Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Charon's Pursuit ❯ Ivy and Sarah ( Chapter 9 )

AUTHOR’S NOTE: It has been quite some time since I last updated. My apologies to all. I attempted to write up something, but it seems to lack something. Regardless, I am posting it in an attempt to progress the story. Expect the next chapter to be much better.

Noon had passed. The sun over the landscape, fading in its brightness, had taken refuge in the white clouds peppering the sky, pitching the sylvan landscape into the shade of giant shadows.Charon, Lily, Calien, and the pichu had since departed from the lake. The offspring, though calmed, had not yet opened up to the foxes and the rodent. Charon, knowing that approaching it personally would only silence the pichu with fear, had kept his distance when the vulpix couple inquired her about the whereabouts of her family. When they got nowhere with their questioning, they decided to traverse the landscape, asking the inhabitants on the whereabouts of any Chus. Thus, the two vulpixes and the silent pichu went from animal to animal (and the occasional non-rooted plant) investigating everything they could about the electric rodents that seemed to hide their presence extremely well. The raichu, who had lost trust in himself, merely trailed along, his tongue as silent as the offspring’s.

Conversations with the animals generally went along like this…

“Hey there! Excuse me! We need to talk to you!” Lily would state to an animal.After some hesitation, the animal would eventually approach them, typically asking what they wanted with a slight irritation in its tone.
“We were wondering…have you, by any chance, seen any ‘chus passing through here?” Calien would ask, “This pichu here has been separated from her mother and we have been trying unsuccessfully to reunite them.” The pichu would be close to Lily’s side, holding on to one of her forelegs, looking at the animal with puppy eyes that would reduce Satan to jelly.The animal would typically answer that the only other ‘chu they’ve seen was Charon, who they would point at with an air of contempt until the raichu’s resulting glare quieted the animal fairly quickly. With a sigh of defeat, the vulpix couple and the saddened pichu would move on, while Charon would grow increasingly frustrated with the fruitlessness of their search. I can’t believe this! Charon thought, when the tenth animal they approached revealed nothing of any help, Is my own kind really that rare? Hell, that pichu might not even be from around here…but we won’t know for sure until the damn kid decides to say something! Dammit…I just HAD to scare the living daylights out of her, didn’t I?

Charon let slip a small chuckle. Maybe this is a sign that I wasn’t meant to have any offspring…so far I’ve done just about everything wrong…Calien, Lily, and the pichu had stopped, looking at Charon worriedly. “Charon? Are you alright?” Lily had asked, “What’s so funny all of a sudden?” The pichu by her side looked at the raichu nervously, most likely thinking that the large rodent was, by some degree, insane.

Charon sighed. Another stupid move. “It’s nothing, really,” The raichu said to them, though not very convincingly, “I was just remembering something. Don’t mind me.” The four of them continued on, Charon cursing himself for the rest of the trip.


Dear Diary,

Today I am so happy! Remember how I’ve told you soooooo many times how much I wanted a pet? I would always beg my daddy everyday to get one, but he said “no” to me so many times I thought I would lose all hope. But guess what? Today he said yes! YAY!

Daddy had went to the store and bought a cute, little, baby pokemon for me. He’s so adorable! He’s only a few days old, but he’s already the sweetest thing! Everytime I hold him in my arms I just turn to jelly.

Mommy’s kinda scared of the little guy, though. She doesn’t like rodents that much. Just a while ago he tried to jump on her lap. It was so funny! Mommy jumped and screamed “Get that oversized yellow rat away from me!” Then she ran out of the house! The little guy felt rejected, which wasn’t so funny. So I went to cheer him up, and he was all happy again. Awwww.

Now, the only thing left is to name the little cutie. It’s gonna be a close call. My stupid, annoying brother wants to call him Karon or something like that. He’s says it’d be “cool” because it’s the name of the “ferryman of the underworld!” Cool? More like totally geeky! A cute pet NEEDS a cute name! That’s why I want to name him Sparky! But my brother thinks that’s stupid, the little jerk! Daddy is making us flip a coin tonight on the little guy’s name. I’ll probably call “tails”, because of that adorable black tail he has! Or should I call heads? I don’t know which is cuter! Oh well, wish me luck, diary!

