Forest of Secrets; A Pokemon Fanfiction

Chapter 3, Part 5

Sparkle 

Cradling Lotus oh-so-gently, I plead for him to finish the story. His eyes droop with exhaustion, and he absently lips one of his petals. It seemed rather akin to sucking his thumb, and kind of weirded me out a little. Besides, he can't finish the tale if he has his mouth full. “Please Lotus, what happened at the last Gym?”

He stirs a little and shifts in my arms. Taking his petal out of his mouth, he picks the story up again. “It happened beforethe Gym, Sparkle. We were on our way to Volkner from our last Gym battle in Snowpoint city. Sunnyshore was a very long way from there, and Joy didn't have any Pokemon with Fly on her obviously. So, we hiked the entire way, and came to rest at Lake Acuity. Peaceful place, nice quiet waters and shady trees. Me and Bright played a skipping game with some pebbles, and the others just relaxed. Next thing we know, there's a Galactic goon by the lake. We had tried to keep away from those guys for the whole of our journey, because we didn't understand what they were after, and there were so many rumors of them stealing other people's Pokemon. So it shocked us when suddenly they swarmed the lake, telling Joy to scram and find somewhere else to play. They were on business.” A bitter tone coats the word 'business'.
“Joy hadn't the foggiest what was going on, and I was frankly annoyed at these people interrupting our revelry. The funny costumes the people wore didn't make me any happier, and just added to the weirdness. Things went from strange to scarey when one goon told another to “bring the bomb”. If Joy had been confused before, she was freaking out now. They were going to blow the whole place sky high! A Galactic with blue hair muttered something crazy about a being called “Azelf,” and we made a run for it. There was no way we wanted to get exploded, not for some maniac's pleasure. Joy planned to call Officer Jenny on them as soon as we could get to a Pokemon Center for the use of a phone. We made it half of the way to Veilstone before Twirla screamed that Riff wasn't there. Just then, the lake exploded behind us in a cascade of water and a plume of oily black smoke.
We ran back to the lake, as fast as we could manage. Already tired out from the first dash to Veilstone, and only human, Joy eventually was too exhausted to go on. Don't think she just gave up though. Her best attribute is persistence, and didn't stop until she couldn't breathe anymore. Well, not exactly, but she tried, didn't she? That makes a difference I think. Rascal tired out too, being as old as he was, even then. When Joy had collapsed, Twirla took charge. A very respectable authority she can be, too, if she has a mind to be. Staying behind with Spark to make sure Joy-joy and Rascal stayed safe (Who knew if those goons would make an appearance, again, or what would happen if they did), she sent Bright to Veilstone for medical help, and me to check out what happened to the lake. Through messily-wiped away tears, she told me to keep an eye out for Riff. Actually, that was the whole goal of my mission.” 

“Are you telling me,” I ask, “that my father was blown up?”
“Not exactly how it happened. Just let me tell the story the full way, and you'll get it,” he clarifies, sort of.
"Oh, and I guess you wouldn't exist if he had exploded, Sparkle."

“This was actually the first time since Joy had caught me that I was completely left to my own devices, to get the task done without guidance or help. I ran to the lake, but was unsure of what I was supposed to do when I got there. Since you don't much care for battles, least of all with Joy-joy directing them, you wouldn't know how dependent a Pokemon can get to following direct orders.
But I couldn't let that stop me, could I? I had to find good old Riff.
When I had finally come to the lake, dodging trainers on the path and keeping a lookout for goons, it was pretty much evaporated and evacuated. Like us, Team Galactic had sense not to stay and get blown up themselves, but detonate from afar. They had gone far, I'd guessed, but just out of the explosion zone. Who knew when they'd come back? It would be soon, so they could get whatever they'd come for.
The lake in question had once been clear blue waters, serene depths, and very green grass. Now, it was rendered down to a muddy gorge in the ground, with a few Magikarp flopping feebly in the puddles. I felt sorry for those Magikarp, but they would hold out. Magikarp always do. Huh, maybe we underestimate them a little. But, there was no sign of Riff. I shouted for him, called for him to come out if he was still alright. “Riff, please be OK! Come out, come out, Twirla's worked into a real state!” I'd hoped that he wouldn't have gotten too far into the explosion, since it mostly just covered the lake and less of the surrounding shore are forest. Just as I was afraid that he was... gone, there was a reply; “Lotus? Is that you?” It was faint, and came from the edges of a rather scorched part of the forest.
I rushed over immediately to the summons. What I found was only partially what I had expected and hoped.”

