[PMD BTS] RP: In Need of a Change
With Myrtle still missing and Gene in a coma after a rescue mission gone Frannie is distraught. She need to step up and be a leader but she feels so helpless. Deciding to take some time to herself an old friend runs into her and they take an unexpected trip to the Luminous Springs.
'What do I do?'
It was early morning, the most chilly time of day in the most chilly part of the year. Charlotte was still sleeping thanks to her night shifts at the Blissey House, though Frannie herself had failed to get much sleep herself as of late, not since...
Gene had come home just a day or two prior--had it really only been that long? Frannie's hand stilled on the handle of the front door to her base as she closed it, recalling as one of the local staff at the Blissey House came to deliver the news. Doctors tried and failed to explain with terms and phrases she didn't understand but looks of pity that told her enough. He was stable, it seemed, but would not wake. Would he ever?
Her hand trembled as she locked the door, her tears freezing against her cheeks. Gene was in the hospital, Myrtle was missing, Emil was still bedridden... how was this happening? Was this going to be it? This home she'd made for herself, her team, her family...
She wasn't sure what drew her from the base, her home which she usually found great comfort in, but something pulled her to leave despite the cold wind against her face and the weight heavy in her heart. Maybe she just needed... she didn't know what she needed.
"Yeeess." Chewy said with extra exaggeration. Would Lee ever let her leave? "Everything is packed. Chew- I'll be fiiiine." Exasperated at this point from arguing all afternoon with Lee. All she wanted was to go out alone for a while, but ever since the incident on the haunted boat months ago, Lee had barely let Chewy out of his sight. He had even been personally escorting her to her tutoring sessions with Mr. Avner.
"I'm just making sure you're prepared for anything, I'm going to be busy with the new recruits after all." Team Tough Nuggets had indeed been growing fast. They barely had had time to train any one with the New Year festivities. Lee was obviously taking his job as leader more seriously than Chewy. "Are you sure you have everything?" Lee asked for what would hopefully be the last time.
Chewy shook the rucksack on her back and they could hear plenty of items clank together from within. What Lee didn't know was that Chewy had hardly packed the necessities for an adventure, but instead a rather large collection of nicknacks and other random items from all of the different dungeons they had been to.
"OK, but do you have-"
"I'mLeavingNowGoodbye." Chewy blurted sliding out the from door before Lee had time to change his mind. She ran a block or two before looking back. Lee didn't seem to be following. Finally, she thought. Time for an adventure of my own.
Frannie sniffled, rubbing her hands frantically over her forearms under her winter shawl. The usually bustling streets were nearly empty, what with so many guild members away to assist in the crisis at the spiral. Not to mention that the sun had only just risen and no one was in a hurry to face the cold.
She wandered aimlessly until her ears pricked at the sound of hurried footsteps. She turned towards the noise, spotting a figure at the end of a street that merged with hers. The figure was... familiar.
"Ch... Chewy?" Frannie mumbled to herself, giving her confusion a voice. She rubbed at her eyes and turned to follow the other, wondering what Chewy was doing out so early.
"Frannieeeee!" Chewy exclaimed barreling into her friend for a hug. What luck, running into someone whose company she would actually enjoy on her adventure. "What're you doing? Where are you going? Can Chew- Can I come?" She bombarded Frannie with questions.
Without even waiting for a reply Chewy took Frannie's arm in hers and tugged her in a random direction. "I've just escaped from Leeeee." Chewy dragged out his name with emphasis. Of course she knew all about their dates since she was relentless when it came to getting details. And even when she wasn't asking; Lee was often caught day-dreaming (undoubtedly about Frannie,) even when he should've been working.
"Let's go on an adventure together!" Chewy insisted with great enthusiasm. She had hardly given Frannie any choice in the matter as she dragged her this way and that chattering on all the way.
Frannie's ears jumped up, startled by Chewy's outburst. Not that it was out of the ordinary, but just that... she just had so much on her mind and the world felt like it was collapsing around her and Chewy's cheerful demeanor just... didn't seem to fit in?
"O-oh I was just--I'm not sure--Maybe I should--wha-a-at are you--?" she stammered, trying to keep with Chewy's questions as she was dragged away.
