Bold As Love ~Echoes~

I went digging around for inspiration to write, and I suddenly remembered this gem of a piece that Natalie wrote, back in the day. Her writing was perfection. I could only ever aspire to be a fraction of her excellence. I'm truly fortunate that I saved a lot of our past works, both on blogs and on my laptop... hey, that really means I should back that shit up! Anyway, I'll place this here for safekeeping. And I've placed some other random excerpts I've written behind here, too. :) They don't add up to much, but provide a peek into the past world of the Epik 4. I really don't know what inspires me now, lol. Besides fanfiction. Anyway, ciao for now.

A/U

I CANNOT BELIEVE I ACTUALLY WROTE A "GERMAN" STORY LOL
Granted, this was back when i was still in high school.
Even if this is completely taken out of context, and the German phrases used in this piece of work are not accurate and... GOD, but I wish I could write again.
I used to always steal Final Fantasy characters to write about, huh?
Why am I suddenly feeling like Cloud--err, Kraut, who lost his best friend?
Probably, I really am that way...

collab 2010!

A reviving of an old collaboration from 2010! I miss our collabs, they always made writing much more fun. I'm actually really tempted to title this 'City Hunter', LOL! (Hope there's no copyright infringements!)

dead end

sinner

schwarzwald

deus ex machina

red string

I love your writing. I'm so happy to read new things from you. You have no idea... Oh my god, and Roxas!! Roxas is finally back and he seems so awesome. I can't believe he's grown up (somewhat!). Man, what a pleasant sense of nostalgia. Such bittersweetness...I can't wait to read more. Also? J-J-Joshua? Really??? YES. I'm so intrigued as to what'll happen with that! Please continue that cafe scene. It would make my life! When you write Karelos, it makes me feel like I know more about her; everything I do is basically based off your writing. Just so you know. xD;; Your so-called "filler" was fantastic (as always, my god!) so don't leave me hanging there. Ahhhh~ Karelos and Noctis are just. Whyyy can't I write them like that? I guess because I'm not cool/badass etc so I don't know a thing about these wild parties. Lulz. Or, you know, just write more snippets whenever you feel so inclined. Moments in the lives of characters, as it were.

Thanks to your inspiration, I was able to write another...character piece type thing...but I may have butchered him. D: I don't even know what I'm doing half the time. Hopefully it's somewhat decent, though, because you provided me with great writing, so I should do my part. I only manage to write these things cause I like you and your works so much that it fuels my soul! No one else gets stories from me in any case. But perhaps that's a good thing because I need to improve a lot? o__o Hahaha. But I will always enjoy swapping stories and world-building with my friend! Let's keep going and make October a month full of creativity! Ja? Ja! ;)

dragon bones

fragment

I have been trying to write more stories! And I have, kind of. But they're one-shots. I'm just trying to get those stagnant juices flowing again. xD;; But it's fun! Really fun. I like writing things for people...hehe. I just don't know if I am even getting the character right anymore though. I mean, I know what she used to be like (..or do I?) but this is a whole new era. Epoch, even. Man do I detest Geology. It makes me weep like no other! How sad life is when school is what has the greatest impact on it. But I'm trying to study and things.

So, I can't really have a fun life. I suppose I can live vicariously through Karelos, then? Perhaps...but the poor girl really is troubled. I think Karen should free herself from writer's block. Sheer willpower, baby. That's how you do it. Or...Sheer Cold? That's a Pokemon move, right? And it's a one-hit KO! I don't even know how this is relevant at all. I'm just totally frazzled right now. But I will send you all my stories and things soon, so yeah, you can put them in the Hall of Fame! Thank Arceus that Professor Oak isn't the one in charge of immortalizing our stories. I mean, I just couldn't take it! The Champion always locks that poor sad fool out.

Ahhh I should stop thinking about dragon masters and lances and all those old jokes, shouldn't I? I'm too ancient for that now...I'm like a Kabuto fossil...or something. But whatever, I don't care. Good memories are forever! Unless you're that woman from The Notebook. Hahaha oh no I shouldn't say that. I'll probably delete this ramble because it makes the page look less neat compared to the other story. But anyway, I hope this means something to someone out there. Enjoy... cause I enjoyed writing it!

burnt summer

When Karelos woke up that morning, part of her seemed to have drifted away like a helium balloon. She turned and stared at the empty place beside her. She didn’t remember if someone had spent the night. She didn’t remember last night at all. Not that it mattered. Days and nights blended into one another like some hideous painting. People were all interchangeable. Some days this state of affairs worried her more than others, but it was getting harder to care. Lately Karelos felt like the only thing that mattered was her dog, and even he didn’t belong to her, not really. Hadn’t he been a gift?

Doom Desire ~Revival~

He ain't beside you
She ain't with me
Nobody in view
The city is just us two...

I got my wish, to fall into a world [I] shouldn't get into. Life is defined by each choice a person makes, and the decisions I've made are very much like a game. Different endings depending on what I do or say. Life is just one big game to me.