Dasher 

Pah. Who cares? I don't need anybody. I've got myself.
The forest continued to vex me. Long ago, I'd moved away from the river, to wander more and see if I could find a way home. It was both disappointing and relieving that I hadn't encountered anyone else yet. Loneliness was a dull ache in my chest along with Psycho's invective, but at least there was no-one else around to tell me I sucked. “No one wants you, Dasher.” I can't believe Lotus would say that. He's not that kind of guy. Sometime, I wonder if Lotus isn't mentally unstable. It's surprising that he's a member of the Five, if you never saw him battle. After all, he's got the mind of a child and speaks everything on his mind, which wouldn't be very much as I see it. Then again, there are those times when he's more wise than he ought to be...

The trees seem to have contorted into slight curlycues and swirls. This only add to the creepy-forest-in-imaginary-realm look. I wonder if the trees want me obliterated too. Eh, most likely not. But still, it's freaky how weird this is all becoming. Well, oh great-and-powerful Universe, you done it again. Made good ole' Dasher uncomfortable, and messed with the world to some degree of insanity. Well, what the Heatran.
Hey, that's a new one. Psycho would like to hear that.
If he didn't hate me.

A few more paths crop up in the wilderness. I ignore them and walk on, since the last one I followed didn't end in a very nice way. They loop in crazy ways too. Who would ever make a road so pointless? Someone off their rocker, as psychotic as a Psyduck. Who though? Eh, it doesn't matter I suppose. I just need to get out of here. The real question, is how. I've begun to suspect that this whole place is imaginary, which makes getting away from it really tricky. Maybe it'll be like Alice and Wonderland; I just fall asleep out here, and I'll wake up at home. But, perhaps I won't even wake up at all. One of those Pokemon who hate me will pop up and kill me in my sleep. Good going, Dasher. Come up with yet another reason not to sleep, when you're sleep deprived enough already. I mean, it's been perhaps a day and a half since I've slept, and then that was only for like, four hours. I'm driving myself nuts.

My ponderous stupor of thinking is shaken off when I see Twirla drop down from a tree in front of me. I know, I know, my siblings think of her as “Mother” since we don't have one. But the authority of the name has never sat well with me. Anyways, she doesn't look happy. Actually, she scowls for a minute before taking off into the trees before me.
Dialga-darn her. What else is there to do? I put up chase. She looked furtive, like there was something to hide. For all I knew, she knew the way back.

Of course, Twirla's one of them. The Five never lose, and this is no exception. The dash is barely over before it begins. She hopelessly outstrips me, leaping and rolling to avoid the trees, which crowd in to become closer. Occasionally looking over her shoulder, she makes quick gain over the turbid grass. Me? I run after, tripping all the way. The race ends abruptly when I don't see a tree right next to and behind the one I jump awkwardly to dodge. My head makes immediate contact just as I realize, OH MY GIRATINA, IT'S A TREE! I hope this doesn't become a habit, because I swear I blacked out for ten seconds afterward. Twirla vanished in that time, and I received yet another headache. Lovely.

I look around irritably to see nothing more than empty forest, right as it all were before me.
With a double-take, I realize there's something larger in the surrounding mists. Woozily, I stand and totter over to the outline.

It's a tree, and very similar the the Gaia tree at that. It's about the same size and shape, except it has various characteristics reminiscent of the funny trees here. Smoother bark, and there's some largish purplish leaves scattered the ground around it. If I look up, I can't see the top through the mist.
Very differently than the Gaia tree, one also finds a small pool of water in between the base of a fork in the roots. I draw to this water, not really sure why. It's motionless in the still of the air. Leaning forward, I see myself reflected perfectly in the water. Even being a Gardevoir, which is disappointing to say the least, my height is my vanity. If I'm not all that cool, at least I tower over others. Particularly Psycho. Thinking of him hurts a little, so I dismiss the thought.
I almost run right back from the water when it ripples and distorts my reflection. Honestly, I almost expected Rascal or someone to jump out an tell my how awful I was. But... no one did.

Instead, the view reflected in the puddle shifts as it clears again to something entirely different. My pulse quickens to see trees of forest near the mansion, not the twisted place here. Not only that, but there's Sparkle and Lotus. Sparkle leans against a tree, covered in tiny scratches of the kind Psycho comes out of the forest with if he's run through some bushes or something. She draws into herself, staring right back at me, strangely defiant and afraid. Lotus is cradled carefully in her arms. He isn't looking too hot either, with his eyes half-closed as flaccidly as that. It doesn't seem like like he's really aware of anything outside of his own head.
Sparkle steps back from the tree measuredly. Whatever the view comes from steps forward once, mirroring her.

“Dasher?” she breathes.