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Chara had never much liked crowds. There was always too much of everything when one was together – too much sound, too much heat, too many elbows being knocked into her ribs. And there was always that one baby in the whole mess that would start crying obnoxiously and never shut up.
There was a reason she decided to be a trainer after all. Trading in her cluttered, noisy streets for wide quiet spaces had been like a breath of fresh air that she never realized she needed to take. When she started out on her journey, there had been that moment of both exhilaration and panic as she realized she would be setting out on her own; but just months into her explorations, it didn’t take more than a tempting sounding pamphlet to get her to buy her first boat ride to Sinnoh to really get out of her bustling cities.
Nine years later, she was still convinced it was the best decision she ever made.
So she wasn’t exactly how her traveling partner had convinced her to go to a circus. Or, as he termed it, an ‘expression of acrobatic feats that would amaze her’!
“Alright, we’re here. Can we go now?” Chara grumbled as she flopped into the near cushion-less seat, sneakers squelching uncomfortably on the sticky, soda-laden floor. And these were front row tickets?
“Ah come on Chara, you promised!” Asriel said as he took the seat next to her, giving her a watery pout. When they were kids, it has always swayed her; now that they were older, she was more inclined to laugh over how silly he looked when he did it.
“I promised nothing. You cajoled me into going.” She pointed out. “With chocolate.”
“I’ll let you get extra sprinkles?”
Maybe an hour of nonsense was worth it.
She heaved a sigh that was more dramatic then it needed to be, “Fine.” It still made her best friend smile hugely. You’d think he’d just spotted a legendary. “It’s just a Poke-Circus. I don’t get why you’re so excited.”
“’Cause I’ve never been to one!”
“Oh.” She rubbed the back of her head. “Your parents uh… could have got out more.”
“You’re telling me! But hey, I’m here now, right?” Before she could respond to that, the goat pointed out towards the ring, calling excitedly. “Oh look, look! Aipoms!”
She looked up, seeing the primates in question, all dressed in flashy clothing and paint coloring their normally lavender fur in bright shades, hooting and tumbling about the stage. She saw one, splattered with pink glitter, ‘unintentionally’ toss a banana peel that caused three others to fall over each other. “Ah, they’re the clowns.”
“Really? Awesome!” Asriel leaned forward, taking in the sight.
Chara lent back in her seat, watching the proceedings with less enthusiasm but not wanting to bring down her friend’s mood, she tried to remain attentive. It wasn’t that she really disliked circuses; she just had been to enough of them that by the time she was nine, they had lost a lot of their wonder and intrigue. They were all the same.
This one turned out to be no different. Liepards jumping through flaming hoops, Ponyta racing circles around the ring while various people balanced on their backs, Ursaring riding on unicycles, Donphan lifting up smaller pokemon on their trunks. All kids’ stuff. There wasn’t even any knife throwing. The only slightly interesting performances were the tightrope walking Mightyena and the Gardevoir and Gallade duo trapeze act that mostly had Asriel screaming in fear in her ear every time he thought someone was going to fall.
Chara felt just about done by the time the robotic ringmaster walked out for the umpteenth time, posing in the center as he waved a metal arm at the crowd, announcing, “Well darlings, as much I would love you to gaze upon my gorgeous face all night long, we’re sadly approaching the end of our show!” Thank Arceus. “But, as all great performers do, we’ve saved the very best for last. So please enjoy our closing act! It is of my utmost pleasure to announce the two beauties from Hoenn: The Sensational Sisters!”
She held back a snort. Beauties from Hoenn? How pretentious.
“Oh, oh! This must be them!” Asriel grabbed her arm, giving her an excited shake as all the lights went down.
She pat his hand, mostly to get his claws to stop digging into her bicep. “That’s great Asriel.”
A spotlight came on, illuminating the center floor where a single performer now stood, possibly brought up from a platform below stage. She was dressed in a black leotard that shimmered like it was encrusted with diamonds, though they were probably cheap rhinestones. It was sleeved, pulling over her hands like gloves. It also had an attaching train that flowed from her hips and backside and ended nearly at her ankles, alternating in blacks and whites. It put upon the image of a night sky.
When she rose her head to smile at the crowd, Chara could tell she was wearing what seemed to be a feathered masquerade’s mask and there was a ribbon tied around her neck, an off-fitting blue that didn’t seem to match the rest of the colors she wore. “Welcome all!” Her voice reverberated off the walls, though from here Chara couldn’t see the sound device she was using to amplify her voice. “It is quite enthralling to see so many faces have shown up to watch our performances today. While I know it’s coming to an end, my sister and I are determined to end the last of your day on an extravagant note! I suggest keeping your eyes on us – one look away and you may just miss it all.”
“Ah! I think that’s---?” Asriel spoke up, voice getting drowned out by the acoustics.
The acrobat’s boots came down audibly as she walked forwards, swinging out a hand and sweeping into a low bow. “And just remember: It’s all just an act.”
Suddenly, the room echoed with a massive howl. “ARRRRRROOOOOO!” Chara’s head jerked upwards, seeing a blur of black and orange leaping from one of the trapeze stands. She just barely identified it as an Arcanine before powerful flames leapt from its throat and spiraled downwards, swallowing up the acrobat. The tiger dog disappeared as well as it dropped right into the center of its attack. All around her, the crowd was calling out in amazement or fear, Asriel was freaking out, and even Chara lent forward some, trying to pick out what had happened – only for a new, vibrant cry to pierce the air.
