Chapter 27
Eventually, Ethan and the others decided to return back home. There had been some protest, Ethan wanted to stay behind to help with the search for Jenny, but after some persuasion from Protocol, he realized that there was little that he could actually do to help. They suspected that magic was somehow involved with their disappearance and he knew next to nothing about magic. Protocol stayed behind personally along with a few of his ponies to investigate the laboratory that they found. Hopefully, they would find some clues about what happened to Jenny.
So it was with a heavy heart that Ethan let the others drag him back home. It really felt like a hollow victory. They had gotten most of the ponies, but Ethan had heard the name that Jenny had shouted as she ran into the mine thanks to his improved hearing.
Shady.
He of all ponies got away, and Jenny was missing too. Chances were good that they had somehow captured Jenny. And that thought made Ethan sick to his stomach. But he had to keep his spirits up. Because he was not the only one who was greatly saddened by what had happened. All of them had grown to become rather good friends with Jenny, despite the rocky start that they had. Chii was positively devastated, but she refused to take comfort from Ethan.
The moment they had gotten back home, she had ran off to her own little corner and hidden herself behind her little blanket fort. She was still angry and upset with both Ethan and Brawly. That was not how it was supposed to go; she had sworn to never let Brawly take her Ethan, but now it had happened anyway. So Zoey was the only one who had been allowed over in her corner to talk to her.
“...Is she going to be okay?” She asked sadly. Chii had grown rather close to Jenny over the time they had known each other. The fact that she did not know about Jenny and Ethan's past had most likely helped out a bit.
“Jenny is a tough lady. She is going to be alright.” Zoey reassured Chii. But saying that left Zoey with a bad taste in her mouth. They had no idea if Jenny was going to be alright. She was tough, that was true. But there had been three other ponies, one of which had nearly beaten both Jenny and Ethan in combat before. She hated having to lie to Chii like that, but she did not want her to worry.
“R-really?” Chii asked as she sniffed. She had been holding her tears back ever since she had overheard some of the others talking about what could have happened to Jenny. To her, Jenny was sort of part of the family, that was how she felt.
“Yeah, believe in her. It will be fine.” Zoey smiled. “Have you talked to Ethan about this?” She asked, trying to coax her out from her hiding place. She knew that she was under the small mass of blankets that she had dragged over there. She could not see her, but she was easy to pinpoint thanks to her voice. “He is worried about you too, you know. You did not talk to him at all on the way back here.” Ethan had initially been worried that Chii would take what happened between him and Brawly quite badly, and he had been right there. He had tried to talk to her the entire trip back, but she had refused to speak to him at all. It was an issue that they certainly did not need on top of Jenny's disappearance. But it was something that they had to deal with nonetheless.
“...” Chii poked her head out from her blanket fort. She surveyed the room for a moment before her eyes fell upon Ethan and Brawly. They were standing off by themselves, near one of the corners in the warehouse.
It was too far away for Chii to be able to hear what they were talking about but she could see them just fine. Ethan was leaning against Brawly who had his arm over Ethan's shoulders.
“No!” She exclaimed as she pulled her head back in, not wanting to see the two of them like that anymore. She felt furious… betrayed… saddened. That was not how things were supposed to go. That was not it at all. “I don't want to talk to him… I never want to talk to him again.” She said, her voice lowered as she nestled herself as deep as she could into her blankets.
“Never is an awful long time, you know.” Zoey commented. She knew that Chii was hurt and angry right now, but she was sure that it would pass. The only question was how long it would take.
“I can wait…” She heard Chii say in a low voice.
All the other Pokémon that lived there had gotten their food so there was really nothing else that she needed to do. So she would simply stay there with Chii. To try to coax her out from her hiding place and perhaps lighten her spirit. She would not talk to Ethan, so Zoey had to try.
“Hey, don't look so sad.” Brawly said as he put his arm around Ethan. His mood had been dropping gradually ever since they had learned about Jenny's disappearance. And while Brawly had tried his best to keep Ethan's spirits high, it had not worked that well. “Protocol is good at his job. They will surely find Jenny.” He reassured Ethan who turned his head to look at him.
“I know… and it's not that. Well, maybe a little.” Ethan let out a deep sigh as they stood there. “I just feel like I should be doing something. And then there is us,” Ethan leaned a little more against Brawly. “After what happened, I should be happy, overjoyed. But then all of this happened and-”
“No!” Ethan and Brawly turned their heads towards where Zoey stood and they had just heard Chii yell before she disappeared back into her blankets.
“She is really not taking this well, is she?” Brawly asked and Ethan shook his head sadly.
“No… no she is not. Not only did she take Jenny's disappearance badly. But after she found out what happened between us, she refuses to even talk to me.” Ethan told Brawly, his mood sinking even further. “It might be selfish. But after what happened between us… I… I just wanted to be able to focus on us for the moment.” He looked up to Brawly who gave him a small smile in return. “But then all of this happens and I just…” Ethan leaned into Brawly once again. It was just so much that had happened recently. Too much. And Ethan was not sure how to deal with it all. “I don't know what to do…”
“Hey.” Brawly said as he made Ethan look up at him. “None of that. I agree with you. The timing could have been better. But, what happened, happened. You just need… We, just need to deal with all of this first. There will be more than enough time for just the two of us afterwards… alright?” Brawly said as he gave Ethan a reassuring smile.
