Beautifly Waves Ch9

♡Beautifly Waves♡


Chapter Nine

A small wave of shock and sadness washed over Touko. "She… died?" That was all she could think of saying. The very thought of her own mother dying made her sick to her stomach. She stared at N, waiting for him to speak. The green-haired child simply stood there in the grassy clearing, numbly looking off into the distance. "Yes," he answered curtly. The Zorua at his feet let out a soft sound, nudging his human friend with his short muzzle. Suddenly, a loud howl rocketed through the forest trees. Both Touko and N jolted violently at the sound; the Herdiers had caught their scent. "Come on!" Touko shouted, grabbing the boy's wrist and yanking him along behind her as she fled.

N stumbled many times as he ran, clutching onto Darumaka with one arm, praying in his mind that Zorua could keep up with them. They jumped over logs and darted around bushes, nearly falling several instances. But no matter how much they tried to escape, the cries of the dogs seemed to be closing the distance. Touko finally spotted a bright light from between the trees and gasped out, "Hurry! We're close to the edge of the woods!"

With every last ounce of strength they had left, N and Touko crashed through the remaining undergrowth and trunks – only to find themselves tumbling forward at a sudden slope in the ground. The sharp dip caused them to lose their balance, with the brunette releasing N's arm as she fell, rolling on the damp grass. Unwillingly following suit, the Prince tucked himself in so as not to harm to now panicking fire-type which he held. Once the two children stopped in their ungraceful roll down the side of the land, Touko found herself weakly lifting her head up. "You okay?" she asked breathlessly to the boy. With a feeble nod, N sat up; he checked around him, making sure that Zorua was still there. Spotting the small Fox Pokémon standing at the top of the ledge above them, he let out a long sigh of relief. At least Zorua is safe… he thought, before looking around again. The main thing he noticed was that the ground below him had transferred from grass to sand, soft beneath his skin. N slowly dug his hand into the silky particles, pulling up a handful and watching the tiny pieces fall between his fingers.

Pulling herself into a sitting position, the young girl stared around in surprise. She had noticed the sand the moment she landed face-first in its dryness. But what had shocked her was that it wasn't more land expanding further; it was an ocean that met her eyes, vast and blue, sparkling like aquatic diamonds. The small strip of beach that the two had stumbled on seemed to be the farthest edge of the island. "No…" the brunette's weak whisper was barely heard by any of her companions. There was no way that she could swim across such deep and ever-stretching waters. Her hands trembled, causing her to clench them into fists to cease the movement, to no avail. Gritting her teeth, Touko bowed her head as hopeless despair swamped over her, drowning whatever dreams of freedom that she may have had.

Hearing a small sniffle, N shifts his gaze from the sand in his palm to the girl sitting beside him. He was startled to see her shoulders slightly bobbing up and down, the for-sure signs of tears about to flow. "Touko…?" He inquired worriedly, leaning towards her to peer at her face. Touko's face was lost-looking, tiny water crystals pooling at the edges of her cerulean orbs. Her mouth barely opened as she uttered, "They're going to find us and take us back. There's no escape. I'll be a prisoner forever…" One of the tears plopped from her face and onto her lap, creating a small stain in her jean shorts. N blinked sympathetically and turned his head absently to stare at the water. Suddenly, something caught the corner of his eye. A small docking area was stationed to the far left of the beach, with unwary Grunts loading and unloading different pieces of cargo. They were so far away from the children that their activities were barely heard over the crashing of the waves on the sand. Getting to his feet, N quickly gestured for Zorua to come down and join them. Jumping down swiftly from the top of the hill, the Fox Pokémon gazes up at the Prince curiously. -What is it, N?-

At the sound of the Zorua's leap, Touko lifts her head and follows N's eyes. Spotting the boats, her heart thumps loudly with joy. In a flash, she's on her feet once more, grasping onto N's hand; "Follow me!" she declared, tugging the boy behind her again. The small group ran down the stretch of sand, until they were only a short distance away from the boats. Planning on stowing-away on one of the docking ships, Touko scanned for something to hide them temporarily.  A small stack of boxes were placed randomly about the wooden platform, right along the edge of the port – leaving just enough room for a small child to hide behind. Without a second thought, the brunette pulled the Prince to hide behind the crates, the two of them gasping and panting nervously. The commotion of the men loading and unloading objects covered the sounds of their ragged breathing. Zorua was nearly glued to N's side, black fur fluffed up anxiously as he stood beside his friend. Both the Pokémon and the green-haired child looked at Touko as if to say: "What now?"