Escaped from Lee?? Oh dear, did Lee know Chewy was away? Should she be out on her own? Maybe wherever Chewy was taking her maybe it was for the best for Frannietm to tag along. That's what she told herself at least, that it was for Chewy's benefit. Because who was she to take time for herself when there was so much that needed to be done.
"A-an adventure?" Frannie asked with thinly-veiled horror, unsure where Chewy was taking her. "Does... does Lee know you're out, at least?"
"Lee Schmee," Chewy mocked. "Chew- II can take care of myself." Chewy looked in hope to see Frannie laughing, but had a rather serious or concerned look. With a big sigh Chewy reassured her. "Yes Lee knows I left, it's fiiine."
Chewy hadn't entirely been paying attention despite supposedly leading the way, but she kept on without a second thought. "The best kind of adventure is one had with a friend!" She stated confidently. "... Or is it one had with no planning... Um..." Chewy continued looking around pretending to know where she was going and dragging Frannie along beside her. "C'mon! It's Adventure Time!"
"O-oh Chewy, I-I... I don't know," Frannie mumbled, her voice tight and her eyes red from crying. "I-I-I really shouldn't be... be gone too long." What sort of adventure did Chewy have in mind? From the sound of her bag it sounded like she had packed for something big.
"It's gonna be so fuuun!" Chewy exclaimed darting inbetween the trees and bushes, still clasping Frannie by the hand. Eventually Chewy began to lose confidence as they ventured deeper and deeper into the woods, but she didn't want Frannie to know they were lost. Chewy, despite the growing feeling of you'll never get out inside her, pushed forward babbling nonsense all the way.
When they passed a big multi-boulder formation shaped like an eggsecute for the third time, Chewy stopped in her tracks and without the faintest hint of dismay, proclaimed "Frannie's turn to lead!"
Frannie protested helplessly as Chewy pulled her along, branches snagging at her hair and dress. Her eyes watered, already overwhelmed by the troubles she had before leaving the house that morning let alone whatever was going to come out of this 'adventure'.
"Chewy I don't know if--what!?" she gasped as Chewy declared she should now take the lead. She didn't know where they were, how could Frannie let this happen? She shouldn't have let Chewy drag her into the woods at all.
Tears welled up in his eyes, her lower lip trembling, but then something seemed to 'snap' inside her. "I don't have time for this right now Chewy!" she protested, her voice hitching up an octave at the end, but even so her tone was uncharacteristically angry. Frannie was never anger.
As quickly as it came Frannie gasped again, her frustrated expression morphing into one of surprise and fear which was much more familiar on her face. "Oh gosh Chewy I'm--I'm sorry I don't know where that came from..." she said, covering her mouth with her hands.
Chewy stopped in her tracks at Frannie's outburst. She turned slowly to face her with a blank expression, cocking her head ever so slightly. Seeing now for the first time how upset Frannie truly was. Cheeks pink, eyes red and glassy, she looked downright distraught.
"Are... You okay?" Chewy asked slowly. She felt bad for not noticing that Frannie had been upset to begin with. Perhaps an adventure had not been a good idea at all. Hindsight being what it is, there was no going back now. They were good and lost. "Um, Ch- I can keep leading if you want, but..." She didn't want to admit that she was lost, looking around now for some sign or path they could follow.
The path furthest to the right looked brighter than all the rest, perhaps that meant sunlight? Or a way out? Chewy gravitated towards that path ever so slightly before looking back at Frannie as if asking for approval.
Frannir sucked her lower lip between her teeth, her face growing red as tears fell down her cheeks.
"I--I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I-I-I just..." she trailed off, but her voice was tight and she knew not what to say. She was just making mistake after mistake after...
She noticed the light that caught Chewy's eye and somehow it... calmed her, but only slightly. She looked to Chewy and saw the other was unsure as well. She just nodded, not trusting her voice but feeling this was the right path to take.
Chewy led the way down the glowing path. It twisted and turned for a while and the light got brighter and brighter as they neared the end of the path. As it finally widened into an opening, the duo could see a shining spring before them. The waters flowed with radiance as they were drawn in my its warm light.
Chewy could hardly contain her excitement as she bound towards the water leaving Frannie to watch from behind her. "Look! We can go swimming!" She proclaimed as she climbed to the top of an over-hanging rock. "One! Two...."
