Waiting (Eclipse)

[Sam]

Rose sat down on a bench on the edge of the cove. To her left, it was marshy, swampy, and buzzing with Pokemon. There was also a Phanpy looking back with remorse. To her right was the beauty of the ocean and her partner, a Zorua, who looked ahead with determination. She looked up at Brendan, looking a bit tired. The sun was going down and there wasn't another boat coming until 10 AM the next day. "Brendan...hey, can we rest for a while? You know, find a place to spend the night? I'm exhausted and so are my Pokemon."

[Wolfe]

The majestic sea shone as the last rays of sunlight disappeared into the vast sea beyond Aero. The waves crashed into the narrow beach that separated the marsh and the ocean. It was, actually, getting late. Brendan, with Fang riding, or perhaps, floating on his shoulder. He managed to hide a yawn, then sat down next to Rose for a moment, resting his legs. He tried to look his best, but in reality, Brendan was getting pretty tired, too. He looked into the distance, where a couple clouds were forming from the east. It wouldn't do well to camp out in the open, then be soaked to the bone once the rain began pouring out of the sky. No, they needed somewhere else.

Brendan looked back, to his left, and saw a cliff about a hundred yards away from where they were sitting, near the dock. There was a natural cave formation there, just off of the coast. He looked back at Rose, and pointed. "There's a cave by the water to the west. We could rest there for the night." Without waiting for her to respond, he marched over there, Fang following in fast pursuit. He pitched his tent that had been in his pack, and took out a few items. A lighter, for one, and a few tins of various food items. Brendan walked over and gathered a few pieces of firewood, Tynamo helping gather up a few of the smaller branches. When his pile had been finished, he struck it with a lighter, and the whole pile began to blaze. He gestured at Rose to come over. "Hey, what are you waiting for? I have food!"

[Sam]

Rose, yawning, jumped up and lazily jogged after Brendan. Isabella and Fate stumbled after her, both of them very tired. Fate, especially. She had had a long day, traveling into the cove with two new trainers, then getting involved in two battles. Isabella, not as much, but still exhausted. How did Fang and Brendan have so much energy?

When they got into the cave, Rose collapsed in the corner, pulling sleeping bags out of her backpack. She tossed one to Brendan, then spread one out for herself. Isabella and Fate left to find some soft moss and leaves for their own beds. Rose scooted over to the fire and warmed her hands. It had begun to become quite cool out. She took one of the containers and opened it. She began nibbling on some dried peaches and crackers. When Fate and Isabella came back, with bedding for themselves, and a little extra for Fang, if he needed it, Rose tossed them some dried beef. They ate it quickly then fell over, unconscious, onto their beds.

When she had finished, Rose went back into her sleeping bag, bade Brendan good night, patted her Pokemon's heads, then drifted off immediately.

[Wolfe]

Brendan spread out the bag Rose had tossed to him, then opened a tin of sardines by cracking it onto a rock. He feasted, then tossed a bit to Fang, who devoured it eagerly. Brendan then proceeded to push the button on Trapinch's Poke ball, and Celeste popped out, wandering aimlessly before realizing Brendan's presence. She then growled cheerfully, then began to devour the beef that Brendan had set out for her. Outside, a few drops of rain began to splatter through a few cracks in the ceiling of the cave, but failing to penetrate through the waterproof tent cover.

Fang yawned, then swam a lap around the cave before coming to a halt before Brendan's eyes. Celeste eyed him suspiciously, but ended up laughing wholeheartedly.

Well, at any rate, it was getting dark out, and rather chilly at that too. Brendan laid down, his Pokemon following suit, and Celeste soon fell asleep, snoring peacefully. For Fang, however, it took at least a good half an hour before he nodded off.

