Eight and Beyond!

Claire smiled. "I share the feeling, ma'am." A breeze began to blow through slightly. She covered her Eevee's belly with the blanket. He snuggled underneath it and curled into a fur ball. It was obvious he was sleepy.

"Come now, let's get inside and sleep for the night" JayJay's father spoke and lead the way to to JayJay's house on the south side of town. His father recalled all of the Pokemon and put them in the safe in the hall closet. JayJay lead Claire to his room. Nurse Joy and Oak went with Elm to his house. There wasn't a guest room, so JayJay was going to sleep on the couch in the living room.

"Here, we're safe. Team Rocket wouldn't be stupid enough to attack us here. Rest well, Claire" JayJay told her

"You too," she said. Claire placed her tiny Eevee on the bed and sat her bag down. She was tired, but she wasn't sure it was enough to get her to sleep. She was miles away from home and the whereabouts of her family was unknown. The journey to Johto shouldn't have bothered her, being a trainer, but she just didn't like the idea of being away in the circumstances they were all in.

JayJay made it to the couch and crashed. he didn't hear his father and mother sneak up on him, he just knew they were there


"So, have you asked her out yet?" His mother asked. Now he remembered where Hans got it from

"No, mom" JayJay blushed mad at the question

"Oh, leave the boy be, sweetie" His father defended him

Claire changed into an evening dress, having finally a night to wear it to sleep. She laid back in bed and finally fell asleep.

JayJay's parents left him be, and soon he fell asleep

Claire started having nightmares again due to the stress of her family.

"Giovanni," she said. "Come fight me like a man. I want my family back, and I'll take you on myself to get them."

"Are you sure you can handle it? You're still injured and you're out of practice."

"Whatever you throw at me, I can throw back twice as hard."

"Lets see about that then, shall we?"

The two ended up into combat. She was fighting as hard as she could but Giovanni was dodging as fast as she was on offense. They were almost evenly matched. Claire finally nailed a hit to his face. He shot back at her in rage and threw fists on offense as she switched to defense.

"Give it up, Giovanni."

"I don't mind ending this early. Besides, I can finish you and lure your friend here." Everything instantly slowed down as she saw him pull a blade from his lower pocket. An instant pain with through her as he wounded her lower chest.

Claire instantly woke up from the nightmare, her breathing sped up and then slowed to normal. Her Eevee that was curled up beside her had started it's mewing once more.

"I'm fine, Eevee. I'm fine."

JayJay woke up with a start, unbeknownst to him, at the same time Claire woke from he nightmare. JayJay looked around and wondered why he woke up. He wasn't dreaming. He didn't hear anything. He just shrugged and went to get a class of water

Claire placed her Eevee in her lap and stroked him gently. His mewing finally ceased as he started to become calmer. Claire was shaking slightly from the dream but, like her Eevee, she was starting to settle down a bit.

JayJay got a glass and filled it with water from the water filter in the fridge. He gulped it down and refilled his glass. This time he sipped the water.

Claire finally decided she just wanted some fresh air. She put on her cloak to serve as a cover for her dress and exited his room. She came across JayJay in the room over.

"Oh, I'm surprised you're up. Hey."

JayJay noticed Claire and nodded. putting down his now empty glass

"Hey, yeah, I just woke up a few minutes ago for no reason, I guess. You heading out?" He asked

"Yeah. I'm just not feeling so great right now."

"I'm sorry. Would you like some company? I could give you a tour of New Bark?" He asked

Claire shook her head. "No, not tonight. I just want some fresh air. I can't sleep and all, I guess." Claire knew what was keeping her awake. She feared falling asleep again. "If you want to come with me, it's fine."

As badly as he wanted to, JayJay decided not to go with her. He figured she should have some alone time. She needed it, he felt like he had been crowding her a bit since he woke up.

"No, that's okay. You can go alone, who knows, it might even be better that way. I'll be here if you need me" He said. a smile on his face, but a frown on his heart

"I think I need to talk to you before we head out to Kanto again. Why don't you come with me?" She started walking to the door, wondering if he'd follow.

He followed her out the door. He was only in a pair of shorts, but the night felt good on his skin.


"What do we need to talk about?" JayJay inquired

"Something I'm a little worried about." The two headed outside. She glanced up at the sky, then back to the path ahead. "Every time I've had a dream up to this point, they've all foreshadowed some event we were going to face in the future. Only, we altered the event. I had another one tonight, and it's got me concerned for our return to Kanto."

JayJay listened intently. He wondered why he woke up when Claire was having a nightmare, but only a small he bit. His instincts told him he already knew


"What did you dream about this time?" He asked, almost scared to, but his bravery surged whenever he was near her

"With what I saw... I'm a little too afraid to explain all the details. But, I know we're going to get to a point where we're going to have to split up to explore. We both can well handle ourselves in a fight, and I have a feeling I'll run into him before you. I've got to find my mother and sister, as you're well aware. But, if something happens and for some reason I don't arrive back when you call, you've got to promise me you'll get away from Kanto and fight at a later day. I'm telling you, it's going to be a rough day if what I saw was true and you'll need more time. I've never been more serious about this before. I'm not trying to take on Giovanni on my own intentionally. I've just got a bad feeling."

"I don't know if I could leave without you . . ." He spoke softly, and looked down, his hair coved his eyes. He thought about the pain he went through the week she was gone. he thought about all the hurt she must've gone through. He thought until tears ran down his face. He didn't cry, but he wasn't okay. His body ached, his heart hurt, and his mind was spinning. He knew he would have to promise her

Claire shared JayJay's sadness, disliking the fact that they might truly be separated. "I'd tell you what I saw, but if I did then you wouldn't let me go out to Kanto. I know you wouldn't. You'd inflict ten times as more pain to Giovanni than I would." She wanted to tell him, but, at the same time, she knew she'd hurt him just as badly as she felt when she saw it. "I have an idea of how to show it to you, but I don't want it to hurt you anymore than it felt to see it."

"I can take it if you're here. I can take anything" He looked up, tears still streaming from his eyes.

Claire walked over to a nearby tree and sat Indian style under it. She motioned for him to do the same. "I can try to show you, but I don't know if you'll like what you see."