Frannie followed behind Chewy, desperately trying to compose herself. As they walked it became less as less challenging to keep her emotions in check, as though the light, the promise of a way out, calmed her distress. That... was it, right?
She let out a small gasp as they entered the clearing and daylight was not what greeted them but instead a shimmering pond, the magical ripples grabbing her gaze and holding it still. This... this was the Luminous Springs? Frannie had never seen it for herself, and felt small in its presence, as though the water may rise up and grab her itself.
So enraptured by the springs was she that she failed to notice Chewy scrambling up a large rock until her countdown began. Once she spotted the Eevee she shrieked in fear. "CHEWY! Chewy no, this isn't--it's the Luminous Springs! It's for evolution!"
"THREE!" Chewy said as she leaped into the air to cannonball into the water below. Hearing Frannie, but hardly listening, the only word she caught was evolution before she hit the water with a giant SPLASH!
Chewy opened her eyes underwater and expected it to be dark, but instead saw light swirling around her. she also noticed her backpack begin to glow as well. Something in it was reacting to the magical waters surrounding her. She held her breath as she was spun round and round and the light grew brighter and brighter. This is fun! she thought as the magic engulfed her.
Distracted by the production, Chewy hadn't noticed her lungs begin to hurt. She had been holding her breath the entire time. She began to kick franticly towards the surface. Finally emerging from the water she gasped for air and breathed heavily before losing herself in a fit of laughter.
When she had calmed down she swam to the edge of the pool of water, calling to Frannie; "You should really try that!" She clambered out the side feeling a bit unbalanced. "first it was all like WHOOSH and there was light in the water like SHOOM and Chewy was- I mean I was all like WAAAAH and it was sooo coool." Chewy described the experience while spinning round and round on her toes.
Almost falling more than a few times from dizziness and unbalanced features she was not yet aware of, Chewy turned to look at Frannie for the first time since emerging from the water. "Hey, you shrunk." She said- the only logical explanation for why she now stood over a foot taller than Frannie.
"Chewy!" Frannie yelled as said Eevee jumped into the spring, water rising up all around her as she dove in. As the ripples settled and still no Chewy had surfaced Frannie began to panic, but the a small light began to grow within the spring, it's light spreading and growing larger and encompassing the space Chewy had been. Was Chewy--?
Frannie let out a small cry of Astonishment when someone breached the surface, someone blue with long hair and fins and who was definitely NOT Chewy. But then this person opened their mouth and Frannie heard Chewy's unmistakable uh... way of speaking, but Frannie could only continue to stare wide-eyed and completely taken aback by Chewy's change.
"Chewy I-I... I didn't shrink," she explained, her eyes moving down to find the signature tail of a Vaporeon had replaced her fluffy brown tail. "You evolved."
Chewy blinked slowly listening to Frannie's words. Suddenly breaking into a fit of laughter at the proposterous notion of changing into a completely new Pokemon without realizing. She laughed so hard she began to cramp. Bending at the waist she clutched her sides and wiped her eyes laughing some more. As her vision cleared she could see upside down between her legs.
There was a long blue-finned tail attached to her. She jumped up and shrieked, not so much in fright, but in surprise. She started spinning this way and that trying to see everything that had changed. Her once short bouncy pig tails had become long blue flowing hair almost like water itself. Her baggy brown dress had been replaced with slick sheer blue pieces of fabric that hung around her like extra fins. And speaking of fins! She had three giant ones sticking out of her head!
"How did this happen?" She said in wonder as she started spinning again to get a feel for her new body. She stopped again to look at Frannie, she could feel her self grinning from ear to ear. Or was it fin to fin now?
Frannie's frown deepened, a pucker forming between her eyebrows in confusion as Chewy began laughing hysterically. What... what did that mean? Was she happy with the changes? She didn't know what to make of her reaction, her eyes wide and fearful and confused as she watched Chewy take in these new changes.
"I-I don't know," Frannie said as Chewy inspected herself. "Don't--I-I thought Eevees needed stones to evolve or-or something." Had Chewy brought one with her? Had one just been floating around in the pond?
"Do you... are you happy with the uh... with this?" she asked. "I-I mean Evolution is-is a big change and a big co-commitment, and since Eevees--since Eevees have so many options... was this the one you wanted?"