“FLLLLLY!” A green and blue striped dragon came soaring out of the fire tornado, a sandstorm circling outwards from its tail to cancel out the flames in a glittery spectacle. On the Flygon’s back were not one but two women. The pokemon climbed so high it nearly touched the big top of the circus before both its passengers leapt off to stand on a platform that seemed no larger than a dish plate. Unbothered, the two girls held one another by their wrists while leaning in opposite directions, waving out their opposite hands with a flourish as they showed off their balance.
Chara gazed at the second sister who had appeared out of literally nowhere – had she been on the Arcanine’s back? Another trap door? – and found she was wearing a matching costume. But whereas the first sister was the night sky, she was the evening sky, her sparkling leotard and mask a navy blue and her train in colors of violets and more blues. The only offset was the black ribbon around her neck; but standing together, the mismatch now complimented the two.
“Ah, that one! That one’s Frisk!”
Twin smiles lit the girls’ faces as their voices echoed together. “Enjoy the show!”
As one they let go and fell, the Flygon diving after them as the crowd screamed.
Chara was impressed.
The sisters’ performance was certainly quite a sight. They and their Pokemon, which were always introduced with a flashy entrance that never revealed exactly how they got into the ring, had owned the entire stage, both at ground level and in the air. She was still blinking the aftereffects from her eyes of the pseudo-fireworks; a combination of a Jolteon’s thunderbolt and an Absol’s Shadow Ball created while the girls had swung and flipped together on the trapeze, the pyrotechnics only increasing the danger and thrill of the act.
“So you liked it after all?” Asriel asked her, eyes bright and hopeful.
“I mean,” She shrugged her shoulders, trying not to give herself away too much. “It was alright.”
“Alright? Such a show and that is the only adjective you could find? Ah, human!” The security guard leading them cut in. He was an excitable and tall skeleton who had been the one to scrutinize their back stages passes before letting them through. “It is quite alright. I understand that being blinded by such brilliance makes it hard to find words! If you need assistance, the Great Papyrus has quite a fabulous vocabulary to heighten your sentences with.”
“Uh… thanks?”
“You are most certainly welcome!” He said, ushering them through a door that led to a packed room full of performers and Pokemon. As her eyes swept the room, she could see one of the Ponyta riders was soaking her feet, a trainer feeding some of the various birds they had seen during the magic acts, and a slumbering Liepard curled up on a crate.
Despite the noise and clutter, they still drew the attention of the ringmaster, who quickly strode over and Chara got the feeling his flamboyance wasn’t an act but rather a natural state of being. “Papy darling, who have you brought along with you?”
“Ah, yes, Mettaton! I believe they are acquaintances of Frisk’s! At least, that is the story I was told when I asked. But, fear not, for I have such a strong sense of reading people, I could write my own books of them!”
A smile that somehow managed to look affectionate touched metallic lips, before he turned to them, “Well, any friends of Frisk’s are certainly ones of mine. Come along darlings. The girls were just freshening up!”
They were once again guided and, thanks to the monster’s robotic legs that thumped heavily with every step, it seemed everyone knew to clear out of the way, making it easy to navigate through the room. They came to a door that had a paper cutout star taped to it that said METTATON in black sharpie and, if Chara squinted, a ridiculously tiny, nearly smudged out and sisters just underneath.
“Frisky dear! I do hope you’re decent! You have guests!” Mettaton crooned, his knuckles ringing with each sharp rap he gave the door.
“Coming!”
When it opened, Chara was pretty sure her heart decided it wanted to try out for the next act as it flipped in her chest.
Now up close and without the mask, she could make out the woman’s features clearly. She had thrown on some cool-down clothes, now in nothing more than a striped tank top and shorts and brunette hair pulled up into a messy bun. Her skin was a nice, russet shade, heightening her blue, blue eyes as she peered up at them, heart-shaped faced eased into a welcoming smile that only grew as her gaze landed on Asriel.
(Hoenn beauty? How about Hoenn goddess?)
“Howdy!”
“Oh, it’s you!” Frisk said. “You came to the show after all!”
“Of course!” Asriel said, completely unaware of the mental meltdown his best friend was currently having. “There was no way I’d miss it.”
“It’s a relief to know the story checks out.” Mettaton intervened, tilting forward into her space as he mumbled pryingly. “Ah, what story was that again darling?”
She chuckled behind her hand, amused by her boss’s antics. “This was the Pokemon healer that helped my Leo back at Rustboro. I told you I’d given him a few special passes!”
“Of course, of course! I hadn’t forgotten, not at all.” He waved a hand, pulling away.
Behind him, Papyrus was gaping at Asriel, “Wowie! That makes you like, a hero!”
“Uh, hehe. I-I guess?” The goat flushed, looking utterly embarrassed.
Seeming to take pity on him, Frisk opened the door wider. “Why don’t you two come in? We were just relaxing.” They took the offer and after a few short words with her coworkers, the door was soon shut, muffling the noise outside marginally.
They found themselves within a makeshift dressing room. A vanity desk with a mirror that looked too heavy to be getting lugged around against one wall. Clothes of all sorts from the many costume changes during the other acts were flung across the floor. A shirt was clinging to the edge of a hot pink lampshade. There seemed, for no reason at all, to also be a trombone set in the corner of the room that Chara decided not to wonder about. The only other creature in the room was the Arcanine that had opened the act, lounging on the couch and watching them with lidded eyes.