I can't help but feel a tinge of uneasiness for what I've done. You say you're all right, eluding to the fact that nothing affects you anymore. But are you really okay? Part of me hopes so. Another part of me is unsure what this means about anything. We'll see how this ending unfolds. Whether it's a good or bad ending is up to fate to decide. This is just one big cliffhanger, you know? I feel like I've come to the end of all I have known, and life has turned a 180 into something completely new and unsure and I don't even know what goes on anymore. I'm pretty sure everything I've done up to this point is, to some extent, supposed to make me happy... and it does. But I'm just really sorry the way everything turned out. I can't explain myself. I wish people could just see. I have a lot of growing to do. Hopefully writing things down will award me with some form of clarity. Because honestly, with all the time that's gone by, I still feel as if it had only been a second.

I haven't been able to write lately. Like, every time I try to write a blog entry it comes out weird and incomprehensible. Usually I make sense of everything, but lately I hated everything I wrote and it just wasn't good enough for me to want to keep. Nothing deep, nothing complex... as if life had zapped all my creative energy away from me and left me with only blandness and shit. I'm glad I could at least write something decent now, since it's well into the new year and this blog has come to a standstill. If 2009-2010 was 'the year of the monster', then surely 2011 is starting off to be 'the year of lies' and/or 'the year of i don't know whys'. Ugh, everything is spiraling out of control... New friends, new life...

Is anything going to work out?

--

"Fine then. We're over!"

The black-haired girl slammed the receiver down and fumed. Oh, how she fumed. Once again she had butted heads with that idiot of a blond and she couldn't stand it.

It was no wonder he, despite his good looks, hadn't the reputation to hold a candle to anything. The boy was a useless dreamer, a hermit, lacking in both common sense and style. For the longest time she hadn't see it. For the longest time she longed to look past the imperfections and accept him for who he was. But it was hard, and only grew harder as time went on.

Perfect couple? More like too good to be true. Labels in high school meant nothing after graduation.

She twisted her hands together, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. It wasn't working. Frustration flooded her veins. Another argument served to become another sliver of hopelessness embedded in her. Hopelessness for their relationship-- what was left of it, anyway.

Little things he did, little things he said; words that used to charm her now irritated her beyond belief. When she felt like this, it was hard to stop irrationality from taking over. It was a love-hate relationship. At times, she hated his guts. She wanted terrible things to happen to him. He drove her insane. But the scent of his body drove her wild. His touch was her craving. She took comfort in the safety of their relationship. It was hard to shake off someone she'd been with for so many years.

Deep down, she knew she was a weak person. Her words were tough, but the conviction was lacking. She didn't want to give in, she didn't want to apologize again like she always did. But that was how it always was. She was always the first one to reach out.

She hated herself for it.

Karelos toyed with the idea of calling other acquaintances, but she felt as jittery as hell. Fights with Cloud always made her feel that way.

Somehow, and not surprisingly, she ended up at a certain raven-haired boy's house. Go figure. Even this pattern was repetitive and stale...

"The fuck's wrong with you today?"

She rolled onto her stomach beside him. "I'm not in the mood, okay?"

"Then why'd you come?" He tried to mask his annoyance, but it bled through loud and clear. "I thought you wanted to get your fix. Your man has a grand history of failing to satisfy."

"I don't know. I don't know anything. I don't even know what I should do."

He was going to tell her to leave when he saw the tears falling. Just great. It wasn't in his expertise to deal with weepy girls, though he had a history of them. Somehow he didn't feel like kicking her out just yet.

"My throat hurts. I feel sick to my stomach, and worst of all, he doesn't even care!" she angrily wiped at her eyes. "Not that I care if he doesn't care, but..."

"Are you pregnant?"

"What? No! Why would you ask that?"

"Could be the case." He shrugged, speaking so matter-of-factly that it scared her to think that this was how he handled his "accidents".

"Look... I'm sorry but I can't even handle you right now." She climbed out of bed and reached for her clothes. "I know you're the last person on earth that would sympathize. I'll see you around."

He let her go.

Smile Like You Mean It ~Echoes~

Greetings, wherever you are at the moment! I am lame beyond belief and have been humming “Let it Snow” pretty much all day. I need to stop that, right? Right! XD But I only started to do that cause, well, it started to snow. At least Christmas tunes make sense now and I wasn’t bastardizing classics during the summer (was there ever a warmer or more wonderful season? ;w;) I was blinded by flurries of snowflakes as I wandered, I tell ya! Everyone is panicking in typical British style; no, we won’t freeze. C’mon guys, remember what Maya had to endure and think twice before complaining!! I want to go tobogganing. AND I WILL. O lol lol. Although the last time I went I got bruises all over cause of crashing into those potato sacks or whatever. It’s fun on your way down but coming to a stop hurts. Oh, sweet, sweet pain…there are plenty of winter activities that will make you kiss your money goodbye. Things like a spa in the mountains. Sleigh rides. Restaurants with a cozy fireplace ambience. Everything entices me so easily. Damn tourist traps!

