Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Charon's Pursuit ❯ A Matter of Trust ( Chapter 7 )

Author’s Note: Well, I certainly never expected such kind words. Thanks to all who have reviewed thus far. I hope I’ll be able to keep a high standard. If it drops, please be honest and let me know. :D

Charon, Lily, and Calien, after a good deal of traversing the woods, finally made it to the lake, where Charon had swimmed and bathed the day before. It was a sizable lake, stretching quite far from one side to another, and the water was clean and refreshing, if a tad chilly. Upon reaching the shores of that lake, Charon laid the pichu down to his side and sat down for a much needed rest. Calien and Lily, in the meantime, were captivated and awed by the lake, never having seen such a large and beautiful body of water before. They stood upon the lake’s edge, side-by-side, peering into the water.

“It is certainly quite a sight,” Calien remarked, “It is tempting to go for a swim, though I know that doing so would make us vulnerable for quite some time.”

“Yeah, it’s too bad,” Lily added sadly.

Charon looked over to them. “Is being drenched by water really that harmful to a vulpix?” he asked.

“Not so much harmful as it is incapacitating,” Calien explained, his view fixated on the lake, “When fire-breathers like Lily and I get drenched in water, we could lose our ability to make fire. We don’t get it back until we’ve dried off, and even if we don’t lose our fire we’d still feel very weak.”

“How the hell do you wash, then?” Charon asked.

“We take turns,” Calien said, “So that there’s always someone to protect the other.”

“Ah.”

Lily had turned away from the lake, now walking up to Charon and the unconscious pichu. “So, why’d you bring the Pichu here?”

“I figured that she would wake up if she felt the chill of the water here.” Charon said bluntly, “And if that doesn’t work, at least we can get some water to drink.”

Calien dipped a paw into the water, but immediately pulled it out. “This water is nearly freezing,” he said, “This could be a bit too much for the offspring, Charon.”

“You’re not going to just throw her in there, are you?!” Lily exclaimed, intensely worried for the welfare of the pichu.

“Why on earth would I do that?” Charon replied, “I’m trying to wake up the pichu, not kill her. All I’m going to do is quickly dip her in the lake a few times. If that doesn’t wake the pichu, then I’ll just let her wake up on its own. She can’t stay comatose forever.”

“Just be careful, ok?” Lily asked, “I’d never forgive you if that poor creature drowns.”

Charon sighed. “Of course. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Charon rose up to his hindlegs. Bending down, he picked up the pichu with both of his forepaws, his grasp just below the pichu’s own stubby forepaws. Calien and Lily watched as he walked forward to wade into the lake. The cold water chilled the raichu’s flesh, forming goose bumps underneath his fur. He cringed as he progressed further into the lake, until the water submerged him to his chest, forcing him to hold the pichu high above his head. As he began to shiver, his mind wandered to the thought of how the arrival of the pichu was both a blessing and a curse…a possible guide to his own kind, yet a lure for the maiden vulpix. He could only hope that Calien would get the chance soon to fulfill Lily’s desire for offspring: Charon would not be so tempted if her womb was already carrying a child, for it went against his instinct to mate with someone already pregnant. Perhaps I could give them a little push, Charon thought.

“Let’s see if this makes a good wake-up call,” He thought aloud, trying now to focus on the task at hand. Stopping not too far from the shore, he turned around to face Calien and Lily. “I’ll just dip her as far as her neck, alright?” Charon spoke to them.

“Alright.” Lily confirmed.

“I don’t know how long this might take,” Charon called out, “It could be awhile before she wakes, if she wakes at all, so you two should go take care of whatever you have to do if you want.”

Calien suddenly perked up, opportunity beckoning him to heed its call. “Why yes, that would be a stupendous idea! We have some business to take care of, don’t we Lily?” The male vulpix asked Lily, coming up close to her and beaming with hope.

“No, Calien, not now! I want to see if the pichu wakes up,” Lily answered, watching Charon and the offspring intently, not even bothering to look at Calien.