“I’m really happy you could make it.” Frisk was saying to Asriel, “I hope you enjoyed the show.”
“Oh golly, it was incredible!” Her friend reassured. “It was like nothing I’d ever seen!”
Her laughter was bright, like bells. “I’d take that as a compliment if I didn’t know it was your first circus.”
“W-Well! Chara’s been to a lot of them and she liked it to! Right Chara?”
As the two turned to her, Chara felt a mild sense of anxiety as she tried to come up with a way to describe the circus with a brain that had been reduced to molten liquid. It was too bad Papyrus wasn’t there to keep his word. “Yeah it was…” She faltered as her eyes met Frisk’s, and without thinking, she breathed out, “Beautiful.”
Frisk’s expression softened out, pleased and flattered all at once. “Thank you. So you’re Chara. Asriel told me you were a trainer?” Not trusting her tongue, she nodded wordlessly. “That must be so exciting! I tried to be a trainer too but, well, I just couldn’t put my heart into battling like other people could. It just wasn’t for me. I’d love to hear some of your adventures though!”
“Er, well um-”
Luckily, Chara was spared any embarrassing attempts at trying to piece together a story in her state as the door opened behind them, a new, but strikingly similar, voice speaking, “Hey Frisk do you know where- Uh. Uuuhm. H-Hello.”
They turned and it felt like doing a double-take as they saw a startlingly familiar face behind them. The masks the two had worn had hidden the fact that the two sisters were identical twins.
It had also hidden the deep gorging scar that ran diagonally across the length of her face, ending bare centimeters under her right eye. There was another, less deep but more disturbing one across her neck and one more, thick and curved, poking out from the top of her own tank, along with numerous smaller, shallower ones across the entirety of her arms.
“G-Golly…” Asriel weakly breathed out beside her, sounding like he’d just taken a blow to the gut.
“Amelia!” Frisk flew to her sister’s side who was trying to hide herself behind her Pokegear. “This is Asriel, the nice healer who helped me out last week, and his friend Chara.”
Her eyes, unexpectedly red like Chara’s own, flickered between them and her sibling, before she relaxed, replying haltingly, “Oh. That’s, great. Here.” One of the two water bottles she was carrying was given to the other, who accepted it with a thanks, gratefully uncapping it and swallowing half of it in one go.
Ever the diplomat, Asriel called amicably, “It’s nice to meet you.”
In return, Amelia nodded, twisting of the cap to her own water. “Same to you. I owe you one.”
“I think that’s my line.” Frisk said, teasing, before turning to them. “Do you two want anything? Water? A seat? I can get Take off the couch if you want.” Behind them, the gigantic dog gave an uncooperative huff before promptly flipping onto his back, tongue lolling out lazily. “Erm, maybe.”
“No, no! We’re fine, really. We weren’t here to intrude or anything.” Asriel waved the offer away. “How is Leo doing though?”
“Wonderfully! He’s already back to performing.”
“He was? I must have missed him then.”
“Oh, no, no. He wasn’t in the show. He’s still in training. But, if you really want to see him, you can come to our practice tomorrow.”
“Really? Golly, that’d be amazing!”
“Great, let’s call it a date!” Frisk proclaimed boldly. Beside her, Amelia was trying to hide the fact she had just choked on a sip of water.
“Sounds perfect!” Asriel looked beside himself with joy, and despite any inhibitions she had about it, Chara knew she was already swayed to go along with it.
Tomorrow was going to be interesting.
Mauville City was the largest in Hoenn, reminding Chara a little bit of her hometown, yet the streets were much wider and the buildings were more moderately sized, rather than Castelia’s gigantic skyscrapers that blocked out the sun and felt like they were encaging her within steel and glass walls. In any case, it wasn’t surprising that a town that prided itself on fun and exciting sights would have a gigantic, aquarium-style swimming pool. Likely meant to be used for aquatic shows, the room was designed around the pool, circular with high rise bleachers surrounding it. Today, the room was nearly empty, except for herself and Asriel who sat out in the audience section.
“I really can’t believe they invited us. Man, I’m so stoked right now!”
“Did you really just say ‘stoked’?”
The goat wrinkled his nose at her. “You’re just jealous I have a better vernacular than you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Better? More like outdated with 90s and cowboy slang.”
“Ah, don’t be like that, par’ner.” Asriel said, lowering his voice and giving it a more western inflection. “We’all friends here.”
“Oh my god Asriel no.” She covered her face, sniggering.
“Ifin you be telling me to cease lil’ lady, I’m afraid that just ain’t gonna fly in these here parts. ‘Cause as they used to say on the ranch back home,” He swung an arm over her shoulder, grinning, “Asriel, yippee ki-yes!”
Chara held her sides that were started to hurt, laughing loudly. “S-S-S-Stop!! You’re so stupid!”
He laughed with her, tugging her close to give her head an affectionate nuzzle – she’d come to learn over the years it was a goat thing – before pulling way as he spotted someone approaching from the floor level. “Howdy, Amelia!”
Footsteps rang loudly on the metal staircase, Amelia climbing up to where they were. “Hey. So, Frisk is still getting ready but she’ll be out soon.”