I am so delighted right now; you have no idea…or perhaps you do. Hehe. Why is the Epik4 amazing? Because we said so. Everyone else can just deal with it. I mean, we share an elaborate world with our friends! We haven’t succumbed to the grayness of reality. People who just work and sit around herping & derping (xD!!!) have no idea what they’re missing out on! I for one quite enjoy keeping my imagination alive. However, this is only possible with the support of my dear Karelos! I don’t wanna be too sappy cause I know that’s unappealing but I just adore her~ *long pause* …and those other guys. D; LOL I’m kidding, it’s a family of well-loved individuals except Noctis wait what, I never said that okay! He does look different though. Not that I would know because I’m not all up in his face on a regular basis.

…not that anyone else is. MOVING ALONG. Besides I’m sure he’s a busy man now, wrapping up production on his game. Or not. It’s impossible that it’s not done yet! I mean, if Cloud were in charge, everything would have met the deadline long ago. But Noctis doesn’t wanna follow rules so things stretch on forever. Someone needs to tell him to get a move on. Although he’s probably delaying release because he’s aghast at the thought of being seen with Stella. XD

“Her face takes up the whole screen. No one will even see me. Pity.”

Possibly he’s a diva in that dark, dark heart of his. I mean, he does have tons of crystals everywhere… o gawd I hope he doesn’t resent my comment, ahaha. It’s harmless okay. Don’t use one of your countless weapons on me, please!

“Why don’t you ask Karelos about my special weapon?”

MAN, WHAT ON EARTH IS HE TALKING ABOUT THERE, HUH? ….ahahaha.

Here, I have something for you! It’s a family portrait of sorts. And it’s rather…scary. I mean, just look at the outfits! There are plenty of things I could’ve done with this colour scheme but no, I went with this stuff. LOLOLOL. Noctis and Joshua chose to opt out because they knew what would happen to them at my hands. xDD Roxas really got the short end of the stick. Hope he’s not traumatized for life!! Cloud knows he’ll never live it down, either...!

I AM SORRY YOU GUYS!!! I WILL TRY AGAIN NEXT YEAR. ;w;

Side By Side ~Echoes~

Good afternoon and the start to what promises to be a very eventful week! Bring it on! :0

Okay, so at first I didn’t know what you were referring to but when I watched the clips…OH MAN I REMEMBER THAT SHOW! What a blast from the past. Can you guess who I liked best? ..okay I’ll spare you the theatrics. Yup, that’s right: Nefer-Tina! Catgirls forever, yo. XD It’s so fun when you re-discover old gems! I watched a lot of television back in the day (after-school cartoons anyone?) so there must be lots of old tv tidbits lurking around in my mind I mean, everyone knows Pokemon, Digimon, etc. But there were lots of others… I asked someone if they knew what Medabots was and they had no idea! That’s more recent than Mummies Alive, even. There was this show called Monster Ranchers (what’s with all the “M” titles?!) as well but I was NOT a fan. That eyeball character with the bandana was so annoying! I didn’t like the male lead either. Otherwise I liked various shows to a lesser or greater extent. This is true for a lot of people but I was a total Sailor Moon addict. I clearly remember watching it when I was six. Plus I had the dolls and even the moon scepter or whatever it’s called. I used to fight my brothers with it, lolll. The American dub screwed a lot of stuff up apparently but I still enjoyed it. I was totally one of the kids who thought that rice balls were donuts (as portrayed in SM and Pokemon). Yeah, pretty dumb, but I know better now!! Thank god.

To my amazement Pokemon is still hooking kids even now! There were two little girls trading pokemon cards in Costa and one of them said “This is Pikachu! It’s my favourite! :D” So cute. Is it odd that I wanted Pokemon cards too at that very moment? I had a great collection back in the day… my pride and joys were my shiny gyrados and wigglytuff. I had them both in those plastic sleeves so they wouldn’t get damaged. Where has all that enthusiasm gone? All work and no play dulls the spirit. I know I have to be responsible adult but yeah. Can’t you explore all aspects of yourself, whatever your age? Sure you can. Believe it! /shot

Also I read your story (draft??) and it totally surprised me. I mean, I know Karelos and Cloud have problems, but it looks like they’re teetering on the edge of their relationship. For real this time. D: And even Noctis isn’t enough of a distraction? Guess he no longer has a purpose then... I don’t even know! Everything’s falling apart. The attraction is still there though so that’s something, even if it’s physical. Perhaps Karelos needs to breathe for a while and then see whether she and Cloud fit together after all. They do say familiarity breeds contempt. Not sure how true that is but it seems accurate in this case. So, if Cloud goes back to Germany, Karelos would miss him. Or if she doesn’t that’s an answer right there. I’m sure Tifa would be more than happy to take him back. o_o Lol poor Cloud if that’s the case… whatever happened to J anyway? Is there still something between him and Karelos, or are they just friends who get along swimmingly? I know they were together at one point but I’m not sure that relationship had any substance beyond a summer fling with a prince…

If only I had read yours before I wrote mine… now mine doesn’t work so well. Lololol. As you’ll notice, it involves a somewhat happy CK. See it as a contrast of the good times and bad times? Hopefully things between them patch up. Or if not, perhaps Karelos can get over him with Kratalie. Hehe… here’s to more stories from us! (:

Dream World ~Revival~

In a quiet clearing near New Bark Town, the sharp commands of two young Trainers echoed through the field.