Brendan, now alone, lay, with his eyes closed, waiting to drift off to sleep. And after several hours of listening to the pouring rain, which had begun to torrent down in a storm, and the occasional rumbling of thunder, and countless thoughts, Brendan stretched out one last time, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

[White Dragon]

In the darkness that now laid like a blanket over the Aero region, a figure blacker then the nigh slide out of the ground like it was water. Immediately, two creatures lifted their heads and bounced over with strange, silent glee over to the form that was now fully awake. He looked left and right with his one eye, listened to the air, felt for scents. Suddenly, he knew the direction and shot off, leaving his two minions behind. They let out quite shrieks and tripped after him. None of the three tried to cover from the rain, only looked for shadows to hide in. And it wasn't from the downpour. It was for when lightning flashed.

Then the figure came to the cave that Rose and Brendan now rested in. He saw the dimming fire and swiftly sank into darkness. When it came out, it was traveling along the ground, a black form. A shadow. Once he was inside the tent, he raised his head from the shadow and looked around. Both humans were sleeping, along with four Pokemon. He slid past all of them, barely giving them a moments glance. He was at the boy's side now, narrowing his eyes at his sleeping, peaceful face. After a moment, he turned away, disappointed. This wasn't the human he was looking for. Reluctantly, he slid to the girl. He looked into her face, carefully observing every detail. Yes, she was the one. At the same time, excitement came to him, as well as sadness. He didn't like hurting girls, especially young girls. But, this one had a price to pay. He raised his right arm from the ground and placed it on the girl's neck, using his learned ability not to wake her up. He then concentrated, sending a nightmare into the girl's mind. Maybe he could find a way to do this easy. Then again, he wasn't created to be merciful. And this girl was her enemy.

Realizing a fact, the boy was his enemy too. So had glided back over to him, he performed the same thing, but the dream was different. When he was finished, he turned to his minions crouching by the entrance. In a deep, cold voice, he ordered them away. "Do not follow on anything I do ever again, unless I call you." He then darted towards them scaring them away. They jumped into a shadow and did not return. The leader Pokemon watched them until they disappeared into their own world, then sunk back into the ground, a shadow again, leaving no trace that he was ever there.

Only was the two nightmares he gave. The boy's whispered to watch the night. The girl's whispered to watch her life. Both were dark, terrifying, and implicated the fact that they both were in grave danger.

[Sam]

Rose was dreaming.

It was a rather sad dream, the last moments she saw her granny. The tear-streaked face, the shaky voice, and the hugging that she would never ever forget. Then, in the middle of her words, her eyes went red, and an evil grin spread across her face. Rose screamed and turned away, only to find another form glaring down at her. It raised its hands and grabbed for her. She tried to run away, but it was hopeless. She was caught in its iron grip. Her breath caught and she struggled for air, but the thing was cutting it off. It held her up to eye level, its gleaming red eye staring into hers. She tried to look away, but she couldn't. Then she heard a terrible voice whispering in her ear. Watch your life...it may escape you someday...

In the real world, Isabella and Fate were still sleeping. Nothing in particular really woke her up, but the minute she was, Fate was bouncing on top of Brendan, unaware that he was suffering a nightmare as well. Her wide eyes were on Rose, who seemed to be having trouble breathing. Her shrieks of fear woke up Isabella. Being slightly smarter then Fate, she rammed herself into Rose to wake her up. Rose merely curled up and started trembling. Giving up, she tried to wake Brendan, just like Fate.

[Wolfe]

OOC: Guys, this is my longest post ever. Appreciate it. Seriously, this sh!t is longer than my bio, which be fair, was a piece of crap.

He was trapped. Trapped in the darkness, waiting for the end. A wave of depression swept over him, as he fought for consciousness. Ten seconds passed. An hour. A lifetime. It seemed that everything was gone. Memory. Time. Space. Life itself. He began to panic. Brendan wondered if this was death. Empty, black, and completely devoid of life. It scared him, shook him to the very core. He then calmed himself, then began trying to calm himself and think logically. The last thing he remembered was....what was it?

