*CLACK*

           

*BOOP*

           

“Attention passages,” A voice spoke over the intercom after a loud beep. “This is your captain speaking: This is the connecting flight from the Ejapul region, heading towards the Kalos region, then making our way north, towards the Hoenn region. So please, fasten your seat belts, as we are about to take off.

Jennifer lets out a sigh as she closes the overhead compartment. She then sits down in her seat, then leans it back as far as her first-class accommodations would allow, before she closes her eyes.

                  

As she sits there with her eyes closed. She thinks back on how she got to this point.

             

                       

—————————————————

                   

“You’re going.”

“Mom!” Jennifer complains.

“Now don’t you “mom” ME, my little Spearow. Your father and I, have already talked about it and discussed it: it’s already decided; you’re going to Hoenn.”

“But why?! I’ve been old enough to look after and take care of myself for over four years now! Why are you sending me away all of a sudden?!”

Jennifer’s mother scoffed at her daughter’s obliviousness.

“You’re joking right? …Jenny! How can I not after what happened!”

“Mom! That was eight months ago! It is over and done with.” Jennifer argued. “Let. It. Go.”

        

*SLAM*

         

A banging sound of her mother’s metal mug hitting the wooden table, resounds loudly in the room.

“And four of those months, you’ve been stuck to a hospital bed! All because of!—……” Jennifer’s mother closed her eyes and tightened her free hand into a fist. Her features also tightening as if she was trying to stifle off pain.

“Mom……” Jennifer called out to her mother in quiet concern. She knew that her mother was thinking back about what had happened to her months ago; knew that her mother was still worrying about her, even after she had gotten better and released from the hospital.

She reached a hand over to her mother’s tightly closed fist.

“Mom…” She called out gentle lovingness.

Her mother relaxed as she looked back up at her with tear filled eyes.

“We were just so scared of losing you my sweet Spearow…” Her mother confessed. “The only thing we could think of to keep you safe, was to send you to your dad’s place.”

“But mom… you’ll be here all by yourself!” Jennifer argued. “And I am just getting back into my studies. I don’t want to leave this place, This is my—“

“I know sweetie… this is home… your father and I understand that more than anyone; this is the very reason why we don’t live together.” She reminded her daughter with her trademark goofy smile.

It was too.  Jennifer thought to herself.

Her mother had done an ad recently, as both an advertisement and because of her gym. It also helped to spread her face around, to reassure the citizens, while deterring crime.

So Jennifer couldn’t help but to smile back at her mother.

“Then let me stay!” Jennifer pleaded. “It wasn’t even like they were targeting me to begin with!” She argued.

“We don’t know that though.” Her mother countered. “If we knew why they had attacked, maybe I wouldn’t feel as scared about letting you stay and live here. But because they attacked and are now being quiet after sending that video, I just—………..” Her mother looked down at her lap, her face strained once again. “I can’t always be around to help you, and I can’t afford to always have someone watch over you.”

“But that is what I am saying mom!” Jennifer pleaded. “I can watch out for myself. You don’t need—“

“And you know for a fact, that I do!” Her mother countered yet again. “Jenny… You know as well as I do, that I would definitely keep you here and let you stay if you had someway to watch out for yourself or someone next to you to help protect you, but you refuse—“

“Don’t!” Jennifer told her mother and cut her off with a raised hand. “We go over this all the time mom. You always find a way to circle the conversation back onto this.” Jennifer pointed out vehemently.

“Well!” Her mother groused. “If you wouldn’t be so stubborn and set in your ways, like me! Then maybe we could come up with a compromise!” She told Jennifer with a smirk as she folded her arms in a playful show of indignation. “If you would just—“

“Get a Pokémon.” Jennifer said cutting off her mother yet again. “I know, I know. There isn’t a day that hasn’t gone by, since I turned ten, that you haven’t said something about me getting a Pokémon of my very own.” Jennifer groused.

“I just don’t understand it honey.” Her mother shook her head. “I get why you didn’t want one in the beginning; you said you weren’t ready, and I respected that.”

Having said that, Jennifer scoffs at her mother’s words. Which earns her a scowl.

“I didn’t pester you, since you choose not to get one from Professor Cypress.”

Jennifer takes a page out of her mother’s book, she folds her arms and pouts playfully at her mother.

“Sure doesn’t feels like it.” She groused.

Her mother shakes her head.

