Chp 1: Traveling

	"Alright, let's hit it." Seth said, coming back out of the bathroom. "You hungry?" He asked to the absol lying on the bed. 

	Soul raised her head. "Well duh, there's a reason I wanna hit the buffet. But those jerks won't let me in alone."

	"Well me and you can go eat ourselves sick. It's been too long since we've gone out to eat."

	"This isn't really out to eat. From what I've heard, cruises have the best food."

	"This isn't really a cruise." He said, mocking her a bit. "We aren't exactly on vacation." 

	"Lighten up!" She said with a mountain of enthusiasm, while hopping of the bed. "We're going to a whole new place, so we are required to enjoy ourselves at least a bit."

	"Yea... I guess. We'll see. Should be another day or two." He walked over to the wardrobe in their cabin and took a ball off his belt, before opening it, releasing an espeon into the room.

	"Are we there yet?" Sky asked in a light voice. Her face immediately scrunched up and she dove to the ground, paws clutching her belly. "OGHH!" She groaned.

	"It's not that bad, drama queen." Soul teased her. 

	"You know, you won't get used to the boat unless you stay out of your ball. Anyways, we were gonna go get some food. You wanna come?" 

	"Nooooooooo..." She moaned, now covering her face. 

	"Alright," Seth said, returned her to her ball. "So, ready?" 

	"Not yet." Soul walked over to him, shakily stood on her rear legs, and kissed him on the lips. "Now we can leave." 

	"I love you too." He said, before opening the door and leading the way into the hall. 

	The ship was not a cruise liner, but still larger than a yacht, so they did not have far to go to get to the buffet. There were about twenty to thirty cabins, and all the other stuff. Once they arrived in the meal hall, they claimed a table, where Seth set his pack. After that, they went to get some grub. 

	"Excuse me sir." An attendant said, tapping on Seth's shoulder. "You can't bring your pokemon to the food. Please leave them at your table." 

	"What's your problem?" Soul growled. 

	"Down girl. Go on back, and I'll bring you something." 

	"Chicken." She barked as she left.

	Seth couldn't help but smile. 

	"She's a beautiful pokemon. We just can't have fur getting on the food. Is she a contest pokemon?" The attendant asked. 

	"No, she's just special." Seth said, turning back to piling up the two plates he had. Once he was satisfied he returned to the table, setting the tray on it. Soul immediately reached over and used her claws to drag her plate, with lots of fried chicken, closer. She immediately dug in, almost as if she was starving. "Shesh, don't choke." 

	"You're not my mom." She said, speeding up in defiance, looking like a wild beast.

	Seth pulled over his plate, and looked at it. "Shit. Forgot my silverware." He stood and went back over to get it. As he walked back to the table, he noticed a few people staring at the ravenous absol. He felt a hot flash of embarrassment on his ears. He sat down and began to eat, looking almost refined in comparison to her. 

	"So, how are you feeling?" She asked once she raised her head.

	He leaned forward and whispered. "You know we can't talk right now. Normal people don't have conversations with their pokemon." 

	"Well, you're not really normal. I mean, we are an interspecies couple. I'm just worried about you. It's not healthy to keep everything bottled up inside. After what happened..."

	"I know." He said quietly, setting his fork down. He reached across the table and rubbed her head. He settled back into his seat and let out a heavy sigh. That was the end of that, for now at least. She had been worried about him for a while now. 

	Once they finished eating, they returned to their room, with a bit of extra food stashed away in plastic bags in case Sky wanted to eat. 

	"Okay, now we can talk." Soul said. 

	"I really don't want-"

	"But you need to."

	"I just feel like shit every time I think about it. I mean how could I not?"

	"I know how you feel. I feel the same. But we still have long lives ahead of us. We have to move on. Just because it doesn't hurt, doesn't mean it doesn't matter."

	"You have experience with this. How long did it take you the first time?"

	"A while. But you have someone, I didn't!" Soul said, wetness welling up in her eyes. "I can't stand seeing you tear yourself apart!" 

	"I'm fine... Really." But his appearance said otherwise. He looked like a mountain man, face unkempt and clothes worn and faded, certainly not the sort to be on a intercontinental boat. The most startling thing were his eyes however. They looked dull, far-off, as if they had no life behind them, and under them, were large dark spots, the sockets sunken in. 

	"I'm here, and so is Sky, whenever you want to talk. Sometimes it's good to get things off your chest. Please, don't give up on me."

	"I promise. It just... it still hurts. And I don't know what to do." He said, sitting on the bed and putting his head in his hands. She came up and licked the backs of his hands with her rough tongue. "I think I'm ready for bed."

	"Want to mate tonight?" She asked gently.

