Make Your Peace [GALACTIC ATTACK]

. "Leave now, I'll be escorting you."

The voice behind her makes her stop breathing for a moment. She knows that voice. It hasn't been long, but she still remembers it as clearly as that night in the cave. Part of her doesn't want to turn around, doesn't want to look at him again. She's pissed. Majorly pissed at what he had done to her. Yet she can't help how her heart skips a beat at realizing she was meeting him again. She had promised herself she would, and it had seemed fate was bringing them together once again.

Slowly she turns her body and looks up into his light eyes calmly. He hasn't changed, aside from being dry this time around. She gulps loudly, clearing her throat before blinking a few times. "Aster..." she says and is sure it is lost in the noise of the crowd. Then she straightens her back and crosses her arms. "Leave? No way, do you see what's going on around here? I have to help!"

Her eyes narrow, he seems calm, way too calm for what's going on. "Why are you here? I didn't take you for one who liked festivals." Then it hits her. His calm and unemotional stance, the air of authority around him, his previous warning. "Wait...you're with Galactic aren't you?" She should feel shocked but part of her isn't. It kind of makes sense even if she would have never guessed it herself without this situation. Everything just seems to be fitting into place. What doesn't make sense is why a galactic had saved her, why he still insists to help her even though he should be fighting her right now.

"Why me?" She says as her mouth twists into a frown. The short question was asking more than just the obvious. Why her? Why save her? Why take care of her? Why warn her? She should be scared, but no, she was angry.

Charlotte wanted to argue. She wanted to scream, and demand answers. She wanted to punch him, even if it broke her hands she just wanted to get this frustration out. But the way his voice lowered dangerously stopped her. He was right. She was no match for him right now, she could take on some grunts but how many before they beat her down and stole her pokemon? She breathed heavily out of her nose, eyes darting around the chaos and feeling torn in so many directions that it literally pained her.

"You're right but-" She began but was cut off as two grunts ran up to Aster. He must have been their superior as they reported to him. She tried her best to stay calm, to not panic. If Aster wanted he could order them to capture her. He wouldn't do that though right? No. He's protected her so far, but would he suddenly stop? She didn't want to push it, yet part of her didn't want to leave him either. They were bound to meet again, but when? She had so many questions, and she knew he wouldn't answer them now. Not when they were in the middle of all this.

The trainer could feel the eyes of the grunt's on her, their suspicious glares almost burning holes into her skin. She tried to keep her back straight, clasped her hands behind her back, and nodded at Aster. "Yes Sir, I'll get right on that," she says quickly. Hopefully the grunts would assume she was part of galactic or working with Aster in some way. Her violet eyes lock onto his, emotion flashing through them as she tries to convey her feelings. Her confusion, her anger, her curiosity. She wants to say so much more, but she has to keep up this front. For right now at least.

With one more nod she turns on her heel, walking away briskly and with purpose. She makes it around the side of a building and into an alley way. Once she's out of their sight she lets her shoulders slump and a shuddering sigh out of her lungs. Charlotte doesn't have much time to compose herself however, as a group of grunts appear on the other side of the alley entrance. "Shit!" she whispers, thinking quickly and crouching behind one of the large trash cans. She can hear their boots stomping closer and closer. They'll catch her. Aster isn't here to help now. It's over.

They're getting closer, their footsteps echoing against the walls of the buildings on either side of them. Charlotte can feel her heart beating and wouldn't be surprised if the sound could be heard by the grunts. Did they know she was here? Were they playing with her? She dug her fingernails into her knees, tucking herself closer to the trash can and trying her best to blend in. It wouldn't help that her outfit had bright red accents,but maybe, just maybe she would  be lucky enough to go unseen. With the fires burning around town hopefully the grunts would be more focused on the mayhem.

Closer. They're so close now that she can almost smell their rank breath, she can hear them laughing and joking about what they've done. It makes her sick to her stomach and she has to bawl her hands into fists to stop from cursing. Just as the grunts are just about to round her cover she hears a bellowing voice and startles. At the mouth of the alley where she had entered stands Aster. He doesn't look at her, but she knows he knows she's there. A sense of relief spreads through her body and she lets out a silent exhale. She shouldn't feel safe around him now that she knows who he works for, but she does, and she can't help it.

She can't see the grunts, but she can see Aster's face and he doesn't look happy. Well he never looks happy, but she can see the annoyance on his face. That annoyance turns to anger in an instant when the grunts begin to speak. Before she can even realize whats happening he rushes forward. She loses sight of him but can hear some scuffling and a hard thud against the wall. For the first time he actually scares her, and its just his voice. She's sure the grunt he's holding is pissing himself at the moment and she doesn't blame him. It doesn't surprise her that Aster could be this intimidating.What does surprise her is his words. It seems as if he cares for the people of the town, almost as if he dislikes this chaos. It confuses her because she thought all galactic wanted this. Exactly this. Was he different?

Before she could put much thought into it, she hears the grunt running off until his footsteps fade into the distance. Then a tall shadow appears before her. Glancing up slowly she meets those same yellow eyes that she's become so used to in such a short time. Here he was again. Saving her for the third time. Would he always be there to protect her? Would he get tired of it? She was sure he was getting tired of it, and she didn't blame him. But why was it always him who saved her? What was fate's plan in all of this?

"We're leaving now."

This time she doesn't argue, doesn't reject his offer. She wants to leave. She's had enough of the smoke filling her nostrils, all the screaming, and she knew her luck was running out. She felt guilty for not helping, but it wasn't like Aster would just let her go to fight his own team members. She wasn't going to risk his anger any more than she already had. "Where will we go?" She says as she lifts herself off the ground and brushes the dirt from her dark pants. They couldn't go back to the town square, and she didn't know where other grunts were positioned. Maybe he was leading her to a trap, or maybe he really did care. She had no clue. But she'd trust him again, even if it was a stupid decision. She'd already made enough of those anyway.

