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Chapter 8

Three months had passed. Three long, agonizing months since that horrible day. The two young charmanders had been forced to learn on the spot how to survive on their own. They continued wandering from place to place, much like (unbeknownst to them) their parents had done so long ago when they had first met each other. But their parents were gone, and nothing could change that. Whether the fragile fire lizards liked it or not, they had only each other, and they couldn't trust any other pokemon that they would happen to come across.

Their last few months together had been a challenge for the two. When they were back at their old home with their parents, everything had always been provided for them. Shelter, food, comfort, the basic necessities for their very survival were never something that they had to worry about. Drek took on the role of the protector and provider. He always had been braver, stronger, and more agile than his sister, so it only made sense for him to take care of her.

That said, he did everything in his power to ensure that she was safe from anything he could think of. Since food had always been provided for the pair, they never had a reason to figure out which berries were bad and which were good. They just ate what was given to them. For that reason, Drek would always eat a strange berry himself and give the ones he knew were safe to his sister to eat. He kept that his little secret, because he didn't want her to find out that he was putting his health at risk for her benefit.

For the most part, he was fine after partaking in the new food, and then he would be able to remember new berries to give to his sister. He had gotten sick a couple of times because of what he ate. It was never anything too serious, and it typically went away after a day or so after he got the foreign substance out of his body.

The two had also gotten stronger as their journey continued. When they had lived with their parents, neither of them could breathe fire. The most that either of them could do was breathe out small puffs of smoke out, and even that was something that only Drek had managed to do inside the cave in the week before they had gone to the river. They knew from just instinct, that learning to breath fire was essential to their very survival, so every day, the two would work on learning to master their fire abilities.

As expected, Drek was the first of the two to unlock his fire-breathing powers. Once he had made his first successful flamethrower, it was easy. The challenge came in figuring out how to make it in the first place. There is a muscle deep in the back of every charmander's throat that closes off a tiny chamber where the fire breath is stored. The muscle must be worked for weeks or even months until the charmander is strong enough to control it. Once it is under the fire lizard's power, accessing fire-breathing abilities becomes easy.

The insides of charmanders mouths are specially designed so that they will be protected from being burned once they have unlocked their fire breath. Now that they had both gained access to controlling their special flame muscle, the two could summon fire at will. The only thing preventing them from using it perpetually was the limited supply of chemicals in their body that are responsible for producing the flame in the first place. When Drek first learned, he was only able to produce a flame about three times in a row before he couldn't do it for a while.

Over time, their bodies would be able to store more of the inferno-producing chemicals. But for now, they had to be wary when using the new ability. Knowing how to breathe fire was absolutely vital to their very survival, and it wouldn't do them any good to know how to do it if they lacked the chemicals necessary to use it in times of danger. This was something, thankfully, that the two had discovered in a harmless way.

One night when the temperature was particularly chilly, the two settled down for the night in a small cave that they had stumbled upon. Before they were tired, they began practicing their flame breath as was their custom. After they had finished their little training, they began to get a little chilly and decided that a fire would be the best course of action so that they could stay warm. They managed to scrape up together some twigs around their temporary den, and brought them back inside.

After they had set up the little pile where they would be sleeping, Drek inhaled deeply and choked on a cloud of smoke as he tried in vain to ignite the wooden pile in front of him. After the smoke dissipated, he got ahold of his breathing and looked to his sister. He shrugged his shoulders at her and tilted his head a little in confusion. She took in a breath as she too tried to light the fire, but she was met with the same result as her brother.

The two were slightly worried at what had happened, but they also knew that there was no possible way that it was permanent. He pursed his lips and put his claw on his chin in thought as he stared at the innocent pieces of wood. An idea suddenly came to him, and he smiled as he turned to the side and brought his tail flame to the base of the twigs. He didn't know it, but his father had discovered that little trick much in the same fashion. The bottommost pieces of wood began to smoke, and before long, the entire pile was smoking and burning brightly with dancing flames.

The two curled up together next to the fire and fell asleep fairly quickly. When they woke up in the morning, the first thing that the two did was check to see if their flame breath had come back to them. Sure enough, both of them produced a small jet of fire no problem. They decided at that moment that they would use the nights when they were safe to test the limits of their powers. Testing during the day when they were vulnerable to any sort of danger was too risky for them, and neither of them was willing to take the chance of endangering the other because of carelessness.