“Ahhh, you’re not joining her?” Asriel asked, looking a bit disappointed.
“No, I don’t do any of the water performances.”
Without thinking, Chara blurted out, “Is it because of the scars?”
“C-Chara!” Her friend gasped and she felt her ear tips grow red.
The other woman seemed mildly taken aback. “Well… that was rather blunt.” Before she could try to amend her mistake, the acrobat continued, settling down beside her, “But no. I just don’t like water that much.” She gave her a smile that seemed to be mocking her. “Any other questions?”
Chara waved her hands into an X in front of her, shaking her head. “No, nope! I’m good.”
Behind her, Asriel cleared his throat nervously. “Uh, can I ask one?” Amelia’s expression evened out and she nodded. “Okay um… how did you uh, get them?”
She hummed, looking towards the tank. “It was just an accident a few years back. It wasn’t a big deal or anything. We were all just practicing for an upcoming show when Isra, one of the Mightyena, started to act out. It wasn’t anyone’s fault; we found out after the fact she had contracted Pokerus and the sickness had deteriorated her brain. But, anyways, so her trainer ended up panicking when he got snapped at and was knocked out before he could recall her. Before we knew it, Isra was attacking everything in sight. And she… started to charge at Frisk. I ended up getting in the way. This was the result.” She brushed her fingers along her face.
Asriel was leaning forward, completely engrossed in the story. “Wow. You’re really brave.”
The other flushed bright red, rapidly shaking her head. “N-N-Not at all! I wasn’t even thinking honestly.”
“But then, that means you didn’t hesitate either, right? That’s amazing!” He insisted, “If it were me in that situation, I can only hope that I would be able to have the same resolve as you. It’s really admirable.”
Amelia’s blush had grown all the way down her neck. She sunk down in her seat, looking for all the world like she hoped the ground would swallow her up as she stuttered out a thank you. Asriel scratched his chin, looking toward Chara in wordless confusion that practically screamed ‘Was it something I said?’. It made her want to laugh though she wasn’t sure who at more: the elegant performer that was surprisingly socially awkward or her best friend who was too naïve and honest for his own good.
Luckily, all their attentions were drawn away by a few sharp claps, being drawn to the figure now standing on one of the diving boards. When she realized they were watching, Frisk waved to them and even from this distance, her bright smile was easy to see. She looked really adorable in her little blue striped one piece.
Beside them, Amelia fumbled a bit before picking up the microphone, flipping the switch on. Her voice rang out around the entire room as she spoke into it. “You good to go?”
Her twin made an ‘Okay’ sign with her fingers before reaching down towards her feet, picking up a Pokeball. She aimed it towards the diving board exactly opposite her and with a flash of bright, white light, a little blue seal appeared, arfing loudly. Frisk tossed in a few rings in the water below before signaling the Popplio, who seemed to understand the gesture and backed up.
“She doesn’t give orders?” Chara noted curiously.
“No.” Amelia answered. “None of us do. Things can get pretty loud and confusing during the productions with the crowd and music, so we all have to teach our Pokemon to respond to hand gestures.”
When Frisk gave another signal, Leo gave a bark and then together the two raced off their diving boards. They watched in silent amazement as the two flipped in midair and hit the water with a seamless splash. Thanks to the transparent walls and crystal clear water, they could easily see how the trainer and Pokemon twisted in the water, swimming towards each other. Frisk grabbed onto her seal’s little fins, the two corkscrewing together gently before they let go and rose to the surface to take a breath.
“Aaah!” Asriel cheered, clapping. “Whoa that was great! And Leo’s looking so much better!”
The other sister smiled, raising the microphone again. “Perfect landing you two. Move to the ring toss.”
She gave a thumb’s up in response before turning back to her partner. In the water, it was hard to tell what gestures she was giving, but soon he was arching backwards into the water, swimming all the way to the bottom of the tank. He swam around, quickly gathering up each of the rings on his nose, until he had all four of them resting on his snout. He swam halfway up the tank before a bubbly jet of water emitted from his mouth, taking the rings with it before he went swimming upwards.
A jet of water shot upwards like a geyser before curving around Frisk in a perfect half-circle, framing her within it. The rings and the seal swam through the frame, landing on the other side as the aqua jet attack ended. The hoops settled back to the bottom of the pool, but Leo popped back up beside his trainer, looking pleased.
“Looked good.” Amelia continued to instruct. “We should use lights to make it more colorful though. Try the dolphin dive next.”
They nodded, both of them diving under once more, the two swimming around each other before Leo turned underneath her trainer, aiming a bubblebeam attack at her feet. It lifted her upwards and this time, instead of rings, it was Frisk who emerged from the pool. Her body glistened with water, muscles seeming more defined with the way her body bent into a perfect swimmer’s dive as she landed on the other side.
Chara pulled at her collar, feeling a little warm suddenly.
“Aaron has a Buizel that’ll use Aqua Ring. The idea is Frisk’ll be leaping through those rings.” The twin told them clandestinely, before turning back to where the two had surfaced and called, “Do it again. You’re not going high enough.”
There was a loud groan but the two obediently performed the move again. Except, when the performer leapt out this time, she made sure to stick out her tongue towards them.
“You don’t get sass points Frisk!”
The two held hands and fins to their mouths, laughing soundlessly, before they rose back up to take another breather and prepare for another trick.