"Stones?" Chewy wondered pensively. "Oooooh" she finally said as if coming to a conclusion. Pulling off her back pack she dumped out its contents at Frannie's feet.
A slew of different shaped and sized and colored rocks fell to the ground, scattering everywhere, just missing the girls' toes. "Like these!" There were striped stones, and triangle stones, stones that changed color in the sun light, and stones as smooth as glass. "Ch- I collect rocks." Chewy said happily, but these were just that; ordinary rocks. Very pretty, but absolutely ordinary.
Thinking about Frannie's question now she realized she had never even considered becoming something different despite the slew of options that Eevees had. After all, her parents, (from what little she knew of them,) had been against evolution becasue it caused segregation in the community where she grew up. She didn't really have an answer for Frannie, so remained silent as she played with her collection, sorting the stones into piles. "Hey... There's one missing."
"O-oh, they're... quire nice," Frannie said as she watched as Chewy fiddled with her collection, the assortment of colorful rocks of various sizes and patterns. This certainly explained how she had acquired whatever stone it was she needed. Occasionally she glanced at Chewy, trying to read her expression. Frannie noticed how she hadn't confirmed either way if she liked the changes, but maybe it was too soon to tell. It had barely been, what, a minute?
Frannie glanced back at the springs, at the body of water that Chewy the Eevee had entered and would never return from. It held her gaze once more, the way the light danced on the surface and the rocky base of the pond wobbled beneath the clear water. She felt oddly... warm, in its presence. If she stuck her hand in, would the water be cold?
She hugged her arms tightly, shying away from such thoughts. "Do you... h-how do you feel?" she asked Chewy instead.
Chewy began scooping her stones back into her backpack, counting them as she did. Standing to face Frannie, or rather look down at Frannie, she commented "Um, I- I'm sad 'cuz my favorite blue sparkly rock is gone." Not really understanding the question.
"Hey!" She called. "Are you gonna swim too? It was really fun! Try it Frannie, try it! What do you turn into?" Chewy continued to bombard her hardly giving Frannie a second to think. She wanted to see Frannie change too! Would it require another special stone? Chewy wondered.
"H-huh!?" Frannie gasps and Chewy insisted she should evolve as well. "No! I don't--I don't want to!" she protested, stomping her foot in frustration and the ground shaking beneath them. That was... she didn't usually do that.
"I-I uh..." she mumbled to herself, hugging her arms tightly. "I dont know, I've never--never really wanted to evolve. Loudred are so... loud, and intimidating, and just so... different."
She glanced at the springs again, ashamed like a child in trouble might glance at a parent and then away. Despite her words she still felt this urge to get closer, to touch the surface, but... was she ready for that?
Chewy had some trouble trying to figure out why Frannie was so against the idea. "Don't you need to be loud to be a leader?" Lee was certainly loud when he was training recruits. On the other hand who says Loudred have to be loud. Many different thoughts swirled in Chewy's mind pertaining to the situation at hand. "I don't think you haaave to be loud just cuz its in your name... You'll still be Frannie. Just purple!" Chewy wagged her (much larger) tail with excitement.
"D-do I?" Frannie squeaked pathetically, her eyes watering and Emil's frustrations with her quickly same to mind. He'd berated her before for not taking charge, for being so meek and timid and useless. Nobody said she had to be loud to be a leader when she got here, nobody said she had to be anything. She just wanted to help people. She just wanted a family. But lately both of those things seemed impossible, lately everyone around her just kept getting hurt.
... would it help to be loud? With the world falling down around her, was... was this what she needed?
The springs beckoned to her again, still and calm as it had been a moment ago but the sparkle against the water felt like the offer of a hug.
Frannie sniffled and rubs tears from her cheeks with the butt of her hand but did not answer Chewy. Instead she stepped cautiously towards the spring to stand at it's edge, glimpsing her reflection staring back at her, cheeks red, eyes glassy and desperate.
'Please, I want this,' she thought desperately, images of her teammates flashing through her mind. Of her and Gene going home to their new base for the first time, of Myrtle watching her cook and trying to help but always handing her the wrong ingredients, of Charlotte and Emil bickering over breakfast, of lazy days with Ari fallen asleep on the couch. 'I don't want to start over again. I don't want to lose them. Give me the strength to keep going. To be what they need. To lead.'