The time that they had been on their own seemed to go by rather quickly with their new experiences and powers. They lived normally together as they slowly became as independent as they needed to be. Nothing out of the ordinary happened to them that they couldn't figure out on their own (without it needing to be explained to them by their parents), until one morning.

The two woke up normally just like any other day, but slowly through the course of the day, Drek's body began to ache. It was more of an internal pain that was present over all of his muscles as though he had worked them out for too long. At first, it was more of a small nuisance to him, and he figured it would pass shortly. Maybe it was something he ate the day before, and in that case, he would feel sick to his stomach later in the day and he would get it out of his system as he had done a few times before, and then he would be better again: no big deal.

However, he never felt that familiar nauseous sensation. The dull pain was just always present and it started to worry him. He didn't dare tell his sister because he didn't want her to worry about him, so he kept it to himself and tried to go about their daily lives without doing anything out of the ordinary. Every morning he woke up however, the aching in his body became a little more prevalent and a little more intense. To top it off, after a few days, he had developed a sharper pain in his chest.

The more his chest hurt, the more the rest of his body hurt, almost to the point where it felt like his muscles were trying to rip apart. He learned very quickly how to repress the pain in his chest, and that would, in turn, alleviate some of his bodily aches. Something in the back of his head kept telling him to just accept the pain, but the pain in his muscles would always override that distant thought, suppressing it for the time being.

This feeling of constant hurt plagued him for about a week until one day that started out as any other day.

"Good morning brother."

"Morning Ser." He didn't feel any better than he had the day before, and it just pained him to speak without hinting at the fact that something was seriously wrong with him. But no matter what the cost, he figured, he couldn't let his sister know that something was wrong with him, else she would worry about him, and he didn't want her to have to deal with those thoughts.

Why wouldn't this stupid pain just go away? Every day, it seemed like the little voice in the back of his head would get stronger, and the urge to just give in to the pain and accept it nagged at him more persuasively. Was his will just slowly starting to ebb away from him? He couldn't give in to whatever this strange sensation was if it meant endangering himself and possibly leaving his sister alone in the world.

Whatever the feeling was, it had to pass eventually... wouldn't it? Hope that the pain would go away and the safety of his sister were the only two things that kept him moving every day, and that's exactly what they needed to be doing if they ever had any hope of reaching Charizard Valley.

"Let's go Ser." he said, still struggling to keep any discomfort out of his voice. He figured that he succeeded because she responded happily, and the two got up and left their temporary enclosure to continue their journey.

Their walk seemed to take ages longer than it usually did for Drek. Every second that passed seemed like a minute of torture as he continued to suppress the feeling in his body. He was also talking as little as he could to keep his sister from knowing that he was in constant, throbbing pain. He didn't know how much longer he was going to last as he looked up and noticed that it was only midday when he could have sworn it should have already been night. There was no way that he would be able to make it to their next stop at this rate.

"One second brother; I need to use the bathroom." Those words were a godsend to him at that moment. She turned away from him and skipped quickly out of sight so that she could take care of her business. The second that she was out of sight, he collapsed to the ground, catching himself on his arms and knees. The pain was just too intense for him to even stand anymore. The instant his body fell upon the grass, he knew that he wouldn't be able to get up before she returned. He was just too weak from trying to control himself.

He needed some serious help (something that he had only needed once in his life from what he could remember - the morning he found out his parents were dead and he needed emotional comfort), and at this point, he would sacrifice his ideas of being the "strong brother" to get it. He was trying to figure out how his sister was going to react when she came back, but he couldn't think straight. That same ever-present voice in his head kept speaking up and interrupting his thoughts.

He shook his head violently to try to clear his mind, but that only made him sick to his stomach. He tried focusing his vision on the grass to keep his world from spinning. It helped with his slight nausea, but the silent attention to the earth below him brought back the thoughts that had begun to haunt him. He was relieved when he heard some rustling off to his side. He could concentrate on the sound, and his sister would surely be following shortly behind. His arm muscles gave out, and he collapsed onto his stomach just as his sister came into view.

"Brother!" she yelled as she caught sight of him. She ran over to him as fast as she could, and knelt down by his side. "What happened brother!? Tell me!"

