As the morning sun tentatively peeked its pale face from the distant horizon, Aiden awoke to find the signature golden leaves of the Dawnbreak Woods rustling overhead. The dungeon, like with the day where Aiden had first encountered Trevor, remained the spitting image of serenity; the spotlessly blue, overcast sky seemed to envelop the abundant bundles of flowing, golden leaves below. Shaking off what remained of her sleep-induced gaze, the Scorbunny's eyes wandered first to the charred remains of a nearby campfire, then towards the disheveled, half-awake Meowth sitting next to it.
"Yo, Treph," Aiden tentatively greeted while staring at Trevor's drooping whiskers as well as the sagging shadows which loomed underneath his large eyes, "You good? Were you awake all night?"
Trevor nodded slowly. "Couldn't get a wink of sleep. How's your wound?"
Aiden's gaze swiftly snapped towards the side of her chest, now wrapped in a cluster of fresh bandages which barely hid a massive, dark bruise. "Aah, nothing too bad," she muttered dismissively, "Could be worse. Don't worry about me- I'm fine!" The Scorbunny noticed the scrawny, paperback journal laying next to Trevor, an ink-tipped twig laying nearby. "You're still writing on that journal we managed to nab? You gotta let me see what you've been writing about sometime, I've been tempted to take a look more than once, y'know!"
Trevor remained silent, continuing to stare at Aiden's wound absentmindedly. Aiden's smile faltered slightly. "Aw, don't look so glum. This little bruise isn't a problem for me- I've been through much worse. All we need to do is find ourselves some berries- then we'll have ourselves a proper meal for the first time in months! That ought to rejuvenate your spirits as well our bodies!" Aiden stood upwards with a slight wince. "Anyways, we don't have time to dawdle, let's go!"
Aiden began taking a few steps southwards, then noticed that Trevor wasn't moving an inch.
"Hey, c'mon!" Aiden urged, "I know you're tired, but we have to keep moving!"
Trevor took a deep breath, then stood up with a somber look. "Aiden," he murmured, "I can't."
"What do you mean you can't?! Hunters'll find us if we stay here for too long- you're gonna get caught!"
"That's... the point. I'm going to turn myself in."
Aiden violently recoiled to the point of nearly collapsing. "W-WHAT?! Y-you can't!"
"If I give myself up, then everything could return to the way they were before. I'll tell everyone that I forced you to house me, that I made you defend me against your will. You can still salvage Team Spirit, as well as your dream of becoming a top-level explorer!"
"Do you know what you're saying right now?!" Aiden responded loudly, "Have you seen some of the Pokémon chasing us?! If you give yourself up, they'll kill you for sure! This is basically suicide!"
"Well, fine!" Trevor suddenly shouted, "What other choice is there, anyways?! Wouldn't it be better for me to just disappear?! Isn't that what everybody's been saying?!" His voice petered out into a barely audible whisper. "Thank you for everything you've done for me over the past year. I really appreciate the time we've spent together; I sincerely, honestly do. But I refuse to let myself drag you down any further than I already have." Trevor's eyes turned glossy as he shakily held his head up as high as he could manage. "I have to leave."
Aiden simply shook her head while taking a step forwards. "Trevor, no. I won't let you-"
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Trevor screamed, taking an Iron Thorn from his satchel and hurling it wildly, the spike landing a meter from Aiden's feet. Unfazed, the Scorbunny began to approach Trevor with heavy steps.
YOU ARE READING
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rising Spirits
Adventure"All things... must eventually come to pass..." Trevor, a timid human turned Meowth, has been thrust into an unfamiliar world of talking Pokémon who view his kind as inexplicably tied to the looming, unseen threat which threatens their world. With n...