The practice continued to progress. They watched as the two performed several more combinations of water moves with flips and dives. There was even another high rise move, this time using hydro cannon, that was supposed to lift Frisk straight up for her to pose; but it was still unpolished and she kept losing her footing or not even making it high enough before she was tumbling off. After the tenth try left her belly flopping into the water, the acrobat decided to move on to something else. By the time she was calling for a time out, over an hour had passed.
“I’m starving. How about we break for lunch?” Frisk offered, back in her street clothes and a towel draped along her shoulders to catch the droplets still falling from her hair. “I think I saw a hybrid monster-human buffet while we were heading over here.”
“Really? That sounds great!” Her best friend said, looking ready to drool with anticipation.
“Asriel, we were supposed to go to the Gym, remember?” Chara reminded, trying to beas strict as she could. To her ears, it sounded more like she was begging.
“I know. And we will! But, I’m so hungry.”
“You’ll be more alert if you eat.” Frisk added, quickly tousling her hair in the towel until it frizzled out at the ends. She looked towards her, giving her a smile that Officer Jenny would put her away for because it was unlawfully cute. “Come on, our treat?”
There were just some battles she was destined to lose.
The best thing about buffets was no one judged you if you ate your dessert first. And second. And last.
“Uh, Chara, isn’t that your third piece already?”
Okay well, everyone who wasn’t her overly sheltered best friend didn’t.
“It’s all you can eat, Asriel. I’m taking advantage.” She replied, spearing her spoon into the cake with violent enthusiasm. Thankfully, no one else was currently around to hear him call her out on her bad habits.
“I don’t think all that sugar’s good for you.”
In absolute defiance of this, she looked straight at him as she rose the morsel to her mouth and ate it.
Taking the challenge for what it was, his eyes narrowed and he reached out for her plate. “Give me the cake.”
She was quick to slide it away. “No.”
Asriel lunged. “Give it!”
“No!” She shoved her hand in his snout, holding up her plate in the other, well out of reach. Asriel glowered at her from between her fingers, gauging his next move.
And that of course was the exact moment the girls decided to return, because fate was a butt like that.
“Do we have to separate you two?”
They looked back, seeing Amelia watching them with a raised eyebrow. Beside her, Frisk was trying hard to hide her laughter behind her hand with minimal success. The only thing they had to show for their trip back from the buffet line was the large glass Amelia was carrying, filled ice cream and a dark amber liquid that fizzled.
Burning red all the way up to his horns, Asriel jerked away so fast, Chars almost overbalanced. Her elbow hit the table, saving her, but she felt the plate start to slide off her palm. Just as she twisted around to save it from its cruel, shattered fate on the restaurant floor, Frisk leapt forward as well, her hand cupping under the dish first.
So, instead of catching the plate, she caught Frisk’s hand.
Chara stared, wordless, at the place where her palm met the other’s. She could feel warmth and the slight press of knuckles against her palm and long, slim fingers brushing ticklishly against the inside of her wrist. She dared raise her gaze up higher, meeting Frisk’s eyes which only caused her brain to short-circuit more. She opened her mouth, muttering an intelligent, “Uhhh…”
“O-Oh, sorry! I just, didn’t want it to fall.” The other woman gave an embarrassed laugh, their skin rubbing against each other’s as she carefully moved her hand away to let the plate drop solely into Chara’s grasp. The sense of loss was sudden and unfair.
She managed a small thanks, lowering her dish back to the table while the girls took their seats again across from them. Amelia started to dig into her root beer float with great enthusiasm and Chara followed her example. Frisk stared down at the table, brushing her hair behind her ear.
Nervous from the suddenly tense and awkward atmosphere, Asriel blurted out, “It’s okay anyways, Chara’s experienced with falling.”
She nearly choked on her spoon.
“What does that mean?” Amelia asked, swirling around her straw.
“That’s how we met! She fell down the mountain.”
“No! I-I rolled! It was training!” Chara stepped in, glaring at him. He was a terrible wingman.
Asriel looked back at her, unamused, before turning to the girls’ and deadpanned, “My mistake. So Chara purposefully rolled down the hill into our back yard, crushed all my dad’s begonias, and sprained her ankle so bad she couldn’t walk for two months.”
The worst. He was the absolute worst.
“But-”
Oh great, there was more!
“I’m really glad she did, because it was thanks to her my entire world was expanded.” Surprised, Chara glanced towards him, seeing the goat had a faraway, gentle look to his eyes. “My parents became shut-in’s after they stepped down from the government. I think it was kind of a relief to them – not having to overlook the region as much or be as social. After so many decades, they were ready to relax. Unfortunately, this meant I was shut in as well. It… wasn’t that exciting.” He frowned, but it was soon overtaken by a bright grin. “But then I met Chara. She was so brave and adventurous and fun! I would stay up for hours with her, just listening to all these amazing stories she had. I remember thinking that even though we were the same age, she was so much older than me, because she’d seen so much. She was everything I wished I could be. I never expected that when she got better she would ask me to join her.”
He looked up from the table, placing a hand against his chest. “Me! Ha! I couldn’t believe anyone so cool would want to hang out with me. But, she did. She’s the reason I’m living out my dreams now.” He turned his head, giving her a grateful look. “She was my first and forever my best friend.”
Chara breathed out softly, feeling warm affection fill her even as she reached out to playfully tug one of his ears. “You’re a ridiculous sap.”
