Pokémon Mars

Chapter 36: The Voyage

Jin was deeply unsettled when he heard what his friends agreed to. He saw it in the news before they even returned. There was nothing he could do. It was too late to discourage them and really, what could they do? Mercury couldn't say no. Nyx couldn't let him go on his own.

'Don't even think of getting more samples for me – or looking for your long-lost relatives – if it puts you at risk.'

'Surely... surely you'll be OK?' Callerya stammered, 'That's a whole lot of you to bump off...'

'An "accident" would take care of that. I like you, Firmino, but please don't drive. That's asking them to blame you.'

'I don't think they want to kill us, though,' Nyx said, 'Not yet. If they kill Firmino, their sewers are getting filled with bouncy castles. And Rudolph wants these photos.'

'Yeah, but they could kill you on the way back...'

The doors opened. They turned to see one of the two Team Magma Admins they were yet to meet, Samara. She was Team Magma's strongest Trainer after Kazuki. The burly Grunts who followed, with stony scowls, looked more like security guards than rescuers. Kazuki made the best choice he could.

Nyx was yet to swap studios with Eden. She didn't have time. Julien gave Firmino one of his drag outfits – which he called 'Miss Dessert' – to wear to visit her. It fooled the journalists hoping for an interview, so it probably fooled Courtney, if she was even around. No-one saw her anywhere. The weirdo outside Hexagon Coffee was yet to replace his binoculars. Nyx peered through the blind. She saw 'Miss Dessert' leaving the metro station with glittery bags filled with supplies for the upcoming trip. She hugged Zorua as they shared gleeful smiles. Her Roller Boy wasn't aimlessly skating around anymore. He was walking to her. Then she hesitated. She felt her shoulders tensing up as she let go of the blind. Could this really end well? As ridiculous as it sounded when she hardly knew him, Nyx already knew that losing this would hurt more than it ever did when Racer manipulated and cheated on her. Zorua prodded her.

'Yeah, I know you like him, Zorua... I like him, but we don't want to lose him, do we?'

'We won't. He likes us!'

'What if he gets killed?'

There was a light knock on the door. Even stoic Zoroark giggled at the sight of Firmino as Miss Dessert when it answered the door. Zorua scampered over to greet him. It knew it would be offered daifuku, red bean mochi, which it actually liked even more than Poké Puffs. The wig and mask landed on the floor. The puffy dress followed.

'Remind me not to wear a hoodie under that thing next time...'

Nyx giggled with her Pokémon at that. Firmino smiled when he saw her laughing, but it quickly faded.

'Hey, Nyx... I didn't make you uncomfortable, did I...?'

'What? Why?'

'By offering to go on the expedition. I know you can take care of yourself. I don't want to be overbearing...'

'Oh... no. Not at all. I'm really touched that you care about me... that you even want to be with me at all... despite all the stuff the press and Racer's fans are saying about me. You haven't even asked if it's true that all my exes ended up in ditches yet.'

'You'll tell me if you want to. You haven't asked if it's true that I've fucked every woman on Mars already. Or if I'm in with my creepy uncle.'

'You'll tell me if you want to.'

Nyx giggled again. 'But I think I already know.'

'Yeah... I think you do. And so do I.'

Something thumped against the window. It even startled Zoroark. It was followed by the sound of slopping sauce and shouting.