“Be that as it may. It was one of the many factors that lead to this decision,” She reaches into her vest and pulls out an airline ticket. “And there is no changing it now.” She told her daughter before laying the ticket down and sliding it towards her. “So you may as well make the best of it.”

“Dang it mom! All my friends are here too! I have my studies! I was also about to become a student under professor Michael at the university!”

“I know sweetie, I know… That is why I already got your school things taken care of. Your studies and credits have transferred over to a university over there; your father and professor Micheal have already helped me help you on this.”

“How is this helping me?! It feels more like dictating to me!”

“If you want to know what real dictatorship is like! You should just go join that cult that almost killed you!” Her mother shouted for the first time since they sat down to talk about this.

She went quiet before she dropped her head back down in shame for having yelled at her daughter.

Jennifer for her part was looking chastised and fairly guilty for making her mother that upset with her: she knew how much she hated team Dunes.

Jennifer looked down at her own lap before she muttered out an apology.

“…I’m sorry mom…”

Her mother looked back up at her daughter, who was sitting there across the table from her; her expression down trodden and regretful.

“*SIGH* No Jennifer…” Her mother stands up to walk around the table to squat down to give her daughter a comforting hug. “I am sorry… I am sorry I couldn’t protect you from them… I am sorry that, even after twenty years of me being a trainer, I am still trying to take down this evil organization… I— *HIC* —I am sorry that I can’t do more to help keep you safe.”

Jennifer reaches up and wraps her arms around her mother.

“Oh mom! Please don’t cry! You’re going to make— *HIC*” Jennifer begged her mother in-vain.

For a time, the two just held each other in place as they let their building emotions leak out.

           

“…… I don’t want to go mom!……” Jennifer whispered.

                   

Her mother held her tighter.

“………………I know sweetie………………..”

                                      

“…Please let me stay!…” She begged one last time.

          

Her mother shook her head.

“… I can’t my sweet little Spearow… I just can’t and won’t take that risk…” She pulled back to look at her daughter’s distraught face.

             

“…You know there is only one way out of this…”

Jennifer looked down at her lap as her tears fell and stained her jeans.

“……I don’t want to be a trainer……”

            

Her mother nodded her head.

“And you know, I have always respected your decision on anything you do… but I can’t on this…” She stood up and moved over towards the edge of the kitchen. She held out a hand towards her daughter, waiting for her to take it.

“Come,” She called to Jennifer. “We should get you packed and ready for your flight.”

Jennifer reaches up to wipe her eyes before standing up and taking her mother’s hand, as they walk up to her room up stairs to get herself packed to go to Hoenn.

                                            

                                         

————————————————————

                                                            

                                                  

*BOOP*

“Attention, this is your captain speaking. You are now free to move along the aisles and use your cellular devices.”

                 

Jennifer sighs as she is woken up to the sound of the captain, as he speaks over the intercom.

While she didn’t sleep long, it felt relaxing to finally be on the plane and be rocked to sleep by the take off.

So after getting to their cruising altitude, they were being let free to use their phones again. Jennifer pulls out hers, to see that she received a message from her friends back home in Hammond.

She hits play the short video and was immediately greeted by the sounds of her friends.

               

“”HI JENNY!””

                                            

Came a resounding cheer followed by the loud sounds of their Pokémon that were sitting next to them.

She fumbles with her phone for a second as she was startled by the unexpectedly loud volume of the video. She looks around and sees a few glances turned her way and a few scowls as well, while she fumbles to turn down the volume of her phone.

She turns away embarrassed at having disturbed her fellow passengers like she was a child. She gets out her ear phones while trying to ignore the glances and voices she can feel. She places them in her ears, making sure they were connected before starting the video back up.

“”HI JENNY!”” “OOOUUURRR!” “Chime chime chime!” “Sandshrew!”

Jennifer couldn’t help but let out a laugh at her friends’ antics. Even through a video and not in person, they amused her greatly. She loved that even their Pokémon were wishing her a goodbye.

Not that I could understand them through this video, but at lease I can recognize their sentiment.

“Hey Jen,” Her friend Benjamin lead off in their group message. “We’re really sad to see you go suddenly like this.”

*THWAK*

“OW!”

“DUMBY! You weren’t supposed to tell her that!” Her best friend Abigale scold Benjamin after hit the top of his head with her fist.

“Sorry! I forgot! I just got caught up in the moment!”

“Will you two stop bickering and focus!” Complained her other friend Naomi.

The three started bickering to each other, which only prompted Jennifer to start laughing.

