New Life
#7 of Vaporeon
It was three days after Blueberry was cured of his hypothermia, and he had taken to dawdling through the house and backyard absent-mindedly humming to himself. His cold had almost cleared up, and Sandy could walk again, so he had become bored with remaining in the house all the time. Gardevoir's pregnancy has progressed as well, and the date has become uncertain; but Alice had assured them that it would be in one to two days. Azure was being her usual over-protective self, and Simon had returned triumphant with a shiny new badge in his posession. Currently Blueberry sat infront of the fire in the family room, watching the TV while Alice and Crystal played. Once or twice he would grab Crystal in his mouth before she accidentally went into the fireplace, and he would warn her about it, but she seemed to not listen and would go back to playing with Alice. Izaac and Sandy's mother sat up on the large soft couch watching the TV, and Blueberry could occasionally hear Izaac practically purr as Sandy's mother ran a brush through his fur. The new breeding pens were finally installed out back. slowly but surely, the cozy warmth and relaxing atmosphere of the room and fire made Blueberry drift off to a peaceful sleep. It was at least an hour before he was woken by what could only be described as a blood chilling scream. His eyes flicked open, and in a flash he whipped his head around and practically threw Crystal out of the fireplace. Alice came running back into the room from the kitchen to find Blueberry spraying Crystal with water.
"What're you doing?!" She screamed. "You're hurting her!"
Blueberry stopped spraying Crystal, gave Alice a worried look and turned Crystal over. Crystal's left side and stomach had been seriously burned, and bits of her skin were charred and blistered.
"She was in the fireplace!" Blueberry said. "Get someone in here, they'll know what to do!"
Sandy's mother, at hearing the yelling, came rushing from the kitchen with a handful of berries.
"Hold her still." she barked. "This is going to sting a bit, but the juice from rawst berries can heal burns very quickly." She said to the whining Suicune below her. Carefully she held a berry over the burn and squeezed it. the berry split and juice dribbled out around her fingers and dripped onto Crystal's burn. Crystal wailed as the juice dropped onto her side, and she tried to writhe away, but Alice held her still.
"Don't move." Alice said in a calming tone. "It'll be over soon."
Sandy's mother crushed what little juice was in the first berry, threw it to one side and pulled out another. "I'm not getting enough juice to cover her whole burn." She complained. "Alice, can you hold her down and pull the juice from these berries at the same time?"
"Well, I-"
Sandy sauntered into the room, pushed her mother aside and took a spray bottle from one of her many pockets.
"Honesly, mum." She said. "Why did you bring the berries in here when we have a spraybottle full of their juice in the fridge for emergencies like this?" She sprayed the dark blue mist onto Crystal's burn, and Crystal howled in pain as the burn rapidly vanished leaving nothing more than red skin and twitching muscles. "A healing potion should grow back that bald spot nicely." Sandy said, putting the bottle back into her pocket, swapping it for another which she promptly sprayed onto Crystal's stomach. Her fur grew back in a flash, and Sandy put the bottle away. "All better now." She said cutely, moving her hand to pet Crystal's head. Crystal quickly jumped to her feet, nipped Sandy's finger and scurried over to Alice.
"Now, is that any way to treat someone who just saved your life?" Alice asked, prodding Crystal with a paw.
"That stuff hurt!" She protested.
"That is no reason to be rude." Alice calmly said. "And if she hadn't put it on you, you'd have suffered severely from your burn."
"It's alright, Alice." Sandy said. "I know she didn't mean it."
Blueberry walked over to Crystal and Alice and looked Crystal dead in the face. "Now, I warned you about the fireplace, didn't I?" Crystal nodded. "And yet you did not heed my warning, hm?" Another nod. "Now we know why not to play with the fireplace, don't we?" She nodded one last time. "You're lucky I was there to wrench you out of it, or you might have been hurt more. Go with Alice to the kitchen and get yourself an Oran berry, go on!"