"Flamethrower!"

Cyndaquil inhaled and released an intense torrent of flame. The temperature rose rapidly as the defending Pokemon was ignited by a pillar of fire.

Maya raised an arm to shield her eyes from the glare. It was growing more uncomfortable by the minute. She loosened her scarf and threw it to the floor. She would have liked to unbutton her jacket, but there was no time for that in the middle of a battle.

The boy seemed mortified by the sight of his Rattata being charred into roadkill.

"Get up Mickey! Counter with a quick attack!"

The purple rodent with the terribly unoriginal name somehow stumbled to its feet and lunged towards Cyndaquil, baring its thick teeth.

Cyndaquil flipped down on its stomach, giving the rat nothing but a mouthful of the burning flames on its back, sending it recoiling in pain.

"We got this, Cyndaquil!" Maya could sense victory at hand. "Finish with a tackle!"

Cyndaquil broke into a run and slammed the Rattata squarely in the side. The two creatures skidded, a mess of paws and frantic scrambling.

Under The Same Moon ~Echoes~

Hey guess what? I think I died from how cute Maya is hnghhhh. ♥♥♥ ;w; AND I KNOW YOUR SECRET... that Blue in those cargo pants is your favourite! Ehehehe. I don't know if I even like Blue or not (just in general ok, not like that!!!) but I love how he's drawn by you~~ Why would you even stop drawing if your creations turn out like that? But creativity blocks are such a pain. Man, the devil's handiwork I tell ya. But things might flow smoothly now? Maybe... I'll keep trying. Because god knows I haven't been doing anything productive with my time. Only the E4 world can get me out of this slump I've been in. I'm not too interested in creating things about anything else. We so need a tv show or something. Srsly. But we've spoken of this before, have we not? And it shall be done... yesss~ Or we can just keep being our badass selves right here.

ALSO. ALSOOOO. HOLD UP!

Red is so fierce. Woah. I think... he should always be drawn in a more serious style rather than a chibi one which'll like, bastardize him. xDDD Like in comics everyone else will be all cute and such but he'll be like BAM BADASS DUDE!! If you get my drift...hehe.

I like your style loads so don't stop. Can't stop! Let's keep this rollin' k? ;DD I need to be told more details because I'm just so bad at background info. So if anything comes to mind let me know please. Or write about it or something! Like Terra's mother, for instance... I need to see her since you have this vision of what she's like? Share with me! Don't hold back. I need your inspiration before I hit a wall and make everything stall/die/etc. .__.

I don't know if the pokemon a/u is supposed to be serious or whatnot... well I'm trying to make it both? But the art is totes lulzy. From my side anyway cause I can't draw in any other style besides chibi, damn it. D:

Anyway, for your reading pleasure (hopefully!), here is part two.

--

Terra held her phone away from her as it emitted strange crackling noises. She half-hoped that it wouldn’t die on her but it went ahead and did just that. The tour guide, an older woman in a white pantsuit, frowned at her. Terra knew that she should have turned her phone off on the ferry ride over. The group had been told about radio waves interfering with the wild pokemon around the islands.

Terra shoved the phone into her bag. “Sorry. I was just…calling my mom. She worries about me as if I were still a ten year old.”

The woman didn’t look as if she believed this. “All right, but that’s not the issue.”

“It isn’t?”

“You’re in trouble,” Ethan sang in her ear.

Terra would have done something unpleasant to him if there hadn’t been other people around. He had no concept of personal space. The kid had been glued to her the whole way here. However, she couldn’t blame him. He didn’t have the best socials skills in the world.

“You need to return your chikorita to its pokeball.” The woman glanced at the green creature, which was rolling a pebble around on the beach. “We‘re here to look around the caves and, if we‘re lucky, catch a glimpse of unusual pokemon. ”

Terra fiddled with the hem of her shorts. “I‘ll…do that.”

“Quickly, now. You’re holding the group up.”

She didn’t know what to do. Everyone stared at her, some not bothering to mask their irritation, others giving her sympathetic smiles. Terra reached for a pokeball, feeling her hands tremble slightly.

Chikorita whipped the leaf on her head back when she saw the red and white object. Before the pokemon could make a break for it, Terra captured her. The look on chikorita’s face promised destruction upon release from her prison.

Terra wondered if she could keep chikorita in there forever.

“Great.” The woman clapped her hands together once. “Everyone has their super repel at hand, I trust?”

“Yup!” Ethan held his up for all to see. “My marill found this when we were walking in National Park. Isn’t that so amazing? I wouldn’t have managed to find it by myself, but my marill is really good at picking up dropped items!”

“No one’s listening, Ethan,” Terra pointed out.

“Oh.“ He wasn’t fazed by this. “It‘s a true story, though.”

“For Arceus’s sake.” She pulled him towards the others. “We’re going to get left behind if you just stand there. Can’t you walk and talk at the same time?”

