Chapter 2 "Forget"

    " Look out!" cries Daisy. The figure pulls off its hood.
    " Oh, I'm sorry. Did I scare you?" He hears the others gasps and adds his
own. Her face expresses worry but that is not what made them gasp. Her long
royal purple hair and flashing lilac-blue eyes . . . he only wonders what
they would look like it they were orange and green-blue instead of purple and
lilac. He hair is pulled back into a simple braid, but her bangs aren't long
enough, so they hang in her eyes. She is wearing a black cloak over a purple
stretch top and jeans. She looks so much like her . . . For a moment he can't
breathe. His mother shakes her head, as if warding something out of her mind.
    " Oh, no dear. Not at all." The woman holds up the object she was
pointing at his mother. A road flare.
    " Good. My car broke miles from here. Would you mind if I used your
phone?"
    " Not at all."
    " Thanks. Oh, by the way. My name's Marina." His mother nods.
    " You can just call me whatever you'd like." Marina nods. She walks into
the kitchen. They all sit there. Silently. She comes back after a couple of
minutes.
    " Phone's dead." His mother shudders.
    " You can stay here until your problems are fixed, if you'd like." Marina
smiles. He almost gasps again. That was the smile he would give anything to
see again on her.
    " Thanks a bunch." She looks at the rest of the crew. " Who're you all?"
Daisy stands.
    " I'm Daisy." They all go around the table, claiming their names. Lily
coughs.
    " So, tell us about yourself, Marina." She sighs as she sits down.
    " Well, let's see . . . my favorite type of pokèmon is water . . . I do
not like carrots, peppers or the color green . . . and I'm twenty-eight." He
sighs. She's almost like her except she liked the color green. It was her
third favorite. He can tell the others must be thinking along the same track.
Anna walks in and Marina's eyes widen. " Oh! You have a child!" He nods. Anna
puts a finger into her mouth and studies Marina.
    " You're pretty." Marina laughs. It sends goosebumps up his arms.
    " Thank you! You're so sweet." Anna narrows her eyes.
    " Thank you . . . you look familr-r-r." He almost laughs. She can't say
familiar yet. But then he stops. So Anna notices it too?, he thinks. Marina
cocks her head.
    " Do I? Well I don't believe we've ever met . . ." Anna shrugs and
leaves. Marina smiles and winks at him. He blushes. " Charming. Is she
yours?" He nods. " What is her name?"
    " Anna."
    " Anna . . . charming name for a charming child." She suddenly screams
and backs into a corner. Everyone looks around.
    " Pie?" A caterpie waddles up to Marina and crawls up her arm.
    " Oh, another one. I thought we'd gotten rid of them all," his mother
sighs. She bites her lip. Daisy gets this funny look on her face and walks up
to detach the Caterpie.
    " Are you afraid of bugs?" Face white, Marina nods.
    " Deathly. For all my life. Well actually a certain event happened when I
was - well when I was young. Ever since, I couldn't stand bugs." She shrugs.
Lily gasps and Violet's eyes widen. Daisy cocks her head.
    " What event?" Marina shifts in a way that seems to be of discomfort.
    " Well, I was playing hide-and-go-seek, and I hid in a closet. I sat down
and something crawled up my back and arms and legs." She shudders. " It was
horrible. And the -"
    " Closet door was locked," says Lily softly. Marina laughs nervously.
    " Yeah! How'd you guess?" Lily shrugs.
    " Luck." His mother sees Marina's discomfort and suggests that they door
something besides stand there. He shakes his and says that he wants to go to
bed. She looks at her lilac nails, and says so does she. Marina's eyes narrow
for a moment. She turns to him.
    " Good night." He nods, a warm feeling washing over him, and turns to
walk out. She shuffles out after him, casting Marina a glance. He tells her
to sleep in her room this time. He needs some time to think. He lays on his
bed and stares at the white ceiling. He suddenly smiles, remembering that she
had wanted to paint the whole room a deep blue with shades of purple and
black.
                        *
    The next day, the sun is out and the strong wind carries the faint scent
of rain. Marina looks in front of a mirror, fixing her hair into the
proverbial braid. She is wearing a black stretch top with a design of a water
drop in diamonds. She is wearing a jean skirt that goes about an inch above
her knees.
