do you think I'm following you? I want to make sure Dan is okay! He's the first one I met here who wanted to make me feel welcome, is it so much to ask that I can make sure he's okay?!"

As soon as he left the room, Diego saw a man standing in the corridor. He wore a long, beautifully embroidered purple cloak with gold markings, but he can't see the man's face because it was hidden by the cloak. He was looking at a beautiful plant placed as a decoration in the corridor. He thumbed it thoughtfully, and then frowned as a stain appears. The stain grew before Diego's eyes, withering and destroying the petal, until it was more brown than red in his arms.

"... Ah, good evening." The man drew his cloak, revealing his face. Handsome, egg shaped, and his eyes-- violet just like Jasmine's. His resemblance to Ales is very uncanny, until Diego realized it was Vasilios himself that stood before him. His purple hair framed his face, and unlike Ales, Vasilios is somewhat scrawny, having little muscle, but stood few centimeters taller than Diego. He moved towards Diego like the prince he was, with grace and precision. "It has been too long, Mr. Moriarty. How fare you?"

Diego stood in front of him, speechless. Sweat formed in his forehead. What is this... Fear? "... I am well, thank you. How about you, your highness? I heard that Robin was assassinated."

"Ah, you are well informed, my friend!" He nodded. Unlike Ales, he is extremely polite, and he dresses like a proper prince. "Yes, indeed. In fact, I was the one who issued the assassination order."

"I see," Diego nodded, forcing a smile. "But... For what, if I may know?"

"It is a long story. And besides, I do not see why would you need to know about it."

---

"And that is called following, dumbass." Zane scowled.

***

Soon, they all are in the school clinic, including Joey, Ritz, and May. The doctor, Mrs. Fontaine, tapped the wound on Zane's thigh gently.

"Oww!!" Zane yelled. "Don't touch it!"

She rolled her eyes, muttering something in french, and Ritz giggled because she's the only one who speaks french in the room.

"Well, Zane, if you're healthy enough to yell like that, I think you'll be fine."

Jasmine stayed silent, staring at the bag of blood given by some donor pumping into her arm. She let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm just... So... Scared... Of losing it... Of losing everyone, like I did Rich..."

"Jazz, what happened to your little brother all those years ago... There was nothing you could have done to prevent that. I thought you were done beating yourself up about it..."

"I am done. But sometimes..."

"Just don't worry, Jazz. Everything will be fine. When was the last time you called your mom?"

"My... Mom?" Jasmine frowned. "I have no idea. A few months?"

"Why don't you call her. Tell her you're pregnant."

"Why the hell would I do that? She ignored it... What Rick was doing to me.. She still has no idea..."

"It wasn't really her fault... You can't hold someone responsible for something they had no idea what was going on."

"Oh, I'm not blaming her. I just don't want to talk to her."

Vara let out a heavy sigh. "Well, I think it's a good idea. She probably misses you..."

***

Midori sat in the hospital room nearby, where Dan was lying on a small cot, still unconscious. Midori planned to be gone when he woke up, to save her some embarrassment, but she didn't want to leave. Of course she didn't want to leave.

Oh Dan... You know, I fell in love with you at first sight... And I know it's not logical, but all I want is to be with you~