>CHAPTER 5
Forever in Green Part 2
"Uh, KFC? Can you give us a quick moment?" Alphonse murmured anxiously, managing to catch KFC before he made his way over to sit with the rest of the crowd.
KFC shot back a curious gaze at the erratic Abra, then nodded carefully, closing his eyes passively.
"Thanks," Alphonse whispered back.
Without wasting a further second, he gently beckoned over to Bethel. She was standing on her hind legs while she leaned back against the great doors of the entryway into the Clover Guild.
She was quick to notice his gesture as she planted her remaining paws on the ground, reassuming a four-legged posture. As she uneasily walked towards Alphonse at the center of the crowd, she cocked her head and uneasily waited to hear what he had to say. "What's up?" she asked bluntly.
"Are we, uh, still all good with the plan? You know, telling the truth and being candid?" Alphonse said.
"Yeah," Bethel sighed.
"Are you alright?" Alphonse asked with care.
"Fine. Why?" Bethel said, cocking her head once more.
"No reason. Just, uh, please stand next to me, alright? They want to learn about you as well," Alphonse squeaked.
Bethel sighed audibly as she propped herself back up into a standing position. Alphonse could notice her usual stoic posture was a bit frazzled, as her legs wavered ever so slightly, and the rest of her body trembled gently. As he held himself back from trying to further reassure his partner and calm her nerves, he turned his attention back towards the eager crowd, feeling his own nerves starting to get the best of him at the same time.
With a final inhale and exhale, Alphonse puffed out his chest, stood as tall as he could, and began his address to his new peers.
"W-w-well... h-hello... I'm, uh... I'm Al... and this is my partner... Beth..." he whispered.
A series of murmurs and concerned voices ping-ponged throughout the audience, taking note of Abra's frail mental state.
"So much for starting out strong..." Alphonse thought to himself.
Taking another deep breath, he continued speaking in a shaky, meek murmur.
"We're... uh.... glad to be here... and to meet so many of you... at once..."
"C'mon, Al! Pick yourself up! You've been through worse than this..." he yelled internally.
"And, uh... it's great to be... uh..." As he began to trail further off course, the concern and commotion of the crowd became noticeably louder, to the point where Alphonse could no longer ignore it. He couldn't help but overhear comments coming from the group.
"Is this guy serious?"
"He looks like he's going to keel over and die."
"Maybe we should put a stop to this..."
"It's probably just stage fright. Give them just a little bit longer."
Trying not to let the comments burden him further, Alphonse focused as much of his energy as he could to switch gears into speaking confidently.
"Are there... are there any questions we can answer for you all?"
In an instant, an uproar of questions, all hoping to be picked, sang out through the eager crowd.
"What's your favorite may-may?"
"Are you pro- or anti-chiller?"
"Canvas OR Canopy?"
"Oh, wow... that's uh... that's a lot of questions. Wow," Alphonse thought.
As the exclamations kept coming, they came side by side with a great deal of rowdiness and laughter amongst the group. As the laughter that Alphonse could only chalk up to more "inside jokes" among the guild, he cautiously took further note of the rapid-fire of questions coming his way. If there was one thing he could notice, it was that the questions were quickly moving towards the topic of him and Bethel's "humanity".
"Your eyes are so squinty! Were they like that when you were a human?"
"Were you a big nerd before you transformed? Is that why you became an Abra?"
"Do you miss having hair on your head?"
As his mind raced, it quickly settled back into his original plan. Things were already tense, so why delay things further?
It was time to rip off the metaphorical bandage from his body.
"W-well, I think the first thing I have to address... is a rumor that's been surrounding me and my partner here." Alphonse said, projecting his tone at a higher volume than before.
The crowd's questioning stopped, replaced with an eagerness to hear what would come next from the Abra's mouth.
"Some, or all of you, may have heard that we used to be human. Just like many of you. You may have heard it from us, or maybe from someone else."
"But those rumors, unfortunately, are not true."
An uneasy pall was cast over the crowd. Although the majority of them themtwere already aware that the ill-kept ruse was nothing more than that, a ruse, the sudden admission of the truth was rattling, if nothing else.
"...Yes. We're sorry to have deceived you, and so early on in getting to know you all. We... were careless. We were more obsessed with fitting in than doing the right thing and telling the truth. However, we're... done with that. And we would like to start over fresh, if you would all be kind enough to allow us that."
The crowd stared wholeheartedly at Alphonse with great fascination. The anxious and aloof Abra that had previously been the center of attention had totally been left behind. Well, maybe not entirely, but for the most part, he was now replaced with an entirely new character that none of them had seen yet.