“You know just what to say, don't you?” Ethan teased as he poked Brawly in the chest. “But yes… you are right.” Ethan said, standing up straight as he had gotten his spirit back. They had been just the kind of words that he had needed to hear.
“So… what are we going to do?” Brawly asked as he looked over at Zoey who were still desperately trying to get Chii to come out from her hiding place.
“... As much as I want to make things right with her right away. I think Chii needs a little time for herself. It won't do any good if I try to talk to her now.” Ethan did not like it, he wanted to go and talk to Chii, to help her right away. But she was also mad at him and would not talk to him. So, since he was part of the problem, he decided to deal with another issue in the meantime. “Let’s go down to the waterfall.” Ethan said as he walked out the backdoor, Brawly following shortly after. “I think that I need to have a talk with Scylla.” He just hoped that she would be there.
“What about?” Brawly asked as he walked besides Ethan. None of them had seen much of Scylla on their way home. She taken off in quite the hurry shortly after she had heard the news about Jenny. And if Ethan was right, Chii was not the one that was taking her disappearance the hardest.
“Call it a hunch… but I think she blames herself for Jenny's disappearance.” That was certainly how things had seemed to Ethan. She had stormed off shortly after learning of those news and she had been the one who had been tasked with guarding the mine entrance during the mission.
“You think so?” Brawly hummed as he looked up in thought. “Well, I guess that explains her running off like that… You think she is down at the waterfall then?”
“I certainly hope so.” It was the only place that Ethan could think of where she could have gone.
The rest of the trip down to the waterfall went in relative silence. But it was a nice and comfortable silence, so Ethan did not mind. As Brawly had said, they would take care of everything together and have some time just to themselves afterwards. So Ethan really looked forwards to that.
As they came down to the banks, they could hear some yelling going on and it was not hard to recognize that voice. It seemed that Scylla was there after all. But it did not sound like she was alone. Scylla raising her voice and yelling was not an unusual thing, but she was not the type of Pokémon that would talk to herself.
However, Ethan was surprised to see exactly who was talking to Scylla.
“I do not need your help!” Scylla yelled at Mary who did not budge an inch despite the force behind Scylla's voice.
“You should have somepony take a look at you after a battle like that.” Mary insisted, and Ethan had to admit he was slightly amused by the scene before him. Mary had been very nervous around Scylla earlier, but it seemed that most of her nervousness had simply disappeared now.
But Ethan knew how stubborn Scylla could be and that she would absolutely not accept any kind of help if she did not need it.
“Hey there you two!” Brawly was the first to speak up. Mary let out a surprised and rather cute sound, having been caught off-guard.
“Hello, you two.” Mary smiled after she had taken a moment to calm herself over the initial surprise. “ Oh, and congratulations!” She positively beamed as she pranced over to Ethan and Brawly. “Zoey told me about what happened. The two of you make for such a cute couple.” Ethan could feel the blood rush to his cheeks as he blushed slightly while Brawly just kept his trademark smile. It seemed that Zoey had gotten a bit excited with the news and had decided to share it.
“Y-yeah…” Ethan smiled shyly as Mary clapped her hooves together in an excited manner. She seemed really happy for the two of them. And that happiness spread to both Ethan and Brawly.
But they had gone down there for a reason and Ethan was reminded of that as he heard Scylla huff rather loudly as she looked down on the three of them.
“Great, even more of you show up… ” She said her head resting on the bank while the rest of her body was submerged in the water. “What do you want?” Scylla murmured as she watched Mary jump around like a little filly.
“Oh yeah… Um, I wanted to talk to you about something Scylla.” Ethan said as he walked away from Brawly and Mary. “About Jenny.” That, however, got a reaction out of Scylla. Her eyes widened, and she sunk even more into the water, making herself smaller. Ethan could see her look over to Brawly and Mary for a few moments before she spoke up.
“...I don't want to talk about it.” She said in a low voice. It was unusual for Ethan to see Scylla act like that.
“I get that… but I think we need to talk about it.” Ethan said as he sat down in front of her. She kept refusing to meet his gaze as she kept staring over at Brawly and Mary instead. Ethan understood what she wanted, but he was not the only one and Brawly spoke up before he had a chance.
“Mary.” Brawly waved a paw in front of her face to get her attention which stopped her excited prancing. “Why don't we head back? I think Zoey could use your help with something.” He understood that Scylla was not likely to talk as long as the two of them were still there. And since she was Ethan's patient, it would perhaps be better if they left this to him.
“Wait, really?” Mary looked between Brawly and Ethan a few times before giving in. “Aww, okay…” She said, a little downtrodden. But she followed after Brawly nonetheless.
Ethan mouthed a silent “Thank you” to Brawly who returned with a nod and a knowing smile as he led Mary away from the water and back towards the village.