She quickly stopped once she realized she was laughing loudly and drawing more attention to herself again.

                     

“Come on guys!” Complained a voice from the side that my Jennifer’s heart do a little flip. “We were supposed to be wishing her luck and our goodbyes!”

The first three settled down and turned back towards the camera.

“*AHEM* As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted.” Benjamin announced haughtily. This only earned him a tongue being stuck out at him by Abigale. “We are all going to miss you Jenny. You were always our group thinker and leader, and no, I won’t take that back and I do really think that. Whenever we wanted to do something, you were always there to make sure it happened. We were so worried about you after the…—“ Benjamin paused as he hesitated to speak about the incident. “Well… you know… while you were in the hospital… but anyways! We were so glad after you recovered. So when you mom messaged us to tell us what she had planned… well! We were upset damn it!”

“Ben!” Naomi scolded.

“Damn it Naomi! I am! And I am tired of pretending I am not!” Benjamin confessed. He looked back towards the camera, his eyes wet with emotions.

“We only wish for your happiness and a good life over in the Hoenn region! But I really wish you didn’t have to go Jenny! We all love you so much!— *HIC* — WAAaaa!”

“Oh you big cry baby!— *HIC* —You’re going to make me start crying too!” Abigale complained before looking at the camera. “But he is right Jen!” She stated. “We are really going to miss you! But we also agree with you mom, even if we hate the idea of not seeing you for a while! We would all rather you be safe than to have here in harms way! But this was to sudden damn it!”

“Ben! Abby! Get ahold of yourselves! You— *HIC* —You’re only making this harder! WAAaaa!” Cried Naomi. She then looked at the camera. “Please Jenny! Don’t worry about us! Don’t cry for us or think we will ever forget you! We all— *HIC* —We all love you so much! We just want what is best for you! We would rather it was here with us obviously. But we would also rather have you safe and out of harms way! And if that means being two regions over and away from us! Then— *HIC* —Then that is just how it has to be! So you had better be sure to call and write to us often! Or I will be on the next plain the moment I hear something has happened to you! Then I am going to kick your ass for worrying me!— W-WAAAAAA!”

The three stooges that were her friends in-front of the camera were all crying and holding each other in the sadness of their friend leaving.

          

The camera shifted prospectives as it turned around to an emotionally distraught girl.

        

Her eyes green like a leaf-stone, her hair golden blond that reach down to her back. Her face wet with tears, her eyes swimming with emotion.

        

It made Jennifer’s heart feel like it was being torn from her chest to see her friend like this.

She studied her friend’s golden brown face as it smiled back at her, through the camera and through her tears.

                    

“W-Well! T-There you have it! We all care about you very much! And we are all going to miss you so very, very much!” She told Jennifer with a shaky voice and quivering lower lip.

“I—… I just hope that wherever you are or whatever you do. That you would always smile back and think of us fondly… and always remember that— *SHAKY INHALE* —That we will always be your friends!” She told her in an even more strained voice. “And that we will always love and care about you! I hope you have a good life in Hoenn Jen!…… I love you!”

Then three more faces crammed into the shot of her friends confession.

“No fair Sara! Don’t hog Jenny all to yourself!” Complained Benjamin.

“That is right! We all love and care about you too Jenny!” Naomi agreed.

“We love you Jen!” Cried Abigale.

“OOOUUURRRR! Sandshrew! Chime Chime!”

“”WE LOVE YOU JEN!””

                

After that, the video stopped as it ended.

Jennifer was laughing through her tears at the sight of her equally smiling and  emotionally sad friends and their Pokémon.

“Love you guys too!” She whispered.

“…………….”

And after a brief moment of deliberation, she rewound the video to the spot of Sara’s goodbye.

                 

“…I hope you have a good life in Hoenn Jen!…… I love you!”

Jennifer hit pause so it was just Sara’s face in the frame.

“You big dummy…… you spend our entire childhood and young teen years, hiding and not saying those words to me, but now that it’s to a camera and not directly to me, after I already left, you finally build up the courage to confess?!”

A few drops of tears fall and hit the screen, landing on Sara’s face, looking like the tears Sara was crying had somehow escaped the phone’s screen, to escape and make its way through into reality.

“That is so not fair and just like you!” Jennifer complained angrily.

                 

“………………”

She was quiet as she studied the face of her friend that Jennifer knew had been in love with her for over eight years.

“Big dummy…”

               

She leaned forward and kissed the image of Sara’s face.

                 

                  

“I love you too.”