Crystal nuzzled Alice and the two of them walked back into the kitchen.
Sandy sighed as she stood up, shaking her finger. "She's never bitten me before." She grumbled. "Maybe more of Alice is rubbing off than I thought."
"Well;" Blueberry said aloud, "if enough rubs off, maybe Alice will become more friendly?" He suddenly felt like someone was strangling his brain, and he shuddered. "... Maybe not."
Sandy and her mother laughed as they went off their seperate ways, leaving Blueberry alone in the toasty warm room. He had been wondering why people would leave the fireside; it was so warm and comfortable, and it certainly never threw hissy fits and argued with you if you told it that you'd had a bad day or that it was too hot to be that close to it. As long as you kept it full of dry logs to burn and gave it an occassional prod, it would be content to stay where it was and keep the house warm.
A loud yap by his ear made him jump.
Well, most fire anyway.
Daniel had returned, and Growlithe had snuck up on Blueberry and given him the fright of his life. Blueberry made a mental note to hate this little firestorm more in future, and went about the usual 'ooh, someone is here to visit' racket that all pets everywhere make when someone walks in the front door. Sadly his frantic barking and happy noisemaking fell on deaf ears, because only Daniel paid him any heed, petting him to settle him down. Hurriedly he rushed through the house to find the others, but could find none of them until he looked out the back yard to find several men, all armed, keeping the humans pinned while they helped themselves to the other Pokémon. He quietly slinked back to Daniel to warn him of the impending danger.
"Daniel, there are Rockets in the back yard stealing everyone!" Blueberry hissed. "We need to stop them! I'll free Alice from the guy coming around the side gate while you and your Pokémon distract the others. They're armed, so you might want a Steel type to guard you from the bullets!"
Daniel nodded and pulled out a bright blue Poké Ball that shook lightly in his hand.
"Gyarados will do fine." He said. "You go free Alice."
Blueberry slinked out the front door and hid in a snowdrift by the side gate. He waited for what seemed like forever before he heard the crunching footfalls of the Rocket. He poised himself to strike, and just as the man rounded the corner with Alice in his hands Blueberry lashed out, slamming into the Rocket with Giga Impact and sending him flying across the road. Alice had dropped into the snow, and Blueberry quickly bit through the cable ties that bound her.
"Say nothing." Blueberry hissed at her. "I know your Psychic attacks cannot harm humans, but all you need to do is hold them still while Gyarados, Growlithe and I take care of the rest."
Alice shyly nodded.
"We'll go around the side gate;" Blueberry instructed. "They'll not be expecting us."
"I've sent a mental plea for help to Darma, she and Maximillion should be here with a whole army of Growlithe soon." Alice said quietly.
Blueberry nodded and started to quietly sneak through the snow, and he could feel Alice a short way behind him. Eventually he heard an ear splitting roar from Gyarados and witnessed a Rocket come flying around the corner. the man thumped heavily against the wooden fence and slumped in a heap, possibly never to move again. Slowly and carefully they crept around the corner and found Gyarados to be badly injured, bullets had done alot of damage to his massive frame, and the Rockets to be thinking themselves triumphant as they bore down upon Daniel. Without warning, a huge blast of fire flew into the yard, barely missing the rockets and melting a massive patch of snow, including the igloo which had been made several days prior. Blueberry took this cue, and nodded to Alice before rushing in and smashing into one of the rockets with another Giga Imact that sent him plowing through the fence.
The rockets all turned as one, ready to kill Blueberry when they suddenly found their guns to be floating several dozen metres in the air, far above their heads. Sandy idly walked over to them and knelt down next to the growling Vaporeon.
"Remember;" She said calmly "you promised me you wouldn't kill someone."
Blueberry nodded as the melted snow started to whirl around him.
"I won't kill." He snarled. "But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy this."