“You absolutely must tell me everything that happened between the two of you, though!” Was the last thing Ethan overheard Mary say in an excited voice as they disappeared into the forest. Though he felt a bit bad with leaving Brawly with Mary like that. With how excited she had been, she was likely to pester him for every teeny bit of information just like Zoey had earlier. But he was sure that he would survive.
“There, now it is just the two of us.” Ethan said as he directed his attention back at Scylla who had seemingly managed to relaxed a bit. “Now… we are going to talk about what happened back there at the mine.” Ethan took the offensive as he already had a plan forming in his mind.
“What is there to talk about?” Scylla said as she looked at Ethan. “I know that what happened is my fault.” That surprised Ethan. He had suspected that he would have to work a bit more to get that admittance out of her. Perhaps this would be easier than he had initially thought.
“... You are right. What happened back there could have been avoided.” Ethan did not particularly like to take advantage of what had happened, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass. If he could finally get Scylla to realize that she really had a anger issue. “Now, let’s start with this: why did you lose control?”
“...” Scylla was conflicted as she squirmed under Ethan's gaze. She hated to admit that she needed help. No matter how injured she was, she would act like it was nothing. But this was different. She had jeopardized the mission and Jenny had possibly been taken. All because of her. “It was that Arbok.” She finally spoke. “He just kept riling me up. Taunting me, making fun of me as he dodged and stayed out of reach!” She growled in irritation as she thought back to it. “I knew that I could take him if I could go after him. I just… lost it.” Scylla deflated completely as she stared down at the ground.
“I still find it strange for you to lose your cool so easily.” Ethan commented, he knew that he was being harsh with her right now, but it would be for her best in the end. “I mean, you were in Checkmate. How could you still be in a mercenary group like that if you lose your cool just like that?” Ethan really hoped that his gut feeling from earlier was wrong. “Wouldn't it potentially jeopardize one of your missions if you went on a sudden rampage like you did back then?” He had to be wrong, he had.
“...No it would not.” Scylla said in a low voice as she continued to look down at the ground.
“It’s not the first time something like this has happened… Is it?” Ethan asked as his gut feelings came true. Scylla had not seemed sorry for going off on a rampage like she did, she had initially just felt sorry for the fact that she had deviated from the mission. Only after Jenny's disappearance, did she realize and recognize the problem in her behavior. The mission came first.
He had wondered earlier why it had been so incredibly hard to get through to her. Gyaradoses were already known for their rage, but Scylla's behaviour went one step beyond that even. And now it finally made sense why.
“No… it’s not.”
“It happened on multiple occasions, I take it. It happened while you were in that Checkmate guild.”
“...Yes.”
Ethan had to take a deep breath to calm himself as he sat there. He owed it to Scylla to stay calm and collected. It would be easier to help her that way. He had to hear everything before he made any more assumptions.
“Tell me everything. Start from the beginning.”
Brawly and Mary Care had made their way back to the warehouse after that. He had not actually had anything specific in mind when he had said that they needed her help. Mostly it was just because he understood that Ethan needed to be alone with Scylla. But they did indeed have something that she could hopefully help with.
Chii.
He really liked that little fluffball. Despite how much of an effort she made to dislike him. He could not blame her. No, he understood her perfectly. To her, he had been someone that had just abruptly shown up in her life and then he had turned it upside down. He was an unknown to her. So it was understandable that she did not particularly like him. But after what had happened between him and Ethan… well everything had gotten so much worse after that. He loved Ethan, he really did. But if Chii had just strongly disliked him before, then she probably really hated him now. At least, that was how it seemed.
Speaking of the relationship between him and Ethan that they were still working out. Mary had seemingly turned into a different kind of mare as they walked back to the warehouse. It was not just that she wanted him to tell her about everything that had happened. It seemed like she needed to know about everything.
However he had just taken it with a smile and a laugh. There had not been much for him to tell her. He and Ethan were still working things out. And he was looking forward to when the two of them would get some alone time together, because there there were still things that he was unsure about. He loved Ethan, he had realised that. But he was still new to something like that. So, there were things that they needed to work out.
But that was something that they would deal with later, so he had pushed it into the back of his mind like he usually did. They had other things to worry about.
After they had gotten back to the warehouse, Mary had gotten to helping Zoey in hope that they could get through to Chii. And while they did that, Brawly got started on making lunch for all the other inhabitants that they had. There were quite a few Pokémon that were living with them. Some of them were still recovering from various injuries, and some had just wanted to stay until they found someplace where they belonged.
“Is it done yet?” The Pansear next to him complained as it looked over his shoulder. When word had come out that lunch was being cooked, the Pokémon had flocked to him. Though he had received more than a bit of complaints when they had discovered who was making them food.
“Any minute now. Are you done with the carrots?” He asked the Pansear. He was no Ethan in the kitchen, but thankfully he was not as bad as Vernus was either. He was not sure if anyone was as bad as Vernus. But seeing as he was not the best of cooks, he had involved as many Pokémon as he could to help him and the kitchen was positively teeming with life as everymon helped with whatever they could.
“Yeah!” The Pansear beamed at him with a huge grin.
“Good stuff.” Food always tasted better when everyone had helped with making it.
It was not long after that before everymon had gotten a plate of food and was happily eating away. Well, almost all of them.
