Chapter 20: Goliath

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked as we descended down the hill after telling her I wasn't having lunch at the church.

"I'm tired of Demi." I grunted.

"What happened?"

"She's always butting her head into my business."

Dawn continued a few more steps in silence, "She's just trying to help. She's just a little kid."

"No, she's not." I accidentally stepped on a loose rock and steadied my balance quickly so I wouldn't fall over, holding back a scowl.

"What do you mean?"

"She can read minds and she's smarter than she should be."

"Weren't you a really smart kid too, Paul?"

I ignored her.

Dawn sighed, "Well, just give her a break. She's really sweet and it's not like she chose to read minds. But she is choosing to put up with you even though you can be mean."

I stopped walking after noticing Dawn stop and her arms wrap around Piplup tighter.

"Have I been being mean to you, Dawn?" I asked, going through the past few days. I didn't feel like I'd been purposefully rude, especially towards her.

"We just haven't spent much time together. It's kind of weird."

"I haven't been very close to you either. You don't have to lie about it." I said.

Dawn turned around and gave me a gentle smile, "I wasn't trying to, but yeah. I'm not blaming you, though. You've been doing a good job at opening up. And you've had so much going on. How are you doing with handling Electivire?"

"When I'm not thinking about it, I'm alright." I took a deep breath.

"It'll be ok, Paul. Whatever happens will be for the best." Dawn walked over and linked her arm with mine so we could continue walking together.

"I really hope so." I said grimly, stumbling over a rock again.

"Wow you're clumsy today."

"It doesn't seem like anything is in your way." I observed, "You're usually the one tripping over things."

"I guess I learned how to look where I'm going for once."

"And I'm not?"

Dawn squeezed my arm, "Let's go get lunch."

Halfway through our meal, I heard the skidding of running feet round the corner and looked up as Aaron plowed into the cafeteria, his eyes scanning frantically until they found mine, "Paul!"

"What?" I asked, half annoyed and half curious as to what was wrong.

"It's Demi. I went up to the church and I heard screaming, like something had attacked her."

"Did you not stay around to figure out what was going on?" I asked, wondering how much of this was true.

"Well, I looked around and couldn't find her. And so I'm not sure where she is-"

I stood up quickly, wondering if Electivire would have done anything to her. Dawn and Piplup were right behind me as we made our way out of the Pokemon Center, Aaron still rambling about how he wasn't sure about anything, which was unhelpful.

"Were any of her Pokemon around?" I asked.

"No."

"And did you check inside the church for her?"

"No."

I held back a sigh, wishing this kid had been more reliable, and turned to Dawn, "When we get there, you will both check the inside of the church. My Pokemon and I will check the forest. All of you, call out mentally as well as verbally."

"What do you mean?" Aaron blinked a few times in confusion. I'd forgotten he didn't know Demi could read auras and didn't know how secretive she was about it.

We had just gotten to the base of the hill. I put a hand on Aaron's shoulder, hoping it was encouraging as I swallowed disgust as a cover up came to mind, "Just pray."

I looked at Dawn's worried, wondering face before ascending the hill I seemed to climb several times a day. We split up at the top. I released my Pokemon to help me look, explaining the situation.

I still wasn't sure what I felt concerning Demi. She annoyed me. She knew things about me that I didn't even want to know. And yet, through all the moments that made me feel horrible because of her, she had also made me feel my best recently as well.

Demi, this is a stupid game of hide and seek. I thought loudly, You better come back. You're worrying Aaron.

I hoped she wouldn't feel my own worry. I wasn't sure what I'd do if it was my fault if harm befell her. Luxray would be furious with me, that I knew full well.

I began searching north by myself, calling out Demi's name, knowing Aaron and Dawn hadn't found anything at the church, or else Togekiss or Vibrava would have found me by now. Within half an hour, I began wondering where this girl was. Why had her brother left her all alone? Had he expected me to take care of her? I was horrible with children-

"You're actually not that bad." A tired voice said from my left.

"Demi." I said in relief, hurrying over to where I'd heard her. She was in a bush, sitting with her legs uncomfortably underneath her as she fingered her messy hair tiredly, "Why did you run off?"

"I didn't run off." She rubbed her forehead and I inspected it for injury, "I was looking for something."

"What were you looking for?"

