Chapter 36 - On The Road To Tomorrow!
After gathering the two and his belongings, Chris left the hotel and made his way towards one of the towns borders, making sure to choose one that would set him on a path past the theater and gym along the way out of town. "You know... We really did have some pretty sweet times here in Commorall... We've been here for a while now but it still doesn't feel like it was that long either... You know?" he asked, looking at the two. Passing the theater, both Pokemon couldn't help blushing, shyly facing away from him as Servine gave him a brush on the cheek with the end of her tail, causing Chris to shudder from the sudden touch before Kirlia swiped her tail away, suddenly hugging his head and pulling his face against her. "Weft gwo Kwirlia!" he shouted, stumbling about at she stuck out her tongue with a "sneaky snake" expression, facing Servine who grinned. Making a sound in response, Servine was seemingly taunting Kirlia in a "is that jealousy...?" type of comeback, Kirlia grumbling as she let out a "hrmph!" type of noise before Chris suddenly pulled her off his face. "Come on you two! Seriously... Especially not when I'm walking around with both of you on top of me... Do you want me to wind up hurt because of your bickering?" he muttered, the two facing away from one another silently. Looking around, Chris suddenly noticed Arthur and Angela heading towards a fancy limo, putting up his hand as Angela noticed him and suddenly waved in response, Arthur glancing at her in a "what are you doing...?" kind of way before taking notice of Chris as well. Walking up, Chris shook the couples hands, making Kirlia and Servine do the same.
"You guys heading out of town too?" he asked, the both of them nodding in response. "I own many places, so therefore we go many places... Always busy." Arthur told him, looking away with a scowl. "Oh don't mind him, he's actually glad to see you deep down! We went to the doctor after you brought him back from the brink and thanks to you, not only did he survive a massive heart attack, you were able to heal what damage it had done! The doctors even gave him word that a few of his other illnesses that had caused him a bit of trouble over recent years have been cured as well! Oh how I wish you could have seen the look on his face and how he danced about the office... It was delightful!" Angela said, giggling while leaning against Arthur. "Mrgh... Yes... Well... It would seem that the combination of the two abilities you used on me were able to not only get my heart going again... But by both healing me and shocking me at the same time, the doctor revealed what damage had been done inside this head of mine was reversed as well... Brain cells brought back to life and all that. Seems you did more for me than you intended..." he told Chris, glancing at him for a moment before looking away once more. "Oh come now darling... You haven't stopped ranting about this young man since the good news. Now that he's actually here you intend to act in such a manner?" she asked, looking at Arthur as he suddenly muttered before climbing into the limo and closing the door. "Ahh... Ha ha... Its alright... But... What was that about cells and other problems...?" Chris asked, tilting his head as Angela knocked on Arthurs window. "Ah? Oh yes! You see, by using that electricity, you actually killed off numerous cells throughout his body, good and bad. Luckily it would seem your Kirlia was able to heal not only his heart, but all of the cells he actually needed as well... Bit of a confusing thing... And explaining it makes understanding all the more complicated I'm afraid... Especially when explained by someone such as myself with very little knowledge of the medical field..." she laughed nervously.
"Uhh... Ha ha... Well... I'm glad everything turned out alri..." Chris said with a pause as the limo window lowered. "Hand me that watch I gave you..." Arthur muttered. Blinking at him for a moment, Chris saw Arthur holding out his hand, causing him to jolt and quickly take it out of his rucksack. "H... Here sir." he responded, Arthur taking it and clicking it open. "In case the watch alone doesn't do the trick, show my employees this wax symbol. It is provided only to those within the highest ranks in my community. They see this, then they will know where you stand for sure." he told Chris, suddenly dangling the watch back in his direction. "Hi... Highest ranks...? Like... How a king and that kind of thing works?" he asked, taking the watch and putting it back in his rucksack. "A king? HA!! Not that high... More like a... Butler in training maybe..." Arthur smirked before rolling his window back up, barking for Angela to get in as Chris slightly frowned. "N... Now now... Rest assured having that seal puts you on a podium far higher than a butler!" Angela laughed nervously, suddenly showing a rather... Angry... Expression as she glared at Arthur's window. "H... Ha ha... Thanks a bunch for the gift. If you don't mind, please let your husband know I won't be going around and using it all over the place. I already made it clear with these two as well that its for really special occasions only!" Chris grinned, Angela blinking at him in a slight bit of surprise before smiling warmly. "You are a good boy... That will make Arthur very proud I'm sure. Even he recognizes those who don't squander something as special as that." she giggled, giving Chris a hug before climbing in the limo as well, waving back as it drove off before them.