But even as the crowd intensely followed along with Alphonse, no other Pokemon present would follow along with his words with as much heart and dedication as his partner beside him.
Bethel's eyes wavered as she stared wide-eyed at Alphonse. Her paw had motioned over her mouth to hide her expression. It was a side to Alphonse she had seen before, but it was a rare one at that; seeing a confident and earnest Alphonse was like seeing two rainbows in the sky after a great storm, and she had learned to appreciate those moments as much as she could whenever they came around.
"Regardless, we are still both very happy to be here. We've certainly had an... interesting journey getting here. I hope you'll respect our privacy in that we'll keep that part of our lives to ourselves for the time being. It feels good to be among normal, good-minded Pokemon for once."
The mention of the word "normal" was quick to elicit a playful series of jeers and chuckles from the crowd.
"Normal? We're normal to natives for once? That's... different."
"We are SO back."
"Hey buddy, I think you've got the wrong guild. Wigglytuff's is two blocks down."
Although Alphonse still didn't understand a single joke or reference they put forth, he couldn't help but find their joy and laughter infectious, as he began to smile and chuckle along with the crowd.
"I think the hardest thing for us will be getting used to some of your senses of humor... but it's nothing we can't handle," Alphonse smiled.
"And besides, I'm sure Team Cozy has a plethora of jokes and wisdom to impart on us about human, erm, culture."
Alphonse caught eyes with Wooper and Chespin among the crowd, who both smiled back wholeheartedly. Chespin shot a look at Alphonse that showed a deep appreciation for him finally coming around to telling the truth, as Wooper's ever-widening grin took up the entirety of his face.
"Yes, we've already gotten a preview of that, and we're eager for more," Alphonse chuckled.
"To everyone we've met, and to everyone we've yet to meet, thank you. Again, we're incredibly thankful to be part of your guild, and we already feel quite at home, even in the few days we've been here."
A great clamoring of cheering and playful teasing came out from the crowd once more, up until the group settled down once more to begin questioning their new friends once again.
Alphonse let out a great exhale, already beginning to feel a bit exhausted from the speech, but he also felt an equal amount of excitement as he was present in the crowd that had now overpowered any fear or doubt he had felt before. He had already begun to feel the sense of belonging he had sought out for so long.
He had, finally, felt at home, if even for a moment.
"So, what questions can we answer for you all?" Alphonse cheered.
Upon request, waves and waves of questions barraged down on the two, as the crowd had somehow managed to build up even more fervor than before. Had Alphonse not psyched himself up, he would've nearly collapsed from all the excitement directed at him. Even Bethel was a bit shaken, as she shrank back slightly and shied away from the metaphorical spotlight.
KFC and Lliam couldn't help but take notice of the excitement levels reaching critical mass, so the former figured it would be a good time to interject.
"Alright, alright, settle down. They can't answer everyone at once."
As the crowd slowly simmered back down for a brief moment, it wouldn't be long until another, solitary voice would pipe up, posing the first question to the newbies, specifically Alphonse.
"Alphonse, do you wish your black cloak was a different color? And what is your favorite color, anyway?"
"My cloak, huh?" Alphonse nodded consciously and gave his response with minimal delay.
"Well, it was a gift from someone who was very special to me... so I've never really thought of the color too hard."
With that admission, Alphonse took part of his cloak in hand and looked over it with warm feelings of regard before he gave the rest of his answer.
"I'd say my favorite color has to be something akin to a bright yellow or a radiant gold."
"Would I really see myself running around in a golden cape, though? Heh, probably not. I feel like that would draw too much attention to me, and not the kind I'd like."
The playful tone accompanied by the imagery of Alphonse dancing about in a brightly cloaked golden cape was enough to elicit some chuckles amongst the audience, as well as from Bethel, who had eased up a bit as well. Alphonse couldn't help but follow suit.
"But yeah, the black is subtle enough, at least for me. I think anything brighter would be a bit too colorful for a Pokemon like myself."
Without any delay, another question would present itself to the pair.
"Do you have any hobbies or things you like to do in your spare time?"
Alphonse looked cautiously at Bethel, knowing full well she wasn't ready to disclose her musical endeavors to the guild yet, so he stepped in with haste to answer for himself, buying her time to formulate an answer.
"Well, I am quite fond of reading books. I saw there was a substantially sized library here at the Guild, and in a few spare moments since we've gotten here, I've managed to peek through some of them," Alphonse said bashfully.
"What's your favorite or the strangest book that you've read in the Guild library?"