There was something blocking out his memories. He struggled for his memory. A voice sounded in his head, not human, but sounding of....a Pokemon...or was it? Confused he began attempting to recall again. Wait. He wasn't dead. He was...dreaming. That sounded right. And this was a nightmare. Or was it? Then Raines appeared to him, looking, well, like Raines. He dissolved instantly, like so many others that he had remembered and then forgotten again. His own doubt began to take over his mind, forcing out the reasoning part. The darkness swept over him again, blocking out everything. Everything ceased..it was hopeless to fight. It seemed futile...until he heard the voice again.

It was Phanpy. No doubt. Piece by piece, he began to form what he had forgotten. It saved him. It was as if he had been injected with adrenaline. He fought again and again, and finally, with a rush of energy, he woke.

Brendan awoke, sweating in confusion, and in fear..and with a slight headache. It felt like someone, or something had been pounding on his head the whole time. He noticed Fate jump back to her previous position, and thanked her, not sure if she understood. Thunder still rumbled outside, and the rain went on. The air smelled damp, and a few drops of water streamed down the outside of the tent. Outside, the sun began to rise, creating a brilliant shade of orange and pink in the distant east, over the seemingly endless sea. A few but Pokemon skittered around, chirping and growling. The fire that he had made the previous night had been reduced to a few glowing embers, that cracked and glowed in the morning air. Life seemed so surreal, so vivid, after being caught in the nightmare for so long. Brendan breathed in a breath of fresh air, relishing life after experiencing death - or what had seemed to be. He nodded thanks also to Isabella, wondering what she had woken him for. He was still in a slow thought process before, finally he noticed Rose screaming and yelling her head off, along with trembling like an earthquake. He was still in a trance, slowly realizing that she, too, was dreaming - not the pleasant, sort, though. It seemed she too, also had been locked in the deadly embrace of night.

He thought carefully. Of what he knew about nightmares, was that, what seemed real clearly wasn't. Waking up would usually dissolve it, completely. At least most of the time. Well, there was always the direct route. He grabbed hold of her shoulders and shook her, trying, desperately to wake her up. Time seemed to slowly as he tried to bring Rose into the real world. He, too, was yelling his head off. Fear welled up inside him, just as it did a few moments ago, in his nightmare.

Now Fang and Celeste had awoken from the commotion inside the tent. After seeing Brendan in a sweaty fit, both of his Pokemon grew concerned. Brendan reassured them that everything was fine with him. Rose, however, was a different story. They too, started to yell and growl, trying to wake Rose from the darkness. When Rose didn't wake from that, Brendan began to panic. Brendan shivered himself, wondering what kind of nightmare would leave her in such a state. It certainly wasn't very natural. He pushed her over and yelled, "ROSE, DAMMIT! WAKE THE HELL UP!! YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!!" Then all was silent, except for rain dripping outside, dying away. He breathed a prayer to Arceus, hoping, desperately, that it wasn't too late for his friend.

[Sam]

Fate and Isabella both jumped back as Brendan shot up from the ground. They scrambled away, fear wracking their bodies, as he did everything he could to wake up Rose. What if he couldn't wake her up? What if she did wake up and she didn't remember anything? What if this happened again? So, just as they had done with Brendan, they began shoving and tackling her, yowling for her to wake up from her nightmare.

Deep inside the black dream, Rose was still trapped. However, the red eye was dimming, the glowing not so intense. His grip was loosening and Rose found that she could breath again. She could also look away so she looked down. Which was a mistake. There was nothing for her to land on. Just emptiness. Then, suddenly, nothing was holding her. She was falling and falling. Voices were screaming around her. The figure was hitting her, throwing her around, over and over and over...

Then she hit solid ground and was jerked awake. She looked around with scared eyes, afraid that her nightmare had followed her into reality. But, there they were, in the tent, just as they had been the night before. Brendan was leaning anxiously over her and Fate and Isabella were standing side by side, eyes wide as tennis balls. Suddenly, her head started aching like hell, as if she had been hit with a brick. "Ow," she muttered. She looked back at Brendan, her face returning to normal, her breathing steady. "Rough night," she rasped.