She stepped into the lake gingerly, expecting the water to send a chill straight to her bones in the cold winter weather but instead it was warm against her skin. Her lower lip quivered at first as nothing seemed to happen. Was she not ready? Was she not strong enough? She stepped deeper into the pond, wading in to her waste and shoulders, letting the springs embrace her. Slowly her anxious thoughts began to leave her, comforted by the warm water, and she closed her eyes and sunk below.
Just as with Chewy but a moment ago the space Frannie had once been began to glow brightly until her silhouette was not longer, completely consumed by the light, and as quickly as it had come it faded. As the light faded Frannie rose back up from the water, shaking out her hair which was looser, longer, and purple just as Chewy had said. Her droopy Whismur ears had been replaced with the perky, circular ones of a Loudred, bouncing as her head turned. Her clothing was a bit different, a bit frillier than before, but still an apron atop a dress. In attire the most noticeable difference was likely the saggy white hat that sat on her head, slits cut in the top for her ears.
She glanced back at Chewy, unsure. "W-well?" she asked, wondering what she thought of the change.
"Woooooow!" Chewy exclaimed at watching the lights and transformation from a third person point of view.
As Frannie emerged she gasped at the changes, hoping Frannie wouldn't notice as Chewy would hate to upset her. "Frannie!" she cried running down to the waters' edge. "You look so beautiful!" Chewy started playing with Frannie's new dress, especially where there were lacy parts. She hadn't grown a foot like Chewy had, but Chewy gave her a big hug to show how happy she was.
Suddenly she gasped again. What would Lee think? Frannie was the same yet completely different. "We have to go show everybody!"
"R-really?" Frannie asked with a timid yet hopeful smile as she twisted her curls between her hands to squeeze out the water until Chewy grabbed her and hugged her tight.
"E-everyone?" Frannie repeated, unsure who exactly this 'everyone' included.
"Yeah everyone!" Chewy began to chant the names of everyone she could think of that they had to show off their new looks to. "We have to show Lee, and Newt, and Gene, and Charlotte, and Abyss, and Will, and Emil, and Ananda, and Mr. Avner, and and and um.... And we have to show the nice lady at the noodle shop and all the teams like Team Rocket Scientists and Team Thunderstruck and we have to show Mr. Gene's Ari and his team too!" Chewy's list went on and on as she started to name more and more abstract people such as the gentleman who had given her a bonbon once. Finally she couldn't think of anyone else and looked at Frannie once more." Everybody!"
As Chewy started prattling off names, including names of people who were sick or away or in the hospital, Frannie covered her mouth as she became choked up all over again. Not to mention Lee who... she probably needed to talk to but now was really REALLY not a good time for that. She was already reaching her limits, she was in not place to have such a conversation.
"Ch-Chewy maybe--maybe another time. I-I really need to get going," she insisted.
Chewy looked down at Frannie with her baby doll eyes, (not really having the same effect as when she would look up at someone.) "Oh." She said with a tone of disappointment. "I guess... I'll just.... go alone then..." She sat on a near-by boulder and sighed. It wouldn't be as fun showing off her new look alone.
Somehow Frannie hadn't expected her protest to actually put an immediate stop to Chewy's plans, taken aback by the poor Eevee--Vaporeon looking so dejected.
"Oh Chewy!" she gasped pitifully, covering her own mouth with her hands, her heart breaking. "Ok maybe... maybe I can go see a few people. But--but it has to be a quick visit okay?" she asked, not really confident in her ability to draw this line.
"Hooray!" Chewy yipped with glee as she jumped up once more. Grabbing Frannie's hand she began to tug once more, "C'mon, if we hurry we can see even more people!" Then stopping suddenly in her tracks she realized they had only happened upon this place by accident and had no idea how to get out again. "Um... Do you know which way to go?"
Frannie yelped as Chewy abruptly grabbed her and pulled her along through the woods. "Chewy I-I don't want to see MORE people!" she protested. "Really I-I'm very busy, only-only a few people!"
When Chewy came to a stop and made it clear she hadn't the slightest idea where they were Frannie pressed her lips together, shut her eyes tight, and let out a high pitched whine of frustration as she covered her face with her hands. How had she let herself get into this mess? How had she let Chewy just drag her off to who knows where? At a time like this?