“Sure I can.” He scowled. “Stop being so pushy.”

The cave’s dampness made her shiver as she stepped inside its yawning mouth. There was a strange smell in the air, like salt water and lime. She tried not to think about what pokemon scuttled past her in the dim light.

They were at the very back of the group. Their guide’s voice bounced off the walls as she explaining the history of the Whirl Islands. Terra knew all of this already, so she decided that chatting with Ethan would have to do until something exciting happened.

She glanced at him suddenly. “What do you mean, pushy?”

“You’ve been dragging me around all day.”

“Then don’t be such a space cadet.”

“Well, you’re not as nice as you think you are. No wonder chikorita doesn’t like you.”

She flinched and dropped his arm; she had, in fact, been yanking him around like a growlithe on a chain. Ethan was right. No doubt she had been too controlling with chikorita as well.

“Terra?” Ethan peered at her. “I was just mad, I didn’t mean--”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Really?”

“Everything’s fine.”

“My grandpa told me to believe the opposite when girls say that.”

“That’s good advice.” She couldn’t help but smile. “What you said wasn’t totally unjustified. I was just surprised, is all. I’m not a delicate sunflora who can’t take criticism. ”

“Cool.“ He beamed. “So now I can say that marill is the best and lugia is lame! Don‘t you think it‘s weird how legendaries are like, automatically considered awesome? What‘s up with that?”

She sighed. “Lugia is the best. No contest!”

And here she thought they had been getting somewhere. Oh well. Terra appreciated Ethan’s generosity in letting her come with him on the tour. She would thank him once he stopped talking long enough to let her get a word in. He had already exceeded his listening quotient for the day.

If only Maya were around…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Up on the peak of Mt. Silver, a boy stood looking out over the landscape. His breath escaped from his lips in clouds. Anyone else would have hightailed it out of there; it was freezing at that altitude. But the black-haired boy had been here for so long that he didn’t notice the chill anymore. Not that he was immune; the hailstones still cut him, the wind chapped his lips and tinted his skin blue. Occasionally, if he was outside for too long, snowflakes crystallized in his hair. His charizard helped with the cold.

Today, Red wanted to be alone.

Earlier in the morning a hiker challenged him to a battle. Red won without difficulty. The man had pleaded with him to say something, anything, but Red merely looked on in silence. That had been enough to send him away. But sometimes, these challengers didn’t want to leave. They had the idea that staying with him to train would be in their best interests.

Red didn’t want anyone here.

The only thing that mattered at Mt. Silver was staying alive. There was no room for anything besides that. He preferred it that way, crazy as it was, according to his old flame. She wanted him to remain in Cerulean with her. But he hadn’t. All those promises of devotion dwindled away with the changing seasons. Her visits up here had grown less frequent before she stopped coming altogether.

Perhaps it was selfish of him to expect people to try so hard.

But he never asked anyone to visit him.

The one person who showed up without fail was…

“Hey, Red!”

He opened his eyes.

Blue.

Warning: May Have Side Effects ~Echoes~

Ahhh I'm glad that I've been given some details about the Pokemon a/u! Please feel free to expand upon this world as you see fit. I mean that was gonna be a one-shot or something (that was actually the first thing I've written in weeks!) but I want to write more now. But my favourite is when we take turns doing chapters. I'm trying not to let my creativity die too much. So like... I'm telling myself not to post on this wunderful blog unless I can actually contribute something; I need to cut down on my regular nonsensical stuff. I mean, a dose of spam is well and good, but most of my writing hasn't been that interesting. .__. Well, everyone knows that if they want to get to the meaty stuff they should read a K.S.Y post! That's the real deal right there. I'm super-interested in everything Karen writes, not gonna lie!

And what do I have to show for myself today? you may be wondering.

Are you ready?

...I don't even think I am, ahaha.

Terra and her chikorita don't quite see eye to eye. On anything. Even though Pokemon are supposed to be your loyal friends and such. o_o Oh, but Terra managed to convince chikorita not to make any more unnecessary cameos in the upcoming pictures!! We'll see how long that lasts...



So this is Maya! And she is cooler than you will ever be. ;] Figuratively and literally. She is in a blizzard (or so I tried but failed to show) after all! xD I think cosplaying her would be a super good idea. Do ittt!



LOLOLOL @ BLUE. This is the OTP of our Pokemon a/u right here. ;D



...nevermind, these two are the true OTP. OBVIOUSLY. I mean it's like fate k! ;o;



Hmmm yes why on earth would Maya be doing such a thing? I mean, dragons? Dragons have nothing to do with anything. NOTHING. And I have come to the conclusion that I can't draw Blue or other boys at all but I try anyway. xDD Lulzzz.

??????????????? ........................................ !!!!!!!!!!!

AND THEN THE GRAND FINALE.

OH GAWD!! SHIELD YOUR EYES. REALLY, I MEAN IT.


YOU SHOULD PROBABLY TURN BACK NOW...


NO, YOU REALLY SHOULD.