“How are things going?” Brawly asked Zoey and Mary as he carried two plates of food over to them. They had been going at it, but from the look on their faces, they had not made any more progress.
“Oh, hey Brawly.” Zoey gave him a tired smile. It looked like she was at the end of her ropes. “She… hasn't said anything more. She even stopped talking to me.” Zoey could have forced Chii out of her little hiding place, but that was an option that she did not want to rely on.
“It is sad to see her like this…” Mary let out a small sigh as she shook her head. She had not been able to help with much either. Chii had decided to shut herself completely out from the sound of things.
“Why don't the two of you take a break?” Brawly suggested. “Got some lunch here for ya as well.”
“...Perhaps you are right.” Zoey nodded as she stood up. “What’s on the menu today?”
“Fried vegetables. Nothing fancy, I'm afraid.” Brawly handed her one of the plates that he had been carrying and Mary accepted the other.
“No, it seems good. Thank you.” Both Mary and Zoey thanked him. “Are you going to join us?”
“Nah, I’m not really hungry.” Brawly shook his food. “Figured I might as well, watch over little miss grumpy here while you two take a break.” Zoey and Mary traded unsure glances before looking back to Brawly.
“Y-you really think that is the best choice?” Mary asked gently.
“She really does not like you, you know.” Zoey said, opting for the more direct approach. “Perhaps she just needs some time. And that we should just leave her alone.” In all honesty, she really did not know what to do. Ethan was the one that always dealt with situations like that. But since he was part of the problem, that was not really an option.
“I think that’s an understatement.” Brawly said with a small laugh. “We'll be fine. Take your well-deserved break.” He reassured Zoey and Mary who still did not look completely convinced as they walked away. Leaving Brawly there alone with Chii who was still buried deep within her hiding place.
Not that it was much of a hiding place. Chii had only taken a few blankets and thrown them into a pile before burying herself under them. But it still had the desired effect. She could not be seen from the outside unless she allowed it. But even buried deep within those blankets, Brawly was sure that she knew he was there. And that proved to be correct as it did not take too long for Chii to speak up.
“Go away…” Brawly had been sitting with his back against the wall when he had heard Chii's quiet voice. There was usually always a certain amount of hated in her voice each time she had spoken to him, but now that hatred was seemingly gone. Now she just sounded tired.
“I'll go away when you decide to drop that little foul mood of yours.” Egging her on was perhaps not the best way to handle the situation, but it had worked for him before. He knew that if Chii was mad at him then she would actually speak to him, hopefully. And then perhaps he could make her listen to what he had to say.
“It's your fault…” Her voice was louder, but it was still fairly quiet compared to how she normally was. “just go away.”
“And how exactly is this my fault?”
“It… it just is, okay?!” Chii shouted, making all the heads in the warehouse turn towards them. Brawly just smiled and waved over to them to show them that everything was okay before turning back to Chii. “None of this would have happened if you had never shown up.”
“What would not have happened?” Brawly asked. He knew that she had never really liked him, and that she was really against him and Ethan becoming a couple. But he wondered what else she put on him.
It took a little while before Chii spoke up again. And Brawly could hear small sobs coming from inside the blankets. She was really taking this hard.
“I-if you had not shown up. Then Zoey would be happy.” Chii sniffed and took a small pause before she continued. “She puts on a smile and pretends to be happy. And she is most of the time. But sometimes, when she looks at you and Ethan. She has to fake it. And that is your fault. It is your fault for taking Ethan.” Now that surprised Brawly. He knew that she blamed him for the fact that Zoey got rejected. But neither him nor Ethan had noticed that it was still affecting Zoey, not that it was too strange; it was not too long ago since it happened. But that Chii had noticed it, despite Zoey's efforts to hide it.
Perhaps they had all been too distracted to see that Zoey was still hurting.
“You aren't really being fair to Ethan, you know.” Brawly told Chii as he sat there besides her hiding place.
“...What?” He smiled to himself. It was understandable that Chii did not understand where he was getting at.
“Don't you want Ethan to be happy? Do you not think that he deserves that?” He really did not mind if Chii continued to dislike him. He wanted to make friends with her, he really did, but it was more important to fix the bond between Chii and Ethan first. He had no doubts that everything would work out in the end anyway. He really did not think that Chii could manage to stay mad at Ethan for too long. But perhaps he could help speed things along.
“O-of course I do!” Chii protested. “It's… it's just that.. B-but I…” Chii stammered. She was honestly at a loss for words. Of course she wanted Ethan to be happy. She just had not really thought about it in that way before.
“Then what is the problem?” Brawly asked. He had seen some movement through the blankets as Chii stirred.
“...” He had expected something like this. Chii was smart and very insightful when it came to a person's feelings. But, she was still a child at heart. A child that had gone through a lot, but a child nonetheless. “D-do you… Does being with you make him happy then?” Chii asked as she revealed herself, her head poking out of the blankets as she looked up at Brawly. The wet fur around her eyes, signs that she had been crying.
“I think it does.” Brawly answered. “And he makes me happy in return.”
“Oh…” Chii hung her head.
“Is that so bad?”