Despite his state of pain, he nervously laughed a little to cope with the situation. He didn't want to tell her that he had been like this for the past week, but he still needed help, and she was the only one to be able to aid him. He weakly said to her, "Just help me get somewhere safe right now."

She didn't respond to him. She quickly got in front of him and used her strength to pull him onto her back, draping his arms over her shoulders. He locked his claws together as best he could as she grabbed ahold of the underside of his legs, hoisting him up off the ground. She had remembered a small enclosure not too far back that they had passed. She would go there as quickly as she could.

Although she couldn't run with her brother's weight on her, she did move fairly swiftly. She was surprised just as much as he was at her strength and speed as she managed to reach the tiny shelter in no time. She gently let him slide off of her and laid him down on his back inside the little enclosure. When he was comfortably on the ground, she knelt by his side again and asked, "Please tell me what's wrong brother."

The pain had increased slightly in the time it took for her to get him to where he was now, but he still found the strength to answer her. "My... whole body... just... hurts... so bad... and... I... don't know... why..."

Her voice quavered a little as she struggled to maintain herself. Worried tears had snuck into her eyes as she watched her brother lay there. He was the only thing left in the world she had, and if something happened to him, she didn't know what she would do. She didn't even know if she could go on with her life if she were left alone. "Just tell me what do to brother and I'll do it."

There wasn't really anything she could do he thought. All that he was feeling seemed to be internal. "Just... don't... leave..."

Tears of concern were now running down her face as she feared the worst. She couldn't be left alone. Whatever it was that was plaguing him would pass shortly... wouldn't it? They had been through too much together for it all to end suddenly like this. What was wrong with him? There had to be some explanation for it, but since the two were only just over five months old, they had never experienced something like this before.

Why did this have to happen to him? That was the only thing that he could think about while he was being carried to the safety of the cave. But now that he was sitting there again, the same haunting voice in his head came back. "Why don't you just give in to the pain?" the voice kept asking him. "The pain will leave if you just accept it."

Wait... would the pain really go away if he just accepted it? That didn't make any sense to him. It seemed that the only thing keeping him going was the fact that he was trying to suppress the pain, not welcome it with open arms. He told himself that he couldn't accept the pain... But there was still a small portion of his mind that wasn't completely convinced. No matter how crazy it sounded to him, something kept nagging at him.

What was the worst that could happen? His sister already knew, and all it would bring about is more pain at worst... right? And if he gave in, surely he had enough willpower left to suppress it again if he couldn't cope with the pain. "Trust your instincts and just relax."

Ha. Relax? How was he supposed to relax in this situation? Maybe he was going mad from the constant aching, and that little voice was a portion of his sanity that was slowly leaving him. Whatever was happening to him, he couldn't give up hope. He had too much to live for, and he couldn't abandon his sister. He had done too much for her to throw it all away because of some stupid little thing that was beyond his control.

He had to stay strong, if not for him, for her. "Trust in yourself. The pain will only get worse the longer you try to deny it." Deny what? What could his body possibly need that he was keeping it from getting? Had he been poisoned or something and he needed some sort of antidote or remedy? No, that didn't make any sense. His body wouldn't feel this way if he had been poisoned... would it? He had never been poisoned before other than the mild food poisoning he got from eating some bad berries.

If he were poisoned, what would he need to get better? He didn't know and he knew his sister wouldn't know. What if his body couldn't get rid of this intoxication? "Just give in already, and it'll be over. You can't fight it much longer."

Maybe that crazy talk was right. He didn't know how much longer he would be able to fight the unbearable shooting pain, and if it were only going to get worse, his strength would eventually give out and he would just have to accept it. Why should he prolong it when it was inevitable? "Let it happen. You will be thankful when it's all over."

The sane portion of his mind was ebbing away with every passing second, and accepting his fate seemed more appealing. "Succumb to it. There is no more chance of resisting it. Fate has arrived, and you must accept it now."

He saw no other option. The pain had gotten so intense, and his clarity in rationalization was slowly going away with each passing second. He breathed in deeply and whispered to his crying sister, "I'm... sorry..."

He let his body go limp as he willingly accepted any consequence that destiny had to offer him. Somewhere in his mind, he heard his sister yell out, but he didn't know what she said. Another feeling in his body was replacing the pain. He couldn't explain it, but it just felt... right. The sensation surged through his blood, reaching every portion of his body, before finally something clicked in his mind.