-Sincerely,
Sarah



“Gah! I cannot walk for another step!”Calien, his feet sore and his legs numb, had collapsed to the ground, lying on his side as a look of exhaustion was plastered to his face. The four of them had continued their search for the offspring’s mother for so long that the sun was now beginning to sink into the horizon. The whole lot of them was tired as hell (save for the pichu, who hitched a ride on Lily’s back) and was in dire need of some rest. Upon Calien’s collapse, the rest of them had halted, the desire to slink down very contagious. With a collective groan, Lily fell down to her stomach, her legs stretched out, while Charon lay sprawled on his back. The Pichu, worried for the female vulpix, had rolled off Lily’s back and cuddled up next to her in an attempt to lift up her spirits.
“Ugh,” Charon moaned, looking up to the darkening sky through the forest canopy, “We walked and talked for the entire day and have nothing to show for it.”
“At this rate we might never find the mother,” Calien said, on the verge of tears, though that sadness was more due to the cruel delay of his plans than for the horrible predicament of the offspring.

“Don’t talk like that, you guys! You’ll make her cry,” Lily pleaded, cuddling the pichu in return with a foreleg wrapped around the youth. The offspring was staring into the ground, on the verge of tears as well.

“But it’s true, Lily. As far as the other creatures know, I’m the only other goddamn ‘chu they’ve ever seen,” Charon replied, “Either everyone in the forest is lying to us, or that kid’s mother has been long gone from here, along with all the others.”

“We should ask the offspring what she knows, Lily, or else we will not ever discover the whereabouts of her kin,” Calien added, but too tired to turn his head to look at her.

The pichu began to tremble again. The security it felt being by Lily’s side was slowly slipping away again. It didn’t want to talk to anyone about her life…she wanted to leave all that behind. All she wanted was the comfort of a motherly figure, a role Lily had fulfilled tremendously well.Lily felt the trembling and instinctively hugged her closer. “No, no, please don’t be scared,” The maiden vulpix whispered, “They only want to help you.”Charon, hearing the soothing whispers, couldn’t help but worry even more about Lily. Her bond with that kid is getting tighter by the minute…this is bad. She might NEVER go through with it tonight with her mate…or ever. If it goes from bad to worse, she might adopt that pichu for herself! God damn it!The Raichu quietly pulled on the curly-qs of his ears, releasing some growing stress. If I don’t find a way to pry her away from that kid, I’m doomed!




Dear Diary,

Today was an amazing day! We celebrated Charon’s first birthday, with cake and ice cream and all of his favorite treats. We invited the neighbors over, too, and they brought their Pichu to play with us! Charon was so happy to see her. Her name’s Azelia, and she and Charon are playmates. They teach each other really neat tricks. Just the other day Charon lighted up the wood in the fireplace with his electresity (agh, I’m bad with big words). Mommy thought he was going to burn the house down and started hitting him with a broom! I rescued him just in time, though.

I haven’t got to the awesome part, though! When we were all at the table, Azelia and Charon evolved! They’re no longer babies, Diary! They’re pikachus! YAY! Charon is even cuter now! But everyone sure got a fright! But then, Daddy suddenly made the neighbors go away with Azelia! What a jerk! I never saw Charon so sad!Daddy says that since Charon’s no longer a baby, he’s gonna like Azelia a whole lot more. They might get together and have pichus, so he wants to fix him! But why’s he so worried about that? I read in a book that pikachus mate in the spring, and it’s only fall! Mommy’s not any better. She’s even more scared of Charon now, and wants the sacks in his cheeks removed! And my brother…geez! He wants to teach Charon fighting techniques so that he could be like a scary guard dog! Honestly, can’t my family leave him well enough alone?

I love Charon more than ever now…but I’m scared I’m going to lose him. No one else in the family treats him fairly. My bro tries to toughen him up, my mom wants him gone forever, and my dad wants to neuter him! I don’t know what to do, Diary!

Worried about Charon,
Sarah------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------

The four of them, having gained enough rest, had lifted themselves up to a sitting position. Charon, Calien, and Lily came to realize that the only way they could ever help the pichu was if she were to open up to them. Neither Charon nor Calien (especially Charon) could approach the offspring without invoking fear, so the two males had no choice but to watch quietly as Lily, the Pichu still close to her side, attempted to make the pichu speak.