“Yes! No… I don't know.” Chii flopped down, her ears laying low against her head. “I don't know…” She repeated. She was confused on the subject, that much was obvious.
“Hey! Don’t beat yourself up over it.” Brawly said to her. If it were Ethan or Zoey, he had no doubt that they would pick her up and try to comfort her. But with how little she liked him, she was likely to bite his paw if he reached out, so he let that be. “Ethan still loves you. He loves all of your family. And that is not going to change, no matter what.” Chii nodded silently. “So don’t be so hard on Ethan. You don’t have to like me; I don’t expect you to straight away. But Ethan really cares about you, so at least talk to him when he comes back later. Okay?”
“O-okay…” Chii nodded once more before a more serious look appeared in her eyes. “B-but don't you ever hurt or make Ethan sad. If you do, then you will regret it.” Chii sneered at him. Though Brawly could not help but smile at her little threat. It only proved how much she cared for Ethan too.
“Don't worry, I'll play nice.” Brawly answered. “You want me to send Zoey back over here?” Brawly asked Chii who had turned away from him as she tried to look tough.
“...Yes.” She answered quietly.
Brawly smiled as he turned away from Chii. In the end, it had just been her own stubbornness that had kept her angry at Ethan. And with that out of the way, things would hopefully return to normal pretty soon. He still hoped that she would grow to like him eventually. But at least she tolerated him now, so that was something.
Ethan would still have to talk to her himself after he got back home though, whenever that was. He was sure that Chii would put up a small show to pretend that she was still mad at him. It seemed like something that she would do, and the thought of that made Brawly laugh.
He wondered how Ethan was doing down at the waterfall with Scylla. Hopefully he was making good progress too.
Ethan was indeed making progress with Scylla. They had talked about Scylla's past and how she became a part of Checkmate. It seemed that their leader, Weiss had taken Scylla in when she was still a Magikarp. She had not become a real member until after she had evolved, which made sense. There was not too much a Magikarp could do.
Scylla had not wanted to go too much into her past before she evolved, only giving Ethan the short notes. It had been after she evolved that her life had started to pick up. She had undergone a radical personality change, which was normal for a lot of Pokémon when they evolved. It was also after her evolution that she had started to rapidly climb within the ranks of Checkmate.
As for Checkmate itself, Ethan had very mixed feelings about it with how Scylla described it. They had basically been Scylla's family. They had been through good and bad together.
They also valued strength above all else. Not that strange considering that they were a mercenary group. And getting stronger is a good goal for Pokémon. Originally, there is nothing wrong with that. But that depends on the ways you use to reach that goal.
A Gyarados is known for its temper. It is quite the common knowledge, actually. It was here that Ethan believed that he had found what he believed to be the beginning of Scylla's problem.
Weiss had been the one who had taken her in, and was in turn a man who Scylla looked up to, whom she respected and in turn almost followed blindly. From what Scylla had told Ethan, Weiss had seen potential in Scylla's anger. She was stronger when she let go of her senses and simply let her rage run loose. So that had been exactly what they had encouraged her to do. So the fact that Ethan was not pleased with Weiss at that moment would be an understatement. But what surprised him the most was the fact that Scylla knew.
“So you mean that you were aware of this?” Ethan asked.
“Yes, I already told you so.” Scylla huffed. She had stayed remarkably calm for most of the time, only having a few outbreaks every now and again. It was easy to see how hard she was trying. She visibly struggled to get the words out at times. “It was different back then…”
“What do you mean?” Ethan said, urging Scylla to continue. The way that she had talked and behaved since they had started talking reminded Ethan a lot of a few similar cases he had dealt with. Of course it had been different since he rarely had been able to talk so directly with his patients.
“At first, something like that would only happen if… if Weiss or someone else told me too.” Scylla admitted. “Maybe a battle was going badly, or we just needed to finish things quickly. So I would go into a rage and do what I did best… wreck havoc to my enemies.” She grinned to herself for a moment before the solemn look returned.
“You did it willingly.” Ethan held a paw to his face and let out a long breath.
“At first, yes. I had control… to a certain degree and I did not see the harm in it.”
“But you do now?” Ethan asked her. This was one of the most crucial points.
“I… I think so.” Scylla slowly confessed. “I don't know…” She hung her head. “Weiss always told me that it was a good thing. How effective I became when I let my anger take over.” It had not been exactly what Ethan had hoped for but it was a start. It was something that he could work with.
“So what changed?”
“... This is stupid, I should never have agreed to this in the first place.” Scylla said before she started to slowly slide into the water.
“What? No, we were making such good progress, Scylla!” Ethan quickly ushered as he stood up. He needed her to continue, if she went into denial he was not sure if he would ever get another chance like the one they currently had. It had been so hard to get through to her, he would not just let that go. He needed to help her. “Remember, all of this stays between the two of us. You are my patient, and such you have patient confidentiality. Whatever you say is safe with me, I promise.” Ethan held still as he watched Scylla mull over his words. A mixture of different emotions showed on her face. She was way out of her comfort zone. She had grown up believing that strength was everything, and here she was, admitting that she may have a problem, willingly showing weakness. It went against everything that she stood for. There was no wonder that she was unsure, that she was afraid.