Demi opened her mouth and bit her lip.

She was definitely hiding something, "Demi."

"Something really special to a friend of mine." She answered, "It's lost."

"How would it have gotten all the way out here?" I asked suspiciously.

Demi squirmed under my gaze.

I sighed, "So you didn't find it?"

"No." Her lip quivered.

"Well, it will be alright." I said hastily, not knowing how I'd deal with her if she started crying. I grabbed her hand and pulled her up, "Store up your treasure in heaven, right?"

Her eyes lit up, "What did you say?"

"Hm?" I looked forward, trying to figure out how to get back from where we were.

"Store up your treasures in heaven. That's in the Bible."

"I suppose." I said uneasily, pulling her back towards the church.

"Do you know the stories?" Demi asked excitedly, no longer seeming tired at all.

"Yes." I admitted.

"Oh boy! Can you tell me one?"

"I feel as if you know them better."

"But I want you to tell me one."

I looked down at her eager face, stuck between arguing and wanting this little girl who had dirt all over her and who I'd already yelled at once today to be happy, "Fine, one story."

"Yay!"

"Don't ruin it." I ordered. She quieted down as I thought of one, "A long time ago, a country wanted a king to rule over them. A human king. Their last king had been rejected by God, so He was looking for a new king who would be right for the kingdom and listen to Him so that the country would prosper. God sent a prophet, Samuel, to go find the next king at a man named Jesse's house. He had many sons and they were all very good looking and noble. To seven sons, God said no. Samuel was confused until he learned that Jesse had one more son, a mere shepherd, the youngest of all of them. And God chose the youngest and least remarkable, David, to be king despite his young age and less than heroic appearance because God looks at the heart and not what's on the outside."

I cleared my throat and looked ahead, annoyed, "He didn't become king right away, but God was with him and he became great, even though all he did was tend sheep. He would even fight off wild animals to protect his flock. He would practice with a sling and his aim became superb. He was summoned to the palace to play the harp for the king, who was near the end of his reign because God was no longer with him. He was saddened by not having his connection with God and music was the only thing that soothed him. David was summoned to the palace because of his talented harp playing to cheer the king. The king liked David so much that he made him the armor bearer, a person who carried the king's armor when he was with the army.

"Their country was at constant war. There was a formidable opponent on the other side, called Goliath. He was nine feet tall and defeated everyone who tried to fight him. He jeered at the king's army, saying that if anyone could defeat him, their army would surrender. Not even the king was brave enough to try to fight him. David heard of this and was infuriated that the army of God was so cowardly and told his brothers and the king that he would fight Goliath. They didn't believe he could do it because he was untrained for battle and still very young. But David didn't care and went into battle with only his shepherd staff and sling against the giant who had been trained since his youth.

"Goliath made fun of a mere boy coming to fight him. David said that his God would win the battle. David cunningly took out his sling and hit Goliath in the head with rocks, stunning him. David killed Goliath with his own sword and Goliath's army was destroyed. Not yet the king, David proved to be a servant to his people and truly believed in the power of God that could defeat even the biggest of giants."

I looked over at Demi, who was smiling.

"What?" I asked.

"You told that story really well."

"My uncle told me that story a lot." I said shortly.

"You have older siblings, don't you?"
"A brother."

"And you always want to be stronger, huh? So I guess you like that David got to be chosen even though he was the youngest and no one would pick him."

"I just told you the story I remembered best."

"I know. I really like David too, you know. That's kind of what I'm all about." Demi gestured to herself, "I'm not even supposed to be old enough to be a Pokemon Trainer yet, but here I am. Beating all you giants at battles."

She grinned and I couldn't help but give her a weak smile.

"But really, it's a good story. Thanks for telling me one." Demi grabbed my hand and swung it back and forth once before letting go.

"What were you looking for, Demi?" I asked quietly. It suddenly felt very important for me to know.

"I told you. My friend's stuff."

"You won't tell me, then."

"It's not your stuff for me to tell you."

"You're so open about getting into everyone else's business and yet I'm not allowed." I mused dryly.

"Because it's not yours. I wouldn't peek if I had the option." Demi huffed, "It's not yours to know, so if I have to know peoples' secrets, I'm going to keep them secret. I don't just go around telling people about Uncle Ben, you know."