Twenty minutes later, Darma and Max had arrived with what could only be called an army of Growlithe to apprehend the Rockets. They all left, practically dragging them through the snow as they took them to the van they were to be taken away in. Max and Darma congratulated the group for, yet again, apprehending Rockets in their own hometown. Blueberry had tuned out halfway through his speech, and wandered back to the family room so that he could doze infront of the fire once more. He curled up and sighed happily as he felt the cozy warmth of the open fire wash over him. He had only been there a short while, however, before he was nudged by a large nose.
"Blueberry, can we talk for a minute?" Darma asked earnestly.
"I don't see why not." He replied. "Sit down and enjoy the warm fire with me."
Darma shook her head. "I'm on duty today." She said. "I wanted to talk to you about earlier."
"Yeah?"
"Those Rockets... You really wanted to hurt them alot more than you did, didn't you?"
Blueberry stayed quiet at this question, but he knew his silence would betray him eventually; a semi-psychic Pokémon like Darma would pick up his thoughts if he let them freely wander his mind.
"You wanted to kill them, didn't you?"
Blueberry sighed and lifted his head. "Yes." He firmly replied. "I did."
"So why didn't you?" Darma asked. "It is clearly within your power to do so, so why did you not act upon it?"
"Then I would be no better than them." He quietly stated. "I made a promise to never kill another unless the situation called for it. I hate to battle anyone; but..."
"But?" Darma pressed.
"...But I actually enjoyed seriously injuring those men." He sadly finished, hanging his head. "You must think I'm terrible for saying that, but it's true. The pain I gave those men gave me the greatest feeling, and it was so hard to hold back after I had knocked them out..."
Darma sighed. "You are not terrible for it." She said. "You were done a great injustice by their ranks, it is only natural for finding some sort of retribution in giving that pain back to them; but you mus remember to hold onto what keeps you apart from the killers."
"And what's that?" Blueberry asked, still hanging his head.
"Your promise." She replied. "As long as you never break that promise, no matter how badly you wish to, you shall always be the Blueberry your partners have come to love and respect. You have great potential, Blueberry; but whether you use it for good or bad is something only you can decide. It has been nice talking with you, I hope you have a nice day."
With these words, she walked out of the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts and the toasty warm fire. Eventually there was yet another stirring in the room which he couldn't seem to tune out, and he slowly opened his eyes to find Alice standing infront of him. She looked... Nervous to say the least, and she fidgeted uncomfortably as she watched him.
"Hello Alice." Blueberry mumbled.
"A-ah, hello." She replied.
"What do you want?" He asked her.
"I-I wanted to know if I could join you?" She said, still fidgeting.
"Nothing is stopping you." He replied, completley oblivious that she hadn't meant 'sit nearby so that I can enjoy the warm fire.'
Alice smiled happily before she curled her much larger frame around his own, making sure that he stayed open to the roaring fireplace. Blueberry was taken aback by this, but thought little of it until the next time he inhaled. Suddenly his senses were overloaded with a sweet scent, and he didn't need to bother contemplating where it came from.
"A-Alice..? What-"
"I know what I said before." She mumbled to him. "And I've had time to think."
"But..!"
She sighed heavily before nuzzling his face. "Please? The only other Pokémon that I can breed with we have is ditto, and it's so... Boring."
Blueberry blushed brightly. "Are you sure you're not just overstimulated from the fight earlier?" He asked. "I'd hate for you to regret this afterwards..."
She nodded. "I'm sure." She said.
Blueberry sighed and stood up, motioning her to do the same. "Alright then." He shyly said. "But let's try somewhere more secret? This is a little... Open."
Alice stood up, smiling brightly and nodded. Together they slinked off through the house to find a private place.
An hour later, Alice and Blueberry nervously made their way back into the more open areas of the house, wary of being seen by the others. They were trying to keep their new relationship as secret as possible, especially Alice. She didn't want Sandy to find out and give her a lecture over it. Blueberry, however, didn't really care if anyone found out. As much as he like her, all he considered it was helping out a friend when she needed it most. If Sandy or the others found out, he knew he'd be talked to, most probably from Azure. This was when the implications hit him, and he stopped walking. Alice stopped and turned.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
Blueberry's stomach sunk at his thoughts, and his tail drooped noticeably. "We... I..." He mumbled. "I didn't just do something really bad... Did I...?"