“You promise?” She asked in a low voice as she had halted her retreat into the water. And Ethan let out a breath of relief.
“I promise.”
“You better!” She growled as she slithered back up onto the banks. “Because if you tell a soul, I will end you!” She was putting on a show to hide her weakness, he had seen it before many a time. Ethan was not sure if her threat was true or not. But it did not matter. He would not say anything, she was his patient after all. He had talked about her before, but never had he gone into details.
“That is fine with me.” Ethan answered and kept his smile as Scylla growled at him, waiting for her to calm down. “So how about we continue. What changed?” He asked as he sat back down and waited for Scylla to continue.
“At first, nothing changed… But it became harder and harder to hold myself back over time. Doc did not like it, she said that it had gone too far. She talked to Weiss, and they tried to help me. To get my anger back under control. But I did not want that. I refused their help. Back then I thought that it was a good thing that my rage was growing stronger, because I was growing stronger with it.” Scylla looked off into the distance with a small smile. “I was useful…” Ethan was still not pleased with Weiss, but perhaps he understood him a bit better now. If whatever they had tried had not worked, then perhaps Weiss thought that the best thing to do, would be to help her guide her anger since they could not help her control it. Perhaps they should have tried harder, he could not say, but in the end, he worked with the cards that he had been dealt. And that was something that Ethan could understand.
“So you had no idea that it was a bad thing? You weren't worried about the fact that you could not control it?” Ethan asked her, and Scylla shook her head.
“No… maybe, but I did not care, and no matter what, when the mission was over, my rage always ended.” Ethan hummed to himself as he thought. It seemed that Scylla was not aware of the fact that those words had brought her out of her rage. It was just a subconscious response on her part. If the mission or job is finished, then there would be no reason for her to stay angry. The mission always came first. “But…”
“But?”
“There was this one time…” Scylla started. “I don't know what happened, but… I know that something went wrong.” She had grown even more uncomfortable as she had started to speak about that incident. No, unsure was the wrong word, it was more like she was… ashamed. “I was fighting an Exploud. Of course I was stronger, but it was an annoying fight. I remember my ears hurt from all its constant yelling. I know that I beat it. That much was obvious. But when I came to my senses… I was being held down against the ground by my teammates. Shredder was shouting at me, though I could not hear what she was saying. All of them looked like they had been through some very tough battles themselves…”
And now Ethan understood why she looked so ashamed when she had started talking about that incident. It was obvious what had happened, and he was sure that Scylla had known too, at least to some degree.
“Weiss told me not to worry. He told me that nothing was wrong…” Scylla tensed up in anger. “But I am not stupid! Something was wrong, of course I knew that!” She roared, the water behind her rippling from the force of her voice. “But he told me not to worry about it… so I didn't.” And just like that, Scylla's anger dissipated.
“And what did you do after that?” Ethan asked. He did not think that it was strange that she ignored that little event. The person she trusted the most had told her not to worry about it so that was what she had done.
“I did what I always did. I pursued strength. I had to become stronger, I needed to.” And just like that they were back to her intense need for strength.
“So… how do you feel?” Ethan inquired. “After sharing all of that. Do you feel any different?”
“I feel weak…” Scylla admitted after she had mulled over the question for a bit. “And strange. Is that normal?”
“Whatever you are feeling is up to you. But you are not weak for admitting this. You are strong. Though it is a different strength than you are used to.” It did not look like Scylla believed him, but she did not protest either. “I will help you get through this. To overcome this rage of yours if that is what you want.”
Scylla had admitted that she had made a mistake, but she had never actually asked for his help directly. He figured that she was way too prideful for that. That was why he had chosen his words in such a manner.
Scylla did not answer him. At least not straight away. But he did see her nod weakly as she averted her eyes from him.
“I don't mind the rage… I like my anger.” She finally said. “But I want to control it. Not let it control me anymore.”
“Don't worry.” Ethan reassured her with a gentle smile. “I will help you reach that goal.” It was their first step. It was Scylla's first step towards bettering herself. Towards recovery. “We have gone over much. But there is one more question that I would like to ask, if you don't mind?” Ethan asked.
“...What is it?”
“Why did you desire strength so strongly? To that degree, I mean. From what you told me, you were willing to do anything as long as it meant that you would grow stronger. Why?” It had been something that had made Ethan curious from the moment he had gotten to know Scylla. It was an important part of her past.
“You would not understand.” Scylla grumbled as she looked up at Ethan. “You could never understand.”
“What would I not understand? Please, explain it to me.” Ethan urged her. He wanted to understand her. He wanted to help her. And perhaps, understanding her would make it easier for him to help her. At least that was what he hoped.
“Being helpless and weak. Do you know what that's like!?” She roared at him. “Being something that everymon preyed upon. Begging that you were one of those few that had luck on your side and survived until you evolved? No… of course you would not.” She spat at him. “I was weak… I was beyond weak, I was trash. So I worked hard to get stronger. Every day, I worked hard. Trained until I could barely move. I think that is why Weiss picked me up. He saw potential in me, he saw my strong will. And so I promised myself that I would never be weak again. Never.” Scylla was breathing heavily once she had finished. The muscles along her long body, bulging as she tensed them. “You could never know what that is like… now leave. I want to be alone.” And with that, she turned and dived into the water before Ethan could say another word.