"I haven't been able to read as much as I would've liked between the usual day-to-day activities, as well as some of the books being in a strange text that I'm not too familiar with. Those usually have a lot of green ink strewn throughout them; I'm not entirely sure what that's about."
"But I suppose I'll learn in due time," Alphonse said with a slight laugh.
"What about Bethel? What does she like to do?"
"Yeah, let's hear from her!"
Bethel anxiously rose up from the floor, inching closer and closer to Alphonse as she delivered her reply.
"Well, I do like to fight, so I spend a good amount of time exercising and practicing my moves. I'm also always looking for sparring partners, so if any of you think you're up for a bout, I'd love to see what you've got."
The admission of this truth felt oddly nice to her once she finished speaking to it, and she was also able to begin loosening up a bit more. Although Alphonse and she knew she did, in fact, love to fight, they both knew she longed more for the day she would find a crowd worthy of performing for. At that moment, she closed her eyes involuntarily and sighed dreamily.
"Why do you like standing on your hind legs? How long did it take to learn how to do that?"
As she quickly opened her eyes, now woken up from her trance, she noticed she was in fact standing upright on her legs, rather than in the seated position she had taken earlier.
"Honestly? Not as long as you'd think. My kind are usually quadrupeds, but from what I've heard, we evolve into bipeds later in our lives. I figured I might as well get a head start on that, so ever since I could walk, I've been practicing it on both four legs and two."
Bethel paused momentarily to think more on the subject, deciding it would be alright to be a bit more honest this time.
"Things were a bit awkward at first. I didn't fall down any more than any other Pokemon trying the same thing would, but eventually it just became a natural reflex, just like anything else."
Being honest, especially to a group that was still mostly unknown to her, somehow managed to feel quite nice. But it would only last a moment before she swapped back out into her tough-girl persona.
"I will add that four legs are better for raw speed and agility, but two legs give me a better survey of my surroundings. It doesn't hurt to be extra aware of things."
The crowd seemed pleased with the answer. Without skipping a single beat, they would present yet another query.
"Some ancient myths and legends stated that humans came and saved the world. Do you get that impression from your fellow guildmates?"
Alphonse and Bethel exchanged subtly awkward glances with one another before deciding on their answers that would hopefully be as respectful as possible.
"I've certainly heard the legends before, and I'd think that all humans definitely have something to offer to us Pokemon," Bethel said.
"Same here. Although we haven't been here for long, I'd think that in due time we'll be able to see just how heroic humans really can be," Alphonse said.
As that question was answered, another would soon follow suit, and another, and another. The dance of questions and answers would yin and yang for about an hour or so before the commotion would respectfully die down and the sun would finish setting into the horizon beyond.
After KFC and Lliam officially declared things to have wrapped up, the dynamic duo would give their final closing remarks to their newly introduced guildmates.
"We appreciate the questions and the opportunity, and we're looking forward to working with all of you in the coming days," Alphonse remarked with pride.
"Agreed. Thanks again, and we'll be seeing you all around the guild," Bethel said with a slight smile.
With that would come one final cheer, and the crowd would lazily disperse back into the great halls of the Clover Guild as each and every one of them began to prepare for their late-hour schedules and nightly rituals. Totally exhausted, Alphonse and Bethel exhaled greatly, nodded at one another, and sportfully walked side by side back up to their dorm room.
Once the two had returned to their room and begun their nighttime rituals, already exhausted from the earlier "festivities" of the day, Alphonse cautiously waited for a moment to interject upon Bethel as she was amidst her own devices for the night. Once again, she had begun to gently strum the instrument she had grown so fond of, the symbol of their partnership and overcoming of her troubled past, making sure the instrument was just as finely tuned as it was the day before. Even the slightest imperfection in the sound was no match for Bethel's acute sense of hearing, as she tended to the instrument with the same care a mother Pokemon would provide her newly hatched young. As Alphonse patiently waited and focused for her attention, he, mostly out of exhaustion, didn't realize he was staring longingly at Bethel from his side of the room, carefully inspecting her every motion and gesture as she rhythmically played her guitar, tailor-made for a Pokemon of her caliber. Bethel, however, would notice Alphonse staring at her in a daze, and after making sure everything was alright with her guitar and that she was ready to slumber for the night, would casually poke fun at his glazed-over stupor.
"Y'know, for an Abra, it's pretty easy to tell when you're staring at me. Even with those big, barely open eyes of yours," she teased.
Alphonse cringed a bit, having realized he was being rude for staring at her for what felt like ages.
"Ah, sorry. Just, uh, admiring your talent there."
"You don't have to lie," Bethel said.
"No, really, I think you're really good at... that?" Alphonse said awkwardly.