OKAY FINE THEN, I'LL GO BY MYSELF! HAVE FUN!!! @___@

Number One ~Echoes~

A girl and a boy sat opposite each other on the sixth floor of the Goldenrod department store. Sunlight pooled in from the windows. Maya liked it up there. She was quite a fan of heights. Her cyndaquil dozed in her lap and twitched occasionally in his slumber. She stroked him absentmindedly, trying to make sense of the boy before her.

If Maya knew one thing, it was that Blue was probably the most arrogant trainer she had ever met. Fortunately, he had it going on in the looks department. He glanced up from his lemonade and winked. She never blushed—either all that training in Snowpoint had taken effect or she had a colder personality than she thought— so the action made no impact on her.

“You’re staring at me,” he said.

“I’m afraid your ego is mistaken.” She wrinkled her nose. “Could you stop with the slurping noises?”

He set the can down with exaggerated gentleness. “There.”

“Thank you.”

His green eyes swept over her. She wondered what he thought of her new fandango jacket before dismissing the thought. Boys didn’t know one pink from another. Well, Lance the Dragon Master certainly knew quite a bit when it came to the world of fashion. Not that she cared about the man with a penchant for capes. The simple fact was that his face was everywhere now because of the upcoming tournament. Anyone with eyes could see that he was the best-dressed man on television.

No, she didn’t care about Lance one way or another.

“Yo.” Blue waved a hand in front of her. “It’s not like you to space out.”

“I wasn’t.”

“No way.” He feigned shock. “You’re blushing! Thinking about Lance?”

“Blue?” She sipped her soda pop delicately. “Try harder.”

“You’re pretty good. I’m impressed.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. Good at what?”

“Lying.”

“Whatever.”

“What colour are Lance’s eyes again?”

“Too easy!” She couldn’t help herself. “They’re brown.”

He smirked. “How interesting that you noticed.”

“I’m obviously superior in the finer details department.” She grabbed his lemonade and he only raised an eyebrow to show his protest. “Hey, want to do something after this?”

“Like what?” His fingers trailed along her forearm. “I’m up for anything.”

She finished off the rest of his drink. “Great.”

“I know that look.” He sighed. “We’re gonna be battling, aren’t we.”

“Yes. Not any ordinary battling, either. Terra and Red will be involved.”

Blue snorted. “We’ll crush ‘em. Those two are weak.”

“Well, who said I’d be on your team?”

“I’m impressed, babe. You’re brave to take me on.”

“I’ve beaten you before.”

“Only because I was distracted. I mean, your legs—”

She pressed a finger to his lips. “Don’t be vulgar. Anyway, if you win I’m prepared to give you a nice reward. So try your best, honey!”

“You’re on.” He paused. “The question is, where the hell do we find them?”

“We just call them on our...” Maya furrowed her brow. “Oh.”

“Right. I dunno about Terra, but Red doesn’t get reception up on Mt. Silver. At least that’s what he tells me.” He rolled his eyes. “I think he just wants to be left alone to be all emo.”

“I think it’s impressive how Red’s so focussed.” Her eyes glinted. “Maybe you should follow his lead. I mean, he did beat y—”

“Anyway, where’s your little girlfriend?”

Maya ignored his teasing. “She’s probably at home. Her chikorita has been acting up lately, which makes going out to train tough. Terra spoils that creature to no end. You need to show your pokemon who’s boss and that means keeping them inside their pokeball.”

Blue patted her cheek. “You’re so cute when you’re in denial.”

Cyndaquil hopped onto the table and stretched luxuriously in a puddle of sunlight.

They both observed him for a moment. Maya knew she was beaten.

“He’s getting tubby, ain’t he?”

“Shush.” Maya scooped up the fire pokemon. “He’s just a healthy eater. Besides, we need to stop talking and go find Red and Terra. We’ll only improve our skills by battling. Otherwise, I’ll never be able to beat L— the tournament.”

Blue looked as if he had a whole lot he had to say about that when Maya’s phone rang. She answered it, thanking Arceus that a distraction had come. Blue was generally a tolerant boy, but she had a feeling that he wouldn’t be as accepting towards this last little slip up.

“Hello?”

“Terra here! You won’t believe where I am right now. It’s amazing!”

“Not at home, I assume?”

Terra couldn’t keep the glee from her voice. “I’m at The Whirl Islands! You know how they do this tour once a year? Well, Ethan managed to score tickets, so of course I had to go. Our group’s gathered outside one of the caves right now. Maybe lugia will show itself to me!”

“Maybe,” Maya agreed. “Wait, you’re with Ethan? That sounds painful.”

“We get along quite well, actually. He rants about his marill and I rant right back about lugia. It works out beautifully for both of us. I wish you were with me instead! But I bet you’re doing all sorts of hardcore training with your boyfriend.”

“Mm.” Maya bit her lip. “Listen, when you’re finished stalking lugia, could you call me? We’ll be partners for a double battle against Red and Blue.”

“What? My phone’s cutting off.”

“I said that you....”

A bunch of static filled Maya’s ear before she heard the dial tone. She flipped her phone shut and slid it back into her pocket. Maybe Red was telling the truth about his reception after all. Technology was amazing nowadays, but legendaries still had a way of interfering with manmade creations.