Now Alice looked perplexed. "How do you mean?"
"I... Didn't take advantage of you... Did I?"
Alice walked back to him and nuzzled his face. "Kid, I'm nine years old; I'm more than capable of making rational thought during my heat." She said. "I... Wanted it."
"But..."
Alice sighed.
'Look, kid.' She telepathically said inside his head. 'Earlier, when we were slinking through the snow all that was running through my mind was that maybe I could see just how strong you really were; like you would be showing me your true strength. And when you finally did fight I realised how wrong I was the other day. Your size is not a sign showing that you would be a bad mate, it's like a battle scar showing how much you've endured, and how strong you've become because of it. It shows that you'd be a good father.'
Blueberry went to argue this point, but she interrupted him.
'It is a testament to your durability, and that is a truly appealing value in a mate.' She said.
He shyly nodded and started to walk again. They eventually got to the kitchen, where Sandy and her father were sitting. They looked slightly shaken up, and only noticed that they had walked in when Blueberry nuzzled Sandy's leg. She looked down at him momentarily before she lifted him into her lap.
"Finally decided to show up have we?" She said sarcastically. "We were calling for Alice, but looks like you didn't hear us."
'I heard them alright.' Alice said in the Vaporeon's head before speaking aloud. "Why? What's going on?"
"Garde's laying, but since you weren't here to begin with you can't go in now." Alice said. "Stay out of the family room for a little while, okay?"
Blueberry and Alice nodded, and Sandy's father stood up and walked to the kitchen cupboards.
"For now, however, I think that you two deserve a special treat." He said.
"What for?" Blueberry asked with a poker face that'd fool the world's champions.
Sandy's father pulled two large poffins out of the cupboard and walked back over to the Pokémon. "Please, don't insult my intelligence." He said. "I've lived through eight of hers, and this is the only time of year that she would be unwilling to come when called. So, Alice; Blueberry, eh?"
Alice squirmed nervously. "I... Didn't want to be with the Ditto again." She admitted. "It's so... Impersonal." At this she curled up on herself, and huddled pathetically under the nearest chair. Blueberry sidled over and wrapped his tail around her.
"Don't be upset, Alice." He said consolingly. "They probably would have found out eventually; and it's not like we have any regrets, hm?"
She nodded, but didn't come out of her hiding spot.
"I trust you're going to lecture us, Sandy?" Alice asked defencively.
"No, actually." She said. "I'd like to congratulate you, but I'm not sure you'd like to hear it; so instead I'm just going to trust your judgement."
Alice was puzzled at this, and she lifted her head. "Huh?"
"You have no regrets, so it was something you thought through, and you admitted you didn't want to be with Ditto. Just remember that this is something you have to live with."
Alice nodded slowly. "I... I'd like Blueberry to be back at this time next year too if it's possible?"
Blueberry was startled by this, but he tried to not let it show.
"Of course, Alice." Sandy said, leaning down and rubbing the Espeon's head. "If you want him to be yours, I shall do what I can."
Alice smiled weakly, but didn't come out of her hiding place, not even to eat her poffin.
Eventually Sandy's mother walked into the kitchen, washed her hands thoroughly at the sink and told them that it was now safe to venture back into the family room. Blueberry led Alice through the doors to the firelit room where Gardevoir was cradling an egg in her arms. She looked content, if not a bit tired; and Azure was watching like a hawk. When Alice entered the room, Gardevoir smiled happily at her, but Azure became agitated.
"Where were you?!" She snapped. "We called for ten minutes!"
Alice blushed and tried to hide behind Blueberry, but he would have nothing of it.