    " So, how're we doin' on earth?" Marina rolls her eyes.
    " Fine I guess. What're you doing here?" The slim girl with brown hair
and glasses shrugs her shoulders.
    " Wanted to see how you were going." Marina suddenly hears someone
yelling downstairs.

    " You're doing what? And you're just telling me now!" He shrugs his
shoulders.
    " You've got three- no two days mom! I tried to tell you yesterday."
    " Hell-o?" Marina pokes her head into the kitchen and strides in. Once
again, he is taken away by their resemblance. He smiles.
    " Hey." She stretches and winks at him.
    " I have so got to train my pokèmon!" He smiles at her.
    " So do I."
    " Do you know any good spots to train? I am so rusty!" He nods.
    " Sure do. I'll show you it after breakfast." Marina nods.
    " Okay. Thanks a lot!" He shrugs.
    " No problem."

    They hike through some wood until they come to a field covered with
daisies and tall grass.
    " Wow! This place is beautiful!" The field seems to stretch for miles and
miles. He smiles.
    " Yeah, I know. Come on." He clasps her hand in his and leads her to the
mountain on the other side. He looks at it for a second and then walks
towards two boulders. " Come on." He leads her in between the two boulders
and the other side of the mountains opens up before them. Marina claps her
hands to her mouth. He smiles at her pleasure. " But you've got to promise
you won't tell anyone." She nods, speechless.
    " O-of course." He blows a lock of raven hair out of his eyes.
    " You want to battle? Two pokèmon no time limit." She raises an eyebrow.
    " And what makes you think you can beat me?"
    " I'll make you a deal. If you win, you go to the league instead of me.
If I win, you just come and watch me. Deal?" She shrugs.
    " Sure. But I'm only making this a deal 'cause I know you'll win!" He
chuckles and calls out his first pokèmon.
    " Go Charizard!"
    " Go Starmie!" He swallows. Water beats fire.
    " It's okay Charizard! We can beat her! Flamethrower!"
    " Hydro Pump!" Charizard is weakened severely and Starmie with only a
mild burn on one of its bravura star points. " Swift!" Charizard is down.
    " Return Charizard! Go Pidgeot!"
    " Go Vaporeon!"
    " Pidgeot wing attack!"
    " Liquid armor then quick attack!" Pidgeot doesn't seem to be that
affected by the attack. " Crunch!" That does a bit more.
    " Gust!" Vaporeon flies into a tree.
    " Mist then slash!" Pidgeot is almost fainted but so is Vaporeon.
    " Fly!"
    " Slash!" They both hit at the same time and faint. He scratches his
head.
    " Well that went well. What do we do now? You beat one of my pokèmon and
I coincidentally made one of yours faint . . .?"
    " You go to the league and I'll watch. You wanted to. I'll bet it's
always been your dream." He nods, amazed.
    " Yeah. How'd you know?" She shakes her head.
    " I had a dream once. To be the greatest water trainer. A water master."
    " What happened?" She hesitates.
    " Well . . . family problems." He nods.
    " Oh. Sorry." She shrugs.
    " Nothing really. It was about a year ago. Maybe a little over." A cold
feeling washes over him. Two days from now is the anniversary of when she
died. But that's when the pokèmon league is! He doesn't know what to do . . .
" What's wrong?" He shrugs.
    " Never mind."
    " Were you ever married?" He nods.
    " Yes."
    " What happened? Divorce?" He shakes his head.
    " She was . . . murdered."
    " Oh . . . you mean during that crazy Rocket shooting? I lost someone
very dear to me . . . My family." She sighs.
    " I'm sorry."
    " Me too." He stares into her eyes for a moment. She gets a strange look
over her face as he leans closer to her. Closer. He is breathing heavily. He
leans even closer to her and kisses her softly. She slowly wraps her arms
around his neck and pulls him closer to her. After a while he pulls away.
    " I'm sorry," he whispers into her ear. She nods.
    " No, I am. I bet you're not over her yet." He nods.
    " I am more then you think." A look flickers across her face. Could it be
hurt? No. Why would it be? She looks towards the setting sun. Colors of gold,
pink, red and violet unify to make a wide array of brilliant colors.
    " Oh." He also looks towards the sky.
    " We should head." She nods.
    " Okay."