He chuckled, a mischievous gleam twinkling in his eye. “Golly Chara, you really are rootless, huh?”
“Oh Arceus. That was a good one!” It was Frisk who got it first, laughing, only strengthening with the sound of Chara’s groan as she understood next.
Amelia smile was partially hidden behind her hand. “We’ll have to remember to tell it to Sans when we get back.”
“Yeah it’ll tickle his funny bone.”
“Don’t you start!”
“What’s wrong Ames? You don’t think I’m punny?”
“No,” She pointed at her, giving her a wink. “I just think you’re lacking amuse.”
Frisk fell into another round of giggles, holding her sides. It was undeniably cute and Chara was only partially aware of the small, dopey smile pulling up the edges of her own lips.
Once the table calmed down enough, Asriel asked, “Who’s Sans? Did we meet him?”
“Oh, no probably not. He’s Papyrus’ brother.” Amelia answered, sliding the little that was left of her float over to her sister. “He’s not part of the circus – he works with his dad as a Pokemon researcher. But he visits all the time. He’s kind of like our brother, I guess.”
Frisk hummed in agreement, spooning out some ice cream. “Really, the whole circus is like our extended family. They basically adopted us.” There must have been something that crossed their faces that betrayed their puzzlement, for she elaborated, “We’re orphans.”
“O-Oh… That’s…” Asriel trailed off, unsure how to continue. Chara didn’t even try, though the idea of being unable to just call her up her mom whenever she was feeling homesick left a weird, shivery feeling down her spine.
Neither girl seemed troubled by their misfortune, Frisk reassuring, “It’s okay, really. Even if we can’t remember them, our parents were admirable people. They were part of the Pokemon Rescue Union. I don’t know most of the details but from what we were told, they and a few others had been entrusted on tracking down a small faction of Team Rocket members. Apparently, the team members had gotten ahold of some very sensitive equipment from a science facility and were using it to track down and capture Lugia. The union was able to intercept them before they could complete their mission, but there was a huge crossfire and our parents were just two of the people who didn’t make it out that day.”
She stirred the melting ice cream, looking at them from across the top of the glass. “I’m sad I never got to really meet them, but they were really brave people and I’m proud of that. And anyways, things didn’t turn out too badly for us. What I’m really grateful for is that I have Amelia with me. I really don’t know what I’d do without her.”
“You’d be adopted for one.” Amelia intervened, though there was no real ire in her voice.
“Oh stop it. I don’t care about that.” Frisk waved her off. “And there were plenty of families who wanted you too, don’t make it sound like it was all me.”
“Okay, only ninety percent of the time it was you. But I guess I can’t blame them.” She reached over, poking her twin’s cheek. “Someone would have to be stupid not to love you.”
“They were stupider not to love you.” Frisk declared right back.
Amelia smiled softly. “Don’t join Asriel on Team Sap now.”
“I’ll do more than join it, I’ll become the ambassador!”
“If that happens, I don’t know whether to be afraid or not.” Chara spoke up.
A cheeky grin pulled at the sides of her lips as she replied, “Nah. In fact, I think you willow me one.”
“Ugh. I should have saw that one coming.” She said, only to immediately realize her mistake. “Wait- I didn’t-!” Too late, everyone was already laughing. She rubbed the back of her head, sighing out, “I just can’t win today.”
Her friend reached out, giving her a reassuring pat. “Don’t worry, you’ll definitely win your gym badge.”
“Oh right! You did mention you were going to the gym. Are you nervous?” Frisk asked.
“Pff, what? No way!”
Beside her, Asriel nodded agreeably, “Chara’s really good! There’s no way she’s gonna lose.”
“It’s electric-type based here, right?” Amelia seemed intrigued. “I wonder what the leader has on his team.”
“The only thing I remember hearing is a Mareep, I think? Maybe it was a Flaffy.”
Chara waved dismissively, confidence thrumming through her. “Doesn’t matter either way. Najarala and I have got this, no problem.”
“I would love to see it!” Frisk said, quickly adding, “I mean if you don’t mind having an audience, that is. I wouldn’t want us to be a distraction.”
An equal amount of nervousness and eagerness at showing the pretty acrobat something she could actually do well warred within her. The latter quickly won out.
“Doesn’t bother me. As long as you’re prepared to see me kick butt.”
Another giggle. “I can’t wait.”
It wasn’t that Chara liked battling.
It was that Chara really liked battling.
She’d known she was destined to be a trainer ever since she tried to be the biggest, meanest pseudo-Pokemon on the playground, shoving kids into sandboxes or tossing broken tree branches at proctors with tiny, triumphant shouts of ‘Leaf Storm!’ with little to no provocation. (She had a feeling that was why her mother had agreed so readily when she asked to set out, probably relieved her daughter would have an outlet for all her weirdly pent up aggression.) Yet, no matter how many fake elite fours she had faced or paper dollars pilfered from board games she had earned back then, nothing really compared to the real experience.
The scent of ozone and burnt grass thickened the atmosphere. Halogen lightbulbs lit the arena in bright white tones. Heartbeat racing in her ears, adrenalin rushing through her veins, she and her teammate faced down their foe, coiled and poised to strike, entire beings focused on this moment, waiting for the opponent’s next move.