"Nooo," she groaned in response as she composed herself. "Look let's... let's just go this way," she said, heading off in the direction that looked the brightest but was clearly not the light of the springs they had come from.
For what must have been nearly an hour, the duo trecked back through the woods. Three tumbles, two wrong turns, and one twisted ankle later, Chewy finally broke free of the trees and back into daylight. Her sleek new fins gleemed in the sun in a way her fur never had. "AHA! We did it!"
Just then a mother Nidoqueen and her child who had been walking past stopped and stared at them strangely. "Don't worry! We're not tree monsters!" Chewy ran over dancing in front of the family. "See I'm a Vaporeon! But I used to be and Eevee and now I'm not!" She was practcly shouting at the strangers. Probably making them quite confused.
"And Frannie was a Whismur... Commere Frannie! She was a Whismur and now she's LOUD!" Chewy looked at the child. "You know if you go through these woods theres a swimming pool and it makes you change! You could be a uh uh bigger you!"
Frannie thought she might cry when they finally found their way out, which was really saying all that much in perspective cause she had been doing a lot of crying already that day. Finally, finally she could go home and just--
She squeaked in surprise at the sound of the started Nidoqueen and her child. "Oh gosh! We're so sorry, we--" she tried to explain, but Chewy was already doing so. Frannie visibly shrunk in on herself in response, the person Chewy had proudly declared was now 'loud' was instead covering her face with her hands and wishing she could just sink into the ground.
"Ok! Ok! Chewy, I really need to--I'm so sorry--," she paused again to address the Nidoqueen and child before turning back to the shouting ball of energy. "--Chewy, we met some people. I really need to go now," she said hastily as she tried to make her escape.
Chewy watched as the Woman and child hurried away, probably put off by something she said. She turned to Frannie and asked; "Did- did I do something wrong?"
"U-uh..." Frannie mumbled awkwardly, looking after the retreating figures of the mother and child. Normally she would rush to assure Chewy that she did nothing wrong, but given that Chewy's excitable nature had taken a toll on Frannie as well that day she wasn't as quick to brush it off as she would normally be. Maybe she should say something? But what if she hurt her feelings...
"I-I think maybe..." she started off, speaking words before she had fully figured out what to say. "... maybe you have um... have a lot of energy? And it can-and it can be startling when people aren't prepared? Not that-not that being excited is a bad thing!-or anything, just that uh... it's... surprising? And you know like-like sometimes surprises are fun but-but other times maybe it's-maybe you're not really in the mood for a surprise?"
Chewy contemplated Frannie's words. What could be bad about a surprise? Surprises were fun! "Frannie doesn't like surprises..." she stated, not asking.
"Chew- I can do the rest of the surprises by myself... If you want... To go home...." Her tail wagged in an attempt to hide her disappointment. Everything was more fun with a friend.
"Th-that's not... I mean..." Frannie trailed off, trying to find the words. "I-I like surprises... sometimes... but just, now's not-not a great time for surprised. For me. You know like-like what if you had some big adventure planned! And then-and then someone showed up and want to-want to do something else?" she asked, trying to come up with a situation Chewy might understand, something in line with her interests and not the chaos Frannie was currently dealing with.
"I-I'm sure Lee will be sur--I mean, be excited for you," she said, trying to be cheerful and optimistic though her anxiety still showed. "Maybe I-maybe I can meet up with you both some other time? Once um... once Gene's back to help manage the team. How's that?" He would come back, right? He'd wake up? He had to.
Chewy inhaled a big dramatic breath before letting out a very enthusiastic "OOOOOKAAAAAAAY!" She turned on her heal and started skipping down the road. "Don't forget," she wailed back. "Lee will be waiting!" Turning the corner she headed for town wondering what other shenanigans she could get into before finally surprising Lee and the others back at base. This was her big day after all.
Frannie watched as Chewy made her way back to her own base. Part of her hated to let her down, wanting desperately to run after her and agree to go along if only to brighten her spirits. But... she knew she had to do this, even if it was hard. She... had a responsibility to her team.
She glanced around the street they had found themselves in, now empty once again, the air still and chilly. She felt eerily alone. Was anyone worried that she was gone? Was there anyone left to be worried, really?
She took a deep breath, stealing herself. She... didn't have time to wallow in self pity. If she was going to hold everything together until the others returned then she had to get to work.