Maya glanced at Blue. He sketched on a napkin, unaware that she had finished her conversation. She couldn’t really tell—art wasn’t the boy’s strong suit— but his drawing seemed to be of Lance getting eaten by a herd of bidoof.

They definitely had a problem.

we really did love each other

Everything But You ~Echoes~

He was having that dream again. The one where he was a little boy lost in the woods. He rolled over and clutched at his pillow, knuckles white. His breathing grew shallow: in his dream, the creature in the forest—he couldn’t tell if it was a person or animal— drew closer and closer, stalking him. The thing made a noise low in its throat, a chuckle, maybe a snarl. His younger self just stood there, a basket of berries in hand.

Then the berries scattered onto the damp forest floor.

The scent of blood mingled with the fresh fragrance of the pine trees.

Cloud shot upright. He looked around the room as if to check for the creature. Sunlight streamed in through the window; traffic buzzed below, like the hum of mosquito. He gritted his teeth. He was no longer a child; he had no excuse to let nightmares get to him. This one had been plaguing him recently, but it would go away. They always did. Even so, it took a while for his heart to stop its frantic thudding.

The thing that scared him about the dream wasn’t the creature’s attack; it was the fact that his younger self had been smiling at it, unnaturally calm in the face of death. Cloud hated funerals, watching the news, anything where he saw people dying or dead. Maybe she was right: maybe he had been scarred after his experiences in Germany. For him to behave that way in this dream made no sense. He wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much, but it did.

He turned to the other side of the bed. Empty. If only she had been here. She was the one person he could confide in without feeling like a total idiot. He ran his hand along the bedspread, eyes softening. Already, the dream began to fade around the edges as reality blotted it out. No need to check the calendar: he knew what day it was.

He got to his feet and padded towards the kitchen, a smile on his face.

X

“I must have heard you wrong.” The black haired girl smiled at the guy at the customer service desk and he swallowed nervously, looking as if he wanted to make a break for it. “Did you just say that you can’t find my luggage?”

“Er, yeah.”

“That’s definitely what I needed after being next to a screaming baby all flight.”

“I’m sorry, miss. It’s probably been misplaced. We usually find them within thirty minutes.”

Sweat dripped from his earlobes as he babbled away. She tried not to fault the guy too much. It was stuffy in the airport, even with the air conditioning. And he wasn’t to blame for her missing suitcase. Even so, she really didn’t have the patience for this nonsense.

“Well, it’s hot pink,” she interrupted. “If that helps at all.”

“Oh, that’ll make it easier to spot, for sure.” He cleared his throat. “We’ll call you over the PA if—” at her sour look, he quickly amended, “when we find it. Absolutely no problem.”

“Thanks.”

“Did you have a nice time in Japan?”

“It’s a beautiful country.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I did the whole shopping extravaganza thing. But the natural attractions impressed me the most. The hot springs were heavenly.”

“I’ll have to visit. It’s funny, I’ve never been out of the city and I work at an airport!”

“Funny,” she agreed.

“You look so young,” he said suddenly. “You travelled alone?”

She stared at him. “I’m not sure that’s any of your business.”

“Of course not, my apologies.” He flushed a deep crimson. “It’s just, I could never travel by myself. So I have a sense of respect for people who take on the world like that. It’s like a real adventure.”

“I wasn’t alone,” she said curtly. “My friend just didn’t come back with me.”

He opened his mouth but she couldn’t handle talking to this man anymore. She mumbled something about waiting for the PA announcement and walked over to a room especially reserved for people who were waiting for their luggage. She leaned back in a plastic chair and stared up at the ceiling. Whoever thought that fluorescent lights were a good idea was horribly mistaken.

“This sucks,” a male voice muttered.

A softer voice chimed in: “There’s nothing we can do.”

She turned to see two young men take seats across from her. One of them was tall with raven hair. For some reason he was wearing sunglasses indoors. The other looked pissed off, his sandy blond hair sticking up in funny angles all over his head. He caught her looking at them and blinked.

“Shit. Is that Karelos?”

“Hey.” She couldn’t quite recall who they were. “It’s...you!”

The boy with the sunglasses laughed: the sound was oddly pleasing.

“She doesn’t remember us.”

“Whatever.” His friend slouched down. “You said we have to ‘keep a low profile’ anyway.”

“True. Perhaps I won’t have to do anything unnecessary.”

They exchanged a glance and the blond dropped his eyes first.

Karelos wasn’t paying much attention to their conversation. She still couldn’t place them, even though they both looked familiar. Normally she was good with faces, but she couldn’t attach names to these guys, which weirded her out a little. They knew who she was.

Her gaze drifted to the blond.

“What’s with the turtleneck?” She gestured at her tank top. “I’m melting in this.”

“Sorry for my lack of fashion sense.”

“Don’t mind him,” the raven haired boy said smoothly. “He’s grouchy most of the time. And now that they lost our luggage, all of his restraint has flown out the window.”

“No one can stay calm after spending a whole day on a plane.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Australia, I see. No tans?”