As they walk down the alleyway she tucks her hands in her pockets and tries to lighten the mood. Something that was a habit for her even in the most inappropriate times. "You know back when I was a kid, I convinced this boy from my hometown to sneak out after curfew. We almost got caught and had to hide in a tree, it kind of reminds me of this moment. Really amusing if-" She cuts herself off, letting the sentence fall away. A flash of the memory plays in her mind, and when she returns to the present a sense of familiarity hits her. Almost like deja vu. She tries to shake the feeling but it has already began clinging to her bones, and she knows it'll bother her now. So she continues next to him silently, oddly feeling like not talking anymore even though she has so many questions.

They walk in silence for a few moments. Charlotte lost in her own mind and own memories. Things have just seemed so off lately, like she's being pulled back in time, as if something is trying to put together a puzzle that she doesn't even know exists yet. When Aster falls to a knee she freezes in her steps, she watches as he holds his head not sure what to do. Just as she reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder and ask if he's okay, the galactic is up and walking away saying he's fine. "Are you sure you're-" she begins but her words are cut off as a young boy lunges from out of nowhere, stabbing something into Aster's ribs and begins yelling at him.

Oh no. No this isn't happening.

She sees the red of blood staining his shirt, quickly soaking it through. This is bad. Really bad. She feels glued to her spot, unable to run towards them or to run away. She doesn't know what to do. The boy hasn't seen her yet, but he's released his pokemon, and he wants revenge. If she doesn't do something Aster could die. If she does she'd be betraying her oath as a trainer. She's being torn in two directions and it hurts, she feels like her insides are screaming.

The look in his eyes, even glazed with pain, are telling her to go. She knows it, even without him speaking. He's trying to save her again, and if she does run this could be the last time. She'd never see him again. And this gnawing familiarity she feels towards him would never be answered. She can't just leave him. Not after all the times he had saved her. Sure she wasn't as strong as him, not even close, but she wouldn't just flee like a coward and let him down. It was time she did some rescuing.

"HEY!" She shouts, finally leaving her spot and running towards the two. She knows Aster will be pissed that she wasn't leaving, but he could be mad at her after she saved his life. The boy looks startled at being caught, looking from Aster to her with wide eyes. He's already gone too far though, he has nothing to lose, and she can't let him hurt Aster. She won't let him.

Her eyes meet Aster's, pleading with him to hang in there. She wasn't going to watch him die. She'd save him. She'd just have to do this battle first. Charlotte prayed he could make it through this, she had little time so it was now or never.

Grabbing two balls off of her waist she released her Buizel and Flaaffy. This would have to be a double battle if it would end quickly. She was nervous, but she wasn't going to show it. She knew she was going against everything it meant to be a trainer, protecting a galactic like this and fighting her own. She could lose her license, she could lose everything. Yet she felt it was worth it. For him.

"Lexa use Whirlpool and Scald on the Zangoose, Freya Thunder wave and Thunderbolt on the other!" The two pokemon nodded in unison, turning to their opponent and sending out their attacks. Charlotte just hoped she could defeat this young trainer in time. The clock was ticking.

"Just shut up and let me save you," she says sparing only a brief glance at him before returning her focus to the battle. The whirlpool hit, yet the scald misses. Both of Freya's moves hit, but Charlotte hadn't taken in consideration the Seviper's ability and it quickly shakes off the paralysis. "Shit," she says silently under her breath, trying to compose herself. For her first battle it was off to a shaky start but she wouldn't give up. This was her time to protect someone.

The words from the kid hit her hard. She understood how he felt, how devastated he must be in this moment. He wasn't thinking clearly, being fueled by revenge. She understood completely, and in any other case, if it wasn't Aster, she would have helped the boy. She would have been on his side. She couldn't let him hurt Aster anymore than he already had. She was a traitor in this moment, and there was no turning back. "I do understand, but what good will this do? You'll be no better than them, and it might feel like the right thing to do now but you'll regret it later." She sighs. "This will change you, it already has. Don't make it worse."

There was no getting through to the young trainer right now, he was seeing red, and in this moment she was his target. He had to get through her to get to Aster and that seemed like what he would do. His Zangoose rushed forward with a slash, but Lexa was just able to duck out of the way. Freya however wasn't so lucky, being hit squarely with a poison tail from the Seviper.

She'd be smarter this time. "Okay Freya switch targets, do the same as last time but on the Zangoose!" She turns to her Buizel. "Lexa use growl and aqua tail on the snake!"

Her lips flatten in to a thin line at his comment but she keeps her words. She wouldn't fuel his fury any more, but she couldn't help her own anger at calling Aster scum. She didn't know him as much as she liked, she still had so many questions, but he was by no means scum. If he was he would have left her out in that storm to get crushed to death by those giant bugs. She knew the boy wouldn't ever see it her way, but she would end this battle, that was all she could do for him at this point.

His pokemon descended on Freya, both hitting her with devastating attacks. The Flaaffy tried to pull through, but after a moment of swaying on her feet was out cold. "Dammit," Charlotte mutters, cringing and returning the fainted pokemon. She grabbed another pokeball and released her Houndour in her place. Hopefully she'd be able to finish him with her last two pokemon. She'd have to, for Aster's sake...for his life most likely.

"Lexa hit the Zangoose with Scald and Aqua Tail," she turned to the dog. "Ebony Leer then Flamethrower on Seviper!" Charlotte narrowed her eyes, willing this fight to be over so she could tend to Aster. One glance back at him and she knew he was in bad shape. He was trying to hold pressure on his wound but she could already see blood bubbling through his fingers, and his pants were now starting to get soaked as well. They were running out of time.