	"No, the walls are too thin." He gave as an excuse, but she knew better. They hadn't done anything sexual for over three months. Ever since... He got up and turned the lights off, before returning to the bed. Soul climbed in next to him and cuddled close to his side, resting her tail on his still clothed stomach, and her chin resting on his arm. He pulled the covers up over them, and idly stroked her side as he drifted off. The last thought to run through his head was, 'Hope there's no nightmares tonight...'

+++ (One month ago)

	"So what will we name them?" Seth asked as he rubbed Soul's paw. There were three eggs sitting on the bed next to them. 

	"How can we do that before they're even hatched?" Soul asked as she held her eggs close. 

	"Well, I can already sense what they are. Female riolu, female absol and a male absol."

	"You're spoiling the surprise." She teased. "How about Heart, Crescent and Blade."

	"Sound's lovely." Seth kissed her forehead. "I love you." 

+++

	"Why are groceries so expensive?" Soul asked as she walked alongside Seth.

	"They're not that expensive. We've got six people to feed, and we go every week, so it's pretty reasonable. Besides, we're all strong enough to make plenty of money."

	"I don't like you fighting. I don't know why. I'm the pokemon, and you're the trainer."

	"I'm not your trainer. Besides, I'm half pokemon, so why can you fight but not me?"

	"I dunno." She said, readjusting her head to keep the bag held on her horn from falling. 

	"What the..." He said as they crested the hill the house was on. The gate was open. So open that it was lying in the dirt, broken right off the hinges. He dropped the bags he was carrying. "Soul, come on!" He ran forward, body morphing as he transformed into a humanoid lucario. His clothes melded into his body, quickly replaced by fur. Soul passed him as she sprinted up the path to the house. The door was wide open. "You check the ground floor, I'll get the upstairs." Seth said, rounding the corner and going up the stairs, two at a time. "Sky! Eclipse! Eve! Laura!" He yelled out, but heard nothing. He went down the hall, looking in the first two rooms, but found nothing. When he entered the master bedroom... 

	The bed was a mess, sheets torn to shreds and lying around the room. In the middle of the room were two bodies, both severely damaged, one of a zoroark, and the other was a lucario. Behind them was a small crib with lots of soft material. On top of that were three broken eggs. Seth immediately turned away. He ran back downstairs and looked towards the kitchen. The glass sliding door that led back outside was shattered, and beyond that was Soul, next to a lavender mass. "Soul!" He ran up to her. "Sky, are you okay?" He asked the espeon lying on the ground. 

	"I'll make it." She was slowly removing shards of glass from her back with her psychic powers. 

	"What happened?" Seth said, falling to his knees next to her. 

	"Remember Laura's team? They came back. The gardevoir and the garchomp. She teamed up with them again. I was blasted out here, and then they went upstairs. I think they were looking for you." 

	"Seth? What did you find up there?" Soul asked. 

	"I... I..." His eyes were wide and his body was shaking. 

+++ (Two weeks later)

	Seth got up from the pokemon center bed and headed for the bathroom. It was the dead of night. He, Soul and Sky had been staying here ever since...

	He entered the bathroom, fiddled around until he found the light, and flicked it on. Mewtwo was standing right in front of him. He hardly even flinched. "Hi..." He said quietly.

	"Seth, I know what happened. I can imagine you are upset. I'm sorry, but I solved the problem. I cannot allow you to fight them."

	"What did you..." 

	"I killed them."

	Seth grimaced as his body transformed to a lucario. "How dare you?!" He growled. 

	"Calm down." Mewtwo held her hand up, locking him in place. "You would have killed yourself trying to avenge the deaths of your children and lovers. I saved your life, once again. You have no reason to stay in this region. I want you to get on a boat, and travel to Sinnoh. Explore that place and get stronger."

	"Why should I?" 

	"You will." The lights flickered for a moment, and Mewtwo was gone. 

+++

	Seth gasped and bolted upright in bed, startling Soul, who was lying next to him. 

	"Again?" She asked.

	His heart was still racing. "Yeah... You know, you still haven't told me why you wanted to go to Sinnoh."

	"You never told me why you didn't want to." She responded, rubbing his arm with a paw in an attempt to soothe him. 

	"I don't really see a reason to go anywhere. It doesn't matter where we are anymore..."

	"That's why I wanted to come. We need to get away, do something new. It might help get you out of your funk." 

	"I'm sorry but... After what happened... How can I not be sad?" 

	"There's a difference between grief and depression. I was like you are now after my trainer died. I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did." Soul licked his cheek. He reached down and pulled her head closer, rubbing his chin against her. "Seriously though. You can be sad without it stopping your life." 

	"I'll try." He leaned back and closed his eyes again.