His body began to glow mysteriously. His limbs began stretching out and changing shape. His sister looked on in shock as she saw the charmander that she had spent every waking moment with change before her very eyes. It was over in mere seconds, and where once her agonizing brother had lain, there was now a slender charmeleon.

Drek lay there for a second before the realization that all the pain he'd been constantly experiencing was now completely gone. A wave of relief swept over him as he looked at his awe-struck and slightly distraught sister. He smiled at her and gave her the thumbs-up sign to show that he was alright.

She fell on top of him, hugging him tightly and crying now in happiness on his chest. He even started laughing a bit as he wrapped his arms around her. He couldn't believe that his body was trying to evolve. If only he had known, then he would have accepted it sooner and maybe he wouldn't have gone through that week of hell trying to keep it from his sister and ultimately worrying her sick.

After she had convinced herself that her brother was safe and he wasn't going anywhere, she managed to prop herself back up so that she was sitting facing him. He lifted himself off the ground as well with the little strength he had left, and he sat on his haunches and faced her. He was now taller than she was which was something he would have to get used to. In fact, he would have to get used to everything about his body. His arms felt heavier, his tail seemed to sag a little do to the added length, and his head just felt lopsided to him. She was the first to speak up.

"I'm so glad you're ok. And you evolved!"

He chuckled a bit and scratched his head, which was entirely not the same shape as earlier - another thing he would have to get used to - while responding, "Yeah... I kind of wish mom and dad had told me about that... That was not pleasant at all." His voice was a little deeper, but it still had the same innocent tone that he had when he was a charmander. The two didn't bring up their parents very much because it usually pained them to do so, but over the last couple weeks or so, they had finally grown accustomed to referencing them in conversation.

"Do you think it will be painful for me when it happens?"

"Uh... I don't know. I can tell you that if you feel your body aching, just give in to the pain. I don't promise anything, but maybe it'll be painless if you let it happen right away."

"How will I know it's happening?"

"Uhh.. Well, if you feel a weird aching pain in your entire body, that's probably it. I don't really know how to describe it..."

"Hopefully I'll be fine when I finally evolve. I can't wait now!"

"Ha, I don't think you want to go through that experience like I did, but I'll definitely let you know how it feels to have a new body so to speak."

"Hehe, I'm sure it's wonderful. Why don't you stand up so that I can get a better look at the new you?"

"Alrighty then." He pulled his strength into his legs as he tried to stand, but he didn't get more than halfway to his feet before his weight came crashing down so that he was sitting again. Thinking he just lost his balance from his new legs, he tried again, but achieved the same result. "Hmm... I think my body's too weak at the moment. I used up too much strength trying to cope with that pain."

"Aww, well, why don't you stay here and recover, and I'll go scrounge up some of those berries you found the other day. I'm sure I saw a bunch of them as we were walking today."

"Thanks Ser; I'll be waiting here for you when you get back."

She got to her feet and skipped happily out of the cave and headed back to where they had spent the night. He was lucky to have such a caring sister. He could not have asked for a better companion to travel with and to be there for comfort and support since that terrible day seemingly so long ago.

He sat there thinking about the past week, about the events that had just happened, and about whether things would be different between them since he had evolved. His strength started slowly coming back to him, and in no time, he was able to stand up and move around to try to get used to his new appendages. He could tell that he would be stronger when he had fully recovered, and he would probably be faster as well. He wondered if he would be able to breathe more fire, but he would test that out later when he didn't feel so weak.

He lost track of time as he moved around and thought. His mind wandered to his sister and how long it would be before she evolved. He couldn't wait for her to join him. She has been gone for a while... Wouldn't she have been back by now? Hmm, maybe he should go look for her and make sure she's alright... Nothing better have happened to her.

His thoughts grew more panicky, and he darted out of the cave as quickly as he was able with the little strength he had. He went back toward their previous night's cave since she had gone that direction. After he had traveled a little ways, a small column of smoke caught his eye. He headed for it as swiftly as he could. That better not mean that she's in trouble.

When he arrived at the source of the smoke, he stood in shock. The smoke was coming from a small bush that was on fire, and no more than a few paces away, an armful of berries were strewn across the grass. Something terrible happened to her, and now she was gone...