Bethel chuckled softly, deciding to take the compliment after all.
"Thanks. I never really pegged you for a musical fellow, but your appreciation for... 'that'... definitely proves otherwise."
"All these nights of you watching me fiddle around, and you still don't even know what I'm doing is called?"
"Uh, you mentioned the word 'tuning' before, right?" Alphonse shrugged.
"Good enough. I guess you've been listening after all," Bethel teased.
"But yes, it's called tuning. It's just like honing my claws to make sure they stay sharp, for example."
"But not specifically for combat," Alphonse added.
"Well, look at you, mister smart guy," Bethel laughed.
"Anyway, what's up? You've been staring at me like that all day."
"I'd say it's starting to creep me out, but I know by now that it means you have something you want to say."
Cutting right to the chase out of respect for her time, Alphonse delivered his question boldly.
"Have you given any more thought to being a rescue team?"
"No," Bethel said frankly.
"...Is that a no to being a rescue team, or a no to giving it more thought?" Alphonse stammered.
"Both," Bethel sighed.
Alphonse carefully rose from his seated position on his bed and began to walk over towards Bethel.
"Oh, don't come near me with 'that' look now," Bethel groaned.
"What look?" Alphonse asked.
"That 'let me know how you feel' goody-two-shoes type look. You know the one," Bethel growled.
It was a playful growl, but it still had a hint of ferocity to it.
"I mean no harm; I just want to know why, if that's alright," Alphonse sighed, gently sitting beside her.
"I promise I'll leave you alone about it after. Please?"
He offered his hand out in a gesture of desperation, hoping to have resonated with the fiery Litten once more.
Bethel stared at his hand for a good seven seconds before wistfully averting her gaze back away from him.
"Please, Beth," he begged.
At the mention of her name, especially in such a sorrowful and pleading tone, she found herself looking at Alphonse and his extended arm once more.
"I don't think we'd be good at it," she said bluntly.
"C'mon, you have to give me more than that."
"Please, don't make this any harder than it already is," Alphonse said.
"Why do you even care so much?" Bethel spat.
"Because you're my partner, Beth. And I want to make sure you're happy, no matter what we end up getting ourselves into next," Alphonse said sternly.
"And besides... I think we'd be a force to be reckoned with. We're both strong, right?"
Alphonse gives a wimpy flex of his biceps, eliciting a slight smirk from Bethel. But her grin quickly faded, leaving twice as much sorrow in its wake.
"It's not always about flexing your muscles, Al," Bethel said grimly.
The sudden admission of his partner startled Alphonse heavily. Who was this Pokemon? This was a totally different Bethel than he had ever seen before. Sure, he had seen her vulnerable and submissive, but this... was truly something different. He thought back to the first time he had seen her in a remotely similar way, back at the thieves' den when he had intruded upon her room. But back then, she still had her wits and her strength about her. And for right now... she almost seemed... defeated to him. He could quickly feel her sorrow becoming his, pressing him to stick out his proverbial gut and press on with as much compassion and care as he possibly could.
"Really? Then what's wrong? Is it the prospect of having to fight others?"
"Nope."
"Is it the chance of failure? I mean, we'll certainly bring forth our best effort whenever we can, but it's only natural to mess up sometimes..."
"No."
"Is... is it me?"
"NO!"
As Bethel delivered her final refusal to Alphonse's prodding, a small plume of flame erupted from her mouth. Embarrassed at her sudden outburst, she covered her mouth with both of her paws and turned her body away from Alphonse once more.
"Beth, I know you're strong enough to do it. You're the strongest Pokemon I know, in every way. I'm not just saying that. And when it comes to rescuing and saving others, I think it's up to both of us to spread that and help out the less fortunate-"
"I'm not a hero, Alphonse. I'm not some sort of fairy tale character that will come rescue you and everyone else from their problems." Bethel began to shake a bit with her admission.
"And I'm never going to be one. I can't be righteous, I can't be earnest, I can't even tell the truth about who I really am for goodness sake..."
Alphonse gently extended his hand, the one that was still out from before, and brought it up to Bethel's shoulder, carefully caressing her. He could've sworn her muscles tensed up at the sudden gesture but then began to gradually relax as he increased the care of his touch.
"That's not what I'm talking about. And even if you are, or you aren't, there's something you're forgetting."
"...Al..."
"You rescued me."
Alphonse awkwardly shuffled closer to Bethel, who had begun trembling slightly.
"All those nights ago, I surely would've perished had it not been for you and your flame keeping me alive. You gave me my life back, Bethel. You gave me a reason to keep going, as well as the strength and courage to do so. And that..."