They were both oddly pale, the dark boy more so than the blond. But for whatever reason, maybe the harsh lighting, the blond looked a lot worse for wear than his friend did. He had deep purple circles beneath his eyes. Like he hadn’t slept in days.

“We were there for business, not pleasure,” Sunglasses Boy said.

“Oh.”

He was perfectly nice, but something about him just seemed...wrong. Karelos felt vulnerable all of a sudden, alone in the waiting room with these two. She was probably just being paranoid. But the panic continued to thrum inside her, as if a switch had been flicked. She wanted that loser from customer service to call her over the PA, but it remained silent.

“My name’s Faust.” He nodded at the blond. “This is Erik.”

“Faust?” She mulled the names over. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

She could feel his gaze piercing her, even from behind the sunglasses.

“No?”

She shook her head. “I’ve got to use the ladies.”

There was no way she was coming back here. She tried to be nonchalant as she got to her feet and walked towards the door. This was ridiculous, really. It wasn’t like she was in danger or anything.

A hand landed on her shoulder. She tried to shrug him off but he merely clamped down more tightly. Turning, she found herself looking into bright violet eyes. Erik remained seated, but his brow was wrinkled with confusion. He didn’t seem to have any idea what was going on either.

“Stay for a while,” Faust invited.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry if this isn’t to your liking.” He smile held no hint of remorse. “But I need you.”

“For what?”

She found it difficult to concentrate. There was something about his eyes that made her feel slightly numb. Her mind began to drift. Karelos struggled to stay alert, but the more she looked into his eyes, the more she felt as if she were in a dream. If only she could break her gaze. But that was impossible.

“Good,” he said softly. “Don’t resist. You’re with me now.”

Her stomach churned. The room began to tilt as if she were on the teacups at the fair.

“...Please...”

X

“Hey,” Erik said sharply. “What are you doing?”

Faust closed his eyes, shielding those burning irises, and she slumped into his arms. Erik got his feet, but Faust had already crossed the room before he could take a single step. He held the girl, his old classmate, in his arms with utmost care.

“You heard me. I need her.”

Erik took a step back. “I thought you needed to keep a low profile.”

“You’re scared. But I want to finally show my true self to you.”

“I—”

“Erik.” Violet eyes bored into him. “Aren’t you sweltering in that turtleneck?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Then why are wearing it?”He sighed. “Because I made you do it.” At Erik’s blank look he laughed a little. “There’s something on your neck that would give me away. And the thing is, not everyone can satisfy me.”

Erik licked his lips. “Are you saying you were using me as food?”

“If it helps,” he said, “I do like you as a person.”

Erik remembered how tired he had been these last few months, how drained. How he had been walking around in a fog. How the days all blurred into one another. All he knew was that he and Faust were travelling the world, and that had been fine with him, because he had nowhere else to go. Maybe he had known, somewhere deep down, what Faust was keeping him around for. But he had thought...he had thought...that they were friends.

“Are you all right, Erik?”

“No.” He smiled bitterly. “I guess my life ends here, huh.”

“Why?”

He nodded at Karelos. “Fresh meat. You don’t need me anymore.”

“Quite the contrary. She’s not my type.”

“Then let her go.”

“Everyone has someone they report to, Erik,” he said patiently, as if he were talking to a tiny child. “My boss, if you like, requested this particular girl. I’m going to drop her off and then we can continue on our way.”

“Who says I’m coming?”

Faust looked a little upset. ”I would never hurt you.”

“I feel pretty fucking hurt that you’ve been leeching off me.”

“You know I can make you do anything I want.”

“I know.”

Karelos stirred in Faust’s arms, letting out a small sigh. The young men glanced at her. Faust pressed his fingertips to her forehead and she fell silent. Erik watched all of this, wishing he had never met the boy, wishing he could somehow save the girl from her fate. Their eyes met, purple and blue; Faust’s seemed to be imploring with him. Erik had never seen his calm and collected friend look at him like that before.

“All right,” Faust said suddenly. “You’re free to leave.”

Erik wasn’t sure he had heard correctly. “What?”

“I’ve been keeping you captive for too long already.”

“Wow, a vampire with morals.”

“Hardly.” Faust’s voice was cold. “I’d snap your neck right now but my hands are full.”

Erik looked down, feeling ashamed for a reason he didn’t understand. When he looked up again, both vampire and girl were gone. Just then, the door to the room opened. A balding man with glasses poked his head in.

“Miss Karelos Wilder? It seems our PA system has been tampered with, so...” he trailed off when he saw Erik was alone. “Oh! I thought a young lady was in here. Where did she go?”

“I just got here.”

He couldn’t help lying; that was Erik Wolfe for you, loyal to a fault.

X

Cloud arrived at the airport. Instead of seeing the girl he loved, instead of pulling her close and breathing in her sweet scent, instead of feeling happy again, all he got was an apology. Sorry, we can't find your girlfriend, but she's around somewhere, don't worry.

A man handed him her pink suitcase.

He stared at it with unseeing eyes.

People greeted each other all around him, oblivious to his despair.