"Shutup, Azure." He said firmly.
"What'd you say to me?!"
Blueberry's focus fell entirely on her. If looks could kill, she'd have been splattered against the walls by the glare he shot her way. "Shut. It." He growled.
She flustered for a moment, and jumped off the couch to strike him before she even realised his face was so angry. She had seen first hand the destruction that Blueberry could wreak, and she knew that he could easily beat her in a fight. Even with her lightning reflexes and high speed, he was remarkably resilient to pain; she could scratch and gash, but he would barely register the pain until after he had already smashed her senseless.
"I do not wish to hurt you, Azure." He growled. "For Izaac's sake."
She nodded as she practically scrambled back to her seat. Gardevoir smiled again and put a hand onto Azure's head.
"It is alright, Azure." She said. "They were simply unable to come when called." She gave a knowing nod to Alice and Blueberry, and they blushed brightly.
'Damned psychics.' Alice telepathically said in the Vaporeon's head. Blueberry had to struggle to contain a chuckle.
Alice nodded lightly and carefully walked over to Gardevoir. She hopped up on the couch and nuzzled the tall psychic's side.
"Don't mention it." Gardevoir said, wrapping an arm around Alice.
Blueberry walked acros the room and dropped back into his prior spot on the carpet infront of the hearth. He gazed up at Gardevoir pensievely. "I guess congratulations are in order?"
She nodded happily and hugged her egg. "Thanks." She said. "I'd love to look after it myself, but I'm not exactly well versed in being a mother."
Alice started headbutting Gardevoir's thigh with a sarcastic look on her face. "You twit;" She laughed, "Simon and Sandy are trainers, it's almost the same. Ask them for advice, you can even ask Sandy's parents for help in the matter."
Gardevoir gave a polite chuckle. "Thanks, Alice."
Blueberry saw Alice nod out of the corner of his eye as he put his head onto his paws and let the warm fire gently drift him off to sleep.
He awoke at dinnertime, the fire had been neglected and the cooler temperatures had woken him from his peaceful slumber. He stretched as he looked about the room. He was alone now, not even Izaac or Gardevoir to keep him company; and his stomach growled. He figured that they must've been in the dining room eating tea, and so he busied himself momentarily by refueling the fire with the split logs next to the couch. He sat and watched them start to burn merrily before making his way into the kitchen. The others were already here, eating their respective dinners, and only Alice stopped to acknowledge his presence.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, sleepyhead." She said. "You were sleeping so soundly we didn't want to wake you."
Sandy stood up and took a bowl from the counter, putting his food near him. "Eat up." She said. "And don't go to sleep infront of the fire when you're done, I kinda miss talking with you during the daytime."
He quickly finished his food before dawdling back into the family room and defiantly curling back up infront of the fire. At least, he would have if Crystal hadn't already stolen his place; he hadn't noticed her until he had already tried to lie down, and she yelped loudly when he was almost smothering her. He jumped and backed away with his tail underneath him. She gave him a very displeased look.
"Sorry, sorry!" He apologised. "I didn't notice you there!"
Crystal closed her eyes and put her head back onto her paws. Blueberry sighed, walked back over to her and curled himself around her, keeping her visible to the cozy fire.
"Sorry." He mumbled.
"It's okay." She replied, nuzzling his chest.
He returned the gesture, careful to not hurt her with his larger size, and felt Alice rest her head on his neck.
From nearly dead to nearly dad, Blueberry, Azure and Izaac had been lucky. It wasn't much, but it was everything he had wanted; a fresh start.
A new life.
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This marks the end of the series of stories surrounding Blueberry as the main character, it was fun writing these, and I've more planned for Sandy and her friends. they'll all go into the Vaporeon storyline, but focus around other Pokémon; Sandy and her team worked into the stories. Look forward to them, guys! :3
I really want to know your opinions on this, I had a fair amount of fun writing this chapter; dodging the obvious adult content at the cost of length.