"...well, I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you for that. But I swear I would try every day to find a way to do that. And I know there are other Pokemon like me, like US, out there who need rescuing, who need heroes to pick them up and dust them off..."
Bethel's trembling had changed into full-blown nervous fidgeting.
"...and I know that it's going to be hard, it's going to be scary, and we're not always going to have the 'right thing to do' laid out in front of us, but we'd be remiss if we didn't try..."
"...Why... why does it matter..." Bethel sniffled.
"I've told you time and time again, Alphonse, I'm not a hero. At my best, I'm just an ordinary Pokemon, who did what any other Pokemon would do in the moment. I simply acted on my instinct, and everything that would result from that."
"So why... WHY... does it even matter what I did? Why do you feel so indebted to me? Why do you feel like I saved your life, like I rescued you from some great evil—"
"Because you did save my life."
Bethel turned toward Alphonse, tears in her eyes, noticing that Alphonse had started to fight back tears himself.
"And if there were rescue teams back on the Mystery Continent, where I grew up, well, maybe my parents would've been saved too," Alphonse said in a hushed, tense voice.
His gentle caress of Bethel had ceased at the mention of his parents.
Sensing it was now her turn to comfort her partner, she cuddled closely alongside him, extending a paw across his, holding him tightly alongside his own grasp.
"A-Al..."
The desperation and serenity of her voice sobered Alphonse out of his trance as he choked back a cry and shot a misty-eyed glance right back at her.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't... I shouldn't have pressed you, Bethel," Alphonse stammered.
"Shhh... it's fine. I... didn't think it would be such a big deal to you. I didn't consider your feelings, and I'm sorry," Bethel whispered.
"I-it's fine..." Alphonse heaved an anxious breath.
"I'm still a bit riled up from the excitement earlier today, I guess. I, erm, don't do too well in front of big crowds like that. But I'm sure you already noticed," Bethel admitted.
"But more importantly, I didn't consider your feelings, and I'm sorry for that. I really am."
To show her sincerity, Bethel inched even closer to Alphonse, warming him gently as she pressed her body against his.
"...It was scary out there on the Mystery Continent, huh?" Bethel continued speaking in the same hushed tone.
Alphonse hastily shook his head up and down, not finding enough strength to put his words forward. He felt as if all of the strength and courage he had shown today had suddenly been expended in the blink of an eye and that he was back to his anxious, groveling self. If he still had the energy, he'd curse himself for being weak, but he couldn't even muster up the gesture.
"You're strong, Alphonse. You didn't need me to rescue you... you did it yourself. You do it every day, just by continuing to live and breathe and... be you."
Bethel pressed herself even tighter against Alphonse.
"And it's not even a matter of strength... it's about doing the right thing. I know you would try with all your heart, and I would too, but..." Bethel paused.
"But I'm afraid of passing judgment on other Pokemon."
Bethel's sudden admission brought Alphonse back down into the gravity of the situation.
"It's... it's true. You're right. I think in time, we could rescue other Pokemon and help out others, really."
"But I'm more worried about the... other side of being a rescue team. Chasing after criminals, apprehending them, taking them away from their own families, their responsibilities..."
"I know in the moment, I couldn't make that call. I couldn't be the one responsible for turning them into the 'law', or whatever that is..." "I think Del would feel the same way... no, I know he felt the same way; he gave up everything too, just to ensure I had a life and that I would see another sunrise..."
Bethel found herself taken aback by the resuming of Alphonse's gesture, gently rubbing her shoulder, easing her into a sense that things would be okay.
"I'm sorry, Beth. I shouldn't have pressed you. And I... lost control of myself there. I certainly don't want to force anything of that sort onto you. We can just drop the whole thing, honestly—"
"No. I think you're right, Al. And that's what makes it even harder for me."
"...we might be strong enough to save others. To make a difference in other Pokemon's lives, to truly help them, like we've helped each other. To be heroes."
"But it stops there. Everything else is an unknown, especially the part about chasing after other criminals and that nonsense. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Bethel. I promise," Alphonse said.
"...It's not just luck that's kept us going this far; it's strength too. Perseverance. Hope. And we have to keep that going," Bethel said.
"I wish nothing more than to protect you, with and for the rest of my life," Alphonse said.
"I never did it for that in return, Al. But... thank you. That truly means a lot to me," Bethel said.
And as the duo slowly simmered down, backs still rubbing up against one another, they relaxed, probably for the first time that entire day. And that relaxation would result in a hard-earned, much-needed, and well-appreciated deep sleep.
Ch. 6 (COMING SOON) <- Ch. 4