"Fine." I decided to keep the question in the back of my mind.

"Hey, my brother won't be back till tomorrow, probably later than I thought."
"So?"

"So I was wondering if you wanted to sleep on the hill. All of our Pokemon and us. Salamence can be outside and he'd like to be with everyone."

"We're always on that hill." I tried to hide my dislike. It seemed like more negative things kept happening while on top of the hill, right next to that church.

"But you like being outdoors more than inside where there are more people in towns and stuff!" Demi whined.

I raised my eyebrows at her inside knowledge of my preferences and she shrugged.

"Besides, what if Electivire comes back? Don't you think he'd like to know that his Trainer is right there all the time, wanting him to come back?"

"Yes." I admitted, that part of her idea very difficult to pass up.

"And I'll just be so lonely." Demi turned Lillipup eyes towards me.

I masked my expression, but her eyes continued shimmering as her lip danced in a pout.

"Huh? Camp out tonight? Please?" She poked me with every question and then went back to that face of hers.

"I'm sleeping outside for my Pokemon's health, to wait for my Electivire, and so I don't have to walk back down this wretched hill another bloody time." I stated.

"Yay! Oh goodie!" Demi jumped into the air, her arms raised high above her head, "I'm so excited I could almost battle you! But I won't, because you're not ready."

Joy. Being told I wasn't ready by a nine year old, "On second thought, maybe I'll-"

"No, you said you would! It's a promise." Demi giggled, tugging on my hand, "Come on, I see the church. Let's go tell them the good news!"

I was dragged behind her, wondering how to change my decision.

Electivire

The Electivire ambled ahead of me. My nerves were a bit panicked and I felt like rushing, but I didn't know where we were going. His lumbering gait that was as slow as a Macargo made me antsy. My tails twitched in anticipation.

"You really do need to slow down." He seemed to read my thoughts, "Life isn't about going as fast as possible, you know. There's no use in going fast if you don't know where you're going."

"That's true, but it's also nice to at least get somewhere to accomplish something."

He turned around, holding out a hand and gesturing me to stop. Confused, I did. He held up his hand again at eye level before flicking me in the forehead.

"What was that for?" I asked, rubbing the black dot on my forehead that he'd hit.

He began walking ahead, "Sure, let's get somewhere fast. Like the end of this life. That's all I want out of all of my days- going as fast as possible and not enjoying the precious gift of each day."

I noted his sarcasm and hurried to catch up to his side now that he was actually walking at a decent pace, "I didn't say that."

"Oh, it was implied. Because you're very smart and have lived a full life to know exactly what you're talking about, which is why you were sitting in a tree by yourself and wondering what to do." He rattled off. I could hear the disapproval in every word.

"I never said I knew what I was doing. In fact, I claimed the opposite." I stopped and glared at him.

He was pretty out of breath yet again, but impatiently frowned at me, "Yes, and it was the first sign that you do have some maturity in you. Which is why I'm trying to show you something. So if you'd hurry up and follow me."

I sighed and held back commenting that he was the one that was moving so slowly, instead falling into step with him yet again.

"You never told me if you have a Trainer or not." I said some time later.

"You can't tell?"

I looked over at the old Electivire, trying to figure it out, "It's complicated with you. That's all I know."

"Very smart. Maybe I can teach you after all." He smiled at me.

Pleased, yet wary, I continued wondering over who this Electivire was as we continued as if forced through a Trick Room.

"We're here."

I looked around. We didn't seem to be anywhere that had anything special. Just more trees. I glanced up through them, noticing a white jutted man-made thing sticking up.

"Why are we near that church?" I asked, annoyed.

The Electivire glanced up, "What, you don't like it?"

I shrugged. I knew Paul would be around it and I was still avoiding him.

Electivire seemed to read my face, "Well, we don't have to stay close by. I just needed to show you where I have my collection."

"Your collection?" I repeated, trying to look annoyed when really I was curious as I wondered what it could be.

"Yes. It's the most precious thing I own. Go climb up and get it." Electivire pointed to the white jutted thing.

"What?"

"It's in the bell tower."

"There's no way I'm going out there." I crossed my arms.

"Why not? Too Torchic?" His wire tails lashed in amusement as he grinned.

"No." I growled, wondering what the chances are of Paul being here. He said he would be here every day. And I didn't want to see him- or did I?