                        *
    He lies in bed, thinking about three things. The pokèmon league, her and
Marina. He thinks his mom was right. It's time to move on. That way he'll
feel so much better . . . but he still sighs. He doesn't think that this will
be easy. He wants to forget her. He decides to think about something else . .
. the pokèmon league is in one day. Is he ready?
                        *
    " So, so SO! What is up!" Marina throws herself on her bed.
    " Come off it, Leah. I'm really not in the mood."
    " Awww. What happened?"
    " He doesn't love "me". He loves Marina. Not me. I can't believe it! I
really thought . . ." She stops, her throat choked with tears. " Never mind.
I'll see you at the league." Leah cocks her head, concerned for her.
    " Well okay. 'You sure you're okay?"
    " Yeah . . . fine . . ."
    " Okay. See you at the league." She disappears in a swirl of sleek
feathers. Marina sighs and cries herself to sleep that night.
                        *
    Almost time for the league, he thinks nervously, one day later. But there
is a twinge of excitement through the mist of nervousness. He knows that is
what is going to keep him going. His mother is clinging to his arm tightly.
    " Oh, I can't believe that you're doing this," she squeals. She taps her
now pink nails, wondering the same thing with bitterness. She didn't like her
at all, but she seriously thought that he, well, cared about her more. I
mean, the days he trained and trained had all been with her. And she thought
it was right of him to not go to the league when she was killed. But now,
here he was, going ahead and doing it. She shakes her head. Marina is also
thinking him rather inconsiderate of how she might feel. She feels absolutely
horrendous with regret and sadness. Why is he doing this? Why? She hangs her
head, purple ponytail cascading over her blue coat. Her violet eyes blink
back frustrated tears. Daisy looks at her and a feeling that she's known her
for all her life sweeps over her like a wave. She knocks it off with a swift
shake of her shoulders. That's crazy. A couple days ago, you didn't even know
her name. Daisy and Violet are also getting the same feeling. They all agree
that it's just nervousness for him.

    He looks over his black collar at the group of people. From the man with
raven hair and holding a child with the same stunning hair to the woman with
deep purple hair in a long swinging ponytail. Her aura catches him off guard.
He squints at her, as if to see deeper. Long disheveled bangs hang in her
depressed violet eyes. Her head hangs low. He smiles suddenly. This is her.
He has found her. It has been long and hard, but it will pay off. He looks at
her again and her head suddenly snaps up, eyes alert and narrowed. She stops;
looking towards the shadows in which he has encased himself. He slinks deeper
into the shadows as he feels her eyes burning into the shadows, probing for
movement, proof that she felt something. He chuckles. He will not let her
find him.
    Not now.

    "Marina?" She stops her deep inspection of the shadows enclosing the
alley near the stadium. She shakes her head.
    "Yes?" Daisy looks at her concerned.
    "Nothing. You just looked troubled." Marina shrugs, still looking. She
cannot describe what she felt; though she knew it had to be one of them.
Either that or it was him himself. She knows that he has been after her kind
for, like, forever. She shudders at the thought of him capturing her. God
knows what he'll do if he does.
    "We're here!" He looks up at the tall doors with growing enthusiasm. Anna
jumps up and squeals.
    "Yay!" Marina nods, face emotionless.
    "Good. It has been a long walk." He nods and smiles.
    "Yeah, but it'll be worth it. You'll see." But Marina just sighs. She
knows that something wrong's going to happen. She hopes her cover won't blow.
That feeling was no mistake. She could feel his aura a mile away. Like ice .
. . But where was Leah? Would she be here like she said? She decides not to
worry about that now. No, not now. Later maybe. Now, she just wants to watch
the show. Worrying later . . . She sighs again and follows Lily into the
league gates.
                        *
    Agatha. Bruno. Blah, blah . . . he now has to beat Lance and then the
former league champion. Lance solemnly recalls his second-to-last pokèmon.
    " Go Dragonite."
    " Charizard." After a couple of advanced moves, twists and turns, burns
and heals, Charizard stands the victor. He licks his dry lips.
    " Player Red will now advance on to challenge the former leader, Gary
Oak!" He gasps and spats on the ground in hatred.
    " Gary," he hisses. The doors open but instead of Gary stands a man
dressed in all black with long, greasy black hair.