It seemed that their session was over for that day.
“So how did things go with Scylla?” It was not until much later that evening that Brawly and Ethan had a chance to just sit down and talk. Both of them had been busy with their own.
“It went really well, actually. We made some good progress.” Ethan answered. Choosing not to mention the bad note they had ended the session on. “Thank you for talking to Chii. I don't know how, but it seems that you really got through to her.” He smiled.
After he had gotten back home, Brawly had already left and so Zoey had told him about how he had talked with Chii. When he went to try to talk with her himself she made it difficult for him at first, she played tough and hard to get. But she caved quickly and soon Ethan found himself with a small Skitty nuzzling in his arms, nuzzling against him.
“She was just being stubborn, man.” Brawly shook his head. The two of them were sitting on a small hill overlooking the village. The moon was shining its light down on them as they were enjoying the silence around them. They had gone out there because they wanted to be alone for a while. “Did you talk to her about Jenny?”
“Yeah.” Ethan nodded. “She really took that hard… we all did. I hope she is okay.”
“Let's just let the police do their job, alright? I’m sure that something will come up, dude.” Brawly told Ethan as he put a paw on his shoulder, which Ethan gladly leaned into. “Besides, she is a tough lady. You of all should know that.” Brawly laughed.
“Don’t remind me.” Ethan groaned. Remembering all the time that particular Jenny had been after him. She had been persistent, he had to give her that, at least. “But yeah, she knows how to take care of herself.”
And so silence came once again. Both Ethan and Brawly knew that they needed to talk about their relationship, but for the moment, they just enjoyed the silence and the company of one another. Ethan was resting his head against Brawly's shoulder who was in turn holding an arm around Ethan.
“Soo…” Ethan awkwardly started as Brawly looked down at him.
“So what?”
“So are we going to talk about… you know.” Ethan gestured between himself and Brawly. “About this, about us.” It had been the reason they had gone out. So that they could have some privacy while they worked things out. They hadn't really had that much time to themselves after everything that had happened at the mine.
“Sure, man. Where do you want to start?”
“I… I'm not really sure” Ethan sighed. “I guess I'm still in shock over the fact that you said yes. That you were willing to give this a chance. Thank you.” Ethan leaned up and nuzzled against Brawly. The action was foreign to him, but felt right in his new body.
“You can believe it. Cause I'm not planning on going anywhere.” Brawly reassured Ethan.
“I know, I know. And I couldn't be happier for it.” He thought back to that very moment when Brawly had silenced him by going in for the kiss and had to suppress a happy giggle because of it. “But where do we stand now then?” Ethan asked. “I mean, what should we do now?”
“You ask me like you think I got the answers.” Brawly laughed and shook his head. “Besides, don't you have more experience with relationships than I do?” Now that almost made Ethan do a double take.
“W-what?” Ethan blinked as he sat up and looked straight at Brawly. “I have more experience? What about you and all of your…um…”
“Fans?” Brawly asked, making Ethan blush and nod silently. “Sure, I have some experience of my own. But in relationships? Nah, man. Never let things get that far.”
“R-really? But I thought… I… never mind.”
“What about you and that… what was his name.” Brawly mumbled as he reached up and scratched his chin. “Oh yeah, Mark!” Now if Ethan had not been embarrassed before he surely was now.
“T-that was nothing, I....” His voice grew gradually more quiet until he was just mumbling to himself, making Brawly lean in just to try to hear what he was talking about.
“Im sorry, what was that?”
“...” Ethan repeated, just raising his voice slightly.
“One more time.” Brawly said and this time Ethan leaned in and whispered something. There was no one around, but he was just too embarrassed to say it out loud. “So you were dating him, hoping that I would get jealous?” Ethan nodded weakly as his face was bright red in embarrassment. He felt like he could just sink into the ground and disappear. “Well, I guess that explains why you were always acting kind of funny around that time.” Brawly let out a loud and healthy laugh.
“Come on! It’s not funny!” Ethan shouted as he turned back to Brawly who were apparently having the time of his life.
“It kind of is, dude.” Brawly grinned while Ethan were glaring at him.
“Fuck you!” Ethan huffed in irritation. But Brawly's grin only seemed to widen.
“Nah, man. That comes later.” And just like that, Ethan's face was as red as the stripes on Zoey's body.
“You are unbelievable!” Ethan complained, throwing his arms into the air.
“Oh, come on now.” Brawly reached out Ethan, putting his paw under Ethan's chin and making him head so that he looked towards him. “You know you love it.” He grinned before he leaned in and gave Ethan a short kiss. “Still mad?” An amused Brawly asked as he leaned away, seeing the content look on Ethan's face.
“...No.” Ethan sighed happily. It was impossible to stay mad at Brawly in any case. Especially when he did things like that.
“You are a silly Lopunny, but you are my silly Lopunny.” Brawly teased.
“Heh, I guess I am.” Ethan just shook his head and laughed. He did not know why he had expected Brawly to be any different after what had happened. No, he was still the same goofball that he had always known and loved. And he would not have it any other way. “What now?” Ethan asked. “You said that you were willing to give this a chance. So what now?”
