The Aura Within | Pokémon

Twenty Four | True Emotions

It's been almost two weeks since the incident during Aether Day, two weeks since the day the squadron lost one of their members. Since then, they hadn't been able to move on, especially Layla. When they arrived back to the mansion that day, Soul told Amelia everything that happened. The representative was nice enough to arrange a funeral so Mark could rest in peace. It took a couple of days, but when the body was buried, everyone and everything emitted nothing but sorrow.

No one talked that day, no one smiled, no one did anything. All they thought about was how they lost a member of their team, how they lost a friend. Seeing his name on that headstone was tough on all of them, especially Layla and Mightyena. The knights couldn't bring themselves to move on after all that happened, so they stayed a few more days to recover from both mental and physical injuries. Even still, Soul believed it was almost impossible they could ever move on.

As for Layla and Mightyena, they both stayed back in Nebesa Town, courtesy of Amelia. Soul remembered the day they left, she told them she was grateful they took care of him when she wasn't there. She told them that she was thankful for everything they've done for him. Mightyena stayed with her. He was the only one left that could stay with her since Mark couldn't anymore. The squadron left Nebesa Town with only five of Soul's knights.

She failed to keep the whole group together until the end.

A tired sigh escaped her lips as they all continued walking toward their next destination, the one place Soul certainly did not feel comfortable going back after all that happened. Death seemed to follow her everywhere, teasing her by showing her the souls of people she once knew. Her mother, her father, and now Mark. She was not feeling up for going to Viridian Village, but she had no say in the matter. It was all part of the mission they must accomplish.

As the squadron entered a spacious clearing, Soul stopped and rose her hand, signalling the others to stop walking. She felt the wind pick up, flocks of Wingulls and Pelippers flying by. That must mean they were close to an ocean, which also meant that they were nearing the place Soul use to call home. The blonde woman turn around and faced her other teammates, who were all looking around.

"Let's take a break," Soul told them. "We could really use one."

Before they could do or say anything, she turned back around and walked away from them. Not even Gallade or Aaron followed her, which the blonde woman was grateful for. She needed some time to think for herself, to fix herself up from all that's happened.

The knights and Pokémon did what they were told and sat around doing their own thing. During their trip out here, no one said a word. No one brought up what had happened back in Nebesa Town, each one lost in their own thoughts. After Soul separated from the group, the strange atmosphere around them became thicker and uncomfortable. Each knight felt as if there was some sort of weight on their shoulders that followed them from that day.

Akira sat on top of a tree branch, looking up at the sky through the gaps of leaves. Her mind wandered back on that day, when Blake almost lost control of himself. She could still remember what he said, what made him come back to his senses.

"I got this feeling that if I followed the voice, it would lead me to an escape that would take me out of the dark prison. So I did what my gut told me and followed the voice. As I followed it, I started seeing the light, and the more I ran toward it the brighter and brighter it became. The fifth time I heard the voice, I finally recognized it. It was your voice, Akira."

"My... voice...?" she mumbled, to which Blake nodded to with a grateful grin.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "I followed your voice until the end. I jumped into the light and fought back for control of my body, all because I had you to guide me out of the darkness."