Touko pressed her back flat against the boxes, inching her head to look out from their hiding spot. Most of the men had their back turned away, as they had no idea of the escapees cowering only a mere foot away, and were casually talking amongst themselves.

"You going to Nimbassa to see the game on Friday?"

"Nah – I'm going to White Forest. I've heard it's the jackpot for black-market Pokémon."

The words made Touko bristle angrily. None of them care about Pokémon at all. None of them!! She wondered if N was paying attention – but, glancing over at him, she knew better. He was staring at the water worriedly, trying to comfort the shivering Darumaka in his arm.  Focusing back on the men, Touko nearly let out a tiny shriek when she saw that one was now standing directly in front of the boxes they were hiding behind. Shrinking away from the side of the stack, she prayed silently that the Grunt hadn't spotted her. Mentally whacking herself for not being more aware of the Plasmas, Touko reached into her bag, grabbing at Emolga's Pokéball.

"Wait…" N murmured, touching the girl's arm to stop her from pulling out the device. When she turned her head to look at him questioningly, he continued, "Don't draw attention to us. Emolga shouldn't be forced to handle all of them at once." A small frown appeared on Touko's face, but she knew he was right. Twisting back to gaze warily at the men again, she let out a faint breath of relief when the man moved away.

If they turn around just for a moment, we can slip onto a boat… Touko thought vaguely, squinting as she planned their move in her mind. It would be purely chance, but it was all she could think of at this point. Suddenly, one voice arbitrarily stood out among the rest of the men; "We've got a small haul to drop off at Liberty Island, then we're heading to Castelia to pick up some new recruits." Bingo! the brunette child thought with an excited smile. Upon observing the activities of the Grunts for a few moments, Touko realized that the only ship being filled with supplies was the one closest to them, whereas the other boats were being unloaded with goods and other items.

N found himself facing the crate he was hiding behind, discovering a crack between two of the boxes. Lightly pressing his face to the rough wood, he peered into the sliver of space to look out at the men handling the new things. He closed his other eye, gaze darting from cart to cart. One of the large crates read 'Confiscated Pokéballs' on the side. The young Prince felt a sensation of relief; those Arceus-forsaken objects were still being destroyed.

"Hey," Touko hissed to N, not noticing the boy jerk in surprise, "When I say 'go', we're going to run onto that ship." One of her fingers was pointed at the ship nearest to their concealed spot. A small whine sounded from the Zorua, and it hopped up onto the girl's bag, clambering inside with a muffled grunt. Not making an attempt to stop the Pokémon, she reaches back and offers her hand to the green-haired child.

He stared at the outstretched palm. As much as he was repulsed by human contact, N still accepted the hand, clenching his fingers around Touko's small appendage tightly. They wait for a moment, listening to the sounds of the water sloshing below them and the men bustling about around them. Then, a break forms in the flow of men bringing items onto their targeted ship; "Go!" Touko exclaims quietly, starting forward with a sharp pull to N's arm. Wincing, the boy stumbled along behind her, their rapid but softened footsteps unheard of by the Grunts, all of which had their backs conveniently turned away.

The two scrambled onto the ramp, the hollow piece of metal making slightly audible thuds beneath their shoes. Praying to Arceus that none of the men turned around, Touko felt her muscles strain as she dashed up the slant. Right as they reached the top, N tripped. A loud clang sounded as N crashed onto the upper part of the incline, jarring the platform enough so that it slid to the side, threatening to take the boy and the Darumaka with it into the deep water with a one mistake. Of course, the boy couldn't help but scream out in pain as his knee connected dead-center with the hard metal. At the commotion, every single Plasma Grunt whirled around and stared. Touko froze like a Deerling caught in headlights; Not good!!!

"Lord N – and the prisoner?!"

"Get them!"