“Why do we need to do something right now? Why don't we just let things happen naturally? There is no need to rush anything or take things too slow. We just do what we feel like and what seems appropriate.” Ethan just listened quietly as Brawly talked with wisdom in his words. “You know, as I like to say. Just go with the flow.” And just like that, the wisdom was gone.
“Just go with the flow, eh?” Ethan looked up into Brawly's eyes, seeing the love and passion in his eyes. “I think I can live with that.” Ethan agreed. “I love you.” Those words came much easier now than they had before. And just saying them filled Ethan with an extraordinary joyful and warm feeling.
“Love you too, dude.”
“...You know, saying ‘dude’ right there, really does not fit.” Ethan complained with a deadpan look. He knew that Brawly was honest with his words, but he always had a knack for getting under his skin. Even if he did not mean to do so on purpose.
“Oh don't ruin the mood. C'mere you silly Lopunny, you.” Brawl just smiled before he pulled Ethan up and the two of them locked lips.
Unlike the quick one that Brawly had surprised Ethan with before, this one was filled with passion from both sides. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as they simply focused on one another. Brawly holding Ethan in his strong arms, the world around them a blur.
Ethan could feel his heart beating faster than ever before. A soft tingle spread throughout his body, it positively felt as if he was melting in Brawly's grasp. The long mustache that Brawly had gotten when he was turned into a Mienshao tickled a bit, but he ignored that feeling. He would not let something like that ruin their moment.
Ethan had no idea how long they stayed like that. The wind who softly blew past them, the moonlight that shone down upon them. It was simply perfect.
So engrossed with each other was the two, that neither of them heard or sensed that they were no longer along until a voice spoke up.
“Oh, wow um… Don't mind me. I really did not mean to intrude.” Ethan opened his eyes as he heard the new voice and reluctantly pulled away from Brawly who were now looking towards the newcomer. “By all means, just continue. I was just passing through." Ethan looked up towards where the voice had come from. However, there had been something familiar to that voice, and the moment he laid his eyes on its owner, he knew exactly who it belonged too.
“V-Vernus?” A shocked and surprised Ethan stuttered. He was kind of in a embarrassing position after all. He was laying with his back against the ground, now propping himself up with his elbows so that he could easier turn his head. Brawly was leaned over him, just inches from his face as both of them were now staring at the familiar Leafeon who looked like a Deerling that had been caught in the headlights.
“How do you know my name? Wait… that voice… Ethan!?” Vernus had overcome his initial shock and was looking between Ethan and Brawly with a sceptical look. “Really?”
“W-what?” Ethan asked. Their positioning has become more than a little embarrassing so Brawly had moved off and had sat down next to Ethan who were getting up himself.
“I mean, really?” Vernus repeated as he pointed towards Brawly. “Was your resolve that weak? What happened to the Ethan who was wholeheartedly in love with his best friend. Did those feelings not mean anything to you?” Ethan wanted to speak up, but Vernus was just talking too fast for him to get a word in. “No, just a week and a half and you have already found yourself somemon else. I mean, really Ethan. I expected better from you.” Vernus huffed with an annoyed look on his face. While Brawly just sat there with the biggest grin on his face.
“Sup, Vernus.” Brawly gave the Leafeon a short wave with his paw and Vernus returned the gesture.
“Yo, Brawly.” Vernus responded without missing a beat, still looking at Ethan. “So many years man. So much pain and grief, is that really so easy to overcome? Are you tha-” And then, in the middle of his little rant, Vernus stopped.
He stared blankly straight ahead as his mind worked to process this new information. Slowly he looked between Brawly and Ethan once more, both who had amused smiles on their faces.
“I… is he?” Vernus pointed to Brawly.
“Yeah, it is me, dude.” Brawly grinned.
“And you are Ethan?” He moved his paw so it pointed back at Ethan who just nodded.
“In the flesh.”
Vernus slowly sat down, brought his paw up to his chin and closed his eyes. It looked like he was doing some deep thinking. He sat like that for a few seconds, and Ethan was just about to ask if he was okay when his eyes opened.
“I have several questions.”
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Way to ruin the moment Vernus
what is it you question vernus?
That entry of Vernus's.
Now I'm just wondering where the Growlithle went.
6120429
Dont worry, he is still there. He was just a little ways behind Vernus, so we will see more of him in the next chapter.
6120296
Vernus: My best mate, and his friend hooked up? Oh, yeah, I am going to need details. ALL, of the details...
Welp... that happened, lol
Nice!
Her fur wet, signs that she had been crying.
Wow, Vernus reminds me so much of, well, me!
I've had my suspicions for a while, but it seems Scylla just isn't aware of the difference between power and strength. Though if the latter part of her section was any indication, she seems to be learning.
Vernus:
You might want to correct this.
How long ago was Chii's backstory?
9606955
Thanks, its things like that that makes me wanna go through my story once again, trying to catch all the small mistakes.
You use "were" instead of "was" several times in this chapter.
9606996
Yes, I see a few of them now. Ill try to fix that, thanks.