    " I guess you were expecting someone else? Well, sorry to disappoint you.
Is there a Marina in the stands?" His breath quickens. What does he want with
her? Marina closes her eyes briefly. His mouth twists into a cruel smile. "
Tsk, tsk! Better fess up now, Ma-reen-ah!" She sighs exceptionally heavy and
stands up.
    " What do you want?" Leah . . . oh, Leah. Where are you? His smiles
widens.
    " There you are. Come down." She cautiously climbs down the stairs onto
the dusty ground. " Yes . . . now where's your little friend?" She hopes she
looks puzzled.
    " Who? What are you talking about?" He frowns.
    " Maybe you aren't . . . we'll just have to give you a little test, now
won't we?" She shifts weight on her feet, silently hoping she'll fail this
test. Suddenly, she can't move. She can only move her head and neck.
    " What're y -"
     " Yes . . . well here we go." He opens his cloak and pulls out a black
candle. Lighting it, he drips one drop of hot wax onto her forehead. She
yelps. After a moment, it has dried, and he pulls it off. On her forehead, is
a small purple eighteen-pointed star. He laughs. " You are done for. Now . .
. to reveal you to everyone in the stands." He magnifies her picture on the
board where his picture and his opponent's picture were. " Yes . . . this
will do . . ." Marina looks up to see herself struggle to move.
    Oh, Leah . . . where are you . . .?
    " Ba-ba-ba-duuuuuuh!" Leah appears arms raised high above her head, in a
swirl of feathers as before. She winks and smiles. " Have no fear, LEAH'S
HERE!" Marina's face softens into that of relief.
    " Thank God you're here! Now help me!" Leah gasps.
    " Whoa."
    " Hi y'all!" Marina and Leah groan.
    " Great. The Jynx," Marina whispers to herself.
    " Abbey, what are you doing here? You're not supposed to be able to . . .
uh . . . do things like this." Abbey cocks her head, her golden hair tumbling
over her shoulders, and giggles.
    " Why not? You two were allowed." Marina hesitates before answering her.
    " Yeah but . . . er . . . you well, are, a different situation." Leah
floats down to Marina.
    " Watch the stadium blow up," she whispers.
    " Hey I heard that!" Leah chuckles. She had forgotten that now only is
their picture on the screen, but what they say is too. " You think that just
because I'm here, the stadium is going to blow?" Marina rolls her eyes.
    " Come off it Leah."
    " Are you done?" The man taps his foot. Abbey gasps loudly.
    " What are you doing here! Aren't you that one man who decided to go and
order Team Rocket to blow everyone up?!" The man chuckles.
    " I guess you could say that."
    " But . . . but what about Giovanni?" His chuckles turn into loud,
explosive bursts of laughter. Marina winces with each one.
    " That fool? I killed him. Along with anyone who wouldn't obey.
Eventually, everyone got to scared to not disagree. It was pathetic really."
Marina tries to burst from her frozen state. " What's wrong? You seem kind of
well, stuck." After a moment's laughing, he pulls out a black square with a
small blue button. He poises his finger over it. " Now to find out who you
really are. I bet you hoped to trick me. Well I know about your mission and
where you came from. I just don't know who you used to be. Now it will be
revealed. As soon as I press this button, you will return to your normal
state. That to which you were murdered by me." He strikes his finger towards
the button and presses. Everything goes black.
    Flashback ~
        The ground shook as if there was an earthquake. She sat up in bed,
breathing hard. She looked around attentively. That couldn't have been an
earthquake. She shook the handsome man sleeping next to her. He blew some
raven bangs out of his golden eyes and stared at her.
    " What's up?" She rested a hand on his shoulder.
    " Listen." He listened.
    " What? I don't -" There was another violent shake and she was thrown to
the floor. He shouts her name and rushes to her side. " My God, are you
okay?" He looked at her arm and saw that the bone punctured the skin.
    " I think. O-oh, I can't feel my arm!"
    " What the hell is going on here!" She grimaces in pain and nuzzles his
chest.
    " I-I don't know. What could it be?" His eyes narrowed.
    " I'm not sure." Suddenly the window bursts and the lights fly out. The
room was filled with her screams and that was the last thing he heard before
something heavy clashed with his head and knocked him out.
    End Flashback ~