“Thunderfang Azura!” The pokemon gave a fierce growl before she charged across the field, canines sparking.
Trills of excitement spread across her body, unfurling like a dormant flower that had been waiting for the right moment to come to life. “Leaf Blade!”
Slithering backwards, her Serperior raised up her tail, the blurring green light around it distorting into a sword as it swung for the oncoming Manectric. She heard the gym leader trying redirect, but he wasn’t prepared for Najarala’s speed, so before the wolf could double back, the attack caught her in the muzzle. She was thrown backwards, skidding along the earth, stunned. It was time to end this.
“Najarala, use giga drain.” Chara said, watching her companion slink forward. She could see the way Azura shrunk back, intimidated by the eyes that burned red before the snake hissed and struck, fangs piercing through her scruff.
By the time she pulled away, the match was over.
The Manectric was recalled and Chara took a breath to calm her buzzing nerves, giving her own Pokemon a proud smile. She glanced towards the stands when she started to hear a commotion.
“Yeah Chara! Wooooo!!” Asriel and Frisk, both on their feet and clapping, cheered. Between them, Amelia was holding up a sign, hastily made in crayon, that read ‘Go Chara!’.
“Geez, do they have to be so embarrassing?” She mumbled to herself, running her head along Najarala’s scaly head as she slunk up beside her.
“Se-se-sssse.”
“Don’t laugh!”
After recalling her own Pokemon and gaining her badge, she met the others at the base of the stairs, where they eagerly congratulated her. Somehow they made it more embarrassing then the cheering, Asriel practically toppling her when he pat her back and boasting for her about how great she was. Frisk, grinning like an innocent angel, handed her the sign. When instructed to, Chara flipped it over to find a hand-drawn bouquet on the other side. Amelia almost got a pass, until she suggested that maybe her sister could pin her shiny, new trophy onto her jacket for her. It was at about the point she had the slimmer, beautiful girl so close that she could smell the perfume she was wearing that Chara began wondering if one could die simply from blushing too hard.
Somehow, she wasn’t abruptly rushed off to a mortuary, and they headed out of the building for their next stop. The destination was obvious. Always generally built within a reasonable vicinity of one another regardless of region or town, they found the Pokemon Center just four blocks away.
“Said it’ll be about an hour.” Chara announced, approaching the three who had taken residence on one of the circular couches in the hospital. To the twins, she added, “You guys don’t have to stay.”
“But we haven’t gotten a chance to celebrate!” Frisk claimed.
“You don’t have to-”
“Oh, I know!” The young lady was on her feet, unusually motivated. “There’s a park across the street. I think I saw a nice cream vendor.”
“…What?”
“Come on, my treat!” Then the other did the unthinkable and grabbed her wrist, pulling her along.
Chara was pretty sure the touch caused an electrical current to race up her arm and shut down her brain, because the next thing she knew, she was standing by an elm tree, blinking down at a double chocolate ripple ice cream cone in her hand while the others traded off what their wrappers said.
“Okay, mine says: ‘I like your style’.” Asriel read off.
Frisk snapped a finger, winking at him. “I agree. You’re jazzy, Azzy.” He snorted, giving a little pose. She chortled and flipped over the little flap, saying, “Mine’s – aaaah! It says: ‘Keep at it, you are making a difference’. I really like that. How about you Amelia?”
“Uh,” Her twin shifted some on her heels, looking embarrassed, “‘You’re someone’s reason to smile’.”
As if to prove it true, her sister smiled back at her. “Sounds about right. What’d you get Chara?”
Chara looked up from her already half devoured cone. “Huh? Oh, erm,” She unwrinkled the wrapper, saying, “’You may be imperfect, but you’re the perfect you’.”
“Somehow, that seems oddly fitting. You are pretty great.”
“Uh, I guess?”
“Chara always gets the better ones.” Asriel said before his friend could implode (she thinks I’m great!), tone mostly mockingly displeased. And then, much to the twins’ combined horror, he chomped his own ice cream in half.
“And Asriel,” Chara returned calmly, knowing exactly what was coming next, “Always gets brain freeze.”
As if her words were a signal, the goat quickly discovered his error, bending over some as he held his head and whined loudly. “S’cold!!!”
Amelia flailed a hand worriedly in his direction. “Press your tongue onto the roof of your mouth!”
He made another noise of discontent, but did as he asked, looking much like a Rockruff with the tip of his tongue sticking out between his fangs. After a few moments, he looked to her, surprised. “Whoa, it worked! Thanks!”
“S-Sure.”
Seeming out of nowhere, Frisk suddenly asked, “Anyone up for a walk?”
“I am!” Amelia said, whirling around and hurrying off, her movements a little jerky like she wasn’t sure how to walk anymore.
Her sister chuckled, waving them on. “Come on.”
Together, they headed for the stone path that curved through the entire park like a serpent, finishing their ice cream and enjoying the sight of the well-tended grass and flowers and the Taillow and Beautifly resting in the trees.
“So,” Asriel broached, “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you guys. That Flygon, was it one of yours?”
“Sorin? He’s mine.” The older twin said.
“Sorin? Really?” Chara repeated.
“It was kind of Papyrus’ fault. When I got him, he was only a Trapinch and kind of self-conscious. So whenever I was training him Papyrus would cheer him on by saying ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be soaring in no time!’ Eventually he started to think it was his name and well,” She chuckled. “Sans didn’t let Pap live it down for a month.” Amelia turned to look at the monster. “Why’d you ask?”