“I know you’re scared, sweetie,” Lily spoke to the pichu, gently rubbing her muzzle against the offspring as to calm her, “I’d be scared, too. But we need you to help us so that we can help you.”Charon and Calien watched intently, both hoping that her motherly role would prove enough to give the pichu the courage it needs.”Don’t worry about Calien and Charon. They won’t do anything to hurt you. I made them promise not to, remember? They’ll never break a promise,” Lily continued, “You couldn’t be any safer than with me.”Charon remembered that ritual well, since it only happened moments ago. Lily made Charon and Calien keep a promise by having the two of them intertwine her tails with theirs and shake upon it, much like the ritual western humans perform with their hands. It was odd in appearance, most likely adapted from growing up amongst humankind for a time, but very formal. Considering how serious Lily was about it, it almost seemed out of character…but it was already obvious that she was quite a different vulpix when taking responsibility of a child’s welfare. There was no room for her usual playfulness and laid-back confidence: Helping a child in need was absolutely paramount.

“Can you tell me your name, sweetie?” Lily asked.

That’s very smart of her, Charon thought, Gain her trust, and then start small. I just hope the kid actually speaks.

The pichu, at first, could only look up to the female vulpix. Her glance kept going back and forth from Charon, to Lily, back to Charon, and so on and so on. Watching this, the group began to lose hope. Her fear of the raichu may be so great that any promise made by Charon could seem empty and false. But then, in a very faint whisper, the pichu spoke a single word.

“Ivy.”

The two males breathed a sigh of relief. Progress had been made.
“Ivy’s your name? That’s a pretty name.” Lily answered.

“Thank you,” young Ivy uttered, not able to look into Lily’s face anymore. The female vulpix continued her soothing touch.

“My name’s Lily, Ivy. It’s very nice to know you.”
“You too.” The offspring’s tone was uneasy.

“Ivy…can you remember your mommy? What was she like?” Lily asked.

“My mommy…” Ivy trailed off, ready to cry again.

“Take your time, Ivy. We won’t rush you,” Lily reassured.

“Mommy…I miss my mommy. She was warm. She smelled like flowers. I loved her milk. She loved me.” Ivy whispered.

“What did the others call her?”

“…I don’t know.”Wonderful, Charon thought.

“Do you know what happened to your mother?” Lily asked.

The pichu hesitated once more. This time, nothing could hold back Ivy’s tears.

“Daddy threw her out of the herd somewhere, because mommy hated him. Daddy was mean to me. He made me do things I didn’t like…I ran away to look for mommy, to get away from daddy…but I couldn’t find her! I can’t find my mommy!”Ivy buried her face into Lily, weeping at her helplessness. Lily, herself deeply touched, couldn’t help but to weep as well. Calien continued to watch, words escaping him, while Charon’s muscles began to tighten. The raichu’s anger was threatening to consume him again. He understood what Ivy had meant, for he had confronted it before.Her father…he is one of the broken…and he is in command of a herd…the bastard.
“Tell me…Ivy,” Charon suddenly spoke up, his pacing slow and his tone restrained, “Where would we meet your father? If anyone would know where your mother is…it would be him.”The sound of Charon’s voice instilled fear into Ivy. She circled away from Charon’s sight, hiding behind Lily.

“He’s over the big rocks! He’s over the big rocks! Now leave me alone, you monster!” Ivy cried out.

Charon was stuck with the expression of confusion. “Big…rocks?”
“I think I know what she speaks of,” Calien stated. “She refers to the mountain pass that divides the forest in two. It is no wonder then, that no one here knows much of her kin…they all live on the other side.”

“That means we’ll have to go over the mountains,” Charon realized, “And we’re too far away to traverse it in one day…that means…we’ll have to leave in the morning.”

Wonderful. Looks like we’re in for a difficult night.----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------

Dear Diary,

I can barely write this to you. Terrible things happened today. Things I can never forgive.Charon is gone.It’s all my family’s fault. My stupid brother, trying to make him a fighting machine, brought a thunderstone home today. Before I knew it, he used it on Charon.

Charon is a raichu now.

I was able to make daddy promise not to fix him, and mommy was starting to get used to him…but this evolution crossed the line for everyone. Daddy and mommy won’t let me keep Charon anymore. They say he’s now too dangerous to keep. Even my brother is scared of him…when he used the stone on him, Charon panicked and let loose some electricity. It nearly killed him. My brother deserves it, though…he never took Charon’s feelings into consideration.

Dad tells me he’s going to give Charon away to a company that works with pokemon. He won’t say what kind. The neighbors say that they’re doing the same to Azelia. Apparently they’ve gotten poor and can’t take care of their pikachu anymore. That’s one small comfort for Charon…after all this time of separation, he’ll be back with his playmate again. I hope they’ll get along like they used to, before they evolved from pichus. I don’t think where they’re going is going to be enjoyable.

I hate my family.

Sarah