The people of Wolfage city stared at the two young men as they entered the town. Strangers were rare and not always welcome. Sidney ran, non-stop, until they came upon a small building near the center.
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"There you are!" Nurse Joy smiled warmly. Although the rest of the town seemed tense at Rashi's presence, she was as cheery as always.
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Tonik, or Tony as he was known in the city, offered them rooms in his inn. They gladly accepted and went to sleep as soon as they were settled in. It had been a long, tiring day, and they were going to need all the strength they could get in the morning...
"This looks like a Pokemon Center," Rashi commented doubtfully.
"It is," Sidney said, "But it's also a hospital. Why don't you tend to the Pokemon while I take Iñaki and the baby to the hospital wing."
"I don't know. I wanna make sure she's okay, too."
"I know, I know. But you can come down after seeing to the Pokemon."
"All right. Stop where you are and put your hands in the air."
"I would, but I've got a child and unconscious mother in my arms. She needs help fast."
"Why didn't you go in the front?" Sidney turned around, his face weary and anxious.
"Because I wasn't sure how many people would remember me or how they would react to my return." The security guard who had stopped him lowered his gun, his eyes wide.
"S-Sidneil?!"
"Tonik, can you help me out here?"
"Sure! No problem!"
"Thank you. Could you point me in the direction of the hos..."
"Rashi!" Rashi turned to see Sidney standing at the entrance to the building, his arms empty. He ran over to his companion.
"How is she?"
"Not sure. I dropped her off and came back to get you. Follow me, and keep your voice down." Sidney led Rashi out of the Pokemon Center and down the dark alley to the back of the building.
"Hey, Sid, where are we going?"
"To the hospital wing that's not supposed to be here." Rashi stared at the back of Sidney's head for a moment, then continued to follow him. They entered the building and were met by the security guard.
"Hey, Sidneil, who's that?"
"He's a friend, Tonik. He won't tell anyone."
"How much does he know?"
"Little to none."
"How much do I know about what?" Rashi stared at Sidney, or Sidneil as he'd been called, in confusion.
"Don't worry," Sidney responded. "You'll find out soon enough."
"Sidneil!" There was a call from further inside the building. "We need your help back here! Bring Tonik too!"
"We'll be right there!" Sidney turned back to Rashi. "Rashi, my friend, there are very few whom I actually trust, but after the last couple of days, you and Iñaki are among those few. What you see here,
you can never, ever tell anyone. Understand?" Rashi nodded dumbly, utter confusion apparent on his face. Tonik and Sidney turned and headed towards the inside of the building, Rashi following curiously behind. What he saw in the next room astounded him. Iñaki and her child were on a small pedestal in the center of the room, and around it were...
"Angels?!"
"Not exactly," Tonik said with a short laugh. He closed his eyes, and from his back burst a pair of beautiful white wings. He then went to join the circle around the pedestal. Rashi turned to Sidney in utter astonishment.
"I'll explain later, I promise," Sidney said, amused by Rashi's expression. Then he, too, closed his eyes and from his back sprouted a pair of ebony-black feather wings. He then jumped into the center
of the circle and stood above the pedestal, his wings outstretched and his arms extended above his head. He was glowing that pale yellow once again, and all the others in the circle glowed a deep blue. Slowly, one by one, those in the circle extended there arms straight and slanted up toward Sidney, or, more accurately, his hands. As they did this a beam of blue light shot from their hands to his, and Sidney's energy aura turned a dark green. Once the entire circle was contributing light, Tonik looked to Rashi, an amused smile on his face.
"You wanna help? Come sit down and focus your energy toward Sidneil. He'll do the rest." Rashi nodded and sat down next to Tonik. Then, he closed his eyes and concentrated, focusing his energy around himself.
It sprang to life, shining bright orange about him. Then he, like the others, extended his arms and sent his energy towards Sidney, causing the aura to become a paler green than before. Sidney opened his eyes
and carefully lowered his hands, allowing them to hover over mother and child. A slow, steady pulse of energy leapt from Sidney's hands to Iñaki and her child, each pulse moving through their entire
bodies. This went on for ten minutes, at least, then Sidney lowered his hands completely, blocking energy flow. Rashi lowered his hands to his head, feeling dizzy and light-headed. Sidney walked over to
him and sat down.
"You okay?"
"Yeah... Just a little dizzy..."
"That's to be expected," Sidney laughed. "You've never used you energy for that long span of time at such a high, concentrated level. It takes some getting used to, trust me." Rashi looked up at Sidney, curiosity filling his features.
"Sid, who are you?" He looked around at the other figures laughing and talking. They were mostly guys, but there were a few girls spread out... Sidney smiled slightly at the now chattering circle.
"Some of them are Guardians, as my friend Yue was." He turned to Rashi, who looked surprised. "But I... Tonik and I, and a few others, are... Well, I guess you could call us 'fallen angels.' Except for Tonik and myself, all the men here are Guardians. The rest of us are known as Demanges. Once, we were great warriors, known in religions as 'Arc Angels' but now..." He sighed, looking at Tonik, who was talking with one of the young women. "Now we are know as 'Betrayers'.
We only ever had one rule to follow, and that was to never love. It seemed so easy, but... I was the strongest. Emotions were my weakness." Sidney looked up into Rashi's eyes, his own with the looked of held back tears. "I fell in love, Rashi. I fell in love
with a human, A human whom I was later sent to kill. And when I didn't complete my mission due to pity..." He shook his head. Rashi smirked at him.
"Well, we can't all be perfect, can we? And it seems that the main thing we have in common as companions is relationship problems." Sidney and Rashi started laughing, then both turned to look at Iñaki. "Will she be all right?"
"Hopefully. I think we got her here in time. Barely." Rashi and Sidney stood up and walked slowly over to the pedestal. As they watched, Iñaki’s eyes slowly opened, and she looked up at them, dazed and confused.
"R-Rashi? S-Sidney? W-wha...?" Rashi helped her sit up, and she looked around the room, still dazed.
"Are you okay?" Rashi asked, sitting next to her.
"I... I don't know..."
"Well, you look like shit," Sidney commented, "Just in case you were curious." Iñaki smiled slightly at this, then looked down at the child in her arms.
"DoRean... DoRean is...?"
"No, his master. DoRean merely delivered the seed." Iñaki looked up at Sidney again, and her eyes widened slightly.
"Sid...ney?" He smirked at her confusion.
"I'll explain later. Have you decided on a name for her yet?"
"For who?"
"Your daughter!" Sidney chuckled at her dazed expression.
"Oh." She looked down at the child in her arms once again, a thoughtful look on her face. "Tokia." Sidney stared at her in surprise.
"W-where did you get that name from?"
"I'm not sure... I... I think it was...my grandmother's name..."
"I thought you didn't remember your family," Rashi said, confused yet again.
"I don't, or didn't... That's all I can remember, though..." Sidney's eyes softened a little.
"That...was the name of the human...I fell in love with," he whispered softly. All in the room turned to him, astonishment on their faces.
"Sidneil, you know the rules..."
"I know, Tonik. I know. But we're leaving as soon as Rashi battles."
"What? Why?!"
"Because otherwise everyone here is in danger." Tonik fell silent, sadness filling his features.
"I'll miss you, Sidneil."
"I know, my friend. I know."