“Oh! Well, I was wondering, uh,” Asriel rubbed the back of his head, just under where his horns curved. “Could I see him up close? I’ve never seen a shiny in person.”
“I guess so. He’s kind of a showboat though.” The woman said, pulling out a Pokeball.
“Oh man! Thank you!”
“You guys have fun. I’m going to keep going.” Frisk said as the two headed across the grass to find room, looking towards Chara in earnest, “You staying?”
Although all signs pointed to a likely aneurysm by being alone with Frisk for any length of time, she shrugged one shoulder and said, “Nah I’m good. I’ll come with you.”
They continued down the trail together, though Chara couldn’t help but look up when she heard her friend’s squeals, seeing stars practically floating around his head as danced around the dragon in childish excitement. Even from this distance she could hear his faint yell of ‘You think I can ride him?’. Amelia turned to Sorin to ask, in which the dragon took one look at the near seven foot-tall monster, started to sweat and rapidly shook his head. Asriel seemed to deflate some before he was all brightness again as he asked to pet him instead.
Chara hid a smile behind her hand. He was never going to grow up, was he? A tug on her jacket drew her attention back to the lady by her side.
“Hey let’s go that way!” Frisk was pointing to the left, where the path forked. One way was heading towards what appeared to be a playground, but it was the other side that had caught the woman’s eye, as it lead to a pond, a red-painted bridge arching over it.
“Sure.” Stone turned to wood under their feet as they crossed that way. Frisk stopped at the center of the bridge, looking down at the Goldeen and Finneon swimming. Chara lent against the railing beside her, looking instead at the other’s reflection. At least this way, she couldn’t get in trouble for staring.
She was eventually torn away from her secret Frisk-watching by Frisk herself. “So, are you going to compete in the Hoenn league?”
And well, looking at the real thing was way better anyways. “That’s the plan.”
“How many times have you been in it?”
“This’ll be the third for this league.”
Her eyes lit up with interest, asking eagerly. “Have you ever placed?”
She shook her head. “For this one, no. I haven’t done Hoenn since I was fifteen and I got crushed in the prelims both times. But, I did place top eight in Kanto last season.”
“That’s awesome, Chara!” The way Frisk said it, it made her feel like she won first place instead. “I bet you’re gonna do even better here. The league starts in two months right? I’ll make sure to watch you and cheer you on.”
She laughed, the image of Frisk in a too-revealing cheerleader outfit waving around pom-poms jumping into her head and making her voice go a little high-pitched and funny. “Thanks.”
“So,” Unaware of the other’s sinful mentality, she continued, “Which badge are you going for next? Do you have a lot left?”
“No, only three. Az and I came up from the Dewford first so I’ve already hit all the west-side gyms. We’re gonna head up Route 119 to get to Fortree next.”
“Really? Heh, that’s kind of funny. We’re heading that way too. We’ve only got two more nights of performances and then Lilycove is next in our lineup.”
Wait.
Frisk aimed a smile her way, the same one she had been giving her all day. But now, Chara was beginning to notice something else about it that she had missed underneath the rush of hormones that overcame her anytime the other so much as looked at her. “Why don’t you guys come along with us?”
Wait. This offer was beginning to sound awfully familiar.
It was like a light switch came on in her brain. Chara turned away, hiding half her face behind a hand. “I am such an idiot.”
“Huh?”
She looked past her fingers towards the other and, though this definitely wasn’t her thing at all, she had to at least try and get her back. Chara turned all the way to face Frisk, leaning her hip against the railing and leaning her way, saying as breathily as she dared, “Anywhere’s perfect as long as it’s with you, babe.”
Wow, she didn’t know someone with that dark of skin could blush that much.
“After Lilycove, where next? A night on the town? A boat ride under the moon?”
Frisk was giggling at least, brushing some of her hair behind her hair, almost looking bashful despite the fact she’d been flirting with her all day. “Guess you figured me out. I hope it didn’t bother you.”
“No. Uh, a-actually,” Chara swallowed down the Watmel Berry sized lump in her throat to say, “Feeling’s kind of mutual.”
“Really?” The absolute joy that overtook the acrobat at that moment was something she wanted to keep hold of forever.
“Yeah. But, I guess the question is, what do we do about it?”
Frisk tilted her head, humming thoughtfully. “Well, we’re going in the same direction right now. Getting to Lilycove takes a few weeks, and you’ll need to head that way anyways if you want to cross the water. Why don’t we travel that way together and get to know each other. If things seem to be working out, then we can decide what to do from there.” She met her gaze. “I would like to give us a shot. I really do like you Chara.”
This wasn’t part of the plan. Chara had wanted a life of freedom and glory, going wherever she pleased and climbing the ranks to become a master trainer. She never even dreamed it possible she would be confronted with this possibility. But, as she stared in those blue eyes brimming with determination and hope that she was falling even further for, all those plans suddenly seemed to take a step back.
Chara really liked battling.
She offered her hand to her, much like a prince to a princess might. “Then I guess my only question now is, will you be my girlfriend?”
But now, she found she wanted to win something else entirely new and unexpectedly wonderful that she had never realized she had wanted.
Frisk grinned in return, cheeks dusted with a light pink as she reached out, their fingers curling together warmly. “I will.”