Face draining of all color, Touko quickly grabbed for N's arms. The Darumaka had leapt out of the human's arms in an attempt to escape the water below. It tumbled onto the deck of the ship with a small yelp. The brunette clutched the boy's forearms and yanked him onto the boat as the men descended upon the ramp of the yacht. N, flailing in panic, ended up kicking the edge of the ramp right as he was pulled off. It trembled for a split second before sliding sideways into the blue ocean below. Several Grunts cried out as they fell in as well, collapsing into the sea with a loud SPLASH. Once Touko knew that N was safely aboard, she quickly retrieved Emolga's Pokéball and shouted, "Emolga, help us, please!"

A bright flash and popping sound signaled that the Flying Squirrel Pokémon was out of her container. "Emol!" -Ready to help, Touko! Quickly taking in the situation, Emolga frowned angrily at the remaining Plasmas on the dock and discharged a fierce Spark attack. Many fled as the Electric-type attack was directed at them, running over each other as some ran away, while others began to pull out red-white spheres of their own. Without pausing, Touko turned to the Darumaka and begged, "Please burn off the rope keeping us docked!"

Blinking in surprise, the Zen Charm Pokémon hesitated for one second before hopping over to the side of boat, spewing flames at the thick rope mooring the ship. It ignited with a burst of orange and gold sparks, rapidly burning into a charred piece of string. N had gotten to his feet, now staring at his human companion in awe. The way she seemed to order the Pokémon around wasn't as he had imagined someone would do. It was almost kind, as if she was thinking about the Pokémon as well as her own well being. But he dismissed the thought, watching Touko let out Zorua from her bag and head into the steering part of the ship.

Zorua and Emolga sent out fast attacks, keeping the Plasmas' Pokémon at bay. Emolga let out a call as she shot out an Electro Ball, whereas Zorua used Shadow Ball. Both moves connected with the awaiting foes on the dock. The Darumaka soon joined in, sending out a shot of Flamethrower at a Herdier that intended to jump onto the boat. It let out a pained yowl as it crashed into the water mid-leap, making the young boy wince.

Within the deeper parts of the yacht, Touko worriedly stared at all of the different buttons and levers. One glowing knob flashed brightly in her face, making her squint every time she looked in that direction. She chewed at her lower lip nervously as she pondered which would get the ship started. Suddenly, a loud electronic voice said from a speaker: "Scheduled launch time in sequence. Prepare to undock in five minutes." Five minutes is too long! the brunette thought with a sudden panic, hurriedly reaching for a microphone that she recently noticed. After thinking for a second, she spoke into it, "Activate…" Touko thought for a moment, then remembered; "Activate autopilot to Liberty Island."

There was a pause – and then the electronic voice crackled, "Autopilot activated."

A sudden lurch made N topple to the ground, having lost his balance. The three Pokémon on board also slid faintly, their attacks veering off course. The sound of the powerful motor roaring to action filled the ears of all in the area and the boat began to sputter off. Numerous Grunts let out loud yells as they realize that they won't be able to catch the duo. So, the entire group starts to head back towards the castle.

Touko emerged back on deck, spotting N on the floor. "… What are you doing?" She asked bluntly, blinking at the child's strange position. Lifting his head up from the wooden floorboards, N gazed at Touko incredulously; "I fell because the boat started too quickly - thanks to you." "Nuh-UH," Frowning childishly, Touko stomped her foot as she said, "You just don't have sea-legs!" "Oh," N scoffed, getting to his feet wobbly, "And you do?"

Emolga and Zorua sat on the deck, watching the two kids exchanging words. They shared a look with each other and sighed in unison. Their sound made Touko and N stop their minor bickering and look over at the Pokémon. Recalling the situation, the children moved over to the farthest side of the ship. Already the dock was becoming a tiny dot in the distance. In silence, both kids relaxed against the railings of the ship. "Where's this thing going?" inquired N, as he watched his home and prison vanishing from his sight. Touko, her arms hanging loosely over the side, glanced up at her companion. Despite having been with him for a day or so, it still surprised Touko on how N was at least a head taller than her. She didn't answer him, simply continuing in her staring. I wonder how old he is…? The girl found herself thinking that absently, until N turned his head to blink at her curiously. "What?" he asked, noticing the stare. Having been caught, the brunette hastily jerked her head away, face heating up; "Liberty Island – but we may have to get off this boat in order to get to the city near-by."

"How would we do that?" N questioned innocently, tilting his head a bit to the side at her strange reaction. "I'll figure it out..." the smaller child grumbled, hoping with all her might that she really could.