Calien’s hope quickly shattered, crashing down almost as quickly as it flew up. “I guess I’ll just… take a rest over here, then.” He said, doing his best not to cry. He walked a few feet away from the vulpix and curled up, laying upon the ground, staring sadly at the feminine beauty that was so close, yet so far.

Damn. So much for that idea, Charon thought, letting out a sigh.

Charon prepared himself. At the moment, the pichu was still held inches above the chilly water. Soon, her body would be exposed to the touch of liquid cold. If the rodent offspring indeed wakes on the first try, the shock coursing through its body would no doubt instill panic and fear, a feeling which would increase a hundredfold upon peering into the face of the raichu. The resulting spasm of electricity, as well as whatever else the offspring may employ to escape Charon, was inevitable.

This is going to hurt, Charon thought, I know it will. I can’t let my anger get to me. I won’t have this life upon my shoulders. I will do this right, and she will see I’m not a threat…I hope.

Charon lowered the pichu into the water. Her feet were the first to touch. Her waist came next. Her forepaws became submerged as well. Charon did not stop until her mouth was barely above the surface of the water. Lily, gripped by the suspense, found herself wanting to wade right into the lake to be next to the pichu, but her common sense kept her back. Even Calien started to watch intently, the tension gnawing at Lily infecting him as well. And then…

Charon felt a twitch.

“Lily, Calien, I think it’s working. She’s starting to move a little,” Calien said, suddenly growing tense. At once he pulled the pichu out of the water, as to avoid giving the offspring the impression that he was going to drown her.

“Well, bring her back to land already!” Lily exclaimed.

“No, not yet,” Charon interjected, “If she panics and runs away, I might never see this damn kid again! I have to show her that I’m not going to hurt her.”

“You should let us help, Charon,” Calien said sternly, “There’s no way that the pichu is going to trust you right away.”

“Like hell I don’t know that!” Charon snapped, “Why do you think I went so far into the lake? She can’t run away like before because if she tries to break free of my grasp, she would drown! She has no choice but to trust me, and I think she’d rather live. It’ll just take her awhile to realize that.”

“Are you insane!? You’re going to get her killed!” Lily said.

“I know what I am doing!” Charon nearly shouted, but before the entire sentence could come out of his mouth, the eyes of the pichu suddenly snapped open. At that moment in time, the eyes of Charon and the pichu interlocked in a petrifying gaze.

“Charon? Charon, what’s wrong?” Lily called out, “Charon, answer me!”

Charon could give no answer for Lily’s voice seemed but a faint whisper. The stare of the pichu, momentary as it was, seemed to penetrate his mind. Everything else nearly phased out of existence. It was just him and the pichu, shivering in the chilling water, gripped by the mortal fear that threatened to kill them both. The pichu, in the strong grasp of the raichu, feared for her life. The raichu, the delicate offspring in his paws, feared his anger. Their moment was a split-second of hesitation, before the storm of pain hit them both.

The pichu shrieked, unleashing the storm.

The offspring shot off chaotic sparks of electricity, electrocuting Charon’s grip. She writhed in the grasp of the raichu, screaming at the top of her lungs, clawing and kicking and biting the paws that suspended her above the water. The raichu merely held still, enduring the punctures and lacerations of his flesh and the electricity, weak as they were, coursing through his body. He resisted the urge to tighten his grip, instead gnashing his teeth together. Blood began to drip from his paws, tracing a path down his limbs and body and into the lake. Charon clenched his jaw even tighter, and squeezed his eyes shut as well.

“Pichu! PICHU! Stop what you are doing! Charon’s not going to hurt you!” Lily cried out, horrified at the violence unfolding before her. But her plea fell on deaf ears.

Calien was no less horrified. “Charon, this is madness! Come to the shore quickly! We can subdue the offspring if you let us! She’s going to rip the flesh off your paws to the bone if you stay like that!”

“No…no….NO!” Charon cried out. Overwhelmed by pain and dismay, he no longer could restrain himself. The raichu glared at the pichu with eyes of fury, terrifying the offspring with a wail of desperation:

“I WILL NOT LET GO UNTIL YOU…TRUST…ME!”