Too excited and happy to care about anything but their friend, let out shrieks of joy and bundled into Rose. She hugged them close silently laughing at the tears streaming down their eyes. When they were done, Rose staggered to her feet and looked around. Nothing was out of the ordinary, but the nightmare had seemed too artificial to be natural. Her expression betrayed, however, that she was not in the mood to talk about it. "Well, I guess we should get packed up and to that dock before the ship leaves."

[Wolfe]

Brendan sighed in relief, sweating profusely. It would have been horrible if...no, he wouldn't think about the other possibilities. They had been lucky enough to survive their nightmares, though Rose seemed reluctant to share. It had been something personal, or at least Brendan thought so. At any rate he was glad that both of them had made it out alive and well. The rain outside had stopped completely, the sun now shining its brightest. Celeste was nipping at his side, for food. Brendan's own stomach rumbled, and he laughed. He laughed about life, and how great it was to be alive. He stumbled over and grabbed his pack and grabbed a few cans of bread.

Fang, seeing what Brendan was about to do, jumped towards the embers and ignited the pile of smoldering wood with a single spark. Brendan could feel the heat of the flames even from inside the tent. Well, bread alone wasn't going to be enough for breakfast. Glancing back at Rose, who seemed still to be in shock, he said cheerfully, "I'm going to go grab some stuff to eat. Berries, and maybe a few eggs."

With Fang and Celeste in tow, he walked over the beach, feeling the sand with his bare feet. It felt good, living, and he wasn't about to let it slip away from him anytime soon. Well, maybe he could at least grab a few eggs and boil them over a fire. That would be a start. Moving quickly, he dig a couple holes in the sand and came out with a few handfuls of Pokemon eggs. They were speckled, and smelled rather fresh. He put them in his sack.

Next, he resolved to gather some fresh fruit, maybe some berries. Brendan climbed up a tree, with his two Pokemon, and plucked several fruits off of it. He tasted one, which was sweet and had a tinge of spice in it. Celeste bit off the entire branch, carrying it in her enormous jaw. Brendan laughed at that, and Fang joined in as well.

When he was satisfied, he walked back to their camp, with an armful of various items. Working quickly, he placed a thin stone over the fire, and cracked a few of the eggs out and let them boil over. He scooted over near the fire and looked back at Rose, expectantly. "Hey, I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hungry." He paused, and shivered. "Anyway, I made breakfast for you. Fresh from the cove. Here, have some."

[Sam]

Rose sighed. Isabella was already recovered from the excitement, but Fate was still looking nervously at Rose, as if she was going to collapse at any second. Rose leaned down to pat her fluffy head. "I'm okay, Fate, don't worry about me. It was just a dream." It made Rose a bit down whenever she lied to a friend, but she had to. She was not ready to repeat the dark figure's words to anyone quite yet. She straitened herself up and decided to begin packing up a bit. She began with folding the sleeping bags, rolling them up, and putting them back in her bag. She then tidied up the area by throwing the moss and leaves her Pokemon had gathered.

While waiting for Brendan to return, she gave Fate and Isabelle some more meat. She didn't take any for herself, as she was a vegetarian. They ate it quickly, oblivious to the fact that she only ate some fruit and crackers. When her returned, Rose immediately looked up to see if he had anything more filling. He began cooking the eggs while Rose took some of the fruits and ate them ravenously. She watched him cook the eggs. When he offered her some she shook her head. "I'm a vegetarian, sorry."

When she was finished, she stored the remains of her food package and fruit into her bag, then stood up. She didn't bother taking out the Pokeballs. At the moment, she needed everything to distract her from the nightmare. "Well, we should get going, then." She walked to the tent and began taking it down, trying to keep her mind off things. She gave the tent back to Brendan and set off. When they arrived at the dock, the boat was just pulling in. Rushing to the boat, Rose forced her mind to be set on the future, rather then the past. Then again, who knew what else besides their upcoming gym battle might the future hold.

END THREAD