"Man... Really... Odd couple... Wonder how people like them wind up together so closely...?" Chris muttered, looking at Kirlia and Servine before suddenly snickering. "I think I know exactly how..." he laughed, the two giving him an "...Excuse me...?" expression at the same time. "S... Sorry, sorry. Come on, lets finish the trip through town and be on our way." he told the two, rubbing them on the head as he walked onwards until he reached the gym, looking up at its gigantic Pokeball design. "...An awesome battle but I think I'll be able to remember this place the most for a different reason entirely... I mean... Asides that awesome evolution of yours Servine! Talk about a crazy design though..." he thought aloud, Servine looking up and nodding as well with a bit of sweat on her face. She still didn't know what to make of humans going in and out of a tower sized Pokeball, while Kirlia simply tilt her head confused and began kicking her legs out as she sat on his shoulder, facing different directions as she listened to the sounds all around them, doing her own thing in the moment. "A... Ah... Sorry about that..." he told Kirlia. "Its just... Its a really funny building is all." he chuckled, rubbing her on the head as she gave him a "...funny?" look in response, not getting how a building could look like that. As he went towards the entrance, he could see it was blocked off by security tape, signs stating it was under interior remodeling placed randomly around the gym. "Well... She did say she was wanting to make changes... Guess we'll see Lia another time, eh girls?" he told the two, heading off towards the border exit as they both suddenly smirked in a "yeaaahh... next time..." manner, facing behind him as Servine put her nose up and Kirlia stuck her tongue out, actually happy at the fact they didn't have to sit around with another human female near him.
"You know, you girls are doing really well with allowing people to be near me, especially you Kirlia all things considered! Very well done." he chuckled, walking up to the exit as the two smiled in response. "Its been fun, but its time to find out whats next... Map please?" he asked, facing Servine as she nodded and made her way behind him and inside his rucksack, pulling out the map and handing it to him before coiling around his neck once more. "Lets see... So the trip started here... I went along this one and made it to Saga City... Then... And after we met her... Made it to Commorall Town down this one... And the exit..." he muttered before suddenly looking back. "Ah... Number and direction... Lets see..." he thought aloud, looking closely at the map while the two Pokemon faced him confused, tilting their heads as he plot out his next destination. "Since we left town from the eastern border... We can head through this path... And it looks like we'll wind up in another city... I hear this one is actually seriously high tech... Kind of makes me nervous to be honest..." he told the two with a nervous laugh as they continued looking at him, unable to understand his meaning. "You know... High tech... Futuristic... Uhh... Technology? Fancy things?" he responded, Servine suddenly perking up with a smile at the word fancy as Kirlia faced ahead, curious about the futuristic part. "Ahh... N... Never mind... You two will understand once we arrive... At least this time it doesn't look like there are any mountains along the way so it should be a fairly simple stroll... I see... Rivers though... Might be some cliffs we can walk along. I could probably catch something great to eat too..." he suddenly grinned, thinking of fresh meals straight from the water, Kirlia picking up on his thoughts and giving him a queasy and slightly disturbed look. Giving her a glance, Chris suddenly started to sweat and covered his ears with his hands.
"St... Stay out of my head will ya?! Don't do that without permission!!" he scowled, Kirlia facing away with a hand over her mouth and a hand out towards him with a "...gladly..." kind of expression, shaking her head with a bit of an urk. "Y... You deserve that..." he told her, putting his hands down as Kirlia shook his thoughts of dining on certain fish-like Pokemon out of her head, letting out a sigh as he made his way along the path. Looking at the two, Servine raised a confused eyebrow before shrugging and resting her face underneath Chris's chin, letting out a yawn followed by a slight coo that caused her coiled body to vibrate around his neck. "H... Ha ha... Ha ha!! Q... Quit that!" he laughed, poking Servine in the cheek as she seemingly giggled, rubbing her head up against the underside of his chin while kirlia turned her back towards his head and leaned against the side of it, resting with a sigh and enjoying the sounds and smells of the nature around them. "O... Oy... Do I make a good pillow...?" he asked, Kirlia raising up for a moment before smiling with a "yep!!" like noise and resting her back against the side of his head once again. "Ha ha... Thanks... At least you two are able to enjoy the trip." he smiled, continuing to make his way along. "Man... Gotta admit I feel a lot healthier now since I have traveled and trained with you two! At first I felt like I needed to stop here and there constantly... Its nice not feeling so winded anymore... Its pretty great." he chuckled, looking at the two with their eyes now closed, already dozing off. "G... Gah... Maybe I should be making you two walk as well..." he muttered, already starting to hear the sound of running water from nearby.
"Well... The map was right after all... Most of this path follows one of the main rivers... The city we're going to probably uses it for power or something I bet..." he thought aloud quietly, looking up towards the sky as he started trying to picture what it could be like...