"So are you going to stand here all day or go get my collection?"

"What does it look like?"

"It's in the bell tower. You'll know it when you see it." The Electivire plopped himself down on the ground with a grunt and a sigh of relief, leaning back against a tree, "My aching body. I'm too old for climbing up there."

"Then how did you get it up there?" I asked.

He waved a hand airily, "Just go retrieve it, kid."

I sighed and crept through the brush, pretending this was a training exercise. My goal- remain hidden, find possible opponents (in this case, humans who knew me and caused problems), and capture the possessions of the old Electivire, who I now decided to call Gramps.

As I got to the forest's edge, I crouched down and took a deep breath. I could do this. I was behind the building they called a church and the bell was at the top in the front. If Paul and the other humans were here, they'd most likely be on the field to my left, past the garden area. If I stayed on the right side of the roof, they wouldn't see me.

I nodded to myself and kept as low as possible as I made it to the edge of the building, keeping an eye out for humans as I climbed up to the roof with ease, careful to keep my movements as light as possible so that they couldn't hear me through the roof. I nimbly walked along the slanted roof, using my tails to keep my balance. I made it to the bell tower and looked inside. Besides the bell, the only thing inside was a large brown satchel. I slunk a tail inside, grabbed it, and pulled it out, holding back my curiosity and deciding to check the contents later.

I looked up from my objective and glanced down, noticing there weren't any humans walking up the hill or in front of the church. I tried to use my peripherals to study the field, but couldn't see it. I sighed. Might as well at least see if Paul was there.

I curiously made my way around the bell tower and to the tilt of the roof, trying to conceal my body as much as possible as I studied the field. There wasn't anyone in sight. Not even the little mind reading child I had come to despise. That was a good thing, I realized. It meant she couldn't tell I was here.

But Paul wasn't here and he said he would be. I gripped the satchel tighter, letting go of the roof and deciding to jump the full way down. I didn't even try to stay hidden and walked back slowly, a bit numbed.

"Electivire." I heard from behind me.

I hissed as I realized the voice belonged to someone I didn't want to talk to. I turned around anyway. Nothing was sacred in my mind anymore, so there was no point in hiding my anger on my face.

Demi winced as I opened my mind to her, feeling all of it stab at her, "You don't have to do that. I'm not here to fight you. I just knew you'd come back and were disappointed he wasn't here-"

I snarled, cutting her off.

"Stop doing that!" She cried, "I'm not doing anything to hurt you."

"What's going on?" Gramps came hustling tiredly through the trees, taking in my fighting stance and Demi grabbing her head in pain. He pushed me gently, "Stop hurting Demi."

"You know that human?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes. And if you continue hurting her, you're going to regret ever getting on my bad side." He said slowly.

I highly doubted he could take me, but at this point I didn't care. It was like another betrayal, knowing he would side with a human and not with me. "His own kin" he had called me.

"I'm alright, Electivire." Demi said, and I knew she meant Gramps, "It's ok."

"Listen, kid." He said to me, "She's a nice little girl. She can't help that she gets in your head and sees the worst-"

"Isn't that what you've been doing without mind reading? Only wanting to see the worst in me?"

"Now you listen-"

"No, I'm done listening to you. I was doing better off on my own, away from all of you." I sneered, "So leave me alone and don't come after me, or you're the one who will regret getting on my bad side."

I ran into the forest, ignoring Demi's calls. She didn't send me any thoughts or emotions, which I was grateful for. The Electivire didn't say anything, even though I had purposefully taken his satchel. And he knew it. I ran for what seemed like hours, not feeling or thinking. Just running. Climbing through trees, swinging at times, feeling breath come in and out of my lungs, my fur wave in the wind, bark on my hands, dirty and grass under my feet. Those were my emotions. Those were my thoughts. And nothing existed in my world besides them.

Hey Readers!

I hope you enjoyed that. Yet again, it was tricky trying to figure out all my Electivire story placements, but decided they fit more in the actual story than as bonus chapters. Electivire is wonderful. I always wondered what his story was and now you get my own version of it :P Aren't you lucky. 

Pokemon Question of the Day: If you were trapped in a forest for a week and only had one of your Pokemon with you, which would you take and why?

So yeah, comment and let me know what you think! I love you guys.

-Flips